Chapter 128.
PART 1.
Munshi drops Hatori in the Academy. “You won’t stay this year?” he asked.
“No.” said the necromancer. “I’m going home to relax.” Seeing the surprised face of Hatori, he explained. “I do have a home you know, despite traveling around the country.”
“Huh. good relaxing.” Wished Hatori, and he then went inside the school, while Munshi caught a ship to fly outside of this area and start his journey home.
As Hatori arrives in the dorms of James and Josh, he finds that all of his friends are already there. they greet him, and he greets them back. Shin observes the haggard expression of Hatori. “Looks like necromancy proved to be harder than you thought.”
“Not that,” said Hatori. “It is just cases.”
“Cases?” asked Raven.
“Yeah, it is like detective work.” Explained Hatori. “Except Munshi and I deal with souls and spirits. And some of these cases are just horrifying.”
He proceeds to tell them about the case that he had in Madras. Usually, Hatori would never talk about this to anyone, but everyone in this room has his complete confidence. “What a jerk.” Said Josh, disgusted to hear everything that Vikram did. “He should be in prison, not free.”
“True.” They all said in agreement.
“Also, please do not share this with anyone.” Said Hatori.
“Of course.” They all said.
“So, you’re bunking along?” asked Hatori to James.
“Yes.” Said James. “We got this entire room to ourselves. Apparently, given how most students are out, there is enough space for the older years.”
“Don’t forget, the natural culling of the classes also plays a role.” Reminded Raven. “Our own class has shrunk a lot since our first year.”
“To be honest though,” said Josh. “The school violence has been quite low in my reign.” Said Josh.
“Probably because of this guy.” Shin punched Hatori in the arm. “As long as they retain the memories of his rampages, they probably would keep a tight leash on their conspiracies.”
“Don’t put too much hope on that,” said James. “Just give them some time. they’ll be back to their usual tricks.”
“Why so cynical?” asked Shin.
“Because that is the truth.” Said James.
“No, you’re just a sourpuss.” Said Shin.
James didn’t like to hear that about himself. So, he lunged at Shin to grab him, but the boy evaded his grip. Ignoring the game of cat and mouse going on around them, Josh, Raven, and Hatori talk about their experiences this year.
PART 2.
Hatori comes out to see the Academy. it seems the same thing is happening, people coming back, and meeting with their friends. ‘I’m growing way too fast. Help!’ screamed Hatori in his head.
He then sensed two familiar magical signatures, so he directly followed them. grabbing the shoulders of the boy, he turned him around. “Haven’t seen you for a while.” he grinned at Liang.
“You too.” They shake hands.
“Hey, Maria, look who I’ve got with me,” said Liang.
“Hatori.” Said Maria, shaking hands with Hatori.
Liang slapped his back. “You should kiss the hand of a lady, you know.”
“Nah, not interested.” Said Hatori.
“What?” said Maria in outrage.
“You just keep getting taller and taller, aren’t you?” said Liang, comparing their heights. “Come to think of it, our president is becoming a giant himself. He is even taller than you are.”
“I met him earlier. I saw that,” said Hatori. “He is nowhere near strong as me though.”
“Pride comes before the fall.” Said Maria.
“Is it pride though if it is truth?” asked Hatori in return. “His muscles are soft. Besides, politics does turn you weak if you ask me.”
“No comment.” Said both the teens.
“Anyway, what’re you two doing?” asked Hatori.
“Nothing much. I’m studying the animals with Professor Prakriti.” Said Liang.
“Great Zhuge Liang, the animal expert.” Said Hatori with a smirk.
“What, is that wrong?” asked Liang, not understanding the reason for that smirk.
“Oh no, you’re good.” Hatori pats his shoulder. “What about you?”
“I’m studying astronomy.” Said Maria.
“You are?” said Hatori with surprise in his tone. “But I thought you need patience for that.”
“I am patient!” said Maria, once more getting furious at Hatori.
Hatori just smiled. It is too easy to make the girl angry. He walked around with these two for most of the day and then left for dinner with his friends.
PART 3.
At the dinner, Hatori realizes something. “You guys, I’ve realized something.” He said to his four friends. “Nandan just graduated, we won’t get to see him this year.”
“Oh yeah,” said Raven. “I forgot about that.”
“Careful now, you’ll need that memory this year,” said Shin.
“Shut it!” said Raven.
“I’m not a fan of dueling that much,” said James, “But I enjoyed listening to his experiences.”
“Yeah, the guy has gone to multiple countries, we won’t get to travel the fraction of it,” said Josh.
While Hatori is drinking his sugarcane juice, he senses a familiar signature coming closer to them. Shin whistles. “Ooooh. Daphne has filled out nicely.”
“Yeah,” said Josh. “She is participating in the dueling tournament this year.”
“Yep. And even with muscles, she looks good,” said Shin.
“I really don’t want to hear this.” Said Hatori.
“Why?” asked Daphne, having heard their comments. “Does that bother you that a girl could compete with you?”
Hatori spluttered for a moment, before taking a deep breath and trying to respond clearly. “Not really. But I’m not interested in the description of someone’s attractiveness.”
“So. Am I not attractive?” asked Daphne.
“That is a loaded question,” whispered Shin to Josh.
“Not at all.” Said Hatori with a straight face.
Taking the empty seat, Daphne starts to eat with them. “I was surprised though,” said Hatori. “I didn’t think you would be someone who might compete in dueling. I thought Ravina would be the one.”
“She is taking runes.” Said Daphne.
Hatori has his mouth opened in shock. “She, takes runes? What the hell is going on in this world? Daphne in dueling, Maria in astronomy, and Ravina in runes? The world doesn’t make any sense.”
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“At least you’re a necromancer.” Said Josh. “Why did you choose that field anyway?”
“Because I wanted to raise the army of dead, and concord the world,” replied Hatori.
“And what will you do after conquering the world?” asked Daphne.
“Easy. Turn it into the glass floor. No more humans to bother me. I’m sure the planet would thank me.” said Hatori.
“It wouldn’t. you would turn it into a glass floor, after all.” Said James.
“But imagine, a planet-size piece of glass, revolving around the sun, the most unique planet in the universe!” Hatori summons some more juice into his glass and continues to rant about this topic.
After a while, everyone started to ignore him and started to talk about some other topics.
PART 4.
After the dinner, Hatori is showing his runes, which have gone through some modifications. “It seems they have done something to my immune system.” Said Hatori.
“You’re right.” Said James. “Have you felt any effects?” he asked.
“Well, not really. I’ve not gotten any sickness in recent times though,” said Hatori.
“That doesn’t mean a thing.” Said James. “You might just go through a faze where you don’t get sick, and once it is over, might suffer from a crippling cold or something.”
Hatori shuttered at James’s theory. “Please don’t say that.”
“Let’s talk with Slaughter about this.” Said James.
The next day, they go to the healer. James is happy that he has something else to do beyond treating colds and pimples. Slaughter performs some diagnosing spells and looks at the results. “It seems your immune system has been modified. Did you do that yourself?”
“Yes.” Said Hatori.
“You are lucky that you’re not my student. I would have killed you on the spot for performing such a reckless bit of modification without consulting me.” said the healer. “Now, let’s test this.”
“Test it how?” asked Hatori, not wanting where this is going.
“Why of course, through old-fashion experimentation!” said the healer, bringing out a viol. “Drink this, and then I will perform some diagnosing spells on you again, to check the response.”
Hatori follows the instructions, hoping this won’t kill or cripple him. Slaughter waves his staff around, making Hatori dodge at one point since he nearly hit him. “Hmm. it seems your immune system has taken an aggressive approach. Anything foreign is exploded on the spot, and if something unknown arrives, it is deeply analyzed, then exploded or expelled, depending upon the danger. It also seems to be taking more energy to operate, though you won’t be noticing the effects yet.”
“Would normal medicines work on him then?” asked James.
“Of course they will. Remember, magical medicines have been created to work with modified mages as well. and an immune system like this, though rare, is not exactly impossible to find in the world.” said Slaughter. “Though I do suggest that if you ever suffer some serious illness or injury in the future, you take some specialized potions, created by a healer to accommodate your own immune system, rather than the generic solutions.”
PART 5.
Shin is meeting with Lavanya. Though their meetings are usually pleasant, this one is not. “Why didn’t you come with me to the dinner last night?” he asked bluntly.
“Because I didn’t want to.” She replied, also bluntly.
“Is this about my friends again?” asked Shin. He does remember how she called them not good for him, and especially Hatori a disabled brute.
He has not told them about that, but Shin didn’t talk to her for a month after she said those things, until she apologized. “Look, I understand why you’re so withdrawn.” Said Shin. “But you’re not helping anyone, least of all yourself, by cutting yourself off like this.”
“But, but how can I?” she started to cry. “They are not the people I knew, nor do they follow the values I grew up with.”
Shin hugs her. “I know. But as cruel as it may sound, you have to live within this world, there is no way for you to go back.” He said to her, trying to console her.
PART 6.
While Hatori is happy to meet with his friends and classmates, he is not interested in getting involved in the large crowd. so, he is eating his ice cream in the corner, not bothering anyone. His mother would throw such a fit if she saw him eating ice cream in the winter.
Avinash had other plans though. he summoned the ice cream from Hatori’s hand. “Oooohhhhh, the baby lost the ice cream. It was so easy, like taking candy from a baby’s hand.”
Hatori summoned the cold desert back into his hands. “I doubt it.” he takes another bite and waits for the headache to pass. “Babies have strong grips; it is not easy to take anything from them.”
“Oh, come on now, how hard could it be? Just go to a baby, snatch whatever they have, and go away. There’s nothing they can do beyond crying.” Said Avinash.
“Yeah, but that crying could summon their parents, and then you will be for one hell of a beating.” Said Hatori.
“Yeah, but we’re only talking about the babies themselves here,” argued Avinash.
“There is only one way to solve this debate.” Said Hatori. “Through experimentation. We just need a baby.”
“Now, where will we get a baby though?” wonders Avinash.
PART 7: WHY MAGES HAVE SUCH CLEAR RECORDS OF THEIR HISTORY.
There are many reasons why history can be unclear. Records are destroyed or lost or are written to give some false praise for one ruler or another. However, the mage kind has a very clear history, stretching back 4000 years, when the dimension was created.
The reason for this is The Institute of Magecraft and Sorcery. The institute employs historians who exclusively work for the organization, and given their neutrality, and living in the current times, often have access to the people who were part of some historical events, such as talking with the soldiers and generals of a war, and interviewing the survivors of a disaster.
The Institute recognizes the sensitivity of some information, therefore it releases it after 100 or 500 years have passed, depending upon the severity and impact of the events. some paranoid mages may think of spying attempts by the institute, indirectly and without knowing. However, the institute is completely neutral. No one has broken through their information vaults for 4000 years, and anyone who tries to do so is met with overwhelming violence.