Chapter 6: Magic and Gates

Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Magic and GatesA small laugh escaped Patrick’s mouth. "Alright, alright. I like your enthusiasm!" the mage said, chuckling. Sera, on the other hand, looked down at him. Her gaze seemed to scream, Ignorant peasant. But Lian didn’t care about that—he wanted to learn magic. It had always been his dream. "First, let’s answer a question. What is magic? Well, magic is the method by which we mages use mana to cast spells, that’s all." Lian looked at him, confused. From the way he started, it seemed like he was about to reveal an incredible secret, but it wasn’t so. "I see that look—it’s the same one I had when I found out, many years ago. But let me tell you this: we need magic to survive. Our world isn’t as simple as you might think, Lian. Your father is one of this city’s defenders, isn’t he? Well, the same goes for us mages—we’re defenders. But we don’t just protect a city; we defend the entire human race." Patrick spoke with deliberate calm, allowing Lian to absorb his words as much as possible. The boy’s expression grew serious as Patrick continued. "You’re probably wondering what we’re defending humanity from. Well, that’s where Gates come in. They’re portals that connect our world to other dimensions, filled with all kinds of monsters. Some are stronger than others. But the problem with Gates lies in their breaking." The boy’s eyes widened. "Break?" he murmured softly. He had never heard of this. Patrick nodded slowly before continuing. "Generally, a Gate has four distinct phases. Phase one is its appearance, where a Gate is unstable. In this phase, humans can’t enter, and monsters can’t exit. Phase two is the stabilization of the Gate. A stable Gate allows humans to enter without issues, while monsters still can’t leave." The mage paused deliberately, giving Lian time to process his words. After all, this part was crucial. The boy stared at the man before him without blinking. He was starting to understand. "If humans can enter a Gate so easily, can they leave just as easily?" Lian asked, his interest unmasked. Hearing the boy’s question, Patrick’s eyes gleamed slightly. "Here comes the interesting part. Once inside, the exit is sealed. But that doesn’t mean you’re trapped. The only way to leave is to kill at least a third of the beasts inside the Gate." Lian nodded in understanding. He now grasped how the mechanism governing Gates worked. "Then there’s phase three. This is the most critical phase. As you might have guessed, not all Gates are the same. Their power varies, but the only way to assess a Gate’s threat level is to let phase three begin. During this phase, not only can humans enter the Gate, but monsters can also exit. Fortunately, their emergence is limited, organized in waves. The first wave is generally the easiest, with weaker monsters. Of course, weak compared to the Gate’s level. And it’s from the monsters’ emergence from the Gate that we estimate its threat level." Patrick fell silent again, allowing Lian to digest all this. There was a lot to take in, but it was necessary. One couldn’t remain ignorant of this, especially now that he was a mage. "Hm, I understand... and what level is the Gate we’re entering?" Lian said, his brows furrowed. From what he gathered, the world was no simple place. "The Gate in question is a simple Steel Gate. Threat levels are determined based on the strongest beast that emerges during the third wave, plus one. For example, if the strongest monster during the third wave is Iron 5, we assess the Gate’s threat level as Steel. It’s not a perfect method, but it minimizes the margin of error." Lian was beginning to understand how it all worked. "Finally," Mage Patrick added with a very serious look, "there’s the fourth and final phase. The breaking of the Gate. There’s not much to say about it, except that the Gate shatters, and monsters pour out en masse, destroying everything. Moreover, each phase has an indefinite duration. For instance, phase two can last a few minutes or several weeks. No one can say for sure. In essence, before rushing into a Gate, it’s wise to assess its threat level. You can’t afford mistakes due to arrogance. As you said yourself, being arrogant only leads to death." Seeing Lian sit in silence with his head lowered, Patrick didn’t speak further. He needed to give the boy time to process this information. Sera snorted, crossing her arms, clearly irritated by the attention given to that "farmer." And so, a few seconds passed before Lian raised his head to meet the mage’s eyes. "Good, now it’s all clear. But—" the boy’s voice faltered. He wanted to ask Patrick something but didn’t know how. What if he said no? Wouldn’t that be embarrassing? "Don’t worry, here you go." Patrick’s kind voice dispelled the boy’s embarrassment. Then, on the table, a tome appeared out of nowhere. "In here, besides basic information about magic, you’ll find the mages’ meditation technique, the most fundamental and common one, given freely to all mages. To obtain more advanced techniques, you’ll need to pay. But don’t worry—by completing academy missions and selling Mana Cores, money will come easily." Lian didn’t hear any of the mage’s words. He was focused on something else. A book appearing out of nowhere? How was that possible? Noticing the stunned look on his face, Patrick chuckled. "Here," he said, pointing with his left hand to the index finger of his right, capturing the boy’s attention. "This is a spatial ring. It’s not very large, but it has enough space inside to store a few items. That’s why we mages travel without carrying anything—we have everything we need in these rings." Lian was amazed. No one had ever told him about this. It was damn awesome! "Start reading it; we’ll meet soon for the raid." The smile never left the mage’s face as he left the table with Sera by his side. The girl shot him a disdainful glance before turning and walking away with Patrick. Lian sat at the table, staring at the tome containing basic magic information with awe in his eyes. He no longer cared about the girl. Though his system had everything needed to make him a powerful mage, the boy was completely inexperienced with magic. Moreover, he needed information to compare his system to standard magic. And so, driven by curiosity, he opened the first page of the tome and began reading. "Basic Meditation Technique. Sit in the lotus position and close your eyes. Imagine yourself in a place that matters to you. Everyone envisions a different place; you must find the source of your calm. Here, nothing and no one can disturb your mental state. At this point, you’ll begin to imagine being surrounded by glowing essences. They swirl around you, seeking your attention. You must use your mind like an arm, reaching out to grasp the glowing essences. Once grasped, bring them to your dantian. There, the glowing essences will be converted into mana. The initial absorption will be slow, but you’ll improve with time. The more mana you absorb into your dantian, the stronger your body will become, advancing through magical ranks." Lian continued reading about magical ranks, mages’ abilities, and everything else. "Wow, this is very different from my technique, Geometric Meditation. I have to draw lines with my mind... well, the mind is the key factor here, whether used as an arm or a brush. Also, my technique doesn’t mention any dantian..." The dantian wasn’t a foreign concept to Lian. Even his spiritual energy, absorbed through the Basic Breath Cultivation, was stored in the dantian. This was located in the abdomen and was where mana was gathered. Lian kept reading the tome, starting to read about activation phrases for magic. After reading for a few minutes about the basics of fire magic, Lian decided to try it. "Alright, it’s time to see if I’m really a mage or if this is all in my head..." --- Author Here! Damn, are the monsters coming out in waves? We don’t know the true level of danger of a Gate?!