8 Cultivating Mana

Fascinated by what he was reading, Austin was becoming more and more excited.

'The Krashal Family is that big of a deal? One of the four Royal Nations... That means Laura is the Princess of the entire Western Region! And Elizabeth is the Queen! Mum was sure undermining them...'

'Ranked Nations?'

'The Central Region?'

'Elves, Vampires, what the hell...'

'Peak Diamond Class Mages!"

'What kind of freak existences are there in the Central Region...'

Familiarized with the general situation of the world, Austin chose to learn about some miscellaneous topics.

The top-ranked Nations in each continent...

The strongest Warriors and Mages of each Region...

Alchemists, Blacksmiths...

Mana Flasks, Increased Spell Damage Equipment...

The characteristics of each magical attribute...

Austin absorbed all the information available to him knowing it could be a long while before he got another chance to come back. 'Laura's status is actually so powerful... I better not anger her too much."

Time quietly passed by as morning turned to afternoon and afternoon turned to evening.

~The Royal Residence~

"Your Majesty, Her Highness still has not come out from her room."

"Did you place her meal down in front of the door?"

"Yes, her morning and lunch meals are still there. They have not been touched."

'Sigh, I understand. Don't worry about it anymore."

"Your Majesty, Her Highness has never skipped a meal before."

"I know, I know, you're dismissed," Elizabeth groaned, waving her hand.

"Your Majesty." Bowing, the maid left.

"I'm sorry Elizabeth, Laura would not be like this if it wasn't for my son..."

"It's not your fault Elena, Geez! That daughter of mine is so troublesome when it comes to Austin. What's with her behavior... who taught her to be like this!" Elizabeth grumbled. An answer flashed through Elena's head but she did not dare voice it out.

Laura had not moved from her bed the entire day. She was tightly hugging the pillow Austin slept on the night before, sniffing it without stopping. She was trying to take in any of his lingering scent that may still be there. But repeating this action for the thousandths time, it had already long been lost...

"Austin... Austin..." weeping out loud, there was a large wet patch formed on the bed from her endless dripping of tears.

Laura wanted to get up and find Austin countless times, but knowing he would be disappointed at her for doing so, she had been greatly enduring, seeking his praise in hopes he'd reward her when he came back.

"Come back already..."

...

In the library, Austin remained sitting on the small stool by the window, the light from outside was slowly diminishing, making the text increasingly harder to see. Already reading at a pace beyond human limitation, he had to go even faster.

Thankfully, his worries turned out to be for naught as small gleaming orbs appeared from thin air, floating around and illuminating the entire room. Austin sighed in relief, thanking the existence of magic.

Finishing off his current book, Austin reached out beside him to grab the last one in the pile. To his other side laid over ten massively thick books. Each one would have taken the average person months to finish.

'Cultivating Mana.'

Starbooks:

A Mage's rank is determined by the number of spells they possess.

To cultivate, they must use a starbook that belongs to their Magical Attribute.

Each starbook contains one spell, which grants the user two stars after being able to cast it.

Five Rank 0 star books are required before advancing to a Bronze Mage. Similarly, five Rank 1 star books are then needed to become a Silver Mage, continuing in sequential order.

Star Tablets:

Upon reaching a new Class, Mages are granted an opportunity to gain a star tablet that is classified by grade rather than rank. Rather than spells, star tablets give Mages a permanent skill that can be passive or a unique ability.

The Grade of star tablets range from Common, Rare, Epic, Profound, Ancient, Mystical, and Godly, all of which except Godly contain three tiers being Low-Tier, Middle-Tier, and High-Tier.

One is required to undergo a trial in the star constellation to determine what kind of star tablet they receive.

The majority of Mages are only capable of acquiring a Common and Rare Grade star tablets. Whilst Dual-Attribute and Triple-Attribute Mages have a far higher talent and therefore are given trials that reward a higher Grade skill. The trial is based solely on potential and not on strength, so average Mages can be stuck with Common and Rare Grade star tablets for their entire lives.

Mana Purity:

Two Mages of the same rank can use the same spell but be different in power depending on the purity of their mana. The purity of mana changes based on one's comprehension of their spells.

To use a starbook, only 30% comprehension is required. Afterward, one's overall power will increase as their comprehension deepens.

The higher the rank of the spell, the harder it is to comprehend.

It is best to comprehend a current starbook as much as possible before starting to learn a new spell, as doing so will make the old spell unable to be comprehended further.

Multiple Magical Attributes:

Mages with more than one attribute are special in having a wider variety of spell books to choose from, making them incomparably stronger. For example, Fire Mages have strong explosive magic but weak defensive spells, whilst Earth Mages are the other way around. However, a Mage with Dual Fire and Earth attributes can excel in both areas.

Warrior Cultivation:

Warriors also depend on the purity of their mana to become stronger but don't rely on comprehending spells in doing so. Due to having no particular attributes, Warriors are able to absorb mana directly from the World and use it to temper their body, unlike Mages. This is because the World's mana contains every element, which a Mage's body naturally repels for there is already an existing element lying within them.

A Peak Bronze Class Warrior will have 20% mana purity, 40% at Peak Silver Class, and so on.

Testing for Magical Attributes:

To determine one's Magical Attribute, they are placed in front of the six different types of spell books - Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, Dark. The books that light up in response are the ones they have an affinity with.

Finishing the final book, Austin looked outside to see that it was totally dark. Needing to put all the books away before he could leave, he got up and stretched before picking up a heavy stack out of the pile.

...

Austin, not knowing how long he had been in the library for, was quickly running around the empty halls and returning the books back to their positions.

He didn't want Elena worrying too much and knew Laura was probably not in a good state right now.

The sun has long since set and no one has walked passed outside for many hours, indicating the deepness of the night.

'Shelf A2...'

'Shelf E7...'

Orbs gathered around him, providing light as he shifted through the shelves.

Because the Royal Library was one of the most important places in the Western Region, he made sure each book was put back exactly where they belong, apprehensive that his actions were being recorded.

Roaming around the library, Austin noticed that there were some places that orbs did not gather, leaving spots of darkness. Naturally, one needed a higher level of permission to access those areas.

Austin was content with how he had spent his day.

Learning much about the world, he could now set goals and plan ahead for the future.

His first goal was to test for which Magical Attributes he had. That would be where everything could begin.

Because Elena was a Mage and Attributes had an almost guaranteed chance of getting passed down from one's parents, he didn't worry too much about not having one.

At the end of the day, he could still cultivate as a Warrior. But admittedly, that was not as exciting as using actual magic.

Austin's purpose in life was not pursuing ultimate power, but rather to solely have fun. However, having countless experiences behind his belt, he knew real strength came first. The only problem now was his restricted freedom...

"Arghh." Austin groaned in frustration.

'Shelf Z10...'

At the shelf located at the very end of the library, Austin felt there was something different about the air here, but could not quite put a finger on what it was. It felt cold, hot, light, and heavy all at the same time, creating a very perplexing sensation.

There was a dark area where the orbs of light avoided very close by.

Elsewhere, two old men were watching a large screen of light.

"Sir, the child Queen Elizabeth had given permission for entry is getting close to Restricted Area 1."

"Oh? Is he trying to go inside?"

"No, I believe he is just there to return a book, that is what he has been doing so far. But I don't know what's going on in his head... The entire day he was just flipping through books and not even bothering to read them. Those books were all very detailed as well and didn't have any pictures in them either...

"Haha, just let him be then. Since he is connected to the Queen, we shouldn't disturb him."

"But we won't be able to see if he enters the Restricted Area, there is no vision orb there."

"Are you stupid? Those places are obviously shielded by a barrier. Gold Class Mages are not even able to easily enter, what do you think a child without any magic could do?"

"Oh, right..."

Putting the book back into the shelf, Austin was now only meters away from the space shrouded in darkness.

Standing in the light, the two sides made a contrasting image like yin and yang.

Austin felt like there was something alive within it. It was like staring into the abyss and the abyss staring back.

Wanting to get a clearer look, he took a few steps forward to investigate.

4 meters...

3 meters...

2 meters...

He was getting closer and closer but still could not see anything but a dark mist. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

1 meter...

The mist did not change. Only, the black particles congregated together, forming something like a shield to warn him from coming any closer.

Seeing his attempt was futile, Austin turned around to walk away.

Suddenly, An invisible force locked onto him!