Magi possess a pseudo-nerve system within their bodies, known as “Magic Circuits.”
These are the fundamental basis for Magi to use magic.
This is akin to the “meridians” in Eastern wuxia novels; they cannot be found in the body using modern medicine, which is why they are called pseudo-nerves.
Magic Circuits serve two purposes: first, to generate and convert magical energy, and second, to act as a conduit linking to the Magic Foundation, using magical energy to activate the Magic Foundation and thereby perform magic.
The quantity of a Magus’s Magic Circuits is fixed at birth and generally does not change due to acquired reasons.
Although there is a method for transplanting Magic Circuits, it is rarely performed due to its low success rate.
Magic Circuits are like genes; only when excellent Magi combine is there a greater chance of producing offspring with even more superior Magic Circuits.
Therefore, Magus families will modify the physical bodies of both parents, or do everything possible during a child’s birth, much like selective breeding, to ensure their descendants have more Magic Circuits.
This is also the main reason why Zouken Matou was willing to take in Matou Sakura.
Sakura’s inherent attribute is “Void,” which means “nothingness”—a completely fictional magical attribute, one of the pinnacle talents.
However, the Matou Family’s magical attribute is “Water.”
To align with the Matou Family’s magic and to enable Sakura to bear offspring more suited to the Matou Family’s inherited magic in the future, she endured the pain of having her Magic Circuits modified by Crest Worms.
So, how do Magi with Magic Circuits activate magic?
To activate magic, one must first establish contact with the Magic Foundation, which is pre-engraved into the world.
Life force is transformed into magical energy from a magical energy source (whether Greater Source or Lesser Source), and then this magical energy is sent through the Magic Circuits to the Magic Foundation, activating the magic formula.
What then is the Magic Foundation?
From the Magic Foundation, which holds the most widespread foundation of magical theory, as explained by the Church’s “God’s Teachings.”
The Magic Foundation is a magical foundation engraved in the form of scholarship and religion; it is also intimately integrated into the ley lines, allowing a Magus using that Magic Foundation to perform magic anywhere on Earth.
However, if one leaves the land where their own Magic Foundation is engraved, the land’s support will thin, and the power will demonstrably degrade.
A Magus moving to a different land means leaving their own Magic Foundation, which constitutes a significant risk.
The Matou Family is the best example; Zouken Matou’s Makiri clan moved from their homeland to Fuyuki, losing the land’s support, and their bloodline began to deteriorate, with the Magic Circuits of heirs within the family steadily decreasing, completely disappearing by Shinji’s generation.
In other words, the Magic Foundation is the underlying structure, pre-engraved into the world in forms like scholarship, religion, culture, or history, akin to a linguistic environment.
It’s like the C language in the real world.
Programmers need to master C language to write code, and Magi can only develop magic by mastering the Magic Foundation.
Magic formulas, on the other hand, are pre-programmed routines, like pre-set “macros” in a game, allowing for easy execution of a cool QWER combo with a mouse click in that game, but requiring new settings for a different game.
Therefore, with the help of the Magic Foundation, Magi only need to input magical energy and issue commands to directly execute magical effects.
Furthermore, the activation of magic is also influenced by many factors such as the Magus’s attribute, Magic Crest, and so on.
Chen Yu, as a wizard, naturally did not possess Magic Circuits, which Magi consider an essential prerequisite.
However, by reading the grimoires Zouken Matou left in the Matou Family residence, he successfully performed magic—even if it was just on an ordinary pencil.
Through segmented incantation, he applied Reinforcement Magic to a pencil.
“—Synchronization, start.”
He read the book while self-suggesting, infusing magical energy into the 6.5-inch long, approximately 7mm wide pencil in his hand.
Magical energy was like a tentacle of consciousness, making the pencil’s structure gradually appear in his mind.
“—Constituent materials, deciphered.”
He continued to concentrate his consciousness, letting magical energy permeate the pencil, experiencing its structure.
He felt the magical energy had completely penetrated the inside of the pencil, before the magical energy overflowed.
“—Constituent materials, reinforced.”
He grasped the entire structure of the target, continuing to inject magical energy to temporarily reinforce it.
“—All processes, complete.”
He severed the magical energy link between the pencil and himself; the reinforcement effect would not disappear until the magical energy within the pencil was completely consumed.
At this moment, the ordinary pencil on the table had the hardness of steel.
After a simple test—he grabbed the reinforced pencil and slammed it onto the table, effortlessly breaking through a 2cm thick wooden board and embedding itself in the table without breaking.
As for why a pencil was used for the experiment, it was simply convenient.
The Matou Family’s inherited magic is of the Water attribute, effective in areas such as familiar creation and command; one effect of their inherited magic is “the result will inevitably return to one’s own body.”
The former’s proper application is Command Spells, the latter is the Servant’s magical energy conduit.
Precisely because the Matou Family inherited Water attribute magic, most of the grimoires in the study were related to the Water attribute.
However, the study did not contain exclusively Water attribute grimoires; there were also grimoires related to other attributes.
Especially Reinforcement Magic, as a basic magic, it was tucked away in an inconspicuous corner of the Matou Family study as an introductory magic formula.
Reinforcement Magic is a magic that allows magical energy to pass through a target object to enhance its existence and produce literal effects.
It can be used on tools, improving material properties, strengthening fragile parts, and other magical characteristics.
Besides 【Reinforcement】 magic, the study also contained grimoires introducing magic formulas such as 【Transformation】, 【Projection】, 【Substitution】, 【Domination】, and 【Boundary Field】.
These are foundational magic, easy to learn but extremely difficult to master.
Moreover, this magical knowledge is not exclusive in the magical world; on the contrary, many Magus families have grimoires detailing how to use these magic.
But as mentioned above, these are all magic that are easy to learn but extremely difficult to master.
Many Magi spend their entire lives without reaching the level of mastery.
“Congratulations, player, you have learned Magic—Reinforcement.”
“Magic—Reinforcement LV1.”
“Description: By injecting magical energy, the target’s attributes are temporarily reinforced. If it’s a knife, its sharpness increases; if food, its nutritional value; if a vehicle, its speed.”
Hearing the system prompt in his mind, Chen Yu’s lips involuntarily curved into a slight smile.
Initially, he was a bit worried about whether he could learn and use Type-Moon World magic without Magic Circuits.
But now it seems there’s no need to worry; the wizard’s bloodline can substitute for Magic Circuits, activating magic through incantation.
Just as Chen Yu was in a joyful mood, preparing to learn other magic, he saw Matou Sakura push the door open and rush in in a panic.
“Big Brother Chen Yu! Big Brother Chen Yu! Please save Uncle Kariya, he looks like he’s dying!”
Matou Sakura’s face was filled with panic, and her eyes were full of helplessness.
“Nyarlathotep, did something happen?”
Seeing Matou Sakura, Chen Yu immediately communicated with Nyarlathotep through his Command Spells, asking what had happened while he was studying magic.
“Darling, it’s nothing, this human named Matou Kariya won’t die, he just suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, which scared that human child named Sakura.”
“Suddenly coughed up blood? Could it be that his body can finally no longer sustain itself?”
Even though Matou Kariya had eaten an apple that could restore 300 HP, his body was still riddled with holes from the Crest Worms gnawing at him.
Originally, Chen Yu had planned to remove the worms from Matou Kariya’s body after Matou Sakura’s surgery, but Kariya refused.
Matou Kariya’s magical talent was indeed rather poor; without the Crest Worms, he wouldn’t even be able to maintain the magical energy required for Berserker.
“No, Berserker suddenly dematerialized from the house and rushed out, then started fighting Saber.”
“To sustain Berserker’s battle, the worms inside him are gnawing at his flesh to obtain magical energy. He is currently eating the Life Crystal you gave him, and the newly injected life force has calmed the worms inside him. Nyarlathotep is currently on the roof watching Berserker and Saber’s fight, Darling, do you want to come and join?”
Hearing Nyarlathotep’s reply, Chen Yu became less anxious, and patted Matou Sakura’s head, gently saying, “Sakura, your Uncle Matou Kariya is fine. Go upstairs and tell the white-haired big sister named Irisviel that the person she was waiting for has arrived, and also check if the black-haired big sister has woken up.”
