The scenery outside the stained-glass window was quite beautiful. Through the glass, he could see leaves and vines on the roof swaying in the wind. The thick trunk of the oak tree was ancient and massive, possessing a strange sort of beauty.
Colin picked up the ceramic pot on the table and poured himself a cup of ad.
He gazed out the window as he began to study the new Magic he had obtained from completing the commission in his mind.
In the blink of an eye, Colin appeared within the Illusion.
He looked around. He was surrounded by four walls, each built from a different material: a wooden wall, a stone wall, an iron wall, and an ice wall.
In front of each wall stood a figure wearing Armor and holding a Wooden Shield.
Just like before, Colin’s body began to move on its own.
He slowly raised his right hand and aid it at the ice wall beside him. He held his four fingers together, using his thumb to press a glass-like object into his palm. At the sa ti, he recited a Spell with a trilling sound.
The mont the Spell was finished, Colin could feel the glass-like object pressed into his palm begin to vibrate violently, letting out a soft hum.
The figure suddenly clutched its throat.
Blood started to trickle from its mouth and nose. Its limbs grew weak, and it slowly collapsed to the ground.
anwhile, the ice wall behind the figure also began to tremble. A few seconds later, with a CRACK, it exploded into a pile of crushed ice on the ground.
Shatter, a Tier Two Magic. Designate a point within twenty ters. All creatures within three ters of that point will take 5-26 points of Thunder Damage. These creatures can make a Constitutional Exemption; a successful Exemption halves the Damage taken.
Once the Magic was complete, Colin regained control of his body.
He looked down at the piece of "glass" in his hand.
It was a sowhat cloudy, dark shard of glass. The mont he looked at it, the word "Mica" suddenly appeared in Colin’s mind. ’This must be the Casting Material.’
He looked up at the ice wall before him again.
’It’s an area-of-effect Magic, and it deals more Damage than Burning Hand.’
Colin had read about the principles of Magic in books.
Damage caused by sound was known as "Thunder" Damage in this world. ’So the principle behind this Magic must be using resonance to destroy structures,’ he mused.
’And it looks like it can destroy things like walls, but it makes a lot of noise. Probably not great for stealth missions.’
As Colin was thinking, the crushed ice on the ground slowly began to float.
Like a video playing in reverse, the shards flew back to their original positions, re-forming the thick ice wall.
’It can even repair itself?’
Colin didn’t pay it much mind and began to cast the Magic at the wooden wall.
Just as when he had learned Magic before, he tried several tis in a row without success.
Colin wasn’t worried. He tried again and again, slowly learning from his mistakes.
After so unknown amount of ti, he began Casting at the wooden wall again.
VMMMM~
With the sound, the figure in front of the wooden wall began to bleed from its mouth and nose and collapsed to the ground.
At the sa ti, the wooden wall behind the figure began to make cracking noises. Finally, with a loud CRACK, the planks exploded in a shower of splinters, leaving a gaping semicircular hole three ters in radius on the wall.
After completing the Casting, Colin waited for a mont.
He faintly felt a state similar to when he controlled an enemy with Tasha’s Hideous Laughter. At the sa ti, he hadn’t been kicked out of the Illusion.
Colin looked at the walls before him.
’Does this an I can keep experinting with the Magic?’
With that thought, Colin raised his hand and cast Shatter at the wooden wall again. The wall shattered just as before. He carefully checked his own condition and found that he hadn’t expended any energy.
Next, he tried casting at the other walls, continuing until he had a thorough understanding of the Magic’s properties.
As for its Power, Shatter could easily blast apart a wooden wall.
However, it could only create a few cracks in a stone wall, and it was completely ineffective against the tal wall.
Also, possibly because all the resonant Damage was transferred directly inside the body, this Magic couldn’t shatter an enemy’s Shield or Armor.
After he had a complete grasp of how to use it, Colin willed it.
The faint connection in his mind imdiately broke. The Illusion before his eyes vanished, and the beautiful stained-glass window reappeared.
He looked at the oak tree outside the window.
Colin went ahead and added all four hundred Skill Level points to his Armor Skill.
During his fight with White Frost, his Skill Levels in all his Skills had improved sowhat. His current Skill Levels were: Casting: 1381/2000, Armor: 1205/1250, Swordsmanship: 1264/2000.
His Armor Technique Skill Level was also nearly maxed out. He should be able to get a Specialty soon.
Colin yawned.
’This whole affair has co to a satisfying conclusion.’
’Next, I’ll go back and ask Edwin if I can visit the White Tower,’ Colin mulled over in his mind. ’But the chances are pretty low. In this world, a place like that is probably as important as a nuclear power plant. They definitely don’t let just anyone in.’
’The main thing is still to prepare for turning in the evaluation form with Orelia.’
"When I look at that tree... I get this strange, quiet feeling..." Kase said from his seat beside Colin.
Colin could also feel his whole body relax, like he was in a sauna.
He said, "Maybe things that are this ancient have a bit of Magic Power to them, kind of like your Ancestral Power... Oh, right. Sothing strange happened back in Snow Deer Valley."
"What strange thing?" Kase asked, slumped in his chair.
"Back then, you were crying your eyes out..."
Kase’s tone imdiately perked up, and he cut him off. "Who was crying? Weren’t you the one crying? I was the one who said I’d get you out of there for sure, and then you finally cald down."
"Alright, alright. Here’s what happened, Kase."
Colin glanced at Kase’s expression, which was pretending to be nonchalant, and continued, "That night, I was actually dead asleep when sothing pushed awake. The thing actually looked a lot like the Ghost you summon when you enter your Frenzy. It even said sothing to ."
"What did it say?"
"I think it was... ’Kurak, Zorak Humaq, Gorushk, Krell.’ Yeah, I think that was it." Colin then asked, "What does that an?"
Kase looked out the window and sighed, not saying a word for a long ti.
Colin didn’t press him, just sitting quietly in his chair.
A faint sound of running water ca from the washroom.
The sun had completely set.
Faint moonlight fell upon the oak tree. The oak leaves outside the stained-glass window drifted gently, making it seem for a mont as if one were underwater. The vines looked like swaying seaweed, and the leaves at the very top were like algae floating on the water’s surface.
Kase sighed again.
He said, "It ans, ’Wake up, friend of humans. Please help my child.’"
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