Chapter 46: Ritual Magic

Lu Mian looked at the Spirit Realm creature he couldn't see at all, pondered for a moment, and said:

"How complex can it be, and how powerful can it be?"

"Heh, I thought you would ask how to summon, how to hold ritual magic, but you just wanted to know how to use it specifically!" Aurora then teased, "This might be the characteristic of the 'Hunter' pathway; you don't need to thoroughly understand the principles, just consider how to use it."

Without waiting for Lu Mian to answer, she pondered and said:

"It cannot be too complex means it can only complete one action, and not too powerful means it doesn't exceed the magnitude of a spell of a Sequence 7 'Witch' of the 'Reader' pathway."

Chatting with Aurora about these things is good; she has the habit of qualitative and quantitative analysis, unlike some people who like to use vague, half-hidden language to describe... Lu Mian listened with quite a bit of emotion.

Amidst his thinking, he got up to help his sister move all the food to the dining table, and then asked while eating:

"But I remember your spells often need to use materials. 'White Paper' shouldn't be able to carry them, right?"

"Right, this is very awkward." Aurora forked a piece of fried trout and stuffed it into her mouth, waiting until she finished chewing and swallowing before saying, "And, the spells of a 'Witch' aren't something that can be completed in one action. The simplest one also needs three: first, concentrate spirituality; second, outline the corresponding symbolic symbol of the spell in the brain, which can also be replaced by chanting the spell aloud; and third, use materials to cast the spell. The role of materials is that some are media, and some are components of the spell."

This sounds indeed a bit complex, not like something the single-celled organism "White Paper" can complete... Lu Mian felt that he couldn't do it for a while either, and must go through a very long period of training to be proficient in spellcasting.

Aurora swept a glance at him:

"Don't think about it. You can't be like me. One is your Sequence restriction, insufficient spirituality, and two is that using materials to help cast spells is a unique ability of a 'Witch.' Hmm, perhaps a certain Sequence of a certain pathway can also do it. I have insufficient understanding and can't make a positive judgment.

"However, 'Hunter' will be able to use quite a few fire-related spells when reaching Sequence 7, that is, becoming a 'Pyromaniac,' and it doesn't need materials, doesn't need to outline symbolic symbols in the brain, or chant spells. In terms of actual combat, this is faster, more convenient, and perhaps even more powerful. 'Witch,' well, it mainly wins in being comprehensive; the more knowledge you master, the more comprehensive and powerful you are."

Lu Mian said with quite a bit of expectation:

"I don't know when I'll be able to become a 'Pyromaniac'..."

He planned to explore the dream ruins again tonight, one to use the behavior of "hunting" to help potion digestion, and two to find clues for the main material of the Sequence 8 "Provoker."

As for the monsters corresponding to "Pyromaniac," he didn't dare to think about it for the time being, thinking it was sending himself to the door to be roasted meat. After all, those guys could definitely attack from a distance, making his "specialty" have no place to exert itself.

He then asked again:

"The spells of a 'Pyromaniac' seem to only have one action. Can 'White Paper' carry them?"

"Theoretically it can, but I'm not sure if the spell of a 'Pyromaniac' exceeds one magnitude." Aurora's reference standard was "Witch."

Hearing this, Lu Mian was excited at once:

"If it can, then wouldn't I be able to simulate the floating cannon you mentioned?"

"Ah?" Aurora was a bit blank for a moment.

Lu Mian explained in detail:

"I can summon a group of 'White Paper,' sign contracts with all of them, and then let every 'White Paper' carry a fireball. At that time, they float in mid-air and attack the target together. Isn't this very similar to the description of a floating cannon?"

"The pity is that you can't have a group of 'White Paper' at the same time." Aurora laughed, "After you sign a contract with one 'White Paper,' even if you use the initial description to summon it next time, it will still be the same White Paper."

"Can't I summon one first, temporarily not sign a contract, then summon another, until I summon a satisfactory quantity, and then sign a contract uniformly?" Lu Mian didn't receive orthodox education, but private customization with Aurora's own ideas added, plus the "tempering" of pranks for so many years, his thinking was always open.

"..." Aurora admitted that she hadn't been that shameless. She pondered and said, "I haven't tried it, so I don't know if it works. Wait until you are Sequence 7 and try it yourself. However, I feel that in the situation where there is one 'White Paper' nearby, summoning another 'White Paper' should cause conflict, and it's unlikely to succeed. The only hope is to directly summon multiple 'White Paper,' but this probably only a Sequence good at summoning can do."

Lu Mian made up his mind that he must try it when the time comes; anyway, it wouldn't lose anything.

Aurora scooped up a bit of mashed potatoes:

"Now let's talk about how to summon Spirit Realm creatures, and this is an application of ritual magic.

"What is ritual magic? It is magic that is cast by choosing the date and time, preparing corresponding materials, and strictly following the format and process. It is often used in praying and summoning."

Lu Mian nodded:

"It is to achieve a certain supernatural effect in the form of a ritual?"

He thought of the various rituals of the "Eternal Blazing Sun" Church, as well as the process of the Pentecost celebration.

"Right." Aurora was very satisfied with her brother's comprehension ability. "Ritual magic has an object of prayer, which can be the seven orthodox gods, or other hidden existences, or even evil gods, demons, or even yourself. When you pray to the orthodox gods, you need to consult or choose the date and time they dominate. For example, Tuesday is the symbol of the 'Eternal Blazing Sun,' and there is a corresponding solar time every day. Holding a ritual magic of praying to the 'Eternal Blazing Sun' during these time periods will increase the success probability a lot.

"But this actually isn't of much use. It's not an official Beyonder, and the success probability of praying to the corresponding orthodox god is very small. Even if you get a response, don't be happy; this might mean you have been noticed by that one.

"Of course, we also have ways to bypass the restrictions, for example, obtaining an item closely related to the target god.

"Praying to hidden existences, evil gods, and demons doesn't require much choosing of dates and times, but the danger... I don't need to say it, right? Ninety-nine percent of people who do this don't have a good end.

"Therefore, for wild Beyonders, the most commonly used ritual magic is praying to oneself to mobilize one's own spirituality and complete some relatively complex things."

"Manufacturing charms and Beyonder weapons?" Lu Mian thought of a knowledge point the lady had mentioned.

Aurora nodded:

"Right, some secret medicines also need ritual magic to cooperate.

"You also missed one point: summoning Spirit Realm creatures."

She ate some more food before saying:

"In ritual magic, the object of prayer, we place at most two candles, because in mysticism, 0 represents the unknown and chaos, symbolizing the beginning of the world's birth. Not placing candles means there won't be any effect. 1 represents the beginning, representing the original Creator, and also representing an existence that can be pointed to precisely. 2 symbolizes the world and various gods born from the original Creator, so ritual magic can only use two candles to represent the gods. Specifically which two symbols to use to correspond to the candles depends on the effect you want to achieve.

"3 represents all things, so the third candle must be left for ourselves.

"That is to say, the two upper candles represent the gods, and the one in front corresponds to ourselves, totaling three candles.

"If you have an item closely related to a certain god or hidden existence, then you can withdraw the two upper candles and use that item to replace them. This is called the binary ritual method.

"Praying to yourself

"Pretend they are candles; make them with the corresponding symbolic materials for whichever deity you are praying to.

"Take the 'Eternal Blazing Sun' as an example; His honorific names include Light of Eternity, Incarnation of Order..."

Caution is paramount. Aurora paused for a few seconds before continuing:

"God of Contracts, Guardian of Commerce."

"There should also be the honorific name 'Father of All Living Beings,' right?" Lu Mian had heard sermons many times.

Aurora shook her head:

"That is just a title commonly used in the propaganda of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun. In terms of occultism, the 'Eternal Blazing Sun' is not yet enough to bear it. If it really were to happen, it might mean something major has occurred."

She didn't specify what kind of major event, as she herself didn't seem too clear about it either.

She brought the topic back on track:

"If you wish to banish undead, you must pray to the symbol of the 'Light of Eternity,' so you must use various sunflowers to make the candles. Correspondingly, if it involves contracts, use the honorific 'God of Contracts' and make the candles with materials like bergamot. For more choices, you can look at my witchcraft notes.

"In a ritual magic, we place at most two candles for the position of the corresponding deity, because in occultism, 0 represents the unknown and chaos, symbolizing the beginning of the world's birth; not placing candles means there won't be any effect. 1 represents the beginning, representing the original Creator, and also representing an existence that can be precisely pointed to. 2 symbolizes the world and the various deities born from within the original Creator, so ritual magic can only use two candles to represent the deities. Which two symbolic candles to use depends on the effect you want to achieve.

"3 represents all things, therefore, the third candle must be left for ourselves.

"That is to say, the two candles at the top represent the deities, and the one candle in front corresponds to yourself, for a total of three.

"If you have an item closely related to a certain deity or hidden existence, you can remove the two candles at the top and replace them with that item. This is called the binary ritual method.

"When praying to yourself, only leave the candle that represents you."

Lu Mian listened very attentively.

According to that lady's words, as a wild "Hunter," before knowing the honorific name of that great existence, the only ritual magic he could utilize was praying to himself. After all, where would he find an item closely related to a certain deity?

"Next, I will use summoning a Spirit World creature as an example to demonstrate the following steps to you." Seeing that her younger brother had also finished dinner, Aurora stood up and said.

The two of them quickly cleared the dining table.

(End of chapter)