Chapter 330

"I have a question before we begin." I asked as we enjoyed some basic tea. I didn't have many amenities available, but I don't think he would hold it against me considering the circumstances.

"Please." He gestured for me to continue.

"If you're going to be my teacher, even for a brief moment, would everything we speak about fall under student-teacher confidentiality?"

Or to put it into simple terms, are you going to blab about everything you find out about me? Just because I didn't have any stakes in this world, it didn't mean I wanted to just make my personal stuff known.

He furrowed his brow, obviously getting the gist of what I was implying. "I will not speak about anything unless it may be a danger."

How open ended and vague. Oh well, I suppose that's more than I really need considering my lack of actual ties here.

And he didn't really strike me as someone who could be coy or skirt around any verbal agreement but adhere to the spirit of it.

I could be wrong, but it was what my gut was telling me.

"You said you were the former Captain of the Kido Corps back in Soul Society, can I ask you more about that or is it something you don't want to talk about? I know Yoruichi was hesitant to say anything about his time in Soul Society, only that he was banished some time ago. I don't want to poke any sore spots by accident."

"Yes, Yoruichi did mention that." He pushed up his glasses. "It is not something we generally mention to….outsiders."

"As I told him before, it wasn't hard to put two and two together with the amount of information he told me."

"A valid point, Wilhelm-dono." He nodded still using that very polite honorific with me. "There are thirteen divisions among Soul Society, and there is a division specialized for those who pursue Kidō above all else. I led that division until an incident occurred and myself and Yoruichi along with some others were banished due to our crimes."

"Thank you for sharing. I assume you don't want this kind of thing spread around?"

"Yes, thank you for understanding, Wilhelm-dono." He replied.

I waived it off. Not really hard to do, and I'm not really one for sharing other's secrets, especially when they don't really cause any issues. If he and Yoruichi are living openly, I'm sure there isn't any large concern and it's just for personal privacy and what-not.

"I assume you want to ask me some stuff then?" I gave him an opening to shift the topic.

"Yes." He smiled rather happily. "Yoruichi simply told me that you are a 'Wizard' who calls himself a Magus'. I admit to being ignorant of Humans in what they refer to as 'magic'. I may no longer be the Captain of the Kidō corps, but my interests have never wavered."

"The general term is Magus. Wizard is more of a title for certain individuals. I suppose it wouldn't be wrong to equate it to your use of Captain, even if it isn't a direct correlation. But yes, a Magus by definition is someone who practices Magecraft."

"A fascinating description." His eyes lit up. "Can you tell me about 'Magecraft'?"

Well, he's going to tell me about kidō, so It's fair I suppose. "The barest definition of Magecraft would be any natural phenomena that could be achieved by mundane means regardless of time or effort, but simply using Magical Energy to facilitate the process."

I held up my hand in front of us. "I'll give you an example. A person can easily buy a lighter from the store and produce a flame, yes? Well…." I created a small flame above my palm. "I did the same through Magical Energy, thus it is Magecraft."

"Marvelous." He praised with clear interest. "I was not aware that such a group existed."

"Magi congregate towards the west, mostly in Europe and London." I replied.

He continued to look at the flame on my hand. "…..you are not using Reishi nor Reiryoku."

"Noticed that, huh?"

"It seems the shop owner is going to be most displeased that he missed this opportunity." Tensei muttered.

"Shop owner?"

He blinked, nodding again. "Yoruichi and I were not the only ones who were banished." He said simply without further explanation and I didn't push.

"You're right." I clenched my hand, snuffing out the flame. "Magical Energy isn't just another name for the spiritual equivalent. There are some very heavy similarities, but it's like comparing Salt Water to Fresh Water. You all thrive in Salt Water and process it without even a second thought. While Magi such as myself exist in Fresh Water and can't normally coexist in a Salt Water habitat."

"A curious comparison, and not one I can find fault with based on what I have seen so far." He rubbed his chin. "And what is Magical Energy?"

"Magical Energy can generally be broken down into three different types, like your Spiritual Energy. You have the ambient Magical Energy – Mana. Like how Reishi exists in the air, so too does Mana. However, Mana seems to contain the more physical characteristics of the world, compared to the spiritual component of Reishi."

"That would explain why this is not common knowledge. As Shinigami – Spirits exist in a state that would make coming into contact with the….physical aspect of the living world difficult."

It wasn't a perfect explanation, calling Mana physical in comparison. But it also wasn't wrong either considering that it's something only living beings should be able to properly generate. Such as Servants not being able to produce their own under normal circumstances. There was obviously much more nuance to it than that, but it would take hours to explain in depth.

"Mana comes from the planet itself." I added.

"And as beings that are 'born' from a different plane of reality, I can understand why we are not accustomed to this energy as you are." He sipped his tea. "Yes, it makes sense."

Well, Servants are still extensions of the world, thus they operate on Magical Energy. Not to mention that Reishi like this isn't a driving force everywhere else. It's something almost unique to this world that I've discovered.

Truthfully, this is mostly just my hypothesis on the nature of Magical Energy and Spiritual Energy.

"Moving on. Like Reishi, we have Mana. And like Reiryoku we have Od. Or, the Magical Energy that each person produces by just existing."

"And once one stops existing as you put it, they lose the production of this Od and it turns into our domain." He summarized.

"That is my belief, yes." I said plainly. "And lastly, you have the combination of the two. It has several names such as Prana that different generations use. But it's fairly common just to use the sweeping term of Magical Energy when referring to any aspect of this process unless one needs to be specified for any reason."

"You are saying that these Magi, as you put it, are…..absorbing Mana from the air?" He questioned.

"More or less, yeah?"

"Curious." He set his cup down. "Tell me, have you ever heard of people known as 'Quincy'?"

"That's my first time hearing the name. What are Quincy?"

"Hmm." He hummed, looking thoughtful. "Quincy are a race of spiritually aware humans that are able to….subjugate Reishi and mold it to their own use. Shinigami are unable to do such and only can make do with our own Reiryoku."

"Oh?" Now that's pretty interesting. "And are they numerous?"

"I am afraid not." He shook his head. "There is an unfortunate side effect of a Quincy's existence. Unlike Shinigami who purify Hollows and send their souls through the proper cycle upon death, Quincy….destroy the souls contained within a Hollow. Due to this, they have run afoul of Soul Society many years ago and were destroyed."

"….and Quincy are Spiritually aware. A simple way of saying they have a substantially higher amount of Reiatsu than a normal person. Which in turn attracts more Hollows to them."

"Correct." He nodded.

"A lose-lose situation all around. I can't comment on how your Soul Society handled this Quincy group, but it sounds like there was no plausible alternative when Shinigami exist to protect the supposed Balance of souls."

From what I understand, Hollows eat souls. That is to say, they absorb them and turn them into power. The one's I've faced, they probably only had about a dozen or so souls they've feasted on. When I killed the first one, I made sure that all of those souls were released back to the natural cycle. If a Quincy kills a Hollow, they aren't simply killing the Hollow's soul in that case. If it were such, I don't think Soul Society would kick up as much as a fuss. No, they were most likely killing the Hollow and all the souls it ate.

How many souls would an older Hollow have consumed? Hundreds, Thousands?

Yeah, that just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

I don't know much about these groups, but it sounded genuinely like a bad situation for all involved and drastic measures were taken.

He seemed to take a minute to digest everything. "You wish to try and learn Kidō, I admit to being unsure if a living being is capable of learning. Yoruichi should have mentioned the relation between a physical body and Spiritual Power."

"Briefly, but I understand the gist of it. My Body is more or less a barrier to actualizing any Kidō spells. I suppose that a physical body is literally a barrier now that I've had time to think about it. Soul à Body à World. You, as Spirits, go directly from Soul to world, while my body stands in the way."

"An astute observation. Your theory matches my own and that of my cohorts. It is the reason that humans cannot be Shinigami…..in normal circumstances."

"Like the carrot head I met before."

"Yes, Kurosaki Ichigo is an interesting child."

"Speaking of, I saw Rukia do something to him that basically pulled his soul out of his body. A red glove or something…."

"Ah, yes. That child's luck is either very good or very bad. Due to having a Shinigami transfer him their powers, his body and soul aren't as…..intertwined as you would expect. His Soul chain is not damaged in the slightest by separating from his body. However, one cannot say the same for another living being. Unfortunately, this path would not provide results if it was something you were considering."

"It was a thought, but nothing more than a minor interest. I don't think separating my body from my soul is the correct course of action." I waived it off.

I rely too much on my body for everything.

I feel like they were being vague when talking about Ichigo. They kept referring to it as 'unique' circumstances, but from what they've also said, it's known, that transferring a Shinigami's powers to a human can happen…..so how unique is it really?

Well, not my business.

"I am most curious to see how this experiment goes. I have written down the incantations for the first ten Kidō spells for both branches. Regardless of if I am able to help you down this path, these are yours per the deal you made with Yoruichi." Tessai pulled a little book out of his pocket, setting it on the table.

"Well, let's start from the beginning." I clapped my hands. "Yoruichi showed me what should be the first spell in the Hadō branch. Shō, I believe?"

"Yes, a very simple yet elegant spell." Tessai nodded again. "As you probably know by now, a spell requires the incantation to actualize– I believe you used this term. Shō is one of the few that does not have an extended incantation. The simplicity of the spell requires no such adherents, as well as several others in the list that are below level ten. While every spell requires the incantation to be spoken, it is possible to remove the need for the extended portion at an increase of Reiatsu cost and a decrease in output."

"So it's more expensive and weaker if you want to trade for speed. Not an unfair trade depending on the circumstances. And the first spell is simply the name?"

"Correct, allow me to show you once more. I merely need a target –"

"I got you." I started standing up. I moved to the edge of the room and set down a piece of chest armor. One of the many random things I had gathered from my time in Skyrim. Seeing how the spells work against a forged piece of iron would be best.

"That shall work." Tessai raised his hand up as I stood away, his finger extended. Though he looked interested in how I just made it appear, it seems like he was keeping this professional. "Hadō #1 Shō." He intoned.

The same invisible force shot out, something I would compare to a use of my Telekinesis if used in a small burst. Though, this spell felt much more coherent and refined than my Telekinesis. Considering the origin, I suppose it isn't that strange.

It collided with the iron armor, creating a solid and round dent at the center.

"Can the power be altered?"

"Yes, by pouring more Reiatsu into the spell, it can produce a more powerful effect." He held up his finger again, and I could see a more significant amount of Reiatsu gather around him in a blue hue. "Hadō #1 Shō." He intoned again, and this time a much larger force shot out.

The chest of the armor caved inward, the spell tearing right through it and colliding with the wall behind.

"Interesting." I muttered, inspecting the damage.

And I didn't feel an iota of Magical Energy contained within. If I can harness a whole Magic System not dependent on Magical Energy…..how significant would that be against that demon I fought that claimed supremacy over Magecraft?

Not to mention I plan on getting my hands on a Zanpakutō….

"The spell words seem very important to the spell itself, which is odd from my point of view. Most spells that I cast don't have true – " I paused for a moment, considering what I would say. "—Words of Power. They're Arias, help to facilitate the casting but not required." I held my own finger out, almost mimicking what he did, I instead shaped my Telekinesis into the form of a bullet and launched it at the piece of armor.

"I see." His eyes flashed as he watched me inquisitively. "A similar effect, but I barely sensed the movement of Reiatsu from you. It seemed to be more a by-product of your display rather than an intentional act on your part."

"Right, I think my Reiatsu just moves naturally and gets aggravated when I cast spells through the use of my Magical Energy. Now that I think about it, Yoruichi mentioned that Onmyōji were somewhat popular at some point. Didn't you say that humans couldn't cast spells with their Spiritual Power due to the limitations of a body?"

"Correct." He didn't deny it. "Kidō arts were created by Shinigami, they are tailored for spirits to begin with. The way our Reiatsu flows out in correlation to the casting of each spell. I have not researched Onmyōji in detail, but there are two prevailing theories. One is that they merely created their own system that siphons off their own excess Reiatsu through various means to cast spells. The second is that they are an offshoot of Quincy with the ability to subjugate Reishi, negating the problem."

That makes sense then, why would Spirits care about their stuff working for living beings? Though it does lend credence to the theory of living beings being able to accomplish what I'm trying.

"And should you not be the expert on this? Yoruichi spoke about your use of similar arts when meeting you." He added.

"I use Magical Energy." I shrugged. "And my learning was by my own hand, I don't really have any teachers for it."

"Perhaps I am wrong on both accounts then. Maybe it was mistaken for either of those and you are correct with your own." He responded. "Regardless, let us see what we're working with. It has been a very long time since I have attempted to teach someone Kidō, much less a Human. I am eager to see what we can accomplish."

Well, it didn't really seem complicated on the surface.

I held up a finger just as he did. "Hadō #1 Shō." I spoke the words clearly and fluently. I felt my Reiatsu stir but it was strange, almost as if it wanted to move, but couldn't. As a result, nothing happened.

"I felt your Reiatsu flare up briefly." Tessai noted.

"Yeah, felt like it wanted to go forward, but hit a wall and reluctantly backed away." I frowned, feeling my Reiatsu, what I had gathered so far in my soul.

Which….was exactly what we were expecting, to be honest.

"As expected. However, I have thought up some experiments, perhaps we can discover a means to overcome this." Tessai said a little excitedly.

I'm all for some magical study.

[***]

"Please note down experiment number 73." I started as Tessai sat at the table, taking notes.

"Experiment number 73. Releasing Reiatsu from one's body, then attempting to follow the same pathways and cast. Begin when you are ready." Tessai gave me the go ahead.

I breathed out, letting my Reiatsu flow out. I didn't have that much, and what I had was starting to run out, but the blue shimmering energy flowed out. While not the same as pulling on the pool of Reiatsu to facilitate the casting, it was providing some results in that I could feel the spell getting closer to casting.

If my body was a dam, one side had water while the other was dry. The water being my pool of Reiatsu, simply splashing some over the edge wasn't the same as taking a congruent stream to fold into my desired effect.

"Hadō #1 Shō." I repeated the words I have spoken dozens of times at this point, aiming at the same target.

"Excellent." Tessai's eyes flickered happily.

"Still a failure." I lowered my arm.

"However, there was a gathering of Reiatsu at the tip your finger, even if the spell failed once more. This is progress."

"Agreed, but we're still a ways off." I noted, looking out the window and the sun had already set.

"Hmm, it appears that our time has reached the conclusion. You are low on Reiatsu anyways, perhaps this is a good stopping point." Tessai closed the book.

I let out a breath, stretching my arms. "Oh well, I guess it's that time. Even if it was only for one evening, I do appreciate the help you provided."

"The pleasure was mine, Wilhelm-dono. I have learned many things myself and it was a pleasant experience to exchange knowledge with someone who shares my same passion."

I held my hand up as he gave it a firm shake.

The promise was only for someone to come by and teach me, not for him to become my personal tutor for how long it would take for me to master everything. Regardless, I had a book listing the spells in both branches from one to ten. And it wasn't the same as what I was used to. Learning the incantations was paramount to casting the spells, which means that self-study is enough to get them correct with some time and effort.

"I shall be heading back, Wilhelm-dono. If you have free time, you are welcome to stop by the shop I help manage. Our discussions were very intriguing and I look forward to more in the future."

"Thank you for your time again, Tessai. I'll be sure to stop over when I have time." I gave him one last thanks goodbye as he departed.

I watched his figure disappear from the area, heading back towards town.

I breathed out, letting my Aura that I had been keeping heavily contained seep back out.

Truthfully, I felt a little bad for keeping this a secret, but I wasn't one to divulge everything to people I just met.

I will properly thank him later, because I figured out the solution to my problem near the end there. The additional testing did serve to support my theory, now I just needed to test it for myself.

My body is a Dam. So I need to move water from one side to the other. He helped me with how I should go about releasing my Reiatsu, but that wasn't enough in the end.

Once more, my Aura becomes a magnificent bridge between my physical stature and my spiritual existence.

The manifestation of the soul.

Even more than my Magic Circuits. I attempted to channel the Reiatsu through my Circuits, but it was excruciatingly painful and I had to bullshit an excuse to Tessai.

It's a simple thought on the surface, but the testing with Tessai allowed me to figure out the correct method.

My Aura would be the bridge.

It's not that my Aura would be involved in the casting, it wouldn't deplete in any capacity. However, my Reiatsu seemed to flow fluidly and without obstruction as my Aura pulled it out of my body.

"Hadō #1 Shō." I raised my finger up once more at the armor chest piece sitting at the side.

An invisible force shot off like a bullet, colliding with it, making a sizable dent.

I began cackling happily.

With this, I could begin learning Kidō properly.

Once I mastered these spells, it was only a matter of getting my hands on the others.

That and a Zanpakutō.

…..Maybe I should pay a visit to this Soul Society?

[***]

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