Back in his room, Li Yue began reading the books he borrowed, starting from the books he borrowed from the outer section of the library.
However, the books from the outer section did not involve much magic knowledge. It was the basic of the basic: Kamar-Taj's history, the biographies of certain figures, the world from Kamar-Taj's perspective, and so on. Trivia and theories.
These books were written to give the readers a clear and comprehensive understanding of the world of mystic arts. They gave the theoretical basis for magic and the mechanism to analyze and construct spells.
Unlike what Li Yue initially thought, Kamar-Taj's spells system didn't depend solely on rote memorization: it also relied on a large number of calculations and analytical processes. There wasn't a shortage of people who regularly break down the spells into their individual components and analyze them, just like complex mathematical equations.
In summary, learning magic was very complicated. He would need to familiarize himself with channeling magical energy, mastering the knowledge of magical systems and runes, and then combine all of that together in a spell.
Li Yue realized that he had it easier with the space origin in his body. He couldn't borrow power from external sources and could only rely on his own cultivation, but the power he cultivated truly belonged to him, and he could use them as he wished.
Li Yue finished all the books on the fundamentals. He couldn't perfectly memorize them, nor could he fully utilize the knowledge, but his sixth sense had helped him comprehend the basic concepts of controlling energies to form a magical spell.
...
It was already evening when Li Yue finished reading the books. He performed Astral Projection and detached his transparent soul from his body, but he didn't proceed with his routine cultivation. Instead, he approached the table and grabbed one of the books that he had borrowed.
Li Yue succeeded in grabbing the books, and he even felt the tactile sensation, although he couldn't feel the books' weight.
Li Yue was very puzzled; he didn't expect to succeed. He only recalled the scene where Doctor Strange read the book at night through Astral Projection while letting the body rest, so he tried to replicate it. These books must have some special ability that allowed them to be read even while using Astral Projection.
The book that Li Yue grabbed was a book about spatial magic that he borrowed from the library.
Through this book, Li Yue finally understood why Kamar-Taj's mages had to learn close combat and become combat mages. Because of the overflowing presence of spatial magic, virtually all mages could learn the teleportation circle, even as their first spell. As long as one could channel magical energy, they could more or less use the teleportation circle.
The ubiquity and ease of use of teleportation circles prohibit the use of long-range magic; if you use long-range magic against an enemy mage, they would often choose to run away with teleportation circles instead of fighting a losing battle.
Moreover, long-distance magic users would be vulnerable to sneak attacks by enemies that can simply use the teleportation circles behind them. Therefore, long-range magic gradually fell out of use in favor of close combat battles, magical shields, and magical whips. The rise of magic tools followed after that.
(Author Note: This explanation about close combat mages was made up by the author. Just treat it as a headcanon and move on.)
After reading the theoretical knowledge of basic space magic, Li Yue picked up the book on Mirror Dimension magic—the one he had looked forward to the most. Li Yue was extremely envious of this magic when he watched the movie. With this magic, Ancient One could flip the world upside down and inside out just by waving her hand.
Everything within the Mirror Dimension followed the rules set by the mages, ignoring the laws of physics. It was a different dimension controlled completely by Kamar-Taj mages.
Illusion or reality? Life in this universe was already beyond the wildest imaginations, but the Mirror Dimension, similar to the dream world of the movie Inception, tuned the weirdness to eleven.
If a mage was strong enough, they could change the environment of the Mirror Dimension, altering the very fabric of space and even collapsing it unto itself.
At the same time, controlling the structure of particular objects within the space becomes difficult due to the fluid nature of the dimension according to the rules set by present mages. If your magic power is superior to your opponent, you can overrule the rules and structure that they created!
In the Mirror Dimension, mages could control buildings, roads, rivers, and so on, shaping the environment itself!
Moreover, the changes in the dimension would not affect the real world. It was a perfect place to trap people, gather information, fight, and practice.
Controlling and subverting the Mirror Dimension were trivial matters for someone on the level of Sorcerer Supreme like Ancient One. Ancient One could change the direction of gravity and casually create a large hole or completely erase a structure.
...
Although Li Yue understood the contents of the book, he still did not have the ability to grasp the Mirror Dimension.
Li Yue felt that he had to meet Ancient One. She should be able to give him a perfect answer.
Li Yue put down the book and meditated. Faint blue points of light gathered around Li Yue's Astral Projection, focusing on a spot between his eyebrows.
After a week of meditation, Li Yue was finally able to return to the unknown starry sky, to his pleasant surprise. The blue dots that he had absorbed seemed to gather around the ball in the center of the sky, slowly orbiting the ball before merging into it.
It was a vague feeling, but Li Yue felt that he had undergone a major breakthrough. He hadn't been cultivating for long, after all.
Another few days passed before Li Yue realized this. Aside from studying and cultivating his magic power with his fellow mages, Li Yue also trained in hand-to-hand combat.
Li Yue was surprised to find that his combat ability had improved a lot. At the very least, he was able to fend off Master Mordo's attacks for a few minutes. This was significant progress, considering that Li Yue had never learned martial arts before arriving in Kamar-Taj. Master Mordo greatly praised Li Yue's improvement.
Ancient One had returned to Kamar-Taj a couple of days ago, but Li Yue didn't come to her immediately. He instead waited until today to ask Ancient One about the Mirror Dimension.
...
"Venerable Ancient One, I apologize for disturbing you. I have come to learn how to use the Mirror Dimension magic."
Ancient One and Li Yue sat opposite each other in the hall, drinking tea. It was no different than the first time Li Yue arrived here; the only thing that changed was the content of their conversation.
"Mage Li Yue, come with me!"
Ancient One didn't waste any time. She stood up and waved her hands in front of her, creating a cracked glass pattern in the air. The pattern didn't scatter; instead, Ancient One led the curious Li Yue into it.
Li Yue felt like he had passed through a thin film that didn't give much resistance. The environment didn't change much—they're just the opposite of the real world.
"The Mirror Dimension is a place for mages to fight. You don't have to worry about damaging the environment here. However, this place is also very dangerous. Remember to always bring your sling ring, or you will be trapped here, unable to open a portal back to the real world."
"Um, Venerable Ancient One, I can teleport without the sling ring," Li Yue corrected in a low voice, afraid to provoke Ancient One.
"Indeed, you don't need it!" Ancient One nodded and didn't comment on that anymore.
Ancient One then demonstrated all kinds of abilities that could be used within the Mirror Dimension, as well as how to open it. Li Yue quickly grasped the ability, although he wasn't very skilled and still needed some practice. Ancient One could easily turn entire buildings upside down, while Li Yue could only manipulate the roof.
"Thank you, Venerable Ancient One. You have solved my confusion, so I won't disturb you any further."
After finishing his sentence, Li Yue immediately disappeared from the Mirror Dimension that Ancient One controlled. Li Yue was a little worried whether his superpower would be hampered by the Mirror Dimension, but it seemed that his ability really was second to none in terms of escaping.
"Truly an amazing ability. Your appearance has changed the future, and you will have to reap the changes you've sown," Ancient One spoke to herself after she watched Li Yue disappear before she left the Mirror Dimension through a portal herself.