章節 33: Training with the Ancient One (1/2)
I want to thank all of you for reading so far and the amazing support I've been getting.
A bit of a heavy chapter today, I want to show clearly that his skills don't just drop out the sky and I don't want to timeskip these early chapters because they have something to do with Incursio. I will be releasing a bunch of chapter this Sunday since I had a lot more time to write during the holidays.
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After organizing his thoughts, Liam went to the library to request the spell books he needed to start on Astral Projection and Dimensional Rend. Upon arriving, he heard Master Drumm's voice.
"Hey, Liam, good timing. The Ancient One prepared some spell books for you," Master Drumm greeted him.
"Great. Are they spell books on Astral Projection and Dimensional Healing?" Liam asked.
"Yes, they are. It's a bit early for you, but I'd guess she left you a mission?" Drumm said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, she did. Is it normal for beginner mages to get missions?" Liam asked, curious.
"Of course! Beginner mages are often sent on easier missions to practice their abilities. It usually depends on when your teacher thinks you're ready," Drumm replied.
"What kind of missions do beginner mages usually go on?" Liam wondered.
"They're usually things like mending minor dimensional cracks or dealing with low-level nightmares or imps," Master Drumm explained.
"Low-level nightmares?" Liam asked, intrigued.
Drumm looked at him, surprised. "You haven't read the introduction to low-level dimensional creatures yet, have you?"
"Not yet. Could you get me that book too?" Liam asked.
"Yes, going on a mission without knowing what's out there is risky. So before this mission, make sure you finish that book, alright?" Drumm said, looking serious.
"Yes, I will," Liam replied. "But Master Drumm, since there are missions for beginner mages, does that mean these low-level creatures come to Earth often?"
"Yes, they do. While our dimension is shielded from greater threats, smaller entities still manage to slip through the barrier. You'll read all about it in the book," Drumm said, handing Liam Introduction to Dimensional Threats.
Back in his room, Liam began flipping through the introduction.
Dimensional Tears: frequent occurrences, allowing spells or minions from more powerful beings to seep through.
Imps: often inhabit musical instruments, drawn to music. Generally harmless unless agitated.
Low-Level Demons: typically seen near dimensional tears; strong, sometimes with elemental abilities.
Nightmares' Lesser Minions: cause fear-induced illusions and sleep disturbances, require Astral Projection to kill.
Poltergeists: minor hauntings, requiring purification spells.
After skimming the introduction, Liam couldn't help but think, 'There's a lot more out there than I expected.'
He continued reading through the Astral Projection and Dimensional Healing spells late into the night before finally turning off the light and going to sleep.
The next few days passed as Liam spend his time reading through all three books and keeping up with his usual training routine. But after finishing the book on Dimensional Healing, he was left with one question: 'How does the Ancient One expect me to learn this in two months?'
'Beginner mages only need to know the basics of different dimensions and identify the energy signatures they give off. At most, they learn to temporarily stabilize dimensional tears by channeling raw energy in them and wait for their mentor to heal the crack. The full spell for healing tears, though… it's like stitching a wound together but then while using your own energy as the thread, which asks for insane control. Which I definitely don't have yet.'
The book mentioned that this skill requires direct teaching from a mentor, and the Ancient One had said she'd help, but Liam was still unsure how he could possibly learn this within such a short time.
Wanting to get answers, Liam set out to find the Ancient One. He found her in the courtyard, observing some students in training. Approaching her, she asked, "You have some unanswered questions, young Liam?"
"Yes. How?" he said. "How do you expect me to learn both spells in just two months?"
The Ancient One looked at him with a strange smile. "Well, I'll be helping you."
That smile sent a chill down his spine as he remembered her unconventional teaching methods with Strange and the sling ring.
"You're not planning to get me killed, are you?" Liam asked, only half-joking.
"I would hope not, in the next few days I will be helping you understand the differences in energy signatures. Afterwards I will also show you the difference in how you treat dimensional tears from different universes." the Ancient One responded calmly.
''How can you help me with feeling the difference in energy signatures?'' Liam asked.
"Follow me, and I'll help you understand the signatures."
The Ancient One opened a portal, and, stepping through, Liam found himself in a place he didn't recognize. The surroundings were dominated by fire and magma, dead trees scattered around, with strange creatures prowling the ground below.
'Of course, what else would she do but take me to hell.'
"This… this is Hell. The domain of Mephisto," the Ancient One said, her tone calm. "Now, feel the energy here. And if you ever encounter Mephisto himself… run."
Liam nodded, swallowing nervously. "If we're here, doesn't that mean Mephisto would know we are?"
The Ancient One smiled. "Of course. He'll realize a portal has opened to his domain in a few minutes and will likely come looking for us."
Liam gulped. "Isn't that dangerous?"
"For you, yes. So concentrate on sensing the energy around you," she instructed.
Liam closed his eyes and focused on the energy, feeling it, reaching out to draw it in when, suddenly, he felt a sharp hit to his face. "What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his cheek.
"Don't draw in this energy. If you take in too much, you'll be bound to spend your afterlife here."
Hearing that, Liam shuddered, 'I almost screwed myself.'
"Now, concentrate again and focus on observing the energy rather than drawing it in," the Ancient One said.
Liam concentrated again. He noted the difference: the energy he usually worked with was gentle and warm, with an orange hue, while the energy here was violent and deep red.
"Good," the Ancient One said approvingly. "Let's go."
She opened another portal, and they stepped back through to the Sanctum.
"Memorize that energy. Tomorrow, I'll take you to another dimension so you can learn to recognize its energy as well," the Ancient One instructed.
章節 34: Training with the Ancient One (2/2)
Liam returned to his room and sat down, replaying the events in his mind. 'Now that I think about it, why did I almost instinctively draw in the energy of such an unknown place?' He reasoned that it must be due to the nature of Hell—a place of temptation. 'Mephisto almost trapped me there for eternity.'
Liam continued memorizing the properties of Hell's energy and the feeling it gave him. Violent and pure red. 'Looking back at it, the energy felt slightly repulsive yet strangely attractive as I tried to draw it in.'
After memorizing the sensation and properties, he turned his focus to Astral Projection. The first step: meditation. 'I've already made progress here, having started meditation some time ago. Now, I just need to feel my entire body so I can control it fully during the separation between my soul and physical body.'
'Once I master that, I need to learn how to anchor my astral self to my body. Otherwise, once I enter my astral form, I'll be stranded in the Astral Plane while my physical body slowly dies. Lastly, I'll need help from a master to make sure I can return to my body in case anything goes wrong.'
Shaking his head, Liam decided, 'Let's not worry about that now. First, I'll focus on the first step.' He sat down and began meditating, slowly sinking into a deep, relaxed state.
He started by "feeling" his head. Though his hands remained still, he could 'feel' his ears, his nose, his eyes—every part of his face. Gradually, he directed his attention at the rest of his body.
'The sensation is strange.'
It was as though he was touching his body, even though he hadn't moved at all.
Exiting his meditation, Liam realized something he hadn't considered before: 'this technique could improve my strength by a lot.'
If he could learn to feel his muscles and nerves with precision, his control over them would increase, with more control over his muscles he could create more power with the same strength. And if he could master that control, perhaps he could even manipulate the signals his brain sent to his nerves.
'Dangerous as it might be, drawing out more power than my body can handle would be a great trumph card against a powerful opponent.' Liam thought.
Several days passed since Liam's had been to Hell. During this time, the Ancient One took him to several more dimensions and helped him practice entering his astral form.
One thing he'd confirmed was that it wasn't Hell alone that tempted him to absorb its energy. 'All the dimensions we visited had the same effect. But it wasn't as if I was drawn to it, it felt like it was something else inside me.'
'The only explanation that comes to mind is Incursio. But Incursio is dead. While inside the anime there are claims its flesh is still "alive," it shouldn't be capable of feeling things. Since it was a beast, maybe I'm sensing the instincts it had when it was alive.'
'That might make sense... I think?' Liam considered, promising himself he'd check it out in a different dimension in the future—somewhere less dangerous than Hell.
Today, Liam sought out the Ancient One to visit the last dimension in their training.
"What dimension are we going to today?"
"Today, we're visiting the most common dimension for low-level tears: the Dream Dimension. It's ruled by Nightmare."
"Dream Dimension, huh? How does a being like Nightmare even gain so much power?" Liam wondered.
"Though little is known about him, we believe Nightmare is a unique entity. There are many speculations over his origins, but we know he feeds on fear and trauma. That sustains him and makes him stronger—a cycle that can never be broken as long as life continues," the Ancient One explained.
"How do I enter a dimension that exists within dreams?" Liam asked.
"We'll enter in our astral forms. The only way to access the Dream Dimension is through dreaming or astral projection," she said. "One warning young Liam, nothing you see there is real. The Dream Dimension is constantly changing; nothing is as it seems. Some see their worst traumas, while others see their greatest desires."
Liam nodded. He sat down across from the Ancient One, preparing himself.
"Liam, I won't be beside you in the Dream Dimension, but I'll be ready to pull you back if needed. Once I do, however, you'll remain in a dreamlike state, and it will be up to you to fully return to consciousness."
The Ancient One entered her astral form and pulled Liam's out as well. He followed her closely as she began chanting something in a language he didn't understand. As she finished the chant, his surroundings began to change.
A bright white light suddenly flashed, forcing Liam to shut his eyes. Ugh.
When the light faded, he opened his eyes to find himself in darkness, surrounded by old ruins. 'Wait, these ruins,' Liam thought. As he checked his surroundings, he noticed strange symbols carved into the ancient walls. 'I've seen all this before. These are the ruins from the dream I had before I woke up with Incursio.'
He followed the path he had taken the first time he'd seen these ruins and arrived at the same portal frame. However, this time, the portal was unresponsive, and the frame was broken. 'If it's changed since last time, that suggests it's real. These changes aren't something that Nightmare's dimension can make.'
He continued walking, examining the ruins more closely. 'What are these strange symbols? I don't know of any language that looks remotely like this.'
Making a mental note of some inscriptions, he realized something else. 'These ruins—this used to be a city, and a large one at that.'
'If I can remember the energy signature from this place, I could try to come back to it in the future,' he sat down and focused on the energy around him. Slowly, he 'felt' the strange white energy in the area. 'That confirms my suspicion. The Nightmare Dimension is supposed to have a light purple hue, not this pure white.'
Just then, he heard a noise. Opening his eyes, he saw a figure dart behind a corner of a ruin. 'I'm not alone here,' he realized, his skin crawling. He stood to chase after the figure, but his instincts screamed at him to move.
'Why can't I summon Incursio?' He barely managed to sidestep an attack aimed at his neck. Glancing toward his attacker, he saw a distorted human figure. But before he could get a clearer look, the second figure he'd seen earlier snuck up and struck him in the side. A swirling white mass appeared on his right.
As he tried to turn, the first figure delivered a kick to his stomach, sending him flying through the white mass. The last thing he saw was the first figure's wide smile.
"So, how was your experience in the Nightmare Dimension, Liam?" a voice asked as he opened his eyes.
Liam looked around, disoriented, and saw the Ancient One sitting beside him.
"Your expression tells me it was quite an experience," she said, smiling. "I'll be leaving now. Digest what you saw in there and continue training your astral projection. Tomorrow, I'll show you firsthand how to heal a dimensional tear."
She stood up, but before leaving, she turned back and added, "Remember, everything you saw in that dimension was fake." With that, she left the room.
"But was it really all fake?" Liam muttered, confused.
Time flew as Liam continued his training under the Ancient One. Now, he found himself walking through the snow near the London Sanctum, 'Time to get started.'
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