Rewrite That Witch
CH428 · Rewrite
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Chapter 428: An Exploration of Magic Power

“Grades?” Tilly looked at the transcript and then looked up. “She’s improved considerably.”

“Yes.” Roland nodded. “Lucia’s father was a merchant in Valencia — she came with basic literacy and arithmetic already in place. She took to the natural theory course quickly. The scores reflect genuine comprehension, not just memorization.”

“I’m not challenging your theory that understanding the world strengthens a witch’s abilities,” Tilly said, with a slight tilt to her mouth. “But what does any of that have to do with why she developed a magic bite?”

“The evolution of Lily, Leaf, and Mystery Moon — and the other witches here — tells us that evolution increases a witch’s magic capacity limit. I believe that limit is directly tied to how well a witch perceives and understands the world.” Roland had been thinking through this connection since Agatha had described the ancient Taquila witch who evolved through “comprehensive enlightenment.” He laid it out now in order. “The ancient High Awakening Agatha described and the local evolution we’ve been observing are the same mechanism. A witch who evolves through partial, fragmentary understanding gains some increase — Mystery Moon is the example. But a witch who evolves through broad, systematic comprehension gains substantially more. That’s why Mystery Moon’s capacity doesn’t approach Anna’s or Soraya’s, even though she went through her own evolution.”

Tilly absorbed this. Then: “So what you’re saying is that Lucia’s magic power was calibrated to a certain level — the level her body had adjusted to over time. But when she entered adulthood, her ability evolved, which drove her capacity suddenly upward — and the surge overwhelmed what she could safely hold.”

“That’s the shape of it, yes. But I’d frame it more precisely.” Roland held up one finger. “There are three types of power increase: the Day of Awakening, the Day of Adulthood, and evolution. They appear similar from outside, but I believe the first two are passive — the body receives them whether ready or not. Evolution is voluntary. The witch initiates it through the expansion of understanding.”

“Why the distinction?”

“Because evolution doesn’t cause bites. If it did, Anna would have died when she evolved.” He let that sit. “I think each witch has a magic power threshold — a redline. Cross it and the bite follows. Daily practice raises that threshold gradually, which is why emptying reserves before each Day of Awakening matters. But if a witch’s capacity jumps rapidly due to evolution at the same moment her Adulthood surge arrives — the threshold hasn’t had time to adjust. The two increases collide. She crosses her own redline.”

Tilly had stopped looking at the transcript. She was looking at the middle distance instead, the particular expression of someone reorganizing a mental model. “This also explains why free magic power is only visible at awakening. A witch can’t integrate it unless she receives it — she can see it in the environment, but she can’t draw it in without the body’s cooperation.”

“We can think of awakening as drawing magic power inward,” Roland said. “Only a small fraction is retained. Evolution expands and refines that fraction. And since the exploration of the world has no natural limit, neither does the number of times a witch can evolve.”

Tilly was quiet for a moment. Then something shifted in her expression — more relaxed, almost amused.

“I’m suddenly curious,” she said. “If you were a witch, how extensive would your power be after evolution?”

Roland nearly choked on his tea. He wanted to say considerable — honestly, the temptation was real — but the thought of what it would cost to find out dampened the impulse before it fully formed.

Tilly let him not answer and continued: “Would you object to my taking copies of the textbooks back to Sleeping Island?”

She asked it casually. But her right hand had found the hem of her skirt.

“Absolutely not.” He answered quickly, cleanly, with no deliberate effect — or so he told himself. “It would benefit Border Town if the Sleeping Island witches evolve further. And besides—” he smiled “—you’re my sister.”

Nightingale’s fingers found his left shoulder. The pinch was neither gentle nor brief.

Tilly did not respond to the “sister” part. She inclined her head slightly. “Thank you. I’ll excuse myself.”

“Of course.”

Overdone. He knew it the moment she moved. She wasn’t the kind of person who responded to sentimentality, real or performed. He needed a more convincing argument first, and he hadn’t supplied one.

Then Tilly stopped at the door.

She didn’t turn fully, just turned her head enough for the words to reach him.

“Sometimes,” she said quietly, “I’d rather hope you weren’t my brother.”

The door closed.

Roland sat with that for a long moment.

What does that mean?

Nightingale materialized at the edge of his desk, swinging her legs up and crossing them, and thrust a piece of dried fish into her mouth. She looked at him without particular sympathy.

“What do you think she meant?” he asked.

“How would I know?” She chewed. “Maybe she thinks you’re more useful as an ally than as family.”

He considered this. He had worked alongside Tilly for half a winter now. She was not impulsive. She was not careless with words.

Maybe she means she doesn’t want Prince Roland to come back. Maybe it was just the backlash of a lame overture.

“You’re not actually her brother anyway,” Nightingale said. “Why does it matter what she calls you?” She bit off more fish. “Also — I didn’t even have to use my ability to know you were lying when you said it.”

“Noted.” Roland rubbed his nose. “So it was the latter.”

“Also—” Nightingale tilted her head “—since Tilly isn’t your real sister, is it actually appropriate to give her the Natural Something Theory?”

“Natural Science Theoretical Foundation,” he corrected, with a patience he had been accumulating for months. “It’s several months of winter. She could copy it all herself — she probably already knows most of it by heart. But she asked for formal permission. That says something about how she approaches this kind of alliance.”

He waited a moment before continuing, looking at the window.

“The witches on Sleeping Island are primarily witches. Even if all of them evolve, they still depend fundamentally on witch power.” He paused. “What I’m building here is different. The knowledge expands what ordinary people can do — not only witches. The power I’m relying on is everyone’s.”

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