-----(Amir)-----
Waking up with an aching head is really unpleasant. Isn't that something?
My thoughts were stopped by another dull pain that made me groan aloud.
I tried to sit up only to feel a hand on my shoulder that pushed me down into the bed. I looked up to see the figure of Larxene looming over me. I don't know how, but I knew she was warning me to stay still.
These puppets are more alive than I thought.
I sighed, flopped back downwards, and closed my eyes.
Now that my headache had calmed down a bit, the giddy feeling I had at the end of the first experiment came back.
I had done it. I had cast my first spell.
I had created my own crest.
Iskandar's talent shines through. I'm confident that the only magical crest or ability more complicated than my own is the Kankara Formula. The symbols I implemented are each filled with thousands on thousands of calculations and it's not even complete.
All I need now is to increase my mana pool and experience.
For now though, I'll just go to sleep.
-----(Switch)-----
I jumped backwards, multiple enhancement spells active as I dodged another magic bullet.
"Shield!"
With that shout, a shield appeared in front of me, blocking another three.
It has been a month since I cast my first spell and I have officially begun training with my magic. I spent the first week just casting until I passed out from exhaustion to get used to the feeling of using mana, and passing out.
I just know that is going to become common, so I felt it would be better to be prepared.
After that, I finally began touring all the islands, discovering the different facilities that were present. I met the other phantoms as well, even if all they did was nod when I greeted them. Having three tall figures in black clothing that hid everything nod at me simultaneously almost made me activate my crest prematurely.
It was during these visits that I discovered this gem. A battlefield simulator that created illusions that were somehow solid and definitely something I would study later, of terrain and enemies. I've spent almost the entirety of my time since then in here, getting used to activating magic under pressure and testing spells to see how effective they are. Like right now.
"Gravity, Fall!"
With that shout, the five enemies that had been firing at me got crushed into the ground under the effect of increased gravity.
I breathed out and wiped my sweat using the sleeve of my robe before heading towards the door where Larxene was standing, towel in hand.
She had become my go to and even after meeting the others, she was still the one that I always asked on. Plus she is the only one I can recognize since the others are all men that are tall and have their faces hidden.
I grabbed the towel, nodded at her, and began wiping my sweat while heading towards the locker room.
Opening the door and quickly rushing inside, I went up to my locker, opening it to reveal my research notes; I am not calling it something as simple as a notebook; which put a smile on my face.
I took a seat on one of the many benches, squirming left and right until I got comfortable, then opened my notes and began writing a new progress report.
-----(Switch)-----
The enhancement spells were working perfectly. Normal enhancement spells like those I read about are, in one word, crude.
I think the reason is because most people separate magic and science. For the enhancement spell for example, it is simplified to more mana more strong.
My spells, on the other hand, are composed of a lot more equations and effects.
In basic terms, my spell reinforces bones and muscles by increasing their density, places small barriers around interior organs to keep them from damage, increases my thought processing and sensing, makes my skin as hard as titanium and finally floods my body with mana to multiply my attributes such as strength and speed as well as creating shockwaves by vibrating mana for instant bursts.
In short, it is better.
Getting back on track, my awareness and mana sense have gotten better as well and so have my movements. The way I dodge and create distance now is much different than when I first started.
I'm not becoming a master martial artist, but I could probably fight off weaker strays now.
I've been able to utilize Position I: Xaldin better and have even reduced my casting time.
Today has also helped confirm that it is easier to affect a single force within an area compared to affecting the forces acting on a single object. Doing the latter will be impossible manually until I get some kind of analysis symbol or spell.
Getting back to casting time, I've reduced it to 6.04 seconds compared to the initial 7.32, which is a marked improvement. It should get easier as time goes on and I train more, so I'm expecting to reach 0 delay in two to three months.
I have found a problem in the crest though and that is a delay in the switching of symbols, which I had somehow forgotten to take into consideration. I also need to turn Position VII: Demyx into a passively active symbol. It is extremely useful for multi casting as intended, so having it need to be activated just makes things more difficult. By making it a passive, it will become the second of this type after Position VII: Luxord that is built to be like that. I have found a delay of around 1 second when switching from one symbol to the other or when activating more than one at once.
That one second is a lot more important than I would like to admit, so I'll have to tinker with the crest again. I haven't come up with a name for it yet, but I hope to do so soon.
That is it for today.
-----(Switch)-----
I closed the book with a small clap before nodding in satisfaction.
Heading towards the showers, I used my magic to teleport my notes back to my room and make my Gummiphone appear in my hand, already opened on the music app.
God, I love magic.
That was the thought that permeated my mind as I hummed to the music while allowing my tired body to relax under the shower.
-----(Switch)-----
Finally.
It took three and a half months, but I finally achieved everything I wanted to when it comes to magic. At least, the theoretical aspect of it.
All delays when casting have been removed and not only that, I have begun my path of mastery towards what I call swarm casting. It is using Position VII: Demyx and the ability to synchronize in order to cast hundreds of spells without pause, pelting the target with attack after attack while waiting for them to slip up so I can take advantage.
The only thing left to do in the theoretical aspect is to get an analysis spell so I can begin training my three unused symbols, but I'm not in much of a hurry.
Today is an important day after all.
Today is the day I'll begin using the powers I have over this dimension properly. Ever since I began living and training here, I've yet to use my power to alter time or gravity. I wanted to measure my progress properly and not age too quickly, but now that is no longer a concern.
I wish to begin combat training today and in order to do that, I will be using the aforementioned abilities to double gravity while I'm training physically and to distort time at a ratio of 3.5:1.
That is the reason why I'm currently heading to Island 6, better known as Combat Hell. I already ordered Larxene to go ahead and set things up. I've prepared a schedule and everything.
Strength and endurance training in the mornings, magic training in the afternoon since I can't exactly let myself slack off, and sparring in the evening.
Simple but effective.
Today is an exception though. I want to spar with Larxene. Of course, she'll be holding back since I'm certain that if she used her lightning or Foudre, I would die before I could blink.
I want to see how far the chasm is and so why not jump right into the fire and see how it goes?
I finished preparing myself and opened the door to my room, revealing the training grounds in all of their macabre glory. I can still feel the aches of those damn magic bullets and the burning of the firestorm spell that the illusionary mages seem to have a weird fetish for.
I crossed through the door, hearing it close behind me as I looked around in order to distract myself from my nerves.
Even if I knew she could not kill me, I still shivered occasionally.
This woman has the ability to move as fast as lightning and is armed with short knives. Even without considering all that, she is still a grown adult that could most likely kick even Okita Souji's ass in pure combat skill. The members of Organization XIII were not pushovers after all.
And then, there is me.
All I have going for me is magic.
.
.
.
Fuck it, we ball.
I chuckled at the thought of the iconic meme as the doors to the training grounds slid open, revealing Larxene, who was excited?
I can't exactly explain how, but I could feel her emotions to a certain extent.
And isn't that terrifying?
She said nothing, not like she can, but she didn't even gesture, as she took her place in front of me and adapted a loose combat guard. Like loose enough that even I could tell how bad it was.
I slid into a sloppy stance in response, which only got me feelings of dissatisfaction from the puppet.
I shook my head to ignore it and then spoke up while setting up a spell:
"The spar will start once my explosion spell goes off. It has a timer on it for five seconds. You will not be allowed to use anything other than your physical strength. We are going until one of us is knocked out for a count of 10, pure and simple. Clear?"
The phantom nodded as I finished setting up the spell.
5
Enhancement spells ready.
4
Prediction spells ready.
3
Spells synchronizing.
2
Barrier spells ready.
1
Teleportation spells ready.
Go ti-
BANG.
.
.
.
.
.
Zap
.
.
Hsss-
FUCK!
I backflipped while still in the air and deployed all my barrier spells, blocking the follow up by Larxene.
I blacked out! She knocked me out and made my self shock spell activate that quickly? What the hell?! Ok counteratt-
My thoughts went unfinished as she collided with my barrier with so much force, my mana pool almost got divided by half.
I began deploying some attack spells, only to have to cancel and reconstruct another all around barrier to block her high leg kick.
She is not letting me think!
What should I do? What can I do?!
I pushed more mana into my enhancement spell and watched as the world slowed down, but even then...
She's still faster!
I created an explosion under me to fly high and create separation while keeping my eyes on her, and what I saw had me shitting bricks.
She was looking straight at me and I could tell that if her face was visible, I would bear witness to the widest of grins.
She crouched low before jumping high with her knee in front of her, ready to break my nose and make me meet darkness once again.
Thankfully, those few milliseconds were enough.
"Push!"
A shockwave exploded with me at the center and accompanying it was the sound of a bomb going off. She faltered a bit only to flip and land on her feet, already getting ready to attack again.
But, I had cast another spell the moment I began falling backdown towards the ground.
"Dismantle!"
Shift!
I watched as she slid under the wind blade before getting hit in the back, sending her flying towards the wall.
Teleportation for the win!
"Sol Gate!"
This might be cheating, but I will not get my ass kicked because I was holding back!
A portal opened before me, and from it flew a heated sun ray straight from the artificial sun of Scala Ad Caelum.
She landed feet first on the wall and then used it as a launching pad to dodge the ray by jumping upwards.
Perfect.
"Crystal Coffin!"
Dozens of magic circles appeared around her and began spewing cold air to freeze her.
The training grounds were now covered in fog, but that wouldn't blind me.
Sonar.
Waves of sound began to transmit from and to me at 200 waves per second.
I sensed for any kind of movement and kept myself ready. She should have gotten frozen, but I will not let my guard down nor jinx myself.
I waited for a few more seconds before beginning to approach, only to hear something that made my heart drop.
CRACK
My senses fired at all cylinders as I flooded my eyes with mana and spells, watching in slow motion for the second time during this fight, as her fist approached my cheek.
I can't move my body. I'm not fast enough to cast another spell either.
No matter.
My saved spells will deploy and the moment they do, I'll blast her.
I got my mind ready and began to focus once more while waiting for my barrier to stop her...
Only that didn't happen.
I bore witness as her fist impacted the barrier and broke through it with ease before-
POW
My head snapped right as she connected with my cheek and my body flew away, only to be stopped by her grabbing my leg and slamming me onto the ground.
She mounted my body and began pelting me with fists, elbows, and palm strikes.
I tasted the blood on my lips and saw myself being beaten black and blue by the same person who served me daily.
I felt rage and inadequacy race through my being. I felt my mana pool, what remained of it, begin to churn in response.
I gritted my teeth before I let out a guttural shout of pure emotion and adrenaline.
"DETONATION!"
My mana rushed outwards and exploded in a flash of light.
Pure neutral mana detonated from me at the center, infecting whatever was touched by it with mana poisoning while creating a shockwave.
Last resort, but it should work.
Mana, while neutral, has a trace of the individual that it belongs to, so if an they were to flood another's body with only pure mana that has no trace of a transferring or sharing attribute, the person on the receiving end would suffer from mana poisoning. Mana poisoning happens when the different mana collides with one another within one's body, creating distortions inside said body. It's brutal.
Hopefully brutal enough to stop her!
I began slowly standing up, my mana exhausted.
I got to my feet, stumbling as I did, and lifted my head upwards, only to see Larxene standing there like nothing happened, smoke surrounding her form.
Her feet slid back and she got ready to rush me once more and put an end to the fight.
As for me, I had wilted.
She's still up. After all of that, she's still standing. Like nothing happened.
I should have given up. Should have allowed myself to collapse and wilt completely, but my pride would not let me.
I lifted my arm and felt mana gather.
If I was sane and fully aware, I probably would of noticed the mana that had suddenly appeared deep within me, but I wasn't exactly in the right mind set at the moment.
I screamed as I swung my arm downwards with all the power I could.
I felt what I think was panic from Larxene before yellow lightning began gathering around her form.
She tackled me out of the way as a tearing sound began to echo out through the facility.
What looked like a crack began to appear in the air, in space itself, before the dimension itself was suddenly ripped open.
What I saw beyond it was terrifying and yet oh so majestic.
A kaleidoscope, a dimension filled with ever shifting colors that made my head spin.
And in the distance, a giant red dragon.
Great Red.
I froze as I continued staring at the sight before me. That was until it was suddenly closed and standing in its place was a phantom wielding twin arrow guns.
Xigbar.
He closed the space.
I sat there silent, my thoughts in chaos, trying to understand what happened before it hit me full force.
I had awakened it. My devil side.
That was the ability that I had wished for when choosing my own lineage.
That was Crack.
{A/N: Ok, so another chapter done and over with. The MC has finally awakened his devil side under a high stress moment and his first usage of the ability was to tear space apart. He's going to be a monster. Anyways, I'll be starting to properly use the time dilation mechanic in the future so that's something to look forward to. The reason I didn't initially is because I don't want the MC to age drastically and become older than the entire cast. I decided to make it so the MC is 21 by the time canon roles around. I think it's fair so yeah. Also, for those worries, Great Red didn't notice the MC cause the tear was closed quickly and he simply doesn't care for magic that's used in the Dimensional Gap since it can't hurt him. That's everything for now. See y'all next time.}