Fate/Academy: Episode 9
*It is the next day, and Athenox intends to meet with Mrs. in the Team's student organization building to get help in trying to figure out the events of yesterday, all of them. He walks in to her office. Scene 1.*
"Hey Mrs.?" I ask as I approach the desk in her office.
"Yes, Athenox?" She replies back to me.
"I was wondering if you wanted to spar, because I have things I need to figure out and you usually are the best person to help me figure them out since you are a void mage with a sword also."
"While I certainly wish I could help, as part of the executive faculty and lead Saber teacher, I have to help plan the upcoming Blademaster tournament." She starts to walk towards the door but then stops and turns around to me.
"Oh by the way. I had heard from some of the other students that you were going to compete in the Blademaster competition? Is that correct?"
"If we weren't going to be on an all-night spirit hunting trip, then yes. Luke and I had to find a compromise since we both agreed that our fight on the first day is no longer applicable and we will hopefully both be stronger by then and can face off without any problems such as mana drain or overload, as we both have had. Also, I think everyone might be getting a little sick of him saying something ignorant that forces me to have to respond with a lesson in respectful manners."
"So to put it mildly, you were drawing your phantasm weapons on each other in the middle of class?"
"Yeah, I guess the words "Dark Caliburn" came out of my mouth a few times." I scratch my head as I nervously laugh.
"Hmm… Well as long as this competition will settle things once and for all, then I guess I can agree with it. Besides, nearly all of the Sabers on the team are already competing. And about that sparring match. I may not be able to, but I can assure you that someone else on your team would have no problem with it. One of your upperclassmen to be exact."
"Connor! Can you hear me?" She says out loud.
"Yes, Mrs. I can hear you, what do you need?" Connor says as he appears through the door.
"Athenox wants to spar in order to figure out his abilities and to prepare for Blademaster. I figured you would want to since you have been curious about his abilities since we first considered him being on the team, and you will provide a close approximation of what the upper level competitors will be like. I would insist that you go and use one of the arenas upstairs to be closer to competition regulations. Use the authentication code if you need to. Oh, and Connor."
"Yes Mrs.?"
"Do not hold back on him, but give him constructive feedback and bear in mind that he nor any of the other freshman have their mystic code aria yet, but they will by the time of the tournament." She walks out of the room.
"Well you heard Mrs., to the arenas." Connor exclaims excitedly.
*Connor and Athenox are on an active arena. Scene 2.*
"Ok Athenox. The Blademaster tournament that you are going to be competing in is as you know a competition for Saber mages only. This is important because it means that it will not involve any overpowered spells or tricks that would formally be known as high level magecraft, so sword skill and technique can allow you to rival those who may be stronger under normal circumstances through magic. However with that said, most spells or abilities from which a Saber mage can pull from are not high magic but still powerful nonetheless. When fighting and opponent, it is important to take note of their second class on their composite list. Since major abilities are still able to be pulled from this spot. It will also usually be shouted out by the announcers at each match so it is very easy to pick up on. Now to start each match, you will be allowed and want to do a full weapon summon, since the structural integrity and mana capacity matter when you are going head to head in close combat, as is popular with most Saber mages. When you compete, you will also be in a basic activation form of your individual mystic code. It is an aria or chant with a fraction of its full power designed to be summoned and allow you to take far less damage from a mage's phantasm weapon and spells. They can prevent you from getting knocked out by some of the upper level attacks at the cost of restricting the amount of mana you can flow through your body. I am sure that Mrs. will give you a full explanation of how they work in class since she is your Saber instructor, but I will show you what a proper summon looks like." Connor raises hands out and starts to chant.
The aura emanating from him when he does so is immense, like the buildup of mana that is about to be released.
"Solemnly standing on the side of what I believe in, repercussions without regrets. Becoming a hero who holds his values and his sword high. Honoring this code, Chivalry of Fafnir." As he shouts the last words the mana he had built up is released and a set of armor appears on him. It is silver colored and has dark scales in-between the metal plates. The magic coming off of the armor is very densely packed into this physical form. It has a very beastly aura. He makes a second chant to summon his weapon.
"Balmung, Felling of the Sky Demons!" His great sword appears in his hands. The golden great sword shimmers in the light of the arena.
"Now your turn."
"Dark Caliburn!" My black and red sword appears in my hand. It is very dark, especially in contrast to Connor's weapon.
"We are going to start on three, okay?"
"Okay, makes sense."
"One…"
I can tell right away he is going to trick me. He is charging up his enhancements too early to simply be going on three. I take my sword and throw it in the air.
"Two…"
He starts charging towards me, almost like he is gliding across the arena floor as he closes in on me. His sword could cut me across the chest if I don't time this right. I can't give him any warning time to adjust his strike. As his sword is within moments of reaching me, I jump up and use Displacement to reach the sword and start to dive down towards Connor in a strike. He catches the strike with his blade. Instantly, Caliburn shatters against his sword and I slide into the ground right past Connor.
"Three…"
Why did my sword break? There is no real reason for it, at least no reason that I can notice.
"I am impressed that you noticed and managed to evade so easily, but clearly you didn't seem to put much effort into your weapon summoning. That will not get you very far in the Blademaster, and would never get you in the door of the Grail War." He says as I get back up.
"Fine."
Does he think I am messing around? That was a lot of effort and mana on that weapon summon. If I happened to overload the weapon when I displaced because of the range I used it then I will just have to try again.
"Caliburn!" The weapon reappears as I run towards Connor and swing at him. The weapon once again breaks as our swords connect.
"I said that if you aren't going to take this seriously, then you aren't going to get very far. I think it is time that I start fighting back. Maybe that will be a more convincing argument."
He takes the butt end of his sword and smashes it into my gut. The jewel on the end nearly impales me as I fly back only barely managing to regain my footing at the edge of the arena. Something isn't right. I think he may be taking it a little too far for a sparring match. More importantly, why is my sword breaking? I won't even be able to land a strike if I can't do something about it. I was able to summon it just fine the earlier day and landing hits against targets without falling apart. So, I have to wonder what is so different between earlier today and now. The only explanation is that it is something Connor is doing. Some ability that he can do is instantly able to break my sword on contact.
"Hey, Connor? I have a question for you."
"Save your questions until after you manage to land a hit on me, and then I will talk." Connor responds back.
I haven't made enough contact with his weapon to try and replicate it, and if there is something wrong with my weapon summoning then I doubt it would hold up any better against him. It would just shatter on contact. I have an idea…
"Let's see what you are going to do now." He taunts me.
I rush in with a weapon summon the same as before. I attempt to strike, knowing it will shatter and break. I swing upwards as the blade breaks, and then I summon another one that breaks on a downswing. That blade was rushed so it wouldn't have stood a chance anyway. I dodge one of his swings and wind up an attack with a third blade that I summoned in. It breaks but leaves me open with a perfect opportunity for Connor to hit me with a downswing, which he starts to. I catch that downswing with my hands. The force is enough to leave pretty deep cuts on my hands. I deflect the sword to the right of me and run straight towards Connor. I punch him in his side and strike with a fourth blade summoned in sequence. Neither were really effective against Connor's armor, but at least they hit him.
"There is the Athenox that I saw go head to head against that corrupted spirit, and win almost every duel he has fought in so far. I was wondering when you were going to finally show up to this sparring match."
"What do you mean? I have been fighting the whole time." I reply to his exclamation
"Not really. You were not fighting to your truest self, but instead how you probably think of yourself as. By only relying on charging straightforward in a typical Saber fashion, you assumed your body into a criteria it could not physically meet."
"And that is?"
"That you are strong enough or well-trained enough to charge at me with a swinging strike which is easily predictable, and that you could force me back with that single strike. By the looks of it, you lack the muscle mass needed to deal or absorb a heavy hitting strike. Which is why you tend to get thrown around like a ragdoll against most opponents. You also are not overly fast but within a small range such as arena combat you can use evasive tactics such as your Displacement ability to outmaneuver enemies. Also worth noting that for a Saber mage, you have nearly twice the normal mana pool, and you seem to be able to use it to your advantage in most situations. Rapidly re-summoning yours or other people's weapons, Forcing your weapons to Overload with mana, and multiple strikes with your weapon at a moderate level of empowerment. All of those things would nearly drain most Saber mages. Which is very important considering that you shouldn't operate so rigidly on your magus class. Just because you are a Saber doesn't mean that you don't also show exceeding talent in other classes. It is important to keep that in mind because a good magus can realize that and even see it in other people. The competition format even lists a mages top two classes for that reason. So we are going to continue, but this time I want you to acknowledge that a Saber is more than their sword."
His words sound like an inspirational battle speech or an epic fable about a hero with a fighting spirit and proud, optimistic, and unchallenged ideals. As cheesy as they sound, he is right. I can't be so blindingly straightforward in combat because will never work. He charges in at me again. "A Saber is more than their sword"? The phrase in a literal context wouldn't sound right, since most Saber mages use magic that focuses on their swords and are often measured and ranked by their sword's capabilities. However, all mages have a class composite which ranks and orders their performance within all seven mage classes. After Saber, my next highest is Assassin, which never really made since to me until now. When I was living in Undercity, I was always just rushing into battles sword first. In this fight that won't work since he is physically superior. I will have to focus on creating opportune times to quickly strike.
"So Connor, may I ask you those questions that I wanted to ask you earlier?" I say as I evade his initial strike.
"Go for it." He says as he adjusts and attempts another chain of strikes.
"How are you able to work with a team? "
"In what way?" He responds as I slam and shatter another copy of Caliburn into his sword.
"Well yesterday in Mr.'s class, we were doing the cooking challenge and my team decided to tie me to a chair while they were cooking. As I was sitting there, I saw something I only thought I was capable of. They were cooperating and working very efficiently together, even though they haven't known each other very long. They said they tied me to the chair so to prevent my abilities from going haywire in class but I don't really know if that is the real reason behind it."
I take a strike to the left arm but manage to displace away before it cut too deep and am only slightly grazed by it.
"Hmm? I think that it is just a simple matter of upbringing. The world is in a time of peace for most of the factions. So as a result, they lived in peaceful environments in which they could let their guard down go to school and allow themselves to peacefully interact with others. In your case however, things were not as peaceful. Undercity being so isolated from the rest of the factions, it is often unknown that the illusion of peace in which your father, Hades, had tried to put up in agreement to match the rest of the world was just that. An illusion. The conflicts weren't all encompassing and life for most of the population of the city may have been as normal, but for the prince of the leader who is trying to maintain that peaceful illusion, the social environment may have been a little off from what others, especially in the Holy Council, would consider normal. Not to mention the shifting between parents nearly every other year, which as you grow up would not create the same stability in which ones guard could be lowered and friends could be so easily interacted with."
"How do you know all of that?"
"Mrs. has us do a very thorough background check on all of our perspective students. The point is, while you were growing up and interacting with people, you never really trusted others. You were probably always looking over your shoulder to some extent. Never getting to close to a person. In Undercity, at the worst of this conflict, you also probably had to be secluded from the rival factions who could overpower you and use you against your father." He explains his reasoning as I just barely miss an upswing from Balmung.
"I guess that is mostly true, even though I do have a few clarifications I would want to add to that at a later date. Oh another thing. What is wrong with Clara? She seemed kind of upset yesterday when we showed up to get help on phantasm weapon forging. I know it isn't really my place to ask but I would feel really bad if it is something that I did."
"You have been evading most of this fight, and it almost seems pointless. To answer your question though, no it is not something that you did on purpose. Mostly she is just being overdramatic, but the team's current structure is very displeasing to her and most of the seniors on our team. We didn't used to be this separated from each other. Instead, we all used to work together in a more direct manner that could easily handle anyone's problems. Then our current organization's president, Aubrey, presented the argument that we change that. Aubrey claimed that it would be more efficient and more effective to divide into the three separate teams that we have today, and have all matters handled by the leaders of each of those teams. Technically her argument isn't wrong and the saying "divide and conquer" does still hold true, but as a result, it would incapacitate all cooperation between the groups in most cases. It would also limit any direct contact from an individual team member to Mrs., who is ultimately the lead mentor or coach of the team. Honestly, the fact that you have just freely been given training and sparring matches directly with Mrs. is a very unusual occurrence, especially in your freshman year. Clara is a little jealous of that fact because even as seniors getting training from Mrs. is a struggle and we usually rely on self-teaching. Mainly, she is angry with Aubrey for proposing and effectively changing the team structure, and Mrs. to a lesser extent because she didn't intervene in the decision and let Aubrey have her way. Which is as Clara thinks, is a usual occurrence for Aubrey and that Mrs. Lanslac likes to play favorites. Which isn't totally true, but the argument is arising for you because you are a Void affinity mage. It is not anything to worry about though."
Is this really all that is happening on the team? I wonder how hard the other freshman are working to become good friends with each other even though this very system is designed to separate and silence them. I didn't know that Mrs. wasn't working with everyone, at least the other saber mages. I thought all of the seniors were casual and friendly with one another. There is a major instability on the team. I should probably learn more before I decide to make any major moves. The blade falls out of my hands and hits the floor. Connor is fairly calm about the situation considering its effect on the team, and his sister. Even though his presence looks like he could get angry if he wanted to. His silver hair that runs just past his shoulders, on top of his silver armor, makes him look like some kind of knight that would truly be a force to reckon with. If this was a matter of black and white, or right and wrong, then I am sure he would have already charged in with his sword and dealt with the issue. Unfortunately, the situation is between teammates who are in some capacity close friends, and to say that either side is right or wrong would be to mistake the situation entirely. Which leaves them at a scarred stalemate. I can feel that frustration and pain in his presence, in the same way that I now realize that I could feel it in the presence of all of the seniors involved. It sticks out, and wants to be physically acknowledged as an entity of its own that is shared across its victims. I summon my blade in my hand, and amplify that feeling within it. Caliburn is engulfed by my mana and immediately altered by it. Broken images of phantasm swords that I have seen flood through my mind. The mana coating my blade shifts and reshapes itself over and over again, not consistently solidifying as a single shape. The lines of the ritual we used for Macy's new phantasm ring in my head. Concept, Structure, Material, Skill, Experience, Years, and Manufacturing. Concept, Structure, Material, Skill, Experience, Years, and Manufacturing. Concept, Structure, Material, Skill, Experience, Years, and Manufacturing. On repeat with each weapon that flashes in my head. Why?
"Athenox! Are you okay?" As I am regaining focus, I feel the collective buildup of mana on my sword, urging me to command it to take an intended form. Connor is shaking me by my arms to get my attention.
"Demon Sword of the Skies, Balmung!" The sword flashes into the form of Connor's phantasm.
I leap backwards.
"So you copied my weapon? I did not know if it is in your skillset to use it." Connor says.
"It wasn't easy to summon, and took a lot of mana. I also have now idea why I did it. The summoning was almost like an impulse, but there was a lot of resistance in it. Like I had to use mana just to force more mana into the spell just so I could summon it. My body already feels strained by it and I am not sure how much longer I will be able to be standing up and fighting but I don't care. Pushing yourself allows you to reach new limits, and be able to undertake greater challenges. Challenges such as ending the pain of others. So Connor, I want you to keep fighting me until I pass out and as Mrs. said, don't hold back."
Connor and I rush towards each other. He unleashes a flurry of strikes, which I am now able to deflect and counter against. His sword skill is very good. I lack the advantage of forceful attacks that he has by wielding the weapon with two hands, but I am faster in principle by wielding my weapon in one hand even though it goes against the physical constraints of the weapon. I attempt to block his blade with mine. I slide to left as they connect, but I am able to leap over and guide the blade aside. While I try to pursue the gap, Connor catches me in an upswing and sends me to the ground behind him. As I impact with the floor, I can feel the sheer amount of damage that his Balmung can do. The sword has started to leave holy energy burns from where his heaviest hits were. I haven't even left a scratch on him. It is like he is immune to my damage because he is unresponsive to the clean hits that I left on him. I can tell that I am about to lose consciousness, but I want at least one more attack before I go down.
"Are you done?" Connor asks me while he is still facing away from where I am lying on the arena floor.
I get this weird feeling from the mana in the space around us. His mystic code's mana structure. I am unsure how it works. The mana of the plates and dragon scales are densely packed to the point where I am unsure of how my mana could have seeped in in the first place. I can only sense one exposed part from where the mana could have gone. In fact it is the part where the mana coming from his armor seems to be the thinnest or almost nonexistent, and it is on the small of his back. If I want an effective hit, then it has to be there. As I am on the floor and my body is exhausted and in pain from getting knocked around so much, I slowly pull the sword back until it is pointing behind me.
"Almost!" I say as I throttle all of my remaining mana into my copied Balmung. It bursts out in an orange beam and I launch towards Connor. About halfway, I ready the sword for a final attack aimed at that one focused weak point in his armor.
"Clever attempt but you are not fast enough." He must have been able to detect it without question, because as I approach, he turns around to face me and jabs forward with the back end of his weapon. As I slam into the weapon, the pain rushes through me. I immediately begin to cough up blood as he instantly forces the blade down and I crash into the floor. The Balmung in my hand shatters and I black out in a pool of my own blood.
*Athenox, after having been wiped across the floor, wakes up in his bed. It seems to be a later that night. His roommates are sitting around his room. Scene 3.*
"Where am I?" I think for a second after my mind reels back to the fight from which last remember.
"Looks who is finally awake!" Luke says as he stands up and walks over to me.
"You are in your room. After your sparring match, Connor and Mrs. rushed you to the infirmary to treat you. Then they dropped you off in your room once you were okay." Micheal says.
"Oh, I see. Then how long have you guys been in here?"
"Well we were instructed by Mrs. to watch you and make sure you didn't go critical from some weird aftershocks of the fight. We haven't been here long...Today." Luke says.
"Today? How long was I out? It is still Friday right?" I ask not feeling good about the answers I am about to receive.
"Well technically it is Friday." Gabriel says.
"What do you mean?" I respond, with potential concern.
"Mrs. wasn't sure how you would take this but I guess we just have to say it. You were almost dead. Connor feels really bad about it, but he accidentally struck with a fully empowered attack. The amount of force exceeded the absorption of the field by an amount which was still tremendous enough to shatter nearly every bone in your body. It only took them the rest of that day to fix you, but between that and the mana drain you have been in unconscious in a coma for about a few weeks." Luke explains.
"What? I have missed that much school? I am going to be overloaded in makeup work."
"Actually, according to Mrs., that isn't a problem. You were excelling in your class work at the time and with a few recovery tests, you should be fine on that front." Micheal says.
"There is one major problem though. It is the night before the Blademaster competition, and you should not be competing in any strenuous activity for a while. So we will of course have to find a new way to prove that I am better than you, although as I say it, we could just tally up the number of times either of us has wound up blacking up or in the infirmary and whoever has the least is obviously better." Luke says with the usual attempt to be funny even though it clearly isn't working and he shouldn't give up being a mage anytime soon, because his comedy is lackluster.
"Well like you said, I have been sleeping for a few weeks. So I should have rested enough and ready to fight in the Blademaster competition tomorrow."
""How? You missed a very important lesson in class that is required for the tournament, and as a result, you don't have your Mystic Code activation aria yet. They won't even let you sign up without it."
"Oh right, Connor was talking about that earlier when we started sparring but I need to fight tomorrow, so I can beat you and end this once and for all."
"Good because Mrs. actually figured that and will teach you early in the morning. She must really be playing favorites with you."
"No she is not. That is just a false claim from Clara because of Aubrey."
"You really haven't seen her these past few weeks. She has been walking in our room almost every day to run tests on you to figure out why you keep fainting or getting paralyzed in combat. Even weirder is that she has been acting as your substitute on the gathering team while you were out."
"At the beginning, Mrs. said that she would help the team members in any way that she could. She probably would have done the same for any of the other teammates."
"Yeah except she hasn't. In fact, Corey told me about an incident two years ago in his sophomore year. He said that the gathering team had a similar injury and everyone came back from the mission in horrible shape. One person was critically injured. She refused to substitute any members from the other two operating teams at the time, and even sent them back out on two missions the next day. Additionally, the person who got injured was their teams only Saber, which decreased that group's overall effectiveness." I don't understand. When I look at Mrs., she doesn't look like the kind of teacher to do something that harsh. I also don't doubt Corey's words, because he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would just make stuff like that up. I don't know what to belief but this just further explains the current state of the team. I am only hearing all of this second hand, so I can't really decide what is right or wrong and any opinion I have is just speculation. The only thing I know for sure is that I want the Team's pain to end, because they seem like nice people who don't deserve this for themselves.
"I will figure out what I know when it becomes clearer. For now the only thing that the seniors have been telling us is probably just some exaggerated occurrences mixed with their own personal opinions, which I doubt is anything substantial."
"If you want to think that, then that is fine. Oh and Mrs. ordered us to keep a watch on you in case you woke up, and she also told us to make sure that you got your rest for tomorrow and didn't try anything stupid, as is common practice for you."
"Wow! You are one to talk about commonly practiced stupidity…" Before I can provide evidence to support my claim, Luke sucker punches me in the face and I black out.
*Athenox once again finds himself in a bizarre dream. Scene 4.*
I once again find myself in that same desert where I always seem to find myself in my dreams.
"What do you know about the name Vortigern Pendragon?" A women's voice echoes across. Is she asking me, or is it like last time with that corrupted spirit? Before I can think about it more, a burning black flame sweeps across the dessert. When it clears, the scene has changed from the dessert that it was. I can't recognize the location, but I seem to be running up a staircase with multiple people. I can hear all of their footsteps behind me. When we reach the top of the staircase we approach an open throne room filled with a barricade of what look to be about 50 armor clad knights. At the back of the throne room, sitting on a throne, is a very powerful presence in black armor. It is nearly impossible to see his face, but his aged voice booms across the room. It almost doesn't sound human.
"Do you really think that this land was made to be ruled by mere humans? Such filth doesn't deserve to defile this place. The Age of Man is naught but a plague that shall be eradicated." The voice says in an almost maniacal manner. The people who were behind me rush forward and they are also knights. One of them yells out to me from the front of the group.
"Come on! We have to defeat him for our kingdom!" The voice appears to be the same voice from the desert. Are they talking about that thing in the black armor? These dreams must have some specific reasoning for occurring since they are not people or things that I know. I have to figure out more, but from last time it seems like I don't have any real control over the events that are happening. Like my body is just proceeding with whatever the dream does and whenever I try to steer of course or alter what is naturally occurring, the dream reacts by forcing me out. Fine, if it wants me to fight then I will fight. I attempt to summon my blade to my hand. Shock sets in as I look upon the summoned blade only to see Excalibur Galantine, which is Luke's phantasm weapon. Aside from other times when I see Caliburn, this is the most familiar sight I have had one of these dreams. His sword has a silver blade and the handle up to the base is a blue color. It has no guard on it, but the shape of the blade seems to widen at the base to allow a similar function. The sword also seems to give off a bright and glowing aura. I can hold it quite easily in one hand. I rush into the battle and immediately side step a lunging attack that was recklessly made by one of the knights. Afterwards, I turn and slice his arms off in an upswing. Then I run past him and wind up a backswing that decapitates him. It shouldn't have been that easy, but it just happened. There isn't time to explain as I am forced into a shoving match by another knight. His blade tries to force me back but it is effortless as I wedge Galantine around his blade and slam it out of his hands, lunge the sword straight through his armor and pierce his heart. Galantine flashes with a bright light that almost looks like sunlight as it kills the knight in front of me. A group approaches but I slash through them effortlessly. This process of slaughtering through the barricade keeps going until we manage to break through to the back where the figure in dark armor is. Even at this close I am still unable to see his face. It is almost like he is bending the shadows around the throne room with his presence.
"Puny weakling knight, do you really think that you have the power to stop me? This place shall return to its originally intended form. It shall become the darkest hell on earth from which no man can enter and no light can penetrate. It shall remain the beautiful that it was intended to be, and it will be unconquered by all except me." He rants on, in a mentally unstable fashion. I believe that it is a general consensus that overthrowing the world into total darkness is both a bad and stupid plan. So without question, I charge in blade first to try and fight him. Although as I approach him, his form starts to alter into shadow and he releases a mighty roar of shadow that seems to have drained all of the energy from me and drops me to the ground. Galantine lays in front of me, but the bright aura that it had has faded completely and cracks begin to form on it. The figures form expands and breaks through the walls and ceiling of the throne room, causing rubble to fall all around me. Finally the throne room has been completely destroyed and I am crushed by the last of the falling debris. As I blackout, I look up and see the flash of a massive dragon.
*It is the next morning. Early, before the Blademaster competition. Athenox is in Team's student organization building with Mrs. Lanslac. She is fixing to show him how his Mystic Code works. Scene 5.*
"Athenox, how familiar are you with Mystic Codes?" Mrs. looks at me and asks.
"I know that they are certain objects or devices that are powered by a user's mana and require an invocation to activate. Connor summoned his suit of armor with one when we were sparring."
"Well that technically is and isn't quite right. I think a full explanation would be better. For example, take a normal person. They have a body and a soul. A physical and spiritual existence that are linked together. The soul is where your magic comes from. It is your supply of magic energy and your consciousness. Some Enreagent researchers will also try to tell you that it is where your emotions come from and why magic is so deeply affected by your emotions, but until they have more solid evidence I would rule that out as pure speculation." She explains. That research seems pretty solid to me. I mean Berserker mages have to generate an overflow of mana in response to spikes in adrenaline, which is what makes them able to hit like a truck, and never stop fighting until they wear themselves out. At least, that is how my mom explained it to me when I was growing up.
"Anyway, the soul is like a battery in that it has a limited capacity. It can only hold so much within magic energy it or it will overload and detonate, but it has to hold a minimal amount to maintain an existence or it will vanish, in the same fashion as your phantasm weapon. The body is the physical half of this equation in that it can interface between the soul and the outside world. Or back to the example of the battery, it has inputs and outputs that drain or charge your quantity of mana in your soul's battery. This process occurs by mana running along spiritual pathways through your body from your soul. These pathways are of course commonly referred to by most as Magic Circuits."
"So if I am understanding this correctly, Magic Circuits are kind of like your veins except the use magic instead of blood?"
"Yes, that would be a fair assumption."
"So where do the Mystic Codes play in?"
"Mystic Codes are special devices that are outputs for your mana. They will perform specific functions with that mana depending on what type of item they are, and there are of course a wide variety. Student mages receive a baseline Mystic Code that is there school uniform. The uniform is a multi-stage Mystic Code that can activate at different levels depending on how much mana is used. The state that you are wearing it in is an inactivate state. When you fought Connor he was in stage one, which provides a minimum defense against magecraft and attacks from phantasm weapons. In competitions and while on certain missions they are required to be operated on at least stage one, since most magi typically do not find it as easy to restrain themselves. You seem to be trained above the baseline, because those gloves that you have are Mystic Codes as well."
"My gloves? They were something my father gave to me after he trained me in counter magic. He said that they would be better to use in certain circumstances than my phantasm weapon because they are faster to deploy and unlike my phantasm weapon, they are more effective in negating spell casts, and are much more difficult to dispel. My father wanted me to be prepared in case I was ever attacked or targeted in the streets on my way to and from school, or if an assassin from one of the other factions ever tried to catch me off guard."
"Hmm, well you certainly seem to be able to use them quite well in response to a phantasm's attack. Your father definitely wasn't wrong about their effectiveness. Yours is designed as a simple one stage activation. All you have to do is flow your mana into them and then and then use your counter magic from it. Now however, we need to find your aria for your mystic code armor. Stage one only requires two lines of incantation on average. Oh, and put your gloves on so that the armor can account for them when it forms."
I take the gloves out from my back pocket and put them on my hands. They have never been as foolproof as my father made them sound when he was teaching me. When I use them too much I get mana burns on my hands, and they can only negate spells up to a certain level. A fully empowered blast from most phantasm weapons would be enough to cut straight through and damage my hands. The material is a special type of reinforced mage woven polyester that allows the user to freely flow mana into it and create a hardened shell from your mana. A Saber mage would usually avoid using this type of device on their hands because it inhibits mana from flowing to your phantasm weapon when you use them both. I haven't fully tested the gloves in combat since before I started using my own mana as a void mage, but I bet it will be a lot more explosive.
"Alright, now to find your incantation. Typically, the incantation comes from within ones soul and bears heavy emotional meaning to the caster. You shouldn't have to force yourself to find the words. They should just come out on impulse. Once you get used to them they also shouldn't require you to recite all of the lines you need, and if you become skilled enough then you could even link them with a single line or phrase of words. Focus deep within yourself to find the words you want to say and let your inner emotions wash over you."
"My inner emotions? It is a little difficult to just bring them out like that on the spot."
"I understand. Well for most mages, it is often easier to root these words back to reason that they fight. So Athenox, why do you fight?"
Why do I fight?
The question that all conscious souls must ask themselves at least once in their life. Knowing all that I know, I have found it easy to fight when something goes against what you think or believe in. The only real answer I have is that I fight for myself. Right or wrong, good or bad, and justifiable or not. Those concepts are just relative to the person saying them. It is within that gray area that all conflict lives. The conflicts that the lack one sidedness that would allow you to make a simple decision which leaves you trapped and frozen in place. Like you are tied up by your own ideals. The conflict among the team is a perfect comparison of this, because they are all too bound up and attached to do something. I have always grown up hating that feeling of helplessness in a situation like that and I swore after all of that, I would use this power to free myself from those trappings. Gripping the sword in my hand as a way to cut through those binding chains. The sword is how a Saber mage is known and it is also how they fight. They are knights who prefer to follow a code that embodies their will and guides their sword. The words scramble in my mind. Not to mention, all of these strange dreams that I have been having. Not much has been clear about them, but one thing is. The bladed metal from which they fight with. The painful conflicts and the sharp weapons used to stop them. After I chain the words together they then proceed to flow out autonomously from my mouth as I shout them to activate the spell.
"My heart cries out through the binding chains, and my arms cling to the steel around me." I chant with all of the meaning that I can force into the chant.
In an instant, my school uniform flashes in a black and red light. Leaving behind a hooded black cloak that runs all the way down to the knees of my pants. On top of that my chest, arms, waist, legs and boots are reinforced in black steel-like plates that are fastened down with red buckle straps. Red lines that are arranged in a pattern that looks like a circuit can be seen running through the metal plates.
*End of episode 9.*
