Magic and Science.

"Let's see..." Rasmus looked at his variation of magic formations and became one big magic circle. "It should be like this..." he imagined the magic circle in his mind and pointed his hand forward.

Since Novia was at the Arcane Stage, she could see the Mana flow, and she looked at the magic circle that Rasmus had made. She looked at it with curiosity because she had never seen that kind of magic circle before. She wondered what it did and what kind of magic it would produce.

A bolt of lightning came out of Rasmus's index finger and it traveled in a straight path. Countless lightning bolts followed the same path in a matter of a second which was extremely deadly to whoever got hit by it.

"How did you do that?" Novia was shocked by what she saw.

"Which one?" Rasmus was curious about what Novia meant because so many things happened almost simultaneously.

"Your lightning bolts were centered and moved forward rather than going down like normal lightning bolts," Novia answered with a confused look because she had never seen that before. "We summon lightning bolts from above because the only way it moves is down, and nowhere else," she explained.

"Yes, that's how it should be, but I manipulated its path and went wherever I wanted it to be," Rasmus responded as he crossed his arms. "I can simply point my index finger anywhere and lightning bolts will go in that direction as far as I want them to be," he pointed out.

"How?" Novia tilted her head as she walked closer to Rasmus.

Rasmus ripped the page of the magic circle he had drawn in his notebook and gave it to Novia.

"Do you see how it works?" Rasmus asked as he looked at Novia who was busy deciphering the magic formations.

Novia deciphered the magic circle with a few formations inside. She looked at the first ring where the formation was about creating heat and the ring acted as an enhancement for the spell. She then looked at the second ring where the formation was the opposite of the first one, creating cold air and the ring acted as an enhancement as well.

"(Why did he waste the first two rings for these spells when the lightning bolt spell itself already has that?)" Novia furrowed and looked confused at the magic circle. "(No matter how I looked at it, it doesn't make any sense...)" She looked troubled.

"You made this magic circle unnecessarily complicated," Jeal answered after she was done deciphering the magic circle.

"Is it? Why don't you try to use it?" Rasmus raised his brows and pointed at the paper in Jeal's hand.

Novia stared at the paper and imagined the magic circle in her head. She created an exact copy of the magic circle and then she released it. When the lightning bolts came out, she was surprised that they struck where she pointed her finger.

"This doesn't make any sense, and I'm confused about how it works so precisely..." Novia was baffled when she kept shooting lightning bolts in any direction she pointed.

"If you're questioning that, then why don't you answer this question?" Rasmus crossed his arms and stared at Novia. "Why is it when you blow the lit candle, you extinguish the flame, but when you blow on embers, it starts a fire?" He asked with his brows raised.

Novia took her time to find an answer to that question. She had never thought about that and realized it was a really good question. Both conditions were affected by air, and she wondered why the first and the second had different results.

"I don't know..." Novia felt ashamed and looked troubled when she didn't know the answer to the question.

"The answer is because of the interaction and reaction. As long as you understand how nature works, you will achieve the result you desire. Isn't the magic formation's purpose to use our creativity to make our own unique magic? With that being said, this is the result that I desired," Rasmus explained.

For Novia who was one of the smartest people of her generation, she still didn't know much about science. Science wasn't important in this world because it got overshadowed by magic and people were more interested in magic than science.

She didn't understand that the hot air and the cold air that Rasmus produced in the magic circle were acting as a channel for lightning to move freely. He used that trick to create static electricity which ionized the air and made lightning use that channel as its designated path. Not only did it create a path, but it also made it easier to release more lightning bolts without wasting a lot of Mana because of it.

"Where did you learn about this? Your knowledge is superior to the scholars that we have here in the city," Novia asked and was surprised by Rasmus's knowledge.

"Don't believe everything you see and hear. Question every small thing and you'll find answers that will lead you to greater mysteries that people often ignore and look over. Don't be scared to feel lost because if you keep looking, life will always find its way," Rasmus answered with a bit of a smile on his face.

"But how? This isn't something you can understand on your own?" Novia walked even closer to Rasmus and was eager to understand how he could achieve such knowledge.

"Nobody taught you how to crawl, roll, stand, and walk when you were a baby. A human body is made by a series of complexities but it's not impossible to understand if you wish to understand it," Rasmus answered and could see the thirst for knowledge in Novia's eyes. "And so does nature. It's not really that impossible to understand, you just have to pay attention to your surroundings," he added.

Novia was convinced that Rasmus was someone who could be called the genius of the century. She had never met anyone with that kind of insight and creativity like Rasmus.

"Count Rasmus, would you like to join my research?" Novia asked the first thing that came out of her mind. She believed that having Rasmus by her side, she could reveal the mysteries of the world.

"Unfortunately, I have to decline," Rasmus shook his head. "I'm not planning to stay here for long, and we have a different path to take," he answered and explained the reason behind his rejection.

"I see," Novia nodded with understanding, a bit disappointed by the rejection.

Rasmus could see the disappointment in Novia's eyes, and he knew that it would be a great opportunity for him, but he didn't have time to take a detour. He was running out of time because he had to make his own empire. He could feel it in his guts that an unknown force might take over Neva soon. He had to start his journey to find people of his kind who shared the same vision.

"We are still young. Why with the rush?" Rasmus raised his brows. "There'll be a time when we will meet each other again. When the time comes, we can share what we found," he smiled as he put his notebook in his pocket.

"You're right," Novia nodded as she stared at Rasmus. "Also, I should thank you for allowing me to see the world through your perspective. You have opened my eyes, and it makes me realize that I'm not special," she added and she looked a bit embarrassed.

"Four-leaf clovers are still counted as special even though there are a lot of them out there. Don't lower yourself and what you have achieved is the proof of your hard work. You can be proud of yourself, but don't let it blind you," Rasmus responded as he gently smiled at Novia.

Since Rasmus got the chance to test the magic circle that he had made, he didn't have a reason to stay on the testing ground. He had grasped the idea of magic formation and magic circles, so he could begin his experiment with the time he had left in the tower.

"You're leaving already? But you just tested a single spell? Don't you want to learn about advanced spells?" Novia furrowed when she saw Rasmus walking to the door.

"Now I know how to walk. I'll take my time enjoying the walk," Rasmus answered as he waved his left hand, telling Novia that he wasn't interested in advanced spells. "As I said. We are still young, so enjoy the moment once in a while," he added.

"What about this?" Novia pointed to the paper in her other hand. "Don't you want to take it back?" She furrowed.

"I guess it's yours now. Let's just say that it's a payment for letting me play with your toy earlier," Rasmus waved his hand as he left the room and yawned because he needed to get some sleep.

Novia blinked her eyes a few times, shocked by how easy it was for Rasmus to give his unique spell to her.