Chapter 12

I won't say much about what Arturo was eating as part of our hospitality, except that despite its small scale, it was a luxurious dinner focused on nothing but hot, spicy comfort food... lol.

I ate some too. It was spicy, but delicious, and I enjoyed it. Although my mother didn't seem to share the same interest in spicy food.

As for Arturo, although his way of eating was elegant, his movements were somewhat quick and agile, demonstrating that he loved this food to the core.

Just imagining how happy he was eating those dishes while trying to hide it with an emotionless expression made me smile as I held my chin in my hands and looked at him.

It's kind of cute how he would smile a little contentedly with eyes that shone with happiness that he couldn't hide no matter what he did, whenever he brought the spoon and fork with pieces of spicy food to his thin lips, while trying to keep a straight face.

It was just adorable... Oh gods, not again!

I must fight against the influence of the evil system!

<Objection!>

Shut up, evil existence!

After enjoying the good spicy food he loved so much, Arturo asked to be alone with me in an open area to take the exam he had designed for young aspiring magicians like me.

My mother looked a little confused by that request for a moment, before nodding with a smile of understanding. She seemed to have quickly realized that Arthur had no interest in finding out if she had any way to help me pass the exam, and she decided to respect that.

With that, a maid, Jessica, is called to guide us to the palace garden, making us both leave the Hall along with my maid as the only company for both of us.

..and right now, we were both sitting opposite each other at the elegant table that was set in the garden, with Arturo immediately handing me a notebook with a single question written on some pages of the notebook, I guess to give me enough space to write down all my knowledge without having the other questions as obstacles.

By the way, it wasn't overwhelming at all. There were only three questions in total, though they would be a nightmare for those who don't take basic studies seriously and just want to perform magic.

I honestly expected a lot more, but when I saw the actual questions, I realized that was all Arthur needed to evaluate me. And not just in terms of my knowledge of magic, but also my understanding of basic magical theories.

This guy had said he'd look at those two things separately. But as expected... That didn't make sense in the first place, given what I know about him. In fact, it was much faster for Arthur to do things this way than to unnecessarily extend his time here in case I didn't have what he was looking for.

Fortunately, I was prepared and studied hard this week, like a knowledge-hungry beast. Not only did I memorize everything I needed to know, but I can proudly say that my understanding of magic is far from insignificant.

My confidence was quite high, but my expression didn't change much to reflect it. Although, if there was one thing that worried me more than anything... it's that the evil system hasn't yet launched the next chain mission.

And I have no idea why! He didn't even answer when I asked him!

“Princess, you have half an hour to complete all the written questions. Once you're done and have verified that your knowledge is satisfactory, we'll move on to the next test.” With no particular interest in engaging me in casual conversation, Arturo got straight to the point in a monotone.

Pushing those thoughts aside and nodding with a serious expression while desperately suppressing the urge to smile at the cheeky words 'Next exam,' she picked up her notebook and reread the first question, pen in hand.

This is how the first question was written:

What do you know about mana? Summarize your answer in a comprehensible way based on everything you know about this natural force, the theories and hypotheses surrounding it, as well as your own hypotheses about it.

And this was my answer (Warning, it's quite long ~):

Mana is an invisible, immaterial, and permeable element, considered to be "the breath of the stars that fills the celestial sphere and nature." It is a formless substance that permeates all matter in the natural world, filling even the smallest spaces that we cannot even see with the naked eye. It exists in greater concentration in celestial regions and celestial bodies than in the terrestrial world.

Unlike other elements, mana had no noticeable characteristics that could be perceived by the five basic senses of intelligent beings; it was neither hot nor cold, neither wet nor dry, making it almost as if it did not exist; but it could interact with the soul's intention, suggesting some relationship between the two, though what this relationship may be is not fully understood.

In my humble opinion, it could well be because spiritual energy acts as a medium in which mana can flow more freely than with ordinary matter, although that is just my hypothesis.

In any case, mana, in and of itself, is an element that has no real quality, nor does it change in quantity or quality throughout the world, regardless of what its varying concentrations in nature might suggest at first glance. It is always constant, and even if there are areas where it is lacking, the total amount of mana throughout existence will always remain the same.

However, it is known that once embedded in an object with a symbolic attribute, such as jewelry, gems, or even under the influence of spiritual beings like Elementals, the mana will attune itself to the symbol until it is released. An interesting and useful property, widely used in various forms of ancient magic, as well as in modern arcanotheology.

However, although mana is capable of penetrating all things, different materials, both organic and inorganic, have shown significant differences in how mana is conducted through them, with very few organic materials having mana flow as well as it does in metals.

This, according to the Imperial Institution of Magical Research and Development, would be one of the reasons why attempting to use magic with internal mana would only end up harming the mage, at least theoretically speaking; since it is well known that the human body is a poor conductor of mana, so it is logical to assume that this would cause attempting to use magic with the body as a medium, it would end up causing havoc in the organism, specifically, in vital organs such as the brain and heart.

This is why using magic through nothing but internal mana is unfeasible and dangerous, seen as a taboo that only a madman would break.

However, I dare to ask the question, if our body is such a poor medium for casting Magic, why not release our internal mana to the outside to write the magic formula, instead of relying on atmospheric mana which is more abundant but not necessarily denser, thus avoiding unnecessarily expending more spiritual energy in collecting and condensing external mana?

Is there a natural law that prevents such a thing? If not, has no one thought of it? Or if it did, the method itself was so inefficient and useless that it was quickly discarded. I hope Jairo-sama will address this little curiosity of mine, if you don't mind. If you're not interested, then I apologize for my audacity.

I was very curious to know the answer to that question. Why did they need to use the magical method they currently have instead of one as convenient as I imagine?

I know this world was originally a game, and if I were still living in Japan as an ordinary high school student you'd see anywhere, questioning something like this would never have crossed my mind.

It was simply the setting of a game… What was there to question about how NPCs used their magic? I've had various thoughts about it at times, though, I'll admit, but it was just for fun.

But now everything was different, this world that was once just a game to me is now my home, a place as real as the previous one, at least as far as I can perceive, and there must be a cause for this effect, if what I said makes sense, hehe...

That aside, I was reminded of something familiar every time I heard “magic circuit this” or “magic circuit that,” from a story that left a mark on me… in more ways than one.

It was an anime where mages would release mana from their magic circuits to the outside world by using pre-programmed spells or something to instantly attack their enemies, as I recall.

While that anime may have been shit plot-wise, and I mean that, but its magic system itself was quite interesting, at least to me, as it seemed like the magic formula was made inside the consciousness of the magician... Or was it a sorcerer?

Yes, Sorcerer, anyway, the magic formulas were constructed within the sorcerer's consciousness through mental power and, using an activation spell in the form of words in the ancient continental language (It's Latin, by the way), the subconscious processed the formula and released the mana from the magic circuits as part of the instructions within it, manifesting the spell outside with absurd speed after that release of mana.

The advantage of such a casting method was that spellcasting was done quickly and efficiently by just saying a few words, provided, of course, that you had taken the time to inscribe the magic formula into your consciousness... and of course, first and foremost, if you had already learned how to do such a thing.

Another advantage is that enemy mages can only interrupt the casting of those spells by attacking the opponent in the middle of their spell, and that wasn't even a guarantee of success, since activation spells were just mnemonics that triggered the sorcerer's spiritual memory, and there were many other ways to activate their spells.

The downside was also obvious; spells followed pre-established rules and had no flexibility unless you took the time to give them that possibility, and even then there were limits, as the magic formulas would grow larger and take up more "spell space" within the consciousness...

Why did I remember so much the magic system of an anime that I consider to be of poor quality, you might ask?

Because I like magic, and their magic system wasn't bad, despite everything.

I liked to reflect and theorize about its advantages and limitations while doing mental exercise when I was bored like Kazuto.

So, I now also know that there are striking similarities in how mana works in both HAD and that anime, and I'd even go so far as to say that they're practically the same... Since the anime came out long before the game was even made, its developers obviously copied the laws of mana from that anime and applied them here... or at least drew inspiration from them for the battle system. (Too bad they didn't add Aura)

But even if that were the case, I'm not exactly sure we can write magic formulas into our own consciousness here, the same way as in that anime, so I kept that to myself just in case and suggested another method that sounded good to me...

Anyway, the next question was this: What do you know about what we call 'Impurities' in a magical beast's mana core? What is the difference between a pure Core and an impure Core? How does that affect a magical beast's development and its importance among its own kind? Explain as best you can, and if possible, give some insight into your own hypotheses on the matter.

I didn't expect Arthur to ask a question like this. Did this have anything to do with being a wizard's apprentice? Still, I had to answer seriously, and just like he asked... I'll also include my own thoughts!

Or as he said, my own hypothesis.

So, this is my answer:

Impurities in the mana core are the fundamental reason why a magical beast has weaker magic than another of its kind, in addition to its size and the mana it contains. These are organic or inorganic materials that contaminate the core during its formation and affect its quality.

The difference between a pure mana core and an impure one is their efficiency, specifically in how the magical beast can extract mana from it and at what speed, whether to use its innate magic or to accelerate its evolution into a higher-ranked magical beast. If a mana core had too many impurities, it would be difficult, if not nearly impossible, for a magical beast to successfully evolve even if it tried hard.

The complete opposite of magical beasts with pure cores, whose magical and evolutionary efficiency is simply superior in every way. My own pet, Drupi, is a beautiful horned rabbit with a pure mana core, as evidenced by its beautiful, fluffy silver fur, being one of the lucky ones with a pure core within its species.

It's amazing, isn't it? It's also cute, right now running through the trees. Sorry, I got carried away...

Anyway, the importance of a pure core magical beast is extremely significant among magical beasts, especially in the hierarchy of its own species.

If it's a male, the pure-core magical beast will rule over its kind as an alpha (regardless of whether they're solitary or not), instilling fear and obedience among other males and attracting the majority of females. The opposite is also true.

As for whether I have a personal hypothesis regarding mana cores, I dare say that I have deduced, based on my studies, that newborn magical beasts that are fed food that is not part of their natural diet are the most likely to develop a mana core that is increasingly impure than normal.

The same can be said of those who contract illnesses or infections shortly after birth, with their immune systems severely weakened. In fact, even emotions like stress could be a probable cause.

That's not to say they're the primary cause of the impurities, as there's no way pure magical beasts could have grown without minor health complications throughout their development, but I believe it's a very important factor affecting why so many impurities have a mana core when they form.

Perhaps by avoiding feeding them foods other than what their organisms are accustomed to or protecting them from diseases during the initial formation of their mana core, magical beasts can be raised with greater purity.

I thought that was the best answer I could give. And, by the way, that hypothesis didn't come from any knowledge of the game; it literally came to me out of nowhere while reading about magical beasts and how to raise the more harmless ones, like horned rabbits and slimes, and take care of their health.

It wasn't difficult to think of at all, nor did it need to be true; I just had the idea while reading after suddenly remembering that Drupi was never sick as a baby like those little creatures in the book (I would never allow such a thing) nor given human food (my old self seemed to think natural was best) and how, as a result, Drupi grew magnificently to adulthood, without any stress too.

Developing, of course, his nice pure mana core a long time ago.

It may seem like I wrote a lie, but that wasn't the case. Besides, Arthur wanted a hypothesis, and I gave it to him. As long as it sounds good and shows I'm interested in theorizing or hypothesizing about anything related to magic, no matter how absurd it may sound, won't I gain some affection points?

And finally, the last question.

What do you think is the best method to use Combat Magic quickly and efficiently?

“…”

Pretty exaggerated here, right?

Is this guy serious? Is he writing this question for 15-year-olds?

Do you really think those young geniuses would come up with something like that? No wonder it failed...

But even though I thought that, I tried to smile again.

After all… I know what a satisfactory answer would be.

And just so you know, these aren't magic scrolls at all, as they're too advanced for a sheltered noble girl like me to invent.

Well...to make it shorter, I'll ask you a question...How would you feel about being the first to create a magic cane in a fantasy world where no one uses them?