Chapter 195

A Well-Deserved Vacation

“GUH! Finally.” I say out loud to myself as I activate the remaining Two hours and Fifty-Seven minutes of my Confidentiality. While I used the three key minutes that allow me to act without anyone’s awareness earlier in the morning, I find myself using the last three hours to distort the time that I will spend exploring the Arcanarus Tower.

Sniff.

As I arrive the sweet smell of murky tomes filled with ancient and forbidden lore and stories fill my nostrils as I realize I am in something that one could only claim as heaven. Yes, right now I find myself within a ghost library, but not just any library, one run by ghost fairies.

“Oh, the real one is here?” One of the little fairies cries out in excitement, from my exchanged thoughts with my Second Simulacrum, otherwise known as SS, I know that this one is called Illumiana, she is one of the lead fairies of this library and by all measures very capable magically speaking.

In fact, when my SS wasn’t reading most of her time she spent trying to learn from and investigate the magic used by the fairies. From what my SS could tell, they were highly proficient magic users, so the fact that they could tell that I was the real one was either due to their high degree of magical expertise, or the fact that they recognized my familiar bonded tattoo.

I’m going to lean towards the latter, but the former might be just as accurate.

Pausing for a moment, I try to take in the form of Illumiana, along with the forms of all of the other fairies that are trying to hide around us, close enough to eavesdrop, without actually being noticed. At least not by a person with regular vision. Seeing that Illumiana is right there, I take a moment to look at first her, then really inspect not just her but all of the other fairies around me.

Tingle.

While I am doing this, Zero is taking a moment to manifest himself from the tattoo on my arm and appear floating next to me.

“I don’t see it, Zero.” I say, as I turn my head away from Illumiana, and slowly face all the other fairies.

“I agree. I already told you that I agreed with you earlier.” Zero replied placatingly.

“I’m sorry, is there anything I can help with?” A confused Illumiana asks.

Sigh.

“No, it’s just that well, never mind.” I was about to say it, but then lacked the wording on how to accurately state my concern.

“We must apologize, the Doctor here was teaching a class and one of the students said something that Dr. Spiritlight here took as offensive.” Zero replied for me.

“Oh dear, what did the student say, we will curse them with the mange all over their body. We will make it so the only hair they grow is in the form of a thick unibrow that will grow back within an hour, despite how much grooming they perform daily.” Illumiana spoke animatedly, and as she did the other fairies that were all within ear shot began angrily flapping their wings as they began crying out in agreement.

Seeing them all willing to stand up for me, made me instantly tingle inside, “ahh.”

“You do realize that this is part of why that student made the observation right? The fact that you are at the very least entertaining this thought proves that you somewhere might have an inclination to this way of thinking.” Zero noted as he turned his snout towards me.

Hearing this, I let out a sigh of frustration, and realize I can’t even think of these little fairies all coming to my defense as cute.

“Fine, you are correct Zero,” I state to Zero, then wanting to get out before this develops further and I have to explain what exactly was said to tick me off before my weekend getaway of exploring, I decide to leave. “Illumiana, and everyone. I have to say first, thank you all for your assistance and patience in letting my Simulacrum stay and read and learn from your lore.”

“Anything for you princess Spiritlight.” A squeaky cute fairy, Elliara, states as she gets closer and looks at me.

“Thank you Elliara,” I state turning to the fairy, who always tried to provide my Simulacrums with magically infused treats of some kind. My Simulacrum never took them, but did do experiments on them finding that they were magically psychotropic in some way that used Mind magic and Alchemy in new baking forms that would likely be a big hit with the older audiences. That said, I decided to get the recipes, but not do anything with them for the moment.

“Ahh, she knows my name!” Elliara states excitedly, then begins to dart upwards as if she jumped for excitement and then did a quick twirl, before doing a loop and ending right back where she started from.

Seeing her move, I couldn’t help but feel like I was witnessing something beautiful. Almost like it was a special moment in time set aside for me and me alone to see. Others had apparently come to this floor, many sought refuge within the confines of the library, but only I was allowed to freely read the books here. Anyone else who came was often hexed or cursed, depending on the severity of their transgressions and how much they angered the fairies present. A few times my Simulacrums would also help stop individuals who were hurting the fairies. Even going so far as to bring a few back to life with Resurrection. Fortunately, when they used our joint pools of energy I was otherwise engaged with non-magical affairs, but I did notice the use. It wasn’t until that night when our minds merged with the day’s events that I understood exactly what happened.

Just as I was thinking all of this while watching how the fairies react to my presence, Zero is right there to pull me together and yank the rug right out from under me.

“You don’t see how others could possibly confuse your Developmental Focus?” He asks, making the core concept of Developmental Focus, or in this case Bloodline Attuning Developmental Focus sound like he is mocking the thought.

“You know, I think I liked you better as a bad girl rebelling from her father tattoo.” I quip.

“Well, you wouldn’t have to hear me talk, if we weren’t standing still.” Zero states, a bit of impatience in his voice.

With that, I pause and see Zero’s current actions. That’s when I notice the slight traces of agitation, the barely restrained trembling of his muscles as he seems to jitter in place. The way he twitches almost anxiously, that’s when I realize what is happening to him and I can help but laugh at the thought.

Chuckle.

“What is it?” Zero asks in an increasingly agitated tone.

At that, I just laugh loudly, confusing Zero and all of the other fairies that are just staring at the two of us.

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“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s just you, you are too cute. If you needed me to walk you, then you should have just said so.” I state.

Stillness.

For a moment, the world seems to pause as Zero looks shocked at my statement, all of the fairies momentarily forget to flap their wings, while still remaining floating in the same exact position.

Then after that one brief moment reality seems to kick in as everyone moves all at once.

“What, I do not…” Zero begins, but is quickly cut off as dozens of laughing fairies drown out his voice from under a cacophony of prankster glee.

“He does, oh that is so cute.” Illumiana chimes in, seeing the same things that I saw, and drawing the same conclusion.

“I know,” Mezeranda, another fairy chimes in and continues the ridicule of poor Zero in the cutest tiny voice. “Does the widdle dragon need to water the bushes?”

“I’ll water your…” Zero begins.

“Whoa there, it is time to go.” I state, grabbing Zero and quickly Teleporting the two of us out of the fairy controlled library.

Poof.

Zero looks like he was about to snarl at a fairy, one who was no longer directly in front of him. He then pauses to realize that our location has changed to be well outside of the library. With that he pauses and looks at me, “you can Teleport the two of us?”

“Yeah, worked on it right after I realized my personal Self Teleport wasn’t up to the task.” I state.

Hearing that, Zero pauses for a moment, then lets a bit of the ire within him drop. It’s odd watching him, as I watch him slowly deflate, the longer we are away. It is almost like seeing that he was becoming enraged for some reason.

“You okay?” I ask.

“Yeah, well I am now.” Zero replies a bit of sadness in his voice as he no doubt realizes he was getting increasingly agitated.

“Sorry about the needing to take you on a walk comment. You are not a dog and you did not deserve that.” I state.

“No, you were correct, I did need to get out of there. It’s just the way they took your cue and then all focused in on me. It was unnerving.” Zero stated, a note of concern to him.

Thinking back, I could see it, almost like a pack of barracudas smelling blood in the water and all turning their attention to the wounded creature who would serve as an easy meal.

“Took my cue?”

“Yeah, they all fed off of you. Everything they did all seemed to be for your benefit. In fact, if I had to guess, I would say that was why they were all afraid to join in originally, as they didn’t want to draw your ire.”

“You think they were afraid of me?” I ask, thinking back and trying to think of any of them that were afraid of me.

“Not of you, but of the idea that you might not find them worthy of your attention in some way. It was frightening in a way, seeing their magic ready to come to life in protection of you.” Zero noted.

“Well, I have saved a few of them, via my Simulacrums, so that likely means something.”

“That’s not it, and you know it.” Zero states, turning his snout so his eyes would stare straight forward into mine. Of course, we are both blind in our natural eyes, thanks to both of us having Angel’s Sight, but we know the importance of these gestures.

As such, I pause and stare into Zero’s eyes and begin to try to truly internalize what he is saying.

“So you think it too?” I ask, of course referring back to the comment one of my students from my Joint Bloodline Exploration class that I just held.

With that Zero just stared back for a moment, no doubt figuring out how to tell me yes, without being too mean about it.

“What do you think about the comment?” Zero asks.

I pause and let a myriad of my own thoughts roll through my head at that. Then before I get too deep in thought, I just start stating what I am thinking and let it all pour out in a stream of consciousness form.

“I found it overall very rude, and almost thought that he was trying to tell a particularly bad joke. If it wasn’t for the fact that no one laughed, only proved how bad the joke was. At least that is what I thought at first, but then apparently everyone thought that the comment was the case.” I state, then pause, before continuing. “Now, seeing the response from the fairies here, I almost feel that it was more pronounced and I can’t quite deny the fact that I too feel a bond with them. More so than I felt when I first came to this floor. Originally, we were just a group of bibliophiles who held a secret book club in a private library, but now there is more to consider. Then I ask the important question.

“Do you think my observations were off?”

“When it comes to anything magically or energy related, even something as ephemeral as bloodlines and how to awaken them, I have learned to never doubt your insights.” Zero states.

With that I nod, not wanting to address the elephant in the room. For that was the only part of the logic chain that could possibly break the conclusion of not only what that student said, but also what my future evolution into the Mythical stage of bloodline evolutions would entail.

Seeing that I was lost in thought, Zero fortunately took control of the conversation and let us actually begin our further ascent upwards.

“You ready to continue your climb upwards?” Zero asked.

Hearing him, I could only nod in agreement. For a moment I thought about summoning my wings and lowering my weight, two spells that have become staples of mine of late, but then to my chagrin I realized they were still summoned. Then I have the thought, do I ever unsummon them?

Realizing I was mostly lost in contemplation Zero rises up in the way only a floating dragon can, swimming gracefully up a seemingly nonexistent waterfall. I of course follow, letting him dictate the pace as I think back to my class and how we ended up here on such a bad note.

***

(One Hour Ago)

“Welcome class. As many of you are already members of either my Qi or Magic related courses, I should be fairly easy to spot by now. My name is Dr. Spiritlight, and today will be the first of weekly courses that you all have already been made aware of. Next week, we will move this joint class from Friday to Wednesdays, at the same time as now, where we will proceed to go over what to expect when it comes to awakening a bloodline and what to expect when your bloodline fully activates within your body.” I begin, feeling like I am rambling, but no one says or passes notes, honestly it would be sort of odd having so many people staring at me with such intensity, but I am sadly getting used to this odd sensation by now.

“This is going to be a shortened class, as my main purpose for having this class before the weekend is that I want you all to begin thinking about your long-term homework assignment for this class. Namely, by the time this class is over, you should be able to understand three core concepts when it comes to bloodlines.”

Silence.

I could be talking to a room of zombies, except I can feel and sense the way everyone seems to be holding their collective breaths, as if breathing too loudly would cause them to miss a word.

Realizing there is nothing else to this, no lifeline, no one to ask questions and help me see what the students would be interested in, I continue on, mostly going off the cuff.

“The first key concept is that your bloodline can be as powerful as you allow it, just realize that with each source of power you will also experience a weakness. Now, I do not want this to be a classroom where we come in and tell everyone, and therefore the world our weaknesses. Rather, this is to let you know that the more power you wish to awaken in yourself, you will need to learn that that power will come from something else. Thus, this first concept can be summarized into one word.”

* Power

Gasp.

With that, I have the word power presented in the air before us all using Illusion magic. Finally, some of the students responded by letting out the air they had been holding. This is good, I would hate to have to Resurrect a whole classroom of students just to keep teaching them.

“This of course plays into the second key pillar to understand about bloodlines, in that the more power you want to awaken in your bloodline, the more resources it will cost to first awaken. Additionally, there will be a balance. You want the ability to increase your power with a particular affinity of magic, it might cost you your ability to use a secondary affinity. You want to be good at all magic, well you will need to find great resources to facilitate this transformation of your body, and then upon receiving that benefit, you will have to have a detriment that is equally detrimental. You want ultimate power, then you radiate power like a furnace to those who are awakened. You want even more power, then not only do you radiate power like a furnace, but you can share your flames of powers with others. There is always a balance, and that is the second pillar that you must understand in this equation.”

* Power

* Balance

This time the students were prepared for the visual aid, and kept quiet, but just tilted their head at the sudden appearance of the new word floating before them. Again, I was still on my own, as I apparently was going to get through all my semi-planned material early and going to have to call it a day. Oh well, more time to explore.

“This of course leads to the third and final core concept that I want you all to spend the majority of your weekend focusing on, and that is intent. Just as you use your intent to cast a spell, so too do you need to use your intent to guide your awakening process. If you truly wish to make the most of this opportunity that has been given to you and all of your future offspring, you must focus your will on where you want to ultimately end up. This last part is possibly the most crucial and will help bring out the truest depths of your bloodline’s potential, in a pillar we will refer to as a concept.”

* Power

* Balance

* Concept

“Ohh.”

With that everyone seemed to be impressed with the three concepts. I stood there, wondering if anyone had anything to say. If they wished for any clarifying information, but apparently all of these students were just as ready for the weekend as I was.

“Any questions?” I ask.

Silence.

Yeah, this class was officially my least favorite.

“All right, if there is nothing else. Then you all are free to go enjoy your weekends. I will remain around for a few minutes to answer any questions you might still have.”

Of course, this was when everyone got up and crowded around me, and began asking me questions.

They asked questions that I couldn’t think up the true answer to, so I deflected as much as possible and improvised for the rest.

“What components do I need to awaken my bloodline?” One overly energetic male student asked.

Yeah, like I know that off the top of my head. Most of my bloodline evolutions were either noted in quests, or just random encounters. Yet, with this kid staring right at me, I know I have to give something, so I try the ancient mysterious master approach.

“Once you have accepted and internalized your concept, all future actions will be irrelevant, as they will all ultimately lead you to who you wish to become.” I state.

With that a few of the students who gathered around began to nod. A few took a step back, not wishing to leave, but apparently having their question answered, but waiting around to hear what else I might be able to pull out of my…

“As you stated, there is a balance that is required for a truly powerful bloodline. Can you stop yourself from awakening a bloodline in an effort to find components that might drive down the costs?” A female student asked, who appeared to be trying to awaken a bloodline on an unlimited budget.

“Why would you stop yourself from becoming the strongest version of yourself? Only if you doubt the version of yourself that you are going to become, should you avoid trying to reach your true potential.” I answer.

“Oh.”

A number of students chime in on that one.

After that, I was asked a deluge of questions until finally I was asked the ultimate question that caused me to lose my temper.

I remember it exactly, the male student came forward, and without any malicious intent asked me in all seriousness about my personal concept.

“When it comes to your core concept. Did you always know that you wanted to be a fairy princess?”

And just like that, class was over.