Chapter 46: Chapter 46
Once Darius' thoughts reached here, he felt like he had solved a pressing issue. It seemed long-winded, but the truth was one could just imagine his fate if he cast his current Sparks around an actual mage.
They might just have their jaws lower so sharply that it might dislocate. To compare, it would be like seeing someone holding a toy pistol and then shooting a mini-nuke out of it.
How would you react?
Darius rubbed his hair and decided to take a break here. Portia was also reading up on her stuff and Darius had an idea pop up in his head.
"Portia, I've read about the power systems, but how do mages and non-mages acquire a 'Spark' artificially?" Darius asked.
Portia tilted her head in surprise. "For you to say that… Master Darius, does that mean you were naturally awakened?!"
Darius nodded pleasantly. "I am very talented as you can see Portia. What about my earlier question?"
Portia gazed at Darius with even more reverence. "Well, for people like my brother, they have to either ingest a potion or some naturally occurring fruits that can artificially create a Spark. Some even have specific talents they can create in a person."
Portia seemed downcast here. "As for us mages, it is very hard. Outside of natural awakening like yours, there is only one other way and it is by using a Scroll of Awakening written by an Adept mage."
Darius took out a blank sheet of paper and focused even as Portia continued to speak about the makings of a Scroll of Awakening.
[Would you like to change the blank paper into a Scroll of Awakening? This will cost 4 Conversion Points.]
Darius' lips twitched. Before he did anything else, he took out his Unused Spell manual and focused on it as well.
[Would you like to change the empty spell manual into a small recovery spell manual? This will cost 7 Conversion Points.]
Darius sighed. If he could create his own Awakening Scrolls, he could build his own faction of mages once he reached the city and had his identity secured.
[Heal Spell - Manual
Durability: 10/10
Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to cast the simplest spell of the healing element, Heal. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the success chance of learning the spell is increased by 100% while the effectiveness of the spell is increased by 500%.]
For now, he created the healing spell manual as Darius would always prioritize the most important things first. Darius had also learned something shocking while reading up info about magic.
That was the fact that mages couldn't just cast spells of any elements as they wished! Mages had elements they were attuned to at the point of awakening, and they would only gain affiliation with more either over time, or as they climbed the stages.
Obviously, the Magus class allowed Darius to learn all elements equally, though he was unsure if he could learn higher stage spells. Unfortunately, when he tried to make a fireball manual, the price had come to 30 CP back then.
Another fact was that as he expected, mages needed to chant to use spells. Actually, it was more complex than that. There were three types of casting methods propounded by notable Grandmaster mages over history.
The first was the easiest, through the act of invocation. By using words of power to assist spell formation, spells are formed much more stable and slightly more reliably than through other methods.
The second was through sigils and signs. By using the hands to move in certain patterns or by making certain body postures/movements, one could channel mana and elemental energy through the bodies' pathways. Spells formed this way were much faster and more powerful, but it was also harder to memorize and utilize in battle.
The third was through external assistance. In other words, mages could find materials that were attuned with the elements, imbue them with mana and use them to assist spell formation. So one could be holding something like the ashes of a phoenix and throw it out while attempting to cast an ultra fireball spell, and it would cast.
This method was relatively new and not really widely-tested, and it posed many stability issues. However, most magic schools were using this method to train apprentices since it was the most beneficial for society.
Whatever the case, Darius decided to learn his new spell that would perfect his early-stage repertoire.
[Detected spellbook. Would you like to learn its contents?
Warning: The spellbook will be destroyed upon using this method! Continue?]
The book melted into a whitish slush that crawled into his ears and assimilated with his brain, Portia again watching on in stupefaction.
Darius felt his mind grasp the new spell, going from someone who even wondered how the hell one could restore injuries without using medicine to someone who had cast a basic healing spell many times in his life to save others who were just shadows in his memory.
[Heal - Level 1 Spell
Cost: 10 MP
Description: Channel mana into the body of any living being to bring replenishment to their lifeforce. This restores 5% of a target's total HP.]
Darius noted that this spell had a higher cost, as it wasn't as weak as the other cantrips of the basic category. This spell should have healed 1% of a person's total HP normally, but even 1% could be the difference between life and death.
However, Darius had to wonder. If it objectively healed 5% of a target's HP, would that mean it would restore 100% HP at the maximum level of 20 for the skill, similar to Sparks?
That would be interesting assuming the cost for casting didn't increase too horribly. Sparks had gone up by 500%, so if this spell were to do the same, it would require 50 MP per cast.
But that for bringing an ally to full health was a great tradeoff any time.
Chapter 47: Chapter 47
After absorbing all the basic knowledge he needed, Darius ended his session with Portia. The young lady seemed to want to say something but gave up in the end.
Her brother had berated her when she had wanted to come with him, so she was aware that Darius would likely not respond kindly to her pursuing and she didn't want to ruin the friendship they had now.
Darius himself noticed her actions but did not attempt to assist her as that would lead him down a dangerous rabbit hole. He went to his room after dinner and idled on the bed, thinking as he usually did.
When alone like this, he liked to reminisce about Earth. Darius loved his family dearly and wished to know how they were doing, but that did not seem possible.
He then thought about his Conversion Points. There were many times in the past where he could have solved minor issues like clothing and washing water with Conversion Points, but that would be foolishness.
Conversion Points were not some plaything and neither was his Transmutation ability. Conversion Points were a strategic resource he used to accomplish tasks that were pertinent to his current circumstances and were often used for things he could not accomplish on his own or do without.
It was only in the last 3 days that Darius had used them a bit less strictly because he was indoors and there were no pressing concerns requiring him to throw himself into the way of danger.
Even then, he still prioritized items and things that were impossible for him to acquire through easier means.
His mentality towards his Conversion Points would never change. They would only be used strategically and intellectually, not willy-nilly or because he was feeling creative.
Of course, that didn't stop him from using the remaining CP he had in upgrading his Iron Spear to a Steel one for 3 CP.
Darius eventually fell asleep with much comfort.
...…
In the morning, he performed his usual routine of bathing and having breakfast. This time, he wasn't in a rush to spend CP as he would be going out.
Darius left the manor with a light gait. He paused when he reached the old cart on the outskirts of the homestead and then activated Blink. Immediately, Darius disappeared from where he stood and re-appeared exactly 10 meters away.
Darius rubbed his chin and quelled his boyish excitement as he performed the spell again. He then did it twice in a row to see what would happen and just as he thought, he only barely manifested as an outline before he was moved again by the second spell.
Even more excited, he cast the spell 5 times in a row. It took about .3 of a second for him to execute all five casts. Darius then stopped to let his mana refill as he calculated the distance in his mind.
From here to the Lost River was 23 kilometers. Since Blink allowed him to go up to a max of 10 meters and cost 1 MP, Darius could use his 550 MP to move a total of 5.5 kilometers before he ran out!
Of course, he could make things easier by using a Short Warp scroll, but that would be a waste of 3 CP since he had alternate means. He wasn't in a rush and wouldn't even mind walking to his destination if need be.
Darius checked his map and the area before him before mentally spamming the Blink spell at its maximal efficiency. Immediately, the young fellow turned into a blurry outline as he raced along the pathway.
It looked like some poorly rendered evil demonic spirit was flitting across the landscape, chasing after some innocent prey. It was truly a weird sight to an onlooker depending on their point of view.
Someone looking through a screen would find it bizarrely funny how Darius appeared to 'glitch' his way through the surroundings while someone at the location seeing it live would be chilled to their bones and probably traumatized by a ghostly form of a boy appearing for a split second.
Darius eventually stopped after 5.2 kilometers, just so that he would have enough MP to deal with any issues while he waited for his mana bar to refill. Emptying his mana bar in the wild would be quite silly of him, even if he did have his Lancer Arts.
He lay against the body of a tree and focused on the feeling of rapidly blinking across the landscape. Like his other spells, Darius 'auto-cast' them, meaning that he cast them without knowing how they worked specifically, and the execution was handled by the Supreme System.
As such, he just had to think of what he wanted and how he wanted it, and the rest would occur as he wished. This was great for a beginner like him, but might be problematic at the higher stages for mages. Adept mages and above almost only used their self-created spells.
If he always cast the spells of others that were widely known, he would fall behind his peers. That was why Darius wished to learn more about the Magical Method, but that would come for later.
One downside of having more MP was how much longer he had to wait for it to recharge. At level 11, it took him 1 minute to refill his mana bar meaning that he sat there for a short while.
In this time, Darius had not been attacked by anything to his slight surprise, although he was unsure whether it was a result of his high Luck stat or the various beasts sensing his increased life level and taking him as a serious threat now.
Whatever the case, it was a good thing for him. He rose to his feet and continued his Blink Train. Once he crossed another 5.2 kilometers in roughly half a minute, he paused to restore his MP before repeating the same action over again.
Eventually, less than 10 minutes later, he appeared at the bridge where one crossed the Lost River to head to the Plains of the Green. Darius paused to look at the pristine water and the various beasts bathing within.
Once his eyes went across the shore, he saw an old friend and his family, the Plains Lion. Interestingly, the fellow looked rather grumpy today. Then again, one of his lionesses had mysteriously disappeared and never returned!
Darius grinned and walked over to it, slowly raising a finger as he did so.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
6 Power
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