Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Chapter 10: Chapter 4 Antoine-Laurent and His Magic System (Part 2)

Winters was clearly enjoying himself, but Aike was already fighting off sleep. Seeing Aike in the same state he usually was during spellcasting classes, Winters figured if he kept reading from the spellcasting textbook, Aike would be asleep in no time.

"I've got to demonstrate some spells with more obvious effects!" Winters thought, carefully considering which spells were convenient to demonstrate.

So Winters plucked a few hairs from Aike's arm, causing Aike to jolt from the pain and wake up a bit.

"Watch closely," Winters instructed Aike. He used the gesture of pressing his thumb against his index finger again to enter the spellcasting state, and the familiar yet strange sensations of compression and prickling returned.

The hairs in Winters's hand began to change. Just as when arm hairs are accidentally singed by fire, the hairs curled up at a visible pace, leaving only a bit of char behind.

Aike finally witnessed the magical aspect of magic, as he saw no open flame.

"Doesn't this hair look like it's been burnt?" Winters showed the charred remains to Aike.

"The kind of magic that turned the hair to char is fire-type magic. This spell is called a Fire Spell, and the one that vaporized the water earlier is called a Vaporization Spell."

"These two spells are the most basic within the fire-type spells. Now you understand why this kind of magic is called fire-type, right?" Winters prompted Aike, leading him to think for himself as a teacher would.

"No flame, but it had an effect like flame, right?" Aike digested the information and responded, beginning to grasp the concept.

"Correct, for example, if I use the Fire Spell on a lamp wick. Though there's no visible flame, the wick will light as if it's touched flame," Winters provided another everyday example.

He said self-deprecatingly, "To tell the truth, doing small tasks like lighting lamps is, in my opinion, the most practical use of fire-type spells."

"And that Vaporization Spell, after ten years of spellcaster training, I can only vaporize a little bit of water, so the combat capability of fire-type spells is really poor."

Thinking about the state of fire-type spells, Winters continued to mock himself, "If one day people can carry a source of fire with them, fire-type spells might just become obsolete."

Aike's eyes were nearly closed again, but Winters, completely unaware, kept talking to himself, "I have imagined that if one had strong enough capabilities with fire-type spells, maybe it would be possible to vaporize the blood within an enemy's body. But I still don't know which Alliance spellcaster could be that powerful…"

"You really did fall asleep!" Winters noticed Aike's eyes had closed and scolded in frustration, "You wanted to see magic, I showed you, and you fell asleep."

"I explained so clearly and simply, yet you're still sleepy? You might as well listen to a spellcaster lesson when you have insomnia. I bet your butt will hit the chair and you'll be asleep in an instant."

"Wait, this is magic? You don't have to chant some super long and complicated spell? Aren't sorcerers in stories always highly powerful only after they've learned some ancient chant?" Aike suddenly perked up with a thought, lifting his head to look at Winters.

"Chant my ass, chant for whom?" Winters said angrily, "In the Alliance territory, everyone speaks the Empire language, don't the Sea Blue People and United Provincials have different accents?

The Empire nobles don't speak the Empire language, they speak an old tongue; Ancient Empire people speak ancient language; the Flemish (Fremen, meaning travelers) speak the Flemish language; Silk Country people speak the Silk Country language (Silk Country, also known as Serica).

With different languages used all over the world, chanting? If you chant in different languages, who's chanting it right? Who's chanting it wrong? Do we also need to invent a language specifically for chanting? You think that a sorcerer from Silk Country and one from the Empire can agree to use one unified chanting language across thousands of miles?"

"What about the staff, then? Sorcerers have to have a staff, don't they?"

"If I had a staff, why would I practice this?" Winters lifted his longsword and gestured, "Shouldn't I have just gone and trained with a staff then? A spellcaster's abilities all come from within, not affected by external things. Don't fantasize that acquiring some magical treasure will suddenly make you a great sorcerer, it's impossible. If you give an ordinary person a great sword, can he become an expert swordsman like you?"

"Alright, alright, don't be angry. Think about it, you've had ten years of spellcaster training, and I've only learned from you what a spellcaster is today. How could I possibly understand it all at once? Let me digest it slowly," Aike appeased Winters with soothing words. He knew Winters's hot temper and that the mule should be stroked along the grain.

Winters also felt that he had been too harsh in his words just now, and although he felt guilty, he couldn't express it, so he thought for a bit and continued to explain to Aike, "However, there might be some truth to those stories of sorcerers' chants, as if they were not entirely unfounded. General Antoine-Laurent believes that for a sorcerer, chanting may be a form of self-suggestion."

"The General thinks chanting for sorcerers is just a ritual, 'The ritual isn't important, the sense of the ritual is.' Use a specific phrase for a specific spell, creating self-suggestion with the sense of ritual." Winters still took examples from Aike's life, "Just as archers believe certain rituals make their shots more accurate, and before a sword fight, don't you always lick your palm?"

"Me licking my palm isn't self-suggestion, it's just a habit," Aike's face turned red: "And when did I ever lick it furiously…"

"You say it's a habit, then it's a habit. Your so-called habit is just another term for self-suggestion."

"In short, it's about linking the difficult Action A with the simple Action B, then by partaking in simple Action B, assist with the better accomplishment of the difficult Action A."

"There's no need to be that embarrassed about liking to lick your palm, right? I always wear the same pair of shoes for every exam."

"It's those old shoes with the worn-out soles!" Aike had an epiphany, "I wondered why you were so reluctant to throw them away…"

Winters inadvertently revealed his own secret, but his skin was thick enough to ignore Aike and continue educating on magic knowledge, "It is precisely because incantations are just self-suggestion that General Antoine-Laurent invented spellcasting gestures to replace incantations."

"The general categorized magic into three main classes, each representing a different spellcasting ability. Spells within the same category are quite similar, while spells from different categories are as different as wrestling is from sword fights."

"Wrestling is a part of swordplay; Marshal Ned's manual on swordsmanship dedicates a considerable section to wrestling," Aike immediately stood up to refute Winters.

"Wrestling is a damn part of sword fighting, cut the crap," Winters said frustratedly.

"This is the gesture used when casting Fire-type spells." Winters raised his left hand and pressed his thumb against his index finger.

"This is the gesture used when casting acceleration-type spells." He then pressed his thumb against his middle finger.

"This is the gesture used when casting sound-type spells." Finally, he pressed his thumb against his ring finger.

"This is you when you're wrestling." Then he raised his middle finger.

Winters continued to explain, "Actually, you could use any other action, like pulling hair, rubbing eyes, picking your nose, anything will do, as long as you associate an action with a category of spells."

"The set of gestures invented by the general is quite simple; all it takes is a finger movement. Therefore, spellcasters from the Alliance generally use this set of gestures."

"Of course, you can also cast spells without gestures, but if you suddenly switch from using one category of spells to another, your mind won't be able to keep up."

"It's like being told to fence for a round and then suddenly play a move in chess. Then go back to fencing another round before coming back to continue the chess game. The spellcaster's magical cognition will get confused."

"Especially when using composite spells that combine two classes of magic, it's nearly impossible to switch smoothly without coordinating gestures. If the spellcasting gestures are well practiced, the transition back and forth won't be as confusing."

"So we spellcasters from the Alliance don't chant; we only use gesture casting."

It was another lengthy lecture, leaving Aike feeling dizzy. After digesting the content for a moment, he earnestly said, "Although I didn't understand much, I did pick up one thing: General Antoine-Laurent created many things and discovered much knowledge; he's a truly great man."

"Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier is the father of the Alliance's magical system. Although he couldn't perform magic, I'm willing to call him the greatest spellcaster," Winters also put aside his flippant attitude and said solemnly, "I feel he represents the spirit of our humanity, the courage to explore the laws of everything."

"It's a pity General Antoine-Laurent died too soon, passing away at just fifty-one,"Aike sighed as well, "Do you know how the general died? At that time, I was just starting at the military school and didn't understand much. I only remember one morning the teacher told us General Antoine-Laurent had passed away and asked us to observe a moment of silence."

"Head disease," Winters replied succinctly, "It's said that the general was working on something that would redefine magic, but tragically, his life was cut short, and his manuscripts were also lost."

"So being able to turn water into steam means having talent for magic? Let me give it a try; maybe I have a talent for magic, too?" Aike quickly changed the subject, as he dabbed his hand in water and let a few drops fall onto a stone bench, then he mimicked Winters, trying to focus intently on the droplets.

"The vaporization of water is very difficult." Seeing Aike attempt to vaporize water, Winters hurriedly reminded his friend, "The abilities of untrained spellcasters are very weak, almost indistinguishable from common people. It's impossible to vaporize water.

To draw an analogy, if the essence of magic is fire, then untrained spellcasters are not even a flame; they could only be considered the sparks from striking flint. Only through prolonged training can they gradually become a spark and eventually a flame.

To test for a little spark, you'd have to use the device invented by General Antoine-Laurent. Besides, haven't you been tested?"

"When was I ever tested?" Aike exclaimed in surprise.

"Didn't they test you when you entered the academy as a young boy?" Winters was also surprised, "Isn't everyone at Lu You tested upon admission? That's how I found out during my enrollment."

"I was only nine years old when I entered the academy; I really don't remember whether I was tested or not. How do they test?" Aike thought hard, but had no memory of being tested.

"I can't remember either; it seems it was in a room with several glass instruments," Winters scratched his head—it had been ten years ago, and his memory was hazy.

"It seems a woman tested me; I did whatever she asked, and then I left. Afterwards, the teacher told me I was a spellcaster, and I ended up with an extra spellcaster course."

Aike shook his head, expressing regret, "I really don't have any memory of it. Maybe they didn't test me, or perhaps they did, and I've forgotten."

But he quickly added with cheer, "Never mind, let me now try and see if I can vaporize this water. Ha ha, what if I'm a neglected genius? Giving it a shot isn't against the rules."

Having said that, he dabbed some brine, dropped it onto a stone bench, and then cupped his hands around the water droplet to shield it from the wind. He concentrated hard and stared at the droplet. Winters sat beside him noncommittally, curiously waiting for the outcome.