"You might wonder why I was fighting a giant three-headed dog with anger issues. Well, to give you an answer, we have to go back in time — back to when I was at home, and not in this forsaken red land called the Underworld."
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"Thanks, Jarnathan. Now I can have my greatest wish come true," the young white-haired man said.
"Iode, are you sure letting go of Igor's powers is the best idea?" Jarnathan, an old man with grey hair, asked.
"Yeah, Igor already approved of this — not like I need his approval. Anyway, the preparations are set. I've made available all the items required for the operation. All you have to do, Jarnathan, is contain the power," Iode replied.
Sigh. "If that's what you want, I'll help you. You've been a good kid," Jarnathan said.
"Kid? At my age? You know I'm far older than I look. I'm close to being a middle-aged man," Iode said.
"Hahaha, quite unfortunate, I must say. You wouldn't have looked like this if not for the Valkyrie siege on us wizards," Jarnathan responded.
"Saddening... but what's happened has happened. Let's begin," Iode said. He stepped into a large sigil drawn on the floor. Across the circumference of the circle, different herbs, leaves, and mummified beasts — as well as human-like figures — were placed.
Candles were also arranged among these items. Iode sat at the center of the circle, crossed his legs, brought his hands together, and began making several hand signs in quick succession. Then he began to chant spells — his eyes closed.
Without warning, the floor of the room — the basement of a large building — began to quake. Everything shook violently. Jarnathan struggled to stay upright, while Iode remained completely still and unmoved.
Soon, Iode's eyes glowed brightly with a deep purple hue. Dark shadows began to seep out of his body. The candle flames turned from yellow to indigo. The materials placed around the sigil's circumference started glowing purple. Energies began to pour from them — especially from the human-like figures: a wizard, a stickman, and a troll. The energy was immense, all converging toward Iode.
The dark shadows seeping from Iode's body rose toward the ceiling and began to converge. Iode gnashed his teeth in discomfort; his body trembled and strained, muscles contracting and relaxing simultaneously like seizures. But he had to endure.
"Gah!!!" he screamed from the pain tearing through him. It felt as though his body was being ripped apart mercilessly.
I've gotta endure this pain no matter what. I have to do this, he thought. He opened his mouth, glowing eyes wide from the unforgiving strain running across his body.
The ritual continued for about thirty minutes before a sudden explosion occurred, filling the basement with smoke and dust.
Cough, cough. "Iode, are you alright?!" Jarnathan called out, unable to see through the thick smog filling the room.
"Jarnathan, use your lightning to stun it — it's coming," Iode said weakly.
"Groooooowl!"
Within the smoke, a sound echoed. Suddenly, a pair of purple-glowing eyes opened and moved erratically, using the thick smog as cover.
"Tch. Chains of Suppression!" Iode cast the spell — but to his surprise, nothing happened. His eyes widened in shock. He checked the area near his heart and discovered he had become a one-star.
However, his mana vessel and mana pool remained the same.
Mana pool is the amount of mana a person possesses. The larger the mana pool, the more spells a person can cast in succession without suffering drawbacks — if they are a magic-oriented user. For swordsmen, it allows them to use mana without tiring quickly.
Mana vessel is the container that holds the mana pool. If the mana pool exceeds the vessel's capacity, it causes inefficiencies in spellcasting and mana infusion to weapons. It also leads to mana sickness, due to excess mana seeping out uncontrollably.
This is why anyone who uses mana must first increase the size of their mana vessel before increasing the amount of their mana pool.
A star level (or stage) reflects a magician or swordsman's power. The lowest is One-Star, which is considered low level. In most nations, Nine-Star is the highest a person can reach. However, in the Wizard Tribe of the magical nation, the highest level is Twelve-Star — although most citizens stop at Nine-Star, which is the general maximum.
Iode is a magician from the Wizard Tribe, one of the few who reached the Twelve-Star level, also known as the Legendary Stage. He was able to go that far due to the power he inherited from Igor — one of the five icons of the Wizard Tribe.
Iode's eyes widened in absolute disbelief. He had always thought Igor's power only strengthened his spells and sword techniques — not that it directly affected his star level. Iode is the only magic swordsman from the Wizard Tribe, breaking the stereotype that wizards could not be swordfighters. He trained tirelessly to sharpen both his spellcasting and swordsmanship, matching even the most skilled swordsmen around the world.
But now, all his hard work — all his strength — was gone, stripped away with the power he had just let go of. He clenched his teeth in fury and yelled:
"Igor! You bastard! This isn't what we talked about! You didn't explain that I'd lose my power level when I let go of your power! This isn't fair!"
Suddenly, a howling echoed through the room. Wailing and shrieking followed.
"I've got you," Jarnathan said. He raised his hand, and a black substance began retreating into a small chest he held.
At that moment, the stigma etched on Iode's left wrist began to glow. Sparks of electricity formed around him. He looked at himself in shock and saw the shimmering mark.
"What?! I still have the emblem of Valier on me? How? I already gave up Igor's powers. His soul is no longer fused with mine!" he said in disbelief.
Without warning, the sparks of electricity intensified, shocking him painfully. A portal suddenly opened from the stigma and swallowed him whole.
By the time the dust had settled, and Jarnathan had successfully sealed the dark substance inside the chest — Iode was nowhere to be found.
"Iode?" Jarnathan whispered blankly.
Elsewhere, a portal opened in the red sky. Something shot out from it like a falling star and crashed into the red ground.
Looking closer, you would see a young man lying unconscious. It was Iode.
He lay there…
Author's note: add to your library, when we reach a 10 collection milestone, I'll mass update five chapters