Ch11
Chapter 89: Magic Fundamentals
"Let's start with the basics. What is a magic circle, what are its components, and how does it relate to casting a spell?" mom asked.
We had moved into an office room with a whiteboard, where mom began lecturing us on the basics of spell casting.
Durreg promptly answered her.
"A magic circle is a mana construct that applies a change to the world. A magic circle is composed of three basic parts; words written in an Akashic language, mana lines that guide the mana and connect the words to form a command, and borders that maintain the structural integrity of the construct. By arranging them properly and channeling the required mana, you can activate the circle and achieve the effect the circle commands."
"Correct answer, Durreg, but you should wait to be called on before you answer next time. Now, how do you arrange these components into a functioning magic circle?"
I raised my hand, and mom gestured for me to answer.
"Each word needs to be surrounded by a border and connected to at least another word through a mana line. There must be at least two words, one to determine the location, and another to specify an effect. The entire structure must be surrounded tightly by a perfect circle. Using the circle's outer borders as a line, the caster writes down restrictions, if any. If restrictions are written, then another circular border covers it snugly, completing the magic circle."
"Correct, Kiara. Would you mind sketching an example of a fireball for us?" she asked.
I shrugged and walked up to the whiteboard to do as she asked.
A few seconds later, I put down the marker and turned back.
"It should look something like this."
Both of them stared at me for a moment, an awkward silence taking over the room. "What, did I get something wrong?" I asked.
"No, sweety. How should I say this...?" Mom said.
"Your handwriting is so atrocious that we could weaponize it to blind people." Durreg said succinctly.
"Urk..." I winced.
"Durreg! Now, now, dear, you only just started learning to write recently. It's going to take some time for you to master it, and I'll be here to teach you!" mom said encouragingly.
"Is it really that bad...?" I asked. I turned back to look at it.
Okay, you might have a point. But is it really that big of a deal?"
"Of course, it is. If your handwriting distorts the letters enough, your magic circle might fail. Or even worse, do something you didn't intend." Durreg answered.
"At least your circles are decent..." mom tried to salvage it, but Durreg went in for the kill.
"Maybe, Aunt Azoth, if she was trying to create a wheel for her enemy's carriage. The poor people might as well break their spines themselves. Sorry, Aunt Azoth, but you need to give it to Kiara straight."
"Urk..." I winced again, falling to my knees in despair.
I don't know if he found mercy in his stone heart, but he did add one last comment.
"...But you did get a good curvature. We just need to work on your handwriting and even out the circles, then you'll be fine." He added at the end.
***
After going over a few examples of other elementary-grade spells, mom finished today's class.
"Why don't you stay for dinner with us? We'd love to have your company." Mom said as Durreg held the doorknob.
"Thank you for the offer, but mother already asked me to come back before dinner herself. Perhaps next time, we'll both show up to take your offer."
He stepped out of the door and towards the fence gate, waving back at us. I waved back, and soon enough, he was gone. After that we ate dinner and went to bed, an ordinary, peaceful, boring day behind us.
***
Over the next month, mom and I focused primarily on getting my handwriting and mana weaving right. With my dexterity stat, I managed to get it right on physical mediums like the whiteboard within a week, but weaving mana into the right shape and letters was a little more difficult. That said, we did go over a few other topics, which were too small to go over in an entire class once every few days. They were mostly technical, but I did get two conceptual lessons.
The first was about attribute advantage. Apparently, each attribute was uniquely suited against the use of other attributes. To summarize, the main points were as follows:
• Fire is strong against earth, but weak against water.
• Earth is strong against air, but weak against fire.
• Air is strong against water, but weak against earth.
• Water is strong against fire, but weak against air.
• Arcane is powerful at destroying magic constructs used by all the other attributes, but entirely incapable of stopping any effects they have already applied on the world.
• Atypical is a wild card whose advantages and disadvantages depend entirely on each type individually.
A caveat was that these applied to the base forms and not to the branch forms. For instance, while water may be powerful against fire, frost is in turn weak to fire. Still, since branch forms were more difficult and mana intensive to use than the base forms for the same level of effect, these advantages are crucial to keep in mind. After all, nearly everyone who can use a branch of magic has a spell or two from the base attribute.
The second conceptual lesson was about the attributes and their branches. They were divided as follows:
• Arcane attribute – the attribute of pure, raw mana. o Dimension magic.
o Soul magic.
o Transmutation magic.
• Wind attribute – the attribute of air.
o Sound magic. o Gas magic.
o Storm magic.
• Water attribute – the attribute of the depths. o Frost magic.
o Blood magic.
o Acid magic.
• Fire attribute – the attribute of flames.
o Light magic.
o Heat magic.
o Lightning magic.
• Earth attribute – the attribute of solid stone. o Metal magic.
o Nature magic.
o Sand magic.
• Atypical attribute – the miscellaneous catch-all.
o No branches; too many unique, unrelated types to list.
The branch magics were not better than the base attributes. In fact, the 'branches' are merely informal extensions of the base attributes. These divisions are only there to help categorize the families of magic that developed in certain directions – hence the name, branch magic. Many types fall beneath the gaps of the branches.
***
Eventually, before I knew it, the month passed by, and my punishment was finally over. I could finally leave the house again, and I could reliably cast elementary-grade magic – provided I get a premade magic circle from mom since I didn't learn how to design my own just yet.
I was jumping up and down to get to the academy and start attending the advanced classes that I've been missing out on so far. Durreg was already waiting for me at the door.
"Here's your lunch, sweety. Don't forget to come back for your daily magic lessons! Durreg, would you like one as well? I've still got some leftovers in the kitchen!" mom said, handing me a box with my food inside.
"Thank you, but I already prepared my own with me. Perhaps next time." He responded, raising a box he had with him.
As I took my food, mom hugged me and kissed my forehead like she always does.
"Bye, mom!" I said, and the two of us headed for the academy as mom waved for us at the gate. As we walked to the academy, we started to chat about the classes in the Hall of the Elites.
"Which classes did you want to attend? I personally recommend the advanced strength fighting class, since your strength is beginning to approach a point where the way physical fights change drastically from what you're used to."
"Hmm? Sure, if you say so. While I don't intend to rely on physical combat, it's definitely good to have in my arsenal." I nodded, before carrying on with what I had in mind.
"Still, I'd like to take a class on force and arcane magic. Mom said that there is a dragon with the force attribute who could teach me, but getting a hold of him is difficult. A class on arcane magic would also be nice, since I don't have much of an idea on how to use it. With those two under my
belt, I should be able to make better use of my gravity magic, or at least understand a little more."
"That's not a bad idea. Still, even though it's not really a class, I'd like you to come with me to an extracurricular activity. I think you're going to find it particularly useful." He said with a knowing smile.
I chuckled.
"Okay, I'll bite. What's that club you're talking about?"
His grin widened.
"First rule of the club is that you never talk about the club. Just follow me when we both aren't attending a class so that I can introduce you."
Huh. Interesting.