"Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do."
~ Pelé
Chapter XIX
(6 Years Ago)
Year 2048
Seven hundred six, seven hundred seven, seven hundred eight. Seven hundred nine.
He paused from the pushups, raised his hips into the air in a resting position without touching the ground, and shook out his wrists one at a time. He continued,
Seven hundred ten. Seven hundred eleven. Seven hundred twelve—
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Removing the 60 kg (132 lbs) weight vest, he cracked his knuckles one at a time, then his neck, then his back, then each toe. He finished by cracking his wrists, letting out a sigh of relief. Today’s calisthenics workout was complete. He had transitioned from lifting heavy weights to focusing on endurance training, frequently donning a 60 kg vest. Sometimes, he switched to a heavier vest for running—rucking with a 100 kg (220 lbs) backpack. Initially, he relied solely on his body weight, but after reaching thousands of repetitions without tiring, he adopted weight vests instead.
Of course, it wasn’t just weight vests. He wore ankle and wrist weights, and his custom-tailored clothes, courtesy of Indigo, were inlaid with a mixture of iron and steel. All told, he typically moved around his apartment with over 450 kg (1000 lbs), including his body weight. He weighed around 95 kg (210 lbs), built of lean, hard muscle. He stood about six foot, just shy by a quarter of an inch. His body fat percentage was close to 7%. Indigo warned him that dropping any further would be dangerous, but he had grown to love danger. If he didn't throw up at least three times per workout, he wasn't pushing himself hard enough.
With his workout done, it was time to return to his studies. Greenfield had begrudgingly visited after Indigo departed for business in Europe, bringing stacks upon stacks of books. She told him to take as much time as needed after the year in the lapis cruciatus, but hadn’t mentioned that his time in the apartment would be a deluge of academia. Fortunately, his physical fitness surpassed anything from Stonegate. His custom curved treadmill required no electricity, allowing him to sprint and ruck upon it. He had also requested a cloak with numerous tiny pockets sewn inside, allowing him to carry various items at all times: picklocks, small tools, and other essentials.
He headed to the shower. Turning the knob ever so slightly, freezing cold water shot out, instantly vanquishing the heat and sweat, feeling as if the heat of his exertions had been washed away by the frigid torrent.
After showering, he went to study. The books covered an astonishing array of subjects: peculiar history, theoretical magic, advanced combat techniques, and esoteric languages, each more challenging than the last. One book, in particular, caught Yoki's attention: “Introduction to Sphaeram.” The ranks he learned about were as follows:
Tearing Ranks
Initiate: Awakening to their powers, initiates spend about 1-2 years learning to harness their basic sphaeram. Their mana capacity is low, typically around 100-200 sphaeram units, suitable for minor magical tasks and sensing the magical world.
Sentinel: With 3-5 years of training, sentinels have a better grasp and control, holding 300-500 sphaeram units. They can perform defensive spells, basic magical constructs, and understand the greater flow of magic around them.
Enchanter/Enchantress: After 7-10 years, enchanters possess intermediate skills, with a sphaeram capacity of 600-900 units. They can alter reality in small ways and are beginning to explore deeper magical theories and applications.
Warden: Requiring 15-20 years, wardens have mastered higher magical arts, controlling 1000-1500 sphaeram units. They are capable of large-scale spells, protective barriers, and maintaining order in magical realms.
Mystagogue: With decades of dedication, usually 30-50 years, mystagogues hold 1600-2500 sphaeram units. They delve into profound mysteries, crafting complex magical frameworks and guiding the less experienced.
Archon: After a lifetime of pursuit, typically 60-80 years, archons command 2600-3500 sphaeram units. Their decisions shape the magical landscape, and their power is immense, influencing entire realms.
Sovereign: Only the most dedicated and powerful reach this level, usually after 100+ years. Sovereigns have a sphaeram capacity of 3600-5000 units, capable of epoch-defining spells and altering the fabric of reality on a grand scale.
Ascendant: Transcending ordinary limitations, ascendants are few and far between, often taking centuries of unseen growth. They hold over 5000 sphaeram units, their abilities bordering on the mythical, bending the laws of magic and nature.
Eclipse: An almost unreachable echelon, defined more by myth than a standard timeframe, possibly requiring millennia or special circumstances. Eclipses possess an undefined upper limit of sphaeram, potentially infinite, representing the pinnacle of magical evolution and control.
Then there were examples of sunderglyphs—spells—per class rank. He wasn’t exactly sure if these were all inclusive or not, but so it went:
Sunderglyphs and Units
Initiate (100-200 units):
* Minor Illusion: 20 units
* Basic Telekinesis (moving small objects): 30 units
* Sensory Enhancement (sharpening one's own senses briefly): 50 units
* Light Emission (creating a small light source): 10 units
Sentinel (300-500 units):
* Shield Construction (forming a protective barrier around oneself): 100 units
* Enhanced Telekinesis (moving larger objects or multiple small ones): 150 units
* Minor Healing (accelerating the healing of minor wounds): 200 units
* Sound Camouflage (silencing one's movements): 120 units
Enchanter/Enchantress (600-900 units):
* Reality Distortion (minor alterations in perception for one individual): 250 units
* Advanced Illusion (creating complex, interactive illusions): 350 units
* Elemental Manipulation (controlling fire, water, etc., in small quantities): 300 units
* Psychic Whisper (sending a telepathic message to another): 200 units
Warden (1000-1500 units):
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
* Stronghold Shield (creating a large, durable protective barrier): 600 units
* Advanced Healing (healing serious injuries or diseases): 700 units
* Elemental Mastery (creating and controlling weather patterns or large elemental constructs): 800 units
* Mind Lock (shielding one's mind or another's from intrusion): 500 units
Mystagogue (1600-2500 units):
* Temporal Stasis (freezing a moment in time for a short duration): 1200 units
* Deep Reality Alteration (changing the perceptions of a group of people): 1500 units
* Summoning (calling forth creatures or elemental forces): 1000 units
* Astral Projection (sending one's consciousness to distant places): 800 units
Archon (2600-3500 units):
* Reality Warp (altering physical laws within a small area): 2000 units
* Grand Summoning (calling and controlling powerful entities or natural phenomena): 2500 units
* Mass Mind Control (influencing the thoughts of a large population): 3000 units
* Dimensional Gate (opening a doorway to another location or plane): 2800 units
Sovereign (3600-5000 units):
* Cataclysmic Event (triggering volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, or other natural disasters): 3500 units
* Eternal Sanctuary (creating a timeless, unbreachable haven): 4000 units
* Life Creation (birthing new sentient life): 4500 units
* Reality Fabrication (constructing vast illusions that can encompass cities): 5000 units
Ascendant (over 5000 units):
* Universal Insight (gaining knowledge of vast secrets of the universe): 5200 units
* Celestial Manipulation (altering stars, creating black holes, etc.): 6000 units
* Quantum Shift (altering probability, changing fundamental constants of reality): 7000 units
* Resurrection (bringing the dead back to life, with limitations): 7500 units
Eclipse (Potentially infinite):
* Cosmic Rewriting (changing fundamental aspects of the universe): Undefined, as this would be beyond standard measures
* Singularity Event (creating or destroying entire realities): Undefined, due to the immeasurable nature of the power
* Eternal Loop (binding an entity or event in a timeless cycle): Undefined, since it transcends normal magical constraints
* Omniscience (achieving total knowledge): Undefined, as it represents the pinnacle of magical prowess.
And so it went. His answer to what powers could be used by who seemed to be answered by the following section:
Classes of Tearings
Nightwalkers:
* Can harness multiple powers and learn the powers of others with practice. They are easily susceptible to greed.
* One of the most powerful kinds of magic people, connected to dreams and communicating between worlds.
* They are very physical beings, often working as spies or military leaders.
* Meant to think and react quickly, they have the power to back it up.
* They possess the most potent sphaeram, blending into shadows and controlling darkness, though the true dark side of their magick is rarely taught due to its treacherous and dangerous nature.
Shifters:
* Can shift what people perceive with various senses and often can shapeshift. Almost all can use telepathy.
* The most powerful kind of magic people (per sphaeram unit capacity and how fast they regenerate their units).
* The more connected they are to themselves and the world, the more powerful they become and the wider the range of their illusions.
* Meant to be leaders of the world, they are masters with their words and use their minds as their greatest asset.
* They maintain balance and keep Nightwalkers in check, being the only beings born “more powerful” than Nightwalkers.
Interlopers:
* Can enter other people’s minds, with some crossover with Shifters. Some Shifters start as Interlopers and are more deadly due to their dual skills.
* Mostly mind-reading, harder on those with trained sphaeram. Some have telekinesis or telepathy.
* The only kind of Tearing Class who can change to another class, often at great personal risk and pain, but those who succeed become powerful Shifters.
Earthworkers:
* Possess powers related to the elements, such as controlling fire.
* Considered basic powers, but masters are formidable in combat.
* Often work in the non-magic world or at magic schools as faculty and staff due to their less useful combat abilities.
* Some of the richest people due to their use of natural resources in their abilities.
Sphaeram Amplification and Rank Advancement System
Arcane Trials: Practitioners increase their sphaeram by undertaking specific trials designed to test their limits, resolve, and understanding of their powers. Each trial is unique to the practitioner’s class and designed to push them beyond their current boundaries. For example, a Nightwalker might have to navigate a labyrinth of shadows without a light, while an Earthworker could need to stop a natural disaster using only their elemental control.
Rite of Ascension: To advance to a new rank, practitioners must complete a ceremonial test requiring a deep personal sacrifice or the overcoming of a significant fear. This rite not only increases their sphaeram but also solidifies their standing within the magick community. This could involve relinquishing a cherished memory to prove detachment for a Mystic or facing and overcoming a personal demon for a Shifter.
Knowledge Infusion: Sphaeram can be increased through the acquisition of forbidden or hidden knowledge, forcing practitioners to travel, encounter diverse cultures, and solve mysteries.
Elemental Convergence: Practitioners align themselves with a powerful natural event, performing rituals to significantly increase their sphaeram.
Spiritual Pact: Forming a bond with a magical entity, practitioners gain insights into singularized but special magick practices, enhancing their abilities and up-rank potential.
Harmonization Challenge: Practitioners harmonize their magic with a peer of a different class, promoting unity and understanding among magical disciplines (though other classes of magick will ultimately be weaker since it’s not their class).
Legacy Creation: To reach the highest ranks, practitioners contribute something of lasting value to the magical world, increasing their sphaeram and cementing their elite status.
Cosmic Alignment: At the pinnacle of their journey, practitioners align their essence with a cosmic phenomenon, dramatically increasing their sphaeram and ascending to the highest ranks.
"In this system, advancement is about personal power, contribution to the world, understanding deeper magical laws, and personal growth. Higher ranks are not only powerful but wise, respected, and deeply connected to the fabric of the magick universe, which all comes from the rift that Noctisanguis had provided for them all."
Or so it said.
This was all fascinating knowledge to Yoki. He hadn't learned anything nearly as profound from his father, who had only taught rudimentary Sphaeram basics. Beyond this newfound knowledge, he searched for an explanation for the grappling hook he summoned and the way he repelled the dragon’s cold flame with the mirror, but found nothing in the end. He deemed it something to research thoroughly at The Academy.
It was said The Academy’s library was limitless, with no end to the amount of rows of shelves and books, and that where the books were located were always changing. It was a labyrinth of its own, his father had once joked about.
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From March to August, Yoki remained cloistered in his apartment, training, working out, and studying. To him, it felt like little time had passed before a letter was slipped under his apartment door. It read:
Dear Mr. Walker,
We are pleased to inform you that your application to The Academy has been extended to the 2048-2049 year. Your classes will commence in one week. Please prepare accordingly and report to the main hall on your first day.
Best regards,
The Academy Administration
Despite everything he had endured, the idea of attending The Academy both excited and frightened him. All his life, his father had trained him for greatness, possibly solely to prepare Yoki for The Academy. Now, this wasn’t just a thought, but reality. He would leave this comfortable apartment behind to travel to The Academy, hoping to tame his power. It gave Yoki hope that the future would be one of promise. Little did he know that he was about to get caught up in a maelstrom of serial-killings.
We’re going to have a whole lot of fun, boy.