Free Web NovelChapter 20: No Options
It was only after giving everyone a few seconds to reflect that the Grand Elder announced in a lighter tone:
"The explanation is complete. You are now free to go up to the second floor of the library. The Magic Arts Pavilion awaits you there. You may find one that suits you and are authorized to take the Jade Slip and study it for three days."
The youths immediately became excited. Most of them had never had the opportunity to learn a Magic Art. Now, they could finally call themselves real Mages.
They obviously knew they only had permission to choose a common Magic Art from the clan; the rarer and more powerful ones were kept on an upper floor. Even so, the clan possessed a vast range of options, something many clans of the Mortal Plane envied.
As they climbed the stairs, Flaris excitedly told Priam that her demonic family had advised her to choose wisely, because they did not possess even a fraction of the mediocre things the Ylisse Clan had.
When Priam heard that, he became intrigued.
Flaris’s demonic clan was a relatively wealthy merchant clan of the demonic Mortal Plane. In five years, the entire Ylisse Clan had produced just over forty youths above the age of fifteen. That indicated the clan was not actually that large. So how did they possess such good things?
Upon reaching the upper floor, everyone stopped at the entrance, where another Elder was waiting for them.
Inside, the space was enormous, filled with hundreds of shelves. There were no books, only countless Jade Slips. By exploring them, even without knowing exactly what they were looking for, they might find something they had never imagined that fit them perfectly.
That Elder quickly gave them the instructions.
All Magic Arts were separated into categories, whether by element or by the type of Mage required to learn them. There were Magic Arts that could be learned by more than one class, but those were rarer.
They also had colors indicating their difficulty level: white for low-level ones, gray for intermediate ones, and black for above-average ones.
When approaching them, there was also a brief description next to each Jade Slip explaining the benefits and requirements of that Magic Art. That would save them a lot of time.
"Since all of you are beginners, even though most of you already know this, I must explain the basics for when you choose a Magic Art," the Elder said slowly in a calm tone.
"Each of you should possess the Vanculari bloodline in your body along with another secondary bloodline. That secondary bloodline has affinities with some element, energy, or power. It may seem obvious, but you should only choose something whose requirements match what you can already control right now."
"Some Magic Arts, for example, may have ninety-nine percent affinity with fire and one percent with wind. No matter how incredible that may seem to you, although it is possible to learn the wind element over time, that takes dozens or even hundreds of years. It is not worth it unless you already possess that affinity naturally."
At that moment, several gazes turned toward Priam. Those people knew that he had been born with only the Vanculari bloodline.
The Elder also focused on Priam and quickly remembered that detail.
"Hmm... few people know this, but our clan’s unique bloodline possesses only a minimal affinity with soul power."
At that instant, all the youths almost jumped in surprise. Soul power? The Vancularis could actually use that nearly legendary power that so few Mages possessed?
"But unfortunately, it is impossible to control soul power as a Mage Acolyte. Even the higher rank, a Mage Disciple, would have great difficulty and would consider it impossible. Therefore, if you possess only that pure bloodline in your body, there are two or three body-type Magic Arts available. They are nothing special and may be the weakest ones we have, but they should serve to create a good foundation. Of course, you must be a Physical Mage to use them. Otherwise... I’m afraid you won’t gain much here."
Priam merely nodded without replying. It wasn’t as though it was forbidden to take a random Magic Art, even if, in theory, he shouldn’t be able to use it.
The Elder nodded.
"Now, let’s get to the important part. After choosing a Magic Art, the foundation of everything revolves around creating a Magic Rune. Each Magic Art was developed by a different person, who teaches the creation of a unique rune. These runes are created using exactly what is listed as required. But... the creation process is slow and absurdly meticulous. This is the greatest challenge for a Mage: the pursuit of Perfection."
He stopped and looked at everyone with a grave expression.
"I’ll put it clearly: if you create something even slightly different from the original, every Magic Art contains a method described to verify that. If, after many failed attempts, you decide to ignore a small flaw because you think it’s ’almost identical’... when you activate the Magic Art, you will die in the most brutal way possible."
"It may not happen the first time. It may even take a long time. But when a flaw exists, it will eventually surface and demand its price. In practically every generation of the clan, Mages die miserably because they ignore this."
"I’ll repeat myself: choose a Magic Art by considering its requirements, its difficulty, and whether you truly possess the tenacity needed to master it perfectly. If you can’t, it’s better to simply abandon it all and find something else in the future. But... this is the coming-of-age ceremony. Therefore, you can already consider yourselves adults, and your lives belong only to yourselves."
All the youths took a deep breath. Most of them already knew these things, but the explanation served to reinforce their importance.
They needed to choose correctly, and they would only have one chance. Afterward, they likely wouldn’t receive permission to choose another clan Magic Art for a long time. If they chose wrong and didn’t want to take risks, they would have to buy some other below-average one.
"Since you understand, you may go." The Elder concluded and stepped aside, opening the way.
The youths moved as a group toward the shelves.
Flaris headed straight for the fire-element section. She turned to look at Priam’s back with concern, but when she saw him confidently heading toward a specific section, she relaxed.
Her cousin was very different now.
He seemed secure and confident in his choices.
When Priam reached the section, to his surprise, he discovered there were only two wind-element Magic Arts. freewebnoveℓ.com
The overwhelming majority of the clan’s Magic Arts were focused on armed combat methods for Fighter Mages, physical nourishment methods for Physical Mages, restoration and purification techniques for Holy Mages, or abilities that used the most powerful offensive elements for Arcanist Mages: fire and lightning.
There were a few water-element options. For the earth element, there was only a single Magic Art. Wind wasn’t in a much better situation.
Of the two he found, one carried a gray marking, indicating intermediate difficulty. The other...
’No color?’
Priam was surprised and remembered that the Elder’s instructions had mentioned that there were also incomplete Magic Arts or ones whose difficulty could not be accurately determined.
He sighed. So he really didn’t have many options.
He moved toward the only remaining alternative.
But just as he was about to extend his hand and take it, a figure grabbed the Jade Slip before him.
"Oops..."
Along with that swift movement, a cold breeze struck Priam’s frowning face.
"Sorry, this one caught my eye. It may not seem like it, but I also have a bloodline that can use it." Shione turned around and spoke with a mocking smile on her face.
Priam took a deep breath, controlling himself as much as possible. Clearly, that brat wanted to annoy him...
There was only one Jade Slip for each Magic Art, because the clan wanted to pressure young Mages into choosing intelligently and suffering the consequences of their mistakes. It was a teaching method through the pain of failure.
Since she had grabbed it first, due to his own lack of attention, if Priam complained now, he would be the one in the wrong.
Argue with a brat? Priam frowned slightly as he looked at her, but he neither spoke nor acted. He simply moved to another shelf.
Only the colorless Magic Art remained.
It was better than nothing, since he possessed that other bloodline in his body that was currently useless. Once he stood out during the coming-of-age ceremony, it wouldn’t be difficult to request something better.
As soon as he extended his hand to take it...
"!"
This time, Priam was alert, noticing a rapid approach beside him like a bolt of lightning.
A figure arrived and tried to grab his Jade Slip once again.
But this time...
The spatial ring on Priam’s finger flashed.
Priam stared at Gangrel, who was wearing a smile full of mockery.
"Sorry, this—"
"Fuck off!"
**SLAP!**
A merciless branch struck that face, cutting off his words and sending him flying through the air.
That figure had not expected such a swift movement nor such a sinister attack!
An extremely loud and resounding sound echoed through the hall.
Everyone present jumped in shock. As for Shione and Lumiere, their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. That was because...
Gangrel slammed face-first into the floor. Then the sound of small objects bouncing across the ground could be heard...
Very quickly, everyone realized that more than ten bloody teeth had scattered in all directions!
