NOVEL NEXT Life 35 - Chapter 21 - The Wondering In
Isaac Hamilton's POV
The [Archmages] and their closest coterie collectively screamed and flailed as their spell failed and backlash struck them like Divine punishment. If he wasn't so stunned by the scene unfolding before his very eyes, Isaac Hamilton would've snorted at the analogy. It could very well be Divine punishment. Amusing allegories aside, he worried for the future of the Academy. Without the ruling triumvirate to keep it together in these trying times, the institution could be drawn and quartered by the hungry factions eager to rebuild their own little empires.
Maybe it was an opportunity. He himself was member of one of these hungry factions. He wouldn't dare do anything before checking with the book mimic. Speaking of which, the creature hung at Ambrose's side, safely nestled inside that silk bag. The halfling wasn't panicking as hard as the other people, which led credence to his suspicion that the tome was involved with the unfolding events.
Back to the Headmaster, he {Appraised} him.
> Level 85 male [Archmage]
> Physical >>>>>>>>>> Mental > Spiritual >> Magical
His rare {Appraise} Ability paid off. Ten chevrons between one Attribute category and the next, the maximum his Ability would display, meant the difference in total points was ten times or more. Isaac didn't want to believe but the System wasn't lying. Whatever happened to the Headmaster, it ruined his Attribute values.
Then he did the same to the others. Every single one of them gave the same result.
He detached himself from the scene and studied the reaction of the people around him. The other teachers rushed to help the [Archmages], while the two ladies next to him empathetically cried as they hugged each other. Ambrose lowered her head and clutched the strap of the book's bag. He felt the girl's disappointment as she shook it.
Isaac relived the events. The Headmaster attempted to lie under his own spell, which caused its framework to become unstable. Given the Triumvirate’s expertise it would be a trivial matter for the other two to bring the spell back under control even if Druxius was unable to do so. However, it backfired entirely. One would suspect sabotage but why accuse when it was without proof and when it benefitted his position?
The Headmaster was a relic of another time. And his actions only showed it. He was unhinged. The Headmaster's behavior was not one borne of civilized thought but one belonging to ages long past, one where power made right. He coveted the book mimic, the power it held but it was too much for him.
If the book mimic was even remotely related to the Goddess, Druxius was a fool. A lowly worm dreaming of soaring the clouds. Not even worth mentioning that if their suspicions were right and Netherbane was the Goddess' child, then Druxius should be happy he was alive.
In any case, he felt relieved that he took the right side. Isaac reaffirmed his intent of helping Ambrose and her familiar to the best of his ability. And maybe he should re-read the Holy books regarding the Matriarch. Before both miracles and divine wrath, the hearts of men often find renewed faith, after all.
'Matriarch, the Goddess of Protection! Swift is your punishment but plentiful is your bounty. Please overlook our slights', he prayed to himself while he glanced sideways at the book.
*
*
*
*
While Isaac prayed, the world moved on. People talked as their voices tangled with one another in a cacophony, mages casted spells, and everyone tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
The chair that tumbled twice cracked under all the added weight of the [Archmage]'s new body. And boy, was it a marvel to behold. Lean muscles, taut and soft skin, he even grew an inch or two from sheer bulk. Too bad it was painful as fuck.
They howled and thrashed as their bones, muscles, and sinew were reforged by the System. It went on for less than a handful of seconds and then it was over. The group settled and the Headmaster's chair broke. The System's job was done and so was the curse. It was useless now and if I let it linger on them it would be a liability, ridiculously high detection difficulty or not.
Every mage in the room full of mages was using a spell or two. Healing, detection, protection, and so on. The fact it hadn't descended into utter anarchy spoke to the sense of duty most faculty had for the institution. Too bad their leader tried to seek power that didn't belong to them. Amidst the chaos, I cast a counter curse spell, letting the diagram draw in the air for all to see, joining the myriad of magical symbols floating around.
The diagram was carefully wrought to be easy to understand. It was a purifying and purging spell which could do no harm. Some teachers noticed the spell and quickly nodded at me, disregarding the spell. It ran its course and lifted any curse or jinx (weaker than me) in the room. It did nada to the ones I was burdened with, though.
> You gained 1 point of [Diplomat].
> You gained 1 point of [Spellcaster].
She widened her eyes,
She took a deep breath, then rubbed my dust cover with her hand.
She gasped.
Maybe to prove my point, the Headmaster flipped the table. Some [Kineticist] (a specialized Force mage that excelled in moving things) teacher seized it in the air. The others looked sedated. With a single point in every Mental and Spiritual Attribute, they were supposed to be docile "giants". Only the still-angry Druxius gave any trouble.
The millennia old half-elf had all the time to reach the cap but settled comfortably only five levels into the fourth rank. I knew why he wasn't out there grinding levels and why he was so intent on taking everything from Barbara. The old man was biding his time until something that could make the grind easier showed up. He knew how fast she'd leveled up and probably figured out I gave Barbara some Exp multiplier.
The now-bodybuilder Headmaster was already calming down after some teachers talked to him. With only 1 point of Charisma, he was a sitting duck for any social interaction. Another group was examining the group affected by the backlash and heads with dismayed faces shook as they understood what was going on.
One of them used an Air spell to be heard over the cacophony, "This session is adjourned. Students, you are free to go."
*
*
"Thank you for your help, Lord Hamilton," Barbara shyly mumbled as the group of four students plus book walked through the long and dust-free corridors of the Academy.
"Isaac. You don't have to be so formal," he offered. "I am your sponsor; it was my duty to defend you."
"I was about to jump at them," Eleanora cheekily butted in. "Isaac stole my thunder."
"What happened back there?" Elizabeth asked. "Netherbane, do you have any idea?"
I took the time to morph a mouth. "The Headmaster attempted to lie and the dissonance between his will and the spell he was concentrating on caused a magical backlash. The other casters failed to rein it in and they were all struck."
Isaac's face froze for a moment, then the practiced mask of the nobleman took over. But it was Eleanora that voiced it as she puffed her cheeks slightly. "We know that, little book."
"Why don't you explain it then?" I challenged. "I'll craft you a new spell if you give a satisfactory explanation."
"Each," she attempted to negotiate.
"Deal," I replied.
"Isaac?" The cheeky half-satyr who looked like a human fluttered her eyelids.
"Something made them dumb and super strong. Their Attributes got shuffled around," Isaac explained as he stared down at me, slung next to Barbara's hip.
I heard him praying back in the room. He was smart, I had to admit. And he might be a nice person after all, although the jury was out on that one.
"It felt like divine punishment," he added, testing me. Barbara choked on thin air, confirming his suspicion. Isaac gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Barbara? Is everything okay?"
Her right side went stiff. She looked up and met his eyes as her heart rate skyrocketed. "I'm fine, th-thanks."
Elizabeth plucked Isaac's hand out of Barbara's shoulder. She stared into Isaac's eyes, "I think Barbie needs to relax," she explained before softening her tone and turning to Barbara. "Would you join me in my room, dear?"
The halfling stopped dead in her tracks. "Me?"
"Yes! For some tea and pastries," Elizabeth explained while the other noble Lady grinned.
Where in the world would they find a bakery in this ruined... Oh, dammit.
"Hold it!" Isaac interrupted the dough-filled machinations of the noblewomen. "We need to sit somewhere safe and talk about what happened. We just painted a target on our backs, ladies. Trust me, some teachers will try to pin the blame of what happened on us. While I don't think they will harm our standing, it will still be a huge bother. Especially if we don't provide a unified front."
"We need to start coaching Barbie on how to behave in court too. Now that you revealed their secret, we will need to take them there," Elizabeth added.
"Sponsor duties," Eleanora explained to Barbara. "You'll be knighted as part of Margrave Hamilton's faction. The Northwest Guard."
"Just like everyone else here," Isaac added as he glared at the lively girl.
With that, we crossed the twenty-odd meters to the Nobles dorm and went back to the meeting room. There, Elizabeth took over.
"Please forgive my impertinence, Barbara," she said with a congenial smile to dissolve interpersonal barriers. "Are you a Transcendental?"
"I think so?" She replied bashfully. "I have a special perk from birth and it gives big Attribute bonuses. But it wasn't one of the ten we saw at the church."
"The so-called 'Attribute {Capstone} Series', as Netherbane said," Elizabeth offered.
"That's how the System calls it. {Capstone}," Isaac added, probably looking at his own Status sheet.
Barbara rubbed her hands to calm down, then confessed, "Mine is called {Matriarch's Chosen}. It gives ten each to Endurance, Mind, Willpower, and Magic. It also lets me ask the Goddess a question once every day. That last part doesn't work."
"Because the Matriarch is unavailable," I cut in. "She's busy recovering from the wounds suffered in the Cataclysm."
"Goodness!" Elizabeth gasped. "Forty Attribute points in a single Perk? The {Capstones} only give ten!"
"Are you sure this Perk stay with you in your future incarnations?" Isaac asked.
"It does," I replied. The System changed it a bit, probably because Fate demanded it. It seems I wasn't allowed to know which of the twins was Lorna. "The Goddess granted it to her two thousand years ago."
Surprised, Eleanora whistled. She commented once she had everyone's attention. "Am I the only one assaulted by a deep wave of nostalgia?"
"No," Isaac smiled as he shook his head. "I'm having it since we were rescued from the Labyrinth."
Elizabeth placed a hand between her collarbones, "Me too! I felt like it wasn’t the first time that happened to us, but I never set foot in the Labyrinth before!"
I had... a hunch regarding what they were talking about. But it was absurd.
"It must be nothing," Eleanora dismissed the idea with a tittered giggle. "Maybe just the stress of almost dying and a deep sense of gratitude."
"Perhaps," Isaac agreed. "Anyway, back to the subject of Transcendental Perks. Netherbane, will you be able to display your Perks?"
"Yes. You can prove I have {The Leader}, and {Cosmos Within} has a very distinctive effect. Let me show it to you."
I activated it for a split-second, targeting the four of them.
> You gaze into the Cosmos. Behold its glory and forget about the world.
The experience must've been unsettling. They all shook and shivered as the effect washed over as soon as it happened, leaving only the message in their interfaces.
"That was..." Elizabeth shuddered and hugged her arms, rubbing them as if she felt cold.
"Yeah," Eleanora nodded.
"{Cosmos Within} ..." Isaac mused. "The {Capstone} for Ego. The most elusive of them all. And maybe the most powerful."
"All of them are, in their own way. But yes, it is strong," I agreed.
"I'll be honest, Netherbane," Isaac said. "Are you the one the church is looking for all these centuries?"
"And who is it?" I played dumb.
"The church seeks a Transcendental whose Status can't be read," he explained. "Everyone believes that to be about a person."
"It's okay to tell them, Nethe," Barbara suggested.
"No, it's not," I lowered my eyestalks. "Sorry guys. I can't answer that one. That way, you can honestly reply you don't know."
Isaac paused for a moment, collecting his wits. He shared a glance with the other two noblewomen and earned nods from them. "Yes, that is for the best."
"Okay!" Eleanora broke the silence after a while. "I'm a little peckish, so can we go to Lizzie's room?"
*
*
That's how Isaac was discarded and I found myself baking in a corner of Lady Elizabeth's bedroom while the three women prepared for a tea slash sleepover party. Only one thing held them back from letting it all loose.
"Is Netherbane a boy book or a girl book," Eleanora asked.
Before I could protest, Barbara answered straight, "Girl book. Definitely a girl."
"How do you even..." Elizabeth stole a glance at me. "How do mimics reproduce?"
"Nethe?" Barbara asked and I replied to them.
"Mimics split a portion of their bodies into a baby mimic once they reach a certain age. No rubbing bits of flesh required."
"Gross," Eleanora retched in jest. "You need to learn some poetry, Miss book."
I swiveled my ribbon-eyestalks backward and glared at her across the room, "Maybe I should stop baking and go read some. Or stop concentrating on this Fire spell and let it loose."
She quickly did a half-turn, "No, I was just joking."
They changed the subject for a while, until I arrived on the bed levitating two trays, one with steaming pastries and the other with three shot glasses with a fiery red liquid.
"My esteemed Ladies, these are best consumed hot. To whet your appetites, I have two draughts of {Major Fire Resistance Potion}. Take them before the pastries"
> [Ruby Major Fire Resistance Potion]
> Value: 25 silver.
> Ingredients: Crushed rubies, salt, crystallized dew, water, dragon blood.
> Increases sense of taste by 25%. Grants 80% Fire resistance and capsaicin tolerance. Duration, 8 minutes.
> This non-alcoholic potion tastes like wine with notes of tangy wild berries. It has extremely low potion toxicity.
"These are twenty-five silver," Elizabeth said as she picked one of the glasses.
"Although these aren't anything like the filthy roadside market versions, think nothing of it, my Lady."
Eleanora quaffed hers. "I doubt they are. No potion I've ever taken, tasted as good, Nethe."
She was testing the waters to see if she could use the nickname. I glanced at my companion.
Barbara said. I replied with a mental nod.
"Thank you for your kind words, my Lady. Now, tell me what you think of my Jalapeño Bacon Croissants."
I would accept nothing less than gormandizing groans.
*
*
"Hot!"
One of the girls complained. Which one, was irrelevant. The women took the potion, even though Barbara shared 80% of my Fire absorption. Which meant she was healed by 16% of all Fire damage taken. The elementally attuned Jalapeños were doing their magic inside their bodies.
"But delichious," Eleanora mumbled with her mouth half-full, drawing an irate glare from the other noblewoman.
The first victim were the heavy robes. The three exchanged a glance and then stripped down to their underwear. I found out where Eleanora's satyr heritage hid itself. Her legs were human-shaped but covered from the bridge of the foot all the way to the crotch in a soft glossy brown fur, like a horse's. Yeah, Yznarian satyrs weren't half-goat. They were half-horse, although it was hard to tell the difference.
"Are you part Kin?" Barbara asked her.
"Satyr," Eleanora replied. "My father, a satyr, married into my human family. I didn't get the digitigrade hooved legs, just this fur. I missed out on a nice movement rate bonus."
"And was doomed to wear shoes for all life," Rolling her eyes, Elizabeth quipped in a whisper.
"It's gorgeous. It's like you're wearing fur leggings. Must be awesome in winter!" The halfling gushed. She reached out for a moment then withdrew her hand.
"You can touch my calf if you want," Eleanora offered a leg with a mischievous grin.
"But don't go above the knee," Elizabeth warned. "We don't want a repeat of last year's summer."
I'd never know what they did last summer. Not that I cared much. But I bet Eleanora's thighs were ticklish.
Before things could get even more heated, I climbed on the bed with three small cocktail glasses balanced on a tray. With frosted sugar around the edges and a glowing bubbling blue liquid with silver streaks. These were not margueritas. An owl feather poking out of the pool of blue decorated the drink.
"This sweet drink is perfect to counteract the Jalapeños, my ladies," I announced like a British butler.
Elizabeth took the first glass because the other two were busy tickling each other. "Another potion?" She asked me with a slightly raised eyebrow.
> [Sapphire Cool Potion of Intellect]
> Price: 1 gold, 89 silver
> Ingredients: Crushed sapphires, sugar, owl feathers, mermaid tears, water.
> Soothes the palate, removes fatigue. Increases MP regeneration by 25%. +15 Charisma, +5 Mind and +5 Magic. If unlocked, +5 Ego and +5 Soul. Allows imbiber to turn their tongue blue at will. Duration, 15 minutes.
> This non-alcoholic refreshing sweet drink loosen social boundaries while keeping the mind sharp and alert. It has extremely low potion toxicity.
"I'm afraid all drinks I serve are considered 'potions' by the System, milady," I replied. I can't make ordinary beverages, I only have [Alchemist] to brew."
The exchange sparked Eleanora's interest. She rolled on her hips to fetch herself a cocktail. "It tickles the back of my mouth," she trilled. "Can I have a box to go? Where did you learn the recipe?"
"It's a secret, I'm afraid."
She poked a blue tongue at me. The value of something exclusive relied on artificial scarcity.
"I only brewed these three doses," I continued. "My Ladies, you tasted something unique in this entire world. Not even the Goddess knows how this drink tastes."
This time it was Barbara's time to giggle at me.
"We are honored, Nethe," Elizabeth declared.
"Where did you learn [Alchemy] anyway?" Eleanora pressed, sloshing her over-half-empty glass. "Seriously, I estimate this requires over two hundred Proficiency to brew."
"I'm sorry, Nethe," the other Lady grabbed her furry-legged companion. "Elly didn't mean to intrude. She's just curious."
"That's fine," Barbara dismissed Elizabeth's worries before she smoothly changed subjects. "You already know, don't you?"
I was surprised and so was Elizabeth, who inhaled sharply, then straightened herself on the bed to meet the halfling's eyes.
"We suspected. But recent developments and what you said about your Transcendental Perk confirmed it," the Lady admitted. "Nethe's mother is the Matriarch, isn't she?"
"Yes. She was the one trapped in the Headmaster's vault for a thousand years," Barbara admitted.
"The church is looking for you," Eleanora repeated Isaac's question, staring at me. "Why won't you reveal yourselves?"
"I don't want to get dragged into their schemes and plots too early," I explained. "I have a hunch who told the Church to look for me and I have people out there looking for them. If I get dragged into the church's business, then mom will make their business her business. She doesn't want to rake that muck yet. You two are part of the nobility, you surely know some dirt on the church. Can you imagine the bother it would be to clean it up?"
"Isn't it her job?" Eleanora rebutted.
I shook my silk eyestalks. "The church exists to serve the Goddess, not the other way around. There's an anecdote that explains it very well."
An explorer visits a cannibal gnoll restaurant in the barbarian wilds, to the east. He browses the menu.
- Harpy wing tulips, 45 copper.
- Centaur ribs with barbecue sauce, 3 silver.
- Pickled Human haunches, 4 silver.
- Elf steak with sautéed vegetables, 12 silver.
- Roasted [Priest], 27 gold.
Intrigued, he asked the waiter why the roasted [Priest] was so expensive.
"Aside from staying for weeks over the coals to soften the meat, have you ever tried cleaning one up?"
The girls didn't laugh. Maybe I should've brewed a fourth dose for myself. Or they aren't into cannibal humor.
"After centuries left to their own devices, the church is in a sorry state, to say the least," I explained. "Their only commendable achievement was to push the worship of the other gods to the sidelines."
"The Perk package for new [Priests] is a very generous one," Elizabeth admitted. "I know several people who joined the church just for the Perks."
"Let's assume you are the Goddess for a day. How would you feel about these [Priests] who only pay lip service to the Faith? Or the old ones who whore out the temple to line their pockets?"
Elizabeth startled at the W-word. She took a few steadying breaths. "I would purge them all," she doomsayed in a whisper.
"Exactly. Their reckoning is long overdue, but it will happen on mom's terms. She's healing from the Cataclysm and in no hurry for some house cleaning."
The real reason was that I didn't want to drag Barbara into this mess. I want her to live her life on her own terms. But if this sponsorship thing was meant to work, it had to be with all cards on the table.