The way to grow as a mage was rather simple and was mostly rooted in resonance.
Advancement possessed three steps: Resonance Plane Access, Magic Circle Pin, and Rune Line.
The first step, Resonance Plane Access, was actually considered the simplest, yet it was the most pivotal of all steps.
In this step, the mage had to create a permanent link of resonance between their core and the world, more specifically, between their natal aether and the atmospheric aether of the world.
It was a two-layered link.
The issue, however, was that there existed a dividing line between the links formed, what one called the Access Grades.
The access grades decided the depth of resonance the link achieved and ranged from the Iron Access Grade all the way up to the Diamond Access Grade.
These grades determined the sheer quality of aether one would have access to, but also everything one would be capable of in the following steps.
And there was no way to simply upgrade one's access grade.
