Glenn crossed his arms, a little confused and curious at the same time.
“...First things first, what did she mean by “terminal”...?” He muttered inquisitively. As soon as the word left his mouth, a stone pedestal with a book placed on it surged out of the ground in front of him.
He blinked and approached it, ‘...They sure do love stone pedestals here.’
Glenn flipped the book’s pages open, finding a summary. There were multiple sections, but all of them were crossed out, except for the “Spell Creation” category. He curiously turned to the next page, landing exactly in that category. He flipped a few more pages over, only to soon realize that he had only access to a few pages, the rest of the book empty.
'What kind of magic is this…’ Glenn smiled in awe, ‘Diamanes, any idea about how all this is working?'
The entity groaned, retching, 'Don't talk to me, I'm going to sleep for now. This place is horrible. Wake me up when you're out of this…this hellhole.'
Glenn laughed and shrugged it off, before going through the spells he had access to. They were all relatively simple spells, like Magic Arrows, Light, Fire Spark, and so forth. The descriptions were all written in the same pattern: first, the explanation of what was the spell and its use, then the runes to summon it, and finally the estimated Mana usage. To top it off, the name of the contributor of the spell was provided in the spell’s name.
He looked at the description of Magic Arrow, curious.
* Spell: Magic Arrow, provided by the Magi Brotherhood
* Description: The Magic Arrow spell manifests as a luminous, translucent arrow of mystical energy, typically taking on a vibrant hue that corresponds to the caster's magical affinity. This arrow is about the length of a regular arrow
* Usage: The Magic Arrow can be employed as a ranged attack, capable of striking opponents with precision from a distance. It can pierce through physical defenses and enchantments of an inferior level and is extremely simple to use and learn. A basic spell that should be in any mage's repertoire that can replace the lame wooden arrows.
* Formula : Proiectum + Penetrabile + Accuratio
* Mana Usage: Very low / Beginner Initiate friendly
Glenn nodded in understanding, impressed, “...It’s so systematic, it’s honestly impressive. It looks like anyone can use those, as long as they have Mana.”
He looked at his right hand and pressed his lips together, “Should I try it out?”
The second he said this, a target dummy appeared fifty meters away, ready to be shot down. Glenn snorted.
“How convenient.”
Glenn channeled his Mana while reading up the words on the pedestal, "Projectum, penetrabile, accuratio."
A blurry arrow appeared in front of him, struggling to manifest itself. Glenn aimed at the dummy, feeling his Mana fueling the arrow and maintaining it in existence. It was a strange and new feeling. He was still in control of the spell, but it was a very rigid control. It didn’t look like there was a way to modify the range of the spell or its power, for example. Even putting more Mana into it seemed to end up as a waste. It was very different from when he used Dragon School-type spells, like Magic Bullet, Arcane Auger, or even Implosion.
He flicked his finger off and the arrow flew away, piercing through the air with a sharp whistle. The arrow landed straight in the center of the dummy’s head, perforating it before disappearing in a flash of blue Mana.
“Huh,” Glenn couldn’t help but look at his hands in amusement, “That was really easy. I just need to say the words, channel the Mana, and I’m done. Crazy.”
He quickly swiped through the available spells, hungry to try more spells and more combinations. What would happen if he changed the order of the formula for Magic Arrow, for example? Wasn’t that something that could change the spell entirely and make a wholly different thing?
Glenn’s lips curved upward as he wondered what could be possible with the School of Words. His Mana reserve had barely been used by the Magic Arrow, and he certainly intended to try and figure as many spells out as he could, until his body wouldn’t let him cast another.
‘...Don’t forget you have to meet Carys at nightfall,’ Diamanes reminded him with a tired voice. Glenn blinked and grimaced.
“Ah, yeah, I did plan that. Could I have a—?” A huge clock suddenly appeared next to him, with cute drawings telling whether it was dawn, the middle of the day, or the evening. Glenn saw the clock hand pointing a little past midday.
“...Should be around 1:30. P.M….” He grumbled. That gave him a short yet considerable amount of time to experiment. IF his Mana reserve allowed him to do so, of course. He picked another interesting spell and quickly read it.
* Spell: Light, provided by the Magi Brotherhood,
* Description: The Light spell manifests as a ball of light of a white color
* Usage: It can be used to shine light in dark places, be it as a replacement for a torch or when in a pinch in a dungeon or a cave. Probably the simplest spell in the world
* Formula: Lux
* Mana Usage: Insignificant / Can be charged with Mana for more Potency
“Nice…” Glenn laughed before extending his palm outward, “...Lux!”
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A ball of light appeared above Glenn, and a smile appeared on his face. He didn't really understand the underlying principles behind this magic, but he still loved it. He stopped his Mana from channeling into the light ball, making it disappear as quickly as it appeared.
"So I can control its existence with my Mana. Seeing what's written in the Mana Usage column, that probably means I can also send more Mana than the bare minimum.” He concluded, before repeating: Lux!"
The ball of light appeared once more, but this time he tried to send more Mana instead of cutting the supply off. The result was a ball of light so bright it blinded Glenn for a few seconds. Satisfied with the results of this first experience, he read through the few other spells available.
* Spell: Fire Spark, provided by the Magi Brotherhood
* Description: The Fire Spark spell summons a small flame the size of a thumb
* Usage: Can be used to light things on fire, or simply illuminate one's surroundings. It's a really simple utility spell, that always comes in handy when you need it
* Formula: Ignis
* Mana Usage: Charging it with Mana only allows for an increased duration of the spell
"That would have been a nice spell to know back when I was freezing to death, naked, and trying to make a fire with a flint and a sword," muttered Glenn as he extended his hand out once again.
“Ignis!” A small flame appeared above his gloved palm, burning with real heat. Glenn could feel it despite the leather. He cut off the Mana supply of the spell and watched as the fire was snuffed out.
"Nice. Next one..." His eyes widened when he discovered the name of the next spell.
* Spell: Cleaning Touch, provided by the Magi Brotherhood
* Description: The Cleaning Touch allows you to get rid of any filth, anywhere
* Usage: Can be used to clean dirty armor, sword, or even ground, while also being useful in the healing sector, as it can sanitize a wound. Practical, even more so when you don't have a maid to clean your stuff
* Formula: Mundare
* Mana Usage: Insignificant / Overcharging with Mana might cause unwanted problems
Glenn rubbed the back of his head in amazement, “Shit, that’s exactly the spell I tried to create yesterday…Mundare!”
His hand shone with a light hue that did not seem to do anything. He looked around and quickly found a dirty spot created by one random spell earlier from one of the Savants. He placed his hand over the dirty spot and watched as the light on his consumed the filth. He chuckled and cut off the Mana supply, his lips pressed in wonder.
'Hmm... I clearly don't understand how the formulas and all work, besides the fact that I'm saying a word and it summons a spell. Maybe... maybe I should try and make it so that I find the way to make Magic Bullet using a Formula and not just the Draconic School. That should help me understand better,’ Glenn decided.
His logic was simple. This way, he could contribute to the spell repertory of the Magi Brotherhood, and gain access to new and more intricate spells. Also, if he managed to understand the School of Words system, perhaps he'd be able to reverse-engineer their spells, making it so that he could use them as he liked and not be restricted by the formula.
Powered by this idea, he looked through the terminal to check if he could find an explanation of the words that are present in the magic formulas. As soon as he began searching for it, he found it. There was a hefty explanation for what those words meant, that they came from a language called the Ancient Tongue, which came from an ancient civilization that was powerful but fell mysteriously, blah blah blah. What interested Glenn were the words that could be used as the basis for the formula for his Magic Bullet.
The first word should be Proiectum, meaning Projectile in Ancient Tongue. The second wouldn't be Penetrabile which meant piercing, but instead, angor which was supposed to mean pressure, from what he understood. He just had to add Accuratio for the precision, and it should work!
Glenn asked the Savant room for a new dummy and looked at it when it warped into existence while he was channeling his Mana.
"Proiectum, angor, accuratio!"
He sent Mana in his spell, excited at the idea of understanding this new magic system. His excitement quickly turned into dread and confusion as he watched what appeared to be a weird, fluctuating hand possessing eight fingers rush at the dummy with an anguished scream before bursting into a death rattle once it made contact with the target. Glenn stared dumbfounded at the result of his experience before checking the terminal to understand the mistake he had just made.
Soon, he quickly found out the source of the problem. Words in the Ancient Tongue often have multiple significations. Angor indeed meant pressure but in the sense of suffocation, distress, and torment. Accuratio could also mean carefulness, explaining why the spell took on the shape of a hand. Or not. This whole thing was more complicated than it looked like.
All in all, Glenn gained a new spell. Yes, he had no idea what its use was, sure, but still, great shit.
The weird-ass ominous magic hand didn't consume a lot of his Mana. If he had to put it quantitatively it would be around five Magic Bullets or Arrows, both of the spells having the same expenditure. Glenn sighed, before looking at the time. It was already 2.30 p.m.
Glenn readjusted his tie, as he went back into the terminal to try and understand the words once more. This was going to be a short afternoon, he could feel it.
* Spell: “Weird-Ass Ominous Magic Hand”, provided by Glenn
* Description: Summon an ominous-looking hand with eight fingers that scream in pain while flying at a designed target
* Usage : …Intimidation? I don’t know, figure it out yourself
* Formula : Proiectum + Angor + Accuratio
* Mana Usage: Very Low
Disclaimer - The Magi Brotherhood would like to remind every Savant that the description of contributed spells must be written by the authors of these spells themselves. Kind regards.