***The World***

***Karin***

“She is such a cute child. No wonder that you adopted her, Ascathon,” the succubus lady gushes while she pulls at my cheeks, coming entirely too close to my face with her own. “Those little horns of hers are just too cute and the mismatched eyes give her a certain charm. I can also tell that she will grow up to become a true beauty.”

Ascathon huffs, “I hope so. That mana core which I stuffed into her wasn’t easy to get. There are just a handful of dragon-elders with godhood status in the multiverse.”

In an attempt to judge her character, I take in the demon who Ascathon just introduced as Ashley, a dear friend of his. I have never met a demon, but all the stories I heard about them tell bad tales. So it's quite surprising that Ashley and her daughters seem like genuinely nice people.

Her auburn hair is long and there is a crest of obsidian-black horns emerging from her temples, crowning her head like a tiara. The plain, black dress she is wearing would actually be decent for any occasion, if it wasn’t for the extremely low neckline. If it can even be called a neckline. The front of the dress is cut so deep that it goes down to the point of revealing Ashley's navel, yet it somehow stays snug to her body. Not entirely sold on the design, I inspect the woman’s bust, expecting her cleavage to free itself and spill out at any moment.

After a month of mysterious absence, our benefactor reappeared through a red rift in space and instructed Willow and me to greet the new helpers. Now there are demons spilling out of it, carrying crates and supplies.

Mostly naked, very sexy demons and according to Ascathon all of them are demi-gods. A being that isn’t quite a god because it lacks the ability to use the pathways, but who is strong enough to challenge a lesser deity.

My eyes involuntarily wander between the strange succubus lady and the large, red portal that opened out of nowhere inside our hidden base.

“Don’t spoil her too much, Ashley. She still has a lot to learn before she is ready to help me. She is also a strong candidate for true godhood status, and you don’t achieve that by being coddled,” Ascathon replies from next to the barely dressed woman.

“I would never do such a thing. Did you forget that I raised all forty-one of my children to the status of demi-gods? It took a few thousand years, but I am confident in my skills at parenting.”

“I don’t want to know which dark rituals you used to achieve that feat,” Ascathon mumbles.

Ignoring him, Ashley returns her attention to me. “Say, child, would you like to learn a few things from me? I might be able to teach you how to become a first-class succubus.”

Willow steps in, resting her hand protectively on my shoulder. “I think we have her education covered. And she had certain experiences that didn’t leave her with the best of impressions of men.”

Ashley waves a hand dismissively. “Even more reason to learn a few things about self-defence. I like the child. She looks more like a demon than an actual human and if Ascathon didn’t misinform me, then techniques that would, as an example, allow her to change her appearance, might be very useful.”

I look down at my hands and touch the horny ridge on my left temple. Turning, I look up at Willow. “You know, a glamour to change my appearance actually sounds pretty useful if Ascathon wants me to go out into the world once I am strong enough.” It’s probably a mistake to put too much trust in a god of chaos, or any of his allies, but I am already firmly committed to this path.

“Thanks for thinking about my feelings, Willow. I don’t exactly want to go all the way and become a succubus. But I think that I don’t have the luxury to refuse if someone is willing to teach me something as useful as shapeshifting,” I voice my thoughts.

Willow smiles and rubs my back, comforting me. “If you are alright with it.”

Ashley raises her hand to cover her mouth, chuckling. “Oh, child. You are a delight. Succubus shape-shifting spells are way more potent than a mere Glamour. Those paltry illusions are kid’s games for elves and lesser fae. What we do is real.”

Ascathon claps his hands together to gain our attention. “Yes, yes. Now that introductions are made, and we know that we are all friends, I would like to know what I missed out on while I spent two days in another dimension. These time dilations between different realities are annoying, so I hope that Myrm didn’t topple Luxley’s kingdom while I was gone.

“I also expect that the stupid world enchantment will soon start teleporting me around randomly to make up for lost time. I was wondering why it’s possible to run off to a different time-continuum without being teleported every five minutes. There must be some bug in the system that only cares about actually perceived time. In any case, it means that I don’t have time to waste.”

“Nothing too bad,” Willow informs him with a slight bow. “Things tend to be really peaceful while you aren’t around.”

Ashley chuckles at that.

“Your Order of Chaos made contact with Luxley, and together they are reforming his kingdom. With the servants, you left him. I am afraid that he didn’t quite pick up everything you taught him about necromancy, so you will have to visit a few more times to make the knowledge stick.” Willow purses her lips, considering how to continue.

“The neighbouring political powers are eyeing his actions with great interest, but it’s too early to say if their reaction will be a declaration of war. Even with your long absence, you shouldn’t forget that the mortals of this world don’t have access to ways of sharing information quickly. Messages travel slowly, even with airships it takes days or even weeks to exchange notes over long distances.”

Ascathon nods. “Something we have to rectify as soon as possible. If I am forced to endure the squabbles of mortals again and again, then I may as well spend my time educating them. Let them despair with knowledge that’s beyond their ability to wield.”

Ashley purrs and looks worshipfully at Ascathon. “Oh, lord. That’s so evil that I think I am actually getting wet. To condemn their feeble minds by forcing knowledge upon them which they are unable to wield. Let them glimpse truths that will shatter their will to exist. That’s brilliant!”

He nods and strikes a pose. “We will force this world to-”

A flash of light and he is gone. Just like that.

After a moment of silence, Ashley blinks, searching the nearby surroundings for our lord and master. “Where did he go?”

I don’t bother to comment on the scene, not in the least surprised by his sudden disappearance. It isn’t as if I didn’t experience his unplanned departures often enough.

Willow sighs wistfully. “I suppose he told you about this stupid world enchantment. It abducts him at the most inconvenient of times.”

“Really?” Ashley studies the spot where Ascathon stood just moments ago. Then she turns to Willow, forming a ring with her index finger and her thumb, poking the other index finger through it in a gesture so ancient that even a caveman would have understood it. “What about when he is busy?”

“Even then.” Willow scratches the back of her neck. “You can’t believe how dissatisfying it is when that happens right before you… you know…”

The elemental looks at me and then at the succubus. The two of them share a silent moment of self-pity, holding eye-contact to convey that this is a matter best kept between adults.

“You know,” I grumble, more than a little annoyed at my exclusion. “You don’t have to try talking in riddles. I am perfectly capable of understanding the hints.” I may have had bad experiences in this field, but like Ascathon mentioned, I am tough. The last thing I would do is to withdraw into a shell of denial and self-pity. Those who wrong me will burn, it’s as easy as that.

Ashley actually looks ashamed. “I am sorry. I am not aware of this world’s customs. There are many places in the multiverse where you would be considered too young to be included in such matters. But I appreciate that you know how it works. That makes your training so much easier.”

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I am beginning to think that getting training lessons from a succubus is a really bad idea. “I won’t have to sleep with men for you to teach me things?”

Ashley tilts her head. “Not necessarily… do you prefer girls?”

Even worse! “Ahem, if possible, can we do without the sex part?”

The succubus wriggles as if she is mortified. “No! Impossible! For a cute girl like you to abandon the best part of a relationship! Sacrilege! But don’t worry, I’ll convert you to the delight pleasures of the body. You will learn to appreciate yourself and that body of yours!”

“Ahem!” Willow clears her throat and puts a hand on top of my head. “She is just fourteen. Maybe you should wait with the indecent stuff until she can be counted as an adult.”

Ashley furrows her forehead. “When is a girl counted as an adult in this world?”

Well, depending on status and education, the peasant folk marry off their children at the age of twelve, fifteen at most. But sensing the chance to save myself awkward instructions from the succubus, I decide to go with the age the neural learning machine drilled into me as basic knowledge. And counting on Ashley’s ignorance of this world’s culture, I can probably add a few years to make sure she is done teaching me before she tries the lewd stuff.

“Twenty,” I answer confidently.

“Hum,” The succubus lady nods appreciatively. “Then we will start with the basics and wait with the more energy-intensive teachings until then.” She turns away, clapping her hands to hurry on the other succubi. “Get going, girls. You know how much energy it takes to keep these portals open.” Walking away, she keeps encouraging the other demons.

Once she is far enough away, I turn to face Willow. “Why do I feel like I just made a huge mistake? More importantly, why did she just take me at face-value? I expected her to verify the age with you!”

Willow closes her eyes and rubs the bridge of her nose. “I up until today only knew Ashley from hearsay. But from the few times when Ascathon mentioned her, I know that she is several thousand years old. That’s old, even for a succubus matriarch. To her, you are nothing more than a freshly born neophyte. You could have probably told her that you have to wait until you are two hundred, and she wouldn’t have batted an eyelid.”

Then she sucks in her lips, wetting them while she considers if she should go all the way and inform me of the full extent of my mistake. “And demonic magic is complicated. Hard to learn and very power intensive. Even if Ashley wants to teach you just the basic transformations, it will possibly take years, more likely decades until you are ready.”

I feel my face turning expressionless as I realize how badly I sold myself beneath market value. How could I have known that Ashley just offered to invest years of her time in me!? I would have expected a few weeks for learning the spells. A few months at most! “So I am fucked? Can I still refuse?”

“Quite literally and no. I wouldn't dare to refuse tutelage from someone like her. I can teach you, but I'm no magical genius like Ascathon, or a demon with millennia of experience,” Willow confirms and pats me on my back. “But hey, she is right at one thing.”

I look up to the elemental.

“It would be a real waste for you to not explore your sexuality. I can understand that you want to take a break after an experience like yours, but otherwise you would be really missing out on something.”

***The World***

***Ascathon***

“You really came!”

Drawing in a deep breath, I let it out slowly and lower my hand, feeling distraught at having my great scene ruined. “This is exactly what I feared would happen. Well, it could be worse. At least it isn’t a battlefield.” Surveying my surroundings, I take in the small laboratory which could equally belong to an alchemist and a man who researches the arcane arts.

I recognize some of the machines for what they are, but others remain a mystery without instructions or a look at their innards. What immediately strikes me as strange is the fact that all of them seem to be top-notch for this world’s knowledge about technology and magic. This must be some country’s sponsored laboratory, since I can’t imagine that a private researcher would ever have access to this stuff.

Finally, I return my attention to the scrawny man, a beastkin who has seen better days. His brown fur is unkempt and only a step away from the point where I would call him filthy. He clearly hasn’t taken care of himself as he looks at me with worship in his eyes.

“What do you want? Do you not realize who I am? You are in deep shit for summoning me, old man.”

The man who looks to be in his forties claps his hands together, interlacing his fingers. “I am researcher Zono, and I know very well who you are and what risk I am taking by calling upon you. But I have made a great discovery which will probably reshape how this world thinks about magic. Well, not so much a discovery, as a realization. And I simply have to know if I am on the right track or if I am wasting my time! All my colleagues call me an idiot for even suggesting such a thing.”

I involuntarily furrow my forehead. “No aspiration for power? No hatred for an enemy? No intention to strike down your foes? Just the simple wish to know and understand?” That’s new, but I guess that I’ll find out about his motives soon enough.

“Exactly! I just have to know, and you are the only god that represents knowledge in the magic arts!” He squirms a little, apparently getting second thoughts if it was really such a good idea to call upon me.

“Go on,” I urge him on when it becomes clear that he is waiting for my approval.

He turns, quickly hurrying over to a machine. It’s a large box with a metal rod extending from its top and entering a sphere made out of glass. The man flips a switch and the device comes to life, emitting sparks of mana into the sphere, saturating the gas within and animating it to glow with a faint blue light.

“I am researching the effects of different spells on the mind, hoping to create an entirely new spell system from the one we have. One that allows a deeper understanding on what ‘casting magic’ actually is.” He looks at me and turns a dial that changes the type of the magic which is induced into the system.

“In class, there are always students who shine with certain spells, while others struggle to cast even a single Light-Orb. By studying the apparent affinities of my students, I realized that I can categorize magic by creating the spell matrix inside a certain atmosphere. A healing spell, for example, would always cause the sphere to glow white, while a warmth enchantment turns it red. So am I actually looking at different kinds of mana? My question would only be, am I on the right track?”

His question is just too general! “You do realize that you just asked me to explain the world to you?” I grumble, displeased at the nature of his request. There doesn’t seem to be any maliciousness involved, and I see no immediate way of turning the situation to a bad outcome for him.

“So I am on the right track?” he asks.

I consider my answer. The guy stumbled onto the very same system the gods use to categorize their affinities. It’s a simplified way to explain our abilities, though those who are able to think a few steps further would be able to glean great insight into the nature of magic from this simple starting point. Giving him this information wouldn’t benefit me in any way or discourage him from summoning me again. On the other hand, maybe showing him the futility of his research goal would discourage him. Once he realizes that he can invest his entire life in this endeavour without even scratching the surface…

In any case, it’s not like the stupid world enchantment gives me any choice. Better to waste my time with him in this not so unpleasant environment. “You are wrong. Mana is just a form of energy, and energy is just that, no matter its form. Casting a spell is the ability to shape those energies towards a desired outcome.

“You incidentally created a device that helps you to show the wavelength of light that’s emitted by various magics. Normally, only spells with a great amount of power would make this so obvious.” I touch the device, making sure that I won’t destroy anything by pulling out the metal rod.

Then I do so, holding it like a wand. “How a person shapes a spell is influenced by their state of mind. The more powerful your affinity, the easier it is for you to shape spells that naturally follow a path that feels natural to you. The more your mind synchronizes with the spells, the easier casting will become.”

Slowly, I channel different spell formations through the rod into the sphere, causing it to light up in different colours. “Most refer to these affinities as the colour-wheel of magic. Or a five-star pentagram. But all this colour wheel really does is to describe the human mind. There is no actual 'blue mana'.”

So I guide him through the basics of the colour wheel.

“White is associated to Energy, Order, and Life. Just as you realized yourself, these grand aspects can be watered down to countless sub-categories like healing, resistance, protection, and strategy. Many magicians find themselves having an easier time casting spells from their preferred Aspect or neighbouring ones.

“Blue magic features Intelligence, Technology and Illusion. It covers things like sorceries that concern the mind and manipulation of power, or enchanting artefacts. You may find that people who favour blue magics are very logical and maybe emotionally cold.

“Black magic revolves around Death, Decay, and Darkness. The necromantic arts are at home in this aspect, but so are spells that create magical plagues. One who wishes to resurrect the dead won’t get around using this aspect.

“Red magic is Chaos, Impulse, and Fury. The spells in this field are usually of the fiery and fast kind, aimed at causing damage and destruction.

“Green magic is Nature and Strength. It focuses on empowering people and, as an example, summoning strong elementals. Growth and regeneration naturally involve nature. As does internal magic which strengthens the body.”

I hand the rod back to the man. “Is that the answer you were looking for?”

“Ye-, yes. Strangely enough, it almost sounds like the various Aspects the gods represent,” he replies.

“It does because we gods were chosen according to the colour wheel. I can cast spells of all aspects, but I heavily favour Black, Blue, and Red, as they are represented in this system. White and Green magics don’t come as easily to me. On the same account, there are very few people who are versed in just one of the five fields. You will also only rarely find someone who has his main-affinities in opposing colours. Like Black and White, or Red and Blue.”

Feeling like I’ve done enough for this Archimedes of magic, I raise an eyebrow. “I’ll be going then.”

“Th- thanks for not killing me! Wow, I have to find a few students who will continue my work in the future. It feels like there is so much more to uncover about the aspects!” Turning away, the man walks out of the lab, mumbling to himself.

Really!? He realizes that he won’t ever finish his work, and all that comes to his mind is to find someone who will continue after he is gone!? “I am really not a people-person. It feels like I am getting old. To misjudge someone like that…” Shaking my head, I take a pathway to visit Luxley.