Disclaimer: English is not my first language. I'm using Grammarly to check the Grammar and using Word to write it.
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"Five more," Mia said.
This is hell.
I grit my teeth, doing the last five push-ups.
Mia nods, "We're taking a thirty-minute break."
I collapse on the ground with a groan.
"Don't be so overdramatic. It was just some push-ups," Mia said amused.
"And jumping jack, squats, crunches, pullups, lunges," I said, getting up.
I'm sore in places that I didn't think it was possible.
"Here," Mia hands me a bottle of water.
I quickly drink all of it.
Water never tasted better in my life.
We're inside my personal reality/workshop, working on my physique.
For the last four days, we have been following the schedule that Mia created.
The only times I'm not training is when I'm at work.
We ran some tests on my poison and it turns out I can customize it and it only secrete when I want to. Right now it is still weak, it takes some time to increase the toxicity to a level that could kill someone.
Mia believes my poison will become stronger with time, we just gotta keep an eye on it.
I found out that my element is: fire and wind. Something important to know when learning about magecraft.
Mia told me her elements are: fire, earth, and water.
I also told her about my 'plan' for the meth lab and Mia called me an idiot.
She has been hammering into my head battle tactics since then.
"May I?" Mia asked.
I nod rapidly.
Mia places her hand on my back and the aches of my muscles slowly go away.
Healing magecraft.
Something that every competent magus knows the basics of. At least according to Mia.
"You know, there is a demand for capes that can heal," I said.
Mia hums, "What about it?" she asked, taking her hand off my back.
"We could try to gain some goodwill of the people. Walk around, healing people. I can even get you a nun outfit."
"A nun outfit? How specific. Is that a fetish of yours?" Mia teased.
"Not sure, I'm interested in finding out," I admit with a straight face.
We locked eyes for a moment before breaking into laughter.
"While it's not a bad idea to be on the good side of the city, we can find a way that doesn't reveal much about our abilities. And I know the nun outfit was a joke but let's not do anything to attract the attention of the Holy Church," Mia said.
Oh right.
Zealots that hunt down anything that they consider heretical.
Well, they do have a long history of doing that.
I shrug, "Sure. So, when am I going to learn a transmutation circle?"
Mia magecraft is a mix between Alchemy and Elemental Manipulation.
Right now she's focusing on teaching my Alchemy since it has a more broad range of uses.
It is insane what you can do with it. That whole thing about turning lead into gold is just a parlor trick compared to what an experienced user of Alchemy can do.
"Finish reading the material I gave you, then we will talk," Mia said.
I sighed at the reminder of the pile of books I still had to finish.
Chemistry books.
I should have paid more attention to classes...oh who am I kidding, I barely learned anything in Winslow.
"Out of curiosity, how many books am I going to have to read?" I asked.
"Quite a few of them. The books I gave you are beginner-level chemistry. After that we're going to intermediary, then advance chemistry," Mia explained.
"How long did take you to read all of that?" I dreaded the answer.
"It took me about a year and a half," I said.
Fuck.
"I don't have that time," I said.
"I'm sorry Ben but learning magecraft takes time. Magus spend their entire lives working on their magecraft, and then they passe to their children to continue the legacy. There aren't many shortcuts that aren't risky," Mia explained.
Goddamm it.
"Well, that is not good. The grimoire will hopefully give me something that will help me, right?" I asked.
"Maybe," Mia said with a frown.
I raised an eyebrow, "What is wrong?"
"The problem is that we don't know when the grimoire will give you something or if whatever you get will have anything to do with Alchemy or Elemental Manipulation," Mia said.
Yeah, that is a problem.
"Can't we do something? Cleary waiting is not an option. It's been four days since you got here and I got nothing," I said.
Mia sighs, "We can't say for sure that time isn't a factor, this is the Root we're talking about. But I have an idea."
"What's it?" I asked.
"Before I got here you were planning to attack the Merchants, yes?" I nod. "In that short period, you received four perks. I think the grimoire wants you to seek out challenges to gain experience. Think about it. Even if you had a powerful spell, you aren't mentally ready to go against Scion," Mia said.
That does make sense.
"Does that mean if we go against more dangerous foes I will get perks even faster?" I asked curious.
"I'm not sure. I don't even know if I'm right about this. For now, let's play safe," Mia said.
"Okay, so what's the plan?" I asked.
"We will attack the meth lab tonight. Let's see if I'm on the right track," Mia said.
Well, we were going to do that sooner or later.
I nod, "All right, I'm all up for it."
"Good," Mia claps her hands. "Now, the break is over, let's do some stretches."
We spent another hour doing stretches before we stopped.
We relaxed until nighttime.
We put on hoodies and face masks.
Mia wants to keep a low profile as long as possible. She already thought of codenames.
I'm 'Red' and she's 'Blue'.
We left the apartment and headed to the meth lab.
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It should be around here.
"Over there," Mia pointed at one of the warehouses.
It's one of the smaller warehouses. I could see the lights on, and there was a man guarding the place.
"What is our next move?" Mia asked, waiting to see what I would do.
Let's see.
I gotta assume that everyone inside is armed, the problem is I don't know how many there are.
Possible entrance in the back, we could use the windows, the rooftop doesn't seem to have a way inside.
Then there's the guard. Who's alone and a good way to get information.
"We sneak up to the guard and force him to talk," I suggested.
"Take a closer look at him," Mia said.
I reinforce my eyes and look at the guard.
He's sitting on a chair, arms crossed, eyes closed, and some empty bottles at his feet.
"He's passed out drunk," I said annoyed.
A warm sensation spreads throughout my body.
I got a-hold on, not now!
I shake my head to clear my mind.
"Did you receive anything that will interfere with what we're doing?" Mia asked seriously.
"No," I said.
Mia nods, still waiting for my plan.
Back to the warehouse.
"Can you sober up the guard?" I asked.
"I can but he being inebriated could make our job easier," Mia said.
Right, maybe we could trick him into thinking we work for Skidmark.
There's another option.
"Would hypnosis work on him like that?" I asked.
I'm still on the fence about it but Mia keeps saying that it's a useful spell to know.
"It works even better with him like that," Mia said. "So, what's the plan Red?"
"Okay, we sneak up on the guard, use hypnosis, and make him tell us how many people are on the inside," I turned to Mia. "Is that good?"
"It's not bad. At least you don't want to go guns blazing. Keep in mind that no plan survives first contact with the enemy. The important is to adapt as the situation changes," Mia said.
I nod.
We quietly approached the sleeping guard. Upon reaching him, Mia searched him and grabbed his handgun. She puts it inside her pocket.
"Hey, wake up," Mia lightly slaps his face.
The guard stirs, his eyes fluttering open as he glances around in confusion. The moment his gaze lands on Mia, she swiftly waves a hand before his face, murmuring an incantation. His expression goes slack, his eyes losing focus as he stares vacantly at us.
"He's all yours," Mia said.
"How many people are inside?" I asked.
"Five are working on the drugs, and there's one on the second floor. He's the one in charge," The guard said blankly.
"How many are armed?" I asked.
"A few of them," The guard said blankly.
I hold back the urge to roll my eyes at the vague answer.
How do I evade a fight from breaking out?
"Can you use hypnosis on multiple people at the same time?" I whispered.
Mia nods.
"Go inside, get the one in charge, and bring him out. Tell him that Skidmark sent us," I said.
The guard nods, gets up and shakily walks to the door.
"This is fine, right?" I whispered.
"He reeks of alcohol, they will think he is drunk. Which he is," Mia whispered.
We stay in silence, waiting for the guard to return.
"Told you it was useful," Mia whispered breaking the silence.
"All right, I admit I was wrong. It's useful, let's just be careful. We don't want any 'Master' allegations," I whispered.
"It's hard to believe what some of these capes are capable of. Professor Haywire, for example, specialization is in the realm of true magic," Mia whispered.
"Those are miracles, right?" I whispered, recalling her lessons about magecraft.
"Yes. Besides reaching the Root, that is the dream of every magi. The lords of the Clock Tower would lose their minds if they learned about someone using true magic to rob banks," Mia quietly giggles.
"Well, we do know how parahumans are capable of the things they do," I whispered.
Their powers literally came from an alien.
Mia shrugged, "Still impressive. So, what did you get?" she asked curiously.
"I got Magic Tracking Gear, which is self explanatory," I whispered.
"Interesting. Those are hard to acquire. Are they good?" Mia whispered.
"I have no idea," I shrug. "By the way, you were right. We aren't even done and I already got something."
"Slow down, let's not get ahead of ourselves. There's a chance that this was a coincidence. We have to keep an eye on this. But you're right, this's good," Mia whispered, relieved that they might be on the right track.
The door opens, and two people come out.
There's the guard and another man.
"Who the hell are you two?" The man asked with a frown.
Mia approaches him and quickly hypnotizes him.
Damn, that's useful.
"Gather everyone inside in one place. Warn us when it's done," I said.
He nods and returns inside with the guard.
"Is it just me or does this feel too easy?" I whispered.
"Don't let that get to your head. We're going after the Merchants because they're weak," Mia whispered. "Keep your mind in the games, even these idiots can kill you if they get a lucky shot."
Right, let's not die stupidly.
I still have a lot to do....later.
"Fuck," I whispered.
"What?" Mia whispered.
"Does hypnosis mess with their memories?" Mia shakes her head. "They're going to remember this."
"Don't worry, I will 'fix' their memories," Mia whispered.
"You can do that?" I whispered with wide eyes.
Mia nods.
Holy shit.
The door opens and we're called to enter.
Mia and I enter the warehouse. Looking around I, there isn't much inside. There are three tables where they're making the drugs and a stair in the corner that leads to the second floor.
Mia steps forward and hypnotizes everyone.
"Is there a storage room or a closet big enough to fit six people?" Mia asked.
One of the workers points to his left.
"You six with me," Mia grabs a handgun from her pocket.
"What're you-"
"Don't worry. I'm going to use it to knock out these guys," Mia reassures me. "Go to the second floor, see what's there."
"Come on," I said to the guy in charge.
We went up the stairs to an old office. There is a table with some papers on it, an empty food package, and one big safe.
It's so beautiful.
"Open it," I said.
He follows my order in silence.
"How much is that?" I asked, looking at the stacks of money.
"Fifty thousand," He answers blankly.
"It's a start," A voice said behind me.
I jumped a little and turned to see Mia.
"Don't do that," I said annoyed.
"What? I just entered the room," Mia said far too sweetly.
Now let's find a ba-oh Mia got one.
"You done with him?" Mia asked, placing the money inside the bag.
"Do you know where the other meth lab or safehouses are?" I asked.
He nods.
"Write it down," I said.
After a moment he hands me a paper.
Mia touches his forehead with a finger. A few seconds later she knocks him out with the revolver.
A warm sensation spreads throughout my body.
We Need to Regroup let me and my allies know where each other are if we're ever separated and give us the best route to reunite. I also know if Mia is hurt, in distress, or danger.
"Hey," my attention is brought back to Mia."Go wait outside. I still need to do something," she said.
I raise an eyebrow but do as she says and leave the warehouse.
It's been a good night. Got two perks and-
CRASH.
My eyes widen, and before I can go back inside Mia leaves the warehouse.
"Did someone wake up?" I asked tensely.
Mia shakes her head, "No, that was me. I made all of them think that they were attacked by two unknown assailants, so I trashed the place a little to reinforce that memory. Otherwise they would realize that something is wrong. Remember this Red, this 'fix' isn't perfect. If you make it too complicated it will fall apart instantly," she said.
I didn't even think of that.
"Let's go," Mia said.
Mia and I quickly go to another place to talk.
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"You're right, that's a useful perk," Mia said, messing with the magical detector.
"Yeah, We Need to Regroup is a handy one," I said.
We're atop a building, taking a break. We left the bag with the money in my workshop.
Mia grabbed the Magical Tracking Gear to see how it worked. It looks like one of those geiger counters with strange symbols carved on the sides.
"What're those symbols?" I asked curious.
"Runes to help detect magical energy," Mia said, not looking away.
"Do you know how to use that thing?" I asked.
"It's easier than it looks. Whoever designed this made it to be user-friendly. I just need to..," Mia presses a button, turning the tracking device on. "There we go. Now we wait."
"What do expect to find?" I asked.
"Right now, nothing. I want to know how this thing works so later we can use it to check the capes," Mia said.
"You think one of them is a magi?" I raised an eyebrow.
Mia shrugs, "I'm only considering this because of how different things are here. Such a blatant display of magecraft would be unthinkable in my old world. But here, a magi can just put on a costume, rob a bank and everyone will just think that he's a villain. There's more freedom here."
That's true.
"Assuming that one of them is a magi, what happens then? Do we contact them?" I asked.
"We watch them from afar, gain as much information as possible, and then we decide if it's advantageous to contact them or if it's in our best interest to kill them," Mia said gravely.
I tense up, "Is that really necessary?"
"I should already have taught you the basics on how to act if you ever meet an unknown magi. I'm going to do that once we return home," Mia rubs her temples. "A majority of magi are unredeemable monsters. They're obsessed with reaching the Root and will do anything to achieve that. They will commit the most heinous crimes with a smile if it will further their goals."
"How bad are we talking?" I asked, dreading the answer.
"Some of them make Slaughterhouse Nine look like a bunch of amateurs," Mia said.
I paled at the thought of someone worse than those monsters.
BEEP, BEEP, BEEP.
"We're not done with this talk," Mia said, checking the magical detector.
Mia frowns at the results.
"What in the world," Mia mutters.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I got a strong reading not far from us. Hm, give me a moment," Mia said.
Mia spends a minute reading the data before her eyes widen in surprise.
"We need to go," Mia said urgently.
Mia left before I could say anything. I reinforced my legs and went after her.
We spent ten minutes jumping rooftops until we stopped in a building that's across from the Boat Graveyard.
My workplace.
"What's going on Blue?" I asked tensely.
Is one of my coworkers a magi?
Did they do something here?
"I think there's a ley line that runs through Brockton," Mia said.
"That's the mana that the World produces, right?" I asked.
The whole Gaia/Alaya thing is crazy to think about.
"Yes, and I think it's unclaimed," Mia said.
"I thought you said they are all claimed," I said.
"That's true in my world old. These readings are telling me that it might not be the same here. The magical energy in the air, water, and the ground is stronger when there's a ley line in the area. That changes when it's claimed as the magi uses the magical energy for various reasons," Mia explained.
"Okay, I see where this is going. Isn't there a better place to do that? One that doesn't have thousands of people that work there?" 'with me included' left unsaid.
"It has to be where the ley line is the strongest," Mia said.
A warm sensation spreads throughout my body but nothing happens.
"What!?" I exclaimed in disbelief.
"What's wrong?" Mia asked.
"The Grimoire failed to give me a new perk," I said.
"Before we jump to any conclusion, describe what happened," Mia said.
"That feeling that comes whenever I get a new perk happened and then nothing," I said.
Mia stays silent for a few moments, deep in thought.
"Maybe the Grimoire tried to give you a perk that you weren't ready for it," Mia theorizes.
"Like a powerful spell or skill?" I asked,
"I believe so. The entire point of the Grimoire is to make you powerful magi," Mia said.
"Okay, following that logic, when would I be ready?" I asked.
"I...don't know," Mia sighs. "You know what, here's what we're going to do. We will claim the ley line, grab some food, then we go home and continue this talk."
"All right," I said.
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Here more information about Mia magecraft.
-Her family primary focus is Alchemy. The Elemental Manipulation was introducted by her great-great-great-great-grandfather. He combined both to creat a more offensive way to use Alchemy. (think of Elemental alchemy from Full Metal Alchemis. Like Roy Mustang, Isaac McDougal.)
-She posses two mistyc codes that are for battle. One for Alchemy and one for Elemental Manipulation. (that will be show later.)
As for how strong she is, think a geniuses on the same level as Rin Tohsaka.
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Please leave a review. It helps me to stay motivated.
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If you like my stories and wish to support me, you can find me over at pa-tre-on (slash) Regulareader.
Or at Ko-fi.com/regulareader
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Magic Tracking Gear (Fate/Zero) 100:
A specialised set of tools for finding trace amounts of magical energy in the environment and then tracking them, much higher quality than the one's Waver made makeshift used of. By using these tools and a few minutes time to test the air, dirt or water around you, you'll be able to find even tiny traces of magical energy as well as the direction in which it originated. You could certainly use this to track down mages over repeated uses to narrow down their locations.
We Need to Regroup (The Holy Man of The Church Creek) 100:
Whenever you or your group are scattered apart the most important thing to do is to regroup quickly. When separated, you and your allies can intuitively sense each other's presence and approximate location, regardless of the distance between you. This sense of connection grants you a clear understanding of the most expedient route to reunite, bypassing potential hazards and barriers that stand in your way. Moreover, this innate bond provides you with a general sense of your allies' well-being and condition. You can discern if they are in distress, injured, or in immediate danger, enabling you to respond promptly to their needs upon reuniting