Jacky's Diary

Hello there, I'm Jacky. If you are reading this right now, you must of one way or another made your way into the world of Myristic. Yes, you are no longer on earth or even in the same universe. This world will be harsh on you if you don't learn the ropes quickly, so, as your senior in this world and a former earthling, I have decided to compile a list of diary entries and notes in order to aid your survival. Hopefully, armed with information, you will avoid the mistakes and pit holes that I fell into. I wish you the best of luck and that you find yourself in a nice house rather then in the stomach of a monster.

P.S. If you want to find me, go to Groadenvale and ask the local merchants for Jacky Of All Trades. If I'm still alive and around, they will definitely lead you to me.

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Note 4: Mana and Monsters

What is mana? What is a monster?

You may have heard of this in stories before back on earth, but I suggest you chuck out all that old knowledge. I don't know the reliability of your sources, so I'll start from the start.

Mana, ether, Qi, life energy, spirit power, or any of the multitude of names, are all the name for a clear, colourless, odourless substance. It exists in the air and earth and it is the basis of all magic; when refined and absorbed into our bodies, it can then be released again in the form of magic. Although mankind here hasn't discovered where it originates from, it has been confirmed that it even exists in space.

Mana, as it is commonly referred to on the continent of Mirage, is heavily interrelated to monsters. The first time I saw a monster, I barely got away alive and got a huge long shallow scar on my back. It's mostly healed now, but that was very scary event for me back then. However, as I got to know this world better I gradually understood why monsters exist in this world that is so similar to ours. Mana. There is apparently quite a bit of research in this topic and the formulas are complex, but to keep it simple I will only be explaining it roughly. Mana is like nuclear radiation. Passing through most material, it is something that is naturally absorbed by all living things. The trees, the horses, the insects, the birds and bears. When the mana levels reach a certain point of density within a living being that is not human, they become defined as a monster. This is generally about 17% as this indicates that they have most likely learnt (apart from some irregular cases) to gather mana from the air, and not just through their diet. As the density reaches about 70%, most living beings will gain wisdom and intellect. On the other hand, if a human being reaches about 70% density, the human is likely to experience something known as mana intoxication. Minor cases are just vomiting and headaches, while more sever symptoms involve loss of consciousness, self control and entering berserk rampages. That's why it is essential to refine and compress all absorbed mana quickly, and I will go more in depth about the magic study and application in a later note- once I have satisfactorily completed my research. Note monsterisation is different from demonisation

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Back to the topic, the reason why forests tend to have more monsters is because of something known as the mana cycle-yes, just like the water cycle and oxygen cycle. As you may have already learnt on earth in science(hopefully), gases and liquids will try to spread out evenly in an area, like osmosis. The same mechanics apply to mana. Mana will naturally dissipate into air evenly. Plants absorb some at night, and release some in the day. Mana is believed to come from two sources, plants and the ground. I think, though I have no concrete evidence, as a by product of photosynthesis mana is produced. I also believe that the mana detected to be releasing from the planet comes from the magma, though this is pure conjecture and I could be completely wrong. Remember, this is Myristic, not Earth. Anyway, due to this, mana concentrations are heavily scrutinised. Mana detection machines have long been invented and mass produced and could largely be accounted for humanity's continued survival.

Oh, a warning. You will most likely run into carnivorous monsters, rather the omnivores or herbivores, and will very rarely run into plant monsters. Why? Well the mana gets more concentrated up the food chain. Dead leaves release mana, but not nearly as much as a dead corpse. This along with a carnivore's aggressive behaviour, means that nearly all encounters will be with meat eaters. However my real warning is this. If you run into a plant monster, run. Plant monsters are much more ancient and require much more time to get the same amount of mana. Though you will think carnivorous monsters are more dangerous, that is mainly because of their high mobility. Plant type monsters tend to be less mobile, but in exchange, they are much, much more powerful and the only plant monsters you will find are either newborn ones, or old ones that various subjugation groups have failed to subdue. Plus, your lack of combat experience in dealing with plant monsters will prove much more dangerous then you first believe. So if you ever come across one, please run. Please, run.

Today's Memo:

Winter Town

Dancing atop the forest trees,

The winter wind blew,

Stores closed due to fees,

The sun is born anew.