Wish Fulfillment System

Battle Maid Training Regimen - Volume Seven: Magic

The duties of a battle maid consist of housework and cooking, bookkeeping, the mastery of a multitude of weapons, espionage and counter-espionage, assassination and stealth, horseback riding, mastery of at least one Magic, and lastly, 'night duties'.

By studying this seventh volume, any maid in training should be set on the right path to obtaining magical capabilities. But why would this even be necessary? Wouldn't the court magicians already be sufficient to fulfill tasks of a magical nature? Of course not. As the servant of a prestigious lord, a maid's duty is to be competent in all areas, and to be capable of fulfilling their lord's every wish, no matter what it might be. It is irrelevant whether or not other people, or other servants, could carry out a particular task - a battle maid has to be able to do it herself.

Due to the harsh and staggeringly diverse nature of magic, however, such an ideal state can not be achieved, even by the most dedicated of maids. It is therefore recommended to focus on one of the other seven kinds of duties, and to choose a supplementary Magic which will enable the maid to excel in it even further. This way, the maid can at least be an outstanding servant in her particular area of expertise.

The path to such greatness all begins with the most fundamental decision: Choosing the correct Magic. Even you, dear reader, will have to make such a choice. Consequently, please answer a simple question: What is magic to you?

-----

"What in the world is this place!?"

With wide eyes, the shocked Mina scrutinized her surroundings cautiously. Right in front of her, maybe three meters ahead, there stood a rectangular mirror that was five meters wide and about seven meters tall. She herself stood upon a white platform in the middle of an endless darkness. This area that housed the mirror was the only one that was illuminated, but she had no idea why or how.

At first, this place reminded her of those expanses of emptiness that had accompanied her lord's trips beyond this world, and that also bordered his private world - but instinctively, she felt that this darkness… it was different. She couldn't determine the details, though.

In any case, this wasn't the most important, and scariest part.

Her body felt strange, as if she could barely exhibit any of the strength that she had recently acquired. It could just have been her imagination, but she appeared to be even weaker than back when tragedy had befallen her family.

Suddenly, a voice that sounded almost exactly like her own spoke directly to her mind.

'I asked you a question. What is magic to you?'

Frowning unhappily, the Chienthrope girl glared at her reflection in the mirror. It was a bit hard to make out at first, but the self that she could see within it was most definitely made up of letters of various colours.

'I ignored it for a bit, but this mirror really is weird. Why is it using my reflection to talk to me? Is this… a part of the process that I need to go through to obtain a custom Magic? For now, I should probably comply and see what happens.'

While she was spending some time thinking about how to respond to the inquiry, the mirror self stayed silent, calmly waiting for her now that she had chosen to play by its rules. About a minute or so later, she had an answer that she felt to be sufficient.

"It's a miracle which can turn the tides in desperate situations, but can also be of aid during daily life. It has the potential to be very useful in almost all scenarios."

The mirror self stared back at her with a slightly doubtful expression, but eventually nodded its head. Ever since the beginning, when the new arrival hadn't behaved as she should have, it had felt like there was something amiss, but due to Mina's current compliance, it couldn't yet determine exactly what it was. Of course, it could make some educated guesses. In any case, aside from that, her answer was indeed accurately enough portraying her true thoughts on the matter, so it could proceed.

'Why do you want to obtain the qualifications to wield such a miraculous tool?'

Without waiting for a response, the mirror self disappeared and was replaced by a scene that Mina couldn't be more familiar with - the day on which her parents had died and her lord had saved her as per their agreement. It was the day when everything had changed - simultaneously for the better, and for the worse.

Utter confusion could be seen on the dog girl's face. Why was she made to watch this memory of hers? And how was this even possible? Was this an attempt to torture her, or to daze her? It might even be possible that this was supposed to confront her with her core motivation, to enable her to come up with a good answer. Maybe, it was a combination of all of those - she simply couldn't tell. Only one thing was for sure: It was really weird and rude for someone to ask her a question, only to leave immediately after.

Although her parents were yet again being murdered in front of her very eyes, and her desperate escape had led her younger self to a dead end, the spectating Mina stayed remarkably calm. Her eyes reddened a little, and there was deep sadness reflected in her gaze, but this memory still couldn't rattle her any more than that. She had recalled these events countless times, and these scenes had haunted her. By now, she had grown numb to them, at least partially. The pain was still there, but she had become used to it, which was why she wasn't showing much of a reaction.

Once the mirror returned to 'normal' and her reflection reappeared, she had gathered herself again. With a slightly hostile glare, she looked straight into the other self's eyes. Dabbling with her memories like that was a little too intrusive for her liking, so she couldn't help but vent her frustrations, even though doing so definitely wasn't the wisest choice.

"Why show me this? My nightmares already do a good enough job of that, I don't need you to follow in their footsteps."

Slightly taken aback, the mirror self blinked twice, then it showed an understanding smile. For some reason, Mina thought that it looked a bit too smug and satisfied with itself.

'I see, that explains it all. You were never in any kind of trance to begin with. I had my suspicions, but I hadn't been entirely certain before this. Remarkable. For your mind to withstand such a high tier automated control influence, it has to be especially strong, or devoted to a sole purpose.'

Noticing that the young woman was growing annoyed at it having ignored her words of inquiry, the mirror self didn't continue to beat around the bush any longer.

'Just like you have already suspected, that memory was specifically chosen to help you find an answer to the second question that I asked you. I apologize, but to enable you to see clearly, it had to be the most impactful memory of your life. This way, you will be able to figure out a path towards realizing your ambitions and wishes.'

After a second or two, Mina's eyes widened in alarm and she staggered a step backwards, hastily adopting a combat-ready stance. She knew that it was most likely futile to do this, but it felt better than doing nothing at all.

"So you're telling me that you can read my thoughts!?"

An amused smirk played across the mirror self's lips, then it shook its head. The gaze with which it looked at her was similar to a maths professor observing an elementary schooler incorrectly solving an equation on the same level of difficulty as one plus one equals two.

'No, I cannot. The truth of the matter is far more simple than that. I have all the memories that you have made before you came here, so I can guess what you will think when confronted with certain situations or problems. As for why I have those memories? I am you, or rather, a part of you.'

Highly skeptical, Mina lowered her guard just the slightest amount. She obviously wouldn't fully trust her reflection. Its behaviour was off, and she highly doubted that she herself would ever behave in such a patronising manner towards herself.

Clearly seeing through her, however, the mirror self shook its head again.

'Although I am a part of you, I have only come to be because of the grimoire. Therefore, I am slightly different from you, and only exist to fulfill a singular purpose - to ask you questions, which will lead to you obtaining the qualifications to acquire a custom Magic of your own. With that said, please answer my second question: Why do you want to obtain the qualifications to wield such a miraculous tool? Take all the time in the world, there is no need to hurry.'

Because it was very well possible for the mirror self to have told her the truth, Mina grew silent. Upon reflecting upon this whole situation, she realized that it would be best for her to go back to playing along, primarily because her lord expected her to gain benefits from this grimoire. Wouldn't it be bad if she messed up because of a failure to abide by the rules of the Magic Item?

It took her more than ten minutes of self-reflection, but she ultimately found her answer deep within her heart.

"I want to become stronger. Not only for myself, but also for milord and milady. Having my own Magic would enable me to serve them better."

Right next to the slightly bewildered mirror self, another reflection of Mina appeared, one that was still wearing the simple brown linen dress that she had sported on that fateful day. This younger self blinked at her with watery eyes, clearly emotionally unstable, but also curious.

'So, this lord of yours… is he the one who saved you?'

Sporting a proud smile, Mina nodded, her tail wagging happily. Even the simple mention of him could already cheer her up significantly, no matter what situation she was in.

"Yeah! There is no greater honour than being his faithful dog. Milord is the meaning of life."

A gentle, warm smile appeared on the younger self's lips, and an embarrassed blush caused its cheeks to redden, then it faded away quietly as if it had never been there. At that very moment, Mina experienced a burst of contentment and serenity, and her shoulders felt like a small burden had just been lifted from them.

This wholesome moment was rudely interrupted by the voice of the mirror self. Its expression had become increasingly confused over the past minute or so, but it still fulfilled its task dutifully.

'Exactly what kind of strength will enable you to serve your lord and your lady the best?'

When she attempted to answer, Mina realized that she couldn't come up with anything good, so she chose to take her reflection up on its previous offer - she took close to a quarter of an hour until she finally made up her mind. But once she responded, it was with confidence.

"Something that will weaken my enemies and make myself stronger at the same time."

With her weakening their enemies, they would be able to take part in fights against stronger opponents earlier than they should, which would become catalysts for their improvement. Her lord would always be able to end battles in an instant, but he would also leave some of the small fries to his subordinates to let them sharpen their blades. Wouldn't it be a shame if a number of their own wouldn't be able to participate in such a battle simply because they weren't strong enough? With her weakening their opponents, they would be able to play a role and advance further on their martial path.

'So basically, you want the best of both worlds - to become stronger, and to make your enemies weaker, thereby becoming even stronger in comparison. Fine, I approve of that overwhelmingly voracious appetite of yours, me.'

With an delighted grin, the mirror self nodded, then its eyes became clouded by puzzlement once again. Now that it had fulfilled its purpose, it really couldn't hold back its own questions any longer - those that were unrelated to the grimoire's regular proceedings. It didn't even realize that it had slightly misinterpreted Mina's intentions and motivation.

'Forgive me for asking you about this out of the blue, but why do you think so highly of Isaac Blackshaw? He saved your life and he is extremely talented, but I can't see anything warranting such excessive devotion in your memories.'

Furrowing her brows, the Chienthrope girl shook her head in disbelief. Was her reflection crazy? To doubt her lord's qualifications, that was completely uncharacteristic of herself. She couldn't even imagine doing that.

"What do you mean? Milord has performed countless miraculous feats, and has earned my absolute loyalty long ag--- oh."

All of a sudden, she shot backwards, right until she reached the very edge of the small platform. Her ears and tail stood on end, and she now saw this 'being' in only one way. As an enemy to keep on guard against!

"How could you possibly not know about how outstanding milord is? You really aren't a part of me, after all."

Displeased by her reaction, but also entertained at the same time, the mirror self tilted its head, possibly in an attempt to appear cute. It had been momentarily confused as to why Mina was reacting in such a manner, but couldn't yet come up with an answer. Was there something that it was missing, perhaps? Well, that shouldn't really be possible. Regardless, there was a need to clarify what had caused the dog girl to resolutely make such a claim.

'What makes you think so?'

A hostile glint flickering in her eyes, Mina puffed out her c.h.e.s.t and snorted.

"It's quite simple, really. You claimed that you are a part of myself that has access to all of my memories, up until the point when I read the grimoire. But that can't be true, because any me like that would never show any disloyalty or doubt towards milord!"

Speechless, the mirror self just stared at her for close to twenty seconds, then it shook its head and sighed.

'It really doesn't make any sense. Where does your devotion come from? I can't see anything that would justify it. There is only one explanation, and that is that someone has hidden those memories from me. Interesting… let me take a look at who it is that has such capabilities.'

Accompanying a sudden shift in demeanour, the entire space that Mina was located in froze. She couldn't move anymore, and only her thoughts could continue on unabated. This wasn't due to any technique whatsoever - it was due to the descent of some sort of power into the self in the mirror. Or rather… the self outside of the mirror.

'When did it…?!'

Her eyes would have widened in shock under regular circ.u.mstances. At an unknown point in time, the reflection of hers that was made up entirely out of letters had somehow left the mirror in front of her and now stood less than a meter away. Its passively exuded presence made her feel like an insignificant speck of dust that could be brushed aside with even less than a simple thought. A slight panic began to well up inside of her mind, before being replaced with indignation.

Whatever or whoever it was that was currently imitating her appearance, it reached out its left hand and placed it on her forehead, a slightly apathetic but intrigued look on its face. A couple of seconds later, it lowered its head and frowned a little, while muttering to itself.

'It's really true, there are gaps in her memories when I try to observe them. The most likely conclusions are that they have been hidden from me, or deliberately deleted. They all seem to relate to that Isaac kid. Seems like he is even more capable than he appeared. But such a flimsy protection won't hold on for long. Break, and reveal your secrets to me!'

When the mirror self's voice increased in volume at the end of its speech, a power that felt unfathomable to the poor dog girl entered Mina's mind, which was currently all over the place. For one, she felt violated by and extremely angry with this being, but its disrespectful words had also earned it even more of her ire. It dared to treat her lord like some random kid!? Who did it think it was? Lastly, the being's words had also enlightened her to something else - her lord had seemingly placed some sort of protection upon most of her memories related to him… so the attempt of uncovering these, when it was so clearly against his will, was simply and clearly blasphemy!

A flame of rage ignited deep in her bosom, but it was useless - she couldn't do anything at all. She could only watch as vaster and vaster amounts of an unfathomable power poured into her head… before it all of a sudden abated, accompanied by a panicked shriek.

'What in tarnation is this?!'

Right as she regained control over her body and saw the being that had posed as her reflection tumbling backwards in terror, blood consisting of letters gushing out of every single one of its orifices and even the majority of its pores, her vision went black. She had been gently enveloped by the darkness, and it wasn't long until her mind blacked out as well.

-----

In an unknown place, far removed from any other being at all, there hovered a humanoid mass of a certain energy that resembled a wizened old man with a bit of a hunchback. If Isaac had been present, then he would have surely taken note of the nearly countless laws of the world that were intertwined around this figure, connecting it to all sorts of places and beings. Not only the laws of the Lower World, but even those of other worlds such as Heaven were revolving around this being.

Occasionally, it would interact with a few of these laws to achieve a multitude of things. This could range from simply altering one slightly, to making copies of multiple laws, to utilizing those copies to edit and combine them into new laws, as well as countless other undertakings. The old man was in complete control of these laws. Or rather, that was how it had always been.

Out of nowhere, a deathly pale expression crept on the being's face, and all those laws that it had been handling oh so proficiently earlier escaped from its grasp instantly, encapsulating it within. An innumerable amount of them were aimed directly at it, seemingly reinforced as well as sharpened into 'spears' that could endanger its survival and snuff it out as easily as a tornado would a candle's flame. Another number of laws promptly formed the shape of a few words.

'This will be your sole warning, so don't complain that I didn't extend any mercy on account of your ignorance: F.u.c.k off, and keep your hands to yourself!'

Only after a few seconds did the words dissipate and the laws of the world return to normal, as if they had never been affected by anyone's control at all. And yet, the figure of the wizened old man didn't even dare to move a finger. If it had been capable of sweating, then it would surely have lost a few buckets worth of water by now.

Minutes later, the being finally muttered to itself.

'That was close. Is that Chienthrope kid being raised by one of 'them'? Wait, what am I even doing!? I shouldn't ask any questions. It would be wisest to not think about this incident ever again…'

Deep fear and respect was evident in its eyes as it attentively recommenced its regular activities.

-----

After she had shared the details of her miserable experience with her best friend, Mina suddenly recalled something that she had forgotten in the wrath that had consumed her upon recounting the sheer audacity of that unknown being. She should have obtained a Magic, correct? Or did that whole incident at the end mess everything up?

Worry and slight guilt at potentially having failed her lord's expectations caused her ears to droop. She was about to become truly disheartened, when out of nowhere, a drop of Ichor hovered in front of her face.

"M-Milord…!"

With teary eyes, a relieved Mina settled down obediently and happily allowed Isaac to update her Status. About half a minute later, the comfortable sensation that had temporarily saturated her began to fade, and a sheet of paper arrived in her hands. With expectant curiosity written all over her face, she eagerly proceeded to read it.

[ Phagein Aeon: As long as the user is aware of them, any enemies within a certain distance of the user will have a portion of their life force absorbed, leading to a decrease in their stats as well as a reduction of their vitality and lifespan. In relation to how much life force was absorbed, the user will see an increase in all of their stats, as well as obtain a buff to their vitality and lifespan. Depending on the amount of mana that is consumed, the area of effect, the duration and the amount of life force that will be absorbed can be adjusted. Will require 50% less focus if activated via the chant.

Chant: "Heed this call, life universal. Return to your origin. Let me become a magnet for your splendour, maintain this oasis at the cost of the desert. Consume all that defy me, for their energy shall serve me well. Devour to your heart's content." ]

Noticing how villainous her new Magic appeared on paper, especially its chant, Mina couldn't help but smile abashedly. It fit the criteria that she had stated, that was for sure, but it would certainly make her sound like an evildoer, wouldn't it? Had there been a misunderstanding at some point that she wasn't aware of?