The Magic Circle
As the crystal crumbled and dissolved in my mouth, I could feel a certain light flowing through me. There was an energy that went from my mouth down to the tips of my fingers and toes. I felt a comforting glow all around me.
The pain in my shoulder suddenly ceased. As I looked back at it, I saw the wound start to close itself up. It was magical, the way the different edges came together and weaved themselves back into one. By the end, it was like nothing had ever happened to my arm. The only hole left was the one on my sleeve. I guess even regeneration can't fix ripped clothes.
The red line on my arm gradually turned to dust. Everything that was stained by blood regained its original colours. My clothes, my hand, even the grass under me, all of them lost their stain as if there was never a blood spill there. Although the smell turned metallic, I couldn't help but stare at the wonders the crystal candy has done.
But I brought myself back to reality. I ate the one quest item that I had worked so hard for. That was a sentence I never thought I would have thought in my life.
『You have a little under 4 minutes and 30 seconds left. Don't you want to take advantage of the buff?』
"You're telling me I should go kill more slimes?"
『I'm telling you to not waste the buff. You can do anything you want with it』
She mentioned a very good point. I shouldn't waste my buff that I wasted my quest item for. This is no time to think and contemplate the logic-defying candy I just ate.
"I'll kill more slimes. You said that I wouldn't feel as much pain, right?"
『Yes』
"Then I'll do it."
『That's the spirit』
I stood up with my sword and shield and took a glance at Star. She was still sleeping back at the rock; how long until she wakes up?
『27 minutes and 23 seconds』
I definitely won't waste my time. At the very least, I want to recover one lost slime crystal. If we can get more, then that'll be better. Ideally, we can get all the crystals before she wakes up. She'll be so surprised when she sees my yield.
To be fair, she would have been sleeping for an hour. It's her fault for getting slimed so many times.
But before I do that, we should establish a couple of things. I don't want to argue with you like last time. It feels bad to be angry at someone, you know?
『Fair. What do you want to establish?』
"Number one, tell me the truth at all times. If you are not sure of your answer, do say so."
『Understood. I won't lie to you whenever you're in serious mode』
"Would be glad if you don't lie, ever, but that's also fine, I guess. Next, please answer me whenever I ask you a question."
『That's my job. You don't need to tell me that』
"Lastly, please give me callouts whenever I'm in danger. I'm sure I can handle being hit this time, but it would be nice if I don't get hit at all."
『Understood』
With all three rules dealt with, I walked over to the slimes once more to reclaim my crystal.
----
Midway through the way, something just clicked in my mind. With nothing but a sword and a shield, I was still coming in unprepared. And it all spiralled through my thoughts uncontrollably, stopping my feet from moving any further.
I inspected my shield and checked every single corner of it. The part I used to strike the slime had been damaged. Of course it was; the slime's shell was probably harder than a crab's. I'm surprised my sword hasn't been damaged…
I haven't checked…
Looking back at my sword, I saw dents where it struck the slime's shell. A small part of the sharp blade was chipped off, and the handle was completely worn down. The part that was stuck in the slime is discoloured. It looks like if my blade had its soul sucked out while it was stuck in the slime.
Although even then, I'm sure I could still use some of the blade. It doesn't seem like something that can snap at any moment. I wasn't coming in fully unprepared, at least. I can still kill at least one or two more slimes.
There's just one last thing I need that I should have had way before all this had happened: a source of heat. "Celeste, I need a fire spell." It's the one weakness the slime has.
『I'm sorry, but as a guide, I can't teach you any specialized spells. You will have to discover them yourself throughout your journey』
"What? But you taught me Ameliorate."
『You must've stumbled upon it accidentally without noticing. My programming stops me from giving you information on something that you haven't discovered yourself』
"Wha… Well, that's not good then… What do I do about fire then?"
『You seem smart. Figure it out』
Well, crap. I guess even my rules are overruled by the game's. So, what now? Do I go in unprepared? Do I find a torch and bring it to battle? That would take longer than my buff's time limit. The best move now is to do what I did before and wing the fight.
Is there really nothing I can do?
I recalled everything I've gone through in this game, just for the possible chance of getting some insight. Maybe there's magic somewhere that I've forgotten about, just like Ameliorate.
There was nothing where I spawned, nothing on the maps, nothing on the roofs. I went through the tutorial, and honestly, I don't even remember what they said on the signs. Then I went with Ms. Elith to the shop…
The shop!
I used pieces of paper with magic circles for that slime soda! "What about magic circles?" I asked. "Anything you can tell me that might help?"
『You're on the right track. But you must be more specific』
Every circle had a different symbol on it. Each one is used to do different spells. I remember clearly that I used the ice circle and the carbonation circle, but there were others there as well. What was it? The first one I took out…
gasp
"The heat circle! Anything about the heat circle?"
『The Heat Circle can be drawn with a combination of a circle and a spiral. Anything placed on the face of the circle will be heated up until 95% of its boiling point』
"Exactly what we need! How do I draw it?"
『The first step is to draw a circle. The more circular it is, the more effective the spell will be. In the middle of the circle, draw four spiral arms going outwards, reaching the edge of the circle. The effectiveness of the spell will be determined by the shape of the spiral. Players have yet to optimize the effectiveness of the spell. But generally, as long as it resembles a spiral, it should be good enough』
"What do I draw with? Where should I draw it?"
『Generally, a circle is placed on a horizontal surface. Try the ground, for example. As for what to draw with, you can draw it out of anything. Carvings and paint are the most common; most players bring paint into the scene. Although in tough situations, some people may use their blood to draw circles. It is also worth mentioning that using blood enhances the effectiveness of the spell』
"Blood… Can I even bleed right now?"
『Yes. You can still bleed even while under regenerative effects. Regenerative effects will not heal self-inflicted harm』
"I guess we'll see then."
I wondered if I could cast the circle in the middle of a fight. Before doing that, though, I should try drawing it to see if I can even draw it properly.
I took out my sword and pricked my thumb. Although I didn't feel the pain, a small blob of blood leaked out of the wound. This isn't going to be near enough… I tried drawing on the grass below me.
But even as I rationed it out, I couldn't even draw a circle on the grass. All the textures refused to be drawn to. So many layers of grass moving one on top of another made drawing on it nearly impossible. The small bit of blood I had isn't even visible on the grass.
Clearly, doing it with that small wound isn't good enough. I needed more than just the tip of my fingers if I wanted to even get close to drawing a good circle.
I needed to find another way.
----
After a bit of thinking, I thought about using carvings. Surely, it'll be hard to carve the ground below me with just a sword, but on the plus side, my shield was the perfect template for a circle.
I stabbed my sword into the ground and traced my sword for a circle outline. It was like slicing through a very tough cake. My sword had a hard time cutting through the grass and the ground simultaneously. Following the outline was also quite tough considering circles are very curvy.
But in the end, when I picked up my shield, there was a circle left on the ground. It was rough and very edgy, but Celeste gave me the okay and said,
『Your circle isn't the worst this game has seen』
which is a compliment.
I wondered how I should carve the spirals. Maybe using another item as a helping hand. But I've wasted enough time now. I barely had 2 more minutes of my buff before it ran out. I roughly estimated and carved 4 spiral legs out of the grass.
『That should be fine』
"Nice. So… how do I cast it?"
『Anything you place on the circle will become heated. Try putting something on the circle. It will automatically cast itself』
I don't really know what to put on the circle. I can't put grass on it; obviously, the circle itself is made out of the grass. Not my body either; I still want to live another day. And this counts as self-harm, I think… I don't want to burn myself here. It would either have to be my shield or my sword then.
I placed the tip of my sword onto the circle.
Bwoaam
The circle glowed immediately as loud sounds rang through the fields. It was so bright that I couldn't see the circle anymore. The flash was bright enough to blind me temporarily.
But once it had faded, I suddenly felt a radiating heat all throughout my body. My sword had become red hot, so much so that my hand started burning when holding the handle. I immediately dropped it out of caution.
As it fell onto the ground, all the grass burned into ashes, and fire started spreading. I swiftly put out the fire with my shield and backed away from the sword. It was unapproachable. Even the air around it started warping around the background light.
Gradually, the sword cooled down and lost its glow. I could barely touch the handle as it was still so hot from the spell. I cautiously pointed the blade away from my body at all times while holding it. It's barely usable at this current moment.
But on the bright side, the spell worked wonders! Sure, the carvings cracked and broke the circle after the cast, but it worked. My sword, though unusable, was in its most powerful state at this moment. It was magic, pure magic. I can't fathom how powerful this is if used properly.
"Why is it so hot though?"
『You created an imperfect circle. The spell heated your sword up to 30% of its melting point, which is still very hot』
"Wow…"
『Your regenerative buff has run out』
"Oh crap."
I've ran out of time. But I still had to reclaim my crystal, there was no other choice but to go without it.
I quickly took my still-hot sword and ran to the slime's territory. Not wanting to waste my still-hot sword, I quickly found a target and got close. With a hot sword in my hand, I stood steady and prepared myself. This should be done in a breeze. Maybe even one hit if it's still hot enough.
"Ameliorate!"