Metamagic Techniques

It wasn't something you could get with a click.

Shane took out his spellbook from his magic pocket and turned to the final page of the section on metamagic techniques. There was an intricate crystalline pattern on it.

"User, this device can extract the memories within it, but after extraction, the crystalline magic array will be damaged beyond repair."

"No need." The spellbook recorded the activation method. Shane lightly touched the center of the pattern with his finger and carefully released his mana. Sitting on the back of the Taigo puppet, the slight bumps did not affect his control in the slightest.

Arcane energy slowly flowed out, activating the crystalline pattern.

"Under the influence of a spell. Function: memory inheritance. Scanning... Memory is harmless, quantity is safe. It may be accepted." The Eye of Truth continued to work faithfully.

Carried along by the memory, Shane seemed to become another person. He was gathering his focus as mana surged. An Arcane Barrier was about to be cast, but it stalled at the final moment. His mental fluctuations rose again, and the spell model in his mind began to replicate itself. Like a projection, it created another copy of itself, slowly forming line by line, point by point. It was taking shape, about to take shape—but his mental fluctuations abruptly cut off, and the projection vanished in an instant.

That man was frustrated and exhausted. The projection had consumed most of his mental energy. Yet he did not give up, continuing to practice after resting.

The memories that followed repeated through failure and practice. There had been too many attempts for Shane to remember exactly how many times the man had failed. At last, on the final attempt, he succeeded. Two Arcane Barriers appeared at the same time. The projected model in his mind vanished upon the successful casting, but it left behind a seed.

When he practiced again, with the help of the mental seed, he smoothly cast two Arcane Barriers. The man cheered and jumped with joy.

The memory ended there, and the crystalline pattern shattered into fragments.

"How long was I immersed in that memory?" Shane asked. It had felt as though a very long time had passed within the memory. At the very end, Shane had seen that man's face. He was his mentor.

"The user was affected by the memory inheritance for 182 seconds and suffered no harm. Under the influence of the memory, the user has learned the key principles of the metamagic technique: Multicast. It is recommended that the user begin practicing immediately."

Metamagic technique: Multicast was not as Shane had imagined, where learning it would allow every spell to be cast multiple times at once. Only spells practiced with the Multicast technique could be cast in multiples.

For example, if Mage Hand had been trained with the Multicast technique, more than two Mage Hands could be cast with a single spell. If Fireball had not been trained this way, casting two fireballs would require casting the spell twice.

Shane put away his spellbook. The Taigo puppet had carried him quite a distance, and Silvermoon City's walls were now being swallowed by the forest in the distance.

"How much longer until the next overnight stop?"

"Six hours of travel remain."

"What about the one after that?"

"Seven hours."

"Then we'll rest thirteen hours from now," Shane said.

"A wise decision."

The cabin on the Taigo puppet's back was as wide as its shoulders, a full three meters across. Shane had laid down a carpet inside, set up a bed, and added a reclining chair and a small tea table.

After casting the two minor spells Constant Temperature and Wind Shield, Shane sat down to practice. Like his mentor, he chose Arcane Barrier as his first metamagic spell. His mentor's memories were deeply engraved in his mind. That persistence, as well as the sensation of projection, would be immensely helpful.

"Eye of Truth, begin recording my mental fluctuations and observe every minute change."

"Understood."

He gathered his focus and stirred his mana, holding an arcane spell in his hand without releasing it. His mental fluctuations began to rise as they had in the inheritance.

"Origin, Expansion, Twin Wings." The first three stages were completed, with hundreds of mental threads projected. "Mimicry... Shield." The mental projection clearly slowed. Shane frowned. As expected, it would not go smoothly. He increased his output. "Mimicry... Shield."

The projected mental energy was like a taut string, snapping apart with a twang. The projection disappeared, and the Arcane Barrier in his hand failed along with it. His mental energy recoiled, making it feel as if his head had been struck by a hammer. He became dizzy and took a long while to recover.

"Eye of Truth, give me the observation report." Shane's expression was far from pleasant.

"Report: during projection, the user's mental fluctuation amplitude was between positive and negative three standard units. During the fourth stage, the required mental amplitude range changed, causing low efficiency. When the user increased output, the balance was broken, and the projection failed."

"Did you observe an effective amplitude range?"

"Fourth stage, first observation: positive 2.8, negative 1.5."

"Continue observing."

"Understood."

"Monitor my fluctuations as well. Alert me whenever they exceed the amplitude range."

In the memory, his mentor had relied entirely on trial and error to find the effective range of mental amplitudes, and had relied solely on experience to maintain them. Shane was glad that he could use the Eye of Truth to skip the trial-and-error process and go straight to the optimal range.

After meditating for two hours, his mental energy recovered. The first three stages of the second projection remained smooth. At the fourth stage, he began adjusting his mental fluctuations, drawing them toward the effective range.

"User, the positive range needs to increase, and the negative range needs to decrease."

Shane slowly adjusted as instructed, approaching the boundary values.

"The positive ranges completely overlap. Continue decreasing the negative range until it overlaps. Maintain this until the fourth stage is complete."

"Mimicry: Shield." The points, lines, and planes composing it outnumbered the total of the first three stages, yet under his control, they steadily and slowly progressed toward completion.

The fourth stage was completed smoothly, and the fifth stage, "Rebirth," began.

His mental fluctuations suddenly seemed to become sluggish, as though a giant hand were pushing outward. Shane struggled to maintain them, giving the Eye of Truth more time to observe. His efficiency amid that sluggishness was even lower than last time, and his mental fluctuations could snap at any moment. He held on through more than a hundred inscriptions before his focus broke.

Failure was expected, but success was not far away. The spell imprint for Arcane Barrier had five stages in total. As long as he completed all five, a successful projection would leave behind a seed in his mind. From then on, he would be able to cast double Arcane Barriers.

"Eye of Truth, how long has it been?" When he emerged from his mental world again, starlight was spilling over him.

"You will soon reach the overnight stop. It is recommended that the user meditate to restore mental energy."

When the Eye of Truth woke him, a small inn had appeared by the roadside. Several landbirds were tied up in the stable beside it. Shane stopped the Taigo puppet beside the stable and entered the inn. He paid ten coins for a single room and instructed the innkeeper to prepare hot water and food.

Soaking in the warm water, all the fatigue from the journey melted away.

"Eye of Truth, let's continue."

"Understood. The amplitude range for the fifth stage is positive 2.1, negative 1.1. Beginning the third observation."

The projected imprint in his mind progressed more smoothly than during the previous two attempts. Countless glowing threads intertwined within his mind, forming a pattern more intricate than the stars in the night sky. Origin—Expansion—Twin Wings—Mimicry—Rebirth.

The projection succeeded. Two imprints in his mind blazed with incandescent light as arcane energy surged through his body. Two Arcane Barriers appeared soundlessly, shielding him from harm coming from any direction.

Shane closed his eyes and felt the projected imprint in his mind. It disappeared after the spell was cast, leaving a seed in its original place.

"That's the seed of the metamagic technique: Multicast!" Shane gathered his focus again and cast Arcane Barrier. The original imprint activated, his mental energy rose, the seed activated, and the projection was completed the moment his focus reached it.

"Multicast: Arcane Barrier."

Two barriers replaced the original two, protecting the area around him.

The projection reverted to a seed once more, quietly existing within his mind.

"It feels more burdensome. Eye of Truth, can you observe the reason?"

"This device observed changes in the user's mental state when the projection was completed. The seed left behind by the metamagic technique contains the same burden as the original imprint. It is equivalent to memorizing one additional fourth-circle spell, which is why the user feels a greater mental burden."

"So that's how it is. No wonder my mentor said every spell was a burden." Shane recalled what his mentor had said during the day. "Eye of Truth, without affecting my stability, how many Multicast seeds can my current mental capacity sustain?"

"The user's mental state must be scanned. Do you consent?"

"I consent."

"Scanning... The user currently has six fourth-circle spells, seven third-circle spells, twelve second-circle spells, twenty-three first-circle spells, and eight cantrips in the mind. Remaining capacity can establish six fourth-circle spells, twelve third-circle spells, or twenty-four second-circle spells..."

The capacity between low-circle and high-circle mages increased in multiples of two. This was the first time Shane had heard of it. An idea occurred to him: first establish triple Arcane Barriers, then use his remaining capacity to specialize Multicast in a particular offensive spell.

"Eye of Truth, what do you recommend?"

"Calculating... Based on the three types of magic spheres the user employs to train control, a fortyfold Multicast barrage attack would be the most efficient."

"Using the fourth-circle spell Pyroblast as the prototype, a fivefold Multicast bombardment would have the highest destructive power."

"Please choose one of the two for training."