Chapter 9 - 10 Pages in One Night, and a New Spell

The table was laden with food. As restaurant owners, Ruby's parents were excellent cooks.

Alaric ate his fill. He'd spent the last few days eating only the bare necessities alongside Ashley, so with so many dishes to choose from, he decided to indulge.

There were both savory and sweet options. Some he'd tasted back on Earth, while others were entirely new.

It was a really fun time. Alaric enjoyed meeting Ruby and her parents—they were such nice people.

An invitation arrived later that night, after the party had ended. Ruby wanted Alaric and Ashley to spend the night at her house. They had half-expected it—there was no way they could safely return to Ashley's cabin in the dark.

"Come on," Ruby said. "I'll show you your room."

Her home was truly large, with two floors and plenty of empty rooms.

"My father has a lot of friends who stay here from time to time," Ruby explained. "That's why we have so many rooms."

All the guest rooms were on the second floor. Ruby led Alaric to one right next to hers; Ashley's room was at the other end of the hallway. They were all close by.

Standing in the corridor, Alaric felt the weight of the day settle in—his energy bar was running low.

"I think I'm going to bed," he said. "I'm really exhausted."

He didn't want to risk his energy bar dropping to zero; according to his System, that would be fatal. No one wanted to push that far.

Ashley seized the chance to turn in as well. "I'm off too. Walking all over the island was tiring. We can have even more fun tomorrow."

Ruby nodded in understanding. "No problem. See you two in the morning!"

The room Ruby chose for Alaric was lovely. In addition to a big, comfortable bed, it had a study desk, a bookshelf filled with volumes, and—surprisingly—a balcony.

As soon as he stepped in, Alaric went straight to the balcony. The view was breathtaking.

Perched high on the island, the house overlooked the sea and the town below. Some lights still glowed here and there, though they were slowly fading.

That's when he heard a voice—it was Ruby. Looking over, he realized the balcony actually connected directly to her room.

"Wait—why would a guest room have a balcony that leads straight into yours? That doesn't make sense," Alaric said.

Ruby looked a bit embarrassed. "Well, actually, this room used to belong to my sister. That's why it's set up this way."

"Where is your sister?"

It was natural to be curious. Still, Alaric immediately regretted asking. What if the worst had happened?

"She's not on the island anymore," Ruby said.

Alaric heard that and hurried to apologize. "I'm sorry. That was insensitive of me to ask."

But to his surprise Ruby replied, "Relax—she's not dead. She just left the island, that's all."

"What?"

Up until that moment, Alaric had believed no one could ever leave this island. Ordinary people didn't. Not even the few two-star mages. And from what he'd heard, no tourists ever arrived—and certainly none ever left.

"Surprised?" Ruby asked.

"Definitely. How did she manage to get off?"

"My sister was a very talented mage and reached three stars while living here. One day she simply said she was leaving—and then she left."

"She took a boat? I still don't understand why everyone says it's impossible to get off this island."

"The reason is simple: this island is extremely remote, and the ocean is dangerous. To survive the journey, you need to be at least a three-star mage. No one living here has ever managed that—except my sister."

You could hear the pride in Ruby's voice as she spoke about her sister, as if she viewed her as a role model.

"Is having three-star power a guarantee you'll make it out alive?" Alaric asked.

"No… But I'm certain she's alive," Ruby said, pulling a necklace from beneath her clothes. "This pendant will keep glowing as long as she's alive. She put a charm on it. That's how I know she's okay."

"That's really useful," Alaric said, "and I am sorry if I said something that upset you."

"You didn't. My goal is to become strong enough to leave this place myself. Now that I know how you got here, I'm sure you'll want to go someday, too. I think we can help each other."

Ruby gave Alaric a charming smile. "I'll let you sleep now. See you tomorrow."

With that, she went back to her room, closed the balcony door, and drew the curtains.

Alaric stayed on the balcony for a few more minutes taking in the view, then went to bed. He lay down clutching the book Ruby had given him. It was just an elementary grimoire, but if he mastered it, Alaric could reach two-star rank.

"Let's see if this new passive skill is any good," Alaric thought as he drifted off.

Alaric woke after a solid ten hours of sleep. No one came to disturb him—it was pure bliss.

His total mana had increased by another five points, which was quite significant.

But the most important thing was his new passive skill. Sleeping with the book in hand, Alaric could somehow read the pages while he slept!

He opened the book to check. In ten hours of sleep, he had fully memorized ten pages—about one page per hour.

Of course, the book had many pages; even a simple spell required several pages of explanation.

Still, learning ten pages in one night was incredible! And it wasn't just reading—he had completely mastered those ten pages.

It was far more effective than simply reading.

Best of all: Alaric now knew his first spell. A fire spell—a small fireball—the very first magic most mages learned.

Alaric was thrilled. The possibilities ahead were astonishing.

He got out of bed and went downstairs, where he found Ruby and Ashley sitting at the table, eating.

"You're just in time," Ruby said. "We made breakfast."

Alaric greeted them and took a seat. Ashley kept glancing at him curiously.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know," Ashley replied, "but your mana feels stronger. Maybe it's just me imagining things—after all, you haven't even been training…"

"That's impossible. How could my mana increase without meditation or practice?" Alaric said.

"True," Ashley conceded, dropping the subject for the moment.

Alaric felt a thrill of excitement. His progress was already starting to show.