What We Do to Survive

The rest of my night passed far more productively than I could have hoped. I took a short break to shower, then cleaned up the rest of the mess with a water spell. I definitely took more pleasure in soaking the quivering girl in icy cold water than I should, but who was going to call me on it?

I ended my fun with a few firm slaps on her engorged crotch, then returned to my work. It was much easier to focus now that I wasn’t constantly thinking about what I wanted to do with the girl, and I spent another half hour practicing basic evocation magic.

For anything more powerful, I would have to reserve a dedicated practice room, couldn’t go around throwing fireballs in my cramped room, but this was still good practice and burned through mana at a painfully fast pace.

It took another hour to get Janna’s plans written up, and then I managed to tear through all my assignments through next Monday. I wasn’t back to my preferred two week buffer, but I was getting there.

Despite the long day and evening entertainment, sleep came slowly. Twice I got up to double check the restraints, and though I found no issues, I couldn’t get the worry out of my mind.

I hadn’t really been planning to touch her for a few more days, give everything some more time to stress test, but it seemed even my best intentions couldn’t escape my hormones. I would have to take that into account in the future. Hopefully having her around to destress would keep me focused around women who could pose a real danger to me.

Eventually I resorted too drinking a sip of dreamless sleep. The potion was harmful in large doses, but I kept a bottle around for nights like these. I needed my rest, regardless of what my troubled mind might tell me.

After such a long evening, I decided to take a bit of a lazy morning. I briefly left the savefy of my room for a short run to get breakfast, taking a slightly longer route to get some exercise and avoid the busier parts of campus.

On weekends, I would typically reserve a training hall for after I ate, somewhere to practice the more destructive magics that did not come naturally to me. That wasn’t practical today unfortunately. I didn’t have class until the early afternoon, but it was a long practical so I wanted to be topped up on mana beforehand.

Instead, I returned to my room and put aside my work for the moment, choosing instead to focus on some of the projects I’d let fall to the wayside over the last few weeks. In particular, a fascinating idea I’d come across in one of the many musty tomes the Academy had collected over the centuries.

The book was a massive, weighty thing, bound with strips of dark leather and untitled. Even for its size, it was unnaturally heavy, the pages made of a slightly metallic-grey material instead of the typical paper or parchment. Thankfully it was written in East Elven, one of the most common languages for scholarly works and one I was well familiar with. I did know some translation spells, but it was always risky to use those on technical texts like this one.

From what I could tell, the book was written by some long ago scholar who had been deeply fascinated by Nolar Wurms, a now extinct species of giant subterrestrial wurm. The creatures had been known for their terrifying ability to cancel out magical effects around them to an astonishing degree, and had been hunted to extinction several centuries ago because of it.

The pages of the book were covered in sketches, diagrams, and theories about the creatures, but I was mostly interested in a small section towards the back. Here, the author had drawn a detailed breakdown of the wurm’s internal mana flow, and it was this multi-page diagram that had sparked an idea in my mind.

I knew it was possible to mimic a creature’s natural abilities using ritual magic to steal them. I’d just watched an experienced ritualist steal the strength and regeneration of a troll the previous day. However, I also knew it was possible to gain the same effect by copying the mana flows of that creature. I had here a very detailed diagram of exactly that, so, could I do it?

It was not an easy task, taking masterful mana manipulation and intimate knowledge of the creature to do so, but it was definitely possible. My task was further complicated by the massive difference in our biology, after all I was not a twenty meter long snake of muscle and rage, but I could imagine how incredible the reward might be.

It said here that the wurm was immune to area of effect enchantments, could shrug off magical attacks up to the 8th circle, and was able to destroy wards and enchantments simply by getting near them. Certainly some of that was a matter of scale, I had nowhere near the amount of mana a massive creature like that had at its disposal, but even just a fraction of that power would be a huge boon.

I didn’t expect to succeed on my first attempt and didn’t even plan to try until I had more practice. Instead, I would start by trying to copy the abilities of something much more familiar. I’d originally planned to buy a twintail ape and try to copy it's supernatural balance. After all, apes were pretty similar in size and shape to humans, but I likely had a much better option available to me now. All I needed was unrestricted access to a humanoid animal with an innate magical ability, and I happened to have one right here waiting for me.

Donning the enchanted glasses that I had used to observe the ritual, I turned to study my test subject. I had known that elves were a very mana-rich creature, enough that their bodies were thoroughly saturated with the stuff, but it was still something of a shock to see in person.

Under the elf’s skin was a dense web of twisting threads, layered over and around each other in a dizzying pattern of lines and curves. Even without the ability to manually circulate like I was doing, her body had an order of magnitude more mana running through it than I did. I felt a momentary spike of jealousy, elves were so fucking unfair.

Each and every elf was born naturally immortal, supernaturally athletic, and with enough mana affinity to match an archmage. Yet, what did they do with that talent? Nothing. Here I was, centuries this girl’s junior, yet I wasn’t the one tied up and with a collar around my neck. I was wise enough to admit that not all elves were like that, but I couldn’t stand the arrogant, condescending animals regardless.

I took a deep breath and stamped the rage back down into the back of my mind. I couldn’t change the past, but I could still do something about the future. It wasn’t feasible to immediately try to copy everything, but I didn’t have to. I could start small, build up until I could match and then exceed any of the nasty knife ears.

I had a momentary thought of striding boldly through an elven settlement, undeterred by ancient wards and powerful spells. It was a cheery thought, certainly something to aim for. For now however…

I fiddled slightly with one of the lenses, adjusting it until parts of the complex web beneath the elf’s skin faded out of sight. This would be much more manageable to start with. I wasn’t sure exactly what this part of the magic did, but I intended to find out.

I grabbed a fresh notebook and noted down the exact settings on my glasses. Subject: Mistletoe. Experiment 1.

“Oh fuck oh fuck oh…” I dove to the side to avoid a blinding lash of fire, the residual heat enough that I would have been badly burned without my passive magics.

I frantically looked around, trying to orient myself. There! An open window looking down on expansive flower gardens.

Behind me, I could hear the devil cackle at my plight, heavy footsteps slowly advancing down the hallway. This was going to hurt, but better than staying here.

I wrapped myself in mana, forming a crude bubble. Feeling the attack coming, I rolled forward, barely avoiding another fiery whip that cratered the wall beside me.

Melted stone splattered from the impact, but the spin I’d put on my shield was enough to deflect the droplets. I sprang to my feet and lunged for the window.

The creature shrieked, an ear-splitting sound that hammered at the edges of my mind in a distinctly unnatural way. I looked down. We were on the fifth floor, and the ground looked so very small from here.

I looked back, just in time to see the larger of the two summoned monsters round the corner. Where the devil was a short and lean beast, with small pointed horns and a smattering of scales, the demon was a hulking monster. It stood on four legs, each thicker around than my waist. Its massive claws dug deep furrows in the reinforced floor with each ponderous step and when it shifted its head its three long horns cut through the walls and ceiling like tissue paper.

The devil swung its whip back, preparing itself for another strike. I had nowhere to dodge this time, the ground behind me a molten mess from its earlier attacks. Maybe if I was full on mana, had time to prepare, and knew this particular demon’s weaknesses, I could take them. As it was, mentally and physically exhausted from burning the majority of my mana practicing elemental spells? Not a chance.

I jumped, the demon roaring thunderously as its prey escaped. I wove my mana as best I could, pushing upwards on my body and forming crude wings of half-solid mana. Combined with the force of my leap, I was almost gliding, but it couldn’t last.

There were students below me, a group of four sitting together by a grove of peach trees. One of them looked up, pointed at me. Then he spun away as the demon slammed through the window, shattering the tough glass and ripping appart the carved windowsill with its bulk.

I vainly hoped that it would kill itself on impact, but I doubted it. If a measly fall like this could kill a demon, they wouldn’t have half the reputation they did. Me on the other hand. Well, it would be close.

I hit the ground at an angle, having managed to turn much of my downward force horizontal. I rolled, shielding my head with my arms and relaxing my muscles as best I could. Mana cushioned my impact as best it could, but without a structured spell or a specific exercise to guide me, I burned mana to accomplish very little.

My main focus instead was healing. I needed to get up and get going the moment I could, and that meant ensuring my body was in the best condition I could manage given the circumstances. I poured mana into my healing circulation. It wasn’t meant for serious injuries, merely muscles soreness and bruising, but with the weight of my entire mana pool and fine control behind it, I could go slightly beyond that.

I came to a stop in a shallow ditch, freshly turned earth clinging to me as I rose to my knees. I ached, body bruised all over and at least one arm broken. My ears were ringing, but I could hear fighting not too far off. The other students, I realized. The summoned duo must have run into them while chasing me.

That was good, they could buy me time, even if none of them looked like the sort that could face a demon. Perhaps they would surprise me, I hadn’t really gotten a good look at them during my short ‘flyover’.

I closed my eyes, trying to think over the pain of overdrawn mana reserves. I was in the east gardens. That meant the nearest safe zone was… greenhouse three? I was pretty sure that was right, but I would have to cover a solid chunk of open fields. The other option was training ground seven. It was further away, but through a lightly forested area.

Another horrible roar and a burst of fire made my decision for me. The fight was moving right in the direction I had just been about to run. Training ground 7 it was. I pushed myself to my feet, body protesting with every movement. Then I was off.

If you’ve never tried running after falling out of a building, I would not recommend it. It was a decidedly painful experience, a lot like getting dragged behind a galloping horse actually. Notably, also an experience I would not recommend.

My mana flowed sluggishly throughout my body, my core a dim speck instead of the raging light I had grown used to. The injuries I’d sustained certainly didn’t help, knocking delicate mana flows out of alignment. My circulations had already been damaged slightly by my clumsy attempts to cushion my landing, and I could feel them coming apart inside me.

That would be… bad to say the least. It wouldn’t directly injure me, but collapsing circulations inevitably took a big chunk of mana with them, mana I did not have too spare. Combined with the sudden disappearance of my physical enhancements, I would be in real trouble.

I pushed onward, most of my focus going to maintaining my internal mana flows. I was thankful for all the years I had spent running through fields and forests with my father, muscle memory compensating instinctively for the rough terrain.

I could just make out the towering tree at the center of training ground 7 when the entire world *froze* around me. A horrible sense of pressure closed in around me, leaving me hanging in the air mid stride. Around me, the grass and trees were similarly affected, frozen mid rustle and sway. I could see a line of ants, unnaturally still as they walked up the tree bark beside me.

Something slammed into the ground behind me, the thud of heavy boots on soft ground unnaturally loud in the sudden stillness. The presence intensified, an overwhelming aura of awe and power that made me feel incredibly small in comparison. A small corner of my mind was screaming, telling me to run, hide, submit.

Then the pressure relaxed slightly and I hit the ground. My legs failed under the sudden weight, sending me sprawling. The rest of the world was still frozen, the small stalks of grass I landed on cracking instead of bending.

I looked up, only to see a tall, imposing figure walking away from me. His long red hair hung in a high ponytail, a single streak of grey running elegantly through it. His robes seemed to twist and swirl unnaturally around him, a living shroud of shining stars and bottomless voids.

In front of him I could see the demon, much closer than I had thought it was. It was only perhaps thirty meters behind me and I hadn’t even heard it coming. The devil was gone though, perhaps the other students had dealt with it?

Regardless, I didn’t think that mattered anymore. Like everything else around us, the demon was frozen. Only the frantic twitching of its seven eyes revealed that it was anything but a highly realistic statue.

The demon might be close, terrifyingly close, but that was no longer the biggest monster around. After all, how could I fail to recognize *him*. Ivius Ambrosius, archmage, nascent god, and sixth Myrddin of Avalon. One of, if not the most, powerful beings on this plane. I swallowed heavily and shifted around into a deep bow, face pressed up against the ground but eyes unblinkingly following the current leader of Avalon.

He had closed the distance to the demon in just a few footfalls, each moving him further than his stride should allow. He was just… staring at it, but I could faintly feel vast currents of mana shifting inside the overwhelming aura Ambrosius radiated.

Abruptly, I felt a wave of something ripple through the air, a sort of mystical shockwave I couldn’t really identify. The demon was just… gone. Not banished, but simply gone. Maybe some sort of teleportation?

Ambrosius stared for a long moment at the place where the demon had just been, then nodded gravely and turned around. For a moment, his eyes met mine and I felt as though my soul was about to get wrenched out of my body.

His eyes were like black holes, two empty voids behind wire rimmed spectacles. I tried to look away, but I was frozen more absolutely than I had been before. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. It was so cold. So dark. So cold. So empty…

The feeling vanished as abruptly as it appeared and I immediately looked down until I could just barely see his feet. He was coming closer I realized, and I felt my heart begin to thunder in my chest.

Most of the faculty did not interfere with the students directly. We were too far beneath their notice and it set a bad precedent. Sure some would give out horrible punishments, but typically they were justified at least in part. If the teachers were seen going too far, they risked being demoted or even removed from Avalon in some rare cases. That was never an option for him. If he wanted to do something, anything to me? There was nothing I, or most anyone else really, could do to stop him.

“Look at me boy.”

The statement came so abruptly that I almost didn’t register it, too consumed by my rapidly swelling panic. I jerked my head up so quickly it hurt, rushing to obey as soon as I understood what he’d said. He was… when did he get so close! He was right on top of me, my face only a few short feet from the toe of his highly polished boot.

“Hmm, I see. A right good job lasting as long as you did. Very good running it into your competition, even if that was not your goal.”

Something small and shiny landed on the ground beside me, but I didn’t risk looking away to see what it was. He’d said to look at him, so look at him I would.

“Here, perhaps this will come in handy in your studies. You seem like you might last.”

Between one heartbeat and the next, he vanished, taking with him the overwhelming presence that had still been pounding against the edges of my soul. I collapsed like a puppet with my strings cut as the grove came to life around me.

One hand mechanically reached to grab whatever it was he’d dropped. My hand closed around something small and hard, but I didn’t have the energy to wonder what it was. That had been… terrifying.

That presence was incredible and horrifying at the same time. I was pretty sure it hadn’t been a spell or anything, just the concentrated weight of his mana and significance presing down on everything around him. I wanted it. I wanted it so badly. Strength enough to shatter continents and bring down gods. Strength enough that no one dared move against you lightly.

If I’d had that strength, a hint of that strength… maybe… maybe they would still be here with me… alive.