Chapter 357: Chapter 354: Signing a Contract to Become a Magic Boy
Rorschach had already completed the "upload magic" step. The next was to establish a connection between the "host computer" and Andre.
It would be just like the connection between the "host computer" and the "client machines" in Bart Mage Tower, linked via a modified Spirit Summoning Technique. Rorschach believed that communication between Andre and the host computer could also be achieved through a similar magical principle.
First, one thing was certain: this method was absolutely not about taking over Andre and treating him like a clone of the Tower Spirit.
Rorschach recalled a theory he had once read: when a Mage casts magic, they stir the ambient Magic Power to construct a specific order, replicating the "Spell Scripture" that exists in the Symbolic Realm and bringing it down into the Material Realm.
Rorschach looked at his "Tower Spirit’s" main body and storage units. If his theory held, they would become a "Mini Original Layer" existing in the Material Realm.
In Rorschach’s view, the threshold for "constructing order" in the usual Casting process was too high, making it difficult for Casters who lacked talent, like Andre, to resonate with the Original Layer. He wanted to simplify this process, changing it from the Caster having to fully reproduce an "Original Scripture" to merely needing to lock onto which magic was required. The complete reproduction of the magic stored in its units would then be handled by the Tower Spirit.
These machines would constitute a "Spell Library," and the "Tower Spirit," as the librarian, would be able to understand the Caster’s request, find the "book," and lend it to them.
Although, for now, Rorschach had only placed "one book" in the "Library."
"First, I need a Secret Contract that can point to the Tower Spirit and let it know to look up a spell." The first thing Rorschach thought of was the Rune that pointed to himself—the totem based on a "benzene ring." So, he extracted the specific band from [Rorschach’s Divine Exorcism Technique] that pointed to him, entered it into the Tower Spirit, and communicated his intent.
In truth, the Tower Spirit already possessed Rorschach’s memories, so the inorganic intelligence quickly completed the requested setup. It generated a Secret Contract, sketched from the Void, that could stir the ambient Magic Power. Its essence was identical to the "order" in normal Casting, but it was more concrete and concise.
The next step was to assign a number to the magic stored in the Tower Spirit.
In Rorschach’s conception, this Spell Chain could be called the "Major Accident Reversal Technique," and perhaps it would one day become a "must-learn spell for industrial Mages." And since the "Library" currently held but a single book, he could have just assigned it any random, special Magic Vibration Band as a marker.
But he didn’t do that. Instead, based on what was reflected on his panel, he broke the Spell Chain down into its component terms and assigned a characteristic value to each one. "Magic Concentration," "Repulsive Force," "Energy Deprivation," "Mapping"... each was encoded and arranged in a specific sequence.
While this was certainly more tedious, Rorschach valued the superior potential for future expansion. If necessary, he planned to input every term he had mastered into the Tower Spirit. That way, adding most new magic would only require the Tower Spirit to record the structure of their component terms.
Rorschach gave it a try. Although the Casting process of combining terms was longer, it still held advantages over casting the full spell without the Tower Spirit’s aid: it was simpler, the learning curve was lower, and there was less variation in the spell’s effect between different individuals.
To distinguish them from the initial "Secret Contract," Rorschach designated these as "characteristic values," which corresponded one-to-one with the spell terms.
Since all the "characteristic values" were incomplete forms of order, they wouldn’t interact with the Symbolic Realm on their own and thus wouldn’t directly produce a magical effect. Furthermore, any attempt to cast would fail if the Tower Spirit wasn’t operating.
Of course, strictly speaking, if there were a sufficient number of "characteristic values" combined, it was still possible to trigger a direct casting. Fortunately, the first thing constructed during the process was the "Secret Contract" pointing to the Tower Spirit, which still prevented a normal casting.
The Casting finished in an instant. Compared to the constant preparation he needed before, the casting speed was now greatly increased. Since there were no explosions or destruction in the test scenario, the "Major Accident Reversal Technique" had no visible effect, but Rorschach clearly felt the Magic Power fluctuate just as it did when he cast it himself.
During the Casting process, he had formed an intangible bridge to the Tower Spirit. Then, the Tower Spirit, using Rorschach—an "epicenter" rich in Endogenous Magic Power—as a medium, manipulated the ambient Magic Power to complete the spell.
Moreover, Rorschach discovered something special: since the new Casting method incorporated a characteristic value that pointed to him, he would also sense it whenever the Tower Spirit assisted with a casting.
’In that case, doesn’t this mean I’ll know whenever someone uses the Tower Spirit system to cast?’ Rorschach was startled for a moment, then had another thought. ’That means I’ll know whenever Andre uses the ’Accident Reversal Technique.’ That adds a layer of security.’
Having redundant and interconnected safety measures was a good thing, so Rorschach decided not to modify the system for the time being.
As for opening up the system to more people with Magic Talent and mass-producing Mages on an assembly line, that wasn’t urgent. He could foresee many problems still to be solved. For instance, the Tower Spirit’s processing power was still limited by its physical hardware, Rorschach hadn’t yet considered whether spatial distance would introduce lag, and there was the question of whether the two Casting methods might conflict with each other...
’Sigh. I’ll just make do with it for now. I’ll find and solve the basic problems first, then figure out how to iterate...’ His own connection to the Soul within the Tower Spirit was too deep, and he was the spell’s developer. Testing on himself wouldn’t produce universal results, so he still needed Andre to try it out and provide feedback.
It was already late. Now that he was no longer troubled by the extra Soul’s effect on his sleep, Rorschach yawned and left the facility where the Tower Spirit was housed.
「The next day」
Andre was inspecting the construction site when he ran into Rorschach, who gave him a new Learning Scroll. There was only a single one.
He unrolled it and took a look, finding the arrangement of the circuits to be unlike anything he had ever seen. Compared to other Scrolls, it was simpler, and also more... chaotic?
"Teacher, what magic is this for?"
"It’s the combination magic I was trying to teach you... I came up with a name for it last night. It’s called the ’Major Accident Reversal Technique’! Go on, give it a try."
’What a ridiculous name...’ Andre suppressed the urge to comment and activated the Scroll as Rorschach instructed.
"Learned it?"
"Yes." Andre was a little hesitant. He felt that the Magic Power fluctuations the Scroll had displayed were bizarre—as short and fragmented as its geometric patterns.
"Also, for the first part of the Casting, it’s best to picture this symbol in your mind and use your Magic Power to sketch the ’Secret Contract’ in the Void." Rorschach showed Andre his staff directly, pointing to the core of the pattern.
The common knowledge Andre had learned at the Tower of Stars told him that Secret Contracts were dangerous. They could point to entities with malicious intent toward the Caster, and both sketching or destroying one could alert the entity it pointed to.
However, the Apprentice ultimately trusted his teacher. Besides, the Rune’s pattern was a regular hexagon, possessing a simple, rational beauty.
"Got it memorized?"
"Yes."
The moment Andre finished speaking, a Fireball smashed directly into the machine beside him.
The Apprentice subconsciously cast the strange magic he had just memorized. He then felt a sudden torrent of information pour into his mind, rousing the Magic Power throughout his body. Just like his teacher, Andre successfully suppressed the destruction caused by the Fireball.
’I did it!’ Andre was thrilled, but he realized that mastering the "Major Accident Reversal Technique" was different from mastering other magic...
The information that had just poured in vanished from his mind, as if the knowledge had flowed into his skull and right back out. Now, all Andre could remember was the strange, silent incantation that began with the Secret Contract.
In truth, another mechanical, tiny voice had also sounded: "Congratulations on signing the contract. You are now the first Magic Boy!"
The voice was so faint that Andre barely heard it, even assuming it was an auditory hallucination from spending too much time in the noisy factory.
