"With enchantments, you're altering the very existence of an object right down to its meaning in the universe. Enchanting requires lines etched onto an object using mana, altering the object on an existential level beyond the mere aesthetic. Every line has purpose and needs to be tailored to the object being inscribed, with slight changes to the composition being enough to cause an enchantment to change in both effect and scale. That includes previous lines - the sequence and order of the enchantment circuit has to be correct down to the finest detail. A slight error of degree in a single angle, or a line being a millimeter too short, can be the difference between a glowing light and an explosive trap."
Li Mei sighed as she flipped over her notes from Faust's lectures. "Ugh, it's worse than shūfǎ, calculus, and trigonometry combined! And arrays are even worse? They don't require mana input to activate once they're completed, but are more difficult to make and inflexible in use, despite having wider overall functionality...
"Casting an array is heavier on calculation than even regular enchantments... Every factor needs to be accounted for, from environment to reagents to the interactions between said reagents to star cycles and planetary revolutions? No wonder this world's magic knowledge stagnated, this stuff is monstrous!"
She sighed, leaning back in her chair and glancing around at the forest of piled books occupying almost every spare inch in her study. Bao sat outside, glaring through the big windows with a baleful expression that showed he did not appreciate her recent spending. He couldn't fit inside without knocking things over and messing with her haphazard sorting methods, so the Fera was banned until Li Mei finished with them.
Since the incident with the Sahuagin several weeks past, things had been quiet. Sure, there were spies in the alleys nearby, but none of them ever tried to make a move on the house. Not even once!
Li Mei spent her time luxuriating in the calm. Delicious meals, nice clothes, hot baths and soft beds. Endless time for leisure, and her favorite hobby of reading books about interesting subjects. She even picked up a new hobby - playing with Etherium to create pretty accessories ready to be enchanted. Dismantling and Synthesizing various materials to create new compounds was great fun as well, to the point where her entire basement lab was packed full of overflow from her storage. Jars upon jars of acids, gases, toxins and more lined dozens of shelves, alongside homemade bombs and experimental potions based on Elysium's strange magic-based alchemy.
Her time in the forest felt like a distant, uncomfortable dream.
But she couldn't bring herself to truly relax. 'I had to open my big mouth, didn't I? Every time I get a little cocky and open my mouth to brag... It's fine as long as it's not the Empress, I said, ticking off the entire universe in the process apparently. So of course it was probably the Empress who sabotaged the Cromwells, or at least someone very close to her. How annoying. At least they were kind enough not to bother me while I was healing.'
Li Mei sighed with relief, flexing her hand and moving her completely healed unbroken arm with ease. She was finally able to enter the Training Room again, and both [Celestial Crane of the Northern Winds] and [Hecatoncheires] techniques leveled up to Journeyman proficiency within the past few days. Her only regret was knowing if she'd increased proficiency with [Hecatoncheires] earlier, her healing time would have been reduced even further.
At least next time some jerk possessed by a squidfaced ghost broke her arm, she wouldn't have to wait a full five weeks to get better. She had to increase her training regimen with thrown weapons, using only her newly-healed arm, to compensate for the time it spent hanging limp and useless at her side.
'Things are going too smoothly.' Her relieved smile turned into a scowl as she flexed her hand into a tight fist. 'It's been so calm, and Faust is nowhere in sight. What is that slimy bastard planning? Is he really going to stay away until registration day for the Academy?'
Though she bought over two hundred books in the past weeks, very few contained instructions for enchantments or arrays. Lucas admitted techniques and spells were often closely guarded by the nobility, traded among themselves for favors or benefits, preventing access to the common folk. Spells available to the public were things like Message, which was a secure but very slow messaging spell, or Small Light, which conjured a floating glowing orb with all the illumination power of a waxy candle.
Nothing excessively useful, and so far the only road bump in her smooth plans. Li Mei collected a lot of low-level enchantments for study, and countless books with various fundamentals, tips, descriptions, theories and more, but she was looking forward to attending a school with instructors who could give her actual experience.
At least she found some books on beginner's alchemy that softened the blow. Alchemy was like chemistry, fusing ingredients with mana to create potions with various, sometimes fantastical, effects. Including a couple of very important vanity recipes, such as the all-important hair growth acceleration potion!
Her carmine hair, a beautiful and intense shade of red, hung just past her lower back instead of merely brushing her shoulders. Only one potion could be consumed per six months without side effects, it required relatively expensive ingredients, and took a couple weeks to reach the maximum promised growth, but it was worth it!
Li Mei loved having long hair. After the fire she survived on Earth, her scalp was deeply scarred in many places, the twisted tissue no longer naturally growing hair. She wore a wig until the day she died.
When she accidentally burned down the whole estate mansion, she never considered how the same thing might happen again. She refused to even let her thoughts linger in that direction, not wasting more than a single thought on her hair until it already started growing back.
Just to spare herself the pain. Coping with it once was already enough.
Luckily, the burns on her scalp were superficial and healed clean even if her hair grew back in uneven patches at first. She kept it short in the forest for convenience, to keep it out of her face and to avoid wasting shampoo, but now she was in a city where there were entire shops dedicated to expensive beauty products for the elite.
Long natural hair was once again attainable! Elegant, silky, shiny! Vera knew some interesting hairstyles, and was teaching her techniques to Hana in order to help the girl be a better adjutant.
In fact, a bath and then some hair care seemed like a splendid way to take a break. Li Mei stood, stretched her arms, and wiggled through the piles of books to escape her cramped study.
Her house was transformed. From a haunted mansion that looked cursed to high heaven, it was reborn into a lovely estate surrounded by a lush garden both impressive and beautiful. The more valuable furniture was polished, lacquered, and repainted to look good as new. What could not be salvaged was replaced with matching pieces, just as pleasant and expensive as the rest.
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Vera and Lucas took Li Mei's first noble outfit as a color scheme. Black was predominant in the new decor, complimented by rich browns with accents of gold all throughout. Colors were usually dark sea blues and greens when present, wave motifs and various aquatic species a common theme.
Ocean, ocean, ocean. Even the lanterns in Brittalund followed the pattern, most designed to look like an octopus hugging a glass ball of light, or a fish with more mouth than body holding the flame in its gaping maw. Their reverence of the sea and its unspoken terrors of the deep was quite interesting to behold.
Li Mei strolled through her house, admiring the decor on her short break from studying. She trained with Otto and Hana during either the mornings or the late evenings, while the rest of their time was occupied studying under their respective mentors.
It felt a little lonely having so much time to herself. Even if Bao did his best to keep her company!
When he wasn't blocked out of a room by towers of books, anyway.
A hurried and frantic knocking at the front door interrupted her thoughts. Otto hurried down the opposite end of the hallway, rounding the corner at top speed before he spotted Li Mei. Then he screeched to a halt so suddenly that she almost imagined the sound of squealing tires and brakes. He bowed, a sheepish grin on his cute little baby face, before moving to answer the door with a bit more decorum.
Moments later he returned with a child in tow, Bao following closely behind the two. He still had a sulky expression, but was also eyeballing the unknown child with clear suspicion.
The kid was dressed plainly, with short pants held up by suspenders just peeking out of his coat. He carried a large messenger bag and everything he wore was of a fine quality even if it wasn't eye-catching.
Li Mei did her best to look casual yet composed, clasping her hands behind her back as she glanced sideways at the child. A flicker of cyan flashed across her mauve eyes.
The kid's gaze was calculating, taking in every detail around him in a quick glance before settling on Li Mei's proud figure.
Otto inclined his head, gesturing with surprisingly well-practiced grace toward the child. "Miss Li Mei, this is a messenger from the Rosethornes."
The child cleared his throat, then bowed deeply while retrieving a sealed vellum scroll from his messenger bag. He presented it, head still bowed, to Otto rather than directly trying to hand it over. "Lady Mei of the Yueluo Clan, my Mistress sends her regards and appreciation for your understanding in the incident with her ninth daughter. She wishes to express her gratitude at a gala in ten day's time."
Li Mei accepted the scroll, breaking the enchanted wax seal with a thread of her mana and scanning its contents.
'We took so long to contact you because we were watching to make sure you weren't plotting sinister mean things first, and now we're gonna pretend civility so please give us face and come to our fancy party so we can flaunt our wealth to foreigners, basically? Hm, so the Yueluo Clan has at least as much influence as the Rosethornes, minimum. If they aren't planning something, I'll eat an entire boot.' She nodded to herself, rolling up the scroll with a flick of her wrist.
"Very well. Inform your Mistress I'll attend. I look forward to experiencing the... Hospitality... Brittalund has to offer."
Li Mei's cold stare and faint smirk sent a chill down the messenger boy's back. She even went so far as to circulate her mana, causing the temperature around her to drop significantly. The kid shivered visibly under her intimidation tactics, the cunning light in his eyes replaced with wariness. "Y-yes, Young Miss! Please excuse this servant."
The boy bowed before following Otto back out. Bao scoffed, turning his amused gaze to Li Mei, who was trying very hard not to laugh. "Sorry, sorry. He came in here looking around all cocky and smug, I couldn't help it!"
"Miss Mei, what's a gala?" Otto asked as he returned from showing the messenger out, straightening his waistcoat.
"Fancy dress party. A big social event, nobles like to have them a lot." Li Mei frowned, straightening her collar. "Never been my thing. They're really boring."
"But you're still attending?"
"Social obligations are heinous, aren't they? Besides... I really wanna see what they have planned for me." Li Mei grinned at her adjutant, then ruffled Bao's neck fur. "C'mon you two, let's fetch Hana and get some emergency training done before my social debut. I'm sure Vera will be delighted to locate a fine dressmaker for me. Maybe a moon and stars motif, to match with the Yueluo Clan theme... I'll have my bath later, I guess."
Registration at the Academy would take place a few days after the gala. If Faust didn't show his face by then she'd have to figure out how to register her damned self!
In the meantime, she had a lot more preparations of her own to make.
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Teresa Rosethorne shivered under the force of her mother's icy glare, bowing her head in shame. Her knees ached from kneeling on the cold wooden floor, but she didn't dare to complain. She feared to even breathe deeply, much less open her mouth to ask why she was suddenly summoned to her mother's private study.
After weeks in solitary isolation, confined in a single room with only two plain meals a day and no servants to wait upon her, Teresa felt the summons was a blessing. At least, so long as she was walking there under the escort of an armed guard. Once she arrived before her mother, she was forced to kneel until her legs fell asleep, and she almost started to miss that flat, mildew-scented bed...
Amid a room resplendent with gold and jewels adorning every surface, the plainly dressed Marilyn Rosethorn relied only on her innate natural beauty to put everything else around her to shame. Her long black hair was interwoven with several golden ribbons, the only real contrast to her simple gray cotton trousers and white blouse. The elegant lines of her face were enough to bring most men to their knees, much less the generous curves her ordinary clothing only served to accentuate. She batted her long lashes as she glanced down at a vellum scroll bearing an elaborate foreign signature, tapping delicate fingers against the polished surface of her desk.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Teresa flinched with each impact, doing her best not to raise her head without permission, instead stealing upward glances through her loose fringe of hair.
"Confident strokes with severe slanted angles to the letters, finished with an elaborate flourish." Marilyn sighed, rolling up the scroll with a flick of her wrist and settling it in a gilded box with several others. She turned her sharp gaze to stare at her daughter, sending another shiver down the girl's spine. "To think you offended such an annoying brat without even knowing who she was."
Cold eyes. The color was such a beautiful shade of hazel, but the complete lack of affection or empathy combined with a powerful force of presence made those beautiful eyes so, so terrifying. Teresa averted her gaze, dropping her head even further. "My deepest apologies, Honored Mother. Your daughter has erred."
"You have. More than you know."
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
"That child... If she dares to so brazenly wear their symbol, marking her clothing and her servants, her standing and influence is at least equal to your own. Perhaps greater, especially now. We could have been the first in Brittalund to open trade agreements with the Yueluo, or forged an alliance, if you had even an ounce of competence. Instead... You, my own daughter. You ruined your chance at a good first impression, and lowered her opinion of our House and our country. Do you understand what you have done?"
Color drained from Teresa's face. Her small body trembled, hands clenching into fists. "Yes, Honored Mother."
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
"I will present you to the Yueluo delegate at the gala. You will humble yourself. Apologize. If she deigns to forgive you, ingratiate yourself. If she says black is white, make it so. Otherwise..."
Tap.
Tap.
TAP.
The unspoken words sucked the air out of Teresa's chest. She blinked rapidly to prevent tears from falling, focusing instead on the pain in her knees and the pounding of her heart. "Yes, Honored Mother."