Chapter 22: A Tainted Return
Ever since Nathan had picked up his magical senses, the transit roads of old Gemore had confused him. They just didn't seem to follow the rules for normal mana-based magic. When he'd learned about wizardry he'd wondered if it could explain the spatial nonsense that went on with the roads. Now, he’d asked his friends if he could stop and examine the roads so he could satisfy his curiosity. He stood in a clear area just to the side of the enchanted road with his senses focused on the grandiose enchantment buried underneath the cobbles.
The roads were suffused with just as much wizardry as the Ascendent Academy had been. However, there were more differences than similarities between the two ancient wonders. The transit roads of Gemore weren’t aware in any way, and didn’t seem to have any kind of monitoring component. It was just a stationary enchantment, albeit a very advanced one on an enormous scale.
He delved deeper into the feeling of the wizardry, noting how it was different than what he’d encountered before from Badud and the Academy. It felt less tangible, less focused on matter and more focused on the fabric of space.
Dimensional-flavored wizardry? It’s not a different type the way there are different mana types, but it feels like the entire spell is in a slightly different wavelength that is more in tune with spatial effects.
Wizard’s Detection 8 achieved!
The other Heirs lounged around the courtyard. They were keeping a wary eye on the ruined buildings of Old Gemore. The monsters that prowled these ruins weren’t much of a threat to them anymore, but even a stalker could claw your face off if it caught you by surprise. They left Nathan alone. He had enough of a track record of staring at weird magical things for them to trust him that far. But he had promised not to break it first.
I probably could break it. Isn’t that a scary thought. I bet it would be enough to rank-up Arcane Nullfield. Definitely not going to do it. Gemore depends on these roads, and I think this enchantment spans the Tokyo-size ruins of Old Gemore.
He delved deeper into the network of wizardry underneath him, noticing how it stretched out to both sides of the road. The magic seemed to be stretching the structure of space and holding it in place. The effect was most notable on the road, where reality was scrunched up and compressed down to facilitate the fast-travel effect. But the web stretched out across the city, subtly stretching reality in all directions.
This wizardry is also creating more space inside the walls, though it's not a significant effect except compounded across the city. I wonder if anybody’s ever noticed. It seems like a lot of effort for a relatively small effect. I wonder if there’s another reason they did it.