Chapter 58 - Go Punch Someone About It (Patreon)

Chapter 58

Go Punch Someone About It

Sumi smiled at him. “This is a formation.”

She pointed at the metal plate, where ink and crystal dust had been drawn into what looked like an enchantment. One more complex than any he’d seen before.

“What?”

“The information you gave us about disciplines helped me figure it out,” Sumi added. “Alchemy is obvious, assuming our terminology matches the Guide’s and whoever made it. The others are harder to place, but Formations and Inscriptions both sound like offshoots of Enchanting.”

Enzo nodded. “Beastbonding and Riftcraft are at least obvious about what they involve, but you’re right about the rest.”

Sumi gestured to the bookshelf he’d overlooked. “I was doing some research into…” 

She trailed off with a blush.

Then she cleared her throat. “Fictional stories. And what formations and inscriptions mean in them.”

Enzo laughed. “Val’s idea, right?”

She nodded.

“That explains why I see some of her manga on the shelf.”

“She was very insistent it would help.”

“I bet she was. She used to try to make me read the stuff all the time.”

Sumi turned back to the formation. “Here’s my theory. Enchantments are permanent bindings of spells into an object. We know that the spell consumes the material that holds the enchantment as part of the price.”

“Right. And depending on the medium for the enchantment, the rate of material degradation changes.”

“Exactly. Then, working off the idea that Formations and Inscriptions would be variations on Enchanting, I wondered what would need to change to make them notably different.”

“Consumable instead of permanent.”

She nodded. “I think that’s what inscriptions are. Um.” She paused. Turned away slightly. “In some of Val’s manga, they have talismans that burn out when they’re activated. But they can carry complex magic even though they’re just made of paper and ink.”

“You haven’t tested it yet?”

“Not yet. Because from there, I was thinking about formations. If enchantments are just spell forms worked into objects to create magical equipment, and inscriptions are disposable magics, probably more for people who can’t cast a particular spell themselves, then what benefit would formations offer?”

Enzo considered the question seriously. Sumi was watching him, waiting for him to draw his own conclusion.

Almost like the Guide.

He frowned. Now that he thought about it, while the Guide had annoyed him since the very beginning in how it seemed content to let him and every other mage on the planet learn about mana and magic on their own, he was beginning to see that it couldn’t be anything but.

Signe and Mary were statistical evidence that mana threading was highly personal, which in turn affected their forms and even what sort of spells they were comfortable with.

“The Guide is post-discovery because it has to be.”

Sumi looked confused. “What?”

Enzo shook his head. “Sorry. I got sidetracked. I just realized that you were prompting me to draw my own conclusion about formations, instead of just telling me the answer, and it made me think about how that’s what the Guide does.”

The confusion on her face faded, turned contemplative, then surprised.

“Oh. Because we all use mana differently!”

Enzo nodded. “Even our magic is diverging more and more, despite us relying on geometry to carry our intentions and frame concepts.”

She slapped the table. “That’s why so many mages at the hospital were struggling with even the most basic spells. They were all trying to learn geometric spell forms that didn’t suit their relationship with mana.”

“I still hate it though.”

“Oh, me too.”

They shared an understanding look. Allies forever against the Guide.

“And I’m going to guess that you assumed formations are somewhere between the sort-of permanence of enchantments and the potentially disposable nature of inscriptions. But that wouldn’t make them distinct, so they have to improve spell casting somehow.”

He studied the polished metal plate with the highly complex design.

Designs.

Enzo cocked his head. There were two distinct enchantments linked together using a bridging thread. He had no idea what they did, but he knew Sumi well enough to know she wouldn’t design a spell form or an enchantment the way this one looked. And the right side of the design looked vaguely familiar.

“Huh. Formations allow you to expand your spells somehow?”

“Yes.” Sumi tapped the left side of the formation, where the saucer containing mana crystal dust rested. “This half of the formation holds an enchantment designed to consume material.” She tapped the bridge. “This is what I’m calling the transference bridge.” Then she tapped the right side. “And this part of the formation takes sacrificial material and converts it into water.”

Enzo nodded to himself. “That’s why it looks familiar. It’s based on your Conjure Water spell.” Then he frowned. “But why isn’t this just two enchantments linked together?”

Sumi smiled. “You’re not wrong. They basically are. But there are three important notes.” She held up a finger. “First, similar to Enchanting, Infusion, and Empowerment, a formation requires material sacrifice in some form. However, a formation can be temporary, like this ink and mana crystal dust version, or it could be more permanent, like one of your crafted enchantments.”

That made sense. It justified the degradation and corrosion he’d been tracking across his own experiments. It just reframed what he’d thought of as a side effect into an essential component of magical crafting.

Sumi held up another finger. “Second, a formation can be either a complete magical working on its own, or it can modify a spell at the time of casting.”

Enzo’s eyes widened.

Sumi continued. “I think the latter is more useful. I’m not sure there’s a use case for it being a standalone bit of magic, because a proper enchantment is probably just superior.” She paused. “Val said to say they’re DLCs or expansions only.”

He laughed. “Of course she would frame one of the most important magical breakthroughs in video game terms.”

A third finger went up. “Finally, if the formation modifies a spell, the spell can’t be cast using Simplified Invocation. You have to cast it manually, and add a mana thread linking the spell construct to the formation with the intention of transferring the spell’s effect.”

Enzo studied the formation for a few more moments. Then he started pacing, gaze flicking around the room as he thought.

“The formation is providing part of the mana cost, isn’t it? That’s why you’re using mana crystal dust.”

Sumi watched him pace. “Yes, but also because the ink breaks down too fast to be useful without it. I got the idea from the enchantment you described on the shipping containers.”

He nodded. “That’s another difference then, because enchantments still take the full mana cost from the caster.”

“Or the mana battery.”

“Right.” He was happy to hear someone else was calling them mana batteries. “But if a formation can be constructed out of anything that conducts mana, then the only limitation is that it contrasts with the surrounding material.”

Sumi nodded thoughtfully.

He continued. “At first I thought mana was similar to electricity, because some materials conduct it easier than others. And there is some overlap. But because mana can carry intent, the real trick is actually ensuring it doesn’t leak from one material to the other, and that does not relate to electrical conductivity.” He glanced at Sumi. “I tested that to be sure.”

“You’re suggesting we could use almost anything to carry the enchantment in a formation.”

“Anything that carries mana well enough.” He stopped pacing. “Which means we could carve enchantments into stone or metal plates, and use water infused with mana crystal dust. Or blood. Or if we wanted something more permanent, we could use materials like gold and silver.”

“That would make a difference.” Sumi glanced at her formation. “I have to redo the enchantments every time the ink and crystal dust breaks down.”

“There’s a likely downside though,” Enzo said. “Your ink and crystal dust is easily reapplied, and the dust itself is providing mana to the formation. Gold and silver would last, but it wouldn’t provide additional mana.”

“Meaning we’re back to the caster providing the full mana cost.”

“Exactly. But that doesn’t change the other advantages. This is an incredible discovery, Sumi.”

She turned red.

Enzo almost laughed. She was so opposite of Val that it was a little surprising just how well they got along.

“And on top of it, you’ve proven mana permanence,” he added. “Mana into water.”

“Yes, but only using mana crystals. I still need to experiment with using other materials, because obviously it’s possible. Your enchantments consume metal, for example.”

“So does Infusion. I tested it with a kitchen knife, and the physical material breaks down as part of the process. I suspect it’s replacing material and bonding mana in its place, but there’s no way to be sure right now.”

Sumi nodded. “That aligns with everything else we’ve uncovered.” Then she changed the subject. “Anyway, that’s everything I wanted to share. What did you come here for?”

Enzo leaned on the cane. “That’s right. I need your help.”

He explained the dilemma behind Lock reaching level 10, and wanting to design a spell form for it, along with combining a telekinetic seizing component, thereby ‘locking’ objects into place, but that he also wanted to retain the arcane reinforcement from the original spell.

Sumi stared at him for a moment. “You’re trying to do too much. Just drop the reinforcement and add it later when you’ve figured it out.”

He threw his hand up. “That’s a defeatist attitude, Sumi!”

She shook her head. “You and Val are so alike.”

“Rude.” He thumped his cane. “I’m nothing like Val.”

Sumi nudged him toward the exit. “You both want to solve everything by punching it.”

He glanced at her. “What? How does that make any sense at all? I haven’t punched anything in ages.”

She gave him an unreadable look. Then sighed. “Lock? Punching pins into place. Shield? Counter-punch. Bolt? Distant punch. Spear? Precision punch. Telekinesis? Juggling punch. Pulse? Soft, feeling punch. Analyze? Vibration punch.”

Sumi gently pushed him through the doorway. 

Enzo stood there for a moment. Arcane applied force, and all of his spells relied on it. That couldn’t be denied. But to frame all of his spells like he was just punching things…

“Aha!” He turned back. “Light Orb.”

Sumi’s expression went flat. “And how do you keep it in the air?” She paused. “That’s right. Hovering punch.”

His mouth opened. Then closed. “That’s… so mean.”

Sumi frowned. Then she tilted her head, clearly thinking of a comeback. Finally, she met his gaze and smiled, smugly. “Go punch someone about it.”

She closed the door.

He stared at it. 

“You’re spending too much time with Val!”

The lock clicked.