《Magic System: Becoming a Deity》 The Beginning In a mountain range located east side of the Ida continent, the greatest mountain of the entire mountain range reached an impressive 8,517 feet in height, and at the top of said mountain a man who looked aged but with an incredible vitality, with long black hair and bear with some tingles of white hair, wearing a plain blue robe with a single embroidery in white color of a tree in the left side of the upper chest, with a slim yet muscular build was seated in a cross legged position, he was looking into a rock that appeared to be some sort of tombstone with a pair of eyes of a pure yellow color that seemed to have seen the vicissitudes of time for an insurmountable amount of time reminiscing of old time where the world was faced with the threat of the demon race, of the great battles he had fought alongside his precious friends and of how many of those friends had perished protecting their belief to make a better world. "Old friend, I wonder what would you say if you could see the world today? and how different it is from ten thousand years ago when we fought the demon race and you sealed them in the netherworld, humans no longer fear for their extinction, perhaps that''s the reason why they now tarnish magic fighting punny wars among themselves for some riches and pieces of land" said the unknown man sighing. "Really, my friend how soon humans forget, but maybe I am to blame too, after all in the attempt to make humans prosper that woman destroyed almost everything related to those dark days and I did not stop her, she really did try to help them the first two thousand years before realizing that she wasn''t making the human race prosper but making them complacent and incompetent, that''s when she stopped trying, I can only imagine you would kill yourself again if you could see that excluding the two of us, the strongest human is a simple archmage and there is only four at that level in the world." said the unknown man with an almost tangible tone of sadness in his voice. "There is no denying that the seal is weakening it won''t be long before the lesser demons start to pour out of the netherworld, and when that happens sure tragedy will befall humanity as they are far weaker than humanity in the last war, and truth be told I and that woman only will serve to deter the strongest demons from entering this realm so we won''t be able to do anything to directly help humanity, but that doesn''t mean all I can do is watch humanity get slaughtered." said the man making an expression that indicated hope.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. The man stares to the yellow gemstone that rests in the palm of his hand which poses a letter "P" carved in the middle. After staring at the gemstone for a few more moments the man lips curves into a light smile then starts to utter some words that appear to be some sort of spell, the gemstone then starts to gain more brilliance as the man recites his spell until it becomes so bright that it resembles a little sun, and then it suddenly vanished. At the same time far away to the northwest from the location of the unknown man, in the borders of the Yadi county in the Benor kingdom, there was located a small village named Tesman which surrounded by lush green meadows, this village is mainly sustained by their commerce with Banafort city. Shamir Karn wearing a white shirt and a pair of black trousers, laid down beneath a tree near the village watching the clouds pass by a hobby he had become fond of during his twelve years of life, when suddenly he saw a blinding light appear above him pausing for perhaps a second and then colliding with him, he then felt as if his body was being torn apart, he felt that light fill and then breaking every fiber of his body, however, this only lasted a few seconds even if to Shamir felt like it lasted minutes. "?AGHHHHHHHR!" exclaimed Shamir while holding his chest with his right hand. "What in the Lord''s name just happened?" he continued to ask. Just as if someone was listening to him, he heard the voice of what seemed to be an old man. "The system has successfully been integrated into the host body and soul." said the voice. "?Welcome to the magic system!" it said again. "What?..." exclaimed Shamir. "a magic system? " he asked with utter confusion. Again as if the system could read his thoughts it responded "Host the magic system is a magic device created by what humans would consider to be a deity and is designed to guide and support a body and soul with the adequate innate talent towards the path of magic." responded the voice. "What!" Shamir exclaimed aloud. "I can''t believe it! That means I can become one of those famous magicians which are capable of flying and turn the tides of wars! ?PANT! ... ?PANT! ... ?PANT!" Though Shamir as his breath became ragged by the excitement. Atop a great mountain, the unknown blue robed man started to laugh then said "The snowball has been launched if it becomes an avalanche or dissipates is up to fate" then he vanished. Seeking answers After a few seconds, Shamir regained his composure and his breath returned to normal but the excitement could still be seen in his young features, which has fair skin, dark brown hair, and dark brown eyes could be said his looks are pretty average but still pleasant to the eye. "Calm down Shamir!" "You got excited the moment you heard of the prospect of becoming a mage but you only heard that voice but could be very well some sort of hallucination!" "But it could also be a blessing from the heavens!" "Alright!" "There you go again Shamir, getting excited!" "Ok, building a castle on-air won''t take me anywhere, first let''s think in what the voice said, It said it would guide and support me towards becoming a mage, so first I need to know how it would do that." he conversed with himself. Shamir then inhaled deeply and then exhaled... then not wanting to be disrespectful to the voice he heard, which if he was right belonged to an old man, he asked "Mr. elder could you tell me how can I become a mage?" after all, even if he was plagued by a sea of questions he had to begin somewhere. The aged voice sound again, "host you will receive the necessary knowledge and training in order to achieve that goal, but it''s a long way before you can become a capable mage." Then Shamir asked aloud, "then can you tell me Why did I receive this system?" The aged voice responded "host was selected because the host meets the requirements set by my creator." Shamir was amazed by the answer given by the old voice and tough "that means that I have at the very least enough talent and luck to be selected."Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Then he proceeded to ask "Mr elder may I know your''s and your creator''s name?" The voice responded yet again. "Host, my name is magic system but if host is uncomfortable or wants to refer to me by another name then please feel free to select a name host feels comfortable using when referring to the system, regarding the name of my creator I''m unable to tell you it''s name for I don''t have that knowledge, however I know he is at a level of achievement in magic that human would consider him a deity" "I see then I can''t know how made the system nor why it made it, but still to have a chance to learn magic being a commoner it may be truly a blessing from the heavens" tough Shamir while clenching his fist. He then continued to ask "Leaving the issue of what should I call you can you tell me if you are the bright light that I saw and why when it entered it hurt so bad?" "Informing host that what host describes as a bright light was indeed the magic system and the reason why host felt pain was part of the process of integrating the system with the host body and soul" responded the aged voice. "Then system tell me what''s the first thing I need to do to learn magic?" asked Sahmir. The system then responded "First host need''s to pass the tutorial set by the creator, the host would be to stepping in the path of magic, but it''s recommended to start the tutorial in a safe place as the host body would be in an unconscious state, as only the host mind can enter the tree abode, which is a space made especially for the host to gather knowledge." "I see, and for how long will I be unconscious?" asked Shamir. "The estimated time for the tutorial completion is five years" responded the system. "WHAT!?" Shamir couldn''t help but exclaim as he though with a ragged breath, "how can that be five years? that means I would lose most of my youth, what''s wouldn''t my family give for dead since I wouldn''t wake up for such a long time?" "Please relax host as a special feature of the tutorial the creator made a special enchantment and during the tutorial time will flow differently in the abode and the real world, so that while in the abode five years will only be around a week in the real world, additionally there will be rewards according to the host performance during the tutorial and his final results." "What?!" exclaimed Shamir, while he stood beneath the tree with his mouth wide open by how amazing that sounded, to be able to make time flow so differently in a place, even he as a commoner with near to no knowledge of magic knew that such a feat indeed could be only be made by a deity, dissipating any doubt he may have had that the creator of the system was indeed a deity, only remaining the doubt if the deity was a good one or a bad one. Asael Shamir continued asking questions to the system for a while, he made some questions that gave him information of no use, but he did gain some useful pieces of information, for example, he now knew he didn''t need to speak aloud to communicate with the system, he only needed to think in the system and then think of what he wants to ask to the system. He also learned that he didn''t really hear the voice of the system but the voice was projected into his mind which made him felt as if he was hearing the voice, form this piece of information he deduced that only he could hear the voice, what''s more, he thought that if someone passes by and saw him talking to himself they would think him mentally ill. And regarding the tutorial he would need to go through, he learned that during the time that his body would be unconscious an autonomous defense spell would activate so that in case that his life faced any threat he would safe. Shamir also decided he needed to think of a name to start calling the system after all just calling him Mr. Elder feel far too troublesome as he would be speaking with it pretty often, so seated beneath the tree he began to think of some names to give to the system "Maybe I will call him Samas as the name of our solar star" He tough. He spent some time thinking of a bunch of names he tough would be appropriate to call the system by when he finally exclaimed: " I know I will call you Asael, after all, you were created by a deity so think this name is fitting". "Recognising name given by host" answered Asael. " Good" exclaimed Shamir. Then he begun to think of ways to explain to his parents that he would be unconscious for a week, he did not think to explain everything to his parents after all even if they are as loving and doting as they were, they would not believe his words without proof after all even if he has the system he is not yet a mage so he can''t use magic to prove his words so they would think it''s only child''s play, he could, of course, use the unconscious week to try and prove he was telling the truth, but he decided against that idea because according to what Asael told him even after completing the tutorial he wouldn''t necessarily be able to manifest magic. He even tough of faking an accident but in the end decided against it because it would make his parents worried sick and he didn''t want that, after all, he was a grateful child, and for a parent to see their child without knowing if it will wake up again would be no doubt incredibly painful. Shamir spent a long time thinking of what to do, in the end he chose to not tell them anything and write a letter informing them that he would wake up in about a week and then he would explain everything, after all, he would have five years to think what to tell them, the truth or a lie, just as he was thinking he realized the sun was beginning to set.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Oh, crap I need to hurry home or else mom''s gonna get angry at me for being outside the village so late" tough Shamir as he stood up and begun to run towards the village. Fortunately for him the tree was really close to the village only a few hundred meters away, it would only take him ten minutes to reach the village and another five minutes to reach his house, he quickly reached the village entrance there wasn''t any kind of gate or anything of the like, the entrance just was the main street of the village which was paved with irregular stones, so while running he had to look out for a misstep, after a few more minutes running he finally reached a two-story house made of wood, material from which most of the houses in the village were made. He entered the house just as the sun finished setting and he heard a woman''s voice which carried a tone of sweetness coming from one of the rooms of the house. "Shamir, I have told you to be home before sunset" "Sorry, mom won''t happen again" answered Shamir. " I really hope so, I have told you night outside the village is dangerous, especially for kids" said Shamir mom as she left the room she was in, to stand in the hallway connecting to the entrance of the house, wearing a plain white dress and a pair of sandals, she was fair skinned and had braided black hair wich reslated her beautiful green eyes. "Now, come son go clean yourself up dinner will be ready soon, also on your way back please tell the twins to come to have dinner, " said Shamir mom. "Yes mom" said Shamir as he walked past her towards the bathroom, after cleaning himself up Shamir went to see the twins, they were six years younger than him and they were the joy of the house after all after Shamir birth his parent''s tough they wouldn''t be able to conceive again, so to be able to conceive again was one of their parents greatest joy''s. "Alina, Avner dinner is ready, let''s go" said Shamir as he opened the door, he saw the twins playing with each other, they were a female Alina and a male Avner, they were four feet tall, they both had light brown skin which they got from their father and beautiful green eyes and dark hair as their mother, if they had a discernable difference was hair length as Alina had long straight hair and Avner had short hair as well as the intensity of their eye color, Avner had a deep dark green color and Alina had a pure green color. "Ehhh!! we want to play some more, come on Shamir" said Avner. "Come on Avner you know that if we are late to dinner mom won''t let us play tomorrow" retorted Alina "Mmm... Okay, let''s go then " said Avner in a tone of defeat. They then went downstairs were their mother and father which has light brown skin with dark brown hair and light beard of the same color, and dark brown eyes, they were already waiting at the dining table for them. "Come to sit down kid''s" said the father. Then the three of them sit down and proceeded to have dinner which was rather uneventful, they talked about their days in general and some random topics, after dinner was over Shamir helped to clean and then Shamir went to his room and after getting ready for bed he lay down on his bed and making a face that couldn''t hide the excitement he felt Shamir tough a single sentence. "Alright, Asael begin the tutorial" just as Shamir said that he fell unconscious. Meeting an old friend When Shamir opened his eyes he found himself standing in what appeared to be a room of around twenty-nine squared yards which could be considered a pretty big room, the room was made of simple yet beautiful wood with a height of 3 yards, he noticed there were no windows in the room but there was no lack of light when he looked to the ceiling he noted that there were small white stones dispersed in the ceiling that emitted light, he also noticed that the room had the necessary furniture for a room it had a bed, a desk, and a chair and he then asked "Asael this is?". "This is the abode designed for increase host knowledge" answered Asael as a yellow orb of light appeared in front of Shamir. "I see, are you the orb of light in front of me?" asked Shamir once more. " Yes and no, this is simply a mental representation in order to facilitate communication, but as I am everywhere within the abode you couldn''t say the light orb is me, now if you doubts have been cleared please follow me host as the tutorial has already started and we must begin with the education" said Asael as the door of the room they were in opened and Asael began to float towards the door. "Ok" answered Shamir and followed Asael, once they exited the room Shamir found that the room connected to a hallway which was around 120 yards of length with many doors separated from each other at varying lengths, he could also see that the ceiling had the same white stones that were in the room ceiling, after a few seconds walking through the hallway Asael come to a stop in front of a two-leaf door with a great tree in the middle. Then Asael begun to speak " This is the library of the above, is the place you will visit the most during the next five years, now let''s go inside". Then the door opened and they went inside, once they were inside Shamir couldn''t help but be amazed at the sheer size of the library it was big there were rows and rows of bookshelves filled with books, he had never seen that many books in his life, the library was a two stored with a staircase at each the side of the entrance. Then Asael indicated " Host the books are distributed by categories and each bookshelf indicates what categories belong the books stored in it, you would be able to find they go from history, geography, medicine, mana study, magic study, ethics, magic knighthood, herbology, inscriptions, arrays, potion making, enchantment, summoning, spells, curses, martial arts, body enhancement and much more; for now host should focus on reading all the basic books of mana study and magic study once host is done we can proceed with the next step." "Mmm... I see guess I should get started" answered Shamir. ..... meanwhile in the real world. To se south of Tesman village, beyond the Yadi county and the Benor kingdom, crossing the Jana and Ronen kingdoms and even beyond the Ida continent crossing the South Ocean reaching the Vrat kingdom in the Frozen continent and going even further to the south in a part of the forbidden zone a young woman wearing a dress as white as the snow with fair skin and looks that would put a queen to shame, with deep blue eyes as the ocean and with golden long hair was walking towards a certain destination, if any human or even a mage at the level of arch-mage were to be standing where the woman was they would definitely die because of the raging icy winds filled with an absurd amount of mana, those winds could split a mountain perfectly in half the only difference would be that the arch-mage could be here a few minutes, yet the woman keep walking as if she was taking a walk in the park, after some time walking the woman came to a stop, in front of her a massive blue magic circle could be seen, she stood there watching the magic circle with a melancholic expression.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. "I really don''t like coming here, every time I come I''m reminded of my weakness back then, if only back then I had had the power I have now you wouldn''t have had to sacrifice yourself to save the humanity that you loved more than anything even more than me isn''t that right Gilgamesh?" spoke softly the woman. Sighting and regaining her demeanor now the melancholic face nowhere to be seen "Fast as always, I see, long time no see Parnas" answered the woman as an old man wearing a blue robe with a beautiful embroidery of a tree suddenly appeared a few meters away from her, the old man despite the old look didn''t have many wrinkles had piercing golden eyes and a head and beard full of black long hair with a few white hairs visible. "Indeed, has been a long time since I last saws you Vardia I believe it has been around eight hundred years since we last saw each other, so what do you want to tell me? " answered Pernas. "How do you know I want to tell you something?" answered Vardia making a face full of ignorance and doubt. "Drop the games Vardia, you only come here by foot when you want to talk with me otherwise you have the power so simply come flying o teleport here if you wanted, but you went to the trouble of activating my sensor field which means you wanted me to know of your presence here." rebuked Parna "I see you are still as serious as always, no fun at all" said Vardia while smiling. "Then?" asked Parna. "I won''t ask you about what you did yesterday, as I assume is something to help the human race towards a more decent level before the seal breaks, perhaps taking in an apprentice in a roundabout way in place of just taking him with you to train him, which is something you would definitely do" said Varna making a smug face. "I guessed you would find out, but I only gave what''s necessary for him to learn whatever he may choose to do with that knowledge it up to him" said Parna. "I see, I will also take a student but not is such an indirect way as yours and I won''t do it in the Ida continent, perhaps the Manamor continent would be a good place, and if both of our students could spread the knowledge of magic to the world that would be the best" said Varna while contemplating the magic circle in front of them. "Just remember to not directly disturb the balance of the universe or else..." said Parna before being interrupted by Varna "I know, don''t worry I won''t mess with the balance of the universe, after all, the consequences would be unknown" "As long as you stick to your word" said Parna. "How long do we have before the seal breaks?" asked Varna with a serious face. "200 years before cracks start appearing and the weaker demons star making their way here, after that maybe 100 years more for the demons to completely break the seal and they launch a full-scale war" said Parna with a concerned tone. "Then we must hurry, old friend" said Varna and looked at the magic circle one last time and then disappeared, then Parna took a good look at the magic circle before disappearing. 1 Year in the abode It had been nearly one year since Shamir began the tutorial from the system in that time he had spent all most all of his time in the library, after all, as was indicated by Asael, only Shamir mind was present in the abode, therefore, he didn''t need to sleep or eat which saved him much time, of course after almost an entire day studying he did felt mental exhaustion, but every time that happened a dim light would envelop him and take his mental exhaustion away leaving him as good as new, this was another of the perks that came included with the tutorial for which he was incredibly happy after all he could make the most of his time in the tutorial which would enable him to get a better result at the end of the tutorial. Just thinking of what kind of rewards would he be able to get if he did superbly in the tutorial was an enticing thought, the only downside he found of his time here is that he really missed his family after all he had never been apart for so long from them. "I wonder what are my folks doing?, I''m sorry mother, father if I have made you worry, you too Alina, Avner" thought Shamir with a melancholic expression looking at absent minded towards the door of the library thinking of his family and of what he had learned in the abode. "During this time I have learned that all living beings possed mana, though some posses more quantity than others, and although the quantity of mana a being is born can be upgraded by training it still has a limit, what''s more not all of the living beings possess the ability to manipulate the mana that resides inside themselves, in the case of humans perhaps one in every hundred held the ability to manipulate mana, and even then not everyone held the same proficiency in manipulating the mana inside themselves, I have also learned that such ability is hereditary, therefore if a person posses the ability it''s more than likely that its descendants will also possess such ability. But that''s not all every person mana it''s different, or to be more specific more than being different, it''s more accurate to say that the mana in each person has a specific affinity towards each of the eight basic elements of creation which are fire, water, earth, lightning, light and darkness. Also the affinity of a person towards a specific element is far more important that what it appears at first sight, especially in a fight between mages for even if they cast the same spells based on the same element let''s say fire the one with the highest affinity towards fire it''s more likely to win, this is mainly due to two reasons the first being mental exhaustion as the lowest the affinity the mage has when casting a spell the more focus he needs to put in the mana conversion process while casting the spell, after all, even if the spell makes the mana convert to a certain element, without focusing and guiding the conversion process the spell would only convert the mana corresponding to the affinity percentage wich would cause a waste of mana and a deficient spell, as the mana output would be the sameas if you had converted 100% of the mana, the other reason is because as even if the mage focused and guided the entire mana conversion process, if the difference in the affinity between the two mages it great let''s say the losing mage has an affinity towards fire of 20% and his counterpart has one of 100% then even if he guides and controls the entire process he would need a perfect control to match the mana conversion output of his adversary, which it''s incredibly difficult especially while fighting, so even there it''s bound to be some mana ineffectively used.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. That''s why magicians always take in consideration their affinity towards the elements before learning spells, of course, it''s a good option to diversify your spells as you never know in what kind of situation they would come in handy" thought Shamir while getting up from his chair sketching. "I wonder what''s my elemental affinity?, I hope it''s something cool like fire so I could roast my enemies hahaha...." said Shamir while making a pose as if he were throwing fire from his mouth and burning a bunch of bandits. "Or perhaps wind and I would fly through the skies without a worry in the world and maybe take a beautiful lady with me for a ride" said Shamir as he blushed, after all, he had never even held a girls hand, and with his body twelve and mind of nearly thirteen years has already begun to notice the enticingness of women. Lightly smacking his cheeks and stopping himself from daydreaming, he said "Now I should focus on finishing this first section of the training, after all, I''ve been here for nearly a year and I still have a long way to go" he then went put the book he held in his hand in its corresponding bookshelf. As time passed Shamir keep devouring the books in the library for the two subjects he had been assigned until he finally completed the assigned mission, it had taken him a whole year to accomplish this feat. "Alright, Asael I have finally read all the basic books in the library regarding mana study and magic study, now we can begin with the next step" Just as he finished speaking Asael light orb appeared beside him. "Congratulations are in order Shamir for completing the first step of the tutorial" said Asael, he now called Shamir by his name, as Shamir had requested it, after all, if not for Asael, Shamir would be all alone with no one to talk within the abode and even if he spent most of his time studying, from time to time he would spend some time talking with Asael, otherwise he felt he may have gone crazy. "Now that you have learned the basis of how mana and magic works we can level things up a notch, you will now need to learn ethics, history, geography, middle-level mana and magic studies as well as to begin to train your mana, while in the past year you have already read of the process of how to feel the mana inside your body now its time for you to learn to actually feel it so you will need to practice, also once you are capable of feeling the mana in your body you will need to be able to externalize it" said Asael. Novice rank After Shamir heard what Asael said, with a face that couldn''t hide the excitement he felt he asked: " Then that means that now I have reached the novice rank, right Asael?!" Asael responded "That¡äs right Shamir, now you are a novice rank" Asael continued" As you have reached the novice rank, as part of the evaluation process towards determining your performance during the tutorial, I ask you, Shamir, what have you learned about magic spell tiers and mage ranks?" Shamir couldn''t help but show a face full of surprise as he didn''t know there would be a test, once he had finished the first part of the tutorial, but he didn''t fret, after all, he had stuided a lot for the last year and knew everything of those basic books by heart, so he began to answer: "The novice rank is the first true step to becoming a mage, a novice although is a person still unable to wield mana, is someone who has a basic understanding of mana and the way it affects everything, of how magic is formed and the steps to follow in order to do so, as a Novice rank, Shamir, you must also know that the magic spells that a mage at any rank can unleash can be categorized in one of the thirteen tiers for magic spells, of course there exists spells that does not fall in any of those categories because of how low level and easy to use they are, that even the most useless of mages can use them, these spells are labeled as [tierless spells], of course, that does not mean that they aren''t useful, just that they are easy." said Asael without apparent intention of stopping. Shamir continued, "And even the spells that fall in the thirteen categories are separated, the first category is composed of tier one to tier six spells and they are considered the [Mortal Spells] category, every tier is further subdivided into low, middle and advanced spells, and as far as I have read an arch-mage is capable of unleashing tier six spells." He took made a little pause as he took a good breath and the keep saying, " magic spells from tiers seven to nine are known as [Calamity Spells], the tiers in the calamity category are also subdivided into low, middle and advanced, this category was given such name for if such a spell were to be unleashed against a city, the city would be eradicated, as such even if this category has fewer tiers than the mortal category, the difference in the magic output and the area they can affect are worlds apart." "The next category of the tiered spells is named [Divine Spells] and encompass from tier teen to twelve, and the weakest of spells in this category is capable of wiping out an entire kingdom out of existence."Shamir keep talking, information regarding spells and ranks flooded his mind, this made him answer the questions without effort.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "The last category created for the tier thirteen spells was the [Realm spells], the reason why these spells has a category of their own is simple, it''s because the spells that are qualified to be put in this category, are capable of affecting the entire realm, the spell used to separate the demon and human races was one such spell. Now that Shamir had the knowledge to be considered a novice, he also knew of the different ranks that a mage could reach, he then continued, "The first magic rank is the Novice rank, the second is the rank of Apprentice, a novice rank can advance his rank once he has become capable enough to sense at least in a rough manner the mana inside and outside of his body as well as to be able to at least use in a rough way the mana inside and outside of its body. From the apprentice rank onwards, the ranks are Mage, Wise Mage, Great-Mage and Arch-Mage being the basic requirements to rise in rank three: quantity and quality of the mana, control and sense of mana and magic, and knowledge and understanding of the arcane arts. From here on out is were many people fail to advance in ranks, as it becomes far harder to increase the mana quality and quantity as the human body is only capable of containing a set amount of mana, those who were able to break through that barrier reach the Seeker of the Abyss rank, but this is not the end of the ranks as above the Seeker of the Abyss rank, there are the Practitioner of the Abyss, Master of the Abyss, Great Master of the Abyss and Emperor of the Abyss. Once someone has reached the rank of Emperor of the Abyss, he or she would be unmatched existence" said Shamir as he had learned this information by heart. Once Shamir stopped talking Asael said "As expected you have proven to have the necessary intelligence to learn magic, as it only took you one year to learn what to many others would take them two to three years to learn, also although you are still a novice rank you should also possess the knowledge that the Emperor of the Abyss rank is not the end of the road for those who pursue magic, but as you are now, this is not yet the time for you to know of such things in detail". When Shamir heard the last part he gasped, as he had thought that the knowledge he had acquired encompassed all of the ranks a mage could aspire, and the Emperor of the Abyss by what he had read was already an impressive enough that many humans would consider them deities, so even Shamir had even assumed that the creator of the system was someone at that level, but to learn that there were even stronger ranks he couldn''t help but feel surprised by this information when all of a sudden a thought crossed his mind that made the hairs on the back of this neck to stand. After some thought, he regained his composure, then proceeded inquired Asael with a voice full of awe "Then is the creator of the magic system at an even higher rank than the Emperor of the Abyss rank?". Choosing spells With a calm voice, Asael answered: " He is indeed, although I was not granted the knowledge of the creator rank, he is indeed an existence higher up in the ladder of power than the Emperor of the Abyss rank, now if you do not have anything further to discuss, please follow me to the training grounds". As Asael said that, he floated its way out of the library, Shamir followed close behind, in the year Shamir had spent in the abode, he had done his share of exploring, after all, he couldn''t help, but be curious about this place, he had found that this place is named tree abode because it is literally a tree, a gigantic tree reaching over two hundred feet in height, and three hundred feet in wide, this tree was located inside a huge gorge surrounded by hills, inside the gorge there was a basin from which a stream flowed. When they reached the training ground outside of the tree abode, Asael said: "This is the best place for you to train in sensing and manipulating mana, as the quantity here is vast, therefore it will become easier for you to sense it" Shamir knowing that this part of the training was of extreme importance, only said: "I see, thanks Asael for bringing me here, I will do my best" He then seated in a cross-legged position on the grass and began to meditate, first he cleared his mind from all thoughts, and began to concentrate on his surroundings, bend on being capable of perceiving anything, but to no avail, he thought: "Of course I wouldn''t be capable of sensing the mana on the first try, a pity that I''m not like those heaven-defying existences that I read about, which were able to feel mana on their first try". A few hours after Shamir had begun his training to sense mana, he finally was able to sense the mana, both in his surroundings and inside himself, he felt thrilled to find that even if he couldn''t sense mana on the first try like those heaven-defying existences, judging by the time it took him to sense mana he still would be considered a sort of genius. Shamir thought to himself: "Now that I can sense mana, the next step is to learn to manipulate the mana". As days went by, Shamir had found himself in the need of scheduling his activities 0f the day, as he had found that he had left unattended his studies, because he spent too much time training, and he decided this couldn''t keep going, after all, a mage needed not only to be proficient in spell casting, he also needed information regarding sundry subjects that depending on the situation could at times be even more important than spell casting, after all as the saying goes knowledge is a form of power. So he had decided, that he would train from midnight to midday and the other half of the day he would use it for studying. As time went by Shamir had keed improving, he now was able to not only feel the mana but also externalize it, by spellcasting, for this he had learned one of the easiest spells.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. [Mana Impact] Category: Basic spell Tier: Tierless spell Elemental Affinity: None Kind: Active spell Type: Defense Description: this spell consisted of gathering the mana on the center of the palm, comprising it and then releasing it towards the target, upon impact the compressed mana would decompress creating a mana wave, its capable of knocking out the target. Shamir had practiced this spell until he felt that the waste of mana when casting it, was minimum, when he began to cast this spell he could only cast it eight times before his mana reserves were depleted, now he could cast it fourteen times before being depleted of course this also came from him even if a little increasing his mana reverses. As Shamir walked towards the library he thought: "Now that I have learned [Mana Impact], the most basic of spells I need to learn some other spell, but the question is which spell should I learn?, an offensive one, I already have [Mana Impact] that even if its not lethal can knock out the target, perhaps now I should learn a defensive spell, as of right now I have no way to protect myself if someone gets close enough that I''m unable to cast an offensive." Once he entered the library he went to the basic spells bookshelves, then started to search for a defensive spell, scanning through the books he found three that caught his eye. [Mana Screen] Category: Basic spell Tier: Tierless spell Elemental Affinity: None Kind: Active spell Type: Defense Description: It uses mana to create a screen of mana that serves as a shield, both the height and length of the spell are determined by the caster upon how much mana infuses, it can withstand most the offensive spells without tier. [Conservation] Category: Basic spell Tier: Tierless spell Elemental Affinity: None Kind: Active spell Type: Defense Description: it uses mana to create a thin but resilient layer above the skin of the target, it can be used while in movement, this spell can withstand most of the offensive spells without tier. [Guard] Category: Basic spell Tier: Tierless spell Elemental Affinity: None Kind: Active spell Type: Defense Description: It uses the mana to create a mana sphere around the designated target protecting it from external damage, can withstand all of the offensive spells without tier, offensive spells cannot be cast while guard its active Grabbing his templars he began to analyze:"Which should I choose, each has its strong points, [Mana sreen] can allow me to create the widest shield, but its downside is that its that has a fixed position meanwhile [Guard] strong points are that allows protecting others as well as movement and that it can protect from all tierless spells, its downside being that while active I won''t be able to cast spells, and then there is the [Conservation] spell this one has the advantage of allowing movement, it can be cast upon others and while active spell casting its available, its only downside is that it can''t protect from all of the tierless spells. I believe the one that would give me the most benefits would definitely be the [Conservation] spell, although the [guard] spell has the benefit of resisting al tierless spells, it''s not like I would go fighting everyone at my level so the [conservation spell] it''s still the better option for me" After deciding he will learn the [Conservation] spell he grabbed the book and returned to the training grounds to practice. Elemental affinities Time flew by and before Shamir realized, he had already been training for a little over two years, he had finished the second part of the training in only thirteen months, during that time he had learned some other minor tierless spells, most of them were for survival purposes. He now was being briefed by Asael on the third part of the training, which consisted, on first expanding his knowledge of magic and mana, and sundry subjects such as herbology, zoology, demonology, survival techniques, and some more, second, now he had to learn what his elementals affinities were and learning spells that imbued elemental magic, third he had to choose at least one field of specialty, as he was informed that a magician can not only depend on spells for it''s his survival. As Asael was briefing Shamir, he said: "But before choosing your specialty field of study, you should first learn you elemental affinities, for that we can use the affinity tester located in the study room, this is of utmost importance as if you choose a specialty which is incompatible with your affinities it would be asking for trouble, as an example if your attribute towards darkness is cero and your highest is light and still choose to specialize in let''s say curses, of course, there are curses based on the light attribute as there are with every other element, but the number of curses that are based on light element attribute is extremely scarce, therefore the range of action of your specialty will become limited." "I see, Finally!! I will learn my element affinity, I wonder which will it be?, well I will find out soon enough", said Shamir with excitement, as he began to follow the yellow orb of light that was Asael towards the study room. When they arrived at the study room Shamir, found it was quite a simple room, it only had a desk and chair made of carved wood, a wood table, and some other miscellaneous items, at the center of the table, rested a transparent crystal sphere the size of a head, it was transparent. Asael then said: "Go grab the crystal sphere, it''s an affinity cristal, you should know how it works". As Shamir approached the affinity tester, he felt the excitement on the marvelous spells he would use. Once he reached the affinity tester, he put his hand on the crystal sphere and recited in his head: "Alright this is the affinity tester, this works by infusing mana into the sphere, then the sphere will deconstruct the infused mana and test it for its affinity towards each element, this will be done in order beginning with fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, light, and darkness, when the sphere it''s testing the affinity towards each element, it will show the result as a numerical value from 0 to 100, that is the end of the test."A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. When he finished reciting his knowledge of the affinity tester he infused his mana into the sphere until it was filled with it, then he removed his hand, took a step back and while making a hand movement he chanted "Begin", then the mana inside the sphere began to deconstruct, the mana began to change its transparent color for a fiery red color, but not all the mana transformed some remained transparent, only around half of the sphere changed to that color, then the numerical value "69" appeared on the surface of the sphere. Shamir made a happy expression when he saw the value for it wasn''t a crap value, it wasn''t the best, it was an "ok" value. Then the red mana inside the tester changed colors back to the transparent color of mana and then began to change color again but this time to a deep blue until it reached just about half of the tester, then the value "61" was shown to Shamir, when he saw this he was still good, he knew his affinity towards each element would vary and that some could be good and some bad, but a "61" affinity as the lowest was still better than a "20" affinity. Then the process continued changing the colors of the mana to a white color for wind, with a result of "79", green for earth with a result of "89", Lightning "94", once Shamir saw the values for those elements his breath became ragged because he never thought his affinities would be higher than 80 but he now had not one but two affinities higher, but he hadn''t yet recovered from his roller coaster of emotions when he saw the value for his light affinity and nearly fainted, the tester showed the number "99", with a ragged breath and staring intensely to the tester with a look of sheer disbelief, he stared even after the tester showed him the result for his darkness affinity of "87". Shamir stood a while absorbed in his thoughts full until he regained enough of his composure to ask with a trembling voice a single question to Asael: "Asael how can this be?" Then Asael with a calm voice responded: " Well Shamir, as I stated when I first integrated with you, the reason why you were chosen for this system its because you have the innate talents requirements set by the creator". The answer from Asael just made the roller coaster of Shamir emotions to resurface and saying " Then that means I''m a genius? Asael Answer what were the requirements set by your creator?" Just as Shamir finished asking, Asael responded with a calm voice: "the requirements were a child older than eight but younger than fifteen, with a mana reserve of high quality, and with affinities towards the elements with at least one above 90 and none below 60" When Shamir heard this he although still with an unstable breath but more composed said: " I see" The reason why Shamir had lost his cool was that the scarcity of mages with a level 90 affinities, he had read that only one of every 100 mages had an affinity above 90, and while this was not an impediment to become a great mage, it stood true that a higher affinity made things easier. Double specialty Once Shamir had now found the elemental affinities he had, now he had to choose in what field would he specialize. He began to think regarding this issue: "let''s see my affinities are as follows from highest to lowest : Light: 99 Lightning: 94 Earth: 89 Darkness: 87 Wind: 79 Fire: 69 Water: 61 What field of specialization should I aim for? Perhaps Alchemy? while my fire affinity it''s not bad, I can''t say that I would stand out from the rest of alchemists, as I would need to split my concentration between the mana influx for the cauldron and in the herbs, making me less proficient, and while I still could stand out if I''m good enough perhaps there is another field where I could truly stand out. Therefore I will discard specializing in those that require a high affinity with fire, my highest attribute its light with 99, this affinity its compatible with most fields, but there it''s not a field of specialization that especially requires this affinity, but one field in which can really shine is in the healer specialization, as the healing by light its apart from the healing by darkness the only that can restore lost limbs, and in the higher levels even bring back the dead. Mmm... This definitely would be a good choice, but while this specialty can earn me money and increase my survival rate, it won''t help much to defeat an opponent should then I specialize in some other field as inscriptions, that offers the benefit of engraving spells on a material to be used later on? it can also be used to create affinity crystal which a mage can use with a staff as a medium to increase the affinity rate towards the element of the crystal. This is a really important choice that I cannot make lightly, I should take some time to think about it, I will first focus in breaking through to the apprentice rank, I have been able to feel that it''s not far away before my mana increases enough to break through." As Shamir was having such thoughts he went to the training ground in order to achieve his breakthrough, he still was amazed that while only his mind was in this place, his mind and body remained connected, therefore the mana that his mind absorbed in this place was sent to his real body, increasing his mana reserves. A few days later in a training grounds of the abode, Shamir was sitting in a cross-legged position in meditation, when suddenly he opened his eyes as a disruption in the mana around him was taking place, in his eyes, a glint of light could be observed.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. "I have finally reached the apprentice rank, I have been postponing far too much my decision regarding my specialization, but now I have a clearer mind and I know now what path I should take if I''m am to become a great mage whose name will go down in the annals of history" At the beginning of his training, Shamir was elated with the mere fact of being able to learn magic, because he thought he would have an average talent for magic, but as Shamir keep finding time and time again that his talents were above average, a wild tough began to take form in Shamir mind, this thought was that if he had been granting the opportunity to walk the path of mages was not only because of incredible luck, but because he had enough talent to become a great mage, therefore in order to not let down whoever made the system he had decided that he would become a great mage, great enough to make whoever made the system proud. As Shamir made a face filled with unwavering determination he went to the library and examined the bookshelves in order to find everything related to the healer and inscriptions specializations, he had decided he would pursue two specializations fields, he was determined to accomplish this goal set by himself, and even if he wasn''t able to become the greatest healer and inscriptionist, he knew that as his strength grew so would his lifespan, granting him with time to improve in his chosen fields or even learn new ones, achieving an even greater height in the path of magic. During the next two years, Shamir had learned and improved quite a lot in all areas, from his control and quantity of mana, his repertory of spells, to his achievements in healing and inscriptions. He now was seated in the library pondering, he had been in the abode for a little more than four years, he knew his time here was ending, he also wondered how were his parents and siblings, after all for them, had been a few days since he simply didn''t wake up, so the most natural thing it''s that they would be worried sick, and even if he had let them a letter explianing that he would wake up, that most likely didn''t give them much comfort, he had asked Asael if the training could be suspended, in order for him to be able to see his family and let them rest assured of his well being, but Asael had told him that it was impossible as if he send him back when he returned, the benefit of the twisted time spell that enabled the time in the abode to flow differently would be gone, once Shamir learn this he knew that even if he really missed them, he had to wait until the end, in order to improve as much as possible, the main reason for him in deciding to wait being that the knowledge to walk the path of magic isn''t common, its mostly only learned by those of noble birth, so if a nobody suddenly became a mage there would be many people willing to harm his family in order to attain his secrets. So in order to prevent that he had to grow if even a little bit stronger before that, especially because he wanted to teach his family magic, he believed they would be able to learn it because as relative they most likely would have talent for it, he wanted them to learn magic because they would be able to have a better life and if they became strong enough to have a longer lifespan, this way they would be able to be together longer, but he also knew that once they learned magic, there would be an even higher risk of people learning that they had obtained the knowledge to become mages and start craving for it, resulting in a lot of trouble, after all even if Shamir was twelve years old in the real worlds hsi minds was that of a sixteen years old boy, and he had learned of human greed in the years he had spent in the abod, but he knew it was inevitable some people would want him to teach them, and he was willing to do so as long ast they were of good character, so with all this in mind he held in all his feelings of wanting to return to his family, and continued his training. Four years in the abode On a certain day at the abode, Shamir was training as diligent as any other day, once he finished his training he began to reminiscing the time he had spent in the abode, all that he learned, he is now a completely different person compared to when he first set foot in there. He is now an apprentice mage in all the extension of the word, and is closing in to become a mage, the only thing he still lacks is a bigger mana accumulation in his reserves, but that will come with time, even if he doesn''t manage to breakthrough before leaving the abode, as his time in the abode runs out. He has accomplished great achievements in healing magic, spell casting and inscriptions, in healing magic he now knows human anatomy and physiognomy, at the beginning of his practice as a healer he learned the spell [Healing touch], the most basic of tierless healing magic, just recently he has mastered the spell: ... [Monlight bless] Category: Advanced spell Tier: Tier 1 spell Elemental Affinity: light Kind: Active spell Type: Healing Description: This spell uses an aura of light around the hand, which forces the cells of the target to boost its regenerative properties, it can reattach limbs that have been severed for less than three minutes.'' ... The difference between the [Healing touch] and [Monlight bless] spells is that the later allows reattaching severed limbs and can cure deeper wounds Shamir achievements in spells are mainly in his control of mana and the variety of spells he now knows, he has learned at least one spell with elemental affinities towards light, lightning, earth, darkness, and wind, his highest affinities, as for water and fire he has yet to learn any tiered spell, and while his achievements in both healing and spells are great, his greatest achievements are in inscriptions. For inscriptions, he has learned the language of mana also known as runes, to make inscriptions work two things are required, the first is to put the runes in the right pattern, and the other is to imbue runes with intent, as without intent runes are but another form of writing, Shamir also knows how to imbue intent in his runes. "I guess all that''s left now is to keep improving until time runs out" thought Shamir while making a satisfied look. Shamir has advanced a lot in his spell repertory, he now has mastered three offensive spells, two defensive and one supportive spell based on the elements for which he has the highest affinities, for light his highest attribute he learned the spells: .... [Moon Flash of pursuit] Category: Advanced spell Tier: Tier 1 spell Elemental Affinity: Light Kind: Active spell Type: Offensive Description: Gathers light attributed mana in the palm and compress it until it forms a full moon, then shots a ray of light which can pierce the objective, this spell can chase objectives. ... [Blessing of conservation] Category: Advanced spell Tier: Tier 1 spell Elemental Affinity: Light Kind: Active spell Type: Defensive and healingThe narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Description: Gathers and condensates light mana around the body creating a protective layer, this spell not only defends the user from most physical and magical tier 1 attacks, but it also heals small wounds and bost users resistance towards curses and poison. ... [Electric bolt] Category: Advanced spell Tier: Tier 1 spell Elemental Affinity: Lightning Kind: Active spell Type: Offensive Description: Uses lighting mana to create a lightning bolt that upon impact, if the target survives has a 20% of stunning the target. ... [Surging earth] Category: Advanced spell Tier: Tier 1 spell Elemental Affinity: Earth Kind: Active spell Type: Versatile Description: This spell is a versatile type, as it can be used for both attack and defense, it sends earth mana to the ground through the caster feet and alters the structure of the land allowing the surge of earth, as an offensive spell its a wide rank one and its a top tier 1 spell, and as a defensive one it can protect a wide area. ... [Shadow bolt] Category: Advanced spell Tier: Tier 1 spell Elemental Affinity: Darkness Kind: Active spell Type: Offensive Description: Uses darkness mana to creates a bolt that upon impact in case the target survives, has a 10% chance to decrease the target control of mana, increasing the mana used to cast spells. ... [ Wind gift] Category: Advanced spell Tier: Tier 1 spell Elemental Affinity: Lightning Kind: Active spell Type: Enhance Description: Sends wind mana to the brain and muscles of the body which enhances the senses of the target and makes its movements nimbler. ... Shamir isn''t the type to rush things, during his time in the abode he has learned the importance of patience, and learning things step by step, that''s why he set an iron claw rule before learning a new spell, first the spell has to be cast with enough proficiency that the wasted mana is minimum and he is able to cast it without incantation, as well, in case of offensive spells he has enough accuracy at least of 90%. "I guess now its a good time to learn some fire and water based tiered spells" thought Shamir as he stopped thinking and went to the library, in search for spells. When Shamir reached the library, he began to search for a fire-based spell, thinking: "Fire, is the element towards I have the second lowest affinity, so I should learn a spell that can make up for it in power or usefulness", He keep searching for fire-based spells through the bookshelves, after a few hours he finally found two that picked his eye. ... [Fire burst] Category: Advanced spell Tier: Tier 1 spell Elemental Affinity: Fire Kind: Active spell Type: Offensive Description: Ball created with fire mana, upon contact with target creates a burning expansive wave around four meters wide, though the mana cost is high the firepower this spell wields, its worth it, this spell is the first spell of the burst series, the highest spell of the burst series [starfire burst] is a tier 6 spell, this spell can not be learned unless used has learned the entire series. ... [Flame Hail] Category: Advanced spell Tier: Tier 1 spell Elemental Affinity: Fire Kind: Active spell Type: Offensive Description: Creates a five meters fireball, that launches towards the sky, once it has reached the desired height the caster can activate the hail effect, which will make the fireball disperse in the form of hail attacking an area up to 50 meters wide area, creating a small inferno. ... Shamir immersed in deep thought and contemplation for which spell he should choose, after some time of consideration, he decided:" right now I lack a wide area spell that allows me to face large groups of enemies, other than [Surging earth], but this one attack from below while [Flame hail] attack from above, so with enough training I can use a combo with those spells, as for the [Fire burst] while offers a greater firepower its limited by the area effect, however this its solved with its stronger version [Starfire burst], so I will learn it after I have mastered [Flame hail] and a water spell that I have yet to decide" Now that he choose his fire spell, he began to search for a water based spell trought the bookshelves after some time he retrieved three spell books that he liked. The first one is: ... [Draining rain] Category: Advanced spell Tier: Tier 1 spell Elemental Affinity: Water Kind: Continued spell Type: Area Description: Cast a rain of magic water that drains the mana of people in a thirty yards area, if the user is in the area effect will also be affected. ... [Water Spirit] Category: Advanced spell Tier: Tier 1 spell Elemental Affinity: Water Kind: Continued spell Type: Support Description: Summons a water spirit for assistance, the mana required its high to make the summon but the assistance provided by the spirit its worth it, it''s capable of using [Water bullets], [Water surge], [Water guard], [Water increase], [Water prision] ... [Surging water] Category: Advanced spell Tier: Tier 1 spell Elemental Affinity: Water Kind: Active spell Type: Versatile Description: by sending water mana to the ground, creates a wave of surging water that can wash away enemies, it can also be used for defense. ... After some thought Shamir discarded the [Draining rain] spell, although the effect of draining your opponents of mana sounds appealing, its not worth it if you also lose mana, then the [Surging water] spell was also discarded, as he already has the [Surging earth] spell, therefore, even if he knows the strength of the spell, he is more interested in the support that provides the [Water spirit] spell, as there are plenty of situation where can be useful. "First I will learn the [Flame hail] spell, once I''m done, I will begin with the [Water spirit] spell", thought Shamir as he returned the books back to the bookshelves and went to continue his training.