Having already lost faith, Apolo reluctantly proceeded to open the final document. To his pleasant surprise, this one was also a secret document, so only the seal stamped at the top of the parchment could be seen. Following the same steps as before but with lower expectations, Apolo unlocked the secret document, and a rather peculiar message began to take shape on the page.
> "To the fool who's stuck reading this:
>
> Rather than waste my time recounting this crap, the truth is, I'm likely to be killed by the theocrats in a few weeks. So, I ask you to keep your blood in check and not avenge me. Or at least don't do it in such a stupid way that the king of all idiots ends up reaping the rewards while your kids are getting screwed over...
>
> Secondly, and not any less important for that matter, I wanted to take advantage of the profound clarity that comes with nearness to death to offer some advice to the next unfortunate soul idiotic enough to willingly become a wizard.
>
> The first piece of advice for our dear black sheep is also a question. Don't underestimate this advice just because it's a question. In fact, this question, even without an answer, is more valuable than my own life. So, tell me, young novice: What's the most valuable thing for a wizard?"
>
> The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Apolo was stunned as he read his ancestor's letter. This document was directly addressed to the current head of the family. However, his ancestor seemed unwilling to spare any insults. On top of that, the document contained extremely sensitive information: the theocracy was one of the "empires" vying for control of the world against the emperor. Even more crucial was the fact that indeed, his family had gone to war against the theocracy a millennium ago. What little Apolo knew about that conflict was that it arose from a diplomatic incident. And according to the contents of this letter, it would seem that his ancestor's death had ignited the flames of that war.
—Do I actually have to respond to a dead person? —Apolo whispered as he reread the secret document. At the outset, his ancestor had asked him a question, and the text explicitly stated that this was the first piece of advice. So, in principle, there should be a second piece of advice. Moreover, his ancestor hadn't left a signature at the end of the document, making it quite possible that he was supposed to reply. Although the possibility existed that the document had been censored, meaning Apolo couldn't read any more of it and would never find out about the other "advice."