Sunday 30 December 2012

Chapter 9 : Pre-tournament

Walking down the hallway, Katachi was interrupted by a student with a buzzcut, holding a box of wooden tablets. He seemed to have something to say to Katachi, because he walked to his front from his back on purpose.

"Hey, new kid. Who're you betting for?"

K : "Huh?"

Katachi stared at the student blankly upon hearing the word 'betting'. The word 'betting' alone seemed to hold a lot of weight, so just uttering it in the hallway itself seemed surprising for anybody.

K : "W-What do you mean, betting?"

"Well, the tournament on Friday has a few competitors. You can choose which student would get the championship, and one of the teachers, Mister Mint, is going to treat the students who manages to guess the winner right to a feast."

Katachi stepped back slightly at the otherworldly piece of good news. Mother Rin would have normally rebuked at how gambling and the like was bad, but the strange thing about it was that Segus mentioned nothing about abstaining from gambling.

*Cozy's Notes : Oh, I don't know, CONSIDER THE HISTORY OF SEGUS. You will find that he was far too poor to worry about stuff like gambling in the first place, of course he would have no comments over something he couldn't even afford to do in the first place.*

(I might want to try it, but that seems a bit risky... They even dragged a teacher into this...)

K : "Isn't... Isn't that against the school rules?"

"Well, think of it as a personal bet. If the students manage to guess correctly by luck or chance, they would have a nice treat for free. But if the students managed to guess the outcome using actual magic, then the treat is a prize and a form of encouragement for them. It's a bit sketchy, but what makes it good is that  it doesn't pay to make a bet. Why not give it a go?"

Katachi leaned against the wall slightly.

K : (If what he says is true, then it wouldn't be bad for me to participate, since it's not actually gambling. I would just have to guess the winner by random. Although, I really want to win to get that, but it would be better to step back a bit, and shake attention off myself. Besides, I wouldn't want to end up doing something against Mother Rin or Segus should anything happen.)

K : "Uhm... Who can I choose?"

"Well, there's last year's champion, Deku, and the guy who fought him for the finals, Cillian, the semi-finalists last year, the potential magi like Zul, or Jason, or even Djinnje, but if you're feeling lucky or magical, you can try anyone you think will win."

K : "I guess... I'll guess Cillian."

"Cillian, huh? Okay then, place this on your circle."

Katachi picked a tablet from the tray the student was supporting with both arms, and held the wooden tablet with the name Cillian engraved onto the magic circle on his left arm. It glowed slightly as Katachi's name formed on a small corner of the tablet, in fine print.

"Good, good. Well, I hope your guess is right, new kid. Good luck!"

The student quickly broke conversation and leapt towards another student eagerly, in a fashion that seemed like he was getting paid for collecting those votes.

K : (... Well, that sure was interesting. But to think an event like this is so big, that such means are imployed... Whatever it is, I have to practice a lot.)

*** ***

"All participants, single file! Queue here to order the weapon you will be using!"

The various participants lined up in a straight line, taking turns to place their wooden pieces into the order boxes in the waiting area.

There was a unique ordering system for the tournament that the students had to participate in, should they want weapons to use during the tournament. The tournament strongly promotes using magic, but there will be cases where physical weapons are needed, be it for channeling a medium or for blocking magical projectiles. Real weapons would pose a a big threat, so participants had to order their own wooden weapons to use in the tournament.

Each student would use a wooden piece they were given on their magic circle, engraving their name onto it, and place the piece into a box tagged with whichever weapon they desired, for example a sword, or a spear, or polearm, or even the custom box. The school will proceed to supply that weapon to them. It was a safe method of ensuring that nobody could cheat during the tournament, since everyone would be getting their weapons right before the tournament.

Katachi waited patiently for his turn, but someone in front seemed to be making a show of some sort.

A student was apparently angry at something.

"This is ridiculous! There's no option for a bladestaff?! How am I supposed to use any of my Ohde magic?!"

"Look, you have two choices. You can choose a physical weapon for pitiful self-defense, or you can choose a wand or stave to channel better and boost your magic. You don't HAVE to get a bladesta-"

"But my magic revolves around the wave cutter! How am I supposed to use my magic without proper equipment?!"

"SHUT UP AND LISTEN, YOU DAMN FOOL!!!"

The line of students all froze at the teacher-in-charge's outrage.

Students would often respect and obey the teachers in this academy strictly, because every teacher held the power to place a demerit seal onto a student. A teacher can place a maximum of 3 demerit seals on a student, and the number of demerits a student has would affect how others interact with them in school. To talk back to a teacher requires either bravery, or pure stupidity.

"There's a customs box here, specially made for whiny ass-wipes like yourself who have to use a specific weapon. You can put your vote in, then request for a special order. DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?"

The student nodded his head in fear.

"... Good. Now make your choice already. There's at least two dozen others behind you, and we don't have all day."

The student put his wooden piece into the custom box, and mumbled something to the teacher. He then walked towards the exit, ashamed.

"Next!"

That call had repeated for a good number of times before it was finally Katachi's turn.

Approaching the table, Katachi looked at the small wooden boxes once more intently.

The small boxes have labels on them to indicate which weapon was to be manufactured should the wooden piece be placed into it. It was a surprisingly simplistic system for such an advanced, magical place. Inside the sword and spear boxes were quite a number of wooden pieces already.

K : (A lot of people chose swords and spears, huh... I'm not very good with a sword, and it'd only trouble me if I use both hands for a spear... Hmm... Sword or spear?)

Katachi switched back and forth between the two, unable to decide which was better.

The others behind him were getting impatient at his indecisiveness, and began jeering and rushing him.

"Hurry up, idiot!" "Pick up the pace!" "How much longer do I have to wait?!"

K : (Not good... The people behind me are urging me to hurry... I better choose one fast.)

Out of panic, Katachi's eyes swiveled all over the table, looking at other weapons as well. The polearm, mace, flail, axe, there were so many options available that it was easy to become confused by the ideal weapon of choice.

Finally, one caught his eye as comfortable.

Out of pure instinct, Katachi shifted his hand over the empty box labelled "Dagger", and let go.

The teacher-in-charge stared at Katachi placing his wooden piece into the box nobody had so much as given a second glance to. The boy was not sure whether that stare was in doubt or in disbelief, or a mixture of both.

"... Whatever your choice is, I'll respect your decision, kid. I'm just saying, it's very brave of you to emphasize on speed rather than reach."

K : "Uhh... Thanks."

Taking a left, Katachi exited the area.

*** ***

The next morning, a small crowd gathered at the announcement board.

Katachi had already completed the assigned course within a single lesson, which means he was now completely free on every single day besides Tuesday, where he had a course on magic affinity. With time to spare on a Thursday, he went towards the board as well, out of curiosity.

K : (? What are they gathering for?)

The students were crowding at the strangely-shaped board that rested on a peculiar stand, or pillar. It made the board look like it was toppling over, but it wasn't. It had been slightly more than a week since Katachi arrived, so he was already used to a spectacle like such.

On the board showed the tournament participant layout.

It seems that the students will be divided into two divisions, which will then reconnect to determine one final champion. The information about the battle rules and judging system were also displayed to the right. After reading the judging system and the rules in battle, Katachi went down to the main topic at hand - His own placement on the tournament.

K : (... ! I'm in the same division as Cillian... Cillian de Vorsche... ?)

"Hey all you people, look, Cillian and Trug are already in the same preliminary division. We're in for a good show."

K : (Wasn't Cillian the guy I betted for?... Looks like I've picked a tough fight...

... Where's that Mafer person? Is he in here?)

Katachi glanced around at the divisions, and finally found Mafer's name - Right next to Deku.

K : (! He's going to fight last year's champion for the preliminaries? That's... That's a surprise...

... Is Bael in this tournament?)

Squeezing his way through the crowd, Katachi looked and pondered for a good long 10 minutes - To no avail. Bael's name was not present at all amidst the 32 participants.

K : (Huh. She didn't participate. That trap she laid back then was actually pretty dangerous, she should have signed up for this if she was already that powerful. She might potentially win the tournament... But, then again, her not participating is good too, that's one less competitor to deal with.)

"Hey, new kid."

K : (?)

Katachi spun around, and saw a student with a buzzcut looking at him.

K : (The guy from yesterday...) "Oh, it's you again."

"Yeah. What name were you looking for? You've been staring and searching since I came, and I've been here for 5 minutes."

K : "Oh, er, nothing. I was just looking for the name of a friend."

The student chuckled a bit at Katachi's response.

"Worrying about someone else's safety before your own, new kid? You'd be wiped out early with that kind of attitude."

The student then left, leaving Katachi bewildered at the insult.

K : (... That guy... How rude! If I ever fight him, so help me, I will prove him wrong.)

With a new resolve burning within himself, Katachi forced his way out of the crowd, and towards the field.

*** ***

Having no lessons meant that Katachi was free to do anything he wanted in the academy. That included anything within the rules, as well as personal training sessions that normal students with jam-packed curriculums would never have the time for.

Katachi stood alone in the field, with the sun at the 9am mark. He was merely sitting on a sandy patch, meditating calmly.

The field was empty because lessons for students would normally start at 9am. The students' rituals they had to perform would take up a lot of time, to around a couple of hours at least, so the students were given leeway to perform their rituals at 6.30am in the morning. For those with short prayers, they could spend the two hours however they liked, but by 9am they still had to attend any lessons they still had.

Katachi felt happy and free, for he was not bound by this limiter at all.

He had pretty much completed his course on the first lesson, because of the specifics the Words of Power had. After all, there was an unspoken rule amidst the Scholars, people who wielded the Words of Power.

The Words of Power, when challenging each other, worked on a special and highly numerical system known as Precedence Levels. Because of such a deadpan, inorganic system, it was as good as suicide to teach another Scholar the meanings of their symbols.

K : (... The teacher had been smart to limit what he taught. Although it was smart, it's not quite good enough.

... I hope my trump card is still in effect.)

Katachi got up, and walked under a tree beyond the boundary of the open field. Picking up a branch, he snapped a stick off of it, and began fiddling and twiddling with the stick around his finger.

K : (The trump card aside, I have to make sure he doesn't get an advantage over me at all. The books from the library so far doesn't seem to be beneficial at all, but maybe... Just maybe...)

He began slashing at the air with the stick in his hand.

K : (In any case, I'd have to try to win the tournament as fast as I can. The first lesson itself is a hairline crack on the mirror just waiting to shatter and ruin it completely. I have to gamble everything at this one junction. Whether I succeed or fail... I'll have to plan for it only after I know the outcome.)

Practicing the simple parrying and stabbing techniques from an Ohde book, Katachi continually stabbed and slashed at the air, his mind and conscious completely separate from his actions.

K : (... I might need Bertund's help on that and that... Best not to assume this flimsy plan might actually work. I need to raise my precedence level as quickly as possible. That's my safest option right now, since it's the only way I'm ever going to beat Rekter...

... I'll go ask him after I finish practicing this.)

Friday 21 December 2012

Chapter 8 : Sneaky_Sneaky

The halls in the Sage Raufid Magus Academy were filled with a special redirectional magic.

It was a type of magic that could mentally control a person to move about the school without fear of getting lost and the like. It could also be modified into a magic that forces people to move away from a spot or zone, or to go to a specific zone, like the students' rooms and dorms themselves. This allowed rules and the like to be set - Students were not allowed to venture into the halls after curfew, and male students were not allowed to go towards the female bathrooms, and so on.

(恒! Constant status - Self!)

And now it no longer affected Katachi.

Sneaking out of his room quietly, Katachi scurried towards the library at the same pace as he had left the room.

Because the magic was no longer affecting him, Katachi was allowed free movement in the school. But, being immune meant that he had to find the library via his own effort, which required actual memory work.

Katachi was not made for that memory work.

(I sort of remember it being up the stairs or something...? I went up, up, left, down, or... Wait, where is this?)

And so Katachi spent 20 minutes walking around the school cluelessly.

*** ***

Halfway on a blind search, Katachi stumbled upon a rather interesting scene.

There was a boy and girl sitting on one of the benches in the halls. Noticing them, he quickly hid behind a pillar, camouflaged by its shadows well.

K : (This shouldn't been possible - The curfew should be in effect! Who are those two?)

"This is so romantic! I've never done this before...What if we get found out?"

D : "Shh, shh, we won't get busted. I promise."

K : (!!! ... Dante? What's he doing out here?)

Peeking around the corner, Katachi saw Dante and the girl undressing themselves.

K : (... ! They haven't noticed me yet?... I am so glad I went barefooted instead of wearing my usual wooden sabots...)

In their hands appears to be some sort of wooden tag, that has 方針 carved onto it. As they attempted to undress themselves, they made sure to hold onto the tag tightly.

K : (... I don't know what the words on that tag means, but whatever it is, it must be responsible for letting them stay out here without being affected by the magic. They're clutching it tightly, so does it block the magic or something?)

D : "Show me that beautiful ass, Sherayal. I wanna see it reflect the moonlight into my eyes."

The girl proceeded to hook the panties with her pinkies, and slip her underwear off.

K : (That Sherayal girl is undressing? For Dante? What could anyone possibly see in him-... Wait, this is no time to be worrying about something like this!...)

Patiently, Katachi awaited for the two of them to drop their guard fully. As they got to the primed position of inserting their respective genitals...

K : (... ! Chance! 固! Fixate position - Sherayal! Fixate position - Dante!)

A golden word formed on the girl's stomach and Dante's bare back.

K : (... Good! They can't move at all...)

Waiting for a few seconds to ensure that they really couldn't move, Katachi sneaked up behind them. They were both facing the same direction, so it was easy enough to do it unnoticed. Forcing the wooden tags to slip from the girl's hands was easy since she held it with three fingers, but Dante's gripping position was rather strong, so a little more effort was needed to take the tag out of his immobilized hand.

Keeping himself as silent as possible, Katachi made sure they could not see him at all, and left.

K : (... You two stay there. Whatever you did, or was about to do, is definitely not part of the school rules... I think.)

Hiding back to the same corner, Katachi made final preparations.

K : (Anyone can see those words if I just leave them on the stomach and back. I should hide them as well... 固Fixate position - Sherayal! Fixate position - Dante!)

The words on her stomach and his back faded off, and reformed around their ankles, where their own garments were hiding the words.

K : (Much better. Now, which way is it to the library...?)

*** ***

While walking aimlessly, Katachi observed the wooden tags he had just received.

(There are a lot of strange characters that look to be of an Anikan origin, and I can't seem to understand them at all... If only there was some sort of dictionary, or something... Ow!)

Katachi had walked right into a wall.

Having no redirectional magic to assist him meant there was no way to guide him to walk properly, and to avoid any obstacles, including walls. It was normal for inattentive students like Katachi to collide themselves against such obstacles.

K : "Ahahahaha... Huh?"

Rubbing and massaging his head, Katachi looked up, to see the Library entrance to his right.

K : (... I found it. What luck.)

Katachi headed into the library with haste.

K : (The Anik history section... It should be here.)

*** ***

Following the exact same route he took to the library, Katachi reached the junction where Dante and the Sherayal girl was.

Standing there, observing them, was a peculiar green-loving principal wearing a crisp green tuxedo and matching pants, with white gloves and a slime hat.

K : (...!!! Bertund?! But... It's not even 5am!)

B : "I've had reports from teachers that their tags went missing. You know, I wouldn't find it surprising if you were behind it, Dante, but of all people to do it with, it was you, Sherayal?"

The principal shook his head. While doing so, the funny slime top hat he was wearing swayed along with his head's inertia.

B : "... It pains my heart to know that even a marvellous student like you can be shaken by bestiality. You two should know clearly the consequences for illicit sexual relations and activities in school. Thievery, violation of curfew and illicit sexual activity... That's three strikes in one convenient package."

The principal's right glove glowed yellow, and the slime top hat changed its shape to a viscous wizard hat with a crooked top.

What Bertund did next had been simple.

He patted the magic circles on the left arms of both Dante and Sherayal with his glowing right hand.

The magic circles on their arms glowed yellow, and faded off. Dante and Sherayal froze there, still unable to move.

K : (... Oh, right! The words are still on them...)

The words on their ankles wore off silently.

D : "Huh? What... What happened? I couldn't move at all?"

S : "D-D-Dante, look at what you've done! I'm expelled now! You liar, you had better take responsibility for this!!!"

B : "You two, come with me. Right now."

Bertund signaled the two stude-... ex-students to his side, and stormed off.

The two, dressing themselves hastily to cover their revealing parts, quickly followed the principal.

K : (... That was close. Bertund didn't seemed to have noticed me.)

Katachi sighed in relief as the three turned a corner.

K : (That was really cool, though. His hat can actually change its shape like that...)

Satisfied with that night's outcome, Katachi rested on the bench Dante was at, and waited for the 5am chime. He placed the tags still with him onto the bench, in false pretense that the two left it on the benches accidentally.

The curfew would be lifted for students to prepare and dress themselves up at 5am. If he can avoid being detected for that long, he could pretend that he just woke up and was heading towards the bath to wash up.

Just a few minutes later, the bell rang. It's 5am now - Katachi was officially safe to be outside, and no teacher could accuse him for defying curfew.

Removing the Word of Power hidden on his chest, Katachi headed for a nearby bathroom naturally, as if nothing of the sort happened.

Friday 14 December 2012

Flyin' off to Taiwan.

Heading over to Taiwan and 義大世界

until the 21st of December, so have fun with the double chapter this week! :D

Await next week's chapter. :D It's going to be one hilarious chapter. XD

Well, for Katachi, anyway, since he's not the one getting in trouble. <3

Much love to the people who've stuck with me thus far on this record of history.

Signing off, gotta fly to Taiwan and meet that big ol' blue rhino! :D

- Cozy and T.W.

Chapter 7 : Healer

"Alright, class, today we are going to start on something more practical today. We are going to actually use affinity testing to determine your field of magic."

A lady, Miss Lea, stood before the class. She was of a rather small stature with black hair indicating her Ohde origin, wearing an amber blouse and a long, maroon skirt reaching the floor, both obviously made of a high-grade cloth. Her face, a petite smile formed from her tiny lips, with those widely opened eyes, brought out a strangely feminine charm from her. Comparing her attire to the plain, crisp uniforms of the students, it created a strange atmosphere because the clothes didn't match the atmosphere of a classroom at all.

Katachi's fingers turned cold and numb.

K : (I've never considered it this far, but if the curriculum happens to have some way of discovering my secret, this could turn out pretty ugly. I need to avoid those risks at all costs.)

Focusing on the teacher's back, he imagined her without her blouse, showing her bare back.

Though it was a disturbing thought, it had to be done. Had he applied the Word of Power on the blouse itself, the entire point of using it despite the risks would be absolutely foolish.

K : (... 设! Set thought pattern - Avoid detection of Curse Words!)

A faint  glowed on the teacher's back, but because her shirt was thick nobody in class managed to notice it.

K : (... I really hope the word works this way...)

L : "As you all know, the most common method of distinguishing a person's magic affinity, and any curse or form of magic afflicted on him, is to use a Lotz crystal, like this one here."

Tucking her right hand into a glove, Miss Lea reached into the purse on the table and picked up a translucent crystal.

K : (Oh God... Please don't tell me we're using that. It's as good as being busted...)

L : "However, Lotz crystals are incredibly expensive, and they must be handled with care. Also, Lotz crystals can only glow the color of the magic applied onto you, or present within you. It cannot clearly distinguish your magic specialty. Sad is to say, the legend of Lotz was his desire to see the world as it was through his color-blind eyes, and yet what he perceived as color was magical energy itself. Therefore, although useful for confirming foul play, it is not quite as practical."

K : (... Is that a 'We're not going to use this stone' hint?... This teacher's not very good, sidetracking and making me confused and all... !)

Katachi didn't quite understand where the talk was headed, since it jumped to Lotz's history all of a sudden, but he was more nervous as to whether anyone has seen the crystal actually glowing a very slight golden. The weather outside the classroom was sunny, with students sitting near the windows squinting to look forward. Maybe the glow camouflaged well with the surroundings, or maybe it was just the surroundings itself reflecting light into the crystal giving Katachi a false impression.

But, having the Lotz crystal glow, regardless of the cause, was something he had to be extremely wary of. Lotz crystals were not supposed to glow naturally without direct contact with magic, yet the one resting on Miss Lea's hand is.

The Word of Power could most likely be detected through that Lotz crystal.

According to the bamboo book in the church at Mielfeud, the Words of Power were created not too long ago, roughly 40 years ago, in an event caused by 292 great sorcerors. Lotz existed at a time far before that, around 4000 years ago, according to a biography in the library here at Sage Raufid. Technically, since event magic didn't exist during Lotz's time,  the Lotz crystal should be unable to detect any of the 292 Words of Power.

But image power is a scary magic to behold.

Image power could reinforce a branch so it can be as durable as a bar of steel. Image power could create things, objects, even weapons out of air. Image power, the greatest sin of every human magus, is the reason why Reincarnate Arts are so powerful, for in the midst of challenging the Gods' reincarnates, they have come to fear the Gods and the power worked against them, and that reinforced the Reincarnate Arts even further. Image power had been an influential power that has rocked the entire course of history prior to its discovery.

With image power, one could probably reinforce a Lotz crystal so it can detect any forms and traces of magic. The Words of Power were classified as a supernatural event, and thus can be considered magic, so there is a certain risk that the Lotz crystal could have been reinforced by image power to detect the Words of Power - In said case, it has, and the only saving grace rests on the fact that the room was already bathed in radiant light.

K : (I'd have to make the teacher put the cryst- ? What's she doing?)

The teacher placed the crystal back into the bag.

L : "Therefore, we shall be doing something more fun today! We are going back to the past, to how the magi of the old detected magic affinities without using the Lotz crystal! Class, form yourselves into pairs of two!"

Half the entire class heaved a sigh, almost as if in disappointment, while the other half of the class turned their heads and chatted excitedly with their friends, or rather, acquaintances in the class.

K : (... This is one really strange classroom. It's divided in such a weird fashion...)

Regardless, Katachi sighed in relief, and perked his ears up.

K : (I still don't know if that Word of Power took effect. I'd have to try it at some other place, or something else. The result from this is too vague.)

"Hey, new kid?"

K : "?"

Katachi turned to his right, to see a spiky-haired boy looking at him in enthusiasm. Wearing the uniform supposedly gave students a similar identity, but looking at this boy gave one the impression that he was different. He had passion in his eyes that would have anyone retract their heads slightly, in a subtle cry for personal space.

He was just that assertive.

M : "I'm Mafer. You don't seem to know this class very well yet, so I'll help you."

K : "Oh, uh, thank you. But I'm afraid that I'd drag you down, Mafer. I... I'm not too used to this class, you see..."

The boy widened his eyes a bit and nodded his head slowly, as if understanding the scenario.

M ; "Don't worry, kid. I don't need to find these kinds of affinity because I believe in Croxa."

K : "... ! Oh! A Croxa believer! I... I see." (But, if that were the case... Why is he attending the class, then?)

Katachi nodded in response.

Knowing one more person in this school could help his chances in winning the Sage Raufid Young Magus Tournament by just that bit, but Katachi would need everything he can get should he harbor any intent to secure that.

K : "Please... Please take care of me."

M : "Oh, pssh, spare the formalities! What's your name, new kid?"

K : "Katachi."

Mafer's head jerked back a bit.

M : "That name... It's from an Ohde descent, right? No wonder you're so polite."

K : "Uhh... Yeah?" (Technically, he asked if the name was a name of Ohde descent. He didn't ask if I was from Ohde, so it's still the truth... I think.)

M : "I knew it! Did you come here to, oh, you know... Spy on your fiance or something? Is it Miss Lea?"

It was Katachi's turn for his head to jerk back.

K : "... I... I- I- I don't know her... I really don't. I just came here for the lessons."

M : "Hoho, well, I'll leave you to your thing. Right now, we're partners."

Mafer grabbed an empty seat and sat next to Katachi.

L : "Alright class, first, I want one of you to form your fingers into a number '7' for both hands, and place them into the shape of the Tetear of Axia, just like this. Be sure to place your mouth over the medicine fingers and the pinkies. Also, make sure your thumbs are stretched to a right angle, or as close to it as possible. Image power will rectify that for us if it's wide enough."

Miss Lea shaped both hands so the thumbs and forefingers extended, and the rest retracted. She then placed the hands together, with the pinky fingers colliding into each other on the side. Positioning her hands onto her face, she demonstrated the actions necessary by extending the middle finger to indicate the lack of contact between the lips and the middle fingers.

Some discussions on who should do it arose between the groups, but soon enough, half the class followed suit.

L : "Next, the student who is not using Axia's Tetear should grab a pencil or a piece of charcoal, and place it between the two forefingers, like this. Once you do that, you can put it back to its original place."

A piece of charcoal floated in the air, and hovered between her forefingers pointed towards the sky.

The students followed suit.

M : "Just hold still now..."

Mafer placed the charcoal between Katachi's forefingers for a bit, and moved it away.

L : "Excellent. Now, the final part. Exhale through your mouth, into the gap between your pinky fingers. It should reveal your magic affinity!"

Katachi gently blew onto his fingers, and words formed between his fingers.

Words made from the dust of charcoal saying "Water (Healing)" formed before his eyes.

Katachi had an affinity for water magic.

Healing water magic.

A gentle magic that could prove to be his boon, or his bane.

M : "You're a healer, huh."

Mafer looked at him, still enthusiastic as before.

M : "You know, healers like you often become the nursing staff in this school. If you can learn to heal super fast, I bet you'd get a solid job in this place."

K : "I'll take my chances. Thanks, Mafer."

Katachi let go of his hands, and the dust before him fell onto the table.

*Cozy's Notes : Basically, that's the medieval age version of a personality test. Considering how magic in the story is frmed, it's pretty logical.*

*** ***

B : "Hey, Baka~"

Katachi ignored the annoying voice that belonged to a woman named Bael.

B : "... Baka?"

K : "I have told you that I refuse to engage in a proper conversation and remain unrelated to anything related to you calling me 'Baka', should you call me by that name."

B : "... You meanie. You're probably my only other form of actual entertainment around this school besides studying medicine and torturing others, and you're denying me of even that? I am heartbroken."

K : "Well, stay heartbroken. It's... ?"

A figure dashed past the corridor. It was fast, and hazy, but it looked like a brown-haired female student. It was strange how someone could even run in these halls controlled by directional magic, but that person must have used image power or something to overcome a simple obstacle like speed limit.

B : "?"

K : "... It's not like I see you romantically in any way or anything."

B : "Meanie."

Bael's eyes turned half-closed.

K : "Sorry to be mini-meanie me then."

B : "Anyway, I heard you entered the Young Magus Tournament."

K : "Yes, I did. What about it?"

B : "You've not even enrolled for 10 days and you want to join the tournament already? Talk about being overconfident."

K : "Judge me as you like it, but I'm going. That's final."

B : "It's useless, you know! You'd probably get wiped out even before the second round!"

K : "I don't mind~!"

Katachi walked into his room, and closed the door. Since it was a zone only males could enter, Bael was naturally barred from entering the room, in a similar fashion that males were barred from the females only zones.

And so Katachi escaped Bael for the day.

K : (I can't have her bothering me while I read... It may be against the curfew, but I guess I will have to go to the library at night.)

Tuesday 11 December 2012

Chapter 6 : A_New_Direction

Katachi dipped the dusty cloth into the bucket, and twisted it hard, forcing the water out of it. With the cloth at a suitable moisture, he continued wiping the chandelier in the main atrium.

B : "This is stupid; Don't you have lessons or anything? Surely you didn't come here to be a janitor or a caretaker?"

At the bottom of the stepladder Katachi was standing on was a blonde girl with her hair tied into four braids and a chest the size of Mount. Gigraceldi, reading a book on catalysts used to improve one's magical efficiency and focus. Leaning on the wall next to the stepladder, she seemed annoyed that the young man atop the stepladder appeared so carefree.

B : "It's been five days! Five days! You've spent EVERY one of those days on cleaning! And of all days, you're cleaning the school on a Sunday! They're not even paying you to clean this place, so how could you even enjoy something like that?!"

Katachi paid no heed to her, and continued cleaning.

B : "I sometimes don't know if, if you're retarded or something! How could ANYONE stand cleaning the school faculty without pay or any form of benefit?!"

K : There is a benefit to cleaning."

The blonde girl named Bael seemed taken aback at his sudden response.

K : "For one thing, cleaning makes the place healthy and habitable. Mother Rin has always emphasized on cleanliness, and it's agreeable. Cleaning helps one to keep in touch with their inner self, devoting oneself to the environment. It's the same as accepting the environment as your personal space, and allows one to train themselves for inner peace. Just as how people would not disturb you for passionately studying your field of magic, your personal space, this act of cleaning is a form of cleansing for both the area around you, and within yourself."

Bael rolled her eyes at the mere mentioning of Mother Rin.

B : (Doesn't this guy give a break or something? For every day I've met him, he's mentioned this name at least once. Who is she, his lover?) "Uh huh. Yeah, sure."

Katachi put extra strength into the cloth to scrape off a resilient stain which looked like it wasn't getting off any time soon.

K : "That's a hidden benefit of cleaning only those who have done it actively would learn of."

B : "I would much rather laze around than waste my energy in cleaning then."

Bael continued reading the last few lines of a healing herb on her book, and flipped a page.

K : "It's also a rather personal thing, but I'll leave it at that... What are you reading?"

Bael looks up at Katachi in interest, finally finding some form of what can be considered casual conversation with him.

B : "It's a book about herbs and the like, about how certain spices and wild plants can be used to enhance the mental state and the body. I'd need every bit of information I can get to preserve the reanimated parts for as long as possible."

K : "Sounds interesting. Does it contain the dangerous, poisonous types of plants?"

B : "Yeah. The book's pretty extensive."

Dipping the cloth into the bucket, Katachi squeezed and twisted it to adjust the water content in the cloth.

K : "Are the plants described within all local, or is it all around?"

B : "This book was made by Irving Daniel, a book-keeper who's lived in Anik. I'm guessing that unless he's a travelling guide or a merchant's tabs keeper, it would most likely contain information about the plants found in Anik. It's quite interesting to know these kinds of things, nonetheless."

Katachi frowned a bit upon hearing Anik.

K : "Are you planning to migrate over there or something?"

B : "No, silly. What I meant was, if Anik is going to have herbalists who are coming over to Yhorfe, that would be wonderful. I could make more unique drugs and medicine that other apothecaries can't copy, and maybe even discover new effects to them."

Katachi nodded slightly in agreement as he continued wiping the glass beads dangling from the chandelier.

K : "I guess, that's an interesting idea to have market-wise."

B : "Yes it is, and I'd rather you spend your time doing something more constructive for your future like this instead of wasting all this time cleaning every spot in school."

Bael retorted with a spiteful accent, but Katachi replies her calmly, as if he had anticipated such a reaction.

K : "My original course ended on the first lesson itself for some reason, and I don't have any lessons in particular until Tuesday. I might as well spend time meditating like this since I have nothing I need to rush."

Bael's eyes widened.

B : (Tuesday? But... He said his lessons were on Wednesday and Thursday!) "Tuesday? But your lessons are on Wednesday and Thursday, aren't they?"

Bael felt like she was left in the dark, as if he had held back some information from her.

K : "Yeah, but I asked Bertund yesterday, and he helped me sign up for an additional course to discover my affinity of magic."

B : "Wait, wasn't what you had on Wednesdays and Thursdays a lesson oriented on your magic affinity?"

It was not normal for a student to attend a magical course when they had no affinity for it. It was like telling a fish that can only swim to spontaneously grow two legs and walk on land. So, what exactly had Katachi attended for only one lesson?

B : "... Did your previous course end on the first lesson because it wasn't a magic you had an affinity with?"

K : "Uh, well, you could say that, and yet you really can't, but... It's a bit hard to explain, but you can consider it like that."

(Katachi's wording it weirdly. He could have just agreed with me, but he didn't, so could that mean the lesson on Wednesday was a type of magic that didn't involve elemental affinity?... A Reincarnate Art?)

B : "Reincarnate art?"

K : "Ahh-aah-aah-aah-aah! Ahh! Ahh!"

Hearing that, Katachi was taken aback slightly, and he gripped onto the chandelier with his free left hand. He had lost his sense of balance, which caused the chandelier to be tugged at quite strongly. Katachi desperately tried to regain his balance, which, fortunately, he did. It was quite a miracle since the chandelier did not seem to fall off the ceiling despite being tugged at by such force.

B : (Hoho, that reaction. Perhaps I'm on the right trail?) "I hit a nail, didn't I?"

K : "... I won't answer that question."

Bael smiled ever so slightly on her face, but her heart was leaping all over the place.

(Haha! That reaction is so cute! He's never talked about the magic he's used before, but I guess I have a rough idea now! He must be using some form of Reincarnate Art!- ...)

Thinking that far, Bael's face stoned into a daze.

(... There are quite a handful of Reincarnate Arts... Which one is he using? Dardicel? Ilpoh? Soltak? Croxa? Most of these Reincarnate Arts don't require any form of prayer or such, which would fit nicely because of his lesson schedule... Arrgh, guessing is a pain... I wish I had more details to work with...!)

B : "Hey, Katachi, which God are you worshipping?"

K : "None."

B : "Come on now, don't be like that! There must be some God or legend you're worshipping!"

K : "Segus."

(Segus? Is he serious?!)

B : "Are you serious!? Segus?! That's not even worth it! He's just a pacifist Legend who can't even fight for himself!"

K : "He's respectable because he loves all life. I pray to him at the church back at home. Mother Rin also says that loving all life is important-"

B : "Enough about Mother Rin, sheesh! Also, you're lying, Katachi. Segus lessons are at noon, to express kindness towards plant life, insects and animals!"

Katachi, finally finished with the chandelier, dropped the cloth into the pail, and carried it down the stepladder made of floating stones and axis magic that locked it in place.

K : "I mentioned that I do indeed worship Segus. However, I said nothing of me attending Segus magic courses. I didn't even know that Segus magic courses existed, had I known I would have chosen it for an additional course over Affinity Discovery."

B : "What?! That's not-"

K : "This conversation is over. I have to clean these up in the back, and you don't want that book to get wet, do you? It's a paper book, and those are expensive."

Katachi gently pushed one of the stones upward, and the entire stepladder floated up. He then placed his hand onto a stone step, and dragged the stepladder through the air, to the back of the school.

B : (Ugh... He's a hard nut to crack, despite being so candid...)

Bael could only pout and frown at Katachi, who was perhaps the only other student in school not to be entranced by her chest.

B : (... That's not fair... He never answered my question.)

*** ***

Event magic.

It is a new type of magic recently coined, which is the most unique, and perhaps the most powerful form of magic in existence. It is a type of magic that forces things to happen.

Eggs that have just been laid can be forced to age until a chick is birthed in a matter of seconds. Ice found on the lakes can be forced to stay frozen even in the heat of summer. One could force a person to utter the truth, against his will. Mountains can be worn down into rubble in an instant, food can stay fresh forever, and people could even become immortal, or take on a bizarre form that allows them to live forever.

Magic related to time, space and the like, previously believed to be the strongest, pale before this type of magic.

That's the classification of the Words of Power - An absolute event magic that would make even the frailest cowards and the weakest beggars triumphant over a king.

(...)

Katachi could not afford having his secret leaked.

If anyone knew of his Word of Power, it would be over. He would be treated as an outcast, and leered at by everyone in school for having such an unfair, ridiculous and powerful magic.

So, until that happens, something must be done about it.

Katachi picked up a flyer resting on the table.

K : (The Sage Raufid Young Magus Tournament... The winner is allowed three prizes, which can be anything that is within the school's power... I have to secure that as soon as possible.)

Katachi picked up a wooden tablet, and placed it on the magic circle attached to his left arm.

The magic circle engraved his name, "Kotsuba Katachi", onto the tablet, and he dropped it into the participation box.

K : (I'll have to get first place in the most subtle way available. I'd have to end every match in the shortest time possible. The longer I stay out of battle, the lower the chances of me being detected is. It's wishful thinking, but I hope I don't have to fight any strong opponents until the final round.)

Friday 7 December 2012

No chapter this week

Sorry for those who've found this mildly interesting (or not), I'm having my tests in a few days. I'd therefore be postponing this week's release to next week's. In return, you'd get a double chapter next week. Look forward to it.

- Cozy and T.W.

Friday 30 November 2012

Chapter 5 : First_Enemy

"... 7am? Who in their right mind wants to attend a lesson at 7am?"

Standing in the fangled corridor was a single teacher, wearing a crisp brown jacket with a white undershirt and a green bowtie, staring at his new schedule. A name carved onto a wooden charm hung out from his chest pocket, with the name "Rekter" on it.

The schedules for students were carved in Dousala wooden screens for easy reference, and the schedules for teachers were placed onto a mist screen. Both of these common objects, however plain they appear, were magically enchanted to update itself regularly. Students would do their homework on the table, which meant they could refer to the screen easily. Teachers could see the mist screen whenever they walked in and out of the 45 degree angled corridors to their rooms. Essentially, it was easy for information to be transmitted since the times for lessons were placed in objects people would usually use or interact with in their daily lives.

But, most lessons did not start as early as 7am. 6am was a time for breakfast, and 6.30am was a time for prayers and piety. Depending on the student and the type of magic they used, as well as the class of belief their magicks were based in, their prayers could vary drastically from a 5 minute silent prayer to a large-scale ritual that would eat up hours. Therefore, lessons usually started at 9am o cater to the students in the normal stream curriculum.

Yet he had lessons with a single student at 7am on both Wednesdays and Thursdays, which clearly broke that tradition.

(You can't be serious... I'll have to consult Bertund about this tomorrow.)

This lesson must be something important enough, or unique enough to be placed away from the sights and ears of others, while the mess halls were filled with students still enjoying their breakfast and devout followers praying to their respective deities.

Rekter pondered over his newly-updated schedule.

(I really don't want to have to wake up this early in the morning just to entertain this. It's for a single student, too... I'm used to not eating breakfast, but with a schedule like that, it's as if they're forcing me to wake up early on these two days.)

Rekter scratched his head rhythmically, formulating a plan of action he's going to take.

(... Or it could be that this particular student has something that others should never learn of. SO it's my turn to take these, huh?... I guess the best idea I can come up with now is to rush this kid's class. If I can make this kid study at the rate of a few lessons at a time, whatever the class is, I'd have more time to myself.)

Rekter's eyelids sunk and his brows furrowed.

(I just hope they don't catch me using .)

With a plan in mind, Rekter headed towards his room and took off his clothes.

Surprisingly, the teachers' rooms appear almost identical to the students', except for the fact that every teacher has their own bathroom. Unlike the students, whom had to share a singular tank of water to bathe with, teachers have access to personal bathrooms with water that can be scented to the teacher's preference. For the most part, hygiene was a main factor, but there were also teachers whose magicks required the usage of medicinal baths to cleanse their bodies properly. Rekter wasn't one of those teachers, but the Selkpine-scented water was a luxury he enjoyed thoroughly.

He grabbed a towel hanging from a rack on the wardrobe, and headed to his bathroom, feeling the bliss of being a teacher in this facility.

*** ***

The clacking of hard leather soles on the floor could be heard from a man wearing a brown jacket and a green bowtie with a white undershirt and a small cup of mead in his hand.

Rekter had wanted to set up the room before the lesson had started, but when he opened the door, he was taken aback.

There was already a boy inside the room.

The boy had brilliant black hair, covering his head thickly. He was wearing the school uniform, and he looked like he was about 11 or 12 years old. Clutching a cloth- Or rather, a makeshift bag in his hands tightly, he looked a little nervous.

Prompting the boy, Rekter spoke.

Re : "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The boy turned his head over to look at Rekter slowly, in a very stiff manner.

K : "I... I'm Ka-... Ka-Katachi. Kotsuba Katachi."

Re : "And what are you doing here?"

The boy quivered a bit, and then replied slowly.

K : "I'm... I'm here for a lesson at 7am, but it's... It's kind of dark in here..."

The boy seemed to be a new student to be unaware that a magic seal had to be drawn on the panel on the wall to activate Soltak's magic. That can mean one thing - He's the student Rekter was assigned to teach, and a new student at that.

Re : "Look over here. You can draw this symbol on this panel to switch the light on, and this one to switch it off."

Rekter switched the mead to his left hand, and demonstrated the actions to the boy. Strangely enough, that boy named Katachi seemed to appear rather stupid, being fascinated by the panel on the wall.

Re : "... Okay. Let me introduce myself. I am Rekter. Rekter Bluo. My specialty is in the Sha'koth legend and magic related to the trickster legend. As you can see, I'm dressed as Yurvik, one of Sha'koth's disguises. I will be your teacher for this class. So, since my schedule doesn't say anything about what I'm supposed to teach you, why don't you introduce yourself as well?"

Teacher schedules did not show the lessons to be held that day with good reason. Knowing nothing about the subject they are to teach, teachers are expected to be prepared for any situation. Even in times of peace, the teachers must always be prepared for the worst situations - That was the basis for the teachers in the Sage Raufid Magus Academy.

The boy seemed to look away for a little bit, and then spoke unconfidently.

K : "I... I am Kotsuba Katachi, and I'm 10 this... This... This year. I, I came to Sage Raufid's to... To... Learn more about the... The 'Curse Words'..."

Rekter's face paled.

Re : "... Did you just say 'Curse Words'?"

The boy nodded very slightly in agreement.

Re : (... Unbelievable. A boy his age actually knows the true name of the Words of Power... )

Rekter gulped his mead down and put the cup aside.

Re : (Damn it... Teaching a Word of Power is as good as suicide. Don't they know that?) "... Okay. But, before we begin our lessons, I would like to scope out how much you already know, then we can work from there. Is that alright?"

K : "O... Okay..."

Re : (At least he seems to lack confidence. I should be careful, though. If he truly knows the Words of Power and he's just feigning his stupidity, then this will turn out really unpleasant.)

K : "Uhm... To- To start with, the Words of Power are originally called 'Curse Words'. But... But during the hunt, the name sounded too... too- too ominous, so they changed the name to one more suitable. But its true name is a Curse Word, but, but-but-but knowing it in... In the mind is enough. Knowing it is called the Curse Words is enough for it to activate its true potential and heighten its precedence levels. And... And also, the name was ominous on purpose so the people would... Would change its name deliberately, weakening it on purpose..."

The boy trailed off, looking down so much his head was literally danging by his neck.

Rekter stared at the boy, in astonishment.

Re : (To even know the term 'precedence levels'... This is no simple kid 'just learning' about the Words of Power. He could potentially be as powerful, if not more powerful than I am.)

Re : "Where did you learn of this, boy?"

K : "There... There is a library at the church near... near my house, I often hid there and took it as a secret spot. I stumbled upon the bamboo book by pure accident, honest! But then... But then, there was this yellow glow inside the book, and the next thing I knew, this... This thing, was inside me..."

Re : (... Seriously?...)

Rekter began thinking hard. Very hard.

K : "Uhm... Mister Rekter?"

Re : (This boy found a Word of Power inside a bamboo book...? Then, whoever was reading the book probably had that Word of Power on him before he was killed, and the Word of Power must have slipped into the book. Then... The problem is, where and when was this person killed? Why had nobody taken the Word of Power inside the book? Was he killed with the intent to take his word, or by other means? How did this boy stumble upon the book?)

Rekter thought hard and hard on the subject, furrowing his brows.

Re : (Had the bamboo book always laid there on some crate or the floor, just waiting for someone to pick it up? Was that library never used again because a person actually died in a church's library?... But, what if he's lying? What if this kid knows exactly what he's doing, and he's trying to eke out my sympathy?... No, no. That can't be. His actions are quite shy and his hands are unstable, which means he's passive by nature. There's no way he's actually that evil to have murdered the actual owner of the Word of Power, and claimed it for his own.)

K : "... Mister Rekter...?"

Re : "... Ahh, I'm fine, I'm fine. So, you learnt quite a lot about the Words of Power already, huh."

The boy sheepishly nodded.

Re : "Well then, let's try something more practical. I want you to use that Word of Power on my cup over there. I'm going to try and understand how much you know about this magic in a practical."

The boy silently nodded, and looked over at the cup.

The words 固 formed on the cup, and the 固 slowly faded away.

Re : (?... So that's his character. Good. This is a good chance for me to scope out his abilities! 溶! Dissolve object - Cup!)

A faint whisper echoed in the back of Rekter's head, and the words 溶解 formed on top of the cup as well.

Both words faded off at the same time, in less than a second.

Re : (What!?!... His precedence level... Is equal to my own!?)

Rekter stared at the boy, with a dumbfounded look printed upon his face.

*** ***

K : (He didn't seem to notice it. That's good.)

Katachi waved the teacher goodbye.

The teacher had apparently been shocked at a student he had met for the first day actually parring with him on the subject he was taking. With a few breathless gasps, he dismissed the one-student class, and said, "You already know more than enough... You don't need to attend any of these lessons anymore... You pass with flying colors. Easy as that." With a determined frown on his face, he left the classroom.

That teacher didn't seem to notice the little trick Katachi pulled.

And yet, with the only subject of the day, the week, and the rest of the semester aborted, he had free time to spare. It was only 7.14am.

There's plenty of time to spend.

K : "Now then... I guess I should start by tidying the place a little bit."

Katachi grabbed a tiny little duster, and found a stepladder in a nearby closet. With only one thought in mind, he walked onward in the magically enchanted halls.

K : (I want to wipe the dust off and clean those chandeliers in the atrium.)

Friday 23 November 2012

Hello! Cozy here! :D


To the people who have read thus far - Hello! I'm Cozy T. W. but you can (CALLMECOZY) :D 神風 :D

I like this part of the WoP Quest universe. I can say I find it most unique, compared to when I've read those light novels which are like, all the rage in my life right now :D

In a recent light novel I've read, Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance, there's only a girls' dormitory, and the poor protagonist has to *bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep* and so, I feel sad for the poor protagonist. That's because only *bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep* and so the protagonist naturally did not have *bleeeeeeeep* to go to.

In many series I've read, the boys and girls have to live seperately. "So long as they're not given the chance to commit the crime, they'd be safe." That's the basis those authors worked under, so logic and sense had to be incorporated into their stories, where the hormones of those teenagers rage around in a swirling storm. To be honest, I never liked that. It's like nobody ever thought of solving the problem any other way.

In WoP Quest, though, inside the Sage Raufid Magus Academy, there is a special directional magic in the hallways. That means you don't need to remember where the locations are - So long as you think about that location, the magic will guide your body there naturally.

Guys and girls don't need to sleep in different dormitories. Normal movement is impossible in the first place. Wanting to go to the "area behind you" sets your body to spin in a really funny way. Guys can't just "stand right here and peek through the window", because guys will naturally be guided off those kinds of areas.

It's like, a rubber ball bouncing on the floor, never actually entering the floor. Go there, forced to come back. Go there, forced to come back again. There's no way for them to peep. Therefore, it can defy the natural need for guys and girls to live in seperate dorms. :D

Of course, the Sage Raufid Magus Academy is only one small part of the story. It's where the journey begins, so... Yeah. :D

Look forward to the next instalment. :D It would be the start of the opening arc, where he actually starts school. Well, not like he's *bleeeeeeeep*. :3

Cozy T.W. Signing off.

Chapter 4 : A_Most_Strange_Stranger

K : "... Is that... A house for the gardener?"

Katachi had stumbled upon a small house made from stone. It had been a mere 3-minute walk from where that trap was set up, but before him was a rather exquisitely-built house. Plain and simple - Those words defined the hut perfectly. With a window at the front and the side, and a small, wooden door affixed into the granite walls, it was so basic it would have been regarded as "common", and "stereotypical".

That was not enough to deter Katachi's sense of adventure.

Pushing the door open gently, he peeked into the tiny hut.

The whole room could be described in one word - Messy. The cream ceiling and orange wall, the milk carpet and pumpkin furniture would have given off a homely feeling, had the entire place not been littered with occult objects, test tubes and vials, magic circles, a fridge with too many wooden tablets hung onto it, and to his left, a study desk with a board made to allow nails to be driven into it, to secure papers onto it.

K : (Wow! This... This is a gardener's house?)

He took a few more steps into the bizarre house, admiring its unusual interior, and had almost forgotten that he was trespassing.

K : (There's so many things...! A magic circuit used for coherence, a weird circle with webbings at the center, a sword hung on the wall, a portrait of a certain Sir Phlegmius with a huge knight's sword engraved with a serpent eating a fish on the blade, a weird 3-orb gadget with a handle, a model of Pierre's Dice, there's so many things to look at, I don't even know where to begin!)

Katachi was so absorbed that he failed to notice the groceries dropping onto the floor at the doorway.

"H-HAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

(!) Katachi turned around, to meet a girl slightly taller than him, with blonde hair tied into four braids, and a bust size of Mount. Gigraceldi, donning the school's uniform.

"Who- Who are you!?"

It appears that this lady was the owner, if not a mere resident of the hut.

K : (She's the gardener!? But... That can't be right, she's wearing the same uniform as those girls inside that classroom. Maybe she's a caretaker or student of some sort? Had she been punished to stay in this place, away from everyone else? Or had she willingly chosen to stay here?)

K : "I'm... I'm Katachi, I'm a new student of Sage Raufid's. My- My lesson was supposed to start tomorrow or the day after, so I just- I just... I..."

Katachi was shocked.

All his life, he had thought that Mother Rin's chest size had been the biggest he had ever seen. Mother Rin had said that a girl's chest is sensitive, and so only people they trust and permit the perusal are entitled to touching them, and that one should not indulge in the sin of lust. Having gone through such a limited education, he had come to believe that Mother Rin's chests were the biggest in existence.

K : (What in the- Those are HUGE! They don't fit her body size at all! Not even Mother Rin's were this big!... If they could come in THIS size, I wonder how big they can actually become...)

"You what?"

Katachi snapped back to consciousness. The girl before him was staring at him, seething with rage that he was staring at her chest.

K : "I... I. I just. Wandered around. T- Trap sprung. Al- Almost got killed... Found the hut, en- en- en- entered here. W- w- wasn't thinking. Cool- Cool stuff. You there. Exit... blocked..."

Since young, Katachi had lacked social interactions with the children of Mielfeud, being the ostracized bastard child and all. To be able to talk to a girl face-to-face gave rise to an uncomfortable feeling within him, even when they were 4 meters away from each other.

The fact that he was still stammering, and not frozen on the spot completely like a block of ice, was already pretty remarkable.

"Pfft! What's with you? There's no need to be this tense, it's not like I'm going- ... !"

The girl was scornfully mocking his erratic speech just a second before, but her face changed into a serious frown as she replayed his words in her head.

"... You sprang the trap?"

K : "Y-yes, I uh... I did. I touched that uh, wire thing, and these shards flew towards me."

The girl's eyes widened, and her jaw drooped in disbelief.

"... Impossible...! Those shards were infused with Vithrolu's decay magic! Your body was supposed to rot at the parts struck, and you should have no control over your rotting body!"

K : (Wha-...!!! I knew the trap wasn't that simple! It WAS a right choice protecting myself after all!) "That's really disturbing! A trap that rots bodies and kills people?! Who are you anyway!?"

The shock incited his natural instincts to defend himself.

K : (If I'm really going to die here, I'm not going down without a fight!)

Katachi bent his legs a little and bent his back, lowering his center of gravity. Should there be a surprise attack just like before, he would have to be ready to intercept every one of them.

*** ***

(This boy barged into my house, and now he wants to fight me... ? He doesn't seem to know who I am, though. I guess I can try to calm him down for now, until I figure out who exactly he is.)

B : "Me? I'm Bael. I'm an animationist, or, well, a reanimator if you rather that. I live here because my room mates often complain about a rotting smell coming from me, but I can't help it if I want to be proficient in my magic."

The boy wore a dumb look on his face.

K : "... You're not going to fight me?"

B : "You're in my house. If anything, I should be the one initiating the fight against a stranger like you, not the other way round."

The boy lowered his arms, and blushed at the apparent situation. He seems to have noticed that he was the one intruding, and should therefore expect to be attacked. To have let his guard down for even a slight second showed how his long his road to maturity and battle awareness was.

B : (C... Cute!..)

Bael started constructing very, very twisted thoughts in her brain.

B : (He's so... So stupid, so pure! He's like a clay doll that is still moist! Mmhmm, I want to mold him into a shape that suits me!)

Her face started to twist into a very wide, sinister smile. The boy must have noticed that because he took a few steps back in horror, when he had noticed the shifting eyebrows and lips on Bael's face.

B : "Hey, boy. What's your name?"

The boy retracted his neck further and further.

K : "... You're... not going to use my name for some voodoo spell, or anything weird, are you?"

B : "Fufufuu. I'm an animationist, not a hexer. I can't curse you even if I had your name."

The boy had finally let his guard down. Reaching out his hand slowly for a handshake, he muttered softly.

K : "... Then... Katachi. Kotsuba Katachi."

B : (... Kotsuba? That's... familiar. The structure suggests that he might have come from the far East, or maybe his parents did. Ohde, maybe?) "... Nice to meet you, Kotsuba-Katachi."

She had uttered his name in an unusually-afst fashion. Katachi's face had curled into an irritated frown upon hearing that.

K : "... You know what, just call me Katachi. I would rather you just call my name if you're not going to pause between my name and surname."

B : (His name... ! Wait, his name! I know it means something funny in Ohdean! I don't know what, but I've heard of it before!)

Bael's head brewed with a nasty idea.

B : "I have a better idea. I'll just call you 'Baka'."

K : "... Please don't call me by this name when others are around."

Bael is going to love teasing the daylights out of him.

*** ***

Katachi walked out of Cosmatral Neud and rested onto a bench right outside an archway that led to the halls. His cloth was well patched up, with a small hankerchief dyed the same color as the cloth, and some very fine stitching.

K : (What a difficult woman.)

After mocking his name for a good 10 minutes, the huge-breasted female named Bael proceeded to pour some tea for him, and they chatted for around 5 hours, with her talking excitedly about the school's history and facilities. The only thing he could have done was to tolerate and wait until her mouth ran dry, which was a bad idea in any case.

She had animated her teapots to refill her cup on an automatic basis, so even before a quarter of the way through Katachi had dozed off. The cloth on him being repaired was probably the only thing Katachi was thankful for after visiting the house, apart from the view of the interior.

Having entered the garden at around noon, he was quite shocked to realize that the sun was almost halfway down.

K : (Haa... I'll have to head back to my room. Where is it...? Oh, wait. The halls are filled with that funny magic that takes you where you want to go.)

Stepping through the archway into the inside of the school, he felt the directional magic controlling his limbs oppressively. Katachi had headed left, but the magic forced his body to turn around, and walk to his right. That would have been an uncomfortable feeling, but thankfully it was short-lived. Had one suffered that effect for long periods, one would most likely puke from dizziness.

K : (So, from the garden to my room, I would have to take a right, then a left, up the stairs, walk along the handles of the stairs, and loop over it, walk down the corridor, take a sharp right, the third room to the right. Huh. I'm not that far from my room. That might be good news.)

Entering his room, he saw a plain, classic room, with a bed and a rack with some clean uniforms already prepared, and a small, plain desk. The only odd thing about the room was that the rack had been deliberately placed above the bed, so if he had got up while in bed Katachi's head will definitely collide with the rack painfully.

On the table was a wooden tablet with his study schedule on it.

K : (... I only have classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so I guess the lesson plan is rather relaxed. I wonder if the students around have a schedule like this as well.)

Placing his sling cloth onto the table gently, Katachi walked out of his room, and only had one thought in mind.

K : (I want to bathe.)

The magic made his body turn to the left, and he started marching towards the boys' bathroom.

Friday 16 November 2012

Chapter 3 : Hated_Fated_Encounter

The wooden-soled shoes clacked noisily on the hallway.

In normal cases, where most students would have come from Bellpot or other large cities, their shoes would have been fresh-smelling, nicely polished, comfortable leather shoes, a gift from their parents.

Katachi had no such luxury to get such expensive shoes, having grown up with Mother Rinnesfeld whom believed that Nature has much to offer those who worked hard. It was quite unthinkable from a child's perspective to get such shoddy soles to wear to a prestigious, sacred land such as the Sage Raufid Magus Academy.

Of course, physical vanity and the like weren't problems for neither Mother Rinnesfeld nor Katachi; They had used Mother Nature sparingly and expressed their gratitude whenever they did. It had become a commodity to silently thank Segus and Mother Nature for anything and everything. It appeared too good to be true in the eyes of others, but non-believers can only doubt their faith for as long as they have not experienced it themselves.

Regardless to say, everyone in the vicinity 20 meters away from where Katachi was heard the noisy wooden soles plopping and clacking, disturbing the lessons that were going on and the peace of the general area.

K : (That green man they call 'Principal' seems to be right... The people who are walking here all have their heads fixed to their front as they walk. Wandering around without the slightest clue to this place, without a destination is the solution to overriding this magic in the day... It doesn't stay the same at night, does it? Did they put some sort of rune to determine when the magic needs to switch in phase? If so, how do they set that? The bamboo books never mentioned how to set them up...)

Three girls excitedly chatting to each other noticed the wooden plopping getting louder and clearer, and stopped to stare outside their class, at a completely clueless Katachi.

"Who is he?"
"Ugh, he looks so filthy!"
"Is he a new student?"
"Why is he wearing those shoes?"
"Look at how worn-out his clothes are!"

Instantly, his distinctive differences were picked on.

Students who went to the Sage Raufid Magus Academy often came from rich and poor families alike, but with a single glance into the classroom, Katachi roughly understood the situation.

There was a rather large group of those rich children who were talking to each other in a prideful manner, flaunting their riches and such before the others. It was obvious because their uniforms were hemmed with gold and silver, their bags were of a high-quality shiny leather that reflected the sun's rays, similar to their shoes, and they stood with their chests puffed out and arms crossed, trying their best to impress the others in the group with their parents' wealth and influence. Among the 5 who stood, one was a female who even boasted about her chest.

There was another group who had normal uniforms, classic cloth knapsacks and were generally doing their own things - Reading the books they had, twiddling their thumbs, or discussing something about Fey lines which Katachi presumed was a subject or chapter they had to study on. These people who were grouped like so were obviously those of a lower status, or class, whom have probably ended up in that class by scoring roughly the same as those rich people. With that single image, one conclusion had been derived.

K : (It appears that the classes in this place are formed and based on magic compatibility instead of status, hierarchy and ranking, centralising the good and improving the quality of the magically adept by giving them reliable, relevant competitiveness amongst their classmates. It's still too soon to judge, though, so I'll just keep that as a possibility.)

Not minding the onlookers who were now focused on the clear, resonant noise outside the door, Katachi continued walking.

*** ***

Katachi walked into a huge, wonderful-looking garden without noticing.

The entire school and its structure was just absolutely bewitching, to the point where remembering every detail would need one to use those very halls repeatedly. Since turning around to look behind would set the 'destination' behind him, it would just continuously force his body to twist to his left repeatedly and pace back and forth a 2-tile wide area, forcibly making Katachi look like he's dancing to an awkward tune unheard by the other students.

It wasn't a good thing either since he was making even more noise with his already-distracting wooden shoes. Having experienced that once, it was safe to say that turning to look backwards was by no means a good idea under the influence of that magic.

K : (It seems as though that magic itself is flawed in its own way as well... Ugh. I feel like throwing up...)

Leaning against a tree to catch his breath, Katachi soon found himself in a garden, without any clue on how he got here.

It was a beautiful sight.

The pavilion to his left was covered in a lot of vines, showing the neglect it had suffered. Though it had creeper plants all over the pillars and roof, it was perfectly clean in the center, if someone would put effort into dusting. Perhaps the seat area had been enchanted or made with a certain life-rejecting material, the pavilion was full of nature and yet the center was devoid of life. To his right-

K : (... ? What is that?)

-was a strange wire, attached to a very small, well-camouflaged magic circle on one end and one of the pavilion's pillar on the other.

K : (Why is there a line here? I have never seen spiders form their webs like that. No, the line is too thick, that's most likely not from a spider. What is this doing here?)

Out of curiosity, he tapped on the wire, expecting the line to be stuck on his finger.

The instant he had touched the wire, however-

K : "Wha!?"

-it burned out into an ethereal realm with a purple tracer, leaving nothing behind. The magic circle connected to one end of it glowed a sinister red, and a few pieces of tiny bits of what seemed to be fingernails, dead bugs, a beak of a crow snapped off and the like, floated in mid-air.

All of the tiny pieces were rather pointed, and were all primed towards Katachi.

K : (Is this... a trap?!)

Within a second of them floating and stabilizing in midair, they all flew towards Katachi in a menacing, merciless omni-directional pincer attack.

In that swift instant, the only thing one could do was think. It was a trap made deliberately to assault an opponent without giving them the chance to react. One could not dodge, or cast a spell to surround themselves with Earth to shield themselves, or anything else for that matter.

But for the black-haired boy, thinking was more than enough.

K : (恒Constant status - Self!)

A coarse, dry whisper exhaled out the words out in the back of his head. Two words formed on Katachi's body faster than an instant.

One of the words, , was radiating with a golden glow. It was placed directly on his stomach region above the shirt, which would have made the cast word seem obvious. The other word, 恒, had a very faint, smoky, grey outline, resembling a word made from a cloud. It was formed the same time as the character  but it soon proved to be completely unstable, as it had already started dissipating the very moment it was formed.

The tiny shards flew towards his body, landing onto his skin.

The small dart objects had cleanly landed onto him, and roughly 19 clicks could be heard within that moment. However, "landing" on him seemed to be the only thing it did. The objects were fairly small, and did not seem to carry any power in itself. Even if Katachi had not used the Word of Power as a shield, he would have probably lived through the trap.

That was only true if these tiny shards did not possess any secrets; For example, had they been coated with poison, or some sort of burning magic, then using the Word of Power to protect himself was truly a right choice. It could have been worth gambling the fact that it did not have secrets, and he could have taken the attack head-on, but Katachi chose not to take the risk since there was no benefit to that at all.

K : (... Had I been late, I might have died. They may be small, but the speed they were flying at was not to be laughed at. That was a speed meant to maim, not as a harmless prank like those boys who used to dump buckets on me.)

Katachi brushed the small objects off of his body, but he's not out of danger yet.

K : (...! Oh no! Fade off, fade off, quickly!!)

The word faded off his torso in slightly more than half a second. Glancing around, Katachi tried his best to locate anyone who could have seen him. With only the cries of crickets and cicadas filling the area, Katachi heaved a sigh of relief.

The word faded off pretty quickly, but that was still dangerous - Had anybody seen that obvious, distinct Word of Power, he would have been busted on the very day he enrolled. That was something he would, with all of his power, avoid at any cost.

Thanking the Gods for his safety and luck, he continued walking through the garden.

*** ***

The "garden" was considered an important piece of history within the Sage Raufid Magus Academy.

It was a special place of many flora and fauna, isolated into a plane known as Cosmatral Neud. Its only active entrance and exit was the center of the academy itself. Sage Raufid wanted to preserve as much life as possible during the warring days, so he had invested a large amount of gold and magic to make Cosmatral Neud possible. Unfortunately, since it acted only on a natural plane, the Path-finding magic did not work in Cosmatral Neud. Therefore, the automatic lead-you-to-your-destination magic was absent in the garden. This also meant that the place was a frequent hiding spot for students.

Katachi's presence there could have a drastic effect on the living things there.

Of course, so long as he did not enter the place with the intent to destroy everything, he was always welcome into Cosmatral Neud. His Word of Power was not something any force of nature could handle, for it did not originate from nature, beliefs nor legends, unlike most forms of magic.

The green-suited man reached his left hand into his slimy hat, and scratched the center of his head. The slime wriggled excitedly as a familiar foreign object entered it and tickled it up from the inside.

Y : "Do you really think it's safe for him to be there, Bertund?"

Yorn spoke with a low baritone and an irritated face.

The principal took his hand out from his slime hat, and interlocked his fingers together.

B : "Oh, it's perfectly safe for him to be there, Yorn. He can storm through the entire garden and Bael's traps like a walk in the park. I'm actually more concerned about the animals there reacting unfavorably."

Bertund did not seem concerned in the least.

Y : "He had just enrolled today! Surely your expectations in this child are too high?!"

Hearing that, Bertund gave a low, sinister chuckle.

B : "You worry too much, Yorn. Are you really that foolish to think that all the magic in the world work on the same dimensions? Or have you forgotten how powerful the Words of Power really are, even individually?"

Yorn's face twisted into a deep frown, unhappy at the fact that he was called foolish. But, as a subordinate, he could only suck it up and tolerate the tactlessness the principal exuded.

B : "Well, you'll see in due time, Yorn. I'm excited to see how things will turn out."

Y : "What do you-..."

Yorn stopped, noticing what he meant.

B : "... Indeed. He is dangerously close to Bael's house. Let's see what will become of this, shall we?"

Sunday 11 November 2012

Chapter 2 : Peculiar_Principal_Greenlover.

Before the young 10 year old was a huge facility that gave off a castle-like feel.

It was a plot of land given to an aristocrat and a great sorcerer, by the name of Sage Raufid. According to the bamboo books inside the library, Sage Raufid wept at the potential magi dying because of the tides of war. To have built an entire academy to service the public and fish out the potential magi of the world, this place had been worshiped as a sacred ground to the figures of the world.

He wasn't used to such a classy sight. With hesitation, Katachi entered the building.

Setting foot into the grandeur hall, his eyes locked onto the first thing he saw - The great interior of the academy.

The elegant, strange design of the place appalled him. The chandeliers were shaped irregularly, and some even had magic seals on them. The pillars were not straight ones that normal people used to support buildings, and they swirled and spun in such weird fashions it seemed as if the building was the one supporting them. An orange rug was laid out in the center, almost as if saying "Right this way, guest of honor."

At a small corner of the eloquent view, was a familiar existence that ruined the entire flavor of that wonder.

"Hah. I didn't think the orphan would be allowed to attend this school."

... He remembered that voice.

There were three people in Mielfeud that constantly picked on him.

The first was Juval, a big brute who was the raw strength of the three. He would grab Katachi by his ragged cloth shirt and drag him to a dark alley. He had been here at this academy once, only to be sent back to Mielfeud as a laborman because he wasn't adept at magic.

The next was Zirco, the scheming brains of the group. He wasn't necessarily bad, but his mouth spewed forth the lies and slander that garnered the spite of others. He had probably been here at the Sage Raufid Magus Academy for about a year now, since he was two years younger than Juval.

And the one before him was the savage one in the group who would hurt him physically and mentally.

K : "Hello again, Dante."

D : "You scum! Don't talk to me in such a friend-like manner! You're just a bastard child unwanted by your parents!"

Clenching his fist hard, Katachi took a few short breaths to calm down, before relaxing his grip.

K : "I have no reason to take your humiliation here. I'll be off."

D : "Hah! Are you a coward?"

Katachi remembered Mother Rin's words in his heart - They were still immature, so their acts differ little from those of a fool's. He saw no reason to be dragged into his pace. With that preceding his baseless insults, Katachi walked up the steps, towards the second level.

D : "You'll never be able to use magic. You'll be sent back to Mielfeud and live the rest of your days as a lame, dirt poor priest! You'll always be a coward who's all talk and no action! GET BACK HERE WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU, DAMN IT!!"

"SHUT UP!!!"

It seemed as though an adult, most probably a teacher in the academy felt disturbed by Dante's actions, and was now scolding him. The teacher placed some sort of seal on the magic circle at the top of his arm, most likely for misconduct.

K : (... This is new... The adults actually stood up for me.)

He had never received such treatment from another, not even once. To the child, it was a shock that he was protected by someone else, and even cared for.

Silently thanking the timely intervention, Katachi continued on his way along the orange rug.

*** ***

"... Welcome, new student. You are?"

Before him was a strange man indeed.

He wore a crisp green fancy uniform, with a white undershirt and a red colored tie. He had a really peculiar sun hat that seemed to be made out of a strange green jelly-like material shaped into a top hat.

From what he could remember, beings like that were called Slimes. Soft, brainless and resilient towards physical trauma, it was often a suitable enemy to train against. Why the man before him was wearing one as a hat, though, baffled Katachi.

But it fascinated him. Such a strange creature, told of only in the books of old in a time where monsters existed, sitting there quietly before him in its own little world...

And yet, the terrors it could induce. It was best to leave it be.

K : "I'm Katachi. Kotsuba Katachi. I... turned 10 just a week ago."

*Cozy's Notes : Discrepancy alert - He believes that he's 10, but he's not.*

B : "Ahh, a new student, aren't you?"

In his hand was a strangely-shaped snack that resembled a lizard that had been roasted over a flame of sorts, eaten out from its belly.

K : "... Is that... A newt on a stick?"

B : "My, how observant. Most students here don't even know what a newt is."

Licking his lips, he took another bite off the area at the abdomen, and the entire right leg of the newt snapped off easily. It made a squishy, chewy sound within his mouth, which gave Katachi a good number of goosebumps.

B : "Your astuteness will definitely help you in becoming someone great one day. Right then, your perceptual ability aside, let's see some magic, young boy. Do you have anything to show me?"

K : "I... I do."

Hearing Katachi stammer was not something people heard often. On the other hand, as he was constantly oppressed since he was young, Katachi probably didn't have much social interaction with people except Mother Rin. It was understandable how he was nervous speaking to others.

K : "But... Could you get the teacher standing there to go outside first, please?"

Katachi was indeed nervous.

Most students, upon meeting a stranger, would be nervous if they performed poorly on a first impression.

However, Katachi was nervous for a completely different reason.

B : "Feeling pressured from eyes watching you? Very well then. Take your leave, Yorn. Let me handle this first."

He had hoped the principal before him would keep the secret.

With a grunt, the huge teacher with a really large upper torso left the room through the wooden doors.

B : "Right then, let's see what you can do, boy."

Katachi's hands felt cold.

He extended a finger, and approached the desk with it.

(Should I do it...? Should I not do it... ? He's suspicious, but he seems pretty broad-minded seeing how he just readily accepts me being observant. It's... It's a gamble. Okay. Here goes...)

Pointing at the desk, a glowing, golden character was formed on it. A small amount of smoke appeared from the book right next to the character.

It was a most peculiar symbol - .

*** ***

B : "I have to say, that was a marvelous display, Mister Kotsuba.Usinge it at the age of ten is wondrous indeed. That kind of power can get you into the best class easily; In fact, you might not even stay in this school for long if you keep growing at this rate."

Katachi was kind of happy at being called a "mister", but it was no time to be elated.

K : "I don't want a best class, actually. I want a curriculum that can maximize my own potentials my way."

He had uttered it with flawless replication of Mother Rin's words - "The best is a standard set by the one who has achieved it. I would want something to be set for me, not by some person who didn't even know me."

Nodding in agreement, the principal's eyes squinted a little bit.

B : "Interesting. You truly are interesting, Mister Kotsuba. Most children would blindly go for the 'best class' because it offers the greatest diversity in finding their own affinities in magic, but it seems you have your heart set on what you already have, no?"

K : "Never doubt it."

Katachi felt kind of glad to be around the principal - He was surprisingly comfortable to talk to, despite dressing in such an awkward manner.

B : "I like that positive response. Very well. Here is a magic circle indicating your official registration into our school."

Snapping a glove snugly over his left hand, he placed his palm on the top of Katachi's arm. A slight, burning sensation was felt, and a circle was tattooed onto his skin.

B : "I have to say, I really love students that wear clothes as ragged as these. It may be a bit chilly in the long run, but that beats having to roll up your sleeves to place these magic circles."

Staring at the magic circle closely, Katachi raised his left arm a little bit to get a better look at the newly-added seal.

B : "Don't worry. That seal identifies you as an Academy student. It wears off when you leave this area, and vice versa."

Hearing that, he relaxed his left arm.

B : "In any case, welcome, to the Sage Raufid Magus Academy! I'm your principal and the descendant of Raufid, Bertund. There is path finding magic all over the corridors and walls, so you just need to close your eyes, think of your destination and walk forward naturally. The magic will guide you directly, so there's no need to be afraid of getting lost."

Bertund wagged his fingers around, as a gesture to represent the magic's assumed omnipresence.

B : "The path determination magic is unlocked only during breaks and is fixed at night, which means even if you try to sneak out during curfew, you'd be naturally redirected back to your room. Enjoy your stay here, Mister Kotsuba. I'll be heading back to work now. If you need anything, just form my image in your head and you will know how to get to me."

K : "Okay."

B : "One last thing - Take it easy just for today, and wander about the school, enjoy the scenery, remember the places if you have to. Walking and admiring without thinking of where you want to go is the secret to countering this magic. Your first lesson is scheduled to start in two days. Enjoy yourself until then."

With a wave, he invited Yorn back into the room, and closed the wooden door with a gentle click.