Hero of Darkness

'What is magic? Is it an external force? Or is it a part of nature itself? Is it present in everything in the world? Or is it accessible only to the gifted beings?'

The first introductory lines of the book Kahn held in his hands started with the most basic questions yet the very foundation of studying and understanding the concept behind magic itself.

According to the book, the magic in Vantrea wasn't just something in nature but one of the constituents of the matter itself.

Just like on Earth, where atoms created matter, magic was the binding force that was present along with these atoms. But given the amount of magic that was present in this world and its density present in nature itself.. It was completely negligible.

Since the external force itself was so dense, many living creatures didn't even feel any magic present inside their own bodies. And because of that, a very less amount of inhabitants in this world could use magic.

Let it be a magician or a swordsman, all of them had to use magic as a form of medium to perform their skills & abilities. But only the ones who had the affinity towards mana, a condensed form of magical energy, could efficiently use them. And by either utilizing mana ores or monster cores, they could raise their levels and then raise their affinity, physical strength and compatibility with the mana itself.

Even if you belonged to a physical class job or had physical traits that made you strong, mana was the main driving force behind it which made your physique far stronger than someone without any access to mana ever could.

And that's why those who could use and manipulate it were like powerhouses than those who couldn't. Even a beginner fighter class being was stronger than 10 beings of their species and race. And the key difference was mana which made it possible.

In Rakos Empire, the ratio was 30 out of 100 people who had the affinity and access to it. But there was also another way.

And that was to trigger this inherent connection to magic by using monster cores & mana ores to forcefully invoke that ability.

This was the most effective way to awaken and see whether one had the affinity or their bodies had no potential.

And this method was already practiced in schools and people could test it in places provided by the government or any private organization.

This brought out 5 to 8 additional people in the equation. And anyone who didn't qualify or awoke their affinity before crossing the age of 30 meant that they truly had no way to use it in their life.

And because of that, only those who kept rising in ranks after invoking their job class had far stronger bodies and a longer lifespan than normal citizens.

This law also applied to monsters, other magical creatures and beings in the world. Just that they didn't go through some test but rather lived it as if it didn't matter.

For them, rising in levels and rank meant an increase in physical growth and abilities. And the higher the rank, the more evolved creatures they would be.

This also explained why the majority of Kahn's Lord Rank and above subordinates were more than 10 meter giant creatures, let it be Omega, Ceril, Blackwall or Rudra.

Since the base creatures used for their evolution were already this big and high ranked, making them appear like giant creatures than what Kahn had seen and read in novels and mangas of his world.

Because on earth, a Lycan like Omega would be 4 to 5 meters tall at best but in Vantrea, his height and build was 12 meters tall that was triple the height of a normal house. The same went for Blackwall, Jugram & Ceril.

Even Rudra was 25 meters tall when he slithered normally. If it was earth, he would be comparable to King Kong in height but in this world, there were far bigger creatures than him and he was only a mythical creature. There were still Godbeasts and Dragons above his rank.

Who knew if one day, Rudra could rise in levels and rank to become as big as Godzilla or maybe even the World Serpent from the Norse mythology.

And that is how Magic was basically the very aspect of life and creation that ran everything in this world.

The reason why Kahn was adamant about learning magic and improving his skills was that after seeing the first stage saint magician fight that day, he saw just how lethal and destructive magic spells were that decimated and obliterated everything in the five kilometer radius.

Compared to him, Kahn's magical spells and abilities that he got by killing and absorbing others looked like attempts made by kindergarten children. He knew the spells and the tricks but his foundation was as hollow as it could come.

And that is why, not a single one of his magical skills including the dark magic & darkness element spells and skills that were already made from one of the strongest elements in the world, never truly reached their highest potential and effectiveness.

He won't always be lucky to come out alive by coincidence or using some underhanded method when facing a true expert. Even someone with the same level and rank as him would come out on top if they had better knowledge and experience with magic and how to manipulate it at the best of their capability.

So after binge reading on the extensive topic of magic and its working principles, Kahn finally stopped at night and had a clear goal in his mind.

"From tomorrow onwards, I will begin my proper training."

Spoke Kahn with newfound clarity.

Because only studying never made improvements without actual practical applications. Just like the training with his physical classes and weapon skills, there were no shortcuts when it came to magic either.

So he planned to carry his studying and practice his skills simultaneously. Because this was the period of his real beginning as a magician.

This was the time for the real Grind!