V-33 Borrow

All Pathbearers should expand their horizons, try different things every day, volunteer, and experience life in someone else's shoes. You are more than your Path, you are more than your skills. Just because you’re a Vanguard doesn't stop you from obtaining a Cooking skill, or a Sewing skill, or even Medical skills.

And for those of you who think that diversifying your knowledge and spending your time learning new things will diminish your dedicated skills, I ask of you, are you truly training every single hour of the day to advance your Sword Proficiency, your Shield Proficiency, your tactics, your Awareness? How often have you leveled in the past month?

After a certain point, the usual amount of strain isn't enough. So many bottlenecks take too long to break through. What you need, then, is something novel, something refreshing. Advancing your Path requires shocks to your mind-body connection, and it is in novelty that you nourish the mind. There is only so much you can push yourself in training before you get diminishing returns from normalcy.

This is not a scattering of your efforts, but a seeding of it. Maybe you will find yourself an enjoyer of a certain sport and though you're not a dedicated rider as a Shadow, you can still find satisfaction racing your fellow amateurs on the back of a griffin. And who knows, perhaps the creature's sheer speed might fill you with inspiration, give you ideas on how to develop your Reflexes.

So I tell you again, students, give yourself to the world and drink from it. Drink deep from the world's wells and find yourself enriched beyond your peers who are too scared to step past the walls they've made for themselves.

Let yourself be surprised by the Pathbearer you will become. Don't succumb to rigidity, for the hardest things are sometimes the most brittle things as well.

-Hero-Biomancer Javelina Van Erren

V-33

Borrow

With the DeGraille distraction handled, Shiv moved on with the rest of his day. A great deal had happened in a few short hours, but now System saw fit to give him a brief reprieve, and the Deathless was going to take full advantage of it.

The first stop he made was at the library. There were over twelve grand libraries on campus, and all of them had an assortment of tomes, both mundane and magical. For Shiv's first course, however, he wasn't going to get a textbook, but a cookbook, one filled with recipes, and was titled A Traveler's Guide to Wondrous Flavors and Wonderful Places. Functionally, it was written like a travelogue, but instead of introducing different locales across Integrated Earth, it was all about their local cuisine, or so the book claimed.

The other book he intended to check out was a magical tome called the Essentials of Meta-Anatomy and Gene Crafting. Supposedly, it was the most common Biomancer text in the Republic, but Helix described it as “Sub-Vampire drivel that gives eye cancer to the blind by way of gouging.”

This motivated Shiv to obtain the book even more.

And thus, Shiv went to the Pentax Hold Library to retrieve his books. The Pentax Hold was a mobile tower that traveled across campus. It was mainly known as the place where the on-campus magi tested new and experimental spells in special containment laboratories. One could also borrow restricted texts or tomes if they had the proper permission from their instructors. Why most of the on-campus cooking materials were assigned to the Pentax Hold  as well was beyond Shiv, but he suspected it had something to do with how most miscellaneous courses were listed as a sub-magic category as well.

That annoyed Shiv, and he wasn’t the only one. He overheard more than a few students complaining, stating that Phoenix Academy didn't treat their dedicated field of study seriously, considering they were regarded as side-notes to the greater magical lores. As with all things, the system favored strife and practical demonstrations of power. Magic, to some extent, was a bit more like engineering than poetry. Yes, there was an artistic component to it, but ultimately, your spells had an effect; they needed to serve some tangible end.

“And cooking really doesn’t matter that much,” a passing automaton commented.

Berserk 21 > 24

Phoenix Academy would never know how much strength it took from Shiv to control himself.

As he went to the Pentax Hall, he found himself passing by Miriam Hall once more. The streets of the campus were flooded with students today, even this early in the morning. The sun hadn't been out for a few hours, and already a small army of pupils dressed in their robes and carrying heavy tomes were marching about. Some rushing desperately to reach their next class in time. Others gathered in congregation, debating lightly about their theories and achievements.

He found himself moving with the massive caravan headed for the Pentax Hall. He stood among countless dedicated magi, and oh, he stood, and he alone, like the pointed hand they all preferred to wear. Thankfully, most of them were so absorbed in their own affairs that they didn't even notice him, which he'd have made a note to diversify his wardrobe at Phoenix Academy when he could. He thought hard about what Irons said about leaving an impression, and at times when he was out in public, he didn't want people to notice him that much, especially with him's eye on him already.

The Pentax Hall was a magnificently constructed building. The body of the structure was ovular. It was the size of a small mountain. A series of frescoed glass windows, depicting two mages on each side, decorated the right and left of the front side of Pentax Hall. The red-robed mage cast a spell of flame while his counterpart, a blue-robed mage, channeled a stream of frost in the same direction.

The clashing of their spells formed a glowing symbol over the mithril gates of the library, and there, lodged into the front of the door, was the face of what seemed to be a griffin wearing a jester's hat. Two divination gems were socketed into its eyes and giggled and laughed at students as they came in, mocking them for their lacking wards, telling them that they needed to improve their magical resistances or expand their mana fields.

Shiv eyed the strange griffin with amusement and weariness as he approached, but from above there came a loud sound. The air shook with a thunderclap, and when Shiv looked upward, he saw two curving mithril archways wrapped around a towering spire. A beam of light shot high in the sky, and it was connected to a magma chain that led back toward Flamecrown Castle. 

At this distance, he could feel the residue of overflowing mana leaking out from above. There was a distinct hue of incandescence—divine mana pressing against his being, and sheers scoffed. The Ascendant had their fingers in all things, and they made sure to remind the entire city just who they cleaved to.

As Shiv filtered himself through the front door, marching with another group of students in the line, the griffin jester regarded him and let out a loud hum. "Well, a proper mystery is among us. Finally, a non-mage, but what are you? A dedicated Biomancer? No. No, wait. I can't quite tell. Well, either you're an absolutely abysmal Pathbearer, or you're an enigma. Let's go, let's just go with the latter, just to be polite.”

The jester of a griffin let out a high-pitched shriek of laughter, and a few other students briefly turned, trying to figure out who it was talking about. But after a moment's regard, they looked away from him, now uninterested. He found himself thankful he picked Marcus as his Perfect Semblance. Even though Marcus came with his own drama, he was as unimpressive and unassuming as one could get in public—beneficial for a certain Deathless.

Walking into Pentex Hold was like entering a grand and vast cavern. Chandeliers swayed from above, and to Shiv’s surprise, fairies jumped from light to light, giggling. These were the same kinds of fairies he saw in Veronica's office, and a few of them winked at him as if they knew who he was, but wouldn't say. That assumption became almost certain as some of them held up fingers in front of their lips, shushing each other as they pointed at him.

What the hell is up with the fae, he thought to himself. He barely knew what Cullywier’s deal was, and now there are these little ones with wings. Maybe I should read up on what to expect from the Fairwoods with how my life's going. I'm probably going to have to kill some fairies at some point or something. Wonder if they have any books about that in the library.

The rest of the library was no less impressive. At the center of the room was a risen dais, woven with walls of magic. Manifested atop that stage was a figure composed of mithril, flowing ink, and divination mana. This dimensional was one of the oddest that Shiv had ever seen, and it had a book for a face instead of a proper head. 

Instead of speaking to it at length, students called out the books they were looking for, and the dimensional simply flicked strands of mercury out from its body. The glistening streams were shaped from mithril and ink, and they undulated through the air as if serpents swimming through a river. The students followed their specific strands, heading deeper into the Pentex Hold’s interior.

Right now, Shiv was in the unrestricted section. That was most of the first level, which meant that every book here could be borrowed without making a special request to the library. It was the floors above where things got a bit tricky. After the first level, the enchantments in viewing the magical tomes became evident, and some even passed as dangerous weapons with the mana field they were imbued with.

Shiv suspected that he was carrying one such book with him now. He didn't know if the Republic had knowledge of odes, but he suspected that the Inquisition probably did, and he doubted that those that they would want the vampiric arts of flesh sculpting to be disseminated among the public.

Now, let's see how you compare to that little library Weave had, Shiv said to himself. As he walked by the library's book dimensional, he called out the name of his textbooks, and it obliged him by sending two strings of mercury out into the air. One curled around him and the other sped ahead. Shiv realized he was supposed to follow the first string before the second one would activate. Huh, neat.

As he passed through several open halls, he realized he was walking for quite a while and reached out into the air to confirm a suspicion. There was a slight grinding sensation against his Shapeless Tides, and Shiv guessed there was some kind of Dimensionality Spell active in this whole area, making it much larger on the inside. 

"Really subtly cast though," the Deathless muttered, "could barely feel it. Not bad. Not bad at all.”

He thought the lobby of the library was surrounded by books, but as he got into the next section, the Deathless's eyes widened. Before him was an intimidating sight. A series of statues lined the end of a mass of bookshelves, so tall they were the height of buildings. Rows of books extended behind them, and Shiv couldn't see any ladders leading up or down. 

He wondered how students were to retrieve these books, but then he saw more dimensional actively sailing through the air. These were more conventional dimensionals, shaped from wind. They were carrying tomes down on gentle breezes, unlatching them from where they were wedged tight between their fellow texts.

And then there was the ceiling above. Massive constellations of stars glinted before him, and each flashing speck was imbued with a different kind of magic. Shiv followed the constellations. He realized the ingenious design on display here. The sparkling specks weren't just an artistic flourish. They also corresponded to what kind of books you might find within the shelves they loomed over.

Shiv found himself directed toward the Biomancy section. He noted how small Biomancy section was compared to the others. Its space was practically a tenth of the size compared to Pyromancy. The only thing that Biomancy dwarfed was Psychomancy, and there was good reason for that. Psychomancy was considered to be a restricted art in the Republic. If anyone knew that Shiv possessed such a skill… well, it would be among the least of his worries. There were a great deal of things to worry about when facing the Deathless, and your mind was likely the last thing he was going to take from you.

Shiv found his Biomancy textbook in little time at all. It was carried down by a wind elemental and deposited into his open hand. As soon as he received it, a notification popped up in his vision.

Book Borrowed: Essentials of Meta-Anatomy and Gene-Crafting

A Library Dimensional will be dispatched to retrieve the book in 4 months and 30 days if it is not returned before the allotted period.

It was around this point that Shiv realized he didn't have a bag or an obvious dimensional pocket like some other students did. With his Perfect Semblance, his cape was hidden, and if he just made his textbook disappear, that might draw some unwanted attention. 

Around him, the other students just chucked their borrowed books into their caps.

Well, that's kind of cute and clever, Shiv thought to himself. I don't know about my cape, but yeah. Wait, won't that just make the books fall out and hit them on the head? How does that work?

As he squinted at the people around him, he felt someone slam into him from behind. “O-out of the way, please," a short, red-haired girl stammered. Her pigtails whipped around as she looked over her shoulder, and looked as if a hare fleeing from a wolf.

Shiv's instincts sharpened. He locked in on her immediately. He didn't have Adam's Awareness. All the nigh-constant combat he experienced gave him an intuition that couldn't easily be taught. There was a flood of students moving between the bookshelves, but three among their number stood out from the others. They weren't trying to go with the flow. They weren't looking up at the wind dimensionals carrying books down. Instead, their gazes were locked straight ahead, like they were hunting something or someone.

At the head of the trio was a blond-haired boy with a snarl on his face. He seemed vaguely well-built for a mage, but his fist was clenched, and he had the stench of someone who enjoyed inflicting violence on those he deemed his lesser. The other two with him were twin dark-haired burly boys that reminded Shiv of bulldogs. 

Hired muscle looks the same, even on the campus of an academy, the Deathless scoffed internally. 

As the three pursuers shoved other students aside, Shiv carefully slipped his Essentials of Anatomy textbook into his other hand as he tried to decide what he wanted to do. Meanwhile, the pigtailed girl squeezed through the crowd ahead, desperate to flee. Part of Shiv wanted to simply keep going, to avoid getting embroiled in someone else's matters. But another bit of him was curious, and frankly didn't like the way this was looking for the girl.

The trio hunting the pigtailed girl passed him by, and the Deathless decided to stalk them. His other mercury strand went the other direction, slithering back toward the lobby to lead him toward his cookbook. Shiv wasn't going to follow it. Not until later. If he had to, he'd go back to the book dimensional, and simply request for directional aid once more. It wasn't a big deal. It wouldn't take that much of his time. But he had a feeling that if no one intervened for that girl up ahead, things might get pretty dire for her.

Me and my busybody ass, Shiv grimaced. System can’t stop making shit happen around me.

The pursuit went on for a while. The girl kept squeezing between other students. But the trio was closing fast. They shoved people aside without care, ignoring their cries of alarm and outrage. Shiv, meanwhile, lurked close behind. He waded through gaps in the displaced crowd, and when space ahead grew cramped, he froze time and leapt up in the air, repositioning himself. He did it quick enough that the wards wouldn't crash into him, and he ducked down when he landed so that no one would notice his sudden reappearance.

After a few moments, after a few minutes of following along, he found himself leaving the first floor, following the trio up a set of long stairs. Each step glinted with crystalline brilliance, and they were decorated with arrowheads as well. These steps told him that they were entering the second floor, where a few of the “practice and experimentation pock-dims” were. Shiv wasn't sure what one of the on-campus pocket dimensions looked like, so he might just be hitting two birds with one stone. 

If he could test his magic here, he might just be spending a bit more time than expected at this library.

"Bah," Helix scoffed from within his cape. "You already have a homunculus, you have me and all of the Tutorial. What good could a rudimentary child's playpen do for your Biomancy?"

"I don't know, let's find out," Deathless replied. The second floor was quite unlike the first. It was far sparser, and though there were rooms filled with books, they were all gated behind magical wards and guarded by other book dimensionals. Suddenly, Shiv felt a lurching sensation in his gut, and he realized that the entire building was being uprooted. No, it was rising up in the air—flying. 

Looks like we’re airborne again. Probably repositions itself every few hours on campus, Shiv thought. Should take a closer look at its schedule, see if it lands near my dorm or wherever. Doesn't matter that much, considering how fast I can get around, but might draw a bit too much attention.

He ignored the gated rooms for now, and continued tracking the trio. He'd lost track of them amidst a series of turns, but with how few students there were on this floor, and his Voidmantid’s armor's pheromonal tracking abilities, they were out of sight, but not beyond the reach of his awareness. Shiv followed their scents. They reeked of ink, late-night incense, and, strangely, lavender. The cheap kind of lavender one smelled when passing by certain undignified establishments back on Blackedge—that kind that cost a week’s wages and ended with you getting a funny patch on your genitals.

Farsight 83 > 84

As he finally navigated his way out of a mess of hallways, he found himself standing at the end of a long, wide hall with doors running along the side. But the doors weren't things sculpted from matter. Rather, they were dimensional portals, and the trail left by his quarry ended here, through the second doorway away from Shiv. 

He walked through the static-black veil without a care.

As soon as he got to the other side, he found himself in a new environment entirely. The sound of seagulls and the whistle of an ocean side breeze washed over him. He found himself standing on golden sands surrounded by dense foliage, except for one part of the area. A path had been carved open to his right. The vegetation had been trampled, and there seemed to be a gap burned into the sides of a few trees, leaving semicircular wounds burned into the trunks. 

"Someone used pyromancy here," Shiv commented to himself. And with that, his mind conjured images of a group of students launching fireballs at the fleeing girl. That changed things. That moved things a bit closer to attempted murder. Shiv hated murderers. Well, murderers who weren’t him. He had a good reason for all the killing he did anyway.

After scouting the area for a second, Shiv caught sight of his elusive targets. They glinted in the far left of his vision, faint life signatures flickering a few hundred meters away. He closed in on them, but moved quietly through the air, carrying himself using his Shapeless Tides. Shiv didn't bother smashing through any more of the leaves or crunching any branches; he wanted to observe and eavesdrop before deciding what he wanted to do.

As he got to the edge of the tropical foliage, he peered out between two large looping petals and found the three students quartering the pigtailed girl. A wall of turbulent water had been elevated behind her. She clearly tried to flee past the surf into the ocean itself, but one of the trio called upon their Hydromancy and blockaded her from escaping. This place is probably good for Hydromancers; for them to test their magic. Worked against the girl here.

He used his foresight to examine the scene, and his heart skipped a beat. He realized one of them was carrying a book—the exact cookbook he had abandoned to come involve himself in this business. A Traveler's Guide to Wondrous Flavors and Wonderful Places.

The system smiles on me today, Shiv thought. There came a sudden whipping noise in the air, and Shiv realized the pigtail girl was swinging a small pocket knife around. It looked like it was for peeling fruit rather than any kind of combat, and the way she waved it about spoke little of her combat prowess as well. The tall blonde boy laughed at her and the Deathless strained his hearing, trying to pick things up as the winds kicked up again.

"I warned you," the blonde boy said. "Didn't I warn you?" He looked to his two companions. "I told you that if you kept our secrets, we could be friends. I could make things worth your while. But if you were going to be a bit of a snitch and stay obstinate, then terrible things might happen. You snitched, and now look where we are. Unwise. Vanessa, very unwise." 

He shook his head and the girl clenched her teeth. "You were trying to steal my invention. It was mine. Why do you even want it? You're already from a noble household. You don’t need the money!”

“We were a group for the project,” the noble boy sighed. “So much me, me, me. Besides. Who gave you the funding for the materials.”

“And who did all the work,” the girl almost cried. “I didn’t need your help anyway. In fact, you were of n-no help at all. I could have finished this on my own. I should have! It would have taken longer, but at least I wouldn’t have to deal with you. You didn’t do anything to help during, so why should you get credit now.”

And suddenly the blonde haired boy didn't seem so amused anymore. "I didn't do anything. Well, it seems to me I'm doing something right now. Tell you what, I’m going take that knife from you, and fucking…”

Shiv heard enough. This was a waste of time and that boy was a waste of skin. Not curious anymore, System. Just annoyed. At least they left me a prize.

The Deathless stopped time. And to his satisfaction, there was no temporal warding here. The academy's protections didn't extend into these pockets. That's good to know, Shiv thought to himself. This place could serve another useful function. If I had to fight someone again, a pocket dimension like this could be perfect. Oh, the Forest of Alloy might be perfect. Maybe I should see if I can get the crafters to set up some kind of pocket arena inside my cape. Maybe I can throw it on the ground, yank an enemy in, and keep the damage contained. That's a cool idea.

Inspiration came from the weirdest places.

First thing Shiv did was snatch the cooking book away from one of the blonde-haired boys' minions. The Deathless threw it in his cape as he considered how badly he wanted to hurt these boys. Just beating the shit out of them probably won't do anything for long. I might put them in the hospital for a while, but that just means I might end up treating them later tonight when I check in for my first Medic-301 class.

He regarded the pigtail girl once more, seeing the desperate look on her face. Yeah, main point is to get them to stop bothering her. So, we escalate. We make sure they know the consequences of doing anything stupid. I’ll make it clear.

Shiv lashed out with two mana hydras and wrapped both of the blonde-haired boy's goons. He cracked their paltry Magical Resistance and then pinched their necks until the blood stopped flowing. At the same time, he did the same thing for the ringleader of this stupid circus, claiming him with a choke from behind. Three seconds passed. Shiv gave it two more seconds before he finally let go. His temporal shell cracked a bit, but delicate operations took time. Killing was quick; unconsciousness was gentle.

When he felt the time was right, he yanked each of his victims into his grasp and dragged them back into the vegetation, back through the bushes. He resumed time, and the last thing he saw of that pigtail girl was her standing there, alone before a plunging wave. The water crashed down behind her, and she let out a surprised cry. 

Shiv shook his head. That one probably needs to develop some kind of combat-related skill. Or something.

He got back to the portal leading to this pocket dimension, and here, he decided to finish with the trio.

He threw all three of his new victims onto the sand. After that, he drew his Last Morsel and decided to leave a few messages on their body. They let out groans of pain as he sliced into them, but he made sure the markings weren't that deep. After that, he stripped them of all their belongings. Shiv was happy to find a heavy pouch filled with mithril coins carried by the blonde boy. The other two had a few coins each, but nothing more than that. He took all their potions, focus crystals, weapons, and satchels from them as well. Then, he seized their pointed hats, too—and the sword cane he found on the latter.

With that done, Shiv regarded his handiwork with a smirk. He carved a simple promise onto each one of the unconscious boys, one ominous and plain in intent: "Go for the pigtailed girl again, and I'll take something from you every night, starting with your cocks and moving on to the rest of you. Pieces will be returned in installments afterward.”

"There," Shiv said. "If they do anything after this, they're stupid, and I'll have to hurt them more, and that'll be that… Hm. Something’s missing. Ah, shit. I got it.”

***

“AGHHH! AHHH! HELP! WHAT THE FUCK!” the blonde boy wailed in the lobby of the Pentex Hold. He was sobbing, rubbing at the bloody text carved down his torso. His pupils were dilated, his eyes were wide with terror, and he looked like he was suffering from a psychotic break. The other two boys weren’t doing much better, they covered their privates and whimpered as their fellow students gawked at them.

Some covered their faces and blushed at the sudden appearance of the bloodied, nude trio. Others called for Biomancers or school security to intervene. Everyone was looking at them, and few noticed the unassuming Marcus Unblood slip away, indifferent to the carnage with both his books hidden in his cape, and another good deed done.

 "Someone call a Biomancer!" Shiv heard an elven mage shout as she sprinted past him.

Deathless just chuckled. "Sorry friend, my Medic-301 shift doesn't start until later."

As he pushed through the front door, he saw a few students landing nearby. They touched down with grace and were generally unaware of the shitshow they were about to walk into. One of them descended on a griffin, and in the next moment the large boulder-sized beast quickly turned into a winged house cat.

"Damn," Shiv commented. “That’s incredible.”

"Thank you," the bot rider giggled. Its can-shaped head projected a smiley face at Shiv. "It took a lot of training for her to figure out how to do that."

Though the library was in flight, it projected a translucent set of descending stairs, and Shiv walked down, humming a jaunty tune to himself with all his library books in tow. He was getting a bit of a kick out of this, jumping unfortunate bastards who deserved it, and then ruining their day without them knowing why filled him with the kind of pleasure that bordered on the perverse.

“Right. Gotta go to office hours for Culin E-333 first after. But you know what, system? I think I can handle this. Throw more of these encounters at me. I’ll feed you. I see what you’re doing. Little chips of strife you’re dragging into me, having me resolve. I’ll do it. Just chipping away. I won’t start a big bloody brawl if you don’t.”

As he spoke those words to the sky, he felt a shift in the air, and something told him he might just find a way to make it through the academy without losing his cover.

And then he started worrying if he was getting a bit too hopeful.

"You know, Insul," Helix said, "your penchant for heroics might leave you exposed to danger yourself someday. This was more of a trial than it needed to be.”

"Not the way I'd see it," Shiv replied.

"Oh, and how would you see it?"

"Dominance," the Deathless said plainly. "Some of these students and nobles do what they want, and then I do what I want in return. Might before philosophy, isn't that what your Challenger believes? Well. I believe in hurting bastards. I believe pieces of shit should eat shit. And I’m meaner than them. I’m stronger. And if they do something stupid, I’ll be the consequence they will never see coming. For no other reason other than I want to and because I can.”

The orc biomancer fell silent after that, but then he gave an accepting huff. "Well, just be sure to guard yourself. It wouldn't do to find yourself inconvenienced for someone else's weakness."

“I’ll inconvenience myself whenever I want,” Shiv replied with a grin. “Why the fuck else be a Pathbearer otherwise?”