Chương 45: Spectrum

Enzo popped the cap back onto the pen, slid it into the journal's spine, and snapped the cover shut. He tucked the spellbook into his inside coat pocket and straightened. The design was ready. He'd adapted the Analyze spell form multiple ways on paper over the past twenty minutes before settling on the approach that gave him the most improvement for the fewest changes. He was replacing the information highways. Three arcane threads running the length of the spell form would become ten. One for each type of mana.

Because arcane was type-blind. It registered that other types existed, but the results came back as question marks when he used Pulse. In theory, Analyze's results would improve as his knowledge grew and as he added more mana types. The spell description had told him as much from the beginning. He'd just never had the types to use. Now he had ten. Enzo placed a finger against the unpainted section of the container. The metal was warm from the morning sun.

He could feel the faint pull of mana flowing toward the painted symbol a few feet away, not quite a current in the air. That Mana Sense provided passive insight was new, something they'd noticed in subtle ways since breaking the level 10 threshold.

"Still need a minute," he said without looking back.

"Take your time," Val said, patting Murph on the head.

"We'll just stand here next to the box full of undead." He closed his eyes. The rings came first. Six concentric circles of arcane mana, shaped one at a time and held in place along the length of his forearm. The largest sat near the elbow, the smallest near the wrist, each one carrying layered intents for translation and interpretation. Broad concepts at the top. Finer distinctions as they narrowed. The same architecture he'd designed weeks ago, unchanged, assembled in under a minute. Familiar work.

Then the highways. The original spell form used three arcane threads that rested against all six rings from the largest down to the smallest, converging at a point where his finger met the target. They carried mana to the contact point and ferried information back through the translation rings for processing. Three threads needed to become ten. Arcane went first. The thread drew from his reserves without effort, winding through the rings the way it always had. Stable and predictable.

The spine of the construct, same as it had been in every spell he'd built. Crystal and metal followed. Crystal grew along its path in careful increments. Metal required the usual hammering. Light snapped into place along its path the moment he gave it direction. Four highways in, and the work felt manageable. Because the first four types were his. Converted naturally, shaped by his own affinities. He moved on to the first mana type he'd drawn into his reservoirs from a battery earlier. Fire.

The thread ignited into the construct and immediately strained against his control, trying to draw more mana from his reserves and grow, feeding on the oxygen, licking at the rings of arcane. He clamped down on it and threaded it through the first ring, then the second, fighting for every inch of progress. It was hard. There was something obstinate about fire. His control over it was a pale imitation compared to arcane or light.

And not simply from a lack of understanding about how to manage it, as he'd experienced with metal and crystal earlier. The fire simply didn't care what he thought. Where arcane was an obedient puppy, and light its rambunctious but polite brother, fire was an angry cat being herded. Wind followed and made everything worse. The thread refused to sit still, drifting sideways, dancing toward fire every time he thought he had it under control. Six highways. His concentration split across different demands.

Arcane fixed in place. Crystal locked rigid. Metal inert. Light waiting. Fire straining. Wind wandering. Water and earth came next, and while they moved sluggishly at his command, they helped. Water flowed into place without offering resistance, its calm offsetting fire's aggression. Earth settled in beside it, content, and its presence dampened the wind's restlessness slightly. Eight. Life threaded through the spell form with warmth, eager despite his poor control over it.

Body came last, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. Ten. If fire and wind represented low affinities, while those he could convert represented high, perhaps the others fell somewhere in between. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work. The spell form held. Barely. His focus was fractured.

The six arcane rings and one arcane highway still needed attention, while most of his concentration was split across nine other types, each demanding a different quality of control. It was the hardest thing he'd built. Not because any individual thread was beyond him, but because holding ten different mental postures at once turned a familiar process into something that felt less like crafting and more like conducting an orchestra. Which he had no idea how to do.

The mana hung in the air, now looking less like a telescopic lens he could aim with one finger and more like a rainbow-stuffed elemental cone. Elegant, it was not. But as long as it worked, he'd take it. Analyze was now his most complex spell, despite the spell form itself being childishly simple. Every typed thread added to the form multiplied the mental load. That was going to be a problem. Enzo exhaled and unleashed the spell.

Mana surged from his reserves, powering layers of concepts and intents, easily draining more than a tenth of his total capacity. It ran down the length of his arm, multicolored flashes that sank into the container, spreading through the metal walls and across the painted symbol. He pushed more mana into the spell, refusing to waste the moment. Maintaining the spell longer should improve the result.

Then the mana returned, racing back up the spell construct, passing through the six concentric rings in order, translating and categorizing information that the Guide took several seconds to process. He stepped back from the container and pulled the notification up.

— Atmospheric Mana Condensing Chamber Type: Arcane Enchantment: Gather Mana (Degrading, Incompatible) Materials: Paint, Mana Crystal Dust (Purity: 79% Arcane, 7% Fire, 14% Granite) Description: A crude enchantment designed to gather and concentrate ambient mana within a sealed space. Mana density inside the chamber is elevated and rising despite leakage. The mana is actively degrading the paint, while the mana crystal dust is delaying the inevitable failure of the enchantment. Warning: There are Eaters inside.

— Enzo blinked.

"Well, fuck." Val was at his side in two steps.

"What's wrong?" He shook his head and turned to face them.

"Nothing's wrong. This is awesome." He couldn't help grinning.

"Analyze actually does its job now." Val's eyes narrowed.

"What does that mean?" He read them the results. The name. The enchantment type and its degradation status. The material breakdown, including the purity percentages. The description of what the chamber was doing and why it was failing. Then he snorted.

"And at the end, after all of that, the Guide adds a warning.

'There are Eaters inside.'" Kenzo laughed.

"Thanks for telling us the obvious, Guide-bro."

"So, you're done with your wizard stuff?" Val asked.

"Can we crack it open and kill the Eaters now?" Kenzo nodded. Murph barked agreement. Enzo shook his head.

"No. We need to leave it for now." Val frowned.

"Why?" He turned back to the container.

"Because we need to show the mage couple around the corner. It might convince them to join us."

"Risky," Kenzo said.

"We don't want these Eaters becoming like the one you fought on the bridge." Enzo nodded and reached out his hand.

"Sword." A flash of mana resolved into a metal-edged blade, purple mana thrumming down the center, settling into his grip. He used the sword to scrape paint and crystal dust from the container, breaking the enchantment in several places. That would stop them getting stronger in the short term. Assuming atmospheric mana could make them stronger in the first place. He could see arguments both for and against the possibility, but he wasn't going to take any chances.

He released the spell, and the sword vanished in a scattering of gray and purple motes. Val looked at the container, then back at him.

"What now?" Enzo made his way back to the bike and swung his leg over.

"Now we recruit some mages."

"Absolutely not." The man standing on the other side of the sedan was in his sixties. Tall. Arms crossed over a chest that had no business being that thick on someone his age. He hadn't gone soft in retirement, or whatever he'd been doing before the blood rain. The forearms alone said decades of physical work, and the way he held himself said he was used to people listening when he spoke. His wife stood beside him, one hand resting on his back, palm moving in small circles. The gesture was automatic.

She'd done that before. A lot. Behind them, a handful of people watched from the porches of their homes. Men and women, arms folded and faces guarded. One held a broomstick with a kitchen knife taped to the end. Another held a tire wrench. Enzo leaned on his cane and took a deep breath. Kenzo stood to his left, while Val stood to his right with Murph.

"Mr. Stone, I know you've managed so far, but the bikers are going to keep escalating—" Mr. Stone cut him off.

"They know better than to come around here. I've already sent them packing. I can do it again."

"Maybe one or two of them, sir," Kenzo said.

"But they've recruited dozens of people. They have a lot of mages now, too." The woman looked up at her husband.

"Robert, we should consider their offer. The gang has already taken all the food from the stores." Robert unfolded his arms and met his wife's gaze.

"This is our home, Mary! Our children grew up here. We need to be here when they come looking for us." Mary smiled gently.

"We can leave them a note." She nodded toward Enzo.

"Their place is only a few blocks from here." Robert glared at Enzo.

"They might be making this whole thing up. Eaters in boxes? Hmph. Sounds like nonsense." Enzo nodded.

"I assumed you might want proof. We broke the enchantment, but we can show you the container." He smiled.

"Then the three of us can kill the Eaters and show you some of the magic we've developed. We'd love to trade with you." Robert grunted. Kenzo grinned.

"We've got spells and techniques to shoot bolts and create shields. Explosions too!" His eyes widened.

"Oh, and our friend has a neat healing spell that speeds up regeneration."

"See?" Mary elbowed Robert. Val jabbed a thumb at Enzo.

"He created an enchantment that conjures water for showers." Mary gasped.

"You have showers?" Val nodded. Mary turned back to her husband, eyes narrowed. Robert froze. Then he sighed.

"Alright, dear. We can at least check it out."