'Did it really have to be this secretive?'
There was nothing. Absolutely nothing. From what Unwan had heard at the orphanage, no one ever remained ignorant of their own Blessings and Curses. Everything was written clearly and precisely in one's grimoire, one only needed to think about it a little.
'Then why is it like this?'
'How would I know?'
Unwan let out a sigh. Not knowing one's own weakness could bring serious trouble, and it would ruin anyone's mood. He tried to cheer himself up.
'Still… I have two blessings. That alone is a rare.'
But his wonderful companion responded immediately.
'And you also have two curses. That alone is a rare too.'
'I'm trying to lift my mood here. Could you at least not interfere?'
'Why not?'
Unwan cursed inwardly. He fell silent for a moment. Then flipped the page again, reviewing what he already knew.
[Grimoire Name: Grimoire of Universe]
[Grimoire Owner: Unwanted]
[Spell Name(s): — ]
[Grimoire Tier: VII]
[Spiritual Energy: 100 / 1000]
[Blessings: [Wondrous], [Drinker of the Spring of Hope]]
[Curses: [Unliked], [???]]
A blind smile appeared on his face. He had reached the second page. This was where the descriptions of the user's spells were recorded. Any newly created spell would also be documented here, complete with its explanation.
'This part is important too.'
In truth, there was no unimportant part in the grimoire. Everything felt as if it had been carefully selected and refined by some higher existence.
Unwan returned to translating the runes. Though it took a great deal of time, he found the process thrilling, sometimes even astonishing.
[Description of Grimoire Power:]
[The World Grimoire can increase, decrease, or temporarily nullify the force between two objects. This effect also applies to the "gravity" of the earth.
Unwan scratched his head.
'What kind of "gra… gravity" is that?'
He had never heard of such a term, and he was confident most people hadn't either. In the rune translation, it was written exactly like that. The word existed, but its meaning did not. It was as if someone knew that this was its meaning, yet didn't truly understand what it was.
Still, holding onto hope, Unwan decided to ask Genius Emma.
— Ms. Emma, what does 'gravity' mean?
— "How would I know?" she replied.
She stared at Unwan for a moment, then spoke again.
— Write the rune version down on a piece of paper. I'll take a look.
— Alright.
Unwan wrote it down and continued translating.
[Existing Spells:]
[Changing Spell]
[Changing Spell Description:]
[Allows the user to increase or decrease the force one object exerts relative to another.
The spiritual energy cost increases depending on the distance of activation and the magnitude of the force between the two objects.
Energy Cost: 30 Spiritual Energy]
'So this is the spell I used… Changing how objects affect each other. Amazing. This could be the foundation for creating new spells.'
Still, the energy cost felt high. He didn't know how much energy spells usually consumed, but using a third of his total energy at once was no small matter. On top of that, distance and the connection between objects could increase the cost even further.
[Weightlessness Spell]
[Weightlessness Description:]
[Completely nullifies the force, gravity, between two objects.
The greater the binding force of the target object and the farther it is from the grimoire, the higher the spiritual energy consumption.
Energy Cost: 7 Spiritual Energy per second]
'So gravity is the force they've been talking about this whole time. That means…'
A strange smile spread across Unwan's face.
There was no malice in it.
…Perhaps.
'Does that mean I can fly too?'
Of course he could. The grimoire's description clearly stated that its power applied even to the earth's gravity.
Unwan was eager to try the spell. Why not? In this era, flight was an unattainable dream for everyone. And now, it might become reality.
However, the spell consumed a tremendous amount of spiritual energy. Seven didn't sound like much at first, but multiplied by seconds, it quickly became overwhelming. Unwan regretted the fact that he couldn't maintain it for even twenty seconds.
'But if I can raise this [100 / 1000]…'
Still, he didn't know how to increase it. Or whether it could even be increased at all.
That marked the end of the runes written in the grimoire. Though many pages remained, all of them were blank.
'Naturally, they'll be filled in the future with my Spells, my Pages, and my Night Mirrors.'
'But remember this: the grimoire is essentially endless. No one has ever filled it completely.'
'No one' doesn't mean impossible. It just means you must be prepared for hardship.'
'The hardship will be so great that merely imagining it is frightening.'
'Still… it's worth trying.'
***
Unwan flipped through his grimoire and began thinking. Which information should he keep hidden from Genius Emma, and which could be revealed?
Blessings and Curses were out of the question. Even telling a close friend would be like handing a rival a perfectly aimed target.
Second was the grimoire's tier. Such a high level would undoubtedly attract attention, and being marked as [Unliked] would only make things worse. He wasn't ready to be hated by the entire world just yet. He preferred secrecy.
Third was his Spiritual energy reserve. No one had even heard of such a thing, which alone would make it suspicious. Revealing it would be equivalent to telling future enemies exactly how many arrows were left in his quiver.
He needed to share only information that wouldn't harm him and wouldn't endanger the person beside him either.
With that in mind, Unwan took another sheet of paper. He wrote down the grimoire's name, its owner... and all information except the tier, spiritual energy, blessings, curses, and spells.
'I don't think Ms. Emma will worry about this either. She surely keeps similar things hidden herself.'
By the time Unwan finished writing, the faculty lesson had ended, and most students had already left the classroom. A few remained, still writing at their desks.
Genius Emma sat in her seat, reading something intently, most likely reviewing her knowledge about grimoires.
Unwan approached her, holding a single sheet of paper in his hand.