“Sunders? You’re the kid Sunders accepted this year?” asked the Elder of Books. He looked surprised as he said, “I thought it would be some kind of naturally-born genius. But you?… To be frank, you make a better student for little Wallace.”
Angor did not reply. He only looked at the old man with a plain look.
“No matter who sent you, I’ll not solve your problem for free,” said the elder. He paused a moment before saying, “However… if you can tell me something about your own idea about mass-energy relation and can make a good point, I’ll make an exception and help you this time.”
Mass-energy relation…
Angor considered. He was not sure if the physical constants applied in the wizarding world, but he could still explain the basic concept of it.
This was about helping his own training, so Angor did not intend to hide anything. He told the old man everything he knew about the relation. However, Angor did not use any constants. Instead, he used speculations and inferences to create definitions in the opposite way.
Angor did not say anything about the more exotic concepts such as the core of mass-energy relation, the theory of relativity. He only explained relatively plain knowledge while using uncertain words such as “I guess”, “maybe”, and “I think”.
However, what Angor deducted already surprised the Elder of Books.
The old man possessed these superficial concepts, but they were all considered paradoxes because they went against commonly-believed views. Knowledge had paradoxes, but the truth did not. The Elder of Books admired Angor for being courageous enough to redefine the concept albeit only at a basic level.
“You did well. You didn’t know anything about in-depth problems yet, but you already have a decent knowledge base considering your age,” said the elder as he nodded in acknowledgment.
Angor brightened up and said, “So, my question…”
The old man had a thick, white, chest-level beard, and he would stroke his beard when he felt joyful. He was doing it now with a gentle look as he said, “Go ahead and ask. Truth is, I also want to know what question could a kid who didn’t find his spirit power ask.”
Angor was speechless.
You already said it!
The boy cleared his throat embarrassingly as he said, “Um, I… just wanted to ask how to find my spirit power.”
The old man stopped his hand in the middle of his beard. He was speechless.
You came all the way here just to ask me this?!
…
Angor realized the old man’s expression was turning colder, so he quickly added, “I know people have different ways to express their spirit power, and that this power is always inside their minds, and they will find it sooner or later in the long run. But I have an urgent task on me, and I need to do this faster. I’ve spent a long time trying to sense my spirit power now, so I came to you to find if there’s something I can do to speed it up.”
The Elder of Books relaxed a little upon hearing Angor’s words. Wanting to become an apprentice faster because of an urgent matter was an acceptable excuse. The old man did not intend to ask why. Maybe the kid was bullied by another apprentice or wanted to get revenge on someone?
The old man answered after considering for a while, “There are faster methods to track down your spirit power.”
He added, “I know a direct and quick approach. You can buy and drink a potion which improves your spirit power. When the potion works on you, you’ll naturally feel that power. But the potion is usually costly…”
“Potion of Austere Night?” Angor asked.
“You have it?” asked the old man. He felt a bit uneasy. He had just said the potion was expensive, and the kid declared that he had it right away.
Angor nodded as he explained, “My professor gave it to me.”
The Elder of Books remained silent and thought to himself.
Since when did Sunders become so generous? Why did he give this priceless potion to someone so easily?
In the end, he said, “Ahem. Since you have the Potion of Austere Night, just drink it down to sense your spirit power.”
Angor was happy about getting a viable answer. However, when he thought about how Sunders told him that the potion had side effects, he hesitated.
“So I can feel spirit power when it increases?” Angor asked.
“Yes. But that’s not all. Even a decrease in your spirit power or even a small fluctuation of the power which didn’t affect the ultimate result will help you to locate your spirit power faster.”