Chapter 27 - 27. Blink

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I stayed cooped up in my home for the next week. I occasionally went out to deal with some tasks or to relax with the animals, but otherwise, I practiced.

The teleportation circle proved quite tricky, but I was almost through. Considering this was a scaled-down circle of the actual circle, with fewer clues to go off, I was making good progress.

While I hadn't deciphered the actual magic yet, I had created my own space magic. It wasn't teleportation but a type of space movement. This magic relied on another formula similar to wormholes for portals.

Using a base understanding of quantum tunneling, I applied my very loose comprehension to create a magic that allowed me to traverse vast distances faster. Teleportation shortened the distance between points in space, but my magic made travel easier.

By directly bending space, using it to create less resistance in front of you, and using it to accelerate from behind, you could make an efficient transportation magic. I used Quantum tunneling in a loose definition to create the will of bending the user's atoms through other atoms, effectively losing all resistance.

I called this "[Blink]." As the name suggested, this movement spell could cover hundreds of feet in a split second, even accelerating your speed as you came out. It wasn't instantaneous, but according to my calculations, one percent of my mana pool could travel roughly 200 meters in one second.

Over 450 miles an hour was an incredible speed. I could go faster or cover more distance by adjusting power and parameters. It was a versatile spell I could use in battle or to quickly turn off the lights.

'All in theory.'

I hadn't tested this magic yet, so I wasn't sure of its capabilities, but my calculations couldn't be too far off. I was currently flying over to a testing zone in the mountains. There was a lovely, long, linear valley I could use, and it was far enough from camp I wouldn't harm anything.

This valley was desolate, so the surrounding environment and animals wouldn't suffer either. Hopefully, my magic wouldn't upend reality, either. The natural order wouldn't allow my atomic hijinx to destroy reality, but I could suffer a severe backlash. I didn't want to create a fission bomb.

My body's atoms rushing through space often collide with the environment, and with enough speed, this could split the atoms apart. My soul would manage to live on even if a reaction happened, so I wasn't too worried.

I slowly landed in an empty part of the volley. I stood in the tall grass at the bottom of the valley. It was a great view, but sad to know I would destroy it soon. Any space magic is destructive if not controlled very carefully, and I was not careful.

This was my first time performing the magic, so I set up the proper precautions. I left a mini part of my body in case my magic didn't go as planned. My soul would automatically move to the remainder of my body to revive it.

With all my preparations done, even if I should've done more, I started on my magic. Space was an element I wasn't as familiar with, so I would need a magic circle for this spell. [Annihilation] and [Read] were top-tier magicks on par with this one, but I was familiar with their elements, so I only needed a short incantation.

[Blink] would require a longer incantation, but I already had the circle, so I used that instead. Normal silent activation uses invisible magic circles you drew with mind and mana, but actual magic circles require a physical body.

I drew the circle for [Blink] onto a slab of stone I had created. I was careful not to mess up, but the main requirement was to infuse my will, or else it wouldn't work. After ten minutes of checking my work, I was finally ready.

I got on top of the stone slab and started pouring my magic. The magic circles refined mana into the needed elements so I could use the world's natural mana directly.

I got into a sprinting start with my hand on the floor and low to the ground. I also needed to do well physically to get the pure maximum output.

[Blink] only accelerated me. The movement was still up to my choice. If I didn't move, [Blink] wouldn't move me.

As the circle started glowing with the light of mana, I tensed my muscles in preparation. With the mana reaching the level I wanted, I slowly pittered out the mana absorption of the circle.

Taking deep breaths, I calmed myself and focused my mind as I stared ahead at the open valley. With no more fanfare, I started running.

The platform was a meter square that I would reach the end of in two steps. I released [Blink] on my first step.

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I lay down on the uprooted earth. [Blink] had failed. Or rather, I had failed [Blink]. The magic itself did as was expected, but I had failed to think about the repercussions properly. I'd gone extremely fast, creating untold havoc in the process.

Within the first second, I'd gone more than 100 meters. I frantically tried to stop the magic, but it was too powerful. I had misjudged how much mana to use as I struggled to gain control of my speed and the spell.

My ruckus in trying to stop instead made it more powerful, causing an explosion similar to the one in Umpedes. This time, the magic directly impacted me, causing much more damage. Not only was my body severely injured, but my soul.

I had put my left foot down to stop, and with all that force on the leg, the explosion had an especially significant impact. My soul would be forever scared on my left leg. While my body wouldn't show it, if I shifted to my natural form, it would take on the shape of my soul, including scarring.

'At least I'm not dead.'

I reflected on my actions and thought about what went wrong. I'd been trying to stop my acceleration as the magic worked, and in the process, I had changed a part of the magic. This change caused trouble and the explosion.

I hadn't thought about it, but stopping would be a massive problem. If the mana was preset, I couldn't just cut off the mana supply as the circle worked as a battery, and even if the magic stopped, my speed would continue.

I needed to slow down immediately after arriving. This could only be done by using something equal to [Blink].

'Or [Blink] itself.'