Darius Supreme

[Holy Divine Summoning - Level 56 (25) Spell

Grade: Advanced

Cost: 1,000 (25) MP per summon

Description: Establish a connection with the source of Divine Light and call down an Avatar to fight for you. The maximum power of each avatar is 56% (25%) of your own.]

[Pure Body - Level 100 (50) Skill (Max)

Grade: Basic

Cost: None

Description: After connecting your existence to the Divine Light as its receptacle, your body has evolved. You are naturally resistant to all Darkness and Death element attacks as well as any and all ailments by 100% (50%).]

[Pure Soul - Level 100 (50) Skill (Max)

Grade: Basic

Cost: None

Description: After connecting your existence to the Divine Light as its receptacle, your soul has evolved. You are naturally resistant to all curses, soul attacks, and soul interference by 100% (50%).]

[Pure Spirit - Level 100 (50) Skill (Max)

Grade: Basic

Cost: None

Description: After connecting your existence to the Divine Light as its receptacle, your spirit has evolved. You are naturally resistant to all psychic attacks, illusions, and mental charms/suggestions by 100% (50%).]

Done with Xela's changes as well, both she and Gunner reacted strongly to their increased stats and power. No one would complain about feeling themselves becoming stronger in real-time, so the two left with wide smiles on their faces.

Darius then focused on his own matters.

He blinked from his room to the area outside the oasis where there was endless sand for as far as the eye could see. The hot sun was blazing down on this land, scorching it mercilessly and raising the ambient heat.

Darius observed his surroundings calmly before checking the Stone to Mud spell which had automatically appeared in his mind after he had discovered the Material element.

[Stone to Mud - Level 1 Spell

Grade: Basic

Cost: 1 MP

Description: Transform an area of 10 meters around you containing stone to mud or mud to stone as long as you have unobstructed earthly contact to it. The speed of conversion is 0.1 seconds per meter and the effectiveness of the construct is 5%.]

Darius then activated the spell to test something. He felt the mana leave his body and pass through his feet and into the ground, but it did nothing to the area around him.

Darius was not surprised as the spell was literally named 'STONE to MUD' not 'SAND/SEDIMENT to MUD'. Clearly, he needed a solid form of earth that was present in most other places or a damp/waterlogged earth.

He wasn't bothered by this as he raised a finger and released a sharp spray of water. He was using one of his old basic spells that hadn't had much use until recently, Pulse.

This was the basic spell of the Water element that allowed him to use a little amount of mana to turn his finger into a tap, a fountain, or a high-pressure jet of water depending on what he needed.

He paused after making a small part of the sand extremely wet and soaked. Sand was porous water filtered through really quickly, so it took quite a bit to make it muddy.

Darius activated the spell once more and felt it take hold of the mud immediately. He felt like he was mentally connected to it, and could easily reshape it based on his whims and wishes.

Before he began, he felt the connection deeply, and the rules that controlled it. He was tethered to the mud with a single string of mana that acted like a data cable.

It would feed instructions from Darius' mind to the mud. A conversion occurred somewhere along the line that allowed the thoughts of the caster's mind to affect the mud.

This Darius could not accurately sense, but he felt it had something to do with the laws of Faust and the overarching mechanics behind the Material element.

He felt this out for a bit before actually reshaping the mud. He didn't need to use his eyes to see that the mud was rapidly transforming into something else. From what was a mere puddle, a miniature tower was made.

It was done in seconds and Darius didn't put much focus into it. He opened his eyes and observed it to see that it was nondescript and very plain. Apart from the general cylindrical shape topped with a conical tip, one would not be able to tell that this was supposed to be a tower.

Darius then collapsed the creation - which he noted was done instantly - and began again. This time, he pictured an ornate tower with such vivid design and detail that even the best sculptor would need weeks for something this small.

In a matter of seconds, Darius received feedback in the way of 'task complete' and opened his eyes with surprise. He gazed upon the creation that was 100% as intricate as he imagined, of the same size as his previous creation.

If Darius presented this to anyone as a sculpted material, he would instantly become a sensation among relevant communities, whether it was on Faust or on Earth.

Darius knelt down and inspected it thoroughly, using his fingers as well. He noticed that it was solid and firm, not brittle at all. It was as hard as one would expect a simple rock to be.

He knocked it a few times while limiting his strength to the average and found that it showed no cracks. Its durability was average. Should he use more power, it would likely break open, so his idea of using mud to create defenses went down the drain unless he raised the spell to a higher level.

However, there were already many Earth element spells that would allow him to manipulate whatever, clay, sand, humus, or rock to become shields, walls, or domes as it was the traditional fighting style of Earth Mages.

Stone to Mud was not meant to fulfill that purpose. It was a change of the fundamental properties of one material to another, akin to a discount Transmutation.

So, its true power lay elsewhere. It did not have combat utility, or much of it, because that was not what the entire element was created for.

As such, Darius' next test was crucial to see whether the Material element was truly something worth investing in.