Elves naturally attracted Mana, allowing them to retain their youthfulness and restore any expended energy with little effort.
In a fight, they could also employ the aid of environmental Mana to assist them, thereby increasing the power of their Spells, and also recharging any lost Mana.
That was so similar to the ability I developed—Spellcraft.
However, there was one fundamental difference between my principle and theirs.
The Elves couldn't control environmental Mana!
That's right.
Even though they could attract, sense, and decipher the Mana in the environment well, they didn't actually manipulate the Mana itself.
It was just something that occurred naturally, according to their physiology and natural evolution.
They could control the Mana once it entered their system, but no Elf could freely manipulate the Mana around them.
Perhaps they could, if they tried, but was there really a need?
Mana always came to their aid, and it was abundant. Besides, they all believed that this energy was a free essence blessed upon them by the Spirits.
None of them had the right to control or cover such power.
As a result, they never achieved Spellcraft.
Regardless, the current position of the Elves and Mana was still incredible. Which was why Aurora was able to launch so many Peak Level Spells without restraint.
She only possessed a single Mana Core—a Special Grade—but the Mana she could summon was beyond ordinary.
>BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!<
Yet another explosion surged forth, causing me to wince at the extent of the destruction wrought by the two women.
'Will this fight ever end?'
************************************
"Holding back is hard, especially when you're the opponent," Serah muttered, staring at Aurora with complaint.
She had been restricting herself to the highest level of Peak Spells, but not one of them had reached her target.
Serah Crimson specialized in destructive arts. That was the only type of Magic she had bothered learning; how to pummel her opponents without question.
However, at this juncture, she was beginning to wish she had learned other craftier types of Magic.
Her opponent was tricky, and raw strength was going to take her down—at least not at her current level.
If she could simply use Transcendental Magic, it would have been preferable. But, she was restrained because of their diplomatic condition.
'Damn it!'
"I feel the same way, Serah Crimson. To be honest, I'm a bit frustrated that I haven't been able to take you down yet." Aurora replied.
The Elf Queen, though she tried to hide it, was a sore loser.
She hated losing to anyone—ever!
It was one of the reasons she had many problems with Lewis Griffith in the past. He always seemed to be one step ahead, and so she hated him.
Well, it wasn't exactly hatred, but...
'Why am I thinking of that annoying bastard now?!'
He was a weakling that wasn't worth her attention, yet... he somehow managed to be at the center of it.
'Still, this woman is quite something.' Aurora reasoned as she stared at Serah.
She had thought humans were inferior to Elves, at least when it came to the volume of Mana they could employ.
But, this woman had broken that golden rule.
Even the most powerful of Mages would show hints of exhaustion after a few Peak-Level Magic Spell, yet...
'She's not even tired after all that?'
Aurora could feel herself getting more and more excited.
No one had made her want to fight this earnestly ever since her sister.
'She was always holding back, but... if she took me seriously, she could have been stronger!'
The fact that Aurora had never fought a proper with the only one who could have been a challenge still stung.
But, once the Queen remembered what would happen if she had lost, a weird calm came over her.
Her sister was simply being thoughtful of her.
"Then, should we switch things up for a bit?" Serah Crimson suggested, her eyes indicating an excitement that could only be accompanied by violence.
"Hmm. Fine, then. How about this... one Transcendental Spell from both of us. The one who wins will be declared the victor."
The moment Serah heard this, her grin widened and she screamed in agreement.
"But, no Original Magic. That rule still stands."
"Tch, fine..."
Even without the use of Original Magic, there was still a means of utilizing Transcendental Magic.
In simple terms, such Spells that were beyond the limits of normal people—Magic that could bend the normal principles of the world.
That was what Transcendental Magic was.
Arcanas stood above every other Transcendental Magic that existed, but that also meant there were a few others.
"I'll be using this, if you don't mind." Aurora stretched out her staff and smiled at Serah.
"Fine. Do what you want."
Transcendental Magic was beyond the limits of living beings so that usually meant to use one, you would need the aid of tools.
With the exception of a few users of Original Magic, if anyone even dreamed of attaining the Transcendent realm, they needed tools.
Despite how powerful Aurora was, only her Original Magic was at that Level.
If she wanted to utilize any other Spell, she would require the aid of the Staff Of Ages.
It was the Spirit Weapon passed among the rulers of her people—taken from the very roots of the Sacred Tree.
When Aurora became Elf Queen, she merged her personal Spirit Weapon with the Staff, just as her predecessors had done before her.
As such, what she held was the ultimate item of the Elves.
Transcendental Magic was possible with it.
"What about you? You're not going to utilize any item?"
All eyes were on Serah now, wondering what she would do.
It was common sense that people couldn't possess Transcendental Magic beyond their Original one.
Since that was the case, why wasn't Serah budging? The answer was simple.
"Why? I don't need any tool."
Serah Crimson had transcended the realm of common sense.
"I'll just up my Magic to the Transcendental Level."
It was that simple.
