"....You’re going to continue indulging in joy on your own, or are you going to explain the situation so I could join in the fun?" the System said impassively after Benjamin did not speak after a momentary silence.
"Thank you, but I would rather not share the joy," Benjamin would never let any opportunity to mock the System slip out of his hands.
"...." If the System had a face, he would be so furious to the point that steam would probably rise from his orifices.
It was not like Benjamin really wanted to piss the System off, but the training method he came up with was just a beta version, and the System would laugh at him so badly if his plan failed. Moreover, he had enough of the antics of the System, and if he could whip the System into shape now, it would help him a long way in the future.
Back to the main topic. After the little experiment he did just now, he had a more systematic understanding of magic.
The ‘Water’ element was the basis of all his magic. To him, the element could be categorized into two groups: the water particles in the space of his consciousness, or the water particles that floated around in the real world. He could sense and communicate with the water particles in the real world, but they were difficult to command. When he recalled the only time he used the Waterball Spell in real life, the water particles he utilized were all from his space.
The water particles in the space of his consciousness gathered themselves around the magical emblem. Through the emblem, Benjamin could control the water particles for magic. Every time he used his magic, he would use up some of the water particles. So, in other words, the water particles he stored in his space would be his source of ‘magical powers’.
The more water particles he stored, the stronger the magical powers he could release.
Aside from learning new spells, this was the only way to become stronger that Benjamin could think of. If he could learn new spells, he would choose that without hesitation, but all he had now was himself. From where could he learn them from? He was not confident and did not think that he could invent new spells. Now, he could only wait for Annie’s hidden treasures.
Thus, after he simplified his thoughts, the only thing he could do right now was to increase the concentration of water particles stored in the space of his consciousness.
The problem now was, how could he do so?
Well, of course he was going to get them from the real world.
This was probably what the common fantasy novels called as ‘the mage’s meditation’: to collect magical elements from the environment and store them, thus increasing their abilities in the process.
As a matter of fact, any special powers ranging from magic to Qi battles all had the same process: storage, accumulation, transformation. If everything goes as he expected, the world he was in was no different from that. As long as he would persistently accumulate his magical element, he could be stronger.
And that, was the training method of a mage that he comprehended by himself.
"Ah, I’m such a genius!"
He felt pompous as this was the second time he understood something without the guidance of someone else.
"So, you really don’t intend to explain anything to me?" the System grumbled.
"Yup," Benjamin answered crisply.
"...."
Without further ado, Benjamin started his trials. He closed his eyes and amplified his senses towards the water particles around him. Although the cellar did not have a good air circulation, it was still a humid place, and it had quite a number of water particles. Benjamin tried hard to feel the wandering water particles, and attempted to absorb them into the space of his consciousness through communicating with them.
In the beginning of the process, Benjamin felt lost. He did not know how he could absorb the water particles. All he could do was act based on his instinct by attempting to command the movement of the water particles. However, nothing happened.
He never gave up hope, and quickly realized the crux of the problem.
He should not be communicating with the water particles, instead he should be interacting with his space of consciousness.
The space of his consciousness was a unique existence, and he should utilize it to absorb the water particles. Without it, even after communicating with the water particles, he could only absorb them into his body. That would be of no use, as he was not even thirsty.
Benjamin started to sense his consciousness space. He did not go into the space; instead he maintained the state of half-entering the space, where he felt the deep abyss of his space while also keeping his consciousness tethered to the real world.
That was a miraculous state, as he was stepping into the space of consciousness but also withholding himself with willpower to keep his sight in the real world. He experienced how his breath and blood flow slowed down as if his soul left his body, and he was staring at himself from the perspective of an outsider.
An uncanny feeling grew in him.
His instincts told him that this was the state he wanted.
Thus, he maintained and waited in that condition. As he felt stabilized, he again tried to sense the water particles that were floating around in the environment like lost beings without their souls.
The change was imminent.
Every time Benjamin’s sensations touched a small patch of water particles, they would suddenly disappear. Then, in the space of his consciousness, a small patch of water particles would pop up. The process was like tearing through space and time, and the absorption of the water particles was done within a blink of an eye. There was no chronological progression for the process, and it felt unimaginable.
Benjamin could not contain his elation.
He successfully found a way to absorb the water particles!
With every attempt of taking in the water particles, a slight chill would run down his body, as if it was congratulating his success. It was so thrilling that Benjamin could not help but shudder.
At the urging of this feeling, and without putting in too much thought, Benjamin allowed his senses to sweep the cellar again and again like an addict. He absorbed every single drop of water particle into the space of his consciousness.
As he retreated from his half-mind-half-reality state, he took a deep breath and was filled with a comforting feeling.
"Ah, this was better than a happy ending!" He sighed, sated.
".....You came up with this training method by yourself?"
The System appeared as Benjamin was in joy. It witnessed everything and also understood his theory, thus it talked to Benjamin with a slight complaint in its voice.
"Yes, and say no more, I know I am a genius. No need for your compliments," Benjamin flipped his hair narcissistically.
"....No one wanted to praise you."
The flat mechanical voice conveyed the System’s displeasure.
"Well, if you insist, I wouldn’t stop you. Here, don’t be frugal with your words, praise me the best you can!" Apparently, Benjamin did not listen to what the System said, as he was still deep in his admiration towards his own mental prowess.
The System was quiet for a while, and as if it was finally enraged, it raised its volume three times higher than before and bellowed in Benjamin’s ear like a heavy metal concert.
"NO ONE WANTED TO PRAISE YOU! YOUR METHOD FAILED!"
Benjamin was stunned by the voice, but he steadily regained his awareness as he frowned and asked, "What did you just say?"
The System calmed down and spoke in a normal volume, "No one wanted to praise you, your method failed."
Benjamin did not take it seriously, and assumed that the System was misbehaving as usual.
He asked again, "Where did it go wrong?"
The System answered, "You will know why I’m telling you this once you return and observe the space of your consciousness."
Benjamin considered the staid tone of the System and realised that it was not pulling his leg. He recovered from his pompousness and went back into his space of consciousness with doubt. In the space, everything was just as it was before: the dark surroundings, the light blue symbol, the floating water particles….
Nothing seemed wrong.
Wait…. Everything was just as it was before?
Benjamin immediately grasped the problem.
The water particles in the space were just as they were before, but they were not supposed to be the same. Benjamin was diligently absorbing water particles for such a long time before, thus the stored amount of water particles should be much more than it was before!
Where did all the water particles go?
"They leaked away when you were busy being pleased at yourself," the System provided him an answer.
"Leaked away? Why would they leak away?" Benjamin was disillusioned. His efforts were wasted, and he felt the pain of the loss.
"Aren’t you a genius? Why are you asking me now?" The System seemed to have learnt a thing or two from the madame. Its ability in mocking people improved fiercely.
Benjamin did not care about the criticism. Instead, he furrowed his brows and mumbled to himself, "Something must be wrong. What was the reason behind the leak? Hmm…"
Once again, he buried himself in his thoughts.
He had a feeling that the real answer was just right there in his head. He must have left out an important component of it, which caused his theory to be faulty. It was just like a racing car without an essential gear.
What did he miss out from the near perfect ‘storage, accumulation, transformation’ setup?
"Why would they leak out? The water particles were having a good time in the air, so what do you have to make them stay in your space? Why would they stay?"
As Benjamin was pondering, the System grabbed the opportunity to ruthlessly retaliate.
At this point, Benjamin could not pay attention to the words of the System as he was deep in his thoughts. He was replaying the whole training method and the space of his consciousness in his mind. He felt that his reasoning was right, and theoretically, it was highly possible for him to execute a workable method out of it.
However, the method had a fatal flaw.
Where was the problem?
"Why…." He instinctively mumbled.
"Why, why, why oh why, why wouldn’t they leak out, why wouldn’t they?" The System imitated Benjamin’s tone and made up rhymes to pester him.
Probably because the System’s chants had a rhythm to it, it was good enough to make Benjamin to absentmindedly echo, "Why…. why…. Why wouldn’t they leak out…"
Why… Wouldn’t they leak out?
Benjamin experienced a Eureka Moment.
Right, the excess water particles did leak out and dissipate, but what about the remaining water particles? Why would they not leak out? What did he do that made them stay in his space, and did not leak alongside the other water particles?
As he changed his way of thinking, Benjamin realized that the answer he was pursuing was just right before his eyes.
He raised his eyes to gaze at the blue light before him. The pale blue hue reflected on his face as a smile of realization filled his face.
How could he forget this blue symbol?
The triangular magical emblem was the source of everything. It was it that unlocked the space of his consciousness, that gathered the active water particles, that gave Benjamin the power to sense the ‘water’ element, that allowed Benjamin to be able to summon a water ball.
It was the reason that the water particle stayed. When the space was overloaded by water particles that was out of the capacity of the symbol, it could not keep the water particles in the space. The excess water particles thus dissipated right after that.
As he understood all this, Benjamin immediately altered the method of training he had: the accumulation of water particles was not the key to become stronger, instead it was to strengthen the powers of the blue symbol, so that it could control a larger amount of water particles.
The way to strengthen the symbol, however….
Benjamin thought for a moment and came up with an idea. He suddenly controlled a patch of water particle in the space and moved them towards the symbol. Controlling them without a medium was still quite difficult, which caused the travelling speed to be slow. After immense effort from Benjamin, they were finally near the symbol.
Under his command, the water particles touched the symbol.
A loud ring rose emitted from the symbol! The sound was different from anything it ever made.
Benjamin felt his eyesight blurred, and suddenly it was as if he was sent to a world of pure blue. A variety of blue symbol orbited around him like satellites, and this mesmerizing feeling took his breath away.
In a blink of an eye, he returned to the dark space of his consciousness. What happened just now seemed to be his hallucination.
What was that?
Benjamin squinted his eyes and went into deep thought as he studied the blue symbol. However, he was quick to stop frowning, and again aimed at the water particles gathered in his surrounding. He commanded them again to levitate towards the blue symbol.
This time, the water particles came in contact with the symbol, but nothing happened. Benjamin only saw the water particles bleed into the symbol like rivers merging into the sea.
The symbol glowed momentarily, and returned to normal.
Benjamin did not let disappointment cloud him. He repeated this action, and felt that he already solved the mystery between the space and the blue symbol. All that was left to do was to use practical methods to prove his hypothesis.
Again and again, he commanded the water particles to go near the symbol and be absorbed by it. This process was quite sluggish due to his flimsy control over the water particles. Hence, this exercise did take up a lot of Benjamin’s time even if it was done in the space, where time passed slower than the real world.
It took him around twelve real world hours to combine all the water particles in his space into the symbol.
A whole 12 hours! If he was not under detention in this cellar, it would be extremely difficult for him to not get disturbed for this long period of time.
Benjamin was surprised when the System told him that twelve hours had passed. Although this process was extremely repetitive, he delved his mind and soul into it. He could not feel the passage of time.
This enchanting feeling deepened his confidence in his hypothesis. This feeling was very similar to the time when he first witnessed magic. It was as if something was calling out to him in the universe. If he was not on the right track, he would never feel this.
Once again, he raised his head and gazed at the glittering blue symbol in the space of his consciousness.
The symbol finally had some changes. It became shinier, the blue light like a sky full of stars, silently proving Benjamin’s theories.
However, that was not enough. He looked at the symbol as he prepared to start his final test.
As he waited for the water particles to form in the space, he took a brief rest. It was approximately 30 minutes for the water particles in the surroundings to recover. It even looked much concentrated than before.
He reached out his hand, aimed towards the symbol, and chanted the Waterball Spell.
Accompanied by a ‘ding’ noise and the movements of the water particles, a water ball floated above his palm, and it was at least double the size of the previous water balls.
Benjamin glanced at the big water ball in his hand, and finally showed a satisfied smile.
"See, you slapped yourself in the face. Now, I am a bloody genius."