"So, removing the state of dying didn''t just make it Immortal—it also made it Invulnerable. In the end, the only method I had left was a mental attack, and as a bonus, that let me take complete control over it." Magnus spoke with Eveline while seated in front of a small table, both of which she had summoned out of thin air onto the platform filled with puppets. Watching her, he couldn''t help but wonder—was she actually creating these objects, like the chalkboard and whatever else, before summoning them? Or did she already have all of them prepared ahead of time, just waiting to bring them out?
He supposed he would never know, since Eveline would definitely tell him just for fun.
"Interesting! I''ve been so curious about the finer details of this source code theory of yours ever since you first explained it. I just never imagined we''d get confirmation on new aspects of it so soon."
Eveline looked like she wanted to carve every word Magnus spoke into her memory. If he hadn’t told her he planned on writing down the intricate details himself for safekeeping, she no doubt would have already done it.
Leaning forward onto the table, she muttered with a slight grin, "I can only imagine how many of these ''states'' different forms of existence have. But... if it''s truly infinite, then wouldn''t everything share the same states? Whether it''s a flame or a plank of wood, wouldn''t both still have the state of burning? The nature of infinity means every possible state must exist—even the improbable."
"Well, technically, even if there are infinite states, that alone doesn''t mean every state exists. Having infinite apples doesn’t mean I also have infinite oranges." Magnus tapped his fingers on the table. "From what I can tell, there''s a lot of repetition in states—multiple ones that essentially mean or do the same thing."
Eveline paused, considering his words. "Ah, I see. Yes, that makes sense. There could be a finite number of states—millions, billions, maybe even trillions. But if you include variations and repetitions of essentially the same states of being, that number could easily stretch to infinity. And if those variations have variations of their own... then it only becomes more certain. Oh, how fascinating..."
Perhaps the best example of this was the Knockout Brick. Many things in this world didn’t originally have a state of being knocked out. Meaning that even among infinite states, some were exclusive to certain existences. But the Knockout Brick changed that.
Its potential to break reality—trying to induce a knockout state in things that didn’t naturally possess one—forced the universe to adapt. As a result, everything it could affect, even the inanimate, was suddenly granted a knockout state.
"In any case, you''re telling me you''ve managed to tame and control this Nullfang. The creature capable of nullifying states from itself?" Eveline asked, though the way she said it made it clear it was much more then a question. Without a doubt she wanted to try and take it apart and see just how this immortality and invulnerability operated in person.
To that Magnus raised his hands and replied, "Yes, but I can''t show it to you. At least not anywhere near the academy, I''m keeping it outside of Arlcliff City right now to avoid detection."
Hearing that, Eveline''s expression fell slightly as she nodded.
"Yes... I suppose that''s the reasonable thing to do." It was even worse for her, considering she wasn''t allowed to leave Takewrth Academy without a valid reason. That singular rule, meant there was no chance she would get to observe the Nullfang anytime soon. She wasn''t even allowed to use large-scale magic to view things outside of Takerth Academy, not unless it was to monitor a student through their Sigilbrand, or when her disciple, who in this case was Magnus, was in potential danger and she needed to protect them.
"How irritating..." Eveline muttered to herself in a low voice, her jaw tightening as Magnus felt a slightly uncomfortable aura coming from her.
He quickly went to change the topic as he moved on, "Anyway! Monlam''s teacher invited me to his temple, so I was planning on taking up an assignment that leads me over to the Sunridge Region. I''ll probably end up taking Celia along, and then I''ll go to visit this teacher. He seems to know a lot about glitches, so hopefully talking to him will shed a bit more insight on things."
That seemed to properly grab Eveline''s attention, causing her irritation to vanish just as quickly as it had arrived, as her attention latched onto his words.
"Oh, yes, the Buddhist Monk, you mentioned. Although I find the potentiality of states to be more interesting, this interested me as well. You''re saying you''re familiar with this religion, correct? Buddhism, you called it?" Eveline asked, to which Magnus nodded.
"That''s right, it was pretty popular where I came from. And no I''m not telling you where I come from." Those last few words came out, the moment Eveline''s eyes shimmered for a moment, and she opened her mouth to ask, only to close it the next second.
"Anyway, I''m not Buddhist, so I doubt I''ll be able to take advantage of the fact there''s an entirely new power system in the world. But your mind seems fairly flexible, so maybe you could try it?" If he was being completely honest, it was hard to imagine Eveline as some kind of Buddhist. But then again, she was more than willing to wipe her mind of any preconceived notions she had collected of the world, the moment he introduced the concept of source code to her. With that level of mentality, the need to learn and assimilate knowledge, then perhaps even adopting a religion wouldn''t be too out of the way for her.
"Yes, I considered that myself. The allure of navigating an entirely new path to power, is not lost to me. Believe me, it is not..." There was a slight fervor in Eveline''s voice, causing Magnus to shift in his chair slightly, before she continued, her tone returning to normal.
"But once again, the issue of not being able to leave Takerth Academy ruins me. If I am to learn, I must learn from the source. I wouldn''t want to risk contaminating the process with misinformation. So, I have no choice but to wait for an opportunity to present itself. Most ideally, if you could convince this teacher to come to Arlcliff City, or even one of his students, I could make do. Even being punished for violating my contract and damaging my soul might be worth such a tantalizing opportunity."
"Um, please don''t do that?" Magnus said, his words sitting somewhere between a request and question. He still remembered how severely Eveline had described damage to one souls, and it''s importance. It was the one link between a person''s body in the Physical Reality, and their mind in the Mental Reality. Having one''s soul damaged was bad, but if it happened to be destroyed, it was worse than death, no amount of healing or regeneration would be able to bring you back, even if your body and mind were fine.
"Anyway, that''s essentially everything that happened while I was away. It''ll take me some time to write everything I learned down in detail, but I should be able to get in done within a week or so. I just need to make sure I have someplace safe to store it," Magnus muttered while thinking to himself. The one bonus of having information about source code, the Command Console and glitches existing solely in his memory was that they were safe there. His mind was practically immune to any form of interference, making it like a vault for secrets. On the other hand, if anyone got a hand on his notebook where he wrote things down, everything could end up getting revealed.
"Hmm? Oh, there''s no need to worry about that. Ever since our wonderful little Celia showed me her notebook, which I must admit carried quite a few interesting details about your abilities, I put a spell on it to block out outsiders'' viewage. It''s an extremely passive spell, so it works on almost any form of observation. And if anyone tries to break it, I put in a simple countermeasure that will destroy the notebook instantly. I could do the same for yours."
"Huh, well that''s useful. You know a lot of extremely convenient spells," Magnus noted aloud with a small sense of disbelief. Aside from glitches, so far it''s seemed like Eveline''s had a spell for practically any situation or request he comes to her with.
"Of course I do. From the Apprentice-level up to the Master-level, it''s normal for mages to have specialties in specific types of magic, but in the end it''s so inefficient. Why hone only specific spells or categories of magic to limits of mastery, when you could simply learn all of them?" Eveline''s statement caused Magnus''s expression to freeze for a moment, his expression turning to one of surprise as he spoke up.
"Wait, wait, wait! Don''t just brush over that. What do you mean, all of them?" Eveline looked at Magnus with her own brand of confusion, as if the question was odd to ask. That was until she had a brief realization.
"Ah, right. I get so engrossed in our talks, that it slips my mind how uneducated you are in the world of magic." Leaning forward onto the table with her elbows, Eveline placed her chin into her hands as she asked a question, a smirk playing at her lips.
"Magnus, do you know the requirements needed to become an Archmage?" It was a question that pretty much instantly stumped Magnus. He knew about the different stages for mages and knights, Unranked, Apprentice, Adept, Master, and lastly what was considered the pinnacle for most, Archmage/Champion. As for what sat beyond that, he knew of the existence of Grand Arcanists, and that the Headmistress of Takerth Academy was one, but he had no clue about the knight equivalent of it, or even what its name was. So of course he also didn''t really know the overall differences between the different stages for mages, outside of their increased magical knowledge, mana control, and mana reserves
For knights, he at least had a basic understanding thanks to how much he had gotten to observe them and fight alongside them, like Seraline, Mia, Gerald, and Marcos.
"Hmm, it seems you don''t," Eveline stated seeing the look on concentration on Magnus''s face.
"In that case, think of this as a little bit of forwarded knowledge, you can use to make yourself seem smarter than your fellow classmates," Eveline teased lightly as she went on to explain.
"For mages, while Unranked, the most important thing is gathering magical knowledge. Mana formations are constructed within a mage''s mind first, used to guide mana in very precise ways in order to give birth to what we know as magic. But to use and visualize something, you must know it first, which is why studying and gathering knowledge is first and foremost. Trying to control mana without the proper knowledge of what it even is, and the rules it follows is like using fire in an area without proper fireproofing, it''s only a matter of time before a spark causes everything to burn down." That of course, was something even Magnus could understand.
It was why he had built the Magic Simulation Space in his mind, that adhered perfectly to all magical laws up to the Apprentice-level, and why [Arcane Matrix] never failed in editing, copying and recreating mana formations and certain forms of magic.
"At the Apprentice-level, there''s a shift in focus. The increase in mage''s mana reserves is simply a matter of time, so mana control becomes the key focus. Learning to not simply use magic and cast spells, but to add to them, reinforce what they are, and increase their longevity against the suppression effect of the spirits. There''s only one way to cast, each type of spell, for example, the mana formation for creating a mana barrier. Every barrier spell that relies on turning mana into something tangible for defense, whether at the Apprentice-level or for an Archmage, originates as a modification of that simple spell." Magnus nodded subtly, showing he was following Eveline''s explanation so far. This was also something he learned when he created the Magic Simulation Space. So many forms of magic were in fact modifications of one another.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
It was the reason why, despite not studying practically any forms of uncategorized magic, or elementrix magic, Magnus had tens of thousands of spells that he could use thanks to the [Library of Babel] constantly creating and discovering new ones in the Magic Simulation Space. At this point he had five hundred ways to cast a fireball spell, and a hundred variations he could make to each of them if he so wished, yet most were modifications of the first, initial fireball spell,
"It''s this understanding, to learn one fire elementrix spell, is to learn the basis of all of them. Through magical knowledge that one can multiply into ten, ten into hundreds, and then hundreds into thousands! That, Magnus, is what separates a mediocre mage from a great one! It''s also why learning the fundamentals, even spells as basic as a mana sphere or mana barrier, even if you''re capable of more, is so crucial. Once one''s mana control reached the Apprentice-level, they can modify basic spells, and in turn, learn to use more complex ones. That''s when they begin down the road to true magic." Listening to Eveline, Magnus could hear the absolute adoration in her voice for magic, as she spoke, as if she was retelling a dream as she spoke.
Or maybe it was more precise to call it love? Yes, the purest, most overwhelming form of love there was at least for her, and perhaps the only kind of love she was capable of with the way her mind worked.
"In any case, the Adept-level has a lot less to do with magical knowledge or complexity born from mana control and a lot more to do with scale. It''s why there are so many Pseudo-Adept level mages currently amongst students despite their overwhelming talent. Since it''s reliant on the natural growth speed of one''s mana core and mana reserves, which can''t be rushed. Actually... if I remember your curriculum correctly, your class should be covering this right now, the concept of mana scaling, so I won''t spoil you with the details. You''ll learn about it tomorrow. Which finally brings us to the Master-level, which is a transitional stage of pure magical optimization." Magnus tilted his head at that, not exactly understanding what Eveline meant by, ''magical optimization'', though she explained it a moment later.
"By the time one reaches the Master-level, the amount of mana they absorb passively from their environment outperforms the input needed for most spells Master-level and below. This crosses the gap, from simply spells that remain active for long periods, and breaches the territory of spells that can simply be maintained for a long period, into the realm of spells that can be kept active at all times, day and night." Hearing that, Magnus couldn''t help but ground slightly as he questioned.
"That''s it? Isn''t that just a matter of having enough mana to constantly repair spells from being eroded by the spirit suppression effect?" It made it sound like the Master-level was simply about having more mana reserves than Adept-levels, but Eveline shook her head, chuckling as if Magnus had told a joke.
Lifting her chin from her hands, she snapped her fingers, a small flame appearing at the tip of her pointer finger, simply burning at a slow pace as she said, "If you''re saying that, it''s because you don''t understand how the spirit suppression effect works. It''s common knowledge that the larger and more obvious the phenomenon created through magic, the more spirit suppression there is. So, creating complex, compact spells to slow, confuse, and slow down the spirit suppression effect, is typical. However, here''s an interesting fact. The effort spirits put into suppression initially seems linear, but it becomes exponential over time."
"Exponential?" Magnus echoed, with Eveline nodding her head, gesturing to the flame she created that was still burning.
"This flame on my finger hardly requires any mana at all to sustain right now. I could easily sustain it for hours. However, I can promise you, come tomorrow morning, if I kept this up, this flame would require more mana to maintain for a second, than creating a hundred Apprentice-level mana spheres. That''s how spirit suppression works, the longer an abnormality persists against their attempt at normalization, the more intense their efforts become, until one side breaks." With those final words, the flame at the tip of Eveline''s finger dispersed, bursting as its embers turned ot mana, and finally disappeared.
"Of course, those below the Master-level, unless taught beforehand, would never learn about this. Depending on the size of the spell, it can take hours or even a full day for the spirit suppression effect to turn exponential, something Adept-levels and below typically don''t experience. But if that''s the case, you might ask, how do Master-level mages sustain spells at all times, then? Well, it''s quite simple, they keep switching variations constantly." What Eveline said near the end, was exactly what Magnus had been questioning in his head, and her answer immediately caused his eyes to widen as he realized what she meant.
Every spell had a basic mana formation, that when modified enough, essentially can be considered a new spell. Lesser modifications on the other hand that keep the spell mostly the same, while increasing speed, or penetrative power, could just be considered variations of the same spell. So, how does one avoid the ever mounting spirit suppression effect from snuffing out the spell you''re trying to keep active?
It was as simple as using a disguise to avoid being caught by law enforcement. Modify the spell you''re keeping active to such a degree, that it''s perceived as a different anomaly than the one the spirits had been initially eroding.
But... the truly challenging part would be modifying the spell to that degree, while making sure it''s functionality remained unchanged. Since I use the Command Console to cast spells, technically as long as I remain connected to a spell, I can sustain it indefinitely with the benefit of being able to create mana from nothing. The spirit suppression effect would never reach a degree that I can''t handle no matter how exponential it gets. But for Master-level mages, to sustain their passive spells, they are essentially changing the formula of their spells, while trying to make sure they reach the same equation so the spell continues to serve its purpose.
But how difficult was such a thing? Yes, there were many spells already catalogued in this world. Once your magical knowledge and mana control reached the Apprentice-level, creating minor variations of the same spell was simple. But even an Adept-level couldn''t completely change or modify a spell, so that it appears to be completely different than the original, while maintaining the same function.
It was a feat akin to constantly coming up with new mathematical expressions, that all equal one, every day, or perhaps every few hours depending on the spell you where keeping active. Simply going from 3-2, to 5-4 wasn''t enough, instead one had to switch from 2÷2, to (i^4) and then e^(0).
"Is that... is that even humanely possible? For weeks, months, years? Constantly redoing the same spell in different variations, never repeating a single one of them. That''s just-" Magnus found himself stuttering just trying to think about it, and this wasn''t even taking into account the fact they would have not just one, but multiple passive spells operating at once. Sitting there for a moment with a look of disbelief, he eventually looked up at Eveline, who was staring back at him with a satisfied expression on her face.
"Every single professor here at the academy... how do they-"
"That is, what it means to be a Master, Magnus. To achieve mastery over magic itself. Mastery, over magical knowledge, enough to understand the workings of any spell, even one they''ve never seen or practiced with a glance. Mastery over mana control, enough to cycle through the countless variations of a spell, without ever changing its function, even the slightest. And immense mana reserves, evidence of being a mage who has survived in this world long enough to achieve Mastery in those other two aspects, and as a result has enough raw mana to sustain practically any spell without ever exhausting themselves." For so long Magnus had felt like knights had an edge over mages.
From unranked to the apprentice-level, they dominated, and only at the Adept-level did the scales begin to balance out. But now he understood why, unlike knights whose stages represented a sharp increase, an all-around boost in capabilities and strength, the stages for mages were about laying the foundations for the Master-level. It was the end goal, and the truest representation of what it meant to be a mage.
No wonder once they hit the Master-level, mages suddenly are considered more powerful than Master-level knights. They''re not even comparable to Adept-level mages...
After staying silent for a solid minute or so, Magnus finally spoke again, meeting Eveline''s gaze.
"Wait, so when you said ''learn all of them'', you meant?" His question was confirmed as Eveline nodded.
"That''s right. One of the requirements for becoming an Archmage can be fulfilled in one of two ways. Either learning and being capable of using every category of magic, Master Class and below to the degree of Mastery. Or being able to replicate any category of magic or spell up to the Master Class without any prior practice through observation alone. The latter is something Master-level mages can do to an extent, but only in categories they are familiar with, it''s in no way universal. Oh, and as you could probably assume, I opted for the former method," Eveline stated, a clear sign of pride on her face as she spoke about her own accomplishments, though in this case it was certainly warranted.
Still, Magnus had a doubt in his mind that made him question the requirement Eveline just mentioned.
"Isn''t that first requirement impossible though? Within the Mage’s Apprentice Compendium alone, there are hundreds if not thousands of spells. Not to mention the one for the Adept and Master-level, it doesn''t matter how talented or fast of a reader you are, even with the assistance of magic, it would be impossible to not just learn, but Master that many spells in a lifetime." With the Command Console, Magnus could technically fulfill both methods of the first requirement to be an Archmage, but that was because the Command Console operated using source code, something that stood far beyond magic.
For a human to do the same, even a Master-level mage, it felt impossible, and upon hearing Magnus say that, Eveline slammed her hand onto the table. Not hard, but enough to make Magnus jump as he saw her lean in.
"Magnus, how old do you think I am?" She asked, her figure so tall, just leaning forward made it so they were basically face to face, giving Magnus a chance to look at her closer.
"Umm... I don''t know, forties, fifties?" But the moment he said those numbers, he realized the contradiction. Someone couldn''t possibly learn every spell in Takerth Academy in a lifetime, yet Eveline had done so, and she was middle-aged at most.
"Aw, you''re such a charmer. You know, just what to say to an old woman," Eveline joked as she sat back in her chair, pulling her face away from Magnus as she continued.
"But, you''re right. It would take over a lifetime. In fact, reaching an Archmage level in mana control is probably the easiest part of becoming an Archmage. But the magical knowledge, and mana reserves needed couldn''t possibly be obtained no matter how talented you are at magic, or how great your gifts. Which is why, the second requirement in order to become an Archmage, is for one to obtain longevity. In other words, the biggest obstacle separating an Archmage and Master-level mage, is not simply time, but the ability to experience that time. And to become an Archmage, you must first develop a way to prolong your life." Magnus blinked as he heard that, his mind processing what Eveline had just told him.
"Wait so... you''re saying you- you developed a way to stop aging? But, doesn''t that mean you''re Immortal? That all Archmages are immortal?" Magnus asked, but Eveline shook her head.
"No, we can still die, which defies the meaning of living eternally and forever. But yes, any Archmage you''ve met, or will meet is likely many times older than you are." Hearing that, Magnus was almost tempted to ask Eveline right then and there how old she was, but part of him also knew that she probably wouldn''t tell him. Mostly because of how bague and playful she seemed to get when it came to details about herself.
"Wow..." Leaning back in his chair, Magnus ran a hand through his hair while absorbing what he had learned.
"Well, I mean... I guess that explains why you and Headmistress are so cr- I mean... eccentric. I suppose anyone would become like that after a long enough time alive," Magnus commented, to which Eveline narrowed her eyes, her smirk sharpening.
"You mean, less human?" She said, causing Magnus to pause. He had tried to avoid saying it out loud, but that was the truth. The uncanny feeling he got from Eveline, it was rooted in the fact she seemed inhuman, whether it was the way she acted, or how she simply felt to be around.
"There''s no need to avoid saying, it. It''s the truth. The things we''ve done to ourselves to obtain the knowledge and power we wield as Archmages have long since killed off our ''humanity'' as people would put it. Yet, still, it is something every mage craves. Isn''t that funny? How willing people are to throw it away? I think that''s what makes magic so interesting, it''s a path of knowledge and discovery that''s truly addicting, to the point it destroys who you once were." Eveline said all that in a chipper tone, without an ounce of regret, staring up at the white voice around them, before she glanced at Magnus.
"Of course, I''m sure you already know what I''m referring to. After all, you''re not very human anymore yourself once you look beyond the surface, now are you?" Magnus paused hearing that. Of course Eveline had noticed it, in fact she hadn''t even brought up the change in his appearance, or found it even the slightest odd when he mentioned in his retelling about how he modified his own body. At first he thought it was simply because she was, Eveline, already partially insane and hardly anything could surprise her. But now he understood the real reason why.
It was because she had long since gone down the same path.
As for how Magnus felt about that, after a moment of silence, he began to chuckle, laughing to himself.
"Yeah, I guess you''re right about that. Though I''m definitely the saner one between us."
Eveline raised a brow at that as she tilted her head and replied, "Oh, I wouldn''t be so sure, but I suppose we''ll just have to wait and see."