"Then let's move on to the next school, the Elemental School. This school of magic holds control over any basic element. However, these basic elements often have branches of their own, so the potential spells are huge."
"To spare you the complications, I'll shorten it. Aeromancy specifies control over wind and air. Hydromancy is control over water and moisture. Pyromancy is, of course, fire and heat. Lastly, Terramancy is control over the earth and ground."
Why does this one seem so much more simple than the first school? I guess I've seen too much elemental magic that I've basically seen it all.
"As I said earlier, the Elemental School isn't strictly limited to these four branches. I haven't even touched on Cryomancy and Electromancy, as they aren't major elements. Just know that almost any natural element is part of this school."
"We're at the last of the schools. The final one is the Ethereal School, which deals with affecting esoteric concepts–oftentimes souls, magic, probability, and spacetime."
"Animation is the branch that allows its users to infuse a soul into an inanimate object. This also functions as necromancy. Next is Benefaction, or holy magic. Anything "good" is automatically listed in this branch. The branch grants blessings and good fortune, cleanses curses, and banishes darkness. The moral opposite to this is Malediction, which deals with inflicting harm, bestowing bad luck, undoing blessings, and extinguishing light."
"After this, we have Conjuration. This branch allows its user to shift the locations of objects, or call on the power of beings not of this world. Last, but not least, we have Nullification. This branch of magic is often depicted as wards, barriers, and shields. They can be used to protect, shield, and, as the name implies, nullify the effects of a spell."
Sera sighed. "That should be it, newbie. Now that I think about it, I probably should've just cast Message on you. Would've saved me the breath."
I'm glad you didn't. I don't want to experience that pain again.
"Anyway, that's all of it. For your sake, I recommend you focus on one or two branches, from any of the three schools."
"As for the price? I'll charge you a gold piece for each branch you learn."
"Huh. Why doesn't this seem like you're charging me a lot?" Gael asked.
"I'm not proficient in all branches of magic. I specialize only in Pyromancy and Benefaction. However, I still have more knowledge about all of them than the general populace."
"So? Have you made your decision? You don't have to decide now."
"I probably won't, yes. I need to think about it." Gael agreed.
"Good. Learning Inveridium takes time and patience. If that's all, get out of my office."
Once Gael left Sera's office, he began thinking. What branches of magic seemed fitting for what he wanted to do in Antoria?
I don't think I want to go through the hassle of physically bulking myself up. I might stick to an artificer's playstyle.
The books Gael had found guaranteed him an advantage against most players, strictly based on the information he had learned from them. The idea of becoming an artificer who stayed in the backlines, or hidden, while his mechanical soldiers fought in the frontline, was interesting.
Then again, it's not like I'm playing this game to be the best PvPer. I might occasionally get into a fight, but I think I'm content with just being mostly passive.
If I go by what Sera said, then the two branches that seem like they would fit me the most would be… Benefaction and Animation. They fit an artificer the most.
The Benefaction branch of magic could be used to enchant Gael's weapons. The revolver in the workshop could be tailored to have buffs that increase the likelihood of it hitting, have other effects, and many other things.
It wasn't just useful in combat, either. Being able to preemptively increase the likelihood of luck smiling upon him was perfect for general use.
Animation didn't need much explanation. As an artificer, Gael had planned to inevitably create a multitude of robotic servants. With a soul in them, they could be tailored to follow his orders much more willingly.
Yeah, I think I'll go with those two. Gael nodded. But I'll tell Sera about it once I've got enough money to pay for lessons. Who knows, I might change my mind.
With this in mind, Gael made his way to the front of the pub, where the rest of his coworkers were helping set up the place. With only a few minutes left till opening hours, things would soon start to get busy.
***
The day went by quietly. Business boomed as usual, but there weren't any events that seemed to interest Gael.
For the most part, he did his job and employed Pierre's psychological tricks whenever possible. Thanks to this, he was able to gather about the same amount of money in tips as he did yesterday.
Oddly enough, Gael's day-to-day expenses didn't need much attention. From the moment he started working at the pub, he had been given essentially free housing and food.
Perks of working for a pub, I guess. It's no surprise our stock somehow never seems to empty. People mostly come here to drink alcohol.
Once his shift had finished, Gael bid farewell for the night to Pierre and his other coworkers. It was still early, there being two hours before midnight. Gael decided he would continue studying artificing.
He hadn't forgotten to bring back to the village as many of the books from the workshop as he could carry.
Contrary to Gael's original belief, artificing actually leaned more toward the practical side instead of theory. Calculations, while proving useful when creating artifacts, weren't nearly as essential as constant testing.
The person who wrote these books must've had experience teaching people. It's not at all difficult to understand.
Building artifacts, as Gael would have it, required magic. Mana served as both the lifeblood of artifacts and their catalysts. The process was long and tiresome, and would often require prototypes to pass through a series of tests in order to be called an artifact.
I guess it's kind of like debugging.
Just like computer programmers, Gael would have to rely on repeatedly carrying out trials on each of his creations. Any flaws would require fixes if he wanted them to succeed.
Put this way, it almost sounds more boring than training my body to be able to wield a greatsword like those warriors. Still, I'd rather do this. I was always more suited to the analytical side of things.
Being a college student had taught Gael many things. Among those was his firm understanding that his affinity for life was more aimed toward thinking. He was a thinker, not a doer–a Greek, and not a Roman.
For the next two hours, Gael calmly studied in his room, making sure he ingrained the terms and techniques written in the books. His mind sometimes wandered beyond studying and towards a different problem.
Artificing was an expensive art. Accidents were bound to happen every now and then. Malfunctions could occur, wasting the valuable resources Gael had put into them. Even the most talented genius would inevitably make a mistake in calculations.
For this reason, Gael needed a consistent source for parts. Magic could easily be taken care of–once Sera started teaching him Benefaction magic, he could start by blessing himself and his creations.
The only place in town Gael knew could sufficiently provide him with the materials he needed for his work was the smithy.
Grr… but I have no doubt that'll cost money too. There's no way they'll just give their raw materials to me for free. Life really is hard if one doesn't have money.
His one and only method of income was his daily shifts at the pub. But even he knew those would not be enough to pay for his artificing. Sure, he could eventually wait until he managed to save enough money, but his patience was little.
The only thing that would be eating at his wallet would be Sera's magic lessons. Other than that, he was quite free from financial burdens. Given time, he would surely be able to gather the funds to purchase the materials needed.
No way in hell I'm waiting that long. Maybe I'll ask Pierre tomorrow, see if he knows any other method of earning cash. Preferably quickly.
