Chapter 398 Creating An Internal Magic Circle

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Once I finished taking a bath, I quickly decided to sit down over bed. I looked at the black crystal I got from the Hollow, merely named Hollow Core, and then sighed. I gotta get ready to go the countryside with Elena and Mark, and everyone else we ended inviting with us, but I can't help but feel curious about what the Great Spirit is scheming.

"That Hollow Stone can't be used easily, its corrupted, if you try to absorb it you'll get poisoned, you're especially frail against poisons and curses due to your attributes being Nature and Life." The Great Spirit explained.

"So?" I wondered.

"We're using the very branches and leaves you left behind!" She said, quickly emerging in front me in her carrot-shaped form, she really spooked me there.

"Uwah! Hey don't do that out of nowhere… Agh." I sighed. "Anyways, you're saying this… will help me be stronger? As long as I don't get attacked anymore by those things… Sure, let's get to it."

"Alright! I like that spirit of yours, Elayne." She patted my head. "Anyways, pick up these branches and do as I say."

Like that, I ended forming a whole magic circle over my bed, all thanks to her because I had no idea about magic circle formation. She said things about how the System facilitated everything, and that in ancient times people utilized runes and magic circles to bring out magic, not just Skills.

The magic circle can only be made out of magic materials, but we lacked them, so instead of that, I used my own blood, which comes out as sweet honey-like sap from my fingers whenever I will it, and branches and leaves I had left behind.

"Hmm! This should be more than enough, now just sit in there." She said, as I quickly sat down, sighing nervously.

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"H-How exactly does this works?" I asked.

"Every magician gotta have a magic circle inside of their hearts, it is the way they can grow stronger and develop newer and stronger magics." She said. "To engrave it, we'll use this Engraving Magic Circle. You see those runes around? They'll connect to your arteries and easily reach your heart."

"Ooh! Seems complicated, but at the same time rather easy?" I asked in surprise.

"Yep! Though…" She said, looking back at me. "There's another easier method!"

"Easier? Which one?!" I asked.

"Well, opening up your chest and then just engraving the circle directly into your beating heart, kekekeke…" She began to laugh, her eyes glowing redder.

"W-What?! I don't want that method!" I complained.

"Well what a pity, we'll have to go for the harder one then… But the magic circle's already done, so let's begin without further delay." The Great Spirit quickly moved outside the magic circle. She seemed to have taken a slightly physical manifestation of her body, which had drained a bit of my Mana in the process, but not everything.

Like this, I can have her as my assistant of sorts… and she can also physically interact with things around her to an extent. Naturally, she has her own Mana Pool, although it is limited, but she said she was going to use it for this.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Yes? Is it going to hurt?" I asked, perhaps too late now.

"Only a bit dear. Don't you worry~!" She said while giving me a wink.

"T-That's not really reassuring-"

"[Magic Circle Engraving]!"

FLAAAAAASH!

Without even being able to get a better explanation, she activated the Magic Circle. I saw the entire formation light up as runes emerged of all shapes and sizes, flowing across the floor and then reaching my own body, moving across my skin and then entering the interior of my body.

And that's… where I felt it. An excruciating pain! It felt like I was having needles piercing below my skin, and each time the runes went through my arteries, the amount of needles multiplied.

"Aagh! Ouch…! I-It hurts…!"

"Stay still!"

"…Okay!"

When the runes finally reached my chest, it felt like I was being shot in the chest by bullets! Like someone was holding a gun and shooting at my chest! And the worst part was the pain in my heart! Each rune reached my heart agonizingly. I was gritting my teeth as I resisted my body's impulse to break apart into pieces due to the agonizing pain.

"Unnnggh! AAAGH!"

"Almost there! Wait a bit more… There!"

The Great Spirit flew towards my heart, suddenly infusing her Spiritual Essence and engraving the magic circle directly into my beating heart by utilizing each rune as a part of it. It only lasted a few seconds, but I almost passed out due to the pain…

"Uuunngggh…!"

FLAAAAASH!

Another flash of green and golden light emerged, this time, the last one.

BAAM!

I dropped half-dead over the floor, gasping for air, yet somehow, my fatigue was slowly recovering, as I felt something slowly rotating around the interior of my body.

"T-This is…?!"

Suddenly, my vision changed, as I found myself floating inside a black space. I looked everywhere I could, but I only found darkness… And then, I saw it. A majestic magic circle. It floated right in front of me.

"I've made a special one." The Great Spirit said. "Heheh, I am proud of this one for once in my lifetime!" She said pridefully. "It has over a hundred runes, each one connecting to a different Spirit, Nature, Life, and Earth Spells Runes. With this you've got the basics covered up."

"Wait, spells?!" I asked.

"Of course. Spells can be used more easily and with lesser Mana if you engrave them into your Mana Circle! Also, every single Spiritual Rune counts as a hundred Runes of every element. The more runes you have, the stronger your magic becomes." She said pridefully.

"E-Eh? Wait this means…?!" I asked in surprise.

"Yep, your strength should be comparable to a Tier 3 Magician even though you're Tier 1. I am amazing, aren't I? Just tell me I am amazing! Ohohohoho!"

Woah… I don't really know what that means, but I guess it's great.

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