Author's Note: This chapter is mostly an info dump, but I am also trying to present it in a decent way that won't bore most people. Do tell me if i did a good job. Took me a while to think of everything I wanted to add here.
Chapter 2 – Religion, Races, Magic
“Now then, allow me to explain the world to you before we move on to teaching you magic.” The blue skinned woman informed me while smiling.
We were currently sitting on a couple of comfy chairs in a small room. It was probably made for privacy when discussing as such rooms are supposedly enchanted to prevent sound from leaking out. On a table between us are cups filled with drinks that a maid gave us. I immediately requested for juice instead of tea as I prefer sweet things and have never been able to like the more ‘mature’ drinks.
“In our world there are many races and each race may worship a particular goddess or multiple goddesses. Demons worship the moon goddess, Nyxalia, who grants us the power to wield moonlight as well as being influenced by her power. The type of influence can differ from person to person and race to race. An example would be the Were-Races that transform under the moonlight.”
“The humans worship the sun goddess, Solaya, who grants them the power to wield sunlight. Sunlight boasts a higher potential for healing and purging spells than our moonlight, but it lacks the power to influence their wielders. Unlike moonlight, sunlight will harm anyone with an affinity for dark mana.”
“Why are there 2 types of light when moonlight is just sunlight reflected off the moon and how does moonlight thus not harm you?” This part bothered me as demons generally are incapable of wielding light magic. Yet, this world holds a type of light that doesn’t harm them. She only giggled again from my questions as if she found my ignorance amusing.
“You see, the moon changes the properties of light when it reflects off the moon. This moonlight is much weaker than the original sunlight to the point that even we demons can safely wield it. And to correct your earlier statement, there are actually 3 types of light magic. The last is just a normal pink light that is primarily used for bodily modifications which include buffs, healing, and genetic changes. Very few people can wield it properly so most just rely on the divine light magic.”
It was still a little awkward as reality differed so much from stories, but it does make sense. Werewolves and vampires are almost always considered evil creatures, yet they can freely travel under the moonlight.
I particularly found it funny that the real light magic is pink colored and it sounds like it even includes those ki warriors in some stories. I do not regret the fact that I busted out laughing at the thought of male warriors covered in a pink battle aura. I nodded towards her so that she could continue before my sides were beyond repair.
“The elves and dryads worship the nature goddess, Yggdrasil, whom granted them the power to greatly alter nature. Although anyone can learn to wield nature magic, the elves can will nature to do their bidding without casting a single spell. It is because of this that their forest is an invincible fortress.”
“Are there no racial gods?” As this is the 3rd goddess, it struck me as weird that none of them actually symbolize a specific race. That and they are all women.
“Why would we worship something as small as that? Isn’t it natural to have faith in an unshakeable, almighty existence?” She merely raised her eyebrows before she started stifling her laughter. My eyes are lowered in embarrassment as I feel that I made a fool of myself. It’s not that I am stupid okay! You are just defying common sense in my world!
“Moving on *giggle*, the beastkin worship the chimera goddess, Letriya, whom grants the power to alter one’s form to that of a beast. Some spells come with a price that may make you more beast-like, but it takes very special circumstances to actually change your body that much. I will go into more detail when I teach you about magic, so hold that question for now.”
I was wondering if she was referring to forbidden rituals when she mentioned a price. Those shady spells used by cultists who crave power and end up sacrificing their humanity.
“Dwarves are known to worship the construct goddess, Rulace, who granted them the ability to sense and understand all metals. Even a dwarf who has never forged a weapon in his entire life can make a weapon greater than the best blacksmiths from other races due to their ridiculous compression of the entirety of a metal.”
This came off as a bit more normal, but different from being just a racial trait. Dwarves have always been known for the craftsmanship, but this sounds a bit more extreme than normal.
“Are constructs just golems and living armor spirits? Also, what did you mean by ‘will.’” I inquire while thinking about how Rulace is being worshipped by a different race.
“Constructs are any inanimate object granted a will through a spell. There are also spells that can grant them a soul, but that is something most people would avoid due to its price. A will is the caster’s intent or instructions for controlling the construct. I will speak more on that later when I teach you about magic.”
So there is no naturally occurring golem race? Weird, but stories never mention golems and similar beings raising children unless it’s one of the vrmmo stories.
“The fairies worship the goddess of illusions and reality, Zavenel, whom granted them the power to hide away from the world. Their power is difficult to understand in the fact that it’s hard to tell what is real and what is an illusion when dealing with them. Although unconfirmed, there is likely an illusion world where they all live secluded from worldly matters.”
That ability…sounds dangerous. It sounds more like that skill from a ninja show where you can potentially be forced to live in a permanent illusion until the day you die or somehow break out of it.
Noticing the grimace that formed on my face, she relieved me of my worries. “Don’t worry about their powers. Although it is mostly uncounterable for most people, some demons possess a demon eye that can see through them. Luckily for you, our summoning ritual gave you every demon eye in existence so you should be immune to it.”
Demon eyes? I possess every single demon eye? Is it like that demon lord girl who can rotate her eyes around inside her skull? Is it like that bloodline ability in that ninja show where both eyes have a bunch of pupils? Or maybe it’s like that story where a white spider can activate 1 demon eye per eye she has available.
I would really like to look in a mirror to see what they have done to me, but she keeps giving me this look as if I am making the most hilarious expression on my face. If I didn’t know any better, then I would think she could read my mind. Or maybe I am just easy to read?
“*giggle* Aww, I had the perfect response prepared for when you asked ‘that’ question. You are quite the killjoy.” Hearing this, I couldn’t help but look towards the floor. On one side, I am happy that I avoided running into another embarrassing moment. On the other hand, she still makes me feel embarrassed regardless of what I do.
“Next is for angels and you should pay really close attention as they are our mortal enemies. Angels worship the goddess of balance, Telaire, who granted them the ability to know everything and everyone that can potentially upset the balance of the world. They used that cursed ability to not only track them down, but also to strike down anyone who gains too much power in this world regardless of their race. It is also because of that ability that they make yearly raids on our lands to keep us down as they call it.”
Not really surprising to know that angels and demons never get along, but that divine gift of balance is just overpowered. So if I get too strong in this world, I will be hunted down by angels?
“Wait! Don’t all heroes naturally become the strongest beings on the planet?” My voice was filled with anxiety as I questioned her. Heroes are one thing, but angels definitely don’t play around when they go on a purging spree no matter what story you read.
“Yes, they do and they are all inevitably killed by angels in the end. Some manage to skirt along the edge of what angels deem the limit for a while, but that is only a temporary stop-gap.”
So if I want to survive in this world, I have to kill or suppress the heroes and somehow defeat every angel that comes after me. That sounds easy right? Right? Didn’t think so.
“As for the last 2 religions, they are about dragons and phoenixes. The dragons might worship the goddess of space, Vritria while the phoenixes supposedly worship the goddess of stars, Celeste. Nothing is really known about their religions as they don’t bother themselves with ‘inferior’ beings. This ends the discussion about the religions of this world.”
Although I am not really surprised about dragons being arrogant, but aren’t phoenixes supposed to be all about being holy and respected beings for their ability to heal and purge taint. Both of which are highly valued by the church. This world is truly weird compared to fantasy.
“To further your pitiful common sense, I shall inform you of the many races lumped together in the category that humans call ‘demons.’” She rolls her eyes as if to show her displeasure of the moniker that humans labeled them with.
“I, for one, am called an imp and no I am not some grunt for manual labor nor has anyone of my race been. That is just some superstition created by humans since they believe we are the weakest amongst the demon race. Our gift from Nyxalia allows us to amplify our magic with the powers of our soul. It is difficult and time-consuming to master as well as risky if we use too much of our soul’s power for our spells. That is the real reason why we appear weaker than other demons when we are younger.”
I could feel the pride emanating from her as she spoke about her race as well as her irritation towards how others look down upon her race. Her soul magic sounds very interesting as well. Perhaps this is the source of the famous hell flames?
“Liches as you know summon souls of the dead to bind them to corpses. What most people don’t realize is that a lich has no real control over their minions as they can’t control what their souls do. They also don’t eat souls like the rumors say they do unless they want to become lunatics that are warped by the clashing identities of multiple souls in the same body. And trust me when I say that you don’t want a crazy lich on the loose! This is why they make contracts with the dead to ensure some form of order and safety for both sides. Their gift from Nyxalia is the ability to assimilate corpses into their body.”
It was interesting how liches weren’t an overpowering race that could constantly raise a legion of the undead that could almost never be stopped without somehow killing the necromancer hiding behind their army. Besides, it never made sense how a lich has full control over the dead, yet have no control over the living. I mean, that’s practically slave magic that is used in most stories but no lich should have the power to do that to so many souls. It also makes sense that they can’t eat souls to empower themselves without suffering from an identity crisis.
“Moon Elves are elves who had abandoned their faith in Yggdrasil in favor of Nyxalia. Their power over nature was significantly weakened, but still exists as it has been completely integrated into the entire elven race. In addition to that, they were able to gain Nyxalia’s gift which granted them extreme mana recovery under the moonlight.”
People can abandon their original faith and gain more power from another one? Isn’t that a betrayal to their religion? I would expect religious fanatics to hunt them down for that.
“Isn’t that-“ I was about to inquire, but she had preempted me as if she had expected the question.
“Blasphemous? Sorta. Although most races don’t like those that worship a different goddess, but they also don’t reject other religions as the goddesses symbolize the balance of our world. Religion is pretty open to the point of being considered a pantheon, but there are disagreements here and there.”
So it’s like a pantheon? Worship one goddess for a particular blessing and possibly retain a racial blessing if you follow a religion that differs from your original race. But if that’s the case….
“Then why are demons considered evil if everyone is free to worship Nyxalia?” I asked the question that floated in my mind.
“It’s mostly because demons tend to have darker and more frighteningly honest personalities. A common misconception is that demons can’t lie due to divine will, but it’s more like we have no need to lie. If we want to have sex with someone, then we will ask them outright. If we want someone’s money, we will make an offer for it. If we want to kill someone, then we will challenge them to a death match.
Unlike other races, we simply don’t hide our intentions to others. This scares them so much that they think we are barbaric, sex-crazed, disloyal bastards. It doesn’t help that the humans worship the sun which is the antithesis of the moon. To compound matters, many demons have racial tendencies that horrifies them.”
What she had told me does mostly coincide with what I know demons are described as, but it is still enlightening to hear the truth of the matter from an actual demon. It’s actually kinda sad that demons are being unfairly discriminated against. If demons really don’t lie that is.
“Hey! Hey! Don’t give us those looks filled with pity! We are strong enough to handle a few bigots.” As if to further exacerbate her point, she flexed her completely nonexistent muscles. I think she was trying to look intimidating, but it only came off as cute. Her eyes even slightly narrowed when I thought that. I swear she is a mind reader, but I am not willing to ask that question.
“Ah, sorry! I guess it would be awkward if demons couldn’t protect themselves.” I anxiously apologized which she quickly accepted and returned to her previous cheerful face. I feel like I got scammed. Why are all women professionals in that expertise? This thought was followed by a poorly concealed attempt to hold in her laughter.
“We do preach self-sustaining lives as a basis. Every man, woman, and child is expected to be able to defend themselves from a low-class monster in some manner. It’s harsh, but so is reality for most demons. It’s still an easy task that most 7 year olds can accomplish with little effort.”
So demons can hunt monsters when they are mere children. How strong are these low-class monsters? I was quite impressed by that statement which I could tell she noticed by the smug smile on her face.
“Next is the overly famous succubi and this will be a long one. They do have a need to feed on another person’s vitality, but that is where the similarities stop. Succubi have no real gender as they can change their appearance at any time in only a few moments. They drain vitality as a female and they give vitality as a male. If a man was willing they could drink the waters of the fountain of youth, but few are.
In order to sate their urges, a succubus may work in the scarlet district or form their own harems. As they can fulfill every role, they tend to have mixed harems if they are into harems. Many succubi, however, lust after powerful individuals who can single-handedly provide them with their vitality. In that case, it’s a ‘get the fuck out the way’ situation as they will probably get rid of any extras so they can have a 1-on-1 relationship. Succubi are very jealous and don’t like to share any of their mates, but don’t think that means the mates will share a succubus with you either.
Their ability also makes them a valuable member of the punishment squad. If a male decides that rape and slavery are what he enjoys, then we just get a succubus to turn him into a woman and sell him to some slave trader. Nothing hurts them more than that. An eye for an eye right?
Nyxalia’s gift granted them a dimensional space within their bodies. It can serve as a storage tank for vitality and as a method of growing multiple babies inside them. Some also use it for other essentials like food, water, clothing, etc.”
There was so much to comment on, I did not know where to begin. Incubi don’t actually exist since it’s suicidal to be one without somehow taking vitality is the first weird part. It is also awkward that a succubus can be female one moment and male another moment depending on the tastes of their mate. It kind of reminds me of that question guys like to ask in middle school that goes like “if in order to enter heaven, you have to sleep with god in his male form and in order to enter hell, you have to sleep with god in his female form then what would you do?’ I wonder how many old men will go for it though.
I always knew a succubus would likely have a harem, although stories portray them as a 1 man at a time kind of race, but that is for their own perversion. What really stands out is how they might kill for 1 powerful person to sate their hunger. Do they hate having sex all day that much that it’s driving them crazy?
I think it’s fucking hilarious how a succubus can issue punishment like that. Most stories just have people crush the balls or outright kill them. These succubi, however, are like ‘if you can’t beat them, then join them.’
I find their ability quite fitting though. A race like them being hindered by pregnancy would be a little silly. But it’s also quite sad if that is the only inventory system on this world. How am I supposed to carry all my items?
Throughout my entire inner monologue, she had been cheerfully smiling and occasionally having a fit of laughter. I was trying to ignore her, but I can’t help feeling shy when a beautiful, albeit blue, girl keeps reading my mind. I like to think a lot, but I am starting to feel…violated. And she completely fell off her chair this time.
After she recovered, she continued on with the next race. “Next are the vampires who mix well with succubi. A vampire as everyone knows needs blood to live. That blood is a measure of their own vitality which can then be drained by a succubus. Healing magic can then replace the blood which creates an infinite loop. This is why almost every succubus mates with a vampire as they are the only race that can get around the loss of vitality from sating their own hunger.
In terms of feeding though, a vampire can be rather picky. They actually prefer biting the breasts and genitalia of their mates as those areas gives the blood an exotic taste. The neck is just a passable alternative when they lack the intimacy to get access to their favorite spots. If they overfeed on someone, then they might become a vampire as well but it’s not necessary as vampires can have children normally.
Nyxalia has gifted them the power to turn their entire bodies into blood. A decapitation used to be an easy method of killing a vampire, but now they can just dance all day in front of their enemies and not give a shit. Immortals becoming even more immortal…”
A part of me was almost thrown for a loop at the thought of a vampire and a succubus being able to feed off of each other forever. Ultimately, it sounds like you are using mana to substitute for vitality, but why couldn’t a vampire just drain mana then?
Also, the thought that a vampire likes milky blood and ‘sex’ blood is…different. I do agree with her complaint on their immortality. They should share it with the rest of us! Without vampirizing us I mean.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
“Why can’t a vampire just drain mana if you can replace blood with mana?” I inquire her of the question on my mind.
“Mana is a measure of one’s soul force and vitality is a measure of one’s life force. Healing magic can restore one’s vitality in exchange for mana which will then heal one’s life force. Vampires and succubi are only able to tap into another’s life force to keep their bodies functioning as their bodies can no longer sustain themselves on normal food.
Also, as there is nothing wrong with their bodies, healing magic used on themselves won’t replace the life force needed to keep them alive. It’s more like their body’s vitality and their life force are completely separate in comparison to other races. Even if their body is perfectly healthy, they will die if their life force will run out and vice versa.
I think what allows them to infinitely feed on each other has something to do with efficiency as a small bit of life force can supercharge their vitality which then rejuvenates their own life force for as long as their vitality is empowered.”
So rather than the blood or sex they used to sate their hunger, it’s moreso the life force from it that they are feeding on? This world lacks science and yet they are advancing their biology pretty well.
“The werebeasts, as you know, are people capable of transforming under the moonlight. Their gift grants them an immense increase in every physical statistic in their body so good luck fighting one. They can remain sane after transforming, but they are all hardcore battle idiots. A life without fighting for them is akin to torture.
If you get bit, then you will not become a werebeast. Instead, anyone who mates with a werebeast will then become a werebeast themselves.
They are quite a loyal race that will always pay off their debts. Honor and pride are the only things they value more than their livelihoods as warriors.”
So werebeasts include more than just werewolves? I think I would like to see a werechicken. Can something so harmless become just as fearsome? I probably should not incite the wrath of the shield.
“Goblins are a race that is considered both a part of the demon race and just another dumb monster. Some mad human scientist created them in the hopes of creating his own elven slaves to be sold as sex slaves, but he gave up after seeing the results of his experiments. The goblins were full of vigor to have sex all day long and could procreate quickly as well. The flaw was that they were ugly and bald, but he did originally plan for them to be stupid so as to not rebel against their owners. Another flaw was that they didn’t even care for hygiene so they smelled horrible.
What he didn’t realize is that the goblins got smarter, less stinky, and more aesthetically pleasing as they got older and became hobgoblins. Although I said they became smarter, only the magi had actual brains and the warriors were still a bunch of idiots.
Later on the hobgoblin magi became goblin lords while the warriors became ogres. At this point, the warriors had already certified their position as disposable meatshields. It’s because of this that the lords are the only ones considered demons while the warriors are just a bunch of somewhat intelligent monsters.
As for their gift from Nyxalia, it is the power to obtain any ability from an enemy that they eat. Sounds ridiculous right? Well a goblin isn’t going to have a dragon breath on par with an actual dragon so it mostly just increases their diversity in abilities.”
I knew about the bit of lore of how goblins were created although most stories never mention it. The social hierarchy between goblins is interesting as only the intelligent goblins have rights, but it makes sense since most goblins probably lack the brain power to do anything properly. They even suck at being bandits in the stories. Actually, is there even a good bandit group?
Their ability is pretty normal though. Almost every reincarnated goblin is like that, but it’s now a racial ability.
“Next up is the all female arachnee race . They are a fun little bunch that are good at sewing with their specially made silk, but they can also use it as a weapon too. Their love lives are filled with S&M and bondage play.
Nyxalia gifted them with the power to create demon eyes on a whim which they occasionally offer to other demons. As every arachnee has 10 eyes, that means they can use 10 different demon eyes simultaneously unlike your summoning ritual that fused every demon eye ability into both of your eyes and allows you to activate as many as you can handle.”
Oh, so they can create demon eyes? Not sure how comfortable I am knowing that I am very similar to them. Hopefully one of them is not a white arachnee. Bad things happen around white spiders.
“The slimes are another race that are considered both monsters and demons. They originally start off as a blob of slime that will eat mostly everything. Their intelligence is pretty low, if not nonexistent, at this stage, but it slowly increases as their mana core that acts as their brain absorbs more mana to get bigger.
After a certain stage, they start to properly learn to use their slime to change their forms into creatures or objects they have seen. Later on, they become intelligent enough to communicate telepathically with other slimes and order around the less mentally developed ones. Eventually, they can perfect a form that allows them to communicate orally with other races.
Their gift was the ability to assimilate their core into their slime which removed their primary weakness of having their core destroyed. The downside is that they now have 2 types of slime to manage as their core slime needs a lot of mana to be replicated and their original slime is what will hold their body together until they get enough core slime.”
So slimes have telepathic communication? It would be funny if people actually died because of slime tactics. If they no longer have a solid core, then that means that it is probably impossible to kill a slime without magic now. Most stories also have slime cores being used for medicine brewing, but now it is highly unlikely to get anything from a slime as magic will probably destroy their entire bodies.
“Last, but not least, are the moon angels which are a type of fallen angel. Fallen angels are angels that have abandoned their faith in Telaire for one of the other religions. They are still able to retain their former blessing, but they can only get a vague hunch on whether or not something is good or bad for them and can only get a precise vision if the event will occur around 1 minute in the future. The original blessing could see decades ahead in the future, but not as precise the further the vision is in the future.
Moon angels are the best healers amongst the ‘demon’ race due to having high affinity to light magic. They are quite excessive in being a neat freak and like to avoid getting dirty. They give a good ‘holier than thou’ act, but they can be quite sadistic when they need to be.
As for their gift, it is the power to draw in all of the surrounding moonlight into their wings to power their magic. It is slow, but it is difficult for any other race to best a moon angel when it comes to brute force in their magic.”
So in this world, fallen angels are not depicted as evil. Well, they probably are but not in the truest sense. Even as a fallen, they still act like a holy emissary with their healing abilities. Although I do find it silly that an angel of all things is have a racial need to keep things clean, but it’s also somehow fitting.
What really bugs me though is that the original angels can see decades into the future. Accuracy is a problem, but that means they might already be aware of me in some manner if I am to trigger their alarm system within the next few decades. I just have to hope that they won’t know who I am until much later. Never was a fan of the hero/reincarnator hiding their identity, but I am not some overpowered freak capable of shrugging off everything from chapter 1.
“There are more races like the dwarves and gnomes, but they are not something you will come across often in the Releweize Continent. Dwarves in particular feel suffocated outside of their caves so they almost never leave. The others have similar traits that make them more isolated.
An important point of interest is that pure blooded demons only make up half of the population. The rest are mixed breeds from a variety of races. Unlike humans, we don’t care much for blood purity when it matters little towards individual power. Vampires and Werebeasts aren’t even actual races since they are just people from a different race that have been infected with a peculiar virus as well as the descendants of those infected.
Something which you should also keep in mind is that in demon culture, nobody wants to give their name unless someone earns the right to hear it. This is mostly centered around those who work together to encourage an efficient work environment. That being the case, I am not going to tell you my name unless you work for it!”
She winks at me as she finishes her declaration which makes me look away for a bit. I wasn’t bothered by anyone not telling me who they were since I never cared much for names and titles. I guess this also means nobody wants to hear my name until I am able to impress them.
“Now for what you have been waiting so long for!” A drum roll can be heard in the room, but there are no drums or any musical instruments for that matter. “It is time for your lessons on magic! Woohoo!” She finishes with an excited cheer as she pumps her fist into the air.
Her mood was contagious, but then again I was waiting for this from the beginning. I was giddy with excitement at the thought of manipulating gravity, distorting space, flying in the sky, leading an army of monsters and whatever cool spells I could learn.
Without warning her face instantly went serious as if she was about to speak of a troubling matter. “But before I tell you how to use magic, you must 1st know the price of magic. All magic comes with a price depending on what you used it for.”
I was a little startled about the sudden change in atmosphere. Is the price of magic that bad? It can’t be if an entire world uses magic. Without minding my thoughts as she normally would, she continues without making a single reaction.
“The simplest of prices are those related to magical affinity. If one attunes oneself to any element, then one’s body will naturally take on the traits of that element. It also changes the colors of one’s body parts to match the element. This is generally labeled as Elemental Price.
Those with fire affinity will have warmer bodies while those with earth affinity will have more durable bodies. Those with ice affinity will have colder bodies while those with water affinity will have a glossier body from the higher water density in their bodies. Those with wind affinity will have stronger lungs while those with lightning affinity will have faster reaction times. Those with light affinity will have faster healing bodies while those with dark affinity will have bodies that can destroy foreign elements in their bodies.
Body Price is another category that one must pay if you use spells that modify, reinforce, or enhance your body. A classic example is the lightning spell that speeds up one’s thought processes. Consistent use of this magic will make one’s mind naturally shift to a faster time ratio which will completely wreck any chance of communicating with people who have not enhanced their thought processes.
Another sad case is all those liches that have formed their own race. They became like that because of their obsession of working on bone golems and making contracts with the souls of the dead which ended up in their flesh just dying and falling off.
Soul Price is the last category one must pay if one use spells that deal with one’s soul. Taming monsters and creating soul weapons both require one to sacrifice a piece of one’s soul in order to fulfill either of those paths. Each fragment of one’s soul will grant intelligence, memories, experience, and personality to those it is granted to. Soul fragments also act as an anchor for the main soul so that if one dies, one’s soul will be ripped apart and absorbed equally towards the other fragments. Many beasts, items, and spirits use this as the price of a contract with them in order to increase their strength over time.”
Unlike creatures who already have a soul, extra complications form from inanimate objects that have no soul. All things in existence accumulate a will from the thoughts of others and this will then forms the base of a personality when granted a soul. Giving a soul fragment to a weapon made by someone else would mean gambling on the type of will that was carved into the weapon when it was forged.”
I was shocked when I heard what the price of magic really is. Adaptation. The more you use a particular spell or element, the more your body will adapt to it. Even without magic, this has always existed in all forms of life, but now magic is amplifying the rate and degree of adaptation.
Elemental Price is probably manageable, but I am not sure I want earth affinity if it makes my body harder to move. Lightning would be amazing if it didn’t mean that I would be forced to learn the language of static. Bzzt. Yeah, not happening.
As for Body Price, I am probably at risk of opening a 3rd eye or a bunch of them like that ninja with the creepy arm. Then there is my wish to be a summoner which might force my body to gain traits of any being I bond with. If that’s the case, then I will likely need to figure out a type of minion that won’t screw over my body.
I have mixed feelings about Soul Price. As a hero in a fantasy world, I might just reincarnate when I die so this might screw me out of a 2nd life. Then there is the fact that I might not even keep my memories anyways so I might as well risk it.
Ironically, I find it interesting that spirits need soul force rather than mana to get stronger. Never understood how creatures with a functioning body can’t absorb mana like every other person in the world. Even a phoenix which is sometimes portrayed as just an elemental can live just fine without forming contracts all the time. But one thing bugs me though….
“Didn’t you mention earlier that liches go crazy when they try to absorb souls? How are spirits, tamed beasts, and soul weapons fine?” I tilt my head as I ask her.
“Yes, I did. You see, a crazy lich or rather legion is formed when a being absorbs an entire soul which still contains the personality. A soul fragment on the other hand will just give memories, knowledge, and experience from the main soul which still contains the personality. Even after the main soul’s body dies, the personality is still never absorbed into the fragments, but nobody knows what actually happens to it.”
So a fragment of a soul is safe to absorb, but not the entire thing? If that’s the case then the soul’s persona might actually retain a single piece of the soul to inhabit when the body dies and is not absorbed by the other fragments. Those who absorb soul fragments might just suffer from knowing a bunch of things that never happened to them, but nothing beyond that.
“Cheer up! It’s not like it’s the end of the world!” She does her best at an attempt to brighten the room up with her smile. I fight it for a few seconds, but I break into a smile too. One day I will learn to remain expressionless when somebody smiles and prove that my wish from childhood is actually possible.
“Although your wish is a hopeless endeavor, you can still accomplish your dream of being a summoner. You just have to pick retainers whose appearance you don’t mind transferring onto yourself and besides mutations never happen immediately so there is no need to worry.
But now that you understand the price of using magic, allow me explain to you the different types of mana in the world.
Fire is orange colored mana that controls fire and heat. Water is blue colored mana that controls water. Wind is clear colored mana that controls wind. Earth is brown colored mana that controls earth. Ice is light blue colored mana that controls molecular movement, but it is just fire magic used in reverse.
Lightning is purple colored mana that controls lightning. Metal is silver colored mana that controls metals. Nature is green colored mana that controls plants. Light is pink colored mana that heals and modifies the body. Dark is black colored mana that controls shadows.
Solar is golden colored mana that controls light from the sun and is a divine mana from the sun goddess. Lunar is white colored mana that controls light from the moon and is divine mana from the moon goddess.
Figuring out which types of mana you want to specialize in will be up to you. In order to show you how to manipulate your mana, please give me your hand.”
In response to her request, I reach out with my hand. After she places her hand under mine, a weird sensation started to bubble up in my hand. It was a sweet, intoxicating feeling that felt like it was leaking out of my hand. Before I even knew it, a white ball of light was hovering above my hand.
“This is a sphere of lunar mana. Try to feel out the sensation of mana being used and copy it over to your left hand.”
I did as she said, but it was easier said than done. The jolt of pleasure that her mana sparked in my body made me aware of all the mana in my body, but moving it is an entirely different matter. Focusing on feeling through my right hand just makes her sphere bigger or shoots out weak white lasers. Nobody was hurt by it since my control is barely able to move much mana for now.
After a few minutes, I got the hang of it by only twitching my muscles to direct my mana towards my left hand. I formed I misshapen sphere, but it was still a sphere.
“Good, keep practicing your control on your own. Also, wear this just incase you get hurt. It will protect you from most injuries and provide you with minor healing.
If you need any assistance, you can ask one of the servants outside to help you. They can bring you to a library to study, a training room to practice bigger spells when you learn to control your spells more, and anything else you may need.” As she said this, she passed me a white necklace in the shape of a lunar crescent. Then she got up and started heading to the door.
“Are you not going to supervise me to make sure I am practicing properly?” I was a little alarmed at the thought of being left alone without a magic teacher.
“The way everyone uses magic is different so not everyone can actually teach someone else anything beyond the basics. We can both be healers, but the way we go about healing may be completely different even if we use the same elemental affinity.”
She only tilts her head before she continues out the door and leaving me to my own devices. I guess I can’t blame the demons for being too lenient in their teachings. I wonder if the human heroes are being worked to the bone 24/7 against the kingdom’s knights/magi?
I only sigh thinking about all the effort I am going to have to put in to be a magister summoner. Taking what she told me to heart I asked the vampire maids outside for some books on all the different types of summoning and taming that they have. It’s going to be a long while before I can do anything impressive.