Side story 1: Magic

This happened between the period of time of Eric recovering from his fight against Goenitz and before entering school

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It was a peaceful day, after lunch I was in the training room alongside Leona, Link and Zelda, Impa was busy today so, we all were training as routine before we started playing

I don't mind training but since the rest are kids, it's best not to push them, so I play with them after each training session, on this particular day, Leona was currently doing push ups as part of her routine, Link was swinging and moving around, Zelda was reading some books and I was practicing magic

The way I practice magic is simply making elements appear in my hands and then switching them until I run out of mana…but the whole thing is still not entirely clear to me, so I decided to ask Monica

[Hey Monica?]

"Yes Master?"

[How does this whole magic thing works? Where does it come from? How does it recover? How am I able to control it? Why is this the best method to train it? What even is mana?]

"Oh, you wish for the full explanation? Certainly, however, do make sure you keep practicing as I explain ok?"

[Got it]

"Perfect, for starters, mana is a part of your soul"

I nearly fell flat

[SOUL?! Isn't that unstable after my first death?! Have I been playing with death each time?!]

"Calm down master"

[…Ok…ok…sorry]

"Now then, your soul is indeed unstable, but there is a part of your soul that is made up of mana you can use without worry since it will regenerate with time, think of your soul as the ocean, and a small part of that ocean is a lake that people can fish in, as long as they don't take all the fish, after some time, more will come, you follow?"

[Ok…so as long as I don't over use my mana, I won't be in danger]

"Indeed, Mana is still a part of your soul however, so if you use it past your limit, you will suffer backlash"

[So how can one tell the limit? I don't have neither a HP or MP bar]

"Your body will let you know, for example, if you use half, you will get cold chills, if you use 75% of your capacity, you will feel nausea and even the desire to puke, while if you use 90%, your body will actively attempt to shut you down and make you fall unconscious so you don't hurt yourself, if you were to ignore that and have the willpower to overcome that self defense, once you use 100% you will suffer atrocious internal bleeding as your body will begin to break down at the abuse your soul is suffering"

[Holy crap…]

"If you keep going despite that, chances of death are 99,9%, there is a small chance of survival but it is so miniscule, let us never test it ok?"

[Deal]

"Lovely, as for increasing your capacity, since your soul is an abstract concept, it has no physical shape, as such it can be molded however you understand it, as such, making you think of it as a muscle is far more efficient than anything else…at least in your case"

[Would it be different for others?]

"It could be, but since it is an abstract concept, it is best not to dwell on it and instead focus on what has worked for you so far"

[Got it, how about recovery? How do I regain mana?]

"Mana is regained through the absorption of the energy the world gives out, after all, the world has a consciouness and it's mere existence gives out mana, your soul absorbs it then you recover, makes sense?"

[Kinda…then if the world is hurt or polluted…]

"Like yours used to be? Yeah no wonder your world had no magic"

[That sucks…so Orochi does have a good reason to hate us…]

"He always did but, are you going to let that stop you?"

[Hell no, I made a promise to Leona, if I break it, may my soul be damned!]

"Good, as for your ability to control it, that is thanks to multiple factors, me being one of them"

[I had a feeling]

"You see, beings born in this world have got an innate understanding of magic, however, a few exceptions exist that can't use magic, it is all related to the strength of their souls"

[Strength?]

"The soul is at the end of the day, the source of all emotions"

[Huh? Wasn't that the brain?]

"In a world without Mana, yes, but in a world with Mana, the soul plays a more crucial role, I am sure you noticed that during moments of intense emotion you are able to get back up or do more damage despite your hurt state, that is because the stronger the emotion, the more power you can draw from it"

[!! What?!]

"To make a long and complicated story short, in a world with mana, your soul has Mana to feed off of, allowing your emotions to be more intense, your rage in this world is infinitely stronger than it could have ever been in your original world, and thanks to that, your soul reacts to those strong emotions, feeding you extra power with little consequence, however achieving such a level is not easy by any means"

[So feelings power up the soul, and the soul powers up magic]

"In a nutshell"

[Guess it makes sense since this is a videogame world…]

"Glade you follow, and since I exist in your soul, I am able to connect your soul and brain allowing for easier manipulation"

[Ok…]

"As for your magic, it is all a matter of visualization, as long as you can imagine it perfectly, your mana can give it form, and thanks to Blank Slate, you are not bound by elementary restrictions or potential consequences of researching dangerous magic"

[Dangerous?]

"Magic that makes your emotions go berserk for example is dangerous, but for you, it would only leave you stunned at best"

[I see…and thanks to all the spell I have seen in my games…]

"Visualization is a cinch"

[Awesome! No wonder I felt it was natural…]

"Don't forget however, the stronger or bigger the magic is, the more the mana cost, keep in mind how much you feel you use, understood?"

[Sure, is there any way to see how strong my enemy is in terms of magic besides Appraisal?]

"The eyes master"

[Eyes?]

"To make it simple, have you ever heard the phrase "The eyes are the window to the soul"?

[I have]

"Perfect, it is literal"

[Literal?]

"The eyes, in particular the color of the Iris reflects the color of the soul, and the stronger the output, the more the eyes change, going from a small glint of light, to proper flashes of light, to their eyes quite literally turning into embers that reflect the color of the iris"

[Hold up, what about Heterochromia? Isn't that when the eyes have 2 different colors?]

"That in your world is a mere condition, but in a world with mana, it is a blessing, a soul with multiple colors is more sensitive to emotions, has a higher natural mana capacity and finally, it increases the power exponentially"

[Holy crap…ok…]

"Anything else?"

[If I face an enemy whose eyes are embers, it is safe to say I am in for a rough fight right?]

"Indeed, same way as if your eyes shine, the enemy is in for a bad time"

[Ok…that's a lot to digest, but as long as my emotions are strong and truthful, I will be strong in magic]

"And don't forget that your mana can also buff your body in case of emergency, such as Endure"

[Fascinating…]

"There is a lot more to learn but for now we should leave it at that, never stop training master, your mana is your greatest trump card"

[Lastly, how is my rank determined?]

"Oh, it is a combination of mana capacity, the strength of your spells and your overall control, it also factors in if you can silent cast or not"

[Right…silent cast…]

"Last time you nearly burnt down the apartment master"

[I don't get it! How does NOT shouting my attack make me lose control?!]

"Maybe it has to do with your mindset?"

[What is wrong with me…?]

"Not a lot truly…anything else?"

[Nothing else, thanks Monica!]

"Anytime"

I always found magic to be fascinating ever since I got here, but to think it has so many possibilities and drawbacks if I am not careful…still, as long as I keep practicing, the most absurd fantasy spells should be possible

All right! Let's see how far I can push this