"The history of annihilation cannot be repeated... let it end here... opened by the Creator... the door to a new world..."

Whether words were missing or this was their original form, the entire sentence was fragmented, making it impossible to fully grasp the meaning. However, the discernible information suggested this: a period of history had been annihilated for some reason; although there was a desire to bring it back, it was impossible, so it was ended, allowing the Creator to forge a new world.

Lin Luo wasn't sure if his interpretation was correct, but with only this inscription, it was the limit of what he could surmise. The question remained: what was that annihilated history? Who wished for its return? And who decided to terminate it? Who was the Creator? Was it the Creator of the magical world, or someone else entirely? What exactly did the "door" refer to? Magic, or something else?

Lin Luo felt that this single sentence was already saturated with countless mysteries. Furthermore, he noticed that the font of these characters was different from modern script—it was not Japanese, not Chinese, not English, nor was it the language of magic... it was an unknown script.

If he hadn't possessed the ability to master any language, he would never have known the meaning of this passage.

"Could this be the script from the previous civilization or the last era? I should show it to Evian later. She has lived for hundreds of years and even has contact with the Creator; perhaps she can decipher something." The Book of Origins, that’s what Lin Luo called this book. While it might not be the absolute origin itself, it was certainly closely linked to it.

Shortly after he took the Book of Origins down from the bookshelf, the entirely mildewed shelf suddenly disintegrated into dust and vanished completely. It had been wholly assimilated by the Book of Origins; both its "non-existence" and "existence" were maintained by the book. Without the book's influence, it naturally returned to dust.

"So, what sort of surprises can this Book of Origins bring me?" Lin Luo said with a hint of excitement. It was impossible not to be thrilled. The origin of the world, its potency and mystery far surpassed the power of Rules, at least the Rules he currently commanded. If he could fully comprehend it, perhaps he could grasp an even greater power.

Judging by the phenomenon just now, this Book of Origins possessed a certain degree of wish-fulfillment ability. He decided to test it in that direction.

"Instantly materialize Ikaros for me," Lin Luo earnestly requested of the Book of Origins.

"..." Half a minute later, a cloud of grey powder descended from above, coating him entirely in grey... Well, what descended from the heavens wasn't necessarily Ikaros; it was mostly just dust.

"It can't materialize Ikaros because she isn't from this world? Then I'll try someone from this world. Who should I pick? Let me think... Instantly materialize Amadiru, the Creator's daughter, for me."

Nothing happened.

"...Alright, perhaps I was too greedy. The Creator's daughter is comparable in power to the Creator herself, and she is dead. Even the Book of Origins can't bring her here. Then... instantly materialize Xiao Xue for me." (Those who don't know who Xiao Xue is are the 9s.)

Still nothing happened.

"Tsk, dropping the request from the Creator's daughter to an ordinary little loli didn't work. It seems this wish cannot affect others; it can only influence myself..." These three tests gave Lin Luo some understanding of the Book of Origins' capabilities. While it was a pity it couldn't affect others, "Since that's the case, let me transform into a Super Saiyan Four."

...

While Lin Luo was repeatedly testing the abilities of the Book of Origins, the sky outside was nearly dark. To combat the formidable enemy that was the Final Exams, Negi and the members of the Stupid Egg Squad, along with several members of the Library Adventure Society, had officially entered Library Island, forming an adventuring group to "seek magical books that make one smarter."

The group of nine split into an overhead team and an underground team. Bookstore's Miyazaki Wakana and the Fujoshi Saotome Haruna served as the overhead team, responsible for communications and surface monitoring, while the others descended below the eleventh floor of the library to take action.

Because Lin Luo had already cleared many traps before they entered, coupled with the martial support of two of the Four Heavenly Kings of Martial Arts, even though Negi had self-sealed his magic for three days, they managed to find the magical book without major incident. Of course, due to the general ineptitude of the Stupid Egg Squad, they failed to secure the book and were instead smashed by the stone guardians to the lowest level of the library.

Lin Luo noticed none of this; his entire focus was immersed in the Book of Origins.

After spending over half an hour on experiments, he discovered that this Book of Origins wasn't as formidable as he had imagined. Although it could fulfill some wishes, they were, for the most part, useless abilities without practical application.

To use a concrete example, consider the most basic spell in this world: Magic Disarm. While the name sounded impressive, it essentially boiled down to a stripping spell; it couldn't inflict even the slightest actual damage on an enemy.

Therefore, once he understood that the Book of Origins' abilities were similar in nature, he lost interest in making more wishes and began to focus on the actual content recorded within the book.

After a period of deciphering, Lin Luo finally realized that the "wish fulfillment" ability was merely a minor feature attached to the Book of Origins, like the trading cards inside a Raccoon Noodle packet—purely for amusement. The real focus was the content within.

The Book of Origins, it too was a grimoire, recording the basic theories and usage methods of various magics. A mere few hundred pages managed to cram in over a hundred spells: support, attack, defense, special types... virtually every magic imaginable was included.

However, these magics were slightly different. If this world's magic was created by the Creator, then the magic in the Book of Origins existed independently of the Creator... simply put, it was a relic from the previous era.

Ancient Magic

Do not be fooled by the shared term "magic"; their natures were distinct. It was like the magic in A Certain Magical Index and the magic here: one was cast through faith in a deity, while the other was activated by self-cultivation to communicate with the elements of heaven and earth.

Yet, both types of magic shared a similarity: they required a certain external force to be successfully cast. If the outside world lacked magical elements or faith in God, the magic would be hindered or rendered impossible to cast.

The difference between Ancient Magic and these two types was that Ancient Magic needed no external aid; it drew purely from the self as the source of magical power, allowing magic to be cast even if the external world was devoid of magical elements. Its required power source was the human body itself, or in other words... the wellspring of humanity.

This "Source" was something everyone possessed; the only difference lay in the quality and activity level. Therefore, theoretically, Ancient Magic could be used by anyone.

The information gleaned from the Book of Origins vaguely pointed toward the Ancient Era—this was what Lin Luo decided to call that annihilated history. In the Ancient Era, nearly everyone could use magic. Whether a commoner or royalty, even a dog or a chicken, as long as it was alive, it possessed the aptitude to become a mage.

Of course, this was only theoretical. Animals like cats and dogs lacked sufficient intelligence, so even with the aptitude, becoming a mage was nearly impossible for them.

Furthermore, mages were divided into two types: Mages and Archmages. The former, like Mikoto and Rin, had not opened their Source; they could not recognize the Source within themselves. The latter were like Lin Luo, capable of correctly sensing and utilizing the Source within.

The status difference between Archmages and Mages was immense, comparable to that between an emperor and a beggar. Even in that era, those who could sense the Source were extremely rare, making Archmages who had opened their Source beings of absolute dominance.

As for how the Ancient History was ultimately destroyed, the Book of Origins did not provide a detailed account. However, Lin Luo could vaguely surmise... because roughly a century before the destruction, for some unknown reason, opening the Source became much easier. The chance, once one in ten thousand, eventually reached a rate where one in every ten people could achieve it.

Consider this: if a world only had emperors and no commoners, how could that world not head toward destruction?

Of course, none of this truly concerned Lin Luo. The magic he needed had been found, and it was even better than he had hoped. Although he didn't know the destructive power of these spells, they were unique.

For the following period, Lin Luo did not leave the library. He stayed there, engrossed in studying the Ancient Magic recorded in the Book of Origins. While learning all hundred-plus spells would certainly take time, the freshness he felt was akin to a child getting a new toy, making it impossible for him to put down. All his thoughts were consumed by the Book of Origins.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed when he suddenly felt a vibration in his chest. Instinctively, he touched it and found his mobile phone ringing. Opening it nearly terrified him: over a hundred missed calls and more than a hundred text messages. Most were from Mikoto, some were from the girls of Class 2-A, and the remaining fewer than ten were from the Headmaster and other teachers.

Lin Luo didn't look closely and immediately pressed the answer key.

"You bastard, where did you run off to?" The moment the call connected, an angry voice laced with underlying concern lashed out from the other end.

"Uh, there was a slight accident."

"Accident?"

"Nothing, it's fine now. I'm coming back immediately, don't worry."

"W-who's worrying? I mean, you're a teacher, yet you've been missing for three whole days! That's incredibly irresponsible!"

"Three days?"

"How long did you think it was? The Final Exams are already over. If you don't return now, your teaching career might just say goodbye," she retorted.

Hanging up, Lin Luo couldn't help but feel a pang of embarrassment. He had thought at most only one night had passed, but it turned out to be three days. Come to think of it, three days without eating or drinking... well, given his current constitution, it wasn't a big deal, but it still felt a bit strange.

Putting the Book of Origins away, Lin Luo left the library. By the time he reached the school, not only had the Stupid Egg Squad's exams concluded, but their results had also been posted: Class 2-A had claimed the number one spot.

Thinking about it, this was only natural. Class 2-A had three students in the top five academically, and most of the others had decent scores too. They had only been held back by the Stupid Egg Squad. Now that the Squad had performed well, they naturally soared.

"Congratulations, Teacher Negi. You'll become a full teacher now," Lin Luo said to the boy who was being surrounded and adored by the group of girls, positioning him in the center like a star. Although a smile was on his face, he felt a touch of envy and resentment in his heart. Being young was indeed advantageous; such a harmonious harem, compared to his own situation... sigh, how heartbreaking.

Privilege! This was blatant, naked privilege!

And Konoka, you should come over to my side, or go be with Kiriha. There's no place for you in Negi's harem.

"Teacher Lin Luo too! We'll work hard together from now on," Negi replied with a smile.

"Naturally..." Lin Luo smiled, but before he could finish, Konoka beside him seemed to recall something and spoke to him, "It's different, Teacher. Because Teacher Lin Luo disappeared for three days without any notice, Grandpa has extended your probationary period. You won't become a full teacher until after a semester."

"Huh?" Lin Luo was instantly stunned. "Negi also disappeared for three days; why does he get to become a full teacher while I'm still on probation?" He felt it was deeply unfair.

"Eh? How did Teacher Lin Luo know we were also missing for three days?" Negi asked curiously.

Konoka, however, answered Lin Luo's question with a serious expression. "Because Teacher Negi's accident occurred while he was trying to help students improve their scores, which is different. Teacher Lin Luo disappeared suddenly for no reason. Grandpa said the nature of the absence is different, so the outcome is also different."

"...I understand," Lin Luo sighed helplessly. This was privilege, the accursed privileged class!

Although slightly depressed, for him, whether it was full status or probation held little meaning as long as he could remain in this "position." After the initial frustration, he didn't dwell on it too much.

"Next up is the vacation. It looks like we'll finally have some time to rest," Lin Luo said, stretching languidly. After the final exams came the two-month summer break. That was common knowledge. He planned to go back, sleep soundly, catch up on the sleep he lost over the past three days, and then use the two-month summer vacation to study Ancient Magic.

However, the idea was beautiful, but reality was cruel.

Konoka once again crushed his ambition. "No, Teacher, none of us get a vacation. After three days of rest, we start third-year classes. We're finally advancing to the third year, hehe." The young girl smiled happily as she said this.

He didn't know why Konoka was happy, but he knew that if he hadn't misheard, or if he wasn't still half-asleep, what she said was true.

"What did you say? School starts in three days? What about summer vacation?" Lin Luo stared at the girl with utter confusion.

"Haven't we reached summer vacation yet, Teacher? Don't you know?" Konoka looked back at him with an even more bewildered expression, and even the students, including Mikoto, looked at Lin Luo as if he were an idiot.

Lin Luo suddenly felt lost. "No, no, no. After the final exams end, there's a two-month summer vacation. That's common sense!"

"That's common sense elsewhere, but it's different here." Mikoto shot him a glare, then turned her head away as if feeling embarrassed.

Konoka nodded and explained, "The system at Mahora Academy is different from some other places. Also, Teacher, do you know what month it is right now?"

"The end of March."

"Exactly! So how could we possibly have a summer vacation in April?" Konoka stated matter-of-factly. "Starting from early April, we advance to the third year, and we won't have summer vacation until August."

"..." Lin Luo was completely speechless. Alright, as a teacher, failing to grasp the schedule for classes and holidays was undeniably irresponsible, but... why did such a scam of a system exist?

No summer break after the end-of-year graduation exams? Damn it, this was a first for him!

Faced with the looks of disdain and suppressed giggles from the girls, Lin Luo knew he had utterly disgraced himself this time. Lingering any longer would only invite more teasing, so he fled with the weak excuse that "I was chased by an Ultraman three days ago and need to rest immediately due to shock," without looking back.

Before he had gone far, the girls' hearty laughter echoed behind him, making Lin Luo's face flush with heat.

"Teacher Lin Luo, where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?" Soon after, as Lin Luo entered a tree-lined path, a girl suddenly stepped out from the shade of a distant tree and said to him with a smile.

The girl was dressed in a teacher's uniform; both her figure and looks were top-notch. Her gentle smile felt like a spring breeze, and she appeared quite leisurely.

Hello, we meet again, Sakuya-chan.

Looking at the girl before him, Lin Luo thought: Finally, she's here.

Sakuya had been "attacked" by an unknown party in the library—her first experience of involuntary combat since arriving in this world. Furthermore, Lin Luo had no alibi for the time she was attacked, and he had mysteriously vanished for the subsequent three days. Naturally, she had positioned Lin Luo as her primary suspect.

Lin Luo had anticipated this. He was incredibly grateful for his wise decision three days prior: it wasn't him who had invaded her space, but Yoshika.

"I'm heading back to the dorm to sleep, of course. Is there something you need, Teacher Sakuya?" Lin Luo looked at her calmly.

"Nothing much, really. I just heard Teacher Lin Luo was absent from school a few days ago and wondered what happened, so I came to ask."

"Ah, it's a long story. I spent these past three days on the school's Library Island."

"Oh?" Sakuya's expression shifted slightly.