In his previous life, as a homebody programmer, Allen had read many web novels and was quite familiar with most of the power systems described in them.
In fantasy novels, magic is a prerequisite for casting all spells, much like internal energy in wuxia novels.
Moreover, magic power can be increased through meditation and consuming rare treasures, and it is also an important standard for measuring strength in many novels; the increase in magic power is one of the signs of the protagonist's growth.
Yet, Harry Potter, one of the most famous fantasy novels of his previous life, surprisingly had no concept of magic power?
Allen couldn't help but feel a headache.
Looking at the four elements of spellcasting in his notes—specific wand movements, correct incantations, and a certain degree of concentration from the caster—these were all understandable.
However, the caster's subjective intent regarding the spell's effect was simply too idealistic!
The concepts of magic power, internal energy, and battle qi in previous novels, at least logically, made sense and, to a certain extent, conformed to the law of conservation of energy.
But what on earth was the caster's subjective intent regarding the spell's effect? Was it like "the bolder one is, the more one achieves"?
Protagonists in other fantasy novels had to carefully plan their use of magic power, using their limited magic to deal with more situations, often falling into despair due to magic exhaustion, and then entering the much-anticipated breakthrough in battle.
Many villains, too, were ambushed by the protagonist after exhausting their magic power from unleashing a big move, allowing the protagonist to defeat enemies beyond their level.
However, if magic is cast only through idealistic power, without the limitation of magic power, then every wizard in this world would be a magic cannon!
As a transmigrator from a world without supernatural powers, Allen had also dreamed of becoming a supernatural being many times.
Furthermore, magic was the only way to solve Allen's physical problems, so he had always been very attentive and interested in learning magic.
Therefore, after he got the magic textbooks, he diligently studied them, but the more he read, the more confused he became.
Because all the magic textbooks read like an instruction manual!
For example, in the chapter on the Lighting Charm in "Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1," the first part is a detailed introduction to the spell, such as what scenarios it is suitable for, how large a ball of light it can summon after successful casting, how bright the light ball is, how wide an area it can illuminate, and how long a single successful cast can last, etc.
There is also a brief history of the spell, such as who invented it, and who later improved it, etc.
The second part is the method of casting the spell.
This part meticulously describes the standard wand movement for casting the Lighting Charm, marks the standard pronunciation of the incantation, the speed and rhythm of speaking the incantation, how to visualize the spell's effect when casting, and how to focus one's attention.
The third part consists of warnings, mainly cautioning the caster on what not to do and what negative consequences would follow if they did.
To be honest, this part made Allen scratch his head; it was truly baffling human behavior.
For a textbook whose target readers are around 11 years old, it actually contained such clear descriptions of these contents.
Was it to imply that Ravenclaws weren't curious enough, or that Gryffindors weren't brave enough?
Perhaps others wouldn't find this problematic, but for someone who grew up under the red flag and received 16 years of education from primary school to university, this was a huge issue.
How could a textbook be written like this?
Shouldn't it first explain the principles of magic?
How does magic work?
How do spells affect the real environment?
Shouldn't some theories be understood before learning?
It's like when we get an instruction manual for a rice cooker: we follow the instructions to connect the rice cooker to a 220V power supply, how to turn it on, how to select the mode, how much water and rice to add, and then how long to wait until the rice is ready.
This is the process and result of casting the "science" spell.
We can cast the "science" spell according to the rice cooker's instruction manual, but Allen fell into deep confusion after casting the Lighting Charm according to the textbook.
Because for the "rice cooker" spell, he could clearly understand that inside the rice cooker, the current flows through the heating coil, and the resistance of the heating coil generates heat, which is essentially a form of energy conversion.
This was content from Allen's middle school physics class.
And in the wizarding world, a society that has existed for thousands of years, Hogwarts, as the best magic school in the world, teaches its young wizards with such textbooks—no theory, only practice, only letting young wizards know what but not why?
This left Allen in deep confusion...
Could it be that magic in this world truly is idealistic?
Allen was a bit skeptical at the time.
After extensive practice, he mastered the Lighting Charm.
He then picked a rest day and frantically cast the spell in his room.
If he eventually couldn't cast the spell, it would mean that magic power did exist, but for some reason, the book didn't mention it.
After casting the Lighting Charm for three hours, Allen eventually couldn't cast the spell anymore.
However, what ultimately prevented Allen from casting the spell was not the exhaustion of "magic power" as he had imagined, but his sore arms that could no longer wave the wand.
Other than feeling a bit mentally fatigued, Allen showed no other abnormalities, which made him begin to believe that the concept of magic power did not exist in this world.
However, Allen did not completely make up his mind.
Perhaps his magic riot led to his "abundant magic power"?
He had no reference point for comparison, so he could only assume that the textbooks of the magical world were just like this.
Perhaps when he attended Hogwarts in person, they would teach this?
Although he found a reason to comfort himself, Allen couldn't sleep that night.
So, he dug out the magic history books he had collected, hoping to find the secrets of magic within them.
But after reading carefully for half the night, he could only read between the lines, and the entire book seemed to be filled with the words "idealism."
This made Allen, who had received over twenty years of materialistic education, feel a bit at a loss, which is why he had always wanted to find the existence of magic power.
In his view, magic power, like electricity, was the most fundamental form of energy for casting "magic."
With something similar to magic power, the logical operation of supernatural powers in this world could form a closed loop.
Another reason Allen was so troubled by this issue was that he discovered through the textbooks that while magic in this world often seemed like hosting a dinner, writing an essay, or painting and embroidering—it could be elegant, unhurried, refined, gentle, and deferential—if something went wrong, magic became violent, with all sorts of strange effects awaiting you, ranging from minor injuries to death.
Perhaps most 11-year-old brats would ignore the third part of each chapter in the magic book, but as Allen, who possessed a soul with mature experience, he repeatedly studied this section many times.
This was because the most severe injury he had sustained in his previous life was merely cutting his hand while chopping vegetables, and he certainly didn't want to get injured or even die in this world due to incorrectly casting a spell.
That's why Allen was so keen on understanding the underlying principles of magic.