Ritual Magic

Lumian looked toward the Spirit World creature he couldn't see at all and, after a moment's thought, asked, "How complex is too complex, and how powerful is too powerful?"

"Heh, I thought you'd ask how to summon one or perform Ritual Magic, but all you want to know is how to use it!" Aurora teased him before adding, "Maybe that's a trait of the Hunter pathway. You don't need to understand the principles thoroughly; you only care about how to use things."

Without waiting for Lumian to answer, she considered her words and said, "I've tested it. 'Not too complex' means it can only perform one action. 'Not too powerful' means it can't exceed the magnitude of a single spell from a Warlock, Sequence 7 of the Mystery Pryer pathway."

It's so nice discussing these things with Aurora. She has a habit of analyzing things both qualitatively and quantitatively, unlike certain people who like to describe things in vague language and leave half of it unsaid... Lumian listened with heartfelt appreciation.

As he thought, he got up to help his sister carry all the food to the dining table, then asked as he ate:

"But I remember that your spells usually require materials. White Paper probably can't carry those, can it?"

"Right, which makes things awkward." Aurora forked a piece of pan-fried trout into her mouth and waited until she had chewed and swallowed before continuing, "Besides, none of a Warlock's spells can be completed in a single action. Even the simplest requires three. First, concentrate your spirituality. Second, outline the corresponding spell's symbolic sign in your mind-you can also replace this with chanting an incantation aloud. Only then comes the third step, using materials to cast the spell. Some materials serve as mediums, while others are components of the spell."

That does sound a little complicated. It doesn't seem like something that single-celled creature White Paper could manage... Lumian felt he wouldn't be able to do it anytime soon, either. He would need a long period of training before he could cast spells proficiently.

Aurora glanced up at him.

"Don't get your hopes up. You can't do what I do. First, your Sequence limits you, and you don't have enough spirituality. Second, using materials to aid spellcasting is an ability unique to Warlocks. Well, perhaps a certain Sequence of some other pathway can do it too. I don't know enough to say for sure.

"But once a Hunter reaches Sequence 7-in other words, becomes a Pyromaniac-they can use quite a few fire-related spells. They don't need materials, nor do they need to outline symbolic signs in their minds or recite incantations. In actual combat, that's faster, more convenient, and possibly even more powerful. Warlocks mainly have the advantage of versatility. The more knowledge they have, and the broader it is, the more formidable they become."

"I wonder when I'll be able to become a Pyromaniac..." Lumian said eagerly.

He planned to explore the Dream Ruins again that night, both to help digest his potion through the act of hunting and to look for clues to the main ingredients for Sequence 8, Provocateur.

As for the monsters corresponding to Pyromaniacs, he didn't dare think about them yet. He felt that approaching them would be offering himself up as roast meat. After all, those creatures could surely attack from a distance, leaving his "special trait" no chance to come into play.

He then asked, "A Pyromaniac's spells seem to require only one action. Could White Paper carry one, then?"

"In theory, yes, but I'm not sure whether a Pyromaniac's spells exceed that magnitude." Aurora was using a Warlock as her benchmark.

Hearing this, Lumian immediately grew excited.

"If it works, wouldn't I be able to imitate those floating cannons you told me about?"

"Huh?" Aurora looked momentarily bewildered.

Lumian explained in detail, "I could summon a group of White Papers, sign contracts with all of them, then have each White Paper carry a fireball. They could float in midair and attack the target together. Doesn't that sound a lot like your description of floating cannons?"

"Unfortunately, you can't have a whole group of White Papers at once." Aurora laughed despite herself. "Once you sign a contract with a White Paper, the next one you summon will be that same White Paper, even if you use the original description."

"Could I summon one without signing a contract for the time being, then summon another, and keep going until I have as many as I want before signing contracts with all of them?" Lumian hadn't received a conventional education. His lessons had been privately tailored by Aurora, with her own ideas mixed in. Combined with all those years of "training" through pranks, this had always left him open-minded.

"..." Aurora acknowledged that she wasn't quite that shameless. She chose her words carefully. "I haven't tried it, so I don't know whether it would work. You can try it yourself when you reach Sequence 7. But I think summoning another White Paper while one is already beside you would cause a conflict. It probably wouldn't succeed. Your only hope would be to summon multiple White Papers directly, but that's most likely something only a Sequence specializing in summoning could do."

Lumian decided he would definitely try it when the time came. It wasn't as if he would lose anything.

Aurora scooped up some mashed potatoes.

"Now I'll explain how to summon Spirit World creatures. This is one application of Ritual Magic.

"What is Ritual Magic? It's magic performed by choosing a date and time, preparing the appropriate materials, and strictly following a prescribed format and procedure. It's often used for supplication and summoning."

Lumian nodded.

"So it means achieving some supernatural effect through a ritual?"

He was thinking of the Eternal Blazing Sun Church's various rituals and the proceedings of the Lent Festival celebrations.

"Exactly." Aurora was very pleased with her brother's comprehension. "Simply put, Ritual Magic always has a target for supplication. This could be one of the Seven Orthodox Gods, another hidden being, an evil god, a demon, or even yourself. When you pray to an orthodox god, you need to look up-or rather, choose-the dates and times they govern. For example, Tuesday symbolizes the Eternal Blazing Sun, and each day also has a corresponding solar hour. Performing Ritual Magic to supplicate the Eternal Blazing Sun during these periods greatly increases your chances of success.

"But this isn't actually very useful. Unless you're an official Beyonder, the chances of successfully supplicating the corresponding orthodox god are extremely low. Even if you receive a response, don't celebrate. It might mean that the deity has taken notice of you.

"Of course, there are ways to get around that restriction, such as obtaining an item closely associated with the deity you're targeting.

"When supplicating hidden beings, evil gods, or demons, there's little need to choose a particular date or time. But I don't need to tell you how dangerous that is, do I? Ninety-nine percent of people who do that come to a bad end.

"Therefore, for unaffiliated Beyonders, the most commonly used Ritual Magic involves supplicating themselves to mobilize their own spirituality and accomplish relatively complex tasks."

"Making charms and Beyonder weapons?" Lumian recalled a piece of knowledge that lady had mentioned.

Aurora nodded.

"Yes. Some secret medicines also require Ritual Magic as part of their preparation.

"And you left out one thing: summoning Spirit World creatures."

She ate a little more before continuing, "The second step of Ritual Magic is preparing the appropriate materials. Depending on which being you wish to supplicate, you prepare herbs, essential oils, powders, hydrosols, and so on that belong to Their domain or please Them. Let's use the Eternal Blazing Sun as an example again. To supplicate Him, you can use sun essential oil, rosemary powder, bergamot, various sunflowers, and so on. Supplicating yourself doesn't need to be so troublesome. Although it's best to use materials from your own domain, for someone like you, even a glass of absinthe will do. Leaving it out wouldn't be much of a problem either.

"The third step is setting up the altar. You can adapt this to your surroundings. It doesn't need to be particularly sacred or solemn. The main thing is to keep it free of clutter.

"The most important things on the altar are the candles..."

As Aurora spoke, she picked up her knife and fork.

Holding the two utensils out, she said, "Pretend these are candles. You make them from materials corresponding to the symbolism of whichever deity you're supplicating.

"Using the Eternal Blazing Sun as an example again, His honorific names include the Undying Light, the Incarnation of Order..."

Erring on the side of caution, Aurora paused for a few seconds before continuing, "The God of Contracts, the Guardian of Commerce."

"Shouldn't there also be 'Father of All Living Beings'?" Lumian had heard quite a few sermons.

Aurora shook her head.

"That's just a title the Eternal Blazing Sun Church often uses when spreading its teachings. In mysticism, the Eternal Blazing Sun isn't capable of bearing it yet. If He really did gain it, that might mean something major had happened."

She didn't specify what that major event might be, seemingly not too clear on it herself.

She brought the discussion back on track.

"If you want to drive away the undead, you must supplicate the aspect of the Undying Light, so you need to make candles from various sunflowers. Similarly, if contracts are involved, use the honorific name 'God of Contracts' and make candles from materials such as bergamot. You can find more options in my Witchcraft Notes.

"In a Ritual Magic ceremony, we place no more than two candles in the positions corresponding to the deity. That's because, in mysticism, zero represents the unknown and chaos, symbolizing the beginning of the world's birth. Placing no candles means there will be no effect. One signifies the beginning, representing the Original Creator as well as a being that can be precisely identified. Two symbolizes the world and the gods born from within the Original Creator. Therefore, Ritual Magic can only use two candles to represent a deity. Which two symbolic candles you use depends on the effect you want to achieve.

"Three represents all things, so the third candle must be reserved for ourselves.

"In other words, the two candles in the upper positions represent the deity, and the one in front of you corresponds to yourself, making three in total.

"If you have an item closely associated with a deity or hidden being, you can remove the two upper candles and replace them with that item. This is called the Dual Ritual Method.

"When supplicating yourself, keep only the candle that represents you."

Lumian listened intently.

According to that lady, as an unaffiliated Hunter, the only Ritual Magic he could use before learning that great being's honorific name was one that supplicated himself. After all, where was he supposed to find an item closely associated with a deity?

"Next, I'll demonstrate the remaining steps using the summoning of a Spirit World creature as an example." Seeing that her brother had also finished dinner, Aurora stood up as she spoke.

The two of them quickly cleared the dining table.