Lee Long was pleasantly surprised when he was introduced to the basics of magical learning. The communicator was the main tool of theoretical education. A student would order a course of lectures on an important subject and learn new knowledge on his own. At the academy, a student could join a group for advanced study of a particular branch of knowledge. The group studied under the supervision of an experienced teacher. The children of politicians and officials paid much attention to political science and the social structure of the Galaxy. The children of engineers and miners were interested in the development of technology and the opportunity to study the workings of the galactic marketplace. The children of the military were interested in the tactics and strategy of military operations. Each area of elemental magic could be studied under the guidance of an individual mentor.
Humans already knew the simple basics of beginning to comprehend and develop magic.
Each skill had 10 levels of development. Advancement to a new level required 1000 activations of the skill. A child of 10 years old had an Intelligence attribute of 3 and 30 mana. In a month it was possible to raise the skill to 1 level. It was possible to fully develop a single skill in a year. Each element is required to develop the initial two skills to level 10. Only then the student was entitled to demonstrate capabilities and receive artifacts with skills of rank 2.
Water magic was a very valuable type of ability. The development of medicine and pharmacology reached great heights. Sentient Galaxies used reliable cures and medicines. But the miracle of magical healing was beyond the competition. An experienced Water Mage cured any disease and removed all negative effects from the body. Lee drew his lucky ticket in the lottery.
Water magic had a good balance of skills. The mage had three skills to attack. The Ice Arrow was the weakest attack skill. It spent one unit of mana and dealt 1 point of damage. The frosting was the stronger skill. The mage spent ten mana points and turned his opponent into a block of ice. The opponent takes 10 damage and loses mobility for one second. The water mage's mass spell Ice Wave spent 30 mana. A stream of cold air blasted from the mage in all directions and froze opponents. Opponents took 30 damage and were unable to move for three seconds.
Another ultimate spell was the Summoning of the Water Elemental. The Elemental dealt physical damage and could slightly freeze opponents.
The auxiliary skills were great, Healing at the first rank, Protection from Water Magic, and Body Fortification at the second rank of Water Magic. Body Fortification boosted all characteristics!
Unfortunately water magic had no 'debuffs', this type of magic had no spells to weaken the enemy.
Lee was very pleased. Getting the Healing was great news. Now he could always take care of himself and his girlfriend. Fortifying his body also looked like a good buy. At the first level, the mage boosted all characteristics by 10%. It was a drop in the ocean. But all the soldiers knew that this skill was good in the long run. Humans did experiments and benefited from the knowledge of other races. Increasing all characteristics by 50% was a great support in combat.
Lee Long thought about an unpleasant subject. Nothing in the world comes from nothing. Where does he get his characteristic points from? It was unpleasant for Lee to think that he had stolen the power of life from his acquaintances! He had already managed 28 duels and gained 28 points to develop attributes. He was defeating children! Stealing 1 point of intelligence from a child is a terrible punishment for the development of magic. The system did not show him progress in skill development. He did not know the progress of Appraisal skill development.
"I need to pay special attention to Appraisal development. If 1,000 uses will give me a level-up, I can see new information. I need to see other people's attributes! Even people from other colonies cannot have their attributes stolen from them. It's sneaky and disgusting! But I don't mind ruining any scum or pirate's life. That's right! Here's my piece of pizza! Gotta punish the bad guys. It's a classic!
I already have a great reserve. I can use 20 points of intelligence and use 200 mana. The arena will help me. I can't unleash my abilities in the hospital. Daily 30 applications of Healing for the colony. And 170 Healings in the Arena! I can raise my skill level in a week! Meditation is my salvation! This skill speeds up mana recovery. I need to find out the exact details. I need to experiment. Learning magic isn't always fun and cool. Sitting on your butt collecting energy from the galaxy is boring. I'll do it in the name of Merlin's calzones!"
In the morning, Lee did his chores and started classes. The first lectures made him want to sleep. Lee did not like theory classes and was an average student. History class was nauseating,
"Encountering galactic civilizations is a new era, a daunting challenge for planet Earth. Humanity faces great challenges. In terms of scientific and technical development, the planet has only just reached the level of exploration of orbit. The outlook for the planet's resources is catastrophic. Earth is subject to the negligible influence of magical energy. The planet has no sign of the Power Stones. There is no opportunity for the development of magic and technomagic. There are signs of the rarest reserves of Mix-crystals on Earth. The development of higher technology is out of the question. There are no energy concentrates, no advanced panaceas, and the planet is of no interest as a raw materials appendage. Although, the planet does have one most valuable resource, and that is people themselves. But this poses a particular problem for the development of the Earth.
In terms of social development, our civilization is also unimpressive. The Galactic Alliance has adopted a simple and strict law. "One planet, one government!" There are too many planets in the galaxy with favorable conditions for life! Any political differences have long since been settled. All races have found comfortable places for their political ambitions. Humanity has a long and hard way ahead of it!"
Lee Long listened with difficulty to the history lecture and hurried to the academy. It was time to visit the Mage Arena. The hospital was in the center of the colony and Lee immediately had his daily treatments. "You spend your mana sooner, you regenerate your mana sooner!"
At the academy, the boy went straight to the second floor to the magical training room. It was a spacious room in which he repeated a small body warm-up routine.
An employee of the hall handed the student an exercise suit.
Lee happily put on the exercise and fight the suit. Shinobi style! A hooded jacket and pants made of dark and sturdy fabric. A mask of cloth covers his face. Recognizable only through the eyes. The perfection of anonymity and stealth! The boy wanted to have such a costume in his collection. Such a suit was necessary for future operations. A similar suit was once shown to Maria. The special operations and covert operations soldier did not like to talk about her job. Sometimes she was very intimidating to the boy.
In the corner of the hall was a special teleporter that allowed access to the Arena. Lee Long stepped toward his future victories.
The Arena was a large dome-shaped room the size of four foosball fields. The dome was light blue, which made it look nice and high-tech. Several huge screens were located on the dome, allowing you to watch the matches. The arena was surrounded by low bleachers, it was a workplace but not for entertainment.
Inside the arena was an additional dome-shaped transparent bubble that separated it from the bleachers. A protective magical force field protected the students in the bleachers from the attacks taking place inside.
The practice of magic was closely related to hand-to-hand combat and the use of various weapons. History has always known the confrontation of attack and defense. The funny thing was that magic gave a spectacular defense against high-speed sources of damage. The magical defense could withstand a bullet and a laser. A low-velocity fist or knife strike passed through the magical defense. Of course, the mage could apply special artifacts and get special protection. It was a variation of, "If you want to be safe, hide in a secure safe place!"
The surface of the arena was divided into four zones. Zone one was conventionally safe. It was along the fight zones, by the protective field. It was a place for healers and support mages to work. Students used spells on the fighters and had the opportunity to meditate and watch the fights. Zone Two focused on hand-to-hand combat without the use of magical abilities. Many mages who spent mana did not want to meditate, they liked the feeling of combat. Zone three was a weapons fight without the use of magical attacking abilities. The fourth zone was a risk zone. It allowed them to unleash and develop their attacking skills to their full potential. Body, weapons, and magic were used simultaneously, and students developed their fighting style.
The surface of the arena was made of small square tiles. These tiles were sensors and monitored the condition of the students. When a student took extreme damage, he was moved to the healing room of his academy. One could pat the floor with the palm of his hand and refuse to continue the fight.
Lee Long watched the duels of hundreds of mages with rapt attention. He wanted to throw himself into this battle right away. But first, the boy calmly made his way to the fourth zone and began to practice Healing. Many students stood at the edge of the zone, waiting to heal. Lee quickly spent a hundred mana. The activation of the skill took place without any visual effects. Lee Long did not make hand passes or shout "Heal in the name of Tsunade's tits!" The healer's only effect was a blue clear light on the surfaces of his hands. The cunning and secretive owner of the System hid his hands in the wide sleeves of his jacket. Modesty adorns the benefactor.
The boy made his way to Zone 2 and began to observe. The level of the opponents was different. Lee had been practicing hand-to-hand combat since he was five years old. He was raised in a family of soldiers. The sergeant wasn't punished for fighting in the street. Lee was getting punished for fighting wrong! Now the boy immediately found suitable opponents for him. First, he started fights with those who could be freshmen. Costumes hid facial features and figures, but height could tell a lot.
Lee Long would offer a duel, get consent, start the duel and win. Every player needs experience! He wanted more experience. His tremendous endurance allowed him to win many victories. One mage cried out and wailed constantly during the fight. After the defeat, this girl hissed,
"You can't treat a woman like that, shorty."
"I didn't know you were a woman. I thought you were a mage in the Arena," replied the duelist.
He got his 100 experience points, and he loved it.
"Hey shorty, what academy are you from? What's your name? "Asked his neighbor loudly and aggressively."
Lee Long did not give in to the provocation and modestly replied,
"You can call me Bruce Lee."
"Who is that?" did not give up the provocateur.
"He is the ancient legendary master of martial arts. He had an apprentice named Jackie Chan." Explained the short magician with a girl's voice.
A loud laugh interrupted the conversation of the aspiring mages,
"Shut up, losers! Bruce Lee is a legend. And Jackie Chan is a legend. You, kid, are not worthy to touch such names. You got good technique and great speed. Think about it and find yourself an adequate nickname. Then rest, and I'll beat the crap out of you."
Lee Long crouched at the edge of the field and watched the tall, brash mage closely.
"He's the last course. Sixth year. He's sixteen years old. So he has five points in strength and dexterity. I can level up my strength and dexterity attributes and throw the rest into endurance. And I'll show this smart guy the dignity of my kung fu!"
He changed the attribute stats. Then Lee stood up and approached the tall mage. His opponent finished another duel and beckoned his opponent with an inviting motion of his palm. In response, Lee Long scratched his nose with his thumb and stepped into the duel.