The Paladin Order Reformed - Chapter 3 Mystified

Sir Richard and I make our way to the library where our magic theory lesson always begins. Interestingly there aren’t a lot of places that have libraries and most people spend their entire lives without reading a single book, but most people are taught how to read and write. This being the direct result of the Order setting up public education in temples after the Paladin Crusade, this helped prevent nobility or merchants from misleading people with conditions that are different than what was spoken.

I’m getting sidetracked, libraries have a practical use in conjunction with being places to read books. Most academies and castles have libraries so that students can study magic, Sir Richard started my magic training two years ago and I’ve become proficient with most types of magic due to my hard work, but it is nowhere near the level that Sir Richard and the other knights have. We get to the library and Sir Richard starts his lesson.

“You already know most of the basic spells and even some of the more advanced spells. But that doesn’t mean you can just neglect the basic spells that you know. I want you to, without looking at your spellbook” He noticed my hand instinctively reach towards it “and recite the use, incantation, and abilities of [Arcanum Script] as well as [Soul Eye].” He motions to me and waits expectantly.

“The use of [Arcanum Script] is to give an accurate evaluation of a person’s ability and skills.”

Sir Richard waits a moment, then said. “Then show me.”

I mentally connect to the mana flowing through my body and recite -Self Evaluation [Arcanum Script]-

while imagining a translucent blue screen that soon appears before me and shows my status.

Name: Christian [No last name awarded]

Age: 16

Class: Paladin Knight Squire

Health: 100/100

Mana: 195/200

Condition:

Normal (slightly annoyed)

Stats:

– Strength –

56

– Agility –

57

– Intelligence –

42

– Wisdom –

35

– Vitality –

29

– Endurance-

43

Gained Knowledge:

Armed Combat-Lv.4

Unarmed Combat-Lv.3

Horsemanship-Lv.2

Magecraft-Lv.2

Strategy-Lv.3

Craftsmanship-Lv.1

Basic Knowledge-Lv.5

Equipment Restoration-Lv.2

Tracking-Lv.2

Bushcraft-Lv.3

Cooking-Lv.2

Medical Knowledge-Lv.3

Historical Knowledge-Lv.3

Concealment-Lv.2

Mandola Artistry-Lv.1

Language Knowledge-Lv.3

Sir Richard nodded, satisfied with my display. “So what exactly does this show?”

I sigh internally, knowing he knows already. “It gives an accurate representation of my own abilities and knowledge, basically it shows what my body and mind are capable of. A person’s abilities are subject to change, for the better or worse depending on how they are maintained and grown. For example, your -Intelligence- has gone down quite a lot since you’ve become older, hasn’t it Sir Richard?

Sir Richard becomes furious at the obvious jest and I have to dodge a book that was aimed for my head. Once evaded, I continue.

“Your Gained Knowlege is the knowledge that you’ve memorized and has become integral to using those related skills. Since it’s the knowledge that is gained by repetition, it’s much harder for the level to go down and to be forgotten. It is also very difficult for a level to be raised and the greatest level a regular person achieves is usually Lv.10. Anyone who has achieved Lv.10 in any knowledge is considered to be a master of that subject. There is no cap for level, although the highest level ever recorded was Lv.19 by an extremely talented mage during the Magic Revolution named Garson Magnus, most of the work published by him became the foundation of magic theory as we know it today.”

The presentation was given a small ovation by Sir Richard, seeming to appreciate the complexity and depth of my word choice. He then asked. “So what does [Soul Eye] do?”

I muffle a groan. “[Soul Eye] is a basic magic spell that most novices are forced to learn when learning [Arcanum Script], this spell is used to view other people’s [Archanum Script], although you are unable to view it if their Magecraft is a higher level than yours or if the user has the spell [Mental Shield] active.”

He grins and said. “So you have no way to prove my -Intelligence- has gone down then, do you?” He crosses his arms in proud affirmation. “I could be the most intelligent retired Paladin Knight there is and you would have no way to know otherwise.”

I let him have his moment of glory before I burst his bubble by saying. “I don’t need [Soul Eye] to know your -intelligence- has gone down, that’s just obvious.” I quickly take cover after finishing that statement to escape the bombardment of tomes that were sure to follow. They did.

At this point, Sir Richard was visibly annoyed. “If you’re so sure of yourself, then how about you explain the principle of magic to me. You should be able to explain it all, without looking at your spellbook.” He glares at my hand as I remove it from my spellbook again. “To me, while explaining the principle behind mana.

I sigh audibly this time, maybe ticking off Sir Richard during a lesson isn’t something I should make a habit of, it’s like he’s mocking me by making me review all this stuff I obviously know. I bite the arrow and start my presentation.

“As the First Law of Magic states, energy cannot be created nor destroyed, only transferred. Of course, it doesn’t make a lot of sense that someone can create a ball of fire out of thin air. So one theory that helps explain how this is possible is the Theory of Mana Transference. This theory states that mana is a form of energy that people, animals, and some objects can generate. This energy is then able to be utilized as different types of energy, like thermal or kinetic for example.”

I stop for a moment to catch my breathe and recollect my thought.

“Any regular person is able to use magic if they are able to imagine it. If they do manage to cast a spell but aren’t trained in magic or don’t have an abnormally large mana pool then they will fall unconscious, or in extreme cases die. This is because every person has what is called a “Mana-Energy Ratio” and a regular person that hasn’t trained magic has a 5/1 Mana-Energy ratio, basically meaning that person has to use 5 units of mana to use 1 unit of energy. After earning an Lv. in Magecraft that ratio will rise to a 1/1 Mana-Energy ratio. This will be displayed in [Archanum Script] as mana with the amount used and the amount that is possible to store. So after every additional level in Magecraft, their mana will rise 100 points, for example my Magecraft is currently at Lv.2 so my mana pool is at 200. However, the complexity and effectivity that someone is able to use spells are dependent on their -Wisdom- and -Intelligence- stats.”

I finish and let out a breath, “Does that answer your question?”

He nods with a look of satisfaction, I move to sit down but before I can he interjects.

“One last thing, explain why some people use incantations instead of just performing spells mentally.”

Of course, he would ask me this, during the previous week’s lessons he made me research this independently, which took me the entire week to give him a suitably informed answer.

“One, it helps create a mental image more quickly, which allows casting to be more efficient. Second, speaking an incantation passively absorbs the mana molecules in the air, thus adding to the output of the spell. Interestingly this doesn’t actually affect the amount of mana that is used from your body during a spell. Imagine you are using a healing spell that normally takes 10 mana to cast and heals a slash on someone’s arm. If you used that same spell with an incantation that took about 10 seconds to recite, then the entire arm would be healed for the same amount of mana.”

“This is the reason that spells that cause an extreme amount of damage usually take a long time to recite. The only downside is the possibility of taking in too many mana molecules for your body to be able to host causing a mana influx or implosion to happen. A Mana Influx will drain a user of all their bodies mana, putting them into a comatose state until their bodies can recover their mana. On the other hand, a Mana Implosion will kill the user instantly due to the two conflicting types of mana causing a chain reaction inside of their body.”

Sir Robert allows me to sit down, finally satisfied with that lengthy explanation.

Sir Robert looks at me with a dignified expression saying. “Of course you forgot to mention that some objects are able to collect mana molecules and be used to increase the effectivity of spells, including some staffs, robes, hats, rings….”

I interrupt him saying “Of course! Thank you for reminding me, I knew I was missing something! Man, I can’t believe I explained the entire Theory of magic and mana and I left out such an important part.”

He looks at me with a less than dignified expression. “Your sarcasm is noted, now I want you to practice combat spells until you have 10 mana left.”

Fear grips me, he knows that will leave me completely drained and we have physical training after this, the monster!