Chapter 34

Being Jealous of Myself

  “You know, that the you from here is strictly human?” Rayquel poses when we meet up after my quick shower and change after our morning exercise routine. “In fact, I probably shouldn’t be sharing this with you, but since the Cadet Goldman from this world will be your student, at least for two of the classes it is only fitting that we share his Status with you.”

  Ping.

  With that little introduction I receive the full student transcript of the Kyle Goldman from this universe.

Name: Kyle Goldman Age: 18 Race: Human Magic Class Type: Wizard

  At first, I notice two main things. The first is that this Kyle Goldman is as Rayquel noted fully human. Did that mean that genetic manipulation wasn’t performed in this universe? Also, what is up with that strange class? What is a Wizard?

Physical Attributes.

Strength: 12 Dexterity: 12 Agility: 13 Endurance: 12

Mental Attributes.

Perception 12 Intelligence 11 Willpower 12 Power 19

  The attributes all looked the same. They were what I got my initial time through the trials, back before I started my looping process. I can see that he took my exact approach of putting all Attribute points gained to Power. If I am reading this correctly, he likely gained six free attribute points, all of which went to his Power attribute. I can also see that he has not been able to break through with his physical attributes, likely due to either poor work ethic. Or it could be that those early phases are as I remember and are tough to break through without constantly pushing himself.

  It is at this point that I also realize part of why I can push my body so hard is that I constantly cheat by casting Cleanse on my own body. I make a note to show the benefits of Cleanse and other body purification spells to this Kyle. Well, that is assuming he has the same Magical powers I do. He is a Wizard class, whatever that means. With that I go to the last and final section of his status.

Magic Aptitudes:

Earth 99+% Fire 99+% Portal 99+% Spirit 98% Healing 87% Air 75% Water 75% Time 12%

  Seeing his Magical Aptitudes, a number of emotions hit me all at once. The first and most glaring aspect is that I am extremely jealous. No seriously, what is Portal Magic? If it is like I think it is, then he can travel almost instantly anywhere. I mean, fuck speed drills, when you can tear portals in the fabric of space itself. Then what is the point of learning to run faster?

  Also, at this moment I have a flashback to the two giant green spells the crazy amoeba generals cast, when I first got here. Focusing on those spell forms and memorizing them, I make it a note to try to work with this Kyle to see if he can open a portal to my universe.

  Then I notice a few other things of note. He has Fire affinity, which seems to be an exact mirror of my Pyrokinesis, though his initial Affinity rating is much higher than what I had with Pyrokinesis. Then there is the odd aspect of Time magic. My mind pulses with fear and recognition at the possible advantages and disadvantages of such a powerful Aptitude. Mentally I rate it on the same level as my Precognition.

  There are a few powers that I have that don’t seem to match up to what this Kyle has. For instance, my Mind Rend and Telekinesis don’t have anything that look comparable to his Aptitudes. Instead, he has Earth, giving him the full gambit of elemental affinities. Is that what it takes to be a wizard class? Aptitude for all the different elements, along with Portal and Time magic?

  There is also the fact that all his elemental affinities that we do share are much higher on him. Even his Healing ability is impressive. The only one that I am better than him at is in Spirit, which is likely why I have been asked specifically to teach Spirit.

  Does this mean that this universe inspires people to be adept at one field of magic? I remember my brother Chet from this universe, he too had eight affinities related to Mental Powers.

  “Does everyone in this universe have eight affinities as a standard?” I ask.

  Hearing this Rayquel pauses as her eyes grow wide. Then she seems to realize.

  “Oh, you mean that this Kyle and this universe’s version of your brother Chet both have, or rather had eight affinities?” She asks.

  I nod. I had to give her credit, she was fast on the uptake, being able to interpret my thoughts from that one question.

  “No, it appears that you three are the odd ones. I for instance only have four affinities.”

  “So, what are they?” I ask.

  She smiles and then gives a coy wink. “Show me yours and I’ll show you mine?”

  I pause, as it takes me a second to realize she is flirting with me? Or is she trying to be fun and coming across as odd? I can tell these are not normal expressions on her, which is why I am confused. Seeing my reaction, or more likely smelling my pheromones she visibly stiffens.

  “I was trying for fun.” She says in a way that tells me she might be trying to cover up something. Regardless, I am happy to let that awkward moment pass as part of the cultural learning exchanges. I want to say that I remember moments like this from my past lives, or visions, but I can’t. This revelation about visions makes me realize the reason why this Kyle might be so different than me. Well genetic manipulations aside. This me, never got the chance to experience PDD in all its finer details.

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  It is at this point that I am jealous of him yet again. Then when I see him walking side by side Jess on the way to Magical Control class, my heart stops, and flutters for a second.

  Seeing my sudden stop, Rayquel looks nervous for a second. Then pauses as she looks in the same direction I am.

  “What is… oh.”

  I watch as the two duck down a corner quickly. With them gone, the tension in my chest loosens and I can walk again. Feeling relieved, I begin walking forward. Only to be distracted a few moments later when both Jess and Kyle return to view, racing to the door.

  This happens to be the same door that Rayquel and I are heading to. We get there at almost the same time, then pause as the two love birds look at us with awe and confusion on their faces.

  Seeing their look of panic that has been beaten into them by months of military training at this point I just smile. Then I gesture for them to enter before me.

  There is an awkward moment before they nod and enter.

  I pause for a second, before I turn to Rayquel and ask. “What exactly are we supposed to learn in this class?”

  She smiles, then points to the sign above the door. There above the door is the Endarian word for Spirit.

  “I also meant to ask, why am I offered the chance to be a teacher here?”

  Rayquel smiles. “It was part of our psychological profile of you. We determined that you had shown expertise with breaking spells being used against you. Also, it was determined that you might react favorably to conditions where you were put in charge of others. You have natural leader potential and will likely feel attached to us if we put you in an environment where you are both needed and respected.”

  “So, you are manipulating me, socially?” I ask.

  Rayquel just smiles brightly at the statement. “To be a part of society is to be manipulated in some way. The fact that you are not reacting angrily to my statement shows that you are more intrigued by our insights than anything.”

  I am about to argue how she can know that when the thought hits me. “Pheromones?”

  She nods, “pheromones.”

  “So, is there a curriculum for this class?”

  Rayquel just smiles. “Honestly Spirit is one of the new magical aptitudes that seems to only be inherent to humans. We have instructors there to take down notes on what you can offer. Your status indicates that you are quite well versed in Spirit, having five noted specialties. That alone was enough for most of our leadership to consider you for this teaching position. Also, this will give you a chance to interact with other humans.”

  I pause at that last statement. “So, you want me to interact with other humans?”

  “Yes, the idea is that we will eventually woo you over to our side.”

  “Woo?” I ask, thinking this to be a rather odd term to use. Especially as she had to use the English word to make the point.

  “Yes. Our goal is to show that you are not in fact half human, but more than half Endarian. With that you will likely feel more willing to stay with us.” She states.

  I pause for a second, then peer into the room. A dozen or so human students are all here. Jess and This Universe’s Kyle being two of them. They are all staring back at us. I am about to comment that they can overhear everything we are saying. Then I realize they all look confused.

  “No humans here know Endarian?” I ask, trying to remember this small detail.

  “No, it is only recently that we have begun to interact with your kind. Most of the conversations comes from a few key people who have learned to speak some of the human tongues.”

  Hearing that I nod. I realize that Endarian is a complex language that is actually the assimilation of the top twelve languages of Endar. There was a theory used to explain the phenomenon of everyone moving to one key language. While different pockets and words will evolve, it becomes increasingly important for larger space faring races to focus on one universal language that can be related to. The term used to describe this phenomenon is Babel Harmony, the wish of everyone to ultimately fuse together to one universal language.

  Humans were still quite a way off from this phenomenon, but with multiple generations and millennium spent in space, the Endarians and Dwenvarians both have proven this, as they both have a base universal language.

  “Why would you even want someone like me?” I ask, still speaking Endarian.

  She smiles. “Well aside from the fact that you are the first being we have on record as having both Magical and Psionic abilities. You seem to come from a universe that has vastly different rules governing it than we do here. That alone would be worth trying to keep you. Added to that, the fact that you come with knowledge of the ancient scourge of the soul, and yes, we are very curious about you. You seem to be a very gift from the heavens.”

  I pause looking at her as some of her words finally catch up to me. “Wait, you are saying you have already faced the Prolaxians?” I ask.

  She pauses for a moment, then nods. “Yes, many millennia ago our ancestors fought the ancient monsters. Fortunately, we were able to react quickly at the time, eliminating them with only minor losses of life. All samples of the monsters were burnt and only a few trace recordings remain of them. But their lessons live on.”

  Hearing that, it sounds like this universe’s Endarians had the same encounter that my universe’s Endarians did. The only difference being that this universe was able to destroy the ancient monsters.

  “That was part of why we made the operation to invade the human lab. Going so far as to burn everything when we left. That wasn’t meant to destroy any survivors, but rather meant as a failsafe to destroy any Prolaxian samples that survived. We explained this as part of our peace treaty and armistice. We wanted to be forthright and honest. We had thought that our science had advanced enough to maintain controls over the ancient menace, but we were wrong.”

  Hearing this, a lot of different emotions came over me. They weren’t caught in some sort of theft gone wrong. No, they were likely trying to protect us from our own ignorance. Even though methods had been made to safeguard the research, the facilities clearly weren’t prepared to take out a small team, let alone an infestation of the Scourge.

  I am about to ask another question when a voice speaks up from the classroom.

  “Um. Excuse me?” I turn to the voice speaking English and instantly pause as I realize it is Jess.

  “Yes, J…Cadet Childers?” I correct myself at the last second.

  She pauses for a second, then continues. “Who is going to be our instructor for this class?”

  With that I give a final glance to Rayquel. I am hoping that my pheromones are at least helping me convey the point that this meeting isn’t over. She nods, which I take to be a sign that maybe I articulated with my sweat glands what my words could not. Then took a step into the classroom.

  “I am your teacher for this class. You can call me…” I pause trying to think of a name. I am about to use my last name when I realize Kyle is right there. So, I go onto the new portion of my name. “Call me ‘X’.”

  “Um, isn’t professor ‘X’ copyrighted?”

  “Good point. Don’t want that big scary mouse coming after me. Just call me, Powder?” I manage, still being terrible at names.

  “Powder? Is that because of your hair?” Another female cadet asks.

  “You, know I don’t get it either. Tell you what, you take a vote after class then tell me what you want to call me.” I state.

  There looks like there is going to be some words, so I wave a hand trying to stop them. “Look we have already wasted enough time on pointless introductions. This is Spirit Class. This is the one truly unique magical affinity for humans. If you master this, you can destroy any mage.”

  I begin, as a faint smile forms on my lips.

  “Any mage?”

  “Yes, this is the affinity needed to become a Mage Breaker.”

  Everyone looks at me in confusion for a moment. “I will demonstrate.” I pause for a second, looking to see if anyone looks like they can cast a basic spell. Realizing we are still early in the term; I opt for one of the Endarian observers.

  “You.” I say in Endarian, pointing to a general officer who is wearing the colors of a Mage.

  The Endarian mage looks confused for a second, even going so far as to point at themselves. “Me?”

  “Yes. I want you to create an attack spell and target it towards me.”

  The mage looks confused, for a second but a quick nod from Rayquel by my side gives him the courage he needs to continue. With a shrug, he forms a weak fire burst spell that I instantly catch. Then I pump more energy into the spell, so it becomes visible.

  “Ohh!” Everyone human, and Endarian alike look at the spell.

  “This is a spell.” I say as I walk up to the spell in question. “This spell is in the locked position. With this, one can easily prove a few things. The first is the intent of the spell.” I say as I point to the center portion of the spell. “Here you can see that this is a weak fire spell, meant to at most maim or likely frighten the intended target.”

  From there I raise my finger to the top of the spell and point out the next portion, “this is the targeting rune of the spell. This helps identify where the spell was going. While I told this man to target me, he only targeted the area where I would be standing. This is good as it shows a minimal want to exert force or violence.”

  “Thank you.” I say in Endarian at the mage who likely had no clue why I was thanking him.

  From there I go through and point out the other main components of a spell, showing each. Helping the students all come up and at least get used to the idea of what a spell is.

  “Now from here a Mage Breaker could do multiple things. We can, if our spirit is high enough, or if our affinity in Spirit is higher than the user’s affinity with their spell we can take control of the spell. Or use this for forensics to prove intent of a crime.”

  From there I go about the process of creating a replica of the spell. To taking control of the spell and directing the flame burst upwards. I then conduct a second one where I drain the mage in question and get them to cast a far more devastating attack than initially planned.

  Ding.

  A chime sounds, letting me know that it is now time to stop for the day.

  With that every one of the humans begin to leave the classroom suddenly excited about the possibility of being a Mage Breaker as I called it.

  On their way out this universe’s Kyle stares at me for a second. I nod to him, but there is an odd tension before Rayquel walks by my side and looks at Kyle. Seeing Rayquel by my side, whatever anger, or emotion the boy had seems to vanish. Then he walks out with Jess, who looked like she wanted to ask me a question, but then thought differently of it.

  “He is jealous of you.” Rayquel states.

  I nod. “Well, the feeling is mutual. What he will be capable of later, that will be amazing.”

  She just shakes her head. “No, he feels that you will steal his woman from him.”

  I look at her, then I realize something. “You read emotions?”

  She nods.

  “Not fair, not only are you able to psychically read my mind, but you can also get my pheromones too.” Then I have a second train of thought. “Can you read his pheromones?”

  She shakes her head, “no, I cannot. He is not like you. Again, you are unique.”

  “Yeah, unique, just like a two headed cobra. I can’t do much more, but I look intimidating.”

  Rayquel looks like she is about to say something, then stops herself. “Come on, let’s go to lunch.”

  With that I follow Rayquel. I once again wonder how odd my life has gotten that I am an eighteen-year-old professor for an alien species, especially after I just technically awoke four, no five months ago?

  “What is it?” She asks.

  “Nothing. Just thinking.” With that I follow her out of the classroom and towards the next unknown portion of the campus.