Shape of Magic

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I’ve had the thunder ore for a month now, and it seems like the weather is changing. The temperature has dropped significantly, and it’s starting to feel quite dry. It’s as if winter is just around the corner, with snowfall occurring occasionally.

Let me walk you through the events of the past month. Firstly, it’s an annual tradition, but during the winter season, we prioritize food storage and fuel procurement. This is crucial because we don’t live in an environment like Japan where daily necessities and food are conveniently accessible.

Since my sister and I are already considered part of the labor force, we’ve been frequently visiting the village to assist and accompany on shopping trips. As a consequence, I wasn’t able to devote as much time to my magic research. Nonetheless, I still managed to make time and study some magic.

Next, I’d like to take a moment to go over the research results I’ve gathered since obtaining the thunder ore.

After infusing my magic power into the thunder ore, I noticed an immediate change in the electric current’s color. It turned red, and the brightness intensified, albeit briefly. Although I’m unsure why this happened, I repeated the experiment several times, and the same phenomenon occurred each time.

This was in stark contrast to the effect of fire magic, where the magic power turns blue upon contact with fire. And the fire itself is transferred to the magic, gradually burning until the released magic is exhausted.

What does this mean?

I thought magic power was some sort of energy that shared some properties with flammable substances, without actually being flammable.

I thought magic power had the property of sustaining some sort of phenomenon.

I thought magic power played the role of the flammable substance that required a source of ignition, oxygen, and flammable material in order to ignite.

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However, after conducting experiments with lightning magic, I discovered that this belief was incorrect.

Let’s examine the distinctions between fire and lightning. Although both are types of plasma, they exhibit different characteristics.

Fire requires three elements to burn: a combustible material, a source of ignition, and oxygen. Consequently, it is a natural occurrence that can continue indefinitely.

On the other hand, lightning is an electric current. This means that it is caused by the movement of electric charges. Once the charge is discharged, the process comes to a halt, and there must be another movement of charges to generate another lightning strike. This pause is a necessary part of the phenomenon.

Unlike fire, lightning doesn’t flow continuously to the ground, and it produces intermittent electric currents, just like the thunder ore.

Of course, in cases where there is a high-voltage discharge occurring at close range, like an arc discharge, the phenomenon will happen continuously. But that’s not what’s happening in this situation.

The substance known as magic power has the ability to amplify and independently create phenomena. In the case of fire magic, there is already oxygen present, so the fire can be ignited. Thus, providing magic power allows for the “pseudoscientific phenomenon of continued burning” to occur.

Lightning originates from minerals, and the movement of electric charges is necessary to generate it. Magic power does not assist in this process, so it seems that “lightning magic only produces temporary changes.”

Based on these results, I can infer that the nature of magic power is to amplify phenomena. This means that when it comes into contact with fire, for example, it magnifies it rather than igniting it. The change in color could also indicate that the phenomenon has undergone a transformation due to the magic power.

While fire continues to burn, electricity is discharged almost instantly. With regards to electrical current, I believe that the increase in light output is due to the broad definition of sparking. In other words, within the magic power itself (in this case, emitted in a spherical shape), the electricity flows instantaneously, causing the voltage to increase.

That’s why magic power is believed to amplify natural phenomena. Currently, there are two known properties of magic power: the ability to mimic and create phenomena upon touch, and the power to amplify the effects of these mimicked phenomena. Without the latter, fire would not continue to burn, which suggests that magic power is not a flammable substance. However, this is just a tentative theory and further research, improvements, and experimentation are needed to increase its practicality.

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Now, the challenge is to convert electrical current into magic. Providing magic power is sufficient to convert fire since it continues to burn. By striking a flint and providing magic power, it can create a will-o’-the-wisp-like form. However, with thunder ore, magic power dissipates upon contact, and any electric current amplified by it is discharged into the atmosphere due to the instant release of electricity. Since electricity flows instantaneously, it is difficult to control.

I was wracking my brain about this while lying on my bed in my room, my go-to spot for thinking.

“Um, what should I do…”

If magic power were to disappear upon contact with anything, it would seem that I am powerless. However, if the purpose is simply to create a phenomenon using magic power, then I have already accomplished that.

Nonetheless, I aspire to use more versatile magic, especially after the goblin attack. Since I am not proficient in sword fighting, I have been contemplating employing magic for self-defense.

Had I not realized the existence of magic power and learned to control it, everyone would have died that day. It’s uncertain whether such a perilous situation will arise again in the future. That’s precisely why I must find a way to protect myself and help others. Magic is crucial for me to fight.

Not only fire magic, I also want to be able to use lightning magic to a practical level. Currently, my fire magic only allows me to start a fire or inflict a burn on someone. In case my opponent possesses magical power, I might be able to use the same technique I used the other day. However, this occurrence is still uncertain and won’t work if the opponent lacks magical powers.

I understand that this won’t yield immediate results, but I have a clear vision of what the final form should look like. Now, let’s get back to the topic at hand.

“Lightning magic… lightning magic… lightning… Hmm… something fundamentally wrong here…”

Something doesn’t feel right. Like I’m making a huge mistake.

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What could it be?

I entered a magic aura state and released magic power from my palm. The luminous sphere of magic power rose towards the ceiling and gradually disappeared.

After seeing that, I opened my mouth in astonishment.

“Was I too fixated on Ettentraut’s phenomenon?”

I’ve had similar thoughts before. Because I noticed the existence of magic power through the fish phenomenon. I’ve been fixated on magic phenomenon related to the Ettentraut!

But that’s not it.

That’s right.

It was something simple.

“I see! That’s right! The released magic power doesn’t have to be in the shape of a ball or sphere!”

I had always pictured magic power as a sphere. Maybe because in various works of fiction, the forms of magic, energy, and other mysterious energies tend to be circular.

I decided to experiment by visualizing my magic forming into a square and being released from my right hand. Since I had already performed the magic-gathering state thousands of times before, the magic power was smoothly released.

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The magic that appeared from my palm was indeed in the shape of a square.

“Whoa! Did it really work?!”

The square-shaped magic disappeared into the ceiling as it rose upwards. After that, I tried different shapes multiple times, and the magic was released in the exact form I had visualized. It proved that preconceived notions are nothing more than a hindrance. I need to think more flexibly.

I realized that I was too fixated on using magic. I should have learned more about it and tried experimenting with it more, not just its form. Right now, I’m just releasing it.

By giving it more commands, I can make it move in more complex ways. I need to try out more things.

“Hehe… from now on, from now on,” I said, loosening my cheeks and continuing to release the magic power.

Compared to when I first started, I can now activate magic aura state close to forty times a day. Of course, there’s a limit to how much magic power I can circulate in my body at once. While my total magic power might increase slightly, the amount of I can release may already have reached its limit.

Well, for now, I don’t think I’ll have any problems with not having enough magic power to release. Let’s try giving commands to the magic released outside my body.

“It feels like programming,” I thought to myself. “I wonder if the magic will say ‘Hello World’ or something. But that’s highly unlikely.”

As I continued to experiment with what kind of commands I could give to the released magic, I became completely absorbed in it. Before I knew it, I had exhausted all my magic and couldn’t move my body. My family was bewildered by my behavior, but I felt like they were slowly getting used to it, which was scary.

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