I held the Hand of Auris book firmly, feeling its yellowed leather cover beneath my fingers.
The tal chain that sealed it was sturdy, and its ends were shaped like a belt.
I knew I could not simply open it like an ordinary book.
Advanced spells required precautions and rituals.
Learning Hand of Auris required Energy Fundantals, Light Studies, Basic Evocation, and Advanced Magical Literacy.
I had learned those concepts long ago.
Thanks to selling my magical devices, I had gained access to advanced study materials, deepening my understanding of the light elent.
I took a deep breath before reciting the incantation necessary to unlock the pages.
—LightºCo, burn away the darkness.
My voice echoed softly through the room, and the book reacted imdiately.
Subtle tremors ran across its surface, and in response to the command, the chains of light began to unravel, dissolving into the air like golden sparks.
The pages started flipping rapidly, revealing their contents.
—Biochip, begin recording the information!
["Order Received!"]
The biochip activated instantly.
["Extraction in progress....."]
["1%"]
["2%"]
["3%"]
["4%"]
The biochip’s glow shone in my eyes.
I read quickly, absorbing the complex diagrams and detailed instructions.
["99%"]
Only after reading every page and hearing the Laboratory’s confirmation did I close the book, satisfied.
["Extraction Complete!"]
The construction of a magical model is the foundation for a Mage to cast spells.
This process includes a degree of complex variation, as well as the precise construction of the magical model itself.
Learning a spell takes at least several months.
That was precisely why so many apprentices gave up before becoming true Mages.
Without the biochip, I would have to spend months practicing and failing countless tis before managing to cast a single spell.
With that done, I picked up the second book, Solar Light Arrow.
I flipped through its pages and gave another command to the biochip.
Just like before, it recorded and stored the information rapidly.
["1%"]
["2%"]
["3%"]
["4%"]
["5%"]
["6%"]
["7%"]
["8%"]
....
["Extraction Complete!"]
I smiled, satisfied with my progress.
Finally, I threw myself onto the bed, relaxing for a mont before giving a ntal command.
—Biochip, activate the Virtual Laboratory!
["Beep!"]
["Virtual laboratory is initializing..."]
The environnt around began to fade.
The room, the books, the bed—everything dissolved in the blink of an eye.
In its place erged a vast, endless digital sea, an expanse of data surrounding like the waves of an invisible ocean.
—Transfer the information collected from the books into my mind.
["Beep."]
["Transmitting information...."]
Imdiately, I felt a stream of data and knowledge flooding my brain.
Now I knew and understood the spells, but that did not an I had mastered them yet.
If I wanted to master them instantly, I would have to allow the Laboratory to create artificial experiences based on thousands of simulations, implanting those mories directly into .
The problem? That process left a horrible taste in my mouth and caused such intense dizziness that I nearly vomited.
If I could avoid it, it would be better.
Perhaps, with only the knowledge from the books, I could learn in a less agonizing way.
With that in mind, I gave the next command.
—Create a target practice environnt.
["Altering environnt!"]
The virtual sea imdiately began to change.
The data reorganized around , reconstructing a new scenario.
Within seconds, the space transford into a beautiful green forest.
In front of , several training dummies took shape, simulating wild creatures.
There was everything from giant boars to monstrous scorpions.
["Environnt successfully altered!"]
—All right, ti to test.
I took a deep breath and raised my hands.
Here, I could fail as many tis as necessary without consequences... In the real world, a single mistake could be fatal.
Following the specifications of the Data Model, I began reciting the words of the Solar Light Bow spell.
—Light!
—Oh, light! Illuminate my path by destroying the darkness...
As soon as I began the incantation, I felt my connection with the Virtual Laboratory deepen.
My mind rged with the image of my digital body, allowing every detail of the spell’s execution to be automatically adjusted by the simulation.
"Buzz~~"
The energy around began to converge.
Golden rays shimred in the air, flowing toward my hands like streams of liquid light.
The virtual image representing moved in perfect synchrony, performing precise gestures as elental energy shaped itself into a radiant bow.
The process was fascinating.
The light gradually condensed, transforming into an arched structure of pure solar magic.
A single arrow of light began to form in my hands, flickering with an intense golden glow.
But then...
On the 14th magical word, I felt a slight delay in my movents.
Half a second.
It was enough to destabilize the accumulated energy.
Before I could correct my mistake, the spell collapsed.
"BOOM~~"
The condensed light exploded violently before my eyes, generating a scorching sphere of solar fire.
The destructive energy completely swallowed my virtual image.
For an instant, all I could see was a curtain of blinding white light, followed by an intense wave of heat.
The Virtual World trembled.
Luminous fragnts flew in all directions before being consud by solar radiation.
If that had happened in the real world, at least half of my room would have been reduced to ashes.
Fortunately, the simulation recorded the failure with precision, and seconds later the scene was restored to its original state as if nothing had happened.
Even so, I could not prevent the sensation of cold sweat running down my forehead—even though, in this digital world, my body was not even real.
I had just watched my own virtual image being destroyed by a magical explosion.
The sensation was so vivid, so intense... My heart stopped for a second.
I knew it was only a simulation.
But this illusion of reality was powerful.
Unreal reality.
The simulation did not rely replicate spellcasting—it also allowed to fully experience its risks.
If I made a mistake in the real world, there would be no reset button.
I took a deep breath, steadying myself.
All right... Let’s try again.
—Light!
—Oh, light! Illuminate my path, help destroy the darkness...
My gaze fixed on the half-ford bow of light in my hands, my mind split between the incantation and the adjustnt of my spiritual energy.
I felt the magic vibrating within , responding to the invocation.
The warm, radiant energy began to take shape once more, forming the luminous structure of the bow.
I was close...
So close.
But then—
"Boomm~~"
—Damn it!
On the 17th syllable, my Spirit’s frequency fluctuated for a millisecond.
Too small for an amateur to notice, yet more than enough to destabilize the entire magical construction.
The spiritual model I was trying to form collapsed.
The gathered energy exploded violently and, once again, my virtual body was consud by golden flas.
I stood still for a mont, watching the luminous remnants of the explosion as I let out a bitter, helpless laugh.
—Again...
I took a mont to calm myself.
My breathing was only a virtual reflex, yet I still felt the need to stabilize my mind.
Then I clenched my fists and, for the thirteenth ti, chanted the spell.
—Light!
—Oh, light! Illuminate my path, help destroy the darkness...
"BOOM!"
Failure struck again.
And again.
And again.
Each ti, the mistake was only a minor detail.
My hand gestures were a fraction of a second too slow.
My spiritual frequency misaligned at the last mont.
I hesitated for an instant before releasing the energy.
The result was always the sa: a devastating explosion that reduced my virtual body to ashes.
If this were the real world, I would have died on the first attempt.
But here, I could fail infinitely without risk.
The problem was the wasted ti—and my ntal exhaustion.
My spiritual energy was running dry.
My eyes—even though they were only a projection inside the Virtual Laboratory—burned with fatigue.
Yet this ti, instead of frustration, I felt a sudden urge to laugh.
A satisfied, almost savage laugh escaped .
—To hell with this!
I was not going to waste any more ti manually mastering this damned spell!
If the Virtual Laboratory could emulate infinite failures and simulations, then why the hell was I still trying alone?
Even if I had to vomit, I would not care.
—Laboratory, activate Advanced Simulation Mode! Emulate not only the Solar Light Bow, but also Hand of Auris! Create artificial experiences until absolute mastery!
["Executing command."]
The virtual sea distorted violently, and hundreds of holographic versions of myself appeared around .
Each one began executing the spells simultaneously.
All errors were corrected on the next attempt.
Every failure was analyzed in real ti.
It was an army of "Eduards," all failing, improving, and repeating.
The estimated completion ti appeared before in bright blue numbers.
["Estimated Ti: 100:30:23"]
Only 100 hours.
That ti was ridiculously fast.
In the real world, any other student would need months just to reach a basic level of proficiency.
I crossed my arms, satisfied.
That will do.
I deactivated the simulation and let myself fall onto the bed in my dormitory.
...
1535 Words
Reviews
All reviews (0)