Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage Chapter 931: Rudiments of Space Magic I

CH0931 Rudiments of Space Magic I

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Alex’s lips twitched.

"Happy to be of service... I think," Alex muttered in reply.

The Sphinx were known for being... emotionally underdeveloped and oblivious to many social cues. However, being as intelligent as they were, many of them did realise this and took a strong interest in the emotional affairs of those around them—purely for academic purposes, to learn these things themselves.

But like Master Sahira, they were often too direct in their inquiries, which left them infamous at many social gatherings.

Fortunately, Alex was aware of this, so although he was taken aback for a moment, he pushed the matter behind him.

The room descended into an awkward silence for a few minutes.

"I am back."

Fortunately, Asta returned quickly enough, sparing Alex from Master Sahira’s dispassionate but inquisitive gaze.

She placed about half a dozen tomes on the table before Alex.

"May I?" Alex requested.

"They are for you," Master Sahira permitted.

Alex flipped through the books and found that they were handwritten texts written by the same person.

When Orion searched through the Rune Net database, he found that these texts were not contained within the database.

"I searched the Enclave’s digital library to satisfy my curiosity about Space Magic, but I don’t think I have come across any of these books. Were these written by you, Master Sahira?" Alex asked.

"You are correct." Master Sahira nodded. She explained, "These are texts that I wrote to teach about Space Magic. I wrote four of the six for Asta, while the other two were for public lectures I gave on Space Magic.

"As for the Enclave’s digital library, I am not a fan of the programme. Neither the fees to be earned nor the promise of longevity for the work are particularly attractive to me.

"I live relatively comfortably, with little desire for material wealth. Meanwhile, I believe the longevity of my work shouldn’t be in the storage of my texts, but in the students I teach, who expand upon the knowledge beyond where I have reached with it.

"In fact, I consider leaving my texts in some fancy storage device where they might never see the light of day an affront to my service to academia," Master Sahira said.

Alex was thoroughly taken aback, especially by how hostile the Master Space Mage was towards the idea of digital storage.

It reminded him of how na?ve he was.

The practice of keeping one’s knowledge solely for oneself, one’s progeny, or one’s school was deeply entrenched in the world. Just because he had created a means through which one could earn money and gain a promise of protection for one’s works didn’t automatically mean all researchers and developers would jump onto the platform.

There were likely many key pieces of research and knowledge kept secured by their creators or possessors outside the Rune Net, even though it had become more ubiquitous.

’Well, as much as I would like to change things, only time can solve this.’ Alex thought to himself.

He scanned through one of the tomes recommended by Asta as Master Sahira prepared to begin her lecture.

"Before we begin, Young Master Alex, can you tell me the first ironclad rule of Spatial Magic?" Master Sahira asked.

"Space Mages do not control space," Alex said.

Then he elaborated further. "Barring special creatures that live in the void, most other creatures cannot contain spatial energy. As such, it is impossible for any creature to cast Spatial Spells or use Spatial Abilities in the typical way mages, magical beasts, and monsters do—by Willing related energy with Spiritual Force to manifest the intended spell or ability."

Master Sahira nodded.

"You are correct. Space or Spatial Mages do not control space. Instead, we manipulate the conditions around space so that space reacts in an intended way that creates the intended phenomenon naturally.

"In other words, Spatial Mages create conditions or an environment that forces space to produce a result natural to it.

"This is the fundamental of Spatial Magic—its distinction from typical magic casting—that must be understood before one can become a Spatial Mage," Master Sahira explained.

"I understand." Alex nodded.

"Do you?" Master Sahira was sceptical. "Do you then know the reason why Spatial Mages are rare?"

"Spatial Awareness," Alex replied. "Since Spatial Magic relies on altering the conditions surrounding space, anyone intending to walk the path of a Spatial Magus must have a close or innate sense for changes in spatial conditions."

"Correct again, Young Master Alex." Master Sahira’s eyes flashed. She nodded appreciatively.

It was a simple concept, but it was something that most people had a problem grasping, leaving many to vainly pursue a path that they could not walk in the first place.

"If you understand this much, then I hope you understand the reason for the rigorous testing involved before one is even allowed to learn the most basic Spatial Spell?" she inquired.

"I do." Alex nodded. "I am not here with vain hopes of becoming a Space Mage. Like I said, I am just curious about the discipline."

"Very well, then. As long as you understand." Master Sahira nodded.

She continued, "To better teach my students the rudiments of Space Magic, I like to first give them an understanding of how space and, then, Space Magic works.

"For this, I like to use the Fabric model or analogy."

Master Sahira received a short scarf from Asta as she continued her explanation.

"Imagine this scarf, for the purpose of this explanation, as the ’Fabric of Space’."

She pinched two points at the ends of the scarf with her fingers.

"These points at the two ends of the scarf are two points in space, Ash and Null. Depending on how I bend or fold this fabric, the apparent distance between these two points and the amount of work needed to travel between them changes."

Master Sahira folded the fabric such that the two pinched points now rested on top of or close to each other, forming a U-shape.

"By folding the fabric like this, you can see that the distance between the two points has been reduced. And given the right action, we don’t have to travel along the full body of the scarf to travel from point Ash to Null any longer."

"A portal," Alex said. "Instead of travelling through the curvature of the fabric, as long as you establish a portal to connect the two points, you can travel through the shortened distance."

"Essentially." Master Sahira nodded with a look of appreciation. "You are correct. If the Fabric of Space is bent in this manner, then it becomes easier and more viable for a sufficiently powerful phenomenon—mostly referred to as a portal—to establish a connection between the two points without requiring one to travel all the way along the surface of the fabric."

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