Under Rosta's guidance, Calca approached a library desk with a sense of anticipation. She opened the biography, hoping to glean some profound wisdom, only to be struck by a "bolt from the blue" the moment she turned the first page.
First of all, this is my personal biography.
Secondly, there is something I urgently need to declare.
And that is—!
[Magic Affinity] should absolutely not be a B-rank Talent! Those old fogies in the Slane Theocracy responsible for compiling the Talent Rankings are all blind!
You have to understand, my [Magic Affinity] allows me to sense the very existence of mana. What is mana? It's shorthand for magical power; it represents the very concept of magic's existence! And what kind of garbage is listed in B-rank along with it?
[Arcane Vision]? Nothing but a useless talent that can only see the Mana Aura of Magic-type casters. [Magic Affinity] can sense the Mana Aura of anyone related to magic.
[Capacity for Concentration Boost]? A talent for meatheads. It's nowhere near as practical as [Magic Affinity], which grants a one-sixth boost to total mana and mana perception.
[Summon Strengthening]? True strength comes from being strong yourself.
[Illusion Detection]? Even more pathetic than [Arcane Vision]. Once you see through an illusion, the caster notices you. Besides, who even uses illusions these days? Just eat my Dust of Appearance!
.....
Calca performed a literal tactical lean-back.
As far as the eye could see, the author had written a sprawling, exhaustive critique of every single B-rank talent in existence. Reading through the opening section, Calca hadn't learned much about her own talent yet, but the personality of the biographer was becoming vividly clear in her mind.
If she didn't know better, she'd think she was looking at Guan Yu assessing the generals of the world after the death of Lu Bu. But while Guan Yu was a god of war, who were you? Talk about an ego!
Intrigued, Calca flipped back to the cover to see who exactly had the gall to make such sweeping boasts. She was met with a familiar name: Eulryk Besares.
The... First Holy King!
Never mind then.
As a Fifth-Tier caster of this world—one who could even use [Maximize Magic] to cast Sixth-Tier spells—Eulryk Besares' caster level was likely at least around level 34 or 35. Considering the First Holy King also possessed significant melee capabilities, his total level was probably even higher. Furthermore, the crown capable of casting the Sixth-Tier spell [Ultimate Crusade] was created by this very King using a Great Ritual Magic. By that calculation, while he wasn't exactly Guan Yu, he certainly had the capital to be arrogant.
Calca calmly resumed reading. Now, her powerful mind automatically filtered out the arrogant tone and haughty word choices, distilling the text down to its most valuable information.
Throughout the book, Eulryk first established one fact: the source of mana. All magic casters, when casting, can actually "feel" the world—they feel the tides of mana, drawing from them to perform their spells.
Indeed, regardless of their branch, the magic casters of this world required the cooperation of the world's mana in addition to their own internal reserves. Magic-type casters could even feel several massive "shadows" within the mana tides during the process. To Faith-type casters, those shadows were the Gods.
Calca suspected this was why Tier Magic—even simple lifestyle magic—included spells like [Create Water]. In other words, a magic caster who had just synchronized with the world could easily cast it. The difference between having "help" and having no help was astronomical.
While ordinary casters didn't care much about the subtle differences between the mana of different branches, Eulryk, having used his Talent for years, recognized the distinctions and categorized them.
For example, why could [Arcane Vision] only see the Mana Aura around Magic-type casters? In reality, [Arcane Vision] could see some ambient Mana Aura in the environment, and that environment didn't distinguish between Magic-type or Faith-type. Similarly, [Arcane Vision] could see the aura on magic items, provided the item was powerful enough. Only items storing a vast amount of mana would form a faint layer of Mana Aura on their surface, appearing as a hazy "glow" to the user.
If magic items, enchanted weapons, and even special natural locations had visible auras, why did magic casters become "invisible" to the talent unless they were Magic-type?
The reason lay in processing.
Eulryk used food to distinguish the three branches of magic casters:
Magic-type: This is like cooking wheat directly.
Faith-type: This involves using the power of a God to grind the wheat into flour, then turning it into noodles to eat.
This explained the Faith-type casting method: they borrowed mana from a God, dyed it with their own mana, and then released the spell. When your "contract" is with a God, the mana you receive is already "flour." During the process of learning magic, that flour is constantly shaped by the user until it becomes "noodles."
The Mana Aura is also continuously modified during this process, losing its original form. Although the concept of an aura still exists, it's as if a layer of [Invisibility] has been passively applied, bypassing the scrutiny of [Arcane Vision]. In Calca's understanding, it was likely that the "color" of Faith-type Mana Aura fell outside the visual spectrum of [Arcane Vision].
Maintaining this connection to a God naturally relied on the individual's faith—or rather, their conviction. Eulryk himself had met a strange Faith-type caster who held a steadfast belief in "eradicating evil and promoting good." Despite not knowing which God he followed, he could still communicate with a divine presence and cast Faith-type spells.
Psychic-type: Their process is even more complex, more akin to making bread. Noodles only require water, kneading, and cooking; bread requires specific fermentation and baking.
Eulryk's explanation was that the Psychic-type possessed an entire system of worldly philosophy. For instance, the concepts of the [Yin Five Elements] and [Yang Five Elements] generating and overcoming each other. Eulryk theorized that their philosophy likely aligned with so many Gods that it pulled a fragment of power from numerous deities at once, creating a "communal zone" to help them grind their wheat into flour. Psychic-types were also the only casters who could not see the "shadows" within the mana tides.
As for other branches? As we all know, there are five of the Four Heavenly Kings, and naturally, there are four of the Three Great Branches. The "Other" category consisted of the magic systems used by classes like Paladins and Magic Warriors.
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My : https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
I'm not the Queen Greatsword. (59 Chapters, Ongoing)
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