Mysterious

Mystic Art bore many distinctions: the initial Mystic-type spell, the first and final Mystic-type spell, the Mount Dibilos of Occultism, and so on...¹ Whether this spell even possessed a spell model had been fiercely debated by numerous great scholars of the mystic arts, to the point that two factions had formed over it.

The Secret-Keeping Faction, led by Keeper of Secrets O'Carl Kungus, held that not all Mystic-type spells had models. Mystic Art, for instance, was merely an external manifestation of certain mysterious rules.

Unless one could construct the complete rules themselves, there was simply no such thing as a Mystic Art model!

Meanwhile, the Truth Faction, led by Arcane Mastery Anderson Mandelson, firmly believed that every Mystic-type spell had a standard model, and Mystic Art was no exception! As long as they persisted in their research, one day all mysteries would be unraveled! The two factions had argued for centuries. Since neither side could produce conclusive proof, and their strongest members were both Ninth Rank, neither could "persuade" the other.

Even today, whether Mystic Art truly possessed a model remained a highly controversial subject.

However, despite its legendary background, that could not conceal the fact that its effect was utterly useless.

As a Mystic-type spell, Mystic Art had one obvious advantage: its consumption was so low that even a First Order caster could cast it freely.

Its effect was also simple—it randomly bestowed a certain "mysterious trait" upon a non-magical inanimate object. Depending on the caster's rank, the effect lasted anywhere from a quarter of a Magic Hour to a full day.

The larger the target object, the greater the consumption. If the object suffered significant damage, the effect of Mystic Art would vanish.

As for these so-called mysterious traits, they were actually bizarre effects with no discernible purpose.

Take the stone in Anvis's hand. After several minutes of study, he thoroughly confirmed the Mystic Art effect attached to it: every half-minute, the stone let out a frog's croak.

In other words, it had gone from being a stone to being a mysterious stone, right?

Anvis thought this with a strange expression.

Then, timing it carefully, he tried casting Crack on the stone when it made its next sound.

Crack was a First Order earth-type spell. Its effect was exactly as its name suggested: it created a crack in soil or stone.

The stone immediately split down the middle, but there was nothing inside it, and its mysterious trait vanished as well.

At that point, he was certain that this was just an ordinary Mystic Art.

"This trash spell took up one of my initial spell slots??"

Anvis, who had been full of anticipation, was deeply disappointed. But he gradually came to his senses and began considering the issue.

Why was the model of a spell whose consumption even a First Order caster could afford so complicated? Unless... that was not a spell model at all, but the rules themselves!

In other words, that mass of fog was merely something like a terminal? The relationship between the fog itself and the endless starry sky deep within it was like that between a computer and a network?

Who would have thought that the Secret-Keeping Faction, who only knew how to put on airs and act mysterious, had actually stumbled upon the truth!

Muttering inwardly, Anvis shook his head.

Incidentally, Little Anvis had once belonged to the Truth Faction.

Very well. From now on, I'm one of the few wise people who possess the truth too!

Since it had become my initial spell, what exactly was different about it from ordinary Mystic Art? Pondering this question, Anvis selected two ordinary pieces of Black Iron, two High-Quality Magic Crystals, two Low-Rank Rune Swords, two dried tree trunks, two growing Wind Chime Grasses, and two adult Luo Luo Beasts from among various targets.

One of them had a white scar on the left side of its back and looked somewhat listless.

Anvis's experimental plan was this: one set of targets would serve as the control group, receiving ordinary Mystic Art.

The other set would receive the initial-spell version of Mystic Art. Comparing the two groups would make the differences in the spell's effects immediately apparent.

Anvis cast both versions of Mystic Art on the six types of objects in turn. As expected, the Black Iron and tree trunks gained mysterious traits.

One piece of Black Iron repeatedly changed between black and green, while the other began continuously seeping droplets of water.

One tree trunk stood upright on its own, rising again no matter how it was knocked over. The other began twisting itself into a knot before untwisting itself again.

Tests on the Wind Chime Grass and Luo Luo Beasts also failed normally.

But when it came to the magic crystals and rune swords, the results of the initial-spell version of Mystic Art differed from those of ordinary Mystic Art.

It succeeded! The High-Quality Magic Crystal was an earth-type magic crystal. The faint yellow glow that had originally shone continuously from its surface had now become a steady, rhythmic pulsing, like a breathing light.

The rune sword's density, weight, and other properties remained unchanged, but its once-hard blade had become soft and limp. When Anvis picked it up, the blade drooped down like a dead snake.

Anvis gave it a couple of swings. Following his motions, the blade spun nimbly through the air, exuding a sense of freedom.

Anvis then tried "whipping" it at the piece of Black Iron. With a swish, the Black Iron that had been continuously seeping water split in two under the effect of Mystic Art.

"Its sharpness is unchanged from before. Mysterious traits really are mysterious."

After briefly testing its properties, Anvis placed the sword and magic crystal together, then returned the other targets to their original places. The two fortunate Luo Luo Beasts were also tossed back into their original cage.

...Half a Magic Hour later...

After a third of a Magic Hour had passed, the items that had received ordinary Mystic Art had already lost their mysterious traits and returned to their original forms.

But the mysterious traits of the other group still remained. The magic crystal continued pulsing at an unhurried pace, while the rune sword remained limp and floppy.

...One Magic Hour later...

The two objects were exactly the same as they had been one Magic Hour earlier.

Not until two Magic Hours had passed did the magic crystal finally stop pulsing, and the rune sword become hard and straight once more.

"So, there are two relatively obvious changes. One is the extended duration of the spell, and the other is the expanded range of targets it can affect."

"But because of the mysterious nature of Mystic Art itself, there's no way to tell whether its effects have changed as well."

Anvis noted these two points mentally, then controlled Mage Hand to return the restored objects to their original places.

¹ Mount Dibilos, located northwest of the Gloria Empire, was the main peak of the Manerqinco Mountain Range and currently the highest peak on the Yar Continent.