1
The smallest numerical unit to ever have been graced upon us mortals.
Even if you go lower all you would find are numbers dependent on the numerical concept of 1. Countless 1s making up the very fabric of existence, and also serving as a reference for 0, it's antithesis.
All are only possible because 1 exists.
To prove the existence of 0, we must take a specific example as the subject, and depending on the context, say 5 apples - 5 apples = 0 apples. We get a framework to define 0. As apples, as units. But is there truly such a thing as 0? Like existentially? Unbound by any framework or point of observation?
Hah... I firmly believe that it does not. And that's why I accepted the limitations— of my ability to find an answer to it? or the the world that might not possess one? I can't know.
It's just that I resigned myself knowing I couldn't go lower.
I rated it 1. Strangely there were not any others like me even though all of them hated it almost as much as me. I guess a Tower is a Tower indeed, the prestige is there.
Anyway, the most hateful Tower has somehow come back from the grave.
Ivory Tower.
It's the most recent addition in St. Silvia's history, been around a century or so.
Now, I could go on about why I hate it, or how I would go about destroying it this time around, but first I must confirm something.
"Hupp!"
Fwoosh
First there was a sense of weightlessness and then uncontrollably my weight pulls me downwards, my head facing the ground 20 floors below, with the wind pressure increasing gradually until my cheeks start flapping.
Pursuit of knowledge and truth has always been like that.
I comforted myself.
Chuuuu
Until that familiar sound rang inside my head. Supernatural fluctuations arise when magical or scientific interference with the natural limits of cosmos exceed certain parameters.
Swooh...
In simpler terms, when things that should not be possible considering all physical laws, do happen, there is a back and forth happening in real time-
Flop
Between what's possible and what's happening. After the external force is released-
Thack
"Ahhh!"
Atleast drop me closer to the ground while you're at it!
The 'restraints' are released, and the world can function back properly.
No doubt about it. That was an application of Space magic.
Something that became extinct when that incident happened.
By restricting the laws around me concerning 'weight' from gravity, I was able to escape from the acceleration otherwise imposed on me.
Though even if I was wrong, or right since I was leaning on the latter, I could still survive a fall like that.
I have survived much more dangerous situations, a few spells like like liquification or rubber impact would be enough here.
Oh, they are looking. Well, I guess it's not always you see a freshman making such a dashing exit from the Tower.
"Well, time to dip."
Wind flow—Platform
A beginner spell, used for training your sense of wind flow, like the name suggests. Though the reason for this is because of the different ways it can be used once proficiency reaches a good level.
I completely mastered it during my time here, so it's more than enough to skate around using it.
When I first applied it, it felt like I was ice-skating, though it's commonly called wind skating here, so not far off.
Fwwww...
Its one of low effort spells, that even lazy people like me pick up, precisely because it is convenient and usable in many common tasks. Anything that these hands can do? I can use the wind for as well.
The Supernatural fluctuations are also very minute, so much so that there isn't much of a difference. The greater the fluctuation, the more noise it creates. Leaving everything else aside, just the disturbance is enough to annoy anyone within a mile depending on the magnitude.
Though if the fluctuations reach that level, then it's better to let the guy do his thing and keep your distance.
Fwooo
Fwwiii
"Let's check that place first." muttering to nowhere, I increased my speed.
Crossing three streets, five turnarounds and finding surprisingly few students or staff walking around, I finally arrived there.
It looks like a dome, and in some manner it is. Combat branch students frequent this place more than the cafeteria. Well there's one here as well, but nowhere near as extravagant as the Main Hall.
As expected, I immediately found a group walking out of there.
Raising my voice, with a tad bit of Wind flow to make it attention catching, I called out.
"Excuse me! Are you returning from the Joint training?"
To that, the man in the middle of the three paused and replied
"There was a Joint training?"
Brother, it's your class? Don't tell you just stuffed yourself and came out? The food is cheaper but still it's not like the Main Hall is unaffordable, though I guess it's not easy to get points without good evaluation.
"I was waiting for my friend. He told me that he'll be late, but I saw you guys leaving and wanted to ask if it's still going on. Oh! He's a sophomore, so he may be in a different sector."
Making sure to not jumble my words, I tried to lead them on to complete the rest of the puzzle.
"Nah, I am sophomore too, but we really didn't have any Joint classes today, it seems there's new training sets arriving today, so your friend might have hyped it up more than usual. You can go check it out, as usual its free period"
Training sets? I do remember something like that but it was a while after that I learned about it, and I can't say for sure when it was applied in their course.
"Alright, that was helpful. Thanks."
After bading farewell, I wasted no time to sprint towards my destination.
Wind flow— Resistance
Wind flow— Platform
I could even do a premature flight with this, but that would decrease my speed to crawling.
Since there's no Joint classes, there's no need to wait further.
Passing through the partly filled cafeteria, I made my way to the upper sector, marked 2-A. Named after the year and classes respectivly.
Fwww...
Swiftly passing through the fewstudentscoming out of the gates. I finally made it to the one with a symbol of two knights locking swordsat the top.
Peeking into it, a fairly wide area training roomcomes into view, with scattered parts of training equipmentall over the ground and well the air as well.
So that far huh.
If my memory serves me correct, then around not long after my enrollment, there was a duel. It was an infamous duel back then, but it's impact is still visible around this period.
Hm... I guess, the training sets were also because of this, now that I think about it.
An Event. A minor one, but it's more like a introductory period in game, fighting small fries but still overall at a level where the newbie might take a hit or two.
Though, here, there was no underdog being challenged by a noble classmates or anything. It was just a simple Joint Training between seniors and juniors.
The freshmans are usually cocky when they enter St. Silvia, even I had gotten used after it happened 3 times consecutively year after year despite being in a different branch.
It was sort of like an annual event, just a week or two after the beginning of the first semester.
Casually entering the room, I picked one of the air borne pieces of metal. This one was shaped like the curved metal lid of canned food, just magnified in dimensions a dozen times.
Feeling it up, I nodded with an appraising gesture.
Tang
At first, it buckled on the sudden weight my body pushed on it, but just before it touched the earth, it rebounded like a spring, or a magnet facing the same pole.
Good enough. Wind flow— Vacuum
By manipulating the wind just infront making an enclosed vacuum, the air behind pushes me on the metal surfboard forward.
Woooooo
I honestly never got to witness this scene here. It was maybe about a month later that I found out the aftereffects lingering in the 'arena'.
Though they cleaned up these fluctuation shortly after. Still its amazing, lingering fluctuations? Just using your innate powers can leave a mark that even reality finds hard to scrub away? Haha.
Fwoosh
Fwip
Spin
Performing all sorts of acrobatic maneuvers without wasting money on hoverboards or manipulating this tin board is only possible here.
Frankly, I thought there would still be lingering fluctuations in the entire area, but I guess they did a good job cleansing it already. It should be around a week since then. Only the scrap metals have any left.
Despite my overreliance on Wind flow, it still isn't potent enough to do anything imaginable, I can bend wind, but only if my interference level is sufficient.
If you add the highest quality interference still left in this tin board, I wouldn't even be able to lift it up higher let alone manipulate it.
So I can only indirectly push it forward by creating wind flow using patches of vacuums here and there.
Technically harder than regular manipulation, but it takes less interference for getting to use this high grade interference-immune ride.
I kinda want to keep it. But still, there's better options, no need to act like a beggar.
After having fun, I sat down cross legged on the board hovering far higher than its initial altitude. Without active control by its owner, or a similar element artifact, it's anchor is interchangeable to any position by anyone as long as the minimum force is applied.
From up here, I can see the situation more clearly.
No impact craters, a signature of his.
A few pieces, too small to be called fragments, more like glass shards lying in a oval pattern at the center of this room. The one in the center should be him.
There should only be one opponent then. A senior probably. A Megnatism concept? Or Alchemised puppets?
At first he probably shot a few projectiles, to scare him?Hm, awful lot of directions covered, for just a scare. So it was a serious matchup, against a freshman?
Once, it became clear they are useless, the senior probably thought of swarming with the puppets, maybe they had a plan, I can't see it though. But, seeing that not a single scrap of metal anywhere near close to the center, they likely never got a single step closer.
Then, next he probably just toyed around with the 'metal soldiers', maybe just banged them against each other, until they messed each other up, leaving all the trash to clean up to the authorities.
Damn, I guess they haven't found a way to clean up. It's just that he targeted the metal soldiers in particular, without affecting anything else. Hm-?
My eyes involuntary come back to my ride.
Maybe, I could? Noone would care about 'one' broken piece right?
Still, the mess it made is not normal. That's precisely why these pieces of metals are extraordinary.
If that guy target only the puppets, just being under his interference should be enough to crush them into dust sized particles or vaporized them into gases with the fluctuations alone.
That guy is too strong, if he uses it casually, an interference zone is created whether he wishes or not. But if he takes control, the magnitude is compressed into one point.
This piece of junk metal must have a history. A punk using these should've known about 'him' before challenging, and even be fairly confident, even I would be, if I didn't knew better.
Who has a beef with the Asteroids? I was not too keen with the politics back then, but if it's Metal, or puppets or both, then the Iron Order under Duke Deltare is the one that comes to mind.
Did he have a heir/ess?
"Whatever none of my concern. It's ended already."
Whether that one likes it or not, this is enough to make even the Duke speechless.
The students probably didn't know the full story and left it as a standard face slapping drama. Maybe the academy knew, so they left these here. I don't know what they will do, so I guess it's farewell then, friend.
Genty caressing the cold metaloid, I jumped down.
Wind flow— Wind wall
Stepping on each floating metal I come across while cushioning my fall, I reach the ground.
"That was fun."
Thats how I spent my lunch break, immediately after regressing to the 1st day of my 3rd week into St. Silvia.