The blood monsters' orb was definitely stronger; at least, that was what her intuition told her. More than that, the mist around it was incredibly thick, and by her earlier estimate of the mist's function, that meant that it could disperse the force behind each of her blows.
She parried the blood monster's blows, but the exhaustion was beginning to get to her. Adrenaline was only able to help so much, and Hypercognition was trying to counteract both the pain and the disorganized thoughts from the exhaustion. She was waiting for another level or two in her arts, but she was beginning to realize that she had come across a miracle, not a feature. She would need time before she could start gaining levels again, and she didn't have that time.
Inertial Sense: 3 → 4
Ten seconds had passed since she had first started battling the monster, and that wasn't the notification she wanted. It gave her a better sense of the monster's blow's physical strength and its weight, but not much else. However, it reminded her that she was now both a Psychic and a Warrior, and that the path selection had treated them, on some level, as equal.
She had 'Inertial Sense', the ability to sense inertia around her, and in effect, what the forces around her were. The Path of the Warrior came from the 'Inertial Shroud', which hadn't made much sense to her at first, and it wasn't clear what that meant even now. However, she figured that it meant that her 'Warrior' abilities had to do with her inertia, rather than her 'soul', according to the path selection.
And if the title of Warrior meant anything, she could weaponize her inertia.
She didn't have time to wait. She threw aside another attack and, for a half-second, concentrated. She aligned the inertia of her body as best as she could into attacking the core with a powerful strike.
It sunk into the blood monster's body faster and deeper, and it pushed the orb somewhat further away from the blood monster's center. However, it wasn't enough to dislodge it entirely, and the blood monster roared with fury in its eyes. The crowbar was deep enough in the blood monster's body that its grip over it was stronger than hers was, so the blood monster wrenched it out of her grip and sent her tumbling to the ground with her clothes bar.
Combat Flow: 10 → 11
The additional level wasn't particularly helpful, even as she realized her stupidity. The blood monster was tactical, more than any other monster she had faced. She didn't know if it had intelligence matching humanity's sapience, but it had sharp enough battle instincts that she was pressed no matter what.
She was weaponless, in a way. The crowbar's mass was what allowed it to piece deep into the blood monster's mist, and she had lost it to the blood monster now. The blood monster's inertia was strange, in that it could transfer the mist's inertia to its own. She didn't know if the other monsters could do it, or if they weren't skilled enough.
... skilled enough...
... she concentrated once more, dodging another of the blood monster's attacks by the skin of her teeth. Using her Clairvoyance, she could sense that the crowbar was being oriented by the blood monster, inside of its own body, being ready to be sent back in a less-than-peaceful way. She wasn't fast enough to react to the crowbar if it was sent with the totality of the monster's inertia, and somehow, the monster's inertia was strong enough to interfere with her telekinesis near its core.
That was it, she guessed. Inertial manipulation was what the ITP's Warriors did, moving around the inertia of their bodies to their advantage. The blood monster could do it on a simple level, but she couldn't do it at all, nor did she have the time to learn to either do it or counteract it.
She could only dodge, again and again. She still had her clothes bar, but if the crowbar couldn't do anything, it's not like the clothes bar could do anything either.
...
... but it was her only shot. She dodged another swipe of the blood monster's dagger and readied herself for another powerful blow. But just before she struck, she realized something crucial.
Her first attempt's failure had been because of a failure of inertial alignment. Her strike had thrown most of her power into the strike, but not all of it. She'd had one of her legs moving mid-air to prevent herself from falling over, compromising the inertia of the strike.
So, this time, she held nothing back. It was do-or-die-trying, and like a bullet, she lunged with her clothes bar at the exact position of the orb. It didn't, couldn't, matter if she fell over afterwards or not, or if she sunk into the mist if she was weak enough. She channeled as much of her energy and force into a singularly powerful strike.
New Art (Warrior): Power Strike 1
Her blow, even though her weapon was lighter, was heavier than before. The orb didn't shatter or even crack, but it tumbled out of the blood monster's mist, the force too much for it to disperse at once. The projection turned static and started to flicker, and her crowbar dropped out of the monster's mist field.
Taylor, herself, fell to the ground, but rolled to her feet thanks to Hypercognition and Combat Flow optimizing her movements. With Telekinesis, the crowbar flew into her hand once more. Even as the mist streamed back towards the orb, Taylor knew that the battle was over.
Before the mist could properly surround and protect the orb once more, Taylor lunged forward, transitioning into a Power Strike once she was but a foot away. Redirecting her inertia into the strike and strengthening it with her Telekinesis, her crowbar stabbed straight into the orb, deforming it slightly but shattering the orb into thousands of pieces.
Power Strike: 1 → 2
Telekinesis: 6 → 7
The mist dispersed for good, and she tumbled to the ground. There were no monsters left, even though just a minute ago, there had been nine. Somehow, Taylor had won.
Taylor, of course, celebrated by throwing up. Every portion of her screamed in agony, and her psyche was completely spent with the final strike. Even trying to control her thoughts brought her agony.
She didn't know how long she sat there. Five minutes? Ten? No matter how much time it took, she rose to her feet like a zombie, before stumbling to her bag and wrenching it open.
The idol started shrieking at her again, but somehow, it felt far, far weaker than before. In a way, it was as if her own personal growth had weakened its brainwashing effect. Even without Hypercognition, she could somewhat ignore the idol's threats and move to the steps needed to repair it. She wasn't even really resisting the idol; it was more like the lingering pain still numbed everything else.
As it blabbered at her, she grabbed one of the granola bars in her bag (which, in its wrapper, was now just granola, and poured it into her mouth). It tasted like sand, and as she walked to where the sanctified water was, she decided to drink that as well.
It tasted like shit, but it lessened the effect of the idol on her mind. Good to know.
Now, time to do her actual job.
~
Power Strike: 2 → 3
~
It had taken fifteen minutes after drinking the sanctified water to fully repair the idol; any of the remaining monsters that tried to attack her were dealt with by light usage of Hypercognition and Clairvoyance, light enough that it was only mildly straining to her psyche, and through judicious use of Power Strike. None of the monsters (now, she agreed with Magister's usage of the word 'pest') were enough to threaten her anymore, and the rest of the steps to repair the idol were...
... well, they were simple. Sanctified water, glass, some wafers here and there, and the idol had enough raw materials and innate power to repair itself, fusing itself together at the particle level when she aligned the broken halves correctly.
Once the idol had been repaired, all she'd had to do was put it back in its pedestal. The instant she did so, the idol's brainwashing effect spread through the entirety of the floor, and the shards of the bull demon's orb next to it disappeared.
Then she'd spent five or so minutes making sure that all of the pests were gone, before returning to the main hall of the chapel.
It was a lot less creepy. True, there was that annoying little voice in her head telling her to flee if she didn't want to die, but Taylor was now able to ignore it completely. Magister hadn't given her any new messages, so Taylor found the oldest one and started typing.
Fixed an idol that was broken, that stupid threat-field you have is back online. How the hell do I move on?
The reply took a half minute.
Sounds like you had a tough time. If the floor looks like a cathedral to you, then go and stand wherever the leader of a cathedral would stand.
Taylor went over to the pulpit of the main hall and stood there. The instant that she did, a sickening, fearful feeling crawled up her spine, completely unlike the sense she'd gotten from the idol. It wasn't a promise of pain unending, but of something where she'd wish she could feel pain instead. And the concept of painlessness itself disoriented her more than she'd known.
"So, instead of contacting a friend, she brought you." The voice was casual, lilting, and contemplative. "I was wondering if she was going to be patient enough to contact her friends to come help her, or if she would attempt to be patient long enough to mount energy for a counterattack. But just a mere second-level Psychic and first-rank Warrior? And a human? Why, she must be desperate and impatient."
Taylor's lip curled. The voice wasn't being clear, but she could figure out what was going on clearly enough. "You're the 'asshole' that Magister was talking about? The one that took over and 'corrupted' it?" she asked. Maybe she could have been more tactful, but frankly, that level of caution had been burned out of her already.
The sound of laughter boomed through the main hall. "Oh, yes, absolutely. But if you don't know who I am, then 'Magister' has told you next-to-nothing, has she?" Taylor had no response. "Oh, this is fantastic. You know, while she has terrible taste in most things, she does have a good taste in games. I won't interfere too much, at least for now. Let's see how far you get, human, before you understand what it means to be a pawn in a game between Innovators."
Before Taylor could retort, her vision went white.
~
Taylor's eyes snapped open, looking up at the ceiling of her bathroom. She looked at nearby clock; twenty minutes total. There was time dilation in the tower, but it was only two-to-three times as much since she'd spent maybe an hour or so in the cathedral.
Her wounds had scabbed over enough to, so she changed her clothes to something that was clean and covered her. The nosebleed had stopped, though her eyes were still bloodshot, so she put on some sunglasses to hide it.
"What took you so long, kiddo?" Dad asked as she climbed into the passenger seat of the car, before looking at her. "Sunglasses?"
Taylor shrugged. "Might as well," she said, voice somewhat distant. Dad looked at her with worry in his eyes, but Taylor couldn't find the strength to feel anything about it. "Oh, and I accidentally spilled water on my clothes, and I made a mess in my room. I'll clean it up when I get home."
That did nothing but raise Dad's concern, but Taylor could not muster the energy to try and think of a cleverer lie. She was spent in every possible way, after everything that had happened.
As they arrived near one of the better neighborhoods, Dad dropped her off. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine," Taylor answered. A second later, she hugged him. "Thanks, Dad."
She would have said 'I love you', but she also figured that would make Dad panic and think she was suicidal or something. She should have done so earlier regardless; if she'd died in the tower, Dad would have never known what had happened to her. The idea of just telling him about everything floated through her mind, but she discarded it for now. Until she understood more and was powerful enough to reassure him that she would be safe, she'd keep quiet.
Once he drove away, Taylor walked over to a nearby bench and sat on it, looking at a pothole in front of her with a thousand-mile stare. A part of her wanted to cry and scream, as now she had recovered enough from the pain to remember how unfair it had all been.
Ten minutes of preparation weren't enough for anyone to prepare; how could Magister expect her to do so?! Even if she'd had a day, or a week, or even a month, she wouldn't have been able to prepare, either. Of that terrible hour, she'd been on death's doorstep for most of it, only clutching a victory through sheer luck, instinct, and determination. Taylor considered Magister's words; would a gun have helped? Sure, absolutely, but Taylor also knew that Magister thought that guns, at least, would start falling off in effectiveness pretty far in.
And if Magister had also considered bombs, missiles, tanks, and nukes into humanity's weaponry, then Taylor was screwed.
Taylor sighed. In a way, she had known Magister's offer had been too good to be true. Magister had more than undersold the danger of her tower. Or maybe, Magister didn't realize how dangerous her tower was. Taylor couldn't figure out which was worse.
But it was time to get answers. Taylor brought up the panel-chat she had with Magister and typed something else in.
If you couldn't sense it, I'm back in real life. Bring me into an astral space with huge time dilation, I want to talk with you face-to-face.
The next second, Taylor went drowsy. She closed her eyes, and everything disappeared around her.
~
She opened her eyes to that classroom once more. Magister floated in front of her.
"Completely and utterly spectacular, my pupil! I knew that you could-"
"Shut up."
Taylor's words cut Magister right off. The bright smile on Magister's face disappeared right away as Taylor locked eyes with her.
"Shut up," Taylor repeated. "And, for once, be clear with me. I've played to your tune, Magister, and I nearly died because of it. Those 'pests' weren't anything you warned me about, or those idols, or that 'asshole' I met."
".. you met him, then." Magister's voice was far more sober than before.
"He approved of your 'game'. He called me your pawn." Taylor turned around, climbed on one of the astral space's desks, and then sat down at the same height Magister was sitting. "You made it clear that this was voluntary, and I get that. But now, I get the feeling that you're strong enough to have far, far more choices than just having me climb your tower. More than that, you haven't told me anything more than the bare minimum. That has to stop now."
Magister looked at Taylor, not saying anything. "... astute observation," she said eventually. "I am Magister, and you are my pupil. I suppose that, if you truly wish to know more, I can elaborate. However, what do you want to know more about?"
PathlessPsychicWarriorCombat Flow: (11/30) (Novice)
Cartography: (2/10) (Acolyte)
What are you going to ask Magister about?
[]: Taylor's Alternate Fate, The Reason Magister Chose Her.
You didn't seek Magister out at all; no, Magister came for you. There are billions of more people in the world, and you wanted to know why, out of all of them, Magister chose you. Accolades in an alternate fate were nothing but words, and you need to know what caused those accolades to come true, and what about it makes Magister think that ten minutes of preparation were enough for the tower.
[]: Magister and the Corrupter, The Tower
Magister wasn't a fairy godparent, and you weren't naive enough to think that Magister was doing this out of the goodness of her heart. If she had a heart, that was; the strange creatures of the idols and the Corrupter being dismissive of humans made you think that, like Senior, Magister and the Corrupter weren't human, maybe not even humanoid. And the tower... what was it, anyway, and what was the whole deal with 'floors' and alternate dimensions?
[]: The Interdimensional Training Program, The Paths and Arts
You need to know just what the heck you're actually doing. The 'astral spaces', the 'psyche and soul', the 'inertial shroud', you're making guesswork at best. How does all of this, any of this, work? More than that, what was the 'Interdimensional Training Program', or the 'Paths' and 'Arts' that governed your power. If you were going to make good decisions, you need more context about what you can do, both now and in the future. Award Quote ReplyReport60Repe
Magister and the Corrupter, The Tower
Magister wasn't a fairy godparent, and you weren't naive enough to think that Magister was doing this out of the goodness of her heart. If she had a heart, that was; the strange creatures of the idols and the Corrupter being dismissive of humans made you think that, like Senior, Magister and the Corrupter weren't human, maybe not even humanoid. And the tower... what was it, anyway, and what was the whole deal with 'floors' and alternate dimensions?
Click to shrink...
Magister looked at Taylor, not saying anything. "... astute observation," she said eventually. "I am Magister, and you are my pupil. I suppose that, if you truly wish to know more, I can elaborate. However, what do you want to know more about?"
Taylor crossed her arms. "About you," she said. "You, and that 'asshole' that put you into this situation, and the tower. I want to want to know what I'm dealing with. No lies, no misdirection, the straight and honest truth. If I'm going to risk my life for you, I want to know why I'm actually doing it."
Magister was silent for a bit longer, before she sighed. "And how, pray tell, will you know that I am telling the truth? For all you know, I could feed you tall tale after tall tale."
"Because if you're strong as I think you are, you don't need me." Magister blinked. "And the fact that I'm still here and willingly talking to you means that neither of us are having our arms twisted behind our backs. You don't need to lie, Magister. And if you do... then you're dumber than I thought."
Taylor didn't particularly like Magister's way of judging things. Ten minutes to prepare for the first floor was utterly absurd, and the cavalier attitude Magister took towards the whole thing, popping in and out on a whim and being a cheerleader while Taylor risked her life, felt almost insulting.
Yet, if Taylor's meager suspicions were true, her attitude would make a whole lot more sense.
"... I see that you found out more than you'd intended in my tower," Magister said. "And just by reading your surface thoughts, you've caught on to more of the truth as a result."
Telepathy... Taylor really needed to learn how to do it at some point.
"Speak to your mentor about it," Magister advised, before crossing her legs. "As for who I truly am... frankly, you have nowhere near enough context to understand it, and since you will be learning under a plethora of new mentors as you unlock new paths, there is still a chance that one of them will be an enemy of mine. One who will be happy to warp you to hurt me."
"Like the Corrupter?"
"Not at all." Magister's smile was thin, and Taylor suddenly felt a lot less confident. "Part of the reason I can send you into my tower is because the Corrupter, as much of an asshole that he is, isn't truly malevolent or hostile to me."
"... bullshit."
Magister raised an eyebrow. "And why do you think so?"
"He... he invaded your tower and defaced it. Corrupted it, by your own admission."
"Yes. And?"
"And?!" Taylor couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What do you mean, 'and'?! Isn't that enough? What else could he do?!"
Magister's eyes dimmed. "Why, he could kill me, of course."
The words echoed through the room of the astral space, and Taylor found it hard to speak for a little bit. Magister gave her a few seconds to adjust, staying silent the entire time. Taylor eventually found her words. "He could kill you?" she repeated.
"Yes. Right now, with ease, he could kill me. He hasn't done so, however, and I doubt he will ever do so."
"But..." Taylor looked around. "Could he just... come here if he wants to?"
Magister giggled. "Oh, of course. He'd have to find this astral space, but I don't have enough access to my powers to force him out. Though, that's beside the point, as he wouldn't have to do anything to my conscious or this particular astral space to kill me. My body, and most of my soul, is locked away at the top of the tower, utterly helpless."
Taylor continued gaping, and as she did, Magister elaborated. "He has not killed me, however, nor has he tampered with my soul or body in any meaningful way. In that sort of manner, he is a good sport. An asshole, sure, but he has principles for our games and challenges just as I do."
The sentence struck her like a bullet. "... I... "
"If the Corrupter wanted to control you, to warp you into what you would call a 'sleeper agent', you would already be different, and I wouldn't be seeing the same Taylor Hebert that I had before. Right now, you're mostly beneath his notice, just a pawn in the game."
"... is the Corrupter even your enemy?"
Magister hummed. "In a manner of speaking, yes, but not in any truly serious way. A closer term would be 'rival'. We came from the same brood, you see, and left our home dimension an hour apart. He specializes in Aura; I specialize in Magic. We undermine each other, but not in any way that is permanent. I imagine that if I do nothing for, say, a millennium or two, he'll let me go and proceed to hold this victory over me for millions of years to come."
Taylor opened her mouth, and then she closed it.
"So, what, his whole Corruption of your tower was just a... a prank?"
"Not a funny one, to me at least. Rather, just a bold move to assert himself. The score is 4139 to 4028, but the lead I hold is mostly a collection of smaller victories. His assault will even the score by more and then some if I don't beat him back." Magister's mouth thinned, and a spark of annoyance gleamed in her eyes. "Regardless, I will get him back for this."
Taylor hadn't been aware that she'd been feeling pride for her achievements until that very second. The term 'pawn' was too apt for this situation.
"... is this why you didn't tell me this before? So, I'd just be a disposable tool in your... your sick and twisted game?!" she spat.
"You never insisted before," Magister said, crossing her arms. "And, for that matter, you aren't disposable. Your death would not hurt me, but I find your personality and determination endearing. It would sadden me to see your death."
Taylor looked away slightly, not sure exactly how to answer that. Instead, she deflected onto an observation that she'd made. "... you said you came from the same 'brood' as the Corrupter," Taylor pointed, voice trembling slightly as she attempted to maintain some sense of bravado. "And he was dismissive of 'humans'. Most of the statues in that floor didn't have humans on it, but some... creature..."
Magister caught onto her intention. "If you want to see my original form, then you will have to learn dimensional magic and integrate it into your Clairvoyance. I believe the art is called Planarmancy. But if you want to see what I look like from a single dimension... well, I can show you right now. Do you want to see it, however?"
... ignorance was bliss, and Taylor was already miserable, so she might as well stay the course. "Go ahead."
A loud sound filled the air, and Taylor gripped the desk she was standing on tightly as waves of force rippled in the air, forcing her inertia backward. Magister's human form peeled away like a banana to revealing a shadowy humanoid figure underneath.
The figure didn't remain humanoid for very long. Within seconds, the figure's shape turned spherical. The sphere bubbled like hot wax, and each bubble sprouted a tentacle reminding her of an octopus. As each tentacle grew and lengthened, different organs appeared on it, replacing where the suckers on an octopus would be. Some had functions Taylor could easily figure out; eyes, ears, noses, and mouths. Others made less sense; a crystal orb, wheels, a metallic mesh, and what looked eerily like a trashcan.
The tentacles grew, and grew, until the monster was fifty feet in diameter. An odd, pulsing headache, similar to that of idol but far stronger, told Taylor that this was something she wasn't ready to see, and that this was a fraction of a fraction of what Magister's form truly was.
"You're... you're a..." 'Lovecraftian monster' was the first thought that came to Taylor's head. She was also cognizant of Magister's knowledge of Taylor's thoughts, and the fear as well. "... I..."
"Morphea." The sound came from multiple different mouth-organs on Magister's tentacles, sounding like the unholy marriage of television static and a xylophone, as if this method of communication was uncomfortable for her. "Our bodies exist in five different personal pocket dimensions and a singular main dimension, which makes it irritatingly hard to leave our home dimensions. The benefit is that we may choose what functionality our bodies have."
Taylor was not prepared for this. Taylor was not prepared for this.
Then she blinked, and Magister returned to the form that Taylor had previously been familiar with. "That being said," Magister continued, as if she hadn't horrified Taylor to the point of nightmares. "My astral form is whatever I want it to be, so my human body 'here' is as real as the more accurate form I just showed you."
More accurate. More accurate.
Taylor really had no idea what she had been getting into, had she? It wasn't that Magister was an idiot, but that she lowered herself to a point that—
Taylor blinked as human-form Magister swatted the back of her head. "Enough of that. I only output a mere fraction of my Aura, and you're unnerved by it to this degree?" There was a note of disappointment in Magister's voice as she said that.
Taylor shook her head, collecting her thoughts. "I... where do I come into this? Why have me go through all of this when you're..." Incomprehensible? Alien? What sort of word fit Magister?
"Because you interested me," Magister said simply. "And you continue to interest me, Taylor Hebert. I will tell you this as I told you before; our deal is one that is voluntary. If you wish to stop, just by merely seeing a glimpse of what the end will look like, then I can stop this right now. You will stop being a pawn in our game, and you will live the rest of your life with the meager powers you've trained up until now. Perhaps one or two more, if you can figure it out without the help of a mentor or the ITP."
That offer felt infinitely more enticing than before. Taylor's mouth dried, and she deflected once more. "I... I thought you said that I didn't have enough context to understand who you truly are."
"You don't. You continue to only see a small facet of the wider picture. For now, my title, to you, will be Magister, because my real name has... weight.. in wider dimensional politics." Fuck. Fuck. There was more?!
"So now, my pupil, you know some elements of the truth," Magister turned around and waved at the blackboard in the back of the astral space's lecture hall. Diagrams appeared on it as she continued to speak, adding a visual element to Magister's explanation. "I am not a human or even humanoid like you, but a Morphea, a many-dimensional being. The tower, incidentally, is a feat of magewrighting, a hybrid branch of the Mage and Wright paths, performed on my body to give me a home wherever I go."
Taylor blinked as a thought came to her. "Like a... a hermit crab or something?"
"Somewhat," Magister said, shrugging. "Though, I have extended my 'shell' far beyond my natural five dimensions to around a hundred I can move through freely and maintain my belongings in."
Taylor felt sick. "So, when I go into your tower, I go into... you?"
"You go into the dimensions that may house me. The five dimensions I usually reside in stay at the 'top' of my tower, the deepest dimensions within my multidimensional scaffolding." Magister's jargon washed over her, and Taylor figured that she had to have some idea about how these 'dimensions' word, and probably Magister's weird alien species, to understand what Magister meant.
"But if you are the tower, or at least inside it..." Taylor said, remembering that Magister said earlier how the Corrupter kept her body and most of her soul trapped at the top of the tower (Was that what a Lovecraftian monster's idea of a game or prank was?). "Then how are you here?"
"As I said, I was able to separate a piece of my soul before that asshole completely had me at his mercy. Smug piece of shit..." Magister muttered, eyes shadowing. Taylor awkwardly stepped away as Magister wrung her hands in imitation of a human. "That piece of soul is this what forms this astral space. Not terribly strong, but enough to hold the entirety of my consciousness so he can't mess with me in person and enough that I could explore this backwater set of dimensions via scrying and Planarmancy to find solutions."
"... like me."
"Like you!" Magister nodded, far more jubilantly. As she did, a terrible question struck Taylor. Did 'Morphea' have emotions like humans did, or was Magister just emulating humans and had feelings separate from her expressions? For that matter, what emotions did Magister have?
Taylor felt like she knew less than she had before. She didn't know how good Magister was lying, whether that 'Morphea' thing from earlier was a fake or not (since Senior, too, had been able to change his avatar in astral space), or how much of what she was experiencing wasn't just Magister's concoction. If what Magister was true, then she had no idea what to even do?
Magister gave her a choice, sure, but that didn't mean Magister was a good person either. She had no idea how Magister or the Corrupter conceived of morality. Magister's attitude toward death, whether because of Magister's claimed ability to perform resurrection or extremely long life or any number of things, made Taylor feel as though she were an ant an inch away from being stepped on.
"All true," Magister said, commenting on Taylor's thoughts (and wasn't that a creepy feeling). "You asked for the truth, so I'll give you the answer you seek."
Taylor looked at Magister, wishing that she could see right through her strange 'teacher'. "You said that you can revoke our deal, right?"
"But of course; there's no real contract between us, my pupil," Magister said, shrugging once more. "The danger will naturally increase the closer you get to the top of the tower, as my rival will start taking you seriously. However, the defense of my tower also naturally escalates in difficulty regardless, such that you will grow by climbing it anyway. I don't know when his view of your competence will turn from dismissive to cautionary, though, or what his counterattack will be to win the game. And that speaks little of the defenses I place here and there."
"Like those pests?"
Magister wrinkled her nose. "No, like the idols! That floor was much harder than it would normally be; I warned you not to touch the idols for the purpose of not attracting those pests! Did those creatures look like trained warriors?"
Taylor supposed not. "So, the next floor will be easier?"
"Considering what arts you have now, the next ten or so floors should be simple; unless, of course, he decides to start tampering with the designs to catch me off guard." Magister sighed. "Frankly, I don't blame you if you want to leave with what little injuries you've accrued. Without access to your Dream Nebula, learning how to recover from injuries will be difficult."
Taylor took note of the term, before asking another question. "And what will you do?"
"Well, I'll watch you for the next three-to-fifteen years or so, if only to see how things pan out, and then I'll probably find some other way to solve my predicament. There isn't any rush on my end."
Three-to-fifteen years was awfully specific. "Why three-to-fifteen years?"
A sad look entered Magister's eye. "Do you want to know?"
"... no," Taylor said, looking down. If Magister thought that she wasn't ready to hear this, then Taylor would wait for a little longer to find out what else Magister knew. "Not yet."
And as she said that, Taylor cemented her decision. Magister's ominous prophecy about what Taylor would do, and what would happen to her, blared in her mind. She didn't know how accurate it was, but Taylor didn't think she was the center of the world either. Most of what 'had' happened would likely still happen, and Magister likely thought, given the specific time period she'd given, that Taylor would only be 'interesting' for three-to-fifteen years.
As close to death as she'd come, Taylor had gotten stronger, and while she wasn't obsessed with power or anything like that, just looking at Magister's Morphea form, real or not, reminded her of her utter insignificance on grander scales.
... and Magister's claim of knowing resurrection still lingered in the back of her mind. If maybe, she could undo the worst tragedy of her life...
"... damn it, Magister," Taylor groused, knowing that Magister still had her wrapped around her finger (or perhaps 'tentacle' would be appropriate). "I've still got a use for you, just as much as you have a use for me."
The lecture hall around them started dissolving into mist. "Accurate," Magister agreed. "Though, it is also cynical. Let me know when you are ready to re-enter the tower. Your success today gave me enough control back to bring you back for at least a few weeks by your home dimension's metric of time."
As the rest of the hall dissolved, Taylor sighed. "I'll let you know." Taylor figured that if she dallied too much, Magister would throw her back in, consent or not.
"Then good luck, my pupil." Just as Magister was about to disappear with the rest of the mist, Taylor saw, for an instant, one of Magister's human eyes turn into one of the inhuman eyes the 'Morphea' form had. "And train well."
~
Taylor' opened her eyes, blinking heavily. From the car driving across the street, less than a second had passed since she had entered Magister's astral space.
The pain she felt in her body, almost nonexistent in Magister's astral space, returned with a vengeance. Taylor winced as she nursed a headache. "Damn..." she muttered.
She had gotten some answers, though Taylor had no way to know how much Magister hid from her or lied to her. For now, she'd trust her eyes and ears. Regardless, she now had a far better idea of what she was up against, and the rest of the day free to herself.
PathlessPsychicWarriorCombat Flow: (11/30) (Novice)
Cartography: (2/10) (Acolyte)
What should she do?
[]: Practice Powers
You've been lucking out with your powers, both with training in astral spaces and in Magister's tower. But you've only had powers at all for a day now, and the term 'Novice' suited you well. Frankly, you need to understand both the limits of your power and the strengths, and start planning ways to implement them as battle strategies, and maybe even try to discover new ones
[]: Buy Medical Supplies
You barely managed to scrape by Magister's tower without serious injuries, and there was no guarantee that you'd be able to do the same in the future. More than that, dealing with pain during the fights earlier had made things harder than normal, and maintaining Hypercognition for longs periods of time would drain you far too quickly. It was time that you get some painkillers, in case you're stuck in the tower for longer than before. Maybe you can also get a first aid kit and learn how to patch up your wounds in an emergency, so you don't get infected, or worse.
[]: Train the Warrior Path
If training the Warrior Path was like training the Psychic Path, then, like Senior, you had another tutor waiting for you on request. If so, then you needed someone to tell you what the Inertial Shroud actually was, what it could do, and how you could improve your combat ability with it. Maybe some more insight into other dimensions could also help you out in the long term as well.
[]: Prepare to Become a Hero
You needed experience using your powers on Earth, but not in the general case. No, you need to start getting ready to become a hero. You don't have access to the PRT's tools and equipment, but if you convince you that you're somewhat trustworthy, you might be able to get some things. At the very least, buying a costume and saving people in need would help convince you that you were doing good things with your new powers in the here and now, not just self-centered deals that might pay off in the future.Last edited: 12/9/2025 Award Quote ReplyReport56Repenexus11/9/2025Reader modeNewAdd bookmark Threadmarks RaventheWizard11/9/2025NewAdd bookmark#278[X]: Buy Medical Supplies
[X]: Train the Warrior Path Award Quote ReplyReporttheta544He/Him11/9/2025NewAdd bookmark#279[X]: Train the Warrior Path