‘Why does it look so wrong?’
Within the silence, that question repeated within her mind over and over, each more deafening than the last.
Each time repeated, it filled her with disbelief, bewilderment, and rage. An irrational swirl of emotion surges from within her (dummy) gut.
Her hand grip the delicate staff until it started creaking with unpleasantry. A violent surge of mana welled up, piled up, and exploded erratically. A dull, blackened eyes glare at the woman before her, with turbidity and anger…
...And then, upon meeting Rose’s undisturbed, focused stare, her heart almost leaped out of her chest, and her knees started to vibrate uncontrollably.
(Hiiii! After all, scary things are scary!!)
After all, it was that cold unfeeling eyes earlier that she was subjected to, that she was momentarily inflicted on with hell on earth. It was oppressive, excruciating, traumatic, and unrelenting.
It was like seeing and painfully feeling her limbs methodically chopped grain by grain while being held in chains. It was being repeatedly stabbed in her throat each time she wanted to cry and scream. It was as if her mind got lobotomized one slice at a time, as if her brain was on fine dining.
It was the first time since the Queen itself, that she felt the fear of God.
(Or rather, it was so horribly worse! It was like I met thousands of Her Majesty at once, and then they began to glare at me all at once, then it was like they joined their shadow together into Super Ultra Queen 3000-iiiH!!)
Upon imagining a Lovecraftian pile of Queens looking at her with the wrath of a thousand suns, Merlis unintentionally freaked herself out so much she screamed backward. With that unholy sight in mind, her heart gets beaten up like a juicy pinata.
In the end, just because you are unreasonably angry, doesn’t mean you forget getting terrified out of your wit. That fight earlier was still so horrible, she actively felt her leg melting away from her frigid, yet torrid scowl.
However, her tight grip never loosened, once.
(...But, still.)
She then closes her eyes, and takes a big breath deep within.
Rationally, she must answer the question given, as a teacher of knowledge and wisdom.
Logically, she must debate the accusation properly, as a proud practitioner and researcher.
Emotionally, she must not let this absurd statement slide, no matter who the other person is.
In the end, just because you’re rationally scared, doesn’t mean you forgot to be angry.
“...What do you mean exactly, Rose?”
Meeting up with Rose's undisturbed, yet askful eyes, Merlis opens up with a calm and rational gaze.
“Our current form of Magic is the series of practices, ritual, and ceremony, to convert our words, our voices, and our symbols into phenomenons and events.”
“It’s a constant effort to repeatedly explore and document ways for us to harness and interact with the elements around us, and delve deep into the discovery of the truth and mystery of the world.”
“As such, it is a practice of repetition.”
Her voice, as calm as it can be, lectures both Rose and the class below the lesson of magic, what it is about…And, through the implicit emotion of her pitch and tone, what it should be, and the effort behind it.
Through her eyes, she reveals herself as a sage with countless knowledge and mastery. Through her passion, she expresses herself as a researcher of countless blood, sweat, and tear.
It was as if, through Rose’s unmoving stature, she was trying to declare it to the unfeeling world.
“It is the countless practices, in the attempt to absorb, circulate, harness, and control the mana of the world. The constant endeavors to convert it into the internal energy within oneself, and transform it into actions.
“It’s the constant trial and error, of countless theories and research, to find the proper pattern and sequence, to find the proper condition and method. To find the proper way to bend the world to our will."
“It’s the constant, unending carving into the world’s fiber. To make our mark over and over and over and over again, to make sure our wish will be heard by the world, through our action, knowledge, word, and wisdom."
She then observes the shining globe once again, still hanging in her hand, gently and brightly.
Reflected within her eyes, countless runes and symbols reveal to her the untold passage of time, an immeasurable depth of knowledge hidden within.
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The whole image, of hardwork yet unknown.
“This is the end result of all that repetition."
“Endless trials and errors that still remain unsaid, endless practices that are still hidden from sight, endless carving marks with meaning unknown."
"The effort to put it all together, the effort to rigorously test each and every single combination, the effort in trying to make sense of it all...This, as incomplete as it is, is still the culmination of the best possible method we have in delving deep into the ultimate mystery of the golden age, before meddling god and self-proclaim man. Before the time when all of our magic got so muddled and broken, it's only a shard of its former glory.”
“The endless work made by endless man, into a complete unified system, that will one day reveal to us the ultimate truth of Primordial Magic...If you’re saying that all of this is wrong, you better have a darn good reason to say so, Tch.”
Merlis clicked her tongue at the end of her rousing speech, her sagely eyes immediately turning into a scowl, straight back at Rose.
'Effort doesn’t equal truth’, is something all researchers should engrain deeply in their mind. To try to claim that something is true, just because everyone works hard on it, is the height of fallacies so many have fallen into.
But, she can’t help it. Seeing someone so easily claim what they have worked for so long is wrong, even if they most likely know something that they don't, still rubbed her the wrong way.
(Plus, at the very least, can’t you just put it in a nice debate or something…)
As she grumpily thought, nearly puffing out her cheek…
“...My apology, I didn't intend to insult the effort of the people involved."
Waiting for Merlis to finish her words, she replied politely, with another bow in front. Gracefully lowering herself, she expressed her sincerity.
Again, this surprised her, but she feint a nonchalant and humble attitude.
"...Tch, you don't need to bow, I was being irrational as well."
"Very well then…" Lifting her head back up, she looks straight toward her with respectful eyes "It is not our intention to disparate your work. On the contrary, we think it is impressive."
“Tsk, there you go with flattering words. Aren’t you embarrassing yourself with the act?” Merlis spat out her words with annoyance.
“It is no act, we truly think so. The system we see in front of us… it has to be made with care, with extensive and rigorous testing and experimentation."
Shifting her gaze toward the shining globe, she pays it her undivided attention, checking through its every nook and cranny.
“This doesn’t come out without countless and countless of failures beforehand. This system, upon countless trial and error, must have been constantly tweaked, modified, disassembled, rearranged, refitted, and retested over and over and over again, until everything is just right, and everything just works."
“To be able to put every single thing, which makes up the composition of this system, into a cohesive and working whole, is an act purely out of miracle itself… Because, it shouldn’t have been possible, otherwise.”
It shouldn’t have been possible.
The impression they have under their clear, peering eyes, gets transmitted to everyone behind them, leaving all in disbelief.
For the peanut gallery, they don’t really understand it, obviously. For them, who hold no deep knowledge of the arcane, they have no idea why this work of art can’t be, and is otherwise wrong.
For one who only learns enough to be able to use it practically, and taught others, he can only scratch his head even harder. Even under his transcendental visions, the Headmaster can only see it as-
(Wait, is it?… Wait, wait...Hm, how… odds?)
Meanwhile, for one who witnesses the process of completing this monumental work, from start to end, after pouring through endless tomes, grimoires, and historic artifacts…
As expected, like Headmaster, she immediately has an inkling, and a deep contemplation.
“(It shouldn’t be possible...could it be, and that, and...Ah.)"
Murmuring under her breath for an instant, she arrived at several possible answers.
However, it is imprudent to speak it out right away. Instead…
“...I see. So, care to explain to me, what do you mean by that?”
Instead, she must confirm it, by hearing out what they have to say. With an inkling of a possibility opening before her eyes, she observed her word carefully, calmly, and clearly.
“...Then, let me explain.”
Then, in response, Rose began to unravel her reasoning.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"First, let's look at this chant for example."
[🜄 Tinkla Phump p’er]
Taking to the whiteboard, first Rose writes out this chain of mysterious language she have written inside her notes, that she gets from listening to what the teacher said.
“Let's leave behind why you can just accurately write out the verbal component of my spell to the side…"Merlis immediately retorted, trying to give a straight face. "What's wrong with it? From what we researched, it's simply 'Water flows into the Earth', right?"
“It’s only technically true, I’m afraid.”
“Right, of course…” Merlis snidely threw her word “So what is its true meaning then?”
“That’s a problem, since I haven't thought of a way to describe it to you yet…"
"And why is that? Is it because the meaning is some multi-dimensional abstract truth of the universe or something?”
"Not really, it’s just… Would you truly believe the words I said, when you know that this language hasn’t been fully understood by anyone yet?”
“Ah…”
As she said before, no one hasn't been able to translate and decipher most of the ancient language yet, as it's just been recently unearthed after the War against the Devil. Without much time to meticulously research, what has been discovered right now is just simple words and phrases, of which their meaning is found partly through referencing existing records, and brute-force trial and error via chanted magic application.
Naturally, that means there is no one in the continent right now who can confidently confirm that what they have deciphered, is truly what it means. Even if what they said is true, no one within the academic circle has enough knowledge and expertise to verify and peer-reviewed their claim.
“As such, I am having a hard time trying to think of a way to make my claim believable to you, who is both passionate and critical toward the discovery and advancement of truth and magic.”
“Pfh… Like you three ever actually try. You all ain't exactly The Incredible Miss Believable or anything.”
“Kyu! (And I'm proud of it!)"
"Dra-kun, not helping."
“Hm, such a conundrum...Marigold, you have any idea in mind?”
“You’re asking me, Big Sis? Let me see…”
Contemplating with her eyes closed, Marigold let her hand busy, tying knots with Dragon's doughy cheek. The deeper she thinks, the faster her hand moves, and soon enough she ends up making a picture show by changing the cheek knots over and over.
Finally, she opens her eyes with an answer, as she snaps the cheek back to normal. It was right in the middle of a climactic battle, so the peanut galleries below somehow feel like they're missing out.
“I know! How about we buy a skill book from the Dummy Shop?”