Chapter 25 - Formations

  "Okay, where were we?" Daniel asked, settling back into his chair in the cabin. Dealing with the pirates had been a fun break, but he forced himself to focus on what mattered.

  "You asked me what I thought of when I hear Alderic magic," Felicia replied from the couch. Her posture was more relaxed now that they were back to their studies. The pirate attack seemed to have affected her less than he'd expected

  I’d say I handled that quite well, all things considered. No deaths or serious injuries, and we only lost an hour or so of travel time.

  “Right, Alderic magic! And I’m sure you’ve had time to think of a response?”

  She tilted her head thoughtfully. "I think of formations, mostly."

  “Precisely.”

  “But on the other hand, they’re too complex to be considered basic magic, I think.”

  Daniel leaned forward slightly. "Don't think of the great protective formations or the technical formations in an index when you think of formations. That's like imagining a book when it can be as simple as a sentence."

  Felicia's brow furrowed in that concentrating way he was growing fond of. "Mmh… You don't think you're too great at formations to be a good teacher, do you?"

  It was a valid question. In the past, Daniel had tried teaching math to a few students who were struggling to keep up with their classmates. He always had a talent for it, which was why he was asked to teach in the first place. But it soon became clear that someone with talent struggled to teach those without it. What was obvious to one became gibberish to the other.

  And now I’ve got the talent of the greatest formation mage in a thousand years… I’ll have to take it slow.

  “...I hope not. I’ll do my best to explain it so it makes sense to you.”

  “That should be fine. Show me where to begin, then.”

  Daniel raised his hand, focusing his will through the familiar conduit of gold light magic. A simple ring materialized in the air between them, with three runes glowing softly within its circumference. The formation was basic enough that it barely required any mana to maintain, but precise enough to demonstrate the fundamental principles.

  "Do you know these runes at all?"

  "Not in the slightest." Felicia leaned closer, examining the formation from multiple angles. "Don't you need something physical to draw formations on? Like wood, copper, or gold?"

  "Yes, most formations are carved into metal to make them last longer, but you can create them in other ways as well. For example, creating them out of solid mana, or mana crystals, like you created earlier. Or like this, using gold light as the base."

  "Oh, that seems useful. Is that why you chose to learn gold light?"

  “A major part of it, yes. I discovered early on that formations were my specialty, so I chose something I thought could help that skill grow further. But the gold light only lasts a few weeks at most, so it’s better used for temporary formations.”

  “It really is versatile. But what’s the difference between the gold light and normal barriers?”

  Her curiosity was infectious. Daniel could feel himself getting excited about the explanation, the way he used to when writing detailed magic systems for his novels. Something he had to rein in several times to prevent exposition dumps.

  “The gold light is defined as Sarun Magic because it creates solid light, which is impossible without bending the laws of physics. Normal barriers are simply solidified mana, both more costly and weaker comparatively.”

  “And harder to form into advanced shapes?”

  “No. But barriers are almost always created with an anchor point, meaning they can’t be moved freely. So advanced shapes aren’t really useful.”

  “Anchor point?”

  “Yes, some reference that tells it where to stay. The ground is what most people use, but you can also use yourself, so the barrier moves along with you. But again, you can not use other people as anchor points unless you can overpower their mana.”

  Felicia's expression shifted, and Daniel could practically see the gears turning. "...So you could create barriers that follow me constantly?"

  The memory of how easily she had been captured probably stayed on her mind.

  "I could, but it would be quite disruptive to your daily life."

  "Can a barrier lift its own anchor point? Like, if you created one surrounding me completely, would I just hover inside of it?"

  Daniel blinked. That's... actually a really sophisticated question.

  One he had never thought about when designing the system. He had to rely on Artorias’ memories to answer it correctly.

  “A great question! That’s one of the most significant weaknesses of barrier spells, actually. If you were to hover slightly above ground and the barrier was below your feet, it would treat the ground as an attack and push it back instead of pushing you up. So you would sink into the dirt until the barrier breaks, basically.”

  It was strange—as soon as he asked himself why a particular solution didn’t work, the memories had explained it to him.

  “That seems… solvable.”

  Artorias thought the same thing, but one solution would make any attack fling the barrier into your face when protecting from attacks, and the other would leave you rolling over on your side whenever you tried to move.

  “It’s harder than you think. And however you solve it, you wouldn’t be able to walk around.”

  “...Okay, what does your formation do?”

  Daniel gestured to the glowing ring. "This is as simple as they get. Movement, air, absorb," he explained, pointing at each of the three runes in sequence. The symbols pulsed slightly under his attention, responding to his mana. "What do you think it does?"

  Felicia studied the formation through her magical sight, tilting her head as she parsed the meaning. "...Moves air towards the center?"

  Instead of answering directly, Daniel inserted a tiny pulse of mana into the formation. The effect was immediate—air suddenly rushed through the ring with considerable force, blasting a strong wind straight at Felicia's face, almost like a leaf blower.

  "Bwah! Stop it!" She threw her arms up to shield herself from the sudden windstorm.

  Daniel couldn't help but laugh as he dismissed the formation with a thought. The golden light dissolved into motes of energy that quickly faded. "Super simple, right?"

  "Are you jealous of my hair or something?" Felicia demanded, trying to smooth down the wild strands. "Is it too beautiful and golden?"

  “Just giving you an incentive. Girls loved this formation when we first learned it, because it dries wet hair really well.”

  "Oh." Her annoyed expression softened into something approaching interest. "That makes sense… What decided which side the air would come out from?"

  “Another good question!” Daniel created a new formation in the air, this one with the runes oriented differently. “Formations always have a top and bottom, decided by which side the runes are drawn on. If you want one that goes the other direction, use the ‘expel’ rune instead of the ‘absorb’ rune.”

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  “...Formations are interesting!”

  “Right? Here, let me show you a few more…”

  Daniel began creating a series of increasingly complex formations in the air around them. A simple light source—just two runes. A temperature regulation array—five runes in a pentagon. A basic water purification circle—eight runes arranged in concentric rings.

  Each one builds on the last, he thought as he worked. Like teaching someone to write by starting with letters, then words, then sentences.

  "Could I try making one?" Felicia asked, almost hesitantly.

  “Of course! That’s the best way to learn,” Daniel said, reaching into his index and pulling out a stack of paper. He placed them on the table between them with a satisfying thud. “It’s going to depend on your mana control, though. Carving formations by hand is a nightmare.”

  “You want me to use paper? Can it handle the power of the formations?”

  Daniel shook his head, amused by her assumption. "Not at all, this is just to let you practice. Take one sheet and try inscribing a formation of your choice."

  "...I think I can do one right away."

  Of course she does. Daniel couldn't help but smile at her confidence. It reminded him of his own early attempts at writing—convinced he could craft a masterpiece on the first try, only to discover that talent without experience only resulted in a mess of good ideas and bad execution.

  “Even I didn’t manage on my first try, Fillie. But fine, try creating a perfect circle on one sheet, and I’ll let you try a complete formation next.”

  A satisfied smile settled on her lips as she picked up a sheet of paper. Then she focused, and all other thoughts seemed to melt away from her features.

  Here we go.

  Daniel could feel her mana forming in the air above the paper, taking on a roughly circular shape. But just as he expected, it was unsteady—wobbling like a soap bubble in a breeze.

  She's trying to force it, Daniel observed, watching the furrow between her brows deepen. Too much power, not enough finesse.

  The harder Felicia concentrated, the more unstable her mana circle became. What had started as merely uneven began to develop distinct warps and bulges. Daniel could see the frustration building in her posture as she fought against her own strength.

  Finally, she gave up before even attempting to cut the pattern into the paper, letting her mana dissipate with a frustrated sigh.

  An admirable attempt. She’s willing to admit when she’s reached a wall.

  Too many students would have pushed through with a terrible result rather than acknowledge their limitations.

  “What did I do wrong?”

  "You didn't practice for a hundred hours," Daniel said matter-of-factly. "That's how long a perfect circle takes to master for the gifted."

  Felicia's eyebrows shot up. "How long did it take you?"

  “Three hundred.”

  “Really?”

  Daniel nodded, remembering the countless hours he'd spent in frustration during his early magical education—or rather, Artorias's early education.

  "My mana control was always terrible due to my unusually large mana pool. But once I learned to relax and take it slow, I improved rapidly."

  "...I thought I had learned to control mana already. I made my own magic."

  “You did, and that’s still an incredible feat. I think your Sarun magic has taught you how to manipulate as much mana as you can into a small space. But it grows stronger as you add power, so it hasn’t taught you accuracy or control.”

  Daniel could see the understanding dawn in her expression. Her rotating stars were all about concentrated power and raw force. Formation work required the precision of a scalpel.

  “Hmm… That’s true. So you want me to practice this for a hundred hours?”

  “Oh, no, anything more than twenty would be a failure.”

  Felicia paused, tilting her head in confusion. "Didn’t you just say a hundred hours for the gifted?”

  Daniel couldn't resist a slight grin. "Who is your teacher, Fillie?"

  “...Someone with an annoying amount of confidence.”

  “Exactly! I’m confident I can help you learn this faster than anyone else. Sadly, that’s because it’s an area I didn’t have much talent in... I had to learn it the hard way.”

  “Hmm… Here goes attempt number two, then.”

  She continued her attempts, spending an entire hour before her first real attempt. It wasn’t bad, all things considered, but the cut was uneven and wavy. And Daniel knew, the closer it gets to perfection, the harder it is to improve.

  Another hour passed, then another, then a few more. Daniel found himself genuinely impressed by her persistence. When dinner was brought to their cabin, Felicia barely looked up from her practice, accepting the food with one hand while continuing to carve circles with the other.

  Her attempts were becoming increasingly circular as the day wore on, each iteration slightly better than the last. But Daniel could see that the fundamental issue remained—her mana application was still too forceful, too imprecise. Even as the sun began to set outside their window, she continued working.

  She needs to rest. Mental fatigue will start making her worse, not better. But at least her fear of flying seems to have settled in some other corner of her mind.

  Daniel put a hand on her shoulder, nudging her gently. “As something of a legal guardian, I fear it’s my responsibility to tell you it’s bedtime now. I promise you can keep trying tomorrow after we land.”

  "Why, are you running out of paper?" Felicia didn’t even look up from her latest attempt.

  Daniel moved over to his bed and jumped in back first, sinking into the soft mattress with a satisfied sigh. "You don't have to prove you're driven to learn, Fillie. And there's no hurry. Come now, test out the undressing function I made for the index."

  His own clothes disappeared in a flash as he sent a bit of mana into his own index, leaving only his underwear. Then he rolled himself under the blanket, looking forward to a night with a bed all to himself. No little girl pushing him to a corner, taking up all the space she had offered him.

  Felicia hesitantly got up from her spot on the couch, taking one final sheet of paper with her to the bedside.

  A golden barrier formed around the entire room as soon as her feet left the floor, ensuring their safety during the night.

  “I don’t think I have enough mana left to use that undressing function…”

  “Right… Uhm, I think I can activate it for you. Just let me know when. And how many clothes.”

  “Same as yesterday, I think. And go ahead.”

  Daniel reached out with his mana, carefully infiltrating the defenses on her index and directly activating the spatial storage function. He had to override her personal magical signature without damaging the device, bypassing several safety features.

  Hopefully, I'm the only one who could penetrate it.

  "Ah!” She let out a yelp as the spatial storage vanished her clothes. "That feels weird."

  “You get used to it, I’m sure. Better to stand up when getting dressed again, though.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” She shifted under the covers, finding a comfortable spot. “I can’t wait to experience the city of magic. I hear they have flying carriages traveling everywhere, and a tower that reaches the clouds.”

  “Huh, can’t remember either of those things from my time. But then again, I guess a thousand years have passed…”

  How much has changed? How much will I even recognize?

  "Oh yeah, you spent most of your life there… I can't imagine how you feel."

  It was a complicated feeling, that’s for sure—a strange mixture of nostalgia and excitement to see the city he had created. The memories he inherited made it heavy with emotion, but nothing he couldn’t manage. They were still only memories, and he could separate them from his own.

  "Most of all, I'm excited to see someone I know again."

  If they’re still alive… I have been too scared to ask anyone if they are, to be honest.

  The only two people who might still know Artorias personally, and who Daniel might recognize as their creator. The only people with real power he felt he could trust—not to mention how much he owed Elania for his actions in the final battle.

  Felicia seemed to catch the meaning in his words. “...Is it Elania?”

  Daniel felt his heart pounding suddenly. The question he'd been avoiding, the fear he'd been carrying. It was time to confront it.

  "...Do you know… Is she alive?"

  “I don’t. As far as I know, she hasn’t shown herself to the public in centuries.”

  A wave of hesitant relief washed over him, bringing a long sigh from his chest. At least people don't think she's dead. It's very likely she's still alive, then.

  "Do you know about the old headmaster of the academy, then?"

  “Mmh, I don’t know. I think I would have heard of him if he was really old, though.”

  Daniel's heart sank slightly. “Well, it wouldn’t be surprising if he retired. He would be old, even for an elf.”

  But even then, he would still be at the academy. Only death could remove him from that place due to his duties.

  “Mmyeah… Could be. Good night, Danny.”

  "Good night, Fillie. Sleep well."

  Felicia fell asleep soon after her head hit the pillow, which made perfect sense after all the mental focus she had spent that day. Daniel, on the other hand, was wide awake for several hours.

  He was nervous about both outcomes. If they were dead, part of him might never get over it—especially the feelings from Artorias. And if they were alive, the meeting with Elania promised to be emotionally intense.

  How would she react? And how would he?

  If she hasn’t changed much, she will be angry first of all. But emotions would likely dull after a thousand years… Maybe that’s for the best? A calm and rational meeting?

  Part of him hoped for that, though it seemed unlikely. Another part hoped she would show the full range of her emotions. She might even try to kill him.

  Just like our first meeting…

  Whatever the case, tomorrow would be an interesting day.