The OP Lich is a Returnee, Chapter 33

Chapter 33 – After Class

“Here you go, onee-san.”

I smiled at my little sister as she brought me a drink and some snacks from the cafeteria. Of course, I’d given her the money to get us both lunch, but that was besides the point. It was nice to have her working as my assistant for this weak.

“Thank you, Eri-chan. You didn’t have to sign up to be my assistant, you know.”

Eri laughed. “The university is paying me to spend a week out of classes, hanging out with my sister, who was in another world for most of my life. Why wouldn’t I want to sign up for this?”

I chuckled. “Yes, I’m sorry I haven’t spent as much time with you as I wanted. We’ve talked online, but I know that’s not the same. I’ve been busy making sure that my place in this world is secure. Fortunately, I believe people are starting to get the message that I can’t be pushed around.”

“You would think that they would have gotten the message after those nutjobs tried to attack you during that talk show.”

Laughing, I shook my head. “That’s because you’re thinking like a normal person, not like one of the powerful people. Ask father sometime. Father’s power is that of the corporation, and the contacts he has. In other words, he has an entire organization beneath him, which forms the basis of his power. Powerful people know the strengths of such and organization, and its limits.”

“Its limits?”

“Yes, father’s power, such as it is, lies mainly in the realm of business, and with his contacts outside the business world. People know generally what he can threaten them with. They also know that there are levels of power that he cannot go against. The only reason he doesn’t come into conflict with, say, the military is because he avoids direct conflict with them, because they both know that he cannot take on a national military and win. Nothing he has will stop tanks from crashing through the walls of the company’s headquarters.”

“But father wouldn’t ever push it to that point, right?”

“Right. And that kind of limitation makes him, more or less, a known quantity. The people who could take him on directly rarely have cause to do so, at least with the amount of resources necessary to take him down. Just like how the US could easily defeat Mexico if it came to war, but the resources it would take, and the problems following afterwards, make it not worth the trouble.”

Eri nodded. “I think I see what you mean. You aren’t a known quantity. So, you were expecting people to test you, to prove what level you were at?”

I beamed at her. “Exactly. They haven’t seen anything like me before. I have enough wealth, between what I took from the other world, and the trust fund set up for the Sleepers, that I would never need to work again. I can move around the world as I please, and there’s nothing in this world that could stop me, much less hold me. And I have my entire military presence from the other world. Combined, that makes me immune to the most common levers of power.

“The zealots attacked because they’re reactionary fanatics wholly devoted to the righteousness of their cause. But the number of issues I’ve faced shows that the major players are still working behind the scenes, using catspaws to try and get me to show my abilities, and try to find my limits, without risking their own power bases. By now, I believe I’ve convinced all but the most fanatical that it simply isn’t worth it to draw my ire. For now.”

“For now?”

“There’s always some idiot who thinks ‘hey, that guy just killed a dragon and ate its soul! Let’s mug him,’ and then gets surprised when said dragonkiller destroys them. They always think it can’t happen to them, or that the stories have all just been blown out of proportion. But, with the size and scale of some of these things, I think it will be quite some time before anyone tries something direct against me.”

“Excuse me, Miss Akagawa?”

I looked up, to see a gaggle of students, that all looked to be about Eri’s age. Seven of them, all told, and all of them dressed casually. There was a mix of races, with two Asians, three Whites, one Black, and one Hispanic. The one in front, one of the Asians, who I assumed had spoken, was the least nervous of the bunch. Fortunately, Eri recognized them.

“Oh, I recognize you all. You’re undergrads in the Thaumaturgy department, right? Dai Ya, one of the foreign students?” She looked over at me, and said, “I work part-time as a TA for undergrad classes.”

I nodded. “Ah, yes. Spending money, right?” She nodded, and I turned to smile at the kids. “All right, so I assume that the six of you attended the first of my little lectures, then, and have some questions?”

The leader of the group nodded her head. “Yes, I am Dai Ya. Or Ya Dai in Western countries. I am here on a student visa from China. Anyway, I wished to ask about belief being the core of magic, and Thaumaturgy being the belief structure we use. Does that mean other belief structures that have magic or spiritual elements could be used instead?”

I smiled. “Yes, as I hinted with my outfit, there is power in belief, in any form. If you have the power, then you can make magic do whatever you believe it can do. Shinto, Buddhism, Hindu, Kabala, even parts of Christian and Muslim theology could be used to fuel magic. The only reason you have not seen it, yet, is that those who have the power to do this have had their beliefs shaped by Thaumaturgy.”

The Black student raised his hand, and I nodded. “Aleksander Bailey, from London. I know you use what you call foci instead of CADs. Is some kind of assistant required in order to use magic?”

“Oh, that’s a very good question, young man. Simply put, no, if you have deep enough power, tight enough focus, and strong enough intent, then you can use magic without any CAD or focus. However, just saying it is possible does not mean that it is easy.

“Consider, for instance, that you have three campfires, and you need to put them out. For the first, you have just a bucket of water. For the second, you have a garden hose. And for the third, you have a garden hose with a sprayer attached. Are you with me so far?”

There was a round of nods, so I continued. “Now, to put out the first fire, you have to haul the bucket of water from the nearby stream, and throw the whole thing on the fire. Very inefficient, especially if you find out that you don’t have enough water to put the fire out. Worse, the water splashes everywhere, not just on the fire, so you have to use a larger bucket with more water to be sure of putting it out, or you fail entirely.

“With the second fire, you have a hose. Without a sprayer, you have to either hold the hose over the fire, or use your finger to give some direction to it. This still causes a lot of waste, but it is far easier than hauling enough water to pour over a fire and put it out, yes?

“Finally, you have the third fire. With hose and sprayer, you can customize how much water you use, easily starting and cutting off the flow where and when you need to. This has a minimum of waste, and allows you to most efficiently put out the fire.”

I looked back at the group of students. “Now, can any of you tell me how this relates to the question?”

The other Asian in the group, a guy, said, “Yes. Jotaro Fisher, and I live here in Seattle. The hose with the sprayer would be like us using a CAD, right? And the hose is a belief system to shape the magic.”

I clapped my hands. “Full marks. Yes, a person with sufficient magical power, but without a belief system to shape his intent or tools to help him focus, can create spells. They are typically the work of children under the age of twenty, and are, therefore, almost wholly wild, and uncontrolled, coming out only in instances of crisis or emotional distress. With a belief system, casting a spell becomes slightly easier to do, and a focus makes spells easily within reach.”

Aleksander raised his hand. “So, why haven’t we seen this in the world around us over the last forty years?”

“The answer to that is Thaumaturgy. Genetics can play a part in how much magical power you have. But the entire world started from nothing. So, by the time you would have had people with enough innate power to power a spell without a focus or CAD, the belief of Thaumaturgy would have already spread through the world, thanks to it being based on science. And the Thaumaturgic belief that you must have a CAD to use spells means that children don’t believe they have magic, and the few instances where it might have happened in the wild, either no one survived to witness it, or it was written off as a freak accident or miracle, like someone caught in a collapsing building where the ceiling fell in just such a way that it created a void that they were trapped in, but they were otherwise unharmed.”

One of the white girls decided to speak up. “So, like, my name’s Stacy Rayne, and I wanted to know what actually goes into summoning? Like, I know summoning people from other worlds is possible, but what about summoning familiars like in stories, or summoning creatures to fight for you? Is that even possible?”

I sighed. I’d been expecting a question like this, honestly. “The truth is, all three things are really quite different, even though they’re all called ‘summoning’. Obviously, the Hero Summoning ritual involves stealing someone from another world, and imbuing them with power. For obvious reasons, I’m against anyone trying to replicate that Magick here on Earth.

“Now, a familiar is different. There are three versions of the familiar summoning ritual, that I’ve encountered. The first is more of a ‘calling’, than a ‘summoning’. The Magick draws a creature from the nearby area to you, and then you finish the Magick by binding it to you.

“The second version of the Magick is a conjuring, creating a magical construct born of energy that mimics a flesh and blood creature. As an extension of your own magic and belief, the familiar does not need to be bound. You literally created it, after all, and it is a part of you.

“The third form of the Magick is a true summoning, where a creature is brought forth, and then bound to the summoner to act as their familiar. The exact nature of the summoning changes, of course. Sometimes the caster summons a specific type of animal. Sometimes the Magick takes the offered power, and chooses something at random. Incidentally, this form of the familiar Magick is essentially the lesser version of that which summons and binds demons and other planar creatures to permanent service.”

Stacy nodded slowly. “But, like, what about summoning monsters to fight for you?”

“Well, that is most commonly a temporary measure. The magic summons an ‘aspect’ of the creature or creatures, and gives them form through magic, rather than actually bringing the creature to you. Usually, this is actually not a real creature at all, but an ideal of that creature, which your magic gives form to. However, if you ever get into Magickal pacts and contracts, then sometimes you can gain the ability to actually summon a creature temporarily to fight, or otherwise serve, you.”

Jotaro raised his hand. “Excuse me, Miss Akagawa, but it sounds like you’re talking about magic, and magic, but with a slightly different pronunciation?”

I smiled widely at him. “Yes, and that is because there is a difference between ‘magic’ and ‘Magick’. That last one is capitalized, with a ‘k’ at the end, by the way. Magic would be basic spells and effects. Throwing a fireball at someone, or doing basic body reinforcement would be magic. Magick refers to the higher order spells and rituals, like summoning and other such things. Magic can be dangerous all on its own, on an individual level. A miscast Magick, however, can lay waste to cities in the blink of an eye.”

The boy’s eyes went wide. “Oh, wow. I can see why you’d put a different name on it.”