ALEXiThymiA: Chapter 64: What Are You Doing In Dungeons?

Chapter 64

What Are You Doing In Dungeons?

Fortunately, this time Alexa never passed out. She never lost consciousness, which was why she saw the final effects of her stint in the dungeon made manifest on the real world. Seeing the different monster corpses on the ground, she also saw something that made her heart beat just a tiny bit faster with recognition. She saw augmentation crystals.

Unfortunately, she was still being afflicted by the changes that were wracking her body from her last augmentation crystal. A crystal so large that it caused her to seize up as new power channels were being awakened and forged within her body. Beautiful streams of searing pain scorched her body, as she found this school of magic to be unlike anything she had ever experienced before.

New Magic School Opened: School of Creation.

The magic class itself seemed at first underwhelming, especially given how painful the entire process of awakening the ability to perform the school was. Still, she endured.

Breathing, slow shallow breaths.

Everything was pain, which was good. Alexa welcomed pain, sometimes it was the only thing letting her realize this was real. This time it was a bit too much for her mind and body to process at once, but she still endured.

Creation, what did that even mean?

On the one hand it was simple and straightforward. Creation magic was much as it implied, Creation, she could create something from nothing, but that wasn’t exactly true. She was using mana to create something.

In a way, it felt like Creation magic was a culmination of all magics. She used mana to generate winds and arcane sparks of energy. She used mana to generate cells within a body to heal. So it was that Creation magic, at least at the later stages could be used to do truly amazing things. Right now, she knew her ability to use Creation magic was limited. Baby steps, unlike all of the other schools of magic where she had the knowledge forcefully implanted into her brain, this one was not so simple. Even with the knowledge forced within her brain there were still training steps, rules of the cosmos that she needed to first be able to understand.

For now, she felt her magic was limited to single atoms. Of course, this in itself was a powerful magic, she could create Iron: Fe, Gold: Au, Silver: Ag, and every other atom known to mankind. She even had the basic design for the atoms that had yet to be properly defined by modern science.

She had the knowledge of these atoms and could instantly see ways to force these atoms into creation. The most simplistic way would be letting them come out and fall as they might, but she could form them, give them a shape she wanted.

“Are you okay?” Mr. Mackie asked finally. He had been waiting for her body to stop quivering and watched as her eyes took on a deep contemplative look. Before she could go too deep into the aftershock of battle, he tried to pull her out, to keep her from the depression that ravaged many soldiers.

Alexa having her thoughts on ways to form and shape flowers made of silver metal turned to lock gazes with Mr. Mackie.

“I am.” Alexa said, suddenly feeling a tremor of fear as she looked into Mr. Mackie’s fierce eyes. Looking at the man, she saw the barely restrained power that lay dormant under his small frame. Power that required but seconds to activate. Feeling the emotion, Alexa realized she was still under the influence of power, at that realization a slight smile formed on her lips.

Mentally she checked to see if any conversions were still going on. From what she could tell, everything had stopped. Her fantom level in her Absorber class had stopped climbing. Her class sat at fantom level 10. Not that this number meant anything until she finally became fully awakened, but it had been a nice way to dispose of the relentless torrent of Integration essence that had been flooding her body.

Also checking, she found that her absorption of enemy essences also stopped, giving her not one but two extra titles. Checking her titles, also let her realize just how crazy the battle had truly been.

Dragon’s Bane (5): All Magic abilities increased by 10% (50%). Magical effectiveness against all dragons increased by 25% (125%).

Dragon Slayer (17): All Magic abilities increased by 15% (255%). Magical effectiveness against all dragons increased by 50% (850%).

Attribute Increase (7): All Attributes increased by 10% (70%).

Those were the changes she had experienced.

“Well?” Mr. Mackie asked, tilting his head to the side to look at Alexa who was herself clearly distracted and staring off into space.

Alexa opened her eyes a little wider as she tried to understand what Mr. Mackie was getting at.

“You asked if I was okay, I responded I am.” Alexa said, a faint tone of confusion filling her voice.

Mr. Mackie for his part let out a huff, then nodded in reluctant agreement.

“So you did.” Mr. Mackie said, nodding in agreement, before changing subjects, “now I have to ask, what happened in the dungeon?”

“I thought I in particular was not allowed to talk about what happened to me within dungeons?” Alexa asked, a faintly curious tone to her speech.

Hearing the undertones, Mr. Mackie paused as he shifted his frame backwards as if trying to take in a wider angle view of Alexa. His eyes flashed over her face for a moment, then he spoke.

“Ms. Thyme. I’d almost swear you were drunk, if not for the fact that I cannot see any status effect on you.”

Alexa paused as she saw a message denoting his true emotional state. She saw a few things on Mr. Mackie’s status that were interesting, the most pressing was the fact that she could now see his rank of Knight Captain, but for the moment his emotional state was the part worth noting first.

Thin Human (Marcus Mackie): Rank: Knight Captain: Emotional State: Lying.

Normally seeing such a note Alexa wouldn’t press about the deception, normally she wouldn’t care enough to press. But right now, she found herself curious about what Mr. Mackie saw.

“You’re lying.”

Scoff.

At that Mr. Mackie was again surprised by the girl who was showing more signs of emotional intelligence than she had her entire time here on campus.

“So I am. You do in fact have a status effect.”

Hearing that, Alexa looked on curiously at Mr. Mackie, but he stopped there. Seeing that this was some form of test, Alexa pressed.

“What is my Status Effect?”

At that question Mr. Mackie nodded to himself, as he apparently received an answer he had somehow been expecting.

“Your current Status Effect is: Forcefully Awakening.”

Hearing that Alexa paused, as a myriad of thoughts ran through her head. First, she wondered if this meant that she would be alive, or rather truly be able to experience the world again once she awakened as a Super. Also, could it last? She could already feel the surge of energy that had been coursing through her slowly fading away.

Looking back on everything that happened, from a rational standpoint if she was to forcefully awaken that would have been the time. Flooded by a seemingly endless supply of unknown Integration energy, while absorbing and distributing hundreds of attributes worth of Attribute increases, all while having the flood of a new realm of magic being forced upon her. It had all been so much, almost too much for her to take, which was why she had collapsed at the end.

Seeing that it was still her turn to talk, Alexa nodded and said the only thing that seemed appropriate at the time, “oh.”

“Oh, indeed.” Mr. Mackie said, as he looked at her. “I have a number of questions that I hope you can help answer?”

Alexa nodded.

“Do I even want to know what you did to deserve the rank of Baroness?”

Alexa paused, “The dead dragons, elves, and orcs didn’t give it away?”

Mr. Mackie raised an eyebrow at the comment but continued with his interrogation. “Can I ask which side you fought for?”

Alexa was about to answer, when she saw Mr. Mackie’s body flinch, as his entire demeanor and posture seemed to change.

Thin Human (Marcus Mackie): Rank: Knight Captain: Emotional State: Contained Fury.

Seeing the change in his emotional state, Alexa looked at the man then saw the way his body seemed to twitch as if he was at war with himself.

“Can you take a few steps back?” Alexa asked.

Mr. Mackie grimaced and seemed like he wanted to take a step back, but found that he couldn’t. For a moment Shock overtook his emotional state, just before it switched back to Constrained Fury.

“Apologies, it appears I cannot. Not, until you answer the question of whether you fight for or against the orcs.”

“Against.”

Relief.

At that answer, the wave of resistance that had been holding Mr. Mackie in place dissipated as he was able to sigh in relief and take a step back.

Seeing the tension leaving the normally stoic dean’s face, Alexa went out on a limb and asked. “Is that related to your Rank as Knight Captain?”

Hearing the question, Mr. Mackie just nodded in affirmation.

Silence.

There was a moment as everyone present just paused. Clara St. Brown the nurse looked on at Alexa in fear.

“What did those knife ears do to you?” Clara asked.

At the phrase knife ears, Mr. Mackie flinched for a moment, but soon relaxed.

Seeing the tension, Alexa thought she realized something.

“I take it, you are a Knight Captain for the elves?” Alexa asked.

At that, Mr. Mackie’s body looked like he had been punched in the gut, as he visibly strained to resist the words that came out of his voice in an alien language.

“Yes, it is my duty and honor to serve the true rulers of the universe, my elven masters.” Mr. Mackie said, in elven. His tone was one of forced reverence, and devotion.

Hearing his words and seeing the way his emotional state changed once again to Constrained Fury.

Alexa watched Mr. Mackie as power began to build inside him. With a flash of insight, it was clear that if Alexa did not act, she would be struck down by the dean that now seemed to be possessed by alien magic.

Switching to elven, Alexa replied. “I take it, this is some form of test?”

Relief.

Phew.

Mr. Mackie let out a long breath. “So, you are on the side of the elves?”

Seeing the way Mr. Mackie was constantly at war with himself, trying to fight off the emotional controls or compulsions that seemed to be assigned to his rank, Alexa decided not to answer. At least, she decided not to answer directly.

“How do you hide your title?” Alexa found herself asking.

“Good question. You need to focus inwardly and renounce your claim to land, people, or property. As a Knight Captain with no troops, this is easy. For you, I think you could claim this entire territory for the effort.” Mr. Mackie said.

Alexa nodded, only now realizing that Clara kept looking back and forth between the two of them as if they were speaking a foreign language. Sadly, it took that moment, for her to realize they were in fact speaking a foreign language, as they had never switched away from Elven.

“I will leave that for someone else.” Alexa responded, suddenly finding herself a lot less trusting of Mr. Mackie. Though with a quick focus of her mind, she was able to do as Mr. Mackie said and hide her title. She had no claim to the local land, people, or property around, but Alexa didn’t want that. She paused, as she mentally made a note that she only wanted any augmentation crystals that had been generated from her battle. The only problem is that until she collected all the crystals, her title would remain exposed.

Ultimately, she didn’t want the attention from Mr. Mackie, or other potential sleeper agents who might try to blind side her due to her title. The new Rank did grant her bonuses, but she knew that would mean next to nothing compared to a seasoned war veteran like Mr. Mackie. So, she renounced all claims, so she could maintain anonymity. Since her emotional side was still in control, this was able to happen. Her pragmatic side would have at least claimed any crystals from the different dragons, but that would have been too much of a risk.

Seeing the rank disappear from over Alexa’s head, Mr. Mackie nodded. “Do not worry, as a Knight Captain sworn to the order, I will do everything within my ability to protect you.”

Alexa nodded, not quite trusting her voice to not give away her true emotional state, though she figured her emotional state was more than a direct tell.

“Can I ask, what your new class of magic is?” Mr. Mackie asked, suddenly changing the subject, and the language spoken back to English.

At that, Alexa paused, suddenly wondering if she should trust the obvious elven double-agent.

“Don’t worry, it is for your sash.” He said reassuringly.

At that, Alexa paused, not wanting to tell this man anything, but she knew would be able to tell if she was lying. Also, he could see that she had it, “can’t you tell what schools of magic I have?”

At that Mr. Mackie paused. “Normally I can, but this one seems to be different.”

Hearing that Alexa nodded.

“Is it rare?”

Alexa nodded again.

“I can see that it is only Tier I, but the name is some form of alien text I have never seen before. Even ancient elven doesn’t seem to be an accurate way to describe this new school of magic.”

Realizing the name shouldn’t hurt to give, also knowing that it would look awkward if she said she didn’t want to trust the Knight Captain, a captain who took his duties to the elves with zeal.

“Creation.”

“What?”

“Creation. The school of magic is Creation.”

Mr. Mackie just shook his head as if he heard an odd sound. Then he looked at Alexa in confusion.

Alexa turned to Ms. St. Brown, wondering if she had the same problem. Alexa made sure to answer in English. But Ms. St. Brown just shook her head as well.

“Can you describe what it does?” Ms. St. Brown asked.

Alexa realizing that she now had an out, for not answering truthfully turned back to Mr. Mackie and devised a plan.

Speaking in elven, she asked. “Should we really let others know of this new form of magic we have acquired?”

Hearing that Mr. Mackie paused, before nodding to himself.

“You are correct. We should keep this a secret. Don’t worry, I will get you a mystery pin denoting the new school of magic and your tier rating, but you are to tell no one.”

With that, Alexa stopped talking and turned her attention to Ms. St. Brown, who looked shocked. Seeing her, Alexa couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking, her emotional state was Frightened, but that did little to show what she was thinking.

“Don’t worry about her, she will be loyal to the cause.” Mr. Mackie said, in as reassuring of a tone as he could manage with the alien language on his lips.

Silence.

“My liege, what do you require of me?” Mr. Mackie said.

Badump, badump.

Alexa could feel her heart begin to beat faster at the tone of reverence the normally stoic dean of discipline was now using with her. Seeing this as yet another test, she spoke.

“I still need to finish my trials of ascension.”

“Yes, you are still on the fourth stage?”

Alexa nodded.

“Very good. I will make sure you have all the passes you need to complete your trials in time.”

“In time?”

“Yes, before the Integration. We all knew it was happening soon, but for you to give a definitive date has helped us plan immensely. We have already begun moving our pieces into place.” Mr. Mackie confirmed, again speaking all in Elven so that Alexa was the only one present who was able to understand.

Alexa nodded, her mind in overdrive as she tried to understand what was being said. Apparently, the elves had pieces in place, high ranking pieces in place if this was anything to be believed.

“Don’t worry, I will protect you with everything I have. At first, I lamented this posting, thinking it far beneath my stature, but now, seeing you. I can see why I was sent here. I am so glad I didn’t have to strike you down.”

“Me too.” Alexa said, honestly.

There was so much to unpack in that one statement, that she wished she was suddenly normal, that her emotions would not give her away.

“Relax, there is something clearly on your mind. Tell me what it is, and I will take care of it.”

At that, Alexa’s mind spun for only a second, before she caught on something that still needed to be done.

“Yes, my crystals that I gained from killing those dragons, can you retrieve them and any other augmentation crystals that fell.” Alexa asked.

“As you wish.” Mr. Mackie said, then poof he was gone.

Hearing her beloved line used by Mr. Mackie suddenly filled her with dread. Fortunately he was gone before he could read her current emotional state. She did not feel loved, no, she felt she was in danger. Worse, she didn’t know how far this all went.

Turning to Clara St. Brown, it was clear that she looked at Alexa with a form of reverence as well.

“You are part of the mission?” Alexa asked in English.

“Yes, I was found unworthy in my first attempt to learn magic, but I have worked hard for the cause. This time I will be found worthy of learning Healing magic.” Nurse St. Brown said, in a tone that sent shivers down Alexa’s spine.

“Good luck.”

“Thank you, that means a lot coming from one of your rank.”

“Is it okay, if I go?” Alexa asked, suddenly feeling the confines of the Nurse’s room to be too suffocating.

“Yes, don’t worry. So long as you are on campus, Mr. Mackie can find you anywhere.” St. Brown said reassuringly, but all Alexa could feel from that comment was the underlying threat. The threat that spoke of subtle violence when Mr. Mackie finally found out the truth.

“Thank you.” Alexa said, as she made her way out of the nurse’s office and began walking. Alexa needed to think, and she needed to be by herself.

“Oh, one final thing.” Ms. St. Brown said.

Alexa turned back to the nurse, who continued speaking.

“I have informed your parents; they are both on their way.”

Alexa nodded at the comment, not trusting herself to not say the string of expletives that were forming on her tongue. Then she left, realizing she would need to be far more careful with her actions from here on out.