-Caelum-

  It seemed that Mistress Eunice was right about the rain expectancy. We were met with falling raindrops as soon as we stepped back into the training field, so Vash took the initiative and brought me to a large open library that looked like an ancient, abandoned archive housing sources of deep knowledge.

  It had a large and wide staircase in the middle, with two separate, smaller staircases leading up to adjacent balconies, where even more bookshelves were situated. The left side of the entire place was noticeably more illuminated than the right side; the sun’s rays gently piercing through the arched windows.

  Vash took his stance in front of the staircase, his hands placed on his hips as he started the second part of the lecture.

  “Alright, Caelum, let us start with summarizing what we talked about earlier.”

  “Sure,” I nodded. “Grimoires, also known as the manifestation of your soul, allows us to perceive organisms that exist on a higher frequency. The Gaizer’s Productivity Spectrum explains this problem by theorizing the relationship between us, Humans, and the Earthen Beings.

  However, upon any sort of interaction one may have with such a Being, it is able to adapt to the normal human frequency, and still cause intervention even after one dismisses their Grimoire.”

  “Perfect!” he smiled, causing me to softly sigh through my nose in relief. It was quite the information I had to consume, so, just like Vash had told Vaelen earlier, I did seem to be a lot more… “adaptive” when I actually set my eyes on something.

  Nevertheless, he continued.

  “Now, let us move on to the next part…”

  He then spread his right palm out in the air and fluttered his fingers. He then pressed his thumb against the side of his pointer-finger, as four different black cards suddenly appeared in between the gap.

  “Close your eyes. I’ll be shuffling these cards around. I want you to pick one of the cards from my hands when I tell you to.”

  With a short sigh, I closed my eyes and could hear the whispering shuffling sounds of the cards gliding against each other. After several moments, I followed his command and picked one of the four black cards. I afterwards slowly opened my eyes and beheld the enigmatic-looking card in my right hand.

  It appeared to be a Tarot card that comprised an illustration of an encircled crimson-red dragon in a grey sky that was consuming its own tail, very akin to Ouroboros, but instead of a snake, it was a great-winged dragon.

  “In spite of how simple your action was, what you did was something called ‘Advertent Physical Soul Projection’,” Vash began. “In simple words, it means that your body acted through the provocation of your soul. Your soul reacted to an instigator, that being the card you’re currently holding.”

  I gently brushed my thumb over the card’s smooth facade and slowly nodded.

  “It looks… interesting.”

  “These are ungraded relics,” he responded, as the other cards vanished from his hand. “Mystical Tarot cards that represent the four Holy Spirits of the Sixth Angel. The one you are holding right now is the Holy Spirit of Smuldra; the Hex representing the following forms of conjurations:

  Enhancement, and Conjuration. Now, you’ve heard me say the word ‘conjuration’ three times now. This is important for you to remember because many people tend to confuse these terms.”

  Hm… so, he’s saying that the term ‘conjuration’ has different meanings?

  “Conjuration by itself, within the context of Hexery, describes both the conjuration of your Grimoire, as well as the ideology of ‘Hexery’ itself. For example; the ‘idea’ of casting spells and magic under the influence of your Grimoire, is referred to as Conjuration. This explains the ideology of Hexery. If you’re looking at the conjuration of your Grimoire, it explains the ‘action’ of casting spells and magic by using your Grimoire.

  However, the official term applied to the ‘idea’ and ‘action’ of your Grimoire is Rahma for the idea, and Dahma for the action of casting magic with your Grimore. In other words, Rahma = the ‘idea’, and Dahma = the ‘action’. ”

  “Ah, I see,” I muttered, crossing my arms. “You say that there are two terms that use the same word. One, conjuration describes the action of using your Seer abilities by using your Grimoire, while the same word also describes the idea of casting magic and spells with your Grimoire. But to simplify, or, better said, to make things more understandable, Rahma essentially describes the source of one’s conjuration, while Dahma describes the action of one’s conjuration.”

  “Excellent!” he exclaimed. “I’ve already noted the Smuldra characteristics; Enhancement and Conjuration. Since you now know that you, as a Smuldra user, are able to summon magical elements, what do you think Enhancement stands for?”

  I took a few moments before answering.

  It seemed quite obvious that ‘Enhancement’ equalled to being able to enhance your body or the sort, but, due to his tone, for some reason I thought that the seemingly easiest, most notable answer wouldn’t be the actual right answer. Yet, I was at a loss and decided to go with it anyway.

  “I will assume that it allows me to enhance my body? For example, my muscles would grow stronger under the Enhancement influence?”

  “You’re on the right path,” he nodded with a closed smile, as the sun’s rays grew more prevalent, casting a large shadow over the place we were standing in. “It not only allows you to enhance your body, but it also lets you enhance the characteristics of your Grimoire.

  Let’s assume you’re in a battle, and you’re using the arrows of your Grimoire; With training, you are able to enhance the destructive capacity of your arrows.”

  “I see…”

  “But! Before we dive deeper into your Hex, let’s traipse over the other Hexes.”

  He then flashed the black cards into existence once more. He took the middle card out of his palm and threw it out in the air. And as if the card had been tied to invisible strings, it floated in the air, right before us both.

  This was the second Tarot card that comprised an illustration of a middle-aged man in a forest that had the legs of a goat. He held his arms wide in the air as if being embraced in a holy divinity. In his chest, a vertical hole that seemed like a dimensional crack was seen; and from within, two, dark grey hands grasped his chest.

  “This is the Holy Spirit of Jegdruuke,” Vash began, as I squinted my eyes, attempting to discern the inner chest area. “This is the Hex that represents Enhancement, Conjuration, and Metamorphosis. Jegdruuke is often considered the ‘defensive, dexterous’ kind of Hex, mostly because of its Metamorphosis characteristic, which allows users to transmute themselves into defensive organisms or structures.

  Their Conjuration characteristic is basically the same as Metamorphosis, but it allows its users to summon defensive forces and organisms on their own. And finally, their Enhancement characteristic is much like Smuldra’s Enhancement, but is more commonly utilized for protective measures; such as enhancing your body to withstand powerful attacks.”

  He then reached his right palm out in the air and telepathically brought the Jegdruuke card into his palm. He afterwards picked the next card with his left hand, and threw that one out in the air, causing it to float before us.

  The third card represented an eerie image; In a land of complete mist, a fair-skinned, slender lady was seen. She had long, curly black hair, was dressed in a black delicate dress that was engraved with ancient carving, and her eyes were covered with a black blindfold.

  Her left hand was carrying the head of a youthful blonde-haired man, grasping it elegantly by the silken strands of his hair. Her right hand cradled the head of a young, beautiful blonde-haired woman, which was also held up by the strands of her hair.

  “This is the Holy Spirit of Eden,” Vash began. “This Hex represents the following: Exodus, and Manipulation. An Exodus characteristic means that they can ‘emit’ their soul pressure to enhance other organisms, as well as any form of matter. In other words, it allows them to heal others based on their soul pressure.

  Manipulation means that they can use their Exodus characteristic to have some form of control over their designated target that has been indulged in their soul pressure.”

  He then turned towards me with a smile.

  “Are you following it so far?”

  “…Kind of, yes.”

  “Then summarize the previous two Holy Spirits for me.”

  I cleared my throat nervously.

  “…Alright! So, starting from the jegduk?”

  “Jegdruuke,” he chuckled. “You say the ‘uu’ as a ‘huu’.”

  Stolen story; please report.

  “Alright… So, the Jegdruuke Hex represents Enhancement, which lets you enhance your own body for defensive measures, Conjuration, which allows you to summon defensive characteristics, and Metamorphosis; which allows for one to morph into defensive structures or creatures.

  Following that, we have the Hex of Eden. This one represents healing abilities: Exodus, which lets you emit your soul pressure to influence your targets, and Manipulation, which is a follow-up from Exodus, allowing you to manipulate your targets with the amount of soul pressure of yours that is in them.”

  “Splendid!” he said joyously. “Finally, we have the Holy Spirit of Medunta.”

  He proceeded to throw the final card in the air after the Eden card was put back in his palm. This Tarot card showed a clothless, genderless, human-like entity suspended in the air, curled up in a fetal position. Its face was featureless, and its complexion was as pale as snow.

  “This Hex encompasses the Unique forms of Conjuration. The term ‘Unique’ is used for various of terms in Hexery, but we will only need two right now. Let’s start with the ability to develop a so-called ‘Artifact’. This is a term that describes one’s ability to master the characteristics of other Hexes, as well as one’s naturally-born ability to contain characteristics of other Hexes. In other words, people of the Medunta Hex are either born with Artifact characteristics or are able to cultivate Artifact characteristics.”

  “…Interesting.”

  “The Unique Conjuration only has one single categorization, that being the ‘Artifact’ characteristic. As said before, it is basically a fancy way of showcasing one’s ability to master other characteristics.”

  The last card was brought back into his palm, and the card I was holding suddenly released itself from my grasp, and floated in the air, back to the place where it once was.

  “Let’s dive deeper into your Hex; the Holy Spirit of Smuldra.”

  “The Smuldra is the most common type of Hex and is also the most straightforward one to understand. The reason being the perspicuity of their conjurations, as well as the Tarot cards of the Infinite Arcana that are compatible with the Smuldra being reasonably easy to follow. For context…

  …The Infinite Arcana are, just like ‘Conjuration’, a term used to describe potion, nourishment, atmosphere, and relic cards. As for the relics; every one that exists has a card that describes it.

  However, even though this is the most simple kind of Hex, it does not mean that it’s the most barren. The thing is, within the circle of Hex, the one encompassing the four Holy Spirits, the term ‘Conjuration’ is used again to describe another circle within the circle of Hex.”

  “Wait, so, you’re saying that there are more Holy Spirit?”

  “No,” he shook his head. “The four Holy Spirits represent all forms of conjuration. However, the second circle, named ‘The Circle of Conjuration’, describes the form of one’s Grimoire. Before I further explain this, however, let me set the three terms we used so far clear:

  The first term of Conjuration describes the ‘idea’ of Hexery. The second term of Conjuration describes the ‘action’ of Hexery, and, lastly, the third term of Conjuration describes the ‘forms’ of Hexery. What most people do, is refer to… let’s say the second term as ‘the Second Conjuration of …’

  Is that understandable?”

  “Mhm, it is.”

  “You can always tell me if I need to slow down, alright?”

  As I nodded in concurrence, he began walking in circles, raising his voice which caused it to echo even harder throughout the large library.

  “Alright! So, the third Conjuration, the one describing the forms of Hexery, sheds light on your type of Grimoire. Your Grimoire is a bow, which means that it is a ranged Grimoire. Therefore, your ranged Grimoire holds different kinds of characteristics than a closed-range Grimoire. However, despite this, every Smuldra Grimoire is dependent on its root.

  In other words, whilst the characteristics are different, nature remains the same. Here’s an example: When you, as a ranged Grimoire user, battle against a closed-ranged Grimoire user, who shares the same nature as your Hex, you can fire off your enhanced arrows, while your opponent will be able to strike them down with their enhanced conjurations.”

  “Ah, okay… So, the third Conjuration explains the different kinds of Hexery. However, despite their characteristic differences, they share the same nature.”

  “Precisely!” he said, enthusiastically pointing towards me. “We are now at the final part of our lecture; The Infinite Arcana.

  Before we get there, though, let’s summarize the Circle of Hex once again, as well as the Circle of Conjuration; The Circle of Hex consists of the four Holy Spirits, whilst the Circle of Conjuration is essentially a second circle beneath the first. It describes the different forms of Grimoires; ranged, or closed-ranged. This circle is also why Grimoire-type specified cards within the Infinite Arcana exist.

  The Circle of Hex is where one discovers their affinity to one of the spirits, whilst the Circle of Conjuration is where one becomes aware of their Grimoire.”

  He then fully turned towards me, lowering his head as he crossed his arms behind his back.

  “If I would ask you what kind of Seer you are, what would you say?”

  “I would say… that I am a Smuldra Hex Seer, whose Third Conjuration is ranged. My second conjuration, the ‘action’ of Hexery, consists of Enhancement and Conjuration characteristics. Enhancement allows me to enhance myself to improve my overall abilities, whilst Conjuration… allows me to summon spells that are able to be enhanced.”

  “Good, good,” he nodded. “I deliberately didn’t include the Conjuration aspect of Smuldra, but you are correct. It allows for one to summon their spells, and have those spells be enhanced under the influence of the Enhancement characteristic.”

  “Alright,” he sighed, clapping his hands. “Let’s talk about the Infinite Arcana. It is intricately connected to the Circle of Hex. It is referred to as ‘infinite’ because it quite literally is infinite. We, as Humans, never created these cards, for they were always there. It is much like math; it was always there for us to explore.

  The cards, as mentioned earlier, represent portions, nourishment, atmosphere, and relics that serve to make someone stronger, or aid them in times of need… mostly. Nonetheless, there’s a catch to these cards.

  Since the IA is bound to the Circle of Hex, it means that there are cards meant to effectively enhance one’s capabilities based on their nature. For example, you are able to merge the Tarot cards that also have Smuldra characteristics to enhance yourself. Think of things such as making yourself more agile, or even boosting your sense of fury.

  While these are some surface-level cards, they can go as deep as mixing them with each other. For example, mingling your strength enhancer with fury, allows you to reach summits you normally wouldn’t be able to reach fundamentally. Or more complex cards that can enhance the momentum of your attacks, as well as convert physical trauma into soul pressure.

  There are many, many possibilities, however, that does not mean that they don’t come with their downsides. Before we continue, please summarize what I just told you.”

  …Damn, this one’s going to be hard.

  Doesn’t matter, Caelum, you can do this!

  …Alright…

  With a deep sigh through my nose, I responded carefully.

  “The Infinite Arcana is a collection of a wide range of cards that represent potions, nourishment, atmospheres, and relics that are able to influence their users. Because of its ties with the Circle of Hex, there are some cards that are specialized with specific Hexes. Examples are mixing a card that allows you to boost your fury with a strength enhancer. But, there are also more complicated cards.”

  “Good work. We can start by discovering a downside that affects every Seer universally; their soul pressure. Depending on the severity of the card, as well as the second conjuration, it diminishes their soul pressure. They will be prone to frailties such as fatigue, weakness, memory loss, or even amnesia, schizophrenia, and death. The last few were of course extreme examples, but it explains why every Seer, as well as Divination Tool users, choose how they fight carefully.”

  “Ah, I’ve heard that term before,” I responded. “Are the two Circles the same for Divination Tool users?”

  “Their only difference lies in the First Circle. They are practically naturally-born Medunta users but without the Grimoire part. The reason being that they are able to use any sort of Divination Tool, no matter what kind of Hex it may be. However, this does mean that they are more prone to the side-effect than Seers.”

  “Hm… Ah, also, how am I able to replenish my soul pressure?”

  “This is actually the very last thing I wanted to share with you,” he chuckled. “Replenishing your soul pressure can be done through either rest, or the Infinite Arcana. Whilst resting speaks for itself, the cards are naturally less straightforward.

  You see, within the Infinite Arcana, you not only have the portion, nourishment, atmosphere, and relic cards, but you also have cards specifically made to replenish your soul pressure.

  These cards are part of a different hierarchy called ‘Vex’. Meaning, that there is a third circle beneath the second one; the Circle of Conjuration. The special thing about this Circle is that it is only reserved for those who are above the third-highest Rank. However, Vex also represents high-level cards that you normally don’t find within the Infinite Arcana.

  ‘Vex’ is still the Infinite Arcana, but… more advanced. Think of terrific cards, such as resurrecting yourself, releasing oneself from human frailty, soul and blood sacrifices, or even actual love potions. It is in the third circle where one is able to further cultivate their Seer levels.”

  “Hm, so… the third circle is essentially an area reserved for high-leveled Seers. But, what if I just so happen to use a Vex card?”

  “Well, you die, basically.”

  “…”

  “I can’t paint it any better than that, sadly,” he chuckled, patting my shoulder. “These cards are extremely dependent on your soul pressure. If it doesn’t meet the standard of, let’s say a grade-two relic, your body will become overwhelmed, and will simply lose function. Most people become brain dead, with some suffering from permanent body disorders.”

  “…I see.”

  “Okay! That is everything for now. Before we end this, let me summarize the entire lecture for you. When you arrive on the second day of training, I’ll make sure to hand you a few notes containing what we spoke about.

  You are a unique individual who was born with Seer characteristics. Because of that, you were able to undergo the Initiation Ritual to have your Grimoire realized; the only channeler of your Seer abilities.

  I introduced you to the First Circle, Rahma, otherwise known as the Circle of Hex, which encompasses the Holy Spirits, the characteristics of the Rahma, the Infinite Arcana, the affinity of Arcana cards, as well as the Artifacts; a title granted to those able to master different characteristics.

  I then explained Kahma to you, otherwise known as the 'Circle of Conjuration’. Here is where different forms of hexery are showcased. It is the source of the affinity aspect of the Infinite Arcana. Without it, the concept of affinity would cease to exist.

  Lastly, I explained the Third Circle; the Circle of Vex, also acknowledged as the advanced hierarchy of the Infinite Arcana. Here is where more terrific cards reside that have dire consequences if used primitively, or incompetently.

  I also explained how there are different kinds of downsides when it comes to consuming different kinds of cards, as well as how performing second conjurations gradually makes your soul pressure diminish, and causes side effects, both physically and mentally.

  With this, you are now ready for the second day of the training procedure.”

  “Thank you a lot, Vash,” I smiled. “I feel like I understand it now, but the notes will surely be of great help.”

  “No problem, fella! It’s time for you to relax until the second-day proceeds. Let us head back to the hallway, your brother’s probably still waiting for you.”