My First Morning in Another World

I woke up surprised. Surprised that this wasn’t a dream. Surprised that I was living in this giant cathedral for free. Surprised that there was a functioning radio next to my bed to wake me up.

“You’re listening to 92.10, Mana FM. This broadcast is brought to you by Braum’s Second Hand Armor, offering first rate protection for cut rate prices!”

I looked around. I pinched myself. Was that an ad?

“This is Jeffy J with the Good Morning Show on Mana FM. I would like to welcome a very special guest from the Magic Research Academy at Iliad. Dr. Dostoyevsky, welcome.”

“WHAT?”

My eyes were the size of saucers. I just couldn’t comprehend that in a world with seemingly no electricity that a working radio was sitting right there in front of me. And then- Dostoyevsky?! What was he doing there?

“Thanks, Jeff. It’s been quite eventful at the Academy, believe me. We have our very first American in this world, and we’re doing our best to find out how he can cast magic.”

I couldn’t believe it. I knew it was Dostoyevsky talking, but his voice took on a completely different tone, one seemingly designed in a lab to be perfect for the radio. It was like he took on a separate personality.

“Ah, and this new student, are you working with him directly?”

“That’s right, with a couple of other instructors. America, like most other places, isn't a monoculture, so it’s quite difficult to pinpoint what American incantation could be. There’s just so many different options.”

“I hear you, Fyodor. That kind of reminds me of what it was like when different people from parts of Africa arrived. Their culture was so much more diverse than I expected.”

“Spoken like a true British white man, Jeff.”

My brain was still broken by this. I just stared at the radio and listened as they laughed and then talked about the different cultures in Africa.

“I remember a couple of students from Nigeria- we were having a hard time figuring out what their incantations would look like, and then we realized that it needed both of them. Their incantations were done in a rhythmic call-and-response fashion.”

“So it needed both of them?”

“Yes. And that’s why it was a challenge level of B. They had practically unlimited customizability, but both of them had to be present for it to work.”

“So they had to be in a guild together?”

“Precisely. We were very lucky that they were good friends. If they weren’t, that could be a very hard life for both of them. We’ve had others from Nigeria as well, but figuring that out the first time definitely took a while.”

“What did you guys find in your research that led you to try that incantation method out?”

“Well, in sub-Saharan African countries, call and response is just kind of a universal thing. Of course, it’s present in music and religious ceremonies, but in some areas, it’s also part of their governance.”

“Governance by call and response? What do you mean by that?”

At this point, it stopped being shocking. I was just intrigued. I continued listening to them until the commercial break.

“One more thing before you go. About this new American student, what’s he like?”

“He’s a young guy, pretty excited about being in Escapia. If we can get over the hump and find out how he can cast spells, I’m sure he’s got a bright future ahead of him.”

“Thanks for joining us, Dr. Dostoyevsky. Stay tuned for music after the break.”

My thoughts were pretty much exactly what you would expect. “They’re talking about me on the radio. I just got here and they’re already talking about me on the radio. What the hell.” As the station cut to a commercial for a local bakery, I pressed the button on the top, which turned it off.

I stood up and went downstairs in the same clothes I wore the day before. My idea of how this world worked was kind of thrown out the window, so I had a lot of questions about Escapia. Alongside finding out how to use magic, my main goals for that day were to get some more clothes and learn more about the world. But first, breakfast. I entered a large mess hall, where different cliques formed at each table.

“Grayson! Come and join us!”

Dr. Fernandez gave me a wave. He was sitting with Dr. Suzuki and Cynthia. I went through the line and received my first otherworldly cafeteria meal. Strange, I must have forgotten to eat dinner yesterday. No matter, I was plenty hungry and ready to take on the day. Everyone’s food was the same, consisting of pastries and fruit.

“Thanks guys!”

“So, how are you liking it here so far?”

“It’s been great, but I have a lot of questions.”

“Don’t worry kid, that’s normal.”

Dr. Dostoyevsky sat down next to me.

“Wait, weren’t you just on the radio? How did you get down here so fast?”

“Ah, you listened to Mana FM this morning? That’s the student run broadcast station here, it’s just down the hall.”

“It’s pretty great, but I didn’t really choose it. It just kind of woke me up. I was surprised you had radios here.”

“Yeah, those are powered by mana. The radio collects a little from you as you sleep and then uses it to wake you up. Isn’t that great?”

“When you sleep? What does it collect?”

“Oh yeah, he doesn’t know yet. I should probably explain.”

Over breakfast, I got a lot of useful information about mana use and spells. Generally, the stronger the spell (and higher the difficulty), the more mana is used per spell. Mana is used when casting spells through incantation and when you create a scroll by writing the spell into magic parchment using magic ink. The main advantage of scrolls, of course, is that you can use mana now and have a free spell for later. However, there was also a potential drawback. If your magic’s difficulty rating is high due to a performance aspect and you make a scroll from it, both the mana input and power output drops to D.

“So, how do you get your mana back?”

“It’s common for mana to return over time. That’s known as passive mana regeneration. The average person can use one rank C spell per hour, and up to ten at once.”

“So a good night’s sleep can let you restore most of your maximum mana?”

“That’s the thing about sleep. We’ve been doing a lot of research here, and found that you can restore mana at four times your normal rate while in a state of REM sleep.”

“Four times?! And what’s REM sleep?”

“REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement; it’s basically the time when you’re dreaming.”

“In other words, it’s a good idea to make scrolls right before you fall asleep.”

“You could say that. Of course, some people get better sleep than others.”

“Oh, and I have another question. What’s going on with the language here?”

“Ah, yes. We don’t know how, but all language is translated in your mind to this world’s global dialect. After a while, I have forgotten how to speak Russian as I’ve gradually learned Escapian. It’s likely that you will eventually forget English as well.”

“Forgotten Russian?! That’s kind of sad.”

“It definitely is. However, in this world I have just accepted that I have no more use for it. In incantation, you generally must use the base language on your end. Others will still hear Escapian and perceive whatever language they know best. However, when writing scrolls, you can replace it with Escapian.”

“So even if you could magically sing opera, you can’t use it to cast anymore?”

“That’s right. Anything is possible through magic, but I don’t see how I could perform it anymore.”

“Look, Dr. Dostoyevsky, writer of Crime and Punishment- I can’t believe I’m actually saying this right now to you in particular- I can tell that deep down, you want to do Russian incantation. You see the power and the beauty in it and you want to just let it loose.”

“You’re right. Although there are stronger methods of casting, I have always longed to cast in my own tongue.”

“When we get my magic figured out, I’ll try to keep learning about magic and this world so that I can help you do that.”

“Thanks, kid.”

As we continued eating, I saw her again. She was beautiful and looked around my age. Spotting me from across the room, she smiled at me and waved. I reciprocated and she approached.

“Are you the American I’ve been hearing about?”

“Uh- yes, that’s me.”

“Can I sit with you guys? I’m pretty new here.”

“Of course!”

“Hi, I’m Zhāng Míng Xiá. You must be Grayson.”

“Yes, how did you know my name?”

“Word travels very fast here.”

She gave me a smile.

“These professors have been working with me. Do you know them yet?”

“I know Dr. Dostoyevsky, I’m in his scroll writing class.”

“I’ve never seen calligraphy as expressive as hers.”

“That’s not how it’s supposed to be, though! Calligraphy needs to be precise!”

Dr. Dostoyevsky chucked.

“As long as the scroll works, stylizing your writing is perfectly fine.”

“Still not a compliment!”

“I said that because I enjoy seeing it!”

The rest of breakfast was rather ‘spirited’. We discussed different classes, my clothing dilemma, and then the topic of how to make money came up.

“Well, you could either work at a private company or join a guild. Then you’re kind of working for the state.”

“Okay… so which one’s the better option?”

“The guild is much more exciting and rewarding, but of course, it’s also dangerous. Many people work for the guild when they’re young and then become merchants when they have saved up enough money to exit.”

“Did you work with the guild, Dr. Dostoyevsky?”

“Only briefly. As a scroll-only caster, it was hard to find work.”

“So how did you become a professor?”

“I grew my magic power by working at a scroll shop. The more you use your mana, the more you can have at once. It’s almost like working out, but for spellcasting. Eventually, I popularized a new type of casting, which is my original claim to fame.”

“A new type of casting? What’s that?”

“Pocket casting. Using one scroll, I can create a pocket dimension and drop a bunch of other scrolls in. If I open that pocket dimension back up, I can pour the scrolls out of it and use them as they fall.”

“That’s like a magic machine gun!”

“Precisely. But of course, it’s as if you must painstakingly craft each individual bullet.”

“That’s wild. And you were the first to do that?”

“Yes. I used it in an emergency raid against a giant dragon. Our party had two casters, including me. The rest of the guild helped us get there, and then I erased the dragon within seconds using that technique. Fortunately, those perilous days are behind me.”

Both Zhāng and I were pretty shocked. A dragon? In seconds? I had so much to learn before I could even fathom helping Dr. Dostoyevsky.