Chapter 19 (edited)

In a daze, Kara returned to her seat on the train. No one seemed to notice her brief disappearance.

For an ordinary person, such an experience might easily be dismissed as a hallucination or a dream from a brief nap.

But Kara clearly remembered everything that had happened. The magic book given to her by the necromancer Shazam was still clutched in her hands as proof.

"Where did you get that?" Jennifer and Dani, seated opposite her, noticed the ornate book. It was made of sleek black leather, with golden thread inlaid on the cover. The craftsmanship made it a captivating sight.

Kara snapped back to reality, temporarily pushing aside her recent experience at the Rock of Eternity.

She smiled casually at her friends. "Found it at home. Maybe it's something my dad wrote as a student back when he was feeling creative?"

Her innocent scapegoat, Jonathan Kent, would never see it coming.

Jennifer and Dani exchanged amused glances before chuckling quietly.

Kara, however, was already engrossed in flipping through the book.

With her Kryptonian intellect, enhanced by her perfect recall and ability to read ten lines at once, she quickly absorbed the contents.

The necromancer Shazam had been truthful in describing it as an entry-level book for magic apprentices. The material provided a basic understanding of magical power—little more than a primer.

It was shockingly simple.

Kara's smile tightened, a vein visibly throbbing on her forehead. She had asked for a basic guide to magic, yes—but she hadn't expected it to be this basic.

"Is this why you've struggled to find a successor, old man? Because you hand out kiddie books? No wonder you've been searching for centuries."

Despite her frustration, Kara knew Shazam still had value, especially in encounters with magical adversaries. But the nature of magic in this world was strange, inconsistent, and difficult to define.

For example, Shazam himself, despite his magical origins, primarily fought with raw physical power—super strength, super speed, and other traits akin to Superman.

His power came from invoking the gods: the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury. Together, their initials formed the word Shazam, which also functioned as the activation keyword for his abilities.

But his combat style? Mostly punching and kicking, with the occasional dramatic lightning strike when yelling "Shazam" during battle. It was less "magic" and more brute force with flair.

Marvel's Doctor Strange came to mind—a stark contrast with his intricate spellcasting and dimensional manipulation.

Even Wonder Woman, whose power stemmed from her divine lineage as the daughter of Zeus, relied more on her martial prowess than overtly magical abilities.

Kara sighed and set aside her analysis.

This introductory book disappointed her. It explained the fundamentals of the four classical elements—fire, water, air, and earth—and offered rudimentary spells like conjuring a small flame, creating a water sphere, or stirring a light breeze. Nothing groundbreaking.

However, the chapter on controlling spiritual energy caught her attention. This, at least, held potential.

Kara decided to test the waters, subtly using her mental power to lift the glass of juice on the table. To her surprise, she could manipulate it as though holding it with an invisible hand.

Not wanting to attract attention, she quickly set it back down.

"I'm heading to the restroom," Kara announced, clutching the magic book as she stood.

The book's significance wasn't lost on her—it was genuine, and in the wrong hands, it could be dangerous. Kara resolved to destroy it, having already committed its contents to memory.

In the restroom, Kara summoned a small flame in her palm, testing her newfound magic. Her Kryptonian physiology rendered her immune to its heat, making it a harmless experiment.

Placing the book over the flame, she intended to burn it to ashes.

But instead of incinerating, the book transformed, splitting into five separate volumes.

Kara's jaw dropped. "What the—did it just multiply?!"

She quickly extinguished the flame, picking up one of the books to examine it.

This new volume delved deeper into spiritual energy, introducing advanced techniques. Mental power could evolve far beyond simple telekinesis, offering abilities such as glimpsing the future, observing the past, and even tearing through space-time to create portals.

The other four books expanded on the elements, presenting higher-level methods and applications.

Kara's disappointment evaporated, replaced by excitement as she absorbed the advanced material. With each page, her understanding of magic deepened, and she could feel the boundaries of her abilities stretching wider.

Finally, she thought, she was beginning to grasp the true power of magic.