Chapter 35: The Mystery of the Learning Scroll

After returning to the dormitory, Xia Duo immediately took out the 【Light】 Learning Scroll; from the outside, it looked no different from a rolled-up piece of ordinary Parchment.

It was called a Scroll, but it had no "spindle," only a "roll." Xia Duo carefully unfolded the Learning Scroll; the texture felt slightly different from ordinary Parchment, though he could not tell if it was just a psychological sensation or if it was different because it carried Magic.

Once the Learning Scroll was unfolded, there was no text on it, but rather a geometric pattern with a strong sense of design, drawn onto the Parchment with extremely fine strokes. Xia Duo flipped it over and over but could not see any special effects.

Currently, he was unable to enter a state of Spellcasting Focus and could not view this Scroll with the technique of 【Read Magic】 at all. Relying only on the patterns above, and having not even finished his basic courses, Xia Duo could not make heads or tails of it.

He could only wait until he was fully rested to study it again.

At this time, with less than an hour until "lights out," Xia Duo took out the *Biography of Archmage Dasiruier* he had bought from Dien and began to read. With the help of his homemade simple dictionary, his progress in learning the language was not slow.

When he first started reading this book, he needed to flip through the dictionary for almost every line of text, but now, he did not necessarily need to flip through the dictionary several times per page. Xia Duo planned to go sell a few old notes once he finished this Archmage biography, as long as there was text to read.

In the short term, Xia Duo did not need to be proficient in Netherese text; it was enough to satisfy the minimum requirements for reading and writing. Misidentifying or misspelling characters was of no great consequence for now; he would gradually become proficient.

Before long, the dormitory suddenly went dark. Xia Duo used the dim light to tidy up his desk, washed up, and went to bed.

The recovery of the Spellcasting Focus state required rest; here, rest generally referred to sleep, allowing the entire consciousness to rest. If one did not rest enough, it might not affect normal activities, but it would affect Spellcasting.

Although Xia Duo's pre-sleep reading just now seemed very relaxing, it could not be considered rest.

However, after lying on the bed, Xia Duo did not want to sleep at all; he kept thinking about how to learn 【Light】 through the Learning Scroll tomorrow, feeling excited but overdrawing his mental energy.

Slowly adjusting his breathing and thinking about his goals and plans, Xia Duo gradually calmed his mood.

……

The next morning, Xia Duo woke up before the dormitory became bright as usual. The first thing he did upon waking was to jump off the bed and take out that Learning Scroll.

At this moment, in a focused state, Xia Duo clearly "saw"—from this rolled-up, unremarkable piece of Parchment, a large number of "threads" spread out, echoing with the surrounding Magic Net.

Unfolding the Scroll, the "threads" that originally looked somewhat messy became orderly. Above the front side of the opened Scroll, the structure of the Magic Net underwent an astonishing change.

The Magic Net, which originally flowed like water, seemed to be twisted, entangled, and folded by some force, forming a three-dimensional configuration that was not complex, but certainly not simple either.

This was the Spell model for 【Light】—a blueprint for controlling the Magic Net to form the effect of 【Light】.

And this Spell model composed of the Magic Net was combined with the flat graphics on the Parchment through the basic structure of the Magic Net—the "threads."

Seeing this scene, Xia Duo no longer needed guidance; what other guidance could he need? Every detail was displayed without reservation—

How to control the Magic Net, and even how to draw a Scroll!

"It truly lives up to the name Learning Scroll!"

Xia Duo admired it with fascination, not letting go of any detail. Fortunately, his reason remained; he felt he should take out a Blank Notebook and begin recording the Spell structure of 【Light】.

Only a portion of these structures had been demonstrated by Kelin in the 【Read Magic】 class. Of course, Xia Duo had taken notes, but there was much more that Kelin had not demonstrated, which the Learning Scroll was now demonstrating to Xia Duo.

Although he did not know how long the validity of the Learning Scroll lasted, it was certain that it could not be used infinitely.

Merely using the technique of 【Read Magic】 to view the Spell structure from the perspective of Magic, without actually controlling the Magic Net, did not consume much, and Xia Duo could persist for quite a while.

However, Xia Duo's recording only lasted until the dormitory became bright; he had not finished recording it entirely, and there was still some left, though it would take at most an hour or so.

Hurriedly washing up, going out, sending clothes to be washed, and getting breakfast, then finally taking the Elevator to the Arcane Garden—Xia Duo completed all these actions in one go without the slightest delay.

The Arcane Garden was harvesting wheat today, and the workload was not low because it needed to be harvested and preliminarily threshed within a day. Xia Duo had experienced this situation a week ago.

At that time, Xia Duo saw others busy and overwhelmed, and felt a bit bad, but that was when he had just joined the Mage Tower. Now, he could watch the few Apprentices who had already arrived start working with great composure.

Because he already understood the preciousness of the opportunity to ask questions, who would be willing to give it up if it were at all possible?

After a calm glance, Xia Duo went to find his apple tree. He had fallen in love with the apple tree now; it gave him a feeling of being possessed by Newton, and even his IQ seemed to have improved quite a bit.

This was called the active role of consciousness.

……

The Arcane Garden had intense light and a hot climate, but Xia Duo had gradually gotten used to it. Arriving under the apple tree, he directly took off his robe, spread it on the ground, and then took out the Learning Scroll to start recording in earnest.

In the entire process of Spell learning, recording only took up a very small part of the time, especially when a Learning Scroll was available; the subsequent practice was the main event.

As for understanding the Principles and rules, that went without saying; these were true Magic Principles that transcended any specific Spell. To describe it in the terms of his previous life, one was Application, and the other was theory.

The difference was that Application could immediately and directly obtain power, while the effects of theory were not so obvious.

Xia Duo was very clear about the importance of theory guiding practice, but he also understood the principle that theory could not solve an urgent need.

Throughout the morning, Xia Duo recorded the Spell structure of 【Light】 and began to memorize it. He still remembered the scene from last night in the Spell Laboratory where Dien cast 【Light】; Dien did not flip through books halfway through or anything—it was entirely casting from memory.

There was no reason he could not do what Dien could do.

Perhaps more complex Spells in the future would require various means to assist memory and casting, but this was the simplest Ring Spell, and Xia Duo had full confidence in memorizing it completely.

While memorizing, Xia Duo also tried to analyze the patterns between these Spell structures, but he gained nothing. He soon gave up, preparing to make up for it later, whether by taking specialized theory classes or by spending money.

For now, it was better to learn a few Spells first; practice before theory. Perhaps it would even have a certain beneficial effect on the study of theory.

Xia Duo could only comfort himself this way.