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Despite all the power and knowledge that could be attained there, it always unnerved Odin to come to the Isle of Knowledge. The Isle was home to all kinds of gods of knowledge and seers of all stripes, as well as the fountain of all knowledge. And as they said, knowledge was power. However, gaining the knowledge of the Isle was not without danger. Most knowledge at the Isle came at a price, and often that price was the sanity of the seeker. All kinds of forbidden knowledge could be found simply laying in the open, just waiting for someone foolish enough to be tempted. Odin had been tempted before, as his missing eye attested. His had been a fair trade at least.
Despite the danger, most came to the Isle in search of knowledge. And the answer to their dilemmas could be found often enough to attract more desperate seekers. This time Odin came because he'd been called. Even then, he'd mostly ignore any calls from the Isle. Knowledge might be power, but it was also a double-edged sword, and anyone who had dealt with seers knew that glimpses to the future were just as liable to cause trouble as fix things. However, he'd come here because of who had called for him. The Recordkeeper.
The Recordkeeper was an elusive and mostly neutral god that only interfered when something strange was going on. Something that had repercussions on the System itself. Or when Champions and the ranking of the gods were involved. He was the one in charge of keeping those rankings after all. Usually, the reclusive god simply appeared at major events to record the results and to update the standings of the myriad deities that now called this universe home. Ironically, despite not taking part himself, he was perhaps the most important god in existence, because it was his judgement and determination that decided which gods rose above others and which of them fell from grace. That was another reason why you showed up when he called. You did not want to be subjected to any punishments by him. He may not have been a petty god like some, but there was no point in taking the risk to anger him.
Odin wandered through a garden of stones where countless steles and obelisks hewed from the nearby mountain stood like a forest. Every surface was covered in names and records associated with those names. Odin could find his own name, as well as the names of his allies and friends prominently displayed among the obelisks. As he walked between the stone monuments, he observed that the constructs looked fragile, but he also knew that they’d only immediately repair themselves if destroyed. Once the Recordkeeper put something down, it was permanent. As long as he existed, so would his records.
The reclusive god stood in the centre of the forest, frowning at one of the steles covered in writing that was indecipherable. Despite his distraction, Odin’s approach had not gone unnoticed. “Odin. Thank you for accepting my summons.”
The one-eyed Norse god cleared his throat. “We both know not heeding your call tends to have unpleasant consequences.” Some gods had made the mistake in the past. No one did anymore. That, he suspected, had been the point.
The Recordkeeper’s expression didn’t change at all. “There’s a problem.”
“What kind?” Odin asked with trepidation.
“The number of Champions summoned. It’s wrong.“ The Recordkeeper stated simply.
That didn’t sound too bad. “Someone summoned an extra Champion? While odd, that hardly seems too bad.” Odin pointed out. Any extra summon would have to share their patron’s blessing after all. There was usually a procedure for the summons, partially to make sure every two-bit wannabee deity didn’t summon a Champion, a privilege reserved for those that deserved it.
“That’s just it. No god has made an extra summon, as far as I can tell. If that were the case, then things would be simple. No, there’s been a summon without a summoner.” The Recordkeeper explained.
"Ok," Odin said simply, not really seeing the problem. "So, we have an extra Champion running around? With no god providing power for the summon or a blessing, that hardly seems like an issue." It wasn't like the gods hadn't tried hiding their summons before. However, summoning a worthy Champion took a lot of power and effort, and even the most powerful gods couldn’t hide an expenditure like that for long.
“It’s a severe issue. We have no idea who or what was summoned. And if I don’t know who made the summons, I don’t know who to credit for the Champion’s deeds. Or in fact, know if any deeds have been made.” The Recordkeeper argued with a bit of frustration in his voice.
"Then…just don't?" Odin still didn't see the big deal. It might be annoying for the god in front of him, but why was he here? He knew the issue infringed on the very existence of the Recordkeeper, something anyone would find frustrating, but it was hardly his problem.
"You don't understand." The Recordkeeper sighed but didn't deign to explain further, apparently giving up. "System Query: Requesting a direct interface.” He stated instead, exercising one of the rights only the gods had.
A fiery portal appeared in front of the two gods, and a dark-haired and very charming man stepped through the portal. The man looked mostly Human or Angel, though it was just a form the System had taken, likely one of the Guides. “What can I do for you gentlemen?” The artificial being asked with a charming smile.
'Apparently, this interface has more personality than most.' Odin thought to himself. The form also gave him shivers for some reason. Almost like he was in danger. Surely that couldn’t be, though?
The Recordkeeper didn't seem to notice. "Is this anomaly correct?" He asked, pointing at the indecipherable squiggles on the stele.
“Quite accurate, yes.” The man replied, with his smile turning a little playful.
“How can there be a summons without a summoner?” The Recordkeeper demanded to know.
“Now why would I spoil all the fun by telling?” The man laughed, drawing incredulous stares from both gods. This was a first.
"It's my duty and authority to keep accurate records." The Recordkeeper stated almost numbly, his whole existence having been challenged.
“Just chalk up the achievements the new Champion makes for the System instead of crediting a particular god. That should solve any issues.” The man, who seemed a lot less Human every passing second suggested. “Now, was that it? Because I have a party to get to.”
‘A party? The System?’ Odin wondered while in total shock. As neither god answered, the man simply went back through the portal that had not closed. Odin got a brief glimpse of a hot-tub through the portal before it closed. The tub was not empty of people, and Odin had to admit it looked quite inviting.
“So…why am I here?” Odin finally asked.
“I need you to take word of what I’ve told you to the others.” The Recordkeeper stated, his eyes glued back to the stele.
‘Great. So, I’m just the messenger. I suppose I should be happy I got off easy.’ Odin decided to count his lucky stars.
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[Congratulations! [Bonesinging] has leveled up 10 --> 11!]
The announcement came just as she finished the Witchblade she’d spent months creating. The white blade was elegant in shape, and as she ran a bit of psionic power through the weapon, it channelled that power much better than normal weapons. A deadly aura of power formed around the blade, theoretically capable of cutting through anything. The blade only needed the traditional Aeldari runes along the blade to be complete.
It was also an utter piece of crap.
Even her Gift of Knowledge informed her it was a poor-quality weapon. Despite her experience, the System placed mechanical limits on what she could achieve with her current Skill level, and those limits were not very high. The blade wouldn’t be able to stand any sort of strenuous combat without breaking. The power conductivity, while high when compared to normal blades, was abysmal when compared to a real Witchblade. She wouldn’t dare show a blade like this to anyone, not to mention actually using it even as a kitchen knife.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
With a single thought, she sent her power into the blade just the right way, and the entire thing suddenly turned into white dust that she then swept aside with a casual application of telekinesis.
This had been the first blade she created in this universe, and naturally, it would be the worst. Every subsequent weapon would be much better, though it would take dozens of attempts to produce anything resembling a decent weapon. Luckily, as her Skill rose, so did the speed at which she could create the material required for the blades. Slow and gradual progress was the name of the game, and unlike with many other Skills, she couldn’t just get a quick improvement in combat. This Skill had to be trained by constant and persistent use.
This wasn't just something she had to deal with. Every Class with crafting Skills would have to go through the same process. She hadn't taken too many lessons on the out-of-combat support Classes, but this much was general knowledge. In certain ways, she was better off than most such Classes, as she didn't need to waste materials for her training. The downside was of course that she couldn't dedicate her time to the craft. A blacksmith's apprentice would spend most of their time crafting. She had maybe an hour a day at most. Then again, she didn't have to learn the Skill from scratch. She already knew the best ways of Bonesinging, so she didn't have to waste time learning from a master.
The rattling at the door brought her from her thoughts. Her roommate had returned. Jelii, the Draenei girl she was rooming with, spent most of her time making connections on the campus. Apparently, her Skills and Class had a very powerful social element to them, and the socializing was actually a form of training. Didn’t hurt that the girl also enjoyed it. “Welcome back Jelii.” She greeted politely.
“Sephy! You should really join me one of these days instead of all this stuffy studying and training. You’d do well with your Charisma, and you could really make some friends and connections! Those will be really useful in the future!” The girl said with a perky voice.
She wasn’t wrong in general terms. Seraphiel simply knew that the advice didn’t really apply in her case. Not that connections wouldn’t be useful, just that the connections she could form currently with the young students were of limited use. She was pretty sure that her social capital would rise a lot more when she started taking part in the competitions. The kind of people willing to form connections with a random Knight student, and those willing to form connections with someone that had proven herself in large-scale competitions were vastly different. As for friends, she was already getting somewhat friendly with her brother’s cadre of associates. She was relatively social by nature, but her brother’s friends satisfied that need for now.
It was also a rather sad fact that most of the new students were still rather childish in their worldviews. The friends she'd had before coming to the Academy had been that as well, but at least those three had been super precocious due to the sheer fact that they'd been geniuses of sorts. And playing games with children was somewhat different from playing social games with kids entering their equivalent of teen years. She wasn't sure she wanted to deal with the drama, though she wouldn't be able to avoid it entirely.
“That’s alright but thank you for the invitation. I’m simply focused on improving my Class and Skills as quickly as possible. I want to take the advancement exams at the end of the year.” Her excuse wasn’t a lie either.
“First year? Ambitious, though not too rare. From what I’ve heard on the grapevine, I think you can do it.” The pink Draenei flumped down on the chair opposite hers.
“Grapevine, eh? And what does the grapevine say?” She asked. It would’ve been impossible to avoid rumours entirely. She wasn’t into hiding her talent, and she was standing out rather starkly in all their lessons. The last few weeks had consisted mostly of constant sparring and combat lessons from the instructors. Since she tended to win all her bouts rather easily, except when facing the instructors of course, her reputation was growing.
"Mostly positive things about how you're absolutely wrecking everyone in your lessons. They like the fact that you don't rub it in, although the level of ease you seem to do it with seems to rub people the wrong way. Not much you can do there I'm afraid. No one likes losing and some people will always take things personally.” Jelii was actually a pretty good source of rumours, as the Draenei was such a social butterfly.
"Do you know when they'll start holding the try-outs for the academy teams?" She inquired. As an older student, Jelii should know.
"Eh, the tryouts are mostly for show. The competitions tend to happen later in the year, but they'll start scouting right from the beginning. They'll come to you if you have real talent. The try-outs are for those that haven't been able to prove themselves yet." The girl proved once again to be a useful source of information. Support Class indeed.
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“Tomorrow?” Seraphiel asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes. I believe you already agreed.” Chachamaru explained while drinking a cup of some overly sweet drink. Another new thing for the previous android.
“That’s not really the issue. I’m happy to start training with the academy’s team. I would’ve simply preferred a bit more warning.” She explained before looking around her. “Also, an interesting choice of venue.”
The two of them were finally having the outing they'd agreed to on the very first days, to exchange information on their shared acquaintances. They'd picked a sweets shop outside the campus area. Apparently, the place was a popular date spot as several couples were having a very comfortable mood around them.
"I simply like the drinks here," Chachamaru replied with a small knowing smile, clearly realizing what Seraphiel was hinting at. "As for the short warning, the whole thing is a bit rushed. Originally this year should've been a relatively quiet one for tournaments and such, but once master found out you’re here…”
“She intends to exploit me for all I’m worth, and since I can most likely dominate any newbie competitions…” She understood the implications of course.
“An interesting way of phrasing it, but not inaccurate. Be that as it may, master is challenging every Academy within reach into competitions especially focused on the new student events. The others of course realize what she’s doing and suspect rightly that master has found someone she’s confident in, but so have many other academies, so they agree. Besides, a little competition is always popular entertainment and the perfect opportunity for everyone involved to gain some levels.” Chachamaru’s explanation was rather logical, as usual. “Anyway, that’s why things are getting rushed a bit. And master knew we were supposed to meet anyway.”
“Bah. Evangeline just doesn’t want to meet me personally.” Seraphiel chuckled.
The two of them didn't hate each other or even have grudges or bad blood. It's just that Seraphiel's existence insulted Evangeline's sense of drama and aesthetics. Evangeline was a big believer in having to struggle and sacrifice for success and that struggle created drama and tension. She enjoyed it when good people were faced with impossible choices because that's how Evangeline thought such stories should go.
Seraphiel on the other hand tended to be rather direct and unpretentious, and her intervention had neatly solved several issues that would've been such delicious sources of drama for Evangeline. They were such different people, with Seraphiel being a real enjoyer of life's little pleasures, embracing all the fun things and the light, at least in the past, while Evangeline was more brooding and liked darker shades of life.
Chachamaru didn’t bother denying the playful accusation. “You wanted to know about the others?”
"Yes, what happened to the other students in your famous class? Did Mundus Magicus transfer here with you? How are things there? How long have you been here? That sort of thing." Seraphiel asked eagerly.
“Let’s start with the last one. In the grand scheme of things, we haven’t been here that long. We were part of one of the latest batches of worlds to get absorbed, only a couple hundred years ago. Negi being selected as a Champion has made things a lot easier and allowed us to reach an Academy status. He’s been doing relatively well as a Champion, having been picked by the Goddess of Magic. He’s only a lower mid-tier Champion currently, but he’s punching above his weight-class so to speak. The people of Mundus Magicus are doing well, and actually thrive under the current conditions. Abundant ambient mana is quite useful for them. Our original world is doing less well, having fallen to the status of a relatively minor world.” Chachamaru didn’t seem too sad about that part, and Seraphiel sensed that there might have been some bad history involved. Although it could’ve also been the tacit nature of the former android.
“About half of the class you know of decided to live normal lives back home and have mostly died of old age by now. A handful of them, like Chizuru, are still around after having reached a sufficient level to basically become immortal. The more magically inclined students of the class are mostly still around as instructors or other personnel at the academy. Some like Tatsumiya, Setsuna, and Kaede keep doing missions for levels and extra income. Asuna went to Mundus Magicus and has a ruling position there. I’m somewhat surprised no other god has picked her as a Champion, as she’s almost as strong as Negi, even without the blessings of a God.” Chachamaru continued.
“I met some of them naturally. Those that work as instructors for the Knights to be exact.” Seraphiel pointed out.
“I heard. They already pegged you as a reincarnator or soul mage of some sort. I didn’t tell them any details, but I implied that we know what’s going on and that they shouldn’t worry about it.” Chachamaru nodded. “You could meet Yue, Nodoka, and Konoka if you took the Mage track, or Chisame or Ayaka if you took the General track.” Chachamaru continued.
“Hmm, I might meet them at some point then. I’m still not sure what Class to take next.” She pondered.
“I know Yue and Konoka would be happy to see you at least.” Chachamaru pointed out two students that she’d gotten along with.
“Send my regards to them. Don’t tell them where I am. I want to see if they can find me on their own.” Seraphiel decided to be a little playful.
“You certainly haven’t made it all that hard.” Chachamaru pointed out again.
“Only because you knew to start looking. Anyway, potentially a weird question. You seem to have Turians and Asari on campus. How long have they been here? And how are they doing?” Seraphiel asked, on some level wanting to know if what she did made any difference.
“They came along the very latest expansion about fifty years ago. Of the races that came, the Asari and the Krogan have adapted extremely well and are thriving. Both are long-lived races by nature. The Asari seem to be gifted at everything they try and very popular, while the Krogan are great warriors, even if a bit simple at times. The Turians do relatively well due to their discipline, and the Salarians are really quick on the uptake. The problem with the Salarians is that their short lifespans make it difficult to reach a level where their Vitality can start extending that life indefinitely. Quarians are rather liked as crafters and especially engineers, but their low numbers have made it difficult to truly thrive. The shock of transitioning away from a nomadic lifestyle also caused them some issues. The other races have pretty much faded to obscurity, while the Hanar had a less than pleasant encounter with one of the Locust races. Apparently, the Locust race liked their taste. The Geth…are a more complicated issue which would require an entire lesson to deal with.” Seraphiel could sense that Chachamaru felt some kinship with the Geth.
“Heard anything about a person called Shepard?” Seraphiel asked innocently.
“The Champion? Yes, she’s often fighting in the same competitions as Negi. They’re around the same level, although how she managed to get so strong so fast is a mystery.” Chachamaru shook her head a bit at that. “I suspect she’ll soon overtake Negi with how fast she’s levelling and gaining power.”
“Well, she’s always been a force of nature, that’s for sure.” Seraphiel smiled fondly at the memory.
“I’m sensing some history there.” Chachamaru noticed as well. “And yes, we’re already aware that you visited their universe as well. You do seem to make a splash wherever you go.”
“Can’t really help it. Most of the time when I’m sent somewhere, I’m sent there specifically to make a difference.” She defended herself. “Not always though. In the case of that universe, my role was mostly supportive.”
“You call punching a giant sentient spaceship to death supportive?” Chachamaru couldn’t help asking.
“Heh. Yeah, I might have gone a bit overboard with that one.” She rarely got to swap stories with old acquaintances like this, and she rather enjoyed the experience. “We’ll have to do this again. I want details and need more information.”
Chachamaru seemed to agree. Probably at least partly to keep an eye on her. This time it had been mostly Chachamaru sharing information, and likely Seraphiel would have to do more to reciprocate next time.