“Is there a difference between skills and spells for Awakeners?”
When Michael saw the search results, he wasn’t too surprised.
He had been slightly certain of his suspicion
“As expected, directly seeking specific knowledge is far better than randomly gathering bits and pieces.”
This was one of the reasons he still saw the academy as a worthwhile goal, even if there was a high chance it didn’t function exactly as its name implied.
At the very least, he believed it provided structured knowledge about the supernatural world.
Whatever its flaws, it had to be better than a public forum when it came to truly understanding the system.
“Skills are the external representation of a spell model. For traditional mages, this equates to a spell model that is not inscribed in their sea of consciousness.”
“Spells, on the other hand, are the ‘core’ spells of mages—the ones inscribed in their sea of consciousness that require no casting time. It is said that when an Awakener successfully inscribes a spell model, a new section appears in their panel. However, unlike skills, these spells cannot have their mastery increased artificially with the power of an Awakener. Their power depends mainly on the quality of the spell model, just like with traditional mages.”
Michael had always assumed skills and spells were the same.
In a certain sense, he wasn’t wrong—but he wasn’t exactly right either.
After reading more, he didn’t end up favoring one over the other.
Both had their own strengths and weaknesses. Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire
For one, skills could be influenced by an Awakener’s stats, allowing them to improve with their overall growth.
However, spells were purely dependent on the quality of the spell model and the properties of the caster’s mana.
Then there was the biggest advantage spells had over skills—instantaneous casting.
The more Michael thought about it, the more he realized that spells inscribed in the sea of consciousness functioned like trump cards for both Awakeners and traditional mages.
That said, the main method of casting magic still involved drawing spell models—commonly known as magic circles—using the caster’s mana as fuel, with a little assistance from the surrounding atmospheric mana.
The more Michael read, the more he understood.
Finally, feeling he had learned enough, he eagerly set his phone aside.
It was time.
Time to check out his sea of consciousness.
Michael took a deep breath, steadying himself.
Then, following the visualization method described in the mage meditation technique sent by the Association, he closed his eyes and focused.
At first, there was nothing—just the faint hum of his own thoughts. But as he continued, a strange pull emerged from deep within him.
Something stirred.
His consciousness felt as if it were drifting, sinking into an unseen depth.
A strange sensation washed over him, like plunging into endless waters—yet he wasn’t drowning.
And then—
He saw it.
A vast, dark space stretched out before him, its surface rippling like liquid starlight.
This… is my sea of consciousness?
Michael couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.
The sea of consciousness was said to be the summary of a supernatural.
With it, you could know what elements one had, and so on.
Due to Michael’s low membership level, he would have seen things like laws also being able to be inscribed in the sea of consciousness.
However, even if he did see something like laws and was intrigued by it, if he wasn’t given more access to more information, he’d never know what it was.
“My sea of consciousness is filled with darkness. And ohh, this strangely solid liquid I’m standing on. Does that mean I have the element of darkness and water?”
Michael wasn’t sure.
In the forum and in the meditation technique the Association sent, it’s said that it was better for one to do proper, accurate testing for their affinity.
Just because he saw liquid in his sea of consciousness didn’t mean it represented water affinity.
It could just be there.
Cases like this weren’t rare.
Among the two elements he suspected he had, Michael was more willing—or rather, he knew—he had an affinity with darkness.
If not, he wouldn’t have been able to cast an undead spell in the first place.
Being an Awakener, though one could theoretically use spells from other classes, there were times when certain requirements had to be met.
This also served as a limitation.
For one, you could be a water mage and have the ability to use healing magic but still be unable to use light-element healing magic.
Or could not cast a fireball like a fire mage, but for physical skills, you might even be able to use {Berserk} as a priest.
Even in the Awakener system, compatibility was a thing.
Michael turned to look at his ‘form’ in his sea of consciousness.
He looked like a figurine of blue mass floating in the empty dark space.
After giving his energy form a look, Michael turned his attention back to his sea of consciousness.
“Like I thought. There are no spell models here.”
Michael had expected this but wasn’t too worried about the issue.
Before he pulled his phone aside again, he had gone to the Supers Online Store to see if it was possible to buy the blueprints of spell models and saw that he could.
Though they were mostly basic, it was still something.
After all, it wasn’t only knights or Awakeners in the forum.
There were also mage apprentices and above that needed resources and information.
Though Michael would very much like to start filling up this space with spell models, he wanted to try out the meditation method to increase his mana pool.
The one the Association had given was a no-attribute meditation technique that, though slow in increasing the mana pool in the sea of consciousness, which in turn strengthened and enlarged it, was a steady way for any mage with any affinity to start with or use.
In the outside world and in the sea of consciousness, both ‘Michael’ sat in a lotus position and started using the meditation technique.
As Michael sank deeper into meditation, he followed the breathing pattern outlined in the meditation technique.
A slow inhale.
A steady exhale.
Again and again, he repeated the process, allowing his focus to drift entirely into his sea of consciousness.
At first, there was nothing—just the same darkness and the strangely solid liquid beneath him.
Then, something changed.
A subtle pull.
Michael barely had time to register it before mana from the outside world began to flow toward him.
It had no color.
No form.
Just a formless, weightless force that slowly seeped into his sea of consciousness.
The sensation was… refreshing.
Like taking a deep breath of cool, crisp air after being in a stuffy room for too long.
It wasn’t overwhelming or forceful, but the speed of absorption was slightly faster than he expected.
Michael’s eyes—if he had any in this form—would have widened in mild surprise.
“This is… different,” he thought.
The technique had described a gradual intake of mana, yet his body was naturally drawing it in at a slightly accelerated pace.
It felt effortless. Natural.
As the mana merged into his sea of consciousness, he could sense a subtle shift—like a ripple expanding across a still pond.
His sea of consciousness slightly more stable.
Michael exhaled slowly, adjusting to the rhythm.
Also, this difference in speed…
It felt a bit faster than what was written in the meditation technique.
“Is it because of my strength?”
Michael felt that could only be the reason.
When he opened his eyes in the real world for a brief moment, a panel appeared in front of him.
> [You have learned {No Attribute Mana Cultivation Technique}]
[No Attribute Mana Cultivation Technique Basic Mastery – Proficiency: 1.23%]
A technique to access the sea of consciousness, strengthen it, draw spell models, and increase mana.
At basic mastery, the speed of absorption is normal.
“I got a skill?”
Michael was a little surprised, but after a moment of thought, he calmed down.
It made sense.
“After this, I should try my knight breathing technique again.”
It didn’t matter if he was going to continue with magic—having the skill was nice.
As a few thoughts flashed through his mind, Michael returned to cultivation.
He had just checked his Intelligence stat and saw no difference.
So he decided to cultivate a bit more and see how long it would take before he started seeing the effects.
If it took too long, he’d just switch to attempting to inscribe a spell model in his sea of consciousness.
Whatever it was, he wasn’t a traditional mage, after all.
His mana pool was quite big.
That was what Michael thought.
But what he hadn’t expected was that, in the pleasure of drawing mana into his sea of consciousness, he’d lose track of time.
It wasn’t until the sun laid its first grace upon the world, followed by the ding of a notification, that Michael finally pulled himself out of his cultivation state.
The first thing his eyes met was a panel.
> [Your Intelligence has increased by 0.0001 point!]