Zeke had just returned home, and it was early afternoon. He sat on the floor in his room, his eyes closed as he delved into the depths of his mind's library. He was revisiting all the books he had read on the theoretical aspects of teleportation.
When he first read the theory, it seemed relatively simple. But now, as he had learned the practical application of the spell, he couldn't shake the feeling of unease that settled in the pit of his stomach.
He once again read the passage describing the process of creating a stable tunnel through space. The most straightforward description of the procedure was found in a book called: Space Magic - Essentials.
"The mage must first visualize the destination point in their mind. Once a connection is established, the caster should focus their magical energy on that connection. This is the way to manipulate the fabric of space to create a pathway. This process is incredibly taxing, both mentally and physically. The procedure can take hours to complete when attempted for the first time."
Despite the thorough explanation in the book, Zeke couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't ready for this. The thought of attempting the spell and potentially not surviving the experience filled him with dread.
Zeke understood that he couldn't go to his mentor with this. The old man would undoubtedly tell him to wait for a few more years before attempting something so dangerous. But he was also not foolish enough to risk his life in a reckless experiment with magic he was not confident in performing.
He went over the sequence of Mana manipulation. There had to be a safer way to practice the spell. Zeke didn't believe for a second that all Space Mages started their journey by teleporting around. He went over the entire process of casting the spell step by step.
Zeke noticed that the first two parts of the spell dealt with creating a tunnel through space. For the first step, the Mage needed to direct spatial Mana toward a specific coordinate, creating an anchor. In the second step, a connection between the mage and the anchor was established. With the completion of this step, a spatial tunnel was created.
He couldn't determine the spatial coordinates that Emanuel had focused on. The Space Mage had teleported outside of Zeke's sphere of perception. This made the exit point not a part of his recording, but he could still understand the process. The real point of interest for him right now, he realized, was the third step.
The third step of the spell involved shrouding oneself in spatial mana. Once an enveloping shell was created, it needed to be attached to the tunnel between the two points. The first point referred to the current location of the caster. The second point was the chosen destination from step one of the teleportation process.
Zeke thought about the implications of this process. He realized that in order to practice teleportation, he could shroud something else in spatial Mana instead of his own body. He could send an object through space instead of risking the journey himself. He didn't know if it was going to work, but it was the only way to learn without putting himself in danger. Now that the danger had passed, he was once again excited to begin experimenting with his new spell.
Zeke practiced the initial two steps of the process first. He walked over to his window and focused on the lawn outside he could see through it. He tried to set a fixed point in space just at the location he was looking at, but he had no idea how to actually make it happen. He understood the proper movement of Mana inside his body, but he had no idea about how to direct it to a distant place.
As he stood there, deep in concentration, a realization dawned on him. His Trinity Project had one glaring flaw. Zeke had always tried to learn spells by observing the casting process of other people. This had worked out fine so far, but now he noticed that he couldn't determine the "intent" behind their spells. Zeke remembered how Maximilian had taught him about spell intent. It was what determined the actual function of the Mana once it left the body. As a purely mental component, he had no way of detecting it in his recording.
Most of the time, it didn't matter if he knew the exact intent the spell required to function. That was because the intent became obvious when the spell took shape. But Zeke had not realized that for the more complex spells, this process wouldn't work anymore. The teleportation spell, for example, had many steps that were either invisible or had an unclear purpose to the uninitiated. It would not be enough to just observe them to be able to replicate them without a comprehensive explanation.
Zeke understood that he had to find a new approach if he wanted to master the art of teleportation. He couldn't rely solely on his [Perfect Sensory Recall] and would have to find an alternative way to figure out the process. He started to practice the first step of the spell again. He had named this step 'anchoring' as it referred to the creation of an anchor point. After every couple of failures, he read over the theory again, trying to find the flaws in his approach.
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After hours of practice, Zeke let out a defeated sigh. The weight of disappointment lay heavy on his shoulders. He had tried hundreds of times to understand the theory of this first step. But despite his best efforts, he couldn't seem to grasp the concept.
Zeke turned around, about to leave the room. He was sure that a bit of physical exercise would do wonders for his dampened mood. But as he noticed his desk behind him through [Perfect Spatial Manipulation] a sudden idea came to him. Instead of focusing on a spot outside his room, he turned around again and tried to focus on a spot right above his bed. To his surprise, creating a stable tunnel to that point was as natural as breathing for Zeke. He couldn't contain his excitement and screamed out in glee.
Encouraged by this breakthrough, Zeke decided to test his theory further. He tried to create an anchor on the other side of the room, and it came as no surprise to him as he struggled to even begin the process. This confirmed his assumption: He could effortlessly connect to any spot inside his sphere of [Perfect Spatial Awareness]. Outside of it, however, it was a completely different story.
As he pondered this development, he quickly realized that this should not have come as a surprise. In theory, he wouldn't even need to perform the first two steps in order to teleport to any space inside his sphere. He was already flooding his surroundings with minuscule amounts of space Mana at all times. This was how he created a sort of three-dimensional map of his surroundings.
Zeke couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement at this newfound understanding. He knew that there was still a long way to go before he could master teleportation, but this was a significant step in the right direction.
Now he could learn the proper way to create an anchor by analyzing the way he did it inside his sphere. It would make the entire process much easier to understand. But for right now, Zeke was content to move on to the next step of his experimentation.
Zeke grabbed a pair of gloves that were lying around his room. He had previously used the pair when trying out some of Jonathan's smithing techniques. He had wanted to understand more about smithing in order to write the manual for Markus. He quickly found out, however, that they would only get in the way of the process, as his skin was durable enough without them. Zeke decided that he would not miss the gloves, should something unfortunate happen to them. That was how the pair became the unwilling first participants of his teleportation trials.
He took the left glove in his hands, studying it carefully. Zeke had never attempted anything like this before, but he was determined to succeed. Closing his eyes, he visualized the spot above his bed as the destination point. He channeled Mana through his core, manipulating the space Mana to encase the glove in front of him. It was a difficult and draining procedure, but at least he was making progress. After only about a minute of struggle, Zeke had shrouded the left glove in a membrane of space mana. It was much easier to do this with a small object than with an entire human body, after all.
Zeke opened his eyes, the excitement building within him. He connected the bubble of space Mana to his anchor, and the glove disappeared from his hand in an instant. He spun around to see it lying on his mattress, a sense of triumph filling him.
But as he picked up the glove, his excitement quickly turned to disappointment. The glove was in tatters, it looked as if a wild dog had played with it for hours. He couldn't help but grimace as he held it in his hand, he was once again glad that he had not tried that out with his own body. The process of teleportation was clearly not without its dangers.
As the hours passed by, Zeke found himself lost in the pages of his new best friend. It was a book with the name: "Teleportation Madness - A Comprehensive List of the Most Common Mistakes When Attempting to Learn How to Bend Space". The tome made for a truly fascinating read. It was a collection of failed teleportation experiments. The book was detailing not only the disastrous consequences of failed teleportations, but also the origin of the errors that led to them.
As he perused the pages, Zeke glanced over at the tattered remains of an old shoe that had no longer fit him. He looked from the shoe to the illustrations in the book and back again. Zeke was convinced he had identified the mistake he had made this time, but he couldn't be completely sure. The book was not meant to serve as a guide for investigating discarded clothing, after all.
In his quest for knowledge, Zeke had torn through half his wardrobe. Leaving gloves, shirts, hats, and shoes scattered across the floor of his chambers. Each piece of clothing bore the unique markings of his failed experiments. He looked down at his latest failed attempt, and a sigh escaped his lips. He had been so close this time, he was certain of it.
Zeke decided to put an end to his experimentation for the day. His mind was weary, and his magical core was almost depleted. As he tidied up his chambers, his thoughts turned to another task he had set for himself. He still needed to complete the present for Markus. He realized that he didn't have much time to work on it anymore, as he had resolved to retire early today. Because tomorrow he was going to meet with Sophia. The girl had promised to instruct him further in the art of Mind Magic. The mere thought of finally making progress in this elusive branch of magic filled Zeke with renewed vigor.
After he finished tidying his quarters, Zeke completed his rigorous workout routine. The rest of the evening was spent on the spell book, he worked with such focus that he didn't even notice the passing of time. Finally, he succeeded in completing Markus' gift.
As he gazed out the window, he realized that his intentions of retiring early had been thwarted, for the clock had struck well past midnight. But he just shrugged at the discovery, he was too elated by his success to care. With delicate movements, he placed the booklet into an expensive box and wrapped it elegantly in a sheet of silk. He took a moment to examine his work: The present looked fit for a king in Zeke opinion. Satisfied with his work, he placed it on his shelf of treasures, right beside the mysterious artifact he had brought back from the Giger ruins.
As he prepared for bed, Zeke couldn't help but feel a sense of contentment at the progress he had made that day. As he drifted off to sleep, his last thoughts were of how favorably life had been treating him of late.