"What?" Celia's confusion was palpable the moment she processed Magnus's words. Meanwhile, Eveline, standing not far away, abruptly vanished, only to reappear right beside Magnus—a sudden teleportation that startled him into stepping back. Face-to-face with Eveline's crazed gaze, Magnus felt a mix of intrigue and disbelief radiating from her.
"You can manipulate the future? How and when did you learn this? Space-Time Magic exists, but even when wielded by an Archmage or Grand Arcanist, it's not capable of such feats! Is it related to your ability?" Eveline's words rushed out so quickly that Magnus struggled to keep up, taking yet another step back.
"Wait! Just relax for a second! I'm going to explain everything; just give me a second," Magnus yelled, trying to regain his composure. Celia, snapped out of her daze by Magnus's outburst and Eveline's sudden appearance, turned her attention to the brick Magnus had brought into Eveline's library.
"Does it have something to do with that?" she asked, pointing at it. Eveline's attention shifted to the brick, frowning as she examined it. She had already probed it with her sensory magic but found nothing unusual—no reaction from the spirits, no trace of embedded mana. From her perspective, it was just an ordinary brick." But despite that, Magnus nodded in response to Celia's question before turning to Eveline.
"You're sure that this area is completely secure; no one can see what we're doing here?" Magnus asked with a serious look on his face. Currently, the three of them were in a different section of Eveline's library, dark yet still well even without the presence of lanterns. That was thanks to the small glowing orbs that seemed to float around randomly, passing through any physical object they encountered.
Magnus, Celia, and Eveline were all standing on a stone platform slightly larger than an average room, with staircases extending from both sides. Some stairs led to more suspended platforms, while others wound behind bookshelves and disappeared from view. If one were to look over the edge of such a platform, it would be revealed that there was ground in sight. The entire area seemed to be composed of floating staircases and platforms that completely defied normal stability yet remained solid all the same.
"Of course! When I say I'm going to do something, I'm very thorough," Eveline declared, swiftly outlining the measures she had taken to secure the area.
"I've not only blocked any visual feed from leaving this place, but I've also set up barriers to neutralize sounds and vibrations. Even if someone manages to breach all the layers of security I have in place, it would be next to impossible for them to do so without alerting me. Now, hurry and tell me more about what you mentioned earlier!" Eveline exclaimed eagerly, quickly steering the conversation after her explanation.
Taking Eveline at her word regarding the security measures, Magnus sighed before raising the Knockout Brick in his hand.
"As I told Celia, it would be simpler to demonstrate rather than explain. Eveline, stand right here for a moment," Magnus instructed, pointing to a spot a few feet away. Intrigued, Eveline moved without hesitation to the designated spot as Magnus approached. Without warning, Magnus lightly tapped the Knockout Brick against Eveline's arm.
Instantly, Eveline's body went limp, collapsing to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Watching this unfold, Celia's eyes widened as she saw Eveline lying motionless on the ground.
"I- What just... What just happened? Is she... dead?" Celia asked, to which Magnus shook his head, seeing she was trying to process the sudden turn of events.
"No, just knocked out. She'll wake up in a minute." As if on cue, Eveline's eyes snapped open exactly after a minute passed. It was the first time Magnus had seen her look completely bewildered, a rare sight for someone who usually seemed to have an understanding of everything.
"Did I just lose consciousness? But how? Was it the brick? I didn't sense anything at all. It wasn't mental magic, nor an attack on my soul; if it was, my defensive spells should have countered it, or at least given me a warning," Eveline thought aloud, her mind racing with questions and confusion. Eveline, as an Archmage, could unravel most mysteries, even those involving magic beyond her own level, like Grand Arcanist spells.
Yet, at this moment, she found herself utterly baffled, left with only one plausible explanation.
"Could that brick be using Ancient Magic?" It seemed like the only logical conclusion. Ancient Magic was the only force that could render her so disoriented and defy all her knowledge, just as Magnus's own abilities had done.
But Magnus shook his head again.
"No, it's not Ancient Magic. It's not even tied to mana. I call it the Knockout Brick. It's a glitch in what I believe to be the code of this world." Both the words 'glitch' and 'source code' were entirely foreign to Celia and Eveline. Even with Magnus's strange auto-translation, their own languages didn't have any substitutes, so the word sounded completely alien to them. Seeing their confusion, Magnus paused to find simpler words to explain.
"Okay, so everything in the world is made up of something. Like those books we looked at, Celia, remember the ones about cells?" Celia nodded slowly, showing she was following. The same could be said about Eveline, who was listening intently.
"If you could continuously break down the world into its smallest parts, then you can think of source code as the most basic component—the foundation of... well, everything. It's not physical because it defines what's physical. At the same time, it's not abstract, as abstractions are a categorization it created. It's simply the fundamental form of everything, giving rise to all that exists." Magnus realized as he spoke that describing source code outside of himself and Basker was tricky.
Still, surprising enough, both Celia and Eveline seemed to be keeping up without interrupting or asking questions, so Magnus continued.
"As for what I mean by glitch... let's just think of it as a mistake or irregularity. Anomalies that are clearly different compared to everything else and that go against the natural order of things. And I'm not talking about it in the same way magic defies the laws of the world. After all, even magic's existence would be something set by source code to 'defy' the natural laws of the world, because source code created those laws and magic in the first place. Does that make sense?" Magnus asked them.
"I think so. I mean, I'm still a bit confused about source code and glitches, but I think I get the gist of it. I wish I had my notebook to jot this down," Celia said, while Eveline's expression turned fervorous. Magnus's revelation was reshaping her understanding of the world. As an Archmage who thought she knew practically all there was to know about this world, this sudden new layer of knowledge left her mind buzzing with possibilities.
"I see... It all makes sense now. Your abilities, the breaches in magical laws, my inability to trace their origin or understand their workings—even that brick that bypassed my defenses without a hitch. If what you are saying is true, and this source code truly exists, then it all fits together," Eveline chuckled to herself, staring into space as if a profound realization had just dawned on her.
Seeing the effect that what he was saying had on the two of them, Magnus sighed.
"Look, I will tell you both more about source code theory, programming, and all that jazz later. The point is that the Knockout Brick is a glitch, and its abilities aren't just limited to living creatures. I'm still not exactly sure why, but I have managed to experiment with it a little bit." Hearing Magnus, Celia's mind flashed back to her first encounter with the Knockout Brick.
"Wait... so back then, you used it on... but that means it can..." Celia's voice trailed off as the realization dawned on her.
"From what I've seen, the Knockout Brick can knock out anything it hits, regardless of logic. Different things seem to have different 'knockout states'—that's what I'm calling them. When I used it on that cup of tea in my room, I could see into the future," Magnus explained.
"That explains why you were so spaced out that day after staring at your tea cup. It all makes sense now," Celia murmured, mostly to herself.
"How fascinating. A brick that induces a knockout state in both animate and inanimate objects, causing abnormal effects upon contact. What's the cause? How many effects are there, and what are its limitations? There's so much to explore and understand. It's like discovering a whole new realm beyond Ancient Magic!" Eveline exclaimed eagerly, barely containing her excitement as she nibbled on her thumb nail. Still, despite her hyperactive state, she managed to pose a question to Magnus.
"I'm intrigued about something, though. You mentioned wanting to experiment with controlling your future. How exactly do you plan to do that? You mentioned that the knockout state of teacups reveals the future, but that doesn't mean it would allow you to make changes. So, are you referring to the knockout state of something else, or is there more to the teacups than you've said?"
"Neither actually. When a teacup enters the Knockout state and shows the future, it manifests the future as a dream, allowing us to witness it. The catch is, there's no way to retain that information once the dream starts fading. But after the first round of the Live Examination, I started thinking about my own abilities and how I could use them in tandem with the Knockout Brick," Magnus explained.
"Oh, I remember you bringing that up when we were heading back to the dorms from the arena," Celia remarked, nodding as Magnus confirmed.
"Exactly. You both wouldn't know this because I never mentioned it, but I can actually manipulate dreams as long as I visualize them properly. That's when the idea struck me." Magnus didn't need to finish; both Eveline and Celia immediately grasped his plan.
"Ah, I see! Manipulating the dreams of the teacups that reveal the future. Would such an action simply change a projection, or are the future and the teacup dreams directly intertwined, influencing each other? If it's the latter, could looking into the teacup's dream solidify the future? Or was the future predetermined from the beginning?" Eveline's questions mirrored Magnus's own musings, which he hadn't fully explored until now.
But now, in this secluded space away from the prying eyes of the academy, Magnus felt free to experiment without restraint. And what they were discussing was just one of the many ideas he had regarding the Knockout Brick.
Of course, since the Live Examination is still going on, I can't spend a bunch of time here right now, but I won't have to. Now that both Celia and Eveline know about the Knockout Brick, they can help me run experiments even when I'm busy. Plus, once they grasp the concept of source code, they might offer new perspectives on expanding my theory.
There were no words to describe how good it felt to finally share these ideas with others. Even though Magnus intended to keep the Command Console details between himself and Basker, he had been eager to discuss glitches and source code with someone else.
"Well, theorizing is only the beginning," Celia chimed in, clapping her hands.
"If you know what you want to do, the next step is testing it out. I'll grab my notebook and make us some tea." She headed towards Magnus's dorm room door. At the same time, Magnus turned to Eveline, who seemed to already know what he was going to ask her for.
"Of course, there can't be experimentation without the proper equipment." With a wave of her hand, furniture began appearing across the stone platform they were standing on. Chairs, tables, and desks materialized, some of which held semi-familiar devices. One, for instance, resembled a microscope but seemed to be powered by runes. There were also drawers filled with various tools and cupboards stocked with fresh paper for writing.
Everything needed for documentation, studying, and categorizing information was available, transforming the once-bare stone platform into a lab. By the time Eveline was finished, Celia returned with her notebook in hand and a freshly made cup of tea, steam wafting up from it into the still air of the library.
Placing the cup of tea down on one of the tables, she took a step back.
"Ok, so now what?" She asked, to which Magnus walked over to the table and tea cup with the Knockout Brick in hand.
"Now, we see if my idea holds any weight or not. I can manipulate dreams easily enough, but they've always been my own. I still have no clue if I can manipulate the dreams of inanimate objects or the dreams of others in general." Without a word, Celia and Eveline focused intently on Magnus as he prepared to test his theory.
Basker, are you ready?
[Yes, Master, the moment I sense the dream has begun, I will start constructing the visualization.]
Magnus nodded to himself as he carefully lifted the Knockout Brick, gently tapping it against the cup of tea. As before, the tea began to swirl, the steam dissipating and being replaced by something entirely different. The liquid transformed as if a screen were coming to life, and slowly, a projected image appeared on the surface.
Magnus watched intently as a scene from the future began to take shape.