5th Circle

"Brr! So cold!"

The next morning, Aoko woke up in her room hugging her shoulders and shivering. She struggled out of bed, rubbing her clasped hands together for warmth, before remembering that she was a magus!

Aoko immediately let magical energy flow merrily through the ninety-nine circuits spread throughout her body, and the chill vanished at once.

The Kuonji mansion had everything, and it was quite tasteful too, but some of its facilities were overly antiquated. There were especially few heating options, with fireplaces of various sizes being the only choices. She couldn't exactly keep a fire burning while she slept, could she?

Overall, Aoko Aozaki was quite fond of modern living. The house she shared with Touko had all kinds of cutting-edge technologies of the current era. For instance, the underfloor heating installed in the ceiling and beneath the floors, central air conditioning, and fully automatic constant-temperature water heaters had all been specifically installed for comfort. Aoko had spent quite a bit of money on them, since the locals were not very receptive to new things.

Only after coming to Alice's home did she understand what a true "old-fashioned witch" was like.

No television, no electric heaters, not even twenty-four-hour hot water.

If Alice did not have her PLOYs to take care of her daily needs, she would practically be someone from the last century living in modern society.

Of course, people from the last century probably did not live as comfortably as Alice did, because they lacked Alice's PLOYs. To enjoy such a privileged life, they could only rely on the hard work of servants.

Aoko freshened up briefly at the sink, tidied her appearance, and looked at the girl in the mirror.

She wore no makeup at all, yet her delicate, youthful skin and face were more beautiful than those of people who painstakingly groomed themselves. Maybe that was what it meant to be born beautiful, Aoko thought smugly.

After washing up, Aoko sat at her desk, took out her spellbook, and began the day's meditation.

After fighting the Primate Murderer, successfully getting past its obstruction—meaning she had successfully escaped—and entering the Swirl of the Root, Aoko had gained an enormous amount of "experience points." They were somewhat like experience points in games, but not quite the same.

At first, she had thought it would be like an RPG, where she could simply kill a few chickens and rake in piles of experience. Wouldn't becoming the Sword God of Ten Mile Slope be great? Only after trying did she realize that if she wanted to raise her wizard level, she had to meditate and study every day, or use spells against enemies who were not much weaker than herself.

Furthermore, there had initially been no clear numerical indicator. Aoko had simply buried herself in spell research, until one day inspiration struck and she leveled up.

Over the past two years, Aoko had constantly considered how she could use Weave spells or magecraft to quantify her leveling progress in detail and create something like a "character sheet."

However, the research had not progressed well. Only recently had she gained a vague flash of inspiration, which still needed more study and learning before it could be realized.

She had now reached wizard level 9 and gained her first 5th-circle spell slot. Finding suitable 5th-circle spells had thus become a key task in preparing for Touko's "Return of the Dragon King."

Having prepared her spells for the day, Aoko closed her eyes and immersed all her thoughts within her body, or perhaps within the fragment of the Weave deep in her soul.

The so-called Weave was the sum of the magical energy contained in all things between heaven and earth. All primordial magic was the raw material of creation, and each portion possessed an awareness of varying strength. Mortals could not directly use these conscious primordial magics, but wizards could cast spells through the "web" woven from the strands of primordial magic.

Aoko understood that the Weave within her was definitely not as simple as a "fragment" chipped off from the Weave. When she entered that "fragment of the Weave," what she saw was an endless, magnificent ocean. Countless indescribable colors and pieces of knowledge washed over her understanding of the world.

To obtain knowledge from that incomparably complex sea of magic, she had to work hard to use her own consciousness as a "net," scooping out valuable things from the ocean of the Weave for her to study.

She had once only been able to seek treasures in the "shallow waters" of the Weave. But as her spell knowledge increased and her level rose, the deeper she could reach into the Weave. She immediately understood that the depths of that bizarre and dazzling ocean concealed not only precious treasures, but also incomprehensible dangers.

Therefore, every time she meditated, Aoko carefully searched for what she wanted. As for magical radiance that looked bright and splendid but whose "true purpose" she could not understand, she never touched it.

At that moment, after a careful search, Aoko found three suitable 5th-circle spells.

She opened her eyes, her consciousness leaving the fragment of the Weave. Yet Aoko remained in the tranquil state of "the flow," neither joyful nor sorrowful. Picking up her fountain pen, she began copying the new spells onto blank pages in her spellbook.

She also needed concentration to cast spells, but concentration was not the same as the state of flow. Aoko could enter spellcasting concentration at any time, so long as she was not seriously interrupted. Entering the flow, however, required prior preparation, such as when she meditated and prepared spells each morning.

The three new 5th-circle spells were the abjuration spell Nerezza's Sapphire Screen, the conjuration spell Teleportation, and the evocation spell Wall of Force.

Although the three spells belonged to different schools, they undoubtedly all possessed defensive and problem-solving functions. After formally mastering the Fifth Magic, Aoko's offensive abilities in magecraft had unquestionably risen tremendously. Supplementing her defenses with Weave spells was therefore undoubtedly a good choice.

Of course, the applications of the Fifth Magic also included defensive methods that could practically be called unsolvable. However, the cost of using the Fifth Magic meant she could not employ it frequently. After all, she did not want to keep running into those annoying lackeys of the Counter Force, seriously.

At around seven o'clock, Aoko finished copying the new spells. As for actually learning and testing them, that would have to wait for another time.

Aoko put away her spellbook, stood up and stretched, then walked out of her room.

Aoko made a delicious, healthy breakfast for herself and Alice—Da Zhuang got to mooch some too. After eating carefully, they each prepared to head to school.

Riding her motorcycle with her helmet on, Aoko considered how she should deal with her teachers' and classmates' questions once she arrived at school. But then she reconsidered. Why should she care about her classmates' gossip? As long as someone was strong enough inside, they could ignore what others thought. And Aoko Aozaki was especially outstanding in that regard. Mere rumors meant nothing to her.

With that thought, Aoko's mood brightened, and the little psychological pressure she had felt vanished completely.