"Natural laws, though difficult to influence, are inherently ownerless; their protection is not as thorough as the ego of another Magus. Having this stepping stone, a Magus can become familiar with how to influence the magic of others.""And this can also be considered the power stratification within the high-class Magus rank. The first layer consists of those high-class Magus who have just broken through and found a way to bend natural laws, but have not yet converted that into bending others' magic. The second layer consists of Magus who have completely transformed their perception and know how to bend others' magic. When first-layer and second-layer high-class Magus fight, the disparity is immediately apparent, as the second-layer high-class Magus can simultaneously bend the opponent's magic and protect their own, while the first-layer high-class Magus can only passively defend; their attacks are just like throwing stones, exactly as they were as mid-class Magus."
This was what Kain had somewhat deduced from the battle between Budot and Cecilia, a perfect example of what happens when a first-layer high-class Magus fights a second-layer one.
"For high-class Magus, I name this level... persuasion with reality."
"Persuasion with reality?"
"That is right. Negotiation with reality does not necessarily succeed, but persuasion certainly does. Reality is no longer something objective but something that can be painted over—where fire is not simply fire, and lightning is not simply lightning. Magus in this stage have transcended the constraints of templates, and their magic, no matter how 'physical' its starting point, has a much more abstract nature."
"Kain, I think you should take a trip to the Tower of Magus. Otherwise, it would be quite a regret."
This time, Optis was truly serious.
It was no easy feat for someone who was not a high-class Magus to understand the essence of the high-class rank so deeply. One must know that even recorded books are not very complete—at least not truly complete with everything one needs to know—because many Magus advance based on instinct.
That Kain could say these things was not just because he read a bit more than others; it was clearly his talent.
"Mr. Optis, I am also striving for that goal."
Kain scratched his head and smiled, then his expression turned serious again.
"The path toward becoming a grand-class Magus—through books and previous experiences, I know a thing or two."
"But let us return to the high-class Magus for a moment. The path upward is very clear: from only suppressing and becoming familiar with bending magic of the same system, one must be able to do so with magic of other systems as well. Just like how that high-class Magus of the Sword Family could bend Cecilia's magic, even though the two were not of the same system, and this bending was only at the level of magical harassment; otherwise, Cecilia would not have been able to hold out for so long."
"Thus, the final point of this path is the grand-class Magus, where the suppression and bending of magic no longer distinguish between this system or that. As I experienced in that game, it is an absolute suppression of all magic systems."
"However..."
For the first time, Kain showed a rare hesitation.
"I am still a bit unclear on something."
"One must know that every leap must be interconnected; one cannot simply step into it, not even by instinct. It is like seeing a red apple—you can associate it with a green apple, and then other types of fruit, but you cannot use a red apple to associate with a stone. In general, intermediate steps are needed."
"To bend other magic requires the intermediate step of bending the corresponding natural rules. This is a chain, a consistency in ideology even if not completely identical. But I still feel I am missing something, another intermediate process."
"Where does high-class [Fire Magic] get the basis to affect high-class [Air Magic]? I cannot clarify this."
"What you are wondering about is not simple; I cannot fully answer it for you, nor do I want to be superficial. So I can only give you a hint."
"Kain, look around. What do you see?"
"I see this room."
"Then what about further than that?"
Suddenly, a spark of electricity flashed through Kain's mind.
All the clues and bits of fragmentation were finally connected at this moment.
They connected into a path, a truth.
"I have been interpreting everything within a single system of order, but I have ignored an important thing: an even greater system of order."
"Reverse everything, return to the starting point of a Magus—why do low-class Magus appear? Or more accurately... what do low-class Magus exist upon?"
"My frame of reference was correct, but I was stuck on the question above; there is no 'reasonable' answer, which is why grand-class Magus are so strong."
"Because they fundamentally do not need to care."
"Just as this world fundamentally does not need to care."
Saying this, Kain let out a long breath; this was what he had failed to consider. The logic he had weighed was not comprehensive enough, and when it is insufficient, stubbornly trying to piece together a reasonable answer leads into a void.
"The beginning of a Magus is the ego and will mimicking natural phenomena, and natural phenomena are a part of the world."
"This world encompasses all things, all natural rules. So why bother trying to understand magic of other systems when you can 'force' other systems to be like what you understand?"
This was the truth: the path to the grand-class is the world within the perception and ego of the Magus being outwardly projected. The actual world encompasses everything and also suppresses everything; a Magus's world can be the same.
And the "blueprint" for this world is the Magus's ego—that which includes all experiences—while the "bricks" building the blueprint are the cognitive structures that have been steadily strengthened through the ranks from low-class, mid-class, to high-class. Reaching high-class, the cognitive structure is "ripe" enough to learn how to outwardly project a "world," without needing to go through intermediate steps as in that closed cognitive system.