As Zofiar and Atarum enjoyed Ieros’s experience of flight, Ieros’s mind wandered as he went over to his bed, falling face-first as he exhaled into cloth. He held that position for as long as he could, finally turning over and inhaling, that inhale turning into a yawn. Sleep threatened to overtake him but he resisted, remaining in this limbo between wakefulness and slumber although he was slowly giving in to rest.

He finally lost and dozed off, his breath becoming slow and deep. Six hours later, he awoke, feeling much more refreshed. When he checked how much time had passed, he was surprised that Azorin had done nothing to wake him, but he didn’t think too much about it. Right now, he was hungry.

He made his way to the Third Floor, which was basically the kitchen of the Tower itself. While one could use creation spell circles to make food, it was a terribly inefficient process, it was much quicker just to cook the food yourself. The Tower was always restocked with more food every month and if necessary, one could use the experimental farms on the Sixth Floor for sustenance, although it would be a waste of magical herbs.

He didn’t make anything too fancy, just some bread and butter, using a little flame magic to perfectly toast and melt the butter. He wasn’t feeling particularly hungry so that was enough to fill his stomach. He used augury again to check that Azorin was indeed still studying, which he was. Ieros had figured that today Azorin would be teaching him but either Azorin was so engrossed in his research that he forgot or Azorin did not intend to teach Ieros.

And while Ieros could imagine both being true, he felt that the latter was more likely. He was sixteen now, he had to learn to face the future on his own. Besides, it wasn’t like there was much else to teach him, except for the higher arts of which he had already been forbidden. Somewhat of a shame, but he will learn it in time, for now though, the Lost Scripture was more of his concern, especially considering that he felt that he found out the pattern.

Although, he had felt that the first time and he had failed then. But even so, there are only so many combinations of the symbols and he was still in the flower of his youth. He had plenty of time to spare. And while the competition was something that he was slightly interested in, it was not something that he felt he had to win. Although, he would be lying if he said that he didn’t want to win. Who wouldn’t want to win?

Even he, who only fought with his teachers, felt some pleasure in triumphing over them, although granted he knew that it wasn’t a proper combat situation. But even so, winning felt somewhat nice and it would be nice to continue feeling it. That and he’d also like to believe that he wouldn’t be unduly disturbed if he lost, all that meant was that there was something else that he needed to learn and account for in the future.

It got boring sometimes, sure, but he could always experiment with something else. That is what is so wonderful about magic, the fact that there are so many things left to learn, so many things to explore. If you got bored with one thing, make some notes of your progress and then leave it for a later date and explore a new path. You don’t have to pursue one path all the way to its end, you could always pick a new one to follow whenever you so wished.

And so, after finishing his breakfast, Ieros returned to the Second Floor briefly to retrieve his notes as well as a lot of extra paper and then headed to the Fifth, so that he could put his predictions through more rigorous testing. And with his mind somewhat refreshed after his break, he delved back into the mysteries of the Lost Scripture, soon forgetting all about coming competition.

All that mattered now was him and the scripture that eluded his understanding, the days passing quickly as he made little progress. He had finally completed the first set of eight and was able to obtain further sets without too much trouble, as long as he was able to determine what the base was, he was able to find out the other sets. The problem was however, he still did not know in which order these sets needed to be organized in, while he could find letters in the manuscripts that still remained, there was, unfortunately, no document that listed them all in their proper order, which was a shame.

But it wasn’t too hard, just by staring at the symbols once he had gathered them all, there did indeed appear to be a pattern. It mostly seemed to be related to how many points there were in the base of the symbol. For instance, the simple circle had no points, so Ieros took that to mean that it was something along the lines of zero or the beginning.

Following that was a vertical line which was very much similar to the number 1, which is what he assumed it to be, the following, a u-shaped figure had two points at the top, and the following after that which was a y had three points. Each symbol had an additional point all up to the eighth, resulting in eight sets of eight symbols, sixty-five in total, counting the initial zero.

And he was able to confirm that most of them actually worked when placed in a spell circle, although he did notice that the further he went down the list, the less amount of it he saw until he saw nothing at all. He could only surmise that the materials to which those symbols correspond to were not present in his immediate surroundings, he would have to create a Creation Circle. But this was not a complete pattern either, the fourth symbol after the Zero, which is what Ieros had taken to calling the circle as it was what he was most familiar with, appeared in an exceedingly small amount, so small that he barely even noticed.

Sometimes he’d see the mana to which the symbol represented and sometimes he didn’t for others. There was no particular order, there was a general correlation, but nothing that was absolute. He was sure there was a pattern or at least some sort of rule which could explain this behavior, but it still eluded his sight. And this was the mystery that he dedicated the rest of the week to until the day of the tournament arrived.

Ieros had, by that point, completely forgotten about it, so busy he was with his work. Azorin had to remind him in order to spur Ieros to action, who was more doing this to get the competition out of the way so he could quickly return to his work.

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Azorin smiled as he noticed Ieros’s impatience, saying, “I trust it’s the Lost Scripture which beckons to you?”

Ieros sighed, “It’s a very elusive thing, I know for sure there is a pattern, but I just can’t see it. Every time I get close, something happens which just derails it all, something that is just out of place, like I build a castle only to find that one brick is unable to fit.”

Azorin nodded.

“Indeed, that is often what researching the unknown is like. Perhaps we can work on it together, two heads may find a solution where one cannot.”

Ieros nodded, “Perhaps, I just have to get this competition over with.”

As they exited the Tower, Azorin said, “I know that you want to return to your work, but this competition is important in its own way. I am confident that you won’t lose, but just to be sure, do not.”

Ieros nodded, as he pulled on his hood—a habit from the times when he was brought out for lessons.

“I will win, if anything else, I could just make a barrier spell and outlast their mana.”

Azorin conceded, “True, but that would be boring, no? Show them just a little bit of what you are capable of, even if it is just a basic spell. Show them the true potential of what you have mastered.”

Ieros nodded again.

“I’ll do my best. I could win with another method though, perhaps I write up a spell circle as they try to break my barrier, weave in so many conditions that would allow me to win that upon completing it, I will win. But if they break the barrier, then I lose.”

Azorin shrugged.

“The method is ultimately up to you, as long as it coincides with the rules.”

Ieros said, “Well, I guess I’ll just make it up as I go along.”

The two left the premises of the Academy, entering the carriage as their conversation returned to talk of their work: of Ieros’s pursuit of the Lost Scripture and of Azorin’s experiments with manipulating light. In fact, Azorin’s work was somewhat inspired by Ieros, for what Ieros was doing other than rediscovering the Lost Scripture was how to harness them in the language in ways that previously would be unthinkable.

How mages currently wield magic is by exerting their own mana over the mana of their surroundings. For while they cannot control the mana of stone itself, they can use their own mana to stimulate the mana of stone to their will. For instance, they can use their mana to make a wall, a stone spike for offensive purposes, and so on and so forth.

The only limit to that method is one’s imagination, although this method is a double-edged blade. Just as one’s imagination can bring to life the greatest of spells, so could it fail you in the hour of your greatest need. For imagination can fail you in the end, for your mind may falter under pressure and magic will not flow as you desire. That is why even with this method, mages still attach names and chants to their spells, to better guide their thoughts.

That is what the Lost Scripture does but on a far greater level, the language itself which dictates how mana flows in a narrow but absolute way. There are no deviations when using the Lost Scripture unless the author made a mistake in writing the equation itself. But, if the equation is perfect, it will accomplish what it was designed to do with no flaws whatsoever.

It is very similar to mathematics, 1+1 will always equal 2, no matter how many times you write it. It is the same as the Lost Scripture. As for mana cost, it is roughly the same as using your mana to stimulate its surroundings, one still needs to activate the runes of the scripture with their own mana. One could make a self-sustaining equation with the proper wording, something along the lines of “Use the mana of this material to power that material.”

So instead of draining yourself, you can have the equation draw power from another source, such as the earth itself or the air, both things which are—as far as is currently known—infinite in their power. However, to better accomplish great feats, the runes of the Lost Scripture must be uncovered, there is great potential but at the moment it simply is too inefficient compared to using one’s imagination. For the more runes there are in an equation, the more energy it will consume.

However, their contemplations of this subject were interrupted as they reached their destination, the two exiting the carriage in the shadow of the mighty Coliseum. It was built in older, perhaps more barbaric times when the chief entertainment was to watch men bleed and die against one another and fierce animals. Now, under a more civilized era, the Coliseum is used to settle disputes between nobles as well as competitions such as the one hosted by the Academy.

The two were only slightly late but even so, the Coliseum was already more than half full. Despite being in a more civilized era, relatively speaking, there was something about the Coliseum and the idea of two combatants fighting for victory that drew everyone’s attention. That and it was also a great excuse to throw off one’s worries for the day and just be in the moment.

Whatever the reason, it was going to be a very popular event, especially due to today’s special combatant, Ieros. Due to the intentional spread of gossip and the speech which confirmed just who and what Ieros was, word had spread throughout the Capital and was already on its way throughout the rest of the Kingdom, merchants and bards weaving rumors—each more fantastical than the last—about the youth who was called the Future of All Magekind.

Of course, there were those who were dismissive of such words but even they attended the Coliseum. After all, the fights would still be entertaining to watch no matter if the youth was what the rumors held him up to be.

As the seats continued to fill, Azorin led Ieros to the waiting room, where combatants would—as the name suggested—wait until the time came for them to battle. While waiting, some would pray, others would prepare, some would sit quietly and others would shout to pump them up for the battle to come.

Ieros chose to sit quietly, choosing instead to let his thoughts wander, guiding them to the subject of the Lost Scripture. Perhaps if he let his thoughts wander, they may stumble upon the solution he desired. Not that he expected to find a solution, it was just a habit of his. After all, deep within the Tower, there was nothing to do other than to study or practice magic. So, he chose to daydream, and oftentimes, his daydreams would allow him to view things from a different perspective, uncover something that he might’ve missed as his unconscious plays around with his memories.

It was something he had done so often that it became almost instinctual, if there was nothing to do at the moment, he’d just daydream and let his mind wander. Even as Azorin entered, his mind still did not focus entirely, a part of it still wandering as he followed Azorin out into the arena, hearing but not listening to the words he spoke.

And when he did return to his senses, it was far too late to ask Azorin on what he said, which did leave Ieros somewhat worried but he had a match ahead. He stood still for a moment, taking a breath before he stepped out onto the arena itself, the portcullis shutting behind him, clanking as the winch and chain returned to its original position.