CH9.5: Swordmage

Sword Magecraft is an art of using a sword that heavily relies on enhancement magic. At the Arteriel Magic Academy, where I studied magicry under the wings of Niel Sylvia, I learned a bunch of stuff relating to the use of swords and their enhancement techniques. It often has two curriculums; the first division is a three-year course regarding the basics of magic and spellcraft, while the second curriculum is a four-year course about sword arts.

The last two years in the second curriculum are for practical training where swordmages need to explore and attend different dojos to find the style they want to use for their entire life and compete with other swordstyles. However, under the influence of Albert Von Kassariss, he urged me to study multiple styles and combine them into one, creating my own unique sword arts. My style didn't have a name, but it's a combination of the Bloodborne Hunting Style and Dragon Slayer Style.

I don't strictly follow their systems; I just pick up useful techniques and make use of them. Pyro-Weapon Enhancement is a technique that I learned from the Dragon Slayer style, which involves imbuing the sword with magical attributes while conserving mana. Then I learned from Bloodborne hunting about ways to efficiently kill humanoids, especially some theoretical immortal entities. Those techniques are enough to put me on the frontlines of war.

The most useful style that makes me very effective in killing is Weapon Enhancement from the Dragon Slayer style, but that requires masterful control of magic and a bit cleverness. And speaking of magic... I GIVE UP!!!

It's not the same as before. My body is truly INCONVENIENT! I HATE MYSELF!

No matter how hard I try, my mana density is still lower than average. My life is damned. I'm not some wussy to just give up, but hear me out! There are two sicknesses that mages are susceptible to and should try to avoid as much as possible. The first one is the sickness of Overtaking; some people believe that using powerful magic over a long period of time can cause their bodies to be open to evil spirit possession, but that's not really the case. Overtaking is a psychological phenomenon where exposure to excessive mana than one could handle could affect brain chemistry and neural pathways, disrupting the harmony of neurotransmitters, affecting their behaviors. It is divided into three categories from light effects to much more severe consequences.

With Low Mana Exposure, such as generating [Fireball], the mana circulation overstimulates neurotransmitter reception, creating emotional highs and lows. The effect is similar to something experienced by women when they are on their period, which is why girls have higher resistance against it. Don't ask why most witches are women.

Then Moderate Mana Exposure that exceeds the limit of the brain's capacity to handle mana creates an effect of temporary insanity. They will experience symptoms of acute psychosis in which they will suffer from hallucinations, delusions, and violent behaviors. In such occasions where neurotransmitter activity is hyperactive, impulsive thoughts are prominent.

High Mana Exposure then leads to permanent insanity. In such occasions, I had to call it BrainFuck. The flow of rapidly moving and dense mana creates permanent damage to neural circuits, which prevents them from regulating emotions, libido, and impulses. People in this stage are crazy for life, and they exhibit deranged, violent, unpredictable behavior that could make them attack their allies. Even women will possess some goblin traits, such as trying to breed with anything they see, whether it is alive or dead.

Since I don't have enough mana, Overtaking is not really a problem for me.

The second sickness is much more severe than Overtaking, and that is Overloading. Overloading is an effect of concentrating erratic mana on a single spot; it could also be an effect of too much mana, but unlike Overtaking, it is a physical effect rather than mental. While I don't have lots of mana, miscontrolling my mana could make me overload. Yes, it was also the underlying concept in my [Self-Destruction] spell. And it became a huge problem for me; here's what happened.

So, I became a goblin, right? The truth is, whether I like it or not, my libido is too high that I've been thinking a lot about sexual stuff much of the time. Because the death rate of a goblin is too high, their desire to reproduce are quite high as well, they are directly proportional to each other. Much like because elves have higher life span, their desire to reproduce is lower like it's non-existent. Elves are also much better at controlling mana because they are never controlled by their sexual drives.

When I was practicing my mana control, it just happened.

"Goblin... Your balls."

"Balls?"

I look at my genitals, and the next thing I saw horrified me. My balls became very large; my nuts became coconuts... They were swelling and about to explode.

"GAHH! GAHHH!! MY EGG! MY EGGG!!! MY EGG IS GOING TO EXPLODE!!!"

"C-Calm down... I-is it going to hatch?"

I screamed and pleaded for help, but even the manticore had no idea what was going on with my egg. I'm going to die!! Healing magic is not enough to fix exploded balls; the balls that burst are the balls that are gone.

"NOOOO! MY FUCKING EGG, NOOO."

This is the result when I try to suppress my itchy balls while doing magic. Because of it, my mana flow directed into my nuts, and that caused them to swell. That is what they call Overloading.

That brought me and the manticore to discuss what happened. She taught me that magic is about self-control. If I can't control myself, then I am not qualified to be a mage, let alone a swordmage. So I gave up. If I am just in my past body, then controlling my attention would be easier. I don't want my balls to be over-balls again. It was terrifying.

I practiced the sword instead. I don't have any weapons to use, so I use leftover bones from the things we ate and use them to practice my swings. I still vaguely remember the structure of the Bloodborne Hunter style; I just need to follow what I had done before, and that will strengthen me enough to escape this dungeon, at least I hope.

"You know swordsmanship as well?"

The prophet's explanation is still relevant, so I don't need to hide my training routine from the manticore.

One day, when I was practicing my swing, the manticore suggested something to me.

"Do you want to go out and touch some grass?"

Yes! TOUCHING GRASS!! I don't know what that means, but it sounds fun! I'm so excited to touch grass. My lips smirk at the thought. It's time to survey the surroundings and plot my escape. At last, some progress!

"Let's pick some food and a real sword for you while we're at it"

"?"