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CHAPTER 155: Musings

Learning about spellblades had been interesting. But I was still thinking about natural magical abilities.

I raised my hand.

“Yes, Koyuki.”

“How can a magical ability evolve, or change? Some magical creatures grow stronger, right?” I asked.

Victoria nodded. “The most common way for a creature to grow stronger is an increase in their mana. Their core grows over time, just like ours. But you are right that some monsters can get new abilities, or improve existing ones. But it is uncertain how exactly that happens. A newborn basilisk will not have any power in their eyes. It takes about ten years until they become dangerous. The question is, are they missing the ability when young, or are they lacking the mana to power it?”

“But can they change them? Like, learn to add a new element?” I asked.

“They cannot change the power itself. They can develop new ones in time, like when growing up, or find a different use for existing ones. Think about it like punching. Every person is aware that they can punch someone. But with training your punches will become a lot stronger. You can improve your ability with hard work. The same can be true for an inborn power. As for adding a new element, that is only possible if they have the right affinity. And it would require more mana, so it is something that can happen if their core grows.”

Valeria glanced at Nyx, before she continued: “Keep in mind that inborn powers are hard to study. Creatures who have them and are intelligent enough to communicate with us are rare, and often powerful. Getting a dragon to cooperate with your research is hard.”

“But necromancers can create and control such creatures.” Archibald said.

“True.” Valeria said. “Necromancy has advanced our understanding of magical abilities quite a bit. But tier three are rare and highly regulated. People are more interested in using them for war, than science. Further, they are created, not born. You can’t watch their development as they grow up.”

Nyx was growing, in a way. Or evolving? I was not certain. Sadly, I could not really talk to her. But it seemed that magical abilities were not fully understood. But I did learn that Nyx should keep training, something she was likely not too happy about.

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I was distracted most of the day, contemplating what I had learned. In the evening I talked with my friends about it. They were more interested in the revelations about spellblades though.

“Spellblades are even cooler than I thought.” Skadi said. “I wonder if blood magic will make them even better?”

I scratched my head. “I suppose if the process mutates the body, blood magic might be helpful. But any affinity can become a spellblade, so it can’t be a requirement.”

“Unless a blood mage is involved in creating the runes.” Helena suggested.

“Maybe alchemy is involved too? I have never really thought about how the process works.” Cassie mused.

“I am gonna find out, I will become a spellblade!” Skadi said.

“You can do that in the second year, right?” I asked.

Skadi nodded. “Yes. There are classes introducing different specialisations. You can choose your path either in the second, or the third year. So you still have some time to decide.”

“What other specialisations are there anyway?” I wondered.

“The others are not permanent and more about your training.” Cassie explained. “You can specialise in fighting mages, or fighting armies, or support, for example.”

“It also comes down to your power and affinity.” Helena added. “As a necromancer, you are a summoner. And with your power you will likely focus on battling armies. With my water affinity I could focus on healing and support. In the army, you often have specialists. Shield mages provide protection while artillery mages strike the enemy. Such basic roles are mostly for those who remain normal mages though.”

Skadi nodded. “People with more talent tend to go for more complex roles. That means you might operate in a small squad and hunt monsters. Like Captain Sarah. Being a spellblade helps with that.”

“Spellblades make good bodyguards as well. They are an elite specialisation. You need to do well in your exams to become one.” Helena added.

“What about alchemy?” I asked Cassie.

“It’s a support role. Most people look down on it and many who chose that path do it because they have a small core. Alchemists often end up in logistics.” Cassie explained.

“Alchemy seems quite powerful. I admit, I have been mostly interested in improving my undead. But you have made some scary potions.” I said.

Cassie nodded. “The problem is, the person who throws a potion usually gets the credit, not the person who makes it. And while smith’s can become famous for their weapons, alchemy makes consumables. A sword can become a symbol, a potion? Not so much.”

“Well, you can permanently improve undead. They are a weapon, sort of.” Helena commented.

Cassie pondered that. “I wonder if you could mutate a human with alchemy. There are potions which strengthen you, maybe one could make them permanent…”

“Well, we learned that a spellblade needs mana to feed their changes. As do monsters. Any permanent change would likely consume some of your mana.” I reasoned.

“What about the mana we are circulating? Maybe we could put that to better use? Maybe with a combination of alchemy and blood magic…” Skadi suggested.

“Please don’t experiment on yourself, or explode yourself.” I pleaded.

Cassie grinned.