CHAPTER 29: PRACTICING PRECISE LANGUAGE
In what should really not have been a surprise at all, the first steps of measuring relative Magical density were incredibly similar to the first steps in identifying Enchantments. She sent a small strand of Magic into the piece of Hardened Glass, feeling the way that the Enchantment resonated with her Magic. Jenna’s Grimoire informed her that when trying to compare her internal Magic density to an object, it was best if she Enchanted the object herself.
That was no issue here, which was a relief. Jenna probed the Enchanted Glass, absently noting how much less resonant it was than anything else she’d inspected. Even if it wasn’t a lower Tier, it was certainly less powerful.
Once she felt like she had a good baseline for how much the object resonated with a thin strand, she slowly increased the density of Magic she was feeding into it. As expected, the resonance grew louder and louder, until she started resonating with the Hardened Glass. That was only the first level to determining Magical density, though.
The fact that her Hardened Glass began resonating before her meant that she had more Magical density than it. She had expected that, if only because of how much more powerful she felt after earning the reward from the puzzle room. What she hadn’t expected, though, was that she was only slightly more powerful than it.
Jenna had stopped reading after the fourth method to determine Magical density. Each method had two steps and was was good for determining density for approximately one order of magnitude. Since the Glass resonated the instant she touched it, she knew that her Magic was denser than it. If she’d used the second method and the same were true, she would have known that she was at least ten times as dense as the object.
By injecting Magic into the Glass, if only temporarily, the Enchantment’s Magical density increased. When it had matched her own density, she began to resonate. The fact that it took a strand of Magic with about half of her density meant that she was only around twice as Magically dense as the object. That didn’t seem particularly strong, and Jenna was worried that she was somehow already behind.
The fact that the Pyramid had revised its guess of how far she would climb up to the Ninth Floor was a bit of a relief, but she wasn’t sure if she could trust it. For all Jenna knew, it could be a test that the Pyramid was putting on. Maybe it was trying to find the correlation between arbitrary predictions of success and actual success.
“Is there a way I can speed up how fast my Magical density increases while I am in the rift?”
Query imprecise.
“With the resources that I have access to, is there a way I can increase the rate at which Magical density increases while I am in the rift relative to what it was likely to do prior to my asking this question?”
Focused meditation, working on increasing body’s baseline for Magic Density, as you did after breaking your core is the most efficient way for you to increase your Magical Density given the resources and skills that you currently possess.
That was close to an answer to the question she’d asked, but not exactly. “Are there skills that I have a reasonable chance of learning that would be more efficient?”
Query imprecise.
That stumped Jenna for a moment. What was imprecise about that question? After thinking, though, she came to a realization.
“Assuming that we do not count time spent learning towards overall efficiency of the skill, are there skills that I can learn within the,” she checked her food supply, “eighteen days I have left that would be more efficient than manually forcing my Magical density throughout my body?”
Yes.
Now it was time to check the other case. “Assuming that time spent learning the skill counts towards its overall efficiency, are there skills I can learn in the next eighteen days that would be more efficient than the method I already know?”
Query imprecise.
“Given the most likely prediction for my ability to learn the skill, is there a skill that would be more efficient than manually forcing my Magical density throughout my body?”
“No.”
That was a bit of a dilemma. “If I perform one standard deviation better than expected, would there be a skill that is more efficient?”
Unclear, but likely.
“When is the next opportunity I am likely to have to enter a rift?”
Given current Class Standings, the second week of your second year.
“Would the skill I learn that is more efficient remain more efficient after I left the rift?”
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Yes.
“At the most likely speed I can learn it, how long would it take before I have made up for the time and Magical density I would have gained if I just used the method I already know?”
Query imprecise.
That wasn’t an answer she expected. She quickly had an idea, though it was somewhat ridiculous. “Do I already know multiple methods to increase my Magical density.”
Yes.
“What is the other technique that I know?”
Enforcing your body with Magic, as you did to clear the boss challenge on the previous floor can increase Magical density.
“What makes it better or worse than forcing Magic within different parts of my body?”
While in a space with higher Magical Density than your peak, emptying your actual Magical Density will allow it to grow more quickly, as the Denser Magic will be able to fill you more quickly. However, this speed is offset by the fact that your peak Magical Density grows exponentially more quickly the closer to your peak Density your actual Density is.
“Given the two methods that I currently have, what would your recommended course of action be to increase my Magical density as quickly as possible?” Even if Jenna was going to try to learn a new technique, she was curious what the Pyramid would suggest for her.
Cycle Magical Density throughout your body to increase its density throughout the day. Then, just before you fall asleep, Enforce your body with as much Magic as you can to increase the throughput your Magical channels are capable of.
“If I tried to learn the most effective way to increase my Magical density that it is currently plausible for me to learn, how long would it be before my Magical density is higher with the new way as opposed to that recommendation?”
Query imprecise.
“What is the expectation value for the amount of time it would take for the two to cross over?”
Low confidence answer: Seven weeks.
Compared to the years that she was likely to stay in the Pyramid, that seemed like a good trade. On the other hand, she did have other goals than just increasing her Magical density while she was still within the rift.
“Will I be able to take the gold coins with me when I leave the rift?”
No.
“Will I be able to take the rings with me when I leave the rift?”
If identified to the fourth level, yes.
“Will I be able to take the Enchanted pieces of glass and crystal I made with me when I leave the rift?”
Yes.
“Will I be able to take the crystal and glass that I have not Enchanted yet?”
No.
That was more or less everything Jenna had in her possession, other than the Healing Products. She didn’t have any use for them that she could think of, but it was still worth checking.
“Will I be able to take the Healing Products with me when I leave the rift?”
Answer to directly asked question misleading. Healing Products will remain bound to you when you leave the rift. When you enter another rift, they will again become available to you.
Now she had her priority list. She needed to identify the rings so that she could take them out of the rift with herself. She needed to identify the coins to know what use they had before she was forced to leave the rift. She needed to Enchant all of the glass and crystal she had, if only because free Enchanting supplies were nothing to turn her nose up at. And, she ideally would increase her Magical density while she was there.
“Given my list of priorities,” she said, listing them out to the Pyramid, “will you generate me a schedule that gives the greatest odds of success to the greatest number of these priorities, with greater weight placed on the higher priority items?”
Yes.
A schedule popped up in her vision, and Jenna cocked her head. For whatever reason, the Pyramid had her scheduled to make Hardened Glass until she had run through all of the crystal and glass sculptures. There was an asterisk in that statement, but she couldn’t find what the disclaimer was for.
Shrugging, Jenna started taking out the pieces she was about to Enchant. Before she could ask, the Pyramid gave her a work station just like what she had outside of the rift. The time for questions was over. Now it was time to get to work.
Jenna’s Status:
Jenna Fredrickson First Year Spells Known: First Tier: Hardened Glass Expected Years Completed: 8 Prediction Confidence: 33% Points: 5 Qualified to Ascend to Next Year? Yes