Disclaimer: I do not own Danmachi or anything created by the author Fujino Omori; all rights go to him. I only own my original characters Sleipnir, Ikuchi, Sylphie, and all the others.

Speech: Sly asks. "You remember that one song you added to our magic and mana in battle playlist?

Thoughts: Happa thinks back, while opening the playlist on the side. 'You mean the song called Frieren vs. Clone?'

Screaming/Demonic Voice: "Yes, I just watched Frieren After the Journey's End and that battle inspired me to go even further with the magic system we made."

Magic: Sly chants. "As if Rune Magic wasn't complex enough. - What did you Do!"

Runes: 'Added three elements that are almost unknown. - Fuin!"

Writing: 'Haven't we already planned that? Ah, I see you changed the way they developed.'

Chapter 29 Multifaceted Affinities

A Few Minutes Prior, The School District – Academic Layer – Cassandra POV

The seeress leaves the classroom with most of her peers, the halls becoming crowded quickly. 'This professor seems earnest… if mischievous. I think I may actually have some fun with these classes! I have to join the Hieroglyph class as well if I am going to get the most out of this time. It'll be a nice relief, being away from the rest of the familia for so long…' She sighs softly at the thought.

"Hey! Cassandra!"

The seeress' eyes fly open. "EEPP!" She turns to the voice and sees Xander, her vice-captain, there with both hands on his hips and his signature weapon a 2m long, 0.3m wide Zanbato on his back. "Ah, vice-captain! I didn't see you there."

He stands at around 190 cm and could only grin at her as his black ears twitch, one of them is pierced with a gold ring, and his tail sways gently behind him. "No problem, Cass. So, how was class?" He walks up to her now, the pendant of an eye with wings dangling from his neck.

Cassandra fidgets a bit now. "It was good. However, there are other classes I need to attend to get the most out of this professor's Runic Magic lessons; his Hieroglyph and Magic Development classes should help a lot."

Xander hums a bit, walking down the hall and almost cutting a path through the student body as most avoid him and the massive blade on his back. "Sounds good. It works for you in two ways, eh? A nice way to escape from the rest of the familia yeah?" He looks over his shoulder back at her with a grin.

Cassandra almost jumps with her eyes wide. "A-ah! No, no! Nothing like that vice-captain!" Xander's expression softens some. "Nah, it's fine Cass. I get it."

Cassandra could only look down at Xander's feet as she followed in silence. She really wished that she could leave the familia, but Apollo-sama would never let her go and if she ran, they would catch her. "So," Xander broke the silence between them, "I guess we'll get your class schedule to Lydia and get it all squared away. The more spells you get under your belt the better for the familia."

Cassandra looks up to Xander again and nods a bit. "Yes, vice-captain. This professor is… very knowledgeable. I am confident I will be able to show results."

Xander then looks back to her again over his shoulder, an eyebrow raised. "Huh… wow. It's rare to hear you so certain." He then grins. "We'll be counting on you in the future."

"I'll do my best, but there is something else of note vice-captain."

Xander frowns and turns to her fully. "What's up?"

Cassandra looks down a bit at his full attention. "Well… Chigusa-san is in the class as well…"

Xander's eyes widen. "Really? Then that means she is a magic user as well as an archer… I guess Hyakinthos does occasionally find things of actual note… Hmmm…." Xander's face furrowed into a frown with a hand to his chin.

Cassandra looks up to him. "Vice-captain?"

Xander looks back to Cassandra at her inquiry. "Ah, sorry about that. Well, I guess we'll need you to keep an eye on her and report back what you learn about her or her magic." He smiles again at her. "We'll really be counting on you now I guess! Ha!"

"Of course. I will do my best." Cassandra returns with confidence, before despairingly muttering. "If only my dreams would end, Lydia has agreed to stop her attack…! Why do my dreams keep getting stronger?!"

Later that Afternoon, 5 PM, The School District – Academic Layer, Top of the Administration Building – Myles POV

He could only grumble as he sat on top of the School District's admin building on the academic layer. This was the only location where he could sit in peace without a student or some errant mage coming by to ask questions. Seriously! There were some people perpetually camped out in front of his office and his 8-2:30 schedule suddenly turned into the potential of going past 4! And he still had to correct the homework or runework assigned in his classes!

Myles groans at this now and leans back sitting cross-legged on the building's roof with a couple piles of papers nearby. 'So annoying! I have so little time to myself that I can't even go to Orario for more than 2 hours without using my magic! If I don't then it takes fricken forever to get anywhere and then back to the School District! I'm half tempted to just rent out a room in the damned Entertainment District! Can't stay in the staff dorm or I might get counter-pranked!'

Myles then sighs heavily.

"My, my, such a heavy sigh my dear apprentice!" Myles flinches with a jump and spins about. Before him, Acatl is smirking at him with a gently swaying tail as she stands close by.

Myles clicks his tongue and sighs. "Hmpf! It's your fault! You had the others prank me and load me with a bunch of classes!"

Acatl snickers and walks around Myles some and looks down at the papers he has with him. "Hmmm… Runework and assignments asking about the use of chants and magic in general… Looks like you are going all out."

Myles scowls some. "Tch! Yeah, Var made me swear a damned oath to do my best to teach these students! Of course, I'm going to be thorough!"

Acatl smiles softly now. "Indeed…" She looks at Myles now. "You've perked up. You don't look so disengaged now."

…

Myles looks away some. "I'm sorry that I worried you…"

Acatl's smile grows at these words. "Thank you for apologising. I won't be coming back again. Some projects and negotiations are being jump-started now that we will have an additional source of income coming soon. When the Loki familia pays up, come back home to deliver. I'll be waiting eagerly for you."

Myles sighs again at these words.

"Oh, and don't play any weird pranks on the female students. They don't know you like our familia does!"

…

"Myles… You didn't do anything weird did you?"

Myles looks away some. "I kinda did a prank on one of the female students to get the point across of the words having power..."

"…What did you do?"

"…Asked an elven student if she had a crush on me and invited her to a date to turn her beet red."

"PFFFT! OF COURSE YOU DID SOMETHING LIKE THAT!" Acatl could only laugh. "Did anything happen after you did that?"

Myles grumbles some.

"What was that?"

"I said she threw a textbook at the back of my head and made me face plant!"

Acatl falls to the ground, rolling in laughter now. "AHAHAHA! YOU TOTALLY DESERVED IT! Sometimes you act like such a shameless flirt out of nowhere!"

Myles spins about and exclaims, "Oh please! I wasn't being serious at all! It's not like I could possibly be interested in schoolgirls or young girls after spending so much time around a woman like you!"

Acatl raises an eyebrow at him now. "Ohhh really?" Acatl suddenly flaps her wings and circles around Myles before draping herself onto Myles shoulders and wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing herself against his back. "I didn't know you were looking at me like that you dirty boy!"

"Gekh! I'M THE DIRTY ONE?!" Myles grabs her arms and pushes her arms up, but Acatl continues to push against him. "You're the one that always was draping yourself over my shoulders and trying to bury the back of my head into your chest!"

Acatl snickers and backs off Myles. "Aww… You don't like that?"

Myles could only sigh at her question. "I swear… you've made me desensitised to so many things… I was never like this originally! It's your fault! You corrupted me!"

Acatl smirks with a giggle. "Guilty as charged!" She then smiles softly at Myles. "I'm really happy you're doing better. If you need anything you can call me, you know that right?"

Myles then frowns. "Actually…I have a question already. A healer has a sub-attribute of a teal colour I am not familiar with. Any ideas?"

One of Acatl's eyebrows raise. "Oh? Well, well. That's insanely rare… who is it?"

"A familia member from Orario, didn't really catch where all the students were from. I think her name is Cassandra. So, do you have any ideas?"

Acatl smirks at him. "Mmmmhmmmm… I know what it is, but I'm not gonna tell you!" She giggles.

Myles groans at his goddess's behaviour. "Fine, fine. Keep your secrets. At least she has other attributes she can focus on…"

Acatl nods sagely. "Indeed, until she gets the Fuin spell and has good control she shouldn't touch it anyway."

Myles frowns looking at Acatl. "…That bad?"

Acatl nods grimly. "Absolutely. Tell her that… Perhaps give Nibi-chan the same warning about his primary affinity… Now then how has my youngest apprentice liked your lesson?"

Myles sighs and nods. "Will do. As for Sleipnir, with Barachiel leading him to me, he added even more to my busy schedule. Though I didn't think your next disciple would be a half-spirit of all things. It might also interest you that Sanbi would be the better term now."

Acatl murmurs and leans her back against his. "Another one, wonder what this one's ability will be. Keep an eye on the tail tips. If another one turns white, he'll have mastered another one."

Myles chuckles a bit, "Interesting, what do the first two do?"

Acatl answers after a second of thought. "The first and only one he mastered is easy. His pyrokinesis. It's also referenced in his status, but it stems from his tail. Besides that, I'm not too sure, however, his second tail has something to do with his illusions; kitsune are rare to begin with so this is pretty much unexplored territory for me and Barachiel-chan."

Myles hums in thought. "Well, then he probably should integrate that into his fighting style. He is an adventurer after all and not just a Mage… Something to pursue after the School District leaves…"

Myles moves on. "So, what's with the illusion around him, just how refined is his mana control anyway Acatl? Short of the stronger level 3s and 4s nobody noticed his illusion!"

Acatl only smiles. "I drilled him hard. Half-spirits need good mana control."

Myles curses. "Good my ass! His mana control is far higher than 'reasonable' for whatever spells he can cast at his level. I don't know a lot about kitsunes other than oaths and behaviour. The hell did you put him through?"

Her smile turns slightly malicious while counting her fingers. "Threw rune spells at him to train his ability to negate Ignis Fatuus, had him concurrent chanting in the second week, and a month later he almost managed a magic circle at level 1. He would get along with my captain for sure!"

Myles gave a strangled gasp at her as his eyes widened in disbelief before he repressed a shudder at the mention of his captain. "What the fuck? You weren't gone that long! How can he have progressed that far and why are you forcing his growth!" His eyes then widen slightly. 'Unless she is trying to really brand herself as his primary magic mentor to prevent what happened to me from happening to him!' Myles's ears drooped slightly at that thought.

Seeing his reaction, Acatl waves her finger in front of Myles's face. "That would be telling! How was your progress, Myles?"

Myles grumbles but perks up once he describes his spell. "Oh, I made some progress on the fire spell I've been working on, Irivute. Also got a few theories for Agaris Alvesynth."

Acatl smirks at him. "Nice, good to hear you're making some progress."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… You were right." Myles huffs and looks away.

Acatl chuckles. "Alright, I'm out. Stay safe Myles, ok?"

Myles looks back to Acatl with a softened gaze. "Yeah, you got it Acatl. Have fun at home."

Acatl smirks and floats back. "You know I will! Now if only Dryas would stop playing in his forest." A loud sigh leaves her scaled lips, as she starts weaving a great many runes before chanting Fuin and teleporting away.

Myles could only sigh as he looked back to the papers on the roof that got scattered a bit by Acatl's appearance and flight. 'Back to work…'

7th Day of Lessons – School District - Sleipnir POV

With a calming breath Sly entered his newest teacher's office. Spending time alone in any official capacity with a teacher rubbed him the wrong way. However, with Myles's busy schedule, it couldn't be helped. At least finding his way here to the Life Layer was easier than anticipated, though he had to push past a few waiting mages to enter the office. 'Huh, no wonder Myles seems tired. With so many eager students waiting to ask their questions. Fortunately, he reserved a little time for me.'

The office was unexpectedly chaotic. Multiple small tables filled with books, some open, most bookmarked. In the back there is a larger desk that looked outfitted for crafting. In the main holding apparatus, there are 3 sparkling bands adorned with gems surrounded by fine tools for gem cutting. On either side of this are stacks of countless aquatic drop items from the Water City.

In the center of the office Myles sits behind a large wooden desk with a large stack of papers to his right and a set of phials akin to Asuka's laboratory to the left. In these phials are a fine black powder, special magic infused water, and countless utensils for ink creation.

As he steps around the tables towards Myles his gaze is drawn to a large blackboard, filled with incomplete rune sequences of an incomplete spell. Akiri is his only companion at his side since Sylphie had decided to aid Asuka. She had grown bored after the first lesson since Myles aided sparingly because she fidgeted whenever he got too close to her.

Looking up from his paperwork with a large smile, Myles greets him. "Glad you made it. I was a little preoccupied with classes and your item. So are the lessons to your liking Sleipnir?"

"Pranks excluded, I'd say they've been good. I've gotten enough practice to actually draw all the basic cantrips, although not all on a magic circle. I've still got ways to go before I manage that, and even further before I can make my own and get the Fuin spell."

Nodding in agreement Myles adds. "True, learning how to draw cantrips felt like it took but a moment back then, but the real challenge was getting the Fuin magic. With my falna split evenly between all 8 basic attributes, it took forever to master all of them and my given sub-affinities. Only Acatl gave me the push needed to get it."

Encaptivated Sly asks. "So, you're saying I should get a cantrip for all my affinities to maximise excelia gain?"

Myles hums steps in front of the blackboard and elaborates. "Not all of them. Your strongest teal affinity will have to wait, Acatl warned me to stay clear of that one. It's your strongest, but also the most unpredictable, as she kept its nature from me. So, we'll be going with the second-best option, you still have a major affinity for illusions. Thus, my idea is for you to master light and dark, and then I'll teach you the only illusion cantrip I know. If that's not enough then, we'll go for a low-tier rune spell."

On the blackboard, there are 3 columns. 'Teal - Illusion - Fire' The teal one being the highest, the illusion one only a little smaller, and then the fire less than 1/4 the teal one. Following below Illusion two more columns followed. 'Light - Dark' Both at around half the height of the illusion columns.

"As you can see Sleipnir, you have at the very least 5 affinities you can tap into. Well, one is a trained affinity. Your inclination to fire magic is barely there. But, as with anything, you can train affinities to a certain degree, which is why I drew it above light and dark. What is your progress with the control exercise I gave you?"

Fiddling with one of his pockets, Sly produces a small magic stone lamp. "It's hit or miss really. My light training progressed well, but dark is giving me a lot of trouble." To showcase this, he focused his mana into the light bulb, quickly lighting it with a steady flow of his mana. He felt almost no resistance in executing this.

Switching exercises, Sly inserted a hellhound magic stone into the lamp and started stretching the shadows around the equally bright light bulb, slowly dimming it. However, the magical shadow wavered the closer it got to the light bulb. His mana was also fraying at the edges of his control, with some of the reinforcing mana layer over the shadow deteriorating. Countering this necessitated all his focus.

In the back Myles made a small adjustment to the light column, making it almost catch up to the illusion column. "Mmm… fascinating." He then proceeded to draw a bracket highlighting the increase in the light column and place a "?" by it and drawing a line from the "?" to the teal column. About to continue his explanation, Myles stops when the leanen sidhe steps from his back and addresses Sly.

"Young half-spirit. Using your illusion affinity as often as you have has made you accustomed to drawing upon both light and dark, a paradox in itself to achieve balance. With light pushed beyond dark due to teal, there is only one way to improve your control… Separating the two affinities, and mastering their behaviour on their own is the path to growth."

With a deep breath, Sly slowly closed the mana flowing into the shadow. "Thank you, leanen-sama. I still have much to learn even with Acatl and Akiri helping. My focus thus far was improving my senses and recreating existing illusions to push what I could do with them.

Myles could only slightly smile at the tier 4 spirit's words with a nod. "Both are plausible ways, but it's smarter to start from the basics even when you have a very high affinity for it. Skipping on the foundation is rarely a good idea. I'm surprised Acatl didn't push light and dark on you earlier, but with a major affinity, she probably didn't see the need and preferred hammering home your mana control."

With a flourish, Myles brandishes his chalk and begins drawing six runes, three for the chant, two for the core rune, and one for the cantrip name. "Additionally, using only a single spell from the illusion school limits your overall grasp on the illusion affinity. So, let's see how you deal with the Illusion Cantrip, and don't laugh at the name, I'm serious."

'I wander into the domain of the trickster to bring a new sight to reality. – Illusion – Minor Illusio!'

Sly's mouth and tails twitch at the name. 'I have to admit, I wasn't expecting that. Now, the only question is from whom was the name copied? Me, my teacher, or my teacher's spiritual teacher?' Sensing the coming amusement, Myles's kogitsune stepped into his vision and looked up at him with a challenging grin. Whispering to him with telepathy he exclaims, 'Come on, show me a prank!'

"Go ahead and try it. Sub-attributes have 2 Core Runes which makes writing them slightly more difficult than the basic 8 attributes at the Novice and Beginner levels. A large number of Statute cantrips are exceptions to that difficulty because they casted in an instant as reactions to bad situations; this necessitates a shorter chant as one rune instead of the normal three."

Setting up for a prank, Sly took out his brush and his archive from two pockets in his robe. The two core runes in the center are surrounded by a triangle of auxiliary runes. After a minute of careful cross-examining of his runes, he pushed a good 20th of his mana into the runes to overcharge the cantrip to the max. 'I wander into the domain of the trickster to bring a new sight to reality. – Illusion' - "Minor Illusio!"

With the idea of recreating a scene from the Second Layer, their sight shifts. At first, the spell is limited to a single cubic meter before rapidly expanding up to 4. Grass springs from the ground, the classroom disappears, and all that is left is a small pond below Myles. Suddenly, the same Kappa from a couple weeks ago forms over the already existing illusion, but just stays there. With a frown, Sly tries changing it further or moving elements inside, but other than creating another layer with stationary clouds and trees nothing changes.

With a critical eye, Myles looks at the illusion. "More detailed than your normal illusion, but you tried doing more with it right?"

With movement not working, Sly tries to add sound, touch, smell, and even taste but nothing changes. "Yes, my original intention was for the kappa to jump at you, but everything is stationary in this illusion."

Myles narrows his eyes at Sly. "You just tried to prank me, didn't you?"

Sly looks away from his mentor, suddenly finding the incomplete spell on the chalkboard very interesting. "I have no idea what you're talking about Hakase!"

Myles rolls his eyes before he explains Sly's inability to do what he wanted with the spell. "You've encountered a weakness of illusion cantrips; getting an illusion you can actively manipulate is a much more complex process than creating a stationary illusion over what is already there. If I had to guess you'd at least need a mid-tier Rune Spell to do that which means figuring out a rune sequence of more than 10 runes. If anything, your Illusio spell fits the bill for what you want better. Enough of that though, switch your attention to your fancy notebook."

Sly does so and blinks. All the runes in the Archive had burnt away, leaving one of the core runes! 'I get it! This cantrip leaves behind a rune key like the space cantrip Acatl kept using. If I'm not wrong this rune translates to either perceptio or possibly veritas, in context with the Illusio core runes.'

Trying it out he puts one hand on the rune and calls out, "Veritas!"

With a bright light, the illusion shatters, overloading their sight with countless colours for a second, before their sight clarifies showing them standing inside the office.

With a slight huff, the kogitsune exclaims with clear disappointment, 'Is that all you've got?!'

With barely any visible reaction Sly telepathically retorts, 'Of course not! But I had barely any idea what the cantrip would do. I did my best, it's hard to prank somebody with a stationary image!'

'Really? I would have just thrown the white lizardwomen in front of him naked. That would have gotten results!' The kogitsune remarks in confusion.

'Ah! Why did you have to paint that image in my mind?!' Blanching, Sly shook his head and tails trying to forget.

Akiri used this chance to step beside the younger spirit. 'Now, now kit. That would have been very disrespectful. You need to be respectful with deities, otherwise, you can get into a lot of trouble…'

Myles cocks his head with a frown at Sly's changes in body language, but then his eyes glow. His gaze finds both the kogitsune and Akiri looking at Sly which causes his eyes to narrow. Myles goes to the kogitsune and ensorcels his hand with mana, allowing him to pick up the kogitsune by the scruff of his neck.

The kogitsune flails in his grip before Myles remarks, "If you prank me, I'll make a spell that shaves your crown and half of your ears bald!" Immediately the kogitsune goes rigid in his grip and then limp. 'Fine…' The kogitsune grumbles much to Akiri's and Sly's amusement.

Myles then lets him go and explains. "As you saw, Minor Illusio has a Rune Key. It's also a stationary spell and will continue to drain mana until you dismiss it."

Quickly nodding Sly tries to change the subject. "Interesting. It will be a lot of fun to figure out situations where the cantrip is better suited than my big illusion… Perhaps to hide my archive or my tails?"

Stopping his train of thought Myles interjects, "The book maybe if you extend the chant, your tails on the other hand won't work. This illusion only affects inanimate objects."

"Damn, there goes that idea. Seems like I'll have to keep my Illusio active after all." Sly bemoans to himself.

Myles smiles in return. "Be happy you can maintain it that long. Your mana control is very high if you can keep a spell going for hours on end while casting cantrips. Besides, in time you will learn an illusion spell that lets you hide your own appearance without needing your concentration."

Sly blinks and focuses on Myles. "Really? Why can't you just teach me that now?"

Myles levels a blank stare at him and then frowns with a hand to his chin. "Right… you are still new to having a Falna… Learning that now will give you excelia for the Fuin spell, but it's possible you can get it before needing to learn Occulta Sui. If you put off learning it until later, you can use learning that spell as excelia for some other magic oriented goal you plan in the future. Eventually adventurers hit an excelia ceiling that stops them from progressing. Leaving more advanced things for later lets you delay the time when you hit that ceiling."

With that Myles calls him to follow to the desk with the three bands. "Next up your magic item. It took a little digging, but with Barachiel's tips I figured out a good way to make something for you."

Taking the three bands from the desk Myles shows them to him. "I used white crystals from crystal turtles due to their light mana, purple quartz from light quartz and the diamond magic stone you gave me. I call them the Purifying Bands."

Each band before Sly consisted of multiple cut gemstones alternating between white and purple, with the central one carrying the large 3 cm long diamond magic stone. On all the gems countless fine runes were imprinted; their purpose is funnelling mana inside the purple quartz, before dispersing into the white silk and slowly shifting into the white crystals.

Sly takes them into his hands. "Soo, you made me bands… I see how they draw in mana, but won't they get in the way when I wear my gauntlets? And why three of them?"

Chopping him on the head Myles stops him. "No, you idiot! They are meant for your tails! You know, the limb which contains around 90 percent of your mana? And don't worry, one of the runes I added will guarantee they stay put while they draw in mana."

Sly looks at the bands then at his tails and finally at Myles stuttering in exasperation. "… but… why… I am… " With a breath, he focuses. "You know I am male right?"

Myles smirks. "And? I don't see the problem. Many adventurers wear magic items on their person."

"But only our noble women wear accessories on their tails!" Sly interrupts him. Only to hear laughter from all sides. Myles, the kogitsune, and even Akiri are snickering, only the leanen sidhe maintains her quiet!

Between his laughter, Myles forces out. "Of course, I knew what I was doing! Ha! I really don't see the pro- haha-ha! Problem here. We aren't in the Far East! Why be so stuck up with tradition? I'm sure they will make you look dashing! Besides, if they weren't on your tails the efficiency would be reduced!"

Fuming Sly debates declining the item, but his logical mind wins over his sudden annoyance. With reluctance, he puts on the three bands, while a stern voice resounds from his memories. 'Without traditions, there will be no order. It's our duty as nobles to keep commoners in check. They should be honoured to live in our domain, to be under our jurisdiction. Never forget that!'

Growling to himself, Sly pushes that thought as far from his mind as he can. Instead, changing the subject to something he wanted to bring up for a few days now. "Enough about the Far East! Myles, would you agree to a simple oath between us, as teacher and student?"

Myles stops his laughter, but his brows twitch at Sly's initial exclamation. 'Hmm, I only mentioned it once, but he seemed to take the Far East comment personally... Past trauma maybe…?'

"An oath..? Yeah, I don't see why not. Just don't make any outrageous terms…" As he is speaking his eyes suddenly take on a more dangerous glint with a grin. "You know what Sly? Make them outrageous! We can use this to prepare you for the War Game!"

Blinking, Sly repeats. "Outrageous? So, like giving me the ability to use a fraction of your mana?"

"You aren't thinking big enough Sly! No matter how much mana you take from me there's no way you'll manage to drain me all at once; the sheer volume will overwhelm you at your current level! Ask first, but otherwise take as much as you can!"

Sly could only blink at Myles's willingness for such a situation. 'His willingness and passion… Is Hakase actually an earnest idiot? …. Can I really fully trust him…?' The previous oath he had with Akiri weighed heavily on his mind, but Myles's attitude eased that weight.

Sly counters, "While we're already at it, we could also apply it the other way around. Giving you the chance to use some of my denser spirit mana."

Myles raises a hand with a single finger at this. "Ah, but we need to limit the amount though. Mortals wielding spirit mana can lead to odd effects. Even with my magic stat I am sure that something would happen to me if I took on a large amount of your mana. Perhaps a tails worth at max, and it could also solve the problem of malicious mana. If you get infected, I can just take that away. Boom, problem solved." Myles declared with a grin.

"…! Then why did you make the bands, if you can just do that? And you even made them tail-bands of all things!"

Myles could only laugh at his reaction. "Was bored! Gotta have something fun to do. Also, tail bands were the most efficient form for the function you wanted. Besides I won't always be there when you fight a malicious spirit. I really need a spell to enter the Second Layer… Can't have you and the captain just up and disappear every major battle."

Sly shakes his head in exasperation. "Only you would think that way! The final thing our contract should have is a mutual agreement to work in each other's best interest, so neither side can be betrayed."

Myles hums some at this. 'Hmm… Betrayal huh? Gotta be a story behind that…'

"Works for me. We can make more specific terms later, for now, that suffices."

With the mutual agreement made, Sly's third tail glows briefly and the oath is formed. With a small shake of his tails Sly adds, "Speaking of the War Game, our chances just got much better."

"Oh? Do tell."

With a devious grin, Sly explains, "Well, aside from the fact that I can cast monstrous illusions with your mana to back me up, Asuka levelled today."

"The… half-elf, right?"

"Yes, she gave me a new potion and her status update today. I must admit, I was very surprised! I hadn't seen her status in weeks. She got the Alchemy Development Ability and her stats improved tremendously!"

"Oh, an alchemist? If she leans into it enough, she'll be capable of making some insane poisons. A few of our mages have that ability and the last I saw, one made a potion capable of poisoning mana, which spreads like a virulent disease without the antidote."

A shiver goes down Sly's spine. "Terrifying! Glad I'm on the same team." Without further pause, he shows Myles Asuka's status sheet.

Hayashi Asuka Alias: ? Race: Half-Elf

Level 1 - 2

Strength: A 859 - S 901 - I 0

Endurance: D 587 - B 747 I -0

Dexterity: A 883 - S 973 - I o

Agility: B 724 - A 824 - I 0

Magic: I 78 - D 599 - I 0

Development Abilities:

Alchemy: I

Significantly improves mana osmosis and mana control of the bearer. Raises the quality of items when creating items such as potions.

Magic:

1. Invigorate: Alchemy is difficult, but those with a little help have learnt to manipulate the reagents to their will. Spell effects ingredients, by stabilising ingredients and isolating core properties, which would go beyond potioneers at the same stage.

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Skills:

1. Solum Superesse: The user can carry far more than others see. Every pack can preserve ingredients for longer and hold more, while reducing the overall weight.

2. Martial Artist: Increases the effect of weapons the user has trained to use and increases the power of techniques. (Longbow, Shortsword)

3. Spirit Touched: The bearer of this skill has garnered the respect or attention of spirits. Excelia gain is increased based upon the spirits gravitating to them, but may also be hindered should the bearer fall out of grace with spirits or attract malicious spirits.

Techniques:

Piasu Isshi: A charged bow attack able to pierce through armour.

Looking over the status, Myles exclaims. "What the hell!? How can her magic jump by more than 500?! Did she go to war between status updates!?"

Sly laughs at his reaction, taking glee from his incredulity and purposefully making another hyperbole. "Not quite. She got updated in between, but it's the first update I saw for her in more than a month. So, I added her old numbers to get a sense for it."

Myles breathes a sigh of relief. "Good grief, your entire familia seems made of monsters… Wait, A MONTH!?"

Only scratching the tip of the iceberg Sly adds. "Still nothing compared to my magic! Less than a month at level two and I'm sitting at 721 magic! I must admit being a half-spirit has its perks. Though the spirit subskills are the most on the nose."

Myles mouth hangs open before he quickly jumps down to the skills. "Kami dammit Acatl! You know what, I'll just accept it. The Spirit Touched skill is ridiculous. No wonder all of you have rare Development Abilities and skills. So Sleipnir, I'm assuming you maxed your magic?"

Sly nods still keeping to his teasing smile. "I did. Unfortunately, I was limited to merely 1100 at SS. I couldn't push it any further. Well, at least I maxed it in contrast to Ouka and Mikoto, who merely got their best stats to S at 999."

Myles eyebrow twitches in disbelief. "There is no way, only Alfia had SS in magic and barely more than 1000! And you are telling me your entire familia is levelling with Zeus and Hera standards!?"

Fixing him with a piercing stare Sly says. "I do not lie. Telling half-truths, extending what's already there, or omitting secrets, of course. However, I will not lie to my friends."

Myles raises an eyebrow at Sly's shift in demeanour but then sighs. "So troublesome. Last question, why did you remove the chant for the Invigorate spell?"

Back to his calm self Sly explains. "I removed it as your oath with Var-sama might have forced you to teach it to Cassandra and I didn't wanna risk it. It's a spell unique to Naaza-san and Miach-sama. I won't go behind their backs to show you the chant. You'll have to ask them if you want to learn it."

"Understandable. In that case, at least Acatl is bound to know it after teaching Asuka. Though her status is ridiculously high for a supporter."

"I think it's because of the spirits. In the Martial Dojo we have countless weaker spirits. Since I started seeing them, I noticed how they usually flock around her. Plant spirits like radish spirits especially like her and even Sylphie when she gets bored of my company."

Myles palms his chin in contemplation. "Does the Spirit Touched skill apply to your entire familia?"

Sly's grin turns far sharper, almost a little evil. "Yes, even Welf. Apollo made a mistake by giving us time."

Myles pulls something out of his pocket. "Your chances have improved dramatically, but the War Game is still stacked against you. Especially considering that Lydia is level 3. I imagine that Xander will be as well. What even are the rules for this War Game and what type? It's been quiet in terms of news for what the War Game will actually be. There are some types of War Games that have victory determined by numbers…"

Myles shakes his head with a sigh. "For now, continue your mana exercises and the respective cantrips. You already got an occulus from Acatl right?" Sly nods. "Well, here is one linked to one of mine. If you have pressing questions, come to me, but please keep it to the evenings, my afternoons are usually filled with 'special' students and grading."

Sly accepts the silverish-grey occulus and carefully pockets it in one of his inner pouches, before bowing deeply. "Thank you Runa-san. I will take care of it and also keep the tailbands with me." He pushes the word out with almost physical pain. "I will take my leave and see you again for the lessons."

Myles then groans at the formal title. "Myles is fine. Don't use my last name! AND THOSE BANDS WILL HELP! Now get out!" He exclaims as he shoes Sly out of the office.

7 PM - General POV

"So let me get this straight..." Ouka hiccups from laughter. "The item you specifically asked that new teacher of yours to make for you! Ha! IT'S A TAILBAND?! AND NOT JUST ONE BUT THREE?!"

Sly's tails twitched in annoyance at Ouka's reaction, but the new weight from the bands made the gesture more exaggerated than he wanted. In fact, this new weight was why the tails were exposed on accident during their now routine evening training and Sly struggled to withdraw them even deeper into his robe. "No, it wasn't like that! Ouka-san can you stop twisting my words!?"

Mikoto joins Ouka, contemplatively rubbing her chin while examining Sly. "Are you sure about that? From what you did in the East, breaking another tradition to spite your noble family is exactly what you'd do. This said, those bands do look rather fetching on you Sleipnir. Are you trying to get someone's attention we don't know about?" She then pauses and then murmurs, "What would Hime think of such actions? Hmm…"

Naaza speaks up quietly from Asuka's side. "I for one don't see the problem. Does it matter how something looks if it serves a purpose?"

Takemikazuchi gives her Naaza a faint nod and continues. "You are right. Please let Sleipnir-chan be. He is merely rediscovering himself. If he finds accessories to suit him, so be it. He may wear whatever he chooses, as long as it stays decent."

Sly looks horror stricken. "Please Take-san not you too!"

Chigusa goes. "I apologise Onii-san, but they do have a point. The bands are very pretty. You remind me of an old friend." Sly's ears drop considerably, though twitching towards her at the end, prompting her to add. "And let's not forget that they'll help the next time we have to fight a spirit. What would you rather do? Fight with a handicap or accept the compliments and prevent what happened against the kappa?"

A pained sigh echoes from Sly as he lowers his head and pokes his food with his chopsticks.

Miach adds. "While Sleipnir's embarrassment is amusing, I'd rather shift the focus to the person of the day." Miach stands up and looks at Asuka with a smile. "Our young apprentice brewer has advanced today, and not only gotten a new development ability. No, she has gotten one superior even to the head alchemist of that miser Dian Cecht. This is a feat worthy of celebration."

Seating himself again, Asuka shows Miach a small smile and picks up her chopsticks. "Itadakimasu!" Before she starts eating her favourite food. A hearty miso soup Ouka and Chigusa prepared for her, after the recipe of her lost mother.

Night, 9th Day of Lessons – ?

Just another day.

An Orange Fairy hidden amongst spirits in the Cave Labyrinth.

The apostles of the Sun play with fire so blue, craving the fairy and unafraid of the heat. But beware the ruler of nine, he cannot be contained.

Countless paths, all conflicts end in darkness. Only one variable is left to faith. Will the ruler of nine avoid tragedy, or will the need for vengeance plunge him into the depths of corruption?

Only a battle avoided is a battle won. But how does one avoid a fated battle?

With a blink and a racing heart Sly awakens. His tails are tingling with mana, and only Sylphie's light snores indicate that it's still night. With haste, Sly stands up, rushes past his plants, and looks to the window. His herbs are shrouded in a teal glow.

With great effort, Sly calms his mind. 'Glowing eyes as well as the new bands… A prophecy… again. Well, I can consider that theory proven. Wait, this is the perfect chance! How can I maintain this mana affinity?'

Immediately his full focus fixates on the mana leaking out of his eyes. 'It comes from my tails... But why don't I feel anything from it? My fire affinity feels hot, my illusions affinity feels like a paradox, both realistic and like a fantasy, but this… There is nothing…?! It's just concentrated mana!'

With a whole-body shake, Sly pushes his questions to the back of his mind. 'No, I have to test what it can do.' Without further dilly-dallying he focuses all the teal mana he can/can't sense into his left hand.

The glow in his eyes cuts off and his hand glows a faint teal, rapidly losing power. Within a single second, the glow disappears. "Damn it. I almost had it. Stupid third affinity!"

With his exclamation, his hands slam onto his desk. With a start, Sylphie awakens and Akiri isn't far behind. "What happened!? Has Apollo really declared a War Game for the cake I stole!?"

Sly pushes the mist chance to the back of his mind as Akiri appears at his side. "No, I had another vision."

'Another one Shin? Fascinating! I'd write it down if I were you. It would be a shame if you forgot something.' Akiri looks at him with curiosity.

Without another word, he opens the Archive the silver runes glowing with traces of his mana as he adds a new page. His hands move fluently and without pause as Sylphie and Akiri look over his shoulders mesmerised.

As the last word falls, the three fall into silence, all thinking about the prophecy. Before Sylphie breaks it. "Well, I think it's pretty obvious who the Orange Fairy is. Though why would she hide in the dungeon?"

Sly contributes. "I think Viridis-san was avoiding something…"

Akiri finishes. 'Better not think too deeply about it Shin-chan. Self-centered prophecies are dangerous. On the path one takes to avoid fate, one often finds oneself accelerating it.'

Closing the archive Sly nods. "You are right Akiri. There is no reason to act until Apollo sets his sights on Viridis. I hate trouble, and acting based on something that hasn't happened is illogical. There is no reason to sow further discord before the War Game."

Akiri smiles, and Sylphie grumbles something about her not appearing in the vision before they all return to their beds as it is still the middle of the night. None of them see the residue of a darker brown handprint on the oak desk, now hidden under the archive and quill.

Training Room - 10th Day of Lessons - Myles POV

Coming out of a Hieroglyphs lesson almost all the students assembled in his Magic Development classroom were eager for practice. They had gone over the basics and all the students had tested or presented their affinities a few days ago.

This gave him the chance to recommend the best cantrips for the Fairy Force before they left for their expedition. If his timetable wasn't wrong, they should be harvesting the Deep Floors right now to amass funds.

With almost a third of the class gone, he could put a greater emphasis on individual practice. This was badly needed as there were quite a few mages with rare affinities; they needed his direct guidance if they were to unlock the Fuin Spell. At least most students had one of the primary 8 affinities, which made giving them exercises and cantrips to learn far easier.

For the more unique students he regularly used Universal Ink to show them the correct runes and let them experience the cantrips first before letting them practice on their own. Overlooking the students assembled in a large training room on the Inner Layer, Myles could only sigh in relief. 'A lot of sub-affinities this time. Never thought having mastered almost all universally applicable cantrips would pay off when teaching.'

Ending this train of thought he stopped next to one of his human students. The old librarian was focused on his work, drawing the dark cantrip onto a black spell circle with great care. Within 20 seconds the runes were finished, and he called out. 'Creeping shadows, heed my call and arrest! – Darkness' "Cape Umbra!"

Myles observed the way Aphaiton manipulated his magic, and the shadows below one of the leather dummies began to ascend it rapidly and quickly bound all its limbs, before going around the neck. 'Very, high control over his dark affinity and light isn't too far behind. He also can cast at a beginner level without trouble. All that is left is practice to speed up his casting time. Aphaiton needs something more challenging.'

"Aphaiton." The librarian turned to face him. "Besides the time it takes to draw your runes on your spell circle, it's clear your control over your cantrips is high enough. Unfortunately, your quick progress also means that you might hit an excelia ceiling soon. To counter this, I'd advise you to choose something more challenging. Your choices are either a low-tier rune spell of light or dark nature or trying your hand at translating one of your falna spells to work expanded phrases into it."

Aphaiton pauses to think for a moment, before asking. "What I lack is an offensive spell. Is there a light spell I could learn Myles-san?"

"Hmm, not something I know on the fly, but I can ask my familia vice-captain for one. I think she had one called Striking Light. It's offensive light magic that incinerates the target and leaves behind light which will stick to the target and disrupt illusions. They will also cast a glowing light trail for a few seconds."

Aphaiton hums in excitement. Noting down the name in his notebook. "That sounds perfect. If you'd procure me the runes, I'd be delighted to learn it. Thank you Myles-san."

With a smile, Myles agreed easily. Asking Barachiel would not be difficult, the White Mage was happy to share her findings. Keeping on the topic of spells he learnt from Barachiel, he'd better look after the two healers.

The blue-haired Apollo healer and the silver-haired nurse were busy practising together. Both had a good healing affinity and should be ready to learn its cantrip. Right now, they were busy casting the light cantrip on objects to serve as light sources. Airmid in particular seemed to be making the most progress. In all likeliness she would need to master the expanded phrases of Illuminare for the best excelia for the Fuin spell. Unfortunately, both of them are still at level 1 and so they were more limited in their practice. Airmid could use a magic circle with great strain from one of her skills, but Cassandra's had no such benefit. Thus, both of them stuck to paper for now.

'Shadows be erased with the shine of a firefly! – Light' -"Illuminare!" Airmid called out upon finishing the runes and causing a bright glow to emanate from her headpiece.

"Eeep, how did you draw it that quickly Airmid-san?" Cassandra asked in surprise, only half finished with her runes, letting some universal ink drip onto the edge of her paper.

"Cassandra, you need to draw the rune more firmly and fluidly. If you linger too long your brush will slightly waver and ruin any rune you are working on since the first strokes will dry far before the last ones. Here, let me show you." Leaning over she quickly took the quill from the other girl's hands and wrote in 10 seconds. 'Shadows be erased with the shine of a firefly! -Light'

"Do you see? If you keep a steady hand and keep at it, you can finish it faster. Don't let yourself get sidetracked and used the repeated motions of practice to build muscle memory for the spell." Cassandra looked at her own half-finished rune in dismay. "But I can't write as fast as you do… Perhaps I'm just not suited for rune magic."

Airmid quickly stopped her. "Don't speak like that Cassandra! Have some confidence. Healers are rare, and we need to value our gift, who else can keep people alive if they have an accident, or get sick? Healing magic is a gift, and we owe it to the people to use it. And get better at it!"

With a timid nod Cassandra took her quill back up and focused, with all her attention she managed to draw the light cantrip in 15 seconds. "I d-did it!"

With a soft smile at this interaction, Myles snuck up during their little moment. "Well done. Thank you Airmid for encouraging little Cass here. Now that you both have gotten the hang of the light cantrip, I'll show you the water cantrip. Once you've got this one down, we can get started on healing!"

A quick demonstration of summoning a half-meter sphere of water later, and knocking one of the dummies over, and Myles was on his way to the next and probably most troublesome batch of students. Two women in grey robes had joined his lessons a few days ago, and Sleipnir's sister. The first thing he did when they entered his lessons was to check their falna.

While stats, skills, and development abilities were hidden by all deities when they closed the falna, the emblem remained visible on the individual's back. However, such details could still be revealed by a Status Thief mystery item, but such a thing was considered illegal and Acatl had told Myles not to make too many waves while in Orario.

Moving on, he had checked their familia and while he was surprised by their familia he was also relieved they weren't from a known Evilus-related familia. This said, the shorter one had been very shy about revealing her back while the taller one was all too willing to "lay herself bare for a man."

'Riveria was certainly right. This student is going to be a complete handful to deal with.' Myles mused. The amazoness leaned into him wherever and whenever she could and even tried to run her hands on his at every opportunity. That wasn't even considering that she had a glint in her eyes when she heard about his hand-to-hand class!

'Troublesome…'

The smaller-robed woman shared one of his affinities, Enchantment along with Chigusa, while the larger had one of the rarest affinities he knew of, Chaos. 'A volatile element, fitting for an amazon for several reasons.'

His thoughts were interrupted by a gentle chant. With practised precision, the smallest, robed figure was shifting from one foot to the other. Each movement of her arms catching a bright red spell circle in front of her. "Condense the sparks!"

A flowing step back with the swing of an arm which shifts into a flowing motion back towards the Core Rune she had started writing, while her other hand drew a second, the third and finally the fourth line to finish the rune with a gentle call. "Favilla."

Their right hand alighted with fire, as the small dance drew to a close, leaving behind specks of light. With an unsteady arm, the figure held back the fire, aimed at a dummy and threw it with another call. "Ignis!" Sailing from her hand and just short of her target.

'Actively casting while moving, Concurrent Casting. Such a casting style is only employed at the Adept level for Rune Magic, but she obviously isn't at it due to her lack of knowledge of runes. She feels like a level 1, so she must have some sort of skill that lets her have a circle like Airmid. This said something isn't adding up. Even using my skill Oculi qui Texere I know I am missing something. It's as if the mana she channels has a mind of its own and "reads" what Tamamo needs based on her dance.

She will need a lot of practice, but if every move draws a line, maybe within a couple months she could dance around a battlefield while casting spells. Now that's a beautiful image, but also one that will draw the ire of monsters and opposing adventurers.'

Chigusa jumped up and down. "Almost there Tamamo, you almost got it this time! Your active casting is so pretty!" Making the other girl shift on her feet, as the older women grunted in exertion. "Easy for you to say, at least something happens for you. This isn't working for me. How am I supposed to draw runes I barely know even with the stupid dictionary Myles gave me?"

Tamamo faces her amazonian peer with an almost apologetic tone. "Please, Antianeira-san, be patient."

"Easy for you to say, you got yours down in a day. Stupid casters and their stupid languages." The taller figure muttered to the smaller one, while Chigusa distracted herself with the same fire cantrip. Though, she did it the conventional way with ink and brush before hitting the dummy with a slightly smaller fireball with the release of the Ignis key rune.

Chigusa smiled brightly and turned towards him. "Myles-san, can you teach us the enchantment cantrip you promised?"

Myles chuckles. "That's why I came here, it isn't like I'd have forgotten. But first-"

Antianeira interrupted. "Before you go doing that, mind telling me why I'm trying runes at random?"

Myles smiles softly to her with a slightly apologetic tone, "I explained it already. I have never worked with a student with a chaos affinity. It's one of the unexplored areas of rune magic. Even Quetzalcoatl-sama only gave minimal information for me to work with. The chaos rune isn't something even professors in Altena would know about."

A thud resounds as the adventurer hits the dummy. "Not making it any better! Even my own spell isn't giving me any clues for this!"

The Tamamo takes her arm as Myles steps next to the dummy in her view. "It's why we are taking it slow and using a slow trial and error method to see how the core runes react. It isn't part of the common hieroglyphic set and is hard to predict. A cantrip made with it could behave like Statute and work with two core runes, or it might very well be so unique that it needs 5 unlike other sub-affinities. Without prolonged experiments, it's hard to tell."

She exclaims, "But why the heck am I the only one that can do this?! Can't one of your professors figure out how this affinity works?!"

Myles shakes his head. "Unfortunately, no. Until now I saw chaos as a weak sub-affinity. Clearly when I saw it in the past and touched on it myself it wasn't concentrated enough to create spells from scratch or judge its strength. This said, I know the method I am having you use is tedious and boring, but I had to do the same thing for my three affinities. I'll continue to test Core Runes as well now that I have a good feel and 'look' for Chaos affinity. Once the affinity's core runes are discovered you will be able to make good progress and develop a new cantrip. The best part is that once we succeed, you're basically guaranteed to get the Fuin Spell."

As she was about to retort again, Myles added. "Just give it time, you already made progress after a single day. If you take the month there is a good chance you'll find one that works."

With the amazon's concern addressed Myles gave the two girls a scroll with the runes for the enchantment cantrip to practice. In the meantime, he went over possible runes that might work with the chaos affinity for Antianeira. She was brute forcing this process and it was demanding on her mana reserves.

At this point, she was likely the best "authority" for Chaos advancement so he had no problems with giving her mana potions to restore her mana and let her continue. That said, each time she drank a potion he provided her she would do so in a seductive manner purposely licking her lips, having them linger on the mouth of the bottle, and dramatically moaning as the potion restored her reserves.

Each time made Myles's ears go rigid and a faint blush could be seen at their tips. He contemplated pranking her in response but then worried if that would make her even more expressive. Antianeria's energy screamed the same aura as Acatl's in that respect and he was trepidatious of crossing a line with her.

Focusing back on the other two girls with a shake of his head after the 3rd mana potion Antianeira consumed, he gathered them as they got the hang of drawing the new runes. "Now, please observe this casting. This is the cantrip that got me my Fuin spell. I created it with Quetzalcoatl-sama's help. Antianeira I'll use you as the target, but don't worry this spell has no negative effect."

The hooded girl in the middle of drawing a rune turned to him in annoyance. But before she could interrupt Myles summoned a white spell circle in front of him. Quickly he draws two core runes and surrounds them with the accompanying auxiliary runes. 'A lapse in your attention leads to missed details. - Enchantment.' - "Absens Animus!"

The moment the spell took effect a faint white outline shined around Antianeria as her eyes glazed over before she shook her head and turned back to her paper. "Huh!? Where did this rune come from?!"

She turned the paper around in confusion and even looked at her dictionary. Myles turned back to the two girls. "As you can see this cantrip causes memory loss. The amount of memories lost varies depending on the mana used but amounts to 10 seconds at basic cost."

Antianeira looked at them in shock, but the moment the shorter hooded figure heard his words she took one of her drafts and chanted. "A lapse in your attention leads to missed details. - Absens Animus!"

Antianeira's eyes glazed over as she turned back to her paper again and then Tamamo whispered to them. "Please, can we keep the exact effect a secret? My goddess would not be happy if she heard I knew such a spell."

Chigusa looked at her in concern, made sure Antianeira wasn't focused on them and answered. "I dislike secrets, but I won't stop you Tamamo. Please don't abuse this spell!"

Myles also leaned in closer with a slight hum. "That's going to require a decent explanation. Hilariously enough, this situation was what this spell was made to deal with in the first place. We'll talk more after class and frankly, your abilities make me want to turn a blind eye to you doing that."

He turned around and interrupted Antianeira's writing by grabbing her hand as she was starting to modify a rune. "Sorry for the confusion, but I noticed you had a blank stare for a few moments there. I fixed a mistake in your last rune so that it wouldn't blow up on you."

She blinks and looks at him visibly surprised but then a sly grin curls across her face as she meets his gaze and her other hand gently strokes the hand Myles used to stop her. "Thank you so much professor… I knew you cared about me!"

Myles's face immediately twitches as a faint blush expresses itself on his cheeks. 'This woman…!' He quickly withdraws his hand and coughs into it with closed eyes as he retorts, "Yes, well of course I do. You're one of my students. Get back to testing!"

Myles turns to the other two girls who are staring with faint blushes on their cheeks. Clearing his throat to break their gaze he remarks, "Go ahead and start practising the spell at novice level! And target each other and not Antianeira. She seriously could cause an explosion if there is a lapse in her focus on drawing some runes. Make sure that you keep track of developments as you go between yourselves."

Both girls nod and return to practising. Now Myles made for the next group of students, the troublesome duo.

'Now, what have Lefiya and Sly done this time..?' He regretted asking that question immediately as he heard, "Are you sure that's how Myles drew it?"

An excited voice answered. "Yes, I've had a lot of trouble with it. I know something is missing, but I just can't figure out what! It's so frustrating. I only saw him cast it once."

"I saw the spell a few times, but it's not easy, good thing you copied the runes. Let's see… The basic runes for Locus and Repono are constructed using elements of the Gravity and Darkness core runes, but what's the meaning of the last one?" Genno asked confused.

"I think it is the connection. But how would you translate it? Is it a rip in space connecting to a pocket dimension?" Lefiya wagered.

Genno tapped his foot in contemplation. Myles could easily imagine how his tails were swaying behind him. "No, it's not quite a rip in space. It more so resembles a hole. Like his teleportation spell. It opens a hole in reality connected to an alternate reality."

"I think that's it. Let's try again." Lefiya took one of the finished scrolls for Foramen. 'They use my universal ink for that. Why can't they focus on their own affinities! Fine, let's see where this is going.'

Lefiya straightened her body in concentration and put all her focus on the runes. "I require a space of convenience. - Foramen!"

With his magic pressure, Myles clearly felt how a tiny hole opened in reality, but in less than a second the atmospheric mana density pushed against it and the Key Rune on the paper crumbled. "Almost had it! That was so close!"

Sly remained quiet, before asking. "May I try Lefiya-san? I have a theory as to why you couldn't replicate the spell yet."

With a quick nod from the elf Sly took out another scroll. "I require a space of convenience. - Foramen!" – 'Space' The spell was met with far less resistance and a barely visible black dot appeared in front of them. However, a small error in the rune quickly eroded the Key Rune and the dot shattered.

'Hmm, it seems Sly has some affinity for Space as well to have managed a small rip in space on his first try. In that case, Foramen should also enter his homework. Lefiya on the other hand… She is more difficult to measure with a Null affinity. She will need a lot of practice.'

Myles stops behind the two of them. "So!" His exclamation causes both to turn around like spooked deer. "What are you both up to?"

"Myles! What are you doing here? We were busy practicing!"

"Spells outside of our lessons, yes. Well, outside of your lessons Genno. Lefiya, I'd advise you to first master the cantrips for both dark and gravity before going for Foramen. But your highest priority should be finishing the Null attribute cantrip. I'll help you in a second."

Turning to the disguised Sly he continues. "Genno, since you have enough energy to play with Foramen, I'll add it to your homework. For now, practice your spell circle-based cantrips. We'll go into the dungeon in 4 days, it would be good if you cut down the casting time to 5 seconds by then. It would be a shame if you relied purely on your fire magic. It's rare to find easy opportunities of gaining excelia towards the Fuin spell."

Teaching the excited Lefiya and grumbling kitsune took another 30 minutes before Myles slowly finished his rounds. He nodded in approval as he looked over the class, but as his eyes glanced over Antianeira he got the feeling that his hand-to-hand classes were going to get… more interesting starting today.

Author's Note

If even I the author gets confused about runes sometimes, you the readers are likely really confused at times. Believe me, I know, and I stopped counting how often Hapa had to correct runic spells for me as I wrote them at the wrong Rune Magic Tier or skipped sections.

So, here's a little example for those who want to really understand rune magic, based on the Minor Illusio Cantrip:

'I wander into the domain of the trickster to bring a new sight to reality. – Illusion – Minor Illusio!'

The first section is the basic chant for the Cantrip. It is only chanted at the Novice level, at higher levels, it's replaced by Auxiliary Runes. In this case 3 of them.

I wander into the domain of the trickster to bring a new sight to reality.

The second section is often left out when the spell is chanted. It's the core Rune('s). For the Illusion sub-attribute there are two. One is the illusion core rune the other can be translated as perception or even reality.

Illusion

The last part is the cantrip name or its equivalent rune and is chanted up to the Beginner level. Independent of the Rune Magic Tier this section is only ever 1 Rune. However, it represents all the previous core runes which can cut down the number of runes in a Runic Spell. From Adept onwards chanting can be foregone entirely with the "Fuin" taking the place of a chant. The rest are runes.

Minor Illusio!