Essence of Magic

Essence of Magic

After his conversation with William and Elena on Christmas night, Bell stopped concerning himself with those matters. He believed his parents would certainly handle them better than he could.

Bell devoted himself to keeping his sister company at home. As for William's invitations to take him to banquets afterward, Bell refused nearly all of them. Only when an important banquet was truly impossible to decline would Bell bring Shanna along.

Before he knew it, more than half a year had passed since the Christmas Banquet. Although Bell spent every day playing with his sister, he studied magical knowledge diligently and practiced casting Curses whenever he had time between games.

After studying and thinking for so long, Bell had formed his own understanding of magic and Curses.

Bell had encountered a question in many magic books: "What is the essence of magic?"

Many powerful wizards had pondered this question deeply, yet no one had ever reached a clear answer.

Bell found that utterly baffling. It was obviously such a simple question, so why did they have to overcomplicate it? What else could the essence of magic possibly be?

Suppose someone asked you, "What is the essence of humanity?"

Then the answer certainly could not be "a repeater," much less "it really smells good."

To answer that question, all you had to do was hand them a mirror and let them see for themselves. What? They still did not understand? Then they should just give up on treatment. Brains were not necessarily good things. As long as one gave them up, one could become very happy.

So, the essence of magic was naturally "magic"! Or, to put it in greater detail: it was a kind of power called "magic"!

And wizards were humans who wielded that power.

In Bell's view, wizards were not like the Magicians commonly described in the novels and anime he had seen in his previous life. Nor was magic like the Mana, Spiritual Power, Elemental Power, or Arcane Power used by Magicians in the usual sense.

If he absolutely had to find a power in his memories with similar properties, then perhaps magic was closer to... The Force?

When Bell used magic, he did not need to construct any Spell Model, nor did he need to communicate with external energy such as elements. He did not even need to consciously mobilize the magic within his body.

All he needed to do was clarify his intent, strengthen his conviction, and convey them to the magic within him. Then the magic would respond to his request and fulfill it.

That was also why many Curses required wizards to possess corresponding intense emotions when casting them.

Take Transfiguration, for example. It could be said that Transfiguration was the earliest magic wizards encountered, as well as the simplest and most complex. In the first chapter of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, the Transfiguration textbook for first-year Hogwarts students, the lesson was how to turn a matchstick into a needle.

It was obviously unrealistic to expect a group of eleven-year-old Little Wizards to analyze the structures of wood, sulfur, metal, and so on before transforming them. So how exactly was the transformation achieved?

Bell did not know either. In any case, it simply changed.

Casting Transfiguration was actually very simple. As long as one had the concept of a "needle" in one's mind and recalled that concept while casting Transfiguration, one could transform a matchstick.

Whether it would succeed, however, was another matter. Even if the transformation succeeded, it would be very slow. As for the resulting needle, its material could not be guaranteed. The needles produced by two transformations might even have different shapes and materials.

To improve the success rate and speed up the transformation, one had to gain a more detailed understanding of the concept of a "needle."

Find a needle at random. Touch it, lick it, look at it, and stab yourself with it a couple of times.

As long as the stab went deep enough, the transformation's success rate and speed would improve greatly. That was because the intent received by the magic became more precise.

Of course, the best way to improve Transfiguration was to use magic to analyze the structure and properties of a "needle," then firmly imprint the results of that analysis in one's mind. That way, one could instantly transform an identical needle.

However, that was not easy. At least at Bell's current level, even with something as small as a "needle," he could not complete a perfect analysis. He still needed further rigorous training.

In Bell's shallow understanding, "Learning Transfiguration is analyzing the world, while learning Curses is drawing on the experience and lessons summarized by those before us." Therefore, if wizards wanted to become powerful, they had to keep using magic.

At the same time, Bell discovered why wizards had to use Wands to cast spells: "Magic can only receive a wizard's intent while it is inside the wizard's body."

For magic to fulfill a wizard's wish, it had to change in form and properties. For example, if a wizard wished to conjure flames, the magic had to alter its properties according to the wizard's understanding of the concept of "flame." This process had to take place within the wizard's body.

Wizards were not Fire Dragons. The consequences of flames appearing inside their bodies would obviously not be pleasant. That was why wizards needed Wands to assist in casting.

A Wand could be seen as an extension of a wizard's body. Wizards could transfer the transformation process that should have taken place inside their bodies into their Wands, allowing many spells to be cast successfully.

To perform Wandless Magic, one had to meet at least one of the following two conditions.

First: powerful control over magic.

Even if magic transformed inside the body, precise control over it could prevent it from harming the body.

Second: a powerful Physical Body.

Powerful here did not mean powerful in strength, agility, or the like. It referred to strong tolerance and adaptability toward magic.

As wizards continuously used magic, they guided it through their bodies again and again. Flowing magic passively strengthened a wizard's body. Once that strengthening accumulated to a certain degree, even magic transforming inside the body would no longer cause harm.

Due to his experiences over the past few years, Bell's control over magic had already surpassed that of most wizards. All he needed to do next was continue training every day. Therefore, Bell set his sights on strengthening his Physical Body. Passive strengthening was too slow and too passive. He decided to actively encourage magic to strengthen his body, and that would be the main direction of his future research.

"Gege... Gege..."

Little Shanna's call interrupted Bell's thoughts.

The Brother and Sister were in Shanna's room. Bell sat on the floor reading, while Shanna leaned quietly against him and obediently played with her doll. This had become their daily routine, and everything looked so warm.

"What is it, Shanna?"

Bell affectionately rubbed Shanna's head, completely unconcerned that his thoughts had been interrupted.

"Little Bear's head fell off."

Shanna pouted and handed the Teddy Bear in her hands to her Gege.

Bell took the Teddy Bear. Its head appeared to have been accidentally twisted off.

Picking up his Wand, Bell used Silent Spellcasting to cast a Repairing Charm. After reattaching the Teddy Bear's head, he handed it back to Shanna.