Bro, I'm not an Undead!

(A/N: Warning, exposition ahead).

Magecraft was founded many years after the main practises of other classes were long established.

The nation of Emeradis was the pioneer for this diverse and powerful form of combat and it became their a form of culture introduced into their society as a whole; their political structure, economic makeup and social norms were governed by Magecraft.

Magecraft had strict rules and prerequisites which made it very hard for many who wanted to be Mages to become practitioners, the first being that all aspirants needed to cultivate COMPLETE control over mana while also being able to partially manipulate other energies — not all — even if they didn’t understand them.

No beginner was expected to start bending things like spatial essence on their first day, but should it find its way inside their range, they were required to be able to manipulate special forms of energy to some degree because this showcased where their talent lied with the many categories of Magecraft — affinities.

This was the criteria to be met when one went to an Academy with lesser standards only existing with few freelance Mages in the world.

After any aspiring Mage was seen to be adequately equipped with the above, the next stage was to establish something known as the Reflexive Sigil Matrix.

This was what separated Mages from other Energy Formers.

There were different variations of this Matrix, but at the end of the day it possessed one main purpose; to make a Mage’s core as flexible as possible while ensuring that they had complete control over it.

By combining massive amounts of mana along with portions of other energies and essences that were then compressed and woven in a pre-established mana — according to the Matrix instruction — over the course of four to eight months, the Reflexive Sigil Matrix would be formed over the mana core.

Once established, several changes would occur to the Mage.

Significant changes that would be appreciated more with time and practise.

…..

Skullius frowned.

It seemed like none here had sympathy for the blind.

Sigh.

He was about to get schooled.

As if!

He wasn’t an idiot!

After absorbing the knowledge of many through [Basic Evil Sanction], he had come across bits of information that were applicable to this very moment from knowledgeable individuals.

Since Arch-Mage Ryte didn’t seem to want to disrupt the pending humiliation that could have easily shattered his esteem, he decided to spill what he knew.

“I know a few things. I know there are six ranks that a Mage can achieve by improving their skill in Magecraft. Apprentice, Prime, Master, Grandmaster, Arch-Mage and Realm Source. I also know that there are many forms of Magecraft that are called Patches. The most basic ones reserved for Apprentices are the Elemental Patch, the Transmutation Patch and the Consolidated Patch. Also–“

“That’s enough,” Arch-Mage Ryte intervened. This wasn’t as funny as he thought it would be anymore. This young man was knowledgeable.

The young woman who had asked Skullius was furious, her face hardening as she had expected the Hybrid Luman to fumble on his words before being kicked out for not respecting their art form. Mages were proud beings because they owned their history and the effort it took to merely reach the Prime Mage rank, when one officially became a Mage!

“Hmph!” the woman folded her arms with a cross look that made Skullius giddy inside.

Ah, yes.

That was the reaction he was looking for.

“I see you are know quite a lot. I’m growing more inclined to acquiesce to her request the more I know about you. Brilliant! I’m surprised you know about the Realm Source rank however. it was officially stripped from our books since not even the progenitor of all Magecraft, Arch-Mage Remos managed to achieve it,” Ryte said with a chuckle.

“Oh, I see,” Skullius said. He didn’t know about this. He assumed there was a Realm Source rank Mage out there somewhere but what he took from Arch-Mage Ryte proved that it wasn’t easy to…

“Indeed. Arch-Mage Remos, a man from Emeradis who introduced the entire Magecraft curriculum. Before his mysterious disappearance, he invented the current known peak of Magecraft, Absolute Magic Runes,” Ryte said with hints of pride.

The highest form of Magecraft. It was not easy to reach it, especially while integrating the basic forms of power — Cores, Classes and Stages.

Yet, Ryte had achieved it.

While he and the students all wore knowing looks when they spoke about this Mage, Skullius froze.

Remos.

Remos…

Remos!

How could he forget that name?!

He mysteriously disappeared?

No he didn’t!

He knew this guy! He had met him before!

The memories weren’t from years ago but from merely a month’s time, their cruelty still vivid in Skullius’ mind!

Once again, there was a tie to that place.

The Labyrinth of the Yoke.

In the Hall of Fulgardt, there was a man named Remos, a powerful individual who had indeed used something the guidance field had identified as ‘Absolute Magic’ to carve away Skullius’ Supreme skill, [Flesh It Like You Mean It], revealing him to be undead!

(A/N: Refer to Ch.76).

Was this a coincidence?!

Same name, different person?

No way!

If he thought about it, the timeline could make sense. Someone who invented Magecraft really should be from Fulgardt’s time!

‘Is everyone in that hall…?’ Skullius thought with drops of sweat leaking from his brow.

Was everyone in that hall, trapped for all eternity truly responsible for helping Fulgardt in his life?

That’s what it seemed like.

If Remos was there, then he must have at least been an acquaintance of Fulgardt before… well, before the Immoral kept him as an ever joy fossil.

‘This is big… I was only thinking about finding a way to make everyone in that Hall join me because I thought they’d be decently strong but…’ Skullius thought, immense excitement overtaking him.

Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum!

[You are HYPED!]

He grew hyped just thinking about this!

‘If I can offer Remos in particular a chance to get out of that hall, as desperate as he and all those others are, I could force him into a Tie of Exchange! Or better yet… I could make him into an Apostle! The greater the sample for [Apostle Summon] the more ridiculous the evolutions that pop up!’ Skullius gulped, this entire thought process happening within miniscule dashes of time.

Having someone like that under his control, especially with how easy it could be to claim him if he played his cards right — mastering [Evil Darkness] and [Just Light] to a sufficient degree…!

Whether he remained a human or turned into a humanoid Apostle, it didn’t matter!

Skullius wanted him!

This information was immediately sent out to Replicus who was barely in range for communication with Skullius.

The Hybrid Luman’s thoughts were concluded before Ryte finished savouring his words.

When he did, he then gave Skullius what he wanted.

“What do you want to know? The students may enlighten you. I’ll allow you only two questions,” Ryte said.

Skullius nodded as he then turned to the Apprentices.

“The techniques someone learns in their lifetime are carved onto the body. The only way to influence them is through mana that travels through mana channels which pass through regions of the body where these techniques are imprinted, activating them when the user wishes. This much I understand,” Skullius said with a dark smile, purposely showing off his knowledge.

He wasn’t shabby!

“What I want to know is how to combine two or more techniques into one more powerful one? Mana doesn’t seem to work.”

“…”

Unfortunately for the Hybrid Luman, the entire class looked at him as if he was an idiot, the same young woman from before bursting into laughter as she heard his question.

Did he say something wrong?

Arch-Mage Ryte didn’t have any particular reaction towards Skullius’ words. In truth, it was a good question… for someone like him.

Outside of Energy Forming, Arma Using and Form Using didn’t explore such things consciously. The answer to the question was basic knowledge for Mages though.

An older Apprentice gracefully answered the Hybrid Luman’s question.

“Combining skill forms requires a bonding agent. As humans we develop by finely manipulating mana into different shapes and forms. One of these is Aura. It can act as a substance to attach things that only exist in… let’s say abstract forms together, strengthening them,” the Apprentice said with a typical geek energy.

“Aura?” Skullius voiced in intrigue.

“Yes, Aura. For humans, entering the Advancement Stage and then the Master Stage means our bodies passively grow. One of these ways is by moulding similar and similarly ranked techniques together. Beasts can’t produce Aura like we can, which is why most of them, as they grow stronger, naturally develop a knack for essences — tapping into concepts. Those that don’t are left with a large quantity of useless techniques and eventually die pitifully.”

Skullius’ mind spun. By the time this student finished speaking, his mind had already processed what he had said fully.

So Aura was the key!

Fortunately, Skullius was at the Advancement Stage and was now legible for the use of the once per day, Full Body Aura!

‘This is interesting. A bonding agent, huh?’ he thought.

“Beautifully explained, Bayl,” Arch-Mage Ryte said with a smile. This student, like all others was trying to impress but he had done well. Ryte then looked to Skullius once again. “Last question.”

Skullius had a lot of inquiries sitting in his chest, all needing answers but since he had limited time, he resorted to asking something he had wondered about after attaining his Nature-Bound Malleable Form Core.

“Is it possible to form a mana core that can adapt to any type of concepts? A core that can perhaps… learn every kind of concept and allow the user to switch between those concepts as he wants.”

…!

This question, unlike the last wasn’t received with mockery.

The answer was there but it was a sort of dream that every Mage shared!

Arch-Mage Ryte was even surprised by this question.

The same irritable woman from before gave the answer Skullius was looking for, though begrudgingly, as if she was provoked into defending their kind.

She sounded offended.

“For now it’s impossible but it can be done with more years of research. The Reflexive Sigil Matrix is the key. The best a Mage can do, is shatter their core, maintain its connection to the soul through the Sigil and then reforge another core while exposing themselves to whatever concept they want to learn,” the young woman said with ambition.

“Unfortunately, this takes too long and even Arch-Mages can suffer damage if they do it too many times. The body can only handle so much unless it’s being recreated after every change.”

The female Apprentice then gave Skullius a sharp look.

“This isn’t something a mere swordsman can learn, even if you have an Advanced Class,” she bit poisonously.

‘Oh…’

The Hybrid didn’t pay attention to her attitude.

With fifteen times the processing power at his disposal right now, he was sucking in all the information and matching it with what he knew.

‘Interesting. So it’s not only about the core but the body too,’ he thought. ‘No wonder…’

It seemed the Luminant Seed made things very easy by forging a new body for him back then.