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Chapter 076: Siva's Magic

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The thing about Mana Gathering Spell Formations is that they can gather the Mana in the air and put it all inside the formation's areal domain.

After ten seconds, you get 3 Mana Units or just "Mana" and this will continue on endlessly as long as the Mana Gathering Spell Formation exists.

When the formation's areal domain condensed at least 10,000,000,000 (ten billion) Mana Units, the condensed Mana Particles will automatically form a Mana Stone.

When a Mana Stone + a billion more Mana Units are in one place, the formation's areal domain will also automatically form a Mana Crystal.

That's how precious Mana Stones and Crystals are and each and every one of them is a rare and valuable asset. It takes more than one thousand years (1 cycle) to form a Mana Stone and forming a Mana Crystal needs a little more.

Siva had five such Mana Gathering Formations as his personal equipment. This was at least half of the entire Mana Gathering Spell Formations setup in the Elven Country.

But how special are Mana Gathering Formations?

While all other "Spell Formations" needed Mana to activate, Mana Gathering Spell Formations are the special kinds that don't need Mana when activated and just needed to be set up on a particular place.

Its advantages lay at the fact that once you set it up, it will work on forever until it was deliberately destroyed or accidentally broken, or when it was disrupted in the slightest bit during its operation.

Its disadvantages are: unlike all Spell Formations, Mana Gathering Spell Formations are fixed into its place and cannot be taken apart or removed on its original location —or if you can move the place it was originally set up, then why not?

But aside from the given example, every Mana Gathering Spell Formation must be physically still —static, in other words— and once it was set up into place, it must be forgotten or better yet, the place it was built into must be sealed else it risks ruining and wasting the formation.

It means, once it was set up, it can't be moved or be touched in any way.

This is the big reason why setting up a Mana Gathering Spell Formation needed a lot of consideration.

Financially, the cost of setting up Mana Gathering Spell Formations is as expensive as setting up a Tier-9 or Tier-10 Spell Formations —and these're Spell Formations that, with the extinction of Gods and Immortals, as well as the destruction of their worlds, now only exists as stories since the raw materials in setting them up have been extinct or is about to be extinct as well.

Yet, once set up, the "grade" or [Tier] of the Mana Gathering Spell Formation is fixed at the 8th Tier.

It can neither be increased nor can it be reduced in its grate tier. It will perpetually exist as an 8th Tier Spell Formation.

Still, that doesn't mean that the cost of building one is cheaper than a 9th Tier Spell Formation. It must be remembered that a particular "Spell" isn't as expensive or cheap based on Tier. It is based on its [effect]. Some Spells, often those with rare and useful effects, are only possible by combining effects of higher-Tiered Talismans.

It was one of the reasons why there was the Tier Division for every Magic Spell.

The fact that Gaia had 'some' of its materials that can set up six Mana Gathering Spell Formations is already telling just how rich the pockets of the Elf Race in the Terran Alliance was...

.....was.

Now that Siva actually robbed them of six of their Mana Gathering Spell Formations, who knows if there are still ones left inside their vault?

What more, Siva also took two Mana Stones from their stash of already limited resources of Mana Materials... and this was the reason why Gaia was reluctant on giving him these items.

But prior to her Ascension, because she was still bound by her [Original Encoding] in following the will of the Trinity Gods of this Universe, she had no control to the 'influence' Siva's requests have on her decision-making matrix.

She knows it and couldn't do anything about it, at least until her Ascension Ceremony.

Now that Siva promised to be her protector, Gaia trusted that Siva wouldn't renege on this promise.

What's left now is to set up the formation and also comply with Siva's other requests. At least for this last request, it was an actual business deal she can be paid with.

"Is there any specific Spells that you want?"

One must take note that different Talismans have different effects and combining these effects was essential on creating [Magic Spells]. Thus, there are almost no limits into what kinds of spells can be created on any particular set of Talismans.

Even a simple [Telekinesis Spell] can be different to another [Telekinesis Spell] just by adding one or two more [Effect Talismans] in the combination.

For example, a typical [Telekinesis Spell] that can only lift things up within its AOE, can become an extremely dangerous spell if a [Project Talisman] or a [Summon Flame Talisman] is added to its set.

The first setup turns the Telekinesis Spell into a Crowd Control Spell while the latter turns it into an offensive AOE Spell that could protect the caster.

And it was only an addition of one Talisman. How about two, or three, or four more?

Goddess Elvira, the Mother of the Elven Race, is the forerunner of the Magic Arts used by Terrans, aside from their innate Abilities.

Talismans created from combining Mana Materials and embedded with "Language Scripts" to achieve [Effects] and then linking all these effects to cast [Magic Spells] is the essence of her Magic Art.

On another perspective, with the mysteriousness of Mana in the Terran Universe, Elvira's Magic Art Legacy is really a universal tool to accomplish just about any task and purpose that related to Magic.

On another note, while other Gods' legacies were strict on their requirements, Elvira's were lenient to the point that it's actually oecumenical.

But as universal as Elvira's "Talismans" was, allies and enemies can use them both so there're still its existing pros and cons.

An entire Terran Race has their unique Script for they each had their God and each God has their own "Language" —thus the diversity of Language Scripts— but although they are different in sound and origins, what they meant are generally similar when spoken in the Terran Tongue, the language used by everyone in Terroa and the easiest Script to embed on Talismans for it doesn't have any kind of limitations, restrictions, or conditions.

But still, as universal as Elvira's Magic Art Legacy was, the most challenging part in it was gathering the materials to create the Talismans themselves.

With the extinction of the Gods that offered the specific materials many high-ranked Talismans for high-ranked Magic Spells needed, the Muans of old and the survivors of Planet Terra —which are now collectively called as Terrans in Terroa— had researched the materials that're available for them in the new planet and so came up with a uniquely new way in renovating Elvira's Magic Art Legacy.

Although it took many years, the successive eras accumulated the knowledge of its ancestors. And so, the Elves, who were only one of the very few Terrans that succeeded in preserving their Gods' inheritance, became an integral part of the entire Terran Alliance for they are the ones that led the Terrans into resisting the Dragons back then.

Now, they became the keepers of Magic for they are the only ones who can masterfully create the Talismans which other Terran Race in the Alliance had tried to recreate using their own Language.

This new way of modernizing Elvira's Legacy was now consolidated in [The Record] which Siva had once gotten his hands on back in Warjillis.

But the thing is the "List" that Siva had in his hand is just the lower half of it. Although Pistareen and Gaia had agreed to give him the other half, there was still a major hurdle that Siva can't resolve no matter how familiar he became of the method of its creation and no matter how much effort he put into his thinking.

His cursed state prevents him from sensing Mana.

Creating his own Talismans himself need sensing Mana and also guiding it like a needle to embed (or tattoo) the so called "script" into the Talisman.

A "script" is what determines a Talisman's "effect", and visually, these "scripts" are those bright lights that serve as the lines when a Magic Circle appear whenever a Magic Spell is cast.

These [Scripts] are integral parts of a Magic Spell and without it, Talismans are just talismans, they can't cast a Magic Spell without a Script.

Creating the Talisman and embedding its "script" to create the "effect" the talisman is intended to have is an entire separated process on its own; because the [Art of Spell Formation] and Magic Spells are two opposite sides of the same coin.

Every person, citizen (NPC) or otherwise, could only equip 15 Accessories into their bodies.

These Accessories automatically [links] with each other once they are equipped and so there was no need to write a "script" to connect them to each other when activated. The Spell Caster can just feed the Talismans their Mana as the rest will happen as if it was part of the natural law.

[Spell Formations] are different since there needs to be a "platform" or a [base] first before one can embed Talismans and create a Spell Formation.

A [Formation Base] is universal and doesn't need to be special; aside from being a Mana Material at the very least so that it could channel the "scripts" that will be written on its surface.

However, to achieve higher-Tier Spell Formation phenomena, effect-specific [Formation Bases] are required; such as an Element-attributed base, or a Mana Gathering Spell Formation-embedded base, and so on.

There are a lot of combinations and choices when achieving specific goals and effects.

This is the reason why there are only hundreds of Players who managed to pass the tests of joining the Enchantment Temple since not only you must memorize a particular script —or plainly just the Terran Script alone— to be able to embed them into Talismans, the higher the Tier of the Talisman being created, the more complicated the scripts needed to be cast into the Talisman itself as well.

—as such, the existence of grades of Enchanters!

To be able to become the "Grand Elder Mage", Pistareen had to prove himself better than anyone else in "Enchanting" when he took the seat 200+ years ago. The "hardships" involved between the lines could only be imagined.

How many hours spent in studying Scripts and how many more hours spent in the application of the knowledge, was the secret to a Mage's power.

And that is also the reason why "Mages" are more often known as bookworms for in order to attain more secure "scripts" —thus creating counter-null Talismans— they needed to read and learn many kinds of Scripts then apply them to Talismans, and ultimately create powerful Magic Spells.

Scripts and Materials are the secret of Elvira's Magic Art Legacy.

There're millions of scripts in the Terran Universe just as there are the number of Gods; Mitra, the language of Siva's stronghold back then, was just one of the "Scripts" that can be used to create Talismans —and different kinds of Scripts have different specializations as there are also other Scripts that can counter-script others, giving birth to the term that many called as [Counter Spells].

—in this case, it was easier to say that while the Terran Script gives [+0] bonus on certain [Spells], a particular Script used to make specific Talismans to cast Specific Spells will receive [+1] effect.

In the end, when the two uses the same spells with their Talismans using different Scripts, the one with the [+1] effect will always win.

Additionally, in creating Talismans, the Talisman's intended 'effect' and the 'script' for that effect must also match. If not, then the Talisman won't work and might even create a backlash, harming the Spell Caster.

That's why not everyone can just randomly make a Talisman and loosely put any script they want on them to establish an effect.

A synergy must be observed between the Script and the Talisman's materials; thus come the large importance of [The Record] and the mastery of at least a single [Language Script].

This is the reason why Enchantment Temples are sacred places of Magic and very few choose to antagonize them... especially those who they give the title of "Archmages" since these people are deemed to be the protector of the Temples. The Enchantment Temple is the Terrans' heritage and their Archmages are their treasured guardians.

All of these are part of Elvira's Magic Art and Siva was eaten alive by its complexities. Although he'd become aware that using specific languages when creating Talismans are important, he can't surpass the limitations set by his cursed form.

That's also the reason why instead of stubbornly trying to waste his time and materials, he chose to employ the help of Gaia for the tasks he had in mind.

"I need the ability to be able to weave Mana like a thread and control it like a tangible object. What I have in mind is that with this method, I can embed it on Talismans and thus, also have freedom when freely forming a Spell Formation. In effect, I need all kinds of Talisman Combinations you can make, with no restrictions to numbers, in usage, or even Mana Requirements itself. I also need it to be cast like a free-formed whip or maybe a sword... or in simple words, I just want to be able to manipulate and control Mana like my hand... you know what I mean, right?"

Gaia thought for a moment, "Do you want to be a Universal Farcaster or a more specific class like a Sorcerer or an Archmage?"

Although Siva was knowledgeable in Magic, this wasn't his forte and thought that all Mages are just Mages and an "Archmage" was just a mere title for strong Spell Casters.

This was the first time he's hearing a division for different kinds of Mages.

"What's the difference? Aren't they all Mages?"

Gaia shook her head, "No, Your Excellency, they are different. Although Sorcerers can also cast a variety of Elemental Spells, they're more classified as Mages who cast General Effect-spells like the Barrier Shield Spell, Healing Spell, Support Spell, and so on. Archmages tend to be the more war-oriented Mages between the two. They cast high-Tiered Elemental Spells than their counterparts, not to mention that majority of the Archmages are also fighters in nature than the pure Farcasters such as the Sorcerers. Though still, the two have their own advantages and disadvantages."

After she explained, Gaia pulled out 14 talismans into the air and made them float in front of her as she continued to explain, "Right now, I am using an 'accessorized' Talisman —Telekinesis— and I have upgraded this Telekinesis Talisman until the 9th-Tier before deciding to accessorize it. All of these 14 talismans are also accessorized 9th-Tier ones that I have been equipping all this time. But I also still have lower-Tier versions of these spells for everyday usage..."

She paused and then presented a single Talisman to Siva and explained, "Each of these Talismans casts one particular Common-grade Spell. For example, this one cast 9th-Tier Healing Spell that can recover moderate-level injuries; this one casts 9th-Tier Wind Slash Spell; while this one casts 9th Tier Hypnotism Spell. Aside from these 14 Spells, I also have 30 more General Basic Spells on the 9th-Tier in my Inventory. This is how being a Sorcerer means. Of course, I also have 9th-Tier Elemental Spells with me. My point is, Sorcerers tended to be generalized Mages that cast ordinary spells with high-ranking efficiency. The disadvantage of this is that being a Sorcerer must have a deep Mana Pool to be able to support the variety of Spells on their arsenals while the advantage is that they can cope up to almost any kind of situation with their wide array of general, all-purpose spells."

Siva knew half of what she said and it was only just now that he realized the difference between the Mages he'd seen in Terroa and the ones in his own memories.

It must be noted that during the Era of the Gods, the Immortals, Gods, and the Devil Gods doesn't have distinction between their abilities and all of these Magic they can cast are generally just called "abilities" and nothing more.

This was the first time he'd actually become more acquainted with Elvira's Magic Art Legacy. It was quite easy to imagine just how strong Elvira really was, even back then.

—I wonder if she died during the war of because of me...?

His thoughts drifted and Siva suddenly imagined if the latter had happened or that Janus managed to save her and hid her in the [Cage].

But then again, he feared that with the [Cage] now the 'playground' of the Devil Gods, he doubted that Elvira would have lived on and hasn't yet been corrupted. If so, Siva felt somewhat worried.

—Just how many Gods and Immortals did Janus manage to save back then? The more there are, the scarier it is to imagine how many enemies will attack Terroa from within...

——I mustn't let the [Cage] open no matter what!

Going back to today, Siva noted the familiar term that Gaia used to describe her Talismans.

"Accessorizing your Talisman means it cannot be upgraded anymore?" he asked in confirmation.

"Yes." Gaia nodded and said, "Each person can only equip 15 Accessories and accessories does not mean they are Talismans. Some accessories are plainly like that —with some only worn for the purpose of beatifying one's self while others wear those with specific functions and abilities. Once a Talisman is 'accessorized', it cannot be upgraded any longer since it has absorbed other Talismans into its form already. A rule in upgrading the Tier of Talismans is that we can only upgrade the Tier if we combine ten same Talismans into one form."

Siva thought at his own Accessory slots. Because he can't sense Mana, thus can't use Magic, thus can't embed them into Talismans, he can only put on "beautifying accessories" or accessories with [abilities] in it.

She paused then said, "Your Excellency, I know you already know this but let me just remind you that there is no difference in being a Sorcerer and Archmage when using Spell Formations. Only the rules in their Talismans apply. Its advantages and differences to the Farcasters lay in the Mana Pool Requirement since, in general, Spell Formations does not have any limit in how many Talismans can be put into their formation, and thus there is an even wider array of combinations, thus limitless possibilities..."

"I understand that part." He raised a hand to stop her in continuing her lecture. "So, what I want to ask is... is my request possible?"