It's currently just after sunrise, and I have several things I want to do today before I meet back up with the elves. For one, I need to finish that slime job before the deadline. I also have several spells I need to practice. I suspect that will take a while, given how high I'm aiming.
To master my concealment, I'll need to add a silencing spell onto my invisibility spell. I think I have an idea for how to do that, but I'll need Percivil's help. Next, I need a wide-range detection spell for other lifeforms. Unless the elves already know where the dragon is, that will be critical. I also have a couple ideas for that one, but they'll be trickier.
Most importantly, I want to experiment with flying. I can run fast, but as large as this planet is that's still not ideal for long distances. Human transportation is even slower, so I'd rather not do that. I actually think that this spell is a pretty sound idea in theory, but I'm wondering how it will go in practice within the limits of my magic.
My final idea is just more of a broken shot in the dark – teleportation. Being a physics nerd, I remember that this should be possible according to the theory of general relativity, but I only remember the qualitative parts of the theoretical support. I don't have high hopes for it.
Thinking about the appropriate order, I might need a silencing spell for some of the other tasks, so I'll head to the blacksmith first.
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When I arrive at Percivil's shop, the storefront seems empty, and I don't see Percivil. I guess he's in the back.
"Percivil! Are you here?" (Mizuki)
I call out, and after a second, he walks into the front with a smile on his face.
"Mizuki! Good to see yah. I bet you've got another crazy request, aye? You're welcome to just come for armor or weapon repairs yah know?" (Percivil)
He says the last part with a chuckle. I'm glad he seems to be in good spirits after last time.
"You guessed it. I actually need your help with a spell. Do you have a few minutes?" (Mizuki)
His eyebrows raise in surprise. Then, after another moment, he goes pale. What'd I do?
"Eh…Mizuki, it won't be destructive, will it?" (Percivil)
Ah, yeah, that's fair after what he saw last time. Sorry, bro.
"No, no, I promise. It's just a spell for stealth." (Mizuki)
That seems to make him relax, and he nods in agreement.
"Then, sure! What do yah need from me?" (Percivil)
I ask him to follow me to the same room as before.
"In a minute, I'm going to turn invisible. I need you to look closely and confirm that you can't see me even in this direct light. Okay?" (Mizuki)
He looks shocked at the suggestion, but nods in agreement.
I focus and cast my invisibility spell. Percivil lets out a yelp and his eyes go wide. I guess it's pretty weird to watch in real time. He comes close to where I am and starts looking all around intently. Then steps back and shakes his head in amazement. Without dropping my spell, I speak out.
"So, I take it you can't see me then?" (Mizuki)
"It's like you're not even there at all, incredible!" (Percivil)
So, he can hear me fine, as I suspected.
"Alright, Percivil, I'm going to try casting a silencing spell on top of this. Please raise your hand for two seconds if you hear anything from me." (Mizuki)
"You got it!" (Percivil)
He nods and crosses his arms in front of his chest. I clap once as a baseline. He raises his hand. Okay, good.
I close my eyes and imagine my magic forming a barrier around me, but not a skin-tight one, more like I'm inside of an egg that gives me room to breathe. Once the size feels right, I imagine the barrier reflecting air molecules it contacts to create a thin vacuum at the outline of the barrier. In theory, sound waves shouldn't be able to travel either way through such a barrier.
I open my eyes, and clap once. Percivil looks a little unsure, but then raises his hand. Damn, so it's probably muffled, but not perfect.
I focus more intensely on pouring magic into the thin barrier, willing the air molecules to be strongly repelled on impact with it. I clap once. Percivil doesn't react. I scream as loud as I can – still no reaction. Perfect.
I drop all the spells and smile at Percivil.
"Okay, that worked great. Thanks for your help, man, I'll let you get back to your work!" (Mizuki)
Percivil looks stunned, but he smiles back at me warmly.
"No problem, Mizuki, please let me know if yah ever need help like that again. That was so much fun to see!" (Percivil)
Alright, I think I can call it for that spell. There's the drawback that I also can't hear when inside it, and that I will run out of air if I keep the barrier perfectly sealed too long, but I can live with that. I only intend to use it in short bursts.
Hmm…maybe I should try teleporting from here to the clearing in the woods I was at yesterday? I wanted to try it eventually, and if it actually worked it would save me some time.
"Hey, Percivil, I'm going to try one more thing in here. Don't freak out if I disappear and don't come back today." (Mizuki)
He looks confused, but he voices his agreement.
I close my eyes and imagine the space around me. In theory, this should be like folding a piece of paper to connect two points, just in higher dimensions. I let my magic spill out into a sphere around me, and I will my magic to drag and entangle the very fabric of space itself. I imagine it pushing that fabric towards the spot in the center of the forest clearing.
At this point, I begin to feel a resistance, like the first time I made gold out of air. Like before, I try to brute force it with more magic. Eventually, it seems like the source of resistance 'tears', and I feel a sudden lurching sensation, followed by a pit in my stomach.