Chapter 142 - The True Beginning (5)

External Carving is a process of completing one's Magic Circle while materializing it to the world. This method requires the help of one's other Magic Circles to complete the Magic Circle one wants to finish.

This method was the fastest method any Mage could choose to Carve their Magic Circles. However, if a Mage missed even one step, the Carving process would fail and they would be forced to forfeit the Magic Circle they had been Carving.

Due to this reason, Mage always opted to Carve their Magic Circle without projecting it. This method is called Internal Carving—the safest and most common way to complete one's Magic Circle.

Of course, everything has their plus and minus. Although the success rate of Internal Carving was higher than External Carving, it took a considerably longer time.

This is the reason why there were still some Mages who dare to attempt External Carving; they wanted to advance faster.

Such in Basil's case, he simply lacked the time to stay idle. Therefore, he had opted to use External Carving method.

One might ask why he didn't do it since the beginning. The reason was simple: he didn't dare to attempt it previously simply because of his lacking Mana Heart.

Therefore, upon experiencing a breakthrough—after having the qualified Heart—he had quickly attempted External Carving.

Unfortunately for him, the Magic Circle he had been trying to finish had been too overwhelmed with his enormous amount of Mana; the incomplete Magic Circle shattered, and his three months of effort in Carving it was wasted just like that.

"Embarrassing. I shouldn't have dismissed the potency of my Heart." Basil clicked his tongue.

He was simply ashamed at his negligence. He had thought the more stable the supply of Mana he had, the higher the possibility of the success. Foolishly enough, he forgot to test how much Mana his incomplete Magic Circle could contain.

Still, Basil didn't rage nor whine like a brat. He merely sighed, and accepted his mistake. Though his work would be doubled, he could still Recarve his fourth Magic Circle that he had lost.

"Are you okay, Young Master?"

At that call, Basil turned to Caesar.

Caesar was looking at Basil awkwardly, as he didn't know how he should behave in front of Basil.

"Is that pity I am looking?" Basil quirked his eyebrow.

Caesar slightly recoiled in surprise, before waving his hand in denial. "No, no, no. I have never pitied those who fail. I was just conflicted about how I should react."

He was telling the truth. This is the reason why he had hesitated.

Basil was his Young Master—someone he willingly treated with respect. As a servant, he should have comforted Basil the moment he saw Basil had failed in his endeavor.

However, Basil's prideful nature made him ponder his action; he was torn between respecting Basil's nature and doing his duty as a self proclaimed servant.

"It's unnecessary, Caesar. You don't have to show a particular reaction." Basil waved his hand slightly. "Failure is a delayed success; it doesn't deserve any pity."

Then, he casually withdrew his three Magic Circles as if the earlier event was nothing.

Since he had lost the fourth Magic Circle that had been close to its completion, he would start to Carve it over again, along with improving the quality of his Core.

He would multitask like usual, but with a different difficulty this time.

Despite not complaining, Basil was still upset. Even if it wasn't visible from the outside, Vagus, who had spent a long time with him, could see it. Furthermore, she had a Soul connection with Basil; she could feel his dissatisfaction.

This is the reason why she didn't approach him and pester him like usual. She was understanding enough to give him some space. Basil turned around, and was about to head to his cell when Caesar stopped him.

"Wait, Young Master!" Basil stopped in his track. "Where are you going?"

Basil slightly turned his head to Caesar's way, and quirked his eyebrow. "I am going to Recarve my destroyed Magic Circle." He didn't ask anything, but Caesar understood Basil was asking him his motive.

"Let's train together, Young Master."

Basil frowned lightly. "I do not need—"

"I know a faster way to recover a destroyed Magic Circle."

"Hoh. Is that so?" Basil quirked his eyebrow in interest, and Caesar merely nodded his head. "Tell me the way, then."

Caesar answered instantly, "Ceaseless Battle."

Ceaseless Battle is a friendly Battle between Mage that requires the two party to Battle until one of them exhausted their Mana, then resume the Battle once again after the Mana is recovered. It is basically an unending Battle.

Basil was slightly puzzled by Caesar's suggestion at first. However, he soon realized why Caesar had suggested Ceaseless Battle.

"ERE; Exhaust, refill, exhaust, and repeat. In the past, it was believed to be a method to improve the quality of one's Magic Circle, and it is honestly stupid." Basil slightly smirked. "However, I have never thought of it that way."

ERE didn't improve the quality of one's Magic Circle. However, this method could strengthen the Circle's foundation—the Array that built one's Circle.

In Basil's case, this would definitely help repair his destroyed Magic Circle. This way, he didn't need to Carve it from the start. He just needed to infuse his Mana to the destroyed Circle and let the natural process slowly heal it.

It took less time.

"That is a good suggestion, Caesar." Basil nodded his head in appreciation. 'I will let him serve me for the time being,' he thought in his mind.

As expected, no matter where he was, Basil was Basil.

...

Three days had passed since the day Basil destroyed his incomplete Circle, and the process of his Circle Recarving was going well.

He and Caesar kept Battling everytime, only stopping once in a while to eat; none of them slept in the past three days. Since Basil had the body of a Knight, he could stay up for two weeks straight.

In Caesar's case, although his ninth Magic Circle was already crippled, his Magic mastery was already enough to allow him not to sleep for years. Still, he needed to rest due to his age.

As there were only three days had passed, the Battle between the two was as fierce if not fiercer than the first day.

Basil really didn't hold back. Since he practiced in two Principles, whenever his Mana ran out, he would switch to using Qi.

As a Mage, he utilized as many Art as he could at his meager level; as a Knight he utilized his Aura that considerably consumed more Qi to improve his control over his Qi.

Caesar, who was apparently a battle maniac, gladly battled Basil with glee. He even used five of his Magic Circles to give Basil a hard time.

Of course, Basil didn't complain; he was also a battle maniac, despite of his constant denial.

Boom!

Caesar was blocking the swing of Basil's sword with his bare hand. The ground below the two of them cratered, but Caesar wasn't bothered in the least. He was grinning excitedly even.

"Your power decreased, Young Master!"

Basil smirked. "A sacrifice is needed for the greater good."

Caesar frowned his head at Basil's cryptical sentence. Although he had heard it many times already, he couldn't still get used to it. Still, he was a quick thinker. He immediately analyzed what Basil could possibly mean by his words.

Unfortunately for him, even before he managed to decrypt Basil's words, Basil's attack arrived right in front of his eyes—well, right below his feet.

A sword emerged from the ground, and was heading toward his solar plexus with an insane speed. As it was too sudden, he couldn't dodge the attack; he casted [Reinforcement] on his body, and received the attack with his body

Boom!

The tip of Basil's sword hit Caesar right in his solar plexus, and brought him off the ground with it.

The power behind the sword was simply unthinkable for a telekinetically controlled sword; it was slightly hard for him to get it off him.

Of course, it all happened for a reason. Earlier, Basil had divided his concentration just to control the sword that was currently thrashing Caesar. Due to this, the power In his swing decreased.

However, his control over his Aura Ability: [Master Of Weapons] had improved over the time. Coupled with the concentration he put in controlling the sword, the power behind it was amplified even further.

Of course, it didn't last long against Caesar. He quickly snatched the sword that was stubbornly stabbing him, and threw it back at Basil.

Boom!

The power behind Caesar's throw was even crazier than the power the sword contained previously. Still, it wasn't fast enough to catch Basil off guard.

"I thought you were a Spellcaster." Basil motioned to the dent Caesar had created after throwing his sword.

Caesar chuckled. "Ku-ku-ku. Spellcaster, Battle Mage, Mentalist, Summoner—all of them are nothing but the classification those idiots made. Mage is Mage. We are no different to each other!" Then, he charged at Basil.

Boom!

Another clash between a hand and a sword occured. The sheer brute force the two were showing didn't indicate anything about a Mage fight. Both were fighting unsuitable to their status.

"Although it doesn't really matter, I wasn't a Spellcaster, but a Grimoire Craftmaster. I am by no means well-versed in Spell."

Although every Spellcaster had been taught how to make their own Grimoire, most of them preferred using the one created by the more experienced Mage. These Mages, who created Grimoire for others, were called Grimoire Craftmaster.

They were gifted people who wasn't really well-versed in Spell, but had an abnormal ability to create a good Grimoire that could dramatically improve their Spell potency.

Caesar grinned. "Despite that however, I know how to utilize a Spell better than most people." Caesar opened his palm, and it quickly shone in golden light. Facing it at Basil, he uttered, "[Mighty Slap]!"

Soon, Basil felt a crushing force coming at him.

What slightly bewildered him however wasn't the force it contained, but the direction it was heading. It was heading everywhere, he couldn't pinpoint which direction would have the least force.

Still, he was quick to decide. When the attack was close to him, earth rose from the ground, engulfing his entire existence, before dragging him underground. In result, Caesar's attack hit the only wall behind him, that had no cells in it.

BOOM!

Caesar hummed to himself. "Hmm... That was a great decision, considering he could execute that in just two seconds." Caesar nodded his head in appreciation. "As expected of Young Master!"

Basil emerged from the ground, and got to the surface once again. Looking behind him, at the wall Caesar's attack had just struck, he nodded his head in appreciation.

Despite how ridiculous its name was, it perfectly described what the Spell did to whatever it hit; there was a gigantic fingerprint carved on it.