n

n

nCurrently, Eldrian was casting it just on feeling. Using his knowledge of how the flame element should feel and how much mana he could push in and take out while keeping it stable.

nZamia, naturally, looked at the ball of flame in wonder. Realizing that Eldrian was even further than she had expected.

n

"I do not know, so onto my next question,

" Eldrian said, shaking his hand and dispelling the mana of the fireball into the surrounding.

"Why are spell modules always two-dimensional. Surely, it would be possible to have it be three-dimensional.

"

n

"How would you memorize and envision a three-dimensional module? It will be far more complex.

" Zamia countered, and Eldrian replied without delay.

n

"Certainly yes, but.... Isn't Tier 5 spell modules already so complex that any normal person would never be able to memorize it? Only a mage would ever be able to do so.

"

nZamia nodded and thought on it for a moment,

"I do not have an answer to this question of yours. Do you have any other?

"

nEldrian took a sip of tea and thought for a moment,

"Those are the most pressing ones I had.

"

n

"Alright, then aside from the last. Let me share what I know.

"

n

"The easier one first, spell modules aren't morphed because doing so is too dangerous. It is not just the spell that becomes unstable, but the module too.

"

n

"If a module collapses, then the mage will receive a harsh backlash. Possibly even death. It is part of the reason why so few try to alter spells, even in controlled ways. Daring to do so in battle would be suicide.

"

n'Of course!' It suddenly clicked for Eldrian and he felt like a fool. Even he didn't dare attempt modifying a spell outside of the magic abyss. At least not to such a degree, he was starting to risk smaller changes.

n

"As for what the raw element behind your spell is, we call it the spell's ether. Normally, people do not care about it, but for dynamic casting, it becomes quite important.

"

n

"Ether?

"

n

"Yes, you can think of it as an energy source that can nearly instantaneously change the momentum of a spell. It is why this, and this, and...

" Zamia cast her own version of Frost Needle. Only, the icicle was as long and thick as an arm.

nShe then kept it still first, then suddenly had it move at near sonic speed, before having it stop in its tracks. Return to her, spin, and halt. All sequences happing instantly.

n

"It is not a factor of increasing the speed as you normally would increase the speed of something.

"

nNaturally, this world lacked science. But, that did not mean the inhabitants, especially those who were true masters of magic didn't understand science. They just didn't have all the right words and calculations, but they inherently knew and understood it.

n

"There is no need to slowly accelerate, you can instantly bring it to the fastest speed the spell can move.

"

n

"And what determined that speed?

" Eldrian asked, shocked. While he could accelerate Frost Needle quickly, it wasn't instantaneous like Zamia had demonstrated.

n

"Yourself. The faster you are able to think and react, the faster your spell can move. The only trick is, you need to learn how to control the ether first.

"

n

"Isn't it just another part of mana?

" Eldrian asked, Zamia nodding in approval but still disagreeing.

n

"It is, but it isn't an element. It isn't like light and dark which only adds or removed energy. It is energy itself.

"

nEldrian tried to reach out to the ether of his own spell, finding no feedback when he did so. But he was not discouraged. It was all too common to fail at first. Instead, what he did was bring the spell back to himself.

n'I can already control the spell, even if I don't know how to control ether. This is similar to when I first learned to cast spells.' Placing his hand at the back of the icicle, Eldrian tried to feel the mana as it was forced against his skin. Yet, it moved away from him.

nSo he closed his hand around it, trying to capture the ether. Only to have the spell suddenly launch itself into his fingers.

n

"That didn't work,

" Eldrian said with a smile, freaking Zamia out slightly. Especially when he pulled it out of his fingers without flinching and then cast Therapeia (Tier 3 Heal) on himself.

n

"That... Was strange,

" Zamia said, not knowing if she should praise his initiative or curse his recklessness.

nAfter clearing the blood with Nidia, Eldrian smiled and asked,

"Is ether a unique aspect of magic?

"

nThe question completely surprised Zamia, who shook her head in denial.

"No, as I said before. It is mana in an energy form capable of altering the state of a spell-

"

n

"Is it possible to use it on its own?

" Eldrian interrupted.

n

"Not that I know of.

"

n

"So it might be,

" Eldrian smiled, but also quickly discarded the idea. He might be talented in magic, but he already had more than one full plate. He had to decide where to focus.

n

"Oh, I have a few more questions actually.

" Eldrian said after taking another sip of tea, acting like his hands weren't mutilated just seconds ago.

nZamia nodded, starting to feel worried about what else Eldrian was going to ask. His progress was scaring her. Thus far he had shown her that besides reaching Tier 3 in just a few short months, he had also massively increased his control over mana and even found one of the secrets of dynamic magic.

nYet, he had even started looking into Tier 5 spells and created his own legacy. Zamia hadn't brought this in particular up just yet, because she was trying to figure out first if he was even aware of what he had done to his mana. It wasn't a bad thing, it was just shocking, to say the least. Especially when she reminded herself that he was

/is still just Tier 3.

n

"Do you know anything about auras?

" Eldrian asked, the question nearly giving her a heart attack. She had been expecting it since it was something that all candidates had, at least to her knowledge. But again, him being aware of it was shocking.

n

"Yes, I am aware of auras.

"

n

"I have never managed to get a real answer to this question. What is an aura?

"

nZamia paused and looked at Eldrian for a moment first,

"Why do you ask?

"

n

"Because...

" Thinking back to the fight against the vampire where he had lost himself. The fight that he could remember near nothing and where he might even have hurt others on his side. Eldrian shuddered and quickly took a sip of tea to calm down.

n

"I have two auras. Wrath and Tranquility. And last time, I nearly lost myself...

"

n'Two?' The question echoed in Zamia's mind as she looked at the elf before her who just a few months ago couldn't even properly cast a spell. 'Two?' She questioned again, it being even more shocking that Eldrian was aware of both.

n'Maybe... It must be that being a Chosen the gods informed him-' Her thoughts froze as Eldrian shared how he had discovered them.

n

"Fire and Ice, surrounding my soul... I don't understand how I am supposed to be able to make use of them. How I am supposed to not lose myself in them.

" Looking up, Eldrian saw Zamia's eyes twitching so he stopped to give her some time to take it in.

n

"You entered your soul!?

" She couldn't help herself but shout this in shock.

n{AN: A big thanks to everyone who continues to support this novel on WN. Truly a wonderful thing to have it be constantly in the top 100-150's.}

n