Disillusion and Reality

Wizardry.

Witchcraft.

Sorcery.

Magic goes by many names.

Fantasies that we regular humans only hope to harness.

Overwhelming strength.

Limitless knowledge.

Immeasurable riches.

Miracles — unexplained by the laws of nature.

The idea of magic has made its rounds throughout history.

Beginning with the divine magicians of Ancient Civilizations, who channelled their powers from the gods to the persecuted heretics of the Middle Ages who were branded as blasphemous devil-worshippers.

Nowadays, the modern view of magic has been reduced to an easy trope for the fantasy genre. A clichè to get away with adding in the most unreasonable situations.

That's right, fantasies. Things people only wish they could have. It's not like it actually exists, right... right!?

Then how the hell do I explain what I'm looking at right now!?

...

Sorry, I got a little excited there. Let me start from the beginning.

...

I stood patiently in line, just like the other schoolchildren who were waiting their turn.

I kept my head down, taking a step forward when necessary.

I finally reached the front of the line as a woman asked me for my name.

"What's your name, young boy?"

"Lucas Redvernd Anzlein... ma'am."

I replied.

She flipped through a stack of papers and pulled one sheet out, handing it to me. It had my name written on it, but nothing else.

She gestured her hand into the building and wished me well.

"Welcome to Redcrest Institute of..."

Her voice trailed off as I continued forward.

Walking in, a grand hall lay before me. Towering ceilings, spacious walkways, ornate architecture. I'd never seen anything like it before.

I began moving forward again.

I was led towards a room hidden in the walls. A constant flow of students was being led in and out at a fast pace.

Stepping inside, a rather apathetic-looking man stood opposite of me.

He asked for the paper I was given and gestured at a stool positioned in the middle of the room.

I took a seat and waited patiently.

He scanned his finger across the page, stopping and starting again periodically.

He reached the bottom of the page and mumbled something under his breath.

An ornate, diamond-shaped projection seemed to appear in front of him, along with a line of text that I attempted to read before being interrupted by a sudden flash of light.

My eyes were forced shut and I instinctively brought my hands to my face, trying to shield myself from the sheer vibrance coming from the illumination.

As the light slowly dissipated, I darted my eyes about, looking for where the light could've come from. Coincidentally, the diamond-shaped sigil was nowhere to be found.

At this point, I had already formed some theories:

Technology was always a possibility. Back in my world, projectors and flashbangs were common in use. It would've been simple to recreate such an effect.

However, based on the level of development I've seen in this world, that seemed to be highly unlikely.

Of course, this school was prestigious. There was the chance they had access to much greater innovations compared to the rest of society.

But even so, it wouldn't make sense to be using such materials in high quantity if they were this exclusive.

"..."

I mean, I've thought about it before, but it just doesn't seem very rational.

I would only be making excuses to make sense of something I couldn't explain.

Magic, I mean.

That sort of this is just a fantasy. It belongs in books. Something formed in theory, but inexplicable in reality.

It shouldn't make sense, but it does.

As primitive as this world seemed, maybe there was a reason.

There would be no need for lightbulbs or ovens if you could spark fires from your fingertips.

No need for construction tools or modern machinery if you could control the earth and manipulate it at will.

Renewable energy sources would be the least of their worries if they could harness the natural powers of the wind, water or even lightning itself.

The reason this world had been trapped in the Iron Age was not due to mediocrity, but instead complacency.

...

With that being said, the gears in my head began to spark into motion. Scanning through the immense amount of advancement I could offer to such an undeveloped society.

But would they even accept my contemporary ideas? They have no need for such innovation.

Moreover, what could I gain from the prospect of magic? The power of the elements. The ability to create something from nothing.

Combining fully-rationalized techniques that had been pioneered after millennia of failure and success with the completely fantastical and frankly theoretical magic that seemed to surpass all bounds of what had been established as reality.

The possibilities were just... endless...

"This is starting to get exciting..."

"Maybe another chance at life isn't so bad after all..."