Chapter 5: So…What’s this thing anyway?
After much fuzzing by the unnamed witch and the crazy old man, our dear protagonist finally managed to escape to safety!
Or as much safety as she can get in a school placed on a dubious and unmarked spot on the maps...
"Say, isn't it kinda scary how we don't know where we are? " asked the blonde girl to the overly active pink-haired girl that kept walking with her for some forsaken reason.
"Huh? Watcha mean Eli-Eli? " How or why did she end up using the same nickname that her mother used, truly, pink-haired beings are dangerous.
"I mean, we don't know where this school is...We know that 'Upside' is another school, but since we came here by using teleports we can't be sure the topside is the school that we go while going into the elevators" elaborated our lovely and smart protagonist.
Of course, all of this went over the head of the pink-haired girl that only answered with a "You worry too much Eli-Eli, if it was a villain school or a villain hideout it would be dangerous, but since it isn't it doesn't matter!" The wonders of having air instead of brain cells.
"Stop bickering, we've arrived at your dorms," said the witch that still didn't have a name "I'm Agatha Moonstone, the survivor of Walpurgis. Also your dorm supervisor and advisor on magicks while on this side of the school" So she survived a pagan European festivity?
That's one weird way to get a nickname "You two will share a dormitory on the topside, just give your names at the reception. Also, there is a communication array on the left side of the building if you want to give the news to your family. Just place your hand on the crystal..." said the witch before stopping, looking at the blonde girl, and then resuming as nothing "...And it should give you a list of people you can connect with, by default your parents are on the list, any new addition needs to be added by yourself. My name is added on you two already as a favor by the way" Isn't she such a nice teacher?
One would think like that. Elizabeth was sure the pink-haired girl was thinking just that. She on the other hand?
She was suspicious about foul play in there. No teacher gives such allowances without a reason to neophytes on magick. Giving such free passes as a magic wielder?
Yeah, no way in hell she would ever use that, not gonna tie favors before knowing more about the magicks at play!
If this teacher used any form of fae magic then it was a sure way to end a bad contract.
"I will look into the dorms Eli-Eli. Wanna come?" asked her airheaded companion. She was gonna end up stuck with her for the foreseeable future, wasn't she?
"I gotta ask Mother something, also tell her about my...Awakening I guess..." spat the blonde girl the last part as if it was a curse. Because it was!
She could already feel the frills her mother would try to stick her with...
"Does the communication array include privacy settings? Runes? Glyphs?" asked the blonde girl to the teacher.
"The public one is a conference setting. If you want privacy ask in reception for a room. Not even the director can spy on those." said the witch pointing her in the right direction. "Not that he would want to spy on your conversations," said in a low voice before starting to walk to the exit.
"Oh right, welcome to the Magick Side of the Mystic Poweres Institute. Have a Magical stay" and with that, the witch summoned a mandala and in a flash disappeared.
"Nice...Can't wait to learn that spell..." said the pink-haired girl...Does she have stars in her eyes?
How does one get stars on her eyes?
"I can see good use to teleportation..." mostly to never need to walk ever again. And also to get her stuff to her bed without having to move! ... But she wouldn't say that out loud!
Gotta keep your appearance...
The question now is...What kind of reputation was she going to build this time...
She made it to the private communication room before getting an answer to that.
"Here goes nothing..." said the blonde while placing a hand on the crystal (It didn't blow up this time!) and selecting 'Home' on the choices.
"CONGRATULATIONS ON AWAKENING!" came a thunderous voice from the projection of her mother.
By the looks of it, Mother had gone way over the top on the decoration, and it looked like Father was making a last-ditch effort too since he had some decoration tucked in a box near him.
"...The school said that you had triggered too. So why did your mother get a confirmation for awakening?" Just look at him, looking for a victory...
And by the looks of it, Mother knew that too, since she sent a stare with way too much bloodlust on it...Yep, Mother would make a wonderful witch one day...As soon as she stopped pretending to be a Magical Girl and started acting her age...
"I'm calling for that too. Mother, how do you use and feel your magicks?" but for now, gotta get the important stuff out of the way.
"HAH! She doesn't understand magick? So she must be a powered!" shut it Father.
"That's...A very personal question, don't ask any other magic wielder it or they will misunderstand your intentions" said her mother now way too serious.
Was this such a dangerous question?
"Once you awaken magick, your metaphysical soul will form a core. This in turn will project a shadow into your physical body. The core doesn't interact with the body in any tangible way and only by using magick can one perceive it. " Said her Mother in teacher mode, it also helped the useful projections that she was summoning.
The school of Powerpoint ® was strong in her.
"By meditating you access the world inside your metaphysical soul and interact with the magick core. All Magical wielders perceive this as different depending on our primordial affinity. For me, it's a starry sky. Where each star is a spell I have mastered" and now the projection showed what looked like an ocean of stars in a meadow without light polluting the scenery.
"At the start, it was an empty sky. But with studies and diligence, I birthed all the stars. Some start with a bookshelf that turned into a library. Others with a flower meadow where they must plant new flowers. It depends on everyone's soul...And that's why you must never reveal how your internal world looks or works...Because there is magick to tamper with the soul. And knowing how the soulscape looks makes it easier to tap into it..." finished her mother terminating the projection of her soulscape.
"...You know, telling me that you just meditate to access it would be good enough," said the blonde girl still reeling from the implications of said knowledge that was shoved her way.
"It's okay Eli-Eli, no one can take that knowledge from you without tampering with your mind. And doing so would be a death sentence for them anyway. So it's A-Okay!" would you look at this creature? Trying to act all cute when her daughter was fifteen years old already.
"Father...Is it equally dangerous asking how you perceive your power?" Sacred technique to deal with Mother number one: Redirect the conversation away from her!
"Huh? Oh yeah, no it's okay, nothing as dangerous as your mother's shenanigans" said her father without further ado.
Like, that was all he said.
"And?" Goddamit Father, stop looking at Mother and focus on the important stuff!
"Ah right! Yeah, no. When you trigger you just know how to summon or make work your skills" said her father... And that was it.
"Hah?!?" Totally flabbergasted was the blonde girl.
If this wasn't the real world and was an anime she would have an overly funny drop on her forehead and her jaw would be on the floor right now. But this was the real world, and she only was getting annoyed.
"For real! I just know that if I train my muscles I will get stronger. It isn't something as vague as belief. It's certainty" said her Father standing up and grabbing a weight from...God knows where he got that thing.
"I feel the certainty that if I trained my muscles I would get something out of it. And my belief turned true when I got super strength. Something told me that running every morning till my legs hurt would be rewarded, and indeed. I got super speed too" And he sure demonstrated said speed by rearranging the decoration, now half of the living room in her house was decorated with a powered theme, while the other half was of a magical girl.
"Most powers work like this, you have a feeling, a strong feeling of how doing something will make another thing that shouldn't be possible, but this belief in your soul can't be turned off. Even new powereds have this certainty. Elemental users know that they can shoot fire, wind, or thunder from their hands. They don't know how or why that doesn't hurt them. But they sure know that it will always work while they have the energy for it" Finished her father.
It was...Anti climatic. To be honest she kinda understood why magical users looked down on powered.
They didn't have a structured way of working.
"So you know exactly how strong you are?" asked the blonde girl.
"I know I'm strong, but I can't place a number on it, it's more like a play belief. I'm not strong because of the exercise I do. I'm strong because I know doing that exercise will make me even stronger" That...shouldn't work.
"So stop going in circles girl, what are you?" Oh right, she was supposed to tell them that wasn't she?
"Well...I don't know...?" said the blonde girl, to which her mother grabbed a remote and played the scene of her awakening-triggering.
"So much for privacy" mumbled the blonde girl.
And while playing the video divided itself into two points of view, the first one focused on the overly complex mandala that was projected on the air, while the other focused on the shining crystal ball.
Both confirmed one awakening and one triggering.
"I...Don't feel that weird connection thing to the soulscape you say Mother" said the girl "And neither do I feel that certainty you speak of Father" What she didn't say was how she could summon that weird blue screen nor dismiss it.
She had played enough games to know that it looked like a classical RPG setting.
"Well, you definetly have a magic signature now, so that marks you as a magick wielding being" said her mother fiddling with the projection of her mandala "Also, this magick circle is way too complex to be a fluke. Never saw this type of magic either" Great, she was also a new type, because that was making everything easier!
"And you also have the energy field powereds project after triggering" The what?
"It's diminishing already so that marks you as a high-end powered. Probably on the S-A Tier" Mumbled her father.
"...The what ?" Weren't powered impossible to detect?
Wasn't supposed to be way too much distortion created by too many powers on the world at the same time?
"When one triggers the body emits a new type of energy that isn't detected in any other moment, so you can detect them quickly enough if you know what you are searching for. The crystal ball uses the same principle to showcase triggering" said her father.
"The higher your skills are, the more quickly this energy dissipates. A super strength on the C tier would emit this for a week for example. While a Speedster on the A tier would emit it for a day or so. The more dangerous or powerful something is, the less time this energy is emitted. We theorized the skill takes its power from this energy. So the fastest it dissipates the most powerful or potential the skill has" finished her father.
"So since this weird energy is dissipating fast because my skills are eating it?" asked the blonde girl for confirmation.
"Exactly, since your skills are eat...." said her father happily since she confirmed the existence of those skills "... plural?" asked for clarification her father.
"Yeah, got like three of those (Plus one bugged) besides my magic origin, it looks like I only have 10 slots for spells and mandalas for now though" Ah...how good it feels when you drop bombshells like nothing after years of being on that side.
"Baby...What do you mean with magic origin?" asked her mother....What?
"I mean, isn't that like the foundation of your magicks? Like how you use magic to travel dimension because your Magic Origin is dimension travel?" What was her mother talking about?
"...Elizabeth listen clearly. I can travel dimensions because I created that type of magic. My soulscape doesn't give me a Magic Origin. It is shaped like a starry sky because it was my wish to travel the stars back home. The soulscape reflects your magic and wish. Using the flower meadow example. If said magic girl suddenly wished to kill an enemy with all her soul. Then her soulscape could transform from a flower meadow to a wasteland or a sword graveyard. " ...Well, that was awkward, then what is a Magic Origin?
"...Also, a powered only has one skill. Mine is closer to adaptation or evolution. Even if one had several they wouldn't know. Some speculate that I have one of all the body enhancements. But I truly believe that it's only one...But in the end, unless a powered arrived with the skill to analyze we would never know...So how do you know how many skills you have? " asked her father.
"Well...After that happened I could see a..." and then something happened, she could feel the world slowing down again...Was she about to trigger again?
Notice: |
The P̵̡̢̡̛͚̝͓̭̠̺̆̾͊̏̊ŗ̶̡͈̟͛̈́̐̋̎͊̓͝ọ̶̡̢͓̖̩̱̯̍̏̐̂̅ĺ̸̛͈̰͎̐̈́̋́ī̵̡̝̫̮͚̜̯͍̯̓͛̆͂̾̕f̷̯̟̳̰̈͌̐̂̔̆̋͋̽ē̸̺̖͙̤̲̖̭̯̳r̷̨̡̛͎͚̳̣̤͘̚ḁ̶̢̧̜̬̄̀̂͗͝t̸̥̜͚́̚i̶͈͉̙͊̾̀͜o̷̗͚̻͍̟̹̝͔̍̑̓̇͒̽̆̽̕͜n̴͕̞̺̯̮̯̽̇͌̽̔̾̕ skill detected intent from the user to share privileged information do you wish to continue? Y/N |
"STOP!" not that it mattered since her mother screamed for her to stop.
"Did you felt that too honey?" asked her father. Both seemed to be feeling something.
And since this new blue screen was on her way for now she thought 'No', making the screen go away.
"Is someone with you Elizabeth?" asked her Mother, and since they still were using her full name, this seemed like something dangerous.
"I'm alone, was told this room was secure enough to speak and that no one would try to snoop on my conversations" answered the blonde girl truthfully.
"...Don't be specific, but tell us what you were about to say," said her father. And since he was the expert on skills she would comply.
"Was about to describe how I perceive my skills and magick" Also maybe describe how the whole blue screen looked and what it say word per word. But she wouldn't go into that...yet.
"hmm...There are two possibilities here. One, your trigger skill or skills are of the minder type, and knowing the descriptions allows them to affect us" said her father, she would cross that out since none of the descriptions sounded like a mind-type skill.
"Or your magick is of the fae disposition and knowing the full description is enough to enchant us even at this large distance" added her Mother.
HAH!
She was right! Fae magicks is all about knowing stuff and acknowledging it!
"None of my skill's names sounds like either of those, maybe it's the bugged one that's responsible since the description said its name" but sadly she had neither of those. It would be easier to deal with those.
"If that is so, then try to work around the full description and just gloss over what you understand of your powerset. I will reinforce the defenses of the house in the meantime" said her mother already materializing mandalas all over the living room...
She kinda feels awkward since now that she knew the skill could be activated by sharing information she was turning it off...
"Well...I have a numerical description of my body attributes and skills...Possibly the result of my first skill, also have other two others that I haven't used and a third that is probably responsible for what you felt...The first one is the reason I know my Magic Origin too...Whatever that is" said the blonde girl.
"You have a what?" was all her father said.
Poor man, he probably would have liked knowing the exact numbers of his own strength...
She kinda wondered about her own status too...
Maybe she should look into it after finishing talking with her parents...