Chapter 262: Halflings

'Cybill, you don't get angry at men who know nothing.'

Cybill self-restrained herself before trying to reason with Arthur:

"Arthur, you need to understand this. Our extreme sense of existence taints our mana sense and mana signature. Because we employ our mana in our fields, the results we obtain are also tainted by that. The more we have that taint, the more inferior the quality of every ranking item we craft for ourselves.

And it applies to lower-ranked humans as well as those who have progressed much further in their ranking journey. I would even go so far as to say that human rankers become more arrogant of themselves as they progress further in their ranks."

After she said that, Cybill glanced at Arthur to see if he got her meaning. The latter simply maintained a poker face, giving her no clue that he got it. So she verbally marched on before Arthur could ask:

"The world's mana doesn't like a part of itself to be forcefully snatched by the masses of giant egos. It wants the mana to be as pure as before we intercepted it.

There is a direct correlation between the way of the elements and the state of epiphany. You can only start walking on the path of your element once the world's mana gives you the rights and direction to do so.

In contrast, when a human subconsciously interacts with the world's mana during their epiphanies, their egos prevent them from believing everything the mana has to say to them. We just can't help it even if we decide to not do so before the state of epiphany hits us."

Arthur wasn't a genius researcher like Garvin and Cybill Karr. And he wasn't that knowledgeable about the in and out of their respective fields either. But he finally gained something from the potioneer's explanation:

"You mean you need to enter the state of epiphany to make something like the elven ale? That would make elves monsters, wouldn't it? I mean look at the amount of ale getting sold throughout the kingdom.

I know it's still rare and limited in quantity, but the amount is still large enough to scare most humans who know what that condition implies about ale brewing. If the elves can enter the state of epiphany that easily and that often, they can use that state to progress further in their ranking journey as well.

And yet, we don't see that many high-ranked entities in the elven race if we consider how easy it is for them to enter the state of epiphany. At least not on the surface. Why is that?"

Cybill shook her head after hearing Arthur's discussion and replied patiently:

"I can't answer that on behalf of all the Faeruns, Arthur. And I can't say how their ale brewing or their practice of honing their elements work either.

The fact is, though, that their way of life, their freedom to do whatever they wish and seeking out various experiences are crucial in their ranking journey.

Those experiences and expressions of freedom become their mediators and help them in communicating with the world's mana when the state of epiphany finally hits them. That is something we can only emulate on a cosmetic level.

Most of us humans will have strong beliefs and opinions about everything we find worthy of our time and resources. This is how we've been designed.

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While most elves can see something miraculous in the most mundane of things. They'll wear their hearts on their sleeves around you if they trust you.

So if and when the state of epiphany hits them, the elves can get the most out of it. Their hearts are open to the path suggested by the world's mana, regardless of how contrasting it sounds.

This all happens subconsciously of course. Neither the elves nor we humans can consciously make our decisions while our psyches are suspended in that ethereal state.

And neither of us can influence the mana to tell us exactly what we want to know. That's why I said it all comes down to the most fundamental nature of all living things."

It seemed that Arthur had gained some insight, as he agreed with the potioneer's patient explanations. And that understanding made him a bit reluctant to come to terms with it:

"That would mean humans will always stay one step behind elves and other races that excel in their fields of expertise? Is there no way around it?"

Cybill checked out her husband's condition and replied to Arthur without looking at him:

"I'm not aware of any such thing officially existing. Early researchers thought halflings would be the key to understanding and maximizing the benefits of the state of epiphany by developing ranking techniques based on their constitutions. But they dropped the idea as soon as it came out.

Let's take a child between a human and an elf for example. That child, whether it be called half-human or half-elf depending upon its appearance, will carry the shortcomings of both its parents in most cases. First of all, it will never be able to talk with the mana the way elves do because it is half-human.

In addition, it won't get better in its field even if it studies it diligently as it's not completely human either."

Arthur knew halflings were considered worthless by pure-blooded rankers of all the races. But he didn't seem to understand the reason behind it. So Cybill took a long sigh and elaborated further:

"The reason I say this is because a human way of crafting ranking items depends on our ability to either consciously or subconsciously blend our consciousness into our mana signature. All our recipes and crafting techniques take our mana signature into account.

Of course, it taints the final products. But that is something we can manage and make peace with.

But a halfling's mana signature drastically differs from that of a human. This anomaly is serious enough to make all of our recipes and techniques virtually useless to the half-elf ranker.

And since the halflings cannot hone their elements the same way elves can, the elven recipes and techniques also become equally useless to them. So a halfling suffers from both sides and has no real advantage over the races it was born from.

Halflings are not respected by either race because they are considered useless. Plus, they are rare to be born in the first place because the chances of their natural progeny are ridiculously low. So it seems nature and the world's mana also don't like their existence either."

From her storage, Cybill retrieved a vial of potion.. It seemed she was preparing for something after looking at her husband's condition.

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