Mesker and Solvent face each other in a barren area not far from the orphanage. The pyromancer and James had agreed wielding their magic could threaten the old building's structure if they stayed too close, hence this battlefield in the middle of nowhere. There were no lights to chase away the natural ambient darkness of the Sunken City, but neither of them was bothered by it - Mesker's golden eyes shined through the dark and allowed him to see with ease, whereas James could share the senses of whichever infused he was currently focusing on and Solvent had never been relying on mundane vision in the first place, the slime's eyes had always been an accessory to appear more human rather than functioning organs. And with James' infusion's reliance on shadows, Solvent's night vision had been further improved. Frankly, although they were worse than those of James' new body in this world, the slime's senses were still more than excellent.
James didn't expect the old mage to want to start training immediately, but it made sense. If he truly had only a few days to prepare his raid on Runar's base, he might as well start using Mesker's offer while he was still here. Whatever he learned today would greatly influence his plan, although he already had a few ideas to take down the runemaster. He might not have existed in this world for as long as Runar, but the former pizza delivery boy had come across a lot of challenges and interesting situations since he arrived here. Certainly, some past solutions could also apply to this problem.
But fighting Runar would have to wait just a little longer, for now, he had a lesson to learn. Fighting by proxy with Solvent's body was a handicap, but James didn't have the time to go down himself and even if he did he was certain Mesker would figure out the trick, and as friendly and useful the man had proven himself to be, he still wasn't a true member of James' team. Today's ally could be tomorrow's enemy, and unlike the infused and the Shadow Commando, the demonologist didn't hold any loyalty to James.
The sickly thin tan man in red robes covered with violet flames faked a cough in his fist, the gesture gently ruffling his long white hair.
"Are you done introspecting, Silhouette?"
James was very thankful neither he nor Solvent had the means to blush, though he wasn't sure the slime could still feel enough emotions to even do it anymore.
"You'll have to forgive me for preparing myself to face an experienced exorcist like yourself. Are you certain my demonic ancestry will not react badly to your magic?"
"Again, yes. The percentage of demonic energy in your general signature is so small it is dismissible. My spells will be slightly more effective at worst, though by a single-digit percentage - much like your own eldritch nature does."
"I beg your pardon?"
"What, you didn't know about that?"
"Well, I knew I had some eldritch origins, but they never mattered until now."
The mage grumbled as he rolled his eyes.
"Fine, have this as a bonus. Although I specialize in demons, during my exorcist training I had to learn about the various otherworldly entities that might try to invade and corrupt this plane of existence. Eldritch creatures are a special bunch, since rather than being a strict family or coming from a particular plane, what makes them "eldritch" is that they do not come from this universe and its various planes and planets, and even nonsense like alternate timelines."
Solvent's faceless visage didn't express any confusion, but Mesker still tried to simplify his explanation.
"Think of it like this: a plane is a room within a house which is a universe, but this universe is still connected to every room on the street, well eldritch entities come from another planet entirely. The other shared trait of eldritch entities is that their otherness is weaponized so that they counter the existence of whatever universe they entered, it is essentially a powered-up version of demons' and celestials' pseudo-immunity trick that requires special methods and ergo us exorcists. Whether you realized it or not, everything you do is better than it should be - you're more resilient than any ethereal creature of your level, your spells are stronger, it's easier for you to overwhelm people... The percentage of eldritch energy in you is incredibly low so it's easy to miss, but it's still more impactful than whatever you get from your demon side."
For a second, James pondered if it was his body that had eldritch aspects or, based on what Mesker said, perhaps his reincarnation from another world was the cause of this specific power. But more importantly...
"While I am thankful for you sharing this knowledge, why do you know I have eldritch energy in the first place?"
The pyromancer waved his concerns away.
"That sort of thing is pretty obvious to anyone with the right tools or senses, don't blame me for noticing something that stood out so much. Granted, those things are hard to hide, but a man like you should be able to find a way. Now, do you want me to explain anything else or can we get on with the lesson?"
"I would appreciate it if you no longer scry on me without my authorization. But yes, we may proceed, Mesker."
"Good. Now, remember that I'm teaching you how to fight a mage, not be one, for that sort of lesson you better look elsewhere. To begin with, tell me how you dealt with the runic mages Runar sent after you."
"Well, I-"
James had Solvent throw themself to the right, just in time to avoid the fireball Mesker had thrown their way, the old mage's eyes glowing brightly.
"Lesson number one, magic itself may be eye-catching, but casting may be discreet. Never give a mage enough room to even breathe."
James directed Solvent to take charge of moving their body while he would focus on discussing with the mage and using spells and his innate ability to control shadows.
"That could have been dangerous, Mesker."
The demonologist scoffed as a pillar of flames rose between him and Solvent, blocking the slime from charging him directly.
"Lesson number two, a good magic practitioner can control the strength of their spells. There's a minimum and a maximum of what you can do without it fizzling out or exploding in your face, but I can guarantee you won't be harmed if any of those things hit you."
As he finished his sentence, a burst of flames escaped from Mesker's robes and spread to the surrounding area, chasing away the tendrils of shadows James had formed to take him by surprise, all the while firey pillars and projectiles kept appearing.
"Lesson number three, the shields you have encountered and corrupted so far have been the basic stuff. Oh, many mages rely on those all their life, but anyone who reaches the level of someone like Runar, even if they're not a combat specialist, learns something to improve, replace, or provide an alternative to those shields."
Mesker illustrated his words by manifesting an aura of golden and purple flames that disappeared after a few seconds.
"I know from Runar of your little shield corruption trick, so I knew to use this small explosion trick to keep your shadows at bay. You can't corrupt as effectively if you can't make continued contact, so you need to either find a way to power through those counters or rely on bigger attacks that can overwhelm the shield on their own."
James followed his advice and threw the shadow bolt he had been charging silently this whole time, only for five translucent floating curved panels, each equal in size to Mesker, to appear around the pyromancer, one of them catching the dark ball of energy before turning black and crumbling away, only for a new panel to appear instantly.
"Here's where powerful single attacks lose their effectiveness: with the right method, you can nullify them and render the opponent's energy expenditure and time of preparation useless. That's not to say those attacks have no purpose, but they won't be effective for every fight. Ideally, you should know a little of everything so that you have a type of attack for every situation. When dealing with a mage specifically, your best bet are sustained fire and melee combat. Most spells become unreliable if the opponent is too close. I remember in my youth a mage in training created a protective bubble too late, and instead of protecting him from the incoming punch, all it did was trap him with his assailant and prevent anyone around from interfering."
Mesker chuckled as he recalled the story, more and more golden and violet flames manifesting and either throwing themselves at Solvent or blocking the slime's path and forcing them to change their course.
"Ah, that was a fun afternoon. He wasn't harmed, by the way, just rattled by what happened. This tale illustrates the vulnerability of a mage to enemies who get too close, but most importantly, it's one every mage knows a version of. We know our weaknesses, and so we work to overcome them. Some mages prefer to learn how to fight effectively in melee combat, while others choose to use spells that make them harder to reach. You should be prepared for both, especially when it comes to someone like Runar, snakes like him are the sort to prepare for every situation."
Solvent slithered around another wall of fire and ducked beneath a fireball that flew their way, only to throw themself to the side to avoid the claws of some sort of bear made of smoke and embers, as though sculpted from the scene of an inferno, the unnatural purple glow in its eyes contrasting with its elemental body.
"Lesson number four, a good mage rarely truly fights alone. The common man will rely on other people, others may use summons or constructs."
James threw a charged shadow bolt at the magical creature, only for the manifested animal to explode and fade away into nothing as soon as the dark energy hit it.
"Not all summons have the same purpose, and they're not all equal. This Sylvesfire for example is a tremendous foe to the mundane, but anyone with the most basic offensive Aspect would be able to disperse it easily. It is meant to be threatening, but not much more. Magic may be born from the Soul Aspect, but it heavily relies on the mind - at least among us sapients. A fight against a mage is a mind game, where your goal is to overwhelm their ability to think."
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
More forest critters made of embers and smoke emerged from the various fires left behind by Mesker's spells, from birds and bunnies to magnificent deers and wolves. Now that he knew their strength James ordered Solvent to ignore them and instead focus on getting to the pyromancer, though he still made sure to throw weak shadow attacks at the creatures, just in case one of them was more than it appeared.
"Lesson number five, and one that is particularly important in the case of someone like Runar. Magic and casting may be enhanced by mediums, catalysts to channel the power through. Wands, staves, pendants... They take many forms, but they all serve the same purpose. Many mages rely far too much on these supportive tools, and in turn, become powerless without them. I can fight without my staff just fine as you can see, but Runar? Runar is a runemaster, his magic is focused on creating those supportive tools and utilizing them. You've encountered runic mages yourself, and you have seen how inefficient their combat method is. If you deny Runar the chance to use his runes and tools, victory is guaranteed."
Mesker raised his blackened right hand and a dozen burning sigils appeared in the air in a circular pattern before they began to rotate, the flames throughout the barren field beginning to move in turn, slowly spinning around the demonologist.
"Breaking runes isn't quite as easy as it sounds. While under normal circumstances damaging the item they are inscribed onto or disturbing their mana manifestation is enough, runes at a higher level - at the level any proper mage would use them, including Runar - are linked together and strengthened. If you were to have a spear with a wooden shaft covered in runes of this sort, it'd be easier to break the metal tip. However, there is a way to overcome this enhanced resistance, a way over than overwhelming power. Change the runes."
He pointed to the circle of sigils floating above his right palm, more specifically at one that looked quite an O or Q, with a small arrow instead of a bar.
"This little one here dictates the way the Blazing Hurricane should spin - do not worry, I won't let the spell form. Now, simply crossing it out or erasing it would cost a lot of energy, not only that but it would require enough focus that you would barely be aware of your opponent. But, if instead of trying to destroy it you simply alter the sigil and modify it to become a similar yet different one..."
With his left index, Mesker pushed on the bars of the arrow to point the other way, and instantly the flames that had been spinning around him changed direction.
"You change its intended purpose. Oh, here it was a little thing, but if I had changed the runic enchantment of a firearm so that instead of the projectile being ejected with greater strength it instead had little to no momentum, the weapon would become useless. I'll give you an encyclopedia of the most common runes so that you have some idea of what to alter and into what."
Suddenly, the task of learning runic magic from the mages he had infused which James had been putting off for a while because of its complexity moved up on his priority list.
"Altering an existing rune into a similar one is relatively easy, all you need to do is put a lot of mana into it. The only requirement is that you must directly touch the rune and that you know what you want to change it into. Random scribbles will have no effect."
James ordered Solvent to rush at the mage and to ignore whatever obstacle may appear in the way, and as he expected, as soon as the slime turned, walls of flame rose to intercept them, Solvent obeyed James' order and ignored the blazing inferno in front of them and kept on moving forward, and just as they were about to enter the fire tendrils of darkness emerged from the ground and wrapped around the blob, shielding it from the heat. As they advanced, the flames in front of them didn't end, what felt like an endless sea of fire surrounded them on all sides and Mesker was nowhere to be seen, instead more of those embers and smoke critters, the Sylvesfire, appeared out of thin air.
Luckily for James, his and Solvent's senses could still feel the demonologist in front of them, hidden behind the blaze. Solvent kept charging forward as fast as they could while James threw shadow bolts at the summoned creatures and blasted them apart. In a few seconds, they were out of the fire, and just before the mage, a tentacle forming and ready to grasp onto his skeletal frame... Only for the demonologist to burst into a cloud of dark smoke as soon as the shadowy appendage made contact.
James had Solvent turn around, perceiving Mesker appearing out of a pillar of flames behind them, his hands behind his back.
"Lesson number six, and the last one for now. A good mage, one that knows more about magic than just throwing balls of magical energies and forming protective barriers, will always have an escape plan in case an opponent reaches them. Some will rely on teleportation, others on smokes and mirrors. As I've already said, fighting a mage is a duel of the minds, deceiving the enemy is the key to victory. Magic is useless if you don't use it at the right place at the right time. You should be familiar with being elusive, no?"
Dark tendrils emerged from the ground, their tip sharpened into blades and aimed at Mesker.
"Good thinking. True teleportation isn't quite as simple as we might like to pretend. Chances are the trick is limited in the number of uses or range, perhaps both. If not, then maybe it takes some time to prepare."
"The last Knight Runar sent after me broke some kind of crystal before vanishing."
The old mage nodded.
"A teleportation crystal. There are technically quite a few different types of them, but they all ultimately have the same function: either harness its energy into some kind of tool if they're numerous or powerful enough; or break one to instantly be transported to a preemptively chosen place, either by attuning the crystal to that location or programming it with enchantments, like, say, runes."
"How many of them do you think Runar has?"
"At the scale of his operation? One for him, maybe one for those he trusts. Those things are expensive, and even the elite of Wicked Witchcraft avoids using them if possible. It's easier and cheaper for them to break out of prison, after all."
With a finger snap from the pyromancer, the flames around them both extinguished themselves, and James saw that as the end of their spar and had Solvent retract their tentacles. The fight felt a little underwhelming, but it made sense, it was barely a spar, more of a demonstration, Mesker used his spells to illustrate his lessons and Solvent just followed along so that James may have an idea of what could work against his target. Still, something worried him...
"Do you still believe I can take him down?"
"Yes, you have all the tools that you need. I can tell you weren't using every spell you knew, I was there when you fought Sydakors, and I saw that black vortex. If you fight with the intent to kill with everything you have and make use of the toys your subordinate made, there is little doubt in my mind. At least, so long as you don't fight with a proxy like today."
What? How can he-
Mesker turned around, exposing his back and his long white hair that reached his waist and began to walk away.
"I met you and your puppet both, Silhouette. I can sense that, despite their similitude, your two energy signatures are still distinct. You are more eldritch than it is, and it is far weaker than you."
Embers appeared out of thin air before they merged into a golden wooden staff with a tip shaped like a flame.
"I don't ask questions, Silhouette, and neither do I take sides. Runar is a special case, he tried to play me for a fool, but at the end of the day, I only involve myself with demon problems."
A tiny spark emerged from the golden flame of the staff and flew high in the air.
"Once Runar is dealt with, we'll be able to return to our usual business. Until then, farewell, Silhouette."
A pillar of fire engulfed the man, and just like that, he was gone.
As much as he wanted to worry about his ruse being discovered, James had much more important things to do, such as preparing his own raid on Runar's base.
He could hear Techlord complaining about the added work.
----------------------------------------
Somewhere in Zalcien's slums, in a place all did their best to avoid, a lone man in metal armor approached what had once been a hospital, now the haven of monsters and their atrocious creator.
Karado had received a message earlier that day, a letter delivered by a creature akin to a furless bat. What he had commissioned the Patcher to create was supposedly finished, and as usual, the madman refused to leave his home, forcing his client to go retrieve it himself. Oh, Karadok could have sent some thugs to bring back the creature, but Runar's right-hand man knew without a doubt that they wouldn't dare approach. He could only hope the Patcher's latest creation would prove itself worth the trip, and worth the deal he had signed.
The knight walked up the stairs to the hospital's entrance and knocked on its large heavy doors, each slab of wood at least thrice his height and twice his girth. Had the building always been like this, or was this an addition by its current tenant? He didn't know, and he didn't care. His tremendous strength made each impact of his metal-covered knuckles on the wood echo throughout the area, making it the only sound that filled the silence of these parts. People weren't the only ones who avoided the area, the wildlife had learned better than to approach this accursed place, for the horrors lurking in the old building would do their best to catch any that came by, either to be devoured or offered to their twisted master in the hope he would be merciful, perhaps even generous.
When the doors opened, it wasn't the svelte figure of his demented host that caught his eye, despite the pointy-eared man's impressive height putting him eye-to-eye with Karadok, a prime example of orc physiology, no, it was the creature at his side that took the knight's attention.
The quadrupedal red beast was massive, while it stood on its legs its shoulders were level with the orc's head, and its disturbingly elongated neck tripled its height. Its red coloration wasn't due to some odd scales or fur, but rather to its apparently exposed muscles. Its dexterous yet powerful limbs were each as long as the average man was tall, and ended in six wicked segmented claws. Its slender body, which Karadok had first thought to be covered by black and white spots, instead featured bloodshot eyes, lipless mouths, and small dark holes, each of them placed seemingly randomly with no rhyme reason, and from the beast's haunches came a short tail ending in a bladed exposed bone.
As though the horror of the spectacle of its body wasn't enough, the creature's terrible head existed. At the end of the long prehensile neck it currently used to look outside while its body stayed still, the creature had a bulbous massive malformed head, with two pairs of eyes on each side surmounted by short horns, and as the beast yawned Karadok got a glimpse at its open gullet and realized that each jaw was composed of a modified human torso, the ribs separated, straightened, and sharpened so that they may not only support the flesh but also be used as teeth. On the exposed bones of the lower jaw rested a tongue made of dozen different parts united together and giving it an almost spiky appearance.
But the thing that had truly rattled Karadok was the noise. The moans, the guttural sounds, the cries... They were muffled, but it felt like they were dozens of things yelping and barking in the thing's stomach.
"Karadok! It's a pleasure to see you, dear. I see you can't your eyes off of this beauty, eh?"
The orc took a second to make sure he would be composed when he answered his host's welcome.
"Patcher. I have for our order."
The silver chimes dangling from the man's ears caught the light as he slightly turned his head as his smile widened.
"But of course. I must say, I am quite proud of this one. I had to recycle one of my oldest residents to ensure it could handle it, but this marvel will undoubtedly serve you well."
The madman approached the beast and began to caress its flanks with his multicolored leather gloves, ignoring its discomfort as his hands touched some of its eyes.
"Spine-made claws to make them somewhat prehensible so that they shift position to follow a target flat on the ground, additional and improved sensory organs so that it is always aware of its surroundings and can never be caught off-guard, with additional brains to handle all of this input and make sure only the most important information reaches the main mind. Plenty of muscles to fight and run, as well, and that's without mentioning the exposed bones Runar will be able to engrave runes onto to further upgrade its performance."
"What of its obedience?"
The Patcher's smile grew even more.
"I told you, I recycled an old resident. One that is not only smart enough to understand orders but also to understand why it should obey."
He looked up at the creature head's and pointed his palm to the sky.
"Isn't that right, dearest?"
The creature shivered before it lowered its chin onto the presented hand, its head's eyes avoiding his gaze.
"See? It will obey you. Just make sure to establish the hierarchy early on and all will be well. Go along now, dear, and listen to the kind knight in front of you."
The beast raised its head and turned it to look at Karadok, its body moving for the first time since the encounter began as it slowly walked out, its head closely observing the orc in shining armor as its body exited the building.
"Patcher, does this thing have a name? To make sure it knows when it is addressed."
"Oh, yes. It does."
The two leather-clad hands of the man took hold of one another as he stared at the creature.
"Glapissant."