Chapter 10: How To Train Your Magician
It was bright and early in the morning, and Takauji found himself sitting at his desk with a thoughtful look on his face, wondering how he was going to spend his day.
The weekend had arrived, and he needed to plan out how he was going to allocate the hours of the day that awaited him.
I should start by checking how much progress I made last night, he willed the screen into existence.
[Subclass: Novice Artificer (67/100).]
Not bad, I spent a good portion of time meditating last night as well. So it should be easier for me to Enhance and Project more objects before running out of Mana, speaking of which.
[(Mana) MANA: 51.]
Now that's what I call progress, 510 MP should be more than enough to level-up my Artificer class today.
He thought about simply creating more kitchen knives until he achieved a rank-up, but tossed the idea aside after a bit of deliberation.
He had a bigger Mana pool now, so why not attempt to make something more complex? The only question is what that something would be.
Maybe I should find something electronic? He landscaped his room, finding most of the appliances within his field of view a bit too complicated to project immediately.
He wasn't interested in spending the entire day researching an object before he could even begin to start projecting it, so he needed something comparatively simplistic.
That'll do, he picked up the electronic fan that was posted on his bed-frame, confident that he could study its internal make-up in time with his improved intelligence.
He didn't need to understand every last intricacy of its manufacturing process, he just needed to understand at least 50% of how it was made.
As confident as he was in his own abilities, he wasn't delusional enough to think he'd create a perfect projection on his first try.
In total, there were 9 components that he had to study before he attempted his first projection; the Electric Motor, Capacitor, Fan Blades, Wire Guard, Back Cover, Gear Box, Switch, Oscillator Knob, and Power Cord.
Even though it seemed like a lot, it was nothing in comparison to what he'd need to study to create something like a phone. After all, it wasn't just the number of components that mattered, it was the complexity and depth of each component.
Understanding how to create a motherboard and understanding how to create a switch weren't even remotely on the same level.
Roughly an hour or two went by, and much to even his own surprise, he already felt confident enough to perform his first attempt.
If my brain is capable of processing and absorbing information this quickly at 55 Intelligence, I wonder what it'd be capable of at 100? Or even 1000?
He took a deep breath, rubbing his hands together and holding them out in front of his bedroom flooring.
[Subclass: Novice Artificer (77/100).]
Success!
Well, mostly.
The kitchen knives he created usually gave him around 8 Artificer Experience, but the electronic fan had only given him 10, which seemed like an awfully small increase when you compared the complexity of the objects.
He frowned, picking up the newly created appliance and shaking his head in a disapproving fashion.
I can already tell that the fan blades aren't as well-shaped as my actual fan, the quality of this is far too low to be a creation befitting of me.
On the bright side, Artificer Experience wasn't the only thing he gained.
[+6 INT (55 → 61).]
Studying the make-up of an electric fan had given him a nice chunk of Intelligence in return, so even if trying out new projections wasn't the most efficient way to level-up his Subclass, the secondary benefit they yielded could make up for that loss.
And as time went on, he would get better at creating more advanced projections, allowing him to level-up his Subclass faster in the long run.
Oh well, there's nothing more I can do than try again and hope I don't screw it up this time.
Unfortunately, he was met with an interruption right as he was about to go for his second attempt.
A dark-blue light illuminated his room, accompanied by the spectacle of the same magical crest that had been engraved onto the back of his palm appearing on his bedroom floor.
You've got to be kidding me.
"I don't recall having free access into my bedroom being a part of the contract I signed, Shinra-san." Takauji folded his arms together, irritably tapping his feet.
"It wasn't, I just installed one here when me and Akeno first visited." She said with a noticeable level of pride in her tone.
These glasses have doubled my perception, but I still wasn't able to notice anything.
Even though he could see the remnant of Tsubaki's Demonic Power she had used to activate the teleportation circle, he couldn't see the array that had been used to create the circle itself.
Also, why did she choose my bedroom of all places? Couldn't you just have placed it in the living room? Or better yet, do the decent thing and place it at the front door and actually knock before entering my home.
"I'm going to do a huge favour and pretend like you aren't vehemently intruding on my privacy, on the condition that you've come here with the research materials I was promised."
In that moment, Takauji had a new goal to work towards, getting rid of the teleportation circle in his house.
"You'll get those today, but first the President wants you to come with me." She motioned for him to step into the circle beside her.
"What for?" He adopted a somewhat standoffish demeanor, which Tsubaki was completely unphased by since it was his automatic reaction whenever Sona was brought up.
"Training."
He reeled back, looking at her with an evident level of skepticism.
"You want to improve your Magecraft don't you?" He nodded slowly, "Then I doubt I have to explain to you the importance of having someone more experienced on hand to assist you."
"Our abilities aren't the same," he stubbornly refuted her.
"Can you at least wait until after your first session before you start acting like a grouchy old man?" She sighed, finding it a bit too early to endure a long-out spat with him.
"Fine, but don't even think about trying to talk your way out of fulfilling your side of the contract."
The contract's not even between us— You know what? Nevermind, I should just be happy that I don't have to knock him out and drag him over.
Sometimes in life, it was just better to take what you could get.
Right as the magic crest below him started to light up again, a puzzling look crept up his face.
For some reason, I can't help but feel like I'm forgetting something? He scratched his chin, trying to pinpoint what his mind was searching for. Oh shit! I forgot to make breakfast for Murayama!
Unfortunately, he was whisked away before he could go back to do what needed to be done.
Something which he figured was probably going to bite him in the rear whenever he returned home.
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Once he arrived at the other side of the teleportation circle, all his questions about what the "training" he was being called for entailed were thrown out of his mind, replaced with a singular, different question.
Why am I in Batman's garage?
He found himself standing in the expanse of an incredibly expansive empty room, with dark-grayish concrete slate beneath him, and a white, mildly illuminated, square-tiled ceiling above him.
"Impressive isn't it?" The voice of his contractor resounded from behind him, the entirety of her peerage accompanying her. "We're in the basement level of my house at the moment, this entire space is reinforced with a self-repairing barrier that allows us to experiment with our abilities here as freely as possible."
"It's alright," he shrugged, earning a swift facepalm from Tsuabki in return. "Now hurry up and give me the materials you promised."
"Sure," a grin crept up her face. "After you've finished sparring."
"What?"
"Having a wide range of abilities is all well and good, but it's important that you also gain some experience using them in a combat-scenario. Me and my peerage have sparring sessions every weekend, so as my Contracted Magician I thought it was only fitting that you're included in them."
A brief staring contest ensued between them, the silence broken only by the sound of a dry chuckle escaping Takauji's breath.
A humbling attempt? Is that what this is about? He smiled at her, the irritation from before being swiftly replaced with a newfound sense of eagerness.
"I suppose your logic is sound," his gaze drifted across the faces of her peerage.
"You don't have any experience in hand to hand combat, so I'll have you take on one of my Bishops in a Magecraft-centric battle." She looked at Reya, motioning for her to step forward and step opposite to him.
"Sounds good to me."
"I look forward to seeing what you're capable of, Ashikaga-senpai."
"Likewise," at long last, he would finally get to experience the difference between a Magician and Devil first-hand.
Sona raised her hand, "Three, two, one, begin!"
Shadow Step, he didn't hesitate to make the first move. Deploying his movement technique and flickering to Reya's right, his sudden show of speed causing her eyes to widen a little.
But not out of shock, more so plain intrigue.
She followed my movements, which means her Mana stat is higher than mine.
According to the skill's description, Shadow Step was supposed to hide Takauji's trajectory as long as his opponent's Mana stat was lower than his.
That also means she has a larger Mana pool than me, so I'll have to be sparing and precise with the usage of my skills if I want to win before running out of gas.
Granted, his passive trait which drained a portion of his opponent's Mana once a skill hit them did permit a certain degree of recklessness.
"That's an impressive spell for someone who only just awakened," Reya smiled, a red circle with a reticle inside it appearing in front of her right eye, composed entirely out of Demonic Power.
He felt the hairs on the back of his neck shoot upwards, a pellet of bright-red energy now hurling towards him with freakish accuracy, aimed perfectly at the left side of his ribcage.
That was close!
By the skin of his teeth, he just barely managed to deploy another Shadow Step in time—saving him from having his torso presumably blown into smithereens.
You're using quite a bit of intensity for a mock battle, I like it! His grin widened.
"I wouldn't dawdle if I were you," Reya suggested calmly, already preparing another projectile attack—the reticle she had used to hone her precision beforehand having not disappeared even after being used.
However, I'm fairly confident that I can beat you as long as I sequence my attacks correctly.
He narrowed his eyes, projecting three knives in between the slits of his fingers and promptly enhancing them.
I'm just barely capable of predicting the trajectory and momentum of her pellet, but I think it's a risk worth taking. I'm at a biological disadvantage after all, I can't afford to play this safe if I want to win.
Another bullet-like shot of Demonic Power came hurling at him, the fact that Takauji had chosen to stand perfectly still making its trajectory slightly easier to predict since it would be moving in a straight line rather than a curve.
Bang!
Much to his delight, the first knife he threw managed to clash with her projectile, and even though it wasn't enough to destroy it outright—it was more than enough to misdirect to a point where it avoided hitting him.
It's now or never, he proceeded to Shadow Step again, moving to Reya's left and throwing his second knife at her—aiming it at the left side of her ribcage as if to return the favour.
The Bishop remained composed as ever, manifesting an ethereal circular shield that was attached to her hand, using it to effectively block the oncoming utensil with a bit of struggle, but succeeding nonetheless.
Tch, I should've expected something like that. However, she's probably under the impression that I just displayed my maximum throwing strength. I'll use that against her.
He tightened his hold on his remaining knife as much as he could.
Mana Reinforcement!
[(Strength) STR: 21 (84).]
[(Vitality) VIT: 32 (128).]
With his enhanced clothing and reinforcement combined, he was confident in his ability to pierce through Reya's guard.
And if he wasn't? Well, then it was game over.
Whoosh!
The knife whisked through the air, humming a sharp whirring sound as it jettisoned towards her, a lethal gleam shimmering in the cooking utensil's alloy.
Shatter!
Her shield crumbled into pieces, the knife successfully breaking through and embedding itself in her shoulder.
"Ouch!" She yelped, grabbing the knife by the handle and effortlessly taking it out of her skin. "Stabbing your Kouhai isn't a very responsible thing to do! Ashikaga-senpai!" She pouted, her nonchalance killing any sense of accomplishment he was feeling.
That's it? He grimaced, even though the difference in Mana between them was marginal, the difference in physicality with Reya being a Devil was on a completely different level.
"Why so surprised?" Sona chimed in, "Did you honestly believe I'd let you of all people spar her if you were actually capable of doing her serious harm?"
I'd rather you not treat me like some kind of bloodthirsty murderer, aren't I at the disadvantage here anyway?
He sighed, pinching his nose-bridge. "Whatever, can I get the research materials I was promised now?"
"Follow me."
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First fight/spar scene of this story! Ain't that something?
I thought it would be good to let Takauji showcase some of his abilities in action since he's unlocked quite a few in a short span of time, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
If you're a fan of the series and want to read ahead, as well as support me go ahead and check me out on my p*treon.
p*treon/Accel14 (Up to 15 Advance Chapters are avaliable as of now.)
I also have a discord if you want to come and chat there.
Code: wNzT9AEsaz