"Nine years in the blink of an eye" a soft murmur in Lay's inner world.
Too little and insignificant compared to the vastness of Lay's consciousness. However, it was the same voice that shattered the tranquility of this place.
Like a pebble thrown to the sea, the voice caused ripples inside his sea of consciousness. In reality, however, it projects itself as the fluttering of Lay's eyelashes.
Soon, Lay completely opens his eyes, taking in the surroundings that looks familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. He reached out to side, where a hand-held mirror is located.
When it arrived in front of his face, Lay couldn't help but be dazed. The reflection in the mirror looked liked a younger version of him in his previous life. He can't help but caress his face and pinch his baby fat as tears unconsciously stream down his eyes.
In his eyes, there's confusion, relief, and absurdity for the surreal. Gradually, it all transformed into uncontrollable joy as he allowed more tears to stream down his eyes. Soon, only the sound of maniacal laughter filled the room as Lay vented his emotions.
Only after some time did Lay gradually calm down. He wasn't the type of person to express his feelings with big gestures, not in his previous life and not in this life. Mainly, he was overwhelmed by his underlying emotions and the concept of his resurrection/transmigration.
Taking a deep breath, the first thing Lay sought out is the familiar book on the counter where he get the hand-held mirror from.
Introduction to the Mystic Arts is the title of the book. Looking at it, its plain to see that its a new release. Apart from that, the only notable thing is the line of creases on its side; hinting at the number of times the book has been browsed.
Flipping through the pages, Lay immerse himself in the study of the Mystic Arts. Reinforcing his inherited memories while taking mental notes of his own.
There are three well-known sources of magic in the universe; ambient magic, Eldritch magi and different dimensions.
Ambient magic are magic that can be found in the atmosphere. Access to this source of magic is relatively easy and devoid of any external influence that may endanger the sorcerer.
The only real downside of using ambient magic is the slow process of gathering energy. Hence, use of ambient magic in combat is not advisable. No one will wait for you to charge up your ultimate moves just like in anime and other mainstream media afterall.
To counter this, sorcerers usually store ambient magic in vessel-type magic artifacts. With this method, sorcerers were able to fuel their bases use of defensive magic array at a low cost.
This trick also proved to be formidable for offense, serving as a reliable trump card for practicioners of the Mystic Arts.
The process is simple: by engraving a gathering spell on the surface of their weapons, practioners can accumulate charge - a force formed from the concentration of ambient magic, basically just pure magic. Once unleashed, the weapon will relase it's accumulated charge dealing damage based on its concentration/stacks.
Depending on the mysticism, each planets ambient magic differs. From lowest to highest they are: barren, wilting, stable, blooming and prosperous respectively.
Earth is considered to have a stable level of ambient magic despite the presence of powerful sorcerers like the Ancient One.
This can be attributed to the Ancient One and the other Masters of the Mystic Arts efforts to prottect Earth against invaders from foreign planets and/or different planes of existence that dared to attack Earth and bring harm to its people.
While removing these threats, they also make sure to conceal their traces to ensure the balance of the world. This way, they are able to solve problems without agitating the people's emotions, but it inevitably lead to the slow rise of mysticism in the world.
However, if this world develop just like in the MCU, Lay wager that Earth could reach blooming level at least, and prosperous levels at best when it comes to ambient magic in the near future
Lay was so engrossed in reading that he failed to notice the time. Gradually, rays of sunlight entered through the slits of the room and landed on his face. Startled, Lay reluctantly put down his book.Despite staying up all night, he didn't feel any fatigue and is full of energy. He attributed it to his long slumber messing up his body's natural clock.
As he was stretching, suddenly, a person pushed open the door to the infirmary.
"You're here, brother" The words flow out of Lay's mouth naturally. The sense of awkwardness that he imagined didnt come as he waited for the person outside to enter.
He didn't need to see to know who it was. There's only one person who will enter the infirmary this early in the morning aside from medical sorcerers. His adoptive brother and bestfriend in this life, the future Sorcerer Supreme, Wong.