Chapter 7
Author: me
Type-Moon (Nasuverse)
Chapter 7
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke's third law
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Magic and Magic.
Two big drops of difference.
Strictly speaking, magic is an exact discipline in which the scientific method is actively used, and whose effects can be repeated by non-magical means. After all, it makes no difference whether you light a fire with a match or a spell. A match is even preferable, because the magician does not have to suffer the pain of activating a magical circuit in his body.
Magic has many different spell systems, each of which was created artificially, and inscribed into the structure of the universe by the Great Ritual. The most famous example of such a ritual is the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which gave people the system of the Blessed Sacrament.
At present, the following systems of enchantments are known:
Modern Thaumaturgy. Created by Paracelsus 500 years ago. Involves the use of magical chains.
Sacred Sacraments. Supposedly created by Yeshua Ha-Notzri, with which the official church strongly disagrees, which does not prevent this system from being the strongest and most widespread in the world, for it draws its power from the faith of its followers.
Alchemy. From the simplest reactions from a high school chemistry course to creating artificial humans and predicting the future by the "Laplace demon" method, this is all great and powerful Alchemy. It requires no magical circuits, for which it is much beloved by novice magicians, and is of high practical value. However, the need for expensive components often makes the higher areas of this science little accessible to the general populace.
Runes. Based on the runes of Celtic. A very ancient system, but only works in full force in Ireland and Scotland, and is very inflexible compared to the same thaumaturgy. To a limited extent studied by many magicians for utilitarian purposes.
Kabbalah. Also an ancient system. Relatively little spread, but in recent centuries, with the penetration of scientific achievements of mankind in the conservative magical community, began to gain strength branch of the Kabbalah - numerology, because she is based on the mathematical operations, and therefore can use the apparatus of higher mathematics. Extremely difficult to study.
Witchcraft. The oldest of the magical systems, in various forms existing in all cultures. Focusing on the use of borrowed power of the spirits of nature.
Magic of the Age of Gods. Stolen by humans the power of ancient gods, the ability to change the world with one word. In power and complexity of effects is not inferior to Magic, but due to the death or exhaustion of the gods, as well as due to the death of the few carriers of this terrible knowledge, it is almost never seen nowadays.
Magic, also called True Magic, is different. It embodies phenomena that cannot even theoretically be explained rationally or replicated by technical means. Derived from the ability to manipulate the Akashi Chronicles in a limited way, Magic changes the world on a conceptual level, and will work the same way anywhere in the universe. There are five True Magi in all:
The first magic, the Denial of Nonexistence. The strongest of all, it creates "something" out of "nothing. According to some experts, it is the key to the origin of the universe. According to anecdotal evidence, Yeshua Ha-Notzri, aka Jesus Christ, was and is the owner of this Magic.
The second magic, Kaleidoscope. Opens the door to parallel worlds. The possessor is Marshal-Wizard Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg.
The third magic, "Touch of Heaven. The materialization of the soul, which is even cooler than simply resurrecting the dead or summoning a servant, as the body created by this magic has an eternal conceptual nature and is virtually immortal. The former owners were Bavarian magicians of the Einzbern family. Now lost, but the family has not stopped trying to get it back since then.
Fourth magic. Unknown name and effect. The wearer is unknown.
Fifth magic, Blue. Allows arbitrary manipulation of time and related effects. Wielded by Aozaki Aoko.
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After dinner, while in the dojo, Sora turned around when he heard a knock on the door.
- I'm sorry to interrupt. So, Sora, do you have any questions?
He was dressed in a simple house kimono.
Kiritsugu's stern and confident appearance contrasted strongly with his relaxed posture.
- No, but do you have more books?
Knowledge, training, practice. It's an algorithm for gaining a skill. Back in Terraria, Sora, following this path, became a master in many of the crafts that helped him survive. Nothing has changed now, though the information he read was enough for a general introduction to the Lunar World, but not for a full study of Magic.
Besides, the life of a Mage is a constant danger, and in the life of a Mage, Sora, this danger will increase tenfold. So he will definitely need survival skills.
- It's good that you're so passionate about knowledge, but you shouldn't give such a strong priority to it over practice. You've probably already read about the three basic Magics. Have you?
"Of course." - Sora thought and nodded.
The three basic Magics are [Strengthening], [Understanding Structure], and [Changing Structure]. Because of their relative ease of performance and low energy cost, these three Magics are taught by any aspiring Mage.
Magic [Strengthening] - allows to compact the structure of any object and improve its quality of properties, for example, making it more durable. This Magic is also used to improve the physical abilities of the Mage's body, such as strength or vision.
Magic [Understanding Structure] - allows the Mage to know the structure and composition of objects as if he knew exactly how they are made.
Magic [Change Structure] - the ability to change the shape and structure of objects.
- Tomorrow I'll show you this Magic. I think with your talent it won't be long before you get the hang of it. For now, don't strain yourself too much.
After listening to Kiritsugu's offer, Sora looked at him gratefully.
- Okay, thank you, old man.
Kiritsugu only smiled, showing a spark of happiness in his eyes. Turning around, he went inside.
"What a nice feeling, the warmth and care of family." - Sora thought, looking at the setting sun.
Returning to study, Sora read with interest a book devoted entirely to Numerology, an offshoot of Kabbalah. Numerology states that numbers associated with a person affect their destiny, determine their abilities, and shape their character.
In various traditions around the world, certain numbers have been given certain meanings. These meanings, representations and symbolism can be used in magic and influence it in a certain way.
There are various numerological techniques for calculating the meanings associated with a particular object. The best known method is Gematria.
Gematria is a code system used in the Kabbalah and other fields that assigns numerical values to Hebrew symbols and words, and then makes up different values from them.
In modern Lunar World, Numerology is increasingly used, especially during magical experiments, on any scale.
But even in the past, when mathematics did not have the same influence on Mages, Numerology was used as a link between aspects of the World and other Magics. For example, Henry VIII used the four nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland as part of one larger nation in a spell he was building to use the aspect of "earth" symbolized by the number four.
Now Sora had the idea of using Numerology as Magic to analyze the characteristics of something as accurately as possible and then convert their values into ordered data. Basically, he decided to create a "spell of Evaluation.
"Of course, it's still just an idea, I haven't even studied Magic yet. But I couldn't, not thinking about it after a year of living with the Eyes of Knowledge. Especially after activating my Magic Chains, this ability became even stronger." - Sora pondered his situation.
[The Solver of All Equation] - "Eyes of Knowledge" - this ability allows you to instantly understand the nature of all things to which the wearer's gaze falls.
Initially, Sora could understand the structure of inanimate and living creatures and objects. He could also see the souls of people. But he could capture Magic only superficially, sensing large clusters of Mana or barriers.
Now, after his awakening as a Mage, this ability was heightened many times over with respect to the perception of Mana and the analysis of nature, and the structure of Magic.
Now he can feel/see Mana in the smallest detail, thanks to which he can see the flow of Mana, recognize from it the personality of the subject or the features of his Magic. The ability is so powerful that it allows to do any manipulation with Magic that Sora sees at least once. To understand, to remember, to study, to take apart into its components, to put back together or into something new.
The only problem is that [The Solver of All Equation] works all the time, which causes Sora to have to constantly close his eyes or cover them with a thick black cloth that does not let a single ray of light through, but this will not prevent Sora from navigating in space, since his vision is not blocked and he can freely see everything around him as if through a high resolution camera.
"Using the Eyes of Knowledge and Numerology, I will be able to analyze my opponent's strength accurately and quickly, and the progress of my own strength will be easier to monitor."
It wasn't until Sora finished reading all the books Kiritsugu had in his stash that he was able to relax and notice that it was already night and that the clock showed 00:07.
As he watched the dark night sky, Sora thought about things like: "If it weren't for Synergy, I'd have been ripe long ago..." or "Why does the old man have a stash in the dojo..." and "How tired I am...".
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It was only at the end of the day, lying in bed, that Sora noticed an oddity in himself, or rather in his soul, as if control over it had returned to him. It took a moment for him to realize, "I have regained control of the Inner World.
[Boundless Inner World] is an ability Sora inherited from a past version of himself. When he was reborn into this world, he lost control of this ability. Sora could feel his Inner World in his soul, but could not interact with it in any way.
Listening to what was going on outside the door of his room and making sure no one was behind it or down the hall, he wished he were in the Inner World.
The next thing he saw was a meadow of jade-colored grass and tall trees with foliage of all colors. In the distance he could see mountains several thousand kilometers long, but among them was a canyon 50 meters wide going into the distance. In the middle of the canyon lay a river of the same width, branching out five hundred yards ahead into two tributaries. It would be more accurate to say that the two rivers joined at this point to form one. The western river was slightly wider, about thirty-five meters, while the eastern river was about thirty meters wide. The source of the lakes must naturally have been the runoff from the eastern and western mountains, collecting rainwater and sending it to them.
It was all incredibly similar to Terraria.
In Sora's soul was the Metaworld. And only by creating new worlds or absorbing outer worlds would it be possible to fill the Inner World to the level of the Metaworld. For now, there are only two locations in his World: the first is the Abyss, the place where he first met Lucy and where he interacted with his Atman. And the second is the Domain, his personal space, Terraria.
Right now, Sora is in his own world, the Domain. The Domain itself is inextricably linked to the user, which is why Sora has it so similar to his past world, Terraria.
"Why is it now that I have regained access to this place? The only explanation is the awakening of my spiritual lines. Most likely, the ability to move from the material world to this one requires Manu. Although when I existed as an Astral body I was able to interact freely with the Inner World, it is possible that in this state of being it was easier to cross from one world to another."
Throwing one last glance at the nature around him, Sora forcefully returned to his room.
"I hope the old man didn't notice anything." - Sora worried.
As I fell asleep, Sora thought about the next Magic class. I kept thinking about creating the most incredible spells, and then using them in cool ways. In addition, there was an obsession to combine magic and martial arts.
Eventually Sora had to use Synergy to increase the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. It was only after that that he was able to sleep.
And the moon, as if welcoming Sora's entry into the world of Magic, lit up his sleeping face with its silver rays. If, at that moment, the young Mage had looked at the moon, he would have seen a brief scarlet flash, suspiciously similar to a blink.