COI C83
The gangs entered the secret realm as something had happened, they look inside and found a toy duck standing at space. It turns around looking at them then look at the other direction and proceed to leave. It was weird and kind of awkward, they felt a strange threat lurking inside, then a toy duck suddenly appeared. The same duck that been wondering around the city since the summer.
“There goes that duck again”
“And now it is here, come and go. What’s going on with this city?”
“Shamanism is such a creepy sight when people start using it”
“Don’t forget some spirits are goblins within them, probably that duck is a goblin”
All of them laugh “Yeah, right”
One of the gangs who reside on this area, watching them being a nuisance. A defector finds this place as this is where the people misplaced from being transfer to this world. The man who is also part of the framed like the shield student and the rest of the neighborhood. The neighborhood is becoming more sceptic thanks to the incident happened from Mihayara district. Accusing him including them without being involved, and thanks to a specific gangster trying to frame the others to cause disorder in this part of the streets.
Yes, this man was defected but someone like him was not suspicious enough from the other tenants. A “villain” like him shouldn’t be next to ruin someone else’s, besides, everyone has magic power and they will overwhelm him if they tried. Even if he is knockout and exposed from the moon, then he is going to have a coma when he didn’t sleep for days.
“Sigh* What’s the deal with those guys trying to bully other people. Try being a corrupt official for once, you can get money while harassing . . . Hmm?”
The man feels his body weakening for some reason, putting himself yawning occasionally. “Fuck it! That fucking moon is acting up again”
He went back to sleep as the moon light sizzling the sky of the city’s dome. Haw was here for a moment, already did something to this place with the help of Sanquin. Powers from her own magic suppressed their aggressive tendencies. Everyone is relaxed and start to feel less anxious, a temporary solution and deceptive blow to their minds. Once their worries and fears gathered from her magic, they have to focus now the things they have in mind without trouble.
During the night, Kombat texted his nephew,
“Alright, I hope you know what you are doing. Just rest easy and don’t make me regret to have “Enders” demon take you away from me. Your mother will kill me if I let you by gone”
“Don’t worry about it, teacher Haw is a good teacher”
“Good teacher? He rewards you with the most advance equipment you find from his crafting book and I saw your videos how the elves use such dangerous items, and you believe he is a good teacher?”
“Yeah (smiling emoji)”
“I’ve never been so proud as an uncle”
“LOL”
He looks outside and feels something off tonight, he probably thought his nephew have somewhere to go when this paranoia happened within this part of the area. If it does happen, he hopes his business won’t be affecting him from those rumors. These people around him are bunch of misfits, but does what they get when they get emotional when they heard they can’t go home yet. What will his sister would say when she had to wait for her son to come home a bit longer? Kombat says to himself
“One misunderstanding will be enough to ruin to the most sensitive individual”
The adventurers including Silfa’s younger sister and the doll trying to talk out to Sanquin as they wish for her to stay a bit longer. Sanquin checks her cosmetic fake watch as her time is almost up
“. . . Don’t be, I am always being acted on a whim. My past experience put the best of me, but the magic I place on this new recruit. I would love to talk to Heist about things about your city and you people alike. I can tell your eyes are gazing the idea to learn some magic from me but mana control is needed”
Her cosmetic watch starts blinking telling the magic circle from their base is acting up. She looks at them apologizing for the last time then ignores them and look at the shield student.
“I expect you to help your uncle or anyone with the best of your abilities. Be prepared to face dangers sooner than you finishing your education”
They watch her leave the garden, leaving Ironno behind while looks at them feeling disappointed and curious at the same time. It is something rare for Sanquin to do it in public, and the magic she used create such commotion to others.
Ironno said to them “A sudden changed of impression”
“I don’t know about you, but it is affecting us for some reason”
Silfa can’t explain why, but she felt inspired. Altair and Illtended come to their side as they were identifying Sanquin’s magic.
“From what we are trying to read what abilities and magic she was using before, it is complicated”
“Complicated, could you just show us from your UIs?”
“Listen to Altair, it is complicated because there is no proper definition. Her actions are channeling spells by using martial arts, and the aura she has just pushed the garden under her control to move and containing her mana”
Illtended shows them the bizarre detail, through animation nonetheless, and shows how she use her magic. Her aura gives unrecognizable force that none of them experience. Able to share the strength and magic on the shield student once she let him use it. Trying to replicate the magic she did, Altair carefully uses his magic item, water droplets, to see the remnant of the magic one of the plants. One drop on the ground, a magic wave spread where density of magic already feinted by elven magic. As it should be for the elven garden.
Tracing carefully where the Sanquin’s magic remains. Beyond their eyes as they see arts and eye-catching craft in motion, slowly interacting itself as it goes. From start to finish, the feint mana began to move, same movement where she last casted through the shield student. Not knowing that she controls him or bless him through her hidden divine magic, Sanquin has so much variations for her spells. All the spells she lay on were raw but uncontrollable mana. This unstable mana she brought is her doing.
They felt at lost how did she used such a thing and Sanquin has such a power. Altair can’t find the way how she processed it, it ended as it was made like she is conjuring a spell.
“Neutral mana, this is something I am wondering why it’s called that”
He turns to look at Ironno as if he knows, everyone joins in Altair’s gaze as they start wondering about the name. Ironno brushes off their stares and talk to the shield student.
“Shield student, I assume you wanted to start right now”
“Now!? But I am tired after that thing she did”
He sighs “I prefer now, if any time with the students who are here. This is should’ve been our test to you”
Ironno brought out a scrap book, from Juela herself, it was with them since the day she gave it to Haw form the day they entered the city. Experimental but already stated facts among their first night of research with Myrrkei and the rest of the magic users. All gathered together with simple details. He opens the book, but it has nothing on it. He gives it to the shield student. His UI pops up as it says Sanquin’s blessings activated. The scrap book reveals the secrets inside, the first chapter it says sprung the curious eyes of the adventurers.
Silfa turns to her younger sister. “Call your friends?”
“What!? Why?”
“Your friend is going to learn how to use mana control too”
“Really? I heard it took sometimes to master it”
“Read the book and see why”
Joanne took a peek from the book and sees where her older sister is pointing at.
“. . . I figure out how they can control their power effectively and no time to practice it. The sequence of them of using their magic is impressive but easily tamed from one of my guildmembers. It’s like playing catch but dangerously even. Myrrkei’s spectre potion managed to manipulate their powers because they just throw away their excessive mana for it grow stronger. They are not committed the laws of magic . . .”
After reading the section of it, Joanne didn’t get it and Silfa has to explain it to her “It is the same goes of controlling mana, if you are going to use it excessively. The neutral mana can be used by anyone”
“That’s what I am wondering too, but is there in the guide in this book”
Gemina grabs the book where the shield student turns the next page. “Sorry kid, but this page is me all over it”
“Hey!”
The buzzling around the book leaving the others waiting for them to explain it. Ironno pulls the shield student to him and guide him out from the garden. Still busying reading the book, they followed them as they are motivated to learn about it.
Joanne calls out the rest of her friends inside the vacant house as they are going to train how to use their mana. They got excited, even they were now sleeping, left their beds and proceed to go to the surface. They made it out from the underground structure as they are facing the mage. The same mage who fought the Rogue and lost, his hand is healed but his demonic presence exposed to them. Ironno asks him
“Care to mind to teach them to use their mana correctly”
“You mean that woman who finally want to learn to use her magic properly, her magic is bad but her skills what beaten me”
“No, I’m trying to teach my guild’s new recruit”
“Recruit!?”
The mage flashes forward staring at the boy, then he sees more coming from the underground entrance. Ironno walks back to them and get the book, he gives it to him as he touched the book already read it to his own hand. Then he gives it back
“It is hypothetical claim, but almost identical to what they try to accomplish. Yes, it is possible to use magic effectively without practice and more to have their original strength intact”
The other mages see more people coming here to practice. All of them are Agatheans as they watch how that demon studies them.
With bare knowledge to the point of from the scrapbook, the mage had no experience as a human, an Isekai citizen, it is troubling for him to analyze their given traits and abilities. Even he was given the basic knowledge through the internet they given to him. His mind carefully hastens to give them a good powerful example to control their mana. Ironno brings the shield student to him and ask the mage what abilities he wanted to have.
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“Teacher Ironno, can he teach me how to use powerful spells”
“No, any abilities that you think you can master and we are going to use it against a stronger counterpart”
Quick and nothing for the other students to complain about. The example would be him using his weak abilities. The shield student picks one where the mage and the other mages from the back hears his requested ability.
“A shield maybe”
“This young boy has no taste of weak magic”
“Huh!? Why?”
“A shield is a strong resisting defensive magic. Even we give you a weak version of it, there is no magic would be that simply break easily. Ehem, it would be possible if you try to use it”
“Ok?”
The student casts his magic shield. The mage tries to tap it with his finger, one poke and shield begins to corrupt. Their eyes shook as if something wrong with it, the mage speaks
“Come to me”
The student’s shield was taken away and now in the hands of the mage, his demonic eyes are showing in front of them. No sense of horror, but a display of his magic.
“Truly no control”
“Sorry”
“It’s fine, newly apprentice like this have known to create but no control whatsoever. Now let me show you how I use your shield”
The shield materialize as its magic presence is gone massively. He raises the shield high and casts a spell on himself.
“Silence!”
He was silent as he was when the Rogue did, like any before leaving his spell unattended. The shield persists to exist on his arm. He can’t speak but writings appearing from the shield as itself is interacting.
“Once the link between you and your spell are gone, what you have are turned to the very existence from the mana you have gathered. The downside it feels real and will hurt anyone like any object”
He picks up a rune item then clash it with the shield, shatter marks appeared, he continues “But the natural law of mana continues on”
The mage breaks off his silence and give the shield back to him. The student tries to pick it up but it weighs down from his hand as if he is carrying something heavy, he buffs his stats as he eventually carries it with ease.
“Good job, now try to return it to your control”
The mage slowly waning the shield as it fades. The student tries to take it back to his control, he managed to but return back to his expected magic shield. He did it
“I managed to control it but I didn’t manage to hold your spell”
The students see their interaction to be simple as they look at it, but the mage didn’t give up as he can do one more thing for him. He brings out another rune item, a necklace, and place it around his neck.
“If you succeed it, then there is no one could ever believe that your magic can be manipulate. Now anyone of you people want to test him”
One of the students raises their hand “I do, we tried using our craft item before. His shield breaks when I used it”
He pulled out from his inventory and it was an ivory bone harpoon.
The mage looks at it in shock. “That bone looks like is coming from an elk”
“It is from an elk we hunted down”
The mage turns to see the shield student one more time as his eyes looking terrified, it feels strange for a demon to look so worried for him using a harpoon. The adventurers notice it too
“Are you worried?”
“Getting hit from an elven gods’ creation is something painful to bear, I am worried because if that harpoon has more effective properties. I doubt you will be healthy when that elven magic scarred you”
The shield student starts to worry because how the mage explains it, but his classmate reassures him. “It’s alright, I didn’t add any magic. It doesn’t want to mix my spells”
Both students step aside as they test his shield, with the necklace starts to compress the mana he had. He feels like being squeezed and the shield he is holding feels heavier and denser than he had before.
“Are you ready?”
“Yeah”
“Then shield up!”
The other student throws his harpoon at his shield. His outer aura breaks easily, then reaches the shield. The shield student knocked back as he slides backward. The harpoon was deflected back as it is pulled back to the other student’s hand.
“Whoa! It didn’t stick on your shield this time”
The student who sparred with him had always stuck to them whenever he hit it. This is the first time they see someone bounces off the harpoon.
The mage is surprised and pick the shield student up
“That is one lack of experience you got there. How are you feeling?”
“Bad, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck”
“It is the same feeling when you’re carrying a normal shield as a newbie”
He tries to pick up his shield but phases through his hand. The shield student notices him picking it up but couldn’t. He takes his shield but continue to phase through the mage’s hands. Everyone looks at the two as they both tries to interact with it. The mages ordered him to pick it up himself, and the students grew ever so more bewildered what he saw.
The shield student picks it up while the mage still phasing through, between real or the mage is messing with him. He slowly gets a hand of his shield as an object but no one could touch it. The mage tries to test it again by his touch one more time. He touches it again and the pulsive wave backs fire at him as he steps back, again he ordered him to let it phase through then it he couldn’t touch it. The mage sees what the shield student thinks
“You chose your shield to only to deflect but can’t be use to bash with it”
“Well yeah, I want my shield to block”
“And I can’t steal it, everyone, try stealing his shield”
The students follow just that, and nobody couldn’t steal it and made the shield student excited.
From across the distance, Thean with the other mages sees the joy of the students. They were mix about it, but it will happen if they figure it out. He eavesdrops one of the Agathean mages.
“That’s kind of power is the equivalent of military veterans, who are above their 40s”
“And that young boy think he could reach that kind of ranks”
“They have mana for sure, but they need to reach that level when they have to survive the demons habiting inside their dungeons”
Thean reacted “Dungeons!”
The mages turn around and look at Thean “Oh, yes dungeons. You didn’t know?”
“Tell me”
“Enders were surveying the area, bad news coming from the nests that they were harvested”
Harvested, a term to tell among other Agatheans that the people from the inner realm are out from the city and continue to collect more materials. A taxidermist happened from the inner realm that is dangerous enough to harm anyone inside the city. Thean understood that something is going on within those ‘dungeon’.
“Yeah, I still don’t believe that they said there are still more treasures inside”
“Focus on first about the harvest, if it is true then they might harvest it”
“They have one of those fail safes, they can escape”
“Yeah, for how many times until they learn how to stop it”
“Don’t worry about them, I have not yet heard about their fail safe failed, ha”
Thean wasn’t sure about that. First and Second have already left the city, he don’t know when will they come back and the pay they have is good enough for them for a while. Even He kept inside his magic bag is sealed away inside this very fort, because the Jigeram will break it a little bit. That news made him worry, he heard the Rogue wanting to go back out to the dungeon to continue her, from what she likes to call it ‘farming’. He is going to get busy tomorrow when the Rogue wakes up. Thean steps back for a bit as he watches the students.
The next morning, Andui and the others heard from the students about staying here for another day. Tomorrow they will leave as they were promised to learn how to use control. Iggy wants to see it as much as the others worried about the student to actually learn how to, Reya seems to be eager and Siren on the other hand is curious the difference between their recent power and learn how to use control. They go outside and sees Ironno and Rusic are helping the students, but Haw wasn’t there
“Where’s Haw?”
“I don’t know, Sanquin teleported him away and never seen him since. Meanwhile Sanquin left as she returns to the base”
Reya uses her magic to track Haw once more, looking through the time he left, the magic from Sanquin blocks her traces where he was after leaving the island. Last trace was him in the middle of the MIhayara district closed park, then proceed to walk across the highway then stop and rest on one of the hotels. He is now with someone else and bring him to the city guild, with such circumstances, Reya shouldn’t be teleporting him now where he is in.
“The guy got caught after the other”
“Where is he then, Reya?”
“Somewhere in the city guild, I don’t want to intrude his business”
Experiments throughout the more than 30 students try to muster up the spells they chose to control. The mages are helping them to null their spells, yet powerful, they carried runes with them to block the setback. A barrier lied inside and the carved runes on the ground to negate every possible incident. Rusic and the other dwarves were not amused to see many students trying their best, or even trying is hard to define among these groups.
“These lads are persistent in one thing, but didn’t accept the other magic they can use”
“With the runic necklace in hand, they think it is possible. Hay! They can do other things beside this”
Ironno and the shield student were busy doing something else. Base on the Raker Mawn seal on the student’s shoulder, many guild items left for the recruits quickly study him and his abilities. Soon that he will quickly obtain the control than his classmates behind him, their grubby hands on the necklace last night made them wish to keep it. The downside of that necklace is that their range abilities are weak while the aura compact and won’t let it go. Miserably not gaining anything from the outside mana sources. The results are in.
Along with the shield student’s translation helps him read and also warned him about his conditions. The results were likely match what qualifies as a heavily built and at the same time highly intelligent person. It’s quite bothersome, but something provided to him made him a bit little confident for now. The student requires to have his natural body need to be exposed the world around him, be better off inside of this fort instead of the moon rays light on to the city. The other ones are letting to experience stress, mental stress, to endure what limits of magic will harm him.
Easy, simple, but hard to end his habit to always using his mana. Gripping something on his collar, supposed to be the necklace but it was already taken away, the student watches Ironno places one of his magic scrolls to his hand. Enders magic, leeching mana, to his hand and Ironno said to him
“It won’t be easy, but it would be best to experience what your body have to be exposed off. It will take an entire day, and I don’t know the others will be agreeing to have my time on you than what they were expecting”
“I know, it is going to be the first time your people helping us”
“Not exactly”
“Huh?”
Sanquin mentioned to him about the adventurers who are staying in Enders Bridge. They somehow managed to control their mana to the slightest of their skills. It was after their exposure to this world made them sick, thankfully, they survived the nature’s best health conditions that both Alga’s and Jigeram couldn’t reach, the bacteria. These microorganisms were hard to believe to be the actual local species of this world. Obtaining these bacteria, either be good or bad, help the body to adapt. Slowly evolving their bodies only through the next generations.
It was already been known, but doubtable to be the solution if they make it into a medicine. Mflaiesh (Shaman’s preserve plague) and dark blood lurker (Rune Isles common mana attracting disease) were the deadly examples, relating to succumb the mana and turn anyone that drove to harming host or others. Either way, the fastest one is letting a bit of exposure is enough but won’t be strong enough to harm the mind. It won’t be the case with these people. The Agatheans mentioned the quantity of their mana is something they can make out of. Just like them to have certain magic to their control, it is possible to grow with that magic rate.
Years of masteries among the local, because of their limited quantity of mana. Aged so slightly for the magic to grow from a small seed to the size that fits their mana capacity. To them, they can do more but there is no life that instantly grown and mature in such a short time, if it did, it will be frail and quickly pick off the natural forces outside. It is the natural order. This mana is theirs anyway, made it orderly until the other mana types send to this world destroying themselves until they harmonize together. Such complicated studies.
The shield student feels the mana is compressing him, his exposed flesh and blood begin to squirm where pain he had forgotten for how long. His experience when sparring and hunting are easy to forget, but this moment, it is different. He turns his head and sees the two elves looking at him. Feeling the pain is opening up from him through his muscles, he was frozen still and something inside him wasn’t magic. His body won’t move and everything around him turns to a blur. Everyone sees him as his magic dissipates for some reason.
The elf said to him “Be careful. Don’t force yourself, your body needs to adjust”
The shield student’s legs are starting to tremble and Ironno carries him up, continuing in his state. He finally starts to feel this world’s atmosphere. His breathing gets heavy and his senses loses focus. Everyone tries to heal him, but the elves stop them.
“There’s no need to, he lost his gift”
The shield student looks at the notification as it starts to fade away, leaving note behind, a warning, and he tries to say it
“You’re deleting important parts of the system, please don’t remove of it or it will never function other parts of the UI after it removed”
Through his last tired breath, the mana around him is gone while Ironno and the elves see the UIs in front of them.
“What is this?”
“It’s an UI, it sends us guidance and information about this world”
The mage looks at this UI as they shook and more importantly threaten by it. None of them knows, as the others surrounding them didn’t notice at all. A message coming to this student, while the others know about it. Too familiar and too coincidental to be helpful among them. He tries to talk to the adventurers
“Since when did you have it?”
“We have it from the beginning, why? Do you guys have it too?”
He hid his intention “No, I have experience to see someone who had it before. Those screen tools . . . wait, I mean menus to the sort. Other worlders also have one of those, but less refine like this”
He shows them the image he saw from those UIs from the past. The adventurers look at it and it looks about right, but it looks alien to see among the texts.
“Whoa, I never thought there something like that from other worlds. Yet, why are you so worried about it?”
“Sometimes, they weren’t meant a tool but a weapon. I believe it is their warehouse to keep equipment hidden”
“It’s all good, thanks for clarifying”
The elves brought the student away as he quickly put him into his room, Ironno in the meantime ask the students “Do you still want to continue? This process will be the beginning of the mastery of your magic. Either you like it or not, the down side what you saw last night will hurt either you and your enemies. But in full control, you can handle you magic without any interference except being silence. Your mana has no need to worry when countered. Except for rune items and the rest”
They look at his scrolls, that leech of the student’s mana, and it did miraculously open a gap and exposed something from this area. What makes him feel the excruciating reaction when he let his mana off is when told through from the instruction. In the end, they continue and everyone who was invited from Sanquin were experiencing their developed mana control. They all fell asleep as soon they received it one by one, Ironno and the others start to say something as they sleep. They will be able to control their mana if they continue to hone their skills, and would be able to face more dangerous foes.
The Agatheans stretch themselves in relief even the mage who is a demon himself “I’m glad we remove the source of their contact. Easily removing it seem to be proven one thing, it’s not from the gods but something else”
“That thing access them from the beginning from what I heard from the students and the adventurers”
“It doesn’t matter, the thing is they can now obtain the skills they need to do, by the way. How do you know this, Enders?”
“Words spread from my city. They must be returning home by now after their walking through the region”
On the same day, people who learn to use magic in Enders Bridge arrived at the border. The look of their eyes had proven to be livelier as they finally get home. Their stats open partially of their UI and limited as the system is under their personal control. The exposure reached 40%, their healers gathered them around as she casts her controlled magic. She starts chanting
“By the blessing of our great lord and savior . . .”
“Stop! Get over with it, I’m starting to feel dizzy from your high chanting tone than the dusts washed me dry out of my mana”
“. . . bless these fools . . .”
“AAH!”
The healer casts cleanse on them, flowing through inside and exploded out like glass, they checked their exposure as it is now 10%.