Professor Burbank allowed the conversation to continue for about ten minutes before bringing everyone back to the previous topic. That student was correct: Earth will eventually have to solve these issues, so Burbank did not mind instilling these ideas into their mind so early on. However, class must continue.
"Class 1-2 were ordinary civilians. However, there are debates about this class due to sufficient evidence that the Gremor Empire had achieved a state in which all its citizens were transcendent."
"Seriously?" Earth has a population of 8 billion, but probably fewer than 10% have the talent for an extraordinary path. Meanwhile, the Gremor Empire probably had dominion over hundreds of dimensions. If everybody were transcendent, then that would be terrifying.
"There is a genetic component to magic. Two mages will have a 90% chance of giving birth to a child with magical talent. As such, there are theories that the Arcane Empire had bred non-magical beings out of existence," Professor Burbank explained.
"First was slavery, and now, eugenics. Are you sure these people represent the pinnacle of magic civilization?"
"Another possibility was genetic manipulation," Professor Burbank continued, ignoring that question. "It's possible that the Gremorian had found a way to artificially activate the mage gene or even transplant. But all of these are theories or conjectures.
"What we do know for sure, what we have strong evidence for, is that they had created a potion that could allow non-magical citizens to awaken their souls to the level of a [Warrior]. However, it's unknown whether this potion was easily available or a rare product with limited manufacturing."
Zane suddenly remembers something and raises his hand, "Was it the Gremor Empire who created the [Mage Template] for Rune Warriors?"
"That's right," Professor Burbank nodded. "The existence of Rune Mages is also why many believe the empire contained only mages."
"But I heard only a few people had mastered this technology."
"That information is hard to verify. And even if it was true, do you understand what 'few' means for an empire that vast?" The professor shook his head. "And even if only a few people had mastered this technology, they would probably be powerful enough to supply the entire civilization if needed."
"That's true," Zane said, nodding, remembering how Madam Valeria had told him the Gremor had achieved mass production of magic, or that the manufacturing output of mages was no weaker than that of robots or technology.
"Professor, you said they were an empire of only mages? What about Knights?"
"Knights were either used as cannon fodder or for mining."
"What?"
"Many Arcanists trained Knight Legions to help with their dimension conquest or sent them into mines. They were considered a cheaper alternative than Golem Legions or magic puppets. However, that was only for the Slave Class. Regular Citizens who achieved a Half Soul Awakening would choose to become Rune Mages."
The room was silent, with a few sighs. Although everyone present was a mage, they all had roommates, friends, and even families who were knights and warriors. So, it would be an understatement to say that the Gremor Empire's ideal was not popular with many people.
Professor Burbank took notice of the silence, but he did not comment on it. Instead, he continued his lecture on the Empire's class system.
"Class 3-5 were for Mages, which I would like to preface as a broad term, a few magical paths, including Shamanism or Sorcerers. We will discuss the differences in the next few chapters."
He turned to face the hologram, pointing at the mage with the pin.
"Class 6 and above were for the true elite: the [Arcanists]. They were what made the Gremor Empire unique. Now, I'm sure many of you are already wondering what the difference between a [Mage] and an [Arcanist] is. Well, in our current epoch, this answer is a bit complicated."
Professor Burbank paused, trying to find his next words. "Ancient Magic is wildly different from the one we currently use. Ancient Mages condensed Mana Cores inside their hearts, just like Knights. In fact, the Knight System was modeled after the Mana Core System.
"And in the ancient system, higher meditation stages meant more cores, usually in the heart, but it was not standardized; some dimensions condensed the core in their brains, or other organs. Another path was to use a single core but extend its internal dimension to contain more mana.
"However, this system had many problems. Mana is not harmful in its natural state, but if you try to force it into a solid state, it becomes volatile. And in such an extreme state, it is easy for a mage to lose control of their mana, resulting in an explosion that kills them.
"Then, there is the issue of life energy: whatever area a mage chooses to condense their core must be properly trained or reinforced — it's the only way to allow such high and pure energy to gather without an issue. Otherwise, heart or organ failure was guaranteed.
"So, as you can imagine, being a mage back then was quite dangerous — not just for the mage. Mana explosions acted no differently from any explosions. This truth forced most mages to find isolated areas for their ascension, but not all of them were this conscious."
Professor Burbank shook his head for a moment before a smile sprang into his face. "It was truly a challenging time. Luckily, the Arcanist arrived and did what they are best at: innovate."
The professor showed a hologram display of the human body, with a blue circle around the heart.
"The creation of the Heart Rune Diagram — primarily known as the Essence Rune — allows mana to condense into a supersolid state that not only contains more energy than a Mana Core, but the purity is also higher. More importantly, mana was more manageable in this state; there was no longer any risk of dying from an energy explosion — well, for the first 6 rings, that is. Now, failure only meant a period of weakness, and there was no negative effect on the soul or the body's potential. This approach was so much better in too many ways to count."
"Sir, don't we also use the Mana Ring System? Does that mean we are also Arcanists?"
"If only it were that easy," Professor Burbank shook his head. "Despite what you may think, magic has evolved and made countless progress since the Arcane Epoch. And one of these evolutions was the creation of the standard Essence Rune."
Professor Burbank paused when he realized their class hadn't yet discussed this topic, so he decided to give them a brief explanation.
"Every mage's mana ring is unique, but there are commonalities between them, primarily the quality. And what dictates the quality is the Heart Rune Diagram. The tower will provide a free standard Essence Rune to all mages, but they can only condense a regular mana ring.
"Standard Essence Runes have a 40-50% compatibility with their user. A compatibility of 50-60% can produce a good-quality ring; 70-80% produces an excellent mana ring; 80-90% produces a top-quality mana ring; 90-99% produces a perfect-quality mana ring. As for 100% compatibility? Those are called limit or maximum quality mana rings, but only a few people can condense them."
"Sir, what are the advantages of higher-quality mana rings? More importantly, how do we acquire them? Is it through purchase?" Zane immediately asked.
"The advantages are many. High-quality rings provide their owner with unique abilities, such as instant mana regeneration, mental energy boosts, surplus mana storage, and many more," Professor Burbank explained.
"If that's true, after becoming a 1-ring mage, the mana ring quality becomes another variable in determining a mage's strength," Zane thought.
"More importantly, your mana quality determines your future. If any of you aspire to become a Grand Mage, then at least one of your rings must be top-quality, and the other two cannot be lower than excellent quality."
"Professor, quickly tell us how to get high-quality Essence Runes."
"Be patient, I'm getting there," Burbank replied. "The answer to your question is a complicated thing. The truth of the matter is, Essence Rune is a personal thing. The best way to acquire one is to create it yourself. And that's because the process requires intimate information about the mage: your height, weight, age, life-energy state, mental energy, soul fluctuations, and, more importantly, mana. You must measure many hidden attributes about your mana: frequency, signature, and its resonance with your body, mental energy, and even soul.
"And that's not even the extent of how complicated things can be. From what I know, if you want to create a maximum quality mana ring, you must find a way to quantify your luck and destiny, and take them into account when creating the Essence Rune."
Professor Burbank paused, and the class fell so quiet that the sound of a needle dropping to the floor could be heard.
"You could imagine the knowledge and calculation required for this process. The majority of mages cannot deduce their Essence Rune, and those who can find it challenging to create one with a high enough compatibility, which is why there are people whose job it is to do it for them: rune mathematicians and analysts. Unfortunately, the data required for the process is invaluable. If it ever falls in the wrong hand, well, to say you are screwed is an understatement."
"What a nightmare that would be," Zane thought. A mage would never be able to cast a spell in front of a Counter Analyst if their data were leaked. They would never have privacy if a Diviner got their hands on it; their soul and mind would be much easier to control if the data fell into the hands of a Mind Mage or a Necromancer. In the hands of a Life Mage, it will be easier to heal, but also easier to be killed or poisoned.
"The places that offer these services will sign a magically binding contract never to release your information. But those are not absolute — far from it. If you're lucky, some places even offer the option of wiping out the staff's memories. Unfortunately, this service is much more expensive and also rare since memory wiping can affect the soul and ruin a mage's potential. However, the biggest downside of this approach is that you can never condense a perfect rune without calculating it yourself."
"Wait, doesn't the tower have A.I? I think they are called Arcane Spirits, right? Can't they calculate a perfect Essence Rune?"
"First of all, Arcane Spirits are resources available to the Grand Mage, and not all of them like to use them. Some preferred using [Mechanized Mind] instead."
"Mechanized Mind?"
"It's an advanced form of Mental Channeling; it turns the human brain into a supercomputer," Professor Burbank calmly explained. "As I was saying, you will not easily get access to an Arcane Spirit — even if you had the money. More importantly, it won't work. It doesn't matter if you use an Arcane Spirit or an Earth's Supercomputer — even the prototype quantum computer you have — the outcome will be the same: you cannot achieve higher than 90% compatibility."
"Oh."
Many felt relieved and dejected after hearing this news. It's good news that there was another path than spending months, maybe years, studying to learn how to calculate an Essence Rune. Not everybody was studious or willing to put in all that effort. It was a shame they couldn't get a perfect-quality Essence Rune, but it was better than the standard version handed out by the tower.
"Professor, does the tower offer data measuring? Or do I have to get it other ways?" Zane asked.
"Yes, the tower will provide one free scan," Professor Burbank nodded. "You can also buy a [Life Scanner]. However, those on the market are not as accurate as the one the tower uses. The vendors are obligated by law to inform you of how much room for error their scanners are calibrated to, which you can take into account in your calculations. However, I still recommend using the towers. According to the rules, all records of your scan must be immediately purged from our systems."
Zane calmly nodded, but internally, he was still conflicted. On the one hand, he wanted the most accurate information, but he dreaded the possibility of someone getting hold of it. As for the tower's rules? He did not completely trust them.