Capítulo 2: Chapter 2
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Hearing Sakura continue to scream caused my face to scrunch up as I held back the urge to run down to the basement and take her out of there.
But I knew for a fact that I couldn't do anything in this situation, and doing something to grab Zouken's attention would be even worse.
If he found out I had usable magic circuits, I would be thrown into that worm pit without a second thought since I knew for a fact that my magical talent would be far below Sakura's, not counting my Arc of Embodiment. And while Zouken would be interested, it wouldn't matter since he was aiming for the fifth Holy Grail War, where he could use Sakura's child to his advantage, at least until he learns that it will happen earlier than the usual sixty years.
All I can do is bide my time until I can get out of Fuyuki. If I remember right, then Byakuya should send me away when the fourth Holy Grail War starts, but I have no idea where he will send me.
For now, I need to get the basics under my belt. Because while I can use Arc of Embodiment without issue, I didn't know the first thing about manipulating my od. So I'm going to have to learn by trial and error while also studying some of these books I have on it.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
But I don't think I'll be studying or sleeping tonight.
[***]
It was now the next morning, and I felt exhausted. And my reflection in the mirror showed that. While not too bad, with the skin only being slightly darker than my pale skin, the bags under my eyes were still noticeable.
Stepping out of my clothes, I set them all in a pile and then stepped into the shower. As the hot water cascaded down my body, I began thinking about how I should go about getting stronger.
Aside from learning the basics of magecraft, I also need to learn my element and origin. As someone who was made from two souls, I had no idea how my element and origin had changed.
But I didn't have enough magical energy for what I wanted to make. With the Arc of Embodiment, I knew how much energy was needed to make an item.
For example, the ring on my finger cost me 100 units of magical energy, and while I had no idea what the exact numerical value of my maximum magical energy was, that one thing took a considerable amount of magical energy.
But what I wanted to make was an adventurer card from Konosuba. But I knew that it would take 1000 units of magical energy, which I didn't have.
But I had an idea to get around that issue, but I would need to get better at manipulating my od into magical energy first.
Once I had finished washing up, I stepped out of the shower and put on my clothes before leaving the bathroom.
As I walked down the hallway, I began contemplating more about my situation before stopping in front of a particular door.
The door led to a room that had recently been occupied by my new sister. It was a weird feeling in itself to actually have a sibling.
After staring at the door for a couple minutes in contemplation, I knocked on the door.
"Sakura I'm coming in." Opening the door, I was greeted by a cluttered room with several boxes that had yet to be unpacked.
My eyes then settled on the shivering lump on the bed, causing me to grimace as I walked over.
I knew I couldn't say anything to make her feel better. It would be nothing but hot air to her, who was just sold by her family and then raped by Zouken. And I don't have the power to back up any claim I could make.
Hopping onto the bed, I reached over the lump in the blanket and hugged it.
This is all I can do. To comfort you when you need to. To be the shoulder you cry on. And when the day comes when you're free of this hell, I hope you can look back at these days and smile and say that you had at least some good memories.
As soon as I wrapped her in a hug, Sakura, who was under the blanket, flinched at my touch, but after several seconds of silence, the sounds of her silent sobs filled my ears.
[***]
Magecraft is the artificial enactment of mystery to bring about what is possible through science with supernatural means. In essence, it was skipping the process of science by replacing the parts that make up the phenomenon with magical energy.
There is nothing magecraft can't do within the rules of the world and the limits of human intellect. But because magecraft is the reenactment of preexisting phenomena, it is impossible to create new mysteries even with an infinite amount of research. There exists a "wall" preventing human wisdom from doing so in the current era. The realm past this "wall" is known as True Magic in the modern era.
Modern magecraft is inferior to that from the Age of Gods in terms of magnitude because Magi from that era acquired their magical energy directly from the Swirl of the Root. The difference between modern and traditional magecraft is explainable by the difference in civilizations: while the civilization of the Age of Gods existed side-by-side with the truth, the civilization of the Age of Man exists in order to search for the truth.
This, combined with the fact that humans at the time associated magecraft with higher beings and not a phenomenon of science, made everything considered True Magic.
With magecraft being originally Magic, it draws upon a predetermined power from the Root. However, the amount of power is fixed, so the more magi who draw upon that power, the weaker the magecraft becomes for all who use it.
If it is believed that the subject of a Mystery "exists," the World permits its existence. A definitive affirmation of said belief is not required. For example, even though the majority of modern humans reject the existence of ghosts, modern science cannot outright demonstrate that they do not exist, and, thus, within the unconscious, there lurks the vague suspicion that "they might indeed exist." This sort of "suspicion" falls under the category of "faith." "Ignorance" is the force that opposes "faith." If the existence of ghosts is itself utterly unknown, faith cannot be fomented.
The main aim of the Magi's academia is to make the impossible possible. If something cannot be achieved with modern magecraft, the Magi research and develop their arts just for the sake of changing that. Powerful sorceries like Greater Magecraft and Greater Rituals are ultimately challenges in order to reach the goal called Magic. After a certain point of development, differences between power and even between Magic and magecraft start to lose their importance in practical terms. Battles between two great Magi will not be decided by their power but by who possesses the system whose rules have the fewer tiers. It is not the power behind them, but the concepts they work under.
Magecraft is that "which governs the skills of past humans that science cannot explain," and science is that "which gathers the technology of future humanity that magecraft cannot reach." The two disciplines are absolutely incompatible with each other, but they are similar in a single respect. The pursuers of each practice seek continued prosperity, protecting the future of Humanity.
The Equivalent Exchange is the primary rule of magecraft. At its core, magecraft is merely the manifestation of things that already exist or occur in reality, albeit with a slight disregard for time and materials required. Phenomena not of this universe are impossible to reproduce. In order to create something, either another object must be given as a price or an existing object must be modified.
The base of all magecraft is the use of magical energy to produce something that either already exists or can exist. That which falls into the phantasm category, something made entirely out of images and might not even exist naturally anymore, will eventually be wiped out by the World for being in conflict with this rule.
Thaumaturgical System is the general term used to refer to the several modern schools of magecraft such as Astrology, Kabbalah, Alchemy, and Shinsendou. Divergences can be found among different Thaumaturgical Systems, but the fundamental basis is "to convert magical energy inside the user's body to transform the external world".
The practitioner acts in accordance with the system that each Thaumaturgical System operates under to execute a pre-built program. That "program" is a set of universal rules that interfere with nature once they are enforced. The power that enforces those rules is the magical energy of the magus, and the command to do it is made through his magic circuits. The greater the interference, the greater the amount of magical energy consumed.
Known Thaumaturgical Systems are Curses, Taiji, Alchemy, Kabbalah, and several others.
A Thaumaturgical Foundation, also known as a Greater Magic Formula, is a cluster of Magic Formulae, each of which runs a Magecraft (program) written within it when a Magus connects his Magic Circuits to it and sends magical energy and commands.
Each Thaumaturgical System forms their own "engraving" of the basis of its Thaumaturgical Theory into the World and the further its member is away from his Thaumaturgical Foundation, the weaker the effect of his magecrafts becomes. Engraved into the World, its strength can be greatly influenced by the faith and the collective unconscious of the people. It is not uncommon for a thaumaturgical foundation, weak in faith, to not work properly when used outside its place of origin.
Incantations are the first step to activating Magecrafts of an established Thaumaturgical System, followed by a strict set of protocols. When compared to the application process of a document, the act of application, acceptance, review, and issuance, Incantations is the "application" step of Magecraft.
It is mostly a convention when utilizing Magecraft with a broad Thaumaturgical Foundation, but it has potent self-suggestive powers for those who practice their own style of Magecraft. As the Magic Circuits that shape Magecraft already exist inside a Magus' body, Incantations are the "personal adage" that helps the Magi transform themselves, a method to efficiently activate and mobilize the Magic Circuits.
It is not a method used to speak to the World, but to oneself. Different Magi will utilize different Incantations even for the same spell due to their distinct natures. Spells that speak to the World, classified as greater Magecraft or greater rituals, and not to the individual are impossible for an individual to use under normal circumstances.
The Five Great Elements are the basic substances that shape the world. The combination of them changes depending on the teachings of thaumaturgical systems: fire, water, earth, wind, and void (Ether) or water, fire, earth, wood, and metal.
A magus is normally good at manipulating at least one. Some Magi have more than one elemental affinity; those who have all of Five Great Elements as their elemental Affinities are given the title of Average One: Wielder of Five Great Elements and are highly valued by the Mage's Association.
To identify which of Five Great Elements their elemental affinity is, Magi use the process of consecration, composed of the use of sage, tarot cards, and personality tests.
The thaumaturgical attribute, also called the sorcery trait, is one of the components that determines the effect of one's magecraft. Thaumaturgical attributes add meaning to elemental Magecraft and expand its versatility. There are multiple types, such as reinforcement, projection, and conversion.
Generally, each Magus' lineage is specialized in a certain Thaumaturgical Attribute. This is dependent on generations of research and the types of mysteries engraved in the magic crest. Thus, family thaumaturgical attributes cannot be changed in the short term. Besides it, a magus can acquire another, and first-rate Magi tend to possess multiple thaumaturgical attributes.
Origin is the starting point that defines one's existence and directs one's actions throughout life. It is the driving force that comes from within the Root that has managed to stream out of the source and take on material form. The form it can take on at times is that of a human being, and all humans match their actions to be in harmony with the driving force that originated them from the moment they enter into the world.
These actions are more along the lines of an inherent compulsion that could be called a person's instinct rather than a conscious decision. If a person becomes awakened to their Origin, it becomes nearly impossible to stray from their Origin, if it's even possible in the first place. It becomes an impulsive behavior that one would follow as though it were an absolute order.
Under the system of magecraft, origins are used to describe precise details about a magus, while elemental affinity indicates one's general alignment. Magi with an origin that is strongly expressed outwardly are sometimes removed from the normal alignments, and there are times that the Origin itself becomes the alignment. Most of those Magi exhibit their talents as extreme specialists, allowing them to potentially reach higher grounds than normal Magi. Even those without an elemental affinity are sometimes still capable of casting spells simply by following their Origin. It's possible for them to overcome great obstacles, such as a lack of magic circuits or a lack of talent for magecraft altogether.
The Noble Colors are a special classification system of the Mage's Association used to grade special abilities such as mystic eyes. The term "Noble Color" is used to refer to special and innate things where the workings of the Magic Circuit are close to the movements of a celestial body (normally they're closer to the movements of the crust) and are innate and special.
"A Noble Color is like the movement of the stars compared to normal Magic Circuits" is a common saying in the World of magecraft.
In practice, however, it relates mostly to mystic eyes. Powerful mystic eyes shine gold, while those with powers that reaches the realm of gods have a multi-colored glow, such as in the case of Jewel and Rainbow. Jewel-ranked Mystic Eyes are exclusively possessed by Holy Spirits and Magical Beasts from the Age of Gods.
Resistance, a power inherent to anyone with magic Circuits, the capacity to resist spells that aim to control the target by the spiritual medium (those along the lines of sleep, paralysis, and coercion).
By circulating magical energy inside one's magic circuits, one can reject outside magical energy that tries to invade his/her self. Therefore, it is possible to disrupt a spell before it can complete itself.
A very efficient form of defense, it makes it difficult to affect even lesser Magi.
Breathing and Walking is a key concept in magecraft and martial arts. Though mainly affecting one's physical fitness, it also plays a role in the strength of nature's interference. The absorption of outer energy (breath of life) to connect your inner world to the outer world. The acts of inspiring, expiring, and everything in between are part of a process that allows one to take in or release the gods.
The Magi use incantation spells to cause a specific phenomenon to occur, but those whose breathing, movement, body, and very existence can cause nature interference are beyond that. An example would be the Shinto practice of banishing evil spirits and other unnatural forces just by clapping. However, this particular skill is something that takes a lifetime to learn.
"Whew. That's quite a lot of information." I said while closing the book on my lap. It had been a couple of hours since I had comforted Sakura. While she didn't leave the room when I left, she wasn't crying anymore, so that was a plus in my books.
But now I was back at the Edelfelt mansion, reading the magecraft books that I was able to acquire.
It was the bare minimum basics in magecraft, such as elements and thaumaturgical foundations.
"Alright, let's started." I stood up from the desk I was sitting at to walk over to the magic circle drawn on the ground.
It was also in the book on the basics of magecraft. That magic circle would facilitate the magical energy in the circle.
Sitting down inside the circle, I flipped on my magic circuits by turning the key once more. Immediately, I could feel the magical energy that was inside of me.
As I began trying to move that magical energy, I also began breathing in and out in a pattern following what I read in the book.
I continued my practice, trying various methods to try and move my magical energy, with some not working and some working. In the end, I couldn't move my magical energy very well.
It felt as if I was trying to move water with my hands, and it was slipping through my fingers.
"I'll continue my practice tomorrow."
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