Three Laws of Thaumaturgy

"Please turn to page 9 of your textbooks, 'An Introduction to Thaumaturgy (I)-Definitions of EVE Particles and Thaumaturgy Users.'"

The screen behind Laugen changed as he spoke, and the students' AI sprites followed suit.

"Today, we'll cover the basics of thaumaturgy. First, we'll begin with the Three Laws of Thaumaturgy. Make sure you remember these three laws." As he spoke, Laugen scrolled the screen behind him.

[Three Laws of Thaumaturgy]

· Like produces like.

· The part affects the whole.

· Observation changes reality.

"Thaumaturgy, or magic, must have a source of energy, just as light bulbs need electricity and the human body needs ATP.

The primary energy source for thaumaturgy is EVE, 'Elan-Vital Energy,' also known as life-force energy."

"EVE is emitted by living beings. It is also frequently emitted by anomalous objects. EVE radiation is not an absolute indicator that someone or something has anomalous properties, but it often is. Beings with higher levels of intelligence emit stronger, denser EVE: the stronger the observer effect, the stronger the EVE levels. Humans exceed ordinary animals, and ordinary animals exceed ordinary plants."

"According to the third law, thaumaturgists can observe the [Ether Sea] and use their own EVE particles to obtain the power to warp reality."

"Remember, everyone: thaumaturgy uses the [Ether Sea] to alter concepts."

As he spoke, Laugen raised both hands. A blazing ball of flame suddenly appeared in his left hand, while an icicle floated above his right.

"Creating ice out of thin air and creating fire out of thin air actually consume equal amounts of EVE particles for a thaumaturgist.

These thaumaturgical constructs in my hands are applications of the second and third laws. They result from temporarily warping the principles of the world, so they cannot be treated as 'matter.'"

"Under the laws of the physical world, creating ice out of thin air is far more outrageous than creating fire out of thin air."

"Later, in the mathematics and natural sciences division of your mundane studies, you'll learn basic physics and thermodynamics. Those are ironclad laws of the physical world and fall outside the scope of thaumaturgy."

"Whatever you do, don't use your knowledge of thaumaturgy to challenge your mundane studies professors. Here, look at this upperclassman on the screen who's been frozen into an ice sculpture.

They're much like the mor- ahem, students who need further study, looking for reality in a virtual world." Laugen promptly caught himself.

For the rest of the class, Laugen explained interesting thaumaturgical experiments in terms the students could easily understand.

"All right, that's it for today's class. Since the term has only just started, and most of you haven't connected to a Lineage yet, I won't assign any homework for now." Laugen brought the lesson to a close with a smile.

After dismissing the class, a six-pointed magic circle composed of multiple triangles appeared beneath Laugen's feet again, and he vanished along with it.

After Laugen left, the students kept mulling over what he had taught, especially those who had only just encountered thaumaturgy. Camille was particularly excited. Who knew where she had produced her notebook from? She had been taking notes throughout the lesson.

Once the lecture ended, Xia Xiu got up to leave. He checked his timetable and found that he only had that one morning class today.

That worked out perfectly. He could spend the rest of the day exploring Three Portlands and see whether he could buy some biological DNA templates suitable for [Flesh Sculpting].

Xia Xiu knew of a café in the eastern district of Three Portlands where he could have a unique branch Lineage application device installed. It offered plenty of very exciting things for sale. However, the application device carried an [Anti-Muggle Meme] virus, a cognition-affecting memetic virus capable of blocking memories, so he would need a special injection of the [Anti-Muggle Meme Antibody].

"Xiu, Xiu! Why are you walking so fast?"

Just as Xia Xiu left the teaching area, he heard a familiar voice calling behind him. He turned and saw Camille running toward him, clutching her notebook.

Camille still wore her gloomy hairstyle that covered her entire face, along with her hopelessly old-fashioned glasses. The only difference was that she had changed into a mage's robe, though even such a loose robe could not conceal her prominent curves.

"Slow down." Xia Xiu gave Camille his usual gentle smile.

"Phew..." Camille stopped in front of Xia Xiu and spent a moment catching her breath.

"Did you need something?"

"Ah, yes... no, um. Well, do you want to copy my notes? I noticed you weren't taking any during class. You looked like you were spacing out." After stumbling over her words for some time, Camille finally found a suitable excuse.

What am I saying?!

The moment she finished speaking, Camille regretted it.

Hadn't she just told him she had been watching him during class?

Xia Xiu gave Camille a puzzled look as she stood there practically steaming again. He raised his hand and brought up Jarvis, changed its [Single-User Visual Interface] to shared mode, then opened a record: [Lecture Playback Record-{1589.2.10}].

"The knowledge base has recordings of the lectures. It includes all the courses from previous years, too. You can pull them up whenever you need them. Oh, and it supports playback at increased speeds."

"It can do that too?!" Camille's mouth fell open in surprise.

She could be forgiven. Until recently, she had been a Muggle and had never used supernatural technology as advanced as a Lineage.

"Well, um, I... I have something else to do, so... I'll leave you alone now." Camille left with steam practically rising from her head again.

That was so embarrassing.

Xia Xiu watched Camille stumble away in bewilderment. He couldn't quite figure out what she was doing.

I don't get it.

The streets of Three Portlands were laid out along a polar-coordinate network. Straight "spoke" streets radiated from the city center, intersecting concentric rings at irregular intervals. Narrow alleys lay between some buildings, formed by the expansion of the city's ground.

Since Three Portlands was primarily a pedestrian city, these streets were not designed for motor vehicles and were largely impassable to them. In addition, the city council had banned private cars and heavy motor vehicles throughout the city, with only a few exceptions. Several taxi companies provided personal transportation using motorized tricycles capable of navigating the narrow streets.

The southeastern district had a comprehensive, affordable public transportation system. Deer College was a ten-minute walk from a thaumaturgical light rail station, and several streetcar lines had stops on or near campus.

Most residents of Three Portlands used bicycles or thaumaturgical scooters to get around.

Students could register bicycles, thaumaturgical scooters, flying carpets, broomsticks, skateboards, riding beasts, and other personal vehicles with the Community Safety Department. If a registered vehicle was stolen or misplaced, community safety officers could track it anywhere in Three Portlands.

[Ding-]

[Next stop: [Prometheus Plaza]. Passengers wishing to alight, please do so promptly.]

A suspended light rail train pulled into the stop at Prometheus Plaza.