R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 63 (Patreon)

R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 63

“Math, math, math… why does it always come back to math?!”

3 months after Micheal entered the First Gate of Suffering found Micheal returning to the basics.

In the past 2 months, Micheal had dedicated himself to practicing all of the 1st Circle Spells he had stored in his memory, a list of more than 30 Spells.

It was also here that he realized that most of the Spells he had studied and memorized in his perfect memory were Spells that required multiple Circles.

It made sense given Micheal’s previous life. He had been a warrior, not a Wizard. Most of the Spells he researched were common Spells he felt like he might encounter and needed to be aware about, while the rest were powerful Spells he had read about in the end-times, when all Humanity shared information freely.

There was a notable gap of low-level and mid-tier Spells in his memory.

‘Still… I’m fluent in the Language of Magic. With the Spells I have, I can probably infer how to cast other basic Spells if I truly need to.’

Apart from the math he needed to calculate each time he cast them, 1st Circle Spells were not very complicated. They were relatively easy to visualize and their Mana cost was low enough to grant him leeway over any minor inaccuracies in his control.

“Faster. I need to be faster.”

Micheal was standing atop a large sand dune, in the middle of a wide desert. In his hand was a globe of frozen ice, slowly melting in the hot air.

Micheal tossed the globe to the side, watching as it sank slightly into the sand before rolling down the dune. Small bits of stand stuck to the icy globe, peppering its surface with brown dots.

“Frea Blor.”

Micheal held out his hand and cast the 1st Circle Spell ‘Ice Ball,’ spawning a basketball sized globe of ice just inches above his outstretched left hand.

“1.3 seconds.” Micheal mentally clocked in the cast time, his eyes narrowing at the result.

“Still not enough.”

Shortening his cast time from 5.2 seconds to 1.3 seconds in just 3 months was an extraordinary level of progress, but it still wasn’t enough to meet his standards.

“The only thing holding me back is the math.” Micheal frowned.

Micheal knew from his own personal experience that a skilled Battlemage could cast 1st Circle Spells in less than a second.

In the rough and tumble world of the 7 Layers, you could encounter danger at any moment in time. A quick reaction speed was a necessity to make it up to the higher Layers. Thus, a quick cast time was even more important for any Wizard to be worth his weight.

“A fifth of a second is the most time I can allow.” Micheal stated after a moment’s pause as he sat down, resting on the top of the sand dune. He folded his hands together pensively after a few moments, pondering his progress.

“1.3 seconds is still far too slow to be useful.”

Micheal gauged his progress in Magic with a very nuanced perspective.

For Magic to be useful, he needed to be able to use it actively in combat.

In fact, while he might think otherwise, Micheal’s progress was not slow at all.

Very few 1st Circle Wizards were capable of casting Spells at the speeds Micheal was capable of.

A highly skilled 1st Circle Wizard would usually take around 3 seconds to cast a Spell. Micheal’s 1.3 second cast time was extraordinarily fast for a 1st Circle Mage.

Micheal, however, was constantly comparing his progress to that of the Wizards he had met in the 7 Layers, whether through combat or observation.

A 4th Circle Battlemage could easily cast a 1st Circle Spell in a fraction of a second. Most Wizards at this level relied on the use of Magic Control, constructing the Spell and then using Mana to adjust it without relying on constant calculations. The more Mana Circles you had, the easier it was.

“As long as I calculate faster, theoretically, I should be able to Cast at the same speed.” Micheal’s said, his voice determined.

“...”

“It might be unpleasant but I have all the time in the world here to figure it out.” He muttered.

“I’m not leaving this damned place until I master it.”

.. .. .. .. .. ..

6 months had passed since Micheal entered the First Gate.

“I wonder if this is what it feels like to be Prime?”

Micheal’s words echoed in the air, bouncing off the walls of a large stone canyon, as he sat atop a large rock pillar.

The canyon he was resting in was a massive edifice, stretching as far as the eye could see. It was colored a reddish-orange, matching the rest of the harsh landscape around Micheal.

“It’s probably similar.” Micheal closed his eyes as he returned to his meditation, his legs criss-crossed beneath him. On his knees rested his sword, Lightshorn, unsheathed and glowing with Sword Energy.

He was currently taking a break from Magic, and instead meditating on his Sword Mastery.

After the echoes of Micheal’s words faded, the quiet hum of Sword Energy was the only sound that spread in the still air, occasionally interrupted by Micheal’s breathing.

A half hour passed as Micheal sat still, his entire being focused on meditation.

After those 30 minutes passed, Micheal slowly opened his eyes.

“It’s still the same.” He sighed to himself.

After he found out that he was talented in Magic, Micheal had secretly harbored a hope that his talents in other things might have changed too. Alas, several months of effort had proved the opposite.

His talents were still the same as they had been before.

“I can’t even tell if I’m making headway.” He was stuck at the initial phase of comprehension when it came to Grandmaster Sword Mastery. No matter how hard he tried, the progress he made moved at a snail’s pace, if that. It was to the point where he couldn’t tell if he was progressing or not.

“Well, that’s within my expectations.” Micheal shrugged as he got to his feet, running a finger along Lightshorn’s edge.

“At least I still have you.” Micheal smiled at his sword.

Lightshorn was a weapon crafted from Blood-Refined Mithril. It was incredibly durable and able to react to Micheal’s Sword Energy nigh-instantaneously.

After several months of practice with it here in the First Gate, Micheal had confidently made the weapon his own. His mind was now fully adjusted to his current stats, letting him express his combat techniques and skills in perfect unison.

Micheal stored Lightshorn in his Spatial Ring, turning his gaze back to the canyon before him.

“Woo…” Micheal took a deep breath, the smile fading from his face as his gaze turned focused.

“Let’s go.”

He threw himself off the cliff.

The wind rushed to greet him as he began a 200 meters high fall, plunging towards the ground.

‘Wait for it.’

Micheal squinted as he stared at the rocky floor beneath him, picking out several large, jagged shards of stone. It would be particularly painful to land anywhere near them.

‘Not yet…’

‘Just a little more…’

‘And…’

‘Here!’

Micheal’s eyes glowed as, just two dozen meters above the surface, he cast the 1st Circle Spell - Ride the Wind.

“Wano ul Sed!”

Mana bloomed in Micheal’s Soul as the wind began to twist around him. Abruptly, his sense of balance shifted as he felt the wind around him suddenly become tangible.

“Ha!” Micheal laughed out loud as he jumped into the wind, kicking off the air as if it was a solid object.

He kicked hard, several times, transmitting his weight forward into the wind. This simple action was extremely precise, sending Micheal tumbling forward several dozen meters through the air, instead of crashing down on the rocky spikes below.

“Hangor Dul!”

Micheal cast a second Spell – Earth Wall.

Immediately, a large pillar of rock jutted out from the side of the canyon, just a few meters in front of Micheal.

As he flew towards it, Micheal reached up with his right hand and hooked onto the stone pillar.

“Hup!” Micheal grunted as he pulled on his right hand, his superhuman muscles tensing as he threw himself towards the sky.

His body hurtled upward, cascading through the air. As he flew up, the wind returned to normal as Micheal released the Mana that was powering the magic that let him ‘Ride the Wind.’

“Hangor Drud!”

Micheal’s right hand flickered as he cast the 1st Circle Spell – Earth Drill.

A moment later, five thin metal threads launched forward, cutting through the air from the Silk Strider Glove he had equipped to his right hand. These metal strings slammed into the side of the canyon and…

Veritably melted through the tough stone, cutting into the rock like it was butter.

A second later, Micheal released the Spell and, in the same moment, wrapped the huge chunk of stone he had just cut from the cliff up, using the metal strings from his Silk Strider Glove to grab ahold of it.

As his threads latched the giant rock, a small blue orb furtively flew along those lines and snuck inside the stone.

“Gravton Konen.”

Micheal cast one final Spell. This Spell, however, was a rather unique Spell, draining a fifth of the Mana he had left in his Soul.

It was a Spell Micheal himself had created, relying on his mastery of the Language of Magic and his memories from Kyrui’s Inheritance to craft.

The 1st Circle Spell – Concentrate Gravity.

“Hup!” Micheal’s eyes glowed as he grunted, gracefully landing on the ground just outside of the canyon.

Right after he landed, the muscles in his right arm bulged as he pulled himself forward, jerking his right arm away from the canyon.

A second later, an enormous chunk of stone, at least 5 meters wide and long, and several meters tall, flew through the air. The massive hunk of rock had been hewn from the cliff-face just a few seconds ago, sliced apart by the threads from Micheal’s Silk Strider Glove.

Just as it was about to slam into the ground in front of Micheal…

It stopped, freezing in place, hovering in the air.

A few small pieces of rock and dust fell off its sides, but the majority of the boulder remained still, floating in front of him.

Micheal smiled.

“It worked.” He chuckled out loud before reaching out with his left hand.

A moment later…

The giant slab of stone ruptured, small bits of rock shooting out as it collapsed. The colossal piece of rock fell to the ground, but not before a small chunk of rock flew out, hurtling right towards Micheal.

That orb of stone came to an abrupt halt, floating just a foot from Micheal’s hand.

Micheal casually waved his left hand, dazzling Sword Energy appearing on his fingers as he crushed away the rock and stone remains in front of him, revealing a small, floating blue orb.

A Life Orb.

“I can attach Spells to my Life Orbs.”

The experiment had proven a major success.

From throwing himself off the cliff, to soaring upward, slicing a part of the cliff off, grabbing it, and throwing it out, above the cliff…

This entire series of motion had been a test for one thing.

‘How can I actively use Magic in combat?’

Magic Control was a skill that Micheal couldn’t readily grasp until he formed his 3rd Circle. After months of effort, Micheal had lowered his cast time down to 0.7 seconds, but it was still not quite fast enough for his taste.

In those months of effort, however, Micheal had realized how unrealistic his goal of 0.2 seconds per cast time had been.

‘I can’t transfer enough Mana in that amount of time.’ It was then that he realized why most Wizards only mastered Magic Control after achieving the 3rd Circle.

The size of his Circle limited how quickly he could transfer Mana.

‘Still, it wasn’t a waste.’ Micheal’s frantic efforts to shorten his cast time had uncovered some surprising results.

He had finally managed to discover what exactly he was talented at, in regards to Mana.

‘The way my Soul handles Mana is incredibly efficient.’

From his exact control of his Mana, to the almost non-existent Mana waste produced by his Spells, to the natural sense of ‘belonging’ that came with the Mana stored in his Soul.

Micheal’s Soul was uniquely predisposed to controlling Mana.

‘It’s no wonder I never found out about this talent in my first life.’

Having an ‘efficient’ Soul was not a talent that could be discovered just by observation. It wasn’t a talent that would show up in a Divine Scan or reflect in any way in his Stats.

Nevertheless, now that he knew about it, he intended to take full advantage of it.

Micheal waved his left hand again, his eyes shining as 3 more blue Life Orbs appeared, floating out from his skin.

Here, inside the First Gate, Micheal had discovered a neat synergy between his Life Orbs and the time-accelerated functions of the Gate of Suffering.

His Life Orbs normally reset by 1 every day. Here inside the First Gate, where time was accelerated in a unique way, that same timer applied relative to the time within the First Gate.

Thanks to that, Micheal could restore himself to his full Life Orb count of 4, the new limit he achieved after his progress in his Soul stat.

As 4 blue Life Orbs floated in front of him, Micheal’s eyes narrowed as he had an idea.

The 1st Circle Spell – Concentrate Gravity was a 1st Circle Spell Micheal had created based on his understanding of the Language of Magic. He hadn’t memorized any Spells a 1st Circle Wizard could cast that had any connection with space, so he was forced to create them on his own.

This Spell required a huge amount of Mana, far more Mana than most 1st Circle Wizards possessed, and a familiarity with the Concept of Space.

Kyrui’s Inheritance had proven integral to Micheal’s success here.

The Language of Magic was a tricky thing, in that it was a language that relied on unspoken powers to give meaning to its words.

All Spells cast drew upon one Conceptual Power or another to give themselves meaning. The Language of Magic did most of the heavy lifting here, allowing Wizards to use Mana to cast Spells, instead of them having to comprehend Conceptual Powers themselves.

It was vastly harder to grasp a Conceptual Power than it was to cast a Spell that used Mana to draw upon a Conceptual Power.

Micheal required neither Ki nor Mana to draw upon his Sword Mastery. That was his own, unique power derived from his comprehension of the Sword that took him 10 years to achieve.

Conversely, every time Micheal cast a Spell, he used Mana to power that Spell, allowing it to draw upon whatever energies it needed in order to coalesce into existence.

“Magic is complicated.”

It was the one conclusion he was most certain of, after studying Magic for 6 months.

There was a good reason Wizards were regarded as bookworms. The sheer amount of work Micheal had to put into mastering Magic answered any questions he might have had about the habits of Wizards.

“Hmm…” Micheal stared at the 4 floating Life Orbs in front of him, his gaze calm.

“What if I try this?”

Micheal held out his left hand and cast a Spell.

“Gravton Konen.”

The 1st Circle Spell – Concentrate Gravity, allowed Micheal to twist the gravity of a region in space, concentrating that gravity towards a new point.

By drawing on Kyrui’s familiarity with the Concept of Space, Micheal was able to reduce this Spell’s Mana cost. The knowledge he’d gained from Kyrui’s Inheritance made it easier to cast the Spell, greatly reducing the burden of Mana it required.

If not for that, this Spell would’ve required at least three times the amount of Mana to cast, an absurd amount when you remembered that even in its current state, its Mana cost was close to the total Mana most new 1st Circle Wizards possessed. At the very least, it would be classified as a 2nd Circle Spell.

“My Life Orbs are a part of me.” Micheal muttered as he stared at the Life Orb he had cast the Spell upon.

Gradually, bits of rock and stone began to fly up around that orb, surrounding it.

Micheal turned his gaze to his other Life Orbs.

“Gravton Konen.”

“Gravton Konen.”

“Gravton Konen.”

Micheal cast the Spell 3 more times over the span of 2 seconds, draining almost all of the Mana remaining in his Soul. He ignored the sickening state of ‘Mana depletion’ he had begun to experience and focused on his Life Orbs, watching them keenly.

The hard part about Magic was maintaining it. The Spells you had to update, the calculations you had to redo constantly.

However…

“My Life Orbs are a part of me. I can innately sense their location, speed, and acceleration.”

Micheal shut his eyes as he concentrated, tracing his Life Orbs as they began to move through the air.

A powerful breeze began to stir around Micheal as the chunks of rock surrounding his Life Orbs began to grow in size. Soon, each Orb carried between 2-3 tons of stone, each boulder roughly 2.5 meters wide.

“Yes… I can see it.” Micheal opened his eyes wide, a beaming smile appearing on his face.

All the calculations he had to perform, all the math he needed to compute…

When he used his Life Orbs as an anchor, everything moved smoothly. He instantly had all the variables he needed, making maintaining the Spells, even 4 complicated ones at the same time, much easier.

“Hahaha!” Micheal burst out laughing, a sense of exhilaration overcoming him.

“Magic is incredible.”

After a moment, Micheal turned his attention back to the giant floating orbs of stone.

His eyes narrowed as he raised his left hand and…

Clenched it into a fist.

Instantly, the world exploded.

Four massive hulking boulders of stone blasted into motion around Micheal, tearing apart the ground and air. Shards of rock and earth flew into the air, forming long, floating lines as they followed the gravitational trails formed by Micheal’s Life Orbs.

Everything within 10 meters of Micheal instantly turned into a hell-scape of ripped earth, flying stone, and crushing weight. A veritable zone of death.

None of those rocks touched even a hair on Micheal’s body, all caught up in the control of his Life Orb-guided Magic.

A moment later, as Micheal began to feel light headed from lack of Mana, he released the Spells.

The chaotic air came to a still as all the boulders, rock, and stone froze before collapsing down to the ground. A simple cutting motion from Micheal’s right hand sent out a breeze, pushing away any dust that might cloud his vision.

“Huh.” Micheal muttered as he reabsorbed his Life Orbs, looking at the results of his Spell.

In a 10 meters circle around him, the previous smooth earth was no more. Long, jagged gashes in the stone surrounded him, some going as deep as 5 meters. It was a scene of complete destruction, a witness to a colossal force that would rip apart most beings that came into contact with it.

As Micheal surveyed the impact of his Spells, he couldn’t help but smile.

“I can make use of this.”

.. .. .. .. .. ..

The river of time swept forward, endlessly and inevitably.

The longer one stayed inside the First Gate, the harder it was on one’s Soul.

Sophia and Shin both lasted more than 3 years inside the First Gate, a testament to their willpower, courage, and determination.

Few beings lasted inside the First Gate more than a month, let alone a year.

In Micheal’s first life, the longest recorded time spent inside the First Gate was 5 years and 79 days, by the Nirvana Saint himself.

And now…

As Micheal’s time inside the First Gate reached its end…

He blew that record out of the water.

21 minutes and 27 seconds after entering the First Gate, Micheal emerged.

In the eyes of the Farian guards standing watch, less than half an hour had passed.

However… in Micheal’s eyes…

It had been more than 7 years.

.