I could hear!

Well, sort of. The words looping out of Lola's mouth and organizing themselves didn't actually have any sound attached with them, so i just had to read what people were saying, but still! It was a massive improvement!

Looking closer at Lola, I realize that there are faint traces of blue energy being sucked into the words. I can't figure out what it is, at least until I realize - is this mana? How can I see it, then? Can my eye - my Magic Eye, to be clear - see magic itself?

That seems extremely helpful. I can probably work with this to do some interesting things. For example, could I move the mana from -

(Mana Manipulation (1) acquired!)

...That was suspiciously good timing. Is it possible that the universe is biased towards me?

No, after my disastrous origin in the library, I know the universe doesn't like me nearly enough to give me spells as easily as that. It's more likely that I gained an understanding of how mana works and it resulted in my ability to manipulate it.

Oh well, might as well make use of it.

Taking an extremely thorough examination of the words as they exit her mouth (and completely missing whatever it is she said in the process), I can see the energy twisting itself into the words, then orienting themselves to let me see them. Well, if it works one way, why shouldn't it work in reverse?

Concentrating my brand-new spell, I thread the mana into a line. It's proving more difficult than I initially thought - whoever designed the sound-into-letters magic probably had a lot more time than I do to get it right. Regardless, I keep trying.

Looping the mana instead of simply aiming it results in a much more stable pattern, so I keep repeating the process until a single line of visible mana is floating in front of me. Lola's mouth is an almost perfect O at this point. Focusing hard, I add another line to the bottom, one end extending outwards.

It's an L.

Lola looks extremely excited to see it, and grabs me, knocking my concentration off. My hard work literally dissipates into thin air, and I can't help but be a little annoyed. Okay, maybe I should practice a little more. After all, it's not like-

(Audithesia created! One extra level allocated for unique spell creation.)

Okay, that really is suspicious. How could the simple act of inventing a spell be met with that positive of a response? I only did it so I could communicate, or at any rate, talk for myself instead of the frustrating yes/no blinks I've been working with. And also, how could a spell like this be improved once it reaches the point where I can easily show people what I'm trying to say? No, what would be more likely is that I could acquire a new spell, preferably telepathy, that would directly allow me to talk into my allies' minds. Although I suppose I could use it against enemies as well...

At any rate, the spell doesn't seem too difficult, and it doesn't appear to even use mana.

I feel that twinge of uncertainty again, and shove it down. I'm dealing with what I've got, and what I've got is the ability to both hear and make my thoughts known. My world is small right now, consisting of Lola and her father (and maybe that scary librarian) but there's no reason I shouldn't take full advantage of whatever the universe deigns to give. In fact, the lack of mana usage could easily be explained away as well. If I'm manipulating pure mana, then why should it cost anything to use? It makes sense that it doesn't cost anything. As for the spells, I'm sure I just got lucky.

I ignore the dangerous feelings and shove them down. Now is not the time.

As of right now, I need to improve the 'level' of my communication abilities, both of them. Presumably, the only way I can do that (since I don't have any limbs) is to simply use them repeatedly. Without any other information or experience to go off of, what other choice do I have?

Lola sprints down the hallway and runs into the maid from earlier. It takes a moment, but I can read what she says. "Lola, what's the hurry? Is there something wrong?"

The impressionable young girl, excited, holds me up and says, "Codex can talk now!"

The maid's face immediately froze into a smile which just screamed 'I've dealt with this before, she'll run out of energy soon'. It was unlikely. Lola seemed to have an unlimited source of enthusiasm and positivity.

Oh right, she wants me to start talking.

Focusing on the mana already in the air, I create a line in the air, albeit with some difficulty, and the maid's jaw drops. It's a rather satisfying expression if I'm honest. She stammers weakly, and I can (finally) understand what she's saying. "Miss - uh, does your father know about this?"

Lola's smile grows massive. "You're right! Father will be so happy!"

I doubt that for some reason.

She runs down the staircase, and I can still see the stunned maid behind her, her duster forgotten. Perhaps Lola shouldn't drop the information that I'm sentient quite so easily...

As she sprints into a room, I expect the corpses of dead books to be littering the wall, perhaps a fireplace powered by dry pages. I am sorely mistaken.

There is a fireplace, but there are only logs in it, and it crackles warmly in its own cozy way. The room itself is more like a high-ceilinged study, with a nice, large window in the back. The morning light coming through highlights the tall, crimson chair in front of a dark wooden desk, with a lamp on either side and various documents organized carefully next to ornamental paperweights. The ambiance is completed by the polished oak pillars climbing up the sides, interspersed between the quartz walls. Above it is a plain lantern (again with the strange gel-based creature inside). Isaac was sitting at his desk, writing in a complex dossier that I can't make out anything in.

As Lola burst in, Isaac started, standing up slightly, before realizing it was Lola and sitting back down with a smile. "Good morning, Lola. What is it?"

Holding me up, Lola placed me on the desktop, firmly and happily saying, "Codex can talk now!"

Isaac's eyebrows jumped and he reached for something underneath his desk. I brace for a branding iron or something along those lines, but he just pulls out his reading glasses and takes a closer look. "Is that so?"

Lola reconsidered. "Well, he's learning to talk. Right now he can just make lines in the air, but he made an L earlier, so he must be trying to write my name!"

His eyes narrow. "How did he learn to do that, I wonder?"

Visions of knives flash through my head for some reason. Thankfully, Lola saves me, saying, "I taught him the Unhearing Assistance spell. He must have figured out how to do it backwards!"

Holy crap, I seriously underestimated Lola's intelligence. She's right on the money about that, and the way she spouted it off so confidently means she probably figured it out right as I was learning how to do it. It's nice to know that I belong to such a smart young girl.

Isaac looks less impressed, though he's thinking about it seriously. "Chris did say it had an intelligence stat of seventy-five, after all..." He stands back up and comes around the counter, examining me carefully. "All right then, Codex, please demonstrate."

I don't hesitate. Isaac has proven himself a seriously intelligent and insightful person, and I have no desire to be on the receiving end of it. Looking around carefully, I can't see any ambient mana. I wonder if Isaac has some sort of defense against magic in his study? From what I know about him, it seems rather in line with his personality. For the moment, though, I might as well use my own magic. Time to see what my limits are!

Concentrating, I try pulling the energy I'd seen before out of myself. It looks a little different, a whitish hue tinging my magic. Perhaps everyone has a different color? I can't imagine Lola's is anything except pink, and I know that Isaac's is red. I wonder what Francis's color is?

Ah yes, proving myself. It's more difficult than I expected to use my own magic, but my determination beats out the sudden rush of tiredness. I manage to create a single line floating in midair, and Isaac makes a slight 'hmmm' sound, but doesn't say anything specific.

I let the spell go and realize that if I had the ability to gasp, I would be. I hadn't thought that using my own mana would be so hard, but I'm totally exhausted from drawing a line. How in the world do I have such a minimal amount of magic? I'm a literal grimoire! I should be overflowing with magic!

Isaac smiles in an extremely frustrating manner. "Is that all you're able to do?" I glare at him. If I could do anything more than that, wouldn't I be doing it?

Lola interjects for me. "Uncle Chris said that he's a brand new book, remember? He probably just can't do magic for very long because his pool is small."

Lola, I hate to think this at you, but I don't have a pool. Besides, why would I need one? I'm a book! I'd get soggy if I went swimming. Isaac seems to think it's a good point, though. "That is an excellent point, Lola. I'm terribly sorry for assuming you were incompetent, sir Codex."

He gave me the most insincere smile I'd ever seen, not that I've seen a lot of them. Well, I don't like you very much either. And what happened to that whole special moment we had yesterday, with the nice talking and polite chatting? So much for that route.

Also, what's a pool got to do with magic? It's not as if I know everything just because I'm a book! I'm new, like Lola was saying! Give me a break!

...Good grief, I'm thinking in such a juvenile manner. What happened to knowledge is power, logic reigns supreme? I should really attempt to maintain my survivalist attitude, but Lola is so overwhelmingly positive, it's impossible not to be energized by her infinite stamina. I may be able to enjoy that attitude, but then again, that's no reason for my entire personality to change. I wonder if this is perhaps the effects of peer pressure? And if so, when did I start thinking of this young girl to be my peer? So many delightful things to think about, and with Lola and her boundless energy, I doubt I'll have the time to tackle them all.

Very well, I suppose I'll start with the most pressing question. Namely, what does a pool have to do with mana? The way Lola was talking about it, she indicated that my inability to produce more than a line had to do with the size, specifically the small size, of this mysterious 'pool'. The most likely answer is that it's a term or slang of some type used to denote a measurement or limit of the magic that a given individual is capable of using. At any rate, it sounds correct, and I can't exactly ask yet. I'll just have to rely on my intellect, the same was I was in the library.

I can still protect Lola and immensely dislike her father at the same time. It doesn't mean that I can't think at all hours of the day contemplating the secrets of this strange universe (much as I'd like to), but I should still try and engage with the people that I spend my time with. And since I can't move on my own, it's extremely likely that I'm going to be spending the majority of my time with Lola. It would be extremely profitable, not to mention enjoyable, to further deepen the relationships that I have. Lola appears to be the most willing to improve on that relationship, so it stands to reason that I should work on it the hardest.

Oh, she was carrying me this whole time. I should really try not to get lost in thought so easily, but it seems to be a habit of mine to digress easily. This further improves the theory that I used to be a scientist of some kind, or perhaps a philosopher. I wonder if I was a famous one?

Agh, I'm really bad at staying on topic. What are we doing?