Occult Awakening: From Commoner to Archmage

Digger scratched his chin, then got up from the bed to face Luca, who still sat on the chair.

"Ah you're finally at that stage, are you?"

Luca shook his head.

"Not quite, but I'd rather have the information sooner rather than later."

He said he wasn't quite there for two reasons. The first was that he wouldn't be able to truly know either way. As long as he didn't know the criteria, he would have no way of knowing whether he was ready. The second reason was almost a contradiction of the first: he simply didn't feel ready.

Luca was someone who thrived on preparation. He did everything best when there was a plan, a contingency, and a contingency to the contingency. Most of those plans started with an emotion or a feeling.

Right now, he felt nothing, meaning the time wasn't right yet. But of course, this wasn't something he could explain to Digger, as he wasn't sure the man would understand.

The bar owner didn't inquire any further into his thought process.

"The advancement into the first degree is a very crucial thing. In the Empire, there are already very few Initiate rank mages. I'll give you an example.

"Let's say there are a hundred Initiate rank mages in this city now. Seventy out of those hundred die before even reaching the peak of the Initiate rank, hunted to death by the church or killed by reckless experiments. Out of those thirty who do survive and try to advance, do you know how many make it?"

Luca shook his head.

"Only five make it. That's how dangerous the process is." Digger paused. "But that's not to say it's without benefit. The first degree is a whole different level of power from the Initiate rank, because of one key reason."

"Tell me, have you paid any attention to your Foundational Glyph since you first awakened?"

The answer was simple. Luca had never done that. He had played around with it in the Veil a few times, but he had never actually tried to do any deeper research.

Digger shook his head, as the answer was clear on Luca's face.

"Of course you haven't. Most of you Initiate mages never try to look into why it's called a Foundational Glyph. Do you think it's just in your consciousness to take up space? I'll hold off on explaining this right now."

He held up two fingers.

"As a mage advancing to the first degree, you need to take note of two things in particular before attempting to break through. The first is obviously your mana levels. You'll feel it when it reaches the tipping point."

That much was easy to understand and was something Luca already knew. However, he could feel that he hadn't reached the tipping point yet.

"That's one. What about the other one?"

Digger placed his second finger down.

"For the second requirement, you need to pierce the Veil."

There was a brief silence, and Luca frowned as Digger gave him some time to chew over his words.

'Pierce the Veil? What does that mean?'

His confusion was evident on his face.

Digger explained. "The Veil is the barrier between worlds. It's the barrier that keeps our material world from mixing with the spiritual. However, it's not a perfect barrier. It lets things pass through, and with enough effort, you can also force small openings yourself.

"Even the act of casting magic tears small holes in the Veil. The being known as the Sun Father has wholly mastered the process of handing down a small portion of his strength and has used that to acquire and accumulate power for hundreds of millennia.

"When I say to pierce the Veil, I simply mean that you need to find or create wider gaps in the Veil that allow you to absorb the stellar energy and permanently anchor yourself to that gap."

"Some people do it by concentrating large amounts of stellar energy into the same spot. Some do it by consuming potions. There's no single method, and there's no guaranteed success. You have to find out what works for you."

It was a vague explanation, all things considered, but Luca had a much greater idea of things now. He recalled something Digger had said earlier.

"Is that why you think Thalia's plan was well thought-out?"

The bar owner nodded.

"I'm glad you caught that so quick. Thalia's plan works because there's a huge amount of stellar energy concentrated in Carinthia every week when the festival happens. Hundreds of priests, knights, and even some regular people contribute to this pool.

"Of course, it's more or less in a dormant state, but she may decide to use something to take full advantage of the energy. It could be a ritual or a potion."

Now that made much more sense. A plan had already begun forming in Luca's head.

"Well, what were you saying about the Foundational Glyphs?"

He was particularly interested in it now because of Digger's description thus far.

"You need to pay more attention to those. I suggest you tinker with some spells relating to the glyph, maybe even try creating your own if you can. The more familiar you are, the more effective you will be after the advancement. There are levels within even a single degree of power."

Luca chewed over everything for a while. It seemed as if there was more to be said, but Digger didn't want to reveal the answer and would leave him to figure it out. He didn't mind that.

He had been given most of the pieces to the puzzle. All that was left was to fill in the gaps.

"I understand."

"Good. Give me a second, will you?"

Digger walked over to the side of his bed and pulled out a strange-looking item from underneath. It was covered in a thin layer of dust that the man wiped off with a small gesture.

Luca could now see the item clearly. It was a mask; a thin black face mask with two eye slits curved downward and a thin slit below for the mouth. It was shaped into a permanent, pitiful, depressing frown.

"I want you to have this. You've been lucky so far, but the luck might not last. If you plan on moving around at night, wear this instead."

He took the mask from Digger's hands and scanned it briefly. His eyes went wide in shock.

"Thank you. I won't forget everything you've done."

"Yeah, yeah. Just think about it before you wake me from sleep next time, you little shit."

Luca grinned. "I can't make any promises, old man."