Chapter 420 – The Talk
[Magic System]
[System Level: 4]
[User: Damion Wells]
[Age: 20]
[Magic Talent: EX]
[Magic Affinity: Ice EX, Water E, Poison D, Spatial EX, Fire A, Earth A, Shadow A, Holy C]
[Mana: 25,405/24,774] (10%) - 27,251
[Magic Power: 50,123] (10%) - 55,135
[Mana Recovery: 382 P/S] (10%) - 420
[Strength: 215]
[Dexterity: 212] (10%) - 233
[Vitality: 501]
[Intelligence: 151]
[Experience: 2,700/50,000]
[Store Credits: 8,226,922]
Looking over his status in the Magic System after his breakthrough to A Rank told Damion something crucial. Since C Rank, each time he rose in Rank there was a portion of his abilities that received an extra boost. At C Rank it was that beings with less magic power than him were very nearly unable to harm him at all, and his Vitality began to rise with his magic power. At B Rank his mana recovery doubled and now at A Rank his mana capacity had doubled.
What would he gain at S Rank? Or SS Rank? He supposed he could ask, other mages did have similar boosts, he just was not sure if they received as much of a boost.
‘System, what boost will I receive on reaching S Rank?’
{S Rank causes the body to initiate a change, boosting both strength and dexterity.}
‘A boost to both, well, that will make reaching SS Rank easier,’ Damion thought.
To contain higher level mana having higher strength was a must. If the body was too weak to contain it, you either had to strengthen your body, or give up growing stronger. Mage Teft had trained him early on to make his body strong and with the advancement of his physical body, his magical rise was never hindered by physical bottlenecks.
‘Should I buy more Strength and Dexterity Potions?’ Damion wondered. ‘No, if I do, I should wait until I am closer to S Rank. Let my body rise in strength from training and then give myself a big boost right before my next breakthrough.’
Damion was pleased with his plan, however, since he ranked up, his gear was now below him in level. With the exception of the armor he was wearing, which would raise suspicions, he began to upgrade his System armor and other artifacts he had stored in his inventory.
‘System, upgrade each piece of my system armor to A Rank.’
{Affirmative.}
*Ding*
{All equipped Magic System Artifacts upgraded for 14,500 credits}
Even without doing anything, Damion could feel the sudden increase in his abilities. The upgrade to the artifacts had boosted the bonuses received. How much though was a different question.
‘System, show me the Artifacts and what they can do now.
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[Helmet of Greater Sight (A Rank) - Increase sight range by 15%]
[Armor of Greater Repose (A Rank) - Decrease fatigue accumulation by 15%]
[Bracers of Greater Reflection (A Rank) - Grants 15% chance to reflect spells at caster]
[Greaves of Greater Shielding (A Rank) - Reduces physical damage by 15%]
[Boots of Greater Freedom (A Rank) - 15% chance to avoid movement impediments]
[Necklace of Greater Regeneration (A Rank) Increase Mana Regeneration by 15%]
[Ring of Greater Magic Power (A Rank) Increase Magic Power by 15%]
[Ring of Greater Mana (A Rank) Increase Mana Capacity by 15%]
[Belt of Greater Dexterity (A Rank) Increase Dexterity by 15%]
Seeing the bonus from each piece of gear rise from 10% to 15% was not too surprising for him. There was a bit of hope in his heart that the bonus would double, as the bonus had gone from C Rank to B Rank, but the increase was still respectable.
‘System, upgrade my auto-mapper to A Rank, as well as my dagger and purchase an A Rank Health Potion and two B Rank Health Potions.
{Affirmative.}
{Requested upgrades complete for 12,000 credits.}
Having spent 26,000 credits and still having more gear to upgrade later when he was alone, Damion decided to hold off on any more purchases. Now that he was A Rank, he wanted to try Portal again. With his increase in magic power and mana capacity, he felt there was a chance that he had the ability to open a Portal home now.
“Alright, time for a break,” Damion announced, standing up.
Both Straus and Visault were engrossed in their own training, but once Damion made his announcement, they looked at him and could see that he had advanced. The idea that a B Rank, even one in the upper levels of the Rank, could advance to A Rank in a day was astounding to them. They both thought the young mage would need to at least spend a few days training his body to handle the increased mana. Instead, he advanced, and they both wondered if he would surpass them next.
"I expected you to reach A Rank, but this is somewhat ridiculous,” Straus said after a moment. “Did Teft happen to have the talk with you? I know she taught you things sooner than most and you are more familiar with the other races than most A Ranks already, so it would not surprise me if she did.”
“I’m afraid not,” Damion told him. He had heard about the talk when he was in the Crimson Waste dungeon in Saung, but no one had really explained it to him.
“Well, some of this you probably already know or have guessed at, and I don’t feel like going into great detail, since we are not on Nerotath anymore, most of it seems rather pointless, but here goes. As an A Ranker, you are now more powerful than 99% of humanity. However, don’t let that power go to your head. Even if you believe the laws that bind weaker people can no longer bind you, that does not give you a free pass to break them. As an A Rank, you are a beacon of hope and inspiration to mages, knights, and normal humans alike. Do not betray their faith in the powerful. You are to keep them safe, to be the shield that keeps humanity from harm.
“Then it goes on to talk about the dangers of the other races, and to avoid them whenever possible. To not risk your life fighting them if possible and to survive and report. Bunch of nonsense given what we now know, but there you have it. Do you feel inspired to be greater than you were a moment ago?”
“Is that really it?” Damion asked, feeling a bit let down that no huge secrets were going to be revealed to him.
“That’s it, except for the parts about the other races, but seems pointless now and thinking back, it seems there is a lot that our people don’t know. The part about obeying the law is usually delivered while an S Rank is suppressing you with their magic aura. Makes for a good bit of intimidation. From what I understand, in the past, before the talk was given to everyone, there were more than a few A Rankers who decided the rules no longer applied to them and it took an S Ranker to bring them back in line.”
“Nothing like a good dose of fear to reinforce civic responsibility. Any chance we can return to civilization for a bit? I want to try upgrading my gear and see if I can open a Portal back to Nerotath.”
“You want to try opening a Portal to your home world?” Visault was noticeably uncomfortable with the idea of Damion returning home. His people needed the true mage to grow more powerful and help them restore order to the Mother World, leaving now might throw everything into chaos.
“I want to see if I can,” Damion clarified. “Last time I knocked myself out. But with my rise to A Rank, I think I might have enough mana to do it.”
“And if you can?”
“If I can open a Portal home, then I can open a Portal back to here, not to mention I know what Exile does now, I don’t really have to Portal here again.”
“Is this a promise to return, to aid us in our fight against the Alfar and help undo what your ancestors did?”
“I don’t even know if I can leave yet,” Damion said with a sigh. “But yes, I see no reason not to help you. After all, it sounds as though that solving the problem on your world will make it so that Realm Breaches don’t occur on mine anymore.”
“That would be a logical conclusion to make.”
“Then let’s get started. The sooner we sort things out, the sooner I can get home.”
“Alright, why don’t we head back to Ardnet. There you can rest and make sure you are at your prime before making your attempt. I can also supply you with a workshop for your artifacts.”
“Sounds like a plan.”