Chapter 129: Magic Quantity

Class levels aren’t just a number; they are the limit on how much divinity a magic framework can hold. Or maybe it’s the opposite? Classes are limited by the skills, so maybe magic is limited by how much divinity there is? It’s all really confusing; I just don’t know, so I’m left trying to just guess which one comes first.

Let’s start at the root of the limit, skills. Skills start with a cap of ten levels. Why? Is it because there’s not enough divinity for more, or is it because the magic framework can only hold that much divinity by default? I’m going to need to start with something way more basic.

I start pacing back and forth in my room.

First, there are two major components to my system theory: magic and divinity. One provides the means; the other provides the authority to enact those means. Many skills do not consume mana, even though they should be a magical phenomenon; this suggests that they are either divine or some other non-magic source.

I sit down on my chair, flopping my tails on my lap, then grab my brush and absentmindedly start brushing them.

So what is divinity? I don’t really know, everything I theorize is just conjecture, but for now, I’ll just call it ‘authority’, the power to impress one’s will upon reality and shape it to their desire. Divinity is law; it is ‘order’, in the archetypal, opposed-to-chaos sense of the word.

Now, what is magic? I know a bit more about it, but still very little. In short, magic is the power to change reality; it can do just about anything, but it is chaos, anarchy. Magic and divinity are opposites, but, mixed together; they form the system. Magic gives the means, the strange abilities that skills can sometimes allow, while divinity provides the safe authority to enact the magical powers in a controlled manner.

I start brushing my second tail; if I get any more, I’ll have to start using clones to brush me like handmaidens... actually, that’s not a bad thought. I summon three clones - and more brushes - and set their base AI to groom me, relishing in my newfound luxury.

Now, what do skill levels do? They make the skills stronger; in other words, the driving force, magic, gets stronger. Skills gain more divinity, new authority, when new breakthroughs are introduced, giving new opportunities for magic to grow. And how does magic grow? With experience. How do I get experience? Through accomplishment. Thus skills are divinity first, magic second.

So the answer is clearer now: levels are the current limit of magic, chaos will become greater than order if the skill’s power ever exceeds its control, and that’s very, very bad. Cursed beings are pretty much the embodiment of chaos.

Wait, doesn’t this mean that legendary points are just huge amounts of divinity? They greatly expand the scope of what they are applied to, right? This means every skill has a set amount of divinity, and that only grows once there’s something else to give order to. Thinking about a skill as a law book, each new breakthrough is a new law which requires greater order; kind of a bad analogy, but I’m sticking with it.

My clones move on to brush my long hair. I smile at the princess treatment; I don’t even need to control them myself! But a sudden realization causes my smile to vanish. A princess getting groomed by empty copies of herself… I really am a lonely princess, as my diadem says. I smack my head onto the desk and sigh as I realize the prophecy has come true, then return my attention to my thoughts.

Still, if that’s the case, then leveling up the Class should be doubling down on magic, meaning that there’s twice the amount of magic compared to the divinity. The only answer is that there needs to be a new source of divinity, but isn’t that the case already? The answer is obvious, the Class and Race tier is the source of divinity… but if that’s the case then shouldn’t Classes be hard-capped by their tier the same way skill breakthroughs are hard-capped?

Maybe Classes are gaining extra divinity from other sources? Or could it be that skills only use half of their divinity and the other half goes to the Class level limit?

In any case, I can only guess until I find some way to get [Sense Divinity]. For now, I think I have a way to finally see levels in other things, and that is to see how much magic is in something. Not only should this complete my twenty-first breakthrough, but it should grant me a new breakthrough.

I sit up and order a clone to massage my shoulders; all of this thinking is hard work, after all.

I focus on my Class’s magic framework. Last time I could almost see the level limit, a certain depth to my framework. Now, I need to push it further, I need to see how much magic there is.

Entering my state of focus with the full power of nearly six hundred fifty levels, I crank my perceptive pressure to the max to get as clear a look as possible. I don’t feel the weight of my perception as others do, maybe it’s a subconscious thing, or maybe it’s a quirk of the skill.

I peer deeper into the depths of my magic frameworks, like swimming down a deep pool of water, until suddenly everything seems to become more. The magic framework expands – not in a physical way, but it just seems like there’s a lot of magic. I look at my magic items, and surprisingly some of them have less magic then what their tier would suggest they can, but maybe that’s because it’s different, more like a pseudo-Class and thus having less divinity?

Looking at other villagers, especially the ones whose level I know, I begin to get an understanding of how much magic represents what level. Soon, I have referenced every villager. cataloging each reference point in my mind, helped by my improved memory capabilities.

Ting! Sense Magic has met the requirements for a breakthrough and will continue leveling past level 780!

39th Breakthrough: You’ve sensed the quantity of magic in something; this will help you study magic and understand how powerful magical beings and items really are.

Ting! Sense Magic has obtained levels 649-657!

At this rate, one thousand levels seem possible; I only need ten more breakthroughs to reach that point. That said, I still need to catch up; I am running behind by one hundred forty-three levels.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Archmage Ruluna sighs heavily; it’s been months since the last time she felt watched, yet Headmaster Volpun feels that maybe the spy is waiting until their guard is down to get information.

At least it’s not all that bad, she isn’t stuck trying to fruitlessly ‘catch up’ on [Sense Mana], and she is out here on missions to impress the council.

“Miss Ruluna!” a flame scout runs up to the party. “The drake has been spotted in Fire Crater!”

“Alright, tell the men to get ready; we’ll strike in three hours,” Ruluna commands.

Fire-resisting armor is passed around. It would be standard-issue, if not for bandits using spells and abilities to target the obvious weakness. If armor is enchanted to resist fire, it will strengthen ice, so the soldiers need general-purpose armor unless they know what they are up against.

Considering that fire- and ash-type monsters are most prevalent here, every armor should be made to resist fire, but of course, outlaws will ruin everything!

The squad marches south across the ash dunes. They are near the volcano, and ash drifts down like snow. Ruluna adjusts her mask to ensure she isn’t breathing in the particles and damaging her lungs. The mask is stuffy and humid from her breath; the air is hot from the rivers of lava running between the dunes. Fire mana is very abundant here, swirling around like tiny chaotic dust devils.

Clouds of ash black out the sun and cast this land in darkness. The earth trembles slightly as huge boulders are ejected out from the mouth of the volcano. Fire tornadoes reach high into the sky and dance between the ashen dunes. The Drake couldn’t have chosen a worse place to nest, in her opinion.

The tornadoes shift the dunes, slowly making them wander around, cutting off the paths of the lava rivers and creating numerous pools of liquid earth. Some dunes even cover the lava and create traps that people can fall into. The Ashlands is a very treacherous place to be, and more than one squad has gone missing when sent in here. It’s a death trap to all but the most experienced guides. However, Ruluna does not need a guide; her [Sense Mana] tells her exactly where the hidden pools of lava are. It tells her where every danger is, whether it’s coming silently from behind or coming up over the dunes.

The squad carefully navigates between the fire whirls and pools of lava, and other dangers such as Magma Scorpions and Lava Worms. After summiting a particularly tall dune, they see it, a pit of burning coal with a massive beast bathing in the flames, laying around its clutch of eggs.

Lyran, Archmage of the Order of Ice, walks next to Ruluna. This is a joint mission between their two orders to hunt one of the most powerful monsters.

“We are relying on your [Fire Manipulation], Ruluna; we can’t get close without you.”

Since the beast is highly resistant to fire, her abilities are sub-optimal in an offensive capacity against this dangerous foe. Despite being rivals, this mission is to help nurture relations with the Order of Ice. This mission requires a lot of trust, as the fire mages need to use their [Fire Manipulation] to keep everybody safe from the burning pit as well as from the flames the Drake will conjure. The Order of Ice is completely at Ruluna’s mercy.

It’s a very dangerous mission, one that does not have room for failure. If Lyran’s team dies and Ruluna’s team does not, the Order of Ice will think foul play is at hand, which means that if Lyran’s team does die in this fight, then her team needs to fight to the death too.

The scout approaches them.

“Archmage Ruluna, It’s Heroic-tier, three Classes, two of which are also Heroic-tier, with one Grand-tier Class, level totaling over one thousand.” The scout gives his [Analyze] report and moves on to more detail. “It’s a flame eater, so it will heal itself with fire, although that Class is its third and lowest-leveled. Its second Class is its defensive Class, and its first is a non-caster fire mage Class.”

“I assume its Race is more physically focused?” Lyran says. She is hyper-focused; this will be her toughest battle yet.

Normally a platoon would be sent to deal with a Drake, but, with this one being in the heart of the Ashlands, that’s impractical. Instead, there are two elite strike teams. Flame Paladin Julaly is giving his team a rousing speech to raise morale, which Ruluna is ignoring. Flame Paladin Kloro is talking with Ice Paladin Gana. They need to slay the Drake; with three high-ranking members, it will be a terrible blow if they all die here.

Another scout runs up to the group. “Ash storm, fast approaching!” she shouts.

Ruluna turns to see a wall of black sweeping across the Ashlands.

“Take cover! Pitch the tents!” Flame Paladin Kloro immediately commands, interrupting Flame Paladin Julaly’s speech.

The squad immediately makes way to flat ground and starts setting up tents in record time, bracing them against the winds. Ruluna inspects the bracing and tests a few of them, making sure they will hold.

Within ten minutes, the camp is made. People will have to bunk with each other, but they don’t have the full amount of time to pitch tents for everybody. Thankfully the command tent is set, so they can make plans while waiting for the storm to pass, but it needed extra bracing.

Ruluna sits down at the table as Lyran secures the entrance; the last thing they need is for the wind to intrude and stir everything up with ash. However, she feels a familiar sense of being watched.

Damnit! Why now?! Why me?!

Flame Paladin Julaly gives Ruluna a look; she must have felt it too. Ruluna answers with a subtle nod. Ruluna closes her eyes and focuses on the feeling of being watched, pushing her [Track Senses] to its limit. She knows she’s being scried, but to her skill it’s like a ghost, an almost undetectable breeze. No matter how hard Ruluna tries, she can’t grasp the feeling. Ruluna sighs, giving up for now as the meeting starts.

“This is a good thing; the ash will smother Fire Crater’s flames, making it easier on us.” Fire Paladin Kloro says.

The wind howls and racks the tent. The ground shakes from volcanic activity, and ash piles up against the tent, making new dunes. Hours go by, and the roof of the tent sags from the weight of the ash burying them. Ice Paladin Gana stands and pushes against the roof to knock off the ash.

“We’re going to have to fucking dig out,” Gana complains.

The wind thuds against the side of the tent as a strong gust blows against them. The wind screams, and the tent shakes violently. But there’s something weird going outside; there’s a blank spot of mana moving around in Ruluna’s perception.

What is that? Ruluna wonders.

However, before she can figure it out, one of the tents is violently lifted up by the blank spot, and it all becomes clear.

“We’re under attack!”