Chapter 257 - Episode Four

I had thrown the Alchemy Divisions instructors to Altamir, and retreated to the Alchemy Divisions laboratory to analyze the Great Gods Treasure Book.

Forcing myself to increase my strength with Abel Potion, I stayed in there for a week to continue my work.

Ive been comparing it to other ancient books, translating what it says, and trying to use magic according to the instructions but its not going very well.

To be honest, this is the first time in my life that Ive gotten this stuck.

Ive already collected all the magic catalysts I can in the Fage territory, but this is a remote area, and the range of things you can get is not that wide.

Ill have to go to other cities and buy more materials to use as catalysts for magic for verification.

It would take two weeks to collect.

I wonder if I could ask the Alchemy Division to buy them for me.

I think Ill send an errand request to the Adventurers Support Center in the Fage territory.

Its a bit pricey, but if I ask Lark, hell let me do it as an expense for the Alchemy Division.

Abel How are you doing? Its time for you to take a nap and get out of the house, you know

As soon as I stop, Mea calls out to me anxiously.

Ive got a huge shortage of materials. At any rate, this is about the price for a week.

I pointed to a corner of the room, and Mea looked in that direction and frowned.

In front of Meas eyes, a vague blue octopus-like creature was crawling slowly across the ground.

W-What the hell is that ?

Its not as intelligent as a demon so its a spirit animal. Ive taken the magicians circle that was drawn in the Great Gods Treasure Book, modified it a bit in a modern way, redrawn the parts I didnt understand and modified it so that I can use it with the materials I have at hand. I thought it was because it was drawn with great care, but it seems to be about artificial spirits.

A spirit beast is a magical beast that is made up of spirits.

The more powerful ones are called higher spirits or demons, but I dont think its a meaningful distinction since the definition varies from era to era and region to region.

A-Artificial spirits, you say Um, spirit creation is the pinnacle of the three most forbidden forms of magic, Abel, didnt I tell you?

N-no, its even written in the Great Gods Treasure Book, so I dont think its a problem.

Mea dont understand difficult stuff, but is that how it is?

Look, I just want to verify and examine ancient books, its not the purpose in itself

Isnt it about time that Lark kicked us out of the Fage territory? Mea will follow you wherever you go, though

Mea says with resignation, and turns her gaze back to the spirit animal.

She then bends down and fearfully brings her index finger close to the spirit animal.

The spirit beast also reacted by extending its tentacle to Mea, and flattening the tip against her index finger.

Oh, its surprisingly cute

As I was reading through the Great Gods Treasure Book, I realized that in order to create a spirit, it is necessary to create a spirit from a creature that possesses magical power.

In spirit creation, the magic power that is poured in from the outside during the process cannot essentially play a role beyond the control of the magic circle.

What form of spirit is created depends on the magic power and the magic circle.

But the most important factor in how much potential to create a spirit has to do with what is used as material.

Simply put, the potential of the spirit to be created is the total magical power of the materials minus the magical power lost in the process of spiritualization.

However, the higher the number of materials and the higher the magic power of the materials, the greater the decay of magic power, so in order to create a strong artificial spirit, it is necessary to carefully select materials and thoroughly control them with a huge magic circle.

The materials used for this octopus mimic are the hearts of eight Foggs, and the rest are magic stones, magic grasses, and fine parts of magical beasts.

I also used a magic stone that was attached to Devins vestments as a bonus, since it seemed to have the right directionality when I accidentally tried it.

The magic power decay rate was kept to 40% at best.

With this level of materials, this may be the limit.

By the way, the materials were too cumbersome to gather, so I sent a request to the Adventurers Support Center from the Alchemy Divisions budget and had them gather them for me.

Im sure Ive heard that Mare is not very good at Fogg.

Ill keep my mouth shut about the material.

I lifted my wand from the desk and pointed it at the octopus that was playing with Mea.

Display

I conjured a magic circle and then cast the spell.

A small square plane suddenly appeared in front of me.

-

Icarus.

STR (Strength):?

MAG (magic power): 48

-

The name is already registered in the status formula, along with the magical crest of the spirit beast, so it will be displayed.

I couldnt think of anything in particular, so I decided to borrow it from the former leader of the Alchemy Division.

Im not sure why its called a squid when its an octopus.

In case youre wondering, since its a spirit body, it doesnt produce muscle strength values.

Ive adjusted the value to be about 20, which is about the average value for an average person. To be honest, its a bit sensitive.

Its not much different from the magic power of the original name, Icarus.

For now, Abel why dont you take a break from the analysis? You havent eaten anything decent, and it seems you havent slept at all. Mea is so, so worried

Mea sat down in the empty chair next to me, holding the spirit animal in her arms.

The spirit beast is not as dissatisfied, and does not show any signs of resistance.

Im at a bit of a standstill myself, so Im going to send a request for materials and books to my men at the Alchemy Division and to the Adventurers Support Center, respectively. Im not going to be able to do anything for a while so I thought Id go to this place after I get some rest.

I took out the Great Gods Treasure Book and flipped through it.

This page is actually like a map, disguised as a magic circle. Look, if you translate the magic formula according to this table, you get the shape of the continent. Its like a cipher. Its certainly easier to understand than a normal map once you get used to it.

Its being written so much not only the collector, but also the Kudor Church will be angry

I dont know whats on it because I cant decipher the rest of the text, but this map seems to show the easternmost coast of the Dinrat Kingdom. It looks like theres something hidden there that has something to do with the Kudor Church, but its written in a strange and pretentious way. I suspect that there is something in there that rivals the Great Gods Treasure Book.

The most eastern part of the country is pretty close, rather than close its the Phage territory, isnt it? Is it near the Witchs Tower or the former Witchs Tower?

Thats close enough. Its a bit more distant than that, though.

The coordinates shown in the scriptures just happen to be right next to each other.

Now that I have some time on my hands Ill go out for a bit.

However, the Great Gods Treasure Book is a thousand years old.

If there is anything buried in it, it may have been dug up long ago. Its true that Im feeling a little depressed because Ive been so reclusive.

Its good for a change of pace.