A Nascent Kaleidoscope.

I wasn't giggling to myself like a child, regardless of what Ddraig would say. I was merely appreciating my amazing new sword.

Mirage.

I repeated the name several times in my head as I swung the sword about. The afterimage that blurred every time it cut through the air just made it all the more beautiful.

My instinct was telling me that this sword would be able to fully handle the might of my Magic. The addition of the Eye of Magus….well, I would even put it on par with my old jeweled sword. Maybe slightly different in application, but to compare them side by side, I don't think mine would lose out.

Truthfully, I felt more whole than I had since my memories had surfaced. The feeling that I'm no longer 'constrained'.

I had to stop myself from thoroughly testing this thing here and now, I was getting some 'looks' as I swung it around near the blacksmith area.

One of the things I did in the immediate timeframe was sort of program my Calculations into my sword. The Eye of Magus was many things, some which I had yet to still decipher, but it was more than capable of acting as a sort of magical 'computer' to process what I needed and help along my Magic. Perhaps its nature as a higher dimensional object had led to its ability of synchronize with those aspects of the Kaleidoscope.

Not just that, the sword itself was powered to an impressive level with the inclusion of the Eye in the hilt. There was also the side benefit of being able to draw in magical energy faster than I could with my old jeweled sword, though further testing was required.

It really felt good to complete this thing after working towards it for about a bit now.

A thought did cross my mind, I really need to brush up on my swordsmanship. Since I'll probably be using my sword as an actual sword…..it would be better to perhaps find a teacher somewhere.

Now though…I'm kinda at a loss on what to do.

Well…there's always that one place that the Archmage told me about. I wouldn't mind picking up another ridiculously powerful object. I did find a map of where the ruins were when I was bored the other day…..and I really wanted to get some practice in with this thing.

With a shrug, I slashed open infront of me as the immediate air distorted and a vibrant display of colors formed a portal.

I'm back baby.

***

As I reaffirmed my spot on the world-line and reentered the normal flow of the world, the view came forward and the cold air once more hit my face.

"ROOOOARR"

A familiar sound vibrated infront of me as I apparently appeared right into the nests of a few trolls.

Well….I did want some test subjects.

I was curious about the combat applications of my weapon. I pulled on the kaleidoscope, and I felt a weird sensation vibrate from the Eye, I had felt it previously, but I was in no position to test it. Here though, it looks like these trolls were volunteering, how considerate.

They were dozens of feet away and I swung Mirage with a slow overhead slash.

The space infront of me distorted….no that isn't quite right. The space was fine, it didn't shatter nor break in any way. It's more like…..what did they call this in the east….sword phantom? Attaching your intent on your blade and releasing it in a slash to extend the range. I was sort of doing something like that…..but with magical energy apparently.

I think the Eye was doing it somehow.

Oh, I see now. I think the Eye can't 'exist' in multiple realities simultaneously when all connected, therefore when I attempt to use something like the Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon, there is a sort of physical reaction where the magical energy generated Is amplified and then kind of 'solidified' onto the sword. To pull on magical energy from multiple realities, my sword has to simultaneously exist within those realities at the same time, I don't just open a portal and let my sword drink its fill. That would require too much time.

My sword acts as a 'nexus' bridging and overlapping between how many worlds I wish to pull from and to gather the required amount without harming the native dimensions. It was one of the reasons I need a 'foci' to perform this feat, while I could technically do so without my sword, my body would expload pretty quickly. Even using this method, It can be very straining on my body. The amount my previous self had to pull on to push back the moon was a good indicator of this, his body never recovered even though he's practically immortal.

The Eye essentially 'sees' itself even though only one exists, and thus tries to pull on its own magical energy creating this effect.

Basically, I can cheat and use this to my advantage. There is no true harm done, just something I need to take into consideration for the future.

I'm reminded of that one Heroic Spirit that used a Sword Technique to mimic Magic. And here I am using Magic to mimic a sword technique.

Needless to say, the Troll was bisected with ease.

There were two more and I was suddenly filled with inspiration. That Heroic Spirit, he used the dimensional Refraction Phenomenon to attack three times in a single breath. I have true access to the Kaleidoscope….couldn't I figure out something similar? Granted I don't have the confidence to claim his skills with a sword, but I would dare anyone to say my Magic doesn't reach the standard.

I mentally began to run some calculations in my head as another Troll roared and charged towards me with its lanky body.

I relaxed my own body, taking Mirage with two hands and going into a loose stance.

When it got close enough I simply moved to stab it through the chest and as its clawed-hands swung down, my sword pieced its heart but I was also behind it, stabbing it through the back.

I felt a pulling sensation and a sudden stifling feeling as I walked a few feet away from the now-dead troll. It wasn't exactly painful, but not something pleasant to feel either, perhaps I'm just not used to the sensation.

I was in two places at once as I both stabbed the troll from the front and back. Neither were 'me' yet both of them were true until my own 'presence' was reaffirmed and realigned unto the world.

What a strange feeling, is this how that Heroic Spirit felt when he uses his technique? It seemed like a success on the surface, my body was a little stiff, though nothing beyond that, but I think I just need to train it more.

I waved my sword casually to the side, cutting the head off the last troll as it got close. The power behind the accumulated energy was impressive even after seeing it once more.

What should I call this technique?

I suppose I should pay homage to my inspiration, what did that guy call his own attack --- Tsubame Gaeshi, The Swallow Reversal. If I remember correctly, he made a cage of three sword strikes whereas I attack twice, once from the front and once from the back…..

I'll call it Swallow Returns to pay homage.

Well, if I'm playing off the theme I may as well all my 'flying slash' in the same way as well. One slash – one bird? I should be able to actualize more with further training.

I looked towards a nearby cliff. "Two Birds" I said as I swung forward, and two more magical sword phantoms flew off and cleaved a chunk out of the rock. Overlaying multiple swings using the Kaleidoscope, I could perform this technique multiple times to truly copy those eastern sword skills that were lost to time.

Well, I was never good at naming things but this should do for now.

It still took a bit of concentration to pull these moves off, maybe attaching a trigger word and calling out their names would help. I could certainly hypnotize myself to streamline the whole thing. Arias existed for a reason, a trigger phrase often helped one focus even without resorting to hypnotizing on yourself. Especially when belief was such a crucial element in any spellcasting.

I should put all that on hold for the moment, I don't want to get sidetracked, gods know I do easily.

Now where's that entrance….

***

Fuck, this place was confusing, I must have run around for twenty minutes trying to find the entrance. These big stone doors were surprisingly difficult to find.

Oh, how cute, it's magically locked.

I put my hand on the door that didn't have any key. "Boop."

With a thought I appeared on the other side, only having to cast a Structural Grasp to see how far the stone door extended so I could know the distance I had to teleport from.

As I took a few steps inside the large chamber, it began to rumble and shake. There were large bones in the area that were lifted up off the ground, all shooting towards the center of the area as they combined into a large, familiar shape.

"Is that a fucking skeleton dragon?" I couldn't help but blurt out.

It was….decently large and a bit intimidating. Except, it was a skeleton. If it were a zombie, I may be a bit more alarmed, but it was literally just bones that were reanimated and forced into the figure of a dragon.

I drew Dawnbreaker from my ring and with Telekinesis guiding it, I threw the blade at the undead. Easily piercing through the necromantic magics holding the thing together as a burst of white-light flared up and exploded outwards.

I pulled the sword back to me, looking at it. "How was that, I just slayed a dragon, your man is amazing, right?" I spoke to the sword.

There was no response, clearly, she was too awestruck at my mighty figure.

On a side note, free dragon bones! These are mine now.

"Wo meyz wah dii vul junaar?"

I stopped looking around as I felt something shudder around me. It sounded like someone just spoke…. projecting their voice from far away. Hell, the magical energy in the surroundings were completely drained just from the pressure.

It says a lot that I couldn't understand whatever language was spoken, even though I can technically speak any language due to my devil heritage. It sounded somewhat similar to those shouts the Draugr used on me, was this thing speaking in dragon...was there a dragon here?

Such a thought did give me pause, but at the same time I dismissed the idea. The Archmage had apparently been here before, I doubt he wouldn't have warned me of a dragon.

Though he did say there were some extraordinary foes here.... I best be on my guard.

"Nivahriin muz fen siiv nid aaz het."

Again, the voice sounded out and the magical energy in the air stirred, in fact, it felt like it tried to drain MY mana.

No.

I felt the origin of the voice and used it as a reference and sliced open a portal.

I opened my eyes to find myself in a new chamber. There was a strange magical phenomenon in here. It looked like two ghosts were channeling a spell to keep an undead mage in stasis.

Weird.

I took a closer look at the undead mage, it was holding something that made my hair stand up on my arms. That was definitely not a normal staff, it even had similar markings as the Eye of Magnus…..is this the Staff of Magnus or something?

If someone else were here, they would probably have to release the undead if they wanted to claim the staff...well unlucky for them.

A mere stasis spell? Pfft, I could get around this in my diapers. I withdrew Mirage and sliced through the little bubble, cutting off the zombie's hand holding the staff and pulling it out, all without disturbing the quaint little spell.

So much power I felt swell up inside me. If the Eye channeled infinite magical energy, this staff was one big amplifier. No wonder the Archmage said these would complement one another. Though a normal person would probably burn themselves inside and out trying to use them in tandem. I, myself, had to be careful until I could test these further.

Better stash this away for now in my ring.

Now that I think about it….why didn't he want to come get it for himself?

I didn't really think he was planning anything nefarious, my instincts told me he was being sincere in all our dealings, and I usually trusted my gut on such things.

Well, I guess I won't find out unless I asked him.

Nothing else I need here. I just tossed the little zombie hand to the side and teleported away.