When Magnus opened his eyes after stepping through the spatial door, he was relieved to see that he had ended up exactly where he had hoped he would: the Mage's Apprentice Compendium.
Oh, thank God.
Relieved that he didn't open his eyes to see he was stuck in that gloomy library again, Magnus took a moment to look around. Just like the last time he came here, there were Mage Division's students filling the place. Some were clearly there with their teachers, while others chatted with friends or gathered in groups.
But only a handful, like Magnus, were here all alone.
As he made his way to an unoccupied station, Magnus began setting up everything he needed. Compared to the other students who focused on one or two books detailing a few Apprentice-level spells at a time, Magnus grabbed materials off the shelves by the dozen, creating tall stacks of books and covering his entire desk with unrolled scrolls.
Most of them covered fundamental Apprentice-level spells, serving as a base for more complex forms of magic, while others were modified spells. His actions drew puzzled looks from some, while others openly giggled and snickered.
"Is that idiot trying to show off or something?" one student remarked in a ridiculing tone to his friend beside him.
"Probably just some first-year with a big head. Everyone knows it takes weeks to learn an Apprentice-level spell, let alone master one. Trying to learn so many different spells all at once is something that only a fool would do," the friend replied, his tone dripping with disdain.
Yet, among those who found Magnus's actions foolish, some were more focused on Magnus himself. A nearby group of students, just a station or two behind Magnus, was an example of such.
"Hey, do any of you recognize that guy? He looks a little bit familiar," one student in the group asked the others around him. A few shook their heads, not recognizing Magnus at all, but one of them touched their chin.
"Him? Hmm, I think he's that loner who hangs around with Luden. I tried looking into him once, but I couldn't find out anything about his family or where he came from; the information was censored by someone. Still, it doesn't seem like he's joined Luden's Faction. Best we just keep an eye on him," he replied.
If Magnus had seen the speaker, he would have recognized him as one of the members of Resir's Faction, a group he met while disguised as Cain during the faction meet-up with Luden.
Of course, it didn't bother Magnus at all that the people around him were talking about him behind his back.
Even back on Earth, he had gotten used to being the target of the whole school's jokes, so this was nothing new to him; in fact, it was insignificant in comparison. That aside, the one thing that did cause Magnus a bit of discomfort was not the mockery, but instead the tense glares he occasionally felt.
I get people making fun of me, but why the hell do I feel like some of them are looking at me like I've got a target on my back? I haven't done anything; at least I don't think I have. Hell, I hardly even interact with anyone in my class besides Luden every once in a while. Ah, whatever, I need to focus; just ignore them. Basker, are you ready?
[Yes, I've compiled and sorted through all of our known magical knowledge. I'll now begin the creation of the Magic Simulation Space via the Command Console.]
Upon Magnus giving the go-ahead, his mindscape began to change. A space was being carved out and formulated, one no bigger than your average room, outlined by transparent white walls that separated it from the chaotic space of imagination around it. As this was happening, Basker was carefully monitoring not just the state of Magnus's mindscape but also the entirety of his mind, speaking as if he were giving reports.
[The Magic Simulation Space has been created successfully, and no additional stress has been detected. The Command Console's absolution effect is handling the load of keeping it unchanged and permanent within your mindscape, as we expected.]
Hearing that, Magnus nodded slightly as he replied.
Perfect, then let's move on to the next step.
In the real world, Magnus had already begun going through the copious amount of reading material he had gathered. He would linger on a page and its notes or a scroll and its contents for seconds before quickly moving on to the next thing, having already committed it entirely to memory.
That knowledge was then compiled and paired with the magical knowledge that Magnus was already aware of. Some knowledge got refined to be more accurate, and some got deleted, proving to be slightly inaccurate or outdated, but it all added up to Magnus sharpening his comprehension of magic like a blade on a grindstone.
All of this would lead to the final step, where Basker would take all that newly compiled information and refine it into binary rules. These rules would define what is and isn't possible through magic, which mana formations are correct, and which aren't.
Lastly, these rules would then be applied to Magnus's Mindscape, or more specifically, the Magic Simulation Space within Magnus's Mindscape. They would act as limiters on his imagination, reinforced by the Command Console's execution within Magnus's mind. Magnus and Basker could technically do this part themselves; after all, they were already keeping Magnus from having branching intrusive thoughts.
However, this only extended to things Magnus was directly paying attention to—whatever his mind's eye was looking at within his mindscape. Anything outside of that cone of focus would naturally fall back into chaos.
If Magnus relied solely on Basker to do certain things, for example, create the mental map he occasionally used to navigate the world, without the Command Console's assistance, it would only work if Basker made it occupy some of Magnus's active attention. Whenever he turned left or right, a part of his mind would have to actively replicate that on the mental map.
However, through the Command Console, that entire process could be automated with no extra processing power required.
The same went for abilities such as the [Bullseye] when he used it alongside Rokshaata. The visualizations of its randomized movements and rotations around Magnus would have to be constantly made and executed, which would obviously be mentally taxing. However, as long as he used the Command Console, Magnus could bypass a lot of that strain. After all, he could use the Command Console almost without limit within his own mind. Whether it be making mental objects that are unaffected by intrusive thoughts or creating the visualizations themselves, Magnus could do both with a single execution.
Sure, there were some things Magnus and Basker still had to do themselves, but it reduced a process that may take up over eighty percent of Magnus's mental power down to the single digits at most, as the Command Console handled the heavy lifting. So with all of this happening, Magnus obviously couldn't even be bothered to pay attention to the ever-growing strange looks he was getting. He was reading through stacks of books, putting them back, and then grabbing a whole new set to tear through.
His mind was racing at a speed normal people couldn't even imagine the human mind could achieve, and the whole time, Basker's voice reverberated constantly in his thoughts.
[Magic Simulation Attempt #232, Failed. Magic Simulation Attempt #233, Failed. Magic Simulation Attempt #234, Failed... Failed... Failed...]
It was an unceasing cycle of failures, one after the other. Still, Magnus didn't mind; he knew it would be challenging, and he never expected to get it on the first try.
Inside his mindscape, within the Magic Simulation Space, a mana-like light flickered incessantly, appearing and disappearing in a never-ending cycle. The Command Console diligently printed line after line of code, making rapid attempts at running simulations that Magnus and Basker could never have run themselves.
Even attempting a single complex simulation like the ones occurring in the Magic Simulation Space would fry a regular human's brain, but the Command Console not only canceled out that risk, but it was capable of running simulations at a mind-numbing speed, way faster than Magnus's usual thinking rate.
As for what Magnus aimed to achieve, it was precisely what the name suggested. He was striving to simulate magic within his mind. The idea of his mind acting as a simulation of reality had been with him for a while, but it always felt impossible. Even with the Command Console taking care of the heavy lifting in creating and running the simulation, he believed he could never gather enough information about the real world in his lifetime to craft an accurate simulation that the Command Console would accept.
It was only thanks to his lessons at Takerth Academy and his discussions with Basker about the theory of source code and the world's universal laws that he came up with another approach. This new simulation wouldn't be based on the rules of reality but instead on the principles of magic, which were still complex but on a much more limited scale.
The Magic Simulation Space relied on this fact and incorporated it when it was designed.
Imagine there's this secret recipe for making a perfect cake base—a recipe unknown to the entire world. Making it required ultra-precise ingredients, tools, and timing. You couldn't be off by even a millisecond or a meter, or your cake base would turn into an ordinary cake. Discovering this on purpose was almost impossible; anyone who stumbled upon it did so purely by chance.
But as long as there's even a tiny chance of something happening, it's bound to happen eventually. So after lots of trial and error, someone managed to jot down the exact recipe for the perfect cake base. It was still a tough job, but now that there were guidelines, it was just a matter of skill.
Then, by another stroke of luck, someone messed up while trying to make that perfect cake base and discovered the perfect cookie dough. Following the same trial-and-error process, they found similarities between the perfect cake base and cookie dough recipes.
With the process getting winnowed and patterns emerging, more perfect recipes started coming to light. By focusing on the commonalities shared by perfect recipes, discoveries could be made faster than ever.
That's how magic works in this world. There was only one way to create a magical barrier, just as there was only one way to make a mana sphere. The first few discovered spells helped uncover the fundamental laws of magic that needed to be followed when discovering and creating new spells.
Once the foundation of a spell was set, just like a cake, you had the freedom to add whatever you wanted to it, allowing for customization. But at its core, the foundation remained the same. This is where the Magic Simulation Space came into play. By compiling the known laws of magic, Magnus and Basker hoped to create a space where there was no room for error.
In theory, any mana injected into the Magic Simulation Space should perfectly adhere to the mold created by the principles of magic, ensuring the creation of a spell every time, albeit randomly. In a space where all the rules are being forcefully followed, spells shouldn't fizzle out or go haywire, and no modifications to those spells should cause any unstable reactions.
After all, even the modifications would adhere perfectly to the laws of magic.
To put it another way, if one were to split the various possibilities of mana formations creating some form of Apprentice-level magic into both good and bad outcomes, Magnus's Magic Simulation Space would forcefully eliminate any chance of the bad outcomes from occurring, leaving only room for success. Furthermore, since it would rely on the magical laws of the real world, any spell that manifested in the Magic Simulation Space could be visualized using the Command Console and used in reality, even if he had never seen it before.
Magnus thought the concept seemed pretty solid. From what he understood about the Command Console and its requirements, it could really work if he could create it successfully. It was just a matter of investing enough time and gathering sufficient knowledge. And he was more than ready to put in the time.
As four hours passed by in the real world, Magnus had the Command Console running simulation after simulation. Each one brought the Magic Simulation Space closer to the final product: a sifter that would weed out inaccurate mana formations, leaving only the ones that worked.
However, after four hours of non-stop effort, Magnus began to feel his brain slowing down. Even though the Command Console could gain full control over his mind, the mind and brain were separate things. One was like a program, and the other was the hardware that ran it. If the hardware wore down, the program would be affected no matter what.
"Damn, it looks like four hours is all I can manage for now," Magnus muttered to himself as he brought the simulations to a pause.
Within his mindscape, the Mind Simulation Space froze, and the simulation that was in the middle of running paused, as if time had stopped. Putting down the book he had in his hand, Magnus sighed as he stretched in his chair.
Basker, can you start archiving our progress? I want us to be able to continue where we left off tomorrow.
[Of course, I'll store them so that they're not at the forefront of your memory.]
As Basker got to work, Magnus could slowly feel the clutter that slowed down his brain clearing, but he would still need to sleep in order to be fully rejuvenated.
Hmm, I wonder if I could figure out a way to get rid of my need to sleep. I bet I could get a lot more done if I could figure it out, though that would almost definitely require me to edit my biology directly, even more than when I edited my skeleton.
As he played around with that idea in his head, thinking about how he might go about it and what he would have to learn and edit, a short amount of time passed. In that short period, Basker had pretty much finished archiving all the information relevant to the Magic Simulation Space for the future.
It was also around that time that Magnus heard a voice from behind him.
"Well, you look like you're working hard, Magnus. Are you preparing yourself for the Live Examination?" Turning around in his seat a bit, Magnus was surprised to see Luden, with his signature smile, walking towards him from the entrance of the Mage's Apprentice Compendium.
"Oh, hey, Luden, I didn't expect to see you here. But, uh, I guess you could say that. I'm honestly just experimenting with ideas in my head, but they could definitely help with the examination," Magnus replied while standing up.
Now that his attention was focused back on the real world, Magnus immediately felt another shift in the atmosphere. Before, all the different groups of students were either ignoring one another or giving each other odd looks. But now, nearly a quarter of all the attention was focused purely on Luden and, by extension, Magnus.
"What the hell? Now they're acting even more intensely than before..." Magnus whispered to himself as he looked around.
"Well, not everyone can be as carefree as you are, especially with the Live Examination just around the corner. Factions are starting to draw lines in the sand, and the tension is only going to get worse from here on." Still, even though Luden said that he looked even more carefree than Magnus, it was as if the various groups glaring at him didn't even exist.
"Oh, so that's what this is all about." Magnus didn't really engage with the crowds in the academy, so he wasn't surprised he hadn't noticed anything until it was right in his face.
"Hmm, Luden? I didn't expect to see you at the compendium." Hearing that, both Magnus and Luden looked over at the source of the voice, spotting a boy walking over to them. Outside of his uniform, which made it clear he was part of the Mage Division, Magnus didn't recognize him, but Luden did and greeted him.
"Ah, Blair, I should be saying the same to you. Your family has quite the vault of magic spells back at your home, don't they?"
"Eh, well, I didn't come here to learn spells. I just wanted to get a look at our future competition. Speaking of which, who's this? Is he a new member of our faction?" Blair's focus shifted to Magnus, scanning him up and down. He didn't recognize his face at all, but he did note something in his thoughts.
Blonde hair? Interesting.
"Oh, no, this is Magnus Wright, he's in my class, and Magnus, this is Blair Reinholt. The Reinholts are a mage family, just like mine," Luden said, prompting a smirk from Blair. He casually ran a hand through his dark green hair.
"Yeah, sure. As if my family could compare to yours. I honestly can't tell if you say stuff like that to act humble or just to mock people," Blair quipped. It was a rhetorical question, but Luden answered nonetheless.
"Family legacies aren't everything when it comes to being a mage. All the dark horses that have appeared around the academy are proof of that." Although Magnus wasn't a hundred percent sure, he could have sworn he saw Luden look his way as he said that, causing Magnus to sigh internally.
This guy is always up to something. Anyway, I should just act friendly. I'm not Cain right now, so anything having to do with factions is none of my business right now.
"Hmm, fair enough. Anyway, nice to meet you, Magnus," said Blair, to which Magnus responded, "Likewise."
"You know, now that we're talking about dark horses. When am I going to get to meet the new guy, the one the twins fought? Cra- Cain, that was his name, right? It's still hard to believe every time I think about it—an Apprentice-level mage defeating two Apprentice-level knights? It's all the other members have been talking about."
For a moment, Magnus's body stiffened as he heard Blair bring up the name of his alternate ego.
What? What is he talking about? People are talking about me around the academy? Wait, how the hell did anyone even find out I fought the twins? The twins didn't seem like the type to talk about their losses, and the only other person there was…
It was at that moment that Magnus locked eyes with Luden, who had narrowed his gaze ever so slightly. His smile grew as if he could see the cogs turning in Magnus's mind.
Of course. Why did I think he wouldn't use my win as an opportunity to advertise his faction?
"Well, Cain is a very busy man. He doesn't have a very large family behind him, so he has to make up for it with hard work. No worries, though. You'll get to meet him soon. We're having a faction meeting a day before the Live Examination to discuss strategies." Hearing that, Magnus caught on that Luden expected him to be there, or rather, Cain.
"Ooh, perfect! I think everyone, myself included, is excited to see what he can do. Anyway, I have to go. I only dropped by to see if anyone was worth keeping an eye on, and as expected, there wasn't. Well... almost." Blair said that last part as his dark gaze landed on Magnus for a moment before turning to leave.
"Well, he seemed nice," Magnus said, watching as Blair disappeared through the spatial door.
"You shouldn't be so easily fooled by appearances," Luden noted, having overheard Magnus.
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"Hmm, nothing. I'm sure you'll see for yourself eventually. Anyway, I have things to do. It was nice talking to you, Magnus." And just like that, Luden turned to leave as well.
Yeah, sure, just say something cryptic and walk off, why not...
Magnus sighed and turned, glancing back at his station. There were still a few open books he hadn't gotten a chance to fully read through, but he figured he'd just read them next time. He began tidying up his desk, rolling up scrolls, and organizing the books back onto the shelves. As he worked, the conversation he had just had with Luden and Blair kept playing in his head.
The Live Examination, huh? Well, if I really can pull off creating the Magic Simulation Space, I suppose it could be a good chance to push my abilities to the limit for once.