"So we'll be having deathmatches at the end of the semester." Peter sighed into his chalice, his voice trembling ever so softly. "I wonder what we'll be fighting."
"Well, not people." I snorted. "Probably."
After Zeff's reiteration before class the day before, the mid-year festival quickly became the object of everyone's interest. Including mine. For it'd finally give me a chance to usurp some strength or life and, if possible, raise a worthy shadow.
"I was hoping they'd make duels mandatory." Slate sighed deflatedly.
"Duels are only a means to settle hostilities," I told him. "They don't want us to grow accustomed to fighting under a set of rules or conditions. Monsters don't play by the rules after all."
"True."
"But enough waffling." I stood from the table and looked around for the members of my party. "It's time for class."
Wordlessly agreeing, my teammates cleaned up after themselves and continue on with the ramblings while I opened SpellHell to finish compartmentalizing yesterday's training and ponder what I learned.
As Zeff mentioned the day before, the focus of his class was blending martial techniques with spell casting. An experiment that I started long ago and abandoned due to my incompatible Sorcery. For whatever reason, I rarely- if ever unpaused the experiment after receiving my weapons or awaking my cores.
Until now.
Daggers, spear, three-section staff. Every weapon I'd ever used, even my hands, had been tested before lunch. But I also managed to take note of the techniques my party members were developing on my trips to the 'bathroom.'
Scarlett's webs, for example, fell perfectly in tune with her staff. As did Winston's scales with his sword and his barriers with his shield. Peter had increased his proficiency with his fans at a frightening pace, and all the creatures incapable of manipulating elements or casting spells still worked without end to blend their mana molding techniques with the strikes of their claws, fangs, or wings.
His post-lunch lecture; though, was still imbued with the same theatrics as before.
It revolved around affinity detection and spell identification. Two of the most important things when fighting magical beings, according to him.
Detecting affinities first started with concentrating mana in the eyes to see the magical aura of a being or beast; or in my case, just looking at them. By teasing us, he implied that we may have already noticed auras in the form of their impact on their surroundings: Someone with a fire-based affinity would begin to heat their environment or even begin to glow when pulling mana through their core.
For the sake of most magical and even divine beasts- who only have one affinity, the only other aspect was to sense the amount of mana being put into a spell. But for humans, who could have multiple affinities, there was no other way to detect a magical ability. If it was unused, it would remain unknown. Making battles between magic users the most difficult of all.
What element a spell consisted of and the strength behind it was only half the battle, however. Identifying the type of cast meant the difference between life and death. Bullet spells required one to either deflect or dodge for example, and counters were advised to be used only if we were immune to the magical effect. But even then, attempting to re-counter posed a serious risk.
For someone with so many immunities and resistances, it was valuable information to consider when blending my techniques.
Though, that had to wait for later, as we arrived at the Undergrowth with just enough time to spare. Using it, I stepped near the cliff to smoke and observe both the vast lake and the spacious classroom dug into the cliff.
By all rights, it was a scaled-up version of what existed on the surface, in the hub. Only, the room was elliptical, sixty meters in diameter on the long axis. Broken apart by several torch-lit supports and an array of what appeared to be butchers tables on the left side and dozens of forges on the right. All facing a large dais furnished with larger setups than we were privy to, adorned with ornate tools and instruments.
Like her botany room, the terraced wall shelves held palm-sized chunks of various ores, minerals, and metals all labeled and sealed behind glass walls. Leiptr Alloy. Trusteel. Starmetal. Rimfire Ice. Pearl Steel. Firebrass. Orichalcum. Duskwood. All materials that either existed in mythology on the outside or that I've never heard in my combined lives.
"I see some of you are eager to get started, so we'll begin without further adieu and take a vote." Olga's songful voice called the party around her dais like sailors to a siren. And she played the part beautifully, gazing upon us with eyes that ate the unbridled eagerness of pubescent boys alive.
"All in favor of learning of magical metals or and ores before lunch, raise your hand," she said. Then giggled in mild surprise once every hand, claw, and wing was raised high. "Very well." She wheeled around her forge, nodding in a teasing manner. "You all know how to butcher beasts, right?" She leaned against her forge to shoot a skeptical eye at the lot of us. Then paused to allow her mouth to peel back in a knowing smirk.
"Or so you think!" She shrugged the matter aside and sent us to our stations with a wave.
As always, I slid into my seat and settled my thoughts while she strode across the room, plucking this and that from the shelves to either stuff them in her bag or stuff them underarm. Olga Godzuik was by far my favorite teacher. She didn't pry into our business or treat her lectures as if they were some talent show. Instead, she promptly began teaching each day with an enthusiasm that I'd rarely seen before.
Case in point, she dutifully strode back to her station with a veritable bounty of samples that caused me to froth at the mouth.
"The world is made of minerals and metals," she said, punctuating words with a gentle slam of each sample on the table. "And like all things, they exist in magical and non-magical forms. Of the latter, there too exists two categories. The Surface Metals are the ones our society depends on. Iron, steel, platinum, electrum, and all the other common metals. And even the uncommon ones." She mentioned with a gesture towards Samson. "But the most renowned natural metals come from the Dark World.
"Adamantine Ore," Olga declared by holding up a lump of glossy black ore, sealed away in a jar. "One of the most renowned ores in all the Realms. It's extremely hard in this state, but brittle. Making it unsuitable for use as a weapon, but relatively easy to mine. That said, it's extremely difficult to work with. Requiring extreme temperatures and fast hands, as it's impossible to continue working with the material once it's been cooled past a certain point. However, if that challenge can be overcome, you'll find yourself with a piece of equipment that shall never chip or dent.
"It is said that the dwarves and the drow of the DarkWorld have the most expertise in working with the material." She set her sample down with a knowing smile aimed at Els and I before she grabbed a sample containing a silvery metal. "And so too is the case with this. Mithral. The most precious of all non-magical metals. It is non-magnetic and has an innate resistance to magical effects. And, depending on the quality of refinement, processed mithral can be almost as hard as adamantine, but half as light.
"That concludes the natural metals. And so, we begin with the magical ores. Now, it'll take all year to detail all the magical minerals and ores in existence, so we'll learn about the most used and the most known." So saying, Olga turned about to grab a crystal or a mix between a blue diamond and glass that seemed to glow in the same color as the mana around it.
A familiar sight, to say the least.
"This is known as an enchantment crystal," Olga explained with a wave of the object. "On its own, it is one of the most valuable gifts passed on to humanity by the Fey. For its safe to say that humanity would've never discovered its secret on our own. The fact is." She set the stone down for dramatic pause. "Enchantment crystals have to be created. In a sense, they are an alloy. And Artificers guard the recipe with their lives, for a single mistake can have insurmountable costs.
"But creating it is one thing," Olga added with a raised finger. "Learning how to carve each sigil needed for the enchantment to function properly is another matter entirely. Only those with the steadiest of hands and the keenest eyes for magic can carve the necessary shapes into the stone.
"But that isn't the end of magical ores. In fact, it's only the beginning." After a short, grin-filled pause, she held another jar overhead. This one containing a matte obsidian brick. "This is Negation stone. Commonly referred to as negstone. This invasive ore is native to Vagua. Through the adventurers of old, it has spread to all other realms. As the name implies, the stone absorbs any magic cast in its presence. Or, in other words, it nullifies affinity cores.
"However, its range is limited," Olga reassured us with a gentle pause. "The negstone rings used by the Marulean Guild Association, for example, are only strong enough to influence the one wearing it. But in the Hells, entire swaths of land are covered in the stuff. The only way to overcome it is to physically destroy the stone. To render it to bits and scatter the pieces across the horizon. Though, with its exceptional hardness, that can sometimes prove to be a tall order.
"Naturally, this is the same material found throughout the walls of the academy. All for the safety of the students, the staff, and the very grains of the academy itself."
After a series of nods, Olga placed the stone back to replace it with what appeared to be an ordinary rock. Gray. About the size of a golf ball, but slightly elliptical.
However, the longer I stared at it, the more I noticed a distinct sheen or shimmer rippling across its surface. Almost as if it were moving. Undulating ever so softly.
And then she rotated the jar. Turning the stone about to reveal a gaping hole in its face. Like a toothless maw held wide open to emit a silent groan. Or, more aptly, like the opening of a cave or dungeon.
"This is a Wise Rock," Olga explained with a mild expression, almost as if she anticipated a bad joke. "It's an invasive ore that originally hails from Nonus. However, Wise Rocks do not spread by coming into contact with another rock, as negstone does. Instead, it follows a pattern similar to the life cycle of both plants and fungus.
"Because of that, it's also called Living Stone. And that's for two reasons." She held up her fingers and gave the jar a gentle shake. "First is that this rock is a quasi-sentient being.- a symbiote to be exact. It seeks a host to provide it with mana so that I can mature and repeat the cycle of life. In exchange, the stone provides the host with a shelter to call home and provides a means of communication through a mental connection. Though, I use the word 'communication' loosely." She reassured us with bared palms.
"The second reason is due to the Rock's anatomy and how it influences its environment. As you can see." She gestured to the groaning mouth. "Each Wise Rock has an 'interior.' In nature, the interior will appear as a cavern or cave that seems larger on the inside than what should otherwise be possible.
"This Rock, in particular, is a young pebble with no host. If released from this containment, it will grow to the size of a common boulder with an entry leading to a cave the size of a large warehouse. But when this rock is old enough, it'll form pebbles- a bit smaller than this one here." She held up the jar. "They'll form as lumps that cover its surface. Where they'll remain to be eroded by the winds or rain. Carrying them off into the distance to be deposited in a new environment. Or found by a magical creature. Or even a mystic.
"Regardless of where they wind up, these innocuous Rocks will leech mana from their surroundings until they mature and assume one of four forms." Olga threw up her fingers in dramatic fashion. "If a Rock that's left in the wilderness with no host manages to survive, it will lose its interior and become an Extreme Mana Zone, or EMZ. If a Rock manages to find a host, but the host's Well is too weak to sustain it- forcing it to jump from host to host, it will start to attract creatures of the same nature and eventually become a Natural Dungeon.
"On the contrary." She dropped another finger. "If a creature powerful enough to become its host is to find a Wise Rock and bond with it, the creature's home will become a Monster Lair. And, depending on the creature's base intelligence, it may gain some semblance of sentience.
"Sadly, however, that's not the case with sentient creatures." She sighed, deflating herself just a bit. Only to bounce back up in the next second. "Instead, Wise Rocks seem to recognize our intellect- if not our magical potential, and gorge themselves on our mana. The result is a much larger interior than what could be found inside a natural dungeon or monster layer- besides that of a dragon's perhaps.
"These structures, vast and magnificent, are colloquially known as Mage Towers. And let it be known that a Wise Rock Pebble is one of the many rewards for graduating from the Guild Master Course.
"Now." She set the jar down with a smile. "As I said before, it would take us all year to study even the basics of magical materials. So instead, we aim to teach you how to recover parts and materials from the creatures you encounter or slay. Even if you choose not to learn alchemy or the other crafting arts, selling monster parts and ores can prove to be a lucrative business. Merchants, crafters, alchemists, artificers; even fighters and politicians will pay good coin for them.
"So." She gave us two quick claps. "Go around, learn about the materials you see around you and go off to lunch.
"And be prepared to get dirty upon your return."