He opens the large door to the library and sits down on the chair. He puts his revolver on the table as usual and I put my MH rifle right next to his revolver. The rifle and the pistol look like David and Goliath. It’s so unwieldy in comparison.

“Where’s Stoner’s rifle?” Albert asks.

“In my room, my father doesn’t allow me to carry that rifle around,” I say.

Albert gives a heavy sigh. Then he murmurs, “That thing might give this family a chance to survive.”

“Excuse me?” I squint my eyes at him.

“Sorry, sorry, back to previous business. So, Helen, do you remember how magical spell works?” Albert asks.

I put my hand on my chin. How does a magical spell work? I don’t have any idea or any clue. The only clue that I have is that the chanting time is very short, considering that both Albert and Rachel can do magic at a moment's notice. I shake my head after that. I don’t know.

“Have you ever heard of a rune? Or a grimoire, in particular?” Albert asks.

I shake my head again.

“Rune magic is a spell that requires you to craft the magical spell by itself. It’s made by drawing magical formations consisting of words and shapes for the magical energy to work or to take any shape. A grimoire is bonded with one person.”

Grimoire? It’s a book filled with magical spells, isn’t it?

“What’s so special about grimoire?” I ask.

“It’s a book for storing your magical spell. It’s a very personalized item. Without a grimoire, you won’t be able to make any magical spell,” Albert says.

“Do you bring yours, then?” I ask.

Albert then grabs his leather bag and brings out a small thick book. It’s a very thick book, with its cover made from leather. It has no accessories but a pencil attached to it to the front of the book inside of a small leather pocket.

He puts the book on the table and I open the book. Immediately, I notice that I can’t even open it. The book stuck as if Albert put super glue on every single page. Is a grimoire like a personal diary where no one but the user can read it?

“It’s stuck, Albert,” I say.

“Really?” Albert opens the book without any difficulty. He then opens a page titled “Fire Lance” on that grimoire. I try to flip to the next page, but the same exact same thing happens. The page stuck like glue.

“Is this normal?” I ask him.

“Of course, a grimoire is as private as your dick,” Albert says.

I immediately glared at him with sharp vision. I don’t even have any in my past life, and he’s my teacher and I’m ten years old. Albert immediately puts his hand right above his mouth, realizing what he just said.

“Young miss, I’m really sorry, I don’t mean to say it.” He sighs. “Please forgive me for saying such an improper word in front of you.” He then yawns and lets out a really loud voice from his mouth.

“How long have you been awake?” I ask him.

“Ever since a bullet lands at your helmet, young miss,” Albert yawns again.

“So you haven’t slept for six days? How is that even possible?” I ask.

“Magic, and elixirs from Rosa,” Albert yawns.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“How did it even work?”

“Bunch of things, I don’t know what is inside of that elixir, but Rosa said it’s a new concoction the central just approved called methamphetamine. I’m awake, but I still feel tired, but I can’t close my eyes,” Albert comments as he yawns again.

Crystal meth. Nazi Germany used that back in the second world war to make their tankers and soldiers to be durable in their blitzkrieg march. It sure as hell will make someone not tired, but it’s a drug and the modern military has abandoned it. I use Modafinil myself during long operations back then, it’s more or less the same, but less impactful to overall health than crystal meth.

However, how much did he take? It will take a lot of meths to wake up for six days straight. It becomes concerning for his health. I hope Albert is alright, though. That’s a lot of drugs to consume, and why he needs to stay awake for six days straight?

“What did you do?” I ask.

“Chasing down the person that shoots you as your father’s order,” Albert answers.

“Did you catch him?” I ask.

“I did. Tracking him down for four days, and returns here to evade capture,” Albert says.

“Wow.”

“Yeah, your killer mistake is that he sleeps, I don’t,” Albert says.

I never think my teacher will be this badass. Anyway, how should I learn magic again? There’s the grimoire and there’s the writing that I partially understand. So… what should I do? Should I just copy it, or should I make my own?

“Albert, does a magical rune have a signature per each person? Just like how the blueprint is?”

“Ah, ownership is shared among magicians, due to how complicated to remake the spell itself. To add to the matter, a little adjustment won’t create too much deviation. You need to ask a mage about this, I’m just a materialmancer,” Albert explains.

“So, are you telling me copy and pasting is ok?” I ask.

“It’s fine,” He then puts his hand on top of his grimoire. “Utility Spell Unlock!”

“It’s fine,” Albert says as he put his head on top of the table. Not long after that, he closes his eyes then he sleeps. I hope my father isn’t angry if he finds Albert sleeping in the library. Then again, he was hunting down my assassin. What information did he get, though?

Where’s Helen’s grimoire anyway? I have my own doubt about the whereabouts of her grimoire. Heck, this is the first time I’ve ever taught how to use a magical spell in the first place. I stand up from my chair and walk towards the library’s door and knock on it.

A maid opens the door, looking at her, she seems to be barely older than Rachel, “Young miss, what do you need?”

“Do you know where I keep my grimoire?”

“Let me bring it to you, please wait,” she says.

I close the library door again and wait right next to Albert. He still carries his leather bag, and he seems not to want to let it go from his hands. The maid knocks on the library door again with a black book in her hands. “Here you go, young miss.”

“Thanks,” I nod. I put the book on the library’s table. It is a black book with two black belts on its cover that is made from black leather and steel. For a child’s grimoire, this looks a little bit too much, doesn’t it? Even though it’s covered in leather, when I knock on the book, it sounds like solid metal.

I try opening the grimoire, but it’s stuck. It’s stuck like glue and it feels like opening welded thin sheets of steel paper. Then, suddenly, something pricks my finger as I tried prying the book open. I immediately throw the book at the table and look at my left index finger. It’s slit by something, but it’s not deep, luckily. The book slams the table really hard and Albert doesn’t wake up.

Suddenly, the book is surrounded by gray light. I put the book in my hand and the gray light disappears into thin air. I open the first page, and the first page contains my personal information, basically, the usual status screen with some modifications.

Grimoire Owner: Helen

Level: 3

HP: 100%

MP: 100%

Class: [Materialmancer]

Skill: [Material Manipulation I]

Spells: [Finger Fire]

General Health Status: [Healthy]

[Quest {1}]

Finger fire? I open the next page of the grimoire. The first page is titled finger fire, with a circle with multiple lines stretching on it, forming magical runes. However, the bottom is the activation command for the spell itself.

[Finger Fire]

Activation: Finger Snap

Deactivation: Finger Snap

Hmm? I snap my right thumb with my right middle finger. A fire appears right above my index finger. The fire is small, and it’s just like a lighter. I put my left hand right next to the fire, and it feels hot. I snap my finger again, and the fire disappears. It’s pretty convenient, isn’t it?

I snap my finger, and a fire appears, then I snap my finger again, and the fire disappears. It’s fun. How does this thing even work in the first place? I keep snapping the finger because it is very satisfying. However, I still have tasks to do.

I open Albert’s grimoire and grab the pencil attached to his grimoire. I start by copying the first page of the spell on Albert’s book that he opened earlier. There seem to be more than twenty pages to copy, but well, let’s see what those spells are.