Ends of Magic

Nathan slowly pushed himself to his feet, wincing as things finished shifting back into place. He put a hand to his face, finding it wet with blood and vitreous humors. He wiped his hand on his robe and found that the clothing was damp. It had contained most of the gore when he’d landed, and he used a clean edge to wipe up the small amount that had gotten on the floor. There was still a red smear on the floor, but it wasn’t especially obvious.

Well, that’s one robe ruined. But for a good cause.

The robe was uncomfortable to wear, but it was hardly the least pleasant thing Nathan had endured. He examined the wizardry that sealed him inside the staircase, but his mind drifted to his newly developed Talent. [Immortal Body] was incredible. With his massive Stamina pool and the ability to absorb magic, it meant that he was very hard to kill.

Nathan let out a breath as he focused on the wizardry in front of him. It was simpler than the one high above, but still deserved care. After all, messing up would get an enforcement mage teleported in. He didn’t need to draw more heat just yet. Once the door slid open, he set off back to the low-tier housing at a jog. It was child’s play to avoid the patrols of mages. He felt confident enough to stop by the dining hall full of force magic to drain a bit of mana and replenish his Stamina.

Based on how many resources I spent there, I can come back from being ‘killed’ twice before I’m out of resources. Maybe three times if I don’t need to regenerate the majority of my body. That will only get better as the new Talent ranks up, and in a fight both of my resources are quick to replenish. It does mean I need to be careful not to spend too much of my Focus. I think it takes about 800 of it to keep me alive long enough for my brain to regenerate. Maybe more if my head gets completely crushed. It’s inherently hard to test.

Nathan snuck through the park in the low-tier student residences, noticing that there were fewer young mages out than usual. It seemed his murders had spooked them. He shrugged and dunked himself in the pool, swimming underneath the falling water to allow the cool water to wash away the traces of his experiment.

Then he climbed back to the suite, wringing out his robe above the pool to avoid tracking a trail of water straight to his door. The robe was still badly stained, and he hung it up in the corner of his bathroom to finish drying and went to bed.

—

The next morning he woke up with everybody else, got dressed in a clean robe and joined the other student in the main room. They were all nervous about the upcoming practical lesson, where Bran dho Jast would examine them on their magic. As they were approaching the dining hall, Nathan frantically patted at his robe. “Giant’s ballsack! I forgot my homework in the suite!” He turned and ran away, casting a quick “I’ll catch up at class!” over his shoulder.

He ran through the corridors, careful to restrict his run when anybody could see him. But when there was nobody around he turned on the gas, zipping through the halls with all of the speed he could muster with Stamina and four mobility Talents. Once he heard the sounds of a patrolling golem ahead and diverted, taking a slightly longer route to get to the offices as quickly as possible. Once there he approached Bran’s office and stood patiently in front of the wall as his antimagic went through the rehearsed motions to open the door.

A moment later the portal slid open, revealing Bran sitting at his desk, grading homework and munching on a scone. The orange-robed mage looked up, confused as Nathan's aura enveloped him. His face was just starting to register recognition when Nathan’s fist slammed through a multilayered [Mage Armor] and into the man’s neck, toppling him out of the chair.

The blow was hard enough to break the lecturer's spine, and Nathan stepped around the desk to stomp on Bran's chest, caving in his ribs and driving shards of bone into his heart and lungs. With confirmation that death was imminent, Nathan stayed just long enough to ensure that the man didn’t have a healing item that would save his life.

Magekiller has leveled to 181! You have cleanly killed Bran dho Jast, a lecturer of Giantsrest!

Nathan walked out of the office thirty seconds after he'd entered, shooting a glance at the nameplate on the office across the hall. It read Kimi dha Finkra, which wasn’t a name Nathan recognized.

Seems like as good a target as any for a decoy killing, so it’s not just Bran who dies. Am I ok with killing a random lecturer of Giantsrest?

He shrugged, stepping forward and starting to untangle the wizardry on the door. The lecturers held positions of power in Giantsrest, and that increased their culpability. They were directly responsible for teaching all of the flavors of mages. They taught the lessons that made enslavement, enforcement and war mages. The lecturers were a military asset and valid target because they were a core pillar of the traditions and infrastructure of Giantsrest that let them attack and enslave.

They’re certainly more responsible for the continuation of Giantsrest’s tyranny than a bunch of kids who are just trying to find their way in this messed-up society.

The attractive woman inside had apparently sensed something was up, since she was already frowning towards the entrance as door slid open. She was sitting on a couch, not at the desk, so Nathan’s prepared thrust of antimagic missed. Her red-glowing eyes narrowed, and she opened her mouth to ask a question. Then her expression grew fierce as he rushed towards her, and she barked out a quick spell.

[Force Blast]

A directional explosion blasted Nathan back slightly, with razored shards of force whipping against his aura. The spell was threaded with wizardry, and the power gave the explosion enough presence and the force to press against his antimagic. He bulled through the blast with his momentum skills, stabbing forward with another tendril of antimagic into the woman’s reinforced [Mage Armor] as she cast the next spell.

[Teleport]

The spell flickered and failed underneath the onslaught of Nathan’s antimagic, and one of the orange-robed woman’s feet teleported away. She collapsed with a scream, and he stomped on her neck and chest a few times, using antimagic to neutralize an automatic healing charm. Once his skills confirmed death was imminent, he turned to depart.

That spell was loud, and I'm a bit worried that a suddenly appearing foot is going to raise an alarm. I need to get out of here.

Magekiller has leveled to 198! You have assassinated Kimi dha Finkra, a lecturer of Giantsrest and protégé of Badud!

Nathan almost gawked at the description. Kimi had been worth half again as many levels as Bran. With wizardry and as the apprentice of Badud, there was no mystery as to why. But that wasn’t the most pressing issue. Clomping footsteps approached from multiple directions, and Nathan leapt into the air, getting close to the high ceiling before he started darting down the halls.

Other lecturers emerged from their offices to investigate the noise, and Nathan spent Focus to divert their attention away from the ceiling. He zipped over two golems as they rushed towards the disturbance, and kept going over a couple of curious students who wanted to see what the noise had been. A few people may have caught a glimpse of him, but nobody reacted in time to slow him down.

High-tier Noticeability 7 achieved

As soon as he found a clear spot he dropped to the ground and inspected his clothing. There were a couple of rips in his robe from the [Force Blast] and some blood on his shoe, but it wasn’t very noticeable. Besides, he didn’t have time to go all the way back and properly change. Not if he wanted to make the timing match how long it should take to run back to the suite and grab his homework.

Nathan pulled his homework out from an inner pocket of his robe where he’d stuck it that morning and jogged to meet with his suitemates. He caught them as they were leaving the dining hall to head to the practical class. The news of the newest killings hadn't reached them, and the younger students were gossiping as he approached.

Void of Magic has leveled to 338! You have killed two lecturers of Giantsrest inside the Ascendant Academy!

Hibor handed Nathan a large meat-pie with a grin. “Got it?”

Nathan brandished the homework. “Yup!” He stuck it back into the pocket before accepting the meat pie and munching on it as they walked to the classroom.

They entered their accustomed pod, sitting nervously as they waited for Bran to arrive. The other students were all present, and they were looking around in confusion. It wasn’t like Bran dho Jast to be late to his own class.

“How are you so calm, Natad?” Yelun asked, frowning at him.

Whoops. I know that Bran's not going to show up, but they don't yet.

He shrugged. “What happens is beyond my grasp. You’ll show off your skills, and I’ll explain that my Insight means I can’t cast the spell until I get another class Development. My work demonstrates that I understand the Insight. He will accept it or he won’t. It’s in the Giant’s hands.”

She seemed mollified, but everybody grew more and more concerned as time stretched on without Bran’s arrival. One of the students stepped out into the hall to look around, shaking his head as he returned. After almost an hour of nothing, a blue robed enforcement mage walked through the door, looking around at them all in annoyance. He linked up to the sound magic and spoke loudly. “Practical class is canceled today. I will escort you to your rooms. Your theoretical lecture this afternoon will proceed as prophesied.”

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All of the students filed past the blue-robed mage, whispering and muttering. The mage glanced over each of them as they passed, examining their faces for a moment before letting them through.

Yelun was ahead of Nathan, and she returned the man’s gaze confidently. “What happened to Lecturer Bran dho Jast?”

The enforcement mage looked at her blandly for a second before snorting. “By the Giant, the news will spread to all in a snap of the fingers. He’s dead. Murdered in his office. So was another mage, and the Founder is furious beyond prophecy’s hold.” He gestured. “Move. You don’t want to be around when the Founder sweeps the common spaces. Return to your rooms.”

Mid-tier Disguise 9 achieved!

Reminded of the urgency of his task, the man turned away. He led the low-tier students back to the residences, watching as each group climbed a separate staircase back to their suite. The gossip was quiet but fierce, with the students once more speculating on what was killing people in the Academy. Roni and Hibor had been sure it was a stealthy monster of Davrar, and they wanted to go hunt it down. The debate resumed in detail as they returned to the suite.

“We know [Mage Armor] now! We can hunt down whatever’s stalking the Academy. Then we’d be heroes!” Hibor exclaimed excitedly.

Roni turned to him, elated at the idea. “The Giant granted us both the same Insight! Let’s go hunt this ghost down.”

Yelun’s expression was mystified. “What blasphemous idiocy. You want us to try to find whatever has been killing mages all over the Academy? Break curfew to do it? That’s a dungeon of fools.” She spun to Nathan. “Natad, tell these fools the only thing they’ll find is their doom.”

Nathan scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “Yup, that’s reaching for something beyond your grasp. We should stay here and wait for the enforcement mages and golems to fix whatever is going on. I still think it’s a malfunctioning golem.”

“But you said that we were mages of Giantsrest. We can slay this foe.” Roni replied with a betrayed tone.

“Mages of Giantsrest have died!” Yelun yelled, poking a finger at her friend. “Us going out to search for what killed them is a prophecy of death.”

Roni and Hibor subsided under the girl’s glare, but they still looked rebellious. After a moment Hibor opened his mouth to reply.

Yelun cut him off, raising her finger. “Provide one good reason why we would be able to solve this problem.”

“The monster, or whatever it is, knows how to evade the security of the Academy!” Hibor said quickly. “The older mages are blinded, but we aren’t. The foe won’t be expecting us.” He pointed around. “We can cast [Mage Armor], Natad can cast [Dispel], you have [Fire Bolt], I have [Paralysis]. We can do this.”

That argument seemed to sway Yelun more than Nathan expected, so he spoke up again. “This is silly. We won’t even find anything. We’ll just stumble around when we were told to stay here, and then get in trouble when the patrols find us. Even if we do find it, it’s killed five full mages of Giantsrest. They had [Mage Armor] and [Paralysis] and [Fireball]. We should stay here.”

If they go out it’s just going to draw attention to me. Especially if they get caught breaking curfew.

His words seemed to center Yelun once again, and she turned back to the two boys. “Natad’s right, for now. We need some more ideas about what the foe is. It might be a splintered spell from the Nails, or an enforcement mage on a Path of vengeance, or a broken golem. Once we hear more information, maybe. But we must all weave the same color, and have a plan before we try to lift this weight.”

Roni nodded enthusiastically. “Agreed.” He shot a look over to Hibor, who was likewise cheerful at Yelun’s conditional agreement.

Nathan opened his mouth to disagree, but they’d already moved onto another topic.

What a bunch of idiots.

—

The low-tier students trooped into the afternoon theory lecture as a single group, sticking together and keeping an eye out. They seemed to think that an attack could come from any direction and were sticking together for safety. Lunch had been tense, with everybody sitting close to each other and talking in hushed voices as if they’d be struck dead if they spoke too loudly. They no longer felt safe in the open spaces of the Academy.

Yeah, like how the villagers of Gemore can't feel safe in their homes.

Their lecturer didn’t show any of the same fear. Brardan dho Shisk was a creature of habit, and just like every day he entered the room just as the last student was seated, ascending the stage and sitting behind the desk there.

“The events of this morning are unfortunate, but not worth weaving extraordinary magic. Do not let these events disrupt your education.” He glanced imperiously around the room before nodding. “Now, we will resume discussing the process of magical meditation.”

With that brief acknowledgment, the lecturer launched into a droning lecture on how to consider mana. Despite the terrible presentation, Nathan found himself paying attention, and being disappointed he’d missed yesterday’s lecture. The man was talking about an Insight that would allow somebody to get the [Magical Meditation] utility skill, which would help people understand their spells and learn new ones by simulating them mentally before trying to cast them in real life.

“Holding the requisite image is the most difficult step to this Insight, but the rewards are worthy of the Giant. While it is possible to Develop the skill to increase mana regeneration while meditating, the best use is to use it to help with learning new spells by holding their shapes at every step. At higher tiers the skill will help you see the transitions between different stages of a complex weave. And as I always say, understanding the transitions is the key to magic. But it is not a skill one can use while casting the magic. It is for refining your spellwork before casting it.”

I think he’s said "understanding the transitions is the key to magic" at least three times every class. Still, this Insight sounds useful. I wonder if I can use it to Develop [Battle Meditation]. It’s already unique, but the hardest part of this Insight is holding a sufficiently complex spell in your memory while meditating. [Mental Fortress] should help with that.

Several of the students around Nathan seemed to disagree with his assessment. They’d been fidgeting the entire class, and one of them muttered loudly enough to be heard by most of the class. “If it’s not for casting spells, then it’s not worth the blood from our wounds.”

[Paralysis]

Brardan dho Shisk glared down at the offending boy, who was now frozen in his chair. “Doomed fool. This is an Insight used by the Founders themselves. It is a necessary skill to learn the most powerful spells and climb to the heights of the Academy. If your hands are idle, try to learn [Disintegrate] without this skill and then return.” He turned away and resumed his lecture without another glance.

The boy spent the next half-hour paralyzed before the spell wore off. When it did he muffled a moan and started surreptitiously rubbing sore muscles that had been locked in place for too long.

Nathan listened intently as the lecturer described the Insight of magical meditation in a few ways, annoyed at how terrible the explanation was.

I’ve had about ten hours of pedagogy to prepare me to teach discussion sections. I have a single teaching utility skill. This is his full-time job, his purpose in life. Why is he so shit at this? Why is every lecturer in Giantsrest so bad? Do they just judge how good somebody is at magic and assume that’s the only thing that’s important?

Nathan blinked and reviewed the professors he’d had back on Earth. Come to think of it, that hadn’t been untrue there. People who were good at research were not usually good at teaching. It was hard to be good at both, but many professors were chosen for their research, not their educational skills.

Brardan was just starting to wrap up his lecture when something seemed to interrupt him. He stopped in the middle of a sentence and looked off into space with a frown. Then he sighed heavily and looked out over the students with mild annoyance.

“Follow. The Founder wishes to address every student in the Academy. We are called to the Grand Amphitheater.”

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Aura of Antimagic 9

Permanent Talent 2: Immortal Body 1

Permanent Talent 3: Airwalking 5

Class: Void of Magic level338

Deepened Stamina: 10050/10440

Void of Feeling

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Implacable Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Magic Anathema

Airborne Agility

Hand-to-hand Expertise

Voluminous Aura

Denial of Wizardry

Mana Severance

Class: Magekiller level 198

Regenerative Focus: 1776/2080

Catastrophic Blows

Battle Stealth

Mage Infiltration

Forgettable

Unsuspecting Strike

Antimagic Stealth

Spell Redirection

Lethal Index

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 10

Inspiration 2

Acceleration 4

Wizard Senses 9

Alertness 7

Wizard’s Intuition 10

Effortless Dodge 3

Mental Fortress 9

Tutoring 3

Parkour 2

High-tier Noticeability 7

Mid-tier Disguise 9

Mid-tier Battle Cry 7

Mid-tier Aura Manipulation 9