“…Huh? What’s that? I felt something exhilarating just now…”
At that moment, Felix Evergarden, the eldest son of the Evergarden family, tilted his head as he sensed something brushing past his head in his room.
It was like a tiny spark bouncing off his head.
“Could it be… have I already started to awaken my magical powers?! Wow, amazing!”
Felix, who was perplexed by that mysterious and strange sensation, picked up the magic stone that was sitting in his hand and let out a cry close to a cheer.
Felix Evergarden.
However, at this moment, it was not Felix himself but Kim Hanhee, a new female university student who had just finished the hellish high school exam life and was looking forward to her upcoming university life, who was possessing his body.
Moreover, she was the one who had forcibly fed the family the world of the romantic fantasy novel [Starlight of Dawn].
“Let’s see, how to feel magic again…”
After cheering, Felix sat back down at his desk and began to focus again, reading the lines on the pages of the book that was opened before him.
Basics of Magic.
In the early part of this world of Starlight of Dawn, the character Felix Evergarden had risen to the position of an honorary professor at the academy.
Of course, he did not possess excellent swordsmanship, outstanding scholarship, or immense magical power and ability.
However, he had one remarkable talent that set him apart from others: he was exceptionally skilled in flattery and was adept at discreetly sliding bribes into people’s sleeves.
When Felix, backed by the count family, faced several high-ranking officials of the academy and elegantly slipped bags of jingling gold coins—one gold coin being worth about 1,000 dinars—into their sleeves, those officials recalled that they felt their own sleeves become heavy with coins.
He was a man who had flourished in a rather strange talent.
Having secured his position as an honorary professor through connections, flattery, and bribery, he was in charge of teaching the basics of magic.
Well, even though it was called the basics of magic, most of the students entering the academy’s magic department already had some talent for magic, and those who did were generally capable enough to grasp the basics, so Felix’s education was just a matter of opening a book and self-studying or copying pages from the major textbooks during breaks, which were rather incomprehensible and strange classes.
That was only natural, as Felix knew nothing about magic at all.
He wasn’t completely talentless in magic, but he had never seriously engaged in anything.
He avoided the tedious study of magic and enjoyed training his flattery and sleight of hand skills during that time.
So far, there hadn’t been any problems, and he judged that there wouldn’t be any in the future… but!
“It’s just like the protagonist in the early part of the story; if it’s discovered that he has no magical talent, he’ll be kicked out…”
Our protagonist had grasped Felix’s malicious tendencies, and if he publicly blabbed about the fact that Felix didn’t know the first thing about magic while conducting magic classes, Felix’s precarious sandcastle would come crashing down.
And, just before that disaster struck, Kim Hanhee, who was possessing Felix, was beginning to study magic to prevent such a calamity.
“Magic, magic…”
That aside, the reason Hanhee had immersed herself in the dawn’s light was due to the splendid depictions of magic and solid settings, making her a huge fan of fantasy and magic.
Moreover, Felix’s room contained basic books about magic, which he had kept for the sake of appearances despite not knowing how to use magic himself since he had managed to secure the honorary professor position.
There was no way Hanhee, a magic enthusiast, would miss out on the opportunity to learn magic.
As for timing, their family had currently possessed the essence of Starlight of Dawn for about three months before the story seriously developed in the academy part.
Before the new semester began, it was the academy’s vacation season, just like in his past life.
This meant that in three months, Felix, who had a job at the academy, would also need to enter the academy.
Having gained three months of time, Felix seized this opportunity to prepare for a situation where he couldn’t use magic in the original story and to fulfill his own desires.
He locked himself in his room, clinging to a magic textbook.
“Well, anyway, there’s nothing I can do right now…”
As for the issues concerning the Evergarden family, his parents, Freya and Dariann, had said they would take care of them, so he didn’t need to worry about that either.
Felix especially knew how incredible his father… now mother, Freya, was, so he had no worries after hearing her words.
He knew that if it was a problem Freya couldn’t solve, it wouldn’t matter if he stepped in.
“Let’s focus again; feeling magic is the most important thing for now—magic, magic…”
As Felix cleared his thoughts, he turned his eyes back to the document, where the method for feeling magic was written.
“Let’s see. For those who don’t naturally possess innate magical powers, most wizards’ first task is to awaken their magic. The methods for feeling magic are, first, living in a space with a high concentration of magic to awaken it, and the second is this one, right…?”
As Felix recited the lines from the book, his gaze naturally shifted to the magic stone in his hand.
Magic Stone.
A gem infused with magic, it can either be formed from rocks that have absorbed magic for a long time in areas rich in magic or can be obtained from the hearts of magical beasts.
The discovery of the magic stone led to the development of magical tools that act as batteries, allowing ordinary people who cannot use magic to use it, much like charging electric current into modern electronic devices.
Nowadays, artificial magic stones can be produced by directly refining magic into processed gems.
Although they provide a consistent and abundant supply of magic compared to naturally occurring magic stones, they are rare and thus much more expensive than the latter.
And indeed, Felix owned one of those expensive artificial magic stones.
According to what Felix learned while reading, among the methods to awaken magic, it was written that he could feel the magic emanating from this magic stone to awaken the magic flowing within his body.
Of course, it wasn’t as simple as just having a magic stone to awaken magic, and Felix, before possessing, had complained that he wasted money because he couldn’t focus at all.
But he was different now.
“Alright, concentrate, let’s concentrate…”
Felix, who had just closed the book he was reading, carefully placed the magic stone on the desk.
“Phew…”
Then, he picked up a small hammer that he had placed next to the desk and closed his eyes for a moment.
The structure of the magic stone was designed so that the magic within would not scatter but remain intact inside.
If he had struggled to acquire the magic stone, and the magic began to leak out, magical tools that utilized the magic stone would never have been developed in the first place.
Thus, feeling magic from the magic stone was extremely difficult, as the amount of magic flowing out was very minute and weak; the magic stone had to be empowered by a magical tool to be utilized.
In other words, a battery cannot emit electricity by itself; it must be connected to a machine to supply power, but it does emit a very weak current all around it.
Then, could he awaken his magic only by feeling that weak magic?
For that to be possible, he would need to be a legendary creature, such as a dragon, which is the apex predator in the food chain, to carry out such an act.
For an ordinary human being slightly more evolved than a monkey, it would be extremely difficult to achieve, and the book had firmly stated that it was only theoretically possible but practically impossible.
“I’ll just tap it lightly…”
Having been told it was impossible in the book, Felix muttered to himself, thinking that if that was the case, then he might as well try hammering a nail into it.
The magic stone was tightly sealed so that magic would not leak out.
But what if he forcibly made a wound on the magic stone to let the magic flow out?
The magic stone, filled with the pure magic of nature, would have magic imbued within it, so if it were scratched, the magic would ooze out just as it was.
However, since artificial magic stones are filled with highly condensed magic jammed into ordinary gems, if scratched, the magic that had been compressed would be amplified and burst out like a balloon.
Because of this, artificial magic stones are very expensive, but also have limited circulation due to the potential accidents that can occur if mishandled.
And now, Felix had the nail on the artificial magic stone and raised the hammer.
If there were a storm of tremendous magic that could cause an explosion, wouldn’t it be easier to awaken magic?
This was the conclusion that Felix reached after long contemplation about various methods to awaken his magic.
During the third chapter of Starlight of Dawn, when the protagonist of this novel, Eileen, used a booby trap against the vanguard of the demon army…
Recalling the use of this artificial magic stone, Felix remembered the moment when the demon army, unaware of the trap, was caught up in the explosion of the artificial magic stone.
At that moment, Eileen felt the countless waves of magic.
It was a dangerously reckless act that could only prompt an incredulous “Are you out of your mind?” but unfortunately, Felix’s curiosity about magic was so intense that it exceeded rational thought.
Despite the absurd situation of being possessed, which was beyond imagination, no one could foresee Felix’s enthusiasm for magic.
Thanks to Dariann and Freya’s neglect, who were unaware of Felix’s passion for magic, there was no one to stop this secret and dangerously prepared experiment.
If only there had been a single attendant to assist him, they might have advised, “Isn’t this a bit risky?”
But unfortunately, most of the attendants currently working in the count’s household were sweating profusely under Freya’s orders, laboriously moving valuable items, so there was no one available for that.
At least, it was fortunate that he was using a gem much smaller than the artificial magic stone used during the siege.
“Okay, gently… gently…?”
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap—
As Felix lightly tapped the head of the nail placed on the magic stone, which would mark his first steps into magic, he cautiously opened his half-closed eyes, which he had shut in preparation for an explosion, and shook his head in confusion.
“Huh? Why isn’t it breaking?”
Even as he tapped the magic stone, looking for a response, it showed no signs of damage.
“Ah, should I hit it harder to get a reaction?”
It was as if a novice cook had taken an egg out to fry but was unsure of the strength needed to crack it, so they lightly tapped it, confused that it hadn’t broken.
And when such a situation unfolded, it usually ended with—
“Well, if I hit it harder—”
Boom—!!!
Seeing the egg explode due to misjudged force would often lead to a look of dismay.
Earlier, he had tapped too lightly, but this time he swung the hammer too hard.
In an instant, cracks like lightning streaked across the surface of the magic stone, which then erupted with a blinding light so intense that it was blinding, as if a flare had been set off.
The condensed magic within it exploded violently, engulfing Felix’s room in a storm of magic.
At the same time, Felix, bewildered and unable to comprehend what had just happened, began to float in mid-air due to the shock of the explosion lifting him off the ground.
In that moment, he felt as if he were not simply flying but floating in the air.
‘Ah, I can feel it.’
At that moment, Felix felt as if gravity had vanished in this space, akin to being in the cosmos, and he muttered to himself.
As the magic stone burst, he sensed the storm of gathered magic swirling around him, made up of countless threads of energy.
It felt as if something soft, like gentle strings, was brushing against his fingertips, toes, and whole body.
The magic was both supple and firm, present yet absent.
In that moment, Felix found himself captivated by the myriad of magical energies swirling around him, brushing past him, yet also tightening around him as if it were going to burst.
During that brief moment of floating in the air, where he felt both eternity and a fleeting moment, Felix could distinctly sense something inscribing itself into his heart.
As he gained insight from this mystical experience, he realized that the moment could not last forever.
Bang—!
Felix felt a hard object collide with his back, bringing him back to reality.
Literally caught in the explosion, he realized that he had flown the distance from his desk to the bed, which was only about twenty steps for an adult man.
“Hahaha…!”
Despite hitting the hard edge of the bed, Felix was so consumed by the joy of feeling magic that he didn’t even notice the pain in his back.
“Magic. So this is magic.”
He simply smiled brightly, feeling the intense sensation of magic, the movement of mana, with each heartbeat, like a child.
“What on earth is happening… Aaaah!!!”
“Ah, ah, ow… Wait a moment… My back hurts so much…?”
It was only when he heard the screams of the attendants, who had rushed into his room to see the chaotic aftermath of the explosion and Felix grinning madly while leaning against his bed, that he began to fully comprehend the throbbing pain in his back.