Chapter 28 Merlin's Book of Inheritance
"Book?"
The thick, heavy tome Merlin took out felt substantial in Ethan's hands. He gently brushed the surface with his other hand. The hard cover, made of some unknown hide, felt strange to the touch. Ethan couldn't quite describe the sensation, only that he could feel something seemingly flowing beneath the rigid surface.
The white magic stone was embedded right in the center of the book's cover, appearing to be completely integrated into the book itself, with only a slight protrusion – which was almost impossible. Although it was a hardback cover, its thickness was nowhere near enough to accommodate the entire stone.
To be sure, Ethan even tried to open it, but found that no matter what he did, the book wouldn't budge.
"You can't open it yet. You'll only be able to use it freely once you successfully imprint your mental energy onto the core of this book."
Ethan instantly understood: claiming ownership!
"How do I do that?"
"Focus your mental energy and transmit it into the book's core... which is that magic stone. Then the book will 'tell' you what you need to do."
Ethan followed the instructions and successfully left his mental imprint within the book's core. Only then was he finally able to open it.
When the thick book was opened, the pages on both sides had symmetrical thickness, as if Ethan had somehow opened it precisely to the very middle page.
What left Ethan even more speechless was that the two pages before him were completely blank.
He flipped forward... all blank.
He flipped backward... all blank!
Ethan realized something was wrong, not just because the book was full of blank pages, but because no matter how long he flipped, the position he opened to seemed to remain unchanged, with the thickness of the pages on both sides always staying consistent.
"What's going on?"
Merlin was quite proud of his work but didn't want to reveal all its secrets. Hearing Ethan's question, he merely offered a hint: "Try reading it using mental energy."
Following the suggestion again, content finally appeared on the previously blank pages. Only then did Ethan understand that this book not only required mental energy to open but also for regular reading.
More importantly, he further discovered that the content displayed in the book was not fixed. Instead, it would automatically provide corresponding information based on his mental energy 'queries'.
"A magic version of an encyclopedia?"
He quickly realized he was overthinking it. He casually queried a non-magical topic, and the book didn't provide a corresponding entry or answer. The pages remained blank.
Seeing that Ethan had grasped the correct way to use the book, Merlin began to explain its other functions.
"By studying the bracelet you gave me and that white magic stone, I created this magic book based on their characteristics. As a bonus, I also copied a portion of my own magical knowledge into this book, so you'll have a place to look up answers when you encounter magical difficulties in the future."
Ethan looked up, his face full of surprise. He had never expected that Merlin would actually copy a portion of his own magical knowledge and give it to him. This was a huge favor, equivalent to giving away his complete legacy. He wouldn't treat even his closest disciples this well.
"This..." Ethan instantly felt the magic book become much heavier. "It's too valuable."
Merlin, however, didn't seem to mind. He smiled and patted Ethan's shoulder. "Frankly, I'm curious to see how far you can go. And if you can reach the peak with this magic book, I can also gain fame across multiple planes and universes through you."
"All right, I should properly explain how to use this magic book, after all, you don't have much time left here."
Ethan had originally planned to learn how to control spacetime energy from Merlin, as he currently had no control over that power whatsoever. However, the creation of this magic book took a few days, and Ethan didn't have much time left before he had to leave. So, Merlin simply left the relevant knowledge in the magic book, recording it as a separate chapter for Ethan to study on his own.
After listening to Merlin's detailed explanation, Ethan learned that this magic book not only contained all of Merlin's magical knowledge but also provided a more systematic organization of the cultivation method he had previously recommended, turning the book into an important tool to aid his cultivation.
It required mental energy to open, mental energy to read, and even contained many small spells specifically for cultivating mental energy.
These spells were like levels in a game; you had to meet certain requirements to pass, and passing would unlock the next stage of cultivation. This prevented Ethan from rushing for quick results and skipping ahead in his training, which could have potentially harmed his foundation.
Furthermore, the magic book had the ability to scan or absorb information from various books and documents and store them within itself, allowing Ethan to freely query and read them. Ethan finally didn't have to worry about his thick stack of books. After he returned, he could use the magic book to absorb these books, and all the content within them would be saved in the magic book.
This included any future documents or books he acquired; they could all be recorded in this book using the same method. It could be said that with this magic book, Ethan had his own personal mobile library.
What surprised Ethan the most was that these were just the basic functions of this magic book.
Yes, how could a being as powerful as Merlin waste so much time creating a simple magical tool book? The fundamental reason he spent so many days creating it was to forge an even more powerful magical artifact.
First of all, the book was made using a variety of rare materials, making it almost indestructible. It was extremely difficult for either physical or magical means to leave a mark on it. And to prevent even that slight possibility, Merlin had morbidly inscribed restorative magic circles on the book, so even if someone could damage it, it would automatically repair itself.
Hearing this, Ethan realized that this was not just a learning tool, but also a top-tier defensive magical artifact.
He had underestimated Merlin.
How could the designs of the great sorcerer be so simple and crude? This magic book was not only sturdy to the point of being almost indestructible and capable of self-repair, but it also had a magic shield inscribed on it. Ethan could use his mental energy to activate it for self-defense.
The magic shield could not only provide single-target defense but could also become an area-of-effect defense if he increased the energy output.
"..."
What could Ethan say? He could only silently give another thumbs-up in his heart.
The energy for the magic shield was provided by the magic stone embedded in the book's cover. For a mage of Merlin's level, changing the nature of energy was not difficult. What he really needed to address was providing a magic circle that could continuously charge the magic stone. Merlin not only considered the consumption but also the energy recovery issue and resolved it effortlessly.
Furthermore, this magic book also had a strong enhancement effect on offensive spell casting, allowing Ethan to cast various spells more quickly. The only regret was that, to encourage Ethan to strive and improve his strength, Merlin deliberately separated this function from the magic stone's energy supply system.
In other words, if Ethan wanted to use the magic book as a tool similar to a staff to enhance his magical power or casting speed, he would have to rely on his own magic power to cast spells.
"Are there any other amazing functions?"
Merlin spoke for quite a while before completely introducing this 'masterpiece'. Ethan felt even more fortunate than before.
"If I had a status panel or something, my luck value would be at least S, plus three plusses." Ethan looked down at the magic book he couldn't bear to put down. "At least!"
After fully understanding all the functions of the magic book, Ethan didn't want to let go of it at all, wishing he could hug it even while sleeping.
"So, does this book have a name now?"
Merlin smiled and shook his head. "It's your magic book; you should name it."
"I name it?" Ethan stared intently at the thick tome in his hands. Finally, he made up his mind. "Merlin's Legacy! How about that?"
Ethan looked up at Merlin, seemingly asking if that name was okay, and perhaps asking something else as well.
Merlin smiled and didn't give his own answer, but simply said, "I told you, this is your magic book; you decide what to name it."
Ethan sighed, thinking Merlin had refused.
Unexpectedly, he immediately heard another sentence: "However, that's a very good name. I look forward to the day when both your name and this book's name spread across countless universes and planes."
"It will!"
He secretly made up his mind. Both the spacetime pointer and Merlin's selfless transmission of knowledge were things ordinary people could only dream of obtaining.
Now that he had obtained both, it would be too embarrassing if he couldn't become a top-tier figure.
"As a transmigrator who also got such a powerful golden finger, it would be too much of a failure if I still didn't achieve anything!" Ethan didn't want to be ashamed, and even less did he want to be a good-for-nothing. "If even this isn't enough to succeed, it only means I'm not working hard enough. This kind of starting point couldn't be better."
What else could he say? Cultivate desperately!
Thus, over the next few days, Ethan frantically engaged in various studies and training. Even the control of spacetime energy, which he had initially planned to put aside and learn slowly after returning, miraculously showed a hint of progress.
The benefit was that Ethan stayed in this world for an extra week longer than originally planned, and thus he received quite a bit of additional guidance from Merlin. He now completely regarded Merlin as his teacher, even though the legendary old mage had never acknowledged it.
However, Ethan felt he had received too many benefits, far exceeding the scope of their previous agreement. So, even if Merlin didn't intend to be his elder, Ethan still treated him as his teacher.
"One must know how to be grateful."