Divine Mage

by L Travern

  Matthew shook his head. "I just told you: your way of thinking lacks fluidity. No matter how pitiful the schools you can afford might be, there will still be things to learn. If not from their libraries and teachers, from the other students. Small things, like turning touch spells into steam formations, might be considered simple to others, and thus freely divulged. And yet, it might be enough to bring a golden age for our family's magical research department." He finished drawing a new rune. "Now, we only have to think on a way to make the steam intent into non-elemental steam, lest the fire and water intents that create the steam itself bring more harm to the injured."

  Firestar sighed. "A mage's work is never done."

  After pretending to think hard for what felt like an eternity, Matthew exclaimed excitedly, "That's it! Of course! We don't need to make it non-elemental but add all elements to it instead. Or at the very least, the five elements, plus yin and yang. It will make the formation a bit more demanding on the mage creating it, but formation mastery is usually demanding anyway. It's also worth noting that the elemental harmony will also help with the healing afterward, so it's like killing two birds with one stone." He started drawing new runes and lines.

  A few hours later, Matthew used a last stroke of the chalk to conclude the formation. He crossed his arms and analyzed it for a while until he finally nodded satisfied. "It's done." He could see a few ways to improve the formation, but even if he was willing to do so, the family was too weak to defend itself from the greed that a better design would attract.

  He turned to Firestar. "Will you honor your part on the deal, Master?"

  Firestar laughed. "I wouldn't dare not to. I'll send this design to our formation masters and they can think on how to adapt it to a plate. I'll need one month to set everything up for the time-dilatation formation."

  "Disciple thanks Master," Matthew said and went to one of the hundreds of bookcases that now littered the walls of the room.

  * * *

  "Here," Firestar said as he offered a spatial ring to Matthew that looked as if it was made of simple gold.

  "Thanks," Matthew said as he took the ring and stepped inside the small formation drawn on the floor. Firestar, on the outside, immediately used his mana to activate it.

  And just like that, time seemed to stop. Or rather, it was passing a hundred times slower inside the formation when compared to the outside.

  His body was adequately slowed, but his soul easily resisted the formation. He had theorized it would happen and willed his consciousness into the pocket dimension linked to the spatial ring.

  His vision shifted, and he found himself in a huge area filled to the brim with bookcases. It resembled a room with floor, walls, and ceiling made of thick white mist. There was no light source, but he could still see everything there. Despite gravity not existing in there, there was nothing floating around; it was a very cozy and clean room.

  The pocket dimension was like a fold in space, a spatial bubble created inside the ring. It had clearly been created by a weak or untalented mage since it lacked Light Laws, Gravity Laws, and many others, which made it unable to hold living beings.

  After willing his consciousness inside, he could travel freely around the room, and even manipulate anything inside at will, like taking a book from a bookcase and turning its pages.

  And so, he started studying to his heart content. His promised six days would translate to six hundred inside the time-slowing formation.

  Firestar hadn't understood how that would be useful at all. If Matthew's body was slowed, his soul should be slowed, too. Even if his soul could break free from the time dilatation due to its high-grade resistance, it should simply move at the same speed as outside formation.

  To him, Matthew's body would be slowed a hundred times, going through those six days as if less than two hours had gone by, while his mind would normally live those six days as if it was outside the formation.

  What was beyond the old man's knowledge was that souls didn't reside in the material plane. Time and space were things of the material; as for the soul, it was and wasn't inside the body, it existed in a kind of an alternate reality. Due to his grade 12 soul resistance, his soul was and wasn't affected by the time dilatation at the same time.

  Meaning that time was going slower for his soul because it also existed inside his slowed body, but at the same time, his soul could function at the same speed as if it wasn't affected by the time dilatation. It was as if everything was placed in slow motion, while his soul kept moving in normal speed in that slow reality.

  That was the theory. In practice, it meant that his soul, and thus his merged mind, were working a hundred times faster than outside the formation.

  Of course, such a miracle brought its own dangers with it. The strain on his soul and mind would be huge. If it wasn't for his soul resistance being so great, he would never dare do something like this.

  Even with his soul resistance, he only dared to do it for those six days and then he would avoid doing similar things for a couple years or so to allow his soul to recover from the stress. It was a shame that the family didn't have a time speeding formation for him to not need to go through this, only this slowing one.

  Be as it may, he had six hundred days — the equivalent to two years in that planet — to read and speculate on magic as much as he wanted.

  He intended on using each second to the fullest.

  * * *

  Two years came and went inside the formation. After that, Matthew went back to his routine of studying and prying of information from Firestar.

  Everything went smoothly until he was twelve years old.

  That's when the competition happened and he set forth his plans to safeguard his life and the family's future.

  Chapter 8 - On Artificing

  Chapter 8 - On Artificing

  The competition was a grand occasion attended by the bulk of the family, hundreds of mages sitting around a raised platform in the Royal Palace's courtyard.

  Matthew and the two other kids were standing on the platform, while the three Ascenders were sitting on three thrones on a dais to the side. An Eminence mage got on the platform and addressed the audience.

  "Brothers and sisters from the Valdian Family, welcome!" He said with a magically enhanced voice that could be heard everywhere despite the talks going on in the audience. "Six years ago, Grand Elder Eminence Firebringer went to the Three Towers, sacrificing his remaining lifespan to provide the family with a chance to send a young mage to study there. Today, the disciples of our three Ancestors will compete against each other for the opportunity of being nominated by Grand Elder Eminence Firebringer!"

  Despite the man's excitement, almost every single spectator had a bored look on their faces. The competitors were only children, how entertaining could their competition be? The only reason most of them were there was that the decision would heavily influence family politics. Alliances would be created and get broken that day.

  Matthew was looking around, trying to find his father among the audience. He hadn't seen the man in the last year, too busy with studying. Alas, he couldn't locate him anywhere.

  "The competition will be divided into two phases," the speaking level 7, Champion, continued. "First, a test on magic theory. Each Ancestor will ask each competitor two questions and the competitor who is considered to be the worst will be eliminated. Then, the remaining will fight in a magic battle! A battle for the first place!"

  That brought interest from the audience. Not the fight but the questioning. The Ancestors were lofty existences in the family and even hearing them questioning kids was an honor most of the people present never dared to hope for.

  "And leeeet's begin!" The Eminence said and left the platform.

  The three kids turned to the Ancestors and bowed deeply. "Present yourselves," one of the Ancestors said.

  "I'm Three Stars Theodore, fourteen years old, son of Elder Champion Wind Prince, grandson of Grand Elder Eminence Wind Monarch," on
e of the kids said.

  This immediately brought murmurs from the spectators. "Three Stars! A fourteen years old kid who's already a Three Stars Mage!"

  "Unbelievable!"

  "Incredible!"

  Their shock was natural. Since they were using Veiling Amulets like the one Matthew had received, the power of those two genius children in the family had been hidden from the 'Check Level' Heavenly Skill and any other level detection spells, for their own protection. If the world had learned of their talent before, it would surely have brought assassination attempts from the family's enemies before the kids had had the time to grow their power up to their potential.

  Now, after not knowing the kids' levels for years, everyone was incredibly surprised at what they were hearing.

  Matthew smiled at that and waited for the second kid to present himself. "I'm Four Stars Elliot, thirteen years old, son of Grand Elder Eminence War Emperor, grandson of the departed Grand Elder Eminence Warbringer."

  "A thirteen-year-old Four Stars Mage!" A woman yelled in shock. "How?!"

  "Genius! A true genius!"

  Finally, it was Matthew's turn to present himself.

  "I'm Elder Champion Matthew, twelve years old, son of Major Notable Firebreather, grandson of Grand Elder Eminence Firebringer," he said.

  Ascenders were called Ancestors by those from the family, Eminences were called Grand Elders, and Champions were called Elders. Notables like Matthew's father had no official social standing though, depending on their connections or jobs to rise in the social rankings.

  As soon as Matthew spoke, the excitement died, a heavy silence covering the courtyard. It was one of the Ascenders who turned to Firestar and asked, "He is lying, right?"

  "Matthew," Firestar said, "remove your Veiling Talisman."

  Matthew obeyed, taking the round-shaped white talisman off, and throwing it on the ground. Everyone immediately used the Check Level skill on him. No one could believe what they were seeing.

  Showing his level would attract the Asshats' attention even if he pretended to be dumb as a door. However, by controlling both the timing of this revelation and the circumstances surrounding it, he could use that attention against the Asshats and in his favor instead!

  As for his thoughts on level gap between him and the Elliot, he considered it only natural. He had been pushing to use his mana since he was one year old, while the boy had to deal with the inferior Mana-Sucking Ring for many years until he was taught how to use mana by himself.

  "Isn't Major Notable Firebreather the family's failure?" One of the spectators said. In the silence that covered the area, he might as well have screamed. "And wasn't his wife an even more useless klutz? How can his son be a Champion? And such a young one at that?"

  Matthew turned his head so fast his neck snapped, and his eyes locked on the speaker. Check Level, he thought, and a tooltip appeared above the man's head.

  Level: 4 — Four Stars Mage

  "You," he said. "You dare offend the father of an Elder Champion, who's a Notable Mage and a Major of the Valdian Army in his own right. For insubordination, I sentence you to twenty whippings. Guards, take him."

  In the Valdian Family and in the world in general, power reigned absolute. The powerful held authority and disrespecting them was always punishable, sometimes by death. It didn't matter if Matthew was a twelve-year-old, he was an Elder Champion, and in the family of almost a thousand mages, there were only fifty people who were as powerful as him.

  Moreover, when more than one person was on the same level, the younger held the most authority, since it showed their talent was greater. It was the same with the three Ascenders, where Firestar, the youngest at seventy or so years — despite looking to be at his fifties —, was the one who held the most authority.

  Considering Matthew was twelve years old, he was the First Elder Champion, the one with the most authority of the fifty-one Elder Champions, and only the seven Grand Elder Eminences and three Ancestors Ascenders could overrule him.

  Still, his orders came as a shock to everyone. He was a kid, and he was sentencing people to whippings?!

  As for Matthew, he didn't feel conflicted. The man had offended his immediate family in public and had to be made an example of. If Matthew let this go unpunished, every random passerby would think they could offend him, and it would lead to all kinds of trouble.

  If the man wasn't so weak, Matthew would've challenged him to a duel and punish him himself. As it was, it was unbecoming for a level 7, Champion, to challenge a mere level 4. Thus, he used the family hierarchy to punish him.

  "The First Elder Champion has spoken," Firestar said, "and his words are fair. Why are the guards not obeying?"

  The man who had offended Matthew's father didn't beg for mercy, something natural in a world were Prime Energy made everyone compliant when dealing with their superiors. Not only was Matthew the First Elder Champion, but even Firestar himself had also ordered the guards to obey!

  Two guards came and accompanied the man for immediate execution of his sentence. The way people looked at Matthew changed from disbelief and admiration to fear.

  "The magic theory testing will respect each competitor's level. The questions will encompass only the knowledge they are supposed to have," Firestar said as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "Let's begin with Theodore. How does the Third Light spell differentiate from its lower-leveled versions?"

  The boy thought for a moment before replying. "It uses less mana but requires greater control. The Third Light spell can change colors at the caster's choice, unlike the lower leveled versions. The colors available to the caster are the primary colors. The Third spell signature has ninety-nine symbols, twenty-seven nodes..."

  "What does the Casting Time Control Theory on Third Spells states?"

  "It says that Third level spells are the first ones that can use the full control of the caster to decrease casting time..."

  "What is the First Law of Third Level Spellcasting?" One of the other Ancestors asked.

  "The First Law..."

  Theodore was asked six questions, and he managed to answer them all. Matthew could see a few mistakes here and there, but nothing major.

  Of course, that was only when considering the books he had read. In his own practice, he had deemed most of those theories to be incomplete or downright wrong. His own evaluation of the boy was that he had answered about a third of his answers correctly.

  "Good. Eighty-five points," Firestar said and turned to another child. "Now, Elliot, when should a Four Stars Mage use Third level spells instead of their Fourth level versions?"

  Matthew was surprised at the question. Although it was considered something a Fourth Stars Mage should know, its difficulty was relatively much greater than the first question Theodore was asked, about the Light spell.

  "What are the Seven Laws of Forth-Level Spellcasting?"

  "What are the names of the twenty-three Emperors of the Fire Continent?"

  "Explain the Twenty-Three Key Fourth-Level Spells."

  As the questions came, Matthew frowned. Elliot was having difficulty replying, and it was clear that the Ascenders had agreed to eliminate him from the competition, but Matthew had no idea why.

  "Sixty-two points," Firestar declared. "Matthew-"

  "Wait!" Elliot yelled, angrily. "My questions were much more difficult than his!" He pointed at Theodore.

  That was all he could speak. His own master harrumphed and a hand made of bluish mana appeared out of nowhere, slapping the kid in the face. It was hard enough for the slap to be heard all around the courtyard and for the kid to fall on the ground.

  "Sorry, Leonard," the Ascender who attacked said to Firestar. "My disciple will remain silent."

  When Elliot rose from the ground, the mark of the Ascender's magic hand was visible in his face, and he was crying copiously.

  Matthew ignored the scene, looking straight at Firestar. His plans depended on what the old man asked next.

 
After confirming that the Asshats could use magic to check the past events of an area in their investigations, it became obvious that he couldn't just tell Firestar what he wanted the old man to do, else his actions might implicate the family instead of helping them. Therefore, he had hinted multiple times at what he wanted to happen in this competition, but the reason or what came next had been left out.

  Now, half his plan depended on Firestar asking the kind of questions he was supposed to ask.

  "Matthew," Firestar called while also looking Matthew in the eyes, "describe how to forge a Lower Artifact Sword with twelve-percent fire element amplification."

  Matthew had to suppress a smile. It had worked!

  This phase of his plan required him to show two specific sets of knowledge, both magical and physical. He hadn't told Firestar exactly what to ask, but this question was spot on.

  Even creating a normal sword would be something a young mage wouldn't be taught, much less how to add elemental amplification formations to it. More than that, an experienced Champion might know about how to make Lower Artifacts, but only true masters would be able to make one that could amplify an element by twelve-percent.

  In his untalented family, even the Ascenders had no idea about how to do what he had just been asked.

  However, Matthew had naturally increased his knowledge of mana and magic by leaps and bounds in the past years. When added to his experience and capabilities as an energetic manipulator and master of all High Professions, he had created what he called the 'Myriad Arts,' which involved everything that used mana in any way, from magical painting to magical war tactics.

  Due to the lack of research materials in the family, his Myriad Arts was only complete up to the Champion level, but in that range, his knowledge and capabilities were absolute. They also contained incomplete Eminence-level techniques, and even a few insights on the Ascender level, which were just barely enough for him to theorize how to create even a Peak Artifact, much less a Lower Artifact!