Gio stared at the recliner he had found in the hidden reading space.
I did a hedge mage mana divination to find this chair.
Mister Guzheng would be laughing his ass off if he knew that the technique he demanded I learn might be about to save me on my first day of class.
Gio remembered his tutor at Copper Ring Preparatory School fondly. The aged man was an endless font of witticisms and snark, but he cared about his students.
Mr. Guzheng was content to act as a glorified babysitter to those who just wanted to ride through the school year with passing grades, but Gio saw a very different side of the bald man.
Mr. G had spent many hours with Gio, forcing him to learn all sorts of banal mana-shaping exercises to a frankly unrealistic level of proficiency.
“Consume all that is available to you. Every scrap of ‘useless’ knowledge was written for a reason.” He would say.
The hedge witch divination technique was an esoteric piece of “vulgar magic” - magic traditionally looked down upon by institutions because of its non-standard format.
The ‘vulgarity’ required an understanding of differing mana types through sense alone, combined with an active meditation, and a circulation technique.
By channeling and focusing on a stream of the rare knowledge mana abundant in the Owl’s Respite, Gio had focused on the mental image of a recliner and had found one. The technique practically never worked outside of specific circumstances, but its difficulty made for decent practice- Gio had never used it to find something more specific than a one-word description, or a simple mental image.
He knew that what he was about to do was tantamount to idiocy.
Breathing in a nearly intoxicating amount of the knowledge mana around him, catching some stray wisps of “Book”, “Paper”, and “Ink” mana, and trying to avoid others such as “Dust” and “Decay”, Gio began incorporating the whirlpool of foreign mana into his reservoir.
Feeling [Multitask] spark to life, he began to walk slowly, his feet hitting the ground in a trance-like, rhythmic pattern. Gradually, he introduced his will to the cycle, imagining a book that would teach him how to begin making spellforms.
It's difficult to hold a mental image of a book that you haven't read, and don't even know the name of.
Gradually, Gio walked forwards through the stacks, and into darkness, as the light from the windows grew dimmer.
_____
Frog
A massive moss-covered frog statue sat half-submerged in a pristine pond, filled to the brim with lily pads. Smaller frog statues adorned the periphery of the pond, carved out of the surrounding grotto walls, each with a wide mouth gushing forth clear water.
Crystalline towers illuminated the dim ground cover, underneath squat mangroves among the peaceful bog. Little jeweled dragonflies with iridescent wings flitted above vibrant lotuses. Tomes of ancient, beautiful magic rested upon vine-covered lecterns interspersed throughout the scene, some locked shut by glowing wooden chains, and others open to specific sigils, releasing rainbow-colored fountains of glittering mana in curated streams of complementary types.
A small round frog sat, eyes closed, under its favorite waterfall, on a nice warm rock. The frog croaked, and ribbited, and enjoyed it’s existence.
A baleful hoot ruined the frog’s peace. The frog sighed internally and opened one jade eye to scrutinize the interloper.
“Owl.” Said the frog, addressing their guest.
A proud, fluffy, horned brown owl with white speckled feathers sat upon a dewy branch, his beak glistening in the light of a nearby crystal.
“Greetings, Frog. I've come to seek guidance.”
Oh?
“And what guidance could I offer you, oh wise owl? What knowledge could possibly evade you, keeper of the stacks?” The frog gurgled, voice shifting to a strange tone.
The owl flew down to the frog, talons clicking upon the smooth stones of the basin.
Getting our feathers wet, are we?
“I have a matter of… conscience. There is a juvenile in my house, trekking into the unmaintained eaves of my grand facade.” the owl said, flinching at the bluster of the waterfall.
“So? The Vespertine child warns them every year. We nurture the ones who will listen, and guide them as we are best able. We are not responsible for those who wander past the lovely lich’s walled garden.” the frog bubbled.
Hopping forward to spare the owl from the water, the frog bounded across the stones and onto a lilypad. After the Owl joined them, the frog produced some mice for the ornery bird in a show of gentle green light.
“I am curious, Owl. In eons of this farce, you’ve not shown any care towards those who wander into the old halls. Why now?” the Frog croaked.
The owl pecked apart a small white mouse.
“A curiosity. Twice now, the child has surprised me. Firstly, he picked up on the lich’s tricks in near record time, unaided by the faculty. Then, he speaks to the mana like an old witch - to find a chair.” the Owl hooted.
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“So… when he came to me to waste a commendation, I gave him a small hint.”
“If he was any duller, he’d have missed it. He cannot even cast a spell, yet he seeks to make them, and so he’s wandering off into the dark to find a book that I haven’t yet placed in the hospitable areas of my demesne,” he said.
The frog paused for a moment, lazily tracing the web of enchantments through the ivy near its shrine.
“Your hint, even if obscured, was all that you may do for him without breaking the pacts. I praise you for finally properly aiding a student… but you must let whatever happens next play out. Root for his success, if you wish, from afar. Provide no aid, nor reassurance. And if worse comes to pass, inform his instructor where his remains lay. It is harsh, but it is necessary.” The frog squeaked.
“I … see.” said the Owl.
_____
Gio
Gio’s lungs ached. His feet hurt, and his head was throbbing. The localized maelstrom of mana surrounding him compelled him to keep going forward, lest he break his trance prematurely.
The dim light was no longer an issue, as the mana surrounding Gio had long since grown in intensity so far as to produce glimmers of visible effects. The grain on the wooden shelves alit with foxfire, illuminating many curiosities upon the shelves of the liminal space. Several times, Gio was tempted to stop and examine something, but the momentum he had accrued in his workings propelled him towards his goal.
Several times, in the dark, Gio thought he saw motion through the whirls of purple mana flying around him- or heard some noise, but his eyes were glued forwards, alighting on footprints that he had not yet tread, emblazoned in glowing marks.
After an unknowable amount of time, His course shifted, down one of the long aisles of books. The featureless brown tomes ever-present up until this point began to make way, as Gio happened across hundreds of copies of the same book. After another few steps, another bookshelf was filled with hundreds of identical copies of yet another tome, clearly some kind of mass-produced textbook.
Still onwards he went for an agonizing few hundred paces, before finally, the storm of light surrounding him abruptly whistled away, leaving him stranded in utter darkness, as the wooden grains of the shelving dimmed. Gio felt utterly drained, but managed to shape a small globe of mana into a dim light. Hundreds of copies of Mortimer’s Meticulous Primer for Making Spellforms lined the next few bookshelves.
Gio took a copy, holding the book aloft. “Am I just allowed to take this? Like is there some sort of checkout procedure or something?”
-Solve the riddle of a high-knowledge elemental. -Claim knowledge from an ancient repository. -Register 1000+ hours of independent study. -Maintain 4.7 GPA in a system-recognized school for six consecutive semesters.> [Fledgling Knowledge Seeker] < You have demonstrated talent and drive to attain knowledge beyond your ken. Attain mid-level bonuses for memorization, comprehension, and information gathering. You shall find knowledge that you seek faster than normal. So long as your occupation remains education-based, receive additional bonuses toward knowledge and growth-related skills.> Startled by the unexpected prompt filling his vision, Gio nearly dropped the book that he was holding. The small mana construct he was maintaining blinked out of existence, leaving Gio to stare at the blazing white words in front of him. This is… unbelievable. A system achievement. I accept. <[Fledgling Knowledge Seeker] Attained.> Immediately, Gio felt a wave of refreshment as his being was integrated with the upgraded skill. The heavy book in his hands was covered in dust. Gio resummoned the light to try to read the book. As soon as he did, he screamed. “OHMYGODOHMYGODOHM-” Gio scrambled backwards, dropping the book as he saw a mangled form, dragging itself towards him. The corpse-like being was covered in what appeared to be bandages, trailing a thick pool of black tar. Catching his breath, Gio backed away further and released a held breath as he realized that the creature wasn’t fast. Gio’s heart was still beating faster than normal as he saw the creature descend upon the dropped book, consuming the pages. This is okay. I’ve trained for this. I think. Wow- a real dungeon monster, it’s almost excit- NO, Gio! Not the time! Raising an arm, Gio summoned a mote of mana, forming and aspecting it with his [Mana Shaper] Skill. A Small lance of fire burst forth and puttered out before it reached the target. What? Oh! The library must be suppressing the fire. What else do I have on hand? Gio unclasped his spellbook, flicking towards [Prismatic Shape] with ease. Well, I’ve been reading about the theory… I wanted to wait to do this safely, but here goes nothing. The shambling figure stood up, with the remnants of the book now plastered to its face, rearranging themselves in unsettling patterns. I hate this. What is this thing? Gio raised his hand, pushing mana and his mind’s eye toward the shape of the shimmering opalescent inks on the page. Instantly, Gio was treated to the sight of the pattern on the page sparkling to life, and the sensation of power at his fingertips. Gio attempted to make an emotional connection to how he felt seeing the magic demonstration all those years ago that had set him on his path to becoming a mage, imagining the masked magicians and their arrays of sparkling magic. A luminescent pyramid of light appeared, hovering above Gio’s hand. He pointed forwards, imagining the shape rocketing towards the dripping shape. Nothing. Gio re-doubled his efforts, pushing a stream of light-aspected mana through the spell construct, and feeling it buck at his command, attempting to escape him. He remembered his training. Years of effort, all preparing for this moment. Literally all of the mana-shaping exercises I have done were for this one thing. Go! Rocketing forwards, the pyramid of light impacted the form, illusory panes of light shattering on contact. The humanoid lurched forward, enraged. Gio summoned a new shape- a cube, and threw it like a fastball, aiming for a leg. The creature toppled over like a cheap mannequin. The creature’s head split down the middle, opening up into an upsetting maw of gooey black spikes, spraying forwards towards Gio, who dodged easily. The Black ooze reformed into tiny black spiders, swarming towards him. No. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Gio summoned a flat circular plane of light, sending it careening towards the creature like a sawblade. The creature’s head plopped off of its body ungracefully as the spiders dis-animated into little puddles. “Now that you have handled the Inkling. You should take your books and go.” said an owl, perched upon the top of a bookcase. “AAAAAAAAAAAH”