How I got fuc*ed up

‘’... You see, everything has a life force that derives from the simple fact of existing and that force is called Qi’’ started explaining Kalon

‘’This means that even a rock, a mountain or a piece of iron has Qi?’’

‘’Technically yes, it’s just on such a low level that is almost irrelevant and doesn’t allow the being to develop senses or consciusness’’

‘’Ok, got it… But does that mean that a fish has Qi?’’

‘’Yes, but don’t go to far, we are starting from the bases’’

‘’Ok, sorry, keep going’’

"Obviously we humans have Qi, each of us on a different level, but the point is that we can accumulate that Qi inside of us with particular techniques and the more we gather it the higher level of existence we reach… Is everything clear?’’

‘’Yes… But if a fish gathers great amounts of Qi what will happen?’’

‘’What problem do you have with fishes?? However, if that happens the fish will reach a higher physical and intellectual level… Do you have other questions about fishes?’’

‘’No, thank you’’

‘’Good… Now, as I said, each of us has a different level of Qi to begin with as well as a different talent in gathering it. Assume that a normal person takes 1 month to gather a certain amount of Qi; a good talent will take 2 weeks, an incredible talent 1 week, a genius 3 days and a supreme talent 1 day’’

‘’Damn, is it really so unfair?’’

‘’No, it’s even worse in reality, I just didn’t want to be to arsh’’  

“Ah” said Julius with a perplexed expression 

“Don't worry, theoretically the ones sent by Divine Beings alla have decent talents, don't worry… Now, let's continue”

“What’s more?”

“Qi is just the main declination of the life force I was talking about before… You see, the main focus of Qi gathering is to strengthen the body and the ones specialized in that are usually warriors like soldiers or martial artists. The first ones focus on fighting with a weapon while the latter ones focus on bare handed fighting”

“Ok, got it”

“Now comes the tricky part… Mana” said Kalon with brimming eyes

“Mh, ok”

“I expected a little more enthusiasm”

“Well, from what I am from all of this doesn't exist so I am already trying my best ok?”

“Ok, ok… Mana is a force derived by Qi that allows to manipulate the external world and the surrounding, it allows us to practice magic”

“Ok, now you got my attention”

“Yeah, I thought so… Now, magic is elemental and based on your affinity you can do different things… For example, healing magic requires a good affinity with both light and darkness” 

“Ok, i didn't even know that light and darkness were elements”

“And what did you think they are?” asked Kalon with skeptical look

“Well, light is given by photons while darkness is the absence of photons” replied Julius with the same skeptical expression 

“Your society is too attached to the scientific aspect of nature to truly understand it”

“Well, the last time we believed magic was a thing, the church started killing a lot of people... So, you know, maybe it's better this way”

“If you say so… However, there are eight elements: Light and Darkness are the Original Elements; Fire, Water, Earth and Air are the Derived Elements; Metal and Lighting are the composed elements... Usually Lightning is referred as the King of Elements”

“Why is Lightning the King?”

“Because it's like 3 elements in one… It's as fast as Light, as powerful as Fire and as precise as Air… Technically Metal is composed of Earth and Fire, but it's mainly a defensive element with high resistance to fire... Unless you reach the melting point... However, Lightning is in a league of his own, if you ever find yourself against a Lighting elementalist of your same level start running, there's no way you are going to win, unless you are a unparalleled genius”

“I hope there are not many of these monsters, because now I am scared to death… You see, I can barely turn on the oven so the idea of someone manipulating a element is already frightening”

“Well, they are about 5% of magician that can use the Lightning element, but the ones that use it as a primary element and are really proficient with it are about 1% of the total”

“Not low enough, to be fair”

“What can I say? Life is not fair”

“Well, I think I got most of it but why is Mana tricky”

“Well the point is that despite being a branch of Qi it is not correlated to the amount of Qi someone possesses or his Qi talent… So, for example, someone who has a high talent for gathering Qi maybe doesn't have a great mana pool or doesn't have the ability to use it properly, we don't really know”

“What do you mean you don't really know?”

“Well, we are sure there is a genetic predisposition but why does it happen it's not clear even because there are cases of people with a very low Qi talent but a very high one for Mana… While we can measure Qi, we cannot do it with Mana”

“So, how can you determine if someone is slightly stronger than another?”

“We have our ways… Don't think about that for the time being”

“You don't think I can be a mage?”

“It’s not that, it’s just that before even considering becoming a mage you must reach the initial phase of the Qi gathering level”

“What’s that?”

“There are different levels:

• Qi Gathering 

• Qi Core

• Qi Integration

• Qi Aura

• Qi Projection 

• Qi Domain

And that's about Qi, for Mana we have:

• Mana manifestation 

• Elemental Mana 

• Mana integration 

• Mana Projection

• Mana Domain

And while we have means to measure your Qi, Mana levels are determined by what you can do”

“Ok, I think I got  it… Just one more question: what about people with talent for both Qi and Mana? And I mean high talent”

“Ahahaha, you don't need to know very much, but those are in a different league, like our King, the Supreme Priest and the Supreme Commander… Just know that if someone like them wants you death, you will be before you can even realize”

“Even if I have the Lightning element?”asked Julius with a slim of hope 

“If you reach high proficiency, maybe you will be able to escape, but that's not for sure… When it comes down to genius of that level you must forget common sense”

“Are you trying to kill my ego? Because you sure did”

“Ahahah, sorry, that was not my intention… Now, what did you really understand about my explanation?”

“That there is always a bigger fish and that I should run because I am as weak as a newborn here”

“Good, you passed the psychological test… Even if you still have a problem with fishes… Now, get up from that bed and follow me, there is the physical test that awaits you”

“... I think a don't want to know about your psychological standard”

Lamented Julius while getting off the bed, finding all his clothes perfectly ironed on a little drawer “But maybe that's not my concern”

He hurrying put his clothes on and followed Kalon who was already walking outside the Infirmary