"It's really impressive, no matter how many times I see it…"
Upon arriving once again at the rocky cliff, Elara couldn't help but comment with slight excitement as she gazed at the impressive underground city in the distance. Zoe could only nod in agreement, but quickly added in a serious tone.
"It's true, but now is not the time for that—we need to move quickly."
"You're right." Elara quickly nodded and shook her head slightly to bring herself back to reality, at which point Erik spoke in a calm tone.
"It's best if we go down to the ground. If we move through the air, we might draw too much attention."
"That's true; let's do it."
Zoe quickly nodded in agreement along with Elara, and at that moment Erik conjured a magic circle on the ground a few meters away from him, which summoned a platform of solidified Myst in a hexagonal, crystalline shape—large enough for everyone to stand on without feeling cramped.
At the moment the platform materialized, Erik jumped, aiming to land at its center, but due to the significant difference in weight compared to usual, he lost his balance a little. Although he managed to recover in midair, he ended up landing on one corner of the platform. At that moment, he turned to look at the girls and commented in a calm tone.
"Although Ebonique is big enough, she's a bit possessive about who rides on her, so it's better if we use a platform."
Knowing that spirits were quite selective about who they allowed to touch them—since even Hiyori didn't let anyone other than her contractor ride her—Elara and Zoe nodded calmly and carefully jumped onto the platform, managing to land on it without much trouble. At that moment, the wolves climbed up to settle at Erik's sides, while Ebonique and Hiyori simply flew close to the platform, each measuring about a meter in length.
"I really don't understand how you can achieve something like this…"
Soon, the platform began to move slowly through the air, then started to descend along the wall as if it were an elevator. At that moment, Elara couldn't help but comment in bewilderment. After all, her mage's common sense told her that what she was seeing with her own eyes was impossible, as it broke two universally accepted concepts that were pure common sense.
In the first place, solidified Myst shouldn't be able to move once formed, since at the moment of its formation, it linked its relative position to the object with the greatest mass nearby, which was generally the planet itself. Although it was possible, through a spell, to force the Myst construct to link its position to a specific object and, through it, move the Myst construct, this process was troublesome enough that most people preferred to use mana constructs instead.
But even more shocking than that was the fact that, in principle, using a mana construct to fly wasn't something within the abilities of a mere Ascended-level. After all, mana constructs were affected by gravity, so to keep them in the air, you had to apply a force equal and opposite to their weight, along with a driving force to move forward, turn, and so on. Not only did this require great control, but also significant calculation power, so for all practical purposes, it was better to simply have a magical artifact for flying.
…
"In reality, it's actually much easier than you think." Upon hearing Elara's comment, Erik turned to look at her and explained in a casual tone.
"Unlike mana constructs, with Myst constructs, being subject to gravity is optional—it depends on how you set them up. And somehow, I have the ability to affect Myst constructs even after they've been formed, so I just create a floating platform, and then to move it, I simply shift its position one axis at a time. So, essentially, it's even easier than driving."
While explaining, Erik didn't forget to keep a constant watch on his surroundings using his Mystical Awareness, at which point Zoe asked with slight curiosity.
"Erik, why did you create the platform with a magic circle this time? Before, you made one without anything, and for the electricity spell, you used runes. You also did something similar during the duel."
"Oh, that's because Myst constructs, just like mana constructs, depend a lot on their structure for their strength and so on. So, although I can create them without a spell, their structure is very flimsy and can only support a few tons of weight. Any more than that, and they break. As for why the magic circle—it's for efficiency.
"The magic system that offers the most solid and organized structure is sacred geometry, so that's what I use to create Myst constructs. But when it comes to converting neutral mana into elemental mana, the Aegis system is much more efficient, which is vital for me since I don't have affinities. Any elemental spell costs me twice as much as it would a mage with affinity, so I have to be as efficient as possible."
Erik answered in a calm tone, gradually increasing the speed of their descent so as not to disturb anyone on the platform. After all, they were so high up that if he didn't, it would take forever to reach the ground. At that moment, Elara commented in a calm voice.
"By the way, I just remembered that your list of spells ended up in your storage ring… I guess now you'll have to tell me the spells yourself."
"That's true. So, before we go down, I'll mention the most important ones so you can get an idea…"
Upon hearing Elara, Erik quickly began to list the different spells he knew. Although there were some in the list that he had modified himself, almost all of them had been taught to him by his masters or by Seraphina. Since his reliable personal maid would occasionally practice with him and teach him tricks for close combat along with some spells of the darkness affinity.
By the time he finished reciting the spells he knew, the platform finally reached the ground. Erik quickly made it disappear and began to study the surroundings cautiously, especially the city visible in the distance through layers of mist. At that moment, Elara couldn't help but comment in a somewhat astonished voice, since she never imagined the list would be so long.
"You know quite a lot of spells, Erik…"
"A bit, but it wasn't by choice—it was out of necessity. Unlike a conventional mage with elemental affinities, I can't really alter a spell midway, since I rely on the spell itself to convert my mana into elemental mana. Any changes either greatly increase the cost or directly affect the conversion, which causes the spell to fail completely."
Erik replied as he crouched down to touch the rocky ground, which was covered by what appeared to be a very fine, pearly white sediment. He took some between his fingers and noticed it was extremely fine, almost like talcum powder. He rubbed it a bit between his fingers, producing a soft crunching sound, as if he were rubbing microscopic crystals together.
"Silica…?"
Erik muttered to himself as he turned to look at the wall, then glanced up at the ceiling, focusing on the mist that filled the area. At that moment, Zoe asked, a bit confused.
"What's wrong?"
"This sediment seems to be silica. Breathing it in for a prolonged period can cause severe respiratory diseases…"
Erik replied in a serious tone while channeling a bit of mana into the powder between his fingers. This caused a faint iridescent glow—so small and subtle that Erik had to try it several more times to confirm it, at which point he couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise.
"SARI…!"
"SARI? What's that?" Elara asked, seeing how surprised Erik was. He quickly replied, hastily taking off his coat while explaining with a smile.
"It's the acronym for [Silica Aligned with Resonant Isotopes]. Basically, it's ordinary silica mixed with a small amount of Zaryonite-381, which makes it conductive to mana. We need to collect it—it'll be incredibly useful later on. But don't use spells; do it manually."
"Wasn't our priority to look for food?"
Elara asked, a little surprised to see Erik using his elegant coat to gather the strange dust on the ground. Ebonique and the wolves began to use their tails to collect the white dust, followed by Hiyori, who didn't dare stay still while the Dragon was working. At that moment, the star-haired boy replied in a serious tone, not stopping for a single moment.
"Yes, but this is important too. Quickly—we have to gather as much as we can; it will be a strategic resource in the near future."
Hearing the seriousness in Erik's words, Zoe and Elara couldn't help but look at each other for a moment, but they quickly nodded to one another, deciding to trust the boy. After all, they were a team, and he undoubtedly had the most outstanding academic achievements of their generation. If there was anyone they should listen to, it was him.
Since Erik had explicitly told them not to use spells, the pair of young women looked at each other, realizing they had nothing with them except their weapons and armor—so they basically had nothing to sweep up the sediment with. This led them to look around, but all that surrounded them were rocks, which made them let out a small sigh before crouching down and starting to gather the fine sediment with their hands.
"What are you going to use this powder for, Erik?"
While gathering the sediment with her tail, Ebonique asked, a bit curious. She had decided to trust Erik and stay by his side rather than alert the other Eternal, since the consequences of an investigation on his part would be too much to handle. After all, she couldn't kill him, and if he discovered even the slightest clue and leaked it, it would be a disaster that neither she nor Ignis even working together, could manage—and her Erik was still too weak to expose him to something like that.
Besides, life itself was a risk, something she had forgotten, so the experience would be useful not only for Erik but also for herself. She had to remind herself to set aside her arrogance and focus on what was important, because now she wasn't alone. She had Erik, and he was still so weak that a single misstep could cause her to lose him forever.
"Well, for a lot of things, but basically, this will be the key to our survival in this place." Erik replied in a cheerful tone, which made Ebonique ask, full of curiosity.
"Is this powder really that impressive?"
"Yes. Although on its own it's a bit useless, if you process it properly, it can be used as a substitute for several things. It's a bit complicated to explain, but you'll see later."
Erik answered brightly. Zoe and Elara listened with great interest, since neither of them really knew what he meant—they had both focused almost entirely on developing their strength and perfecting their techniques and spells, barely having time for anything else.
After a couple of hours, they all managed to gather a small mountain of pearly white powder on Erik's leather coat. He couldn't help but nod in satisfaction before crouching down to grab the corners of the coat and wrap up the entire pile of powder.
"Now we can go look for food."
"Are you seriously not going to tell us what you want that powder for?"
Shaking her hands, now completely dusted with powder, Zoe asked in a slightly annoyed tone. At that moment, Erik stretched his hand toward the bundled-up coat, creating a magic circle beneath it, which formed a hexagonal prismatic barrier that completely covered it.
"It's not that I want to be mysterious—I just don't want to get your hopes up and then let you down. That would be too discouraging in a situation like this."
Erik replied in a calm tone as he made the prismatic sphere with the coat inside rise into the air and begin to float at his side, linking its relative position to his belt. At that moment, Elara spoke in a serious tone while brushing the powder off her hands.
"Erik, we're not so fragile that you need to protect us from something like this. We're perfectly capable of understanding that we're in a complex situation and things might not go as planned. So trust us and tell us—keeping us in the dark could be harmful in the long run, since, without realizing it, we might end up getting in the way of your plans."
"You're right about that. I suppose I should tell you..." Erik said, bringing his hand to his chin as if seriously considering his next words. After a moment, he added in a serious tone.
"Well, don't get too excited, but with SARI you can create two very important things: one, magic chalk, and two, potion bases."
***
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