The books in the Ultimate Magic Trilogy were simply jewels in their finest splendor. In themselves, these three books are the crystallization of the magic of the universe.
So, the more he read them, the more impressed he became.
The first book was called Fundamentals of Absolute Magic. He finished it in three years, something that surprised Astra greatly; after all, his intelligence had reached unimaginable levels.
But both the amount and depth of information in that book were so vast, and as a novice, he had a hard time getting started and learning the new concepts.
The good thing was that as he learned more, the subsequent content became easier. Astra assumed it was a characteristic of his Origin Body.
Speaking of the fundamentals of magic, Astra couldn't help but marvel.
Mana is the fundamental energy of the universe; it's present almost everywhere, of course, depending on the location, it's found on a greater or lesser scale.
In addition, there are several types of mana. The pure mana found in most environments has a transparent appearance. It's like a subtle crystalline energy.
Due to its neutral and abundant nature, pure mana is the primary source for cultivation.
There is also elemental mana, which changes depending on the type of element and the environment. Traces of elemental mana can usually be seen in everyday activities, but it is most concentrated in nature.
Moreover, there is divine mana and demonic mana.
Divine mana is characterized by its holy energy. There are usually races born with a very high affinity for this type of mana in the universe, including angels and celestials.
It's not as if other races don't have the ability to use it, but it is quite low, bordering on nonexistent.
Similarly, those who become gods must mutate their mana into divine mana to complete their transformation.
Divine mana is used to enhance spells, adding a touch of holy energy. Likewise, it could be said that its specialty is its use in healing, protection, sealing, and barrier magic.
Demonic mana, as its name suggests, is more biased toward demons and all their variants. It has a very dark purple color with hints of black.
Unlike the soft, golden divine mana, demonic mana is more chaotic and brutal. Its specialty is typically found in corruption techniques, mental manipulation, and pacts.
Both divine and demonic mana could be said to have a certain mutually restrictive effect on each other. This does not clarify whether one is better than the other.
Each type of mana can be said to have its own uses.
Finally, when Astra was learning about the types of mana, he noticed a special note in the compilation of the system. There is a very strange mana, so much so that various mages in the universe don't even know about it.
This is the origin energy, also known as primordial mana. In the book, the system added a description of what this mana looked like: it is colorful, shifting, and often iridescent.
It has the properties to enhance even the simplest spell to unimaginable extremes, ignoring magical defenses. It is also the mana most easily used to manipulate the laws of the world.
For example, if a time-stopping spell is used with primordial mana instead of temporal mana, then this spell, in addition to being easier to manipulate, will have a lower cost for the caster.
But as wonderful as primordial mana is, not everyone can access it. In fact, if Astra weren't linked to the Origin System, it's unlikely he would have known about it.
In short, primordial mana is a top-level rarity in the cosmos.
Thanks to his eyes, Astra can see all types of mana if he focuses on them, so he can easily perceive them.
Likewise, he can also see the mana circuits inside the bodies of others.
Mana circuits are channels created within the body to circulate and transform mana. Their quality is usually associated with the technique being practiced.
Speaking of cultivation, the process involved attracting mana into the body and forming a mana core. Pure mana is typically absorbed, while other types of mana were filtered out based on affinity.
They didn't interfere, but they did significantly slow down the process, rendering absorption inefficient.
The mana core is where mana is stored and condensed. Most are pure mana. Mana cores have different stages, each associated with the control, quality, and stability of the mana.
These stages are: nebulous, liquid, crystalline, prismatic, harmonized, and divine. The first three can be said to be the foundation for anyone to use mana optimally and without setbacks.
The prismatic core is arguably the most peculiar, as having it molds the body to cast elemental spells of different types.
Finally, the harmonized core is extremely rare to obtain, as it ensures perfect circulation through the constructed circuits, and its control also reaches a very high level.
Meanwhile, the divine core is formed when one transforms into a god. In this state, it grants almost total and perfect control over the mana in one's body.
There are also beings who make their mana cores from a single type of mana, but they only concentrate on one type of element, although they are very strong in those elements, as they shorten the transformation time to zero.
They also have the disadvantage that using other types of magic requires much more effort than others. As for the role of mana circuits in all of this?
It was simple. Mana circuits help improve the efficiency of absorption; they can make it faster or slower depending on the quality of the technique.
There are techniques for circulating mana to cast large spells and become mages, as well as for more warrior-oriented paths.
Furthermore, since pure mana forms the core, when using a technique or spell, this mana must be transformed, so mana circuits help facilitate that transformation.
In short, the process of casting a technique or spell is: circulate pure mana, transform it into the type of mana of the spell or technique, and finally cast it.
Of course, there are a few more steps, such as building the magic circle in the case of spells.
It's not impossible to cast techniques and spells with pure mana alone; the problem is that their power is significantly lower compared to elemental mana.
Something else that caught Astra's attention in the magic system was the runes.