The Quantum Wanderer

The bell rings, it is time to get back to class. The girls stand up, walk towards me. Each of them give me a peck on the lips, and go their way. The armors do look majestic, the other students look poor by comparison. But that is not the impression that I see around.

We walk slowly back to class. Professor Gurdijeff is the teacher for Mana Management. It involves techniques such as mana control, to try to spend less mana for the same outcome, and mana recovery, through meditation.

The meditation technique allows them to restore mana while not sleeping completely. It is a very useful skill for adventurers. It also negates lack of sleep, while allowing for a shorter time before ready to cast.

The first half of the year we are going to train that, and the second half will be minimizing mana waste during spells.

We have a little bit of meditation, and I get really relaxed.

The last class is a practical one, we go outside to the arena. On the first day, professor De Albano explains to us that we are going to practice a lot of what professor Maggio teaches us. He has some stray built dolls with armors, he wants each student to cast his favorite spell on it as strongly as we can. He mentions that he wasn't in the entrance exam.

The students take a lot of time casting. They have long verses, and a lot of gestures. I extend my mana senses. They do all that, but the amount of mana that they manage to move around is very small.

Some use a fireball spell, but a very small one. Some use some winds spell, but it doesn't carry the gases like the ones I taught Cecilia. Some use a very weak lightning spell. And some use a stone bullet spell. Lucas makes a point to look at me while casting his fireball spell. Not bad if compared to the other students, stronger than them, but a leather armor could stop it.

Lucas has a couple of bootlickers that celebrate the strength of his spell.

I am placed last by the professor. He finally points at me, tells me to approach the "shooting range". When I get into position, he whispers to me.

"I was told by the dean to ask you to not destroy everything."

"Ok. What's the goal here? Destroy an armor?"

"Just something flashy."

I don't really know anything flashy but that doesn't destroy anything. Most spells I use are originals. I decide to just cast a lightning spell. I ionize the pathway, and cast it. Something not too strong.

It ends up exploding the armor.

I must say, though, that I expected a stronger armor. It looks like those are just normal steel armors. This is expected, as they are supposed to be targets.

The other students are flabbergasted. I went over the top, apparently. I shrug, and get back to my forming group, with Dedi.

"Wow! So that's the power of a mithril adventurer! No wonder you didn't need the exam! You could have won over anyone that joined the school!"

I just smile. I try to downplay it a little. Lucas scoffs.

"That's not even court mage level. At his age, that is just passable!"

I smile at him. This is fun. The teacher is staring at me, with a suspicious face.

He wraps up the class shortly after. I get off the arena, I go back to the magic school. I meet the dragonesses on the way there. Ruby then Shandon then Aquamarine put me in a group hug. Opal keeps her poise. I give a kiss on the lips for each of the girls, and Opal abandons her grace to kiss me.

“Hi, girls. How was your day?”

I have Ruby on my right arm, Shandon on my left. Aquamarine and Opal are ahead of us by a step. Aquamarine looks back.

“It was a normal one, my lord. We were told what to expect from this year, we had a talk about the subjects. We are going to start dealing with auras.”

“YES!” Ruby comments. “Can you imagine, my lord, putting aura into our swords?” She has a mischievous smile.

I answer in a quiet tone, so that only they can listen.

“Aren’t your nails stronger than that? Can’t you pour aura into that?”

“Yes, but then the painting cracks.” She extends her right hand out. She switched to a darker red for her nails after I mentioned that I liked it more.

I smile.

“Do you know where Cecilia is?”

Opal points her finger in the direction of the magic school.

“She is close, that way.”

“How do you know?” I ask.

Opal stops, and then we all stop. She tilts her head.

“My lord, we could find your smell inside a volcano!”

I nod.

Cecilia arrives, getting between Opal and Aquamarine.

“Hello, sisters. My villain. What are you conspiring about?”

I smile, and give her a peck on the lips. Then I take a step back.

“Opal told me that they could find my smell in a volcano.”

Cecilia shakes her head.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk… Sister, you should have said that it was just the power of love!”

I giggle. Aquamarine tilts her head.

“Would have it worked sister?”

Cecilia turns to me.

“Would have it worked, my villain?”

“Not completely, but it would have made me happy.”

Shandon intervenes.

“My lord, would it help to say that your smell is the only one we would find this easy?”

I can’t help but blush a little. I clear my throat.

“So, are you going to your dormitory now?” I ask.

“Oh… Sisters, he can’t come with us. Men are not allowed.” Cecilia says.

“Why?” Aquamarine asks.

“Human law. That is a women’s only place.”

The dragonesses pout. I turn to them.

“Don’t worry, I will just go home by foot. I am not going to take that much more.”

We walk down the campus. People around us is giving a lot of scares. It is a funny thing that I mostly get looks of hate. The people are divided, though. The girl mages look at Cecilia, while the knights eye my girls.

There is a common sense of awe for some people that sees us. Probably seeing the armors for the first time.

I leave the girls near the women’s dormitory, and go on my way. I see Edward is by a carriage on the schools’ gate. He waves at me.

“Good evening, friend. How was your day?”

“Good evening. It was ok. Are you waiting for someone?”

He smiles.

“Yes. You. I thought you might want a ride home.”

“Well, I appreciate, thank you.”

He opens the door and gestures me to get in. I do so, he follows and closes the door. The carriage start moving slowly. He clears his throat.

“So, how was your day?”

“It was fun! I never thought I would enjoy being back to school so much.”

“I heard the son of Marquis Hardgrave has been inconvenient.”

“Huh? Who?”

“Lucas Hardgrave. Do you want him expelled?”

“What? NO!” I laugh. “Don’t worry about that. I don’t think the girls and I need any special treatment. If we receive any unfair treatment, then I will let you know, but so far, it has not been the case…”

Edward laughs. More out of relaxing than at something funny.

“You know, I told my people that you would be in the class A, not class E. Why did you go to class E?”

“I didn’t do the entrance exam, I thought I would raise less questions in class E. Did anyone say anything?”

“Not really. There were some heated discussions in the professors’ lounge. Professor Curie was apparently underwhelmed with you. That drove Ambrose and Tacitus mad. But then they started laughing, saying that her lessons were so useless that they weren’t even worthy of your retorts. And Ambrose is still on probation for trying to kill the pumice eraser.”

I laugh, remembering the incident. Then I remember about Siratra, and I turn my face to look out the window.

Edward realize the sore topic.

“I am sorry for that, my friend. I never saw it coming.”

I smile at him.

“Don’t be. It is not on you. It is not on anyone. It was a matter of choice. The risk you have of giving freedom is of being left behind. There was no way to win that game.”

We stay silent for some time. We are both looking outside the window. He clears his throat.

“So, do you think anything in the school is going to help you?”

“Yes, I do. A lot of my way of fighting relies on a completely different magic system than the one you guys use, apparently.” I smile. “It might actually make me stronger!”

“Wow, how nice…” Edward’s words have no energy behind them.

I laugh at the scene. We arrive home. Before opening the door to the carriage, he turns to me.

“Do you want to come with me tomorrow?”

“As long as I am not imposing…”

“Not at all. How about half past 7?”

“That sounds good. Thank you.”

He opens the door, I step out. The guards at the my gate are relaxed, but they straighten up when I get close. They open my gate.

Edward’s carriage move on to his home, across the street. I cross my garden. I don’t think I pay enough attention to it. I look at the tree of crows. That is the name maids are giving to the tree close to my home, with all the crows.

I remember the incident of shiny things that happened some months ago. Rudolph had come up to me. Some maids were desperate with thinking they were being framed for robberies. They started finding all sorts of small jewelry and shiny things in their bedrooms.

They complained with Rudolph, that mentioned the situation to me. Muninn laughed. Huginn explained to Rudolph that it was just a thank you. And since then we have a daily box of small jewelry that is sent to the guards.

I tried asking Huginn to make them stop, but she says that it would go against their nature. The guards were instructed to let the crows take the eventual piece of jewelry, that it would eventually be back available for retrieval the next day in the guard house.

I approach the tree, trying to get close to them, but then Huginn and Muninn land on my shoulders. The crows on the tree go to an farther branch. I don’t even ask. I turn back to my house, entering it. I turn to Muninn and Huginn. I pet Muninn on the chest.

“How was your day? I haven’t seen you guys for the whole day.”

“Hi, father. At first we stayed until sun rise doing some clean up in the Holy Kingdom. After sleeping it off, we were checking on the situation.”

In the living room, the girls are already there. They have already showered. I go up the stairs. Muninn and Huginn stay by while I shower.

“Really? How is the whole thing progressing?”

“It is advancing well. Of course, things are not as fast as we would want. But the news about the crow queen are spreading throughout the country, as well as the rumors that Angelica was destroyed. The country is entering a civil war.

“The soldiers are getting back with information on some cities that were already cleansed. The top brass and the soldiers are trying to get a communication with other cities, to see which one hasn’t been attacked yet.

“A lot of them are going towards Nergalea. It is a small city, but it does get a lot peregrines. Their installations is disproportionate to the population. It is considered holy soil.”

Muninn laughs.

“The morons think that they are going to be safe there!”

Huginn sighs, then continues.

“A lot of their soldiers are going there as well. They are getting organized. And the crow queen is getting organized as well. She is starting a whole new government. The adventurers consider that it is their duty to serve her.”

“Aren’t they going to be ran over by the army forces that are outside the Holy Kingdom?” I ask.

“Oh, papa, don’t worry. They are never going to arrive. I am still clearing up the soldiers…”

I remove the soap from my eyes and look at her. She is smiling. I can just picture Ruby complimenting Huginn. I giggle a little.

I finish my shower and I go downstairs. I meet the girls in the living room, talking about school, we move to the dining room. The maids serve the dinner. We all start eating.

After the first moments, where everyone is busier chewing than speaking, I turn to Cecilia.

“Did something happen at school? I noticed you were talking about school before dinner.”

“My sisters were asking me why you can’t use our dormitory to portal home.” Cecilia says.

“The dormitory is for women only.” I say.

“Yes, but why, my lord?” Aquamarine asks.

I think for a moment.

“So that women don’t have to worry about being proper in front of the guys. That is also the reason behind separate restrooms and dressing rooms.”

“How come?” Shandon asks.

“The only man you are supposed to be naked in front of is your husband.” Cecilia says.

There is some silence on the table. I can almost see the wheels in their mind turning. Shandon tilts her head.

“But… Didn’t we fly naked? Is it bad that your parents saw us naked?”

Charles chokes on his drink, some of it gets out through his nose. Lucille mouths out a ‘behave’ command. Cecilia and I laugh.

“Yes, but that was in your dragon shape.” I say.

“And how is that different?” Aquamarine asks.

I look at Cecilia. She is laughing now. She shakes her head, either indicating that she doesn’t know of that answering this is not her problem. Perhaps both.

I stop to think a little bit. They do have a fair point in their questioning. After a little bit, I go with the crude answer.

“Among humans, the woman undressing is an indication that she wants to partake in sex.”

“Like raising the tail?” Aquamarine asks.

“Well… That sounds about right…” In my mind, I am thinking while I answer. It is not too off the mark.

That answers the questions, the girls get satisfied with the answer. They are all thinking about our past behavior, probably.

There is a big interval. I finish eating. I turn to Huginn.

“So, are you going to visit the Holy Kingdom again today?”

“Yes, papa. Lots of work.” She sighs. “You know how that goes. All in the name of trying to punish only the guilty…”

I smile.

We talk about the stuff that happened during my day at the school, about Lucas. The girls talk about their day in detail as well. Ruby is particularly interested on stuff that they are going to learn this year. She just might get a tad stronger.

We retire for the night after dinner. Muninn and Huginn open a portal but the rest of us just have some sex and sleep.

Next morning, after breakfast, the girls portal to their dormitory. I just meet Edward out front. He gives me a ride.

When I leave his carriage, in front of the magic school building, the other students are whispering among themselves. I go into class.

Lucas and his group are throwing stares towards me. I sit down in the back as always, and Dedi, Mayara and the group sit close to me.

“Good morning.” Dedi says.

“Good morning, guys.”

“Good morning.” Mayara and the other two say.

“So… Do you know what people are whispering about?”

“Well… Did you get a ride from the dean this morning?” Mayara asks.

“Yes. We live close, so he offered.”

“Are you close with him?” Dedi asks.

“You could say that. He is very friendly.”

They all give me a weird look, but don’t say anything. The teacher enters the room.

“Good morning, students.”

“Good morning, professor Maggio!”

The teacher starts the lesson. He introduces some of the history on how the first mandalas were provided by the gods when they showed the first spells to humans. Then he starts talking about their individual elements.

Most of the students are bored. I am very interested, though. He starts with some drawings. I do a mana sense on the classroom, so that I can feel if there is any mana in those drawings. Nothing. The teacher, however looks at me.

The drawings have a weird effect. First, they draw my attention. I can keep looking at them for a long time. Like when you get hypnotized by a scene, and your mind gets far. After some time staring, I close my eyes.

There is an after image in my mind. The drawings invoke completely unrelated sceneries in my mind. Fire, wind, lightning. I open my eyes, focusing again on the class. This is absolutely fantastic.

I pay attention to each word the professor goes through. He is talking about how the runes and images come in. I don’t really like taking notes like the other students, I prefer focusing on everything that is being said.

The images are still lacking something, though. There is something missing. I compare the images he is drawing with the ones I used for the bags of holding, my main experience on the subject. I close my eyes to focus on both of them.

Then it hits me.

He didn’t see the fractals.

When I inspected the bags of holding, I noticed that the mana pathways around the gems end up traversing and creating a fractal. I implemented that on the bags of holding I created.

The drawings on the board, probably because they are hand made, only have the very last layer. It is missing the fractal designs. I open a smile. I giggle. This is absolutely fantastic.

“Anything funny, mister Marcelo?”

“Oh, not really professor. I am just enjoying the subject.”

“Humpf.”

He continues with the class, writing on the pumice board. The class continues, until the literal bell sings.

He leaves the room. Dedi turns to me.

“What was that? Are you ok? Laughing out of nowhere?”

I give him a smile.

“No, I am just amazed with it. Do you guys already know about this subject?”

“Some of us do, some of us don’t. Mayara and the other do, I am an exception. I am a scholarship student.”

“Ok. Mayara, did you study this already?”

“Yes, as most noble students have. Most of us have had private magic tutors before joining the school.”

“Why joining the school, then?”

“Expanding the knowledge, connections. This school is also a way to be in a visible place. As a place to meet other future nobles.”

“Ok. Do you mind pulling up a mandala to cast a fireball?”

She hold her hand up, and the mandala appears on top of her palm. It is flat, and it only has the first level of the mandala.

“Thank you.”

“Wait! Don’t you use this?”

“Like I told you before, I kind of cast by instinct, not by theory. This is the kind of thing that I came to learn in the school.”

She closes her hand, the design goes away. Right on time, professor Curie enters the classroom. We get back to our seats.

“Good morning, class.”

“Good morning, professor Curie.”

She starts the class talking about basic herbs and their uses. She starts with healing herbs. She mentions that some of them had their prices dropped recently because of additional availability in the market.

The herbs are very specific. Some are for fevers, some are to be used as disinfectants, some are to be used as anti-inflamatory. They know about infections, but they haven’t really investigated microbes. The mana on top of things is used to leverage the power of each plant.

The absolutely stupid amount of levels I have enable me to memorize the drawings of leaves easily. Even like this I cheat a little bit. No way around it, though. Even if it is something that I am not expecting to use anytime soon, I think that having the knowledge is useful.

I wonder how good a teacher on the subject Ipê would be. I giggle slightly.

We have the noon snack break.