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Chapter 16: Ancient Magic

Chapter 16: Ancient Magic

CRASH!

The table in front of him was hurled into the wall.

Medicine bottles and cups fell to the stone floor and shattered, sending the smell of herbs spreading quickly through the room.

Aldric sat on the bed, his expression dark. The motion had pulled at the wound on his chest, and a red stain quickly seeped through the bandages, but he only glanced down before ignoring it.

Since returning, he had been trying to piece together everything that happened at Grail Pass.

The more he thought, the more absurd it all became.

Leviana had woken nearly a year earlier than what he knew. Cassian hadn’t walked into the ambush at all; instead, he had prepared a decoy convoy to lead Aldric’s men into a trap.

Catrina Veyr was even more abnormal.

Black Rose wasn’t supposed to officially appear for many more years, yet she already had a fully formed force. Catrina’s own strength also far exceeded what it should have been at this point in the storyline.

Most troubling of all was her attitude toward Lathel.

Aldric clenched his fist.

"That Extra again."

In his memory, Lathel was nothing more than an extremely faint supporting character. The mute didn’t even survive long enough for the important part of the story to truly begin.

Aldric had once skimmed through the relevant information and forgotten it almost immediately.

A character like that shouldn’t have any value.

But now Leviana was keeping him by her side.

Catrina also seemed to have known him for a very long time.

Those two things alone were enough to irritate Aldric.

"Have all the supporting characters gone mad? Why won’t any of them act the way they’re supposed to?"

"Because you’re being too hasty."

A soft female voice echoed inside his mind.

Aldric paused, then looked down at the black ring on his finger.

"Master."

A light laugh carried through.

"You know part of the future, so you’ve gradually come to believe everyone around you must act exactly as you remember. But you’ve been the one actively changing a great many things. When the causes differ, it’s hardly surprising that the outcomes shift as well."

Aldric frowned.

"It’s just the Butterfly Effect. The important plotlines still have to exist."

"Perhaps. But if every time you encounter something unexpected you lose your composure like today, the advantage of knowing the future will sooner or later become a weakness."

Aldric didn’t like that assessment, but this time he didn’t immediately argue back.

He knew Morgana wasn’t entirely wrong.

He had already seized a few fortuitous encounters ahead of schedule, made contact with people he wasn’t supposed to meet yet, and altered certain events to build his forces earlier.

A small amount of deviation in the future was acceptable.

The problem was that the current level of deviation was larger than he had anticipated.

Aldric sat down on the bed and looked at his hand.

A small fireball immediately appeared on his palm.

The flame quickly shifted shape, stretching into an arrow one moment, then condensing into a pinpoint of light the next. He switched elements, letting a thin blade of wind wrap around his fingertips.

These were all ordinary spells Aldric had learned long ago.

With his talent, basic techniques posed almost no difficulty anymore. He had even mastered several mid-level combat spells that people his age still lacked the ability to use.

But Aldric wasn’t satisfied with any of it.

He closed his fist.

The flame vanished.

"Master, I can learn the current magic on my own. What I want to know about is what you mentioned before."

Morgana fell silent.

Aldric continued slowly:

"Ancient Magic."

The first time he heard the concept, it had immediately caught his attention.

According to Morgana, the magic system currently used across the continent was only a version that had been simplified over thousands of years. Many structures, runic scripts, and methods of channeling mana had been lost, while what remained was modified so that ordinary mages could learn it.

That made modern magic more accessible.

In exchange, its ceiling was also far lower.

Aldric didn’t want that ceiling.

"Fireballs, Wind Blades, and the elemental spells at the academy are only enough to get me through the current phase. You once said Ancient Magic can directly intervene in the structure of mana, even surpass rules that modern mages consider immutable."

The corner of his mouth curved.

"I want to learn that."

A soft laugh emerged from the ring.

"Finally no longer satisfied with children’s toys?"

"I was never satisfied."

"Then why do you think I haven’t taught you yet?"

Aldric looked at the ring.

"That’s exactly what I want to ask."

Morgana was quiet for a moment before speaking. "Because your current body isn’t capable of using Ancient Magic."

Aldric frowned.

"I can already use mid-level magic."

"And?"

Morgana’s voice still carried its air of indifference.

"Modern magic places most of the burden on the spell structure. The mage only needs to supply mana, complete the incantation or construct the array, and the structure handles the rest."

"Ancient Magic doesn’t coddle the user like that."

Aldric listened in silence.

"To use it, the body must directly withstand a flow of mana compressed to a density many times higher. Weak magic veins will be torn apart, an unstable mana core will shatter, and a body that’s too frail won’t even survive the first stage of constructing the Archaic Script."

"Archaic Script?"

Aldric’s attention sharpened at once.

"That’s a core component of Ancient Magic. You don’t need to know too much about it yet. When your foundation meets the requirements, I’ll teach you myself."

Aldric was clearly not satisfied.

"Master, you once said I have very high talent."

"I said your talent isn’t bad. I never said your current body is already perfect."

Morgana laughed.

"You grew up in an era where magic has weakened far too much. The family that raised you did so by the standards of a genius in this age, while what I’m preparing to pass on belongs to a different era entirely."

Aldric didn’t grow angry at the mockery this time.

On the contrary, he became even more interested.

The harder it was to learn, the more it proved that Ancient Magic’s power far exceeded anything others possessed.

"If the issue is foundation, how long do I need to improve?"

"Relying on your family’s resources? A few years at least."

Aldric’s expression darkened at once.

"Too long."

"I know."

"Is there a faster way?"

"Of course."

Morgana answered as though she had been waiting for that question from the start.

"The Magic Academy under the Church."

Aldric’s eyes changed immediately.

"The Academy?"

"The Church has existed long enough to retain a portion of resources from earlier eras. The Mana Spring beneath the Academy can refine magic veins, their Holy Light rituals are suitable for strengthening the body, and their medicinal stores hold a few things that even your family would struggle to purchase."

Morgana paused briefly.

"If you know how to take what you need, you can compress several years into a few months."

Aldric began to think.

He naturally knew about the Church’s Magic Academy.

In the storyline, it was one of the most important areas of the early phase.

He even knew more than what Morgana was telling him.

Beneath the old library, a hidden ruin existed.

Within the Mana Spring lay an area that no one in the current era had ever discovered.

A holy artifact that would choose its master in the future was also resting there.

On top of that, there were several important characters Aldric was originally meant to meet later.

If he arrived earlier, those fortuitous encounters would still be unclaimed.

The corner of Aldric’s mouth slowly curved.

"It seems I really should visit the Church sooner."

"You were already planning to go?"

"Just at a later time."

"Then change the plan."

Morgana spoke very calmly: "If the future has already begun to deviate from your memory, continuing to sit and wait for the original timing is the foolish choice. Strengthen your body first, then I’ll begin teaching you Ancient Magic."

Aldric nodded.

"Agreed."

But he didn’t immediately call for someone to prepare his luggage.

Morgana noticed quickly.

"What else do you want to do?"

Aldric turned his head toward the window.

In his mind appeared Leviana.

More precisely, the ice-attribute magic veins that existed deep within her body.

Leviana had once been a Sage.

Though five years of coma had drastically reduced her power, her foundation and bloodline still remained. House Avarenne’s magic veins were renowned for their purity and energy capacity, and Leviana was one of the most outstanding talents the family had produced in generations.

According to the storyline Aldric knew, those veins would eventually become a critical part of his own foundation.

If his current goal was to prepare his body for Ancient Magic, Leviana’s magic veins became even more valuable.

Morgana was silent for a while, then asked:

"You’re still thinking about that woman’s magic veins?"

Aldric laughed.

"I was planning to take them later."

"But?"

"I’ve changed my mind."

His eyes turned greedy.

"You just said my body isn’t strong enough to learn Ancient Magic. If Leviana’s magic veins can help me build my foundation faster, why should I wait?"

Morgana didn’t answer right away.

"Master?"

"I’m wondering whether you still remember what just happened at Grail Pass."

"Of course I remember."

"And you still want to make a move on Leviana?"

Aldric smiled coldly.

"Failing once doesn’t mean I should give up what belongs to me."

"Belongs to you?"

"In the future it was meant to be mine."

His voice was so calm it sounded as if he were discussing an item that had already been labeled with his name.

"The current Leviana is just someone who recently woke from a vegetative state. Even if she once reached the Sage tier, she can’t use much of her strength. And House Avarenne still hasn’t taken her back to the territory."

"This is the best possible timing."

Morgana said: "You’re being too greedy."

Aldric only smirked.

"Knowing where a treasure lies and letting someone else take it, that’s what’s stupid."

He braced himself and stood. The wound on his chest immediately sent a sharp stab of pain through him, briefly shifting his expression, but it couldn’t break the smile that was slowly forming.

Aldric had made his decision.

The Church’s Magic Academy was the next step.

Ancient Magic was the power he truly wanted.

But before leaving this place, he needed to prepare a gift for himself.

A foundation strong enough that when Morgana began teaching Ancient Magic, he would surpass every genius of his generation right from the starting line.

Aldric’s gaze turned toward the area where Leviana was staying.

"The magic veins of a Sage..."

He smiled softly.

"If they were going to be mine sooner or later, what difference does taking them a little early make?"

Inside the ring, Morgana said nothing.

Aldric didn’t care.

In his mind, a new plan had already begun to take shape.