I quickly raided Zalimar's office located in the gloomy back of the massive black marble hall where nobody dared tread. Once the door succumbed to my lock-picks, I stole as much useful stuff as I could, taking as many pictures as I could of various documents found in his desk.
A red rune was flashing angrily above the door, notifying Zalimar of my uninvited visit. Too bad the teacher wasn't here to stop me from invading his personal space.
In ten minutes, I joined my team in the prep room.
The large prep room mirror reflected back five very different figures, each decked out in Lance's finest delving gear-stash.
Vespera had chosen a set of magisteel lamellar armor which amplified outward-cast power such as shooting electrical bolts. The armor was adjustable in size, lightweight and flexible, perfect for aerial maneuvers. She had gone out of the prep room to her locker to fetch her favorite magisteel mace, so the hefty weapon now graced her hip. Her boots were lined with shock-absorbing crystals for landing. She was wearing a dark, armored "I'm with human!" apron-style top over the lamellar armor set with a flashy striped blue skirt. A large rainbowy "I⚡️U!" button was pinned to her chest.
Io had gone down to the mesh-print shop about an hour ago to produce the various team merch items for everyone to wear.
"Vespera Simmi," The Thunderbird touched the mirror with her magisteel-covered talon, a manic grin on her face. "Team I love you! Slayer!"
Her hand sunk into the magic mirror and she pulled out a silver token with her team ID detail, which she clipped to her Lazarus bracelet.
Katherine reached towards the mirror next. Her wheelchair had been augmented with thick magisteel shield-plates, turning it into something between a tank and a mobile fortress. It took all of our arguments and combined convincing power to cudgel her to put on something under her coat. She had chosen a dark blue combat hexasuit with lines of dark runes running down the arms and legs, covered with small, scale-shaped magisteel plates, designed to amplify muscular strength. I had no idea how she looked like in it or if she actually put it on, since she was wearing the puffy camo coat on top of it now. A dark hexamesh hood protected her against sunlight, dark goggles glinting underneath, feline ears sticking out from the sides and horns looming above.
Lance's dimensional bag full of extra supplies and my stolen equipment was now strapped to the back of her wheelchair. A shirt wouldn't fit atop of her coat so instead the "I'm with human!" team motto flag was hanging across her legs. An imposing magisteel sword borrowed from Lance's collection was attached to the right side of her chair, while a heavy arbalest hung from the left side. Her button said "I🛞U!"
"Katherine Kells, Team..." the Stollwurm grimaced as she touched the mirror. "I love you. Knight."
Io had opted for a more practical approach. He was now wearing a dark gray hexamesh suit with an orange 'I'm with human!' shirt atop and a black leather duster above the robe, covered in amplification and anchor runes. Paired with sturdy steel-toe boots and his usual wide-brimmed hat, the outfit made him look even more like a post-apocalyptic Snufkin. His harmonica hung from a chain around his neck. He had a gray-blue "I🦋U!" button pinned to his dark gray jacket.
"Iogann Wanderer. Team I love you. The Door!" His paw sunk into the mirror receiving his token.
Cinder reached out to the mirror next. The Quetzi-girl had initially balked at wearing anything from Lance, but even she had to admit the silver-gray combat hexasuit looked good on her. The armor was lightweight and flexible, designed to work with her wings rather than restrict them. Thin magisteel plates covered vital areas while leaving her joints free for maximum mobility. A white tank top "I'm with human!" sat atop the delving armor with an "I🌈U!" button.
I watched her intently as she touched the mirror.
"Cinder Nova," she exhaled. "Team..." She glanced at me and a blush crept up her face while her eyes promised me vengeance. She looked like she really didn't want to say it. "I love you," she pushed the words out of herself after a long, pregnant pause. "Team Captain."
I walked to the mirror, but Vespera caught me before I touched it.
"Mirror's an identifying artifact. It'll tag you as human. Generally, nobody reads the reports it sends to the Administration, but just in case someone does... Here," she pulled a dark thermos with a lightning-pierced heart out of her bag. "Drink up."
I arched an eyebrow at her.
"Ground a bunch of my feathers into a shake when I got my mace from downstairs," she said. "Hope you like raspberries and lemon."
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Cinder's feathers ignited red-green like a spicy aurora. I accepted the shake and chugged it quickly with a grin.
"Use the lighter for a bit," Vespera suggested. "The Omnid particles in your body should hold the mana charge."
I dug into my pocket and ignited the lighter for a few seconds. Then I summoned up my stats. The lines were flickering with [Null] errors as I held the lighter's flame, but then I snapped it shut and they settled.
[System error. Unable to parse experience, no heart-core detected.]
[Delineating current state. Reassessing stats.]
[Level 1 state approximated!]
Messages popped up above my stats.
| Name: Alexander Glock
| Age: 18
| Species & Subtype: Thunderbird-Human hybrid
| Core Affinity: Thunder
| Level: 1
| Anima: 89/89 [+89]
| Anima Stamina: 1/1
| Mana: 68/7
| Mana Regen: 0.0m/hr
| Strength: 0
| Agility: 0
| Dexterity: 0
| Vitality: 0
| Charisma: 0
| Magic: 0 [+7]
| Foresight: 0
| Intelligence: 0
| Wisdom: 0
| Skills: N/A
"Sooooo... did it work?" Vespera asked.
"Oh yea," I grinned. "I got level one and plus seven in magic. Bracelet says I'm a thunda-birb! Now I just gotta figure out how to zap people."
"I'll teach ya some tricks," The Thunderbird gave me a high-five which I slapped back. "Guess you can sort-of-maybe level up a human if they're fed some Omnid strata and bathed in ridiculous levels of magrad!"
"So like," Io mulled. "You can just eat anyone and... become them? That's pretty rad."
"Slayer, Io, why you gotta make it so cringe?" Cinder growled, her wings shifting through annoyed oranges and possessive reds. "He's not becoming anyone, it's just... temporary camouflage."
"What's that, Ci?" Vespera teased, draping an arm around my shoulders. "Worried your human might get a taste for thunder instead of... rainbow?"
"You sound like a skittles commercial," I laughed.
"Das' a cute nickname," Vee clicked eyeing the Quetzi. "I'm stealing it for future use."
"Abyss! Just touch the damn mirror already," Cinder hissed.
I stuck my tongue out at her and reached out and touched the mirror's surface. It felt like cool water beneath my fingers as my hand sunk inside.
"Alexander Glock!" I declared loudly. "Team 'I love you'. Quartermaster."
I glanced at my reflection as I got my token.
I'd layered twenty hexasuits under a reinforced, along with a bunch of gem-chains creating a patchwork of protection that probably violated several safety regulations. Lance's silver, slightly shimmering jacket sat atop the hexasuits and ward chains somewhat poorly, as it was a tad too tall and wide for my frame. I was six feet, but Lance was a head taller. All of my companions were bigger or taller than me - another blunt reminder that people simply could not compete with Omnids in terms of pure arm reach and body strength. I picked the lightweight, beast-core powered jacket as it didn't rely on my mana, wearing heavy armor was not in my cards even with all of the strength-amplifying hexasuits. Lance's magisteel katana folded up to the handle into its dimensional scabbard was hanging from my belt. I wore a large, newly printed black shirt with "HUMAN!" at the front and the "IHEARTTTT.gif [https://github.com/alexiussssss/romac/blob/main/HEARTTTT.gif?raw=true]U!" button that I pinned to Lance's reflective jacket.
The red heart resembled a nuclear explosion, which was Io's idea about how my love was expressed.
"Looking good, team," I grinned at my team. "Shall we head out?"
Cinder practically dragged me out of the prep room by the elbow, sending bothered glares at the smug-looking Vespera.
----------------------------------------
We emerged back into Instructor Zalimar's black marble auditorium a bit later than the other students. Quint was already waiting by the gate platform along with other delving teams standing in groups of five.
The massive, black, crystalline ring dominated the hall, hanging a few inches off the ground held up in the air by a thousand silver webs. Its surface was etched with countless runes that pulsed with a soft violet light. Atop the gate perched an enormous spider, its body pale silver. Each of its eight legs was as thick as my arm, tipped with crystalline claws that gripped the gate ring and its webs.
The Wendigo student council president's amber eyes widened slightly at our appearance.
"Hrm. Team... 'I love you.'" he commented dryly, looking over our armor, flag, buttons and shirts. "You all certainly look... more ready than usual."
"What's the usual?" I asked.
"Usually, students just wear basic hexasuits on their first trip," Lance commented from where he was standing next to Christi. "Not... delving armor. Alex, are you wearing ALL of my hexasuits and protection collars under there?"
"Only twenty x-suits," I grinned at him. "Plus some other stuff. Safety's important."
"Twenty?!" Lance sputtered. "How can you move in so many of them?
"Very carefully," I replied.
"That's... not how that's supposed to work," Lance muttered.
"Tell that to the hexasuits," I shrugged.
"And is that my Magisteel Arbalest and Slayer sword on Kat's chair?" Lance squinted. "Can she even lift those?"
"Borrowed with love," I blew him a kiss. "Much thanks. She lifted them just fine."
Quint stared at me and then at Lance.
"Thanks for taking over as our sub for the week on the account of Zalimar's vacation, Pres," I commented.
"Vacation?" Emerald snarled at me from where she stood behind Solace. The dragon-girl was wearing a new set of fancy magisteel armor and far too many gold chains with hex-diamonds and rubies. "You banished him to another dimension, you effin' lyin' criminal!" She announced to everyone, her voice carrying unnaturally across the entire hall.
All Omnid student heads turned to the dragon girl.
"I sent my Scrutimancer's report to the Academy's Administration!" she boomed. "You're getting expelled as soon as the Vice Principal reads it, Glock!"
Hushed whispers all around, all eyes on me.
"That's right! He's not even a nullie! He's a filthy HUMAN!" Emerald boomed, pointing an accusatory, red-scaled finger at me. "A human at Skyfall!"