Deku Up! 5

As Deku mopped up the bits of gruel on the floor, somebody had come in from the door. It was a boy of about 11, with a short, blonde bowl-cut holding onto an assignment book and a piece of papyrus.

"Hey, are you Deku? I heard from Senior Aldia that I could consult you?"

D : "Yeah, I am."
T : "Mushroom head!"

And Totta, taking advantage of Deku's current disposition, quickly leapt towards the boy, and hugged his torso like a koala.

"Wh- Wha?!"
D : "Totta! Get off him this instant!"

T : "I don't wanna~"

Deku apologetically looked at the boy as he wrapped his hands around her waist and tugged her off his body gently.

D : "Sorry about that. She's... She's just excited. I think."

"... Okay... Maybe I should introduce myself first?"

The boy placed his items onto a counter top and bowed politely towards Deku.

Z : "I am Zelkova. I'm here to learn from you. Please bear with me."

*Cozy's Notes : Shoutout to Zelkova from MochisGuides. Maplestory the game is dead to me, but he's still trying to bring it alive, so... Yeah.*

D : "Oh, don't be. Have a seat, Zelkova."

Deku awkwardly pointed at a stone chair and table set, which he had supposedly made using his Conduit Imbue. Though a strange decision, the rock it had been carved from is smooth, and slippery, and reflective. It was probably made in that fashion specifically to stop the two playful children in the room from climbing atop - A smart decision, to prevent them from hurting themselves.

Z : "Ah, thank you."

He took a seat on the smooth rock, and leaned his elbows on the table.

Deku took out a small piece of what seemed to be a square-shaped candy, and gave it to Totta.

D : "Chew slowly, okay?"

The young girl looked at it with a strange, curious light in her eyes, and quickly stuffed it into her mouth, chewing and biting on it happily. No sooner had she done so did she regret that decision.

T : "!!! What is this?!"

D : "Ginger candy. Suckle on it to let the flavor seep out slowly. Be careful, it's spicy."

Deku then took a seat on the opposing stool, as Totta placed her hands over her mouth, with tears in her eyes.

T ; (So... So spicy...)
D : "Alright then, you had a question?"

Z : "Ah, yes. Just let me..."

Zelkova reached his hand out towards the counter top, and the book quickly poofed into his hands.

D : (An Axia follower, huh. Rare.)
Z : "Okay, let me see... Which page did Madame Leia say it was? Hmm..."

He pondered over the book, flipping through it quickly. With the amount of carvings and notes on the book, it was a nice change for Deku to see a hardworking student like himself consulting a caretaker like him for something proper.

Z : "Ahh. Here we go. Madame Leia wanted us to research on the differences between a... God, and a Witch. Or, you know, warlock."

D : "Ahh. A textbook question. How far have you read the chapter?"

Z : "I... I don't know, I've only finished the chapter on Image Power, so... I guess the next lesson is about basic runes?"

D : "... That question's a bit too far ahead for you then. You'd normally learn something like that in about two years' time, assuming you're a first-year at the Magus Essentials class."

Z : "Yeah, I am a first-year at the Magus Essentials."

D : "I'm not surprised, though. You're in Madame Leia's class? That old hag's always been crazy with her assignments. If you think this assignment's tough, wait till you reach her final year - She'll give questions so tough, you'd have to consult someone Sorceror-class and above, like the principal himself."

Z : "... That sucks..."

D : "... You've come to the right person for this, at least. Right then, let's start with how much you know. What defines a 'God'?"

Zelkova frowned and scratched his head a bit as he tried to recall what the definition was.

Z : "... I've read this from books outside, but... I think a God is someone who has ascended from... Learning magic?"

D : "Half-correct. A 'God' is a person who has ascended from our realm by mastering what one would call 'Arts'."

Z : "Arts?"

D : "Okay... How about this for starters?"

Deku held his fist out, and it glowed a brilliant, radiant yellow. The air about it seemed to have been sucked into the hand, and before long, the yellow expanded and enveloped his arm, before it faded off to reveal a sort of wind armor about his arm, howling loudly in the room and causing the plant nearby to shake from it.

D : 'This is a magic knows as Conduit Imbue. This magic, is one portion of a two-part combination known as the Gatherer's Golem, which is this wind armor about my arm."

The focused wind faded off, and the room was quiet again.

D : "But, the Conduit Imbue magic can be omitted completely, and the same effect can occur as well."

The wind spun and rotated about his arm once again, before dispelling for good.

D : "Of course, with much difficulty."

Z : "What... What does that have to do with what an Art and Magic is?"

D : "You should remember the fundamentals to using magic - Image Power. With image power, you can create the image of the magic in your head, and it can be brought to life."

Z : "... Yeah?"

Zelkova continued his train of thought while giving Deku a suspicious look.

D : "But, an Art does not need image power at all. In fact, it can be cast at any time, and it does not need image power. It can be reinforced or weakened with image power, but that is not always necessary."

Z : "Aha... So the 'Gods' are people whom have mastered 'Arts'?"

D : "Well, 'Arts' come in many forms and such, but those whom have mastered a specific class of 'Arts' are allowed to become a God."

Z : "So, what makes them different from Witches or Warlocks?"

D : "A Witch, or Warlock if male, is a person who is aspiring to become a God. Like how a God can be referred to as a proper steel sword, a Warlock is a piece of metal that has yet become a proper sword."

Z : "... I see. So, one is a complete version, and the other is slowly becoming one?"

D : "Exactly. Do you know the titles of some of these Gods?"

Z : "?... Well..."

He gave a pondering look, before answering to the best of his abilities.

Z : "I know that Dardicel is the God of Trials, Croxa is the God of Weather, Sharyu Zuku the foreign Ohdean God is the Goddess of Rain, Ilpoh is the God of Battles... I think."

D : "Good. There's also Vithrolu, the God of Death and Decay. You probably didn't also know that Soltak is actually the Sunkeeper, the God of Light. Phronia, the Lady of the Tundra, is also the Goddess of Limits, though, she was believed to have been slain by Kavnel, so I'm not sure if mentioning her is a good example or not."

Z : "!! Slain, by Kavnel?! Who's Kavnel?!"

D : "I don't know how or why, but apparently Gods can be slain too. Well, it's probably a really old, ancient technique, since it's Kavnel who killed her. We don't even know much about Kavnel, the last 'Old God'. We're talking about an Old God who's around long enough to see all the Gods we now know rise to their current status."

Z : "Why haven't I heard of Kavnel then?"

D : "Apparently Kavnel is mute, so he cannot reincarnate using the Reincarnation Cauldron that allows Gods to reincarnate as people once more."

Z : "!! Reincarnation Cauldron?" (This is getting interesting. Coming to ask him is the right option after all! I'm learning all sorts of things I've never even heard of!)

D : "Vithrolu's reincarnate, Chitone, and Soltak's reincarnate, Astora, only mentioned Kavnel and the Reincarnation Cauldron in passing, though, so nobody can be too sure. But those two are the older Gods amongst most of them, so I believe them. That, or they're pulling a co-ordinated, sick prank just to fool us in circles, but I don't really care. It's nice to know these things, I guess."

Z : "That is amazing..."

D : "Yeah. I was taken aback too when I first read about it. You can find the excerpts on these books - Knocking on Death's Door, and Praise the Sun : An Autobiography. They will cite these sources, so Madame Leia won't berate you for having baseless information."

Z : "Thank you! Thank you so much, Deku! This whole thing just turned interesting somehow!... Say, where do these 'Arts' come from?"

...

The only thing heard from the room was Totta fumbling on the floor over the spicy ginger candy.

D : "... Who knows? You'd have to ask an actual warlock for that."

Z : "... Huh. Are there any speculations or stuff for me to start with?"

D : "... Well, most Warlocks and Witches are pretty secretive, and reclused. Getting one to talk is hard. But, well, I can make guesses, I suppose. Have you read the story of Diehl, the Lifesunder?"

Z : "The one about Diehl and Urdythari?"

D : "No, no, that's the part of their life further on. I meant the start of the legend Diehl. Well, in the beginning, Diehl's real name was Ufel, and his family was in feud with another family. When the feud ended with the two lovebirds Marco Poliez and Tabitha Schroez committing a double suicide, leaving only him as the sole survivor, he made a pact with a witch, supposedly."

Z : "I... I haven't read that."

D : "Ufel supposedly formed a pact, a geis with a witch named Cerule, the Azure Witch of the Wealth Well. What I'm guessing at, is that the 'Arts' are somewhat connected to... Some sort of element or... Thing."

Z : "... Huh?"

D : "Think about it this way. Vithrolu, Soltak, Sharyu Zuku. Death, Light, Rain. Each of them are associated with a sort of element, or something. Cerule was the Azure Witch, and she was capable of controlling water and ice magic. Or, if I'm not wrong, she was actually using an 'Art' that would look similar to magic."

Z : "Hmm..."

D : "What I'm guessing at is that these 'Arts' are somehow related to the elements we face every day. Dardicel mastered the Trial 'Arts', Phronia mastered the Limit 'Arts', Croxa mastered the Weather 'Arts', and if my memory doesn't fail me, Sha'Koth, the Trickster Legend, posed as the master of the 'Manipulation' Arts. I'm guessing the 'Arts' themselves have a sort of... Condition or something."

Zelkova gave a slightly depressed look. he had likely expected a solid, clear answer, not something like this.

D : "Don't be too down. Maybe that's for the best. If you'd think about it from a more logical perspective, it was supposed to be unclear.If it was something easily known, then everyone would have become a God by now, wouldn't they?"

Z : "... I... I guess that makes sense..."

D : "Yeah. Don't be so glum. I think something, or someone is purposely concealing this information from all of us. It's a hard topic to research on, with many questions to be asked, and many answers that only give rise to more questions. Just take it slow."

Z : "... Okay."

*** ***

Seiene climbed atop Totta and lay his stomach on her waist, and rested peacefully.

Z : "Thank you for all your help. This assignment would have been much tougher without your help."

D : "You're welcome. I hope you get a good grade for this."

Z : "I hope so too. Here, have this. This is from an assignment from another class."

Zelkova handed him a small, red leaf.

D : "... This is..."

Z : "A compass and astral map. Axia used a lone maple tree in a forest to mark his bearings. This is created from a spell revolved around that, and well, I thought it would be useful to you, or the kids if they get lost."

D : "Why, thank you. This must have been hard to make."

Z : "It is. Please take good care of my treasure."

With that, the bowl-cut head left through the door, with his assignment book in hand.

D : "... ?? What's this?"

On the counter top next to the door lay a piece of papyrus. Deku picked it up to examine the news, and read the content out aloud.

D : "... 'Rugnid Princess in Affair'? 'A civilian was reported to have sighted the soon-to-be Empress of Rugnud, Matalpal-something Roberia, with a boy of presumably Ohdean descent. Further inquiries have been pursed, and subject 'Kozuba Katachi' is now the cause of great alarm in Rugnud. The ministers of Rugnud have-' ?!... Katachi?..."

Deku's eyes widened in astonishment.

D : "... He's in an affair with this Roberia princess?"