Steel and Mana

Chapter 55 – Experimenting With CC (1)

"Hmmm... no... this way, it won't work... maybe... hm... no."

"Don't you feel tired?"

"Hm? What time is it?" I asked, getting jolted out of my thoughts and looking around. It was already dark, and only my multiple, thick candles were burning around my desk, painting the room amber.

"I don't really know, but it has been dark for a long time." Sasha said while smiling, sitting on my lap, snuggling up to me with a yawn. "Luna already went to bed; I was waiting for you."

"Sorry, I got swept up in this." With a chuckle and a stretch, I began stroking her head, looking around my table and watching the multiple dozen blueprints of a magic circle.

The first test with Merlin was a half-success. It didn't manage to restrain his or Sasha's mana when boosted by his magic. Instead, it became a physical restriction, tying up Luna multiple times. With changes in the runes, she was bound by tentacles, rough ropes, a long worm that made her shriek like a banshee, and finally, by pure energy. Since then, I have been reworking it, simplifying the formula, and replacing its inner workings to give it a different effect. One that I was looking for.

"Aren't these two opposing each other?" She asked suddenly, pointing at two runes within the inner circle.

"Hm?" I looked at it, realizing the problem of having two different runes for its energy intake, making it volatile. "You are right! I totally missed that... maybe I should sleep as I begin making more mistakes."

"Ehehe, thanks! I am still learning it, but it is haaaaard!" Seeing me correct it and then kiss her, she giggled happily, "Even with your textbooks, I can't draw up formations other than fire-based ones."

"But you can make them faster than me, without any mistakes like what I just did now. You are a natural when it comes to that type, so don't feel bad about being slow with the rest."

"What did Elyzien call you? A freak?"

"I think." I softly laughed, "She can't comprehend the fact that I can understand the language of magic and break it down. Honestly, it isn't that different from a programming language. Now that I know the building blocks, I can write my own code! I am doing the same dances and routines as in my old life, searching for bugs and why the freakin' code won't work... or work opposite to what I wanted."

"Why were there bugs in those... programs? I don't get it..." She whispered, feeling confused, and with a chuckle, I began explaining to her what I meant.

Since I told her my story, expressing myself without holding back anything was much more manageable. With examples of my previous life, I could be more open and unafraid of voicing my thoughts before Sasha. I already told her what kind of engineer I was and what was required of us in the army on both the software and hardware sides.

"So, in conclusion," I ended my monologue to her, "I am writing the software right now. We can move on to the hardware when I have what I want, creating the cuffs for Miss Morningstar. When it's finished, I can finally move on to what I really wanted to do first!"

"Which is?"

"Upgrading our water and heating system. I will use up a good amount of CC after developing a stable heating formation. My goal is to ensure that every home has a button that, when they press, the water will turn hot. If it works, then I could start making a ton of metal pipes, laying them down all around the city, working them into the homes, and when winter comes, I can pump hot water through it, warming their homes up! Without fire."

"Wait, wait, you told me about this once... mmmm... what did you call it? Central heating! Yes?"

"Exactly."

"Couldn't you do it how it was in your world?"

"I could do it old-fashioned, but why should I when magic is right before me, here, at my disposal? That is why I am working this hard on these formations. What I see now is that magic is limited. Constrained."

"How...? Because the spells are kept a secret?" She asked, trying to follow and guess my thoughts.

"That is part of it, yes. What I mean is that magic is looked at as the gift of a selected few. It is not something the masses would ever understand, use, or work with; that is the sentiment I see instilled in the people. I want to change it. Yes, witches and wizards are unique people who can directly interact with, manipulate, and construct it. But, they can create it in a way that would be usable by everyone."

"Through the implementation of CC?"

"Yes. As to how, that is one of the hurdles I will have to overcome, but my vision is clear for our future. My old world sounds magical to you because people had tools that made their lives much, much easier. Did they know how to make those tools? No. The same is true with magic, my dear! There will be a select few, like you, who can make those devices that will benefit everyone later on. Sooner or later, there will be others like me. There will be a time when normal people begin understanding magic, and they will be taught its rules. They will see the runes as the building blocks of spells and code their own version. It may be only me right now, but I can see a future where talented, magicless people could invent something I had never thought about!"

"It does sound exciting... and wonderful!" She whispered, leaning against me with closed eyes, smiling happily.

"It is what the Gods wanted."

"Huh? Didn't you say you don't believe in them?"

"I don't. I mean, I don't believe that they are gods. But after what happened and what I saw? I do believe in their existence. Listening to Elyzien, they said that they are waiting for us up there... they can't be waiting for one or two mages to go there, no? They are waiting for us as a whole. As our species. Not one or two individuals, but for all of us! The church, emperors, or whoever is in charge should have been clear about this and worked to lift us all up. Well, if they didn't do that, I will."

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In the following two days, I finally managed to create a formation that worked as I intended. When Merlin activated it, no tentacles appeared, and there were no weird side effects; he simply flinched and fell to his butt, feeling dizzy. The spell itself turned off the moment he activated it, meaning it canceled itself out immediately. Now that it was done, there was the next step: implementing it into something tangible.

It was time to get work done and fire up the smithies. It would also be my first test on implementing CC into something, so I visited the two Morningstars under house arrest to ask the old witch if he wanted to help me.

"No." Elyzien answered plainly, smiling at me, thinking she could finally get back at me for placing her under such harsh surveillance. "I won't tell you anything until you lift this nonsense and ask for help properly!"

"Ely!" Mikan protested, looking at me apologetically, but I wasn't bothered by her answer.

"I see. Cooperation is a no-go, then."

"Are you leaving?" I could hear her surprise when she saw me stand up, turning around to leave their room.

"Yes. I came to see if we can start working together. Seemingly not... So I won't force it. Send word if you change your mind."

I expected it. I would have been glad if we could start anew and let her tell me how to integrate CC correctly, but if not, so be it. I have my own ideas anyway. Arriving at the workshop, Sasha, Merlin, Yuri, and multiple helping soldiers were already present, bringing along multiple boxes filled with different kinds of CC.

"Yo, Boss, 'sup? I'm back in action!" Yuri grinned, greeting me, but Sasha had already interrupted her before she could say another word.

"What should I do next?"

"Good morning to you all, too. Well, we will repeat what we did once already; the only difference is that the formation you will lay down, Sasha, is modified to the new parameters."

"See?" She smiled, glancing at Yuri, "I told you it won't be just throwing CC into the kiln and lighting it on fire."

"Tsk..."

"They have been arguing since the start." Merlin whispered to me, looking tired. "I gave up on trying to smooth things out."

"Sorry to leave you with them for so long... good job keeping it together; I will take over from here!" I whispered back, rubbing his head, making him smile happily. "So, are you two finished?"

"Yes." They answered in unison, making them flinch.

"Good! What I learned of it is that CC is capable of storing magic within itself. It is not just able to contain it, but also to purify it and interact with the mana around us all." As I began explaining, Merlin was the first to go completely silent, looking at me without blinking, drinking up my words even though I had already given him a book about it. It seemed he liked it more when I was explaining it myself. "Do you know who else does that?" I asked, making Yuri shrug while Merlin's hand shot high up into the air.

"Mages!" He answered me, waiting for my praise.

"Exactly." With a smile, I continued rubbing his head, making him giggle, and I couldn't help but notice how kindly Sasha was looking at us... I knew already what she was thinking about. "So, I determined that CC is the natural element that connects magic and the physical realm. It helps mages not just interact with magic more easily but also will be what allows normal people to use magic."

"How?" Asked not just Merlin but everyone else who was present.

"Luckily, I am not the only one who studied it, but many others before me. Can you recall our previous tests?" The moment I questioned them, Merlin went red in the face, trying not to look at me, as I still remember the poor kid had a little accident.

"Yes," Sasha answered me before the boy could get conscious about it. "Even if the pieces weigh the same, their capabilities become different. The tiny ones broke apart very quickly."

"Ugh... The most I brought back are tiny..." Yuri grimaced, looking at me, but I reassured her with a smile.

"Because we used them wrong." I continued, walking up to a prepared desk and rolling out a big parchment, pinning its corners down. "This is the modified magic circle that Sasha will etch into the bottom of the kiln."

"It has four empty rune spots..." Merlin murmured, noticing them in the design the moment he looked at it.

"Yes, that is where these will go." I chuckled while placing pieces of CC into the empty spots. "The Empire has gone far in discovering their properties and utilities. First, CC, which wasn't used in spells yet, is natural. Although after going through a mage's hands, they are no longer that; instead, they got synced to their magic."

"So a CC used by a mage to cast fire spells won't work with water spells?" Merlin asked me at once, making me praise him once again.

"Good thinking! It would work, but it would degrade much, much faster, and maybe even shatter like the ones we used. But Merlin is correct. That is why mages usually have multiple artifacts with them. Their main one is attuned to the spells they use the most, while they have secondary, tertiary, or quaternary artifacts ready for different types of spells."

"So if I ever got a staff, I should use it to cast the spells I used on the wall and not like... levitating things?" Sasha hummed, thinking and bobbing her head.

"Yep! Next comes the size of the CC. Even though their weight remains the same, it still affects their efficiency. The smaller ones degrade quickly and will shatter eventually. If they are actively used."

"Actively? Like... in the hands of a mage?"

"Yes, Merlin. Using them in formations extends their life as it is within a stable structure, always being put through the same amount of mana without fluctuations that are inherent to us humans. Emotions and a change in thoughts are sources to create small ripples and inconsistencies within a spell. Those are not present in a formation."

"You already lost me!" Yuri groaned, playing with her hair, barely paying any attention.

"When a mage uses CC, it counts as active usage. When it is implemented in a working formation, it counts as passive. Simple. CC actively used degrades at least twice as fast. A well-optimized formation lets the same-sized CC last longer. Is this better?"

"No, but don't stop; the little pipsqueak looks like he can't wait to hear what comes next." She shrugged, poking the back of Merlin, but he simply ignored her, watching only me with starry eyes.

"What is also important is charging them up." I continued, "This is where Merlin's natural affinity comes into play! The CC he will charge will be part of the formation, embedded into place."

"How do I do that? And why me? Why not Sasha?"

"Slow down; you will bite your tongue speaking that quickly!" I grinned, ruffling his hair, "It has to be you because your ability is to enhance others. Sasha and I designed this formation to be adjustable. After we finish, you will draw up this control formation on its outside." With that, I showed another one to Merlin, which was very similar and had four identical spots for CC. "This one is designed to work in tandem with the main one. Putting one CC into it, charged by Sasha, will set it to 'level one,' and it goes up to 'level four.' The more you use, the more intense the flames will be. In theory. We will see after finishing it!"

"How intense?"

"As I said, we will see..." I murmured, looking at Sasha, noticing that Yuri had seemingly fallen asleep, drooling with a bored expression. "This is my first time doing something so complex, so... anything can go wrong. Here, Merlin!" I smiled, pushing the small pieces of CC into his hand. "While Sasha gets to draw, you have to sit down, holding them in your palm, and just circulate your mana while we work."

"That's it?"

"Yep."

"Wait!" Yuri snorted, coming back to reality. So she wasn't sleeping, just exaggerating things, huh? "Won't the kiddo blow us up? Your Queen is drawing a fire spell while he is using his magic. That sounds like an explosion waiting to happen!"

"Merlin?" I asked with confidence.

"No worries!" He grinned, showing a thumbs up. "I have been training a lot! I can control it. Promise!"

"I trust you. Let's do it; I want to see the success of our labor!"

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