"Aren't dads illusions a little too powerful?" Nero asked his mother as they drove past countless monsters and cursed beasts. Moving or travelling about at night would attract countless curses. This was a fundamental truth that everyone knew, though in cities the army had somehow managed to reduce the number of curses that would appear. But even that wasn't foolproof.
His father would never give a straight answer, if only because he'd like to irritate Nero. His mom, however, might just answer.
"It wasn't always like this," Marilyn said, her voice low, as if lost in a memory. "You already know that your dads family weren't much into fighting. Your grandfather used to work in a forge, and that's how their family has always been, but your dad wanted to be different. Unfortunately, his innate ability wasn't that great, and he wasn't too physically gifted either."
Marilyn sighed, and paused for a few minutes.
"Well, some bad things happened, your father got in a fight with a school bully and like always he was losing. Until suddenly, something clicked. He had an idea, used his ability in a different way and, well, nothing has been the same since."
"Are you seriously telling me that he just, what, used his ability differently and now he's OP (over powered)?"
Marilyn shrugged.
"I don't know what to tell you. His ability is a golden flame that lets him transmit data using light. At first, he just used to use it to send messages to people and stuff, until one day he decided to control all the data being transmitted to the brain. Through light, he can even simulate data pertaining to the other senses.
The freaky thing is, it even works on blind enemies, since he doesn't need anyone to see, he just needs to use light as a medium to reach the brain."
"That's still stupid. You can just wear a blindfold, or close your eyes. The data transmitted through the light into the eyes will never reach the brain if the eyes are closed."
"You're right. But remember, that was his ability when he was a Neophyte. Since then, his ability has evolved twice, not to mention he can use cards to produce spell models different from his own. Your dad has thoroughly mastered illusions to a level that's pretty scary. I've never seen anyone be able to detect his illusions completely - even curses!"
Nero looked out at the monsters around them through the now broken windshield, and saw now they could not see the van driving right past them, let alone hear them.
"Just so you know, in case you ever need it, he can also use the golden light to extract data. That little ability of his has made him very famous. Although, honestly, at this point, I don't even know if he's using his own ability or if he's using cards for half the things he does.
I hate to admit it, but your father has put my family's heritage to better use than anyone in my family's recent history. Paired with his penchant for keeping secrets, you can never tell if he's hiding something. A small tip, if he ever says 'truth be told' or something like that, he's about to lie."
Nero chuckled, but then spent a few more moments thinking about what his mom had said. His dad discovered a new way to use his ability, and that changed everything for him. Could Nero do the same?
"Why don't you tell me how to perform model alterations right now? You can show me after we stop. We only have a small amount of time left. Might as well use it as much as we can."
Marilyn nodded.
"You already know how to preserve a spell model using your own aether. But what is a spell model? Again, this is one of those questions we do not have a concrete answer for, but the prevalent theory is that a spell model is some kind of 3-D structure formed using aether.
We have concluded that, other than as free aether, spell models are the stablest form for aether to exist in, allowing them to be transferred from their natural state into spells.
"You need to know this because when you try to alter a spell model, it will enter into a state of being extremely unstable and fragile. Up and until it returns to its stable state, if you ease your pressure around it, the spell model will immediately collapse."
"Makes sense, kind of."
"There are actually quite a few ways to alter spell models, but it's a delicate and precise art, so without knowing what you're doing, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to figure out how to do it. At the very least, they would have to try it hundreds if not thousands of times, blindly testing it out until they stumble onto success.
"The first method, and the one you're going to be practising, is to fuse an identical spell model with the first one. When two identical spell models successfully fuse, they experience somewhat of an evolution. It's similar to what happens when a Neophyte grows to an Initiate. Although it sounds simple, it is anything but.
To fuse two similar spell models, you have to destabilise both of them, but not enough so that they collapse, and then fuse them together and exert enough pressure so that they stabilise.
"The description is easy, but the process is incredibly hard, which is the reason I bought so many cones. The second way is similar, but even harder. That is to fuse two dissimilar spell models together. In the first scenario, as long as the fusion is successful, it will always form an altered spell model, but there is no guarantee that two different spell models can ever fuse together successfully.
"But, over the centuries, the Soren family has written down their successful recipes, as well as test results to determine which two different spells managed to successfully fuse. As you've noticed, the models appear to be in geometric shapes. There seems to be some kind of correlation between the shapes of the two spells that can fuse together.
I'll hand you some of those books once you've mastered the first way to alter a spell model.
"The third way is, once again, a very difficult way to alter spell models, mostly because of how long it takes. Showering the spell model consistently with aether dust, just enough that it continues to absorb it, will eventually elicit a change from the model. But this way can take hours or even days, during which you have to keep the spell model stable.
Of course, you can use other methods to keep the spell model stable than your own aether, but that reduces the quality of the product.
"The fourth way is to expose the spell model to elemental aether. Elemental aether is tough to get your hands on, as you don't commonly find elemental shards or aether elemental crystals that easily, so for that you have to…"
Throughout the night, as they drove down the lonely road, getting as far away from the curse tide as possible, Marilyn informed Nero about all the ways to possibly alter spell models. After a few hours, Edwards' candle went out, so Marilyn was forced to attack all the monsters that caught sight of them, but fortunately the strongest of them were in the Arcanist level.
When Nero compared how easy it was to travel with his father, versus what it was like when he was not around, he finally realised why most people never end up travelling long distances, or why they rely on caravans.
By the time the sun began to rise, they had actually driven so far that Fordham base was visible on the horizon. But instead of coming closer, they stopped at that distance. Nero was not due to arrive just yet, and they still had to practise his spell model alterations. At the same time, his mother began to give him a crash course on all things related to spell models.
Predictably, Nero had no success whatsoever. He was not able to craft Earth's Boon, and even figured out that the picture, the text, the name was all decided based on his intentions when he fused his aether into the card to craft it.
But when it came to actual spell model fusion, he had no success whatsoever. The first obstacle was stabilising two spell models at the same time. To speed things up, Marilyn gave him a card he could use to preserve a spell model for a time, but she encouraged him to practise maintaining two on his own during his free time.
Yet even with the first hurdle cleared, the second hurdle to making them unstable enough to fuse without dissipating stumped him.
Minutes turned to hours and then days. The mother and son stayed close to the base, but never approached, always just focusing on the spell model alteration.