Mother of Learning. Arc 3 Incomplete

«Actually, I’m curious… is there some way to speed up the growth of mana reserves?» asked Zorian. «I know that artificially increasing them has bad side-effects, but is there some kind of training method that would speed up natural growth?»

Taiven looked at him, looking apprehensive. «Technically, yes,» admitted Taiven reluctantly. «It’s as simple as using mana-intensive spells to constantly exhaust your reserves. It would kick the growth of your reserves into overdrive. However, that kind of unnatural growth would completely wreck your current shaping skills — your normal growth of reserves is so slow because your soul is making sure your control over mana doesn’t slip. Wrecking your shaping skills just to speed up the growth of your reserves is really short-sighted, Roach. Please don’t do it. I never would, and you know I’m not exactly the most responsible girl. Surely you can wait for a few years for them to grow on their own?»

Well he certainly wasn’t pressed for time at the moment, Zorian had to admit. «I suppose that makes sense,» he said. «I guess the reason why mana reserves plateau after a while is that there is only so much power a soul can safely handle. Increasing the cap artificially after that point messes up the mage’s shaping skills with no hope of ever regaining them. No wonder everyone recommends against doing it — no matter how benign the enhancement process, the result is still more power and less control over it.»

«There is always a trade-off between control and power,» said Taiven. «It’s just not apparent most of the time, since very few people try to develop their shaping skills to their limits. Many mages think that having more mana is always better, since you can always work harder on your shaping skills, but increasing your mana reserves without bad side effects is essentially impossible. It’s not true, though. No matter how much time they spend honing their shaping skills, people with huge mana reserves are outright incapable of performing some particularly finesse-focused spells — things like advanced mind magic, detailed illusions and complex alteration constructs.»

«Wait, you’re saying that I’ll lose the ability to cast finesse-based spells as my mana reserves increase?» asked Zorian in alarm.

«No, no, I’m talking about your natural mana reserves — your inborn capacity before you start to increase it through regular spellcasting. About magnitude. Most spells, even highly sophisticated ones, are designed for average mages — magnitude 8 to 12, in other words. You’re 12, so still comfortably within the intended range. Hell, I’ve heard of a one particular 15 magnitude mage that became a damn good illusionist, so even if you tip over a little it will hardly matter.»

Considering Zorian’s real magnitude was 8, he apparently had nothing to worry about. Still, it did make him wonder about Zach, who seemed to have magnitude in the low 60s. How did that kind of monstrous power factor in Taiven’s scheme?

«How about people with really high magnitude?» asked Zorian. «How high can you go before finesse-based spells become impossible?»

«I’ve never seen hard numbers, but I’d guess around magnitude 20 or so,» Taiven shrugged.

«How about the really high numbers?» Zorian asked. «Something like magnitude 60?»

Taiven blinked, seemingly baffled by the question. «Well, that would be downright inhuman!» she said finally. «Is that even possible? Anyway, I’m not sure whether that would even be a good thing, even for a battlemage like me. Anyone with such mana reserves would have to spend years longer than their peers just to gain a basic level of proficiency expected of a certified mage. Maybe as much as a decade even, I don’t know.»

Zorian thought about what a relative failure Zach was before the time loop and frowned. He had thought that Zach had simply been a lazy slacker, but maybe there was more to it than that? Then again, he had a feeling Zach was a special case. Those inhuman mana reserves were just that — completely outside the human range. He found absolutely no records of people like that in any of the books, and most of the experts he asked flat out told him such people didn’t exist outside of myths. Also, while Zach had been a crappy mage, he did succeed in getting certified so his huge mana reserves clearly weren’t as crippling as they should have been.

Maybe it was a Noveda House bloodline? One that gave their family huge reserves without the crippling loss of control, perhaps. Of course, the Noveda publically claimed they had no bloodline, but it wouldn’t be the first time a House had lied.

«I hesitate to even bring this up,» Taiven said, breaking him out of his thoughts, «but if you’re really desperate for a short term mana boost, you can always absorb ambient mana faster than you can assimilate it. I’m sure you’re aware of the drawbacks, though…»