Chapter Twenty-Three - Precedents of Capability

Squad B seemed more than happy enough to just let me be. Mostly.

Eldur and Erde went off to talk about something with a man in a Luna Corp uniform that I recognized as one of the more senior E-rank officers. That was the same officer that had handed down orders when I was just an E-rank.

He glanced my way for a moment when Eldur gestured, nodded, then they seemed to forget that I was even there.

I supposed that wasn't too bizarre. If they wanted to bring me along for an E-rank portal, it only made sense to organize things with the rest of the corp. Actually, sending someone out into the portal with one day's training felt a little... irresponsible.

When I joined Luna Corp as an E-ranker, it was a month before I was on guard duty around a portal, and three months before I ever set foot into one. Being allowed to explore one less than a week into being hired felt... premature.

Then again, there was also a sort of expectation of capability that came with being a D-ranker, even a new one.

The wider world imagined D-rankers as capable and enough of them were that it set a weird precedent.

I sat down not too far from the kitchenette, then looked at the tablet that Eldur had handed me, and frowned as I clicked through what was basically the 'baby's first guide to spells.'

The effective casting of spells within the modern magical framework is contingent upon emotional feedback. Each elemental branch of magic is associated with a specific emotion or a narrow emotional spectrum. To empower spells aligned with a given element, the caster must establish a strong and consistent emotional resonance with the corresponding feeling.

Once this emotional connection is secured, the process of learning a spell involves correctly shaping one's mana and experiencing the appropriate emotional state. For this reason, spells are often most effectively learned during periods of heightened emotional intensity. However, sustained meditation and deliberate practice may also facilitate the acquisition of new spells under more controlled conditions.

Upon successful formation of a spell, the caster imprints a corresponding pathway within their internal magical circuitry. Repeated use of the same spell reinforces this pathway, resulting in increased ease of casting over time. Nevertheless, the act of casting always consumes a quantifiable amount of magical energy.

I... didn't quite get it. I think that my confusion may have been obvious, because Dharti slid over, placing a cup of warm tea before me. "Ask," she said.

I glanced up at her, then back down to the tablet. "I'm not even sure where to begin," I admitted. "This... well, I want to learn magic. It's... uh."

"Super cool!" Terry asked as she flitted over. Dharti smacked her wrist as she reached for my mug of tea, then pulled over a kettle and set about pouring Terry her own. Terry took her tea with sugar, milk and honey. "Magic's great! Easy too! And you can explode people with your brain, which is awesome."

Dharti breathed out of her nose, then looked me in the eye. "Where do you wish to begin?"

"This emotion stuff. Look, I've been an E-ranker for a while. I've seen D-rankers at work. I've never heard of this emotional stuff? I guess maybe I have? Uh, fire mages are always angry and such, but I thought that was like, a trope?"

Dharti nodded slowly. "That is on purpose, to obfuscate the working of magics from the common person."

"Why?" I asked.

Instead of answering directly, she leaned back in her seat and considered it for a moment. "I am capable of using the element often called 'Nature' or 'Wood.' The name is inaccurate, but it is close enough for most. This is a magic empowered by grief, by loss, by sadness, and pensiveness. My magical awakening occurred when I lost four members of my family, including my late husband."

"Oh," I said.

"That grief opened my heart to magic. Now, consider. Most wish to be more powerful. Ambition is praised, and for good reason. Most E-rankers desire to ascend, do they not?"

I nodded along.

"And if they discovered that the means to do so was great emotional upheaval? Grief is painful. Grief can be forced upon others or one's self. Other emotions as well. Anger and rage for fire. Ecstasy for wind. Terror for water and ice."

"Mine's from being awesome!" Terry said. She did little jazz hands, and a bunch of static sparks flickers and snapped in the air around her fingers.

Dharti breathed through her nose again. "Electrical elemental magic is fed by amazement and surprise. Perhaps one of the rarer elements. Ah, but yes. Parents who wish that their children become lofty warriors and capable people are known to push their children to great heights. Already the children of the wealthy eat magically-rich foods and become E-rankers more often as a result."

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"And you think that if people knew about this emotional stuff...." I started.

Dharti shook her head. "I do not think so. I know. Torture, emotional and physical. The use of drugs. Fanaticism. Perhaps the greatest irony is that these so often fail. And so an agreement was reached. A detente amongst those of us with magic. The source of our power remains shrouded. Our triggers are our own to bear. I do not mind sharing the source of my grief, but it is a great faux-pas to ask one what triggered their magic, regardless of the source."

"Okay," I said.

I kind of got it. And I kind of felt like I'd just been tossed into the deep end of a societal pool that I didn't yet know how to swim in.

"So, spells?"

Dharti nodded. "The database has some basics. E and D-ranked spells."

I sat up. "E-ranked?" I asked.

"Like this!" Terry said. She pinched her tongue between her lips and snapped her fingers. There was a spark... and that was it. One little spark of light, with a faint snap.

"Is that actually a spell?" I asked.

"Mhm!" Terry said. "It's E-ranked. Basically, it's like... the basic-basics. Just to show that you can channel. Oh, I can do this too." She concentrated, then flicked her fingers and... a few droplets of water appeared. "Taa-daa! I know the Leafshed spell too!"

Dharti chuckled. "Terra here seems lighthearted, but her mind is sharp when she decides to focus. Learning magic from adjacent elements is good practice. There is a danger in being segregated to a single emotion."

"It's Terry, not Terra. Only my mom calls me that," Terry complained.

"Okay," I said. "So, what do I start with?"

"You're like Dharti, right?" Terry asked. "Nature?"

"I think so," I replied. I was pretty sure, looking at the chart, that I wasn't. There was a list of emotions that were far, far outside of the centre of the star and one of them stood out to me, called to me. Remorse.

It clicked, it felt right.

It was at the intersection of Boredom and Pensiveness for some reason, two magics without a clear 'element' to them.

Closer to the centre from Pensiveness was Sadness, which was linked to Nature as an element. Closer to the centre from boredom was Disgust, which was linked to the Void element.

I didn't know if it was wise or not, but I decided that for the purpose of work, I'd be a Nature user. If I had the time, I'd learn as much Void magic as I could, and use that in my Deadline disguise.

It would add another layer of separation between us.

"Terra, dear," Dharti said as she took a final sip. "There's a potted plant in my office. Can you retrieve it? The one on my desk."

"Okay!" Terry said before darting off.

Dharti turned her attention to me. "It's a good place to begin. Though, meaning no offence, dear, but I doubt you will learn a spell in one sitting. Not when you've yet to master yourself yet. Still, a teacher's guidance is worth much... and goodness knows I wouldn't refuse a second healer."

"Nature magic is healing, right?" I asked.

"It can be. All magics can heal in some ways... almost all. Some are more aligned with harming. Ours happens to be deft at growing and nurturing. If you are an outer elemental, then your pensiveness will likely allow you to more easily focus your magic on the non-physical aspects. Healing, what some call 'buffing' and improving yourself and those around you in small ways."

Self-buffing, huh?

Yeah, not the flashy explosions I wanted, but grenades existed for that. I could very well see myself using that kind of skill.

Idly, I scanned through the list of E-ranked nature spells.

Leafshed - E

Cause a plant to shed leaves.

Mourning Bloom - E

Cause a plant to flower temporarily.

Weepwater - E

Cause condensation on a plant by sapping it of water.

Whisper Root - E

Gives the caster an impression of the health of a plant.

Wow... these sucked. While Dharti was busy putting her tea set away, I tabbed over to the Void spells. Ah... now this was the flashy kind of magic I wanted. Or perhaps anti-flashy was the correct term.

Yeah, I could work with this.

The question was... could I use timelooping to learn a dozen spells in one evening?

***