I've Got A Mana Processor In A Magic World

"She became the first awakened, leaving the shackles of the mind behind and forging the path that we all now follow…" Lytheron sighed.

"And just like with Algernon, many also followed in the path that she had shown. It was inevitable. Compared to any other form of magic, this new path was extremely superior, creating mages that were vastly more powerful than their counterparts…"

"So she was the mother of magic as we now know it…" Zephyr muttered, before frowning as he noticed a discrepancy. "But didn't you mention that only Elves had a natural core at the time…"

Lytheron nodded, gesturing for Zephyr to slow down, "I'm getting there, young Zephyr."

"At first, unlike Algernon, Mother Aurelis, spurred by a few of her subordinates and colleagues, thought the path she had opened should remain within elven hands," Lytheron explained with a calm tone. "But she herself was never the type to guard knowledge. She was said to be naturally passive in regards to the issue, fully consumed by her research instead…"

"So secrets slipped, and the knowledge of what she'd achieved soon spread beyond our kind."

He glanced at Zephyr briefly. "Not that it mattered much in those early years. Knowing of her method did not mean any could walk it. For us elves, reshaping the core was possible because we had cores to begin with. No other race had the same…"

"Then how was it pos—"

"Patience, young Zephyr!" Lytheron snapped in exasperation. "I will naturally explain, I simply need you to listen for now…"

Zephyr held up both hands in surrender. For a second, he'd forgotten he was speaking so casually to an ancient figure. One that was so powerful, Zephyr didn't even know how to classify him yet.

'The customs must have been very different from the times he's from…' Zephyr concluded. Because by modern standards, he felt he hadn't been too forward so far. It was only a natural response to express one's views and doubts in conversations.

Host, I'd advise that you should be more courteous with this fellow. In fact, the best course of action would be to treat him as if he were Royalty…

Zephyr gave the equivalent of a mental snort in response to Aegis. 'Isn't that too much though. He might even think I'm trying to bootlick him.'

Did he seem to mind the previous time?

'...Fair point. But I'm still not going that far.'

Zephyr instead put on a very meek expression to show his apology, earning him a disgruntled snort from the elf.

Lytheron shook his head, sighing. "Where was I…?"

"Yes— No other race had a core to begin with. And it was not until many years had passed, when Aurelis herself had nearly reached the same peak as Algernon had – late stage Tier Six, that the first human was born with a core. A child of mingled blood."

Zephyr looked on blankly. It had been just as he had expected. But now the question of whether every single human possessed elven blood arose. He held himself back from asking though, careful not to trigger the elf yet again.

Lytheron continued. "This was only possible because at the time, elves had grown plentiful across Astralis. Our status was elevated, our lines sought after. Interbreeding was essentially inevitable. And in time, after many minglings, the first offspring of this union with a core appeared."

For a while he let the words hang, until Zephyr's brow furrowed. Now it seemed as though the elf was expecting a follow-up question.

'What's with this old guy!' Zephyr nearly cursed out loud, but he held himself back and asked the obvious question Lytheron was expecting.

"Earlier, you said elven blood was dominant. Does that mean every race that mingled…"

"Carry the elven bloodline within them? Yes—" Lytheron sighed deeply with a tinge of pride to his tone.

Zephyr watched the unnecessary theatrics with a weird expression, though he was beginning to get how to interact with the peculiar elf a little better now.

"—though only humans first. Then dragonkin from other worlds also learned of it, the demons of the great abyssal world were the next, then even dwarfs, orcs and later… titans—"

Zephyr's expression flickered slightly.

"—and one by one, new lines awakened with cores born of elven influence."

"So… in a way… every single race are all elves?" Zephyr asked in genuine surprise, although with a bit more awe to his voice to satisfy Lytheron's weird quirk.

But Lytheron didn't react as Zephyr expected. He only sighed. "Not all elves. Not truly. The thread of our blood runs through them, yes. But not all awakened came through our bloodline."

His tone suddenly grew sharper. "Some humans… chose another way. They refused to taint their heritage, but still hungered for what Aurelis had created. So they turned to experiment… on elves."

Zephyr grimaced. He'd seen it coming the more Lytheron had explained, but some part of him had hoped he'd say something else.

"They carved into us. Tested. Stole… And in the end, they found success. They found a way to implant a core into themselves. To bear our gift without ever mingling with our kind."

Lytheron let a minute of silence pass before continuing with a solemn tone, "Mother Aurelis never saw it in time. She was consumed by her work, blind to how far it had spread. By the time she uncovered the truth, the knowledge was already seeded too deeply. And when she did act…"

Zephyr's throat tightened as he asked, "What did she do?"

Lytheron's gaze seemed to grow heavy. "She ordered every single elf back to Drasil. Closed all the gates and portals. Declared humanity and every other race enemies. And within Drasil… she began a purge. A hunt for any born impure, any touched by mingled blood. Elves who were not whole were… removed."

"A deep rift formed between elves and every other race. If it wasn't for the fact that the humans who had done those experiments secretly spread their findings to other friendly races… there might not be any humans left today…" Lytheron shook his head. "You can thank the ingenuity of your ancestors for that," he scoffed.

"You have some resentment…?" Zephyr asked tentatively.

Lytheron cast a glance at him before looking away with a distant gaze. "Not at all. My time was still further down the line, so I have no personal experience such that I would say I resent humans," he shrugged. "I simply think that while retelling history, one should accord the necessary solemnity required…"

"Well, anyway. I do not think you want to hear of the dark years. Of the strife and wars. Of the mass slaughters that occurred between all the races… So, let's move on to my era. Many years after the Era of strife," Lytheron clapped his hands, settling in his lotus position more comfortably.

A smile colored his face as he prepared to tell his tale.

Zephyr also readied himself, preparing for more frequent pauses of bootlicking.

"Unlike the dark eras of strife, mine was more mild and relatively peaceful. All worlds had settled into the new reality. We elves had secluded ourselves in Drasil for more than a millenia. Humans and the other races still intermingled, traded and exchanged knowledge," he explained. "Now that us elves were no longer on the scene, humans had become the most erudite race among the various worlds."

"Looking back at it now, in a way, the Elves' seclusion could have been the trigger for the events that followed in my era."

"Because of the exchange of ideas — even accounting for the natural wisdom and superiority of us elves in magic, humans eventually equaled our level of progress…" Lytheron said begrudgingly. "...maybe even surpassing us," he added after a short second, even more unwillingly.

"I can say this because from a young age, I was a bright mind. Even among my peers I was one of those who understood the texts written by Mother Aurelis the most, even going further to chart my path forward," he smirked. "At the time, it had already been established that talent was linked to mana node count…" he suddenly paused, looking at Zephyr somewhat expectantly.

Zephyr didn't miss a beat this time, asking immediately, with all the right facial expressions to stroke Lytheron's ego.

"H—How many mana nodes did you awaken with?" he asked eagerly. "Let me guess! Don't say it…" Zephyr paused like he was genuinely thinking.

"Sixteen!" He snapped his fingers.

Lytheron's pleased expression suddenly soured.

"Sixteen? Sixteen!" he almost stood up from where he sat.

"Do you mock me, young Zephyr?!"

"My bad." Zephyr smacked his forehead. "Thirty-two!"

Lytheron recoiled, now staring at Zephyr as if just realizing he might not be joking.

"Surely the world must not have regressed to this extent!" He sprang to his feet, startling Zephyr who also stood in response.

"What mana node count is considered talented in the world of today?"

Zephyr paused for a short second, quickly realizing from Lytheron's words that sixteen was very likely not even worth mentioning. Yet he'd already said that, so even if he wanted to inflate the figure, whatever answer he gave couldn't be too unrealistic.

At the end he simply went by Jet's and Kathelyn's sixteen mana node count and multiplied it by four, just to be generous.

It was absurd to him, but he just pictured it as something the highest royals — the main powers of his world, should be born with.

"Sixty-four…?"

Lytheron frowned in disbelief. "Sixty four…!"

"And what was your mana node count after awakening? You have elven blood in you, no matter how little. And your father was surely a powerful figure," he walked closer to Zephyr, staring up at him with an intense gaze. "I have also seen some level of your skill myself…"

"Where do you stand in this new world standard?"

"..."

Zephyr swallowed a gulp.

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A/N: This chapter's special thanks goes to John_Smith24666 and DestroyerMagus for the Golden Tickets! 👏👏