Chapter 43 - New Power
"A person can have two mana categories. In the Primary Category, the user can utilize up to 100% efficiency of the mana category they possess. In the Secondary Category, the user can utilize up to 50% efficiency," Kinue explained to us.
Now I understand what Professor Adrihna meant. I might have used the Transmitter category to make my element flow through my arm, but that doesn't mean I'm fully a Transmitter user.
"Is this Primary or Secondary?" I asked, creating a ball of light with one hand and shooting a lightning bolt at the ceiling with the other.
"WHAT!?" Kinue exclaimed, stepping back in shock. "EMITTER!? That's a dangerous combination with your element."
Professor Adrihna glanced at me before returning to her book. "Interesting..." murmured the High Elf.
"And me?" Chloe asked.
"If you can't cover your body with your element, then you don't possess Transmitter as your secondary category. Your water ball was created directly from the atmosphere, which would make you an Invoker, but Lady Adrihna agreed with you about being an Emitter," Kinue said, looking at Chloe.
"Oh, that makes sense! I can also shoot water from my hands," Chloe said, pointing her hand and spraying water on the wall.
Kinue jumped and adjusted her view. "These kids! They already know how to use their two categories! It's rare for someone to have two categories and even rarer for someone their age to know how to use them," Kinue said, looking at us.
Professor Adrihna closed her book. "They are from a special family; it's no wonder they are high nobles. The magical blood that runs through their veins is bathed in talent and possibilities. The boy's father was an excellent Emitter of the Lightning element, and the girl's father was a great Invoker of the Earth element. One could summon a troop of stone golems, and the other could shoot a lightning bolt capable of destroying troops. It's no wonder these children are talented. I myself initiated their fathers into magic and saw firsthand the potential of those brats," she said, looking at us.
My professor created a ball of yellow light with her hands. "I am a user of the Light Element. My primary category is Emitter, and the secondary is Invoker. I will explain to you about the elements of nature," she said, and the ball of light turned into small birds that flew in all directions and then disappeared.
"Will I be able to make these birds out of water since I'm an Invoker?" Chloe asked excitedly.
"You will... and if you are powerful and dedicated to magic, you will be able to do even greater things to help you in battle, even with ice," the professor replied.
I was fascinated by those light birds, but watching them fly reminded me of a certain person... or bird.
Cylla! She can make her body catch fire and also shoot fire... so she's a Transmitter and an Emitter? But she also has that power that heals wounds... is that a nature element?
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"There are the elements of nature that we use through our mana," the professor began to explain. "There are common elements, which are: Water, Fire, Earth, and Wind. These are the elements that any mage might be born with. There are also the uncommon elements, which are rarer and more desired by mages: Lightning, Plant, and Light."
"My element is rare?" I asked.
"Very rare, there are hardly any people with Thunder. Your father had this element, and your mother possesses the Plant element, making you highly likely to be born with one of these two elements," Adrihna explained.
Now I understand a bit more...
"Chloe can fuse the elements to create ice. How is the ice element classified?" I asked, and Chloe looked interested as well.
"Her mother is an Emitter with two elements, Air and Water. Little Chloe was born with her father's and mother's Mana Categories. She is an Emitter and Invoker who inherited her mother's elements and the ability to create ice. There are fused elements such as Ice, Magma, and Mud, but not everyone can use them even if they have the base elements that can generate them. There are fused elements, but there can also be powerful combinations of elements. For example, combining Air and Fire could create a firestorm. The greater the combination, the more destructive the power, making it very dangerous and volatile. You should not combine elements without excellent control, or you could cause an accident where you might lose parts of your body in an explosion," the professor explained.
Chloe and I looked at each other.
"What if we combined water, air, and thunder? Could we create a... storm cloud?" Chloe asked shyly.
"Don't tell me you've already tried that?" Kinue asked, shocked.
The elf sighed. "It's dangerous to play with element combinations if you don't have the practice, and it's even more dangerous to combine elements with mana from two different people. You shouldn't try that again anytime soon, or you could get hurt," the elf said, looking at us.
So it really was dangerous? Damn... that was powerful.
"But enough of that. I'm here to extract every drop of magical potential from you, so this is very useful information for me. The combination only worked because you are relatives, so your mana is similar. If you tried it with someone else, it would cause a disaster," the professor said.
The elf fiddled with her bracelet, and two stones appeared in her hand. "These are elemental stones. They are used by teachers, although my stones are purer than most. These stones can identify a person's nature element when mana is poured into them. I will check your elements."
Chloe found those words strange. "But why check? We already know our elements."
"Not every student has already awakened their Gem and can use their nature element, so we need to test with the stone. Even though you have demonstrated your element, I want to see if you have any dormant elements. Since you are prodigies in magic, I want to check if there might be another," she said.
The professor handed me a black stone.
"Why are you giving him a stone, Lady Adrihna? He has an Uncommon Element and can't have another," Kinue asked.
"I just want to be sure... of something."
Chloe took the stone in her hand, and a light was emitted when she started channeling her mana into the stone. The light emitted was a light blue and changed to white before fading, and the stone returned to black.
"Excellent, your elements are indeed Water and Air," the professor said.
Seeing that, I tried to repeat the process, imitating Chloe. I concentrated all my mana, and as soon as I did...
"It's floating! My stone..." I said, surprised.
"The stone is reacting to electromagnetism? That's possible... after all, you possess Thunder, and this stone is an excellent conductor of mana. Change your way of channeling and concentrate your mana purely," she corrected me.
I stopped channeling my element, realizing I had done the process wrong.
That makes sense; if it were about pouring our element into the stone, it wouldn't serve the purpose of identifying our element.
The stone stopped floating and fell into my hand. I channeled my mana into it, and it gradually started to glow a dark blue.
“See, he has Thunder…” Kinue said.
The stone began to tremble, and then the dark blue changed to a brilliant white before fading and turning dark again.
“HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE!?” Kinue shouted in surprise.
The professor laughed. “Congratulations, my student. You also possess the Wind Element.”