Ryo stared at the book that rested in his hands, his mind racing as he conceived of all the possibilities that this book could behold. Then, his mind clicked. He reeled back to something that Inquisax had said earlier. "You mentioned something about a thing called 'Heavensent' earlier, Inquisax. What's that?" Ryo asked, catching the Demon's attention, a pulse of mana shooting up to his eye.
"Oh, those. I'm surprised you Humans didn't learn about these, especially when you fight Monsters all the time." Inquisax replied, shocked. He lifted his hand into the air, and a book from around two-hundred metres flew into his hand. He opened it to page two hundred and thirteen, near enough the middle of the compendium. "Here, check this." He told Ryo, tossing the book to him. Ryo jumped into the air to catch it, pulling it down, resting it on top of "A Comprehensive Guide To All Things Magical: Spells, Techniques, And Downright Devious Destruction", pouring mana into the book to translate it, and reading the entry.
"Heavensent: A creature with this mutation is imbued with the power of the Gods, dealing extra damage to Demons and Monsters with every attack, regardless of weapon, as well as damage over time by being in the vicinity." Ryo read aloud. "At the time of writing this book, there has been one discovered way to obtain this mutation without being born with it."
"In order to artificially obtain the Heavensent mutation, you must protect a Serphi from danger. If they appreciate the work enough, this will result in the saviour being bestowed with Heavensent. However, there is no known way to remove this. In conclusion, you become an ally to the "Gods" and an enemy to the Demon race."
Ryo looked up from the book, meeting face to face with Inquisax, who moved his head forward so that they touched foreheads. "So, what do you think?" He asked as Ryo pushed Inquisax's head away. "Woah, too close man." Ryo responded. "I like having a bit of space."
"My bad, my bad," Inquisax apologised, jumping backwards. "Still, you have so much magic you'll need to learn in order to keep this place organised. Due to the amount of time that the Human magic system has been, for lack of a better word, rigid, it'll be hard for you to learn them. However, if you follow the steps inside, you'll learn it sooner or later."
Ryo looked at the name of the book with the "Heavensent" "Mutation". It was called "Magnificent Magic Mutations and Where They Come From". He placed the book onto the shelf behind him, only to watch it fly past him and move all the way back to where Inquisax pulled it from.
"That's a spell you're going to need to learn to keep this place in order. Move to page thirty-seven of the "Guide To All Things Magical" book. You'll see a crazily useful spell that can be used both inside and outside of combat. Read it to yourself, though. I want to take a look around the place." Inquisax told Ryo, who was still holding it in his hands. Ryo flipped to page thirty-seven, splaying the book open, the contents covering two pages. He sat down before reading, getting into a cross-legged position.
[Mental Magic Canopy Spell / Parent Spell]
'Psychokinesis'
'Psychokinesis: The manipulation of magic and matter with the mind, influencing the real world with your brain.'
'This spell is the basis for all magic that involves both your own mind and the minds of people around you. Using this spell increases the power and pressure that can be generated with the mind, but also does the same to the strain on it. This spell cannot be wielded by those with a weak mind.'
'To perform Psychokinesis, you must channel mana in a specific pattern. First, you must collect mana in the spine, forming a pool of it there. Then, you must shoot it towards your skull, keeping a steady flow as it encompasses your brain. Once your mind feels as if it's underwater, you may begin moving things with your mind. If successful, the watery feeling should subside, and you'll have learned Psychokinesis.'
Ryo straightened his back, resting the book on his legs as he looked at the diagrams that covered the second page. One had what was clearly the spine of a Demon like Inquisax, with an elongated spine that contained 43 vertebrae instead of a Human's 26. 'It shouldn't be too different, though.' Ryo told himself, focusing on collecting mana, a practice he hadn't performed since he trained with Mask when he was back in his home village.
Mask made sure that Ryo always had some mana stored in case of a surprise Monster attack. He wanted to be able to fire off an attack, not designed to kill, but to give him enough time to stun the Monster so that he could charge up a spell that'd end the fight. Ryo had stopped doing it around two months after joining the 'Rising Sun' party.
"With preparation comes readiness. If you fail to prepare, you're preparing to fail!" Mask would drill into Ryo, his training involving storing mana while being hit with wooden swords, rocks, anything that could disrupt his concentration. "If you're blindsided by a Monster, it's only pure luck that you don't die! Keep yourself ready at all times!"
'Well, Mask, it's time I make use of my training for a different purpose.' Ryo thought to himself, feeling a massive collection of mana pool in the centre of his spine. He shot it up into his skull, and immediately felt dizzy, his head wobbling and vision spinning. If he hadn't been sitting down already, he'd be on the floor in a heap. His mind swirled, and he could almost imagine a fish floating in front of his eye.
His head almost felt like an exotic fishbowl, his vision blurry and smeared like an old camera or a smudge on a wall. He looked towards a book on a far shelf, remembering the instructions. He imagined the book lifting into the air, and to his shock, it lifted.
That was all he saw before everything flicked to black.
Ryo woke up, his mind foggy, sitting against the door to the Library, which was now closed. "Rise and shine, Ryo." Inquisax told him, lifting Ryo up by the collar. "I watched you knock yourself out trying that Psychokinesis spell. I forgot just how hard it'd be for a Human to learn something like that. So, to help you break through this little barrier of yours, I'm going to bring you to a place just past the border."
And with that, Ryo and Inquisax were gone. It was almost as if they'd vanished from sight. Someone made a "tch." noise before returning to being quiet.
Ryo and Inquisax appeared outside a large cave, luscious green foliage covering the ground. Ryo couldn't even believe where he was. First, he was in the presence of a Demon who could kill him at a moment's notice, and now he's inside the Demon Country, staring down a gap in the rock.
"This is a Dungeon." Inquisax told Ryo, who looked at him with confusion. "Oh, right, my bad, let me explain."
"Dungeons only form in countries with a high enough demon population, as our natural mana creates the perfect environment for Monsters to mingle and dungeons to develop. These ones are stronger than the Monsters that are born over-ground, with the ability to obtain mutations at a much higher rate." Inquisax told Ryo, placing his hand behind Ryo's back and shoving him along. "I'll be out here, but don't worry, I'll make sure you aren't dead for too long!"
"Wow, what reassurance." Ryo commented before walking in, pooling mana into his spine once again, but not to cast Psychokinesis. He wanted to be ready to fire a spell off whenever he needed to. He made his way deeper into the Dungeon, candles flickering to life around him, walls turning to ivy-covered, yellow-stained brick, the width going from about five metres to seventeen, his vision directed towards a stumpy creature at the end of the pathway. It was a Goblin.
This Goblin had beady eyes with yellow irises and black sclera. Its skin was an almost sickly green, with a disfigured, bumpy nose and a stumpy figure at 0.8 metres tall. Its eyes scanned around quickly, locking onto Ryo with a devious grin. It let out a gurgly scream, as if it was choking on its own saliva.
Ryo stared with fear as the creature ran at him headfirst, disappearing from view briefly as it sped up. Ryo heard the sounds of footsteps, but not the sight. He definitely felt it though, as a sharp pain jabbed itself into his ribs, sending him flying into the wall, cracking the brick with a resounding snap. Ryo felt blood pool in his mouth, swallowing it instead of spitting it.
Ryo poured magic into his hands, a green and red magic circle appearing in front of his hands before he even said the name of his spell. He slammed his rocky right hand straight through it, flaming vines firing out, flicking the Goblin into the opposite wall before wailing on him, lashing and burning the skin of the Goblin as it let out an agonising scream, purple blood flowing from its eyes, nose and ears..
Ryo dropped the vines, watching another magic circle appear in front of him, this time in a different colour. It was yellow. He slammed his hand through the magic circle, feeling a surge of energy rush through his body. Lightning crackled around his body, making him feel almost weightless. His mind stayed still, his eyes closed, and yet, he felt himself moving.
One leg in front of the other, his body took over. Momentum surged through his core, sending shocks down his nervous system. His fists came next, barrages upon barrages of punches hitting the Goblin, yet it seemed almost unfazed. It punched Ryo in the face, bringing an end to his uncontrollable body, blood dripping from his nose.
Ryo regained control, watching a magic circle appear on the torso of the Goblin, four colours covering it. Red, Green, Yellow and Blue. He ran towards it, sending his fist straight through the symbol, yelling out a new spell name.
"Fusion of Water, Fire, Nature and Lightning! Convulsion Of Order!"
Ryo watched as water poured out of each and every orifice of the Goblin, drawing in his own body. Electricity followed, shocking the insides and outsides of the Monster, the smell of burnt flesh filling Ryo's nose. Next was nature, roots burst from the Goblin's chest, sending purple organs flying outwards, one slapping the wall behind Ryo.
Finally, fire made its entrance, setting the Goblin ablaze, like a monstrous bonfire, uncontrolled by Humans, Monsters or Demons. The spell ended with a small element of Ryo's second favourite spell, Burning Forest. The roots caught fire, scorching the walls alongside the Goblin before exploding, creating a large hole in the wall where the Goblin was. All that was left of it was a small pile of dark gray dust and a purple gemstone, bigger than the one he harvested from the Umichron.
Ryo let out a sigh of relief, stumbling forward slightly as he spat out blood onto the floor. "Christ, if this is just a Goblin, what the hell do I do if I find anything else?" Ryo asked himself, wandering up to the hole in the wall. There was a hidden room back there, with a singular chest in the centre. Ryo walked up, slowly, unable to tell by himself if there were any traps.
Ryo put his fingers to the lid of chest, opening it up to reveal its contents. Inside was a pair of gloves and a small dagger with a gemstone embedded into the handle. Ryo didn't know how to appraise anything like that, so he put the gloves on his hands, noticing how the one on his right hand used magic to fit the rocks inside. He kept the dagger in his hand, and, by god, would he need it.
Things were only getting started.