Chapter 229 - Ignition
Igniting a Mana Heart is a process that demands extreme precision and effort of Will. It is not for the faint of heart and can even be deadly in some instances. I write this not to dissuade you from doing it, but to inform you of the possible outcomes.
To achieve even a partial ignition is to be celebrated. Most would be glad to make it to that point. A partial ignition is far from the best outcome but is still leagues ahead of the worst that can occur.
Similar to how there are grades for forging a Mana Core, there are grades for how well the ignition process goes. Scholars, if nothing else, like grading things.
The lowest grade possible is Partial Ignition. Any lower and the process fails causing extreme damage to the heart and mana channels, sometimes resulting in death. Bad ignitions can even cripple the user making them unable even to try again.
A Flickering ignition is a step above Partial but still far from the best. While Partial ignition has the capability of 10-50% of Perfect ignition, Flickering has 50-75%.
Sputtering ignition is 75-90% effective.
Full ignition is 90-99% effective.
Perfect ignition uses all of the available mana and turns the mana pool entirely into a mana heart, leaving no waste behind and using all there is to fuel the Heart that is formed.
Why the grades are divided how they are is simple. The ignition process is one of transformation first and foremost. It turns the previous mana pool that everything has into a roaring Mana Heart comparable to Mana Cores.
If the entire mana pool isn't transformed, the Mana Heart only runs on a portion of what it should causing the effectiveness to decrease.
-Excerpt from "Introduction to Mana Cultivation Techniques" by Master Arcanist Woodridge of the Beraxi Mage Tower.
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