Chapter 446 : Architect of Spells

With my new spell named the rest of my notifications were finally available, but what I found was not what I had expected at all.

<Custom spell has greatly exceeded allowed proficiency gain.>

You can't be serious… Mother, are you really punishing me for making too good a spell? Is it because it would instantly take my [Dimension Magic] to level eight? Or maybe even higher?

<Emblem [Spell Architect] has been achieved.>

<Hidden Emblem [Novice ???] has been achieved.>

<You have received 1 Legend Point. Legend Points remaining: 8.>

Huh? Are these my peace offerings? What the heck is a hidden Emblem? Is that like [Experiment]?

<[Novice ???]

???.>

Wow, what a riveting explanation…

<[Spell Architect]

Whether by recreating ancient forgotten spells or leaving your own mark in history by forging your own, you have successfully crafted multiple noteworthy custom spells.

As an architect of spells, you will find it easier to teach others these spells and will receive a minor amount of proficiency for each student who successfully attains the spell.

In addition, you will find your spell constructs less fragile, aiding in the pursuit of new knowledge and pushing the boundaries.

Equipping this Emblem increases all bonuses except for proficiency gains.>

Okay, much better than a bunch of question marks. So I can share my findings easier, and I get rewarded for it? Not bad… Less fragile spells are also nice, although that's never stopped me before. If I had a fleshy human brain, I guess I'd value that reward more.

I fully believed that some spell backlash was worth suffering through to get the results, and that wouldn't change no matter how many times Vee called me crazy for continuing to do it.

I'm not some masochist who believes suffering builds character or anything; I just think that the backlash isn't all that bad. It must be my amazing slime core; it's just way better than the alternatives.

I briefly imagined my [Coordicore] as a floating brain and shook my head; it was so inferior to my glorious sphere. In fact, I was even willing to bet that if it wasn't like a core, it probably wouldn't work as well.

Anyway… Looks like that's the end of the notifications. I wonder if the Legend Point is from the mystery Emblem or for becoming a [Spell Architect]? I guess it doesn't really matter, and I've got a labyrinth to find.

I pulled out the little golem, and it immediately started spinning around, perhaps trying to find its current location. I had made quite a big jump, so I could understand if it was confused. Thankfully, it eventually fixed itself and began pointing away from Dhoggurum and further into the mountains.

Previously, I had always flown the majority of the way, but now that I had my [Coordicore], I could change that and remind the world that I was actually a Riftmancer. I was also excited to fully stress-test my new creation and confirm that it could rapidly calculate simple coordinates and insert them where needed.

Okay, it's time to teleport!

I synced up with the [Coordicore] and began casting [Positioning], which instantly received a set of newly calculated coordinates toward my destination. I teleported, cast again, received another set, and traveled again. This repeated several times, and from the outside it probably looked like I was using [Blink], except the distance greatly exceeded both the spell and skill version of it.

Having the coordinates readily available every time I cast my spell caused me to quickly fall into a rhythm, and I was making rapid progress. If not for the golem periodically losing its bearings, I might have reached the labyrinth today, but when I sensed it was growing late, I deposited it and returned to the island.

"Where have you been? I've been worried sick!" Vee fumed, tapping her foot on the ground.

"Sorry, I teleported outside Dhoggurum and was heading to the labyrinth. I finished my new spell too, and got a reward."

"You could have told me, and you weren't responding to the messages Sylbera left."

"I got caught up in the spur of the moment after [Coordicore] calculated the coordinates using basically just my [Map]."

"Your… What?"

"[Coordicore]!" I said, pointing to the glowing purple orb.

I quickly gave Vee a rundown of what I'd done, expecting praise for finally recreating and improving on [Triangulate]. She was impressed; however, now that she had a human face, I could also see her expression growing both tired and disbelieving. Was what I had done really that outlandish?

"Maybe I should just be happy you didn't call it 'CoordiSyl', or maybe 'DimenSyl'..." Vee murmured, shaking her head.

"Okay… Hear me out, but I kind of like Dimensyl," I admitted.

Vee groaned long and hard as she facepalmed. I had always felt her frustration with my antics through our bond, but now I could glimpse it in her exaggerated gestures.

"Oh, I also received an Emblem for custom spells. It lets me teach others too, and I get bonus proficiency for doing it."

"That's convenient… I wonder if it would help you teach me [Exchange]?"

"I don't think so, since it only said custom spells. I can teach you [Coordicore] though."

"Sure, why not? Let's see if your Emblem works."

"Great, okay—"

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"After dinner!" Vee interrupted.

"Okay, okay, after dinner," I agreed.

We had our group dinner with Leon's notable absence, which Yuzz asked about. Apparently, a few goblins had asked what had happened to the crab. I felt a little bad about banishing him, even if it was only temporary, but Vee gave the excuse that he was on a "business trip."

Once we were done eating, I began showing Vee the glorious creation that was the [Coordicore]. Since nothing was stopping me from having multiple of them except for the Mana cost, I kept my original running to keep its saved coordinates while I began slowly casting another.

At first, Vee looked intently, and I could feel her concentration. After a minute of the spell still being cast, her concentration was rapidly waning and was replaced by disbelief. When the next minute passed, that soon turned into panic.

"Stop, stop, stop! What the actual hell, Syl? What monstrosity have you created!"

"It's not a monstrosity; it's the [Coordicore]! It calculates coordinates and can even insert them into spells. It works in compressed space, and I'm also going to upgrade it to work with [Folded Geometry]."

"Syl, there is no way I, or anyone else for that matter, is ever going to be able to cast that spell," Vee declared outright.

"It's not that bad…"

"How long did it take you to cast it?"

"...Ten minutes…"

"Ten, fricken minutes. I don't even know what to say. Even if you held my hand throughout the whole process, I think I couldn't do it."

"You won't know until you try."

"Syl, I have been trying. I don't think you fully realize how crazy that spell is. We have your new Emblem and [Companion Training] helping me, and I feel like a two-year-old being taught quantum physics."

"Maybe if I uncapped [Companion Training]?"

"No, just stop, Syl," Vee pleaded. "Look, I'm happy for you… But I think I'm going to have to pass on this spell. Maybe one day if you make a simpler version that doesn't take you ten minutes to cast, then I can give it a shot, but right now I think you are the only one in the world who can cast this."

I sighed, unable to hide my disappointment. "I suppose you're right…"

"And then you spoke of upgrading it further… So I can only imagine that time is only going to increase."

Vee had made her point thoroughly, especially after she repeatedly emphasized that it took ten minutes for me. Even after evolving, Vee could not cast spells as fast as me, so realistically this version could take her twenty or even thirty minutes to cast.

I guess I'll have to make a smaller version for her. Vee doesn't have [Map] or [Landmarks], so I can take out those components. I suppose I just need to strip everything except [Triangulate] for her.

I was already drawing up blueprints for my simple spider version, but that would have to wait for another day. Still, in an interest to see what my new Emblem could do, I started showing Vee some other spells. [Coordicore] might have been out of reach, but [Rift Rend] was something I could show her, and she picked it up in no time at all.

I also asked Vee if there were any spells she wanted me to craft, similar to how she had asked for [Blink] after her skill upgraded to [Veil Step]. Her number one request was [Personal Rift], although I was still holding off deconstructing that skill until after the labyrinth and another level up to maximize the skill gain. [Folded Geometry] was the next request, and while I was fine with deconstructing it, I wanted it to gain one more level before then.

I'd better make sure I do some folding during the labyrinth. I just hope that this one doesn't stop me from using my rifts or anything.

Vee's last request was compressed space, although I admittedly wondered whether I was capable of doing it without using enchantments as a crutch. Compared to that snow globe, I had barely scratched the surface of spatial compression, but maybe with the help of my [Coordicore] that could change.

After a wonderful night of sleep, I was refreshed and ready to complete my journey. I had told Vee I could bring her to the labyrinth when I found it, but she had sadly declined to challenge it for now. Vee definitely wanted her second class unlocked as well, but this labyrinth was different, as Keldenar had also revealed.

This was a solo labyrinth where even a formed party would be separated upon entry. If you happened to reach the center of the maze at the same time, you could challenge the final boss together, but it wasn't a requirement. Keldenar had picked this labyrinth for me as arguably being one of the simplest ones to complete, since he hadn't really known about Vee.

He had offered an alternative labyrinth we could challenge together, but Vee told me to stick to the quick and easy one since she wanted more time to get used to all her changes. Since I would have the location saved, I could transport Vee to the entrance whenever she was confident enough to challenge it.

When that time comes, I wonder whether a [Sub-Core] helper would count as a party member?

Thanks to [Core Storage], I could cheat in all my personas regardless of what the labyrinth threw at me, which would hopefully also unlock a secondary class for all of them. Sadly, Keldenar had no idea if my personas would qualify for class unlock, as he had never experienced anything like them before and I had my own thoughts on the idea.

It might be marked as completed for them, but locked until I uncap [Split Personality]. Worst case, I make that my request for when I uncap it, assuming I'm the first to do so. At the rate the skill is leveling up, I'm predicting that will be very soon.

Before I continued my journey to the labyrinth, I made one final stop: back to the snow globe. It was still veiled, indicating that it hadn't reset yet, or maybe that was just for me, but that wasn't my purpose. Instead, I had my [Coordicore] reach in and start trying to calculate the coordinates.

I watched in fascination as slowly but surely, the golden numbers flashing inside the floating sphere began to increase in speed. I had been genuinely concerned that this was too much for my first version of my helper spell, but it looked like it just needed to get warmed up. When it started crunching coordinates fast enough for combat, I was delighted, realizing it had answered one of the mysteries of that ancient book I'd received as my reward.

So each compressed space does have a unique formula, and once you figure that out, you can apply it to all your coordinates to have them function normally within the space.

However, the real reason for my excitement was not just because my [Coordicore] had just proven that unanswered hypothesis in the book. No, the real reason I was so excited was that it had somehow gone above and beyond my original task by revealing the snow globe's compression formula. Was this the [Sub-Core] blueprints influencing the result? Or was Mother throwing me a bone after all the question marks I'd received earlier?

So now I have the key to having all [Dimension Magic] working inside the snow globe… Assuming it doesn't change the compression ratio when it's finished resetting. Of course, I don't really plan to challenge this labyrinth again anytime soon, but I have a much better idea for this key.

Calling it a key was being generous; if you couldn't apply it to your coordinates, you still couldn't cast spells. [Coordicore] obviously could do that automatically for me, but I wondered if [Triangulate] could do the same or if it needed an upgraded skill.

Okay, secondary plan: give this key to Vee and see if she can work with it. Maybe she will unlock an upgrade for [Triangulate], and then I can buy it for a skill point and deconstruct it for the knowledge.

I was happy with this idea, but my primary goal was to see whether I could reverse-engineer this formula. I didn't think it would give me compression spells directly; that would be way too optimistic, but it might give me the insight needed to greatly improve my compression beyond my current quadruple.

But, again, that's for future me. I need to beat the labyrinth first, then I can work on spells while waiting for Unc to give up my [Dungeon Master] application. Even if it gets approved before then, judging by all the free time Simon has for his experiments, or Ygdran has for growing fruit, I should have plenty of time to solve this mystery.

Satisfied with the results, I saved the dimensional compression formula to multiple [Sub-Cores] for safekeeping, then returned to complete my journey to the labyrinth. Despite having multiple bodies and personalities, it felt like I just never had enough time to get what I wanted done.