With his routine finished and nothing out of the ordinary happening, Leo went straight to his workshop as soon as he was free. Holding the Power Words book in his hand, he sat on the ground, lost in thought. He had already read most of the Magic Circle book, though it provided little information about the two circle diagrams. Still, it hadn't been a complete waste—he had gained a useful insight, particularly for his enchantment spells.
He had learned that if he drew a circle and cast a spell like Shimmering Dome within it, without connecting the spell to another circle through a linking line, it would expand and bind itself to the edges of the circle it was cast in. However, this only worked if the circle wasn't too large—otherwise, the spell's structure would weaken, making it unstable or ineffective.
It was a fascinating discovery, one that could be applied to various protective enchantments in critical situations. Leo ran his fingers along the edge of the book, his mind already racing with ideas on how to incorporate this into his future enchantments.
The Power Words book, on the other hand, was a small book. It only covered Power Words up to Rank D, providing brief descriptions of each—such as their primary field and their assigned rank, which ranged between E and D. In total, the book listed 25 Power Words.
Leo already knew eleven of them: Mind, Control, Power, False, Truth, Whole, Light, Fear, Courage, Bind, and Seal.
The remaining fourteen words were: Will, Force, Shift, Echo, Balance, Sight, Flame, Shadow, Break, Form, Rise, Flow, Pulse, and Barrier.
Leo barely glanced at the other words—only one mattered. Flame.
If he could craft a spell that functioned like heat vision, it would be with this word. If it failed, he'd have no choice but to wait until he ranked up and unlocked more Words of Power. Experimenting with unfamiliar words, especially those typically used in darker paths, carried risks. Scrambling them into a spell without caution could lead to corruption.
Still, he had to try.
He retrieved a parchment inscribed with Enhanced Eyes. Its magic circle consisted of three key Words: Power sat at the peak of the central triangle, Truth on the left, and Light on the right.
One hour remained before his meeting with Ryan. That was enough time to experiment.
Taking up the Codex Arcanum, he carefully sketched the modified spell into its pages, replacing Light with Flame on the right. The book remained unresponsive. No glow, no shift of ink—nothing. Meaning no such spell existed.
Undeterred, he pulled out a blank parchment and replicated the altered spell by hand. Then, placing it at the center of the Shimmering Dome, he prepared to activate it manually. The dome was a safeguard—if anything went wrong, at least it would be contained.
Rather than using a drawn connection to trigger the spell from a safe distance, he opted to channel his mana directly. It was riskier, but good training. He wove his energy through the air, threading it toward the dormant spell inside the dome.
To his surprise, the dome didn't resist his mana's entry. A flaw in its design? Something to investigate later.
The moment his energy made contact, the spell pulsed once—then ignited. Fire erupted in a sudden burst, consuming the parchment. A failure.
Leo frowned. Swapping Truth and Flame yielded the same result.
"Maybe I need to add words rather than just replacing them?"
His eyes scanned the existing structure. Power. Truth. Light.
The spell's logic was clear: Power provided energy, Truth revealed hidden elements, and Light made them visible to the caster. But what he needed wasn't ordinary sight—he needed to filter the truth through heat, to perceive fire and warmth instead of just light.
A new idea took shape.
"If this combination creates Enhanced Eyes… what if I stack another layer on top of it? Power, Truth, Flame. That way, I get the truth first, then filter it through flame."
Leo carefully inscribed the three additional words atop the inner circle. As before, the Codex Arcanum remained silent—no confirmation, but no rejection either. A good sign.
With anticipation building, he placed the parchment inside the dome and funneled his mana into the spell.
This time, the response was immediate. The symbols glowed, pulsing with raw energy. The spell was working.
Leo's eyes lit up with excitement. He reached out to deactivate it, eager to test it on himself—but then, something changed. The pulsing quickened, growing unstable. The glow flickered erratically.
Then—
Boom.
A sharp explosion rocked the dome, sending a burst of fire against its near-invisible walls. Leo instinctively leapt back, heart pounding.
Smoke curled from the ruined parchment, embers still flickering within the dome. He let out a slow breath, relieved that the containment spell had held.
"What the hell happened?"
The spell had activated. It had functioned. Then it had exploded.
Leo narrowed his eyes. Something in the structure had been unstable. But was it the layering of the words? The interaction between Truth and Flame? Or had he simply pushed too much power into an untested spell?
He exhaled sharply. One thing was certain.
He was close.
He replayed the process in his mind. His original idea was sound—Power, Truth, Light had created Enhanced Eyes, so adding Power, Truth, Flame on top should have worked as a heat-vision filter.
But then it detonated.
Leo stepped closer, inspecting the burnt residue left inside the dome.
'If it pulsed before exploding, that means something overloaded… but what?'
Then, a scenario came in his mind.
The spell clashed with itself.
Enhanced Eyes worked by illuminating the truth—letting the caster see things as they were. The new addition tried to do the same, but instead of revealing truth through Light, it attempted to do so through Flame.
Two conflicting interpretations of "truth"—one based on light, one based on heat.
It wasn't just a simple swap or addition; it was a contradiction. The spell couldn't reconcile both concepts at the same time, leading to instability, which caused the explosion.
Leo let out a breath, rubbing his chin.
'So I can't just stack concepts without considering their interaction. Light reveals the world as the eye sees it… but Flame doesn't work that way. It burns, consumes, distorts. I need a way to refine it, to make it flow properly within the structure of the spell.'
He turned back to his parchment, flipping to a fresh page. This time, he wouldn't just add words—he would have to balance them.
"Balance?"
Leo's eyes flicked back to the words inscribed before him. One of them stood out—Balance.
Could this be the missing piece?
With renewed focus, he set to work, testing different placements for Balance within the spell's structure. He wove it between the existing words, layered it beside Power, Truth, and Flame, and even positioned it at the core. Each attempt ended the same way—failure. The spell would pulse with energy, seem stable for a moment, and then combust into a brief but violent burst of fire.
Time was slipping away. Only five minutes remained before his meeting. He needed a new approach.
His gaze drifted to the structure of the spell. What if instead of merely swapping or adding words, he altered the foundation?
A second circle.
Leo grabbed a fresh parchment and began drawing again. First, he inscribed the original Enhanced Eyes formation, keeping Power, Truth, and Light in their original positions. Then, he overlaid the second modification—Power, Truth, and Flame—but this time, he didn't stop there.
He carefully drew a second outer circle, larger than the first. In it and between the two circles, he inscribed a smaller inner circle, a bridge between the two layers. Using precise, steady strokes, he connected this inner core to both circles with intricate linking lines. Balance would sit here, at the heart of the formation, its influence flowing outward to stabilize the entire structure.
Taking a breath, Leo placed the parchment inside the Shimmering Dome.
This time, when he activated it, the spell pulsed rhythmically, its glow steady and contained. Seconds passed—five, ten, fifteen.
Then, instead of exploding, the parchment simply darkened, the ink burning away until nothing remained but ash.
Leo exhaled, rubbing his chin.
"I'll take that as progress."
It still wasn't a success, but at least it wasn't a failure of destruction. The spell held, if only briefly.
But another challenge loomed—activating a two-circle spell was a different beast entirely.
Forcing a spell to function across two layers wasn't as simple as channeling more mana. It required precise control, weaving energy through both circles simultaneously without causing instability. If he couldn't find the right balance, no matter how well-structured the spell was, it would still fail. On top of that, he was using two new Power Words, which required additional practice to determine the correct amount and method of injecting mana into them.
Leo sighed, rolling his shoulders. He was close, but not close enough.
And time was up.
Since he hadn't learned the lock enchantment yet, the Mana Surge Snare wasn't functional. So, he simply locked the door with his key and sprinted toward the coffee shop.
He was a fast runner, and it took him only a few minutes to arrive. With a quick glance inside, he spotted Ryan already there, sipping his coffee. Leo approached and sat down, still catching his breath.
"Sorry, I'm late."
"It's just a few minutes. Don't worry about it." Ryan set his cup on the table. "So? What did you want to talk about?"
"I had a few questions. Also, you promised to teach me more."
Ryan smirked. "Such a greedy kid. It's only been a few days."
"Every time I'm in a dangerous situation, I realize how badly I need to improve."
Ryan sighed. "Alright, what are your questions?"
"First, do you know any spells in enchantment, illusion, or pure magic that can protect me from spell backfires?"
"Why don't you test your spells inside a protective barrier first?"
"I mean a spell like Veil of Deception—something that enhances me directly. A spell might work perfectly on parchment, but what if it harms me when I use it on myself?"
Ryan gave him a puzzled look. "You talk like a scientist." He studied Leo for a few seconds before continuing. "But you could use a homunculus."
"A homunculus? Like a man made of clay?"
"Clay?" Ryan raised an eyebrow. "No! The last time someone used a clay homunculus was two hundred years ago. I meant machinery homunculi—they're part of the Silicants."
"What are Silicants?"
Ryan stared at him. "You read a lot—what the hell have you been reading all this time?"
"Magic, culture, language."
Ryan sighed. "Silicants are machines infused with magic, each designed for different tasks."
"Why haven't I seen any of them until now?"
"They aren't common in this kingdom—let alone a city like Flesa. They're mostly used in the Magic Kingdom, but you can sometimes find them in upper cities, usually in research labs and noble households."
"Noble houses? Are they expensive?"
"Not all of them, but some are. You can find a shop on Steam Route—it's a street north of Highland Square."
"Highland Square? That's far."
Ryan smirked. "What's your next question?"
Leo stared at him, dumbfounded. "I forgot." He paused, thinking for a few seconds. "Oh, right. About the soul shape you mentioned—if someone has to wait for their soul to take shape, how did someone like Arthur grow so fast?"
Ryan chuckled. "You never stop impressing me." His expression turned serious. "That's an important topic, one you'll fully understand at A-rank. But for now, let me ask you this—how do you think a soul is shaped? By learning and using spells?"
Leo nodded.
"That's a big part of it, yes, but that's not all. The way you think, the choices you make, the things you do—every action influences your soul's construction. Even your understanding plays a role. If you want your soul to take shape faster, then do more. Train harder, learn more, and develop a deeper understanding of things, that's all I can say."
Leo fell into deep thought before looking at him with a puzzled expression. "If all of that affects my soul… doesn't that mean everyone's souls are—"
Ryan suddenly covered Leo's mouth with his hand.
A whisper echoed in Leo's ear, sending a shiver down his spine. Instinctively, he activated all his protection spells.
The room darkened, yet no one else seemed to notice. A pulse of mana radiated from Ryan's body, and Leo felt subtle movements all around the room.
Ryan's voice was barely above a whisper. "Do not say it. And do not think about this matter until you're at least B+ rank… or you will die."
Leo nodded slowly.
Ryan removed his hand, and in an instant, everything returned to normal.
Leo was still scanning the room, his breath unsteady as sweat trickled down his forehead.
Ryan's voice broke the silence. "Any more questions?"
Leo turned to him, his expression a mix of fear, confusion, and wariness.
"Now I've completely forgotten."
Ryan smirked. "Figures." He stood up. "Right now, it's a little too soon for your next training. Just keep doing what you're doing—let your soul take shape naturally. And don't get yourself killed." With that, he started walking away.
Leo exhaled and nodded. "Thanks."
Ryan just waved a hand in response, not looking back.
Leo was about to leave when a voice echoed in his mind.
"Leo, are you there?"
It was Elna.