Exercise III, Phase I: Investigating Magic

Agent Eleven is doubtful but still considers Miri's proposition, "Alright. I'll give it a try. Teach me how to use these jewels."

Miri looks excited to be teaching and says, "Well, the first lesson is about the stones themselves. We call them Beast Stones because magical beasts drop them sometimes. Beast Stones of powerful monsters like the Vekaloku only contain one ability, while the Beast Stones of weaker monsters can gain more abilities that are less potent."

"That's useful to know. And they're left behind sometimes? Are Beast Stones are supposed to be rare?" The agent interjected.

Miri explains, "They're quite uncommon, but some Beast Stones are easier to come by than others. Over time, we learned that not all beasts are equal. Some get stronger after eating other beasts and gain a higher mana capacity. We noticed that these monsters with higher mana than usual are more likely to leave behind Beast Stones."

The agent replies snarkily, "More likely? So what happens when they don't leave behind a stone? Do they drop swords, armor and other gear?"

Miri replies confused, "Magical beasts don't use weapons… You must have some strange beasts where you're from."

Eleven sighs and inquires, "So, how exactly do you activate these Beast Stones if you don't have to use mana?"

Miri answers, "Like I said before, it's as easy as reciting the writing on the stone and then visualizing it in your mind. The accuracy of your visualization determines how much of the stone's power you can pull forth."

The agent looks at the amber stone in his hand and says, "I suppose I'll need a translation."

Miri crawls a little closer to the agent for a better view of the Beast Stone, "Hmm… let's see… definitely haven't seen this before. This says 'Adapt'. But you have to say it in the lingua magia to access its magic."

"(She's quite knowledgeable about magic as well.)" The agent thinks to himself impressed.

"Ap-taht", Miri says before focusing on her stone once more and explaining, "That's how you say it."

"Is there a reason why you don't have to say that stone's magic words to use it? You and the other man just seem to close your eyes for a moment and are speaking my language. It's as if you're only doing the visualizing part." The agent comments.

"You're quite observant, Eleven," Miri says impressed, "Your assumption was correct. We only have to visualize the magic. With practice, you can gain an affinity for using Beast Stones of the same type, allowing you to trigger them with your mind alone."

The agent seems intrigued by the information he's receiving and decides to try the Beast Stone.

"Ap-taht."

The agent visualized his own past and how he overcame the most challenging scenarios of his career.

He could see himself almost dying and escaping many times and even turning the tables on his assailants.

As he began to visualize himself struggling against melee combatants, he felt a strange sensation.

He opened his eyes, except mysteriously, he found himself back in the dungeon he escaped from.

"(Why am I back here? Did I get teleported again?)"

His body felt strange and was moving on its own accord toward a large rat-like beast, "(Where Am I going? What the hell am I doing?)"

The rat beast, scurrying along the walls of the room attempting to find an exit spotted Agent Eleven as he approached.

The creature turned around and hissed at him. It lunged at him and bit a part of his body. The agent was confused about why he felt pain differently and looked down at the affected body part. It was one of many legs.

"(AM I A BUG?!)" The agent thought to himself startled, unsure of his new circumstances.

Out of control of his own body, the beetle began swinging its metallic wings at the creature, but it was fast and dodged him by scurrying along the walls. The creature dropped from the wall and attempted to bite the beetle again. But this time, as the rat lunged, the beetle instinctively dodged the incoming attack and came down on the back of the rat beast's neck.

The creature's blood spewing head flew across the room and the vision dissipated.

He found himself in the room once more except there were many more rat beasts.

They surrounded the beetle and lunged one after another, many of them missed, but those attacking its blind spots were able to land their attacks. But not without cost, as many of the rat beasts were decapitated for their boldness.

The rat beasts began to coordinate better and started attacking in unison. But this was no problem. The beetle had seen many of their attacks before and was growing more accustomed to them.

The rats grew creative, seeing their adversary wasn't going down to pack tactics. One of them tried to wrap its tail around the beetle's leg while the others attacked. As the other rats moved in for an attack, the rat grappling the beetle was bisected at the base of the spine. Its tail, connected to a pair of hindlegs, were still attached to the beetle, though looser and unable to reposition itself to hinder the beetle's movements. The beetle was able to shift from attacking to defense rather quickly, being able to block the other two rats immediately after attacking the first one. The top half of the first rat, dragging itself around the room in a panic, desperately tried attacking the beetle with its comrades.

The vision the agent experienced dissipated as the dying rat made a desperate lunge for the beetle's legs and was cleaved down the center of its face.

The visions returned and the agent felt a little higher off the ground, "(Am I bigger? What's happening?)"

Before Eleven could process what was happening to him, he found himself facing a group of humans.

He could hear them speaking the same language as the skeletal warriors he encountered on his way out of the dungeon.

One shouted an order and the other three began to move in unison. One took off to the side of the room while the other two created distance between themselves and the beetle. The heavily clad swordsman issuing orders stood his ground, glaring at the beetle, waiting for its first move.

The slender, agile combatant ran to the side of the room, clearly trying to get into the beetle's blind spot. One went to the farthest corner of the room and began unleashing arrows. The beetle took a couple of arrows, but then folded its wings to cover its face similar to how it defended against the agent himself. As the beetle defended, it was attacked from behind by the sneaky combatant.

The beetle turned to attack the enemy at its rear, but they were too fast.

"Ivniaza!"

"(That sounds like magic.)"

As the beetle turned in a complete circle defending itself against the first attacker, it saw red lights begin to gather at the staff of a backline combatant.

After a few seconds, the agile attacker flipped away, past a large fireball that hit the beetle directly.

The beetle roared after it was hit. The swordsman smirked and said something in his language confidently.

"Corpi-Duriajha!" The swordsman cast a spell as amber colored lights gathered in the middle of his chest.

"Corpi-Fortiajha!" The swordsman cast another spell which began to gather red lights around his arms and legs.

The beetle got attacked again from behind. The sneaky knife fighter had slipped past the beetle's notice and flanked it again after the fireball landed, slicing two of its hindlegs.

The beetle turned around swinging its metallic wings at its assailant but was hit again in its back by something powerful enough to not only hurt it, but shake its stability after its legs were injured.

"(What was that? I didn't hear any magic, but I think that was another fireball.)" The agent thought to himself.

The beetle turned around to assess the threat that just landed a significant blow.

The beetle roared in frustration looking at the combatants. The swordsman's magic was still resolving, and the mage was searching through their satchel. The beetle's eyes locked onto the archer who was notching an arrow.

They pulled their bowstring back and hit the beetle's wing while aiming at its face.

The arrow that hit the beetle head on exploded and damaged one of its wings.

"(Explosives. Definitely a good idea against this thing. They're quite resourceful."

The beetle's eyes locked onto the archer and unfurled its clear set of wings.

The swordsman's magic was completely cast and enveloped his body with a combination of an amber and red aura. The swordsman confidently strolled toward the creature with his sword in hand, saying something in his language.

The archer notched another explosive arrow, but the beetle launched glass shards at them, cutting a major artery in their neck.

"(And that's why I guarded my face.)" the agent said, disappointed to see a talented warrior meet their end in such a fashion.

The swordsman, blocking his face, realized he hadn't been hit and looked smug. That is, until one of his comrades screamed after seeing the archer holding their neck with blood spurting through his fingers.

The swordsman looked at his backline, yelled toward the archer, and turned back toward the beetle with anger.

The swordsman rushed the beetle and unleashed a flurry of sword attacks. Against the metallic wings, the swordsman was able to defend himself well and even damaged the wings as he parried them and cut them with his enhanced strength.

"(This guy is good. The agent thought.)" Genuinely impressed by the swordplay he was witnessing.

The beetle shifted to the defensive as its attacks were unable to connect with the swordsman.

It was flanked again from behind again by the other melee combatant while the swordsman kept up his assault.

The shaken mage found what they were looking for in their satchel and began drinking a bottle filled with a golden liquid.

"(This probably isn't a good time for a drink. That better be useful.)"

The mage began to glow with prismatic light when the agent thought, "(That looks like Miri when she ate the mana fruit.)"

The swordsman kept his frontward assault going while the knife fighter discovered the beetle's lightly armored undercarriage.

The knife fighter slid underneath the beetle and sliced its soft carapace as he regained his distance.

The knife fighter yelled to the swordsman who acknowledged him and kept attacking furiously.

"Ivni-Muriaza!"

"(Sounds like more magic is incoming.)"

The swordsman went into the beetle's guard and tried stabbing its face. The beetle used its horn to parry the swordsman but a piece broke off in the process.

The swordsman yelled triumphantly and continued his assault.

The knife fighter slid underneath the beetle again and stabbed its undercarriage swiftly multiple times before rolling away.

The beetle roared in pain, looking for the pest attacking it as the red lights continued to gather at the mage's staff.

He yelled to the swordsman again. The swordsman went back into the beetle's guard like before, except with the most powerful swing he could muster, aiming for the creature's horn.

Instead of taking the attack head on like before, the beetle turned its head and body to the side, giving the swordsman only a glancing blow on its horn and putting both the knife fighter and the swordsman into its field of vision.

The knife fighter, thinking he could slip past the beetle's defenses at this angle, went for the undercarriage attack once more as the swordsman repositioned himself around the beetle for another head on attack.

The beetle saw the knife fighter running towards it and put out one of its clear wings in the knife fighter's path.

The knife fighter slid under the wing, leaning back with finesse and dodging it. He glanced back in satisfaction mid-slide. When he stopped bending backwards and looked forward, he saw a thin wire, reflecting light. When he realized what it was, it was too late.

The beetle felt a slight thud on its second wing. Soon after, a human head was seen sliding and rolling across the beetle's clear wing.

"(I guess that's another one down.)"

The mage let out an outburst of cries, and yelled at the swordsman, whimpering as her magic slowly charged.

The swordsman, enraged, yelled back at the mage and attacked the beetle with everything he had, slowly destroying the wings.

As the beetle saw an opening in the swordsman's flurry, it found itself surrounded by raging flames, startling it too much to commit to the attack. It was more concerned with assessing the danger of the new hazard surrounding it.

The beetle found itself still being attacked by the swordsman even though they were both surrounded by flames. The swordsman said something that made his sword begin glowing.

"Adzorptio!"

The swordsman quickly dipped the sword into the flames. The swordsman quickly removed sword, now wreathed in flames and swung it toward the creatures face. He made a clear cut in the metallic wing with little resistance. This new weapon was much more effective as it was able to slice through the thicker, protective carapace of the wings with relative ease.

The beetle saw it was in danger and pulled a desperate move.

The beetle spread out all four of its wings and spun forward through the fire in a circle.

The swordsman prepared himself, but it wasn't enough. The first metallic wing was parried, but when the two clear wings came around, one sliced through one of the swordsman's greaves while the other severed his left sword arm. The second metallic wing came around and swept both of the swordsman's legs, flipping him in the air.

The beetle continued for a second rotation, and used its metal wing to slap the airborne swordsman into the wall.

"(That's their last hope gone.)"

The mage let out a concerned outburst.

The swordsman landed on his back, screaming and holding his blood-spurting stump of an arm. He looked back at his last comrade and began desperately yelling. But, he was soon interrupted by the beetle goring him through his chest with its broken, jagged horn.

The beetle, with the swordsman on its horn coughing blood and pleading with his final breaths, turned toward the mage. She began screaming and running for the door. She stepped on her robe and tripped, landing on her face.

She rolled over with her staff and backed herself against the door trying to find the resolve to cast a spell, "Ivni- ivni- ivni" as a puddle of urine formed under her.

The beetle tossed her lifeless companion to the side and focused its efforts on its final prey. It ran at her full speed with its horn lowered. In a panic, she gave up on trying to cast magic and threw her staff at the creature with her hands forward in a defensive position.

It didn't help.

The beetle ran its horn through both of her hands and her skull. The tension in her body ceased with there only being a bloody, chunky paste on the wall where her head used to be.

The vision dissipated after the final enemy was defeated. But this ordeal the agent found himself in wasn't over.

He found himself in hundreds of visions one after another, witnessing the golden beetle slaughtering all who challenged it.

Eventually, challengers became trivial. They all had similar styles which was easy for the beetle to see through and counterattack.

"(I guess that first group really did have the best chance at beating this thing. It just keeps getting stronger over time and is clearly learning from each encounter it has.)"

The agent soon saw a vision that began with the beetle rising from the ground, the highest up he's been from the creature's point of view. Only to see a vision of himself its next opponent.

Something felt different this time as the agent pondered, "(Why do I feel so weak? I felt much stronger a fight ago, and why am I so hungry?)"

Eleven watched the fight play out, impressed with himself, "(Damn, I'm good)"

But, he could tell that from the perspective of the beetle, the fight would have been much tougher if the beetle was in peak condition. There were moments where the beetle could only partially dodge attacks and when it became bold, seeing its advantage, the agent turned the tables.

Eleven noticed the beetle didn't know how to react to the powered up knife and gun. It had to learn the threats before it could counter attack. The beetle had confidence that its would be effective against an opponent it perceived as lightly armored.

The agent could feel a response welling up inside the beetle's body as the agent from the vision relentlessly attacked as the beetle began to lose its advantage.

"(Is this the first time it was afraid?)"

It unfurled its wings and spun as quickly as it could, desperate to get some space between itself and the agent. It didn't work as its wings were sliced and the agent prepared his final attack.

Eleven saw the throwing motion performed, "(Here it comes.)"

The beetle prepares to attack the agent about to rush towards him when it feels something hit the top of its head. The beetle looks up and is immediately dealt lethal damage as the agent releases a string of lethal attacks under its head and thorax. The agent finishes with a long, deep slash, resulting in the most significant blood loss this creature experienced.

The beetle looked down at its attacker only for the agent to grab its horn, swing around to its face, and immediately blind its other eye as the agent reached his arm into the creature's eye socket.

"(I guess that's where this ends.)" the agent concludes as he can no longer feel the subtle pain and fear responses from the beetle.

"HELLO?! ELEVEN?! WHAT HAPPENED?!"

The agent can hear a familiar voice in his mind that causes him to leave the world of visions and finds himself in the burrow again.

He leaves a trance-like state with Miri's hands on his face, "Say something! Are you okay?!"

Eleven, partially stunned by her beauty, says nothing immediately, "I… I'm pretty sure I just came out of a monster's mind."

Miri looking confused asks, "You were in its mind? You were supposed to be activating the Beast Stone. Why would the power to adapt do that to you? I've never heard of anything like that before."

"I remember everything so clearly, like I'm still there watching everyone fight." The agent said as he put away the Beast Stone in defeat.

When he put it back into his toolbelt pouch, the sensation of the spectral fighters in his mind dissipated. "Hmm… that's strange."

"What's wrong?" Miri asked.

"I can't explain it, but I know something was happening… My body feels more relaxed without the stone and I can't see those people in my mind anymore. They were just there." the agent explained.

"Well that leaves one possibility." Miri said confidently.

Completely baffled by the situation, the agent asks, "And what would that be?"

With a smile, Miri explains, "The only possibility is that Ap-taht is a passive ability. Not an active one."

"What do you mean?" The agent asks.

Miri explains, "Passive effects are typically triggered by something that happens to the caster or something the caster does. In other words, you need to test it in battle."

Agent Eleven found Miri's theory to be believable and decided he would explore the alien nature of mana and magic to discover the inner workings of this new world.