1930s (Part 3)

Shlick. Cut. Cling.

"So this is the Aorta?" I put down the beating heart and glanced at the largest artery of human body in my bloodied hand. "It's smaller than I expected."

'Congratulations! [Human Anatomy Understanding] has ranked up!'

"Oh, a-"

Look at what you're doing, Fenric. Look at that sea of blood. That messy surgery table. Those severed heads and limbs. The terrified faces of those innocent villagers. Look at what you're doing, Fenric-

I know what I am doing.

Is it worth giving up your humanity and your emotions for eternity?! It's easier said than done, but just look into the mirror! That is you-

It is worth it.

I am not wrong.

-x-X-x-

I have finally turned 18.

Thanks for gaining a great amount of Skills recently, I have decided to start experimenting with them. The results were quite... intriguing. You see, Skills are basically powers that enhances the abilities I already possesses. I can throw a dagger? With a projectile throwing skill, I can also throw a javelin with equaled mastery.

I discovered that Skills won't be created unless I wanted it to. I don't have an all-knowing System that will grant me any Skills I can have. In addition to that, Skills that are useless to me won't be created.

For example, [Calm and Collected], [Eternal Arms Mastership] and [Unyielding Will] are completely useless because I have [Absolute Composure] so they can't be gained no matter what I do. Then, what did Fenric the Wise do? He relocated some of his time spent on Magecraft and training to widening his Skills repertoire of course!

Here are the results of one year of effort:

[Presence Concealment]

Rank: A+

The skill to hide one's presence.

At this rank, it is possible to disappear completely and become almost impossible to be detected, even against a Servant's perception. However, efficiency will decrease once preparations to attack are taken.

The Element of Distortion... I literally distorted my own existence from the world. I don't think even the Counter Force can find me if I were to try my hardest. Using my Bounded Field's power, I can even approach the EX-Rank mark.

[Territory Creation]

Rank: B

The skill to build a special terrain that is advantageous to oneself as a magus, such as for the purpose of collecting mana.

At this rank, creation of a 'Workshop' becomes possible.

It's just the Skill for creating workshops. There are so many textbooks on this one. I'd be ashamed if I were to received it at below C-Rank considering the Servants who possesses this Skill at C-Rank are failures at this branch of the Craft.

But to reach A-Rank, I'll have to find a way to make a 'Temple'. That'll take some time.

[Familiar Creation]

Rank: C

The skill that allows the user to create a familiar and control it from a distance.

At this rank, creation of ordinary Magus familiars becomes possible.

It wasn't hard to learn this Skill at all, though I'd probably need to make something like a synthetic beast to level this up.

[Presence Detection]

Rank: E

The skill to detect other Servants and local mana sources.

At this rank, it is possible to detect anything within 1 kilometer via total magical energy output. If used on things at close range, an equal or lower rank of Presence Concealment can be nullified.

I do not want to talk about this... Okay, I'll admit it, I went naked and spent a long time in the snowy forest to try and gain this Skill. I failed... Then I had the brilliant idea of trying to sense things through the natural Mana in the air... Sigh.

[Human Observation]

Rank: E

The skill of the technique that observe and understand people.

At this rank, it is possible to observe basic human behaviors.

I got it after spending two hours a week to observe the people in my castle. I think I creeped out most of my clan members from staring at them constantly since I received a word of warning from my father.

This will be easy to level up seeing that all I need is to analyze more people. I have an eidetic memory after all.

[Human Anatomy Understanding]

Rank: A

The skill that allows one to have a grasp of the inner workings of the human body, like a piece of precision machinery.

At this rank, all actions intended to heal through Skills, Magecraft, etc, are improved. One is able to target enemy vitals with extreme precision, and all damage inflicted is increased. In addition, all damage received by the user is reduced.

Two words: eidetic memory... and some agreeing volunteers from the nearest village who all willingly sighed up and were transported by Fenric himself!

...Yes. It was my first time performing human experiment... and it was also my first time directly killing a living human being.

I am not proud of it, but I am grateful for the opportunity.

[Torture Techniques]

Rank: B

The skill that represents one's possession of outstanding torture techniques.

At this rank, plus modifiers are added when using torture tools to deal damage. Because it strengthens bloodshed and agony, further damage is continuously added after the ordinary damage.

Do you know how great my family's library is? But do you know that some weirdo misplaced 'A Complete Guide to Torture' from volume 1 to volume 8 in the children's section?

Also, I swear that I didn't practice this Skill on animals.

I didn't lie.

I practiced it on humans after all.

[Protection from Arrows]

Rank: C

The skill to deal with projectiles, an increased defense against ranged attacks by predicting the projectiles' trajectories through exceptional means, such as hearing the sound of air being cut, or sensing the killing intent of the enemy.

At this rank, it is possible to deal with projectiles that do not depend on Magecraft by tracking them down with eyes alone.

I got this awfully easily thanks to Eye of the Mind and Clairvoyance. But I've got to ask... how to hell do I deal with bullets when I'm not even fast enough to deflect them? Do I have to use Reinforcement every single time? Am I even fast enough to deflect bullets?

[Projectile]

Rank: E

The skill for the destructive power of throwing projectile weapons.

At this rank, projectiles are thrown at five times faster than an average major-league fastball.

The speed of an average fastball thrown by a major league pitcher is 90 mph. I can throw a dirk, a dagger, a javelin, or even a frisbee at at 425 mph. Hey... is it possible to throw a pitchfork at the same speed as well? I've got to research into that later.

[Poison Resistance]

Rank: C

The skill that makes the user resistant to poison.

At this rank, it is possible to naturally invalidates average poisons while being resistant to the lethal ones.

Consuming poison is not fun. I'll repeat that. Consuming poison is not fun- Ahhh, no. I have to start ingesting lethal poisons to rank this up further. Dear god...

On the bright side, I gained 9 Skills and significantly improved one of the older Skills in only 1 year! Now I just have to focus on refining them while continue delving into the secrets of Thaumaturgy. And to do that I need to-

"We have arrived, Sire." The driver notified me politely. I glanced at my wristwatch and breathed deeply. The year is 1937, and I am currently in London, England. Yes, it's time for Fenric von Leiqritus to enroll into the Clock Tower.

...

The Clock Tower.

It is the current headquarters and main branch of the Mage's Association. The departments that composed it as well as the workshops of its members, which are mainly underground facilities, are located in London's British Museum. However, some affiliated buildings and institutions are known to be located elsewhere.

From the outside, Clock Tower appears to be an appealing and welcoming place, but the truth is not so bright. Actually, the inner workings of the place are ruled by the power struggles between several factions of Magi.

The Clock Tower is currently under the control of a pseudo-aristocratic elite called the Lords. Each Lord holds great political power within the Association just by himself, and there is also those who associate themselves to other talented Magi or an important Magi lineage in a sponsor-sponsored relationship so to increase their influence.

Maybe due this elitist background, preconceived and discriminatory behavior is somewhat widespread inside Clock Tower. Rune and Witchcraft Thaumaturgy are not very popular in the main branch, the latter not being taught as an academia at all.

Admission of new members also involves exams to test one's knowledge of Magecraft, but it is possible to bypass this through letters of recommendation or if one is the successor of a distinct lineage of Magi.

And I, of course, have a letter of recommendation. I may not be the heir, but I am still a Magus from a long line of lineage. Fortunately, I also received an individual room in the dormitory.

The Clock Tower has three major factions: Barthomeloi - the Aristocrat faction, Trambelio - the Democracy faction, and Meluastea - the Neutral faction. My family, the Leiqritus, is a member of the Meluastea faction. I'm glad that I don't have to get too involved with the politics. Well, at least for now.

The city is divided based on faculty and department. The architecture varied depending on the district. The Mage's Association divided mysticism into 12 departments. In other words, this city reflected the specialties of each faculty.

The Twelve Faculties were ruled by the Twelve Lords. The majority of the Magi studied General Fundamentals and then enter the Faculty that is associated with the lineage.

Magi might also enroll in other Faculties as associates to help further his studies in his own Faculty. Also, there was great unity within each dormitory. If an outsider stepped into the college, it was not uncommon for interpersonal conflicts to evolve into inter-college wars.

This is a bit of a digression, but there is a distinction between what are called the big and small Lords of the Clock Tower. The big sense, referring to the Twelve Lords, probably doesn't need explaining anymore.

However, there was also the small sense, referred to as the Noble Lords, most of whom belonged to the Three Great Families. Of course, the second sense was an entirely unofficial one. My father Reinhard is in a sense, a Noble Lord.

The twelve departments of mysticism include: General Fundamentals, Individual Fundamentals, Spiritual Evocation, Mineralogy, Zoology, Anthropology, Botany, Celestial Body, Creation, Curse, Archaeology, and Modern Magecraft.

Although there is a thirteenth department, known as Policies, or the Faculty of Law. It was open to those who wish to pursue politics as it was a social science rather than a discipline in the pursue to mysticism. As a result, it was not included in the Twelve Faculties.

Luckily, I do not have to spend five years in the Department of General Fundamentals since I already learned the common magical knowledge, sympathetic Magecraft, contagious Magecraft, leyline studies, and Mana studies they taught.

Now, what do I choose? Hmhmhm~

...

"Good morning, Lady Iris." I set down my textbooks and gave the woman beside me my iconic smile. No, it's not the gentle smile I show Charlotte, but a friendly smile I have practiced for everyone else.

Her name is Iris Loei Animusphere, the current heiress of the Animusphere family and most likely the grandmother of Olga Marie Animusphere. What a coincidence, I got extremely lucky when I was chosen to sit next to her during our assignments.

It's college and you shouldn't be forced to sit in the same seat, you say? Well, go and ask the stubborn Magi. I heard that not all faculties are like the Celestial body department, some are stricter, and some are more lax.

I decided to enroll in the faculty of Animusphere because I am particularly interested in Astronomy. I'd like to know how I can apply the power of the stars and planets to my spells. Something like: "I am Fenric von Leiqritus, champion of justice! On behalf of the cosmos, I will right wrongs and triumph over evil, and that means you!"

No, don't take me seriously. But it'd be great if I can use the powers of the celestial bodies as a form of offensive Magecraft. Summoning meteors and calling down beams powered by the stars would be awesome.

I have also been attending the lessons of Astrology and Planetology during my free time. Screw Divinity though, I'm not going to learn about the gods and religions. Nope, definitely not for Fenric- Argh. Fine, I do have to learn about Divination if I want to further my progress with a new set of spells I'm developing... Haah.

It's been two months since I have started my college life in the Clock Tower, and I've got to say, this place is amazing. They teach you pretty much anything from the specialty you chose, and you can switch to another faculty when you are done with your current one.

As for the teachers and students, they are just like what you'd experience in a more famous and private university, albeit dangerous since any one of them can gut you at any moment.

The atmosphere here changes depending on the department and their faction. The ones involved with the Aristocratic faction are filled with solemness. The students there all seemed to have sticks up their ass.

The Democracy faction is more open, and they are quite friendly to people like me who is not from the Aristocratic faction. And lastly, the Neutral faction... To be honest, they are basically just a bunch of guys giving the vibe of 'I don't care, so please don't waste my time.'

The Animusphere is surprisingly a Neutral family. I've always believed that they are with the Aristocratic considering Olga Marie's attitude. Perhaps it was changed during her father's rule?

There is also a massive library. It's the same one Waver was in during the first episode of Fate/Zero. Books filled with Magecraft knowledge from all ages and category can be found in it. This heaven on earth is where I have spent most of my free time at.

The first thing I did was to find information on Memory Partition and Thought Acceleration. It took a whole day until I managed to dig up an old tome containing the knowledge on the both of them.

Was it was a lost book from the Atlas Academy? Well, it might not be seeing that the Three Great Branches weren't always far from each other. Atlas could have donated that to the Clock Tower a long time ago.

Memory Partition is the ability to partition one's thoughts to form multiple independent thought processes. While normal people can only have a single 'room' in their brain and focus on one thought, partitioning adds partitions to the one room to create multiple rooms.

As for Thought Acceleration... Well, it's in its name. It accelerates your thoughts. Simple yet helpful.

I have only formed another room with Memory Partition at the moment and it is processing the knowledge I have memorized from reading every book on Magecraft I can find within the library. To be honest, it feels like I am cheating. Sure, someone like Sion Eltnam Atlasia can manage seven partitions, but I have an eidetic memory.

I can simply scan through a book, and it'll forever be archived in my brain. Then while my primary self is paying attention to my everyday life, my other thought will be constantly operating and understanding the books I have read.

"Good morning to you too, Fenric." Iris' white hair swung to side as her orange pupils gazed at me mirthfully. I nodded at her and took my seat. A few minutes later, a professor who has a head full of grey hair stepped into the classroom.

What? Just because she's a Magus and the heiress of one of the Twelve Lords doesn't mean she can't be cheerful. Did you perhaps imagined Mages as inhumane creatures that hole themselves in their workshops everyday? It's not like that. Magi are also human, you know. It's only that their senses of value is distorted from the norm.

If you ask an ordinary person and a Mage: 'What is the value of a single life?' The ordinary person will probably tell you that a life is priceless. But the Mage will ask you for the identity of the life's owner... If they deemed that its even worth their time to answer the question, of course.

The person's history, appearance, education, wealth, etc. Are they also a Magus? If no, then they might say it's worthless while some might go deeper and analyze their true value as an ordinary human, or perhaps the quality if they were to be used as a human sacrifice in their experiments.

Magi are not emotionless. They are logical, and will be ruthless when necessary. So during their daily lives, they can be as happy and as mad as every other ordinary human out there... Though you might find some of their lunch break conversations hair-raising.

I am not particularly close with my seatmate. We are more like acquaintances. Greeting each other when we meet and have small talks during class, simple things like that. She'd ask me questions from time to time, and in exchange, I'd ask her questions that I can't find in the library.

I'd avoid advanced topics that we are not supposed to know yet, and went for the more uncommon ones that a heiress like her would know while not being puzzled by the unusual inquiry.

The clock steadily ticked by and soon the class was over. Seeing that the time's up, the second-class instructor quickly took his belongings and rushed out of the class.

"It's like he's avoiding us as if we are a plague." I picked up my textbooks and voiced out.

"Yes, he probably dislikes me. It's because of my father that he was not able to become a first-class instructor." Iris giggled... Did she just say something that scary while giggling? I take back my opinions on Magi, they are- "Just kidding. Don't be so stiff, Fenric. Well then, see you later!"

She retrieved her bag and stood up for the room's exit. "A joke, huh?" I sighed as I watched her receding figure. "I'm not sure that was a joke, Iris." I'm pretty sure the guy did have his promotion blocked by your father since he's a member of the Barthomeloi faction...

Hahaha.

I fucking hate politics.