Solar Mage

Chapter 75: The Theory of Potential

I pick up the papers and squint at them intensely, squinting to be able to concentrate on them faster.

I know the poison didn't have an effect on the abilities of my mind, just the state of it, so why is it taking me so long to process it? Didn't I call myself the Heavenly Brain? Is this really all that I amounted to at the time without Heightened Senses? How pathetic.

I continue automatically scanning the pages, setting aside the time for processing, later, instead trying to figure out the limitations of my mind in my fragmented library.

Hmm... well it looks like my ego then wasn't there for nothing, at least the information is being recorded properly. They should last for at least another 80 years, which isn't good by any means, but at least it gives me time to develop my mind, eventually being able to make this information able to last longer.

I close the book inside my mind's vast library, casually strolling through the shelves as my physical body continues flipping through papers.

Now that I have seen the wall myself, I know now, why all the known geniuses who reached the 8th circle, and are called archmages, have not surpassed the wall and become a 9th circle after 800 years of none having reached such a result. There are two things a mage needs to reach the 9th circle, time, and talent. It could be the worst talent imaginable, only being able to form the first circle at the age of 100, but as long as that talent exists, they can surpass any circle as long as they have enough time. The problem with humans nowadays is that we have a short lifespan, all the Great Sages in the Mythical Era had long life spans due to the greater amount of pure mana in the air. Because of our short lifespan now, we measure the speed at which someone can reach the next stage, and use that momentary data to determine talent. However, that is the problem. There needs to be a balance between your current capacity, and how many circles you have. Mana circles enhance the power of your manaheart, but just like how you cannot lift something heavy if your muscles aren't strong enough, your manaheart cannot handle mana that's too powerful. It will seem good, even great at the moment, but your manaheart is actually exhausting your future potential in order to keep your current state preserved. In the end, your potential will be completely exhausted and you will be unable to surpass that wall.

Of course this is just a theory of mine, and I can't explain how Magnus Arcanus or Luke Wolkan managed to reach the 9th circle, but it's rather convincing isn't it? I spent the last five days and nights to form this theory so it should be!

If Magnus Arcanus also exists in this world, I will have to train as much as I can, but also keep my growth balanced so that I will not exhaust my potential, and surpass the wall to reach the 10th circle. I don't know if the training I'll be doing for the next 10 years in this life will be able to match his 2000 years of training, but I've spent the last ten years in my past life reading all the books and manuals inside the Grand Library, so as long as I don't get one shotted by him, some of the techniques that were created after he was sealed might work on him. He is very weird though, the last words he said to me makes no sense, he said that we shared the same enemy and it felt like he sincerely just wanted to talk.

Well, regardless, if he needs to kill any of the people I know to achieve his goal, I won't let him.

Exiting my mind's library, I begin to process all the information from the pile of papers, I've for some reason, sorted.

Now, with all of that being said, what the hell am I looking at right now? These aren't my letters!

Information continues to be processed, and recorded, my internal clock alarming me of the time passed.

What the hell?!?! I've been inside my Mind Realm for an entire minute? So to William, it just looked like I was flipping through papers like a madman, and then suddenly, as if I had a change of heart, started to organize them?!?! I was able to spend hours inside my Mind Realm in the past, while only seconds passed in the real world! Did it just make the time I spent in the Grand Library longer? Yes! But it was entertaining!

The chaotic worrying inside my head comes to a stop as a great idea forms inside my head.

Wait a minute– time, yes! Time exactly! I didn't spend time inside my Mind Realm because it just made the ten years I spent inside the Grand Library last longer, but because of that stupid reason, I disregarded all thoughts on that matter and blinded myself, twice!! Haha, get it? Because I ripped my eye out that one time... okay, lets just start speaking to William before I make myself look even crazier to him.

I hold up the stack of papers in my hands and walk up to him, who continues to lean on the wall, lying on the floor and staring at me in surprise.

"What are these? They aren't my letters."

William slowly gets up off the ground like an old machine, awkwardly keeping his hands against the wall, and his limbs stretched out like he had no joints

"Holy crap, I thought you had actually gone insane, and were going to kill me. You know, whatever the hell it is that you did just now definitely didn't make me think any better of you."

I couldn't help but ignore whatever nonsense he just said, concentrating fully on how much he struggled getting up.

Wow, he moves like an old man who's never trained his body a day in his life. I mean, he is a physician who's studied his whole life in that field to get where he is now, but he is seriously weak.

Once he fully arises, he stretches his back, then his arms, then his legs, then the rest of his body.

...

After stretching, he walks up to me and snatches the papers from my hands.

"And you're right, these aren't letters, you don't have any letters, why would you? These papers are a draft copy of the book I'm writing–"

I suddenly grab him by the shoulders, with a nervous, alarmed expression on my face, abruptly cutting him off.

"What do you mean?! Explain more!!"

First of fear, then of confusion, William finally decides to be happy, enjoy and let his ego take over.

"Oh, you want to know more about my book? Well, if you are a fan, I'd be happy to give you a signed copy once it publishes–"

I shake his thin, flimsy body back and forth repeatedly.

"No, what did you say about the letters?! Are you certain I've gotten no letters?!"

"Stooo– ppp sh— aaa–kiiii–ng mee—"

Oh– right.

I bring my hands to a stop, his neck taking the majority of the force from the shaking, as it continues to spin around for a while before it straightens and his eyes look back into mine.

"Uuuooh– yeah, no, there were no letters sent to you, were there supposed to be? I thought students attending Wolkan Academy were allowed to contact anyone outside during a semester?"

This is impossible, how could there be no letters for me? Is that something else that's changed in this world? I'm not revered as the genius swordsman? Or could it be that– I'm in someone else's body? My mind is still it's genius self, that's filled with all of my memories, good and bad, but what about my body? I felt nothing wrong with it because I assumed that my muscles were less refined because I was younger and I had the majority of it destroyed by that poison, but that's because I've yet to do anything to it! I haven't tried running mana through it yet, or testing my limits. Could I have regressed into someone else's body?!?!

"William, quick! What's my name?!?!"

I scream in full panic while William continues to look at me in confusion.

"Arthur?..."

"WHAT'S MY FULL NAME?!?!"

He raises a brow, while also slightly tilting his head, slowly extending each word and syllable as he speaks.

"Did you have a family name?"

My alarmed face changes as I freeze in fear, my hands unknowingly tightening harder on William's arms.

I'm in someone else's body? Impossible! There's no way, everyone I know will just think of me as a random stranger! All of my plans will be ruined! I have to see for myself!!!

I quickly release my grip from William and run out of the door with nothing but my bathrobe.

No– no– No!!! I can't have regressed into someone else's body!

As I rip the door open, looking back at it as it gets left behind me, I enter the hallway. Turning back to the center, I see it, a mirror directly in front, and I see myself.

Oh Pyro was right, I do look better with my brown hair!

I admire myself in the mirror, unfocused on anything else.

Oh, and my beautiful left eye, how I've missed you, so.

I stop my posing and admiration for myself, returning my smiling face to its cold, emotionless self, and calmly walk back through the door.

William leans backwards on the chair of the table where I set the pages of his book.

"Oh hey, did you find what you were looking for? Did you lose your memories or something? We get people here who say that a lot."

That's rather concerning, and I probably would have had to say yes if I was actually in someone else's body, but I'm not.

"No, my memories are fine, and my full name is Arthur Ventrike."

He continues rocking his chair while acting bored.

"Really? I've never heard of that name before."

Yeah, so it wasn't that I had regressed into someone else's body, it was just that he was an idiot.

I breathe in, and take a deep exhale.

"My father is Count Loran Ventrike."

I bring up, in a casual and forgetful tone.

"Oh really? He's my favorite swordsman, I watch all his official matches and tournaments, if you could ask him to give me an autographed sword that would be great–"

He stops rocking, bringing his chair back on all four legs, staring straight at the table for a moment, as if to process what I had just said, before turning up and looking directly at me. He stares intensely for a moment, then becomes unfocused, then staring intensely again.

He breaks our calm eye contact, when out of nowhere, he jumps up from his chair.

"Holy crap, I can't believe I didn't notice earlier! You look like the spitting image of him!"

His joy is short lived however, as he starts to think, and looks away from me.

"Wait, does that mean they gave me a real child who was actually in critical condition as my first patient ever?!?! And the son of a noble at that?!?"

Yeah, and if it was any kid other than me, they probably would've died under your care.

"I'm so sorry Arthur, I thought you were someone sent here by my master as a trick. He pulled some pretty bad ones on me when he was teaching me, so I was extremely cautious of you, and ended up just tying you in blankets and rope, but as you can see, it didn't work out so well."

What did his master do to him that was so bad that he became paranoid of children? It makes me shiver just thinking about it, my master's done some... pretty horrific things to me too. I think I'll forgive him just this once because we both have strict masters...

"Wait, if you are a noble, does that mean you were actually willing to pay me a platinum card if I had let you go? NOO!!!"

He grabs his hair and pulls on them, in a state of great regret.

And there it is, changing the subject back to money. There's the William that I know! Well, it's nice to see that he won't take money from children at least. Or, children who aren't nobles? Ah whatever, he doesn't take from the poor. He's a good doctor in that aspect at least. Yes, that aspect, that singular aspect.