Kapitel 15: Chapter 15: The Riverbed Fairy
In a small forest by the right bank of London Bridge, Li Xiang carefully surveyed the surroundings with the help of Irigar, ensuring that no one was nearby. He then found a spacious clearing, where he pulled out the materials he had purchased the previous afternoon. These included a 60-carat opal, 100 grams of silver, and a bottle of mineral water, all costing him over five hundred pounds.
The bulk of the expense went toward the opal, a gem that shimmered with a mix of colors like condensed paint. There are two types of materials used to construct a magic circle: simple, direct ones like gems that store mana, and alchemical materials, which are products of alchemy.
The book also detailed the alchemical process for creating materials that could enhance the Water-Breathing Spell. In theory, the cost would be about half that of using gemstones, but since Li Xiang didn't know alchemy and it was rarely studied at the Clock Tower, he opted for the gemstone. The final deciding factor was the note in the book that mentioned a "20% success rate" for alchemy, which made Li Xiang smile bitterly, knowing his financial limitations.
He poured the 100 grams of silver powder into a small bowl, added a suitable amount of water, and stirred until no clear water remained. Then, he took out a swan feather pen. Recalling the magic circle diagram from the book, he began drawing a circle on the ground.
A very... oval-shaped circle.
Luckily, the book mentioned that it didn't have to be a perfect circle; it might just affect the spell's potency a bit. Resisting the urge to give the author a thumbs-up, Li Xiang, whose drawing skills were as bad as his magic, finally completed the magic circle.
It looked quite... painful to the eyes.
The circles weren't round, and the straight lines weren't straight. How do those characters in anime manage to draw such perfect circles? Are they all natural-born artists?
Li Xiang couldn't figure it out.
Next, he took the opal in his hand and gave it a light tap, breaking it into several pieces. It wasn't that he was particularly strong; he had just asked the shopkeeper to create cracks in the stone when he bought it. The store clerks had all looked at him like he was crazy for making such a request.
He couldn't exactly tell them it was for a magic circle, could he? The explanation would only have made them think he was even crazier.
He carefully placed the opal fragments at the tips of the pentagram. The fragments, infused with ten units of basic magic power, responded by glowing a dull yellow. The silver powder lines, which had been resting on the ground, seemed to flow like water.
Mana surged through the lines, like earthworms tunneling through soil, mixing with the silver and forming a dark silver pentagram.
Li Xiang stood up, placing his right hand over the magic circle. He began chanting the incantation from the book. The air around him twisted, and a soft silver glow slowly ascended, spiraling into a cylinder as it neared his palm, like a long, lantern-shaped object.
The chanting continued.
A deep hum echoed, and the lantern vanished. Invisible energy shot out in all directions, merging two meters away to form concentric magical circles around Li Xiang, which then slowly faded from sight.
Li Xiang glanced at the charred remnants of the magic circle on the ground, thought for a moment, and gathered the ashes to scatter them into the Thames. He then covered the area with dirt, leaving only faint traces of the magic circle.
Finally, he stashed the remaining materials—mineral water, silver powder, and the bowl—in a hidden spot in the small forest.
Li Xiang approached the riverbank, took a deep breath, and jumped in. As water splashed and rushed around him, he quickly realized that the spell was too wide, wasting energy.
Li Xiang focused, shrinking the barrier to within thirty centimeters of himself. He continued to dive deeper, the dim light barely illuminating the riverbed, which was about seven or eight meters below. The mud on the riverbed was deep.
Following the guidance of his Detection Spell, Li Xiang drifted forward. After a few minutes, he noticed a faint red glow in the distance, growing more ominous as he neared it.
"Irigar, time to get to work. Scan the surroundings," Li Xiang said cautiously as he approached the light, canceling his Detection Spell to conserve mana.
[No one's around,] Irigar reported.
"I know there's no one, but there are ghosts. Be more careful," Li Xiang chided.
Irigar sighed and added, [No ghosts either.]
Li Xiang narrowed his eyes as the red light grew stronger. He finally reached a clear demarcation line.
"And now?" Li Xiang asked.
[Still nothing,] Irigar replied.
Li Xiang stepped across the line and immediately saw two ghosts.
"I! Ri! Gar!" Li Xiang growled.
[Calm down. Don't you notice something's off here?] Irigar responded.
"..." Li Xiang had to admit it was indeed strange. After all, who plants roses at the bottom of a river?
The sight of a sea of crimson roses made Li Xiang feel uneasy.
"What are those two ghosts doing?" he asked, refocusing on the ghosts lying among the roses.
[They're dying,] Irigar replied.
"They're already dead," Li Xiang retorted.
[I mean, they're about to dissipate completely,] Irigar clarified.
Li Xiang concentrated, noticing that the previously solid-looking ghosts were now almost transparent.
"These roses are absorbing their mana. What's going on? Have the roses turned into spirits?" he wondered aloud.
[You're not far off. They've indeed become spirits. Are you familiar with the concepts of fairies and spirits?] Irigar asked.
"Yes," Li Xiang replied, recalling that Merlin's Avalon was the mythical land of fairies and spirits, and the Lady of the Lake who gave King Arthur his sword was also a spirit.
[This is likely a fairy of this place, specifically the embodiment of the Thames,] Irigar explained with a sigh. [She wasn't supposed to be born here, but the ether leaking from that crack accelerated her formation.]
Li Xiang felt a chill as he observed the girl standing in front of the crack. She was covered in black spots, her clothes appearing to be made of black plastic, and her bloodshot eyes stared directly at him.
"She's the riverbed fairy?" Li Xiang asked, taking an involuntary step back.
[Yes,] Irigar confirmed, her tone filled with pity. [She was never meant to be born here, but that crack... it forced her into existence.]
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein