“What is this black tome, exactly?” Ethan murmured to himself.

  Despite delving deep into its mysteries for over a year, Ethan still hadn't even scratched the surface. Up until now, most of the pages remained blank, except for a few denoting the ritual he did a few weeks ago and the newly unveiled information concerning spirits.

  He flipped through the rest of the pages until there was no more, yet he didn't find anything new. Although he had encountered many spirits, from Elizabeth's snow one or even Lilianne's vines, none but the two, whose physical connection in this world he had absorbed, were represented on the page.

  Can it be... a Spirit Encyclopedia? Is there even such a thing?

  Throughout the long history of the Imperium and the even longer one of the Endless Library, many have tried to create a guide of all possible spirits that once travelled the world. However, this was an endless task as most spirits, although originating from the same concept, all had their own subtle differences dependent on their contractors.

  As they acclimated to this world and were fed mana transformed by the pact between contractor and spirit, some of their host's personality slowly seeped into them, subtly transforming them from what they were meant to be.

  As such, there was no way for the people of this world to honestly know a spirit's baseline. However, this black tome seemed to reveal a spirit’s true nature. Although Ethan couldn’t read much, he felt there was a wealth of information contained within.

  Somehow, this one entry seems more complete than the other...

  Ethan rapidly switched between the two, examining as much as he could, but it was plainly obvious. The entry for the light spirit Lux was much more thorough, going into much more detail about its concept and nature.

  In fact, Ethan seemed to be able to read over a fifth of the page, compared to only half of that when looking at the Dark Spirit Nox’s entry, while the rest remained mostly gibberish. There were even some blank spots remaining on the page, indicating some more would be uncovered eventually.

  I guess this has to do with the band at the bottom, but why did two characters appear for Lux when only one appeared for Nox? What's the difference between them?

  Although Ethan asked himself that, he knew the truth deep down. His understanding of Lux's concept deepened substantially when he blacked out for the second time. It wasn't as if he had an epiphany but purely because he had absorbed a spirit whose nature was similar.

  Does that mean my understanding of magic will grow the more spirit I absorb? In that case, the increase in mana capacity is just a bonus... Still, I can’t really go around stealing other people’s spirits...

  Ethan had reached a dilemma. On one hand, he wanted nothing more than to be able to use magic as he saw fit. He also had an insatiable curiosity he wished to quench, diving straight into the bottomless pit that was magic. However, he also didn’t possess the temperament necessary to discard everything needed to reach it. He still possessed some scruples; the young boy’s death only reinforced that notion.

  But then, an idea struck him. He couldn't help but smile.

  At first, Ethan wasn't interested in participating in the battle at the Devil's Horns, even though he was supposed to merely be in charge of the logistics. However, this was now also an opportunity.

  Although most spirits were conjured by mages to inhabit contract stones and would depart back as soon as their contractors perished, sometimes, spirits were reluctant to part with this world. They anchored themselves onto other creatures, surviving by feeding off them.

  Ethan believed this was the main reason for this time's operation.

  Most of the time, these hybrid creatures would remain far from other spirits, only for the simple hope that they would be left in peace. For example, the valley hidden between twin peaks, a wild and remote world where the Imperium's grasp didn't reach. Yet, it wasn't rare for some of them to wander away from their realm and into human settlement.

  And now, they were tasked with pushing them back.

  Ethan believed he could use this opportunity to appropriate these lost spirits before they were returned to the other side. It seemed the Imperium's goals aligned with his plans.

  Still, easier said than done... There's no way they'll allow a mere support to go strolling to the front lines, and even if I could, I have no way to contend against beasts that possess the powers of a spirit, no matter how mindless they might be...

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  Once again, Ethan faced setback after setback. His road to reaching the apex of this new form of magic was wrought with difficulty. Still, he didn’t despair as he had a trick up his sleeve, something he had concocted before even his run-in with his second spirit.

  From the recess of his clothes, Ethan extracted a dull grey stone. It was similar to a contract stone, except that the spirit within was already dead. Its essence had already returned beyond the veil, back to its source.

  However, some of its mana remained. It even changed the stone's nature, forging it into something much more durable but fragile at the same time. This was a spirit's corpse as it reached the end of its lifespan and chose to return to its world, leaving behind a part of itself, a shell of what it once was. It also solved Ethan's most significant problem with his new magic: casting time.

  In the previous battle, Ethan had remarked as such. If not for his opponent's inexperience and the instability of their bond, he would never have had the chance to even cast a single spell, much less have the time to picture the character in his mind. He knew that speed was of the essence in battle, and he had found a way to remedy that.

  If constructing the character is necessary to cast magic, then I only need to prepare it beforehand.

  Still, he knew that not every material would be able to sustain the strain of what those characters entailed. They represented the very foundation of the world, the concepts that made reality what it was. There was no way an ordinary piece of paper, or even a plank of wood, could bear it. Still, he couldn't very well just trust his instinct as he had only one dull stone—just one chance.

  As such, he needed to practice first. Besides, he was also interested in what would happen.

  He safely tucked the dull stone back into his clothes before clearing all extraneous items from his wooden desk, leaving only a large stack of blank paper, a bottle of ink, and a fountain pen.

  Ethan sat at the desk, eyes fixed on the blank page, as he emptied his mind, except for the character he was most familiar with, who took the entirety of his thoughts. He could see every line, imagine every break and angle, and repeat every stroke in his mind until he reached perfection—until the character came to life on its own. Only then did Ethan dip the pen into the ink bottle, extracting this liquid as dark as night.

  His first attempt was a catastrophe.

  Ink dripped from the pen's point, leaving large blobs all over the page. Every line was of a different thickness, making the complex character rather distorted. Lines that weren't supposed to touch were seen climbing onto each other, making the end result rather nondescript. It couldn't have been worse, even if he tried.

  Needless to say, nothing happened with this failure, except it cost him his concentration and a substantial amount of mana.

  Undeterred, Ethan didn’t falter. Instead, he took a few moments to recompose himself before trying again. He didn’t even feel the weight of this first failure. After all, his life was a string of failures and disappointments. What was one more added to the list?

  His second attempt improved slightly, yet it didn't amount to anything. It possessed none of the power it should have, and the mana he had infused into it at the moment of its creation had long dissipated into the void that was the black tome.

  Time passed as Ethan's failure mounted. Occasionally, he had to exit his small abode, if only to deal with minor matters concerning his upcoming departure. However, the real reason was merely that his mana reserves had run dry, and his concentration was shot. Somehow, he couldn't conjure the character when he reached that state. It was like a barrier was created between his knowledge and his mind.

  A week had now passed since his sister first told him about his task; only one remained. An uproar spread throughout the Academy as they were told they would be fighting on the front lines.

  Some students gleefully accepted the order, eager to prove themselves to their own families and the Imperium, while others were filled with reluctance. Not all wished for a military life. Some simply wanted to delve deep into research, wishing to uncover the mysteries still surrounding the spirit world and its connection to this plane.

  Still, none of the seniors were exempted as this order possessed the seal of not only the Academy's Dean but also the Archon and the Emperor himself. None were foolish enough to oppose the three highest authorities of the entire Imperium.

  As expected, Elizabeth had been granted the rank of Captain for this operation only. She was in charge of every staff member and soldier and under one officer, Major Lancaster. Some were reassured by the news, thinking their safety was assured.

  However, most couldn't help but remember Gloria's somehow savage expression when it was announced. They were the elites of all mage academies within the Imperium. They weren't that naive, and the gloominess that spread over the Academy in recent days spoke volumes of their state of mind.

  When all this happened, Ethan wasn't even present. All his preparations were already done, and he had no more time to waste. He spent his time trying again and again to manifest the character onto the page, and finally, he had made some progress.

  With each new iteration, the character's form reached further toward perfection. The hand that once seemed so foreign to him now moved just as he wished, and the pen had become an extension of his own body, just as the knife hidden inside his clothes was.

  Still, something remained missing. No matter how close to perfection it was, the character never took its final shape. It was halted just one step from completion.

  What am I missing?

  To avoid losing the feeling, Ethan made a few attempts at using magic by creating a character in his mind, but even that failed miserably. The pebbles he tried to join were split apart, but this time, he controlled the amount of mana he injected, resulting in a flash of light before they burst into sand.

  I did it more than once and even used it on myself. What changed?

  There was only one different thing: his state of mind. Back then, he was desperate. His entire brain capacity had been fixed on only one matter, and the consequence of failure was death. He needed to recreate that state if he wished to succeed in this endeavour.

  Fortunately, desperation wasn't foreign to him. If anything, it was a concept close to his heart. He only had to remember the days he trained under his sister's tutelage for his survival instinct to kick back in, allowing the world to slow down and the colours to fade; only black and white remained—the white paper and the ink at the tip of his hand.

  Seconds elapsed, yet they felt like hours. It was as if an entire day had passed in the span of a breath, yet the crisp image of a character of foreign origin was perfectly represented on the page, its meaning complex yet defined, its every line filled with mana, almost bursting from the page. And burst, they did.

  A flash of light occurred, blinding Ethan as he used his sleeve to cover his eyes. Once he opened them again, all that remained of this page was a small mound of dust scattered with only one breath. Still, Ethan was far from discouraged, as this was the expected outcome. Mere paper wouldn't be able to contain the amount of information contained with those lines, much less the mana he poured into them.

  Success! Ethan thought with a large smile on his lips.

  He even clenched his fist and made a small gesture of celebration. Still, this was but the first step among many. Yet this step was a historical one. None before him had been able to imprint a spell on an object without a spirit as an intermediary.