Supreme Magus novel Chapter 187

"The reason we are struggling so much with things like Alchemy and Forgemastering is because we got it all wrong. Since we have stepped into the academy, we have been looking at the problem from the wrong angle.

"Fake magic and all its branches are strict, full of rules and boundaries that the mage can never overcome. Fake mages can’t change the shape, size or even the temperature of a fireball, unless they rewrite the spell from scratch.

"True magic instead, is a free flow. There is no set number of steps or limits to what you can do, as long as you have the willpower and imagination to make it happen. Our problem since the beginning is that we are trying to beat a game at its own rules instead of making our own.

"Most of the things I have learned at the academy about tier four spells are redundant.

I could have managed to perform everything they explained so far at the Healer, Combat Magic and Advanced magic classes on my own. I simply lacked the ingenuity to connect the dots between what I already knew about tier three and below.

That’s why as soon as I learned the trick behind regrowing a limb or share life energy, I was already able to do it better with true magic. Forgemastering though, is something I am deeply ignorant about, hence my mistake.

Instead of focusing on runes and circles, I should have tried to understand the logic behind the mana pathways’ number and positioning. I should have studied what kind of form and properties a pseudo core needs to grant the enchanted item its effects.

Once I have achieved that, I will not need any rune or chant. I will just have to carve the pathways and then create the proper pseudo core."

"I think you are right." Solus’ wisp said.

"I should have thought of it when I managed to create my own magic circles without using Professor Wanemyre’s special ink. If we don’t need the ink for the circles, there’s no reason why it should be any different for the runes too. By my maker, I could I be so slow on the uptake?"

"Don’t be so harsh on yourself, Solus. You are indeed the smarter one, but it’s over one year that you are suffering from depression because of your condition. Not to mention how you are always taking care of me, managing my social life and helping me with magic.

You know, I think you are one of the kindest persons I have ever met."

Solus’ wisp spun around out of joy. Being referred to as a person instead of a thing was what made her happy the most. Lith sensed it, and found himself thinking out loud.

"Do you know a funny thing we have in common? We have yet to find out what exactly we are. You are not an artifact, because you have a mind of your own, nor a cursed item. While I seem to have the body of a man, the morals of a beast and the soul of an Abomination."

Solus liked the idea of their bond being beyond their symbiotic relationship, much less the gloomy turn Lith’s thoughts were taking, so she hurried changing the topic.

"What where you saying about Forgemastering? That we can skip Gantzwell’s theory and work directly on pseudo cores?"

"I wish." Lith sighed.

"It would require a massive amount of knowledge and experience that we are sorely lacking at the moment. Until I manage to put my hands on a variety of magical items and study their properties, we are stuck using fake Forgemastering.

Now that we know the rules of the game, though, there are some that we have to obey, some we can bend and other that we can ignore by cheating. Let me show you."

Lith placed on the Forgemastering table one of the cheap rings he enchanted into dimensional items, while Solus used Invigoration to draw in the world energy and used it to fill with mana the ring’s surrounding space.

Then, Lith took out from the pocket dimension one of the many small hammers he had Zekell prepare for him. It had a metal head and a wooden handle, the kind one would use to knock a nail in a wall.

"I had actually planned to enchant them into weapons for my family, but they should work just fine for my experiment too. Solus, is your control over the mana inside of the tower restricted to circles?"

"No, it’s just the way I’m more used to project it, since we always followed Forgemastering’s canons."

"Okay. I need you to imbue the hammer I’m holding with a little bit more mana than the one stored in the circle."

Solus had no idea what Lith was planning, but did as instructed. Such amount of mana was well below her capabilities. The hammer pulsed with a blue glow, emitting a low buzzing sound.

Lith focused on the mystical energies, making them submit to his will and take the form of the first rune before making them clash with those contained within the magic circle.

Sparks flew all over the lab while the conflicting energies generated a cyan burst of light that almost blinded Lith. Each strike produced a new burst of light, carving another rune inside the ring that created mana pathways wider and stronger than Lith ever had.

The brief contact allowed the mystical energies to remain stable, but took a huge toll on the tool and its wielder.