“Absolutely!” Karven replies with a warm smile. “Anything you need, Miss Felicia. Just let me know which book you’d like, and I’ll fetch it for you.”

“Hmmm…” I tap my chin, thinking. What should I read? What interests me most right now?

Then it hits me. Magic! I really want to learn about the magic system in this world!

“Is there a beginner’s book about magic?” I ask, a bit embarrassed. “I’m totally new to it… but I’d love to learn!”

“Oh, so you’re looking for a book on the basics and fundamentals?” Karven asks

“Yes! Exactly!” I nod enthusiastically.

“Alright, please wait here for a moment,” he says, before disappearing into the library to search for the perfect book.

Within minutes, he returns with a small book in hand, which he hands to me. I glance down, examining the cover. The title: Arcane.

“What’s wrong, Miss Felicia?” Karven asks

“Oh, nothing!” I laugh, feeling a bit silly. “It’s just… smaller than I expected. And it’s so new-looking!”

For some reason, I’d imagined a magic book to be a huge, ancient tome, with pages thick enough to gather dust and heavy enough to knock someone out if it fell on them! But this book is small—just a few hundred pages.

Karven chuckles. “Ah, that’s just the first chapter we pulled from the original. The full volume is so large it takes two people to carry it!”

“Oh, I see!” I say, grinning as I clutch the book to my chest. “Thank you so much, Mister Karven!”

“My pleasure, Miss Felicia. Good luck on your magical journey!”

With the book in hand, I hurry back to the cozy basement room, hop onto the bed, and settle in beside Eris, who’s still asleep.

Alright! I take a deep breath, excitement bubbling up as I open the book and begin reading the first page.

——————-

Arcane, first chapter.

The book is highly detailed yet very easy to understand. The concept of magic, to my surprise, is quite simple.

First, what is magic?

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Magic is a natural force that has existed since the beginning of the universe, brought to life through the manipulation of mana—the energy flowing through all things.

By harnessing this force, a person can perform an incredible range of feats. From simple spells like summoning a spark of fire, creating small orbs of light, or making objects lighter, to complex abilities like controlling the weather or generating explosions powerful enough to level mountains.

The possibilities are endless, limited only by a person’s mana reserves, the attribute of their mana core, and their knowledge of the arcane.

Then, what is mana core?

The mana core functions in a mage’s system much like the heart in the circulatory system. It generates and circulates mana, powering magical spells, and can be strengthened through training, specialized potions, or herbs. Each mana core is aligned with a specific attribute, or elemental affinity, which determines the type of magic the mage can wield.

Most individuals have a mana core with just one attribute, allowing them to cast only one type of magic. For instance, a mage with a fire-type core can cast fire spells, while a mage with a water-type core is limited to water-based spells.

And so, how many attributes are there?

There are eight main attributes: fire, water, earth, wind, space, time, light, and darkness.

But the real answer is, we don’t know. This is because each attribute can exist in countless forms. A fire, as simple as it is, can be so many different types of fire. A healing fire, a purifying fire, an explosion fire, or even a cold fire….

Two people might have fire-type mana cores, yet their magic may be quite different.

The same is with water. When it comes to water, it can be healing water, corrosive water, cleansing water, or ice.

So far, thousands of unique mana core types have been discovered, with new variations emerging every day.

I wonder… what attribute my mana core is.

———————————

“Hmmm… so you want to learn magic?”

“Eeek!” I yelp, practically jumping out of my skin.

It’s Eris’s voice! She startled me right out of my magical daydreams. I was so absorbed in the book that I’d completely tuned out everything around me—even Eris lying right next to me!

“Eris! When did you wake up?” I ask, trying to calm my racing heart.

“Hihi, just a few minutes ago,” she says with a grin. “You know, I love how your brows furrow when you’re concentrating so hard. It’s adorable!”

“Eh? My brows? Do I really do that?” I ask, touching my forehead, feeling a little self-conscious.

“Oh, yes, you do,” Eris chuckles, her tail swishing playfully.

But then a thought hits me. “Wait a minute!” I narrow my eyes. “Did you say anything else besides my brows?”

“Yep,” she says, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “I said you were very cute.”

My cheeks immediately heat up, and I cover my face. “Aaaah! Stop! Stop teasing me like that!”

“Hihi,” Eris laughs, clearly enjoying herself. “You blush so easily! That’s really cute too!”

“A-Anyway!” I stammer, desperate to change the subject. “Eris, can you use magic? What’s your mana core attribute?”

“Oh, my attribute?” she says casually, “Darkness.”

My jaw drops.

Darkness!

I expected something like ice magic, considering how her eyes are so blue, but darkness magic? That’s on a whole new level of cool!

“Woah! That’s so awesome!” I squeal. “C-Can you… show me?” I look up at her with wide, hopeful eyes.

But Eris shakes her head, still smiling. “Nope.”

“Ehhh?” I groan, crushed by disappointment. “Please? Just a little?”

I try begging, pleading, and even attempting my best kitty eyes, but Eris doesn’t budge. No matter how much I plead, she keeps her lips sealed and her darkness magic under wraps.

So, now I know she can wield darkness magic… but what kind of darkness magic it is? I have absolutely no clue!