Dimensions Collide: Destiny Bond Chapter 95: Exam Season pt. 5

Chapter 95: Exam Season pt. 5

Everyone was gathered in the magical engineering building, where large quantities of materials and resources could be used. Danjo’s exam was different from everyone else’s. As Magical Engineering wasn’t necessarily a combat-oriented skill, there was no need to see an engineer’s combat talent.

The watching area was significantly smaller than before. Still, once again, it wasn’t like all that many people were interested in watching potential students make magical trinkets, especially considering how long a task like that could take.

“What do you think he’ll make?” Celeste mused, resting her chin in her hands.

They were sitting on a few chairs in front of a sizeable workshop-like setting with various crafting tables and tools. The sll of freshly cut wood, hot tal and smoke filled the air, mixing with the foul odours of oil and sweat. The ground was covered with sawdust, bits of scrap and other things, making a ssy yet orderly room. One would think a place like this would have so sort of invention that would clean all these things up, but then again, it was part of the atmosphere.

The examinees were scurrying about, gathering tools and materials to assemble whatever project they had in mind. Prota yawned, trying to stay interested but finding it hard, especially since such a process took ti.

“Did he say anything to you?” John said, also stifling a yawn.

“No, not really,” Destiny said, shaking his head. “I an, he told us not to worry, right? So let’s just trust in his abilities.”

The dwarf did seem a lot more serious than usual, his usual nervous attitude replaced by one of focus and intent. He’d get flustered when grabbing a set of ores or a sheet of tal to use, but when he had his tools in his hands, it was as if he were in a domain under his command. Each cut, each solder, and each implentation of magic energy and ore were done with precision and grace. The teachers strolled through the area, checking each examinee’s progress, but even that wasn’t enough to snap Danjo out of his world.

It seed Danjo was making a harness of sorts, just a rough endoskeleton made of tal tubes welded together to sit on the user’s back like so kind of backpack, with two lines running along the arms like a kind of sleeve with gloves that sat uncomfortably on one’s hands. A few ores and runes were being used for effortless fluidity and control, but what was interesting to both John and Destiny was the tubes running back and forth.

“...hey, isn’t that-” Destiny started.

“Destiny. Did you teach him about hydraulics?” John frowned.

“Well, just the concept, but-”

“Isn’t that what he’s making?”

It wasn’t wholly a hydraulic system. Obviously, so things weren’t perfect, but at the sa ti, those errors could easily be replaced with magic and materials that didn’t exist on Earth. New liquids could provide a much larger force than oil, allowing for the thin tubes to provide massive amounts of energy that wouldn’t normally be possible.

John wasn’t a master of hydraulics and physics himself. The introduction of unknown materials served to prevent him from understanding what was going on even further. Still, it was interesting to watch, even with the rudientary knowledge he held. He looked around, seeing various devices such as improvents on water flow devices, heating devices, and various enchantnts on weapons and tools, but they were all things that already existed. They were all things that were being used. In short, none of them were “inventions.”

“Magic has slowed down progress,” Destiny said quietly as he watched, coming to the sa conclusion as John. “Since life is comfortable enough, there are no innovators. No inventors. Since artifacts can be found naturally, no one needs to craft them.”

John nodded. “So Danjo is…”

“The first Artificer the world has seen in a while. Yeah.”

Prota eventually grew hungry, so they left to go get sothing to eat. When they returned, Danjo was just as focused as he’d been before. The fra and device were really coming together. The room, however, seed less busy now. So of the students were gone, presumably having finished or being sent out early.

Student after student left, leaving their finished products on the table. Soon, it was just Danjo.

“...kid, I hate to break your focus, but it’s just you. Are you sure you want to continue?” Orson Venomfang said, walking up.

Standing in a stiff suit and tie, paired with his thin glasses and slicked-back hair, he seed more like a lawyer than a professor.

“Just a bit more,” Danjo muttered, tweaking a few components. “Just a little bit more.”

“What is that, if I may ask? It seems like an exoskeleton for a golem, but you are clearly intending to wear it. Besides, we have enchantnts for golems already. What are you trying to make?”

Danjo looked up, putting the fra down.

“Well, sir, it’s a harness for ordinary people,” he explained.

“For ordinary people?” Orson frowned.

“The average person can use mana reinforcent, but no matter what, their physical strength will never reach that of fighters. However, with this, the machine will support weight that even so talented fighters may not even be able to reach.”

“Oh?” Orson said, intrigued. “And how might that work?”

“Well…”

John tuned the explanation out. It wasn’t that he wanted to. It was more so that he was forced to do so, with the words making up the explanation being muted by so outside force. John could still see the mouths moving, and Danjo’s voice was still audible, but it was as if it were getting muffled through a pillow, distorting the words.

“...you don’t know how it works either, do you?” he muttered to an unseen being, stretching.

Was the [Story] being written from his perspective, perhaps? Surely not. His thoughts and words weren’t being broadcast, right?

“...I understand,” John finally heard.

Danjo’s eyes were shining as he finished his explanation. The boy really did turn into a whole other person the minute artificing was involved.

“Thank you, sir,” Danjo said, putting his creation down and running over to the group.

“Hydraulics, eh?” Destiny grinned, putting the dwarf in a headlock while rubbing his head. “How’d you even think of that?”

“Well, you gave the idea,” Danjo said bashfully. “But isn’t it cool?”

“Hell yeah, it’s cool!” Destiny exclaid. “But why a harness? What made you think of that?”

“Ah. Well…” Danjo grew shy, seemingly embarrassed.

“What?”

“It was actually John who gave the idea.”

John’s head whipped around. He looked at the harness before looking back at Danjo.

“...?”

“Yeah. Rember when you brought up a suit of armour that could be powered by magic? Sothing that even a caster could wear into battle?”

“I an, I said sothing like that, but-”

“This is just the start. I can do it. I know I can.”

“Well… I an, good for you, Danjo,” John said awkwardly.

He’d brought up a powered armour suit in passing, mainly as an idea that’d passed his mind while thinking about [Stories], but it seed Danjo had enjoyed the idea. He shuddered while imagining a fully armoured dwarf storming into battle with lasers and rockets. John didn’t know whether to fear it or look forward to it.

~~~

Everyone was done with their exams, but there were still a few days left before the portals would open up and people could go ho. Destiny went out to try the training grounds, and Celeste followed him with nothing else to do. Danjo wanted to check out the blacksmithing grounds, so John and Prota were left alone.

“...what now?” John mused.

“Eat,” Prota said, standing up.

With her map of the island mostly complete, Prota knew exactly where she wanted to go and wasted no ti in getting there. Heading toward a cafe, she walked in, looking around. John followed and was greeted with the sll of freshly brewed coffee and hot pastries.

“Hello there!” the man at the counter called out. “Ah, test takers, I see. Looking around?”

“Yeah, sothing like that,” John mumbled as he looked around the store.

It was cozy, with students sitting at tables, so chatting in groups, or others hunched over papers, studying furiously. The walls and furniture were all so kind of wood, worn down and aged, infusing the air with oak and pine, giving the place a hoy, warm kind of feel. Pastries were sitting on platforms covered with glass, revealing the pastries John had slled while coming in. Prota stared at them with wide eyes, swallowing before looking up at her brother, who simply sighed.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not ant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“...is there a way to buy these?” he asked the vendor.

“Ah, not really,” the man said apologetically. “I assu you’re not familiar with how things work around here.”

“Yeah. Can you explain?”

“Well, students are given tokens at the beginning of a sester. Y’can spend ‘em at the various shops around here. Since food is provided, tokens are just a luxury item, if you know what I an. But I haven’t t a student who doesn’t want more of ‘em.”

“Right, got it,” John said slowly.

It was a good system. It encouraged students to have a competitive nature and do more than they were asked, but it wasn’t required to live an average life. One could eat and sleep well without ever using a single token during their entire stay.

“So us being here is pointless, I guess,” John shrugged.

Prota’s head drooped in disappointnt.

“Ah, I’ll tell you what. You seem like good kids. One order, on the house.”

Prota’s head shot right back to the food items, her brain working furiously to decide what she wanted.

“John,” she finally said, pointing to a muffin. “That one.”

“I’ll get two of those. What kinda coffee do you guys have?” John asked.

“What kind d’ya want?”

“You got sothing vanilla flavoured? And iced?”

“Coming right up.”

The two muffins were promptly given to the duo, and Prota wasted no ti taking a bite. Her eyes shone as she chewed. This didn’t tell John much, since the standards to satisfy her were relatively low, but upon taking a bite, he found the items to be incredibly satisfactory.

The pastry was light and fluffy, the dough chewy and sweet. Bits of chocolate and blueberry were buried inside, rich and decadent in flavour. It wasn’t so heavy that it was hard on the stomach, but at the sa ti, it was imnsely satisfying.

“One iced vanilla coffee. Ah, I see you’re enjoying the food,” the man said with a twinkle in his eye.

“It’s good,” John said, staring at the half-eaten muffin with wide eyes. “What do you guys do to get it like this?”

“Ah, it’s just the ingredients given to us. The crops and animals raised here are pretty darn good, even compared to the stuff those royals on the mainland get.”

“I see…”

“You two have a good one.”

A bell rang as the two left the shop, John sipping on his drink. He wasn’t a huge fan of coffee, but he had to admit that this drink was pretty good. Prota asked for a sip but turned away after trying it. Probably too bitter for her taste. Well, it wasn’t like she needed the caffeine, anyway.

“Oh, it’s you!”

John turned around as a voice called out. Running toward them were the brother and sister Prota had fought against during her exam. Now that she wasn’t up on a mountain, fighting for her life, she could get a better view of them.

Both stood at the sa height, about a head taller than her. The similarities between the two ended there.

The girl wore a simple blue dress, gold earrings hanging in front of her light blue hair, tied neatly in a ponytail. What stood out, though, was her incredibly cheerful smile. It was almost too bright, even for Prota. Her body was thin, yet elegant, akin to a dancer's.

The boy was wearing a uniform of sorts. His hair was spiky, but what stood out even more was the flaming red colour. There were a few scars on his face and hands, light ones, but they were noticeable. His expression was much rougher, but he didn’t seem to be looking for a fight.

“You’re the one we fought on that mountain, right?” the girl said. “You were crazy!”

“Hey, she beat us, don’t forget that,” the boy grumbled. “Why’re you being so friendly?”

“Well, we don’t know anyone here, right? Isn’t it good to make friends?”

Prota froze up, unsure of what to do. Why were these people approaching her? Did they want sothing?

“Ah, my na is Lilith. This here is Ryan. He’s my twin brother. Ignore his scowl, he’s actually a huge softie.”

“Hey-”

“What’s your na?” Lilith said, ignoring her brother’s scowls.

“...Prota.”

Prota was incredibly nervous, to the point where she was freezing up. What was she supposed to do here?

“Prota? Well, Prota. Let’s be friends!”

Prota flinched. “F-friends?”

“Yeah!”

The girl was so overwhelmingly positive that it was hard not to get swept up in her flow.

“Lilith, stop bothering the poor girl. You’re stressing her out. Sorry about that,” Ryan said, grabbing his sister by the back of her dress.

“A- ah, friends… if that’s ok…” Prota spoke before she knew what she was saying, but the expression on Lilith’s face brightened.

“Really? Great! Ryan, co on, you too-”

“We’re going,” Ryan said firmly.

“Co on! I want to fight her again.”

“...fight?” Prota said hesitantly.

Prota tilted her head to the side. Fight? Surely they didn’t an they wanted to fight in a literal sense, right?

“Don’t you want to see what she’s really capable of? I was watching you, you know? You’re incredible!”

“...?” Prota said, her eyes wide as she pointed to herself.

“Yeah! Co on, I wanna spar with you. Please?”

“Lilith-” Ryan started.

“Oh, don’t be such a stiff. I know you wanna see it too, right?”

Prota looked up at John, only to find he was no longer behind her. Looking around, she found him sitting on a bench with an interested expression on his face, staring blankly into empty space. Probably using his system to read or watch so kind of video. She ran over to him, getting his attention.

“Huh? What’s up?”

She pointed back at the sibling duo.

“Huh? What, are you asking for permission?”

“Well-”

“Why’re you asking sothing like that?” John frowned. “I’m not your mom. You’ll have to get used to a normal life anyway, right? Go do whatever you think is best.”

“But John-”

“I’ll be fine. Seriously, you worry way too much about .”

“John has… friends?”

John was surprised. That was what she was worried about? He was touched, but she didn’t need to worry.

“...does Zero count?”

“Zero is you,” Prota pointed out.

John rubbed the back of his head. He didn’t have a counterargunt for that.

“I’m not the one who needs friends, Prota. Don’t worry about it.”

“But-”

“The less friends I have- ah, that’s a little cringe. It’s whatever. I’ll be fine, really.”

The twins seed to be at a loss, but since Prota was spending more than just a few monts with John, it seed that they knew each other. However, as they got close, they found that he was also soone they recognized.

“Ah, you’re that guy!”

“...that guy?”

“The guy with the strange magical devices. I was watching the fighter exam. You were… well, uh… interesting,” Ryan said, trying to find the right word to describe John’s actions.

“...thanks?”

Lilith looked between John and Prota, trying to find the connection, but there was really little to see.

“Um… are you also friends?” she said after a mont.

John coughed awkwardly. “Oh. I’m her brother.”

“Her- ah, I see. I’m very sorry!”

“Uh… yeah, no problem. What’s up?”

“Well, I was asking your sister if she wanted to spar, but it seems she was asking you for permission. So…”

John looked at Prota.

“You were asking for permission to fight?”

~~~

Prota hadn’t thought she’d end up at the battlegrounds, but here she was, facing off against an enthusiastic Lilith, who was giving her two thumbs up. She looked back at John sitting on a chair nearby, but he just shrugged. She turned back to the fight. He made a good point. What was he supposed to do?

“Alright, then, let’s begin!”

Lilith held her hands out, her mouth moving. Prota couldn’t hear anything, but the girl was probably chanting a spell. Confused, she raised her hand and moved her mouth aninglessly, firing off an icicle. With the speed at which she’d fired, Lilith was forced to cancel her spell to avoid the attack.

“Wow! Your casting speed sure is fast. I guess I’ll have to step it up!”

She chanted again, quicker this ti, firing off an orb of water that flew toward Prota, but the smaller girl didn’t even dodge. Orb after orb flew toward Prota, but only a few of them needed dodging or blocking, while the rest could easily be avoided with a few minor adjustnts.

“What- what the…”

Lilith was at a loss for words. To her, it was as if so strange, unknown magic had completely invalidated her attacks. In Lilith’s defence, though, she’d never been in real combat. She didn’t know it was even possible for a caster to fight like that.

Still, she didn’t give up. To Prota’s surprise, Lilith just grinned, eager to see what would co next.

“Well, that just ans I have to try harder.”

Orbs of water began to form as Lilith took up her chant once more, but they weren’t being used to attack. Instead, they simply hovered, swirling around. Prota fired off another spell, but this ti, it was intercepted by an orb of water that flew out and caught the icicle, rendering both forms of magic useless. She frowned, firing off a fireball, but that, too, was intercepted.

“If I can’t catch you with sothing small, then I just need to go for sothing bigger, right?” Lilith grinned, pushing her hands outward. “Water vortex!”

A mini tornado of water, large enough that Prota couldn’t simply avoid it, began to form. Seeing how fast the vortex was spinning, it wasn’t sothing she could take lightly, either. With only one option left, she turned and ran. It didn’t matter, though. The spell continued to follow her as if it had a mind of its own.

Gritting her teeth, she mumbled, casting a burst of air onto her feet, allowing her to leap away and gain a significant amount of distance. In the short ti she had left, her brain ran through a dozen options and went with the one with the highest chance of working. Unfortunately, while her idea of placing an area of cold directly on the spell worked in a sense, all it did was freeze the water into ice, creating an even deadlier spell.

“Whoah!” Lilith exclaid, staring at her spell. “I didn’t know that could happen! How’d you do that?”

Prota was a little too preoccupied to listen to her opponent. She threw a fireball at it, which chunked so of the ice out, but it wasn’t enough. Spell after spell was cast, chipping away at the threat, but overall, it didn’t seem to be doing much. She started casting mana recovery, drawing mana out of her staff as she continued to replenish her strength, but another idea was forming in her mind.

She hadn’t been able to use Soul Steal during the exam. But there was no such restriction here, right?

She looked at Lilith and began reaching out, taking just a bit of mana. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to activate the requirents for Soul Copy, and that was all she needed. If the vortex wouldn’t stop chasing her, she’d just need sothing just as powerful.

Unfortunately, she failed to acquire any magic she didn’t already understand. Lilith’s mana was geared toward water and ice magic, but Prota already had so of that magic in her mind. She’d need to try sothing else.

Suddenly, Prota realized sothing. It was just the vortex coming after her. The caster was still watching on in awe, staring as her opponent ran around. She wasn’t paying attention to her own safety.

And if the caster were gone, surely the spell would disappear too, right?

It was worth a shot. Prota slowly gathered fire in her hands, getting fireball after fireball ready. While she flung one spell at the vortex, another spell was sitting in her hands, getting ready for the barrage. Soon, an imnse heat was at her fingertips, ready to be cast. It’d taken a chunk out of her reserves, but it was fine.

“Go,” she whispered, her hands flying out as the seemingly endless stream of fireballs began flying toward Lilith.

The girl’s eyes widened as she held her hands up, chanting a spell just in ti to block the attack. Unfortunately, her concentration had been broken, and the vortex chasing Prota was broken.

“W-wow,” Lilith muttered, falling to her knees. “It’s my loss. H-how’d you do that?”

Prota just tilted her head in confusion. What had she done that was so impressive? She hadn’t even used the majority of her trump cards.

“Your fighting,” Lilith exclaid, stumbling over her words in excitent. “It’s like that of a fighter, but you still fight like a caster. It’s not quite a battle mage, but…”

She got up to her feet, dusting her dress off. Despite that, her eyes were sparkling.

“Wow! I’ve made a really impressive friend!”

Prota walked over to the chairs and sat down, tired. Despite having been in multiple life-or-death fights, she found that it was way more tiring to hold back enough to keep her opponent alive. It was the sa with Hart. Her attacks were so oriented towards ending the fight as quickly as possible that it was actually harder to avoid seriously injuring her enemy.

“What kind of training did you do?” John asked casually as Lilith sat down.

She gladly accepted the water bottle Ryan handed her, gulping it down greedily before answering the question.

“Well, that’s… just so teachings from so professors here and there,” Lilith explained.

John frowned. “...were they any good?”

Prota smacked the back of his head, but it was too late. Ryan glared as if trying to kill with looks alone.

“Are you trying to say my sister’s weak?” he glared.

“Well, not weak, but definitely lacking in a few areas,” John shrugged. “Aim being one of them.”

“You-”

John didn’t look concerned. “Am I wrong?”

So of Lilith’s cheerfulness went away, which was more than enough of an answer.

“Who are you to talk smack about her?” Ryan growled, getting up.

He looked down at John, a scowl on his face.

“Well, it’s just my opinion,” John shrugged.

“Are you qualified to give said opinion?”

“I don’t know. Am I?”

The fiery boy pointed to the field.

“If you’re any weaker than , then no, you’re not qualified.”

“Oh, a fight?” John grimaced.

He wasn’t fond of beating children. Granted, there was no guarantee that he’d win, but after seeing Prota’s fight, he wasn’t very worried about the odds. Even if they could kill him in one hit, they had to land that hit first, and John was pretty confident in his ability to dodge.

“Really?” he said reluctantly.

Ryan nodded. “Really. I challenge you to a duel.”

With a long, drawn-out sigh, John got up reluctantly.

“Fine. Let’s do it.”