“Affecting the elemental energies released by a spell with Void Magic requires so much of my focus that without the tower’s defensive measures, my ass would probably be blown to the ground since to be ready to switch light or air I can’t even aim properly.”
“I noticed.” Solus nodded. “Still, it’s worth exploring. It’s going to be a great addition to our arsenal, but I think right now it’s better to focus on tier four and five Void Magic. I’m sorry to admit that I haven’t made much progress on that front.”
“Me neither.” Lith shook his head. “The root of the problem is that the elements that comprise the spell can’t be switched one at a time. Doing that destroys the balance that holds them together and makes them fade.”
“It’s actually worse.” Solus pointed out. “I managed to switch two elements at the same time, but that’s not enough to achieve tier four Void Magic. Look.”
She weaved a tier four Banefire stored inside the Mouth of Menadion, generating a burst of darkness-infused flames that took the form of a scorching pillar of black fire. Then, turned darkness into light and fire into water, obtaining only a sparkling splash of water.
“What the fuck?” Lith had followed the entire procedure with Life Vision and he was certain that Solus’ technique was flawless. Yet her failure didn’t have a single silver lining.
“Here’s the deal.” She had a board appear behind her back, filled with two strings of runes of the color of their respective elements, red and yellow. “If tier four was just casting two tier three spells at the same time, there would be no need for the great academies.
“Tier four requires taking runes from different elemental spells and combining them so that they work together to produce something that’s greater than the sum of their single parts.
“Unique effects like Full Guard that uses air and fire magic to generate a wide-range heat and motion sensory field.” The two strings of runes on the board slithered into each other like snakes, forming the formula to cast Full Guard that Lith recognized.
“Yet what happens if you just switch them?” The red runes turned blue and the yellow ones became orange, changing their shape along with their color.
Suddenly the elegant incantation that allowed for a quick cast had been turned into a jumbled, nonsensical mess.
“Switching a single element into its counterpart always affects the runes as well. For tier three and below this is nigh-unnoticeable because any mage capable of performing Void Magic can also adjust the runes in accordance with the effect they are trying to obtain.
“It’s their own mana so it answers to their will and Void Magic gives them all the tools they need to interact with the spell after it has been cast.
“Tier four and above, however, require a further step. At the moment of the switch, you have to already have in mind another tier four spell comprised of at least one of the complementary elements and whose effects can be drawn from the original runes.
“Another possibility is to switch both the elements and then rearrange the runes as well, but that requires a focus and skill that only a master of Void Magic or someone who isn’t risking their life on the battlefield can achieve.”
“When you put it this way, it sounds nigh-impossible, but I don’t think that the situation is as dire as you paint it.” Lith replied.
“Why, have you found a flaw in my theory?” Solus tilted her head in confusion.
“No, your analysis of how to properly cast tier four Void Magic is accurate, I simply disagree with your conclusions. You see, the problem is that you are trying to go from zero to one thousand in one go.
“Void Magic is no different from Glemos’ device. It’s something new that needs further study before reaching a definitive conclusion. As you said before, we need to proceed in small steps.
“In this case, it means to devise exercises of increasing difficulty meant to familiarize with switching one element while keeping the balance of the overall spell.”
“Rather than trying to convert the two elements and sets of runes that comprise a tier four spell at the same time, we should rather search the academy’s grimoires for spells whose elements can be switched with minimal adjustments in their runes.
“This way, people like me can focus on learning how to switch only the elements. People who have reached your level, instead, need to practice on spells that still work after switching one of its elements and require solely to rewrite both sets of runes.
“This way you’ll be able to practice Void Magic on a tier four spell like it’s tier three and once you get used to freely manipulating one element while keeping the other one stable you can move to a perfect tier four Void Magic spell.”
“That’s a great idea.” Solus started to put all the magical tomes they had inside Soluspedia to read and cross-reference them for what they needed. “Maybe you really are a genius.” She chuckled.
“I wish.” Lith firmly cut the air with his hand in denial. “I’m just following Professor Rudd’s methods to teach us dimensional magic, breaking down an apparently impossible task into smaller exercises that once put together make the impossible possible.”
“Okay, maybe you are not a genius, but at least your teaching method is not meant to make your students feel like idiots.” As soon as Solus found a suitable pair of spells, she had the library jot them down on a separate parchment.
The runes that had to be altered were highlighted while the rest were marked for further study to see if they could be removed in order to keep the exercise simple and reduce its mana cost.
“That’s because our purpose is different. Rudd always wanted to create an elite that suited his beliefs whereas I want to see as far as our creation can go. It’s exactly because I’m not a genius that I understand the importance of making Void Magic accessible to everyone.
“By pooling up the resources of hundreds of mages, people like the student who inspired me might discover how to overcome the boundaries of magic that have always been considered unsurmountable.
“Otherwise the moment an evil Manohar pops up, we’ll be royally-” The rune of Jadon Lark, the Count of Lustria, lit up on Lith’s amulet, drawing his consciousness and cutting him short. “I’m sorry, but I have to take this.
“Dear Count, to what do I owe this pleasure?” Lith set the hologram so that only his figure would be projected, hiding both Solus and the Tower.
“Please, just call me Jadon.” The son of Trequill Lark resembled his father enough to make the scar left in Lith’s heart ache. Orpal had murdered Lark only to make Lith suffer and he had succeeded. “We know each other ever since you were a mean-eyed kid.
“Also, not that you are a Magus it’s not like the title of Count holds any weight anymore. If anything, it should be me giving you bows and reciting your titles before saying your name.”
