Geometric Mage: First Spell, Circle

"Huh?! What the hell are you doing, leave me alone!"

Lian shot up, scrambling backward. The image of Rick slapping him was vivid in his mind.

Before he could get angrier, a sharp headache struck him, but only for a second.

"What is happening…" he murmured, clutching his head with his hands.

"Lian!" Rick suddenly approached, grabbing his shoulders and pulling them toward himself. "Are you okay? How do you feel? Why did you faint?"

A flood of questions overwhelmed Lian's aching head. "Huh… stop shaking me! I am fine—" he shouted before turning his head toward the desk.

"So I fainted?" he asked, just to confirm.

"Exactly. I knocked several times, but you did not answer, so I got worried and rushed in. Oh, by the way…"

Rick's face turned slightly red as he pointed to the half-open door. "I broke your door…"

Lian barely registered Rick's words about the door. All his thoughts were focused on the symbol he had created. I heard a system notification before fainting… could it have something to do with that? he thought discreetly.

Getting up from the bed, Lian looked more closely at the desk, only to widen his eyes in surprise.

"Buddy, everything okay? You were not robbed—" Rick's words caught in his throat. At first, he had not noticed, but now, looking more clearly, he finally saw it.

The sword Lian had shown him earlier, the Bronze 5 artifact given by Torin. But that was not the reason for his shock.

Next to the sword was a staff, faintly emanating the aura of an artifact. "Do not tell me that this—"

Rick could not finish his words. The implication of such a thing was too incredible.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Lian turned to look at Rick. "What is it?" he asked, noticing Rick's fixed gaze in his eyes.

"Brother, did you just create an artifact, or am I wrong?!" Rick said excitedly. "Do not tell me that is why you fainted, right?" he added in a serious tone. "You must not push yourself too hard."

It was not the creation of the artifact that made Lian faint, of course, but the creation of the symbol on the paper.

A symbol that had literally vanished. The paper that held it was there, on the desk, but the symbol seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

"Relax, Rick. I am fine now—" he replied, shaking his head, trying to show a confident smile on his face. "Now let us go eat, okay? Just give me a minute to wash my face. I really need it."

"Look, if you are feeling unwell, we can easily postpone the dinner and shop visit to another day—"

"Relax, I am fine. Trust me!"

Lian stored the two artifacts on the desk in his spatial ring before heading to his bathroom. He did not need to shower again because of the fall, but he needed to wash his face and, of course, change his robe.

After a few minutes…

"Here I am, let us go!"

The two headed toward the room's exit. "Um… I am sorry. Did I already say that?" Rick smiled awkwardly.

Lian's room door was slightly broken. It could no longer close properly. "Sigh, it is fine, I do not have anything valuable inside anyway. I will try putting the wardrobe in front of the door." A helpless sigh escaped his lips.

The two walked toward the Seven Spirit Flavour, where Lian and Rick had eaten together for the first time.

During the walk, besides exchanging trivial chatter, Lian tried to visualize the system notifications about the incident.

[Congratulations for having — BLOCKED]

[Reach Bronze 5 for further details—]

Tch, all this fuss for nothing… but Bronze 5 is not far off. I wonder what I will unlock. The cards I obtained by reaching 70% accuracy with the basic shapes are done. Also, the basic elements are finished.

Lian thought back to his first card reveal, when he was fighting in the arid desert of the Gate full of worms.

He had obtained the Hypercube.

Lian had no way to use such a complex shape, which seemed to represent space. In his opinion, it was just the system mocking him. After all, he was still stuck with simple two-dimensional shapes.

Later, upon reaching Bronze 2 and achieving 70% accuracy with the square, Lian drew one of the three available cards, obtaining the Hypersphere.

Unlike the first, the Hypersphere seemed to represent time.

Then, upon reaching Bronze 3, Lian unlocked the Triangle shape, achieving 70% accuracy instantly. After drawing one of two available cards, Lian obtained the Hyperovaloid .

[HYPEROVALOID: Draw a hyperovaloid to generate a ripple in the mind, accessing the flows of memory and intuition contained in a being, object, or place.

Reuse the same shape to touch a second subject, establishing a cognitive link between the two, allowing the transmission of knowledge, emotion, or experience.]

Finally, inside the tower, just before facing the sage, Lian became Bronze 4, unlocking the oval shape. Upon reaching 70%, Lian had no choice but to reveal the last remaining card.

It was about a Hypertetrahedron, the evolved form of the triangle.

[HYPERTETRAHEDRON: Draw a hypertetrahedron to generate a ripple in consciousness, amplifying your spiritual presence beyond the body's limits.

Reuse the same shape to attune to a second spirit, establishing an empathic connection between the two consciousnesses, sharing perceptions, emotions, and will.]

Unlike the Hypercube and Hypersphere, which seemed to concern space and time, respectively, the Hyperovaloid and Hypertetrahedron seemed to concern the mind and consciousness, respectively.

They were very peculiar concepts.

"I will think about it when the time comes… for now, it just seems like a system joke," he whispered faintly.

"We are here! I cannot wait to eat the entire menu! After all, we have to celebrate, right??? You have become a Run—"

"Shh!!" Lian's hands clamped onto his lips. "Can you not draw attention for at least a minute?" Lian looked around, nodding and smiling at the other students staring in their direction.

"I do not have much money with me, so do not overdo it. Okay?"

Rick coughed a few times before nodding. "Sorry, I am just too excited! I cannot wait to have my custom artifact! I already know what I want!" he whispered quietly.

"I already told you, it will take time before I can make something like that…"

He replied, shaking his head. "There are a lot of people here today." he added. The two lined up orderly, waiting their turn to enter.

It was not that there were no tables; the place was huge. It was just that there was not enough staff to let everyone in without reservations.

"Well, you know, it is Saturday. Tomorrow there are no classes, and everyone is thinking about having fun." Rick said, looking around, soaking in the festive atmosphere. Sure, he had not gone to class that morning, but it was not a problem. He could afford a couple of absences.