Chapter 15: 14. The Fourth Element

The Practice room. Jake found himself within its hold once more, his eyes glazing over the text of another Spellbook. So far, he had learned Water, Wind, and Fire elemental spells. He hadn’t perfected Fire but his fight with the Maedra was enough for him to grow comfortable with it. Using the new mana, Dragon’s Blood, had proven to be even more of a benefit than he could have ever dreamed. It would take further practice and refinement to bring out the power of the mana but there was little time for that. Jake needed to learn the fourth element to add to his toolkit and keep moving forward through the tunnel.

Right now, above all else, saving Chul was the priority.

Rock Magic, otherwise known as Earth Magic, Nature Magic, the Ground Element, and the Element of Life. It was the hardest of the Elements to control because of the high mana requirement and high risk of losing control of the mana used. More so than even Fire magic. So, as expected, most Rock Mages were born with high mana capacities. Almost as if Nature knew just what would be required for the Element. Yet, even with those large mana capacities, most magicians failed to use the element effectively.

Proper control was key with the Rock element. Failure to remain focused would result in a loss of the mana used as the rock would simply absorb and scatter the gathered mana if the mage lost hold of their spell. This made the absorption variable a double-edged sword. Mages with high levels of mana control could utilize massive chunks of stone and could cast unbelievably large and powerful spells. High risk, high reward.

With that in mind, as long as the Magician maintained a steady, wide flow of mana equal to the required amount a type of rock needed to achieve its “Moulding” state, the Magician could utilize the rock for casting. Light dirt needed very little mana while thick metals required a substantial amount. With this knowledge built up over the centuries, Rock magicians developed a system of tiers and ranks to categorize materials based on the mana required to achieve the “molding” state. Rocks and Ores with similar requirements were all grouped. While one might expect a broad list with hundreds of different rocks and crystals and ores- the tier structure was very easy to read.

By using this tier system not only could Magicians understand the baseline requirements needed for their spells, but it also made ranking the Magician’s power very easy. Unlike the other Elements, testing the strength of an Earth Magician could be done by seeing up to what tier of rock they could handle. There were no flukes here or one-time events. Rock Magic was unforgiving.

Jake found the element to be far easier to use in that regard. It was hard to gauge his ability with the other elements and he couldn’t quite narrow down just where he fell in terms of magic power. Sure, Jake could use the basic spells with ease but if he pulled out a more complex spellbook and tried an upper-tier spell, he had no idea what would happen. He would most likely blow up and fail but what if he didn’t? At least with rock magic, Jake could judge his upper limit by testing what rocks he could mold.

Before he let himself get hung up on the little details, Jake turned the page and began to study the beginning spells for the new element. Unlike Wind, Water, and Fire, there was no ‘Rock Ball’ spell. Rock Casting allowed the user to mend the world and thus the magic was focused on utilizing that aspect. Protective walls could be formed rapidly, platforms raised, and holes could be torn open in the floor. With accurate casting, one could even spike the floor to capture the enemy off guard.

Jake hummed as he read over the first set of spells and found the commonality between them. The first spell was the Rock Wall. It was the defensive spell that caused the floor to sharply jut upwards and provide a physical barrier- Tera Wularus.

The second spell was the same but would surround the magician with protective walls rather than make a singular wall. With proper control, the magician could bring up any range of shapes, which brought up the point that control over one’s mana was the only limit when it came to Rock magic. Jake could manipulate the spell to take any shape he desired so long as he had the mana and mana control to support it. Tera Casular.

“Castle…?” He murmured. Wularus, Casular. Wall. Castle.

“These are…” Real things…

Jake left the spell book open and headed to the bookshelf. His eyes glazed over the various book names and he sought out a certain one- Magic History. There wasn’t a book explicitly named such but there was one very close to it; The Creation and Use of Mana. He had seen it on the shelf before but had avoided it. He didn’t quite need to know anything just yet. After speaking with Seria, though, Jake understood that knowing the origins of things might help him better understand just what magic could be capable of. If nothing else he would learn it to have a better grasp on magic in general.

As expected, the only elements which were known at first were the Wind, Water, and Fire elements. Light, Dark, Thunder, and Rock were all still not discovered when magic was first practiced. There were no mages with the affinities for those elements nor was there any way to utilize them. However, as magicians grew in number and power, Thunder magicians were born from powerful Fire magicians.

Light and Dark weren’t exactly “found” or used in the early stages of Magic’s history, but they first appeared in a textbook where a researcher considered the idea of opposing magical elements. There was Fire and Water but they weren’t a direct opposition to one another. The researcher theorized two elements even more directly juxtaposed. Where there was Good and Evil, there must have also been elements attuned to the two sides. While there were no mages attuned to them yet, he surmised that the time for their appearance would come soon.

What those elements exactly were would not be discovered for several centuries until the Seraphym and Myr appeared on the planet. In the meantime, however, Magicians honed their crafts and practiced the other elements. They fine-tuned the limits and possibilities of them all. Of course, once Magic became more widely used and more efficient to be cast, it found a use in war. Magicians began to appear on the battlefields and in skirmishes all over the place. From wide open fields and large army battles to the small-scale scraps in the backstreets between thugs.

Magic, once a tool for research and limited to only those with discipline and intelligence, became a household skill used by the masses. Only, not everyone could use it effectively. Mana explosions were frequent and deadly. Mana Poisoning ran rampant in the slums. Certain individuals in drug production even created a potion that would give a person a short boost to their mana, which generally led to addiction and ultimately- death, as the larger and unnatural mana pool in the addict’s body would inevitably poison the individual.

Eventually, the reliance on Magic ran its course and most countries learned its dangers. Magic use became heavily regulated, schools and academies were opened to teach people how to properly use Magic and there were even hunts conducted to eliminate those who used it for evil deeds. The drug trade in the Magic potions was snuffed out and those caught creating the potions were put to death. Continual subjugation caused the potion’s recipe to eventually be lost and forgotten about.

In time, regulations increased. The cost to go to school spiked and commoners became unable to afford the costs. Soon, magic was able to be used by only higher-class individuals. As the foot came down on the throat of the Mages, the number of people who continued to use magic dwindled and fizzled out. While it was still possible for everyone to use some form of magic, the dilution of genes and the lack of common use of magic caused affinities to weaken over the generations. Now, just being able to feel mana was rare and considered to be a powerful trait. Casting basic spells was seen to make someone a skilled magician. Those who could consistently use magic became revered by certain cultures and heavily feared and persecuted by others.

“Geh…” Jake frowned at the idea of stumbling into the wrong place and getting in trouble just for using magic. He’d have to be careful when traveling later on, lest he find himself locked up over something foolish.

“But where is… Ah, there.” Jake flipped through a few pages, skipping a bit of the pessimistic nonsense until he found what he was looking for- Rock Magic. Even when magic was at its peak, Rock magic wasn’t ever used or discovered. It was too difficult to use and most magicians at the time were focused solely on perfecting the other elements. Fire was great for combat. Water and Wind were coveted for farming and everyday life. Thunder worked well for hunting and keeping large monsters away from caravans.

Rock Magic was only developed by a certain community of individuals who lived high up in the mountains. They were known as the Ennuct. The Ennuct were a reclusive and nomadic people who followed herds of Burrgadesh, which were large, furred animals. The Burrgadesh were very powerful and could defeat most of the monsters they encountered in the mountains, making them great protective assets. The Ennuct originally lived in the lowlands of Eutaria but were run out by Goblins and Eldritch creatures. Rather than try and fight, the Ennuct dispersed into smaller tribes and used the Burrgadesh for protection.

As a nomadic tribe, the Ennuct couldn’t ever truly settle into one place. The mountains were a harsh place to live, lacked abundant food and water sources, and they weren’t exactly warm places to be. Especially in the winters. Thus, the Ennuct developed Rock Magic. Rock Magic allowed the Ennuct to quickly erect small huts and they could dig into the sides of the mountains, creating spaces where they could hide away from the rough weather and settle in for a few days. Whenever the Burrgadesh moved on, the Ennuct could return the earth to its natural state and quickly move on after them.

Food storage became easier, as the Ennuct were able to create stashes. Earning their keep by fighting beside the Burrgadesh, they became formidable warriors by developing brutal battle tactics. Eventually, the Ennuct were able to wall off large spaces within the mountains, trapping the Burrgadesh into more convenient routes, and were able to cordon off the harsher places, keeping the Burrgadesh into the lower parts of the mountains out of the colder regions. There was always the possibility of creating villages and cities, and trapping the Burrgadesh to these areas- but the Ennuct found it sacrilegious to do so. Living with nature did not require one to conquer it. The Ennuct found comfort in their nomadic lifestyle, as every day was always different, always a challenge, and never boring.

As civilization developed in the lowlands, eventually, merchants began to trek up into the mountains to trade with the Ennuct. It was here when Rock Magic began to spread. A new type of element was found being used in the harsh environment, and this new race of people were “masters” of it. Magic researchers flocked to the Ennuct’s camps and sought out all the knowledge they could on the new element. The Ennuct were hesitant at first but in exchange for food, supplies, and other small luxuries, the Ennuct spread the wealth of knowledge they had on Rock Magic.

Rock Magic was still considered very niche and few people could use it as anything more than a protective asset to their spell kit. However, stronger Rock magicians were feared and known for their effectiveness in combat. Being able to materialize walls and large objects in any location at the snap of a finger was scary to most. Rock magicians could create any weapon they desired, as long as they were accurate and meticulous with their craft. Those with more than one element could combine the two easily.

The scariest combination? Wind and Rock.

“There’s always more to it,” Jake mumbled as he closed the book, having read enough of what he wanted to know. He tilted his head back and looked at all of the books in front of him. Truly, it was astounding just how much he could learn in just this room with just these books in front of him. From the history of magic, to how to cast with every element, and how to control those elements. While reading did not directly translate to skill and power, he had all of the tools he needed to make that transition himself. It would take a long, long time… but discipline and dedication would get him to where he dreamed of.

“And I want Chul to see it...” He whispered, his eyes drifting back down to the book in his hand. He returned the book to the shelf where he had found it and then returned to his spellbook in the practice room. The introductory book explained how to leak his mana into the ground and how to mend the earth to his desire. The explanation itself was extremely vague and generic but the concept was easy enough for him to understand.

He needed to use the mana like a hand, grasping for the earth he wanted to use for his spell. He needed to fill enough of the rock in the area with mana to turn it into a putty of sorts, then he would be able to pull and press it to the desired shape. With more intricate mana use, he could mend the rock to reflect more and more of his imagination. Such intricate use required denser mana, as he needed to apply the large amount to smaller spaces. If he wanted boulders, all he would need to do was dump mana into the floor.

But say he wanted to create an intricate and spectacularly designed staff or a set of stairs. Then careful and intricate cuts would need to be made into the rock or he would risk shattering the material.

“This stuff just keeps repeating, doesn’t it…?” Jake sighed as he read the text. Over and over, the same thing- meticulous, accurate, precise. If not- boom, crack, fail, nothing. Wasted mana. No wonder Rock Magic was so difficult. Either succeed in what you were trying to make, or it would either blow up in your face or you would lose the mana you were using instantly. There was no in-between. The risk of failure only increased with the higher tiered rocks, ores, and metals. Without years of practice, anything beyond the Third Tier was practically impossible to mend. Even the lower Tiered materials would prove difficult if improper precautions were taken.

Jake sighed at the excessive warnings plastered in the text and he decided to just close it. He learned what he needed, the basics, and he had read enough of the author telling him “don’t mess up!”. Yes, he got it. Fully aware. Fire magic was supposedly one of the most dangerous of elements but here he was, using it against the Maedra on only his second attempt with the element. Sure, he had nearly died again, but he hadn’t. In reality, he had become more accustomed to the burden of the element. If Rock Magic was anything similar in terms of difficulty and learning how to use it, then Jake would eventually get the hang of it. Practice was all he would need. It was all anyone needed. He would just need to put more effort into this one, and a lot more focus.

With that in mind, he began to cultivate and drew out the thick mana within his body. He took a few minutes to reassess his ability, as well as how much mana he could hold within himself. There was quite a bit and he found that his mana was leaking out again as it had before. It wasn’t as much, but it brought a smile to his face. His mana capacity had grown stagnant recently and he wondered when the opportunity would come for it to grow further. Since his mana had grown from ordinary to Dragon’s Blood, he was finding his limits to be even further beyond expectation.

Just as he had done with his original mana, Jake began to coil the excess into the lower part of his body. The flow tubes supported the momentary extra burden without cracking or bursting open elsewhere, giving Jake plenty of time to create a new mana tail that he could fill. The tail stretched outwards, swaying behind him. However, there was still more. Jake had enough excess Dragon’s Blood to form two tails of additional reserve mana. With Jake starting to get into elements with higher mana requirements, the extra reserve would be crucial in an extended fight. Yet how much of an advantage it would be, Jake would only know when the time came. He would simply need to continue to cultivate and build on that reserve in hopes of never needing it.

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Placing his hands onto the floor, Jake coaxed his mana into his hands much like he was preparing to cast a spell. He shut his eyes and let the mana pour into the floor around his body, channeling it into the floor. He formed it all into a disk beneath him, encircling himself as he stabilized the flow. Once it was set, he thought of what he wanted the mana to do. He wanted to lift himself- to raise the floor and create a slightly lifted platform. Circular. Maybe three feet high. Just enough for him to sit on with his feet still on the floor.

As he created the shape mentally, he formed the material reflection of it with his mana.

“Tera…” He whispered. As he did- his mana reacted. Except nothing happened. He didn’t feel the floor move and his mana remained unchanged on the floor. He thought for a brief moment of what else he needed and then remembered he needed the second half.

“What would be the word for raise…?” He opened his eyes to find a surprise waiting for him. A thin blue line traced a perfect circle in the floor around him- the same size and diameter of the mana he had imagined in his mind. From the faint glow, Jake could tell that the mana had triggered and was already staged. It was just awaiting the activation portion of the spell that would cause it to move.

The problem was that he didn’t know it. Wularus, Casular. Wall and Castle. But neither had a similar rhythm to the word he was looking for… or did they?

Jake bit his bottom lip and lifted his hands from the floor. This cut the flow of mana and the blue line vanished. The mana he had pushed into the floor dissipated. A waste. All because he couldn’t think of the word he needed. However, Rock Magic didn’t seem so different from the other elements. Mana was the fuel and when he added it to the floor, the floor reacted just as he wanted it to. The only problem was the activation. The floor didn’t change, move, or shift just because of a feeling. It was waiting for something else.

Jake placed his hand onto the floor again before pumping just enough mana to create a square around his fingers. Small and contained. He focused enough to create a cube. He could see the blue line outlining where his mana was and the square pulsed faintly with power. He mumbled the elemental identifier, Tera, which caused the pulsing blue to instead glow strongly. His hand felt stuck to the floor. There was suction there and he could feel the ground loosen.

With a soft tug, the floor lifted. Jake’s eyes opened as he pulled out the small cube from the floor. Leaving behind a gap. The cube was the exact shape his mana had cut out and it remained glued to his fingertips as he continued to feed a faint amount of mana into it. When he cut the connection, the cube fell to the floor. It maintained its shape and landed with a thunk. Jake picked it up normally and confirmed it was real. Then, he returned it to the hole he’d yanked it from. The cube slid back into place but the seam remained.

“If I can cut it, can I return it?” He mumbled, placing his hand down on top of the square. He fed a bit of mana into the cut and then coated the outside of the cube. He closed his eyes and focused on melding his mana with the walls around the cube, combining the two and pulling them together. Just as he attached his mana to the floor to create the connection, he lost touch. The mana flow cut from his fingertips and he lost all sense of the square.

“Wha-” His eyes opened and he looked at the floor.

The seam was gone. He blinked and then smiled.

“No wonder,” he mumbled.

The floor didn’t rise due to a lack of activation. It didn’t rise because he didn’t cut the shape. Rock Magic required the Magician to apply mana to the shape they desired and then manipulate the material itself. The first word in the spell was to trigger the mana to act as the knife to carve out the shape. The Magician was essentially telling their mana, “this is a Rock spell”. Then, the second word designate just what the spell was going to be used for whether it was to make a wall or form a set of walls. Just like with the other elements, he needed to connect his mana with the element and then instruct it on how to execute.

However, unlike with the other elements, if he didn’t have the second word for the manipulation piece he could use his mana to manually create the shape instead. It would take longer but the result would be the same. The downside? The shapes would be limited only to his imagination. The upside? The shapes could be generated based on the situation he might find himself in. Similar to when Yir gave her instruction on Jake’s overflow of mana. She didn’t cast any spell. She used her mana as the knife and molded the shape from the table. Though her method was far more advanced, she essentially used the table like a mound of clay.

Jake just needed to replicate that method.

His hands returned to the floor and he dumped mana once more into the disk. After making the shape, he sent mana deeper to create the cylinder between the disk and the floor. Once he had the shape of the platform, he found himself once more at a loss. He couldn’t just lift the floor while kneeling on it. He needed to push the floor up from beneath it, or pull it to raise it. The ground wouldn’t just lift on its own. With him kneeling on top of the shape, it wasn’t going anywhere soon. If he could just cut out a disk in the floor and make it float, then people would be flying all over the place using Rock Magic.

For the other elements, Jake had developed the spells to make even the activation word unnecessary. As long as the spell’s requirements were fulfilled and the mana fed into the spells had been manipulated properly, there was no additional push necessary. The Ball spells would shoot off once the triggering mana was pushed into the spell. The Wall spells ignited with the desired thickness, height, and strength depending on how much mana was provided. Jake had even learned to use the Wall spell to create tiny spikes that he could cast ball spells from. Though with those, he would need to give them an additional push to fire them off.

A push… He needed to give the spell some kind of push.

Jake pushed more mana into the floor and collected it beneath the slab he knelt on. Then, in an instant, he triggered a Wind spell- Wind Wall. Filling the gap with pressure, the floor suddenly jerked upwards and was shoved out from the hole it sat in. Jake’s eyes opened wide as he lifted along with the floor. Out of panic, his hands popped off the ground, disconnecting him from the mana flow. The Wind Wall dispersed and the disk dropped back into its slot.

“O...kay.” He got his bearings and eased off the top of the disk. It wasn’t set right in the hole anymore, as it hadn’t landed perfectly. Even so, the clean cut of the shape was clear to see. Jake placed his hands onto the floor and fed mana into the space beneath the disk. This time, he controlled the strength of the Wind Wall and slowly applied pressure to the base of the disk. It lifted in a more controlled manner this time around, straightening out and sliding upwards until the bottom of the disk was flush with the floor.

The Wind filled the space beneath the disk, keeping it lifted even as Jake pulled his hands free. He added additional mana into the ground to continue feeding the wind wall a source of strength and then stepped onto the disk. It dropped slightly from the additional weight. However, it did not fall and supported him as he reestablished the connection with the Wind Wall through his feet. He shut his eyes and sent a second strand of mana into the ground, stretching it through the Wind Wall and into the rock beneath it. He filled the space with mana until the ground became more malleable. Then, he drew it upwards and connected it to the base of the disk.

Once the raised earth met the disk, he melded the two together. Once the mana acting as the glue was absorbed, Jake cut the Wind Wall.

The ground didn’t fall. It didn’t tilt. It didn’t crack. Jake focused on the support pillar he had created and used his mana to test its strength, looking for any weak points. Seeing none, he stepped off the disk.

His goal had been achieved. It had taken several steps but he had created a circular platform he could step up onto. The circular shape had been cut neatly from the floor and a pillar supported the raised platform from beneath. He couldn’t see it, as the bottom of the platform was lower than the floor itself but it certainly was there. No wonder Rock Magic was considered difficult. The sheer number of steps and mana required to do just one basic task was far more than any of the other elements. It also required him to think. While the other elements were prime examples of unnatural occurrences made real by mana- Rock magic was the practical side. Everything was real with Rock magic, and as such Rock magic was limited by the ingenuity of the caster.

Kneeling back to the floor, Jake fed mana into the ground and cut the pillar beneath the raised platform. He eased the platform back down into the gap and returned the material to its original state. Using mana to repair the lines, the cut vanished and the floor looked untouched. However, after gathering the extra mana back into his hands, he immediately pushed it back out. He created a small square in front of himself, gave it depth to form a cube, and then pushed mana into the rock beneath the cube. He pushed the cube upwards and raised it from the floor up to just in front of his face. The higher he pushed the cube, the more mana he needed to spend to gather material. While there was plenty of it, he could feel the rock getting weaker as it was stretched upwards.

The amount of rock available was finite. Stretch it too far and the support beam would become brittle, thin, and unlikely to hold the weight of the object on top. Similar to a tree- the top of the support was a lot smaller than the base. However, once he had the set height, Jake redistributed the material and pushed it upwards. Rather than look as if it were seated atop a spike, now the cube was on a sturdy cylinder pillar.

Jake nodded, comfortable with his progress. He poured mana into the floor again to return all of the material to its original state. His use of the element was still imperfect and his creative skills needed sharpening, but it would do. Next, he needed to learn how to climb. Which didn’t take much thought.

If Jake could pull the rock up, then he applied mana to soften the floor until his fingers sank into the material. Little handholds were melted into the floor where he pressed. The rock seemed to become gooier to the touch and spread out like clay as he softened it. When the mana was sapped back out of the material, it hardened again just as quickly. He could pull out his fingers, too. Thankfully.

With this, Jake was confident he could get back to Chul. It would take time and a lot of rest but he had options available to him that would help him cross the water safely, somewhat. The Maedra in the way would cause problems, no doubt, and those Warriors would likely try to get in his way, too. Variables he was accounting for already. Nothing was ever easy and he had come to terms with that. Magic had introduced him to plenty of troubles so far and patience was always a necessary thing. As a child, all Jake had to worry about was being back in the tent by certain times for food. The games he played never required much thought and the other children never asked a lot of questions, so life had been easy.

However, Jake’s father had always made sure the boy understood that life wouldn’t stay easy forever. Things would get hard. He would face problems. He would need to be creative. He would need to be tough. Especially as an adventurer. In this kind of world, life was so easily snuffed out and many adventurers met their ends being unprepared and lazy. If he could help it, Jake would always make sure to keep himself sharp. The foundations were important so he would be slow and methodical with learning them.

“Need to stay focused,” he mumbled as he closed his books. He returned the study tools to the shelf, cleaned up his workspace, and dusted himself off. He returned to the sigil in the entryway and took in a deep breath.

In through his nose. Out through his mouth. In through his nose…

His eyes closed and he felt his stomach flip as he triggered the sigil.

Time to go to work.

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