Alright, this needed some thought. First of all, it seems I was right about teaching my creatures spells. Theoretically I could make a couple creatures and teach them Excavate, and they could carve out more floor space. I'm not really sure about the strain thing, but it seems like I'll be able to improve my ability to cast spells and reduce it. I clicked the Modify button, but it just gave me options to remove spells from the list or sort them by cost or 'Type'. I backed out and clicked the Study button.
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The interface contains detailed information on every spell in the Database, as well as representations of your capability to wield them. By studying the relevant data, you can train yourself to better use a particular spell and all magic in general. Excavate; 1 meter mid density material at High Strain. | Spell Data | Personal Data | Back | |
I clicked Spell Data. There wasn't a response at first, but when I thought of the Excavate spell the menu shifted. There was a long list of titles... Essays and books perhaps. Things like 'On Earth Mana' and 'Basic Spellforms'. Unlike the other times lists appeared on the Interface, this one seemed to be sorted sequentially, with easier topics being first. So, a library of relevant information. I suppose you can't just click a button and suddenly know everything there is to know. Except that seems to be how you learn the spells in the first place. Why can't I just learn the perfected version?
I backed out and checked the Personal Data tab. The screen was immediately overwhelmed by diagrams and information. It was... like the Evolution menu. Probably the same information actually, but perhaps described in a way that was relevant to the spell I was studying. I'd looked through the Evolution menu while using the Puppet rather than my real body, so I didn't understand any of what I was looking at yet. I wondered for a moment if it was worth it to go look into the Evolution menu first or to take a more active approach... But I really wanted to use magic.
So, I changed the spell I was thinking of to Gentle Clean, and then I pressed the Cast button. The target was my bed, but I was more focused on the Interface than the actual result of the casting. I watched as the diagram shifted and flowed, before I felt a light mist build up around me and then disappear. I checked my CP and found it unchanged. But it's not like I could suddenly cast the spell without the Interface, so I wasn't sure if this method was effective. I studied the lines that had changed in the diagram, and tried to think of them as being related to me somehow. Like when I was studying the Spirit of the doll before. Once I had a vague idea of what might be related I cast the spell again.
This time, I split my attention between the Interface, the spell, and my own body. I tried to 'feel' the movements of the spell, using the diagram as a visual aid. Nothing. Or well, maybe I felt a slight chill, but that may have been unrelated? I tried again, and again. Just as I was starting to think I might need to change things up, I felt a slight lethargy. After all, if I'm not spending CP, then I must be spending something. I didn't spend CP, did I? I checked again, finding it unchanged. Satisfied, I cast the spell again and focused on that feeling. Not quite the weakness of exhausted muscles or the burning of physical exercise. It was like the world was becoming duller. I could almost feel it, spreading through my body at the same rate as the flow in the diagrams.
As I cast the spell, I started to get a better understanding of the diagram's meaning. Most likely, this was a representation of my 'Heart' or 'Soul'. It didn't match up with my admittedly limited understanding of the other stats I'd looked through before. The majority of my 'mana' was concentrated near my core, and flowed out through and outside of my body. Not through veins. It was more like a sun, constantly emitting energy in every direction, but then that energy would be drawn back in like a tide. Whenever I cast the spell, a burst of mana would flow out, be consumed, and then the remainder would flow back in toward my core.
I blinked slowly. For the last few moments, I'd kinda just been tapping the button and watching the flow of mana mindlessly. I stopped casting the spell, but I couldn't work up the motivation to do anything except stare at the screen. It was a somewhat familiar feeling, this lack of energy, but much stronger than usual. I lay back in bed and just relaxed. I tried to understand what I'd learned, but my mind wouldn't stick to the topic, slowly drifting off to think about other things. I wanted to just go to sleep then and there, but there was one thing I wanted to try first.
I could still see the diagram of my mana. I watched it flow out in strange, shifting patterns. And I imagined it flowing in the same pattern as through the Gentle Clean spell. Out. And in. Out, and in. Until finally, a fine mist appeared around me and flowed outward. The mist lasted something like three seconds, significantly longer than any other casting of the spell. I wanted to be excited. I could feel the flush of my success. But everything was so dull... My eyes fluttered closed, and then...
