What Would You Do For Revenge?
Chapter 4-Knowledge Is Power
I stood in the alleyway, dumbfounded.
'That man did all that and he walked it off like it was nothing, a truly scary individual.' I thought and returned the inn. I was walking up to my room, when I realized something important, I know nothing about magic, only sword techniques. This is karma coming to get me because I never paid attention in my magic studies classes. Shit.
I went to my room and fell next to Cristina on the bed, wondering what I already know about magic. I was done fast, all I know about magic is that you have a mana pool and affinities for an element or two. I really need to go to the library tomorrow and look this stuff up. I'm pretty sure Cristina knows more than I do. I practiced magic? all night long and fell asleep again.
'Why do I keep feeling fatigued when I use my power too much? No matter, I will find out when I research this stuff.' I thought and fell asleep. Tonight, I learned to control my own blood and make it into shapes, a knife, sword, and I can sharpen droplets to pierce things. Neat. But I must be wary of bloodloss, oh, I can absorb people's blood and merge it with my own so I can't die from bloodloss. Neat. I learned this from back at the alley.
The next morning, I awoke to Cristina jumping up and down on me, it didn't hurt, but the force was rocking me back and forth.
'She is also gonna be quite scary when she grows up, and even cuter and prettier, but I won't let any man have her! She is my little girl you hear you bastards? You can't have her, unless you prove your strength to me in battle, then I might acknowledge you.' I thought
"Come on daddy, let's go outside today again too." She said, with a smile on her face, no, gah! If you use that face, I'll really die one day.
"Okay, but first, let's get you cleaned and fed." I said and she dragged me downstairs, quite literally, my face was dragging along the floor and I kept hitting my face against the steps of the stairs. It didn't hurt but still, it's the thought that counts right?
Everyone was laughing at when I was dragged along the floor, scraping my fingernails against the floor for dramatic effect, while I was also screaming, and like that, we entered the bath. Everyone was either scared of me or lusted after me, but after that, they thought I was an average man, being held under rule of a female. Quite literally, she bossed me around, telling me to get in a crawling position and she sat on me while she cleaned herself.
'What's with this sudden personality change?' I thought and cried while she sat on me. Again, everyone laughed at me, but they weren't mocking laughs, but genuine, happy laughs. We finished up in the bath and I got her some food. She ate in silence and she kept looking at me.
"How come you never eat daddy?" She said and I smiled at her.
"Daddy isn't hungry right now, all the food I ate yesterday is still in me." I said and she smiled and kept eating. She finished up, and I took her to the library. She was depressed but stayed with me nonetheless, no, if pout like that, gah! My heart stopped for a second.
"Okay honey, I need to read some books, you don't have to read too, but stay near me okay?" I said and she nodded her head. I can 'feel' if anyone walks in and out of this building and the immediate vicinity. She should be safe if she stays inside the store.
She walked away from me and started looking around, she is getting better at overcoming her trauma, I'm trying to create happy memories to overwrite the bad ones, that's why I toured the city the other day. It's working really well, but I can't rush this. Hopefully this school thing will be good for her too.
Reading some books about magic and such, I learned exactly what a mana pool was. It is the energy you draw from, when you use your magic. Everyone is born with a set mana pool, some higher than others, and by expending their mana fully, can increase their mana pool by a little. It's not much at first, but you can drastically increase your mana pool after a few years of expending your mana pool once a day. If you expend your mana too much a day, you can die. If you expend it too fast, you pass out. That must what is happening to me.
Magic is the outcome of drawing from your mana pool. Your affinities determine what your mana pool consists of. Most people have two elements and one is a higher affinity than the other, but some have equal affinities. No one has one element, but can have weak affinities for both elements. Some can have two strong affinities, and some can have three elements of varying affinities, and some people can develop variants of affinities like my plant magic, a variant of earth or ice magic, a variant of water, with varying affinity.
There is fire, water, earth, wind, illusion, death, and void magic, and their different variants. Death magic is considered a taboo and looked down upon because people who had death magic, only have known spells for raising the dead and creating different creatures like skeletons and zombies, and stealing the life force of livings things and the like. Illusion magic is not a taboo, but looked down upon because there are no practical uses for it. Void magic was lost to the ages of time and no one has it anymore, but it was said to only have one use: Destruction.
To use magic, you have to use something like a catalyst, so most people use staffs or chant spells. Some people can voiceless chant, which is what I do, I will the magic into existence with my mind as the catalyst. People can learn to do this, but it takes a lot of practice so most people don't try to learn. People can be born with this ability, it's rare, but not too rare.
There are rankings for mages and spells. For mages, it goes elementalist, practitioner, mage, magus, archmagus, and vijik, it's an eleven word that roughly translates to 'master of magic'. An elementalist is someone who can actually use magic, even just a tiny bit, and gets more powerful through the ranks. Increasing your rank can actually increase your lifespan a little. Like 10 to 50 years a rank. The oldest someone is able to be is 400 years old for humans.
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For spells, it goes rookie, basic, intermediate, advanced, master, and God. Rookie, is just being able to use magic and the spells get more powerful and complex through the ranks.
Dwarves have the smallest amounts of magic affinity, Humans and beastmen have an average affinity, Elves, Angels, and Demons have high affinity, and Dragons have the highest affinity, pretty much a living, breathing, walking element. That doesn't sound healthy.
I was having a blast reading and learning this new information, when trouble brewed in the form of a molester. God dammit. I closed my book and walked over to where Cristina was and right when I turn the corners of a bookshelf, I see a man's hand going straight for Cristina's butt, oh look, she's reading, how sweet. God dammit, don't be fooled by her cuteness right now, she needs saving. I run over to her and grab the man's wrist, then I run around a bookshelf, out of sight from Cristina. I will try to keep her as ignorant of the crudeness of this world as long as I can, for her sake.
"What do you think you're doing with this, hmm?" I say and squeeze his wrist, hearing cracks and then I let him go. He falls to the floor, clutching his wrist. I pick him up by his hair so he is looking at me, terrified, he should be.
"Don't ever touch my daughter or let me see your face again. Should I see your face, I will hand you over to someone who knows how to torment a man better than I. He likes to play with his food first though. Hahaha." I say that and start laughing like a crazed man.
The man is visibly afraid and I laugh harder. I hear Cristina coming around the corner and throw the man out of a library window, quickly picking a book from a bookshelf and flipping to a random page, looking interested. Cristina comes around the corner and sees me and smiles while holding my leg. Such a cute and innocent face, I wish it could last forever but I know better.
"Daddy, I learned so much cool stuff. Thanks for taking me here, it was fun. Hehehe~" She looked at me and said, such a cute smile, and I pat her head, making her giggle. I think I learned enough and we leave the library.
'It is already night outside, how long were we in there? Cristina is probably hungry, why didn't she tell me?' I thought and we walked back to the inn, her telling me all the things she read about. I got her dinner, cleaned her and we went to bed. Tonight's training bore no fruit, but I practiced basic level spells, increasing my knowledge of magic.
I woke up and Cristina was drooling on me, how cute. I nudge her awake and we go to the baths to clean ourselves, this time she didn't sit on me. Hmmm, was that one time thing or something? Not like I liked being sat on but whatever. If she likes sitting on me then that's fine. I'll endure anything for her happiness!
We cleaned ourselves and got something to eat. Afterwards, we took another trip around the city. Still as beautiful as ever. While we were walking around, some lady came and slapped my ass and Cristina got mad and glared at her, squeezing my leg tighter. Weird.
I went back to the library after eating some lunch and read more about magic, can't have my soon to be students trying to one up me, my pride won't allow it. Cristina went to read fairy tales about heroes and such while I got my hands on some spell book. I need to know some spells, I can't just wing everything.
I was reading and practicing the spells, when I 'felt' something in the basement of the library. How can 'feel' a thing? It has to be living unless...never mind, I disregarded the thing in the basement and continued reading. I learned some basic elemental ball spells and elemental arrow spells, I learned how to make an elemental shield, and how to use intermediate levels spells to like a fire one called 'Searing Migraine', it's just a giant wave of fire. It's sounds pretty badass though. I also learned how to use a spell called 'Augmentation'. You send magic through your body, enhancing it, it sounds nice.
I was reading happily, when I 'felt' Cristina running towards me. She looked excited when she found me and had a huge smile on her face, you could start wars with that face. She jumped on my lap, book in hand, and wanted me to read it to her. Finally relying on your old man eh?
I read the book to her and she fell asleep after awhile. The book was about a hero, one who grew up an orphan, got adopted, got his parents killed by demons, and swore vengeance on them, eventually becoming a hero and killing a demon lord, ultimately becoming king and persecuted that demon clan. This is definitely not a children's book. There are no happy parts in this entire book, aside from when he gets adopted.
There are multiple 'demon lords' on the demon continent. The demons have a sort of clan thing going on, and are only a certain race in each clan, and the strongest is the 'demon lord' of that clan. There are occasionally land and power disputes, causing that country to constantly be in turmoil. The demons aren't discriminated against and in fact, no 'intelligent' creature is allowed to be forced into slavery or anything of the sort, so slavery is illegal everywhere on the Human continent, but that doesn't stop people.
It was dark outside, so I put the book back and carried Cristina in a princess carry to the inn. I put her to bed and went to the baths to clean myself, afterwards I laid down in bed and practiced magic until I passed out. I don't actually feel refreshed when I wake up since I never feel fatigued, other than exhausting my mana. And with that, I fell asleep, prepared to start another day. Today bore no fruit, but increased the spells I know and control over my magic.