29 A Pound of Flesh (1/2)

I pursed my lips as I said, ”Is it really that bad?”

Torix said, ”There is a distinct reason why Althea doesn't use magic. You are about to discover it.”

I raised an eyebrow as I said, ”Then why does she have arcane blood?”

”The eldritch within her is essentially a form of energy. In order for that energy to manipulate her body as it does, her body must be a kind of energy. Arcane blood was the simplest solution.”

Torix turned to me before sitting in a chair of black. The dark energy buzzed lightly as he put his fingertips together. He said,

”In all honesty, I don't understand why you'd want to use magic. Your aura is powerful and with a few levels, you'd be able to beat anyone in hand to hand combat. What's with the sudden urge to learn it?”

He snapped his fingers before a chair spawned behind me. As I sat down, I adjusted myself, noticing just how damn soft these things were. I said,

”There's three reasons.” I lifted a finger as I said, ”First off, I've gained quite a bit of intelligence, willpower, and perception. This makes for a very potent combination for learning magic with relative ease. That's not something I can neglect.”

Torix tilted his head as he said, ”Fair enough.”

I raised two fingers as I said, ”Second, having no meaningful way of attacking someone at range is one hell of a weakness. If I could get some way of elongating my attacks or some shit, I'd be far more powerful.”

Torix pursed his lips as he said, ”Hmmm, very true.”

I put up my third finger as I said, ”I want to be a badass, fighting sorcerer.”

Torix leaned back, pulling his hands apart as he said, ”But of course. The most important reason of all. How else could you be a, what was it...ah yes, a badass?”

I frowned as I said, ”Come on Torix. You're busting my balls. Why do you have to bust my balls?”

Torix actually laughed a little before saying, ”Alright, I'll show you some basics.”

Torix stood up before spawning a plume of blue fire in his right hand and a spiral of water in his other. He saiFd, ”Magic is usually taught with the three forms of magic. Origin, dominion, and augmentation. Each of them result in differing outcomes.”

He pulled the fire and water together, creating a ball of steam. He clenched his hand, forcing the steam to collapse back into water. Torix continued, ”This is the magic of origin. It is to create from nothing, to generate. You become the origin of fire, earth, metal, whatever you can imagine, you may project. Elemental magic, summoning, even most high level healing spells are of this class.”

He lifted a hand outwards, lifting a rock in the distance. He split the rock before making the pieces of it spiral like electrons around an atom. He continued, ”This is the magic of dominion. By extending your will, you may warp and bend the material and immaterial to your desires. Corruption, mind magic, and telekinesis are all under this branch of magic.”

Torix let the spinning rocks hit the ground as he smashed his hand into the wall. His hand thundered out an echo before he grabbed a stone. He crushed it in his palm as he said, ”This is augmentation. By using your will, you may build on whatever it is you wish. I've seen augmenters even enhance their eyes and bones, or let their frail, old hands punch through stone.”

I nodded as I said, ”Then I'd probably be using augmentation.”

Torix shrugged as he said, ”It depends on your affinities. For most people, they lack an affinity for any specific form of magic. The more focused a person's personality and actions, the more affinity they have for certain styles.”

Torix leaned forward as he continued, ”I, for instance, have an affinity for dominion magic. Of course I've practiced originmagic as well, but I could never create something as powerful as the monster's I found on fringe worlds. That was when I focused my efforts into dominion magic, eventually even being able to control creatures as powerful as Moloth.”

I nodded before leaning forward and saying, ”All the books you gave me never mentioned all this. It all seems very important. Why didn't any of your books focus in on this shit?”

Torix laughed before leaning onto a hand as he said, ”I was trying to teach you as much about magic as I could without you actually using any. Remember the portal trick we tried? Without you having a nebulous understanding of magic, you may have rejected the mana from the eldritch and whatever else was on the other side.”

I shivered before thinking about Michael and Kelsey. Thinking about Etorhma, the deep cold of the portal, and baldag-Ruhl's dripping face...It reminded me why I kept Kelsey and Michael at an arm's length. Keeping them away from all this had been a good idea.

I sighed before Torix laid a hand on my shoulder and said, ”I know leaving them wasn't easy. I understand that hollow feeling of loss, trust me. You have to swallow it and keep moving forward. Use that emptiness. Don't let yourself be consumed by it.”

I nodded as I said, ”Thanks Torix.”

He leaned back away from me before saying, ”It is nothing, apostle.”

I waved off the sentimental atmosphere before saying, ”Ah yah, but continue with affinities. Sorry for getting distracted.”

Torix raised a finger as he said, ”The important part is learning your affinity, then trying to work with it. The easiest method for finding your affinity is taking a piece of yourself and flowing the different mana's through it. Depending on how easily a certain kind of mana flows determines your affinity for said style. In order to do this, I'll need some piece of you.”

I glanced around before asking, ”Why not just do that right now?”

”Because there's a very real chance for rejection of another being's mana. If you aren't compatible with the mana, it can create horrific side effects.”

”Then that shit with the portal was damn dangerous.”

”Indeed it was. You lived through it, which likely gave you something in return.”

”Eh, we'll see. Anyways, couldn't I just give you some hair?”

”Hair is only keratin squeezed out in long strands. What we need is tissue that was once alive. In other words, some flesh.”

I sighed before clasping my hand into a fist. I banged my head a few times, before peeling the armor away from my arm. With a quick, decisive grab, I dug the sharpened points of my gauntlet into my arm. It still hurt, though nowhere near the amount I expected. I tore out a chunk of skin before reforming my armor over the wound. I only let out a slight grimace before Torix said,

”Tell me, what is your pain tolerance at?”

I checked my status screen and said, ”94.”

Torix groaned before saying, ”No wonder that was rather anticlimactic. You weren't exaggerating that old skill of yours, were you?”

”Yeah, Agony was, well, agonizing.”

Torix nodded, ”Noted.”

He lifted the patch of skin with telekinesis before creating a wave of blue mana, much like what I used to make with little streams of cool air. The mana stopped right at my skin. Torix nodded and said, ”I was doubtful that you'd have any talent for magic of origin.”

I shrugged as I said, ”I'm not really an airy type.”

Torix nodded as he said, ”Indeed.”

Torix then created a stream of writhing black mana, similar to eldritch energy. He doused a stream into the patch of gray skin. The mana sunk straight into the skin before Torix gasped. He said,

”You're affinity for dominion is..remarkable. I'd never have guessed it.”

I frowned as I said, ”Why not?”

”User's of dominion magic are often those that put their every effort into control. They pan out their every action using every detail and piece of knowledge they have at their disposal. They don't desire control over themselves either. They desire control over everything around them.”

I crossed my arms while I said, ”Hmmm, maybe this is because of the portal? That energy seemed similar with the eldritch of before.”

Torix narrowed his eyes in surprise as he said, ”What? Eldritch is nothing like dominion. Eldritch warps and takes over whatever it touches. Dominion never consumes, it merely controls.”