Gasp. Vol 2 end! Look forward to Vol 3: No Turning Back!
*
A loud, thunderous boom struck across my entire body. Obviously, no one but me could hear it. It reacted as if it came straight from my soul, like it had been pried open. I felt Mana flood throughout me. To confirm what I felt, I received new Gamer Notifications, and I reviewed them one by one.
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has successfully created a two-type Mana Core. Multiple Bloodlines have been detected.]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has successfully bonded with the element of Water. Gamer Naoto can now cast Water Magic.]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has successfully bonded with the element of Fire. Gamer Naoto can now cast Fire Magic.]
[Ding! A unique Occupation has been detected, True Dhampir. Gamer Naoto can now cast Blood Magic.]
[Ding! An unexpected phenomenon has been created due to Gamer Naoto possessing the Auslese Bloodline. With this Bloodline now mixed with Gamer Naoto's Vermillion Eyes, Gamer Naoto has successfully bonded with a new element. Gamer Naoto can now cast Ice Magic.]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's active Quest, Learn Magic, has been updated. Only one step is left to complete the Quest.]
[Ding! Due to Gamer Naoto possessing more than one element, all stats have been increased by 10%. Max EP has been increased by 1000.]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Status has been adjusted and is now available for viewing.]
'Holy...', I thought, seeing these notifications come after another. My thoughts stayed quiet for a moment. I felt stronger yet again thanks to that stat boost. Seriously, having bloodlines really goes a long way, doesn't it? I know this is sounding pretty eastern, but I will say this. Do not underestimate Bloodlines that you are given. Just knowing this alone, I can assume some things. After Orbal Tech became known, I am sure many members within the Auslese Royal Family are naturally aligned to the Water element. And with the bastard blood I have alongside the Vermillion Eyes, I can equally assume the Phoenix House is closely tied to Fire.
But Blood Magic and Ice Magic. I did not think I would receive those affinities. They aren't even part of the natural efficacies.
You see, here in Zemuria, you have what are called the Basic Elements, and the Three Higher Elements. I'm sure Master will love going into the details once I truly start my training. But to keep it short, the elements went as follows: Wind, Water, Fire, Earth, Time, Space, and Mirage.
Mirage is definitely the most obscure element of the bunch. Basically anything that directly affects the atmosphere around us that isn't classified under the other six elements. It also can bend reality, like reflecting your entire body from view, and hide in plain sight. That kind of thing. There are treasures bestowed by the Goddess Aidios that take this to whole other levels, such as the Sept-Terrion of Mirage, Demiourgos, who has the ability to alter causality itself. Any choices you make can be changed and bent at its will. Let's say I did something, I didn't like the outcome, so I changed it and went with option b instead. Demiourgos has the power to see that through.
It got so crazy in the games that a certain character named KeA reset an entire timeline because she didn't want to see the destruction of her friends. She wiped that off the face of the map, and changed causality itself.
Now I'm not saying my Gamer System can achieve such powers, but I won't say I can't either. There's too much unknown about it still for me to make such a conclusion.
There is one thing to say, and that is that the cat is out of the bag. Having Water Magic makes sense because of my mother's lineage. I did learn more about her after Emperor Eugent III declared himself the new Emperor. Father took me to meet the now-previous Emperor for a short discussion.
Apparently the Phoenix Family were once prominent enough to take action during the War of the Lions, to which had most of its number routed by other Great Houses during the turmoil that took place. This took place around two-hundred and forty years ago. Not all of them perished. Enough survived, allowing their bloodline to continue in secrecy, and one of them just so happened to be Grandmother's sister. Aurora von Auslese. I also learned they served the eyes and ears of the Emperors of the past. They could discern truth from lies. Every single member had those Vermillion Eyes. It wasn't just me.
My late mother likely also had access to these Vermillion Eyes. And it's making much more sense to me now seeing as I am the only one who has these eyes. Father doesn't. Rean doesn't. Kasia doesn't. Only me. And hopefully, I won't be the last. I don't want to see myself dying too early here in Zemuria, haha!
And if I can form a harem of my own, I am sure I will be blessed with many children down the line. If that does happen, every single one will inherit the Vermillion Eyes I possess.
That is what I currently think, anyway.
On top of all of that, the Gamer System found a way to harmonize it. That's how scary this system is. Not only did it harmonize my bloodlines, it strengthened them! I now have access to Ice Magic!
How cool is that?
Excitement appeared in my eyes as my meditation ended. Meditation grew several levels thanks to this entire event. I can now recover EP at a much faster rate than what it originally had!
"Looks like the incantation was a success. Congratulations, Naoto.", Aurelia happily said, seeing my new aura wrapping around my body. It was still flickering between the crimson red and azure blue auras.
"Umu. My incantation is now complete. Your back has been engraved with my two insignias. Do us a favor, will you?", Roselia said, wiping away her sweat. Even she was feeling the burn eh? I saw her grab my Phoenix Robe while I laughed seeing this. Tossing it my way, I put it back on.
"Haha, of course.", I replied while putting the Phoenix Robe back on. As I did, I took this time to retract my Mana back into my body, just how easily Aurelia did with hers. Stretching a bit, I stood up from the rug. I saw the two standing further away with amused looks in their eyes.
"How'd you like the show, Your Highness? Do you believe Magic exists now?", I decided to ask.
"Indeed. I've seen a lot of phenomena tonight that can't be explained. Seeing the elements of nature behave like this is quite different from our Orbments. Truly a shame I couldn't be part of the learning process.", Prince Olivert responded with a chuckle of his own.
"Hehe, you lucked out better than I did. To think you'd have two elements. Even I won't be able to achieve something like that. Care for a little demonstration?", Aurelia asked me with a giggle.
"I'm not someone of your talent, Miss Aurelia. You expect me to cast my Magic as instantly as you did? I did not see it take place, but I felt it.", I replied, retorting at her.
"You dealt with the same process that I did, and you took on more than I did. Your talent shouldn't be any less than mine is, kid.", Aurelia spoke back at me, causing me to pause.
'Perhaps Aurelia doesn't know how much of a monster she is? She did say she has no equal, but I tend to think otherwise...', I thought to myself. 'Or is she just playing nice?', I continued to think, only to quickly shake that thought away.
"I didn't say I couldn't. Let's take it for a spin.", I said, answering Aurelia's request.
Taking in a deep breath, I calmed myself down. My breathing took over in the same rhythm Roselia taught me. The familiar and calming sense of warmth that I no longer found strange swept through my entire body. It wandered freely.
But this time, I no longer allowed this Mana to roam freely. Unlike before, I felt different kinds, likely the elements themselves. I directed the first one I wanted to show to my right hand. Opening my palm outward, the space above it began to distort. Splash, splash.
A little ball of water formed, constantly hovering above it. I didn't need an incantation or anything to trigger this. The two stared at the ball of water now floating above my hand.
"So it is the element of water.", Prince Olivert said, seeing this.
And yet, I couldn't even finish this test of mine. As much as I wanted to display a cool-looking fireball next, we were interrupted by a huge burst of Mana that suddenly spewed from the ground up. This Mana didn't come from me. It behaved like it came from the ground itself.
At the same time, my vision blurred. It became void of color. Then, flashes of black and white came forth, and shattered like a broken mirror. This scene played out very similarly to how Rean reacts when he reaches the Old Schoolhouse for the first time.
[IT IS TIME.] A booming voice suddenly spoke around the entire room. No, this voice spoke directly into me, as if it came from my very soul...