Chapter 158: Core And Tiers

Ka’z’s eyes slowly opened, revealing the familiar rocky ceiling above him. For several seconds, he simply stared at it, his mind still struggling to piece together what had happened. He shifted slightly and immediately felt the rough softness of the haystack beneath his body.

His gaze wandered around the room, taking in the familiar walls before settling on the absence of the rainbow colored glow that normally filled the training chamber. There were no aether crystals embedded in these walls, and the air lacked the dense sensation of concentrated aether. He immediately recognized the place.

His room in the cave.

Ka’z attempted to sit up, but the moment his upper body lifted from the haystack, a sharp pain shot through his head. He gasped lightly and immediately grabbed his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut until the pain gradually subsided.

"God damn... That spell... The moment I used it, I just blacked out," he mumbled.

The memories were still hazy. He remembered the battle against Kurg clearly enough, the exchange of attacks, the Water Drill, the moment his Blood Weapon had been disrupted and the frustration that followed. Then came the Blood Sea.

After that, everything became a blur.

The last thing he could clearly remember was activating the spell. His vision had turned red, and his consciousness had seemingly been swallowed by the overwhelming power of his own magic. He couldn’t remember what happened afterward, how the battle ended or who had carried him back to the cave.

"I wonder if Kurg is alright," he muttered.

The System responded almost immediately.

[If you must use the Blood Sea, make sure you have a sufficient source of blood or you might end up killing yourself as well]

Ka’z’s eyes twitched.

This was exactly the kind of warning that should have appeared before he used the skill rather than afterward. Knowing that his own Origin Script could potentially kill him would have been rather useful information before unleashing it in the middle of a battle.

"Thanks for telling me after I almost died," he grumbled.

He carefully adjusted his position, trying to find a comfortable way to sit without aggravating the soreness throughout his body. That was when he noticed the Red Scripture resting at the edge of the hay bed.

A smile immediately appeared on his face.

He didn’t need anyone to tell him who had put it there. Za’r must have placed it beside him before leaving, probably expecting that the moment he woke up, he would immediately start reading again. The thought made Ka’z smile warmly as he reached for the ancient journal.

Grrr!

His stomach suddenly growled loudly and he slowly lowered his gaze toward his stomach and clutched it.

He felt completely empty.

"I need food."

He looked around the cave and briefly considered calling for someone, but his Divine Perception revealed no familiar presence nearby. Everyone was probably outside again, working on the village or enjoying themselves around the construction site.

"I’ll just wait till Za’r comes with some food. I’ll read to take my mind off the hunger," Ka’z decided almost immediately.

With some effort, he picked up the Red Scripture and began turning through the pages until he reached the section where he had stopped reading before the duel.

His eyes immediately focused on the next passage.

"Before we go into the specializations in magic, I need to explain the two fundamental criteria used to determine the strength of a magus. The first is the magic core, and the next is Tiered Magic..."

Ka’z’s eyes widened. He had never heard that term before.

"Tiered Magic?"

His curiosity immediately intensified.

"The first and most important thing is most likely the core. The more advanced a person’s core is, the more powerful they will most likely become. In fact, I would argue you need a powerful core to even be able to use Tiered Magic."

Ka’z slowly turned the page.

"Now let’s begin with the basics. Going through the Ash, Bronze and Iron Core stages does nothing except boost your mana reserves and slightly improve your mana control. However, once you reach the Silver Core, you become able to shape your element. Meanwhile, the Gold Core allows you to give life to magic by imbuing a piece of your consciousness in it. Unfortunately, beyond the Gold Core, information about the upper ranks is sparse. There are several rumors concerning this in Lanthor, but I did not come here to fill up this journal with superstition and rumors. All you find here will be nothing but confirmed information."

Ka’z nodded slowly with a smile.

That was one of the things he appreciated about Luthor’s writing. Despite being a prince with access to enormous resources, Luthor didn’t seem interested in pretending to know things he didn’t. If information wasn’t confirmed, he simply refused to include it. That made the Red Scripture far more trustworthy in Ka’z’s eyes.

Still, his curiosity about what lay beyond the Gold Core only grew.

"So Silver Core lets you shape your element, while Gold Core lets you give your magic a form of life through consciousness..." Ka’z muttered thoughtfully.

He looked down at his own hands.

After reaching the Silver Core, he had already noticed that his Blood Magic felt different. It responded to his thoughts more naturally, almost as though the blood itself had become an extension of his will. The strange crimson scythe he had accidentally formed around Ru’k had been proof of that.

He continued reading.

"Tiered Magic is not as confusing as many think, so I’ll just pen down a simplified version of it all. The first tier is simply pouring enough mana into a spell until it reaches full maturity rather than releasing it prematurely. The greater one’s mana output, the faster they can create a Tier One spell. Tier Two, on the other hand, is the same thing as Tier One. However, this time it is performing two spells of the same element at once and having them work hand in hand to create one spell. Tier Three is similar to Tier Two, but what makes it difficult is it requires you to cast two spells of separate elements. The fourth tier requires you to cast three spells of different elements, and finally the fifth tier demands you cast four spells of different elements. All of these require deep concentration, time to prepare and most importantly a strong mana core and well developed mana circuits. For now, even my father is limited to Tier Three spells. Only wielders of Forbidden Elements are recorded to ever perform Tier Four and Five Magic."

Huff!

Ka’z froze and stared at the page. Then he slowly lowered the Red Scripture.

His mind was racing.

"That means all the spells I’ve been performing are premature spells?"

The realization hit him hard.

The magic he had always considered complete was apparently nothing more than magic released before it reached full maturity. He had been throwing around spells during battle based on speed and instinct, prioritizing immediate attacks over allowing his mana to accumulate and his spells to develop.

The System immediately confirmed it.

[Definitely. Across Athedal, Magus are no different from artillery weapons. Even the simplest Tier One Fireball spells can replicate the same feat as a trebuchet, and that’s why people with magic are deeply valued. What you and others use are tierless magic, and this is mostly used when a magus has no one to protect them and has no time to prepare their spells.]

Ka’z slowly nodded.

Now everything made sense and honestly, it pissed him off.

Ka’z had always possessed an absurd amount of mana because of his dragon lineage. His mana reserves had been one of his greatest advantages since awakening. The problem had always been his mana output. With an Iron Core, he could possess an enormous reservoir while only being able to release a limited amount at once.

If he had known about Tiered Magic earlier, he could have exploited that advantage. His lack of knowledge had made his life considerably harder.

Ka’z sighed and turned the Red Scripture over in his hands, staring at the hundreds of pages he still hadn’t read.

"The Ashmork Clan had something much more valuable than gold and didn’t even know it."

Ka’z’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the remaining pages. There was still so much to learn.

Clank!

The door suddenly opened and Ka’z looked up.

Za’r entered carrying a wooden tray filled with food. Kurg, Tu’ka and Ru’k followed closely behind her, and the moment they noticed Ka’z was already awake, their expressions immediately brightened.

"He’s awake!" Ru’k exclaimed.

The three quickly approached the bed, their attention fixed on Ka’z. He looked considerably better than when they had last seen him, but the fatigue was still obvious on his face.

Ru’k was the first to break the silence.

"Bro, what the hell was that spell? You were like a blood demon!"

Ka’z rolled his eyes. His attention shifted toward Kurg.

Kurg’s injured hand was wrapped in a bandage and secured against his chest with a piece of cloth around his neck. Despite the injury, he looked surprisingly cheerful.

"How are your injuries?" Ka’z asked.

Kurg glanced at the bandaged hand and shrugged dismissively. "It’s nothing I can’t handle. I’m more excited by the fact I made you go all out to beat me."

He smiled sheepishly.

Ka’z couldn’t help smiling.

He understood Kurg’s perspective. Going from being the black sheep of the team, to becoming one of its strongest warriors in such a short period had to be exhilarating. For the first time in his life, Kurg had something to be proud of that nobody could take away from him.

"You two are twice as famous now," Tu’ka added with a chuckle. "All the girls want to meet you. It took us forever to get past them just to make a run for it here."

Ka’z blinked in surprise.

"Seriously?"

Tu’ka nodded. "Seriously."

Za’r quietly sat beside Ka’z and placed the bowl of spiced white rice and beef soup onto his lap. Her expression was calm, but there was a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

"That is why you will always stay indoors from now on," she said. "And when you want to go outside, you will wear a cloak to hide your face."

Ru’k immediately burst into laughter.

Tu’ka joined him, while Kurg covered his mouth and tried unsuccessfully to suppress his own amusement. Even Ka’z eventually laughed as Za’r maintained her completely serious expression, apparently already planning how to prevent half the young kobolds in the colony from surrounding her newly acquired boyfriend.