Vermelha woke up in her apartment the next morning and yawned a bit. She walked into the bathroom and fixed her hair and face before coming back out and starting her meal for the day. She was usually diligent about her diet, getting 3 meals a day and she tried to stay away from sweets as much possible, although she loved them.
She loved them dearly.
She started working on eggs and toast. She always enjoyed them because they were seasoned to her perfection. She never really cared for diner breakfast or anything of the sort, she had minimal control over the food that she was getting. Even if she gave them a specific list of ingredients, they still coudln't cook them the way she wanted. Something that had always made her upset from time to time.
A loud snore came from her bedroom, as her visitor was still sleeping in on the other side of her bed. Only that he was upside down, with his feet pointing to the head rest. Matsumi's head was tucked under his shirt to rest on his chest, revealing part of his stomach. His hair was a mess, since he never properly dried it out after they left the lake.
Vermelha ended up leaving some food for Matsumi as she plopped herself on the couch in the living room. Today was technically their first day of school, and they needed to report back sooner rather than late, but she thought it would be nice if Matsumi could get some rest before they left.
Normally, it was always his father that would wake him up, because something about Matsumi is that before the day ends, he'd use up all of his energy doing whatever he can think of. So, right now he was sleeping like a log without a care in the world.
Vermelha eventually finished her breakfast and barged in the room. "Hey! Matsumi! We've got to go! We're going to be late for our first day!..Do you hear me?!"
For someone who bothered Matsumi about his volume, Vermelha could get really loud. To the point where it was more noticeable than an alarm. Almost as if she had an invisible megaphone.
Matsumi would fall out of the side of the bed in surprise, smacking his head a little.
"Huh?! What?! The first day is today?!"
"Yes. It is. That's part of the reason why I didn't party so hard. I wasn't going to be exhausted today."
"Ughhh!"
He got up from the floor, scratching his head.
"I was still planning on doing whatever."*He hurriedly dragged himself to the kitchen and just started shoving the food in his face, trying to eat as fast as possible. Still with an annoyed expression, being that he had to wake up early and probably listen to someone talk for hours.
"Don't look so angry Matsumi. Besides we meet our teacher today. Who knows. You might be able to have some fun with him."
She smiled at him, she knew it was hard to adjust but at least he wasn't stubborn and he was trying. That in of itself counted for something.
"Right, that."
His mouth still full before quickly swallowing. Hurriedly finishing his food, even choking a little but only for a second. He pat his hair down, taking a small band on his wrist to tie it up.
"Ok, I'm good."
Vermelha sat in silence for a few seconds before putting her hands on her hips. She smirked at Matsumi, if there was such it would appear that a lightbulb had lit over her head.
"I have a deal. You go to school today and i'll teach you a basic spell that you'll be able to do on your own..and i'll explain anything I know about Mana to you. Sound like a deal?"
"For real? Then, what are we waiting for?! I've always liked school!"
A complete lie.
"Don't you lie to me boy. You just want to learn that spell.."
She rolled her eyes, opening the apartment door for him.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's go." He walked out of the door before her, Vermelha's motivation working to wake him up.
She followed behind, walking down the stairs and out of the complex before speaking.*
"Alright Matsumi, Time to teach you a little bit about our world. So..there are three kinds of spells that one can cast in this world. Mana Spells which are Spells that are cast from your body's energy. Omen spells under a certain given circumstance and set of actions, or through a certain object or living being can a spell be activated, and talisman spells, ones that are cast from the Mana of certain objects."
"Since mana hypothetically exists in everything, including objects that aren't living, it is possible to carry a variety of mana kits on you based on what your day to day life looks like. Some people use Mana to do normal 9-5s. Some people use mana to cast spells ceremonially in order to appease a certain religion or ideal they believe in, and some people use mana to battle and fight against others. It's dependent and has become a day to day part of everybody's life, from average people, to us students, to the evil that lives in the shadows, to animals and mystical beasts and anything else. Got that so far?"
"How do you use it then? You have any magic things on you?"
"Well it depends. I have a pretty high mana reserve, so I can store them in a small pocket that I created with my mana, that runs passively 24/7. But for someone who can't use mana at that level, or someone who's unaware like you, you would have to find those omens and talisman yourself."
"So you just make them? Or can these stairs be a magic thing? Or that rock over there?"
"Technically speaking, anything and everything in this world has mana in it, so you could actually turn those stairs or a rock into a magical object that can be used..but at a baseline level you can't use mana to just create things. Unless it's a Tokubetsu, any spell cast from the body using any kind of element or anything only exists as an idea that copies the properties of something."
"For example.."
She held her hands out as the same fire from before had burst on her finger tips.
"This fire isn't actually my Tokubetsu. It's a spell that emulates the properties of fire, but it isn't actually real fire. It's a basic mana spell that's copying the heat and make up of what an actual fire is. So technically speaking, you
could make any spell you can think of to a certain degree. For omens and talisman you have to kind of find them. Mana Spells only have one rule: it must be a physical property that's being enhanced and emulated. Talisman and Omens are a set of rules that can not be changed and exist as ancient spells that were cast beforehand."
"But didn't you create a little man of fire before? Normal fire doesn't do that. So would that count as emulating or creating?"
"It was just my mana molded into the form of a man and given life, with the properties of fire. You can also mold your mana into objects or ideas too. If you understand it to a degree, you can make different tools, weapons, and even extensions of yourself through it. However, I could not simply create a man from nothing. Or, for example If you wanted ice cream right now I couldn't just summon ice cream to my hands through the power of magic."
"Ideas? How can you mold ideas? Those aren't physical like what you said."
He held his chin in puzzlement.
"Well that's just because i'm an artistic person. A lot of people can't do that because molding your mana means being in tune with the depths of your soul, and understanding the ins and outs of it in order to mold it. It's kind of like clay. I can form my mana into things because i'm artistic, creative and experienced..but the average person could probably only emulate something like water or fire. Of
course..you can train to be at that level, and some people have such good genetics that they can simply do it from birth."
"Ok, I think I'm getting it."
His eyes gave away the gears turning in his head.
"Alright, so how do I do all of that stuff? To make magic like you! Then I'll do all sorts of things!"
"Well first we need to see how much of an affinity you have for mana in the first place. Even with little to none, you can still use talismans and omens. They're not as strong as mana spells but for what they are they work."
"How do we figure that out? Do you scan me? Go ahead, scan me!"
He held his arms out as he said so.
Vermelha touched his arms and closed her eyes, seeing if there was any mana signature in him.
Naturally, he did have mana, unlike what he thought earlier. However, it was a little strange. For some reason, it was incredibly peaceful and calming even, going against his character. But also feeling as if it wasn't entirely contained in his body. It was odd for sure.
"Well?"
She let go of him.
"Well you definitely have an infinity for it..so at the bare minimum I can teach you Omen and Talisman until you can learn how to manipulate your own mana to a higher degree."
"Yes! When do we start?"
"I could show you right now. I think that would help."
"Ok, ok. What do I do?"
"Alright…Hm…"
She rubbed her chin in curiosity, stopping in her tracks along the apartment block leading out.
"Well..how about turning invisible?"
"Huh?"
"There is an omen that can turn you invisible..albeit..Your mana signal is low, so it may only last a few seconds for you since the strain may be to intense..but it is possible. It's an omen I picked up a few years ago..not many know of, or have it."
"You can turn invisible? How does that even work? Weren't Omens something specific?"
"Yes I can! There is a specific Omen I found in an ancient text back in my home town that allows you to do so..which is why not many people know of it.."
"Ancient text? Man, you just know everything about everything! How does it work?"
"Well.."
Vermelha held her hand out as Matsumi could see her mana surging throughout her arm. A small bat then appeared on her arm. Sitting as if it were a bird, relaxed. She rolled it down her arm to her hand before taking a small dagger. She pierced it in its eye before she suddenly faded from existence, as if she wasn't there anymore. Literally invisible.
"What the...? First off, ew. Did you really have to do that? And second...You're actually invisible!"
Vermelha appeared back, the bat gone as she stood with her hands on her hips.
"That was the conditional in order to do that spell. That's what Omens mean. When a bat loses an eye, it signals a certain feeling of invisibility, an unsettling enigma, metaphysically of course. There's meaning behind it. I can't change that omen whatsoever like a mana spell. What it's set as is what it is. That spell can not be altered in any way no matter what."
"Where did the bat come from? Was that also a mana manifestation..?"
"It was a bat I had stored in a pocket dimension I created with mana, in order to store different talisman and omen. That Omen wouldn't work with a manifested bat, because the omen requires it to be a real mortal bat, not one that's made of mana."
"Ohh, right. Magic stuff. I don't have something like that, not that I really want to stab a bat anyway."
"Most Omens and Talisman stems back to ancient witchcraft..so it may be not your style necessarily..but there are also some talisman that you can simply wear that are enchanted with words that have different effects. Maybe that's more your route? There are probably over twenty million spells in existence from different cultures, species and people in history. That's only a variation of a spell, there are plenty more."
She was starting to lose him a bit.
"…Right. What's a cool one though?"
"Well..I could help you with a talisman that can summon something. I don't mind giving it to you since turning invisible isn't cool."
"Are you sure? I might not give it back!"
"I don't need it back. It's a low level spell anyways."
Vermelha held her hand out before a small crystal amulet with a rope ran through poofed into her hand. You could tell it was probably very expensive just off of a simple view of the gem and how its reflection presented itself. She put it on.
"Now you need to be careful..because even though it's a low level spell, it is extremely high level when talking about the average person. This summon is no joke..and if you misuse it..you could cause something you probably don't want to deal with..so even though you're a bit simpleminded..i'm going to trust your judgement."
He got his face really close to the amulet, being able to see his reflection in it.
"What does it do?"
Vermelha held up a small sign with her hands.
"Barghest..come forth."
Smoke filled the area before it vanished at the pressure of her mana. A small white haired girl stood in between Matsumi and Vermelha suddenly. She looked on silently before speaking.
"There's no danger Vermelha. What gives? You never summon me unless you're in a battle."
She eyed Matsumi for a second but turned from him not showing much interest. He had no malicious intent or energy.
"Woah! A girl popped out! What did you say? Barghest? Is that her name? That's sick!"
Clearly this one really caught his attention.
"Barghest is an acient being that used to take the form of a dog long ago in ancient eras..She isn't a god, more like a lower level being."
"Do not underestimate me." *
Barghest pouted, knowing that was somewhat true.
"Well..Barghest used to be very, very strong but she was sealed long ago by a beast by the name of Zeul. Ever since then she only exists in the talisman because of the seal, i've tried breaking it but it's far to complex for anyone I know to crack it. So...Barghest is far weaker than the primal version of her that existed before."
He poked Barghest twice to check if she could be touched, just fascinated by it.
"So she's like…a junior version of herself?"
Barghest was in fact completely physical, and could be interacted with.
"...Yeah..Sort Of....."
"How'd you end up with Vermelha? Did you bump into her like me?"
"..Well..sort of yeah. When she was a child. I was probably the first spell she learned..Talisman and Omen's are by far and large the easiest to acquire…If you're exploring the world."
"So, what can you do? Can you fly? Can you shoot lighting? Can you breathe fire?!"
"Well Vermelha needs an Omen to turn invisible. I don't. Not just that..but.."
Barghest went to touch Matsumi, but when she did it went through him, as if she was a ghost. As if she didn't exist.
"I can also pass invisibly to anything..spiritual or physical….finally I have one more ability. Non healable attacks."
Matsumi shivered as she went through him. His hairs standing on end at the strange feeling.
"That's freaky..! Wait, non healable?"
"Long ago the gods blessed me with the ability to instantly kill anyone with my presence. I was a sign that misfortune and death were coming. Naturally though once I was sealed so were my powers. Now only my attacks can kill the cells that help anyone heal. So if someone doesn't use a magical barrier they'll get killed because their wounds can't heal. No matter what kind of method they use."
"Hmm…But now Vermelha said you're way weaker. So, does that mean you can't use it very much?"
"I can use it frequently but not even close to a third as much as I used to. Still, it negates any form of regeneration or what not. Unless of course someone casts a barrier."
"Even a little cut on my finger?"
"Any wound, it doesn't matter:"
"Make sure not to cut me on accident, ok? I think I understand how this works now."
"Why the hell would I do that? I don't even know who you are. It's stupid that Vermelha is sending me to you."
"Oh, right! I'm Matsumi Ryokō! I don't have magic powers like everyone else but I'll manage! I like skating around and having fun. I also like dancing."
He went the route of completely introducing himself to her.
"I see. I don't have a good feeling about that. If i'm connected to you that means I run off of your magical energy. I'd have to expend myself to survive."
"Vermelha said I was good in the part, so we'll both be a-ok!"
"Oh god it's the end of me."
She face palmed but considering the fact she knew Vermelha for a very long time she complied and was at least willing to give it a shot.
"Don't be like that! I might not be the MVP but I'm still plenty awesome! We're gonna have a great time! By the way, Verme how late are we to school now?"
"Were actually early..that's why I woke you up at that time. We have 15 minutes."
"Early to school…that's new to me. We can go now."