Chapter 20 - Tricky questions

By the end of the training session, Ophelia, helped by Marc, had taught three basic ‘exercises’ to the children.

“You still need to reinforce your Shi.” She had said. “And so, I can’t directly teach you long or complex techniques. But that doesn’t mean you can’t already start to learn the basics.”

And she had taken the few next hours to give each of the children a tailor-made training routine, based on offence, defence and mastery, as she called it.

To Vivianne, she had taught how to Infuse her hands and feet to make them stronger and more resistant, and Marc had taught her how to create sheets of Shi on her body to protect herself, as well as create finer threads of Shi and move them to grab things around her.

Of course, it was just the very beginning of those, but it was already something.

Crisnée was taught how to naturally extend her Shi to anything she touched, however slow it was at her level, and constrict them with it, as well as reinforce her own items. Like her friend, she had also taught how to use Shi threads, but she was clearly not as proficient in Shaping as Vivianne was, even as she was already above average if I was to trust what our teachers said.

Noa was tasked with creating thin blades and shields out of thin air, and to move them with as much precision as he could. As Ophelia was bad in Projection, Marc took care of that.

At the end of the day, you could see that the children were totally exhausted, but it was their teacher who stopped them, as the kids were just keeping training more and more, even if you could feel their fatigue.

“Okay, it’s enough for today. Never saw kids that determined to train, but even you need to rest, as your body can’t keep up with your mind. We’ll keep polishing tomorrow what you’ve learned today. However, before you go, one last thing.”

We were now once again sitting cross-legged on the ground, with Vivianne claiming her right to have me this time around.

“All the basic techniques you’ve learned today have two common points: they’re easy to train on your own, and useful in a house. This was, of course, intentional. From now on, I want you to try and do as many things as possible with your Shi. Cutting a steak?” She looked at Noa. “Do it with Projection. Grabbing something?” She now looked at Vi and Cris. “Use Shaping. And so on and so forth. Remember that the more you use your Shi, the better you become at using it, and the more powerful it grows. It’s like a muscle. Use it often, it will get stronger. If I learn that you didn’t do it, I’ll stop teaching you. Understood?”

“””Yes!”””

“Good. Show me what you’ve got, that’s why you are here, right?”

They nodded together, clenching their fists and showing resolute faces.

“That’s all, you brats go home, I’ve other things to do.”

***

Back home, we learned that Dad had left to help the Militia. The big hole in the wall wasn’t the most secure thing out there, and since the city lost a lot of guards, they needed civilians to help protect everyone.

And since the children were gone for the day, Mom finally got to produce all the potions needed to heal those wounded in battle. So far she had used the excuse that her children were home and unwell to focus on them, but as soon as they were gone, she rushed in her workshop to help everyone. In fact, I think she had been quite pressured to do it by a lot of people, since she was the only alchemist of the city.

The training had ended around 4pm, and she was still madly producing medicine in her room, not even realising that we were home. Until I asked for food, of course, at which point she nearly wasted a batch of some kind of liquid before realising what she was doing, asking Vivianne to keep me entertained as to let Mom finish what she was doing before feeding me.

From then we took a nap, as everyone was tired of the long day of training (not me, I just enjoyed naps, and being with my siblings, and all the more naps with my siblings).

The children really took Ophelia’s words to heart. For example, Vi and Cris moved the blanket using Shi thread. Well, tried to move it, as they failed, the little green tendrils they produced still too weak to move such a mass. At least they tried, that counts, right? And, by the look of it, when Vi moved the blanket using her hand, she had Infused it with Shi.

This is just like the way we used to train magic.

Indeed. Do mundane things to sharpen your mastery more and more until it becomes just another limb, another part of you.

Yes. But I’m not sure that it’s adapted for children their age.

As you said yourself: too late. They know it’s one of the ways for them to grow stronger, now they’ll do it even if someone try to stop them. And they do need to become stronger if they want to live properly. I don’t want to run after all of them to be sure they’re all safe all the time.

True. Speaking of running after them, I’ve finished collecting the parts needed to tailor monitoring spells for the four of them, we can do it whenever you want.

Let’s do it tonight, when they’re asleep. It’ll be easier this way.

Copy. Can we… synthesise the spell now?

Oh? Ahahah, you want to fuse for a bit, right?

Yes.

Well, the idea does sound appealing indeed. Let’s do it.

***

As for many complex spells, we ended up cuddling, fused for a good thirty minutes, even if it felt shorter than that (you know, just like time passes faster during a day where you’re having a good time? Yes, like that).

Most people disliked fusing with their AI, or had no big feelings about it, but my and Psaï’s case was a bit special. You see, Psaï was the first AI ever created, and she was, in fact, a part of myself that I tore away in order to create her. This way, Psaï was an externalised part of myself, which was the reason why fusion was so nice for us. (Also, this way of creating an AI became totally illegal just after I explained how I did it, but they couldn’t make me kill Psaï, only forbid others to do the same. Now that I think about it, I had been the source of many laws that forbid lots of things. Meh, that’s what happens when you’re a genius without any common sense, I guess.)

Fusion made us feel so… whole. But we couldn’t stay like that forever. After all, there was a reason why I created Psaï the way I did it.

When I refocused my mind on the real world, the first thing that hit me was the smell of a meal being cooked with care and love, Dad’s style.

Mom came woke us up, the dark circles under her eyes proof that she worked a bit more while we were in dreamland.

As usual, I was put on my tiny high-chair but, for the first time since I was (re)born, Dad put a plate in front of me?

Well, I was four months old, and I could keep my head high and my tongue in my mouth, so I guess I was ready to eat?

Finally, some real food!

But it tastes strange…

We need to adapt, that’s normal. Also, cooking around here does not seems to be the same as back then. Everything is so…

Raw? Fresh? Not processed?

Yeah, like that. Let’s enjoy this first meal of ours!

Yes!

At the start, Mom and Dad took turns to feed me, but to keep the dinner from degenerating into an open war, they let Crisnée, Vi and Noa feed me too, which they did with much enthusiasm, so much that they kept trying to feed me when I was full, and that Mom and Dad had to intervene for me not to die of over-eating.

I knew you could die of over-heating, but of over-eating?

Mom.

What?

Shut up.

Okay.

I must point out that none of the children used Shi while eating. If it was because they had already been rebuked once, or to keep their training secret from their parents, I couldn’t say, but they seemed quite bent to not give Mom and Dad any more information about what they did during the day.

“We trained our Shi.” Had answered Crisnée in her usual laconic style.

“But I thought Nicklass was wounded?” The surprise could be felt in Mom’s voice.

“Yes, so Ophelia taught us in his stead.” Added Noa.

““Ophelia?!”” Mom and Dad exclaimed together.

“Yes? Is it that surprising?”

“Well, knowing that she is the second most powerful Shi fighter of the city, and not far from becoming a Shi master, yes, it is.”

But the conversation didn’t go much further, as the children did not want to say what they did exactly.

I think they were scared that, if their parents found that they were training not for the sake of it, but with fighting in mind, they would forbid them to keep doing it.

And it was legitimate, I think. Everyone had the right to protect themselves.

Well, they’re still quite young…

Bullshit. They felt what it is to fight, they’ve seen death. As sad as it is, I think they’re ready to start this kind of training and to take their life into their hands.

Yeah… Maybe what they lose here, they’ll gain further along the way?

We can only hope for it. If they can overcome their trauma, I think they’ll be alright..

As you said, let’s hope for it.

***

This very night, I helped Psaï deploy the monitoring spells over the kids. It took some time, not because it needed a lot of mana, but because those spells were delicate, you needed to focus a lot to build them, even with the help of a computing crystal. After all, the crystal only gave you raw power, it’s you that needed to apply it correctly.

Aaaaand… there. That was the last one.

Now let’s see what we can extract from them.

As expected, Crisnée and Noa’s readings were normal for humans their age. As for the Yiburis, since it was the first individual of its species I scanned, I couldn’t know what the nominal values were. However, the amount of human DNA in its body was suspiciously high, to say the least, and you could clearly see that its brain was growing.

Interesting. It seems that the virus Vivianne injected in it is slowly modifying its DNA. And it even seems viable…

I really wonder what will happen to this monster.

I’m curious too. Good thing we started monitoring it.

True.

As for Vivianne.

It’s just like you said, the eyes were only a start. Well, we’ve already seen the fangs, but if those data are correct…

She is growing another pair of limbs. Wow.

But her brain seems totally unchanged. What do you think? We let things go?

...Hmmm. Yes. It’s not like we have the spare resources to undo that at the moment. And as long as her brain doesn’t change, I don’t see why we should interfere. You know quite personally that those kinds of body modifications can be very foundational of someone’s identity.

Yes. Let’s just see if she suffer of it or not. If not…

Then let’s not touch it.

Yes.

Good, so we’re decided.

And so, for the time being, we would let the changes unfold peacefully.

***

Later that night, Lebaclas finally contacted me again.

Master, this unit finished putting its forces on standby, and keeping them from attacking the humans, as per your orders.

Waiting for further instruction.

Good timing. First of all, you’ll start referring to yourself with ‘I’, understood?

Yes.

And your new codename is Lebaclas.

Understood.

Perfect. Then, let’s start with a debrief, tell me about everything you know since the destruction of Entropy.

Yes, administrator.