Intermission 2
Once at the city's entry, threading around shops and wandering inside routes of the multi-purpose district, the Amony Inn was shown before roundabout to mining district and food district.
When a new industry about to establish a new port, it implied all about jacked into the right market that simplified in this reality as {district}. Individually of district consisted of more than one street. Bounteous upscale merchandise would be closer to the castle.
Evana Colt exited from behind the inn in black glasses, mouth cover, and entirely cloak. She discharged a spell sourcing from a bracelet spigen, large magic circles cycling in blue radiance.
Her height and hair layered shorter. The silver hair faded into thick and brownish. Yet, her skin and posture remained angelic. A mini Evana.
She ventured through the untreated alley as few homeless rested beside the hidden entrance at the back of other buildings. She tossed few coins into the metal cup to flag her presence.
"A lotte?" said one of the homeless, a dwarf. Short but with a set of bulky hands, feet, and belly. The mustache and beard almost buried his face. "Whet trouble ye feast us today? Nothing real." He laid lazy on a thin board mattress, drinking a bottle of rum.
"People seem to disappear and appear recently."
"World ends, right ears?" {Ears} was a nickname for elven. "Grim disease always strikes out of nowhere. Like they tired slurping souls from many more sites. Then piled them in one city."
"Neither." Her front shoe tapped. "Plomunic didn't kill anyone. But the sign started to become upsetting when my sister coughed her poor bone."
"Bone? Not darky gore?"
Her clothes suddenly grew uncomfortable. "I better search a more educated broker tomorrow."
"Don't sey ye never see —"
" — {Tanimizer Sichony Wizem: Frusen Droax Earth} —"
"— Hwaaag! Ho-Hold Chestnut!" The dwarf raised up in a drunk state, making it seemed like he provoked her. "It's a silly dwarven's joke. Don't be so life-threatening. Love ye. No offense?" The knocked-bottle flowed out, shaking its contain.
Evana lobbed several coins into the metal cup. Clank, clank!
"Then fishing a cure, heh? Never know where the needle hiding."
"No. I want you to change the bait into undead." Evana asked a different information target. "Around the castle."
"Undead?" The dwarf stopped counting. After a short pause, he hurled the amount to the nearest homeless. "Walking shit? Too insane for dreaming — hehe. No offense?"
Evana rested her hand to the forehead. The dwarf continued to speak ugly even after the warning. But due to their circumstance, people would have less overt when homeless silhouettes spying them.
"Deng, because it's something ye dislike, that's why they called it a stinky job. Time to go. See ye — hick!" The dwarf rubbed the back of his head as he inspected the empty bottle of rum on the ground. He had been stepping back and forward to stay straight. "Need more this shit."
Divided the veiz coins, they got up and began the task for earned a bite of fortune. "No. You have enough. You little punk. No work, no shit." He said to his friend as they went.
Arrived the transport road, Evana leaned behind the building while patrollers were talking with each other and passing by to down street.
"Very persistent for a nameless thief. Smell fishy. What they are hiding in this city, oh Veizralia?"
Once they had gone from the sight, she tiptoed out and crept toward the next alley without care the maid mother and the child stared weirdly at her. Made sure no one heeded her, she reappeared moving further extensive behind playground alleys.
"Ooh…, well and well. We have a beauty —"
"— {Sehaflip: Essen Droax Earthon}!" Her spell summoned hugely many magic circles. Sixth Tier Magic Spell, Call Greater Rock. After the cage of six magic circles with her inside, another stack was placed on top but a much bigger one. The top four magic circles were tilted inward toward the highest circle. It created some sort a giant sphere with two irregular-balls arranged vertically.
There was no way anyone didn't see incoming light that took the height of two floors of building, perhaps even taller.
Patrollers stopped on the track along with some citizens and most outsider-shoppers. Discussing in a quick session, the patrollers began running toward the incident in all possible escape routes.
With casting time about five to six seconds was over, only one magic circle remained beneath her feet, the ground suddenly shook, Evana continued walking as if nobody could poke her business.
Ten rocks cried out from the underground, splattered few pebbles along, and drove the men who ganged foolishly. All were wrecked as their vision shattered instantly, a couple of dirt shrouded in with tremor circuited beneath the ground. It was an overpowered spell.
One by one was peeled off the outer walls and dropped to hard based silver-stones. Since their armors were quite heavy, the ground was dug out several piers upon contact.
With Evana's grimace everywhere, she couldn't effort to be caught by bounty hunters or patrollers. It was weird that she didn't use her last night's appearance to walk out in open. Did she hide something as well?
By the time the patrollers hauled their breaths, Evana already left with people laying on the flatten surface except at the spot of where the unconscious ones. The rocks created by magic had vanished like they were never been there. Evana chose to fix the landscape.
She sneaked again to the next alley until noticed the Gloon Bar — behind it was a road to the ancient ruin — she turned to leftward over the big road. After that, there was a sign of Vernus Cafe next to Jumpy Restaurant where Siqura and Rizera had lunch yesterday.
Phasing through the entrance of Vernus Cafe, Evana looked around at the perfect squared polished marbles with colorful powdered-gems sprinkled in sparse. Those tables included each one, four acting chairs of normal-size lumbers with bright leaves and baby-mushrooms sprouting out. Stems had frequently grown out from the ceiling and spun out lilies with glowing bulbs. All in faint of blue, green, and both, raised the magical unicorn atmosphere.
One waitress saw Evana coming in. She fluttered those transparent wings of flaming whites attached small behind her waist. It was an Eagelin spell but instead for flying ability, the waitresses around used for attractive appeals.
"Lon deuraten ula?" The waitress asked Evana about her fake appearance.
"…a-asiyur, hauten Arska!" Evana's reply was late but quick because her eyes occupied for patrollers that walked out next to her for their take-outs. "Dixi ti eigan nobana. Duna bitrumen senan raxila."
"Wasiyur, sexy Evana. Mo sexy," Arska, the elf, said while her knuckle on her rim hip, displayed a lusty grin under her glasses. "Dena sol luvira reflun, vilnica fohiten nil sharlid spell?"
Here, Arska accused Evana using a barrier spell, {Sharlid}, and playfully she asked her to stop. However, a barrier was actually a magic defense to block a certain tier or the range of them. What Evana had currently was more of a disguise spell. Nothing more than an improvement illusion. It had been proved to be a realistic illusion after Waltren's doubtful checked her gender at that sewer.
"Vilnerel bena?" Evana shoved away from the topic about herself and asked where the girl she should meet.
"Vilnori?" Arska's palm pressed her chin to cheek. "Dixi polusen…ula…Siqura?"
"Ura-ura." Evana sighed. "Ula?"
They both uttered language from Magic Reality, totally unmodified Veizeralis. Since there was a limit to how much World Blueprint could interrupt, a full language transformation would be shifting the Worldline too much. And so, World Blueprint used their magic knowledge as a reason for their perfect Veizeralis accent and complete sentences. Fluently and nicely.
"Oooh!" Arska's mouth drastically widened with eyes slanted to the side.
Evana huffed her nose when Arska inhaled an interesting rumor to tease her. "Sena moute clock, oret ti bena duna moute ula?" She quickly asked if Siqura had already arrived before Arska assaulted her with an improper assumption.
"Asin woleni fosulen polus tindura judate? Rekin." Arska denied because she never saw Siqura's face.
Evana flew her head by herself to survey people inside. Most of the customers had traits of otherworlds but still exceed as native appearance. Like snake eyes, vast furs of hair, bear-like skin, sharp nails, and so on… However, the otherworld traits weren't enough to call them demi-human.
"How about that lady adventurer? She had been there since morning, you know?"
"Ah," Evana saw Siqura, "forget to tell the time."
"So, it's not a man. Go now before she left…"
Evana relieved she didn't tell Arska about a person who had been living in her inn. Arska loved gossips and baseless rumors, she might taunt Evana forever.
Soon, Evana walked to the table that touched a graphic wallpaper made in oily paint colors. It was brushed in the shape of coffee stain, and a half-nuke exposed out of it. Probably, another creation from heroes, since no one here could understand a radioactive mark was a warning precaution, not a rune. Three triangles, one of their many vertexes tipped together in a circle, that was a wind rune, transformed a big area of air into one small area that produced blowing output in the process.
Evana could smell a trace of muddy roots at the base table, released within the aid of the wind runes somewhere. Not from the wallpaper though. The current modern rune art was preferred to hide runes under a layer of something and wrote runic symbolic as tiny as possible to save space. Just like other realities.
With a glass cup of mineral river water, Evana praised tendrils that roped around and then towered up. A hole was punched at the center where she could pull water into her mouth. Like a thick swamp-dust straw. Few leaves developed on the straw's outer.
"Sorry for…"
"Haah…" Siqura sighed inside of her yesterday dress. "I have so many questions."
"H-How long you have been here?"
"What do you think, hah?" Siqura stared at her with an ordinarily sleepy face. But today, that sleepy face had turned to slight anger.
"H-How about we order something f-first?" Evana raised her hand, looking bitterly at Siqura's coffee. "Are you really drink that?"
Arska popped out of existence before Evana's hand reached above the level of her head. As if she had been stalking her nearby.
Evana blinked in disgust toward Arska.
"It's not poison." Siqura brought the cup to her lips, her worry made her hardly feel anything on her roof-tongue. She remained insecure, her chest prepared to blow out.
"The usual," said Evana. "You, Siqura?"
"I had eaten this morning. More importantly, we need to talk."
Arska spanked back at the distinguished voice while her hand continued writing the order. A habit.
"Firstly, do you know anything about black and red mana —"
"— I do," Evana replied before Siqura could take a calm.
Arska suspended for a second from the order when she heard that. She then left to grab the food while thinking about something. It made Evana uncomfortable.
"Black mana is the mana that harvested from miasma." Evana took off her black glasses. "It's known in Black Gentrix research." She placed it at the corner of the table's top.
"Some kind spigen?"
"Yeah… A new-type spigen. This," Evana pulled her sleeve and shoved out her left wrist, "is Spirafy Gentrix, entirely focused on the spirit of blue mana. As for the red mana, if I wasn't mistaken…research in the next stage of this spigen."
"That sounds difficult to grasp."
"Red mana is considered to be a color of fresh lively blood, had more potent power that balances perfectly between output strength and casting speed. The rules in a new spigen are too hard and have a lot of untested theories, so it's not many people attempting it, other than a mad magician. In short, it's something about to come in the future. Wait for it."
"How dangerous is black mana on the other hand? At least, I believe it's so."
"Maybe." Evana lifted her cup as Arska placed her order. "Afterall —"
"— it's as new as Spirit Spigen and still develop," said Arska while took the empty cup.
"Don't cut the line." Evana stabbed the fork into a piece of apple that happened beside Arska's hand. "Wait like everyone else."
Arska quickly balanced the plate on one palm and safely dropped onto the table. "Sekin-ekin, ula," Arska said in teasing tone, didn't upset with Evana's act, finished refiling Siqura's coffee. "By the way, Evana is the best —"
"— enough, Arska. Shoo! Shoo to your nest."
"Don't boil on me now."
"
"Um…" Siqura lost track of what topic they had been discussing so far.
"Ah, yea. Basically, black mana and red mana are new development to create multiple alternate versions of spigens. Danger or not is something we half-hearted made a conclusion."
"Spigen is spirit system, so how different than any? And for what point?"
"Well, I don't sure how to explain to you. Just so to know, where your path lead to?"
"My path? Did you mean my career? I took Medical course to pursue as a doctor."
"No. Your spells. What set do you have in?"
"I think, it relates to battlemage. I don't get it…your tactic."
"Battlemage, huh? That sounds the best bet if you want to be a doctor. That is a magician path that focused on output and mana capacity for powerful spells. To best further, they are the master of the million spells which in your case spells involved medical operation. No, that too much. Thousand is more of a realistic attempt."
"So, how my path explains my question?"
"First you had to understand, once you trained in any of path, it became your blood even you tried to forcedly change. There were only three paths that official: ancient magician, traditional wizard, and modern sorcerer. Sorcerer is somewhat overpacked in power and at the same time overweak. Wizard depends on casting speed and efficiency. Magician, well, a global emergency. Hot and terrific. The most nightmare for every kingdom yet the asset pride."
"It makes sense…" Siqura stared at up on her own brain. "No. I still didn't get it."
"Ah… Then, let's make it simple." Evana sipped her fresh sweet-sour orange juice. "Interesting to be my disciple —"
"— uno." An instant rejection.
"Hm. Hm. Of course, you want to learn from grandmaster — w-what you said?"
"Never."
"Ula ula ula, why ula?"
Arska chuckled and fled to the furthest table when Evana glared at her.
"Stealing is not a proud profession if I had to be rude."
"Ah. No. That's not what I mean." Evana launched the last fruit portion into her mouth. "I mean magic ula… Nah. Are you free right now? Let's go."
"I told you, I would not spill dirt to my name."
* * *
"Besfan Vinio, ula? However, I didn't think it's enough for Level-10 grade star cursed rune."
"Why not?" Siqura worked her brain for the reason.
"Grade S is rated beside Excalibur Sword. You need Seventh Tier Magic Spell, Pure Bless."
"Can you?"
"I'm sorcerer, not a magician. I knew its formula but as you can see, my core had shaped one path a few years ago. It cursed for a lifetime. Maybe you could with a good amount of experience."
"Ah." Siqura's nodded positively as she linked information before. Choosing a magic path was a big deal. Did she want to be a magician? Most importantly, how much benefit she could have from this magic skill? These questions of course for Rune Reality since she had no collection pieces of her Magic Reality's life.
Evana and Siqura stopped walking, somewhere away from the city. A plain grass filled with sparse wild animals from the forest and monsters from ancient ruin seen at the entrance of the cave appeared in the middle of the field.
"No matter how compelling the spell, it's all about mana administration." Evana cast the most basic spell and the most effortless to acquire about magic. On her hand, one holy-white ball created, Light spell, {Sicrony: Annom}.
First Tier Magic Spell had a very smallest scale that possible in supernatural phenomena or world law.
For example, the Light Spell worked by turning mana size thumbnail into a ball — like a ping-pong — where it was empty inside. Since bluish mana was not enough to give the whole room light, the spell painted the mana into a white glow.
First Tier was all about a small modification of size, color, weight, tone, texture, movement…any not over-complex vector.
Even an example of dangerous sounded like Earth Bomb spell, it modified the movement force at a small point to shift a heavy object out of the way where normally human's strength couldn't. Nothing of an explosion.
Another example was the Ariel Float spell. It reduced weight using wind until it was enough to hover a human body. Though, if the object was too heavy or in a closed room with low air movement, it didn't do anything useful without more mana.
These three examples could be replaced with the scientific method. The process might as simple as inventing the bulb but it was still the same hard with the magic. Building formula and equation was the hardest part.
After all, many people involved before mankind found the easiest Light spell as it was available nowadays.
"With my long observation, I discovered a new theory to break the rule of our modern magic system," Evana said as she stirred the light ball on her hand into a shape of a cube in a split second. "Voila! Normally, if I want to do this, I had to study two spells."
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Siqura stared below of the cube-light. Of course, the magic circle wasn't easy to read. Yet, Siqura did. Some of it. "A numbering box?" Siqura told what she could work out. The reason for her understanding came from part-time as a librarian in Magic Reality. She got a feeling.
"I'm impressed." Evana looked at the magic circle on her palm. "As you said, it's the Second Magic Tier, Dice Light spell. The purpose of this abracadabra is to set brightness with six individual settings. Every aspect of the dice had a different pattern that can be changed in real-time." She demonstrated by making the torchlight in the cube picked a new side, the light out from the plane with a star shape. Also filtered in red color since Second Tier equaled to double modifications for free usage of the two mana points.
"And by manipulating mana in Light spell, you're able altering to Second Tier? That…amazing." Because that meant Evana used one mana point for Second Tier. True. One mana point for two modifications was impossible in the general magic system. Unless the spell itself was dissembled and reconstructed.
"Not yet. Wait until you see Second Tier Magic Spell. Third. And then Fourth. If only I could realize this before pursue a sorcerer path."
"But…this brand of adaptation must have some sort of weakness or unliked impact, right?
"Ura… How about you try first?" Evana took her bracelet Spigen off her arm.
"{Sicrony: Annom}." Five magic circles appeared, then one light merged. Siqura stared at it for a while. "Well, how to manipulate mana?"
"Repeat without the {Annom} part."
"{Besfan}." Siqura used a Cancel of repeater magic which the safest method to cut a middle casting, overall prevented of the nasty aftereffect. Then, she began a refresh. "{Sicrony}." Five magic circles spawned again, rotated in slow motion. Since it was incomplete, it stayed like that.
"Great. Do you imagine the garus(line)?"
To use spigen, the caster of First Tier required to imagine three points: head, chest, and the center point between legs that faced straight toward the ground. Connecting these dots would make a straight line.
"I do," Siqura said without moving. Gradually, her hand trembled watching the incomplete magic, her lips were about to mutter random spell due to instant habit.
"Can you use barrier-type spell? I'm sure battlemage could."
"First Tier?" Siqura took a breath again. "{: Sharlid}!" As Siqura shouted this, a picture formed in a fraction of second inside her mind which reacted her to imagine the three points altered into a triangle. Like a spontaneous reaction. Two points over her head in the air at a vast amount of her two arms. The last point was set underground.
This spell spread the mana it could use into a semi-sphere like a small dome. However, this resulted in a thin layer of defense and small space only for one person. The prime function was to stop most attack spell of First Tier — once — before the collapse.
Commonly used to block and destroy an attack but most of the time people stacked more than one to obliterate multiple incoming spells. The mana barrier also recognized its caster's spell, so it could be used to trap the enemy. The only choice the enemy had was to run away out of the barrier, or cast any attack spell to destruct the barrier before the next action.
"Now, for manipulation." Evana pressed the faint blue barrier that surrounded Siqura, confirmed its activation. Since it created from pure mana, it could only stop the mana-based spell. Not all spells were complete mana.
Which happen, Evana produced a speck of dirt on her hand from Create Earth spell. Siqura stepped back awkwardly. Its size was agreed to a bead and could enter Siqura's strong barrier.
"Now! Move the cinot(points)." Evana said, shaking her hand with floating dirt. Since she was an Elf, her body could store mana and spells. The dirt collected and molded like a ball without spigen.
"W-Wait!" Siqura idled for a second. "Wouldn't that cut the in-casting spell?"
"The reason we need to call the name of the spell because of its mental image that helped you remember where to set the cinot. And the image changed when the word did too as cinot placement. Other than that, if you could morph the image quickly to the next one, then a new spell would be born."
"B-But how about the magic formula?" Siqura stared anxiously at the dirt. "Can spigen handle it alone?"
In the old days, the magic circle was drawn to the floor and the spell activated as soon as mana flowed into it. One focal point on the body controlled one variable in magic formula.
And then they introduced a way to fit in multiple magic circles in small spots like a dice box and chose which spot to flowing mana. The person could bring about five to twenty spells with this method based on the size of area space. They didn't have precise machinery automate. So the best portable magic circle was about palm size in the box full of them.
Another race like ethereal, fairy, jlien, and some of them, had abilities to store many magic circles inside their bodies and used whenever they wanted to. Magic research had found a way to make an acting object as their second body so any person could use magic as long as they knew how magic worked and a good amount of training. That was the history of the spigen.
When Siqura said about whether the spigen could handle the spell, since it was like a second body, most people in Magic Reality weren't able to use multiple spells at the same time. It always destroyed the last spell the moment the second spell interrupted in.
Though in a special case, inome could cast multiple spells if they used a unique race skill.
"If you froze the magic formula, Spigen won't update its calculation. Hurry up before this stone makes a hole on your face."
Siqura stared under her feet. Focused her mental concentration, the magic circle stopped rotating, fading into grey.
Breaking in the middle activating spell, had a backfired effect similar to getting an electric shock. The higher the tier, the harder pain the caster had to bear to extend of death.
Even First Tier couldn't kill her, she still generated internal fear, carefully and precisely moving the cinot together inside so the triangle became smaller. Sweats were seen beside her eyes that looked at the cinot. Only the caster who could feel it. Imagine where the points only to help the sense. That was why trained the brain to unconsciously form a desired shape after shouting the name of the spell was the simplest. Like martial art.
As the triangle turned small, the barrier dome didn't follow up since it didn't update.
"Now, restart the magic circle."
The magic circle rotated back, updated the three points, and began shifting the effect based on the magic formula. As a result, Siqura's head popped half out of the barrier including her arms and legs. She appeared wearing a ball of mana. Since the mana intensity increased, the tone became giant blue cotton. She looked like a sheep.
"Puff! Hahahahahaha!" Evana fell back to the ground, rolling in an absurd direction while hitting her stomach. The hovering rock on her hand dismissed offhand.
Siqura had absolutely no idea what was funny, receiving a steady hot on her cheeks without a clue.
By making the barrier smaller, she agreed it was useful since now the barrier had matured thicker. Would it able to stop physical objects at will or two mana-based attack spells?
"Mades(sorry)." Evana pointed her hand toward Siqura. "Let's test now."
She endured her stance, prepared to accept hit.
"{Sicrony: Frusen Earth}!" One ball of dirt was entreated out, she dumped it toward Siqura. Of course, it wasn't that fast.
The barrier detected the incoming spell and knocked it out. As a result, the barrier was eliminated with the dirt lost its shape and cracked into ashes before hard to discern.
Siqura closed her mouth from a cough when the soil jabbed her nostril. Nothing was changed after mana manipulation. The barrier couldn't contain at least twice of disturbance. But at least it could hinder rock element-based spell. A physical type.
"I guess it's not enough." Evana fastened her fingers. "Let's go avid."
"Hah?"
"{Welno}!" Evana shouted Repeater Magic. It could recast the last spell for timesaver casting. Since magic formula from Create Earth already used, the spigen only required to use the same circles for recast. This made the spell skipped a few steps ahead, progressed the casting a little bit in trade a cooldown period would be stacked once the caster turned to new spell or stopped for a few seconds. Three seconds exactly.
In a better explanation, Evana didn't need to wait for the cooldown.
Clay gathered in her hand into compacted-mud and it was discharged right away. By using {Welno}, the caster couldn't check the spell. It would be redoing the same act with locked variables.
The reason for creation {Welno} activation was to continuously attack the same spell over and over, suspending the cooldown period to the next spell. It could stack as long as mana allowed.
Siqura pitched her confusing-eyes to confirm what was happening. No memory of {Welno} function entered in her blank mind.
With one breath swarmed in, she discarded an annoying tense burning from her chest. She didn't want to lost control of herself. This wasn't the first time she got bullied.
"Round two." Evana began lifting her hand. "{Diunizer: Welno}." Two balls of dirt created, they rocketed at similar fashion and speed. {Diunzer} was a twin modifier, duplicated the spell at a cost double mana and one extra point. Because it recast from the last spell, they targeted at the related spot, Siqura's head.
Siqura saw the twin attack rushing, she hastened to copy Evana's call. "{Diunizer: Welno}!"
Two dry dirt balls dropped to her face. Her barriers didn't activate.
"Huhuhu! Too bad, Siqura." Evana pointed her finger while laughing. "Just because you know the spell name, doesn't mean it's going to work. This is war rebuttal for sabotaging my magic on the other day. Look here. Another is coming."
Hanging shock denoted her brain due fireback from failed to cast a spell. Her mouth clicked, hawking at Evana without care to hide her emotion. She was too busy to calm down herself from the pain in her brain.
Casting magic wasn't comfortable. Those basic of three points that needed to control was actually three magic circles that sized to dots and had to frame them in mind at all the time. Even if supposed Siqura could read and memorize few things from magic circles during Evana's casting, she still had trouble if she didn't know what magic formula used in that spell. Which meant, she had no idea variables she had to put in three points. She realized just now, stumbled to find where three points were hiding in Evana.
This was no different than trying to guess three numbers in a roller paddle lock. Every single time Siqura selected a wrong sequence number, the mana would knockout her brain due to mana outflow.
"Hahaha! That's only you can do?" Evana unfolded her arms to the front. "Take this. {Dinezer Sicrony Quim: Frusen Earth}!" This time, it was {Dinezer} which translated as a triplet. {Quim} was used to add one mana point for raising its full speed.
Three locations in front Evana lined up in horizontal, brown thick dirt whirlpool to these locations as if giant air-suckers were there. Completed, five magic circles abandoned with only one magic circle beneath her feet as she was holding on the spell from not doing anything further.
"You might wish there was a bath around."
"Darn…" Siqura raised from the ground. "I swear I will kill you."
"Ohoho. So scary." Evana released all the spells. "Try to survive this!"
Magic circle vanished as Evana had no control anymore, the three dirt balls cannoned faster than before. Not {Besfan} could stop them now. The speed of three entities had made a tremendous wave that stormed toward the grasses off the ground. Strengthened by in fact Evana's earth element was high, sonic sounded through space. It was terrifying as First Tier Magic Spell shouldn't be this powerful.
Siqura didn't sure what Evana was thinking. Perhaps mana manipulation was involved, it didn't seem like First Tier anymore. Pink puffy monsters that peacefully bouncing and playing around started glowing their antennas from the danger of the growing big attacks.
"Ah." Evana rubbed her head. "This is bad. Um. How about a run?"
Renura lu evoked in her soul. Her legs couldn't move for a fear suddenly massed in her frightened-heart. Something. Somewhere. Deep down there.
World greyed for a second, a World Scroll flew into Siqura.
In that scroll had Worldline when she was attacked by Ainari during gym class. A training not body only but also mental. She got a memory recall.
"Alright, if you have a partner, start practicing how to safeguard against an aggressor." The professor was Evana, in her disguise appearance.
Due to bad luck, the standout Ainari chose Siqura despite each of student in the classroom grasp the relationship between them.
Siqura stepped into the student line, began the first role of attacker. "{Sicrony: Mana Ingle}." A blue glow sharpened stick crossed the hall field toward Ainari. It echoed a bit.
"{Sicrony: Mana Firino}." A blue simple shield exited from Ainari's green wand. Mana Shield had small area protection but could stop a physical attack as well. About 80% of the damage. The charging attack would stagger for a half-second, allowed dismissing the other 20% by swung the wand away from the body or allies.
Plus, as a fairy, Ainari had a bonus race for protection. The shield didn't crack even after first use.
"Well done, Ainari!" Evana clapped her hand for the quality of how stable her mana shield. "Change role."
"{Sicrony: Sharlid}." Siqura activated her protection spell.
A wand was built for speed so Mana Shield had better bet. If the attack came from above, the wand only needed to direct up, then slashed downward or jumped the spell back to the caster.
However, a staff held by Siqura didn't allow for efficient movement as if was too heavy for wielding around. And thus, the Barrier spell was a good decision as it protected the caster from all sides. The only problem, it couldn't stop a physical attack. Maybe it would work if Siqura stacked multiple barriers. That would be wasted of mana though.
"{Sicrony: Mana Ingle}." Ainari cast the spell normally. But her hidden smirk made Siqura threw off, she peeked at the blue glow. The barrier shattered along with the mana arrow but something slapped her face afterward.
Siqura's eyes went awestruck, attempted to seek what just befell.
"Again turn," said Evana.
Siqura cast Mana Arrow and Ainari blocked with Mana Shield.
And then…it occurred when came to Siqura's shift to destroy attack spell.
No sign of visibility. But Siqura sensed a hidden spell was following the arrow from behind. She didn't see or hear a second spell from Ainari. How she did that?
Was it a secret ability in the wizard path? No.
Did Ainari study ahead before her?
In the end, it appeared as Siqura shocked by the attack, no one witnessed the invisible harassment. Ainari continued giggle without overboard.
From time to time, Siqura started to half-crying after ten rounds. Evana did check on her but Siqura fended off, professed she was fine.
If Evana who was sorcerer grandmaster couldn't perceive that then perhaps it was some kind magic item. Little Siqura remembered another advantage about fairy race, a speed bonus.
Siqura swallowed her fear, she attempted to block with staff when the next hidden attack came right after the barrier. She wasn't a type to give up easily.
Ainari picked that, she intentionally increased the speed on already speeding spell, making the arrow moved at the speed of a bullet. But she realized the mistake of allowable speed, it was too late to cancel, she panicked running to Siqura.
And just like that, Siqura forgot that her mana had exhausted, she trapped about the strange arrow that suddenly created a force that devoured the floor. Her legs stopped moving, her hands were trembling around the wooden staff, watching the spell accelerating like such.
Fortuitously, Erika glanced away from her partner to check the noise and saw Siqura in danger. She dashed with speed buff of her expensive sport-shoes, stood in front of her.
"Ah…?" Siqura stared at her. "Erika?"
"Hm?" Erika cast Barrier spell but sensed something wrong with Ainari's spell. "What is this?"
The arrow destroyed at first contact, and then an invisible spell came after, quickly she used {Welno} to recast the same spell. Repeater Magic supposed to learn in college education. This overcome-limitation what made Erika a model student with a perfect score. Number five from a magic competition of all students around the world. Basically, a genius with everything.
Every spell had various cooldowns that prevented continuous spell. But using {Welno} the cooldown would cut in half and brought it to the next spell, able Erika to quickly recast Barrier spell as many times as she wanted.
When barrier reappeared, it got killed right away even there was no attack coming, it that split second Erika foresaw what the hidden spell was through her years of magic experience, she defended with her staff as she had no time to cast a Mana Shield. The hidden spell had infused with elemental that could crush barrier. Using her staff as a shield was the only way.
The staff broke, dragged Erika several feet off the floor. It was a bullet speed after all.
Evana was busy teaching a student, only saw the crowd around them. "What's going on…?" She stared at lying Erika next to Siqura, the broken staff, and then a shocking Ainari.
"No professor. I…" Ainari quickly attempted for an accuse. First Tier Magic was harmless. But by learning Modifier Magic, one could make the spell more strong and enough to hurt a person even not killed them instantly.
This act was similar to a high school student shooting a real-life gun. It was just the punishment in Magic Reality had a harsh penalty. This because freedom of what magic could do was almost infinity. In the worst scenario, Ainari might not allow using magic for forever. Bad news for a society that depending on magic to survive.
Despite the situation, it could have lied with someone else interfered with their session. When Ainari resolved to give this as a reason —
"— Wow!" Erika raised up. "That's very tight close."
"Erika?!" Evana lowered to her side, examining her bleeding head. "Are you okay?"
"No problemo. My staff needs replacement. That's all. Sorry for stopping everyone from training."
Siqura and Ainari didn't say anything, looking at the floor in guilty. Evana seemed unconvinced from their behaviors, hoping Erika to tell truth later. Yet, she denied it rock-hard as a complete accident. Whatever it was, if not for Erika's quick judgment, the spell would kill them both.
Since that day, Ainari didn't dare to attack directly. When they met, she only gave a cold shoulder. But if the opportunity came, Siqura knew Ainari would never let her go.
Siqura didn't perfectly sure how long it would be last, but worry about the debt made her forgot about that accident. Perhaps, it wasn't an accident, Ainari was really trying to kill her. Who knew? Why she hated her so much?
Did Erika fail to cast a spell? No. No one believed that. There was no way a model student did careless a mistake for First Tier Magic Spell. Bad staff spigen? With the present from the headmaster itself, it was impossible since the staff had a high price at the market. Weightless when the owner lifted it and could hold any strong knockback spell even a tank walking on top. Yes. The Ainari's spell was stronger than a tank.
The students didn't realize the reason for the barrier got demolished. Neither the professor. Only Siqura, Ainari, and Erika. They had been keeping the secret so Ainari could graduate as a starter wizard. This what secured the peace.
"Siqura!"
She faced a panic voice. There were wings assaulted and hooked her back out of the way. The three dirt balls passed behind and ended in the cave's mouth. Few monster bats went out.
"Are you okay?" Evana ran toward her.
Thus completed another renura lu triggered by {Welno} and a speeding attack spell. And then the memory recall vanished. But something had changed about Siqura's magic knowledge.
"Professor?" Siqura said, inspecting behind her back. Aeriel Wings? Could it use to another target than the caster? So much she didn't know about magic.
"Professor?" Evana wasn't a teacher in this reality. "Did I hit your head too hard? I don't see that coming. Sorry…"
As Siqura still confused about why her eyes wetted, the ancient ruin began quaking with more monsters produced out.
Evana slowly rotated toward it. "Aaa… Why now?"
"Mm." Siqura dumbed over Evana.
"We have to run."
"What's you two doing here?" One adventurer with his party members was hurrying in this way. "Haaah! Evana Colt. I found you a thief."
"Uh?" Evana pulled up her hood and glasses at the moment of notice. "I'm sure you mistake someone. Oh-heck!" She tried mimicked an old woman.
"Don't lie, I remember the green guy do something worst at you on that day. It's his fault though, but you robbed a goldsmith and almost killed two persons."
"Hm." Evana nodded. "You make a mistake. Bu-buzz. Wrong person."
"Hey, Chad," said the woman fox. "Is that bad?"
"Hah?" Chad gripped the greatsword behind him. "W-What the…? We already cleared the first floor yesterday. Why with insane stress today?"
The cave puked out more monsters with roars that coasted toward here. Land gritted up and down, birds flocked away from the forest at afar. Then a giant monster gorilla out.
"That undeniable impossible! A boss should stay in the Boss Room! That's how it worked in the RPG game! Damn!"
"Is this your manual again?" said the human fox.
"I leave to you." Evana dragged Siqura as she still floated in the air.
"No! Wait!" Chad jumped side to side, choosing first priority. "Hell with it." He had no time to worry about a thief.
If all monsters ran too far from the ancient ruin — the cave — another monster would be spawned, making the future looked bleak with numerous monsters. It happened when the ancient ruin left unconquered for too long time. And when it did, heroes were called to deal with their problem.
There was no choice for the heroes as well since only the same person who summoned them could send them back to their worlds.
Chad and the four members of the party were happened to be heroes summoned by the Veizralia Kingdom.
Siqura stared a woman fox, Beastman race, who cast giant shield from her magic wand. "They really from another kingdom." She recalled two heroes that donated money to the hospital, they weren't inside the party.
"It's okay. We can make it." Evana ran toward the Aivena City. "Stay sane. Quick! Quick!"
"Maybe…" Siqura looked at her sky, ride through air leisurely with the wings. "I should write a journal or something." So she could make a connection about occasion renura lu. Or deja vu.
* * *
With that, Siqura motivated to digging further about {mana shaping} said Evana, continued the lesson until the day of the school trip.
Several caravans consisted of various classroom' members, all rented for a week since it took one or two days to travel out of this land. The three days began when they arrived at the destination. They were in the middle arranging their belongings into the roofed wagons for beg storage.
All wagons had an almost similar layout to bus or truck that pulled by horse hybrids instead of the petrol engine.
"You say, it's a magic path like magician, wizard, sorcerer, and others. All these titles are worthy of grandmasters. But how about this theory? This mana shaping…"
"Since it's not that official, I guess I named it as evoker path."
"Evoker?"
"Ya-yah. Evoker. A person who evokes a secret gold in every spell."
"I'm an evoker," Siqura said while looking at her hand. The revelation was striking her heart profoundly when all of sudden, "Argh!"
"Stop going ahead." Evana knocked one knife on her head. "It takes many years before you could achieve {Grandmaster of Evoker}. Train Seven Tier Magic Spell first."
A grandmaster level would be given when the person acquired Seven Tier Magic Spell. It had a more complex magic formula with hundreds of variables.
"What is this?" Siqura picked the knife that looked exactly like her lucky charm. "Is this mine?"
"Since evoker required stability," Evana quickly explained to run away from the question of the knife's state, "I proposed a plan for suitable spigen, a knife type. The blade might too blunt for inflicting a wound but when the blade stabs a person just touching, you can manipulate the target's mana. In order words, steal or sabotage their spigen. Cool, isn't it?"
Siqura glanced down, there was a blue crystal inside the hilt. Ten mana points. One mana point regeneration per minute.
"The best part is, you can use Call Spigen anytime with less mana and better than just floating. You will see a little wing grew out of it."
"Eh? Second Tier? What? How?"
"Siqura!" Erika waved on the long carriage for her classroom. "It's time to go."
"That is my secret." Evana touched Siqura's back. "After you return, we continue our lesson. Happy trip."
Unfortunately, Siqura had no time to study purify spell to discard curse in her dress neither found anyone. Her bag was small than the rest of classmates and students.
Siqura stepped from the back of the passenger wagon, she turned around.
"Be safe and have fun. Don't worry about your mom," Rizera shouted and raised her arms loudly despite people around looking down at her. Even the money problem had improved, they still kept a distance due to the betrayer title.
"You too Erika." Lizera waved a handkerchief. "You will get cold if you wear nothing before bed —"
"— Mom! Stop it!"
Students nearby halted their footsteps in obvious surprise. Erika was a model student and popular. Added by sincere attitude. Having heard this, quickly a new gossip popped in that split moment.
"Ah." Erika skipped between numerous students. "Don't listen to her. T-That is a lie."
"Mmm…" Siqura peeked at Erika.
"W-What?" Erika trembled, staring to side. "It's normal, right? What problem with no clothes in your own bed?"
"Ha-hm." Siqura covered her giggle. "It's rare to see you flustered like this. It's going to be a worthy trip these special three days."
Erika jumped, fixing into the same position. "No. Don't look here."
"That sounds really Erika-ish. Pretty, smart, and wild."
"Ah…ah…I…" Erika was heavily lifting uncontrollable teasing from Siqura, she began shifting her hands and legs aimlessly not knowing to act.
All carriages soon departed with teachers in their casual attires and students with their uniforms, a trip to the other side of the land.
After traveled about half a day, having a nice and relaxing journey when all of sudden an enormous burning rock dropped from the clear sky, directly sliding in a circle toward the caravans.
Siqura saw the questioned object, desperately escaped from it. But she was too scared to do anything, eyed to it as Erika tried to drag her away. People jumped out of their wagons.
And World Blueprint activated. Unconsciously, as if Siqura hoped someone to save her.
Whole caravans vanished or erased just like that from this reality. Aivena City. And the Veizralia Kingdom. All connections to her such as the five heroes summoned by King, Waltren met Riurian at the hospital, and Evana encountered Lraden.
All those events inside Aivena City disappeared. The five heroes never summoned here, existed in their own worlds.
Waltren couldn't meet Riurian if Aivena City wasn't here, but strangely, Riurian remembered the encounter on his travel somewhere else which didn't involve with Siqura's Worldline.
And Lraden continued running away from patrollers without meeting Evana and thus got caught. He was in the prison, interrogated by the torturer. However, he escaped several days later after learned how to control his undead power and took over the prison. His army was made up of prisoners and all workers in that place. That was how he ended here, nearby bushes.
Many and many events that Rune Reality interacted with Siqura's existence was changed to fit the situation despite her Worldline wasn't here anymore.
The meteor crashed to the ground and pierced a big hole until below sea level. Hot smoke ingested out with one walking skeleton stepped out. A girl. Wearing a shocking-facial mask that sculptured white like those in a stage play. She had a red gown, unable to break even when inside a purple flame.
"Well. That's a fun ride," said the undead princess.
A disaster was waiting for this Rune Reality, Science Reality, and all worlds.
As bad luck was about to fall on Siqura who jumped to Alchemy Reality.