"Fuck, I feel like I've been beaten all over…"
When Zhong Ming's call woke him, Rorschach felt sore all over. He struggled to get up from the floor.
'I must have passed out after exhausting my Magic Power. I slept twisted up on the floor all night—or to be more precise, I was unconscious all night.'
Then, Rorschach noticed a hardcover book floating in front of him. It was open, facing him, looking somewhat ethereal and emitting a fluorescent glow.
'Okay, very magical.'
Rorschach waved his hand through it, confirming the book wasn't solid. A closer look revealed the contents were words written in different colors:
Rorschach · 16 years old · Fourth-Year Apprentice
[Fireball Skill (Purple)]
Magic Concentration (Purple) / Elemental Transformation (Purple) / Projectile (Purple)
[Water Creation Skill (White)]
Plane Positioning (White) / Elemental Summoning (Blue)
[Basic Level Decomposition Skill (Blue)]
Dissociation (Blue)
'Only sixteen years old... Heh heh, what a young body.' Then Rorschach's attention turned to the colors of the text.
'The three spells I've mastered are all Basic Level Magic, so the colors probably aren't related to the quality of the Magic itself.'
Rorschach recalled the results of last night's experiment. 'The colors must correspond to my proficiency, increasing in order from white to blue to purple.'
'If I hadn't transmigrated, the original Rorschach from this Otherworld might have become a precision Mage specializing in the Fireball Skill. A walking nuclear warhead?'
The small text under each spell, like little tags, was even more interesting. The original Rorschach's grasp of magic theory was nearly perfect. Searching his memories, Rorschach found that the descriptions for these components closely matched the magical principles he had studied.
Take the Water Creation Skill, for instance. The prevailing theory in the Magic Realm was that the spell didn't create water from nothing, but summoned it from the Water Elemental Plane. That meant the two components, 'Plane Positioning' and 'Elemental Summoning,' corresponded to the two fundamental steps of the Water Creation Skill.
Unfortunately, Rorschach's mastery of both steps was extremely low. Judging by the standard set by his Decomposition Skill, he'd need to reach the blue level to cast it successfully one hundred percent of the time.
However, the fundamental steps displayed for the Fireball Skill conflicted with the Magic Realm's current theories.
The prevailing belief in the Magic Realm was that the Fire Element existed abundantly in the Material Plane, but in the form of a 'Flammable Element' before being stimulated by Magic Power. The Fireball Skill was thought to work by gathering this Flammable Element and using Magic Power for its Activation into the Fire Element.
According to the component descriptions, however, the actual process was to gather Magic Power from the surroundings, transform it into the Fire Element, and then give it the form of a Projectile to be launched.
'The Basic Level Decomposition Skill only has one component, 'Dissociation.' Looks like some components can be spells in their own right.'
'Come to think of it, this very magical Magic Book is written in English.' Recalling that it had no physical form and was just floating there, Rorschach focused his will. The Magic Book before him dissolved into particles of light and reformed into a panel.
'Can I really change the theme?'
'Why does this look like a CAD software interface now?' A familiar itch tickled the engineering nerd in him. The white-colored components were much clearer now. In addition to the text, each spell and its components now had corresponding icons.
The spell icons looked just like Skill icons from a video game. The icons for each component, however, were simpler, more like abstract Runes.
Three empty slots had appeared in the center of the panel:
□→□→□
To the right of them was a button labeled [GENERATE].
'Could it be...?'
Rorschach tapped the spell icon, but nothing happened. Then, he tried long-pressing one of the components beneath a spell. To his surprise, it created a copy of a draggable Rune, along with a properties window.
[Elemental Transformation]
Purple · Proficiency 327/900
Transforms Magic Power into activated elements. Conversion efficiency varies between elements.
Current Transformation Target:
Fire Element
'Holy shit!'
He immediately had a bold idea.
Magic Concentration (Purple) → Elemental Transformation (Purple)
Tapping on [Elemental Transformation], he saw that the target element had four options: Fire, Water, Earth, and Air, as well as grayed-out, unselectable options for Positive Energy and Negative Energy. Rorschach changed the target from Fire to Water and hit [GENERATE].
After a ripple of energy, a new icon appeared to the right of the slots. At the same time, Rorschach felt a slight throbbing in his temples.
Rorschach had learned a new spell.
[Rorschach's True Water Creation Technique (Purple)]
Magic Concentration (Purple) / Elemental Transformation · Water (Purple)
Description:
The first spell created by Rorschach.
Transforming Magic Power into the Water Element is difficult. Many great and brilliant Mages have attempted it, but all gave up, opting instead for the less costly method of summoning from the Water Elemental Plane. It is a pity their understanding of Elemental Transformation and the Water Element was not thorough enough...
More Magic Power means more water. Let 'er rip, Mage!
(Renameable)
Rorschach looked at the panel, noticing that the information came from three sources. Some of it was from his past life, like this very un-magical and un-Otherworldly UI. Some was knowledge the original Rorschach had mastered. And some, like the new spell's bizarre description, seemed to contain information that neither version of Rorschach possessed.
Rorschach quickly grabbed a bucket. Aiming his hand at it, he mimicked the casting motion for the Fireball Skill, gathering his Magic Power and beginning the transformation...
"True Water Creation Technique!"
A powerful stream of water gushed from his palm. Unrestrained by gravity, it coalesced into a steadily growing sphere of water. Rorschach could clearly feel the Magic Power drain was greater than that of the Fireball Skill or the original Water Creation Skill, but it was still manageable. Furthermore, the casting process was just as smooth as it was for the Fireball Skill.
SPLASH! The moment he cut off the flow of his Magic Power, the sphere of water collapsed into the bucket.
'Success! I was so proficient it didn't feel like my first time! And that's definitely more than one pint of water!'
Rorschach studied his water-stained palm with satisfaction, then glanced at the bucket and let out a deep, contented sigh.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"Rorschach! Aren't you coming out? Are you seriously doing laundry at a time like this?" The voice from outside the dorm room belonged to Bart, a friend of the original Rorschach from this Otherworld. 'If my memories are correct—'
Sure enough, when he opened the door, Bart and Richard were standing outside.
A farmer's son, a merchant's son, and the son of a noble forming a close trio was an odd sight at the academy, but the three had been inseparable for nearly four years.
The generous Bart had inherited the shrewdness and social grace of his father, the merchant guild's president, and had the best connections of anyone in their year. Richard, the tall, light-blond-haired boy, was gentle and soft-spoken—a stark contrast to the Visein Clan's current powerful standing in the Imperial Capital.
As for the farmer's son—the steady, reliable, and hardworking Rorschach—he was their solid guarantee for passing magic theory exams. His class notes were always considered the gold standard.
"You look exhausted. Hmm?"
Bart's smoky-blue eyes studied Rorschach for a moment before he pulled a small paper packet from his pocket.
"You definitely didn't eat breakfast! Farmers, Warriors, and students about to take an exam should all eat their fill in the morning! If you're out of time, at least have some sugar!"
"Thanks." Rorschach took the paper packet. Inside was a piece of rock candy made from Brown Sugar. It had no strange aftertaste, just pure sweetness. The sugar made him feel a bit more energetic.
Richard, who always spoke in a low, resonant voice, would let others speak three sentences before he uttered one. "Rorschach, are you ready?"
"No problem. In fact, I was just practicing the Water Creation Skill. It went pretty well."
"That's great." A genuine smile spread across Richard's face.
Rorschach didn't really care whose sons they were, or what kind of family his original self had been born into. But both his memories and his present experience told him that he couldn't have asked for better friends.
The three aspiring Mages met up with the other fourth- and fifth-year Apprentices and headed for the examination hall that would decide their fates.