Clow Reed’s Gift

"Ahhh, that scheming glasses-wearing bastard set me up before he left!"

Adam roared in frustration within a vast expanse of white.

It was his own fault, too. Clow Reed’s earlier image as a serious teacher had completely fooled him, so he had been dragged in without the slightest guard up.

As for what this world was for, and whether it would harm Adam… it was not harmful at all. He merely had a little knowledge to learn before he could leave.

Adam raised his head and looked at the dozen or so mountains of books ahead of him, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Yeah…

Just a little.

During the short time Clow Reed’s spirituality had spent in this world, even though it had not been by his own will, he had still analyzed a vast amount of this world’s rules.

And perhaps with the mindset of "since he was already here," Clow Reed had no intention of wasting that knowledge…

Thus, Adam found himself faced with these dozen or so mountains of books.

Besides that, there was also the gift Clow Reed had mentioned—

Magic to consolidate oneself!

Adam looked at the tallest mountain of books and took a deep breath.

"Fine. Isn’t learning all this for my own sake anyway?"

The more he knew about the rules of the world he inhabited, the better. If Adam could completely understand all the world’s rules, then calling himself omnipotent in this world would not be an empty boast.

And the magic of consolidating oneself was absolutely cutting-edge magical knowledge.

After consolidating time, he would never again need to worry about spacetime paradoxes affecting him. The time he occupied would be reality; even if Adam returned several hundred years into the past and blew up Earth, everything he had experienced would still exist because he existed…

Of course, if he truly wanted to do that, there was another step required—he had to divide time apart and turn Earth’s explosion into an event that occurred in a parallel world. Otherwise, Adam being fine did not mean everyone else would be fine too.

Consolidating parallel worlds would allow Adam to freely travel to different parallel worlds while obtaining power from them. This was also the magic Clow Reed used to travel across multiple parallel worlds.

In short, every mountain of books in this White World contained magical knowledge that countless people dreamed of. To Adam, it was an enormous gift, but…

"I don’t feel happy about this at all!"

After gnawing through half a mountain of books, Adam stared at the sky in speechless misery. This magical knowledge was not something he could master through rote memorization; he had to truly understand the rules behind the runes, combinations, and magic circles.

Comparing the size of the half-mountain he had finished to what remained, Adam counted on his fingers and figured he might have to study here for several hundred years…

"I hope time flows differently here than it does outside."

Although he knew lamenting would do nothing, Adam could not help sighing. He then composed himself and devoted his whole being to studying.

Feeling sorry for himself would not change the situation. The only way out was to study.

As long as studying did not kill him, he would study himself to death!

Studying makes me happy!

Just do it, let’s go!

There were no calendars in the mountains; when winter ended, one did not know the year.

In a world containing nothing but himself and books, Adam’s perception of time had grown blurred. When he finally completed the knowledge in the last book, he instinctively reached out to touch it, only to grasp empty air.

Only then did Adam realize that he had finished the final book.

"Eh…"

Adam sighed again, but this sigh was far more complicated than the previous ones.

Other than at the very beginning, he had genuinely felt the joy of learning afterward. Programming might have been somewhat dull, but what about the Aether Editing Technique, which could directly alter reality?

With that sigh, the white world shattered, and Adam found himself sitting on his bed. Everything around him felt both familiar and unfamiliar.

"Mosimosi~ Can you hear me? Hmm~ By the time you hear this voice, you should have fully digested all my gifts, right?"

A familiar voice belonging to Clow Reed sounded by his ear.

Adam’s fists immediately clenched.

"Did you experience the charm of magic during this process? The feeling of grasping the world with your own power is so intoxicating…"

The voice continued, then abruptly changed direction.

"Now, try again. You should be able to anchor your spirituality now, right?"

Adam froze and began sensing his own spirituality—

Even during the act of sensing it, Adam could feel the difference. It came from having complete control over himself, including the self he possessed in the Spirituality Dimension.

Adam "saw" it. His self in the Spirituality Dimension was no longer merely an outline; every line was exactly the same as his self in the material dimension. One hand held the Book of Sealing, while the other gripped the Wand of Darkness.

Indeed, spirituality condensed like this was even more perfect than the state he had originally planned for. He could begin immediately…

"Well~ Try it yourself. I’m only making a guess based on your current condition, after all. I’ve never done something like this either~"

Clow Reed’s voice suddenly became somewhat unreliable again. Adam’s eye twitched, and he decided he should adjust himself properly before trying anything.

"Alright, lastly, about time… The greatest difference between spirituality and other dimensions lies in time. It is a rule used to measure change, but the Spirituality Dimension does not completely obey that rule. So… don’t worry. The process of digesting my gifts did not consume even a single unit of time."

Although he had been somewhat prepared, Adam still breathed a sigh of relief after receiving Clow Reed’s explanation.

"Eh? You didn’t just believe that, did you?"

"…"

Adam raised a hand, and golden ornate letters appeared in the air, displaying the current objective time. It was indeed as Clow Reed had said.

"I see. A magician must naturally rely on themself for everything. Remember, magic is a power that cannot be fooled… Alright, this is the final farewell."

Clow Reed’s voice became hazy.

"Perhaps one day, we may unexpectedly meet somewhere~ After all, magic is also the power of miracles~"

Adam froze.

Clow Reed had said he was already dead. Could they still meet unexpectedly even so?

Wait…

The Spirituality Dimension did not completely obey the rules of time…

Could it be?!

"Oh~ I’m really looking forward to that day."

Adam rolled his wrists and said through gritted teeth,

"When that time comes, I’ll make sure this fist lands hard on your face, you scheming glasses-wearing bastard!"

"I heard that~"

!!!

Adam nearly choked on his breath.

After sitting there for several minutes without anything happening, Adam left the safe house while grumbling curses, heading for the Headmaster’s Office to seek comfort from Kero and Suppi.

How could there be such a vile person in the world?!