Chapter 17: Magic Basic History

~Zack POV~

Waking up bright and early in the morning inside Echidna's home as she was kind enough to let us sleep here for the night I already got up in the morning.

Sooner Neo woke up later in her own room as I was starting to go downstairs as I was greeted to meet Echidna already up as some breakfast is already made as she spoke, "Good morning my guest. The sooner that you eat and get ready to learn the sooner I can learn more about that Meteor of yours."

Ah.

I see her curiosity is getting the better of Echidna showing not a bad thing considering her nature.

Next came Neo as she came out all groggily as she began to respond in the voice modulator as she spoke through it, "Ah… morning Zack. And morning Echidna right?"

But Echidna became more intrigued with the voice modulator around Neo's neck as she questions it more, "Interesting. Very interesting this Meteor is surely a unique one and doesn't use mana? Ah, I surely hope you let me in on how this functions!"

Hahaha.

Guess even Echidna is somewhat surprised about this and I don't blame her.

She doesn't really know how much the technology works but she labels it as Meteor here in this world as the common term being used.

Meteors are tools that allow people whose gate isn't working properly to use magic. It is known as a magic generator that does not require the user's mana or training and everyone is able to use Meteors.

There are many sorts of Meteors, and most of them are created by the most skilled craftsman in the world. Magic Stones are commonly used in Meteors, however, it does increase the rarity of a Meteor.

And if I remember correctly Echidna would be the mother to it since she created them for the specific purpose of helping people out.

Echidna created many Meteors before her untimely demise, which are used to the current day, namely by people who are unable to channel magic. The vastly popular Conversations Mirrors that can be seen throughout the series are also one of her creations.

That's a plus for me to come to learn from the best magic users in this era while she was relatively sane at least.

Although wanting an answer I began to reply to her about the device as I drank some tea wearily, "Ah… That would be the voice modulator I created. Its purpose is to create sound from the user thought into the real world using the soundwaves in the brain it produces and transmit them into the module speaking out what the user is thinking."

Blinking at the device Echidna smiles somewhat brightly as she nods somewhat understanding the process as she spoke, "I see… while I may get the general idea of the purpose of the Meteor or Voice Modulator as you call it I fail to see how it does so? I can't wait to exchange info later."

Same I want to know how she created a spell that could revive the dead.

But that's for another time as we took our time to eat for the time being before we could start with learning.

…

…

After a while Echidna was about to begin teaching us the basics of the magic of this world with Neo, I, and Penny listening intently to her listeners that are easy to understand.

Echidna first began to tell us how magic operates in this world in a teacher way of speaking to us as we absorb what she says, "Now then students for Echidna's first teachings of Magic Lessons today! First of all the basics… Magic is a paranormal power that alters mana passing through a being's gate into a form that has an effect on reality."

Penny raises her hand at that as she began to speak in a questioning tone, "Uh… teacher Echidna I do not understand what Gate and Mana used here?"

Echidna smiles brightly at the question as she began to give us what exactly Mana and Gate is as she explained Mana first, "Ah. Good question Penny. To first understand Magic you need to learn Mana and Gate first. Mana is a type of colorless supernatural energy that exists in the atmosphere and can be found basically everywhere. When magic is being processed, a person's innate attitude will charge the mana particles to their specific "element", which briefly manifests as formless spell-form before taking shape of the spell chosen."

Neo looked mesmerized by the explanation as Echidna summoned up a fireball but then asked the obvious question like a little girl wanting to learn magic, "So cool… Wait. What happens if they over-exhaust themselves using magic? What happens then?"

Good question.

Echidna smiled at this as she began to properly explain to us what happens of the consequences when casting magic, "Neo that is excellent. The answer to that is that when a person casts magic, they will experience brief physical and mental fatigue which results in sudden weakness if they are not used to expelling magic or if they overcast beyond their capacity."

Nodding at the question satisfied by the answer Echidna then went on to begin how Mana is used as she spoke happily, "That is an excellent question but Mana is also used in martial techniques and special abilities such as beastification, making superhuman feats possible, although beastification is often used by individuals who are not very proficient in using magic directly. Mana itself originates from the Od Laguna, the world's Od."

We all nodded in understanding listening to Echidna's words as she then began to reply to us about Gates next, "Good. With the topics of Mana done next, we got with Gates next. Gates an invisible portal-like apparatus that exists in every living thing. It allows mana to pass through the body and be stored in the Od."

Next was Penny as who asked something about Gates as she asked innocently about the topic at hand, "Oh! Miss Echidna, what happens when a Gate isn't working, and also can everyone learn magic?"

*Clap*

Clapping her hands together Echidna nods in Penny's direction as she began to reply to her answer, "Good question Penny. Whether one can use magic or not entirely depends on its condition; be it either fully or partly open. Most people only have partly functioning gates so magic is out of reach to them."

Penny nods at this as Echidna continues explaining the consequences to those with Gates damaged, "In addition, there are some with a defective gate that keeps them from releasing mana at all. Overcasting magic can also lead to damaging the gate, and then the permanent loss of magic if the user continues to do so without treatment. However, that is difficult to obtain and if the gate breaks before that then nothing can be done."

Mihm.

We nodded at this as I began to ask the next question to her as I wanted to relearn the two terms she spoke of earlier, "I see. In that case, miss Echidna what is the term Od and Od Laguna mean exactly?"

She smirks at this as she began to briefly explain to us what Od and Od Laguna mean.

Od is the life energy that dwells inside of a living being from birth which is synonymous with the soul, making it the opposite of mana, which is a magical energy that exists in the environment. It varies from person to person in terms of quantity and size which represents the lifespan of an individual.

It also acts as a vessel for storing mana that flows through the gate from the environment, so having a large capacity is especially beneficial to those who can use magic.

Od can be used in place of mana to cast magic, however unlike mana, using Od is like using your own lifespan, and so it isn't recommended outside of emergencies. In case the user runs out of their Od, they won't die but they also won't be themselves any more such people soon become crippled if they overuse it.

Under special conditions, an individual is able to encase themselves in their own Od which will act as some sort of a separate world that is even free from the influence of Authorities.

Next Echidna began to explain to us what Od Laguna means to us as Penny and Neo was shocked to learn it.

Od Laguna–often referred to as the "world" in layman terms–is a vast storage of mana located at the origin of the world itself, or in other words, at the world's core. It is where all mana comes from in the world, a eventually goes back to.

No one knows where it is located and Echidna even states that it's an entity similar to the Sun, as it has no will of it's own… that is certainly useful to know…

She even began to say that those who stumble over prohibited arts have had their spirits destroyed by simply looking at it. Some speculate that it is the world's will and gives Divine Protections to people.

Its main function is to provide stability to the world and its inhabitants by regulating mana, souls and other aspects of life, while limiting the frequency of natural disasters that occur due to mana oftentimes running short.

Mana flows from Od Laguna to every individual's Od, which is connected to it via their gate. How much one receives depends on the size of the gate, e.g the bigger it is the more mana they get, which also affects their aptitude for magic.

When mana is expelled from an "Od" through the individual's gate, it can be used to either create magic or power objects such as "mana stones/lagmites" or "meteors". Once spent, the residue mana lingers around, becoming atmospheric mana, which Spirits and Spirit Art Users can harness.

Eventually, the atmospheric mana returns back to Od Laguna, restarting the cycle again, for all eternity.

We nodded at this as this time Echidna then began to finally speak to us about the topics of magic next, "Now then since we have gone past the basics of how magic works. It's time to find out your three affinities of which magic you belong to. Now then the lesson shall begin."