After I read through the book on Dragons, I picked up a book that discussed the concept of 'Mana Arts.' Mana Arts were sort of like skills in a video game. A person could create a Mana Art or learn one made by another, they ranged very widely in terms of functionality and power.
The number of Mana Arts a person could learn in their life time was limited, they typically took an immense amount of time and effort to learn. Creating one was even more difficult, but it wasn't without merit. If you created one for yourself, you could guarantee it's suitability and compatibility for you and your fighting style.
Mana Arts could belong to the Null Attribute, the Null Attribute was just used to refer to Magics using Attributeless Mana, or they could be applications of bloodline abilities or Attributes. They most commonly belonged to the Null Attribute.
Now, while I said that Mana Arts take a while to learn, I technically know one. Blood Manipulation is a Mana art, though, I only learned it quickly due to it's nature and due my own ability. Blood Manipulation pretty much just required the Mana Vein to be constructed, and from there it was like manipulating Mana normally.
As I've already said, most Mana Arts took a while to learn, and they take a long time to perfect.
If memory serves me right, then Charotte should be developing her own Mana Art soon. It was a Mana Art known as 'Puppeteer's Shroud.' She essentially wrapped her whole body in tendrils of darkness, and by manipulating that darkness, she could use it to defend herself, to have more physical power or to help her fight for longer than her body would've normally managed.
By puppeetering herself, she could give up on everything aside from controlling her Magic, allowing her to fight even when her body refused to move.
Now, while this sort of Mana Art is basic in most of it's effects, it requires her to have a solid understanding of human biomechanics. And, it needs her to have an incredible level of precision as she needs to have each and every tendril of darkness surrounding her body under constant control whilst making sure they don't hurt her.
It probably wouldn't be dissimilar to suddenly being given several other limbs, so it was probably incredibly difficult to use.
I'm any case, what I'm trying to say is that Mana Arts normally take a while to learn and even longer to master, even if there's been an exception with me.
Now, there's another type of Mana Art in this world. These Mana Arts are the pinnacle of Magic, they require an immense amount of knowledge and understanding of Mana along with luck to even have the chance to learn one. Unlike regular Mana Arts, not everyone has the chance to learn. Even the most talented of Awakened may not be able to use one.
These were known as Enlightened Arts. Enlightened Arts were given to those who underwent 'Enlightenment.' Enlightened Arts were incredibly powerful, they could affect things like space, time or more abstract concepts.
If Mana Arts could be considered skills, then Enlightened Arts could be considered 'Ultimate, Unique Skills' as no Enlightened Art could be used by more than one person, ever. Enlightened Arts could affect the same concept, but they wouldn't have the same exact power.
There was no real point in stressing about acquiring an Enlightened Art, it wasn't as if I could just learn one. I would have to undergoing Enlightenment, which typically occurred in the middle of an intense battle as that was when an Awakened was concentrating the most. And, I was going to be learning and understanding Mana more as I spent time fighting.
Then, I heard a few footsteps approaching, and I looked up and saw a person. She long, wavy, platinum blonde hair. She was of average height and her eyes were a gentle green.
"A first year? Studying as soon as they've been accepted into the Academy? Talk about dedicated, I'm touched. Truly."
The woman infront of me was none other than the student council president, she was a 5th year student. And probably one of the strongest people at this Academy. She was a half Elf, a cross between a human and an Elf.
She was of common origin, sort of. She was someone who's father was a noble, but her mother was an Elf. Her father never acknowledged her as his daughter, and so, she was considereded a commoner.
"What you studying? If you're struggling, I don't mind helpin, that's what seniors are for after all."
I smiled, shaking my head. I didn't want to talk to her. She was a fairly good person, so it would be easy to get attached to her, and getting attached to such a person would be... a shame to say the least. She was someone who would eventually become a Demon's Contractee after all.
'I wonder, would it be best to just kill her?'
For a single, dark moment, I considered it. But I dismissed the thought immediately, I could never kill this woman with my current strength. And, not only that, but I can't do it.
I can't murder someone like her, who is, without a doubt, a good person. I'm not a great guy, but I'm not exactly a bad one.
'I'll consider killing her only after she's become a contractee. Even if it makes the job harder, it'll make life easier.'