COI C42
“Then it’s agreed, we will have to finish this after ‘summer’?!”
First learns after what their calendar is, with great effort they calculated it with their own. The 5 moon cycles of this world turned into 4 seasons. Enough from his sarcasm, he proceeds to set up a schedule.
“For the last three weeks will be the start of this school, hoping that lockdown will end too. The first week will be the preparation, second week is for finishing the update, and finally the rest will be improving the sphere. The rest of you who wants to improve the room will be yours”
They are in the cafeteria having their lunch, more like late lunch. It is already 3pm but it is worth it for the other teachers as Second is making the food. Because of what happened as he was fell unconscious, and they seem to be eager for his meals rather what the city had to offer. Unique taste or buff involved recipes, this Agathean had great skills in cooking. Such delicacies in their patience were uplifting to most of them. The teachers were taking too long to do anything around the city, yet, having new innovated entertainment inside their homes. There is nothing much more enjoyable for a hard days’ work.
The reason for them to assemble themselves back to school is the new education plan made from the department of education. Only way to ease the boredom and the numbness between their daily lives are to improve the school facilities. Hardly only a handful joins because of Second’s was there, and its free food. Others with their own lifestyle improving while the others couldn’t relax by just lazing around, they are diligent as they were back home.
“Then this entire week, will be on hold. Quail, is there any opportunity for us to help the project?”
“Us too, we have our old appliances to be thrown away but it’s just a waste”
The teachers are relying now on their devices, with magic and technology improving. All appliances are dependent on their devices. Inside their UI inventory where all the things they have. Preserve and not exposed by the outside world, they don’t like being wasteful and some of them spend their free time improving their tech skills. One of them actually shows them their customed made devices. Quail didn’t plan improving the simulation room as it looks like any school facility, except the equipment being added.
“Well, uh? Those guys will be busy studying. I thought I’d be having a week off”
“Oh, Woni’es (First), is there anything you need to improve the room?”
First don’t know what to do anything else but follow the design instructed by the school. It can’t help for Haw seeing them interested about the sphere, he takes himself what he thought would be possible for them to do.
“I can”
“Haw? You do?”
They turned their eyes on him with a swift motion, gladly to hear what they wanted to do. Haw sees them focus on him as if they are willing to be part of the project. He remembers from his old guild that the sphere can be improved externally. Lack the experience of such goal, he should lean more of their preferred details they want to see.
Soon after, inside the simulation room. The entire week will be vacant, and the papers from Enders Bridge is in the library where the Agatheans are researching and preparing to face the sphere’s protection. The teachers were minding their way as Alche joined one of them. Haw has limited knowledge about sphere, but through what he learned by his Dexter guild, they have found a way to supervise it from the outside. By memory, he hopes it will work. Even for him that he goes this plan without effort. Alche is with him according what he provided.
“Are you sure about this? I’ve never tried to do it”
“Yeah, he’s right, I don’t think it will work without knowing the consequence”
“I’m certain, we lack to use shamanism. I’m still going to try it”
Haw replied the questions from the teachers. These small numbers of them are respectful enough to be beginners at the same time willing to try it out, a sphere under a strong force magic surrounding it, this is one of their examples of mistakes will occur.
“Oh, by the way, Haw, we actually have one”
Haw turned around sees one of their devices shows a hologram of their pets.
Each of them by four people, and Alche included, has different hobbies they thought it would be useful. Related to computers to normal everyday housework, they seem busy mostly tinkering both magic practice and surfing the web. Don’t know anything about the internet through Haw’s ears, and it is part of the list. Barely or poorly as he is, there is no doubt their passion clouded their potential. Doubts will reign everyone’s mind, not for Alche. He success grew better as he obtained elven blessing. Giving them a little, and Haw goes back to the lab, and remember to get a special item.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m getting my tools from the lab. Do you think we could progress better without tinkering the sphere”
“Yikes! This is going to be a mess”
“I don’t think so, I have my few attempts using magic and appliances together”
“Well, you didn’t tell us before”
“Of course, a microwave is something a found something with magic”
“???”
They wait for Haw as the man talks about the microwave. Recorded and accidentally happened, the things he did using the microwave is more a lazy man squeezing everything inside.
“Uh?”
“You put everything inside, even the . . . what was that?”
The microwave fused with mana, the mana flow shows heat being controlled by him and equally heated everything inside. The man can manipulate heat, by the sheer of accident occurs. It was him who started to overheat the microwave. The heat reached over the limit temperature, where it should be starting to melt. It wasn’t, now done, and everything looks fine. The last scene of the video where he is about to eat it. The scene of him with utensils as open the meal’s insides as vapor appearing inside. It was magical, and at the same time done by under a minute.
Alche was more surprised than the rest of them.
“How?”
“I was tinkering with my magic, and it is easy to say that I freely using it. Yet, I learn about my abilities through my UI. Take a look”
The man shows his unique ability, a strange writing on his profile where it not well clarified. Alche can’t understand the name, but the description is easy to understand.
“All magic abilities convert purely become like air. However the effects persists, and will not interact with other magic sources unless converted or related to the use of air”
Haw got back from the lab and brings a tablet, and some turned and sees him carrying only that without any other tools they need.
“I thought you will be bringing some tools”
“Yes, this is it. I only need now is someone with neutral mana to turned this on”
Haw notices the others still huddled up with the man using the UI. Then he quickly setting up the tablet as they see it.
“What is that?”
“It’s a tablet”
“No, that looks like carved stone slab”
“And it’s called a tablet”
“No, this is a tablet”
They opened their inventory and shows their tablet. Quite confusing to see both items under the same name. A gadget meets a carved stone, it’s probably the translation yet the device persists.
They stop arguing as they don’t want let that word sinks in to their heads.
“By the way, our co-worker has an ability. I don’t know why it’s called that but it very unique”
“Hmm?”
“I mean the ability he has when using his magic, everything must be under the same magic like air and the effects persist. Like fire but turns to air”
Haw turns his eyes on Alche as seeing something familiar to him, the man shows up and introduce his power. Grabbing a pen, it transforms itself as air, freely moving to his control. Later returns back as a pen and he couldn’t control it.
“Wow, he does really can’t control anything besides being air"
Haw couldn’t believe as what the other teacher said. A strange phenomenon or a rare convenient recorded historical power, it couldn’t be, and the sight of Haw shows such claimed from his old guild. Haw reached down his hand to the tablet then place his face to stare right it in face to face. It was a little weird for them to see him doing it, the tablet began to glow. The tablet begins to produce sound as electricity being surging to flow around it. As if the tablet is cooking itself, hard to describe as the stone flows through an electrical current. The glow flows alongside it as well. Building up to the suspense of his co-workers, it starts.
A projection pops upward, showing it like a constellation. They see something like galaxies, while Haw sees it as an astrology would make. It’s been months for him to use it again, trying to find the identity of the power from the man uses.
“Hey, place your hand on the projection. I think it will show you what you have”
The man touches it, quickly scanning what he is possessing. Through the motion of small sparks of light moving in revolving matter. It stops where foreign writings appeared, slowly materialize to read it clearly. They managed to translate it.
“Convergence, a strange supernatural mana from the neutral mana source. Stubbornly, controllably, purely, and only magic element bound to their will. Everything must be the same element or forced to be the same element to the user. Respectfully, the pure quality of its magic is not the same of its contact. It is easy to disguise, for example, like water but it was stone or metal, stoned internally when drink it. Note: It is believed this rare magic is a curse from the trickster descent created. Hard to imagine this kind of power to compete the other magic that possessed their own free will, this magic need control but not someone”
The translation ends the man who has it, felt a bit down as he was before. Everyone thought his magic was incredible during the screening in the city guild. It reminds him again that faults he had, he thought the screening was wrong and his powers were unique. The solving possible of the translation made him realize why.
“That’s why I’m D rank, I need to control the same element. If I don’t”
Screening lead to sparring, he remembers he can’t fight well against other people. His element wouldn’t do anything against them other than air.
“Sigh*”
Haw places his hand to his shoulder, from the look of the man Haw looking confident for him.
“I know my power sucks”
“No, you can’t fight other people. But . . .”
Haw looks at the sphere, where the others follow. An artificially made sphere, no will on its own, can be controlled, and will react instead to do anything else. This is too much of a convenience for them to have someone who can use it, as the man stares at the sphere, no experience, knowledge, and more importantly the confidence facing it. Alche says his nickname
“O2”
“Stop! Don’t call me that, just use my real name”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“You shouldn’t be saying your real name, remember what happened . . .”
“NO! I told you I don’t believe that kind of superstition, it only happened outside of the city. Now then, Haw, do you think my abilities can do it?”
“Externally, it would be difficult. We plan to control it first then improve the sphere later. Now with you, but quite strange that you will be the one help us potentially”
“My thoughts exactly, but I want the action as well. Will the sphere hurt us?”
“No, but for me, yes”
“Then pack up some healing aids, I can finally use my power on something”
Alche and the others seeing them both shaking hands together, where they solve a bit of the situation. They soon read the tablet for any information about the sphere, nothing much but the basics. More worthless they have seen, comparing the actual thing than the theoretical displayed. Spheres were supposed to be sealed, and the note tells them the reason why they reengineered it. It is because of the vandalism happened from the historical archives, forcing the surviving preserves to be protective as possible. Encouraging to an automatic failed once entered it, the sphere uses that nightmarish interaction just to protect itself. Giving fear in order to survive.
“Well now, we learn something new”
“Historically, I don’t think they would change it with this world in pieces”
“Let’s focus on the project, ok?”
They begin to remove the equipment, removing the safety measure just to control the outer perimeter. The sphere’s influence shows interaction with every mind it reaches. Alche excitement won’t do, Haw’s determination, their wanting to work as much as they can, except for one person. O2, who his name brought him down to shame. Filling so slowly, and interactively reacting, the presence of the sphere grew in impulse.
The portrait frame is showing the signs that the sphere is acting. The teachers already notice after knowing O2’s new description of his power, what make this sphere so active. Haw sees it, and lucky for him this only shows trying to dissuade. They don’t think the right segment to activate it, honestly, to see them scared as Haw is the most vulnerable. The most honest thing for Haw to say
“Don’t worry, you can’t easily open it”
“But Alche can, show it to him” Alche nods and raised his elven magic.
The sphere reacts and the portal opens, Haw sees it with his own eyes.
Bluffing by the sheer sight of it, he uses own mind to redivert it. The Agatheans didn’t control better than Alche did, because of their strange reaction to elven blessing. Haw now controls it, their senses numb for a few seconds and returned back. Everyone feels the shock after both controllers collide
“What the fuck?”
“No shit, by just that”
“Alright, now that felt different”
“You guys understand, that this sphere requires a mind. It only interacts something familiar who is using it. Something among the equipment help you activate it, but a specific thought will open it. It’s fine though, it will be change by the time we finish this”
The room is cleared and their plan set. If they managed this far, then there is a chance to apply their own equipment. They found out they could link between their computers, theoretically, to the sphere and make like video game screen like a camera. Though they wondered, the time gap differs when entered the sphere. An hour is a day in the sphere, if they calculated the right sequence of the recordings, they would control the video live. They entrust themselves to the man who will be controlling the sphere defenses. When failed, then they have to install it while it is active.
They huddle up in one place, the entire room is clean, better be wary what’s going to happen. O2, the man’s first time to face a powerful presence. His rank made him justified his mindset, words from the horror from Andui, and infront of it all as he heard the voices of his co-workers with support. But he stays calm and remember those city guild’s members, nearly succeeding and improving the possibilities they have done to face many challenges. It is the same spirit he reminded back home after those natural disasters. Never should’ve doubt the nation of his country.
The sphere returns to its original self, nothing added to control it and mustered its disarray to the fullest. One slightest motion from O2’s hand, magic flowing through his presence and by air, and Haw took his side a further bit. It begins to interact, a strong force suddenly appeared. Too sudden for O2 to react, yet partially converting the magic into air. The force turns into a torrent of air. Blasting their clothes off and frozen parts of their bodies, Haw in the other hand wearing Enders journey man clothes, it didn’t tear but can’t move his head. Relentless, and mix between O2’s magic and the sphere. Together, a strange after effects is shredding their clothes.
“Holy Moly, that some nice ass . . . Oh shit!”
“Stop! Stop!”
“What the fuck? Our clothes!”
Haw stops it and sees them naked, confused why their clothes gone. He focuses the effort of O2 trying to convert the magic force, he is not even prepared the timing. Hearing people behind him, shouting and laughing for the first time of this stupid moment.
“Lol, it didn’t hurt”
“Except humiliated”
“Interesting, reaction from the sphere and O2’s magic. There is wind but some of my limbs can’t move”
“Stop mooning or sausage showing, just cover yourself”
“Please . . . Let’s change first before someone sees us like this” “AH!”
One of them scream, and someone immediately opened the door leaving them covering themselves and even goes behind Haw out of pure embarrassment.
“You motherfucker!” The one who caused it grins and showing infront of the door.
“You crazy . . . bastard?”
A robotic maid comes in bringing the clothes they need. An anime looking maid, big emerald eyes and clear light beautiful skin. A tomboyish pink hair maid, she looks disgusted at the same time a sweet tone coming from it.
“Master? Your clothes”
“Thanks, give me the rest of the clothes for my friends”
Getting distracted by all this mess, their co-worker had made an opportunity to happen. Haw stares at the maid as it vanished, the man might be a summoner or know how to, and to see him happy for his little joke. Everyone borrowed his clothes, neither fit nor comfortable, they wear the appeal of an otaku. Alche and the rest improving their new clothes with protection, O2’s magic improved drastically when convert the sphere’s influence to his mana pool. They wouldn’t guess to see him fail, and Haw is preparing for another one.
“I never have laugh and getting trolled at the same time”
“I got to admit, I forgot who you are about now”
“Lol, Am I that daring to watch too many anime?”
“You were, if you have the new season of anime in your catalogue”
“Now wearing my hard earn merch, I think I’m satisfied”
Quickly turned into a serious tone, he is not that light hearted for his things they borrowed.
“. . . Don’t try to steal it from me, ok?”
“Sure”
“I’m good, at least I have something to wear”
“And I’m using my magic to protect the clothes tearing away, don’t worry”
“Alche? Yeah, thank you”
They seem to have no problem with that, except how it looks. All anime girls with tremendous amount sexual appearance. They are worried to see Haw to react, and he did. Impressive art made on those clothes, like models from the portrait sent to the imagery of their clothes. Alluring and sexualizing, he is not easily tempted from a drawing but he reminds himself with those two. ‘You should find out more’ But he was busy doing his work, and doubted they could last longer after what he’d done.
“Alright, second try”
“Gulp* I’ve been quiet after that incident”
“We are still here and keep going. Don’t try to back out until one of us got hurt”
Haw repositioned them further away, the distance they are in wasn’t good for O2 to react. A few more observations from the sphere and O2’s magic. He advice the others how to do with it
“He is too new to use his abilities efficiently. If we let him convert only, we have to counteract his wind magic. Only use your neutral mana, Alche, I’m not going to do a third try after getting hit by elven magic”
“Why not?”
“Have you getting hit by their magic?”
“No”
“Me neither”
“Finally, when reaching closely to the sphere. You’ll be the one to contain it until one of us install the devices or anything of the components to interact with it”
“Right!!!”
Everyone is setting up again, furthering away and closer to the door, it is getting them pump up. Wondering what they can do, and the possibility reaches it from here. O2 repeats his gesture again, and the sequences repeat. The force returns and enough for him to react, the wind appears with more tremendous force but no sense of motion stops them. The frozen effects of the sphere are gone, only the wind left blowing at their surroundings.
Slowly and steadily, O2 tries his best to converting it fully. The sounds of the blowing wind on their ears, deafening yet not loudly to hurt them. Haw took the first step as he is slowly walking from the storm, others follow him where Alche orders one of them who has magic items to help them move forward. A strong mold appeared as he was ordered to make for the aerodynamic plane board. The same design what most car look like from the front hood. All of them moves forward slowly, where the wind blowing them away. The help of the plane board to redirect it away with their strength being forced back from it.
Step by step, one after foot to the other, the immense force from the front is too strong. Alche is using the aerodynamic to redirect it, holding the plane board is slipping in their hands as the wind redirects itself. Upward, downward, and side to side, this painful enduring power that they never thought they can bear for a time. They have to look at each other and sees Haw waving his hands to move further. The nightmarish, the strange force, and everything what other people said about it turns to wind. It is the same, only physically, they treated this like a blizzard going through with no cold but its wind pressure.
Shouting among themselves as they still can’t hear, probably one of them is in pain. As one of them reaching them, but they shake their heads as it is a different reason. Thought it was pain but an encouraging roar, so silent because of the wind, and so inspiring to only himself. Going crazy by laughing as they look like they are having a good time, the expressions are nothing to prove of their fear but the embodiment to do further and the most effort they take by stepping. The motion they take, step by step, is now synchronizing their feet.
O2’s effort grew better by the moment, in each step, in each grin, finally his experiencing what he is about to do. To live like in this world, nothing having of it but making of it, the wind starts to go calmer. Everyone steps closer to the sphere reaching closely to their objective, for at least a few steps of it. Haw provides them the opportunity and they oblige it out of boredom, this is it. The matter of moment, the sphere suddenly stops and they stop as well. Walking in such a matter ruined their postures, Haw didn’t even stop it. Alche sees Haw’s expression confused as they fell off out of balance.
Again, the sphere suddenly releases the magic force where O2 quickly tries to convert it again. The wind appears where O2 blocks the wind from the front, colliding together like the motion of convergence. The sphere’s wind moves upward then encircled back to O2’s magic, without him realizing both of their magic combined. The wind from his back blown them behind as they blown closely to the sphere. Most of them slide to the stage, where Haw and O2 climbs up of it. The strong bump to the platform made the remaining co-workers trapped by the blow.
The wind stops, the people who are out from the stage trying to pick themselves up. Feeling disappointment, they accept how clever the sphere can do.
“Almost got it, hey Alche, is everyone alright?”
“I think so, I can’t even hear everyone . . .”
One of them pointed as he was standing up, the surprised look on his face as he is hurrying going up to the platform. One of them followed as the two remaining trying to recollecting their posture.
“Oh my god, it’s O2! You are one true son of a bitch”
“. . .”
“Oops, hey we need to install it now!”
“HEY! We need some help over here!”
O2 is now controlling the force emitted by the sphere, this tremendous effort he had done with Haw connecting the essence between the sphere and the components need for it to link. Such drastic and motivation among the two, the sound of the wind kept them deaf where part of the segment arc of the room still rages on. Everyone is hurrying to install the sphere, externally and connecting together. They managed to install the program with the last possible moment. Haw infused it by hand where the others on the other side fusing it carefully.
Once done, the sphere stops leaving the two of them to breathe once more.
“Breathe* I can’t believe we done it, a second try”
“This is too impossible than I had ever imagined, to think that you barely held in to finish it”
Haw and O2 did what they can do, with the program added to the sphere. They began conducting it to their computer, Alche brought the laptop and connect it the sphere by wifi. The sphere and laptop are under processing, it would take a while for it to fully interact.
“It’s quite impressive to see our own modern technology being coordinate too well with yours, Haw”
“Probably because it uses the same mana, I remember correctly that mana can manipulate. Except if both powers overwhelmed each other, the other one will break”
Alche checks the laptop out of pressure to hear it will blow up, Haw continues
“Don’t be scared about that, I made proper use of that installment”
And it did, the laptop didn’t break and after a few checks of the laptop’s condition are all fine except the wifi being overloaded by data.
“Phew”
As they wait, Haw had a lot questions about that man’s merch.
“While we wait, I want to know what you’re wearing”
“I thought you forget about that”
Haw stares what they wear, it is hard to ignore. The one let them borrow them explain it him.
“It some personal stuff”
“Personal? Look of all these clothes, I’m impress to see clothes with portraits comparing the other ones in Mihayara district. Why are all these characters look seductresses?”
“Ah my friend, that would be more of a private matter”
“Just say no if you don’t want to”
“But I might ruin your innocence like the rest of them”
Haw had no idea what that even mean, truthfully, he never once told himself about his past. Then again, he was told never to resurface it. What reasons do he need to welcome it back as it affects him so poorly in the future? Rusic kept messing with him because he has no self-ambition through his change. Ironno did warned him the tragedy about the Enders Bridge, and Myrrkei was an example.
“Ok, then tell me everything all about it”
The teachers weren’t glad to hear him say it as the man begins to show his collections. They tried to stop them, but Haw persists.
“Alright, don’t hate me as I’m going to warn . . .”
“DO IT”
“Fine!”
Haw learns the entirety of 'anime', everyone moves away and let the two experiencing what life form their world has to offer. Shows, culture, comedy, and many others the man explain it all. Haw quiets himself, no regrets, and further follow up a familiar routine of their stories. He later understands what the genre was called, the man said
“It’s called shounen genre”
An inspired anime for the youths. Questions from their behaviors, but he treats them as from another world. It is hard to visualize what he was getting at, and they continue on.
“Man O2, I never thought you could get the hold of the sphere”
“Yeah, I’m improve a bit using my magic. Yet, I’ll be depended on it if I am going to use something powerful”
“That sucks, maybe the city guild will find a way to use your power in the environment”
“No, I think I’ll just stick to teaching. Former adventurers are here and I have learned enough life story for me to live like that”
“Good, let’s see how much we can do for the sphere”
Both fists bump together as they check on the laptop. Alche and the other teacher are using the programming software.
The processing is almost over, and they want the program to be edited out to be easier to follow up on screen. Copy and paste from original source as they joke about it.
“Thank you pirating”
“I’m glad we are not going to get block by this”
“Be wary though, viruses and malwares are still active within the sites. I don’t want the find another pc to reprocess again”
The upload is complete, where the icon is just a black circle and named as ‘sphere’. It is exciting to see as it is finish, and with the program they are using. The first step for them is to open it.
Once open, the program shows the basic homepage. No list on the menu except settings, they click the settings and show the links they have to connect it. Like a server, they tried to connect one of their devices. It connected, and shows the screen what inside the sphere. The dark wind visage along with smoke, the same describe what the Agathean said to them. One last test they have to do,
“Haw, we have connected the sphere, what’s next?”
Haw gets up and look at the laptop.
The testing of the settings is nothing much to do except interlinking with other devices. The last test he could do is this. He instructs the one who held the device link with the sphere, then Alche will use his elven blessing. Without activating it but sensing it, the sphere reacted and screen both the laptop and the device change inside of the sphere to where Alche was. The interaction is incredible, and the dark wind disappears only to show where it leads itself down to the elven forest. They see where did they sent to, they succeeded, and the same time discover where the forest was. In Rune Isles.