The Pagemasters Vol. 1 Chapter 5
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Author: Literataku
Chapter 5:
The Future That I Thought
We found ourselves standing in a blank white canvas, everything else was white as far as I could see all around us. The only things I could see were the computer, Clarion, the chair, the desk and myself. Which speaking of, looking down I noticed that my clothes had changed. My street clothes had been replaced with wizard robes and fantasy style clothing.
The robes were a strong blue color, it wasn’t overly flowy or bulky, it felt more like an overcoat, wrapped with a grey sash to hold it closed around me. A plain colored shirt and vest underneath, the vest with a pocket designed for a small watch and chain that hung out from it. Opening it up I made a face seeing the complexity of what I thought was a simple device. The watch to fold out from itself, displaying over a dozen hands all pointing at different things.
Health, Mana, Exp, wait this was my player menu? Looking closer I could confirm was at least my status screen, though I have no idea what some of these other features like Story and Silence even mean. I‘ll ask Clarion about them later.
Further examining myself, there was a pouch attached to the belt around my waist. Opening it up I found various packs of vials, no doubt potions, and blank pieces of card paper gathered in a holding pouch to one side. It appeared there was also some dried food and herbs. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to need reagents to cast, thankfully. I didn’t have any place to carry or sheath a weapon, but I guess when I can just summon them out of thin air I didn’t need to worry about that.
Taking a closer look at myself I noticed my body seemed to be slightly out of proportion from how I remembered it. Or at least how I remembered it just a short while ago. I looked closer at my hand, holding it out in front of me. “Did I shrink?”
“The power of Story Magic and The Word remade yer body, and made ye little bit younger too, one more suitable to be the Hero needed. Though it’s just the body, mind ye, the rest of ye is still the same. Any lack of motor skills and brains won’t be fixed that easily.”
I grimaced slightly, I wasn’t a complete klutz but that didn’t mean I wasn’t unable to have frequent moments of nearly tripping myself or being a little clumsy. Especially when I was a teenager, and now here I was again back in that semi-awkward body, though not entirely the one I had. Even though I was mostly covered I could feel the slightly more muscular frame that I was now residing in. I wasn’t going to be throwing people like Huang Gai, but I felt like I could certainly give the football team back in Middle School a run for their money now. This would have been me if I had joined the Athletic club instead of A/V and shut in at home reading manga. This Magic is quite convenient for me, I wonder how much of this is a cheat.
Finished with the self overview I looked to Clarion waiting for instruction. “So what should we do now, Master?” I decided I should be very respectful right now, he was my teacher and I was a bit afraid of him attacking me again, even though he seemed to have calmed down a good bit I didn’t want to risk anything.
“Being a Pagemaster gives ye access to a great many powers, skills, and magic. Blue is one of the strongest spellcasters so we will start with the basic three types of spellcasting. The first is what you just used, The power of The Word, brought into being by channeling your mana into the staff and saying the proper |{command words}| This is the most basic power of a Pagemaster and the second easiest form of Magic you have access to.
The second is Spells learned from other magic users. A Pagemaster has the power to use any and all Spells and powers contained within the stories. Though ye must know what it is to unlock it properly. It is the hardest to master but it also contains the greatest flexibility for when ye are trying to hide your status as the Guardian of the Books.”
“Why would I wish to hide my status?”
“There are those who would be freed from the Books and desire to stay free, some because they do not wish to be confined to the tales they were placed in, others because they know the Silence would love to allow them to wreak havoc in reality. And others because they may be tricked into thinking that we are evil beings and wish to fight or hinder us instead.”
I nodded to his words, thinking over carefully. I could see why some might not wish to believe that they are nothing more than figments of another’s imagination written down on paper. A desire to be something more than what is set there, to not just unambiguously end once the story is finished.
“The third power is ye special spell casting. What kind of magic did Ye choose to make yer primary magic?”
“I chose card spell casting.”
Clarion tilted his head slightly. “I see. Simple… And effective. Easier to carry than a bunch of scrolls. Since you chose it you should know already how to cast with it. But what is the first spell you have?”
“It’s |{CAT}|,” I responded and held up the card in my hand. Clarion tilted his head and then laughed.
“My… for an idiot ye have good luck choosing some potent abilities and magic powers. |{CAT}| is one of the most versatile Word Spells ye can use. This magic allows ye to use words in all the ways there are definitions of the word itself. With |{CAT}| ye can summon a cat familiar, enhance yer body to be cat-like, transform into a cat, become a were-cat like creature. And possibly a few others.”
I looked at the card, I guess I managed to get pretty lucky with this then, even if it was an accident with faulty programming. Rubbing my thumb across the face of the card I knew exactly how to use it as if the instinct had just kicked itself on in my head. Pouring mana into the card I toss it in the air.
“|{CAT}| Unlock your power and release! Summon familiar!”
Poof!
Something felt wrong. I glanced around noticing that everything suddenly felt a lot bigger. I heard Master sigh and flutter down in front of me, If he was standing on the ground why was I looking eye to eye with him?
“Oh right. |{CAT}| tends to be a very temperamental spell to master. But I guess it will work as a good practice tool for you to use.”
I tilted my head wondering what he was talking about when I realized I was on my hands or rather paws. “Really? I get turned into the cat instead!. This is Nya-ot cool.” I put my paw up to my muzzle. Why the hell do I have a speech impediment from being turned into a cat?
“Me-aster. What is going on? How do I turn back?”
He laughed and turned around to fly back up on the computer. “Seems the |{CAT}| card works a little too well on transformations. But it should be easy to cancel, either wait until the spell runs out, or use the force it with your magic.”
I grumble slightly under my breath, trying to figure out how I would cause such a cancellation, all the while fighting the urge to pounce on him. He was looking kind of yummy and flapping away made me want to chase him. My Staff was missing, I guess because I was no longer holding it, it had no reason to exist until I called it back.
“Mmmm… Return!”
Nothing.
“Restore!”
Nada.
Welp this was going to be a fun time to experiment. “Don’t try to force yourself to come up with a way. Just focus like how you activated the card in the first place.”
I nodded and closed my eyes, trying to focus more clearly. I want scritches and a nap, maybe a tongue bath… NO! Not going there. Never going there! Not right now anyways… Maybe later…No! Focus on stopping this form, how would I undo something. Oh! I got it!
“|{CANCEL}|”
Poof!
I was back to being Human again! And I was completely worn out all of a sudden. I staggered uneasily on my feet looking to Master as he perched on the computer, now at the proper size compared to me normally.
“Come sit down. You did pretty well for a first-time spellcaster.”
Taking a deep sigh I moved back to the chair and collapsed into it with relief. I don’t know why I was feeling so tired even after just casting two spells. Opening up the watch I could see that I may be used about a fourth of my mana so far, and it was already starting to recharge from my special abilities.
“You’ve never used magic before. Your body might have a good deal of energy and power but when you use it in ways you’ve never done before it will exhaust you faster until you have gotten used to it. Go ahead and take a quick rest.”
“Thank you, Master.” I managed to speak out before I lost consciousness and surrendered to a welcomed unconsciousness I didn’t know was possible. And I blissfully slept for what I felt was the first time in a hundred years.
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