Chapter 93: Magic Tos and Scrolls
The carriage continued along the hilly path.
Within it, Claude looked at Maria, who was seated in front of him, and felt his head hurt a little. “Madam, is this really appropriate? Given your status, my father should be the one making the visit. Soone of your status shouldn’t have to co to our humble abode…”
Maria giggled and replied, “It’s fine. I don’t care about small details like these. Also, I have sothing I want to discuss with your father about, such as… hiring you to guard my wood.”
After the three wild boars were brought down the slope with much difficulty, Claude realized that the Sioris and the coachman, Wien, didn’t know what to do with the boar that was given to them. Wien would faint at the sight of blood and couldn’t do the harvesting. Siori himself on the other hand was partially disabled; his right hand only had three fingers remaining and he couldn’t grasp a butcher’s knife properly. It was said that he had incurred that injury when he participated in a war when he was young.
The only other two candidates were Siori’s wife, Lancy, and Rodan. Based on the looks they gave Claude and Maria, it was obvious that they didn’t know what to do with the boar.
Claude had to deal with it in the end. He had Rodan give the coachman and the Sioris sothing to do so that they wouldn’t just stand around and watch. Claude used Magus’s Hands and Fine Control and spent only half an hour to open the two boars up, remove their organs and sort out the useful and useless parts.
Maria watched with her brows raised high from the side. She didn’t mind the sll of blood in the slightest. When Claude was done and wanted to borrow a carriage from her to transport the 300-catty boar ho, he found that she had entered the carriage and wanted to send Claude back herself while paying a visit to the chief secretary of Whitestag, Morssen.
That was the reason he was having a headache.
“Madam, do you really want to hire as the guard of your wood?” asked Claude.
“Of course. Why would I lie about it? Just look at the Sioris. They’re already so old and the man is a half cripple. I worry that the group of boars will co to ss my farm up again. If I hire you, I won’t have to worry about that. Also, you can live in the wood and I’ll even give you the key to my lab. You can there as long as you please that way.”
Claude smiled bitterly and said, “Madam, let remind you that I will graduate from middle school in another two and a half months. Do you think it’s really the best ti to hire now?”
“Well, since we’re already so familiar with each other, I won’t keep this from you. I need your help with sothing and you only have to take a week off from school. Perhaps it might not even need that long.”
“What do you need to do, Madam?”
“I ntioned that I would be here for another ten days before returning to the royal capital, right?” Actually, I want to use that ti to cut open the niros crocodile specin and use the skin mbrane to make rune parchnt to bring back with to the royal capital. If I bring the specin back there with , I might not be able to keep it in my possession. With your help, perhaps I can use the skin of the crocodile to make a magic to so that will last much longer.”
Hearing Maria say that piqued Claude’s interest. “Madam, can you tell what magic tos are for? Is it rely to record what is written within for a long period of ti?”
Claude thought that the magic to she referred to was no different from the two of Landes’s diaries and his notebook that could last through the ages and look as good as new even with the passing of six centuries.
He didn’t expect to hear her stifle her laugh, and failing to do so, bursting into a fit of laughter. “Sorry, Claude, I forgot that you were a rookie in magic and don’t have any common sense in the field. Actually, there are many types of magic tos and the one you ntioned uses the lowest grade rune paper to make. Those have no use apart from being able to last a very long ti.
“Magic tos made from niros crocodile skin are considered higher grade. They’re used to inscribe magical formations into. Oh, Claude, have you heard about the unitization of mana theory? It tries to spit mana in the hexagram into discrete units and asure the amount of units consud by different spells.”
I think I’ve seen it in Landes’s diary before. Claude nodded. He recalled that Landes used an example when he was writing about engraving the seven basic spells. If the hexagram contained a hundred units of mana, then the master spell engraved in the central hexagon would cost one to three units per use, while the six slave basic spells in the triangles would cost three to five mana units.
Even though spells not engraved within the hexagram could be cast, engraving the runic spell formation in the air and releasing it would consu around ten to twenty mana units. Compared to spells engraved within the hexagram, the ti it would consu to cast them would be long and the consumption of mana was huge. That was why any magus would pick the spells that were most suitable for them every ti before they advanced to the next level.
Seeing Claude’s nod, Maria continued, “Magi can’t only use their seven basic spells; they must use others from ti to ti as well. However, the limit of mana greatly restricts the number of tis they can be used. So, more than two thousand years ago, the magi invented magic scrolls. They were parchnt on which runic spell formations could be inscribed. To cast those spells, one only had to infuse the scroll with mana. That would save half the amount of mana required compared to engraving the formation in mid air.
“However, the scrolls also ca with a drawback. The spells inscribed on them couldn’t be used too many tis. The parchnt used to make the scrolls wouldn’t be able to sustain having mana course through it so many tis and would spoil easily. Later magi would go on and build upon the scroll technique and gather them into tos. The cover of the tos would be inscribed with a recovery spell formation that would restore the wear on the magic parchnt within caused by spell use to its forr condition.
“Magic tos were better than scrolls in that they didn’t contain just one spell. Each to could contain 24 pages of rune parchnt and 24 spells could be inscribed within. A magus would be able to pick from an assortnt of spells with a to in hand.
“Tos allowed one to quickly pick a spell of choice instead of having to sort through nurous scrolls ssily, which can be a ti-wasting and chaotic affair. Their recovery formations also extend the lifespan of the parchnt within and decrease the mana consud. It’s killing two birds with one stone.
“So, a proper magus would at least have a magic to or two to store spells that might be needed. After magic scrolls were replaced by tos, magi developed another use for them. They were considered one-use consumables instead. Current magic scrolls have mana sealed in them after the spell formation is inscribed. Tearing the scroll open would release the spell and non-magi can also use them as well.”
Maria knew that magic knowledge was sothing Claude lacked badly, so she explained everything in great detail. “During the later stage of the dark ages, in other words, the fall of the magical civilization, supply of magical resources dwindled greatly and few magi from that ti could afford to carry their own magic tos. The parchnt used to make tos ca mostly from magic beast skins, and magic beasts were mostly extinct on Freia around that ti.
“Do you know why I rushed over when I heard that sobody hunted a niros crocodile?”
Claude shook his head and played along.
“The reason for that is so far, the skin mbrane of niros crocodiles is one of the three types of wild beast skin that can be used to make magic parchnt. The other two are skin of the red-eyed violent apes of the western highlands of the continent and the bloodback gray wolf in the southern part of the continent, otherwise known as alpes magic wolves in so novels.
“Naturally, books made from niros crocodile skin mbrane can only be used to inscribed level zero and one spells. It won’t be able to sustain the flow of mana like the earliest of magic scrolls if a higher level spell formation was inscribed on it. The whole to would only end up damaged as result.
“That was the reason why magi didn’t consider niros crocodiles as important a few centuries ago. However, to registered magi like us, one niros crocodile specin is reason enough to tear each other’s skin apart for. After all, we only get to learn trashy and harmless low-level spells. Fortunately, I was the one who got the news first and rushed over. Otherwise, if the Special Bureau finds out about it in two to three months, there won’t be any left for …
“So, now you understand why I need you to stay here for another ten plus days, right?” Maria said as she gave Claude a close look, “I am going to remove the skin mbrane of the niros crocodile at the wood to be made into rune parchnt before returning to the royal capital. That way, nobody will be able to take it from . If they want it, they’ll have to trade sothing for it.
“When you were harvesting the two boars just now, it occurred to that I wouldn’t have to waste energy to remove the skin mbrane from the specin if you help out. You can use Magus’s Hands to do that easily and I can make a few magic tos with the parchnt that I get. I have more than enough materials for that in the wood after all…”
Claude finally understood why she set her sights on him. Forcing a smile, he said, “Madam, I can just give you the two spells, Fine Control and Magus’s Hands. That way, you can also easily turn the specin into magic tos.”
Maria refused imdiately. “That’ll only waste my mana. You have those two spells as basic spells and don’t need much mana to use them. As for , I don’t have any to to contain the spells and I’ll use lots of mana each ti I use them, so I probably won’t be able to cast more than a few tis in a day. That’s why I think you’re the best fit for the task.”
Gah, she’s relying on now…
“Claude, I’m not just bossing around. Think about it, you’ll also benefit from doing this,” said Maria seriously.
What kind of benefit? Claude gave her a puzzled look.
Maria smiled again, as if she liked to see Claude’s naive expression. “Think about it. If you help out, wouldn’t you learn how to turn niros crocodile skin mbrane into rune pacrhnt? I believe you don’t know how to do that, right?”
I do, thought Claude. Landes detailed the whole process in his diary. Back then, Landes only used the parchnt for his diaries and notebook instead of making them into low-level tos like Maria intended to. Claude already had the theory and was lacking only practice.
However, he still nodded silently.
“Also, I will use the rune parchnt I get to make so scrolls and tos. You’re free to learn from as I do so and ask any questions you have. I’ll answer every one of them.” Maria offered another tantalizing condition.
“Really?” Claude was moved. That was sothing Landes’s diary didn’t contain. If Maria taught him how to make tos, he would be able to capture niros crocodiles from the swamp himself and remove their skin mbrane to make his own in the future.
“Also, if everything goes well, I’ll give you one to as paynt,” Maria tempted again, “The only condition I have is for you to move into the wood and do what I tell you.
“I heard Rodan tell about how you were taken to be a thief when you climbed onto the roof of your house. I bet you were training in ditation back then, right? If you live in my wood, you wouldn’t have to worry about others discovering your secret.
“I’ll be going back to the royal capital in ten more days, and I can leave the wood in your care. The excuse we will tell your father is that you’ll be hired as a guard for the farm. You’ll be allowed to continue reading there and read my collection of books and even use my lab.”
Claude was finally convinced. “Alright, Madam. So long as you can convince my father, I’ll listen to whatever you say.”
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