Zorian felt the magic-filled marble approaching him, but he did not move. He couldn't tell if it was aimed to the left or right, but he knew it wasn't aimed at his forehead. The marble whizzes past him while he can't really determine where the marble is going, and he struggles to discern which way it passed.
"Left," he tried.
"Wrong." Xvim said indifferently. "again."
Another marble was thrown at him. The blow wasn't aimed at his forehead either.
"tell him.
"Wrong," Xvim responded immediately. "again."
That's why when Xvim throws the next marble, Zo
ia
Quickly twisting off the blindfold to see what was going on.
The marble flew straight over his head.
That bastard!
"I didn't say you could take the blindfold off," Xvim said calmly, just like Zo
ia
Not like catching him red-handed.
"Cheating!" Zo
ia
protested, completely ignoring Xvim's remarks. "If you don't even follow your own rules, of course I can't guess!"
"You shouldn't guess, Mr. Kaczynski," Xvim said unapologetically. "You should be able to feel it."
"I feel it," interrupted Zorian
"Now don't waste any more time, put on the blindfold and get on with it."
He relies primarily on intuition to guess which shoulder the marble is going to, rather than clearly sensing its location. But it's not his fault. He can't reliably track fast-moving objects through weak mana emissions. This is another advanced skill that takes years to master! To be honest, it is completely unreasonable for a third grader to master such a thing.
What part of school isn't boring at this point? He took his little sister with him and skipped class! Go do your own thing.
"Zorion!" Kirisishli greeted. "Good timing! We just received a new shipment today and Ibori had to go home early."
"Uh, okay," Zorian said slowly. He was about to ask what type of shipment had arrived, but then he realized that was a stupid question. Of course, this is a batch of books, ha.
"What do you want from me?"
"Just take the books out of the box and roughly sort them," Kiritishli replied, pointing in the direction of a small mountain of boxes. "I'll examine them in more detail later."
"Someone donated their private library to the college. Many of the old books only serve as historical treasures and sometimes have no use. To be honest, most of the books in these boxes would have been disposed of."
"Oh?" Zorian asked, opening one of the boxes and taking out a book piled inside. This is a manual on growing plums. It was published 20 years ago. "I'm surprised by that. I distinctly remember you saying that librarians should save everything they can, rather than cherry-picking what they think is 'good' or 'useful'."
“Stop being a smartass and get to work.”
Zori threw himself safely into the task, unpacking box after box. Kiritishli gave him a large book that listed the most common books they received in such deliveries and told him to use it to distinguish obviously duplicate books from others.
Finding matches using this book manually would be a complete nightmare, especially since the letters are printed very small in order to cram so many words onto each page,
Connect the list to the target book you want to search through a divination spell. It had seemed pointless to him at the time, but now he saw that it was made for just such a purpose.
Nearly two hours later, he'd hastily written out 20 lists, separated his copies from the rest of the books, and was leafing through a spell book he'd found in the box, when Kiri returned. his mission. The speed of his progress surprised her, and she had no idea he was so proficient in library magic.
"You're not funny," she sighed dramatically. "I want to show you this trick when I get back, after you've spent two hours slaving through this monster book looking for a match. The look on your face will be priceless."
"Did you find anything interesting?" she asked.
"Not exactly," Zorian said, snapping the book shut. Nothing particularly interesting anyway. "I was kind of hoping to find a book about powerful ancient magic or something, but there isn't any."
Kirisishli snorted. "Even if you did find something like that, it wouldn't do you much good. It's impractical, the required ingredients or conditions no longer exist, or because they are considered very unethical in modern times. For example, nowadays you are very Participants in orgy ritual magic are difficult to find, and the Heruan volcano magic relies on the conditions of a specific volcano that has not been active for over 200 years.”
Zorian blinked. "Oh. Well, that's disappointing."
"Indeed," Kirisishli agreed.
"Many of the old spells are obsolete to the properly trained mage," Zorian concluded. He had always known that most history books presented a highly idealized image of their ancestors.
It had been a long (and boring) day, and between regular classes, Xvim lessons, and working in the library, all he really wanted to do was go back to Imaya's place and relax. Sadly, that wasn't the case, because the moment he walked out of the library, he was accosted by a suspicious-looking man who had been waiting for him outside the entrance.
The man just leaned against a pillar next to the entrance, not blocking his way or even speaking to him. Still, the moment the man looked up and their eyes met, Zorian knew that this man had been waiting for him, and him alone. He is a middle-aged man in a cheap, rumpled suit and unshaven beard. He almost looks like one of the many homeless people in West Oria, but his posture is full of confidence and does not match this image. Does not match.
He stopped immediately, and there was an uneasy silence as the two analyzed each other. Zorian had no idea who this man was or what he wanted to do to him, but he was not inclined to charity. He hasn't forgotten the way he was assassinated in the original reboot, and has no desire to repeat the experience.
"Zorian Kaczynski?" the man finally asked.
"It's me," Zorian confirmed.
"Detective Haas, from the Cooria Police Department," the man said. "Ilsa sent me to be your divination teacher."
Ilsa chooses a detective as his mentor? The idea is to convince his new divination teacher to teach him the limited divination skills needed to actually investigate this time loop business. Why must law enforcement be enforced?
"That's great," Zorian said flatly. “I wonder when Ilsa will find someone?
"Come on, kid, let's go find a tavern and sit down," he said, putting his hands in his jacket pockets.
"Come on, don't look at me like that," the man said. "We're not going to do anything too serious today. I think it's been a long day for both of us - you're tired, I'm tired, so let's have a couple of drinks and talk."
"I don't drink," Zorian warned.
Haslush gave him a curious look. "Religious taboo?"
"Ah," Haas said, satisfied with his answer. "It's okay, you can order some juice or something. Hell, I could even show you the spell I use on duty, but I don't want to offend anyone by refusing an offered drink."
Now that sounds useful! Zorian looked at Haas.
"It's a neat little altering spell that turns alcohol into sugar," Haslush said, raising his right hand to show off a plain metal ring on his middle finger. "I put it on this ring so I don't have to visibly cast it - and believe it or not, visibly casting a spell on your drink is often more resented than rejecting it outright. When I touch The moment the glass hits, it’s done.”
"Convenient." Zorian said appreciatively. This spell has saved him a lot of trouble over the years. "But I thought organic matter couldn't be reconstituted by changing spells?"
""Ethanol and glucose are both fairly simple molecules and well understood, so converting one into the other is not difficult. He stopped suddenly in front of a nearby sign, studied it for a moment, and then turned to Zorian again. "I think this is a nice place." OK? "
The pub is dark inside and the air is a bit murky, but the tables are clean and the noise can be controlled. Haslush picked an out-of-the-way table in the corner and, after they all ordered a drink, cast a long and complex spell on the table. Probably some kind of privacy ward shield.
"Huh," Haas snorted. "A good question. Normally something like this is the last thing I want to do, but yesterday my commander dropped a really stupid box into my lap. Apparently there's a rumor going around town that there are psychic spiders lurking It's in the sewers, I should check it out." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Mind Spider, honestly..." he muttered.
Zorian tried not to let his surprise show, and somehow succeeded - mostly because Haslush was more focused on his drink than himself at the moment. He actually spread rumors without knowing it? He supposed he shouldn't be surprised, since he'd told Taivin about the spider in front of Imaya and his sister—between Taivin and those two, they'd probably talked about it to at least a dozen people.
"Anyway, after get off work I went to meet my good friend Ilsa and when she told me she was looking for a divination tutor for you. That's when I realized I had the perfect solution to my problem. I could Passing the case on to some other poor fool, helping a friend in need, settling in one fell swoop the long-standing dispute between me and my commander. Lo and behold, a few years ago the bureaucrats in Eldmar decided to launch an initiative to let More mages are interested in law enforcement careers. However, they have not taken specific measures to attract new talents, but instead require mages who are already working in the police force to take the initiative to introduce this profession to mages in training."
"Ah," said Zorian. "So you should do something like this anyway?"
"Yeah, but I'm kind of slacking off on that, so my commander is always nagging me about not meeting my quota. Can you blame me? We get paid extra for doing that."
"You know better than I do," Zorian shrugged. "Well, how does 'Introduce me to this profession' get you out of a spider case?"
“I don’t have time to do both,” Haslush said. He frowned for a second, then shook his head, as if to clarify the point. "Yes. This is my story and I'm sticking to it."
. . . . two. . . . .
Zorian tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for Imaya to open the door. It didn't help that he had the key to the front door - Imaya had an annoying habit of leaving keys in the lock, and today was no exception. He couldn't get in without her help.
She probably likes this.
The sound of the door opening brought his attention back to the door itself, which swung open to reveal a worried-looking Imaya staring at him.
"Uh...did something happen?" he asked. Did El do something stupid while he was gone?
"I should be the one asking the question," she said. "Where were you? You were supposed to be back hours ago."
"Uh..." Zorian faltered. "What's the problem? It's not like I came here in the middle of the night or anything..."
"Try to let me know when you're going to be late in the future," Imaya said. "There must be some kind of magic that can send messages within city limits, right?"
Zorian had to admit, it was a good idea. "I'll see what I can find," he promised.
"Very good," Imaya said. "Your little sister has been looking for you for a while, you know?"
Zorian shouted. "She didn't interrupt, did she?"
"No, she's a little angel," Imaya said, allaying his worries. Zorian rolled his eyes silently at the thought of El being an angel.
"She spends most of the day drawing, playing with the Rubik's Cube you gave her, and talking to Kana. I swear, this kid is so quiet. I have to talk to Kyle about it one of these days. The kid is so withdrawn, Not normal..."
Zori nodded quietly, pleased that the cube he made was so successful. It's nothing special, just a simple stone cube with a bunch of glowing runes arranged into a childish puzzle. He found a design in a book recommended to him by Nora, who at the time had been tutoring him on spell formulas, and decided that making one would be doubly useful: it would give him some practical experience in using spell formulas, and give him el something to pass the time and.
"Sounds like she had a great time today," Zorian said. "Then what does she need from me?"
Imaya looked at him with strange eyes. "You're her brother. She doesn't need a special reason to miss you."
"What's the real reason?" Zorian pressed.
"Kana dozed off. Your toy ran out of mana and lost consciousness." After a second of silence, Imaya finally admitted.
"I assume she's in her room?"
"No, she is in your room, reading your book." Imaya said casually.
Zorian's eye twitched and he resisted the urge to walk straight into his room and throw El out. In fact, he was lucky enough to have a room to himself. Imaya still hadn't found anyone willing to rent another room in the house, which Zorian was grateful for because it meant he could keep the room for himself. Unfortunately, he was completely powerless to prevent his little sister from entering. She could come and go as she pleased, and Imaya was more reluctant to stop her. She seemed to find El's behavior "natural."
The little devil knows this! She knew she could get away with almost anything because Imaya liked her more than he liked him, and she took full advantage of that. So when Zorian walked loudly into the room, she ignored him completely. She was lying on his bed with an open book in front of her and her feet resting comfortably on his pillow. As he watched her, she reached for the plate of cookies Imaya had brought her, intending to scatter more crumbs on his sheets.
"Hey!" she protested. "Those are mine! Go get your own cookies!"
"You know, I was just trying to get your attention to stop you from making things worse, but they do look delicious..."
"No!" Kirill opened his mouth and let out a wail, threatening to swallow a handful of biscuits immediately. However, she seemed unwilling to leave his bed to bring them back. She probably knew that he wouldn't allow her to take back her position easily if she gave up, she was a smart little devil.
"Tell you what," he said, closing his mouth and placing the cookies back on the plate. "I'll give you cookies if you get rid of all the crumbs on my bed."
Al immediately swept his hands over the sheets, pushing all the crumbs to the floor. Her mission accomplished, she gave him a cheeky smile.
"Haha," Zorian said humorously. "Now go get a broom and get to work. I'll eat a cookie for every mess left in the room."
He emphasized his words by popping a cookie into his mouth. They are actually very good.
Al let out a cry of protest and jumped out of bed angrily. She attempts to retrieve the plate of cookies without success, but when she realizes she can't get him to return it (when he eats the second cookie), she instead runs for a broom and dustpan. Apparently she complained to Imaya, too, because she showed up a few minutes later with another plate of cookies "so he wouldn't have to steal from his sister." ha
Sadly, even after he took his bed back from El, she still returned to his room. Now she was on his chest, and when he closed his eyes for a second, she collapsed on top of him.
"Why are you still here, Kili?" Zorian sighed.
Kiriel didn't answer at first, busy crawling over Zorian's body as if he were an inanimate object, unable to feel pain or discomfort. Once she was firmly planted on the bed with him, making enough room for herself, she spoke.
"I'm bored," she said. "By the way, your puzzle is solved."
"It didn't break," Zorian said. "It just ran out of magic. I can make you a new one tomorrow if you want."
"OK."
A brief silence fell between them, and Zorian closed his eyes and took a nap.
"Zorion?" Kyriel suddenly prompted.
"Yes?" Zorian asked.
"What is a Morlock?"
Zorian opened his eyes, looked to the side, and looked at Kyriel curiously.
"Don't you know what a Morlock is?" he asked in disbelief.
"All I knew was that they were people with white hair and blue eyes," Ell said. "And people didn't like them very much. Kyle was one of them. But Mom never wanted to tell me what the hell was going on between them."
"She didn't, did she?" Zorian muttered.
"No," El confirmed. "She said a young lady like me shouldn't be talking about this kind of stuff."
To avoid an argument, Zorian refrained from making snide comments about Kiriel's qualifications to be a woman. Not even a mocking snort. Someone should give him a medal.
"Basically," Zorian said, "they are a race of underground humans. Although most of them don't live underground anymore. The disappearance of the gods dealt a heavy blow to their civilization, and the dungeon dwellers drove them away out of the surface. The Ikosian settlers helped this process by kicking them as they fell and burning several of the more important settlements."
"Oh," Kiriel said. "But that doesn't explain why people don't like them. It sounds like they should be angry at us, not us at them. And Kyle doesn't seem to hate us."
"Cannibals!?" Kyriel screamed. "They eat people!? Why!?"
"Well, yes, they eat people," El said. "That was evil and disgusting. Are they still doing it?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Zorian scoffed. “The authorities would never let something like this go by them.”
"Oh," Kiriel said. "That's good. Is that why people don't like them? Are they afraid the Morlocks will eat them?"
"It contributes," Zorian sighed. "I've lost count of how many rumors I've heard about the Morlocks kidnapping children from the streets to eat them or whatever. But there are more. The Morlocks have their own brand of magic, and it's pretty much everywhere these days. This magic is forbidden, but many Morlocks still practice it. The guild calls it 'blood magic'."
"Sounds sinister," Kiriel said.
Kiriel clung to him, trembling.
"I'm glad Kyle and Kana aren't like that," she said.
"Me too, Kili," Zorian said, patting her on the head. "Me too."
