The Bizarre Nature of Magic

Nero watched with anticipation as the strange creature sprinted up the tree. It ignored everything in its path. Nero couldn't quite grasp why this being was so determined to reach the massive tree and whatever resided within it, but he now realized that he hadn't been mistaken earlier. Indeed, the shape of the creature was misty and transparent. It really seemed to lack a physical form.

"Is it a ghost or something? Or an illusion?"

Nero pondered, trying to figure out the origin of this peculiar creature. Instinctively, he knew it was not normal.

Its aura was entirely different from that of magical creatures, and his magical core seemed to repel the presence of this monster. His magic almost seemed to want to distance itself from this creature. It was a strange feeling.

However, Nero's attention was suddenly drawn back to the gigantic tree as the aura emanating from it nearly tripled.

All of a sudden, Nero found it hard to breathe. His hearts started to beat faster and irregularly as an overpowering aura emanated from the tree.

While it still wasn't as potent as the strange creature he encountered at the beginning of his journey, it came remarkably close.

Nero quickly put some distance between himself and the clearing, but he didn't dare turn his back on it.

Suddenly, a cracking sound came from above, and an inhuman scream followed. Nero jerked his head up and quickly moved aside as one of the green monkeys fell from the tree and landed directly on the ground.

The creature trembled and lay there terrified. Apparently, the sudden difference in aura had caught it off guard, causing it to fall from the tree. Nero looked back at the clearing, and his eyes widened in shock.

The strange, transparent creature was just about to reach the tree when a thousand vines detached from the foliage and wrapped around it.

Dozens of brown roots emerged from the ground, entangling the creature's legs.

In just a few seconds, the creature could no longer resist and became motionless. It let out a piercing, deafening scream and struggled desperately within the grip.

But it had no chance to break free and had to watch as the trunk of the tree slowly opened. A large plant emerged from the trunk. It was enormous and not an ordinary plant but had a huge mouth with razor-sharp teeth that seemed to vibrate quickly.

Shocked, Nero realized that no creature inside the plant was emitting this overwhelming aura, but the plant itself. The giant tree was actually a magical monster!

The plant with the mouth continued to grow until it finally reached the creature. It opened its mouth wide and bit into the creature's head.

Another ear-splitting scream as the head of the creature was torn off.

Although it appeared transparent, it seemed to still possess a physical form. The plant's head retracted into the trunk, but before it could fully retreat, another one of those mouths appeared and grew toward the transparent creature.

Although it had lost its head, the creature continued to struggle and fight back desperately, but it could do nothing but be slowly devoured by the plant. More and more pieces were torn from its body until nothing was left.

Nero backed away, shaking his head in shock. Even plants were more powerful than he was. How unpleasant.

Nero continued for about four more hours before deciding he needed to take a break. As usual, he climbed up the trees to where the green monkeys were and settled on a secure, large branch.

The last thing he needed now was to toss and turn in his sleep and fall off the branch.

He looked up through the treetops.

"It'll take some time before the sun sets."

Nero pulled the thick book "Magic - An Open Mystery" from his backpack and opened it.

The pages had suffered quite a bit from his little detour into the lake, but most of it was still legible. Nero flipped open the thick book and began to read the next chapter:

Chapter 2: The Bizarre Nature of Magic

We have now gone through the basic steps of cultivation. Of course, many questions remain unanswered, and even I do not have all the explanations yet.

One question that has occupied my mind for almost a whole century is: What determines the type of magic we possess?

Listing all magic types is impossible for me, as I am not familiar with the entirety of their forms. There are so many different types of magic; the known ones alone exceed a hundred, but new types keep emerging, and no one knows exactly how many there are.

At least no one on this planet.

Magic comes in every form and variety. There are those specialized in attacks, like fire, lightning, or even light itself.

There is magic specialized in defense, like energy or self-strengthening magic, barrier magic, and so on.

Then there is magic for movement, support, healing, revelation, illusion, enhancement, and many more.

However, none of these magic types are one hundred percent focused on their specialization.

For example, energy magic can be used for attack, and light magic can be used for defense.

Thus, movement magic like wind can easily be utilized for catastrophic and powerful attacks. Even healing magic can be used for cruelty, as best exemplified by blood magic. When used correctly, blood magic can easily become a highly threatening offensive magic.

Magic is like a knife. In itself, it's merely a tool, but in the wrong or right hands, it can become either a weapon of destruction or a lifesaver.

Magic itself is neither good nor evil. Only the user is.

But the question I've been pondering is: What determines a person's specific type of magic? Unfortunately, I have not been able to answer this question yet, but I will continue to research and try to find a solution.

The only thing I know so far is that magic types like the four elements—fire, earth, water, and wind—are more common than highly specialized types like Symbolic.

And it is precisely these types that this chapter will focus on. I won't delve into the common types of magic like light or lightning since that would take too much time.

Instead, I'll concentrate on the bizarre and extremely strange types, including the three strangest ones I know: Symbolic, the power of Kreos, and Drakean.

As you can tell, the names of the three types are already extremely peculiar, but it gets even stranger. Let's start with the most common of the three: Symbolic.

Although Symbolic is the most common type among the three, it is still incredibly rare. Based on my estimates, barely one percent of all magicians ever had this type of magic.

In my opinion, Symbolic is one of the most potent types of magic when it falls into the right hands. We have already established that each type of magic can be used for various situations, but Symbolic takes it to a whole new level.

With its power, one can defend or destroy entire kingdoms, and heal or enhance one's own body. Symbolic encompasses everything, and I have seen it used in all kinds of different scenarios, which has always fascinated me.

It is also the only type of magic and the only way for humans to create their own artifacts, but more to that in a few chapters.

How does its power work?

Symbolics work, as the name suggests, with symbols. They can draw them almost anywhere. I even once met a Symbolic who could draw them in the air itself.

Depending on the symbol the Symbolic draws, there is a different effect.

For example, there are symbols that, when drawn on a weapon, make it significantly more robust and powerful. Then there are symbols that, when drawn on small stones and thrown, cause the stones to explode in gigantic explosions.

But as with everything, there is nothing for free. Thus, the great power of this magic comes with an even higher price.

There are two types of symbols that can be used. There are active and passive symbols.

Active symbols can be inscribed anywhere by the Symbolic, at the cost of regular magic, of course, but to activate them, they also must pump some of their magic into the drawn symbols. That makes it much more challenging for a Symbolic to create new symbols in the middle of a battle.

Yet, passive symbols are even more costly.

Once a passive symbol is engraved somewhere, it remains active until the surface it is on is destroyed, or the Symbolic themselves destroy it. It requires neither mana nor any form of activation. For example, a Symbolic can decorate the wall of a fortress with a symbol that makes it significantly more robust.

Whether the Symbolic dies or not, the symbol reinforces the wall until the moment it is destroyed.

However, to draw such a symbol, the Symbolic doesn't give up their magic, which is produced again anyway, but they have to sacrifice their lifespan.

The stronger the symbol, the more lifetime the Symbolic has to sacrifice.

The strongest symbol known so far is the one engraved on the walls of the fallen kingdom of Sylvar. Even though it's been thousands of years since the great kingdom fell, the walls of the fortress still stand, and the symbol still shines in its full splendor.

It is estimated that creating this symbol must have cost around twelve hundred years of lifespan. The knowledge of who drew this symbol has unfortunately been lost over time, but it is speculated that the Symbolic must have been at least of the sixth realm if not more. That was not...

Nero was startled as one of the monkeys suddenly began to frantically gesture and scream at him. Nero furrowed his brow,

-What now? - Slowly, Nero stood up and looked around confused. Then his eyes widened as he realized what the creature was pointing at. Again, the danger was coming!