Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 776 - 769: Magic Aptitude

Chapter 776: Chapter 769: Magic Aptitude

It was not only Luoer’s intent for Tangmo and others to master magic, but also that of the headquarters. After all, magic in the Otherworld followed the principle of home field advantage. Instead of persistently enhancing the adaptability of technology in the Otherworld, it would be better to embrace apparently arcane magic with a humble attitude.

The magic of the Otherworld was fundamentally different from the scientific technology of Earth, a trait that was inherently unfair.

Unlike Earth, where ’nature is heartless, treating all creatures like straw dogs’, anyone in the Otherworld wanting to study magic must have a certain magical aptitude, otherwise no matter how hard they try, it would be in vain.

Among magical aptitudes, physical conditioning is of utmost importance, which essentially determines that not all individuals are born capable of studying magic.

The physical requirements for magic include, but are not limited to, magic resistance and affinity to magic. Magic resistance is a newly created concept by Earthlings, which is somewhat like electrical resistance, while the affinity to magic affects the speed of magic casting.

When magic power flows through the body, different levels of losses occur depending on the resistance. This loss then turns into physical harm, severe losses may lead to magic power erosion. Therefore, in principle, people with a lower magic resistance are more suitable for studying magic.

Although affinity to magic is not as pivotal as magic resistance, it is a crucial criterion that determines whether a magic practitioner can reach high levels.

Affinity to magic mainly affects the speed of magic absorption and conversion; hence, generally speaking, people with higher magic affinity can absorb, convert and release magic faster. The speed of magic release is crucial to determine whether a mage can reach high levels.

During the screening phase at the academy, if a person found to have a magic resistance of fifty percent or more is almost considered unsuitable for studying magic. That is because even if such people cast the simplest level one magic, more than half of the magic power will be exhausted within their bodies, turning into harmful magic power erosion.

The one and only person in the advance team who had a magic resistance surpassing fifty percent was Hu Daoke. After all, being a half-beastman, he naturally had a high magic resistance. So during his time at Haiya Academy, he only studied runes and spells. He was not forced to learn to cast magic since that would equate to murder.

Once the hurdle of magic resistance is cleared, the next focus is the affinity to magic, the higher the affinity, the faster the magic casting. A typical example is Tangmo, her magic affinity was above ninety-eight percent, such a level of affinity enabled her to instantly cast magic up to level three.

The criteria to determine if one is a magic prodigy primarily depends on high magic affinity and low magic resistance. The reason Tangmo caught Shariya’s eye upon enrolment was that she perfectly met the criteria of high affinity and low resistance.

That’s the hard truth about the Magic World. If one lacks aptitude, no matter how fascinated they are by magic, they are not eligible to study it.

However, fortunately, magical aptitude is not hereditary and has a considerable degree of uncertainty. For example, it is not uncommon for offspring from a family of mages to exhibit low magical aptitude. In other words, mage lineage does not guarantee offspring will reap the benefits of high magical aptitude. Correspondingly, ordinary people also have the chance to produce children with high magic aptitude – perhaps a fair aspect of the Magic World.

Of course, this fairness can also be disrupted, because the relationship between magic aptitude and one’s race is also important.

Firstly, Earthlings were widely agreed upon as entirely unsuitable for learning magic. However, Otherworldlings resulting from the union of Earthlings and Otherworldlings could indeed possess magical aptitude.

Among the races of the Otherworld, the Elf Race was considered to have the highest magic aptitude. Most Elves adhered closely to the criteria of high magic affinity and low magic resistance, generally making them suitable for studying magic as a whole.

The Human Race came next. They were relatively mundane but outnumbered in population. In terms of average, they were absolutely not a match for the Elf Race, yet they had more individuals with high magical aptitude.

Next are the Dwarves, whose magical aptitude is somewhat quirky. The talented ones are extremely talented, while the average individuals have almost none, leading their overall magical aptitude to be inferior to that of the Human Race.

After more than thirty years of research, Earthlings have come to the conclusion that Dwarves are a subspecies of the Elf Race. It has been observed that Dwarves, perhaps due to their inferior magic aptitude when compared to the Elf Race, are devoted to the study of magical technology.

The race with the most inferior magic aptitude would be the Beastman Race. In addition to their low magical abilities, they also have many peculiarities, such as most notably, the phenomenon of reproductive isolation.

Other than the Human Race, the Beastman Race is essentially reproductively isolated from all other races, a rare occurrence. Unlike the Beastman Race, other races in the Otherworld don’t have reproductive barriers. There are quite a few hybrids between the Elf Race and the Dwarf Race as well as between the Human Race and the Sub-beast Race, but the Beastman Race is uniquely absent from such cross-breeding except with the Human Race.

Therefore, many Earth scientists believe that the Beastman Race might not be indigenous to this planet, but instead might originate from another planet or dimension.

The conclusion has risen to the level of planetary dimensions primarily because there is a species on the Aels Continent, the Sub-beast Race, that doesn’t belong to this continent.

Earth scientists unanimously believe that the Sub-beast Race doesn’t belong to the Aels Continent, but rather originates from another continent. They don’t have a reproductive barrier with any other races on the Aels Continent, save for the Beastman Race. Hence it could be inferred that all races on this planet of Otherworld, like species on Earth, are not reproductively isolated, indirectly confirming that the Beastman Race absolutely comes from another planet or dimension.

Returning to the topic of magic aptitude, ranking from highest to lowest, the Elf Race indisputably tops the chart, while the Beastman Race hits rock bottom.

This disparity leads to many interesting phenomena, such as magic in the Human Race being monopolized by the nobility. These noble families seek to pass magic onto their descendants. However, due to the unpredictability of magic aptitude, even descendants from magical noble families might end up being magic duds.

This uncertainty is almost impossible to change, the only solution being intermarriage with races possessing high magic aptitude. And the ideal candidates would be the Elf Race.

However, as previously mentioned, the genes of the Elf Race are very dominant making their assimilation ability very strong. If one were to breed with an Elf, the offspring would invariably be an Elf, inheriting most physical characteristics from the Elf Race. This is something the Human Race cannot tolerate.

Half-elves face widespread discrimination in the North, their appearance and the human fear of Elf assimilation being the chief causes beyond certain historical reasons. While most Elves are relatively conservative, there are still over ten million half-elves in existence to date.

Ancient States, for not discriminating against half-elves, has a large population of them—making them far from a minority but a significant demographic.

Earthlings likewise harbor no prejudice against the Elf Race. In fact, the Elves’ physical traits and longevity are deemed desirable. Regrettably, Elves and Earthlings are essentially reproductively isolated with only a handful of Earth-Elf pairings being able to produce offspring.

The reason the Earthlings’ Elf Planet Project hasn’t been put into action till now is not only due to concerns about resistance from the assimilation by the Elf Race but more importantly, technological issues.

As the forefront of gene engineering, Haiya Academy’s research over the past thirty years has yielded only a dozen or so half-elves. Each failure signifying the loss of precious human life. Given the current population of the hybrid species at Haiya Academy, this success rate is shockingly low.

Of course, if one wishes to have offspring with superior magical aptitude, the Elf Race is not the only choice. The Dwarf Race also carries significant advantages. The only downside lies in the uncertain chances of success.

However, once it’s a success, the offspring will have the opportunity of possessing exceptional magical aptitude. The most typical example would be Tangmo, who is of mixed High-peak Dwarf lineage.

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