"Mistress, is there a reason I'm in the workshop with you right now?" A tired looking Leona asked me as I did one final check of the components in front of me — which, fair. I had dragged her here very early in the morning.
Visually, everything looked fine. But in many ways this was like building a computer, you wouldn't know you screwed up until after you tried turning it on for the first time.
"Sure, do you want the technical reason or the actual one?" I asked.
She paused and gave me a look. "Am I going to regret asking for both?"
I smirked a little at the answer. Leona liked learning, but even she had limits and my tendency to ramble about various tangents with little in common while making things tended to rub up against them fairly quickly. "No, we have to get ready for the new arrivals so I'm trying to keep things brief."
"Anyway, the technical reason is that you need an upgrade to your personal weapon since you can't always carry a staff or spear around like you currently do without it getting in the way occasionally. It wasn't a big deal when classes weren't in session, but if an emergency pops up I don't want you choosing between doing what you need to or making sure you are properly equipped."
"So it's a mecha-shift weapon then?" She asked, looking at the stuff laid out on the workbench. "This doesn't look like the stuff I'd expect to see in a spear, though."
"Because they aren't part of the spear." I explained. "They are versions of the different healing mystic codes we used that should integrate into the standby mode for your new weapon. This way you never have to worry about not having them on hand in an emergency. So far I've only been able to integrate six modular slots besides the two weapon modules but I'm planning to expand that for the version two model."
"Okay but how do they fit on a spear? Or not get in the way when it's in use? Mechashift can cover a bit, but this is still too much."
I smiled at her. "Because it's magitech, not mechashift."
Leona perked up. "Wait, that means you finished it?! Already?! I thought you said it would take months to make a functional device…"
"For a functional intelligent device, yeah." I admitted. "But I needed to make sure some of the more basic features actually worked and figured if I was going that far already, why not just make a simple device first? They aren't all that hard to make if you have the right tools and you needed the upgrade."
That wasn't exactly news to me since my one shot spell-pistols were basically simple devices on their own that did one thing. They just damaged themselves on each use as the embedded matrix warped and until now I had no idea what to do about it. Oh, I knew the right materials would solve the issue easily, but no matter what either I or Kisuke tried when he took a crack at the problem could figure anything out.
Dust was what ultimately allowed me to solve the issue. Or rather studying Dust infusion techniques since Professor Goodwhitch's blouse hadn't spontaneously combusted despite what was basically crystalized mana activating inside of it.
The people of Remnant had figured out how to properly infuse mana into different materials ages ago and explained why my attempts had always fallen flat.
The videos and books I had referenced had basically shown me that I was trying the equivalent of making paper by shaving a block of wood really thin. It worked — kinda — but was obviously fragile and not exactly reusable. The infusion techniques I looked at were what gave me that missing link to start actually making 'paper'.
I had always assumed there was something wrong with my technique or crafting method because I had been following my inherited memories' knowledge almost exactly, but it was likely they had simply normally used pre-prepared materials and the knowledge how to make them was in one of the unintegrat–
I winced as I felt the jagged edge of one of the smaller soul fragments suddenly slot into place in my soulscape. As I suspected, it was a rush of memories about how to properly infuse things with mana.
Apparently learning how to do the infusions myself was enough of a catalyst to force a bit more of my soul into proper shape just like realising I was an omniglot had done.
Huh, ironically the Remnatian techniques seemed to be a bit more efficient though…
I pushed those thoughts away for later and turned my attention to a now worried looking Leona. Ah. She caught the wince.
"It's nothing, just a small headache. I haven't been hydrating enough lately." I deflected while picking up the main body of her new device. I'd tell her later when there was time to go into detail. "Anyway, as for the real reason — I set up the version one devices to only accept the magical signature of the first person to use them as a security feature, so don't worry too much about losing one if it happens. Though obviously try to prevent that if possible."
Leona inspected me for a moment longer before deciding to buy my excuse. Fortunately or not, my habit of working past the point where it affected my physical well-being was a habit she was well acquainted with at this point. So I just continued on like nothing was wrong.
"Whenever you're ready, just place your thumb here and charge it like you would any other mystic code," I indicated a particular spot on the spear shaft, "after that, it's all yours."
My apprentice gave me one final look, this one more about judging if something was about to explode on her rather than concern for my well being, and hesitantly picked up the inactive device before putting her thumb where I told her.
For a few seconds nothing happened, but just when I was about to ask for the device back because it was obviously broken somehow, the whole thing lit up in blue light and collapsed into a glowing ring that settled on Leona's wrist. Soon after that the light faded away leaving a plain looking bracelet behind.
"Oh good. It didn't explode." I muttered.
"Was that actually a possibility?"
I shrugged. "Not really. I already made two without them exploding so I was reasonably sure everything would be fine. But I'm still new enough at it that I'm still nervous anyway."
"...two in a row or two that didn't explode?"
"So now that your device is in standby mode you can choose what mode to deploy it in by pulsing some mana through it and moving your hand through one of the segments." I said, ignoring the question. "Like I said it's not an intelligent device, so the mode select is manual and it will have to return to standby mode between changes. I'll send you a manual on our way over to the auditorium, come'on don't want to be late on the first day and all."
Leona grumbled behind me as I made my way out of the workshop, either out of frustration at my lack of explanation or annoyance she couldn't experiment with her new device just yet. But we did have places to be.
After all, Professor Goodwitch would find a way to make us miserable for a month if we were late to the first class of the year.
-o-
"This is not a class for you to play around, show off, or waste time." Goodwitch was saying as she finished the combat class introductory speech. "What you are here to do is refine your personal combat style and get used to working as a team. This will not be the same as Signal or any of the other starter academies. I and my assistant will try to help you as much as we are able, but it will be your responsibility to overcome any shortcomings you discover. We will not hold your hands."
I watched the crowd of colorfully dressed teenagers as a wide variety of emotions played out over their faces.
A few had blank or bored expressions, probably the ones that already knew or expected Beacon would have less handholding for people not willing to put in the work. Some had nervousness or outright fear, probably the ones not sure if they could measure up to Goodwitch's high expectations. And some had excited grins or smiles.
I made certain to pay attention to the nervous looking ones. Those would likely be the people hesitant to look or ask for help until it was too late to do much about it or would feel uncomfortable talking to an adult and admitting they couldn't handle themselves on their own.
Of course that didn't automatically mean they would need help.
I saw Ruby Rose, fifteen year old prodigy that was accepted into Beacon two years early because of ̶O̶z̶p̶i̶n̶'̶s̶ ̶n̶e̶p̶o̶t̶i̶s̶m̶ her ability to fight a group of criminals headed by one of Vale's most wanted alone making the same anxious face as Jaune Arc, the boy that 'snuck' into Beacon with no combat training, no Aura, and faked transcripts.
The two of them were clearly not on the same level, combat wise – but they were both freaked out by Goodwitch's stern demeanor.
"That being said, if you have any questions you feel can't be worked out on your own or with the help of a fellow student both myself and my assistant, Ms Cross, will help as we are able." I gave the crowd a little wave as I was introduced. "Are there any questions before we move on?"
A few hands go up and Professor Goodwitch points at a random boy I don't recognise. "Um, no offense, but your assistant doesn't look much older than we are?"
Goodwitch just gives him an unimpressed look at the lack of a clear question.
"U-um, what I mean is, can a second or third year actually teach us anything?" He stammered.
"Ms Cross is not a Beacon student, she is a full member of our staff." Goodwitch clarified, smacking her weapon into her hand. "I can guarantee that even if she cannot answer every question you have, she is more than capable of giving advice or pointing you in the right direction."
"We can give them a demonstration if it helps." I smile. "A full contact spar between you and me by depletion rules if it makes them feel better about my qualifications."
Goodwitch shifted her unimpressed glare to me, but I was unrepentant. Mostly because I was still miffed she had walked out of our last fight halfway and refused a rematch no matter how many times I asked.
Some of the students perked up at the chance of not only seeing a top-rated Huntress go at it, but also out of curiosity for what made me willing to make that kind of offer.
"I don't think so, I'd rather the classroom wasn't destroyed on the first lesson." She said curtly, which if anything made the students more curious about me as a storm of whispers broke out. "Next question?"
"Are we going to be fighting you two at all?" Another student called out.
"Yes, on occasion we will spar with students to address or point out flaws we find, judge your progress, and grade you at the end of the year. That said, most of your matches will be between you and your classmates."
"Will we be fighting with our teams in this class or is it just one-on-one?"
"That will depend on the lesson for that particular day. Sometimes we will have teams competing against one another, sometimes it will be partners, sometimes the numbers will be uneven. We want to prepare you all for whatever situation you might find yourself in as a Huntsman." Goodwitch replied, "And that will be the last question for now. We will begin by having you all spar against a random student to familiarize you with Beacon's arena. First up will be Hazel Powers and Sky Lark. Please retrieve your weapons and come to the front…"
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