Lord of Glory

Chapter 29: Nature of Magic

That was how it ended. Kaleqi, unable to bear the excitement and thrill, gave Paladin the contract for the iron smelter the very next day.

“Although the iron smelter plant is expensive, there are numerous iron smelters here, so pottery factories are more valuable. Why did you opt for the former?" Kaleqi questioned, feeling suspicious.

In response to Kaleqi's question, Paladin closed the door with a non-committal smile. Indeed, as Kaleqi stated, the ironworks profit in Nurba was clearly lower than that of the pottery factory. The thing was, Kaleqi didn’t anticipate other ironworks to close down one after another for various reasons like accidents, death by disease, murder, annexes. So, Paladin just smiled grimly. He could do anything for a large sum of gold coins….

During the weekdays, Paladin continued to celebrate Mass and hear confessions. He was currently locked away in his room, concentrating on the magic book he had gotten from Northam. He gazed at the magic book greedily, gesticulating something with his hands.

Finally, Paladin stood up and began to chant the incantation of Light Arrow, the first spell recorded in the magic book, "Kado waka waka, that wisp of Silova, the kabi is sharp!"

As soon as he finished chanting the spell, Paladin gaped in awe. His eyes, which could see all of the magical elementals floating in the air, were caught off guard by a flash of several silver rays of light. The light formed a cone with each other vertically and horizontally. Inside, the light cut a staggered line that was similar to a circular road at first glance.

Hundreds of pure white light elements floated in from the window before Paladin could react, as if they were drawn to the floating cone made out of light in front of him. Something strange then happened. As soon as these white light elements approached Paladin, the golden light elements around him rioted violently, as if provoked by something. The golden light magic elements swarmed and slammed into the white light magic elements.

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Paladins were stunned. Presumably, these white light magic elements were the Holy See’s. These, according to common sense, were real light magic elements. But, given his ability to see all magic elements, why didn't he find any white light elements in the sky? Instead, he could see the dense and active golden light magic elements from the sunlight that were exactly the same as the other ones surrounding him. The black sorcerer who believed in Belairl was the complete antithesis of the Holy See. Paladin had never seen that sinister and dark black magic element before. Were these two magic elements the true light elements and/or dark elements? Did these two elements really exist in the world?

Plunged into endless thought, Paladin finally snapped back to his senses a while later. He witnessed hundreds of white light magic elements being knocked away by the golden magic elements and dissipating without a trace in a short period of time. At the same time, the frame formed by the convergence of light floating in mid-air dissipated.

The interlocking paths in the frame, which were as orderly as possible, collapsed. Paladin was astounded to see a circle of invisible ripples spread out from the collapsed structure. All of the free magic elements were swept up by the ripples and flocked on the top of the structure. It was extremely violent and wildly pounced on Paladin.

Paladin's knowledge of alchemy that was gained through eavesdropping and self-study over the years, was not in vain. He reflexively jumped and shouted, "The structure of the magic sequence has collapsed! An Arcane Wave is coming!"

Paladin jolted when he recalled that moment before in the Freemasons' Association. He was hiding in the passageway that led to the Ripley Scroll. Professor Francis caused a violent collision of the elements by destroying the structure of the sequence that made the magic, causing an Arcane Wave.

And now he was witnessing the creation of an Arcane Wave with his own eyes. Witnessing the structure of a magic sequence, which could only be felt and perceived by meditating. He also witnessed how the magic elements transformed into magic. Paladin was ecstatic to discover that his unusual and eccentric point of view, not only saw the magic elements, but also saw right into the most fundamental and primitive nature of magic!

Paladin then calmed down. He saw the Arcane Wave rushing towards him. Only to be attacked by a swarm of over 300 light elements hovering around him, crushing the rioting magic elements in the Arcane Wave. Paladin effortlessly solved the magic backlash caused by the changes in alchemy and magic!

Paladin stood there in a daze, staring at his hands with a half-crying expression on his face. Incredulously, he murmured, "Turns out I’ve severely underestimated myself."

Before he finished speaking, Paladin narrowed his eyes. Picturing the magic structure of the Arrow of Light he had just seen in his mind. He was pleased to see that the exact same conical structure appeared in front of him with a single stretch of his hands. Without hesitation, Paladin directed the golden light magic elements into the structure. It worked in a fundamental order according to the magic sequence he had just seen. A miracle occurred. A golden cone of light instantly converged in Paladin's hands, shining with a dazzling and eye-catching light.

Paladin suddenly felt mischievous. He knew in his heart that even though they had converged into a light cone, they were still like an extension of his arms, similar to the free golden light magic elements around him. When he was thinking about it, he noticed the arrow of light that glowed golden immediately turned. Following Paladin’s imagination, it moved back and forth, entwined between his hands, did somersaults from time to time, and wandered around. Seeing this, he nodded in satisfaction.

With one hand, Paladin waved at the vase on the table. The golden cone instantly flashed a golden light and dashed towards the vase. Crack! Paladin clicked his tongue in response to the loud noise the vase made when it exploded and shattered. Paladin, taken aback by its power, simply stepped forward to investigate. He got even more shocked when he discovered that the wooden wall behind the vase had also been pierced, leaving a massive hole.

"Whether it's Enos the God of Light or Belair the God of Darkness, who knows what kind of power this is!"

For the first time, Paladin felt terrified of his own power. He couldn't help but ask himself if he could really control such a terrifyingly powerful force improving at such a terrifying speed. This thought was instantly extinguished by the desire in Paladin's heart.

Paladin had no idea that his ability is more terrifying than he initially expected. If a mage had been present at the scene, they would’ve had a mental breakdown and died of anger. He was able to cast the spell by looking directly at the essence of the magic, watching it being cast once, and understanding the structure and sequence of magic!

Moreover, power was even stronger! This was no longer at a genius level, but it was an insult to all magicians in the world! Trampling on the tens of thousands of years of magical knowledge gained through numerous life and time. Furthermore, if Paladin had more exposure on this matter, he could create his own magic or even arrange and combine magic structures by himself. An existence that stood above magic, the power of the gods! The power of creation!

What made matters worse was that Paladin's mental strength was surprisingly strong. A newcomer who had only been exposed to orthodox magic for a few days could already use spiritual power to control magic at will, something that even a great magician couldn't do. Powerful spiritual power was precisely the power for which many magicians had worked and pursued their entire lives.

At this moment, Paladin came to a realization. In fact, the magic that the world regarded as a miracle and was passed down from generation to generation was simply about constructing a framework and distributing sequences with incantations. Magic was created by injecting magical elements into the frame that were compatible with it.

A melting pot could be used as an analogy. The spells were sketches drawn by the predecessors in search for the truth. The sketches were the furnace. The magic element was the furnace's flame. Depending on the affinity, its firepower could be increased or decreased. Thus, these provided power for the furnace, allowing it to function properly. Finally, the melting pot in the work was the magic.

Some mages could cast spells instantly because they had a deep understanding of the structure through meditation and multiple practice, could draw without incantations, and poured magic elements directly into magic. This was plausible to those powerful magic teachers in ancient legends, such as St. Magella. He was given the title of saint and created many powerful and wonderful magic spells. He no longer needed to use incantations to draw frames, distribute sequences, and create magic because he had already understood the true meaning of magic by meditation.

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Even so, it paled in comparison to Paladin's terrifying ability at the time. St. Magella sacrificed almost his entire life to reach that level, whereas Paladin accomplished it in a matter of days. Moreover, St. Magella couldn’t see the magic elements at all, hence he also couldn’t see the magic structure. He could only sense magic and magical elements for a little bit using meditation.

Paladin, on the other hand, directly saw them with his naked eye. Magella had to get the feeling before correcting it a little bit to make magic spells. This process took at least a few months. To create new magic, Paladin only needed to change a few parts of the spell. St. Magella’s process was like a blind man feeling an elephant. A blind man had to spend a long time feeling something was obvious at first glance. Moreover, it was extremely prone to errors.

It could be seen that Paladin’s potential was unimaginable. Just that at this time, he still wasn’t aware about that.