"Great question, firstly I have no clue who they are."
Roland's anger boiled again, but Wizard Grey swiftly held up a single palm before he could speak.
"The handful of times I've attended those gatherings, it's incredibly difficult to see who is who. That is the truth. That gathering is mysterious, I spent a lot of resources and time trying to uncover the true nature behind them. But frighteningly enough, there was nothing I could find. No Wizard dead or alive had recorded any history regarding that secret society."
Roland sat in deep thought, he couldn't understand how any of that made any sense.
"Wizard Grey sighed again.
"There's a lot I can't say, it'll be best for you to see it for yourself. But know this, in all my years of wandering across the many realms. All the wonders, terrors and things you never thought existed. I've seen them all boy, and nothing, and I mean nothing. Compared to the mysteries surrounding the church of cosmos."
Roland massaged the bridge of his nose, wondering just how bad this would turn out to be. He could only imagine the strength that fishbowl-headed thing carried if the Goblin was strong enough to smash heads into pieces.
"The curse itself isn't a big deal. It's more of an oath, with certain strings attached to it." Explained the Wizard almost waving away Roland's internal fears.
But Roland wasn't buying the nonchalant gimic, something as elaborate as what took place was a matter he couldn't just simply ignore.
"What's an oath?" Roland asked after a short while of thinking.
"An unbreakable promise, sealed with magic. One with certain rules that if broken usually lead to a fatal outcome. Not always but usually."
That explanation left a lump stuck in Roland's throat. Nothing good ever derived from the term fatal outcome, and he wasn't going to trust the soft words of this maniac who tried to take over his body.
"Ah, regarding the whole inheritance thing. Quite the unfortunate thing. It seems once a member dies, someone else inherits their seat in the tea party. As far as I understand, they'll first search for a viable candidate close by. And if that fails they'll go elsewhere."
Roland's gaze softened recalling the rules that the goblin explained to him beforehand.
"And you knew I would be forced to join this cult! So you sent me to your hideout?" He felt wronged and stupid. There was no reason for the elder to help him, considering how they even came to be in this current scenario.
Wizard Grey folded his two legs into the lotus position and propped his chin against his opened palm.
"I admit, I took a gamble knowing if they saw no value in your existence. There is a strong chance you wouldn't be standing here." Said the Wizard with a casualness that spoke volumes of just how little he valued Roland's life.
Roland already told himself he wouldn't rise to the provocation. And so he didn't flinch and continued listening.
"Although, even if they decided to spare your life. That doesn't change the truth of the matter. To be chosen as a member of that...cult. They saw something… something unique within you. The second thing I learned about that secret society was this, only the unique or equally weird ones are approached." Wizard Grey's sharp gaze pierced into Roland. The purpose of his words was evident. And even Roland himself was forced into a deep thought. Could it be they knew he was a transmigrator? Or did they know about Omega? The others in this so-called secret society. Were they also just like him perhaps?
Roland couldn't piece the jigsaw together quick enough, he needed more information judging by the way the old man answered his questions. He gathered his only hope was through experiencing things himself.
"Sigh."
'Things have gotten a lot complicated, but I guess there's nothing I can do in my current state.'
This only reinforced Roland's decision to acquire as much knowledge as he could. He had already mapped out his route away from this castle, and just needed to fulfill the last request from Belle.
"Now then, I'm guessing you're not just here to complain. But there's a matter concerning you learning magic?"
Roland's head raised slightly. That was correct, learning magic was the most important thing to him right now.
"Good. I imagined you took that book I told you to bring. Go back and start reading from pages 236-301. Once you've managed that. Come back and we'll begin."
Roland had already made Omega memorize each page of that book, all he needed to do was review them alongside his system. But of course the boy wasn't foolish enough to reveal that to the wizard. Roland didn't trust him one bit, especially after that secret society, fishbowl head fiasco.
They both needed each other right now. Simply a means to an end.
He left the conscious prison and immediately instructed Omega to take him into one of the other purposely built rooms in his mind palace. The training room. Roland stepped through the doorway of light where he found himself standing in the middle of an immeasurably spacious plane. Calling it a room would be disingenuous. This place was twice the size of the conscious prison. But it did give him the feeling he was inside some kind of virtual reality room. There was a constant dark blueish tint covering the entire place. Roland observed the ground beneath his feet. It was firm but not too hard. Almost like a firm mat. He peered his gaze closer and faintly noticed a polished sheen on the surface. With thin pale lines etched against it.
{Welcome to the training room my host} Omega's voice echoed across the vast air.
Roland shifted his eyes questioningly around himself. This was the first time he heard Omega outside of himself.
{This room allows you to practice, and go over previously stored battle data or pieces of information Omega has extracted upon the host orders}
{whether it's training using physical models. Replaying battle scenes or dissecting texts. There are several tools to help facilitate this}
"Right, so that was weird." He announced
{How so my host?} his system surprisingly replied
"Err-just not used to hearing you out here, you're usually trapped inside here," Roland explained tapping his temple lightly in a light gesture.
{Omega understands. If it bothers the host I can return communication via the cerebral pulse. Although Omega prefers to use this opportunity to communicate in a manner freer than the confinements of before}
Roland shuddered a little hearing that. 'Prefers?' It awfully sounded a lot like Omega had its own issues communicating directly into his thoughts.
"Does it bother you? Having to communicate that way?"
The system paused before responding.
{omega can't find a reasoning or encoded constant to verify that my host. Omegas preferences are currently tailored to a logic code to find the most efficient and rewarding methods to help the host learning capacity.}
Roland nodded again in agreement, he expected Omega would say something like that. This exchange did make him wonder though.
'Does a sophisticated system like Omega have the capacity to have feelings? It certainly has a sense of 'itself' but how far can that go.'
In times like this Roland wished he still had access to his old laboratory. And his assistants for that matter. There was so much largely unknown about the Apple of Acrux and a lot of unanswered anomalies concerning its original purpose of design.
"Okay! Let's get started then." Roland clapped his two hands together and steered his focus on the task at hand.
{Would you like me to bring out copies of the scanned materials retrieved recently?} Asked Omega
Roland thought about that question deeply. He had essentially two different texts centred on the basics of casting spells. That blue-haired loli and the old timer who attempted to take over his body. And after a quick deliberation on the trustworthiness of both, Roland remembered the kind of arsenal he carried. In the shape of the intellectual system called Omega.
"Omega can you separate casting spells from all the texts you've recorded and show me them please."
{Isolating source materials containing 'spell casting.' Producing life-sized tablets of all the information regarding basic incantations and spell casting.}
Omega's voice dimmed and with it came the arrival of a series of tall shards of shimmering light. Roland counted seven large screens conjuring right in front of his view. Each screen stands at least 8 feet tall with a set of bright green words forming lines of text.
After his initial shock had passed Roland observed the 7 tablets and was pleased with Omega's efficiency. From the left-hand side, two tablets consisted of that chibi wizard's brief but straight-to-the-point instructions on casting spells. The rest of the tablets were information taken from Wizard Grey's hideout.
"Omega can you downsize this information, make it easier for someone like me with no experience in the world of magic to understand."
Omega complied and the seven tablets broke away into tiny particles of light only for 3 tablets to reappear instead.
'First comes mana... The life force of energy you link to the cosmos.
All spells require a certain amount of mana to effect.
A spell's effectiveness is based on the purity of the mana. Once the mana has been purified next is to impose one's will to create the desired outcome. This is where your mental energy comes into effect.
When the Pure Mana combines with the Mental energy. A new element is created. The actuality of the spell is known as the Astral Essence.
Below is an example of a common spell known as fireball.
Fireball (Astral Essence Value= 120)- A small projectile of fire that explodes upon contact.
Purifying your mana
Meditation presents the fastest way to calculate one's Mana level.
Formula =Mana / Breath = Pure Mana
If you have 100% Mana reserves and use a focused breath technique which takes 5 breaths. 20% of your mana reserves becomes pure mana.
Breathing Method
Choose a common breathing method.
The most common is the 4-7-4-8 method. Better known as Ariel's chant.(Derived from the Merfolk) Inhale for 4 seconds, exhale for 7, inhale for 4 again and exhale for 8.
Breathing methods expand the lung's capacity, making mana flow more consistently.
Mental assessment
Pure Mana x Mentality = Spell
Craft the incantation
The incantation for fireball must be straightforward and expressive,
Direct the pure mana towards this focus whilst reciting the incantation.
Form the mental image, picture a rolling ball of fire forming in your hands. Feel its inviting warmth, imagine its texture, its colour and place your intention into it.
Finally, you release the spell.
With your fireball charged with energy and visualized. Stretch out your wand or your object of casting and imagine sending the fireball racing ahead.
Fireball
pure mana = 20 units
Mental energy = 6
Astral Essence = 120