I created my own system

The lava hound lunged, its molten claws swiping at Apollo with terrifying speed. He evaded them by nimbly moving along the dozen attacks that flew in his direction. It was a very fast move that he left after images as he repositioned. Then, he summoned his sword and created an icy technique designed to bind the creature in place. The hound howled as the ice latched onto its legs, extinguishing its heat.

"Fire is neutralized with ice," Apollo mused aloud but soon he saw how that ice melts. "Ah, don't tell me he already forms a certain immunity with ice." he switched his gears and formed another more powerful strike.

"Let me see how high is that immunity"

Nero suddenly felt the temperature drop that even the air began to freeze.

"What now?" he mutters while absorbing the attacks from Apollo's surprise golem attack. He never really knew where they came from; he never sensed a spell, even a rift in space. They just pop out of nowhere as soon as the beast begins to attack Apollo. The icy feeling continued as the sky lit up while the clouds parted way as if welcoming something.

"Fall down Neptune"

A freezing cold pressure slams into the ground, covering the area with a blue halo of ice.

The lava hound was left frozen along with the non-ice attributed beast. Even the other beast, which was supposed to feel nothing against such temperature, was surprised to feel they were feeling cold.

"Nepheline hide behind me!" Nero ordered as he shielded her from the storm of cold air.

"Damn it even Nirvana's flesh was affected, what kind of spell is this"

Meanwhile, the caster of the disaster only had one thought "Fuck, it's cold!!!!"

[That's what you get for casting a spell you just learn]

"A mage's spell isn't supposed to affect them!!"

[Idiot this is a lost magic, weren't you listening!]

While they argue the crystalline dragon adapted immediately to the cold and charged next, swinging its massive claws. Apollo leaped back, summoning another technique from his new arsenal; it was a move that mimicked an earth-based spell he then infused into his sword. The ground beneath the dragon. Trembled as jagged spikes erupted, shattering its crystal legs. The dragon crumbled, unable to sustain itself without its foundation.

"Those are no ordinary earth spikes; there is no way Quartz would die just like that," Nero commented while he helped the other beasts who were still stuck in the ice. So, while Apollo was busy, he wanted to save more of his allies, though more were still dying even when he was defending them.

The shadow panther was the trickiest. It darted around Apollo, its movements erratic and unpredictable; even with the system's gears, it was still difficult. Apollo closed his eyes briefly, focusing on the creature's magical signature. With a sharp breath, he cast a spell, Bright star and a blinding light illuminated the battlefield. The panther screeched as it was forced into visibility, and Apollo finished it with a wave of his sword. A dark energy struck and shredded the panther's body.

--------

While the onslaught continues, there are two Apollos who remain in their places instead of joining the battle. The first one was the Apollo with Lothar; he didn't want to appear suspicious by suddenly disappearing, so he decided to stay. The last one was the Apollo inside the temple of Elias. The one that currently trains under the guidance of the mysterious figure.

"So just like I said before, this place isn't called temple of Elias"

"Oh, I see the records must have vanished due to the time, so what is its real name?"

"Simply, Mahika"

"Mahika?"

"Yes, this place was called like that a long time ago; I was also one of the mages here. Every day the roads are filled with people. It was bustling; the libraries sometimes turned into a platform where all sorts of topics were discussed, oftentimes resulting in a heated debate. The classrooms were always filled with students. And here... " His voice suddenly halted as he began reminiscing, "This place gave the most magical experience to many mages. This is the tower where we first cast a spell, creating one, and ....even our final struggle. It all happened here." Then he suddenly looks at the place where the core is supposed to be.

"May I ask what you plan to do with the Sage's circle?"

"Sage's circle?....oh! That sir I plan to take it with me to the tower"

The figure just laughed and said, "It seems you have seen what's inside, no?"

Apollo just nodded. "It was amazing. I have never seen such a spell before!"

"Well, what you have seen is only the tip of the iceberg; there is more powerful magic that lies deep within it, wanna learn?" Eagerly Apollo nodded.

"Listen, well, since this magic has been kept here for a long time, people from the outside would classify this as lost magic. A spell that has been long gone and nobody uses, so mind you please be careful on using them"

"Yes, I would, sir?...."

"Arevano, when I was alive my friends called me Arevano"
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"Then sir Arevano what are you, you are not a ghost, I don't sense any corruption so you are not an undead"

"Ah, I must have concealed my presence so that you weren't able to recognize me"

The cloak covering the figure finally disappeared, and a welcoming presence came to Apollo.

"This feeling, wait you are a spirit?" He exclaimed as he realized this; however, contrary to his reaction, Arevano was very calm in explaining things.

"I am. Did that confuse you? What do you think I am to begin with?"

"Well, at first, I thought you were just a soul fragment of the real Arevano; I never thought you were really him, sir. If it isn't too much, may I ask how you became a spirit?"

"As you know, all the mages here died sealing the strongest demon we ever encountered. However, when we die, we are given two choices. One, join the cycle and live another life through reincarnation, though we will forget any memory of this life. Two stay and turn yourself into a spirit"

"The Tree of Life gathers the souls of the deceased; we all made our choices there before joining the cycle. I remain here while the rest choose to go through reincarnation. I.....don't want to forget this place that is why I stayed. You see boy...this place is my home and I would like to stay even in death"

Arevano's painful words made Apollo hurt as well. It is as if he understands the spirit's sentiment because he is feeling the same way, though he knows it isn't just out of sympathy, he definitely feels that something within him is attached to this place the same way as Arevano's.

"Sir Arevano, I thought spirits could only live in places rich in mana, like the world tree and its extension, so how did you get here and still alive despite the lack of mana?"

The spirit chuckled a bit with the boy's question though he still went on to answer him.

"That, my dear friend, is because of this." Arevano raised his arm, and a sigil began shining beneath his robe.

"That looks like.."

"The tree of life my dear friend, your thoughts are right. This was given to me by the world tree itself for me to sustain myself even though I am not under her care"

Apollo was surprised that World Tree could do such a thing, "I wonder if it's her?" He questions if the little world tree he saved before is the one who did it.

"I'll ask that later, but for now, I need something that might actually help me," he added in his head, then proceeded to ask Arevano about magic and Mahika's greatest invention. The mage was very glad to answer all the boy's inquiries until a discovery made Apollo amazed yet again about the place they call the sanctuary of magic.

"You also train swordmasters here?"

"Not really swordmaster but magic swordmaster. One of the things being conducted here is the integration of swordsmanship and magic. We produce the greatest mages and strongest swordmasters, which is why most of our spells and techniques are the integration of the two. I can teach you so don't worry. So then Apollo let me introduce to you Mahika's elemental sword style, a sword art base from the spell crafted here"

Time seemingly flows slowly due to the Sage's circle influence. All the knowledge and teaching were transferred to Apollo like flowing water from a river.

"As for the other thing you are worried about the lost magic I told you will be the answer for it. You did say your enemy can absorb attacks I think I knew the principles behind that. Though I can't go into detail about skills created by demons and magical beasts, I can tell you that skill has limitations. Besides not being able to absorb physical attacks, it also can't absorb energy that doesn't exist in this world. Any power that doesn't come from Bunag can't be influenced by any power created from it. To understand easily, any attacks that come outside of our world are rejected by being absorbed or altered; I'll explain it further so you don't recklessly use it. Alright, let's learn the Heavenly magic, a magic that draws power from the heavenly bodies in space, ready?"