I don't remember the system, since it's early 2000's and very indy. Heck it might have been a local dealer, TBH, I don't remember. It was like a materia system. I even used it as an inspiration for my own system.
Spoiler for about the game: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Essentially you can have magic that is pedestrian like turning a loaf of bread stale, all the way up to creating worlds and the laws of physics of the world (which is highly warned aginst having it play into rolling since it can get bogged down). It grows in hypedimensions, meaning you could have someone who knows the Fire Materia (just a very simple example, there are literally thousands of types with "Twist") who can burn Tungten, but only in a 1 meter area, and someone who can melt butter and cause heat exhaustion across the world. The former is easier but more time intensive, the player must spend time and gain practical application (by DOING) wheras the latter is harder but can be learned academically.
Then you have twist, where two materia can be combined. Like Life and Fire, where you can resurrect someone with a new spirit, bascially turning them into another physical manifestation.
Oh! I know how to describe this (lsightly) better. Play/Look-up Magicka the silly paradoy PC game. Twist is like that.
THEN in addition to materia, you have arts. Arts arer basic principles.Like you can conjure food and drink, or communicate telepathically. Or learn to cast elemental materia at a range. Which you have to normally touch the target. Then another that allows materia expansion.
It's VERY granular. You can have two equally mastered people, and each has separate "win" strategy.
The system also throws away XP for progression. You get direct perks that if you have teacher, and time, you can learn.No XO needed. XP is there though, for levels in "classes" which are not optional, but not focal either. XP gives you something called Natural specialties. Wherein like a warrior could cut off someone's arm, or a thief can literally steal an article of clothing, very much in the way of stage magician Apollo Robbins and more. Natural specialties can border on magic, for classes like warlock.
You also have progression templates. Where you can get class N-Specs faster, or learn more arts, or get skills (called proficiencies).
It is all about hyperdimensions. As in, computer deep learning, a character is far from linear, and you can literally assume two characters built will be different, just because that many dimensions make it like shuffling deck of cards in the exact order twice.
It does have flaws. Damage against foes is fixed and used % adders and penalties. It's built to require exceptional mental arthimetic or have calculator on hand. Since you could have +20% from a martial art, and then +10% for a materia, but then the foe has -20% from their martial art, and then -90% from materia. There are rules for it.
It uses 1d10, for everything but in game gambling, which they have a system of using paper or RL cards to represent. The 1d10 has all kind of applications.
Other problems you'll encounter is beneficial and negation magic. Combat can take a long time because they allow for WAY too many actions or casting, like 5 or six each turn, and some you can activate for "free". So you have to just fix that by home rule of less casting, which makes it lower power, but MUCH easier to control. If you want buffs, you can't do as much. If you want to attack, you run the risk of a foe building up magic and then annihilating you.
The materia is also like "treasure" or artifacts. The GM hands out applications, and PCs have the option to develop artifical materia, which is a good way of cutting their teeth, but burns out quicker. Though you can fix that by taking (IIRC) a few months to develop artificial permanence materia, which makes them not burn out. The GM has to allow it though, and can choose to have you mana burn.
I forget the name of it though. I lost my book, but have notes on a word file I made almost two decades ago. MY notes are VERY incomplete though. I was a fun system. It was system that loved the history of magic. In the game world magic was like technology, certain materia simply don't exist in certain ages. They make sure you, the GM, know you don't have to use the game world, "levels" of materia don't mean they're linear. A magician could have zero 2nd level, a few 1st level and scads of 3rd levels. And the levels go up to 7th, and go as low as 1st. Everything below 1st just isn't a materia. Levels just imply potency and age correlation. No grinding necessary. Some levels have things that are quite useful for awhile, and some higher levels are only potent because they allow nuanced power that is universally powerful, but not purely awesome in any one field.
I hope I can find it again! If you do, let me know! It's very magical centric, just like RL technology throughout history. It's malleable and effects society. It gets very granular, but requires little XP or play-sessions total bookkeeping. IT values choices and opportunities over XP. The GM gives hooks and the players make choices.
In the "open-world" immersion of video games, this was a rare gem of PnP (pen and paper) RPG open-world. Everything was available with the right choices and opportunities form the gM, no grinding, but PLENTY of learning.
Like I said, I have no idea the name.I was a young man when I had the book. Which IIRC was a sky blue paperback with gold Celtic knots on the border, a picture of man walking toward a megalithic keep (a "place of power").
I know this doesn't help much. :S. I tried though. I loved that system. I wish I had appreciated it enough to remember the name, or keep the book. Let me know if you find it. I'd love to have it again. Though I'd imagine it's out of print. ;S.