The tempting spells on the desk left Hodge's mind in disarray.
Though Shadowhunters possessed angelic bloodlines, their abilities were largely limited to enhanced physical prowess. When it came to wielding magical power, they still relied on 'Rune' inscriptions to manifest it.
In battle, they depended more on their supernatural weapons and honed combat skills.
When injured, they either toughed it out with their natural resilience, relied on medicine, or—if the wounds were severe—swallowed their pride and sought external healing.
Simply put, Shadowhunters had no precedent for using spells in combat or for healing.
At their core, the only difference between them and ordinary humans was their ability to wield supernatural powers through their bloodline.
Now, Li Ming's "Key of Solomon" presented them with another path.
They could use spells to aid in battle.
They could use spells to heal their wounds. After a long silence, Hodge mustered all his strength to make a difficult decision. Slumping back into his chair, he waved at the doorkeeper Lance, signaling for him to leave so he could speak privately with Li Ming.
Lance had no idea what spell Hodge had seen. He only heard Hodge mention "angelic magic," which piqued his curiosity about the spellbook on the desk. Now, Hodge was actually kicking him out of the office. How infuriating was that?
Out of respect for Hodge being the boss, Lance put on a childish poker face, snorted coldly, and silently left the office.
Only after the door closed did Hodge speak with slight awkwardness: "Mr. Austin, may I ask where you obtained these spells?"
If Li Ming's spells were acquired through dubious means, Hodge wouldn't dare trade with him no matter what. This was angelic magic—who knew if the original owner was like them, half-angel and half-human? What if Li Ming learned the Runes and then simply walked away, only for the owner of the "Key of Solomon" to come knocking, accusing the Shadowhunters of stealing their spells?
If two factions of half-angels ended up fighting over this, Hodge couldn't bear the shame. Moreover, the Shadowhunters were already down to a pitiful few in their battle against demons. Losing even one member would be enough to give Hodge a heart attack. If they ended up fighting "their own kind" and lost a few, Hodge felt he might just cry himself unconscious in the bathroom.
Li Ming shrugged nonchalantly. "Of course I got them through a trade."
"With whom?" Hodge pressed further. "And your exact identity?"
"Are you conducting a census here?" Li Ming scratched his head, then suddenly realized, "Ah, you're worried about the origin of these spells and whether my identity might bring trouble?"
Since Li Ming had laid it out plainly, Hodge no longer avoided the subject. He nodded and said bluntly, "I need to consider the future of my people."
"That sounds like a noble reason," Li Ming said with a faint smirk. After a moment's thought, he made up a story: "I come from a reclusive Mage faction. These spells were all obtained through trades within the organization, so you can rest assured—no one will come after you. Besides, these are spells left behind by angels. What's wrong with half-angels like you learning a bit of angelic magic? No one can really object to that, right?"
Li Ming scratched his head again and spread his hands in analogy. "It's like how vampires share a common ancestor. Even though they're now divided into smaller factions, no one can forbid a particular group from drinking blood or using vampire magic. That just doesn't make sense."
Hodge gave a hollow laugh. "But we carry Raziel's bloodline," he said, pointing at the spellbook before him. "The angel who left these spells was another. I wouldn't want to inadvertently offend another faction of angels or their descendants."
Li Ming shook his head slightly, closing the magic book as he said, "If you don't believe what I'm saying, then I can only apologize. After all, I've already told you I come from a reclusive faction. You won't find any information about me, and I can't prove the origins of these spells."
Seeing Li Ming about to put the magic book back into his pocket, Hodge grew anxious: I never said I wouldn't trade! I still want to find a way to break the curse from these spells!
"Wait," Hodge pressed his hand on the magic book, took a deep breath, and said through gritted teeth, "Mr. Austin, how about this—stay at the academy for half a year."
The hidden intention in Hodge's words wasn't lost on Li Ming. It was nothing more than using those six months to confirm whether their academy could master the "Key of Solomon" spells without facing any repercussions.
Similarly, Hodge wanted to use those six months to investigate Li Ming's identity.
But did Li Ming care? If they had the ability, they could try investigating in the "Season of the Witch" or the Marvel Universe.
Besides, Li Ming was just worrying about where to settle down.
And now this good fortune? Li Ming scratched his forehead and shamelessly requested, "You said it includes food and lodging, so you can't go back on your word later and demand payment for meals or accommodation. Let me tell you, I didn't bring any money when I left."
Do I look like someone who cares about such trivial meal expenses? Hodge's face twitched as he weakly replied, "Free~"
With the deal struck, Li Ming immediately tossed the spellbook to Hodge, rubbing his hands together and asking, "So, can you take me to see the Rune materials now?"
Hodge gave a slight nod, stood up, walked to the door, and gestured for Li Ming to follow him.
Soon after, Hodge led Li Ming to the library, pointing at the nearly hundred books on the shelves and saying, "These are all materials on Runes." As he spoke, Hodge casually pulled out a book titled Rune Inscriptions Basics from the shelf and handed it to Li Ming, adding, "This is the introductory book for every Shadowhunter. I hope it helps you."
Li Ming took Rune Inscriptions Basics and handed his spellbook to Hodge while walking toward a nearby desk, saying, "My spellbook contains all my spells, but I've enchanted it so you can only access the pages related to angelic magic. Don't accuse me of holding back."
Hodge looked down at the spellbook, which detailed healing spells and limb regeneration, and smiled politely.
As he sat opposite Li Ming, taking out paper and pen to diligently copy the contents, he curiously asked, "Mr. Austin, does your Mage organization have many members?"
"Not many, but more than the people here," Li Ming casually lied.
How many people do I even have here? Not even enough to count on ten fingers. Hodge glanced at Li Ming, who was engrossed in reading, and tried to fish for more information in a roundabout way.
But as the healing spells grew increasingly difficult to understand, Hodge gradually fell silent, focusing solely on recording the spells.
There was no helping it—these were spells. A single misplaced letter could lead to disaster.
Over the next few days, Hodge copied The Key of Solomon while carefully observing Li Ming, who had made the library his home.
By the time Hodge finished copying The Key of Solomon, Li Ming had already moved a bed into the library.
Hodge could only sigh in admiration—this was truly the diligence of a Mage, just as the rumors said.
While Li Ming was fully immersed in studying and copying Rune materials, Lance and Clary on the other side were living a far more colorful life.
First, Lance contacted the "Silent Brothers" to help unlock the sealed memories in Clary's mind.
Unfortunately, the Silent Brothers explained they couldn't remove all the seals, only allowing Clary to recall fragments of her memories.
But Clary was lucky—those fragments were enough for her to find a clue about who had sealed her memories in the first place.
Following these clues, Clary, dressed in flamboyant attire, led a group of friends to a grand mansion where they found the most powerful Warlock in Brooklyn—Magnus Bane. Just as Clary was asking Magnus Bane to lift the memory seal, and Magnus Bane claimed he was powerless to do so, the unlucky Simon was ambushed and kidnapped by a group of vampires. Terrified, Clary immediately turned to Lance for help, not caring about anything else.
Lance, who had never learned how to hunt vampires, either had a momentary lapse of judgment or wanted to show off his heroism in front of Clary. He stubbornly gathered some weapons and equipment before charging into the vampires' lair.
The outcome was predictable. Simon had been nothing more than bait set by the vampires, and Clary, Lance, and the others who came to rescue Simon were beaten to a pulp by the vampires.
If not for a group of werewolves suddenly appearing to rescue Clary and the others, not only would Lance have failed to save Simon, but they all would have been doomed.
Afterward, unaware that Simon had been bitten by a vampire, Lance brought him back to the Institute for standard treatment.
Similarly, Lance's fearless spirit successfully captured the heart of the lovestruck Clary, and the two eventually embraced and confessed their feelings. This, of course, greatly displeased Simon, who had been secretly in love with Clary all along.
He had met Clary first and had always been the one taking care of her. Just when he thought he was about to pluck the flower that was Clary, why did some delinquent kid who had only known her for a few days swoop in and take her away?
Feeling inexplicably cuckolded, Simon had a huge argument with Clary. Witnessing this scene by chance, Li Ming could only sigh and think, "The curse of 'lovers becoming siblings' has begun to take effect."
Not knowing how to comfort Simon or handle her budding relationship with Lance, Clary felt lost. She could only rely on studying to calm herself down—after all, studying brought her joy and helped her forget her troubles.
While studying Rune Inscriptions, Clary, whose seal was growing weaker, awakened an ability similar to her mother's: the power to store objects within paper.
This suddenly reminded Clary of something: the Holy Grail might, possibly, perhaps have been sealed inside a Tarot Card by either her or her mother.
Thinking of this, Clary took her friends back to Rosie's home.
Upon arriving at Rosie's place, everyone found the scene baffling. The weak Rosie was somehow holding onto some unknown object, stubbornly resisting the relentless attacks of a Demon.
The item in Rosie's hand was, of course, none other than the Amulet given by Li Ming. Without it, Clary might have found Rosie already possessed by the Demon that had arrived one step ahead.
Naturally, Lance, who was inherently opposed to Demons, didn't hesitate to swing his blade at the creature.
In the end, just before Rosie's Amulet shattered and at the cost of Eric being severely injured, the group managed to defeat the Demon and returned to the Institute with the Holy Grail and Rosie.
When Clary returned to the Institute, Hodge immediately begged Li Ming to step in and heal the wounded.
Li Ming didn't refuse. After a few simple purification and healing spells, the heavily injured and unconscious Eric immediately jumped out of bed, alive and kicking, and expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Li Ming.
Just as Li Ming was accepting Eric's thanks, he suddenly received a message from the 'police officer' he had subdued earlier...Valentine was preparing to attack the academy in order to seize the Holy Grail.