Peril's Origin - A Magical Girl Quest [Complete]

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You are technically not obligated to help out, but getting a lay of the land sounds like a good idea. Though you have to hope for the best in finding Orux' group; you rather not go with a squad full of strangers if you can prevent it.

That aside, even considering the early hour, you know the morning patrols will head out soon. You have to run if you want to catch them in time. Or...

Your gaze falls onto the by now familiar rune on the ground. Elisabeth said you could use them now, that they let you teleport to any other rune around the base. It is so easy that even Paoras can easily do it, so you figure you might as well try.

A pair of Demons offers you to go before them with polite nods, which you return with a moment of hesitation. People being all respectful is still new to you. If only they had not and gone away so a potential failure would be without audience.

You close your eyes for a moment as you step onto the rune; a feeling of movement immediately falls onto you, though you stand still. Destinations appear before your mind's eye, faintly bringing with them their names and a glimpse of the surroundings. You pull at the one that leads to the barracks, and then you are there.

You quickly make room for others that trickle in after you; there are some surprised looks from people around you, but no one bothers you. The squad you are looking for is nearby, too; they are still gathering... and Orux is there already, that is good. You walk over to them, aware of the fact they notice you quickly. Their commander turns to face you as well, and you make your way over to him.

"Do you mind if I tag along today?" You almost add a justification, but feel that is unnecessary as long as he does not ask. And as expected, the Demon simply nods after looking you over for a moment. So you nod back, discreetly bite your tongue as Maya taught you, and trot over to wait next to Orux.

He stays quiet until the remaining two Demons are there and everyone got going. Then he asks you the question you already expected: "Is there a particular reason for this?"

You shrug at him, knowing that some others are listening in. "I figured I might as well make myself useful for a bit. Getting a look around the area is a bonus." Your words are mulled over as you slowly leave the township, the Demons with their longer legs making you walk more quickly than you normally would.

"It is the opposite order, is it not?" He asks almost cautiously, having waited until those around you began their own conversations. You figured you did not fool him, but nod slowly in response. No need to lie here.

He simply nods and motions for the mountainside in the distance, the one you are walking away from. "This is Metatron's Divide, the greatest landmark you will find nearby. A valley leads right through its center, allowing troop movements and transportation. Scaling it is... difficult at best."

You nod and listen curiously as he tells you of the vast plains and forests in the direction you are headed, as well as the near lakes and other interesting things. It is nice of him to tell you all that stuff.

"Look how respectful he got," you hear one of the other Demons stage-whisper at the side; it is followed by quiet laughter from the rest. Orux eyes them for a moment, but does not say anything. You feel that there is something bigger at play here, but probably know too little to understand what it is.

Orux ignores the jabs for a while and the others stop them one by one. A single Demon seems to pass the line however, seeing that he punches that one in the face; the other one grumbles and slinks away. The others nod understandingly and you try to figure it out in retrospect.

It says a lot that this did not really affect you much. Not after walking by at least half a dozen fistfights every day for the last week.

After he made his 'statement', Orux is back to explaining things to you without even breaking stride. That is a little impressive by itself. You keep listening for a little longer, the squad scaring off a few small critters as it marched but never really finding anything dangerous.

"So," you use the few moments he is quiet, immediately gaining his attention. "I thought discipline is supposed to be a little higher. This is just..." You point at how most of them are talking and joking with each other. "It feels more like an outing instead of a patrol."

He shrugs at that. "That's how it always was. Everything goes as long as we stay attentive."

You wonder if that is a good or a bad idea, but really do not care much for the answer. Ultimately, once there is no more to learn about the countryside, you become rather bored rather quickly. Nothing happens and, according to Orux, that is a good thing. No encounters means no enemies in their sector.

Though some others complain about not getting anything to fight again, which spawns a discussion about what kind of wildlife is best for letting off steam when encountered. You quietly stay out of that.

The squad returns somewhere around noon, leaving you to say goodbye and head out. Nothing spectacular happened, but you think the monotony and friendly interaction helped clear your head a little.

And for lunch, you already know where to go.


"Oh, come in, sweetie."

You enter the familiar office to find Maya, just as usual. She is not alone today, though; with her is an Elf, the first one you have ever seen. They really do look a lot like humans, though their features are a little different; not to mention the pointed ears.

You try not to stare too much and get to sit, knowing he is looking you up and down as you walk; there is a friendly smile on his face, though. He nods at you once you are seated.

Maya introduces you while placing a plate of food in front of you without a care. "This is my husband, and Paoras' father."

You give him another look and a friendly nod while he does the same, bowing his head. "It's a pleasure, young lady. My dear speaks of you at length." Maya shoos him playfully and motions for you to dig in while she wanders around the room.

It was a little weird to do this at first, seeing how you are used to eating together; Maya does not seem to mind it, though. She feeds you every time she visits, and there is always a glass of milk waiting for you for some reason; it tastes well enough, so you do not complain.

As you start eating, the couple says their goodbyes and he leaves after receiving a kiss on the cheek, wearing a happy smile on his way out. You admit to yourself that this is weird, and cast a curious look at the Demon while pointing to where he just left. "So... an Elf?"

Maya chuckles sheepishly and wanders back... no, more waddles. You notice something is different about her, and barely believe your eyes when you spot what makes her movements so different. She sits behind her desk. "Well, he used to be a slave for a year or two. The Ashen Maiden procured him for me, and I worked on nursing him back to good health."

"...you know sex doesn't actually heal people?" You can not help but ask, and Maya barks out a laugh as you stuff another peace of juicy meat into your mouth.

"No, sweetie. It can help a little, though." She absently rubs over her swollen belly, which you already spotted earlier, and offers you a weak smile. "He is quite precious to me either way."

"Is that why he made you another kid already?" She really makes this too easy, but does not appear sheepish in the slightest now. You wait for her to speak while chewing.

Maya considers her words a little longer and starts to rub her belly again as she explains: "It's less that. I want as many children as I can have, Heidi. I think it helped him, too; having a gaggle of children to take care of takes his mind off of the past. It gives him something to do while I am at work." She smiles softly, eyes elsewhere. "This will be our seventh baby."

"About that," you chime in there, reminded of the matter. "Paoras said she is ten months old. Elven children don't grow that quickly, do they? How does that work?" The answer is most likely magic, but you are curious nonetheless.

The Demon opens her mouth to answer, but stays quiet for a long moment. Then she relaxes a little more into her chair. "My personal power is to deliver children much faster. They are born within a month, and grow to adulthood much, much faster." The loving smile she has almost makes you feel envious of Paoras. "My darling girl is ten months old, but her body is that of a ten-year-old. She will reach biological maturity soon."

"She doesn't act like it, though," you point out and receive a nod.

"That is true." Maya motions for her unborn child with a faint smile. "Their mental growth is much quicker than that of normal children, but not nearly as fast as their physical growth. If Paoras is any indication, I think she will remain childlike for a few years; everything she needed to function came quickly, but the rest still takes a while. She is not a toddler in an adult's body," Maya cautions you. "She can take care of herself. But please do take care of her for your stay, whenever you find the time."

The plea is delivered more like a gentle request, and you see no reason to decline, so you nod. Maya smiles and thanks you happily. Then however, her expression falls a little. "It was great luck that I had this chance," she mutters more to herself. Once she realises what she said and that you are giving her a curious look however, she sighs and elaborates: "Halfbreeds are... well, not disliked in our society. Before I met my husband, wanting children made me carry three that were fully demonic to term."

Maya frowns and gives you a searching look, then continues: "I came here to protect them, mostly. Hell is not a good place when you are not a 'properly born' Demon. No, scratch that. It's just even worse than usual." She shakes herself and you have a feeling you do not want to imagine the kind of problems that would face.

Demons are not normally born from pregnancies; they are created when a promise is broken. The more powerful the promise, the stronger the Demon. You can see how a 'unnaturally' born Demon would face trouble in such a society.

Though this taught you something new, aside from the fact your friend is a half-Elf. "I had no idea two Demons can get children the... uh, the normal way." She shrugs again and you drop the matter; it is not really something you want to talk about in detail, anyway.

Considering how her powers manifest and what she does, though... "You're a Succubus, aren't you?"

That makes Maya eye you again, one eyebrow rising slowly. "I am. What tipped you off?"

You avert your eyes, blushing a little. "Well, where I'm from a Succubus is a sex-demon, so..."

"Ah." She chuckles and waves you off, apparently having understood what you were meaning to say. "That's not entirely accurate, but close enough. We form from strong promises related to love, such as marriage vows." She does not elaborate, and the way she shakes her head when you make to ask what hers was tells you this is not a good topic to bring up.

Without something else to ask, you quietly eat your food while Maya works; the silence is not even bothersome.

And afterward, the Succubus takes you back to practice holding back the scathing replies; you have to admit, she is good at acting like a bitch.


It is the late afternoon by the time you leave Maya's office. Your day is almost over and you feel like having some fun for a bit. As much as playing with highly dangerous magical glyphs can be fun.

Which is exactly what you do: get yourself some scrap wood and metal plates before finding a quiet corner where nobody is and writing some arrays. You have one shoot a shower of glittering sparks every time you charge it, another that makes ominous winds blow through the hallway, away from you of course, and so on.

You are careful, meticulously preparing arrays and actualising them only after triple-checking each little exercise of yours, but it is fun.

When you picked up Brand Craft, and Magic Binary by extension, you mainly did it because it is one of your father's passions. You were curious why he liked it so much. Seeing him do magic like this inspired you, and you made array after array to show him back then.

Now that you can make them work yourself, you truly feel what he must feel every day: joy. It is not just work, there is actual joy in composing something that can do anything you want it to, if only you pay good attention to it.

Hours must have passed by the time you realise how many you made; all overall useless, but fun and nice. Though turning your little corner into a winter wonderland complete with snow might have been a little much.

Also, there is a Dark Star floating nearby.

You quickly get up while Epsilon Aaron's eyes wander over the different effects you created; he pays special attention to what you now realise is an arctic wind from the cold being caught in the breeze. Yet, even though this is probably not to regulations, you do not feel like saying sorry. Nobody got hurt and you enjoyed yourself.

"I have been observing you for a while," the Dark Star tells you with a curious note. "While I can not read your script, it is obvious you put much attention into ensuring a proper procedure and array. Who taught you to be so thorough?"

You blink at them, the choice of topic unexpected. "My father did." You have to wait for a bit while Epsilon Aaron looks over the snow-array, expression too alien to be readable.

"I see. Your progenitor is what you call a Practitioner as well, then?" You nod, wondering what the other being is getting at. "Certainly a well-educated one, I can see. Many young fools believe they can cut corners once they achieved a certain experience, then end themselves with a single mistake. It is refreshing to see you are not one of that group."

That is two compliments, at least. You never took Dark Stars for a crowd that was this flattering without a good reason, and you know that this one is not being polite out of fear. He could squish you like a bug.

What they say next is quite telling in that regard: "It is unfortunate that you refused to study under me. I am quite curious which heights of the arcane you could reach." It is still a surprise, though.

"You wanted to be my teacher? I heard you're pretty busy, so I didn't expect that...." You do not speak the part about this one being high up the totem pole; Epsilon Aaron is head of R&D on the frontier, and, as you found out, several hundred years old. He is a powerful Dark Star.

"I could have made time," he deflects your explanation without a care. "Time will tell whether your choice was correct." Then his eyes turn to you in earnest. "Though you may still change your mind."

Your own eyes narrow, but he raises one armless sleeve to stop you. "I am not here to convince you right now. With what I heard of her however, I believe you may wish not to remain under her tutelage for long. Just remember that you have the option."

They leave with those words and you quietly consider scowling at their back, but think better of it. Whoever this person is, you will show them that you do not give up just like that.

...

Though it is only now that you realise they knew who will teach you, and that you let them go without actually asking about it.

That leaves you curious way into the night. Even then however, you feel better and lighter as you fall into a peaceful slumber.


By the time you wake, the Imp is already back with breakfast. You talk to him a little over your meal and then get going with a slight spring in your step. He gave you a message that another Imp will fetch you once it is time. Your... trainer will be expecting you around noon, on top of the central spire.

Now that you can use the runes, that journey will not even tire you out before you even get there!

With a few hours to spend however, you decide to take a stroll around the base. Even if it is a cold morning in Spring, people are out and about as usual, though no one you recognise. Until you walk by Orux, at least; he notices you a moment later and lowers his head in greeting as you wave.

The two of you soon wander about together, though you are a little confused. "Shouldn't you be on patrol?" It is late enough for that, you are rather sure.

He nods. "Yes, normally I would be." A large hand motions for the direction of the barracks. "Something weird happened further outside, though. The scout commanders are planning who to send and how to change the timetables. Or rather," he adds with a glance at you, "who they can bully into going first."

You raise an eyebrow at that, but he does not correct himself. Well, that is quite telling.

"So all the others are killing time, too?"

"Quite. Were you wishing to join us again?"

He is curious about that, and so are you. It was a nice experience, but ultimately pretty boring in your opinion. Either way, you have an excuse: "I can't, sorry. They start giving me lessons today." He grunts in understanding and does not say any more of the matter. A little weird, but that may just be the demonic thing to do.

Unfortunately, him not knowing that probably means people generally were not told who your teacher is; you still have to wait until you can find out.

"I am sure you will do well," Orux offers after a few moments. This gets a surprised look from you, but his encouragement does manage to bring out a smile as well.

"Thanks, I'll try." And you will, would have done it either way, but it feels nice that he at least appears to care.


You talk to your friend (?) a while longer until he has to leave; he gives you a slap on the back as he goes. "Good luck." It is meant as encouragement and well-tempered, but you still stumble forward a little. Neither of you acknowledges the matter, though; you just nod and bid Orux goodbye.

You spend the rest of the morning strolling around the place and getting a light lunch; you remember that you are not supposed to eat directly before gym class, so it is probably better not to get started on something similar here.

An Imp fetches you a little later and leads you over a path you admittedly know already; seeing that they already sent someone to bring you there however, you keep quiet about that.

The air warmed a little as morning passed, but it is still cold; being as far up as the top of the central spire means it is even colder; you shiver a little in your dress, quietly thanking Maya for the thick cloth.

The Imp quickly runs off once you step foot on the solid stone floor. No one is up here at the moment, except for a single person.

She stands quietly, her ash-coloured hair floating in the breeze. Her regal features are expressionless; calm eyes take in your entire appearance, age and an inner fire burning in a gaze that almost makes you flinch. She does not speak, the long silver staff in her hands held lightly. Its head is a cross, and tattered black cloth covers her ashen skin.

You never saw an Angel before, but this is most definitely one. She looks nowhere as friendly as those on TV, sizing you up as you think these thoughts; her wings are pitch black and she has three of them.

Only at a second glance do you realise that her third wing is not, in fact, a normal wing. It grows in place of a right arm, a little longer and thinner than the other two; she has no right arm.

A feeling of dissonance rests over you, all goodness forsaken in this being's presence.


You think you have seen her before, a week or so ago. Not that you can say for sure with how fast the person back then was moving in the air.

The Angel steps toward you, making you almost flinch again; then you rein yourself in and step forward as well. She is intimidating, but so are most of the people around here based on looks.

Most others here, however, only have a head or two on you. This one is almost twice your size. You know Angels are normally around three metres tall, but this is the first time you really see the difference. You actually have to look far up to keep seeing her face, your own head about the height of her belly button. If Angels have those, that is.

There is no confusion here; she gives you a single nod once you stand in front of each other. Her voice is deep and cold as she commands: "Display your powers."

For a moment, you feel like being contrarian and just walking away; this instinct is quelled, though you can not help but frown. You need these lessons, and she has to instruct you for them, as much as you hate that. Though the Dark Star's words make a lot more sense now.

Taking a deep breath, you call out your transformation phrase and feel the familiar surge of resistance to all that looms over you, figuratively and literally: "As stolen flame sets fate ablaze, I rise as Magical Girl Defiance!" Light envelops you and you transform. For a moment, you think you see some kind of change on the Angel's face, but it vanishes before you can guess what it is. She is back to the calm expression when the light dies down.

You stare at each other for long moments, long enough for you to realise that she apparently expects something else. Though you are not sure, what. "Uh, am I supposed to do something?"

A dark eyebrow rises slightly, the expression quite reminiscent to what you tend to give others; it makes you even angrier to get that kind of look from someone else. "I asked you to display your powers, not to change your wardrobe." You blink at that, confused how she can be so uncaring for the new experience. "How am I to gauge your current level of skill, strength, and speed if you do not let me experience it?"

That... that makes sense. And if she is already offering to let you hit her? Why not? You allow yourself a feral grin and snap the Handle into its first mode, then dart toward her and swing the sword for her center.

(Stardust Striker: +225 Base Damage, +181 dice = 406 Total Damage

Attack negated.)

She pushes it aside with her arm-wing, a handful of feathers enough to make your momentum carry the strike past her side; you stumble a few steps and turn around, scowling at the nonplussed Angel. Instead of attacking again, considering that she wants to see everything, you call for "Conundrum!"

(Conundrum: +375 Base Boost, +70 dice = 445 Bonus Resilience)

Spiteful magic bubbles from your skin and forms armour, floating calmly as you hold Stardust Striker. Your opponent eyes the defenses curiously, but remains standing where she is. Her cross has not even moved yet, still held right below the head.

You dash in again, flicking your weapon into its next form and spinning it against her in an almost fluid movement.

(Stygian Tempest: +70 Base Damage, +104 dice, +70 Ray Trigger, +112 dice = 356 Total Damage

Attack Negated)

Yet she only takes a step aside and gives your arm a light push with that wing to make you swing past her entirely, the spin's momentum carrying you further without a chance to correct your course.

As you whirl around, you have your weapon switch to Aetheric Tide; it feels like the best fit for such an opponent, but you can already guess how it will go. Your teacher's expression is still the same as when you started; oh, how much you want to punch her right now.

You grind your teeth and charge again, already knowing the outcome.

(Aetheric Tide: +120 Base Damage, +129 dice = 249 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +120 Base Damage, +129 dice = 249 Total Damage

498 Unified Damage

Attack negated.)

You stab for her twice in rapid succession, and this time she moves her staff; each jab slides off of it and misses her body. This time, you use the second miss to improve your swing and switch forms in the moment it takes to bring the weapon around, a victorious smirk on your lips.

(Reaper's Will: +100 Base Damage, +20 dice, +50 Additional Momentum = 170 Total Damage

Dispel negates damage.

Attack negated.)

You can see her eyes narrow at the sight of your lightsaber, the weapon design obviously foreign to her. This time she moves and parries the weapon with her cross... except that the blade completely vanishes the moment it comes in contact with it. You miss again and move to step back, your weapon returning, but your previous recklessness left the Angel in your guard.

You can see the staff lash out in perfect clarity, but your body moves far too slow to even attempt to dodge...

(Riposte triggers!

Blood Soaked Cross: +5000 Base Damage, dice suppressed, +3333 Horrific Speed Gap, +1000 Exploited Opening, -8500 Trying Not to Kill You = 833 Total Damage
Defiance: +100 Base Resilience, +11 dice, +445 Conundrum Dispelled, -20 Wide Open = 91 Total Damage Reduction

742 Final End Damage

Defiance Health: 300 - 742 = -442
Ouch)

Conundrum's shroud disperses without so much as slowing the polished metal and her staff rams into your stomach, sending you flying back a full metre as pain explodes all through your body; you roll over the ground and curl up, barely able to breathe for a few seconds.

(Blood Soaked Cross: Defiance's Health resets)

But then something soothes the pain, a cold touch snuffing out the burning sensation. You take a shaky breath and keep lying on the ground, unwilling to get up just yet.

That woman barely moved throughout your entire assault; you were outplayed effortlessly, not even able to land a single hit on her. Even that one strike she made herself, you could tell how much she held back.

So this is how someone actually powerful fights.

You can hear her feet tapping softly on the ground and roll over to look up at her as she comes to stand in front of you. Her expression remains as it was, the arm-wing quietly wrapping around her waist while she speaks: "I do hope your heightened potential for growth was not an exaggeration. You have none of what I am to teach you, and it would take decades at least to shape any Demon or Angel from where you are now."

You listen and agree, but scowl at her nonetheless. "Wow, thanks. I suck, tell me something I didn't know." It is both your own frustration about being a Story Maker and just having been beaten so thoroughly speaking. When the Angel frowns however, you clamp down on it; it is really not a good idea to be an ass to someone who wipes the floor with you like that.

"To your feet." You do as told; the floor is cold anyway. Once you are up however, your teacher motions for your weapon; you dropped it earlier. "Run through each weapon's basic stances."

You follow her instructions for now, curious where this is going. As you do, going through each stance on instinct and switching once you have them all, the Angel begins to... muse: "You possess little strength, which I doubt will change. Yet your speed is adequate in comparison... hm. Deflecting and parrying, much like my own style, ought to do well for you."

You frown at that and eye her a little curiously. "And how do I do that without strength?"

She stays quiet until you finished the last set with Reaper's Will, then motions for the lightsaber. "I was told you are quite young; as such, your grasp of the basics is quite formidable." Then she returns to your previous question while motioning for herself. "Either way, you need little strength if the technique is appropriate. Instead of facing stronger opponents head-on, you shall divert the force of their strikes and prevent them from bringing their strength to bear. Return to your sword and strike at me, slowly."

Now you are more than just a little curious and do as told, switching your weapon to Stardust Striker and walk toward her. She remains still and you slowly, oh so slowly, telegraph your attack.

In turn, she also begins to move; you watch as her staff is brought in position to catch your sword. It's obvious at this speed; the way your weapon hits, it will slide down the smooth shaft of hers. She already angled it in a way that will redirect the strike to pass by her without so much as a single touch. "I see it."

You complete your slow swing, finding that it happens exactly as you already thought. The other woman nods at you. "This will be the base of what I am to teach you. Remember it well." You do not respond, but she does not seem to expect an answer anyway. Her weapon returns to its regular position and so does yours.

After that, she has you run through basic combat sequences; sword swings, spinning your scythe, regular swings, stabbing, overhead strikes, and so on. She has you do every single motion ten times, uncaring for the fact most of them are already a part of the set of instincts and muscle memory you got with the transformation.

"These are your basics, that on which everything else is built. Never stop practicing them, never forget their importance; they will see you through many hardships where a more elaborate technique might be your downfall." You nod slowly, not quite understanding what she means with that.

She then goes on to teach you about distance; the way you have to watch your own reach and that of your opponent. Due to your size, she explains, most enemies will have a higher reach than you. That means whenever you attack them, they will also have a means to attack you.

"It is not as much of a problem for you, though," she explains while hoisting up her cross. "Due to the size of most weapons, if you can stay clear of sweeping attacks, it will be difficult to hit you while you are inside their guard. If you grow faster, you can likely dance around most enemies bigger than yourself. Stay alert of those faster than you, though."

She has you run a few basic sequences about that, too. By the time she is done with all the 'basics', the sun is already sinking.

"This late already... very well, one last lesson for today." Your teacher eyes you carefully, but you motion for her to wait and quickly refresh your transformation again. You did that a few times over the afternoon, unwilling to risk whatever happens once it runs out. A flash of light and you are back in your transformation, her expression unchanged... wait.

Your identity protection didn't do anything earlier, did it?

"Is something the matter?"

Apparently, your confusion was noticed. You vaguely motion for yourself. "This, my magic, it should stop people from recognising me and my transformed state as the same person. It didn't work on you earlier." And not on anyone else in the last week, you realise.

The Angel tilts her head slightly, then shakes it. "It did not. However, there is a limit to all magical power, no matter how potent. There is only one... human on this world, in this entire LDC even. A single Magical Girl also. It easily follows that your magic can not prevent the association in such a situation." She puts special emphasis on the unfamiliar terms, and you find yourself agreeing with that assessment.

Humans and Magical Girls are unknown everywhere; you are the only one of your kind. Who else could people think might be Magical Girl Defiance? "That makes sense, I guess..."

It is a little unfortunate, but the whole thing would not really help you anyway. You sigh and nod. "Okay, what's the next lesson?"

Surprisingly, you ended up enjoying this. Even with someone telling you what to do, getting better is something you like even under instructions. Especially under instructions, actually. You took especially to anything about deflection like a fish to water, and really hope it will be more of that kind.

Your teacher eyes you for a moment, then snaps out her weapon. The cross hovers in front of your face, a barely visible energy field coating it. "The last lesson is about your magic. With what I was told about your magical experience, you will make good use of it. Magic, even that with the same effect, can be brought forth in quite different ways."

Not just spells have a way to manifest; every single Ability on every weapon and spell has its own components and actualisation. This is what this system calls Soft Mechanics; they are how the Hard Mechanics, read the numbers and noted effects, work. They are the how.

You wonder what that has to do with her weapon being in your face, but nod and wait for her to continue.

"What you need to learn is to identify how your particular abilities work. How is it that you can stab me twice with that spear of yours where you could only stab once with your sword, how does this 'lightsaber' project its blade, in which way does your protective shroud manifest and what are its specific effects. All of these and more, you need to determine."

You blink at her and try to understand. You fail. "Okay. So... why do I need to find out about that? Isn't it enough that it works?"

Her response is a huff, perhaps the first notion of humour that you got from her so far; even if it is at your expense, you are mostly surprised by it. "Once you find how your magic works, you can get creative with it."

There are different and technically unintended ways to make use of a particular Ability's manifestation. This is commonly called Soft Mechanics Exploits, based on the fact a character learns how to use one effect for another purpose than originally intended. It is completely based on learning and practice and can not be improved by spending EXP.

When you remain unconvinced, she taps her cross and does something that has a wave of weirdness wash over you. "My weapon is covered in a magic-denying field. A single touch undoes all magical effects, barriers and the like. I can also utilise it in a larger surge."

The weapon is pulled back and now held in a guard-position. Your teacher smiles at you from in-between the cross-sections. It is a feral thing. "In this case however, the field is constantly active instead of just when I pulse it. My weapon can catch and undo even actual spells. Spellcasters are normally the most dangerous opponents to the style I teach you, but they have little power against me."

In mechanics, what she just said is that she has Dispel and Inhuman Skill. The latter allows her to negate incoming regular attacks, but not spells; those are too existentially heavy to be caught on a normal weapon. Thanks to her Dispel however, which is a constant anti-magic field on her weapon, she can skill-negate most spells just as easily.

That is incredibly useful; even you can tell as much. Spellcasting is often called a Magical Girl's trump card, and works similarly for most races. Being able to outdo spellcasters like that is a powerful improvement.

You start to see what she is getting at. "So I might have things like that, too?"

The Angel nods. "Yes. It will take meditation and thought, insight and practice, but you too will be able to achieve improvements. We will work these things out as well as I teach you the basics, but anything more outlandish will have to be practiced on your own time.

The exact mechanics of newly unlocked or upgraded parts of Heidi's kit are added after training with your teacher, or an additional practice-session. Either of the two unlocks soft mechanics exploits. Due to the fact your teacher mainly focusses on making you better at fighting, only voting for additional practice will allow Heidi to unlock her more useful exploits. A list of available techniques is now on the front page; not specifying will make Heidi practice whichever she wants to have. Every new exploit requires between one and two such actions, depending on its difficulty. Top-tier exploits will require more, depending on their difficulty and results.

It should be of note that while there is some trial and error involved, I am cutting this part from the mechanics side; Heidi will still be flailing around with ideas narratively, but it would be too much effort and exasperation to make the players trudge through the incredible number of potential ideas that will not work.

If the players believe they found an exploit that is not in the list but should be possible, they may notify the QM; if it is indeed deemed possible, it will be added ot the list.

With that, she sends you to bed.

And this was only the first day.


For the first week, your teacher has you train from noon to nightfall. You can not really do anything else with how hard she works you; even the two to three hours of meditating on your powers she throws in for you to relax your aching muscles are not enough of a rest. You are exhausted every day, falling into bed once she lets you go and getting up maybe two hours before the whole thing starts again.

On the tenth day, the Angel has you rest in the afternoon sun. Her expression has grown a little less grim and she studies you as you sit on the ground, soaked in sweat. "Quite impressive." When you look at her, still panting, she elaborates with a hint of a smile: "It is quite impressive that you are still at it. It will not get easier and you are quite young; I have to admit I did not expect you to persevere. It is a pleasant surprise."

Your breathing slows as you stare at her; this might be the most veiled compliment you ever got. Deep within you however, you are also pleased; staying the course is what you do, not quitting halfway through. "I made my choice, so I'm going to stay with it."

She nods appreciatively... though as you find out soon enough, that is not enough to make her go a little easier on you.

For the next three weeks, your teacher has you run through a nearly metric ton of what she calls 'basics' and you do not believe really is. Various forms of movement, quick steps, sidesteps, backsteps, when and how to respond to attacks, when and how not to respond, how to feint, and so much more. She only moves on from each after you internalised them, and even then you still have to practice your basics for an hour every day.

You like one technique in particular, taught to you during the third week; it is mainly meant to deal with spear-users and other types of weapons with a long-shaft, but can be used on basically every stabbing weapon. You take a while to get it right at your current speed, stepping sideways of the strike and pushing it down toward the ground with your hand or foot. It sets you up perfectly for a counter.

All in all, you end up falling in love with this type of fighting. It comes to you so easily, each new idea and movement understood and integrated.

An entire month passes before the Angel gives you a nod right before parting. "You are adequate in your capabilities now. Take a few days to recuperate from the strain, then we will move on to the more advanced techniques."

For once in your life, you are happy over being so exhausted; it fits with you so incredibly well that your body and soul sing whenever you learn more, you even have a few ideas for techniques of your own already. The fact your bright smile confuses your teacher is a nice bonus as you thank her.

What are you doing with your free time, though...

-------------

Pick Three:

[] Actually, your teacher seems like the kind of person to stay by herself all the time; you do not even know her name yet... time to remedy that!

[] Catch up with Maya and Paoras; what were they up to?

[] Orux and Dragul are in some kind of competition is what you heard, find out what that is about

[] Practice more, no time to be lying around
(can be taken multiple times, mark with x2 or x3)

[] Go see Mokutuuk


[]EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it


+20xp Met ???
+15xp A Most Demanding Teacher
+15xp Surpassed Her Expectations

EXP gained: 50
Total EXP: 65


(Unlocked Level 3 Character Sheet: Orux)
(Unlocked Level 2 Character Sheet: Maya)
(Unlocked Level 2 Character Sheet: Epsilon Aaron)
(Unlocked Level 2 Character Sheet: ???)
(Soft Mechanics and Exploits unlocked)

(New Shop-Items Unlocked)


Unlocked Soft Exploits:
-Attack Spread (Heidi can attack different enemies with each attack from Aetheric Tide's Double Hit)
-Quick-interrupt (Slip attacks in-between enemy movements to interrupt their own attacks)