"This is a minion," Deon said as he grabbed the squirming quill. "When you infuse your mana directly into a non-sentient target, it becomes a minion."
The quill in Deon's hand went still, and he put the now lifeless object back on the desk.
"They 'live' by consuming mana, so you either have to put a lot in for it to stick around for a while, or re-infuse 'em when they start to run low."
Why are you helping me? Taka asked.
Taka couldn't help himself. The lizard man could've easily brought him in front of the king and exposed his deceit, but instead, he was helping Taka. It felt too convenient.
Deon let out a low growl, "I told you. The kid likes you."
Taka didn't press his luck, he was grateful enough to have someone who could teach him about raw magic. Considering how rare Zirko had made raw magic seem in his spiel about the magic system of this world, Taka was surprised to find someone else in the castle who possessed it. But then again, he was in the castle town occupied by the former Demon Lord, so if someone possessing rare magic were to be anywhere...
"I was a researcher," Deon said. "There was an accident, and in the aftermath, I ended up with the ability to use raw magic. How did you get it?"
Taka paused. He didn't want to reveal anything about his unique display system. his class, or his other abilities, so he had to tread carefully.
When I woke up, I already could--
"Don't lie to me," Deon interrupted. "You wouldn't have had trouble with a bird if that was the case."
How the hell did Deon know about the bird that attacked him? Taka didn't tell anyone about that... but Syla was there, watching from the trees. The elf must've told him.
I... I cannot remember, Taka sent.
Deon scoffed in response, then took a seat.
When I first awoke here, my... powers, were not all there. It took time for them to awaken, and the reason for which is unclear.
That was all true, technically. Taka didn't have all of his current powers when he first woke up as a worm, and they did awaken over time, and he still didn't know why. Taka knew that omitting parts of the story was deceitful, but he also wasn't actively lying.
Deon perked up at Taka's reply. He seemed to accept this version, but his gaze was still too intense for Taka's liking.
"Which god blessed you?"
Why do you believe I am blessed? Taka asked.
"Because," Deon said, "you aren't marked."
Taka continued to stare at Deon in confusion. He let out another growl.
"If you have raw magic," Deon continued, "you're either marked or blessed. That's it. And you're not marked, which means you've been blessed. I'm asking you which god did it."
Deon was starting to get frustrated with Taka, which made Taka's heart pound even faster. He needed the lizard man to like him.
I wish I knew, Taka sent. All I know is that it wasn't Valish.
Deon tensed up at the mention of the god of creation. The enemy of the enemy is my friend, Taka thought to himself.
"Good." Deon stood up, "First: do not use raw magic anywhere someone could see you."
Taka nodded in response. Reasonable.
"Next, do not tell anyone, anyone, that you're able to wield it. If you take nothing else away from our conversation, remember this. The ability to use raw magic is the single most dangerous trait of any living being. It is the magic of the gods. Do not let anyone know."
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
The worm was confused, is divinity magic not the magic of the gods? Taka asked.
Deon chuckled, "no. Divinity is to raw magic as fire is to the sun."
That piqued Taka's interest. He knew that raw magic was going to be more potent than any processed type, but ancient magic was, supposedly, notably strong. For Deon to call demean its power to practically nothing compared to raw magic was alarming. What were you researching? Taka asked.
Deon stared at the worm, his gaze cold and empty. Taka winced, regretting asking.
"It isn't relevant to you. Now," Deon pivoted, "What do you remember about raw magic?"
Nothing from my past, Taka sent. Only that I can s-- Taka stopped himself before he revealed his ability to see mana, part of his Eyes of the Worm Mother ability. Sense mana in all living things, he continued.
Deon let out a sigh, "alright," the lizard man said. "Follow me."
Deon clasped his hands together as if he was going to pray, then grabbed the air, no, Taka thought, there's mana in his hands." Deon jolted his hands apart and spread his arms, a tear in reality itself created between the area his arms shot across, from the floor of the room to the ceiling. The tear was a flat pane of light. It didn't eminate any light though, and Taka used his telekinesis to examine the tear from the side, but it dissapeared from his view as soon as the front was no longer visible to his eyes. He was still able to sense it, but his sight wasn't distorted at all. The only visual clue that it was still there was the reflection in Deon's deep, beady eyes.
Deon let out a chuckle at Taka's bemusement, "come along!" the lizard man called as he walked into the tear, disappearing before Taka's eyes.
Taka flew back around to face it. There was a ridiculous amount of magical energy in front of him, but it was entirely contained, unlike anything Taka had seen in this world. The Lily Minion was pacing next to Taka frantically, which set alarm bells off in Taka's head. How dangerous is Deon? Will going through this tear just kill me? Taka looked at the Lily Minion for a clue, but it continued to pace, getting more and more frantic with each passing second. Taka looked closer, and realized that there was almost no mana left in the plant. Taka began to gather energy, but then stopped himself before infusing more into his minion. I wonder...
Taka opened his status window.
NAME: Filo, Prince of Dirt RACE: High Worm** CLASS: Magic Scholar MAGIC: Earth*, Psychic*, ë̶͙͈́̋̽̃̽̆v̵̨̡̯̭̭̮̼́ͅi̸̟͓͈̲͋̒͆̐̎̅̇͆l̶̩͉͙͉͕̓̉̓̈́͌, Raw SKILLS: Telepathy, Burrow, Charm, Fear, Mana Transfusion
Taka noticed that although Deon said Taka used raw magic to make the Lily Minion, he hadn't gotten a notification that it had "awakened" like he had for earth and psychic. Interesting, but not a high priority item. Taka mentally clicked on the MANA TRANSFUSION skill and set the Lily Minion as his target. A notification alarm popped up
WARNING: Skill: MANA TRANSFUSION less effective at range. Sustain contact for maximum effect.
That was unexpected. Taka hadn't explored using his skills much lately, he had devoted his full concentration on developing his magic so he'd be ready to teach Syla, but in hindsight, it was pretty stupid to not have even tried them all out. Taka made a mental note to make practicing his skills, or "Divine Arts" as they were called, a priority going forward. He inched his way over to the Lily Minion and put the side of his head to the stem, then activated MANA TRANSFUSION and transfused the amount of mana it took him to fly for about a minute. The Lily Minion jerked in response, then straightened up and went still. Taka could sense that the minion had much more mana that it did before, and at least 10x more than it had when he first brought it to life. Curious...
Taka used telekinesis to lift the flower pot higher into the air, and then began floating toward the tear. Deon might be the only creature in this world who was both able and willing to teach him about raw magic, so Taka steeled his resolve and decided to trust the lizard man, then entered the tear.
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Taka blinked and was in a forest. It looked similar to the one he had originally woken up in, but the bark of the trees in this forest was darker, the foliage denser, and the air itself contained traces of mana. Taka heard a snap from behind him and turned around to see Deon standing there, the tear in space gone. Taka's heart dropped at the sight of a sword in Deon's hand. Deon, seeing the fear in Taka's eyes, put his other hand up.
"Easy, I don't plan on attacking you."
What was that thing? That -- that tear? Taka asked, the panic seeping into his thoughts.
"It was a portal. It's my Divine Art."
Where are we? Taka asked, accepting Deon's answer as enough for now.
"We're in the dark forest, deep into Spirit territory. We won't be seen by any other sentient creatures here, not ones we won't be hunting, at least."
Hunting? Taka asked, beginning to calm down.
"Yes," the lizard man said. "Like I said, I'm going to show you how to not get yourself killed. But you're still soft. You trust far too easily. And the world we live in is kill or be killed, so I'm going to show you how to kill."