The next morning, early.
Hifung's left hand was bandaged. He was now allowed to leave the hospital.
He exited his room and walked toward the hospital gate.
From the direction of the gate, Ray, Vlyn, and Elric had just arrived. Ray saw Hifung.
Ray: Hifung!
(Calling out to Hifung)
Vlyn and Elric also noticed him and were slightly surprised.
They hurried over to Hifung.
Vlyn: Dear?
Hifung: I'm allowed to leave the hospital today, right?
Vlyn: Well, yes...
Hifung: Don't worry, ma'am. I'm fine.
Ray: Where are you going?
Hifung: I'm going home.
They all looked concerned.
Hifung: Don't worry, I'm alright. My left hand doesn't hurt anymore.
Vlyn: But...
Hifung: It's fine. I'll be off now.
Hifung walked away.
Vlyn, Ray, and Elric watched him, still worried.
Hifung arrived at his house.
He took the key hidden under the flower pot beside the door.
He unlocked the door and entered.
Hifung (in his thoughts): "I need to cook lunch first, then I'll head to the royal library later."
He went to his room and changed his clothes.
He struggled a bit while changing.
Then he went to the kitchen and started cooking.
He experienced some difficulties while preparing the food.
A while later, he finally finished.
On his plate were rice and eggs.
He began eating.
Hifung (in his thoughts): "Micyl's cooking tastes better."
After eating, he washed his plate and spoon—without using his left hand.
Once done, he sat down for a moment.
Hifung (in his thoughts): "I never imagined I wouldn't be able to use my left hand for around three years."
Hifung (in his thoughts): "I better get going to the royal library."
He left the house, locked the door, and placed the key in his pocket.
He walked toward the royal library located in the heart of the kingdom.
Upon arrival, he entered and headed to the magic section.
He picked out several books about magic. He found one last book deep in the shelf. It looked old and worn.
Hifung (reading silently): "Advanced Magic Techniques"
Hifung (reading silently): "Types of Magic"
Hifung (reading silently): "Understanding Magic"
Hifung (reading silently): "And this last old one is titled..."
Hifung (reading silently): "Secrets of Magic and the World?"
He opened the Advanced Magic Techniques book.
He read for a while and then closed it.
Hifung (reading silently): "Nothing interesting here."
He opened Types of Magic.
He read and found some useful information.
Hifung (reading silently): "So orange-colored fire magic is classified as Intermediate E-rank magic."
He continued reading.
Hifung (reading silently):
"Magic is divided into several levels. The beginner-level consists of the basic elements: fire, water, wind, earth, and lightning."
Hifung (reading silently):
"The next level includes advanced elements such as Ice, Magma, and Electricity."
Hifung (reading silently):
"Ice is a higher form of water magic, requiring more chi energy. It's easier to shape and is solid in form."
Hifung (reading silently):
"Magma is an advanced form of fire, using more chi, with higher destructive power and intense heat, making it deadlier."
Hifung (reading silently):
"Electricity is an evolved form of lightning, as it's more malleable than lightning which has limited form. Electricity can also be channeled into weapons, making it more versatile. It also consumes more chi, thus producing stronger blasts."
Hifung (reading silently):
"To create advanced elemental magic, one must increase chi usage by up to twenty times and alter the nature of the chi. For example, fire becomes magma by thickening the chi; water becomes ice through densifying it; and lightning becomes electricity by returning to its raw energetic form. There's even a warning against forcing the creation of advanced elemental magic."
Hifung (in his thoughts): "I see… I've never seen anyone use those advanced elements before. Maybe King Milty can."
He closed that book and opened the one titled Understanding Magic.
Hifung (reading silently): "The definition of magic..."
He flipped through the pages and stopped at one that caught his eye.
Hifung (reading silently):
"Magic is a form of energy created from chi. Chi is the internal energy within a person. Chi can generate various types of magic and enhance them."
Hifung (reading silently):
"Chi can also shape magic. For example, altering the form of a spell requires more chi."
Hifung (reading silently):
"The capacity of chi can be increased by frequently using magic."
Hifung (reading silently):
"Turns out we can shape magic however we want if we have a large enough chi reserve."
He closed the book.
Hifung: So this last one is the old and worn-out book.
Hifung: Secrets of Magic and the World?
Hifung: Looks like this hasn't been opened in a long time.
He opened the first page.
Hifung (reading silently): "Secrets of Magic and the World — This book was written by Stephanus Hery."
Hifung (reading silently):
"I wrote this book based on my experiences traveling the world and studying all forms of magic and chi energy."
Hifung (reading silently):
"I traveled this world for ten years and finally discovered my destiny. I chose to settle in a kingdom called Milty to write this book — a book about my experiences and the secrets of this world that I finally uncovered."
Hifung felt excited and continued reading.
Hifung (reading silently):
"Magic is chi energy in altered form. Each person's chi capacity differs from birth. Children of powerful parents are born with more chi capacity than those of ordinary lineage."
Hifung (reading silently):
"Chi capacity can be expanded. Based on my decade of exploration, I discovered that each time we cast magic using chi, it increases our internal chi capacity by 0.05% of the energy used. So the more frequently we cast powerful magic, the more our chi capacity grows."
Hifung turned the page.
He was stunned by the next chapter title.
Hifung (reading silently): "The Higher Worlds"
Hifung (reading silently):
"In my lifetime, I succeeded in reaching the Sixteenth Level World."
Hifung was astonished.
Hifung (in his thoughts): "Stephanus Hery... so he's the one who reached the Sixteenth Level World!?"
He continued reading.
Hifung (reading silently):
"To ascend to higher-level worlds, several conditions must be met."
Hifung (reading silently):
"Some of the most important are mastering the strongest elemental magic in your current world and having a high enough chi capacity to reshape and control that magic."
Hifung (reading silently):
"The true reason for mastering these powerful elements is because higher worlds have intense chi pressure. Those with insufficient chi capacity may die instantly upon arrival due to the overwhelming compression of their chi."
Hifung (reading silently):
"The effect of chi depletion can cause instant death. In rare cases, it can permanently strip someone of all their chi, making them unable to use any magic again."
Hifung (reading silently):
"According to my calculations, when we cast magic, the amount of chi used depends on what we're trying to do. Chi regenerates over time. The best way to recover chi is through sleep or meditation."
---
[A/N]: Hi everyone! I want to share something. Over the past week, I've been accelerating the pace of this novel—updating around 9 to 10 chapters per week. But because of this, there have been more revisions than usual. So going forward, I plan to release chapters more consistently—like a set number per week.
Also, I already have a rough outline of where this story is headed, but it still needs some polishing. So I'll be updating it regularly!
If you spot any story inconsistencies or typos, I would really appreciate it if you mention them in the reviews so I can fix them. If you enjoy this story, I hope you'll also leave a review! I read every one—it really motivates me. Feel free to share
this novel with your friends too—it helps me a lot!
I also dream of seeing this novel adapted into an anime. If you'd like that too, your support would mean everything to me. Thanks so much, everyone!