"Alright, Operation Lloyd Holmes, starting."
Lloyd was in a bit of a hurry today; he had gotten up late. By the time he wanted to start his investigation, it was already midday.
Still, there was time. The first step was sneaking into the kitchen. The boy slipped in as best he could to steal a piece of bread; unfortunately, the cooks entered at that exact moment. Lloyd had to hide while listening to their gossip, but in the end, he managed to sneak away.
Additionally, he had gathered more information about Clarinda: apparently, she was in a romance with one of the guards. They had been seen sneaking out at night at similar hours.
Lloyd felt somewhat confused. He suspected Clarinda because of his mission, but what did a romance have to do with any of this?
"It doesn't matter. Now I just have to wait."
After that, the boy spent some time walking around the mansion. He used his Eye on some of the staff, but found nothing conclusive.
He decided that the best course of action was to find Clarinda's room to get her diary, but then he remembered he didn't know where she slept, making it impossible.
"I should've asked Sebas. Oh well, tonight it will be."
With that, he headed to the library. He had had a revelation, so to speak. While he couldn't use magical power, the system didn't specify any particular source of energy, so he could simply find another one.
Lloyd was already familiar with the types of energy in this world:
Magical Power: A refined version of the outer profane power. Used by those with a Root or a grimoire. Magical beasts use it innately, almost as an extension of their biology. It can also be used through artifacts or runic inscriptions.
Profane (or Demonic) Power: The external essence that corrupted the world. Demons use it for magic or demonic arts, as it is a very dense, ominous magical power. Demonic power can break the world's principles, though few can wield it properly. It also shapes the "dijin," the outer scavengers that appeared after the continent's great mutation.
Sacred (Divine) Power: The power of the heavens, used in holy arts. It is granted to those who show faith to the gods, allowing miracles via rituals like chanting or prayer. One can also become an apostle of a god to use these arts without ritual. Apostles are the only ones who can use divine power alongside saints, who are blessed from birth. Divine power is the power of the gods, which dilutes upon entering the world. Each god has a faction in the Lux Pulcra church. The church believes Mara is the one true goddess; the rest are just aspects of her. Calling Mara "a god" would be an understatement, as she cannot truly be described in mortal words. Those born in the sacred land are born with her blessing, which, while mild, is very useful. However, this blessing prevents them from using other sources of power.
Spiritual Power: The energy of the soul, which, when refined, allows reaching higher levels of existence. Only humans from the eastern continent preserved their spiritual cores, practicing cultivation to reach various Celestial Realms.
Prana: The "existential dust," born from the world's decay when the veil fractured. Absorbing it strengthens and increases the level or density of a target's existence. When combined with the spiritual core, it allows the creation of Qi. It is said that pure Qi can rival divine power.
Elemental Power: Another form of Spiritual power, emanating from the world's soul. It shapes nature spirits, used by druids in the past and now by elves—humans evolved to form a strong bond with nature. Elves are one with nature; at birth, a spirit follows them for life, though elves can have multiple contracts.
Aura: Not a source of power per se, but an emanation of a being's essence. Swordsmen with a Root burn magical power to enhance their aura, combining both to achieve more varied phenomena.
Kū (Void): An imperceptible essence, intuited but not directly confirmed. It is the engine behind unexplained phenomena. Touki is said to originate from Kū but requires a power source to sustain it. Kū is also the basis of Omnyodo and certain martial techniques.
Lloyd reviewed everything mentally. There was individual soul energy and "world" soul energy; in many ways, they were opposites. Spiritual energy was pure and unique, carried by many, while world energy manifested in countless forms.
Spiritual power was the only energy considered native to this world. Then there was chaos and order energy, which fueled demonic and divine power. These operated outside the world until the great catastrophe, when demons appeared and humans who prayed received aid.
The rest weren't true energy or were variations, like Aether, used to power technomagic machinery.
Knowing this wasn't immediately useful. First, he had to find a way to harness some energy, though he knew most were innate and often incompatible.
They usually rejected or consumed one another, rarely working well together. A mage could use aura but not spiritual techniques. Exceptions existed: hybrids.
However, hybrids weren't exactly dual-energy users; for example, a half-elf could have a Root and contract with a spirit, but wouldn't be born with a "twin spirit."
Knowing this, Lloyd's only hope was that his condition allowed him to bypass the rule, though he wasn't optimistic.
Still, he spent the rest of the day studying what he could, and that same night, Sebastián arrived with his report.