Hikma's training went off to a horrific start.

Watching the boy sparred against a visibly bored Luxinna was an exercise in futility. His footwork was clumsy. His strikes were painfully predictable. The boy even tripped over himself five times during his attack sequence only to end with Luxinna disarming him a move.

Scathach watched the development in a fit.

"This is impossible," the honey badger was analyzing Hikma's stats. "Miniscule power level, no elemental affinity, or unique skill; why did Satholia pick him of all people!?"

"Satholia must have an agenda," Melody watched the boy fumbled into the dirt. "She must know something, but to be fair, his True Magic is pretty versatile."

Rem looked on as Hikma, after much hesitation, brought himself to press an attack only to be brushed aside in one graceful swing. Rem nodded. Hikma's True Magic, [Conceptual Seal], was indeed versatile in everything but combat.

Languages were power. Rem hated that phrase, but he understood it. It was the statement championed by Hikma De Darwin's True Magic in all forms. Hikma could create a color ordinated symbols that represented anything: [Machine], [Fire], [Flowers], even [Death]. Those sigils could summarize any concept in stylized English. However, the sigils had no combat effectiveness. It only symbolized a concept--a mere presence of that particular entity. Despite being pretty useless in combat, [Conceptual Seal] existed permanently. Melody took one looked at it with [Heavenly Eyes] and concluded that it would conduct enchantment better than any spell formula in the world.

But aside from improving their camouflage from okay to incredible, it wouldn't save Hikma from his trashing.

Scathach sighed for the eight times in the last hour as Luxinna dodged a faulty blow to the head and sweeper Hikma off the ground.

"That is it," Scathach vented. "I swear the boy has no talent for hurting people."

That gave Rem an idea.

"Hikma!" Rem beckoned. "Come here for a minute! I need to talk to you about something."

…

Hikma found himself inside a more secluded forest. Rem sat down on a rock and gestured him toward the moss cover stone next to him.

Hikma took his seat.

"Are you here to talk about how terrible I am?" Hikma began.

"Partly," Rem admitted. "But I want to ask why do you want to focus on swordplay in the first place."

"I don't know," Hikma honestly replied. "Maybe, because all of you use it?"

“If that is the case, why don’t you learn first aid instead. Cy is a pretty horrendous fighter but a phenomenon doctor. You can help contribute that way.”

“I-" Hikma lost his track for a second. “I don’t want to be weak.”

“The inability to beat people over the head isn’t a weakness, Hikma. Indecision to do what you must is, and your actions already prove your resolve phenomenally.”

Hikma paused.

“Back in the capital, I got beaten by Mercia’s goon because they think Velnia has a feeling for me,” Hikma spoke. “Deep down, I wanted to hit them back, but I know that was wrong. I promise my mother, on her death bed, that I will be kind and gentle no matter what. But that doesn't change how pathetic I am. I need to get stronger, Rem.”

Rem sighed.

“There are two kinds of the fight in this world, mate,” Rem replied. “A physical brawn where nothing matters and philosophical fight that you can’t afford to lose. You lost the physical fight at that time, but by refusing to break that promise, you won the philosophical one.”

“You saw how much of a mess I was in.”

“True, but we patch up your injury. A more important thing is you prove that Hikma De Darwin can be trusted to keep a cool head where most of us would fail. You are a gentle person, Hikma. You should be proud of that.”

HIkma sighed.

“That won’t help me won against Luxinna.”

Rem laughed.

“You can’t win against her--not fairly anyway. Luxinna is a natural fighter. She has talent, self-introspection, and hard work. Her mastery with the sword is already second nature. She even got the Skill to prove it.”

“[Sword Grace]” Hikma recalled his sparring partner's Skills. “Scathach said it is proof that her form reaches complete mastery in its flawlessness.”

“Oh, she not only has the sword. She has the complete set,” Rem handed a piece of paper to Hikma. “That is how strong your sparring partner is. Trust me. You aren’t supposed to win the sparring match with Luxinna.”

…

Luxinna Latoria

Lightning Caliber

Stat:

Str: 339 [C]

End: 523 [C]

Mag: 950 [B]

Wis: 478 [C]

Dex:1210 [B]

Skill

Active

Serene Glass [A]

Glass Weaving [C]

Animal Communication [B]

Hyper Reflex [A]

Overdrive [C]

L2-$SBIO G [N/A]

Passive

Child of Lightning (SS)

Armory Grace [A]

Hidden Potential [N/A]

Natural Instinct [S]

…

Hikma stared and did the mental math.

“3600,” Hikma said. “Isn’t that qualified her for a big wig position? And what with this [L2-$SBIO G]? How old is she again? Sixteen?”

“She is fifteen,” Rem said. “A year younger than you.”

Hikma couldn't believe this.

“Did she start training from the womb? A guard protecting Velnia is ten-years older, and Luxinna is way stronger than him.”

“No, she only received three months of proper training.”

Hikma’s jaw dropped.

“Yeah, that is part of the reason I told you not to be too hard on yourself,” Rem smiled. “True Magic-user like us grow quicker than the average joe on Phantasia. Within three months, you will likely be way stronger than the guard who picked on you, so there is no need to be too hard on yourself about it.”

“What about you?”

Rem tossed him the card.

…

Rem Breaker

Paladin

Stat

Str: 389 [C]

End: 444 [B]

Mag: 781 [B]

Wis: 1025 [B]

Dex: 720 [C]

Skill

Active

Arrival of Dream [N/A]

Simplicity Blade [C]

Supercharge [A]

Knife Throwing [D]

Tactician Analysis [B]

Passive

Territory [E]

Reality Breaker [Ex]

The Way of Optimism [N/A]

…

Hikma looked at the card. His jaw dropped from total surprise.

“The Power-level was 800 months ago,” Rem explained.

However, Hikma was onto another subject.

“No, it doesn’t make any sense,” Hikma said. “There must a scientifically sound explanations why True Magic is this strong. I remember what you said about how it is unique to the individual growth, but this kind of power quadrupling in a quarter of a year is too ridiculous. There must be a mechanism behind this.”

“You can ask Melody about that,” Rem said. “She is still trying to explain our growth speed ever since she noticed about it.” Suddenly, Rem’s eyes narrowed. “But I want to talk to you about another thing. I think we need to change your battle style. Do you ever heard of Obi-wan Kenobi.”

“You mean Star Wars Obi-wan?” Hikma frowned. “What does Star Wars got to do with this?”

It was a rare case where Rem smiled.

“Hikma, he has everything to do with my plan?” Rem said. “Tell me, do you know why Obi-wan is such a renowned duelist?”

…

That afternoon, after listening to Rem’s batshit crazy idea, Hikma approached Melody to discuss his suspicion about the True Magic theory.

“Yes, you are right,” Melody confirmed. “The growth speed is too absurd. I spent most of my childhood training to reach B-rank. Those two shouldn't close that gap in only a few months. What doesn’t help is that idiot elf is too simpleminded to contemplate deeper. Rem might think of a possible explanation if he cares, but the problem is he don't.”

“And what do you think?” Hikma asked.

“I have no sure answer, but my only answer is that those two are always leaping from one conflict to another,” Melody said. “So I think the extensive usage of True Magic pushed there body stat’s growth to overdrive.”

“But what about Cytortia?” Hikma asked. “I ask about her growth-rate, and she said she barely got stronger despite continuously using her [Sage Force] in alchemy refining.”

“Yeah, that is where my theory break,” Melody said. “Cytortia hit her limit much faster than Rem and Luxinna, but she exhibits almost no growth. I don't think I know anything about its mechanism at this point.”

Hikma contemplated deeper. Just what exactly did Rem and Luxinna had in common that was different than Cytortia? But there was a more vital question that he must ask.

“What about you? What exactly is your True Magic?”

Melody showed him a silver card the appeared in her hand.

...

Melody Solarmaira

Dragonoid

Str: 1000 [B]

End: 1320 [B]

Mag: 742 [B]

Wis: 100 [D]

Dex: 386 [C]

Skill

Active

Dragon Manifestation [A]

Recovery [B]

Flame Magic [C]

Heavenly Eye [A]

Forging [A]

Passive

Regeneration [D]

Martial Art [A]

Material Sensory [B]

…

Hikma stared. Two of her stats were a thousand, and her skills mostly bend around fast recovery from the fight, but just what was the [Dragon Manifestation]?

“Oh, you seem to be interested in [Dragon Manifestation],” Melody said, noticing how the text drawn in his eyes. “It is my True Magic.” Melody raised her hand, and with a surge of power, caused a glowing outline of the dragon’s scales to appear on her skin. “It allows me to use the biological and magical attribute of a dragon.”

Hikma frowned, thinking back to the book Velnia read to him about Spell-casting and cultivation mechanism. The brain that was adept at sorting logic and historical fact detected several discrepancies in an instant.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Hikma said. “This isn’t a more advanced version of the system. They are something completely different. Spell-crafting changes Mana into another type and utilizes it. Cultivation refined atmospheric Mana into a particular Internal Energy and stored it to refined to be implemented with a technique. But your magic isn’t like any of them.”

“Yes,” Melody agreed. “It surprises me you notice this. You are right. True Magic doesn’t involve energy exchange at all. Luxinna’s Static Glass, for example, created a physics-defying material out of nothing.”

“Isn’t water spells already do that?”

Melody laughed. It was the first time she had this kind of intellectual debate with someone besides her mother. She could get used to this feeling.

“Hikma, those spells only summon something that already exists. That is why only a powerful mage can use advanced water spells without a water source nearby. They needed a massive amount of Mana to gather atmospheric moisture or teleport water from a nearby water source. To create actual water out of thin air, they need to either manipulate the surrounding atoms or create matter using energy.”

“E=MC^2,” Hikma nodded. “No mage in the world can supply the power to do that. The energy required to create 1 kilogram of matter from energy would be too immense for anyone. And there isn't enough material to convert to make the spell, assuming we reach such precision.

“Oh, I know one person who could do that,” Melody covered her eyes and peeked at the sky with accusation. “Afterall, we are talking about her."

“Are you sure Luxinna can really do that?”

“[Static Glass],” Melody explained. “I analyze the material. It doesn’t make out of any of the elements in the periodic table. Luxinna creates a mystery matter that defies the classical subatomic categorization.”

Hikma blinked. Melodina lost him on this one.

“[Static Glass] isn’t made out of atoms,” Melody explained further. “They are pseudo-particle that conduct electricity. Imagine a bunch of neutron-like particles arrange into a crystal that able to display both infinite electrical resistance and Superconductor at the flip of the switch.”

“You lost me there.”

Melody sighed.

“Let say Lux can break the rule of energy conservation and create something out of nothing. I would call her case unique if it is only a one-time thing, but it isn’t. Every one of us breaks the law of physics.”

“Wait, you mean Cytortia and Rem as well,” Hikma blinked. “Thier power is just improving stuff, and I just create magic symbols.”

Melody laughed.

“Enhance stuff? Sure! But How? Cy has the potential to turn healing grasses into an elixir of immortality. She literally rewrites a biological property of chemicals in plants and defies the law of diffusion. Your power allows you to create a symbol that can substitute with any concept. It basically toys with reality. And I can turn into a literal dragon-in-human-form in less than an instant--something that throws a biology textbook into the trash.”

“What about Rem? He just enhanced himself and his weapon?”

“Hikma, do you ever hear Rem discussing his ability?”

Hikma opened his mouth, but no memory resurfaced to give him an answer.

“I think Rem doesn’t tell us everything about his True Magic. I guess the enhancing bit is only an application. I once saw him use his power to its maximum potential and created a legendary dragon-killing blade from thin air. His power likely strengthen something existence as a concept rather than reinforcing its structure.”

“So you're telling that we are physics-defying reality-warper,” Hikma said.

“Yeah,” Melody said. Suddenly, she sat up. Her eyes widened.

“Hey, you are an Archeologist, right?”

“One in training,” Hikma corrected. “But yes.”

“Come with me,” the girl stood up hurriedly. “I have something to show you.”

…

Melody took him inside a van. Hikma recalled how impressed he was the first time he saw this place. His family wasn't wealthy. The closest he got to enjoy high-end luxury was when he was with Velnia’s entourage. The carriage the group traveled on was a high-end product fitted with glass Chandelier and expensive furniture. Mercia alone drowned more vintage wine than his father’s entire net-worth.

Hikma was no fan of poverty, but the amount that the Starland’s party wasted for a country in crisis was excessive. Compared to them, the Black Mercy’s decoration was more down-to-earth. It looked likable and modern without the unpleasant gaudiness. It was a perfect combination in Hikma's opinion.

Melody opened the door to a cupboard and showed a travesty to Hikma.

“Who did this?” Hikma’s eyes widened in outrage.

Hikma could barely speak. Before his eyes, piles of books laid littered chaotically on the carpet. How could anyone left the vessel of knowledge scattered without any semblance of order? Where were the shelves? Where were the sorting systems? What kind of barbaric tradition is this?

“During our last mission, we got our hands on these books,” Melody said. “The shopkeeper hauled these to Rem. We managed to find the information about the dragon using these texts, but after the mission, we don’t know what to do with them.” Melodina tiredly sighed. “I want to research the historical document to find any historical record about True Magic, but I don’t know where to start. I don’t even know how to sort these books.”

“You want me to sort these documents?” Hikma asked excitedly.

Melody nodded.

“Can I read it?” Hikma’s eyes glowed with anticipation.

“Feel free,” Melodina replied. “You are part of the group. You have access to every book here.”

Hikma couldn’t smile wider.