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Author's Note:Contains spoilers from chapter 37. This extra is a more "technical" understanding of the new world's magic, but I'll try to soften it with a few of Khan's thoughts...I hope you enjoy it.
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Khan opened the book with magical circle drawings embossed on the hardcover while sitting on the couch.
On the first page, it already read in large letters: "Magical Foundations by Azathoth."
Flipping a bit further, the table of contents appeared.
Hm... not just about magic, but also a general context of nearby kingdoms' views on magic... great.
Turning the page, he began reading, starting with the kingdom summaries.
--Kingdom of Engracia--
Its main color is red because of the ancient heroes who brought light to the southern part of the continent.
This kingdom's understanding of magic is deep, possessing knowledge up to the 10th caste and a record of synchronizing five circles of the 6th caste.
Here, the knowledge of draconic runes is extensive.
...
After finishing the small summary on Engracia, Khan thought:
Caste...? I remember seeing in the contents that it would be explained later... But interconnected circles? That got me intrigued...
Khan returned to his focused reading.
--Magical Book Trade--
Engracia's magical book market is said to be one of the largest.
Magical books can cost from 50 silver coins and up, depending on the caste level and the complexity presented in the book.
...
Khan scratched his chin while staring at the book prices with his blue eyes.
Hm... maybe that is expensive... since it's half a gold coin and up...
Clearing his thoughts, he resumed reading.
--Kingdom of Azure--
Its main color is blue because the founding king saw salvation in the sea, thus becoming a coastal kingdom with seafood as its primary resource.
In the Kingdom of Azure, magic isn't widespread; it's taught only up to the 8th caste and the merging of 3 circles.On the bright side, Qi is far more developed and has structured Qi levels — but this book doesn't focus on that.
Note: If you want to know more, there will soon be a book just about this.
...
Hm... another book I'll have to read, but...
Khan glanced sideways. To his left, a white-feathered angel sat next to him, looking at the book with boredom.
Will Luxian also be involved in the next book?...
Returning his attention to the book, he continued reading.
--Magical Book Trade--
Unfortunately, magical books are more scarce here, which causes the prices to skyrocket — with the minimum being 3 gold coins.
Note: The price is mostly due to the devaluation of Azure's currency and the scarcity mentioned earlier. A book about the economics world is in progress.
...
Khan leaned back into the sofa more comfortably, while Luxian returned to resting her head on his shoulder.
If I remember correctly, 1 gold coin from Engracia equals 2 gold and 30 silver coins from Azure... What a broken economy...
Letting out a small sigh, he turned the page and continued reading.
--Netus--
A forge-type city, but it's said that in its floating dungeon, there are ancient books.
Note: Unfortunately, the interviewed locals of the new world didn't have much information, not even about its market, which is a shame. I'll try to bring more in a future volume.
...
Reading Azathoth's note, he let out a small sigh through his nose.
Interviewed locals... she knows how to tell jokes sometimes...
Beside him, Luxian let out a quiet giggle at the note too.
Turning the page, the real content of the book finally began.
Finally...
--Castes--
A short passage that summarizes the history of the castes well (For more details, check the new world's history books):
In the beginning of the world, only mana-dense beings roamed the land, lacking any consciousness.
From among them, a black dragon with rainbow-colored eyes awakened.
At first, it found no meaning in life, but over time, desires began to form.
To express these desires, it created the first language — the Draconic Runes.
Nowadays, according to the information we have from this world, its grammar has been lost, with only certain blocks of text remaining — these give meaning to the Castes.
Note: I'll stop here, but the story continues. If you want to know more and see what path the dragon took, that'll have to wait.
...
After reading, Khan narrowed his eyes.
Honestly... I'm not sure if that part was necessary... but I guess it's good to have some idea of how things began...
Continuing his reading.
--What are Castes?--
They're just structures that hold the Draconic language. They are magical circles — the higher the caste, the more space it has for runes.
--1st Caste--
Usually learned in a mage's childhood in this world, where they're taught the basic runes:
{Collect} – This makes the circle absorb your mana.
{Store: x} – This structure regulates the intensity of the rune that comes before it.
{Release} – Triggers the circle in the sequence written to create an event.
At this first stage, the magic is useless. Sure, you can use {Collect} to train your mana capacity, but that's about it.
...
After reading, he tried to imagine the rune {Collect}. Looking at his hand, a single large rune formed in the center.
Hm... this is way more interesting than I thought...
Khan dismissed the rune and noticed Luxian was unusually quiet. Glancing at her from the corner of his eye…
She was asleep, head resting against his shoulder.
Was she that bored?...
With a midnight sigh, he continued reading.
--2nd and 3rd Castes--
The rune logic remains the same, but now you can complete the cycle of:
Initiate > Prepare > Release
Example:
{Collect} > {Store: 3} > {Release}
When released, it'll seem like nothing happened, but you've cast a spell.
Also, be careful when thinking about the {Store} rune. It may not activate if no wait time is defined.
Order matters too:
{Store: 3} > {Collect} > {Release}
This will cause a 3-second wait before collecting and releasing the magic.
...
Khan visualized the runes he had seen and formed a magical circle — this time, instead of just one rune in the center, there were three on the sides.
In the middle, two lines connected them in a > shape: the top rune was {Collect}, the right one {Store: 3}, and the bottom {Release}.
After the time passed, the circle shrank and activated, but nothing happened.
It's almost just like diagrams...
Khan felt a fleeting sense of accomplishment… quickly ruined by his usual calm.
Letting out a light sigh, he looked at Luxian.
Her cheek was squished against his shoulder from leaning on him.
With a gentle shift, he adjusted her head onto a softer part of his shoulder and kept reading.
--4th Caste--
Here's where things start to get interesting — now we deal with elements.
With these dangerous runes, we also need safety.
New runes introduced:
{Block} – Completely interrupts the circuit. Warning: When blocked, all energy stored returns to you. I'm not responsible for any deaths.
{Loop: x} – Repeats the instructions before it a set number of times. Without a number, it loops endlessly until you run out of mana, or it's interrupted by {Block}.
The rest are straightforward:
{Fire} – Normal fire. Sustained long enough, it changes color due to heat.
{Water} – Normal water. The longer it's maintained, the more volume it produces.
{Air} – A stream of cold air.
{Earth} – Earth formation.
Interesting fact: If you use {Loop:} without a count, you can maintain certain spells.
Example:
{Collect} > {Fire} > {Store: 3} > {Loop: }
This keeps the fire going — though primitively, as it resets each time, losing intensity.
...
Khan squinted forward. Something disrupted his reading.
A fairy named Fuyu snored loudly while sleeping on a plush bear on the couch across from him.
...Are you serious?
Khan sighed, trying to ignore the growing snoring sounds.
Maybe... I can use a stream of cold air? If it works, perfect — I won't need to wake Luxian... or get up.
With that in mind, he imagined the sequence:{Collect} > {Air} > {Store: 3} > {Release}
He created a magical circle with three connecting lines between the runes.
Casting it, the spell didn't reach Fuyu.
...These spells take forever, and when you mess up, having to redo everything is just frustrating...
Khan let out another sigh.
I hope there's something in this book to remove this delay and make them stronger...
He adjusted the {Store:} rune to 10 seconds.
After the wait, the circle activated, and a strong, cold breeze shot toward her.
Upon reaching her, she stopped snoring and curled up as the plush bear shifted its large arm over her like a blanket.
The room fell silent again.
I think I can keep going now...
Turning the page, he resumed his reading.
--5th Caste--
This will be the last caste I explain by itself. The rest are just expansions to fit more connected runes.
Here, you'll learn two runes that can give more power and reduce casting time.
The runes are:
{Divide: x} – Reduces the time of the next rune, at the cost of more mana.
{Multiply: x} – Multiplies the output value. Only works if placed after {Release}.
Examples:
{Collect} > {Water} > {Divide: 2} > {Store: 4} > {Release}Basic math — 4 becomes 2. Faster output, same strength. If the output is 100, it remains 100.
{Collect} > {Fire} > {Store: 4} > {Release} > {Multiply: 3}Again, basic — if the damage is 100, it becomes 300. Simple.
Warning: These runes have a major flaw — they don't know your remaining mana. If you're going to use them, keep in mind you might die if you're low on mana.
...
Khan stared at the new runes, thinking:
Can you do Add or Subtract too? That would be interesting...
Looking back at the book, he realized there wasn't much left.
Hm... I might as well finish it. I actually find this magic system pretty interesting...
His blue eyes returned to the book.
--6th to 10th Castes--
As I said before, the remaining castes are repetitive. The only changes are the mana cost and how many runes they allow.
So here, I'll teach something considered advanced in rune studies of this world.
Warning: If you continue from here and suffer mental damage, I take no responsibility. Proceed at your own mental risk.
This part will be fun. I'll introduce three more runes:
{Link: Index} – Connects circles based on the given index.
{Copy: Index} – If placed after {Release}, it copies the event. If placed before {Release}, it copies the circle.
{Paste: Index} – Transfers the current state (event or circle) to another circle in a compact form, occupying only one rune.
Remember when I said that method for keeping flames was primitive? Well, now let's see how to do it efficiently.
First circle (creates the flame):{Collect} > {Fire} > {Store: 3} > {Copy: 1} > {Link: 1}
Second circle (maintains it):{Link: 1} > {Paste: 1} > {Loop: }
That's it. The book ends here. I hope everyone understood, and thank you for reading.
--More Books--
More on Runes – [Still researching]
More on animals and biomes – [The Basics of the New World by Azathoth]
More on economy and currency – [In progress]More on Qi of the new world – [Coming soon]