Chapter 60: Chapter 57: Night of the Chimera’s Cry – Sigil (3)

Aurora observed the two arrays on the paper with interest.

It was then she noticed something missing.

“What about the other elements?”

Gaius shook his head. “For the three-layered sigil, you only need the four main elements. The four main elements is the core of the world's nature. With three-layered sigil, you can activate most runes even if they use a different element from the main four. That is, as long as it is a single word rune."

A single word rune...ah...a light bulb went off and she immediately understood what the blacksmith meant. "If a three-layered sigil user activated a rune that says 'water' it will activate, but it will not work if the rune is something like 'water bullet'. Is that correct?"

"Correct. As expected." Gaius' lips lifted into a smirk. "To continue, the center rune for mana is mannaz, and the other runes you see around the array that’s not in a circle has information about the mana core. Then there is the five-layered sigil that only Nobles are allowed to use. It is a little more complicated than the basic rune.”

“Is there a special reason only Nobles allowed to have a five-layered sigil?”

“Ah. It’s basically due to endurance and vitality. Commoners do not get enough nutrients as Nobles. Their bodies will not be able to handle a stronger sigil. And well, a long time ago, some commoners had five-layered sigils but lost control and killed hundreds."

Seeing as you such a large incident occurred that caused commoners to lose control of their sigil proved that not just anyone can use it without risk. And not just anyone should get a sigil.

“Moving back on subject, the five-layered sigil has two more layers. The first additional layer is called ‘power’. It is where either a person's affinity for the elements is inscribed or another rune that allows them to use other unique runes.”

He pointed at the other sigil, showing me the additional layers.

“The second additional layer is called ‘restriction’. While Spirit Magic is thought to be stronger than Rune Magic, as I said earlier, it’s actually the opposite."

Gaius set the paper back on the table. "Lucius said you also want to know about the summoning ritual, right? And that you have knowledge about the summoning rituals used a thousand years ago.”

 “Y-yes,” Aurora muttered nervously.

Lucius, was it okay to tell him that?!

“Then, have you noticed anything about the sigils?”

Aurora wondered what he meant by that. Why did he mention the summoning ritual and sigils? Were they related in some way?

If sigils are similar to magic arrays, then that means there are more similarities than differences between them. Wait. It isn't strange to say that a sigil is one type of magic array.

There are simple magic arrays that only consist of a circle, and there are those that only have symbols and no words. Or vice versa.

Each added layer has a purpose that forms an 'array'. When you think about what a magic array is, it is a formation to facilitate the use of magic. The symbols and words set the conditions to activate the array, which then draws power from it. For example, there are pentagrams and runes. 

The layout in the sigils Gaius just showed her is a more complicated type of array.

Ah...

“The layout for sigils and the summoning ritual should be nearly the same.”

If the difference between the summoning ritual from a thousand years ago and now were only the runes, then there should not be much of an alteration in the layout. The ritual from back then didn't use runes but used the standard language characters.

Then, if that was true, it would make it easier for Aurora when she started experimenting with the summoning ritual.

She would only have to learn the rune characters!

“Exactly,” Gaius confirmed her thoughts. “You are easy to teach,” he praised.

“You’re a good teacher.” She complimented.

The awkward tension between them from earlier seemed to have lessened.

When the temperature in the room started dropping all of a sudden, Gaius cleared his throat. “The array used for sigils and the summoning ritual is nearly the same. The only difference is the center rune, the listed elements, and also the set conditions.”

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Set conditions.

The set conditions of a summoning ritual are the conditions of the contract between the summoner and the spirit beast. If the spirit beast accepts the conditions then it will agree to the contract and acknowledge the summoning. The amount and affinity of your mana will determine what kind of spirit beast you will summon.

“Now that you know the basics about Rune Magic and the summoning ritual, in our next lesson, I’ll have you memorize the standard rune characters and some of the known special runes next time. Most man-made runes can only be used by certain organizations, which is why I can only teach you the basic ones for now.”

Aurora heard about it from Vice Captain Sia. For one to learn a rune created by an organization, you will have to join them and make contributions.

“I’ll tell you what each item is and its use.” He pointed at the table that held three different objects.

Gaius picked up a bowl. Inside was a liquid black ink that gave off a metallic smell. “This is called blood ink. It's made from the blood of evolved beasts and other ingredients. The evolved beasts are not affected by the Black Witch’s curse and can use mana by absorbing the erosion.”

Gaius wanted to set the bowl back down, but Aurora held out her hand. She wanted to take a closer look at it. He hesitated at first, but then reluctantly handed it to her.

Aurora studied the black ink in the bowl, and then lifted it closer to her nose. "Sniff, sniff."

Gaius' mouth twitched. But what he thought would happen next didn't.

“Erosion,” Aurora repeated. “The erosion, just what is it exactly?" As though nothing was wrong, she handed the bowl back to him. "From the way both you and Lucius word it, the erosion doesn’t seem to be mana. Then is it one of the elements? Darkness element?”

The blacksmith, while confused, took it back from her.

“That’s wrong.” Lucius crossed his legs and place his folded hands on his lap. “It’s not mana or darkness. If one has to describe it, then ‘nothingness’ would be appropriate.”

Aurora frowned. “Nothingness…the void.”

The void...the abyss...that darkness, where nothing existed. Even yourself.

Aurora shivered. 

Although her time in the abyss was still a bit vague, just thinking about it made her feel terrified. She's just glad she was able to  keep her sanity and didn't end up an empty shell. 

“We have studied and tested the erosion, but we can’t seem to understand the components." Gaius confirmed, interrupting her thoughts. "Only that it’s harmful to nature and people while turning animals into beasts.” As he said this, he took the chance to smell the ink. He flinched back when it assaulted his nose.

"No use in talking about that for now." Gaius looked at Aurora and pointed at the bowl. "This. Doesn't the smell bother you?" In the past, every single lady complained about the smell. They refused to have something so foul come close to their body.

Aurora wanted to laugh at the blacksmith. "How can it not? I noticed it the moment I walked in the room."

"Then why...?"

"...Aren't I whining about it?" She finished the sentence for him. "It isn't permanent, right? I doubt Rune Mages would make something that will have such an everlasting smell on our bodies. There's no way any aristocrart will allow that even if it means being able to use magic."

"Hah!" The blacksmith chuckled with a smile on his face. He was stunned at this 15 years old girl whose thinking was like that of an adult. He was starting to like her more and more. "You're right. When it comes in contact with skin, the smell dulls and then eventually no longer smells."

Unbeknownst to him, however, is that she was more than just a 15 years old girl.

Gaius picked up the next item. "Then, let's move on." It was a small writing brush in the form of a pen, but the need point was so sharp that it looked as if it could scrape off your skin. “This is called a rune brush. It is made from the bones of a beast and the bark three-thousand-year-old tree. The older a tree, the longer it absorbs the energy of the earth and can be utilized to create different items with magic embedded inside.”

“You can use the rune brush and ink to write runes on papers and other objects,” Aurora pointed out.

“Correct," Gaius confirmed and smiled at Aurora. He softened his expression towards her.

It was all nice that they were getting along now, but there was one person who was not particularly thrilled about that.

"..." Lucius.

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