Improving Magical Talent

In the morning, Arthur is in the office as he reads books. So far, he has been reading books pertaining to the development of the city's structures and functions. Is there no magic in the far future?

"There are variety of magic books in the Great Library but you haven't tried asking for it." The system tells Arthur.

Arthur has been too focused on knowledge from books that he can recreate that he has completely forgotten about magic and swordsmanship. After all, he is someone with no talent for these two subjects. As such, it has been completely disregarded in his mind.

Magicians are honorable beings with exceptional talent to take in mana from their surrounding. By utilizing mana, they can perform magic spells of varying strength and affinities. These affinities can be water, fire, air, earth, and its other variations.

Magicians can be categorized into different ranks namely Apprentice, Full-Fledged, Master, Grandmaster, Saint, and Sage. Legend tells that there is rank beyond Sage but there is none that can be found in history.

What makes one a magician? It is normally decided by birth whether they have talent or not by the size of their mana core. This is the indicator of how much mana can be stored and how many magic spells a magician can perform. Someone who cannot cast a single spell because of their little mana core is someone without talent for magic.

Naturally, Arthur is aware of the basic knowledge with magic just like other people who want to learn magic.

"Is there a way to increase my talent?" Arthur places his hand on Grima.

Talent is also categorized into different levels Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Indigo. This is tested by an ancient magic tool that lights up when a person pours mana to it. When Arthur did this test, his mana is miniscule that it is unable to light up to even the color red.

"There is a way but you have to be extra careful with this. You know how greedy people can get for magic." The system warns Arthur of the consequences if this is leaked.

Arthur understands the concern of the system. However, if there is a case that he will need to tell it to someone, he will need to sign a magical contract with them.

Grima glows a white hue and Arthur opens the book. He is shocked as he has never seen such book before regarding magic. Just reading the title, a magician will think that this is preposterous. 'Guide to Mana Core Expansion and Transformation.

What makes this preposterous for magicians is because of the state mana core has. It is intangible or it cannot be seen with the naked eye. That is why magicians believed even from the past that it cannot be created nor destroyed nor transformed. This goes against all logic and this is the first time that Arthur's world view is challenged.

Arthur continues to read the book. It teaches him how to cultivate the mana core by releasing all the mana he has on his mana core. The other absurd thing the book is trying to make Arthur do is forming a ring of mana around the core.

This is difficult to do because of the nature of mana. A human's body is incapable of storing mana for a long time and it will easily disperse. However, high ranking magicians can do this longer but it is said to drain their mental strength. What more if you try to form a ring around your core?

When Arthur reads it more, he has become amazed of this theory. Once the ring is formed, the mana core will be attracted to the mana and reach out for it. Since the mana around it is of equal density, it will expand without it being destroyed.

This is easy for Arthur to try as he only have a mana core the size of an orb. Thus, Arthur has closed his eyes, the only way to see one's core. He empties all the miniscule mana he has and forms it to a ring around the core.

Arthur is shocked that he is able to sustain the ring. What he doesn't know is that he has a really high mental strength among all other humans even among the Saint Mages. During the few minutes of sustaining the ring, the mana core expands until the mana ring is 'swallowed' by the mana core.

His mana core has transformed from an orb-sized core into a coin-sized mana core. This technique will shake the entire community of magicians. Even the seven Sages of the world will covet this technique.

Arthur has lost half of his mental strength so he has stopped performing the technique. It seems like he can only do this once a day and it needs to be before sleeping. However, the book says that with continuous usage of the technique, it will be easier to expand the mana core.

When Arthur has read a lot of books before meeting the Great Library, he thinks that he already knows most of the knowledge of the world. However, the Great Library is a blessing to him as it opens his eyes to the humans capability to improve.

Arthur's magical talent has greatly improved and with this, he has regained his interest in reading books about magic. He wants to know if he has at least reached a red talent. Someone with this talent is capable of becoming a Magic Apprentice.

Arthur cannot help but smile to this improvement and discovery. He is already aware that he has no talent and he wants to create a kingdom that does not discriminate the talentless. Though, he also knows it is important to have the necessary power to protect his constituents.

Having all of this in mind, Arthur wants to try if he can perform a magic spell. He knows the basic structure of the fireball as such he casts the spell above his hand.

Suddenly, a fireball floats above his hand and this signifies that he can become a Magic Apprentice.