Shuri stood before the imposing doors that would lead into her inevitable execution room, clutching her workbooks in her left hand and the faintly luminous mana core in her right. She took a moment to mentally check off one of the last two items in her "do not do" list (the last one was so taboo that she didn't even want to think about it). She also took another moment to cross out every single plan and scheme she had formulated while coming to this sect. Her means of escape had all but closed. She had thought of herself as a wolf in sheep's clothing, ready to take what she desired and escape before the shepherd caught her. But it turned out she was just one of the sheep all along, fooled into believing she was a wolf in sheep's clothing.
'And just like any sheep, once I have outlived my necessity, I will be culled,' Shuri concluded. As she did so, she raised the ball in her palms and looked at it with a pensive expression. She was one hundred per cent certain that her appointment today was about this curious creation in her hand. Shuri knew that her successful attempt to manifest the Yoruz Clan's magical automation would attract the attention of those above. She had banked on this eventuality and had prepared for it, although she thought it would occur a few months down the line after she had made sufficient progress in the clan's arts and techniques.
She couldn't reveal the source of her knowledge; that much was a fact. Her only pathway was to pass off the knowledge as something derived from the vaults of her "family" - the same "family" she had run away from. Of course, this would be a lie (or from another perspective, a half-truth), and any mage worth their salt would be able to figure this out after observing Shuri's micro-expressions. But as long as Shuri could prove her value, she could become so crucial to the sect through her contributions and presence that it would become impossible to remove her without incurring significant backlash. This would be possible over time, once she mastered everything her mother's clan had to offer and released a few products integrating those skills. In fact, she could even spin the whole debacle with the Lowe's acquisition to her advantage this way.
Unfortunately, though, her timeline was pulled forward by years, and she had yet to build her value for the sect.
"You can come in, you know," the magnetic baritone called from across the closed door. "You've been standing there for a while!"
Shuri contained her embarrassment as best she could, although the increasing rose tint on her cheeks kept growing more vivid. She coughed and opened the door, "Good morning, Sect Leader Larks."
As she was about to bow, she suddenly felt an opposition stopping her from dipping lower.
"As I've said, there is no need for all that formality," the man reminded as he waved his hand away. "Come, sit."
With measured steps, Shuri approached the man and sat down on the floor opposite him with only a table separating them.
"Before we begin, once again, congratulations on the minor breakthrough!" the sect leader encouraged. "You should have noticed that the one you experienced yesterday was vastly different from the one you experienced when spamming spells to forcefully expand your mana channels. This is, according to texts and experience, the result of you encroaching upon a cultivation method that resonates with you. I have reason to believe that it may have something to do with that peculiar ball you hold in your hand."
Shuri subconsciously moved the ball away from the man's line of sight, though she knew it did little to dissuade him given how the entire mana in the room was his to command and observe.
"I did some reading before you came and learned that the process of inscribing on inert mana cores is the scarcely practised art of Automagy," he continued. "Though I was disappointed to find that there was very little about it, compared to the literal horde of literature available on Enchanting and inscribing on mana gems."
After receiving Shuri's nod, he then added, "Which is why I'm intrigued to learn about this accomplishment of yours."
Shuri wore a conflicted expression, implying that they were encroaching on a difficult topic for her. She hoped that the sect leader would take the hint, though it was only a faint one since she knew that the prospects of Automagy were far too alluring for him to pass.
"I see," luckily, he caught the hint. "How did you learn this, by the way?"
"I am not supposed to know this. The cultivation arts weren't technically meant for me to begin with. I only learned it through subterfuge and sneaky means," Shuri answered (half-)truthfully. No word said was a falsehood; therefore, she was confident that it wouldn't trigger any of the sect leader's alarms.
"And yet, even with the half-knowledge, you were able to trigger a resonance," he highlighted with an impressed quirk on his lips. "But I'm sure you know by now that nothing is more dangerous than half-knowledge because it's equivalent to building a house on sand."
Sect Leader Larks' fingers drummed on his table as he contemplated something. After a momentary pause, he extended his right hand and asked, "If you'll allow me, I'd like to inspect your cultivation so that we can have a clearer understanding of what we're working with."
The hand approached Shuri in slow motion, and as it did so, her pupils enlarged marginally. She recoiled backwards in fear and shrieked, "NO!"
The denial echoed even within the small room, or maybe it was just Shuri's perception as her senses started to dial up to a thousand per cent. The encroaching arm halted in its tracks. She raised her gaze and noticed the right side of the sect leader's face twitching furiously.
"What are you hiding!" The right side spat. But it was only for a split second as the man's mien immediately started to contort and shift rapidly.
"Sorry about that," the man squeezed out through gritted teeth. It was clear that he was going through something... something suspicious that Shuri did not want any part of. She started to mentally simulate her escape from the room, training herself to dodge and weave through any obstacles in her path between her current location and the door.
"I can understand your apprehension. Letting someone you barely know inspect something so personal to a mage is a lot to ask," he said. "Which is why we shouldn't be taking things for granted and push the limits of morality like this." The last sentence strangely felt self-directed.
"I'll leave it up to you on how to proceed," the sect leader decided. "I'm happy that you've found a path for yourself. Though I strongly encourage you to maintain caution as you progress."
"Thank you for the warning, Sect Leader," Shuri responded immediately as she bowed while seated. She jolted up and started to scoot backwards towards the door to make a quick getaway.
"Wait!" He called out, but Shuri was already at the door and pulling it open—or so she thought as the door refused to budge. "Where are you going?" The baritone voice inquired. "We haven't finished our meeting just yet."
Shuri smiled wryly and returned to sitting in the lotus position. "I actually called you here because I am intrigued by that light-capturing ball and its mechanism."
Reaching behind her back, Shuri retrieved the sneakily hidden inscribed mana core and slid it towards the sect leader apprehensively.
"Such an interesting concept. Marvellous!" He complimented while spinning the ball carefully in his palms. "The inscriptions are barely visible, but they are so condensed!"
The sect leader's sparkling gaze separated itself from the core and looked towards Shuri with strong conviction in them. "This will do!"
"Will do... what?" Shuri probed.
"For Yohn... Yes, it will definitely do!" He murmured.
"Umm, Sect Leader?" Shuri reminded as she verbally poked the man out of his reverie.
"Do you realize the opportunity this invention presents?" to which Shuri tilted her head in confusion. Wasn't it obvious? The reason why everyone envied and hated the Yoruz Clan was due to the force multiplier nature of their cultivation arts. That WAS the endpoint of Automagy, right?
The sect leader turned around and pulled out a roll of paper from the drawers behind him. He unfurled it on the table and placed weights on each corner to hold it in place. He retrieved a writing utensil and started speaking as he jotted down designs on the paper.
"When I first read about Automagy, I got only a vague idea about what it actually was and what it entailed. However, the brief description was enough to formulate a hypothesis which, now that I've had another closer look at this light-capturing ball, has only grown more certain. The end goal of Automagy is automation, pure and simple. Anything that a human can achieve and more can be automated. Kind of like magic but without needing to be a mage, which makes the outputs of Automagy more accessible to the common folk. Better yet, it offers pathways for magic to become accessible to folk who are lacking in a particular way and unable to tap into its potential."
Shuri matched the man's words with the simple diagram drawn on paper. It made sense. Her mind quickly made connections between what was said before and now, and a hypothesis clicked into place.
"You want to devise a solution that could help Yohn cast spells without the necessity of sight?" Shuri evoked.
The sect leader snapped his fingers and smiled excitedly. "Do you know the purpose behind why I created magic wands and devised new spell-casting methods?"
Shuri realized that it was a rhetorical question and volleyed with a "Why?"
At that point, he opened up and narrated the entire story of how he met Markus till his arrival in the village.
"I believe that embracing magic is the pathway to the development of society," the sect leader orated passionately. "Its potentials are virtually unlimited—limited only by the extent of our understanding of the world we live in. And it doesn't help that the knowledge about magic is hoarded by the few who live at the peak of the societal hierarchy. This is the purpose of the sect—to ensure that one day, even the humble street sweep has access to magic capable of making his work easier."
"That's admirable," Shuri responded blankly, though her thoughts said, 'Foolish!'
"Do not lie!" The right side of the man's face boomed with a stern frown, which dissipated quickly. "I recognise that your past, whatever it may be, has influenced you quite a bit. I'm truly sorry for everything you may have had to face in the past. But please know that you are in a safe space now; you are in a place that cherishes you and your abilities, and I wish to prove that to you. I have been told that you are quite ingenuitive and a curious researcher. Given that you have some background in the field of Automagy, I am assigning you a task."
Shuri did not expect the conversation to move in this direction. In hindsight, when has anything followed her prediction since coming to this Sect? And so, Shuri braced herself for the man's subsequent words.
"I have personally hit a roadblock in my attempts at this problem, so I'm hoping that your fresher perspective might lead us somewhere new. Your mission, Shuri, is to find out a strategy for Yohn to be able to cast spells like the rest of us," the Sect Leader declared with a firm tone.
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