At the Astria mansion in the capital.
I sat blankly in the mansion, staring at the ceiling.
'Think of recognizing the points and lines, the space, rather than creating it from scratch.'
Recognizing the space.
What does that even mean?
No matter how much I mulled over Ian's words, they were hard to understand.
According to Ian, the box I created was merely an object formed within the space we inhabit.
It was not space itself but a mere clump of ordinary mana.
Then, what exactly is space?
No, I didn't even need to go that far.
I couldn't even create a single point at present.
Trying to understand space from there was impossible.
I had no choice but to follow Ian's instructions.
Still, the silver lining was that Ian had taught me quite well.
He demonstrated spatial magic directly and explained the theoretical aspects.
His clear explanations made the theory easy to grasp.
But practice was a different story.
'The world is space, and this space is essentially made up of countless points. You need to perceive and feel these points.'
'Spatial magic is not creation. It's a magic that connects existing points in the world, creating lines from these points, and then forming space by connecting these lines. And drawing a boundary between reality and the created space. That's what spatial magic is.'
Although I could understand these words, I couldn't put them into practice.
"What a headache..."
Continuously pondering gave me a literal headache.
How can one perceive what is invisible?
I stared into the void, wondering if I could see the points.
"…I see it. It must be visible. It has to be."
I muttered to myself, glaring into the void.
But that didn't mean they would become visible.
My eyes started to hurt from straining them too much.
"Ugh…"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})I rubbed my sore eyes.
Staring into the void wouldn't make them visible…
How can I see the points in space?
Humans have things they can and cannot do with their five senses.
Perceiving space is beyond what can be sensed with the five senses.
Naturally, it was impossible to see with the eyes.
"With the eyes… With the five senses, it's impossible…"
A way for a person to perceive and feel without the five senses.
"…Mana."
I remembered the fight with Jefrin I had before.
An incident where I could sense and understand my surroundings even when all senses were gone.
Reading the flow of mana.
Maybe there's a similarity between reading the flow of mana and perceiving space?
As far as I knew, mana was the only thing that could be perceived without the five senses.
But perceiving mana and space were distinctly different.
Mana is not everywhere.
It needs a center, like a person or a magical tool.
However, points in space exist everywhere.
Perceiving mana was different.
So, do these two concepts follow entirely different paths?
It wasn't like that.
It was still a conjecture, but I considered it a higher level of perception.
Recalling what Ian had explained about perceiving space, it didn't seem much different from perceiving mana.
Then…
"The flow of mana?"
I immediately sought out my uncle.
Pondering alone on such matters was futile.
There were no relevant books available, after all.
Thus, it was better to ask someone knowledgeable.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Studying alone is one thing, but having a teacher makes a world of difference.
Since my uncle had agreed to teach me spatial magic, I had no hesitation in approaching him.
"What I've been contemplating is that perceiving the flow of mana doesn't seem different from perceiving space. It feels like observing something more finely detailed than mana's flow?"
"…Did you come here just to ask that?"
"Yes, haven't you agreed to teach me spatial magic?"
Yurik looked at me incredulously.
"And you came at this hour?"
It was late at night.
Long past sunset, and nearing bedtime.
"I couldn't find an answer on my own. Plus, you're busy during the day, aren't you?"
I initially planned to visit the next morning or during the day, but my uncle was unavailable then.
So, the only feasible time was at night like this.
"May I ask again, then?"
"The relationship between mana's flow and space, is that it?"
"Yes. You know about the flow of mana, don't you?"
"I don't know how to use it, but I understand it theoretically. The flow of mana…"
Yurik pondered, stroking his chin.
Even though he had long given up practicing magic, Yurik was once a notable figure in the magical world.
He may not be up-to-date with modern magical academia, but he certainly knew more basic theoretical knowledge than I did.
After a moment of thought.
"It seems different, yet not."
"…Could you explain that, please?"
"The realms of perception are different. Mana involves perceiving the space we currently inhabit. It's the reality we feel with our sight, touch, and other senses.
But the part you perceive in spatial magic is entirely different."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Let me give you an example."
Yurik paused briefly, then began to explain.
"Imagine there's a piece of paper with invisible grid lines. Our real world is like a graph drawn on these invisible lines, following certain principles and interactions."
Yurik continued his explanation.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"Mana is similar to this. If I were to give an example, it's like an invisible graph. If magic is used, the graph becomes visible, but until then, it can't be seen. We can only predict how it might be drawn."
"So, is space like the grid lines?"
"Exactly. As I said, space is a realm connected by points and lines. The graphs, which we call reality, can't influence these grid lines. They are merely drawn over them."
I furrowed my brows.
I had somewhat anticipated this.
"So, perceiving mana and space are not entirely different, are they?"
"No, haven't I already said it? The gridlines exist even if invisible, and the graphs, following certain principles, are already drawn in reality."
"What does that mean?"
"To see the gridlines properly, you must face reality squarely. Perceiving the flow of mana is about how the graph will be drawn. Being able to read the flow of mana means you already understand the gridlines of space. You can accurately draw the invisible graph."
It seemed like something I could grasp, yet I was completely lost.
I looked at Yurik with a confused expression.
"Don't overthink it. Feel it as you would the flow of mana. Just think there are already drawn gridlines and look at reality that way."
"…Understood."
Graphs and gridlines…
It was hard to explain, but I began to see the contours of spatial magic.
Reading the flow of mana, creating my own coordinates…
I smiled.
"Thank you for your time this late. I'll be going back now."
"What? Won't you come in for a cup of tea?"
We were at the entrance of the mansion.
Yurik seemed hesitant to let me stand there and tried to invite me inside.
"No, I need to get back quickly."
I couldn't afford to linger here.
I needed to precisely draw the vague outlines of spatial magic I had glimpsed.
"Then, I'll be going."
Thinking of experimenting on my own, I quickly moved away.
"Heh…"
Behind me, Yurik was left with a look of disbelief.
"We shall start the deployment ceremony."
A loud voice rang out.
"Do we really need to go this far?"
"It's essentially for show. The commoners probably don't even know what's happening right now. It's like saying, 'Don't be scared, we have this much military power.'"
Rie and I chatted while watching the ceremony.
Ian, being the commander of the Royal Army, stood at the forefront of the troops, and since my father was in the Astria territory, I had to attend as the representative of Astria.
Thus, I sat right next to Rie, representing the Duke of Astria's family.
"Isn't this just giving information to the rebels?"
"Astina already led some soldiers ahead. The ones deploying now are just the rearguard."
"Is that so?"
As we continued our conversation.
"Heh, you two seem to have a good relationship."
The Emperor, who was behind us, spoke up.
Rie and I were seated right in front of the Emperor's VIP section, so he must have noticed our conversation.
"Ahaha, we haven't seen each other in a while, so we had a lot to catch up on."
I replied with an awkward laugh to the Emperor.
The Emperor looked at me with a pleased smile.
"Yes, when you're used to seeing each other every day at the academy, being apart must leave you with much to talk about."
"Exactly."
The Emperor stroked his chin thoughtfully, then looked at me and smiled.
"You may visit the palace occasionally. I'll permit it, so feel free to come by."
I bowed politely to the Emperor.
"Thank you for the offer, but I'm quite busy and likely won't have much time to visit... I apologize."
"Hmm, feel free to visit whenever..."
"Your Majesty."
As the Emperor was about to continue, Rie spoke up.
"This is an official occasion. Let's refrain from personal conversations."
"Cough."
Chastened by Rie's remark, the Emperor coughed awkwardly.
At moments like this, they seemed less like royalty and more like an ordinary father and daughter.
Rie then turned her gaze from the Emperor to me.
"By the way, how's your progress with spatial magic?"
"So-so. I think I've got a sense of it."
After my conversation with my uncle, I had started to get the hang of it.
I still couldn't use spatial magic, but I could faintly see the gridlines my uncle had mentioned.
"That's good to hear."
Despite saying that, Rie's expression wasn't great.
"…Is something wrong?"
"This worries me..."
The Royal Army responding to the rebels.
The deployment of those soldiers.
There was only one thing she could be referring to.
"Astina?"
"Yes, the rebels are targeting Astina."
I smiled at Rie.
"Don't worry. I've prepared everything."
Rie glared at me.
"That's exactly why I'm worried."
"Huh?"
"I'm afraid you'll do something dangerous on your own."
I was puzzled and tilted my head.
"Weren't you worried about Astina?"
"I am, but knowing your personality, you won't just sit still if you know Astina is in danger."
"…"
"This isn't an academy matter; it's a war, so I can't take direct action."
Rie sighed.
"I won't tell you not to rescue Astina if she's in danger. Just be careful. Think of escaping if you encounter danger."
Her eyes were full of concern as she looked at me.
"Be careful. Don't get hurt."
