“There, last one.”
After collecting all three books she needed Mia plopped herself at the foot of a bookshelf “Magical Theory, basic, intermediate, and advanced?” she had laid all three books out on the ground in front of her, they looked thin, but this was what the librarian recommended her, and basic was spot on for what she needed.
She looked behind her and up the shelves to where she had gotten the books “They were also right next to each other.” She shrugged, figuring it was best not to delay any longer, right after she…
[Saved to slot 3]
‘There.’ now she could read them all even if she got interrupted.
She cracked open the first book, the basics of magic theory, and began reading.
= = =
Magical theory, the practice and study of magical application through the manipulation of mana within oneself to manipulate elements. The following is the most commonly accepted theory on magics separated into three books, basic, intermediate, and advanced.
Written by Prof.F Hilde of the magical institute of central Gaia.
= = =
“Bleh…Gaia” Mia’s hair stood on end and ruffled but choked down her feelings and continued.
= = =
Before we start down this magical road, we must touch on why it is called magical theory. To simplify, magic is driven by imagination, and trying to categories everything into solid details is a fool’s errand only attempted by the mad. As will be shown, once something is considered a rule of magic, some fool will come along and directly contradict the established fact, and only so many new addendums can be added before you might as well separate it into its own category.
As such, it is best to consider rules as a guideline to what usually works as far as we know, or as far as I personally care to deal with. As a colleague put it… “Nothing is set in stone.”
Magical theory: Basic Elements
At the core of magical theory is the basic elements, the group of elements all magic is derived from. They consist of fire, water, earth, wind, light, dark, and core. Regardless of what type of magic you may find yourself using, they are, in some way, linked to one of these seven elements, these are separated into 3 classes, derived, combination, and abnormal. These will be touched on in the intermediate book.
For fire, water, earth, and wind, what they are is self-explanatory. And each share weaknesses and strength to one another that operates in a circle. Water beats fire, fire beats wind, wind beats earth, and earth beats water.
Addendum: Skills and titles can effect these outcomes, along with the rare exceptions. Ex: an untainted imagination of a young wizard who grew up thinking fire beat water. IE: witnessed an underwater gas leak that had ignited.
The other three elements are as follows.
Light: Very specifically light.
The light that comes from a flame, the sun, or bioluminescent plants or animals. To make this VERY ABUNDANTLY clear, light magic is not holy magic.
While holy magic does exist, it is not light magic.
Dark: Shadows and the absence of light.
Like with light magic, dark magic is not evil and is just another element.
Core: The absence of any perceivable element.
It is believed to be the magic that powers skills that do not fall under any classification of any element and is unique in that no other magic element is derived or created from it.
Light and dark magic, like the other elements besides core, clash with each other, and whichever is stronger than the other changes based on the strength of the casters.
With the elements covered we will now touch upon how to manipulate them.
First, you need to make sure you have the affinity for what ever element you are trying to manipulate. Affinity being how well your magic interacts with the element. A weak affinity means it will be impossible to use that element, while a strong one means the opposite.
Even if you use a skill orb to acquire the magic skill for that element, you will not be able to manipulate it without affinity.
To know your affinity, you can have it checked at any magic institute or guild that offers the service. If you have only weak affinities, cheer up! Everyone has affinity for core, and even if you have a weak affinity for one of the basic elements, having affinity with it might mean you have affinity for a non-basic element close to it.
Note: In some countries if you have affinity with water, wind, or light it is mandatory to get tested for healing abilities {Note from the librarian: IT IS NOT ILLEGAL TO NOT GET CHECKED IN LEXON, just recommended. Schedule a test at the main lobby desk. – Faescia)
= = =
“…huh, so like my ice and water?” Mia questioned, raising an eyebrow at the note “So I have to get tested for healing? Hm…would be nice but…doubt it” with the rate her water magic was improving, she doubted she had any affinity with it at all, but it seemed like she could get it checked at the guild, she’d do that later.
= = =
A common question in magic theory is how does one gain affinity with an element or is it even possible? Short answer: yes it is possible, further inquiries into this question should be sought outside this book, preferably at a magic institute or with a reputable magic user.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Once you have that properly tested, it is almost time for application. You also need mana, the fuel for magic, it is recommended to level up and put points into mind to get at least 100mp. Once accomplished feel free to continue.
As stated at the beginning, magic is powered by imagination, fuel it with mana, feel it in your body and imagine moving it outside your body, commanding your element to bend to your will. The simpler the better, the simpler your magic is the less mana it will consume, likewise practicing a specific imagined magic repeatedly will also reduce its cost.
The more complex you try and make your imagination, the more it will cost.
Instead of a roaring flame, imagine a tiny flame on your finger tip.
A light just small enough to light up the palm of your hand.
Try moving a small puddle of water instead of creating your own.
Pebbles are easier to move than rocks.
Stretch an already existing shadow.
A pleasant breeze.
Practice makes perfect, and the only limit to your magic is your imagination and affinity. (Also mana pool)
= = =
“Haaa….” The rest of the book gave simple practice exercises for each element. Core being excluded because of its involvement with skills. It also touched on learning more complex spells and techniques for each element, but with an emphasis on seeking out help from fellow magic users or specific books.
It also touched on subjects that she already knew, like intelligence boosting damage of attacking spells, so she skimmed it. “So, just using magic increases its level and doing more complex magic also gives more experience… good.” At least with this she had a better idea on how to train and to get her affinity checked.
“The next one…” She picked up the next book, the intermediate one, and skimmed passed the recap and introduction, this one focusing on elements passed the basics.
= = =
As touched on in my last book, any magic outside the basic elements is split into three classes.
-Derived: An element coming from only one of the basic elements.
-Combination: An element coming from two or more of the basic elements.
-Abnormal: An element with unknown origins.
Derived elements are usually empowered elements from their basic counterpart, or one that is very similar to the basic element without being categorized as the other classes.
Examples being Plasma being an empowered fire, torrent for water, holy from light, mind from dark, and so forth. For more examples, please see a book dedicated to Derived magical elements.
Combinations are magic elements that are formed by two or more basic elements interacting with each other. In order for this to occur, one must have multiple different affinities. It is near impossible for a person that only has one affinity to cast combination magic, but interesting enough it is possible for someone that has multiple affinities but no knowledge of any basic element skill to learn combination magic.
Simple examples of these include magma from earth and fire, typhoon from wind and water, sand from wind and earth, photon from light and fire, lunar from dark and light, Ice from wind and water, mud or clay from water and earth!
Likewise, for more examples see a dedicated book on combination magical elements.
Interestingly, and like other aspects of magic, combinations are not set in stone, and different make ups have been observed for some elements depending on the magician’s logic, upbringing, or environment.
Take sand, for example, it is commonly a combination of wind and ground, as wind naturally erodes the earth and leaves sand. But one user had it be a combination of water and earth, as water can do the same thing over time.
Electricity, a combination of fire and wind, had also been noted to have an alternative of fire and light.
Lastly, Abnormal…
Abnormal magical elements are thought to believed only possible by the influence of a skill orb, skill or title, but that is not always the case. Abnormal magic exists outside the norm and what can be categorized, while they still somewhat adhere to a basic element, the resulting magic is so outrageous and strange normal logic cannot categorize it.
Examples of these cannot be provided due to restrictions.
Due to the same restrictions, there are no books in standard circulation.
If you encounter someone with abnormal magic, please be careful. If you believe yourself able to cast abnormal magic, please contact your local magic institute.
= = =
“Huh, so I might have affinity with wind?” she wondered if that meant she had double chance to get healing, she was looking forward to getting her affinity checked.
“Abnormal… I wonder if I will ever get one of those.” She wondered what one could be and if it was really that strong or dangerous, the book refused to give examples so…
[You already know an abnormal magic.]
‘Eh? My ice?’ she knew it affected her other magic skills, she’d consider that abnormal. Though her only example to go from was her water magic freezing the moment it touched anything.
[Sure.]
“Hm?” She couldn’t put her finger on it, but Ami sounded particularly annoyed. Besides her ice and water, she had no other magic skills, and one was clearly more abnormal than the other.
[Really? No other magic?]
She scanned her skill list, not getting what she was saying until she reached the bottom ‘…wait, you mean time? Time is magic?!’ she put the book down ‘I thought that was a skill, just to go back in time, only to save and…’
[Abnormal Is an appropriate word for magic like this. I’d assume you would find it less weird if every time a screen popped up when you tried to cast ice magic. But yes, your recent level up to level 3 should have made it obvious.]
‘I… wait, so, hold on.’ She clutched her head, trying to wrap her head around it ‘it needs mana, right? I wasn’t spending any going back in time, slowing it takes a lot, but going back?’
[Abnormal exists outside the norm Mia, it is best not to think about it too much, for now. Besides, you already got your answer to that a long time ago.]
She shook her head, a headache setting in as she struggled to process this ‘Wait, then affinity-‘
[You can find that out when you get it checked.]
She sat there for a moment, dumbstruck at what she just learned. She never considered time to be magic, what would that even mean for her? But one thing was for sure, now having a reference, she wanted to avoid anyone else with abnormal magic.
She picked up the third and final book, unsure if she could even handle it right now “…might as well.” If anything, it was a good distraction.
She cracked open the book, skipped the intro and recap, and started reading. Only to immediately slam the book shut.
The third book, that touched on advanced theory, was filled to the brim with rampant theories on magic origins and then devolved into the application of multiple elements into magical tools and circles, something Mia had no interest in at the moment. With what Ami dumped on her fresh on her mind she really didn’t feel like learning a whole new skill set when she had enough on her plate already.
She had a better understanding of what she needed to do and that was enough for her, she also felt a bit more confident with her ice magic now that she knew she just had to practice and be more creative with it. She was glad she wasn’t missing a spell book or something similar. And while she did skip the last book, she was pleasantly surprised no one had interrupted her while she was reading the first two.
“Yeah, that last one is a bit of a doozy.”
“Hyeah?!” Mia screamed, leaping away and slamming into a bookshelf behind her, a pile of books falling from above. She raised her arms to shield herself, but didn’t feel any impact. Slowly she opened her eyes to see a lanky dog-like furred figure in front of her, holding a bunch of books in one hand, a beastkin in a suit… she hadn’t sensed him at all.
“Whoops, sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” The dog Beastkin smiled wryly, the books in his hand lifted with small gusts and flew to their respective parts “Didn’t want to interrupt. Name’s Mike, here to pick you up for your meeting.” He extended a paw out towards her, his long fluffy tail wagging behind him “Come on, the faster you get done the better.”
Mia felt her body relax, calming down from the surprise “right.” She wanted to head to get her affinity checked but would have to deal with this first. Assuming she’d get stopped and told to wait if she jumped back in time and tried to leave.