[A/N]: Double chapters until 40+ chapters ahead of Royal Road

What was a Spell?

If Jon was being honest, he had not thought why some of his abilities were considered Spells and other Abilities. The abilities manifested from the Fragment Of Hunt and Fragment Of Destruction both possessed the Technique Trait, which was another thing he did not quite understand.

From his understanding of the differences between the types of abilities he could manifest, all abilities with the Spell Trait possessed one thing in common with one another.

Each Spell possessed an associated chant, which needed to be spoken out loud before activating its effects.

One of his Spells, [Cometh Thy Red Horse Awaits], manifested itself from the integration of a Fragment Of War into his Knowledge Mana Core. There was no complexity behind the ability, just a comprehensive enhancement to his physical capabilities which required a chant to be activated. There was the slight "cost" of activating [Cometh Thy Red Horse Awaits], which manifested itself in the form of a temporary weakness, but other than that the Spell was relatively simple.

Jon thought that both [Wrath Of Green, Piercing Wood Eruption] and [Temperance Of Green, Imperial Wood Barrier] fit under this category.

One of his other Spells, the one he could summon Ashvattha Rana through was an outlier of sorts. Jon did not quite understand how one became a summon, or how the System integrated the essence of an individual into a single fragment. Jon did not even understand half the words he was saying during the extended chant but knew that these specific words would summon Ashvattha Rana into his current plane of existence.

However, after messing around with the Spell attached to his Longinus-Lancea Spirit, Jon realized that certain mutations could produce Spells of their own.

Hades-Sagacity Shadow.

Minerva-Sagacity Eyes.

And his Longinus-Lancea Spirit.

While two were more of a metaphysical-mutation rather than a physical one, for whatever reason, each one of them possessed some sort of inherent knowledge or spiritual structure that allowed him to cast certain Spells.

Jon knew that abilities with the Mutation Trait "transformed the mortal nature of" one characteristic, into something beyond that which a Mortal could possess. While none of the mutations that arose within his shadow, eyes or spirit became a "pseudo-spiritual organ" or "pseudo-spiritual construct", each of them possessed a Spell instead, causing the human to furrow his brows in confusion.

"I'm not going nowhere with this am I Rana? There must be some sort of difference between the Longinus-Lancea Spirit and the Seir-Glacial Heart right? Or this this just another facet of the chaotic nature of fragments?" asked Jon, leaning his head back against the tree behind him.

"There is something. I will not allude to anything further, but I doubt that you will find out the difference before becoming a Knight," said Rana, causing Jon to raise an eyebrow.

"Is that a challenge?" he responded, causing Rana to let out a small chuckle.

"Not at all. You must understand Jon that most individuals do not possess so many abilities with the Mutation Trait. The average individual across the integrated universe does not obtain all six universal fragments. Nor do they get to choose what kinds of Mana Cores they can integrate. They integrate whatever they can find and often struggle to ascend from Mortality and reach Knighthood."

"The increase from Mortality to Knighthood is perhaps one of the most noticeable differences that an individual can experience. It is not just like going from the First Initiation to the Second Initiation, it is a qualitive increase," the bodhi tree replied.

"So, there is something different about being a Knight that allows one to sense this difference more clearly?" Jon asked, starting to form his own conclusion on the matter.

"Yes. I will not state what they are until you have either become a Knight or obtained a Mortal Title Fragment relating to this difference. Through the latter however, the System would inadvertently confirm your hypothesis," Rana admitted.

Jon nodded, hearing this response for what he thought was the thousandth time. Knowing that he could lose out on quite a number of Mortal Title Fragments was not something that Jon wanted to risk, now or in the future.

Understanding the difference between why certain mutations possessed Spells and figuring out how this made them different from those that did not, would almost guarantee him a Mortal Title Fragment.

It did not make sense for Jon to risk a certainty, over a second-hand understanding from Rana. Even if her own comprehension on the matter was greater than his, if Jon one day wanted to become the first Baron within the 37th universe, he would not do so from relying on Ashvattha Rana whenever he failed to understand something.

This difference that he was trying to understand was easier to grasp after becoming a Knight, but not impossible for a Mortal. Given Jon's incomplete understanding of Knighthood, that was somewhat difficult, however he had seen what a Knight Ranked creature was capable of, even if it was just for a few moments.

Jon felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise a fraction of an inch, but suppressed any changes to his Sea Of Knowledge, preventing the feelings and experiences of fear from rising to its surface.

'Abilities aside, Knights, or rather, the single Knight that I have seen possessed outrageous physical capabilities and a presence that seemed to influence the world around itself. This manifests in the form of an aura that is capable of inflicting feelings of fear towards sentient creatures around itself and promoting decay towards uninitiated living beings within a certain vicinity.' That was the extent of Jon's knowledge on the ashen-skinned abomination he has seen just hours ago.

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'Not to mention the fact that it released an incredible amount of spiritual energy with just a single ability. The amount was equal to roughly a third of the spiritual energy one of my Mana Cores possess,' Jon added on, remembering the emanation of spiritual energy the creature had released.

Knights possessed more spiritual energy than a Mortal. That much was obvious, although Jon did not know the complete difference between a Mortals Mana Core and a Knights Mana Core. Giving just a rough estimate, Jon suspected that the difference might be between four-to-six times the maximum, perhaps slightly more or slightly less depending on the fragments integrated into the Mana Core.

Jon could not be sure of the exact nature of the emanation of spiritual energy, but it was not sensory in nature. Given his distinct lack of concealment or stealth abilities, Jon knew that he would not be able to hide from a Knight Ranked ability that specialized in tracking or perceiving traces of a target.

That was perhaps one of the less obvious weaknesses that this creature possessed. One that could be exploited given the correct circumstances.

'I do wonder why Knights possess more spiritual energy than Mortals do. There must be a change within the Mana Cores that increase its capacity to store spiritual energy, or a change within the physical body that allows it to… hang on a second,' Jon furrowed his brows, remembering one of the things that the System had mentioned during his time within the Pure Room.

Mana Cores possess the capacity to produce, refine, and absorb ambient traces of spiritual energy.

Jon blinked, remembering that minute detail within the System Introduction.

"Mana Cores… are capable of refining and absorbing spiritual energy? Is that the difference between Mortals and Knights?" Jon said, although not to any one specific person. It was perhaps more towards the System, hoping to see if it would reward him with a Mortal Title Fragment.

Rana remained silent during this time, not daring to reply to Jon's rhetorical question, although the bodhi tree seemed quite interested in his train of thought.

'He is quite close but is still missing key component. The System does not reward those who can think about possibilities. The System rewards those that can manifest the possibilities within themselves, bringing their imaginations and dreams into reality. This is a fundamental understanding of what it means to obtain a Path', Ashvattha Rana inwardly thought, not daring to voice her knowledge or wisdom out loud.

'To become a Knight, there are three requirements. The first is the most obvious although perhaps the most time consuming. Obtain six Mana Cores and enough fragments to fill each of them to capacity. If one did not care what manner of abilities they manifested, it could be completed within the span of a single day'.

'The second requirement is obtaining a complete Mortal Title. Six Title Fragments can be combined to form a single complete Title. While the average person would not care what manner of Title they manifested, there were those that desired Titles with specific effects or certain conceptual weights behind them. These individuals would wait until they could form the perfect Title for advancement, choosing to wait until that moment'.

'The third and perhaps the most important requirement, is understanding how to manipulate the internal spiritual energy within oneself and extend it outwards without using an ability as a crutch. Through this, an individual must learn how to draw in ambient spiritual energy'.

'The process in of itself is inconsequential for a Mortal looking to ascend towards Knighthood. Refinement often comes later down the line. What Jon still needs to understand, is how to adjust and subsequently transform his Mana Core into something more suitable towards the absorption of ambient spiritual energy.'

'After he completes this process within all six of his Mana Cores, will Jon then be allowed to become a Knight.'

What Jon was trying to perceive now was the refinement of spiritual energy while he was still just a Mortal. The process was by no means an impossible one, in fact, most young scions of wealthy or powerful families often grasped such a concept before integrating their final Mana Core.

Whether through the efforts of generations of refinement and fine-tuning, or through the System itself, individuals had obtained methods of absorbing and refining ambient spiritual energy which suited specific Mana Cores, or specific types of spiritual energy.

This process was important during Knighthood and Lordship, although its importance dwindled after exceeding Barony.

There were other disadvantages of possessing a pre-existing method of refinement.

Although coming up with an original methodology often rewarded individuals with a wide range of Title Fragments, or even in certain cases Wonder Fragments and Memento Source Fragments!

'Depending on the method of manipulation and circulation within oneself, some individuals might experience a swifter absorption, or a more efficient method of refinement. This somewhat relates to the third mandatory task the System gives out during each universe integration. Although most of the participants within the System Introduction do not complete said task until after each of them become Knights.'

All of them were required to come up with their own methodology for the circulation and refinement of spiritual energy. It was not something that one came up with in a single afternoon.

It took Ashvattha Rana herself over a dozen years to come up with her own after becoming a Knight. Before that time Rana herself could only rely on the crude and widespread techniques that were available to the public.

Rana watched as Jon lifted his head, murmuring the chant manifested from within his Longinus-Lancea Spirit. Every few seconds, a metre-long construct manifested from spear natured spiritual energy was launched forward, shooting through the air before being unravelled by the ambient spiritual energy, unable to sustain itself.

"Oh?" Rana heard Jon mutter, seeing the human regain some semblance of strength within his knees, leaning against the tree behind him as he gradually rose to his feet.

Extending his hand forward, Jon once again cast [Thou Art The Monarch Of Spears And Truth], this time, overloading its effects manifesting a three-metre-long construct, flicking his fingers and watching it launch forward, with a significant increase to its speed and penetrative power.

The human watched as the overloaded Spell reached the same distance as his first few initial attempts, exceeding it by a few metres, before crackling apart, unable to push through the ambient spiritual energy around Jon.

Jon blinked, feeling some unknown force interact with his construct of spear natured spiritual energy. The human did not realize that something was acting upon his Spell even as he manifested. Jon thought that it was the result of how much spiritual energy he had forced into the Spell that determined its limit, but it was not.

Reaching out his hand as if to grasp something, Jon closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before increasing the rotation of his Spear Mana Core. The gradual release of spiritual energy increased by more than a third, but this time, Jon did not activate [Thou Art The Monarch Of Spears And Truth], nor his Longinus-Lancea Spirit.

Instead, Jon just expanded the cloud-like wisps of spear natured spiritual energy outwards, using the increased rotation of his Spear Mana Core to push it out as far as he could. The human was shocked when he felt his spiritual energy extend beyond the reaches of his physical body, stretching close to half the distance that his Spell could reach before being absorbed into the ambient spiritual energy around himself.

Opening his eyes, Jon blinked, the smile on his face suppressing the growing whirlpools within his mind.

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