Kaelins pov
"How do spells work?"
That question totally catches me off guard.
Spells have always been my second name.
I never bother to learn how they work.
That's the scholars' job, not mine.
All that was ever taught to me is memorizing the spell and executing it properly.
What happens behind the structure—the mechanisms that make the spell function—still eludes me to this day.
So when the kid asks me that, I'm momentarily baffled.
What is his angle?
What type of mage wants to know how spells work?
And what type of mage uses daggers?
All I know is what most mages know: exposure to spells and the endless grinding that follows in mastering them. Mana calculations and my personal limitations.
That's it.
That's what all mages know.
Unless…
This kid isn't one to begin with.
My gaze shifts toward his curious eyes.
"Well? Still waiting, Miss Handler…" he says while fiddling with the bones in the trash can.
"I'm afraid that still eludes me to this day," I answer honestly.
"Eh…"
The surprise on his face is obvious.
"What do you know then?" he asks, his voice filled with clear disappointment.
That expression really ticks me off.
"Well, what I do know are my limitations and mana calculations to prevent serious backlash," I reply.
"Eh… eeh… eeeeeeeeeh!"
He jumps three steps back like I just told him the world is flat.
"How many spells do you know then?" he asks.
"A total of four mastered to perfection," I answer, my confidence beginning to deflate.
His eyes go blank.
"I've been wrong all along…" he murmurs, clutching his head in frustration.
"I've been studying spell structures this whole time using half-baked resources."
Looking at his expression, it's like he just heard the scariest story imaginable.
"What's wrong, kid? Be clear… please?"
His focus shifts from the bones to me.
His daggers lie quietly on the table.
"Well then… tell me something," he says carefully.
"What is a spell?"
Pssh. Who doesn't know that?
So I answer with everything I've got.
"A spell is the practical expression of abstract magical concepts."
That's common knowledge for every mage.
He sighs.
"Yeah… as expected."
He rubs the bridge of his nose.
"Which leaves only one conclusion."
"…Those motherfuckers are being stingy."
That throws me off guard.
"Language, kid," I retort.
Of course I know who he's talking about, but pointing fingers at them is practically taboo.
"Well, you're in luck, missus…" he says, his eyes wandering again to places they shouldn't.
"Next time you do that I'll gouge them out," I say.
A clear lie.
My instructions are to observe him… and steer him away from trouble.
"Take a seat," he says.
And strangely enough, I do.
He walks over to his desk and picks up five parchments covered in drawn circles.
He hands them to me.
And—
"What the fuck…"
The words slip out before I can stop them.
Why wouldn't they?
The kid just handed me five complete spell circles drawn down to the last detail.
I slowly raise my shaky eyes and meet his confident grin.
"Told you there's a reason why I'm here, right?" he says, smiling from ear to ear.
My gaze returns to the parchments.
These are not normal.
The mana channels are too clean.
No leakages.
No stabilizers.
No safety runes along the edges.
Which means—
The kid isn't copying spells.
He's building them.
From scratch.
Wait.
"I was just practicing what I learned."
That's what he said earlier.
"Myrrus to Kaelin…" his voice pulls me back to reality.
"So tell me," he says smugly, "did I just blow your mind?"
"Yes," I answer truthfully.
"Why are you here?" I ask.
"Oh, you don't know?"
He scratches his nose casually.
"Well… I'm just a kid who stumbled onto something that could kill him, met a demon that took advantage of a weak moment…"
He shrugs.
"And now I'm here."
END OF POV
Kaelin keeps staring at the parchments.
Five perfect circles.
Five complete spell structures.
And the kid in front of her claims he "just practiced."
Her eyes narrow.
"Explain."
Eylin scratches the back of his head.
"You really don't know how spells work?"
"No."
He sighs.
"That's… actually terrifying."
Kaelin's eyebrow twitches.
"Watch your mouth."
"I'm serious," he says, waving a bone in the air. "It's like knowing how to shoot a crossbow but having no idea how the trigger works."
He walks over to the table and flips one of the parchments toward her.
"Spells are built from concepts."
Kaelin frowns.
"Abstract magical concepts," she corrects.
Eylin shakes his head.
"No. Fundamental ones."
He grabs a piece of charcoal and draws a small symbol in the center of the parchment.
"Every spell starts with a Prime Glyph."
He taps the symbol.
"This one represents Energy."
Kaelin leans closer.
"I've seen similar marks in spell circles…"
"Of course you have," he says. "But most mages don't know what they are. They just memorize the whole structure."
He draws another symbol beside it.
"This one is Form."
Then another.
"And this one is Release."
Kaelin watches silently as the circle slowly takes shape.
"Now imagine this," Eylin says.
He connects the glyphs with thin lines.
"Energy creates power."
He taps the second glyph.
"Form gives it shape."
Then the third.
"Release throws it outward."
He spins the parchment toward her.
"Congratulations."
"That's a fireball."
Kaelin blinks.
"…That's impossible."
"Not really."
He taps the outer ring.
"What most mages memorize are finished spell circles."
Then he points to the center.
"But what they don't realize…"
He grins.
"…is that spells are just recipes."
Kaelin slowly lowers the parchment.
"So you're saying…"
Her voice tightens.
"…if someone knew these glyphs…"
"They could build any spell they want," Eylin finishes.
"But that's the point," Kaelin says. "It's impossible. You can't engrave glyphs directly."
Silence fills the room.
Kaelin's mind races.
That would mean—
The academies.
The spell archives.
The guild libraries.
They aren't teaching magic.
They're teaching pre-approved formulas.
Or rather…
Hand-me-downs from the Golden Era.
Her eyes slowly lift toward the boy.
"Kid."
"Yes?"
"Do you have any idea what happens to people who discover something like this?"
Eylin tilts his head.
"…Why the fuck do you think I'm here in the first place?"