This pamphlet-sized book was a miracle to Wolfe. Until today, he thought all knowledge of the Magi was destroyed, but now, with this, he has a chance to see just how knowledgeable they once were. The surviving pages seem to be an introduction from a training manual, a basic oversight of what a young Magi needed to do to become worthy of the title.
To the person who wrote it, this was probably the most obvious thing in the world, but the Magi were secretive, not letting the outside mundane world know of their power, for fear of exactly what happened to them in the end.
The rest of the world ganging up to kill them.
Wolfe looked over the first page, somewhat charred and missing small sections before it was preserved in this plastic cover.
[The power of the Magi is that of the world. Not the Witches' power of life but the Primal Indifference of the planet itself. Fire, Lightning and Gravity are the building blocks of a Magi's power.
The fire of the planet's core and the heat of the sun beating down on its surface are the strongest sources of Fire imaginable by man. When a Magi is in tune with them, his control over fire becomes stronger.
Lightning is the elusive element brought to life in the skies, it was once viewed as a niche affinity, but as science has grown, the power of electricity has become better known, tamed and spread across every aspect of life.
Once they have learned the flow of man-made lightning, a Magi can amplify it a thousand times, bringing a city's technology to life or burning it to ash.
Finally, we have the most essential of forces in the universe, Gravity. The power to move the tides, fly through the air, bond or debond the atom, gravity is the structure that the universe is built upon.
For now, young student, you will be studying these three basic principles to find your strongest initial affinity.]
The rest of the text was missing, but the knowledge that the surviving page had brought was life-changing.
Wolfe was no fool. He graduated from high school and understood the concepts of Gravity and the eternal heat of the stars burning in the sky. He even understood electricity well enough to modify his electric bike, but he suspected that was a much more shallow knowledge than what a Magi in the old world had.
Gently, Wolfe flipped the page to see the back side, finding it mostly burnt black, but there was a single spell circle mostly visible and a few words of description that were too isolated to link to the rest.
It was very different from the one he used to charge the batteries for the power tools he sold.
"Supposedly, that is part of the Inheritance, but from what we can tell so far, it is a basic fire spell. From a drawn copy of the circle, I can conjure flames. But from what my mother told me, once you know the circle an actual Magi should be able to use it to mentally focus their energy and create flames without actually drawing the circle itself.
Think of it as a focusing aid that will turn your internal energy into an external fire. Or at least that's the theory." Uncle Ivan explained.
Wolfe took a picture of the circle with his phone and zoomed in close enough that the context was hidden. Magical circles were everywhere these days. At least they were on high-end items, so having a picture of one was unremarkable and could be explained as trying to avoid being scammed.
"I will test it later when I am not taking up your time or surrounded by books," Wolfe replied, making Roman chuckle.
The first page was incredible, but the second made the Fire Circle look unimportant. It was almost all gone, burnt to ashes, but what remained was enough to be worth the effort of saving it.
[To expand your mana pouch...
The pressure will loosen the restriction...
Continue until sta...
Begin the second.]
Wolfe idly flipped the page as he read and found that there was a diagram on the back of this one as well.
[Rank 7... Transition] was what the remains of the caption said, above a partial drawing of the human body with seven orbs in the chest, six small ones orbiting a seventh larger orb.
That was exactly where the energy in his chest seemed to congregate, so the diagram must be the way to build up mana storage.
The two elders waited while Wolfe processed this new knowledge, wondering how much he could make of it on his own. When he looked satisfied but did not speak, Roman decided to add what he knew to the boy's understanding.
"From what I have learned, putting pressure on your mana gland will cause it to swell a little in irritation, but the excess energy will flow into your body and fortify it. After years of practice, I am much stronger than the average man." Roman explained.
That didn't sound right to Wolfe at all, and it didn't explain the part about beginning the second or the diagram. It might be a side effect, but he was sure it wasn't the intended result.
"What about if you hold it full? Does it permanently increase the capacity?" Wolfe asked.
"Not for me, but it did for Uncle Ivan at the start. There is a chance that our affinity is just too low for what they were trying to teach." Roman shrugged.
Now that was an answer that made sense to Wolfe. Everyone knew that not all Witch-Blooded women were at the same level. They even had a failed student in their own Family. Looking at it that way, the Elders were like Melody. They had tried to improve their skills but lacked the ability.
The question now was if Wolfe could do any better.
Wolfe placed his fingertips on the diagram of the human body, and the charred remains of the page began to glow with soft light as magic flowed up his hand, then wrapped around his forearm, leaving it covered in a magical circle filled with runic writing.
Neither of the men in the room reacted to the sight at all while Wolfe stared at his arm, reading the only intelligible words.
[Wolfe Noxus] Noxus Clan Heir
After a few seconds, Uncle Ivan closed and carefully placed the thin book back on the shelf, where it blended in among the identically bound business reports and family census folders. Nobody would ever look for it there, as the information on that shelf would only ever matter to the head of the family.
Anyone looking for valuable information would start among the rare books or in the safe.
"I will show you to your room, and you can practice tonight. Someone will come to get you for breakfast, and I will teach you what I know in the morning." Roman decided before opening the door and leading the very confused Wolfe out into the hallway.