Portal Efficiency Routes

SPOILERS WARNING: Liminal Chronicles Series: TITLE TBD (Book 3)

You're afraid of math? Look, you can save one third of your ki energy and this app will do the calculations for you. I know you don't trust tech. But I can't help you if you refuse to use a cell phone!

You'd use paper Ofuda? Fine. I can look into transferring the solution to paper. But I'm not handwriting them all, you understand. Especially the ones with multiple routes!

— the unidentified inventor

by Flat Icons

What happens when a young mage changes the magic world by using math and science to improve instant travel spells? You get portal efficiency routes measured in units of energy. The calculation method is spreading quickly into other areas of magic use, though adoption of the method isn't as rapid.

Discovery

The Yokai have unusual methods for every aspect of life. Until the current generation, they haven't been interested in technology. Magic always got them by. One simply had to have the required energy for the next spell or two.

by Freepik

The inventor tinkered with measuring a mage's energy. Once that was established (and the uproar began about privacy issues), the next step was to quantify units of ki that could be used for calculations. Under the guidance of the mage science department at Kyoto Jidai Arcane University, the inventor then created an app to help mages understand the quantity needed.

How to Obtain the Calculations

by user4468087 + Freepik

Connect to the app

User allows the app to scan their ki levels: amount on hand and overall capacity

App withdraws and returns the amount of ki for 1 unit so they understand how much a unit is

User marks the location on the map, and notes the diameter opening and duration of the portal needed

The app calculates the energy needed to the nearest half unit + a 5% margin of error

User creates portal with that amount of energy (It can take some time for a user to get this correct.)

The app tells the user if they used the correct amount of energy

by AWV + user4468087

by AWV, j.pranee, MidJourney

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Related spell(s)

Portal

by Pixel Perfect

Inventor

Identity not released. Though Kyoto Jidai Arcane University via Kyoto Jidai Archane Corporation has patented the method through the Yokai Courts. The inventor's name will be released after the agreed upon date.

Units

Ki Joule (KIJ) = amount of ki that equals the force of one Newton acting through one meter¹

Upgrades to the App

Smaller portals are always easier to create. The amount of energy needed increases exponentially for long distances. For the best use of ki, sometimes multiple portals are suggested to common portaling locations, kind of like airline or shipping service hubs. The series of portals is calculated to be the least expensive in terms of ki. Keep in mind the calculations for this are more complex and there is a subscription service for these routes.

Future Releases

Kyoto Jidai Archane Corporation has announced upcoming options, including:

Withdrawal of the exact amount of energy needed from the user + 5% margin of error (this is a voluntary withdrawl, not ki theft)

A device to store the energy and release it with a keyword for the portal spell

Social Impact

Concerns raised include:

What if the app or device gets hacked? A user could be killed by the withdrawal or lost in the void if the portal collapses.

Privacy. While yokai can get a general sense for how much ki another has in their ki reserve, the app gives exact amounts.

The younger generation is capitalizing on the free version of the calculations for a single portal. A few yokai owned businesses have started to use it to help with transport of goods, trade, sending messages, and managing portals for entry to and from conventions. Time will tell if the subscription service is widely adopted.
Rumors say three things:

The inventor has a full ride scholarship at Kyoto Jidai Arcane University for the contribution to mage science.

The app was adopted practically overnight by every mage in Sumichou.

The Portal Creation Guild is in talks with the inventor.

References:

¹ https://www.physics.uci.edu/~silverma/units.html