Magic and Objects

## Mana Core Cultivation

A **Mana Core** is classified into six colors: black, red, orange, yellow, silver, and white. One's mana color starts off as black, due to the body's blood and other impurities mixed with the mana particles as they form together into a *mana core*. Each stage of the mana core colors is split into three shades(dark, solid, and light), except silver which is split into initial, mid and high and white core which does not have stages. In general, the lighter the mana core color, the purer one's mana core was. Therefore, there was more power one could have access to.  In other words, the higher one’s mana core stage, not only does one have a larger pool of mana to draw from, the purified mana inside of oneself becomes higher quality as well, so one can have more control over the miniscule properties of it.

**Fun Facts:**

Amongst humans, the earliest mage to have awakened so far was at the age of ten, and even then, because the child couldn’t grasp how to use it, there was very little he could do with it.  Nevertheless, Arthur managed to awaken before the age of three.

While beast cores were capable of being harvested and used as tools to enhance mana, human mana cores weren’t. When a mage died, their mana core shattered and the mana accumulated inside dispersed.

The average mage that didn’t attend school usually stagnated at the light red stage, maybe dark orange if they were lucky. Of course, it was different for the elites who had a much purer lineage and had access to better resources.

Arthur mentioned that it took roughly around twenty solid-yellow core mages to hold off a single silver core mage. In the same chapter, Virion tells Arthur that he is a mid-silver core mage and that it would take 10 of him to keep 1 mid-white core mage at bay, and that’s being optimistic. Furthermore, Cynthia Goodsky is a high-silver core mage, yet even after being generous, it would take around six or seven of her to keep one mid-white core Mage at bay.

## Magic

### Mana

**Mana** is essential to use Magic, it exists in the atmosphere and is divided into particles of each element. *(According to Arthur, the Ki in his previous world is pretty similar to Mana).*

The power to control mana is largely genetic. A census showed that roughly 1 in 100 children are able to sense mana, which can only be tested when one's mana core is completely developed — anywhere from early adolescence to late teen years. The average age for a human to fully develop his mana core is around the age of thirteen. Elves, on the other hand, “awake” (the term used to describe someone who has fully developed his mana core) around the age of ten. Once a mana core manifests, a translucent barrier forms around the awakened, which lasts a couple of minutes.

It’s pretty easy to tell what type of mage someone will be when they awaken, because when augmenters, conjurers, and deviants form a translucent barrier, the mana behaves differently around them during that time.

### Mana Signature

Faint mana fluctuations around a person’s body made mages distinguishable compared to normal humans, only apparent if studied closely. As for whether they were an augmenter or conjurer, making an inference based on physical structure and the weapon they were holding gave a pretty solid idea.

### Progression

The mana core becomes purer as impurities are filtered out over time, with the stages for each color being dark, solid, and light. The colors of the mana core include **Black**, **Red**, **Orange**, **Yellow**, **Silver** and **White**. After **White** the next stage is known as **Integration**, this stage has never been seen but has been hinted at heavily and named briefly.

## Elements and Deviants

### Elements

There are 4 main types of Elements for mages to use:

* Fire
* Water
* Earth
* Wind

### Affinities

The Element(s) that a mage is naturally predisposed to. Meaning, a mage with an affinity to wind might be able to learn spells or techniques from other elements, but not nearly as well.

### Deviants

Each of those elements has a higher version of itself, Mages capable of using those are referred to as "Deviants". There are 10 types of elemental deviations:

* Fire → Lightning *(Humans only)*
* Water → Ice *(Humans only)*
* Earth → Gravity *(Humans & Dwarves)*
* Wind → Sound *(Humans & Elves)*
* Earth → Metal (*Dwarves only)*
* Earth + Fire → Magma *(Dwarves only)*
* Fire → Soulfire *(Basilisk Only)*
* Water → Poison *(Basilisk Only)*
* Earth → Black Metal *(Basilisk Only)*
* Wind → Void Wind (*Basilisk Only)*
	+ **For Lightning**, there are two main methods that Augmenters opt towards. One is **Internal**, and the other is **External**. Because of the unique properties of lightning compared to other elements and their deviants, some individuals focus on using internal lightning skills, which is stated as much more difficult.
	+ **Plant magic** is something only a few certain elves unlock. It is rare for even some of the stronger noble elves who cannot achieve it. It doesn't take other elements but more so is its own element.

Apart from the elemental deviantations, there are special forms of deviants:

* Emitter or Healer *(Humans only)*
* Diviner *(Elves only)*

**Emitters:** They have the ability to heal by using what magic theorists here call “light” magic like Arthur’s mother. Emitters fuel their power with their own pool of mana. The potent healing spells of Emitters cannot be compared to the weaker elementary recovery spells that elemental mages use.

**Diviners:** It seems like the spectrum of abilities for this type of deviant is quite wide. Elder Rinia was capable of seeing both the past and the future while also being capable of projecting Arthur’s voice to his parents from thousand of miles away. The abilities of Diviners can awaken at any point in their lives and mostly come in erratic bursts. Blurred images of the future flash through their minds quite often. Most of the time, those images are too vague and short to make anything out of it. These flashes of the future don’t actually use any of their mana. Nevertheless, without having proper control of this ability it’s pretty useless. True Divination is reading the future, knowing when and where something is going to happen. But they use their own longevity to fuel this power. As a result, every time they consciously choose to look into the future, they shorten their lifespan.

 Earth Element
 Wind Element

## Mages

**Mages** or **Mana Manipulators**, are Mana Users who have developed something inside of their bodies called a "Mana Core" which enables them to use Mana.

There are two types of Mages:

* **Augmenters**, users who enhance their bodies using mana, allowing them to possess incredible strength, defense, and agility. However, their weakness lies in their limited range. An augmenter's talent is measured by the strength of the mana channels in their body. This measures their speed and efficiency to relocate their mana from their mana core into various parts of their bodies. When Augmenters awaken, they form a pushing force around the barrier, signifying that they have dominant mana channels in their body; the degree of the force depends on their innate talent.
	+ **Fundamentals of Augmenting:** Augmenters utilize speed and precision in the use of one's mana core to properly distribute mana into different parts of the body. Being able to utilize the mana channels efficiently requires years of both mental and physical practice. Since augmenting involves extracting mana in its purest form, there are no highly notable signs or distinctions of an elemental sense at an early stage. However, augmenters are able to control their mana more freely, allowing them to fight through various different forms of augmentation.
	+ **Augmentation Backlash:** The phenomenon backlash occurs from depletion of the mana core, resulting in extreme physical pain for augmenters. Depending on how strenuous the damage to the mana core is, the heavier and more intense the pain is.

* **Conjurers**, users who emit mana to the outside world allowing them to bend their surroundings to their will, possessing unfathomable powers. However, their weakness is that they must supplement their own mana core with mana from the outside world, to exert mana into their surroundings in the form of spells. A conjurer's talent is measured by the power of their mana veins. This measures their speed and effectiveness to absorb mana from the outside world into their own mana core. When Conjurers awaken, they form a vacuum of mana around them, signifying their dominance in their mana veins; the degree of the force depends on their innate talent.
	+ **Fundamentals of Conjuring:** Conjurers gather the surrounding mana in the area and draw it inwards. Once the mana is inside the body, one must circulate the mana into one's mana core to stabilize and purify the atmosphere's diluted mana. Conjurers use appropriate conductors such as a staff, wand, or ring to channel the mana using the proper incantations. The more powerful the spell, the longer it will take to draw in the surrounding mana, store it inside the mana core, and release it. Since conjuring involves exerting focused mana into a particular spell, conjurers will have a special aptitude and typically lean towards a certain element at first. However, with proper training, conjurers can become adequate in the basics of all elements.
	+ **Conjuring Backlash:** The phenomenon backlash occurs from the overfilling of the mana core for conjurers. This is caused by the overuse of spells beyond the conjurer's capacity, or using a spell too powerful for the mana core to handle.

The difference between the two types of Mages becomes less apparent the lighter the mana core, thus allowing augmenters to will mana outside their body, and conjurers to reinforce their bodies, albeit far less effectively. Apparently, upon reaching white core, the difference in ability is completely eliminated, but most mages choose to stick with the style of fighting they are most familiar with.

## Mana Beast

See the Mana Beasts page for more information!

**Mana Beasts** are various unique animals and creatures that were born with the ability to absorb mana into their bodies and create their own mana cores, called *beast cores*. Mana Beasts are classified into E, D, C, B, A, AA, S, or SS class, where the latter is rarely seen. On average, mana beasts are stronger than humans of the same class due to their physical bodies being much stronger. Most mana beasts reside in the Beast Glades, while a select few accompany their owner or tamer outside the Beast Glades. Average class mana beasts generally roam near the first few tens of kilometers of the Beast Glades, while the stronger class mana beasts tend to reside further down in dungeon-like caves underground or further away. Higher class mana beasts have the power to create their own lair while having other mana beasts serving them. This symbolizes the strength of the mana beast and the treasures hidden within their lair if adventurers were to ever go explore.

### Beast Core

A **beast core** is a mana beast's mana core. They have an unlimited amount of uses, which makes them extremely valuable and highly sought after. The higher the classes the beast cores were, the more valuable.

### Bonds

Being bonded to a mana beast means that one possesses a special connection to a certain mana beast. That special connection is through a contract.

There are two types of contracts: An Equals Contract or an Master-Servant Contract.

People who are able to communicate mentally with their contracted beasts have an Equals Contract. An Equal‘s contract is a relationship based on mutual agreement while an Master-Servant Contract is a relationship based on obedience.

Bonds," or "contracted beasts" for the official term, were highly sought after by both types of mages. It was a bit more advantageous for conjurers since, while the master prepared spells, the bond would be able to protect them. However, it was also very useful for augmenters as well, who often sought after beasts to contract them as mounts or a partner to have their back. It was mentioned by Sebastian that a bond capable of forming an equal’s contract at a very young age will grow to become a beyond A-Class Mana Beast.

### Beast Will

See the Beast Will page for more information!!

When a mana beast reaches A class or higher, they have the ability to pass on their ‘will’, or ability to be more precise, to one person. Those people are called Beast Tamers. This is very rare, since mana beasts are generally aggressive and standoffish to the races and as such prefer to pass their will to their offspring. There is also a small chance of acquiring the beast will from a beast's mana core dropped after their death. However, most mana beasts disperse their beast will when they are killed.

The best way to train the beast will acquired is being taught by the beast itself. The only other alternative mentioned was to study thoroughly about the beast itself so that the beast tamer can learn and practice the traits of the beast.

## Artifacts

Artifacts were gifted to humans, elves and dwarves by the Asuras, which allowed them to learn about mana utilization. There are total of six artifacts, where each race owns 2 artifacts. They were given to the ancestors of the current Royal Families. The three pairs of artifacts bestowed had different attributes. The distinct features in specialization between the three races they have today are supposedly due to the artifacts. The artifacts are also the reason why the Lances were able to rise past the silver core stage and become white core mages, as well as the reason why they aren’t able to go against the Council since they are soul-bound, just like the previous users who were tied to the first kings.

After Dicathen lost the war and most survivors seeked refuge in the Sanctuary, Windsom visited it under Indrath’s order and offered New Artifacts to Virion.  Virion introduced the new Artifacts to the remaining public and wanted to create a Lance Corps with the help of this three Artifacts, yet Rinia appeared out of nowhere and explains the pros and cons of the Artifacts, while she also described the grim future that awaited Dicathen if those Artifacts were used. Virion and Rinia argue a little until it is decided that they will hold a poll to decide the next course of action. During the vote, which Windsom was listening to in his cat-form, it was decided that they will not use the Artifacts. When Windsom reported this to Kezess, he responds by sending Taci to wipe out the remaining people of Dicathen in the Sanctuary. Fortunately, Arthur came back from Alacrya and the Victoriad on time, fighting against Taci and killing him in the process.

## Aether

See the Aether Page for more information!

**Aether** is the fifth and most mysterious magical particle (the rest are earth, water, fire, and wind). Little is known about it, except that it has a purple color when viewed through Realmheart. Also, it is believed that aether can be only influenced, but not controlled. The Indrath clan boasts the best understanding and ability over aether, however each member of the clan can only pursue one path of aether utilization. There are a total of four paths:

* **Aevum**: Aether that controls Time.

* **Spatium**: Aether that controls Space.

* **Vivum**: Aether that influences Existence (Life, death, creation, and destruction).
* **Fate:** Fate is an edict, higher than what aether encompasses, above that of time, space, and Existence.

A member of the Indrath clan compared mana to water and aether to the glass holding it to describe the difficulties in manipulating aether for mana users.

Relics and structures left behind by Ancient Mages mainly utilize aether, leading to an assumption that they were able to control it.

Aether seems to function similar to mana in several regards:

1. It can be formed into a core, albeit through a very arduous process (based on how Arthur formed his aether core since all other known characters only had mana cores).
2. One can form channels through which aether can be distributed throughout the body.
3. Aether can augment the body, including specific parts, like hands or legs, as well as form a protective “aura” around the user.

When using aether, the person can gain aether runes which is a visual depiction of the conceptualisation and understanding of a specific branch of aether, which will allow them to access and use that specific branch of aether. The Alacryan magic system of gaining runes to channel mana is believed to be an imitation of aether runes.

### Aether Signature

Every person has an **Aether Signature** and while Arthur couldn’t absorb this physical manifestation of Aether like he did with the creatures in the Relictombs, he could use the small amounts of Aether within the people to potentially sense them from afar.

### Aether Arts

See also the God Runes page for further information!

* **Realmheart**: Godrune that greatly increases mana flow throughout the body, and allows for more efficient utilization of mana, thus considerably increasing spell strength and decreasing cast time. The user can perceive the four elements and aether, allowing them to any detect disturbances and cancel or overload the opponent’s spells.

* **Static Void**: Godrune that allows the user to freeze time for everything by using the aether around them; however, this does not apply to anyone who can use aether in the same way as them. While Static void is active, frozen individuals or items cannot be interacted with, and the mana particles in the atomsphere are also frozen.

* **Regeneration**: Aether Art that heals the injured person and can even regrow lost limbs.

* **Gauntlet Form**: Aether Art that delivers a powerful Regis-infused punch *(Unique to Arthur)*.

* **Destruction**: Godrune that gives the user the ability to destroy whatever he touches.

* **God Step**: An upgraded version of Burst Step that fills the user’s body with Aether and almost instantly brings them to a predetermined location using channels that resembles Worm Holes.

* **Aroa's Requiem**: Godrune that can turn back time and even bring back living things, with no limit on how long the person or object has been broken or killed.

* **Destruction Sword**: By allowing Regis to enter the Aether sword and then triggering the destruction rune, Arthur can cause the Aetheric blade to grow larger and wrapped in dark violet flames. Since destruction is being limited to the sword, this prevents Arthur from going insane and destroying everything in his environment.*(Unique to Arthur)*.

* **Aetheric Intent**: Arthur can now release an aura similar to Kordri's King's Force. The aura he releases makes the air grow heavy and can drive soldiers to their knees and even choke the air out of their lungs or freeze them in place and make Arthur unapproachable, but a strong enough opponent would be immune to it. *(Unique to Arthur)*.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Beginning After The End Novel: Volume 1 – Chapter 4
2. ↑ The Beginning After The End Novel: Volume 2 - Chapter 38
3. ↑ The Beginning After The End Novel: Volume 1 –Chapter 9
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Beginning After The End Novel: Volume 1- Chapter 4
5. ↑ The Beginning After The End Novel: Volume 3- Chapter 69
6. ↑ The Beginning After The End Novel: Volume 1- Chapter 18
7. ↑ The Beginning After The End Novel: Volume 4- Chapter 75
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 The Beginning After The End Novel: Volume 1 – Chapter 3
9. ↑ The Beginning After The End Novel: Volume 1 - Chapter 7
10. ↑ The Beginning After The End Novel Volume 1: Chapter 10
11. ↑ The Beginning After The End Novel: Volume 1 – Chapter 13
12. ↑ The Beginning After The End Novel: Volume 7 – Chapter 225
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Beginning After The End Webcomic: Episode 131
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 The Beginning After The End Novel:Volume 1 - Chapter 20
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 The Beginning After The End Novel; Volume 3- Chapter 66
16. ↑ The Beginning After The End Novel: Volume 2- Chapter 23
17. ↑ The Beginning After The End Webcomic: Episode 43
18. ↑ The Beginning After The End Novel: Volume 4- Chapter 76
19. ↑ The Beginning After The End Volume 9- Chapter 375
20. ↑ The Beginning After The End Novel: Volume 9- Chapter 376
21. ↑ The Beginning After The End Novel: Volume 9- Chapter 380
22. ↑ The Beginning After The End Novel: Volume 8- Chapter 286