Blade Over Magic

Free Training Day III

”... Well?” Falael folded their arms and waited fir Xander to tell them to proceed, but to their surprise, he just smiled.

”Well, rather than reciting it, I think I’m gonna ask how you feel about it.” That gave Falael a pause.

’... Is he patronizing me?’ They wondered, but the smile on Xander’s face suggested that he was genuinely curious to know what they thought.

”... I think it’s absurd.” Falael finally said flatly.

”Oh? And what makes you say that?” With a huff, Falael took out the note and unfolded it.

”Seriously, changing the way my mana pool operates? Do you understand how insane that sounds? Mana pools aren’t just... clay balls that you can freely manipulate the shape or properties of to fit your desires.” They argued.

”Why not?”

”Why no– It’s common sense! You get born with a certain amount of mana and it grows depending on what you do. That’s how it has been for centuries! You think if it were possible to change how it worked, it wouldn’t have been found out yet?” Falael retorted sharply, but Xander just regarded them calmly.

”Question. That specific point you mentioned, how did the people who attempted it in the past go about it?” That gave Falael a pause, their ears straightening in surprise.

”... Well, they attempted to change the shapes of their mana pools to emulate certain effects. Like shaping it into a whirlpool so it pools in the surrounding mana like an actual whirlpool.” They answered carefully.

”And the result?”

”Nothing happened, obviously.”

”Why is that?”

”Because mana pools and mana don’t behave like real world phenomena. So they don’t follow the same rules. Mana won’t suck in more mana like a waterspout because it isn’t water.” When he heard this, Xander’s smile turned into a grin, which caused Falael to frown. What was so amusing?

”Let’s analyze what you just said. Mana can’t emulate the effects of real world phenomena because a phenomenon like a waterspout only applies to water. Mana is not water, therefore, mana cannot become a water spout. Correct?”

”Essentially.”

”Hm.” Xander tilted his head, his smile never leaving.

”Next question. What is mana?”

”Wha- Are you mocking me?” Falael sounded genuinely offended.

”Just humor me.”

’Bastard.’ They grit their teeth, yet the expression on Xander’s face... It sort of reminded them of how a teacher looked amusedly at a student who rattled of things with confidence despite being completely wrong.

What made him so confident?

”... Mana is an omnipresent energy suffused within all things. It’s said to be the source of nature itself. Magic is the manipulation of mana, and therefore, the manipulation of nature.” Xander nodded, and Falael just frowned, still not understanding where Xander was going with this, but he continued.

”Now let’s go back. You said mana can’t emulate the effects of natural phenomena since they are not the same thing,” He gestured with his hand to their surroundings. ”But isn’t that statement inherently contradictory?”

”... What?”

”If mana is the source of all nature. Why wouldn’t it be able to emulate natural phenomena, which are byproducts of nature?” He gave Falael a look, and they froze, their eyes widening with realization.

’... Wait.’

”Magic is the manipulation of nature, as you mentioned. Affinities determine what aspect of nature a mage can manipulate. So here are two things I believe the people who did those experiments in the past failed to account for,” Xander tapped the hilt of his blade. ”One, I think they tried to emulate aspects of nature not tied to their elemental affinities. That waterspout example you gave? I’m willing to bet it was a fire mage that tested it out.” Xander chuckled, and Falael just stood there, utterly shellshocked.

After a while, they spoke again, their voice slightly hoarse.

”... And the second thing?” Xander smirked.

”Well, I think they were going about the emulation part wrong.”

”... How?”

”Hm. Well, let’s use the whirlpool example,” Xander began. ”Whirpools spin and attract the surrounding water into themselves. But while mana is indeed the source of nature, there’s still a difference between your internal mana pool and ambient mana.” He made a shape with his hands.

”Imagine it like this. We have a cube. Let’s say it’s the mana pool. And inside that cube is the theoretical mana whirlpool, spinning and spinning. However, as the cube is sealed off, the surrounding/ambient mana can’t be affected by the whirlpool inside. So...” He looked at Falael. ”You open up that cube so the whirlpool effect starts affecting the ambient mana, which will then cause the mana to be drawn in.” When he finished, Falael was silent for a few moments. Their face showed no emotion, but their eyes were turbulent.

”... Okay, let’s say you’re correct. But that’s not quite the same as failing to emulate the phenomenon properly. You just didn’t open up your mana pool so it affects external mana. What about doing something like, say, someone with an earth affinity making their mana more ’solid’ so that their earth magic is more durable once cast?”

”Ah, I suppose I could have used a better example. The case is was referring to was too localized.” Xander rubbed his chin.

”Hm. Okay, how about this? What I said about emulation was literal. You can visualize your mana pool taking on the shape of a whirlpool, but without emulating its properties, nothing changes.”

”Explain.”

”Well, the counterpoint you provided with the earth stuff.” Xander squatted and started drawing in the dirt.

”Earth magic as a whole is the ability to manipulate earthen materials. So rocks, ores, sand, etc. So simply attributing ’hardness’ to an affinity that encompasses all earthen materials, including those that are inherently fragile or soft. Won’t quite work. So you’re not just making your mana pool become ’harder’ without actually applying those properties to it, you’re also overgeneralizing the state of one material to encompass an affinity that controls materials that could be hard OR fragile. It just won’t work. But I digress.” Xander sat down, looking up at Falael.

”The important thing is that to actually emulate a natural phenomena with your mana pool to achieve those effects. You can’t just make your mana pool take the shape. It has to actually take on those properties. Which is possible as long as the phenomena you are emulating is actually found under your affinity. Otherwise, it won’t be possible.” Xander smiled.

”That’s why, in your case. I’m not asking you to simply make your mana pool take the shape of a star. I’m asking you to quite literally turn your mana pool into a star.”

’... Insane.’ That was the only word Falael could assign to Xander in that moment. They had to! Such a thought process. Such conjectures. They were absourd. Outlandish, even. And yet. And yet...

’I... I can’t find any fault in his reasoning.’ No matter how Falael tried to pick apart Xander’s words or refute them, they could only find themselves seeing that what he said made sense.

And that was so unbelievably frustrating.

They ran a hand through their hair, and Xander just chuckled.

”So, willing to give it a try?” He asked, and Falael glared at him.

”Oh don’t be so damn smug. Besides, even if I wanted to, it’s not like I know how stars work to make my mana pool emulate them... Damnit even that sentence sounds insane.” They grumbled, but Xander just rested his chin on his knees, looking thoroughly amused.

”Oh? But you read my note to its entirety, didn’t you? Complete with all the diagrams as well. So can you honestly say you don’t know how they work?” That made Falael freeze.

Damnit.

In truth, they had read the note. Not just read, they had thoroughly dissected it. Going through it over and over. After all, the note went quite into detail, explaining things about the celestial objects that were stars that they hadn’t even thought possible. They knew exactly what Xander wanted them to do, they were just reluctant to accept it.

’But... But if it works...’ They gritted their teeth and looked at their hands.

’Maybe... Just maybe...’ After a while of internal struggle, they let out a resigned sigh

”Fine... Fine! I’ll do it.” They grumbled.

”That’s the spirit.” Xander hummed and stood. He and Falael locked gazes for a few moments, then the latter averted theirs and sighed.

”I guess I just... do it?”

”Well, yeah.” Falael glanced at him.

”You know, for all these insane theories you keep presenting, you hardly ever seem to practice them yourself. Except maybe the ice thing.” At that, Xander just smiled vaguely.

”I have my own path I’m following.”

”... Tch.” Falael decided to stop stalling and sat down cross-legged.

Xander tool a few steps back and watched as they took a few deep breathe before closing their eyes.

’A star, huh?’ Falael pursed their lips as they felt their mana pool.

In truth, controlling one’s own mana pool wasn’t really hard. In fact, it was only natural. Mana output and control started from the mana pool. So changing its shape wasn’t anything special. It’s just that no one ever did it because there was never a reason to do so.

Until now, that is.

Falale observed their mana pool. Small, and barely usable in most situations. The sight of it made doubt creep in their mind, but they shook their head, having already decided to commit to it.

’His note explained that within the cores of stars, certain particles, like the ones he mentioned to Curtis, smash into each other so hard that they create a large amount of energy due to gravity. This energy is why stars shine. But if that were just the case, they would disperse quickly. So gravity also acts as a counterbalance by keeping everything together. Gravity tries to crush everything, while the result of the crushing makes everything want to erupted outward, creating a balance.’ He grimaced.

’Smashing my mana hard enough to generate energy and them preventing it from exploding. Sounds like a quick way to get myself killed. But...’ A memory from a while ago surfaced.

’The thing about geniuses is that catching up to them using conventional methods simply is not possible. Geniuses. True geniuses. Defy logic. So stop relying on logic to catch up to them. What you must do instead...’

Determination surged in their heart.

’Is go mad.’

They gritted their teeth, then they moved their mana. Hard.