Yuuto landed smoothly, the wind around him fading slowly until it disappeared. The old warehouse returned to silence—only the sound of his footsteps echoed lightly.
He took out his flip phone, opened the screen, then pressed Merlin's number.
Beep—
The call connected.
---
"Hello, Sensei. I've arrived."
Immediately, Merlin's cheerful voice came from the small speaker.
"Oh—good morniiiing, my student~! You're fast today!"
Her tone was bright.
Yuuto frowned.
"Hm? What's wrong, Sensei? Why do you sound even more cheerful than usual?"
Merlin let out a small laugh. A laugh full of triumph and a bit… childish.
"Hahahaha~ I'm very happy today, Yuuto. I got an amazing login reward."
Yuuto blinked.
"To make the greatest mage of Britain react like this… it must be something valuable, right?"
"Yesss~"
Merlin almost sounded like she was singing.
"Most of the time, my rewards were food… or books from other worlds. Interesting, but it got boring! Sensei wanted something new, something… exotic."
Yuuto held back a laugh, imagining Merlin shaking her head while holding a pile of books.
"So what did you get today?"
There was a brief pause.
Then—
"A spirit ring."
"A… what ring?" Yuuto asked.
"A spirit ring! Kuroneko said it's from the world of Douluo Dalu!"
Merlin's voice jumped with excitement.
"Hahaha! You have to see it, Yuuto! The color is beautiful, and the energy is unique! It's amazing!!"
Yuuto gave a small smile.
"So it's really good?"
Merlin suddenly lowered her voice, as if she wanted to sound dramatic.
"…Hmm, compared to the magic books I've gotten… it's not very useful, actually."
Yuuto almost fell over.
"Sensei… you really…"
Merlin stifled a laugh, then spoke softly.
"But Yuuto… for magi, the usefulness of an item isn't everything."
Yuuto listened quietly.
"We magi hunger for knowledge. We seek mysteries. We want to know how other worlds work, how their 'magic systems' differ from ours."
Merlin's voice shifted into that of a researcher.
"This spirit ring… how is its energy formed? How does it bind the power of another creature? What's its conceptual structure? Can it be replicated? Integrated into modern magecraft theory? How does it process mana—"
Yuuto's smile grew wider.
He could clearly imagine Merlin being extremely excited right now.
It was very… Merlin.
Yuuto chuckled softly.
"Congratulations, Sensei."
There was a brief silence, then a soft, gentle voice—still with Merlin's flair:
"Hehehe~ Thank you, my student. And of course… Sensei will make the most of this gift."
---
Yuuto stood straight in the middle of the warehouse, his breathing even again. The air was cold, but his body was warm with mana flowing steadily.
His flip phone vibrated lightly.
Lady Avalon:
"Alright, enough about the spirit ring. Let's begin your training, Yuuto."
Merlin's voice returned to her serious tone—the tone of a seasoned court mage.
Yuuto nodded even though she couldn't see him.
"Okay, Sensei."
Merlin continued:
"Today… is an important day for a magus."
Yuuto held his breath.
"Today, you will form your first perfect Bounded Field."
A shiver ran down Yuuto's spine, a mix of tension and excitement.
"I will send you a video of the first circle formation—its basic structure. Watch it carefully. Then copy the steps."
Yuuto opened his mouth.
"Sensei… where should I place the Bounded Field?"
Merlin answered without hesitation.
"There."
"Here? In this warehouse?"
"Yes. Your training place is perfect. It's isolated, the building structure is simple, and it's already filled with your 'mana traces.' A first Bounded Field is most stable when built in a place that already carries your presence."
Yuuto swallowed.
"Alright. I understand, Sensei."
"Good. Focus, Yuuto. This is the beginning of your path as a true magus."
Beep.
The call ended.
The warehouse fell silent again.
Yuuto looked at his phone—just as the screen lit up.
[1 New Message Received]
[Attachment: BoundedField_Step1.mp4]
The phone vibrated briefly.
Yuuto gave a small smile.
"Looks like the video came in."
He pressed the button to open it.
---
Video From Lady Avalon
On the small screen, Proto Merlin appeared—sitting casually in Avalon's garden, the breeze lifting her long silver hair. But her face was serious.
"First," she said in the video,
"the Boundary Formula."
The screen showed glowing runes—sigils, lines, spatial formations.
"A Bounded Field is a conceptual structure. You don't 'make walls,' but separate the interpretation of space from the outside world."
Yuuto watched.
The runes were different from modern Japanese magecraft.
Older. Closer to the Age of Gods.
"Is this complicated?" Merlin smiled in the video.
"Hehehe~ of course. It's magecraft."
Then the video shifted to hand movements.
Smooth. Precise. Stable.
"Your hand movements must follow the external formula exactly. Use your Affinity to stabilize the spatial grid."
Each symbol glowed like a small nebula.
Earth for spatial stability.
Sky for aligning mana flow.
Yuuto realized both Affinities… were perfect for this.
"And lastly…"
Merlin's voice deepened.
"…give your name to the space. That makes the domain 'acknowledge' you as its ruler."
Yuuto tightened his grip on the phone.
His heartbeat grew stronger.
On screen, Merlin raised her index finger and snapped.
Click.
"Now, do it."
---
Yuuto closed the video.
He took a long breath—the breath of a magus entering a new stage.
He stood in the center of the warehouse.
His left hand stretched to the side.
Right hand raised slightly, palm toward the floor.
He closed his eyes.
"…Alright."
Click.
The first snap.
Mana surged, forming a circular flow.
Click.
The second snap.
Earth sigils began forming a foundation on the floor.
Click.
The third snap.
The Sky element spun, shaping the air flow into curved lines.
Yuuto inhaled.
"Time to form my perfect Bounded Field…"
A small smile appeared.
---
Sunset light seeped through the cracks of the warehouse walls. Golden orange light spread across the concrete floor, now covered in softly glowing runes—the Bounded Field Yuuto created, now fully active.
The air in the room felt different.
Denser. More orderly.
Like it… "belonged to Yuuto."
His flip phone vibrated near his ear.
Lady Avalon:
"Good, Yuuto. Very good. Now you're like a magus."
Merlin's tone was pleased—even proud.
"Your Bounded Field is perfectly installed. This warehouse… is now your personal workshop. A place for your magecraft to grow."
Yuuto looked around—all the symbols glowed neatly, the spatial structure was stable, and even the air felt synchronized with his breathing.
He exhaled softly.
"I didn't expect to finish it faster than I thought."
Merlin chuckled lightly.
"Yuuto… it hasn't even been a week. In less than seven days you mastered magecraft fundamentals that normally take magi years."
Yuuto gave a small, humble smile.
"Maybe… Arthur's talent and… my love for magecraft helped me."
Lady Avalon:
"Hahaha! That's true."
Her tone was cheerful but warm like a teacher.
"To understand magecraft, you must love it. Without that, it's just cold papers and boring theory."
Yuuto took a long breath, warmth spreading in his chest.
"So… what's next, Sensei?"
There was a short pause, then Merlin spoke more seriously but still lightly:
"Next? Hm… for now, we'll repeat your lessons from a few days ago."
"We will refine your skills. Polish your mana control."
Yuuto nodded.
"Alright."
Lady Avalon:
"Focus on your Earth Affinity first. We'll deepen your resonance with the Earth Pulse."
Yuuto lowered his hand, placing his palm on the Bounded Field floor.
Warm vibrations of the earth flowed up his arm—slow like a planet's heartbeat.
"Today… we'll continue until night."