Casual Heroing

I have to say that, sadly, like most of my generation, I can only stay serious for so long. The whole philosophical moment is washed away by awkwardness. They never show what happens after a character says something very cool before the cutscene, right? Well, that’s what I’m personally experiencing right now.

Lord Juler just said the ‘we have work to do, Joey Luciani’ thing, and I’m still contemplating his words while he moves on.

“I don’t think I need to ask you for another answer. Indeed, what you provided me with was enough. You seek a new chance, the overlooked half of you that scared you so much. My question was going to be ‘What is it that you seek in being a [Mage]?’ and you supplied a wonderful answer. I will help you, alongside the knowledge the book will supply.”

And he goes silent.

Just like that.

Ok, Juler, ok. Great speech. I’m very motivated now. But… so? Like, are you going to say something more, or is this it? Am I supposed to say something?

“If you have any questions regarding magic, you may go ahead,” he nods like a stern grandfather who’s losing patience even before starting to teach his grandchild.

“Huh, ok. Yes, I do have many questions. The other day I was thinking about this Japanese manga – that’s a series of drawn images that make up a story – where a boy uses nuclear power to power himself. I mean, the guy was a robot, so there’s that too.”

Even though Lord Juler, [Supreme Archmagus], is acting indifferent, I can tell he’s annoyed by my vague description.

“So, it made me think that a [Luxmancer] can manipulate light. But light is not just visible light, is it? So, can I somehow produce higher frequencies and shorter wavelengths of light and create gamma rays? Like, very harmful light?”

“Waves are a theory that has been lost eons ago,” Juler nods with surprising calm, “and I doubt anyone in the present, save for a few Immortals, knows about it. I gather it must be knowledge from your world, and that’s interesting. To answer your question, yes, it is possible. However, the amount of Mana you would need is beyond your current capabilities. And you would require skills dedicated specifically to that to help you with the insane cost. Otherwise, even with my old Mana reserves, you would have harnessed little power from the light you are talking about.”

“Ok, then, I have another idea – deriving them from another process. Do you know anything about atom theory?”

When Lord Juler shakes his head, I smile.

This is going to be a fun explanation.

…

After spending the better part of two hours explaining atoms, electrons, and waves, I’m now presenting the core of my idea to one of the greatest [Archmages] ever to live.

“Does magic go through lead as it would through any other material?” I ask before launching into the details.

“Yes,” the man says, a bit dazed.

“Ok, good. It means magic is not physical. Now, there’s this phenomenon on Earth that generates gamma rays from a thunderstorm in a brief pulse of gamma radiation. You need a high-intensity static electric field to accelerate the electrons. If one could somehow harness a similar process, I would be able to coordinate an array of radiation-generating spells to create a veritable gamma knife! I could concentrate such high energies right inside a monster’s body and fry his brain, heart, or whatever! I mean, the actual process would need extensive testing, to be honest. I would need the right combination of energy to ablate in a split-second whatever part of said monsters is essential to keep living. This would also require me to get a radio scan of their body like a bat or something. I mean, we could basically use a sonography technique to see through them in real-time and calibrate a gamma knife! AND, if magic is non-physical unless someone builds a physical shield, such a spell would go through anything. If you use enough energy and aim through the right parts, you could kill even the most terrible creature in this world in a jiffy! Plus, if the process were not to consume too much energy, you could veritably create a gamma knife the size of a human being!”

My stream of words and theories is ping-ponging back and forth in Juler’s eyes. He has opened and closed his mouth multiple times, trying to formulate something but closing it again after each new sentence.

“You suggest focusing killer energy inside the body, which would probably work on almost any creature, possibly even Dragons, and they wouldn’t even know how they died. And if you managed to create gamma rays indirectly, you could use a long-distance spell to do so. Please explain what sonography is, Joey. You have not mentioned that before.”

“Heh, maybe I went a bit overboard with that. A sonography uses ultrasounds to guide medical procedures in my world, but you have to apply the emitter on the patient's skin. I’m not sure how we could—”

“That’s not a problem,” Juler waves his hand in front of my face, irritated. “I could do that with my eyes closed. That’s just our guide. There are spells to do what you need. And we will source the best one after proving this spell can exist.”

Juler starts pacing back and forth, his eyes glued to the floor, mumbling a series of incoherent things.

“If we could redirect the energy from [Plasma Thunderbolt]… No, too much energy… We could source some Draconic manuscripts and—no, they lost those… What if… No, that wouldn’t work… Maybe instant Formations to…”

After a few minutes, he stops dead in his tracks and stares right at me. His multi-colored irises poke a hole through my soul.

“Joey Luciani, if what you just described to me is even remotely true, you might have a terrifying spell in the making. There are enough starting points in my knowledge and ways we can approach this. And we will try some of them if the most elegant solutions do not work – at least we will know whether it’s possible or not. But I think we may be able to do this with [Light]. Not forcing [Light] to higher frequencies, but simply harnessing its qualities. But there’s one thing.”

He walks up to me, and I notice that the [Supreme Archmagus] is actually a little shorter than me.

“You are creating a spell that wouldn’t be more than Tier 5 or 6. The most terrifying spells at Tier 8 wouldn’t kill in such a ruthless way. I met a Dragon who said that a well-aimed [Water Jet], a Tier 2 spell, could drown most enemies better than a Tier 7 [Great Tsunami]; in part, I agree with that. But the destructive power of such a thing would be almost unparalleled. It can be countered. But no one right now knows enough about it. You could cause destruction on an unprecedented level. You could topple kingdoms by simply assassinating a few key players while hiding in the darkness. No one would know. No one would realize what happened. They would almost certainly not see your deadly magic nor the traces of it. Because they would look in the wrong places.”

“You are suggesting,” Lord Juler emphasizes his words, “a killing tool like no other I know. Only some relics can approach this level. And it may take us a few years, at best, if this is actually doable. Do you know what this spell would make you? And do you know how dangerous the knowledge you just shared with me is?”

“It would make me very cool? And not that dangerous, I bet. Not even Physicists would suggest making gamma rays as I just suggested. What I just told you is a footnote in rare books or a piece of trivia in a game. I had to read entire Wikipedia pages about it when I was back on Earth. And it took me a while to find enough material to even elaborate on such an idea. Without a [Supreme Archmagus] like you, it would be simply impossible. Inconceivable.”

“I see,” Lord Juler laughs for the first time since I have arrived, “then, you are not a fool. One of your answers satisfied me. You are less dull than what you let people see; I gather this will be the first step in discovering your new self.”

Lord Juler looks at me with a smirk.

“But let me give you an answer to the first question. If you really could make such a spell, even with my help, you would instantly become an [Archmage], and not a weak one, Joey Luciani.”

“An [Archmage]?” I say with some real reverence for the world.

“An [Archmage].”