Chapter 611 – Beyond the Circulation of Magical Power

It seems that Cecilia, Mihaela, and everyone from the Labyrinth Village who usually works for us as servants had been diligently watching over the place while we were away investigating Beriondora… So after the banquet ended, we decided to all go to the hot springs together for some relaxation, thinking that both the servants and Helvorte needed a break separate from regular holidays. As usual, we reserved the entire place outside normal business hours.

That said, I have various things to do in preparation for the decisive battle against the Demons… So while relaxing at the hot springs, I’m proceeding with deciphering and examining the contents of the Ancient Document I received from the Sages’ Academy.

Today is really for the servants and Helvorte to enjoy themselves.

“Helvorte-sama, let’s slide together!”

“Me too!”

“Understood. If that is your wish, I shall accompany you as many times as you like.”

Helvorte, being pulled along by the Labyrinth Village children, nodded with its usual expression. Then the children raised joyful cheers before heading toward the waterslide.

Helvorte with its wings neatly folded went sliding down with the excited Labyrinth Village children. Claudia and Grace were watching this scene with fond smiles, and the atmosphere around was lively and cheerful.

Well, since the Labyrinth Village children have monopolized Helvorte for now, it’ll probably remain the center of attention for a while.

From the Lazy River Pool came happy voices too, with animals swimming while carrying children on their backs. The Labyrinth Village parents were watching these scenes with warm expressions – it was a heartwarming sight all around.

As for me, after thoroughly warming my body in the men’s bath, I’m sitting at a terrace seat in the rest area with everyone, drinking carbonated beverages while nibbling on baked sweets during my reading time. To those around, I probably just look like I’m relaxing after my bath, but in reality, I’m conducting research.

That said, carrying such a valuable Ancient Document everywhere seemed inappropriate, so I had Caduceus memorize it, create a copy, and transform it into book form for me to read.

Following the text appearing on Caduceus’s surface with my eyes, I perform Magical Power Circulation according to the descriptions, checking each written point one by one.

Starting from the basics of Magical Power Circulation, moving to the effects of Circulating Ki as an applied technique, along with various considerations about them…

“I see. So you’re advancing your research while monitoring to prevent accidents. Quite diligent of you.”

As I continued reading, Old Sigmund emerged from the bath and gave me a wry smile when he saw me.

Ah, Balor is stationed at the pool’s watchtower. Since the Labyrinth Village children are here, it’s just a precaution.

“I want to do what I can during this time. Since it’s the servants who are enjoying themselves today, I thought I’d proceed with what I need to do.”

When I answered, Old Sigmund closed his eyes and nodded, then asked:

“I see. Does the Ancient Document seem useful?”

“From my initial impressions, there are many interesting things written, so it seems quite helpful. The person who left this Ancient Document appears to have considered their own research heretical though—”

“Oh? Heretical, you say?”

“Yes. They focused on how circulating magical power enhanced by combining it with life force could neutralize and counter the Demons’ Miasma… and even theorized that they might share common ancestry, based on the idea of them being opposing counterparts. I believe that’s why they kept this research secret.”

Because of this, it seems the research content of this Ancient Document’s author wasn’t shared even within Silvatoria. The elders apparently pulled it from the forbidden archives.

“Sharing ancestry with our hated mortal enemies. Indeed, without evidence, one might conceal such research.”

Valentina nodded quietly while crossing her arms.

“To put it bluntly, they were correct about the shared ancestry part.”

Rosemary seemed to be smiling wryly behind her feather fan.

We’ve already obtained proof that both the Seven Sages who descended in the Moon Ship and the Demons who abandoned Halvaronis share the lineage of the Moon Folk.

“That said, it doesn’t necessarily mean the research content itself is correct… But positioning the Demons’ Miasma as Negative Power and circulating magical power as positive power at opposite poles makes sense in terms of actual effectiveness too.”

“Indeed. It is certainly effective.”

Thinking about it this way, I can see room for improvement in Magical Shockwave and Spiral Shockwave too. Those techniques use the opponent’s magical power to propagate shockwaves internally… But if instead I could directly channel my own magical power while propagating shockwaves, I might be able to deal greater damage to Demons.

“Claudia-sama and Marlene-sama’s Blessings could also be said to provide protection as positive power.”

When Grace said this, Marlene nodded repeatedly.

“That might be true. While it protects against things like Curse Magic, it’s also effective against Miasma.”

Claudia closed her eyes. Right. It’s protection through the Moon King’s royal power, and we share that ancestry too.

In that sense, the Spirit power working as a Seal against the Demon Lord could also be called positive power. Claudia and the Spirits who transform faith into power, versus the Demons who feed on negative emotions…

If we consider the Moon Folk as a clan with properties similar to Spirits, I can somewhat understand why Spirit power is effective against Demons.

“Well… The fact they’re researching from such perspectives makes me hopeful about the content. While there have been no predecessors in Magical Power Circulation until now, receiving information from the Sages’ Academy like this feels somewhat like becoming a disciple. It’s quite enjoyable to read.”

“Hmm. Indeed it is.”

When I said this jokingly, Old Sigmund grinned.

“Since the Ancient Document content doesn’t seem very conscious of publication, they’ve also written daily miscellaneous thoughts unrelated to research in the margins. Things about life back then, or how someone’s experimental Failure put a hole in the research building’s roof…”

“That… sounds quite interesting to read.”

Ashley gave me a wry smile at my words.

Old Sigmund and Valentina seemed to have some familiarity with such daily scenes, as they trembled slightly upon hearing my description.

“Hmm. It appears the author was the head of the Wilcloud family. Someone named Eric Wilcloud, it seems.”

“While the Seven Sages’ lineages have mixed considerably, that would make him our direct ancestor, wouldn’t it?”

Becoming a disciple to our ancestor. This makes the content feel even more interesting.

Well, while there are some digressions, there’s no doubt the author was someone who deeply researched Magical Power Circulation. The crucial main points are highly interesting content for me.

Starting from the basic aspects of circulation, to what one should focus on to enhance that power, where to direct attention in magical flow and the body… It contains both sensory descriptions and accompanying considerations, followed by theoretical parts derived from them. Indeed, it would probably be difficult to understand the content without actually being able to perform Magical Power Circulation.

If I return to basics and perform circulation while being conscious of the written descriptions, that alone might provide some improvement.

And… regarding applied techniques derived from there, they’re mentioned in the form of ideas. While presenting various concepts, they also touch upon problems making practical application difficult and anticipated dangers.

Ah. Reading this stirs up ideas for training. It makes me want to move my body. In any case, this is someone I would have liked to meet and speak with directly.

Now then. If I can solve the problems he raised, some of these might be deployable in actual combat.

To solve the problems, I could incorporate assistance through Magic Tools or other Spell Formulas and techniques I know…

Since I can obtain hints and ideas for strengthening our combat capabilities, it seems good to practice these in training or Labyrinth Exploration starting tomorrow.

Well, for today I’ll carefully perform Magical Power Circulation while being conscious of the described parts, checking if there are any neglected areas by returning to basics, and verify whether this leads to improvement.

Happy New Year.

I’ll do my best this year too, so please continue your support.