Luo Wei opened the first page of the notebook, and the bold, vigorous handwriting immediately caught his eye.
"The glory of the Magic Empire has long since ended. The great deeds of our ancestors have been lost in the dusty annals of history."
"However, when we study ancient history, it is not difficult to discover that the mages of that era were the darlings of the gods, omnipotent, and the group closest to the truth."
"So, what led to the downfall of the mages?"
"The sages of the Elder Council throughout the ages have told us that it was the mages' excessive greed, their attempt to pry into the truths of the world, that angered the gods and brought about their punishment. From then on, power became a curse, and madness would accompany every spellcaster for the rest of their lives."
"But I refrain from commenting on this."
"Through my research of numerous historical texts, I have learned that the Grand Archmage, Eltuga, revered by later generations as the God of Magic, was active during that era. He was the one who truly touched the truth and achieved apotheosis. Yet, he lived a thousand years before the so-called Age of Curses."
"So, the truth of that time is not as simple as the sages have said."
"Perhaps to understand, or even solve, this affliction that has plagued our community for so long, we should start by studying the gods themselves."
This was the preface written by Master Usoma. The calm and wise tone of the narrative gradually painted an image of a mage in Luo Wei's mind—someone who was perceptive, intelligent, and seemingly capable of understanding everything.
Speaking of which, Master Usoma had a bit of a connection to him...
The author of his book, *Gould's Book of Magic*, the former president of Callen University, Gould, was actually Usoma's junior brother.
Luo Wei had discovered this from *Gould's Book of Magic*. In the old president's casual writings, he often mentioned his senior sister, seemingly with great fondness...
However, upon closer inspection, there was no trace of Gould in the Magic Hermit Society. It seemed the two had parted ways long ago.
One continued to delve into the truths of magic, even going so far as to study the gods themselves, while the other took a more pragmatic approach, dedicating himself to the study of steam engines and spearheading the Magic Engineering Industrial Revolution in Saint Callen.
Having inherited *Gould's Book of Magic*, Luo Wei could somewhat consider himself a disciple of Master Gould.
And Tilis was Usoma's disciple. It had to be said, this was quite a peculiar twist of fate...
Luo Wei continued flipping through the notebook, deliberately avoiding the detailed research analyses and instead focusing on Usoma's casual writings.
As he read on, he began to feel that things were taking a strange turn...
The further he went, the more chaotic Usoma's handwriting became, and the emotions in her words grew increasingly unstable.
"What have I discovered?"
"Can gods be killed??"
"It seems that gods are divided into factions. Perhaps only another god can kill a god..."
Tilis quietly leaned closer to Luo Wei, her black hair brushing against his ear.
As he turned the pages, Tilis's breathing grew more rapid, as if she, like her mentor Usoma, was becoming increasingly agitated.
Luo Wei gradually reached the middle of the notebook. Usoma's handwriting grew more distorted, and her tone even began to sound somewhat mad...
"My god!"
"Could the power of the gods also be within our grasp??"
"The Key of the Gate!"
"The great Key of the Gate!"
"If only I could touch it, if only I could open the Gate of Truth! All desires, all contradictions, could be resolved! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Time! I need more time, not a moment can be wasted! I can't wait any longer!!"
Looking at the almost illegible, twisted words, Luo Wei suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
The calm and wise image of Master Usoma from the beginning had completely vanished.
In its place was a figure who rambled incoherently, scribbling nonsense in a state of utter madness...
Luo Wei gradually flipped to the end of the notebook.
"All preparations are complete."
"The moment to witness the truth is at hand!"
"I am ready!"
Luo Wei frowned and quickly flipped to the last page, only to find the leather cover.
Was this the last page? There was nothing more?
He carefully examined the *Fragmentary Notes of Usoma* and suddenly noticed a detail.
What he had just seen wasn't actually the last page—there should have been one more.
But the final page had been neatly torn out. Luo Wei leaned closer to the notebook, noticing the jagged edges of the torn paper...
Usoma had torn out the last page? Why would she do that?
Luo Wei was deeply puzzled. According to the notes, Usoma had completed her preparations and was about to fulfill her wish, to personally witness the truth...
Yet everything had come to an abrupt halt...
It just ended like that?
How infuriating.
Luo Wei felt as if he had been left hanging, his curiosity gnawing at him. He desperately wanted to know what had happened next, what Usoma had encountered...
Closing the notebook, Luo Wei took a deep breath, feeling the sweat on his forehead grow heavier.
Reading such a book was incredibly stressful. He had been worried about losing his sanity, as the item description had warned that delving too deeply would require continuous sanity checks—in other words, one could read themselves into madness.
At that thought, Luo Wei suddenly froze.
Tilis had read the entire thing!
He immediately looked up at Tilis, who was leaning close beside him.
Sure enough, her entire body was trembling violently, and a fanatical, almost crazed glint shone in her purple eyes.
"Tilis!?" Luo Wei looked at her with concern.
But she laughed excitedly, "You see! I told you it was true! I wasn't lying to you!!"
Tilis tightly gripped Luo Wei's hand, her grip so strong it hurt.
"The Key of the Gate!"
"The great Key of the Gate!"
Tilis's voice grew shrill with excitement.
"It's the key to touching the truth! Don't you see? My mentor must have succeeded! And I will too!!"
Luo Wei was shocked by Tilis's state. She was even more frightening than she had been at the dinner table earlier.
"Calm down!" Luo Wei struggled to pull his hand free, then firmly held hers instead.
"Calm down? How can I calm down!?"
She stared into Luo Wei's eyes, her face twisted with emotion.
"If I become a god, I can protect everyone I care about! I'll never have to watch you leave again!"
Luo Wei looked at Tilis, feeling nothing but a bitter smile in his heart. Her mentor had pursued the truth for its own sake.
But Tilis was doing it for...
He sighed helplessly, gazing into her blazing eyes.
"Tilis, your emotions are out of control. Where is your rationality as a researcher?"
He looked at her and said quietly, "Don't you think there's something very wrong with all this?"
"Wrong?" Tilis paused. "What's wrong?"
Luo Wei picked up the notebook and showed her the torn-out last page.
"Your mentor... she might not have touched the truth, nor achieved godhood..."
"Otherwise, why would she tear out this last page?"
Luo Wei looked deeply into her eyes. "Think about it. You're so smart—you'll figure it out."
"Your mentor..."
"She probably failed. That's why she did this. She didn't want you to follow in her footsteps."
To his surprise, Tilis's entire demeanor darkened, casting a heavy atmosphere over the room and making it hard for Luo Wei to breathe.
She glared at him with a shadowy intensity. "No, that's impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"You're lying to me! You're deceiving me!!"
"My mentor must have succeeded!"
"And so will I! I will follow her! Luo Wei! You must come with me! Let's become gods together!!"
The air grew increasingly oppressive.
Luo Wei clenched his teeth, standing firm against the pressure and meeting her gaze without flinching.
"Fine! If that's what you believe."
"Then tell me, where is your mentor now?"
The pressure in the air vanished in an instant, and Tilis froze for a moment.
Luo Wei pressed on with his questioning, "Where is Usoma?"
Tilis opened her mouth but hesitated briefly.
"Teacher..."
"She disappeared half a year ago..."