"Let me ask you Satou... You can also answer, Rue"
"Yes, anything"
"..."
Satou and Rue listened intently after they saw Philip smirk and become serious after
"What are magicians?"
"Well, according to fantasy and fiction, magicians are either profession for individuals that can harness magic and use them or simply individuals that are capable of manipulating magic through a medium or catalyst"
"Correct. Can you call the mystical ability users as magicians?"
"Uh... I don't think so?"
"The answer to that is no... To our world at least. Mystical ability users are individuals who can harness mana present in the air and transfer that mana into their bodies and out of their Mana Spots to influence and affect objects around them"
"Yes, we know that at least..."
Rue exclaimed
"Mystical users are also divided into two classifications. There are physical ability users... Individuals who can harness mana to empower their physical prowess, like strength, speed, endurance, and dexterity related abilities... And mental ability users... Individuals who can harness mana to use their mind to control and manipulate their surroundings, like telekinesis, pyrokinesis, psychokinesis, and many more. We already know this, we studied and observed mystical ability users in the military base"
Satou explained with confidence
"That's correct... But there are two more classifications of mystical ability users"
"Wait, really?!!"
"Spirit ability users and emotion ability users"
"Whaaat? I've never heard of those!"
"They do exist and a spirit ability user is very powerful"
"Have you met one?"
"Yes... Only one... But nevermind that. The reason I asked that question is I want you to differentiate these..."
"Okay..."
"What are the difference between mystical ability users and ability users or power holders?"
"Wait what?"
"..."
Satou and Rue became incredibly confused
"Isn't everyone a mystical ability user the moment mana spread around the world? Rue is a mystical ability user with the addition of his bloodline, I'm a mystical ability user of the mental ability user classification, and you, you're a mental and, from your words, emotion ability user... Wait...!"
Satou's eyes widened after the surprising realization. He was certain that everyone that is earthbound are mystical ability users, but upon closer look to Philip and deeper thinking, his ability suddenly switched
"Before we question the capabilities of mystical ability users, we must first define mana again... What can mana affect? What can it influence? What can it be used for? That includes magic itself... We must also differentiate our magic and mana from other worlds and how they use and harness it..."
"Ah-"
"If you want to learn and research about it, we have three people that came from another world of magic. Just be considerate of their feelings, they are very depressed that their world was destroyed. Also, regarding the definition of mana, you should read my research papers closely and intently this time..."
"..."
"..."
Satou and Rue were quiet from the revelations that Philip was telling them
"Also, to answer my question... The difference between mystical ability users and ability or power holders is simple, the use of mana. Mystical ability users has their abilities solely because of mana. Ability and power holders gained their ability and power through several means that doesn't involve mana. Example of these are, they innately have it as a signature the moment they were born, bloodline, inheritance, bestowment, achievements, destiny, fate, and many more"
"Then, you are..."
"I'm both... As you can see, I am loved by mana and I basically became the Mana Avatar after I defeated the previous avatars..."
Philip waved his hand in the air and a thick blue wind, aura, and smoke flowed around the movement of his hand
"I am the every classification of mystical ability users, as well as an ability and power holder because I have innate abilities, bestowed abilities, and achieved abilities... Haha, I said too much didn't I?"
Satou and Rue already knew that Philip has an arsenal of abilities after he revealed it in the World Conference meeting yesterday. But Philip's words made it sound like he has even more
"Well... Almost everyone in the mansion are also ability and power holders, that includes you both... Maybe not you Satou"
"What?"
"Hm?"
Satou voiced out in dejection while Rue exclaimed in curiosity
"Not to worry though. Ability and power holders are capable to become mystical ability user and I believe Rue is already one as a pseudo-physical and mental ability user from the military training, right?"
"That's correct... So, why are we talking about this specifically?"
Satou asked
"Mystical ability users are capable to convert Mana Stones between types"
"..."
"..."
Satou and Rue widened their eyes in the discovery or revelation
"Though, not all mystical ability users will be able to freely convert them... Because of this, a level or ranking system will be made. Depending on the power of the mystical ability user, they will either be ranked as either Spirit, Mystical, Energy, Soul, Atomic, or Divine Rank. Their ranks will dictate their position in the society and their ability to convert"
"Ah... This is going to be bad"
"I know, but it couldn't be helped because it is needed. I just hope that humans wouldn't discriminate other just by their Mystical Ranks"
"That's highly unlikely..."
"..."
"..."
Philip was silent before he continued speaking
"So, the Mystical Rankers are capable to convert Spirit Stones into Mystical Stones, Energy Rankers are capable yo convert Mystical Stones into Energy Stones, and so on and so forth. This includes the gem, crystal, core, and star kinds, but a different system is also required for that. For now, we'll focus on the main topic"
"How do these rankers convert the Mana Stones?"
"By cultivation... Control of ki, qi, or chi, the life energy that's also stored within the Mana Stones, accompanied by mana itself. One must be able to cultivate for them to be able to convert Mana Stones"
"So, you're saying..."
"Yes, Rue has to learn how to cultivate and control ki around her. If she mastered how to do it, she'll be able to convert Mana Stones whenever she wants with just a touch. It also depends on her rank though, if she could only convert Mystical Stones or as high as Atomic Stones"
"That's... This is so much information..."
"That's not too bad... You just have to understand it thoroughly, that's all"
"Yeah, just understand it, why don't I just do that"
"Okay okay..."
Philip slightly smirked and rolled his eyes halfway before closing it
"Don't worry, after I leave, I will prepare every kind and types of Mana Stone on the table in my room. You're free to take it whatever you need, except for everything else, you understand?"
Philip put emphasis on the last sentence
"Yes, I understand"
"Now let's move on to the next topic..."
"..."
"..."
"Before diving into the Mana Fibers, let's talk about the rules of the Divine Star first... Do you guys know about it?"
"Yes. Only Divine Stars exist and one are found in each major Mana Hotspots around the world. These Divine Stars are the primary source of mana and it is the cause of the generation and formation of other Mana Stones. It also produces Divine Dust by a small amount per year"
"That's right... You know about the higher types of Mana Stones, specifically Energy, Soul, and Atomic, right?"
"Yes, I've read it in the research papers... It's quite fascinating and scary to think about. The equivalent energy that a single Atomic Stone could have. I've seen the formulas that you have made, as well as unit measurements and identification of variables... It was astonishing if I do say so myself... But the computation for the energy level of a single Energy Stone... If that's true, I can't imagine what a Soul, Atomic, and Divine Stone could do"
"Yes, it's surprising and scary... That's why I'm pretty excited as I look forward to what the Earth, or Earthenmana, could become in the following years..."
"Deep down, me too"
"..."
Satou and Rue nodded
"Also, Divine Stones doesn't exist"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Only Divine Stars exist. You can't convert it a tier of its kind down. Though, it generates Divine Dust, which we can use to make Divine Strings and Divine Fibers"
"Are we going to use Divine Fibers in the structure and anatomy of Angela?"
"Yes"
"..."
"..."
Satou and Rue shook from the thought alone. Having Angela possess the power of the Divine Fibers would be enough to make her a god, or at least someone who could match a god
"That's the point, I want Angela to be powerful enough to be able to defend everyone in the mansion and, in long term, the Earthenmana itself from interdimensional entities"
"But what if she becomes rogue?! What if she loses control or get manipulated by the opposite party?! She's like a danger in and on herself!"
"That's the risk I want to take... But I believe that will never happen because of Phase 2 of this project"
"Phase 2?"
"We'll talk about it later, we're not done on Phase 1"
"..."
"..."
"So, both of you might be wondering... Do I have Divine Dust to be used as Divine Fibers?"
"..."
"Yes I do! I got it from the Divine Core"
"Huh? I thought tiers of kinds lower than a Divine Star doesn't exist?"
"Yes, that's right... But I'm the Fate Controller, so I can convert it to that. I can also achieve Divine Crystals, Divine Gems, and Divine Stones"
"...!"
"...!"
"But of course, I will only give you an ample amount of Divine Dust for this project"
"Why-"
"Hold on. It's not that I don't trust both you... It's because you don't have any way to produce Divine Stone from a Divine Stone. The Divine Scalpel could only produce Atomic Dust from an Atomic Stone. There's no tool that can get Divine Dust other than by natural means or Divine Rankers that can do it"
"..."
"So, if I achieve the Divine Rank, I could produce Divine Dust from Divine Stones?"
Rue asked enthusiastically
"Yes. If you achieved that, I can provide Divine Stones or Divine Gems that both of you can use. You can use it for experiments and research also"
"!!!"
"!!!"
Both Satou and Rue's eyes gleamed from excitement and surprise
"Just remember that attaining Divine Rank would be very hard, in my own understanding... But, I trust that you can do it"
「 ... 」
『 ... 』
"You can count on me!"
"I'll entrust cultivation to you!"
Satou tapped Rue's shoulder for assurance
"Yes!"
"So, the way you can extract Mana Dust from Mana Stones has been solved by the use of Mana Scalpels that are one tier of type above them. Conversion of types of Mana Stones has also been solved with the help of Rue... Are there any questions?"
"How would we convert the kinds of Mana Stones into lower tiers?"
Satou asked
"By using the Mana Scalpels..."
"Ah! I get it... One Mana Core is equal to 1000 Mana Crystals, cutting it in half will yield me half of the Mana Core and 500 Mana Crystals"
"No..."
"No?"
"Although the idea is correct, the execution will lead you problems..."
"Ah..."
Satou felt bad as he was certain of his answer, but he was half wrong. This is why he's afraid to be one hundred percent certain
He doesn't know that his [Foresight of Certainty] doesn't work too well with Philip's logic, except for a few basic things
"Cutting Mana Stones in half will always convert it down a tier one hundred percent of the time... But, if you cut a quarter of it, the 75% of the Mana Core will be intact, while the 25% will yield 250 Mana Crystals. Though, be careful in doing this, because 250 Mana Crystals are a lot and cubes might either fill or overflow in this laboratory and destroy the walls or floor"
"I see! I understand"
"So, the best you can do is chipping a very little part of the Mana Core. If the scratch is small enough, it can directly yield you a Mana Crystal or Mana Stone directly"
"So, what happens if I cut a Mana Stone in half?"
"Everything will turn to Mana Dust... But, if you cut a quarter of it, then cut another quarter of that 75%, everything won't turn to Mana Dust immediately"
"Oh! As long as I don't cut half of it, no matter how it gets smaller, it won't turn into a lower tier of kind?"
"Correct. So, theoretically, you can achieve a Mana Gem Needle or a Mana Gem that is equivalent to one Mana Stone. Though, if you cut that Mana Gem, it might directly convert to Mana Dust since it's equivalent to one Mana Stone"
"That makes sense"
"So, for us to know how much Mana Stones are in each of the higher tiers of Mana Stones..."
Rue muttered
"You can refer to my research papers for that... It's quite complicated to explain it verbally, so you should follow five pages of formula that is on font size 12, Arial, single spacing"
Philip emphasized the last part menacingly, as if it's one of the most feared phrases among everyone
"...!"
It was right, Rue felt dread after hearing Philip's words. She still hasn't seen the formula in the research paper and hearing that it's five pages long terrified her
She looked at Satou and saw that his eyes are empty and almost dead, just from remembering it
"Haha! It's a pretty complex formula... Only the greatest of minds can keep up with that, especially since were dealing with magic and mana, which science should touch at all!"
"..."
The more Rue thought about it, the more dreadful it becomes. She couldn't imagine the number of variables and distribution that is needed to be done. For all she knows, Philip also made new variables since it's magic and mana that they're talking about
It's a groundbreaking mathematical formula that could fry supercomputers because of the new variables present
"Don't worry... That's not the only formula that exists in my research paper. There's the Mana Electronics that contains magic circuitry formulas along with the electron jump transfer formula, Mana Energy Transfer and Entropitical Dynamic formulas, Magic Release formula, and many many more! Every formulas are in 500 pages! Oh! Don't forget about the formula regarding the conversion of types of Mana Stones between tiers! Especially formulas revolving around the Divine Star! Hahaha!!"
"!!!!!"
"..."
Rue's eyebrows curled as her jaw dropped just from imagining it. She was feeling incredible dread while Satou is almost put cold as saliab poured down on his right lip
Despite their dread, their hearts were burning because big obstacles were in front of them and they definitely want to overcome it, even if it costs their lives. That is the power of passions