Things were going well for a change, Leon started to make plans for everything from start to finish and it is going to be fun… or at least that's how his plans sound in head.
It is still not solid yet and lacks some foundational elements but still, the fact that Zal agreed to the plan and even provided intel was something worth celebrating… or in Leon's case, doing extra training for the rest of the day.
He has many objectives at the moment and if all went well, he will be able to figure out his way in this world. Those objectives were as follows…
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1. Find himself a backing by climbing the Ranks of either the Twilight Syndicate or the Mercenary Hall.
2. Wiping the trail of his escape so that the Prince and his people can't get to him, this included getting of Madam Ruth who is willing to help his enemies for a prize, and assigning the Saloon to someone who won't expose him.
3. Making a big score over a job which will draw the attention of the Crime Lord known as the Bull. Doing so will guarantee Leon a smooth ride up.
4. Getting rid of the negative Title he has, {The Loser}, which will involve undoing something from the Game's plot, something he still hasn't figured out yet.
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Those four objectives are simply the methods that he needs to fit in this new world.
Those four must somehow lead to the fifth objective which is…
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5. Get the hell out of this city with enough money and resources and find a place where the underworld is as prominent as here where he can access more resources for Magic and Knowledge.
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But the fifth objective is nothing but a lead to the ultimate goal. Which is finding out what is going on with his Reincarnation, its reasons, the secrets in the Ring of Horus, etc.
That makes them 6 objectives but it doesn't matter much. All he knows comes from the Game which is not a reliable source of information. He is the son of a Ducal Family, his father is a bastard, his mother is not present, he has a brother and a sister who are on the Prince's side and they are mostly half-siblings, the Prince is also a bastard who has an entourage of girls and likes to screw up any other male in their vicinity, and now he is marked for death and there are other nobles who want him for some different reason.
"Meditation sucks!"
And there is that too. He can no longer focus on everything going on in his head.
Leon laid on the ground of the backyard as he sat there shirtless and kept doing exercises to elevate his mood.
< Your Training had paid its effort, +2 to your Strength. >
"This is the only progress I made in a couple of days. It is getting difficult."
Nothing interesting was happening to his physical training sadly which is the polar opposite of his Magic training. The more he researches his theories, the more he finds secrets and spells along the way. For example…
"Equip!"
And his shirt appeared on his body.
The only Space-Time Magic spell he was able to uncover so far was this one. Equip takes an item out of [Space-Time Magic - Storage] and automatically puts it on for him. Who needs to put on and off clothes when they can just equip? Magic!
What infuriated Leon was how sophisticated the spells of Space and Time were. The same problem was in Knowledge Magic as well which proved that they were truly rarer than Light Magic.
But that wasn't all. Leon aimed his hand forward and focused his inner thoughts then…
*Charge* *Boom*
A Sudden burst of Light aimed at the river ahead of him devastated through the water and settled in the next second. Leon almost panicked and looked around himself to see that no one was watching. Thankfully, the small bang he made won't attract anyone from the bustling saloon at the moment.
Now to the main question. What was that spell?
That spell is something Leon called [Light Discharge], a beam blast of light energy that erupts into whatever it touches and bursts it depending on how strong the Mana he spares is. It also lights things on fire if it is focused.
But that spell doesn't just come from his Mana. Mana can't transform into different forms in most cases but it can control the outside Mana thus there is a big problem. Light Mana can only be used during the day which means Light Magic is very hard to use during the night.
That can be solved in different ways. The Commentaries on the "Arcane Theory" book said some people use special materials to store in Light Mana and use it when it's dark. This explained the sun-shaped pendants used by the Temple Clerks and the Temple Knights.
The reason that Mana can't transform or generate elements is due to the fact that there is an energy-to-matter conversion cost at play. Whether it is Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Light, Shadow, or Space and Time; the Mana must be used on an existing object to manipulate it. One can't just cast [Earth Magic - Stone Strike] and expect a stone to magically manifest out of thin air.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Matter has bits of Energy to it and through that energy, Matter can be manipulated. In this world, that Energy is known as Mana and it exists in the Souls, the Energies, and the Matters around.
Einstein's greatest equation, E = mc^2, is actually what's in play here. Magic can be converted into Matter according to the original text but the process itself is only considered a theory.
Returning to the matter at hand, the use of Light Magic focuses on gathering the energy, condescending it then shaping it by the spell and releasing it.
But Leon had a different idea altogether.
He has no access to anything that he can store Light Mana into but he thought of a way to store that Mana into his own body. As mentioned before, there are external Mana and internal Mana and they can not interfere with each other directly except through the Soul and the Psyche which is a long exaltation of the term Spellcasting.
All in all, the method which Leon created was a spell he simply called "Photosynthesis". In a way, it is not the actual process of photosynthesis but he just called it like that because he used Sunlight in order to fuel himself with a supply of Light Mana which he can later use.
This spell was almost perfect for him as it not only transformed the Light Mana into energy stored in his body but it would give him very quick access to that Mana and the ability to self heal and defend against elements lesser to the Light.
In truth, he could only use this Mana thanks to his unprecedented Talent. Not only his 200% Talent proved ridiculous but his understanding of the Light Element as an Arcane Theorist increased which sent the Element's level from 1 to 2 after enough practice.
The fact that he stored Light Element within his body will one day shock the entire community of Magic but that is in the future and he was unaware that he did something special.
[A/N: I know the title of the novel is "The Unholy Mage" and Light Magic isn't that unholy to some but… wait for it. 😉]
Leon figured out how to store the Light Mana in himself by not storing the Mana where it should be stored (in other words the Soul), he stored it in his Physical Body. Any mortal being is made of a Physical Body and an Astral Body.
The Physical Body is the bones, skin, and blood which a man is born with and carries his DNA. It is the body that with its death the Soul leaves this world.
The Astral Body can be confused with the soul but it is not really it. The Soul is merely part of its components. In that case, the Soul is like a liquid and the Astral Body is what shapes it. It has Consciousness and is tied to the Physical Body through the restrictions of Mortality thus freeing this Astral Body from restrictions can, in theory, grant Immortality. The part "in theory" was added here to indicate that this is just one thing to consider if we ignored around a billion other variables why immortality is nothing to scoff at.
In the end, Leon made his Physical Body into a Battery through understanding the basics of what was said before. The process is also something "in theory" for the other practitioners of Magic.
In other words, Leon started to walk the path of a Magic Freak before a couple of weeks passed after his Reincarnation.
That of course can be added to the fact that "Equip", "Light Discharge", and "Photosynthesis" are not the only spells he uncovered. Leon's research in just a few days added a few levels to the Magic Element skills he has and the ways to use, abuse, and completely misuse magic is an all-time radical in every way, shape, or form.
The Light Magic was much more versatile than the lower Elements thus every idea was easily applied as long as it was within the range of Visible Light. The so-called Holy Light Element always comes in bright golden or white colors but Leon had two things on his hand now.
On his right, he had a Red aura of Light which felt as if it is the evilest thing in the world.
On his left, he had a Purple aura of faint Light which felt so weak and sickly.
If those Clerks of the Light Temple saw this on his hand, they would freak out, run, and scream. The Light can be as unholy as anything else after all.
***
"So, that's your big secret?" Leon asked.
"Sure! That's… that's the best materials an artist can ever acquire!" Zal said as he was drooling from happiness as he kept snorting more of the drug he kept in a vail.
"Are you sure you were called the Fool for attempting to replicate a Painting Artifact or was it because of this?" Leon asked with disgust.
"How… How dare you? You think the greatest Artists simply use mundane materials? Take Sergio Ramos for example, he used a brush made of a Dragon's hair and his black ink was said to be extracted from a Kraken's ink sack…"
"Hm? Something about the name…" Leon scratched his head.
"… To Artists, monster-based materials are considered some sort of affection. It is irresistible!" Zal said in fanaticism.
"Alright, alright."
Inside the work area of Zal's messy workshop, Leon discovered that Zal was using a special kind of monster to supply himself with some special oil and ink. It can be considered the first living monster Leon has ever witnessed it was an Oily Ooze.
The Oily Ooze had a very strong smell and a disgusting brown color. Zal kept it trapped in a basin under a cover of strong glass as he kept taking samples from the Ooze monster through a very tight pipe blocked with a handle like a water tap. A part of the Ooze would try to escape through the pipe but Zal would catch it in a jar and block the pipe again then heat that small ooze to purify it and turn it into earth and oil then extract the oil to make his colors.
He would even feed the Ooze in the basin some plants and rats in order to keep it active.
"In a certain place I know, you wouldn't be a Fool but rather a Capitalist." Leon couldn't help but admire the madness from a safe distance.
"Is that a good Title?"
"Depends on what you do with it." Leon said and changed the subject, "Did your meeting with the Bull go well?"
Zal smiled without turning to Leon as he was focused on the oil.
"Such a thing to say! Of course it did." Zal replied in a rarely seen moment of confidence.
"What did you manage to know?" Leon asked.
"The Bull… how can I say this? Hmmm… he's a sentimental kind of guy. Dangerous! But… sentimental." Zal said, "I gifted him a painting, the Grace replica, and we talked… for hours."
"And?"
"He was impressed at first but he kept mentioning that painting he wanted to get his hands on. I tried asking him if he wanted me to replicate it but he wasn't interested in a replica but rather the real thing."
Leon approached Zal to stand at his side.
"And that painting is here in Karanberg?" Leon asked.
"It is and not just any painting we're talking about." Zal turned towards him with a smile and said, "It is the Pride of Del Mar."
Leon didn't know the painting but sure as hell one thing is sure.
A Heist job is on!