Year 1023 of the New Calendar, Month of the Sun, Day 12

I took my 5th step towards the golden blood, the luster of it never waning. The closer I got to it, the more I realized I couldn't describe it with words, it wasn't a golden color-yet that was the best word I could describe it with. It was something that couldn't be described with simple words; the best epithets I could come up with would not even describe a millionth of a billionth of the thing in front of me.

This uniqueness led me closer, and closer to it. The Nephilim behind me was shell-shocked and stayed still, muttering "No, you're not Mike.. what are you?" I looked back at her and said "No, I'm not Mike. I'm, I'm.."

What.. What was I exactly? I held no memories, that golden blood was all I knew. No, it was all I needed to know - this powerless Nephilim held nothing over me, her words did not mean anything.

"It does not matter what I am, I know my purpose." And with that satisfactory answer, at least in my eyes, I turned back to stepping towards the blood. The disgusting smell emanating from that item in the center of the ritual did not dissuade me in the slightest.

The closer I got to the blood, the weirder I felt. My throat was parched, my stomach felt empty and grumbled endlessly. My right arm and left leg turned black; it was necrotic tissue, rot steeping directly into my bones, and disease rooting itself into my very blood. It eventually led to my tissue melting straight off my bones; a stinging, searing, unbearable pain was felt, but the allure of the blood was stronger. I pushed through successfully and started to walk again.

My soul was screaming in agony, it hurt, it was painful and it did not dissuade me. My soul felt like it was being molded like clay, twisted and turned into every which way. Even then, it was worth it for that blood - that blood was worth it, it was perfectly reasonable. The blood would solve everything, I took my final step towards it, and finished my goal, touching that beautiful, brilliant, golden blood.

After I did, though, was when the entire ritual calmed down. The spatial cracks closed, the blood retreating into them. My tissue was repaired quickly, turning from nothing to black bone, then to black tissue and then turning completely normal. The odor emanating was turned null, the stench retreating - leaving behind only me and my teacher, Mrs. Kehlir.

I looked around, nothing happened for only a moment. Then, a massive pressure unlike before descended, forcing us both to lie down on the ground-not even getting the chance to prostrate. 3 shadowy figures appeared, the one in front uttered a single phrase "You are not worthy of my help"

He less uttered that, though. The message was sent directly into my brain, I did not hear it, but I felt the message as clear as day. The pressure retreated as quickly as it came, and all that was left was the 7 candles that looked to be normal now. The bloody color of them was replaced by the yellowy-white color of wax, and the putrid odor of basilisk blood was completely removed from them. All other parts of the ritual were already consumed by the failed ritual, damnnit.

Why did it even fail? What did I do wrong, even? I recall nothing from the start of the ritual to now, what even happened? I looked at Mrs. Kehlir, she was lying down on the floor with eyes that were glazed over. I went up to her and waved my hand in front of her face, she elicited no response to what I did. I lightly slapped her face, she still exhibited no response with her eyes looking not at me, or anything else in the room. Her eyes looked to be staring at something else entirely, perhaps this was a side effect of the ritual? I shook my head and walked out of the door, getting someone from the infirmary to pick her up would be for the best.

When I walked out of the door, the beautiful hallways of the Academy hit me. The beautiful wood floors and large windows on the wall made for a serene scene, it allowed me to stop the small jitters I could feel in my hand. I breathed out slowly, my anger dissipated ever so slightly, but it would never truly go away unless he was killed. I wonder how to defeat him now, hmmmm. A dilemma that could be left for later, I started to walk down the hallway when I saw my friend, Hueser. We couldn’t see eachother much, he was a small water elemental that stood at only half my height. He got his name off the small sea he comes from, the Hueser Sea between Iabrun and a small country at its northeastern border.

I went up to him, his pristine watery body was nice to look at. Not in a sense of looking at another sentient creature, but looking at the scene of the sun hitting water, just a beautiful scene of nature. Shaking my head, I was about to start talking to him when I noticed his peculiar look. “What is it? Do I have something on my face?” He shook his head and answered “No, not that. Did you just cuck Mrs. Kehlir’s husband?” My facial expression perfectly summed up my response: “What did you just say?” I didn’t even know what I did to make him think of such a thing.

I looked down on myself, sure I had some rustled clothes but it was quite the logical leap to think that me and her had that kind of relationship. I said to him “We just did a ritual, it was for extra credit. You know I was only missing 1 point until I had all the credits required for this year. I could finally take a small vacation, go back to my hometown and visit my mom.” He nodded and seemed to take my answer as the truth. I could still tell that he held some suspicions about me, but that's none of my concern.

I asked him “Right, how did your little trip back home go? I didn’t want to bother you so I didn’t call. How was it? Had your fun there?” He nodded, we started to walk to the cafeteria - it was a little shortcut to the infirmary - and he started to talk along the way “It was nice seeing my extended family again, you know that us elementals have quite the long lifespan. It was… intimidating slightly to see all of them. But it was nice, unfortunately, I couldn’t see my father. He was out on some business deal with the main branch of the family. We are just an off-shoot from the ones found in the Twisting Ocean.”

“Interesting-” I said, and continued on with a slightly confused tone “Your offshoot is huge, how big is the main branch?” He laughed a bit and answered “Yeah, they’re massive. The absolute head of the family did call for us to convene later, Judgement 5th I believe. I wonder why he called for everyone, though.” I asked another question “Wait, isn’t that next month? What excuse are you going to give the school? Last I checked, you didn’t have enough credits to just go away. And I doubt you’re only staying for a day.”

He looked around for a bit and said in a low voice “With enough of a bribe, anything is possible.” I looked at him with a suspicious look and asked in an equally low voice “And how much is ‘enough’ exactly?” He said with a laugh “8,000 gold pounds, can you believe it?” I shook my head, tilting it at the same time to convey my question.

He picked up my question and answered “The head of the house really wants everyone to go out for this, I wonder why? Anyway, I can pocket nearly 700 gold pounds out of this deal.” I was about to say something when his phone - that he kept inside of his own body surrounded by a bubble - started to ring. He looked at it and told me that he had to go, I nodded and went inside the cafeteria. His phone call wasn’t of my concern, the beautiful tables and decorations hit me. Against the day to day industrial background, this was a nice way to shake it up a bit. Smiling, I started to walk to a door on the opposite side of the room, it was closer to the infirmary.

I reached the door without incident, but a little air elemental was there to block my way. She, from what I could tell anyway, floated up to my ear and said “After you have sex, perhaps you should clean up.” I looked at her with a thoroughly confused face and left the cafeteria, 2 elementals thought I had sex even though I didn’t. My mind drifted back to the ingredients, murdock and elf hair shouldn’t cause such a reaction. Neither should Basilisk blood, or the Griffin feather. Wait, if the Basilisk blood combined with the murdock then it, conceivably, could cause such a reaction. Why would the elementals be the only one to notice though? Ah nevermind, I have to clean myself up. I quickly went into a side room used to store some equipment for practical lessons and started to thoroughly purge my body of any filth.

After a minute, I could feel a little dark spot right in the middle of my arm. I forcefully ejected it, and out came a small little blob of what looked to be pure filth. I incinerated it and then left the side room, heading to the infirmary. What that blob was, I could only guess. Perhaps an after effect of the ritual? I have no idea why it had such an effect on the elementals though. Shaking my head, I reached the infirmary and popped my head inside. What looked to be a small man with a green complexion, non-existent ears and long-hair sat there at a beautiful desk. He was the person in charge of the area, a man of the Uoulis race. I walked up to him and said “Mrs. Kehlir in Room 412 had a little accident with a ritual, she is currently unresponsive, but exhibits no harm.”

He nodded and shouted out “Jesuin, get your ass to room 412.” He didn’t seem to have had the best of days, so I quietly slinked out of the room. It wasn’t uncommon for ritual accidents to happen, and I would at most be a hindrance. My presence was no longer required, and the school day was nearly over anyway. Now seems like a good idea to go and start the tutoring program. I will have to research a way to take care of that killer though. I’ll stay in the Academy, and I’ll have to invite Ava to stay with me. He shouldn’t be the type to brazenly attack me in here, so I’ll be safe enough.

I walked out of the school, the cityscape put me in a sour mood compared to the beautiful interior of the Academy, but no matter. I started to make my way to George Boulevard 13621. It was definitely in the richer part of Augustus, as I went nearer and nearer to it - less and less people were seen walking the streets. Their style of clothing went from practical, to what could only be called the pinnacle of eccentricity. One couple sported matching feathers that stretched a meter high, which had a bright pink and blue color scheme. Shaking my head, I got to the apartment which was their home. I looked at the names of the people, and only 2 lived here. Victoria Larsen, and her child, Abigail Larsen.

I wonder just how much it cost, ah no matter. It doesn’t really matter, I rang the doorbell and waited a few seconds. After those few seconds, I could hear the shuffling of footsteps, I guess someone was on the 1st floor. They couldn't have reached me so fast in this 4 story apartment otherwise, Victoria opened the door and happily greeted me by saying “Ah, hello Mike. Come on in, you have arrived at just the perfect time.” I smiled back and walked inside, the whole entire first floor was just a living room.

There was a massive television mounted upon the wall with a marble stand beneath it, it had to be 80 inches or so. The marble stand held some choice books, the one that caught my eye was Princess, a political theory novel? Maybe she is a politician, there was a gigantic white rug between the television and the white couch. Right in front of the couch was a small coffee table that was glass with a wooden frame, atop it was a 15-inch laptop. There were 4 other rooms that led off from this one, but I didn’t really get a good look at them. Victoria urged me to sit on the couch, as she went upstairs to presumably get Abigail.

I sat straight on the couch and waited for her to come downstairs again, my curiosity was piqued but trying to snoop around would just end this deal if it was found out. I had no doubt that anyone as rich as them would have ways to see what I did. After a minute or so of waiting, mostly just looking around the area from my seat, Victoria and her child - Abigail - came downstairs. What surprised me was that I had already seen her before, and so, she had already seen me as well.

She pointed at me and said “Wa-Wait, you’re that guy that did magic during that one lesson.” I nodded and said with a smile “Nice to meet you Abigail, I’m Mike. A student of the Academy, and from this point forwards, your new tutor. I plan to help you as much as I can and hope to get you inside the Academy.” I stood up and walked to her, shaking her hand as she numbly stared at me. Victoria didn’t seem fazed at all and asked me “Is there anything you would like, or need?”

I shook my head and answered politely “No, but thank you for the offer. I would just like to see her current scores on the practice entrance test. The practical part of the exam is much more important, but every point counts.” She nodded so excessively, I thought she would break her neck but eventually she stopped and started to run upstairs. Abigail sat next to me on the couch, and asked me with an excited voice after her mother ran off “Can I eventually do that too? Real magic? Like, true blue magic?”

I smiled and nodded, magic was known to the public, but its specifics weren’t known at all. A certain sense of wonder was always associated with magic, and I could not blame her. She would likely not have that after I forcefully opened her mana reserve, I could feel that she did have one. Forcefully opening it, though, would require a written up contract to occur and would only happen next time around. I will just have to bring it up next time around, no need to get her hopes up only to take that away. Her mother came downstairs with her practice exams.

I said to her “Thank you, Ms. Larsen. Now, for the tutoring session. I must ask you to leave us alone, magic requires absolute concentration and having another person would only interfere with her process of acquiring the skills.” with a constant smile on my face. She nodded and went to leave, she likely already knew this and my words were just a confirmation. I turned back to Abigail and to the papers on the coffee table, narrowing my eyes at her answers. Most of her answers were sublime and accurate, but some of the harder questions were wrong. Good, she had a stable base and I needn’t teach her more.

I pointed at 7 questions she got wrong, “Look at all of these, ‘What is the best use of the symbol for a water needle during a medical emergency?’, ‘Is the symbol of fire net or fire seal more useful in the scenario of sealing a Jesiel?’, ‘Why are the symbols of those not of the 4 main elements so much harder to learn?’ and finally, ‘If the symbol of a shadow bind was used on a light construct, what would be the result?’ Do you see why you are answering these all wrong?” and asked her this question. She looked at me and shook her head, signaling that she didn’t know.

“Look again, these are all answerable by conventional means, but they are all better suited to being answered by a practical point of view. If you knew how to best use a water needle during an emergency, it would be much easier to write down a coherent answer. Magic is inherently abstract and there are many different, so-called, perfect answers to each question.”

She nodded and I continued, “But that does not mean there aren't any concrete answers, practical means of using magic is the best way to help you visualize an answer. Now, this can be easily remedied. The entrance exam is on The High Priestess 10th, and your first day of school is on Empress 5th. You have just around 5 months to prepare, and we should start with the basics. That is the only way to truly get better at magic.” She was like a little duck, just nodding along with my words. It was cute, in an innocent sort of way.

“Now, for our first lesson. You will have to visualize an early type of magic most beginners start with. Envision a gust of air, close your eyes and do it. Nod when you are ready.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, after 10 or so seconds, she nodded with her eyes closed. I said to her in a soothing voice “Keep visualizing that gust of air, keep doing it. Then, imagine what it would look like if it was above your palm. Visualize that, a gust of air above your own palm.” She nodded and breathed out, she followed my older orders and nodded instead of saying anything.

“Good, with that. The first lesson is nearly over, now. Imagine that gust of air, instead of just floating on your palm, animating from inside your arm up into the palm of your hand. Imagine that your veins had that gust of air instead of blood, rush it through your hand and then upon your palm.” I said, my voice getting firmer the closer I got to the end of my statement. She nodded again, and after a minute or so of in-action; a small, minuscule, tiny, minute, and miniature gust of wind left the palm of her hand. She opened her eyes with incredulity painted upon them, being as obvious as a shadow during the peak of the day.

“I-I did it… I actually did it!” I smiled and said to her “This is the basics of mana control, starting from this you can reach my level, and who knows. Maybe you’ll become even better than me.” She was still looking at her palm with an incredulous look, “Now, repeat.” She started the exercise again. After 10 minutes of us repeating this exercise, she asked me “Is there any point to this? I am barely getting better.” I replied in a firm voice “No, repeat. Repetition is the key to the principles of magic, keep at it. Repeat.” She sighed and started the exercises again.

After an hour, a special program was on the television that caught both of our eyes. An interview with the Duchess of Lendenburg? Interesting. I looked at her and said “We can take a small break now, overworking your mana system is never a good idea.” She rolled her eyes but sat in a more relaxed position, opting to watch the interview with me. I didn’t know the Duchess was one to agree to something on short notice.

A beautiful Duchess was seen on the television, sitting down with the posture of nobility. She wore a beautiful coral pink dress, with a floral pattern on it. Her hair was the same as usual, yet it popped with her make up and dress - she looked exceptionally beautiful. She in her seat smiled at the camera, and then at the Naga man asking her questions, who was named Gus.

He started the conversation with “Your Grace Arianna, future Duchess of Lendenburg. We have quite the question line-up for this, I’m surprised you even agreed to this, but I am grateful to you for it.” She smiled and said “The people must know their own leaders, after all. I am here to represent the entirety of the Lendenburg family, so ask away.”

He asked his first question near-instantly after she said her sentence, “Our first question is, why go to the Magic Academy? It has been on the minds of many people, especially those in Lendenburg.” She looked into the camera, no into the audience, and said “What is the point of leaders if they just hide away in walls? I am a Duchess of the people, I would rather be among the people rather than sit at home inside closed walls. It is simply unlike me to be there in a walled up home, the experience of learning magic is exciting, but the joy of seeing the citizens one rules over being happy and content is even more than that.” She spoke with eloquence and grace, she shifted her posture a little and Gus, who had his dark red scales on display, smiled and said “Indeed, being a Duchess is a job about governing as much as it is a job to know the citizens.”

Arianna smiled and nodded a bit, she started to talk but my phone started to ring right at that moment. I picked it up and noticed it was Mrs. Kehlir, I have no idea how she even got my number. With an exasperated sigh, I went to a separate room and answered the phone. “Yes? What is it Mrs. Kehlir?” I asked her, she said with an excited voice “I figured out a weakness of that Sanguine, you have to be here first though. I can’t disclose it at the moment.” With a sigh, I agreed and hung up. I then called Ava, she quickly picked up and said in a scared voice “Y-Yes? Master, wh-what is it?”

I ordered her to “Come meet with me at the Academy, you’re staying in room 109, next to my 108.” She quickly agreed, and then I hung up. I left the room and looked at Abigail, “An important event just came up for me, I would have to leave early. I am sorry, Ms. Abigail.” I said the last part with just a bit of a teasing tone. She looked at me with a slight blush and said “You can go, just call me Abigail though.” I answered back with “A proper respect is due to an employer.” as I walked out of the door. Whatever Kehlir found, it better be worth it.