Chapter 49 - Twin Spirals

"Ugh… That woman…" Lily grumbled as she tiredly walked to her room.

True to her word, Camilla had basically drained her dry of Mana until she was practically swimming in potions. On one hand, she was happy to have the imbuing practice, but having her Mana emptied out left her fatigued and hungry. Her stomach growled in agreement.

"People are going to think I'm getting fat with how much more I'm eating lately…" Lily whispered with some concern as she rubbed her complaining stomach.

After leaving her stuff in her room, she went to seek out dinner. Normally, she'd at least speak with Arakil for a bit beforehand, but her complaining belly's consistent protests made her give in. Satiated and happy, she returned to her room to inform Arakil of the day's activities and her successful discovery.

[Quite frankly, I'm surprised you thought of creating a twin spiral. Arguably, it's a much harder method than normal Mana imbuement and somewhat riskier.]

Lily grinned happily at the praise before asking her question. "Why is it riskier? Because of the second spiral getting cut off?"

[Oh, you already experienced it… That makes things conveniently easier. Yes, you risk losing a lot more Mana if your concentration breaks. While Mana can be lost with other methods, this method almost entirely separates your Mana from yourself.]

"I'm not sure I understand…" Lily admitted.

[With the spiral Mana method, assuming you make big enough twinned spirals, then you can throw out a lot more Mana than other methods. The disadvantage is that if the connection is broken, the Mana will retreat to the center of its own spiral rather than your Core.]

Lily nodded. "Okay… I think I get it. I just need to practice not letting the connection break!"

[While that is certainly true, I'd also advise you to keep your twinned spirals on the smaller side. And I do not mean small and compressed; keep them as small and basic as possible, like some of your first ones.]

"Okay. That makes it easier to ensure they are symmetrical," Lily agreed. "Does that mean I can finally imbue ink? Is there anything else I need to do?"

[ No . You are definitely ready to start imbuing. Again, I caution you to ensure you start on the smaller side rather than too big. Too much Mana inside something can have strange effects. Likewise, ensure you do not infuse the same ink a second time once you've turned it into glyph ink.]

"Start small. Don't imbue ink twice," Lily repeated. "What happens if I imbue the ink twice?"

[Inconsistencies in the distributed Mana can lead to failed glyphs. You could, in theory, do it if you precisely ensure you used the exact same distribution of Mana. And before you ask, I don't doubt your ability to replicate an identical spiral twice in a row; you also need to maintain the same ink-to-Mana ratio. Rather not risk it.]

"Oh…" Lily mumbled and tried imagining it.

If she used one portion of glyph ink and her imbuement wasn't good enough, how would she determine how much smaller to make her spiral to compensate for "one less ink?" It would need a lot of trial and error to resolve this, and we agreed it would be better to just use a new bottle of ink.

"Yeah… I'd need a lot of tools and supplies," Lily nodded. "Good ink is pricey, but I could just use failed batches for writing or drawing practice… I'd hate for my shield glyph to fail."

[ Exactly ! And this is why I'm proud to call you my apprentice. Consistency and contingencies are a fundamental part of working with magic. I'd suggest imbuing some ink and drawing a basic glyph within this grimoire; then, we can evaluate what we are working with.]

"Okay!" Lily said with determination, although she still had one question on her mind. "Also… I didn't know beforehand, but how do I know when to stop?"

[Once the twinned spiral reaches the center, the process is complete, and you can immediately start recalling your Mana. The spiral size determines the quantity of Mana being imbued, while the density of the loops controls the concentration. But, as mentioned before, rather keep them simple for now.]

"Okay, thanks Arakil! I'll make you proud!" Lily replied positively.

Before she started, she checked her Mana Core and confirmed that it had recovered well while remaining idle and metabolizing from a good hearty meal. Deciding to put her best foot forward, she also spent a short time meditating on the Mana gathering array to further refill her Core.

Feeling energetic and excited, she sought out a fresh bottle of ink from her cupboard—leftover supplies from her scribe work. Holding the bottle in her hand, Lily took a deep breath and began a small spiral before quickly having to fight her habit of making it as compressed as possible.

Once her outward spiral was complete, she diverted off the tail to create the twin spiral, imagining the focal point as the bottle in her hand. Since both spirals were small and lacked tightly packed loops, it didn't take long before she reached the center.

After retreating the twinned spiral back into her original, she noted that the returning Mana was less than what she had put out. Before looking at the presumed glyph ink, she took some time to settle her thoughts.

It's almost like I'm using my Mana to make roads, which then sends the Mana to the ink. Then I must recollect the roads when I'm done or lose that invested Mana. I lost a big chunk when Camilla startled me, so I can see why Arakil says this is riskier…

Finally, she looked at the ink. It seemed the same at a glance, but she shook the bottle and noticed that the black ink now had an iridescent quality, vaguely reminiscent of when Arakil had imbued ink directly.

Lily couldn't contain her excitement as she quickly went to her desk and pulled out her dedicated glyph ink pen. While prepping her supplies, she thought of what would be the simplest glyph to make while still maintaining its usefulness.

She settled on a firebolt glyph; if she restricted it to 10 meters, it would still be relatively potent even if her glyph ink was somewhat lacking. If her work was good, then she'd have a decently strong short-range firebolt.

After dipping her pen and turning to a blank page, Lily began her work. Rhythmically and routinely, her pen danced across the empty page. Each sigil was immaculate despite its simple design. Finishing the job, she glanced happily at the page and noted the familiar shimmer of a completed glyph, ready to be activated.

Lily wasted no time bringing normal ink to the opposite page while blurting out her burning question. "How did I do, Arakil?"

[Your glyph was masterfully crafted. I'd rate it at 98.97%, which is absolutely remarkable. I also applaud your choice; by limiting the firebolt with appropriate sigils, you've ensured that even if it's a minuscule amount of Mana, it will still be functional.]

"No ! Not the glyph !" Lily whined. "How is my ink!?"

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

[Hehe…]

"Are you… Laughing ?" Lily asked, feeling sheepish. This was a far cry from how Arakil normally behaved.

[Yes, forgive me. I thought it would be somewhat humorous.]

Lily gaped at the page while Arakil continued to write.

[As for the glyph ink, it is serviceable. I'd rate this first attempt at about 62% of the potency of the Fairymoss solution. This means that as long as you institute the appropriate limits, you can still craft meaningful glyphs with it.]

"Less than the Fairymoss…" Lily mumbled, feeling a little sour at that comparison.

[It's still very good for a first attempt! Practice makes perfect. It also helps that from what I'm detecting, your Mana is very pure, so there's no loss in efficiency there.]

"I'll do better next time!" Lily said with a determined nod.

[I'd advise you to empty this first bottle before the next attempt. Rather save your Mana for your spell practice than imbuing.]

"Okay…" Lily agreed, slightly disappointed that she would need to wait to beat the stupid plant. "But what about me trying to imbue Mana into your book? I still owe you, Mana!"

[You don't owe me anything, Lily… I'm happy to teach you.]

"But you can't even see! Or talk!" Lily passionately cried. "Don't you want to cast spells again? Or see the world? Or something?"

[... I do agree that my current situation is less than ideal. But I can be patient.]

"I'm going to give you Mana!" Lily declared.

[Wait-] Arakil attempted to scrawl out a message before running out of ink.

Not that Lily could see it; she had already closed her eyes and placed her palm in the center of the book's margins.

***

"Blasted girl, why are you rushing into this!" Arakil shouted, his voice echoing throughout the library.

Normally, he would have been grateful to get some Mana directly from her. It would speed up his search, and they could even start repairing some of his functions. However, a fear clutched onto his soul as he thought more about it.

What if the contract seal prevents me from talking to Lily now that she has Mana?

It was certainly possible . Arakil had been trying to piece together the conditions on his seal as best as possible. Rose also shared numerous conditions with Lily, but Rose couldn't interact with him.

What if the seal is based on the person's quantity of Mana? Can I only talk to Lily because it assumes she is incapable of magic? Would that change if somehow it recognizes that she now has Mana?

That possibility terrified Arakil… And it certainly felt like a contingency he would've certainly set up if he was on the opposite end of this situation.

Despite the thought being born from a paranoid neuroticism, it wasn't something he could ignore. Arakil's very being demanded he confirm the safety of the situation, and it was one of the reasons he hadn't wanted to rush into the imbuing situation after he had given it some more thought.

"But now Lily is diving headfirst into it!" Arakil said as he chewed nervously on his thumb. A bad habit he hadn't done since his youth.

He stared at the page where he had tried to scrawl out his warning, but Lily's lack of ink and now lack of response made him think it was all but inevitable.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl despite this being something that should have taken some mere moments. While all of this was happening, Arakil couldn't help but imagine potential disaster scenarios—

How long would he have to wait for someone capable of communicating with his book? Would Lily try to find someone for him or abandon him?

What would happen to Lily? She was a fledgling mage needing guidance. While he had taught her the basics of nurturing her Mana Core, it was certainly not enough. He'd taught her a mere two spells. How would she ever conjure the stars she dreamed of without his mentoring?

"I thought I'd have more time…" Arakil shuddered.

Then it happened. Arakil glanced at the book on his desk, which pulsed. It started small and began radiating a soft, faint, silvery light.

Arakil tensed as if expecting golden chains to burst out of nowhere to terminate and restrict him once more. But… They didn't come. He hesitantly reached his hand toward the book and touched it.

Warmth.

The silvery light felt incredibly comforting and soothing. Arakil actually gasped in surprise at the odd sensation and couldn't help but whisper curious mutterings to himself. He still expected some restriction or something detrimental to occur, but nothing else happened.

"Seems my fears were unfounded…" Arakil hesitantly mumbled. Yet still, he was not struck down for his verbal temptation of fate.

As Lily had declared and promised, she had gifted him some Mana. It was a small amount, and Arakil wondered if she was intentionally restricting herself or if this was the limit of her capabilities.

"Or … Perhaps there's a transference penalty?" Arakil mused. "Restricting the Mana I can receive would be one way to go about it without strictly denying me. Or is it due to the condition of this world?"

Arakil drummed his fingers of his other hand across the tabletop as he thought.

"Her Mana is unbelievably pure. While I want to give her full credit for that, it might be due to this newfound Mana scarcity. Being formed in an almost barren world, with no outside influences to affect the outcome? Definitely something to consider…"

Arakil whispered self-ramblings as he stared at his hand, bathed in the silvery glow, and drank in the tiny yet extremely satisfying Mana he was being supplied with.

"It's certainly warm ... I'm… Glad that I'm not going to be ripped away from her. I very much look forward to seeing your magical journey, Lily…"