Aozaki Aoko Case File - [19]

“Ahh! So cold!”

The next morning, Aoko woke up in her room, shivering as she hugged her shoulders. She struggled to get out of bed, rubbing her hands together to warm them, before remembering—she was a magician!

Aoko quickly circulated her magic through the ninety-nine circuits in her body, and the chill instantly disappeared.

The Kuonji residence had everything—tasteful décor, charm—but some of its facilities were a bit old-fashioned, particularly the heating, which was limited to various fireplaces. She couldn’t exactly leave one burning while she slept, could she?

Overall, Aoko Aozaki was someone who thoroughly appreciated modern conveniences. She and her sister Touko’s house was equipped with the latest technologies: underfloor heating, central air conditioning, and fully automatic water heaters—all installed to ensure comfort. Aoko had spent quite a bit of money on these upgrades, as the locals weren’t particularly keen on adopting new things.

It was only after coming to Alice’s house that Aoko truly understood what an old-school witch lifestyle looked like.

No TV, no electric heaters, not even hot water on demand.

If it weren’t for Alice’s Ploys handling much of the housework, it would feel like living in a modern-day version of the early 20th century.

Of course, people from that century probably didn’t live as comfortably as Alice did, since they didn’t have her Ploys and had to rely entirely on the hard work of servants to enjoy a similar standard of living.

Aoko did a quick wash at the sink and tidied herself up, glancing at the girl in the mirror.

Her face was bare, without a trace of makeup, yet her youthful, smooth skin and fresh complexion outshone those who took meticulous care of their appearance. Some people are just born beautiful, huh? Aoko thought to herself smugly.

After finishing her morning routine, Aoko sat at her desk, took out her spellbook, and began her morning meditation.

After battling the Primate Murder and successfully evading its pursuit (read: she managed to escape), Aoko gained a massive amount of experience. This was somewhat akin to experience points in a video game but not quite the same.

At first, she thought it would be simple—like in an RPG, where you could just kill some chickens, rack up experience points, and become a “Swordmaster of the Ten-Mile Slope.” But after trying it out, she realized that to level up as a mage, she had to engage in regular meditation and study or fight enemies nearly as powerful as herself to make any progress.

Moreover, there was no clear indication of progress at the start. Aoko had just been diligently studying her spells when, one day, a sudden flash of insight hit her—and she leveled up.

Over the past two years, Aoko had been pondering how she could quantify her progress using magic or spells, creating something akin to a character status screen.

However, this research hadn’t been going too well. Only recently had she gained some vague ideas, though she still needed more study and research to turn those ideas into reality.

Currently, she was at the level of a 9th-level mage, having gained her first 5th-circle spell slot. Her main focus now was to find suitable 5th-circle spells to prepare for Touko’s impending return.

Having finished her morning spell preparations, Aoko closed her eyes, her mind sinking deep within her body—or rather, deep into the Woven Fragment within her soul.

The Arcane was the combined magical energy present in all things in the world, and all primal magic was a fundamental part of creation itself. These primal magics each had varying degrees of consciousness. While these conscious magic couldn’t be used directly by mortals, wizards could tap into them by accessing the Woven Fragment from the strings of raw magic.

Aoko understood that the Woven Fragment within her wasn’t simply a fragment chipped off from the larger Woven. When she tapped into this shard, she perceived it as a vast, magnificent ocean—an endless sea of indescribable colors and knowledge that constantly reshaped her understanding of the world.

To draw knowledge from this complex sea of magic, Aoko had to use her consciousness as a net to fish out useful bits of knowledge for her studies.

In the past, she could only search for treasures in the shallows of the Woven fragment, but as her magical knowledge and level increased, she could now delve deeper. And she quickly realized that the deeper regions of this dazzling sea contained not only precious treasures but also unfathomable dangers.

Thus, during every meditation, Aoko was careful to search only for what she needed, steering clear of the tempting magical glows whose true purposes she couldn’t yet understand.

After a thorough search, Aoko found three suitable 5th-circle spells.

She opened her eyes, her consciousness withdrawing from the woven fragment. Still in a state of calm focus, she picked up her pen and began copying the new spells into the blank pages of her spellbook.

While casting spells required concentration, the focus needed for this was different from the flow state she entered during her morning rituals. Aoko could enter the concentration required for spellcasting at any time, as long as she wasn’t too severely distracted. However, achieving the flow state required preparation, which was why she meditated and prepared her spells each morning.

The three new 5th-circle spells she chose were: Nezzeran’s Sapphire Screen from the Abjuration school, Teleportation from the Conjuration school, and Wall of Force from the Evocation school.

Although these spells belonged to different schools, they all served defensive or battlefield control purposes. After mastering the Fifth Magic, Aoko’s offensive abilities in the magical realm had seen a significant boost. So, supplementing her defenses with Arcane spells was a logical next step.

Of course, the Fifth Magic also had unbeatable defensive abilities, but using it came at a high cost, and Aoko didn’t want to constantly attract the nuisance of the Counter Force’s hounds (ahem).

By around 7:00 AM, Aoko had finished copying the new spells. The actual learning and testing process would have to wait for another time.

Aoko stored her spellbook, stretched her arms, and walked out of her room.

She prepared a delicious and healthy breakfast for both herself and Alice (Stark managed to sneak some as well). After eating, they each got ready for school.

As Aoko rode her motorcycle, helmet on, she thought about how to handle the inevitable questions from her teachers and classmates. Then she paused—why should she care about what her classmates thought? If one’s heart was strong enough, one wouldn’t be bothered by the opinions of others. And Aoko Aozaki was the epitome of that. Petty gossip was meaningless to her.

With that realization, Aoko felt a wave of relief wash over her, and the little bit of pressure she had been feeling vanished completely.