Prismatic Education Begins With A Spark 30 (MTG/Multicross)

Prismatic Education 30

“Roy, could you come in here for a moment?” Baldr called from the sitting room as I was passing by.

I reversed backwards, poking my head through the doorway. “Yes, what is it?”

“I’d like to introduce you to some of my fellow gods,” The blond deity said pleasantly, “This is Bragi, and this is Idun.”

A curly-haired bearded god with chestnut-colored hair, and a blond, wavy-haired goddess greeted me, sitting in the armchairs reserved for guests. As expected of the gods on this plane, they both had perfect features.

“Hello!” Idun winked cheerfully. “So you’re Baldr’s newest kid? Nice to meet you!”

“I heard you’re a smart lad.” Bragi stroked his beard. “And it looks like you’re studying diligently.”

“Join us for a bit, Roy.” Baldr invited.

I took a seat at the table, putting down the items that Bragi had been referencing with his comment, a large stack of books.

Bragi and Idun… I studied the two deities. I think they were part of the same Norse pantheon as Baldr, and if I recall correctly, Idun is like the goddess of youth or something along that line. Not sure about Bragi though.

Idun certainly fit that image, not just in youthful peppy character, but her appearance was on the line between child and adult, making anyone who saw her think ‘young’ and ‘woman’ at the same time. 

She peered at the titles of the books on the spines. “Interesting reading material. Aren’t these from the Gnome Library?”

“Yes, they are.” I confirmed.

The Gnome Library was a large repository of knowledge run by gnomes, one of the spirit races that didn’t have a mortal lifespan. They used that incredible life experience to build a business empire and hoard knowledge, which they charged an expensive price to gain access to.

“Oh? How did you get them to let you take them out of that place? They’re very strict about that.”

“Let’s just say, I made a deal with them.” They were practically salivating to figure out how cogwork automatons work.

“Oh ho?”

“Roy is very talented.” Baldr put in for me, “And I hope he can assist us with some of his talents.”

I looked at my familia’s god. “Is this gathering related to the plans you mentioned having?”

“Yes, it is. We’re still searching for more compatriots, but the general details have been confirmed.”

The three deities proceeded to share their plan with me. Inspired by the deeds of the Zeus and Hera Familias, they intended to form a union of gods whose purpose was to venture out into the world, to find and raise those with the potential to become heroes. The recent announcement about the preparatory period only solidified their determination. 

As for how they intended to do so, the crux of the plan lay with the ship that was currently undergoing repairs in Melen. Instead of simply fixing it back to its original condition, the idea was to refurbish it into a mobile training academy, capable of going anywhere it was needed. It sounded rather ambitious to me, especially when I saw some of the design blueprints, but then again, the gods of this plane had a tendency for the ostentatious.

Like that giant loxodon statue-building of Ganesha’s, with the entrance situated between the legs. “Out of curiosity, how are you planning to fund this?”

“We’re working on an agreement with the Guild, but our familias will be contributing towards it as well.” Baldr answered.

So just like the Ganesha statue. I heard he wiped out his familia’s entire savings for that. “Alright. So should I work harder down in the Dungeon?”

Baldr shook his head relaxedly. “Leave it to the other children. You should focus on improving yourself at your own pace.”

“That’s right,” Idun agreed, “Too many of you mortals chase after their next Level, and end up losing their lives. Youthful exuberance should be tempered.”

My Status was actually nearing B-rank, which meant that I only needed a trigger that would give me enough high excelia to Level Up. Not that I was going to reveal that in front of other gods just yet. That would just paint a big target on my back with how fast my progress was.

“I’ll accept that advice, Lady Idun,” I replied humbly, “But back to what you said earlier, what sort of assistance are you expecting from me?”

“With your talent for magic, we were thinking that you could become one of the instructors,” Bragi smiled at me, his eyes bright with hope.

With the details of the Leviathan fight made known to the public, combined with my demonstrations of my variety of spells, my existence was well-known among many gods and their familias. Only my connection with the Zeus and Hera Familias kept me from too much bother. More than a few of them told me they were awaiting my Level Up, just so they could throw out the ideas they had for my nickname, which was given to every adventurer who turned Level Two.

“Just a moment, Bragi, you’re thinking too far ahead,” Baldr’s words pulled the other god back, “The ship itself is still far from complete.”

“Oh, right. Remind me where we were? The name?”

“We decided that already,” Idun responded impatiently, “Because it’s going to be moving over the ocean, it’ll be the ‘Maritime Academic Institution Special District’!”

“That’s a mouthful,” I couldn’t help commenting.

“Oh, and what would you suggest?” She asked me archly.

“Um… academy sounds too much like military stuff,” I said, thinking of how Lorehold books mentioned national military institutions teaching tactics and strategy, “To me, it’s more like a school. So, uh, School District?”

My inner light brightened as I said those words, as though signaling that it was meaningful in some way.

The goddess raised a finger. “That… actually sounds about right.” She conceded, before pointing at me. “But the official name still stays as it is!”

Uh huh, sure. I wisely retreated from that battlefield by looking at Baldr instead. “I’m not averse to becoming a teacher, but until then, how can I contribute?”

Bragi answered in his place. “You mentioned learning at a grand institution with a lot of knowledge to draw upon. Is it possible for you to share some of that with us, to help direct where our scholastic efforts should focus?” 

That request made me blink. “I do have access to that information, yes,” I admitted, “But it’ll take some time to gather what you’re looking for.”

“Then let’s not waste time, and get down to planning what the lessons should be about!” Idun declared.

“Sorry to make you take time out of your day for this, Roy,” Baldr apologized gently.

I waved it off. “It’s fine. I could use a break from reading.”

Even if it was far off in the future, contributing to the development of future potential felt like the right thing to do.

…

I followed the niggling sensation of magic, navigating the streets of Orario. While the basic layout of eight sections were easy enough, things got more complicated the further one got from the main roads. It would be much easier to just go above the crowds in the streets, but such actions were frowned upon, and could invite fines from the Guild.

Okay, I’m getting close… I looked around, then focused on a small stairway leading into the cellar of a building. There it is. No mistake.

Descending the steps, I knocked on the dark green door, and pushed it open. 

The interior of the place was rather cramped, with cabinets and shelves all over. It was also dimly lit with softly glowing magic lamps hanging from the ceiling. The only other source of light was a fire underneath a bubbling cauldron, which illuminated a cloaked figure standing behind it. The person turned, revealing her identity as a hunched old crone in a witch’s outfit, complete with wide-brimmed hat and large crooked nose.

“Welcome.” Her voice was creaky as her appearance suggested, though I wasn’t fooled. “I was expecting to see you, though I doubt I have anything to offer a mage of your talents.”

“I’m always interested in learning more about magic,” I replied as I stepped inside, closing the door behind me. 

“Then you should go to Altena instead of my tiny little shop.” Her tone made it clear she wasn’t serious.

The magic city, huh? That’s definitely on my list. “So this place is a shop? I came to investigate because I sensed the concentration of magic here.”

The witch nodded. “That’s right. Welcome to the Witch’s Secret House, a shop that caters exclusively to mages. I’m Lenoa, the proprietor.”

“Roy. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, and I’m interested to know just what sort of services you offer.” I approached the cauldron. “Do you make magical potions?”

My gaze was on the wall of apothecary drawers and ingredients behind her, which was the reason for my guess.

“Fufufu… among other things, but the most common service I provide is the maintenance and selling of casting aids.” Her eyes focused on my staff. “And it appears you have some familiarity with that field yourself.”

We shared a grin, recognizing fellow technicians in each other. Without having to ask, we offered each other samples of our wares to examine.

Magical tools in Orario had more in common with the magical staves of Midgard than the loaded spell tools I studied and worked with in Strixhaven, serving more as enhancers to the mage’s spells. According to Lenoa, a mage using a proper casting focus could cast stronger spells for longer than one without.

If I were to guess as to the cause of this path of development, it would be the magic stones that could be gathered from the Dungeon. The crystallized form of magic saw common use as power sources; lamps, stoves, and other appliances that would have made use of electricity in my past memories. Properly processed and implanted inside a casting focus, the magic stones could serve as amplifiers or spare mana batteries for a mage’s spell. 

So much easier than having to go to all the trouble to attune a crystal to a type of element. Just have to find the required type of monster and harvest the stone from them… I mentally sighed as I recalled the tiring efforts I went to in making my staves. Then again, it does encourage reliance and laziness.

Another purpose these spellcasting foci served was as safety measures. Inhabitants of this world, when they made a mistake in the process of casting their spells, would experience an explosive self-harming reaction called an Ignis Fatuus. By casting the spells through the foci, the majority of the damage would be taken by it in case of failure. It could mean the difference between life and death, especially if it happened in a dangerous area like the Dungeon.

Simply put, Lenoa was like a blacksmith for normal adventurers, except for mages. She sold them the equipment they used to fight in the Dungeon, helping to maintain and repair them. It wasn’t just casting foci, she also dealt with magical accessories and the rare set of enchanted attire, with the occasional specialty item when it appeared on the market. 

“No grimoires here at the moment, though I doubt you can afford such a thing!” She cackled, before abruptly stopping. “Not that you need it, from what I hear.”

“Those are the single-use books that grant people the ability to use magic, or a new spell, right?” I asked, receiving a nod in response. “How much do they go for?”

“Oh, I always sell them through auctions when I get one, but I’ve never seen any go for below a hundred and twenty million valis.” 

Spells could be quite powerful, and even more so when scaled with the falna. So it was no surprise that magic was a huge game-changer here, and naturally, anything related to it had a corresponding value.

Lenoa, noticing my expression change, cackled. “Keeheehee~ Interested in earning some of that wealth for yourself?” 

I shrugged. “I’m open to negotiations if you are.”

“Show me the goods then, laddie. I’ll show you mine in exchange.”

I still have a lot of spare gold to trade in for money, but then again, this is more to expand my crafting skills. I began laying out some of the smaller enchanted items I had on me. Also, it might be interesting to see what sort of changes I can cause by introducing my foreign goods.

Later, after I had left the shop, I decided to take a more roundabout way back to the Baldr Mansion. It was interesting to observe the changes in the city’s culture as I wandered around the place. 

While the delay in facing the Black Dragon had rankled some people, there was no denying that the defeat of the Behemoth and Leviathan had reignited the hopes of many. Especially the latter, which had affected water trade routes for centuries while it was still alive. Now that it was dead, many more ships were making port at Melen, and part of that business influx spilled over into Orario. The city itself was seeing more immigrants as they came here in pursuit of their dreams.

I bought myself a potato snack from a food stall, and ate it as I stood among a crowd of people listening to a bard sing about the defeat of the Behemoth. Heroic deeds truly were an inspiration to the people of this plane, and I could sense many hearts light up in response to the song. 

That guy sings pretty good too. I flipped him a gold coin after he had finished, and he gave me a look of gratitude as he started on the next one. 

My next destination was the Guild Headquarters, which was still quite busy even though it was near the end of the day. There were quite a number of people queuing up at the registration desk, either as new members of whichever familia they were from, or ordinary people hoping to find a familia to join. They were a mix of veteran fighters and untrained hopefuls, and I observed for a while as the harried Guild staff processed them with trained efficiency, issuing loaner equipment to those who didn’t have any.

Off to the side of the lobby, there were several requests boards. They were normally covered with several slips of paper, each detailing a request made through the Guild, for any adventurer to take in return for a reward of some kind. However, it was looking rather bare right now, with only the most unreasonable ones left on it.

“Hey, aren’t there any more?” A rough-looking man asked one of the Guild personnel passing by.

The rabbit-eared woman shook her head. “Sorry, but no. The next one will go up the first bell after dawn tomorrow.”

“Seriously? Damn, that sucks…” He slouched off with a disappointed air.

This really is an adventurer boom… small familias are taking the chance to expand, hoping they might grab a hidden talent that can help them to catch up to the bigger ones… 

I idly wondered just what sort of research could be done on the economics of this whole setting, given the dependence on the magic stones of the Dungeon as a source of wealth. It would certainly be an interesting topic to look at from a societal and cultural point of view.

My senses picked up the approaching person before the whispers did. A fuzziness that sounded like a sound baffler, a presence that I was very familiar with. Just like how it felt, the volume of the conversations around reduced sharply as people tried not to draw attention.

“It’s her. The Silence.”
“You mean the Monster of Talent?”
“Yeah. You don’t want to get in her way.”
“Why? What happens?”
“You… just stay out of her way, and you’ll be alive.”

The crowd parted to reveal Alfia, walking in my general direction. As usual, she looked quite pretty in her black dress, but the feel she gave off was that of a bared blade, extremely sharp to the touch.

Her walking speed slowed, and her head turned with her eyes still closed. 

Towards me.

Should I have teleported home earlier? I wondered as I watched her alter course towards my position. Oh well, too late to do so now.

“Alfia.” I greeted her first. “Looking for me?”

“Come with me.” She ordered, without any explanation. “Now.”

Knowing that it would be useless to argue, I obediently followed her. “So what’s this about?” I asked.

“No need for pointless questions. Just do as I say.”

Carefully observing her, I noticed she was more tense than usual, compared to the times I had interacted with her for the treatment of whatever illness she had debilitating her body. That understanding, combined with my knowledge of her situation, allowed me to arrive at a conclusion.

“Your sister?” I guessed.

“...yes.”

“Alright then.” 

I surreptitiously cast Haste on myself, and she sped up as well, though it was only a fraction of her true speed.

Though I hadn’t met the person in question yet, I had picked up enough from conversations with other Hera Familia members to know that Alfia had a twin sister called Meteria, who could barely leave her room even with a falna strengthening her body. She was supposedly quite beloved by the entire familia, even the goddess Hera herself, who could be very vicious to other members of her own familia. 

We were met outside of the Hera Familia base by one of the brown-skinned Amazon race, who waved us down.

“Alfia! Alfia!”

“What is it?” The silver-haired woman demanded. “Is it Meteria? What happened to her?”

“We had a female healer look at her. It’s okay! She’s okay!” The amazon reassured her. “It’s just…” She trailed off.

“What is it? Just say it.”

Before the brown-skinned woman could say anything, a different voice’s shout broke the silence, coming from the direction of the building.

“SHE’S PREGNANT?! WHO IS IT?! WHO DARED TO TOUCH MY METERIA!!!???”

“...Hera found out.” The amazon squeaked.

Alfia froze, looking more like a statue of rough stone instead of the smooth porcelain she normally resembled.

The sense of danger started to spread out from the entire building, but it was miniscule compared to what was pouring out from the woman next to me.

I met the eyes of the amazon, and gestured at the female mage. “I’ll leave her to you.”

Then I activated the teleport spell, and got the fuck out of there as fast as I could.

Afterword: My muse was stumbling quite a bit these few days for some reason. I had the scene pictured out in my mind, but the words to describe it just failed to come out. I tried to compensate as much as I could though. Please let me know how you found this chapter.