"Grandpa?"
Logan walked over to the couch and was surprised to find Newton sitting there, so he called out to him.
Hearing the voice, Newton removed his reading glasses and looked up. When he saw Logan, he let out a gentle chuckle.
"All done practicing?"
Logan's expression froze a little. So Grandpa had heard the noise from his practice earlier.
"Uh… sort of. I heard the clock chime upstairs and thought maybe you and Grandma were still awake, so I came down to check."
"Your grandma already went to bed. Want to come sit with me for a bit?"
Newton patted the spot beside him on the couch, motioning for Logan to sit.
Logan circled around the table and plopped down onto the sofa, stretching with relief.
The practice wasn't tiring, but staying in one position for so long definitely was.
"So? Pretty amazing stuff, huh? Magic."
Newton smiled as he spoke—he'd passed Logan's room earlier and heard every bit of that clumsy spell practice.
"Yeah. It's… exciting." Logan nodded.
This was the closest he'd ever been to real magic. Up until now, everything he knew came from books.
Newton understood. Logan had always been like this.
Then Logan remembered a question he'd been thinking about two days ago and finally asked, "Grandpa… what exactly is magical power?"
"Hm? Why the sudden interest?"
Newton raised an eyebrow, clearly puzzled by the abrupt question.
"I'm just curious. Even in the books I've read, magic power is never explained clearly. If anything, the descriptions are vague."
He picked up the little kneazle that had jumped into his lap. This one was named Hobbes—the biggest troublemaker of the bunch.
Newton thought for a moment, then began explaining in that calm, steady voice of his.
"Magical power… well, think of it like—no, actually, it's not something inside your body."
He tapped Hobbes gently on the head. "Look at him. When he jumps from somewhere high, he reacts much more quickly than a person."
"You could say it's instinct. But what happens if you change your perspective?"
"Change my perspective?" Logan repeated, thinking it over.
"If there were no gravity, do you think Hobbes could still move like that?" Newton offered.
No gravity?
Without gravity, aside from the world plunging into chaos, even something as simple as walking or standing would become nearly impossible.
"All of our actions—everything we can do—comes from adapting to a particular environment and learning to use a tiny bit of its fundamental essence."
"You can think of it as a massive, invisible force field."
Logan understood. Newton meant:
"Magic… is like a force field."
"Exactly."
"Casting spells, waving your wand, reciting runes—it's all just using certain movements and words to give commands to that force field…"
"To shape it according to your will."
Logan mulled this over for a while before finally nodding.
It was a brilliant metaphor—one that helped him understand magic far more deeply.
Because at that moment, the glowing text on his inner status panel began to flicker rapidly:
[Through explanation, deeper understanding of magical power gained — Magic Fountain +5]
[Through explanation, deeper understanding of magical power gained — Magic Fountain +5]
[Through explanation, conceptual breakthrough — Mental Calibration +5]
…
It was obvious Newton's explanation perfectly aligned with the nature of magical power.
"Then what about emotions? Like, if I'm really angry or really excited, does my magic get stronger?"
This was what Logan really wanted to know.
If he could find the right answer about the Magic Fountain, that might be the fastest-growing stat on his panel.
Newton exhaled. "That brings us back to where it all starts."
He didn't quite understand why Logan was asking this.
Kids his age typically couldn't sense fluctuations in their magic at all. Except for the occasional childhood magical outburst, a young wizard wouldn't feel those shifts until puberty—and Logan was only eleven.
Still, he answered.
"For example… your voice comes out of your mouth, but you can still tell whether someone is angry or happy even when they say something simple, right?"
Logan blinked.
Well… that usually required reading facial expressions and body language, but he got the idea.
"Magic works the same way, Logan."
Newton drew his wand and gave it a light wave. A soft glow shimmered in the air.
"Emotions stir your magic. Magical power is really just an extension of your soul."
"When you're calm, it's a quiet stream. When you're focused on studying, it vibrates like a harp string…"
Newton paused.
Logan, deep in thought, turned to look at him.
Newton's expression had turned serious. His voice was soft, but firm:
"And when your emotions surge—joy, anger, even overwhelming grief—what your soul is really doing… is shouting."
Newton flicked his wand, forming a small sphere of light that floated, condensed, then burst apart.
"That shout can turn your quiet stream into a roaring tide, carving into a riverbed that was once narrow."
"So what you're saying," Logan murmured, "is that strong emotion momentarily expands the… riverbed? The container that holds magic?"
He had followed all the way to the conclusion.
"Smart kid."
Newton clapped his hands with a proud smile. It was a perfect answer.
Logan replayed the explanation in his mind. It was incredible.
"But—"
Newton's expression hardened again.
"Emotions need control."
"If not, constant collapse or surges of negativity can erode that riverbed of yours. And if it breaks down completely… your magic turns against you and consumes you."
"That becomes… an Obscurial."
Obscurial?
Logan glanced sideways at Newton.
His grandfather had faced three Obscurials, hadn't he?
Well… one of them was the story Dumbledore told him—Ariana Dumbledore.
Seeing Logan's expression, Newton thought he was frightened. So he put an arm around his shoulders and spoke gently:
"No need to be scared. With steady, daily practice, you'll strengthen and widen the container that holds your magic."
"Then those strong emotions won't threaten you anymore—instead, they'll become your source of power."
"The key is respecting your emotions. Understanding them, guiding them, learning to coexist with them. That will become one of the greatest treasures of your life."
"That's what Dumbledore told me."
He finished with a playful wink at Logan.