I didn’t need to think for a long time about my next destination after I left the royal quarters, and turned toward the center of Silver Spires.
The target of my hurried steps was the office of the headmistress, who had been waiting for me for a long while.
However, my hurry had little to do with the patience she might have been feeling, despite the position she held or the magical power she commanded.
On the contrary, regardless of those factors, I had been planning to keep her waiting for some more. But, once again, I was forced to adjust my plans in light of the most recent information.
Which was something that I had been dealing with as a frustrating commonality.
It was the perils of trying to survive in a complicated world. Even as my power started to reach a point that encroached to a point that was supposed to intimidate others, I was discovering new heights to scale. I either needed to be flexible, or receive a painful lesson…
The latter was not exactly a fun option, so I adjusted my plans once more, sending a magical message to the headmistress once I arrived at the entrance of her tower.
Once again, the door opened once more, but this time, her office door was open rather than her living quarters.
After the short climb through the spiral stairs, I found her at her desk once more, working on a very thick pile of paper, one that was about the management of the school. She might be a hands-off manager of the school, but that didn’t save her from the paperwork — especially since the latest undead troubles, teaching her that the number of people she could trust in her school was even less than she had assumed.
And while she clearly didn’t care much about Silver Spires’ general efficiency, she needed it to be still in working condition, at least if she wanted to still have her convenient concealment — one that clearly prevented the Eternals from meddling with that directly.
She was wearing her black robe, but her wings were out, which created a beautiful contrast. Though, it wasn’t as interesting as the other contrast I could sense once I used my magical senses, dancing on her skin, the Darkness Spark from the ward occasionally getting free only to fly directly to her, like beautiful dark butterflies flying against her brightness.
Interesting reaction, I realized. It allowed me to see why she had to force herself to cleanse after every work day, although the reaction between the Light and Darkness Sparks was mysteriously confusing.
Though the flow of Darkness Spark was not a lot, and only at the center of the ward, it was a phenomenon that she needed to worry about. It was not something she could avoid, as the same interference allowed her to use her magic while avoiding self-immolation.
Trying to control an excessive amount of Divine Spark, especially one as volatile as the light spark, was a monumental challenge.
Luckily, she had me, her newest loyal servant, to help her!
“Sorry about that, she was picky about her food as expected,” I said, relying on her distaste against Janelor to keep the explanation short, which was all I needed to get a dismissive sigh.
She looked back with an annoyed expression that didn’t target me, showing that my excuse achieved its job excellently.
I expected her to stand up and lead me toward the upstairs, but instead, she just raised her hand and presented it to me. “Start working on creating storages under my skin,” she ordered, not bothering to remove her cloak, her tone sharp.
Too sharp, even, though the reason turned clear when I touched her hand, and a small blush spread to her face. For all her immense strength and authority, she was woefully inexperienced when it came to even the most innocent kind of physical contact.
A tempting detail, but after the latest discoveries about the princess, I reluctantly stayed focused on the mission even as I sent my mana into her body, one that had some tantric quality, but not to a degree that would make it noticeable for the headmistress.
[-691 Mana]
Luckily, the overwhelming yet straight nature of her mana helped immensely in that aspect, leaving her blind to my subtle tricks.
Most of the mana I had sent into her body went into building the storage I had promised her in the middle of her palm — something she trusted me to do after my success replicating the same feat in my own body — while a small portion went into her body, exploring the nature of the Divine Spark in her body.
It wasn’t the first time I had the opportunity to assess her, but this attempt had several advantages. For one, she asked me to cast a spell in her body, which gave me an excuse for the obvious presence of mana in her body, allowing me to have a much better view than the fleeting glimpse I got earlier. Also, the extended study of the abilities of the princess gave me a baseline about how Divine Spark should be functioning without the assistance of the system — at least partially.
And, with that perspective, I gained a new appreciation of just how dangerous the headmistress’ situation was.
The first, and the greatest, the difference was the nature of the divine spark. The Darkness Spark under the control of the princess was calm and obedient, soft enough that I had to stretch my detection capabilities to the limit even when she was using it.
The light spark under the headmistress’ control — if we could call it that — was much more different. It was sharp and unruly, like a diamond with sharp edges, if the diamond could explode with the weakest accidental caress.
Yet, if the problem was limited to that, the headmistress wouldn’t struggle to deal with it for years — likely enough years to be counted in centuries. All she needed to find was external storage to dump all of it outside, using physical storage similar to the ruined spear the princess made me use as a research project.
The next thing I noticed was a connection, this time only due to a combination of Tantric and Biomancy. The Light Spark in her body was connected to her life in a very intricate manner, deeply enough that I couldn’t even imagine the consequences if she just tried to abandon it.
Or someone forcibly extracted it from her.
The scraps I managed to take off were nothing, of course, but the same didn’t apply to the barely restrained bundle of light inside her, barely suppressed with all the focus she could put on the task.
And even then, it only succeeded because of her nature as an angel, and her mana was very similar to the Light Spark in the first place. Anyone else trying the same inefficient blunt force strategy would have exploded in seconds.
No wonder she was so enthusiastic about having storage in her, which would allow her to contain the Light Spark easier — which would finally allow her to act freely, maybe even to the point of finally leaving the oppressive wards she had been leaving for decades and centuries.
“Can you tell me about the differences between the chosen, demigods, and gods,” I asked even as I slowly worked on the storage. It was a good opportunity to have a more detailed explanation. “Is it just about the power and capabilities?”
Her gaze showed that she didn’t exactly appreciate the question. “Do you think it’s the time to talk about it?” she asked.
“Well, it might be relevant to the storage I’m creating, but if you feel that it’s irrelevant…” I said, not even bothering to finish my sentences.
After all, why should I after poking her greatest need.
“Yes and no,” she answered. “While, ultimately, each category has great difference in power, the kind that needs great numbers to surpass, it’s a reflection of their different natures rather than being measured in power.”
“And…” I said, prompting her to continue.
“It’s about how they handle Divine Spark in their bodies. Chosen, like Titania and you, could only contain a sliver of Divine Spark, and that spark had to be locked into a special form, crystallized. It could only be used as a spell focus, helping the caster to amplify the spell effects, but only after the spell is already formed, and nothing more.”
I nodded. Her explanation was more or less accurate for Titania, though the Companion Nodes, which technically qualified them as Tantric Chosen, was a different issue. In the past, I had assumed that it was limited to the achievements it brought, but the recent lack of Perks confirmed that it was not a rule, but another trick from the system, tempting me to create them for some reason.
I made a note to talk with Helga about experimenting with those aspects.
“Demigods are different. They have a more intimate connection with the Divine Spark, to the point of allowing some flexibility on how to handle its existence. It doesn’t have to stay locked as a crystallized node, instead staying in its free-flowing state, usually restricted to a portion of the body depending on the preferred method of usage. And even use it to transform the mana in different ways, increasing their magical and martial flexibility significantly while also empowering the impact.”
Interesting, I thought, wondering about my trick with the Divine Spark, melting it to empower my body qualified as such. After all, it did look conceptually similar. The princess, on the other hand, was definitely on this stage, with her ability to create fake skills and extremely realistic puppets.
Of course, I doubted I would be able to find many demigods walking around with the System’s ability to immediately devour the Divine Spark.
In that aspect, Darkness Spark was a great exception.
“And how about Gods?” I asked, as I realized the headmistress suddenly stayed silent.
Interestingly, the plight of the headmistress looked different from both explanations.
She took a deep breath rather than answering, confirming my suspicions…
[Level: 36 Experience: 631374 / 630000
Strength: 46 Charisma: 63
Precision: 40 Perception: 42
Agility: 40 Manipulation: 45
Speed: 39 Intelligence: 49
Endurance: 39 Wisdom: 51
HP: 7334 / 7334 Mana: 9000 / 9000 ]
SKILLS
Grandmaster Tantric [114/140]
Master Melee [100/100]
Master Biomancy [100/100]
Master Elemental [100/100]
Master Arcana [100/100]
Master Subterfuge [100/100]
Master Craft [85/100]
Expert Speech [75/75]
PERKS
Mana Regeneration
Skill Share
Empowerment (0/1)
Teleportation
COMPANIONS
[Titania - Level 35/38]
[Cornelia - Level 22/26]
[Helga - Level 22/26]
[Marianne - Level 21/29]