46th of Season of Earth, 56th year of the 32nd imperial era

A large, circular chamber, over twenty yards across, housed the Salamandra family's ancestral techniques and writings. The smell of old books tickled Newt's nose while his gaze drifted upwards, towards the constellations of glowstones, which shed strong light from the tall, black ceiling. Then he looked around, seeing rich, cotton tapestries which decorated walls lined with lecterns, each housing three tomes bound in red, scaly leather.

The entire room was done in black, white, and red, its esthetics pleasing Newt's eye. The lecterns were of smooth white stone, while the black walls were roughly hewn, and at the center of the chamber stood two black coffins, the resting places of Blaze Salamandra, the family's founder, and Blaze II, the only other mageknight amongst Newt's ancestors.

"These are the techniques for the second realm." Stronggrow gestured towards two wide lecterns left of the door. "There are six techniques, covering movement, defense, healing, and offense. For a second realm mageknight, offensive magic is less important, since our spells barely reach outside our bodies at the second realm, but mages still need them. We might boast increased physical abilities compared to normal people, but the advantage is fairly minor. "

Newt agreed. Spells at lower realms were limited, just as the mage's mana. He had tested his powers in the abandoned mine, his mana reserve lasting a count of one hundred while he kept both Granite Crust and Magmin Scales active. And that was ignoring the fact that both used more mana when stressed. Chamberlain Rocky's retaliatory spell tripled Magmin Scales' mana draw for the moment it was active.

One of Newt's highest priorities was to find a way to use a single type of mana without a limit. He wasn't certain it was possible, since half his mana had one attribute, the other half a different kind, but using two abilities simultaneously certainly burned twice as much mana, if not more.

The other members of the clan had seen Newt wield two elements, and since he had to use them both just to use the one he wanted, Newt didn't think it much of a secret.

"Teacher, I have a problem." Newt explained the details of his dual attributes, asking for suggestions, but Stronggrow shook his head, his face long.

"I can't help you with that, I'm afraid. Our ancestors all wielded fire mana. Maybe you could experiment and make structures in your realm which will capture excess mana and store it for later use."

Stronggrow's gaze lingered on the books.

"I have taught you an abbreviated version of the knowledge within these tomes. You might find more information useful to you in those." Stronggrow pointed at the three thickest volumes. "Inside are the insights, tips, and realm shaping advice left by our honored ancestors. But before you begin, might I suggest you take a bath and grab something to eat?"

Right. I look like a beggar. Hearing Stronggrow's words, Newt realized just how dirty and smelly he was. He needed to take care of himself, wash up, then wash himself again, and even two baths probably wouldn't get all the stench and dust out of him, but it was a start. He needed normal clothes and food, and the entire day's events completely drained him emotionally.

"Pardon me, Teacher," Newt graced Stronggrow with a tired smile. "Could you please make all the arrangements for me?"

The old man nodded.

"Leave it to me, Newstar." His reassuring voice filled Newt with confidence that everything would be all right. He once more felt like a child, and he only wanted to curl up in some nook and sleep, but he resisted the urge.

"Come up in an hour. I'll have everything ready." With that, Stronggrow spun on his heel and left Newt alone with the books.

Instead of checking out the books, Newt first went over to the massive granite sarcophaguses. The lids were carved in the likeness of two men, who kind of reminded Newt of Stronggrow. They had big, flowing beards and stern expressions, glaring at the ceiling for all eternity. Newt looked at the founder, wondering how the man would feel, knowing that someone had finally found the magma dragon's core he had been searching for.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Would he think all their tribulations were worth the ultimate discovery?

Newt had no way of knowing, so he turned to the spells appropriate for his realm. The first book he approached was called Salamandra's Touch, Redacted.

Newt frowned at the title, then walked around the chamber — all spell-books were labeled redacted, save for those at the far end of the room. There, the original version of Salamandra's Touch and other spells awaited. Newt tried to touch it, but a tiny runic seal flared and Newt's hand struck an invisible barrier.

Again confused, Newt tried again, and after moving around the room, found that books for the fifth, sixth, and seventh realm were protected, while the first four realms and ancestral insights were accessible. He tried touching the coffins, but an invisible sheet blocked his hand once more. The tapestries were unprotected, fluffy, and full of dust, so Newt only touched one.

With his curiosity satisfied, Newt finally returned to Salamandra's Touch, Redacted. The technique inside was named Flaming Fist, derived from the simplified version of the ancestral technique meant for the third realm.

The author, Blaze IV, explained how his great grandfather had made the technique for realms four through seven, which he had considered real mages. Blaze IV wanted to make a version of the technique available to lower realm cousins, so he simplified them himself, making inferior versions for the third and second realms. He apologized for his inferior work and encouraged the reader to work hard to learn the more advanced original spells.

Newt would have done so anyway, but finding an encouraging message from his ancestor felt nice. He skimmed through the book, getting the gist of the technique. At its most basic form, Salamandra's Touch coated the mage's skin in localized flames, much like Magmin Flames, at higher realm the technique coated weapons, or manifested flaming weapons and other shapes for short range combat.

The next book Newt checked was Salamandra's Flight, Redacted. The spell's most basic form, called Fireburst, created localized explosions, carefully aimed away from the mage, which propelled them and allowed sudden bursts of speed.

Again, Newt merely skimmed through it, deciding the spell was complex and seemingly dangerous. As he read on, he found inserted cautionary notes about the technique backfiring and exploding towards the user's foot rather than away from it, as well as several other common mistakes which may occur while mastering the technique. Based on the level of detail, someone had described firsthand experiences.

The next one was Salamandra's Skin, Redacted, labeled as Firewall. Newt expected something similar to Magmin Scales, but upon reading it, the spell offered no defense, its nature purely retaliatory. It was the technique Chamberlain Rocky used against him and came with its own, rather large, set of letters of warnings, including ones about burning yourself instead of the enemy during training, as well as that the proper use would require years of disciplined training.

Next was Flashfire, the redacted version of Confuse Senses, much thinner than the rest, also the spell free of warnings. Using it, the mage could create a flash of extremely bright flames atop their hand and blind their enemy. Blaze IV mentioned it as extra effective in darkness, but stated it worked just as fine in the open, during sunny hours.

The next spell was Salamandra's Regeneration, Redacted, the most useless, masochistic ability Newt had ever seen. At its most basic form, Salamandra's Regeneration was called Cauterize Wounds, and it did just as it promised — it allowed the mage to burn their own flesh to stop heavy bleeding. The list of adverse effects was the longest by far, full of warnings not to use it if anyone willing to help was nearby.

Cauterizing wounds was the last measure in preserving one's life, and even the author stated he had made the technique just so that lower realm mages would get the idea that their skills include basic forms of healing. Newt certainly hoped he would never use it.

Another spell which came with the same disclaimer was Salamandra's Breath, Redacted. The ability was useless, but the basis of all higher realm ranged attacks, allowing the mage to exhale a jet of flame, much like a fire breather. The fire was dangerous about a foot from the mage's mouth, but most defensive spells countered it at larger distances, despite the imposing appearance.

Newt found the spell interesting, even if shooting flames from the mouth limited its usability. Not to mention the flames would blind him, since they would cover most of his field of vision.

Newt closed the book and headed up the stairs. It was time to get himself in order, and once he rested and felt human again, he could do some serious reading.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.