Journal of Physics and Math for the Aspiring Magician

A book that will guide you into the mysteries of mathematics and physics, teaching from beginner to complex formulas, following the point of view of an aspiring mage from the National Academy of Magic.

The author will try to unearth your desire for learning physics, math, and more, while entertaining you with an interesting and compelling story, packed with action and romance. You will follow the ups and downs of the life of a mage who fails, learns, loves and discovers.

The purpose of this book is to create a compendium of math and physics, to help spread the incredible knowledge under an entertaining approach. I hope you find embarking on this journey both pleasurable and useful.

...

August 25th, 3018 New Common Era.

"You have previously been told that the way of creating mana particles is by assimilating with the universe... Your thoughts and wills interact with what has been commonly called dark energy, and the result is the creation of VM particles."

I nodded.

"Well, that's not exactly right."

That sentence alarmed the entire class. Mages improved by understanding more of the world, and therefore they have to follow the scientific method and basic rationality, liking it or not. Believing in a false theory should not actually yield any significant results as far as magic goes... It's impossible to believe we had been seeing things wrongly this entire time. And worse, it could disrupt the foundations of magic that we had built over time.

The professor patiently waited for the class to calm down before resuming.

"That is indeed how you create mana particles, there's nothing wrong about that. However, VM particles are NOT the only type of particle that can be produced from dark energy interactions."

""Wha-!?""

"How is that even-?"

A ruckus exploded once again. I could feel my naturally producing virtual particles flickering in and out of existence, as I lost control of their production.

I reckon my reaction should have been one of the strongest in the class, given my degree of faith in that particular professor. The majority would only believe a disruptive theory when they saw it with their own eyes, as a protective measure against falsehoods and... side effects like mine.

I temporarily stopped my unstable radiation of mana and focused on the issue at hand.

The woman continued:

"There are, in fact, different ways of reaching the same place. In this case, different thoughts and wills that can interact with dark energy. The ancients called it the different Daos."

Some quick assumptions revealed the logic in her words. Things were starting to get acceptable, magic-wise.

"That also means... that there are other ways of creating worldly interactions that would otherwise look like magic, but that aren't actually magic. At least not how we know it."

Wait a second...

"...And yet, the general populace call it magic none the wise."

My VM particles started to quickly flicker and shimmer.

"In fact, the history books call it magic, too. However, there have been many of names for this sort of... miracle. Among them..."

I broke out in cold sweat.

"Divine Intervention, Power of Faith, Sword Intent, Bloodlust, Killing Intent, Fear of Death..."

A tense atmosphere pervailed the room.

"...Those are all proven states of will that can interact with dark energy. And each and every one of their interactions differ from one another, even if just slightly."

I felt my connection to magic being cut off in that moment.

"You have all committed a grave mistake. To assume that our 'Path' was the only one that led to knowledge and power is to discard the very first lesson I gave you."

I gulped dry. I couldn't help but feel very vulnerable at that moment, especially because her words were correct in their entirety.

"In this class, I will teach you about the other paths to power. And teach you how to defend yourselves against them, so this sort of thing does not happen twice. Follow me to the practice field!"