Chapter 44: Affinities and Mana Flow Techniques
[Main Library]
"KYAAAAA!!!"
A scream tore through the library from all the way downstairs in the storage room, and Percy turned away from the student he had been talking to, and he stared at the storage room entrance.
’What the hell are they doing down there?’
Percy frowned slightly, and he activated a communication skill and sent a mental message to Lana telling her to look after Viva properly. Percy was sure that scream was from Viva, so it was obvious that Lana was messing with her. Once Lana received Percy’s message, she sent back a response saying she understood, and Percy turned back to the student waiting for him.
Percy smiled.
"So, what were you saying?"
The boy standing opposite Percy was an eagle-human demihuman with the head of an eagle and the body of a man. He was tall, and his light brown feathers gave him an exotic look. If he had a human face, Percy had a feeling he would’ve been very handsome! The boy was still looking at the door leading to the downstairs storage room curiously, and the boy spoke in a low voice:
"S-Shouldn’t you see who screamed like that? It seems really bad."
Percy just waved the boy’s worries away with a small smile.
"You can ignore it. She just has a really loud voice. You were saying something about needing help with your magic, weren’t you?"
The boy hesitated for a moment before he nodded.
"Y-Yes, that’s true. Uhm... I spoke with some of my friends, and they said I can speak to you about this. T-They kept telling me you’ve helped them with magic problems before, so I hope you can help me too."
Percy nodded, and he simply waited for the boy to say what was on his mind. It took a few seconds for the boy to gather his thoughts before he finally spoke up.
"I’m a fifth-year, and I want to join the Kingdom Guards once I graduate next year. But the guards have a criteria where you have to be a Third Realm Expert mage or higher before you can join them. I’m still just a Second Realm Disciple, and no matter how hard I try, I haven’t been able to break through to the third realm. I was wondering if you have any books or tips that could help me break through."
Percy hummed as he heard all this, and he quickly activated a skill called [Analysis] and used it to scan the boy.
——
Name: Harold Elag
Race: Eagle-Demihuman
Affinity: Wind-Earth
Magic Rank: Second Realm Disciple
Status: Suffering from Mana Divergence
——
Percy was able to get a lot of information from that single scan, and he raised a brow when he read the status at the bottom of the information table. Mana Divergence was a very rare condition that only happened to people who were trying to practice a Mana Flow Technique that didn’t match their affinity.
Percy turned to Harold and asked him a simple question.
"What Mana Flow technique are you practicing?"
Harold blinked in surprise at the strange question, and he told Percy that he was practicing the [Call of the Wind] mana flow technique that his entire family had used. Mana Flow techniques were special cultivation methods that allowed mages in this world to advance their magic from one realm to another. Before a mage could advance through the realms, they first needed to expand their magic core to allow it to absorb more mana from the environment, and the best way to do that was by using the mana flow techniques!
There were various ranks of mana flow techniques, and the higher-ranking techniques would obviously give you better benefits, but most of the techniques were developed by particular families or academies and passed down to the children within those families or academies. In the Verati academy, the Beginner Mana Flow Technique was used to help the student grow from First Realm Initiate into Second Realm Disciples. When it comes to moving from the first to the second realm, no technique was better than the Beginner Mana Flow technique! But as the students grow into Second Realm Disciples and start looking at becoming Third Realm Experts, most of the students would go back to their families or mentors and retrieve personalized mana flow techniques that would help them develop their own magic affinity best!
Harold came from a family of mages that specialized in wind magic, so it was obvious that they would use a wind-based mana flow technique to grow as quickly as possible. But from scanning him, Percy could tell that there was something wrong here. The technique Harold was using was not what he was meant to be using.
"Harold, do you know you have a double affinity?"
Harold’s eyes widened in surprise when he heard this, and Percy let out a small sigh as he realized that no one bothered to help this boy check his affinity! For some demihuman families like the dragons or the eagles, their children were known to always carry the same affinity as their parents! A child born to a fire dragon demihuman would definitely have a fire-based affinity, and a child born to a water serpent demihuman would definitely have a water-based affinity! So those families never bothered trying to check what their children’s affinity really was, and they just gave them the technique that they should practice when the time was right!
For someone like Harold with a dual-affinity, practicing with a wind-based technique was only going to stunt his growth! It would be the same as going to the gym and only training one arm all the time! One side of your body would be strong, but the other side would be too weak! And in magic, a mage is only as strong as their weakest affinity!
Percy turned away from Harold and walked towards one of the shelves beside him. Percy looked through the shelf for a few seconds before he finally hummed calmly and grabbed a book he had been looking for. Percy then brought the book back and put it on the table while speaking to Harold in a kind voice.
"Harold, you have a wind-earth affinity, so you cannot use a wind-based mana flow technique to try and advance to the Third Realm. Rather than using that, I want you to practice using this for a few months."
Harold looked down at the book and read the title.
[Sand Storm Mana Flow Technique]
Harold frowned immediately, and Percy could see a hesitant look appearing in Harold’s eyes! Harold had already gotten used to using his family’s technique, and he obviously had a lot of trust in it, so Percy wasn’t surprised that Harold would be hesitant. But Harold’s eyes widened when Percy spoke next.
"This is an A-Rank mana flow technique, and it was especially made for mages with wind-earth dual affinities."
"A Rank!?"
Harold was shocked that something like this was just lying around in the library! Most mana flow techniques were between D and C Rank, and only the mana flow techniques of major families were in the B Rank and above! The technique Harold had been practicing was also an A-Rank technique, but Harold did not think that this technique would be as strong as the one his family had been using for generations!
Percy smiled internally when he saw that look in Harold’s eyes. In truth, the technique was actually an S-Rank, but Percy knew that Harold wouldn’t believe him if he said something like that. It was better for Harold to just practice with it and find out how much he would progress on his own!
"You have a lot of potential, Harold. So I’m sure you’ll catch up with your mates in no time. Just try practicing this for a few months and see how things go."
Harold’s eyes were fixed on the technique book for a few long seconds, and Harold wondered if this was really alright. Harold had been practicing with his family technique for a long time now, and that was what he was most familiar with! Could he really trust the words of a librarian over the elders in his family!?
’I don’t really have a choice. I can’t feel any growth from the [Call of the Wind] technique. If this technique will help me go to the next stage, then I’ll grab it with both hands!’
