I'm in the dorm walking down the corridor. No one is out of their rooms yet.
Finally, I reach my destination and gently knock on the door of our room. It's still early in the morning, but experience taught me that entering in a lady's room (or any room, especially in noble parties) without checking first can be a very complicated thing. Especially with Nora, since a little "compliment" almost cost me my sanity. She is probably asleep, but I will knock a second time just to make sure and enter afterward.
"Who is it?"
Oh, she's awake.
"It's me, going to enter."
"Yeah, come in."
I open the door and see Nora already in her uniform fixing her hair. I enter the room.
"It's still early."
"I know, but I had another dream and woke up a little while ago. It's still early but I thought I might as well get ready and enjoy the morning."
Damn it, another one?
"You had? What was it about?"
She tells me about it.
Ahhh... That day... Burniel... I should have done something at that time. I should have knocked him out with a stone or something right after he tried to stop my mother, that way maybe she wouldn't burn him. For years I didn't dare to check up on him, fearing my mother would do something worse. But one day, when I was 16 years old, I saw him... The scar... Wasn't pretty... He lost his left eye and almost all the left side of his face was disfigured.
"Do you remember this?"
"No."
We stay silent for a while. Good thing she didn't hear my last name, my family name. Nora finally breaks the silence:
"What do you think of black hairs?"
"What do I think?"
"Yes, like, do you respect them? Or... I don't know, just tell me your opinion about them."
"Hmmm..."
Tough question. I am biased and tend to dislike nobles and favor the common people, and I know it. But I also know that I shouldn't be blinded by my bias. Many events over the years taught me that there are also scumbags black hairs and good natured nobles. I almost killed Sigris when I was blinded by my bias.
But... What should I answer this girl? As an amnesic:
"I respect them as much as I respect a stranger. If they treat me with respect, I also treat them with respect."
"Hmm..."
"What about you? What do you think of black hairs? What do you think of that situation when the woman burned the boy?"
I have to prepare myself and accept whatever she has to say without showing any emotion in my face. I think Nora isn't like my mother, but that's just a guess. I need to know where she stands regarding this matter.
"To be honest, I never really thought about this. Since I was a child, my servants were always black hairs. So I just thought that this is just the way of things. Black hairs serve us and we govern them. They work for us and we pay them. In a way, I kinda agree with that woman. We use them for our goals."
"..."
"But... I don't think I would ever do what she did. She treated that boy like an animal, an insect. I don't think of black hairs as animals or insects. I don't think they should just exist to serve us. They are also persons with dreams and families. We, nobles, we need them."
"..."
"At the same time... I know I am kinda contradicting myself but... I somehow also think they are not like us... Like... I woudn't become friends with a black hair as fast as I would with another mage."
"I see."
When you live in the land of dogs, you are influenced to think like a dog. Since this situation is favorable to the nobles, it's obvious they become complacent and accept the situation as "the natural way of things". Some take the advantage of the situation to satisfy their sick pleasures. Some sacrifice hundreds or thousands of black hairs to advance their own plans. All of them, like this girl, all of them just become complacent and just accept what is happening. It's easy to ignore when choosing to not ignore can be troublesome.
But... This girl said an important thing that many nobles would never dare to say because of their pride:
- we need them -
She at least recognizes that the nobles without them wouldn't have anything. Nobles are just strong kids bullying the weak. Bullies without victims are nothing.
She also has a bias, like me and everyone in this world. As she said, she wouldn't become friends with a black hair as fast as she would with another mage. That means that she would, nonetheless, become friends with the black hair, just not as fast as with another mage.
This is a good response. She is complacent with the situation but recognizes its problems. I subconciously let a smile on my face.
"Hey~~! I know, alright? My last example was lame but you got the idea!"
"Don't worry, it's not because of that."
"Then what?"
"Oh, you know... Seeing a beautiful girl saying what she thinks so seriously makes anyone smile."
"..."
"Is this kind of compliment alright?"
"You think flattery will get you anywhere?"
"Don't know, but judging by your cheeks, I think it might."
"Shut up!"
The symbol on my hand starts to shine and I feel a strange power.
I open my mouth and... Yup, I can't talk. More like, I can't seem to remember how to talk. I can move my mouth, but I can't use my voice. Only air comes out.
"Pfffhuahahahaha!"
When she sees my try to talk, she laughs pointing her finger at me with her other arm around her belly.
I cross my arms and look at her with a serious face, like (¬_¬). Well, it seems our little miss here can laugh quite a lot.
"--haha, sorry Al, pffft! It wasn't on purpose! I swear! You can talk now!"
The symbol shines again. I open my mouth and my voice comes out this time.
"Sorry sorry." - She puts her tongue out as she says sorry - "Well, did you read any legend that might have been yours? Was there one with someone called Alddan?"
"No. None of those seemed familiar and none mentioned someone named Alddan."
"Wait what? You absolutely sure? I know the teacher said that these dreams weren't trustworthy, but are you really sure none of those legends talked about you?"
If you only knew how accurate those dreams are...
"Sorry."
"Damnit..."
She is frustrated. Is my identity really that important?
"Look, why are you so desperate to know who I am? I already told you, it doesn't matter if---"
"It does matter! You are the first S rank Servant in history! And you are a white mage! White mages are as rare as you can get! I mean, even if you didn't exist, who the hell are you!? Who wouldn't want to know more about you?"
"..."
"Aff... I just hope you existed and are in the capital records... Sheeeshh... Our library has books of every legend. You have to be in one of those 50 books... Once the capital replies back, we will check the names in their reply with those books. If one of the names matches the names in the books, we will be closer to your identity."
2 scenarios will happen: Either the records will not match with the legends, or 1 of them will match and they will take me for another person.
We stay silent for a while.
"Well, anyway, I'm going to sleep for a while, I'm tired..."
"Sorry, but you can't."
"Why?"
"Today is the day we will test the Servants powers and determine what class and subclasses they are."
"Class?"
"Fighter or not. Servants are to help their Masters, by protecting them or helping them with their research. Usually, Servants are used for protection, but as you heard, Liria said she wasn't a fighter, so she must have other abilities, like healing or something like that. We need to know how you Servants can help us."
"Wait, explain that to me again, what do you mean by classes and subclasses?"
There are 2 types of class: Fighter and Not Fighter.
Fighter is a class for Servants that know how to fight. In this class there are 2 subclasses: CF and LF. CF is for Servants that prefer close combat (Close Fighter), while LF is for Servants that prefer to keep their distance (Long Fighter). Being in one class does not mean they can't do the other. A CF Servant can also fight from a distance, but he is better at close combat.
Not Fighter is a little more complex and has many subclasses, but in short, it's for those Servants that are not suited to fight as the Fighter Servants. It's important not to mix things, a Not Fighter can still fight, but it's not as good as a Fighter Servant.
"So, by the way, what class do you think you are?"
I'm a Fighter, but what subclass... I use an ebony sword when I need to get personal and a red bow when I want to keep my distance. To be honest, I usually prefer to fight in close combat but I can't deny the fact that I do some heavy damage with my bow.
"I don't know. I detect a sword and a bow in my Magical Inventory, but I can't say which one I'm better with without trying them."
Magical Inventory is a space in the Spirit Realm that can store items with special materials. Not everything can be stored in there.
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Battles between two mages are not that simple. You can't just throw a fireball at your opponent.
There are four types of magic:
- Inner Magic;
- Personal Magic;
- Area Magic;
- World Magic.
Inner MagicMana Units that can be used:50 to 1000It's a type of magic that a mage does to his own body.
Very dangerous magic where one wrong step means irreparable damage.
Only some mages try this type of magic.
It can enhance vision, strenght, stamina, etc...
Cannot be nullified.
Personal MagicMana Units that can be used:50 to 1000It's a type of magic with very limited area of effect.
Used when there is only a single target.
Most commonly practiced magic.
Area MagicMana Units that can be used:1000 to 10000It's a type of magic with a bigger area of effect.
Used when there are multiple targets.
Practiced by most mages ranked higher than Blue.
World MagicMana Units that can be used:Higher than 10000It's a type of magic with a even bigger area of effect.
Used when the area the mage wants to effect is bigger than 1 km diameter.
Practiced by some orange and red mages.
The reason there are various types of magic is because mana repels itself when ignited in huge quantities. If a mage tries to cast a Personal Magic with 1500 mana units, the mana will repel itself and affect a bigger area, becoming an Area Magic.
In a battle between mages, the victory usually goes to the one who possesses the most mana. When a mage starts to cast a spell, he manipulates mana out of his body so he can cast whatever magic he wants. When this happens, the mage is like a beacon. Every mage close to him will sense the extracted mana.
The opponent can cast the same quantity of negative mana towards the spot where the other mage is manipulating his mana. This will nullify his positive mana.
The mana we have on our bodies is neutral. When we need to cast a spell or pour mana into a Crystal, we turn that mana into positive mana. We can also turn our mana into negative, but negative mana can't be used for anything else besides nullifying the positive mana. When mana is nullified, it simply ceases to exist and does not return to neutral, like one would expect.
Neutral mana is a wild card. If we extract neutral mana, we can't cast magic nor nullify. However, we can use Inner Magic with neutral mana. It can cast spells inside our bodies.
To make a spell, the mage needs to manipulate the mana to a space where he wants his spell to be ignited. Once it is ignited, he needs to control the mana in the direction of his target. For example, if I cast a fireball and want to hit a tree from another direction, I need to manipulate positive mana out of my body, guide it to another point, ignite it to make fire and guide or launch it to the tree.
http%3a%2f%2fi.imgur.com%2fEufq559.png [http://i.imgur.com/Eufq559.png]
Until the mana reaches the tree, it can be nullified at any moment.
Once the ignited mana reaches it's target, the mage can mantain the mana to keep the fire alive or dispel it. When dispeled, the mana simply ceases to exist.
Many mages use weapons or armors. If those armors or weapons are made with special materials, a mage can infuse positive or negative mana into them, giving them an edge in fights.
"Hmmm, Al, you really go out of your way to make our lives a little more difficult don't you?"
I shrug my shoulders.
"Well, I guess it's ok anyway. That only means you must be a good Fighter at both subclasses."
She has a smile as she says that.
*sigh* "I really wanted some sleep but whatever, I can handle a few more hours..."
The morning passes by. For some reason, the boys are somewhat worse than me. If I didn't know better, I would say they have seen ghosts. Finally it's afternoon class and every first year is on the campus with their Servants.
"So you are a healer subclass miss Liria?" - Lawrence asks.
"Yes my dear."
They are not really testing us, more like they ask us what class and subclass we think we are and show a small demonstration.
Some maids are bringing cakes and teas. This is almost like a cafe. Someone prepared tables and chairs for everyone to sit while we did this. I'm with Nora drinking some tea.
Someone shouts:
"You bitch!"
I look behind. There is a blonde student shouting at a maid. It seems like she dropped his cake and tea on the ground. He has some stains on his pants.
"I-I'm sorry!"
"You good for nothing whore! Your clumsiness messed up my pants!"
"Please my lord forgive me! P-Please, if you follow me, I will get you another change o--"
"Shut up! You speak only when I say you can!"
My fist is clenched. Another classmate says:
"C'mon David, let it go."
"The hell I will! You maid! You have any idea how much these pants, this tea and cake cost? I bet it costs more than you make in months!"
"P-Please, I--"
"Shut up!" - He kicks her.
Enough is enough. I get up and walk at a fast pace towards him.
"Heh? Al!"
I almost didn't hear Nora. My head is full of anger.
David notices me walking towards him.
"What do you want?"
I pick up the cake with my right hand from the ground.
*Type: Inner magic - Location: Right arm - 1.5x Strength*
I slap him in the face with the cake and send him flying at least 5 meters.
"Mas-- Master! You--!"
His servant, a green haired man, in his 30s, gets up and starts to summon his weapon.
*Type: Inner magic - Location: Left arm - Triple Strength*
*Type: Inner magic - Location: Whole body - Double Accel*
Now with my reaction time and speed twice faster than normal, I kick the table away and throw myself in the Servant direction. He didn't even had time to summon his weapon.
"Wh---!"
I use my left arm to punch him upwards right in the belly. He is launched in the air in this form ^ .
He falls on the ground, vomiting blood. I must have crushed some of his organs.
"Al stop!"
The symbol on my hand shines. I can't move. I wasn't planning doing anything more anyway.
Lawrence and other teachers run towards David and check up on him. He is unconscious but I doubt I broke anything.
"Al!? Did you really need to go that far!?"
Nora asks me.
"..."
"I also didn't approve what he was doing and--"
"Look, I did it and I don't regret it. I'm sorry if this puts you in trouble with the school, I'll make it up for you somehow."
"... Did you hit him that hard?"
"He'll survive and walk if that's what you are wondering."
"*sigh* He was always a little edgy, maybe this will somehow teach him a lesson."
If it doesn't, he better not do it again when I am watching. Next time I'll make sure he doesn't get up.
"Thank you." - the maid whispers at me while she cleans the mess that I made.
The Servant that I punched gets up, looks at me with resentment, and walks towards his master. Seems like the Servants can regenerate quickly.
"I guess that means you are a CF?" - Nora asks
"Seems like it."
"By the way, are you that fast and strong or..."
"You probably guessed it."
"Inner Magic?"
"Inner Magic."
********
Next Chapter
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Edit: Fixed a potential plot hole. Area magic is practiced by most mages ranked higher than blue and not green.