After going back home, I immediately immersed myself in reading the new book that Mary bought for me.
I was amazed after doing so.
As I had thought, the concept, patterns and theories pertaining it is different from the magic circles that I know.
If the magic circles used by the magic artificers are named "Nature Magic" then these magic circles should be called "Modification Magic".
If Nature Magic manipulates natural elements and use it to interfere with the laws of nature, Modification Magic on the other hand modifies the medium upon which it was inscribed itself.
After reading up to half of the book, I stopped and started to think.
An idea suddenly came to me.
To realize this idea, I searched for any sort of wearable equipment. Not long after, I found a metal gauntlet. It is good enough for experimenting.
I took a bundle of papers and started drawing some magic circles from my memories and then tried looking at the new book for some specific ones.
It took me over 3 hours just to finish conceptualizing and setting proper protections.
Mary seems to be interested on what I was doing. She was watching silently from one side of the table while passing time through practicing writing. She's really a diligent student.
After making sure that I got all sides covered, I started drawing it on the back of the gauntlet.
I need to be careful as even a small mistake here could lead to a tragedy.
Due to my increased caution, it took over an hour to finish drawing. After confirming that the circle was working fine, I nodded with satisfaction.
"What are you making?"
Nina suddenly popped on my side and asked.
"This? Just an experiment. Think of it as a cool equipment."
"Huh? Oh…"
"Never mind that, do you know a wide space near here? I want to test this thing."
I asked Nina as she looks like she would know one or two interesting places. As expected, my guess was correct.
A few minutes' walk from the house, there was a small clearing with many stones scattered. If the day was sunny, it may be nice to hold a picnic here.
However, I ignored those details for a moment and wore the gauntlet on my right hand. I could clearly feel the weight of the pure metal equipment.
I flexed my fingers to check the fit. After seeing that everything was clear, I stood in front of a large rock. It was a sturdy looking rock that towers over 3 meters high.
I took a stance in front of the rock. Then, slowly, I applied mana to the magic circle of the gauntlet. I could clearly feel my mana being drained like there's no tomorrow. Looks like I need to improve the mana efficiency of the circles. Knowing that there's still room for improvement was good enough.
Afterwards, my clenched fist set by my side started to release a buzzing sound. After waiting for a few seconds, I quickly swung my fist into a straight punch.
A loud banging sound and a blinding flash of light covered the surroundings. I forgot to prepare against that. My eyes lost their function for quite a while. Even my right arm felt a bit numb. Nina and Mary who were watching started shouting and cursing.
"M-My eyes!!!"
"Waah! What happened? A-Are you alright?!"
I rubbed my eyes continuously.
Then, when my vision finally returned, what greeted me was a large charred hole that pierced through the rock in front of me. Arches and flashes of electricity lingers throughout the whole mini tunnel. Looks like some ionic metals got overcharged and conversely started releasing charges.
The damage done by one shot was above the degree I expected. It's good that I decided to test it far away from other people.
"Wooah! Amazing! How did you do this?!"
Nina, after recovering, started making a commotion. Looks like she got excited after seeing the show. She was busily checking the hole on the rock.
On the other hand, Mary seems to be too shocked that her words got stuck on her mouth. As an apprentice magic artificer, she knows the basic range of capabilities of attack spells.
Based on her understanding, my display of destructive damage can be ranked around heroic strength level.
"… What did you do?"
As expected, she seems to have grasped the basic method that I used. However, she couldn't guess what I did.
"If I say that I created a small scale thundercloud by manipulating hot and cold air then shot it out by the use of vertical lines indicating emission, you probably wouldn't understand."
Hearing my machinegun explanation, she nodded with a bitter smile.
"Then, I'll simplify it as this: I summoned a lightning bolt using Nature Magic while protecting my hands with Modification magic. Basically, the first experiment can be labelled as a success."
Her eyes widened with surprise.
"… Summoning lightning is the privilege of the gods. To think that you can summon such a thing…"
"Wait, Mary! Isn't summoning magic supposed to be a lost magic?!"
Nina suddenly wailed. I have read about summoning magic but didn't learn its magic circles. I immediately refuted her words before Mary could speak.
"No. What I did wasn't summoning magic I suppose. It is just the application of natural laws and bending them forcefully. It is probably different from what you think."
I said while taking off the gauntlets from my hand. Nina still looks unconvinced while Mary seems to have followed the concept that I explained. As expected from an honor student.
We then headed back while Mary and Nina are continuously discussing about my experiment.
We passed by several villagers that got curious when they heard a loud sound nearby. We explained the phenomenon briefly before finally reaching home.
Until the end of our dinner, Mary and Nina kept on questioning me about the magic that I made. Getting a bit fed up, I explained the whole concept and it took 2 hours. Nina fell asleep halfway through though.
I too decided to rest for the day but Mary seem to have something she want to test after hearing my small lecture about scientific phenomenon.
The next morning, what greeted me was Mary, who was slowly getting buried under piles of papers. Looking closely, there's some large clouds under her eyes. She's not accustomed to staying up all night it seems.
"… Oh… Nazo… I managed to finish it… In time… Please test it…"
She spoke in a somewhat bubbly kind of way. Her head swaying back and forth as if she would fall any moment.
"O-Ok… What did you make?"
For conversations' sake, and also in response to her effort, I tried asking.
"… I tried to make a new equipment… I applied the… Protection magic… You used… Earlier…"
She was holding out a set of leather gloves. The pair of gloves had magic circles drawn on the back just like what I did on the gauntlets. The magic circles that she made was pretty complex that it made even me to look twice before noticing her intent.
"… Magic Tools…"
The common leather gloves of yesterday now turned into a several golds worth magic tool. And if my guess is correct, it is loaded with protection magic on the left and attack magic on the right.
"… Ask… Nina… To help… I––"
Before she finished speaking, she finally fell face first on the table. Not long after, a series of soft breathing sound echoed inside the room.
I picked up a blanket and covered her with it. Then, I woke up Nina and went to the same place yesterday to test Mary's masterpiece.
"Ok… Now, let's first try the offensive magic…"
I calmed my breathing and stood in front of the same rock yesterday. I held my right hand in front and poured mana to the magic circle of the glove. After the circle released some light, a series of words flashed on my mind.
"… A chant?"
I was bewildered. I thought that all magic in this world relied on circles but I was wrong. Chants also exists. Before the shine of the magic circle faded, I read the chant out loud.
[Severing the world of fallacy through the power of flames! Gather! Converge! Follow the command of the contractor of the seventh gate! «Fireball»!!!]
I was a bit embarrassed after saying those words. However, before I could cower in embarrassment, a large ball of fire appeared in front of me.
Shortly after, it flew towards the rock in front of me.
… I should have made my target a bit farther…
The rock was melted down due to the heat alone. When the fireball crashed on the ground, a large explosion incomparable to yesterday occurred. I was, of course, sent tumbling on the ground by the impact.
When the explosion subsided, what greeted me was a large crater on the ground as if a meteor landed.
"… What a frightening firepower…"
I couldn't help but mutter under my breath. Soon, Nina came back after being blown away and was similarly shocked with the result.
"IS IT THE ENEMIES?!"
Suddenly, a group of armed men from the village came running towards us. Seeing both me and Nina, their faces turned into confusion.
"Nazo, Nina… What are you doing here?"
Cutting through the crowd, Doctor Tessa asked. I was a bit troubled on how to answer but Nina spoke in my stead.
"We were testing a new magic circle that Mary made and it ended up like this. Amazing right?!"
… Aaah… I was at fault for making her speak. The gazes of all the adults around pricks my heart.
Looks like testing the left gloves would be postponed for later.