Leave a comment

「So this difference here was stopping me from learning it before.」 After two hours of revising the spell details, Mira had found the reason why she had been unable to acquire Sense Sync.

There was one big difference separating summoning from necromancy and onmyoji, namely, units summoned were not made entirely of mana. Sense Sync the way Kagura had described it, applied only to familiars borne entirely of mana.

A shikigami’s being and the transient souls moving golems were both created with mana by the casters. That was not the case for summoners though, except maybe for Armor Spirits. But Mira had already tried many times to use Sense Sync on a Dark Knight to no avail.

That was because of the fundamental nature of summoners. In essence, for cases like Pegasus or the Valkyries, Mira had to build a gate with mana for them to pass through and appear as summons. Armor Spirits a slightly different application of the same fundamentals, making it rather complex in nature, and that was the reason why Sense Sync failed.

Mira had already assumed that was the case before, the important part was something else she noticed.

That was the way how Sense Sync took over the target’s mind. When Kagura used it on Piisuke, she had been able to move however she wanted, so it also had a form of mind control built in.

The golems of necromancers were controlled fully manually by the caster, or sometimes given specific directions. The behavior of Shikigamis was carefully crafted during their creation as well, so they would act the way the caster intended. Meanwhile for summons, Armor Spirits included, would take all decisions and actions on their own.

In other words, summoners had no input on the personality and behavior of summons. Sense Sync’s requirement of the target having to be made of mana also included being able to directly influence the behavior of the target.

「Alright, that’s one hurdle crossed.」

Now that Mira had gathered all the information she needed, it was only a matter of time before she could attune Sense Sync to be used by summoners. Armed with the research notes, Kagura’s information, and her own findings, she began to attempt to discern the correct way for a summoner to learn Sense Sync.

The ways of learning how to use a Skill were split into three major types.

The first type required a lot of repetition to get accustomed to the Skill and master it. Most of the abilities in the warrior class were like that, where further practice would enhance the effect of said Skills as well. One of Mira’s favorites, Ground Shrink, fell in that category.

The second type was akin to a mental version of the first one. As long as someone understood a Skill, could picture it in their mind, and firmly believed in it, they would acquire them. Many spellcaster Skills were like that. Mana Sensing and Sorcerer’s Watchful Eye were of that type.

The third way required the carving of a special mark, either on one’s body or with mana itself. Such spells usually had unique effects, though they would seldom become more powerful with further mastery. Then again, most of them were incredibly strong from the get go, and served as trump cards. Some Mira knew included the Binding Arcana Circle, Rosario Summoning Circle, Evacuation Guidance, and various others.

「Hmm… This is starting to become quite complex.」

Another hour passed, and Mira felt like she was finally getting closer to finding a way to adapt the spell for summoners to use, but she also felt the need to mutter that.

Mira had been working on deconstructing the spell as she understood it to mold it into something usable by summoners. Doing that was no easy task and was only possible thanks to Kagura’s description, which had been incredibly detailed.

Information alone usually only allowed for a small amount of tinkering with a spell, but the fact that Mira was getting progress went to show Mira’s intelligence when it came to spells.

Eventually Mira was done reconstructing Sense Sync’s effects, as a spell that applied only to units bound by a contract, and let her mind take control over them.

「Alright, let’s hope this works then.」

This version of Sense Sync was the type of spell that required practicing it mentally. Mira went over all the particulars of it, then closed her eyes and focused on learning it. Slowly her focus sank into the confines of her mind.

Her inner world was filled with different types of information. There she searched for the contracts she had made, reeling them in even if they had no proper form or shape.

After a bit, she got a positive reaction and knew she was focusing on the correct place.

Some more time passed, and even though her eyes remained closed, her vision gradually became cleared. She was seeing a vast expanse of grasslands reaching far into the horizon, with a river running through it.

(Good, good! It’s working perfectly!)

That view was slightly different from that of the wagon’s window, being slightly higher. It was Garuda’s, who was flying high in the air. Mira was filled with joy having successfully used Sense Sync on Garuda, but soon she noticed something was not quite right.

(I can’t hear anything.)

While Mira had reconstructed the spell in a way she could use it, she had not modified anything about its actual effects, meaning that if it was successful she was supposed to get sound as well. But currently she was in complete silence, not even a gentle breeze being audible. While Garuda was able to manipulate the wind, it could not make it completely silent.

So there was only one possible explanation.

(I’ll just have to keep practicing…)

For a moment Mira thought she had succeeded with her first try, but it seemed like she was not fully in tune with the summon yet. Deciding she just had to get more used to Sense Sync for it to work better, she kept the spell going and admired the scenery from Garuda’s eyes.

「Ohh, I can see it already.」

Usually it took hundreds of times casting a spell before one became accustomed to using it. Two hours had passed since Mira managed to activate Sense Sync, the sky was starting to grow darker together with the setting sun, and their next destination of Haxthausen became visible in the distance through Garuda’s eyes.

「I guess that’s it for today then.」

Mira finally ended Sense Sync, then after a deep breath, she began drinking Yogurt au Lait. That refreshing slightly sour taste was her way of concluding her training for the day.

Mira was feeling good about her progress. She had been training that entire time. The first time she used the spell, it had taken twenty seconds for her vision to switch to Garuda’s, now it only took around ten. That was rather impressive for just two hours of training, so Mira was happy with that.

But even with that progress, Sense Sync would only grant her vision and no other senses, so she would have to keep practicing.

Something else she had checked was the range of Sense Sync. Doing that was rather simple, as she summoned Popotwise who looked like a small owl, and let her fly out of the window.

Then she checked how far Popotwise could go and have Sense Sync still work. That way Mira discovered it had a range of around five hundred meters, anything more and the spell would be forcefully undone.

(Kagura sent Piisuke all the way to Sentopolly from the Fifty Bells’ headquarters though… I guess I can’t compete with someone experienced yet.)

Currently Mira’s limit was around five hundred meters, while Kagura had used Sense Sync across more than a thousand kilometers.

Mira did not know how much practice Kagura had, but this type of spell was not learned as much by muscle memory, but it required a bit of a special talent to really get the hang of it.

(Oh well, I just learned it and can already do this, so it’s good enough.)

Mira also had already thought of a way to train better, so it was just a matter of practicing for long enough.

It was hard to overcome a skill gap built over many years, but that did not stop Mira from smiling. In a way, Kagura also served as an example of what Mira would eventually get to accomplish as well.

(Aerial surveyance, remote searches… My dreams are coming true!)

Sense Sync was a valuable tool when gathering information, the possibilities of which were dazzling Mira.

Excited about those prospects, Mira ended up using Sense Sync on Garuda one last time. After around ten seconds a connection was made and Mira’s view shifted. Haxthausen was looking even closer now.

「Though now that I think about it, it’s rather strange.」

Dispeling Sense Sync, Mira muttered that as she recalled something. She was thinking back to something from long ago.

She had thought up a spell, put it to practice, and worked just how she expected. It was almost like her imagination could be materialized in this world, truly cementing its fantastical nature, the type of place where dreams could come true.

But maybe because it had been so long since she focused so hard on something and earnestly trained, it brought back memories of how she trained in the past.

That was back when everything was still a game. Back then she could train, gain exactly the results she expected, and feel how she grew stronger the more she trained.

Thinking back to that, she noticed something else. The game really used some incredible technology, not needing complicated menus or spoken words to activate Skills, and simply thinking of them was enough.

(Back when it came out, using thoughts as an input method was seen as a completely different branch of technology after all.)