Book 4 – Education

Prologue – Trade Chat

(Magical World Disharmony Server, General Chat)

UsualSuspect, manoutoftime, muon, MewTwo, Avariel, Chummer, Golddigger, CrazyCelt, Blaze, DoYouEvenLyft?, MarcoPolo, MightMakesRight, MacD, Inquisitor, OrangeQueen, Lizard, RedFox, SemiSolidSnake, BabyShark, Not_the_Face!, Scholar, Salty, Anonymous3, Anonymous4, Anonymous7, Anonymous9, TheLichQueen, WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot, DigDug, Backlog, DarkAvariel, Knocker, GrimDark, BloodForTheBloodGod, BackDat@55Up and DarkAngel are in the chat.

manoutoftime: So, the magicule conversion rates on the new Bandar 367 CADs is about 10% less efficient than the older model, but boasts a 15% increase in cast speed.

BabyShark: Hmm. That is an interesting tradeoff. Favors those with high magicule densities, I suppose. They can absorb the inefficiency and still get the increased cast times.

Knocker: Yeah, but they’re still going to tire out faster than someone with a more efficient CAD.

Inquisitor: Useful for people who need high-speed casts, fast, but aren’t going to be that great for people who want endurance.

Anonymous7: The 367 is being marketed primarily to police forces for the Magic Response Teams or their local equivalents.

Backlog: That would make sense. You don’t need as much endurance in that job compared to someone who uses spells more often throughout the day.

DigDug: So, it is designed to help cops kill people quicker. Wonderful.

Lizard: Hey! That’s not cool, man. There are good cops out there!

DigDug: If you have 4000 good cops and 12 bad cops, and those 4000 good cops aren’t beating down the doors of Internal Affairs, the District Attorney, and the local news to try and get them thrown off the force and in jail, then you have 4012 bad cops.

Lizard: It isn’t that simple!

DigDug: Yes, it is. It is just the same as the Catholics back when they protected child molesters by shuffling them around to different churches, rather than throwing them to the wolves.

Blaze: He’s right. The ‘wall of blue’ protecting bad cops and actively punishing any cops that try to do the right thing means that any ‘good cops’ either become bad cops, or they get forced off the force.

Chummer: Back on topic, I got my hands on one of the Shield Bracelets that Phantomline is making.

MacD: Ooh, I’ve been wanting to get one of those. I know the speed is fast, but what about the efficiency?

Chummer: Surprisingly good. You have a 12% reduction in efficiency for initial activation, but the sustained efficiency is 25% better, even under load.

UsualSuspect: Interesting. So, you pay more for the initial burst, but you can hold the spell longer. Is it like this for all foci?

TheLichQueen: Depends on the quality. Remember that foci are crafted, rather than computer-controlled. So, there is some variance.

Blaze: You’re saying their unreliable?

TheLichQueen: Not at all. They all do what they’re supposed to do. But there are differences between foci depending on the craftsmanship involved.

TheLichQueen: Mass-produced foci like the Shield Bracelets are like someone mass-producing a fully-mechanical firearm. Yes, you can stamp out the parts for an AK-47 in any machine shop. The high-end military rifles that people use nowadays, with integrated magic circuits and all that, are going to be superior as weapons, but that AK is going to break less often, and require less maintenance.

Chummer: I get it. You don’t bring an AK to a precision shooting competition, and you don’t bring a high-power sniper rifle when you’re clearing out a building room to room.

TheLichQueen: Exactly. So, a Shield Bracelet is rugged, reliable, and ready to use no matter what situation you find yourself in. A high-end CAD, purpose-built for a Shield spell, will beat it on efficiency, sure, but that’s a lot of expense and maintenance time to keep it up to that standard. A Shield Bracelet, on the other hand, just needs to be worn.

OrangeQueen: But what about the strength of the shield?

TheLichQueen: So, a shield spell done by a CAD will have a certain strength ‘baked in’ when the spell is designed, right? For a Shield Bracelet, the shield’s strength depends on how much mana you pump into it, and it will last until it turns off.

DigDug: Explain, please?

TheLichQueen: OK, so, a CAD’s shield spell is like a soda fountain. You press the button, and your drink of choice comes out at a certain rate and mix, and continues on until you release the button, right?

DigDug: Sure, I can see that.

TheLichQueen: Now, the Shield Bracelet is more like a water fountain. How strong the stream is depends on how far you turn the handle, and the pressure in the pipes, and all that.

DigDug: I get it. Thanks!

MightMakesRight: Hey, LQ, is it true that you went to war with some Yakuza?

Chummer: Oy! You don’t just out and ask people if they’re fighting the Yakuza! That’s a great way to get people killed!

Chummer: Sure, it isn’t like LQ is likely to get brought down by anyone, but think about all the people caught in the crossfire!

SemiSolidSnake: But I heard that she basically destroyed an entire Yakuza clan overnight! Dismantled their entire operation!

TheLichQueen: Oh, dear. It seems that some things have been blown a bit out of proportion.

WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot: So, what’s the real deal, then?

TheLichQueen: Well, it is true that there was a Yakuza clan that aroused my ire. Their actions were only tangentially aimed at me, but they twice tried to bring violence to my presence, despite my warning them.

Anonymous3: I heard that there was a bloodbath at this office building in Tokyo!

TheLichQueen: Oh, yes. The clan you’re talking about attacked a rival clan. But I didn’t do much in that incident. Just kept any naughty boys from leaving before it was over.

Anonymous7: What about the missing mansion?

Chummer: Missing mansion?

Anonymous7: The mansion belonging to the head of the clan. A few hours after the bloodbath, the mansion just got surrounded by this black shield. When it went away, the place looked like it had been scooped out of the ground. Only thing left was a sign saying ‘they chose poorly’.

TheLichQueen: Yes, well, I went to have a discussion with their leadership, and ensured that they took responsibility for their actions. However, they were all still very much alive when I left the compound, I can assure you. And I had nothing to do with dismantling the organization.

WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot: Sure, if you say so. What does that mean for you now, though? What you doing next?

TheLichQueen: Well, I still have crafting to do, but I promised that I would give a few lectures on magic to certain college professors. The first of those is coming up soon, at my sister’s school.

Scholar: Are these lectures going to be restricted to students, or open to the public?

TheLichQueen: Restricted to students and teachers, though I know that some outside academics have managed to snag invites. You’d want to talk to the Thaumaturgy Department at the University of Seattle.

Scholar: Great, gotta go make calls! I wouldn’t miss this for the world!

Chapter 31 – Professor

Dr. Daniel Fletcher was quite reasonably proud of what he had accomplished in his life. He was twelve when the Awakening happened. By the time he reached college, the University of Seattle had just opened its Thaumaturgy Department, and he was part of the first class to be able to major in Thaumaturgy.

That was a heady time to be in academics. It seemed like every month, every week, sometimes every day, they were finding new answers to the questions about what had happened to the world. The ‘textbooks’, such as they were, were constantly being rewritten as the science of thaumaturgy evolved and developed in real time. And, as one of the first Thaumaturgy majors, he had been able to get in on the ground floor.

Naturally, when he’d finished his undergraduate, he had immediately joined the Department as a graduate student, eventually gaining both his Masters and his Doctorate in Thaumaturgy. While he specialized in the theoretical side of the discipline, he still made sure to keep proficient in the applied science, as well.

Really, he’d had no choice. Thaumaturgy was a science that could not easily be broken down into ‘theoretical’ and ‘applied sciences’ categories, like, say, Physics and Biology. Maybe later, it would develop to that point, when the science was more certain, and less new. Even today, they were still pushing the boundaries of what they knew.

Which is why he was so excited for today’s meeting. He could, without any hubris, count himself in the top 1% of researchers worldwide when it came to Thaumaturgy, and he’d been at the leading edge of that research for the last twenty years. However, he was not so proud that he couldn’t admit that there were those who knew more than he did.

And his guest most certainly knew more than he did when it came to magic. Sure, she only had forty years of experience with magic, same as he did, but she had learned about magic in a world that had always had it, meaning that many of the questions they were still figuring out, the other world had already found the answer to. Or, rather, ‘an’ answer.

That was one thing he’d been surprised to learn. Magic in that other world wasn’t like the science he knew it as. Instead, it was supposedly closer to an art form. One of his students had said that it reminded them of the summers they’d spent working in their family’s pastry shop. According to them, baking had a lot of science to it, mixing certain things in a certain order and doing tasks correctly, but there was undoubtedly a bit of artistic flair that went into it, as well.

Insights like that were why he allowed his students so much leeway in speaking when they were in class. Some professors would stodgily deny anything that went against their established view of things. Frankly, he believed that kind of attitude was better suited to the religious studies department, rather than any of the sciences. At least ignorance and dogmatism were expected there.

No, he was a Thaumaturge, a ‘mage’ of Science, and he would conduct himself accordingly. Data was collected, observed, and weighed against what was currently known. If it fit the current knowledge, then it was accepted. If it did not, it was retested, to ensure that there was no error or mistake, and, if there wasn’t, the current knowledge was updated accordingly. That was what scientists did. Ego only got in the way of the science.

Of course, he thought, as his office door opened to reveal the person he was waiting to see, it was understandable how lesser minds with greater egos could be put off by her. Especially when she came into the room looking like a teenage girl, wearing what was unmistakably a schoolgirl’s uniform. An image compounded by the fact that next to her was her sister, who looked older than her by several years at least, even though he knew for a fact that she was more than two decades younger. The fact that the younger sister was one of his graduate students only made things more surreal. It looked as though the elder sister brought her little sister to meet her professor, perhaps give her a tour of the department to convince her whether the university was right for her. That happened all too often, after all.

When you dealt with college and graduate students all day, the idea that someone who appeared to be a high school student might know more than you was preposterous and insulting. But, as he drilled into every class on the first day, appearances were deceiving. After all, some of the simplest magic to perform was little better than the sleight of hand and smoke and mirrors of stage magic, simple illusions designed to trick your mind. Recognizing what was an illusion and what was real was essential for any mage.

He smiled, and offered the ‘young girl’ his hand, which she shook. “Miss Akagawa, it is a pleasure to meet you, at last.” Looking to her sister, he nodded. “And Eri, I hope your revisions are going well? I know how difficult it can be changing your thesis partway through.”

Eri Akagawa nodded, with a smile. “Yes, Professor. And thank you for giving me the extra time to work on it.”

He waved her off. “Bah. If having your sister come back from the dead didn’t count as extenuating circumstances, worthy of a bit of a delay, then I don’t know what would. That said sister basically threw everything we thought we knew about the field of Thaumaturgy on its head when she came back? Well, the entire department was in agreement that anyone asking for delays this year would get them, provided they showed they were doing the work.”

His student smiled at his guest. “Dr. Fletcher is something of a fan of yours.”

“Oh, hell. I’ve been in the field of Thaumaturgy since its inception, and your return, Miss Akagawa, has been the single greatest event for the field since the Awakening itself. Everything you learned in the other world is making us question everything we knew. Even the fact that there are other worlds shook the pillars of our belief! It has the potential to rekindle the early days, just after the Awakening, when everything was fresh and new and we were finding out new ways to do things practically each and every day! What a time to be alive!”

The elder ‘schoolgirl’ chuckled, and said, “Well, I must say that Eri’s impressions of you were all accurate. She said that the research was more important than anything else to you. I’m glad that my first real lecture on magic will be done here.”

“Well, I can certainly say that we’re more than happy you chose us.” Fletcher took a breath. “So, I guess the first thing to do would be to go and give you a tour of the auditorium you’ll be speaking in, so you can get a feel of the space, and get an eye for where the lights and cameras will be.”

“That sounds perfect, Doctor.”

The three of them made a bit of small talk as they walked from the Thaumaturgy building to a nearby building. “Originally, we had you scheduled for one of the larger classrooms used for entry level classes in the department, but there were so many people interested in coming that we eventually had to move it a couple times. First was a small auditorium that seated sixty, but that still wasn’t enough. So, here we are.”

The building they walked into actually belonged to the Theater department. As they stepped past the box office and through the doors of the main entrance, another man walked up to greet them, with a smile. Daniel nodded to him. “Ah, good, you’re here. Kurt, this is Kaori Akagawa and her sister, Eri Akagawa. Kaori’s the guest speaker we have scheduled for next week, and I hoped to show her the space. Ms. Akagawa, this is Kurt Branson, the head of the Theater department.”

Handshakes made and introductions handled, Kurt smiled at the girls. “Well, as he said, I’m Kurt, and I’m head of the Theater department. When Dan asked if we could use the main stage for your talks, we were only too happy to help. After all, we shamelessly steal his students for help with effects, when practical effects would be too dangerous or expensive to pull off.”

“I see,” Ms. Akagawa said, sharing a grin with her sister. “I hope we aren’t putting you out by taking the stage?”

“Well, not for the room itself. We’re in the middle of building the set for the next show, but that class is scheduled for later in the day, and rehearsals are in the evenings. How much of the stage were you planning on using? Will we need to clear off the construction?”

As they stepped into the theater, Fletcher could see that there were indeed half-built set pieces littered around the stage. Most were platforms and flats that had been used in a dozen productions so far (as evidenced by the fact that they were all painted to look like last season’s Romeo & Juliet, and hadn’t yet been repainted to reflect the current show, an adaptation of a Japanese movie. Akira, or something like that.

Kaori, for her part, just nodded as she looked out at the three hundred and fifty seat theater. “Well, you’re certainly expecting a crowd. Should be fun.”

Turning to the stage itself, she looked at the apron in front of the arch. It wasn’t terribly wide, just five feet at center stage, and curving gently to be three feet wide at either side, where stairs let someone get up from the floor to the stage. She considered for a moment, and then nodded. “I can work with this easily enough. I wasn’t planning on a musical number or anything, so if we can close the curtains so the audience doesn’t get distracted, then that should work.”

Kurt just nodded. “Easily done, and that will make everything easier. If you want, you can get up on stage, and we’ll see about finding the light setup that works best for you.” He turned to Eri, and said, “Eri, right? I’ve seen you as one of the assistants before. Think you can get the curtain?”

“Of course, Professor.”

As Eri walked off to go take care of that business, Kurt turned back to look at Kaori. “Now, what form were you thinking on using for this? You have good skin, like this, and I don’t want to wash it out, especially since this is going to be filmed, but if you’re going to be coming as the Lich Queen, all bones and armor, then we might want to go with a slightly different setup. All depends on what you’re looking to highlight.”

Kaori smiled, and said, “Well, the idea is for this to be educational, not terrorizing, so I think I will keep this form. I’ll be wearing different outfits, day to day, but I’m not going to be suiting up in armor unless there’s a reason for it.”

“Right, right. In that case, if you and Dan would get up on stage, I’ll hit the light booth, and start setting up. Oh, but before we do that, what were you thinking for sound? Are you going to be staying at a podium, or walking around? Do you want a body mic, a wireless handheld, or a mic on a stand?”

“Hmm. Well, I don’t really intend to stand behind a podium the whole time, and I might need my hands for other things during the presentation, so we could do a body mic, or I could just amplify my voice with magic.”

“No, the mic would probably be better if we’re filming. We have the setup to mix it into the audio directly, rather than relying on the camera’s microphone. And we were going for three cameras, which we could cut between when editing the film to send out.”

“Oh, all right, then. Guess that means a body mic. Just make sure you use one that is rated for magic interference. Wouldn’t want my bones to start causing interference.”

Kurt blinked. “That… is the first time I’ve ever had THAT potential technical issue crop up.”

Chapter 32 – First Class

I was slightly nervous for my first lecture. After all, I had done many things in my unlife, but teaching was not one of them. Well, organized teaching, that is. I’d taught a few lessons here and there, and had helped my sister with redoing her thesis, but that was different from getting in front of a class and instructing them.

For this first class, I decided to come out in my shrine maiden outfit. There was a reason for it, of course. This first lesson would be about the fundamentals of magic, and one of those fundamentals was ‘belief’.

Waiting in the wings of the stage, I heard Doctor Fletcher introduce me, and stepped out, into the lights. Thankfully, my undead eyes did not need to adjust to the sudden brightness, even if I looked human at the moment. While waiting for the crowd to settle down, I nodded appreciatively to the professor, who slipped off the stage and into the audience.

“Greetings and well met, Students and Faculty of the University of Seattle! And well met to those visiting academics who came to hear me speak. As you know, I am Akagawa Kaori, or Kaori Akagawa, as you would say here in the United States. I am known by many names, and I’m sure you have all heard the news stories about me, by now, so I won’t waste our time here together by recounting them all.”

I took a breath. “Forty years ago, the Awakening happened, as mages from another world abducted a classroom full of high school kids, summoning them against their will and without their consent, to another world, to act as heroes who would save the world from a terrible foe. In these forty years, you have done incredible work coming to understand how magic works, and the different ways it can be used. I understand that Doctor Fletcher, who introduced me, is one of the world’s leading minds when it comes to the science of Thaumaturgy, and have read some of his papers on the subject.”

I smiled down at where Fletcher was sitting. “The conclusions he came to were all well-defined, and supported by the evidence at hand. Any student of science would agree that his methodology was perfect, given the knowledge he had available to him at the start. But it is only correct as far as it goes.

“Simply put, there are things in Doctor Fletcher’s work that are incorrect, or based on faulty data. I do not say this to disparage him, as he, and indeed all your Thaumaturgists, have been stumbling through the dark, learning as you went. Where you are now is at the same point as such intrepid pioneers as Marie Curie were back at the dawn of the twentieth century, when they just began to discover things like ‘radiation’. Many of Curie’s findings have since been disproven or superseded by later experiments by scientists building upon her works, but that does not mean that she was any less of a pioneer for it.”

Focusing my attention back on the class as a whole, I said, “The other world that I was summoned to had been exposed to magic for longer than their recorded history. To them, it was no different than the principles of the lever or wheel. They had spent countless centuries studying magic, and improving upon those studies. Comparing their knowledge of magic to your own would be like comparing the chemistry of the modern day to that of the alchemy of the ancient world. But you shouldn’t be disheartened by that. Indeed, that you have progressed as far as you have in the scant few decades since the Awakening is nothing short of astounding.”

I moved towards the right side of the stage, so that people weren’t just staring at the same place the whole time. “Now, this first class will be about the fundamentals of magic, as the other world knew them, and as they were taught to me. As good Thaumaturgists, I expect you all to take what you learn here, and apply it to your own concepts of magic, testing it to see what works and what does not. So, let me first begin with what was known in the other world as the Three Great Exceptions.

“These Great Exceptions were truths known to all, tested and retested by brilliant minds and desperate madmen both throughout the centuries. In that other world, they are as close to natural laws as concepts of gravity are in this one. They are three areas where, despite the efforts of countless mages over millennia of work, nothing but failure has been the result.

“The Three Great Exceptions are thus: first, through Magick, you cannot bring the dead back to life; second, through Magick, you cannot change the past once it is written; and third, through Magick, you cannot move faster than light.”

There was a ripple of discussion in the audience, and I smiled. “Now, I can already hear some of you questioning this. After all, I am standing here before you, and I died once before, no? But let us look at these Exceptions, and the exceptions to them.

“For the first Exception, the matter of bringing the dead back to life, I can tell you plainly that it is, as far as I am aware, true, as a whole. Undeath brings a soul back to a mockery of life, but not truly living. And there is a difference between ‘dead’ and ‘dead’. After all, even with medical science, someone who is clinically dead might still be revived, sometimes without even much in the way of brain damage, yes?

“So, we must separate those who are fully dead from those who are just mostly dead. Because there’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there’s usually only one thing you can do.”

I let the quote hang there for a moment, and said, “Similar grey areas exist for the other Exceptions. It is, theoretically, possible to go back in time and kill Hitler before he started the Reich, changing the course of history. However, in so doing, you would not be changing the history of the world you knew, but rather bringing forward a new timeline. The timeline you left would continue on, just as it had before.

“As for faster than light travel? Well, within time and space such things are impossible. However, you can teleport in an instant across the globe, or even open portals bridging one place and another. This does not violate the Exception because you are not passing through space. Similarly, if you wrapped yourself in a bubble of space-time, and used gravity to cause that bubble to ‘fall’ faster and faster, you could achieve relative speeds faster than light, without actually moving faster than light yourself.

“Now, with that groundwork out of the way, let us get into magic itself.” I walked back to the center of the stage. “Some of you, no doubt, recognize my outfit, that of a Shinto priestess. Don’t worry, my weebs and otakus, I’m not here to expose you to your friends.” That got a chuckle from the audience. “Instead, I chose this outfit because it relates to one of the core tenets of magic.

“Belief is essential to magic. You are imposing your will upon the universe, and the universe listens to you because you believe that it ought to. What form that belief takes shapes your magic. Having a belief system helps strengthen your magic, because you have clear ideas about what should happen with the spell. However, it also limits you, because things outside your belief structure are as foreign to you as a language you’ve never heard before.

“The Science of Thaumaturgy is one such belief structure. The Shinto faith, or the philosophy of Buddhism, are others. Each is no more valid or invalid than the next. Belief is the prism through which you blend magic and your will, and then focus that energy upon the universe, producing the spells you desire. Remember that.”

I paused, to let it sink in, and then said, “Any of you who’ve completed high school Physics should know of Newton, and his Three Laws. Law One: barring outside forces, an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will remain in motion. Law Two: Force equals Mass times Acceleration. Law Three: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Is anyone not familiar with at least the basics of these three laws?”

Seeing no one claiming they didn’t know basic physics, I continued on. “In the other world, there was a great thinker, similar to Newton, who sought to create rules of magic through observation and logic. His name was Thangvald, and he, too, created three laws, or rules, as he called them. Rule One: Magic is Mana shaped by the Mind. The Mind is Knowledge, Perceptions, and Intent. Therefore, each facet of the Mind influences the shape of the Magic. Rule Two: The sum of Mana, Energy, and Mass cannot be created or destroyed, it merely changes form. Rule Three: For every Magic, there is an equal and opposite Magic.”

I paused again, letting those laws sink in. “Let us start with the first rule. This is the simplest of the three to explain. If I were to cast a spell, I would take the mana, or the magicules, if you will, and shape it. So, how does that work? Let us go with a simple fireball.

“Intent is first. I want to hurt those guys, but they’re all the way on the other side of the room. That is the intent of the spell.

“Knowledge is second. I want to make an explosion of flame, yes? So, I need to know about fire to make that happen. Not just fire itself, but different kinds of fire. A match flame that fills a room would not do the same damage as a more violent flame, after all.

“Perception is third. You have to perceive the target to accurately hit it. If you do not perceive conditions correctly, the spell might misfire, fizzle out, or do something unexpected. Launching our fireball into a vacuum or under water would cause it to do nothing but waste our energy, unless we had knowledge that allowed us to burn things underwater. Launching that fireball into a room filled with explosives that we didn’t see might set those explosives off, possibly killing our allies along with our enemies. A close analogue would be one of the rules of gun safety you Americans have: always be aware of your target, and what is behind it.”

I paused to give them a second to consider that. “For the second rule, this is a close analogue to Einstein’s law of E=mc2. Only, instead of just Energy and Mass, Mana is added into the equation as well. I mention this now, for the sake of completeness. Unless you get into the furthest reaches of experimental Magicks, or take up the study of Ritual Magicks, then all you need to understand is that magic is not free. The power for your spells has to come from somewhere. Thus, how powerful a spell you can create depends on the amount of power you can access.

“Which brings us to the third rule. There are many ways that this rule can be interpreted. A fire spell might be canceled by a water spell of equal strength, for instance. A spell that renders one invisible could be countered, if you knew how. It also means that, if there is a spell to summon someone from another world, then there would be a spell to send them back.

“In basic terms, all of that is true. However, the skill and spellwork to reverse a spell is not necessarily the same as is needed to enact it. This is especially true for effects that have run their course. Undoing the effects of a fireball after it has exploded is not the same task as preventing the explosion in the first place, naturally. A spell that actively manipulates another’s mind is relatively simple to counter, but one that effectively brainwashes someone into a loyal servant, and then lets them go can be as difficult to undo as mental conditioning from more mundane means. There is no active spellwork to unravel, after all.

“Thus, changes that have been set, and their spellwork run its course, are considered to be far more difficult to deal with than a spell that is actively at work. So, what if a man were changed into a rat by a spell? If the spell was such that it changed his form and held it in that new shape until it was released, then turning him back is an easy enough spell. On the other hand, if it was a spell that simply turned the man’s body to that of a rat, rather than holding it in that shape, then reversing the spell would be incredibly difficult, especially if you didn’t know the specifics of the original spell.”

The room was quiet, as people digested that information. “This is why, in the other world, transmutations or enchantments that affected the body or mind of a person were considered some of the potentially most dangerous magicks in existence, next only to those spells which directly manipulated the souls of creatures. If this were not the United States, I would say that you should treat such spells as you would guns, but I would hope that you take a great deal more care with them than you do with guns, as some of them can be far more dangerous than any gun, if left in the hands of those who do not have the knowledge to use them properly, or those who have malicious intent.”

Doctor Fletcher caught my eye, and pointed to his watch, before raising his hand to indicate five minutes. Looking back at the crowd, I said, “I am afraid my time for this first class is almost up, so, I think we will end it there. If you have further questions, about today’s lesson, I will be spending the next two hours out in one of the common areas, but I urge all of you not to forsake your other classes just to talk to me. I’ll be here all week, after all.”

Chapter 33 – After Class

“Here you go, onee-san.”

I smiled at my little sister as she brought me a drink and some snacks from the cafeteria. Of course, I’d given her the money to get us both lunch, but that was besides the point. It was nice to have her working as my assistant for this week.

“Thank you, Eri-chan. You didn’t have to sign up to be my assistant, you know.”

Eri laughed. “The university is paying me to spend a week out of classes, hanging out with my sister, who was in another world for most of my life. Why wouldn’t I want to sign up for this?”

I chuckled. “Yes, I’m sorry I haven’t spent as much time with you as I wanted. We’ve talked online, but I know that’s not the same. I’ve been busy making sure that my place in this world is secure. Fortunately, I believe people are starting to get the message that I can’t be pushed around.”

“You would think that they would have gotten the message after those nutjobs tried to attack you during that talk show.”

Laughing, I shook my head. “That’s because you’re thinking like a normal person, not like one of the powerful people. Ask father sometime. Father’s power is that of the corporation, and the contacts he has. In other words, he has an entire organization beneath him, which forms the basis of his power. Powerful people know the strengths of such and organization, and its limits.”

“Its limits?”

“Yes, father’s power, such as it is, lies mainly in the realm of business, and with his contacts outside the business world. People know generally what he can threaten them with. They also know that there are levels of power that he cannot go against. The only reason he doesn’t come into conflict with, say, the military is because he avoids direct conflict with them, because they both know that he cannot take on a national military and win. Nothing he has will stop tanks from crashing through the walls of the company’s headquarters.”

“But father wouldn’t ever push it to that point, right?”

“Right. And that kind of limitation makes him, more or less, a known quantity. The people who could take him on directly rarely have cause to do so, at least with the amount of resources necessary to take him down. Just like how the US could easily defeat Mexico if it came to war, but the resources it would take, and the problems following afterwards, make it not worth the trouble.”

Eri nodded. “I think I see what you mean. You aren’t a known quantity. So, you were expecting people to test you, to prove what level you were at?”

I beamed at her. “Exactly. They haven’t seen anything like me before. I have enough wealth, between what I took from the other world, and the trust fund set up for the Sleepers, that I would never need to work again. I can move around the world as I please, and there’s nothing in this world that could stop me, much less hold me. And I have my entire military presence from the other world. Combined, that makes me immune to the most common levers of power.

“The zealots attacked because they’re reactionary fanatics wholly devoted to the righteousness of their cause. But the number of issues I’ve faced shows that the major players are still working behind the scenes, using catspaws to try and get me to show my abilities, and try to find my limits, without risking their own power bases. By now, I believe I’ve convinced all but the most fanatical that it simply isn’t worth it to draw my ire. For now.”

“For now?”

“There’s always some idiot who thinks ‘hey, that guy just killed a dragon and ate its soul! Let’s mug him,’ and then gets surprised when said dragonkiller destroys them. They always think it can’t happen to them, or that the stories have all just been blown out of proportion. But, with the size and scale of some of these things, I think it will be quite some time before anyone tries something direct against me.”

“Excuse me, Miss Akagawa?”

I looked up, to see a gaggle of students, that all looked to be about Eri’s age. Seven of them, all told, and all of them dressed casually. There was a mix of races, with two Asians, three Whites, one Black, and one Hispanic. The one in front, one of the Asians, who I assumed had spoken, was the least nervous of the bunch. Fortunately, Eri recognized them.

“Oh, I recognize you all. You’re undergrads in the Thaumaturgy department, right? Dai Ya, one of the foreign students?” She looked over at me, and said, “I work part-time as a TA for undergrad classes.”

I nodded. “Ah, yes. Spending money, right?” She nodded, and I turned to smile at the kids. “All right, so I assume that the six of you attended the first of my little lectures, then, and have some questions?”

The leader of the group nodded her head. “Yes, I am Dai Ya. Or Ya Dai in Western countries. I am here on a student visa from China. Anyway, I wished to ask about belief being the core of magic, and Thaumaturgy being the belief structure we use. Does that mean other belief structures that have magic or spiritual elements could be used instead?”

I smiled. “Yes, as I hinted with my outfit, there is power in belief, in any form. If you have the power, then you can make magic do whatever you believe it can do. Shinto, Buddhism, Hindu, Kabala, even parts of Christian and Muslim theology could be used to fuel magic. The only reason you have not seen it, yet, is that those who have the power to do this have had their beliefs shaped by Thaumaturgy.”

The Black student raised his hand, and I nodded. “Aleksander Bailey, from London. I know you use what you call foci instead of CADs. Is some kind of assistant required in order to use magic?”

“Oh, that’s a very good question, young man. Simply put, no, if you have deep enough power, tight enough focus, and strong enough intent, then you can use magic without any CAD or focus. However, just saying it is possible does not mean that it is easy.

“Consider, for instance, that you have three campfires, and you need to put them out. For the first, you have just a bucket of water. For the second, you have a garden hose. And for the third, you have a garden hose with a sprayer attached. Are you with me so far?”

There was a round of nods, so I continued. “Now, to put out the first fire, you have to haul the bucket of water from the nearby stream, and throw the whole thing on the fire. Very inefficient, especially if you find out that you don’t have enough water to put the fire out. Worse, the water splashes everywhere, not just on the fire, so you have to use a larger bucket with more water to be sure of putting it out, or you fail entirely.

“With the second fire, you have a hose. Without a sprayer, you have to either hold the hose over the fire, or use your finger to give some direction to it. This still causes a lot of waste, but it is far easier than hauling enough water to pour over a fire and put it out, yes?

“Finally, you have the third fire. With hose and sprayer, you can customize how much water you use, easily starting and cutting off the flow where and when you need to. This has a minimum of waste, and allows you to most efficiently put out the fire.”

I looked back at the group of students. “Now, can any of you tell me how this relates to the question?”

The other Asian in the group, a guy, said, “Yes. Jotaro Fisher, and I live here in Seattle. The hose with the sprayer would be like us using a CAD, right? And the hose is a belief system to shape the magic.”

I clapped my hands. “Full marks. Yes, a person with sufficient magical power, but without a belief system to shape his intent or tools to help him focus, can create spells. They are typically the work of children under the age of twenty, and are, therefore, almost wholly wild, and uncontrolled, coming out only in instances of crisis or emotional distress. With a belief system, casting a spell becomes slightly easier to do, and a focus makes spells easily within reach.”

Aleksander raised his hand. “So, why haven’t we seen this in the world around us over the last forty years?”

“The answer to that is Thaumaturgy. Genetics can play a part in how much magical power you have. But the entire world started from nothing. So, by the time you would have had people with enough innate power to power a spell without a focus or CAD, the belief of Thaumaturgy would have already spread through the world, thanks to it being based on science. And the Thaumaturgic belief that you must have a CAD to use spells means that children don’t believe they have magic, and the few instances where it might have happened in the wild, either no one survived to witness it, or it was written off as a freak accident or miracle, like someone caught in a collapsing building where the ceiling fell in just such a way that it created a void that they were trapped in, but they were otherwise unharmed.”

One of the white girls decided to speak up. “So, like, my name’s Stacy Rayne, and I wanted to know what actually goes into summoning? Like, I know summoning people from other worlds is possible, but what about summoning familiars like in stories, or summoning creatures to fight for you? Is that even possible?”

I sighed. I’d been expecting a question like this, honestly. “The truth is, all three things are really quite different, even though they’re all called ‘summoning’. Obviously, the Hero Summoning ritual involves stealing someone from another world, and imbuing them with power. For obvious reasons, I’m against anyone trying to replicate that Magick here on Earth.

“Now, a familiar is different. There are three versions of the familiar summoning ritual, that I’ve encountered. The first is more of a ‘calling’, than a ‘summoning’. The Magick draws a creature from the nearby area to you, and then you finish the Magick by binding it to you.

“The second version of the Magick is a conjuring, creating a magical construct born of energy that mimics a flesh and blood creature. As an extension of your own magic and belief, the familiar does not need to be bound. You literally created it, after all, and it is a part of you.

“The third form of the Magick is a true summoning, where a creature is brought forth, and then bound to the summoner to act as their familiar. The exact nature of the summoning changes, of course. Sometimes the caster summons a specific type of animal. Sometimes the Magick takes the offered power, and chooses something at random. Incidentally, this form of the familiar Magick is essentially the lesser version of that which summons and binds demons and other planar creatures to permanent service.”

Stacy nodded slowly. “But, like, what about summoning monsters to fight for you?”

“Well, that is most commonly a temporary measure. The magic summons an ‘aspect’ of the creature or creatures, and gives them form through magic, rather than actually bringing the creature to you. Usually, this is actually not a real creature at all, but an ideal of that creature, which your magic gives form to. However, if you ever get into Magickal pacts and contracts, then sometimes you can gain the ability to actually summon a creature temporarily to fight, or otherwise serve, you.”

Jotaro raised his hand. “Excuse me, Miss Akagawa, but it sounds like you’re talking about magic, and magic, but with a slightly different pronunciation?”

I smiled widely at him. “Yes, and that is because there is a difference between ‘magic’ and ‘Magick’. That last one is capitalized, with a ‘k’ at the end, by the way. Magic would be basic spells and effects. Throwing a fireball at someone, or doing basic body reinforcement would be magic. Magick refers to the higher order spells and rituals, like summoning and other such things. Magic can be dangerous all on its own, on an individual level. A miscast Magick, however, can lay waste to cities in the blink of an eye.”

The boy’s eyes went wide. “Oh, wow. I can see why you’d put a different name on it.”

Chapter 34 – Second Class

Another day, another lecture. I was happy to see that the auditorium was just as full as it had been last time. It seemed that I had not bored the academics to the point where they didn’t want to hear the rest of what I had to say.

Today, I was dressed in a simple women’s business suit, tailored for my human form. A bit of cosplay yesterday was appropriate, to set the tone for the belief discussion, but we were getting into the more mechanical parts of magic today. A more serious look conveys a more serious tone.

“Welcome back, students. And you, too, visitors. I am glad to see the seats just as full as last time. Yesterday, we talked about the fundamental principles of magic in the other world. Today, we will talk about the fundamental uses of magic.

“Now, I know some of you may be upset that I’m spending so much time on fundamentals, but I urge you to be patient. After all, you don’t go from basic arithmetic straight to three-dimensional calculus, do you? There are steps in between, which needs be addressed, or you simply won’t understand the more complicated lessons.”

I flicked my wrist, and opened a portal to my pocket dimension. Out walked three of my undead servants, who quickly set up a projector and screen behind me. A touch of my hand, and the projector turned on, displaying an image full of complex calculations from the laptop computer I’d set up on the podium. Then, the calculations began to scroll upwards, revealing more calculations, as the three servants went back into the pocket dimension, and it sealed behind them.

“What you see here are the calculations required for creating a pocket dimension that can be accessed at will. There are variables in all of this for the size of the dimension, what kind of environment, if any, there is, the flow of time in the dimension, whether life can exist in the dimension, and a few hundred other things, all of which determines the amount of magic needed to build the dimension in the first place, and how much magic is needed to upkeep or access it. Then, there are additional calculations, based on whether the dimension is anchored to a single place or object, or whether it follows a person around.

“This is why we start with the basics. Learning the fundamentals of magic is the same as learning the fundamentals of math. You need that foundation if you are to ascend to the highest levels. More importantly, making a mistake in the fundamentals of math can lead to disaster when you misplace a decimal point or forget to convert from Imperial to Metric. But consider how much more dangerous it is to make that kind of fundamental error when you are working with the forces of creation, of life and death, of reality itself. A miscast Magick can usher in the Apocalypse, if given enough power.”

I pressed a key, and the screen changed, to show a crude outline of a person, an orb of blue centered in its chest “So, fundamentals. You all know that magicules, the particles that make up magic, reside in the body of living things. The reservoir of magicules a person has is the limit of the magic they can use, given the understanding of Thaumaturgy.”

“The other world understood magicules as mana, and they recognized that mana did not exist solely in the living flesh, but in the world around them, suffusing everything. Mana is magic, and magic is mana. A person’s internal reservoir of mana is one indicator of their prowess, but, with training, anyone can access the mana in the world around them, pulling it through them, augmenting their own ability with the ambient magic.”

Now, the screen showed two people, both with their mouths open, and blue coming in to join the blue inside them. The one on the left used that blue energy to make a ball of fire in the hand. The other, however, sent the blue out to different parts of their bodies.

“Understand that, while everyone in the other world had magic, that did not mean that everyone was a mage. To be a proper mage, you need a significant internal pool of mana, as it takes too long to channel ambient mana for spellwork unless you have a lot of practice. However, this led to the two main forms of magic use in the other world: magecraft and cultivation.

“Magic, to put it simply, is like a muscle. The more you use it, and push your boundaries, the stronger you get. The three ways you improve are the speed at which you can draw in mana, the size of your pool, and the speed that you can channel mana at. In both magecraft and cultivation, these principles are the same. The difference is in how they are applied.

“A mage, one blessed with a naturally strong mana pool, or the ability to rapidly refill their pool, will push their growth into their pool. This is so that they can cast more spells, stronger, for longer. On the other hand, the cultivator, who does not have those advantages, pushes their growth out, into their own flesh, making them stronger, faster, more durable than a human’s natural state.

“This also has the effect of making them more resistant to outside magic, as well. A contest between a mage and a cultivator comes down to stamina. Will the cultivator’s physical stamina outlast the mage’s magical stamina? It is not as simple as you might think. A cultivator can move like a shounen anime protagonist, while a mage can cast spells that boggle the mind.”

I looked out at the audience. “This is basic information, I understand, but it is critical if you are to understand magic, as those of the other world did. To quote Lao Tsu, ‘The wise man is one who knows what he does not know.’

“So, let us get into how a spell is formed. As I said yesterday, there are three core parts of any spell: Knowledge, Perceptions, and Intent. You take the knowledge you have, such as how fire burns, focus your intent into making a fireball, and cast it at someplace you can perceive, yes? Well, what role does a CAD, or a Focus, have in this?

“The answer is, simply, that the CAD or Focus is simply a tool. The spells a CAD are loaded with contain the Knowledge needed, requiring only a few variables from your perceptions and focus with your intent. This allows you to do incredibly complex spells very quickly, because, in the moment, you only need to worry about perceptions and intent. This speeds your reaction time significantly, but only when casting spells already loaded upon the CAD.

“What happens when you need a spell you don’t have loaded? What happens if you want to carve out a safe spot in the middle of an explosion for an ally? Using a CAD is great, for situations you have prepared for, but once you step into the unknown, unless you have a spell that is incredibly versatile, then you will find cases that you have not prepared for. And, if you do not know how to cast without your CAD, you will likely become a liability, rather than a help.”

I paused, to let that sink in. “And what of Foci? Well, they, too, are tools, though ones more basic in nature. While the CAD’s programs focus on the Knowledge required for a spell, a Focus is typically focused on the Intent. And this changes how the spells cast are used in many ways.”

I reached into my pocket dimension again, and pulled out my staff, as well as a shield focus. “These are both foci. If you picture your mana pool as the water running through your pipes, then the focus is a hose. This staff is just a simple hose, designed to make it exceedingly easy to channel spells based on necromancy. Using it for a fireball would be worse than not using a focus at all.”

Holding up the shield focus, I said, “This pendant is a specialized focus, dedicated to using the Shield spell. You pump mana into it, and it will create a shield. Since it is more specialized, this allows the focus to incorporate both the Intent and Knowledge into it. All that is required by the wearer is the perception of a threat and the thought to activate the shield. No pressing buttons on the CAD, or remembering the proper formulae. Just a shield, instantly. The strength and duration of the shield depends on how much power the user pumps into it, and how long they can keep it up.”

I chuckled, and said, “You should know, however, that, in the other world, only a very poor mage, or one facing a threat that used an element they were weak against, would carry a shield focus. Instead, these were common amongst the footsoldiers and cultivators of an army, giving them that little extra sliver of survivability in the face of enemy mages. A mage using one of these was considered a charlatan unless the shield was focused on an element that they were not proficient in, like a necromancer wishing to create a shield of water to ward off fire spells.

“Now, I can see some of you are confused. Sure, you’ve all heard of elements like Fire and Water, and I’m sure you’re confused as to what I mean about proficiency with the element. Simply put, your understanding of magic hasn’t developed to the point of truly using elements, yet.”

I was certain I had their attention, now. “Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Light, Dark, Life, and Death. These are the elements, each with an opposite. Above these, or below, depending on how you look at it, is raw, or untyped, mana. The people of the other world learned early on to discover one’s elemental affinities. However, this made it difficult for those of the other world to use untyped magic, requiring specialist training, or specially prepared foci to pull off.

“You Thaumaturges, on the other hand, with your belief structure, have approached things differently, starting with untyped mana. Because of this, it is harder for you to identify talents, but those talents tend to be more versatile than just using a single element. However, because of your generalized training, you lack the power of a specialist, someone who focuses on a single element.”

I looked out, over the audience, and said, “If one were to try and study magic, as the other world studied magic, then one of the first things they would need to do is to take up meditation. Yes, I know asking a bunch of scientists to take up meditation sounds counterintuitive. However, there are many reasons for it.

“First, since the other world’s magic does not revolve around the crutch of CADs as being necessary to do magic, that magic is easier to access. More to the point, it is easier to access accidentally. Remember, the cornerstones of magic are Knowledge, Perception, and Intent. Many young mages are found when they are children, because they get frightened, or angry, or excited, and their magic responds instinctively, fueled only by Perceptions and Intent.

“Thankfully, most children do not have the kind of power needed to cause true harm, minus a few accidental fires. However, as you grow older, and grow into your power, actually trying to expand your power? Then, yes, meditation, discipline, and control are all critical. Indeed, the more powerful you are, the more control is needed.

“According to tests done by the International Thaumaturgical Society, the most powerful thaumaturge in the world today is Urata Nobukazu, of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. Urata-san is noted for the prodigious amount of magic that he can channel and produce, and has shown a particular predilection for light-based spells, including laser and maser combat spells. If one were to take his CADs away, then it is possible, with enough effort, that he could manifest light spells that would be deadly. But they would not be as controlled, or as effortless as his normal spellwork. Instead of an industrial laser, you might instead get a microwave burst that cooks every living creature from the inside out, or worse, but the damage would likely be limited to a building or two, maybe a city block.

“Now, to you, the idea of someone getting upset, and being able to boil an entire city block’s worth of people to death on accident is horrific, and rightly so. However, when one is trained in one’s element, and not bound by the crutch of belief that a CAD is necessary for magic, then the need for meditation and self-control grows as one grows in power. For that reason, a lot of the wards placed on a powerful person’s home were designed not just to defend against spying and spellwork, but to contain uncontrolled mana, and keep it from affecting the outside world as much.”

I looked over the audience again. “I tell you this, not to frighten or dissuade you from studying magic, but to warn you of the dangers. Magic is a tool, same as any other. But it is a tool linked to one’s mind, and so an unbalanced mind may have disastrous results when unleashing their magic. Fortunately, most of those who cannot handle controlling themselves typically either destroy themselves early on in their careers, or they walk the path of the cultivator, and go on rampages, rather than unleashing sudden annihilation.”

Chapter 35 – Questions

Once again, we were back in the cafeteria, where I had ‘held court’ yesterday after the first day’s lecture. My lecture time was at 11 each morning, which meant that this was the perfect time to get a bit of lunch afterwards. Well, if I actually needed to eat. But I wasn’t about to let my ‘assistant’ go hungry!

This time, however, the students were far less hesitant about asking questions. In fact, a gaggle of them had literally followed us to the cafeteria from the lecture hall. Thankfully, they had the manners to wait until I was seated before they started asking questions. Unfortunately, they all started asking them at once, which was just not going to work.

I silenced them all with a pulse of power. I kept it controlled, so that I wouldn’t disturb anyone at nearby tables, but it was still enough to make them all stop and stare. In a smooth tone, I said, “Now, we won’t have any of that. Since you’re all so eager, we’re going to go with the old method of raising hands to speak. At least then we’ll all hear the questions.”

At least twenty hands shot into the air, in unison. I picked one from out of the crowd, and nodded. “You, there. What is your question?”

The student, a young girl who was wearing a band t-shirt for a magic-pop idol group, nodded. “Oh, yes! I was wondering if you could tell us more about summoning? Like, can we summon a spirit or protector to help us? And does that count as enslaving them?”

I had been expecting a question like this. Actually, I was surprised that it didn’t come up yesterday, but I suppose they supposed that asking about summoning was a touchy subject for someone who had been summoned. And they were right. But, as long as they were respectful, like this girl was, I didn’t have a problem talking about the basics.

“Well, first, you have to understand the difference between a Summoning, a Calling, a Binding, and a Grand Summoning. All four of which are very different things, with different mechanics. All four of which also have very different consequences.”

All eyes were on me, so I continued. “A Summoning, the simplest of these, is essentially forming mana into a construct, into which the essence of a thing is poured, giving it a semblance of life. These constructs, whether they are physical or energy-based, embody the essence of what you were trying to summon. Your basic fire elementals or summoned woodland creatures all fit into this category. And, to answer your question, no, a Summoning is not slavery, any more than you would say that your car is a slave.

“Now, just because this is the basic form of summoning, does not mean that it is weak. The power of the construct depends on how much mana you push into it, not the construct’s size or shape. In the other world, I saw a rather prodigious summoner fight using armies of summoned squirrels that did her bidding. She was quite impressive, truly.”

I chuckled, remembering the girl. “Actually, even after she died during the fall of Athelia, and rose as part of the army of the dead, she still had that same level of power. That squirrel girl won me more than one battle over the years.

“Anyway,” I said, getting back on track. “This type of summoning can include your basic demonic or celestial summons, as well. So, if you wanted to summon an angel to protect you in battle, or an incubus to ravish you at night, then you’re in luck.” The girl blushed brightly, suddenly embarrassed, but I pressed on.

“Now, if you, say, summon a demon through this kind of summoning, you are not actually summoning the real demon. Like before, you’re creating a magical construct, into which the demon’s consciousness flows. They will obey you for the duration of the spell, because they enjoy getting to ‘play’ in other planes now and then. But be wary of forcing intelligent summoned creatures to act against their type, or you’ll find them less and less willing to answer your summons, and those that do may be inclined to follow the letter, rather than the intent, of your orders, as they get enjoyment out of ‘playing’ with their summoners.”

That brought a bit of a serious mood to the group, which was good, because now we were starting to get into the meat of things. “The next kind of summoning magic is a Calling. Unlike the Summoning, a Calling does not create a magical construct for your intended summon. They are pulled, bodily, into this world. Well, I say ‘pulled’, but unless you have a creatures True Name, which is NOT the same as the name they were given at birth, then trying to Call a creature opens a door for them, and they can choose to walk through or not.

“There are two important things to remember about Callings. First, because the summoned creature is physically present in this world, if they are killed, then they actually die. A Summoned creature, even an intelligent one, is just a construct. If they are destroyed, their consciousness returns from whence it came, and they are none the worse for wear. With a Calling, well, death is a true possibility.

“Which brings us to the second point on Callings. The creatures you summon in a Calling are not under your control. They are always intelligent beings, and will act according to their own desires and designs. To get a Called creature to work for you requires a negotiation, and a bribe. You are literally hiring an otherworldly entity to work for you, often with a set time limit on their term of service.

“As a side note, you should always conduct a Calling so that the called creature appears inside a barrier magic of some sort. This forces the creature to remain in place until you come to terms, and release the barrier, or it finds a weakness, escapes, and tries to kill you. Because a Calling can be reversed easily by the one who cast it, or led the ritual, but if that person is not around, perhaps because they caught a bad case of being dead, then the only way to get the creature back to their home plane is to either forcibly banish them, or destroy them.”

I paused for a moment, and then said, “Next would be the Bindings. Bindings are like Callings, in that they bring an entity bodily into the world. They are very much unlike Callings in the fact that there is no negotiation involved. The summoner, whether it be a single caster or a ritual group, must pit their will against the entity they are attempting to summon and force them into the world. This is easier if you have some connection to the entity, like a relic of theirs, or their true name, but it can be done without it.

“Once you’ve brought the entity into this world, then you have to perform the actual Binding, where you shackle the creature’s body, mind, soul, or some combination thereof, before the creature can break free of whatever barrier you put up to contain them and slaughter you for the insult. Make no mistake, a Binding is most certainly taking a very dangerous creature from another plane, and enslaving it to do your will. So, you have to balance whether the task you are binding a creature for is worth the danger of having a dangerous entity righteously pissed at you and wanting revenge.”

Looking back at the girl who first posed the question. She was looking a little sad, since I probably dashed her dreams of having a rainbow-haired unicorn companion, or something likethat. With a kindly smile, I said, “However, there is a less ethically questionable version of Bindings, especially for those of you who want a Familiar, or a Bonded Protector, or whatever you like to call them.” She perked up at that, showing me that I’d guessed right.

“Now, the process for getting a Familiar is essentially a Binding but with the more socially acceptable nature of a Calling. Simply put, you cannot force a creature to be your Familiar. Not even enslavement magic can force them to consent to the process against their will. This is good, because the binding used in the familiar spell binds the soul of the familiar to that of the caster. They can hear each other’s thoughts, see through each other’s eyes, feel each other’s pain, share each other’s magic.

“Now, why would you get a familiar? Well, the power boost isn’t something to look down on, certainly. Having a second pair of eyes is not a bad idea, either. Even little animals can affect the environment in ways humans cannot. You could also get a mighty bear to act as both mount and protector. Or perhaps one of you boys would like a succubus to be your eternal bedmate? All of that and more is possible.

“However, you should consider the risks involved. Animal familiars or companions are not too problematic. While your souls are linked, the human mind is not likely to be overwhelmed by that of a serpent, a horse, or a dog. But when you start getting into more intelligent, more powerful creatures?” I paused, to make sure they were all paying attention. They were. Good, this needed to be taken seriously.

“Then you find out that the bond works both ways, and you run the risk of the Servant becoming the Master. Any fool that tries and take a Dragon as a familiar deserves what they get, for even the youngest dragon is smarter than your average Business major, and twice as ruthless. And while making a Succubus into your familiar ensures that you will never spend a night alone, it requires a will of iron for your sense of ethics and morality to not become warped, as you see yourself more and more the way your devoted companion wishes you to be. There are even some poor souls who performed the Familiar ritual with their spouse as part of their marriage ceremony. I shouldn’t have to explain why this was a terrible idea on their part.”

Once the round of laughter died down, I said, “Which brings us to the most powerful, and most dangerous, of the four, the Grand Summoning. A Grand Summoning is what brought me and my classmates to the other world. It is too powerful to be done by any mortal caster, as evidenced by the fact that the mere side effects of the spell caused magic to exist in this world.

“The danger of the Grand Summoning involves the fact that you are bringing one or more individuals from another world, and imbuing them with power, all without asking for their opinion, much less consent, in the matter. This danger is somewhat muted, at the beginning, because the ‘heroes’ arrive weak, and disoriented. It takes time for a hero to grow into their power, and gain enough strength to take on the enemy you want them to fight, roughly one tenth the time it takes a normal individual to reach the same level, assuming they had the same starting potential. While this means your summoned pawns cannot resist you, at first, it also means that, if you’re in a position where all hope is lost, but for the hero summoning ritual, then you’re already dead.”

I paused, and said, “We were actually lucky. While the Athelians were certainly ready and willing to use enslavement magic on us the moment we showed any kinds of doubts about saving them, there were no such bindings written into the summoning ritual itself. The ritual was already complex enough, and required enough sacrifices to pull off, so the simpler version was better for Athelia, or so they thought. As I went across the continent, I discovered other versions of the ritual, some of which incorporated Bindings, or actual Slave Magic, into the spellwork. If we had been summoned by one of those rituals, our minds would have been snared so that we would not even have been able to think about resisting.”

A hand went up, nervously. “Yes?”

“Um, what is the difference between what a Binding does, and Slave Magic?”

“Ah, yes. Well, a Binding is actually the kinder of the two. It places a magical command on the creature, such as ‘Guard the treasury and kill anyone who approaches without the royal seal,’ and forces the creature to carry out the command. It is mind control, certainly, but the creature’s mind is still their own.

“Slave Magic, on the other hand, interferes with the victim’s mind, manipulates it, so that they cannot be sure where they end and the spell begins. There are several different ways they go about it, but the basics of the spell is that it ends up brainwashing people to the point where they no longer need to be actively controlled. How, you might ask? By providing some kind of direct stimulus.”

“Like pain?”

I ignored the fact that the student spoke out of turn, and nodded. “Pain is one way, and it is the favorite of the more sadistic types, to be sure. Pain when you try to resist. Pain when you think insults about your Master. Pain when you try to disobey an order. And, because it is in your head, it supplies the pain every time you believe you’re disobeying, making it difficult to try and do any kind of malicious compliance, since your mind knows you’re not following your Master’s intent.”

There was a general shudder through the crowd, a sentiment I echoed. “Yes, that is terrible, to be sure. But that is the amateur version of Slave Magics, the one that only sadistic monsters use, for their own enjoyment. No, it is far, far worse when you use the kind of magic that was used on us, by the Athelians.

“You see, anyone with enough will can resist pain. You can ignore pain. You can grit your teeth and fight through it. There have been people who broke their foot, and still walked a mile on the mangled stump, staving off shock with the simple goal of making it to their destination and an iron will. A normal human, with no magic whatsoever, is capable of such things.

“But what about pleasure? What if every time you called your owner ‘Master’ in your mind, you got a little rush of pleasure? What if, every time you completed a task for your master, you felt that burst of serotonin? If every time they called you a ‘good girl’ you climaxed? How long could you resist that?”

Forty years was a long time, but I still remembered the effects of that damn collar far too well. I took a breath to steady myself, even though I hadn’t needed to breath since I stopped being alive. “So, I tell you all quite truthfully that, after a year, maybe two, they could have taken those collars off of us, and we would still be devoted servants for the rest of our lives, having been trained to the point where our own minds would give us the pleasure from obeying our masters. I had only had the collar on for a month, and I was already having trouble keeping my mind. If my body hadn’t died then, then the person I was would have died ere long.”

Chapter 36 – Third Class

Another day, another class. This time, I was dressed in my miko outfit again. Not because I was going to offer another spiritual lesson, like I had the first day, but because the loose-fitting traditional garb was easy to move in, while still being more socially acceptable to wear in front of an audience than yoga pants and a sports bra. That was important, considering the topic for today.

Looking out at the audience, I smiled. “Today, we will talk about practical magic, the kind of magic that you don’t need great stores of mana to pull off. This is the kind of magic that anyone can use, with a little bit of training, even if they don’t have a great deal of talent in spellcasting.

“Some of you may have seen a video of me that went viral a few months back, that took place out on the ‘magic soccer’ fields here at the University of Seattle. In this video, I showed off a fraction of what was possible with body enhancing magics. As you might have guessed, that is today’s topic.”

There was a bit of a stir from the crowd, as they were definitely liking this topic of discussion. Not that I blamed them. It was some straight-up fantasy stuff.

“Now, I’m not going to get into the actual spellwork, because that is going to change based on your beliefs and the way you structure your magic. But you’re all very intelligent people, so I’m sure you can figure it out. Instead, I’m going to teach you about both active and passive body enhancement.”

She touched the projector’s remote control, and a cartoon outline of a human body appeared on the screen set up behind her. “This is your average human.” Another press of the remote, and blue lines began moving in through the mouth, and then out of a hand, forming a ball of fire. “And this is how most Thaumaturges use magic, drawing in mana, or magicules, from their body, and they replace them as they use them from the outside world. To most Thaumaturges, they don’t even notice the way they channel mana. This is because your style of casting, using CADs, is designed to be as efficient as possible, limiting the amount of magic you draw.”

Another press, and the screen showed the blue line coming in, and then gathering in the center of the body. “This is the first step to both body enhancement, and increasing your own magic abilities. Instead of using mana as you need it, you draw it in, pool it, and store it within you. This allows you to use more powerful spells, more often, with less need for efficiency and precision. Think of it like having an extra fuel tank on a plane. That extra fuel means you have more options and more flexibility than you normally would.”

I paused, to allow people to come to terms with the image, and then pressed on. “Now, how do you draw in and pool the magic, when you’re not using spells? Well, different cultures have different means of doing this, of course. Monks and mages might engage in meditation and cultivation, like you see in xianxia novels. Warriors might use breathing exercises with their training drills, taking in mana while they work. The point is, it needs only a very little training to begin the process of pooling your mana, which is necessary for the next step.”

Another click, and the blue lines spread to the limbs, with a blue aura surrounding it. “This is a person using active body enhancement, without spells. Essentially, they take their mana pool, and push it out into their body. This can effect all parts of the body, enhancing their strength, fortifying their bones, speeding reaction time, heightening eyesight, and so on. It can even allow a person to think faster and clearer, by enhancing the brain.”

I smirked at the audience. “Note that this does not make a person more intelligent, or more knowledgeable. A computer will not suddenly have better programming just because the available RAM increases and you get a better graphics card. It will run faster, have better frame rates, and so on, but the programming is still the same.”

Leaning back against the podium, I said, “Now, the benefits of active enhancement are obvious to anyone who thinks about it for at least thirty seconds. It is basically adrenaline on steroids, but you can control how much you enhance yourself, and you can turn it on and off at will. This is obviously a big advantage for anyone engaged in physical activity.

“However, magic always has a price. You can’t just pump all that mana through your body without consequences. Even if you don’t tear your muscles and shatter your bones, you still risk burning up your body’s energy stores and wrecking your natural flow of mana. Some of that can be countered by spellwork, but that leads into the second problem with active body enhancement.

“That problem, obviously, is how much mana you have available to you. Active reinforcement is incredibly inefficient, and it needs to be constantly applied to be useful. Adding spells on top of that drains you even further, to the point where even the most prodigious mage cannot channel that much mana at once.”

I took a breath. “This is why creating a store of magic is the first step for body enhancement. The greater a store of magic you have, the longer you can push your enhancements for. But what if you had a stronger baseline to start from?”

I clicked the remote again, and this time, the blue aura of the person was gone. However, at the same time, the outline of the human turned blue. “That is what passive body enhancement does. You take in mana, and let it trickle out into your body constantly, every minute of every hour of every day. It starts off slow, but, over the course of a decade? The results are incredible.

“So, what does passive body enhancement do for you? Well, all the same things that active enhancement does, for the most part. You can easily get to peak human performance, and beyond, as a baseline. Moreover, people who engage in passive enhancement will also tend to age slower, and easier, so that they can live to the age of a hundred and twenty, on average. The oldest known human in the other world was Hedan the Wise, who lived to the age of two hundred and seventy-five.”

That sent a shock through the room, as she knew it would. “Now, obviously the problems with passive body enhancement is that it is slow. You won’t get instant results with it. You won’t even get short-term results. Most people don’t have that kind of patience. If it weren’t so easy, then most wouldn’t bother.

“The benefits, of course, are that it is a passive increase to your abilities, and the basics can be safely done even for children, even before puberty. And it can be done alongside mana training and physical training. It is the one thing that unites mages and warriors. Even merchants and nobles do it, for the health benefits, if nothing else.”

I took a moment for that to sink in. “Now, that is just with body enhancement magic that you use yourself. But there is also a means of artificially enhancing one’s body, called augmentation. There are two main forms of augmentation.”

I touched the remote, and the original body appeared on the screen, with another one alongside. One was a normal person, and the other had its right arm replaced with one that ended in claws, and there were cartoon stitches holding it on. It looked a bit Frankenstein-ish, but that was the point.

“The first, and most basic, is called grafting. Grafting, simply put, is taking a body part of another living creature, and attaching it to yourself. Want to increase your strength? Replace your arm with that of a demon. Want to regenerate damage? Replace part of your body with that of a troll’s. Want to fly? Graft a celestial’s wings to your back. And so on.

“This is quicker than body enhancement magic, and can work alongside it. But there are plenty of problems with it, as you can guess. First, you have to actually get the part from a creature that is, at base, stronger than you, and who will almost certainly object to being chopped up. Second, you have to worry about corruption from the foreign part, much like how transplanted organs can cause rejection. But people often think it is worth the cost, especially if they are already missing body parts.”

I paused, looking out over the audience again, and was not surprised to see that some of them were looking vaguely uneasy, like they’d eaten something that disagreed with them. That was pretty common with this kind of discussion. With a smile, I touched the remote again. The ‘normal’ human on the screen now had a replaced arm, as well. However, instead of a clawed arm, this one was obviously metal.

“A subset of grafting practiced by artificers and golem-makers involves creating prosthetic limbs and other devices. This functions similarly to grafting organic material, but it involves less risk compared to harvesting limbs from an angry demon. However, the grafts produced by these artificers can be extremely expensive, and are impossible to mass produce.”

People were definitely interested, now. “Now, why would someone want a heavy piece of iron or steel where their arm was? Well, I’m sure some of you can figure out some benefits. Steel is noticeably tougher than normal flesh, which can provide some defensive benefits. The ability to put hidden weapons in there is another. I’m sure you can think of more.

“The point is that these grafted augments, whether biological or artificial, can be used to improve people’s abilities, and enhance people beyond the normal baseline. Effectively, they can give you all the benefits of other creatures’ senses and abilities, or turn you into a cyborg of old. And augments are not limited to humans, or humanoid forms. Even undead can be augmented.”

I smiled, as I touched the ankh around my neck, and allowed the black flames to burn away my illusory flesh. Now, standing before everyone in my natural form, I held up one arm, and pointed to the bones of my forearm, angling it so that the lights caught them just right for the iron in them to shine.

“One of the simplest augments you can do to any creature is to strengthen the bones. However, this has to be done carefully in living creatures, because just coating someone’s bones in metal is extremely invasive, and will probably be poisonous to anyone without extreme regenerative abilities.

“However, when you get it right? Well, you can infuse iron and steel into someone’s bones, or realign the carbon in their bones to a stronger form, with better compressive and tensile strength. Even without body enhancement, my bones are infused with iron and further strengthened by realigning the carbon. You could drop me from the top of a six-story building and I would not even fracture my bones, even without any of my magic. That is the strength of grafting.”

I pulled my sleeve back down, and reformed my physical glamour, letting my flesh fill out again. “The other kind of augmentation is a form of enchantment, called ‘branding’. As one might expect, this involves physically marking the subject, though whether it is a brand, a tattoo, or even an engraving upon the person’s very bones. These provide the same benefits as any enchantment, but they cannot be lost or stolen, like an enchanted ring could be.”

“As you can imagine, this can be incredibly powerful, when done properly, but there are a multitude of risks. The first problem, of course, is the fact that branding, no matter the type, is painful to the extreme. There is simply no way of getting around that point.

“Worse still, however, is the fact that enchantments are limited by the base material they are placed on. A tattoo or brand would not be able to convey the most potent enchantments. Which is not to say that they aren’t useful. There is a tattoo that allows you to know when people are attempting to use subtle illusion or enchantment spells upon you, which can be incredibly useful when you otherwise might not know you even need to defend yourself.

“But if you want the most powerful enchantments? Well, you’ll need to engrave them on your bones, preferably bones that have already been strengthened by both passive enhancement and augmentation. That is more painful than you can imagine, but the benefits can be, in a word, legendary. Like the King of an elven land who had himself enchanted with protections against demons, to the point where his very touch would slay any demon he came across. Unfortunately, he learned that those protections did not provide any protection from a traitorous assassin drawn from the ranks of his own household after the Demon King bought the traitor’s allegiance.

“Remember, no magic is without a counter, even if that counter is entirely nonmagical.”

Chapter 37 – Constructive

The usual crowd followed me to the common area once again. Like last time, they waited until Eri and I had made it through the lunch line and seated ourselves with our food before the questions started. Unlike last time, they all raised their hands, with grins on their faces at the image of grown adults having to do something out of grade school in a private setting.

I noticed that the Chinese student from the first day, Dai Ya, had managed to get close, and had her hand up. When I pointed to her, she asked, “Miss Akagawa, what do you know about golems? Or other constructs from the old stories?”

I smiled, and said, “Ah, now that is an interesting question indeed, and one that, as an enchanter, I happen to know a good bit about. First, you must understand that there are various types of constructs, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, but, generally speaking, in a fairly fixed ranking of power. As you go up in rank, however, they become far more complex, and far, FAR more expensive to make.

“In that way, the art of golemancy, or creating golems, is not so different from necromancy, though the actual practices of the two disciplines are nowhere near the same.” I paused and looked at the group. “This will take a bit to explain. Does everyone want to hear about the basic forms of constructs and undead?”

The deafening chorus in the affirmative and the hungry gaze of academics presented with new knowledge to absorb left little doubt, so I continued with a smile. “First, constructs. When you come down to it, constructs are like robots. You have everything from the simple wind-up mechanical toy, to the mindless vacuum that wanders about, cleaning, all the way up to androids with sentient AI from science-fiction.

“At the bottom ranking of constructs, you have the simple animated objects. These are everyday objects infused with a purpose by either a spell or enchantment, and set about to do a task. For instance, a very common (and extremely simple) construct is a self-sweeping broom. It literally does nothing but sweeps floors until it runs out of magic power, but it takes so little power to use that even a commoner could power one long enough to clean their floors each day.

“The next step up from this would be constructs with working joints, powered by ambient mana. These automatons are useful enough for some tasks, but are still generally mindless, only able to deal with their ‘programming’, which is contained in a core housed somewhere within their body. Sometimes, they may even be remote operated by a mage. You will often see them working simple tasks, especially in places where mindless repetition is key, or where it would be hazardous to mortals to linger. Factory floors, mail rooms, bomb disposal, and so on.”

I leaned back in my chair, and said, “Now, it should be noted that the simplicity of a construct’s programming need not be reflected in the simplicity or strength of its vessel. Granted, form follows function, to some extent. You could make a mastercrafted broom of only the finest materials around, engraved to the point where it is a work of art, but why would you, when the broom’s only purpose is to sweep the floors? It would be an idiotic bout of vanity, like having a gold-plated toilet, something that only the deeply insecure would consider getting, to try and prove their wealth.”

A round of nods showed that there wasn’t anyone who didn’t understand the absurdity of getting something like that. “That said, once you get into automatons, different materials can have an effect. A construct made from steel will be harder to damage than one made from balsa wood, for instance, but would be more expensive to make and more difficult to repair when it does break down. Wood is also typically cheaper to source and shape than steel is, making it more cost effective.

“Thankfully, automatons are capable of being repaired even by people with limited magical training, provided that you have spare parts on hand. All you need is the mechanical knowledge of how the parts fit, and the training to connect the magic circuits. So long as the core housing the enchantment remains undamaged, then you can repair or replace the entire rest of the construct with ease. This ease of repair is the primary reason that automatons are used, in fact, since the parts are almost always easier and cheaper to repair or replace over decades of service than more advanced constructs.”

Another hand, this time from that Jotaro Fisher boy. “Miss Akagawa? Are there limits to what kind of materials you can use? Like, could you use bones to make constructs?”

I smiled at him, for bringing up a topic I hadn’t touched on yet. “Ah, an interesting thought, Mr. Fisher. That straddles the line between golemancy and necromancy, of course, but there are indeed good reasons why a golemancer might make constructs out of bone. After all, we talked about passive enhancement, yes? That passive enhancement does not go away after death, not for a great while, at least. All it would take is to use magic or wires to keep the joints together, and you could make a nimble construct indeed.

“Cost is another factor. Taking the bones of a fallen enemy to create a construct offers a tougher base material with a fraction of the expense of quarrying, sculpting, and enchanting stone. And, before you ask, the magics and materials used are different from those of necromancy, making them more ‘socially acceptable’ in most circles, and easier to come by. Still, bone is something golemancers use only at need, or when exceptional bones are available to be used.”

Looking back at the rest of the group, I said, “Moving on, the next type of construct is the bound vessel. When one binds a powerful spirit (whether it be an elemental, celestial, demon, or even a mortal soul) into a vessel, that spirit can sometimes take control of the vessel, and animate it, according to its will, limited only by the bindings placed upon it. How mobile this vessel is depends upon the strength of the inhabiting spirit, and the construction of the vessel. A terracotta soldier would be a prime home for a powerful spirit, who would be able to use magic to ‘fill in’ the gaps made when the statue comes to a semblance of life. On the other hand, a relatively minor spirit could easily take a child’s doll, and make it do all manner of tricks.

“And don’t make the mistake of thinking the doll would be the less dangerous foe. There was a famous story about a murderer who managed to bind his spirit to a doll before he died, allowing him to cheat death by inhabiting the doll. He went on to kill many more people in a futile quest to get a suitable human host to take over. It turned out that the doll’s hands were nimble enough to grab a knife, and the killer’s strength of will empowered the doll enough so that it was easily capable of overwhelming unsuspecting civilians.”

“Isn’t that the plot of an old horror movie?”

I turned a baleful glare at the student who spoke. “Hand, next time, if you please.” Turning to the others, I shrugged. “But, yes, there was a movie that came remarkably close to the truth of this story. However, instead of the doll being obsessed with a singular target, he had to keep running because between the dead bodies and his rituals, the court mages were always on his tail. He actually managed to last seven months, before he was finally caught by a necromancer and his soul locked in a gem.”

Sighing, I shook my head, and continued, “Anyways, the final, and greatest, form of construct is a Golem. These constructs are often roughly human in shape, but there’s no need for them to be so. Their powers have less to do with their shape, and more with their material, mass, and magic, as well as the nascent soul bound into the making of the item. That last part, by the way, is part of why golems are so expensive to create. The creation seizes an unborn soul and forces it into the body made for it, binding it tightly to the control of its creator, or whoever holds the key.

“Now, before anyone asks, while the soul may be enslaved, it is not really sentient. Think of it more like a dog trained from birth to be a guard and follow commands. The golem is capable of following orders, not just preprogrammed instructions, but it is only a very, very rare golem that can think for itself, and those are usually only ones that have existed for several hundred years, or ones where some poor soul who was already alive found their soul bound to the golem, but there are only a few confirmed cases of that happening.”

I took a breath, more for my audience’s benefit than my own. “Now, why would someone use golems if they have such problematic origins? That is easy enough to figure out. Golems are ridiculously strong, incredibly hard to damage, and all but immune to many spells. A squad of twelve High Steel Golems could take on a tank division and drive them to a standstill. Against creatures of flesh and bone? They are devastation itself.

“You see, a Golem is a force multiplier. Defenders rally to their side, and attackers follow in their wake. More importantly, golems can be controlled by whoever has their key. This means that, instead of relying solely upon the mages, and potentially granting them too much power, a ruler can give command of a golem to a trusted general, and, thus, checks and balances are formed.”

Miss Dai raised her hand again, “If that is the case, why use undead?”

“An excellent question. As I said, the requirements for golemancy and necromancy are different, even if one is using bones and souls in both. Simply put, for the creation of weak, simple undead, the fact is that you have materials everywhere, and you don’t need elaborate preparations, so you can snap off a spell and raise them.

“Now, I’ll point out that any mage can create undead. A necromancer is a mage who has more affinity with the element of Death, which means that necromantic spells come easier to them, and raising undead requires fewer materials. A necromancer also can control far more undead than a normal mage and creating the higher forms of undead is also easier for them. However, even for an archmage-level necromancer, controlling an entire army at once is impossible.”

There was a flurry of hands, naturally. “I can already guess what question you’re going to ask. No, even I, as a Summoned Heroine, Archmage Necromancer, and Archlich, cannot control an entire army of the undead at once. Oh, I have the power to do so, certainly, but that would be using the army as nothing more than a blunt object, a mindless horde like you see in zombie movies. That is not an army, and only a fool thinks otherwise!

“No, to control an army, one must be able to give commands and adapt to the battlefield. That means having commanders and lieutenants, stronger undead, with more intelligence, bound more firmly to my will than your average skeleton warrior. This means that instead of trying to control one hundred thousand soldiers, I only need to control one thousand, with each lieutenant controlling a hundred undead of their own.”

Fisher raised his hand again. “Is your army really that large?”

“Oh, yes. You have to understand that I did have forty years to build my army, and the Free Countries offered up their dead to me as reinforcements, if only I would take on the brunt of the fighting. I further enhanced my forces with the fallen. Every battle, my forces grew, until the entire Demon Kingdom was overrun.”

Another hand, this one from a new student. Interestingly enough, I could sense necromantic power from her. A young necromancer, perhaps? “Miss Akagawa, I’m Naya Aeko, I’m currently in the UCLA Thaumaturge program on a student visa, but I came up here to hear you speak. I was wondering if you could tell us any down sides to using undead?”

“Certainly. An obvious place to start would be public reaction. I don’t know if you are aware, but some people get just a little touchy if you go digging up their loved ones and turning their rotting corpses into soldiers. Something about ‘disrespecting the dead’, or some such.”

That got some chuckles, as I intended, so I kept going. “Seriously, though, other than public perception, you have several things to consider when using undead. First, the smell. Turning creatures into undead does not wholly stop the process of decay. Which means that any zombies, especially, are going to be extremely fragrant on a hot and wet summer day. You can fight against this with certain spells, but those just aren’t practical for large groups, which is why most necromancers will only use zombies for temporary positions, and any fleshy undead they keep around beyond that are going to be the type that can at least work to keep their smell down when they’re around mortals.

“Second, you have the fact that, even for necromancers, creating higher-tier undead is not an off-the-cuff process. Especially not in any large numbers, unless you have god-tier powers. Not the same amount of investment as golem-making, of course, but it definitely isn’t something most can do on a whim.

“Third, and there is no getting around this point, you are ripping the souls of the dead and dying away from whatever afterlife they were promised, and forcing them to fight for you. Possibly even forcing them to fight against their own kin. Not everyone has the stomach to do that, even if it must be done to achieve your goals. There’s no shame in that, but you will be handicapping yourself, potentially fatally so.

“Fourth, and finally, your very existence, from that point on, will unite people against you. Unless you are too powerful for people to easily handle, you will always have to be looking for a dagger in your back. Even then, you won’t be safe. After all, there’s always some idiot that says, ‘That guy literally just killed a dragon and ate his soul! Let’s mug him!’ Then, they get surprised when you destroy them. But they only have to get lucky once.”

I rose from my seat. “And, on that note, I’ll be taking my leave for the day. Tomorrow’s lecture will be on the different ‘schools’ of magic, and their elements. Look forward to it!”

Chapter 38 – Fourth Class

Stepping onto the stage for Thursday’s class, I was happy to see that the audience was full, just as it had been the rest of the week. Not that I was really worried about people getting bored of my presentations, but you never know. It is best to not take things for granted.

“Today, we will be talking about Elements and how they affect magic. Note that this is not talking about elements like on the periodic table, but rather more like the Classical Elements, as we discussed earlier in the week. There are some interesting things that you can do with the periodic table’s elements and magic if you have the proper knowledge and enough power at your disposal, of course, but that is a more advanced class, and not something we’ll get into in this overview.

“Now, the elements, in case you have forgotten, are Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, Life, Death, Light, and Darkness. Primal forces that make up all of creation, mixing together in different degrees to become reality as we know it. And this is important. ‘Pure’ elements are rare. You almost always find them mixed or alloyed with other elements, and it is those mixtures that give context to our experiences of reality.

“Now, some elements have worse reputations than others, just from the name. People associate Fire with destruction, and Dark and Death are ominous to most. But remember that this is just part of what these elements are. Fire also warms you on a cold winter’s day, and powers the cars you drive. Industrial lasers and gamma radiation are both forms of Light, but can easily kill people. And biological contagions like viruses and bacterial infections are the domain of Life, not Death. Death, on the other hand, is the element often used to snuff out plagues. So, don’t be so quick to judge.”

I paused to look over the audience, and said, “I have said before that the mages in the other world learned their elements, while thaumaturges learn a non-elemental style. This is both help and hinderance to you thaumaturges. You have to work harder to reach your magic, necessitating the use of CADs for all but the most basic of spells, but you are generalists who can more easily cast a wide variety of spells.

“A mage, more often than not, has one element that is easier for them to control than the others. This talent for an element guides much of their early development as a mage, as the spells in that element are easier for them to grasp and learn, and that element ‘flows’ easier for them. So, they tend to set their foundation on their element, and then build upwards and outwards from there.

“This makes it sound as though all mages are specialists, but that is not the truth. Actual specialization in an element, to the point where someone is unable to use any other, is rare, and is usually only seen in fanatics, the mentally ill, or those who have suffered from some form of magical accident. For most mages, they can use any element they wish, but certain elements are more difficult for them to draw on.

“Each element has its opposite. Earth and Wind are opposed to each other, as are Light and Dark. Does this mean a Dark mage cannot create a spell to conjure light to see by, or that an Earth mage cannot summon wind to blow away smoke? Of course not. But their opposed element responds… unfavorably to them, making it more difficult.

“Worse, the more powerful you are in an element, the harder it is for you to use spells of the opposing element. Before I died, I was a necromancer, with some talent thanks to the Hero Summoning ritual. If my Death magic was at 100% efficiency, my other elements were at 80%, while Life was at 70%. When I became a lich, a creature infused with Death magic to its very core, my non-dominant elements remained the same, but Life plummeted to 40%. These days, if I were to use life magic, it would be only 1%, requiring me to spend a hundred times the mana for the same effect a Life mage might get.

“The flip side of this, of course, is that my Death magic is far more efficient than a normal mage’s. Going back to before, if, when I was alive, my Death element was 100% efficient, becoming a lich made my Death magic 120%. Now, it is closer to 350%, where I spend far less mana to achieve the same effect as another mage might do. When you consider the increased efficiency, along with the techniques for growing one’s mana pool, it is obvious why mages in the other world would focus on their elements, as that provides them more ‘stamina’ to keep casting their spells for longer, or to reach for higher tiers of magic.”

I paused, letting them digest the few bombs I’d dropped in that spiel. “Now, mages can be broadly by two things, their Element, and their Style, which, broadly, has to do with their beliefs, as well as their training. The four main styles are Sorcerers, Witches, Warlocks, and Arcanists, and each of these four styles influence how they use their magic.

“The closest of these to a Thaumaturge would be the Arcanists. Arcanists use their intellect and their knowledge of the world and of magic to cast their spells. This gives them the potential for quite a bit of utility in what spells they use, but only if they’ve studied it. Typically, an Arcanist will have a grimoire detailing the outlines of spells, as this helps keep the knowledge fresh in his mind. They are also some of the most knowledgeable individuals on the theories of magic, as they are constantly researching and studying to learn more.

“An Arcanist who is gifted in the Fire element would be a Pyromancer. Hydromancers are gifted in Water. Aeromancers and Terramancers are for Wind and Earth. Light Arcanists are Lumenancers while Dark ones are Umbramancers. And Life and Death are Vitamancers and Necromancers. Obviously, each type has their own nicknames and slang that they are called by, but the Arcanists insist that those, and only those, are the proper names.”

Another pause, just to let them know I was moving on. “Witches, who are both male and female, by the way, draw power from their connection to their element, and the world around them. This results in them being very close to their respective elements, and they are often drawn to work with others of their own kind. In the other world, Witches were the undisputed masters of ritual magic, because of this.

“As with Arcanists, different types of Witches have different names based on their element. Life Witches are Druids, and Death Witches are Spiritualists. Earth Witches are Shamans, while Air Witches are Stormcallers. Fire Witches are Flamespeakers, and Water Witches are Wellwatchers or Seawalkers, depending on whether they spend their time on land or at sea. Light Witches are Radiant Ones, while Dark Witches are Shadowbringers.”

A brief pause, and then, “And then, there are the Sorcerers. Sorcerers do not, as a rule, study ancient tomes to learn the intricacies of magic, nor do they seek out a spiritual connection to their element, so as to channel its power through them. No, Sorcerers take their will, and make it manifest in the world by force of their own personality. They literally tell the universe what they want to happen, and the universe obeys. However, the strength of will to achieve this is not common, making the Sorcerers the rarest of the different styles, especially when such willfulness often causes them trouble with other people, leading more than a few Sorcerers to wind up dead before they can attain any serious power. Those who do survive, however, are often the most powerful mages around.

“An interesting point to note is that, because Sorcerers are so willful, their mastery of their element often bleeds over into their physical form. While any mage might develop physical traits related to their element, it is near universal in Sorcerers. Why this is hasn’t been fully determined, but the Arcanists doing the studies suggested that, because the Sorcerer sees himself as the focus of his power, rather than something external, like an Arcanist’s study or a Witch’s veneration, that their magic responds to this belief by making the Sorcerer become their element.”

I let that sink in for a second, and then pushed on. “Sorcerers, being individualists as a rule, and lacking much in the way of organization, are often simply called ‘Flame Sorcerers’ or something similar for the ‘physical’ elements, if they haven’t given themselves some kind of unique title. Things are a little different for the ‘nonphysical’ elements. Light and Dark Sorcerers are almost universally called Celestials and Demons (not to be confused with creatures from the higher and lower planes, which are True Celestials and True Demons). Death and Life Sorcerers are Reapers and Animators, respectively.”

Another pause, and then, “The final category of magic user is the Warlock. Unlike the others, they are not separated by element, but by the source of their powers. For a Warlock is one who has made a pact with an entity beyond their scope in power. That entity infuses them with a portion of its power, and, in return, it gets… well, what it gets depends on the entity. Suffice to say that entities of this scale do nothing if it does not benefit them in some way. For this reason, Warlocks are held apart from other magic users, because their power is not wholly their own, and what was given might also be taken away. Still, their power is quite impressive.”

I turned towards center stage, and then turned back to the audience. “It should be noted that not all the entities that offer pacts are malevolent. Some are beneficial. Some, both good or evil, set themselves up as gods. Whether they are a Priest, an Occultist, or even a Sage, if they gain a portion of their power through a pact with a higher power, then they are a Warlock.”

I walked to the center of the stage. “Now, those are just the basic divisions of mages in the other world, but there are other divisions, which are more like titles. These titles can be earned, or they can come from innate ability. All of them convey power far beyond that of a normal magic user. Using one of these titles without the proper qualifications is an excellent way to end up dead. To those who legitimately hold the title, pretenders are as insulting as if a civilian who had never worn a uniform, much less been within five hundred miles of combat claimed that they were a combat veteran with the Medal of Honor. You may ask the military people in the audience what kind of reception such people would likely receive.”

When the angry grumbling from veterans, or people who had family that were veterans calmed down, I continued. “The first title to note is ‘Master’. Anyone who has earned the rank of Master, whether it is Master Necromancer or Master of the Radiant Ones, or Master Air Sorcerer, or whatever, has reached the heights of their study. They are to others of their path as a Sniper is to someone who scraped by to get their marksmanship badge. And they are the least powerful, or dangerous, of the titles I am discussing.”

That put a chill on the room, as I intended. “The next rank would be that of ‘Arch’, as in Archsorcerer or Archdruid. These individuals are the top one percent of their fields. No one with two brain cells put together takes these people lightly, for obvious reasons. And even fewer make fun of how the title might sound for something like ‘Arch Flame Sorcerer’. That is an excellent way to have your city reduced to ash.”

I shook my head, clearing away memories of having done just that before. “There are also those who walk along more than just a single elemental path. Essentially, those who can focus on more than a single element. This is not a title that can be earned, it is a reflection of innate ability. The titles are self-explanatory. Dual-mages have two elements, Triads have three, and so on. The two rarest ones are Nullmage and Omnimage. Nullmages have no elemental specialty, so they gain no benefits, but also have no penalties. Omnimages, on the other hand, have ALL the elemental benefits, with none of the penalties. Nullmages may be one in one hundred thousand, but there had only been a single Omnimage in the recorded history of the other world, and he was a Summoned Hero. Which explains part of why the Hero Summoning ritual was passed down throughout the world.

“Now, if there are those who walk more than one elemental path, obviously there are those who can practice more than one Style. Someone who can practice two Styles is called a Mage. With a capitol M. The difference between a mage and a Mage is a big one, because they can weave their magical attacks and defenses in different ways, allowing them to build on their strengths, and compensate for weaknesses. They are much harder to take on than other magic users of their power level because of this.

“Following from this, an Archmage is someone who can use all three of the primary Styles, mixing and matching them as they will. An Archmage is generally revered as the greatest height that a magic practitioner can reach. Though they may not be the absolute most powerful magical users in the world, their power is still such that they can easily sweep aside most contenders, and those they cannot, they have a multitude of spells to slip past an enemy’s defenses, or to throw off their attacks. None reach the rank of Archmage without a lifetime’s work. And anyone who tries to claim the title falsely will find themselves experiencing a fate worse than death if a true Archmage hears of it.”

I looked out at the audience again, and said, “Now, since I know some will ask, the titles relating to magic that I hold are Archnecromancer, Archspiritualist, Archreaper, Archmage, and Archwarlock. I have earned each and every one of them, I assure you.”

Chapter 39 – Discovery

This time, as I held court in the cafeteria, I could tell that not just my table, but the next closest tables as well were listening with rapt attention. Of course, I had dropped something of a bombshell at the end of my presentation, so that was understandable. As was the first question I was asked.

“Excuse me, Ms. Akagawa, but if you’re an Archwarlock, that means you made a pact with someone or something, right? Could you tell us more?”

I smiled at the student, and nodded. “Of course. First, however, I think it would do well to start with some information from my past, before the Awakening, before I even came to the International School. I worked, part-time, as a miko, a shrine maiden in a Shinto shrine. For those who have not studied Japanese culture, Shinto is a religion that is both polytheistic and animistic.

“In Shinto, we worship the kami, the spirits which inhabit all things. Through this, we become closer to the world around us, to better live in harmony with the world. We offer food and drink to the kami enshrined in different places, asking for protection and blessings, as appropriate. Sometimes even the dead can become a kami. Most importantly, for this story, is the knowledge that the kami are not all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful entities that created the world and everything in it, but rather they are a product of the world, same as all of us.

“This is a simplistic telling, of course, but it speaks to my mindset, when I was transported to the other world. Some of my classmates, particularly those from more monotheistic religious backgrounds, were shaken by the revelation of other worlds, and what that might mean for their faith. Was their god real? Why did He let this happen to them? This kept them up at nights, especially after our suffering truly began.

“I, on the other hand, was not surprised to see no signs of the kami I knew, for they were bound to the land, to the shrines they inhabited. Of course, they would not stretch across the veil between worlds to make their presence known! This land was not their land, and they were not omnipotent beings.”

I noticed some of the students stirring, clearly not expecting a theology lesson, and smiled. “I was alone, the only one of my classmates remaining. I smuggled their bodies out of the castle, to ensure they were not forgotten, but they were still dead. As I began to build my army, with the goal of avenging myself upon the people of Athelia and claiming vengeance for my classmates, I was adrift, with only my wrath to guide me.

“But the transformation to being a lich changes you. You are no longer truly alive, so, naturally, life’s pleasures and pains do not touch you as deeply, and your emotions become muted, for the most part. Yet, I was still a newborn lich in those days, and my emotions ran hot, undimmed from when I was alive. And those emotions brought questions, and doubts, and I looked for solace. To say nothing of the fact that I had not yet completed my training as a necromancer!”

I shook my head. “I was young, and needed guidance. And so, I called out to the kami of that world, hoping to find a connection, any connection. And I got an answer.

“Because of the Hero Summoning, my ability with magic was increased. Not just my mana pool, but also my connection to my element. So, when I called out into the aether for aid, it was a Death entity which came to me.

“Not a Shinigami, as I would have expected in this world, and not a Grim Reaper, either. It was the Goddess of Death for that world. She appeared to me as a huntswoman, garbed all in black, with a black cloak, and a bow made of blackened bone, and a string made of pure magic. Her name was Murena, Goddess of the Hunt and of Death, for the arrows she launched from her bow, named Mercy, never missed their mark, and always killed their targets, sending them painlessly to the afterlife.”

A hand raised, from one of the students. “If you made a pact with a god, wouldn’t that make you a priestess?”

“Good question,” I nodded, approvingly. “The truth is that there is some difference between a Warlock, and the Clerics and Paladins that may follow a god. You see, a Warlock makes a pact, and they bargain for power. There is no veneration, no worship there. There is respect, certainly, but that is not worship.

“A wielder of the divine, however, believes, well and truthfully, in their chosen god, and opens themselves up to be a conduit of the god’s power. Through their worship, they earn the god’s favor, and through practice, they are able to wield more and more of the god’s power, channeling it through their mortal frame. It would not be wrong to say that, at the highest levels, they are almost vessels for their god, to the point where some are even transformed into mortal avatars.”

I paused, considering my next words. “I had my beliefs already, and was not willing to just blindly worship this goddess. But, as we spoke, we came to an understanding. For Murena was not amused at the people of the world and their habit of summoning others to fight and die in conflicts that were none of their concern. So, too, did she disdain the use of slave collars, for she was a huntress, and ranged where she would.

“I learned much from the conversation. It was a whisper from Her, in fact, which informed the Demon King about our summoning, and caused the assassins to be sent out after us. Not because She wished to aid the Demon King, but rather to punish Athelia for what they had done, both in summoning us, and then later enslaving us. She had sat by when only a single hero was summoned, for they were limited in what damage they could do to the world. But twenty Heroes? All enslaved to the will of a single mortal? That could allow Athelia to conquer the world, and lead to even more summonings!

“And so, a deal was struck. Murena granted to me all Her knowledge of Soul Magics, which would aid me greatly in my quest. She also granted unto me the souls of my departed classmates, so that I could ferry them safely home, and they be allowed to find whatever afterlife they might have waiting for them.

“In return, she laid upon me several commands. The first was that I was never to enslave a soul, unless they had done to me some personal injury, such as the King who had ordered the summoning. The second was that I was to travel across the continent, and seek out every copy of the Grand Summoning Ritual known to Her, and destroy them, a task which I was only too happy to oblige. And third, I was to cripple the slave trade in the continent, if not destroy it utterly.”

I grinned at the shocked students. “The first command was easy enough. I did not care for enslavement magics, myself, and for obvious reasons. Save for a few notable exceptions, I did not enslave anyone, in my time there. I did, however, trap souls, and bind them into enchantments, but I did not chain their free will, or compel their obedience. They simply got to enjoy their essence being used to fuel enchantments, until they were eventually worn away to nothing.”

Leaning back in my chair, I ignored the look of horror on the students’ faces as I continued, “The second, too, was easy enough. Murena gave me a list of where the records of the ritual were stored, and, as the Lich Queen, I visited the nations of the continent, arranging their cooperation in my plans for war. While I visited them, I rifled their archives, and ensured that no others could be summoned, as I had been.

“The third,” I paused. “Ah, that was the toughest of the three, and took the most time to see done. The magic was widespread, after all, and not hidden away in archives, like the Ritual had been. I needed to do more than simply go and try to erase all records of the magic. Even trying to do that would have gotten me in conflict with the nations, as I destabilized their economy, and that risked altering the state of the war. It was not inconceivable that the Free Kingdoms might submit to the Demon King’s rule, if they could keep their slaves.

“And so, I played the long game, as only a lich can. The first step was to reduce the need for slaves in the kingdoms. Taking on the brunt of the war’s fighting allowed the kingdoms to recover, economically, from the fighting so far. I ensured that the right people received whispers in their ears, guiding the recovery just enough that governments started discouraging enslavement save as a punishment from the crown, or as part of a restricted type of contract that had to be notarized by an officer of the crown. After all, slaves did not pay taxes, but it would look odd if they suddenly came out against all slavery.

“The second step was to reduce the supply of collars in the world. This was easy enough, though it took time to pull off. Deadly accidents befell many who had the knowledge of making the slave collars, and the records they left behind were subtly changed or ‘lost’, making it so that the supply of new collars was wearing thin. Of course, most people didn’t notice, because the economy was recovering and the war was being fought off on the frontier, so they had happier things to think on.

“Soon, slaves became a status symbol amongst the elite. They were the only ones who could afford new collars, after all, especially when old collars developed a mysterious habit of breaking when the slaves who wore them died. But, again, no one paid any mind, because they had other concerns, something my spies made certain of.”

I sighed happily, remembering those last few days, before the Return. “Just before I came back, the last few people with knowledge of how to make the true slave collars met their end as my spies became assassins. And for those who had been collared by inferior copies, which I had designed, the pulse of energy from my return should have activated a hidden enchantment, causing them all to shatter, at once. I don’t know if I wiped out slavery on the continent completely, but I am content to say that I lived up to my part of the bargain I made with Murena.”

The conversation continued on for a while, with me giving pointers on the practical side of magic. Little things, like the proper way to structure a shield spell, or similar things. Fun little discussions to distract them from the heavy topic they just learned about.

However, when I moved to leave, three students moved to walk with me. Unsurprisingly, they were Dai Ya, Jotaro Fisher, and Aeko Naya, the two students from the first ‘after class’ session, and the young necromancer from yesterday. All three of them looked pensive, which was interesting.

“Yes?”

Jotaro stepped out in front, and said, “Ms. Akagawa, we got to talking, after yesterday’s session, and we wanted to know if, well, if you would consider taking on students?”

I raised an eyebrow, and motioned for him to continue, as I silently cast a spell to compel truthfulness. A simple spell, it didn’t force a person to speak, it simply kept them from deliberately lying, mostly by decreasing their inhibitions, without letting them realizing just what they were saying. It wasn’t really my specialty, but Heroes learned magic easier and faster than others, and I had a LOT of time to practice. And this kind of simple truth spell was a good one to learn.

Taking the encouragement, Jotaro pressed on, “Your way of magic is completely different from what we know with Thaumaturgy. We want to explore this new style of magic, and see what we can learn from it. We could create a whole new field of study! We’d be famous!”

“Mm-hm. And why do you think I’d want to teach you?”

“Because you’re single and I’m hot, in addition to being a good student. Figured you’d like to do the ‘ara ara’ thing with me.”

I sighed. Yes, this Jotaro was definitely American-born and raised. Still, I’d wanted truthfulness, and I’d gotten it. I looked at the two women. “And you two?”

Naya spoke first. “I wanted to learn how to be a better necromancer, find ways to use what I have. Plus, the Japanese government wants me to get close to you, to keep you friendly.”

My respect for the government went up a bit. They obviously didn’t want to cause problems with me, so they looked for a necromancer, to try and entice me into teaching, and not turning against them. It was a subtle ploy, that didn’t offend even if it were discovered.

I looked at Dai, “And you?”

The girl looked as though she were fighting, trying not to speak. Ooh, it seemed like she realized what was happening. Or at least suspected. It didn’t matter, though, as I focused my gaze on hers, allowing the light of my undead eyes to shine through the organic glamour I wore, the spell changing to a firm compulsion to tell me everything. Her resistance collapsed like a house of cards.

“The People’s Army sent me to infiltrate your organization, posing as a student, and to attempt a seduction against you, in order to secure your defection as a strategic asset. If that failed, I was to ensure that you were at least not hostile to Chinese interests. Worst case, I was to attempt to find a way to eliminate you, should you proved to be a threat.”

“And just how were you going to attempt that?”

“Unknown. I was hoping that seduction would work.”

I shook my head. “Good grief, I expected spies, trying to get close to me, but, really, who thought it would be a good idea to try and seduce an undead? Honestly, you three go home. I’ll decide what to do with you, later.”

Chapter 40 – Final Class

I smiled as I looked out over the auditorium, dressed as a miko once more. “Well, and here we are, on this final day of this lecture series. We have talked about the basics of magic, as the other world knew them, and how they differ from the magic this world has discovered. We have talked about the practical forms of magic, and the Elements that the other world used to focus their efforts. Today, on this final day, we will talk about the potentially most dangerous form of magic, Ritual Magick.”

That caused a stir, as I expected it to. I’d mentioned rituals before, and they knew that it was a ritual that summoned me to the other world. Add on the hint of danger, and people were sure to be interested.

“So, before we begin, I will caution you that every instance of ritual magic is, in fact, a Magick. The powers in play when using rituals are such that they can be truly devastating when miscast or misused. But, when used properly, they can allow a mage, or a group of mages, to achieve results that would be impossible by normal spellwork.”

I stepped to the center of the stage. “So, what is a ritual, then? Simply put, it is a form of spellcasting that gathers energy over time, charging up to for a big release. Whether it is one mage or many only changes the complexity of the ritual, and how long it must take. When you boil it down to the most basic form, a ritual charges magic until the tank is full, and then unleashes it.

“With that in mind, it is easy to see where the dangers lie. Too much magic, too quickly, and boom. The magic is unstable? Boom. The ritualists are distracted or the ritual disrupted? Boom. The ‘tank’ is damaged or flawed? Boom. Of course, I say ‘boom’, but, in truth, an explosion is the preferred outcome when a ritual fails, because, unless you have someone on hand who knows what they are doing, the alternatives are all a great deal worse.”

I took a breath. “You see, the most dangerous outcome of a failed ritual is not that it might blow up in your face, but that it will succeed, but only partially so, or with effects beyond the range or scope you pictured. Picture, for instance, a ritual designed to provide instant translation, granting those in range knowledge of the languages spoken by the others in range at the time. Now picture that the ritual failed, but instead of an explosion, that all those in range no longer understood any language, not even their own. Or perhaps they all gain telepathy, uncontrolled, so that they hear the thoughts of all around, and are heard by them in turn. Or maybe they are all fused into a single hivemind, their individual personalities and thoughts wiped away as part of the overwhelming whole. All this from a ritual to let two diplomatic teams speak easier.”

You could have heard a pin drop on the carpeted floor of the auditorium, as the audience came to grips with such a scenario. “So, I hope I have impressed upon you the need for caution when dealing with rituals. With that out of the way, how does one go about setting up a ritual?

“First, you have to decide exactly what you are doing. Any vagaries or misconceptions in the structure of a ritual will lead to a greater and greater chance the ritual will succeed wrongly, not unlike a computer program with a bug, that causes unforeseen results. A famous example would be an old computer game called Civilization, where if the values for ‘aggression’ got low enough, they reset to the maximum value. This resulted in Ghandi, of India, going from a peace-loving leader to a nuke-happy conqueror at the flick of a switch. Suffice to say, those who knew the real life Ghandi’s history found the bug to be most disconcerting, the first time they came across it.”

There were chuckles from the audience, as the joke broke the tension of the previous discussion. “So, in the process of determining what, exactly, you wanted the ritual to do, you should have also decided upon how you were going to do it, and how much mana it will cost to pull it off. That’s important, because those two things can affect how many people you need for the ritual.

“Now, a ritual conducted by a single caster is relatively straightforward. The primary limiting factor is their ability to channel mana in a controlled manner, and how long they can keep conscious, because interrupting the ritual for things like eating, sleeping, or going to the restroom could be catastrophic. As such, the number of rituals conducted by a single individual that last for over eight hours are extremely limited, and are almost solely the province of either the undead, or those who have enhanced their bodies and minds to such a degree that they can withstand being active for days at a time without rest or sleep.

“A secondary limiting factor for solo rituals is the fact that there is only so much a person can concentrate on at once. If you would like a visual representation, then consider the difficulty in looking right and left at the same time. It is patently impossible, unless you have some means to clone yourself, or look through another’s eyes. However, if you have a second person, then the problem is easily solved. Thus, the need for extra people in rituals, beyond the convenience of being able to ‘fill the tank’ faster.”

I looked out at the audience, and saw that they were following along well enough. “Opening up the ritual to others, however, introduces new challenges to those conducting a ritual. New dangers, as well, as each person involved is another potential destabilizing force that could ruin the ritual if they have a moment’s weakness or confusion.”

I waved a hand as I walked to one side of the stage, and an illusion made of simple light magic appeared in the air. It was a green field with white lines placed at regular intervals, and a series of eleven Xs and eleven Os in black upon them. Anyone who had ever been exposed to American culture would have likely recognized it as a diagram for a play in American football.

“A play in your American football can be considered a representation of the different roles that might exist in a ritual. There are some who focus on providing power at a consistent rate.” The five Os representing the offensive linemen glowed for a moment. “They must work to keep the mana flow balanced, and free from undue influence from their personal elements, lest it cause instability in the magic.”

The receivers lit up for a moment. “Then there are those who are assigned specific tasks to work on within the grander ritual. Like the routes the receivers run, they have to be done a certain way, at a certain speed, or the pass will be incomplete as the ball is thrown away.”

The tight end and running backs lit up. “Then you may have those whose purpose is solely to look through the way the ritual is being cast, looking for weaknesses or outside influences. When they are found, they do what they can to shore up the defenses, or to create a path forward to success. Troubleshooters, you might say.”

Finally, the quarterback lit up. “And then you have the ritual leader, the one guiding the flow of mana into the constructs created by the ritual, tying everything together. Alternatively, you could think of a ritual as a symphony orchestra, with the leader taking the role of the conductor. Either way, the greatest burden of success is placed upon the leader.”

Another wave of my hand dismissed the illusion. “Most ritual Magicks are not tied to specific elements. To successfully complete these rituals when using more than one participant, the mages must carefully balance the flow of mana, working to keep the influence of their elements as low as possible, preferably making it unaspected entirely. This makes it easier for the leader to mix and meld the mana together, so that it can all be used.

“Of course, depending upon what you’re planning with your ritual, the mana costs can be prohibitive, even with a group of a hundred or more mages channeling their energies. To counter this, material components are used, to offset the cost. These components come in the form of raw materials, catalysts, and sacrifices.

“Material components would be things like diamond dust, or dragon’s blood, or any number of other components with inherent magical properties that help to guide the magick. Water flows more easily down a dry creekbed than flat ground, does it not? The same principle applies here.

“Catalysts, on the other hand, may have no inherent magical qualities about them, though many often do. Their power, instead, is based on the symbolic nature they represent. A ritual to find the whereabouts of a wanted fugitive is made easier if you have a piece of them, such as some of their hair, blood, or bone, to serve as a symbolic link between your magic circle and wherever they may be hiding. A ritual to strengthen a building is made easier when you are simply making the building to have ‘higher’, more magical forms of the materials it is already made out of, changing oak to ancient ironwood, rather than steel. And so on.”

I paused, taking the measure of the audience. “And then, there is sacrifice. This can be symbolic, sacrificing items of wealth or personal meaning to fuel the spell, but it most often means taking a creature’s life, and unleashing all that energy, all that potential, in an instant. Naturally, sacrificing a rat does less than sacrificing a cow, and the cow is less effective than a sentient being. The Hero Summoning ritual that stole my classmates and I from this world and started the Awakening used the powers of seven mages, each at the Arch level of their specialties, as well as the sacrifice of one hundred citizens of Athelia, their blood and lives used to bridge the gap in power needed to pierce the veil between worlds.”

I let that sink in for a moment, before continuing the lecture, speaking about some of the mechanics, and how one went about melding your mana with another’s. It was, perhaps, not a climactic way to finish the lecture, but it was necessary, if they were going to avoid ripping holes into realms best left undisturbed. When I was finished, and my final lecture dismissed, I watched as the three students who had so brazenly tried to become my apprentices nervously came to stand before me, guided by my sister, Eri.

The three had been cowed by my demonstration of mental prowess the day before, and had, therefore, become far more hesitant in standing before me. I looked at each of them, in turn, and said, “Yesterday, you wished to become my apprentices, and learn magics beyond your wildest dreams. You did so with a mixture of motives, some that I can respect, and some that I disdain wholeheartedly. Therefore, I took some time to think, and I have decided what I will do with you.”

My eyes locked on the lone male of the group. With a thought, I sent a jolt of necromantic power into him, carrying a curse. “You, boy, had the incredibly stupid idea of trying to seduce your way into an apprenticeship, to a necromancer, no less! In the other world, that impertinence would have seen you join the ranks of my undead as a skeletal servant, bound to do my will forevermore. To ensure that you learn to think with your big head instead of your little one, I place upon you this minor curse. For a year and a day, you shall be unable to get an erection, or climax. No medications will aid you, and no magic will reverse the effect unless it can overpower my own. The curse may be undone only by serving your time, or by receiving seven loads each from three different men. Whether it be in your mouth or your backside does not matter, but you must swallow if it is in your mouth. Now go, and never bother me again!”

As the man turned and bolted, only too happy to be getting away from me, I turned my attention to the other two. “Now, you two. You have both proven to be attentive students, and I am not ignorant of the reasoning that got both your governments to send you to me. Therefore, I will give the two of you a chance. You may come and meet me at my residence in Japan anytime in the next month. There, I will offer you training in whichever style of magic suits you best from those I know. However, you will be bound by magic not to reveal anything that I do not wish you to. If you, or your governments, have an issue with this, then simply do not show up at my doorstep, and I will consider the offer refused, with no hard feelings. But, should I meet you again after that refusal, then I will assume you are a spy, sent to steal secrets too dangerous to be let out into the world, and react accordingly. Do you understand?”

Both girls nodded, so I smiled, and said, “Then be on with you. I await your decision in one month’s time.”

Epilogue – Elsewhere

Four individuals met in a darkened room. No names were shared. Those who knew about this meeting already knew who the other attendees were. There was no need for introductions.

Each individual represented a faction of power. While they were not the nominal heads of their factions, what was decided in this chamber would be carried out. One way or another.

On an unseen signal, the political representative took a breath. “It is now the appointed time. What is the news from America?”

The science representative nodded. “So far, things look promising. As predicted, we were not the only ones to approach the Anomaly through proxies. Also, as predicted, the number of applicants made the Anomaly suspicious of ulterior motives. Apparently, she used some kind of spell which made it impossible to lie.”

“Interesting,” the intelligence representative cut in. “That kind of magic would be extremely useful in intelligence operations. Especially for counter-intelligence.”

The political representative frowned. “Could it be used in legal settings?”

“It depends,” offered the science representative. “Depending on how coercive the spell is, it could be regarded the same as mental manipulation magic in general. If it forces the person to speak, then certainly not. However, if it only prohibits falsehoods, then there’s some chance that it would be allowed, especially if the target can still choose not to speak, preserving their rights under Article 38. The courts would make the final call, of course.”

“Who else approached the Anomaly? And with what goals?”

“An American and a representative from China. The Chinese representative was sent by the People’s Army to ascertain the threat the Anomaly might pose, and attempt to ingratiate themselves with her. Including trying to ascertain whether the Anomaly could be honeytrapped or swayed in some way, and, if she proved a threat, finding some way to neutralize her.”

The military representative chuckled. “That sounds like them. I bet the agent was none too happy to divulge that information. How did the Anomaly take it?”

“As with our asset, it appears that the Anomaly was expecting something of the sort, and did not react unfavorably. According to the report, the most emotion was amusement at the idea of sending someone to seduce an undead.”

The intelligence representative laughed. “That is because the fools have been paying more attention to the public pictures! Whenever the Anomaly goes out in public, she wears that illusion to make herself look human. Looking like a teenage girl, all sweet and innocent. It is the most basic of deceptions, but it works, making people forget that she is, by her own admission, an Archlich, mass murderer, warlord, and more. They underestimate her because of the mask she wears.”

The political representative nodded. “And we have seen with the recent Yakuza troubles what the price of underestimating her is. I doubt seriously that we have seen even a fraction of the true power the Anomaly has, or what forces she can bring to bear.”

The military representative chuckled. “So, what of the American? What did their government want, besides the obvious?”

The science representative smirked. “Oh, the American was not there representing his government. Apparently, he was acting on his own accord, and decided that learning magic from the Anomaly would be a quick route to fame and fortune. He was relying on his quick wits and good looks to try and charm her, even mentioning a stereotype out of hentai movies.”

That got the political representative to laugh. “Of course, it would be an American to do something like that. What did she do to him?”

“Apparently, she cursed him with infertility for a year and a day, unable to get an erection or climax until that time was up, someone overpowered her spell, or he had relations seven times each with three different men.” There was a general chorus of laughter at that, but the science representative quickly recovered. “She did offer what she called an apprenticeship to both our asset and the Chinese asset, if they show up at her residence in a month’s time, however.”

The intelligence representative nodded. “Allowing the spy you know into your circle, so that you can control the information they distribute. Smart, especially after knowing they were assets. This says that she is willing to accept some level of surveillance, if only to keep more intrusive forms from being used.”

The military representative grunted in agreement. “And ingratiating works both ways. Now that we have a line to her, and what she knows, we would be fools to risk losing that kind of access, and she knows it.”

The political representative leaned back in his chair. “Well, with that settled, what about the Americans, and the other world powers? Even if they hadn’t been making moves to try and gain access to the Anomaly before, they certainly would be now that China has gotten involved.”

The intelligence representative shook his head. “I’ll start with the British, for expedience. Since they had direct contact between their King and the Anomaly during the London incident, they’ve decided to go with direct dealings, both with her, and her family’s company. Their special forces teams are all due to be equipped with Phantomline’s shield charms by the end of the year, and the Royal Guard has already been equipped with them, out of the King’s own coffers.”

“That is a strong statement of support. And beyond that, their people know that she helped thwart an attack on their King’s life. If she were threatened, there would be popular support to send aid to her from the United Kingdom.”

“That is our read, as well,” the intelligence representative nodded. “We believe that she is building the foundations for a gradual rise in power, moving slowly enough that nothing attracts too much attention on its own. This is reinforced by the actions with the Yakuza, earlier. It is unknown on what time scale her plans are working, but given that she spent twenty years in the other world preparing her forces, and then another twenty years ensuring her total victory, we can assume that her current plans are on at least such a scale.”

“And she is immortal,” the military representative noted, “unless she is destroyed, meaning that, unlike others who try and play the long game, she can be assured that she will be around to witness the endgame, and won’t be pressured to rush things as old age creeps in.”

The political representative nodded. “All the more reason we should establish ourselves, and our nation, as being helpful to her overall goals, rather than an obstacle to them.” He looked back at the intelligence representative. “But what of America? What are they doing?”

The intelligence representative sighed. “They are something of a mess. Their governmental response is to essentially ‘wait and see’. However, there have been overtures from defense contractors, likely at the prodding of their government, to Phantomline, trying to get some form of deal worked out. There have also been attempts to acquire foci through various means, some of questionable legality, for study and potential reverse engineering. There is some speculation that they may try and make some kind of contact, the next time she is in the United States. And most of the other world powers look as they are following America’s lead.

“The problem, unfortunately, isn’t with the American government, but with the corporations and fringe organizations. They see the Anomaly, and the effect she has, as either a potential boon to be exploited, or as a threat to be eliminated. Neither of which are likely to end well. Domestic groups are more likely to be diplomatic, at least, given her newfound influence with the Yakuza, but as for the foreigners?” The intelligence representative shrugged. “We could be in for some trouble there.”

Dramatis Personae

Akagawa Family

Akagawa Kaori – The Archlich, the Lord of the Dead, Lich Queen of Risen Athelia, Hopebringer, Demon’s Bane, the Dark Hero. Forcibly summoned to another world along with her class, she became a lich in order to survive an assassination attempt by the Demon King. After the Demon King’s demise, she returned to her world.

Akagawa Teiljo – Kaori’s father. Head of the Akagawa Company. Also father of Tatsuo and Eri.

Akagawa Kanon – Kaori’s mother. Wife of Teiljo. Also mother of Tatsuo and Eri.

Akagawa Tatsuo – Kaori’s younger brother. Currently an executive at the Akagawa Company, and heir apparent to take over. Father of Genjo, Teika, and Kaori (younger).

Akagawa Hiroko – Tatsuo’s wife. Former in-house counsel for the Akagawa company. Mother of Genjo, Teika, and Kaori (younger).

Akagawa Genjo – Nineteen when Kaori returned from the other world. Currently studying in university.

Akagawa Teika – Fifteen when Kaori returned from the other world. Currently attending private school.

Akagawa Kaori (younger) – Five when Kaori returned from the other world.

Akagawa Eri – Kaori’s younger sister. Currently working on her thesis for a Doctorate of Thaumaturgy at the University of Seattle.

Officials

Marcus Fairchild – Captain and commander of the Seattle Police Department’s Magical Containment Unit, which is essentially like a SWAT team for magical threats.

Koyama Shijo – An official with Japan’s Magical Affairs Department, though his actual work is as a liaison to the military and intelligence services.

Friends/Associates

Lilah Morgan – A human turned into a Demon during the Awakening, working for the law firm Wolfram & Hart. She has been retained as Kaori’s attorney.

Holly Gibson – Hired by Lilah Morgan on behalf of Kaori to serve as her PR spokeswoman and coordinator. Based in Seattle, but works for a company with headquarters in Japan.

Kaspar Oesau – Head of Research and Development at Phantomline. Involved in the project to create CADs useable by magical creatures, as well as the mass-produced focus project.

Nagai Tatsumi – Granddaughter of the oyabun of the Inagawa-kai yakuza clan. Currently third in command of the organization. Wielder of the enchanted blade Chionomu Sakura. Married to wife Miwa, a baker.

Athelian Arms

Asari Hisa – Kaori’s personal secretary/aide. Hired from a local talent pool in Tokyo, she is eager to learn, and an efficient worker.

Miyano Hideo – The office manager at Athelian Arms. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the studio, and sourcing materials.

Eto Shiro – He is a woodworker, specializing in traditional Japanese styles.

Dennis Kant – Nephew of Isaak Kant, one of her classmates who was summoned to the other world. He is a master blacksmith, and his family has been running a traditional blacksmith shop for generations.

Karasu Sawao and Kinu – Husband and wife metalworkers and jewelry makers. Sawao favors larger, more solid pieces, while Kinu handles delicate pieces and detail work.

Further Reading

Be sure to read my published works!

Frozen Soul series (Sci-Fi Supervillain story):

Frozen Soul –

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R125QT

Tales of the Void Traveler - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ52G37

Memoirs of a Supervillain - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R9NWS8J

Rules-Free VRMMO Life (Dark Fantasy GameLit):

Volume 1 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VPRNDB

Omnibus 1 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0774T354X

Complete 1-20 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R5CHNNP

Into the Black (Sci-Fi GameLit):

Book I - Game Start https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071LT5WGL

Omnibus I - Books 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077X2KR7Y

City of Champions Online (Superhero GameLit):

Issue I - Origin Stories https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075SHXQS1

Lewd Dungeon (Dungeon Core GameLit):

Book 1 - Welcome to the Apocalypse https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BB34DHF

Omnibus 1 - Books 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FBPF6HR

SCI Stories (Dark Supervillain story):

Book 1 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RL93VQN

Winterborn (Dark Fantasy LitRPG):

Book 1 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082S3S3K8

Dark Fate (Postapocalyptic GameLit):

Book 1 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086S35WZ6

The OP Lich is a Returnee (Isekai Light Novel):

Book 1 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094YR8JTD

The Kalipshae Affair (A First Contact Short Story): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0739V6R6T