Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Experiment Arc (6)
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Karon rose from his seat and extended both hands.
Following his lead, I clumsily stood and held out my own hands. His palms then overlaid mine.
"Mana is personal. There's a subtle difference for each person, so even if you receive it from someone else, you can't use it as your own mana directly. That's why mana transmission is typically used when teaching imaginal magic circuits."
With that, he gathered mana in his hands as if casting a spell.
As the words left his mouth, I felt mana emanating from his hand—slightly different from the usual.
"First, accept the mana. Then draw it to your mana core, close your eyes, and sense the magic circuit."
I did as instructed, circulating the accepted mana with my eyes shut. Moments later, I sensed his mana reaching my mana core.
Pop!
'A new magic circuit.'
A fresh magic circuit, distinct from Warms, materialized fully in my mind's eye. But since it wasn't something I already knew, comprehension stalled right from the first step.
"Don't try to grasp it all at once. To truly make it yours, take time to understand each step of the circuit."
His voice rang in my ear, and I opened my eyes.
"So, instead of drawing and understanding the magic circuit ourselves, we're receiving a pre-drawn one?"
He nodded at my question.
"That's the advantage of oral transmission. Still, you must comprehend it yourself to actually cast the spell, so think of it as saving drawing time. Next spell."
Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
He sequentially transmitted the circuits for Fog Call, Night Vision, and Heavy Blow.
"What kind of spells are these?"
With no say in the matter, I'd accepted all the circuits without knowing what they were. But surely I needed to find out.
"You'll know once you comprehend the circuits yourself. Nothing exceptionally good or bad about them. At least, they'll be average."
He added,
"Once you've fully understood the circuit and reach the final step of defining the spell, you'll get one choice: who the spell is for. Skip it, and it'll work on anyone. Define it as personal, and it'll only work for you—with 'Reflexive' prefixed to the incantation."
"Any benefits to that?"
"Stronger effects, and you can maintain them by consuming mana continuously. But as a blue mage, it'd close off your path to making a living, so just know about it."
As he said, learning support blue magic as personal-only would mean no one would hire you. A buffer without offensive power buffing themselves felt pointless.
"Evening guests are coming, so that's it for now. I've taught you everything, so off you go."
"Thank you."
With my bow, Bark—who'd been silently jotting notes—also nodded and followed me out.
On the way back to the laundry room.
Bark said, "See you," and parted ways. From the moment I woke until leaving magic lessons, he'd watched and noted everything—likely post-experiment status for Mere.
Yesterday, they'd even recorded video with a crystal orb. Making him take notes too...
Mere was meticulously thorough, catching even my mispronunciations.
Groping along the wall to the laundry room, I glanced at the central hall clock: around 4:40 p.m.
I hadn't noticed hunger until thinking of mealtime, but now intense emptiness hit. Drained from the experiments, my body screamed for energy.
No one at the dining hall yet, so I lined up first and hung my head.
They wouldn't skip my meals for slacking, right?
Soon, footsteps approached. I kept my head down; no one spoke to me.
"Everyone, line up inside for rations."
Dregs' voice signaled time. Inside, luckily, seven rice balls sat ready. Gauging with one eye, I snatched one clumsily and slipped out carefully to avoid bumping anyone.
Back in the laundry room.
Bark had returned the washing machine; it had finished laundering and drying.
Pulling out my servant uniform, yesterday's experiment bloodstains remained uncleared.
Truthfully, the bloodstains on my mind lingered too.
Barely time to wake, gather thoughts, before Bark dragged me from the laundry room.
Groping walls reminded me of my one-eyed reality; learning magic underscored my powerlessness.
Before yesterday's shock faded, I had to accept the present.
Alone, depressing thoughts flooded in.
The ideas from waking repeated cyclically.
Fear, sorrow, anger, doubt.
This won't do. Alright, time to try harder again.
Today was a good day—I learned magic, after all.
Leaning against the wall under the vent, I bit into the rice ball.
No right eye meant my mouth's position felt off.
'Tasty.'
Tasty.
Tasty.
Tasty.
Tasteless.
'I miss Grandmother.'
In the end, I barely ate any.
I'd mastered all the spells.
Four nights since Karon transmitted the circuits.
Each used entirely different concepts for drawing, so initially baffling. Otherwise, no different from Warms, so nightly: comprehend one circuit, cast successfully.
Cool chill spread from fingertips across my body.
Opposite of Warms, invaluable for summer.
Close call. Fog Call summons thick mist; casting immediately on mastery blinded me completely. Not target-specific, so couldn't dispel myself.
'Someday useful for self-defense.'
Secures vision in darkness while active.
After deliberation, made it personal.
No idea when escape possible, but as a blue mage, no need to advertise. Better stay inconspicuous, so personal for better effect and efficiency.
Drawback: continuous mana drain. At my level, unsustainable long-term—use only when needed.
Personal too. Increases weight while active. From circuit: resist any force without yielding, or add greater weight when striking.
Unsustainable now, obviously.
'At least I have magic.'
Without it, nights here—no books, no freedom—would erode my mind blankly.
Learning distracted from worries; mood improved greatly.
Two days until next lab, but believing no repeat or worse of last time.
Have to, or I couldn't endure.
Whumm—fwoosh.
Laundry room lights out. Mana lanterns extinguished nightly at 10 p.m.
Could relight by manipulating mana directly, but risked altering schedule or function, so left alone. Besides, with Night Vision, I saw well enough.
'...'
Visibility irrelevant; routine unchanged: mana control and spell practice.
'Mana's growing. New spells, or am I advancing?'
Total circulating mana noticeably increased recently. Previously, ten Warms exhausted me, needing recovery; now thirteen easily.
'Reach mid-tier fast, learn more spells, claim reward.'
Recalled goal: questioning Mere, learning truth.
Finished training with that in mind. Hard floor uncomfortable against back, but accustomed now. Eyes closed, thoughts solely on reward and purpose.
This night, dreamed nightmare recreating first experiment day.
"Eye adapting any better?"
Dregs asked mornings about progress—likely for work assignment.
"Depth perception still off; fumble grabbing things several times."
Drank from bathroom sink—no cups needed. Items I handled: towels, soap, rice balls. None fragile, thankfully.
No wall-groping, but opening doors: hand swipes air; miss people on right. Many issues. Unknown adaptation time, and Mere's treatment timeline vague—had to adapt.
"Understood. Laundry room only again today, then."
His consideration, or just sidelining? Since resuming, laundry exclusively.
Overly simplistic repetition, really.
Servants returned laundry and linens; load washer-dryer, stack dried items neatly. That was it.
Day flowed in monotony.
And finally, the day arrived: back to the lab.