Chapter 16: Chapter 15 - Arrays
The rest of the day's lesson passed by peacefully.
Even though it was quite the surprise to find out humanity had already discovered a word for sending objects over long distances, Serena told me that just the initial activation of the spell would require me to be at least tier 4, even when accounting for my abnormal mana capacity.
And that was just to visualise it.
If I actually wanted to send something, I'd need even more mana. Apparently for Jessica to send the message to the capital in such a short amount of time it required numerous high-tier mages working in tandem, along with several high purity mana crystals.
I wonder how much mana you would need to teleport a human? Or is it not possible at all? If it were I'm sure Serena would have used it to get here even faster.
When I asked Serena, she said that it was possible but not worth it.
The Magic Association elders had tried before, but despite all of them working together, they still only managed to teleport a person a distance that could be covered in a day on horseback.
Since this came with the price of having every elder incapacitated for the next few hours, it was not usually a worthwhile trade.
Though there may be times when even travelling a day faster could be the difference between success or failure.
If Serena, a bona fide tier 7 Court Mage, worked alone she would barely be able to teleport someone a few metres away before passing out due to mana exhaustion.
With no hope of me being able to achieve such a high tier in a short amount of time, I shoved the matter of being able to teleport to the back of my mind.
Instead we talked about each other, the capital and the Magic Association in general.
Today is the day of our second lesson. I'm sat in the library waiting for Serena to arrive. It's the day I've been waiting months for, where I finally am able to learn about arrays.
Finally!
I've been waiting for this day for what seems like forever.
Once I master this knowledge, my place in this world will be secure.
What sort of thing should I invent that this world might need?
How about something simple like a lightbulb? That way people will be able to work much later into the night, and if the streets are lit up then won't they be much safer outside in the dark?
Or maybe I should go more complex and make something like a telephone? Some kind of long distance message delivery that could be used to let people keep in touch with far off friends. If the Magic Association had it, they wouldn't need to spend so many mana crystals on just sending a message.
Speaking of which, mana crystals.
If I recall, humans don't have a good way of finding them.
Then perhaps I should create a crystal core location device first. Only once more people have access to them will my plans be feasible.
As I'm daydreaming about a future with magic technology, my thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the door handle turning.
The one entering is of course Serena, carrying an unfamiliar bag no doubt containing the materials for today's lesson.
Gracefully, she takes her seat opposite to mine while placing the bag in front of her and opens it up for the both of us to witness.
Within are several metallic and stone plates, a few small knives, and a palm-sized cloth pouch.
Serena slowly and carefully removes the contents from the bag, placing them on the table. Once she's done, she places the bag underneath her seat.
Suddenly, the tranquil silence of the room is broken by her voice.
"Runic arrays were first discovered only a year after Merlin's death, during the 101st year of the human calendar. During that time, our knowledge of both runes and arrays were still rudimentary compared to what we know today, but our ancestors knew what benefits arrays could bring. Unfortunately our lack of mana crystals slowed down array research."
'I see, so humans are lacking mana crystals so much that even the Magic Association is having difficulties?'
"While the research on runes blossomed, the path of arrays stagnated. This lead to many dropping the field of study, causing a negative feedback loop of slow research causing fewer researchers and vice versa. Even now, in the year 523, there aren't many willing to learn about arrays. After hearing all that, do you still want to learn?"
"I do."
Of course that would be my only answer. There was nothing for me to learn from the study of runes alone. I already know more than probably everyone on this planet combined.
Arrays on the other hand are a completely new territory.
Hearing my answer, Serena simply nods her head and proceeds to grab one of the metallic plates and a knife. She then reaches into the cloth pouch, pulling out a faintly glowing, almost transparent blue shard.
"The first step to drawing an array is to carve out the area for the mana crystal."
She observes the shape of the mana crystal in her hand. Then, she grabs the knife in her right hand, holding the plate steady on the table with the other, and with just a flash of silver a slot appears in the center of the plate, a perfect fit for the mana crystal.
"Once you're done, you must write the rune word you want to use in a circle around the crystal, ensuring each letter is the same distance apart."
Without missing a beat, she deftly wields the knife and carves the word 'CHILL' in a circle surrounding the slot in the center, each letter equidistant and equal in proportion.
"Finally, you must connect each letter to one another, and then to the crystal."
In her hands the blade flows like water. Quickly, she carves a series of complex lines into the plate until the image starts to look like one of those magic circles.
While I'm still mesmerized by the beauty of her actions and seeing the array being created, she stops. Taking one more look to make sure there's nothing wrong with it, she takes the mana crystal and places it into the slot.
I can feel the room temperature lower.
Finished with her work, she looks at me with a mischievous smile and says,
"Simple, right? Did you catch all that?"
"Uhh"
My brain is still fried from what I just witnessed.
The way she moved so elegantly, how she carved out such a complex thing so effortlessly.
"Do you have the water attribute?"
It's the only thing I can think of to explain how she was able to do that so easily.
"Darn, looks like I've been caught. Will none of your family let me get away with something just once?", Serena affirms while pouting.
I see, so that's how.
Though, that doesn't take away from the fact that she's definitely very capable. Even if she augmented her actions by channeling her mana as a warrior, I can tell she's still a master in the field of arrays.
'Simple, huh?'
I guess it is quite simple. Carve the slot, carve the runes, carve the lines. Just these three things.
However, whether it's simple and whether it's easy are two separate matters.
How tough would it be to perform each step perfectly?
The slot a perfect fit, the letters the perfect size and distance, and the lines in the perfect place.
"For your first exercise, you'll be using the array I drew and these stone plates to practice copying it. Once you've drawn it well enough that it activates on the stone plate, you can try carving on the metal one."
I take one of the stone plates and a knife. Reaching my hand into the cloth bag, I take out a mana crystal with a flat edge.
'Whew. Okay, let's give this a shot.'
I closely observe the crystal and begin work on the plate. Placing it down in the center on its flat side, I start by carving the outline using the mana crystal shard as a stencil.
I can hear Serena let out a "Humm" of appreciation.
'All I need to do now is deepen the slot so that the crystal can fit in.'
Luckily, it's not too difficult. Once it's over I let out a sigh of relief.
'First step complete'
The next step is to draw the letters.
This is where I run into a problem.
No matter how hard I try I can't get the letters right.
Even until the end of the lesson, I still couldn't get past the second step.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Paradigm
Paradigm Got some IRL stuff going on right now, so releases will be delayed. I'll try to release as often as I can, but by this time next week everything should be over and I'll do my best to release more regularly.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone