The Fractured Mage

Chapter 4 - Magic System(Part 2)

I wonder what it could be? Well, only one way to find out. I then locked my gaze onto the display, focusing on it...I should be able to control it with my mind.

It should display my Class, which Tiers I've currently unlocked, and the Arts and Traits that I possess, as well as any Arts or Traits that I haven't yet learned but am eligible for.

And it should also display my Ether Capacity, Maximum Ether Output and Power Level, along with numerical values for my various physical abilities.

The active abilities that Mages use are called Magical Arts, or just Arts for short. There are also passive abilities that can be unlocked by specific Classes, abilities that are constantly active, called Magical Traits, or Traits for short.

As for Power Level, it's a value derived from a person's Ether Capacity, Maximum Ether Output, Casting Distance and their various physical attributes. I'm not sure what the exact formula is, though.

Okay, let's see here...show me my Class!

The display then opened up, revealing what I was looking for-...huh?

It says...Wrath Class.

What is that?

That's not a Mage Class I've ever heard of...let's see, the Classes are Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Light, Dark, Space, Tamer, Support, Physical and Sneak. So...what is this Wrath Class that's on my display?

Uh...okay, let's set that aside for now, which Tiers do I have unlocked? Okay, Basic Tier is Brawler...that's the same Basic Tier as the Physical Class. Hm? Oh, I've got an Ascended Tier too...no way, that's awesome!

And it's called...Ether Mage? What?

Wrath Class, and Ascended Tier Ether Mage...I've never heard of either of these before.

Let's see what abilities I have from this Class...okay, my Basic Tier, Brawler, has some of the usual Traits that are found in the Physical Class. As for my Ascended Tier-...huh? Just three Arts?

"Aren't Ascended Tiers supposed to have a whole bunch of different abilities?" I muttered, before reading the description of the abilities in my Ascended Tier, "It says 'Ether Materialization: Physically Materialize Ether, Maximum Output Upto 35', next one is 'Ether Modelling: Control Manipulate and Shape Ether', and the last one says 'Ether Emission: Fire Out Materialized Ether'. Oh, there's also a Trait...'Ether Detection'. Looks like a sensory ability."

This doesn't make sense...Ether is supposed to be an energy source for Mages, it fuels their Magic. It's also infused into things like Elixirs, which are potions with special properties enhanced and augmented by Ether.

So, what do 'Materialize, Model and Emit Ether' even mean? Maybe I can covert my Ether into a physical form? What would that even look like? I suppose I might as well test it out and find out.

Once a Mage becomes consciously aware of an ability, they can use it by reciting the chant. Initially, most Mages need a bit of time to cast an Art, which can be fatal in battle.

However, by concentrating while visualizing the specific ability they want to use, and then mastering that ability by getting a sense for how it feels and practicing with it, they can use it like it's second nature to them, which allows then to cast their Arts much faster.

That method taken a step further can give a Mage the ability to cast their Arts without the need for any chants. But that's pretty rare, even most Apex Mages can't cast their Arts without chanting, chantless casting is a fairly uncommon skill.

On another note, I'm now convinced that I didn't lose my memories by accident...all my knowledge is clear and concise in my mind, but I don't remember how or when I learnt any of this.

It's clear to me now, everything that I can't remember are memories that relate to my past and me personally...who I am, the people I knew, where I'm from, what I've been through...there's nothing in my memories about any of that.

But I can clearly remember what I've learnt about the history and geography of the world, I was able to read my Magic System display without a problem, and I'm pretty sure I can write just fine too.

Which means, whoever or whatever erased or sealed my memories-...really hope it's the latter...-selectively choose which memories to target and which to leave unaffected.

Hm...the most likely explanation is that it was caused by a Nox Mage, the Apex Tier of the Dark Class. From what I know, they can use powerful mind control and brainwashing type Arts...but like I said before, Apex Mages are highly rare, there's rarely ever been more than ten in a single nation at any given point.

Well, whatever, I suppose there's no point in agonizing over it now, I doubt there's anything I can do about it even if I did know the truth about my past and how I ended up like this.

And besides, it's mentally wearing me out and making me feel really anxious. Meanwhile, I'm pretty curious and a bit excited about seeing what this whole Wrath Class thing is about, and what I can do with it.

I'm still a bit skeptical about the whole Ether Materialization thing, but since it's called the Wrath Class, which sounds pretty cool, I'm cautiously hopeful and expectant. But I'll temper those hopes and expectations, don't want to set myself up for disappointment.

Before I go, let's see what level my other stats are at-...oh, come on!

The first stat displayed is Ether Capacity, and uh...mine's not normal. Ordinarily, a person starts out with an Ether Capacity of somewhere between 10-50, though there are exceptions, some people possess higher Ether Capacity levels right from the get go.

The average Ether Capacity for humans is around 200, while the maximum is a 1000. It usually requires reaching an Ether Capacity of around 350 for a person to unlock their Ascended Tier, and then around 700 to unlock their Apex Tier.

As for my Ether Capacity...there's no numeric value displayed. Instead, it reads as 'Ether Capacity: ???'...does that mean I have no Ether?

No, that should be impossible, a human body can't survive without Ether. In fact, if a Mage drains their Ether Capacity, they'll fall into a coma, some even die when their Ether is burnt through.

So it's very unlikely that I possess no Ether, it's just unquantifiable by my Magic System for some reason. Guess I'll have to discern my Ether Capacity manually, by using Magic until I'm low on Ether, and estimate how much I've used up.

When a Mage starts to run low on Ether, immense fatigue sets in, as a sort of biological warning to stop using Magic for a while, until the Ether gets replenished...well, whatever, I can do that later. For right now, let's look at my other stats.

My stats are displayed as...

'Ether Capacity: ???'

'Maximum Ether Output: 18'

'Strength: 25'

'Speed: 22'

'Durability: 30'

'Agility: 22'

'Power Level: ???'