Chapter 06 (part 1/2) - Energy and flow

  The prospect of mastering this new phenomenon thrilled him, giving him a feeling reminiscent of the moments in his past life when he brushed against a Eureka. He was about to descend into unknown territory, and he knew that in his hands, it would make him unstoppable.

  All sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

  Vincent thought, quoting one of Clarke’s laws, eager to unravel the secrets of magic so he could master them. But despite his excitement to begin learning, another concern claimed his attention: the golden bracelet on his wrist had been pulsing ominously since early that morning.

  “Lily, c-could you explain what this means?”

  Lily’s eyes widened in surprise as she noticed the vascular swelling of the bracelet. Despite being made of metal, it seemed to have a pulse of its own, as if a tiny heart was beating inside it.

  “Ah… don’t worry about that right now.”

  “But it’s pulsing, like it’s trying to get my attention.”

  Left with no choice, Lily gave him a partial explanation. It was obvious she was withholding details, since there were more pressing matters at the moment. Still, if it was important, Vincent needed to know.

  “That’s a servitude bracelet. Pretty much every resurrected one has one. Bringing us back to life comes at a great cost… a debt we must pay before we can own our own souls.”

  “Even if we were resurrected w-without our consent?”

  “You can always take your own life if you don’t want to pay.”

  Lily joked darkly, trying to downplay the gravity of the subject.

  “And why is it pulsing?”

  “That… that’s because you haven’t been doing your work. Every resurrected, whether Magister or a simple husk, has obligations. Instead of having human supervisors for every task, the bracelets track whether you’ve been fulfilling what’s required to help the tower and repay your debt. If you work, the pulsing should calm down.”

  “And what counts as work?”

  “In your case? Cleaning and other simple chores. Though if you do other things that benefit the tower, that also counts as positive balance.”

  This thing would be useful for a company… though its cost must be astronomical. The bracelet looks like it’s made of pure gold.

  “But you only earn credit for what’s stipulated. If you do something more complex, the bracelet will calm down, but you’ll still only receive your weekly pay… at most you’d get a small bonus if you never let it get that vascular, which means you’ve been working hard.”

  “So it acts like a goal tracker… What happens if I don’t complete them?”

  “If you don’t meet your quota?”

  Lily gave him an uneasy look.

  “Don’t worry about that this week. We have more pressing matters, and I can cover your share if you fall behind.”

  Vincent gave her a stern look, tinged with embarrassment.

  She’s probably been paying my quota for a while. Drestan mentioned I was a burden. I should try to clean whenever I can.

  Lily refused to answer any more questions until they reached the study hall. There were people around, and it was best to hide his second awakening from others. If they found out, they would update his workload, and that was the last thing they needed to lose now: time.

  The study hall was located a few floors above. Unlike the library from the day before, this one looked much more organized. The books were bound and properly cataloged, translated into several languages, and printed on quality paper.

  Lily took three volumes from a shelf and placed them on the table. While she pulled things out of her satchel, Vincent flipped through the pages.

  “T-this typography… it was made with a printing press!”

  “Surprised? We bring technology from countless worlds. It’s not too far-fetched to think we could recreate one from the 1400s.”

  Lily said with a smug tone.

  “I’m just surprised you use machinery at all… I thought you’d rely on magic for everything.”

  “Magic is very useful, yes, but there are things where technology is far more practical and efficient when scaled. That’s what I’d like to prove, but we earthlings don't get many resources...”

  That made Vincent think. The challenge thrilled him, but before he could attempt anything, he needed to understand the feasible limits of magic, or rather, what magic actually was in the first place.

  “Most of the work we do here is refining and cataloging knowledge. We go through several stages and, in the end, once everything is polished, we create templates for the printing press.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Lily got a little too excited talking about books and quickly realized it, clearing her throat to refocus.

  “These books, for example, are the most commonly used ones. That’s why they’re printed. They’re introductory texts on magic.”

  Aside from the one he already held, the other two volumes had titles in different languages, one in Spanish and one in French. Lily had brought multiple copies since she wasn’t sure which language Vincent would handle best.

  Being the arrogant genius he was, he confidently took the French copy first… but to his surprise, there were many words he didn’t remember.

  “Huh?”

  He opened the Spanish one, another language he used to master. To his shock, it was completely incomprehensible. Quickly, he returned to the English version, convinced he still knew it… and to his relief, he recognized most of the words.

  I must have lost more than I realized last night… come to think of it, the book my bunkmates were using wasn’t in a native language of this world. It was German.

  “I think I’ll need all three to understand the context.”

  “I figured.”

  Lily puffed out her chest proudly and kept pulling things from her satchel. When she was done, several curious objects were spread across the table: a small incense burner, polished marbles of various colors, crystals, engraved clay discs, and a copper tube.

  Then, Lily took more books from the shelves, different versions of the same text in multiple languages. Among the titles were Introduction to Magic, The Common Tongue for Earthborns, and Energy and Magic.

  Recognizing a familiar cover, Vincent took the English version of Introduction to Magic, the same book Charly had been using that morning.

  “Ah, that one… it might be a bit advanced to start there. I already had a lesson prepared.”

  Lily said, a bit uneasy. It was true that following her guidance would be the safer route, but Vincent still retained a faint memory of the meridians in his body and needed to refresh it before the trace faded away.

  “Vin…”

  Lily tried to get his attention several times until she finally did, just as Vincent felt satisfied with the catalog of images he had imprinted in his mind.

  “Yes… sorry. I just wanted to look at this drawing one more time. The other husks had similar notes.”

  Lily looked puzzled by how clearly he was speaking, but she soon responded.

  “The tower doesn’t provide formal education to those with little potential or poor past memory, especially earthlings, since they don’t naturally handle magic.”

  So that’s why the secrecy… though it probably has more to do with the incense. They were reluctant to share it.

  “What you have there is the circulatory map of energy, the meridians. But first, it’s important you understand what flows through them.”

  Lily took the book Energy and Magic, pointing out that he should have started with that one. Then she opened it and read a passage aloud.

  “Spiritual energy, mana, or ‘magic,’ as it’s commonly known, is, in simple terms, the fuel that makes the manifestation of magical phenomena possible. In essence, spiritual energy is made of fragments of the soul that remain in the mortal plane, and when infused with will, they can manifest in reality, altering the world around them.”

  Lily turned the page, making sure Vincent was paying attention.

  “When a person dies, the soul separates from the body and, lacking a vessel, dissolves into countless particles. Once freed from the mortal plane, spirits can manifest phenomena that defy reality, but they lack will. Spiritual energy is composed of these soul particles… fragments that no longer obey a single consciousness. They have no direction or intent due to their tiny, divided nature.”

  Vincent nodded, showing he understood, and motioned for her to continue.

  “Well, technically, they do retain traces of desire, language, and other traits… but more on that later. What you need to understand now is that performing magic means taking those particles and infusing them with your own intent.”

  “And for that, they have to pass through the meridians first, right?”

  Lily was stunned by how quickly he made the connection. She still compared him to his former self.

  “Exactly. That’s a fundamental part. Spiritual energy isn’t something that can truly be stored inside the body. It’s not like in a video game, where you have a mana pool you can use freely.”

  Lily checked to see if Vincent was following. She had used video games as an example without bothering to ask if he knew what they were, but when she saw him nod, she continued confidently, he had understood the comparison.

  “Your magical ability, if you want to call it that, depends on three things: how much energy you can draw in… transmute, and blend within yourself, and then charge it with intent and direction through knowledge.”

  Lily picked up a small paraffin tablet and began writing in English so Vincent could follow the lesson.

  “First, you need a way to attract this energy. All living beings do it naturally, but spiritual energy is also drawn to things with perceived value, just as it was when it was part of a complete soul. It’s attracted to gold, power, beauty… fascinating objects with history, figures of authority, nobility. A person adorned in gold will passively attract a lot of spiritual energy. It’s also possible… and in fact most common, to use mantras and chants to draw energy, but having a passive aura of attraction is very useful.”

  So that’s why everyone takes such care with their appearance…

  “The second factor is the ability to circulate energy through your body via the meridians. The meridians are a circulatory organ through which spiritual energy can flow easily. With proper training, and with the help of herbs and other medicines, it’s possible to increase both the flow and the branching within the body.”

  “What do they mean when they say my meridians are atrophied? Why is that a problem?”

  “Well…”

  Lily tried to dodge the topic but gave up right away. She couldn’t keep avoiding it, and it was important that Vincent knew.

  “Another essential part of meridian training is the ability to visualize and direct energy through the channels. An ordinary person does it instinctively when under stress, or at least after some practice using magic… but in your previous state, you didn’t have the cognitive ability to do something like that. And when the meridians go unused for years… they atrophy. They dry up.”

  Taking a heavy book from one of the higher shelves, Lily showed him a medical volume written in an unfamiliar language. Inside, anatomical illustrations depicted arteries that were shriveled and dry.

  “I hope Heidegger exaggerated about the state of your meridians. All living beings have an internal meridional flow, though husks aren’t natural, and their souls are always trapped in limbo… But for now, we should focus on understanding these two aspects of spiritual energy use. It’s vital that we strengthen your inner flow.”

  Lily took his hands, as if to comfort him, but the firmness in her gaze told him that wasn’t her intention. She was trying to form a connection, a meridional link, like the one Vincent had seen the husks practicing in the dorm. With their palms facing each other, Lily began to emit a gentle stream of energy, trying to synchronize with his rhythm.

  The sensation was intimate, almost electric, and it caught him completely off guard. He blushed instantly… the loss of his romantic memories had left him in a pitiful state when dealing with the opposite sex.

  “Lily?”

  Vincent interrupted, but she shushed him immediately. Her face showed a pained grimace, full of concern.

  “I can’t get in… are you trying to defend yourself? No, you shouldn’t even be able to do that…”

  Lily murmured to herself.

  “I’ll have to use that…”