Chapter 516: The Music of Recovery
Soraya’s task was to coat the cut copper wire in a hard anti-corrosion layer—preparation for the City of Neverwinter’s Three Supplies Project. It was easier work than the inner tire: the thickness didn’t need to be as precise.
She pulled the color card and reshaped the Magic Pen into a round tube. One pass from top to bottom, and the pigment solidified on the metal surface. She had learned the technique from Anna—restructuring the Magic Pen’s form to make more efficient use of magical power.
But the gap between them was vast, and Soraya knew it. She had witnessed Anna’s Blackfire cutting through metal ingots, and cutting was the wrong word for what she was watching. It looked like a performance: three distinct flames in three distinct forms, approaching from different angles, producing parts of identical dimensions—or assembling complete machines in one continuous motion. The Blackfire’s different lengths each carried different properties; that was easy enough to observe. Controlling all of them simultaneously, keeping their distinct magical characteristics stable while directing them together—that was something else entirely. For that, magic power had to be as responsive as a limb. More responsive, maybe.
“Is it… a vine?” Lucia asked, leaning close to study the color laid down by the Magic Pen.
“Exactly—ten-year-old grapevine.” Soraya kept her hand steady. “Hard, resistant to breaking, very close to what His Highness specified.”
“Ten years old—is that detail actually necessary?”
“Of course.” She couldn’t help smiling. “Young vines are softer, less resistant to corrosion and heat. Age isn’t the only variable, either—the same material behaves differently wet than dry. Wood, paper, cloth—all of them. That’s why I need color cards to track it.”
Lucia’s eyes went wide. “If that’s true, you’ll eventually have more color cards than we have metal formulas!”
“Not necessarily.” Soraya considered. “Elementary Chemistry shows that a material can change its properties dramatically with subtle changes in composition. But for wood, I’ve found the color card doesn’t shift noticeably when the moisture content varies between ten and fifteen percent.”
“You’re recording the entire world with just a pen.” Lucia shook her head in genuine admiration. “That’s an enviable ability.”
Soraya smiled but said nothing. She was thinking of Anna again—Anna had the truly enviable ability. If the Magic Pen recorded the world, then the Blackfire created it. Most of the changes in this city could be traced back to Anna: the machines gathered at the courtyard’s edge, waiting to be connected to a steam engine so they could channel power that once only witches could produce. In a real sense, Anna’s creations let ordinary people reach toward a witch’s strength. The workers had become an extension of the Blackfire, mediated by iron and steam.
By midday, she’d coated five bundles of copper wire and was done. Her life had a consistent rhythm: different locations each day, partial coatings, a steady advancement through the project lists. Now that her speed had improved, only half her magical power was gone by noon.
When a witch exhausted her power entirely, she felt it: fatigue, and in the worst cases, fainting. So they usually held back thirty percent during daily work, reserving it for training—where they burned through the remainder deliberately, to push the limit further. Soraya had a few hours left. She could spend them gathering new color cards, hunting for materials she hadn’t catalogued yet.
Instead she went back and joined Mystery Moon and the others for Fight the Landlord.
This is absolutely not slacking. She told herself this firmly. It’s temporary entertainment.
Time moved differently inside a card game. The whole afternoon vanished between one hand and the next.
After dinner, Scroll made an announcement. “Tonight’s evening course is cancelled. We’re holding an ability test for Echo instead.”
“Hasn’t she already been tested?” Lily frowned. “Why again?”
“This is wonderful!” Mystery Moon said, reaching over to cover Lily’s mouth. “I’ve never gotten to observe an ability test before!”
Lily pulled the hand away and muttered under her breath. “The point is they cancelled class. Aren’t you happy about that, at least…”
“Teacher Scroll, what should we do?” Ring asked—the only non-witch in the hall, sitting very straight.
“You just need to focus and listen,” Scroll said warmly.
“I don’t imagine everyone needs to attend.” Agatha rose. “If not, I’ll return to my room.”
“That’s not possible.” Scroll shook her head. “You’re one of the reasons for the test.”
“Me?” Agatha’s expression sharpened.
All the witches looked at her.
“Yes. You’ve been overextending yourself—consuming your full magical power every day. Your body won’t sustain that pace.”
“In Taquila, senior witches did the same.” Agatha said it without heat. “You’re aware of the Battle of Divine Will’s nature—it doesn’t stop until one side collapses. The Union was willing to sacrifice every one of its members if that sacrifice could find the path to victory.”
“But His Highness has said: forcing yourself beyond recovery reduces efficiency. Rest is necessary—for study, for work, for everything.” Scroll kept her voice soft. “I’ve told him about your situation. This test is an attempt at a solution.”
“Testing what?”
“Echo’s recovery ability.”
That stopped the room. Soraya glanced at Echo—quiet, unremarkable Echo, whose power was mimicry of sound. Can she heal people, like Nana? The idea seemed impossible. Echo’s ability had always been considered nearly useless; it was why Cara had once looked at her with such contempt.
Scroll paused before answering. “I don’t know the exact mechanism. It’s His Highness’s hypothesis.” She looked toward the door. “Are we ready? Let’s begin.”
Echo walked to the hall and ascended to the podium. She was visibly nervous. Every breath in the room held.
Then the music began.
It came softly—a clear, living sound, like spring water moving over smooth stone. Echo sang in her own voice, not mimicking anything: a single melodious song, unhurried, winding through the air between them.
The stone castle dissolved around Soraya. She felt warm water rising over her—not water exactly, but something like it: a white mist, an enveloping warmth, the cool kiss of a breeze on her face while something soft and bright rose above her. Stars. She couldn’t say why she was certain, but she was certain. She hummed without realizing it, her whole body loosening like a knot worked free from rope.
When the song ended, she didn’t open her eyes immediately.
Recovery. She understood without needing it explained. Her magical power hadn’t changed—not an increment more than before. But the weight of the day had lifted. Her limbs felt clean. Her mind had gone quiet and sharp at the same time, ready again.
Chapter 516: The Music of Recovery
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
What Soraya did was to cover the cut copper wire with a layer of hard anticorrosion coating so that it could be used for the City of Neverwinter’s Three Supplies Project.
This process was easier than coating the inner wire, as the thickness did not require much accuracy.
After choosing the color card, Soraya turned the Magic Pen into a round tube. Once scanned from top to bottom, the “pigment” will become solid on the metal surface. It was a trick she learned from Anna—to make better use of magic power by changing its form.
However, there was still a big gap between them because Anna’s ability to control magic was almost perfect. Soraya witnessed the Blackfire as it was cutting metal ingots. It seemed like a performance instead of a task… The three types of Blackfire were in different forms, and they cut through the metal from different angles, making a number of parts that were all the same size, or directly created a complete machine. It was easy to remember the characteristics of the black fire at different lengths. It was, however, hard to control the many types of it and make them work together while maintaining the different characteristics of their magic power. In order to do that, there should be no difference between magic power and limbs, and the magic power might need to be more flexible.
“Is it… a vine?”Lucia asked as she stared curiously at the colors painted by the Magic Pen.
“Exactly, this is a 10-year-old grapevine.” Soraya explained, “It’s hard and difficult to break, very close to His Highness’ requirement.”
“10 years old… Is that necessary?”.
“Of course.” She could not help laughing. “Young vines are obviously softer and less resistant to corrosion and heat. It’s not just about their ages. Materials, such as wood, paper, and cloth have different properties in wet and dry conditions. That’s why I need to use color cards to record them.”
“If this is true, there’ll be more color cards than metal formulas!” exclaimed Lucia.
“Not really,” Soraya thought for a while and said, “‘Elementary Chemistry’ states that the characteristics of a material might undergo huge changes while its composition has subtle changes. But, the color card of wood has no noticeable changes when it’s mixed with 10% or 15% water.”
“Wow, you record the whole world with just a pen.” Lucia was amazed. “This is really an enviable ability.”
She smiled but did not answer. She was thinking of Anna, who really had an enviable ability. If the Magic Pen was recording the world, then the Blackfire was creating the world. Most of the changes in the town were related to Anna. Several of the machines at the corner of the courtyard displayed proof of that. As long as they were connected to the steam engine, they were able to produce strong bursts of power. The workers became an add-on to the Blackfire through a machine. In a sense, Anna’s creation enabled the ordinary people to have power close to the witches’.
Today’s job was considered done after coating five bundles of copper wire —Soraya’s working life was very consistent. She would go to different places to complete partial coatings every day. Since her painting speed had improved, only about half of her magic power would be exhausted by midday.
When a witch consumed all her magic power, she would feel tired or even faint. Therefore, they would usually retain 30% of their power during the daily training—Typically, as additional training to consume more magic power, she would continue to collect color cards and capture new colors. Still, Soraya became less productive because Wendy and His Highness were
not around. For that reason, she decided to join Mystery Moon and others in Fight the Landlord game later.
She thought that this was definitely not slacking off. It was just a temporary entertainment.
…
Time always flew fast while playing a game. The whole afternoon passed within a wink. After dinner, Scroll announced some unexpected news.
“Today’s evening course has been canceled and changed to Echo’s ability test.”
“Well, hasn’t she done her ability test before?” Lily wondered and said, “Why does she have to do it again?”
“This is great,” said Mystery Moon almost immediately while covering Lily’s mouth with her hand. “I’ve never tested anyone else’s abilities!”
Lily stared angrily at Mystery Moon till she stopped covering her mouth and muttered softly. “The point is the class has been dismissed. Why don’t you feel happy…?”
“Teacher Scroll, what should we do?” asked Ring, the only non-witch in the hall.
“You just need to focus and listen,” replied Scroll with a smile.
“I fancy not everyone needs to attend the test.” Agatha stood up. “If not, I’ll go back to my room.”
“That won’t do.” Scroll shook her head. “You’re one of the reasons for the test.”
“Me?” She asked frowning.
All of the witches looked at Agatha, including Soraya.
“Yes. You’re too stressed and your body won’t be able to bear it if you consume all your magic power every day.”
“In Taquila, senior witches do the same,” said Agatha carelessly, “Are you not aware of the brutality of the Battle of Divine Will? It’ll never stop until the opponent collapses. I believe that the Union is willing to sacrifice all its members if they’re able to find the path to victory.”
“But His Highness said before, simply forcing yourself will reduce your efficiency. Resting is necessary for doing things, both studying and working,” Scroll said softly. “I have told him your situation, so the test is an attempt.”
“Test what?”
“The recovery skill of Echo.”
The phrase surprised the witches. “Can she heal the wounded like Nana?”
Soraya doubted it. Echo’s ability was to simulate all kinds of sounds. She was useless in the Witch Cooperation Association. She would not have been despised by Cara if she could heal others.
Scroll paused for a moment. “I don’t know the exact reason. It’s His Highness’s idea.” She looked outside. “Are you ready? Let’s begin.”
Echo walked to the hall and ascended the podium. She was a little nervous. Everyone was holding their breath and waiting for her to exercise her ability.
The music rang softly, like a clear spring ringing in everyone’s ears.
Then she sang a melodious song in her own voice instead of simulating one.
Suddenly, Soraya felt that everything around her had changed. The stone castle gradually faded into the darkness and her body was surrounded by warm springs… It was as if she were enveloped by a white mist, and upon her was a sky full of stars. The cool breezes blew through her warm body. She could not help humming out loud and was completely relaxed and immersed in this very comfortable spring.
At the end of the song, Soraya slowly opened her eyes after a long time. She understood the meaning of “Recovery” without any explanation. There was no increase in magic power, but the fatigue of the day was swept away. Her body became active and strong.