Chapter 442: Krygon Province (II) (Bonus)
He pleaded with Pan to come with them, particularly asking him to help teach the casters in the group about the usage of Druid magic.
Nathan knew that Druid magic was extremely useful, and since there was a possibility that humans possessed a greater compatibility with it than demons, he didn’t hesitate to reach out to Pan and ask for his assistance
Pan initially refused, which led to a continuous plea by Nathan. Eventually, after some time, Pan finally agreed to accompany them.
However, he made one condition clear; which was that he would help teach the casters and provide whatever assistance he could in that regard, but he would never follow Nathan into a battle against dragons.
Druids and dragons had existed under an ancient understanding for generations. They were not meant to turn their powers against one another, regardless of the circumstances.
And Pan had no intention of being the one to break that rule.
Druid magic was known as Natural Magic, although it was also commonly referred to as True Magic.
The name came from the way their spells manifested. Unlike ordinary magic, which could produce magical imitations of certain natural phenomena, the spells of a druid manifested with the qualities of the real thing.
If a druid cast a lightning spell, for example, the lightning would feel no different from naturally occurring lightning.
True magic focused the mana of nature to generate the real element itself. For example, water magic became true water magic, producing actual water.
Because it utilized the vast amount of mana present in nature, the resulting spell could be alot stronger than anything the mage could produce using their own mana alone.
That was what made the magic of the druids so different from ordinary spellcasting.
A few days ago, Pan had conducted a preliminary test to determine which of them possessed the compatibility necessary to learn it.
Three people had taken part in the test; Valerie, Miss Bernadette, and Bettie.
However, only Valerie and Miss Bernadette had passed.
Bettie, unfortunately, had failed to meet the requirements necessary to learn Natural Magic.
There were two conditions that had to be satisfied before a person could be taught Natural Magic.
The first was that the person had to be a naturally occurring being.
Their existence had to originate naturally, with their fundamental nature remaining untouched by the kinds of alterations that could make them incompatible with natural magic.
This was the reason demons could not normally learn True Magic.
Demons could strengthen and evolve through the absorption of life force, but doing so altered their bodies and their natural essence.
That alteration did not necessarily end with the individual who underwent the process either. Demons born from those who had already altered themselves through life-force absorption could inherit that same stain, even if they had never absorbed life force themselves.
The same principle applied to other beings whose bodies or natural forms had been fundamentally altered in some way.
Such changes could leave a being further removed from its original natural state, making it increasingly difficult for True Magic to recognize them as compatible.
Humans, on the other hand, were naturally born as humans, with their nature generally remaining untouched. This was one of the reasons they possessed such high compatibility with True Magic.
The second condition was a bit more complex.
Even if someone was a naturally occurring being, that alone did not guarantee that they could use True Magic.
They still had to be chosen by True Magic itself.
A human, for example, could satisfy the first condition simply by being a naturally occurring race, but if True Magic did not recognize and accept that person, they would never be able to wield it.
Therefore, Bettie’s situation with failing Pan’s test was difficult to determine with certainty.
It was possible that she had simply not been chosen by True Magic. And it was also possible that becoming a Blessed had altered her enough for True Magic to regard her as something unnatural.
There was, however, one major exception to these conditions; Dragons.
Dragons were naturally occurring beings. In fact, they were among the most naturally occurring beings that existed.
According to the oldest beliefs surrounding their race, when the world first came into existence, nature itself created dragons to serve as its defenders. They were beings born from nature and entrusted with the preservation of it.
If being chosen by True Magic was another requirement, then there was arguably no race more naturally suited to that condition than dragons.
Dragons were, in many ways, forces of nature themselves.
But that was precisely why they could not be taught True Magic; because they didn’t need to learn what they already possessed.
The power released from a dragon’s body was already the rawest expression of natural power possible.
Their flames, their lightning, their breath, and the various abilities inherent to their bodies were not magical imitations of natural phenomena.
They were natural phenomena.
A dragon did not need to learn how to manipulate nature through True Magic because the power within a dragon was already part of nature itself.
All of these was why True Magic would have never been compatible with Ethan.
However, that was not to say that learning True Magic would somehow make a person comparable to a dragon.
-
Today was the beginning of their first proper lessons.
Pan, the panda folk druid, stood before Bernadette and Valerie as they knelt on the floor, their legs folded beneath them in a position that was somewhere between kneeling and sitting.
He already did some preliminary talk, before proceeding to wave his staff.
Several runic inscriptions immediately appeared in the air.
They glowed with a blue light, each individual rune suspended in place as the symbols gradually formed a large circular arrangement.
Pan then turned to both women.
"We druids are born with the ability to cast True Magic," he began. "So for us, there is no need to learn how to invoke it in this manner...if we are to teach another person how to wield this power, then there must first be a way for them to understand how True Magic is constructed."
He raised his staff slightly, causing the runes to glow brighter.
"That begins with visualization."
Bernadette and Valerie continued watching the inscriptions.
"Casters in the Western Continent are already familiar with the process of learning new spells through visualization. You learn the structure of a spell by understanding its spell codes and logic, then visualizing them within your magic circle. Once the structure has been properly formed, you supply your own mana and command the spell into action."
Pan paused for a moment and pointed toward the runes. "The same principle applies here...However, there is an additional step."
"When you form your magic circle, these runes must also be visualized within your mind, encircling your magic circle as you construct it."
He looked between the two women.
"Your magic circle is still the foundation of the spell. The difference is that these runes will exist around it, within your visualization, while you cast."
"Their function is to direct the natural mana in your surroundings into your spell."
He pointed toward the runes floating around them.
"Once you properly form them, the natural mana around you will be drawn into the spell directly. That means the spell itself is being powered by the natural mana in the environment, rather than your own mana."