110 - Dawn
“I want to create my own magic too.”
Hiasen spat out the water he was drinking at Estasha’s declaration and coughed repeatedly.
“Esha, come on, even if you say that, there are things that work in this world and things that don’t—”
“Why do you think it won’t work? Look at everything I’ve already accomplished.”
Esha stretched out her arms and gathered the scrolls scattered messily across the desk. Hiasen chuckled at the sight of her waddling along with rolls bigger than herself and took some of the load off her hands.
“What kind of magic do you want to try making?”
“Magic fused with swordsmanship.”
“There’s already plenty of magic swordsmanship out there, isn’t there?”
“Having fire or ice come out of a sword isn’t magic swordsmanship! That’s just using magic with a sword...”
“Hmm. I don’t quite get what you’re thinking, Esha.”
“I’m going to make a magic that anyone can use, even if they have no talent for magic or swordsmanship—as long as they put in the effort to learn it.”
“Are you maybe referring to me as the one without talent...?”
“You always come back beaten by Jade in magic and by Payran in swordsmanship.”
“That’s because they’ve trained way longer than I have...! I’ve got way more talent than them, though?”
“You know men look pathetic when they make excuses, right?”
“...So all these books are ones you borrowed from the library for that magic?”
Hiasen asked as he brushed the dust off the books. They covered things like pendulum motion or materials used in architecture—nothing that seemed remotely related to magic.
Esha snatched the books away, narrowing her eyes sharply.
“This isn’t something for you to worry about.”
“You’ve been so cold to me lately. I’m starting to feel hurt.”
“Brother, please.”
“But aren’t you going to keep training in swordsmanship? Wouldn’t all your training so far be a waste?”
“Swordsmanship is fine. There are already three people ahead of me learning it—no need for me to jump in too.”
“Even so, Marquis Bastion said you have the most talent out of all of us. Honestly, I agree with—”
“If I take up swordsmanship, what will you do?”
“Huh?”
“Become my pack mule? You’re a prince, after all.”
Esha spun around dramatically. One of the scrolls at the edge of her bundle slipped free and rolled across the floor.
Hiasen picked it up and examined the contents. It depicted a golden-haired boy and girl standing back-to-back.
“Don’t look.”
Esha grabbed the paper back with a sullen expression.
“Is this... us, by any chance?”
“What if it is...?”
“It’s just unexpected. I thought you hated me.”
“When did I ever say I hated you? If anything, I just feel sorry for you lately—you’re always coming back covered in bruises.”
“Sorry for me?”
Esha shot him a sideways glance, scanning his body. His limbs were covered in dark bruises; there wasn’t a single unmarred spot.
“Are they still picking on you?”
“Picking on me? It’s just sparring injuries.”
“Have you ever hit them back just as hard?”
Hiasen couldn’t answer Esha’s question easily. In the silence-filled room, Esha was the first to sigh.
“Marquis Bastion is hosting a 2v2 duel as his final lesson next month, right? I’ll finish this unique magic no matter what by then and smash those guys’ faces in return.”
“What? You want to team up with me? The balance wouldn’t work—Jade is seventeen, and Payran is fifteen.”
“No, that’s exactly why it balances out.”
A mischievous smile bloomed on Esha’s face. She set the scrolls back down and picked up a pendulum model, dropping the weight into the air.
“What do you think makes even four-year-old kids able to swing on a swing really well?”
“Swings? They just extend their legs going forward and tuck them back going backward.”
Esha wouldn’t ask something she didn’t know, so Hiasen waited for her next words.
“You’re right. But this pendulum thing—even though it looks still like this...”
She focused on the iron ball that had stopped moving after time passed. Delicate aura was periodically injected into it, making the pendulum tremble and shoot upward. Without the string, it would have hit the ceiling.
“...if you give it the right vibrations, it goes wild on its own.”
“And that’s related to this magic?”
“See, I like how smart you are. We really click. Anyway, just look forward to it.”
With that, Esha shut herself in her room alone and spent several sleepless days and nights immersed in research to create her unique magic, forgetting to eat or drink.
She emerged looking even more haggard and, on the day of the duel, asked Hiasen for simple assistance. Third Prince Hiasen accepted without a shred of doubt, and as a result, First Prince Jade and Second Prince Payran suffered injuries requiring 16 and 20 weeks of treatment, respectively—marking the occasion when her first unique magic was eternally sealed.
The most important thing for a swordsman to watch out for wasn’t the power of the strike or the correct posture guiding it.
It was ensuring no power went to waste.
In the universe we live in, energy is always conserved, no matter the situation. Even if a god died and came back to life, this principle wouldn’t change.
That’s why thinking it’s better to land a 5-force strike with 5 power than a 6-force strike with 10 power is one of the common mistakes beginners make.
The value of precision can’t be traded for anything.
This is why postures differ slightly from person to person in archery or shooting. It’s because their bodies have internalized the posture that performs the mission most accurately with the least wasted power.
But not everyone can have a swordmaster as a mentor. And so, amid all sorts of varied concerns, this ‘Strike Resonance’ magic was born.
Even if the assistant is a novice swordsman, as long as the lead caster sets the correct equivalent vibration frequency in advance, any wasted power in the combined strike from the two is accumulated as mana under the magic-energy equivalence principle.
Destroying a gear is like pushing the back of a child on a swing. Once, twice, dozens of times—it might just make the swing go full circle. But what if it happens inside the body?
Fatigue fracture.
Ten strikes, and even an aura-reinforced body has its bones crumble. Twenty strikes, and the organs throughout the body rupture.
But thirty, forty... and a hundred vibrations unleashed at once? No one had seen the result.
At that time, that girl—and I—wanted to shatter the prejudice that 1st Circle magic had limits in power head-on.
And that wish was finally granted from the hand of the girl with silver hair.
Unique Magic – Estasha Style, First Form
Adella – 200 Consecutive
Break
200 HIT COMBO
-394870 HP
[HP: 10826/666666]
The extreme damage output was great. But it was such a shame it didn’t lead to death.
[■■■■■& %^$#$ Jin Chronicle's health regeneration increases by 200%.]
I have no idea why enemies like this always cling to life so tenaciously.
“Huff... haah... my arm won’t move... no more heals?”
“...!”
💨 MP:160/2800
This wasn’t about whether heals worked or not. Adella’s face was deathly pale, her eyes unfocused, her breathing ragged beyond reason. Above all, her face kept cycling through laughing, grimacing, and sobering up.
She seemed unable even to control the facial muscles twitching involuntarily from the waves of power leaking from the unique magic.
“No. Rest now—you’ve done more than enough.”
“No... I can do more! Just a little... if I could just do a bit more, we could’ve finished it.”
“You’re out of mana anyway. I’ll handle the rest somehow.”
10k HP seemed manageable solo if I played it right. From what I could tell, this half-demon remnant was vulnerable to magic damage, unlike Valrum or the pre-possession vice principal.
As I was about to devise a battle plan with extreme mana control, Adella grabbed my ankle.
“Hic... hwaaaang!”
“...”
“What do I do... I’m scared of dying... but now there’s something scarier than dying... if unnie dies even once more, I really won’t be able to take it... don’t go anywhere. Please... I’m begging you...”
“...”
“We’re not even related! If anything, unnie and I just met today! Why are you so nice to someone like me... why on earth! Just abandon me and run. Run away!”
I grabbed Adella under the arms and hoisted her up.
“Eh...?”
“Adella. Do you know what the world calls your existence?”
“No... I don’t...”
‘Library Noble’ Valrum Venaons.‘Remnant Academy Vice Principal’ Jin Chronicle.
Headline Effect ON
Dawn's Cat - Adella
“The cat of Dawn.”
“Dawn?”
What a ridiculous title. The moniker ‘Dawn’s Cat’ originated from her backstory. Adella, who stirred up the capital with bold nighttime thefts, would vanish completely as dawn broke while evading the guards. That’s where the nickname came from—but fate is truly frightening.
Who could have known that the faint light of dawn (黎明) rising at break of day would be her remaining lifespan (餘命).
“Personally, I like dawn. It feels like a new day, different from yesterday, begins when the darkness lifts and sunlight shines.”
The dawns I greeted while pulling all-nighters studying filled me with pride. The dawns welcoming me after tearful nights were especially hopeful.
“After a good sleep, everything will be different.”
Cast: Circuit Reconstruction
“...!”
The first magic I cast when running World of Arceria. I drained all mana from Adella’s dantian, and her body went limp.
💨 MP:660/2800
I can only use it once more. But that’s fine. The conditions are mostly met.
“Sorry, everyone, but...”
I lightly waved toward the camera I’d momentarily forgotten.
“This is kind of my trade secret.”
Twish Alert – Cameras 1~9 blocked by admin.
“I’d appreciate your understanding.”
Unique Magic – Estasha Style, Second Form