Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst

" I understand," Erik nodded seriously at the words of his master, who soon asked him another question.

"Erik, what do you think is the most important thing to achieve magic?"

"Imagination?" Erik responded hesitantly, which made Sigrún smile brightly before she explained.

"Haha, you're not entirely wrong, but the most important thing is 'Orders.'"

"Orders?" Erik looked at his master confused, and she gently patted his hair before continuing.

"Yes, Orders. Do you remember the concept of an algorithm you learned with Eli?"

"Yes, a set of ordered steps to achieve a goal."

"Exactly, and a spell is essentially the same thing. Each step is giving a specific order to your mana to act in a certain way to produce a specific result."

"But master, if they're just orders, why are runes and magic circles needed?"

Erik asked, confused. After all, the concept of Orders was easy to understand since, in a way, the mental instructions he gave his mana to do something could be interpreted as 'orders,' but he could do that on his own without the need for the runes or magic circles he saw his masters or Liliana use.

"A great question. It's not that they're strictly necessary to cast a spell. For example, practitioners of the Zazen discipline only use their minds and bodies to cast spells, but that comes at a cost and is precisely the disadvantage of this magical system.

To cast a powerful spell that is adaptable, error-tolerant, and has a compact and organized structure, maximizing its power and minimizing its flaws, a large number of very precise orders are needed, which is quite difficult to do.

That's where runes and magic circles come in, as they are, in a way, a set of pre-recorded orders. Through them, you can cast complex spells without having to pay much attention to each individual order, and thanks to that, your repertoire of spells will be as large as the runes or magic circles you know.

For the same reason, the Zazen discipline is the most complex to master. Although it undoubtedly has the greatest versatility and control over a spell, the amount of time it takes to master them is exponentially greater than for other systems, as they have to execute each 'order' for themselves."

"Master, does that mean I've been using spells like the Zazen discipline until now?" Understanding his master's reasoning, Erik asked intrigued, to which Sigrún replied happily.

"Hehe, technically yes, but in reality, your flying slashes or the solidified Myst arrows can't be considered proper spells. After all, you use very few orders, which makes their structure very flimsy and scattered, decreasing their power and making them prone to failure.

It's precisely because of that flimsy structure that your arrows are so fragile. Additionally, your attacks lack important orders, and for that reason, you have to first get used to the Myst concentration in the area to launch your slashes, as it compensates for that deficiency."

"I understand..."

(So basically, the runes and magic circles are like software running on the hardware that is my mana. Interesting...)

Erik seemed to reflect on various things while Sigrún watched him calmly, letting him process all the information he was acquiring. All the while savoring a delicious cup of tea that the beautiful black-haired maid, Seraphina, had brought just moments ago.

After taking notes in his notebook, Erik turned to look at his master, who put her tea aside and resumed the lesson.

"Now I will explain a bit about the specializations of mana users."

"Specializations?"

"Yes, although in combat there are basically only two: long-range and short-range, and each magical system calls them differently. In the Aegis system, long-range users are known as Seidr or Sorcerers and short-range as Hersir, though some call them berserkers.

In sacred geometry, there are mages and knights, while in the Zazen discipline, long-range users are called spiritual cultivators and short-range are body cultivators, but they are all basically the same.

Although those are the official names, the truth is that they are rarely used in the Arcane Order, and they are generally called knights for short-range and mages or sorcerers for long-range."

"Why do they have to be divided like that, master? Can't a long-range mage fight in close combat?"

"Well, it's not that it's impossible; there are even some who actively do so. But the differentiation is mainly because we develop differently, something that becomes more evident from the revealed level.

At that level, we, the long-range or sorcerers, develop a magical core, which greatly increases the amount of mana we possess. It also gives us significant improvements in controlling it, allowing us to perform much more complex spells at greater distances.

On the other hand, the short-range fighters, or knights, develop the cells of their bodies to store mana. This gives them a body that is several times stronger and more resilient, as well as superior regeneration compared to a mage. However, they lose a lot of control, so they can only perform simpler spells, usually at short range."

"So you're either one or the other…"

Erik exclaimed with understanding as the beautiful Victorian maid placed a plate of cookies on his desk, giving him a small smile, which the star-haired young man returned before taking a cookie.

"Exactly. Although many have tried to walk both paths simultaneously, it has proven not to be viable. Mainly because it's very expensive. To do it, such an amount of resources is needed that it could easily finance several short and long-range mana users to the same level.

Additionally, if you do more than one thing at a time, you can only give a fraction of your attention to each, which condemns them to fall behind over time. In a way, it's a taboo for the young, because falling behind with such short lifespans is basically suicide."

"I see… although it would be great to have super strength and super spells at the same time," Erik couldn't help but comment with a dreamy look on his face as he ate a cookie, which made Sigrún smile. Shortly after, she asked.

"Hahaha, many think the same, but let's continue. How about I explain the basic techniques of mana control and harmony with Myst?"

"Of course, master."

After Erik's nod, Sigrún gracefully stood up from her chair, and a board appeared in front of her, where she began writing a few things while commenting casually.

"Well, in reality, you managed to master several of them purely by instinct on the island, but let's review them anyway. First, the techniques of mana control and harmony with Myst are divided into four categories: novice, intermediate, advanced, and master. For now, we'll look at the novice level."

Erik nodded and began writing in his notebook, which made Sigrún smile as she quickly continued with her explanation.

"In the novice category, we have the most basic techniques that anyone wanting to start in magic must learn. First, we have Mana Control. After feeling mana for the first time, the first thing a novice must learn is to control and manipulate their own mana throughout their body.

Second is Mystical Breathing, which means that novices must learn a specific breathing technique to synchronize with Myst and thus improve their mana recovery."

Erik raised his hand intending to ask a question, and Sigrún quickly allowed him to speak.

"Ask away, Erik "

"Master, why can I do that without needing a special way to breathe?"

"Hehehe, actually, you do have a specific way of breathing; you just don't notice it. The exercises you practice every day are known as bio-mystical exercises, which are a combination of physical movements, breathing techniques, and mana movements in the body.

These exercises aim not only to refine the body and mana but also, the more advanced ones, help to better synchronize with Myst, accelerating mana and body recovery simultaneously. It also enhances the strengthening effects of the technique."

"Wow, I didn't know… so everyone has their own special exercises," Erik commented with surprise, but was quickly interrupted by Sigrún, who corrected him.

"You're mistaken, Erik. Bio-mystical exercises are very special. Well, those as powerful as yours are, so it can be said that you are a genius among geniuses who created his own set of bio-mystical exercises.

Those who have bio-mystical exercises like yours usually inherit them, passing them down from generation to generation, improving and perfecting them over time. The rest have to settle for publicly known bio-mystical exercises or pay large amounts to use something better."

"A genius? Me?" Erik pointed to himself while looking at his master, very confused.

"Yes, you are an unparalleled genius, Erik," Sigrún responded with a smile, which only deepened the confusion of the star-haired young man, who could only comment incredulously.

"But master, Desmond is almost the same age as me and is incredibly stronger. He must be a true genius."

"Hahaha!!"

Sigrún couldn't help but laugh heartily at Erik's confused and innocent expression, as he genuinely believed that Desmond was the same age as him. Meanwhile, Seraphina, the beautiful Victorian maid standing near the door, brought a hand to her lovely cherry-colored lips to hide her giggle while looking at the star-haired young man with interest.

"Erik, how old do you think Desmond and Liliana are?" Sigrún asked cheerfully, amused.

"I'd say between 18 and 20," Erik responded, not understanding his master's laughter.

"Hahahaha," Sigrún couldn't hold back any longer and hugged Erik tightly while laughing out loud. She finally calmed down, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and let him sit back down.

"Sorry, Erik, you're too sweet, and I couldn't help myself. To correct you, Liliana must be around 35 years old, and Desmond is over 500."

"WHAT?!!" Erik jumped out of his chair like a frightened rabbit while looking at Sigrún, who laughed like a little girl.

"Hahaha, let me explain how age works for us mana users so you don't get surprised like this all the time. First, you should know that the first time life extends is at the apprentice level, which reaches 150 years. From that moment on, all mana users stop aging and remain in their ideal state.

Therefore, how you look is more or less how you feel, but that changes in the last third of our life, where we start aging slowly until the end of our life. The last 50 years are when we begin to age rapidly and depart from this world."