55. Don't touch this book if you want to remain happy.

But Jodoc remained silent and cracked a nut with its beak. "Because you are definitely lucky to have all of your limbs still. Most apprentice mages with a spatial talent tend to lose their limbs, fingers, you name it, while experimenting with spatial magic on their own."

"Wait, as if people would lose their limbs so easily?" Luz questioned since he never hurt himself while casting magic.

"Oh, your summer child," Jodoc cawed. "Even if you employed your mana membrane incorrectly or with too less mana, it could end with the spell attacking your body. Most magic teachers outright forbid their pupils from practicing spatial magic; if they do, it is only under their supervision."

A shiver ran down Luz's spine. 'Thank God I didn't touch magic until I fully mastered the mana membrane.'

Jodoc just laughed after seeing Luz's horrified expression and continued his narration, "Before I tell you how space magic spells work, I want to test how big your mana reserves are. Please empty your mana reserves with casting Spatial Disorder."

Luz nodded before creating a mana membrane around his hand subconsciously. 'Wait a second… I recall having to cast it actively and that my mana membrane was slightly blue…."

Jodoc, who remained quiet, commented, "It seems like you are at the brink of advancing since your mana membrane resembles that of a beginner mage. But it was a matter of time anyway."

Luz muttered the spell [spatial disorder], which lasted for half a second, before vanishing. After casting it three times, sweat began forming on his forehead. "I think… I've used up most of my reserves," he faltered as he grew tired.

"Well, that's above average for a mage apprentice. Usually, your mana reserves should be empty after casting it once or twice. Alright, time to start with our theory lesson," the eagle stated with a yawn before asking Luz a question. "So, what kind of space spells can you utilize right now?"

Uncertain what Jodoc might mean, Luz hesitantly answered, "I think I can ehm destabilize space around my hand?"

Jodoc nodded with satisfaction and added, "Exactly. The only thing you know is how to destabilize space in a primitive way. Spatial stabilization and destabilization are the cornerstones of spatial magic. Most spells use a combination of both types."

"I see," Luz muttered while stroking his beard. However, his confusion was still there since he could not wrap his head around it. "But how does teleportation magic work? I mean, I had to use a spheric coordination system and so forth? I don't recall ever having to stabilize space."

Hearing Luz answer, Jodoc merely shook his head, thinking, 'It's truly a miracle that Luz survived.'

After shaking its head, Jodoc tried explaining the situation to Luz. "In the case of teleportation, you first have to destabilize the space in two areas/volumes before you can link them together. For that process, you have to know the exact coordinates. Otherwise, your teleportation might be off by a few kilometers. Also, after linking them together, one has to stabilize the channel between those two anchors to prevent getting decimated in the case of a failure."

The more Luz listened to Jodoc, the more confused he got. "That sounds quite complicated," Luz remarked hesitantly before asking, "So how did I survive using a teleportation spell?"

Upon hearing his question, Jodoc immediately turned quiet before answering, "I don't really know if I'm honest. But I have a theory, so take what I tell you with a grain of salt. My idea is that you only destabilized the space around you to a degree where an anchor had to be formed. But since you didn't force an anchor, The world linked the area in the least energy-intensive way, which is also the safest way."

…

…

An hour later

"There are two paths to becoming stronger in spatial magic. One either specializes in the sub-disciplines, such as gravity and space sealing, for example. Or one focuses on upgrading one's old spells to suit one's current magic rank."

"As to how you can improve your spells, well, you can either use it more often," Jodoc stated, and a cascade of "Spatial disorder" happened in a mere second, shocking Luz.

"Five times?" Luz asked, but Jodoc shook his head before proudly answering, "Nah. I casted Spatial disorder ten times within two seconds."

After telling Luz that, Jodoc resumed. "The second option is by influencing your spell parameter. The easiest way would be by pouring in more mana into the spell, which would increase all parameters by the same factor."

Jodoc raised his hand, and Luz saw a disorder the size of two hands, which wasn't that incredible but still remarkable.

After showing him that, Jodoc continued, "This is the size of spatial disorder; if you double the mana input. However, it can even get more complex. You could influence individual parameters such as the affected area, intensity, shape, and spell duration all by yourself, which is more complicated."

The spatial spell that followed had an affected area of around a square meter, but its intensity was negligible.

"As for the third method, you incorporate spatial magic sub-disciplines into your spell. Spatial magic is hard to master, but being well versed in at least one sub-discipline in space control will make you feared," Jodoc explained before sighing. "Unfortunally, I don't know any Space sub-discipline. But to give you an example, imagine a spatial disorder spell that sucks in your opponents."

Luz gulped at the thought of it and the lesson ended shortly after.

"Anyway, I've got something for you, Luz," Jodoc commented while taking out three books from his inventory with his talons.

The books in front of Luz looked ancient, and as Luz glanced over their covers, he immediately recognized notes that someone had written on them. "Introduction to Space Control for Apprentice Mages," "Introduction to Space Control for Beginner Mages," and the last one was called "Introduction to Gravity Magic."

As Luz grabbed the first book, Jodoc stated, "I know that you taught yourself most of the basics by reading a master mage book regarding space control. However, rereading the first two books is crucial since your understanding of space magic probably has some gaps."

"Thanks for the reminder," Luz answered while touching the leather cover of the books.

The first book was three times as thick as the second one. But neither of them could hold a candle to the third book. That book was five times thicker than the first book.

But Jodoc didn't stop there. "You should take it easy with these books, especially with the last one," Jodoc stated while Luz opened them.

As Luz glanced through the pages, Jodoc continued explaining. "You don't have to fully understand the third book to include gravity magic concepts in your spells. However, many Master magicians struggle doing that, so you better concentrate on the first two volumes."

"Thanks, Jodoc," Luz answered before reading aloud a note on the book's cover to gravity control. "Don't touch this book if you want to remain happy."