Black Magus

Normally, I would never consider such things. But frankly speaking, me and Zakira were the same age. Not to mention, Corvus was a non-living testimony to the benefits of mixing our blood with a vampire's. So with that in mind, I deemed it wise to keep her on the back burner for the not-so-off-chance of me bringing a kid into this universe- after I un-fucked it. Not only that, but I liked her as a person. What little of her I knew anyway. And, she was strong. So, like many of the others, she would prove to be a powerful asset to my Guild.

Still, a small part of me felt bad. My actions reminded me of my old college days. Of the times I’d senselessly flirting and charm my way in and out of things like a psychopath. As I expected, however, Zakira was more or less ecstatic to hear my answer and skipped off to her room before we even made it to the entrance.

Upon returning, I found my room had changed yet again. My pillow was now placed on a raised platform on the back wall and a sunken social area had been placed in the center. A few pillows and chairs sat around a fire pit-like lantern within. Other than that, my desk, the kitchen, my bathroom, and other furnishings remained in the same place. After taking note of the changes, I stepped further into the room and paused to allow a wave of relaxation to come over me before I moved to my desk to skim through the few pamphlets I had yet to read. The grading criteria and my schedule.

Like the assessment sponsored by the Guild Association, the Bodhi Tree measured our performance on eight metrics. Plus three more. As before, the first eight were Intelligence, Strength, Constitution, Agility, Dexterity, Combat Ability, Manipulation Mastery, and Magical Prowess. The first of the others was Charisma; which essentially boiled down to our likability. It was a measure of how we were seen in the eyes of our peers. Of how easily they listened to us and our ability to persuade both them and the teachers. Wisdom, on the other hand, basically translated to street smarts. To use an analogy, Intelligence was knowing a horse's kick was strong. Wisdom was understanding what would happen if one stood behind a horse. Two sides of the same coin, yet inherently different. Like many things in life.

The last one was self-explanatory. Leadership. Naturally, it encompassed things like planning tasks out and seeing them through. But it also included much much more. To put it in simple terms, a boss barked out orders and demanded things be done. A leader inspired subordinates to want to follow their orders, no matter how suicidal they were. A distinction few individuals in positions of power were aware of.

Putting that aside, I quickly skimmed through the contents of my schedule and prepared myself to meditate the night away. As Doyle said, we’d begin each week in his Magical Aptitude course and move on to Zeff’s Magic Theory lectures the next day, leaving Olga’s Realms Introduction course for our final block of instruction. Each day, classes would begin at 8 am. From there, our instruction would proceed without pause until lunch, at 11, which would last until 1 in the afternoon. Post-lunch, our classes would proceed as scheduled until 5, wherein we were free to do as we pleased until the next day of class.

With my documents read through, I sat atop my small throne and closed my eyes to meditate and dream of darkness and dragons for a few hours until I rose and fashioned myself a quick breakfast. Then emerged to see Curious Twig, the Felipian, and Zakira lounging on opposite sides of the room, staring longingly out the window. Upon seeing me, Zakira brightened up and strode to my side to pull me out the door for a walk. Which turned out to be her leaning against me while I sat in the courtyard and smoked the morning away.

We had a brief talk about Classes during the while. She felt as if the rogue path was the only option available to her. Because of her kind, I assumed. But I tried chalking up Artificers to no avail, so I told her what I intended to be instead. And she screamed her confusion into the morning in response. She claimed to understand my reasons for becoming an Artificer. But she couldn’t understand why I wished to become a Monk. And, considering her earlier reaction, I didn’t feel like explaining it to her. So I deflected and continued our periodical small talk through the rising sun and the migrations to and from the cafeteria. Eventually, we found ourselves lounging on a sofa and remained there for the remainder of the day. Waiting and people-watching. She remained attached to my side during the entire time. But was never close enough to interrupt my thoughts or annoy me in any way, so I let her be. Despite the curious gazes that fell on us. It seemed she simply enjoyed being in my presence. Or she felt some type of synergy with my sorcery. Either way, I let my thoughts wander until sundown came and Doyle rapped on the door to shepherd us to a formal dining area in the trunk, above the classrooms.

Inside was a circular room with wood grain walls and marbled floors splayed in a gentle amber light. Like many other places in the Bodhi Tree, the roof was a mangled mesh of vines and branches that gave the place a sort of dream-like quality that I found quite hard to describe. The interior was dominated by a fountain placed at the center of the room, before four clusters of stunningly carved tables of arcane wood and marble that’d been placed to each side of the room. As Doyle was doing for us, Olga and Zeff were also leading their parties through doors in opposing corners of the room to instruct the students to sit and wait for the Headmaster to give his speech. Which thankfully didn’t take long. As he strode in with two women trailing close behind him, one with silver hair and the other with golden blonde. While they took their seats on either side of him, he remained standing and spread his arms to greet us.

“I welcome you, Pages of Class Nine-Nine-Nine to the conclusion of your orientation.” He grinned. “Tomorrow marks the beginning of your studies. But tonight, we feast. However.” He raised his pointed nail. “First, you must hear some words from me, and undergo your first ritual. I will begin by introducing our staff. First.” He gestured to the woman to his right. She had red-brown skin with freckles and a lion's mane of pewter curls paired with thick-rimmed glasses that magnified her perpetually stern gaze. “Our Assistant Headmaster, Mallory Monet.”

For whatever reason, Doyle and the other teachers erupted in applause after her introduction, prompting a majority of the students to follow suit while the Headmaster continued. “To my left is the Bodhi Tree’s Head Witch, Felicity Licht.”

Not that I could, but I didn’t even need to feel her magic to know she was from a family of light. Her hair was almost a radiant blonde. And so to were her eyes, which were filled with expectant hope as she beamed at the crowd of young faces.

“The rest of the staff are as you know them.” Headmaster Knagh continued. “Some of you may be concerned about the number of staff we have on hand. But I assure you, each of us you see here has been adequately trained for the job. It is because of this and the relatively small size of our classes that we are able to put more care toward the individual student. This is part of what makes the Bodhi Tree the best institute for higher learning in all of the realms. The fifty-five of you are the best in all the known realms. As such, there is no tolerance for bullying or unruly behavior within these grounds. Problems are to be solved through dueling or words. And nothing else.

“Now. With that out of the way, we can move on to the second-most important event of the night.” He boisterously chuckled to himself before turning his gaze to the ceiling and sending out some unsensed command to the mangled ceiling. In response to his order, the glowing vines unraveled and unfurled before descending to the sea of bulging eyes and wide grins. At their ends were strange wooden bowls, almost like the bowls of the Monkey Cup plant, only made of wood and filled with glowing green syrup.

“What you hold is the Bodhi Tree's sap.” The Headmaster ceremoniously monologued. “In this state, it is like a magical flower in liquid form. Unpollenated and destined to die without this ritual. By drinking its contents, the sap will first be materialized by your magical signature and undergo fertilization from your Spiritual Body, and the resulting ovary shall grow into the fruits of your labor by year’s end. So, go, young Pages! Drink!” The Headmaster thrust his arms upwards in cheer. “Eat! Party on this night to your heart's content and begin the first step down the path to greatness in earnest!”

Upon his order, many of the students including myself upturned our bowls into our mouths. But only after hearing Zakira crack a joke about making babies. It tasted… dangerously sweet but also hellishly spicy. Like honey and brown sugar had been mixed with the essence of the hottest hot sauce balanced with a sip of acid. Still, it was almost addictive. Like how blood was for vampires, I assumed. I wanted to keep drinking and drinking it and lick the bowl once it was gone. I wanted to, up until the burning fire spreading inside forced me to pull my eyes within.

With my mana vision, I saw what could only be described as a parasite writhing through my spiritual body. A worm or perhaps centipede, weaving in and out of my affinity cores and Mana Well as if it were a ghost. Or half a ghost, I realized as the moments passed and its body began to change. With each circuit through my spiritual body and each pass through my magical organs, the transparent eel-like creature the sap solidified into took on a darker and darker hue as if it were absorbing energy from my Void Core. Only that darkness and a sort of aura were the only attributed types of mana that I could sense within it. And it wasn’t even void mana. Nor was it death or shadow mana. It somehow felt more… wicked. Sinister. Like something from the Under. And the aura was like a golden brilliance unlike the light produced by my electromagnetic or nuclear magics. It was a dense type of energy of the likes of which I never felt before. And from its radiance around the black mass of the parasite, it looked just like the annular of a solar eclipse back on Earth.

And my mark.

‘What-’ I began to ask myself. Only to lunge forward and almost collapse from the intensity of a feeling I hadn’t felt in years. Nausea. Thankfully, it wasn’t just me. Every student in the room was doubled over like I was. Spreading the horrid sounds of vomiting through the room. And knowing it was my turn, I prepared myself for the worst.

I always hated throwing up and this time was no different. But what came out of my mouth certainly caught my eye. It was a wilted sack that looked a lot like a dried-up fig; among other things. Like the eel, however, my acclaimed ovary had purplish-black skin and emitted the same brilliant radiance around the rim. But before I could lean in further for a closer look, the vines whisked my and everyone else's bucket away into the ceiling, wherein the Headmaster guided the rest of the staff in a thunderous round of applause.

“I am sure you all have many questions.” He smiled at us once the noise died down. “I assure you that they shall be answered in the coming weeks. For now, I implore you to eat to your heart’s content and make contact with your peers. Once the call is made, you may leave whenever you so wish.” With a final bow, he settled into his seat, prompting the sea of heads to swivel around to the nearest console and order whatever they fancied.

I, for one, ordered a steaming pile of pasta and endured a bit of small talk with the other members of my party. Save Winston and Urshure, who respectively brooded silently and dug into their plate without remorse. In that time, I managed to pair names and faces with everyone in my party and even a few from the others until the Headmaster called the dismissal and half the room rose to go our separate ways.