Mornings are never good, words I've heard quite often. But at the moment it meant nothing to me, for I woke up two hours earlier than usual and felt just fine.
Albedo (B) (4%)
The assimilation percentage rose by three per cent during the day, but as Stark's assimilation shows, the more I do what the "character" was doing, the faster the assimilation goes. Besides, even this four per cent was enough for me to feel magic besides earth. I didn't have any core inside my body, why should I if Albedo was essentially a grown homunculus with an innate sense of magic and its elements. But that's where the problems start.
I thought four per cent should be enough to start using exactly what I'd been thinking about for the last few days - magic! After all, magic is an ubershtuka that has almost limitless possibilities, at least so it seemed to me, a man who has only heard about magic from various works of fiction. And I decided to try the elementary magic of manipulating the earth and for this I took a pot in which a flower was growing. И...
«It doesn't work. - I came to this conclusion. I can feel the earth in the pot with my sixth sense, but I can't do anything. And then it dawned on me that Albedo himself had been blessed by a god to be able to use such magic. I went to the Gacha Inventory and found the Eye of God. The artefact that gave me the ability to use elemental magic.
When it appeared in my hand I felt... as if the restrictions had been lifted. I can't say for sure that this was exactly how Albedo himself felt, for Gacha herself could change everything to suit me.
«It feels different now. - I exhaled when the ground in the pot was lifted, and also I felt much better parts of the house, which in a way are also from "earth", especially nothing serious can be done in the flat, but soon he will have a lot of space for experiments and a lot of means to do it.
In the morning Lena and I went to the university, where we separated again. According to the information Cortana had obtained, Lex had paid half the money to have my sister and me fixed in about a week, and he'd send the other half when the work was done. So there's nothing to worry about now, especially since tonight I'm gonna deal with him once and for all. Just as I knew he'd try to do something, he really proved to be an arsehole.
Cortana kept her "eyes" on him so I was more or less sure of tonight's operation. I often looked into the Chat, where the correspondence was going on, Erina still overcame her pride and asked Rias again about some fruits or vegetables from her world, which would not be dangerous for ordinary people. Besides, Gremory herself was interested in magic from Hermione's world and I must say, now that I could feel magic I was curious too.
After taking the tests with the professors, I went back to the house with my sister again and started experimenting. Still, I had a magic wand, but I hadn't been able to do anything with it before.
«I'd never had this effect before. - I felt the handle of the wand heat up as I held it in my hand. Intuitively, I knew it worked and fit me.
«Accio, pen. - I said, not really caring about the right move, but the magic seemed programmed into the wand, and I felt the spell go off, and the handle flew in my direction fast enough that I had to pick it up right in front of me to keep it from hitting me in the face. That four per cent experience as a person who was no stranger to magic helped me a lot, because without it I doubted I would have been able to use wand magic like that.
I didn't remember more spells from Hermione's world, so I decided to go to her personally. Sure, I could look up Real Memory, but it was better to get the spells directly from someone who lived in that world.
Anthony (Admin): Hermione, could you send me a couple of spell books? I have a wand from your world, but I don't remember much about the spells.
Rias Gremory: Tony-kun, are you a mage?
Anthony (Administrator): Part alchemist and swordsman, and part scientist-engineer.
Rias Gremory: What a versatile person you are. Demon magic in my world is very useful and partly built on imagination and willpower, but even to me some spells seem very specific from her world.
Anthony (Admin): Your magic is more than useful. You can essentially increase your physical stats many times over with your demonic power, all in all a very useful and versatile power... one that many of the Upper Class don't develop in any way.
Rias Gremory: ... As much as I hate to say it, I agree... if it wasn't for Chat and talking to you, I would have kept hoping for a miracle or a brother.
Rias Gremory: I watched the second Real Memory and... I have no words. If it's really going to be like this, we need to prepare ourselves.
Anthony (Admin): You're not going to tell your brother about this?
Rias Gremory: I don't see the point. There will be a lot of uncomfortable questions if I tell him directly about the possible future.
Shinoa Hiragi: There is a certain attraction between you two.
Rias Gremory: Shinoa-chan... what are you talking about?
Shinoa Hiragi: About you and Tony-kun's relationship, you're the ones who talk to each other the most. Well, maybe also with Erina, but she's all about food.
Anthony (Administrator): You've been writing a lot these days, too. Keeping an eye out for a new guy to join your squad?
Shinoa Hiragi: ... The realisation that someone knows your possible future is a bit alarming. Tony-kun, do you know who I'm going to lose my virginity to?
Rias Gremory: ...
Anthony (Administrator): No, I don't have that information.
Hermione Granger: Once again I enter the Chat Room and see the perversions...
Hermione Granger: Yes I can send the spell books for first, second and third year. Just please return them after reading them.
Anthony (Admin): No problem.
Hermione Granger: Sent "Anthony (Administrator)" a message via private email.
I saw a pop up box and clicking on it, three books appeared there. I mentally clicked on them and three weighty books appeared in front of me.
«Cortana, could you scan and memorise all the important spells from these books? - I asked aloud, and then I selected the nanosuit in Gachi's inventory and it appeared next to me.
«You want me to use a high-tech nanosuit as a... printer? - came the voice of the AI.- Well, I don't need to print anything, but I can save it on the laptop's hard drive. That's not too hard for you, is it?
«No, it's not. - I heard a snap of fingers... she must be doing it for effect or I don't even know why she's doing it. The suit then started moving and took the books from my hands and started scanning each page and I went back to Chat.
Anthony (Administrator): Thank you so much Hermie) As soon as I scan everything I will return it.
Hermione Granger: Will you scan it?
Anthony (Admin): Sent a picture.
The picture showed a nanosuit standing in the middle of the room with light from its visors shining on the book it was holding.
Anthony (Administrator): This won't take long, I don't think. Maybe you want something in return? Feel free to ask.
Hermione Granger: How did you get the wand from... from my world? You mean you're a mage too? Does magic work on the same principle?
Shinoa Hiragi: I can see why she originally had "badass" instead of her name.
Anthony (Administrator): She's just very inquisitive.
Anthony (Admin): Hermie, I got the wand from the Spatial Shop. I have access to things from your worlds. Just decided to give it a try and I succeeded, apparently because of the wand. I only used one spell, Accio. And yes, I'm a mage too, and a pretty strong one, at least Dumbledore and Voldemort shouldn't be a problem for me.
As I wrote, I thought about it for a while. I wrote the truth mixed with my guesses, because when assimilation is 100%, I highly doubt those two mages will be able to do anything to me. Unless, of course, I fall into some kind of trap and a killing blow comes flying at me. The avada kedavra, as far as I know, knocks the soul out of the body... and if such a spell hits me I don't know what will happen. Will Albedo's powers be enough to keep my soul intact? Still, some spells are kind of...broken, in a Harry Potter kind of way. The killing spell will kill Superman, and some of the demons in Rias' world, too. I doubt about the stronger demons though, they have demonic power and their aura that may well resist.
Anthony (Administrator): And magic doesn't quite work on the same principle, although there are many similarities. For example, we also have magic inherited from relatives, parents, and so on. But in my world such people are not really humans anymore, i.e. not Homo Sapiens, but a parallel line to them - Homo Magus. Also here wands are not necessary for sorcery, I'm just interested in magic from your world, that's why I'm interested. But I don't need a wand for that, I can conjure without one. If without any movements or words at all, I'm best at Earth magic.
Hermione Granger: You're not exaggerating...?
Anthony (Admin): Hermie, have you still not realised how powerful creatures can be? There are a lot of creatures in the world of Rias to whom knocking down an entire mountain is like blowing a strand of your hair out of your eyes for you. That is, very easily. There are more than enough of them in my world too, and those who can destroy the planet too...
Hermione Granger: I... I need to think.
Hermione Granger: Out of the Chat.
After spending some more time chatting with Rias and Shinoa, I decided to take up magic. Especially after using magic, my assimilation with Albedo increased from four per cent to five per cent.
During the experiments I was able to find out that I can't use magic from Hermione's world without a wand, unless, of course, an analogue without a wand is created, which I don't know how to do yet. But everything works with a wand, I checked it on the spell I needed the most soon - Confundus, that is disorienting. But to be sure that the spell works, it should be tested on a person, which I decided to do in the evening.
«Alexander Luthor is back from his meeting, and he's not happy. - Cortana told me. I was now in the nanosuit and walked around the room to get used to the sensations. - Two people in the meeting had their phones with them, so I was able to listen to what they were talking about. The investors are not happy that recently the "superman" in one of the skirmishes with government helicopters managed to get away again and even the latest LexCorp developments didn't help and because of that the profits dropped a bit.
«That's the whole reason? They're greedy for money, aren't they?" I said, quickly reviewing the reports Cortana had sent me on the suit's visors. The projected losses would be about a hundred and eighty million dollars, which isn't much, and that's the cost of one and a half of LexCorp's newest planes, but the company's reputation for military contact and such results would be a little damaged. However, I'm sure Lex itself realises that this is just the government's attempts to put a bit of pressure on it. After all, the military has been after the red-blue blur for years, and they've never succeeded.
Switching on invisibility mode, I climbed out the window and it was exhilarating. My pulse was clearly quickened by my actions, I was already clearly stronger than a human because of Albedo, and the suit... so I was able to get to the roof of the building without any problems and after jumping dozens of metres between buildings. The camouflage wasn't perfect, of course, and in the daytime you could see my silhouette in the nanosuit, but it was nighttime, and I was using muggle-repelling charms... but I wasn't sure if they would work. And Cortana was making sure no cameras caught me.
I got down to Earth not far from the company's main building in the centre of Metropolis, but before I did I decided to go into an alley with some obviously unlaw-abiding citizens who were discussing their desire to go to the criminal's paradise that is Gotham.
«Eh, what the fuck... am I the only one seeing this? - One of the three blacks wiped his eyes, looking in my direction as I switched off my disguise and appeared almost in front of them.
«Huh? What are you talking about? - Another turned around and looked for a while as if through me, but then his eyes filled with the realisation that someone was standing in front of him.
«Confundus. - I said quietly, pointing my wand at one of them and repeating the spell two more times, and not one of them had time to realise anything before they just stood still and stared ahead with unfocused eyes. - You want to help your city and start a new life without crime. - I said and each of the three repeated my words and soon they seemed to start making sense again, but by then I had switched on my disguise and disappeared again. The three stood still for a while and then started talking to each other about the idea they had come up with to help the city. Well, the compulsion is working. I doubt it will work against people with strong wills, but the fact of disorientation will definitely work, because it's magic.
***
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