I was comfortably sitting in the armchair with an Aliford sitting opposite me. We were in a small cozy circular room with plenty of bookshelves. The whole air was filled with the relaxing smell of paper and atrament. Noone spoke for at least ten minutes, and I started to become impatient. Surprisingly old mage gaze wasn't on a provocative cleavage of my simple black dress. It looked like the only thing he cared about was magic.

Without any warning, Aliford spoke, "Well, let's start with basic differences between Arcane and Elemental magic. Do you know it?"

"Ehmm, elemental magic is using elements and arcane not?" I felt like a schoolchild again.

"Hehehe, close, but not exactly right. You see, arcane magic is using elements too. It is just different in their application. For example, if you have a fire affinity, you can naturally produce a fire attribute mana that can be directly turned into flames with a [Pyromancy]. But when you don't have that kind of affinity and have only water affinity, you have to convert your water attribute mana into pure attributeless mana to power your arcane magic circuit that will create that flames. Sounds simple? Don't, worry this is just basics."

"So basically, it's about bypassing a need for a specific element with extra steps."

"Yes, it's about using pure magical energy that is not formed into an element. If the fire element mana is a curved line full of waves and weird shapes, in that case, pure mana is a straight line. You can easily shape it into whatever shape you want. It just needs an extra effort. And that pure magical energy will be obtained by purification of elemental magical energy.", Aliford spoke with great enthusiasm and energy with and happy look in his eyes.

Then a small sphere of fire formed in his hand, "Let's take a classical [Fireball] spell as an example. If you have a fire affinity, your soul will directly produce a fire attributed mana, and that mana will directly manifest in the form of flames. So you will just grab that mana and shape it into a shape you want before applying force to send it flying towards your target. All of this is, of course, automatized through the magical circuits linked to chants. But if you don't have a fire attribute mana, then you will take any attribute mana and purify it into pure mana without the attribute. Then you will use that pure mana to power an arcane circuit used to create flames. And after all of this, you can continue with shaping and releasing it."

'So more work for the same result. I have an affinity for all elements, so it looks useless to me at first glance, but it is always good to have some trick up in the sleave. At the top of that, there might be uses of it that are impossible with and elemental magic.'

So I asked with interest, "Can it be used to create effects that are impossible with elemental magic?"

With the speed of the bullet train, Aliford started to blabber about magic, "There is one theory that says that anything can be considered an element. And if we can't see it, it only means that an element is too complex for us to understand. So an answer to your question depends on if is this theory truthful. Sadly no one managed to either confirm or refute it. Still, even if it were confirmed, it would be possible only theoretically as it is impossible to master all elements. So yes, it can be used to do stuff that is practically impossible with and elemental magic."

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'So its advantage is versatility while the advantage of elemental magic is effectivity as I can skip that mana conversion.'

"Hehe, there is, of course, a small catch. The more complex you want to do with arcane magic, the more complex the circuit you need. That will also make it more mana hungrier and harder to cast. Of course, it will also be harder to invent such a complex circuit."

Aliford moved his hand, and a scroll with a complex diagram appeared in his arm. He tossed it towards me, and I caught it. I looked at it closely. There were many circles filled with magical symbols, and each of these circles was connected to others with lines. I was familiar with the symbols as it was a magic code used to compose spells.

"This basic mana purification circuit. It is the most fundamental part of any arcane magic. Learn it and then come back for another lecture. "

'Hmm, that circuit is pretty complex and filled with parts. I have no idea what are they doing. It will take a few hours to learn it. ' Luckily, the old wizard couldn't read my thoughts as his old heart would probably give up. 'Alright, my next stop is a smith. I need to design some cool looking armours for my personal guard.'

I walked out of the tower and headed directly out to the streets. At the castle entrance, a few darks stopped me but let me through after I told them that I was going to look for a blacksmith.

A huge change happened to the streets from the last time I saw them. Life has already returned to them. People were walking on the streets, and merchants loudly shouted their offers. Scars from the change of government healed surprisingly quick.

'People of this city are resilient, but that is natural after so many coups in this unstable region. Well, how should I find a blacksmith? Maybe ask a people? Luckily I am looking only for one prototype, so I only need to find one master blacksmith. The rest of them would be created in a dungeon. Why wasn't I thinking about this during a meeting? There were plenty of guild masters, and would I bet that at least one of them would be able to help me. '

I stopped a random passerby and asked, "Tell me where I can find a master blacksmith?"

He was a young boy. He looked at me and flushed before he slowly answered, "Ehmm, I can show you away. I will personally company you."

I wanted to refuse and force him just to tell me the way, but a familiar voice came from behind me. "Hey, hey, here you are. I heard that you are looking for a blacksmith. We have our own, and he can use methods that are not exactly legal. So it's the best choice."

It was a Rose wearing a casual blue dress. She was smiling at me, wanting me to follow her.

"Too bad, boy, I found a better offer," I had no reason to refuse her offer, so I walked back with her, leaving a dumbfounded boy behind me. The journey back to the castle wasn't exactly short, so I had a lot of time to think.

'Now that I think about this. What even is my current goal. I already have my city, and I am content with it. Should I focus on taking revenge against my tormentors back on earth? No, that shouldn't be my main goal. It is too pitifully. Of course, if I get an opportunity to teach them a lesson, I will grab it, but I will not pursue it actively... I definitely want more power, especially more magical power. But for what reason? None, I just want to know magic. It is a beautiful and powerful art. Yes, that's it, I want to get as powerful at magic as possible, and that is all I want. Also, I want to be a stylish ruler with a guard in cool uniforms with black flags with some cool looking heraldry everywhere. I am sure that somebody said something about style being important for every dictatorship.'