As you can imagine, it’s not just hard, it nigh impossible.

Once you summon two [Lights] it’s not hard to move them around. But the movements are all jagged and snappy; they do not flow smoothly at all.

And at the same, speed probably means that they cannot run unevenly like that.

Let’s see if my new skill can help.

[Deep Focus]

The world stills.

My breath is extremely loud in this state. At the same time, it’s almost hypnotic. My heart, too, provides me with a rhythm; its incessant beating is a melody that lets me dive deeper into this focused state.

I take a renewed look at the two [Lights].

[Advanced Mana Sense]

Usually, I reel after activating the skill. However, the [Deep Focus] allows me to brush it aside. My eyes are fixed on the spell matrixes.

What is it that makes a spell move?

Is it just moving around the matrix? Am I trying to push a car instead of turning on the ignition?

I imagine [Fireballs] must be thrown at quite the speed if you want to hit a moving target.

But is it like a slingshot or is there a proper engine?

What’s the best way to ask such a question to the book?

“Book,” I say, still in my focused state, “is there a component in the matrix that will make the spell move?”

The book, still open in mid-air, changes page.

‘No. Movement is not a part of the matrix per se.’

“But does it have anything to do with the matrix?”

The book takes a second to answer, the cheeky bastard.

‘How a spell matrix is built might change its polarity. The four cardinal points have an influence on magic. If you want to manipulate the trajectory, you have to manipulate how a spell matrix is created.’

“Can you enhance how charged the polarity of a spell is?”

‘Yes.’

I immediately dispel two out of three [Light] matrixes. Instead, I focus on one matrix, right in front of me. I look at the familiar squiggly lines. At the beginning, it took me three minutes to create a [Light]. Now, after the understanding gained from the multi-casting, the casting time has been halved.

I’m on the verge of tracing the lines, but I suddenly stop.

Damn.

“Book, does the number of starting points you use to make a matrix influence its polarity?”

‘Yes.’

“I swear, you useless piece of crap,” I exit the focus mode, “what the hell?! Why wouldn’t you tell me that? What if I get stuck on something so stupid for a month? It was a random thought but if I didn’t catch it, I would be still—”

I get zapped.

“For fu—”

Zapped, again.

“You little piece of sh—”

Zapped.

My muscles are still spasming and my jaw is clenched so tightly it hurts.

My father would have probably made an altar to this book. This was education-aimed, physical abuse on another level. My parents would have probably funded whatever research that could have done the same in my previous life.

I still remember when they saw an ad for a watch that zapped you, or someone else wearing it, when they were not doing what they are supposed to. Thank God I was out of school by then, because I suspect I might have received a different kind of [Thunderbolt Curse] then.

‘Talented mages should walk their own path. Asking questions is allowed, but freely gifting knowledge would hamper the progress on the path to become an [Archmage].’

I swear, this [Archmage] bull is giving me a huge headache.

I see the point.

But is ‘23’ truly a high level, talent-wise? It doesn’t sound like much.

I would ask Lucinda, but I’m afraid of the answer. What if I’m actually gifted? Would someone abduct me and bring me to the Nine whatchamacallit? That’s not going to happen, right? I mean, there wouldn’t be a psycho so out of his mind that would abduct me and—

Ok, let’s stop there.

Let’s not tempt Lady Luck, shall we?

I start looking left and right, expecting a supervillain to pop up from nowhere and lock me in chains in his/her basement.

Now that I’m out of the focused state, the ‘her basement’ thing and the ‘in chains’ part become a distracting thought. It wouldn’t be that bad if the supervillain was extremely hot, would it?

I mean, if Lucinda were to abduct me to learn my secrets… You know, do a little torture, a little spanking maybe to make me confess. Then, when she sees I’m not caving, she could try and seduce me and…

Am I disgusting?

I wonder. I truly do.

Do other people have the same line of thought as I do?

For the sake of the argument, if a ‘disgusting’ scale existed, where would I rank?

Let’s say at the 1st spot you are a serial killer maniac with deviant sexual taste. So, if that’s the first out of ten spots, are normal people, what, a 9? 10 and you are, like, a Mormon. Wait, are Mormons kinky? Shoot, I have no idea. I wish I had a search engine on hand. Google. Or maybe Bing would be better suited for this research if you know what I mean.

So, I’d say that at the 2nd spot you are like a stalker or something, or someone who would do something despicable to get his fix. Yeah, not killing, but maybe harassment. Or wait, does being depraved mean that you must harass?

The discussion in my head is getting too philosophical and it’s probably better to table it for another time.

I look at the first cantrip once again.

Having two orbs of [Light] rotate on each other for a minute…

It might not sound as the hardest thing on Earth, but it sure as hell isn’t easy. Well, let’s give it another try.