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>>40454585

Your name? Oh, names don’t matter! After all, you’re an S-Ranked battlemage. No, names don’t matter when you’re up against armies of magic-slinging horrors and humans, alike.

But epithets? Oh yes. Those matter a whole lot more.
After all, fear is every man’s enemy. And what better epithet is there than ‘The Godslayer?’

You take pride in your achievements.

You look down dispassionately at the roaring waters below, your eyes only on the prize under the depths. You know for a fact that down there, Charybdis lies awake, waiting to snatch up any poor fool that dares to challenge it.

It’s a good thing you’re no fool.

“Ma’am?” Oh, there’s the student from earlier. “If you’d like, the landing gear is all ready, and we can drop you off at any moment…”
You chortle. You? Landing Equipment? What use could that possibly be? “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine without it.” You say, turning back towards the sea. “Tell the staff that this shouldn’t take any longer than fifteen minutes.”He nods, and runs off hurriedly.

You reach out with your aura, feeling everything around you. Your senses are as sharp as ever, you think as you feel the dark, wet aura of Charybdis, just below the waves.

You begin to run. You reinforce your legs with mana, increasing your velocity. And then?
You dive.

>Roll 1d100 for GRACEFUL SWAN DIVE

Rolled 100 (1d100)

>>40454585

Rolled 63 (1d100)

>>40454714
AHAHAHAHAHA.
>>40454631
filling out the rolls

Rolled 37 (1d100)

>>40454631
I don't even know why I'm rolling

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>>40454714
Holy fuck anon.
Writing for the greatest landing ever.

>>40454778
looking forward to it.

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>>40454714

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>mfw I realize the rolls in >>40454775 + >>40454771 = >>40454714

>>40455141
Mind=Blown

>>40455141
... magic thread

>>40454631
No. You don’t just dive. You Dive.

The wind is roaring in your ears, the physical laws of physics attempting in vain to slow you down.

The rain hammers at your face, soaking into your dress, trying to dissuade you from pursuing your chosen path.

And then the beast emerges from the depths- a hundred serpentine heads, with dark eyes and darker scales all connected to a single massive body of muscle- with a primal scream, no, a hundred screams, of such sheer magnitude that any lesser mage would have been blown back by the sheer force contained within the sound waves.

But not you. Nothing will keep you from striking that pitiful beast down like the tiny insect it truly is. It has already been decided.

What kind of being out there could possibly stop that which has already slain a God? None.

Your aura reaches out, and you convert it into heat and velocity. You continue to fall, fall, fall.

You can feel your hair whipping back and forth in the air, trailing behind you like the golden tail of a shooting star.
You can feel your skin, blistering from the sheer heat and power.
You can taste and smell the salty sea air, just before it ionizes and turns into a trail of plasma.

You land, and with a gesture of your hand, barely a twitch, you take the energy and power and allow it to expand.
The world lights up in a flash of pure destruction.
(1/2)

>>40455333

You blink, your eyes still seeing spots. The stench of mana is heavy in the air, drowning all else but two other scents. One is that of burning flesh, heavy and smoky. The other is metallic, but tinged with salt.

Blood.

You look up at the beast, quickly doing the math in your head, and see that eleven of its myriad heads were completely annihilated in the blast, leaving nothing but blackened stumps.

Burns and blisters cover its monstrous body, and you see that one of its many flippers were completely destroyed as well.

You smirk, admiring your handiwork for a millisecond. And then, your aura supporting you, you run along the waves, gliding across the ocean. A spear emerges from your hand with a thought, formed from your own aura and bound to you from hours upon hours of use.

You jump up, thrusting your spear forward and slashing deep into the creature’s hide. One of its heads scream in pain.

You promptly lop it off, hushing it forever.

>You are currently standing upon Charybdis’ back.
>Strike with your spear.
>Use a spell. (specify element)

For spells, you could use any of the four classical elements plus light and darkness.

>>40455372
Use a wind spell in conjunction with the spear.

>>40455372
creative use of a water spell?
freeze it or crush it or sutin?

>>40455372
>use a spell
Earth+Fire for magma shit.
Let's make new islands here, mates.

>>40455450
>>40455466
>>40455475
We're all so different. It's cute.

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>>40455492

>>40455372
>Use a spell. (specify element)
Water. Work with what's around us, not against it. Perhaps flood its throats with water, then either flash-freeze or boil it to kill the heads from the inside?

Oh, and I assume we're talented enough to multitask and attack with our spear at the same time.

>What kind of being out there could possibly stop that which has already slain a God? None.
...she's eventually going to get blindsided out of fucking nowhere, isn't she? and I've watched enough chinese cartoons to know where things are going after that

>>40455450
>>40455466
>>40455595
Seems like you're using a spell of some sort. Any other suggestions?
>>40455475
Magma is far more your husband's work, you're afraid. Glyphs generally only cover one element.

Writing for what's already been suggested.

>>40455595
thats what im sayin

>>40455630
>Glyphs generally only cover one element
So they're convenient, but extremely limited? How would be go about manipulating something with more than one constituent element, like the aforementioned magma?

>>40455372
You grin, the taste of blood in the air fueling you. You haven’t felt anything like this since the war, which perhaps you should be thankful of.
But the only thing running through your head right now is how dreadfully boring peacetime is, and how wonderfully exciting and blood-pounding and heart-stopping battle is.
After all, you’re a battlemage. This is what you were made for.
You dive forward, coating your spear in wind mana. The winds sharpen it further, turning it into a deadly weapon, able to pund and slash through anything.
You smile and crouch as one of the beast’s heads attempt to swallow you whole.

In response, you raise the head of your spear forward, and the head’s momentum keeps it moving forward, effectively bisecting itself. You jump through the two halves, the blood washing itself off of you with a thought.
After all, you have to look your best at all times! That’s what a proper lady does, no?
You fly through the air, the wind bending to your command with a touch of your aura. You close one eye, and throw.
Your spear flies through three, four, five heads, shredding them into chunks of meat as the wind mana slashes through them.
A growl to your right interrupts your headcounting. How annoying, you think. Can’t the stupid little thing understand what you’re going through here?

(1/2)

>>40456349

The last recorded battlemage to have killed Charybdis, roughly thirty years ago, needed six days to destroy the beast.

You, on the other hand? You’ll do it in sixty minutes.

You twist in the air, dodging between multiple serpentine heads, the beast entangling itself, and jump into the water.

You reach out with your aura, quickly aligning it similarly to substance around you. You raise your hands above your head, tentacles of water forming from the ocean.

You choke the heads that were entangled into a knot, and promptly tear them off the body with a great RIIIIIP. The scent of blood grows heavier.

You breathe in, tasting it with your tongue. Ah, so that’s how it is, you think.
Your aura changes slowly, like a chameleon blending into the environment. Coupled with your sensory capabilities, you should be able to…

There. You leap forward, calling your spear back to your hand, and pierce straight through three heads. A moment passes before you hear the soft hiss of boiling water.

Except this time, it’s not water. The three heads explode in a shower of blood and gore and scales, popping open like a teapot that was on the stove for too long.

You breathe in again, and your aura changes its shades once more. Closer, you think.

You plunge your spear into the body of the beast, and its flesh begins to convulse. Once more, you hear the soft hiss of boiling water, before a large chunk bursts forward in a shower of black. The seven heads closest to the hunk of meat burst as well, coloring the sea beneath you blacker than ink.

Your aura quickly begins realigning itself to its usual neutral alignment.

>You are currently standing on the sea.
>Burn a few heads into a crisp. (Fire)
>Try something flashier. (Light)
>Perhaps something more subtle? (Darkness)
>Use one of your more powerful glyphs.

we've been coming in pretty hot...
>Perhaps something more subtle? (Darkness)

>>40455816
Glyphs are rather limited, yes, though only in that each glyph can cast one spell, like how one incantation can only cast one specific spell.

You'll get exposition on glyphs later.

>>40456382
>Perhaps something more subtle? (Darkness)

>>40456382

>>40456382
>Perhaps something more subtle?(Darkness)

Is running out of mana a concern for us? If not, I'd like to see
>one of your more powerful glyphs.
But tactically speaking,
>Darkness
is probably the best choice.

>>40456431
>>40456444
>>40456509
>>40456557
Looks like you're going sneaky-sneaky.
And by sneaky-sneaky I mean completely destructive... not flashy though!
>>40456557
You can vote for that next time. Running low is not a concern for you yet. Note how I;m not asking for rolls.

>>40456382
Mou… You’re not running low on your reserves yet, and you still have over fifty minutes left according to your inner clock. You could have some fun with this, you think.
You charge straight towards the beast again, slipping out of the way as more and more heads swing themselves at you.
You leave a small, almost invisible gift for them, in the form of an as-yet unactivated glyph, cloaked in dark mana.
You duck under yet another head, swinging your spear. The neck, despite its thick, tough scales meant specifically to deter attackers and defend from slicing attacks, is easily cut through, and the head rolls away into the inky depths.
You smile in satisfaction before screaming out your challenge to all of the other serpentine heads around you. Seven more immediately dart out at you, far faster than before.

(1/2)

>>40457106

Hum. Seems like the beast is getting angry. No matter.

Once more, you easily dodge out of the way, the seven skulls comically crashing against each other in their frenzy. You leave another gift for them.

You do this again and again, leaving small, unnoticeable glyphs, each coated in darkness to keep the animal from noticing.

And then, with a snap of your fingers and the prompt realignment of your aura, you activate each of the glyphs in quick succession. Each of the glyphs light up in the beloved silver of your aura, each casting the exact same spell.

“Dark Hole.” You intone, though it’s completely unnecessary. You just like doing that sometimes; personally, you think it makes it sound more ominous.
At any rate, it’s not like the animal can understand your language.

What it can understand, however, is the sudden change in gravity as each of the glyphs cast their spell. Each copy of the spell begins pulling heads towards a single point in space.

Unfortunately for Charybdis, every point was the exact same distance from each other, and the heads, caught between two points of extreme gravity, rip apart.

The short screams of pain right before the heads rip apart is like music to your ears, the sound of the tearing itself a beautiful accompaniment.

>You are currently standing on one of the many, many heads you severed, floating on the water.

>Light ‘em Up. (Light)
>Burn to Ashes. (Fire)
>Let the Land Tremble. (Earth)

Light ‘em Up. (Light)

>Light ‘em Up. (Light)

>>40457154
>Light them to Ashes as they Tremble
>C-C-COMBO MIX

>>40457303
But anon-chan! How could you possibly use something like THAT on a poor, poor, beast with no mind of its own?

In other words, you'll have to wait till she actually sees something she thinks of as a threat before you something that powerful.

>>40457216
>>40457217
No other anons want to pitch in?

>>40457373
Make it like flashy as in your spear extends into a ridiculously long blade made of light. That's my 2 cents.

>>40457373
Doesn't seem like it.
Looks like we're
>>40457217
>>40457216
Lighting 'em Up.
Roll 3d10. Minor 4, Major 6.

Rolled 3, 8, 8 = 19 (3d10)

rolling boss

Rolled 3, 9, 5 = 17 (3d10)

>>40457538
I AM GOD BLASTAH

Rolled 10, 10, 5 = 25 (3d10)

>>40457564
>>40457572
Just need one more roll, in case of crits.

>>40457618
>>40457610
...And there we go. Major Success.

>>40454714
>>40457610
I'm on a roll

>>40457154
It’s about time you end this, you think. Instead of rushing the creature as you did before, you leap upwards, high into the sky. You suspend yourself on a platform of air, letting your aura align itself to the wind. You close your eyes.
Breathe. In. Out. Let the wind flow through you.
In. Out.
In. Out.
Allowing yourself to calm down from the bloodlust and adrenaline, you focus your attention to the stormy clouds above. You aura pierces into the black cover.
With a roar of effort, you part the sky, allowing light to filter down. For a second you admire your handiwork, much as a smith would admire the sword they had made.
The moment passes, and your aura latches onto the light, its affinity changing in an instant. You draw glyphs into the air, several at a time. They shine silver as your aura fills their design.
The light begins crafting itself, solidifying and sharpening with each passing moment. The tips of countless weapons forms.
And, like your own descent, they too fall like countless stars. Alas, no one else is here to make a wish.
Countless lances of solidified light made manifest by your aura falls onto Charybdis, each striking a head and exploding into a burst of light mana, instantly vaporizing the head –and everything else around that head- entirely. Nigh-infinite flashes of light fill your vision, and you close your eyes from the strain.
You continue to throw your lances, regardless. After all, you wanted this thing dead. And dead it shall be.
In time, the light dies down as your reserves wane. Looking at the ocean below, there doesn’t appear to be anything left…

(1/?)

>>40458480

No. There is. In an instant, you zoom downwards to the sea.

There appears to be the body of a young woman, floating amongst the black blood and gore. She doesn’t appear to have a scratch on her. You look closer, approaching cautiously.

Your eyes widen as they peer over her frame. They stare at the singular wound she sustained, a thin scratch on her cheek.

Golden Ichor, the Blood of the Gods, or their Chosen.

You blur into motion, not willing to take the chance. Your faithful spear is in your palms again, and you stab, stab, stab, that same golden blood oozing from each wound. A cry of pain punctuates each thrust.

Of course she’s still alive. There’s no way that a Chosen of the Gods would die merely from that.

With a cry of finality, you thrust once more, and charge much of your remaining reserves into your spear. You leap backwards, barely managing to keep out of range of the resulting explosion.

Chunks of flesh, bleeding gold, litter the area amongst the black blood of monsters. You sigh in relief.
It seems you’ll have something to announce at the next faculty meeting.
***

(2/3)

>>40458508

“Attention all passengers. I repeat, attention all passengers.” You look up from your stomach. It seems like the lady on the loudspeaker has something to say again.

“Thanks to the effort of one of our faculty members, the monstrous form of Charybdis has been destroyed.” Wait, wha-

“As a result, the Storm itself has cleared. We will arrive at our destination by this afternoon, approximately four hours faster than usual. However, we ask that you remain seated, and to keep your seatbelts clipped on until the light within your cubicle is no longer on. Thank you, and please enjoy the rest of your flight.”

Charybdis was destroyed!? No, scratch that- why the hell was it awake in the first place? Charybdis was killed only thirty years ago; it should have taken at least another twenty years before it regained enough power to wake back up from the depths.

Ugh. You rub your forehead in frustration. Well, that’s one thing you won’t be able to cross off your bucket list until later. Well, you sigh, you might as well enjoy the rest of this flight. It’s smooth sailing from here, apparently.
You take out a book, and begin to read.
***

It’s approximately one hour later. You’ve finished your book, “The Tale of the First Mage,” and decided to…

>Go to the deck and enjoy some fresh air. You feel like you’ve been in your cubicle for an eternity.
>Go to the galley. You’re pretty hungry, and you’re not in the mood for shitty protein bars.

>>40458547
>Go to the galley. You’re pretty hungry, and you’re not in the mood for shitty protein bars.
Unless we're feeling a bit queasy from the flight (like I would be), in which case instead we
>Go to the deck and enjoy some fresh air. You feel like you’ve been in your cubicle for an eternity.

>>40458547
>>Go to the deck and enjoy some fresh air. You feel like you’ve been in your cubicle for an eternity.

Might as well enjoy the view

>>40458634
>>40458701
Either of you gents want to change your votes, we're at an impasse here.

>Go to the deck and enjoy some fresh air. You feel like you’ve been in your cubicle for an eternity.

>>40458829

I'm good with a Galley as well, might get to meet some people

>>40458881
>>40458701
Deck it is then.
Writing.

>>40458902
Who is the protag again?

>>40458547

You unclip your seatbelt, and stretch a little. You groan a little as you hear your joints crack back into place. You wince.
It’s worse than you thought. You’ve been in here for far too long.
You punch a button on your cubicle-remote, opening the door. You quickly grab your backpack and stride out the door, taking your remote with you.
Some of the other cubicles are open, while others are still locked tight. You think you can hear someone snoring.
You walk down the hall. The carpet of the ship is a sharp sort of red, and it vaguely makes you feel like a celebrity, walking down to get an award.
You chuckle at the thought. You? Get an award, much less walk down like a star? Nah, that’d never happen. You don’t like attention all too much.
You take your time getting to the upper deck, taking the flights of stairs instead of the elevator and observing the small bits of machinery and circuitry that transfer power over the ship. You know the ship runs on a hydrogen fusion engine, like most large vehicles. Other than that, you don’t know much.
Eventually, you come to the deck of the ship.
Almost everyone who’s awake appears to be milling around here. A short pulse of your aura confirms that most of them are your average, run-of-the-mill student, straight out of whatever magical high school they went to. Scrubs, in other words.

(1/2)

>>40459398
...Well, maybe that’s harsh. You only really have yourself and some rather powerful mages to compare them to in terms of power. It’s likely that most of them were top-of-the-class in whatever place they went to.

Still scrubs in comparison though.
However, a few aura signatures catches your eye, and your physical vision follows them.

One of the aura signatures seems to correspond to a blond girl leaning on the railing- wait what?
…Yep. She’s leaning ON the railing, not over it, her eyes closed. Seems like she’s enjoying the ride.

The second aura signature corresponds to a different girl, blue-haired this time. She’s sitting on one of the many benches and reading a book, though her bench seems to be empty.

The third aura signature corresponds to a middle-aged man leaning on the railing. His aura dwarfs practically everyone else’s on the ship; he’s probably a faculty member, if anything.
He’s also hissing into his smartphone. It’s probably for the best that you not bother him.

>Poke at the blonde girl. She’s probably crazy, judging by how she’s practically falling off the ship, but hey.
>Bother the bluenette. She looks a tad lonely just sitting there by herself, and she might appreciate the company.

>>40458996
The character you're playing right now. He's been having some strange dreams lately, which is what led to the angel-killing in thread one.

>>40459416
>Poke at the blonde girl. She’s probably crazy, judging by how she’s practically falling off the ship, but hey.
>also think of what your magic level is on a scale from normal human to A class.

>>40459416
>Poke at the blonde girl. She’s probably crazy, judging by how she’s practically falling off the ship, but hey.
then
>Bother the bluenette. She looks a tad lonely just sitting there by herself, and she might appreciate the company.
Why not both! MAKE FRIENDS!

>>40459469
Oh yeah. I remember, mainly because I rolled that critical success. 8, 10, 10.
Also
>Poke at the blonde girl. She’s probably crazy, judging by how she’s practically falling off the ship, but hey.

>>40459564
>>40459571
>>40459587
Looks like we're doing blondie first, with some exposition as to our power level thrown in.
Writing!

>>40459416
>>Poke at the blonde girl. She’s probably crazy, judging by how she’s practically falling off the ship, but hey.

Let's check with her first

>>40459416
You sigh at yourself. You’re probably going to regret this, but you start walking towards the blonde girl, weaving your way through the crowd. Someone has to keep the idiots from killing themselves; who knows, maybe they’ll actually prove useful someday.

As you walk over, you start thinking about the aura levels of the students around here. Most of them only have enough to qualify as a C-class mage- someone who’s basically the rank-and-file within most armies.

It’s not all that surprising when you think about it. Most C-class mages are deployed in the military, mostly to sharpen whatever skills they have and specialize into something.
Most of the students likely trained often, and have probably already started specializing in whatever chosen field of magic they use.

Most civilians are C-class mages their entire lives, mostly thanks to the fact they don’t have either the time or pressing need to train as a battlemage, though you know that some civilians, medics and similarly specialized in particular, could technically rank as an A-rank based on their aura levels alone.

Those civilians would still be easy to take down though. They don’t know how to defend themselves nearly as well as a battlemage with equivalent levels of aura, and in the end, aura isn’t the be-all end-all scale of strength.

You, after all, are the prime example of that fact. If anyone could actually tell what your real aura levels were, you’d be kicked out in a second.

(1/2)

>>40460019
You shake yourself from your thoughts. You take a closer look at the blondie in front of you.

She’s about as tall as you are, maybe a half-inch taller, though you’d never be willing to admit that. Her hair is done up into a pair of pigtails, two bangs curled into ringlets framing her face.

She’s wearing a white zip-up jacket, with light blue highlights. Her pants are similarly colored.

Of course her most notable features, are her… features. That is, her bazongas. Her melons. Her, er…
Yeah, she definitely has a nice rack. Not that you’d care about that sort of thing in the first place, ah hah…

At any rate, she hasn’t seemed to have noticed your approach. Should you say something?

>Write In
Captcha, that's a sub. That's not a fucking burger.

Rolled 1, 7, 5 = 13 (3d10)

>>40460047
..........poke her butt.

>>40460047

Enjoying the view?

>>40460117
............................................................................,poke with two fingers?

>>40460199
Welp. taking this. After all, poking a young lady's ass is just uncouth!
Unless they're your waifu of course.

>>40460285

Yay, polite conversation! (then we can poke the butt in a loving consensual manner)

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>>40460047
For a brief moment, you contemplate poking her on the butt, a deluge of excuses quickly rising to your head.
You shake it off. Yes, it might be what your Bro would have done, but you most certainly are no womanizer. Besides, you don’t want to accidentally poke her off the airship or anything.

“Enjoying the view?” You ask, breaking the silence.

She twists backwards in alarm, her eyes open wide. “E-eh?” She cries out in surprise.
You meet her eyes. For a moment, you can only stare.

They’re the lightest shade of blue you’ve seen in a long, long time…

The moment is broken as she comically starts waving her arms around, her balance broken. To your alarm, she begins to slip off of the edge.

Rolled 5, 9, 7 = 21 (3d10)

>>40460966
FAST
CATCH HER
GO GO PROTECT THE GIRL

>>40460966
You dart forward, reaching out with an arm,
and manage to clutch onto her hand.

“Well,” you say with a disapproving frown, “I suppose that’s why there are ‘Don’t lean over the rails’ signs all over the place.”

She answers back with an embarrassed smile.
“Yo,” she says. “Mind giving a girl a helping hand?”

You roll your eyes, and begin hefting her back up and over the railing. “Thanks.”

“So,” you say when she’s finally safe and sound, “mind saying why you’re sitting on the rails of an airship a couple hundred miles up in the sky?”

“Well, you know, I was, uh, meditating! Yeah, that’s it. Meditating.” She shoots you a brilliant smile.

To be fair, that probably would have worked if you were anyone else. “Yeah, no. Meditating on top of a rail? Even if you were telling the truth, there are very specific rooms to meditate in if you really need to.
"Not to mention the fact that at least half of the applicants are up here on the deck; I can barely even hear myself think with so many people around here.”

She scratches the back of her neck, flushing at having her lie called out so plainly. “Well, yeah. I wasn’t meditating. I usually have really good balance though! Wind mage, you see.”

“Wind mage or not, you really shouldn’t be doing stuff like that. You’ve still got an entire life to live, you know.”

The girl shuffles guiltily, wilting under your gaze. You sigh. “Well, all’s well that ends well, I guess.” You adjust your glasses, looking away from her.

…An awkward silence ensues.
>“…So, what’s your name?”
>“You didn’t answer my question. Why WERE you up here, sitting on the rail?”
>“Aiming for Nova, too?”
>Leave the girl to her oddities. You were never all that good at conversations.

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>>40461011
>“…So, what’s your name?”
Uh I know how I picture this guy now

>>40461011
>“You didn’t answer my question, erm what's yer name again? Why WERE you up here, sitting on the rail?”

>>40461011
>“…So, what’s your name?”
>“Aiming for Nova, too?”

"Has it ended well yet?"

Bam sagely questions too

>>40461011
>“Aiming for Nova, too?”

>>40461073
>>40461076
>>40461079
>>40461082
Seems like it's a combo of asking her name and, pretty much everything.
Writing.
>>40461073
The face and glasses are actually pretty spot on. Black hair though.

>>40461238
Nice.

Also, are we really absolutely weak? We must have - some - redeeming quality if we're gonna try for Muder-Hogwarts.
Even if it's super tactical mind or something.

>>40461011
You clear your throat. “So, uh, what’s your name?”

The girl blinks. A beat passes. “My name? Oh, right, right, that’s what people normally, do? Heh…” she coughs into her hand, and stands ramrod straight, puffing out her chest a little.

Her entire demeanor seems to change. “My name is Katherine Tempesta. Pleased to meet your acquaintance.” As if to prove your point, she gives a short curtsy. “And you?”

“William.” You say, exchanging pleasantries.

“William…?” She tilts her head, trailing off.

“No surname.” You say, answering the unasked question.

“Ah. No surname? How do you sign all of those papers and everything?” She frowns, disbelieving.

You shrug in response. “Eh. Most people don’t really ask about that sort of thing in the Ravaged Continent. You can get a fake ID for cheap there, not that it’s really required for anything, since most people don’t dig into your info. I’m getting an ID as soon as I get accepted into Nova, anyway.”

For some reason she seems to perk up at something you said. She murmurs something to herself under her breath.

“So, are you from the Ravaged Continent yourself, then?” You nod. “Why are you here on this airship, then? From what I know, Nova is actually located there.”
“Did you do any research on Nova?” She shakes her head in the negative. “Well, it’s not as simple as just being on the Ravaged Continent. Apparently, the staff there teleport the entire Academy and the town around it every month or so.”

“Huh. Really? That seems rather strange…”

“Well, the Academy is technically owned by the Topographers. They have to draw new maps from something.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“Mhmm. I had to hitch a ride on an airship to find someone that knew where the next examination is going to take place. Customs is a bitch when you don’t have any documents on you.”

“I see…”
(1/2)

>>40462021

“Seeing as you’re asking about the place, I assume you’re trying to get into Nova, too?” You ask, preventing another silence.
“Yeah. I mean, it’s the supposed to be the most prestigious Academy for battlemages in the world right? I figure that if I can make it there-“
“-you can make it anywhere?” You say, cutting her off.
“Yeah.”
“The Exam isn’t exactly a pencil and paper one, you know,” you say, “It’s a huge practical exam. The exam from two years ago was a five-day survival test with nothing but the clothes on your back. The one last year was this huge fighting tournament. And-“
“What, are you saying I can’t do it?” says Katherine, tone suddenly defensive. “Because I’m sure I can! I’m a damn good mage for my age, and-“
“Whoa, whoa. I wasn’t implying anything. You’re a good mage, I’m sure.” You say, raising your hands in a placating gesture.
“…Yeah. Sorry. That was out of line. I just get a little, uh you-know, aggressive whenever anyone…” she slumps, her posture relaxing.
“It’s fine. Didn’t mean to insult you, by the way.”
“It’s fine.”
Another silence. It’s a little less awkward, though.
“Hey, you didn’t answer my question from earlier. Why WERE you sitting on top of the rails earlier?”
Katherine blinks at your question. Then she looks down, and aside, and anywhere but at your face. She tugs at one of the ringlets in her face, deciding on something.
“Well… Can you keep a secret?”
>”Of course.”
>”If it’s nothing dangerous.”

>>40462060
>”Of course.”

>>40461870
You're no weakling anon. You're just... decidedly DIFFERENT in how you use magic.

>>40462117
>inb4 it's bloodmagic
>inb4 we get a BLOOD gauge and our spells drain life force
>inb4 we get a LEECH BLOOD spell
>inb4 we get Biomancy, Vampiric, Arcane, and Necromancy spell trees

>>40462060
>”Of course.”

>>40462225
>>40462072
You're a secret-keeper, it seems.

>>40462117
So basically we use some sort of magic that is looked poorly upon like life drain powered magic or necromatic magic or some other forbidden magic?
Also
>"of course, as long as you aren't doing shrooms or something".

>>40462246
>>40462173
Not quite. As a matter of fact, most forms of magic aren't really looked down upon by society as a whole. So long as you're not contracting something that isn't human, you're good to do whatever you want. After all, anything that can help kill a Celestial faster is fine in the eyes of most people.

It's just as I said, your brand of magic is decidedly very DIFFERENT.
You'll get some exposition on it when you finally get in a battle with William.

>>40462410
Cool, hope we can still get one in this session.
Looking forward to it!
Now I'll stop pestering ye

>>40462060
“Of course.” You say instantly. You may not be the nicest guy around, but you keep secrets locked up tight. It’s what your Bro would have said, at any rate.

Katherine fidgets a little as she looks back up to your face. “Well…okay. Um, give me a sec…” She rifles through her pockets, looking for something. “where is it, where is it…Ah!” She pulls out a small piece of cardboard.
You can tell what it is in an instant. A quick pulse of mana later, and your suspicions are confirmed.
A glyph is transcribed onto the card, which was specifically treated to be able to contain aura.

You’re fairly certain of its function, too.
You’ve used that glyph a couple times, after all.

“Erm, you know what this is, right?”
“Yeah. Just use it.” You saunter over to her as she activates the glyph. The card immediately cuts itself into pieces, overwhelmed by the elemental aura . You snort derisively at the thing. Glyph cards are one-use, and in your opinion, have almost completely overinflated prices in the Old World.

A soft hush falls upon the two of you. You can vaguely hear the crowd now, but they’re more like soft murmurs. Low-powered privacy glyphs don’t exactly lend themselves to total silence all that well.

“Right, so,” starts Katherine, “The reason I was up on that railing in the first place? Well, to start, I was actually, erm, trapped out here. You know, during the storm.”

(1/?)

>>40463347

Your eyes widen.
“Yeah, that was basically my reaction too. See, I was taking a short nap in the shade before we started traveling into the storm and-”

“Wait, you were up here? On deck? During that storm? How the hell haven’t you fallen off already?” you whisper-yell.

“I’m getting to that! See, I was taking a nap. Used up my other silence and an invis glyph to make sure I wouldn’t be woken up by anyone. Apparently, it’s a really shitty idea to use those when you’re on the deck of an airship that’s expected to enter this huge ass storm. But I thought, ‘hey it’ll be fine! My alarm will wake me up. Guess what I did.”

“…You didn’t.” Katherine bites her lip, her cheeks flushing. “You did. You forgot to set an alarm.”

“…Yeah. Now, no one is checking up on the upper decks here; unlike the other ships none of the faculty around here can afford to get out from the engine room to go on patrol. So I had a pretty rude awakening when I suddenly found myself tumbling through the air.”

“Snrk.” You chuckle. You can’t help it! Her story is absolutely absurd. Put into a life-threatening situation just because she forgot to set her alarm. Hah! “Ahem. Continue?” She glares at you half-heartedly before breaking out into a small smile herself.

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up all you want! But seriously, I was scared out there. Right then, I was thanking every single one of my ancestors for their wind-affinity genetics, because I somehow managed to keep myself afloat using the wind.”

“So, there I was, scared outta my mind ‘cause the door’s locked and there’s no one else out there. I figured that my luck wouldn’t hold out, so I grabbed at the thing closest to me.”

(2/?)

>>40463412
“The rail?”
She nods. “The rail. Held onto it with every fiber of my body using Reinforcement, wind manipulation and all that jazz. After a while, I just kept clutching onto it like a teddy bear. By the time the storm cleared, I was sniffling and crying and thanking the heavens for the rail here.”

“Anyway, after that, I was dead-tried, and, uh, I kiiiiinda fell asleep again. On the rail, yes. My aura was pretty much exhausted.”

“So, yeah. That’s my story. Man, if this ever got out, I don’t think I could handle the embarrassment.” She laughs a little. She looks at you again. “You said you’d keep my secret. You’ll do that, right?”

You make a big show of thinking it over. “Well…”

“Aw, come on! Please?” She shoots you the most pathetic pair of puppy-dog eyes imaginable. You can feel yourself get diabetes.

…Well, it’s not like you were going to tattle anyway. “Hey, hey. I’m just joking! Of course I’ll keep your little secret.”

She sighs in relief. “Thanks,um, William, right? That’s a real weight off my back.”

Another silence falls between the two of you. It’s comfortable, this time. You can definitely say you aren’t complete strangers, anymore, at least.

> Acquaintance gained: Katherine Tempesta

“Hey,” she says, shooting you a friendly smile. “You can call me Kat, if you’d like. Do you mind if I call you Will?” You shake your head.

“Sure, that's fine.” You feel like you want to ask her something…

>”Wanna get some breakfast?”
>”I know there’s a room for sparring onboard. You must have some serious aura control if you managed to keep your grip on through that storm.”
>“…Can I have your number?”
(3/3)

>>40463455
>”I know there’s a room for sparring onboard. You must have some serious aura control if you managed to keep your grip on through that storm.”
Ok let's talk to brunette later then, but put it into our mental list.

>>40463455
>”I know there’s a room for sparring onboard. You must have some serious aura control if you managed to keep your grip on through that storm.”
FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

>>40463557
The bluenette wandered back downstairs while Kat was giving you her life story. You might see her later during the entrance exam.

>>40463614
Oh, I see.
Maybe she sees us sparring too, who knows.

>>40463557
>>40463597
Looks like we wanna Foight.
Roll me 1d2.
>>40463614
Oh don't worry your head over the poor little mage, anon! She's perfectly capable of defending herself!

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>40463747
best of 3? kek

>>40463775
>>40463747
Hope two means "oh yeah baby let's brawl".

>>40463775
Nope just the first result this time.
Anyway, writing!

This'll probably be my last update for the night folks. Sorry. I have to wake up early tomorrow.

>>40463841
It's alright, when's next session?

>>40463455
”I know there’s a room for sparring onboard. You must have some serious aura control if you managed to keep your grip on through that storm,” you begin.

“Oh?” says Kat, raising an eyebrow. “And…?” She smirks, her smile almost cat-like.

“Just gonna make me say it, huh?” You shake your head, exasperated. “Wanna spar?”

“Hmmm…” She hums, seemingly thinking over your offer as if it were the most important decision of her life. She thinks and hums and thinks and when you’re just about to raise your arms and go looking for that bluenette again, she nods. “Sure!” She chirps.

“…Was that revenge for that little joke a minute ago?”

“Maybe.” She smirks. “Anyway, I don’t know where the sparring room is, so you’re gonna have to lead me over to it.”

“That’s fine. I took a picture of the map of the ship earlier with my phone.”

“Sweet!” Her face breaks out into a bright smile. She stretches, her joints cracking a little.

When she’s done, she glances back at you.
“Well, what’re we waiting for? Let’s go!” She grabs you by your wrist, pulling you back inside the confines of the ship as you frantically try to take charge, or at least yell out some directions before she runs the two of you into a wall.
***
(1/?)

>>40464340
After several wrong turns, a couple right turns, and even a few left turns, the two of you finally manage to get yourselves over to the sparring chambers.

“Well, this should be it.” You say.

“Yeah, that’s what you said the last four times.”

Hey, it’s not your fault some idiot went and mixed up this ship’s map for another one! That was just bad luck.
You sigh tiredly. Your feet are sore from walking for so long, and your senses aren’t nearly as sharp as usual. Who knows, Kat might just win your spar.
“Look, it says Sparring Chambers up there on the sign. I’m sure we’re actually here this time.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” says Kat with a huff as she presses the button next to the door. The door slides open.

“Look, I don’t have a clue where your scarf went, dammit!”

“Hah, yeah right! You think I’m a dumbass? I SAW ya pawing it off to some asshole downstairs in the lower decks!”

“Wh-? What the hell! I haven’t been in the lower decks! Hell, none of the passengers are even allowed in the lower decks, dumbass!”

“Who are ya callin’ a dumbass, dumbass!?”

“I’m callin’ YOU a dumbass, dumbass! I’m sure you were tricked by somebody, ‘cause I was NEVER down there!”

“You know what? Screw you, idiot! I’m gonna go find my scarf myself! Oh yeah, here, have a partin’ gift from YOURS TRULY!”

“Guagh!”
The last thing you see before you’re knocked out is a hurtling mass of black leather.
***
And that's all for tonight! I'm tired right now. I apologize for ending on what's not exactly an exciting not, but I'm tired and I have to wake up early
Excuses,excuses.

>>40463862
I honestly don't know. Who knew that starting a quest during a busy-ass week was a bad idea?

I can make Saturday at the very latest. If I have extra time, I might have another thread earlier this week.

>>40464465
Real life takes precedence, just do everything at your own schedule man.

Thanks for running, I enjoyed this one, altough short it was plenty of fun. See you, mate!

Thread archived and pastebin and twitter updated!
Night everyone!