Chapter 3
All of this was coming together nicely, but I noticed something immediately as I started working. There were gaping holes in my combat ability, I wasn't nearly at the level of my previous self I couldn't just Ether Cannon the moon back into orbit, nor do I have the millennium's worth of experience to go with my knowledge that was pouring in.
Where do I go from here? I will need to begin my calculations if I truly wanted to utilize the Kaleidoscope, but some of them need to be done at night when I can see the stars.
Runecraft, perhaps?
Knowledge is half the battle with that bit of magecraft.
I always did have a fondness for the runic arts.
Makes me wish I followed up on some of those rumors regarding primordial runes, but it seemed like I was always busy with one project or another. Missed opportunities, but now I have a chance to do some different things.
Perhaps even look into words of power of other cultures?
Egyptian Hieroglyphics, Mayan and Aztec symbols, old Hebrew Script, even Japanese Kanji carries mysteries within if you know where to look.
Ah, I think I'm getting ahead of myself here. Let's just settle on basic runecraft to supplement my abilities at the moment.
I knew runes, I knew their identities, their definitions, their meanings, but it was a bit more than that.
One of the largest aspects of runecraft was interpretation.
Knowledge, understanding, and interpretation.
Those three were the foundation of any rune-master.
Runes were both extremely narrow and unbelievably broad in what they can do. A single rune can only do so much, but with runic sentences, a simple string of three runes could have thousands of different effects. One needed a good amount of imagination to innovate in the field, that's the main aspect of where interpretation comes in. A strength rune on the surface may seem obvious, to strengthen something, but does that only mean physically? Are there not mental strengths? Could the same thing not apply to one's emotional strength?
Runes also had a lot of 'weight' behind them, being an art that was passed down from Odin, even if the modern version is but a hollow shell in comparison. That being said, the current world I found myself in could allow me to bridge the gap, seeing as gods still walked the earth.
Well, a path was settled on, there was no point in anymore mental debate, I was lacking time as it were and putting it off merely another day might be unwise.
Though a few wayward thoughts did flash across my mind, I hurriedly made my way to the study, a room I rarely used. I had once gone through its contents and if I remembered correctly….
Ah, there is it.
In one of the cabinets, a calligraphy set. It came with a container of high-quality ink and paper to test a theory of mine with.
I made my way back to the kitchen, picking up the knife I had used earlier, I began to cut my palm to draw out a portion of my own blood. Once I had gathered a sufficient amount, I had dumped in the ink, mixing it quite thoroughly.
Nodding to myself, I made use of the higher-quality paper and before I started writing, I made sure to make a small prayer. It was an important aspect, to barrow the power of a mythological figure and imbue it into the ink. My magical energy acting as a conduit between the power of the entity and the paper.
I did study eastern magics in my previous life; my intent was just to understand its broad applications without truly delving into its unique mysteries. So, if my studies were indeed correct – There we go.
Finishing up my delicate writing, I held up the thick piece of paper and injected my mana into it once again.
It had begun to hum with certain property that any magic-user would recognize.
An Ofuda Talisman.
Basically, a one-use mystic code.
There was a certain sense of satisfaction that flowed through my body. The value of this talisman was negligible, at best, but it was the fact that I made it. A branch of magecraft that the previous me had never delved into, merely touching on the surface for references in his other research.
It was a system, reminiscent of the Church able to call upon miracles and the holy power of Heaven. The entities I called upon weren't actually paying any attention, it was a drop of water in a vast ocean for them. It was a good thing that the Shinto faction apparently didn't discriminate against devils.
I hurriedly took the remainder of my materials and began to draw out more talismans. While I was anxious to finish them all in my excitement, I made sure to be gentle and precise with each stroke of my brush. Before I knew it, I had a stack of talismans sitting on the table and the sun had already disappeared from the sky.
I fiddled through the stack of 17 talismans that were now on my table, before finally gathering them up and putting them inside my storage space. In the future, I'll need to tweak it a bit so I can draw things without having to reach inside the hat. Or alteast find a better means of storage, maybe like a ring or something where I can just swipe my hand?
Realizing how badly I got sidetracked, I put the talisman supplies to the side. It was another direction that would synergize well with Runecraft, but I need to test other things for now.
There was still so much I had to do, even with this little bit of progress, I couldn't help but feel a little bit of anxiety. With a sigh, I flipped my hand through the air, a trail of mana in its wake, as symbols began to form in the air.
"What separates a novice from a practitioner in runecraft, the ability to draw runes in the air." I mumbled the words, verbatim from the time I had learned the runic crafts in my past life. The memories were a bit vague, but I could somewhat recall earning a favor from one of the Fraga clan scions and used it for some lessons. Not that I learned any secret information, it was more so that I was taught their own personal thoughts and understandings based on their long history.
I stared at the several floating figures in the air, it would only require a thought to invoke the suspended mysteries that were infront of me. Unfortunately, I was still in my home and didn't wish to blow a hole in the house. With another wave of my hand, the runes were dismissed, dissipating back into mana and returning to the world.
The next step would be creating my own spells within the Runic systems. There was a step between this and being able to draw them in the air, but I could already do that in my sleep. Being able to augment myself through the application of runes.
The basics are similar to Reinforcement to a degree, there is a limit to how much the body can handle without exploding, the benefit is that Runic enhancement operates on a different paradigm than the Reinforcement spell. It was one of the reasons why the Fraga clan often produced such terrifying Enforcers. While most Magi looked down on the Runic Arts, they couldn't argue the effectiveness in battle. It's a shame that they only cared about research results, not battle capability.
By now, I was already going off on a mental tangent and I needed to stay focused. While I was dreading what was coming next, it couldn't be put off any longer less my procrastination overtakes me.
Acquiring a marker from my room, I look around the kitchen. I would need a lot of space to figure this out. Atleast I won't have to do this too often, once I finalize my Mystic Code, it will be able to calculate these things without my direct input.
I began to write across the walls, mathematical formulas and figures started to cover the kitchen space. I was looking at a long night ahead of me, I had already decided to forgo school tomorrow anyways, alteast I will be able to sleep in at my leisure.
I woke up in perhaps the most disgusting way. The smell that permeated my room had caused me to almost gag. I'll admit, I completely forgot about my potion after getting engrossed in my research last night, and now I was paying the price. It wasn't just a smell; my body had pushed out all the impurities that were inside. The black sludge-like substance was all over my bedsheets, there was no salvaging them.
Quickly discarding all the bed-stuffs, I made my way to the shower to finally get this stuff off of me.
Only, as I looked in the mirror, I couldn't help my eyes widening. I don't remember the potion working this well.
My muscles were much more defined than they should be. Not to say I'm overly muscular, but it should have taken me a few months to reach this level with hard work. How was this possible, the potion should have only been a small push towards the peak of human fitness….
Oh….I seem to have made a mistake.
I still think of myself as purely human, as I have for the past 18 years of my life.
I'm a half devil, a phantasmal species. Not only that, but I also used my own blood as an ingredient, it would have influenced the concoction. There shouldn't be any negative side effect, as the blood was from my own body, but the results speak for themselves. Did my minor shapeshifting ability intermingle with the magical aspect of the potion to give me the optimal body shape I was after?
What an amateurish mistake, this isn't something I would have done in my previous life. Frankly, I'm embarrassed that I could overlook something so obvious.
I could only sigh in resignation. I guess it can't be helped, as much as I look back on my previous life's experience, it's not me. I need to remember that I'm not as infallible as the me from before, I'm still very much a novice in almost every aspect.
One step at a time, no need to rush through everything. I'll accumulate my own experience, while also drawing on my past life as a reference. We are different people; I don't need to behold myself to the standards of someone who lived an uncountable number of years.
I've just been so busy that I haven't had time to truly contemplate my current mental state. My thoughts were all jumbled, I would need to take some time to sit down and figure everything out, unfortunately I'm on a rather tight schedule.
My thoughts were interrupted as my stomach grumbled in agitation.
I had completely forgotten to even eat a meal last night.
I guess I'll have to make myself breakfast then. Hmm, I'm oddly in the mood for something of the western variety, another thing I've inherited I suppose? My other self didn't dislike eastern food by any means, but he preferred his own countries' cuisine. Not that I could blame him, almost everyone is partial to their homeland's food.
I didn't stop my practice even if I was doing something as mundane as cooking, as I searched the cabinets for what I need I was turning off and on my circuits. It wasn't particularly difficult to open them fully last night before I went to sleep, having the experience from my previous life, but I still needed to be able to turn them on and off at a moment's notice.
What to make, what to make. I guess I'll just have to settle on a couple of eggs and some toast, I don't have the stuff to really go all out.
Hmm, a thought occurs. I was already a big eater, like noticeably bigger than anyone I could think of, was that a side effect of my Devil heritage? I only thought of it now because of the fact that I was always a bit scrawny before, I should definitely have gained some weight with my eating habits.
Minor shapeshifting ability bleeding through?
Meh, doesn't matter.
I like eating, so why bother over the details? Blessed Dopamine, fill the void in my heart with food. The sizzling of eggs on the skillet almost made my mouth water, thankfully my meal only took a few moments to prepare.
Now…..what else am I to do today? I contemplated my next move as took a very satisfying bite. Physically, my tastebuds haven't' changed, but my mind remembers certain things differently, it's making eating an interesting experience each time I try something for the first time since I've awoken.
Going over my schedule, my calculations weren't completely done, but I had some confidence in at least a local portal if I needed to get away for a bit. It's funny considering that my kitchen looked like a child scribbled all over the walls…
What to do, what to do. My combat ability isn't quite up to a level I'm comfortable with, but I also felt like I could run away from almost anything if I needed to. Worse case, I rip a portal to a random world if this one gets burned for me. No idea where or when I'll end up, but it's most likely better than death.
I still feel a bit weak thought if only there was a way to get stronger quickly...
OH.
There is a way.
The face of a certain pervert came to the forefront of my mind.
Chapter 4
Finding where Issei Hyoudou lived was easy enough. I saw him and his two 'friends' running home together screaming about a porn game they were going to play. Just like me, the people on the street didn't even bat an eye at their behavior.
I never had any meaningful interaction with him, especially with his reputation at school. Him and his two friends, whose names I couldn't care to remember, they were known as the perverted trio. They often did things like peeping on the kendo club changing clothes.
Bold as hell on their part. Maybe the lack of true disciplinary action emboldened their efforts further? I really am curious how to the two devil heiresses stopped any outsiders from meddling. I mean, it would only take one of the girls there to complain to the right person, their parent or something for shit to hit the fan. A large portion of the school came from wealthy and powerful backgrounds, there was only so much mental manipulations could do before something slips through the cracks.
But I digress.
I think most people were well aware of this trio's tastes at this point. It's not that I'm a prude or anything, I'm a healthy young man, and like most my age, girls probably take up at least half my thoughts on average, I just don't go around shouting about my proclivities in public. It's not even that I have an issue with their tastes or 'dreams'. Issei for example wants a harem, good for him I wish him all the luck. Hell, he isn't even objectively ugly, if anything he would be in the upper percentile of looks, but the way he acts just makes people disgusted.
Is there really a need to act like a creep?
Maybe I'm just still a bit angry that he never gets in trouble or has to face the consequences of his actions. I can take a few guesses why everything was turning up for his benefit. No doubt the two devil heirs at the school had been either turning a blind eye or actively dissuading any form of punishment. Of course, potentially recruiting an idiot with a powerful dragon in his soul was more important.
I briefly wondered how many 'pieces' it would take to reincarnate Issei without his sacred gear.
I didn't know how to feel about the whole system that Devils use to reincarnate other species into their own. I've always been an advocate for humanity, even if my previous life I stood on humanities side against what went bump in the night.
Literal chess pieces that turn other species into Devils, aptly named 'Evil Pieces'. It was comical to think about, only made funnier by the fact that they were a masterwork of magical engineering.
A king and their 'peerage' of chess pieces.
My thoughts briefly drifted towards Sona then to the other Devil heir at the school. I never had any contact with her, not that I'm complaining.
Rias Gremory, my…..aunt. I'm curious why she never bothered to even meet me, I guess she didn't want to get involved in whatever issues sprang up because of my presence. I can more or less understand the situation she was in; my existence was probably a sore point between several parties and involved some political fallout if things escalated. And if my perception of this world-line was correct, she had her own worries to deal with.
Now that I think about it, I think I caught some of her 'peerage' watching me sometimes. Not that I knew about them previously, but hindsight and all that. I guess she was responsible for 'babysitting' me, along with the Sitri Heiress.
Speaking of babysitting, I noticed a small bat-like creature hiding under a corner of Issei's roof. I guess he's already being scouted, do they know about his 'dragon'? I could roughly guess that was one of their familiars.
Well, first come first serve.
I held a hand on my sword for a moment before letting go, I decided against killing the familiar. It didn't have any combat power and I'm not heartless.
Reaching into my hat, I pulled out the stack of talismans. I only had a bit of knowledge, barely more than a novice so I couldn't create but a few different types. Looking through the stack, I withdrew the one I wanted and with quick toss, I supplied the required mana and the paper glowed, flying towards the little creature.
A simple binding, more like a paralysis. I don't know how this will affect something being fed a stream of magical energy from a Devil, at best I probably had only a few minutes before someone came to investigate.
It may seem obvious to do something like this at night but…..I would rather do it with 'witnesses' so to speak. Also, I don't think anyone will question some strange noises with these three in one room together.
Oh gods, I hope they don't subscribe to the philosophy of giving each other a 'hand'.
"Dude right there, if you make your way through her route, you can unlock the harem ending."
"No way, I've done her route like a hundred times. She always gets pissed and breaks up with me when I get more girls."
"You need to fill her H-meter before the second act."
"That's impossible!"
"I'll show you; you need to seduce her mom first."
"Y-you genius!"
Okay, a lot milder than I thought. To be honest I thought they were going to have their backs together and wanking it. Well, I still don't want to stay in here any longer than I have to, I feel icky just thinking about what's happened in this room.
They don't even notice me open the window, I guess one doesn't expect someone to enter through a second-story window. On a side note, wings are amazing.
I thought about making a comment or grabbing their attention….but fuck it. I just threw three more talismans, sealing their movements.
Of course they couldn't speak while paralyzed…..and they just fell over, looking at me in confusion
"I'm here for your porn." Yeah…. I couldn't help it.
The looks of utter horror had me inwardly cackling.
Alright, lets do this. I tapped the two mooks on the head, knocking them out with a small bit of hypnosis and slightly altering their perception. Despite what most people may think, hypnosis isn't some catch-all mind altering. It's best used to confuse and lead the mind to making certain decisions or filling in blanks as opposed to controlling someone.
They were going to wake up in a few minutes thinking they fell back in their chairs and hit their heads.
Now though, I looked at Issei Hyoudou. A part of me did feel a 'little' bad about taking this from him, he could potentially awaken his power and go on to lead an interesting life. Though, that wasn't a one-hundred percent probability. Even I didn't know exactly how this world would turn out even after seeing the world-line's probabilities. I basically knew how things would 'most likely' play out not anything with certainty and that didn't consider my own interference. It was basically a complex form of modeling, my previous self had 'peered' into this world's progression to predict future events.
Even with this, I wasn't omnipotent or all knowing by any means. My information may be faulty, or fate might be overturned and events that could seem predetermined are possibly halted. On top of that, my past memories were a little….vague.
It's like I'm doing him a favor, I'd give it even odds that he would die in a few weeks without my help.
Anyways, let's get started.
I placed my hand on his chest, even as he tried his best to squirm, I ignored him. I pulsed mana into his body and was immediately met with resistance. Even without awakening his 'power' he had certain passive traits that were starting to seep into his body.
But it was no use, he had no idea what I was doing and couldn't fight me. I found what I was looking for after a few moments. A red gauntlet that was basically wrapped around his soul. Poking someone's soul was dangerous, I didn't want to kill him I had more pride than that. But the more I looked at this the more I didn't like what I saw. If I had to create a mental image, it's like someone took some wire and wrapped a red gauntlet all around his soul in an attempt to combine the two.
I could only hope this was unintentional, and knowing some secrets of the world, I could guess that this wasn't as thorough as the 'system' that distributed these powers was supposed to be. A certain side-effect one the system not operating efficiently, perhaps?
No wonder most hosts die when someone tries to extract such a thing, I'm sure they just yank away the outside power and the soul gets mutilated in response. Then again, when has anyone tried to 'nicely' steal one of these things? They probably intentionally did the equivalent of a smash and grab.
Whatever, I'm better than them. I started to unravel the 'wires' that were binding the gauntlet to the pervert's soul. It wasn't difficult just a bit tedious, and I had a lot of experience messing with people's souls, the previously me wasn't a psycho but he also didn't have qualms about using any resources, such as idiots who try to mess with him, in his research.
Issei's body started to shine as I pulled the object and materialized it into the physical plane of existence.
Beautiful.
Well….. I just quickly shoved it into my own chest. No point in pussy footing around.
Better skedaddle before any unwanted guests arrive.
Well, Issei, lets make sure you have a good dream at least. I flicked his forehead and gave him something to distract him from a few gaps in his memories. He'll wake up fine in a few minutes, in fact, he'll probably be better than fine. I think this thing probably left behind a dragon aspect that would start to awaken.
With a shrug I started destroying any evidence and removing my talismans I quickly left the scene.
Sneaking back home was a bit of rush, I didn't think anyone was following me, but it was fun to pretend regardless.
I also felt my confidence soar after getting this little trinket.
A Sacred Gear.
An item of power created by the God from the bible to give humanity a form of protection from the supernatural. They usually seal powerful entities inside so the host can make use of their abilites. Honestly, their strength was comparable to that of Noble Phantasms. They are part of a 'system' that follows newly born souls and reincarnates with them.
This one in particular, the Boosted Gear. It was one of several 'Longinus' series, meaning they were potential god killers. A powerful item that could be devastating in the right hands. It housed the soul of Y Ddraig Goch, the Welsh Dragon.
[Hello.]
I paused, hearing the foreign voice in my head.
"Hello."
[This is new.]
"For me as well." I realized who the voice belonged to immediately.
[You got some interesting things in here.]
"Thanks?" I cleared my throat. "So, uh…didn't expect you to wake up already thought I would have to do something about that later?"
[Taking me out of my host was enough of a shock to wake me up prematurely.]
"Ah, you saw that." I hope he isn't angry….
[I haven't decided yet.]
Oh, you can hear me. Of course you can, you're in my soul.
[Well, you are interesting. Though, I don't particularly like being stolen from my rightful host.]
"That's…understandable. But there was a good chance you would have been nicked by a fallen angel with abandonment issues if I hadn't come along."
I could sense him doing the equivalent of narrowing his eyes. [Do you think I didn't look through your memories? There was also a fairly high chance my host would have gone on to become someone powerful and even defeat my rival.]
"Oppai Dragon." I countered.
I could physically hear him wince.
[Touché]
"Do you dislike me as your host?" I asked, I didn't really know his preferences.
[You wouldn't be the worst one I've had. The opposite actually, you have a lot of potential.] He conceded. After a few moments of silence, he spoke up again. [I am curious about what you're going to do from here, if nothing else your life will be a fun drama.]
I couldn't help but frown, I was about to retort but he cut me off. [Don't get all mopey on me, let me finish. Whatever you did, you jiggled me around enough that some restraints are a bit loosened].
That doesn't sound good, all I got was a snort in response as he continued. [I'm unsealed from my fake Twice-critical state, but I can force myself back down to those restrictions. I'll give you a trial period.]
Well, this is going better than I was expecting, I'll take it. "Okay, I can work with that."
I felt a bit of reassurance, even if I wasn't as strong as I would like right now, being able to double my abilities at a moments notice was a huge boon.
[I'm going to sleep, you didn't awaken me correctly so I'm still tired. Do something impressive and I'll undo the seals]
I could feel him give me the 'shoo' motion in my soul as his voice disappeared. Once a dragon always a dragon, not much I could do about his attitude. The fact that he didn't just go 'fuck you' and shut himself away was a big enough deal.
Well, it still had more work to do, better get going.
Chapter 5
I was a bit giddy at my newfound toy. The red gauntlet, my Boosted Gear appeared on my arm. I flexed my muscles, wiggled my fingers and made sure to go through the full range of motions to get an idea of how it would feel.
I have to admit, this thing felt great. On the surface, it looked rather bulky, but it moved almost like a skin-tight glove. Its weight wasn't anything worth mentioning, yet I knew it was unbelievably durable. If nothing else, it would make a great shield.
A part of me dearly wanted to test out its more esoteric abilities, but I was still keeping a low profile. I didn't know if throwing around dragon-based powers would draw any attention I didn't want.
Once the initial excitement ran out, I did put it away back into my soul. A comforting feeling knowing that it would be hard for most people to disarm me…..hehe.
[That was bad, and you should feel bad]
"Go to sleep, you stupid dragon." My joke was great.
Anyways, I still had things I needed to take care of before I started doing anything of importance. I still haven't finished my calculations for my Magic.
Glancing at the walls filled up with my scribbles and formulas, I was thankful that most of this would only have to be done once. Sure, I would have to do some more calculations when I went to different world-lines, but at that point I could basically cut and paste the majority of this to fit me needs. Atleast until I can overcome this problem with sufficient equipment.
Still though, I just couldn't help but groan at the work I still needed done. It's not like I enjoyed sitting here for hours and hours doing math.
I could still do some other stuff while I focused on my annoying formulas.
I still had some left-over ink mixed with my blood; I could 'recycle' it so to speak. I withdrew my cane-blade from my hat and once again reminded myself to find a better storage method. There wasn't much I go do with this thing; the materials of its crafting only made it slightly better than to use nothing as a magical foci. I could do a primitive method of soaking the weapon in my mana-infused blood. It would somewhat increase the competency of my casting through the sword.
The ink actually came in handy here, I would need to make a note of this for the future. The method was a bit simple, if not stupid, but it was a good for an emergency or if someone is severely lacking in resources.
10 tricks and tips for a stranded magus.
Well, most competent magi knew the power of blood. It didn't have much 'staying power' as other materials, but what it lacked in continued use and throughput, it made up for in availability and ease of application.
I just made a make-shift container out of paper and tinfoil and let my blade soak for a few hours.
There was the idea to maybe carve some more runes onto the weapon…but I scrapped that for now. I didn't feel the need to invest anymore into something that was clearly temporary. Not just that, it already had been enchanted with an effect many years ago, there's no telling what reactions would occur if I tried to tamper with that. And finding another real weapon in this place was unlikely unless I venture into the more supernatural parts of the world.
I looked at the time on my phone and saw it was getting late again, after another few moments of grumbling, I decided to get to work. I couldn't just procrastinate for the entire night.
I lifted my head with a yawn, realizing I had fallen asleep on the table. I felt my back pop a few times as I stretched, sleeping in such a position made me feel all stiff.
My mind immediately traced where I left off last night in my calculations, with an exasperated sigh I threw the nearby marker at the wall. Stupid math wasn't being cooperative, I hit a bit of a mental wall with my formulas, and I was starting to get aggravated.
Maybe I just needed to get away from it for a while? I lost track of how many hours I had actually being working through it, probably about fourteen when all was said and done. I wanted to make something for breakfast….but I remembered I didn't have much left and I haven't gone to the store in several days. I do have some shitty stuff like some quick microwave ramens for an emergency—
The sound of someone knocking on my door drew my attention away from my cupboards.
Who the devil could be knocking at my door so early in the morning?
"Shimoda-san" A familiar voice greeted me as I open the door.
I blink at her for a moment. "No soliciting." I go to shut the door, but a foot catches it. I just sighed as I opened it again. "What do you want, Shitori?"
I thought I would have a couple more days before I got bothered. Was I caught in the act yesterday, or is this just coincidence?
"You've been absent from school for several days now. I'm authorized by your guardian to check up on you in case of emergency." She explains.
Ah, more babysitting duties, I should have expected this.
"Well, as you can seen I'm in perfect health, Goodbye."
Take a hint.
I was about to close the door again, but I felt something tingle at the back of my head, did this bitch just try to fucking hypnotize me? Well, I was going to be nice….
"Shimoda-san, why haven't you been to class the past few days?" She pushed up her glasses, staring at my expectantly.
Call me skeptical, but I don't think she'll take a 'because, fuck you' as an answer.
"You've caught me, I've seemed to develop an odd ailment and it makes it awkward to attend class. You see, whenever I see a girl with glasses, my pants just get really tight…." I saw her eyes widen and her mouth slightly open. I guess this came out of left field for her, I've always been rather soft spoken and mostly polite. "I have decided to live the life of a hermit for now on, goodbye Shitori." I slammed the door and locked it.
I snickered as I went for my stuff, not even bothering to give her my full attention as she apparently opened my door even though it was locked.
"Oh my, breaking and entering, what would the rest of the school say?"
"What's gotten into you Shimoda." She eyed me with a bit of skepticism, and she dropped some of the formalities, hmm. "W-what is all of this?" She took a few steps inside and looked at my scribbles covering the walls.
"I have taken the drugs." I answered simply.
I wonder how long until she puts two and two together, no matter it's time for me to bounce.
"Hey Sitri, wanna see a magic trick?"
"What are you—"
I reached into my hat and pulled out one of the pieces of jewelry in plain view. It was a shame I would have to waste this; it was a pretty nice little bracelet.
"Now for my next trick, I'm going to make an asshole devil disappear." I pulled on the kaleidoscope and pumped everything I could into one of the jewels encased in the bracelet. Specifically, a topaz, and while I wasn't as experienced at jewelcraft like my previous-self, I still retained enough knowledge to make certain minerals 'explosive' at a whim.
"SHIMODA." The devil heiress shouted as I tossed the trinket in her direction.
It looked beautiful for a moment, its iridescent glow illuminating the house before the magical energies inside the jewel cracked the surface and spilled out causing a reaction.
*BOOOM*
I had reinforced my body a moment before and jumped behind the table. It wasn't a strong explosion, and it wouldn't harm Sona in any meaningful capacity, but I saw her body get blown out the door.
The satisfaction of seeing her get the magical equivalent of a slap in the face.
My ears were ringing slightly as I gathered everything else I needed, shakily moving towards a back wall where I had a single picture of me and my mother. With one last goodbye, I put the picture into my storage space and tossed a couple talismans into the kitchen. They ignited, starting a fire as all evidence of my magic started to be consumed.
Magical fire burns hot and fast. It wouldn't last long, time to leg it.
I pulled on the kaleidoscope once more, having memorized all the calculations to this point. They weren't perfect and there were some holes in my equations…. but I had a good feeling. I was aiming for the world-line my previous-self came from, let's see how close I get.
The multi-colored portal opened up before me and I jumped in without hesitation.
Chapter 6
Owwww, my fucking head. I wanted to reach up and rub it, but I found my hands bound.
"Careful there, friend." I looked up at the source of the voice, my eyes adjusting to the scene around me. "You took a nasty tumble and hit your head."
I heard the words, but they took a moment to register. Where was I, how did I even get here? Last thing I remember I went through a portal, and it felt like I hit something and next thing I know, here I am. Were my calculations wrong? Impossible, they weren't….'complete' but there's no way they were so incorrect.
My instincts were telling me I was very far from home. This was so unfamiliar yet a pricking feeling in my mind felt somewhat reminiscent of this whole thing. If it wasn't enough to notice the abundant magical energy in the air, the cat-person walking parallel to the cart I was in was a dead giveaway.
"Fuck me." I blurted out.
"Exactly how I feel." The owner of the voice gave a small snort in amusement.
There were a few other faces, on the opposite side next to the nice stranger, his clothes were rags, and he looked a bit on the poorer end. There was also someone bound and awake but with his mouth gagged to my right, and on the other side of a stranger was another normal looking man still passed out. Not to mention all the guards wearing identical armor walking alongside us.
And most of these guys were huge, like holy shit I wouldn't want to get into a bar fight with any of them.
"I don't suppose you could tell me where we are?" I questioned.
"Helgen, I think. I wasn't awake for the whole ride, but it looks like we're a bit out from Helgen."
"That doesn't help." I sighed. "So, you got a name?"
"Ralof." He gave a calm smile. Not something I expected from an apparent prisoner. "You some sort of mage?"
The question took me by surprise, I guess magic wasn't uncommon here though I wonder how he knew. "Sure, but how did you know?"
"Your strange clothes, seems like something a mage without a lick of sense would wear around Skyrim." He gave a good-natured laugh. "Also, seeing you fall out of a magic portal into the mud was a bit of giveaway."
"Oof, no wonder my head hurts." Wish I packed some basic medicine with me. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty. "Any particular reason I'm in being held as a prisoner?"
"Unlucky, I'd wager. Imperials caught us after we had you resting in a bed. I guess they assumed you were one of ours."
"Damn Stormcloaks, Skyrim was fine until you all came along." The man in rags spat out. "If it wasn't for you lot, I would have stolen a horse and been far away from here."
"Quiet, horse thief." Ralof sneered. The apparent thief was too timid to reply, his eyes turned to the last little member of our cart. "You're awake."
He looked just as confused as I was. "Where…?"
"You walked right into that Imperial ambush, trying to cross the border, eh?" Ralof asked. "Another unlucky friend to join with us on our journey."
"Do the…..'imperials' make a habit of abducting uninvolved people?" I mutter. The guy with his mouth gagged mumbled something I was uncertain of, but it didn't seem too polite towards them.
"Imperials, they would rather hang a hundred innocent men than allow one guilty to escape." Ralof grunted. "What's your name, friend?" He turned towards the newcomer.
"Thorum." He gave a blunt reply.
"A fine Nord name." Ralof nodded. "What about you, horse thief?"
"Why do you care!?" The horse thief spat.
"We're all brothers and sisters in binds, now, thief." He answered, but just shook his head when the thief looked away.
Ralof turned towards me. "Wilhelm, you can call me Will." I did like the way it rolled off the tongue, introducing myself with my new name for the first time.
Ralof was about to say something, but the thief cut him off. "You! Mage. You can get us out of here, we shouldn't even be here. Use your magic or something!"
"Yes, why don't you just keep shouting about my magic, it's not like there are guards surrounding us." I rolled my eyes, but I did hear the driver of the cart chuckle. It wasn't just me who noticed, I saw Ralof and Thorum both eye the guards who had their hands on their weapons. I guess they were ready if I did anything.
"Ahh, Helgen, this place brings back memories. I was sweet on a girl here, she used to make mead using juniper berries." Ralof looked oddly relaxed despite everything.
"I've never had juniper berries before." I mused; I think I was a bit of a glutton because that somehow took precedence over the fact that I was bound. "What do they taste like?"
"They're nice and fruity with a little bit of a piney aftertaste. They're best used to bake when a little underripe." It was Thorum who answered. He leaned back and looked up into the air. "My mother used to make pastries with them, I would help her when I was a lad."
"Why are you all so calm!? The imperials are taking us to one of their dungeons, who knows what's going to happen!?" The horse thief raised his voice, looking at the last member of our motely crew who hasn't spoken. "And who are you supposed to be?"
He was just lashing out at anything right now. Well, everyone handles stressful situations differently.
"Watch your tongue, that's Ulfric Stormcloak, true king of Skyrim." Ralof had a surprising growl in his voice, making the thief cower again.
"NO! Nononono. It can't be you, that means...oh divines, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh save me!" The man started to panic. "Where are they taking us!?"
"I don't know where we're going, but Sovngarde awaits."
I kind of just tuned out the rest of the ramblings. I didn't want to hear the thief start crying to his gods. I found some interesting information though. Also, he was a decent distraction, I could see the guards just turning away or getting annoyed at the commotion. It was one of those things you cringed at, making it hard to keep watching.
I activated my circuits, using a small bit of alteration on my bindings. I gave Ralof a small wink when he noticed my circuits light up under my skin. I could just see him raise an eyebrow and a small nod. Thorum looked like he held back a small smile and looked away. Well, it looks like I could count on these two at least. Ulfric wasn't really paying attention, he seemed like the kind of person who would have his head up his own ass.
Whatever.
"By the way, what happened to my hat?"
"Black, about yea big" Ralof used the cart bench and his hands to gesture the size, I just nodded at the description. "You were clutching it tight when we dragged you back to camp, it's probably with the supplies that the Imperials 'confiscated' a few carts ahead."
Hmm, I need to get closer. My circuits were still on, I pulsed mana into the cart to get me a mental image of the structure. I focused on the left wheels, in particular they looked to be a bit weathered. It wasn't difficult to destroy them with a botched reinforcement, only a bit mana intensive. The further my magical energy was pushed away from my body, the harder it was to shape and control.
There were a few surprised shouts as the cart tipped over.
"Divines damn it." The person driving the cart cursed, flopping out of his seat. The sight was somewhat amusing, his armor was probably making his tumble a bit awkward. I took a step out, catching myself from falling.
"EVERYONE STOP." Another commanding voice shouted. "PRISONERS, DON'T MOVE"
There was a woman on a horse calmly trotting over, several guards began to draw their weapons, some more shouting and cursing. I tried to look as innocent as possible, Ralof took my que and just took a step back holding his hands up in surrender.
Some guards stepped forward, but they seemed a bit calmed by our lack of desire to initiate conflict.
"Oi, can we just like…stand to the side, this kid next to me is making me nervous with his weapon drawn." He looked even younger than me, when did these imperials start recruiting? His hand was shaking as he held his sword. I doubt he's ever been in a fight in his life.
A more senior looking man walked over, pushing me to the back, behind the now-downed cart. "Get over there and stay still."
I was next to Ralof now, I met his eyes and looked down. I started using my foot to etch out a rune in the dirt. I doubt he knew exactly what I was doing, but he knew a signal when he saw one.
He elbowed Ulfric, who also saw and also gave a grunt in confirmation. Good man Ralof, now I just need to make a few more preparations—
"NO, YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME AGAIN." The horse thief shouted as he turned and made a run for it.
"RUNNER" The woman on the horse yelled, kicking her steed as she flew after him.
God dammit you moron!
Fuck it. I ripped my bindings apart and slammed my hand onto the rune on the ground. The mystery actualized without issue and the bottom of the cart flipped up, smacking away several of the guards standing infront of us. The horse pulling the thing freaked out and bolted forward knocking past several more guards.
The nearest to me just looked at the scene, dumbfounded as I punched him in the face and stole his sword.
"MY BINDINGS, QUICK." Ralof shouted.
Don't need to tell me twice, I cut through his bindings with ease. "Take it." I said, tossing him the stolen weapon.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Thorum headbutt another guard before stealing his weapon.
As if on que, the other carts started to rebel as well, attacking guards even with their hands bound.
The guard I had punched a moment ago had gotten up, with a dagger drawn from his boot. He awkwardly tried to slash me with it, and I could only look at him incredulously, such a small blade was a stabbing weapon, dumbass.
I reinforced my body, this time giving a good knock to his noggin. I saw his eyes roll back and his dagger drop to the ground. "Rally with the others or scatter?" I questioned.
"Help our comrades, the more we have scattered the more chance we have to escape. Their base isn't that far, reinforcements would be here soon." It was Ulfric who spoke.
"Works for me." Thorum grunted. He waved a mace in one hand, testing its weight.
Where did that even come from? I thought they were only using swords…. Whatever let's do this.
I flicked my hand, igniting a few runes in the air, nothing more than a few cantrips that shot towards a couple guards.
Some other prisoners nodded at me as I ran past.
"FOR SKYRIM" A few of them shouted. I just ignored the cries and slipped by the more preoccupied guards. There were a couple that took a swing at me, but my magically increased reaction speed was easily able to overcome their clumsy attacks. A few hits in spots without armor and they went down hard. A lot of these guys seemed remarkably untrained.
The only immediate threat…I looked forward, there were a couple with bows, sniping away at the front. I saw a few 'allies' fall with arrows pieced into their bellies. I twirled the dagger I had nicked from the downed guard a few moments ago and used my reinforced strength to throw it at one of the archers.
And contrary to my expectations…..throwing a dagger is not easy. The handle ended up slamming into his head, I could hear the ringing of metal where it hit his helmet from here. But at least it knocked him down for a moment.
Close enough, the dirt under my foot exploded as I bolted towards a both of them, sliding to the left to avoid an arrow passing over my shoulder. I stepped on the downed one as hard as I could before diving towards the other so he couldn't knock another arrow. He tried to draw his melee weapon, but I was quick to start laying into his head with an elbow.
Reinforcement isn't something a run of a mill guard could handle.
"Well done my friend!" A hand clasped me on the shoulder. I saw Ralof looking proud behind me.
"We're these really the men who beat you?" I as skeptical on how they got captured in the first place.
"No, we fought the real soldiers, these are the ones they just parade around town. The sons and daughters of politicians and wealthy families."
"Ah, I see. Let them pretend to be soldiers and bask in the 'glory' of capturing prisoners without the risk of real combat so their parents don't get upset." Though I saw a few battle hardened warriors among them.
Ulfric walked up as well, giving a grunt of acknowledgement. A few of his men were limping over and a few more looked bloodied. Not many survived, but it was better than going to the gallows, or whatever was going to happen to them.
"We need to go." The supposed king stated. "Grab what you can without being weighed down."
I looked at the cart full of goods and found my hat. Was it lucky they didn't toss It away? I guess its novelty made them curious, I doubt there's another like it in this world.
"Where will you go, my friend?" Ralof asked.
"No idea, I didn't exactly come here on purpose. Though, I wouldn't mind any suggestions." He seemed a bit trustworthy.
"If you can, head to Riften." The man answered after a moment. "It's full of scum and thieves, but it's also a good place to hide for outsiders. The guards will take bribes without batting an eye, and you can buy almost anything you need." He flipped open a small chest full of coins on the cart.
"I've been there before." Thorum walked over. "Look for Brynjolf, he owes me a favor. Should be part of the Thief's Guild if he hasn't turned up in a ditch somewhere."
"We need to get moving." Ulfric urged.
"Aye, I don't doubt that some imperial coward ran away during the fight and is getting help." Ralof nodded. "It's a shame we have to leave so much of this here." He picked up an axe and tied it to his belt before grabbing a handful of potatoes from a box on the cart and putting them in his pocket.
"I'll burn it before I leave." I waved him off, earning a nod of thanks. "I guess this is where we part, good luck."
"And you, my friend." Ralof gave me one last look before he and Ulfric took into the nearby forest. The other 'stormcloakes' went in other directions as they scattered into the distance.
"What about you, Thorum?" I asked.
He scratched his head for a moment in thought. "I'll head to Whiterun, I hear the Jarl there is neutral and I always wanted to join the companions."
I don't know what the companions are but…. "I wish you luck." I held out my hand that he grabbed in acknowledgement, he gave one last smile before grabbing some supplies and heading out.
It would indeed be a shame to leave so much of this stuff here. There was a small chest filled with gold and jewels, a couple crates of weapons and even a few that looked magical in nature. Not to mention the food, I was curious what it tastes like in this world. I just shrugged and started emptying a lot of it into my hat. I didn't take everything; the pocket dimension wasn't particularly large.
I did withdraw a talisman and slap it on the cart, at the very least a lot of the food would burn up.
As I was about to pick a direction to run in, a thought crossed my mind.
Where the fuck is Riften?
Chapter 7
"Welcome, welcome!" I heard the shopkeep excitedly shout as I opened the door.
"Greetings." I gave a curt reply. I was getting a bit of a slimy feeling from him. He looked normal enough, nothing inhuman about his appearance. Not that I had anything against non humans….just an observation.
He gave me a once over, I would have assumed he would be displeased by my current state of dress. My clothes were a bit torn and ruffled and perhaps even dirty. But I guess under all of that they were something he hasn't seen before.
Well, might as well play off that. "As you can see, I'm in need of some….supplies." I gestured to my own unkempt appearance.
I had arrived in town last night, having flown away yesterday to avoid any pursuers; everything was basically closed so I just shacked up in the nearby stables to get a few hours of sleep. I saw an Inn…but there were a few guards walking around and I didn't want any potential issues.
"Of course." He laughed happily. "The Riverwood Trader has everything you need, especially for someone who's new to the Skyrim life."
"That obvious, huh?" I gave a good-natured smile, I wondered if he would try to scam me.
"It's practically a right of passage for foreigners. I remember my first time traveling Skyrim before settling down. I was lucky enough to get an old Nord to give me some advice. Once you get the respect of the locals, everything seems to get much smoother, especially for Imperials like you and me."
"Well, I got the coin if you got the supplies." I'm apparently an Imperial? Good to know.
"Wonderful!" He clasped his hands. "I run the best general store in the province, just tell me what you need."
I thought for a moment and my eyes were drawn to a strange golden claw on the counter…. curious looking thing. "Well, some clothes would be appreciated."
He lowered his head under the counter, pulling up two stacks of clothing. "Let's see here, I got some run of the mill tunics, nothing too fancy. And I also have a set of 'finer' clothing if you're interested."
I stepped forward to inspect them. They were about what one would assume considering the technological level of this place. I ran my hand through the higher-end trousers and tunic. The material would be…. acceptable but holding it up to my chest, the design made me want to vomit.
"Is this the fashion around here for the wealthy?"
He just shrugged. "I don't keep up with those trends, that's my sister's department and she convinced me to buy these a few months back."
"They are…not to my tastes." That was the politest way I could say it. "I'll just take the basics for now."
He nodded reaching under the counter again. "You're going to need some good boots as well. The Skyrim terrain is a bit treacherous if you're out exploring."
I felt the material and just nodded. Boots were boots, there wasn't much to say about them. "Lets see…." I rubbed my chin thoughtfully, taking a look at the shelves around us. "What about these?" I picked a red-looking potion off the shelf.
"It's always good to carry a few health potions for an emergency."
I felt my breath hitch at the nonchalant way he described the alchemic creation. Was the mystical side of the world so open here that 'health potions' were something easily acquired by the mundane?
It's not that equivalent couldn't be found in my old world, but the ingredients were hard to come by and almost extinct. Did I hit the jackpot?
"How many do you have in stock?"
"Last I counted, seven potions of minor healing."
"I'll take them all." I didn't even ask the price, I should be quite wealthy if some of the tags I saw around the shop were accurate, apparently the gold coins I acquired are the default currency here. "Do you have any other types of potions?"
"Well….if you asked any town around us they may have said no." He put an elbow on the table, giving me a prideful grin. "It's a good thing you came to me." He hefted a large crate from under the counter, carefully setting them down. "Nord's don't really like anything beyond a simple health potion, so I've been sitting on this stock for the right buyer."
"Well…their loss." I muttered picking up a small red vial, it looked like a health potion….similar properties perhaps?
"A regeneration potion, not as quick as a health potion so many people don't really like them. But they're better for blood loss or a bunch of smaller wounds." He stated, shifted through the various containers. "Let's see here… A strength potion that's always good in a pinch. A Water breathing potion, I doubt anyone would want to swim in these freezing waters but another thing that's nice to have. A few stamina and Magicka potions, they should still be good, though they don't last as long as health potions."
Magicka potions? I quickly grabbed one of the blue containers on the counter he set to the side, inspecting the contents. This was filled with magical energy...is this supposed to restore magical energy to someone? If so….I could make so much money selling these back home.
Not everyone is like me, able to pull on the Kaleidoscope to refill my reserves. These would require testing, but if nothing else they might have some interesting concepts I could steal.
There were some other miscellaneous ones, like cure poison or cure disease. But frankly….. "I'll take them all."
The shop keep just blinked at me. "I don't want to be rude but can you—"
I turned my hat upside down, a small pile of gold poured out onto the counter. "I have more where that came from.
He clapped his hands. "Well then, what else can I do for you?"
"You also buy here?" I inquired.
"Let me see what you got; I'll tell you if I can take it."
He didn't even bat an eye the first time I used my hat, I guess magic really isn't something uncommon around here. I started to set a few swords on the table, not much just to empty a bit of space.
He picked one up to examine it. "Pretty standard, looks in good shape. I don't deal much in weapons, but I can sell this pretty easily. I'll give you…..30 septims each."
Not quite sure if that's good or not, but they were basically taking up space and hey, I now know the name of this currency. Besides, I still have my cane sword, which is much better than ordinary iron.
"What about this?" I set a large, green emerald on the table. It was the one that I had originally found inside the hat when I bought it.
"Divines….." He whispers, picking it up. "Where did you…" He muttered again, inspecting the jewel.
Yeah, I was guessing that even a couple hundred years ago, the people from earth could sculpt jewels better than anyone here. "Interested?"
"Of course!" He cleared his throat. "I mean, yes, how much would you like for it?"
"Let's knock off the price of the goods first."
"So, an even trade, the stuff for your jewel?" He eyed me
"Oh no, that's just the first step, we still need to talk about how many septims you are paying after that." Nice try, but I could guess this jewel was worth much more than that.
"You want me to tie up all my coin and goods in single jewel?" He frowned, crossing his arms. "What if I get robbed? The best I can do is maybe a few more items added on and a straight trade."
"I don't really need anything else—"
"How about some spell books?" He smiled, and just like that we both knew he had me.
I was….not unhappy with my exchange, but I felt like I got played a bit. Did I tilt my hand when I looked confused at the potions? Was that when he knew I was novice in his eyes?
It's not like I needed the gold, I still have a hefty amount it's just….. I like having more.
I was able to finagle some more goods from him, even if he fought me every step of the way. I have no doubt that the jewel would be making him a huge profit I just didn't want to go through the effort of selling it through the proper channels.
Also got some information while I was at it, he gave me a very basic map of Skyrim, along with a heads up that a cart would be coming by tomorrow and I could buy a ride to Riften for a small fee. Not only that, apparently some soldiers came by last night, but the guards drove them away. I don't really understand the political structure of this place but apparently the 'Jarl' that oversees Riverwood is neutral or something and he has enough clout to tell them to bugger off.
So, I had some time to kill I was sitting at a table in the Inn next door. They had some decent drinks, I wasn't expecting much from the Mead here, but damn was I surprised. I would definitely need to grab some before I left this world.
Laid out on the table were the 'spell books' that were mentioned. This world…. they have some interesting ideas on magic, and I could thoroughly reap the benefits of such open learning.
From what I was told, these were mainly just basic spells along with one 'adept' spell.
Lesser ward, a small barrier that blocks attacks. Nothing too crazy, but its application was insane, it was elementally neutral so anyone could use it. The effort in its casting was a bit meh, but I could experiment to make it a worthwhile spell.
Oak Flesh, a strengthening spell that can overlap with my reinforcement, it leans more towards defense, but it does have a physical power application as well. Always good to have additional strengthening abilities. Instead of applying an enhancement through my body, it sort of envelops my body in its effect. A bit mana intensive, but it was something I would enjoy working with.
Frostbite was neat, it basically channels a stream of cold air from your hand, freezing anything, it touches. Well, it could be resisted easily, it wasn't like it was absolute zero temperatures. But still, an interesting spell I would love to dissect it for further study.
There was even a basic healing spell, aptly named 'Healing'. This had been a good find, while the effects were apparently less than a basic regeneration potion, having a healing spell so easily applicable was a huge boon.
The last basic spell book was Telekinesis. A bit of a surprise there, the equivalent in my old home was a guarded secret by several families. Not something unattainable, but it was such a useful spell that those who had it guarded it did so fiercely.
The real gem was the 'adept' spell book, named Distort. From what I understand about the magical system here, so far, it's a spell that falls under the 'illusion' school. Aptly named I suppose, since the spell is a basic physical illusion application.
Basically, I can make illusions that appear real on the surface, though any interference will break them.
A useful spell and I'm quite happy with my purchase. I'll need to find more books like these and add to my repertoire.
With a yawn I picked up another bottle of mead, well I still had some time to kill, and this drink is pretty good at least.
Chapter 8
"What do you mean you're not going to Riften!?"
"All the rumors coming from that place, I aint going near it for the time bein."
I could only just sigh is frustration. "Look, if it's a matter of money—"
"It aint about the coin boy, did you not hear my words? I Aint going near it." The cart driver seemed adamant about staying away from that town for some reason.
"What exactly are these 'rumors'?"
"A dragon." He puffed out smoke from his mouth, tapping his pipe on the cart. "First one to be sighted in centuries. I wouldn't believe in the tales if I hadn't met the folks fleeing with fear still in their eyes."
[Oh, that sounds interesting.]
I don't think I'm adequately equipped to deal with a dragon at the moment, maybe if someone loosened the restrictions….
[How about, you fight the dragon and if you do good, I'll unlock it?]
Fuck off.
"Alright, so Riften was besieged by a dragon, that isn't the worst reason to stay away. Where am I supposed to go now…" I mean, I didn't really 'need' to go to Riften, it was merely a suggestion by those guys, if anything I'm not really afraid of being captured or anything. I was just kinda going with the flow and was curious about the land I found myself in.
"How about Winterhold?" The driver spoke up.
"Sounds cold, what exactly is worth it there?"
"The college. You looked like the learning sorts." He shrugged.
"A college you say?" Okay my interest was piqued; I wonder what I could learn there…
"Aye, just don't expect the towns folk to give you a good time, they don't like them mages very much."
Mages….a college for mages. A magical learning institute….sweet christ. "You sir, have just earned a bonus, take me to Winterhold."
I heard him chuckle, adjusting himself in his seat. "Climb aboard, it'll take about a day to reach there."
Oh joy, riding in a wooden cart for a day. My butt would be sore tomorrow, but it would be worth it, I guess.
Well, at least it would give me time to think, I had a lot on my mind right now.
Like, how the hell did I even end up here!? This isn't a parallel world of Earth, if I'm not mistaken this is a completely alternate dimension, separated from the world-line my magic should be able to access. I know for a damn fact that my Calculations weren't that imprecise, I should have at least landed on a line that housed the spirit of Gaia.
Something went wrong, something I did wrong. I know that my previous-self had some knowledge of the world I was born in, otherwise I wouldn't have the memories of the world-line's progression model in my head.
What did I feel when I left, almost like I hit something?
If I had to explain it, I was practically a fly being smacked by a car. No, that isn't quite right, that would imply I hit something 'moving' in the normal sense. I basically smacked into a wall and got knocked off course.
But what 'wall' would there be?
Think idiot, think. I just smacked my head in frustration. What was I missing?
[Heh, idiot is right.]
Not helping Ddraig. I thought you were asleep.
[Eh, I was too curious about your memories so I couldn't go back to sleep. Been watching them for a few days now.]
Joy….does that mean you have some insight to my current issue?
[Hmm, let me see, what race are you?]
Human-half-devil, what does that have to do with anything? My physical species shouldn't have a negative effect on either the casting or the effect on the actualization. If anything, my half-phantasmal nature should make it smoother, since I'm a being closer to the concept of 'magic'.
[And where do devils come from?]
I mean, their parents….but if you mean in a more philosophical sense, their demonic origins can be traced to the negative cumulations of dreams, desires and human imagination all catalyzed with the advent of the God of the bible. Good and evil, yin and yang, one exists so the other must exist to balance it out as a cosmic rule. Every culture, every pantheon has their own 'good and evil' though the terms can be more muddled. The Asgardians and the Giants of Jotunheim and Muspelheim. Olympians with their Titan counterparts and the various 'giants' that exist in their cultures too.
Asuras and Devas of the Indian pantheons –
The Youkai of the Shinto factions, with the Yamata-no-Orochi—
The Sumerian Gods and the children of Tiamat –
Hell, even –
I paused, blinking in realization.
[Thought you missed the point there, but you came back around.]
I'm a fuckin idiot, I face palmed
I didn't take into account all the secondary realms still attached to the 'world'.
To put it into perspective, if the 'world' was a house in the middle of the forest, it would be surrounded with trees, trying to run into a single direction, in a straight line, you would smack into a tree. The trees being secondary realms, like Olympus, Hell, Heaven, Asgard, Takamagahara, etc. Whereas my previous world basically had all the trees cut down, the forest only had a few sparse trees left because the Age of Gods had come and gone.
So, I smacked into another realm and got blown off course and somehow stepped out of the world-line I was accustomed to.
Okay, nothing I can't solve I can find my way back easily enough.
Well, that solves that mystery.
Truthfully, it would only take a few minor modifications to my calculations, if they were complete. I'll need to finish them proper at some point. Now that I think about it, I can probably find the stuff to make my mystic code here, no doubt there's going to be some interesting materials I can find.
Well, this trip wouldn't be wasted. It's not like I'm under any kind of time restraints, the opposite in fact.
I'm free.
No responsibilities, no one controlling my life. I can go wherever the wind takes me, speaking of wind, the scene here is breathtaking
I was bitching about the ride earlier, but once we started going, what a sight.
"Oi, old man, want a drink?" I was laying down in the back of the cart, watching the snowflakes fall from the sky.
It had gotten rather cold as we started going north, luckily, I had some stuff packed away inside my storage space for the cold weather when I grabbed practically everything I could from that cart of 'confiscated' goods earlier.
"What is that, Black Briar?" He hollered.
Well, the man knows his drink. "Yup, got some Honningbrew too if you want that."
"None of that pisswater stuff, a real nord drinks Black Briar or something a bit stronger." The old man snorted, I just laughed and handed him a bottle.
It seems like no matter the world, people will defend their drink brands. "What's the word around Skyrim, recently?"
"Besides dragon attacks?" He took a swig.
"Well, I wouldn't mind hearing more about that, but I'm a bit out of the loop for everything."
"Hmm, there were stories that Meridia's statue near Solitude has been acting up." He scoffed. "Folks gettin rightful panicked too. Them Daedra are never up to any good." He turned back towards me. "Never let some fool tell you nothin about a 'good' Daedra, you hear me lad? Nothin good comes from assorting with them things."
"Aye, grabbing the eyes of higher powers never ends well for mortals." I didn't know what a Daedra was, but I could guess it was something 'godly' in nature or something like that.
"Damn straight, you got a good head on your shoulders." He nodded. "I also hear the war is heating up after Ulfric escaped some Imperial ambush or somethin. Heard they had him bound and ready for the block, only to escape from right under their noses. Got them Imperials up in a frenzy trying to look less foolish to the masses."
What? It's only been like three days….how? Atleast there was no mention of associates or anything jeese. Well, I wouldn't be surprised if this man was spreading half these rumors, he sure travels enough to do so.
He started talking about some other nonsense but I didn't' really pay much attention, I think he was rambling about some elves or something. Frankly, I think I would have fallen asleep if the lights in the distance didn't draw my attention.
"Looks like we're here" The old man said.
As we got closer, I could see the swaying of torches. The snow made it kind of hard to make out, but the outline of buildings started to come into view.
"Welcome to Winterhold."
It was a town, to be expected from what I saw of Riverwood yesterday, but a bit in the distance I saw it. A massive stone structure connected by a small bridge.
Beautiful.
The college of Winterhold.
"Halt, outsiders." My attention was taken by one of the guards coming towards us. "State your business."
"I was going to check out the College." Was there any reason to hide it?
The guard scowled under his helmet. "Another mage." His voice practically dripping with venom.
"I'm sorry?" I said in confusion. "I've only been in Skyrim for less than a week, did I do something wrong?"
The guard looked me over once before sighing. "Look, just…..the Mages in the college have caused a lot of trouble for the town. Experiments gone wrong...or right, magical accidents and such aren't uncommon. Try to keep your nose clean if you join them."
"That sounds incredibly irresponsible. Even disregarding the morality of such things, do they not realize they rely on you all for even the basic necessities?" They're in the middle of nowhere, the town is the only reason they can probably even operate without constant supplies coming and going. The logistics would be an absolute nightmare for something of that size.
I think he was about to respond but we both got distracted by a sudden shout.
"ICE WRAITHS!"
"Shit, get in formation!"
The guard looked at me again. "Some assistance would be appreciated, mage."
Well, I wouldn't mind helping fix the disconnect between the mages and mundane folk here. Especially if I'm going to spend any extended time at the college.
I nodded, following behind, they make a quick shield wall at the town gates. I didn't know what an Ice wraith was, but it looked like some kind of elemental mixed with a scaled sea creature.
The old man had hurried into town, good. I didn't want to have to worry about him, he was good to me.
They all looked nervous, even I felt a certain chill as a few dozen of those things approached. I quickly grabbed my sword out of my hat and drew it from its sheath.
A few of the creatures in the front spewed frost blast from their mouth. It seemed like the guards were somewhat used to this because several shields pushed together and blocked it.
I'm not the most moral person in the world, I can be petty, vindictive and I usually care about my needs over others….but I'm also not heartless. Seeing them fight like this…..I just sighed and drew upon my mana
My circuits opened and I felt my magical energy swell into both hands, and I pushed it together "Distort."
A moment later, a hundred more guards formed up along side us and rushed towards the incoming mass of ice wraiths.
They were nothing but facsimiles, lifeless illusions that dissipated at the slightest touch, I was concerned that the snowstorm would break them before they could do anything, so I overloaded the spell a bit.
I was taking several guesses here, but it seemed like the Ice Wraith's sensory organs deemed them 'real' whether it was sight or something else. Maybe they sensed the magical energy that all life forms have, their "od' so to speak and confused the mana I implanted in each copy as that?
Questions for later, I began drawing my runes in the air.
If I were a betting man, these things were most likely weak to fire.
I withdrew a few talismans from my hat, I didn't have many left and I was unsure if I could craft more outside of Earth, but it felt like a good time to use them.
The spell I wanted to cast required five specific ones, but I was missing two of the required elemental talismans, I would replace them with a corresponding rune.
"Metal Enriches Water. Water Nurtures Wood. Wood feeds Fire. Fire dries Earth. Earth refines Metal."
A pentagram formed, suspending, and connecting them all in the air. Using the creation cycle to bolster another spell to an absurd level, even my sword bolstering it by a slight degree.
Fire magecraft wasn't my forte, but I had thought about a few spells I wanted to create through the usage of the runic arts.
The runes swirled around my hand, invoking in the sequence I envisioned. Too many to say individually, it was simpler to link the sentence under a single spell name.
"Fires of Muspelheim."
The land was dyed red.
Infront of the gates of Winterhold, if you looked out, there was no fresh snow for about 80 yards, possibly more.
I think the guards were a bit surprised.
Surely, they couldn't think this was much? I mean, I felt this wasn't up to par with my standards. I noticed several irregularities when I cast the spell for the first time. I did make a mental note to fix them, but I lost maybe 30-40% power in the final cast.
"Thank you." A guard pat me on the shoulder, I recognized him from earlier. "You saved the lives of many good men."
I guess I did. "Why exactly were those things attacking?"
He slumped his shoulders, letting out a sigh. "It's that time of the year that they reproduce, I'm not sure the exact…. mechanism behind how they give birth, only that they need a source of heat. They usually swarm us when the sun is at its peak, drag a few people off then do it again the next day. This repeats for a couple weeks."
Oh…heat, I see what he means.
Eww.
Though I am a little intrigued. Does the act of reproduction need to syphon the heat from a living being in order for them to generate offspring?
Everyone around me looked immediately at ease with the large swarm gone. A large weight off their shoulders in the meantime. There were a couple sporting wounds, well a bit of ice got around the shields.
I one in specific rip a thorn of ice out of his arm. What a badass, that must have hurt.
"Oi." I clasped him in the shoulder, casting a Healing spell.
He just started at me, almost in utter confusion.
How can they be so surprised at my magic….magecraft, when they live next to a college of mages? Jeese, my terminology is getting all mixed up.
I guess they mean the same thing, contextually speaking.
"Thanks." The guard grunted out.
"No problem, though you may want to get yourself check, I don't know much about Ice wraiths, admittedly, if there are any lingering effects inside your body."
"I owe you a drink…..mage" The guard moved his arm around.
"Think we all do." The other guard, possibly the leader? He walked over and put a hand on my shoulder. "Thank you, truly. Many of my men were ready to die today."
"Well, I wouldn't say no to a mug, your Skyrim Mead has grown on me."
"Alright, you head him boys. Batur, Tolsmar, you both are staying on duty at the gate since you were both late. Otherwise, first round is on me, boys!"
There was some good-natured cheering
"My name is Svord and if anyone gives you problems in Winterhold, tell them my name." He practically dragged me off towards the tavern, his posse of armed guards following along, laughing and jeering.
It was, not unpleasant.
Seeing everyone make way as we pushed open the doors of what I presumed was the tavern. The locals greeted the guards happily, I guess they would have an applied interest in the guards returning back victorious.
"Dagur!" Svord exclaimed to a man behind the counter.
"Svord, it's good to see you made it, how were the….?"
"Every guard alive and accounted for, you can thank my new friend here." He laughed happily, clasping my shoulder.
"A mage?" Dagur eyed me skeptically. "You from the college, lad?"
"I came here wanting to check it out, saw they needed a hand." I shrugged. "Just did what anyone would do."
I took a quick glance around, the old cart driver was chatting up a woman in the corner, she looked about his age. He saw me out of the corner of his eye, I gave him a nod and smile.
"Aye, he's a good one, the college would do good to add him to their number." Svord added. "Now." He clapped his hands. "I promised a round for everyone, and Svord doesn't' go back on his word."
The place erupted in cheers; it was really lively. I wasn't used to getting this kind of attention when people all gave me acknowledgement and such. But…it wasn't an uncomfortable feeling.
"What'll you get lad, the hero gets the first drink." Dagur
"I've only had a few drinks from Skyrim so far, Black Briar, Honningbrew, what else you got for me?" I sat at the counter.
Svord and Dagur shared a look, a smile showing on their faces. "Let's get you a true Nord drink." He poured out a bottle I didn't recognize into a large mug.
"Alright, lad we won't laugh if you can't handle something a bit stronger than the milk you're used to…..at least not too much." Svord slapped my back.
"Oh, is that a challenge?" I eyed him.
He crossed his arms, staring at me, a grin on his face. "This is a man's drink, son."
I took the hat off my head, reaching inside to grab a handful of coins and slammed them on the table.
"The balls on this lad, eh?" Svord snorted in amusement we were gathering a little show. He pulled out a few coins and matched me.
"Bottoms up." I took swig, eyeing Svord as I downed the entire thing in one drink. Granted, a bit of it spilled out onto my shirt, and I almost coughed it back up when it first went down my throat, but I slammed the empty mug on the counter.
"Tasted like piss mixed with honey…" I coughed slightly, meeting the silence of the crowd. "Fuck it, give me another."
There were woops and laughter as Svord pat my shoulder. "Well done lad." He laughed happily. "You earned this." He pushed the gold towards me.
"Alright, just keep the drinks flowing." I waved my hand around the room, pushing both piles of gold towards Dagur.
More cheers and thanks were shouted my way.
It was a wonderful feeling.