Analyzing the Inside of Magic Crystals

Strictly speaking, Blade Tusk was not entirely sure whether he had truly "poured stamina" into the Magic Crystal. It might have been an illusion. After all, he had never directly observed the process in reality. It was only the fatigue in his body, coupled with the changes in the Magic Crystal, that gave him the intuitive impression: "I have less stamina," "the Magic Crystal has gained energy," "therefore, my stamina flowed into the Magic Crystal."

For example, was there another possibility?

Perhaps his "bioenergy" did work within his body, triggering some external change, and the Magic Crystal's reaction might merely have been a secondary—or even tertiary—effect of that external change. His "energy," throughout the entire process, might have functioned only as something like an engine. There might have been no actual "energy" entering the Magic Crystal and producing a reaction.

But now was not the time to delve into the process. Only when he could accomplish more through "magic" would it be time to look back and study the underlying principles. Just as in his previous life, humanity first learned to "use fire," while understanding the principles behind "fire" came who knew how much later.

Blade Tusk, who understood full well what mattered most at this stage, decisively cast all those "possibilities" aside and focused on the "phenomenon" itself and the "changes" it brought about.

Thus, when "stamina was output," "his perception extended with it," and the "view" inside the Magic Crystal appeared before his "eyes" for the first time.

Because "mental power" did not come with a visual experience, this "perception" was extremely vague. Comparatively speaking, if you were human and suddenly grew whisker-like organs that could sense vibrations, perhaps the result would be similar?

Therefore, although Blade Tusk vaguely sensed the inside of the Magic Crystal, he could not immediately gain anything from it. Moreover, because the stamina he could expend was limited, he could not observe it continuously.

Restricted by all these limitations, he could only temporarily suppress his curiosity and stop his research.

Eat a full meal, meditate, study Magic Crystals, eat, meditate, study Magic Crystals. After several such cycles, his research finally made progress.

Inside the Magic Crystal, there seemed to be a kind of "structure." When "energy" interacted with that "structure," "changes" occurred and produced "magic."

During this process, his "perception"—or rather, "the stamina attached to his perception"—displayed three tendencies.

First, the overwhelming majority dissipated uselessly; second, a small portion underwent "change" and vanished during that "change"; third, an extremely tiny portion remained after the "change" and only finally disappeared when the "magic" took effect.

"What do these three parts represent?"

Blade Tusk pondered this.

Of them, the "useless" part seemed easiest to explain. Blade Tusk, who had long insisted that "magic should not be like this," firmly believed it was the culprit behind the Troll witch doctors' "life-draining casting"—in other words, "wasted vitality." The portion that disappeared during "change" was the energy that magic required in order to function. As for that final, tiny portion, almost too faint to perceive, he guessed that it was the key to future "precise casting," such as "precision guidance" or "maximized casting."

In the days that followed, Blade Tusk, having glimpsed the possibility of Lossless Casting, became even more driven. He compressed his daily routine to the limit, performing only necessary activities each day and devoting the vast majority of his remaining time to research.

One after another, he collected every type of low-grade Magic Crystal in the tribe and reclassified them according to various rules.

There were the most traditional classifications by element, such as fire and water; classifications by function, such as "launching," "shaping," and "protection"; and classifications by form, such as spheres, columns, and so on.

Through these classifications, he wanted to determine whether "spells" of the same type possessed similarities in their "structures" during "change."

The spells released by low-grade Magic Crystals showed a certain degree of convergence. For example, most activation methods focused on "launching," while their forms were usually spheres or arrows. By comparing and studying them, Blade Tusk gained a preliminary understanding of the structural differences in their corresponding components.

Furthermore, by comparing spells of the same element across different tiers among the low grades, and by risking his life to use the lowest-grade mid-tier Magic Crystals twice, Blade Tusk discovered the differences in "energy levels."

Both were Fireball, yet the fireballs released by low-grade Magic Crystals and those released by higher-grade Magic Crystals differed significantly in power. This difference already appeared during the "energy conversion" stage. Higher-grade Fireball consumed and compressed energy far more effectively, and this "consumption and compression" was likewise achieved through "special structures during change."

Thus, Blade Tusk came up with a simple formula for "spells": energy + conversion + compression + shaping + activation = magic. Of course, because low-grade Magic Crystals lacked seemingly more complex spell structures such as "protection" and "targeting," this formula currently applied only to "low-grade offensive elemental spells."

But that did not diminish the fact that Blade Tusk's research had indeed brought a certain degree of "revolution" to "mages."

Through his familiarity with the "changing structures" inside Magic Crystals during "casting," he could use energy with relative precision. The portion of "energy" that had previously been wasted meaninglessly during "casting" had been reduced to the lowest level currently possible.

If he had to quantify the process, then if the previous energy efficiency formula had been: 80% ineffective + (19% + 1%) effective = successful casting; now, that ineffective 80% could be reduced according to his familiarity with the "structure." With the low-grade Fireball he knew best, he had even managed to reduce the ineffective portion to 40%.

Although the "energy" saved in this way could not increase a spell's power, it could increase the number of times he could use Lossless Casting. For example, before, relying solely on his renewable stamina, he could cast Fireball two or three times in a short period. Now, he could cast it seven or eight times in succession before exhausting his stamina.

Such a change was undeniably significant, but Blade Tusk was not satisfied.

"The energy loss is still far too outrageous. And if I compare 'spells' to an outcome like 'movement,' then the role I play amounts to no more than a charging station, while Magic Crystals are all sorts of electric vehicles. Without Magic Crystals acting as intermediaries, I have no effect whatsoever on 'movement.'"

Blade Tusk imagined himself one day going out with a sack of Magic Crystals on his back, only to meet an enemy mage and have everyone rummage through their sacks first. He found the thought utterly unacceptable.

". . . I need to find a way to bring the 'intermediary' function into myself as well. Otherwise, the limitations are too great."

As for how to do it, he already had a preliminary idea. It was nothing more than transferring the casting process from inside the Magic Crystal to outside it. To accomplish that, he needed to further analyze the "changing structures" within Magic Crystals and find a way to reproduce them without Magic Crystals.

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