Different

Alvin nodded and began to speak. "To be honest, it has been just three years since I joined the academy, so it is not like I'm all that knowledgeable. Anyway, Maguses are what we call those who train in Magic Energy, which should be obvious."

"In our world, they are at the top of the food chain. It's not like you can't become someone important without being one, but the Maguses definitely have many advantages. First of all, your overall strength increases with each level, and you are able to manipulate more Magic Energy."

Alvin then extended his hand, and the surrounding Magic Energy gathered around it. "I'm only a Level One Magus, so the amount of Magic Energy I can control is limited. Nonetheless, I can use it for many things. The most obvious one would be battle, but you can also use it for other types of work. For example, I don't need Magic Stones to power up some simple devices. Just the energy I gather naturally as a Level One Magus is enough for it all to work."

"As your Level as a Magus increases, so does your Magic Energy output. You can also store more and higher levels of magical energy in your core. It goes without saying that the higher the level of Magical Energy, the stronger you are. You can even use Magical Energy to enhance your thinking capability for a limited amount of time. Just don't overdo it since it puts a huge burden on the brain and soul. Even Familiars are not different in this aspect, so be careful."

Linfel nodded. "I understand. You mentioned being a Level One Magus. That's definitely different from where I came from. Back there, there was no such thing as levels. Most likely, it was due to the fact that primordial energy didn't have different levels either. Someone's power was basically determined by how much Primordial Energy they could control and store at once, but in the basics, they were all identical."

Alvin hasn't heard about such a system before. "That's indeed very different. You see, if your Level as a Magus or Familiar doesn't increase, you will definitely reach the limit soon. For most Maguses, the only way to store more and higher levels of magical energy is to Level Up as a Magus. There is no other choice. In your case, the concept of levels seemed to be nonexistent. Is it still the same for you?"

Linfel tried to manipulate the Red Magic Energy he created and nodded. "Seems like so. I have no issues manipulating this Red Magic Energy. Well, it is obvious since I was the one who created it. The only difference is that I truly can't store much of it compared to the Yellow Magic Energy. From what I can feel, I can only hold a tenth of Red Magic Energy compared to Yellow. That reminds me, didn't you get a Red Magic Energy Stone before. If you couldn't use it, then why were you so happy?"

"Oh, that's a misconception," Alvin explained. "I indeed can't manipulate Red Magic Energy, but I can use it to increase my level faster. Do you remember when I said you need to integrate Magic Energy into your core? That's basically it. Using a higher level of Magic Energy will help your core transform faster."

"Transform?" Linfel wondered.

"Yes, when your core gets strong enough, it changes color, just like the Magic Energy. The same goes for the Familiar, as Felia mentioned. Their Spiritual Bodies also change color, showing their higher level. It's just that a Magus Core exists inside the body, so you can't really see it."

Alvin sighed. "Still, your Core is obviously something similar to a Level One Familiar. And yet, you can manipulate Red Magic Energy. There aren't many Familiars and Maguses who can manipulate a Higher Level of Magical Energy without being at that level."

"Hum? Didn't you say one couldn't manipulate Red Magic Energy as a Level One Magus?" Linfel got confused.

"Did you forget? I clearly said 'for most maguses' before. That doesn't mean they are all like this." Alvin scratched the back of his head, feeling a little helpless. "Well, that's where talent and resources come in... I'm pretty average, perhaps a little below it. As for resources, it should be obvious we don't exactly have a lot of it."

It was a pretty simple concept. Alvin explained that Maguses with high talent and resources are also able to control higher levels of magical Energy even without being at that level. The same goes for familiars. Alvin even saw some Level One Maguses defeating Level Two opponents in the academy before, showing the obvious difference. 

Even if you didn't really have the necessary talent, it was possible to pile up resources to achieve the same effect. There were always those with a strong background who acquired the ability to use higher levels of Magic Energy through other methods. 

"Simply put, money makes the world go round," Alvin completed his explanation.

Linfel had never heard that saying before, but he understood what Alvin meant. 

Lucau patted his son's head, feeling like it was his fault. "Sorry that I couldn't give you a better chance in life..."

"Bulshit!" Alvin immediately looked at his father. "I regret nothing! Just look, dad. I will definitely become a high-level Magus in the future. I don't have the money, but I definitely have the determination!"

Lucau faintly smiled. He was very proud of his son for sure.

Linfel then commented. "Well, that's good for me. I can just pose as a highly talented Familiar in case I need to show my Red Magic Energy."

"That's still impressive," Alvin commented. "You said you can only store and use a tenth of Red Magic Energy compared to Yellow, right? Are you talking about all Sublevels of Red Magic Energy or only Low-Grade Red Magic Energy?"

"Low-Grade," Linfel immediately answered. "The Normal Red Magic Energy... Errrr... Medium-Grade Red Magic, right? Anyway, I can only store around a hundredth of what I can with Yellow Magic Energy."

Alvin nodded. "Seems like your transformation made you somewhat similar to us. You will need to increase the level of your core if you want to store and manipulate more of higher levels of magic Energy."

Linfel understood that. Yet, he still felt like he wasn't the same somehow.

---

The group passed the rest of the day talking about this world, giving the wisp some sense of how things worked. At some point, they reached the topic of the Magic Diagrams. "All the equipment in our world works with Magical Diagrams and Runes. It is a technology that has evolved for thousands of years made to manipulate Magical Energy without the need for a Magus."

Linfel thought about the runes of the past and drew some simple ones for Alvin to see. "What about runes? Are they not used in this world?"

"Runes?" Alvin looked at it and shook his head. "I do know they are using in the Diagrams, but I don't know much about them. Still yours are somewhat similar."

"I see..." Linfel pondered. "I already tried to draw a few simple ones, but they were made to work with Primordial Energy. At least until now, I haven't managed to make them work with Magical Energy. Simply put, we used them for many things, just like your equipment. It's just that yours seems many times more advanced than ours. I still think I can modify them to work with Magical Energy, so I might give it a try some other time."

"I'm not versed in Magical Diagrams and Runes, so I truly can't help you much in there," said Alvin. "However, since your Runes seem to have some similarities with our Diagrams Runes, you might as well learn about them if you feel like it."

"That would be nice." Linfel was indeed curious about it.

"Alright, let's end it here," suddenly, Lucau intervened before pointing outside. It was already dark, showing they had been talking for many hours. "Let's eat something first. After all, you need to go back to the academy tomorrow, right?"

Alvin nodded as he took a device from his pocket to check some information. "I was only allowed to leave because it was an emergency confirmed by the marina guard. Otherwise, it would have taken a month before I could visit you, Father. Now that I know you are okay, the academy will definitely demand me to come back as soon as possible. The most I can do is wait until tomorrow morning. The academy's car will come to take me back."

Linfel felt bad for them. "Sorry, I used a lot of the few hours you two had."

"Don't mind it," Lucau wasn't concerned. "Anyway, do Wisps eat?"

Linfel shook his head. "No. As long as we have energy, we don't need anything else."

"Another point where you are similar to us, Familiars," Felia added. "We also don't have a need for food... Well, you could say that Magical Energy is our food. It wouldn't be wrong."

As they gathered at the table, Alvin and Lucau ate while Felia talked to Linfel. "What are you going to do? I think the best for you is to come to the academy as well. I doubt anyone would think you are anything but a Familiar. Besides, we need to register you."

"Register?" Linfel got confused.

Alvin stopped eating for a moment and explained. "Familiars need to be registered under their masters' names. It is like an ID that tells the system you exist. Without it, you won't be able to use most of the facilities of our world. The same goes for us magus and the normal people. I would say you are at a higher risk of being found without an ID than if you had one."

Linfel was indeed curious about the Maguses and the Familiars, not to mention the Magical Diagrams, so he saw no issues with that plan. Above all, it would be the perfect place to check whether he could truly pass by as a Familiar or not. "That's great! I'm definitely coming with you then. By the way, would that mean you are my master?"

"Hum..." Alvin pondered a bit. "That would be the best case. It's just that I don't have a connection with you, different from Felia."

"Connection?" Linfel was puzzled.

Alvin smiled and extended his hand in Felia's direction. Suddenly, Felia's body changed and floated in Alvin's direction. In front of Linfel, Felia became a piece of equipment in Alvin's arm. "This is something you can only do with your personal Familiar. That's because when a Familiar is created, the Magus' soul is used to match the Familiar's AI. Both the Familiar and the Magus' Magic Energy merge together, making them a lot stronger. We call it MFC. It's a simple abbreviation of Master Familiar Connection."

"So weird..." Linfel couldn't help but comment. "I'm sorry, but... I'm absolutely sure I can't do that with you. Felia's Core changed shape to attach to your body. That's something my core can't perform."

Alvin then released Felia, and the Familiar returned to her small yellow humanoid shape. "It's fine. It's not like you need to do it at all costs. Besides, there are many types of MFC shapes. Some Familiars don't change shape at all and still connect with their Masters. There are those who prefer to not use MFC, either. After all, it might be better to have two separate bodies working on a specific task than just one. It goes for all fields, including battles."

Still, Linfel saw a problem. "But... what if they ask me to connect to you?"

"Hum..." Alvin pondered a bit. "Usually, such a thing is not necessary. There is nothing in the rules when registering a Familiar that obligates a connection to be shown."

"Can we pretend?" Linfel asked.

"No," Alvin shook his head. "If someone tries to test our connection, there are devices that make the measurement. If we have no connection at all, it will be exposed. It's not something we can just pretend."

Linfel nodded. "Can you show me your connection again? Since Felia said I don't need to change shape, then I might at least try this connection."

"But you don't have a connection with my soul," Alvin narrowed his eyes. 

Linfel knew that. "I'm not really a Familiar either, so why should I abide by the Familiar x Magus rules? Don't question it. Let's just give it a try."

Lucau narrowed his yes. "Wouldn't it be dangerous to my son?" He was obviously hearing everything at the table until now.

"Don't worry," Linfel wasn't concerned. "I'm not doing the same as Felia. They are merging their Magic Energy. I, instead, am going to simply match Alvin's one first. If it goes well, only then we will merge our Magic Energies. There will be the 'so necessary connection,' but it is nowhere near what Felia and Alvin did. In fact, it would be even hard to truly call it a connection at all, but something different instead. There should be no danger whatsoever."

Alvin took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright." He then got up from the table and extended his hand. Finally, he and Felia executed the same connection again so Linfel could check it up close. They did it slowly, giving Linfel all the time needed.

A few minutes later, Linfel spoke. "Alright, that's enough. Felia, come out. Let me give it a try."