Explain yourself, Cozy!

I've received feedback on how I could elaborate on the parts where Katachi uses his Word of Power, 定, to people who did not understand Chinese. I've also got feedback to explain on how the Words of Power are supposed to work.

My answer : I really can't.

I mean, I could if I wanted to, but that's... That's a bit early for me to explain. Also, that's actually related to the lore of the story extensively. If I say too much, then I'd be throwing out spoilers. If I don't say enough, then you still won't understand.

Hoo boy. Here comes the balancing game where I, Cozy, with my friend and assistant T.W. do our best to explain this bit.

Okay, see here - The Words of Power are in Chinese.

In Chinese, a word can have many, many different meanings.

Let's take one of the Chinese words for example. (I'm not using this example for the Word of Power, so yeah, it's not really spoilers).

傲.

This character, 傲, by itself means "proud". When used in a term 骄傲, it also means "proud".

However, this word, 傲, can be used differently.

傲慢 is an example of it. 傲慢 means "arrogant". I know how people who purely read the dictionary without actually learning Chinese would say "Hey Cozy, arrogant and proud are the same!"

Well, not... exactly. To understand the Words of Power, you need to understand Chinese.

In Chinese, 骄傲 can actually be interpreted as a positive term. "我为你感到骄傲!" can be read as "I'm so proud of you!", which is actually a good thing.

傲慢, however, is a purely negative term, because it refers to a person being prideful.

So, let's say, for example, Katachi uses 傲慢 on a person, to make his personality warped and extremely arrogant. That person will be arrogant and haughty, in a negative way. However, if he chooses to use 骄傲, that person will be proud and vain, but depending on the person's mood and belief itself, can either tilt the person towards a good, or a bad kind of 'proud'.

Also, in English, we have 3 terms to describe intensity. That would be good, better, best. Bad, worse, worst.

In Chinese... Well, it can actually go up to 5 terms to describe intensity for some words. Just know that much for now.

Most words, for example, 定, can actually be used alone without adding excessive cloud words. Alone, most words already have a meaning, so they can be used raw, like how Katachi used this word on Bertund's desk as a demonstration.

The only problem is, that words like that are rarely, if at all, useful. Words like that either have a rubbish meaning, have an awkward meaning, or just have a meaning that can only be utilized under specific circumstances.

The meaning of the word is applied onto the object the word is currently on. There is no actual set area of effect, nor is there a limit on how long it can be sustained there. That's why it's really overpowered - But not impossible to defeat.

If, for example, 藏 had been left alone on the ground, the 藏 might have a tiny area of effect, like the radius of a tiny pebble. It could be that, or it could be something gigantic like the scale of a whole city. That would mean the entire city would vanish without a trace the moment the word activates. Quite an amazing feat, actually, but nobody would appreciate it because it's considered an uncontrolled force of nature when it's not picked up / absorbed by anyone.

That meant it was either completely useless or it was a harbinger of destruction they had to locate quickly before things go awry. It's not impossible, but it is rare for there to be circumstances where the words produce a positive effect. A word that's not picked up either does nothing, or causes a distortion in nature. The Words of Power are, after all, made in a way that they disrupt nature.

If you would ask me to clarify myself, think of it as something similar to a recent game, Scribblenauts.

That game allows you to create objects by typing the word associated with the object. However, you can also add adjectives onto the object to make it unique (e.g. making a lobster "cooked"). The Words of Power essentially works under the same principle, but think of it as playing that game with a keyboard missing some of its keys.

You may want to make something "magical", but you need m, a, g, i, c, and l to make the word. Problem is, your Word of Power only provides characters like b, e, k, l, t, and y. You can only form words of specific meaning, like 'yell', 'belt', and such, but you can't make 'magical' because you are lacking m, a, g, i and c.

That's essentially it. Any meaning that the word cannot make out cannot be created by the word. The reverse is true as well, though - Any meaning the word CAN invoke is able to be created.

Chapter 13.5 : Omen_to_Leave

She, alone, held the title of "Princess".

She, alone, stood before the masses of people, under her father's gaze and guidance.

King Matalpalhallafaelladrapahamo's daughter.

Matalpalhallafaelladrapahamo Roberia.

She hated that name a lot. She hated it with a passion.

For one, it was troublesome to pronounce. She had seen many people stutter while declaring the king's name, or give up pronouncing the name after a certain point. Yet, because it was 'a unique name no one else ought to have', it had been continued as a heritage to royalty. Even if she hated it, she could not change it, for it was tradition.

For another, it was a name that never gave her peace.

Roberia, being a young lady and the only princess, did not live a normal life of extravagance other princesses had.

Where they had an unrestricted and undefined wake-up time, Roberia was forced awake to train with her father and the knights at 5.30am in the morning, before the sun rose.

Where the other princesses had the time and luxury to enjoy the best confectionery during tea-time at 3pm, she was often hunting for animals in the bright afternoon, to mold her hunter's instinct.

At night, the princesses might have a curfew, where they could not stay up later than a certain time. Roberia had been assigned to hunt not animals, but criminals at night, watching and ambushing anyone foolish enough to attempt crime in Rugnud.

She had slightly less than 2 hours of sleep every single day because of that.

She had been trained just like a barbarian, not a princess.

Or, if a term were used to describe her, she had been raised as a warrior princess, one which did not know of grace nor delicacy.

The only actual breaks she was given were when there were huge events, celebrations, or parades of the like. Only during those times was she given the chance to step outside the castle not in battle wear, but in extravagant robes and dresses which were, still, armor-clad.

But, even when she was graced with such opportunities, that name would never give her peace.

Rugnud was a country where the strongest was hailed king, and her father was a good example. Naturally, the king's son ought to have become king, for a male was a symbol of power.

Matalpalhallafaelladrapahamo Michael, Roberia's brother, was supposed to be king. He was an excellent strategist, and an able fighter. His weakness in pure, raw brute strength was offset by his knowledge of the people, the anatomy of his enemies, and the combination of his brain with brawn.

However, on a hunting expedition, he had been ambushed by the very creature he was stalking. It tore his tendons and crippled his right leg before he could kill it. When Michael returned from his expedition wounded, he was criticized as an incompetent, weak leader.

Michael's fiancee left him. His supporters turned their backs on him, and he was deemed a failure even in the king's eyes. No longer had he a standing as a powerful leader, but was rather receded to the only position he still held - The King's Tactician.

So it was Roberia's turn to be groomed for the leader of Rugnud - At the young age of 6.

Of course, females were not a symbol of power. The ministers agreed that Rugnud should be ruled by a man, and so they sent for many princes, and many men of all countries and origins, to meet her and take her hand in marriage.

Roberia resented that.

As far as she could remember, Roberia had been hounded by lecherous, conniving men whom were demanding her as their spouse not for mutual love, but rather for the fame, the wealth and the glory of being king of Rugnud.

These men went far to become king - Sowing discord amongst the ministers whom took care of Roberia, boosting their reputation by making others commit fake crimes that they themselves 'resolved', harassing Roberia countless times whenever and wherever possible, and even going so far as to hold a blade against the princess herself.

Boys above the age of 13 tried their luck with her, to no avail. Men as old as 90 wanted her. She had become a target for every greedy man, and every jealous woman.

She hated nearly everything. She hated this name she was given. She hated all the men that were after her because of this name. She hated the plentiful number of gifts she had received every single time she returned to her bed room. She hated this country. She hated her brother for making her suffer like that.

She hated it so much.

The only things she didn't hate was herself, and the servants and maids whom she had grown up with, had played with, had shared everything with. Roberia started becoming defensive against these people and grew insensitive towards their cries and plea, their exploits and demands.

Then, she realized - There was no use.

As long as she stayed within Rugnud, as long as she was still a widely-known public figure, she would be hounded by these bastards. And, because she had been harassed many, many times, she did not have as many successful expeditions, or hunting trips, or patrols. These people, this name, all of these events were eating into her warrior lifestyle.

Her skills slowly deteriorated because of these people.

She may very well become a mere tool for others to use to become king, and nothing else. She started imagining the future of Rugnud, led under a foolish person whom had merely desired to become king. She pained, and cried her heart out one night, at her home being turned into a festering cesspool of crime. She was frightened by the idea of having her beloved Rugnud weakened so badly, that other countries like Auser and Anik could easily invade and pillage everything. Not to mention, that since Findel was right next to Rugnud, they might betray the peace pact and invade immediately.

She just wanted her home to be safe, and strong - So she may live a life of peace.

And thus Roberia took up arms. She ordered a great sword with a weight of a whopping 8 kilograms, she prepared a medium pouch of gold with a small number of coins, and she set off on a journey to become strong.

The road was easy at first, because she was still in Rugnud. The people whom sympathized with her offered her a warm, comfortable bed with proper blankets, and gave her a bit of coin for she was the princess, after all, and they tried to bribe the princess to create a better society for their children to live in.

Roberia was, however, about to encounter something she had never seen before in her life.

The 16 year old traveled West, towards Findel.

Matalpalhallafaelladrapahamo Roberia's journey had begun.

Chapter 13 : Tournament 4 : Nea

The wooden door was knocked on loudly, in a rhythmic 11-knock pattern.

B : "Come in!"

Opening the wooden door was Katachi, with a carving pick in his hand. With a tired expression on his face, he dragged his feet across the carpet and sat down on a comfortable orange couch before looking up at the senior with the chest size of Mount Gigraceldi.

Normally, the redirection magic present within the school would deflect students from approaching certain areas. For instance, the teacher's lounge and toilets, and the janitor's closet, to name a few, prevented students from approaching. Anyone who tries to enter would be forced to walk away. There were also places like the girls' bathroom and dormitory rooms where the males were unallowed to enter, and vice versa.

Bael's house was, however, situated within Cosmatral Neud upon her own request, a seperate dimension altogether which was thriving with life from both flora and fauna. To apply magic like that in a haven for animals was ridiculous, if it even were possible. It was as good as not having a wildlife reserve at all - So Bael's house and Principal Bertund's office were the only exceptions where anyone and everyone could enter.

K : "Bael?"

B : "... Katachi?"

B : "What- What brings you here? You're not the type to visit my room. Usually I'd go to yours."

K : "Oh, uhm, nothing much. I just wanted to uh... Ask you some things."

B : "Things?"

K : "Yeah... Uhm... Do you happen to have a map of the world?"

B : "A map of the world? What are you planning to do with one, cast a powerful Soltak's Smite over a village or something?"

K : "Oh, no, no! Just... Uh, It's just that, I've never had an actual map of the world to refer to when I was back at Mielfeud, and since you collect a lot of data and meaningful stuff, I... I was just thinking, you know... You'd have a map. Of the entire world."

B : "Well, I have a map, but it doesn't show the whole world, though. It's not complete in that the area at Western Anik was not mapped out. Or rather, I think they either died trying to map out Western Anik, or they have managed to map it only to reside there themselves and not share the map."

Since Western Anik was a massive jungle ridden with plague and dangerous swamps which only the toughest animals can survive, it made sense that the area would barely be mapped, if at all. The most they could actually do with Western Anik was map out the border between it, Findel, and Eastern Anik. No towns were marked nor mapped on the map, even if they did exist.

K : "Tha- That's good! That's good enough! Can I take it to my room to trace it?"

B : "Sure, as long as you don't wrinkle it."

K : "Thank you, Bael! That's great help to me!"

Katachi sauntered from his seat to the map on the messy table, and picked it up delicately, with a naiive, casual look on his face.

(... Heeheehee, he's so lively when he's happy, just like a little pet.)

Bael continued to fantasize about him being a little animal while Katachi excused himself out of the creepy house upon seeing Bael's disturbing twisted face at the fastest pace his legs could bring him.

*** ***

Laying the map down on the tiny study desk above his bed, Katachi quickly placed a piece of leather cloth next to the map and prepared to trace it.

Holding the chalk and charcoal in his hand firmly, Katachi prepared to sketch out the map. His focus concentrated on the tip of the chalk, he placed it onto the leather, but before he could continue, an itching sensation formed on the magic circle imbued onto the top of his left arm.

A telepathic message with an unknown, feminine voice was sent to his head.

"Contestant Katachi, your match begins in 30 minutes. Please assemble at the entrance to Cosmatral Tlod."

K : (... Whose voice is that?... No matter, that's not too important. I have 30 minutes to get there, huh... I better start walking then.)

It was vexing to be interrupted in the middle of something this important, but considering that the three free school-sponsored prizes the tournament offered was equally important and of a higher priority, Katachi didn't mind it too much. Putting down his chalk and charcoal, Katachi headed towards the door, with only 'Entrance to Cosmatral Tlod' in his mind.

His body walked towards the coliseum automatically.

*** ***

It was about one hour after noon.

The first round that concluded with 16 contestants left, 4 from each division, ended off at roughly noon. The students whom had returned early from a 1 hour lunch were waiting in anticipation for the next battle.

"... You there. With the black hair."

Katachi spun around to see a young, boisterous girl with brown wild hair, a slim figure, no shoes and her uniform tattered, worn off and torn in some places - It was roughly as dirty as his, but it was damaged and torn, not sandy and stained. Or perhaps she rolled only on her back instead of rolling towards the side, which caused her back to be dirtied. In which case, Katachi could not tell if she did or not because she was standing with her back against a wall.

Katachi didn't have the time to change out of his tattered uniform from when he fought Cillian - What he had originally planned for was to head towards Bael for a world map before heading to his room to change and sketch, but he had been interrupted by a few students who wanted his carving autograph for defeating Cillian. It ended up taking a majority of the free time that he had been granted with.

"Heh, you rolled a lot too, didn't you?"

K : "Uhh, yeah... My opponent was pretty tough. I had to wait for a good opening before I could go on the offense."

"That's cool. I just go on the offense from the start."

The girl brushed her wild hair hanging by her left collarbone to the back, and ruffled it up. She now looked like a wild, primitive cave woman, with unkempt hair frizzy like an afro.

K : "So... Your name would be...?"

N : "Chotil Nea. Everyone calls me Nea though. I was a semi-finalist."

K : "Oh, er... That's great."

N : "Thanks. I just managed to beat up Trug again, so the only ones stopping me now are Deku and that kid who beat Cillian... What was his name?"

K : (It makes sense for her not to recognize me...) "Uhh... I think he was called Katachi."

N : "Right, Katachi, that black-haired kid-"

"Your attention please, contestants for Round 2, please stand by. The first match will begin shortly."

The crowd cheered excitedly for the next match.

Katachi didn't actually remember the tournament sheet, nor did he take note of who the remaining contestants were. He had wanted to see the tournament bracket, but he was cropped up by the students who wanted his signature (which though ate a lot of time, rewarded him with a free carving pick)

Katachi made a mental note to view it sometime, probably right after the match with Nea.

N : "That's my call. I'll see you, kid."

K : "? Actually, that's my call too."

N : "... !? Wait... YOU'RE Katachi!?"

K : "... Yes?"

N : "... Aww... What a pity. I didn't want to fight you just yet. I wanted to save you as some kind of final boss, you know?... Oh well, we can't all have nice things. See you inside, Katachi."

Nea walked towards the obelisk with a sharp crystal at its top, touched the stone, and was sent towards Cosmatral Tlod.

K : "... Best of luck to you too."

(... That's what I wished for as well, but I ended up fighting Cillian for the first round.)

Katachi could only sigh.

What a crazy tournament.

It was as though the tournament was deliberately messing with fate itself. Seemingly maliciously, it had gone against Katachi's wishes of fighting weak opponents. It had also appeared to have gone against the wishes of other competitors as well - Mafer probably didn't want to fight that Vikard guy, Nea had to prematurely accelerate her plan and fight Katachi immediately, and Katachi already had his first two rounds sparring off with tough opponents like finalists and semifinalists.

Katachi wondered if the other contestants had problems like that too.

*** ***

In the sandy dunes of Cosmatral Tlod stood two students.

One was a semifinalist of last year's tournament - A monstrous brown-haired student whom evenly challenged many opponents, including Trug and the other semifinalist Zul, only to fall before Cillian in the semifinals. With a fiery passion to win, she stood proud and tall once again, prepared to face the adversaries before her.

The other was a new student whom had just entered the school for about two weeks, whom had defeated Cillian, be it a stroke of good luck or a true testament of skill it was unknown. But the students screamed and cheered in excitement, knowing Cillian's never-back-down-without-a-good-fight personality meant that he was not a type to play jokes in tournaments like these, unlike Deku.

Both were about to begin the first match of the second round for eliminating contestants.

At least, that's what the students roaring on the coliseum benches were waiting for.

N : "... Here I come, Katachi."

The girl, Nea, was an unknown enemy using a technique Katachi may probably have never encountered or met before. Had he spent time watching every match, he would have at least seen what she was capable of, but he had other plans, like copying a map of the world, and being preoccupied with a bunch of overly-excited students wanting his autograph.

N : "And so his hands grew, and his nails sharpened, into those of a beast's."

Her hands grew into paws with sharp claws. With a ferocious gaze, Nea stared into Katachi's eyes, to check if her opponent was prepared.

N : "... Are you ready... ?"

(... A transformation technique? But, which one? There's been multiples tales of people transforming into monsters, but which one is this?)

Katachi took his dagger out from his back, and readied his stance. Bending his legs down and holding his hands up, he protected his front.

Nea looked carefully at him and his posture, before determining the best route of attack.

N : "... And his legs burst forth, a new, unbound strength."

Her leg muscles rippled and grew, and her bare feet changed into paws.

N : "... Foolish little man. You can't beat a cougar."

With a celerity befitting her slim figure, she leapt towards Katachi, and-

K : (... A head-on charge?!)

- changed her direction right before hitting him, and got behind him before he could even spin around.

Nea proceeded to pounce on him from the back!

N : (... ? He won't go down?)

K : "... Heheheheheheh."

N : "!? What!?" (Why is he laughing? ... ! Did he figure out the spell I used?!)

Leaping away, Nea quickly reverted her limbs back to normal.

K : "Thanks for falling into my trap."

N : "... ?! What trap?!"

*** ***

Katachi had pulled a clutch move.

Using 恒定 - Constant status on himself, he had set his status of "standing up, unmoving" as constant. He had just managed to pull it off right before Nea pushed him.

K : (Her magic is derived from the tale of Qin Tsung Yao, an Anikan hunter who travelled into Western Anik and transformed into a cougar. Its obvious weakness would be how Qin Tsung Yao died - Impalement from a thrown spear by a hunter, so in that form she is especially weak to stab attacks.)

It was often dangerous for magi to engage each other in close-quarter combat. Placing one in a range where the other can kill you easily was something suicidal, especially if one did not know what forms of sorcery and magic the other knew. For example, there was a tale of an Auser pope that had been cursed by an avatar of an Ohde god, in that he had bone spurs growing on his entire spine, until finally the spurs grew so much they pierced out of his back like a fan. Using the tale as an attack spell, one could simulate the curse and create a fan of bone spears on their back, which would have spelled fatality for Nea.

Taking advantage of her confusion and paranoia, he cackled on purpose, as if he was triumphant, in order to force Nea to cancel the spell and revert back to her human form.

K : (固定! Fixate position - Nea!)

A 定 word was placed on her back, without her knowledge, and Nea was rendered completely immobile, just like Cillian's sword.

N : "What... What sorcery is this!?"

Katachi walked towards her, with dagger in his hand, and pressed it against her throat.

K : "... I'm sorry. I don't know what history you have, and I don't know why you need to win. But I need the champion's prize. Once I win, I won't need to stay in this academy any longer."

With an unexpected, abrupt ending, the first match of the second round concluded.