"Son, you're awake!"

"Ezekiel!" Catherine hugged Zeke. Zeke was absolutely clueless as to what happened. Nevertheless, he felt touched by his mother's action as he could clearly sense Catherine's worry.

"Mom? What's the matter? Why am I here?"

Catherine pointed at the direction of Zeke's room. Zeke looked at the direction and saw a hole instead of the door, while the insides were full of scars.

'What the h.e.l.l happened when I was out? Is this what my father was on about?'

Charles told Zeke about what happened while he was out. Zeke was surprised about the commotion he caused.

'System, am I really a quadrelemental magician now?! Does this mean I'm not restricted to a single element like what my Father said?'

*No, Zeke. You are not a quadrelemental magician.*

'What? But Father told -'

*You are far more than that. The mana core you formed isn't limited by elements. Its name is Perfect Mana Core for a reason. Your Mana Core doesn't have any flaws, hence you don't have any restrictions when it comes to affinities. I am not certain as to why they called you a quadrelemental, but I am certain that you can control and absorb any and all elements including the variant ones.*

Zeke couldn't bear to believe System's word as of the moment. His mana core could absorb all kinds of mana?

'Are you sure about it, System?'

*Yes, Zeke. The mana core you have right now is considered extinct. Your mana core could only be formed by absorbing all kinds of mana particles. I do not know the reason for its disappearance but perhaps your father do.*

'Alright. I'll try to ask him if I have the chance.'

*Since you are doing that, let me give you the quest that suits what you'll be doing.*

An interface appeared beside Charles as he and Catherine talked about Zeke's achievement.

———————————

Optional Quest "Perfect Mana Core"

Learn more about Perfect Mana Cores.

Progress: 0%

Difficulty: D

Reward:

5xp

Skill Tome (Elemental Mana Circulation)

————————————

'System, what's that skill?'

*Elemental Mana Circulation is, in a way, an improved version of mana circulation. Although this skill is low tier in general, it is expected since this is also considered part of the fundamentals specially if you are a Perfect Mana Core user just like the ancient people. Other magicians might have something derived from this that fits certain elements but they are all inferior and lacking in comparison to this which encompa.s.ses all elements and also contains some of Mr. Pandora's knowledge and comprehension. Not only that, but it will also help you circulate elements at your will. Since you have a myriad of elements to use, this Circulation method makes it so you won't find it hard to switch between what element to use.*

'Wait, Pandora? The old deity's comprehensions?'

*Yes, Zeke. All the items in the shop and rewards of the quests belong to Mr. Pandora's stash.*

Zeke was amazed but only for a short time. He realized that Pandora is a deity so it's only natural to have all of these fortunes.

"...anyway, how are you feeling, son?"

Charles asked Zeke after finis.h.i.+ng his talk with Catherine.

"I feel great, Dad! I feel like I'm so powerful right now!"

"That's natural, son. Having mana in your body for the first time really makes someone feel strong, but remember that you only became a magician today. Don't overestimate and compare yourself to adult magicians as they have meditated for years while you only started having your core minutes ago. Do not be fooled by how you feel right now."

"Yes, Dad!"

"Anyways, now that you have your mana core, let's discuss the power scaling. Each race varies in terms of categorizing their magicians. Let's start with humans.

Humans categorize their core by tiers, ranging from 1 to 6. When a human child forms his mana core, it starts off as a black mana core. This means the child's mana core contains impurities. Once he/she absorbs enough mana, the impurities of his mana core will slowly remove automatically, changing the color of the core. After black, it becomes violet, then red, then orange, then yellow, and last but not the least, white. Generally, the lighter the color of their mana core, the more pure and thick the mana inside is. These colors correspond with tier 1-6 too. Tier 1 is black, tier 2 is violet, so on so forth until tier 6. They have their own respective t.i.tles too. (just see author's note at the end for TLDR version of all these)

Demons are also the same, except their mana core is red and will stay that way until it turns to black. A light red will signify tier 1, while pitch black is tier 6. Their way of meditating isn't the same as us and the humans. They kill and absorb others' mana and turn it into their own. Unlike humans who purify their mana core, demons strive to have much more negative energy inside their mana core, so instead of it turning lighter, it instead turns darker as the magician grows."

Before Charles could explain their mana core, Zeke interrupted him.

"Father, are demons bad? why do they want negative energy in them? are they bad guys?"

"No, son. Not all demons are bad, and this is also the same case with humans as well as us. The world isn't all black and white, each race has its own good and evil. That's just the way demons can get stronger so they don't have any choice. Some demons though, when they absorb too much negative in a short period of time, their personalities will start to warp. Don't misunderstand, not all demons are like this, and even if there are demons who have their personalities warped, there are still more good-natured demons than bad. In fact, they have their own hierarchy too, and they also despise magicians whose personalities are warped."

'It looks like not all demons are bad here, huh.'

Zeke thought all demons are bad hence he chose not to be born there. It was only just now that Zeke learned the true nature of demons. They don't absorb negative energy because they enjoy it, but because it's necessary for them to get stronger. Zeke didn't have any qualms about people who strive to be powerful. As long as someone wants to, he/she should persevere to get stronger. If demons couldn't become stronger without negative energy, then Zeke respected their actions in getting it. It was, after all, the only way for Demons.

'I was wrong.'

His view of demons is one-sided and out of place. First, his ideology stemmed from his previous world, and this new world he lived in clearly isn't the same as his previous one. Why bring his ideologies to a world very different from Earth?

'Next time, I'll try to meet a demon and see for myself.'

"Anyways, going back to our topic, we dragons also have our own mana cores. Generally, we call our mana cores "Dragon Cores" as when children awakened their dragon blood, a small dragon-like figure will surround the mana core. This so-called "awakening" can be done in multiple ways. First is by partic.i.p.ating in an event made for young dragons. Winners of this event will have the chance to enter the Dragon Grounds, a place where the winners could soak in Dragons' blood and awaken their bloodlines. The second one is through medicines. When a dragon's body is overloaded with medicines, the bloodline will naturally awaken and absorb the medicinal effects. The third is through fighting. Fighting enemies helps boil the dragon blood inside you, stimulating your bloodline and waking it up. Fighting enemies could be said to be the most effective choice as it guarantees almost perfect awakening, unlike the first and second way which could only awaken 70 to 80% of your bloodline, while the remaining remain dormant."

"Father, when's the first event?"

"There's still a lot of time before it. You could still train for a lot more years before you join. The last event happened 2 years ago, so the next one is still 8 years away. Anyway, we also have tiers regarding our dragon cores. Unlike humans and demons, we have 7 tiers. Every two tiers, the dragon core evolves and grants an innate skill. Innate skills are naturally stronger than normal skills and they originate from the dragon bloodline every Dragonborn has. Tier 1 and 2 are called Dragonborns, 3 and 4 Dragonlings, 5 and 6 Half-Dragons, and the last one, tier 7, are full-on Dragons. We get our first skill on our first awakening, second skill after turning into tier 3, third skill after turning into tier 5, and fourth on tier 7. However, not all dragons get four innate skills even after they turn into tier 7. In the end, it all depends on how thick the bloodline is."

Charles held Zeke's two small shoulders and said.

"We four families have pure bloodlines. My house, Flamehaven, has the strongest fire element bloodline, Hydrofrost has the water element bloodline, Terraforma with the rock/earth element, and Featherflight for the wind element. Our pure bloodline meant we could get four innate skills after turning into a full-on Tier 7 Dragon. Right now, I am a peak Tier 4 Dragonling, thus I have two innate abilities. My first innate ability conjures a spear of fire that corresponds to my strength and my thoughts. The stronger I get, the stronger my spear will too. I also have a connection with my spear of fire, so it's the best weapon for me. The second is an armor of fire that envelops my whole body and mitigates part of the damage I take while simultaneously healing me. Like the first one, it also scales based on my power. The more damage it mitigates, the more mana it consumes. Do you understand, Zeke?"

"Uhm, do we all get the same skills?"

"Haha, no. The skills differ from person to person. Your uncles also have innate skills, but they differ from my skills who are melee-oriented. You see, they prefer a different fighting style than me. Their style is similar to your mother's. Cath?"

"I got it, hun. Ezekiel, I am also a peak Tier 4 Dragonling like your father, but my bloodline isn't that powerful, thus I only have one innate skill, and I will never get one anymore in the future." Catherine smiled bitterly.

"My bloodline leans more on the water element. The innate ability I awakened helps me enhance my magic and improve its effectiveness. I call it Enhance, but it really doesn't have any name like other innate skills. My fighting style is long-range casting. I picked my style when I thought about how to maximize the effects of my innate skill, and I find it effective when I use it on casting large spells instead of body enhancement. You should've seen how I played with your Father back then. His toy spear couldn't even reach me!" Catherine giggled, remembering their youthful days.

"You know that's already the past, Cath. Do you want a spar now?"

"Haha, no need no need. I already know I can still beat you, so why bother?"

"....*sigh*."

"Dad, why does Mother say she can still defeat you when you have more abilities than her?"

"Son, the number of skills you have doesn't equate to how strong you are. In a fight, a person who practiced one thing a thousand times will win against a person who practiced a thousand things once. Do you get what I mean?"