"Didn't I already apologize enough?" I questioned my teacher and fellow researcher of mana while sitting on the floor but she didn't even look at me. I know I was insensitive but I did promise her a gift in return so I don't get why she was so mad.
"You apologized but what you did was incredibly rude. A normal person would have slapped you." Roxy scolded me without hesitation. I understood that perfectly but I had no concern of being slapped, after all…
"You wouldn't slap me." I declared confidently. I already thought of her as part of my family and I believed she thought similarly. Besides, after so long together I could confidently say that I understood her personality.
She was an exceptionally kind, slightly shy, insecure, and charming woman. If I had been older I may have attempted to charm her but currently, my body is too young and due to the difference in race there may be mental barriers as well.
While there were no biological issues between interracial relations people of a demon race like her aged much slower so I would surely die earlier than her unless I found a way to either stop or reverse aging though it wasn't a very difficult issue from the beginning.
Pausing aging was simple however it would result in a few negatives so it required further fine tuning to be useful for me. Currently, I would need to use a variation of healing magic to stop my cells from reproducing however that would result in my body no longer healing itself and other negatives.
However now that magic circles were quickly becoming more useful creating a magic circle to constantly clone my cells in order for my body to stay the same age wasn't impossible. It would be difficult but not impossible.
"You don't know that." Roxy denied me immediately but I trusted my ability to read others. It had saved me numerous times in my past life after all. When drowning in my sin I needed to have some way to back up my desires and that came in the form of my ability to read others and a few more things that weren't quite as important.
"I trust you." I answered simply before continuing to work on the magic circle we had created the night before. We had a symbiotic relationship when it came to research, she gave me ideas and I told her if they were possible.
Of course, there were times the opposite was true as she has extensive knowledge of how mana functions that I don't have so at times I would question her. Regardless, our magic circle is close to being completed albeit with plenty of room for improvement.
Currently, the magic circle functions however it uses more mana than it draws from the atmosphere meaning it would be a constant strain on Roxy. If she had mana reserves equal to mine it wouldn't be a problem but her mana already needed to be used fairly sparingly.
There are two main ways to solve this problem, the first being to weaken the effects of the circle to equalize the mana input and output however that would limit the effectiveness of the spell in the first place so it was ruled out.
The second option is to simply increase the input of mana into the magic circle. It'll require testing to figure out what draws in mana the best but simply getting it to an accessible level would take about a week or so.
"T-Trust me!" Roxy muttered shyly, her face covered by her large hood. She was an interesting person as she was extremely talented yet she became flustered by the smallest compliments. What I said should have been obvious and yet she was still shocked by it due to her insecurities.
I would not share my magical knowledge with her if I did not trust her and yet she didn't seem to acknowledge that fact. Perhaps she was running from it, doubting it, or simply engrossing herself in research to the point where she didn't even notice but it didn't matter. Since actions didn't work I simply chose words to show the depth of my trust even partially.
"Mhm. Do you think adding in characters would have any effect? They are quite small so it should be space effective." I questioned her while scribbling down what I had in mind. Words gained power from our understanding of them so adding them to the magic circle should work just as they work for incantations.
If you think about it logically, a chant is just a series of sounds that we gave meaning as a race so there is no reason that it would not function the same way in a magic circle. It will require testing but I believe it is a fair assumption.
"Probably? It depends on what characters we use." Roxy answered after a low cough to calm herself down. There are multiple languages and determining which one has the best effect on mana is very important.
Growing stronger with somebody I care deeply about. How exciting.
SoA|
It has been three years since I was reincarnated and six months since Roxy arrived and everything has gone perfectly to the point that I am worried about what will happen in the future in return for such a blessing. As a being who wasted their life for greed, I know better than most that everything has a cost.
"Have a good night Rudy." Roxy said as I slowly closed the door to her room. Ever since the night a few months ago when we began reshaping magic circles I routinely dropped by every night to receive her help.
"You too Master." I said before finally closing the door before she could refute my claim. While she may not think she has taught me anything she has taught me more than enough and for that, I am infinitely thankful.
Laying down in my bed I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to come. Luckily I would not have to wait long as I routinely pushed my body's endurance to its limits and even healing magic can not solve everything related to the body such as mental exhaustion.
I was trained to ignore my exhaustion in the orphanage but exhaustion never truly goes away, it only builds up. That's why once every two weeks or so I go to sleep early to rest my mind and body even partially.
"So you're my body this time." A gentle yet malicious voice rang out in my mind. Forcing my eyes open and pushing away any remaining tiredness I searched my surroundings as quickly as possible.
I wasn't in my room, rather I didn't know where I was. It seemed… unreal, like a mirage. Everything shifted constantly. One moment it was a black void, the next a skyscraper, and the next a castle. However, one thing always remained the same.
I wasn't alone.