The Monster Feria.
A massive annual event hosted by the Ganesha Familia, it was always incredibly lively. Loki had mentioned it to Alice before, and now, with just under a week to go, it was almost here.
So, Loki extended another invitation to Alice.
In this world, the only people Alice knew were Loki and the others. Being quite curious about the Monster Feria herself, she accepted Loki's invitation without hesitation.
However, Alice's main purpose in visiting the Loki Familia today wasn't to hold a book signing.
It was just that, at the moment, Finn and the others hadn't returned yet. Within the Loki Familia home, Lefiya was the only one present.
Not wanting to waste time, Alice and Lefiya ended up in the backyard of the Loki Familia estate, working on drawing a magic circle.
"You know, in my view, every type of magic has its own operational mechanism. Once you grasp that mechanism, all the magic in the world—including yours and Riveria's—can be transcribed into magic circles."
"Through these circles, anyone can use magic."
"The essence of magic is using knowledge to control and utilize the energy that exists in the world. It's nothing more than that."
"Large-scale magic just means the circle is a lot more troublesome to draw, that's all. After all, a magic circle is an inanimate object, unlike a person. It has no mind of its own and can't conceptualize the spell's effects."
"So, researching magic definitely isn't as simple as just chanting a spell and calling it a day."
The gravity magic circle was essentially an application of Earth-attribute magic, amplifying the planet's pull on objects standing on it. The circle limited the range of this attraction, creating a defined area of effect—the gravity zone.
The Seven Luminaries system of magic, in Alice's opinion, was easy to learn but difficult to master. The basics were simple, but it got progressively harder the further you went.
Gravity magic was one application of Earth magic.
If converted into a magic circle, Alice was confident that even Lefiya could use it with ease.
As for increasing the gravitational force, that was simple too—just modify the parameters when setting up the circle.
Of course, doing that would also drain mana much faster.
If the Loki Familia planned to use gravity magic for training, it was possible, but she wondered if they could afford the consumption of magic crystals required to sustain it.
Naturally, Leylines existed in Orario as well.
But unfortunately, the leylines in Orario couldn't be tapped into. Directly beneath the city lay the Dungeon.
Alice had once considered utilizing Orario's leylines, but the moment she made contact with that energy, a divine, immense power stopped her actions.
No matter how hard Alice tried, she couldn't draw a single wisp of mana from Orario's leylines.
Gravity magic consumed a tremendous amount of mana.
Switching to magic crystals as the power source was feasible, but the consumption rate was high—it was essentially a money-burning endeavor.
Still, Loki's manga seemed to be selling quite well now. She was bound to make a fortune from it in the future.
If Loki didn't mind the cost, she could potentially have the entire familia use this gravity magic for training. Of course, that would likely mean all the profits from the manga would be funneled into maintaining the magic circle.
The gravity magic circle itself was of moderate complexity—not too high, but not too low either.
But for Lefiya, who felt like a 'total dunce' in comparison, understanding it was a real headache.
"Alice... why are you telling me all this?" Lefiya asked, feeling uneasy as Alice continued explaining all the intricate details and precautions for setting up the circle while they worked, as if intending to teach the magic to her directly.
"Hm?" Alice tilted her head. "Of course, it's so you can learn how to set up this circle quickly. Riveria isn't here right now, and after I went back yesterday, I had a good rest. I still haven't sorted out many of the things from the expedition."
"Once I've taught you this circle, if we need to set up more in the future, or if this one breaks and needs maintenance, you'll be the one to handle it, Lefiya."
Hearing this, Lefiya's heart sank.
To be fair, Lefiya wasn't actually a dunce.
On the contrary, compared to ninety-nine percent of the mages in Orario, she was a rare genius.
It was just that...
The people around her were a bit...
Riveria went without saying—she was essentially Lefiya's mentor in magic.
But Alice's innate talent for magic honestly made Lefiya feel inadequate. Why did the most complex magic seem so simple to Alice?
'Am I really that stupid?'
This thought plagued Lefiya.
One had to remember, Lefiya was just a fifteen-year-old elf girl. For the long-lived elves, a fifteen-year-old was practically no different from a newborn baby.
Converting to human terms, Lefiya would only be equivalent to a two or three-year-old child. Riveria, in her seventies, would be akin to a human teenager of sixteen or seventeen.
The setup of the magic circle proceeded smoothly.
Having just returned from an expedition, the Loki Familia had ample materials. With no one else around to disturb them, and Lefiya being an excellent mage with fine control over her mana, progress was swift.
Soon, under Alice's direction, a brand new gravity magic circle took form, born from Lefiya's own hands.
"I... I made this circle?" Lefiya stared at the familiar-yet-alien magic circle before her, tilting her head in disbelief.
The circle in the Loki Familia's backyard covered nearly two hundred square meters—a considerable size.
Lefiya had followed Alice's instructions step by step to construct it. Now, all that remained was to activate it and see if it worked.
Alice stepped forward, raised her hand, and a large magic crystal appeared. A thread emerged from the ring on her finger, winding around the crystal. Under her control, the crystal was delivered right into the center of the magic circle.
The moment the magic crystal was inserted into the ground, the entire circle lit up, emitting a soft, blue glow.
The activation was a success.
As she looked at the successfully activated magic circle, Lefiya truly had no clear idea what she had just done. The feeling was exactly like taking a written exam.
It was as if the top student was standing behind her, telling her 'do this, do that.' You follow the instructions and fill in the answers, and they turn out to be correct—but you have no idea why they're correct.
At the same time, you don't really know what you just wrote, leaving you completely bewildered.
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