Chapter Ten; The five schools…
Greg's shock at Olivia's words was clear to be seen on his face "It's like I told you," Olivia continued. "You were supposed to be a lot more powerful than you presently are before you got access to the special shop," She stated. "As you presently are, forget having a weak core and mana pathways, you haven't even begun to form them," She pointed out. "Unlike the other two items in the special shop, the Eros body isn't an item that will be given to you. You'd be paying to have the system fundamentally change your body into a higher order of existence than what you presently have. If you are not strong enough to survive the process, which you most certainly are not, you'd just be paying to die," The familiar explained.
This was the second time in one night that Greg had almost unwittingly killed himself. The first time was trying to access the dungeons. An act that could have very easily destabilized his soul once more. The second time, he now found out, was when deciding what to buy from the Eros special shop. Had he not taken the time to think through his decision and just gone for the most expensive item available, then he wouldn't have even known how he died. "When will I be powerful enough to withstand the change?" Greg asked.
"When you become a fourth-tier mage," Olivia replied. "If you are the gambling type, however, you could try it while you are still in the third tier," She added with a mischievous smile.
Greg couldn't help but roll his eyes at her suggestion. Ignoring it, he went on to ask another question. "On average, how long do you think it'll take me to reach the fourth tier?" He asked.
"First, set apart two years for setting up your foundation. After that, it all depends on how gifted with magic you turn out to be," She replied. "If you are a rare genius, it could be as short as five years," she stated. "If you're gifted with magic, then around ten years should be enough. If you are just average, then fifteen to twenty years, perhaps longer," She continued. "If, however, you are mediocre, then it remains an open question whether you'll ever reach the fourth tier," She finished on this grim note.
Naturally, Greg felt some level of frustration at just how long he'd have to wait before he was qualified to obtain this last item in the Eros special shop. At the same time, however, he couldn't help feeling a bit of relief as he now realized he had much more time to accrue the necessary points that he'd need for it, as opposed to the pressure he'd initially felt, thinking that he should get the Eros body as soon as possible. "What's the highest tier there currently is?" Greg couldn't help but ask, his thoughts drifting away from the Eros body.
"Nine," Olivia answered. "You can count on two hands the number of humans that have currently attained this rank," She added. "In all of history, that number doesn't go over a hundred," she went on to say.
"Ninth tier," Greg couldn't help but repeat. "Is there a realm higher than the ninth tier," he went on to ask.
The small smile on Olivia's face widened at this. "I like your ambition master," She stated. "Get to the ninth tier first then ask me that question again," She added calmly.
"So there is," Greg replied with the tone of one that had gotten the answer he sought. Olivia tilted her head to the side an inquisitive brow arching on her face. "If the ninth tier was the end of the road, there would be no need for you to act all mysterious," He stated simply.
An amused expression crossed Olivia's face. "How do you know I didn't tell you that it's the end of the road to avoid quelling your ambition?" she countered.
"If that was the case then you wouldn't have that 'I've got a juicy secret' smile," Greg replied simply.
It wasn't concrete evidence and they both knew it. Olivia, however, did not attempt to dispute it. Instead, she asked. "Any more questions?"
"Just one more," He replied.
"Go on then," Olivia obliged.
"Why is it called the sixth school?" Greg asked.
Olivia shrugged as she answered the question. "Naturally because there are five other schools of magic already," she stated as if it was obvious.
"And they are?" Greg posed.
"The in-depth answer to that question will be given to you by your teacher, I'll just give you a brief overview of it," Olivia spoke up garnering a look of confusion from Greg.
"Wait, I thought you were going to be the one teaching me about magic," He asked.
"Of course, I'm willing and ready to share with you any magical knowledge I may have," The familiar answered Greg without any hesitation. "However, I am only a second-tier mage," She stated. "Why would you want to have me as your teacher when you already have a seventh-tier mage close at hand?" She questioned rhetorically.
Greg was about to ask who she was speaking of when it clicked in his head. With his eyes wide, he muttered, "The healer." It felt like a bomb had gone off in Greg's mind. All this time he had been getting attended to by a seventh-tier mage! It's no wonder she could pump so much magic into him when attempting to heal him. Not to mention that the system considered her to be a suicidal danger as far as Greg was concerned. The woman was just two tiers away from the pinnacle of this world's magical hierarchy. A frown crossed Greg's face as he thought of this. "Wait, but if she's that powerful, what is she doing in this small town?" He couldn't help but ask. From his memories, Greg knew that the healer had been in this town for the past six years. She wasn't just passing by and happened to have heard of what had happened to him. She had been healing people in the town for all this time. He was just one in a long line of patients that she's helped over the years.
"The answer to that, you'll have to get from her," Olivia replied with a smile.
Greg couldn't help but notice that, once again, the familiar had the 'I've got a juicy secret' smile. He suspected that she already knew the answer to the question. Though he was curious, he understood that it would be improper to pry into the healer's secrets without her consent. As such, he didn't press Olivia on it. Instead, he asked a different question. "How do you even know whether she'll accept to become my teacher or not?" he posed.
"I don't," Olivia replied with a shrug. "However, I've got a hunch that she will," She went on to say.
Greg rolled his eyes. "I thought you said you'd do anything I asked," He said. "Is giving straight answers not included in that?" He asked.
"There are questions to which there are no straight answers, " Olivia simply replied. There was no way that she'd tell Greg that the healer would probably be too scared of the power behind him to reject his request. If she told him this and he began to ask questions, he may end up finding out that the Eros familiar he summoned was supposed to be a being that transcended the nine tiers, and not just a tier two mage. Hanging around a being as powerful as her original would inevitably lead to the warping of his mind and will. Some secrets are better left alone.
"So what are the five other schools?" Greg didn't try and argue. Instead, he once again focused on his initial question.
"The first and most straightforward is the school of the elements," Olivia answered. "Here you can find mages that deal with all kinds of elements. From common elements like fire mages, water mages, wind mages, and earth mages. To rare elements like light mages, shadow mages, time mages, and space mages. To more esoteric elements like lightning mages, sound mages, blood mages, ash mages, and the like," Olivia spoke. "If you want a deeper dive than that, you'll need to speak to your teacher," She went on.
"Next on the list is the school of body and mind. Under this school, you'll find three major groups of mages. The first is those with abilities that lean more toward the mind. Oracles, dream-delvers, illusionists, memory seers and erasers, mind controllers, and so on. The second group in this school uses magic to reinforce their bodies and physical abilities. Here you'll find mages with superhuman strength, and speed. Mages with bodies that are invulnerable to almost any kind of physical damage. Mages with senses so sharp that they can observe the pattern on the wings of a fly from fifty miles away. Mages with bodies so malleable, they can squeeze through a keyhole and so on. The final group in this school of magic is the bloodline mages," She stated. "These are mages that combine their bloodlines with those of one or more magical creatures," She explained. "You were wondering what the monster essence blood was, weren't you?" She asked, reminding Greg of this section of the magic shop that he hadn't been all too sure about. "A successful fusion of bloodlines can grant the individual some of the abilities of the creatures whose bloodlines they have fused with, things like longevity, the ability to recover from certain magical maladies, access to various kinds of magic that humans have no access to like draconic magic and so on," She explained.
"The third school of magic is the school of summoners and beast tamers. Both deal with magical creatures, the only difference is where they get them from. For a beast tamer, they have to be in the same plane as the beast that they hope to tame. A beast tamer on this plane can't hope to tame an abyssal creature or an elemental from the elemental plane and so on. A summoner, on the other hand, is only limited by the plane they are in. A summoner on this plane can summon creatures from the abyssal plane but not from this plane. If they were to cross over to the abyssal plane, then they'd be able to summon creatures from this plane but not from the abyssal plane. Both groups have their strengths and drawbacks. Beast taming isn't as easy or as fast as summoning, especially for stronger beasts. However, once a beast is tamed, the bond can last a lifetime. On the other hand, while a summoner can instantly summon a creature from other planes, with very few exceptions, most summoned beasts can't stay long on the plane that they are summoned to. If anything, the stronger the creature, the shorter the amount of time it can stay on a foreign plane," She explained. "Once again, you'll learn more from your healer," Olivia informed him.
"Are you a summoned creature?" Greg couldn't help but ask at this point. Olivia had only come into existence through the system after Greg bought her. This naturally caused Greg to wonder about her origins. Greg wouldn't have any problems with her even if it turned out that she was indeed a summoned creature. His only worry was that she would be banished from this plane after some time if she was indeed summoned.
A smile spread on the familiar's lips at this question. "Unlike beast tamers whose ability to tame creatures is dependent more on skill and their affinity with the said creature, summoners rely on the strength of their soul. The stronger the creature they wish to summon, the more powerful their soul has to be before they succeed," Although it wasn't a direct answer to his question, Greg didn't interrupt the familiar. The more he learned about each of the different schools of magic, the better as far as he was concerned. "That's why summoners are simultaneously the class of mages with the most powerful souls and also the class with the most soul injuries. Along with their magic spells, summoners have to train their soul strength in order to lessen the burden of summoning. If they were to summon a creature that their soul can not anchor to this plane, their souls may fracture under the strain. Other soul-related issues like fragmentation, dissipation, and corruption are also commonplace among summoners," Olivia explained.
"To answer your question directly," She continued. "If I was a summoned creature, then you wouldn't have anywhere near the soul strength required to summon me," she stated. "Just the attempt would shatter your soul into a million pieces," She added. Greg understood this to be her saying that someone without magic couldn't possibly summon a creature with the strength of a mage of the second tier. Little did he know that even if he was at the same tier as his healer, Alena, he still wouldn't be able to summon Olivia's original. At tier eight, depending on how powerful his soul was, he had some slim chance of doing it, but not without a very nasty backlash afterward. Only at tier nine would he be able to confidently make that attempt and not fear an almost crippling backlash afterward. Olivia, however, didn't try and correct the misunderstanding. She just calmly continued with her lecture.
"The fourth school of magic is the school of life and death. The members of this school do not see eye to eye, almost as much as those of the final school. As far as they are concerned, they should be in two different schools. On the life side of this school are the healers. Possibly one of the most revered branches of magic. Whether it be natural diseases, physical injuries, magical maladies, accidents in the practice of magic, dark magic like curses and hexes, or even diseases that affect magical creatures, no matter what issue it is you are facing, having a powerful healer in your corner may mean the difference between life and death," Olivia explained. "Something I'm sure you can attest to," She added with a smile. Greg couldn't argue. The only reason he was currently breathing was exactly because he'd been attended to by a powerful healer. If, instead, Greg had only had an average healer to help him, he very much doubted he would have still been alive.
"On the death side of this school are the necromancers," Olivia continued with her answer. "They that have the power to call to souls that have crossed over to the beyond and to raise the bodies of the dead. That can call on to the power of death and decay to fight on their behalf," She stated. A look of confusion crossed Greg at the familiar's words. In his mind, try as he would, he could not see how healers and necromancers could be lumped together. It might sound poetic to speak of the school of life and death, but how exactly could someone that cures diseases and one who deals with death be grouped together?
His confusion wasn't missed by Olivia and she spoke to it. "Like you, many have been confused by how these two groups could fall under the same school of magic. And like I said before, many of the members of both groups believe that they should be in two different schools. Towards this age-old dispute, however, the only thing I'll say on it is that life and death are more intertwined than most people know or are willing to admit," She offered cryptically. "To be a good healer, one must become intimately acquainted with death. One must find out all the ways that death can claim the living and then figure out how to counter it. To be a great necromancer, one must study the mysteries of life and death and try to breathe a new kind of life into those that have already lost their first one," she went on. "At your level, it would be very hard for you to understand any of what I've just said. However, if you pursue any of the branches in this school of magic far enough, you'll quickly come to find out that the line between life and death isn't as well defined as you might have otherwise thought," She laid out.
"While the members of the school of life and death may not see eye to eye, there is no inherent hatred between the two groups. Healers and necromancers may not eat and drink at the same table. You won't, however, find healers hunting necromancers, or necromancers targeting healers in particular," she explained. "The same, however, can't be said of the final school of magic," She went on. "The school of sorcery and faith magic is a contentious one that has centuries of bloody history to it. What sets this school apart from the other schools is that rather than using their own innate magic, the members of this school of magic call on powers beyond this plane to grant them the power they need. These powers can be gods, devils, good or evil, sentient or not, it hardly matters. So long as they grant some form of power, you will find someone somewhere that calls to them," Olivia explained.
Greg couldn't help his shock and disbelief. Given that this was a world of magic, it shouldn't have been that much of a leap of logic for there to be religions and other such things here. Heck, religion had been there in the more mundane world that he'd left behind in his previous life. To hear of gods and devils should have been much less shocking than Greg was currently finding it. And yet, somehow, he couldn't help but ask, "Are there really gods in this world?" he questioned.
A smile crossed Olivia's lips as she considered the question for a while. "I suppose only a seventh tier or above priest or priestess can fully answer that question in a satisfactory manner," She said. "Though to be honest, it might be pointless to ask. I don't think anyone that has gotten that far by believing in a certain entity will turn around and tell you that they don't exist. Conflict of interest and all that," She continued in an amused manner. "What I can tell you, however," Olivia spoke up, all the humor and levity completely leaving her voice. "Is that there are powerful forces out there that you would do well to tread carefully around if not completely avoid," She stated. "Just drawing the attention of some of these entities may spell out disaster for you. It may even be enough to do you in," Olivia cautioned in a grave tone. Greg could see it in her eyes that she was being dead serious. Clearly, it didn't matter what Greg did or did not believe, to try and poke at the unknown would be a very dangerous and foolish thing for him to do.
"The members of this school who serve more benign powers are often referred to as priests and priestesses, or sorcerers and sorceresses if they are not part of an organized religion. If, however, the entity that they serve is malevolent, then the word dark is added before their title. As such, if you hear that someone is either a dark priest or a dark sorcerer, you should probably keep your distance. Ninety percent of that lot is bad news," Olivia advised.
"This school is less reliant on spells and focuses more on prayers and rituals. Just because you don't see them slinging spells, however, doesn't make them weak in the least," She cautioned. "An exclusive of this school is the ability to cast boons and blessings, hexes and curses on objects and living beings. They also happen to be the only school that can cast spells on targets that aren't presently before them or anywhere close by. So long as they have an item that belongs to you, they can easily sic the entity they worship on you, and if it's powerful enough, then even if you are three continents away, they can target you," She stated. "It's a lucky thing that that type of magic ritual requires a very large offering before it succeeds. Otherwise the members of this school would be quite the menace," She added, more to herself than for Greg's benefit.
"Anyway, that briefly sums up the five schools," the familiar once again turned her attention to Greg. "Anything else you want to know?" She asked.
Greg was silent for a long time as he mauled over all that he'd just learned. Olivia didn't try to rush him, quietly giving him space to sort through it all. After a few long minutes had passed, Greg concluded that he still didn't as yet know enough about the different schools to favor one over the others. The only school that he could dismiss right from the start was the final school of sorcery and faith magic. Greg had taken heed of his familiar's warning and didn't look down on those who practiced this school of magic. He, however, didn't want to have his power depend on the whims of some outside entity. If he was to be powerful, it would be through his own efforts and abilities.
The irony of him thinking this when he had what was possibly the biggest cheat in the world in the form of the system, wasn't lost on Greg. The system, however, wasn't something that he consciously chose. It had simply been there from the moment he woke up in this world. Like those individuals that were lucky enough to be born into powerful magical families, or to have a great talent in magic, Greg counted the system as his own personal advantage that he'd been accorded by virtue of 'birth'. Even in his own eyes, he'd be the biggest fool in the world if he didn't make use of this gift out of some misguided notion of it being an unfair advantage. But other than the system, Greg wasn't willing to allow his powers to be dependent on any other outside forces or entities.
"Any advice on how I can convince the healer to become my teacher?" Greg at last asked. He figured that he'd already obtained a lot of information about the system in one day. If there was anything else that he needed to learn, it could wait until tomorrow.
"Well, you could at least start by learning her name," Olivia answered with an amused smile. With some measure of guilt and shame, Greg couldn't help but blush as he realized that, not only did he not know the name of someone that he'd had such intimate acts with, but worse still, that person also happened to be the one who'd saved his life. Had he been thinking too much with his dick and not his brain? "Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it too much if I was you," Olivia went on. "You already seem to be on the right track with her," She encouraged.
A frown, however, crossed Greg's expression as he remembered a big detail that he'd somehow overlooked. "I'm not supposed to have any magic, how can I explain a familiar appearing in my room?" He asked with a bit of panic and worry.
Olivia, however, didn't seem perturbed in the least. "You won't have to," she replied simply. Before Greg could do or say anything else, Olivia's body suddenly shrunk into a small ball of light the size of a firefly and sunk into his glabella. 'In this state, not even she can detect my presence,' Greg's eyes went wide as he heard Olivia's voice ring out in his head…