Magic Circles

There were exactly four different colors swirling around in the ceiling. John had no idea if this had happened before since there was no record of it in Lances' memories.

The next step to becoming a full-fledged Mage is to establish a Magic Circle in the Mindscape.

Think of a Mage as a campfire. The Mindscape is the container, the Mana is the wood and the Magic circle acts as the lighter. Creating a Magic circle was the hardest part of becoming a Magician. It required a ton of work and careful observation to succeed.

John who literally just opened his Mindscape was already trying to establish a Magic circle. If a Mage we're to find out about this they would turn green with envy.

John started with the fire element since he (Lance) was most familiar with it. John willed the fire elements and a stream of soft red light flowed towards him. Then John started making a diagram according to Lance's memories.

After a long while, John finally finished the Magic circle. The fiery red glow of the Magic circle looked very nice on the pure white space. As soon as he finished establishing the circle a continuous stream of fire element automatically poured down on it.

"Next up Water" John started willing the blue water element to gather and slowly started making the magic circle. Just when John was about to finish, a brilliant blue explosion took place. The explosion forced John out of the mindscape and into his physical body.

"What the hell." John felt a splitting headache and he felt extremely nauseous. It took john quite a while to recover. When John went back into the mindscape he was relieved. There were cracks on his fire magic circle which was slowly being fixed by the stream of fire elements. Ultimately, a worst-case scenario hasn't occurred.

The water element magic circle, on the other hand, has completely disappeared and the water elements were swirling around like they didn't just explode.

"So do I try again?" John was torn between two options. A part of him was telling him to try again. While the majority of him was saying fuck it and play safe. So John did the most sensible thing a person would do in his situation, he decided to give up and try again once he was more sure.

John came out of the mindscape and back into his body which was still in the wheelchair. "Ok let's try the spell again." John started making the hand gestures for the fireball spell. As soon as he started making the gestures, John felt the magic circle lit up and release small streams of fire elements. The fire elements then pour out of his hands and ignite in midair.

The process sounds slow but it all happened in the span of a blink. The fireball floated in front of John, the heat from the fireball was extremely hot but to him, it felt comfortable.

"Well let's hope it doesn't burn down the house." He launched the fireball at a wall and a torrent of flame exploded. The force from the blast pushed John backward and left a huge scorch mark on the wall and the floor. The ceiling had a huge hole that revealed the kitchen.

"It not like I use the kitchen anyway. Let's try the fire shield next."

As John was having the time of his life, a very serious problem was brewing elsewhere. Inside the headquarters of the Southen Magic Association (SMA), all the executives were gathered in an emergency meeting.

Inside the boardroom, many people dressed in professional attire filled the seats. They all had a solemn expression as they looked at the elderly man in the head seat. This man is the president of the association and one of the most powerful figures in America, Eric Dunkeld.

If John was here he would immediately recognize this man. He was Lance's master John has seen in the memory fragment.

"I assume you guys are already briefed about the topic at hand so I will not go into details. The Devils in the North have clearly declared war against us. Based on that man's cautious nature, this can only mean he is very confident in beating us. Our Intel also picked up movements amongst the Natives." Eric said with a serious face.

"If they want war then we will give them a war." A brawny man spoke up. His face was filled with anger as he spoke.

"If the Devils really allied with the Natives then we will be in grave danger. I think an all-out war would just doom us." another middle-aged man said.

"What would you suggest we do then, Ollie ?" Asked the brawny man.

"I suggest we make an alliance as well," Ollie replied.

"You don't mean them to do you?!" Another man exclaimed.

"Exactly. The Mexicans have been our neighbors for a long time and we may have had our differences but it's never a full-blown war. this is because we have always relied on each other for benefits. For this reason, I think they would be reliable allies." Ollie explained.

When they heard Ollie's suggestion, many of them immediately rejected it including the brawny man. A heated debate took place between for and against the idea.

"Alright, we will take a vote. Raise your hand if you're for the suggestion. " Eric interjected.

Out of the 22 people in the room 15 people raised their hands. "That's the majority so it's decided we will try to form an alliance with the Mexicans. Ollie, you will be in charge of making the alliance. The rest of you will also prepare for war. This meeting will end here." Eric said.

After Eric said that the men started leaving the room. soon it was just eric and one other person left in the room.

"Micheal I know you're still angry about Lance's death but there's a possibility he might still be alive," Eric said.