Villainous

"Write each letter a thousand times. What"s that look for? Alright, use both hands at once. After you finish we"ll start with each hand writing a different letter. No, it"s not that difficult, watch. See? Now get started. You too, Bao. You don"t need thumbs to carve a slab, now get to it."

...

"Each of the world"s nine continents has unique ecologies and climates, being as different from each other as alien worlds. Only three continents are considered safe enough to be populated, the other six are wilderness regions with countless dangers.

"Read these three books about survival in the wilderness and summarize them in a twenty page essay by tomorrow evening. They"re only 1000 pages each and you have a perfect memory, you don"t get to sulk."

...

"Recite chapter 20 of The Alchemist"s Creed by Nikolai Flammel. While writing an a.n.a.lysis on comparing the Double Dragon and Twin Serpent ingredient purifying techniques and their appropriate usage."

...

"Magic comes in two forms - Inner and Outer. Outer magic includes alchemy, enchantments, and arrays. It"s magic that has a fixed result regardless of who uses it, as long as enough mana is funneled in a specific pattern.

"Inner magic can only be used by the person casting it, is shaped by many unknown variables into something known as a Gift, and requires a Mana Baptism and the formation of at least one Core.

"For example, someone who awakens a water Gift can use water magic without arrays or enchantments, but they can"t teach it to someone else. It"s an instinctive ability. In fact, even two people who both have water-type Gifts might not be able to learn much from each other, because how their Gift manifests and the individual"s understanding of it will be so different.

"Developing your Gift has to be done by yourself, since you"re the only one who can understand it, so I won"t be teaching you Inner magic. We can do a Baptism later though to get you started. What"s a Baptism? I flood your body with my refined mana and hope you don"t die from it.

"No, I"m not joking."

...

"Eat each of these leaves. Yes, they"re bitter. It"s not a snack, Li Mei.

"Now, which one was poisonous and how can you tell?

"I already said it wasn"t a snack!"

...

"Refining mana is the process of taking raw mana particles and pulling them into a Core. Inside the Core raw mana particles are processed, impurities removed until the mana is refined. Once it"s refined it can be shaped into threads and nodes, which are used to create Circuits, or it can be used to fortify the Core.

"Fortifying a Core increases its capacity and refining efficiency, makes it less likely to collapse, and powers up the corresponding Gift. It can also repair damages, such as those resulting from having your mana too low. Technically you can use raw particles to power simple magic but it"s more difficult and less efficient. Particles cannot be used to form or fortify Cores, though, there"s too many impurities.

"Watch, this fireball uses particles. Barely felt it, right? Now this one uses the minimum amount of refined mana threads connecting nodes into a fireball Circuit. The difference - oh do stop whining, Li Mei, you"re barely bleeding."

...

"Who in the world taught you to use a kitchen knife? Those vegetables aren"t even edible anymore! This isn"t a meal, it"s a war zone! What a waste of nutrients!

"I"m coming back with three crates of vegetables, and you"re going to peel them all blindfolded until you"re familiar with a kitchen knife. Oh, are you upset about it? How do you think those poor vegetables feel! They worked so hard to grow and be delicious only to become casualties of war! Someone who went hungry as often as you have should appreciate food more, now do it again."

...

"Yes, you can have more than one Core. Each Core will come with a new Gift. But maintaining that much refined mana in your body is really difficult. I recommend focusing on one Core at a time.

"A Core needs to be constantly maintained and filled with mana or it will die - the bigger the Core, the stronger your magic, but the more mana it requires to function. And if a Core dies, you might die as it"ll explode. In your body. Big mess. So naturally, more Cores bring more problems. If you have three and can"t feed two, that"s two explosions.

"What do you mean you don"t want to learn magic anymore? Hold still, we"re doing the Baptism before you change your-

"LI MEI, GET BACK HERE YOUNG LADY!"

...

"Now that you"re spry enough to evade capture for ten whole minutes, excellent work by the way, it seems you"re recovered enough to start proper training. And so we"ll begin with the Baptism." Faust smiled like a cat watching a canary, his dark eyes narrowed into self-satisfied slits. Li Mei shivered and tried harder to wiggle out of the ropes pinning her limbs. She dangled from a tree branch like a bagworm caterpillar a few dozen meters off the ground, her face slightly pink from hanging upside-down so long. As her guilty accomplice Bao also dangled some distance away, his limbs wrapped up in a complicated tangle of ropes far more sinister than Li Mei"s plain coc.o.o.n.

She didn"t appreciate Faust"s brand of favoritism. Poor Bao looked ready to cry. He"d only just healed enough to move around without falling over every few meters, and he was already strung up in the trees.

"Do I really need a Baptism? I mean. You can just teach me to use particles and stuff for magic, right? Even if it"s weaker, it"s still possible, right?" Li Mei tried to negotiate for her life, cold sweat dripping down her temples. Her teacher, for his part, crouched on the branch above her and smiled even wider. His smile was cold, predatory, filled with sharp teeth and ill intentions.

"Magic is the only way to get strong enough to stand on your own in this world. Treasures to help increase your strength are found in the untamed wilderness, guarded by fearsome creatures beyond your imagining. The few bastions of civilization aren"t entirely safe either, as there are monster tides, beast tides, demon tides... And yes, they"re all different things with different kinds of danger. If you want to survive in this world you have to be strong, or else you"re just cannon fodder."

Li Mei glanced down (up?), where a pack of black-bellied saurus scavengers were attracted by the commotion and waiting to see if she"d fall into a pile of delicious mush for them. Everything in the Interface claimed Elysium was a dangerous world and was geared toward making her stronger as well. She didn"t trust Faust in the least, but she could make use of his experience and knowledge until she was capable enough to escape his grasp for good. "Okay. Baptism, then."

"You"ll behave?"

"I won"t run away."

"That"s not a good answer."

"That"s not a good question!"

The two glared at each other until Bao"s pitiful cries for leniency attracted another swarm of saurus. Faust released them from the rope bindings and the trio returned to their mountain home at top speed. So many saurus in one place would attract the bigger, scarier scavengers, and Faust already set a hard rule that he wouldn"t intervene even to save their lives. They wouldn"t learn if they didn"t rely on themselves for survival, apparently.

A Mana Baptism was normally a very serious ceremony. Family and friends were summoned for support, while a specially trained Core Magister used his refined mana to guide someone through building their Core. Upon a successful formation there was a big party with food and drink and music, while a failed formation meant a sudden funeral was called for instead.

Li Mei didn"t have family, and her only friend was a fera who couldn"t conceptualize the fact she wasn"t born with a Core like he was. Her Mana Baptism was conducted by her teacher, nowhere near as gentle and experienced as a proper Magister who specialized in Baptisms.

They sat in the garden on her favorite rock. Faust placed a hand on her head, his touch surprisingly gentle. Almost hesitant. "Are you ready?"

Li Mei squared her shoulders and closed her eyes. "Ready."