Orc Lord

After reading the short text together, Fiara and I narrowed down what kind of Magic Tools we could attempt to create, based on the materials we had available. We’re not sure what standards the Indigos used to judge power, but we have some reasonably powerful Monster blood right here. That will do fine as our ink. But for an insulating surface… Would a stone tablet work? We don't have any paper…

We try something simple first. On an ordinary stone tablet, Fiara carves the Spell Pattern for . My regenerative powers are superior, so we used my blood to fill in the grooves. We let it dry, and each of us tried putting our magic power into the Spell Pattern. No Spell was cast for either of us.

Fiara and I don't share any elemental attributes. I would prefer it if we knew a good basic spell to use so we could both learn it, but the only basic spell we know is . And I don't want to use any potentially dangerous spells yet. Especially because we don't know how to make circuits and have to place our hands directly on the Spell Pattern to use it.

We also tried ignoring the carving phase and painting my blood directly on a plain tablet. The results were even worse in that case. The Magic Power could trace the markings, but it couldn't build up at all.

To be honest, I'm not sure what to aim for during this practice. I didn't get a clear sense from the text how exactly Conductive Spell Patterns are different from normal ones. In the beginning, it looked to be a difference in materials and cost. But at the end, both versions tried to become cheaper.

“How do you think we make the jump from a regular Spell Pattern to a Conductive Spell Pattern--especially when these are already conductive to some extent?” I gave the question to Fiara.

She held her chin in thought for a while and I did the same.

“Oh!” Her eyes lit up, and she reached for the last page of Indigo text. “This line, “so Magic Power only builds up in the CSP.” I think that’s the answer.”

“Mmm,” I tilted my head and mulled it over, trying to grasp her meaning. “Aha! You mean, semi-Conductive Spell Patterns exist to understand the form. You're supposed to run your magic power through it so it takes on the right shape on the other side and you're able to grasp a spell.”

Fiara nodded. “But CSPs are supposed to do the spellcasting themselves, so the Magic Power has to be able to build up inside.”

“And? How do we accomplish that?”

“I can think of two methods,” Fiara held up both of her fingers. “First is to improve the insulation around our conductive material. They seemed to do this with some kind of spell. Second,” she smiled slightly at the silly answer, “is to dump a lot of Magic Power in at once, before it can disperse.”

“Well, let’s test it!” I grinned and placed my hand on the first Spell Pattern we made, the one with the carvings to hold my blood. Directing my focus carefully, I released enough Magic Power to cast the spell into the Spell Pattern all at once. It immediately slipped out the other side, ready for me to cast.

I shook my head. “Failure. Let’s try using twice as much.”

But that didn't work either.

“How come it immediately slips out the other side when the shape is correct? It isn't even that it’s dispersing, but it's popping out the other side like toast popping out of a toaster.”

“Chief, those last few words came through garbled.”

“Huh?” I shook my head. “They're words from my old world. Don't worry about it.”

“Chief? It’s garbled again. What is “oldwirld”?”

Ach, yuck! That sounds weird pronounced directly, without being translated at all.

“Ahh… you know. Something like this.” I pronounced the Orc words for ‘different’, ‘world,’ with the concept of planet, and ‘of the past.’

“Your previous life took place in a different world?” Fiara stared with wide eyes.

“I thought that meaning got translated when you understood my meaning for Reincarnation.”

“No, I only understood the carrying over of the past incarnation’s Mind. I assumed you were from this world.”

“Nope,” I shook my head. “I’m from very far away. A place where there aren't any Gods, Monsters, or Magic.”

Oops. I said too much. Now Fiara has a look on that says “I want to know everything.”

“I can tell you about it later,” I smiled. “For now, let’s figure out why the spell won't instantiate inside of the Spell Pattern.”

“It isn't because our insulation is insufficient?”

“No, like I said, it pops out the other side as soon as the shape is right.”

Fiara looked downcast for not having an answer. “Sorry, chief. I don't know either.”

“No, no, it isn't your fault,” I gave the girl a smile, then folded my arms in thought. While I was at it, I repositioned my wings which were getting stiff.

… … Didn't activate just then.

I thought carefully and then called softly, “Runa? Come out.” Perhaps it's the strange one with the ranger skills, was what I thought to myself sarcastically.

“Oh, Chief Vyra, what a coincidence,” I nearly jumped because the voice came from right behind me. Then, Runa’s body seemed to appear from thin air.

“What were you doing there?” Fiara asked in a dark and dangerous tone.

“N-nothing! I just wanted to see what you two were doing!” The girl blushed for some reason and avoided eye contact.

“You were planning to watch while standing directly behind the chief?” Fiara narrowed her eyes. “Isn't the view a little bad there?”

Runa coughed twice and tried to forcefully change the topic. “So what are you two doing?”

“We’re trying to make a Magic Tool,” I told her. “Do you have one, by chance? Having a reference would be great.”

“A Magic Tool?” her expression loosened. “I have one.”

“Can we see it?”

Runa opened her mouth slightly, then closed it abruptly. Her whole face turned red and she started stuttering. “A-a-at home! I have one at home! Not here!”

“I see. That's too bad.”

Fiara raised her eyebrows. “No, chief, she’s obviously lying. Just look, I've never seen someone so suspicious.”

Yeah, I know she’s probably lying to my face right now. And I don't like being lied to. But with a reaction like this, I feel like I would regret it if I pushed harder to see the item in question. I can remember times in my past life when I acted the way Runa’s acting now. I would like to respect her personal boundaries, but I would also like to see a real Magic Tool.

I let out a sigh while Runa stood there, fidgeting nervously and sweating slightly. “Well, yeah. I really would like to see a real Magic Tool. Um,” I looked at the Ranger with sincere eyes, “if it’s a sound or image capturing tool, I promise not to look at the contents. B-but,” even I blushed slightly, “if it's something more intense, I really won't force you to hand it over.”

“It-it’s not!” Runa practically screams. “Jeez, here!”

She pulled a translucent crystal out of her pocket and thrust it out to me, eyes squinted shut and face bright red. Even if she looks like that, she’s being considerably bold.

Okay~ Let’s take a look!

I hold the crystal between two fingers and bring it close to my eyes. It's been carved into a round shape. In the very center, a tiny Spell Pattern was carved. There doesn't seem to be anything filling it.

“What is this made of?” I asked, feeling perplexed.

“It’s carved from a magic core, of course,” Runa had calmed down somewhat, and answered as if it was obvious.

I tilted my head. “Magic core? What’s that?”

“You know: a magic core. They form inside... the bodies of...” her words came out slower and slower as she realized what she was saying and who she was saying it to, “mon...sters.” Runa gulped audibly.

I blinked twice, then found myself frowning deeply. “I see.”

It seems I will have to seriously put effort into reshaping the modern field of Enchanting.