Of course, there were questions, although not all of them concerned magic. Those that were, however, were really interesting.

He was asked to help them explain the difference between the Elements since he mentioned a few times that they weren't exactly what they seemed.

"Well… Fine, I'll share my thoughts, although I'm not sure if my conjectures are 100% correct," Gerald said.

"Let's take normal sunlight for example. You all should understand by now that what we can see is not all there is, and that the different colors are just how our perception differentiates between different light frequencies…"

Gerald quickly went over the light spectrum to refresh their memory. It was one of the most simple things he taught them since it was easy to explain and show.

You only needed daylight and a glass prism to refract light and you could show different colors. The girls quickly grasped the concept of light frequency.

It was the same with magic.

According to his recent discoveries, especially after witnessing Ice magic, he realized that Mana was somehow similar to light. Just like different frequencies of light can have vastly different effects on the physical world, so do different 'frequencies' of Mana affect the world in their own way.

And depending on the perception of an individual, they can detect, and see, the world differently.

Though it seemed that the people here became desensitized to Mana around them since they didn't use it that much.

When Mana was slowly recovering, the people of this world became accustomed to the amount of it during the long millennia.

However, Gerald, who was from a Mana-absent world was super sensitive to it and could detect even the tiniest amount without a problem. At least that was what he thought. He couldn't be sure.

Anyway, the 'Elements' these people referred to were actually a fundamental misunderstanding of the world.

There was no Fire, Earth, Wind… Elements. Different 'frequencies' affected different energy states of matter. He figured these names had to come from the color of monster Cores or something similar.

There was solid-Earth, liquid-Water, gas-Wind, and plasma-Fire. Gerald learned that out when he figured out how Ice magic worked. It went from a liquid to a solid and similarly, Water magic had to switch to Earth magic.

It was quite simple, really.

Healing or Recovery magic affected living tissue, that's why Earth and Water Mana were required. As for why Light had anything to do with it… Gerald felt like he was missing a piece of the puzzle. Almost like Light was just a byproduct of something else, something greater.

Though he couldn't figure exactly out what was that missing piece.

"You should be able to understand it now, although I'm not sure if this knowledge will help you much… Anyway, at least you should focus on gaining better control over Mana. I expect you to grasp at least another Element by the next month, if you try hard I'm sure you can do it!"

Gerald ended his lecture with this and went back to his lab. Before that though, he ordered a maid to prepare a warm bath for him.

While he waited, he looked over the spell scrolls he made recently. Although many of his modifications worked as intended, he wasn't satisfied with the results. Similar to his Elemental magic, he felt like a part was still missing.

How could the ancient High Elves do all those things in legends? The way he advanced now would eventually reach a power ceiling, that much he was sure about.

"True magic, huh?" Gerald scratched his cheek and sighed. "What does it mean?"

Wild animals had their natural instinct to guide them in their life, but humans had to learn all on their own. A simple mistake in understanding could be amplified across generations unless someone smart noticed the mistake and fixed it.

Just like diseases were considered to be curses or punishment from the Heavens before the bacteria were discovered, so too can a simple misconception about magic lead you to a completely wrong path.

"This world is definitely going the wrong way, at least partially… Maybe the rulers on this continent know more, but they definitely won't disclose the secrets of their power."

And why would they? Those at the top preferred the world to stay like that, and it was completely logical. Why would anyone want to give up power just for a possibility of advancement? They wouldn't be the ones benefiting from it anyway.

"Master, the bath is ready," the maid said after knocking on his door.

"Thank you," Gerald replied and stood up. He picked up the Mana Elixirs on his table and went to the bathroom. There, as he did before, he poured the rest of the Broodmother's poison into the tub and jumped in, naked.

"Hmm, the Nanites seem to be breaking down faster than expected… Five years at most and they will become completely useless." Gerald felt the tingling sensation on his skin from the poison and it was more intense than the last time, even though he used less poison than before.

The miracles of nanotechnology could only work for so long. They were only recently invented after all.

He uncorked the potion and took a sip, letting the potion spread through his body and change his cells. His Mana capacity slowly rose in the following hours while he relaxed his mind and body, only taking a break to heat up the water occasionally.

***

Having spent almost two whole days bathing in mild poison, Gerald started feeling lightheaded even though the Nanites were detoxifying him constantly.

Luckily, he consumed the rest of the Mana Elixirs so he could get out and rest. His Mana capacity rose significantly to over 500 MP!

He wasn't sure of the exact amount since it was getting more difficult to differentiate between tiny changes in his body. The only thing he knew was that he needed around six hours to completely recover.

"This is slowly getting insane… If I continue going like this, will my Mana eventually become inexhaustible?"

He was confused as to why the Elixir could increase his Mana seemingly without limit. The potion was supposed to lose its effectiveness the more it was consumed, but clearly, this was not the case, at least not for him.

"Ay, so many uncertainties, so many questions…" He took a towel and dried off before looking at himself in the mirror. Standing there naked, he was in a daze. His body changed massively since the last time he had a good look.

He did see himself naked before, but looking at his entire body in the mirror at once, he couldn't help but be stupefied. His arms and chest clearly grew, with the muscles in his shoulders becoming wider and more defined. His stomach flattened further and his six-pack popped out more than ever before.

"Huh… Now that's interesting…"

Even his leg muscles increased in size, clearly separating themselves like he was some sort of a bodybuilder. It would be no exaggeration to say that his body grew as if he was truly doing a year-long bodybuilding fitness regime.

"How long since I started consuming Essence Cores? A week? Maybe two?" Gerald lightly whistled in surprise. The effects were greater than he ever expected.

"Not even the craziest steroids can give you these results, that's for sure."

He suddenly got an idea. Since his body was becoming stronger at an increasingly faster rate, maybe he could soon use Iron Body without any side effects. He had to test it out.