- Contract? - Arthur was confused, as everything he knew came from the conversation he overheard in the library, clearly, he didn't know anything about it, except that it was safer than trying to learn from the gods.
- Think of it as the terms that teachers agree to before going to teach at a school, our contract is the same, I'll only teach you if you accept my terms, and of course, you need to be willing to accept what you are going to learn and be satisfied with the price as well... - Samantha continued explaining with a serious face for a while until she had to hold back her laughter when she saw Arthur's somewhat bored face with just a few words about the contract, so after pondering for a few seconds she said. - Well, in short, I'll tell you what you're going to earn and how much it's going to cost, and if you accept, we have a deal, understand? - Arthur nodded and said nothing, as if waiting for Samantha to continue talking.
- How about I show you the benefits of learning to be a wizard before I tell you what it costs? Besides, I guarantee it won't cost you your soul, your life or anything like that. - Samantha said to Arthur with a slight smile still on her lips, but her eyes showed seriousness as they watched the boy.
- Of course! - Arthur replied excitedly, but as soon as he had answered he seemed to be in doubt about something and so he raised his hand and swung it energetically to the right and left, and like a boy he couldn't contain the euphoria on his face which caused the smile on Samantha's face to widen, and after being amused by the little boy's actions Samantha shook her head in the affirmative and asked in a voice which showed that she was enjoying herself when accompanied by her smile. - Any questions? - Arthur, who was shaking his right hand, lowered it and asked cheerfully. - What is a sorcerer? Does it have any relation to those who hire the gods? - Arthur asked with obvious elation in his voice.
- Hm... Essentially speaking, we're different. - Samantha replied with a thoughtful face.
- How different? - Arthur asked, he was momentarily disappointed, but after remembering that the woman in front of him had expelled a God from this space, he perked up again.
- Well... I think it's easier to list each one first, so I'll start with the first pattern. Simplifying the explanation as much as possible we have 3 specific strength patterns, the first pattern has a few different names, but I don't mind naming them; the first pattern is to let the soul lodge naturally while you exercise, with this you would fix your body with the soul in a rough way, it's basically the same thing as putting water in a bucket very slowly. - Samantha explained and thought for a moment before continuing. - This method makes your whole body unite with the soul in a natural way, but without any direction, this generates an ability and it is basically the mark that the soul will naturally form on the person's body, and it marks the whole body at once, this makes the body only support a single ability forever, although it is a powerful and stable ability, it is still very limited, so the first pattern ends up being the weakest, but as it is the simplest it is the most popular. - Samantha stopped here and looked at Arthur, after some deliberation she added. - Although the first pattern is known as the weakest that's not necessarily true, even with a single ability they can awaken an ability that is simply too powerful, it makes the disadvantage of a single ability a joke. It's clearly much more complex than that, but it should be enough to understand, now the second pattern... - Samantha closed her eyes and a thoughtful expression appeared on her face as she considered her next words. While Samantha's eyes were closed, the only sound that could be heard was that of her finger tapping lightly on the throne, even though the throne was made purely of flames, whenever her finger touched it, a sound like a finger tapping a wooden table rang through the space. Arthur, who had been waiting for Samantha to open her eyes and resume her explanation, was perplexed by this, but still stood silently waiting.
- The second pattern is more complex, in fact we've never been able to fully understand it, my teacher told me that they were called authorities, and regarding the authorities... Well, they're strange... - Samantha gave Arthur a complicated look and spoke. - Technically speaking, this should be the path that gives you the most power, and in fact it's the one that makes people strong very quickly, but... Hmm... Objectively speaking, this is the strongest path in the short term, and a limited one. When you receive the blessing of a God, he will teach you to command the laws he commands, and you can only grow as far as he decides, if he wants to teach you to use all his laws you will practically be a God, but clearly this has never happened, to this day, no one has learned more than a fifth of the strength of a God, besides, the strength of the laws he teaches you are linked to the existence of this God, so, if he wants to prevent you from using these laws, you will lose the ability to manipulate them until he changes his mind. - Samantha stopped talking and observed Arthur's expression, which showed a little confusion, and she couldn't help but smile when she remembered herself making that expression several times in the past; after seeing Arthur's expression and considering it for a while, she simplified it for him. - Well, I think we can sum up the authorities as controlled gifts, you are given the right to display the power of a God, but only as long as it is within that God's will. - After speaking, she looked at Arthur again and saw that his confused face had changed to one of disappointment, and she allowed Arthur some time to absorb and clear his doubts before continuing.
- Prof... Samantha, what happens if someone with a gift disobeys? - Samantha smiled slightly at Arthur, who had been calling her professor before the contract, and after returning to a serious expression on her face she replied. - It depends on the God; when they disobeyed Hestia, she just stopped giving authority to her representative, now when they disobey Zeus... Well, you met him, he wasn't so nice... The point is that you're obliged to be faithful regardless of the God you represent. - Said Samantha with a slightly distant look.
After hearing this, Arthur didn't say anything, he was just glad that he had found the test with the Gods too dangerous. Looking at Samantha, who seemed kind and answered his questions calmly, and remembering Zeus, he was very happy with his choice. - What about the wizards? He's the last standard, right? - Arthur asked excitedly as he stared at Samantha.
- Yes and no. - Samantha replied with a playful smile.
- Yes, and no? What do you mean, yes and no? - Arthur was perplexed by Samantha's vague answer and ended up asking without waiting for Samantha to give him room to ask.
- Arthur, the third pattern is very complex, it concerns everything that allows us to use laws; I think that to make it clearer I should have talked about the meaning of the patterns before. - Samantha placed a finger on her head and closed her eyes, a concentrated look could be seen on her face and seeing this Arthur decided to remain silent. The seconds passed slowly and gradually they became minutes, Arthur who was just waiting for Samantha just sat on the floor sulking and lost in thought waiting for Samantha; Arthur had to wait for a little over two minutes before Samantha finished organizing her thoughts and finally opened her eyes and continued with the explanation. - The standards are divided as follows; the first encompasses people who possess powers that defy the limits of the law in one direction, while the second is only for people who use the power of other entities, this also refers to the use of demonic powers, which would be people who sign contracts with demons in their test, or even afterwards through other contractors. - After saying this, she looked at Arthur and smiled playfully before saying. - I think if I hadn't helped you today, you'd be part of the second pattern. - After saying this Samantha's smile widened and became considerably more obvious.
- ... - Arthur, seeing the sarcastic smile on Samantha's face, only managed to lower his face, which had turned red with embarrassment.
Seeing the boy's reaction, Samantha's smile, which had previously looked sarcastic, eased a little and appeared gentle again. - There's no need to be so embarrassed, you resisted very well Arthur, that was Zeus' fault, he... Forget it, the important thing is that you did well. - Samantha comforted him a little and waited for him to raise his head.
Arthur raised his head while still a little shy, but he still looked at Samantha's face. Seeing that the sarcastic expression was no longer present, the boy managed to ignore his embarrassment and ask. - What about the third pattern?
- The third pattern encompasses the use of the laws that keep the universe running; this is different from the first pattern which basically creates an ability that extrapolates the nature of the laws and the second which can use the abilities of the Gods, who can only control the laws that are linked to their existence. - Samantha paused for a moment to consider how to make it clear to a child before continuing. - The third pattern means using the laws that form everything in the world, for example the magicians; the magicians imitated the Gods in the beginning, and after studying the people who received authorities they realized how the use of the law works, they observed that if his soul overlaps a law and feeds that law with his energy he gains control over it for a certain period, of course it varies from law to law. - Samantha paused for a moment and looked at Arthur, seeing that he didn't seem to have any doubts, she continued. - I'm not going to go into that now, during the lessons I'll explain it to you better, now let's talk about what also fits the third pattern, but doesn't yet follow it faithfully, the sorcerers. - Samantha stopped to think for a moment, and before she began to explain, she allowed the same mark from when she expelled Zeus to reappear in her eyes before she began to speak.
- Wizards, like magicians, also use laws, but it's a little different; magicians use the surrounding laws, for example, at sea they won't use fire, they mostly use water to attack, whereas wizards create a mark on your body that represents a set of laws, and within this set you create spells that can manipulate only one aspect of those laws. - Samantha stopped talking and gave Arthur time to process everything she had just said.
After some thought, Arthur asked reluctantly. - Doesn't that mean that wizards are weaker than magicians? I mean, mages can use all the laws and sorcerers only part of them? – Arthur couldn't help a trace of disappointment appearing on his face as he waited for Samantha's answer.
- No, but I understand your doubt and in fact at first mages are considered stronger, but that's only at the beginning. A sorcerer can have up to 6 marks Arthur, and each of these 6 can contain up to 6 spells, and although he is still limited, these spells don't depend on the environment like wizards... We can use the example of the ocean to understand this better: mages can't force fire-related laws on the sea, for the most part, but sorcerers can produce this law and generate flames by force... Well, that doesn't mean he'll win, but it shows a sea of possibilities, right? - Samantha asked with an obvious tone of pride in her voice 'Plus we have a ridiculous additional advantage by leaving mortality' Samantha thought to herself as she watched Arthur's face fill with anticipation.
- Incredible! - Arthur said passionately, and then extremely excitedly asked. - Are you going to teach me to be a sorcerer?
- Of course! That is, if you want me to be your teacher.
"This is already the second chapter where the last paragraph has disappeared when viewed on cell phones. To avoid this, I've decided to duplicate this message at the end of each chapter, hoping it will resolve the issue. If you're reading this, I apologize if it's intrusive, but it's a better solution than leaving the chapter incomplete."