Chapter 21 – Manifested Gift

After Vasida left, Mo Lan went to take a bath. Only after changing into a comfortable nightgown did she finally have time to study the 《Newcomer’s Guide》 and her Book of Cards on her own.

Past six in the evening, the bells of the Academy Castle had not rung again.

Mo Lan had no idea what time it was exactly.

All she knew was that she had read through the 《Newcomer’s Guide》 meticulously from cover to cover, mentally noting nearly everything mentioned inside. When she closed the booklet, she noticed that the previously blank second page now had new content.

Next week’s course schedule had been updated.

From Monday to Friday, there was one class each morning and one each afternoon, each lasting two hours.

Packed full without a single gap.

However, for the entire coming week, there was only one subject — Introduction to Alchemy.

“Does the Witch Academy really place that much emphasis on alchemy? Given the level of Shana’s mother’s alchemy skills, that doesn’t make sense!”

Mo Lan couldn’t figure it out, so she set it aside for now. She would find out once classes started on Monday.

She put the 《Newcomer’s Guide》 to one side and summoned her Book of Cards.

Vasida had already figured out the function of the Devouring Stomach, and Sylph had a direction for testing the Box of Ten Thousand Seeds’ abilities.

Only she still had no clue whatsoever about her own Book of Cards. She needed to step it up.

The exquisitely intricate gold-carved cover, the recessed card slot, the purple gemstone, the blank inner pages — Mo Lan examined the book inside and out, leaving nothing unchecked.

Her only discovery was that even the inner pages merely looked fragile. Whether torn by hand or slashed with a blade, nothing could damage them in the slightest.

Though the name “Book of Cards” was something Mo Lan had come up with herself, the inspiration she received when she first manifested the Book of Cards did indeed suggest it was a card album meant to hold cards.

But the book was right here, yet not a single card was to be found — just a dark, empty slot. It truly left the young witch baffled.

Mo Lan picked at every corner of the card slot, yet still nothing changed.

The more she couldn’t find a lead, the more she refused to give up.

When the morning bell struck six, Mo Lan snapped awake as if from a dream and stumbled out of the dormitory in a daze.

In Room 59, Lilith woke right on time when she heard the bell.

She stretched cheerfully and opened the door. “A whole day has passed. I wonder if the junior students have gotten used to Academy life yet — Moira? Why do you look as haggard as a vampire that’s been desiccated for centuries? Don’t tell me your paternal bloodline is vampiric too?”

Having stayed up the entire night with absolutely nothing to show for her efforts with the Book of Cards, Mo Lan — who had come to find her senior with two dark circles under her eyes — looked even worse now.

“I don’t know whether my paternal bloodline has anything to do with vampires, but I do know that you’re the only one who can point me in the right direction, Senior! How did the seniors before us first go about exploring their Manifested Gifts’ abilities?”

Lilith understood immediately. “So you don’t know where to start with your Manifested Gift?”

Mo Lan nodded emphatically. “I studied it all night long and still have no clue. All I found out is that the Book of Cards is rather hard to damage. I couldn’t find any mechanisms or ways to activate it.”

“Mechanisms? Ways to activate it?” Lilith blinked. “What exactly were you doing all night?”

Mo Lan described her “full-body examination” research method, adding at the end, “I really did check every single little pattern on the book. No matter whether I rubbed, pressed, or did anything else, nothing caused any change at all.”

Lilith pressed her hand to her forehead.

“Moira, you’re a witch — an Sorceress! This is your Manifested Gift, not some crude mechanical trap! Do you even know what an Sorceress’s Manifested Gift actually is?”

Mo Lan shook her head.

“Right, I forgot that the 《Young Witch’s Primer》 doesn’t cover any of this.

You’ll understand once you read some books about Sorceresses later, but let me give you the general idea for now!” Lilith said.

“The reason a Manifested Gift is called a Manifested Gift is because it actually is our innate talent, using magic as its energy source, coalescing into physical form based on our own subconscious understanding.

So when exploring a Manifested Gift’s abilities, the type and shape of the Manifested Gift can provide certain clues.

For example, Vasida’s Devouring Stomach can convert the energy in food, and my Bloodthirst Needle can extract blood — these are insights you can derive just from the type of manifestation.

As for your Book of Cards, it’s a rather rare type, and I don’t know what it does either.

But since it coalesced from your subconscious, you must inherently understand it, right?”

Mo Lan nodded.

That was exactly the direction she had been going last night! Book of Cards — the cards were the key. But she had searched all night without figuring out where the cards were.

Seeing that she understood, Lilith continued. “Besides the hint from its type and shape, don’t forget — the energy source of a Manifested Gift is magic! Sometimes, it’s not that the Manifested Gift isn’t displaying its power, but that it has no energy, no driving force!

Take my Bloodthirst Needle, for instance. If I don’t infuse it with magic, even after it draws blood, it’s no different from an ordinary syringe.

So channeling magic into your Manifested Gift is another approach.”

Mo Lan stared at the dim, lightless card slot on the cover of her Book of Cards, and it all clicked. “So it just needed batteries!”

“Batteries? What batteries?” Lilith was confused.

“An energy source!” Mo Lan explained. “Senior, how do I channel magic into it?”

“Magic is a part of our bodies, just like our hands and feet. You drive it with instinct, control it precisely with your mind, and unleash it with emotion. But…”

Before Lilith could finish, she saw Mo Lan’s Book of Cards float into the air.

Mo Lan had instinctively driven her magic, sending it surging into the Book of Cards.

Her gaze was fixed on the slot on the book’s cover, a pair of deep violet eyes shining with startling intensity.

Combined with her wan, pallid face, Lilith thought she looked even more frightening than when Lilith herself was drawing blood.

Watching Mo Lan’s magic pour into the Book of Cards with no sign of slowing, Lilith’s heart pounded like thunder.

Channeling magic was easy, but controlling it was hard.

This was her first time channeling magic, and she was already going this hard — what if she drained all her magic at once!

But by now, Mo Lan had eyes only for the Book of Cards.

She had completely lost awareness of her surroundings. All she knew was that just a little more, just a little more magic, and the slot would produce what she wanted.

And what was it she wanted, again?

Book of Cards, Book of Cards — cards, of course!

What kind of card?

A flicker of confusion passed through Mo Lan’s eyes, replaced immediately by pure determination.

She wanted a card that would guide her in developing the Book of Cards and help her grow stronger! A card that belonged to her and her alone!

Within the slot, a soft white glow surged, and a square card gradually took shape…