Hours had passed.
By now, Saryn had mentally collapsed countless times trying to read these notes, looking for something useful.
'Hold on, this is the guy who tried to bite the hologram on the fourth stage…'
I had finally finished stage four after two thousand and fourteen attempts, all for it to have been a dream.
Now I'm here, and honestly, I'd much rather be stuck reading here for eternity than fighting those blue ghosts.
Anyways, whoever it is who's reading this, here are some books that will prove extremely useful in terms of basic knowledge of everything you'll need, mainly rituals. I will drop the page numbers next to them as a sign of my overwhelming benevolence.
- Richard
'The genius swordmaster turned out to be mentally incapable while the guy who bit his opponent in a duel proved to be quite intelligent.'
'Well of course, there's also the possibility he is simply wasting my time and handing over useless books.'
Saryn stood up leaning against the conjoined set of tables, his gaze flashed in between the note in his hand and the books on the table several times, until he found most of the books listed and separated them away from the rest of the pile.
'The rest are probably in the bookshelves somewhere.' He thought as he walked over to various sections, finally returning with another stack of pure knowledge.
Saryn sighed after taking a look at the thick stack, before seating himself yet again on the stool and looking over the list to make sure he didn't forget anything.
He muttered each book title under his breath while unpiling them.
"The Geometry of Power…"
"Oaths: Shackles of the Soul…"
"The Human Headstart…"
"Basic Guide to Armaments…"
"Semblances for Dummies…"
"Echoes, Insanity, and so forth…"
"Ritual Circles: In Depth…"
"Branding of the Inner Self…"
"Metaphysicality of Willpower…"
"Phoenixes and Shit: A Casual Overview…"
'Huh…?'
Saryn glanced back at the last one, which had "Ren's favourite" written next to it in brackets along with a tiny smiling face consisting of two dots and a curved line.
'I guess I'll pick it up anyway in remembrance of Ren.'
He continued despite the rest seeming either useless to him or written by the previous candidates for fun.
"So You Accidentally Summoned a Demon: A Beginner's Guide to Apologizing…"
"Armament Care and Feeding (Do Not Actually Feed Them)..."
"I Tried to Bite a Hologram And I Regret Nothing (I wrote this one)..."
"How to Get Abs in Only Thirty Days: Tutorial for Gu Masters…"
Upon reading the title, Saryn lifted up his garments to reveal a set of extremely faint and undefined abs.
'Maybe I'll only need ten days or so… what's a gu master anyway?' He chuckled before reading the final book title on the list.
"Mister Martin's Secret Weaknesses (probably)..."
'That was definitely written by Ren, and I will definitely read it.'
Saryn put away the note, before flipping open the first book which Richard had marked as important. "The Geometry of Power" was written in big, bold text on the front, and it was a fairly medium sized book, mostly containing summaries on the general methods to obtain strength.
He turned to the first page.
The three pillars of ritual strength - Semblances, Armaments, and Regalias - form a closed geometric cycle, each feeding and stabilising the others. Semblances, born from ritual branding and made up of blue echoes, are the most flexible of the three. They draw freely from ambient power, manifesting as runes, tattoos, or crystalline marks that obey the user's will. Yet their abundance is a double‑edged blade: when strained by injury or unstable emotion, a semblance may expand beyond control, entering a rampant state that threatens the user's sanity. Armaments, forged through far harsher rites and bound by lilac echoes, exist to temper this volatility. These divine weapons amplify semblance output and act as conduits through which rampant energy may be safely redirected. Though powerful, armaments are fragile in their own way - if shattered, the backlash endangers both body and mind.
Regalias, the cyan‑echo birthright of every pure-blooded human ritualist, complete the triangle. A regalia is an innate affinity - elemental or conceptual - that strengthens the body, enhances armaments, and governs the efficiency of every semblance it inhabits. Semblances serve as vessels for regalia storage; the more semblances one possesses, the greater the regalia's capacity and influence. In turn, regalias shroud armaments, reinforcing them against the strain of rampant power. Thus the cycle closes: semblances empower regalias, regalias fortify armaments, and armaments refine semblances.
Mastery of this triad grants the human ritualist outstanding levels of strength, as all three factors directly complement one another.
As for non-humans who are not blessed with the power of a Regalia, they are born with their own race-specific advantages to counteract their lack of one.
Saryn was immersed in the book, it provided a strong explanation of the triangular relationships between the main sources of power, but his immersion was broken once he heard Marti-... Marduk clear his throat from the mirror which had reconstructed itself yet again on Saryn's right.
Before Marduk could speak, Saryn commented on his actions.
"Rather than rebuilding the mirror every time, and so silently I don't even notice, just don't break it in the first place."
"It creates tens-" Marduk tried to reply.
"And creates a ruckus." Saryn cut him off.
"That is beside the point, anyway, Saryn, it seems you are progressing step by step, slowly but surely. Richard had done me a favour in recommending that book to you, but not in recommending "Mister Martin's Secret Weaknesses", which I will have you know that I have no weaknesses and Ren was simply spouting nonsense in that book." Marduk spoke quicker with each word as if in a hurry to explain himself.
"Then it seems you and Ren share a couple things in common." Saryn responded.
"I refuse to pay heed to your feeble insults." Marduk spoke as he pointed toward the obsidian orb which had accompanied Saryn ever since the first room.
"That is your regalia, Saryn, unfortunately, one major downside of fusing with the blood of another species is that your regalia, which is a power only pure-blooded humans obtain and can use, rejects your body, even though you are still about ninety eight percent human, your regalia refused its vessel, jumping out like a terrified cat. Honestly, I would've jumped out too if I saw your face."
Saryn laughed sarcastically at Marduk's remark.
"I can tell you've repeated the same joke every time a new candidate got here…" He replied.
"I have, and I'm not ashamed. Your regalia is not useless now, unlike most of the others, you actually had the minor bit of intelligence to bring it along, and it will benefit you, as your failed regalia is now a high class material suited solely to yourself, as for what you use it for, that doesn't concern me." Marduk concluded his talk, before vanishing, and as if taking Saryn's advice, he didn't shatter the mirror this time.
'Am I supposed to react differently to realising that I'm never going to have a regalia again?'
'No. If the other races out there treat the lack of a regalia as normal, then I'm not disadvantaged, it's not like just everybody can simply see echoes like I do.'
Saryn closed The Geometry of Power, reaching out for another book which he pulled up to his face and read.
'The Human Headstart, huh?'
Saryn had guessed this book was a more in-depth guide on regalias.
'I guess I don't have a headstart then, but does that stop me from being human?'