The Chronomancy spell that manipulates time within a certain area, making it flow faster or slower.
The formal name of the spell he had described as manipulation of the flow of time was Manipulation.
It had been a week since he began studying the “Book of Time.”
He had come to understand its general flow.
“To think Chronomancy patterns would require spatial mage patterns… Unexpectedly, that helped.”
- Indeed. Were space and time always so similar? The more one learns of magic, the more wondrous it becomes.
He had expected the Chronomancy patterns to take quite some time, as they were full of unfamiliar and difficult things, but unexpectedly, he was able to find quite a few familiar patterns.
None other than the patterns needed for spatial magic.
Thanks to that, he was able to progress more smoothly than he had thought.
Than he had thought, that was.
- …It does not look easy at all.
“Yeah.”
He had been trying to understand the principles of Chronomancy itself while engraving the patterns of Manipulation, which controlled time to make it slow or fast, but it was not as easy as it sounded.
Because there were no related concepts.
To bring out a pattern’s efficiency to the utmost, one could not simply engrave the pattern blindly and raise it according to the formula. One had to understand the related concepts and know the principles.
Only then could he freely modify, strengthen, and alter magic as he had learned from Kreutzwald.
“Was there a pattern like this too? Why does it look so grotesque?”
- I do not know much about the concepts of Chronomancy either… I am of no help.
“Well, that can’t be helped. Let’s keep studying it together.”
Unlike with the low-circle magic from before, Purnell could not teach him.
Nor was there anyone else who knew Chronomancy well.
And so, from then on, he had no choice but to keep poring over the grimoire with Purnell, interpreting its meaning and debating it.
- The third pattern of Life Extension, is it? How do you interpret it? I think it is a variant pattern of Extension.
“Wouldn’t it be better to see it as a completely new concept?”
- Hmm… Then let us experiment according to your idea first.
When their debates failed to reach a conclusion, there was ultimately no choice but to test it with his body.
For example, if they could not fully interpret the meaning of a newly appearing Life Extension pattern, as now, he would first engrave it onto his body.
At first, he would distribute mana according to the formula written in the grimoire, and afterward, he would alter it according to his own interpretation.
It was such a simple, reckless method that an ordinary mage would not even dare attempt it.
「Trait - ‘Genius of Mana Sensitivity’ is active.」
But Hio had eyes that could see the flow of mana, so anything that went seriously wrong could be corrected immediately, and any problems could be confirmed the moment they manifested.
All of this was what he had learned from Kreutzwald.
* * *
The first spell written in the “Book of Time,” Manipulation, was completed after two weeks of research.
The reason he was able to complete it quickly despite its difficulty was partly because he had thrown himself into the research, and partly because of Hio’s trait that allowed him to see mana. But the biggest reason was that he had already opened the 6th and 7th Circles in advance.
- It was outside our common sense from the very beginning.
“A spell with an ambiguous concept of circles… Fascinating.”
Manipulation was a spell of an ambiguous concept, neither 6th Circle nor 7th Circle.
It was clearly a 6th Circle spell, yet depending on how it was used, it could cross that boundary—a mysterious spell.
「Chronomancy - ‘Manipulation’ has been successfully activated.」
「‘Manipulation’ has been registered as a skill.」
He registered the completed spell as a skill.
Then what came next was confirmation.
He had to see how the first Chronomancy of his life would activate as a skill.
“Go stand over there.”
Naturally, the subject of the experiment was Purnell.
- …Me?
“Who else is here, then?”
- That psycho goddess is…
“She hasn’t come yet. Can’t be helped.”
- ……
Purnell drooped his shoulders in pretense and flew off with heavy motions.
Perhaps because he was a ghost, his slumped shoulders almost flowed all the way down to the floor.
But what could be done?
Within this enormous magic tower, the only moving beings were Purnell and Hio.
“That should be about right. Stop there.”
- …Very well.
After stopping Purnell at a suitable position, Hio slowly lifted his staff.
He had succeeded in manifesting it as a spell, but he had not used it on a moving living being to see exactly how effective it was. In essence, this could be considered its first manifestation.
“I’m starting.”
The skill manifested.
As he reached the 7th Circle, the mana that had felt nearly limitless drained away in great quantity.
「Skill - ‘Manipulation’ is activating.」
At the center of the training ground, which was close to an open lot.
What appeared above Purnell was one enormous golden hourglass.
And what seized it was an old ghostly hand.
A bony arm protruding from a tattered robe, with pointed nails.
「Taking control of the area.」
An area formed in a certain space centered on Purnell.
To Hio’s eyes, it was vividly clear that the flow of time within the area was being seized.
- I shall move.
Along with the skill’s activation, Purnell began to move.
「Suppressing the flow.」
The old ghostly hand tilted the golden hourglass to the left.
At the same time, Purnell’s movements slowed drastically.
As if someone were pulling him from behind, they stretched out like a slow-motion video.
「Accelerating the flow.」
This time, the ghost’s bony hand tilted the hourglass in the opposite direction.
Then—
- Eek! Why is th—!
Purnell, suddenly accelerated, lost control of his body and slammed his head straight into the wall.
Bouncing off the wall, Purnell sprang back up and rejoiced.
- Success! Is this not a proper success? The flow was faster than my perception. I could not control my body!
If the opponent adapted to the acceleration of time’s flow, it would instead benefit them.
So they had focused more on accelerating the surroundings beyond the target’s perception, and since the results of that research had now appeared, he could understand why Purnell was so delighted.
「Skill - ‘Manipulation’ has been canceled.」
But Hio’s expression was not good at all.
“This… is practically unusable, isn’t it?”
- Unusable? Why is that?
It was because of the mana.
The consumption of mana was far more severe than he had imagined.
“I can already feel a void in my mana.”
- You can feel a void? You, with seven rings?
“…Yeah.”
The mana capacity of a 7th Circle mage could not be compared to that of a 6th Circle mage.
Because the higher one went, the wider and thicker the rings became.
And yet the mana that had gone into Manipulation alone was about thirty percent of the whole.
All he had done was slow the flow for a moment and then accelerate it again, and yet that much mana had been consumed.
In other words, if he used this actively in battle, his mana would be depleted in an instant.
He would become unable to use skills or any other magic.
That was why Hio’s expression was this grim.
“It might have been a mistake to touch Chronomancy…”
If Manipulation was like this, then the other Chronomancy spells would surely be no less demanding.
And he could not undo the patterns he had already engraved.
“Should I have learned another elemental attack spell instead?”
There was the time he had poured into the research, and the space occupied by engraving entirely new patterns was considerable.
If he had spent that time and space learning another familiar attribute, he could have learned more magic, and more efficiently at that.
- …I had feared as much, but I did not think the mana consumption would be to that extent. I am sorry. It was my oversight.
“What oversight? We did talk about the possibility of this happening. Even so, I judged that it was worth trying and chose it myself.”
There was no turning back.
Then he had to delve deeper into Chronomancy.
But could he really afford to use Chronomancy for only a few seconds and have his mana depleted?
“I need to find a way.”
He had to find a way.
And that way did not seem to be as far away as he had thought.
“It’s just about filled up anyway.”
Even excluding skills and magic, Hio had a new path called authority.
「Divinity Points: 9,887,014」
Did he not also know that the true name of the God of Magic was Drisella?
The authority of the God of Magic would naturally be deeply connected to magic.
Just as the authority of Venus that Airaitz possessed was.
There was surely an authority that could create good synergy with magic.
The problem, however, was the choice.
In the authority window he had searched through when he had time, there were a total of three authorities that contained the name “Drisella.”
Whether because her birth had been late or because she was not widely known, it was a remarkably small number of authorities compared to the other gods.
「Authority - Drisella’s Breath of Origin: 8,000,000 Pt」
「Authority - Drisella’s Infinite Tears: 5,900,000 Pt」
「Authority - Drisella’s Silent Trial: 9,500,000 Pt」
“It’s fortunate there are only three, but… it’s still hard.”
The most expensive authority was “Silent Trial.”
But the one that drew his heart was Infinite Tears.
Up until just before this, he had intended to choose that.
After all, was it not good for it to contain the word “infinite”?
“That’s true, but… it keeps bothering me.”
But the price concerned him.
It was overwhelmingly cheaper than the other two authorities.
Of course, there were authorities whose value could not be judged by price, like Beltesia’s Divine Space, but the truth was that it still made him uneasy.
“And the word tears attached after infinite, too…”
- If it bothers you that much, then proceed with what you first thought. Good grief, it is frustrating that I cannot look at it together with you as I did before.
Purnell flew to his side and drifted back and forth through Hio’s body.
It seemed to be his way of expressing that he could not enter his body.
“What I first thought… Breath of Origin?”
- In my view, that is the decision with the least risk. Considering the price and the interpretation contained in the name, does it not seem the most reasonable?
“That’s true… Then what about Silent Trial?”
- The highest price. It is the opposite situation from Infinite Tears. If you focus on price, it seems like a plausible option, but the name is ominous. Did you not exclude it for that reason as well?
“It’s difficult.”
Silent Trial was indeed the authority he had excluded first.
The reason was simple.
Because the word “trial” was in its name.
What came to mind when one thought of a trial?
In the end, was it not endurance?
He had guessed that it might be an ability gained by enduring something, and so he had excluded it despite its highest price.
Of course, it was only a guess, so there was nothing he could be certain of.
Still, now was the time to choose.
From the moment he learned the true name of the God of Magic until now, he had pondered for quite a long time, and now he had to decide.
The unique authority, Endurance of Splendor, which could not yet exert its power.
Beltesia’s Divine Space, the most basic authority.
Lucidria’s Divine Oath, which bestowed sacred splendor upon every word and action.
He already had three authorities, but not a single one was of immediate help.
And so—
“…Good. I’ve decided.”
With a resolute decision, he reached out his hand.
「Authority - ‘Drisella’s Breath of Origin’ has been purchased.」
「8,000,000 Divinity Points have been consumed.」
What he chose was Drisella’s Breath of Origin, which he judged to have the least risk.
The origin (起原) of magic, and the prayer (祈願) of the God of Magic.
「Drisella’s origin seeps into the user.」
It was a true authority that showed why an authority was called an authority.