The Lunar Sanctum had been built over the centuries, with each High Priestess contributing something unique. Some focused on merely expanding its size, adding another level of walls to the complex, or extending the hanging gardens.

  Others, like the current leader, tended to bring less flashy changes. From what little Orion had been able to glean, High Priestess Seraphina was a monstrously powerful witch, and her fame and influence spread all over the Cyril Magocracy.

  With that respect came trade with the other regional powers, which allowed her to build the library into a behemoth that rivaled that of the Arcane Collegium of Valderun, the capital.

  Orion didn’t know whether that was true, but he could admit that the library was quite impressive. Built on three separate floors, each visible from the bottom, it must have housed over ten thousand tomes.

  Unfortunately, Orion wasn’t allowed into the more interesting sections—those being the second floor, which was accessible to the adult witches and the rare wizards who had completed their education and taken on a role within the Sanctum, and the third floor, which could only be perused by those considered masters of their craft.

  He was certain he would find much more interesting books than the religious tales that filled the first floor. Unfortunately, two armed guards were stationed at each staircase, and attempting to convince them to let him through was unlikely to work.

  “At least not everything is that bad. There are a few interesting books on basic theory that might give me a better idea of what magic actually is,” He muttered, straining to get a particularly voluminous book on the specifics of light magic.

  Unfortunately, despite significant growth over the past ten years, Orion still felt lacking compared to the height he’d reached on Earth, which meant he couldn’t reach the last book he wanted.

  He was almost tempted to run the levitation formula on himself, but he wasn’t ready to reveal his skills so openly. The library might have rules against bothering others, but that didn’t mean people wouldn’t notice a child too young to have his class floating around.

  I may need to get a stool. Magistra Eire wasn’t lying when she said "The Great Compendium of Luminous Magick" was a brick.

  The librarian had peered at him for a long while at his request for a private study room, but had eventually conceded, though not without scoffing. Considering it was morning and most active witches were busy with work, requests were rare, yet it was still odd for a child to be in the library, especially seeking the most tedious texts on the first floor.

  She might just be a shrew, but I got the impression that she didn’t like me personally. But how could that even be possible? I haven’t met her before.

  “Would you like some help with that?” A soft, posh voice asked from behind him, causing Orion to jump in surprise.

  He whirled around and found himself faced with an elderly man with sharp blue eyes. His robes were a patchwork of colors vaguely resembling the feathers of a peacock, and he seemed genuinely amused at having scared him. “Oho, too focused? I know what that’s like. It’s hard to let go of an interesting research topic when you’ve found a good reference text.”

  “What? Who are you?” Orion asked. He’d never seen the man before, and he was sure he would remember if he had. Even disregarding his perfect memory, there were very few males within the sanctum, and even fewer who didn’t work a menial job.

  Given the condition of the man’s robes, he almost dismissed him as an eccentric old man, but something about him, an indefinable quality, made him stand out. No, this was not an ordinary person.

  “Ah, I apologize. My name is Set, and I am a traveling scholar. The High Priestess generously offered me residence within the Sanctum to complete my studies on the different styles of casting the same magic.”

  The response was unexpectedly open. Nevertheless, Orion tilted his head skeptically. "Okay, but why did you come to me? If the High Priestess gave you permission, you should be searching the upper floors.”

  Set didn’t seem to mind his blunt tone and smiled, displaying shockingly white teeth. “Ah, you’d think that was the case, yes, but I often find that going back to the basics can be even more useful for research than delving into advanced material.”

  Before Orion could ask anything else, the old man nodded to the Great Compendium of Luminous Magick, “Is that the one you want?”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Orion nodded, and suddenly the book began to float down the bookshelf. Set remained still, not uttering a word, yet the book floated. “How did you do that?” Orion asked, furrowing his brow.

  As far as he knew, “magic” required interfacing with the System, whether that was through indirect means—anything from prayers or chants—or directly explaining what he wanted to happen as he had done with his formulae.

  That could possibly be done silently, but even Madame Eire had needed to move her hand to summon a ball of light, which was supposed to be the simplest cantrip.

  “Ah, you’ll pick up all sorts of tricks when you get to my age,” Set replied, waving his hand. “The more you study, the more you learn that the rules are mostly there to help the beginners.”

  And with that last cryptic statement, the old man turned around and left, leaving Orion to stare after him, a floating book next to his head. He looked at it, waiting to see if it would fall now that the caster was gone, but it seemed content to bob up and down in the air.

  When Orion took a step, the book followed silently, and he realized that this magic was even more impressive than he’d first thought.

  He must have added some kind of target locking to the magic. How would that even work? The variables would be countless, and it's even harder without him here to adjust things on the fly.

  The book didn’t seem to care about that, however, and it silently floated after him as Orion made his way to his private room. He received a couple of curious looks along the way from older witches with more free time on their hands, who had decided to refresh their knowledge on some less commonly used practices, but no one impeded his path.

  Soon enough, he was back in room 7A.

  There, on a honey-colored wooden table, sat his stack of books, his journal, and his stationery. Orion pointed to the rest of the material, feeling foolish, “Go there.”

  To his further surprise, the floating book obeyed the command and gently levitated to the top of the stack, before the magic seemed to vanish and it dropped with a thump.

  “This is even weirder. How can it possibly react to my voice? Ugh, damn mysterious old men.” Despite his words, Orion didn’t mind. He doubted he would solve the mystery anytime soon, but having something to work toward was always useful.

  While he could only start to learn the nitty gritty of magic now, he had no doubt that one day he would understand exactly what Set had done to make the book follow after him like a loyal hound.

  “Alright, let’s get this party started,” he muttered, rubbing his hands and hopping onto the comfortable velvet chair. “I’ve always liked a challenge.”

  That was, after all, the reason he was in the library in the first place. Magistra Eire and her assistants held lessons two days a week, teaching them the very basics of magic until they could start casting their own spells and discover where their affinity lay.

  In three years, that would result in them getting a class, hopefully one capable of better mana manipulation.

  Asteria told him there was no need for concern, as it was extremely rare for an Initiate to be assigned a non-magical class. Only those children raised outside the sanctum had to worry about this, since the preparatory lessons Orion had just begun would ensure at least some magical ability.

  But I’m not worried about that. I already know I have what it takes.

  He had already performed magic, after all, even if he still didn’t know exactly how it all worked. But that’s why I’m here.

  Although Orion would have preferred to jump straight to the deeper theories connecting magic to the System and its origins, he was restricted from accessing that knowledge, and so he would chart his own path forward.

  “Starting from first principles doesn’t scare me,” he grinned, pulling the Compendium closer. “I’m sure there are bits and pieces scattered through the basic books that will let me get started on a general theory.”

  Opening the tome, Orion was relieved to find that he wasn’t overwhelmed with dust. It seemed that the reputation of the Sanctum’s librarians as dutiful and strict was no lie.

  Luminous Magick, or, as it is most commonly known among the boorish circles of the Collegium, Light Magic, is the oldest form of supernatural power known to humanity.

  While some might contest this claim by citing the numerous documented uses of fertility rituals or even druidic spells in the distant past, those are all secondary applications. They represent pieces of magic that humanity developed to achieve specific outcomes.

  Luminous Magick is something deeper. It stems from humanity’s fear of the dark. From the desire for clarity and knowledge. It is not something people sought after, nor is it a gift from older races like the elves. Rather, it is unique to humanity, developed through sheer need and desire alone. Many call it the gift of the gods, and there may be truth to that; however, it is undeniable that light magic arose not from active efforts but from humanity’s very nature.

  Orion paused for a moment. Flipping through the next few pages revealed lengthy paragraphs with few diagrams and images, and at a glance, he could find only sporadic mentions of actual spells.

  “Now, I understand why this book was on the first floor,” he remarked as he flipped back to the first page. Even if someone intended to cause mischief, there was little the insights from this tome would allow them to do. It was a complex, entirely theoretical work designed for a researcher to showcase their expertise, and it certainly wasn't the beginner's guide it appeared to be.

  Nonetheless, Orion was not dispirited. Really, this is great. I can learn the spells in class or even make them myself. This is what I need if I want to understand why magic is magical.

  The next hour and a half flew by, and by the end, Orion had only gone through the compendium once, leaving him unsure if that was enough to grasp all its complexities. He hadn’t even touched the rest of his stack, and he felt an urge to immediately start the next one.

  But a glance at the sun outside the window told him he didn’t have much time left with his reserved room, and if he wanted to do something instead of just reading, he’d have to take the chance now.

  “Alright. The light-making spell is supposed to be the easiest cantrip, especially for those born in the Sanctum, as we’re all supposed to be inclined toward light magic. I’m sure I could recreate it easily enough.” Indeed, using λν = c, the wave theory of light as the basis, he should create the desired Torchlight spell pretty easily, but he hesitated to do so.

  Magistra Eire’s lecture about the nature of mana affinities provided him with valuable insight but also raised a doubt.

  So far, he hadn’t even considered magic as something that could possess unique characteristics depending on the “type.” Would simply creating a formula to explain a physical phenomenon ever adequately describe such a strange phenomenon?

  Would his understanding of the physics of light suffice to explain the strange attributes of Light mana?

  I suppose I'm about to find out.

  currently has 11 extra chapters, which will increase over the weeks as an additional release is scheduled there for each Saturday.