There was a clear sign that Flora would give me when she was ready to go. It would be a clear, distinct wave of Mana that would flare through the air. Flora, due to her learning and using my Mana Optimization Formula, was capable of manipulating Mana at the level where she could make it recognizable only to one person, given that no other adept Mages were around to catch wind of it. Seeing as I was about the only one around, it worked with no issue. The Mana washed over me when the time came, and I quickly let go of Duke and stepped away.
" You don't have very long, Advisor. For you and your family's sake—get me a Wyvern. Alive. "
With those final words, I walked away from Duke. Flora sending the wave meant she was already heading back to my own quarters, and so I'd do the same, quickly making my way back to my room well before anyone could impede me. And once I had made it there, after ensuring I hadn't been followed or that anyone was around, I quickly closed the door and locked it shut. Hopefully, Flora had something for me.
" My Lord, there's good and bad news... "
" Well, don't hold out on me,—what is it? "
" The good news is...I found something indeed. However, the bad is what I did find. It seems Advisor Duke hasn't just made contact with Demons...he regularly deals with them—working in a slave trade. "
Slaves? It stood to reason that a fantasy world dealt with a topic like slavery; however, one would hope an Elf would be above that. My body tensed slightly, wondering how I would approach my Father with this information in hopes of gaining a leg up against him.
" And your His Majesty knows about it... "
" You're saying the King knew about slavery with Demons? Hah... "
Perfect.
" This is good...I can use this. "
" If you out him— "
I shook my head, putting to bed her words before she could continue. No way I would out him, not publicly anyway.
" No, this will be kept quiet, Flora. It's ammo—a surefire way to secure my succession. If I out him now, it could cause public upset. The faith in the Royal Family would be shaken. But...if I use this as leverage to gain a high position... "
Flora leaned in close, intrigued now with sweat coming down her face as she listened to my plan.
" I'll be able to weed out the slavery as well as its contributors and gain complete public support. "
Using the bad situation and turning it into an advantageous one while still getting rid of the evil corruption? Not a bad plan. Though there would be a few issues, like trying to explain away why my Father hadn't known about it. Or how I discovered it. For the very moment, I would have to hold it to myself.
" You're very intelligent, my Lord! Well, whatever you need me to do to help—just ask! "
It was nice to have a loyal follower like Flora. Her beauty and her intelligence made her valuable as well as nice to look at. Though I wondered deep in my heart when I had developed the ability to look at any woman's appearance favorably. It created the question, "Just how much have I changed?"
" Well, Flora, for the time being, I think I'll focus on my training. Give me the room, will you? "
Instead of confronting that question, I, at the moment, decided to bury my head in the sand and focus on developing my Magic abilities. After what Takumi had said about being too weak, I felt a specific drive to get stronger. And not just because I wanted to see Ryota again. But I wanted to see just how far I could push my Magic. Just how much of a genius had I been?
Flora bowed to me before exiting the room, presumably standing just outside of it, as I could feel the Mana outside the room warping around a central figure. Flora was most likely practicing to use the Mana Optimization Formula, and from what I could feel at the time, she was making good progress. She certainly had the talent.
Now, it was time for me to practice.
Standing in the center of my room, I lifted my hands and began to form scripture around them. At first, it was just the First Circle, forming swiftly within the blink of an eye. The muscles in my hands tightened, and I could feel my nerves surge with the Mana from my Core. I held onto that feeling tight within and began to exert just a bit more Mana, letting it flow as naturally as the MOF allowed it to. Within the same moment, I allowed Mana to flow a bit more freely, the scripture forming became twice as big, immediately entering the Third Circle. It was time for me to execute the final step.
Something I learned quickly while looking through both Draesil's notes and memories is that a Mage can only use a select few types of Magic that their nervous system can handle and comprehend. This means, like in most fantasy settings, a person could only use one or two elements at once. However, I was a special case. Along with the fact that Draesil himself had been capable of wielding Nature Magic, because of his last-ditch effort in using Arcane Magic to summon my Soul, my Soul became attuned to Arcane Magic, the freest and unique type of Magic.
There was a spell I had been crafting and writing ever since I created the Mana Optimization Formula. A spell to enter the Void Space willingly. At first, its usage would've been simply to allow me to talk to Draesil easier and at will. However, now, I wanted to use the Void Space to train and work with Draesil to bolster my strength. Mana comes from the Arcane Core within the body. And it's manipulated into Magic by the nervous system. This means that I could train myself secretly in Void Space by simply transporting myself to it.
Proven by the last time I had been in Void Space, my body's nervous system and Arcane core are still active. So the spell serves to not only enter Void Space willingly but also subdue the expression of my Mana through my nervous system while still working it. The Mana inside my Core will circulate my nervous system and act as though it's producing Magic; however, it won't actually escape my body.
Normally, to train Magic, you must expend that energy because built-up Mana in the nervous system is dangerous due to the high pressure. In doing so, you'll naturally become fatigued, and because Mana takes time to gather in your Arcane Core, there is a rest period after training. However, my body hadn't been normal at all. My nervous system was more than strong enough to have Mana surge around it. With this theory, if it works in practice, I'll be able to train my Magic without having spent any energy at all.
It's a perfect training method.
" I'll call this...The Void Training Method. "
Swiftly, the scripture went from my hands to my head, imposing itself on my mind. The Arcane Magic mimicked the same feeling I endured each time I went to Void Space. The sucking, dragging pull of Draesil's spell is working on me from deep within me. Draesil's metaphysical influence is taking hold. Except this time, it was solely my own doing.
In moments, my vision was consumed in white. Standing stock still, I had my hands outstretched, the same pose I was in just a moment before. There Draesil had been, standing in front of me, smiling a bit as he looked at me. Though that smile looked like he wanted to tell me something.
" It worked? "
" Yes, however, not in the way you tried. You see, I already made this Void Space. If not for me...you'd have used all the Mana within your Core just forming this place. You would've passed out before you even managed to transfer your consciousness. A total waste of Mana. "
I hadn't even thought about that.
" The spell you used was the first quarter of the total spell I used to summon your Soul to my body. It's called 'Dimension Creation'. "
Dimension Creation?
" It's a Fifth Circle Spell, capable of creating, as the name suggests, a dimension. "
Dimension Creation—a Fifth Circle Spell. It seems my usage of a Third Circle was perfect. Though, considering what Draesil said about creating the dimension—
" So I failed then. "
" You're a bit off. You didn't fail exactly. You would've formed the dimension, so in that aspect, you were spot on. And because you moved the Scripture to your head, albeit without knowing what you truly were doing, you ended up doing the second part as well. However, if not for my having already made this dimension, affording you the Mana to accidentally perform the next spell, 'Conscious Dimension Hop', you would've simply passed out. "
" These names are...very literal. "
" They're mythical spells made by Celestials and loosely studied by Elves. "
" Fair. "
So, judging from what he said earlier, I would have needed enough Mana to not only create the dimension but also cross my consciousness over into it. And even with my Mana Optimization Formula allowing me to not only use far less Mana than anyone else but also exert levels of energy that mimic higher Circles, I still wouldn't have had enough to stay conscious after creation.
" Just how much Mana did you expend summoning me? "
" An ungodly amount. So much so that had I not swapped my soul out for yours, the body would've decayed from total Mana exhaustion before the Vitality ever got to me. "
That would've been every drop of Mana Draesil had within him. After all those years of cultivation and growth, he would've died performing the Celestial-level Spell.
" Well, aren't I lucky you did a lot of the legwork for me. "
" Yes, indeed. Because you accidentally performed Dimension Creation and then Conscious Dimension Hop, you ended up creating a pocket space inside of my already-made Void Space. "
Draesil pointed over toward a small space, warping and changing.
" You've lucked out. That little space right there is the key to training your Magic. I hadn't known it was possible until now, but you've created the perfect environment to train your Magic and Mana reserves. It'll be a perfect cultivation loop. "
Draesil smirked, this time walking over by it.
" You're going to learn the next step of the spell I used. 'Dimension Sustain'. As you can gauge by the name, you use the spell to sustain a dimension. It's the spell my soul is draining Mana from you to use. "
" Your soul is draining Mana from me? "
" Well, not a lot. I mean, well...Not a lot for you. I'd have killed a normal person at this point. "
That sounds like a lot. If I were anyone else, I probably would've yelled about the risks. However, I knew I was special.
" Is it possible thanks to the Vitality in me? "
" Exactly. The Vitality normally would've killed us. However, due to all that's happened and you training the body, you've been training the body to compensate for the amount of Mana being drained to sustain this dimension. Truthfully speaking—if I were to let this dimension collapse...You'd gain roughly ten times the Mana you currently wield. "
Ten times had been a lot. With the amount of Mana I had now and the Mana Optimization Formula, I was capable of creating a dimension. Albeit even if it would've totally exhausted me.
" Good to know. "
" Moving on—normally with Dimension Creation, the dimension would last for as long as one hour. However, if you use Dimension Sustain, you'll be able to extend that time for as long as you have Mana. Typically, when Mana is used for a spell, it must be released. However, thanks to the vitality-bolstered nervous system and your spell to contain the Mana within yourself— "
" I can use Dimension Sustain infinitely. Training both my Core's Mana reserves and my nervous system to withstand such pressure. "
" And that's not all. We're going to spar, using all the Mana within your body while you use Sustain. "
What did he mean? A Mage couldn't use two totally different spells. If the spells were used one after the other, sure. But, at once? Impossible. Unless—
" That's right, Sora. You're going to learn how to use parallel processing. It'd be impossible for a normal person— "
" But I'm not normal. "
Draesil smirked as he nodded his head. With all the Mana being used in one body, you'd think I was creating a city-destroying spell, I'm sure. However, if I mastered this...I'd be able to use Magic that no other person ever could. I could feel myself acting out of character again, a smile slowly forming upon my face, my eyes tightening, and my fists clenching.
" Just you wait, Takumi. I'll show you too weak... "
VOLUME 4 END