Abuse of Magic

Chapter 184: Time with Saisho

"If the guy was erased from time, then it would be pure shavist if he was your maker," said Joseph to the system with a shake of his head. If the dragon could hear the system, then it made no sense for him to think at it.

"It is a possibility. Several of the things he did, or influenced, have happened, even though he never existed. Even the gods have forgotten about him," Saisho said.

"Then how do you remember him?" asked Joseph.

"I was here, behind my barrier, before, or during, the time when EMIT was, or will, erase him. Since he never existed to begin with, then EMIT never erased him, either, so it's quite conflicted to even speak of the lost rune master. He was the one who put our origin words into written form. Even though he no longer existed, the origin words remembered their written form. My barrier blocks most divine powers. I did learn a few things being intimate with a god after all."

"Wow. So, the reason you won't teach me the origin word for META, is because I have learned the written form of all of the other runes first?"

"Yes. Dragons speak origin words. We have no use for the runes you use. Likewise, dragons don't study magic. We simply know it. Some are better than others, but it is as much a part of us, as your lungs are to you. We cannot teach you to do magic in the way of dragons any more than you could teach a fish to breathe. How you do magic is quite fascinating to me, child. You calculate so much to do a simple spell, but your magic is still beyond the realm of any being I have met other than my own kind."

"Well that's a very depressing compliment," he said, his shoulders slumping. He had been so hopeful she could teach him something, to find out she couldn't, was disheartening.

She laughed. The rocks and crystals on the ground trembled from it. "It is a sincere compliment. I have never met a being as close to all of the runes, as you. You seem less their master and more their friend."

"Maybe that is what I'm missing to surpass advanced?" he asked, thinking hard.

"What?" she asked, intrigued.

"Selena's skill level with the FIRE rune is intimate, not mastery. Fire literally takes care of her as her lover, instead of having mastery over the FIRE rune. I think I could see that. Instead of progressing to master of runes, to friend of runes instead." He nodded to himself. It explained why he was so good with FOOD.

"I suspect it is the only way to surpass the lost Rune Master. How you approach the runes is unique." She nodded in agreement.

"What do you mean? I've taught others to go to the rune worlds and learn to speak to the runes themselves as well."

"Wait, you can take others with you?"

"I learned that from Selena. And Derek has learned it from me. That was one of the reasons he was promoted to the elemental college head over the others."

"Hmm. Could you visit this rune world with me?"

Joseph looked at her size and wondered if it would work. She laughed, and suddenly, a young woman was standing before him, wearing a shimmery gown that stretched to the floor. Her skin was flawless, but in the light, he could still see it shimmer, just like the gown.

"Does this help?"

"Much, thank you."

He proceeded to sit down with her, and brought her into the nexus. Even though her physical appearance was small, similar in size to his own, Joseph could feel her presence, and it was just as large as she had been before she changed her appearance.

"Which rune do you wish to visit?" he asked.

"This place is definitely unique. Where is this?"

"The nexus in my personal magic realm. I figured if you were hostile, I would have been destroyed going through the barrier, so it's fine. From here, I select which rune I wish to visit."

"This is something unique to you, Joseph. Other mages may visit the realms of the pure magics, but it is exhausting, and they must decide which realm they are targeting before they leave."

"Are you sure? Nobody has reported a rune realm like this yet, but I have options in which realms I visit, so it makes sense that they skip this step."

"I am fairly certain this came about because of that mysterious power you have inhabiting you."

(ME?)

"Yes. What is unique about Joseph?"

(WELL, HE PRACTICES. MOST OF MY USERS WANT MAGICAL ABILITIES, NOT GENERAL MAGIC. AND THOSE THAT DO WANT MAGIC, WOULD HAVE HAD ME DUMP THE SPELL KNOWLEDGE DIRECTLY INTO THEIR HEADS. JOSEPH NEVER HAS, BECAUSE HE WANTED TO EARN THE POINTS.)

"Yes, I believe that is likely the difference."

"I bet this is like a menu option. Select the realm you wish to go to, and the fog takes the place of the greyed-out options. Just like when I selected mage king as my life goal, certain things started glowing and others became dim in the options I could select."

(WELL, IT WASN'T ON PURPOSE.)

"That's ok. It was helpful and I appreciate it." Joseph shrugged. He wasn't upset about it, only fascinated to learn something new.

"Let us start with the protection realm then. I may provide you some insights in a word you already know," she suggested, turning in the direction he did, curiously.

XxxxX

It was amazing. It was kind of like having been taught to sing by a friend who was better than you, or learning from a professional voice coach. She enunciated certain inflections differently, for effect, or spoke more strongly and dramatically. The runes had obviously been cutting him some slack. Joseph was a much better writer, than he was a speaker. They went through every rune over the next few days, and were part way through the second time around, when he got a message through the system.

<"Joseph. My name is Brago. You don't know me, but I was a duke in the northern part of the central kingdom. There is a lot I want to talk about, but the short of it is that the Holy church has been sent heroes, by some god, to come and slay the wicked demon king in the south. Originally, I wasn't going to warn you, as I intended to stage a coup and overthrow the king myself, but then the war broke out and the church seized power. I have worked for decades to develop powerful weapons, but these heroes have ruined everything. My craftsmen are in hiding, my workshops destroyed, and the weapon caches looted by the church's thugs. They are intending to kill you next. I am warning you in the hope that you are as strong as my system says, and can get revenge for me. If you survive let's talk more.">