Donis wasn't worried. He knew that with his ability to remember everything that the [System] will catalogue for him, he'd be able for everything. At least he hoped so. The kids around him weren't so sure of themselves though.
Perusing through the stack in front of him, Donis picked out the [Alchemist]. He chose it because of the ever so alluring sentence that Corvig spoke - "They can create world changing effects from seemingly nowhere".
The allure of a mindbending ability could never escape the clutches of Donis's greed. It also promised him a very profitable future, and who doesn't love money? Donis may not have been much acquainted with the worlds currency, but he knew he'd need it eventually. Every culture needs something to barter with.
'Maybe one day I'll be able to do everything by myself, for myself. It's not today anyway, but it's good to have goals. I don't want to rely on anyone but myself. Maybe," added Donis mentally.
Reading through the paper on [Alchemy], Donis realised that the reason it's called level-0 is because this doesn't require any sort of mana to process the ingredients. It goes on to say that the higher quality mana, intensity, and tools all affect the quality and quantity of the outcome.
It went over the tools required for emergency concoctions and pills out in the field if you don't have the correct Mana State. Went over the base tier pills that have 5% strength of pills made with the correct tools. It was all very useful, and weirdly enough, Donis already had a connection to it. The jobs he'd seen in Vernaic when he was younger had already activated some of the basic knowledge he learned in the papers.
They were still greyed out so he couldn't truly become a level-1 Alchemist, but he had an almost innate knowledge of the level-0 pills and concoctions. It wasn't like a memory that he actively had, it was closer to when you forget something, re-read the info and are struck with a realisation.
He soon got lost in the paper, as it delved deeper and deeper into the intricacies behind why the pills work as such. At level-0, the base properties mix and form a result. They're at they're most impure, and least effective points. Using mana further increases the intensity behind the base properties of the ingredients, further called the 'essence' of the ingredients.
The correct tools are able to further extract, purify, and isolate the required essences. This can not only further the pills, but create brand new things. Using the correct essence combinations can help [Runeforgers] acquire faster imprinting times, can help [Enchanters] up the stat effects of weaponry, can help [Blacksmiths] with their weapon sturdiness. Being an [Alchemist] seemed almost too good. Yet the only drawback is the sheer amount of knowledge it required.
There was a reason that [Alchemists] were also [Botanist] most of the time, as the knowledge required for [Alchemy] quite heavily intersected with the other. Yet, there were very well known [Botanists] that were purely there for the plant knowledge, as they basically had an obsession with plants. These people were [Alchemists] greatest friends, as they had the greatest knowledge out there on the ingredients and their preparation requirements. They're also the only other people that match the obsession levels of [Alchemists].
Spending the class studying this, Donis barely noticed the time fly. There was so much information that he nearly forgot to write down questions for Corvig. Nearly.
When the class got dismissed, about three quarters of the class stood up and walked over to Corvig in a neat queue. Everyone either depressed or beyond giddy, but no one was silent.
The queue itself moved along quickly as Corvig answered everything quickly and succinctly. Donis wasn't made to wait long, and opened up his notebook.
"Sir, I have a few questions, but not about the contents of todays class. Is that alright?" asked Donis.
"Of course Donis, there's no problem with having any other questions, I am here to answer everything I can," said Corvig quickly.
"Well, I was wondering. What exactly is a higher Mana State? Like, I understand it's better than the lower one, but.. why?" asked Donis.
"Let's take your [Wisp] Mana State Donis. The next tiered Mana State is the [Breath] Mana State. The greatest difference between the two is the QUALITY and QUANTITY of mana within you. It allows you to not only use spells that are normally of a higher quality, but also allows you to sustain lower level spells for longer. There are other things that come with higher Mana States, but those are far, far away from you for now, focus on what you can achieve in a moderate time frame," answered Corvig.
Feeling enlightened, Donis heaved a small sigh of relief as it was something he had already had a vague idea about.
"Okay, I have more questions but I don't think I should keep the rest of the class back for longer. Why does everyone look so young? I once heard one of the lecturers talk about Archemage Lorenzo being super super old, but he doesn't look old!" asked Donis with a hurried tone.
Having the trait of being hated by death, Donis only had about 50-60 years of life. He saw how old the people here actually are while still looking young, and thought that maybe humans here either aged slower, or there was something else afoot.
"The higher the Mana State, the longer you live. At the highest Mana State, [Origin], time ceases to really have any meaning though, but no human alive has every reached that, so don't delude yourself into thinking you'll be an ageless mage Donis. It's a path every mage wants to take, but none have yet to succeed. In the trillions of planets that inhabit this universe, none of the mages have achieved that yet," said Corvig matter-of-factly.
Donis's brain slightly short circuited.
'Other planets? Trillions of other planets? Wait..' thought Donis.
"Wait Sir!" shouted Donis.
"No Donis, the other students have questions too, move along, hold it for a few more days," said Corvig pushing the young lad to the side. He had already began ignoring Donis and answering the others questions.
Donis on the other hand was beyond lost in his own world at the moment. Everything became a daze.
The trip back home barely registered, the environment a blur. His mind was consumed by the thought that there were other planets that Corvig mentioned, and that they may even have mages on them too. Does that mean the universe is inhabited by "trillions" of other life forms? Why is this such nonchalant knowledge to Corvig?
Today was supposed to be a day of answers and not one to raise so many more. He felt even more confused and bewildered than the day he was born. He couldn't wait for the next Genius class. He needed to know now.
Yet he had to wait, just like the rest of the kids. Unable to wait any longer, he sent a message to Corvig via [Pigeon Paper] but the only reply he got was "wait til the next class". This didn't help him scratch that itch at all. He felt even more irritated actually so with that, he went outside to really rough up some unsuspecting logs.
He experimented with [Air Pulse] again, this time trying to infuse different Mana Types into the skill. He found out that it actually worked, but infusing a different type of Mana into the skill not only drastically changed the outcome of the spell, but it also took different amounts of accumulation time.
His mind momentarily taken off of the idea that he wasn't alone in this universe, he began the deep analysis of his one and only attack skill.
Imbuing it with Void Charged Mana gave the skill the fastest speed, and the most penetration, but no area of affect damage. It seemed to pierce a log like a bullet rather than smash the whole thing. Each Charged Mana Type had a different property, and fire seemed to actually be the most fun. It was flashy and showy, exactly what Donis liked.
He read over his abilities once more and felt like he'd have so much more potential with them if he could just achieve the higher Mana State. His experimentation would have no limits, he'd be free for a while to try everything he currently couldn't. He also felt like most of the skills seen in his catalogued skill list would become available to learn.
He couldn't confirm it just yet, but it was an innate feeling he had.
He wanted to try out some of the concoctions he learned in class today, and really put his knowledge to practice. But he came across a speed bump before he even began. He had no ingredients, nor the money to acquire them. So, he did what any young kid wanting new things did.
He went to his parents and begged for money.