Sword Saint's Reincarnation
Book 2 Chapter 27: Third Circle (2)

An hour passed. During that time, Rylan focused solely on listening to Gerard’s explanation with a serious expression. They started with simple theory. By the end of his father’s explanation, Rylan came to a single conclusion.

In concept, it’s not that different from creating my Second Circle.

Sitting on the floor and rubbing his chin, Rylan closed his eyes to think about what he’d just heard.

The main difference lay in the sense of scale; the Third Circle was greater than the previous two combined. Its creation would require careful control and a great amount of mana, but those were things Rylan was confident in. The problem was the second important difference: the Third Circle represented an important step up in power and was several times more intricate than the Second Circle, which would also relate to his control.

But my Circles are different.

None of the books in the study or in the library would be able to provide him with an explanation about what exactly he should do.

“What are you thinking?” Gerard asked, dragging Rylan out of his thoughts and making him open his eyes.

Rylan looked at his father, who was standing up while scanning the bookshelf in front of him, as if looking for a specific book. The man stopped and reached out to grab a tome with a plain blue cover.

“That this knowledge’s usefulness is going to be a bit limited, and will probably decrease the further we go,” Rylan replied.

Gerard readily nodded and opened the book he had grabbed.

“Yeah, but we both saw that coming. Besides, I don’t really agree. Your Mana Cultivation is a mix of the knowledge from both of your lives. You know a lot about Aura and Aura Hearts, but not enough about Circles.”

Rylan nodded after a second. It was true, and the whole reason why they were doing this. His knowledge about mana was not nearly deep enough to compete with Roland’s memories. To create a path of his own, he needed to understand it completely.

Gerard approached him and put the open book forward. Rylan looked at the page. At the top were the words ‘Circles Theory: the Third Circle’s Importance.’

He grabbed the book without a word and started reading it, making sure not to miss a single detail. Despite this, his reading speed was incredibly fast, supported by his Intelligence stat. At the same time, Gerard spoke.

“The Third Circle is the gateway to real magic. It tries to make up for the flaws of the previous two and enables the acquisition of good spells and Skills. You’re probably already aware of this, but it also deepens one’s resonance with mana itself. Long story short, you need training and to actually know what you’re doing before succeeding.”

Rylan continued to read, passing the pages. His father didn’t stop speaking.

“Ordinarily, the Circles are mystical constructs created out of mana that allow you to have greater affinity with mana itself. As I just said, this impacts the Skills you can get and the spells you can learn. In summary, the Circles are a method created long ago that focuses solely on allowing you to bring your mind and soul closer to the realm of absolute knowledge from which all magic is born.”

Rylan stopped and raised his head to look at Gerard. Intrigue danced in his eyes.

“…How curious,” he replied.

Gerard raised an eyebrow.

“What is?”

“In my past life, Aura was a way to bring our bodies and existence as living beings closer to the divine. Each creature’s Aura had unique abilities exclusive to them, even if they were somewhat similar to other people’s. This only became obvious at higher Levels, but it’s how it worked.”

Gerard blinked, then furrowed his brow.

“You’re saying they aren’t that different.”

Rylan looked back down at the book and kept reading on.

“Of course. My Mana Core’s existence is proof of this. I wonder what will happen when I awaken Aura.”

How would his Aura interact with his mana? All his adapted Circles did was simulate an Aura Heart using mana. It was entirely different from actually having the two types of mystical energy in his system at the same time. At best, they would allow him to reach unprecedented heights. At worst…

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…I’ll die a gruesome death. Maybe I’ll explode or something.

In between the two extremes was the possibility that Aura and mana would actually hinder each other and force him to choose only one to keep developing. At that point, he would have to choose between ‘Roland’ and ‘Rylan.’ As his thoughts reached this point, Rylan stopped reading the book and narrowed his eyes.

No. I refuse.

If there wasn’t a way, he would create one. If Aura and mana couldn’t coexist, he would find a way to get them to. Nothing was impossible with the System. His past life had been enough to proudly prove this statement. Even if it meant that his path would be much longer than others’, he would still keep going. It was the path that he had chosen to pursue, taking into account both his lives.

With a deep breath, Rylan read on. Gerard continued to explain the intricacies of the creation of the Third Circle, elaborating on the book Rylan was reading. The more he listened, the more Rylan drew a clear picture in his head. The Circles were, in a sense, not exactly the foundation of a tower, as he previously thought them to be. Instead, they were like a lake that continued to grow deeper and larger with every new Circle. It was a free power system that allowed for a variety of spells while keeping its boundaries. Every new Circle expanded the lake greatly, until it turned into a sea or even an ocean.

At the same time, the scenery around the lake was important. There was no point in only increasing the lake’s size with the hopes of turning it into a sea if the land around it was dead and useless.

Without the physical stats, the Circles’ effectiveness in battle is limited.

Rylan flipped another page as Gerard continued to speak.

“Another thing is that the Third Circle is the first Circle that allows you to be aware of your soul.”

Rylan blinked and hurriedly raised his head, baffled.

“…The soul? Already?”

Gerard nodded with a serious expression.

“The Mana Core is the foundation of the Circles, which translate into magic. However, the mind and soul are actually the true cornerstones of magic itself. This only becomes more obvious at higher Circles, but you’ll see what I mean once you reach the Third Circle.”

Rylan slowly nodded and lowered his gaze again. Some time later, he finished the book and put it on the desk, then looked at Gerard. The book had discussed not only what Gerard had said, but also why the Third Circle was so relevant. It was the middle point between ‘low-level’ magic and ‘true magic.’ It held everything together and prepared one’s spirit for the creation of the higher Circles, even though the Circles themselves acted as independent constructs. In the end, he reached a single conclusion.

I’ve been looking at things too simply.

Because he had only reached the Second Circle, he had assumed that Circles weren’t really related to each other much. Gerard had also not explained it to him, likely because of the unique nature of his Circles. In hindsight, it was only natural to presume that the System wouldn’t allow the lake to continue expanding aimlessly. This analogy was still limited by his lack of knowledge. It was likely that the further on his journey through magic he went, the more elaborate the Circles system would become. Even if this didn’t entirely apply to him, it would help him understand his enemies and other Mages.

“We need to do it right,” Rylan said in a low tone. “Let’s see how much I can actually merge what I know from both lives.”

Gerard nodded with a small sigh.

“…Don’t injure yourself or even end up crippled just because of that. If you think it’s not gonna work, default back to the standard Circles.”

Rylan smiled at him.

“I’ll be fine. I just need to try my best.”

Gerard furrowed his brow.

“Confidence alone won’t take you anywhere.”

“That’s why we’re preparing thoroughly.”

Gerard looked at Rylan’s smiling visage for a few seconds and sighed again.

“…Still, we’ve got some time. I believe in you, but if we get something wrong, there’s no one who will be able to help you. Or, at least, not without discovering your secret.”

Rylan looked at the window, beholding the bright sun and part of the estate’s garden.

“Fifteen days. I’ll do it in less than fifteen days.”

It was about how much time he had before needing to return to the Academy, taking into account the travel time. Alice and the others wouldn’t pressure him into going back, but there was no need to give rise to more suspicion. It was a tall order, since he’d have to both study the conventional Circles theory and adapt it to his current mana core and ‘maelstrom,’ but he believed that he would achieve it nonetheless.

Gerard rubbed his chin, pondering.

“It might be possible if we focus on that almost exclusively over the fifteen days. No time to waste. Let’s keep going.”

Rylan nodded and sat down on the floor before scratching the back of his head.

“Oh, I’ll also train with the soldiers. It’s been a while.”

Gerard immediately frowned.

“You want to train with the soldiers, take Aelfric into the Woodlands for Leveling, and work on your Third Circle at the same time?”

Rylan shrugged, making his father scoff.

“Let me take a look at your Circles and Mana Core,” Gerard continued after a second as he went around the desk. Once Rylan nodded, he crouched behind him and touched his back.

Rylan closed his eyes and focused on his father’s mana, which was entering his body. Carefully, he guided the fiery red mana closer to his Mana Core. Once it was close enough, he turned his attention to the maelstrom with his Core at its heart. The two whirlpools of mana continued to rotate. Their outline wasn’t clear, nor did they seem like two separate Circles at all. Instead, one supported the other to create a whole. Gerard’s fiery mana approached the maelstrom. Once it touched it, however, the whirlpool pulled it in and dragged it into its current. Gerard slowly removed his hand, making Rylan open his eyes.

“…I have no idea what that is anymore,” his father said slowly as he stood up. He sighed. “The increase in your stats was effective in empowering your mana flow, but…”

Rylan also stood up, never losing his balance for even a fraction of a second.

“Either way, this talk wasn’t pointless,” he replied. “Knowledge is never wasted.”

They continued to talk as time ticked by. The sun slowly dipped in the sky and started to disappear below the horizon. Gerard’s desk was now covered with various books that he had chosen to use for assistance, but Rylan only felt even more energetic than before. Learning about a different power system was incredibly satisfying, even if his Circles no longer fit its rules.

In such a fashion, the days slowly started to pass.