Chapter 131 Ancient Magic
"Ancient magic…" Leo muttered with a somewhat dazed look on his face.
"Indeed, ancient magic! Unlike most magic spells out there, ancient magic doesn't belong to any of the magic tiers. Though some people like to call it Tier 0 magic. You're probably wondering the difference between ordinary magic and ancient magic by now, so let me give you a simple explanation."
"Ordinary magic spells all have a limit to their power and growth. Although that limit can be expanded through one's talent and practice, it is not truly unlimited. Ancient magic, on the other hand, has unlimited potential. Not only that, but they can evolve, almost as though they are alive. Because of their uniqueness, they are nearly impossible to grade."
"However, I must warn you, Leo. Remember when I said that you can't use it openly? The reason is not because it's ancient magic, but because this ancient magic was once used by my family. In other words, it's vampire magic."
"And unlike Mana Drain that is only considered vampire magic because they're widely used by vampires, this one is full-fledged vampire magic that has never been in the hands of a human before. In fact, this ancient magic is a family secret."
Leo swallowed nervously after hearing her words, and he couldn't help but ask, "Why are you teaching me something like that? What if your family finds out?"
A bittersweet smile appeared on Lilith's face as she spoke in a low voice, "My family won't find out… because they no longer exist in this world."
"..."
Leo was taken aback by this information.
"I don't know when— if I will ever regain my body, and I don't want this ancient magic to disappear forever, so I am going to give it to you, who is the closest thing to a family to me now."
Leo pondered with a serious expression for a moment before nodding his head, "Alright, I will learn this ancient magic."
"Great!"
Lilith proceeded to create the magic circle for the ancient magic.
Leo's jaw dropped a little when he saw the magic circle. There were 9 rings in this magic circle, but that wasn't what shocked him.
Unlike the other magic circles, this one actually had an aura, almost as if it was alive, and when he sensed its menacing aura, his body froze from fear.
"It's okay, Leo. Calm down and try your best to memorize it. Ancient magic is not easy to learn even for S-Rank Adventurers like Miss Camille, but I have faith in you. This magic circle may seem threatening, but it cannot harm you."
Leo closed his eyes and took a moment to mentally prepare himself. When he opened his eyes, they were filled with focus and determination, almost as though he was studying for a test at the last minute.
Time flowed quickly when he was focused, and before he was aware, an entire day had passed.
"I can't do it. It's too difficult." Leo fell flat on the floor at the end of the day.
"You're giving up too quickly. In case you forgot, it normally takes days, even months for other people to learn ordinary magic spells, much less ancient magic, which could take years depending on their talent. Well, given your monstrous talent when it comes to learning magic spells, it probably won't take you years."
"I guess I've gotten too used to learning magic spells very quickly, hence why I'm a little impatient, not to mention that it seems to be a very powerful magic, so I want to learn it as soon as possible." Leo sighed.
"There are things in life that you cannot rush, and this is simply one of them."
"No, but hard work will eventually pay off! Let's continue!" Leo said after drinking an energy potion to refresh his mind.
Over the next several days, Leo would spend literally all of his time trying to learn the ancient magic.
Three days before the results of the Wilderness Training Course would be announced, Headmistress Eve called him to her office, where Miss Camille was also present.
"Leo, I have some exciting news for you." Eve said to him the moment he sat down.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Take a look at this."
Eve placed a medium-sized box on the table before him and opened it, revealing a weird-looking fruit inside.
This fruit had the shape and size of an apple, but it had weird-looking patterns all over it, and it was bright golden in color. Furthermore, just like a mana core, the exterior of the fruit was translucent while the interior contained some kind of liquid.
"Don't tell me this is the…"
"Fruit of Magic Awakening. It's what's going to allow you to use magic in public." Eve said with a smile on her face.
"..."
Leo stared at this weird fruit with a dazed look on his face.
"Now let's talk about how you're going to consume it and the story behind it." Eve said a moment later.
"The story is that you found this Fruit of Awakening during the training course inside a secret path within the cave where you found the Elder's legacy. Since that cave is now collapsed, we don't have to worry about people snooping around there any more. During the result announcement in three days, you're going to eat this fruit on the stage in front of the whole academy, and then I am going to give you a simple magic affinity test to prove that you can indeed use magic now. Any questions?"
Leo nodded, "I do… several…"
"First of all, if the Fruit of Awakening is supposed to be a legend that nobody has seen before, how could I possibly know that it's a Fruit of Awakening?" He asked the most obvious question.
"Simple. Just say that it was written in the location you found the fruit in." Eve said.
"Will people believe such a simple explanation…? There will definitely be some people who will be skeptical."
"Of course. And there will always be skepticism no matter how much proof we have. We don't need to care about the select few that don't believe you since the majority of them will." Eve nodded.