A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 118 Symbolizing the Great Extinction

Where there is a spear, there is a shield; mages have offensive means and defensive means. However, based on the research of the Kano group, transmutation dust can penetrate most defensive magic. Therefore, the idea behind constructing the magic circle on the crystal dome is to first intensify the release of transmutation dust, and then have the erupting ether and the released divine power and ether clash.

Magic defeats magic, divine power defeats divine power; Rorschach can only utilize the divine magic bestowed upon him by the forest girl.

The book in Rorschach's hands was made from specially treated phloem of tree bark, cut and bound together, with a leather covering on the surface. This totemistic book of the elves was entirely in Jabberian, containing numerous illustrations and their corresponding symbols, as well as hymns divided by seasons, praising nature and their gods.

After comparison, Rorschach found several elements similar to those in Delyuaz's pattern.

"Divine Law, Performance," "Creation," "Life Force, Upward," "Guardianship," followed by a symbol among the elves representing "Nature, Divinity, and Immortality." Nested within this symbol is an entire rune, a symbolic rune that points to a great being. Only the emblem of Sylvanas can rival it in the complexity of its constituent elements.

It appears the corresponding symbol points to Delyuaz.

There are still many uncertain loops and structures, and Rorschach is unsure how to modify them, so he first sketches out some elements separately and combines them.

The method of assembly was quite crude: first, the simplest magic circle was drawn on the metal plate, then an energy-conducting circuit was constructed on the outer ring, connecting to the totem. The alchemical ink on the metal plate would not seep in; Rorschach had mixed bone glue in advance to ensure that the ink would not spread on the plate.

After the totem of "Divine Law, Performance" was activated, the ether in the environment trembled slightly, and then there was no further reaction.

This effect seems to be "magic-driven," but what happens after that? It just disappears like that?

Rorschach thought for a moment and decided to stop using that element. Instead, he added geometric units that guided environmental magic to the outer ring to replace the elves and runes, and then tried the next totems one by one.

The effect of "Creation" was strange; the metal plate rusted, and Rorschach could only use [Disintegration] to break down its surface and redraw it. "Life Force" and "Guardian" had no effect until the totem of "Nature, Sacred, Immortal" lit up, producing a faint emerald green glow that vanished in an instant, leaving only a faint scent of grass and pine resin after it disappeared. Rorschach didn't even know if the scent was his imagination.

This is similar to the aura of the great mages of the Forest Tower.

Finally, Rorschach finished drawing the emblem of Delyuez and silently prayed, "Sister, please do me a favor, considering I pulled you up from the sub-plane." After inputting the ether, Rorschach felt the structure react, but it wasn't strong enough. He increased the input, and finally, a familiar blue firefly rose up, which also vanished in an instant.

At that time, it was necessary to sacrifice blood. Rorschach thought for a moment, pricked his fingertip and dripped his blood into the alchemical ink, then redrawn it on the metal plate. Sure enough, the blue fireflies could continue to be produced. He input ether, and under the mark of the holy symbol, it continuously transformed into fireflies, constantly evaporating and dissipating after leaving the plane of the metal plate for a distance.

Then, the "Guardian" totem was added and activated, causing the blue glow to linger and condense on the surface of the metal plate. Rorschach summoned a small fireball and struck the surface, instantly shattering both the fireball and the blue glow.

Not yet. Just like tempered glass screen protectors for mobile phones, blue light barriers are only disposable and very fragile.

Rorschach added the "Life Force" totem, which strengthened the barrier somewhat, but it wasn't enough. His ideal state was one where it could continuously regenerate, like the [Deryaz Forest]. But wouldn't that be replicating the entire magic? There must be other alternatives. Furthermore, Rorschach discovered that the activation delay of the hybrid modern magic circle and totem was far greater than other magic circles.

Rorschach activated the metal disc again, looking at the blue light barrier: Had he created a Holy Shield?

Taling reminded him that his practice room time was up.

Luo Xia finished organizing everything and went out to his dorm to record his findings. There didn't seem to be any significant progress or gains; the "disposable Holy Shield" was clearly not what he needed. Actually, this was normal; his previous research had been more like drawing a target based on its trajectory, and today's setbacks were just the norm.

The following afternoon, Rorschach found Cano.

"Is this what you accomplished yesterday?" Kano examined the metal disc, then tried to activate the blue light barrier.

"At the time, this energy withstood the storm of metamorphic dust, so I think it had a resistance to mixed divine power."

"If it really works, I can recommend you consult Professor Poincaré. To be honest, your magic circle design is appalling." Cano put down the metal plate with disgust—a monstrosity that was a hybrid of geometric magic circles and elven totems, completely disregarding the activation timing of the core unit and the decay of ether density in the circuit. It seemed to function mainly by relying on the symbolic runes in the core.

What an amazing magic circle! It not only creates a blue light barrier, but it also raises Master Kano's blood pressure.

However, the symbolic runes that could be activated piqued Kano's interest: "Mage Rorschach, do you know what the Great Extinction of the Symbolic Realm is?"

Luo Xia searched through his memories of the academy's education but couldn't recall finding the term, so he could only honestly shake his head.

"Then you should know that since the Second War of the Gods and the destruction of the old empire, many spellcasting rituals and magic circles have become ineffective."

Rorschach knew this; it was mentioned in the history of magic, but he hadn't delved into the reasons. The astral teleportation that Cano was researching also failed after the end of the Old Empire era, because the Prime Plane and the Astral Plane were isolated by transmutation dust.

"In ancient times, there were numerous magic circle systems, many of which were related to symbols of high beings. By pointing a symbol to a high being, one could obtain a portion of His power or invoke His authority. Some could even directly summon things that mortals call angels or demons."

These are common in various myths and epics. They may be messengers of gods, demigods, or monsters, evil creatures, and demons. But in Rorschach's understanding, these beings in the current world have also perished like monsters, and can only be glimpsed in the divine remains of secondary planes.

Cano casually drew a diagram: "Don't we have the Basilica of St. Miller in Valuana? 'Miller' isn't a saint, but the name of an archangel under the throne of God of Light." He wrote "Miller" in Old English letters, then transformed and overlapped them, turning them into a symbol composed of lines:

"What I am constructing now is His symbol, which can theoretically be used to pray for and invoke His power, filling the 'magic circle' to construct an original magic circle. This symbol is the core."

The caster can use their power to protect themselves or to launch attacks of a sacred nature. As long as the caster is not a corrupt or disorderly person, they have the potential to be blessed by Saint Miller; they do not necessarily have to be a priest or a charismatic figure.

"Theoretically?" Rorschach knew that "theoretically possible" meant "not possible," while "not possible in principle" meant "possible."

"Yes, theoretically it was possible before the Silent Era. The directions were diverse, and the magic array system also had many systems around different high positions."

Then boom, they all became ineffective, and at the same time, all traces of these higher-level beings' symbolic realms could not be found. Combined with the silence of the gods, some scholars believe that most of the higher-level beings have passed away, calling this phenomenon the "Symbolic Extinction."

It represents not only the disappearance of those high-ranking beings, but also the complete collapse of the totem, rune, and magic array system built around the symbolic representations of these high-ranking beings. That's why the runes you possess now are exceptionally precious.

This is a symbol of response, perhaps even the emblem of the god of light and order cannot be so directly evoked.

Finally, Kano posed the problem of improving the magic circle to his colleagues: "The magic circle system we are using now is a geometric symbol system created by the great sage Euclid, and all the constituent units directly point to the four elements and basic spells."

I will contact Professor Poincaré tomorrow; he's an expert in this field, and I'm only half as good as him. If he's available to help, Tarling will let you know to go see him.

Rorschach was somewhat surprised: "I didn't expect you to have such a humble side."

"To be honest, I've become arrogant. But I'm not exactly a theorist anymore."

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Character cards will likely be created gradually later. The first one is for Ranger Hill, which is probably still under review.

(End of this chapter)