Silas could not believe it. For a moment, he thought it was his imagination, but after confirming that he truly could sense manacules around him, he was left deeply confused.
Manacules exist in this world? That can't be right. There was no mention of them in the memories. Silas thought for a while before grabbing the phone which now had many cracks in the screen.
He wanted to use the internet to find any clues. When he had learned about the internet from his newly gained memories, he thought what a beautiful invention it was, a remotely accessible library full of infinite knowledge.
After carefully entering the 12-digit password and gaining access to his phone, he navigated through the apps, and just as he was about to search about manacules, a thought struck him.
What if manacules are a form of forbidden knowledge? I can't be sure if typing something is traceable, but if I were the creator of such a library, why wouldn't I want a way to keep tabs on seekers of various information?
The more he thought, the more cautious he became, because it was possible that he possessed confidential information of the highest tier.
Having dropped the plan of searching for information, Silas turned his focus toward his new body. He wanted to find out what his wielding level was. Since he could sense manacules, it already proved that he had some degree of wielding.
He closed his eyes and sank into stillness. In the pitch-black expanse of his mind, he envisioned himself adrift in an endless void. Then a star flickered into existence. Soon, another appeared, and another, until the darkness was full of light. Silas steadied his breath, guiding his thoughts, tempering his body into perfect calm.
He was attempting something profound: to forge a bond between his consciousness and the latent mana force within this new body. For him, it was no stranger's task. This manalogy prodigy had performed the ritual countless times, even guiding others through it.
One by one, the stars multiplied and then was the time for them to change colours.
Blue, shimmering with the clarity of thought. Green, pulsing with the vitality of life. Crimson, blazing with destructive fire. Golden yellow, radiant with clarity and foresight. Pink, glowing with emotion and charm. Orange, humming with transformation and energy.
Silas's awe grew with every shift. And then—impossible—a handful of stars deepened into a luminous violet, the shade of shadow and timeless secrecy.
Seven colors. Seven manacules.
The stars before him now glowed in the full divine spectrum. This was not ordinary. This was the sign of a wielder beyond legend.
This body was at the impossible: the wielding level of seven. A Septa-Wielder. The highest tier of all.
Silas woke up from his previous state, feeling both a little scared and a little excited. Back in his homeland, he had been only a mono-wielder. Despite his far greater understanding of manacules, he could only cope with the pain of being unable to use many spells, simply because his body had a weak mana force.
Silas remembered all 99 spell formulas by heart. Even though he could only use 7 at that time, maybe he was unlucky, but now he could use all 99 of them! He could use every spell in the spell index!
He wasted no time in trying out his new powers. He quickly took his stance as he prepared to conjure a spell.
He was planning to perform one of the spells among the septa-spells: Burning Rings of Death.
The reason he chose this spell was because it was the easiest to avoid detection with.
Rings of Death only caused destruction when in contact with a target. Silas had decided to shoot it high up into the air. If there was no target, how would it cause destruction?
Silas extended his right arm, forming a pistol with his thumb and index finger while aiming at the ceiling.
Then he closed his eyes as the formula for the spell flashed before him. In one breath, he began speaking in a deep tone.
Pyrosynth—orange specks of light started appearing around him, converging at the tip of his index finger. Ignivar—red specks of light formed and converged at the same point. Solvion—yellow specks of light appeared and gathered with the others. Aetherion and Lustralis—blue and pink specks of light emerged together, swirling before fusing at his fingertip. Verdanite and Umbrosine—green and violet specks of light converged, joining the rest at the tip of his finger.
The manacules converged at the tip of his finger and the glow faded as it turned invisible.
Then, in an instant, an immense force exploded outward. The recoil tore through Silas's arm and chest, flinging him downward. His balance snapped as he crashed onto the floor.
The "bullet" that Silas had conjured had successfully passed through the ceiling without causing any damage, which was one of the characteristics of this spell. The spell would only cause destruction upon coming in contact with anything that had a life force. Secondly, this spell was untraceable because of its secrecy characteristics. Even if there really was an arcane world of manacules that the global superpowers were hiding from the public, they wouldn't be able to track the usage of this spell, even though it was of such a magnitude.
It was the perfect spell to try out his powers, or so Silas thought. Little did he know, luck was not on his side.
It was 6 in the morning, but it was dark and gloomy outside because it was pouring heavily. The rain had continued since last night, when Silas first gained consciousness in this world, and it was still falling. The sun was hidden behind layers of dark clouds.
Suddenly, the sky split with a crack of thunder. Silas shot to his feet, tore open the curtains, and thrust the window wide, his gaze drawn helplessly upward.
What he saw froze the breath in his chest. A vast ring of fire, its burning edge stretching wider and wider until it spanned the whole of sky. Another roar followed and from within the first circle, a second ring erupted, glowing hotter, hungrier.
More and more they came, each thunderclap birthing another circle of flame, until the sky was woven with burning halos, concentric and unrelenting. The sight was terrible, beautiful, otherworldly; an endless crown of fire devouring the skies. Silas could only watch, caught between awe and horror.
How... why...
Silas could only helplessly watch for the few seconds the rings lasted before they disappeared. It was not raining anymore, the dark clouds had long vanished, the nonstop rain had been subdued just like that.
What force of life did the spell find up there? Silas was confused.
A bird? Why was a bird flying during the rain? No, maybe it was flying above the clouds.
There is another possibility. An airplane. I wish I were wrong, or I may have caused a terrible accident by mistake.
Silas was terrified. More than the fear of having harmed some innocent creature, what truly unsettled him was the thought that if arcane powers truly existed, he would now become a prime target. And he wasn't sure if he could do anything with his newly gained power if challenged. After all, Silas had only theoretical knowledge of such concepts and no real experience in battle.
With his mind overwhelmed by tangled fears and unanswered questions, Silas sank back onto the bed, its softness and comfort pulling him into uneasy rest.