Aisha sneaked into the library after the events at the courtyard and browsed the books related to magic circuits. If she were to take the throne one day she had to know exactly what Gaians were capable of, or else should the possibility of war come true, she may not be able to defend her country. What Arthur Pendragon did earlier was nothing short of a miracle, dispersing all her mana in an instant was a feat her father could only do. She read pages after pages, books after books but still had no answer.

"Confused?" said a voice from the ceiling.

Aisha looked up and witnessed what was the strangest individual she had met so far. A man, wearing a black, tight-fitting, short-sleeved, upper garment, had his back glued stuck to the wall. Wrapped around his forearms were bandages that covered old scars. Upon his waste was a slender, curved blade known to the people of the east as a katana. He himself was no less slender than the sword, but his physique, rather than malnutrition, suggested nimbleness and agility.

The minute he talked to Aisha he fell down on the table before her, and sat cross-legged. Aisha had followed the man's descent with her gaze and was astoundedly silent.

"W-who are you?" stammered Aisha, as she recovered from her initial shock.

"Your guard miss," the man said, "Arthur asked me to guard you."

"Ah," let out Aisha, realizing Arthur's authority. "Have you been here for long?"

"Yes, Miss Aisha," the man replied, "I've seen you study our ancient arts."

"Forgive me about that, but I'm just curious how—"

"Pendragon dispersed your mana attack earlier?" the man finished for her.

"I'll tell you Miss all I know, but first let me introduce myself," the man uttered, standing up and doing a back flip over to the opposite side of the table. After successfully landing, he pulled out a chair and sat down, facing Aisha intently. "I am a proud member of the Shadow Elites and a former member of the Cast Shadow. My master is, err— he died long ago and I've come to carry out his will of protecting the nation. I'm four years younger than you Miss; 19 years old, to be exact."

"Oh, I see," told Aisha, about to introduce herself also.

"No need Miss," said the man, as though he predicted Aisha's next words. "I've read your profile, and I know who you are like the back of my mind."

The man looked up, thinking in his head. "Pardon me Miss, but was my use of the figure of speech correct? All my life I've been trained to fight, so I know less of the mysteries of language than most people do."

"Oh," Aisha chuckled at the man's innocent endeavor, "Your hyperbolic idiom was right on the mark Mr. err—"

"Razor Blade, that's what they call me. Although my late master gave me a proper name, he called me Lancelot."

"Ah! So Lancelot it is," voiced Aisha. "However, what's the catch? I don't expect this would be free right?"

"Eh?" expressed Lancelot, tilting his head, flummoxed at Aisha's words, "does it have to have something in exchange?"

Aisha straightaway realized the kind of personality Lancelot had, he was the careless kind that couldn't decide for themselves. His type of personality was nonchalant; if there was work they'd finish it without question. However, they were the worst at adapting to new situations as they depended on other people's initiative and instructions to act; in other words, he was immature.

"Ah," she muttered, "I see. Very well, please Mr. Lancelot can you tell me how Arthur did it?"

Lancelot beamed a playful and childlike smile, "Of course! I'd be happy to tell you Miss. As your guard it is my duty to help you with anything!"

Lancelot began with the basics. He taught Aisha about directional paths and aether conductors as well as the effects produced by using similar circuits on different environments and surface areas.

"I see," said Aisha, comprehending the lesson so far. "So basically, without the blessing of mana, the people of Gaia developed an extended perception towards the presence of aether which enables them to manipulate it at will?"

"Exactly Miss Aisha. However, not everyone could use this ability in combat; in the same way that Aethereans with low mana cannot use magic in combat so Gaians with low activation power are not eligible for battle."

Lancelot took a piece of paper from his belt-bag and placed it on the table, he then took a pen filled with ink made from a special mineral that could conduct aether at an efficiency second only to bronzite.

"As I've said earlier, here is the conductor," explained Lancelot, drawing a circle on the paper, "and here's a directional path. Depending on the creativity of the esper (an individual with extra sensory perception), he can do many things with this directional path."

Lancelot controlled the aether in his surroundings with his mind and channeled them into the directional path. The movement was a continuous circular motion, which quickly produced friction and ignited the paper to burn.

"As you can see, I was able to ignite this paper with this method. However, had I activated it at full capacity it would have produced an immense explosion."

"An explosion?" Aisha exclaimed, accidentally slamming the table in shock. "From this small piece of paper? How's that possible?"

"Activation power," continued Arthur, extinguishing the fire with a flick of a finger, "determines the amount of aether an individual can use in activating a circuit. Currently my activation power is at level 8; thus, if I were to activate the circuit at full capacity, I could, no doubt, produce a large explosion. Now, it is important to remember, that one must at least have an activation power of a level 5 in order for one to be effective in combat. The current cap is at level 10. However, there are those who cannot be categorized within the boundaries of levels because of their monstrous activation power, and—"

"Arthur's one of them?"

"Indeed Miss Aisha," Lancelot said, smiling genially. "You catch on very fast. Now—"

Lancelot took another piece of paper and wrote the same circle on its surface, but this time he controlled the aether entering the circle to slowly build up upwards.

"If we use the same circuit but control the aether differently we can produce something different, such as—."

"A force field!"

The aether stacked up until it made a dome made of pure aether over the circle.

"As you can see, this is a barrier made of aether, and this was how Pendragon, but in a greater scale, dispersed your mana."

"I see, but this method seems to act as an enclosure, how did he use this to disperse my mana?"

"That's simple Miss," Lancelot said, putting his things back inside his belt-bag, "he produced a gigantic barrier from the circuit on his ring and caused it to quickly expand. Once it reached the optimum size he made it explode. The outward gush of aether pushed your mana away, dispersing it."

"So that's how he did it!" exclaimed Aisha, widening her eyes in awe. She never knew Gaians could produce such a feat with their so called magic circuits.

"However, in battle, unlike Aethereans who can brandish all sorts of spells in various creative ways, Gaians can't do that. So what we do is practice a specific technique."

"A technique?" asked Aisha, "does that mean you don't use the methods you just taught me?"

"Um..." Lancelot looked up, thinking. "We do, but differently. You see, magic circuits, no matter how powerful they are, are no match against the power that Aethereans possess. Magic by use of mana is much more potent and powerful. The kind of explosion I can produce with a level 8 activation power is nothing more but an ant compared to a high-level fire manifested from mana—this is how huge the gap is. So in order to fight equally against that, we use what's called techniques. By focusing on a special method unique to ourselves, we can fight on a whole new level. Take for example my technique."

Lancelot stood up and held the handle of his sword. The next moment the sword glowed and reverberated; he quickly drew it from its scabbard and it immediately sliced the air at speeds faster than sound.

Aisha gasped in amazement at Lancelot's masterful display of skill.

"What you saw, was a circuit made especially for battle. I am a master at sword techniques. Thus, I have millions of methods to activate my sword's circuit and produce varying effects. With techniques, we can double our output capacity to tenfold or more, enough to equal a mage."

"Amazing!" expressed Aisha. "But what's the different between a technique and the thing you showed me earlier?" asked Aisha, rather curious.

"A technique Miss," said Lancelot, sheathing his sword, "is something developed by the wielder himself, and involves two elements: the method of fighting and the circuit that enhances it. Like me for example; before I could develop my own unique circuits, I had to undergo training with the sword, building what would become the basis of my circuits. When I graduated from the art of the sword, I began crafting my own circuit, one that would enhance my sword techniques. In this way, through sheer familiarity with the technique, I can subconsciously activate the circuit in a fight, thus, enabling me to activate the circuit at a level ten times higher than my own—or in cases where the wielder has become a true master, many-folds higher."

"I see," said Aisha, standing up, "are you really sure it's okay to tell that to a potential enemy?"

"Why not?" replied Lancelot, "and besides, you're Arthur's lover so it's fine."

"Actually it's not the case—" Aisha blurted, looking down and hesitating to continue, 'I'm not Pendragon's lover,' she thought.

"What?"

"Nothing," she added, walking away, "just forget about it."

"Oh, by the way Miss!" screamed Lancelot at the exiting Aisha, "Arthur said he wants to say something to you after all this."

"Tell him I'm busy—"

***

Meanwhile at the heroes’ graveyard, Arthur was retrieving a wooden box he excavated from Lily's grave with the use of circuits. Beside him was a girl wrapped all over by a black outfit.

"What's that?" pointed the girl.

"Some relic I need," admitted Arthur, "to get out of this mess."

Arthur placed the wooden box on the ground and used a magic circuit to cause the earth surrounding the excavated part to cave in and cover it. Before Arthur opened the box he eyed the girl with a suspecting glare.

"Who are you anyway, and why are you helping me?"

"Oh me?" the girl said, pointing at herself, "Sasha asked me to help you. My real name's supposed to be secret but since my best friend trusts you I'll reveal it to you, provided you promise me never to tell anyone about it."

"Alright, I promise. Now tell me who you are, and why you bear the name Wisp."

"I am the new captain of the newly reformed Cast Shadow, which is now called Shadow Elites, and my real name is Maya. I am Wisp because I am the strongest, with a level 10 activation power."