Chapter 5:

The Experiments with magic

Cyberpunk Ghostwriter


November 2nd

Elusia sat at her desk feverishly drawing magic circle patterns on paper. She tried her hardest to recall everything she had learned about magic and had spent the last day or so trying out every magic spell she could. After some extensive experimentation, she made some interesting observations about various magical patterns, spells, and the limits of the brush. First off, the brush could only create magic circle patterns with a chain limit of 4 circles per spells(4 additional smaller patterns besides the main element pattern). Any more than that, and the spell would become unstable and cause a small explosion of magical power.

Elusia had tried this 3 times before she finally got the message.

The next thing she had discovered was that, depending of the effects and strength of the spell, the material she used to write the magical circles was consumed as fuel for the spell to take effect. The paper she used to write the spell on, burned up as she activated it and then fused into the spell. When she tried to draw a circle on the wall instead, it caused a large section of it to disappear as the spell was activated.

‘Hmm, I guess I’m going to need a lot more catalysts if I’m going to use this practically.’ She thought to herself. ‘Maybe I could cut the paper up into talismans and shikigami or something…nah that’s stupid. I need something small enough to fit in my pocket and won’t be destroyed easily. Something made out of paper would be perfect, but a dip in some water and it’ll be completely useless. Maybe there’s something in the gift shop I can use?’

She pondered this for a while but decided to put it off for later.

Afterwards, she started experimenting with the magic spells and magical circle patterns she knew. 

The standard fire pattern created a small flame, which could be manipulated or altered by the users image of the spell. For example, if Elusia imagined a flame pillar coming out instead of a standard flame when she drew it, a flamethrower would come out when she activated it. 

The standard water pattern had a similar effect, but with water instead of fire. 

The standard light pattern created a small flash of light. 

The life pattern, however, was much more complicated. It allowed the user to control and manipulate organic cellular material, such as plant life and even the human body. This allowed for a variety of different effects depending on the image the user had while activating it, such as body enhancement, healing, and manipulating plant growth. However, if the user didn’t have a clear image or made a mistake while drawing the pattern, it would result in some disastrous or gruesome effects. 

The last time this happened, a disciple was activating a magic spell to heal himself, but made a mistake in his magical circle pattern. His cells started over-replicating rapidly, creating new organs and limbs he didn’t need haphazardly all over his body. In the end he turned into a creature resembling something from a certain John Carpenter movie. 

Elusia remembered the gruesome sight and shivered slightly. 

In the end the ‘teachers’ had to burn his entire body to ash to stop the replication. This type of incident was the reason it was recommended not to use life spells on yourself. In fact, Elusia usually asked Amity to buff her with a body enhancement spell before training, which she usually agreed to for some reason.

Anyway, Elusia decided not to mess around with the life element during her experiments.

In the end, Elusia managed to recreate 5 different spells other than the basic elemental ones. 

The first spell she tested was the mist spell, which created a dark fog around the area it was activated at. She had learned this in her first magic lesson. 

The second spell was one that made the user, or whatever they used it on, float 2 feet for 5 seconds. It used the light element with 2 fire and 2 water circle patterns. It seemed usless, but Elusia figured it was better than nothing. 

The third spell she discovered was one that created an ice shard, which shot out from the magic circle when activated. It used the water element with 1 water and 1 fire circle pattern. Elusia figured this could be used as an offensive attack. 

The fourth spell she discovered was one that seemed to do nothing but actually caused whatever she used it on to be frozen in place for 10 seconds. She had only discovered this after accidentally stepping on a magical circle that she had drawn earlier that used the life element with 2 water and 2 fire circle patterns. 

The final spell she discovered was one that created a small explosion when activated. It used the fire element with 2 fire circle patterns and 1 light circle pattern. 

Elusia had accidentally blown a hole in her desk after activating this, and had to end her experiments there.

“Now I just need something to use as a catalyst…”

She thought hard for a while, but then came up with a solution. She headed out of her (completely totaled) room and headed towards the gift shop.

“I’m pretty sure I saw a card set for sale a while ago…”

Veekeeki
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