Ice Vapor Goddess

Chapter 100 Ether
Percy was eventually released from the cabinet, seemingly unfazed by the situation, while Samantha vanished in a moment when Siron wasn't looking, running off into the laboratory.

Celen and Percy chatted for a few minutes, but she quickly lost interest and became more engrossed in the storybook in her hand.

However, Xiren also learned some things. For example, she had lived in the mage tower with her mother since she was a child. Whenever they moved from one tower to another, her mother would use teleportation magic to perfectly transfer all the decorations and furniture of the entire tower to the other side. Therefore, when she was born nineteen years ago, her home was like this.

She didn't know if she had a father, and her mother never mentioned it. Her mother played the role of both parents and raised her.

Logically speaking, such a family is prone to some mental problems. However, according to Percy's description, Siren could feel that Samantha was a gentle yet strict lady who gave Percy a lot of love and care and would guide her on her path to becoming a mage.

However, after discussing these matters, Percy focused entirely on reading the storybook and no longer paid attention to answering Siron's questions. He could only sit there, anxiously waiting for the result.

Later that day, Samantha appeared in the fireplace flames, asking him to come to the laboratory.

Percy then put down her book and led Siron to turn the tin soldier's face.

The laboratory was located in some unknown mezzanine of the Mage Tower, or perhaps not even inside the tower at all. At least through the murky glass windows, Xilun could only see the chaotic Sky Sea.

The four walls inside the room were covered with tall shelves, which were categorized and displayed all kinds of herbs, minerals, crystals, essential oils and medicines.

This place doesn't resemble a laboratory from later times, nor does it resemble the witch's potion hut in the stereotypical image of Xilun. Instead, it's more like a pharmacy or showroom, displaying artifacts of unknown origin.

The icicle brought by Xilun was placed in the center of a silver-white metal table. It had been disassembled into several specimens, some of which were soaking in liquid, while others were placed on a magic circle.

Percy made a face and then vanished before Samantha could grab a broom.

Samantha smiled helplessly at Siron: "I hope she didn't cause you any trouble."

“No, she’s a very smart girl,” Celen said with a smile. “Any results from that sample?”

“I’ve got it, and it will be very helpful for my experiment.” With a wave of her hand, a chair flew behind Xiren.

"Your experiment?"

“Yes, I’ve been studying the ice crystals you brought before.” She took a test tube from the oak shelf, inside which floated a tiny ice crystal.

"This is a crystal from the body of a demonized beast. I was asked by Rein to study it."

Xilun recalled the crystals he had extracted from the wolves' bodies on the way here.

Is this actually the same thing?

"So... this is a kind of demonic phenomenon?" he asked.

Samantha wore an inscrutable expression: "That's one way to put it, but it's very different... How much do you know about magic and enchantment?" "Only fairy tales," Siron replied.

Although the church does not prohibit the study of magic, it is still somewhat taboo. At the very least, if students secretly study mysticism and magic, it is easy to lead to a bad reputation. Therefore, Xilun has never touched magic and has been working hard for grades.

“Alright…you’ve studied magic less and less over the past few decades, and the young people don’t even know about it anymore…” Samantha shook her head helplessly. “Then I’ll start with the basics.”

"Magic is something that permeates the world, something that cannot be touched or perceived. We usually call it 'ether,' but since the witch hunts of the Middle Ages, people have been accustomed to calling it 'the power of witches/demons,' or simply 'magic,' which has become the most widely circulated term."

“Normally, magic can pass through any substance at will without any hindrance. Even right now, there is magic flowing through your body, but you can’t feel it,” Samantha said with a smile.

Xilun looked at his own body and could only sense the presence of divine consciousness.

"But this is the normal situation. Some substances naturally have the property of 'blocking magic', such as walnut wood, mercury, sulfur, salt, gold, wormwood, rue, etc. Some simply prevent magic from passing through, such as gold and mercury. Others deflect and affect magic. Some require special treatment to interfere with magic, such as wormwood and rue."

“Wait a minute,” Siren suddenly asked, “So you’re not ‘using’ magic, but rather using non-magical materials to guide it and force it to manifest?”

“You understand very quickly,” Samantha said with a smile. “If all my former students had the same level of comprehension as you, I probably wouldn’t have given so many failing grades.”

Xilun didn't answer, but fell into thought—the magic of this world is actually this kind of thing?
"Only when magic encounters these substances will it reveal its ghostly form. Many widely circulated strange events—such as footsteps, ghostly figures, spontaneous combustion, piano sounds, etc.—are often caused by the presence of these materials in the surrounding environment."

"But such coincidental interference is still limited. If you have a walnut bed at home, it may take twenty or thirty years for it to stably produce some minor magical phenomena. You may have trouble sleeping, insomnia, nightmares, or even see ghosts by the bed or hear noises under the bed."

"Therefore, starting a thousand years ago, we began to explore how to make magic manifest in an orderly and stronger way, so that it could be grasped by human intelligence, and even become a power in our hands."

"But in the countless years of the past, we could only rely on experience. For example, if someone discovered that arranging salt in the shape of stars and moon could gather magic, he would write it in his magic book, pass it on to his disciples, or take it to his grave."

"The most significant change occurred in modern times, about three hundred years ago."

"The founder of the Seven Towers Alliance and the tower master of the Dreamless Tower, Archmage Anatoli, discovered that when a person is under the influence of incense and falls into a special half-dream state, it can trigger a resonance of magic."

"In his own words: 'They were as active as the dying, their last embers ignited by a bewildered glance, and the canvas came alive again.'"

“Uh… what does this mean?” Xilun asked.

"I don't know. To this day, people still haven't been able to decipher it. After that, the Archmage Anatoli never spoke again, only leaving behind many confusing and strange paintings and texts, before passing away in his sleep."

“Only a small portion of those texts and paintings are identifiable, but it is precisely those identifiable elements that laid the foundation for modern magic—spell magic, while earlier magic was known as ‘ritual magic’.”

(End of this chapter)