Chapter 30 – Instant Learning Spell
We were already halfway toward Sky Haven Temple. The carriage rocked gently beneath us as it traveled along the uneven mountain path, wheels crunching over gravel and dried leaves. The air was crisp thin northern air that carried the scent of pine, cold stone, and distant waterfalls. Evening light filtered between the tall trees, casting long shadows that swayed with every passing gust of wind.
Inside the carriage, however, the atmosphere was much heavier.
Delphine had just finished recounting the grim past she shared. Her voice had been low, almost brittle, and even now she stared silently ahead from the front seat, gripping the reins a little too tightly. Esbern sat across from me, hunched slightly, his old hands clasped together as if still haunted by memories he wished he could forget.
The silence stretched thick, uncomfortable, suffocating.
I cleared my throat lightly and forced a small smile, hoping to nudge the mood in a less miserable direction.
"Uh… Esbern?"
He lifted his head slowly, blinking as though pulled from a distant nightmare.
I leaned forward a little.
"You must have tons of spell tomes, right? So… did you absorb all of them? Do you still have any left for me to absorb?"
Esbern froze. His bushy eyebrows twitched. Then he blinked again twice his weathered face puzzled in a way I had never seen before.
"Absorb?" he repeated, raising a hand as if trying to physically catch the meaning in the air. "Son, spell tomes are manuals guides for special spells. You can't just absorb them."
My smile slowly faded.
"Wait… what do you mean can't absorb? Aren't spell tomes meant for learning magic instantly?"
For a moment I could hear nothing but the rhythmic creaking of the carriage and the distant call of an eagle echoing through the mountains.
I stared at Esbern.
He stared back.
In my experience, the moment I opened a spell tome, my head would flood with knowledge so fast it almost hurt and the book would crumble into glowing ash, disappearing as if I had devoured it. That was normal… wasn't it?
Esbern's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. His lips parted slightly. And then
They opened wide.
As if the old man had suddenly spotted a sweetroll floating in midair.
A beat of silence.
Then he burst into laughter.
A full-bodied, hearty, ancient laughter that made him clutch his stomach.
"Hahahaha! Oh, that's rich!" His shoulders shook as the carriage rocked beneath him. "Are you joking? If such a thing were possible, the Empire wouldn't have fallen in the first place!"
He slapped his knee loudly.
"We'd have wiped out every Thalmor mage on the continent by now!"
His laughter echoed through the forest, mixing with the rattling of the carriage wheels, bouncing off the cliffside. Even Delphine glanced back with an irritated raise of her eyebrows, as if Esbern's outburst was unusually excessive.
Meanwhile, I sat there stiffly, blinking in disbelief…
because apparently the thing I thought was normal was, in fact, impossible.
I slowly turned to Astrid.
She sat beside me on the cramped carriage bench, her Daedric armor catching the fading sunlight as the wheels clattered along the rocky mountain path. The dark metal glowed with a faint crimson shimmer like embers trapped under obsidian each jagged plate carved with runic lines that pulsed faintly when the carriage hit a bump. Her helmet rested on her lap, letting her long golden hair spill freely down her shoulders, the strands contrasting sharply against the black armor's brutal silhouette.
"Astrid…" I asked quietly, "then how did you learn your spells? Did you also train hard to master them?"
Her eyes flickered toward me blue, steady, but touched with hesitation. She shifted slightly, the Daedric plates grinding softly against each other with a low metallic scrape. It was intimidating armor, yet the way she moved inside it was gentle, almost shy.
"To be honest…" she began, exhaling slowly, "when I first saw you use that spellbook, I was completely shocked."
The evening wind rustled through the trees, carrying cold air that brushed against her hair. She leaned closer her armor creaked softly until her lips were right beside my ear. The warmth of her breath contrasted sharply with the chilling mountain breeze.
She whispered, voice low and secretive,
"I thought you had some kind of special power something that lets you instantly understand the spells inside those books. That's why I never exposed you. If people found out… I'm sure you'd be hunted."
I froze. Completely still.
Her words hit harder than I expected, stopping even the cold wind around us from reaching my skin for a moment.
"So that's why…" I murmured, "you never tried to learn magic? And why you didn't pick up the spellbook back in Helgen's dungeon?"
Astrid straightened slightly, her armor clinking in small, sharp notes. She nodded.
"I'm not gifted in magic," she admitted, eyes dipping for a moment. "It takes me ages to learn even simple spells. I can only manage Flames, and mastering even that took months."
Another gust swept over the cliffside road, making the trees sway, their shadows rippling across her dark armor like dancing spirits.
"And," she continued, "when I saw you burn a spellbook… the pages just " she gestured with her fingers, curling them inward as if grabbing vanishing light, "disappeared into your body. And suddenly you could cast Sparks right after. Of course I was shocked."
My jaw slackened completely.
The world suddenly felt too quiet. Only the wheels crunching over gravel and the distant rumble of a waterfall filled the silence.
All this time, I thought learning magic was normally this easy. Buy a spellbook, read it, and knowledge would flood in like a wave. But no… in this world, reading a tome doesn't destroy it. It doesn't vanish. It doesn't turn to ash.
It only happens when I read it.
My thoughts tightened.
Is this because of my system? Is that why I can learn spells instantly? If anyone else discovers this… I could be in danger.
I mentally reviewed every moment I'd used a spellbook.
Only Astrid… she's the only one who saw it clearly.
Then my stomach sank.
Ah. In Whiterun… I used a spellbook in front of Farengar.
But he had been hunched over his desk, scribbling notes, muttering arcane theories, completely absorbed in his research. Typical mage behavior.
I hope he didn't see anything…
I exhaled softly and leaned closer to Astrid, careful not to bump her spiked shoulder plates.
In a whisper, I said,
"Thank you, Astrid… for keeping my secret."
Astrid's lips curled into a small, sly smile. She leaned even closer her armor brushing my arm with a cold metallic chill and whispered back, her voice soft but undeniably teasing,
"Then repay me later tonight… after all this is over."
My face instantly burned. Heat shot up from my neck to my ears. I swallowed hard and nodded, barely able to speak.
"Mmhmm…"
Astrid giggled quietly just a tiny sound but even with her intimidating Daedric armor, that sound alone nearly made my heart stumble.
Esbern narrowed his eyes suspiciously, his wrinkled face tightening as he leaned forward. His white brows furrowed so deep they nearly touched.
"Hey," he grumbled, pointing a shaky but accusatory finger at us, "what are you two whispering about?"
The carriage jolted over a bump, making his finger wobble comically mid-air.
I forced a laugh, scratching my cheek awkwardly.
"Oh nothing important, haha…"
Even I could hear how unconvincing that sounded.
Astrid didn't miss a beat. She straightened in her Daedric armor, the dark plates clinking sharply, and said in a calm but firm tone,
"It's relationship stuff, Esbern. You don't need to worry about it."
Esbern's face scrunched like he had bitten into a sour lemon.
He snorted loudly, turned his head away with excessive drama, and crossed his arms.
"Hmph."
From the front of the carriage, Delphine let out a loud, unrestrained laugh.
"Hah! Look at you sulking!" she teased, glancing back with a smug grin. "If there were another carriage, I'm certain you'd leap onto it just to avoid them."
Esbern muttered under his breath, loud enough for everyone to hear,
"If there was another carriage, I'd be on it. I'm tired of watching a pair of lovebirds spreading their sweetness everywhere. It's bad for my heart."
Delphine clicked her tongue and cracked her reins lightly, guiding the horse along the narrow cliffside road.
"Unfortunately, this is the only carriage we have," she said with a smirk. "Unless, of course, a dragon swoops down. You're welcome to ride that instead. Assuming it doesn't roast you first!"
Esbern shot her a flat, unimpressed glare.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny."
But Delphine only laughed harder, shaking her head. Even the horse snorted as if in agreement.
The tension faded a little, replaced with a calmer, almost playful atmosphere. The forest around us rustled with the sound of wind moving through tall pines, and the last rays of the setting sun painted the mountains in shades of gold and crimson.
I decided not to ask Esbern anything else about magic for now.
He was clearly annoyed, and Delphine teasing him was only making him more prickly. Maybe I'd bring it up again when he didn't look like he wanted to jump off the carriage.
Even so, I had learned something important about this world. Something that could put me in danger if mishandled.
From now on, whenever I used a spellbook…
I had to do it where no one else could see.
The carriage continued rattling along until the trees thinned, revealing a distant stone silhouette jutting from the mountainside.
Sky Haven Temple.
Its ancient walls rose like jagged teeth, half-covered by vines and old carvings worn by centuries. Below, not far from the temple entrance, banners of the Forsworn fluttered in the wind warning colors, primitive symbols, and flickering torches marking their territory.
Astrid's armor glowed faintly as the dying sunlight struck the crimson runes etched on her chest.
She narrowed her eyes toward the campfires ahead.
"We won't reach it before dark," she said quietly.
Delphine nodded from the front.
"And the Forsworn patrol is thicker near nightfall. We'll camp here."
The carriage slowed to a stop.
Cold evening air swept over us, carrying the scent of pine, damp stone, and distant woodsmoke.
We climbed down, ready to set up camp for the night one more step before Sky Haven Temple, and whatever waited for us inside.
........................................................................
Hello guys first of all i want to say sorry in the future I won't upload as often as before, because it's a holiday and I've been a bit busy lately and also lacking ideas, previously I was overflowing with ideas even sometimes I could make 5 chapters a day but now I'm lacking ideas maybe I'll play the skyrim game again to add ideas and theories about skyrim but I really appreciate your support and criticism but sometimes I also ignore your criticism it's not your fault it's my own fault because I'm dumb hehe. I know you're right and I'm wrong but anyway I'm very happy you've read the story I made even though it's not as good as a regular light novel but you're still loyal to me and that's enough and also for the supporters who joined also thank you for joining the membership it makes my time to continue this story really meaningful but anyway I love you all Thanks for accompanying me all this time