As soon as Natalis finished explaining what an Array was, Eldrigan tilted his head and crossed his arms, clearly lost.
"Okay, I know I'm not a mage, but someone please tell me what Star Levels even mean."
He said with that half-shrug of a warrior who'd never needed more than his fists and a battlefield. Vastarael blinked once, then turned his full body toward Eldrigan.
"Alright. Listen up, Eldrigan. In Magecraft, Star Levels determine your power, just like how weapon combat has the Weapon Mastery Classes."
He paused, counting them off on his fingers.
"The Weapon Mastery Classes go from Trained, Skilled, Advanced, Expert, Master, and Grandmaster, six tiers in total. Every warrior's ranked somewhere between them."
"Yeah, I'm Master class. Close to Grandmaster, actually," Eldrigan muttered with a satisfied smirk.
Vastarael snorted. "Sure, and your ego's already at the Divine class. I'm at the Expert Class by the way. Anyway, magecraft doesn't work like that. Instead of classes, we use three disciplines and ten Star Levels. The three disciplines areCirclecraft, Circlemancy, and Spellcraft."
He held up three fingers.
"Circlecraft is what I do. It means I can create Mystic Circles and the only one who can use them, unless I share them with a Circlemancer."
"Which is what we are," Natalis added quickly, pointing between herself and Denisia. "Well, we used to be, but we're learning Circlecraft now."
"Circlemancy is more about using Mystic Circles that someone else made," Vastarael clarified. "You can't make your own but you can wield multiple different ones as long as they're shared with you."
"That's Elyonari, right?" Peroncerea asked.
"Exactly. Elyonari is a full Circlemancer, and she's insane with it. Her progress is faster because she doesn't have to spend years making Circles from scratch like us."
"And Spellcraft?" Eldrigan prompted.
"Spellcraft is your traditional mage type. They chant spells, invoke mysticism, sometimes elemental, sometimes conceptual. They don't use Mystic Circles, just incantations and verbal bindings. Some make their own spells, others just study existing ones."
"Okay, so then where do the Star Levels come in?" Peroncerea asked.
"Star Levels are universal across the three disciplines from First Star to Tenth Star. But each level means something different in what you're allowed to do or capable of doing."
He started ticking off each level slowly.
"From the First to Fifth Star, it's all about building your mystic energy pool. You learn how to summon your mysticism faster and more efficiently. It's the grind and no flashy stuff yet. The Sixth Star is where it starts. You can now create or use Arrays, the combinations of Mystic Circles that trigger one action. It is a very rare level. A lot of mages never get here."
"The Seventh Star is where I am. That's where Natalis and Denisia are, too. This is when custom Arrays become real tools. You can start using specialized Mystic Circles on large scale. At the Eighth Star, a mage can handle Complex Arrays. Meaning you can overlay, merge or activate multiple arrays at the same time. Like using a Fire Array and a Water Array together for steam pressure magic, or a dual-elemental spell."
"The Ninth Star is at Grandmaster level, like what Elyonari is now. When you reach this level, you're considered a true Magecraft Grandmaster. Very few ever reach it. And the Tenth Star... is when a Grandmaster becomes powerful enough to be at the pinnacle of Magecraft."
Everyone went quiet at that.
"Let me be honest. Star advancement isn't equal. The higher you go, the harder it gets, especially for Circlecraft mages. We don't just level up by training. We have to create something brand new, something that works and thar is worth being called a Mystic Circle."
"That's why we're proud of the one we made," Denisia said softly. "Even if it's just one."
Vastarael gave a long sigh, rubbing his temple.
"I know I was harsh earlier but you two are pure mages. You don't fight with swords or different weapons like Xander or Eldrigan. Your strength is magecraft. You need more than one Mystic Circle."
Natalis and Denisia nodded, a bit more solemn now.
"Which is why I'll teach you. You're at the Seventh Star. That means you have the foundation and you've studied Circlecraft in Minafallen and Erna Isles. That's dedication."
Adelasta stirred slightly from where she lay, her eyes still half-lidded with exhaustion but her voice steady.
"You're a good teacher. You just don't admit it."
He chuckled under his breath. "Yeah, yeah. Fine. But we're going hard. No slacking."
Natalis gave a firm nod, her eyes gleaming. Denisia practically bounced on her toes. Then Peroncerea tilted her head.
"So like... if a Circlecraft mage makes an Array, and a Circlemancer uses it, does that mean I could..."
"Absolutely not," Vastarael cut her off dryly. "You punch things. Stay in your lane. You do have Circlemancy but you're a demon and we use circles that would purify you so no."
Peroncerea threw a cushion at him.
He extended his hand and the air around him began to hum with energy. Threads of sapphire light coiled into existence, swirling and folding into themselves. In the space before him, a book materialized. It hovered in front of him, suspended effortlessly and the second it came into being, Vastarael reached out and placed his palm against its cover.
It was the Divine Mystic Book of Altherion. It was a big book.
The cover was deep black, patterned with swirling nebulas that shifted slowly like ink poured into water. At the center of the front cover sat a glowing sapphire gem, his signature color, that pulsed softly with ethereal light. Golden-trimmed edges caught the ambient glow of the room and the moment Vastarael lifted it into his arms, he felt no weight. It was as if the book recognized him.
He made everyone see the profile of the book.
-------.
Item Name: [Divine Mystic Book of Altherion]
Item Type: [Divine Mystic Book
(One of a kind, unreplicable by mortals or immortals.)]
Key Enchantments:
[Soulbound: Only Vastarael can wield and read the book fully. It rejects all others, appearing as a blank, impenetrable tome. If he allows it, anyone else can open and look at it.]
[Knowledge Absorption: It can absorb knowledge from scrolls, other grimoires, or even minds. (with consent) Any absorbed information is permanently stored within the book, retrievable at any time.]
[Infinite Pages: Even though it does not look like a massive tome, it will never run out of material to write on. It has its own pen to write on.]
[Ferhas's Movement: This is imbued with the Ferhas's Movement, a famous Arch mage who introduced moving of letters and words in a book and enlarging it. Since you have a system, you can use it with your own hologram.]
[You can move words on books. You will understand if you use it.]
[Indestructibility: Fully resistant to physical, mystical, magical, and temporal damage.]
[Guiding Light: When lost or misplaced, the book can summon a glowing trail to guide its owner back to it.]
[Usage Warning:]
[The book requires extreme mental discipline to use effectively. Improper use or attempting to access advanced knowledge prematurely can cause mental strain or magical backlash.]
[It grows with its owner, revealing its most dangerous secrets only when it senses readiness.]
----
Everyone gathered leaned in as he opened the first few pages again. Dozens, maybe hundreds of incomplete Mystic Circles hovered in glowing ink across the sheets. Some were barely started. Others looked close to finished but were written in a script that was ancient.
"Xinoraci," Natalis muttered under her breath, recognizing the shifting alphabet. "It is the oldest language in Spheraphase."
Vastarael turned to Natalis and Denisia, who had both been peering over his shoulder like curious cats.
"What language do you two use when designing Mystic Circles?"
Denisia tilted her head. "We use Xinoraci, of course."
Natalis nodded beside her, brushing her hair back behind her ear. "It's the base language of all Spheraphasian runework. Nothing beats it for clarity in Circlecraft."
A grin tugged at the corner of Vastarael's mouth. "Good. That's what I use too."
He stepped forward and gently touched a finger to each of their foreheads, one at a time. They froze as energy flowed through the point of contact like a current. When it was done, he let his arms fall to his sides and exhaled deeply.
"I just implanted all the knowledge I have about Xinoraci Runes into both of you. And also show to make Mystic Circles."
The silence that followed was explosive.
"You what?" Natalis gasped.
Denisia looked at him like he had just given them a blueprint to the soul of the universe.
"Vastarael, that's insanely valuable. Are you sure you're okay?"
"You're part of Sentina Erideae. You two are the only Circlecraft Mages here besides me. Why wouldn't I share it? You'll need it."
Natalis stepped back, nearly overwhelmed.
"But this kind of knowledge… people would go to war just to get fragments of this—"
"I don't care. You're my team. And more than that…"
He closed the Divine Mystic Book of Altherion slowly, its gem fading back to a dull pulse.
"I'm going to start working on Arrays soon, not just healing ones like I did when I was a kid. We'll need every bit of synergy if we want to compete your test."
Denisia exchanged a glance with her sister, then nodded slowly. "Alright. You've got our full focus."
"And," Natalis added with a smile, "you really are insane. But the good kind."
He chuckled under his breath as he made his book vanish.
"Then let's be insane together. There's an entire mystical system to conquer and I'm not doing it alone."