It's ok. Take a deep breath. C'mon Alex, you can do this, you've done it a hundred times before for God's sake!
Apparently my Charisma must've been ranked E- because my little pep talks to myself did absolute jackshit to help psych myself up for what was to come. I was in a dark stone room, the fact that said room was located deep underground and absolutely reeked of the metallic tang of metal did little to help my nerves. I stared at the only object within the place, a small almost deceivingly innocent glowing crystal glass sitting on a wooden table. A chalice. It was beautiful really, more a work of art than anything as mundane as a cup to drink out of.
Looking at it was like staring a viper in the eyes.
It didn't help that there was an ominously glowing magic circle beneath it. I took a deep breath before reaching into my pockets, my finger swiftly finding its prize within moments as I pulled out the pocket knife I always carried around with me. London wasn't safe after all, especially in the Moonlit world.
Of course, it wouldn't do jackshit to any Magus who held ill intent, to say the least of my chances against anything else that went bump in the night, but it did make me feel better. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves before closing my eyes, my left hand held directly over the cup before I quickly used the knife as if a ritualistic blade and slit my own wrist.
Even when I braced myself for it, I couldn't hold back the sharp hiss of pain as my blood pooled down my hand and into the cup. Blood oozed out nonstop, yet the cup never seemed to get any fuller even as the minutes ticked by. It was only when I started to feel woozy that I stopped to use some of my Od to heal the cut.
Nothing, as refined as, say, an actual healing spell, but simply the transfer of my lifeforce to a wounded area was enough to jumpstart the healing process.
Magic was great even if learning it was a pain in my ass. And head. And arms. And- actually everywhere. It felt worst than being hit by a truck, quite literally as I've been in my fair share of accidents.
I imagine it would feel similar to being set on fire and getting kicked in the balls, except all your internal organs were made of ballsacks in this instance.
A sudden knock on the door broke me out of my misery as the door opened and allowed a blinding light to shone within the room. I cracked open one eye to see the hunched over form of Mr. Erikson. The "Kind" old man whose helping me pay for my tuition to the Clock Tower.
The man's a devil in disguise I swear, making me pay him back in hard labor, and plenty of blood, sweat, and tears. Also quite literally in the instance of the former. Mages' body fluids were great containers of magical energy after all. The soulless bastard that he was.
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"Oh? Done so soon, Alex? Well, no matter, good work today. Make sure to come back tomorrow! Oh, and do make sure to get plenty of Vitamin K in your diet now, would ya? Your blood has been a little thin."
In absolutely no mood to deal with my boss any longer, I gave a listless wave as I shuffled towards my dorm in the school. At least the accommodations were good. Room and board fully paid for, and I got to pick my own schedule. Heck, even during college at MIT didn't get me as much freedom as I did here. Now if only I could figure out a way to use magic without feeling as if I was going to die every time.
How the fuck did Shiro manage to withstand this every day? Especially since it would feel even worst for him since he was literally cannibalizing his nerves?! How were the other kids around me doing it! God, mages in Nasu-verse were too fucking hardcore. Why couldn't I have gotten sent to Harry Potter or some shit instead?
I just had to be stuck in the one universe where everyone was Voldemort mixed with Orochimaru, didn't I?
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How does one avoid dying?
Well, that sounded simple enough right?
Avoid getting sick, avoid getting murdered, avoid natural disasters and areas of hazards! Simple, no?
Haha, maybe back in his old world, but here in Nasu-verse in 19 fucking 20? Ww2 was around the goddamn corner, Science wasn't all that advanced yet medical or otherwise, and not all magical creatures were extinct nor in the reverse side of the world yet.
This meant that "Hell yeah, my magic is gonna be stronger and easier to advance without the decline of mystery" and "Oh shit Magic is going to be stronger."
He wasn't too savvy with type moon but... THE MAIN CHARACTERS WEREN'T GOING TO BE BORN FOR ALMOST ANOTHER FUCKING CENTURY!
What was the point of future knowledge if chances are it's all going to become irrelevant before I get to use them?!
So yeah, Holy Grail and badass servants aside, my priorities were to survive until I could get enter the 4th or 5th holy grail war... Wait, shit, fuck.
Didn't it get corrupted during the.. 3rd.. War..? I'm pretty sure Counter Force would shut down the thing asap if it actually threatened humanity, but that puts a little wrench into my whole "Get immortality, fuck bitches, get money" plan...
Well, that's something to consider for the future.
My entire class schedule revolved around ways to keep me alive and well. Healing Magic, Foundations of Magic, Alchemy, Botany, Spiritual Evocations, Mineralogy, Creation, Zoology, and Necromancy.
If it had to do with making something, I was taking it. Even if Necromancy was absolutely disgusting and looked down upon in most societies. At least with the looming war I wouldn't have to worry about acquiring corpses... Finders Keepers, amirite? Haha oh God this was going to be terrible.
I was already the equivalent of a "muggle-born" so might as well go full Tom Riddle, right? What better way to stay alive than being able to fix yourself from anything, and making servants to fight for you? I don't believe my degree in physical sciences will lose out to these technophobic assholes! I'll use the best of both worlds, after all, "Any science advanced enough is indistinguishable from magic!" Time to Doctor Doom it up in here.
I'm gonna make a Goddamn Gundam if it's the last thing I do.