Chương 17: The Grand Creation

At the center of the arena, two mages were locked in a spell duel. The badges pinned to their robes made their ranks clear—both were Novice Mages. The mage on the left swept his wand through the air. The temperature around him spiked instantly as torrents of fire-aspected mana surged toward the tip of his wand. The moment the spell completed, an enormous fireball burst into existence and roared across the arena. Its sheer power eclipsed Zelier's own Fireball several times over. His opponent refused to be outdone.

With a precise motion of his wand, another spell rapidly took shape. Holding the wand level, he condensed a projectile formed entirely from pure mana before blasting it straight toward the incoming inferno. BOOM!! The two spells collided head-on in midair. A blinding white flash exploded across the arena. Violent waves of mana rippled outward like a storm, slamming into the arena's protective barrier.

Although none of the magical backlash escaped the shield, both Zelier and Bev instinctively raised their arms to protect their eyes. The surrounding spectators did the same. Only after several long seconds did the thunderous echoes finally fade away.

"They're both incredible..." Zelier muttered in amazement. At the same time, two new entries appeared beneath Spell Evolution. Flame Burst — Analysis Progress: 1% Arcane Missile — Analysis Progress: 1% Then— The progress bar for Flame Burst suddenly trembled. It began skyrocketing. Zelier stared in disbelief as the percentage shot upward without stopping. Flame Burst — Analysis Progress: 54%"... What?" His eyes widened. I just got fifty-four percent... for free?

He frowned and thought it over before the answer gradually clicked. Flame Burst must share a huge portion of its Spell Matrix with Fireball. Spell Evolution is skipping every section it already understands and only analyzing the differences... That's why the progress jumped so much. So that's another function of this talent... Back in the arena, the magical aftershocks finally dissipated. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The mage who had cast Arcane Missile was clearly in much better condition than his opponent. Had both sides been fighting seriously, that missile might have killed the other mage outright. His victory was well deserved.

"Just as expected," Bev commented.

"Compared to elemental magic, Arcane magic really does hit harder."

"Elemental... Arcane..." Zelier asked.

"What's the difference between those schools?" Unlike him, Bev had received a formal magical education. There were countless theories and fundamentals she knew that he had never even heard of.

"Of course there's a difference." She began explaining patiently.

"Simply put, Elemental Magic uses mana to manipulate the natural elements—Fireball, Wind Blade, Water Orb, things like that."

"As for Arcane Magic, it doesn't rely on external elements at all. It uses only the caster's own mana."

"Like the Arcane Missile you just saw."

"I see..." Zelier nodded thoughtfully.

"If we're talking raw destructive power, Arcane Magic is generally stronger."

"But it has a major weakness."

"It consumes an enormous amount of mana, so it's difficult to cast repeatedly."

"Elemental Magic, on the other hand, is far more efficient and offers a much wider variety of spells."

"So that's how it works..." Zelier fell into thought. Suddenly, another entry from his analysis queue came to mind. The Grand Creation. The name alone gave away absolutely nothing.

"By the way, Bev... have you ever heard of The Grand Creation?"

"Huh?" To his surprise, disgust immediately appeared on her face.

"Why would you ask that?"

"Were you fooled by one of those wandering Idealist mages?"

"Uh... no." Zelier blinked.

"And what's an Idealist mage?"

"I only heard the name somewhere. Does that spell not actually exist?"

"It definitely doesn't." Bev sighed.

"There's no way a spell like that could exist."

"Forget it. I'd better explain before someone actually scams you with this nonsense."

"The idea of The Grand Creation comes from ancient mythology."

"According to the legends, the place where humanity originally lived was a ruined old world."

"It was overrun by evil gods and monstrous abominations."

"It was basically hell."

"And then..."

"The Grand Creation appeared."

"They say it was an omnipotent spell."

"If you could imagine it, it could make it real."

"If you wished for it, it happened."

"Any desire."

"Any miracle."

"Any enemy."

"Everything could be erased with a single thought."

"You could even call it the Wish-Fulfilling Spell."

"It was with that magic that the Creator God destroyed every evil deity and twisted horror in the Old World before creating the New World we live in today." So there's a legend like that... Zelier nodded slowly.

"Then how do you know it's fake?"

"Because it's impossible." Bev poked him lightly on the forehead.

"Use your brain. How could a spell like that possibly exist? Legends are just legends."

"That said..."

"There really are people who believe The Grand Creation is real."

"They've spent their lives trying to recreate it."

"Those are the Idealist mages?"

"Exactly."

"They're called that because they're obsessed with unrealistic fantasies."

"If you'd received proper magical training, you'd know that every Spell Matrix follows strict logic."

"Take even the simplest elemental spell." She began tracing invisible patterns through the air with her finger.

"A Spell Matrix is built from countless tiny components."

"The mana interface."

"The foundation node."

"The structural framework that shapes the spell."

"The stabilization anchors that prevent mana from spiraling out of control."

"Every rune."

"Every pathway."

"Every single curve has a purpose."

"They're like gears inside an intricate machine."

"Everything meshes together with perfect precision."

"Only then does the spell produce its intended effect."

"Magic is an art."

"If you don't devote decades to studying it, you'll never truly understand it—let alone invent new spells." Zelier closed his eyes and recalled the Fireball Spell Matrix. She was right. It was astonishingly intricate. Every symbol served a different function. Change the wrong part, and the entire spell collapsed before it could even be cast.

"But those Idealists don't see it that way." Bev rolled her eyes.

"They believe a supreme spell like The Grand Creation could never be recreated by following rigid rules."

"They insist there has to be another path."

"So what do they do?" Zelier asked curiously.

"What do they do?" She curled her lip.

"They doodle."

"... Huh?" Zelier froze.

"Don't look so surprised."

"They really are that ridiculous."

"They ignore every principle behind magical construction."

"They disregard the logic that connects one part of a Spell Matrix to another."

"They scribble random symbols like children drawing with crayons, praying that a miracle will happen."

"And somehow..."

"They think they'll recreate The Grand Creation that way."