I explain that what I did and why, admitting that I didn’t really need to keep going after the first two, having found out what I wanted to and having a better way to teach magic.

I then procure a roughly finger sized and shaped mana crystal from my bag. While it seems impossible to directly enchant and imbue mana stones and crystals, I wrapped the middle part in wood, shaped through [Mana Crafting: Wood Shaping] to seem like roots wrapped around it, with loose ends sticking out here and there.

It’s warm to the touch and despite the odd roots, not uncomfortable to hold. What is it for, I can see their eyes practically asking. So I explain the magic sharing trick I learned from Tåke. I offer the man who first resisted my pressure to try first.

It takes a moment before we’re able to share control of magic. I then form the non-etheric versions of my two basic spells, {Orb of Light} and {Mana Spike}. I show both of them twice, then move on to the woman, and then the next man who resisted and the final one, leaving only the guy magic passed right through.

As expected, he is completely unable to even sense that I do something. Next up, I test if I can affect him with a spell. Specifically, I cause a minor patch of fur to sprout using aspect transformation.

“There’s no resistance at all…” I take a step back, the sun stinging my eyes as I do. That’s kinda scary. “If I tried, I could force him into any form I know, I think.”

A bit later, I have turned him into a Wolfkin, Lizardkin, and the Wavelord form, with the latter requiring me to continuously applying mana. I concede that I don’t think he is capable of learning mana, but also that the extreme lack of resistance, similar to that of non-living materials, could potentially be very bad if he is hit by something that causes any sort of magical effect.

Before he leaves I do a fairly simple enchantment on his actual body. What it does is to draw in a bit of etheric mana to emulate the natural resistance every living thing with mana seem to have. I speculate the fact that he does not have mana is why he also lacks the resistance, and point out that there are other energy forms, which he might be able to use.

The spell itself, I explain to Thomas, came to me when I realized I can easily unlock my door with magic, either by picking the lock or simply turning the key on the inside, from the outside. I reasoned that since I can do that, other people can as well. I thought about a few solutions, ranging from complex to ‘I’m gonna need to scribble magic formulas over every surface of the apartment’.

After being frustrated about how much mana this would use, I realized that, much like the joke about two hikers meeting a bear and one putting on running shoes, I only need to outdo the nearest options.

So I decided that, instead of making it impenetrable, I’ll make it a hassle and make any would-be burglars probably go elsewhere. So I found a way to mimic the natural magic resistance of living things. I realized, if the mana was being circulated it would display some of the same effect.

So each of my doors and windows now circulate mana from artificial mana stones using a small spell tablet. In other words, I made a spell to mimic living things, and then put it on a person. I bet he’d be bullied in any kind of fantasy containing story where mana is universal. Maybe that will be the case some time in the future.

At that point the other four had at least grasped the bare minimum of magic, having both abilities, so I explained short about my current theories on mana. It’s energy, you can control it somehow, and most magic seem to follow the rules of physics, primarily the laws of thermodynamics and motion.

I also explained that there seems to be an effective max range and my hypothesis that it is because beyond there you simply lose control of the mana. At this point the four of them are sent off by Thomas to the local shooting range to find the exact range where this happens and to practice their magic.

I, on the other hand, am lead to meet with the researcher whose name I forgot. As it turns out, there’s at least two shooting ranges in the facility. Not too surprising, I guess. I demonstrate the gunstaff like they want me to, starting with a standard no tools {Mana Spike}, then the wand, then the gunstaff manual cast and then gunstaff regular shot.

We’re able to get a bunch of data I’ve been unable to get when running around in the forest with Tåke, taking on the Direwolf form more often than not. On that note, having to put on clothes afterwards is a bit of a bother, so I usually just take on the Half-Serpent form and put on a shirt. Taking off clothes is easy, though, as I just absorb them to a subspace.

After that we discuss the potential contracts and work, and we finish up with me signing one for working as a magic consultant to the new magic division. In the beginning my job for that will be split between teaching a few people magic and answering questions about magic and magitek.

It’s not like I have to come here every day, but they’d like me to come here for most of the day after tomorrow. I’ll observe as the people I taught magic to try to teach magic to the first magic test platoon. That’s not a title, by the way. Not yet, anyway. It has some other designation which it seems they will keep using.

When they figure out a way to efficiently train people (and have enough ‘trainers’ for that) that contract will go into phase two and I don’t have to do the teaching part. The contract for funds is very reasonable, too. It basically means I can’t sell new knowledge anywhere else, but gives pretty good terms for selling to the military.

Well, the main part of that agreement is that I can apply for funds if I have an experiment I want to do, potentially enlisting help/guinea pigs if I need to. I show the couple experiments I have planned. They say it’ll take at least a day for them to reach a decision, and somehow we end up discussing patents for magic and magitek a bit.

Basically, magitek could go under the conventional system, but it would probably be fairly easy to make something that does the same in a sufficiently different way. As for magic… Not really feasible to stop people from casting, but limiting larger scale sharing/teaching on a could happen. Laws might need to be changed for it to be patentable at all, though.

Furthermore, we talk about what kind of new laws and regulations we think would be needed based on my experiences There’s quite a few things that are important, we conclude. And that’s what they want me to talk about in the hearing. Well, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from school then that would be to make presentations. (And that whole basic literacy thing.)

Back home I eat a late lunch, then repack my bag for going to the forest to play/hunt/spend time with Tåke. On the way here I thought it would be very nice to know how fast I can fly for my upcoming trip. GPSes have that functionality as well as the map and location service itself, but I’m a bit on the fence buying one, since it’d be another thing to carry.

But then I realized, a modern phone can do all those things! I don’t want to expose my actual phone to the elements when I fly or otherwise move around, but then I realized I can just use my old phone, a dirt cheap chinese thing I picked up solely because my previous one stopped working after some five years. Didn’t need to get anything better when I was gonna use it as a glorified alarm clock and for digital public transit tickets.

So I’ve downloaded the area for offline map mode. There are a few holes in the more detailed maps, but at it’s not like I’m going orienteering. I also downloaded a speedometer app, so I’m good to go. Well, I’m gonna want a compass for the actual trip, but I’m not preparing for that now.

And so, I safely store my actual phone in a small waterproof bag in the larger bag, putting the old one in a small, clear plastic bag I hang from the waist strap. Touch works through the plastic, good.

I make my way out of the house, then take on the (temporary) birdform and fly to the forest, landing on the lake. I check the speedometer app. Hmm, both the average and max speed is so-so for flying, but I didn’t try to go particularly fast.

I change to the Wave Lord form and check how fast I can go. This is almost perfectly flat water with only small waves, but I reach speeds where I need magic to comfortably see. In fact, with these speeds traveling by water is viable. I should assume I won’t be able to go quite as fast on open sea with waves and all, though.

One test done, I turn my attention to the telepathic bond to the pack. Without the [Pack Leader(non-beast)] class, the feeling is slightly muted, but the one to Tåke is still strong. They appear to be quite far, so I should fly to get to them.

I could run in the Direwolf form, but my ribs still hurt from slamming into a tree. While the tree was pretty small, it’s amazing I didn’t utterly crush my ribs, given how the tree itself snapped in two. Well, I am gradually strengthening my body with magic, and [Body Enhancement] helps as well.

Soon, I land and take on the Wolfkin form, not far from the wolves. There shouldn’t be anyone around here, so I absorb my clothes into a subspace crystal sphere and change to the Direwolf form. I hope I find a way to magically put my clothes back on before fall, or at least winter, sets in.

I attune to Mist, covering my approach to the pack. I’m not at the same level as the pack, but at least I won’t alert their prey. They are led by Tåke, who seems to be in high spirits today, and seem to be hunting a small herd of some deer-like creatures.

I fall in behind her, signalling that I leave leading the pack to her. We stalk through the woods, following the scent and tracks inevitably left by any group of creatures, hiding our approach and tracking the prey by a mix of magic and tactics melded together from mine and other human pack members’ rational minds and the wolves’ innate instincts and magic.

Several of the wolves, starting with Tåke, have learned other aspects and started learning magical abilities from humans. The magic sharing trick is great for that purpose, but it seems the wolves can’t quite understand the physics of magic. They seem to instinctively take to aspects, though, and at least they can sense mana.

It does not take long before we are close enough to see the prey, Mist-attuned eyes having almost no problems seeing through the illusions and fog we are covered in. They look like what I imagined them to from the telepathic pack bond. In fact, they look very familiar.

Aren’t these [Thorn-Antler Deer]? A quick non-mana [Inspect] tells me as such. There’s three bucks, two does and even a small calf. Ahh, it’s just a younger doe.

The pack spreads out as per Tåke’s telepathic commands. They work well between the wolves, but for someone used to words and abstract concepts, it can be a bit confusing. I’m still not used to it, and I have been around and interacted with them for quite some time by now.