[Miseria Noxcissa Duccanes.]
[Level: 10]
[Race: High Dark Elf, Pureblood Vampire, ]
[Age: 1]
[Health: 1500/1500]
[Mental Energy: 800/800]
[Strength: 10]
[Vitality: 13]
[Intelligence: 20]
[Agility: 10]
[SP: 25]
Twenty-five points. Which one increases my stamina, though? Is that like a combination of attributes? So, strength, agility, and vitality.
If I'm going off a game, Intelligence usually increases magic points. However, I'm still limited by the body I'm in. My strength can't be utilized to the fullest with my small hands and small body.
What about this? They never explained that."How can I be a witch if I don't have magic?"
Aja takes another bite of rice. "That's impossible. You have to have magic. What's wrong?"
"The screen says Mental Energy. Not magic. What's the difference?"
Aja mulls it over and then turns to Penguin. "Penguin? What is the difference between energy and magic? I know magic is different from divinity. But I'm not sure how to answer the former question."
Penguin shouts from the kitchen while he cooks more rice. "It's usually purer than mana but harder to control. Divinity is the source of energy, and energy is the source of mana. Mana is just another name for fuel for magic. Spirituality and Reiki are common names for it, too. The system is just being specific as to what type you have. Mental Energy can also be considered Condensed Mental Mana."
Aja turns back to me. "There you have it."
"So, how do I move things with my mind? Is it because of pathways? I'm so confused."
"May I guess?"
"Please."
"Pathways are intricate systems in your body that are supposed to help deliver and assemble magic. Like the pipes in this house!" She smiles fondly at the thought.
I tilt my head."How do you know about plumbing?"
"I asked Penguin. Let's say every single one of your pipes has a filter that boils your energy into mana or cools it down into energy. That would explain why it shows up as Energy instead of Mana."
"But why? Is that normal? Am I supposed to be doing that?"
"Mana is natural in every form it comes in. Anyway, another trip into your mana realm might be able to give you answers if you don't already have them. Matter of fact. Could you tell me what you saw again?"
I chew my lip and nod.
She confirms once more. "So a big ball of chaotic light spun strands that reached out and tried to tether itself to the structure around it. Is that right?"
Akeso hums from behind me. "That sounds more like a Godcore than a Mana Realm."
"Could you just tell me what that is? In detail."
"Sure." Akeso sits down across from me and starts explaining. "Magicians and Witches function much like a furnace, engine, and fuel, all in one. Think of it as an engine that converts raw energy into something tangible. For example, imagine a fire mage who has a vast mana realm brimming with mana. She creates a pathway that links her mana realm directly to her fingertips. In this scenario, the mana serves as the fuel, the spell or medium-like pathways she employs act as the engine, and her fingers function like a furnace."
So the mana feeds the engine, and the engine fuels the furnace. Fire spits out, and magic is created.
"Now what's the difference between that and a godcore?"
"Something was missing from that composition."
Oh. "Energy. If Energy is a fuel for mana, where does everyone else get it from since they're not gods?"
She smiles. "Energy is like the runoff of Divinity. Everyone is born with a set amount of Divinity and subsequently Energy. It's very hard to increase the amount, but very easy to decrease it. Let's say a human with wind magic uses it often without a means of replenishing this fuel. What do you think will happen to him?"
Mel said something about it being just a life force to others. "They'll die?"
"Yes. They'll die. Let's say divinity, energy, magic, your body, and your soul are all one cell. Your body houses your soul, your soul houses your magic, your energy surrounds your divinity, and your divinity is at the very core of all of that. For mortals, they have a limited amount that they use up until they expire. However, for Gods it's different. We create our own divinity."
Akeso uses a spoon to steal some rice from Aja's shrine."A Godcore produces Divinity without reservation, which creates energy, magic, people, elements...everything. We can't produce an unlimited amount, but it's close. Close to infinite."
"So you think my mana realm…"
She chews while ruminating out loud ."I think that is your Godcore. Which is strange because this place also seems to be a Godcore with how you spontaneously create here. It's strange. I have yet to meet someone with more than one core…Even those people…Only had one to use. They could add to it or give more shards to others. But they only had one. It's very strange."
That's a little more enlightening and a bit confusing. All of these metaphors are hard to imagine. I've heard cells, engines, and pipelines. Isn't there an easier description? It almost sounds like they all have a different understanding of how it works.
"So what's sorcery. I know people who use it without being a witch."
"Artificial magic. Instead of using pathways in the body. Sorcerers create pathways using their blood or mana-rich ink. They then ignite the path with more mana, and that sets off a reaction which causes magic to happen. Anyone can use it in theory, but it's not recommended. People who aren't born to use magic shouldn't use it. It burns their lifeforce faster and leads them to live shorter lives than fate intended."
So which is it? Am I some kind of Witch, or am I some Demi–God?
"If I can just create and use up energy. Can I just make anything?"
She retorts almost immediately. "No. You need Pathways and attunements for that. Divinity is tricky. As you can tell, I am a Medicine God. That's my attunement. I can create a lot under that umbrella; however, if someone asks me to make a volcano, for example. I'll be hard pressed to do so because it's not something I can naturally do. I might even have to use Sorcery to achieve that."
"So what's my Divinity?"
She smiles like she's looking at a child. "That's something I can't tell you. You have to choose for yourself, and technically, you're not a God yet."
"But you said—"
"You're too weak. If you were to try to use Divinity right now, it would tear through your mortal body like butter. As of now, you can only use Mana. Which makes you akin to a mortal."
I rolled my eyes. "Can I make myself grow up then? Is that possible with Mana?"
She stopped eating."Grow up? Do you want to be older or do you want to alter your appearance?"
"What's the difference?"
"One is essentially wasting your life force, and the other is shapeshifting. Both are possible, but I wouldn't recommend either. You want to be stronger and have more stamina, right? You have the body of an Elf. Just wait a decade and you'll have what you want. I wouldn't rush it."
A decade? Absolutely not.
"I don't have a choice. I have literally been thrown into the worst military boarding school ever! With magical psychopaths who don't care how old I am. They may even be going easy on me, but I still can't take it. As I am, I'm useless and a liability. I'm not saying I want to be, let's say, a decade older. I'm thinking at least as old as the triplets. So maybe six or seven years old? Just enough that I can see over a table and walk to places on my own without people constantly carrying me."
Penguin flips the pan again. "Well…You're due for an evolution soon. Complete more missions, quests, and tasks, and you'll earn more EXP. After that, I can evolve you."
Eager, I turn towards him and rapid-fire questions his way."What mission? How much do I need?"
He adds rice to the pan and a bit of oil flies."Level Twenty. You must reach that level first."
"Show me my missions."
The taskboard shows up in front of me, along with my muted notification inbox, and I collect accumulated EXP from it. There are some rookie bags, too. What did I even do for those? Whatever. It's not worth opening my notifications.
[Congratulations, Host! You've reached Level Thirteen.]
[Congratulations, Host! You've reached Level Fifteen.]
The notifications stopped, and I rolled my eyes. Stingy.
That was eight whole levels of leftover EXP. I want a quick and easy mission that I can hopefully finish right now. There are a bunch of skill-related missions, but they'll take too long. Thankfully, I didn't use any of my skill points. If it's still according to game knowledge, they'll be worth more once I evolve.
Noble lady stuff, I don't have time for. Can't waste time. Can't cook. Too much of a waste. I can't kill anyone. That's not an option.
A dungeon?
I think it over and shake my head. Don't have the body, location of one, or the time.
Oh. What about this?
[I'm A Gacha Fan!]
[Summon using Golden Tickets] X 30
[Summon a Five-Star warrior, support, tool, weapon, pet, or medicine] X 1
[Current: 21/30]
[Reward: Ten Golden Tickets, 10,000 EXP, and 1,000 GDC.]