Posts from The Empire of Reimia (3)

"Magic is freedom."
After these words, a heavy, rough, slightly salty, and draining sensation arose in Marey's throat. Those around him could see a painful flush appear on the pale face of the mage; he convulsively grabbed the edge of the table with his hand, and the tendons and veins on his dry wrist stood out like ropes. It seemed as if he was on the verge of a seizure or fainting, and for a moment, Marey truly felt as if his consciousness was plunging into the darkness of oblivion, and its weight was pressing down on him like a mass of water, about to completely crush his mind. But the sorcerer managed to overcome the moment of weakness. All the muscles in his body tensed for a moment; his body, which had already begun to lean back, suddenly jerked forward and shook in a fit of agonizing coughing.
“Allow me… allow me to clarify a couple of points,” Marey said to Astilbe, regaining his composure. “What will happen if I am subjected to exclusion, or if I cease to be a subject of the Empire? Is it even possible to remove the mark? And how can they determine whether my actions benefit or harm the Empire? Is there a possibility of a judicial error? Or are they judged by their motives?”

While Moriner carefully studied the treaty, he heard Marey ask, in general terms, the very question that also interested him. It was understandable how the curse would work if they tried to use magic against the Empress herself, or even against specific individuals within the empire. But how would it work against such variable targets as the "political interests" of the country? What if, while they were celebrating with representatives of some organization or helping them with some task, the members of that organization were declared outlaws by the empire? Or does the pact only apply to crimes committed by a mage against the empire with full awareness? But what about all sorts of rebels or madmen who sincerely believe in the goodness of their actions in the name of the empire? He had never heard of such a vague application of magical oaths before, and that was a rather worrying factor.

Uuuuu, damn those sorcerers, all people are people, they swear loyalty, they take oaths, but these ones are acting weird, consciously or unconsciously, I think they all need to be burned at the stake.

Astilbe decided to explain the situation more or less fully.
— Similar methods have been practiced since the time of Kamia Ren, with the only difference being that the design of the tattoo and the place where it is applied were chosen individually by each person. During the reign of Yujian Reim, this oath was abolished, but from today it becomes mandatory again. The system for activating the pact is quite simple and depends on a person's intentions. That is, if you understand, even subconsciously, that your actions may harm the country or its empress, but still decide to use magic, your magical channels will burn out, and that will be the end of it. As for the rest, the question is this: either you continue your magical training as a servant of the empire, or you do not continue it at all.

-So, that's how it is. I should add this to my notes on modern history, - murmured Moriner, after which he clearly wrote his initials and signature in the agreement and raised his hand. -I give my consent. I am ready.

-- Mm-hmm, alright... -- Marey had regained his composure and the corresponding expression on his face, but he moved with sharp, jerky motions, betraying his nervous state. Grabbing the paper, he mechanically skimmed through it without reading it carefully and signed his name, the signature elongated and angular, like his figure, and sweeping, like his self-importance; after which he returned to his seat, trying to banish unnecessary thoughts from his mind: he would still have plenty of time for them later. Breathing exercises again helped to calm his nerves and breathing, but the blush did not leave Marey's cheeks. A fever began to bother him; the sorcerer could hear the blood pounding against the walls of the vessels in his brain.

Meanwhile, Relgar was not pleased with the news of his transfer and believed that his candidacy was chosen due to Parfynora's personal dislike for him. And how could she not be ashamed to abuse her authority?
Imir, like his classmates, signed the document, awaiting the same ritual to be performed on it as on the others. While waiting, he decided to seek advice from Mareu, Morineru, and Shogo.
— What do you think, which school of magic should I ultimately choose? To be honest, I'm still undecided...

I'll write the lecture tomorrow, I need to sleep today.

-- It's not for me to know what you need. But -- healers are always needed, especially in war, and we don't have any right now. -- Marei replied in a detached tone. In essence, this question didn't interest him at all, and against the backdrop of other events, this talentless fellow with a rabbit's heart choosing his magical specialty didn't matter at all.
I'll be gone from Tuesday morning this time, and I'll be back as usual on Friday afternoon, probably. Points will be spent according to the same plan. I hope I don't miss too much with these competitions.

Added 2 minutes later
I'll take the basics of weaponry and enhancers.

Alex, why did you summon ants into my plate?

well, at least they aren't boils

summoning – butterfly

I feel your pain

— What school of magic do you think I should choose? To be honest, I'm still undecided...

-I only made up my mind at the last moment. With a small group and shared interests, Moriner felt a bit more confident than usual. -First, decide if you want to choose something you're passionate about, or if you're choosing solely for practical effectiveness. If it's the latter, listen to Murray and choose healing; at worst, choose the elements – you can't go wrong. If it's the former... try to look within yourself; maybe you'll feel something more "close" to you. Unfortunately, we weren't given much detail about each school, so the "blind choice" option is also possible.

I'm slightly changing the plan: if there are new skills in the lecture about defensive gear, I'd like to see them first.
Since I won't be around from morning to evening tomorrow, it's a bit tricky. I'd like to give you an update on the enhanced training in the evening, if the competitions haven't started by then.
If it's really urgent, then... let's have a script:
- Endurance x2, Combat Training x1, Strength x1 -- if there are new skills in Combat Training
- Strength x4, if there are no new skills.
If it's not urgent, please wait.

The mages got wrecked.

The day after the festival: "How? While I was having fun, one of my classmates was almost killed, and another was almost converted to Iki-gaism... Ugh, where was I at that time?! It's good that my help wasn't needed, but what if it happens next time...? And this was right under our noses! How can one be so careless!" *** On the day after the oath, Xenomia prayed fervently, but she was still consumed by terrible anxiety. What had she done? How could she have been so inattentive? Yes, she saw *some* difficulties in this oath, but that was nowhere near enough to describe the situation. Didn't she read in the ancient Enclessian books that one shouldn't swear oaths? Ever? Now she feels like she's caught between a rock and a hard place. If the Empress or someone on her behalf demands an inhumane order from Mia, then... It's terrifying to think about what will happen. No, the bracelet probably won't punish her for not fulfilling such an order... Mia thought so. But there will definitely be punishment for giving a knowingly false oath and misleading a large number of people. Even if it's done retroactively, an unrepentant crime has no statute of limitations. She shouldn't have been so careless... The thought that she needs to stay at the academy and continue her studies completely deprived her of the ability to reason. And yet, she was preparing herself for temptations – but after experiencing the first, smallest one, she immediately made a huge mistake! She should have asked for an exception and changed the oath – so that it would satisfy both the Empress and herself, Mia. It probably wouldn't have worked, but then the course of action would have been obvious: refuse and leave the academy. It's not a fact that leaving the academy would limit the consequences, but it would be the right thing to do. She would find another way. She would still cope and protect the people she cares about. Somehow... But now... What now? How to fix what she has done? Xenomia just prayed that she would never receive an order that she couldn't fulfill. All these anxious thoughts smoothly transitioned into an anxious dream. A huge crowd of people in chains walked across the square, and the shackles clanged loudly in time with each other. Mia saw with horror that her mother and brother were among them... On the pedestal stood the Empress and delivered a speech: "You are all guilty of the fact that my shoes are not shiny enough! Is this what you call polishing?! This is an insult to the entire imperial house! However, you have a chance to redeem yourselves..." In the gardens with huge exotic flowers, Usami Kyoko was sitting. "Harmony! It's all because you don't have harmony in your hearts! Let my harmony into your hearts, and then Her Majesty's shoes will shine!" From the flowers and from behind the flowers, people crawled out from all sides, all with huge smiles on their faces. They swayed and spoke as if they were zombies: "Harmony! Harmony! Harmony for everyone, free of charge!" The prisoners were now in some kind of enclosure and said nothing, only huddled against the walls of the cage. Alik was crying in his mother's arms. "Useless!" – Rinze's face showed boundless contempt. "Xenomia Neriss, kill these wretches!" Mia had a machine gun in her hands, but she turned it away from the people. Suddenly, the girl realizes that she has *two* bracelets on her hands: on her left and on her right. And both begin to burn, stronger and stronger. The Empress is shouting at her to hurry up, the zombies are chanting "Harmony," and Mia is covered in bright flames and burns... Xenomia wakes up from her own scream and grabs her bracelet. "It doesn't seem to burn... It doesn't burn," she mumbles in panic. "It was just a bad dream... It won't happen... It won't..." I'll wake up the other students with my screams, no need for that... After reciting a few more prayers, the girl finally falls asleep without dreams.

Imir decided to heed the advice of his classmates and chose healing magic as his specialization. As a result, the "Magic Class" of the first year at Reima's military academy looked like this:
Moriner - Alteration
Marey - Summoning
Shogo - Alteration
Imir - Healing
Mariarina - Elements
Yosuke - Healing
Mirair - Alteration
Visenia - Elements
Selena - Elements
Kaori - Healing
Meteon - Illusions

After completing the mandatory procedure, Astilbe moved on to explaining the new material.

Experience
Moriner: +205
Marey: +175
Shogo: +265
Imir: +114

Skills
V
V
V

Fireball, Elements, D rank

Level	Effect	Success	Range	Uses	Experience
1	500 fire damage in area 1+1	50%	6	3	500
2	525 fire damage in area 1+1	53%	7	3	250
3	550 fire damage in area 1+1	56%	8	4	250
4	575 fire damage in area 1+1	59%	9	4	250
5	600 fire damage in area 1+1	62%	10	5	250
6	625 fire damage in area 1+1	65%	11	5	250
7	650 fire damage in area 1+1	68%	12	6	250
8	675 fire damage in area 1+1	71%	13	6	250
9	700 fire damage in area 1+1	74%	14	6	250
10	725 fire damage in area 1+1	77%	15	6	250
11	750 fire damage in area 1+1	80%	16	7	500

Ice Lance, Elements, D rank

Level	Effect	Success	Range	Uses	Crit (+200%)	Experience
1	200 water damage in area 1x1	50%	10	1	10%	500
2	200 water damage in area 1x2	53%	11	2	15%	300
3	225 water damage in area 1x2	56%	12	2	20%	300
4	250 water damage in area 1x2	59%	13	3	25%	300
5	250 water damage in area 1x3	62%	14	3	30%	300
6	275 water damage in area 1x3	65%	15	4	35%	300
7	300 water damage in area 1x3	68%	16	4	40%	300
8	300 water damage in area 1x4	71%	17	5	45%	300
9	325 water damage in area 1x4	74%	18	5	50%	300
10	350 water damage in area 1x4	77%	19	5	55%	300
11	350 water damage in area 1x5	80%	20	6	60%	500

Shock, Elements, E rank

Level	Effect	Success	Range	Uses	Throw	Experience
1	Deals 10 air damage and paralyzes the enemy for one turn (will check)	50%	5	2	5	200
2	Deals 50 air damage and paralyzes the enemy for one turn (will check)	55%	7	3	6	300
3	Deals 150 air damage and paralyzes the enemy for one turn (will check)	60%	9	4	7	300
4	Deals 250 air damage and paralyzes the enemy for one turn (will check)	65%	11	5	8	300
5	Deals 400 air damage and paralyzes the enemy for one turn (will check)	70%	15	6	10	600

Advanced Restoration, Healing, E rank

Level	Effect	Success	Range	Uses	Restoration	Experience
1	Restores stamina to a selected character	50%	1	3	50	500
2	Restores stamina to a selected character	60%	2	4	125	300
3	Restores stamina to a selected character	70%	3	5	200	300
4	Restores stamina to a selected character	80%	4	6	275	300
5	Restores stamina to a selected character	90%	5	7	400	350

Regeneration, Healing, C rank

Level	Effect	Success	Range	Uses	Experience
1	Brings a character out of critical condition	75%	1	1	500
2	Brings a character out of critical condition	80%	2	2	500
3	Brings a character out of critical condition	85%	3	3	500
4	Brings a character out of critical condition	90%	4	4	500
5	Brings a character out of critical condition	95%	5	5	500

Purification, Healing, D rank

Level	Effect	Success	Range	Uses	Experience
1	Removes negative effects from a selected character	85%	5	5	500

Summon — Eagle, Summoning, E rank

Level	Effect	Success	Evasion	Uses	Experience
1	The character summons a scout eagle with movement speed 20	65%	60%	2	200
2	The character summons a scout eagle with movement speed 20	75%	75%	4	200
3	The character summons a scout eagle with movement speed 20	85%	90%	6	200

Summon — Wolf, Summoning, D rank

Level	Effect	Success	Endurance	Speed	Evasion	Accuracy	Damage	Uses	Experience
1	The character summons a wolf that fights on their side	60%	100	10	10%	50%	100	1	500
2	The character summons a wolf that fights on their side	63%	150	11	12%	53%	125	2	200
3	The character summons a wolf that fights on their side	66%	200	12	14%	56%	150	3	200
4	The character summons a wolf that fights on their side	66%	250	13	16%	59%	175	4	200
5	The character summons a wolf that fights on their side	69%	300	14	18%	62%	200	5	200
6	The character summons a wolf that fights on their side	72%	350	15	20%	65%	225	5	200
7	The character summons a wolf that fights on their side	75%	400	16	22%	68%	250	5	200
8	The character summons a wolf that fights on their side	78%	450	17	24%	71%	275	5	200
9	The character summons a wolf that fights on their side	81%	500	18	26%	74%	300	5	200
10	The character summons a wolf that fights on their side	84%	600	20	28%	77%	325	6	500

Summon — Rats, Summon, C rank

Level	Effect	Success	Number of Rats	Evasion	Throw	Uses	Experience
1	The character summons pestilent rats that run towards enemies, explode (1+1) and infect them; infected characters (including allies) lose 5% of max health per turn until they pass a fortitude check and infect characters on adjacent tiles; destroyed rats explode in their current location.	60%	1	50%	8	5	500
2	The character summons pestilent rats that run towards enemies, explode (1+1) and infect them; infected characters (including allies) lose 6% of max health per turn until they pass a fortitude check and infect characters on adjacent tiles; destroyed rats explode in their current location.	63%	2	52%	9	5	300
3	The character summons pestilent rats that run towards enemies, explode (1+1) and infect them; infected characters (including allies) lose 7% of max health per turn until they pass a fortitude check and infect characters on adjacent tiles; destroyed rats explode in their current location.	66%	3	54%	10	5	300
4	The character summons pestilent rats that run towards enemies, explode (1+1) and infect them; infected characters (including allies) lose 8% of max health per turn until they pass a fortitude check and infect characters on adjacent tiles; destroyed rats explode in their current location.	69%	4	56%	11	5	300
5	The character summons pestilent rats that run towards enemies, explode (1+1) and infect them; infected characters (including allies) lose 9% of max health per turn until they pass a fortitude check and infect characters on adjacent tiles; destroyed rats explode in their current location.	72%	5	58%	12	5	300
6	The character summons pestilent rats that run towards enemies, explode (1+1) and infect them; infected characters (including allies) lose 10% of max health per turn until they pass a fortitude check and infect characters on adjacent tiles; destroyed rats explode in their current location.	75%	6	60%	13	5	300
7	The character summons pestilent rats that run towards enemies, explode (1+1) and infect them; infected characters (including allies) lose 11% of max health per turn until they pass a fortitude check and infect characters on adjacent tiles; destroyed rats explode in their current location.	78%	7	62%	14	5	300
8	The character summons pestilent rats that run towards enemies, explode (1+1) and infect them; infected characters (including allies) lose 12% of max health per turn until they pass a fortitude check and infect characters on adjacent tiles; destroyed rats explode in their current location.	81%	8	64%	15	5	300
9	The character summons pestilent rats that run towards enemies, explode (1+1) and infect them; infected characters (including allies) lose 13% of max health per turn until they pass a fortitude check and infect characters on adjacent tiles; destroyed rats explode in their current location.	84%	9	66%	16	5	300
10	The character summons pestilent rats that run towards enemies, explode (1+1) and infect them; infected characters (including allies) lose 15% of max health per turn until they pass a fortitude check and infect characters on adjacent tiles; destroyed rats explode in their current location.	87%	10	68%	17	6	350

Fortify, Alteration, E rank

Level	Effect	Success	Uses	Experience
1	Defense of selected target +10	65%	1	500
2	Defense of selected target +12	67%	2	150
3	Defense of selected target +14	69%	3	150
4	Defense of selected target +16	71%	4	150
5	Defense of selected target +18	73%	5	150
6	Defense of selected target +20	75%	6	150
7	Defense of selected target +22	77%	7	150
8	Defense of selected target +24	79%	8	150
9	Defense of selected target +26	81%	9	150
10	Defense of selected target +30	84%	10	200

Theft, Alteration, D rank

Level	Effect	Success	Uses	Throw	Experience
1	The caster moves a selected item from a character's inventory into their own hand (willpower); range: 10.	70%	1	10	500
2	The caster moves a selected item from a character's inventory into their own hand (willpower); range: 10.	80%	2	15	500
3	The caster moves a selected item from a character's inventory into their own hand (willpower); range: 10.	90%	3	20	500

Empower, Alteration, D rank

Level	Effect	Success	Endurance	Magic Resistance	Fortitude	Willpower	Uses	Experience
1	The caster empowers the selected target	65%	+100	+5%	+5	+1	1	500
2	The caster empowers the selected target	67%	+150	+10%	+6	+2	2	300
3	The caster empowers the selected target	69%	+200	+15%	+7	+3	3	300
4	The caster empowers the selected target	71%	+250	+20%	+8	+4	4	300
5	The caster empowers the selected target	73%	+300	+25%	+9	+5	5	300
6	The caster empowers the selected target	75%	+350	+30%	+10	+6	5	300
7	The caster empowers the selected target	77%	+400	+35%	+11	+7	5	300
8	The caster empowers the selected target	79%	+450	+40%	+12	+8	5	300
9	The caster empowers the selected target	81%	+500	+45%	+13	+9	5	300
10	The caster empowers the selected target	84%	+600	+50%	+15	+11	6	500

Invisibility, Illusions, D rank

Level	Effect	Success	Uses	Experience
1	Characters in a 1+1 area become invisible until they reveal themselves	70%	3	500
2	Characters in a 1+2 area become invisible until they reveal themselves	75%	4	500
3	Characters in a 1+3 area become invisible until they reveal themselves	80%	5	500

Confusion, Illusions, D rank

Level	Effect	Success	Roll	Uses	Experience
1	Makes allies look like enemies and vice versa; characters do not attack enemies and on their turn are forced to attack one of the allies in their attack area (will); area of effect: 1+5, range: 8.	70%	7	1	500
2	Makes allies look like enemies and vice versa; characters do not attack enemies and on their turn are forced to attack one of the allies in their attack area (will); area of effect: 1+6, range: 10.	75%	9	2	500
3	Makes allies look like enemies and vice versa; characters do not attack enemies and on their turn are forced to attack one of the allies in their attack area (will); area of effect: 1+7, range: 12.	80%	11	3	500

Mask, Illusions, C rank

Level	Effect	Success	Uses	Experience
1	The character makes their face look different, but does not determine the details of their illusory appearance	85%	1	1000