Plans are forming, people are moving, and as I work down a list of potential allies that I need to meet and consider. People that may be willing to work alongside me, whether that means with resolutions in the Grand Council, as trade partners, or in some other way that may be meaningful to my developing city.

I can’t let time slip from my hands, and I’m no longer slowed by my human limitations, so rather than doing things one at a time, I’ve condensed my schedule down working on half a dozen things at once. Thus, while running through potential political allies, and how I might approach them, I’m also training hard with Eshya, working to adapt my combat abilities.

These combat course classes haven’t been as interesting lately, none of the teachers have gotten themselves killed, and the rest of our classmates are all keeping to themselves. It’s mostly just a good chance to train ourselves with some advice from an experienced Unified States certified teacher.

Eshya is my fighting partner and she’s not going easy on me, few others in the class can keep up with the two of us, and the arena fights against beasts are an uncommon event that offers little for us at our current skill level. A few others watch as we fight, the teacher in particular is focused on us.

I deflect Eshya’s sword, leaning in and punching for her gut but she’s faster, leaning to the side and twisting her sword around on me. Even without a large windup her sword techniques can do real damage, very easily.

I shield myself, cast force magic on her blade to slow its approach, and step back with an extra shove from my forceful new magic. Her slowed strike misses me, and she sets her feet ready to respond while waiting for my next move.

Vii flutters down from above sending blades of wind at the both of us, I step around the first few, but as I focus on them Eshya charges me. She uses her sword to deflect a few of the wind blades that come for her before thrusting right at me, the blade moves faster than should be possible. I block the first, with a tight mana shield, but the second hits before I can react to it.

The bruising blow would be enough to end the fight, assuming she was using lethal techniques, but we fight on regardless. I summon a simple force magic spell and shove her away while pushing myself back from her.

The new magic is already changing my fighting style, normally some attacks or movements would leave me vulnerable as I recover—Quite simply, relying on your limbs to move limits a person, and you need to adjust stance and posture to move a new direction—Force magic bypasses all that by letting me shove myself whichever direction I want, whenever I want, regardless of my footing or stance.

“I might want to work on force magic, too. How expensive is it?” Eshya says, looking me up and down. She’s still a little grumpy from yesterday, she doesn’t want me stressing over issues that could be better solved with the simple application of violence, but she hasn’t brought the issue back up again since.

“It’s still a bit mana heavy.” I reply, checking the numbers.

“That’s because you’re still using magic brutishly.” She smirks, shaking her head. “It hurts watching you just shove everything about.”

“Well, hurry up and learn how to use it yourself so that you can show me how to use it properly, then.” I say, force pushing myself into a rapid charge.

The mana I’m burning isn’t much compared to my ordinary casting tactics, but what I’m learning from the information attached to the Skill is that most users burn so little mana that it won’t even show in their density numbers. Utilising mana drain I can still fight indefinitely, so I’m more focused on empowering my use of force magic rather than refining it to prevent wastage.

After some more back and forth, interrupted Vii’s wind blades, I manage to grab onto Eshya’s arm and pull her into a grapple. This close I can pull at a person’s mana, or their support device, it’s practically a win for me, but Eshya’s already scored the same on me half a dozen times.

We continue to struggle for a little while, but while Eshya’s moves are more fluid and precise, I retain the power advantage, having recovered from the mana I’ve spent on adapting myself. After some grappling, I have her restrained on the ground, sitting on her back and holding her hands in place. She’s breathing heavy beneath me, sweat dripping from her forehead. I lean down over her.

“My win this time.” I whisper.

“I had you half a dozen times.” Eshya grumbles, standing back up and waving her sword around, practicing her strikes.

“Not without using killing techniques.” The teacher says. Freid looks more bedraggled than ever before, and he seems like his eyes are sinking into his face. “You should be working on more non-lethal techniques.”

“They’re not necessarily lethal, they’re disabling.” Eshya says, defending herself. “Targeting powerful enemies in their limbs and blowing them off, is a reasonable tactic.”

“It will frequently end in death via mana shock.” He replies. “There are other techniques that match your fighting style, disabling techniques that will allow you to inhibit healing and recovery. It obviously must be limited to disabling attacks, but it would work well in your hands.”

“I guess.” Eshya admits, “I’ve been more focused on other techniques.” Still she looks eager as she looks into the relevant Skills that she’s got stored in her mind, just the same as the rest of us.

Vii and I continue our sparring in the meantime, she tries to stay unreachable above me while I try to leap up at her with no success, all the while I have to watch carefully all around me for her invisible blades of wind. She’s taken to curving them in the air, and even warping them in strange ways that don’t quite seem natural.

My ‘combat awareness’ Skill is getting some exercise from it all, but I’m finding out just how difficult it can be to focus all my attention on the space around me. When I focus on myself, I have a bad habit of relying on my own direct senses rather than using my ‘Eye’s of an Empire’ Skill. What good is it having eyes in the back of your head if you keep them closed?

I’m sure I can incorporate my mind reading into this, reading the shallow thoughts in a foe’s mind would surely help me stay a step ahead, but the amount of focus that takes is just another leap beyond what I’m currently figuring out. Even my recently adapted senses are providing more information than I’m ready to process, and while it’s surprisingly easy to ignore most of it sorting through everything and finding the dozen different spells coming for me is much more challenging.

We continue to exercise for a while longer, practicing our Skills and developing fast enough that Fried is rubbing his head in worry and frustration. A glance towards Adler and Sedena proves enough to keep him from giving us any more warnings, however.

The lesson doesn’t drag on for long, and most of it is spent fighting and thinking. I have a better idea of who I need to get to know in the underworld dungeon. I just need to schedule some meetings to get to know them and hopefully hash out some agreements, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Today, we have a meeting set up with some of our classmates from the space magic class. What we have planned is serious enough that we’re bringing everyone along with us just in case there’s trouble. As much trouble as Sedena can cause, I’d rather have her in sight while we figure this out.

Fried growls out a few words to us, breaking up the class. His ordinary speeches and outward character appreciably decayed since the first time we met the man. I guess all the trouble I’ve stirred is having more effects than I planned. I’ve killed and kidnapped his fellow teachers, and inspired attention from welfare officers that stole some of his students who never returned.

I feel bad for the man, but it’s not like I can do much for him unless he wants to permanently leave his life behind to join our struggle in the dungeon below this world.

Our dispirited and depressed classmates scatter when relieved from class. The kidnapping of Alo and Vice seems to have had a lasting effect on them too, and I can’t even see any of them speaking among themselves anymore. The trouble I’ve stirred has given them a close view of how bad the Unified States can be… which, depressingly enough, still isn’t as awful as other civilisations I’ve seen.

“Where are these students of yours?” Eshya asks. “And will I need to get violent?”

“No violence needed, unless things really go bad for us out of nowhere.” I say. “They’re just this way. They moved into one of the uninhabited homes over near the markets so that they can all study together.”

“It could be trouble if the welfare officers find out about these new devices that are resistant to collars.” Vii says, turning towards our two welfare officers. “Or would it? Aren’t you guys basically just programmed to do your jobs? I’m not sure you can really respond if people can’t be collared. Won’t you just freak out, or something?”

“We’d likely just supress you with violence, or have you put down.” Sedena replies with a shrug. “I don’t think they’ll get anyone more dangerous involved.”

“So, it’s not too bad, we just have to work on recruiting them.” Vii mumbles.

“I’m still figuring that part out.” I grumble as we get close to arriving.

“Why’s that?” Eshya asks, raising a brow. “You’ve never had trouble before.”

“They’re trying to find a way to fit into this society, not escape it. Some of them might be willing to join us, but many of them still have hope for surviving in the Unified States.” I explain. “Meanwhile, out of those who’ve ‘chosen’ to follow me I have the freed slaves, the lizard vampires running from their own world, and a swarm of gremlins that only work for me because I killed their last boss.”

“I guess that’s not an option for these students?” Eshya asks, jokingly. “You can’t just kill the teacher and take over the class, can you?”

“I imagine not.” I snort. “Might work for one lesson, but after that…”

Standing at the doorstep of the large apartment complex, I give it a heavy knock to get their attention. I can already see inside, at least the rooms where the students are currently studying and discussing the principles and theories underpinning the manipulation of space. Most of them are tired, almost completely worn down to nothing.

“Hi, you’re here.” The familiar young man welcomes us in. “Everyone is excited for this chance, you said that you can help us figure things out?”

“Yep!” Vii says, waving her wing out before her and summoning a tiny little grape from out of nowhere, laughing at the sight of the young man’s expression.

“H-how?!” He cries at the sight, wide eyes open as he tries to take in the sight before him. “A trick?”

“No, a talent.” I say, grabbing Vii from behind and squeezing her tight. “My lovely little birdy has a talent that bridges into space magic and is just now figuring out how to make it work.”

Vii blushes in my arms, but her smile doesn’t fade even a little.

Space and time are related in ways that I’m still figuring out, but it seems that Vii’s talent for time manipulation has led to a rather rapid development into the field space magic. She’s still limited, but considering that most space mages rely on enchantments alone, the fact that she can just cast a spell from the top of her mind is already offensively fast development in this type of magic.

“That’s… incredible.” The man says, staring down at Vii who’s wearing the most smug smile I’ve seen on her since the last time she used her space magic which was, of all things, late at night just before we were ready to fall asleep.

It costs enough mana that she can’t just freely teleport around like Arduelle tends to do, but she is learning terrifyingly fast.

“Let’s take this inside.” I say, pushing him back into the house. “We can’t get you to her level of talent, but we do have something that will help you out quite a lot.”

“Right away then.” He says, straightening up and leading us out towards the living room. He calls out ahead and gets everyone gathered for us, and before long we’ve got all of the class, except for the stuck-up elf, right here with us.

There are people of all sorts gathered here before us, and I have no doubt that they have many different thoughts and ideas of what’s right and wrong. Most of them are running from a future that they don’t want to be forced into, and that’s enough to bring them together. It’s enough to make me want to help them, even though they’re not my responsibility.

“You’re all familiar with support devices, I’m sure.” I say, receiving countless nods, and nod-adjacent behaviour that Chip explains for me. “The man who added quite a number of functionality to the technology has managed to develop a further improvement on the design, but unfortunately he wasn’t permitted to spread it through proper means.”

I go on to explain exactly what the upgrade is capable of bringing to the table, including how it’s helped me and Vii to improve our understanding of magic. I show off my force magic, and Vii her space magic, and that’s enough to get them clambering for the upgrades. Even with the warning that they need to be extra careful with avoiding beastly behaviour, they don’t hesitate a moment.

More and more I feel like I’m acting like a salesman for this thing, trying to con the monarchy and the republic into adopting it while trading me favours for the privilege. I guess it’s not a bad feeling to have something that others want, but it would be more satisfying if I was hawking my own product instead of sharing what someone else made.

“Now, the one thing that I want to ask in return, is access to whatever developments you make on the space magic Skills.” I say. “I want us all to share these Skills with one another and learn and grow together.”

“Of course!” The friendly man from before shouts. “You don’t even need to ask, of course we’re going to learn together. It’s so amazing that we now can do that.”

“Then I’ll get to upgrading your brain-chips then.” I say, lifting some knockout potions from my bag.

Turning to my lovely assistant, I lower my voice to a whisper. “Say, Vii… is it supposed to be this easy? I feel like I could just knock them all out and sell their kidneys or something.”

“Well, I don’t think that sort of thing happens much here.” Vii hedges. “Outside of the beast-taming prison/farm thing, I mean.”

“Yeah, outside of that things are fairly peaceful and nice up here.” I say. “I hope I can one day make my city half as nice, but without the-”

“Murder farm, where we eat people if they misbehave?” Vii asks.

“Yeah, that.”

Eshya is walking back and forth in the back of the room, while we get things organised for the students to get their support devices changed over. She’s clearly growing frustrated about something whatever she’s thinking about. Vii goes to settle her down while I work.

I need to set aside some time for her, I don’t want to be the spouse/parent that’s always at work and never there when I’m needed. I just have to get through this one more thing.

Then the meetings with the cavern leaders.

Then the development of the Academy.

Then killing god…

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Stats and Skills

~Mana Form:

Current mana density: 39,300 / 60,892 units

Current mana volume: 19,535 / 30,269 shards

Mana volume at crystallisation density (Max. mana volume):

Kyra: 30,269 shards

Kyra’s armour: 20,777 shards

Kyra’s throne: 1,109,298 shards

~Forms

Mana Canon

-Annihilation Heart (Adapted)

-Blood Fuel (Adapted)

-Bone Magic Storage (40,000 mana shards)

-Nail Shifters (50,000 mana shards)

Dancer

-Flash Nerves (Adapted)

-Quick Perception Mind (Adapted)

-Burst Reflex Muscles (35,000 mana shards)

-Layered space Muscles (80,000 mana shards)

Turtle

-Rebinding Tissue (Adapted)

-Catalyst Sweat Glands (140,000 mana shards)

-Repulsive Skin (80,000 mana shards)

-Prehensile hair (10,000 mana shards)

-Fatty Tissue Blood Storage (100,000 mana shards)

Investigator

-Wide eyes (Adapted)

-Wide ears (Adapted)

-Sharp nose (Adapted)

Misc.

-Clean bowels (Adapted)

~Favourited Skills:

Magic:

-Annihilation Magic (Customised)

-Fire Magic (Functional)

-Space magic (Broken)

-Force magic (Functional)

-Ice magic (Broken)

-Wind magic (Broken)

Movement:

-Hand-to-hand casting (Functional)

-Mana surge movement (Functional)

-Stealth (Functional)

Senses:

-Eyes of an Empire (Customised)

-Combat Awareness (Functional)

-Watchmen (Functional)

-Hidden bug (Mastered)

-De-tagging (Mastered)

-Anti-stealth sight (Mastered)

Special:

-Spirit Transformation (Broken)

-Conformity (Broken)

-Training mana form (Functional)