Magic is wasteful. While mana cannot be destroyed, only converted, the energized mana a magician uses is not entirely converted into power for the spell. No. For a novice and low-affinity mages, the efficiency rating can be lower than 1%. As one's wizardry proficiency increases, this efficiency rating increases, meaning the mage needs less and less mana to activate the same spell. This has the visible effect of lessening the drain on the mage's mana pool. Coupled with high affinities, the spell might even cost less than what the mage recovered during the time to cast the spell.
The efficiency rating of a graduate mage should be above 20%. To become an archmage, one must prove efficiency above 50%. A high efficiency, however, does not translate into the ability to spend more mana on the same casting of the spell. But with high efficiency also increases the chance of keeping the spell diagram live in the mage's mindscape so he can cast the same spell again without going through the construction phase of spellcasting, the same effect as wielding a primed staff.
Excerpt from A Practical Guide to Wizardry, vol 3. Published by the Royal Academy of Yutis.
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Dawn and Aidan made their way to the stone building that held the arcane laboratories with Skippy comfortably cradled around the girl's neck and on her chest like a necklace. After climbing the stairs to the floor where their private laboratory was, they entered to find the Headmaster already inside.
"Greetings, my star pupils." The otherwise stern Archmage received them with open arms, "We have a very busy schedule today, due to our esteemed guests. Come inside and let us begin."
It was suspicious. Why would he be like that? Anyway, a happy teacher is not a bad thing to have, is it? Aidan yawned. He could've stayed in bed for a couple more hours.
"Thank you, Headmaster," Dawn answered with a curtsy. "Shall we get it started then? What is the first item on the menu?"
"Good, good. Our first task regards you. Princess Claire brought me this ring after you talked yesterday. You should put it on." Without explaining further, he produced a gilded box. Inside the box, there was a gold signet ring with a huge crest of Yutis. The metal alone should be enough gold to feed everyone living in the slums for a couple months.
Skippy lifted its head to sniff at the ring and it gave Aidan the hint to check it under his magic sight. He found a freaking blood magic enchantment on the ring. That, added to the way Claire had been skittish with them the last couple times they met, including the dinner trap, made Aidan's heckles raise.
"What is this supposed to do, Headmaster?" Dawn asked with a very suspicious tone.
Astromelicus chuckled, "It is supposed to hide the fact you are no longer a princess, Dawn."
Okay. That was weird. "And since when I am no longer a princess? Scratch that, how in tarnation people know that?"
He raised an eyebrow, "You've never heard of Royal Regalia?"
The pompous way he spoke the last words hinted at a hidden meaning for that term. But instead of a flat 'no' as Aidan would've used, she guessed.
"As in heraldry, or fancy clothing?"
"No, it is not a physical thing. While the word could have that meaning, Royal Regalia, in this case, is the right of Royals to put themselves above others."
"Isn't that just a custom?"
"Yes and no. Did you ever wonder how the Royals can tell that each other are of Royal blood?"
Dawn was not sure she liked where this conversation was going. Was she supposed to even know some secret of the Royal club? Are every King and Queen and Prince and Princess blood mages in secret?
"Because they like to paint portraits and show their uppity noses to each other so they know who is who?" She tried to guess what looked like more plausible.
"That and also not that," Astromelicus answered with a deadpan face that only added to the young couple-person's confusion. "Royals have the power to mark others of their bloodline as being a Royal. Usually, a Prince or Princess is marked at birth by their mother or father. Or as in Claire's case, when she is recognized as such."
Dawn's eyes were wide open. "Blood magic. The Royals have secret blood magic. Is that it?"
Freaking Conceptual Triple-Elementalists. She recalled what she pilfered from Lumina's memories. The Otherworlder ritual was a Cosmos spell of the Soul type. She didn't remember any Blood spell on Lumina's personal magical texts and she was sure she had none she didn't raid.
"Correctly. It is a second-circle Universal spell actually and can only be used by those of Royal blood and a few in the upper echelons of nobility, like Dukes and Marquises."
"Aaaand what does it have to do with this enchanted ring?"
"Let me finish. After getting marked as a Royal they can tell if a person is also a Royal or not. It makes impersonating other Royals extremely difficult."
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Now it made sense. Completely and totally made sense. The Headmaster smiled full of mirth at the confused look Dawn made. Whatever, let the old man have his schadenfreude. If that was true, and probably was, it could be the reason Pearl singled Dawn out at the middle of a busy street. It left only one doubt hanging.
It was also why Lucien and Helios were about to put Dawn in irons back at the raisin dinner trap. They didn't sense this Regalia thing on Dawn, and were certain she was an impostor. If Astromelicus and Claire weren't there, things could've gone south.
"And I no longer have that mark, since we separated Lumina's body. Is that it?"
He answered curtly, "Indeed."
If that was so, Pearl or Claire would know that if they bothered to check Dawn. Claire obviously did, given the chain of events that unfolded.
"And why have I never sensed anything different from Pearl or Claire or anyone else before?"
The old man shrugged and looked at her as if she asked the dumbest question ever, leaving a pregnant pause to linger before he tried to answer with another question. It might've intentional to really get on her nerves.
"Did anyone teach you the spell to sense the Regalia?"
"Do you think anyone did? Would I ask if I already knew?"
Dawn was on the defensive while Aidan just stood still. It would help nothing to have both bodies moving and speaking, just like one doesn't need to use both hands to write with a single pen.
"I don't think so." He opened a smirk. It was a half creepy half grandfatherly smirk. "But what do you think Brody will do when he casually checks if Lumina has a Regalia or not? And since we haven't started the procedure to bind her soul back with her body, what will happen when he checks you for the Regalia we know you don't?"
"But if I am wearing this ring he won't suspect anything amiss besides the fact I'm wearing this ring. Is that so?"
His smile was like going to dine at your grandparents and realize they hid broccoli in your soup and were watching to see if you were going to eat. But Dawn was a girl that did her veggies.
"Yes. The ring is sometimes given to bastard children or Royals on undercover missions. Not everyone knows these rings and those that do won't mistreat a Royal wearing one. Once the ring is on, only the wearer can take it off. It is also considered a breach of etiquette to ask or talk about these rings, so Brody won't do it and even if he does you don't have to answer. Just scoff and ignore him."
"That'll be easy to do. Treating him like the scum he is. Let me double-check. I should wear this ring so Brody doesn't realize I'm not Lumina."
"Correct," the teacher answered, cryptic.
"Wasn't it easier to just tell me that?"
He shrugged and shifted on his seat, "But then you would ask why, and we would have the whole conversation we just did."
'And you wouldn't have your dose of sadistic fun.' Dawn thought. But the old man could get away with those pranks. Aidan knew Astromelicus since he was little and besides his grumpy outward demeanor, they really cared for each other. Astromelicus was like that fun and annoying uncle you can't live without.
"And what is this ring supposed to do besides mask the lack of Regalia?"
She realized that maybe the reason for the confusion was that she was asking in reverse. Shouldn't this be the first question about the ring? Why they went into this tangential secret History lesson?
"This ring does two things. First, it tests if you are of Royal Blood, marked or not. Second, it hides your Regalia so other Royals can't sense you while you wear it."
Yup, makes sense. NOT. You can hide that you are a Royal by wearing a ring that only a Royal could wear. Okay. Either the world made no sense whatsoever or Cythrel's harassment left them with permanent psychological damage.
"Does it kill a person that is not of Royal blood?"
"No. It just severs a finger and disables healing for a year and a day."
"Can I take a closer look?" Aidan asked and received a nod from the Headmaster.
He used Sylph's Hand and checked the ring up close. Yeah, he was definitely impaired. The ring's enchantment was not blood magic or more precisely, was not only blood magic. There was a second enchantment in a pitch black inner band of the ring that was Death magic. Because Blood plus Darkness is death.
Somehow that was awfully important.
It also reminded them of something else they couldn't pin down at that moment.
An enchantment that severs limbs and blocks them from healing. In this case, it was only the finger, but let's not nitpick on terminology.
Wasn't this a lot like what Kazuya did to Gurf and Cythrel?
Damn, thought the creature with two discrete brains. Shouldn't they be smarter than that? What went wrong? First, the Headmaster cracks open the gaudiest waste of gold ever. Then it smells of blood magic. And to boot, he says Dawn was 'no longer a Princess'. No. Longer. A Princess. Meaning she was a Princess before. She was Lumina.
Pearl could single her out in the busy crowd in front of the Adventurer's guild even when she had a hood. Helios and Lucien never even questioned if she was the real thing until the fated raisin dinner, no matter how weird she acted. It all made sense but it was hard to admit.
It also meant that Brody would know Dawn wasn't Lumina the moment he laid eyes on her. With a capital F.
Aidan lost concentration on the spell and the ring was going to fall down. Astromelicus caught it with his own insta-cast Sylph's Hand. The boy excused himself and went to a desk with a stack of paper sheets. The old man broke the silence when he was sure they understood enough based on their expression.
"I think you understand everything now, don't you?"
"Yes. But am I of Royal Blood?" She asked over the sound of frantic scribbling. "I'm not to keen to lose a finger for a year."
Astromelicus looked over Dawn's shoulder at a desk where Aidan was furiously drawing magical diagrams for the inner band's secondary Death enchantment. It was a clue to restoring Cythrel's hands.
"You do. We tested already, and it is the same as Lumina."
Dawn opened her left hand and the archmage deposited the ring on it.
"Good. Here goes nothing."
She put her right index finger inside the ring. It was too big for her but as the ring slid to the root of the finger, the black band shrunk and cut her skin. Blood dripped and the black smaller inner ring shone. The gold loop part also shrunk and the ring was neatly wrapped around her finger. Every now and then the ring would drink a drop of her blood that slowly seeped from the open wound.
"Well, now nobody can tell you aren't a Princess."
"Can I take it out? This thing is heavy." Astromelicus nodded and she removed the ring and healed the wound. "Will it cut me every time I put it on?" He nodded again.
Who the heck designs such torture instruments? Heavy, gaudy, cumbersome and bloodthirsty. 'At least nobody can tell I'm not a Princess.' She could hear Cythrel scream. Dawn has no pants!
The Headmaster shook his head and urged Dawn to put it back, "It is better if you keep it on and get used to it. Never answer why you're wearing the ring. Just do."
Dawn groaned. And the day had just started.