In this letter coding analogy, ERASE is coded as FSBTF by shifting letters forward. Using the same pattern, what is the correct code for MAGIC?

Introduction / Context:
This problem is a straightforward letter coding question from verbal reasoning. The example pair ERASE : FSBTF shows a consistent shift applied to each letter using the alphabetical order. Your goal is to decode this pattern and then apply the same letter wise transformation to the word MAGIC in order to find its correct coded form from the options. Such questions test how quickly and accurately you can work with alphabet positions.

Given Data / Assumptions:

ERASE is converted to FSBTF by a simple, uniform rule.
We use the standard English alphabet A to Z with positions 1 to 26.
The second word that must be coded is MAGIC.
Options given are NHBJD, NBHGD, NBJHD and NBHJD.
We assume a basic Caesar shift style code with no rearrangement of letter order.

Concept / Approach:
The natural first step is to compare each letter of ERASE with the corresponding letter of FSBTF. If every letter is shifted by the same amount, then the code is a simple shift cipher. A quick inspection E to F, R to S, A to B, S to T and E to F shows that each original letter has been moved one place forward in the alphabet. This means we are adding 1 to the alphabetical position of each letter. Once this rule is confirmed, we can simply apply a plus one shift to each letter of MAGIC and assemble the result.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Check the mapping for ERASE. Step 2: E moves to F (E is the 5th letter, F is the 6th; plus one step). Step 3: R moves to S (18 to 19), A to B (1 to 2), S to T (19 to 20) and E to F (5 to 6). This confirms a shift of plus one for every position. Step 4: Now write MAGIC letter by letter: M, A, G, I, C. Step 5: Shift each letter one step forward in the alphabet. M goes to N, A to B, G to H, I to J and C to D. Step 6: Put the new letters together to get the coded word NBHJD.

Verification / Alternative check:
To verify the result, quickly reverse the logic and subtract one from the letters in NBHJD. N becomes M, B becomes A, H becomes G, J becomes I and D becomes C, which gives MAGIC again. This confirms that NBHJD is correctly derived from MAGIC by the same plus one shift used in the example. Checking the other options also helps. NHBJD, NBHGD and NBJHD all mismatch at one or more positions if we reverse shift them back, so they do not decode cleanly to MAGIC under a constant step rule.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
NHBJD changes the order of the letters and does not correspond to a simple one step shift of MAGIC. NBHGD violates the plus one pattern in the final letters, because C should code to D, not to G. NBJHD has incorrect middle letters, since G should become H, not J. None of these answers keeps a consistent plus one shift at every position, which is essential if the same rule is to be applied as in ERASE to FSBTF.

Common Pitfalls:
A common error is to identify the shift for the first one or two letters and then guess without checking all of them. Another mistake is to miscount positions when moving through the alphabet quickly. A safe method is to write out the alphabet or mentally count each letter step. Once you have validated the rule across all characters in the example word, you can apply it with confidence to the target word and avoid careless mismatches between pattern and answer choice.

Final Answer:
Using the same plus one alphabet shift that converts ERASE to FSBTF, MAGIC is coded as NBHJD, so NBHJD is the correct option.