XElenea
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MP : 82 Saint Quartz
🕑 Added 2024-12-04 16:00:02 +0000 UTC"Fervor, mei sanguis."
With a low whisper, the vast magical energy surged. From the edge, both Reines and Waver could vaguely see a flash of silver light flickering in the air.
It was a silver sword.
Its blade appeared fluid, with silvery-white essence flowing continuously over its surface.
As the magus's fingers slightly twisted, the silver light glimmered even brighter.
On Roy's arm and around his eye sockets, bright white patterns emerged simultaneously. A strong flow of magical energy continuously coursed through his body, guided by him.
Before long, they saw the remaining essence in the box start to flow violently, then suddenly surge all at once. Under the young man's control, the drawn-out liquid began to entwine and condense in midair, quickly forming into hundreds of still-flowing steel blades, whipping up a violent storm.
In an instant, the whirling silver blades easily cut the surrounding magical rocks into fragments.
The shimmering streaks of light were too numerous to count. All that could be seen was dust and gravel flying in the air before finally settling over the nearby bushes and grass.
"Scatter it, my blood."
The young man exhaled slightly before slowly lowering his fingers, using magical energy to retrieve the fluid mercury blades back into their designated container.
He flexed his fingers, concentrating on controlling the strong magical energy coursing through his magic circuits, his expression remaining calm.
The shattered rocks around him, effortlessly sliced by the mercury blades, didn't stir much emotion in Roy's heart. To him, it all seemed natural, nothing worth being proud of.
Using several times the magical energy of other magus, if he couldn't achieve this level of control, he wouldn't be qualified to continue practicing magecraft.
However, through this brief practice, he did realize, as Shiki had said, that his soul possessed innate compatibility, allowing him to easily master new magecraft.
No matter how conflicting or contradictory the magecraft properties were, even theoretically incompatible magecraft, he could master it, completely defying modern magical conventions.
It was like learning skills in a game. As long as he obtained a skill book, he could learn it, without encountering the compatibility issues between magecraft and personal traits or origins that other magus faced.
The same applied to mystic codes. Once he understood their operational principles and the corresponding magecraft needed, he could quickly comprehend and use them.
As for controlling Volumen Hydrargyrum, the difficulty other magus faced, it posed no challenge for him.
While other magus had to carefully conserve their magical energy and allocate it precisely during rituals, his vast reservoir of magical energy, like an ocean, was practically inexhaustible, allowing him to use it recklessly.
The core of the Third Magic, like a perpetual motion machine, continuously provided him with magical energy. So when he controlled the transformations and movements of Volumen Hydrargyrum, the magical energy flowed like rain, in stark contrast to the careful and precise control Reines demonstrated during her presentation.
Even for Kayneth, the creator of Volumen Hydrargyrum, controlling all of it with such precision wasn't an easy task.
"Ah..."
As for Waver and Reines, who were watching Roy perform magecraft from the sidelines, they were already scared stiff by the silver blades filling the sky.
Especially Waver, who looked at Roy with disbelief, his heart in turmoil.
To summon such a large-scale mercury with a mere gesture, and without any sign of exhaustion in his magecraft or energy... just how terrifying were this guy's magical reserves?
And he could tell that the way Roy used Volumen Hydrargyrum was different from Reines.
Reines, during her demonstration, outputs magical energy precisely, controlling the various nodes of Volumen Hydrargyrum with high precision, while Roy simply pours magical energy into the liquid, filling it up and controlling it directly... essentially using brute force to achieve miracles.
Watching this technique made Waver's eyelids twitch uncontrollably.
Which magus would use magical energy like this? No, this could even be considered a reckless waste of magical energy.
Although they were performing the same spell, Roy was consuming at least four times the magical energy that Reines did.
He wanted to say something, but when he saw that Roy's magical aura hadn't diminished in the slightest, he swallowed his words.
You can't compare one person's constitution to another's.
What was with this bizarre magical power? It was probably on par with a magical energy furnace by now. Though Waver knew Roy wasn't ordinary, he hadn't expected him to be this extraordinary.
Reines's expression wasn't much better than Waver's... she, too, was in a state of disbelief, her face full of confusion.
'Who am I? Where am I?'
Magus could be divided into two categories, those with talent and those without. Reines was confident she was one of the talented ones.
That's why Kayneth had taken her as his foster sister and nurtured her, even though they were uncle and niece by blood.
But today, she had witnessed a genius who completely overturned her understanding.
After all, Volumen Hydrargyrum was something her uncle had spent years developing and perfecting into the supreme mystic code it is today. As the signature mystic code for the Lord of the Clock Tower, the knowledge and power it contained were self-evident.
She was called a genius, and Kayneth had high hopes for her. Even with her extraordinary talent, it took her six months under Kayneth's personal guidance just to barely control the mystic code.
Achieving her current level of precise control took her over two and a half years of practice.
But what was going on with Roy?
Just two days earlier, she had handed him the scrolls related to the mystic code and spells. She had only demonstrated the magecraft's process once, and now, in front of her eyes, he had already mastered it, completely bypassing the novice phase.
Is this for real? This doesn't seem right, does it? Can this really be explained by just saying he's talented?
Where on earth did her uncle find such a monster?
She was supposed to help him learn how to use Volumen Hydrargyrum and get closer to him in the process, but how could she? Who's teaching whom here? He's already mastered it just after starting... does he even still need her?
Despite the huge waves of emotion surging in her heart, Reines maintained her signature gentle smile and softly clapped her hands, congratulating Roy.
"As expected of my uncle's disciple. You've grasped the key points of Volumen Hydrargyrum so quickly, your talent is truly enviable."
"You're too kind. It's all thanks to you and Professor Kayneth." Roy replied modestly.
After all, they had not only sent all the scrolls detailing Volumen Hydrargyrum's key points beforehand but also had Reines personally instruct him. With his physical constitution and soul compatibility, it would've been laughable if he couldn't learn it.
"No, I really didn't help much. It's all because of your extraordinary talent." Reines shook her head, fully aware of her own limitations.
"I'm very grateful for Professor Kayneth and you, Reines, for your thoughtful assistance."
Roy smiled and, as he spoke, reached into his pocket and began searching for something.
"I've prepared some small gifts for you and Professor Kayneth as a token of my gratitude."
"Gifts?"
Reines blinked in surprise but quickly smiled again. "I'm looking forward to it, Roy. I'll be sure to cherish anything you give me. As for my uncle, well..."
Before she could finish, a surge of magical energy stopped her words in their tracks, drawing both her and Waver's attention to Roy's hand.
The concentration of magical energy!
They followed his hand to see several white crystalline fragments spread across his palm.
"What is this?"
Reines's mouth dropped open.
"May I take a look?" Waver swallowed hard, unable to resist the allure of the high-purity magical energy emanating from the crystals in front of him.
"Of course, catch." Roy said casually, tossing one of the crystal fragments to Waver. Then he placed the remaining seven into Reines's hands.
"Huh? Ah!" Waver panicked at the sight of the crystal being thrown at him and dove to catch it, falling in the process. Fortunately, he managed to protect the crystal, preventing any damage.
"Jeez, don't scare me like that!"
Relieved that the crystal was unharmed, Waver finally exhaled.
"Roy, what exactly are these?" Reines is intrigued by the origin of the crystals in her hand.
The closer she got, the more she could feel the dense magical energy contained within them. It was no exaggeration to say that each of these crystal shards held more magical power than dozens of high-grade gemstones combined.
Such a treasure, if used to create mystic codes or as a medium for casting spells, would yield unimaginable effects.
Where had Roy obtained such valuable crystals, and how could he have so many?
Even Waver stood by, listening intently, eager to know.
"Well..." Roy paused. "These Saint Quartz are just some little trinkets I came across. I'm afraid I can't reveal their origin, so it's better if you don't ask."
"Saint Quartz, huh?"
The name suited the rainbow-like gems with their immense magical energy.
"I see... Then forgive me for asking, Roy. I overstepped."
Reines nodded, apologizing with a polite smile. Waver, too, suppressed his curiosity and refrained from asking further.
As magecraft users, they understood the importance of secrecy. Investigating a magus's secrets without permission was tantamount to a declaration of hostility. Reines and Waver knew better than to do something so reckless.
Seeing them drop the matter, Roy nodded in approval.
"Good, children don't need to know too much. Just take these and keep them safe."
"Are you sure? These gifts are far too precious..." Reines hesitated, torn between her manners and the natural desire of a magus for such treasures.
"Take them. These aren't anything important to me. Think of this as a welcoming gift."
After all, he had crafted these Saint Quartz fragments by hand, though his craftsmanship was a bit lacking. He couldn't make fully formed Saint Quartz, so he ended up with a handful of fragments.
They were essentially magical energy crystals, but since he had no need for them, he figured it was fine to give them away.
As Roy made a whole batch of these Saint Quartz fragments, he couldn't help but think, that there was once a certain King of Men who handcrafted the Holy Grail. Now here he was, the Magician of the Third Magic, handcrafted Saint Quartz.
If Gudako, the infamous Evil Chaotic Master of Chaldea, were to find out, would she work him to the bone until he died of overwork?
"In that case, thank you very much, Roy." Reines gracefully bowed. "If you ever need anything while you're in London, please don't hesitate to call on me."
"Of course, I will." Roy nodded.
"As for me..." Waver hesitated, holding out the crystal. But Roy waved him off.
"Keep it. Consider it your teaching fee."
"Really? Are you sure?"
Waver was in disbelief.
He didn't think that his basic-level teaching was worth anything near the value of such a treasure.
"Just take it, and go find Professor Kayneth to craft a fitting mystic code for yourself. You really need to improve your self-defense abilities."
"After all, the world of magecraft is dangerous, and there are plenty of magus who don't like someone with your common background. I don't want to hear one day that you suddenly died while I was taking a break."
"Ugh... Do you have to make it sound that bad?"
Waver awkwardly scratched his head, not insisting further, and sheepishly accepted the Saint Quartz fragment.
As Roy said, it was indeed time for him, someone practically useless in combat, to boost his self-defense. During his time as Kayneth's assistant, he had truly come face-to-face with the darkness of the moonlit world.
Looking back at himself a few months ago, when he foolishly presented that paper in public, he could only think of how stupid he had been.
If not for Professor Kayneth's protection, he would have vanished from the world long ago.
The more he learned, the more he realized his past ignorance and came to despise his former self.
If he kept going on in this half-baked state, how could he ever face his King again?
But...
"Thank you, Roy."
"No need to thank me."
Roy waved his hand, not continuing the conversation. He raised his hand again, channeling his magical energy, and manipulated the silvery Volumen Hydrargyrum to flow from its container and envelop his body.
He then turned to Reines with a smile and said, "Since we still have some time, may I trouble you to explain more about the mysteries of Volumen Hydrargyrum?"
"It would be my pleasure." Reines gently adjusted her dress, smiling in return.
