As I was teaching myself how to code using the books I had seen from the library, I paused for a second.

  "Am I an idiot or something? Why didn't I make a system with transfiguration? Even if a crystal core computer is not compatible with a digital one, I can write simulators that could easily bridge the gap. I'm way more capable in Photon compared to C or Assembly anyway."

  Looking over the piece of trash people in this time period call a computer, I almost waved my hand, preparing to remake my state-of-the-art SubZero 9 before remembering all the media about how magic tends to mess with electronics and in a moment of cautiousness, decided to transfigure something else.

  The attic of the Gray house creaked faintly as I shifted my weight, dust motes swirling in the dim light of a cloudy day that filtered through the cracked window. It smelled faintly of dust and old wood.

  Looking around, I couldn't find anything suitable. There were some old clothes, but I'm like ninety percent sure they have emotional value for Mrs. Gray, so I don't really want to use those.

  After looking around and not finding anything, I decided to put some of the new magic I had learned to use. So I used transmutation.

  In many ways, transmutation is similar to transfiguration, except for a couple of key differences.

  Where transfiguration changes the shape and material of things, transmutation can only change the shape and structure without affecting the material. Now, you might think it's just a worse version of the former, but there is another major difference that makes this charm worth it: it's permanent. Any change I make won't revert back to its original shape like it does with transfiguration.

  The third difference, and the one I am using this charm for, is that it can disintegrate matter before restructuring it, unlike transfiguration that changes things whole. This means I'm not limited by item size, or things that I normally wouldn't have been able to change due to being an unremovable part of a whole.

  Keeping the results I wanted in my mind, I went backwards from that, working out the way I wanted the charm to work, and putting the intermediate-level Arithmancy I had recently learned to use. The equations flickered in my thoughts making a new spell com to existence.

  I've noticed broad charms like transfiguration or transmutation often have minor charms made based on them. Like that charm to turn a matchstick into a needle—it's an incredibly narrow use of transfiguration, but it's simultaneously one of, if not the most efficient, examples of its use.

  During a fight, I might not really have the chance to customize the charm for the occasion like I am now—though even this won't be much more efficient than using transmutation directly since I don't really have much experience in doing it yet—but I've decided I'll try to custom-make any charm I need for any occasion as long as casting isn't time-sensitive. Not only is it good practice, but eventually I'm gonna have custom charms for any situation.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  As I finally pulled the metaphorical trigger, I observed as an incredibly thin mist of mana released from the embodiment of my aura into the air and started passing over all surfaces, leaving behind residual amounts of active mana. Moments after the mist passed by a surface, the layer of grime and dirt along with the topmost layer of wood from the floor and chalk from the slanted ceiling came off, flowing to the center of the room with a fine sand-like consistency before solidifying into a slightly off-white brick.

  "Huh, that worked better than I'd thought," I said aloud. It was exciting to look at my first-ever self-made spell... Well, it's just a badly made customization of existing spell models, but it's my first, and it will be my worst. From now on, every single thing that I make and customize for my own use will be better than the last.

  I got a bit sidetracked. With a wave of my hand and another custom spell, I watched as the off-white brick turned first into a liquid-like globe of white and black material before solidifying into a sphere. Little by little, small waves could be seen passing over its surface, changing things slightly every time they passed. I could feel it for the first time—my magic was "stretching" itself.

  I had theorized that the cost of transfiguration would rise with complexity, but I had dismissed it, as I knew from the movies and again from the books I'd bought that there are wizards who turned inanimate objects into living, breathing animals. And there are few things more complicated than life at fundamental levels. But now... I will have to reinvestigate that specific subject again. I mean, I'm sure there is a reason, and complexity is part of it, but it's not the whole story.

  The entire thing took a shockingly long time—like nearing an hour. Several times during which, the charm was almost going wrong, and I had to correct its course. Like it was trying to fabricate a model I had given it, but it kept trying to change and sustain my design badly. Towards the end, though, it was fixed, and things went like they were supposed to, with the same satisfaction level as a magnetic connection snapping into place.

  After it was all week and done though? I. Was. Tired. Like dead tired. I would assume this is how it would feel if one were to run two marathons back to back.

  As I lay on the ground breathing heavily, I turned my head to the side, looking at my accomplishment. To my right, a black semitransparent spheroid with light blue highlights and a red "eye" nestled in front of me, safely in its holder.

  The SubZero 9—the most cutting edge of crystal core technology—was also my personal computer for the last six months of my previous life.

  It took me two hours of rest before I could move again, but by that time, the SubZero 9 had already started to revert back to a brick.

  It was a shock, honestly. Before this, even the most complicated things I had created for practice and experimentation could hold their shape for more than twenty-four hours.

  "Hah," I sighed loudly. "I'm not in that much of a rush, let's continue tomorrow."

  And with that, I turned off my laptop, which looked even more disappointing with the glimpse of my old PC, and hid it along with the brick within a section of the wall I had previously hollowed out using transmutation.

  The wall sealed itself with a faint wave, –even this trace amounts of magic feels exhausting now– leaving no trace of the hidden compartment. I brushed the dust off my hands, and calmly went to the hatch.

  I went down as discreetly as I could to catch dinner, it smelled like pasta and I wasn't going to miss that.