Chapter 12 - Mages and Cultivation
When opening the book, the first page was blank, unlike the one for Knight. The second page was a table of contents that went over the different subjects in the book.
Unlike the author of 'Knighthood,' it seemed like the author of this book was very meticulous with their work— they avoided overcomplicating the book with baseless legends and folktales and only stuck to what had some bases.
The largest portion of the book went over the different levels they knew of and how they worked— but even those sections had very little details.
Seraphina began to read with excitement— the first few chapters went over the bases of magic and what it is.
Magic, unlike knighthood, seemed to require a natural affinity or talent. Aura was something that anyone could technically learn, given enough effort and the right method. Magic, however, required you to have a talent for it before you can even start.
Without that affinity, you will make no progress, no matter how hard you try.
The details on affinity were vague, but it was explained that the Mages had a way to test just how much affinity someone had. Different levels of affinity made learning magic easier.
Without a great affinity, it would be near impossible for someone to make it past the higher rankings of a Mage.
That was the other thing explained in the book, the ranks of a mage.
Similar to Knights, Mages were ranked in ten stages. Numbered from stage one to stage ten— and before these ten stages were the apprentice level.
Unlike Knights, Mages had four different levels of apprentice, as becoming a Mage required a lot more effort than it did for a knight.
Low-Rank Apprentice; the naming sense for Mages was very straightforward, and the Low-Rank Apprentice was the starting point for all Mages. In this stage, one needs to learn how to sense Mana.
Secondary Apprentice; the second stage of apprentice requires the person to use mana to reshape their mind and remove any form of impurities that existed within it.
Spell-Bound Apprentice; once the apprentice is able to completely purify their mind, they are able to begin learning spells. This stage requires the person to memorize the structure of a spell in order to imprint it into their mind.
Matrix Apprentice; once the spell is memorized and the person's brain is at a clear point of change, they can begin to form their Mental Matrix. This is formed within the mind of the person and becomes a core part of their existence; without it, they will be a failure of a Mage.
By implanting the spell structure onto the forming Matrix, they will give it form, thus giving birth to a completed Matrix and making them a Rank One Mage.
It was a complex and challenging process that most apprentices couldn't even accomplish in their lives. Reading this made Seraphina frown— as she didn't know if she had the talent or ability to become a mage.
The other details on Mages were rather vague; they spoke about some of the titles of the higher-ranking Mages. Rank Ten Mages were called Legendary Magus, whereas Rank Nine Mages were called Grand Mages.
From the history section of the book, she could understand that magic on this continent was largely lost— there was no known magic training method in the entire Empire, and the only connection to Mages on this land was the Mage Tower.
However, the Mage Tower largely kept to themselves, and not even the author could gain information from them as they weren't a Mage.
Sighing, Seraphina closed the book with a frustrated look on her face— she was disappointed at the lack of information. Mage was a path she wanted to try the second she learned about it; who wouldn't want the ability to bend the elements, control space and time, and will reality?
But it seemed like a path she was destined to struggle with.
Putting the book down, she looked outside and saw that it wasn't night yet. The book was not nearly as long as the book on knighthoods, so she didn't take a long time on it.
She decided she still had some time to read the last subject.
Cultivation.
Out of all the books that Cella had collected on the subject she wanted, only one of those books even remotely mentioned cultivation. And it wasn't a book that went on about its details— instead, it was merely a collection of tales about cultivation.
Nonetheless, she was curious about what cultivation in this world was like having read a lot of cultivation novels in her previous life.
The book on cultivation was different from the others. It wasn't written by any specific author but rather a collective of different tales about cultivation, myths, and folklore that were known throughout the world.
Because of this, it was somewhat difficult to keep up with the switching pace and difficult storytelling, but she gathered a basic understanding from the tales.
Firstly, the book talks about harnessing natural energy in the world— similar to mana— known as Qi. This Qi can be used to strengthen the mind, body, and spirit— but primarily the spirit.
Cultivators follow the path of self-discovery and inner growth, unlike Knights who trained to fight and harness their physical bodies or Mages who learned information to bend reality to their will.
Cultivators sought to learn themselves above all else— harmonizing themselves with the universe and unlocking their full potential.
From what Seraphina could tell in the tales, cultivators were seen as people who were peaceful or fairy-like in nature. They are said to require patience, needing to meditate for days, weeks, or even months at a time in order to understand themselves.
Seraphina could tell that the tales were largely exaggerated or taken out of context and would be of little use to her. But she still felt a little awe from reading about the legendary beings that were able to transcend their mortal limits and achieve near-immortality.
It was a path she was curious about but possessed no way to even dive deeper into.
Closing the book, she placed it down and looked out the window; the evening was slowly turning to night, and the outside was growing dark with each passing moment.
She had learned a lot today, and she knew that there was still much more to discover. She had a clearer understanding of the three main power systems; knighthood, magic, and even cultivation.
Even if each path had a varying level of detail, it was more than she had when she first arrived, so it was beneficial nonetheless. Each path had its own pros and cons, and each required a different set of skills to achieve them.
But Seraphina knew she couldn't choose a path just yet. Not only did she need to gather more information on each of them, she didn't even have a method to begin training in any of them.
The easiest to acquire would be the Knight method; however, even that would be a challenge for her current self. Not to mention, she wanted to learn more about 'God's Eyes' to see if she could gain a better understanding of her abilities.
But no other book in the library would be of use for that.
She made up her mind that tomorrow, she would continue her search for knowledge. For now, however, it was growing late, and her body was beginning to grow tired.
"Cella, thank you for your help today. Can you please help me return to my room and prepare for bed?"
Seraphina spoke as she turned to her maid and smiled.
Cella quickly nodded with a hint of relief on her face. As admirable as she thought the girl was for wishing to learn, she had been in the library for the entire day.
She was worried about the well-being of her Young Miss, and as such, she was glad to hear that the Miss was ready to leave.
"Of course, Miss. I'll assist you in any way I can."
With the maid's help, Seraphina quickly made her way back to her room and prepared for bed. Changing out of her clothing, she was left alone in the room once more.
Laying on the bed, she was now ready to go to sleep— or rather— she was ready to see if the mental space had changed to include the books she had touched throughout the day.
Closing her eyes, she quickly drifted off to sleep due to how tired her body was— but just like before, she did not enter the land of dreams.
Instead, she entered the infinite darkness.
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