The class froze for a moment, not having expected Alex actually to give them the choice. Typically the way their lessons worked, Alex did something to screw with them or threw them into the deep end in a sink-or-swim scenario. But to be free to learn what they wanted was something new but also very welcome.
“You seem a bit stuck,” Alex observed. “Tell you what, I will help Yuu sort out her students who will be regaining consciousness around about now, and while we help them, you can do one of your huddles or something,” Alex said as he and Yuu walked out of the lab into the adjacent area where Yuu had been teaching her class.
“So… Anyone got any ideas?” Daisy asked.
“I kind of want to get one of those enchanted tattoos he has,” Tasha suggested.
“Get a tattoo?” Daisy repeated, grimacing at the prospect.
“I want to know more recipes for unique stuff to make,” Gunter said, adding his suggestion to the pile.
“Why not a new adventure hunt? We’ve only done a couple?” Daisy said, offering her own suggestion.
“I personally would love to try to contract a new demon.”
“What about you two?” Daisy asked, looking at Kline and Maxwell, who both seemed to be lost in thought.
“Well, I’m more curious as to the Theocracy diplomat. I am not familiar with a lot of their structure as I was being taught the main kingdoms and duchies of the Holy Continent rather than the Theocracy,” Maxwell replied, which piqued the interest of a few of the class.
“Me, I would be fine with an early weekend,” Kline added with a shrug.
“Ok,” Daisy muttered as she took out a notepad and a pen and began scribbling down. “We got tattoos, an adventuring hunt, more recipes for artefacts, summon demons, politics or an early weekend,” Daisy read aloud the options she had written down before tearing up the page and putting the strips with each option into a pouch.
“Ok, kids, you decided yet?” Alex asked, walking back into the lab.
“We got a rough idea, sir. They’re all in this pouch here and-eeek” Daisy was cut off and yelped in surprise as Alex closed the distance and snatched the pouch from her hands.
“Got a few in here?” Alex observed peeking inside the pouch. “Very well, we will do all of them. But I will pick them out in the order,” Alex said with a big grin as he put his hand into the pouch and rummaged around. Daisy already had her fingers crossed for it not to be the tattoo suggestion.
“Ok, we got… Really kids?” Alex gave the class an incredulous look. “You are a bit young.”
“Well, it is such a shame. Oh well, we don’t need to get a tat-”
“Learning about Theocracy Politics is much more for those going into diplomatic roles. But I suppose with the Cardinal of Benevolence coming here in a few weeks may as well give you a rough idea. Especially as they have requested to meet you, kids.”
“They have?!!!” Maxwell asked in a near shout.
“Yeah, ‘Meet the students of a great human mage’ was how they worded it. I had two options, and I am not putting kindergarteners in front of those jackals.”
“Ok, so what do you kids already know about those bastards?”
“Well…” Maxwell began as he struggled to recall his lessons from his personal tutors when he was a child. “They have a similar system to the Sinful Lords?”
“You said that like it was a question?”
“Well, I only learnt a rough outline when I was four,” Maxwell replied, protesting the look Alex was giving him.
“Well, you are kind of right but also wholly wrong. Like the Sinful Lords, there are the Cardinals of the Seven Graces. But unlike the Sinful Lords, we all know and tolerate they don’t rule over territories. They serve the Theocracy and only the Theocracy.”
“So, like civil servants?” Bea suggested.
“More than that. They command a lot of reverence and influence from the rulers of the diaspora of nations covering the Holy Continent. A few words from a Cardinal could mobilise an entire nation to war against another.”
“That… That is insane!!! Do they not split responsibilities and the like between them?” Daisy asked, unable to conceal her shock.
“Yes, they do. Now remind me, what are the given roles of each Sinful Lord?” Alex asked.
“Well, there is Wrath, who is responsible for production, then Gluttony, who controls food production,” Gunter began.
“Then Greed, who controls banking and trade deals, and Envy, who controls the military,” Bea added.
“Pride and Lust both control diplomacy, external and internal, respectively,” Maxwell added himself.
“And Sloth?” Alex asked with a playful smirk.
“He…” Kline began before trailing off. It was only now they began to realise Sloth was the only one without a defined role.
“I will tell you,” Alex said with a big grin. “It is some juicy gossip; many assume he controls education,” Alex began to which the class all nodded. “Reality is Sloth’s role is intelligence.”
“Well, he is very clever,” Tasha said with an approving nod.
“No… I mean, like spies and secret agents, assassinations. Sloth utilises some of the smartest people around to analyse intel from foreign nations and manouver to subvert enemy nations,” Alex explained.
This revelation shocked the class more than anything. The very idea that they were sitting in a school that was really a base for the spy industry was absurd. It raised more questions, if anything.
“Why are you telling us this, sir? Surely you need to keep it secret?” Maxwell asked.
“Well, simple, you will forget it in a few minutes. It is one of the most powerful and vast magical arrays ever created. Only those excluded can retain the memory of this truth. Your minds will revert to Sloth being the head of education or some such soon enough,” Alex explained.
“That… Is that legal?” Daisy asked.
“Wouldn’t matter if it wasn’t. No one not already culpable is going to reveal it,” Alex replied.
“Anyways, back on topic, the Cardinals of the seven Graces do distribute their duties to different… I suppose houses would be a way to call it.”
“Like the one visiting us in a few weeks, the Cardinal of Benevolence is named Johan Pleiades, also known by the pseudonym of ‘The Shining Star’. He fulfils a similar role to your father, Maxwell,” Alex explained.
“So he handles foreign diplomacy?”
“Exactly, it is why he is visiting us himself,” Alex replied with a nod.
“And the others?” Tasha asked.
“The Cardinal of Humility, Mark Guratum, is in the same role as Wrath.”
“Does he have a pseudonym?” Daisy asked.
“They all do. Cardinal Guratum’s title is ‘The Blessed’. Because supposedly even the crafting gods have blessed his skills.”
“What about the others, chief?”
“Their Lust equivalent is the Cardinal Cristoph ‘Stoneheart’ Hringar. He keeps all the factions of the Holy Continent in line with the path the church is guiding them down.”
“Must have a hell of a time,” Tasha suggested.
“Not really. They have established a strong foundation of human supremacy because of that; any non-human races long ago left that continent. Only small isolated pockets still remain, with one mighty dwarven exception. That is one good thing about humans: we can be bound against a common enemy.”
“Who is the common enemy then?”
“Surely you need only pick up a history book Kline? A lot of Crusades launched into this land just about when the nations on the Holy Continent begin to wonder why they have to let the church guide their rulers.”
“Do they have a greedy bastard like Meso?” Bea asked.
“Oh boy, do they, and unlike our own Greed, they are not bound by a soul contract, so this is often the most corrupt role. The Cardinal of Charity Heinrich ‘The Kind’ Klintoffen. Kids, if you ever meet him. Do not… I repeat… DO NOT!!! Be alone in a room with him. His pseudonym has more malicious foundation than his contemporaries.”
“Next on the list would be Cardinal of Enlightenment, Olga ‘The Wise’ Thenia. She is an old bat responsible for research and education. She is the reason healing magic has taken great leaps forward within the last generation.”
“Oh, so she is like Lord Sloth. Responsible for their nation's teaching and research?” Daisy asked. Alex paused to give a pitiful smile before nodding.
“Yep, got it in one, there are some differences, but they more or less cover the same stuff.”
“So, who are their Gluttony and Envy equivalents?” Maxwell asked.
“They don’t have a Gluttony equivalent. All their food comes from their member states. It is far more spread out, but that is because the Holy Continent, for all their bragging, have ruined their farmlands. They import most of their food from the Secondian Land Bridge.”
“That’s where you are from, right, sir?” Bea asked to which Alex nodded.
“Yep, that kingdom used to be as volcanically active as this whole continent. It is extremely fertile, and you can grow vast amounts of anything with ease. It makes things extra easy as they supply their invasions from that land,” Alex explained.
“Anyways, the next cardinal is the Cardinal of Purity. He is an utter bastard who I will kill without hesitation should I ever meet him.”
“What is he responsible for?” Maxwell asked, taken aback by Alex’s sudden hostility.
“He goes out and murders innocent children and villages for the fun of it!” Alex replied through gritted teeth.
“OI ALEX, THEY JUST REGAINED CONSCIOUSNESS!!!” Yuu shouted, walking back into the lab but freezing upon seeing her friend's expression.
“Alex, you ok? What happened, kids?” Yuu asked, turning to the class.
“Well, he was teaching us about the seven Cardinals and-”
“He got to Purity?” Yuu asked, looking at Alex worriedly.
“Is there something between them?” Kline asked.
“Only he killed Alex’s entire family and home village in an incredibly brutal method,” Yuu replied casually.
“Gods…” Daisy muttered, looking sympathetically at Alex, who was taking deep breaths and trying to calm himself down.
“Yuu, I’m going to take a breather and go to my usual spot. Can you finish teaching them this stuff? I should’ve calmed down enough by the time you finished… Oh, and if they want to know, feel free to tell them,” with those words, Alex abruptly walked out.
“Is he ok?” Daisy asked, looking to the doorway Alex had walked out of.
“He is still sore about it. He was only eight when it happened.”
“Eight?” Maxwell repeated in a half-whisper.
“You know what is even more painful for him and Mimi?” Yuu asked. The class just shrugged, unable to parse what could have made such a tragedy worse.
“Ludo was there to kill Alex and Mimi. The inquisition is very hot around the Secondian kingdom as it is the route through which we would have to march in the unlikely event we invade. So they get word of a very young and powerful mage with a sister with inhuman speed and a younger sister with unparalleled cognitive abilities. They obviously assumed they were a sleeper cell sent by the Dark Lord and sent troops out to kill them.”
“So they were there to kill them?” Bea asked, looking horrified.
“Yes, but they had both snuck out to go poaching for a few days. The problem is the Inquisition isn’t known for accepting the answer of ‘they aren’t here’. I don’t know what he saw that day, but it clearly broke him.”
“Hadean and Rozoic did mention they were very different when they were young… this must’ve been why,” Daisy observed.
“Yeah. The most painful part for him is the other Cardinals of Graces were actually making moves to recruit him and his siblings into the church. Had the inquisition not acted as they did, Alex would likely be an enemy combatant,” Yuu said with a nod as the class paled at the prospect of facing Alex on a battlefield.
“You sure it’s ok to tell us this?” Kline asked.
“He said it was ok before he stepped out. He doesn’t mind talking about it. If it weren’t for him settling down with his found friends and family, I have no doubt he would’ve stormed the Holy See and tried to kill the Pope herself.”
“Ok, so we have one last Cardinal left,” Maxwell said, already feeling guilty for bringing such a traumatic memory to his teacher's mind.
“Sure, who did you cover already?” Yuu asked.
“We covered, Humility, Charity, Enlightenment, Purity, Patience and Benevolence,” Tasha replied.
“That leaves the Cardinal of Piety; Cardinal Rikia "The Crucifier" D'Bene. I’ve only met her once when I was little, and my father was at a diplomatic dinner. The best way I can describe her is to imagine Mimi if she was one hundred times more fanatical and had no scruples about cutting down a child.”
“Surely that’s not true?” Kline asked.
“She got drunk, drew her sword and screamed ‘Victory or Valhala’ then tried to behead me,” Yuu casually replied as if an attempted beheading was nothing to write home about.
“You…You seem rather blase about that?”
“Please, I have only been hurt twice in my entire life, and Alex is responsible for both times.”
“That kind of raises even more questions.”
“Eh, a lot of his experiments were wild. It is how we learnt I could survive a singularity,” Yuu replied with a shrug as if it was inconsequential.
“Anyways, my golems have sent me a thought pulse that they have delivered the unconscious students back to the dorms. Shall we go find Alex?” At her question, the class all nodded and set off for the spot they knew was his meditation spot.
Walking across the campus, they were surprised to find it as abandoned as when they came to try free Cyano in the morning. It was especially weird as the school day for most had just finished, so there should be swarms of people moving to the dorm buildings.
They got their answer when they turned the corner to where they could overlook Alex’s meditation spot. He had a visible crimson aura surrounding him, and each step closer to him ramped up the weight they could feel pressing down on their shoulders.
“Wow, he usually would’ve calmed down by now?” Yuu muttered, looking out at her friend, who had the earth around him cracking under the sheer pressure of his aura.
“What in the nine hells is going on!!!” A professor they recognised as the head of the defence spells department shouted as he approached the small group.
“Oh hey, Mikey,” Yuu said with a casual wave before turning her gaze back to Alex.
“It is Lord Michael to you, you little brat. Don’t think you being Lord Sloth’s little apprentice, that I will bow and grovel beneath you,” he replied with a scoff turning his head to follow her gaze.
“I should’ve known. He has always been way too much trouble… Honestly, who would’ve guessed a human would be such a headache.”
“Sir, that is uncalle-”
“Quiet you, Greyback!! You will speak only when spoken to; even your brother Celes knew that much. Now you!! Little brat, what is he doing? Is he finally going to try and kill everyone here?”
“Mikey, he would never do that,” Yuu replied, not even bothering to give him a momentary glance.
“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!” A boisterous laugh boomed as a pair of hands landed on the pair of professors' shoulders. Looking up at the source, the class were surprised to see their magi-botany professor. He was always so soft-spoken when he taught them.
“Come now, Lord Michael. You seem to have too high an opinion of yourself. We old folk should feel pride at the young surpassing us!!”
“Gloxous? You should be quiet; if I wanted a gardener's opinion, I would ask for it!” Michael said, shooting a glare at the professor.
“Speaking of young…” he turned his withering glare to the class. “How are you conscious? At this range, many would suffer heart attacks?”
“Alex has been training their soul strength,” Yuu replied.
“HE’S WHAT?!!!! BUT THE SIDE EFFECTS OF DOING SUCH A THING-”
“Have been taken into consideration, Mikey,” Yuu replied with a shrug.
“I should hope someone would get him to calm down. We can’t have the pressure of his aura spreading; further, we already have a large amount of the campus evacuated. The kids think some kind of sea monster has climbed the cliffs,” a feminine voice said. The class turned to see their monster anatomy professor standing a few paces back.
“You kids should evacuate as well,” she urged.
“Now, now, Diane, I could just pop a crossbow bolt into his heart. BAM! No human, no aura, no problem,” their weapon master professor suggested.
As the professors began to devolve into a debate, none able to actually approach Alex due to the sheer density of the aura he was outputting, a figure stormed across the green past them and up to Alex.
Looking out towards the figure, they could see the slender and athletic form that many recognised as the professor responsible for general fitness and combat training. Crouching down behind Alex, seemingly unaffected by his aura, she wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug. They could all see she was whispering something to him, and like the waves of a tsunami, the aura began to recede.
“What did her highness do?” Michael asked.
“She calmed him, of course,” Sloth replied, seemingly showing up out of thin air. “Elissa, for all her faults, is the only one that can calm him when he is lost in a storm of his own devising.”
“Only one?” the weapons master asked, glancing at Yuu.
“Yes,” Sloth replied with a nod. “I could approach him and lecture him; this one here could possibly calm him down in the right circumstance,” Sloth said, gesturing to Yuu. “But that girl is the only one alive who can stop him from rampaging.”
“Rampaging?” Tasha repeated, confused.
“Yes, it was terrible. When I first took him in, he had… well, he had some things to work through. If I didn’t bind him to not retaliate, I imagine his name would be spoken with fear… well, more fear… It doesn’t help how many of his closest friends initially greeted him.”
“Sire?” the magi-botany professor asked, confused by Sloth’s meaning.
“Well, how should I put it? That boy’s closest friends and found family have near all met him through rather negative circumstances.”
“Huh?” Yuu said with a confused tilt of her head. She remembered meeting Alex and it being a fun time.
“You, of all people, should know Yuu. You greeted him by shooting a crossbow bolt at his head.”
“Oh yeah!” Yuu muttered, thumping her fist into her palm as if only just recalling.
“I met him when he was on trial for his life. Elissa over there punched him through several walls. Gorm broke all his ribs in a big hug. Insithrilax… well, that boy is lucky we had discovered a way to reverse severe burns.”
“Makes one wonder why he’s not crazier,” Yuu muttered, to which both she and Sloth nodded knowingly.
“Anyways, the situation is over; the students are all safe. Tell them you fearsome professors met the sea monster in battle and won without even a scratch. Should get you some brownie points with them.”
“SIRE. HE MAY BE YOUR APPRENTICE, BUT THIS CANNOT BE SWEPT UNDER THE RUG!!” Michael protested.
“Ok…” Sloth paused in thought, turning to Yuu. “Yuu, your role as Co-Regent is to oversee judicial proceedings. What say you?”
“I grant him an immediate pardon,” Yuu replied.
“There, it’s all settled. We can now sweep this under the rug, and for-”
“SIRE, I MUST PROTEST!!”
“Michael… Are you trying to get me to do more than I already am?” Sloth asked, his tone even and calm, a smile on his face that did not reach his wrinkled eyes.
“What about these students then?” he quickly asked, trying to redirect the focus.
“Them?” Sloth asked, turning to look at the class who had been still as statues between so many giants in their fields.
“They are basically that foolish boy's apprentices. If anything, it would serve them better not to tarnish their instructor's reputation.”
“Sire, please reconsider… He is a human, and he only causes trouble… we should just be done with him and-”
“I was born a human… should I leave because of that?” Sloth said with a severe tone cutting off any protest he was about to make. “His race is meaningless. He has far surpassed many here already; any attempts to destabilise the Order will be seen as treason. AM I CLEAR?!” Sloth asked with such finality the few professors bit back their dislike of Alex and left.
“Sorry, you had to see that, kids,” Sloth said.
“What’s the order, sir?” Daisy asked.
“Nothing for you to remember. Now I must be off. I have very nearly mastered the perfect temperature for tea. Yuu, I believe you can handle the rest,” Sloth said, leaving without even bothering to see Yuu give him a nod.
“Ok, shall we?” Yuu asked, gesturing to Alex with her thumb.
“You sure it’s safe?” Kline asked.
“Please, he would’ve snapped out of it had he actually hurt you, kids. He is very serious about protecting those he cares about. That stoic ‘I won’t lose another’ mentality you read about in story books.”
“Stoic?” Maxwell repeated. Many words could be used to describe their teacher. Many of these would be unflattering, but stoic is not one. He seemed too expressive for such a descriptor.
Yuu led the way across the green to where Alex and Elissa were sitting. Elissa still had him in her embrace as she gently stroked his hair while whispering something into his ear every so often.
“Oh hey, kids,” Alex said with a weak smile as he glanced up at them. “You saw that, huh?”
“Saw what, sir? We just got here,” Bea said.
“You’re sweet for trying,” Alex replied with a more founded grin. “Anyways, we should get back to the lesson.”
“We don’t have to continue, sir,” Maxwell suggested.
“He’s right, chief.”
“Nah, I got my honey bunny right here. I am golden. Besides, the one I drew is more fun the more people we have.”
“Oh, my one?” Daisy asked.
“Oh, so you want a tattoo? I would’ve bet you would’ve been the adventure one.” Daisy rapidly paled, realising a tattoo was in her immediate future.
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“I was the adventure one, sir.”
“Oh, who wants the tattoos?” Tasha raised a hand.
“It was me, sir.”
“Interesting, in pursuit of being like Mimi, I take it?” Tasha nodded.
“Between us, she does everything without the tattoo charms. She would be terrifying if she added them to her repertoire.”
“So we getting more tats?” Yuu asked, seemingly game for more ink.
“Should be fun,” Elissa added.
“So, where do we go?” Kline asked, already shaking at the prospect of a needle.
“Go? Back to the lab. These tattoos are made with basilisk blood, remember?”
“But it is poisonous?” Daisy said, paling even more.
“Not when we do what we did with your charms. Do that to the whole jar of blood, then break it down and mix it into standard ink and boom, magic tattoo ink!”
The class all followed as a now considerably more cheery Alex led the way back to the artificer lab. As they went, they could see an increasing number of students coming out of hiding, hoping to catch a glimpse of the aftermath of the epic fight they were no doubt imagining. Some even pointed out the cracks in the ground his aura had created as further evidence the fight really took place.
Arriving back in the lab where they had been only a short while ago, they watched as Yuu ran mana through the jars of basilisk blood while Elissa brought out a mortar and pestle with jars of ink.
“You not going to help, sir?” Maxwell asked.
“I am drained,” Alex replied. “Both figuratively and literally. I will help with the needle part.”
Elissa and Yuu continued going about setting up the tattoo ink, grinding the Liskuer in with ink creating a slightly purplish hue to the ink. Eventually, they had finished and had prepared several jars of the ink.
“Ok, what charms do you want?” Alex asked.
“What can we get?” Tasha asked.
“Well, you know what I got on my arms. I also have-” Alex paused to unbutton his shirt and removed it, revealing his torso was covered in not only scars but tattoos.
“This one lets you sense presences; this one helps you endure spicy food. This one here lets your magic range increase,” Alex explained, gesturing to different tattoos.
“What about this one, sir?” Tasha asked, seemingly the only classmate unphased by Alex showing off his upper body.
“Oh, that one is a prison gang tattoo. I’m technically a lifetime member.”
“And that one?” Bea asked, gesturing to one on his shoulder.
“Different prison gang that was at war with the other.”
“You are a member of both?”
“I was more a peacemaker and made an honourary member. This was my first time in prison. Second time me and Yuu just founded our own one, apparently. Thanks to how much control we had over the prison within the year, we just walked out the front door.”
“I wouldn’t put it past you two, to be honest,” Maxwell replied.
“I would like the sense presence one. It seems like it could be useful,” Tasha said.
“Good choice. What about you guys?”
“I-I will go for the presence one as well,” Daisy said hesitatingly, deciding to back out before her turn came up.
“I would like the fast-think one,” Maxwell said.
“Can I get the bravery circle I’m meant to make tattooed?”
“No, you need that to pass. Getting me to stick it on your skin is cheating,” Alex replied with a shake of his head.
“Then the presence one,” Kline replied, lowering his head.
“I will have this,” Bea said, reaching into a pocket and taking out a little folded piece of paper.
“The mark of Beezlebub?” Alex asked, looking at the symbol.
“He is my namesake; family would’ve done it eventually; why not get it out the way now.”
“Fair enough. What about you, Gunter?” Alex asked.
“I will have the fast think as well. It will aid in enchanting when carving runes,” Gunter replied.
“Ok, what do you guys want?” Alex asked, turning to Elissa and Yuu.
“Can I get your maker's-mark?” Elissa asked.
“My…” Alex began before trailing off, his face visibly twisting in a cringe. “Please honey, no… I designed that when I was being an edgy teenager. I would be heartbroken with such a cringey thing on you.”
“Ok, then why not a love heart with our names?”
“That is better, I suppose. I’ll do the lettering in elvish, so it looks fancy. I just need to be sure I don’t repeat the chicken noodle soup incident,” he muttered.
“Yuu?” Alex asked, turning to his friend.
“I’m ok, I got as many as you do, and my canvas is smaller,” Yuu said, turning down the offer. “I’ll help do the inking, though, so we can get it done quicker,” Yuu said with a big grin as she walked out of the lab and returned with a metal container.
“What’s that, Big Chief?”
“This here will make tattoos easier and quicker. Rather than hitting a single needle into someone slowly, this will let us draw the tattoo,” Yuu explained, taking out a small clockwork tattoo gun.
“Ok, first up, Kline,” Alex said.
“Typical,” Kline muttered, pulling up his sleeve and sitting down.
“And Daisy.”
“Me?!!” Daisy replied with a yelp.
“Yeah, getting the scaredy cats out the way first. If you want to back out, now is the time.”
“I…” Daisy hesitated as she got lost in thought. She knew if she backed out, she would likely be the only one without one. Her pride could not let any of her classmates get a leg up on her.
“Very well, make it quick,” Daisy said, slumping down on a seat and pulling up her sleeve as well.
It took roughly an hour for all the class to get their tattoos done. The only one to have not stayed conscious throughout the entire process was Maxwell, who fainted the moment Yuu pressed her new tattoo gun against his arm. However, Yuu seemed nonplussed when it happened and summoned a golem to keep him propped up.
“Ok, guys use the healing spell on yourselves, and it’ll be fully set,” Alex said.
“I thought the healing spell could only be used on others?” Tasha replied.
“Common misconception. Typically because when you press the spell against yourself, no healing occurs.,” Alex explained, pressing a hand against his arm to demonstrate his meaning.
“Then how do we get it to work?” Daisy asked.
“You get it to go through your mana channels and not surface. As long as it's internalised, it can function.”
“Surely there's a catch; otherwise, it would be very common,” Bea asked.
“Picked up on it, eh?” Alex said with one of his signature grins. “It takes more mana than healing someone else.”
“How…How does that work? Didn’t you say that the mana cost is because it's foreign mana, and we need to overcome their mana?” Daisy asked.
“Yes, but in this case, you are fighting against your own flow. In the case of healing someone, it is like trying to wade across a fast-moving river. With enough effort, you can do it. But doing it internally for yourself is like staying in that river and swimming against the current to stay in one place.”
“I think it’d be easier just to heal each other,” Tasha said as she started gently slapping Maxwell’s face.
“Fair enough. Elissa, you can demonstrate it if you want,” Alex said, gesturing to her. Elissa, in response, nodded but then paused in thought.
“I know!” Elissa said with a snap of her fingers as she reached into a pouch and took out a knife, and stabbed herself in the arm near where her new tattoo was.
“Your highness, what are you doing?!!” Tasha said in a panic, dropping a freshly conscious Maxwell in a heap as she rushed over.
“Well, a tattoo is hard to see how good the healing can be,” Elissa explained as she gestured to her arm, where the wound began visibly closing.
“Elissa is a true master of close combat; in the army, this is a technique taught to legion class warriors,” Yuu explained.
“Can you do it, Big Chief?”
“Nah, never really needed to heal myself. I’m a tough cookie,” Yuu replied, rapping her knuckles against her temple. “Alex, on the other hand…” The class all turned their attention to their teacher, a man with a reputation for literally blowing off his own limbs.
“Oh yeah, I can’t do it,” Alex replied with a shrug. This response stunned the class into silence, shocked that he was unable to use a self-healing skill with the way he generally acts.
“I only have a natural resistance to pain, though the nurses on the medical ward were frustrated with me quite often.”
“I can imagine,” Daisy replied.
“So next on the docket is summoning demons. This was obviously Gunter’s suggestion,” Alex said with a teasing tone as he approached Bea. “You sure you want to give it a go?”
“Yessir, it is my family’s calling, after all,” Bea replied.
“Very well, but I will make this part clear. You guys don’t need to participate,” Alex said, turning to the rest of the class. “Demon summoning is incredibly dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing.”
“How dangerous can it be?” Maxwell asked, having finally gotten up to his feet.
“Well, Bea had a finger disappear just to make a familiar contract. That summoned the demon in spirit only. Imagine summoning a demon in physical form.” The class paused to ponder what it would be like, but no matter how they imagined it, they couldn’t work out what it would be like.
“You done a real summoning before, Bea?” in response, she nodded.
“Yeah, my dad had me participate when I was five.”
“Perfect, I’ll let you lead the chant to summon one while I keep the rest of the gang safe,” Alex said as he pushed the rest of the class to the seats they had sat in when they summoned their familiars.
“Ok, one moment, Ahem,” Alex began as he held his hands out with his palms facing the class. “I call upon all that is good and holy. May the Valkyries guard the innocent, and all those who would commit harm suffer divine punishment,” Alex finished his prayer, and a glowing light covered everyone in a thin film of light as it had the first time he had cast holy magic in front of them.
“Wooo, still kicked like a bull,” Alex muttered, shaking his hands to shake off what looked like minor burns. “The closer to being a pure necromancer I get, the worse that gets… Ok, Bea, have at it!”
“Ok!” Bea replied, giving a playful salute.
“You ever heard demonic language?” Yuu asked the class as they watched Bea roll her shoulders and do stretches.
“No, never,” Daisy replied as she glanced at the rest of her classmates, who all shook their heads as well.
“Well, you are going to experience some real cognitive dissonance with this show then,” Yuu said with a knowing smirk.
“What do you mean, Big Chief? Will Bea be ok?” Gunter asked, looking worriedly at Bea, who was in the process of doing lunge stretches.
“Well, you know how Bea has a nice high-pitched, bubbly voice?” Yuu asked to which the class nodded.
“KRAZGAZ, VUL, GONTHARITSAE, KLIXIAN, GOREMENOS!” Bea began in a voice that should not have been coming from her. It was deep and guttural, something even deeper than Gorm’s baritone was.
“What in the-”
“VISTARASTI!!! COMLIN VOIDIX CULUMON!!!” Bea continued her chant as she began stomping back and forth, all while Alex kept a steady beat by stomping his foot on the ground.
“That is the demonic tongue. You could have the most sickeningly sweet voice, but any demonic words come out like you have smoked fifty a day for millennia and decided your stomach would work better for your voicebox,” Yuu explained.
The class watched on, and just as Yuu had suggested, they were getting a very strong level of cognitive dissonance. Bea continued her dancing chant as she thrust her arms back and forth, swinging them all while speaking in such a deep rumble they could feel it in their stomachs from where they sat.
Slowly but surely, a crack began to appear on the floor. A crack that began to grow in length and width till, eventually, a rush of hot steam shot out of it.
“What is happening?!!” Kline asked in a panicked voice as they all lost visibility.
“This is the heat of the upper circles of hell escaping,” Yuu replied.
“Is that bad?!” Daisy asked, shouting to be heard over the screeching and wailing, now escaping the still-growing crack.
“Good, I suppose. The lower the number of the circle, the stronger the demon,” Yuu explained.
“How does that work?” Tasha asked. They had always been taught that the stronger demons lived on the deepest depths of hell. That was why you wanted someone to go there.
“Hell is a place where you can escape. But to do so, you need to get through the first circle,” Yuu began. “So newly dead souls go to the bottom circle and have to claw their way up, often meeting oblivion on the way. The reason the circles closest to the top are stronger is a mix of souls that rose to them and demons being based there to prevent souls leaving.”
“How do you know this Big Chief? It isn’t written in any books?”
“Oh, I’m sure you can guess,” Yuu replied with a smirk.
“Don’t tell me… You have literally gone to hell and back?” Maxwell asked.
“Wow, Alex was right. You are getting sharper when it comes to us. Yes, Alex and Me specifically went to hell and kind of fought our way out… Well, I did; at least, we got separated and kind of met at the gates to the mortal realm.”
“When did this happen?!!!” Daisy asked.
“On our trip home from Gluttony’s domain. We took a few back roads, and well… You know that scene you saw where the winged thing dragged Alex into the labyrinth?” the class all nodded.
“The furies came for him and me for… reasons… Apparently, we had been marked as trouble for utilising the knowledge we had yet to actually gain and only showed up on their radar after the effects of the booze wore off.”
“So what is hell like?” Tasha asked curiously.
“Not that bad gets hotter the higher you go. Most people there were panicking. I was more… well, I was enjoying having no restrictions on what I could make. I spent several years building up a golem army and conquered the ninth circle.”
“You’re screwing with us now. You spent at most a few months on your trip. How can you spend years in hell?” Maxwell asked.
“Time in other realms runs differently. Hell runs very fast,” Yuu explained with a shrug. “Though yeah, I became a Lady of the Ninth Circle and was a hell noble and, using my forces as a mercenary group, worked my way up to the first circle where I bolted out the door.”
“What about Alex?” Elissa asked as even she didn’t know.
“Alex was… well, he was him,” Yuu said, gesturing to Alex, who was supporting Bea in continuing her ritual. As they looked to the crack, they could see a pair of crimson-red fingers wiggling in the crack, struggling to gain purchase on the sides.
“A crimson demon… so probably the third or fourth circle,” Yuu observed. More fingers began pushing through the crack in blue and purple shades, which caused Yuu to pale.
“Ok, the second circle, blue, are the demons of that floor,” Yuu said, not taking her eyes away from the crack. “ALEX, SLOW DOWN THE RITUAL. SHE HAS GOT A SECOND-” Yuu did not finish her sentence as the hands all wrenched the crack open, creating a rift in the ground that was covered in a solid wall of fire.
“RAGHHHHH!!!” A six-armed demon with a pair of blue, purple and red arms burst out of the flames.
“GOLGIS, VEHENNA COMONATUE!!!” The demon asked, looking at Bea with predatory eyes as its hands began to loom over her. But despite his guttural demonic words, Bea did not stop the ritual, ignoring the demon right in front of her. Her lack of acknowledging him seemed to infuriate the demon as he reached out with claws extended to strike at her.
“BEA, LOOK OUT!!!” Gunter screamed as he scrambled over the seats rushing towards the holy barrier, hoping to save her. But he knew he would not be fast enough. Worse still, Alex was not reacting to the demon's attack and was continuing the ritual the same as Bea.
As the class and teachers all looked on with shock and terror, the demon exploded in a shower of blood and viscera. The organs and internals that splattered against the holy barrier all vanishing into smoke. But the whole lab looked like it had been painted by a very disturbed mind.
“Now he is out of the way,” a man in a well-pressed suit with embroidery muttered as he casually stepped out of the hole and glanced around the room.
“WHO ARE YOU?!!!” Gunter shouted, worried this was a new and even more dangerous threat. Despite being covered with gore, both Bea and Alex had not stopped chanting and dancing about.
“Why aren’t they stopping? Surely they are aware of the threat in front of them?” Daisy asked.
“You’d think that?” the man said as he carefully walked up to Alex and then turned to face Bea. “But any true demonologist does not stop the ritual even if they have their organs ripped out,” the man said, showing a big toothy grin of razor-sharp teeth.
“Hmm,” the man pressed a finger against the holy barrier Alex had put up and clicked his tongue.
“So many delectable morsels just out of reach. Oh well, they are about done,” the man muttered as fiery tendrils shot out the hole and wrapped around him. “And this is why you don’t stop the ritual too soon.”
“Greetings, my master,” the man said, glancing at Bea.
“Do you have a name?” Bea asked, finally snapping back to reality.
“Many names,” the man said, offering his hand as best as he could. Bea just looked at it and shook her head.
“Hmm…” the man went before taking a big long sniff. “Ah, a Blackgate… should’ve known I would be bound to one of you at some point. Very well, I shall offer a contract,” the man said with a razor-sharp grin.
“Terms are the Blackgate special,” Bea said, looking the man directly in the eye.
“You will need to give me a name for that; come a little closer, and I…” the man began before trailing off, looking up at Alex.
“I say I recognise you… you are… well, now, so you did get out in the end… I would applaud your gall, but I am presently occupied,” the man said.
“I will name you…” Bea trailed off as she got lost in thought, trying to think up a name, only to have Alex approach and whisper something in her ear, which caused her to chuckle. “It’s a bit cruel, sir?”
“Go on, I’m sure he will enjoy it,” Alex replied with one of his signature smirks.
“You… You wouldn’t dare. It took me a millennia to lose that name, you bastard!!!”
“I provide you with the name Mr Bumblefluff the third,” Bea declared. All at once, lines of burning light ran along the man's skin, and a crest appeared on his chest, burning through his clothing.
“DAMMIT, THIS IS THE THIRD TIME I HAVE BEEN GIVEN THAT NAME!!!!” The man raged.
“That’s why she added ‘the Third’,” Alex replied.
“Quiet!” Bea commanded and bound by his new contract Bumblefluff the third closed his mouth.
“You will go to the Blackgate estate in the first circle and await summonings there,” Bea ordered.
“Your will…” Bumblefluff said through gritted teeth as he bowed low. “Is my desire.” Without another word, the threads binding him vanished, and he walked over to the hole and jumped in.
“And that kids is a true demon summoning,” Alex declared, holding Bea’s arm aloft in triumph.
“With all that has gone on, sir, I have only now just remembered something Professor Michael said,” Daisy said.
“What is that?” Alex asked.
“Well, it will be more of a question,” Daisy replied, her face showing a stern expression.
“What did he mean by the side effects of our soul training?” Daisy asked, her focus drilling into Alex.
“Oh, that,” Alex replied with a wave of his hand as if to waft away the question. “You kids don’t need to worry about that.”
“No sir, I very much think we need to be concerned about that. When were you going to tell us about them? When we started showing signs of these side effects? Or did you assume you would never have to?”
“Daisy, we would never-”
“Never what, sir?! We are willing students, I suppose, but you seem to revel in dragging us every which way. You don’t tell us anything, then act surprised we don’t know the answer. So I am asking for one. What are the side effects he mentioned?”
Under Daisy’s withering gaze, everyone present could only recoil. How Alex remained as carefree as he usually was, was a mystery to the rest of the class. The most palpable thing was they could feel a concerted pressure radiating from Daisy.
“Daisy, we should trust sir by now,” Kline said, trying to approach Daisy.
“Should we? He has always told us not to accept anything blindly.”
“But you are accepting what Professor Michael said blindly.”
“I am not!!! I am trying to ascertain the answer to make a decision. What are we doing to ourselves, sir?” Daisy once again asked, not taking her eyes off Alex.
“I would never allow you kids to come to harm under my care,” Alex replied.
“I am well aware of that. I have seen you retaliate against an entire bandit fortress alone for us. I do not doubt your will to defend us. I am questioning why you feel the need to keep us in the dark about something we should have been made aware of.” For once, Alex broke eye contact and began looking to Yuu and Elissa for help.
“Daisy, the side effects he mentioned are nothing to worry about,” Yuu said, trying to reassure her.
“Isn’t that for us to decide? Daisy asked.
“She’s got a point,” Tasha said to the surprise of the rest of the room. “What?!! Even I can see that we are being left in the dark quite a lot. I am fine with it, as a lot goes over my head. But Daisy is right here; we should know this stuff.”
“You have far less to worry about, Tasha,” Elissa replied.
“How do we know, huh? We can only take your word at it, and if your lessons have taught us anything, it is to doubt people.”
Alex let out a deep and exhausted sigh as he raised his hands in surrender to indicate he was willing to capitulate. Dragging a chair from near one of the desks, he settled down in front of the class.
“I will open with I had reasons to conceal this from you.”
“What are those?” Maxwell asked.
“You are now manually breathing,” Alex replied, which caused a few of the class to tilt their head in confusion.
“I AM!!!” Tasha shouted in surprise.
“That is an example of why I didn’t tell you. Knowledge of them, much like someone saying what I just did, can cause an automatic response forcing them to appear when otherwise they wouldn’t.”
“So that is why you didn’t tell us?” Bea asked to which he nodded.
“Just knowing the side effects can cause them to have an increased likelihood of appearing.”
“So what are they, sir?” Daisy pressed.
“You kids sure you want to know? Especially when knowing can increase the chance of them appearing?”
“Sir, we have been at best your playthings these few months. Despite everything, we were willing to put faith in that you had your reasons. I won’t deny we have grown far more powerful. But should we be doing all that we have been?”
“I won’t ever force you to do something I don’t truly believe you can’t do.”
“I never mentioned our inability to do it. I am questioning whether you are teaching us in the right way. Regardless I am more than content to know the side effects despite those risks.”
“What about the rest of you?” Alex asked to which the rest of the class nodded. Alex exhaled another deep sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Very well,” he said with a tired-looking shrug.
“The first side effect is a warping of form.”
“Warping of form?” Gunter repeated.
“You personally don’t need to worry, Gunter. This one is for those the gods didn’t make out of stone,” Alex replied.
“So we can become deformed?!” Bea asked.
“No, as you strengthen, your souls can sometimes grow larger than their vessel. The body changes to match the soul more comfortably. The main effect would be you kids begin to grow taller or broader.”
“So I could grow bigger thanks to this side effect?” Bea asked, shooting a brief glance at Gunter.
“Nothing to Gunter’s side. But if you reach the pinnacle, you could be about a head's height shorter than Daisy.”
“That’s massive!!” Bea shouted in shock.
“What about us then?” Maxwell asked.
“You’d reach about your father's height. He already is a master of soul strengthening, and his form has reached its peak.”
“So this is why he is so much larger?” Kline asked.
“Yes,” Alex replied with a nod.
“So we will have an unnatural growth spurt?” Daisy asked. “Is that all?”
“For that one,” Alex replied with a wince. “The next possible side effect is uncontrollable aura output.”
“So, like you did when you passed us your watch?” Maxwell asked.
“Yes, this is actually one I suffer from,” Alex explained, twirling the watch charm in question.
“So we would give off that monstrous an aura without being able to control it?” Daisy asked.
“No, it would be proportional to your aura. A charm is made to keep it in check, but this only is for people with very large manastores. You kids all fall outside the range for it to be a possibility.”
“So it is impossible?” Bea asked.
“I won’t lie and say yes, it is impossible. Nothing is completely known in this mortal plane of ours. But from past examples, it has yet to occur,” Alex replied.
“Are there any more?” Daisy pressed.
“Madness,” Alex replied.
“Madness?!!” Daisy shouted back. “We could go insane?!!”
“What, no?!! You would become a bit odd, is all. It’s the reason so many of the more powerful people are such oddballs, present company included. It can tweak your mind enough to have quirks. The result of the soul’s mind growing with the body. Think of it like a mental version of the physical warping.”
“But we could go crazy?” Daisy pressed, not willing to let him brush over. “Did you not think we would need to know this fact?”
“Daisy,” Alex replied, wincing once more. “I already said that knowing can make it more likely. But what is wrong with the odd quirk anyways?”
“We are from important families with duties, sir! We cannot just become as freewheeling as you are. We have responsibilities!” Maxwell shouted back. “I am set to become a member of the diplomat core, and being a strange person would hurt my chances!”
“Maxwell…” Alex began before trailing off, looking conflicted.
“Are there any others?!!” Daisy shouted, looking angrier than she had at the start.
“The final side effect known is you will start to visualise the mana realm.”
“Mana realm?” Bea repeated with a tilt of her head.
“It is a realm woven into the fabric of this one. It is what lets mages cast spells,” Alex explained. “Think of it like a silk lining of a coat.”
“So we start seeing this, and what?!”
“You can perceive the flow of mana around you. With practice, you can work out the spells your opponent is going to use due to the flow of the mana around them. You can even befriend the spirits.”
“Spirits?” Daisy repeated for the first time, her fury abating.
“I can show you,” Alex offered.
“How? By over-exercising our souls to the point of manifesting that effect?”
“No, I can share my sight with you,” Alex offered. “As cliche as it sounds, it is a really magical place.”
“How can you share your sight with us?” Daisy asked.
“I can channel my mana to your eyes. My mana is already infused with the effect, and you will see the world as I see it.”
“What about the side effect?” Daisy asked.
“Your mana will purge my mana when I stop the flow as a foreign substance. The side effect won’t last afterwards.”
“I won’t force this one on you, Daisy, nor any of you guys. You always have the right to refuse. Whether it be my lesson methods or anything else, it was not my intention to rob you of your freedom to choose. But Daisy has helped me realise I have been dropping you in one situation after another without rest,” Alex, as he said this he, lowered his head in apology.
“Kids, I am a flawed mortal man. Yes, I am powerful, but I am as far from perfect as possible. I will make mistakes and screw up. My race even has a saying that fits being ‘we’re only human’. If you ever have doubts, don’t be afraid to speak up.” Holding out his hand for Daisy to take should she accept his offer, Alex waited.
“That blood contract to get a full passing grade will always be on the table. Should you ever wish to back out, I won’t hold it against you.”
“Should I trust you?” Daisy asked as she hesitantly reached out.
“I should hope I’ve taught you well enough to keep that seed of doubt. But in this instance, I am being wholly open. No tricks, no games, no ulterior motives. You were concerned about the side effects, and I have answered them. Now I offer to show you the pinnacle.”
Daisy reached her hand out tentatively before retracting it, only to suddenly take Alex by the hand. The moment her hand connected with his, she felt it. Pure overwhelming mana began pouring into her arm.
Looking down at the appendage, she could see her veins begin to light up as bright as a lumus rex spell. Instinctively her body wanted to recoil. Alex’s grip was even light enough that she could do so with ease. But she wanted to see what this pinnacle was. The light continued to snake up to her shoulder and up her neck.
“Don’t worry, you need only let go to stop,” Alex reassured her as she could feel a warmth snaking across her face towards her eyes.
All at once, the room exploded in colour. A vibrant sea of every colour imaginable and some beyond imagination that even she could not comprehend. Floating around them were what looked like little motes of dust, but every so often, they would spark.
“This is the mana realm,” Alex explained as he watched Daisy, who, with the wonder of a child, began to wave her hand around, causing the motes to swirl.
“Lumus Rex,” Alex chanted the spell and brought out a magical circle. Daisy watched in wonder as before the circle appeared; she could see the motes spiral and converge at his palm. The circle itself appeared as it would have without this colourful hue.
“What you just saw is the flow of mana. Every spell flows and manifests differently. This is how some mages can even learn to use spells without chanting. Rosy, for instance, was born able to see this and could follow the flow of air spells naturally. All she does is recreate it with her internal mana.”
As he explained this, a fish-like creature began to swim through the wall to her left. It looked like the fish had been drawn out of light lines and was otherwise hollow.
“That there is a minor spirit. They are the ones responsible for more increasing the strength of a spell. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some are sapient; some are just animals.”
“Can I?” Daisy asked, gesturing with her hand to ask if she could touch it.
“Go ahead and try.” Reaching out, Daisy gently poked the fish, which reacted like a fish in a pond when a pebble was dropped in.
“They are incorporeal but can still get spooked,” Alex explained.
“So this is what you see all the time?” Daisy asked, glancing at her teacher.
“Yep, it’s part of why I can maintain such a happy facade. It is comforting to see this beautiful world underneath our very own. You should see the view from my meditation spot.”
“Daisy, what do you see?” Bea asked, looking confused.
“Wonderous things,” Daisy replied, looking around her with wonder, only for it all to vanish the second Alex took his hand away.
“Wait?!!” Daisy said, trying to take his hand back in hers.
“No, this is something to aim for should you want it. Though you kids can stop the exercises if you want,” Alex added.
“What do you mean we haven’t achieved our goal yet?” Maxwell pointed out.
“You kids are already tough enough. I have been keeping increasing pressure to give the impression of slow progress. You have already surpassed the original goal. You won't lose consciousness in the presence of a nasty, which was my initial goal.”
“So we can stop the exercises if we want?”
“Yes. Daisy kind of popped the cork on that one a little early. I was going to let you know the start of the next lesson. If you wish to continue now you know the risks of progressing further, you are free to do so.”
“I will keep going… especially if I can see that realm again,” Daisy muttered.
“Daisy, that is a bit of an iffy motivation,” Alex replied, looking concerned.
“Well, you going to let us see that realm as well?” Tasha asked as she held out a hand expectantly.