Word Magic. It wasn't something Magnus had ever come across, even during his time reading through the books in Takerth's Library. But he knew exactly what it was because it was a popular concept back on Earth—the ability to manipulate the world and create phenomena through a single phrase.
The first time I ever heard about the concept of words carrying magical power was when I got my first dragon shout in Skyrim. Still, I never expected something like that to appear here in this world as well.
Beyond wanting to see how the others in his faction were doing and getting a read on his potential future opponents, Magnus was watching the matches in this round of the Live Examination to copy what he saw. This didn't really apply to knights, as their attacks were more straightforward and physical, but mages were a different story.
I've already come up with a few new abilities thanks to watching so many matches, but if I can replicate the effects of word magic... I might even be able to tangle with people around the Master-level. All I need is for Blair to last long enough against Jalud for him to show off his bag of tricks.
Just the thought of it made Magnus smirk beneath the cover of his mask, a wave of excitement rushing through his body. An emotion that directly contrasted with what Blair, who was face-to-face with Jalud, was feeling inside the Alternate Space.
What the hell can I do about something like that!? He destroyed one of my spectral manifestations with just two words. Dammit, why are all these monsters popping up in this Live Examination specifically?
Useless questions with no answers flooded Blair's mind before he stopped and took a deep breath, focusing his attention.
Screw it; if I'm going to lose, then I'll at least make it look like I put up a good fight.
Placing the hand he had already cut to activate his lineage magic against the darkness at his feet, Blair shouted, "Spectral Manifestation: Vaporflies!"
Almost immediately, countless small creatures began to rise from the dark domain under Blair. Just as the name suggested, they were flies—hundreds, if not thousands, of them. Their phantom-like forms and outlines made it look as if Blair was wrapped in some kind of warped space.
Still, even after seeing their numbers, Jalud's expression didn't change as he warned, "Don't say I didn't give you a chance to surrender."
Blair ignored him entirely and ordered the Vaporflies to attack. They moved through the air like a swarm, acting as one massive entity. Watching the swarm fly at him, Jalud opened his mouth and spoke a single word.
"Freeze." It seemed to happen almost instantly. Whether it was the mobilization of mana from Jalud's mana core, the condensation of that mana to the point it was visible, or its sudden transformation, it all occurred at a speed faster than the average spell could achieve. Just like that, each and every Vaporfly headed in Jalud's direction was encased in ice.
As if they had suddenly been moved into a frozen tundra, the flies became icicles in midair. With their wings frozen, they fell from the sky like hail, plopping into the calm waters. Seeing such a scene, some of the students watching couldn't help but breathe in sharply.
"Yikes... the Cresteya Family's lineage magic is no joke," Gozif remarked with his arms crossed. As a member of Resir's Faction, he knew about Jalud's magic, though not in great detail. It was already difficult to learn specifics about a family's magic or unique aura style unless they were purposely loose with that information.
But when it comes to something as abstract as the magic Jalud was using, it was practically impossible to make an analysis.
Fardeir, still sitting next to Gozif, nodded in agreement and added, "Yeah, casting magic through incantations is one thing, but even then it takes time. But there's practically zero buildup for Jalud; all he has to do is say a single word, and the process is near-instantaneous."
Outside of using incantationless spells, which required a lot of training, effort, and knowledge on the caster's part, there was likely no form of faster casting than what Jalud was showcasing.
"Basker, did you manage to catch that?"
[Yes, Master. Since we no longer have to rely on observing the matches from afar and can directly view things up close through the screens around the Alternate Space, I was able to capture it perfectly. The transmutation process of mana turning to ice is now being archived and made part of the Library of Babel.]
The match had just begun, and now Magnus had already gained the ability to create ice, just like he could generate water and fire.
Perfect.
[I've also begun analyzing and disassembling the different BGMs we've heard up to this point. So far, I've already managed to find over fifty different points of similarity between the shifts in the music and the situations in which those shifts occur, despite them being of different genres.]
Oh, that fast?
It was a surprise to hear Basker say that, but a pleasant one nonetheless.
So far, including the one from his match against Reimun, Magnus had heard four different BGMs create the strange glitch that had appeared out of nowhere. Although they all sounded different and seemed to change genres based on the environment, situation, and opponents, there were still similarities Magnus noticed.
Certain cues hinted at when an attack was coming, regardless of the BGM playing. And it was that realization that gave Magnus an idea. If he could listen to and analyze enough BGMs and find all the audible similarities between them, then in the future, he might be able to read the flow of battles just by hearing the first few seconds of a battle's BGM.
On top of that, it was an idea that had immediate benefits. An ability that would only improve the more battles he engaged in, meaning reading his opponents' rhythms would only get easier over time.
If I combine that with my [Self Body Puppetry], it would be akin to activating autoplay in a rhythm game. None of my attacks would ever miss their target, and none of my opponents would ever hit. I would be practically invincible in a one-on-one fight.
[Indeed, however, Master, you should be cautious about developing new abilities this way.]
Hearing that kind of warning from Basker, Magnus raised a brow.
What do you mean?
[As we've seen so far, Glitches are extremely powerful, far beyond anything else we've encountered in this world. As such, they are also useful, especially to you. However, their very nature as glitches—something the Command Console acknowledges them as—makes them unpredictable.]
With the two of them existing nearly as one mind, Magnus understood what Basker was trying to warn him about as soon as he finished explaining. Glitches are, by definition, irregularities—something that defies the norm. Magnus had obtained the Command Console, but he still had no clue about its origin. And, if there was a Command Console, then shouldn't there be developers or administrators who were initially supposed to be the ones to use it?
People whose jobs would include dealing with glitches like the ones Magnus has encountered?
And even if that wasn't the case, there were plenty of times when glitches would appear to fix themselves after a while, or at least temporarily disappear only to reappear later. If that logic could be applied to the world Magnus found himself in now, one made entirely of source code, then there was no guarantee any glitch around him was permanent.
Any of them could vanish at a moment's notice, so using them as a crutch was risky.
Hmm, alright, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Basker.
[Of course, Master.]
Magnus's excitement died down a bit thanks to Basker's warning. They were right; although using them could make him stronger a lot faster or even bring him closer to his goal, he should make sure to avoid forming plans around them. It would be like making a house of only paper; who knows when it will rain next and wash it away.
Bringing his attention back to the match, Magnus saw that Blair's expression hadn't changed at all after his vaporflies had been frozen. In fact, he looked like he was smiling. Jalud seemed to notice this as well and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"What are you smiling about?" He questioned, to which Blair's grin only grew.
"Oh, nothing." The moment he uttered those words, Jalud noticed the water around him was growing turbulent before multiple masses burst out from its surface. It only took Jalud a moment to realize what they were—Vaporflies. The very same vaporflies that he had frozen just a minute ago had suddenly burst from the water under him and surrounded him.
Not missing a beat, Blair quickly ordered the vaporflies around Jalud to close in.
The reason Vaporflies are called Vaporflies in the first place isn't because of their appearance, but because of their ability to turn into an extremely fine mist that can slip through gaps of practically any size, even the gaps in ice or the pores in a person's skin. Since they can enter this state at will, that also makes them nearly invulnerable to physical attacks.
And it was that fact that Blair's plan hinged on. The moment Jalud made any move to attack, Blair was ready to use that as an opening for the vaporflies to transform into mist and directly invade Jalud's body. Such an attack wouldn't work against knights, since they can filter the air with their aura, but against a mage without a barrier, it was something even Jalud wouldn't be able to counter.
At least, that would have been the case if he had attacked.
"Transfer." The instant Jalud uttered the word, his body glowed and seemed to disintegrate. It was as if every part of him was breaking down to its smallest components, and then, without a sound, he vanished in the blink of an eye. Whether it was Blair, the Apprentice and Adept-level students watching, or even Magnus, everyone completely lost track of him.
What? Did he avoid the attack altogether? But why? With his personality, he shouldn't have had a reason or even considered retreating if he could just deal with them directly.
Blair looked around, puzzled. It was only when Jalud's voice echoed through the air that everyone realized he was above them.
"Compress." Jalud appeared to be standing in mid-air as his word took effect. Instantly, it was as if a gravity well had formed where he had been standing. Everything within a hundred-foot radius—vaporflies, water, sand—was pulled in by an extreme force. Gravity itself had been skewed, and Blair was within its range.
The vaporflies, by instinct, tried to turn into their protective mist form, but this only made it easier for the gravitational force to pull them in. Within seconds, every single vaporfly had been compressed into a ball, smothered by layers of sand and water, growing more pressurized by the second.
The compressed ball kept growing, pulling in more sand and water; its diameter was continuously expanding.
I'm going to get pulled in at this rate.
Blair was at the very edge of the compressive force's range, yet even as he buried his legs in the wet sand, he felt he would be yanked through the air any second now.
Tch, I don't have a choice.
Releasing his manifestation of the vaporflies, which were being crushed, Blair dispersed them back into the darkness of his domain. At the same time, he took the chance to manifest something else.
"Spectral Manifestation: Wave Fish." A fish with an extremely flat underside and a curved upper body took shape directly under Blair, lifting him up. Two extremely long and broad fins stretched out from its main body, each one easily longer than an adult male. With a single mental command, the fish began to swim rapidly, carrying Blair.
Though it struggled for a moment, the fish violently moved its fins and body, breaking free of the gravitational pull Jalud had created. It sped through the water like a boat, and true to its name, its extreme speed and uniquely curved body caused a wave to form in its wake, obscuring it and Blair from direct view while making it fairly easy to track.
Seeing that Blair had escaped from his gravity well, Jalud stopped the compressive force. Immediately, the large sphere of condensed water and sand fell into the dip it had made by pulling in everything around it. Although the surrounding water would eventually fill the hole and cover everything up, the ball of compressed sand wouldn't fall apart, having essentially become stone under while under pressure.
Watching this from outside the Alternate Space, Magnus observed Jalud casually shoot a glance in the direction Blair was fleeing, still in mid-air. He hadn't fallen at all; it was as if there was an invisible floor under his feet.
He- He really is just standing in the air. It doesn't look like flight, though; I've heard flight spells are only used by those who've actually reached the Adept-level and are close to becoming Master-level mages. In that case... a floating spell instead?
None of the students were reacting like it was a big deal, so Magnus guessed it was at least an Apprentice-level spell. Probably one that isn't used very often either. After all, while flight has all sorts of uses, floating only has a few. It could be useful for getting across gaps and specific situations while falling, but even then it had issues.
If you suddenly start floating mid-fall, you'll just end up suffering from the whiplash of suddenly stopping. The only way it could be used to avoid falling to your death is if you haven't gained that much speed yet or if you can gradually slow your descent first. Not only that, but it's not like you could gain any tactical advantage from it either unless you were already high in the air like Jalud did.
Still, that wasn't why Magnus's thoughts had drifted to the topic. Instead, he was wondering about how he could replicate it all together. After all, a lot of the weaknesses of floating were something he could negate using the Command Console.
I've tried to figure out how to gain flight before through the Command Console, but it's simply too dangerous. The concept is simple enough; all I have to do is move my torso, just like I move Rokshaata when I fire it with [Bullseye]. But the issue lies in the air resistance, fluctuating temperatures, and everything else I'll have to deal with while moving through the air at high speeds.
But... if it's just floating, then there are plenty of ways for me to pull it off, right?
As Magnus began to formulate an idea in his head, Jalud made his move within the Alternate Space, gazing at the calm waters just in front of the wave that seemed to be retreating from him.
Damn, at this point, running until I can come up with a plan is really all I can do. Trying to attack him with any of my spectral manifestations is useless too. It would just be me throwing meat into a grinder.
As Blair had this thought, he suddenly heard a distant noise, one that was familiar to him. He just barely heard it over the sound of the rushing water around him but was certain it was the sound of thunder, causing him to look up at the sky in puzzlement.
What the... Why would there be thunder out here? The sky's clear, and there's no sign of a storm.
But before he could ponder it further, Jalud spoke again, "Split."
His words sounded more like a command than anything, and even when hundreds of feet away, Blair could feel its effects. A vibration made its way through the waters, and not too far ahead of him, it was as if a sinkhole was beginning to form. The sand under the water suddenly caved in on itself. Just like a spiderweb, countless underwater ravines began to form, pulling in tons of water and sand.
In an instant, the peaceful waters turned chaotic as everything was sucked into the earth. But while watching this scene through the screens outside the Alternate Space, members of Jalud's faction couldn't help but question his actions.
"Hey, what's Jalud doing? Why doesn't he just end the match already? He's had plenty of chances," one faction member wondered aloud.
"Because Jalud doesn't want to win just yet," another replied simply.
Hearing that, the first faction member who had spoken looked puzzled.
"What? Why wouldn't he want to win quickly?"
The other faction member didn't answer right away. Instead, he turned his head and looked in the direction of a certain masked student.
"Because presence is more important than victory. The point of the Live Examination for the academy staff is to evaluate students, but for us, who have formed factions, it's a chance to show off our capabilities and attract new members. That guy... Cain, has already taken the number one spot in everyone's mind, so Jalud's trying to shake that." He needed people to realize there was another monster in their midst, one they would view as just as insurmountable as Cain.
As long as he could do that, then when they finally have their match, and he wins, everything else will fall into place.