When these components are mastered through repeated practice and understanding, System registers them as unified skill.]
"So just knowing how to do something isn't enough?"
[Correct. Knowledge without practical mastery does not constitute skill. Current form has knowledge but lacks physical conditioning and muscle memory. Previous life's physical skills must be relearned.]
"And these skill slots - the limit of ten - that's something you're imposing?"
[Negative. System reflects natural limitations, does not create them. Humans naturally vary in capacity for skill mastery. Some master two or three complex skills in lifetime. Others capable of ten or more. System merely quantifies existing potential.]
"Like a measuring tool?"
[Correct. System measures innate capacity for skill mastery. Your current potential: 10 slots. May change with growth.]
"Another question." Nero raised his hand, and wove a [Flame] spell. A small fire flickered to life above his palm. "Spell weaving is definitely a complex skill. Why can I do this?"
[Class: Mage (Runicologist) provides baseline magical capabilities. Class skills are inherent, not counted in skill slots. Soul-based abilities persist across physical changes.]
"So because I'm classified as a mage, I automatically have the basic skills that define what a mage is?"
[Correct. Class designation reflects core identity and fundamental capabilities. Magical knowledge and control are soul-anchored traits, preserved despite physical reset. Additional magical specializations beyond class baseline would require skill slots.]
Nero's eyes lingered on his class designation. "What's this little star next to 'Runicologist' for?"
[Indicates current primary specialization path. Progress: Level 300/1000
Available Mage Paths:
Runicologist (Current: 300)
Healer (Locked)Divination (Locked)Battle Mage (Locked)Elementalist (Locked)Alchemist (Locked)Druidism (Locked)
Complete mastery (Level 1000) of all paths enables class evolution: [True Archmage]]
Three hundred? The number stung a bit. For someone who'd been praised as brilliant in runic studies, that felt... low.
Then there was the system's mention of 'True Archmage'...
Among humans, that title had never been more than an honorary position. The current Archmage, Sir Gaius, while undoubtedly powerful, was simply an exceptional battle mage who'd been chosen to oversee the Magisterium—a towering bastion of arcane authority responsible for governing and safeguarding all matters pertaining to mages and magic within the Empire of Sundar.
His role was more administrative than anything: protecting and directing the Empire's mages.
And because humans needed the position to be filled, if only to avoid the embarrassment of being mocked for having none, someone like Sir Gaius had been the natural choice.
The elves, now they had a genuine True Archmage. Nero had never seen them personally, but tales spoke of their mastery over all seven paths of magic. The dwarves too had boasted one, until their passing two centuries ago. But humans? The task seemed beyond their reach.
Even with magic extending their natural lifespan - assuming they weren't cut down early - human mages typically lived to around 150 years. Lady Verana had set the record at 202, and even she had only fully mastered two paths. The time required to truly master all aspects of magic, to reach the pinnacle of each specialization... it simply exceeded what even the longest-lived humans could achieve.
So human mages faced an impossible choice - either spread themselves thin attempting to learn everything, becoming mediocre at all, or focus on one path while barely scratching the surface of the others. Even those rare few who managed to master two paths had dedicated their entire lives to the pursuit.
A thought nagged at Nero's mind as he considered his situation. In this new life, he'd most definitely need to fight, so combat skills would be essential. Since he was already accomplished in runes, he'd need to become a battle mage this time around.
At Xerkes, the path-choosing ceremony was a pivotal moment in every student's third year. After experiencing the basics of all seven magical disciplines in their first two years, students would gather in the Celestial Pavilion during the spring equinox. There, before the Academy's masters and their peers, they would declare their chosen path. It was more a tradition, really.
In his previous life, Nero had stood proudly before the maesters and chosen the path of runes. He remembered how natural that choice had felt, how right. But next spring, when his turn came again, he'd have to make a different choice.
A different choice...
Crossing his legs, Nero focused on his mana core, that well of energy nestled deep within. The mana pathways throughout his body were still developing - they would continue to do so until he turned twenty-one. Like a second circulatory system, they carried mana instead of blood. He could feel the potential there, raw and untapped.
It was fascinating how knights used the same energy so differently. While mages like himself could manipulate raw mana directly, knights compressed it into what they called 'Fluid,' transforming it into pure physical enhancement. Battle mages were unique in that they learned both arts - pure mana manipulation and Fluid transformation.
"I wonder..." Nero murmured, trying to recall those basic lessons from his father. Perhaps he could get a head start on the path.
He closed his eyes, recalling his father's patient instructions from years ago. His old man had spent countless hours trying to teach his academically-inclined son how to transform mana into Fluid. The knowledge was still there, buried in his memories - the theory, the process, the visualization.
"Feel it," his father would say, "let your emotions guide the transformation."
A droplet of sweat rolled down Nero's temple as he concentrated on his mana core. The energy was there, swirling, ready to be used. But Fluid required something more than just technical understanding. It needed emotion - raw, powerful, overwhelming emotion.
He'd always found that requirement ridiculous. The idea that feelings could catalyze a physical transformation of energy seemed absurd to his analytical mind. Yet history proved otherwise. Every knight, every battle mage who'd ever manifested Fluid had done so through the power of their emotions. Rage, exhilaration, love, despair - any emotion would do, as long as it burned hot enough.
The problem was quantifying that "hot enough." How much emotion was sufficient? How did one measure the intensity of a feeling?
Nero focused on his current emotional state. Joy bubbled within him at his second chance at life. Anxiety churned in his stomach about the challenges ahead. Hope burned bright when he thought about changing his fate. He tried to amplify these feelings, to let them fill his entire being.
The mana in his core responded, stirring faster, flowing through his pathways with increased speed. But despite his concentration, despite the sweat now dripping down his face, the crucial transformation remained elusive. His mana stayed as it was - raw, untransformed energy.
With a frustrated sigh, he opened his eyes. Perhaps he needed something stronger than hope and anxiety to trigger his first transformation.
A small window expanded as Nero kept pondering:
[Alert]
[Life Force Status: Currently stable]
[Warning: Potential development of Lifedrain Syndrome detected]
[First symptoms estimated to manifest within 2-3 months without intervention]
Nero's breath caught in his throat. Lifedrain Syndrome. The magical degradation that had slowly eaten away at his body for decades. It wasn't until he was in his fifties, after years of research and desperate searches for a cure, that he'd discovered the cruel truth - his body had been prone to it from birth.
His perpetually skinny frame, which no amount of food could ever change, every unexplained exhaustion, every failed attempt to build stamina during his childhood - they hadn't been normal weakness. They were early symptoms no one knew to look for.
He remembered the concerned looks from the school healers during his second year at Xerkes, He was exactly his current body's age when the first visible symptoms had appeared in his previous life. The way they'd dismissed the occasional tremors and mana fluctuations as puberty-related magical instability.
As if responding to his mounting dread, a new window materialized:
[Quest Alert]
[The Race Against Time]
Find a cure for Lifedrain Syndrome before visible symptoms manifest
Time Limit: 2 months, 21 days, 14 hours, 48 minutes
Reward: Life
Failure: Death
Accept? Y/N
Without hesitation, Nero mentally selected 'Y'. He'd spent years watching this disease ravage his body. He wasn't going to let it happen again.
[Quest Accepted]