Chapter 121 – Magic Book Rumi

The old man who revealed the name of the magic book left the bar coolly. It really gives off a mountain god-like atmosphere in the way he slowly disappears without leaving a word of farewell.

“Huh.”

I was able to speak only after the old man disappeared. The feeling of being possessed disappeared and my mind became clear again.

“Wait a minute, old man!”

There were more things I wanted to ask.
Who are you and why do you keep helping me?
However, when I went outside the entrance of the bar, the old man had already disappeared.
Left alone, I could only chew on the name of the magic book in my mind.

I said earlier that he was an old friend of the old man.
I don’t know how you can have a book as a friend, but in many ways you’re an astral person.
I guess so, I grabbed the things I left under the table and got out of the bar.
The old man had already paid for his drink, so he was able to get out of the bar right away.
I immediately walked through the city and went back to the inn room to look for the magic book.

I saw a magic book lying on the bed.

“Rumi.”

It was the moment I called the name of the book by voice.
At that moment, something unbelievable happened.
The book on the bed floated up and began to fly.

“What the…?”

It’s never an analogy.
Books are floating in the sky as if they had reached a state of weightlessness, like astronauts traveling in outer space. If earthlings had seen this scene, a new religion might have been born.
There are religions that worship flying spaghetti, so it must be the same with flying books.

Soon the book spoke to me.
The moment the voice came out from the open ground, I felt as if I was the main character in a movie where I met E.T for the first time.

[Nice to meet you, Mage. I am Rumi, who will lead you to the path of a wizard.]
“Can you talk?”
[That’s right. My voice is heard only by you, the owner of the book. Please keep in mind that others cannot hear you.]
“Ah, I see. Rumi.”

I was embarrassed for a moment, but quickly regained my composure.
It would be better to quickly adapt to the changes in the magic book than to be fooled all the time. If you understand the function of the upgraded magic book, it will help you grow as a wizard.
I asked a question to Rumi, a magic book flying in the sky.

“So, what’s changed since you’ve been up until now? All you’ve done so far is teach me about four beginner spells. I’m not saying anything from the point of view of learning for free.”
[That’s because the wizard doesn’t know the system that I introduce spells. To learn magic you have to pay a fair price. So far, the only price you’ve paid me for is four beginner spells.]
“What is that reasonable price? What should I do to get a spell from you?”

Finally, the story I wanted to hear came out.
A story about the mechanism by which spellbooks introduce new spells.
Rumi kindly introduced me to what I was curious about.
However, the system for obtaining orders is surprisingly bloody.

“The cost is the soul of the living being. When the wizard kills, I absorb the soul of the dead. The more powerful and great you kill, the sooner I can introduce you to a new spell.”
“It’s a bit of a cruel system.”

To kill a powerful and great being.
Of all the enemies I’ve defeated so far, the most powerful was the old giant.
Come to think of it, shortly after defeating the old giant, his magic book introduced me to boiling magic.

“Still, it’s nice that it’s not complicated. You don’t have to kill people, you can pay the price even if you kill monsters.”
[That’s right. However, I prefer the spirits of the giants whose home is Jotunheim. Please, if you encounter giants, please annihilate them.]

To say that you like the spirits of giants is such an odd magic book.
Nothing bad. For continental people like me, giants are hateful predators. They are giants who always raid villages and plunder wealth and livestock. There is no guilt even if you kill those bug-like bastards.

“It’s okay because I know the system that introduces magic. So, what new spell do you have to tell me now?”
[There are no new spells yet to introduce. However, I can teach you magic theories. About the runes that are the source of magic in the Midgard continent.]
“Whoa.”

Magic theory!
It was knowledge worth many times more than spells to me now. As a wandering wizard, I lacked opportunities to learn magic theory, so compared to the wizards in the Mage Tower, I had very little in my head. They can only cause physical phenomena by memorizing spells, but they have no idea what principles are embedded in the spells. But Rumi said she would teach me magic theory for free.

I immediately knelt down and bowed in front of Rumi flying through the air.

“I’ll take you as my teacher, Mr. Rumi.”
[I am not the wizard’s teacher. A companion who will walk the wizard’s path with you. Please be careful not to confuse the names.]

I tried to joke around just in case, but it doesn’t respond at all.
The atmosphere gets cold in an instant.
It’s not some kind of AI, and there’s no emotion at all in what it says.
But again, her voice is feminine, so if you listen to it subtly, you get a fluttering feeling.
Could this magic book be like the AlphaGo of the Midgard continent?
Her voice sounds like a girl, so I guess I should call her Alpha Girl.

[I will start the theory class right now. Please bring writing utensils and notebooks and sit properly.]

When I took out paper and writing utensils and sat down cross-legged, Rumi immediately started giving theory classes.
As a wandering wizard, I have now learned the magic theory that I so longed for.

[The source of all magical phenomena on the continent of Midgard is ‘Rune’. All magic in this world has runes as its origin. The source of fire magic learned by the wizard is the rune of embers.]
“Oh, I already know that.”

After taking lessons from Mr. Grace at the Magic Shop, I know at least that runes are the source of magic. So she tried to say that there was no need for basic explanations, but that was not what Rumi was trying to say.
Because Rumi started throwing in advanced knowledge from the beginning, not the basics.

[No. Mage-nim doesn’t know anything about runes. It’s not just the wizard. There are only ‘two wizards’ in this world who dare to say ‘know’ runes.]
“Who are those two?”

I asked who the two wizards were, but Rumi didn’t answer.
I neatly skipped my question and proceeded with the class again.

[Class progresses again.]
“OK.”

It’s a clever magic book that only conducts classes steadily.
Rather good
It’s much better than going to class and falling into Samcheonpo.

[Mage must first learn a total of 24 primitive runes. Primordial runes are the ancestors of all runes. The runes developed in modern times are just variations of the primordial runes. You can say that you have taken the first steps in magic only when you learn the Primitive Runes.]
“Then what have I been up to? I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a primordial rune.”
[You could say she crawled like a baby.]
“It’s a toddler.”

The moment the conversation was interrupted, new letters began to be engraved on Rumi’s paper body.
Unlike before, what was being engraved now was not a spell, but magic knowledge itself.
The blank sheets of paper were filled with new knowledge.

The primitive runes Rumi taught me were like this.

ᚠ Pehu.
ᚢ Urz.
ᚦ Thorn.
ᚨ Ansuz.
ᚱ Raido.
ᚲ Kenaz.

A total of 24 characters, including other characters.
It’s like learning how to write and pronounce the alphabet.
As I studied the primordial runes, Rumi carefully explained the runes’ magical meaning to me.

[The primordial rune kenaz means fire. Ancient wizards were able to control all phenomena related to fire with this single Kenaz rune. Of course, this is impossible for modern wizards who lack magical inspiration.]

Long lessons followed for each rune.
When all the explanations on the 24 runes were finished, it was already dawn.
It was a long class that lasted eight hours in a sitting position. I had a break in the middle, but I was so tired that my head was dizzy.
Before I knew it, my notebook was filled with the contents of Rumi’s lecture.

[Then, today’s class will end here.]

That’s how the first class with Rumi ended.
She dragged her exhausted body onto the bed and went straight to sleep.
She lived alone, so it was a private room when Rebecca wasn’t around, but with Rumi by her side, it felt like she had a roommate.

*

The function of the magic book was upgraded, but nothing changed significantly from the next day.
Because Rumi would stop moving and stay still like a normal book if anyone other than me walked around.
That said, there was no commotion at her inn because of Rumi.

Adventure work continued as usual.
Carrying out a quest with two lovers in a fixed party.
To this day, Rebecca and Kate were at odds with each other, and whenever they did adventure work, they were gripped by a stuffy feeling.
Is there any way to make the girls get along better?
I thought about it, but I couldn’t find an answer.

Then, when she returned to her room at the inn, she was taking Rumi’s class.

Before I knew it, I found myself unable to pay attention in class.
Her mind was so full of worries that she couldn’t hear Rumi’s voice.

Took!
At one point, my forehead tingled.
Rumi tapped me lightly with the spine of her book, her own body.

[Wizard. What are you thinking about during class? You weren’t listening to me at all from earlier.]

I answered Rumi honestly.

“I was thinking of my lovers. They’re not getting along these days.”
[Please let me know what the problem is. If this is the case, you won’t learn anything at all even if you take classes.]
“Are you going to give me trouble counseling?”
[My role is to lend wisdom to my companion.]

I didn’t know that I would receive counseling about my worries from a book that lives and flies.
But as of now, I feel like grabbing at least a straw. After some hesitation, I decided to confide in Rumi about my lovers’ problems.
She told the story exactly as she had confided to the old man at the bar.

“Kate is willing to concede everything to Rebecca. She says she won’t be greedy because she’s second to her. What would you do with these girls?”

It was when he lowered his head with a gloomy expression after talking.
Rumi, who had been silent for a long time, spoke to me at some point.

[I don’t think I can solve it.]
“Yes.”

Then it is.
It was a time when I gave up easily because I didn’t expect much.
Rumi opened her mouth once more.

[But if you are a wizard, you can solve it.]
“What?”

For a moment I thought I had heard wrong.
But Rumi was clearly telling me that I was the fixer.

“How am I going to solve it? You can’t solve these problems with magic. The old wizard who handed you over to me had the same idea.”
[Then I will ask. What are you?]

I answered briefly.

“A wizard. A wandering wizard with nothing.”
[Before being a wizard. You asked what.]

I was speechless at Rumi’s question that echoed again.
What am I?

“…I.”

My gaze landed on the mirror hanging on the wall of the inn room.
My image was clearly reflected in the mirror.

Devil-like goat horns.
Deep eyes that fascinate women.

There was an incubus there.
A creature born to charm women.
A man who can make every woman in the world fall in love.

I opened my mouth and said out loud who I was.

“I am an incubus.”

In that moment, all worries were resolved.
Only one solution came to my mind.