Slumrat Rising

Chapter 65: A Little Down Payment

“So. Let’s get you started. What do you have as your first spell? Utility spell?” Teacher Merkovah asked.

“Body Cultivation. The Meditations of Valentinian.” Truth replied, still confused by how fast things were moving.

“Huh. I am both impressed and sorry for you.” The beardy exorcist looked surprised. “Impressed, because that is classically the “right” way to do things. At least on better-developed planets, I hear. Sorry for you because, really, the Meditations? Did you dig that out of a book in the library or something?”

“It… was the cheapest option, yes.”

“Wait, you got charged for it?”

“Um. Yes?”

Teacher Merkovah closed his eyes and groaned lightly. “What terrible country did you come from that you had to pay for the Meditations? You can’t possibly be a native of the Free State, are you? I mean, the Meditations are good. Unlimited growth potential and all that, but woof. Lots of things have potential, you know?”

“Aheh ahehehe.” Truth quickly tried to think of a lie.

“No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. Look, just… while you are in a developed nation, find a library first before you buy or learn anything. Look.” The teacher grabbed a couple of books off the shelf and opened them up. “All the Meditations. I don’t have to keep it under lock and key because nobody cares. It’s like the standard utility spell for magic devices. Unless you are from somewhere really depraved… err… deprived, a crummy old spell like that is not hard to come by.”

“Huh. So something like Enlarge….” Truth said with growing excitement.

“Offhand, I can think of at least six spells that make things bigger. Some you would have to pay money for, some not. But why would you waste money, and most importantly, a spell slot, on a spell that only did one thing?”

“Because most of the spells I know do one thing very well?”

“I will be doing some teaching today! Look. I have a wonderful spell; I recommend it heartily when you reach Level Four. The Sword of Moshe. Who was from Siphios, I might add!”

“Really?” Truth blurted. His memories of that spell were vivid.

“Yes! Well. Sort of. It’s complicated. ANYWAY. Sword of Moshe. What do you think it does?”

“The Sword of Moshe Does Not Gleam. The Sword Of Moshe Casts No Shadow. The Sword Of Moshe Is In The Sheath Or Drawing Blood.” Truth parroted. Merkovah did a double take.

“You’ve heard of it?”

“Yes. A very powerful killing tool. I can see why an exorcist would choose it.” Truth nodded. Merkovah sagged back in his chair.

“You had me going for a moment. Killing tool. Peh. You can kill with it and even kill demons with it, but that is the least useful thing about it.”

Truth blinked slowly at that revelation. “So… what is it for, then?”

“It’s a whole toolbox of angel magic. The Sword isn’t supposed to be a literal sword. It’s the will of the practitioner to shape and drive the spell forms while adapting the spell to the angelic beings you are invoking. For example, you can use it for protection. Exorcism. Love. How to purify yourself to maximize the effectiveness of what you are trying to do.”

Merkovah’s eyes burned into Truth. “The Sword of Moshe is a tool to borrow the power of the Watchers before the Chariot of God. To use it as a mere killing tool is an insult to the mage, the spell… and God.”

Right. Teaches religious law. Right.

“No offense was intended.” Truth murmured.

“And none was taken. Frankly, I’m amazed you have even heard of it.” Morekovah flicked his hand. “But you take my point. A good spell does a lot of things, and it is your understanding of that spell that makes you powerful. That and your cultivation, naturally.”

Truth’s mind was swimming. Most of the spells he used just did one or two things quite well. Or did they? He mainly had used Sharp to put an edge on something, but that’s not all it did, was it? It could turn you metallic, providing armor. At higher levels, you could project not just metal but energy. It was an incredibly versatile spell. So why did he think it was lousy?

Because it wasn’t very useful for ranged combat if your primary weapon was a needler. Which made it worthless to Truth. Who only used the entire, vast universe of magic to hurt people.

Merkovah seemed not to notice his new employee's cratering mood. “So! What kind of spells would you like to learn? You have two slots open simultaneously- a rare opportunity to build something special.

“I… don’t know, I suppose. Could I maybe look at a bunch of different spells and see what’s good?”

“Sure thing. The demon offered to make custom spells based on the spells you learned, huh?”

“... yes.”

“I’m not mad. As I said, these sorts of demons have a pretty well-known pattern. Just don’t let it cast your spells for you.”

“Pardon?”

“Yeah, it’s going to tell you that the spell is too complicated for you to learn, or that it will take too long to learn or something, and that the smart way to use it would be to let it swap spells out for you as you go. No lock-in.”

“That does sound smart.”

“Except who’s the mage in that situation?”

Oh, this little shit. I mean, I already told you this, but still. What a complete bitch.

“I see. So what is the best way to use the demon?”

“Well, do let it build out the spells. Just show them to me when it’s done, and I’ll see if I can spot any obvious problems or flaws. Probably not; they tend to be good at this sort of thing. I would also suggest taking some time to consider what you want to accomplish as a mage. You have a wonderful foundation, so… what do you want to do? You are only level three, barely an initiate. You have so much more room to grow. So study, and think.” A bell rang in the hallway outside. Merkovah swore.

“I just realized I didn’t eat my lunch. I just watched you eat yours. And now I have a class. Blast it all!” He hurriedly grabbed a notebook and a textbook. “Hang out here. Read whatever. Start with the big blue book.” Merkovah yelled as he bolted out the door.

Truth sat in the cheap wicker chair and stared at the slightly better chair that Teacher Merkovah had just evacuated. What… the fuck had been going on since lunch? He slowly turned the idea around for a bit.

First, he would unscrew his head before he believed that a Level Six (possibly Seven) would be willing to do a months-long favor for an old friend unless that friend was also high-level. And what would any person of their… enlightenment be doing in this crummy border city? For that matter, at Level Six, there would be a line of people eager to bring him lunch. Not “wrapping around the block” long, but long. Down the hall and out the door, easily. Level Seven, the restaurants would compete to comp the meal. And burn down the competition if necessary.

Level Six, you were a person of real power. Level Seven, you were the boss behind the people with real power. Level Eight or Nine? It might as well be mythical. The only people Truth knew of that might be that strong were the President and President Emeritus of Starbrite, and their cultivation had never been confirmed. Maybe there were stronger people off-world. By all accounts, this planet was a dump.

There was a diffident cough. “Is now a good time to speak, Master?” Thrush asked.

“No.” Truth was firm on that. Then changed his mind. “Wait. Can you tell if Teacher Merkovah is actually an exorcist?”

“Not definitively, but he is strong enough to destroy this body and force me back to Hell. Many things in this room are inimical to demons and carry the stench of angels about them.”

“Huh.” Truth sat still a while longer. Then got up and opened up the large blue book. It was embossed with a particularly ferocious-looking winged demon on the cover. He started flipping through it. Frowning, he quickly flipped back to the table of contents. Theurgist Desk Reference, 22nd Edition (Illustrated). All the spells seemed borderline incomprehensible. He wasn’t even sure what they were supposed to do.

With an unpleasant lurch, Truth realized his problem. He had never really studied spells before. The basic mechanics of how stellar rays interacted with the world- sure. He had to know that; it was a core part of talisman maintenance. But there had been no point studying how spells worked or even learning how to read them. Because he would be a Starbrite man. He excluded any other possibility from his consciousness. He would be a Starbrite man, which meant he would be a System wielding demigod.

“The demon is the mage.” He muttered.

Spirit. Of. Intellect.

Oh, hush you. Here. Make yourself useful.

Truth started flipping through the desk reference, glancing at each page briefly.

Go faster.

He did. It was a long book, several thousand pages, so he flipped through as quickly as he and the System could manage.

Any actual spells in there?

Not exactly. It's more like a guide to different beings, “gods,” or “angels,” for lack of better words, that can be invoked in various spells and how different spells will impact the result of that specific evocation.

Truth didn’t get it. Give me an example.

That shockwave spell you love? Basically, “you” visualize the spell form, pump cosmic energy into it, and the interaction of that energized spell form and the surrounding cosmic rays triggers a specific result- a localized overpressure of air or water. No outside entities are required. This is more… “Hey Bubba! Do me a solid and make my lover a horny mess tonight!” or “This guy is nuts. Great Bubba, fix his stupid, wet brain.” It’s the same Bubba, but tweaking the spell produces different mind-affecting results.

Sounds like demonology but fancy.

Not a million miles off there. And I can’t believe I am saying this, but it’s worth considering. He was right about how versatile and powerful some of these spells are.

Oh?

Shockwave did one thing. Nice simple concept, very energy efficient, and very fast. Makes complete sense as a cheap spell for the soldiers. Cheap, as in it doesn’t require much effort from the main System or me. On the other hand, these spells are both energy intensive, complicated, and comparatively slow. BUT. They are cutting out a couple of layers of distance between the action you are trying to take and the source of the power for that action.

All cosmic rays come from the cosmos. Literally, the universe, and specifically the stars and planets. And who are the stars? It asked, hoping your repeatedly scrambled brain could remember even this much.

I want you to know that I am really looking forward to forcing you into a physical body and nailing you face up to the bottom of a latrine. They are great demons and spirits, and angels, too, I suppose.

Good luck with that, smooth brain. And yes. They are simultaneously giant balls of fire AND beings of incredible spiritual power. From what you have been able to pick up, it’s less literal and more… these things are the emanations of beings existing on a higher level of reality, extending down to us.

So what you are doing with Shockwave is picking up what they naturally radiate and putting together your own little nothing thing. These spells get the specific best cosmic energy to do the thing you want to do, and because you are getting it more or less directly from the source, the effect is massively more powerful. Probably why Sword of Moshe is a Level Four minimum spell, now that I think about it. The burnout was nasty. So once you have a direct line to… let's say, Astaroth, this spell would let you swap in effects that fall under their authority. So mathematics, interrogation, philosophical debate, invisibility, power over serpents, that kind of thing.

How useful.

Astaroth is one of the most powerful spiritual entities known to exist. They can talk people into their point of view, make previously held worldviews collapse, and according to this book, are an absolute freak when it comes to sex magic. But sure, your “just make it wavy” spell is way better.

Truth grinned and kept flipping through the manual. This might just be fun.

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