Chapter 32: <Idea>
“M-Make tools inside the mindscape?”
Night had fallen after all the classes at Glaube Magic School had ended.
Four mages had gathered in the dark forest near the school.
Perseta, Illianne, Salinelle, and Sienel.
Originally, this had been the late-night study session where Illianne and Salinelle learned from Perseta, but starting today, Sage Sienel had joined them as well.
And right now, she was trembling from an enormous shock.
“M-Master. Is it not the teaching of the first grimoire, <Idea>, that the mindscape must always be kept clear and transparent? Magic is only possible because that clear and transparent mindscape exists…… Are you telling us to create something inside it……?”
She trusted Perseta. She trusted him even more than she trusted herself.
That was precisely why the shock was so great. It felt as though the world she had believed in was collapsing from beneath her feet.
Denying <Idea> was on an entirely different level from denying the <Almagest>.
It was no different from pulling out the very foundation stones at the bottom of the enormous tower called magic.
Watching Sienel like this, Salinelle and Illianne felt complicated emotions.
“Hmm…”
“We were like that too, weren’t we?”
They had already accepted Perseta’s teachings and created a “mana-wave detection device” within their mindscapes.
So seeing Sienel in shock could not help but feel strangely fresh.
Perseta smiled.
Even though Sienel’s addition meant he now had to teach everything again from the beginning, he did not get irritated. He calmly taught her.
Because he loved intelligent people.
“Sage!”
“Yes, Master.”
“You know the allegory of the cave in <Idea>, don’t you?”
“Yes. An unrefined mindscape is like a prisoner bound while facing the wall of a cave. The guards pass by holding models of natural things such as plants and trees in front of a light. The prisoners live under the mistaken belief that the shadows cast on the cave wall are ‘reality.’”
“You know it well. Can you tell me more?”
“Yes. <Idea> says that this is why the mindscape must be polished until it is clear and transparent. That one must accept the world exactly as it is, without any preconceptions. Like a prisoner who frees himself from his bonds, leaves the cave, and looks upon the true world revealed beneath the sun. By wiping clean the clouded mindscape, one can escape the distortions of perception and sensation. That is what it teaches.”
“That is correct. But it is also wrong.”
Perseta said,
“Perceiving things exactly as they are either cannot exist, or would be meaningless even if it did.”
“Pardon?”
“Humans look at the world through interpretation. That is why the world has meaning. Right now, this forest is filled with the cries of countless insects. If I were to accept the cries of those insects and your voice with equal weight, without any bias whatsoever, what would happen?”
“Th-Then…”
“Yes. I would fail to focus on the meanings contained in your words and miss what is important. The same applies not only to hearing, but to sight. Right now, I see you standing where moonlight and shadow intersect. But if, without any bias, I regarded the moonlight falling on that tree and the moonlight falling on your nose in exactly the same way, what would happen?”
“…Then it would become difficult to recognize me as a person.”
“Exactly. We interpret all the information that comes into us. We distinguish what is important from what is not, what comes first from what comes later, and perceive each differently. That is how we are able to create and understand meaning in this world.”
“Ah…”
The Sage’s mouth fell open.
Perseta continued calmly.
“So bias itself is perception. What we must strive for is to possess fairer and more meaningful biases. We cannot strive to eliminate bias itself. Doing so would result only in meaninglessness and chaos.”
“Ahh…”
This time, the exclamation did not come from Sage Sienel.
Salinelle and Illianne’s lips had also fallen open before they knew it.
Strange.
They had already heard similar things several times before, yet hearing it again like this today made it feel new.
Satisfied, Perseta continued.
“However, not all of <Idea>’s teachings are wrong. Our mindscapes certainly must be clear and transparent. But at their deepest point, there must be devices that interpret and manipulate the information received by that transparent mindscape. Those are the tools of the mindscape.”
He pointed to his eyes, tapped his head, then moved his hands and feet.
“That is exactly how the human body operates. Our eyes transparently receive information. That information travels to the brain, where it is reconstructed, and we survive by moving our hands and feet according to the interpretations produced there. A mage’s magic should be no different.”
Sienel trembled.
“Oh… Master… I finally understand. You are redefining the very existence of the mage. Ahh. How could this be? If, as you say, we place countless tools within our mindscapes, everything will change! Countless magical materials, ritual tools, even lengthy incantations will become unnecessary. Even the distinction between battle mages and ordinary mages will disappear.”
“Yes. That is what will happen.”
Sienel stared blankly down at her own hands for a moment before murmuring,
“…Master. I have realized something else as well.”
“What is it?”
“That magic is a discipline of doubt. I believed <Idea> without questioning it. For no other reason than that it was the first grimoire, the book that made magic exist in this world. But now I understand. Magic advances through endless doubt. Master.”
Overcome with emotion, Sienel lowered her head. Tears welled in her wrinkled eyes.
Perseta watched her with a gentle smile.
As expected, he liked intelligent people.
A brief silence followed.
Then Perseta shifted the mood and turned his gaze toward Salinelle and Illianne.
“Anyway. Let us continue with the lesson. Salinelle and Illianne have already created one tool within their mindscapes. The mana-wave detection device. The two of you can now accurately analyze the mana waves reaching you without any external device.”
Salinelle and Illianne looked slightly embarrassed, but they also carried themselves with a touch of pride.
They were ahead of the great Sage herself. They could not help feeling just a little smug.
“Then let me ask you. After the mana-wave detection device, what tool should you place in your mindscape next?”
“Hmm…”
Salinelle groaned as though the question were difficult.
A tool to add after the mana-wave measuring device?
What could it be?
Should they make some kind of apparatus that could replace magical materials or ritual tools?
But somehow, that did not feel like the answer.
Perseta had said that magic began with “observation.”
But they had already implanted mana-wave measuring devices into their mindscapes. What greater observational tool could possibly exist?
The mana-wave measuring device was already the finest observational equipment in existence……
While Salinelle sank into thought, Illianne pushed her imagination as far as she could.
Practicality?
She did not bother considering that for now. After all, the magic of her brother Perseta had always leaped far beyond such things as practicality.
After imagining and imagining, she finally answered in a somewhat uncertain voice.
“Hmm… The mana-wave detection device only passively receives mana waves that fall into our dimension. So maybe… could it be something like this? A device that lets us look directly beyond our dimension. Something that lets us actively examine different parts of the dimensional universe instead of only receiving things passively.”
At those words, Salinelle frowned.
“That is impossible. The dimensional universe has no direction that can even be determined, and it is far too vast for humans to perceive……”
But Perseta cut him off.
“Illianne. Correct. Excellent, little sister.”
“Wow…!”
Illianne cheered, while Salinelle looked as though his eyes might pop out.
“W-What are you saying, Lord Perseta?! Looking into the dimensional universe is extraordinarily dangerous. Its immensity could cause the mind itself to collapse. Dimensional sickness could twist one’s organs. And one could lose their way in that directionless universe and never recover their mind!”
Perseta nodded, as though agreeing emphatically.
“Yes. Which is precisely why we need a tool. We need a framework for perception that keeps us from losing our way and prevents us from being overwhelmed by useless information.”
“S-Something like that…….”
“Everything you pointed out is correct, Salinelle. That is how you should approach it. First, think of every possible danger. Then prepare thoroughly. And only after that do you challenge it. Magic is a discipline that requires the greatest courage in the world.”
“……!”
As though struck by a shock, Salinelle merely opened and closed his mouth, unable to continue.
The Sage’s face had also gone pale. As an experienced mage herself, she knew very well how reckless it was to look directly into the dimensional universe.
But Perseta continued his explanation without hesitation.
“I call this device a ‘Directional Dimensional Exploration Device.’ The mana-wave measuring device is like inferring the moon and stars in the sky from the light and shadows cast upon the ground. In contrast, the ‘Directional Dimensional Exploration Device’ is like looking directly up at the sky.”
!!!
Earth and sky.
The symbolism was powerful.
The three mages felt a difficult-to-describe shiver.
Sienel managed to speak.
“That is almost… like the allegory of the cave in <Idea>…”
“I think so as well. Truly leaving the cave is impossible while remaining seated. We mortals must move our own arms and legs, change our location, and make use of all manner of tools and interpretations before we can look up at the true sky. The Directional Dimensional Exploration Device will be the beginning of that.”
Salinelle found the explanation beautiful.
Beautiful enough to make him want to risk his life to see it.
But he was still worried.
“But is something like that really possible for humans? The dimensional universe is far too vast, and we cannot even determine its directions…?”
“Well. Imagine that you had spent your entire life hunched over, looking only at the ground. Then, for the first time, you straightened your back, raised your head, and looked up at the night sky. How do you think you would feel?”
“…I would think it was far too vast, and that I couldn’t even begin to determine its directions.”
“Exactly. But what if you kept looking at it and comparing it to where you yourself were standing?”
“…I think I would gradually become accustomed to that sky.”
“That’s right. When we repeatedly look up at the sky, we begin to find constellations within it. We come to understand meaning, direction, and relationships. The dimensional universe is no different.”
Salinelle shuddered hard once.
Then he took a deep breath and said,
“…Hoo. Fine. Then I’ll try it.”
His voice was resolute.
And Perseta saw it.
Salinelle’s mindscape twisted this way and that as it created new devices and methods.
They were makeshift and crude, but the direction was not bad at all.
“Huuuuup!”
Suddenly, Salinelle’s eyes rolled back.
His pupils vanished beneath his eyelids, leaving only the whites exposed as his entire body began trembling violently.
He was now using the hastily improvised tool within his mindscape to peer into the dimensional universe.
“S-Salinelle? Are you all right?”
Illianne did not dare touch Salinelle. She merely paced around him, stamping her feet in helpless panic.
Sage Sienel also swallowed hard, tense.
Perhaps three minutes passed like that.
Salinelle, whose body had been trembling as though he might die at any moment, finally let out a great breath.
“Haaagh! Hah! Haaah!”
He coughed and doubled over. His eyes, which had shown only white moments earlier, had already returned to normal.
Perseta asked,
“How was it?”
Salinelle answered with a deathly pale face.
“I nearly died. It was terrifying enough to drive me mad…”
But faintly, he smiled.
“But even so… I became convinced that it is possible.”
Perseta smiled.
Because he loved intelligent and courageous people.
“Good. Then your assignment this time is to devise a ‘Directional Dimensional Exploration Device’ that allows you to look directly into the dimensional universe. Find some way, any way, to look directly up at the sky.”
With those final words, Perseta turned around without hesitation and headed back to the school.
Chirrrr…
Chirp…
In the forest filled with the cries of insects, the three mages left behind remained silent for a while.
Then Sienel’s hollow voice broke that silence.
“All this time, we lived looking only at the ground…… Not even ants. Not even insects. We did not even know how to look up. At the sky.”
She looked up at the night sky.
Her voice, filled with regret, drifted between the trees.
Illianne and Salinelle quietly nodded, feeling the ache of those words deep in their chests.
A deep forest.
A deep night.
The three mages were slowly beginning to understand what magic was, and what kind of beings mages truly were.
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