[Harry Potter]
"Waaaaaah!"
My eyes shot open as soon as I heard Elizabeth crying.
Looking at the ceiling for a few seconds, I exhaled slowly and got up despite every inch of my body telling me not to—I was so damn tired.
I huffed in irritation as I shook my head, trying to actually get my mind in working order.
Why did I think raising a baby was a good idea? The whiny teenager in me questioned—pretty much fed up with all of this, but I squashed it down instantly like I do with every complaint, every annoying thought or feeling it contributed in the past—and just went ahead and picked Elizabeth up.
True, I may have been a little impulsive in my decision to raise a baby, believing everything would be okay because I had magic, but that just means I have to face the consequences of my decision head-on without any complaint. Whining is for pansies and weaklings, and I was not one…
"Shush, shush, it's okay, Daddy's here…" I muttered as I rocked her slowly to calm her down.
I knew what was wrong and why she woke up as soon as I picked her up; the stink coming from her was a major clue. Still, I needed to calm her down a little before I could change her in peace.
Putting her down on the changing table, I got to work and pulled the used diaper away.
Dear god, how does she keep stinking like this if all she ever drinks is milk? I don't know—I think it's some kind of a superpower at this point.
I quickly vanished the used diaper while casting several air-freshening and cleaning charms simultaneously.
With how many times I do this per day, it was no surprise that this course of action was already an instinctive and almost instant reflex by now. A few more cleaning spells later, I put a new diaper on her, as well as new clothes, and *ta-da*: a clean and fresh new baby.
x_
"Giggle!"
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," I snorted as I tickled her a little. She was cute most of the time, but god, taking care of her was exhausting, especially when she starts crying.
*Snap!* I snapped my fingers, summoning her 'Seat of Power'—a black-and-white bassinet/crib/chair hybrid. It didn't look good, but considering I'd designed and created it with comfort being the most important thing in mind—it was no wonder—plus I could just change its appearance if I really wanted to.
Placing her down and sitting beside her while holding a bottle of milk in my hand, I playfully pulled it away as soon as she opened her mouth. But apparently, she wasn't in the mood for playing because if the quivering lips and teary eyes were any indication, then she was starting to get ready to blast me with a full-volume cry, so I just put the bottle back into her mouth before she could.
It'sunfair…
Sigh.
I sighed a little as I placed my head in my hand and watched my cute little headache drink her milk, my mind going over what I needed to do today now that I was awake.
I didn't actually have anything planned. My potion production was automated already; my Golems do everything and place the new batches that need to be transferred directly on a transportation circle, which transports the new potions directly to Sairoarg's attic. The circle itself was one of the methods used by devil clans for their own important trade. I'd gotten my hands on it sometime ago and tweaked it a little, but that wasn't important.
What is important was that I'd been getting a little bit addicted to reading stories these past few days. Okay, maybe it had been closer to two weeks, but that didn't mean I couldn't actually quit reading—I totally could, and me being this tired had nothing to do with me not sleeping when I had a chance just to stay and finish reading a story or fanfiction—yeah, totally.
Still, I'd discovered that I actually had a lot more stories than I thought inside my Grimoire. Sure, most of them weren't up to my standards, but my standards were built on a foundation of actually great stories like onePiece, so I wasn't really dissatisfied.
I remembered reading a fanfiction two days ago, though, about a human who reincarnated into a world similar to this one, where he discovered that human magic needed nothing but calculations, so he decided to become the strongest just because he was a mathematician in his past life.
That one cracked me up so hard I couldn't continue reading it—not that it was complete to begin with. Most probably, the protagonist died somewhere in the middle, if my guess was right.
The thing about calculations-based human magic is that I find it to be too inefficient for battle unless the magician is some kind of savant or has something that mitigates the time needed for casting, because let's be real, the time needed for a simple windblade spell to be cast is enough for an enemy to slit the caster's throat.
Hard to believe, right? But that's the truth, because the basic calculations for the windblade spell for example would look closer to something like this:
**Key Parameters**
1. **Blade Dimensions:**
- Length (\(L\)): 1.5 m
- Width (\(W\)): 0.3 m
- Thickness (\(T\)): 0.02 m (compressed edge: 0.1 mm)
2. **Wind Properties:**
- Air Density (\(\rho\)): 1.225 kg/m³ (sea level)
- Compression Factor (\(C\)): 500× (to achieve cutting density)
- Target Velocity (\(v\)): 90 m/s (324 km/h)
3. **Magical Constraints:**
- Mana Efficiency (\(\eta\)): 70% (circle optimization)
- Atmospheric Stability (\(\kappa\)): 0.8 (corrects for turbulence)
1. **Volume of Air Required:**
\[
V_{\text{blade}} = L \times W \times T = 1.5 \times 0.3 \times 0.02 = 0.009 \text{m³}
\]
\[
V_{\text{initial}} = V_{\text{blade}} \times C = 0.009 \times 500 = 4.5 \text{m³}
\]
2. **Mass Calculation:**
\[
m_{\text{air}} = \rho \times V_{\text{initial}} = 1.225 \times 4.5 = 5.5125 \text{kg}
\]
3. **Compression Energy (Adiabatic Process):**
\[
E_{\text{compress}} = \frac{m_{\text{air}} \cdot R \cdot T_0}{\gamma - 1} \left[ \left( \frac{V_{\text{initial}}}{V_{\text{blade}}} \right)^{\gamma - 1} - 1 \right] \cdot \kappa
\]
- \(R\): Specific gas constant (287 J/kg·K)
- \(T_0\): Ambient temperature (293 K)
- \(\gamma\): Adiabatic index (1.4 for air)
\[
E_{\text{compress}} = \frac{5.5125 \times 287 \times 293}{0.4} \left[ (500)^{0.4} - 1 \right] \times 0.8 \approx 1.89 \times 10^6 \text{J}
\]
4. **Kinetic Energy for Propulsion:**
\[
E_{\text{kinetic}} = \frac{1}{2} m_{\text{air}} v^2 = \frac{1}{2} \times 5.5125 \times 90^2 \approx 22,326.25 \text{J}
\]
5. **Shape Maintenance Energy (Barrier Stability):**
\[
E_{\text{shape}} = \sigma \times \text{Surface Area} = 50 \text{J/m²} \times 2(L \times W)
\]
\[
E_{\text{shape}} = 50 \times 2(1.5 \times 0.3) = 45 \text{J}
\]
6. **Total Energy & Mana Cost:**
\[
E_{\text{total}} = (E_{\text{compress}} + E_{\text{kinetic}} + E_{\text{shape}}) / \eta
\]
\[
E_{\text{total}} = (1,890,000 + 22,326.25 + 45) / 0.7 \approx 2,731,958.93 \text{J}
\]
\[
\text{Mana} = \frac{E_{\text{total}}}{10^4} \text{(DxD Conversion Rate)} \approx 273.2 \text{units}
\]
While the basic framework of the magical circle would look something like this:
1. **Sensory Layer:**
- Inputs: GPS coordinates, atmospheric pressure, humidity.
- Output: Real-time \(\rho\), \(\kappa\) adjustments.
2. **Compression Subroutine:**
- Formula: `FORCE = ∇(m_air * C) / t` (where \(t = 0.2\) sec).
- Circle Runes: **Ventus Collis** (Wind Compression).
3. **Kinetic Subroutine:**
- Vector Calculation: \(\vec{v} = (v_x, v_y, v_z)\) based on target coordinates.
- Circle Runes: **Motus Directio** (Directional Motion).
4. **Shape Subroutine:**
- Geometric Constraint: Tetrahedral lattice to maintain blade edge.
- Circle Runes: **Forma Gladius** (Blade Form).
x_
There's a reason very few humans were considered to have—or actually reached—high-enough mastery in magic for their names to be remembered in history.
Most of these people were savants when it came to calculation-based magic because they could process the basic formulas in their head very fast. Their own thoughts were pretty much accelerated compared to ordinary people, and with enough training, some could or may have even developed parallel thought processes or something similar to help them.
There's a reason most magicians made pacts with devils or were contracted to one. They needed to see the spell circles to actually reverse-engineer the hardware part of the spell. Did you have any idea how many calculations were needed to actually come up with a new spell? Counting for a variety of different things while leaving enough margin for errors? Let alone do it on the spot?
There's a reason I respect Ajuka Beelzebub even with my aversion to devils. The man has a supercomputer for a brain, and that's something I can respect.
Oh, don't get me wrong—I too can easily use this kind of magic, but that's because I already have parallel thoughts and thought acceleration before I even created my parallel mind, and that's disregarding my intuitive aptitude for anything magic.
Oh, I am not bragging or anything here. How do you think I deal with my neurodivergent mind on a daily basis? Because let me tell you, having a narrator that broadcasts everything you do like it's a story in real time is very distracting.
*My Archmage skill is awesome, isn't it?* I thought wistfully while smiling like an idiot.
*Enough,* I scolded myself. I still needed to think about what I needed to do today. Like the fact that I needed to start my analysis on the old devil contract I got yesterday.
Oh, yeah—did I not mention this before? Well, it doesn't matter; it's not like it was a grand event or something.
You see, after I called Sairoarg to ask for one, he just said, "Okay, I'll see what I can do," and yesterday I got a call from him telling me to check the transportation circle.
When I got there, I found the old-looking leather parchment placed on it.
When I asked why he didn't just swing by to deliver it, he laughed. His exact words were: "Harry, I barely have time to train and rest, let alone leave the Underworld. Be thankful Kuisha had the time to actually go and get some new batches of potions and remembered to send you the contract. Not like I know what you need the old thing for. They only work for devils, and even then, their use is prohibited."
Not that I could blame him, though. The demand for the potions was very high, especially among humans and low-class devils—not that he or his peerage would complain, because their delivery strategy was via their summoning circles. So yeah, they were working, making deals, getting stronger, and actually finishing their deals/contracts' quota needed for their own promotions at the same time.
I remember thinking *This method had Kuisha written all over it* when I read about it on Devil Time…
I couldn't complain either, because I now have said contract sitting on my kitchen table, waiting to be analyzed. It's all smooth sailing after that—at least, I hoped so.
Looking down at the now sleeping Elizabeth, I pulled the milk bottle out of her mouth and set it aside.
She really does sleep a lot huh…
x_
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