Comiak
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Chapter 205: Magic Princess
🕑 Added 2022-09-24 03:24:47 +0000 UTC-
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Break next week, see you next month!
AN: Got some editing suggestions? Suggest it on the Google docs here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qlfLFVyhTv1Hl_yIr7WP6YVFM4X8vGkHz4tZpct6gKU/edit?usp=sharing
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After marveling at the patterns of mana being produced by the tree I harvest an appropriate branch for my weapon upgrades and use my Bond to heal it along with an enormous amount of mana.
“I suppose the only thing stopping these trees from being constantly harvested is the abnormal amount of mana required to heal them?” I ask.
“Yes, unless it’s a rare healing type. Most healing types only force the body to heal, but that still uses up mass that a body needs to replenish. In the case of the tree, it’s slowly converting mana to matter through a racial skill, but that requires a massive amount of mana which it doesn’t have on hand,” Kayafe replies.
“Well, I got my wood, so now I need to set up a ritual site to upgrade some of my items,” I say with a shrug, changing the subject to my goal.
“Already?” Kayafe asks. “I thought you would wait until after your Dungeon training to start on it.”
“That was the plan, but I really should upgrade some of my items to better my training, and this is a good opportunity to study rituals with an academic purpose rather than testing it on something we might need to get right. Ultimately these items aren’t essential to my Classes and Skills and can be replaced if they are lost.”
Although I must admit I am rather attached to my diadem, if it works, it will be stronger. I don’t think it will be destroyed in the ritual; at most, the upgrade, which I plan to, in a way, combine the Diadem and weapons, may not be what I envisioned.
It only makes sense to combine them considering that these items will be for my clones and minds, I should build the ritual around them. The next thing to consider is location. I am not aware of any kind of special event any time soon, but I can still load the dice in my favor.
Having the ritual require being near the center of a Nexus is an easy requirement to achieve, but, in the wider world, it would be difficult. Next, having the ritual take place at twilight during a mind and beauty essence storm should normally make it very rare. However, considering how twilight happens twice a day and I can create the storm, which is generally a rare, if not near impossible, event given the timing, I can do it. The problem is that because I can do it, the rarity of things might not matter, only its specific conditions. This should allow me to create conditions that are so specific as to be impossibly improbable under other circumstances, which may help the ritual.
Of course, this is all hypothetical. I doubt I can actually game the system, but creating something with such conditions means that it can’t be used against me by someone else. Kayafe said that ritual spells likely fail, not always fail. In creating this ritual, I’d be setting a precedent that, if people don’t realize it’s from my title, they may generally think it does work and may increase their chances of success through placebo.
Then again, maybe I want people to be able to cast a ritual? In any case, I am making this ritual so only Kayafe or I can cast it since limiting the conditions to make it work should make it more powerful, not so others can’t use it against me.
I discuss this and other details with Kayafe, who is more knowledgeable about rituals, while I set up the ritual site.
“Little is known since no one had the ability to cast rituals reliably,” Kayafe says as I form several statues of me to represent my clones. “In theory, this ritual should be incredibly powerful, but I agree that, relatively speaking, it isn’t difficult for you. This should confirm, however, if the conditions only, or partially, matter for the caster or creator.”
I listen carefully, linking the statues to each other to represent my mental connection to my clones.
“As for the strict conditions that make it possible to only those with very high [Manipulate Mana], I am unsure if that even matters. It can be like my trial of the gods, where it is easy to do with the enhanced [Manipulate Magic] and thus should not be worthy of a legendary feat, but it is actually worthy because the skill is so hard to enhance. In other words, that trial's difficulty relies on its prerequisites. This could be similar, but trials aren’t rituals even if they may be related.”
“So this ritual will tell us whether or not the difficulty itself matters or if it’s in relation to the caster?”
Next, I forge the spear and dagger in the hands of the statues in the form I envision their improved versions will look like.
“Yes,” Kayafe nods. “The one you did for your Kyhosa was a different type of ritual, in which there were no casters.”
“What do you mean?”
I then start on etching an inscription copied from my [Many Minds] magic framework on the ground and placing the statues on the inscription’s line intersections.
“That ritual was precedent on a condition, and once that condition was met, the ritual was cast. This is the most reliable way to cast a ritual as no one is the caster, hence why what we are doing is so unknown.”
“Isn’t this the same thing, though? This ritual depends on the time of day, twilight specifically; it should work the same way.”
In the center of the inscription, I form an altar out of beauty and mind essence as the final piece to this ritual site.
“That is one of the triggers, but you are creating at least one of the conditions, making it an artificial trigger, not a natural one; that is why you are the caster. If you want powerful rituals, you will have to study the history of rare events all over the world; you can’t just stay here.”
With the ritual site close to being done, I look it over and let my new [Inventive Perfection] have its say.
Each statue is a mix of two essences, one beauty essence to symbolize it’s tie to my Bond and one mind essence to symbolize the mind. The first is made of serenity beauty essence and zen mind essence. The second is made of elegance beauty and id mind essences. The last statue is made of Grace beauty and ego mind essences.
[Inventive Perfection] doesn’t have much to say, but I think that’s mostly because I am treading unknown ground. The skill only works off my knowledge, so it doesn’t work well on rituals.
The only thing left is to wait for morning twilight, when I will upgrade the Diadem. I only have a few minutes of opportunity, but with my Bond, I can quickly reshape the star tree wood and replace the old spear shaft and dagger handle.
As for the Diadem, I will upgrade it to super-solid and also make it capable of storing the weapons.
I conjure the mind and beauty essence mana storm I need over the entirety of Temple Island, and wait for twilight which should automatically start the ritual, signaling me when to start. I pass the time by talking to Kayafe about [Sense Mana] and [Sense Magic] until morning twilight. Once I notice a change in mana in the area around me which indicates the approach of dawn, I begin upgrading my weapons.
I start the crafting by removing the spear shaft from the wolf fang spearhead and reshaping the star tree branch I harvested with my Bond. Next, I reinforce the star tree shaft with super solid Beauty mana, incorporating the identity of the awe of the cosmos when looking at the vastness of looking at the night sky. I add decorations of beauty mana in the design of stars and soak it in a blanket of magic so it’ll leave behind an illusory trail of cosmic stars and nebulae using beauty mana.
For the spearhead, I upgrade the solid mana edge reinforcement and decorations to super-solid beauty with the identity of grace like a flowing dance of an ice skater. Next, I renew the spear’s current enchantments and reinforce them with magic to strengthen them.
I use the same process for the dagger, and as I examine my work with [Inventive Perfection], it has an idea to improve the weapons.
I add mind essence, a type that represents consciousness, and enchant the weapons with the ability to conjure a spectral weapon linked to it that can strike independently if willed. I reinforce this enchantment too.
I notice that each time I apply magic to the weapons, it becomes more and more saturated until magic starts slowly drifting off of them. It’s possible that applying more effects shortens the lifespan of the magic, or I only have a certain allotment of time for which the magic remains effective. In either case, there is a limit, a trade-off of sorts.
Satisfying [Inventive Perfection], I take off my Diadem for its upgrade. I followed my plans for it, upgrading the mana to super solid and then enchanting it to resist mental attacks and reinforce it with magic. This is the only magic I can apply since it's already a magic item.
I’m not sure if Kayafe knows this since she doesn’t have [Sense Magic] but considering she planned on teaching the crafting part later, she probably hasn’t gotten to that lesson yet. In either case, already magical items have reduced ability for further magical reinforcement. I suspect it is related to its tier potential, meaning that a below-average major tier can be further enhanced with [Manipulate Magic] while an above-average one has less potential to work with. So a magic Item like the Dryad’s Grace which pushes the limit of its tier, probably can’t be reinforced with any more magic.
I wonder if there’s a way to see how much magic a material can hold and if there’s any risk of applying too much. Based on my previous observation on miasma in general, as well as its utilization in the creation of monster materials upon a monster’s death, it should increase the magical potential, but that is a bigger risk than I am not willing to take.
I should discuss the ritual and my findings with Kayafe after this is over and see what she has to say about it.
While one of my minds is observing the magic phenomena in front of me, another keeps watch on the ritual as a whole, noting that all the mana in the ritual site has transformed into ritual mana. This transformation has even affected the super-solid statues that I made.
With sudden inspiration, I take some of the ritual mana and forge a super-solid maker's mark on the weapons and diadem. The mark is the halves of two separate inscriptions, copies of my [Sense Magic] and [Manipulate Magic], put together. Inside the core of the inscription halves is a diagram of mana, showing five MM and elementary particles. However, for those who don’t understand what it is, it looks close to a diagram of the elements, with each particle representing one of the eight elements, vitality, and reserved mana.
A thought occurs to me that I should be able to replicate ritual mana if I’ve seen it before; I should find some time to experiment with that and see if it can’t elevate my craft further. However, now that I’ve been looking at it for a few seconds I can see that there’s a faint magical signature in the mana, much like how the alien mana from the Eldritch beings was being stabilized. Can ritual mana even exist on its own?
With the time left for the ritual quickly running out, I move on to the final two parts of the upgrade process. I add space essence to the Diadem and enchant it to store the weapons. At the same time, I link all three pieces together.
Finally, I make more mind components with [Multiple Minds] in my soul, exhausting all of the ectoplasm my soul can spare, and then transfer six over to the diadem with [Astral Projection].
I finish the item upgrades just in time as the ritual consumes the ritual mana and even the mana in the statues, removing almost all traces of the ritual site. The magic washes over the area and flows into the items, leaving only trace amounts of the ritual mana as evidence which I gather into a small pebble-sized sample.
Magic Princess’ Diadem:
(Exalted) (Set)
This Diadem has been crafted by the Saintess of Mana and Magic in a ritual. This item holds her history of saving her entire people by replacing their missing mind component, even at the cost of her pain and solitude. This Diadem Is capable of summoning ten copies of its wearer, each with its own Mind Component, which the wearer can control as if they were their own body and self while making them more resistant to mental attacks and other trickeries of mind mages. Furthermore, each Clone is fully capable of acting autonomously and receives their own copy of the Magic Princess’ Dagger and Magic Princess’ Fang Spear.
When worn grants ten additional minds and mind components to its wearer. Grants the ability to make ten realistic clones made of the wearer's unique mana that can each be controlled by one of the minds. Each clone uses one of the ten granted mind components gained by wearing this Diadem. Enhances mind resistance by 1900%
Magic Princess’ Dagger:
(Heroic) (Set)
This dagger is made by the Saintess of Mana and Magic. This dagger is linked to its spear counterpart and is able to provide additional mana should the need arise, but each copy shares the same pool of mana. This dagger can also summon a starry spectral dagger which is mentally controlled.
Battery 30000, Clone Linking, Spectral Strike.
Magic Princess’ Fang Spear:
(Heroic) (Set)
This spear is made by the Saintess of Mana and Magic. This Spear is able to store a charged spell for later use, but each copy has the same mana pool to draw from. This spear can also summon a starry spectral spear which is mentally controlled.
Battery 50000, Discharge, Clone Linking, Spectral Strike.
Comments
Mr NerfGun
@MadGod I believe Spirits are just Essence versions of Elementals, as was stated when Safyr gave Alysara the Heart of Brimora. Plus Myrou could upgrade her race tier to Mythic and Magic beings don't have tiers. Finally, magic beings don't have races mentioned in the world messages and Myrou's race was written as "the Spirit". Also, the Gods appeared during the Age of Gods wich started after the discovery of Bonds wich are used to control divinity and magic is the antithesis of divinity, therefore spirits are definitely not Magic beings.
Nevermet
It's an interesting way she could go with it. I personally think she's going to get a "Gazer" class. It would harmonize well with her sense skills and she could cure "true sight" and put it in there. Astral projection could still potentially be put in the mind mage class so she could cure both that way.
Bad Dog
Interesting, however I don’t think Alysara wants to chop pieces off her soul. The entire point of everything she is doing is to keep that from happening to her.
Pawzom Lz
Maybe Legendary Points can be transferred/sacrificed with Astral Projection or something similar during item creation? If the LP of killing a fire elemental is transferred to a fire based item during its creation process then it will become better, but use one from a water elemental and then it becomes worse or ruined? Downside ofc would be that crafters usually arent able to kill legendary creatures easily, which would be the risk? It would give the points a purpose after Aly no longer have anything to upgrade, or when she has her ultimate class and cant use the points that are otherwise useless to her on that anymore. The items would have to be tailored around the points in question though?
Pawzom Lz
Will probably be how Aly gets much of the Soul knowledge she needs and might be how they get invaded, as its retaliation and/or that they want Aly's Soul? Aly needs a specialised Soul class to best take advantage of her Mythic/Primordial/Legacy Soul as it provides far too many useful things for crafting(not to mention Soul attacks, which is something her massive Mythic/Primordial/Legacy Soul would probably excel at). Anima, Mana Cores, Mind Components and parts of the Soul itself, which is a Mythic/Primordial/Legacy item. It just seems like a bit too much for Astral Projection to be able to handle on its own as I dont believe its enhanced version is an Ultimate skill and it seems more specialised in moving parts of the Soul? I am just guessing here but for the same reason Graceful Movements probably do not have a breakthrough for regrowing legs Astral Projection does not seem like the kind of skill that would allow it to regrow lost soul parts, at most transfer them back? Maybe Aly will upgrade her second class into one that is both Mind and Soul based? The Mind is a component of the Soul so I dont see why not? And we have yet to see her 2nd class' two % modifiers like we have on her 1st summoner class. The two % modifiers could be Mind and Soul respectively.
Pawzom Lz
@Jeanean This was really more of a last resort kind of idea or mutual assured destruction kind of thing to discourage the gods from trying to tear Aly's soul to pieces. Obviously it would be bad if it actually happened... @MadGod Its cursed beings that do not have souls, not magic beings in general, though for all we know there could be magic beings besides cursed ones that also do not have souls. We have yet to see anything indicate gods/spirits do not have a soul and I dont think it has been mentioned that they are magic beings either. Ectoplasm is contained in the more solid parts like flesh and not fluids(I am guessing but would explain why kissing, pregnancy etc does not lead to it), so no problem here, maybe? Although Brimora's heart is said to be her heart in its description, I am guessing that since she was a spirit it is actually her mana core or something similar since spirits are not made of flesh and do not need real hearts, being more like elementals. A core is a soul component, which is where ectoplasm is created, so it might still contain some which would be left behind by the shattered splinter? @Skia Elafris I checked and in order for the cannibalism part to work there would have to be ectoplasm in the Heart of Brimora. It would have to be absorbed, not eaten which is just the most common and easiest way cannibals come to be. If a piece of flesh was purged of ectoplasm it should be possible for the same species to eat it without becoming a cursed being?
Collateral_ink
She probably could, and most likely eventually will (the gods mentioning it is a damn large Chekhov's gun). But doing it safely requires knowledge and skills she doesn't have. Skill-wise, it seems like something she might be able to achieve if she ever enhances Astral Projection. Knowledge like that seems very hard to come by though; if only there was a race in this realm that has spent thousands of years doing shady things with souls..hmmm. Of course, the Dwarves in this story seem like the kind of folks that make nazi's look like missionaries.
Maxos
Huh, I just had a thought - what part of her soul is that Primordial, Mythical material? Like, could Alysara just chop off a certain part and use it, effectivly making an endless source of Mythical material? The gods wanted to do that, but I'm wondering what's exactly stopping Alysara from doing it. I'm betting she can't safely do that, that would be way too op - I'm just wondering about canon explanation.
Skia Elafris
Doesn't work that way. It has to be eating to fulfill the requirement of the cannibal ritual.
Squirtle
That would be insanely scary for the spirits. Their souls will be entirely destroyed so there's no hope at all for regaining their memories
MadGod
Why would that turn anyone into a cursed being? Cannibal type cursed beings appear due to the mixing of 2 similar enough types of ectoplasm which corrupts them. Spirits are magic beings who, if I remember correctly, don't have souls and therefore have no ectoplasm. They aren't even actual people, just sentient embodiments of concepts, essentially bonds given form. Also if just touching, or inserting parts of your body into another of your race was enough to mix ectoplasm everyone would turn into cursed beings upon having sex, and don't even get me started on pregnancies.
Comiak
Magic pain tolerance is TIGHT
Jeanean
Oh, perfect idea! A weapon that turns one of the most powerful beings in existence into something that is even more powerful and almost guaranteed to try and kill you and probably everyone else as well! (That was sarcasm in case you didn't notice...)
Pawzom Lz
Just gotta upgrade her tolerance to include magical pain. Will be super easy, barely an inconvenience.
SDCard
Thanks for the chapter!
Pawzom Lz
An idea for something Aly can craft to preapare for when she turns 20 and will be summoned(?) by the gods. She could take the Heart of Brimora, use Shape Beauty to reshape it into a spear tip and attach it to a spear shaft, then enchant it in such a way that a splinter can be fractured off of the main spear and/or appear from a clone's spear when its stabbed into something if the wielder wills it? Would make for one hell of an anti god weapon as she would then have a weapon capable of turning them into cursed beings, if such a thing is even possible with spirits? At the very least it should work well as deterrence?
MadGod
Say I wonder, if Alysara can already materialize her illusions and has managed to include sound in them, can't she do the same for taste and smell? She could open restaurants with illusionary food from Earth where you could eat all you want without getting fat. Better yet, it should also work for Kayafe too since the senses are conceptual and magical in nature rather than a result of actual physical things.
Tjark
So, her Diadem went from Heroic to Exalted while the weapons went from enchanted nonmagic item to Heroic magic item. That's pretty good. Now she has 2 personal exalted items again (this and Library) while she's made 4 Exalted magic items in total, right? Kyhosa and Entylamo being the last two. Can't wait for her first legendary one. Wonder if that will be directly or an upgrade to an existing one.
Andaconda Nation
How inconvenient 😞
Comiak
because I upgraded the pain caused by its curse to magical pain so it bypasses her tolerance.
Jemini
Never! Mua-ha-ha.
Andaconda Nation
Awesome work! It’s gonna be amazing to see what kind of wonders she’ll discover in the future with her knowledge! But why hasn’t she tried using True Sight yet? It’s starting to irritate me.
Skia Elafris
She can just get healed again if it comes up
Tetrisman87
Thanks for the chapter! Those were some nice upgrades that should help somewhat with all the chaos that's sure to be on its way! Can't wait!
dakota downey
Ty for the chapter seems a bit odd to use the wording as graceful as an ice skater with where she has lived this lifetime I can understand knowing about ice skaters but why would she think of them and not some form of grace she has seen this lifetime
Andrew
Thank you!
Collateral_ink
All very cool, though I am curious whether or not her curse from Astral Projection activated or not? Granted, she was enhancing items rather than creating them, kinda, so maybe that's why it didn't take her Anima? Or maybe because it was a ritual rather than a normal item creation? Either way, seems a little strange that she didn't at least have a sentence or two of internal wondering about her Anima situation. Otherwise, great chapter!
lan kanl
Amazing Chapter!, Just As A Side Note I Remember Comiak Having A Post Of A Website Where It Shows All The Facts Of The Characters, Setting, And Etc Of The Story. Does Anyone Remember What The Link Was.
Conor McGroarty
So ritual stuff seems to be about objective difficulty instead of subjective difficulty in relation to the caster. Could also be that the ritual has both objective and subjective aspects. Regardless, it worked out.
AClassroomSpider
thank you for the chapter!. .
