Prismatic Education Begins With A Spark 37 (MTG/Multicross)

Prismatic Education 37

“You sure this will work?” Zald asked me, eyeing the potion in his hand.

“As far as I can tell, it will.” I met his doubtful glance with a deadpan stare. “Would you like me to describe the experimental process that went into-”

“No, no, I believe you,” He cut me off, almost too hastily. “I’ll drink it now.”

“Hold on a moment, Zald.” Maxim stopped him. “Take off your armor first.”

The redhead gave the familia leader an odd look, but obliged. There were hisses from some of the other familia members when they saw the darkened patches of skin on his body. Compared to the last time I had seen it while applying my treatments, they had spread again, though not as much as they were initially.

“Alright, here goes.” He flicked the top off with a thumb, and poured the emerald green liquid down his throat.

The effect was instant. A healthy green glow spread over his body, and the blackened parts of his skin turned a shining white, before shrinking and vanishing completely. The sight had the audience making sounds of awe. Zald lifted his shirt to examine the rest of his body, showing that his torso was now covered in completely unmarked skin, with no sign of any patches at all.

“How do you feel now?” I asked him.

“...like I had been carrying a heavy weight this whole time, and now it’s gone.” His tone was one of wonder.

Now if only it was just as easy to treat Alfia. She considers my treatment of her condition as something to endure…  I grumbled in my mind.

While the rest of the familia celebrated Zald’s recovery, I went over next door to see a certain aggravating woman. 

That woman still tried to attack me with her magic whenever she felt I was being too ‘noisy’, so I had to be vigilant and ready with a Counterspell anytime I was around her. 

“Alfia?” The female guard on duty outside the Hera Familia manor said when I inquired about her. “Yes, she’s in. Haven’t seen you come by for some time.”

“I’ve been busy,” I replied, not going into details, “So can I?”

“Let me just go call her.”

I waited outside as the woman entered the place, only to be surprised when another white-haired woman came out to meet me.

“You must be Mr Roy!” Meteria, the girl I saw during the War Game’s finale, greeted me with a cheerful smile. “I’m Meteria, nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” I returned the greeting politely.

Her complexion was a little pale, but she looked very happy in her pregnant state. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, how are you feeling?”

“Oh, today’s one of the rare good days, but thank you for asking.” Meteria patted her swollen belly. “I was told I need to move around sometimes for the sake of my baby.”

“I’ve heard that too.”

“By the way, I heard I have you to thank for looking after my sister.” She remarked, to which I responded with a nod. “She doesn’t show it much, but she enjoys the time she spends with y-”

There was a blur of movement, and Alfia was there, one hand over her sister’s mouth.

“Mmm!”

“Meteria,” The black-dressed sorceress said sternly, “Don’t say anything needless.”

Meteria pulled away the hand on her mouth, an action that her sister went along with. “Sister! You were saying last night that you- Mmmph!” The hand went back onto her mouth.

I decided to ignore the show of annoyance from Alfia’s sister, which looked more like a cute poutyhamster than an angry girl, and focus on Alfia herself. “So yeah, I’m back. How’s your condition?”

“I may need a treatment session,” Alfia conceded.

Huh, either her condition got bad since I was gone, or… I glanced at Meteria’s amused gaze, even if she couldn’t speak. There might be something true about what Meteria said.

It seemed like she was mellowing out a little as her little sister’s pregnancy progressed, from what I overheard from the other Hera Familia members.

Alfia’s softening personality wasn’t the only change that had occurred in the time I was gone.

Members of the Zeus and Hera Familias were undertaking the training I had proposed for facing the Black Dragon and its assortment of mobs. They were powerleveling their weaker members by having them fight various dragon-type monsters in the Dungeons; not just Wyverns on the Middle Floors, but the stronger ones that would normally wipe out prepared parties of Level Threes. Such dangerous monsters increased in strength and number the deeper one went, and the plan was to be able to conquer the Dragon’s Crucible eventually.

The thought of monsters who could detect you through nearly half a kilometer (or kirlo as they called it in this world), and shoot a breath strong enough to penetrate through all the material in that way to hit you, was pretty damn terrifying. Yet the two familias bravely challenged Valgang Dragons without hesitation.

I had to admit, it was pretty inspiring.

As for the earnings from their dungeon dives, Maxim and Juno were having the smithing familias craft equipment suited for the deeper floors, and that was all I knew about it.

Even Leon had grown; while he still wasn’t able to write the poem out completely, he managed to break through to reach Level Four by defeating the Amphisbaena, a two-headed water dragon that was some kind of boss monster that respawned once a month. He didn’t even try to sneak attack it to steal the glory like with the Leviathan, but worked together with a party made up from several smaller familias to properly subjugate it. 

Speaking of which, I also had my own update to see to.

“Your Status has gone up quite significantly while you were gone,” Baldr told me as his finger moved across my back, “But you still haven’t gained enough high excelia to Level Up.”

Huh… I had a feeling that was the case, but the pirate siege defense really didn’t push me much, did it? “Oh well. I’ll get there eventually.”

“I don’t doubt that. In fact, I’m sure you will be the newest Record Holder. It’s only been four months so far, and all your stats have reached S-rank.”

He transcribed the Status onto a piece of paper, and passed it to me to read.

Roy D. Staff
Lv. 1
Strength: A-894→ SS-1064
Endurance: S-917→ SS-1134
Dexterity: A-876→ S-999
Agility S-882→ S-999
Magic: SS-1095→ SSS-1337

Skills:
[Lightbearer] - Increases the effect and efficiency of all light-related abilities.
[Planar Link] - The user adapts faster to and is less affected by terrain conditions. Abilities increase the more connected the user is to the land.
[Prismatic Grimoire] - All spells gained are recorded in grimoire. Falna update is not required to unlock new spells.

Magic:
[Prismatic Grimoire]

Hm, so I hit the limit for Dexterity and Agility. I’m not surprised that I went over the supposed limit for Magic, but Strength and Endurance… Ah, it’s because body tempering is meant to make the body stronger and sturdier than it normally is.

With a flick of my wrist, I sent the paper up into the air, where it burst into flame. 

“Since that’s settled, let us attend to our guests, shall we?” Baldr invited.

I donned my shirt and accompanied him to the meeting room, where several deities and their familia members were. Apart from the other familias, there were also a pair of gnomes, native earth spirits of this plane. My contribution to the Gnome Library allowed Baldr to form a connection, with a potential partnership in the making. This gathering was currently poring over some of the documents I had brought back with me from Strixhaven. From the looks of it, they were very receptive to some of the ideas contained within, eagerly discussing how to arrange the classes being taught.

“Given the state of the mortal realm, it’s important to focus on martial strength. I say it should be more like a military academy.” A god patted one of the open books. “There’s a need for fighters, not just in Orario, but against the monsters that lurk on the surface.”

“You may be right, but we’re not trying to raise mercenaries, and in terms of war, Ares is more than enough,” Idun countered, “We want to encourage overall development.”

“Idun’s got a point. We should have a business development course, because contributing to the economy helps nations to grow.” Another goddess whom I recognized as a leader of a commercial familia added her voice to the conversation.

Naturally, being gods with their divine knowledge, they quickly settled on several foundational concepts. It was much faster compared to the debates I had witnessed before. 

“Okay, so to summarize,” Bragi rumbled in his decisive tone, “The various curriculums will be divided into separate specialties, like combat, business, crafting, and so on. Each one has their required classes, but there will also be electives for the students to select. That will ensure that they do not overly specialize.”

There were nods all around to show that everyone was on board with that. Idun was especially expressive, having pushed for that last one.

“Now, what sort of electives should we have?”

The room burst into noise as various gods started calling out ideas. Language courses, cultural arts, potion-making, and so on…

Maybe I was too optimistic to think that this would be fast. I met the gazes of my fellow mortal familia members, and shrugged helplessly. Being patient is all we can do.

Interestingly, things continued to seesaw in a similar way throughout the meeting of this union of deities. Planning a route across several nations based on information sourced through the gnome information network, fast. Deciding the layout of the classrooms, noisily slow. Qualifications to enroll as a student, quickly agreed on as youth and a strong desire to learn. Requirements for graduation… nothing concrete could be agreed on by the time the meeting came to an end.

But I had to admit, everyone present there was deeply invested in seeing the School District idea succeed.

…

Even with my contribution of technical knowledge, it would still take time to complete Hringhorni’s renovation. The buoyancy generators had been installed and synchronized together, but the propulsion device was still in development. In the meantime, the residential layer was being worked on; not only was that section meant to house several thousand residents, both prospective students, teachers, and support staff, but it should be able to provide support for basic life requirements like food and water. The final layer after that was the academic layer, which was still in the midst of redesigning and polishing, based on the needs of the classes that would be held there.

And of course, money was still a necessity.

Zald’s working on repaying me back for what I spent on his cure, but most of his earnings are going to getting new equipment, now that he’s finally hit Level Eight… I thought as I ventured deeper into the Dungeon, accompanied by my Magicka elementals and summoned automatons.

Apparently, the long ordeal of enduring his body weakening to the Behemoth poison, until it had finally been cured, was worth enough excelia for the redhead to Level Up again when Zeus updated his falna. I heard he had an intense spar with Maxim in the depths of the Dungeon, and while he ultimately lost, it had been quite a narrow fight. 

Not that it mattered much to me, because I was going along at my own pace.

“Hashire! Kaze yori hayaku Mezase! Sora yori tooku Atarashii jibun ni, aeru sa~”

“Shit! Shit! What was with that rare variant! It’s beyond a Level Three!”

“Just run! We can’t fight it! Not even if it was alone!”

The sound of yells and running feet interrupted my idle singing, and I looked to see several panicked adventurers run past me, their expressions filled with desperate fear. Glancing in the direction they had come from, I saw a horde of monsters coming my way.

“Sorry!” One of them apologized just before turning the corner at the far end.

Fuck. A Pass Parade. I readied myself to fight.

It was one of the typical risks of being an adventurer. Running from a fight didn’t always work, as the monsters could follow. What was worse was when other monsters were attracted by the commotion, resulting in a growing crowd. When the runner ended up crossing paths with another group, that was called a Pass Parade, as the unlucky group ended up having to deal with the swollen horde.

The next few minutes were filled with intense fighting, as the monsters threw themselves against my group in a murderous rage. Ligerfangs, Minotaurs, Almirajs, Hellhounds… but the worst of them were the Crystal Mantises. It definitely felt like the Dungeon was sending more of them at me 

Damn annoying magic resistance shells… I leapt back from a scything slash, retaliating with a steel ball.

The physical projectile ground into its head, causing the monster to flail around wildly, cutting its fellow monsters nearby until it expired. In the meantime, I slammed my staff on the ground, raising several wall spikes to corral the rest into manageable chokepoints. My elementals stabbed and slashed away with their blades, with the fire ones tanking the Hellhounds’ fiery breath.

Cracking sounds came from all over the cavern, before the rocky surface began to shatter, releasing even more monsters at me. The Dungeon really was trying harder this time by throwing a Monster Party on top of me; I saw one of my ruin grinders get crushed by the resulting cave-in, while several of the elementals were overwhelmed by the monster reinforcements.

Alright, if that’s how you want it! I began casting even faster, mixing techniques to fit each threat as it came.

Mines, barriers, beams of destruction, waves of ink-formed weapons, summons to replenish the numbers my side lost, enhancing spells to balance the tide of battle… I was almost acting on instinct, struggling to stay afloat as the Dungeon sought to drown me in bodies. When they got close enough, I resorted to using my fists as well.

Almiraj throwing landform weapons to try and hit me? I either dodged, deflected, or caught them and returned. 

Small ones that leapt to try and knock me down? I caught them in my free hand and slammed them into the ground.

The big ones that attempted to rush their way through? I slowed them with ice and lightning, then burned them with intense fire.

The monster horde quickly dwindled, and I was just dealing with the last ten or so when IT came.

The first warning I got was a cavern-shaking bellow, before a giant minotaur, at least one and a half times as big as the normal ones, came around the corner. Its fur was a deep red, and its muscles bulged dangerously. 

I sent my last ruin grinder at it, while I finished off the final Ligerfang with an ice spike from below. The giant robot stomped towards the new monster, and swung its heavy metal arm in a blow that had crushed many other minotaurs already. 

THUNK!

“GNUH!” 

Unlike them, the Red Minotaur just reeled a little from the impact, then retaliated with a fist that shattered the grinder into pieces. Then it stomped and slammed down on the remains further, roaring with rage.

Fuck. That was almost too fast for me to see! 

With the falna on top of my body tempering, I was nearly at the strength of a Level Three, but even that wouldn’t allow me to take a hit like that, let alone two or three. So this monster must have been what the adventurers were referring to. I didn’t hesitate to strike first.

Arcane-Arcane-Arcane-Lightning-Lightning! 

The crimson-purple beam struck the Red Minotaur, wreathing it in deadly energy that tore at its body. However, the effect was less than I thought, as it lowered down onto all fours.

Time Warp! My eyes widened, as I saw its movements only barely slowed. 

“Fuuuu-”

The ground beneath its hooves cracked.

“-uuuu-”

My centre of gravity shifted as I leaned to the side.

“-uuccc-”

Stone shards exploded as it launched itself at me.

“-ckkkk-!”

My feet left the ground, but I felt like I was moving through thickened jelly as I sought to dodge.

It’s got magic resistance like that?! I brought my staff up in a last-ditch effort to defend myself. Shield! Max strength!

CRACKKRACKRACK! BAM!!!!

I felt the barrier shatter from the impact, while my body itself was knocked into the air. For a moment, things slowed down…

Then I realized it was one of my contingency spells kicking in, accelerating my thoughts to prepare for the next attack. Antimagic? No, not entirely. Most of it was just force… but there was some magic-corroding effect too!

With the enhanced reaction time, I quickly twisted my body, turning my impromptu short flight into a tumbling roll. The pain was annoying, but I still forced myself to my feet. A quick glance told me that I hadn’t imagined the cracking sound.

My staff had been broken, the two halves barely connected by a few splinters. Casting without it was going to be a detriment to my spells. My body itself was bruised, but still able to fight… 

Whether I can win though… I grimaced. Is this slowed movement because of the injury… or fear?

The Red Minotaur pulled itself out from the wall where it had crashed into, shaking its head. Then its crimson eyes caught sight of me, and it bellowed again.

“MOOOOOOOOOO!!!” The sound shook the area, making me wince.

“Damn-” My muttered curse cut off half-way as something clicked in my head. “Hah. Haha… Hahahahaha! Hahahahahahahaha!”

I couldn’t help the laughter that spilled out from my mouth, even as the minotaur started to advance on me again, raising its powerful arms to deliver the killing blow. As though trying to match me, it kept bellowing over and over, spraying its drool over the ground. It must have been a twisted scene; an adventurer mage laughing like he was crazy, against a berserking mad minotaur that he was disadvantaged again.

I discarded the remains of my staff, flexing my numbed fingers. My grimoire floated up from where it had fallen out onto the ground in my tumble, opening up to a new page with Lyric perched on top, the inkling emitting a questioning trill filled with worry. 

“C’mon, Lyric. Let’s do this.” I locked my eyes on the minotaur, even as my inkling flowed over to wrap around my arms. 

Not all of it went into the gauntlets that covered my arms. Several wisps floated around me, growing as I fed my emotions, my inspirations, and my memories into the spell.

“All that mooing… you know what? It’s useless!”

Another step and I would be in its range, where its fist could crush my body.

“Or in another language…” I continued, “Muda.”

My arms didn’t move, but a black fist instantly took shape from the floating ink and struck the minotaur across the face, interrupting its attack with an even faster and more powerful blow. It staggered, taking a step back to steady itself.

“Muda!” I repeated, clenching my fists as I brought my hands up.

The next strike took it in the belly, making it bend over a little. 

“MUDA!” I said again, even louder this time.

The third smashed the face again, from the other side. This close, I could see its reddened eye jerking about as it tried to recover. 

Air filled my lungs as I readied myself, then I unleashed the full force of my spell.

“MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-!”

Powerful blows pummeled the minotaur’s entire body, enhanced by my own physical punches and my magic. I could see its flesh deform as each ink fist landed, which spoke of how much force they carried.

The minotaur was trying to endure and retaliate, but I didn’t let up. I moved forward, step by step, following it as it fell back.

“MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-!”

The repeated word flowed from my lips, carrying all of my aggression into my strikes. Blood burst from its mouth, indicating internal damage. 

And still I continued.

“MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-MUDA-!”

And so did the magic imbuing my strikes. 

Black was overtaken by gold, and the dusky shroud around me became a shimmering golden haze. It grew larger too, engulfing my opponent, and with its coverage, the speed and number of blows as well. It couldn’t back away anymore; my punches came from behind too, forcibly maintaining its standing position.

“Suuuuuuu~...”

There was a lull as I drew in a fresh breath, but the brief opening was not enough for its battered state to retaliate. I felt a strange empowering heat on my back, and the golden ink burst into a brilliant radiance, before the assault renewed with newfound intensity.

[Mana Zone, Prismatic Magic: Aureum Tempesta Barrage!]

“MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!”

The minotaur was shaking in place as hit after hit after hit struck it from every angle, pulping muscles and breaking bones. Even if I stopped now, it would die shortly after from its wounds.

And so, as it began to fall over, bringing its face within my reach, I expressed that emotion with one final punch. The uppercut twisted in a replication of the Spin, and sank into the battered cheek of the bull monster.

“MU… DAAAAA!”

The minotaur’s body went flying, spinning through the air with blood spraying like a gory pinwheel. There was a loud crash as it impacted the ceiling, embedding deeply into the rocky surface. It twitched once before falling permanently still. Moments later, its body dissolved into ash, and a crimson horn fell down to land in front of me.

I stared at it, before shrugging and picking it up. It was a little battered from the hits that it had taken, but still usable.

A memory fragment just so happened to be the trigger I needed to pull out a finishing move? I think I might need to investigate more deeply into my past life… But for now, I think I am in dire need of proper rest and recovery. But before that…

I took another breath… and expressed my emotions in the only way I could think of then. I thrust the hand holding the horn up above my head.

“URRRYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” 

That roar of triumph… felt amazingly good.

Afterword: It just felt right to have this Jojo-inspired scene in it, that’s what my muse was saying. Considering the difficulty I was having initially with this chapter, I think following its whims does help. The starting part of the chapter was quite minimal at first, but writing the fight scene somehow made me recall the enjoyment I had while writing the schooling and studying in previous chapters, and here we are.

Please leave your comments on what you think of the action scene!