Chapter 4 : Memory Palace

In his room, Julius was currently seated at his desk with a candle in front of him, engaged in practicing the basic training for young mages - the control of magical energy. His mother, Felicia, stood behind him, observing. The candle was placed on a piece of paper engraved with a simple magic circle that prevented the leakage of magical energy outside the circle.

It had already been six months since he started training, during which he had devoted himself completely to the exercises. Meanwhile, Felicia observed with satisfaction. The training for young mages primarily focused on controlling the flow and transfer of energy - one of the most basic areas and the first they were trained in, as it was crucial in using any form of magic.

Prana control, though natural and instinctive, required regular practice to master. It was akin to breathing: there existed an optimal way to use it, learned only through constant practice. On average, the most talented young mages needed at least a year to reach a level roughly equivalent to what her son was capable of, and for the less gifted, sometimes much longer. When she was young, she had achieved what Julius was doing in a year and six months, which was enough to be considered a genius.

Julius let out a satisfied sigh upon completing the reinforcement of the candle. The flame had significantly intensified compared to its initial state.

Seeing that her son had finished, Felicia embraced him. "If you continue progressing like this, I might be able to pass on the family crest to you soon."

After that, Felicia left, having more work to attend to; the family didn't manage itself.

As soon as his mother left, Julius lay down on his bed. Honestly, he didn't think this new ability, "All Kind of Talent," would be so useful. It allowed him to progress much faster than in his previous life. Previously, he would have needed an entire year to reach this level, but now it took him half the time, and if he really pushed himself, he could gain an additional month. However, he didn't see much point in that since he used that time for something else.

Soon, his circuit would be sufficiently trained for him to move on to spells higher than reinforcement. Except for reinforcement, he trained in other basic areas as his mother had instructed: elemental conversion, mental focus, and finally, physical exercises to stay in shape.

Allonged in his bed, Julius extended his hand, gathering magical energy at the tip of his finger. His circuits lit up, connecting him to the world. The next moment, a tiny spark appeared at his fingertip. He repeated the process, this time with the wind, conjuring a barely visible sphere of air. He performed this for each finger, utilizing a different element. As he finished, he closed his hand, and everything disappeared. As these elements were composed solely of magical energy, they dissipated, transforming into mana in the air. He repeated the process several times, attempting to go faster each time. Eventually, he stopped when he had utilized the majority of his prana.

Having finished, Julius closed his eyes and concentrated. When he opened them, he was no longer in his room. The place resembled an endless white world, with only a door. Upon opening it, an infinite succession of doors opened before him, seemingly without end. After all the doors were open, Julius arrived at an immense library, his Memory Palace - a part of his mind containing his thoughts and memories. Many books were currently in motion as if sorting themselves automatically.

The mind of a mage was exceptional compared to that of ordinary mortals. Mages could shape their mental World as they desired, creating defenses against intrusion. Mental interference spells were not highly regarded, considered ineffective against most mages and useless against well-trained ones. This was especially true for Julius, as his mind had remained unchanged from his previous life, preserving all the safeguards he had put in place through memories and mental training. Being a divine spirit, there was hardly any risk of someone intruding here.

The Memory Palace allowed the mage to accelerate their thoughts well beyond the limits of the real world, up to tenfold for the most talented. This enabled in-depth studies, internal research, and access to vast reservoirs of knowledge through simple reflection. Julius had entered this realm to devise his future plans. Until now, he had set this aside to focus on his fundamentals, but now, with his accelerated progress, he needed to seriously contemplate this.

As he contemplated, he opened some books, and after a few minutes, he began outlining his action plan.

Initially, he should focus on three things: , reawakening to his origin, re-summonings his familiar, Len , and recreating his mystic codes. These three were top priorities.

Following that, the best course of action was to modify his own body using alchemy, but he needed raw material for it. He also needed to recreate a Philosopher's Stone as soon as possible, but for that, he would require Len's assistance.

Julius recognized the less urgent tasks, such as taking the tests to enter the Mage Academy. It was a necessary step if he intended to build political power within the tower, where the future heirs would gather. It was the ideal place to build connections. However, he would have to wait his ten years to join the academy; that was the age requirement for admission. Before that age, they didn't accept applicants. As the circuits of young mages were opened around the age of 5 or 6, it left roughly 5 years to teach them the basics.

Now that he had finished sorting out his mind, he went to sleep

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