The gym hall after school hours was quite lively. There were a few groups of students training either to hone their skills or to prepare for a competition. Blaze decided today was a good time for them to search for her Lebensgefährtin.

"You sure about this?" Willow asked in a whisper, her eyes scanning the present students. "I mean, don't you plan to keep your abilities under wraps?"

"Eh, a bit of a show won't hurt," Blaze shrugged. "Besides, it's just my curse abilities, not the other thing. People could draw their own conclusions for all I care."

Willow nodded. "Okay then… so, how will we do it?"

Upon her question, Blaze moved his fingers as if flipping something, and a knife made of curse energy flared into existence. Willow held off a wince. "That's… denser than the one you showed me."

Unlike the blob of curse energy he had shown her the first time, this one was visible and felt more threatening.

Blaze began to flip the knife around his fingers, "Yep. Thanks to 'Development and Improvement', I can project items I know in and out now. though, it won't be as strong as their real thing."

Then, with a sleight of hand, the knife morphed into a ball. It was like watching a magician performing his tricks (which wasn't that far off, she reckoned). He passed the ball to her. Willow felt the projection. It was hard enough that a strong grip wouldn't break it, and it had weight too.

"I think it'll be easier for us to use my projections than searching the city for weapons to test with. So long as I know how it's made, I can recreate a good enough facsimile." Blaze dispelled the ball in her hand. "So, what weapons have you already tried?"

Willow began to list the weapons she had already tried. Blaze hummed while cupping his chin. "Well, let's try something first." A simple sword then appeared in his hand. Willow frowned as she took the offered projection.

"I've already tried this though?" Willow muttered as she swung it around. It seemed that no matter if it was a real physical weapon or a projection, the feeling of incompatibility was still there. But from the small smile on his face, it was what Blaze wanted to see.

"Guess it doesn't matter how the weapon was made. Well, that'll make things easier," he said with a nod, "Alright, let's start with this."

The sword in her hands disappeared, and in Blaze's grip, a longsword flared into existence. Taking the weapon from the young man, Willow took some steps away from him and began swinging. She closed her eyes after a few swings, and her movements increased. As she moved, her mind fabricated a play, placing imaginary Grimm along the stroke of the longsword. After a while, she felt the wind being torn by the edge of the blade. Then, she began to sense its components—the way curse energy was being held together in this case, the way it mimicked the weight and shape of a real simple longsword. Finally, she felt the presence around her; where the people stood, how they stared as her sword dance reached its apex.

After some time, Willow's sword dance slowly came to a stop. She opened her eyes with a frown. She approached Blaze and returned the sword, "Not this one…"

Blaze cupped his chin as he dispelled the longsword. "It seems you went into some kind of meditative state, and for lack of a better term, 'sympathized' with your weapon, huh? I thought it was more of a gut-feeling kind of thing, like how farmers can tell good veggies from bad ones with some experience. Looks like it touches on the spiritual aspect of things."

She had never thought of it that way. Blaze wasn't wrong in his assessment. When Willow tried a new weapon, she always found herself in the zone after some time. During this moment, she could feel her weapon's condition, how it would perform, and if there was anything around her. In this state, she and her weapon were united as one. Saying she was sympathizing with the weapon wasn't that far off.

Blaze seemed to think before handing her a naginata, a spear-like weapon from the Eastern Mistral. Willow repeated what she had done with the longsword, ignoring the gazes she attracted from the other students.

◆◆◆◆XVX◆◆◆◆

"So, this is your room like…" Willow said as she scanned Blaze's dorm room.

It was bigger than she expected, only slightly smaller than her room. Willow had thought that his room would be a dingy little space barely fitting the furniture, like those in the M-drama she sometimes watched. Instead, it was an 8 by 8 room with a few noteworthy pieces of furniture. She approached the desk situated by the window overlooking the academy's garden. Beside the neat stack of books, a pile of arcane papers, and an assortment of writing utensils, was a pot of Mouse Ears. It looked well-kept and healthy.

"Never took you for a gardener. Not to mention how… clean this room is," Willow remarked, surprised by the neatness of Blaze's room. She had expected it to be more disorganized, but it was quite the opposite. Color her surprised!

"Just because I lived in a dump my whole life doesn't mean I enjoy sleeping among trash, you know?" Blaze retorted; his tone sharp but lacking real heat. Then, changing the subject, he asked, "You sure it's okay for you to hang around? Won't your parents be worried?"

"Don't worry about it. I've called Klein and told him I'm going to hang out with a friend," Willow reassured him before turning to address her friend. "So, what needs to be done today?"

"Refining the cloaking field mostly," the young man said as he took the arcane papers and began to spread them on the floor. Willow watched as Blaze formed a reversed star with the papers.

"This is Pentagram. It's a symbol often associated with the Dark arts and the worship of the Devil," Blaze explained, "arcane rituals and the like use symbolism 80% of the time. To create a ritual circle that uses curse energy as fuel, it's best to use Pentagram or other symbols that have a strong connection to the dark arts. Like this gathering circle for example." He pointed at the circle on the floor.

"So, we can use other symbols too? but these… evil symbols give the best result then?" Willow guessed. Crossing her arms as she was deep in thought.

"Yup!"

After finishing the pentagram, Blaze then took position a bit away from the formation with his hands spread. An uneasy feeling began to crawl on her skin as almost invisible wisps, the curse energy, gathered around the young man. He didn't chant nor make any move like Willow had expected. Instead, he just stood there with his eyes closed, and the pentagram suddenly began to glow an eerie red. The uncomfortable feeling increased until it suddenly decreased. Bluish lines began to take form around the pentagram, circling the ritual circle starting from each point of the reversed star.

"Cloaking field, I presume?" Willow asked, her attention locked on the newly formed lines.

"Yep. Needs more improvement though. Can you still feel it?" Blaze inquired. Willow nodded in response. The lines of the cloaking field shimmered brighter, causing the glow of the pentagram to dim. Blaze lowered his arms, walked to the desk, and took a sip from a bottle he had placed on it. He then opened the desk drawer and pulled out a stack of papers. Willow observed as wisps of curse energy began to gather in the center of the magic circle.

"Now, while the circle works, let's focus on refining. Manager, pull out the blueprint for the gathering array and highlight the cloaking field's section."

"Affirmative. Loading blueprint."

Blaze put the scroll between them and opened it to Tablet mode. Willow looked down at the screen, focusing on the highlighted lines. She moved the blueprint around, and then she noticed, "Are these… some kind of language?"

"Yep. It's Greek."

The mess of lines on the screen looked randomly drawn at first glance, but when she scrutinized it further, she could see repeating elements that looked like sharp letters and spaces between some of them.

"I see. so, what do these lines mean?"

"Roughly? I, the weaver of this arcane circle, invoke the esteemed Hecate, the Enchantress of the Crossroads, to lend me her divine shield against the sinister energies that gather within this sacred space."

"Hecate? Who's that?"

"The Goddess of witchcraft and crossroads from the Greek pantheon," Blaze said. She had never heard of such a goddess, not in the books she read. As if sensing her confusion, Blaze explained, "It's a pantheon from a planet called Earth, specifically from the islands of Greece. And from the notes I have, Greece was like Argus but instead of a small city, it's the whole of Mistral!"

"Planet… Earth?" Willow's voice faltered, her mind grappling with the implications. "Wait, you didn't mean...?"

The young man's nod was slow and deliberate. "Yep. It seems my knowledge came from another world."

"Another world, huh…" Willow muttered, her brows furrowing with deep contemplation.

"It's a possibility. I mean, in the records the Real Research gave me, I found no mention of Remnant, the four kingdoms, or the brother gods. The knowledge is incomplete, mind you, since it only gave me things that touch upon curses and the dead. So, it's either another world or a parallel one," Blaze explained, shaking his head. "Well, let's set aside the existential crisis for another time. You want to help me figure this out?"

"What do you mean, set it aside? It's a huge discovery if it was true, you know!" Willow interjected with a sense of urgency.

"Well, there's nothing we can do to prove it or disprove it," Blaze shrugged, "even if we could, it doesn't change too much of anything does it?"

He might have a point, but even so—!

Willow sighed and conceded, "I guess…" She didn't expect he could be so blasé about something so big.

Blaze nodded, satisfied. He then sat beside her and passed some papers to her. Willow looked down at the arcane paper, a frown on her lips. She turned to him.

"…you sure I could help with anything? I don't exactly know anything about ancient language, especially from another world." Willow said with uncertainty. She had thought that the spell would consist of calculation like in those light novels she read. She didn't expect it to be a form of prayer instead.

"Well, I can teach you. I'm not that proficient yet, but I think I can sneak one or two lessons." He grinned, "Come on, it'll be fun. I'm sure!"

Willow's frown gradually morphed into a small smile. "…if you insist."

He was right. learning the language of another world was quite fun, especially when there were hundreds of them with their own forms of alphabet. From the sharp Greek to the loopy Sanskrit. Remnant looked like an underdeveloped civilization in comparison with how many these languages were. Blaze also gave her snippets of the myths from Earth. Her favorite was the story of the fight between Ra and Seth, the Sun God and the Storm God of the Egyptian pantheon. Oh, they also had Hieroglyph where instead of letters they used images instead!

She returned home quite late, but she didn't find herself caring that much. She had so much fun today!

It was Tuesday, which meant Professor Fria was teaching the first period. This meant she would arrive earlier than him and Willow. Consequently, he couldn't execute his usual routine of annoying Willow so early in the morning.

Which reminded him…

Professor Fria was strange. No, it wasn't that she was an eccentric person. She was a very ordinary woman in her 50s, a teacher who often explained her subjects with a warm, motherly smile. She seemed to be one of the few teachers who actually enjoyed their job at the academy.

No, what made her strange in his eyes was that ever since he received the 'Real Research', he became aware of something about her...

In his seat, Blaze raised his book to shield his face, then activated his 'Curse Vision.' As the world drowned in a purple tint, there was this bluish fire that curled around her. It wasn't aura, that much he was certain. If it were, it would take the form of a plastic-like sheen on her skin. like how it was with Willow and some of the students around him.

He wanted to test what it was, maybe see how she'd react to a small burst of curse aura. But after some thought, using curse energy in a class filled with people didn't seem to be a good idea. Also, scaring a good teacher like her seemed a bit too mean.

Once school ended, he shared his newfound curiosity with Willow. The mystery seriously occupied most of his thoughts for the day, and he had to let it out somehow.

"Strange aura around Miss Fria?" Willow wondered before shaking her head. "I didn't feel anything. Why? is it dangerous?"

"I don't think so, but it's strange though. It wasn't like the aura you possessed; even the feeling is different." If Willow's aura was like a pleasant tingle, Professor Fria's strange aura was like a soft breeze that smelled awfully like Mouse Ears. He told Willow as much.

"Maybe, it's her Semblance? Remember, some Semblances can remain active ignoring someone's activation of aura." Willow shared her guess. Sound logic. Well, one way to find out.

"Willow, can you show me your Semblance?"

"Huh? Oh, sure."

She then stood from her seat and activated her aura, followed by her Semblance. A small glyph appeared on her hands. Blaze opened his Curse Vision, his eyes turning eerie red to Willow's eyes. After a while, he closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No, it's different. It could be a form of shapeless Semblance, but I doubt it. It felt different. Even your Semblance shares the same feeling as your aura."

Blaze sighed and leaned back on the bench, letting his head hang back. "As if figuring out Celestial Forge isn't enough, we've got another mystery on our hands."

"Ignoring it is an option, you know," Willow said as she dispelled her glyph and returned to her seat.

"Haaaaah~ too late for that. I'm feeling mighty curious now, and I won't stop until I know what it is," he said, a busybody like that. Willow scoffed.

"How're you going to find out anyway? Following her home or something—don't. I know that look, and I must remind you that stalking is a crime," Willow reprimanded. Blaze pouted, but she flatly stared at him. "Don't you pout at me. Honestly, sometimes I wonder what your thought process is like."

"I'm joking, joking. I won't get that far anyway," Blaze sighed and waved it off. "Not with the security around the gate."

"What stopped you should've been common sense, not tight security."

Blaze stretched, casting his gaze on the horizon. It was cloudy today, but it wasn't enough to deter the orange glow in the sky. Blaze stepped to the edge, looking down at the students that leaving the academy from behind the safety of the railing.

"I got some points. Wanna see what I'll get?" he said after a while, turning back to Willow.

"You sure? You don't want to improve the perk you already got?" Willow asked with a raised eyebrow. True, Real Research provided so many notes he needed to read back and discern, while he steadily got more blueprints from reading things and remembering them. Though…

"Eh, I felt that I was approaching my limit. The spells I got from Real Research are good, and I'm on my way to improve them. The problem is, I don't see many positive applications for them since they would always be 'harmful' in some way. Unless, of course, I am somehow able to reverse engineer them," he explained, then shrugged. "But even if I did, I wouldn't be able to cast them since it would probably use a different energy source."

"So, you'll gamble for a solution?"

"You made it sound like I'm a gambling addict…" he sighed. "So what do you think? Should I do it?"

Willow shrugged, "At the end of the day it is your power, and you're the only one who has a say in the matter, Blaze. However, I advise you to temper your expectations since it's possible that you'd get more trouble instead of solution…"

He snorted, "Psh! come on, Willow. what's worse could I get?"

Willow threw him a frigid look which Blaze quickly dodged by looking at the screen of his scroll. then, he pressed 'Roll.' Blaze decided to splurge for a bit since he got so many points.

Rolling…

Parasite's Compromise (Monster Girl Encyclopedia) (100CP) - Success…

Research Notes (Van Helsing) (200CP) – Success…

Enemy Tech Progression (Orion's Arm: The Amalgamation) (400CP) – Success…

Conceptual Fertilization (Fate/Legends - Garden of Avalon) (200CP) – Success…

—Ding! Ding! Ding!

Notifications flooded his scroll. Manager then chimed, "Blueprints acquired. Bestiary tab, unlocked."

Intrigued, Blaze took a seat beside Willow and opened the tab. It was filled with data on creatures they had never seen before—creatures that they only saw in movies and books. Werewolves, vampires, gargoyles, and many more. It was so detailed, from which parts of their body had hair to their hunting behavior.

"That settles it…" Willow said as they scrolled down the page containing information about something called the Jersey Devil. "This Earth seems scarier than Remnant with these things running around."

"Yeah. Imagine living on a planet where you could become a blood-sucking undead just because you're unlucky," Blaze shuddered at the image. "At least Grimm only eats people, not turns them."

He then opened the Perk tab…

"Conceptual Fertilization? Parasite Compromise?" Willow muttered, "The first one sounds… suspicious. While the other, I think is about coming into compromise with a parasitical organism. Hmm, if my guess is correct, Parasite Compromise might give you some leeway with parasite infection. It might help you if you ever caught a Nightmare!"

"Hm, you might be right. Also, Conceptual Fertilization… I think I have an idea how it works." Blaze cupped his chin before continuing, "Fertilization is the process by which male and female gametes fuse to form a new individual organism. In sexual reproduction, fertilization typically involves the fusion of a sperm cell from the male parent with an egg cell from the female parent."

He turned to Willow, "The keyword is fusion, I think. Since Fertilization is a fusion of a sperm and an egg, two different things. I can hazard a guess that it gives me the ability to fuse two different things." That was the only explanation. There was no way this app gave him a perverted skill, right?

"Okay, what about the conceptual part then?"

"Dunno. I only guessed the second part because I've recently read a biology book—oi, what's with that look? It's not that kind of book, get your brain out of the gutter, woman!"

The two spent their evening talking about the perks Blaze had gotten. They got a small scare after opening the Blueprints tab. But overall, it was an enjoyable downtime.

Points: 1200 → 300

Perks:

- Parasite's Compromise (Monster Girl Encyclopedia) (100CP)

It's so cruel to hate a parasite, it just wants to live like any other living thing. It's just that its survival instincts tend to create conflict with its host. However, you know how to make the experience mutually beneficial. If you are infected with a parasite, you can merge with the parasite and take control of it, thus preventing it from harming you; in fact, the parasite, having merged with you, will now often be beneficial for your body, covering defenses that your body alone could not handle. You will essentially be sharing the same mind and memory (with you in charge), and since the host (you) is now bonded with the parasite, there will be no further conflict over living space or control. On the flipside, if you are in the form of a parasite and have infected a living host, you can, by gaining consent from the host or by overpowering the host's will, merge with the host, you becoming the host and the host becoming the parasite. Either way, parasite or host, you remain the dominant one in the bond. If you wish to break off the merge on either end of the spectrum, you can separate again, on condition that the parasite (even if it's you) will be automatically ejected from the host's body. Please note that the perk applies not only to physical parasitism, but also spiritual forms of parasitism such as possession (which is also pretty common here with things like Cursed Swords).

- Research Notes (Van Helsing)

A tome of notes compiled by numerous doctors in biology, including one Doctor Frankenstein. These notes detail much about the biological make-up of different creatures. But... wait, what's this? A hidden flap in the last half of the tome reveals a smaller book - filled to the brim with dark, scientific knowledge.

With this knowledge, you are capable of creating life - creating monsters like Adam, creatures sewn from flesh and defying the laws of reality by their mere existence.

- Enemy Tech Progression (Orion's Arm: The Amalgamation) (400CP)

Any technological device that you have subverted will reveal its inner workings to you. The blueprints, knowledge and methods that go into the creation and operation of the technology you subvert are automatically uploaded to your mind. If you cannot subvert a technological device, you can still learn its secrets, but at a far reduced rate. You are also able to more quickly grasp the inner workings of those subverted devices to improve on, and upgrade them.

- Conceptual Fertilization (Fate/Legends - Garden of Avalon) (200CP)

The secret art of Conceptual Fertilization is one that may seem a bit strange and even unnatural to those not as invested as you in the mystic arts but...well, they don't complain so much when you show them the results. Conceptual Fertilization refers to a very rare magical ability that allows one to combine two things during the creation process of one of those things, transferring the qualities of the second thing onto the first. Combining the blood of a dragon with a infant in the womb to grant them the magical power of that dragon as they grow up, for instance. With time and further mastery, it may even be possible to combine more than one thing in this way, though one cannot begin to think of the sacrifices the failed attempts might cause. Additionally, you find that you are also able to perform this process on other things in their creation process, not just living beings, allowing you to infuse weapons or other objects in the process of being created with the traits of other things.