The Book Eating Magician Chapter 8:

What does this book taste like? #4

Theo first touched the back of his head before examining his palms, which had no calluses unlike Alfred’s .  He had only left for 20 minutes, but his body already felt unfamiliar . This meant that the memory of the hero called Alfred Bellontes was deeply ingrained in him .

Even now, it felt like a blue flash of light would emerge from his fingertips .

‘No, is it possible right now?’

Theo aimed his finger impulsively .  This was the secret of the war hero, Alfred Bellontes… the flash of death which had shot and killed even first-rated knights .

That feeling was still vivid .  The magic power would be pulled from the fixed magic circles inside the blood vessels of the body, then the magic power would take action outside the body .

Pajijik .

“Ugh!”

There was a pang, like his skin was burning from the inside .

His arm was different from Alfred’s . It was much weaker than the arm which had been conditioned for many years, perhaps even decades . The formation of the Magic Missile caused several of Theo’s blood vessels to rupture .  If Theo tried to reproduce Alfred’s output, then his entire right arm would be broken .

Fortunately, Theodore Miller wasn’t that arrogant .

He had asked whether it was possible for the him, as he was now, and the memory of Alfred had nodded .  Simultaneously, as Theo’s blood vessels were ruptured, a blue flash popped out .

Piing!

The blue light, which was thin and hazy compared to Alfred’s, shot through the window of the library and disappeared .  However, the power was double or even three times that of conventional Magic Missiles . Even so, the amount of magic power consumed wasn’t much different from conventional ones .

This was the essence of [Ballistics Magic] and the art of Alfred Bellontes, which had been studied by many magicians .

“…Really, it is a success . ”

Theo looked at his index finger with trembling eyes after managing to reproduce it .  His forearm was throbbing from the reaction to the Magic Missile, while bruises appeared where the blood vessels had burst .

Anyway, Theo couldn’t care less about that right now .  He was the academy’s long-time dunce, someone who had received the repeater letter three times .

No one expected anything from him . Even Professor Vince, the only one to recognize his talent, had eventually turned his head away . The common magic which anyone else could do wasn’t possible for Theo .

He had resigned himself to it . It was too difficult to chase after others, so he had given up .  Maybe that was why…

The emotion boiling inside him was a joy he had never felt in his entire life .  An unknown joy tickled his spine at the thought of mastering a magic that no one else had managed .

‘I can do it . I can!’

Theo had been betrayed by his talent and neglected in reality .  He had gone five years without anyone stretching a hand out to him .  Everybody in the academy had called Theodore a loser, and he didn’t have the power to contradict that . He had just shut himself up in an old library .

However, it could be different from now on .  No, it would be different .

“…Good . ”

Theo breathed for a while as he suppressed his heated emotions, then he looked down at his left hand .  Today, it had swallowed two books—

Ignite and Alfred-style Magic Missile .

Thanks to this achievement, which was beyond expectations, even the gross tongue seemed cute to Theo .

“Gluttony . ”

The tongue swung at his call .

–Question, do you have?

Theo nodded without hesitation .  The two magics he’d learned were enough for today . The magic he got from Alfred Bellontes was greater than the entire profit of the past week .  Furthermore, Theodore examined himself calmly and realized that there was no other spell he needed to ‘consume’ at the moment .

‘I have enough of the 2nd Circle magic right now . With some exceptions like Afred’s magic, I don’t need to feed it any more . Now, I need magic power that can help me reach the 3rd Circle . ’

If magic was a flame, magic power was its fuel .  He couldn’t use magic spells if he didn’t have enough magic power . Conversely, if his magic power was huge, poor control could cause terrible havoc .

Possessing almost limitless magic power was the reason why dragons reigned as the strongest species .

If Theo had been born in a wealthy family, then he wouldn’t need to think about this .  He could gain large amounts of magic power if he bought reagents .  It was said that the effect decreased the more it was taken, but it would be enough to fill the amount of magic power required for the 3rd Circle .

The problem was that the amount of money needed to buy that many reagents would require selling the Miller estate five times .

So, he asked Gluttony, “I would like to know how to increase magic power . ”

The ancient grimoire… A relic from a time which wasn’t recorded in history books… Among the numerous knowledge which Gluttony had consumed, Theo believed there would be a way to increase magic power without taking reagents .

–…… .

Gluttony was silent for a moment .

“What, do you not know?” Theo asked, suddenly anxious .

Gluttony then replied in an unpleasant, mocking tone,

–Silly, guy .  Question, too verbose .  Magic power, over 100 ways, increase it .  And, I can tell, you, only one thing .

“T-There are over 100 ways?”

Theodore’s mouth fell open with astonishment .

The Tower of Magic announced that there were only three ways to increase one’s amount of magic power: eating flora and fauna which contained magic; taking alchemy-refined reagents; or receiving a magic circle from another magician .

All these methods demanded an expensive price, so he had never dared to think about them .  Yet, apparently, there were over 100 methods .  Additionally, Gluttony said he could only tell Theo one method .

“T-Then what should I do?”

If there were 100 methods, then Theo could find one which suited him .  Gluttony urged in a trembling voice,

–Conditions, attach .  I, narrow down, answer .

“A condition… for example?”

–Most, efficient .

“Indeed . ”

If the adverb ‘most’ was attached, then there could only be one answer . Having two or more answers would violate the meaning of the word ‘most’ .  Theo understood Gluttony’s explanation and hesitated for a moment before deciding .

“Teach me the most efficient method that I can use right now . ”

No matter how excellent the method, it was useless if it was impossible for him .

For example, it would be useless for him to receive advice which required the use a dragon heart or forbidden black magic . Moreover, he could ask for the most efficient method in general and something that would benefit another species could pop out .

So, Theo narrowed the range . This allowed for Gluttony to tell Theo the most efficient method that was possible for him .

–I understand .

The familiar voice was then heard .

 

[A hidden feature of Gluttony has been unlocked! As a greedy grimoire, Gluttony can feed on anything that is magical . Until now, it has only been extracting the essence . However, it will now absorb a portion of the item’s abilities . ]

[Items with magic power will increase the owner’s magic power . Gluttony can even digest cursed artifacts . ]

[Simply eating, instead of essence extraction, can be used in Gluttony’s sleep state . ]

 

The information the voice provided was amazing .

Theo was surprised Gluttony had hidden features and that asking this question had unlocked it .  It seemed that questioning Gluttony wasn’t simply to acquire knowledge . If Theo used it well, he could increase the functionality of this powerful grimoire .

‘Things which contain magic power… It seems easy but may be more difficult than I thought . ’

It was easy to find objects which contained magic power in the academy .

The academy was a place to teach magic, so there was a lot of equipment and materials filled with magic power . If he went to the alchemy classroom right now, there would be a stack of magic tools .

However, eating these tools was different from eating the library books .

The library didn’t have any proper administration as all the librarians did was lock up . Who would know that a few books were missing from the library? Even if a few bookshelves were taken out, there wouldn’t be any sense of incongruity .

However, the classrooms weren’t neglected like the library . Even in the alchemy classroom, there were three or four caretakers who checked the quantity everyday .  If even one reagent vial were taken, they would be able to check the entry and exit records, and figure out that it had been Theodore .

‘I can’t do it inside the academy . The risk is too big . ’

If so, the answer had to be found outside the academy .  As Theo agonized over it, he eventually came up with an answer .

He needed someone’s help to implement the answer .  One person came to mind .

“…I have to ask the professor . ”

Professor Vince…

Vince, who felt regret regarding his talent, wouldn’t turn down Theodore’s favour easily .