4 Magic Studies

Apart from Geography, Edmund read about many other things. His favorites were magic books. Many books advertised that magic could do anything, so Edmund decided to learn everything he could about it. He found magic very entertaining. There were books on Alchemy, Enchanting, Formations, Healing, Summoning, Battle Magic, Divination, and many more. Many were teachings about the principles of magic rather than actual spells.

In the Angus Kingdom, if you wanted to study magic and had a talent for it, you would go to study at the Angus Magic Academy, where many renowned magicians graduated from. It was located on the capital of the Kingdom. The Academy received people from all over, from commoners to nobles. Everyone was freely taught magic, giving all the freedom to choose their own path in life.

Those who didn't want to study magic, but preferred the physical side of things or had a strategic mind usually chose to join the army. The army has physical training and many leaders who directed the battlefield. The army was the perfect place to cultivate talents. Most who joined the army were men, as they had an undeniable physical advantage. On the other hand, many women chose to study magic at the Angus Magic Academy.

The Academy was a place for study, and even graduates mingled among the students. A person could graduate when he or she reached moderal proficiency in their chosen field. Moderal proficiency was not a set standard. You basically graduated if you passed a test made by the tutor in charge of the class. The test could be incomparably hard or very easy. It would all depend on the tutor.

But even after graduation, mages were expected to continue their studies. Graduation merely means that they were proficient in their studies, which basically meant that they wouldn't be completely destroyed by newbie magician. What happened from then, whether they become mediocre mages or Great Archmagi, depended on them. So many graduate mages chose to take advanced courses, which was basically the same, but way harder.

Magicians' power was determined by their mana. The more mana you have, the greater the spell and the more spells you can cast. Every person had a mana core, along with mana channels. Many people had an underdeveloped mana core, and sealed mana channels. This basically means that you need to actually do something to become a mage. You couldn't randomly just have massive amounts of mana. Mana cores had multiple stages, defined by the color of the mana core.

The first stage was the Red Core, which probably meant that the person hadn't become a magician, or had just become a magician recently.

Then there was the Orange Core. Most graduates had Orange Cores.

After that came Yellow Cores. Intermediate magicians had these. They were the ones who were not really talented, but still had magic. It also characterized those who had advanced quite a bit in their studies.

Then there was the Green Core. Green Cores were masters of their chosen path. They were highly respected. There weren't many of them in each country, so they were also sought after. Many Green Cores were travelers. They were not contracted to any country. An attachment like that would chain them down. They mostly preferred to further their craft by exploring and doing their own things. Green Cores had a longer lifespan than a normal person. It wasn't by much, but they would get to live a few decades more.

After Green Cores came Blue Cores. The number of Blue Cores in a country could be counted in one's hands. Mostly, they were royalty or really exceptional mages who went to great lengths to achieve their dreams. They were powerhouses which influenced not only their own country, but also those around it. With this, if multiple Blue Cores moved together, they could influence an entire continent. Blue Cores had an even longer lifespan than the Green Cores. Blue Cores could live up to five centuries, though many retired to pursue their chosen craft in solitude as elders or ancestors of their own powers.

After the magnificent Blue Cores were the disastrous Violet Cores. They were basically disasters made human. No one could contend against them. Only if all the Blue Cores of the Primer continent banded together would they stand a chance against a Violet Core. Anyone who had a Violet Core was highly revered. They were mostly hermits and outcasts. Once someone reached the Violer Core, it is said that he could live for millenia. Once the passage of time took everything they held dear, they lived as self-imposed outcasts, living in solitude apart from society as a whole.

There was then the legendary White Core. There were merely rumors of it, but the legends said that once a person got a White Core, he or she achieved immortality. They would live forever. They could alter the laws of reality and choose the fates of those below them. They could revive the dead without penalty and affect the world. They were the ultimate power in the world.