Arlon opened the book.
The paper felt heavier than it should have—weighted not just with ink, but with the presence of the one who'd written it.
The Path to Beauty.
Again, the first thing he saw was the entry at the top—the one that had always been there, waiting.
It was about i.
"My Dear Disciple. Soone called i visited you while you were in the Tower. I didn't want to peek into your private life, but while reading her thoughts, I learned more than I intended to. Just to let you know, I don't approve of your two timing. Don't upset my other cute disciple. Anyway, she said she would be back exactly in the third month. But if you co early, you should see her first."
Arlon frowned slightly.
Of course, Agema had read i's mind.
That was the sort of thing ascended existences did—peering through thought and mory like it was no more private than the sky.
Still, it unsettled him a little.
But he couldn't change that now. He wasn't even mad.
Just... mildly resigned.
This was Agema's usual teasing.
What Agema had likely seen was the promise he'd made to i before he left the academy. The sa promise that was about to be fulfilled.
Because Arlon already knew.
The visitor he'd be seeing soon was i.
She must have co here after learning he was finished with his training and fighting against the Keldars.
The next few notes were far less invasive—just little things scrawled between the lines, like post-it notes from a parent who never quite stopped checking in.
"Don't forget to exercise regularly."
"When you're back, eat every kind of food."
Arlon actually liked them more than he thought he would.
He hadn't had anyone worry about what he did before, so this was a change.
But so ssages were longer.
"My disciple. You will probably co back from the Tower much stronger. But don't forget that that strength isn't real.
You will be a big shell, but it will be an empty shell. Filling it out is in your hands. Don't just read my book; research everything yourself.
This book will help you in your research. But if you ever feel stuck, this book will also give you the answers, just like when I was with you.
So, I hope you don't feel alone.
I will be observing you."
This was more emotional than Arlon thought.
Arlon stared at that line longer than the rest.
"I hope you don't feel alone."
He didn't. Not anymore.
He had June. The Gars.
But there were still monts—quiet ones, like now—where a strange kind of solitude lingered.
He wasn't lonely. But he had been, once.
Agema's presence, even through a book, made that solitude feel smaller. Less dangerous.
And then there was the last part:
"I will be observing you."
She probably ant the system notification he'd received after reaching level 300—that the ascended existences could observe him.
He looked up at the ceiling as if that would help.
He didn't see anything, of course.
He didn't even know if the ascended were really there—or if "observation" was sothing beyond physical space entirely.
Still…
She was probably watching right now.
He returned his gaze to the pages.
There were more ssages—so filled with thoughtful concern, others full of Agema's usual prideful flair.
After reading each one carefully, Arlon finally reached the true start of the book's content.
His new training.
The second page was filled with instructions. Nothing simple.
This wasn't like A Magician's Secret.
There were no clear instructions and no beginner-tier spells laid out in numbered steps.
This was a real research journal.
Not a spellbook.
Not sothing to read once and follow like a recipe.
Arlon wouldn't read this through once and then start training.
If he tried that, he probably wouldn't even understand the fifth page.
So, he began slowly.
The second page included a note in Agema's familiar handwriting:
"Ti magic is no longer my main domain—but even my discarded knowledge is stronger than most people's best. And you'll need that now."
Arlon smiled faintly.
Ti magic.
That was what he wanted to focus on—partly because of this book and partly because of his reward.
His one-year leaderboard reward.
He had received it this morning.
But there was a change—sothing different from his previous life.
Back then, he had been given a choice between another adaptive skill core or a powerful warrior skill.
He'd chosen the skill. It was efficient. Practical.
But things were different now.
He wasn't a pure warrior anymore.
He was sothing new.
And so the system had changed his options just like it offered him a different title from his last life.
This ti, the reward offered him a choice between an adaptive skill core and a one-ti-use item.
And he had chosen the item.
He would use it soon. Not now. But very soon.
He was glad, in hindsight, that Asef had retreated earlier.
It bought him ti.
Ti to train. To prepare. To be more than a shell.
So Arlon began reading the first research section in earnest.
He studied every word, every graph, every handwritten correction Agema had left behind.
Then he stood.
And he began to experint.
Not with spells.
But with concepts.
Because if he was going to fight sothing he couldn't yet asure—he'd need more than strength.
He'd need understanding.
And now, he had the perfect guide to help him reach it.
---
After working through the notes for what felt like hours, dawn had already begun creeping in.
The sky beyond the window had started to lighten, and a soft, pale glow reached into the quiet corners of the room.
Arlon rubbed the side of his head, exhaled slowly, and turned to the next page.
Just one more.
He told himself that. Just one more page before morning fully arrived.
The next section was about ti magic.
And that made it worth it.
It started not with diagrams or formulas—but with Agema's personal notes. Her first observations. Things she'd noticed about ti magic even before she formally began her research.
She was a genius, through and through.
Even in these early musings, Arlon could tell she had already grasped more than he could hope to in years of study.
Her words were fluid but precise, inquisitive but bold.
She wrote about how ti magic behaved.
And more importantly, she questioned why it worked.
Where did it draw its power?
And the biggest question, scrawled cleanly at the top of the page:
"What is ti?"
Arlon paused.
He hadn't expected that question to hit as hard as it did.
He never thought he'd be the type of person to sit in a quiet room before sunrise and wonder about the nature of ti itself.
But here he was.
And instead of imdiately reading her answer, he stopped himself.
He closed the book for a mont.
And tried to answer it on his own.
He only had one real question.
Was the ti he manipulated—the ti he slowed, bent, or twisted—different from real ti?
At first, he assud it was all relative.
That maybe, he was just altering his own perception of ti.
But the more he thought about it, the less that made sense.
If ti magic only affected his perspective, then slowing down an enemy shouldn't be possible—because that would an changing the perception of every living existence in the universe.
Impossible.
No.
That couldn't be it.
So, he discarded that theory.
Instead, a new possibility surfaced.
A better one.
Maybe there were two kinds of ti.
One: the absolute ti of the universe. The kind that governed stars, planets, light, and entropy—untouchable and beyond alteration.
And two: the perceived ti. The ti that individual existences experienced—subjective, local, fluid.
And maybe…
Ti magic only touched the second one.
Only perception. Only the lived experience of ti. Not the cosmic march of the universe.
It made more sense than anything else he'd co up with.
Still, a theory ant nothing without testing.
So, he reached into his inventory.
And took out the item he had received that morning.
His one-year leaderboard reward.
A glass container, its surface faintly glowing.
An hourglass.
Not a taphorical one.
A real one.
Its sand shimred faintly—each grain too slow to fall, too deliberate to seem ordinary.
A tool made for more than just keeping ti.
He held it in both hands.
And prepared to test his theory.
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