How Skullius Cheats

(A/N: Spoilers ahead. Tread at your own risk.)

OVERVIEW:

It's been emphasised through the story, but I thought I should compile all the information here so that it becomes accessible to those who might begin to think that some of the facts and feats by Skullius and his crew are bogus and simply a result of plot. (Well, some of them are, naturally.)

The fact of the matter is, on Aigas, there is a cap or limit to growth in various aspects. Of note for this particular discussion, are caps concerning the mana core, physical attributes and Stages.

Typically, in the story, a mana core's capabilities are set from the moment it forms within an individual. Mana cores form naturally in most cases, as mana condenses within lifeforms, and thus, most of the time, their users don't have a say in what they are capable of powering. Most combatants in the story – in Aigas – especially if they are not Energy Formers (Summoners, Mages, etc), aren't able to spam attacks with all sorts of elemental natures and powerful concepts even if they somehow get their hands on skills that enable such things. The mana core, particularly a part of it known as the Refinery, limits such diverse utility.

Only Mages have the freedom to change the composition of their mana cores, and that's only because they imprint a mechanism known as the Reflexive Sigil Matrix on their mana cores. In worst case scenarios, they can shatter their cores and build new ones, but as demonstrated countless times in the story, destroying a mana core carelessly means certain death.

When it comes to Stages, which control physical augments and special properties like Aura, there is also a limit. To grow basic stats, combatants in Aigas have to use Enriching gems which can be acquired by hunting Clusters. Each type of Enriching gem gives a certain amount of stats, but at a point, unless the user reaches a higher Stage, the gems will not give them further augments. Additionally, the gems themselves have a set efficiency depending on how many of a certain type are used by one person. At a point, they begin to yield minimal result after absorption.

Naturally, Skullius, the protagonist, has been seeing skirting these two limits in particular, and in the later parts of the story, he begins to enable his followers to do the same. The reasons and methods are rather simple.

THE REASONS AND METHODS:

Skullius is not a native of Aigas. After escaping Deadmanland and using the Supreme skill [Flesh It Like You Mean It], which gave him a fake human form, he adopted the Aigas power system. However, some of its standards – especially those that don't necessarily have to do with reaching Divinity – don't apply to him because on the whole, he's a higher lifeform, a Null Lifeform.

His mana core allows him to use skills he's learned without any trouble, despite it not being special because he is an anomaly, which is why his growth, while seemingly slow in the beginning of the story, is actually very, very rapid.

While he IS limited by the cap on Enriching gems, he has been able to fight stronger opponents with higher stats because his mana core allows him to activate any type of skill without strenuous requirements.

And as emphasised by the previous Auxiliary chapter, a combatant can become immensely powerful simply by pursuing to perfection any one of the three pillars of strength – Stages, mana core and skills.

Now, as for how Skullius has managed to make his Unlimited Stars so powerful that even those at the Beyond the Veil Stage can't simply slaughter them with ease, that has to do with the 'magic' he has worked on their mana cores.

Using the skill [Unbound], Skullius has altered the mana cores of his subordinates, giving them unusual and unique powers, some of which even go beyond simply storing mana. Because the quality of a mana core is also linked to the stats of an individual, their physical attributes are also altered into different variations of Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Health and Endurance that do not even abide by the standards of Aigas.

In addition to this, the change to the mana core also affects the Classes of the Unlimited Stars (Skullius' subordinates). Where there might have been a simple Mage with a blue core, now, there can be a Mage with a blue core which bears mana that forces all the skills it's used to activate to have a triple impact and a seven times damage boost, for instance.

As this method for improving strength is unknown among the denizens of Aigas, they can never understand how powerful any of Skullius' subordinates are until they make their move.