Ethan was glad to have a headmaster who had promised to keep his secrets on pain of death. What the new student really needed was somebody like this to walk him through the first steps. He doubted there was anyone alive in the universe who could give him specifics, but gaining a leg up on a class that seemed quite confusing was incredibly valuable. It took Headmaster Vesper quite a while to recover from the shock of the Primordial Scribe ability. To Ethan, it had seemed quite plain.
"There's just too much to analyze here." Vesper threw his hands in the air in frustration. “Let’s take it line-by-line.”
“Okay, the name of the skill and the description.”
“Almost useless. These will not help you advance your class.”
“How about the effects? Does that help me?”
“Oh, yes. They do. Even just from the text. We don’t even need to go into the last two items to know this is going to be interesting. Taking the first item, for example, ‘System Magic.’ That's almost meaningless to me. I have absolutely no idea what System Magic is. But the second item, ‘Adaptive Features,’ speaks to me. It describes the way your class will unlock as you progress. Now, the description of the class itself says that it is adaptive, meaning that it will develop as you progress. What it means is that your actions are going to influence the way the class works.”
"You mean I'm going to be making the class?" Ethan asked.
"Exactly right. That one might go even deeper based on the next item. Please, could you summon and read the description for me? I’m about to have a heart attack.” The headmaster clutched his chest, vibrating with excitement.
Ethan didn't need instructions on how to summon information about the emulation mode feature. Even though it was nested inside an ability, he found it easy to think about it and pull up yet another screen. He read it aloud for Vesper to hear, laughing as the headmaster sounded like he was about to have a stroke.
[Emulation Mode]
Description:
Allows you to emulate the operation of other systems in a limited capacity. This ability scales with your ERROR and is limited in scope by your ERROR. This feature is accomplished using the [Celestial Pen] item.
"You can emulate other systems?!" Vesper grabbed Ethan by the shoulders, shaking him. "Emulate my system! Do it now!"
Ethan was jostled back and forth, unable to stop himself from laughing as the dignified headmaster went absolutely nuts. "I have no idea how to do it. I haven't even read the description on the celestial pen, and I don't know if you think I'm hiding the pen somewhere unsavory, but I don't see it anywhere around here."
The headmaster composed himself, moving back and settling into his chair before brushing his robes off. He cleared his throat. "Right, of course. Yes, it may take you time to learn how to use these things, anyway. It may not be intuitive."
“What about those errors?” Ethan asked. “Is that related to the adaptive nature of the class?”
“No doubt those are related to your class, just as the two errors appear in your class description. They likely describe an attribute or skill you do not have access to. They should get filled in later. Why don't you read out the Celestial Pen? Maybe that will show us how to use the emulation mode.”
Ethan did as he was told, pulling that screen up and reading it aloud. This time, Vesper tempered his reaction.
[Celestial Pen]
Soulbound Rankless Item
Description:
A pen infused with celestial energy. This pen belongs to Ethan Walsh, and may never be removed from his possession. Using this pen, a System Scribe can access System Magic through the ERROR system.
Effect:
Soulbound to Ethan Walsh.
Grants access to System Magic with the ERROR system.
Allows the wielder to use Emulation Mode through study of other systems, classes, spells, skills, abilities, etc.
"There's the meat of it.” Vesper’s eyes sparkled as he rubbed his hands together. "Your entire class is based around that pen."
"Cool. Except I don't have a pen.” Ethan looked around and shrugged. He couldn’t feel it in his bed and didn’t see it anywhere nearby.
Vesper just smiled, which Ethan took to mean he knew exactly how to get the pen but was just holding out for now. "Let's look at the description and examine it. We can see more errors, which means you need to develop another feature. Easy enough. That means you have to practice and experience things. If I had to guess, after you summon your pen, you should spend as much time as possible viewing people using skills, abilities, and spells. Which brings us to a hilarious problem.”
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“What’s that?”
“Any magic I show you will be too complex for you to understand. You can’t study my magic. Even if I tried to cast a Rank 1 spell, you’d be overwhelmed by the subtle complexity. As for how to summon your pen, I’m confident it is in your soul.”
Ethan looked down at himself, then back to the headmaster. “You’ll have to elaborate.”
“I imagine my soul as a bright light sitting in my chest, just next to my heart,” gesturing toward his chest, Vesper continues. “Well, this isn't anatomically accurate, not completely anyway. It's a close enough analogy for most first-year students to see their soul.”
Ethan then immediately turned his attention inward, quickly finding that light he had seen before. Although he didn't know the last time he had seen it, or that it was his soul, it now made sense somehow. He closed his eyes and focused on that.
“I can see it.” He reached out and looked for anything that appeared to be a pen. But he couldn’t find it.
“Really? You see it already?” Vesper asked. “Well then, now all you need to do is reach out and pluck it. Try using a physical motion, pressing your fingers against your chest as though the pen were embedded just under your skin. You don't have to take your shirt off. It should come out magically.”
Ethan did exactly as he was told, but he imagined the pen at the same time. He saw the light, made the motion of pressing his fingers against his chest as though probing for the pen, and then imagined a fountain pen popping out. A moment later, he gasped as he felt the hard surface of a pen between his fingers. Instinctively, he pulled it outward, blinking as he opened his eyes. Just as he had imagined, he found a pen now resting between his fingers. It was ornately designed with a theme of turquoise and silver. The nib at the end shimmered with golden energy. Vesper clapped like an idiot.
"By the gods, you've done it in one try.” Vesper, clearly overjoyed, pumped his fist in the air with excitement. "Look at that thing. A rankless soul-bound item generated by the Grand System. Many people would be envious of such a thing."
"Which is why it's important I don't tell anybody what it actually is. I don't even understand how this thing works, and I'm supposed to design a system based around it."
"That's going to take time. Although it was impressive that you were able to withdraw the pen so quickly, I can't imagine you would master its use in an afternoon. That means it's important that you attend your classes and study the other students. Their ranks will be low enough that you should have no problem examining their spells and abilities."
Although Ethan was sure about the mechanics of it, he would trust the headmaster’s words. If high-rank magic, whatever that actually meant, was too much for him he was happy to pretend to be a normal student and start at the bottom.
The detail of the pen was enchanting to look at. Ethan found himself tracing his eyes across the lines. “I’ve got a lot to think about.”
“I hate to say, but you missed the Ritual Foundations class taught by Professor Eggs today.” Vesper withdrew a piece of parchment from his robes, holding it out for Ethan to take. “But you’ll be fine for tomorrow’s session of Array Foundations.”
“Wait, how long have I been out?”
“A day.”
Ethan rubbed his face after placing the parchment on the bed. After taking a calming breath, he realized how this could be a good thing. Now he had a chance to use his class. Perhaps if he reminded himself how good a thing this was, he wouldn’t freak out. “That’s fine. This is a great development for me… I think.”
“Indeed, it is.” Vesper patted Ethan on the knee as he stood. “The information you’ve given me will keep me busy for a while. And I’ll be doing all the research on my own while maintaining my duties as the headmaster!”
“Thanks for everything, sir.” Ethan needed to remember his manners. The headmaster might’ve been amazed by this development, but without a full grasp of this world’s etiquette, it was best to be cautious. A bit of respect went a long way with most people, anyway. Hopefully, that rule was true in this world.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be in contact. Oh, I’ll go release your friend Barry from the holding spell I have him in. He tried to choke the life out of me earlier.”
Ethan’s mouth fell open, but the headmaster simply laughed. He left the room and there was the sound of commotion outside and a moment later, Barry burst into the room.
“Try to keep me in a spell,” he grumbled, eyes searching around the room for something or someone to fight. “Where’s that old man?”
“First, I don’t think he was that old. And second, he’s the headmaster, so let’s stow the violence for now.”
Barry rolled his shoulders, still shirtless and prowling near the foot of the bed. After a few moments, his shoulders dropped as he relaxed. “Hey, good news! We got some beds. Kinda, anyway… Heard them chattering about you getting your system, which is good… but you missed the first class.”
“Yeah, I heard… What did I miss?”
“A talking chihuahua.”
Ethan blinked. “Excuse me?”
“The teacher was a flying, talking, magic-using chihuahua. I’m not even joking. It was the weirdest thing ever. It yelled at me the entire class, trying to tell me to get dressed or something.”
The most confusing part of this bit of information was how little it shocked Ethan. He just saw a bunch of magical screens claiming he was a System Scribe and then he pulled a pen out of his soul. A flying chihuahua was the least of his worries.
“What time is it? Too late or early for dinner?” Ethan asked, dropping the thought entirely.
“Just in time, I imagine. We eatin’?”
Barry didn’t ask a word about the new class or what it meant. He didn’t care about that at all. Barry was a true homie.
“Indeed, we are.”
The church that Ethan had been rushed to was in the same district as his storage house home. When he stepped out onto the street, he shielded his eyes from the sun. The grounds of the church were well-groomed, with a beautiful garden out front filled with trees, topiaries, and hedges with bright flowers growing. He realized where the scent of flowers had come from as they passed through a set of iron gates. At an intersection, he watched as a trio of students cleaned the streets with their magic.
Ethan’s soul twitched at the sight.
“Thinking of joining the cleaning crew?” Barry asked. “I learned a lot about them… Oh, crap. Realized I now have an assignment to do.”
“I’m just surprised you left the church to attend class. I heard you were like a bulldog when I fainted.”
“Yeah, I got fired up. But then I calmed down. And I got fired up again, you know how it goes.” Barry flexed and did a pose. “Come on. Food awaits.”
Ethan lagged behind slightly, spinning his pen as he watched the students clean the street. He barely noticed as the nib left behind a streak of gold that lingered in the air for too long.
“Interesting.”
