Magic

*An example of a magic circle*.

**Magic** (魔力 *Maryoku*) is a supernatural essence stored in gemstones. Users can harness magic to manipulate themselves and the world around them through "magic circles," spells, or other techniques.

## Overview

As an essence, magic is not an infinite power intrinsic to living beings. It is a resource that can be depleted and replenished, which is chiefly accomplished by extracting it from diamonds and sapphires. A minority of people may sometimes resort to other means: Necromancers can also replenish their magic reserves by forcibly exorcising vengeful or insane souls and converting their "staying energy," e.g. grudges and lingering attachments, into magic; and Elemental Eaters can attempt to force magic out from an Elemental at risk of a gruesome death if their bodies prove unable to handle it, for if they are unable, the magic shall expel itself with forces so violent as to potentially rupture, contort, boil, fry, or otherwise explode from those thieves' bodies.

The abundance of gemstones in the Other World, coupled with the rich density of Elementals in its atmosphere, is the reason magic has managed to flourish on that planet instead of the planet Earth, where gemstones are made expensive by rareness and Elementals have a weak presence.

Magic is often harnessed with **magic circles** (魔法陣 *mahōjin*) but not always; Utsurojuza, for instance, does not use them, whereas the giant witch "Skeptical God" Shasha practices location-dependent magic because she believes Earth's structure is a magic circle. Select circles see widespread use across races, but a user's race and individual self become more important factors the more complex a circle is. One can develop and refine one's own circles through research and combination.

## Known Magical Techniques

Although some techniques have known labels, others do not. This list below uses both the known labels and substitutes its own descriptive labels where necessary. The 'unofficial' labels are marked with the diple ⸖.

* **Alternate Dimensional Storage:** A type of 'space-adjusting' spell that allows its user to store any substance in another dimension. Masters of space-adjusting spells have been so frequently assassinated by their own and foreign governments that few still exist. Consider that such a spellcaster could store a location's oxygen, a countries' rulers, or—as Utsurojuza did once—act as a Trojan Horse by storing an entire military force.

* **False Face** (相貌誤認 *Sōbō Gonin*): A spell that cloaks its users' expression with a false one. Corpse God uses it to conceal his true expression from a client with a placid, smiling one (平静な表情 *Heiseina Hyōjō*).

* **Humanize:** A spell that causes its target to assume a human form.

* **⸖Mental Compliancy:** A spell that induces a compliant state of mind by taking advantage of a target's personal traits. For instance, when it is applied to Hideaki Habaki, it plays up Habaki's natural ego.

* **Life-force Detection:** A spell that allows its user to detect the life forces of others.

### References

1. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 1, Chapter 6.
2. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 8, Chapter 66.
3. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play (Manga): Volume 9, Guide Specimen "Magic Circles."*
4. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 6, Episode 6.
5. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 8, Chapter 63.
6. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 7, Chapter 55.