Before he could get to the meat of the experiment, Orion had to slow down and ensure he recorded everything he saw.

  The dictation spell helped with that. He could narrate each experiment step by step, but it had its limits. The amount of information that [Verification Principle] fed him was simply too great to be relayed in a timely manner, so Orion limited himself to only a few crucial points.

  Once he was confident that all elements of the experiment were isolated and protected from contamination as much as possible, he returned to the table and started scribbling down the actual data he had observed.

  “Whatcha doin’ now?” Selene asked, sliding up behind him and peering over his shoulder. “Ugh, why are there so many numbers?”

  “Mathematics is the foundation of every proof. If you can't explain what you've discovered with it, you might as well just be dreaming,” he replied, forcing himself not to get distracted.

  The blood crystal strictly follows the Foci Refraction principle, never suggesting it can enhance the energy passing through it beyond its current state. However, its refinement far surpasses what I have observed in any other crystal.

  Orion was fairly confident that with the proper methodology, he’d be able to achieve an actual enhancement, but that would mean damaging the crystal because the extra energy needed to come from somewhere.

  It's worth keeping in mind. If I ever find myself in a truly desperate situation, sacrificing the focus might give a huge one-time boost.

  Of course, he would need to carefully test where the line was between refraction and enhancement. He didn’t want to accidentally ruin the crystal, after all.

  But that was for later. Once he finished the last calculations, he suddenly stood up, making Selene jump back with a yelp.

  “I will now start working with my own mana. I’ve established a baseline, and while liquid mana might be useful for future experiments, I don’t think I’ll ever have enough to develop its applications beyond what’s absolutely necessary to develop my theory,” he said, walking over to the spectroscope and readjusting the mirrors and levers, returning the crystal to its proper position.

  Selene hummed, following after him, “I still don’t understand how you’re going to get an actual focus from this. As far as I know, healing magic used through a blood crystal is known to be extremely powerful, but any other spell either has no significant effect or even damages it."

  “I do not know,” Orion replied candidly, making her stop in surprise. He turned around with a smile. “What, did you think I had this whole thing planned out? We are breaking new ground here! Depending on the results, I will adjust my theories. But for now, I still don’t know nearly enough to draw any final conclusions.”

  Seemingly pleased with that, Selene took a step back, giving him space to work on his contraption. I wonder why she’s still around. She’s never shown interest in this kind of thing beyond trying to uncover a secret. And she doesn’t seem eager to change her casting methods.

  Was this the legendary power of friendship at work? Orion once had some people he respected enough to talk with, but he’d never had anyone spend hours with him while he worked just because they wanted to be close to him.

  Shaking his head, he refocused on the matter at hand. The first two tests succeeded, proving that the blood crystal was just as, if not more, responsive as a regular crystal. But now was the moment of truth.

  If it received the mana he was about to supply without a significant drop in efficiency... He’d finally have a suitable candidate for a focus that wouldn’t break on him after a dozen spells.

  I kind of understand now why witches don’t use foci often. It’s not that they aren’t useful, but making one that can last indefinitely is a real pain. And using temporary ones is just bad form. Having one break on you during a fight is basically a death sentence.

  Once he confirmed everything was in the right place, Orion took a deep breath.

  Summoning mana without a spell wasn’t something people typically did. Sure, some had tried to find a way to extract liquid mana from the Field without using the expensive and delicate contraptions traditionally employed, but as far as Orion knew, all those attempts had ended in failure.

  Most used basic tier zero charms like Torchlight to test the affinity of a local Mana Field. Based on the resistance experienced during casting and the spell’s duration, one could infer a general idea of the local composition.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  But Orion had never been satisfied with just good enough. He’d spend many, many days holed up in his lab, trying to find a way to summon mana without weaving an effect into the spell.

  It was, honestly, a waste of time. Even if he managed to succeed, he’d never be able to summon the focus needed to turn the energy into liquid without equipment. Not unless he became as powerful as Seraphina, at least.

  But a thin stream of mana? That much he could do. He’d actually done most of the work years ago, when he was forced to cast light spells by drawing unfiltered power from the Mana Field.

  In this case, he needed to release a steady stream, like a ray or as close to it as possible, to prevent dispersion.

  A cylinder is the first thing that comes to mind. It’s long, yes, but if it works, it works. To find the volume, I need to use πr2/h.

  Coming to a stop at the preset distance to avoid any sudden changes that could affect the formula, Orion pointed at the funnel and cast.

  M= πr2/h ∪ L?

  A perfectly round beam of golden energy shot out of his finger, hitting the first mirror at just the right angle and reflecting downward toward the next one.

  He watched it all with [Verification Principle], carefully observing as the mana bounced one last time until it finally struck the blood crystal.

  He’d expected three separate beams to be released, like with the liquid mana and the pure light, but something different happened this time.

  A single, crimson ray emerged from the crystal, slamming into the lentil seed.

  With bated breath, Orion watched as it started drinking the water, only to unfurl as a green stem began growing. It kept rising, thickening, and curling upon itself. Leaves sprouted, and the plant reached maturity.

  Orion stopped the mana once he began to feel lightheaded. The lentil continued growing for a few more seconds, sprouting flowers that then turned into pods, until the crystal went dark and the unnatural growth stopped.

  That took far more effort than I expected. I guess breathing life into something isn’t as simple as Mothon made it look.

  The elf barely needed to concentrate to trigger a much wilder and faster growth, but that was only to be expected given his rank.

  Orion was still a tier-one mage. It was honestly already incredible that he could cast nature magic at all, especially without an appropriate spell. If he did use a formula meant to start plant growth through the crystal…

  Before he could get lost in the implications, he hurried over to the table and started scribbling down just about everything he’d observed.

  Rows upon rows of equations and theories poured from his pen, and he kept going until his hand finally started cramping. By the end, he still hadn’t achieved a full understanding, but he was much closer than ever before.

  Soon, he would be able to start working on the runic matrix. And then, he would have his computer.

  Orion knew that Selene hadn’t been particularly impressed by his success. She’d eventually pat him on the back and even cheered for him once he explained the true significance of what he’d done, but he could see in her eyes that she still didn’t really understand.

  They’d eventually had to stop since it was getting pretty late, and Orion had promised to call her once he had a prototype ready and before he started carving the runic matrix on the crystal.

  She’d been reassured when he told her he would probably spend the next few weeks repeating slightly different variations of the same experiments to gather more data and make sure he hadn't fallen for an outlier. That was just as well, because he wasn’t particularly comfortable working with someone in the room.

  Maybe it was a silly pet peeve, but he disliked the feeling of being watched.

  That was why he suddenly stopped in the middle of a hallway when he felt that same sensation the next evening, after a long day spent working out the kinks of his new toy.

  This time, however, instead of the affectionate but slightly bored look Selene had given him, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

  This was a sensation even watching Esmeralda dismantle the vampire thralls hadn’t evoked, and while he wasn’t one to rely on instinct, he knew better than to ignore such a powerful warning sign.

  A Light Shield formed around him, and Orion clenched his hand around a simple crystal. Double casting still wasn’t easy, but he was confident he could summon a laser if he rerouted the mana through it.

  A low chuckle echoed against the stone walls, and Orion’s muscles clenched even tighter when he saw who it was.

  Elder Morliana walked into the moonlight without trying to hide her presence. She wore bright orange robes, the kind that would be seen from miles away, but she didn’t seem concerned about being noticed.

  Despite what his instincts were telling him, Orion forced himself to lower his shield, though he couldn’t find the courage to unclench his hand from the crystal.

  All that my shield would do is provide her with a justification. No, my best defense is the social mores that have kept her from acting so far.

  “Elder, good evening," he ground out. The woman had been his teacher for weeks now, and he’d almost gotten used to her presence.

  “Ah, Mr. Voidwalker. Out for a midnight stroll?” She asked, smiling.

  “I was just heading back home. I got distracted while studying," he replied.

  “Yes, yes. You are a very dedicated student. Especially in magic, no one can deny that,” she murmured, her eyes never leaving him.

  She didn’t move or do anything overly threatening like she had that day in Eire’s office.

  But she didn’t need to. The more she spoke casually, the more tense he became, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  “It is a pity I haven’t seen the same passion in your religious studies. Someone with your talent could definitely go far, despite your gender," she continued.

  Orion silently considered whether turning around and running away would be enough for her to attack, but he ultimately concluded that to be protected by social norms, he had to accept the cost, which was to be courteous and polite.

  “I participate in the weekly service every weekend, Elder,” he replied.

  “You do, don’t you?” She hummed. “I wager your mother wouldn’t let you skip. Very intelligent woman, your mother. She rose so high in so little time, yet it seems she has no greater ambition than watching over her son... I wonder what the future holds. Will she have the time to devote herself to the right path? It’s such a pity for her to languish.”

  Orion clenched his teeth to hold back the sharp retort he wanted to deliver. The woman was clearly trying to provoke him, but he couldn’t understand why. Sure, she never really liked him, and probably suspected he’d leave as soon as he was allowed to with all the knowledge he could extract from the Sanctum—which wasn’t very far from the truth—but to go so far in her feud with a teenager as an Elder…

  This was never about me, was it? Orion suddenly realized. Yeah, he hadn’t done himself any favors with his brazenness, but it just didn’t make sense that she would waste so much time and resources watching him.

  “I think that’s enough,” an aged voice interjected, and Orion’s eyes widened as he saw Set step out of the shadows.

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