Mana Based System - FoZ/Gamer

[minuseven]

Summary: <The Gamer> Lv1 Louise La Vallière

UNOFFICIAL TAGS: COMFORT WRITING, LAZY AUTHOR, NO GUARANTEES WHATSOEVER, MAKING THIS UP AS I GO, HALFWAY THOUGHT OUT MECHANICS, WAY MORE RESEARCH THAN I THOUGHT I WOULD BE DOING, THIS IS NOT THE STEALTH EDIT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

 

[minuseven]

««« LOAD 1 »»»​

Louise Françoise de La Vallière woke up.

Such was fortunately quite normal and yet, today, something about waking up was different. Perhaps it was the texture of the sheets, or the ceiling. A quick glance around revealed she was not in her room, as she should have. Instead, it seemed she was in the Healing Hall. It was alarming, particularly given that she could not remember why she was in the Healing Hall.

However, something else was different. She could not pinpoint what, but there was just something that felt slightly different.

"Ah, Miss Vallière!" Came the voice of Monsieur de Smet, the water mage in charge of the Healing Hall. "Awake at last."

Louise turned and opened her mouth to answer… and stared, slack-jawed.

Above the fast approaching man, a set of semi-transparent letters and numbers floated, declaring quite incomprehensibly:

<Magic Physician>
Lv26 Henry Smet​

"Miss Vallière?" The physician asked again, worried at the young lady's shock. "Is something wrong? Are you feeling any pain?"

Louise closed her mouth, too shocked to be embarrassed, and shook her head minutely. She took her eyes off the letters only to blink and check if she wasn't seeing things. But it appeared not. "Professor, what are those?" She asked as she pointed the words out.

"Those? What do you mean?" The professor turned around, looking for whatever had spooked his patient, but saw nothing out of place.

Louise couldn't believe it. Could he not see that? "Those letters, words! They are right above you!"

The water mage even gave a glance upwards, but could see nothing. Certainly not letters. Even more worried than before, he took out his wand and waved it over the teen. At a first glance, the fluid flow was fine. "I don't believe there's nothing there. Miss Vallière, how is your head?"

Whatever Louise was seeing, Monsier de Smet wasn't seeing. And then his question. What had happened. "My head? Was I injured?"

"It was just a bump Miss. But it's always worth to be thorough when it comes to the head. Would you look forward, please." He continued his examination. Louise stared right ahead as he proceeded to check her eyes, even using a spell to shine a light into her pupils. "Blink, please. Thank you. Does it hurt anywhere?"

"No. Not at all." She felt perfectly fine.

He sub-vocalized a spell and Louise heard just the slightest rumble in her ears. "Any dizziness or nausea?"

"No." In fact, she felt great, which made the fact that she was in the care of a water mage, seeing things, quite worrying.

"Very good. I can't see anything wrong." He put his wand away and paused, before crossing his hands behind his back. "What, what is the last thing you remember?"

"The last thing..." Louise furrowed her brow, trying to remember. She backtracked to the beginning of the day. She'd woken up and gotten ready fast. Because she had wanted to review the ritual a little more before the summoning. "The summoning..." She remembered now. They'd gone outside the walls to have space for the summons. Kirche had summoned a salamander. And Louise… had ended up on the Healing Halls. "I was at the Springtime Summoning Ceremony." Louise droned, teeth clenched.

She had failed, hadn't she? Her record was still… zero. Louise felt like crying, but she didn't. Pride was the last thing she had, and she would hold on to it tightly. Miraculously, she managed to keep the tears out of her eyes.

Monsieur de Smet sensed her mood and spoke gently. "It seems an explosion injured you. You were knocked unconscious. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to have been serious. Rest for now, and by evening I believe it will be safe to for you return to your rooms." She nodded and he asked her one last thing. "Do you still see those words?"

Louise paused minutely, then blinked and looked at a spot above his head. "No, just… a blotch, like the afterimage a candle's flame leaves when I close my eyes."

The healer smiled, relieved, and left, pulling a curtain to give her privacy. Above his head, those damned, nonsensical words still taunted Louise. The girl exhaled and settled back. The last thing she needed was people saying she was crazy.

There was a noise.

Louise opened her eyes to see a rectangle floating in front of her. It had the same ethereal texture as the words floating above Monsieur de Smet's head. However, instead of indicating a name, on the surface was written something that made even less sense.

By making several smart choices, your Wisdom has increased.
+1 WIS​

Tentatively, Louise reached out and touched a finger to the figment. It disappeared with another noise, softer and less loud. Louise observed the fingertip that had dismissed the illusion, remembering the curious sensation of touching something that wasn't quite there. Like a cloud.

Then, lifting her eyes to the ceiling, she noticed she also had something floating above her.

That was quite enough. Louise flipped over and buried her face into the pillow. She'd silently cry her sorrows into the soft drapes and pretend she was home with her beloved sister. Then… then she'd figure out what was going on with her head.

 

[minuseven]

««« LOAD 2 »»»​

As she waited in front of the headmaster's office, Louise did not fidget. Her mind did not race through all the horrible outcomes of the meeting she would attend in moments. The calm of those destined for the noose seemed to have settled over her. What happened would happen and there was nothing she could do now. Worrying was useless.

Finally, the heavy double doors opened and Miss Longueville motioned her in. Above her head were a familiar set of floating words.

<Secretary?>
Lv33 Mathilda Longueville?​

Everybody had one set over their heads. Nobles, commoners, Louise herself. It spelled out the letters 'LV' and a number, the person's name and sometimes their position on top. Monsieur de Smet had been a Magic Physician, his assistant, a commoner, was a Physician's Assistant.

And now Miss Longueville was, apparently… a secretary? Why was that even a question?

"Miss Vallière?" The woman pressed, a tinge of impatience in her voice.

Louise blushed as she realized she had been staring. "I'm sorry." She swiftly marched int the office, cheeks burning.

Unfortunately, Louise had been called several times to this room and so knew it well. The only new things were, once again, the floating words that haunted her. A set was floating above the gray-bearded headmaster. It said, quite mysteriously:

<???>
Lv? Old Osmond​

Another one drew her eyes to the corner of the room, which she realized was because the headmaster's familiar was scampering along the wall.

<???>
Lv? Chu-chu​

The headmaster cleared with throat with a low rumble and Louise returned her attention to the old mage. She still wondered why his words were different, a question. Maybe hidden? Founder knew how the stories varied when it came to Old Osmond's feats. From defeating a dragon without a wand to inventing the ultimate love potion, nobody knew exactly why he was so respected by the royalty. Nobody knew how old he was either, and Old Osmond played along with the mystery surrounding himself. A familiar was an extension of the mage, so she supposed it made sense for the mouse to be a mystery too.

"That was quite a blast you gave us, this morning. Are you fully recovered, Miss Vallière?"

"Yes sir. It wasn't anything serious." It was amazing that it had hurt her in the first place. Louise herself had never been affected by her own magic.

"Good. That's good. Now, this leaves us in a bit of an uncomfortable position." The headmaster stroked his beard in deliberation. "It's not the first time somebody fails the summoning ritual, even after multiple tries. It's actually rather common for young mages to fail their first summoning, although our Academy prides itself on having an almost perfect rate of success."

Which Louise had broken. The girl grimaced. "I'm very sorry sir."

The old mage chuckled, amused. "You are not the first to fail, Miss Vallière. Did you think you would be expelled for this?"

Louise opened her mouth and promptly closed it. Why yes, it had crossed her mind as a very concrete possibility considering she had failed on one of the most iconic rites of magical aprentiship. Instead, this meeting was going remarkably well.

"However." The headmaster continued, once again serious. "It is the first time somebody fails with your marks. Theoretically, you are an excellent student, but that can't be said of your practical marks."

Which were, simply put, zero. Louise exhaled. "What happens then?"

"For now, nothing at all. But when the year ends, if there is no improvement of your practical marks… we cannot pass you." He said gravelly.

And people who failed could not continue their studies in the Academy. Louise had been warned of it at the end of the last year, but she'd managed to scrape through with her near perfect theory. She nodded, like she had done last year. "I understand." Essentially, she now was on a time limit.

Either she improved her success rate within the next ten months, or she would be sent home. A disgrace. No more pressure than the rest of her life, all in all.

"Very good. Provided you pass, next year you can try to summon your familiar again when your underclassmen do."

Louise's eye widened and she curtsied shortly but gratefully. "Thank you very much."

The headmaster smiled. "Off you go then, I expect to not see you here for a while."

Louise curtsied again and turned to leave. At the door, she paused and looked over her shoulder, regarding for the words that still floated above the heads of the three people (and mice) in the room. Old Osmond was the most knowledgeable mage in the Academy, perhaps in the whole kingdom. If anybody would know something about the words, it would be him. But if he didn't… if this wasn't because of Louise's failure….

If this was just in her head….

Louise wasn't going to waste the chance she had just been given by sounding crazy.

 

[minuseven]

««« LOAD 3 »»»

Your HP and MP have been fully recovered.​

Louise glared at the rectangle. It seemed she couldn't get any peace. As soon as she had woken up, this incomprehensible message had popped up in front of her, completely shattering any doubts she might have had about the reality of the figments. Now completely awake, she sat up and decided to get ready instead of lounging in bed as she usually did. The… thing… had completely chased any lingering drowsiness.

It also wasn't going away. Frowning, she poked it and, like the one from the day before, it disappeared with a soft sound. She hummed. It seemed like she could dismiss the rectangles by touching them. It was useful to know, although she wished she could make the words floating around disappear too. However, she'd tried touching the ones following her around yesterday, but her hands had gone right through them.

Barefoot, she made her way to her vanity and dipped her hands into the metal basin full of water that rested on top of it. The water was freezing, like always, and she washed her face with it, thoroughly waking herself up. She sighed as she observed her reflection in the mirror.

<The Gamer>
Lv1 Louise La Vallière​

Why couldn't the apparitions have disappeared during the night, like a nightmare chased away by the dawn?

As she got ready for the day, Louise wondered. What even were they? Assuming that the words didn't lie, Louise could now see the names and positions of people, as well as a number whose meaning, if it had any, she couldn't decipher. If the words weren't lying, then maybe this was magic, and not the product of too many knocks to the head. Maybe she'd summoned an invisible spirit who told her things.

If, thought Louise bitterly. If.

Plus summoning spirits was heretical anyway. It wasn't proper magic, so it would be a failure regardless of not being an explosion.

It was earlier than usual when she was finished. Breakfast wouldn't be served in full for another hour but the servants would already have some food on the tables. She wasn't feeling like having breakfast with the rest of the school looking down on her, so Louise schooled her face into a neutral expression and hurried down the stairs.

Alvíss Hall was indeed emptier than usual, servants milling around and putting plates in their places, Monsieur Colbert taking his breakfast before any of the other teachers, and a few first and third years already eating. There was nobody from her year, so Louise sat down, called for a maid and hurried to eat. Already she could feel the gazes of the two third year students on her back.

Louise's luck held and nobody harassed her until the first morning class. Then, while they waited for the legendarily tardy Professor Chevreuse, Kirche von Zerbst strode up to Louise with a smile on her face.

 

[minuseven]

««« LOAD 4 »»»​

"Hello Louise." Kirche von Zerbst purred as she sat down next to the Zero. Several other students paused what they were doing to watch them. "How are you feeling? We were all so worried yesterday."

"Kirche." The pink-haired girl managed to answer without grinding her teeth. She'd long since learned that ignoring the red-head would only make things worse. "I'm feeling quite well. Disappointed?"

"Not at all!" Kirche shuffled closer to Louise. "It's only natural to feel relieved when returning home after spending so long in a place where they don't belong."

There Louise scoffed to the delight of the older girl. "Oh please, you don't really think the Academy expels students just for a few mistakes, do you?"

"Mistakes like utterly fucking up the Springtime Summoning Ceremony?" Louise flinched, the barb cutting so deep she didn't even comment on the profanity. "That's a bit more than a little mistake, Little Louise."

Louise was shorter than Kirche in every way, except perhaps her fuse. She also tended to blow up more spectacularly than her. Little Louise was a nickname that Kirche had learned early on always managed to rile up her classmate. Unbeknown to her, it was also the nickname Louise's older sisters had for the girl, who took heartfelt offense to hearing it from a daughter of the La Vallière's rival family, the Zerbst.

Predictably, Louise rose to her feet, hand going to her wand. "You Germanian b-"

And bit her tongue.

<Rebellious Daughter>
Lv22 Kirche Zerbst​

Louise stared at those words, the proof of her 'little mistake'.

This was useless, she reasoned. Raging and railing against Kirche wouldn't fix anything. And if she damaged any furniture, again, she wouldn't be allowed to listen to the lecture. She was already lucky enough that she'd never had Madame Chevreuse before, so the professor probably wasn't biased against her. Maybe she would have the chance to try to do some magic in front of her instead of having to practice alone.

Kirche wanted her to do this, she realized. The rage that had been emptied out of her by logical reasoning returned slowly, colder and sharper. Louise wasn't going to give the Germanian the satisfaction.

A noise rang in her ears.

Your Wisdom has increased.
+1 WIS​

To the rest of the class, Louise de La Vallière glared at a spot above Kirche von Zerbst head before stowing away her wand and sitting back down with a steely expression. It was a disappointment to those that were already anticipating the explosions and particularly to Kirche, who spent the next five minutes trying to provoke a reaction out of the girl.

Louise was smiling at Kirche's frustration by the time Professor Chevreuse finally appeared.

 

[minuseven]

««« LOAD 5 »»»​

The bell tolled and Professor Chevreuse, or Madame Chevreuse as she'd insisted, stopped her lecture.

Louise was already halfway out of her seat when a familiar sound rang and another rectangle popped in front of her. It said:

Lesson Completed
+10 EXP​

Once again, it made absolutely no sense. Yes, class was over, probably why it said the lesson was complete… but Louise had no idea what the rest of it meant. If it actually meant something. She should try and figure out what exactly the figments were and what they meant. The Academy's library was famous for its size, so maybe there was a record of these figments somewhere there. Louise doubted it, and she doubted even more that she would find that needle in that particular haystack, but she wasn't one to quit before trying.

With that last thought, Louise touched the rectangle to dismiss it, trying not to make it too obvious that she was seeing things. First, there was lunch, and then there was the afternoon class: Theory of Wind Magic. It was sure to be interesting. Louise wished she had a wind affinity instead of… explosions.

That train of thought started, Louise kept on walking towards the Alvíss Hall as her mind retreaded old beaten paths. It was almost certain she possessed a fire affinity, something not seen in her family for a few generations. The explosions either had to be her channeling her willpower wrong, or the affinity itself being too… bland. A doctor had, in her childhood, proposed that it was instead an unusually strong wind affinity reacting badly with a secondary fire affinity, but Louise refused to consider it. Another interesting but ultimately useless theory was that she was only capable of alchemy, earth magic. Explosive alchemy in particular.

Louise had tried every affinity-revealing exercise there was, but….

Something shiny on the ground caught her eye. Louise blinked and bent over to pick it up. If she had been a proper mage, she would have just levitated it, but she wasn't. Yet.

Now, what was a potion in a pocket-sized flask doing just outside the Alvíss Hall?

As if to answer her, another rectangle appeared.

You have acquired <Lost Perfume>.​

"Perfume?" Louise repeated out loud. She opened the flask with care and sniffed carefully. A rosy scent invaded her nostrils. She capped the flask again, sneezing to remove the potent odor from her nose.

When she touched the figment to make it go away, another one appeared.

New Quest!​

It said. Louise failed to see where the quest was, but that was soon made apparent as yet another rectangle appeared when she dismissed the one floating in front of her.

The lost Perfume Bottle​

You have found a perfume bottle that belongs to someone else.
> Return the <Lost Perfume> to its rightful owner.
Rewards: +100 EXP

Accept / Deny​

It was a quest. Well, it wasn't slaying dragons, hunting orcs or even delivering messages in the name of the King but, speaking objectively, it counted as a quest of sorts. Like a quest it had an objective and a reward, intangible or not. The word-figments were now giving Louise quests. Or turning her thoughts into quests, it wasn't like Louise wasn't planning to keep the flask. Either way, it was ridiculous and Louise didn't want to have any of it.

She touched the figment, careful not to touch the smaller rectangles with her choices. Nothing happened. The figment persisted. It looked like she was really going to have to answer.

She should probably deny it. She didn't know what she was getting into if she accepted. If she had indeed summoned a spirit, this could be a trap, a prank by a trickster spirit. But Louise was, Founder damn her, curious. What would happen? What if it was good? What could be so bad about returning a lost perfume? It was only courtesy to do so. More and more Louise thought this was connected to her summoning, so it could be to her benefit to accept, no? What was this 'equespe' and would more of it be better? Maybe visible?

With a sharp pang, Louise realized she had been biting her lip and stopped.

Then she touched 'accept'.

 

[minuseven]

««« LOAD 6 »»»​

Louise was on a quest. A quest to deliver a lost bottle of perfume to its rightful owner. It was not exactly what she had imagined her first quest to be. Still, she would carry it out to the best of her abilities. After all, if she couldn't deliver a simple lost item, she would never be called to serve her Queen and country.

The first thing to do was discovering who the rightful owner of the perfume was. Louise could go around asking random people if it was theirs, if she wanted to be a greater object of mocking than she already was. Finding the owners of lost things in the Academy was a commoner's job, and already too many skirted close to outright calling her that, even though nobody ever had the gall to say it to her face.

If Louise just had a normal familiar, she could have it identify the owner by scent.

But she didn't, so she examined the flask instead, trying to find any clues to its maker or owner. There was no label and the flask had no decorations, so she doubted it had been bought from any reputed merchant. Maybe it had even been made by a student himself. Scents were one of the first things they learned in Practical Water Magic. An idea came to her and Louise lifted the flask to see it against the light. It shone a characteristic mauve color. More specifically, the color Montmorency, called the Fragrance for her skills in making perfumes and potions, used to mark all of her creations.

This perfume belonged to her, undoubtedly.

A figment appeared with a triumphant sound, but the message wasn't anything like Louise had expected, or even seen before.

Through special actions, you have learned a new Skill.

Learned <Observe>!​

She had what now?

<Observe (Active) Lv1 (0%)>​

Reveals information about the target.
> Reveals maximum HP and MP

Louise stared at the rectangle that had replaced the other two. It… seemed rather obvious. Of course observation would reveal information about whatever one was observing. What she didn't get was why she had 'learned' how to observe and what 'HP' and 'MP' were. She had already known how to observe things. It was something everybody did from the moment they were born. It couldn't even be counted as a 'skill'. The letters were another of the figments' mysteries. Just when she thought the figments were making sense, they pulled another one on her.

"Well, whatever." She mumbled to herself as she dismissed the message. She had to find Montmorency.

Montmorency de Montmorency was a second year like herself and it was noon, so Louise found her quite easily, sitting at the second years' table. Al she needed was a glance over the seated students and Montmorency's carefully styled blonde ringlets stood out immediately. Plus, she had written on top of her:

<Scion of Montmorency>
Lv14 Montmorency Montmorency​

She approached the girl and none too gently set down the flask on the tabletop. "Is this yours?"

Montmorency gasped, Louise's breach of etiquette forgotten and she picked up the flask, swiftly uncapping and sniffing the perfume. Then she rounded on the shorter girl, eyes glaring daggers. "Where did you get this?"

Louise raised an eyebrow, more surprised than anything at the blonde's uncharacteristic reaction. "It was on the ground just outside."

"Oh." Montmorency had the decency of blushing with embarrassment as she sat back down. "Right. Of course. Thank you, Louise."

"It was nothing." Quest complete, although she had expected the words to say something about it, Louise left. She was looking for an empty and isolated seat when a voice sounded from behind her.

"Wait! Louise!" It was Montmorency, hurriedly striding to meet her.

Louise waited for her to catch up, then asked, "What is it, Montmorency?"

The blonde girl spoke without truly meeting Louise's eyes. "This is a perfume I gave Guiche."

Ah, thought Louise, Guiche. That was why the figments hadn't chimed in. Her quest wasn't done after all. That was also why Montmorency had reacted so aggressively when she had returned the perfume to her. Guiche was a known womanizer, regardless of his engagement and supposed 'eternal love' for Montmorency.

Wait. What did Montmorency mean with 'of course' then!? Was she implying Guiche would never…. On second thought, Louise was okay with that. This was Guiche they were talking about.

Your Wisdom has increased.
+1 WIS​

Case in point.

"So you would like me to deliver it for you?" Continued Louise for her. A jealous lover looked bad, regardless of the other party's untrustworthiness, so Montmorency didn't want to go to Guiche and demand why he had lost her gift.

"I'll give you a bottle of my best fragrance if you do it for me." Montmorency was not only known for her perfumes but also for her keen business sense. She was quite mercenary, it seemed, and Louise was a bit impressed.

"It's a deal." She agreed and accepted back the flask that had started it all.

Guiche himself was also fairly easy to locate. He was surrounded by his group of friends, loudly and dramatically telling them of how he charmed yet another woman. Louise felt her eye twitch despite herself. This guy… was an ass. In fact, she was surprised to see he didn't have 'womanizer' written above his name.

Lv9 Guiche Gramont​

"Hey, Guiche."She called loudly over the din of the Alvíss Hall.

The fop turned in his seat to regard her. "What is it, Zero?"

But Louise only smiled, almost predatorily, and showed him the perfume bottle. "Is this yours?"

Guiche paled and laughed, the sound coming off quite high, faked. "Wh-what? No, of course not."

But his friends had noticed his state and talked among themselves.

"I can't believe it, even the Zero wants him?"

"No way."

"Don't be an idiot. That color, that potion is one of Montmorency's!"

Then a tiny voice, trembling and watery, came from behind Louise. "Lord Guiche? What, what does this mean?" It was an auburn-haired girl, a first year from the brown cloak she wore, her fists clenched tightly to her chest. She was on the verge of tears and Louise guessed she was one of Guiche's so-called conquests, maybe even his latest one. The words marked her as:

Lv7 Catherine Desjardins​

Guiche shot to his feet. "Katie, my dear, it's not what it looks like!"

Katie shook her head. "No? So, so you aren't with her?" Her, realized Louise, meant Louise herself, and she choked on the very air she was breathing. "I thought we had something special!"

Louise recovered, face red with indignity. "Wait, wait, wait! Stop right there! I do not like Guiche! Don't you dare involve me in his two-timing ways!" Katie seemed confused but relieved, and Guiche… Guiche paled as Louise smirked. "I just came here to deliver this perfume for Montmorency." She tossed it lazily towards Guiche, who scrambled to catch it. Then she addressed Katie, feeling a bit of pit for the naive girl. "She's his fiancée."

Katie burst into tears.

A few seconds later, she was running out of the Hall, leaving Guiche behind with the red impression of five digits well marked on his pale skin. A good portion of the surrounding stuents were now laughing at him.

Guiche rounded on her, sputtering. "Zero…. You! This is all your fault."

Louise scoffed. "My fault? The fault rests on nobody but yourself. Two-timing women, disgraceful. If you're so desperate, why don't you go to Kirche instead? Unless you have already."

"I-I would never!" He yelled over loud cat-calls.

The last person Guiche wanted to chime in did just so. "That's not what you said last year, lover-boy..." Kirche winked at him, having gotten closer to the action somewhere along the line. Probably for the first time, Louise was happy at the Germanian's antics. They certainly looked better when she wasn't their target.

Kirche seemingly read her thoughts and winked at her, smiling. Even the quiet Tabitha seemed to be hiding a smile behind her ever-present book. Louise raised an eyebrow in response, but she was also smiling.

A glacial voice cut through the laughter and noise around Guiche and Louise. "Gramont." The onlookers parted to let Montmorency La Fère de Montmorency pass through. Nobody had ever seen such rage in her face. "I heard everything."

Guiche looked like he was about to piss himself. His mouth flapped up and down, but no words came out.

Montmorency came to stand by Louise's shoulder. "Thank you, Louise. Now if you'll excuse me, I have things that need to be done."

Wisely not wanting to get in the way, Louise nodded and turned on her heel to find a seat and finally eat lunch. She used the opportunity to close the several rectangles that had appeared as she talked with Guiche but hadn't had the opportunity to dismiss.

You have lost <Montmorency's Perfume to Guiche>.

Quest Completed!
+100 EXP​

Her first quest had been a rousing success. A deep feeling of satisfaction seemed to warm her up from the inside. She honestly couldn't wait to get another one.

 

[minuseven]

««« LOAD 7 »»»​

The rest of the week came and went without much fanfare. Louise still wasn't called to do practical magic, Guiche still glared at her back when Montmorency wasn't watching, the figments kept telling her she'd gotten more 'equespe' and Kirche was still incredibly annoying.

Today was Voidsday and Louise had risen early in the morning. Instead of the usual uniform, she had taken her riding boots and breeches from her dresser, as well as a warmer shirt and jacket. Before taking breakfast, she'd told the servants to prepare her horse. After eating she went to the stables and set off towards the capital, Tristania. The trip took three hours on horseback, so it was best to leave early. Even so, by the time Louise reached the capital the mid-morning sun already shone on the cobbled streets of Tristania. Louise had hoped to avoid the crowds, admittedly because of her size. Everybody was taller than her and blocked the view as well as the passage. Her mantle would give her some space, true, but not every commoner cared when in a crowd, and there were always foreigners who cared even less.

Sighing, Louise passed her horse's reigns to the stable-hand and went to find the stable-master. Technically, she could have left her horse in the Royal Stables, but personal feelings aside, her business wasn't in the noble districts per se. Today, Louise was doing research on quests.

She had only gotten one other quest at the Academy, and it had been an assignment given to the Wind Theory class. She had yet to complete the quest, even if the work was already done, but she suspected it would happen when she turned her essay in. Louise theorized that any tasks she was given or she accepted would count as quests. Those were not, however, a common occurrence in the Academy. Not unless she wanted to go around asking the servants if they needed help, which was ridiculous and dangerous. She'd entertained the thought of asking the professors if they had any tasks for her, like Professor Colbert's numerous and harebrained side-projects. But… she did not have enough confidence in her magic, not yet. If the tasks were theoretical, of research or such things, it would be easy, but if they weren't, what was the point of offering to help?

Stepping outside the stables, Louise mentally checked where she was and stopped to think. Where should she go first? Truthfully, she didn't know exactly how adventurers and mercenaries got work. The guardsmen office should have a few offers of work, but in the books it was always in the taverns that the adventurers found their quests. Louise thought of the taverns she knew in the area, then set off towards one of the less reputable ones.

The Golden Chimney was known for its abundance of wine and beer, but no so much for its accommodations. She remembered how the older students had complained about the lack of proper respect, of how the inn-keeper had the guards in his pocket. Because of that, Louise wagered she could find some mercenaries here, maybe some adventurers, and even get some clues as to how they found their quests. She found herself a place in an empty table next to the wall and asked for a pitch of watered-down wine and some light food. She suspected she a bit of a wait in front of her. The tavern wasn't empty, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. Louise cursed herself for not thinking about that. It wasn't even lunch hour yet, and taverns probably didn't get full until evening. She observed the current patrons, trying to see if any of them could be a lone adventurer or mercenary. It didn't seem like she was in luck.

Well, she was here already, she wasn't going to quit just because of a little inconvenience. All she had to do now was wait patiently.

Louise chewed slowly on her food, who lived up to its less than stellar reputation. She reached for the wine pitcher.

And wait.

Louise sipped at her wine.

And wait.

"Huh." Her pitcher was empty. When had that happened? Better to sign for more. What time was it anyways? There were a few more people, but still no sell-swords of any kind.

The owner himself brought her her second pitcher. Instead of just leaving though, he asked, wiping his hands on a rag. "Is there anything else you'd like Miss? I can always see if we can't arrange something."

Louise squinted up at the man.

<Legendary Business Owner>
Lv31 Sébastien Hasselt​

Well, considering his position, maybe he could help her. He also had an unusually high number for a commoner. She searched for words. "Well, I was wondering… would you know any adventurers, mercenaries… around here?"

The man raised his brow. "Offering jobs Miss? I might know some interested people."

"No." Corrected Louise. "I'm actually looking for a job."

The man raised an eyebrow. However, he made no remarks. Instead, he just said. "Looking to gain a name for yourself? Maybe some coin on the side?"

Louise shook her head. "I don't want money or fame. I just… I just want an adventure. A quest."

"A quest?" Now the tavern owner seemed surprised, because he stopped fidgeting with his rag. Then he plopped down on another chair and leaned forward, speaking bluntly. "Miss, adventurers, as you put it, die early and die horribly, be they mages or not. Mages especially, die quite fast. They get confident and before they know it, they've been skewered by orc blades. Then they become orc food." Louise opened her mouth to say something, anything, but the man continued on, sounding very much like her mother as he spoke of adventurers. "Now lady, you don't look like one of those simpletons from the lesser noble houses, foolishly trying to become famous. Nor does it look like you're in a dire need of gold. I'm not going to send a child to her death if I can avoid it, so I'm telling you, miss, you will find no quests for you. Any you think you do find, are death traps, marked down for you by those who would wish you gone. If you so want to find adventure, sign yourself into the Queen's Corps. There you will find hard-earned work, fights, money and glory, but you will have training and comrades to cover your back."

Louise should have railed at the man for disrespecting her, for daring to lecture her. Who did he think he was, talking like that to a La Vallière? But she couldn't, because she'd heard the same thing before, cutting down the delusions of glory in adventure, telling her to enlist if she so wanted glory and peril. Her mother and father had both done so before, and now this man nearly parroted their words. She couldn't find it in herself the strength to disagree. It would be the same as disagreeing with her mother, regardless of how indirectly.

But she wanted a quest. Even if it was a small one. She licked her lips and stared somewhat defiantly at him. "What if I went to the guardsmen? Would I find something there?"

The owner, Sébastien shook his head. "Miss, no guard would ever take you seriously and give you an actual bounty to collect."

Flushing red, Louise countered, "Well, what if I just go after those bounties posted publicly?"

"You'd never find your targets without asking for information at a guards post."

Louise deflated and took a long gulp from her wine pitcher. "Damn." She glared at him, but true to his name, he stoically met her gaze. To her own credit, Louise didn't back down either. "How do I get people", and Sébastien himself, "to take me seriously?"

The man was quiet for a time, looking into her eyes. "You're going to go ahead with this anyway, aren't you miss?"

New Quest!​

Louise's eyes widened and she nodded, serious. "Yes."

"Alright..." He sighed. "The first thing, miss, would be to become a line mage."

"How do you know I'm not!?"

"Are you?" He asked knowingly.

"Urgh." Louise grimaced. "Not yet. I'm nearly there."

"The second thing would be to actually look like someone reliable." He gestured vaguely at her clothes. "Find some sturdy gear, some light armor and definitely a weapon or two. You don't even have a swordwand."

"Armor. A swordwand." Mumbled Louise to herself.

"And a dagger for when you run out of willpower."

"Right!"

"The third and last thing you need..." Louise leaned forward. "is my approval. I'm a mage myself, Miss, and I was a mercenary once. I know that business and everybody who works in it. If you manage to impress me, I'll introduce you to some people. If you don't, forget quests." He rose to his feet, somehow looking taller than he'd been before. "What do you say?"

Ready for Adventure​

The former adventurer Sébastien will not accept you as a mercenary before you clean up your act. However, impress him and he will aid you, finding quests and contacts for you.
> Raise any Elemental Affinity to 300
> Equip items with a total Armor above 20
> Equip a <Swordwand> and a <Dagger>
Rewards: +2000 EXP, <Letter of Recommendation>, <Treasure Map>

Accept / Deny​

Louise narrowed her eyes, a smile finding its way to her face. "I accept!"

 

[minuseven]

««« LOAD 8 »»»​

The first thing Louise did after stepping outside The Golden Chimney was to wonder if she was drunk.

Status: <Tipsy>​

"Great help you're being." She mumbled to the air as she closed the rectangle. "Now what?"

It wasn't prudent to return to the Academy as she was. She wasn't feeling the effects of the alcohol, her vision still normal and her balance okay, but on a horse slowed reflexes could be the difference between a broken leg and a broken spine.

It was noon, so Louise passed her time wandering among the market stalls of the busiest streets in Tristania. Merchants and peddlers displayed their wares proudly, coddled and cajoled passersby to stop and buy something. Louise observed only, keeping her purse close to her body. In one store, she even recognized Montmorency's perfumes, these in labeled bottles with a fetching price.

Actually, she remembered there was a weapon-smith close-by. Louise paused in her tracks. She'd come to the capital to find information on quests, and actually ended up with a quest. Becoming a Line mage would take time, but that was no reason to not fulfill the rest of the quests objectives in the meanwhile. Armor-fitting took time, she knew, but not how much. And Louise wanted to be back at the Academy before supper, to have time to pass by the library and request a book. It still left her time to fill and a pair of weapons to find.

Would the merchant trade in swordwands as well as daggers? Well, only one way to know.

The store was located on an earthen side-street, narrow and dark. The interior was warmer, with barrels and displays full of weapons of every size and sort. A seedy-looking man with a squashed nose waited at the counter. He examined her as she entered, taking in the quality of her clothing and the mantle draped over her shoulders.

"Welcome, Milady. How can I help you on the Founder's good day?" He opened his hands in greeting.

Louise noticed the scars on his skin and felt more at ease. Weathered hands were the sign of an experienced craftsman. "I am looking for a dagger."

"For you, Milady?" Inquired the merchant, moving from behind the counter.

"Yes."

"I have several types." He indicated a display with several short blades inside, which Louise moved to see. There were truly small ones, and daggers with thinner bladed. Then there were the bigger ones, with wider or longer blades. The biggest could easily be confused as short swords. There were also a few special daggers, Louise guessed from the East, with serrated and comb-like blades, strange things with two points instead of just one.

"Something simple and sturdy will do. Like this one." She pointed at one such dagger with a blade the length of her hand and thick as three fingers.

"Will this one do? It's very high-quality steel, made in Tristain."

"I quite like it, yes."

"Very well. A spell of permanence against rusting and nicks can be applied if you want it too." The merchant proposed. Louise hesitated and he pressed on. "It can be applied for cheapand its quite reliable. I have a partnership with a Gryphon Knight stationed at the Palace."

Louise teetered. "Well..." She wasn't really looking for a dagger to use that much, but it was better to buy quality supplies. And it wasn't like she knew how to cast a spell of permanence yet.

"Don't listen to him. He's swindling you, girl. That's a fine piece of steel alright, but not worth spending your gold to preserve for future generations."

Both Louise and the merchant stopped in their tracks at the metallic voice.

The shopkeeper grimaced. "That damned sword..."

Louise scanned the inside of the shop and, in a corner, found words floating.

<???>
Lv? Derflinger​

"Derflinger?"

"That's my name." The voice spoke again. Louise was consoled to see the shopkeeper could also hear it. Seeing things was already something. Hearing things would be entirely too much. "I'm here."

She approached the barrel the words hung over, noting how it was full of second-rate weapons, damaged and rusting. "What are you?"

"I'm a sword! A fine sword, thank you very much." A sword spoke indeed, the guard rattling slightly in place. "I'm the legendary Derflinger! Even if most people seem to have forgotten who I was."

Louise reached over and picked it up. Or rather, tried to. She had to use both hands to take it from the barrel, and even then it took up most of her meager strength to hold the hunk of metal in a ready position. It was a straight, single-edged blade, maybe a little over a mail in size.

"Not a swordswoman, are you girl?"The sword sighed at the same time a rectangle figment appeared before her eyes.

You cannot equip this weapon.
Required STR: 20​

'STR', that was strength. Louise knew because during the ride to the capital several rectangles had appeared to her. It had happened maybe a little less than a dozen times, half the time saying her strength had increased, the other half telling her her vitality had increased instead. What had the messages been? By exercising your muscles and by exerting yourself continuously? Louise had already noticed the figments gave numbers to everything, which apparently included her characteristics like wisdom or strength, popping up to tell her how those characteristic had increased.

This was, however, the first time Louise had a more concrete idea of the exact number attributed to one of her characteristics. So her strength was less than 15? If she supposed she had started from 0, then her wisdom was 3, strength was around 5 and vitality, 'VIT', 4. She wagered that at the rate it went up, she could get her strength up to 20 with a bit of time riding.

"Not particularly," she answered the sword, "I can use a rapier."

"Pretty things but they're all stabbing and no slashing." It whistled. "Good choice for someone with skinny arms like you though."

"You're certainly interesting," Louise told the sword. Talking swords, even mouthy as this one was, had to be a dime a dozen. Louise had no idea how one would even enchant one. Eleanor would love to play around with it. She let the sword drop, resting it point first on the floor, and adressed the merchant. "But I'm more interested in swordwands."

"I can do that too." Derflinger chimed in. Louise looked down at the sword, who somehow looked smug, though she couldn't fathom why she thought the nearly-inanimate object felt like so.

"You can?" She raised an eyebrow at the sword. Could it even see? "Channel willpower?"

"I'm not a legendary sword for nothing, you know?" The sword huffed. "You wouldn't be the first mage to wield me. Now, wand movements can get a little tricky, but its a question of adaptation. A bit of practice and magic doesn't get weird when using me."

"Can it do that?" She asked the merchant.

The shopkeeper was already resigned to losing money, again, because of the blasted sword. "I don't know, Milady. I got Derflinger with a bunch of broken and unusable weapons that had been recovered from a goblin nest."

"I remember that! I spent years inside that hole because the guy using me was an idiot! He couldn't even get killed by orcs. No. He had to let goblins overrun him. A legend in the making, bah!" It spoke up. "Hey girl, do you want to take me? Anywhere's better than here. I'm already tired of these four walls. I haven't crossed blades with anybody in… in decades! I don't care if you can't use me right, just get me out of here."

The merchant sighed. "Then I tried melting it down with the others, but Derflinger's magical alright. If anything, it only got louder."

"Serves you right, trying to melt me. What do you think I am!?"

The shopkeeper waved at the sword, as if to say: and this was what I had to put up with.

Louise contemplated the sword. Frankly, it looked a bit like the start of an adventure book. Here she was, preparing herself to go on a quest, eventually, that is, and she stumbled upon a talking, magical sword. A sword with questing experience, that could apparently double as a swordwand. It was… almost too much of a coincidence. Maybe the words had led her here.

Should she buy Derflinger? It was a unique sword but…

"You look like a rusted pieced of junk." She bluntly told it.

"Pssh." Derflinger scoffed. "I'm magical, girl. I don't rust and I don't lose sharpness. Give me a good polish and you could parade me around the Royal Palace."

Well, she could always gift the sword to Eleanor if push came to shove.

"Alright. I'll take it." The merchant looked disbelieving, but undeniably happy. Louise didn't let herself regret her words. "The sword and the dagger, with scabbards and belts. Also, the sword should be cleaned and polished. Sharpen it anyway." The shopkeeper nodded, taking note. "How much for it to be ready by next Voidsday?"

"Well, the sword and dagger are sixteen sous, the belts and scabbards are three sous, and that's another sous for polishing Derflinger. So… twenty sous. One livre for everything." He declared.

 

[minuseven]

««« LOAD 9 »»»​

Louise had already forgotten the incident with Guiche when it came back to bite her. It had been nearly a week after all, and Guiche himself seemed to have had regained some of his cheer the day before. Louise had theorized it had something to do with the fact that it was the day they had double Practical Earth Magic.

She should have known better.

The afternoon class on Eorday was Practical Fire Magic. In hindsight, it made sense, seeing as it was the only practical class Montmorency, a line water mage, did not attend. Guiche wouldn't be stopped by her.

As the first practical lesson they were going to have with Professor Colbert, besides the summoning he had presided over, it was mostly review. After warning them again of the danger and volatility of fire magic, Professor Colbert asked the class, "Now, let's start by the basics and review the spells you learned last year. Any volunteers?"

"What about La Vallière?" Guiche's suggestion rose over the murmurs, eliciting protests and snickers.

Louise herself felt her body coil with tension, the reproachful eyes of the class on her. She shot a glance at Guiche to see him smiling and anger swelled up in her breast. This was his payback for what had happened with Montmorency. That cur! That situation had been entirely his fault, being the unfaithful pig that he was.

Professor Colbert met her eyes from his position at the front of the classroom.

<Retired Flame Snake>
Lv47 Jean Colbert​

Louise understood what he wanted to say. She could refuse if she wanted to and he would not hold it against her. More, Colbert knew her circumstances, the pressure she was under. But now Louise had to go. She couldn't lose face. If she went and failed, they would fall on her again, criticizing her and insulting her. But if she went, she was accepting that she would fail at face-value, before even trying.

Well, Louise de La Vallière didn't back down from a challenge. They wanted to see what she was capable of? Well, they were going to get it.

She needed the practice anyway.

"Of course." She answered Guiche.

She descended the stone steps to the front of the classroom while people started looking for cover, her face not betraying a single emotion. Truthfully, she was nervous. She hadn't cast a spell ever since the day of the summoning. Ever since the words had appeared to her. Deep down, she wondered if, maybe, something hadn't changed with her magic. Was it… still there? It didn't… it didn't feel like before.

Kirche smiled and gave her an encouraging sign. Louise didn't know if the fire mage was being honest or not.

Professor Colbert met her on the dais. "Ready Miss Vallière?"

Louise exhaled shakily. "Yes."

The professor smiled. "Very well then. Remember to face the wall, five paces back. This is important even if the spell in question isn't very destructive." He lectured, addressing both Louise and the class. Not that most of the students were paying attention to him. "Now, the first spell is Flame. It's one of the most basic fire spells and creates a small flame in front of your wand. It's a purely fire spell and the base for the more advanced fire spells. Ember, for example, is a fire spell whose theoretical principles generally branch off into fire-earth spells. What is the incantation?"

"Kaun." Answered Kirche promptly. She sat confidently, even leaning forward. She knew that when the explosion came Tabitha, who was reading a book next to her, would protect her.

"That's correct. The properwand movement is a small flick of the wrist, like so," he demonstrated, "but because of Flame's simplicity it's almost never needed. Miss Vallière, please demonstrate, with the wand movement."

Louise steeled herself and raised her wand. She grabbed a hold of that light inside of her and pushed into her wand. She visualized a flame, like on a candle's wick. Flick and, "Kaun, Flame!"

Through tutoring, you have learned a new Skill.

Learned <Flame>!​