Chapter 34- Library

Alt began to speak to Dubs with words of warning. "Dubs, you had better be careful around this woman. She isn't normal."

Dubs ignored the warnings, and Reagan began to give Dubs a tour of the lab.

"Dubs, come over here!", she beckoned, as Dubs rushed over to the closet that Reagan was opening.

Inside there were a set of lab coats and goggles, and Reagan grabbed a set and began to wrap it around Dubs.

As if they were performing some intricate dance, they twirled about with finesse. When Dubs had put on the lab gear, Reagan looked at him with adoring eyes.

"As expected, you certainly fit the description. You look wonderful in a lab coat, Dubs.", she complimented.

Dubs stretched his arms and placed the goggles on.

Reagan then lead Dubs around the room showing him the facilities.

A table with a series of test tubes, beakers, and distilleries was the first stop on the tour.

"Over here we have the alchemical area.", Reagan explained. "The main use of this area is for the creation of potions, however it can also be used to research materials, and their reactions with one another."

Taking him over to another area, there was a large brick forge. Flames spurted out and surrounding it were hammers, weapons, and various metal ingots. Next to the forge was a stone kiln, for clay firing.

"This is the blacksmith area, where we can create molds and then forge metal castings.", Reagan told Dubs.

Moving onto the next area, they came across the table that had a circular mirror curved inwards, and was surrounded on 3 sides by mirrors that converged light to the center.

"This is an energy concentration unit. It is used to infuse weapons with magical energy, or to store the energy within some other item. The energy could then either be released as a burst or left to stabilize.", Reagan stated.

After having looked through the facility, Dubs whipped out the small tube of acid that he had obtained from the carnivorous plant.

"I obtained this sample from a carnivorous plant in the tropical forest to the east. Perhaps we can test its reactive properties at some point."

Reagan snatched the tube from Dubs' hand as soon as he pulled it out and she began inspecting it, running her eye down the tube carefully.

"Hehe! This is a rare substance to obtain, most people would have died trying to take on the plant that produces this acid.", Reagan exclaimed.

She placed the tube in a lockbox of samples after labeling it, and lead Dubs over to another doorway.

"Alrighty! It's about time we began to figure out where to begin your new training, my precious test subject. This is the library, where I have managed to collect a large number of volumes concerning spellcasting, alchemy, enchanting, and magiphysics."

Upon entering, there were about 6 bookshelves completely filled with books from top to bottom.

"Jackpot!", Dubs stated.

"Hehe, I knew you would be pleased. The spellcasting section is to the left, you probably want to start some research there. I will be running some tests on the sample you brought me."

Dubs began to think. "Haha! This woman may be crazy, but that makes the two of us! Together, we will be able to use science to surpass not only the empire, but even the people of the surface... in due time I will be able to carry out my cleansing of the world, and begin anew..."

Dubs decided to let Reagan in on his plan to take over the world.

"Reagan, my darling, there is something I wish to speak to you about when the days experiments have completed. Is that alright with you?", he questioned sweetly.

"Of course! Anything for you, Dubs.", she flashed him a quick smile and then got to work.

Dubs began to look through the set of books that were in the spellcasting area, and found a series of volumes that seemed to be the most useful for the time being.

"'Basic spellcasting, volumes 1-6'. Each volume goes over the basic spells for each class of magic, specifically the spells that require a magical control of less than 20%, and do not require any combination of two branches of magic.", Dubs thought.

There were also some intermediate and advanced single branch spell books. The intermediate ones covered spells between 20 and 60% control, and the advanced books covered from 60-100% control.

Finally, there were a large number of books that dealt with combined magic. By combining two classes of magic, one could use the elemental properties and the natural laws of magic to create interesting effects.

Dubs recalled back to when Peter discussed the cryogenic stasis spell. This was a prime example of a combination of different magic classes.

"For now, I should work on trying to master some basic spells. In time, I will begin to research materials, and the laws behind the magical energy that I am controlling. If I can figure out the driving catalyst behind these things, I can then use this to engineer weapons and other items to further my regime..."

Dubs picked out the book titled 'Dark Magic, Basic Spellcasting.', and he began to read through it.

"Interesting. So darkness particles can be used in order to negate light particles, and vice versa. Because of this, if I were to learn the [shadow cloak] spell, I would be able to coat myself in a thin layer of darkness particles, which would render me invisible."

Dubs looked at Alt. "I suppose that's why he is invisible to everyone else. His current form is made of darkness particles, which are typically invisible unless they are revealed to the user of the magic. It is only because I am technically the same person as Alt that I can view his magic."

Dubs continued his reading for the rest of the day and began to practice this new spell.

Gathering a sphere of particles, Dubs maneuvered the sphere over to his foot. There was a repulsive force that rejected the particles from touching his skin, but Dubs then spread the sphere out across the surface like butter.

He managed to engulf his entire foot in a layer of darkness energy, but could not spread the magic any further without dispersing it.

"I suppose this is a result of my magical control being lower than expected. Even being adept in dark magic, I only have control over enough particles to cover a single foot!", Dubs thought.

Dubs stood up, and the thin layer of particles remained on his foot. He took quiet steps forward, and as expected, the foot that was covered by the darkness magic didn't make a sound as he stepped along, whereas the other foot made light footstep noises.

"I see... not only do the darkness particles negate light, they negate any form of wavelike occurrences- including sound.", Dubs deduced.

"I wonder..... "

Dubs began to laugh. "Hahaha! Have I made a discovery already behind the secret of my high resistance to radiation?"

"I see! I see! My body must have a natural amount of darkness energy flowing within it... when a wave of energy comes near my body, an equal and opposite wavelength is exerted, which then cancels both effects. Magnificent! I must share this discovery with Reagan immediately!"

"If this is true... then the magical resistances of those who are not at 100% resistance is similar to that of an electrical circuit that decreases the amplitude of a voltage being put across it... for example, when you input 5 Volts and get out 1 Volt. These resistances will never reach 100%, they will only be able to approach it. How did I manage to break the superposition barrier though?"

Looking at the time, Dubs realized that the day was almost over. "I suppose it's time to finish up here anyways. Alt! Lets head over for some dinner."

Alt looked bored, and had been sleeping the majority of the time. He groggily woke up, and dragged along the shadow form body, following Dubs.

Upon arrival back in the regular lab, Dubs caught the scent of the acid that he gave to Reagan. Looking over at the table, he saw a number of newly placed test tubes, all of them with a diluted solution of the acid inside.

Each test tube however, had a slightly different experiment contained within. All of them, however, contained some form of body part.

One contained a bit of muscular tissue from a heart- the species was unknown. Another contained some skin tissue. A third had a piece of bone tissue inside, all of them were soaking in the acid.

"I see... Reagan is trying to determine the amount of time it will take for the fluid to dissolve different materials of similar surface areas... I will inquire later about the results... for now though, I should head upstairs to have some dinner."

Walking up the stairs, Dubs dispersed the [shadow cloak] spell.

"No point in trying to sneak up on Reagan. Even with stealth she is the type of woman to sense someone coming from a mile away."

Dubs entered the dining room, where Reagan had placed out a large meal. Ham and Turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes were laid on the table, along with smoked carrots and creamed corn.

The smell of the food flooded Dubs nose and he walked over to Reagan who had just noticed Dubs, and ran over towards him.

Reagan ran over and grabbed Dubs by the hands, and dragged him over to the table, almost forcing him into his seat.

"Look, Dubs! I've prepared all this food for you!"

Reagan began to rub Dubs' shoulders as she whispered into his ear. "I love you, Dubs. Hehehe!"