Alice had yet to read the books Zauna got for her, so her knowledge of magic was still very shallow. The little knowledge she possessed came from sensing the movement of mana in her body when she previously cast taboos using panties.
Basically, it could be understood that Alice was a person who had already played a few rounds of a game without even reading the rules of the game. While she couldn't recite the rules of the game, she still had an inkling of how the game worked.
Unfortunately, the things recorded in Psychokinesis Transcendence were simply too complicated for Alice to understand right now. Even after reading the book's content, she didn't know how she should go about casting the taboo. Having her learn something as complex as a taboo while having such a shallow foundation in magic knowledge was essentially saying "multiplication was the simplification of multiple additions" to someone who didn't even know how to do additions. There was no way she could successfully cast the taboo.
Even so, Alice still managed to get a rough understanding of the book's concept.
Just like Kristine stated previously, the essence of Psychokinesis Transcendence was to delve into the microscopic world using psychokinesis and analyze the fundamental elements of this world. Then, using this knowledge, one could specifically manipulate the elements one wanted.
Looking at things from a small scale, Psychokinesis Transcendence allowed the user to have greater control over their mana, which would, in turn, allow them to learn magic much more quickly and manipulate mana much more easily.
On a larger scale, Psychokinesis Transcendence allowed the user to understand the principles of the microscopic world, thereby understanding the world's essence. Then, ultimately, one could glimpse into the "laws" of this world. The last part wasn't just a random hypothesis, either. On the last page of the book, the taboo's inventor, the Third Demon King Clyde Vapula, had written down a note stating that he had already perceived the existence of laws.
However, the note only ended with Clyde stating that he was attempting to analyze the Demon King's Power laws. There were no further records after this. Though, even without any subsequent notes, Alice had a hunch that Clyde had failed. After all, the Demon King's Power was still perfectly fine while Clyde was nowhere to be found.
"What an amazing Demon King."
Even from a human's perspective, Alice couldn't help but admit that Clyde Vapula was an amazing individual. Not only did the Third Demon King have the best reputation out of all Demon Kings, but he even possessed such extraordinary abilities. In reality, parts of the content written in Psychokinesis Transcendence overlapped with the quantum mechanics Alice knew of.
Moreover, unlike quantum mechanics, the theories in Psychokinesis Transcendence had already been put into practice, seeing as Clyde had successfully come into contact with laws. The only unfortunate part was that Clyde had disappeared all of a sudden during his era, and nobody knew what had happened to him.
If the Third Demon King was still alive, Alice would very much want to meet and chat with him. After all, according to his notes, Clyde had already noticed that the Demon King's Power had an entirely different agenda than what most people thought. Contrary to popular belief, the Demon King wasn't the one controlling the Demon King's Power. In reality, the Demon King's Power was the one using the Demon King.
This was also why Clyde had chosen to investigate the laws surrounding the Demon King's Power. He wanted to know how the Demon King's Power came into existence and why it existed. Afterward… There was no more afterward.
"While we might be standing in opposite positions, I can't help but admit that Clyde Vapula is a genius," Kristine said, sighing ruefully. "It isn't without reason that he was the only Demon King who managed to occupy the human realm. Even after thousands of years, the concepts in this magic book still far surpass modern concepts. Let alone the Third Hero, even I wouldn't be confident in winning against the Third Demon King."
Alice fell silent as she picked up the magic book with her right hand. Then, the book's weapon information appeared in her mind.
…
[Weapon: Magic Book - Psychokinesis Transcendence]
It was only an ordinary book that recorded the principles of a taboo spell. The book itself didn't have any special effects, so it was understandable for it to be regarded as garbage.
However, this also showed that the book hadn't been tampered with using magic. It was truly nothing but an ordinary book.
"I spent several days studying in this room just to learn the basics of this taboo. With my talent as the Hero, this is already a very long learning period," Kristine added after noticing Alice's silence. "I only ever managed to use Psychokinesis Transcendence to strengthen my psychokinesis. I didn't manage to touch upon the realm of laws as stated in Clyde's notes. You haven't even learned the basics of magic yet, and you probably won't be able to understand the book's contents for the moment, so you should take the book away for now."
"I guess you're right. I can take my time learning it during the school trip," Alice said, nodding. God had created her body, so her talent for learning was not the slightest bit inferior to the Hero. She guessed that by the time the school trip began, she would've already mastered the basics of magic.
"Alice! Alice! Come and take a look at this!"
After Alice picked up Psychokinesis Transcendence, Zauna's voice came from a corner of the workshop.
Following the voice, Alice found Zauna standing in front of a small workbench and looking at a small knife on the workbench. Similar to Psychokinesis Transcendence, the knife's surface was coated in a layer of dust.
"What's this knife?" Alice curiously asked as she walked over to Zauna.
"I don't know, but this knife seems strange," Zauna said as she looked at Alice. Then, she explained, "When I tried picking it up before, I immediately felt a little drowsy… It was the same feeling I got when I touched the Hero's Sword."
"Like the Hero's Sword?"
Alice was stunned. Then, she turned to Luna, who was also standing in front of the workbench.
Noticing Alice's questioning gaze, Luna nodded and said, "I tried it as well. What Zauna said is true."
It works on Luna as well? This is interesting, Alice thought as she caressed her chin. She remembered the Loli Goddess stating that there was only one Hero's Sword, and this Hero's Sword was sitting inside the weapon storage box she carried. So, the knife sitting on the workbench couldn't be the Hero's Sword that God created.
However, apart from the Hero's Sword, what other item could possibly affect Luna? Luna was someone who had absorbed a portion of the Demon King's Power's strength, after all.
Alice couldn't help but grow curious. Meanwhile, acting on her curiosity, she raised her right hand and picked up the gorgeous-looking and dusty little knife.
…
TL Notes:
Psychokinesis Transcendence (without italics) refers to the taboo spell.