LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 53: Training (2)
"I'm not sure…" Alvator murmured, his voice tinged with uncertainty, as though groping through a fog. "My memory... it's hazy. A puzzle with missing pieces. But one thing I know for certain."
Argider moved forward, her brow furrowed with curiosity. "What is it?"
"Magic," Alvator said, his tone sharpening, "is not truly gone. I can still sense the Ether Veins in people. Magic is still within them, but… it's as if something inside has stopped. Something vital. The Navel."
"The Navel?" Argider echoed.
"Yes. The Navel is the heart of the Ether Veins," he explained, his eyes distant, as though peering into an unseen realm. "It pumps mana through the body like blood through arteries. But somehow, everyone's Navel… it's gone dormant."
A silence settled between them, heavy and expectant. Then, Alvator continued, his voice low and deliberate. "This led me to a single conclusion."
"And that is?"
Continue reading at empire
He turned to her, his gaze piercing. "Argider, your power is not to grant magic. You cannot give what is already there. What you can do is far more extraordinary: you have the power to awaken it. To unlock the Navel."
"Unlock it?" she whispered, her thoughts racing.
"Yes," Alvator said. "That's why an emotional connection is necessary. The Navel is not just the source of magic; it's the heart of a person's being. Only through that connection can you breathe life into what has lain dormant for so long."
Hours later, Argider found herself wandering the grand libraries of the Palace, her fingers trailing absently along the spines of ancient tomes.
Shelves loomed like sentinels around her, stacked high with the accumulated knowledge of centuries—histories, philosophies, the sciences of magic, and treatises on its many forms.
"Where is it..." she muttered, sighing as she scanned title after title, her movements restless yet determined.
She navigated toward the right wing of the library, where the histories were kept. And then she saw it—the records of the past, bound in cracked leather, the gold lettering faded with time.
Her heart quickened. She seized the volume and carried it to one of the long oak tables. Though Argider had little formal education, her mother had taught her to read—a gift she clung to, even if it was just enough to decipher what she needed.
She opened the book, her fingers tracing the faded ink. "Let's see..." she murmured under her breath.
As she read, the truth unfolded before her, etched in the records.
Six centuries ago, magic had been a worldly constant. It wasn't just a tool but a lifeline, woven into every facet of existence.
People depended on it to build, to heal, to sustain one another. But then, mysteriously, it vanished.
As the years turned to decades, society adapted, abandoning magic altogether until it faded into myth.
But one passage caught her attention, causing her brows to furrow.
The disappearance of magic coincided with the rise of Alvator's empire.
The texts were frustratingly vague, offering only fragments—rumors that magic, before its vanishing, had already begun to dwindle, becoming the privilege of elites, tied to specific bloodlines.
The Scepter Council, in particular, held exclusive access, wielding magic as a means of control.
Argider frowned.
The timeline was too suspicious to ignore. Magic had disappeared during Alvator's era, the same time the Valtirium Empire rose to prominence, dividing itself into the Three Districts.
"Could he have...?" she began, but shook her head, the idea unsettling.
Alvator had emerged in a time of transition, yet the details surrounding him were cloaked in ambiguity. Magic had grown selective, constrained to the powerful. Had he played a role in this?
She closed the book slowly, her gaze distant. The pieces were beginning to align, but the picture they formed was one she wasn't sure she was ready to see.
— [New Notification]
— [New Condition: Every 5 Minutes of a Study Session Increases Conscientiousness & Openness]
— [Personality Trait: Conscientiousness ▪︎ +10 EXP!]
— [Personality Trait: Openness ▪︎ + 10 EXP!]
...
PERSONALITY TRAITS STATUS:
[Openness]
Level 4 ▪︎ 110/150 EXP
[Conscientiousness]
Level 4 ▪︎ 110/150 EXP
[Extraversionl]
Level 4 ▪︎ 95/120 EXP
[Agreeablenessl]
Level 4 ▪︎ 65/150 EXP
[Neuroticism]
Level 4 ▪︎ 45/150 EXP
….
"Oh…"
Argider dove into the books with newfound determination. Naturally, she started with magic—how could she not?
The magic tomes had been languishing on the shelves, their once-pristine covers cloaked in a fine layer of dust.
Mathematics, however, remained firmly outside her grasp. The mere thought of it made her temples throb; the newfound capacity to overthink was already more than she bargained for. There was definitely no need to court further agony.
She settled cross-legged on the floor, pulling a particularly weighty magic manual onto her lap.
The binding creaked as she opened it, and the familiar scent of parchment and ink greeted her. She began reading, her lips moving slightly with each word.
So far, the concepts were manageable—basic classifications of magic and their applications. Defensive, offensive, special... The fundamentals.
But it was rather frustrating. Magic Bestowal—her peculiar gift—wasn't even fit for offense.
What good was a spell if it couldn't, at the very least, leave a scorch mark?
Her finger trailed across the page until it stopped on a section titled "Refining Special Magic."
"Ah, here it is," she murmured, her voice tinged with relief.
The passage outlined techniques for harnessing unique and inconsistent magical abilities. The steps were laid out with frustrating simplicity, as if the author expected the reader to breeze through them:
1. Meditate to draw mana continuously from the surroundings.
2. Identify the elements or emotions that enhance your magic.
3. Reinforce and strengthen those elements to amplify its power.
Argider frowned, her brow knitting into a furrow. Easier said than done. Meditating, fine—she could sit still for a bit without her mind wandering too far.
But step two? How exactly was she supposed to figure out what made her magic stronger? It wasn't as if Magic Bestowal came with an instruction manual.
Still, there was no denying the spark of curiosity flickering to life within her.
She flipped to the next page and began to read with more intensity, the quiet determination in her gaze betraying the mischievous streak lurking just beneath.
If she couldn't attack yet, then fine. But she'd make sure her gift was formidable enough to surprise anyone foolish enough to underestimate her.
After all, if there was one thing Argider was beginning to understand about magic—it can grow as wild and unpredictable as its wielder.