Chapter 11 (part 1/2) - Magic Circles

  Magic in this world was not as simple as he had imagined. His mental capacity and knowledge did not automatically make him proficient in it. There was a physical component and a social one in its practice, just like in life itself.

  Vincent had always been a smart kid but, like any prodigy, somewhat inept socially. Being the most capable was not enough to guarantee success. The world didn’t work that way. To move within it, one had to follow its implicit rules, play its game. Appearance and social connections were vital… and magic worked in a similar way.

  Spiritual energy, formed by fragments of souls, carried the essence of the person it once belonged to: their language, culture, and temperament. One could force these fragments, cleanse them of their information and fill them with intent, but it was far simpler to speak to them, to spur them into acting using what they already understood. His ego had led Vincent to think that if he infused these particles with scientific knowledge they would act more efficiently, but all he did was overload them. You don’t need to understand how photons work to create light. Magic was not science, and it didn’t require overexplaining for simple functions.

  Every human being has made fire at some point, has heated things, lifted things, or broken something. There is no need to give overly complex instructions for something so basic. You only need to learn their language so they will do it. That was the conclusion Vincent reached after hours of study.

  After collecting his pay, he decided to use his free day to test his new meridians. He was eager to use magic, but simply knowing the physical processes was not enough. It was possible, yes, but it made magic extremely inefficient and therefore unusable with his mediocre meridians.

  The language of the old kingdom is a blend of Germanic and Latin… but apparently their very voice was imbued with magic and intent… I don’t get it.

  Vincent scratched his head in frustration. He was studying alone in the usual room, a place where Lily would easily find him. He wanted to prove he wasn’t useless, show some sign of progress, but so far the only thing he had managed to do was make a small quartz stone glow.

  At this rate it would be easier to build a gun… I wonder if this world even has firearms.

  The most prevalent form of magic in both the tower and the kingdom belonged to a civilization from an ancient era, which had expanded and developed for fifteen hundred years until a cataclysm destroyed it. That was common in this world; kingdoms often imploded due to the power vacuum left by the loss of their leaders. Even so, the number of souls that had soaked into the land during that era still lingered, and it was the simplest form of magic to use.

  It seems this civilization had a strong grasp of materiality and other physical processes, but not so much when it came to enchantments or things that defied logic. It was a scientific civilization, which is why they try to gather strange magics from other worlds.

  Vincent deduced that much while studying the recent history of that world.

  Concepts like weightlessness, the control of magical creatures or other more unreal phenomena were reserved for cultures far more complex. He needed to stick to what he knew. Magic from the old era, because of its permanence in this world, was fairly accessible. That made it harder to create anything he could stand out with.

  Weapons, vehicles… maybe something medical… if they were capable of building this tower and resurrecting humans, they must already have that covered. I need something more mundane… something useful.

  If he wanted to get the scythe off his neck, he had to prove he survived through ingenuity, not through raw knowledge. He needed them to value him for what he was so they would stop trying to lobotomize him. If he could take the knowledge already present in the tower and turn it into something useful, he would prove his worth. It had to be something obvious… and something magical.

  After examining the scientific level of the tower for a while, he realized that even if it was scattered and incomplete, much of the knowledge from his own world was there. He had found books on advanced medicine and engineering, programming, mathematics and biology, yet Earthlings were still pushed aside in favor of other resurrects.

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  It’s the curse of Eden… if this world gives them everything, why bother advancing technologically?

  It was obvious to Vin that in this world magic was far more convenient. From what little he had seen, magic could achieve impossible things. Maybe magic really had no limits and the study of science was irrelevant. Maybe everything he knew was useless…

  “What are you reading?”

  “Wha!”

  Vincent jumped in fright when Lily appeared beside him out of nowhere.

  “You can read that? You already understand the common tongue?”

  “A little… I still struggle sometimes.”

  “You’re very smart, aren’t you? What did you do before you died?”

  Lily asked, glancing at the book in his hands.

  “I think I was some kind of engineer… I’m not sure.”

  Vincent answered with a lie. He would have liked to be honest with her, but he had no idea if someone was listening.

  “So that is why you are reading about this world’s technological advancements?”

  “I am trying to figure out what level they are at, what I could contribute to become useful. I have seen blueprints for submarines, cars, and airplanes scattered around. There is also a lot of programming and general computer science. Has any of that been applied?”

  “Not really. Magic is far too convenient, and the complexity involved in making a vehicle requires too many processes to compete with magical methods.”

  The information is there… but none of it has been applied.

  “Lily, I need you to explain magical circles to me. I understand they can be used without fully understanding the language or the culture they come from, right? Just by using engravings.”

  “Perhaps you are oversimplifying it. Even so, it requires a lot of study, and solving the issues of a functional circle requires a great balance of…”

  Lily stopped herself.

  “But if you managed to learn to read in such a short time, I suppose it will not be a problem. Come with me to the table.”

  Vincent stepped ahead and cleared the books. He also took out the marbles and quartz Lily had given him, along with the clay plate, the supposed magical circle.

  “I have tried using the circle you gave me, but I do not understand how it works. I managed to translate some symbols, but it is still unclear how to activate it.”

  Lily picked up the circle and set it between them. She grabbed a few marbles and placed them into the grooves.

  “Technically, circles can draw in energy on their own if they are made of a special material, but they usually require some type of gem to absorb energy. There is also a difference between continuous action circles and instantaneous ones. This heat circle is quite simple and needs to be fed to activate it, and its effect is instantaneous.”

  Lily took Vincent’s hand and guided his finger along the engravings of the magical circle. She began at the feeding point, marked by a blue marble, then followed the lines and inscriptions until reaching a green marble whose use was unknown, and ended at the red marbles of action, arranged in a triangle around the center.

  “This heat circle is used to sterilize tools. Look.”

  From her satchel, Lily pulled out a small case filled with delicate instruments: tweezers, scalpels, and other fine tips. She took a spatula and held it over the center of the circle. The moment it crossed the virtual threshold of the triangle, the metal began to glow with a reddish gleam.

  “That… is it using electromagnetism to heat the metal? I don’t feel any heat radiating when the metal isn’t near it.”

  Vincent asked, amazed, as he timidly brought his hand closer to the circle to check the temperature.

  “No, nothing like that. It is just a basic heat circle. Here you can see the metal engravings… and also the ones that specify the temperature. It’s useful for field medics and other scholars. Although, if it were meant for real use, the marbles would be embedded. Aside from absorbing energy, they also help decode the target. This green marble is malachite, which contains copper and helps align the circle with metal.”

  “Hmmm… I see. I see.”

  Vincent drew the circle closer and picked up one of the tools. He tried to replicate what Lily had done, but when he attempted to concentrate his energy, the metal barely reacted, showing only a faint discoloration.

  I cannot even activate a beginner’s circle…

  “D-don’t worry if you cannot use it. It’s a pretty inefficient circle. It does not even have a medium in the grooves… which would be like the cables. Here you are relying entirely on the carving. Besides, the gems aren’t embedded either.”

  Before he could get discouraged, Lily intervened.

  “The effectiveness and function depend heavily on how it is built. As long as the circle follows a proper logic, you do not need to learn the history or languages of other worlds. It is like an artificial meridian system.”

  Then she pulled out an inkwell, parchment, clay, and a blue paste.

  “You can think of it as a circuit. If you just draw it on paper, it will burn. If the strokes are too thick, it will waste energy…”

  Lily cut herself off, worried she was giving too much information.

  “Sorry, am I going too fast?”

  Vincent smiled.

  Circuits…

  “…”

  “Tell me, Lily. Where could I learn to make these magical circles?”

  “Eh?”

  Lily asked, shocked, certain that Vincent would be frustrated instead of excited.

  “I suppose a good place would be the Circle Workshop, working as an assistant. There is no chance they will accept you in a class for resurrects…”

  She answered, a bit apologetic.

  “A workshop is fine. Take me there, please.”