Naturally, Rocks are the Masters of Earth Magic

As the vast lake of molten slag continued to churn before them, Blake opened up the Point Store. It was simply unfair that even after 100 years, they had only earned a single point. This functionally put Blake at 34,001 points once Mapping and Inspection reached the maximum level. What would help would be something that could get Blake across the vast lake in steps. While they could try to simply blast their tiny stone body across, the risk was far too great to attempt.

The Point Store's disorganized manner was really hindering any real progress to be made. As if on cue, a notice popped up.

"Participant has spent 3 hours cumulative in the Point Store without purchasing anything. Would you like to spend 1 system point for the module "Point Store Organization"?"

Mocking Blake's frustration, the System was downright predatory for their points. After 100 years Blake a finally earned a single point. Let the local landlord named System demanded it the moment all their hard work had been rewarded. If Blake had eyes, they would be glaring at the voice in their head. Confirming the purchase, the Store finally seemed to organize itself into a user-friendly form. Once done, among the several tabs was one labeled "Magic".

Sighing with relief, the tab contained everything that a young mage could want. Spells, technique books, equipment. Blake could become an Arch Wizard with the click of a button. However, the points at their disposal now couldn't even buy a single helpful spell! Spells like "Advanced Blizzard", tools like the "Flying Carpet", even scrolls of "Teleportation" cost anywhere between 50,000 to 100,000 points. Each of these items would solve the current issue instantly yet were just out of reach.

Before Blake closed the Point Store in disappointment, they noticed a technique book titled "Magic For Beginners: Even You Can Learn!". Authored by a person named Henry Percy, the book gave a forward describing the man's accomplishments. Yet it seemed more like this "Wizard Earl" was a rich snob with a fascination for the occult. But the book only cost 1,000 points and the Point Store had never been a scammer by selling fakes. Just by withholding information. Magic Vision had turned out to be a useful skill for example. It just couldn't be used at first.

With a thought, the book was purchased and appeared in Blake's mind. Curious, it wasn't until now that Blake realized that the current surroundings would make a paper book spontaneously combust upon arrival. Despite having the high ground, the perks that Blake had made the 500 F (260C) air feel like a tropical breeze. It would easily start to burn the pages of any conventional book that appeared out of thin air. Yet the System notice that rang out seemed to have a different idea.

"Object bought would disrupt "Environmental Balance Guidelines" set forth by the Council. Participant has violated Rule 66002. This notice serves as a verbal warning. Second offence will require Administrator intervention. Purchased object's subject matter can be perused in Participant's mind until further notice."

Blake balked at the notice. Had they just committed a crime? What were all these rules? It seemed the young Administrator was a little greener to their job duties then they let on. Yet it did leave a helpful hint. If you ever need management to pay attention to you, just break something! Not having anyone to chat with this past century save for the System notices was rather lonely. Tempting as it was to buy some more items and see what would be considered a rule violation, Blake withheld themselves. Who knew what the third strike could be. Banishment from the dimension and stripped of all the perks and skills Blake had painstakingly grown didn't seemed farfetched.

But that was an issue for another time. For now, the suspiciously named magical technique book had to have its secrets unveiled. Glancing through the tome, it seemed that magic was comprised of several things. For basic magic, just intent was needed, as well as the power to do it. For higher level magic, chants, hand movements, and ingredients were needed in addition to the basic requirements. Unfortunately, an obvious problem arose. Blake had none of objects needed for casting high level magic, the first being a body! Hands and mouths were dangerous to have in this hellscape. One could lose them instantly if they were not careful. As for the ingredients, there was only stones, dust, and fire in abundance.

Boiling with rage, Blake flipped through the book desperate to find something of use. It wasn't until the anecdotes at the end that gave them the clue they hoped for. Apparently, high level magic users could surpass all these limitations. They needed to be so in tune with the magic both inside themselves and around them that their will had to just reach out to bring about the phenomenon they desired. This was known by many names. Shapeless Magic, Chant-less Magic, First Magic, all of these names boiled down to one thing. Magic without all the limitations was simply whatever the user wished. It's just that the sufficient power to do so as much larger than usual. If a maze had multiple solutions, a spell was the most efficient route through the maze. Whereas the more powerful magic wasn't just the ability to blast through the walls of the maze. It could just ask the maze to become a hallway instead.

This revelation cooled Blake's anger while simultaneously excited them. The average mage had one hundred mana, while great mages could have upwards of one hundred times that. According to the book, these great mages could use this greater magic. A century of constant mana use had passed for Blake as well as the last time that they had looked at the Status.

"Well then, lets see if these last one hundred years have made me into a grand magus. Status"

[ STATUS ]

Participant 000549144: Blake

Species: Basic Volcanic Rock (Lucky)

HP: 100/100

Mana: 10,000/10,000

Strength (STR): 0

Intelligence (INT): 15

Wisdom (WIZ): 12

Dexterity (DEX): 0

Constitution (CON): 100

Charisma (CAR): 0

Luck (LUK): 110

System Points: 73,001

Current Quests: None

Current Perks: Former Life's Memories, Point Store, Growth Tutor System, Source of Magic, Calendar Module, Advanced Watch Module, Lucky, Extreme Heat Resistance (Lv.1), Extreme Physical Damage Resistance (Lv.1), Focused Mind (Lv.60), Magic Vision (Lv.40), Mapping Module (Lv. 98), Inspection Module (Lv. 98)

Skills: Telekinesis (Lv. 98)

Blake easily had enough mana to fit the requirements. They simply had never thought to try anything else other than move their form. Without challenges, humans would never grow. And in an environment that was the same everywhere, there was nothing to inspire change. Now though, this sea of lava was the last thing on this planet that could challenge Blake. Staring at the magic particles that made up the molten rock, the soup of fire and earth was so well mixed that it was impossible to know where to start. So why not start with something smaller?

Lifting a ball of lava with Telekinesis, Blake sat down to do something they hadn't done since they arrived at this dimension. Sit down and analyze. It was time for some science. Well, magic, actually. But who ever said the two couldn't be applied to each other? The former graduate started using the rusty cogs that once was the only thing they were proud of. Fire particles started to become less concentrated on the top of the sphere as the earth ones stayed in place. Seeing this, Blake nudged this phenomenon more quickly. Their will started to move the fire particles out of the magma at a faster and faster rate. At the same time, the earth flakes were moved in a more usable shape to land on. By the time Blake had finished, a nice black stone had formed. Landing in the lava, two new notifications rang out.

"Congratulations! Through special manipulation of the elements, you've earned the skill "Basic Fire Elemental Manipulation (Lv.1)".

"Congratulations! Through special manipulation of the elements, you've earned the skill "Basic Earth Elemental Manipulation (Lv.1)".