Chapter 39: Truth of Default Settings

Just like when you entered Arlcliff City and needed to give your name, occupation, and reason for entry, there was a gatekeeper with a board in hand standing at the gate, keeping track of who left.

When the gatekeeper saw Magnus and Celia, he raised his hand while speaking, "Hold on; I'm going to need your name and reason for leaving. I'm also going to need to ask you a few questions." Coming to a stop, Magnus and Celia didn't mind and were about to give the gatekeeper their names when suddenly his expression shifted.

"Oh, forgive me, I didn't know you were a student at Takerth Academy. Just give me your name, and I'll pass it along to the other gatekeepers in the future. Sorry for bothering you." The sudden change in tone caught both Magnus and Celia off guard as they glanced at each other.

Just how many perks do you get from being a student at the academy?

Magnus knew people admired mages and, to a lesser extent, knights as well. But he didn't think even the gatekeepers in charge of entries and exits would treat academy students this way.

Maybe they think no student of Takerth Academy could possibly be a criminal? I mean, in a way, he's right. With how hard it is to get into the academy, no one would risk their education by breaking any laws, at least not publicly.

In any case, after giving the gatekeeper his name, the guards let Magnus and Celia pass, and just like that, they were out of Arlcliff City.

"Wow, I can't remember the last time I've been out of the city. I forgot how beautiful it is," said Celia as she took a deep breath. Magnus had to agree with her, as he enjoyed the view as well. Except for the Outer City, the only thing around Arlcliff City was its beautiful open plains and the farmlands that adorned it.

It felt so wide and open that even the massive city felt a bit claustrophobic in comparison.

It took them quite a while to reach the forest on foot. It was the very same forest that Magnus had traveled through with Mia, which he learned was called the Verdant Woods. Apparently, it was so large that it covered most of the region, which was another reason why Arlcliff City and its massive plains were so unique.

In any case, after a while, the two of them finally reached the forest. Unlike how dense it was deeper in, the forest was a lot more open around the edges, making it easy to navigate, though definitely not the place for long clothes with all the wild plant life.

"Good thing you decided to change out of your maid outfit; it would have gotten torn to shreds," Magnus said as he navigated his way over a tree root.

"Yeah, I haven't had to wear an outfit like this in a while. It feels nice, though, not having to worry about a skirt." When she learned they would be going out, Celia ended up putting on some more outdoor-appropriate clothes. Heavy boots, along with a fastened shirt and pants made of a sturdier material that wouldn't rip easily.

She had even tied up her hair so it wouldn't get caught on anything.

"Though honestly, I feel more bad for you," Celia said, looking up at the Takerth Academy uniform Magnus was wearing. After all, it was basically a robe, not much better than a maid outfit in this kind of environment.

"I know you look like an adventurer, but I can't say the same about myself. I really can't wait to get proper clothes," Magnus said with an annoyed voice as he yanked his clothes off a low-hanging branch, causing Celia to laugh.

Luckily, the uniform was so well-made that it didn't rip.

"Alright, this should work fine," Magnus remarked as they came across a fairly wide clearing, surveying their surroundings.

"We're pretty far away from any buildings, so we shouldn't disturb anyone. Well, unless you plan on doing something really crazy," Celia joked.

"Hehe, maybe. But for now, I just want to start by mapping out more information about my 'magic.' So far, I only know the basics." Hearing that they were getting to the experiment part of things, Celia pulled out her notebook, which she had been hiding somewhere.

"Ready when you are, though if we're going to be thorough, you should probably go over even the basic stuff." Nodding, Magnus agreed with her. They had all day, so there was no need for him to rush anything.

"Alright, well, first things first. When I form a mana sphere, it automatically creates a mental link between me and the spell, allowing me to control it. It's a bit hard to describe, but it acts as an extension of my will in a way." Celia jotted down what Magnus was saying on a page of her notebook while also paying attention to what he was doing.

Holding up a finger Magnus began to visualize the creation of a mana sphere. Within a moment, mana began to gather at the tip of his finger, roiling together to form a small sphere.

Seeing that Celia's gaze became slightly entranced by the scene, causing her hands to stop writing for a moment, he couldn't blame her. A mana sphere was very pretty to look at, especially when it was white; it almost resembled a white dwarf in that way.

What's even more interesting is that even though I'm creating mana spheres using a script, there's still a mental link being formed between them and me. It's almost like the default settings are doing more than just mimicking the effects of the Mana Sphere Spell; they're also tweaking things so that I'm marked as the caster, even though the spell itself doesn't actually exist.

Though unsurprisingly, that would turn out to be the least strange thing about the mana spheres Magnus was creating, as the two of them started to go through a checklist with Celia. He discovered some ordinary things; for instance, he could make a mana sphere unstable, triggering it to detonate prematurely without any contact.

Furthermore, even though the Command Console created them, the spheres were still subject to a suppression effect, meaning they would gradually disappear as their unusual nature was detected by the surrounding spirits.

It was only after these initial tests that they began to notice the peculiarities.

"Wait, what? That doesn't make any sense," said Celia as she looked down at her notebook and then back up at what she was seeing.

"What doesn't make sense?" Pausing, Magnus was holding a mana sphere the size of a watermelon in his hand.

"The speed difference. The mana sphere you just used a second ago is faster than the smaller one you used before." Listening to her, Magnus voiced his confusion.

"Really? I fired them both at full speed, though." Holding up his other hand, Magnus created a smaller mana sphere in his hand. Then, turning to a nearby tree, he launched both mana spheres at once, mentally controlling them to fly at full speed. But, unlike what Celia said, the smaller mana sphere was much faster.

It struck the tree first, tearing away at its bark and leaving a dent in the wood long before the larger mana sphere arrived. On impact, the larger mana sphere blew a massive hole into the trunk of the tree, slowly causing it to fall over and hit the ground with a heavy thud.

"Are you sure you saw that right, Celia?" Turning to her, Magnus saw that Celia looked even more confused than he did.

I swore it traveled faster…

Thinking to herself for a moment, she shook her head.

"Maybe I was wrong; never mind, let's continue." Putting her doubts aside, she and Magnus continued to observe the various destructive levels of differently-sized mana spheres. Magnus had gotten to test this a bit against the men Zeth sent after him, but he couldn't go too big before, or he would have ended up killing them.

But as they slowly upped the size, Magnus ended up firing off a mana sphere around the size of your average pumpkin. Celia frowned as she saw the mana sphere fly through the air and strike the tree being used as a target. Instead of simply blowing a hole in the trunk, it was more like the tree trunk simply exploded.

"Okay, this time I'm certain it flew faster! Magnus, can you fire that exact same-sized mana sphere again, but compare it to the one you used before it?" It was an odd request, especially since he didn't notice any differences, but Magnus nodded.

"Sure." Recreating a mana sphere of the exact same size as a previous one was simple enough since it was all based on Magnus's memory. In moments, he was holding the exact, near-pumpkin-sized mana sphere in his right hand and one just slightly smaller in his left.

"Aim right there, at that tree." Celia pointed to a tree a fair distance away from them, where she had a good viewpoint to see them side by side. Nodding, Magnus targeted the tree and sent both mana spheres flying at full speed. This time, Magnus couldn't help but notice a major difference, it was far from subtle.

The mana sphere, which was almost the size of a pumpkin, streaked through the air at nearly twice the speed of its slightly smaller counterpart, striking the tree ahead. The other mana sphere soared deeper into the forest before crashing into the ground, leaving a small crater in its wake.

"You were right, there's definitely a speed difference... but why? I haven't been adjusting their speeds or anything. Are bigger mana spheres just faster for some reason?" Magnus scratched his head, his brow furrowing in confusion. He couldn't help but wonder if the size of the sphere had something to do with its speed, given that was the only thing he had control over.

Celia, on the other hand, shook her head while speaking, "I don't think so. If I'm remembering right, a mana sphere you used before, one even smaller than those two you just fired, was even faster. We need to test this."

Celia was fully in research mode now, her excitement replaced by pure curiosity. Magnus found her enthusiasm infectious, as he felt the urge to figure it out as well. For the next ten minutes, they refrained from creating larger spheres and revisited the smaller ones, paying close attention to their speed. Celia's observations were spot on.

"So, the mana sphere with a five-inch diameter flew at about two hundred meters per second, and the seven-inch one went around two hundred and forty meters per second?" Magnus asked, sounding a mix of puzzled and intrigued, mostly to himself but partly to Celia too. As Celia scribbled down those details in her notebook, she finished and looked up, her expression full of wonder.

"I'm surprised you can gauge this stuff so accurately just by eyeing it. Are you sure these measurements are solid enough to depend on?" she asked.

"Yup," Magnus replied with a grin. "I can picture measurements like inches, feet, and meters pretty well and match them to what I'm imagining." Outside of distance, measuring speeds were a breeze for Magnus too. With his mastery over his mind, he could set up an internal timer to measure exactly how long it took something to move from point A to point B. After that, all he had to do was use the speed formula he remembered.

"Well, that sounds really useful. I'm a bit jealous. Anyway, it seems like the mana sphere speeds really aren't following a linear pattern. I tried finding some logic in it, but honestly, it seems pretty random. Any thoughts?" Celia asked.

"Not really," Magnus admitted, scratching his chin.

"The professor who taught me the Mana Sphere Spell mentioned that my mana spheres were normal, so this is strange." As he mulled over the mystery, he couldn't help but get lost in his thoughts.

Logically, it does seem random. I mean, I don't control the speed of the mana spheres; that should be set by the default settings like everything else. But instead of being consistent across the board, it looks like there are preset speeds for each mana sphere based on its size. But, even if that's the case, it doesn't make sense. Why would some smaller mana spheres move faster than larger ones, and yet some even larger ones move faster than those smaller ones?

The mystery had them both stumped for nearly half an hour. They could've moved on, but neither of them was ready to let go. They craved the reason—the truth—behind this peculiar anomaly. Celia sat down on a nearby rock, flipping through her notes as thoughts swirled in her mind.

Magnus doesn't seem to have any clues about the speed difference, and I'm no magic expert. There's not much I can assume from that angle. But if his professor told him that his mana spheres were 'normal,' then...

Suddenly, a revelation struck Celia, and she leaped to her feet, calling out, "Magnus, I think I've got it!"

"Huh, really?" Magnus was surprised by her sudden announcement, looking over at her.

"Well, I think so, but I'm not completely sure. You said your professor called your Mana Sphere Spell 'normal', right? Are you sure that was the word she used?" Celia asked, to which Magnus nodded. His memory was nearly perfect, and he could relive the scene whenever he wanted and perfectly remember her reaction as well.

Apparently, his mastery of the spell seemed to go from novice to proficient in an instant.

"I find that odd. She called it 'normal,' but normalcy is based on one's life experiences. I know how much a standard pound of glitter fin steak costs because I've seen it sold by countless vendors. So, just like me, she must have seen numerous mana spheres in her life. Yet she still referred to yours as 'normal' compared to all others." Slowly, Magnus began to grasp her point.

Right... the Command Console mentioned default settings, but what does 'default' even mean? I assumed it was just fifty percent in all aspects, normal across the board. But what's considered normal isn't objective; it's subjective, based on what already exists!

As this thought took root in Magnus's mind, Celia expanded upon her theory.

"Think about it—your professor must have seen tons of mana spheres in all sizes by now, right? But even after all the lessons she gave you and all the times she saw your mana spheres, she still called them 'normal,' just average. That made me wonder. What if variables like the speed of your mana spheres are automatically averaged out compared to other mana spheres that exist?" Celia grew more excited as she laid out her theory, her voice rising until she was practically shouting, the sound echoing through the surrounding forest. It was only when she realized how loud she had become that she took a step back, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, sorry. It's just a theory, and I don't have any proof or anything. I know it's probably not how magic works, but..." Her confidence waned slightly as Magnus remained silent, although it wasn't because her theory was wrong. In fact, she had hit the mark. She had figured it out without any knowledge of the Command Console, source code, or default settings, which left Magnus momentarily speechless.

"No, actually, I think you might be onto something. I have a weird gift, so it could be messing with how my magic behaves compared to what's 'normal.' Your explanation does make a lot of sense, though." Hearing this, Celia let out a sigh of relief and gave a small smile.

"Oh, good. I was worried I was starting to sound ridiculous for a moment there," she replied.

"Trust me, you're not even close to ridiculous. That honor belongs to the folks on Twitter," Magnus shot back. Celia, used to his weird comments, took it as a compliment, and they moved on in their conversation.

"So, the only thing consistent about my mana spheres is how much damage they can do. And the main thing I'm controlling about them is just their size." Celia nodded along with Magnus's point, feeling their train of thought becoming clearer.

"So, there's a direct link between size and destructive power, but not between size and speed, which means the speed averages out. We should check how many other factors this affects, like range, penetration, and mobility, right?" Magnus nodded, clearly eager to dive deeper into this topic.

Previously, he hadn't given much thought to the size of his mana spheres outside of direct force. But if some mana spheres were better in certain aspects than others, categorizing them could prove useful in future battles.

"This is definitely going to take a while, though. After we're done with this experiment, how about we grab something to eat? My treat." Hearing the last part, Celia readily agreed.

"Well, there was this really nice place I've always wanted to go to if I ever saved up enough," Celia hinted.

"Ah, typical girl," Magnus teased, shaking his head in mock disappointment as he saw her choice.

"I offer to pay, and you immediately go for the most expensive option." This made Celia laugh as she replied.

"Well, since I am your assistant, let's just call this an employee benefit, alright?"