Chapter 5

(Wednesday, September 3 2015)

I diligently studied enchantment, taking periodic breaks to eat, train my spells and do my homework. Yet I was still having trouble understanding it. The theory aspects were easily enough as there were enough parallels with computer coding to at the very least, point me in the right direction. The problem lied with the practical part. A standard enchantment had three major parts. A 'command' which is the effect the enchantment was going to have. A 'repository', which is an object to attach the aforementioned command to and finally a 'charge' which is a specific amount of mana that will be used to power the enchantment.

I used levitation as a command after finding it written in the book along with several other commands. Mostly because I deemed it to be the safest enchantment from the ones available. I used paper as the repository since it was the most expandable resource within reach. My main problem lied on the third aspect, the charge. During an enchantment, you must take care to not overcharge or undercharged the enchantment. Overcharging can lead to the enchantment imploding while undercharging will lead to the enchantment completely flickering in mere moments. So far, every single one of my trails ended up with me either burning the paper (prompting me shift this activity to inside the bathroom.) or nothing happening at all. The closest thing I had to a successful attempt was when I had managed keep the paper afloat for 3 seconds before the effect broke.

And speaking of enchantments, I managed to figure out how what to do to the rune on the spine of the book. The rune is actually a multilayered enchantment placed on the book. There are three layers each with a different effect. The first two serve as sort of a barrier for the third. Meaning if I were to affect the third one, I will have to first go through the first two and disable them. The third one was comparatively less complex than the first two but I did notice that the third rune was made with spatial magic. Whatever the gift Hampton left me was hidden using spatial magic, most likely in a pocket dimension or somewhere in the book itself, hidden with the spatial magic.

To get the gift, I will have to dispel all three runes which was easier said than done since dispelling runes and glyphs were even harder than placing them. So I had no choice but to set it aside for the moment at least until I got the hang of enchanting.

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(Saturday, September 6 2015)

Before I knew it, 3 days had passed with me following the same time table. I would practice my spells in the morning then until I get tired and then I proceed to continue reading the lessons. Then on the afternoon, I would practice enchantments until dusk. Afterwards, I took the time catch up on my studies, talk to Peter over the phone, or just relax before ending the day by reading in astral form.

I managed to make a lot of progress in terms of spellcasting even dabbled in potion crafting despite not having the equipment to make any. My [Sight] spell now lasted longer, almost 15 minutes and I was now able distinguish different types of mana more easily. Back when I started, all mana were interlocked making it hard to separate them but now, I was able to focus on a particular type of mana if I wanted.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for my Enchanting skills as I was still unable to properly place an enchantment. Though its doesnt mean that I haven't progressed. I could keep the paper from burning for longer if I overcharge the enchantment and the frequency of me undercharging the enchantment is getting lower. It was just a matter of time before I succeed.

I also began to notice some subtle differences happening to my body. My eyesight, smell, taste, hearing got better, so did my reflexes. Even my touch became more sensitive as I felt even the tiniest crack, ruffle and indent on anything I touch. Surprisingly, it didn't quite bother me.

And while I haven't been successful in enchantments, it has caused me to have better control over my mana. Enough for me to be confident in trying out some of the more harder spells mentioned in the book. Though I knew better than to try them inside my room as the new spells tended to be more... destructive than the last ones. Hopefully I will be able to leave the house tommorow. While I was more or less alright for a while, I had faked nausea vomiting if I stand for more than a certain time so that my foster parents would let me stay home the last two days.

Those were my thoughts as I laid down on the bed.

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(Sunday, September 7, 2015)

The morning started normal enough, at least normal for the last few days. I woke up, had breakfast and began practicing my spells until noon. After which, I left the house after assuring my parents that I was fine and then went to Peter's house. It irked me to do so but I needed to use him as an alibi at least for tonight. Also I really missed hanging out with him as we had done so before his uncle's death.

A five minute walk later, I was I front of the modest little house that more or less mirrored the other houses in the suburban area. Though I could see some signs of disrepair when I looked closely. I rang the bell and waited as a pair of soft footprints approached the doorway. I was greeted by an aging woman who's face visibly brightened when she saw me standing there.

"Vicky? How have you been? It's been ages." the woman pulled me into a hug and I responded in kind.

"I know. I'm sorry I haven't been dropping by for a while." I said apologetically. We stood there hugging one another for what seemed like hours before she let me go. Her smile was replaced by a look of worry as she noticed the bandage on my nose.

"Oh dear. Peter mentioned that someone broke your nose but still.... I hope whoever did this to you was punished." She examined my face as she spoke.

"Don't worry May. She was." I replied with a smile partly as I remembered my promise to get back at Annabeth. I had already zeroed in on an appropriate spell. I felt my face twist into an evil smile only to be followed by a sharp pain as the nose began to hurt by how much I was smiling. Thankfully, May didn't notice it as she began she had turned around and entered her home before beckoning me inside. We spent the next few minutes making small talk as she informed me that Peter was out job hunting. May didn't want him to do so and wanted Peter to enjoy his days at school but the latter was adament at finding a job and easing their financial burden.

We didn't have to wait long as Peter all but charged through the front door with a smile before cringing sheepishly when he saw our expressions.

"Whoa. Where's the fire?" I asked with a smirk on my face.

"Oh... I... um..." The teen stammered for a few seconds. Nice to see that whatever had changed his physique didn't change his dorky attitude. I mused to myself. Peter drew in a deep breath before

"I got a job." He said before taking out a newspaper clipping. I took it from him before reading it. It was a job offer for a photographer at the Daily Bugle. Not the worst thing one could have but one detail did catch my eye.

"You got hired to take Spiderman's photos?" I asked, with my mouth agape. Hearing my words May took the clipping from my hands to confirm for herself. Meanwhile, Peter was sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

"How did you even get the job?" I inquired.

"They were offering the job for anyone who could get Spiderman's picture and I managed to get it to them."

"How did you even get his photos?"

"Lots of climbing up stairs monitoring the news and a lot of luck." He said while chuckling but I knew that he was speaking in half truths. This was very out of character for him as we tended to share almost all of each others secrets but I chose to keep quiet as I saw May's face light up from the corner of my eyes.

We spent a few minutes talking about his new job before May left to prepare dinner. Peter and I then booted up his X-box before playing a multiplayer game. We managed to play a few rounds until we heard the bell ring.

"I've got it." I heard May call out before hearing her footsteps echo through the house. I heard her gasp upon opening the door followed by. "Oh Anna, Mary Jane. Is it really you?"

Mine and Peter's heads snapped towards the door faster than Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson applying for a movie that takes place in the jungle. (sorry this the only one I could think off. 🤷‍♂️) And sure enough, it was MJ along with her aunt who was visiting. The latter held a small platter of food as she chatted with May. I turned to Peter, who looked a little conflicted before turning back to MJ who had a smile on her face that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Hello, New Old Neighbours. Look who's back." Anna playfully sang as she handed May the platter of food.

"Really? You're moving back in?" May excited asked and Anna nodded happily.

"I got a promotion and was offered to job here by the company. So I took it and brought MJ with me. Sorry it took so long to visit. We actually arrived a week ago but we wanted to surprise you but the house wasn't quite ready so we had been staying at hotel. " Anna began talking but at this point, I have pretty much drowned the voices of the older women. I and probably Peter were more focused on the younger girl, our ex friend. My eyes were didn't leave her until I saw both her and her aunt enter the house at which point they noticed us.

"Is that you Peter? Look how much you have grown. Come on over give me a hug." Anna walked over to us with her arms outstretched. Peter sheepishly stood up before walking over to her. I saw him visibly stiffen when her arms wrapped around him as she gave him one of her world famous bone breaking hugs. I had to stop myself from smiling as I knew what Peter was going through. Unfortunately, it didn't take long before her eyes fell on me and I knew that I was in for the same treatment.

"Oh looks like Victoria is here as well.. Looks like we came at the right time. Come here and give me a hug." Anna let go of Peter who retreated out of her reach as subtlely as he could while I got up from my seat before walking over to her, dreading what was about to come.

Since we have last seen one another, 5 years have passed, I have grown up to 5"10, put on more muscles and my body has been improving likely due to my training. Yet when her arms wrapped around me, I felt the same amount of pain as 5 years ago. I have long suspected that she was secretly one of the Avengers as her hugs almost makes me want to tap out so that the referee would end the match.

"Look at you. So beautiful. I bet you are breaking the hearts of boys left and right aren't you, dear." Anna cooed. I involuntarily chuckled at her words. It was like she haven't even noticed the bandaged nose.

"You know I'm surprised that you and MJ haven't ran into one another. Shes enrolled at Midtown High as well." Anna pulled out of the hug before stating. "Really? Must have missed each other. Peter spoke." Anna looked at him quizzicaly but before she could ask to elaborate, I added.

"Peter has been taking a lot of advanced placement classes. So maybe that's why you havent seen each other yet. And I got into a little issue on my first day so I haven't been to school the past week." I gestured at my nose.

Anna nodded in understanding before asking me about what happend to me and I told her what had happened.

The rest of the visit went 'smoothly' as Anna and May went to prepare dinner together and spent the time reminiscing all the while me, Peter and MJ stayed in the living room, awkward silence filled the air along with tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. All three of us could only wrack our brains about what to talk about. Once in a while, one of us would open our mouth to say something before closing it shut.

Dinner was a little better as May and Anna kept on talking, oblivious our plight. Their occasional questions managed to somewhat ease the tension and thankfully, the Watsons left shortly after dinner as they still had plenty to unpack. I left the Parker household shortly after that, after promising to visit them again soon.

Instead of going back home however, my destination was back to Forest Park.

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(later)

I read through the notes once more. Since I didn't want to risk losing the book by bringing it with me, I instead opted to note down the spells I wanted to learn in a small note book. After going through the notes thoroughly, I raised my outstretched palm at chanted the the spell. I felt the air around me shift before an orb of air grew on my palm. It kept on growing for 5 secconds, until it was the size of a football(Actual football. The one the Americans call soccer) before I released it.

The orb shot through the air before colliding with the trunk of the tree. And it immediately dissipated leaving the trunk unharmed. I bit a curse before attempting to cast it again. This was the third new spell I managed to learn today, despite the obvious hiccups still occurring. This was one of the basic spells of the Aeromancy school. It was basically a compressed orb of mana and air.

One of the other spells I learned is [Arcane Aegis] which let's me conjure a shield made from mana though I couldn't be too sure just how effective it is at the moment.

The last one I learned is Telekinesis. I spent an entire hour hurling rocks at trees. I was still rough around the edges and far from completely mastering it. But I didn't care. I had all the time in the world to master it. And the other spells too.

As the clock neared midnight, I ceased my training. I still haven't properly learned the wind spell but that can wait for another day. As I began walking back home.

Even as I walked, I kept thinking about what I was going to learn next. After the days spent without any luck in enchanting. Being able to learn two brand new spells seemed to raise my spirits. So much so that I never realised that the road had become strangely deserted.

"Excuse miss? You dropped this." I heard a masculine voice behind me. I turned around and saw a man 5 meters away from me. And I felt my eyes widen when I notice what was in his hands. It was my notes which he was nonchalantly reading through.

I froze on the spot before turning around and half walked, half ran at the man before snatching the notes from his hands.

"My, my. Fiesty aren't. Though it warms Doom's heart to see the youth so passionately dedicate themselves towards learning." The man spoke, still reading my notes causing me look down at my arms in shock as I knew I had snatched it from him. My fight or flight senses were now begging me to run and I couldn't hell but use [Sight] on him.

I was shocked to find him completely devoid of mana as everything living or dead has some mana on them.

"Tut, Tut. Its rude to pry into others young lady. Though Doom suppose Doom can humour you once by showing you a glimpse of Doom's true power." The man smirked maliciously at me.

Before I could ask what he meant, almost as if someone flipped on a lightswitch, waves upon waves of mana began to emerge from him, overwhelming my senses. I felt weak to my knees before falling on them all while unable to look away from the man infront of me. And at that moment I felt something I hadn't felt in years.

Fear.

(AN: So for context, Doom healed his face in this universe as I find it outrageous that a guy can time travel, go up against actual gods, even defeat them but cannot heal his goddamn face. Also I know Doom refers to him in third person. Did I use it correctly?)