The library was its usual self, an eerie silence, even if it was more crowded than normal. On one side were Iris and Evan, each watching Alec's motions with curiosity and a tinge of excitement. They had been told they could do their own thing, but no. This was both a rare, interesting occasion and one they would need to learn more about, in case they wanted a mana brain themselves.

Such was the nature of mana brains. They were a student's first notebook, a fresh employee's first check, an avid gamer's first computer, or an author's first publishing contract. That fuzzy warmth of acknowledgment coupled with an unending stream of dreams it birthed would fill the mage.

At least that was what the average mage would feel. Alec, on the other hand, was different. His excitement didn't come from the acknowledgment but more so from its novelty. What he needed wasn't acknowledgment – Although he liked that quite a bit too –, it was new feelings. He had been inserted into a world, completely different from his previous one. There was magic, the sensation of mana coursing through his veins, a completely different experience from anything he had felt. It made him more aware, remember that he was a human rather than a walking talking web novel machine.

The mana brain was similar in that sense. It was a new perspective, a different way to see and feel the world. It was a brand new tool that helped him extrospect, instead of introspecting like a madman.

As his fingers elegantly clutched on the chalk, drawing line after line on the ground, his mana brain dealt with the rest of the floating sticks. Occasionally, it would ask for the right to rotate his head, to see around and make sure it hadn't made any mistakes.

Further ahead, directly opposite to Iris and Evan were Ariel and Professor Rebecca. They had come here following Alec, and been revealed by the memetic spell he had developed. Her first reaction to seeing Alec had been mild. It seemed like she knew him, from before she became anti-memed. But she didn't exactly remember how. Obviously, Alec didn't remember her at all. As she wasn't mentioned in the journal, she probably wasn't that impactful of a person in his life. However, he still wondered how they were related.

As Alec finally finished drawing the circle, he straightened up and stretched his back. No matter how much a superhuman, bending over for so long was still uncomfortable for his body.

"I will start placing the ingredients now," he said. Calling over a chair with gravity magic, he placed it down in the middle of the circle. "Please sit."

Rebecca was fidgety at Alec's request. She had to take a deep breath before sitting down. She seemed like a little kid waiting in the vaccination line at school, trying to keep her cool. Still, she had to bear with it. There was no one else that had a similar level of mind and mana stats and a comparable life experience.

Once the woman settled on the chair, Alec walked up to Ariel and asked her to hand over the materials he needed one by one.

'Funny. A couple of months ago, I was the one sitting in that chair, waiting for my mana brain. Now, I'm the one engraving it.'

Unlike Professor Andrew, Alec utilized gravity magic. Gravity magic was much more precise than its traditional counterpart, telekinetic magic. This allowed him to place the materials using gravity, rather than placing them like Professor Andrew, manually.

'What did he do next? Oh, right. He asked me to take my top off,' Alec reminisced. He eyed Rebecca Bailey for a moment before sighing.

"Where do you want me to engrave the mana brain?" he asked. "Anywhere along your spinal cord is fine."

"Then wherever you got it," she said. Alec nodded. This was the best outcome. He was slightly worried that she would ask him to engrave it on her back. Although unlikely, being able to see the mana brain in case she forgot it could be helpful. And in the end, Alec was just happy that he didn't have to say "take your top off," like his insensitive professor. He also couldn't help but throw a glance at Ariel, who seemed unbothered by the situation.

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After Rebecca unbuttoned her shirt, Alec raised his index finger toward the middle of her torso, somewhere along her solar plexus. This placement was slightly lower than his own, just so he could avoid the uneven surface.

He closed his eyes for a moment and visualized the second circle spell he had just memorized for this part of the ritual.

[Light Beam]

Unlike what one might expect, this spell wasn't a strong, lightsaber-esque – which was more of a plasma weapon rather than a laser weapon anyway – one. Instead, it was mainly used for experimental or carving purposes. Funnily, the place it was most used in was art. Many mages who liked to carve things knew the spell.

As the magic circle spun to activation, a thin beam of blue laser-ish light came out of Alec's index finger. The light penetrated into Rebecca's skin but didn't reach under. Slowly, as Alec got more and more used to it, a small, empty magic circle appeared. This was but a frame.

"The mana brain has to be shrunk. I wouldn't be able to directly engrave it on your skin as it's just too complicated."

"Mm. I know," Rebecca answered. Alec seemed to have forgotten that she was technically a professor too, albeit for a moment. Afraid that he had offended the woman called "Master Healer", Alec smiled apologetically.

"It's okay. Please continue," she said. Her eyes were tightly shut close. She didn't really seem to care about the outside world at the moment. She wanted it to be over, as soon as possible.

"Please stay still. This will hurt. And it will hurt a lot," Alec said. However, for a moment, he felt bad for the woman and decided to feed her a focus potion. He himself had used it. Why wouldn't she? Especially considering that she seemed to need the help.

After that, Alec took in a deep breath and raised his arms before pointing them forward, perpendicular to the ground. His hands were completely open, his fingers spread out. From his ten fingers came out ten silk-thin threads of mana. Professor Andrew was capable of much better. Alec still remembered how the mana threads had spread out in every direction that day. Still, Rebecca would have to bear with it.

Co-operating with the mana brain, Alec used every bit of his intelligent processing power and spread out the mana tendrils. They touched the magic circle drawn on the ground, invigorating it. The mana brain shook like it had woken up from a long afternoon nap. Then it shone. It shone with blinding blue lights as Alec's mana filled it up.

What Alec was doing right now was a feat of pure mana control. The mana brain circle, which was actually just a really complicated magic circle, needed mana to be initialized. However, Alec couldn't just intent his way into the thing. It was too complex. He had to activate it part by part and gather it into one piece before actually engraving it. So he did it. It took quite a bit of time, perhaps thrice the time Professor Andrew had taken, but he still did it.

Alec's mana started draining quickly, saturating the atmosphere inside the library. This saturation became higher the closer to Alec. This was a necessary expense, as the mana-saturated air facilitated the magic circle much better.

And, the mana brain circle was dislodged, ripped away from the ground. It floated. Floated and flailed on air. This part was the hardest for Alec, as he could feel his mana rapidly draining. His mental strength was in a similar situation. Fortunately for him, this wouldn't last long.

The materials – Which were mostly concerned with making the circle into an actual ritual, giving it a permanent nature – had already melted into the circle, so his part was mostly done.

"Here it comes!"

With a loud whizzing noise, the magic circle rotated in the air. Alec clasped his hands together with a loud clap, causing the mana tendrils to disappear. The magic circle rapidly shrunk, increasing in spin even more. So much so that it became blurry and eventually seemed to stop spinning.

The air itself seemed to light up as blue motes of mana vibrated all around. This was it. Like a pulsar, it spun. Waves of mana agitated the people surrounding them, excluding only Alec and Rebecca.

The woman's mind unraveled, and Alec felt it. Not memories, but sentiments he understood. The way everyone experienced memories was different, but the way they felt emotions was similar. This was the reason humans had developed language. They could communicate emotions easily, with body language. But memories, not so much.

The magic circle's connection with Alec cut off. Now, it was left to Rebecca. To her and the mana brain, which was akin to a newborn trying to breathe for the first time. Once Rebecca nudged the thing with her intent, it immediately reached out and latched onto her.

"Ahh!"