by Andur
“You seem to have a good grasp of your memories. The job you did with Adea is proof of that. Of course you will be paid for the work. If you still want to work in that shop of yours during your free time, that's your choice.”
Hooray! That sounds better than what I hoped for!
“And I want a pregnancy test! I never expected much from Perseus, but my Marcus doesn't get to go around causing trouble!” she adds.
My smile immediately drops. “I am sorry, but I am not that kind of woman. Don't worry, I've been careful. Can I go now?”
They nod.
“Then we can start the ranking assessment right now. Marcus said that I should play nice, but those interrogators almost made me go back on my promise.” I smile and twist my hands, pouring all my mana through my inner magical system. The runes flare up and the chains break. Then the runes which should prevent me from using magic flicker out.
The chains were good craftsmanship and the magic which was embedded in them was a piece of art. But the spells can only be as good as the material which holds them.
As long as I can overpower the spells for long enough to bend the metal, it is no problem to get free. A spell matrix is very prone to failure. A little bend in the material is enough to cause the enchantments to fail. That's why I prefer hearth magic. It fades with time, but doesn't rely on the matter it inhabits.
I claw the useless handcuffs from my wrists and gesture at the door. “Please lead the way.”
11. ~Ranking hour.~
“Once your gun is empty, you can throw it.”
The Journey to the Afterlife
Kingdom Newerth, Capital City
Marcus
I smile upon seeing my father leaving the detention cell, followed by my mother and Seria. I heard no screams from inside the room, so it must mean that it went well. A little feeling of dread stole itself into my heart when my parents informed me that they want to speak to Seria alone.
Stepping forward, I address Seria, “I am sorry for the time you had to wait. And for the guys who tried to interrogate you. You are fine?”
“She is fine,” my father harrumphs, answering in her stead. “And she must be a deity at the very least.”
Clarity nods. “Yes, she tore her restraints like they were nothing.”
“Then all that's left to do is taking the test and she is free to go?” I ask.
Seria looks at me, considering something. Then she steps in front of me and plants her fists on her hips, smiling. Her bittersweet voice cuts into me like a blade made of ice. “I am afraid that your mother insists on a pregnancy test. The ranking will have to wait.” Then she turns away and walks down the corridor, backtracking the path which led her to this room.
I feel the corner of my left eye twitch with slight annoyance. That's not how I imagined our reunion. I realize that I am coming across like a stalker for tracking her down. But I simply needed that second chance at deepening our relationship... if I am allowed to call it one.
My expression is frozen in a smile when I address my mother, voicing the word 'Why?'.
She answers by crossing her arms in front of her chest, making it a statement. I sigh and hurry to follow Seria, who slowed her steps to allow us to catch up. She can have only one reason for doing so, meaning that she doesn't know how to get around the complex.
I gesture to the left. “The medical facilities are that way.”
“Great! Then we will soon know if we should call your mother a grandma!” she answers.
I wave my hands in the air. “I am not sure what she said, but she certainly didn't mean it in a bad way.”
But what should I do if she really is pregnant!? It would be a wonderful reason to go on more dates, but at the same time it would look like she tricked me. I don't want to think of her like that.
No matter the circumstances of our reunion. The nobles will say that she is blackmailing the royal family. Before I can think of a smart way to start the conversation, we reach the medical ward. I try to follow her in, but Seria slams the door shut in front of me. My mother glares at me and follows her in. I remain on the corridor in front of the medical facility.
I just want to know why my brain shuts down when she is in my vicinity. Is it the blood loss? My blood tends to be pumped somewhere else when I look at her.
“She is playing you, Son,” my father says from next to me.
I furrow my forehead and look at him. “Say what?”
“That girl is a snake with a twisted tongue. Don't fall under her spell and question all of her actions. She is playing a far bigger game than we think,” Father explains, his eyes shining with a silver hue.
I squint my eyes at him. “Is that what your sight tells you? Is she dangerous?”
Charles blinks and the silver in his eyes is gone. “The future holds many paths. My ability is just telling me that she represents a crossroad for future events. I can't say if it's good or bad.”
“What a useless ability if it doesn't tell you which path to take,” I snort.
The king shrugs, “I value the simple fact of knowing that I have to treat her with great care. And you should also keep your eyes open and your senses sharp.”
Before I can answer, the door opens and my mother steps out, followed by Seria. “That was fast,” I note and study their faces. Clarity's expression is relieved, while Seria's is screaming, 'I told you so!'
“You were lucky,” Clarity proclaims. “Now we can finish this and go home.”
I roll my eyes and smile at Seria. “I would have been lucky either way.”
She raises an eyebrow.
Okay, maybe not the best pick-up line. But I'll work on it. Just wait and see, my red haired goddess, I'll melt your heart.
Charles takes over and leads us directly towards a teleportation circle. Unfortunately I don't get much more chances to talk to Seria. Having my parents so close is awkward as hell, so we spend the entire trip in silence.
The teleportation circle takes us directly onto a training field outside the city where several examiners are waiting for us. They look like they were reassigned to this job on the fly. One of them is even in his private clothes.
Unfortunately I recognize their leader, Trebor. The new look which Seria gave him is hilarious. The medical team healed his burned face back to perfection, but apparently the healer who was in charge didn't deem it necessary to regrow Trebor's facial hair.
I fear that he will try everything to get back at Seria, but maybe not today. It would be very dangerous to pull some petty revenge with three members of the royal family watching the proceedings.
Trebor gestures for Seria to come closer. “You know the proceedings for a ranking test?”
She shakes her head. “No.”
He draws a deep breath. “We will give you a rank according to your performance in the three categories,” he raises a finger, “Mana control, spell knowledge, performance under pressure and raw power.”
Seria nods and gestures for Trebor to go on.
Trebor points at a wooden obelisk which stands about a hundred feet away. “See that target over there? It consists of five separate blocks. Each has a number from one to five. Sort them.”
“Children's game...” Seria mumbles something and raises her hand. One moment later I feel her magic reaching out and the blocks raise up in the air, sorting themselves.
It doesn't take long and the task is finished.
Another examiner asks Seria a question. “Tell us everything you know about the inner and outer magical system.”
“Why should I do that?” Seria answers with a question, baffling the examiners.
“The more you impress us with your knowledge, the more points you get?” one of them offers.
Seria considers that for a moment and finally decides to give us an old school explanation of the inner and outer magical system.
To cut the crap short, every intelligent being needs several things to use magic. First of all you need a soul, which is nothi
ng more than a quantum wave which carries the memories of any immortal being. The soul interacts with, and controls, its physical body through spirit connections.
The body, in turn, is the vessel which holds and generates mana. The inner magical system is mainly composed of the body's nervous system and enables someone to control the magic within his own body.
The outer magical system is the ability to emit mana from the very same nerve system, to create a spell matrix which influences the world around us. Thus it enables someone to cast spells.
“...and if you completely master one of the two, you will loose the ability to use the other. Forever, in all subsequent reincarnations.”
Well, that's certainly something not everyone knows! I think there are actually just a few people in the whole multiverse who achieved such a feat. Seria didn't let us look at her memories, did she know one of them?
The examiner nods and writes something into his report.
Once that's done, Trebor returns his attention with a vicious grin towards Seria. “And now, try to topple the tower of cubes while we use all of our strength to stop you. Feel free to start any time you want.” He flicks a finger and all of the other three examiners immediately cast magic resistance on the wooden tower of cubes. Their main concern is that Seria uses a form of force magic.
Seria squints her eyes at the four cubes. “That's really, really strong magical interference. It will be hard to cast a spell through that.” She raises her hand, but as she starts gathering magic, Trebor slaps her.
Her eyes widen and she raises her hand to her cheek. I think her eyes flashed golden just for a moment. And I had a strange feeling, but it was very short. Hmmm. Seria is a master at keeping her aura in check.
Trevor grins at her. “Didn't you listen to me? This is about casting magic while you are under pressure! What are you mumbling about? I don't understand you when you whisper.”
“...hit me... force equals mass times acceleration... cubes maybe a hundred kilograms each... what's your weight?”
“What- hrgh!”
Seria's hand shoots out and strikes Trebor's Adam's apple with a karate chop! Two more hits impact his shoulders in quick succession with cracking sounds, and before any of us can react, Trebor is whirled around and sails off into the distance.
All of us watch in silent awe as he hits the cubes after four, long seconds of flight and causes the monolith to collapse.
“That was an attack on your examiner!” Clarity calls out.
Charles snorts in amusement. “I've never seen the test solved in such a creative way.”
My eyes wander back to Seria. I love that woman! And not only because she kicked Trebor's ass and I hate the guy.
Seria snorts. “Nobody said that I am not allowed to defend myself. And the cubes are down, what do you want?”
Two of the examiners hurry down the range to render first aid and Seria calls after them, “Don't worry! He is alive! Just a little broken...”
The last member of Trebor's staff points a trembling finger down the other side of the range. “If you would be so kind and demonstrate your most destructive spell?”
Seria shrugs her shoulders and points a finger in the indicated direction. “Mass destruction isn't my profession, but I'll try.”
A blue light forms on her fingertip and she draws a set of runes into the air. Pouring more energy into the spell, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small paper bag.
Then I feel her power pouring into the spell matrix and she throws the bag through the rune system onto the ground. For a moment, nothing happens. Then roots burst from the bag and start growing rapidly.
I laugh as I realize what she did. The testing range is a desolate and empty piece of land. Everyone who gets tested chooses to show off with some form of megalomaniac nuke spell. But Seria somehow supercharged a bag of flower seeds which are now rapidly overgrowing throughout the entire training range.
She throws back her hair and grins. “Just try to copy that. I call it the green hell. They won't stop growing until the charge runs out. I think this area should be a forest by then.”
12. ~First Lesson.~
“When there is gum in your hair, cutting it is sometimes the only option.”
The Journey to the Afterlife
Kingdom Newerth, Capital City
Seria
I ruffle my hair, looking through the curriculum. “Who decided that I should teach mana control, magic theory and practical experience? Whatever the third one is? I obviously showed incredible skill with life magic when they tested me! Why not let me teach what I am good at? It must be that rathead's doing. What was his name?”
“Miss?”
“Trebor! Yes, that's it! He should have been glad that I broke him just a little and not completely. The next time I won't show mercy!”
“Miss?”
“What!?” I look up and scream at the student in front of me. The whole class looks at me as if I am a maniac. But I am not. I just don't give a shit about them... well... except for Adea. Sorry, guys, I know that it's horrible to have a teacher who doesn't care about her students. But that's life. Deal with it!
The student who is apparently the bravest of the entire bunch asks me in a confused tone, “Who are you!?”
“I already introduced myself as Seria.” I try to speak slowly, pronouncing every word for him, so that his rattled brain can understand me this time. Maybe he didn't listen when I greeted them?
“Yes, but why are you here?” he continues.
I roll my eyes. This isn't the brightest fellow in the world. “Where am I sitting?”
His forehead wrinkles in confusion. “In the teacher's chair?”
I clap my hands and finally he looks a little angered. “So it stands to reason that I am your new teacher!”
“And what about the old one?” he asks. “This is supposed to be the advanced class. You didn't teach us anything. Instead you are sitting here and studying documents.”
I shrug my shoulders. “Before I teach you anything, I have to know the curriculum. I am new at this job and since they forced it onto me, I didn't have the time to prepare. And as for the old teacher, I suppose they simply deemed me as the better choice.”
The student's eyebrows rise. “Teacher Hondwein is a deity. There are only a handful of people who are better than him. And he certainly had better experience and manners than you. Normally I don't insist on status, but you are rude to the extreme! As the third prince, I can't tolerate that.”
I look away from the documents and inspect the student. He has dark, brown hair and a lean build. Now that I look at him, I indeed recognise similarities to Marcus. “Third prince you say, Caden?” Don't tell me that he is Adea's crush.
My eyes wander to Adea who is sitting behind him. On the outside she is a perfect part of the classroom, but a slight shifting motion tells me that she is trying to warn her Wuwu by using her foot to poke him. Well, well...
My expression turns into the broad grin of a Cheshire cat and Adea groans. Then she slams her forehead onto her table. The noise alarms the prince, but it's already too late. I have my sights on him.
“Why don't you join me out here in front of the class? This lesson is supposed to be about mana control and I certainly won't stop a student who is eager to learn,” I purr with my best seductive voice, stealing the trademark skill of my mother.
The male part of the class gasps, while I earn a killing glare from the girls. Caden snorts, unimpressed. He stands up and joins me, standing next to my desk.
“Now. First I have to gauge your abilities, so we will start with something simple. Oh, I know. Caden, cast a magelight and then I'll try to break your concentration. You know what happens if you lose control of a spell and don't abort it correctly?” I ask.
Caden nods. “Of course. The mana will flow back into me and cause sensory overload. In the worst case scenario, the caster can go into shock and die.”
“Wonderful, so make sure not to
use too much mana on the magelight. It's a small spell, but we don't want you out of commission for the rest of the day. You may start.” I wave my hand and gesture for him to go on.
Caden snorts and summons his magelight while I watch. The blue orb of light which appears above his hand is a perfect sphere. I don't recognize any fluctuations. He channels the mana through his hand to stay in control and support the spell.
The technique may be a basic one, but it certainly allows for the most control. Stretching out my leg, I poke his thigh. He shows no reaction, his attention is glued to the spell. At least he isn't underestimating me. I stand up and walk around him, studying his technique.
Bending forward, I whisper into his ear. “You like Adea? You gave your best to ignore her, but sometimes it's better to listen if someone tries to stop you from doing something stupid. Don't you also think that she is cute? Ever thought about undressing her?”
His control wavers a little, but not much. Turning, I place myself in front of him so that the class can't see my expression. “You are good. But you should work on channelling mana through your whole body. Currently you are simply guiding it towards your skin and then channelling it towards your hand. That can have a very bad ending when someone touches you in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Parting my lips, I smile and reach out, brushing my fingers along his cheek and down to his neck. I try my best to catch his eyes with the most lusty expression I am capable of.
The sensation of my touch causes him to shudder and the flow of mana is disturbed. As expected, he doesn't manage to abort the spell and the magical backlash hits him. The magelight sputters out of existence and Caden starts trembling. Foam gathers at his mouth and he drops like a felled tree.
I turn towards the class and clap my hands together. “And now we will inspect all of you for similar mistakes!”
Adea is the only one who doesn't look shocked. Instead she is just sitting there, her hands on her temples and staring at nothing. Due to the silence I can even hear her mumbling. “...bad wish. Never should have wished for something. She warned me, but as the fool I am, I didn't resist the temptation...”