Chapter 1035 You don't get it! (2)
All things considered, it was 'almost' impossible to correctly describe mana in a form as convenient as 'MP'. As it was in ANW, it was certainly handy and easy to use. But it wasn't the most accurate. Still, an inaccurate system of measurement was far better than none at all. And the truth was there was a true, and somewhat, accurate relationship between MP and energy production. Quite the accurate if—and only if—those with average talent were used as the baseline for comparison. Of course, there must to be a 'true' mana to energy 'conversation'. An absolute relationship that was independent of outside influence. A constant. For ease of conversation, Miracle's scientists refer to this as 'The Absolute Mana to Energy Conversion'. A mouthful. TAMEC for short. Described as the point at which mana was completely converted into energy. Naturally, this doesn't happen during any normal casting of magic. The cases for it are most certainly rare. Much like electrons, mana normally only loses its energy levels during casting. Entering a lower state, in which it became harder to call upon and use. Near-depleted mana was essentially inert to Mageia. Making it almost impossible to use. The charging, or recharging, of mana wasn't well understood. But it was understood that it doesn't take too long. Depending on the environment, a few minutes to a few days. But, this isn't always the case. There are situations where the mana isn't just depleted, but used in full. This only occurs when a person uses their lifeforce to push their magic beyond 'normal' bounds. Had Eldrian not found a way to hide from their observations, they would have managed to gain a great deal of scientific data from his continuous dangerous application of lifeforce. And thus of TAMEC. Without his data, they had to rely on those cases that they happened to stumble upon. The AI certainly weren't nice enough to inform them when a random NPC managed this. And NPCs capable of this at will were protected too.
Regardless, they had some data, and some theories. One of those theories had been that TAMEC was the absolute energy capacity of mana. 1MP can never produce more energy than the TAMEC index for 1MP of mana. Or at least this was their original hypothesis. It had quickly been deemed as incorrect. While mana was often called simply that. All mana wasn't equal. There aren't levels to mana. But there are elements. The element of fire produces more energy during absolute usage than the element of nature or wind. Thus, mana was split into its corresponding elements and aspects. Each with its own TAMEC index. Of course, their points of reference (their data) might have been inaccurate. But from the few cases they had observed, their data seemed to be consistent. Fire was also one of the more common elements to undergo TAMEC. Alongside non-elemental forms of magic. Like necromancy (normally in the case of surpassing death due to lasting regrets). "This is, of course, not of much importance to our current situation. But it is important to note the one exception to this rule. Mana in its raw state. In that state, it has the greatest potential for energy conversion. What we can consider the absolute of the absolute conversion."
"Luckily, mana rarely stays in its raw form." Luckily, because, as the group all knew, mana storms were birthed by raw mana. Not mana in an elemental state. Chaos storms are born when a mana storm doesn't develop despite the raw mana density being high enough. Normally due to some outside influence suppressing it.
In ANW this was often the AI, but it could also happen if the raw mana was gathering around an Origin Vein or close to the home of Mythical creatures, or the capitals of empires. "Once mana takes on a different form, it stays in that form for the most part. It can jump into other elements in an aspect quite easily, but it won't often move between aspects. Requiring great force of will to do so."
"And once it has taken on the form of an aspect—normally one of the natural elements. It will no longer phase through the planet. Instead interacting with it and becoming caught in its gravity." Zaphreal concluded. "Or, at least, that is the prevailing theory. And the methodology behind the Elementals' mana collection."
"Presumably," Julius jumped in, "Mana will increase because of this. And also, 'presumably', only to a certain amount. Once the atmosphere and world are saturated, no more will be collected. And that is why Gaia is such a—"
Cutting him off, Zaphreal continued. "Which is how we can be certain Earth should have had more mana than it had. At least, we can say this in hindsight."
This hadn't always been confirmed, mostly speculated. It still wasn't confirmed, but it seemed highly likely now. After all, with the population explosion in the modern era, it seemed obvious that Earth should have more mana than it did. "Okay, we get that," Joren replied. "But how does that correlate to the world collapsing?"
"Mana storms." That short reply from Julius had the others pale. Though not as pale as they should have been. They knew the danger, but they also understood that mana storms would only occur under special circumstances. Since the Elementals turned the raw mana from space into an elemental form. Specifically the nature element. The danger seemed unlikely to manifest. Seeing them only mildly concerned (in his opinion), Julius once again began. "You don't get it! Gaia is insane!"
"Julius, let it—"
"No! They need to understand just how serious this is!" Julius countered, his artificial features failing to convey just how worked up truly he was.
His glare, however, was quite terrifying. Red eyes were already hard to look at, adding such emotions to them made Julius terrifying. "Have any of you ever thought? Really thought, not just in passing. Really, dug into it. Into just how insanely massive Gaia is?"
"I mean, come on! Ten kingdoms put an end to end would be the diameter of our planet. Only ten!" Gasping for breath, he struggled on. "And empires are made up of hundreds. And there are around 150 total empires." This number included those of all races. "Add another 100 for unoccupied land inhabited by only monsters. And 200 for the seas!"
"This means Gaia isn't just large. It's insanely massive! It's over a thousand times the size of Earth. Easily ten times the size of the Sun!"
"Do you get it?"
"Do you understand now?"
Seeing that no one was understanding, he felt exasperated. In defeat, he asked them, "How many kingdoms does one Mana Storm destroy?"
That, rightly, got them as pale as freshly washed, pristinely white, sheets. "And Mana Storms are the weaker of the possibilities. If what is brewing is an actual Chaos Storm. The thing that takes multiple empires off the map..."
The realization sank in. Everyone was shocked by just how screwed they might be. The dangers of the 'Elementals' evolving into something dangerous like fae or spirits seemed like a far-off problem. Heck, the fact that some animals had actually turned into monsters seemed like small stuff. The worst part, they realized—growing paler and paler—
was that they had no way to prevent a Mana Storm. Not to mention a Chaos Storm. Even the AI, literal gods in ANW and on Gaia, couldn't control them. GAIA could only direct them. Or suppress them—until They no longer could. Yes, even though they had created Gaia. They couldn't control the storms that brewed. Everyone understood just how devastating these storms were. After all, they had used it to ensure the entire world of ANW entered a bloody battle. To set the stage for the Invasion. Oh, the irony that they would now find themselves in the same position. Only, they had no land to fight for. No land to escape to. Heck, if a Chaos Storm truly formed... they asked themselves. Never mind Earth. Would the solar system even survive?
After all, Mana and Chaos Storms were the definition of TAMEC. Once it was done wreaking havoc, the mana it had consumed would be gone. Only devastation left in its path.
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