The Sleeping Devil

"Hey, would you like to be my test subject?"

Noah proposed that to me, someone who couldn't sense 'doors'. Why is it that everyone around me wants to turn me into a test subject?

"Is that theoretically safe, Professor? I'm asking just in case."

"Well, theoretically."

Rather than anxiety about getting into another unfavorable situation, my curiosity about magic won out. I wanted to understand the mechanism, not just the concept, behind how water or fire can emerge from nothing.

"Alright then, please."

"Hehe, that's the spirit. Now, close your eyes and relax. I'm going to connect my thoughts with yours. Since I'll be using magic, accept the sensations as they come."

What's going on? I suddenly imagined the plot from a science fiction anime where someone becomes a cyborg and shivers run down my neck.

Noah gently placed his hand on my head instead of my neck, and I felt warmth spreading through my head.

"Oh? What's this? Do you have a Gift, perhaps?"

"I probably don't."

What is it, really? Is there another problem?

While Noah's hand was still placed on my head, the heat in my head continued to rise.

"Yeah, you seem fine. Let's give it a shot. Are you ready?"

"Please."

Noah extended his other hand forward so I could see it.

At that moment, something had already flowed into my mind. Something strange, feeling like my own senses yet not mine at the same time.

I felt like magic power was gathering in my lowered right hand, but it was an illusion. In reality, a sky-blue magic circle was floating beyond Noah's palm. Ah, so that's why the scenery seemed blurry when I cast magic. This must be it. Lost in thought, I watched as the magic power released from my hand passed through the magic circle and transformed into water.

Is this... a door? The magic circle represents a door? But there's something that fits better for me than a door.

"Conversion, right?"

When the shared sensation suddenly cut off, the magic circle in front of me disappeared, and the water fell to the ground.

"Conversion?"

"Oh, no. Maybe transmutation. I saw the magic circle. The magic power passing through the magic circle transforms into water, doesn't it?"

"Hmm, you saw the circle. You really do have a good sense. But what I wanted you to feel wasn't there."

Wait, what? Is it different? Certainly, I understood the mechanism, but if he tells me to create a magic circle inside myself, I don't get it.

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"That circle is drawn in a dimension between this dimension and another. So, if you create another dimension within yourself and generate a magic circle there, you can manipulate magic through thought without having to vocalize it. Do you understand?"

It's turning into a convoluted conversation about dimensions. I'm not good with physics; I was an engineering student from a liberal arts background.

The concept of dimensions, based on the impression from before, seemed like layers. Dimensions that exist in the same area but normally don't intersect. To interfere there, you cast a spell, set up a magic circle, and only the layer of the circle connects.

However, creating another dimension within myself diverged from that image. I imagined water overflowing from my stomach and shook my head.

"How do you create another dimension within yourself?"

"I see, that's where you're at. Like when you conjured water earlier, try chanting 'Espas'."

Following his words, I extended my right hand and gathered magic power.

"Espas."

With that, a circle appeared before me, and a distortion of about the same size as the water sphere materialized. It wasn't a clearly defined hole like a black hole, but rather a shimmering, mirage-like fluctuation.

"Since it's fixed, try putting your hand in there."

Even as I worried about what would happen if my hand disappeared completely, my curiosity got the better of me, and I stuck my index finger inside. As I passed the fluctuating spot, my fingertip seemed to vanish.

So, beyond here is another dimension.

Eager to test how far my sensationless fingertip could go, I slowly extended my hand. It stopped somewhere around my wrist; it couldn't go any further. I moved my hand in all directions, realizing that there was only about the space of an adult's palm.

"Wow, amazing! Could the size change based on the amount of magical power?"

Yes, that's right. A pocket in four real dimensions. Incredible. Magic is fascinating!

Thanks to the more surreal magic than unusual water magic, I completely forgot about my remaining days and became absorbed in magic. The sensation shared with Noah and the newly visible magic circle. The concept of dimensions and their relation to magic. The pieces floated, connected, dissolved with each other, forming a puzzle. If assumptions felt contradictory, they disappeared, leading to another assumption.

"Creating that fluctuation within myself, huh? The material comes from a different dimension than the one just created... What does that mean? Well, 'within myself' doesn't mean inside my body, does it? Not within the body, but within the concept of myself... Imagining one dimension, if the brain is the operating system, think of myself as a single machine... and create a virtual machine inside. From the virtual machine to the outside... convert the source."

"Seems like you're using magic in your head too."

"Huh?"

The sudden words brought me back to reality immediately, and I also realized that my thoughts had leaked out. Or rather, what does he mean by using magic in my head?

"When we connected earlier, there was a slight discomfort. Like I couldn't grasp it, like it was blurry. Even now, a bit of magic power is gathering in my head. Maybe you haven't turned into stone because you're using magic power there."

"I don't have muscles in my head, right?"

"Huh?"

"What?"

Using magic isn't just about enhancing things, right? Isn't enhancement about muscles? The concept of dimensions I was about to grasp slipped away somewhere.

"Magic isn't just about moving muscles. In fact, with a little magic power, you could even stop blood. I don't know what using blood flow in your head would achieve, but perhaps you're already able to create a dimension within yourself?"

Oh, I see. I control magic by imagining it in my head. Comparing the brain to an operating system earlier might not have been entirely wrong.

I gently close my eyes and regulate my breathing. I practice diaphragmatic breathing, imagining the circulation of blood, while focusing my consciousness on the movement of magic power. If I can manipulate it with imagination, I just need to imagine something familiar.

A window appears in the completely dark space. This is my thought process. Behind that, two more windows are lined up.

Ah, this...

It felt like I was dreaming.

Even though I should have been completely unfamiliar with the scenery, it felt like I understood that world, myself, and everything that had happened up to now. In this realm, this is the truth and there's no doubt, a virtual experience where I don't question its authenticity. An inexplicable space, like a vivid dream.

Behind the main window are past lives and even lives before that. Hermes had said before that memories from past lives were imprinted, and it seemed to be true. With intention, I could access any information. Perhaps I could access memories from my past lives because they remained as data.

For my almost memoryless life before that, it's a bit different. It feels sluggish, like information is missing. While I'm not physically typing on a keyboard and issuing commands, there seems to be some kind of snag when trying to dive in and gather information.

Well, it's possible that information doesn't remain as neatly two generations back. Besides, it's not necessary to forcefully recall memories from two generations ago. Even the gender was different then, and I don't want to mess up my personality again.

Like before, I opened another window. Somehow, I felt like I had grasped the sensation using Espas earlier. With a burst of chimes, a new window appeared, and I understood Noah's words.

This is where you generate magic circles.

I snapped my eyes open and extended my hand. I don't even need to close my eyes anymore; I can sense one dimension. Mentally chanting "Draw," a magic circle appeared in my mind and the same thing materialized in front of my hand.

I see, if I imagine where to generate it, the magic circle is copied there.

Instantly, a beautiful water sphere formed, gently floating in front of me.

"Yeah, that's great."

"Ahaha! Ahahahaha! What is this, it's amazing! It's not even about possibilities anymore! Who could have come up with something like this? God? Yeah, gods are amazing after all!"

I don't know if I found it funny or if I'm happy, but the tremors in my body wouldn't stop. My heart beat rapidly with a pounding rhythm that's different from anything I've felt before.

"Has magic driven you mad?"

"Oh, no. I'm sorry. I got carried away... But seriously, it's amazing, feeling omnipotent, like I could do anything."

My heart was still pounding and my cheeks burned with a mix of uncontrollable excitement and embarrassment. Noah tilted his head as if looking at something strange, then burst into laughter like a blooming flower.

"You can't do everything, only what's possible. But you, well..."

Noah's smiling face seemed to rejoice in my success, filled with expectations, making me even happier.

This non-verbal technique isn't just about skipping incantations. I realized that when I created a new dimension. Understanding the mechanism, grasping the rules and sensations, even within my mind, spells are unnecessary. Because when I created the internal dimension, I didn't chant in my mind.

Surely, it's because memories from my past life remained as a different dimension that I could grasp this feeling.

I'm eager to try various kinds of magic. I want to analyze how spells are structured. Maybe this excitement is something I'm feeling from a past life for the first time.

Becoming absorbed in the joy, I decided to generate a circle again, but this time, I stopped before activating it. I observed the pattern and committed it to memory.

And suddenly, a wave of nausea hit me, as if my insides were about to come out through my mouth. Along with that, my head started to sway so much that I lost my sense of balance.

"Ugh..."

"You got a little carried away. Using a lot of magic power all of a sudden can lead to magic sickness. Come, I'll help you regulate it."

"R-right... I wanted to observe the magic circle, so..."

What's coming up isn't stomach acid, but it seemed like a high concentration of magic power. It's an uncomfortable feeling akin to heartburn. I'm not sure if magic power has concentration levels, though.

Unable to withstand the dizziness and nausea, I crouched down at Noah's feet. Noah lightly placed a hand on my back like during the baptism ritual. Gradually, the unsettling wriggling that felt like it's affecting my insides started to calm, and I can somehow breathe normally again.

"Thank you, Professor Noah."

"Fixing the circle requires a fair amount of magic power. That's why Gifted individuals also need to slowly learn to draw magic circles over their lifetime."

Gifted, referring to Gift holders, I assume. Speaking of which, Hermes had said that the Gift for disease diagnosis remains even after the mage's death.

"Do Gifts also involve magic circles?"

"Yeah, it depends on the Gift, but the advanced ones are as complex as what's used in the baptism ritual. It's good if you can document it before you die."

Gifts are truly gifts from the gods to individuals, not requiring chants or spells. They can suddenly awaken one day without any warning.

Including magic without attributes, it was explained that these are abilities beyond what's possible with magic, something like superpowers. Honestly, to me, magic was also a kind of superpower. And now, from the sensation of creating dimensions, I can't really distinguish between Gifts and magic anymore.

For now, let's just understand it this way: what Professor teaches is magic, and what he can't do are Gifts.

"By the way, Professor, I heard that I'll have a baptism celebration tonight. Would you like to attend?"

"Hmm, I'll pass. If I go, the celebratory atmosphere might get ruined."

Noah still seems concerned about his black hair, patting my back and signaling the end of the magic adjustment.

"I see... Professor, you live in the Devil's Forest, right?"

"Why do you know that I live in the Devil's Forest?"

"Just a hunch, I guess. And Guri-chan seems to visit you occasionally. If you get hungry at night, feel free to drop by. I'll prepare milk and meat."

Noah had a color that doesn't exist in this world like me. And yet, tonight, I'll be celebrating, while Noah, due to that color, will be heading back to the forest alone.

It might be impolite for me to have any thoughts about this, but I feel a bit lonely. It's Noah who bestowed blessings upon me and opened the door to my magic.

"Hehe, I don't know what you're thinking, but milk isn't necessary. If I feel like it at night, I might pay you a visit."

It's not the perfectly composed smile of a work of art but a slightly disheveled one that cleared away my sense of inferiority.

I felt like he looked a bit more human than the first time I saw him. As I contemplated the story of a yokai becoming human through interacting with people for hundreds of years, a hand lightly patted my head.

"Let's call it a day for now, Sheriel."

"Yes! Thank you, Professor Noah!"

I was called Sheriel! It seems like I've been acknowledged, even if just a little bit.