Book Eater

Chapter 161: Delicacy from the East (2)

“It took more time than I thought...” Theo mumbled before setting down the book.

The language was still unfamiliar to him, despite Lee Yoonsung’s memories. It took him two to three times longer just to get through a book. These magic books also used Sanskrit and Urdu characters in addition to Chinese characters, both of which Lee Yoonsung didn’t know. So Theo had no choice but to puzzle it out himself.

It’s been a while since I’ve studied like this.

This was very similar to the all nighters he used to pull when he’d first entered Bergen Academy. He lost himself in his memories as he replaced the nib of his pen again. He had gone through several nibs just for his last set of notes. If he hadn’t cast recovery magic every so often, he would’ve gotten carpal tunnel.

But if Theo had to study like this, what about Baek Dongil?

“B-Brother...” A faint voice called out from the desk next to Theo. Dozens of books were piled up in front of Baek Dongil, whose face was darkened by stubble.

Baek Dongil was in the same predicament. He had to deepen his familiarity with the common tongue and grow more proficient with runes. He had to also raise his skills with mathematics and geometry in order to calculate magic formulas.

Moreover, Theo had ridiculously high standards when it came to studying.

Clack!

Chantless casts of Healing and Refresh swept through Baek Dongil’s body. The combination of the two healed both physical and mental fatigue instantly.

“Are you okay now?”

The dark circles under Baek Dongil’s eyes lightened, and his throbbing fingers, sore from hours of use, felt lighter. However, the accumulated fatigue was clear on Baek Dongil’s face.

“Uhh… I still can’t get used to this feeling, despite experiencing it a few times.”

Theo shrugged. “It’s just a shortcut. This is already the eighth time, and the gap between recovery spells is getting smaller... It is a little early, but we will end it here for today.”

Recovery spells couldn’t be used infinitely, as their effect would gradually decrease if used excessively in a short period. The accumulation of magic power would make the body temporarily resistant to magic. Of course, magicians of the Tower would’ve collapsed already, but Baek Dongil’s trained body had allowed to persevere long beyond their limits.

Baek Dongil stretched as he left the seat he’d occupied for hours and grumbled, “Urgh! But Brother, do I really need to learn this official language? Can’t Brother teach me instead of studying these books?”

“No, that won’t work,” Theo firmly rejected the idea.

Theo had steadily and faithfully accumulated his knowledge, so he knew that such a narrow viewpoint wouldn’t work. A person who used a shortcut for a comfortable path would one day find themselves in trouble. This method might seem insufficient now, but it wouldn’t be easy to forget the words. For magicians who pursued infinite wisdom, oblivion was the worst enemy. A person who couldn’t find a path through their own will would eventually wander in silence.

“You can’t forget to set up one’s foundations just because you’re in a hurry. As a descendant of a warrior, don’t you know what happens to a person who neglects the foundations?”

“T-That…” Baek Dongil stammered at Theo’s sharp retort.

Theo patted his shoulder with a smile. “I know that you’re feeling impatient. Is it because I’ll be leaving soon?”

“... I have nothing to say.” The boy dropped his head with a red face, embarrassed at how easily he had been seen through.

His teacher had a time limit, and he was too young to fully stay calm. Theo knew what he was feeling, but simply telling him how to fix it would only make things worse.

So, Theo stated quietly, “Dongil.”

“Yes, Brother.”

“I am teaching you as you asked, but I can’t be a true mentor to you.”

Baek Dongil’s eyes shook slightly and he replied despondently, “I-I see. It has only been a fortnight, but... starting at my age and expecting great achievements-”

Theo cut him off, “No, that’s not it.”

“Huh?” Baek Dongil raised his head at Theo’s decisive voice. He stared earnestly into Theo’s blue eyes and gulped.

“Your skills are quite excellent, but I’m not a good teacher. You have an abundance of power but are still immature. I can only tell you the path that you should take.”

Baek Dongil searched his face as hope blossomed in his eyes. “......”

“Magic isn’t something that can be learned in just a few months. If you do it that way, you won’t ever be able to glimpse it. Are you going to walk that path?”

Baek Dongil’s eyes clouded over as doubt started to sink their insidious claws into him. But the discipline of his childhood showed its worth as he continued to listen to Theo and his eyes cleared.

“Obviously, I can’t spend much time teaching you. However, there are magicians out there that are far more suited to be your teacher. My role is to simply build your foundations so that you can be properly taught by them.”

“... B-Brother.” Baek Dongil lowered his head in shame.

It made a lot of sense. How could Theo teach Baek Dongil everything about magic when he wasn’t even a beginner? It was obvious that Baek Dongil wouldn’t understand anything. But once he was taught the basics, he could learn under another teacher or enter an academy. Baek Dongil had an enlightened expression on his face. He was too embarrassed to be overly grateful, but the atmosphere was too heavy to remain silent.

Theo noticed the atmosphere half a beat later and rose to his feet. “Let’s start again tomorrow at noon. Until then, review what you’ve studied and rest well.”

“Yes, Brother! I’ll study it thoroughly!” Baek Dongil responded vigorously, before glancing at the stack of books on Theo’s desk.

Baek Dongil had yet to reach proficiency in the common tongue, but Theo was already reading the books on shamanism by himself. Baek Dongil was quite confident in his studying ability, but his pace was much slower.

“By the way, Brother is really awesome. You must’ve received a lot of praise from your elders when you were a child, and you were definitely called a genius right?”

“... No.” Theo smiled bitterly. “In the academy, I failed three times and was called a dunce.”

“W-what?!”

“It might be one of the reasons I’m teaching you. You resemble my old self.”

Baek Dongil couldn’t say anything as Theo felt the emotions of his past well up. He patted Baek Dongil on the shoulder before turning. The door closed silently, leaving only the faint echo of footsteps in the corridor.

Truly, memories were like faded watercolors.

***

After finishing the study session with Baek Dongil, Theo had a quick meal and returned to his room. The sun was setting in the western sky, painting a dull orange. Normally, it would be time to feed Gluttony and spar with Randolph… but not today.

Theo looked at the book before him and muttered, “... In the end, it is this one.”

A fortnight wasn’t a long time. In the meantime, Theo had only fully studied three or four books of shamanism. There was the [Nine Rulers Magic Book] he’d picked up on the first day, but Theo had been drawn to another book.

He had been ecstatic when he first saw the information window.

[Treatise on the Art of Onmyōdō]

[This book explains the magic system based on the theory of yin and yang. The author divided the world into yin and yang, as all things maintain balance and harmony when interacting with each other, such as water and fire. The author’s understanding of the laws of nature has reached an advanced state, but the author was murdered by ???? (can’t be determined).

* Your understanding is very high. (96.9%)

* This magic book is rated Precious.

* When consumed, you can learn the Art of Onmyōdō.

* When consumed, understanding of magic attributes will greatly increase.

* This is an original book written by the author. However, since he wrote six books, his power is divided into six. Even so, the fragment of soul inside this book is powerful and maintains an individual ego.

It is best to eat this book.

The prudent Theo judged that the [Treatise on the Art of Onmyōdō] was the most useful book for him right now. He was only more convinced as he slowly read through the book. The Art of Onmyōdō was a technique used to combine two incompatible powers. This would serve him well in finishing his spell, and batter at the wall of masters..

Theo made his decision and held out his hand, summoning a magic scroll. The scroll was worth at least a few gold, but Theo tore it without any hesitation.

Puhwaak!

A bright light appeared in the air. It wasn’t attack magic, but a special spell which produced an object with the same shape and weight, as long as certain conditions were met. Theo had created a copy of the book. As two versions of the book appeared, Theo picked up the copy and placed it on his desk. He had obtained Baek Dongil’s consent, of course.

Well, to most people, there will be no difference between the original and the copy.

There might be some financial differences, but it was a pittance compared to how much money the Baek Family had. Therefore, Baek Dongil had easily accepted the request.

“Okay, this is finished.”

His preparations were over. Theo sat on the bed without hesitation and held his left hand over [Treatise on the Art of Onmyōdō]. In this situation, only one sentence would emerge.

“Eat, Gluttony.”

The red tongue immediately swallowed the book, as if it had been waiting.

[Treatise on the Art of Onmyōdō has been consumed. Your understanding is very high.]

[Your perception of magic attributes has greatly increased.]

[Accepting the proficiency of Art of Onmyōdō... failed.]

[An original book has been consumed. The synchro rate with object name ‘Abe no Seimei’ is being checked... Blocked. Abe no Seimei has refused to sync with the user. You can try to force a sync using the permissions of a user, but it is not recommended.]

“W-What?!”

Synchro was refused! Theo was shocked because he had never experienced this before. Not only had synchro been denied, the proficiency of Art of Onmyōdō had also failed to be absorbed. It was like the original book had blown up. Fortunately, the system wasn’t done yet.

Once again, it was the first time Theo had experienced this type of message.

[Object name ‘Abe no Seimei’ is asking for a conversation with the user. Would you like to accept?]

“Before that, I want to ask something.”

Rather than responding to Abe no Seimei’s request, Theo wanted an answer for this unprecedented situation. Gluttony kept his hidden functions confidential, but it didn’t care much about the functions which had already been revealed.

So it wasn’t a surprise when it spoke up.

- Do you want to ask why the synchro was rejected?

“Of course. So far, you’ve never mentioned it as a possibility.”

- To be precise, it wasn’t that I hadn’t told you, but more like I couldn’t.

An ordinary person might ask for more, but Theo paused to think. It wasn’t that it hadn’t, but that it hadn’t been able to. In other words, the authors of original books didn’t have the ability to do so. Then how did the author called Abe no Seimei have this ability?

Theo tried to confirm his guess. “Abe no Seimei. Is he special?”

- Special... that word isn’t wrong. Simply put, his spirit is high.

“Spirit is high?”

- That’s right. He wasn’t fully transcendent, but he was close to the end of a mortal existence. The strength of such an existence can’t be completely subdued. For example, you could connect with Myrdal because he accepted the connection.

Theo groaned slightly. It meant that among the authors he had met so far, Abe no Seimei was the closest to a master without being one. This might be an existence comparable to the great elementalist, Myrdal.

In the end, he was encountering such a monster in an original book about shamanism.

But still, Theo’s voice was firm. “I will accept Abe no Seimei’s request.”