Book 1 – Second Chance
Chapter 11 – Three Cubes
‘Are you okay Albi? I haven’t seen you like that in a long time’ said Bailey as she sat in front of Albi in the pond, and hugged him.
‘Not really…Seeing that name brought back some ugly memories that I’d rather avoid’ Albi said as he dissociated and woke up in the pond, hugging her back.
‘I know. It’s fine. They’re no longer here. There’s no one else here. It’s just us. You’re safe here with me’.
“I see. So it wasn’t a meditation technique that you’ve been using…How intriguing. Now then, can you please wake up so we can talk?” Said Marko as he stood in front of Albi.
‘It’s okay. You stay here. I’ll go and deal with him. It’s gonna be fine’ said Bailey as she tried sooth over the shaking Albi.
The Bailey in the pond slumped over as she woke up in the real world, and looked up at Marko defensively.
“Don’t worry, there’s no need to be so hostile towards me. I’m guessing that paper recorded something that you didn’t want to see?” asked Marko.
“How did you know that?”
“I can see your soul went into disarray, and you weren’t totally conscious, and I can also tell that ‘someone else’ took over.” As soon as he said that Bailey suddenly jumped back, putting her guard up, wary of what this man would do next.
Marko suddenly tapped his staff on the ground, causing Bailey’s body to fall to the ground as she lost all the power in her body, becoming completely crippled. He then tapped his staff again, allowing her to once more move freely.
“I told you, you don’t have to act so hostile in front of me. I just did that to show you that if I wanted to do something to you, I can do it, and you can’t stop me. Besides, to anyone with a keen eye, what you just did isn’t hard to detect if someone knew where, and when to look.”
“Well then, what is it that you want from us then?” asked Bailey.
“To help. I am an administrator of the Tri-Path Academy, and you are now one of my students. You are far too weak for me to truly desire anything that you have, so I have no ulterior motives here. Take this” said Marko as a transparent small cube appeared within his hands which he gave Bailey.
“What is this?”
“It’s a memory cube. It’s formed by my memories, and my Mana. If you use it, you gain all the memories that are recorded down in it. It’s a unique ability reserved for us Magicians. Others have to use physical objects to store down memories, and information, but we can simply encase them in cubes made of Mana. It has an method that will help you mask your soul better in the future. To an astute eye, it can’t hide the peculiarity within, but it should hide that ‘change’ that you undergo at the very least. That is of course unless you face someone considerably stronger than you. If that happens, nothing you can do can hide anything from them”.
“Have you thought about which path you will take?” asked Marko as he sat down, and gestured for Bailey to sit in front of him, to which she did, knowing that nothing she does can save her from anything this man wanted to do anyway.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
“I want to be a Magician” answered Bailey, to which Marko’s eyes immediately lit up, and he laughed uproariously.
“Good, good! You have a good head on your shoulders unlike those brutes, or those weird vague monks…” said Marko as his face showed a slight hint of disdain that didn’t escape Bailey’s eyes.
“I assume you’ve heard what I said to the others just now. Unfortunately, due to your outburst earlier, you do have to be punished; thus you will not be exempt from the academy’s tuition, and will have to pay just like the rest. Now then, here’s a replacement identification paper that we can fill out for you. Could you please tell me what was it that triggered you last time?” asked Marko.
“The name.” answered Bailey.
“I see…Very well, for this case, and under strict observation by me, I will help you in filling out this identification paper, and I will write down the name myself. What’s your name, and the name of the guy inside?”
‘You can tell him Bailey, it’s fine.’ Said Albi.
“My name is Bailey, and his is Albi. No surname.”
True Names: Albi/Bailey
True Age: 27
True Origin: Earth, …
All types of information about Albi, and Bailey started to get written down in the paper handed to them by Marko. Body dimensions, eye and hair color, any possible birthmarks, or distinctive features, and many more including a full picture of their body from all over was recorded down.
Administrator Marko wanted to look over the information, but decided against it.
‘It appears their past is very…complicated, thus I should probably refrain from prying any further.’
After the information in the paper was fully filled out, the paper started to disintegrate into tiny orbs of light that scattered everywhere.
“Now that your information is in the system, any soul imprint from you could be used as identification wherever you go. The lecture the other students went to is probably over by now, but luckily since you have chosen to be a magician, I can give you the explanation pertaining to Magicians instead.”
“In order to fully establish yourself within a path, you have to commence constructing a core within your body. As I said before, Magicians absorbs Mana, and store it in a core within their brain, or what we Magicians call a ‘Mind Palace’. At the start you should only absorb Mana, and neither of the other energies, and you should focus it within your brain. After some time, a core should start forming there. Once you break through this stage, that core will solidify, and you can start learning, and casting spells. Usually it would take a long time, but since you have already fully opened your pores including the ones in your brain, this shouldn’t take more than a few weeks at the most. Take these.” Marko handed Bailey two more transparent cube.
“You should look over all three cubes once you head to your dorm room. The first cube I gave you isn’t a technique more than it is a different way of moving the energies around you to obstruct the changes that happen when you ‘switch’, so you should already be able to practice it. The second is the meditation technique that you should use at the start, while the third is just some extra information about the history of Magic, and Magicians, and the origins of spells, and how to cast them. You probably shouldn’t leave your dorm room until you can master the masking technique I gave, and this should cover some of your earlier lectures so you don’t fall behind”.
“You should head to the student affairs department. Now that you have opened the pores in your eyes, you should be able to interpret the writings outside to guide you. They will give you your dorm keys, a map of the academic zone, as well as you itinerary, and some other basic supplies. Good luck, and I hope to see you more in the future.” Said Marko as he stood up, and left the hall after being thanked by Bailey, leaving them sitting alone with their thoughts.
…
Meanwhile, in the City Guard’s Headquarters.
A knock came outside the captain’s office, and a young guard in his early 20s walked in.
“Captain Haler, their information is in the system. I have already done what you instructed me to do.”
“Good job Keller, thank you for this. Truly.” Responded Captain Haler.
“Of course, sir! I would do anything for you, sir!” Keller saluted as he turned to leave.
‘What a good kid, if a bit overzealous in his service. I sometimes wished he’d challenge some of the things I told him to do, but I’m thankful he didn’t ask any questions regarding this however. The less he knows the better’. Thought Captain Haler is he sat back down in his desk, and leaned back on his chair.
‘Now then, Albi, and Bailey…What will you do with this Second Chance you’ve been given I wonder…’