I couldn't believe I'd managed to completely mess up my guess as to where I was.
Magic Circuits. Magecraft. The Clock Tower. The warning against psycho mages all too keen on cutting things open. The distinct lack of any emotion on certain faces. It all made sense now.
According to my colleagues, jumping to conclusions was a weakness of mine. I'd never really understood them before but now I could see some of where they were coming from... Well, the situation wasn't all bad just yet. I hadn't made any critical mistakes just yet, none that I was aware of, at least.
The stakes were just a lot higher than I'd previously imagined. To some extent, that made things much more interesting. I'd know how interesting once I managed to put together just which version of the crazy franchise I'd found myself in.
The hot servants and certain mildly eroge-based parts of this world had some... interesting prospects, the possib-... no, the very real existence of various deities, myths, and threats to the whole of the world; past, present and future, was even more exciting. If this world was going to be a big problem for me, I was going to be an even bigger problem for it.
What's the worst it could do?
Kill me?
"Hah."
Perhaps it was a good idea to let myself process this realisation before jumping to any conclusions.
Most of my awareness regarding the danger came from internet forums read in passing but typically, the more chance there was of getting bent over the table by forces beyond your imagination, the more chance there was of getting some extremely absurd and illogical abilities too. It was all so very exciting.
"My... has Lord Melustea finally let go of the fossil you people call a spy network?" I heard Luviagelita scoff, glancing at Yvette from the corner of her eye. She had one hand under her chin and the other under her breasts.
Admittedly, I'd be liking her so-called 'faction' more if she was making offers like Yvette.
"I was quite certain it would take you a good decade to figure out something was happening in your own backyard. Just like the last ten times."
Yvette gave me a sly grin before smiling innocently, "I didn't know he was so interesting."
Okay, so the offer was just out of plain weirdness? It made sense when I saw her eyepatch again.
"He's off-limits. You're not going to outbid us."
Getting treated like an object was a curious feeling. It almost made me consider just ducking both of their 'factions' for another just to see the look on their faces. Although, getting tied up with Clock Tower politics seemed a one way ticket to put myself in danger... maybe after I'd secured Henry's family.
"Won't you be a good mindless brute and spill more sensitive information I can report back to Lord Meluastea?" Yvette cocked her head just slightly. She quickly latched on to my hand. "Come on, won't it be fun to be with someone like me rather than her? I'll make you cake~."
I eyed Luviagelita, pointing fingers at the one offering me free cake.
She seemed to consider something for a moment before huffing, "I'll buy out the best bakery in London."
Ew. English food. Free English Food though... Still ew.
"Paris." I countered.
"...Very well."
Satisfied, I pried Yvette off my hand with some effort. The pinkett puffed her cheeks and grumbled. "Bourgeois party poopers."
"You're also one of them." I pointed out curiously.
Luviagelita snorted, "She wishes. The poor thing couldn't afford the plate I eat from."
"Silence in the classroom. If your private discussion is that interesting, you don't need to be here. Please leave."
...I'd almost forgotten he even existed.
This Waver Velvet seemed a far cry from the one I was accustomed to coming across. But then again, he was also older than what I'd seen. With age came wisdom and all that.
I caught Flat snorting at us as Yvette ducked and Luviagelita turned away with another huff. She did that a lot. I just bowed my head in apology, feeling like I was back in college all of a sudden.
"So, where was I?" He continued with a sigh. "Right, yes. The need for self-hypnosis when casting a spell."
Oh?
I couldn't help but lean in.
"As you all know, the modern world is rapidly deciphering the so-called 'secrets' of the world and defining them in its own terms. Science. Last time, we discussed how the possibility of numerous possible explanations but lack of singular and definitive reasoning in a principle enhances the potency of magecraft pertaining to it or including it. The mystery, as you would have it. Modern progress has neutered this aspect such that a famed magus from today would be but a run-of-the-mill layman just a century ago. This is directly related to today's lesson."
Public College had taught me it was better to just nod along like you understood everything even when you didn't if you didn't want to risk the wrath of a teacher who didn't have their morning coffee the way they didn't like it.
By the way Luviagelita snorted, it seemed like it was basic information too. The other students (the not-so-eccentric ones) were as interested as I was.
"Now, in today's environment, it has become impossible not to interact with 'science' as we grow. You will come across, and be forced to understand the way things work as they are. Humans have never liked outliers. The last thing a magus wants to do is look a fool."
"Can't you just isolate yourself?" I blurted out without thinking.
"A good point," Waver pointed his chalk my way before whirling around and writing 'TRUTH' on the board. "isolation however, does not affect what is true for the world at large. You simply thinking it is so does not make it so. And deep down, the human psyche is wired to parse information in a certain way at this point, to attempt to willfully modify this is not worth the effort. Some necessary societal interaction would render all your efforts null. No, magecraft must always coexist with science."
He made a show of snapping his fingers.
"In a way, Magecraft IS a science. An alternative, if you would. Back to where we were though, self-hypnosis is a major component of any spell, and a rather difficult one to master as well. It's why most of us need chants. We don't talk to the world with them, we convince ourselves of a certain truth. This is because unlike modern"
"Ehhh, this is booooring." Flat complained, "Magecraft is all like... Boom! Wah! And pow!"
He raised his hands as I raised my aviators. Magical energy danced along the edge of his fingertips, rushing to heed some command of his before coalescing and exploding in a display of lights that reminded me of mini-fireworks.
His shonen protagonist behaviour was promptly met with the blunt end of Waver's duster.
"Simmer down! I'll deal with you later."
Curious, I tried to mimic what he had done. In Flat's case, the latent magical energy in the air had obeyed him. When I attempted to recreate the same thing, the mana flowing through my body had burst forth instead but ultimately moved the same way I wanted it to and did as Flat had done.
"That's fucking awesome."
It was amazing. I wanted to test every bit of magecraft my eyes had burned to memory thus far. I regretted not having done it sooner.
When I was done with my little 'tantrum', I noticed Yvette staring at me with a big, beady eye as her hand reached for her eyepatch. Luviagelita seemed oddly surprised and... Waver... Well, it seemed Waver had raised his duster again out of habit but then realised what had happened and now his jaw hung low.
It was fine. I wasn't all too keen on hiding anyway.
"Yeah! Yeah! It was just like that!" Flat's screeching cut through the silence.
I tilted my head, "Your parents abandoned you on a 4th of July?"
"Another one?!" Waver jumped, flailing his hands like he'd gone crazy, "Why not me then?! Why is talent always with brats who just want to play!"
"Why indeed? Have you considered just not being..." I looked him up and down, "you?"
"What's wrong with me?!"
"You teach at a university. You."
"Maybe not jump at every little thing you see?" Luviagelita suggested kindly.
"I can see your shaking hand, you know?" I pointed out with a smile. "Don't act like you're not in the same boat as him."
That seemed to do it for her.
"It's... It's not my fault! You activated your magic circuits less than an hour ago! I wasn't told about this. How did you, a commone-" She quickly forced herself quiet with her palm. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done.
"He... what?!"
Even the ner-... Caules, was surprised now. His glasses were suddenly all out of place.
Before any commotion could take place, Waver slammed his hands on the table, "Yvette! Stop drooling!"
"Hot and a once in a century find! How can you blame poor old me for being excited?! Even a hag would jump his bones just for the seed." The weird lolita wiped her mouth. Her choice of words made me feel very uncomfortable. I knew I was a hot bitch but... damn.
"Just out of curiosity, is the same true for milf-... oof."
This time, I was the one hit by the duster and was forced to abandon my noble line of questioning to rub my forehead... Where was he getting that many anyway?!
"You! Meet me after class."
"No."
"What?"
"I said, no."
"It's for your own good."
I went quiet. This seemed to give him some sort of false hope as he let out a relieved sigh. As a gentleman, I had to deliver him from the lies (delusion) and tell him the truth.
"No."
"Why?!"
"Because he will be going with me." Luviagelita put her foot down. "He's the reason I'm being forced to take this class for simpletons. I don't know what Lord Valualeta was even thinking."
I nodded slowly, "Definitely, going with her."
Did she want to jump my bones too?
I was beginning to like this new world a whole lot more.
Unfortunately, William was not a man to be forced into anything.
I stayed silent seeing as her declaration had made Waver back down if only for a moment. Still, it really felt like he was going to show up at my home with no reasonable explanation whatsoever and force my 'own good' down my throat without asking for any form of consent.
-
I spent the next hour listening to Waver detail just why there was doujin logi-... self-hypnosis was absolutely necessary for the purposes of any magi. It was because science was deeply ingrained into our subconscious by way of upbringing and environment and one needed to be absolutely sure in one's logic to achieve any desired outcome with a spell. It was why different magi had different chants for the same spell at times.
They needed to convince themselves in their own way.
This made me relate the human soul to a terminal for interacting with the larger world. One's magic circuits were hardware, the mind was the software and spells were programs that realised results by borrowing what humans lacked from a higher power still unknown to me.
Then, the same way a GPU or RAM could accelerate a certain process, magic circuits could do the same for the brain's processing capacity with their quality and quantity. Luviagelita's earlier statements assured me that I had some top of the line stuff in me.
And the same way a computer enthusiast was ready to perform a hit for better hardware, magi would be highly enthusiastic about taking what I had.
Fortunately, they didn't seem all that dangerous when I could quite literally 'see' their spells forming, and replicate the process a lot faster. I had tried with the one Flat showed me. By cutting out excess and adding it elsewhere, I'd managed to reduce the casting time to less than a quarter of what he needed, improve the firepower, and minimise the mana expenditure.
UNfortunately, the shonen asshole copied my new spell as soon as he saw me test it in the classroom.
"You need to be better with your words. Someone as talented as yourself should not be as uncouth. Swearing doesn't make you 'cool'." Luviagelita advised as we walked through the corridor. I was enjoying the hushed conversations taking place around us.
"It seemeth the nutrients meant for thine brain went elsewhere. The size doth maketh sense. This one finds no issue with their destination however, he is an admirer even. I also just noticeth that we hath been walking on theth groundeth floor."
"What?"
"Nice tits. Ciao."
I gave her a thumbs up before jumping out of the window and speeding away. She proved to me that I wasn't getting away that easy by jumping out right after me and running... She... She was running faster than me.
"Oh... shit."
I was going to get knocked out again, wasn't I?
-
Hope you were sufficiently entertained.
Do give some powerstones if you want an extra chapter. A hundred shouldn't be a massive ask, right?
P.S: I think I want some beta readers. I'll make a discord if someone is interested.