Not literally, but close enough. The subtle pressure that had been crushing his chest ever since he overexerted his channels in the dungeon was gone. Just warmth and the soft give of an actual mattress under his back. The ache in his bones had faded to nothing.
He blinked at the ceiling. Wooden beams crossed overhead, solid and real. He was nicely clothed and tucked into bed.
“Must have been Joe.”
Jin lifted one arm and gave himself an experimental sniff. "Thank heavens..." His voice came out rough. "I actually don't smell like blood and gore and all that nasty stuff. I wonder if there’s an item for cleansing somewhere around here… Joe definitely should have something like that.”
The bigger change ran deeper. Before, channeling essence had felt like fire ants crawling through his veins, biting and burning with every pulse. Now there was only a soothing chill, like cold water after a long run.
? It's been around an hour since you fainted. ?
? The second star of The Eternal Sovereign is formed. Your stats have strengthened significantly. You should check your status later. ?
Hmm. I will. Thank bro.
Jin closed his eyes and sank into the meditative state, the Eternal Sovereign breathing pattern settling into place like muscle memory. The transition came easier than before. His consciousness slipped inward, falling through layers of awareness until he reached the space where his essence core resided.
The six-pointed star hung suspended in darkness. Jin reached out with his awareness, and the star responded, humming with power. Deeper in the void, he felt the presence of his soul star, distant but connected.
Jin reached out with his awareness, and the stars responded.
He focused on the essence core, tracing the threads that connected it to his body. The channels spread outward like roots, branching into smaller pathways that fed every part of him. Essence flowed smoothly now, no longer fighting for space. The whole network formed a closed loop, perpetual motion driven by his will.
Damn, this is beautiful.
His concentration broke as presence washed over him. Jin's eyes snapped open, and he sat up, instinctively recognizing the sensation as an aura. Joe's aura. Playful and dangerous, like a cat watching a mouse.
Joe stepped through the door carrying a wooden tray. The rich aroma of meat soup and warm toasted bread hit Jin's nose, and his stomach grumbled.
"Welcome back from the realm of the sleeping!" Joe crossed the room and set the tray on the bedside table. "Figured you'd be hungry."
Jin grabbed the bowl without bothering with manners. The first spoonful burned his tongue, but he didn't care.
Joe settled into a chair by the window and pulled out a book. He didn't speak, just let Jin eat in peace.
By the time Jin scraped the bottom of the bowl clean and demolished both pieces of bread, his body felt almost human again. He set the empty dishes back on the tray and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it." Joe closed his book and leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. "Now that you've finally formed the mage core and set yourself on the path of magecraft, there are some things you need to know." He paused, red eyes studying Jin's face. "First of all, with all the knowledge you have, I'm assuming you're aware of the customs?"
Jin nodded. He knew this part from the interludes. Honestly, he'd probably spent more time reading the extras instead of the main story. He vividly remembered how much upset he was when the protagonist decided to just power grind demons and dungeons, not even caring for people or the world. It became boring with every chapter a variation of the same thing.
"Yeah." Jin let a grin tug at his mouth. "Master."
"Ugh." Joe waved him off like swatting a fly. “You are no fun…Just call me Joe. You can say teacher if you absolutely have to, but master makes me sound like some creepy old hermit living in a cave."
"Aren't you, though?"
Joe gave him a pointed glare.
Jin's grin widened. "Heh."
"Anyway." Joe shifted in his chair, his expression settling into something more serious. "Something my mentor told me that I'll pass on to you in my own words. Magecraft is a lot of things, but if I had to sum it up, it would be the study and manipulation of essence in one way or another."
He paused, making sure Jin was paying attention.
Jin straightened, pushing aside the empty tray.
"Now there are multiple paths, or rather schools of magecraft, that people follow," Joe said. "But in reality, once you start developing and progressing, you'll find yourself aligned with them one way or another. People just like to be fancy and show their superiority."
"Now, I'll tell you about the five major schools. Listen carefully." Joe held up one hand and lifted a single finger.
"The first is those who study essence and aspire to find the root of essence. The truths of arcana. They're the researchers and inventors. They prefer to cast spells in the purest way, and that's through forming spell layers, arrays, and circles."
“These are [Arcanists], and you'll find them to be the weirdest bunch."
Jin nodded. Evil scientists came to mind, hunched over glowing circles in dark laboratories.
Joe lifted a second finger. "The second school is the [Shapers]. They usually specialize in spells of their affinity. These mages prefer to directly shape raw essence into their desired spells."
"Like how we use our affinities for external manifestations?" Jin asked.
"Yes, but with a lot more skill and nuance, which allows them to replicate higher-tier spells without needing proper structure." Joe's mouth quirked. "These are usually battle mages or duelists."
A third finger went up. "The third school is the [Resonants]. The sorceries you were using fall partly into this school. These mages use incantations to visualize spells and form connections." Joe paused, his expression turning thoughtful. "Once they reach high enough mastery, they shift toward silent casting. The issue with this path is the limitation of known incants. There are only so many higher-tier incantation spells or sorceries."
Joe raised a fourth finger. "The fourth school is the [Ritualists]. They're similar to Arcanists, but where an Arcanist's main focus is essence… finding its roots and limits—the Ritualist seeks to gain wisdom and mastery over higher dominions. They use runes to form contracts and conditions."
He lifted his final finger. "The fifth and final major school is the [Enchanters]. They bind essence into objects, structures, and sometimes living beings. They're the genius artificers, and lots of higher-tier equipment is made by them."
Joe lowered his hand.
"Those are the major schools you'll find yourself aligning with as you progress in magecraft." He leaned back in his chair. "That was all about the history lesson. Now, let’s move on to the important part."
He snapped his fingers, and a book materialized in his grip. Joe stared at it for a long moment, something unreadable crossing his face, before he held it out.
"This is the heart of magecraft."
Jin took the book carefully. The cover felt like leather but warmer, almost alive under his fingers. He cracked it open and froze.
Runes.
They looked simple at first glance, just lines and curves arranged in patterns, but the longer Jin stared, the more complex they became. Each rune seemed to shift and breathe, suggesting meanings he couldn't quite grasp yet.
He looked up and found Joe watching him with an arched eyebrow.
"How much do you know about how a spell is cast?"
Jin paused. His mind raced through every mention of mages in the books. The problem was that none of the core cast were mages. Why would they be, when they'd been handed divine skills and abilities on a silver platter? Better to just brute force your way through problems when you have that kind of power.
Idiots. All of them. If I survive Vienna, I'm not bothering with them whether I like it or not.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Focusing back on Joe, Jin bit the inside of his lip.
"Not much, to be honest. I know spells are formed with different runes working in conjunction. I know the names of higher-tier spells and what they do, but honestly, I don't know much. I do know about grimoires, though. A little."
Joe nodded sagely. "From the visions?"
Jin nodded. "Yeah."
"Tell me about grimoires," Joe asked, probably trying to gauge how much Jin actually knew.
Jin paused again, but not for long. A couple of his favorite side characters had used them quite extensively. "Grimoires are a medium for the magus to hold his spells."
Joe gestured for him to continue.
"Contrary to general belief, they can take any shape or form. Most people use them as books, but I've seen people with wands, staffs, tattoos, crystals..." He trailed off, trying to remember if there had been others.
"Good." Joe straightened in his chair. "Yes, grimoires are indeed a medium to store your spells.”
“The Arcanist decided that there are two types of grimoires. One is called the Spell Array and the other, the Runes Compendium."
"For the actual choice… that falls largely on the magus and what they prefer. Spell Array grimoires are made from special materials that allow a mage to inscribe a spell circle and array onto it. Obviously, the better the material, the longer the spell would last before you had to re-inscribe it."
Joe leaned forward slightly. "The benefit is you can potentially have higher circle spells inscribed, which can be used much like skills—just by providing the appropriate essence into the circle. The tattoos, wands, and other types fall under this category."
"For specialists, however, they prefer to have a compendium of runes, which they can use as a reference to revise before casting a spell."
"Honestly," Joe said with a shrug, "I prefer to have both grimoires. I call the Spell Array a Grimoire and the Runes Compendium a Codex."
Once he was sure Jin was following, he continued. "Inscribe the most useful higher circle spells that you can control into a grimoire as a trump card, and keep a codex to record runes, spell arrays, your ideas, and inspirations."
Jin nodded.
"Now let's get back on the topic of spells." Joe leaned back, watching Jin flip through pages.
Jin made it maybe six pages before his head felt like someone had driven a spike through his skull. He clutched his temples, groaning.
"Looks like there are things you don't know," Joe said, amused rather than concerned.
"What happened?" Jin gasped.
"Runes happened." Joe's scolding carried more humor than reproach. "Even if you have a mental skill, runes are spiritual in nature. Just the act of reading them expends your mental strength and essence."
Jin let his hands drop, breathing carefully until the pain subsided to a dull throb.
"Now, back to spellcasting. I follow the Arcanist school." Joe clapped once, sharp and attention-grabbing. "And I'll show you the basics of spellcasting—a true spell, that is."
Joe's expression turned serious. "Magi are categorized by the number of circles spells they're able to cast."
"Now, the term 'Spell Circle' is a bit misleading, but well..." Joe shrugged. "Open the book I gave you to the first chapter."
Jin found the chapter titled "The Basis of Runes."
"Runes are the fundamental language of essence and manipulation of reality. Think of them as parts of a puzzle you need to complete before your spell forms." Joe gestured as he spoke, painting the concept in the air. "Runes are classified into tiers from Tier I all the way to Tier X, based on increasing power and capacity."
"Now, a spell form." Joe held up his hand again, fingers ready. "To cast a spell, you need to provide three requirements."
Here we go again with the fingers, Jin thought, but kept his full attention on Joe.
"The first is 'Essence Cost,' and the easiest requirement to fulfill. You need to make sure you're always supplying at least sixty percent of the cost so that the spell still carries your essence origin signature. That'll allow you not to get hurt from your own spell, and it'll also make your spells less prone to hijacking."
Jin nodded, absorbing the information.
"The second requirement is 'Mental Capacity.'" Joe tapped his temple. "Like you just felt, just the act of reading a rune uses mental energy and strains your capacity. This can be trained through appropriate exercises and will allow you to handle more runes in both number and complexity."
"The third and final requirement is 'Runes.' You need them for the actual intent and casting of the spell."
Joe waited until Jin nodded understanding, then held out his hand, palm up.
"For a little demonstration, I'll be casting a first circle Fireball spell—the most common variant. I'll be doing this slowly and going through each part to explain everything."
Jin sat up straighter, eyes locked on Joe's outstretched palm.
"So we start with fulfilling each of the three requirements, and you'll see how they connect and align with each other. First was the..."
"Cost… Essence," Jin supplied.
"Good. We channel essence and, for the sake of keeping this beginner-friendly, we'll be using hands to cast." Joe extended his palm further, facing up. "So we channel essence into our hands, but now what? How will our will be used?"
Jin thought for a moment. "Runes?"
"Yes. Runes, and here comes one of the most common yet most important runes in all of spellcasting: 'Reservoir.'" Joe's eyes gleamed. "This helps in acting as a power source."
A small point lit up above Joe's palm, hovering like a firefly made of pure light. Jin leaned forward, watching the mote pulse with contained energy, but he wasn’t able to discern anything else.
"Now that we have the essence, our next step is to define what form that energy will take. Here we're trying to cast a fireball, so the next rune is 'Transmutate—Elemental.'"
Another point lit up above Joe's palm, this one burning red. It appeared at a small distance from the first point. Jin pushed some essence into his eyes, and suddenly, he could see a very thin thread connecting the two runes. The moment Jin noticed it, Joe nodded approvingly, and the thread grew brighter and thicker.
"This Transmutate—Elemental is of the Fire element. Every element has its own variation of this rune. Most of them are ninety percent similar with just minor variations." Joe used his other hand to point at the thread connecting the two runes. "You see this? This is called a Runeline. This part is the manifestation of your mental energy and is the most crucial part of the spell. You'll understand on your own once we reach completion."
"Now we have 'essence' and have successfully converted it to 'Fire essence.'" Joe paused, seeing Jin raise his arm. With a smile, Joe acknowledged him. "Yes?"
"A question."
"Sure. That's good," Joe said. "Seems like you're focused."
"So if I have fire affinity, can I forgo this Transmutation rune?" Jin asked.
Joe nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, you can. That's part of spell optimizing, since we only have so much mental capacity to use runes."
"Now, back to the topic. What do you think the next step would be?"
Jin focused on the runes hovering above Joe's palm and thought. The answer was easy, but why did this spellcasting feel like he was writing a program? He inwardly let out a groan and dry laugh, remembering his time at college. It wasn't the good times, but it was fun—freedom before cancer clawed in. He remembered slaving away trying to write programs in C and C++, chuckling at how more than half the time was spent compiling and finding where the hell he'd missed a semicolon.
"Ahem." Joe cleared his throat, giving Jin a pointed glare.
Jin snapped back to focus. "We have the energy now. We need to shape it if we want a ball shape, then we need to add something like... projectile?"
"Good, not far off, but first circle spells are simple." Joe nodded. "Next, we add a 'Compress' and 'Shape—Sphere' rune to condense and make the fire a little more impactful. If not, it'll just wash away or lose its form mid-flight. Good if you're doing a flamethrower type of spell."
Another two points appeared above his palm, arranging themselves in a pattern. Jin watched the runelines connect, weaving together like threads on a loom.
"We don't need size since in this spell array the 'Reservoir' rune is handling that dynamically based on how much essence you give, but if you want a very specific result, you have to go specific into runes." Joe's eyes tracked Jin's gaze, making sure he followed. "And finally, we add a 'Motion—Projectile.'"
Another point lit up, and Jin noticed all the points were arranged in a circle with one in the center.
"The final rune is called 'Seal.'" Joe's voice carried weight on that word. "A spell without a Seal is a leak waiting to happen."
“Always remember that.”
And Jin saw what Joe meant by it's not a circle. The form was more of a...
(A/N: I made this in excalidraw. It was fun!)
"A closed loop," Jin muttered.
"Very good." Joe nodded, and he channeled his essence. The runes flared to life, brilliant and blazing. The spell array was consumed, and in its place was a fist-sized fireball hovering above Joe's palm, crackling with heat. Jin felt the warmth on his face from across the room.
"Awesome."
Joe laughed and dismissed the spell with a wave. "Yeah, it looks that way until you're the one casting. First and second circle spells are pure hell, because this is the part where you'll be learning and stumbling across failures the most."
"That looked awfully similar to programming," Jin said.
Joe quirked an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you know of it, but then again, with your experiences..." He shook his head. "Arcane engineering and essence programming fall under the 'Enchanter' school. Lots of depth and very complex work allow for the crafting of ships, computers, and other stuff."
"Nice."
"Now that's done, and out of the way, your task is to read the first and second chapters of the book." Joe closed his own book with a definitive snap. "The final piece of info I'll be telling you is related to progression."
"A mage needs three things for progression." Joe lifted his hand, and despite Jin's earlier groan, he found himself leaning forward. "First is essence. Second is mental capacity. And finally, knowledge and wisdom."
"You'll be getting ample essence from meditation and gathering essence from the ambient environment into your core. This is how normal people ascend ranks—they wait and spend time in meditation to accumulate enough essence for a breakthrough." Joe's expression turned serious. "Next, you'll want to keep your mind active and exercised. Now I know you have a very convenient skill that acts like a personal computer, but I'd recommend you practice, or you won't be able to harness runes properly."
Jin nodded thoughtfully.
"Well, you're an adult and capable, so I'll trust you with it." Joe met his eyes with uncommon gravity.
"A question," Jin said.
"Sure. Go on."
"I've heard of first circle mages, second circle mages, and that they need to engrave circles on their core?"
"Yeah." Joe nodded. "It's a way for you to master your runes."
He paused, thinking, then shrugged. "Well, since you're already well-versed in sorcery, and I deem you wise enough, I'll tell you."
"You basically stare at a rune, understanding it. Once you've memorized the rune, you have to fall into your sea of consciousness and find your essence heart and mage core." Joe held up his hand, and a sphere appeared, rotating slowly. "Now this is optional, but I'd recommend you take this path."
Joe gestured at the sphere. "Assume this is your core. Once you've mastered a rune, you'll find you can recall it very easily inside your sea of consciousness. We pull that rune and use our mental strength to manifest the runeline in a ring around our core."
A ring formed around the floating core.
"Then we string the runes we've learned onto this ring until we have seven for our first circle."
Seven runes appeared on the ring, glowing softly. The ring disappeared, leaving just seven runes floating in orbit around the core like tiny satellites.
"And that makes you a first circle mage."
Jin watched, transfixed by the display.
"The advantage is that with these runes, you'll be able to call upon them without any trouble. Runes not on your core will need to be manually drawn."
"Why only seven?"
Joe smirked, a challenge gleaming in his red eyes. "That's for you to figure out. And that is your task. Read chapters one and two, and get me the list of seven runes you'd like to engrave. We'll go over them in the morning."
With that, Joe stood and started toward the door.
"You going somewhere?" Jin asked.
Joe paused at the threshold, his smile turning devilish. "Just for some fresh air." His eyes gleamed with something predatory and amused. "And probably giving some painkillers to a stubborn old man."
The door closed behind him, leaving Jin alone with the book of runes and the implications of Joe's final words hanging heavy in the air.
~~~
PS: Psst~ Psst~ Advanced chapters are already up on patreon, you can read upto one month ahead... It would be awesome if you guys, you know...
? ? ?
Liked my clumsy drawing?