Ball of Nothing

Storing Lovina's diary in his inventory, Zero left her apartment with a heavy heart and even heavier thoughts. The witch explained to him how she'd been searching for a way to break her curse and how Merlin answered her prayers with a vision. Zero was troubled. He knew what that vision meant. That was something that only happened when none of the Gods could answer a prayer. Baal once told him before that he had a similar dream of being in nothingness. That same nothingness was what Zero entered whenever he meditated. He'd hear the voices and sometimes he'd answer them. Lovina's words made Zero swallow his.

"You're who Merlin sent me, right? I've been waiting for so many years, I'm so happy that the curse can finally be broken..."

Those hopeful eyes haunted the young boy. He was a doctor and he wanted to save everyone that he could. Vrald asked him the question before the lab explosion. He'd answered very confidently that he would save anyone that he could and that he understood it wasn't possible to save everyone. He could only ease their sufferings like how he could only keep Zoe company when the village is no more. Half of Zero wondered if it would be alright to always find Lovina when she is reborn again and bring her to Half Moon village to keep Zoe company on his behalf. The other half of him was disappointed at himself for trying to take the easy way out. He hasn't even tried to break the curse before he thought about an alternative. Zero shook his head. He'd think about it later. For now, he had to get to Soon's. The necromancer wanted to talk to him about magic and Zero wondered if the lich had some difficult favours to ask of him too.

Interestingly enough, Soon sent both his zombie friends away. Zero was served tea once more and accepted the cup gracefully. Unlike Lovina who made Zero wary with her friendliness, Soon made Zero feel at ease by being very open.

"Don't become an adventurer. I heard that you have superb healing magic that may have already surpassed your teacher but don't become an adventurer."

Zero blinked. He'd never intended to become one and reassured Soon of that. "I want to travel and become a wandering doctor."

Soon relaxed when he heard this and sighed wistfully. "That's good. A wandering doctor is even better. You'll become less easily attached to people and things this way."

Zero was curious and decided to ask a little more. "Why don't you want me to become an adventurer?"

Soon put the cup down and snapped his fingers, letting the illusion magic fall. Zero didn't seem startled by the sudden change of appearance even when the lich looked at him with empty eye sockets.

"Are you not afraid? This is how I truly look like."

Zero deadpanned. How could he tell Soon that he'd already known what liches looked like? If anything, he was more terrified by zombies losing a limb.

Seeing that Zero wasn't reacting, Soon scoffed and cast the illusion again. "Nobody wants to become a lich. If it weren't for those two fools, I would've never done this."

Zero nodded. He knew that Peter, Manny and Soon were adventurers in the same party but he was curious about how they became what they were now.

"I can see the question flying over your head. It's very simple. I was a young and foolish adventurer who thought that immortality was a great thing. What mattered to me was how I could continue adventuring with my friends. It was even better that they couldn't die twice after becoming zombies. All I had to do was continue to supply them with mana and make new bodies each time they fell. Imagine my surprise when the humans we fought for turned their blades against us, calling us demons serving under the Demon Lord we wanted to kill."

Zero winced. It would hurt a lot seeing who you thought was a friend turn against you. Yet Zero understood a little more about the creatures called humans and why Wiser seemed to hate them so much.

"Is that why you came to Half Moon village?"

Soon raised a brow. "Not really. We didn't come here. We were dragged over by a crazy witch."

Zero was surprised at that revelation. "Lovina dragged the three of you here?"

The lich sighed, heavier this time. "You have no idea. I couldn't even win her in a fight. Don't you dare underestimate her. She's actually one of the most powerful magicians I know. As a lich, I should be a high-tiered magician with the ability to fight a dragon one on one. Lovina is a true monster in human skin. Her knowledge far surpasses mine. Did she tell you how she was a master in dark magic?"

Zero didn't respond. He knew it when he appraised her secretly when she was crying but he wouldn't say it. Mii was able to unlock a little more information about Lovina after their chat.

Soon didn't seem surprised. "In any case, I just wanted to tell you not to become an adventurer."

Zero smiled. "Don't worry, I won't. I don't want to have to kill Bell."

Soon looked at him for a few seconds before barking out a laugh. "I'm still so amused by how you can call a Demon Lord with such a cute nickname. Didn't he protest against it?"

Zero shook his head. "He was all for it. In fact, he wanted something that sounded more buddy-like but I couldn't think of anything better. All the chummy nicknames he came up with crept me out."

"Let me guess," Soon smirked. "He wanted something like Lord Sloth?"

Zero deadpanned. "That's way better than Baal Baby."

Soon shuddered. "You're right. I still can't get over the image gap of the Demon Lord who destroyed an entire country with a sneeze and the Demon Lord who wanted to be called Baal Baby."

Zero shrugged. "He said that he was sorry about the destruction. Not many people know it but Baal has a bad case of sinus. I'd cured him of it so it shouldn't happen again although I don't know if he'll remember to cover his mouth when he yawns the next time."

Soon gave Zero an incredulous look and Zero only shrugged in response. It was the truth and nothing could change that.

By the time Zero left Soon's place, it was time for the guards to switch. On his way back, he met Camie who beamed at the sight of him.

"Zero!" the giantess waved and ran over, causing the ground to tremble a little under her weight. She was so tall that even when she squatted, Zero had to crane his neck upwards to meet her eyes.

"Hello! I suppose you are Camie?"

Camie grinned. "You're well informed! I've been dying to talk to you ever since I saw you at the feast. I'd been so busy the past few days but I'll be off for tonight. Would you like to join me for dinner? Vrald told me that you loved listening to stories about battles. We're having spit-roast tonight at the cave."

Zero salivated. "I'll be there!"

Camie laughed heartily and waved goodbye. Once there was no one in sight, Zero quickly called Hua Tuo to inform his teacher about the sudden dinner plans.

"Spit-roast?" Hua Tuo blanched at the idea. There was too much meat in the diet lately and Hua Tuo felt the heartburn in his chest.

"I see, you can join them. I'm feeling a little unwell for meat so I'll join Cleo for dinner. Just remember to be back before midnight."

Zero beamed and thanked his teacher before bouncing off to find the kids. There was still some time before dinner so Zero thought he'd ask if they wanted to play a few rounds of tag before that.

Fate had other plans for Zero. In the clearing, two magicians were fighting. However, upon closer observation, Zero noticed that it was a fight but a spar.

The two teen magicians looked very similar to each other with their fair blond hair and pale skin. Their hairstyles were also similar, both sporting a short bob hairstyle. They wore matching blue magician robes but Zero realised that there was a slight difference. One of them wore knee-high stockings and shorts while the other wore thigh-high white stocking with shorts that resembled a skirt.

Their voices were different and it didn't take long for Zero to realise that one of them was a girl. He was so surprised that he failed to dodge a water bomb heading straight towards his direction.

Splash!

Zero yelped when the cold water hit him. He wasn't harmed by the stray shot thanks to the overpowered enchanted clothes the Great Gods gifted him. The tracksuit wasn't wet but Zero's hair was. Yxaan and Xvyal paused when they heard the yelp and hurried over to the source.

Zero wondered if someone had secretly planned an event called 'Meet the Magicians" Day today. Somewhere in the multiverse, a writer chuckles but Zero doesn't hear it. He continued to reassure the twins that he was alright.

Yxaan and Xvyal introduced themselves and Zero had difficulties pronouncing their names.

"Ye-ll and Vi-ul?" Zero tried with a cringe. The twins didn't seem to mind and nodded with appreciation at the attempt.

"It's yee-ull and Vee-ale but that works too," Xvyal grinned.

Yxaan giggled. "You can call us Yal and Val like everyone else in the village."

Zero heaved a sigh of relief at the nicknames. "What language are your names in? I've not heard of it."

The female twin blinked. "It's the language of our Star ancestors. Yxaan means Bright. Xvyal means Forever."

Zero nodded as the Yxaan help to dry Zero's hair using heat magic. In no time, his hair was dry again but the only problem remained was how messy it was. She tried to make it more presentable by combing through the tangles with her fingers but it didn't work. Zero gave up and pushed everything up so that his fringe wouldn't cover his eyes. It was high time he had a haircut and Zero wondered if Hua Tuo would help him with it. He didn't exactly want to poke his eyes out trying to do it himself.

"What were you doing here? Don't you know how dangerous it is to be near where magicians are practising? We're no archers and if it had been a pillar of fire or a bolt of electricity it would have been terrible."

Zero apologised to Xvyal. "I didn't know that. But I'm glad the water bomb wasn't that powerful."

Yxaan pouted. "Well, it's a good thing it isn't. I'm no water mage and I have poor affinity with water so you should count yourself lucky it wasn't a fireball."

Zero grimaced when he appraised the twins. Yxaan was a magician with strong fire affinity and Xvyal was a magician with strong Electricity affinity.

Wait. Electricity was an element?

Zero must have spoken it aloud because Xvyal laughed. "No, it isn't. Electricity is a combination of different elemental magic. It just means I'm equally strong with water and wind magic."

Zero seemed eager to know more so the twins invited him over to their apartment, deciding to end their duel for the day.

"What's that? How does electricity come about using water and wind? Doesn't it come from a waterwheel?"

"What's a waterwheel?" Xvyal asked and Zero explained the huge structure behind Hua Tuo's house in the river that served many purposes.

Yxaan thought about it and shrugged. Xvyal looked equally clueless and Zero decided to give up. Perhaps the waterwheel wasn't something common.

"Well, I don't know about waterwheels but I know that electricity, especially lightning, is made by causing ice particles to bump into each other at very high speeds. Using water magic to create ice and wind magic to create a strong tornado, I can create lightning bolts and fire them at the enemies. If done right, I can charge up electricity into an air sphere and fire them in a bolt."

Zero's eyes went wide in amazement when Yxaan started explaining about the basic elemental magic fusion.

"What about dark magic or life magic?"

The twins frowned. "We don't know much about them. Both traits are equally rare. We're very surprised you didn't know about magic basics because we heard how good you were at healing magic. Curing Amaraline's eyes by creating new ones... it's unheard of! It must be near Divine-tier magic..."

"Divine-tier?"

Xvyal blinked. "You don't know the tiers of magic?"

Zero shook his head and the twins looked slightly troubled.

"Zero," Yxaan began very carefully. "Do you know about the planes of magic and the laws of mana?"

Once again, the brunet shook his head. Worried, the twins discussed rapidly in their native tongue and Zero couldn't only wait for them to come to a conclusion.

"Ok, listen very closely Zero. I don't know who your teacher is but using magic without knowing the basics can be very dangerous. Magic is like fire. If used right, it can help to cook food. If used wrong, it will burn the house down."

Zero gulped. So far nothing bad has happened. The seriousness in the twins' eyes told him that it was no laughing matter so Zero sat down, paying attention to the lecture, asking questions every now and then.

After an hour, Zero realised how serious his ignorance was. Although Hua Tuo always told him not to worry and taught him about using healing magic safely, the physician had barely scratched the surface about magic. Zero didn't know how abnormal his method of using magic was until the twins explained to him about the laws of mana.

In a nutshell, Zero learnt that the dimensions and planes Lovina spoke about were further categorised into a grand total of six tiers.

Tier Zero is called the Void. People with Tier Zero chakra channels were unable to use magic. They had no means to recover or store mana so becoming a magician was out of the question.

Tier one was called Natural Magic. People with this tier were only able to use very basic magic linked to the Energy Plane. Natural magic assisted people in amplifying their feelings or sensing other people's feelings. Yxaan termed these people as Empaths. They were not able to become magicians because of how weak their chakra channels were. They were unable to produce mana and could only perceive emotions through the mana in their surroundings.

Tier two was called Dark Magic. Very few humans fell into this tier as the magic was often related to the Abyss and the purgatory. From this tier onwards, people gifted in magic could become magicians. Yxaan explained that many beastmen and devil descendants are proficient in Dark magic.

"Sekkin is good at Shadow magic," Xvyal grinned.

"Shadow magic?"

"It's a sub-tier much like fire, wind and air in elemental magic in Tier Three," Yxaan explained.

Zero nodded in understanding. They didn't have too great an understanding about the sub-tiers of Dark magic so Zero left it. However, he was interested when they became more detailed in explaining how the Tier four Elemental magic, tied to Earth also known as the Material Plane, worked.

"So we have four elements - fire, water, air and earth. Everyone can use all four magic but they have those they are strong at and those they are weak at. For example, I'm strong at fire magic but weak at water magic," Yxaan explained and started sketching on the floor with a piece of charcoal.

"Imagine the mana in your body as a number. The more spells a magician can cast, the greater the mana. For me, let's imagine it at sixty. For a strong magician, they can be somewhere between three and four hundred. For a weak magician, it's about fifteen. A dragon's magic capacity is around eight hundred and Gods are above one thousand if one thousand is the limit. A simple spell to light a candle will take five mana points," Yxaan explained and drew it out for Zero to see. Zero saw how the weak magician's bar was cancelled by a third and hers was simply a small fraction but the dragon's bar wasn't touched at all.

"Now, higher levelled spells require more mana to cast. Let's take Firebolt, a mid-tier spell for example. It takes fifteen mana points so a weak magician will not be able to cast it after he's cast a simple spell. He'd have to wait for the mana to regenerate by resting. Mana regeneration happens naturally when you rest. It can speed up if you drink a recovery potion for mana."

Zero thought back about Hua Tuo's offer when they performed Grandma Moppo's knee operation. Maybe Hua Tuo was a weak magician which explains why the physician disliked the use of healing magic. Zero nodded in understanding, pitying his teacher. Somewhere in the village, Hua Tuo sneezed.

"Now imagine this. Magic affinity works more efficiently with magic your soul is compatible with and less efficiently with the weak affinity. If a magician has good affinity with wind and bad with earth, it will take them ten points for a mid-tier wind spell and fifteen points for a mid-tier earth spell. That restricts the number of times they can cast and the power of the spell depends on the magic affinity type."

Zero did some simulation and understood now. "Doesn't that mean it is more tiring and less powerful for you to cast a water spell?"

Yxaan grinned. "That's right! It's not efficient but it's not good to neglect practice. After all, elements cancel each other out. It's better than receiving a direct hit by someone else's magic when I can't dodge it."

Xvyal rolled his eyes. "As if anyone can touch you, sister of mine. Don't believe her, Zero. She talks like this but she's really strong. When she said sixty mana points, she wasn't being accurate. As Star descendants, our actual mana capacity would be more accurate with two hundred points."

Zero's eyes went round when Xvyal told him that. However, what Yxaan said next made Zero's hands turn cold with dread.

"Even with two hundred points, it's all over when you reach zero. A magician will die if they overuse mana and the body cannot replenish it. Nothing is more terrifying to magician than the 'Life-Drain' spell that many creatures of the dark use. Soon is a lich and he could use that if he wants. His body no longer absorbs mana from the environment because he's undead. Instead, he has to absorb mana from living things around. That's the price to pay for 'immortality'."

Zero was silent in thoughts. "Does that mean Soon will die if he runs out of mana and stop absorbing it from living things? Doesn't keeping Peter and Manny around require mana?"

Xvyal went stiff. "That's true but you don't need to worry. Someone very powerful with a lot of mana is providing for them."

Zero's mind immediately went to Lovina and he scowled. Why does everyone in this village treat their lives so cheaply? Zero's heart hurt. Amaraline was willing to die for her brother and sacrificed her eyes for his safety. Clowis worked his body close to a breakdown to become strong enough to protect his sister. Lovina sacrificed her well-being as a mage to keep the lich and his friends alive. Zero had no doubts that they weren't the only villagers who'd go to such drastic extents to help another person. As a doctor, Zero disapproved such reckless behaviour. However, as a friend, he understood their feelings. If Truen was ever in danger, Zero would pull out all his stops to save his friend over and over again.

"Then we have Tier Five which is Holy Magic where demigods or many worshippers of Gods who have been blessed can use it. Your healing which is a sub-tier of life magic can be classed under Tier Five magic. It's tied to the Enlightened Plane that is also known as the land of Demigods. The last tier is Divine magic that can only be used by Gods."

"What can divine magic do?"

Yxaan and Xvyal picked out some examples. Zero was amazed by what the mild-mannered Sedna could do with her Divine magic.

"She could flood the world?!"

"Technically she could. However, Sedna is a very merciful Goddess so she wouldn't. On the other hand, Isis' divine magic is one that works strangely. She can reverse the flow of time or carry you over to a different dimension or world."

Zero decided to ask a little more to know what the other Great Gods could do. After all, it wasn't every day that he heard stories about the Great Gods. Who knew how interesting it could be getting to know the "Godly" side of his friends when they were doing actual work. He had to admit, Zeus was a little cool when he heard that Zeus' divine magic could split the Earth with his lightning bolt. However, he thought about how angry Gaia would be and shook his head. Powerful or not, Zeus wouldn't dare anger Gaia. Zero chatted for a bit more until he noticed how the sun was going down.

"It was definitely nice learning so many things," Zero smiled. "I'm going to the cave to join Camie for spit-roast. Would the both of you like to join?"

Yxaan and Xvyal declined politely. "We don't eat meat, please go ahead and enjoy yourself. Zoe has our meals ready so we'll be heading over to the children's place."

Zero was surprised that they wouldn't eat meat but nodded anyway.