According to the writings of Mathias the Free, gravity magic was rooted in the manipulation of unseen forces that governed the world.
It was not simply about pulling objects toward each other. It was about tapping into the underlying energy that bound things together, a subtle force that could be harnessed with the right knowledge and skills.
Adam's quill danced across the parchment paper as he wrote his hypothesis about the relationship between mass and gravity.
There were times when he paused writing, his mind consumed by the deep mysteries of gravity magic. Other times, he was frustrated because he couldn't understand a thing he was writing.
At times like this, he would get up from his seat and pace around the room, trying to clear his mind.
"Should I have brought some of those tobacco leaves that the old man smokes all the time?" The youth muttered to himself as he bit on his nails. "Apparently, they help you concentrate."
The next moment, however, he shook his head and screamed, "Gaahhhh! Why is this so difficult to understand?!"
"Shhhh!"
"Damn you!"
"Keep quiet!"
Irritated voices could be heard from outside the study room. Adam bit his lip and glared at the door. But in the end, he sighed, "Haa… my bad, my bad."
He sat back down on his chair and slapped his cheeks. "Alright, let's do this one more time!"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Dipping the feathered quill in ink, he started jotting down his speculations once again, trying to thoroughly understand them.
"The most basic property of matter," he mumbled, "mass is defined as the measure of the amount of matter in a body."
Adam paused for a moment, stroking his chin in deep thought. "So mass is a fundamental property of matter, huh? And it determines the strength of the gravitational force it exerts?"
He drew a circle that represented a planet, then he drew a smaller circle that represented the planet's satellite—a moon. He dipped his quill in ink again and then drew arrows between the planet and the moon, illustrating the gravitational pull between them.
"So a planet's mass," he continued, "creates a gravitational field that extends into space. This field affects the motion of the moon…"
As he continued to write on the parchment paper, his understanding of gravitational force deepened. However, at the same time, he felt like he knew nothing about this fundamental force at all.
Harnessing gravity magic was not an easy feat. It required a deep understanding of the underlying principles, precise control over mana, and an extremely keen intuition.
After what seemed like forever, Adam finally put the quill down and leaned back in his chair. He glanced at the scenery outside the window in a daze. Unbeknownst to him, the sun had already set and was about to rise once again.
His eyes lit up as he came to an understanding. "I see… Tron's gravitational field affects the motion of Selene and Luna. Similarly, the sun's gravitational field affects the motions of Tron and the other planets around it!"
Adam deeply contemplated the implications of this theory, his eyes gleaming with curiosity and wonder.
"If I can manipulate the mass of an object, I can potentially alter the gravitational field around it. This will allow me to control the direction and strength of gravity, effectively bending space to my will!"
However, the laws of nature were not so easily bent.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})The next moment, he shook his head and sighed. "But how long will it take me to control such power? A hundred years? A thousand? Haa… It's still too far away."
Magic began with understanding the rules of the world. But it ended with twisting said rules of the world. However, to reach that final step, a Magus had to cross countless hurdles.
"For now, I should focus on the simpler things like Magnify Gravity. When I advance to the next rank, I can start with attraction and repulsion," the youth muttered to himself as he packed up his belongings.
As his gaze fell on the complex theorems that he had just jotted down, he couldn't help but complain, "Why did Magus Mathias have to write all this shit about the planets and the moons and whatnot? Why couldn't he just write about an apple falling from the tree?"
"Damn it!" He cursed in irritation. "I'm so mad. This is so difficult to understand!"
He grabbed the stack of tomes and soon left the study room. As he made his way downstairs, he saw that the library was still filled with people despite being the wee hours of the morning.
Seeing the dedication in the eyes of the young Magi, Adam couldn't help but faintly smile.
Forever in pursuit of knowledge… This was the path of a Magus, the youth thought to himself.
After dropping off the borrowed books at the librarian's counter, Adam made his way out of the Savant Tower.
As the rays of the early morning sun gently caressed his face, he felt refreshed. He closed his eyes for a few moments, letting this sensation wash over him.
He opened his eyes and looked at the academy's campus stretching out in front of him. His lips parted and he muttered, "There's only a few weeks left until the time for the team mission arrives."
Thinking of all that he had learned at Clover Academy, he felt boundless gratitude toward it. "I should make the most of my remaining time here."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})The youth walked down the stairs with his hands behind his back. A faint smile bloomed on his face as he decided to take this time to tour around the academy's beautiful campus.
…
In the depths of the Murky Mountains, at a large-scale orc settlement, a huge crowd had gathered. Included in this grand gathering were not just orcs, but also trolls and ogres.
The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and the guttural growls of ferocious beasts could be heard coming from the distance.
At the center of this gathering stood a tall, aged orc wearing tattered robes. His body was riddled with scars and his eyes gleamed with excitement and ferocity.
He stood atop an intricately carved runic formation, and at the center of this formation lay an ivory skull. The skull had deep ridges and its nasal openings were large.
Furthermore, Its teeth glowed with a sharp glint, causing anyone who saw it to have a chill crawl up their spines.
This was the same artifact that Kurdan, Gorgo, and the other young orcs had acquired inside the Soaring River Secret Plane!
The aged orc raised his hands to the sky and roared passionately in the language of their species. His words were incomprehensible but contained deep power as they had magically activated the ritual.
As the ritual reached its climax, the skull at the center glowed with an ominous red light. Following that, a wave of blinding crimson energy shot out in all directions with the skull at the epicenter.
This wave of energy traveled for thousands of miles. Every magical beast in the vicinity that came in contact with this crimson energy turned feral. Their eyes gleamed with a sinister light as all of them simultaneously turned their heads in one direction.
The Southern Federation!
Back at the orc settlement, the runic formation had stopped glowing. The large ivory skull at the center had now turned to fine dust, having already served its purpose.
The robed orc lowered his hands and grinned maniacally, his eyes flashing with intense bloodlust. He too looked in the direction of the Southern Federation and growled fiercely,
"The time has come!"
