It was now noon, and the sun hung high in the sky.
Many sorcerers in grey robes were sparring under the scorching sun.
They were practicing close-quarters combat with staves.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The sound of wooden staves clashing echoed through the air.
The two of them stood at the entrance watching for a moment before Hermione leaned into Harvey's ear and whispered:
"These people are so hardworking, but do the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj fight with wands?"
Hearing this question, Harvey laughed.
"Those aren't wands in their hands!"
Hermione: "???"
Harvey explained: "Those are just ordinary wooden staves, primarily used for melee training."
"Melee training?" Hermione was stunned.
"Sorcerers... shouldn't they use magic to fight!"
"Of course not!" Harvey shook his head and explained: "The sorcerers of Kamar-Taj practice the Mystic Arts, which are fundamentally different from wizards like us."
"First, practicing the Mystic Arts requires establishing a spiritual link with the god of white magic in this world, the Vishanti."
"Then, through meditation or incantation rituals, they borrow magic from the Vishanti. That is how they use the Mystic Arts."
"A wizard's magic, however, originates from within. Using magic—our spells—comes at almost no cost."
Hearing this, Hermione couldn't help but interject, "Meaning, using the Mystic Arts comes with a price?"
Harvey nodded with a serious expression.
"Exactly. The price can be your lifespan, your flesh, your soul, or anything of value."
"Therefore, the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj do not easily use the Mystic Arts unless it is absolutely necessary."
"Because of this, they undergo melee training. If a problem can be solved with blades or staves, they won't use magic."
"I see..."
Hermione felt like her horizons were being broadened.
There was actually magic in this world that required a sacrifice to use.
Remembering that Harvey's goal was to learn the Mystic Arts, she couldn't help but ask:
"Then since you want to study the Mystic Arts, aren't you worried about paying the price?"
Harvey was also stumped by this question.
After considering it for a moment, he said uncertainly: "A wizard's magic comes from within. Logically speaking, I shouldn't have to pay a price."
Hermione's face was full of worry. "But if a price is required, will we still learn the Mystic Arts?"
Harvey said without hesitation: "You don't have to, but I have a reason why I must learn them."
"Why?" Hermione didn't get an answer.
A man in monk's robes with a typical East Asian face, tanned skin, and a rounded face walked over quickly.
The man questioned them sternly: "Where did you two sneak in from? At such a young age, you dare to..."
With a powerful backer, Harvey was fearless and interrupted directly: "Apologies, we might have disturbed your training."
"But we have the permission of the Ancient One to come to Kamar-Taj and study magic."
"This is Hermione Granger, and I am Harvey Ferguson."
"We were wondering if you could tell us where the library is?"
Wong froze for a moment and asked: "You have met the Ancient One?"
"Of course!" Harvey blurted out, perfectly composed.
"The Ancient One was moved by our sincere attitude toward learning and agreed to let us self-study in the library."
Staring at these two children who didn't even reach his shoulders, Wong said with skepticism: "Such small children... the Ancient One would let you self-study magic?"
Seeing the doubt in his eyes, Harvey had no choice but to pull out his wand.
"Tarantallegra!"
A burst of orange light shot from the tip of the wand.
Caught off guard, Wong was struck by the jinx.
His entire body began to dance a bizarre, uncontrollable jig.
In the training ground, many sorcerers saw Wong dancing in public and cast curious, amused glances his way.
Flustered and embarrassed, Wong shouted: "Enough! Stop it! I believe you're here to study magic now."
Harvey crossed his arms and enjoyed the sight of the stout man's hilarious dancing for a moment. Only when Wong surrendered did Harvey slowly wave his wand.
"Finite Incantatem!"
Regaining control of his body, Wong coughed twice and shot a stern "what are you looking at" glare toward his snickering fellow sorcerers.
"What's so funny? I was just playing around with the kids! Get back to training!"
Once the other sorcerers turned back to their practice, Wong looked at Harvey and Hermione with a heavy expression.
He had been made a fool of in front of his peers; he would never look down on these "kids with sticks" again.
"Follow me. I will take you to the library."
"But you are not allowed to use those sticks to attack me again!"
Wong now had a psychological complex regarding wands pointed at him.
Harvey smiled, tucked his wand back into the lining of his robes, and apologized in a tone that barely suppressed a laugh.
"Sorry... pfft! Haha! I just wanted to prove we aren't some naughty kids who snuck into Kamar-Taj. You aren't mad, are you, Wong?"
Hearing Harvey call him by his name without a title, making him feel like he'd lost a generation of status, Wong's face darkened, and his volume rose.
"Calling me by name is impolite. You should address me by my position."
Hermione, who hadn't dared to speak, saw that Wong looked quite round and seemed like a kind person, so she summoned the courage to ask.
"Excuse me, Master Wong, what position do you hold in Kamar-Taj?"
Wong was suddenly speechless.
Finally, he said grumpily: "I am the assistant to the Sorcerer Supreme, and... I also serve as the Librarian of Kamar-Taj."
"So, we should call you—Librarian Wong?" Harvey teased.
"Hmph!" Wong decided not to bicker with these sharp-tongued children and marched out of the training ground.
As Harvey and Hermione followed him toward the library on the mountainside.
"Apologies, Master Wong, for making you look foolish earlier..."
Harvey apologized sincerely once more. He didn't want to actually upset Wong.
He would likely visit the library often; if he didn't get on the librarian's good side, how could he borrow certain "forbidden books"?
Books like the Book of Cagliostro, which held the secrets of the Time Stone, a copy of the Darkhold, or the Book of the Vishanti.
Harvey had been eyeing these legendary forbidden books for a long time.
On the way to the library, Wong accepted Harvey's apology, his expression softening considerably as he began to ask about their origins.
"I have never seen the magic you used just now. Even in the vast history of magic, there isn't a single mention of such spells."
"I am quite curious about where you two come from. You couldn't possibly be from outer space, could you?"
Wong had every reason to suspect they were aliens.
After all, even if he hadn't met every sorcerer on Earth, he had at least heard of the types of magic they used.