Scáthach: DISCIPLES... TONIGHT WE STEAL MY MASTER'S HEART
Enough joking, enjoy.
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Friday morning, Veritas classroom
Shiki P.o.v
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Although we have been given a week off, Cube remains open to cadets who wish to train or seek advice from the instructors. Taking advantage of the empty classroom, I had held a few theory lessons with Hajin.
Most of which were about High-level Runes spells that I haven't taught him yet.
By now, Hajin's level of magic circuit control is high due to regular usage of Reinforcement. With that, I want to teach him a different kind of magecraft, Alteration.
Alteration is a branch of MaterialTransmutationMagecraft, which is also where Reinforcement is.
Since discovering Hajin's origin 'Author', I have been pushing him toward the field of Material Transmutation, a Magecraft field revolving around changes of an object.
I didn't want to teach Hajin Alchemy despite it being closer to his origin due to its cost to utilise and lacklustre offence versatility compared to others. True magic is a 'definitely nope'. If anyone can just learn it, then it wouldn't have been True magic.
Another reason was Reinforcement is the hardest difficulty of magecraft. Not only does it require control and consistency, as I said, but a good knowledge of the object structure is also a must. Despite being a natural learner, Rachel had her difficulties. That proved its absurd flooring skill demand.
On the other hand, Hajin's own gift, 'Observation and Reading', had offset this difficulty by a huge margin.
By integrating itself(cpu) with his magiccircuits(circuit board), status window(screen) and Stigma(ram/sdd), Hajin essentially gained a unique version of StructuralAnalysis, something he has been using inconsciously. Something I only discovered during our fight. His situational awareness is terrifyingly accurate, even for me.
So instead of a test of a magus, Reinforcement became a mana control exercise for him. Something that would cause a lot of magi to cry in blood.
Back to our lesson, it went pretty smoothly. By now Hajin had used Reinforcement in combat like breathing. So naturally, it's only taken him a few hours to learn Alteration.
"That's it for today. Any questions?" I asked.
"Yes... I know it's late, but shouldn't we hold this lesson off until Rachel returns?"
"Well... no. Reinforcement is useful for both of you but the rest of this field isn't suited for a dexterous fighter like Rachel. It would have been a waste of time for her."
"..."
"But don't worry. There's still Magecraft that benefits her style of combat but that is for the future."
"Understood."
"Now for your homework... Just take your bullets, change them to silver or sth. I'll check for quantities and quality."
Hajin deadpanned at me as if he didn't just have enough from Cube. Too bad he didn't get to choose.
"Lesson's over, let's go get some lunch."
** Ding ding**
At that moment, both of our smartwatches rang.
Since there was no one beside us two in class, Yi Yeonghan posted our theory exam scores on the group chat. The results for each theory class were listed along with a ranking of the combined results.
Hajin deadpanned me once again.
Let's just say I decided to expose myself since doing the opposite didn't really work out. We got into major trouble twice in a week. Both times the opponent was very powerful, and the second time happened under my eyes.
==
Rank 1. Tatsuya Shiki / Kim Hajin
Rank 3. Rachel
...
...
===
My name was on top of every exam and the overall rankings along with Hajin's.
Not just in Veritas class, but in the entire academy.
[Also, I hope everyone knows that we have new classes.]
Yi Yeonghan added.
[Look at the first year announcements if you haven't. Starting from today, Fridays will have two classes.]
Once Yi Yeonghan's messages stopped, Hajin looked at me again, waiting for an explanation.
"What? Things got out of hand ever since that tentacles guy. Might as well go all out to secure some connections."
"..."
"Anyway, let's go. The cafeteria is emptier than normal, so we might get something good instead of the usual lunch."
...
"Fine..."
Hajin gave up, not wanting to endure another headache from his teacher.
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Later, at 3:30 in the afternoon.
Cube's Magic Library.
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Although we don't have classes, the magician teaching still has to be introduced. Since Friday's second class will be a magic class, the academy has posted voluntary classes for those interested.
Each class has a different time and place posted in its schedule sent a day prior. The location for our class was The Magic Library, and now. Most of us attended, including the top cadets and Hajin as well.
The chief magician in charge of the class was waiting in an empty lecture room, which only had desks and chairs in case of a magic accident.
"Hello, I am the chief magician from Seoul Magic Tower, Kim Hyojun. Every Friday, from 3:30 to 6, I will be teaching you practical magic and magic power control. But of course, today's class will only be 30 minutes."
Though he introduced himself with a smile, his tone, however, painted a different picture.
"You might be thinking, 'Why should I learn magic when I'm not a magician?' That's a valid question, but as I'm sure some of you know, qi reinforcement and sword qi are an extension of magic."
Kim Hyojun released his magic power into the air as a demonstration. The soft and jellylike magic power he emitted instantly hardened when he concentrated.
"Now, if you simply use your 'physical power' to reinforce your magic power, that becomes qi reinforcement or sword qi. But if you refine your magic power with some calculations..."
Immediately, a pink flame rose up from his magic power.
Cadets instantly exclaimed in awe.
"It becomes magic."
Though his performance brought awe and admiration from the cadets attending, I saw the flaws in his 'magic trick'.
' No chant means the image of the spell is less clear, and using his own mana instead of leveraging on nature's to change its affinity increases his own mana consumption. Disappointing, even for a well-built system. '
I originally came here to see the difference between Magecraft and 'magic' that has been bestowed along with the 'enlightenment'. It is safe to say that I wasn't impressed. A few monsters I've seen used mana better.
I would have held a much better lecture than this sorry excuse. But my current position as a cadet would bring hassle instead.
I'm content with my two prodigies for now. If someone reaches out to me in the future, maybe I will take this more seriously.
Speaking of, they are currently sitting beside me right now, Hajin on the left and Rachel on the right. I am their teacher after all, so it would be better to sit next to me if they have any questions.
Their expression also hinted at a little dissatisfaction with the magician. The Magecraft they have been using triumphed over anything he had demonstrated, so it wouldn't be strange if they felt like that.
"....Since today is the first class, we will only go over what we will learn in the future."
Suddenly, a blue sphere the size of a ping-pong ball shot up from his palm.
"This is a necessary magic to learn before entering a Dungeon. It's called Light Sphere. It will be your light source in many dark areas. It may look simple at first glance, but to wield it skillfully..."
Kim Hyojun gave a complicated explanation.
In summary, we had to compress magic power and air into a spherical shape that lights up. A simple yet absolutely useless magic despite what he just said.
Why waste mana to create light when we have flashlights and matches? Even if we don't have them, a simple fire magic is enough to light a torch.
If anything else, using that 'magic' could potentially expose our position. A bright light source in a dark area sounds good on paper.... only if we're in an open space, not in the dungeon.
In reality, numerous setbacks render it worthless: mana inefficiency, concentration demand, possible team blinding etc...
There might be a use for this spell that I don't know(no shit) but there would be better alternatives by then.
"Now, before I teach you where to begin, try doing it yourself."
Cadets began to emit their magic power.
Hajin stared at his desk blankly before joining my hands and thinking, 'Appear, sphere of light. Appear, sphere of light.'
Hajin's magic power flowed down into his hands and formed a white sphere of light. The cute sphere floated around on his palm. Even without magecraft, Hajin can wield mana to a major extent thanks to his training.
...
An idea suddenly sprouted and I slid a note to Hajin's side. He saw the content and raised an eyebrow before looking to me. I nodded at him.
Hajin sighed and closed his eyes in deep thought. A few seconds later, he opened them to see the light ball on his palm had changed its colour. The white light was gone, replaced by a red one. Hajin focused his mind once more and the ball changed again.
This time, it turned green. More than that, the note I slid over started fluttering. Hajin held the paper down with his other hand. But before he dispelled the light ball, Hajin tried to make one last change.
He channelled his mana circuits into the light ball. However, this time it went differently. Instead of changing its colour, the ball slowly lost its light. In the end, a black sphere remained along with an eerie feeling.
Hajin stopped pouring his mana immediately and the ominous sphere dissipated. This confirmed my speculation about Hajin.
Hajin then slid the note back to me.
Hajin: 'What did you just make me do, Teach? That last one chilled me to the spine.'
Seeing that Hajin is anxious about what he has just done, I said.
"It's nothing, just a few tests for you. There's nothing to worry about."
"I see... Understood." Though he said so, Hajin couldn't help but wonder what it was.
"Don't worry. We'll talk about this soon."
"..." Hajin nodded.
*Ding*
A sound popped up next to me. It was Hajin's smartwatch.
"Please turn off your smartwatches during class."
Kim Hyojun's disgruntled gaze fell on Hajin
"Sorry."
He took a look at it before turning in a direction.
I followed his gaze to find out that it was from Yoo Yeonha sitting diagonally from him. Looked like Hajin got caught in the headlights.
Seeing that she caught his attention, Yoo Yeonha smiled sweetly and mouthed silently.
'Amazing. You did that after listening to his explanation once?'
After hearing her sarcastic remark, Hajin glanced at the cadets around him. Less than half of the cadets were able to compress their magic power into a sphere, and even those who succeeded couldn't maintain the ball for long.
No one was even close to being able to make the sphere shine, not to mention his 'light show'. The only exception was Rachel, who also managed to form a light sphere, though simpler than Hajin's.
Hajin then turned to me, cursing me out with his piercing gaze. I did 'push him off the cliff', but what can I say? Curiosity killed the cat, not mine, though.
*Bzzt* My smartwatch vibrated.
I opened it up to see that Yoo Yeonha also sent me a message. For how I knew it was her, the text was evident.
Unknown: [Was it your doing? Did you teach him that?]
'Seems like Yoo Yeonha started noticing.'
Shiki: [I don't know what you're talking about? Who is this?]
Unknown: [I don't know, mister staring at me while texting]
Looking at her smug face, I decided to get back at her a bit.
Shiki: [Okay then... What do you want, Miss Yoo Yeonha? I know you didn't ask me that for trivial reasons]
Unknown: [I'll get straight to it then.]
Unknown: [Who are you... No, what are you?]
By now, I had already turned my head back to my table. I wouldn't want Yeonha to catch me grinning as I type in my reply.
Shiki: [I don't know, miss staring at my back while probing for my info.]
I could already imagine the frustration on Yeonha's face as I used her own move against her. I held in my laugh as I heard a few taps on the floor nearby.
Rachel, unaware of this, was confused as to why I was grinning nonstop while Hajin facepalmed knowingly.
My smartwatch buzzed again to my amusement.
Unknown: [ Fine, keep your secret. I'll find out who you are along with...]
Unknown: [Never mind. I'll find out about you anyway.]
The magician in chief didn't pick up on my antic as he was distracted picking on another cadet.
As we watched the situation unfold, both my and Hajin's watches buzzed.
Unknown: [It must look like child's play. Your student can easily make brilliant white light, while someone else is being praised for what's really only a faint glow.]
"...What is she saying???" Hajin exclaimed.
We ignored her unusual talk and went on with our day, preparing for the trip tomorrow.
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12:30 P.M. Saturday.
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I arrived at the traveling club's meeting place. Most of the others were already here. They seemed excited it was an overnight trip.
'Always the last one arrived huh?'
The idiotic student of mine is somehow the latest one all the time. Maybe he's getting a little too lax as the training got more breathable for him recently. This won't do.
All of a sudden, Kim Hajin felt a cold chill up his spine. A moment of discomfort but it didn't bother him much for now.
"Hajin-ssi is here too. Alright, let's form our teams before setting off."
The club leader, Oh Hanhyun, took out a box for drawing lots just like before. This lottery box had been the Traveling club 'artifact' through out the club life span, with sign of time wearing down the poor paper box.
"First, Suho-ssi? Please step out. You'll be drawing lots first."
I didn't pay any attention to the lottery as I was already allowed to go alone, technically. So I just kill some time talking to Lancer through our linked mind before going to France.
It would be some time between me getting there and summoning Lancer. After all, this is a cross-continent portal, the security is much tighter compared to when I brought Lancer to Cube. Any portal entry or distortion would be recorded.
A minor inconvenience but no big deal.
– I'll see you later, Lancer.
– Yes. I'll see you in France, master.
.
.
.
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Paris, France
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I set foot into a European country for the first time in a long, long time. Thanks to the Seoul-Paris Portal, we only needed ten seconds to arrive.
"A little different from when I first came here but this is also good. New France, new place to explore."
Travelling had been my choice of passion... until that passion turned me into smoke and ashes. But the freedom it gives is an extraordinary experience.
Being able to just forget everything that weighs you down and just go anywhere you want with little consequences helped unwind all the pressure life brings in front of your doorsteps.
Being in the same yet different country brings a fresh wind to the table. The scenery looks completely different from my world's counterpart. Yet there are still things that never change. The smell of pastries already too enticing. Not yet Shiki, not until Lancer is here.
"Korean cadets, over here!" Seems like our escort is here.
When we were looking around Paris' scenery, someone called us over. Turning to the direction of the voice, we saw a limousine. The club leader, Oh Hanhyun, walked up to the limousine with a hearty laugh.
"Nice to meet you. You must be Raymond."
"Yes, nice to meet you."
"Can we drop off our bags real quick before we take a look around the city?"
The man named Raymond nodded with a smile. We stuffed our bags into the limousine.
"Now, we'll travel in the pairs we formed."
Little stalker Yoo Yeonha got paired with Suho and Hajin got paired with his 'wife' Chae Nayun. Are you sure you didn't rig the box, club president? These two groups would net me a lot of interesting moments but sadly, I have a date to catch.
"Alright, it's 1 P.M. right now... so meet back here at 7."
Then, Oh Hanhyun left with the girlfriend he brought on the trip using his authority as the club leader, as she wasn't a member of the travelling club.
This was the reason I could be exempt from the lottery, by pairing with him and letting him go with his girlfriend.
They are probably going to the masquerade party happening later today. It is open to cadets as well so most of the club members would go there at night. I, however, have other plans.
The two groups, Hajin's and Yeonha's, gathered to talk about their plan. I was going to leave them alone and head off but Suho already caught up to me. It seems like seeing someone alone doesn't feel right for him.
"Shiki, where's your partner?"
"My partner? Yeah, he just left with his girlfriend just now."
"The president? Ah! I understand. Then do you want to come with us?"
"Why?"
"Because I want to. Is it wrong?"
"No no, you're not wrong. It's just that I also have a date. That's why we split up in the first place."
Suho doesn't know about Scáthach so it wouldn't hurt me to tell him. What are the chances that we would bump into each other in this city?
"I see... Then I'll leave you to it. Have fun on your date."
"Thanks... You too."
Suho nodded before returning to his group. I left soon after.
When Suho told his group about my refusal, Hajin, Nayun and Yeonha all raised their brow.
"A date?" x3.
A brief moment of confusion as Hajin and Yeonha soon realise what that meant.
"Ah!" x2
They look at each other in understanding.
"Huh? You two know something?" Chae Nayun asked.
But they didn't answer... More like they don't know enough to answer her question.
And then Yoo Yeonha spoke up.
"Change of plan.
Kim Suho, you get all of us sandwiches and drinks. The rest of us will follow that guy."
"What???" x2
Chae Nayun and Kim Suho couldn't believe what they just heard Yeonha say.
"But isn't that invading his privacy?"
Of course, Suho wouldn't agree to this, despite the fact that he also wanted to do so.
"That's why you're on lunch duty, Kim Suho. If you don't want to come then go get us lunch instead."
Suho opened his mouth but no word came out. He sighed and went ahead to find a cafe.
The other three immediately went to find Shiki after telling Kim Suho what they want for lunch.
On their way, Chae Nayun asked.
"Why do you suddenly want to follow Tatsuya Shiki? What is so interesting about him?"
Yoo Yeonha stopped for a second before answering.
"Do you know anything about him?"
"Well... No. What about it?"
"What about it? It's the fact that I don't know anything about him, either."
Yoo Yeonha then turned to Hajin.
"You too, right? Why else would you follow my whim if not for this?"
Hajin just shrugged at Yoo Yeonha's words, not saying a word.
Throughout this whole time, Kim Hajin was the only one who stayed silent. Not because he didn't want to do what Yeonha suggested, but so that he could feign ignorance if they ever got caught.
After all, he didn't say a thing, how could he be guilty. His silence gave Yeonha her answer.
"See. Even the closest person to him in Cube doesn't know much about that guy.
Don't you want to know about his life? Aren't you even a little bit curious?"
Chae Nayun was torn between two choices.
On one hand, she wanted to respect Tastuya's privacy. He hasn't done anything disrespectful to her, unlike someone here. So intruding on his personal life also didn't sit well with her.
On the other hand, she was also curious about this boy's life. During their time at Cube, she hasn't seen Tastuya post anything on social media nor talk with anyone besides a few people. Adding in his monstrous strenght, it raised a lot of questions and rumours about his origin.
Eventually, she gave in.
"Ahhhh screw it, I'm in."
"Knew you would cave in. Now help me locate that guy. With two sharpshooters, finding him would be easy."
Their plan was to first sweep through the area to find him before going to another place. Shiki in the crowd was easy to find as few men have hair that long. Eventually, they would spot him somewhere in Paris.
That is if someone hadn't found him first.
*Ding* Speak of the devil.
It was Yoo Yeonha's smartwatch.
Kim Suho: [ Guy? Take a look at this.]
They all looked at the watch to see that Kim Suho had sent them a message... Along with a picture.
And in that picture was the man whom they were looking for, along with a woman.
Nayun didn't recognise this woman, but Hajin and Yeonha? They definitely have seen her before.
"It's her, right?"
"No doubt. I didn't even know about her existence. He didn't say anything about a woman, but she's surely the one we saw that day."
"You two knew who she was?"
"Not really..." Yeonha replied as she probed Kim Suho about his location.
Kim Suho: [ I'm following him right now. Sending my coordinates.]
Yoo Yeonh: [ Got it. Good work, Kim Suho.]
"Let's go. Kim Suho is this way."
Yoo Yeonha led the way as they went directly to Kim Suho.
Soon they regroup with the man they sent for lunch duty.
"We're here."
"Good. Now this way."
Kim Suho then took over and led the group. The three looked over Kim Suho's shoulder to see that they were directly behind Shiki and the unknown woman.
They were a dozen meters or two away from them, just enough to have a clear look at their target.
Seeing how close they are, a discussion popped up about them
"What is their relationship? You said that this is a date right?" Yeonha fired the first shot.
"That's what he said. I don't know anything else. What about you, Hajin? Do you know anything about this?"
"I'm in the dark just like you, guys. He never said anything about his life. Most of our talk was about our business, not this."
"So he didn't tell anybody? Holy shit... So we're the only ones who know about this?"
"I think so. That guy hides a lot of things for sure. This is just one of them."
"Whatever it is, it got me more curious. He also left Cube recently. Maybe he went out for a date with her, what do you think?"
"Yeah, Yoo Yeonha and I also went out that time and saw him by chance. Maybe that's why he went out."
"Really? You two saw him by chance? What were they doing there?"
"I don't know."
"Me too"
"I just hope that he doesn't get mad at us for stalking him and his girlfriend."
"You just shut up and follow the ride. Also give me my sandwich."
"..."
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At the same time
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'Damn it... I jinxed myself. Also, what the hell are they thinking, following me from behind? They really thought I wouldn't notice?'
When I said goodbye to Suho, I immediately went to an empty alley. Only then could I summon Scáthach to my place.
[ With my Command Seal, I summon thee, Scáthach. ]
The back of my hand glowed up, revealing a red tattoo in the shape of a hooking arrow. The Command Seal on the right faded out, and a burst of mana exploded in front of me. In the middle of the mana outburst is Lancer, Scáthach.
The beautiful queen appeared in yet another stunning outfit. This is her travelling outfit inspired by modern fashion.
A trench coat that only covers down to her thigh. Long stockings and knee-high socks with heels. She also carried a small purse from which popped out a small seedling. Overall, her all black outfit can only be described as regal and mature.
We greeted each other and made our way to the main road. As promised, I will take Scáthach on a tour just the two of us
*Bzzzztt* Right right, the three of us.
However, after about five minutes together alone, I sensed a familiar figure from behind.
It was Kim Suho. I took a look at the mirror at a sharp angle and saw him walking behind us, holding two bags worth of food and drink.
At first, I thought that Suho was on lunch duty and I was right. There's no way he could finish those alone. Also, he seemed surprised to see me here
Then I asked myself why he went alone when suddenly.
*Flash*
That bastard took a picture of us. By then, I already knew what had happened. Those kids I swear...
'So they want to follow me, but Suho disagree, so they sent him on lunch duty. But that caused him to find me by accident. Damn my luck.'
Now he must have sent the picture to the others. They will be here any minute now.
Another five minutes passed and lo and behold, the whole squad arrived.
God damn it. Who designed this sadistic curse? I'll send him straight to the Underworld.
*Sigh* Let's tell this to Scáthach. She probably won't be mad but who know.
"I'm sorry, Lancer. I wanted to give us some time alone, but it seemed like the kids were too curious for their own good."
She looked at me with an understanding smile. She wasn't upset at all. The time soent with Evandel might have mellowed Scáthach down quite a bit.
"It's fine, master. I requested this from you. You didn't have to do so but you still did it for me. Also, I think it's fine for them to follow us. They haven't done anything overboard yet, right?"
"I see. If that's what you wish, then let's go. If it were the same as our Earth, there should be a good restaurant right around this corner."
"Understood, let's get some lunch for the two of us..."
*Bzzt Bzzt*
"And the little one as well. We still have some mixed blood for you."
* ★Bzzt Bzzt★ *
'Yeah. Let them follow. The world is never gentle to heroes. This could be the only time they get to enjoy life.'
Our date continued as I let the stalking audiences of the hook for Lancer's sake. Lancer and Evandel are my priority. I want them to enjoy themselves after all.
We had a great time together and it's a nice to take Scáthach somewhere beside the Cube. I would call this a success.
Though our audience might be the one more satisfied with this date. Soon the sun started to goes down as the masquerade party at five drew closer.
Scáthach has already been exposed and soon we'll be the talk of our class. There no longer any need to hide her identity.
Meaning there is no reason to avoid this party anymore, unless Scáthach do not wish to attend.
So I spoke up first.
"Scáthach..." I called out her name for the first time.
"Yes... What is it master?"
"Since we're already exposed, do you want to go to the masquerade party I talked about? There is no need to evade it anymore, unless you don't want to."
"I understand... Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find a clothing store. We can't go to a party dressed like this."
"Right! There's a store near the main road. How about we go there?"
"That's fine with me. C'mon master. We don't want to be late."
So we headed to the clothing store looking for dresses and suits. The clerk was very friendly. Maybe she wants to dress Scáthach up. You don't get to see a beauty like Scáthach coming into your store every day after all.
"We should find a party dress for Evandel too, don't you think?"
" That is an excellent idea, master. Let's find one. We can adjust the size later."
We got our party outfit and caught a taxi to attend the party. This was the first time I had ever gone to a party with a woman who wasn't a relative, so it's safe to say I was somewhat nervous.
But being with Scáthach somewhat eased my tension a bit. With Scáthach's arm wrapped around mine, I escorted her into the party.
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