Silence still enveloped the gardens of the Nacht Family Mansion. Moonlight filtered through the ancient trees, while the night breeze stirred the leaves in a calm, rhythmic dance. Vandal was still processing everything he had learned about the Three Eyes of the Nacht Family when Valt began spinning a black card between his fingers once more. His tranquil crimson gaze shifted toward the night sky, as though he were observing something far beyond the reach of ordinary human eyes.
"However," Valt said flatly, slowly raising a finger, "the Root is no less powerful. Too many mages become obsessed with techniques and spells that they forget the very foundation supporting all magic. Without the Root, the entire system of magic would never have existed."
Vandal let out a quiet breath before interrupting, his expression remaining calm.
"I know," he replied, folding his arms across his chest as he looked directly at Valt. "But only the Grand Council can truly wield the Root itself. The rest of us merely borrow a tiny fraction of its energy to cast simple spells. That's common knowledge at the Academy."
Valt gave a slow nod. There was neither mockery nor disdain behind his mask.
"Correct," he answered calmly. "And that is precisely why most mages misunderstand their own limitations. They believe they are weak because they cannot command the Root in its entirety."
He paused.
"When the truth is exactly the opposite."
Vandal frowned slightly.
"What do you mean?"
Valt looked down at his own hand before slowly closing it into a fist.
"Although we cannot harness the Root's full potential, neither are we bound by limits in the use of magic. The Root's energy constantly flows through every mage's body. As long as that flow continues, the body is restored little by little."
He allowed the silence to linger, letting his words settle.
"You've surely wondered why a mage can fight for hours... even days... without suffering exhaustion the way an ordinary human would."
Vandal fell silent.
He had wondered that before.
Throughout countless historical records, great wars between mages often lasted for days.
Some had continued for weeks.
No ordinary human stamina could sustain a battle of that magnitude.
Valt continued in the same composed tone.
"Ordinary humans rely on muscles, blood, and metabolism. Once their energy is depleted, the body begins to fail. Mages are different. Whenever our stamina is consumed as the medium for casting magic, the Root naturally replenishes it. The process is so subtle that most mages never even realize it is happening."
He lifted a single black card.
It rotated slowly at the tip of his finger.
"No mage truly creates mana from nothing."
"What we do is simply open a path for the Root's energy to flow through our bodies."
Vandal stared at the card without blinking.
"So..."
he murmured quietly.
"We fight using our stamina."
Valt nodded.
"And the Root continuously restores it."
Silence returned.
This time, Vandal began to understand something no one had ever explained to him.
"That is why," Valt continued, "mages possess almost no natural limit to the use of magic. As long as the body has not suffered fatal damage and the Root's pathways remain intact, the energy will continue to flow."
"But..." Vandal narrowed his eyes. "If that's true, why do mages still die from exhaustion?"
Valt raised his gaze.
"Because it is not the Root that runs dry."
"It's the vessel that can no longer contain it."
The night wind swept through the garden once again.
Camelia, who had been watching quietly from the balcony all this time, finally spoke.
"You can think of the Root as a river that never ceases to flow," she said gently while gazing over the garden below. "But if the vessel begins to crack, no matter how endless the river may be, it cannot keep the vessel intact."
Valt gave a slight nod.
"That is why a mage's body is trained relentlessly. Not to produce more magic..."
"But to withstand a greater flow of the Root."
Vandal slowly lifted his head.
For years, he had believed physical training was nothing more than a supplement for mages.
Now he understood.
The body was never the source of magic.
It was the gateway.
The stronger the gateway became...
The greater the flow of the Root it could endure.
Valt slowly raised his black card higher.
"The Nacht Family studies the Root differently from every other mage."
Those words immediately captured Vandal's attention.
"We do not merely make use of its flow."
"We study the laws that govern it."
Valt's crimson eyes drifted into the distance.
"And when someone begins to understand the laws of the Root..."
He slowly turned toward Vandal.
"...they are no longer merely a mage."
Silence once again settled over the garden.
Beneath the tranquil night sky, the stars shimmered faintly, as if bearing witness to the countless secrets the Nacht Family had yet to reveal. And for Vandal, that night marked only the beginning of a journey toward a truth that transcended everything the world of magic had ever taught him.