Magical items are simply items forged and imbued with energy, nothing more, nothing less. Take a sword; for instance, if it is imbued with the element of fire, it becomes a flame sword, and if it is imbued with the concept of space, then it becomes a spatial sword. The process of magical imbuement is a different topic entirely, so I won’t dwell much on it, but one thing to note is that a magical item is only as strong as the one who imbued it.
Unknown record of a class on magical theory
The Awakened Academy, sector 5
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Immediately after they stepped out of the appraiser’s office, they raced back to the inn so Aodhán could bond with the necklace. Unfortunately, the entire bonding process wasn’t as captivating as they’d hoped, but the result was still amazing.
Aodhán had pricked his finger with a needle construct, and as a bead of blood welled up from the wound, he dipped the lightning pendant into it. Immediately it made contact with the blood, lightning surged into his arm, arcing through pathways he could barely discern and causing him to stiffen from the intrusion.
The necklace rippled and changed immediately, its color shifted to a lustrous white-gold hue, designed with shimmering black stripes. The necklace glowed slightly as the bond settled, and Aodhán suddenly felt its presence at the back of his mind.
Curiously, he probed it, and a spatial space about 30 feet in diameter opened up to his senses. It was empty, dispelling any hope he’d had for ancient treasures or a pile of gold coins.
“Here, test it.” Daruk urged, handing the coin pouch to him, and a second later, the pouch disappeared, only to appear within the spatial space. With growing excitement, he willed the pouch into his hand before sending it back into the pendant.
The whole process was seamless, and he quickly got the hang of it. A few minutes later, they stepped back out of the inn, only this time their pouches were nowhere in sight.
Aodhán insisted that Daruk also get a spatial ring for himself, as they had enough money to buy one, and it just seemed right that they had their individual spaces.
Unfortunately, spatial items weren’t quite as common as they’d thought, but after searching the whole town for almost an hour, they finally met a man who directed them to Orom, the main city within the sector.
They had to board a shuttle, which was just a metallic box with windows and tires. Just like the buses on earth, it had several rows of seats within it but was surprisingly much faster than he’d expected.
It took them an hour and a half to arrive at Orom, and after paying the driver, they alighted and began asking people for directions. The city wasn’t as crowded as he’d imagined, and the air was much fresher, even with the overabundance of factories and industries within it, which led him to suspect that the pollution and waste were somehow being funneled to the port city.
Five minutes later, they arrived at a supermarket that sold a variety of magical items. The large multistory building was located between two factories, one producing a different brand of the shuttle they’d boarded earlier while the other produced what seemed to be golems.
The supermarket was made with reinforced stone and metal and was covered in runic scripts. A dense amount of energy washed over them immediately they stepped into the building, and their eyes widened in amazement.
The entire floor was filled with rows and rows of shelves displaying various magical items. Each shelf contained a variety of items imbued with the same element or concept. Most of the items were of common rank, imbued by beginners, yet they emanated a slight pressure on their environment, causing the air to take on a slightly charged quality.
As they observed the displayed items, a woman dressed in a fitted red gown walked towards them. Suddenly, a slight tingle of danger raced up Aodhán’s spine, and he focused his senses on her core only to discover that she was at a tier of advancement that he couldn’t really gauge.
More so, her blue pupils were ringed with a band of silver, identifying her as an evolved awakened. She was the first evolved person he’d seen since he’d arrived in this world, but his danger sense warred with the feeling of kinship budding within him.
He wanted to ask her questions and have a long conversation about their experiences as evolved awakeneds, but something about her bearing just seemed so cold and unapproachable, so he held himself back and decided to watch her instead.
Daruk also noticed the change, and although he subtly nudged him, he made no move to converse with the woman.
“How can we help you?” She asked as soon as she reached them, and Daruk replied. “Uh, a spatial ring, but preferably something flavored with the element of ice.”
“Most flavored items are usually more expensive than normal items because of the uniqueness of their production, but we have an entire section dedicated solely to spatial items, and I am convinced that you will find one that suits your taste.” The woman replied warmly as she led them deeper into the building, and Aodhán wondered if perhaps she wasn’t quite as unapproachable as she seemed.
With nothing to lose, he decided to ask her a question that had been bothering him for a while. “Excuse me, miss, I was wondering if you could tell us about the evolved community here in the eight sector.”
The woman frowned slightly, not expecting the question, but she replied anyway. “There really isn’t a community, but if you’re looking for evolved citizens, I suggest you move further into the sector where the nobles reside.”
“Why? Are nobles the only evolved citizens in the sector?” Daruk asked.
“No, there are a few of us commoners, but evolved cores are rare, as you well know, and are usually very expensive. I’m sure there are a few evolved commoners scattered around the sector, but you asked for a community.
Aodhán nodded, but before he could ask another question, the charge in the air suddenly increased as the auras of multiple items undulated and clashed. The woman looked unfazed by the whole scenario, so he gestured toward a section of shelves to his left, where the energy was particularly chaotic, and asked. “Why are they doing that?”
“Because they’re pesky little things that can’t control themselves." The woman replied dismissively and continued. “Many magical items develop a modicum of sentience, or will, as some refer to it, and this is them fighting for some sort of supremacy.”
“But aren’t they all imbued with the same element?” Daruk inquired.
“That is true, but each item is tainted by the will of their creator as well as several other circumstances that may have occurred during the forging process, so even though they’re imbued with the same element, they’re still quite different.”
“Do higher-ranked items behave the same way?” Aodhán asked, genuinely concerned, but the woman chuckled and dismissed his worries.
“One would think so, but the stronger an item, the better its energy and aura control.” She pointed upward, gesturing to the floor above them. “Many of the strongest items barely even emanate an aura.”
Aodhán’s hand reached up to clasp his necklace, and he wondered just how strong the pendant was, as it barely even had an aura. A few minutes later, they reached the section dedicated to spatial items.
The left section contained several shelves housing a variety of rings, some of which were plain and without any embellishments, while others shimmered with beautiful stones.
The shelves on the right contained earrings, armbands, chains, and even weapons imbued with the concept of space. Daruk dismissed the shelf housing the spatial weapons, as once he developed enough control to use his forge skill, he would have no need for metallic weapons. Instead, he focused on the rings, and after several minutes of contemplation, he finally settled for an ice blue ring.
The ring had no gems or design, nor did it bear any runes or hieroglyphs, but it was flavored with the chill of winter and was relatively cheap compared to the other flavored items.
They bought the ring for 15 silver coins, after which they left the supermarket and made their way to a cloth market they’d found on the way here. Mindful of the amount they had left, they only bought two fancy shirts and pants each. The clothes were surprisingly expensive, costing them a total of 20 silvers, but they paid for it anyway as they had no decent clothes to wear to the 5th academy.
After that, they made their way back to the port. They had spent more than 40 silvers, which was a large chunk of their money, but they still had a single gold coin and some silver left, which was enough to pay for their trip to the 5th sector.
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Aodhán and Daruk made their way through the port city until they reached the docks and found the area crowded with people and their luggage. Voices echoed out from each ship as they called out their destinations, and it wasn’t long before they found one going to the 5th sector.
It was a large ship, almost double the size of the Raventhorn, and completely covered in flowing runes. The metal ship was painted in a mix of red and silver, and boldly written on its side were the words ‘The Griffin’.
They made their way towards the captain of the ship, who stood just beside the gangway, and the man raised a brow as they came to stand before him. “The journey will take two days, five silvers for each day.”
“That’s a little—” Daruk started, but the captain cut him off.
"Look, kid, I know you’re one of those nobles trying to escape the war by enrolling in an academy with your retainer, which is illegal by the way, but if you’re going to sail on my ship, then it’s five silvers a day.”
They eventually paid, and as they climbed the gangway, their coin pouch was 20 silvers lighter. When they stepped onto the deck of the Griffin, they found several awakened passengers leaning against the hull.
Many of them had reached their limit, but Aodhán’s gaze was drawn to a group of young boys, half a dozen in number, between the ages of 16 and 20, whose cores emanated a pressure slightly stronger than his own.
At first, Aodhán noticed nothing different or special about them, until two of the boys turned and he registered his ringed pupils. He smiled, happy to see other evolved individuals only a few hours after seeing the first.
Aodhán had always thought the knowledge of class evolution was a secret like that of the limit, but now he understood that the scarcity of evolved individuals was simply a result of the lack of evolved cores.
He and Daruk observed the boys carefully, and they soon realized that all six of them were evolved as their ringed pupils indicated, but only two of them looked to be above the age of 16.
Daruk nudged him gently and whispered. “You think they’re students of the academy?”
“Maybe those two.” Aodhán whispered back. “But the rest are too young. Perhaps, just like us, they’re looking to enroll.”
The group didn’t seem to notice them as they made their way to the cabin they’d rented, and as they walked in, Daruk groaned. “By ascendants! There’s so much to do. What do I have on my timetable?”
“You’re asking me? Keep your own timetable.”
“Aodhán.” Daruk sighed. “It’s just so much better when you list it out for me, and I really appreciate it when you do.“
Aodhán glared at him, no longer able to deny the request after such a compliment. “Fine, but just this once. You have to start keeping your own timetable.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever.”
“Well, the first thing you need to do is learn how to convert water to ice and vice versa; after that, you need to focus on the creation and manipulation of ice. You also need to gain control over your bloodline, and if we haven’t reached the 5th sector by the time you figure all these out, then you’ll need to dedicate the time left to meditating, harnessing your will as well as that of your patron, and fully merging both flames together. Is that all? I think that’s all.”
“Raol, save me.” Daruk groaned and buried his head in the bed, but he raised his head back up and asked, “What about you?”
“I’ve got pretty much the same thing in my routine except the bloodline control. I have to meditate and harness my will, but I’m also working on changing the shape of a construct mid-attack. The progress is slow as my control and precision are still a little lacking, but I should be able to do it before the end of the week.”
Daruk groaned once more as he moved to one corner of the room and took up a meditative pose. Aodhán also moved to the opposite end of the room, and after a moment of reflection, he turned his attention fully to his core.
He’d noticed that after his last session of will taming, more will flames had rushed into his core from behind the dam, so it seemed like this process was going to be a long one. Fortunately, the untamed flames had become unresponsive when he tried to move them through his pathways, but the tamed ones moved smoothly, like viscous oil.
He spent the next few hours fully merging the untamed flames of willpower into his tamed one, and by the time he was done, a lustrous black flame burned heavily in his core. The tamed will was about a quarter of its original size, but it glowed to his senses and was more responsive than before.
The sound of a notification echoed in his mind, and with a thought, he reviewed his status.
….
[STATUS]
Name: Aodhán Ashoka
Title: Neophyte, Stormborn, Bronze.
Class: Evolved storm awakened: 99.9% (PENDING)
Tier: 15-7.46%
Skills {Innate}: Storm creation and manipulation, lightning creation and manipulation.
{Other}: Lightning surge, Lightning descent, Create constructs, Absorb lightning.
Bloodline: Nil
Glimpse: increases elemental control by 1%
Bronze: A title awarded for condensing 100 units of willpower.
….
Aodhán stared at the new title with a bit of disappointment. He’d been cultivating and harnessing his willpower for more than a month now, but he’d only successfully tamed 100 units of it.
With a scowl, he dismissed the status screen and returned his focus to the core. The tamed flame of willpower burned in his core, surrounded by a pyre of untamed flames that had rushed in from the dam.
He studied his core for a moment longer before returning his mind to his surroundings. Three hours had passed since they’d boarded the ship, and at a point during his meditation, the ship had set sail towards the 5th sector.
Aodhán turned towards Daruk and smiled when he found a bowl of frozen water floating before him. The bowl shook gently as Daruk tried to manipulate the ice within it, but he was only mildly successful, and a moment later the bowl jerked sharply to the side and smashed against the cabin walls.
Daruk hit his head against the wall in frustration and groaned. “Raol, I hate this element.”
"No, you don’t; you’re just doing something wrong,“ Aodhán chuckled. He had thought Daruk would master his abilities faster than he had, considering the fact that he had access to the will of two ascendants, but it only seemed to make things harder for him.
After a few words of advice, Aodhán stepped out of the cabin and climbed onto the deck. It was almost evening, so many roamed the deck, making conversations with each other or simply enjoying the view.
He moved closer to the foremast, searching for the boys he’d seen earlier, but they seemed to have returned to their cabins. He was about to return when his senses suddenly picked up a blazing core standing only a couple feet behind him.
The core emanated a pressure just slightly weaker than his own, and without delay, he turned and summoned a bolt of lightning to his hands, which instantly transformed into a spear of crackling electricity aimed at his invisible assailant. A thud resounded as the person stumbled to the floor, and a moment later, the air shimmered to reveal a boy staring up at him with frightened eyes.
“By Raol, are you trying to kill me?” The boy shouted as he staggered to his feet, and Aodhán awkwardly dismissed the spear. The boy looked even younger than Daruk, but his ringed pupils identified him as an evolved awakened.
“Stop sneaking up on people.” Aodhán scolded, but the boy shrugged. “I wasn’t sneaking; I was hiding.”
They had attracted the attention of a few people on the deck, but they all returned back to their conversations when nothing happened.
“You were hiding? Right behind me?” Aodhán asked, still slightly wary. “Don’t you have some sort of invisibility—”
“Cloak.” The boy interrupted. “Invisibility is the lesser version of my concept.”
“Right, whatever.” Aodhán replied. “Just don’t do it again.”
The boy shrugged and asked. “So how did you sense me? None of my friends can do that. Do you have some kind of item that sees through invisibility?”
“No, I just sensed your core.” Aodhán replied in confusion, and the boy smiled. “Ah, you don’t want to tell me; that’s fine; keep your secrets.”
Aodhán frowned. He was aware that his ability to sense the cores of others was unique, but he hadn’t realized it was such an absurd concept that people would find it hard to believe.
At first, he’d thought it was an ability available to everyone, but a week after the expedition, he’d realized that wasn’t the case. He’d then considered that he’d probably gotten it as a result of absorbing the legacy seed, but the fact that Daruk hadn’t gained the skill disproved that theory.
His mind turned back to the day he’d gained the ability; he had just advanced to the 5th tier after the fight with the Burmehein. It was possible that he’d gained the skill by flooding his body with willpower or by resisting the pressure of the Burmehein’s core at such a low tier. Perhaps he’d gained it from both actions or from neither, but Aodhán was just glad to have an edge, even if it was a small one.
The boy stuck out his hand a moment later and introduced himself. “I’m Ahmet Tasar, a friend of Eren Thornhill.”
Aodhán introduced himself in return, aware that the name Thornhill was the family name of the local baron. They moved towards the hull of the ship, and Aodhán probed. “You’re headed for the academy, right?”
“Yes, along with the others.” Ahmet replied, and Aodhán asked. “Do you think there’ll be a lot of evolved awakeneds in the academy?”
“Yee, of course.” Ahmet replied as if he’d asked the most ridiculous question ever. “The academy doesn’t accept unevolved awakeneds. It’s the first requirement for admission.”
Aodhán frowned. “But there are only a few evolved awakeneds; surely, they can’t afford to turn any of us away.”
Ahmet laughed at his question and asked. “You’re not from this sector, are you? You’re from one of the lower sectors, 11 or 12?”
“12.” Aodhán replied, his expression twisted in confusion. “Why do you ask?”
“Because it would explain your ignorance.” Ahmet replied and continued. “You see, the number of evolved creatures in every sector is determined by the amount of magical energy flowing through the sector. You may not have noticed it, but the energy flowing through the 8th sector is much greater than that of the 12th sector.”
Aodhán had noticed but hadn’t really paid it much attention.
“The same applies to the higher sectors.” Ahmet continued. “In sector 1, the energy is said to be almost visible, not to mention that of the capital.”
“So, what you’re saying is that the greater the energy, the higher the number of evolved creatures, and the higher the number of evolved creatures, the higher the number of evolved awakeneds.”
“Exactly. There are a lot more cores to go around, so in the higher sectors, almost everyone is evolved.” Ahmet replied. “But that’s not the only reason for the minimal number of evolved awakeneds. In fact, the main reason for that is because the body can no longer evolve after crossing the first milestone.”
“What!” Aodhán exclaimed in shock, as this was news to him, and Ahmet shrugged. “My father says the milestones are spirit locks. Once you cross them, they lockdown a part of your spirit, preventing it from changing or evolving.”
Aodhán’s mind flashed to the pending status on his class even after he’d absorbed the energy required to reach the next evolution, and he realized that the system was probably waiting for him to reach a suitable tier before triggering the next evolution.
Aodhán shook his head. “I didn’t know that, but it explains a lot. Many would have crossed the first milestone before they ever came across an evolved creature, and by then it would have been too late.”
“I think it’s just another form of the limit disease.” Ahmet agreed with a sympathetic expression and shook his head.
“There’s much to learn,“ Aodhán muttered a minute later, and Ahmet shrugged again. “Yeah, and the 5th academy is the best place to learn them. I wish you luck during the enrollment trials.”
“You too.” Aodhán replied with a smile.
They spoke for a few more minutes before saying their goodbyes and going their separate ways.