The Over-Break System

“EXCELLENT OBSERVATION MR. RAGNARSSON, 15 Merit Points for your astute findings.” Professor Morningdale stated with an oddly warm, froggy smile.

With a wave of her hand, several bolts of pale yellow lightning-shaped into the shape of a wolf, drawing gasps from the students in the class.

“As Mr. Ragnarsson just said, there is a distinct difference between the lightning conjured when using the Storm Affinity and the Fire Affinity.” Then, waving her free hand, a single bolt of violent bluish-purple lightning fired from the tips of her fingers, finding its way to the lightning wolf and dancing around the heavenly figure.

“Although it is possible to take control of Storm’s lightning and mold it to your liking, it is nowhere near as powerful as what you get from having an actual Affinity for the Lightning Element.” Then, with a snap of her fingers, the violent lightning constricted the pale yellow like a hungry boa-constrictor, coiling around and tightening its grasp within a second, shattering the naturally occurring electrical current.

“The reasoning for this is simple. The lightning generated by Storm Affinity users is, in essence, the same as you would find during any thunderstorm, a reaction caused by the flow of warm and cool air currents. When the warmer air currents from Wind Mana meet the cooler Water Mana, it creates a reaction between the negatively charged Air particles and the positively charged Water, resulting in short bursts of soft electrical charges.”

Several students, including Cynrik, Brance, and Selene, nodded in understanding. This was no different from an ordinary science lesson; the only difference was that you had Electrons and Protons on Earth instead of Water and Wind Mana.

CLAP

Just as everyone was beginning to follow along, Professor Morningdale clapped her hands together loudly and shattered the thunderstorm that formed above the classroom.

“There are more in-depth topics about Storm Affinities; however, you will have to wait till later in the year when we delve deeper into Elemental Fusions. Those of you who have already attained a Fusion of Affinities, if you would like to get more information, feel free to see me after class, and I will point you in the direction to gather the necessary textbooks.” Looking around and seeing the disappointed expressions on her student’s faces, Morningdale jumped right into the next element and willed the fourth of five orbs forward.

“Moving right along, the fourth of the Basic Elements is Earth, known as the most sturdy of the elements, Earth or Terra as it used to be known in ancient times, is easily one of the most practical of all the primary elemental particles.” As she spoke, the orb glowed in a soft brown color, expanding almost like liquid and taking the form of a large bolder, covering the entire area several feet above the student’s heads.

“It is also the element with the most known evolutions of any Mana particle currently seen in the natural world. Earth Affinity users can choose one or several of these potential evolutions from this basic building block and build a solid foundation allowing access to various occupational opportunities after graduation.”

“From construction work to weapons manufacturing, nearly every company will pay copious amounts of credits to hire High Tier Earth Affinity users if not for the sheer amount of combinations created through manipulating this type of Mana particle.”

“The particle takes its initial form, which is a basic stone dependent on the natural geological formations in your surroundings, to the multitude of different metals and gem types, even crystals. The sky is the limit for Earth Affinity users. Thus they have been heavily sought after for hundreds of years.” This time, Brance perked up as he listened to the lecture intently.

Much like Cynrik, who had spent ages attempting to evolve his Fire Affinity into Lightning, Brance had gone through hundreds if not thousands of attempts to get a grasp for one of the many Metal Affinities.

“Unlike Fire and Water, which require temperature changes to cause their Evolution into higher forms, Earth Mana needs pressure. The more pressure you exert on the particle, the higher the likelihood of forcing a change. For example, in my case, I have, over many years of practice, and a bit of luck, unlocked the Orichalcum Affinity, a very rare subcategory of Metal where the particles are supercharged by multiple Elemental types, creating what was once known as Magic Steel.” In response to her words, several changes occurred overhead.

[[Cyn…what the fuck is happening?]] Brance watched with bated breath with [Mana Sight] as thousands of tiny brown orbs collided with each other creating a dense particle. But, it wasn’t just that. As these particles condensed and merged, they began vibrating much like Mana does when one uses their Killing Intent, tempering these dense brown orbs of light further and further until they shook so quickly that watching them gave Brance and Cynrik headaches.

These vibrating particles never stopped absorbing others of their kind until finally, a visible change came into view. It started with a single cluster of particles; slowly, their color shifted from the brown representing Earth into a shiny metallic grey.

At that moment, Professor Morningdale did something extraordinary, gripping the air with her wandless hand; she made a pulling motion, segregating these newly formed Metal Mana particles into their own space.

Cynrik’s eyes narrowed as his vision flicked rapidly between the heavily concentrating Professor Morningdale and overhead’s reaction.

[[Orichalcum, the magical fantasy ore, has appeared time and time again. According to legend and fantasy culture, Orichalcum is not only incredibly dense but also easily malleable under the right circumstances.]] Cynrik drummed his fingers and continued narrating as Morningdale broke down the floating stone with intense, bone-crushing pressure.

[[But that isn’t what makes it so heavily sought after and strong. Instead, it is its magical properties. I can’t say how it works in real life, but Orichalcum is a perfect conductor of Mana in the stories, allowing Magic Swordsmen or Mages to more than quadruple their abilities.]]

[[Woah…four times the power…all from using a specific type of Metal. Isn’t that a little TOO overpowered?]] Selene, who could only see the rock breaking apart into dust overhead, was awestruck by Cynrik’s explanation and asked curiously.

[[I mean, yeah, swords like Excalibur were said to be made from Magic Atlantean Metal, aka Orichalcum, and well, do you think a sword as famous as that would be weak? Realistically though, the main thing was Orichalcum was hard to come by in lore and the fantasy genre. Unlike regular metal types such as Iron or Copper, particular conditions were necessary for its creation; mainly, iron or some other kind of Metal was required to be bathed in a naturally Mana-rich environment. Over hundreds of years, it would absorb the Mana and gain its magical properties.]]

Cynrik paused and monitored Professor Morningdale with hawklike narrowed eyes. He watched as, in her non-wand hand, the woman generated all types of different colored orbs. Fire, Water, Wind, Wood, Lightning, Ice, the list went on, but as he didn’t recognize the types of Mana from their color, he lost track. The takeaway was that this woman, Professor Morningdale seemed to have an unfathomable amount of Affinities, and this revelation stunned Cynrik to his core.

He watched as she began condensing this rainbow of orbs in her palm before adding a slight rotation to it, allowing the collection to spin slowly like a top.

[[Shit, Umbridge is fucking nuts. How is this fucking scientific?]] Was all Cynrik could get out before he was interrupted by the Professor stowing her wand away and directing the Metal Particles to her now free hand.

Other than Cynrik and Brance, all the students could see was a bright silver orb of light, the size of a basketball, hovering above the Professor’s left hand and a rainbow-colored, rotating cloud in her right.

“Hem, hem, sorry for the wait, everyone; manifesting a second stage evolution tends to be a tedious task. However, I will summarize the process I just completed so you all may understand.” Professor Morningdale was visibly affected by what she had done, and if one looked closely, one could see beads of sweat forming on her temple. Cynrik could even see how fast her heart was beating due to how rapidly the woman’s jugular vein was expanding.

“In my left hand is the physical manifestation of a cluster of Metal Mana particles. What you witnessed me complete above was the application of thousands of pounds of pressure through my Killing Intent and Aura to grind the Earth Mana particles into dust before smashing them into one another. By repeating this process repeatedly, eventually, the particles will be tempered to the point of evolving into Metal.”

“This orb here is actually pure Titanium. Although Orichalcum can be created from most Metal types, my personal preference is Titanium since it has such a brilliant luster and is known as a very sturdy metal type.”

[[Show off…get to the point, Umbridge.]] Selene snorted, nearly making Cynrik burst out in laughter in response.

[[Calm down, darling, I know you cant see everything Brancie and I can, but I promise, the next part should be interesting, that is if my theory is correct and we don’t all die in a horrible explosion.]] Shaking his head and wearing an uneasy smile under his hood, Cynrik placed his left hand on Selene’s thigh to calm her down; however, while his actions may have worked, his words freaked out Brance and Selene.

[[Explosion?]]

[[Hey, hey now, Cyn, what do you mean Explosion?]]

Cynrik stayed quiet and only motioned for them to watch the Professor by nodding his head in her direction.

“This, this is where things get tricky. I ask that no one make any sudden movements or loud noises until I signal you. What I am about to show you is a volatile process, and if anything goes wrong…well, let’s just say that we would be lucky if half of Mount Kaer isn’t obliterated.” Morningdale chuckled weakly at her joke made in poor taste and ignored the cries of shock from the class.

[[Cyn, she’s joking, right, she can’t mean to forcefully merge that cloud of different Mana types into the Titanium? Can she? How is that even possible? Wouldn’t the reaction would cause a pseudo nuclear explosion?]] Brance complained as he dragged Gabby closer to him as if placing himself in front of danger.

[[Why the hell are you panicking, Brance? The instant shit goes south; I’ll just drag us into the Shadow Realm, fucking big baby.]] Cynrik rolled his eyes and watched as Morningdale inched the two opposing Mana clusters together.

Unlike Cynrik, who was perfectly calm, everyone else in the classroom held their breath, as inch by inch, the two clusters of Mana phased into each other, until finally….

RUMMMMBLEEE

FLASHHHHHHHHH

A reaction finally occurred. However, unlike everyone predicted, there was no explosion; instead, a massive force bore down on everyone. A pressure not unlike gravity stunned the students, freezing them in place as a bright flash of light was emitted by combining multiple elements.

A tired and sweaty Professor Morningdale held a shiny golden ore covered with multicolored veins when the light faded.

“This, my new students, is the Legendary Orichalcum. The Magical Metal Alloy known to humanity as the strongest of all ore.”

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