Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Chapter 39: Krieg

The sheer black marble rose up ahead of Kothar, the lines of violet energy crisscrossing the entire tower. A heavy door of blackened steel, deeply layered with runes stood at the base, where Kothar stood.

The door opened with a gentle swing, revealing a bare foyer, dominated by a central staircase, a few doors leading off to the side. Krieg stood at the base of the stairs, twirling his thin wispy white beard with one finger.

"Kothar my boy, you've no idea how glad I am to see you!" Krieg's soft voice rang out.

"As am I, Master." Kothar tilted his head with respect.

"Come on now, Krieg is just fine. Anyway, let me show you around." Krieg beckoned for Kothar to follow him, heading up the stairs.

"These first few floors are my archives, they hold many years of journals, reports and documents, some of them written by myself, and some by other mages. All of them are about spatial magic." Krieg opened one of the doors to reveal rows upon rows of low shelves, each completely filled with books.

"You'll have plenty of time to read these, come on upstairs, there's a lot more to see."

Krieg hurried Kothar out of the room, bustling him up the stairs.

"The next two floors are my personal library, here you'll find most of the magic theory books you might need, but you'll have to go to the Academy Library for more specialized material, like any lightning element spells you might want to learn." Krieg's library was similar to his archives, but the large room had windows, and instead of being packed with books, there was a fair amount of space, with comfy armchairs and a small table with a few chairs.

"You can conduct most of your studies here, as well as any research you might do, If there are any books you would like or something you need more information on, you can leave a note with the runners for one of the librarians, or go to the Library yourself." Krieg explained as they climbed higher, coming to a floor with multiple doors.

"These are the student quarters, unfortunately you'll be the only student occupying them currently. Spatial Mages are rare, and those who survive more than a few years even rarer."

Krieg's downcast gaze was filled with sorrow.

"Survive?" Kothar was taken aback.

"I'll explain everything soon, let's just finish up here." Krieg led Kothar further up the massive tower.

"Alright." Kothar said begrudgingly, his optimism fading.

[Of course it wouldn't be all roses Kothar, why else would he promise to teach you so long in advance.]

[You're right Silane, I guess I don't have much practice in dealing with people, and I didn't have you for advice then either.]

[Don't worry Kothar, we'll get through this and figure everything out.] Silane consoled Kothar.

The next floor was double the height of the others, it held a massive training room, several rooms for meditations, as well as a small workshop for inscribing runes and performing minor repairs on magical equipment.

"This all quite self explanatory, you can use these facilities as you please." Krieg's tone was still somber, and he hurried up the stairwell.

"Beyond these doors are my personal rooms and research labs, those are off limits to you unless I explicitly say otherwise, if you need me you can knock on this door." Krieg gestured to a heavy door, thickly layered with runes.

"This is where we finish, have a seat, Kothar." Krieg gestured to the head of the long wooden table, the room was obviously intended to be a dining room, with many chairs arrayed around the table.

"I owe you an explanation." Krieg joined Kothar at the table, leaning on the table with his fingertips pressed to his temple.

"Let me begin with this, no student of mine has ever come to harm by any action of mine, and I have always done my utmost to ensure the safety of all my pupils." Krieg looked at Kothar solemnly.

"The danger is in what I teach, spatial magic is inherently dangerous, perhaps more so than any kind of magic that we know of today. Its destructive capability, both to the caster and to the target of any spells is immense." Krieg let out a large sigh.

"Unfortunately, even the slightest error can mean the death of a Spatial Mage, I have had many students before you, and only a few of them have managed to become fully fledged mages."

Krieg stared out of one of the tall, stained glass windows.

"Even creating your initial spell construct will be fraught with danger, and you will have to confront danger often, if you do decide to become a spatial mage. You're a talented lightning mage, and could do well for yourself if you pursued that path, and forgot about your spatial affinity altogether."

[I can't believe this is what all the doom and gloom was about Kothar, I can just run simulations for spatial spells and the spell construct to ensure your safety.]

[Have some respect Silane, the man has lost so many students to spatial magic yet he keeps trying to learn more. And none of them had an AI in their heads to save them from themselves.]

[You're right Kothar, I'm still trying to understand emotions. This would be called loss?]

[Yes Silane.]

"I await your instruction master." Kothar said softly to Krieg, who looked at Kothar with a complicated expression.

"You may be one of the more talented mages I have seen Kothar, but please, take no chances with spatial magic, experimentation has its place, but make sure you understand the magical theory first. Many of my students were lost through reckless experimentation."

Krieg rose and headed over to a small set of drawers, he took a small book from the top.

"Study this carefully for the next few weeks, and come see me if you have any questions, I'll let you settle into your rooms now." Krieg hurried through the door that led to his research labs.

"The Spatial Spell Construct." The book's first page read, as Kothar flipped through the pages, he noticed that the entire book was handwritten in a careful, precise script, Krieg had obviously spent an inordinate amount of time on this.

Now in the library, Kothar settled into the armchair and began to read.

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