This is now my 3rd month in this magical world. My mother, the queen, is such a chatterbox as she kept on talking about a lot of stuff about this world, which I'm truly grateful for as I'm learning much earlier than I thought I would have. She is normally reserved and only talks when appropriate or required, but she said that, she finds intelligence in my eyes and feels my want to know about things and all. She also started teaching me how to read. I don't know if this would be related to my charm points.
This world has mana which is a mystical essence or magical energy. Mana is everywhere and can be given shape and form, but in it's natural raw state, the body has to naturally refine it to make it usable. Humans and creatures are capable of manipulating these fields in various different ways to create spectacular effects. The key is how the characters manipulate them. The action of molding mana and pushing it out from the body is known as Magic. When the mana inside ones body becomes purer, their body can absorb more mana.
There are cultivators in this world and the cultivation levels are as follows:
BODY REFINEMENT - Primary body refinement to remove all bodily impurities. Power level here can be equal to that of a small platoon of 10 foot soldiers.
CONDENSATION - Basic mana manipulation. A person at this realm can have beginner level control over mana and can release the energy in different forms like fire, earth, wind, etc. Power level here can be equal to 100 soldiers.
CORE FORMATION - Core creation and greater mana manipulation. Corresponds to the formation of a core in one's dantian. Power level here can be equal to 200 soldiers.
EARTH - Genuine mana manipulation. Earth cultivators are beings of immense power. It is at this point where a Practitioner's mana energy can become hard enough to form an armament. Power level here can be equal to 500 soldiers.
SKY - A person at this realm can control mana to a higher extent and can have powers like a demigod. They can acquire the power to fly in the air as they can convert mana energy to become wings. Power level here can be equal to 1000 soldiers.
HEAVEN - After reaching this state of cultivation,a person can kill ordinary people just by releasing their aura, having godlike force as the power increases by leaps and bounds. Once they reach a bottleneck and starts to ascend, each level brings down tribulation to block them from reaching a higher state as the way of cultivation goes against the heavens. Power level here can destroy an army and can be equal to 10,000 soldiers.
IMMORTAL - True essence starts to form. The true essence of a being is the replacement mana energy. After reaching this stage, a cultivator can project their energy just by visualization. True essence at this stage is too vast as it starts to form into the energy core. True essence is known as the basic form of all energy in a universe. Anything that a person visualizes can be a reality as true essence makes up the whole universe including lifeforms in it so that they are interconnected.
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Each level has 7 stages divided into: Low – stages 1 and 2, Medium – stages 3 and 4, High - stages 5 and 6, and Pseudo – stage 7. The lifespan increases to 20 years per each stage up to the Core Formation level. Earth and Sky level cultivators' lifespan increases to 50 per stage. On Heaven level, the lifespan increases to 100 years per stage. Then on Immortal level, the lifespan increases to 1000 years per stage.
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At age 6, children undergo "mana awakening" ceremony which opens the door to being a cultivator. Normally, 1 out of 10 children can become a cultivator, that's why those lucky ones get to rejoice with a better future ahead of them. Rarer are those which can be considered talented in mana usage and gifted are even more scarce and are harder to find.
By 10 years old, children can go to school and choose if they want to become a swordsman or a mage. There are 2 main schools, namely: Magic Academy and Sword Academy, both of which are located at the main capital of Windsor empire. The former educates students on mana manipulation and usage of different elements depending on their affinity. The seven elements are: Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, Light, Dark, and Space. The latter focuses on using sword as a main weapon, although they also teach students in using other weapons as well including archery. Schooling lasts for 4 years then those who graduate can choose which path they would like to take, like serving their kingdom, become adventurers, or become mercenaries. There are also the schools for Alchemy, and Enchanting and Array Formation where only the talented and gifted ones are privileged to attend, while the school for Blacksmithing has more students as the main requirement is the strength to do it.
Speaking of adventurers, there exists an Adventurer's guild independent of any kingdom, where individuals can become a member of and choose to do quests they are capable of. There is no age or physical restriction/discrimination, as long as you pass the test and prove that you are capable. Mercenaries are like nomads, normally mobile and go whereever work takes them. Not too many choose to become mercenaries as there's not a lot of jobs available to them, being an adventurer or serving one's kingdom is more lucrative, stable, and you can choose to stay in one place for as long as you want.
Our kingdom called Ambro, founded by my grandfather Allard von Ambrosius, is rich and fortunate because not only do we have farming and raising livestock, but we are also near the Mystical forest where beasts thrive. Every beast part is like a treasure you can sell, plus eating it's meat is also good for cultivation as beasts are natural mana absorbers. The best part is that, the forest also houses elves and fairies. Next to or east of the Mystical forest, is the mountain ranges where monsters live, like goblins and orcs. North of our kingdom is also an extension of the mountain ranges, but it's mainly occupied by dwarves, who specialize in mining and blacksmithing. South of us is the vast ocean where fishing is a natural livelihood. West of us, from the top are the main capital of Windsor empire, Beaumont kingdom, and lastly the Drummond kingdom.
Our castle is huge with lots of rooms I find hard to count. It's like, one would be lost if not given the right direction. Everything is big and grand, now I don't doubt our kingdom is rich. We even have an in-house library, ranging from normal books to magic books. There are also books regarding alchemy, enchanting and array formation, and blacksmithing.
My father, the king, is a Sky level magic swordsman capable of wielding sword along with fire and earth magic. A magic swordsman is quite rare in this world. He ascended the throne when my grandfather, Allard the former king, abdicated the throne in pursuit of focusing on his cultivation, and took a journey in the hope of finding a lucky encounter to have a breakthrough, as he had been stuck at the Pseudo Sky realm for quite a while. My mother, the queen, is a Earth level mage who specialize in using Wind, Water, and Light elements. 3 elemental mage is already considered very talented as most people would only have 1 elemental affinity.
I did not dawdle in my cultivation even as an infant. Thanks to mother frequently showing me her magic, I am now able to get Wind and Water mana affinity as well. Mother also insisted father in showing his Fire and Earth magic, hence, I now am able to refine 5 out of 7 elements. I cultivate all night long instead of sleeping as I feel more alive, refreshed, and stronger the next day when the morning comes. My current status now shows as:
[Status]
Name: Magnus
Age: 3 months old
Level: Body Refinement – Stage 1
HP: 10/10
MP: 10/10
Str: 2
Spd: 1
Agi: 1
Sta: 2
Int: 12
Cha: 12
Elements:
Light, Water, Wind, Fire, Earth
Skills:
Minor heal
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Ring Personal space – Time difference (x5) where 1 hour in the real world = 5 hours in the personal space
The ring is so great, as it also allows me to hide my real status and appear to be a normal baby. I would say this ring is not only a national treausre but a world treasure. I'm also able to use minor heal from the light element now, I guess because it was the first element I got acquainted and refined. Every use consumes about 5 MP which I can only use twice for now. Not sure if it's available in this world, but I'm planning to nurture the light element and possibly acquire the light power same as Admiral Kizaru. That power alone, if possible, would be like an overkill as nothing is faster than light, especially in a vacuum. With the other elements I'm able to refine, I'm eager to find out what other powers I can obtain. I also can't wait to enter the Mystical forest. *chuckles*
My strength is now equal to 2 normal adults, still a far cry compared to cultivators of other levels but it's already a good start, considering I'm still only 3 months old which no other human can do, because I was able to bypass the need for normal mana awakening which happens at 6 yrs of age. I'm not sure if it's because of talent or because of the ring the Admin gave or maybe both, but my personal space helped me quite a lot and will help me more in the future, becase it just got upgraded from 2 times to 5 times now. Cultivation normally takes a long time to progress but with enough patience and hardwork, your efforts would not be denied. My bodies filth after cultivating does not appear to come out from all over my body, but my urine and poop are quite a disaster as the maids doing the cleaning are overwhelmed by the smell everytime they clean my cloth diapers. Not sure if this is also the ring's doing, but I'm not one to complain.
My parents already start giving me mana elixirs and powdered mana pill boosters in little amounts, as they say, to ensure my being a successful cultivator in the future. Those are very expensive stuff but our kingdom is rich and they can easily afford and buy me those. They already readied a number of them for me to consume in the future. Aww! How I love these guys! I'll make sure to repay them in the future.
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