SSS-Rank Engineer: Only I Can Create Legendary Weapons

Percy was immediately interested in this Hermetics. The mystics in his world drank mercury and disemboweled themselves for magic, but this seemed like a practice made specifically for people without talent for Spiritmancy.

Terra seemed a bit afraid she might have offended him with her occult arts. She shrank back, clutching the book against her chest, and her pile of black hair hid her face.

He laughed heartily; kids were strangely self-conscious. You're still young, this is the best time to make mistakes and offend everyone

"Relax, I'm not angry. If anything, I'm interested." He rubbed his hands together ominously. "Very interesting."

Terra looked up at him, her crimson eyes wide with surprise.

"Isn't it weird? Spiritmancy is noble and good; we're just barely tolerated because of the Yarm-Crona war."

"I thought weird meant good? Besides, who cares about nobility and goodness when you can just have fun?"

"I don't think that's a safe way to look at things," Terra replied. "There are things that must not be learned."

"A great man once said: Nothing great was always good; what we don't know is more dangerous than what we do know."

Terra raised an eyebrow in suspicion, thoroughly impressed by the strange bit of wisdom and this weird kid.

"Who is this great man?"

"Me, of course." He shrugged "Who else could sound so profound and enlightened when making shit up."

Terra's face fell.

"You're so shameless."

"Breaking news, sun found in sky," Percy mocked. "Enough talk about meaningless things. What are these Hermetics about?"

Terra was carried along by his energy, and didn't want to be rude to someone that was nice to her.

"Spiritmancy uses incantations and spirit energy to connect to spirits and perform magic. It relies on being able to form bonds with spirits that will consistently answer your calls, so you need great affinity to one of the six spirit types."

He nodded rapidly, tapping his feet against the ground impatiently.

"I know this part already. If you don't have any affinities then absorbing spirit energy and making friends with the spirits will be hard."

His dual affinity gift from Nyx meant that he could absorb spirit energy twice as fast as others. And his range of spells would be vastly increased.

Hecate had double affinities, if he was reading things correctly. She was extremely talented with wind and fire spirits, but needed more time to cast water and earth spells.

Terra was a bit surprised by the depth of his knowledge. She knew he was a noble, but she heard they only started learning Spiritmancy when they turned thirteen.

The boy in front of her barely looked seven years old. Was he physically stunted? Was that why he sounded so old?

Terra shook her head to push away the rude thoughts.

"Yes, so having affinities is very important, but most commoners are born with no affinities. And the ones that have one, don't have access to incantations as they are heavily guarded by families."

Percy needed her to speed up.

"So Hermetics doesn't use Spirit energy or contact spirits?"

Terra shook her head.

"We still call on the spirits, but instead of incantations, we use spell circles, ancient tools derived from the fallen empire that used to live here."

His eyes widened.

"So by drawing the circle, you can cast a spell similar to incantations?"

"Stop interrupting me, I'm getting there!"

"Are we getting there anytime today or should I clean out a space to lie down?"

Terra grumbled angrily.

"You can't just cast the spell by drawing the line. The spell needs intent and spirit energy. You have to meditate over the circle for a while to infuse it with your energy. The spirits will be attracted to the infused circle and then you can activate the spell at any time."

He nodded happily. A few ideas already pressed against his mind. Some would have to wait until he became a Spiritmancer, but others could be explored now.

"The Heracles empire left behind the spell circles that the Hermetics study, right?"

Terra pursed her lips, unsure what to say.

"That can't be confirmed. It might have been the empire before them. We don't know much about the Heracles empire because of how thoroughly they seemed to have been wiped from the world."

Percy was a bit skeptical of that. There was no way in hell the history and traces of a people could be destroyed. There had to be some secrets hidden with magic or mundane methods that held the empire's story.

But the lost history of the old empire didn't invalidate the idea he was going towards.

"Whoever built the fortress and the walls of Dema was involved in this Hermetic belief, right?"

Terra nodded at that.

"They heavily believed in patterns and the sanctity of materials. Using the wrong materials for certain circles yielded horrifying consequences."

If he was right, then he expected that the weird patterns he had noticed in the city's structure were related to this circle magic. But he needed more info…

"Let's go to the Tower of Hermetics."

Terra shook her head harder than ever, her messy black hair bounced around comically.

"We can't go there. Children aren't allowed in, and if anyone sees me taking a noble's child there, they'll think I corrupted you."

Percy frowned, raising a hand to hit her on the head softly. Terra let out a tiny yelp.

"I'm the corrupting force here, not the other way around. The way you talk about this stuff… Do you think you're some evil force? You sound a bit edgy."

Terra turned away, her expression becoming dark.

"I'm the daughter of a Hermetic witch. I've been taught about fate and the binding forces of our birth. I've come to terms with my dark destiny."

He cringed.

"Woah, be careful with all that edge. Don't cut yourself, Dark mistress."

Terra started punching him, soft little blows that he could barely feel. He was inclined to laugh until he saw her crying.

"Don't make fun of me! Go away! I don't need friends anyway. I'll be on my own just like mother."

The edgelord was strong with this one, but he decided to curb his sharp tongue and try being nice. So he grabbed her hands and forced her to look him in the eye.

The mad gleam of his purple and gray eyes stunned her into silence.

"First off, I didn't ask to be your friend. I've made myself your friend and now you are cursed with me. Secondly, I don't care about your fate and the binding forces of whatever the hell you were yapping about. Do you want to have some fun?"

That didn't come out very nice. Terra trembled, but managed a faint nod.

Percy grinned.

"Then suck up all your angst, and let's go to the tower. A great man once said: causing trouble for others is a great way to have fun."