Chapter 19: Our Daily Lives

Today was more of the same as yesterday; Baroness Estra was nice yet strict, and Jahi and I left Dance Class tired. The class with Baron Jilk was also the same; no actual teaching, just him recommending some books to read. Like yesterday, I dozed off while Jahi read. I couldn't be bothered to try and follow along, as it was about places I didn't know and how those people act. Eventually I will go find a book on the basics.

However, as soon as I walked into the library and saw Arch Mage Kolia I was filled with a rush of anticipation, excited to create more sequences and learn about magic.

We started with a half hour of creating sequences, using all the elements and different shapes and support runes. Arch Mage Kolia even created sequences and had us decipher them. When she started creating combination runes I could feel a mild headache, as trying to decipher each rune used was difficult, however I found it quite enjoyable.

When we finished, she pulled out a book, placing it on the table in front of us.

"Now, as much as I know you both love learning and creating sequences, I think we should go over what Mana is and how it affects the body. You both are aware of the fact that the core is an organ located next to your heart, yes?"

Both of us nodded.

"Well, the core works much like the heart, except instead of pumping blood throughout the body, it pumps mana. Since it is connected to your veins like your heart, mana flows throughout your entire body. Now, this has two noticeable effects; your body is much stronger than a person without a core, and your body grows much quicker. For you two, because of your race, you already have quick maturation. A demon without a core reaches their prime by the age of 15; a dogkin reaches their prime by the age 16. With cores, however, that is sped up. Both mature completely at 12. Now, while I understand mana quite well, I can't exactly tell you why this is. However, considering mana also extends a persons lifespan, with the oldest human going from barely reaching 80 with no core to reaching 200 to 250 with a core, my personal theory is that mana has strong ties to the life of the world, since it permeates everything."

Raising my hand, I asked "So what was the longest recorded lifespans of dogskin and demons without a core?"

"Dogkin was around 60, while demon was around 200. With cores, dogkin have 350, while demons... well, the oldest demon is still alive, and her name is Lilith. If I remember correctly... she is around 2500 years old..."

Arch Mage Kolia must have seen my face fall slightly, hearing that, in theory, Jahi would live much, much longer than I could ever, as she followed it up with "However, there are quite a few ways to increase your lifespan. The bond you two share is one of the ways; it is quite literally a soul bond. Kat, you won't die unless Jahi dies. Conversely, Jahi will continue to live even if you die. You are quite lucky in some ways, as that bond is almost impossible to create, as only fiends can create one. Few fiends are still around, and even fewer are willing to create a bond like that. In fact, the only ones I am aware of are Ka'Hondi, a fiend of Blood, War, and Death. The other is Tza'Yul, a fiend of Magic and Knowledge. So, hopefully you two can at least be cordial to one another..."

As if in response, Jahi pulled me onto her lap. Chuckling, Arch Mage Kolia shook her head.

"Anyways, Mana is, more than likely, tied directly to life. As I am sure you both are already aware, there are crystals that are infused with elemental mana. These form in specific places. For example, a desert will produce fire crystals and sometimes wind crystals. Forests and plains will produce earth and wind crystals. Rivers, lakes, and the ocean produce water crystals. There are very rare cases of advanced magic crystals. For example, the crown the Empress wears is actually a carved metal crystal, adorned with additional fire crystals. The Northern most territory, the Dukedom of Blizzards, has a few ice crystals. The Elven Lands have some nature crystals, while the Thorin County in the west has a lightning crystal. Light or Darkness Crystals are almost unheard of, with the only sightings being inside the Labyrinthian. Space and Time crystals... well, we haven't seen wielders of those magics in well over a millennia, so let's not even talk crystals."

"Miss Kolia, what is the Labyrinthian?"

I could feel Jahi's breath on my cheek, as she rested her head on my shoulder.

"Hmm... The Labyrinthian is a large, well, labyrinth. Located in the center of the continent, it is almost reminiscent of a city of monsters. Every monster we know of originates from the Labyrinthian. Additionally, the closer a monster is the the Labyrinthian, the stronger it is. Take slimes, for example. As you are now, you could easily kill a slime. However, if we crossed the border into the land of the Labyrinthian, those same slimes would slowly get stronger. Their corrosive properties would be amplified, they would become capable of splitting, and they could gain access to elemental mana and spells. In fact, another weak monster here, in the Empire of Ash, the fire lizard, could become a drake if allowed to reach the Labyrinthian."

Jahi nodded, and I pursed my lips. Learning that we were so close to a supercharger for monsters was quite worrying, and this was amplified by the fact that the House Asmodia seemed to be responsible for any monster outbreaks or things like that, as we were on the border of the Labyrinthian.

The lesson ended, causing my view of the future to slowly become mixed; excitement to be able to use magic, as well as anxiety for what could happen if an outbreak happened soon...

That night, after our bath together, I clung to Jahi, taking solace in her warmth. I could feel her stiffen slightly, before pulling me closer. Usually she was the one to make the first move, so for me to do so...

Slowly stroking my hair, she held me close to her, not saying a word.

Hearing the familiar 'Ding!' in my mind, I saw the notification:

[Daily XP - 187.5]

[Level 6 (844/759)]

[Level 6 -> Level 7 (85/1138.5)]

[I'm guessing you wish to save the stat point?]

'Correct'

After looking at my new level, and the required xp, I did the math and realized in roughly 6 days I would level up again, if I kept gaining the 187.5 a day. Sighing, I closed my eyes, deciding to sleep.

~~~

Weeks passed by in a blur.

Baroness Estra was as nice as ever, and taught us many dances. Since we had started with the most formal, she slowly eased up, teaching us which dance is to be used when. For example, the waltz is used in most occasions, namely the beginning of most balls and special events hosted by upper nobility. However, there were variations of the waltz to be used for specific occasions; One used as a courtship dance, one used for lovers, one for family, and so on. Memorizing these were quite difficult, and what made these weeks semi torture was Jahi. When we were learning the courtship and lover dances, she let her hands roam more than they should have, causing both the Baroness and I to discipline or reprimand her. Sadly, the more we did so, the worse Jahi got, taking it as motivation to continue. Though, if I had to guess it was simply because my reprimands were quite weak, as I was usually on cloud nine when she showed her knowing smirk.

After those eventful mornings, and even more stressful baths, I was bored to death during the completely useless class taught by Baron Jilk. The man seemed completely tone deaf, as he taught us about the 'Magnificent' and 'Perfect' Kingdom that exited to the West. At first, hearing his passion to teach made me forgive him in the beginning, as he taught with a fervor most teachers in my old life lacked. However, when he got into the ruling class of said Kingdom, telling us how it was ruled by men for men, we both frowned. Ignoring us and continuing, he went into a spiel about how amazing it was, and that the only reason he moved from that Kingdom to our Empire was that the academics here were superior. He would go on and on about this Kingdom, however when it came to teaching us about the Sultanate of Red Sands on the March Asmodia's northern border, he spoke with disdain, claiming it was only a matter of time until it fell, mainly due to it being ruled by the Sultana Anubi, a Jackalkin who rose from being a slave girl. When I read her story, hearing how she rose from nothing, led a rebellion, and made her country better than it had ever been before, I stopped listening to the Baron.

Even when we told the Marquess and Countess about this, they could only shrug, claiming that, sadly, they needed him here simply to show that Jahi was being taught. Apparently the Nobility would scorn and claim that Jahi was unfit to be among them if she was 'uneducated'.

Both of us scoffed at that, however we had to continue going to his 'classes', with both of us tuning him out or simply picking up a book and learning on our own.

Now, learning magic with Arch Mage Kolia... well, both of us always held her past her scheduled time, asking her question after question, debating theories with her, and simply begging her to continue the lesson. We learned about the basics of monsters, continued to learn about sequences, and even had a project where we had to create a ritual circle, which was two large circles, the area between the two filled with various sequences. It took us two weeks to create a ritual circle for an earth spike trap. Having to create an activation sequence, the earth spike sequence, and sizing it just right was extremely difficult, but when we finished and powered it with an earth crystal, both of us were so excited to see it work.

Every day ended the same; Jahi wrapping me in her embrace, holding me tight as we both slowly fell asleep. And everyday I would see my level rising, until it looked like this after 32 days.

[Level 7 (85/1138.5) -> Level 7 (6085/1138.5)

Level 7 -> Level 8 (4946.5/1708)

Level 8 -> Level 9 (3238.5/2562)

Level 9 -> Level 10 (676.5/3843)]

Now, I had 5 stat points and 2 skill points. After spending 4 of my five skill points, my stats looked like:

[Katherine Zara - Dogkin

Age - 4

Level - 10 (676.5/3843)

Stats:

STR - 5 (10)

CON - 7 (14)

AGI - 5 (10) -> 6 (12)

DEX - 7 (14)

CHA - 8 (16)

WIS - 6 (12) -> 7 (14)

INT - 7 (14)]

However, tonight was different. Tomorrow was Jahi's day. She would awaken her core tomorrow...

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So, Monday was a bust huh? That's on me. I sat and binged all of Shikimori and Spy x Family yesterday...

Anyways, I should be back to daily uploads, though this weekend might be a bit... rough since I work at Amazon, and it's prime week... so yeah...

Also, first mini timeskip, won't have another for a few chapters, as I want to show Jahi learning to control her magic and more of just their interactions, and less of the classes.

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