“You know this is insane, right?” Asked Jean, between ragged breaths.
“What? I’m just trying to train my multitasking skill. It’s really nothing that intense.” Gio replied.
Gio held one arm up, effortlessly reflecting all of Jean’s firebolts while reading about spellforms, while also using his revised [Scrivener’s Charm] to take notes on the floor behind him.
Jean abruptly stopped firing firebolts.
“Look, Gio. I am more than happy to have found someone who likes to train as much as I do, but admittedly, in the past week, you’ve pretty much caught up to me in terms of active defense magic. I’d really like to shift to training my offensive magics… so I think we might need to split up for a little bit.” The boy said.
Gio put his book down. “That’s a touch disappointing, but I understand. I’ll need to find someone else to train with in the meantime.”
“Gio… I don’t think anyone is going to put up with the marathon sessions that you’re used to at this point. But I have an idea if you’re willing to hear it.” Jean replied.
_____
Jean led Gio to a back area in the House of Torches, to a scuffed-looking, nondescript door that could easily be a mop closet.
“It’s through here. Leave your spellbook on the table.” Jean said, pointing to an empty table to the side of the door.
“Just… on the table? Out in the open? Is that safe?” Gio asked.
“We’re in the school, and the House of Torches is under constant monitoring by Inquisitors and Professors to police the fights that go on here. If someone wants to steal spellbooks, this is like the worst place in the school that I know about to do that, besides maybe the Headmaster’s private quarters.” Jean stated.
“Fair enough.”
Walking through the door, Gio was greeted with the sight of a massive, tarnished mirror that spanned the entire length of the room, as if some sort of dance studio. The edges of the mirror looked like they had once been part of some sort of decorative frame, but all but specks of the gilding looked to have been chipped, slashed, or burnt off.
“So this is a trap from the dungeon that was left here on purpose. It’s not very dangerous… but it will still hurt you if you let it. It brings your reflections to life on the other side of the mirror and-”
“Oh, it’s a simple tier-one duplication trap?” Gio interjected.
“Wha- how do you know what a tier one duplication is?” Jean asked.
“Oh, it’s in the homework for the next chapter about dungeon history. A tier-one reflection can mimic a spellcaster to a limited extent, and display some awareness of the caster’s tactics and skill. Am I right?” Gio asked, beaming slightly at the taller boy.
“... Yes. Let me show you.” Jean said. He stepped up closer to the mirror, about 10 paces away, and began channeling a small ball of shaped force mana, like the ones he and Gio had started with. Instead of a perfect reflection, Jean’s mirror image didn’t move, instead waiting to catch the projectile and throw it back.
“Whoa, cool!” Gio exclaimed.
“I thought of this because of your reflecting spell. The reflections have access to any spells that you do, so be careful. But this sparring partner won’t get tired of you.” Jean said, rubbing the back of his head.
“Out of curiosity, what happens if I break the mirror? I have a spell that specifically likes to break things like shiny mirrors.” Gio asked.
“Good luck breaking it, but even if you do, it will respawn after a few hours. To take out the trap, you’d have to do this whole sealing thing that I don’t even begin to understand. That’s like dungeon renovation stuff.” he replied.
“Oh, cool. Well anyway, thanks for showing me this. Maybe we should still set some time aside to spar together, at least once a week?” Gio posited.
“Sure, that sounds good to me. I have a feeling that I might regret showing you this next time we spar.” Jean replied.
_____
By the end of the week, Gio was ready to harvest his crops. Under the careful guidance of Mistress Blossom, Gio used his tools to gently shuck the corn, snip the beans, and pick the squash.
By creating a symbiotic triad where your plants nourish and protect each other, you have demonstrated an understanding of agriculture sufficient to advance directly to the next tier.> “Oh, nice!” Gio exclaimed. Status. Name: Giorgio deGloria Race: Human Class- [Apprentice True Mage] - Unevolved, Unawoken. Occupation: [Full-time student at Crystal Ring Academy] General Skills: -Multitask -Mana Shaper -Fledgling Knowledge Seeker -Gardening Class Skills: -Beginner Inferior True Magic -Mana Sense Mana Affinities: -Lesser Arcane -Lesser Knowledge Spellbook: -Hairline Fracture -Scrivener’s Charm -Detect Magic -Prismatic Shape -Reflect _____ Room Inventory: -Spatial bento -Beginner’s set of Laboratory glassware -Grease pen -Inkling materials -Decent quality beaker of Spellform Ink [Knowledge, inferior Dream mana aspects] -Books Repertoire of common spell blueprints Sigils in the Mana Planes, by H.S. Fleuvette Mana shaping and you, by Lumiander Argent The Secrets and Practices of Ancient Magicians, by Devine Solus Histories of the Crystal Ring Academy Grimoire Arcanica, on Spellcasting by H.S. Fleuvette. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Mortimer’s Meticulous Primer for Making Spellforms Mortimer’s Meticulous Primer for Spellform Materials Mortimer’s Meticulous Primer for Understanding Spellforms Ink of Ages: a Material Atlas Currency: 124 Bits 80 Academic Credits When did my mana sense upgrade? I thought it was [Beginner Mana Sense] Scrolling back through his logs, Gio had missed an advancement during his jaunt into the library. By understanding and manipulating a high quantity and quality of knowledge mana, you have begun to resonate with it. You have entered a divinatory trance, relying upon untrained intuition and rote repetition alone.> Huh… I should check my status more. Have I even really noticed my mana sense skill? I was always decent at it, even before it was a class skill. Sapphire clapped Gio on his back, shaking him free of his stupor. “Congratulations! The skill will help you have a bit of a refined sense of your plant’s needs. I brought you some seeds and cuttings for your garden as promised. Cheap stuff. There’s plants of all sorts growing around the school if you know where to look!” The ebullient girl chirped. She handed over several satchels, each with a small label, filled with notes. [Ghost Duskwort cuttings] - Decay, Earth, Dark - requires host plant, does not produce standalone nutrients. Great for a compost pile! [Titanium Geranium seeds] - Metals, Earth. - sharp edges. Needs high mineral content in the soil. [Towering Viper’s-Bugloss] - Poison, Anti-venom, Arcane. - a weird one, poisonous to eat but topical anti-venom. [Garuda’s Fern seeds] - Wind, Air, Purity - probably one of my favorites. It makes its own wind! Self pollinator! Will 100% infest your whole plot if you let it! You will never, ever run out of this if you start growing it. [Spectral Milkweed seeds] - Light, Life - a favorite of the pollinators in the glade. [Arnold’s Pillar shoot cutting] - Wood, Nature, Water - kind of a woody bamboo. I found this one for you specifically because it’s a favorite of scriveners. Can be made into paper, ink, soap, ash, brushes, construction materials, and lye, it’s like a hundred plants in one. Be careful with this as it’s a nutrient hog. Probably wait until you can support it with spells. “Thanks, Sapphire! Now I have to decide what to grow first… the choice paralysis is gonna be bad,” replied Gio. _____ Gio ended up deciding to start with [Spectral Milkweed], [Titanium Geranium], and a small patch of [Garuda’s Fern] for his first set of printing crops. Mistress Blossom had allotted Gio a bit of extra land after he had demonstrated that he could grow something, and was happy that Gio had decided to donate his produce to Marie. After a fruitful morning at the gardening club, Gio turned to his most recent nemesis - himself. Gio stared at his reflection in the mirror at the House of Torches, pitching a perfect ball of light at it. The image returned the ball effortlessly, with a flash of reflective magic. Seeing a reflection summon a mirror that did not exist on the other side was incredibly disorienting at first, but Gio had now clocked in at least 40 hours doing this over the week and a half since Jean had shown him the chamber. Chanting, Gio invoked the name of his spell, focusing his whole body and mind on the act of casting. “[Reflect].” The shimmering silvery mana plane bounced the ball back towards the mirror, where it went through to the other side as if there were no glass. On and on they went, volleying the same bolt until Gio mistimed his reflection, earning a new bruise on the chest, as the ball had accrued a lot of speed in between volleys. “Agh!” Gio exclaimed, nursing his wound. He swore that he saw the reflection smirk mischievously at him before the image shifted to display Gio rubbing his chest. Yeah, yeah. Yuc it up. I’ll get you eventually. _____ Gio had dinner with Chandrika, who had recently learned how to use a soft, golden healing magic, and was kind enough to treat Gio’s wound. “Thanks, Rika. That guy is really, really good at using reflect. He has got me beat.” “You do know that you’re talking about yourself, right? The mirror only makes a copy of you. You’re good at [Reflect].” She said. “If that were true, then why have I never beaten him? No, the man in the mirror must be somebody else. The day that I finally beat him will be the day that I accept my reflection as my own.” Gio proclaimed, with mock intensity. Laughing, Rika played along; “oh, to so valiantly do battle against the darkness in your soul. How poetic!” “Hmm… darkness isn’t the right word. I don’t think I feel like he wants to hurt me, even considering the dungeon trap. I just feel like he wants to win. I might be hallucinating, but I swore he smirked at me today after the longest chain of volleys we’ve ever had.” Gio pondered. “Okay, maybe we need to get you away from that mirror, you’re starting to ascribe genuine feelings to a dungeon trap.” She stated. “Actually, that’s exactly what we’re gonna do. Saph, Celeste from the weaving club, and I are going to do a little bar crawl on Shimmerstone this Saturday, and you are coming with me. No arguments!” _____ Saturday night rolled around, and Gio was wearing a very shimmery, ruffled black blazer. He felt slightly over-dressed until he saw Celeste, waiting for the others by their agreed meeting spot near the Stupid Monkey, where Marie was dressed up like a pirate behind the bar. “OH. MY. SPIRITS! GIO! I LOVE IT!” the tall girl said. Celeste Iris was of mixed elven descent, clearing six-foot-seven easily in heels. She had stick-straight pitch-black hair that curtained elegantly down to the back of her knees and was wearing a dazzling black slip dress that was adorned with shimmering stones in diamond-shaped patterns. “Wow, I do such great work. Thank you again for agreeing to be my model!” the tall girl squealed. “Well, you two look like you’re ready for a night out on the town!” Sapphire said, her arm linked with Chandrika. Both girls were wearing similar dresses to Celeste, with minor differences. Chandrika’s dress had a more reserved halter top cut at the top and was host to a pattern of gold flourishes, whereas Sapphire’s dress looked to be tighter around the waist and was host to blue fleur-de-lis patterns, all dripping in faux jewels. The group began their night by ordering a lightly alcoholic sea spritz at the Stupid Monkey, under the guidance slash chaperoning of Marie, in full pirate garb. Feeling good, the group traipsed down the boardwalk, giggling and sharing stories about their recent classes. Celeste was a bad influence, but the fun, low-pressure kind of bad influence on the group. The tall girl seemed to know practically everyone, and everyone loved Celeste. It was after the third faux dive bar that Gio felt sufficiently tipsy and switched to water. Although the legal drinking age in Ringed City was fourteen, Gio’s parents didn’t drink, so Gio had no real desire to drink either. He appreciated Marie’s elegantly crafted drinks- blending even the most outlandish ingredients into new and exciting flavors. Gio went outside for some fresh air, enjoying the perpetual nighttime of Shimmerstone Street. The bustling street was especially busy on Saturday nights, and it could be said that a sizable chunk of the student body would make appearances on the strip at some point. Students were sneaking off into back alleys, Climbing the pergolas, and all manner of hearty mischief as the night went on. Student body enforcers who wore high-visibility vests could be seen patrolling the area, arbitrating disputes, and banishing the rare student who was unable to comport themselves responsibly. Jean and some of his friends walked by, in matching white suits. Gio smiled and waved at his friend, as Jean perked up, and brought his friends over to greet him. “Gio! Good to see you, my man! Guys, this is Gio, from my class. He’s super smart!” Jean proclaimed. An ugly laugh erupted from a muscular red-headed boy, hanging off of one of the others in the group. “So this is your charity case, Jean-ny-boy? How cute, the people’s prince-ess is doing a press tour already.” the boy spat, slurring his words. Gio felt like throwing up. His ears heated and he felt a red mask descend upon his cheeks. “Hey dude t-” Jean started. “How utterly tacky.” sneered Celeste, emerging from the bar. The svelt figure stepped forward, stepping in front of Gio, handing him her drink with an irrefutable air. She raised a razor-sharp black nail to the drunken boy. “How dare you pretend to know anything about charity, you ape. Your half-bit merchant family couldn’t buy a heart if it was on sale. Gio is great, and you -hic- you… suck!” Celeste shouted. The redheaded boy shoved his friend off of him, face scrunched into an expression of hatred. “Oh great, now the queen herself of sticking her nose into other people’s business is here to defend the latest hard-working Copper-Ringer to get sacrificed to the school. Dude, everyone knows that you’re only here to remind us that the school is dangerous. You’re gonna die in like… three weeks tops to some scrawny mon-” A resounding slap silenced the street as Celeste shook her hand out, having broken a nail in the process. The form of the boy lit with crimson flames, as the pavement underneath him began to smolder. “You’re gonna pay for that, Celeste.” the enflamed figure said. “Oh yeah? Says who?” retorted Celeste, gathering what appeared to be a miniature star of sickly green light in her palm. All noise bled out of the street, as Gio felt his pulse still. The street began to drip away, as colors faded from the scene around him. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on its end as he was paralyzed in place. The sole figure to retain color in this place was a figure bedecked in a golden mask. The figure strode forwards, slipping between the grey forms of still students, each of whom tracked the form of the figure with eyes that weren’t locked into place, faces strained against the oppressive magics. “This is unbecoming behavior.” the figure stated. Their featureless metallic voice was quiet, yet echoed down the street. Gio could not even hear his heart beating. “To those of you who witnessed this altercation and did nothing to de-escalate, you should feel ashamed. There is always another path.” Touching a gloved finger to the forms of Celeste and the burning boy, each of them disappeared. No motes of mana, no wisps of colored smoke, just blinked out of existence. Color returned to the world, and Gio collapsed.