Magical Literacy.2

As soon as I observed the hologram reciting a full sentence from the magical alphabet, something strange began to happen. First, small drops of blood dripped from the nose of the digital replica. Its eyes, once bright and alive, turned completely white, as if all the energy had been drained. Then, without warning, it fell backward, lifeless.

But what happened next was even more intriguing. The moment the digital body touched the "ground" of the virtual void, the air around me changed. Small, white, glowing particles appeared, floating like snow in slow motion, bringing with them a sense of something mysterious and powerful.

"How absurd..." I murmured, feeling my mind being crushed by the strangeness of what I had just witnessed. "How is it possible that simple words create effects in reality?"

Looking at the glowing particles around, I searched for answers in the knowledge I had already accumulated, but everything seemed insufficient. "According to what the book explains, these magical words create effects in the physical world, but why? Why these words and not others? What is the principle that makes this possible?"

Frustrated, I decided to turn to my virtual lab. "Lab, generate a full report on the experience caused by the hologram."

["Beep!"]

["Comparing energy expenditure..."]

["Applying mathematical calculations..."]

["Beep!"]

A response finally appeared.

["PsychoMagical Analysis Report: Mental Drainage via Word Pronunciation"]

["Report Identification: PSYMAG/PHYSX4"]

["Responsible AI: Virtual Lab"]

["The initial analysis confirmed the theory that words pronounced with precision produce a direct cognitive drainage on the host, affecting their mental and psychic capabilities. This phenomenon, termed 'Psychoquantum Effusion' by the mage author of the magical alphabet book, demonstrates that the user's mental energy is channeled to generate physical distortions in the environment."]

["The rate of mental drainage is proportional to the complexity and strength of the invoked word. Simple words like 'Fire' or 'Water' generate moderate drainage, while higher invocation words like 'Fire. Fire. Flames of fire, burn at my command' or 'Arrogant light, illuminate the darkness' can deplete cognitive reserves almost instantly."]

["Correct pronunciation activates a neuroquantum process that converts the host's intentional thought into a vector of magical energy. This is mediated by a mental interaction between the brain's cognitive areas and quantum energy fields, with a direct cost to synaptic energy."]

["The host begins to feel a loss of cognitive clarity after approximately 1 to 3 words of high complexity. The mental energy used to stabilize the spell enters a state of collapse, generating symptoms such as dizziness, temporal perception disorders, and motor difficulties."]

["In exchange for the drained mental energy, the physical environment around the host may be distorted in ways that violate the laws of physics."]

["These distortions, although appearing to not follow the known laws of physics, are controlled by the host's level of mental exhaustion. The more exhausted the host becomes, the weaker the effect."]

["End of Report"]

I stood staring at the message floating in the digital void, with a mix of fascination and discomfort. "Damn... This makes no sense," I sighed, crossing my arms again.

I rested my fingers on my chin, reflecting. "Well... if you think about it, casting magic through hands or talking to elementals also doesn't make any sense. But this... this goes completely against something I believed in my previous world: science."

I thought for a moment about the concept of mental energy. In my previous world, it was something that could be understood practically, within the laws of biology and physics. Electrical signals between neurons, neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, chemical reactions... all of these generated the ability to think, decide, and even create. The energy came from the nutrients the body consumed, simple as that.

But here, in this world, this mental energy violated everything I understood as real. "Suddenly, the effort of thinking can bend reality itself. As if the mind had become a catalyst to ignore the rules of the universe. It's something so out of context that it makes me dizzy."

I looked at the glowing particles still floating in the digital void, trying to understand what they meant. Were they a reflection of the effect of the magical alphabet, or just a symbolic manifestation within the lab?

I didn't have a definitive answer, but one thing was clear: my old logic wouldn't help me fully understand this world. I needed to learn to balance what I knew with what this new world could teach me.

"Well, the science I know might not explain everything here, but at least it gives me a foundation. I'll find the balance between these two realities, no matter the cost."

I took a deep breath and issued another command. "Reactivate the hologram, and this time, adjust the process to limit the expenditure of mental energy."

"Create other holograms, and do trial and error, learning from the mistakes. I want the most efficient way to speak magical words with the least amount of energy expenditure."

Immediately, the digital void I was floating in was filled with light and movement. "Beep!" A series of holograms appeared around me, each beginning to practice the magical alphabet, repeating words and syllables, trying to find the most effective way to pronounce them.

The environment around me turned into pure chaos. Holograms collided with one another, some starting to suffer the effects of the process—their bodies were disintegrated, their minds drained, the failures in pronunciation reflecting physically in their digital "existences." But even with all the chaos, each failure, each mistake, brought a small advancement. Efficiency rates began to increase.

["Total efficiency acquired 1%"]

The attempts continued, more holograms appearing, more bodies disintegrating. Each failure was observed and recorded by my lab, learning and adjusting parameters in real-time.

["Total efficiency acquired 2%"]

["Total efficiency acquired 3%"]

["Total efficiency acquired 4%"]

.

.

.

.

The holograms were now more stable, able to execute the most precise movements, until, after many trials and errors, the efficiency rate finally stopped.

["Total efficiency acquired 72%"]

With the holograms disappearing one by one, a deep silence took over the digital environment. I looked around, the void now cleared. It was time to assess what had happened.

"Generate a report!" I commanded authoritatively, my voice resonating through the void as the last particles disappeared.

The lab responded quickly.

["Beep!"]

["Linguistic Optimization Report: Magical Pronunciation"]

["Report Identification: PRONMAG/ALGO72"]

["Responsible AI: Virtual Lab"]

["The analysis and optimization of efficiency in the pronunciation of magical words reached a 72% accuracy rate. This index represents an improvement of 9900% compared to the initial calibration cycle (1%)."]

["During the tests, it was observed that the error rate began to stabilize due to inconsistencies in the magical phonetics in situations of high ritual complexity."]

["The efficiency barrier at 72% occurs due to the absence of numerical precision markers in the intonation."]

["Current magical words rely solely on vocalic intonations and melodic rhythm. This approach creates a margin of linguistic ambiguity in the transfer of mental energy."]

["Conclusion: The inclusion of rhythmic numbers and sequential counting patterns in the verbal flow could drastically reduce the phonetic error rate, allowing perfect synchronization between intention and magical execution."]

["End of Report"]

I smiled to myself, a subtle smile, but somehow satisfied. "Of course, I just extracted information from the alphabet." I reflected a little more on what I had just learned, but without wasting too much time, I issued a mental command. "Save the acquired information in the folder I created earlier, and close the virtual lab."

In seconds, the digital environment disappeared, and I found myself back in reality, still sitting in the chair in my room. The two books were there, resting on the table, as if waiting to be unraveled once again. I didn't waste any time. Without hesitation, I opened the blue-covered book, the black letters trembling slightly, and issued a mental command once again. "Extract information from this book."

The lab's light flew from my eyes toward the pages of the book. The words there weren't like those of the magical alphabet. They weren't letter symbols, but numbers. 1, 2, 3, up to 10, with infinite combinations possible within these first ten units. Numbers that, depending on their combination, could form values so vast and complex that, in some cases, they couldn't even be pronounced. Each number had its own properties and magical representations.

["Information successfully extracted!"]

Now, I had more information at my disposal. Although, at the same time, my mind was restless with the amount of data I still needed to process and understand. But it wasn't the time to get lost in details. There was something more important to reflect on.

"But I'm sure that if I speak this language fluently and without problems tomorrow, I'll definitely catch people's attention. And that's not something I want at this moment."

The idea of being noticed and becoming a target of interest, positive or negative, didn't appeal to me. I had to be careful. I wanted people to see me as average. Not too talented to attract the attention of dangerous people who might feel threatened by me, but also not so bad as to be disregarded.

But at the same time, I couldn't stop thinking about Miguel. "It would be funny to see his reaction if he sees me speaking and reading magically on my first day here in the tower." Too bad that won't happen.

"Reactivate the virtual lab again!"

...

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