Human Printer

Lux and Sona had entered the "second year" and finally bid a temporary farewell to rote memorization, stepping onto a new track of magical studies.

Although the fact that Nullstone was actually Rune Stone remained deeply troubling, at least the two girls were both in good shape for now. Even the worst students tended to love learning on the first day of school, let alone these two top-tier scholars.

Then Karya gave them a harsh lesson through nothing more than facts and reason.

"To learn how to draw upon the power within Nullstone, you must first construct a Magic Circuit." As direct and to the point as ever, Karya's teaching remained unchanged. "Generally speaking, there are two ways to construct a Magic Circuit. One is to draw it using magical materials. The other is to control your own magic and simulate one."

Hearing this, Lux and Sona exchanged a glance. During their past studies, they had already learned what a Magic Circuit was and familiarized themselves with several of its models. They had even completed quite a bit of 'specialized training' in circuit modeling. Thus, upon hearing that this was all it took to draw upon the power within Nullstone, both girls looked eager to give it a try.

Wasn't it just constructing a Magic Circuit?

I can do that!

"Of course, under my patient guidance, the two of you have fairly solid foundations." Karya first praised himself, then returned to the main topic. "But you're still too young. You don't have all that much magic available to you, and more importantly, you lack control over it. So the advanced method of directly simulating a Magic Circuit is beyond you for now. We'll have to start from the basics."

"The most basic method is drawing a Magic Circuit, isn't it?" Lux was brimming with confidence. "We've practiced that already. There won't be any problem!"

"What you practiced was simulation!" Karya snorted. "Forget about true spellcasting—even auxiliary spellcasting is still quite a ways off for you. Do you think drawing a Magic Circuit is the same as merely imagining what it looks like in your head?"

"It isn't?" Lux was puzzled. "If you imagine a certain circuit, can't you just draw that circuit?"

"Very well. Draw Sona for me right now." Karya's tone once again carried a hint of teasing. "Let's see whether your hands can do it just because your mind can."

Lux finally realized the problem and awkwardly shut her mouth. Just as Karya had said, there was an astonishing difference in difficulty between simulating something mentally and actually drawing it out by hand. Although drawing a Magic Circuit wasn't as rich in content as painting, it was even more demanding when it came to precision.

So Karya was completely right. There was a considerable gap between knowing what kind of Magic Circuit one should draw and being able to draw the correct one.

"So we're supposed to learn how to paint?" Sensing her friend's embarrassment, Sona took the initiative to change the subject. "Hmm, as an excuse to study painting?"

"That's a good excuse, but the problem is that we won't have a finished product to show for it." Lux nodded as well. "We could use etiquette, music, or socializing as an excuse, but if we claim we're learning to paint, even if Mother reluctantly agrees, I won't be able to explain myself afterward."

"You don't need to worry about that." Karya's voice carried an air of attempted restraint, though the pride in it had nothing to do with restraint. "I know a thing or two about painting. With me here, you'll be able to present a satisfactory result."

"What good would you be?" Lux was deeply confused. "You can't cut corners in painting by numbering your fingers. I don't know much about it either, but I do know that color, composition, and perspective are all nearly impossible to accomplish through simple instruction!"

"That's only true for other people." Karya was brimming with confidence. "Trust me. My way of painting is completely different from what you imagine. Now, find a sheet of paper and a charcoal pencil. Once we try it, you'll understand."

Though still uncertain, Lux fetched a sheet of white paper and spread it across the table. Then, as Karya instructed, she brought over a charcoal pencil commonly used for preliminary sketches in Demacia.

"I can paint without composing the image first. I can draw the whole thing directly." Karya once again displayed an astonishing skill. "Now, get as close as possible to my thoughts. Following my instructions on when to connect and when to break, continuously draw horizontal lines in parallel, packed tightly together."

"Parallel, packed tightly together?"

Lux blinked in confusion. She extended her hand and first drew a straight line on the paper. Then, directly beneath it, she drew another line right against it. The two lines pressed tightly together, forming a thicker line.

"Isn't that just one line?" Lux frowned. "Is this what you meant?"

"That's right." Karya confirmed Lux's interpretation. "Draw it like that, but remember to put the pencil down and lift it according to my instructions. Draw the lines slowly and maintain a steady speed. Listen to me."

Still doubtful, Lux picked up the charcoal pencil again. Under Karya's direction, she began drawing one tightly packed line after another, sometimes connecting them and sometimes breaking them.

Then, under her astonished gaze, those originally meaningless broken lines ultimately joined into surfaces, forming a smiling portrait of Sona!

Though it was only in simple black and white, the smile was not only lifelike but also artistically masterful in its use of shadows and light. Anyone who saw the drawing, so long as they had eyes, could feel the heartfelt happiness radiating from Sona in the image.

Lux, who had watched herself draw the picture with her own hands, was completely stunned.

Lux had seen masterpieces before. The portraits of the Crown Guard family's successive generations in the family hall had all been painted by masters. Their colors and compositions, perspectives and likenesses were all exquisite.

But Lux had personally seen her father paint portraits, and she knew very well how much effort each of those oil paintings required!

Even at the initial stage of sketching guide lines with charcoal, the painter had to first establish the general pose and work out the perspective before beginning the actual drawing. Most of the work involved auxiliary lines.

Karya's method of painting, however, could simply be described as "cheating." It was as though he had known the shape of the painting from the very beginning, even determining the state of every single point. The entire process defied logic and common sense!

Lux had never seen a printer in operation. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't imagine that a painting could be made this way!

"Heh heh, what do you think?" Karya was extremely satisfied by Lux's astonishment. "Without exaggeration, after half a year, wouldn't handing in a picture like this be perfectly acceptable?"

"Perfectly acceptable." Lux nodded mechanically. "More than acceptable!"

"But don't envy me." Karya chuckled. "Once you reach the second stage and can use your own magic to simulate any Magic Circuit, you'll understand. Compared to that, this level of control is actually quite simple."

"???"

Hearing Karya say this, Lux and Sona's bodies stiffened simultaneously.

The second stage of constructing a Magic Circuit... was that monstrous?

Could anyone really learn this thing?

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