Under the Oak Tree

Chapter 91 – Lessons on Defensive Sorcery (2)

Ruth’s previous remark that there was a mountain of work to finish was no exaggeration.

Max opened her mouth as she stared at the library that had now become a mess in barely more than two days. Precious ancient texts were strewn about carelessly on top of one another; the desk was crowded with stacks of clutter and parchments. Even on the floor, there was a cloth large enough to seem like a blanket. It looked as if a war had taken place there.

She lowered her head to look down at the cloth.

There were drawings of detailed, complex patterns covering every corner. It must have taken at least five bottles of ink to cover those areas. Max stared at empty bottles of ink as it rolled by their feet and sighed.

“For what re-reason did you leave the to-tower and come to the li-library…?” She asked, looking at the mess Ruth created in the library.

“My tower doesn’t have much space to work. Even with that, Lord Calypse threatened to take it away if I don’t complete these magical equipment defenses within a week.” Ruth reasoned out.

Max squinted her eyes and recalled the enormous tower within the castle’s back garden.

What in the world could cause for there to be no space left? That tower was enormous. Could Ruth also not have a place to sleep, so did it also mean he has slept on the library floors for some time now?

<i>There is no way that’s true…right?</i> Max told herself.

She could not tell if Ruth was displeased or not with his current living arrangements as he put down the apple’s core on one side of the desk and pulled out a chair.

Max begrudgingly pulled out the opposite chair and sat on it. It seemed like he did not mind living in that mess.

“The task I’m giving you, madam, is simple. I would like you to use these tools to re-draw the shapes that are drawn here in detail. I will let you know how to use it. It will be easy to use once you know how to calculate.” Ruth told her. He then laid out six flat wooden boards of various shapes before her.

Max clasped those pieces and looked down at the dreadfully complicated figures on the parchment. There were many similar drawings of figures and those were stacked on top of the desk.

“Why are there so ma-many of these?” Max asked Ruth.

“This is the design of the magical equipment.” Ruth replied.

“Ma-magical e-equipment…it’s this a-absurdly huge thing?” Max exclaimed as she pointed at those parchments with varying symbols.

“It depends on the type you need it for, but the magical item I’m trying to produce is about the size of the pumpkin. These designs are the magical blueprints that go into the equipment. This complex and extensive sorcery involves elaborate layers upon layers overlapping and being placed inside a material with magical power to become a magical tool.” Ruth explained to her.

“So-sorcery…?” Max asked again as she looked closely at the figure with a curious glance.

Circles, triangles, squares, and spirals were intertwined intricately over yellow parchment. She realized when Ruth requested her help that the task of producing magical tools must have required some intricate calculations, but it seemed that the forms he needed were more elaborate than she thought.

“The balance of magical power flowing within the natural world…in other words, mana. Now, assuming the amount of mana is 10, shall this device amplify the mana by 100 or, maybe, 1000? All magic consists of this formula. The capability of the wizard is determined by how efficiently he or she can amplify mana to create the desired outcome.” Ruth explained.

Max tilted her head at his placid answer, she was still confused.

“But…wi-wizards can just use ma-magic right a-away and don’t have to draw pi-pictures like this, do they? Ruth, you have also per-performed ma-magic by only re-reciting spells…”  Max reasoned out, and Ruth gave her a sigh.

“To some degree, magic can be done as many times as we like by drawing the formula in the mind and memorizing the starter. But that is limited to general magic that is quite simple. High-level spells take hours of preparation.”

“Then, what you are ma-making now…must be great, high-le-level ma-magic.” Max exclaimed and the wizard looked down at the pile of parchment before him before giving her a smile and nodded.

“The <i>Noum Shield</i> is a defense sorcery of earthly properties. Like the previous time, if an intruder tries an offensive spell, the shield senses the mana and creates a powerful barrier with a roughly 20 Kvets radius (approximately 6 meters). If we could instill the spell within the magical equipment and place it in front of the castle gate, we would be able to withstand many of the previous fire-based attacks.” Ruth added and Max stared at the parchments in amazement.

“That’s…re-reassuring.”

Max suddenly felt her interest surge.

She had previously only seen healing magic done by priests and defense magic used by Ruth. But she had never encountered this type of magic before. She had heard the remarkable feats of wizards written down in stories, but had never known the methods that they used to be capable of performing such tasks.

“This…if you can com-complete the dra-drawing of this spell, can you do ma-magic?” Max asked Ruth earnestly.

“If you do not understand the underlying principles, even if you were to draw them one hundred times, it would be of no use. We must be able to control the mana. Magic is not about creating something from nothing. It is a technique for changing form: transforming something that already exists in this world into another. Spells will never work unless a certain amount of mana is injected.” Ruth told her

“But…e-even or-ordinary pe-people who don’t know how to ha-handle ma-mana can use ma-magical tools, you know?” Max pointed out.

“That’s because of this holy stone.” Ruth exclaimed and showed her the stone.