Chapter 58

When Al arrived at Eric's mansion on North First Street, the hoarse-voiced gatekeeper seemed to remember him. As soon as he saw Al's face, he said that Master Eric was waiting and immediately led him inside. The place he was taken to was a spacious room about 10 meters square. There were no windows, and a long table, about 5 meters wide and 1 meter deep, was placed in the center.

After a while, Eric, Fitz, and the head apprentice, Reta, arrived. Reta was holding a tray with a rolled parchment, a small pot-like object, thin sticks, and cloth, as well as thread.

"Good to see you, Al. I thought you would come a bit earlier..."

Al scratched his head when Eric said this. Beside him, Reta spread out the parchment on the table. The parchment was a *Book of Spells*. It was about 30 cm tall and 2.5 meters wide. Although it was called parchment, it was actually made from the skin of a large monster, not a sheep. However, since there was almost no difference in quality, it was still called parchment. Like other *Books of Spells*, it was densely covered with complex circles, symbols, and text. The table was quite large, so the parchment did not extend beyond its edges.

"This is the *Book of Spells* for the Floating Eye spell."

At Reta's words, Al's face turned red, and he nodded vigorously.

"Although it's a common setup, we have placed the *Book of Spells* on this large table so that you can see the entire thing at a glance. You can use this room to learn this spell. We have prepared the tools we use. Fitz, please explain them."

As Eric spoke, Fitz began to lay out the items on the tray that Reta was holding on the table and explained them. There was a special glue that left little trace, thin sticks, cloth, and thread. These were used to add notes or emphasize the meanings of the magical symbols and circles to deepen understanding.

"As a method to interpret the symbols, which I call symbols, I have my apprentices write down the images they receive on another piece of cloth and then attach them to the *Book of Spells*."

Al was impressed by Eric's words. The symbols in the *Book of Spells* for learning spells had a special effect that could evoke inspiration, allowing the user to receive the intended meaning by staring at them. By accumulating magic power in the order of the images received, the spell could be cast. However, the problem was the number of symbols.

It is said that there are two stages in learning a spell: *Interpretation*, which involves understanding what is written in the *Book of Spells*, and *Spell Activation*, which involves accumulating magic power based on that understanding to produce an effect. During *Spell Activation*, the symbols must be integrated into one to produce the effect. However, in the third tier, there are over 50 symbols.

Accumulating and activating the effect of over 50 symbols is not an easy task. In most cases, it takes hundreds of attempts, and each failure requires re-examining the symbols to obtain new inspiration. Many people also write directly on the *Book of Spells* to reinforce the images, as Al had done in the beginning. Of course, this makes repairs more difficult, but everyone is desperate to cast the spell.

Eric's method, on the other hand, would likely make it easier to recall the inspiration and reduce the risk of damaging the *Book of Spells*. This method had probably been used by someone to learn a spell, and it would likely be fine.

"In my case, Master Eric, the symbols... you called them symbols, right? Instead of attaching the notes of the symbols to the *Book of Spells*, I bundle them together. Like this..."

Al said this and took a bundle of parchments from his backpack. The parchments contained detailed notes on the symbols used in the *Book of Spells*, the images he had received, and which spells they were used in.

"Hmm, can I see one of them?"

"Sure."

Al said this and pulled out one of the parchments from the bundle tied with a string and handed it to Reta. It showed a circle with a wide ellipse on either side, and five dots on the upper part of the ellipse.

"This symbol appears in both the Perception Enhancement spell and the Illusion spell. I think it represents 'what I have seen.' It's probably used in the Floating Eye spell as well..."

Reta looked at the symbol on the parchment Al had given her and tilted her head.

"I feel like I've seen it somewhere..."

"It's 54 cm to the left of the center and 11 cm from the bottom."

Al heard Guri's voice in his ear. Of course, only Al could hear it. Al looked at the spot Guri indicated. There, the symbol he was thinking of was indeed there. This was something Al had discovered the night before while interpreting the remaining unlearned *Book of Spells*. Guri's memory and analytical skills were remarkable, and she had memorized all the content of the bundle of parchments Al had made. She could also quickly classify and compare the symbols in the *Book of Spells*.

"This one."

When Al pointed to the spot Guri had indicated, Reta looked surprised. Eric compared the parchment Al had given him to the part of the *Book of Spells* and found that, while not exactly the same, a similar symbol was indeed there.

"Hmm, I see. It does help to recall the symbols. However, the meaning of the symbols can be understood by staring at them. Does this really save much time?"

Eric and Fitz's reactions were not very positive.

"It does. In the end, I learned the meanings of the symbols quite well, so I didn't have to keep recalling them."

Fitz made a sound of understanding, but Eric tilted his head.

"Indeed, when learning a spell, I have often thought that a symbol looked familiar. However, I tried to avoid using my memory, as it might lead to incorrect preconceptions when receiving inspiration. You are actively using it, I see... But, was it okay?"

By "okay," Eric meant whether Al had misunderstood and failed to cast the spell properly. Al tilted his head slightly and thought for a moment. After a while, he had a realization.

"When I was trying to learn the Flash spell. As you know, the Flash spell is very similar to the Light spell."

Al explained that when he was learning the Flash spell, he had mistakenly overlapped the symbol for 'light' from the Flash spell with the symbol for 'light' from the Light spell. Instead of the intended blinding flash, a bright light similar to the sun's brightness remained in his palm for a while.

"At the time, it was my second spell to learn, and my understanding of options was still incomplete. I knew that the Light spell could change the brightness, but I couldn't handle it properly in the Flash spell. This failure made me more aware of the options."

"The same symbol can have different effects, and these are options..."

Eric said this and thought for a moment.

"I digressed a bit, but this was a very fruitful discussion. It's very interesting. Please proceed with this method for a while. Before you leave, call Reta and explain what you have learned that day. Also, if you find something that seems to be an option, please let her know. Can you do that?"

"Understood. I'll use the room for a while."

When Al answered, Eric and the other two nodded and left the room.

---

"Alright, let's start."

After the three left, Al muttered to himself.

"Sure, Al. Let's play! I'll find them quickly."

Guri responded happily. Searching for the symbols from the *Book of Spells* in the bundle of parchments Al had made was a tedious task for Al, but it seemed like a game for her.

"Can you tell me one by one?"

Following Guri's instructions, Al used the Illusion spell to paint the symbols from the *Book of Spells* in a light green color and wrote the notes from his parchments in red. Of course, these were temporary illusions that would disappear once the spell was understood. Within 30 minutes, most of the *Book of Spells* was painted in light green, and fewer than 10 symbols remained.

Al had only written directly on the *Book of Spells* in the beginning. After he learned the Illusion spell, he could do this without leaving any traces.

"These are the symbols I don't know... I'll look at them one by one."

Al started to write the remaining symbols on a new parchment using the Projection spell. The Projection spell was one he had recently learned. Without any options, it simply drew a blurry 10 cm circle using the ink he prepared. However, with options, he could specify the image to be drawn and choose the ink's thickness. This allowed him to copy the symbols from the *Book of Spells* onto the parchment exactly.

"This is convenient. A simple circle isn't very useful, but I can draw most things I've seen."

Al couldn't help but say this.

"Next time, let Guri try drawing too."

When Guri suggested this, Al nodded with a smile.

Al stared at the parchment he had just copied. Although it looked exactly the same, unfortunately, he couldn't receive inspiration from it just by looking at it, unlike the symbols in the *Book of Spells*.

"There must be something different. I should ask someone about the process of making a *Book of Spells* when I have time."

Al had repaired *Books of Spells* before, but he had never made a copy. There might be a special method.

"For now, I need to learn this first."

Al muttered this and stared at the symbol in the *Book of Spells*, trying to understand its meaning.

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