Leo lay sprawled on his bed, staring at the ceiling as the events of the meeting replayed in his mind. Two crucial pieces of information stood out. The first one felt so heavy and dangerous, that he didn’t dare let his thoughts linger on it for too long. The second however, gnawed at his curiosity.

‘I need to check the library tomorrow. If the Codex Arcanum is just sitting on a shelf, freely accessible, then I’ve essentially wasted fifty gold coins.’

Deciding it was a problem for tomorrow, Leo forced himself to close his eyes and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

…

The following day, Leo woke up early. He reached into his bag and pulled out the ring.

‘Time to test this.’

He slipped the ring onto his finger, recalling Mr. Crow’s description: a B rank magic item that enhances the wearer’s focus and can store a single spell for later use. But it came with a cost—the mana required to release the stored spell was three times the usual amount and it brought a persistent headache.

‘Why is it rated B rank then? It sounds simple.’

The ring wasn’t an enchanted item; it was a magic item, alive in its own way, much like his Sword of Light.

Closing his eyes, Leo injected his mana into the ring. Deep within he felt something… waiting. Suddenly, his focus sharpened his thoughts aligning with crystal clarity. It was as if he’d used three Calm Gems simultaneously. Every distraction vanished and the world seemed sharper, more defined.

With heightened focus, Leo sensed the presence in the ring—it was the ring itself, patiently waiting for its master’s command. After a brief moment of consideration, he cast Courage aimlessly, mentally directing the spell toward the ring. The ring responded drawing in the mana from the spell as though absorbing it directly.

Leo raised his hand and channeled his mana into the ring. A glowing circle appeared midair and the Courage spell activated on him.

His eyes widened in astonishment.

‘In midair?’

Suddenly, a sharp buzz filled his head and the ring’s glow faded. Sweat beaded on his forehead as exhaustion set in.

‘Now I understand why it’s considered B rank—and why it was so cheap. For a B rank mage, midair casting is standard, making this ring nearly useless. But for me, it’s invaluable.’

He studied the ring carefully.

‘The problem is the mana cost. My mana pool is far too low. One activation nearly drained me completely. I need to find a way to increase my mana capacity.’

Deciding it was too early to rely on the ring, Leo slipped it off and lay back on his bed. The headache and mana depletion left him drained and he decided to skip his morning exercises to avoid drawing suspicion.

After a hearty breakfast and some rest, Leo finally felt a bit better and attended his warrior class as usual. Though he had emptied his mana, he hadn’t used it for too long, so the expected headache didn’t follow.

About an hour before the end of the class, Leo approached Faleria.

“Ms. Faleria, can I have half an hour at the end of class today?”

She raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. Leo rarely, if ever, asked for favors. After a brief pause, she nodded. “Alright.”

With permission granted, Leo hurried to the library once the class ended. He navigated through the towering shelves, moving methodically from section to section until he finally stumbled upon the book in the science section.

The Codex Arcanum.

Its spine was unassuming and when Leo pulled it from the shelf and flipped it open, he was greeted with thin, delicate pages.

‘A B rank book… that means it can corrupt me.’

The weight of that thought made him hesitate. Carefully placing the book back in its spot, Leo turned and walked briskly to find Samuel.

“Mr. Samuel, do you know anything about the Codex Arcanum?”

Samuel’s eyebrows shot up, his expression a mixture of surprise and curiosity. “A little. Why do you ask?”

“The name caught my attention. What exactly is it?”

“Well,” Samuel began, leaning back slightly as he spoke, “it’s said to be a magical artifact—a book containing every known spell from over three hundred years ago. Rumor has it that it belonged to an archmage who died under mysterious circumstances. The book doesn’t just list spells, Leo. Supposedly, you can ask it directly about any spell and it’ll provide the information you need—without even requiring you to write the spell’s name.”

Leo’s eyes widened slightly. Ask it? Like searching the Internet?

“Why is it so thin, though?”

Samuel nodded as if anticipating the question. “That’s the thing—it doesn’t need to hold physical pages for every spell. You ask, it answers. Simple as that.”

“And why is it classified as B rank?”

“Because if you were to look up an A rank spell—or worse, something forbidden—you could get corrupted just by seeing the information.”

Leo nodded slowly, processing the information. “That makes sense. Thanks, Mr. Samuel.”

Leo left the library leaving Samuel still surprised and a little worried.

Deep in thought, Leo made his way to the kitchen.

If I can actually ‘ask’ the Codex questions, can I filter the results? Like, specify lower-rank spells only? If that’s possible… this could be an insanely powerful tool.

In the kitchen, Gery and Liamond sat at the small table, sipping their coffee and chatting quietly.

“Oh, hey, Leo!” Liamond greeted him with a casual wave.

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“Hello,” Leo replied absently, barely glancing at them as he moved to the cooling box.

He grabbed a prepared sandwich, ate it mechanically while still lost in his thoughts and walked right back out of the kitchen without another word.

Gery turned to Liamond, eyebrows raised. “What’s with him?”

Liamond shrugged. “No clue.”

Leo walked briskly toward the grand cathedral for his enchanting class, his thoughts buzzing with excitement. The prospect of owning the Codex Arcanum next week filled him with anticipation, but he knew the wait would feel unbearably long if he let himself dwell on it. The Ring of Clarity offered little consolation, as its current usefulness to him was almost negligible.

Fortunately, as Cristina began drawing a new spell diagram on the board, Leo’s focus shifted entirely to the intricate patterns and runes. For now, the Codex Arcanum was pushed to the back of his mind.

Cristina stood at the front of the class, her voice steady and confident as she gestured to the magic circle, rune on the board.

“This spell is called Enhanced Eyes. "It’s relatively simple but extremely versatile. To use it, you also need to learn a new magic word called ‘Truth’. By enchanting your eyes, you’ll be able to see up to five hundred meters away with perfect clarity, as if the object or person were right in front of you. But that’s not all—you’ll also be able to hear conversations happening at that distance, as if you were standing right there.”

The class erupted with excited murmurs, students exchanging wide-eyed glances. Cristina, noticing their enthusiasm quickly raised a hand for silence and added in a sharper tone:

“However, use this spell cautiously. Most spells like this have counters. For example, if you accidentally focus on an illusionist’s mark, you could fall under their spell without even realizing it. And both Light and Divination paths have spells specifically designed to detect and disrupt spying attempts.”

The students sobered at her warning, their excitement tempered by caution. Satisfied, Cristina pointed at the spell diagram on the board.

“Right, begin inscribing the runes. Channel your mana. We'll decipher the magic word as we go. Once the structure is stable, activate the spell.”

Leo already knew ‘Truth’, he worked diligently, carefully etching the intricate symbols onto his practice parchment. His first two attempts fizzled out—the delicate runes crumbled under his unstable mana flow, leaving faint scorch marks on the parchment. On his third try however, the rune glowed with a steady light and the spell flared to life. His vision snapped into sharp focus, abruptly zooming in on a tiny crack spiderwebbing across the far corner of the classroom's stained glass window.

‘It’s too zoomed in!’

He squinted and adjusted the flow of his mana instinctively. As he modulated the energy, the image shifted—zooming out, then back in—until he found a balance.

‘So the mana flow controls the range… interesting.’

Leo grinned slightly as he deactivated the spell, his mind already racing with applications.

‘This could be extremely useful during patrols.’

His thoughts wandered to Edmond. Leo recalled the faint glow in Edmond’s eyes on multiple occasions during their patrols.

‘Captain doesn’t use enchantments… could it be a similar spell from the Light path?’

He filed the thought away for later and activated the spell again. As he fine-tuned the mana flow, another idea sparked in his mind.

‘What if I could combine this spell with heat vision of my previous world? If I could see heat signatures and still hear conversations… could I listen through walls? Should I ask Ms. Loup about this?’

Leo glanced briefly at Cristina but hesitated.

‘No. I’ll wait until I have the Codex Arcanum. I’ll check there first. If I can’t find anything, then I’ll ask her.’

His concentration was broken by a hesitant voice.

“Uh… Mr. Mantine? Could you help me?”

Leo turned to see Jimmie, his face scrunched in frustration.

“Mr. Mantine, how do you control this spell? I can’t seem to keep it active.”

Leo offered him an encouraging smile.

“Of course. First, focus on activating the spell and keeping the mana flow steady. You need to feel your mana and guide it through the runes while maintaining the activation simultaneously.”

Jimmie frowned. “How do I feel my mana and keep the spell running at the same time?”

“With practice,” Leo replied calmly, his smile never fading.

Jimmie nodded determinedly and turned back to his parchment, beginning another attempt.

Leo watched him for a moment before returning to his own practice. His mind, however, kept drifting back to the Codex Arcanum. If his idea worked, he might be on the verge of discovering something groundbreaking.

After half an hour, class was dismissed. Leo said goodbye to Jimmie and made his way toward the Association for his patrol. As he walked, he practiced the Enhanced Eye spell, finding it surprisingly entertaining. The distant sounds of conversations, once muffled by distance, now came through clearly as if the speakers were just a few feet away.

A wicked smile spread across his face as he experimented. Combining this with heat vision... that could be a potent combination. But first, he needed to better understand magic circles and their intricacies.

As Leo got ready and went for his patrol, Edric ever observant, noticed the subtle shift in his demeanor.

“Captain,” Edric asked, his brow furrowing slightly, “why are you looking around like that?”

Leo grinned, his eyes still scanning the surroundings. “You have sharp eyes.” He paused, his gaze lingering on the distant rooftops before turning fully to Edric. “I’m testing a new spell.”

The faint glow in Leo’s eyes made the hairs on the back of Edric's neck prickle. The rest of the patrol went as usual. Once it was over, Leo made his way home,

…

Valion walked down the vast echoing corridor of his mansion, the polished floors gleaming beneath his polished black suit. His white shirt peeked from under the coat, crisp and perfectly pressed, while his black formal shoes clicked with each step. His tall frame, blond hair and striking features made him an object of admiration, not only within the Magic Kingdom but across the world. At least, that’s what he liked to believe.

When he reached the grand entrance hall a flurry of activity greeted him. The space was filled with guests, mingling and chatting, their voices blending in a murmur of excitement. As the son of an archmage, Valion carried a certain level of respect wherever he went—though, in his mind, it was his handsome face that truly drew the crowd.

A group of well-dressed guests spotted him and immediately bowed slightly in his direction. “Mr. Vulpeia,” they greeted him.

Valion nodded with practiced grace, offering a slight dip of his head in return. It was a gesture of respect, but to him, it was merely a confirmation of the attention he craved.

This happened time and again as he made his way through the hall, each group offering their reverence and many women stealing longing glances. There were whispers of a rumor that Valion was looking for a woman to marry, which led every lord in the kingdom to bring their daughters in hopes of catching his eye.

As he ascended the grand staircase to his room a group of young women followed, their footsteps quickening as they neared him. They giggled and nudged each other, trying to get his attention.

“Mr. Vulpeia, would you join us for a walk?” one asked, her voice light and hopeful.

“Mr. Vulpeia, we’re hosting a gala next week. Will you honor us with your presence?” another said, practically pushing her way forward.

Valion smiled politely, nodding and returning their gaze with practiced charm. It was a game he knew all too well, the attention flattering yet predictable.

Reaching the door to his room, he turned around and with a wave of his hand, gently but firmly dismissed the girls. “Ladies, if you’ll excuse me, I have urgent matters to attend to.” His tone was calm but firm, sending a signal that his time was limited.

The disappointed sighs of the women followed him as he closed the door behind him. Alone in his room, he went to a large mirror that seemed entirely ordinary at first glance, its reflective surface smooth and flawless. But to Valion, it was anything but normal. This mirror had been enchanted with a fusion of pure magic and necromancy, a dark link to a hidden realm that only he could activate.

Closing his eyes, Valion whispered an incantation under his breath, the words barely audible. The mirror shimmered with an eerie glow, and when he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a shadowy place—an abyss that seemed to stretch on endlessly, cold and foreboding. Before him, a throne made of ice stood and seated upon it was a woman. Her face was obscured by a shadow, her long white dress flowing elegantly around her, and atop her head sat a grand, pointed hat.

Valion knelt on one knee, his expression now serious, the playful smile gone. “My lady,” he said, his voice low with respect.

The woman's voice echoed around him, ethereal and haunting. “Valion,” she said, the sound as though it came from everywhere and nowhere at once. “The plan is almost ready to begin. Go to the Kingdom of Light.”

“As you command my lady,” Valion replied without hesitation, his voice steady but filled with devotion.

After a brief moment, the shadows dissolved and he was back in his room. His face remained grim, the weight of his mission settling upon him. The long-awaited moment had finally arrived.