91 So In Theory

"Let's see, ya got; air (yellow), water (blue) fire (red), earth (brown), and even conversion magic (grey). That might be a true record breaker right there." Regin chuckled as he described the different crystals reacting to Galahad.

It certainly was a record, on average a magician would have one element on top of their specialization, sometimes a rare class or circumstance would result in two elements. As far as anyone knew, the title of most elements went to a woman by the name Philidra Sequart.

It was recorded in the history books decades prior, She had a common attack mage class, but was somehow able to manipulate water, air, and light. Philidra showed it off to anyone and everyone she met. The event lit up a lot of news coverage during her prime years as an adventurer, calling for some unwanted attention too.

Some historians and envious magicians wanted to debunk her for fraud, regardless if she actually was faking, claiming she used hidden magic tools or weapons, but she quickly disproved them.

Philidra was famously known for her walk down the capital street the day for the bought out trial. She walked through the capital city of Etherite completely nude, yet still surrounded by the three elements under her control. Proving it was all her own power. Turns out her lack of modesty solved the issue that it created.

This threw all the lies and deceit against her out the window. Her opposing peers were soon after called lying bastards for years, losing a lot of face in their fields because they were overcome with the jealousy against her luck.

Now it seems Galahad was the new Philidra Sequart, capable of wielding not only water and air, but three more elements as well. Though his story was going to stay a lot more quiet, because unlike Philidra, his abilities came from an outside source and not his own independent growth.

"This- how?"

Galahad was still staring at the the glowing crystals without blinking, meanwhile Regin was clearing a table off for one of the crates he brought down. He found a roll of hose and just left it, seems it wasn't the box he was hoping for and pondered at Galahad.

"Ya know I have a few ideas about why this is all happening, but there is one big one that might fit the wrench if ya look at it the right way."

Galahad was so busy still staring at the glowing crystals in his hands, that he to pull himself out of the trance to recall what the dwarf was saying.

"You think you finally have a solid idea on what's happening to me?"

"There's never a hundred-percent certainty of anything in this world, but it might be crazy enough to be some aspect of the truth."

Galahad turned in the stool and focused on Regin. Learning what was actually happening to him was essential to figuring out how to save his friends and stopping the orb from taking over again.

"I'm all ears."

"Alright, let's back everything up to the beginning, starting with the details. In an enormous cavern, filled with crystallized people, you found a single, strange orb in the center. Guarded by smoking demons that were smart enough speak."

"Well one could speak, the other was just smart enough to wildly shout noises to call for reinforcements." Galahad interjected.

"Not the important part. The main issue being the structure of the setup; it had a wide open space, guardians, and thousands of adventures buried beneath a single orb."

"Okay, have you figured out why?"

"I think . . . They were trying to hatch something."

"Hatch something?" Galahad was stumped. Just what were they hatching? A chicken? A dragon? New demons perhaps?

Everyone knew monsters and demons that came from the dungeon were constantly creating more and more offspring of the same species to murder with each passing generation, but no one knew what the exact origins were.

There were on theories and religious gatherings similar to the church of the Nine, who believed it came from some higher/darker power sitting in Endora's core, but the world just had no scientific explanation on their initial development and why they contained mana orbs.

Regin kept talking through his explanation, irked at Galahad not immediately understanding.

"It's no different than some odd incubation chamber for a tree. They needed fertilizer to grow the orb, and class wielders were the perfect source, housing all kinds of power like Mana, Chi, and even that Realm gunk. They just needed workers to protect and harvest the nutrients to feed it."

"I can sorta get that, but that doesn't explain what is happening to me specifically."

"Ahh, see that's where you're wrong." The dwarf pulled out a Karmic tablet with a diagram on it.

The diagram was a 2D drawing of a sapling in a dirt pile, with a bunch of roots running little lights up from the dirt. After a few seconds, the sapling grew into a fully developed tree with fruit blossoming.

"I don't fol-"

"I know ya don't follow! Shut yee trap and listen!" Regin's dwarven accent got very heavy when he shouted, making his words boom with a lot more force.

"*Sigh* Alright, now ya can get my idea that the orb was the focal point of all that power, to be stored and harnessed into a singular entity. Then that abomination of random powers would blossom-slash-unleash whatever the hell it wanted onto the surface, until you came along."

"So you're saying I was blown up by a demon's egg thing as it started to bloom?"

Regin shook his head and continued.

"You're not getting the point, that thing inside yur body was meant to absorb whatever was inside a dozen-thousand something people. An based on what the Spriggun' said, it was nearly done doing it's job."

"So . . . I'm carrying around thousands of adventurers inside my body?"

"Maybe not their souls or minds, but at the very least their power. Its all bubblin around as an unfinished project inside ya."

Galahad felt a few things click into place; he never saw the orb doing anything after swallowing up the broken guild officer. He interrupted the altar's process, and now he was just carrying it on as a host body to incubate.

This meant the black orb that was made by demons was still living in him, still growing. It had yet to blossom before settling inside his body.

After a brief minute of silence, he decided to keep going with Regin's thought process, not wanting to admit the second voice in his mind was most likely a unborn demon.

There was a limit to people's acceptance and help; Galahad didn't wanna push his luck, only to find out Regin would sell him out to get rid of whatever was inside him.

"Okay . . . But what about the numbers and accelerated leveling system? Did it come from my old Karmic plate?"

Regin then flashed a smug grin, indicating Galahad had started asking the right questions.

"See, it would explain the leveling process those words visualized inside that head. It absorbs everythin physically and harnesses its power in a way like an infant learns how to speak just by watching it's parents."

'So I have a murder baby growing inside me. Somehow that sounds way worse than I could have ever pictured it.' Galahad thought to himself.

Now the brief moments of losing his mind, and finding the mana orbs sitting on his desk back home was starting to make more sense. It was growing and egging him on about getting stronger. He just had no idea why it wanted him to keep doing it.

"So in all the time that it took for it to stabilize in my body, it just decided to keep growing, but inside me instead of the altar."

"Now ya gettin' it, your body is now a blend of demon, human, karmic plate, and dumbass decisions."

'Bit uncalled for.' He commented to himself and kept asking.

"Well what about my battle class? I don't think blending all those chi-wielders together would just magically make me a new class called a Spartan."

Regin just gave a shrug while tugging on his beard. "No idea, my best guess without any other knowledge is that class was considered the most superior among the others. Perhaps the only unique or rare class among the victims."

"Then how about the ability to wield every basic element?"

"Going back to the blending of every class into one, you are probably filled with an assortment of mana frames. I doubt every magician captured was just a single element."

"Okay, that makes sense . . . now what do you think will happen when I unlock summoner?" Galahad asked.