So people seemed to have defaulted to using books to get the knowledge about spells, practice them till the system said [You learned enough, let us do the heavy lifting] and so they get a [Skill] like that.

  That...Was kind of weird to her though.

  "And see, if you study this and try to make the spell a enough mastery of it the system will grant you [Magic Skill - Mana Shield]." Finished his expnation Michael, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  They had stayed behind in the library to go over the books avaible to the public. Agatha had left after she fihe dots to finalize everything, she left her a list with all the possible teachers and their specialties.

  And some notes about former students they took (And others they didn't take, and why).

  She...Was quite surprised by that.

  "But why wouldn't you just make a [Magic Circle] that takes the mana, molds it into a cave form, and makes a disposable shield? It would do the same but it would be more effit than taking a [Skill Slot]." Elizabeth said while raising her finger and doing just that.

  This was mostly her flexing her [Mana Manipution] skills to be ho, as the magical circle was quite ineffit and wao break almost every other sed. But it achieved most of what she wao prove her point.

  Not that she would do this if she ever needed a shield, she would probably use the [Barrier] node she had tucked away in her soulscape and mix it with the correct elements to make do.

  "If I tried to use that magic circle I would suffer [Mana Backsh] just by the inefficies that pill up, you evehe mana trying to leave!" Michael poi her magic circle.

  Rude.

  True, but rude!

  "I'm with blue-hair on this Eli-Eli, most of the rabble 't seem to be able to use [Magic Circles] nor has the [Mana Manipution] to use your type of spellcasting as well," Rossie answered from her side.

  ht, she was a genius...

  "But...You just..." She said while flexing her trol over her mana to build the [Magic Circle] step by step.

  She followed the instrus in the book and sure enough, a [Barrier] Magic Circle got created, it was somewhat more ineffit than the one she was using. But the one she was using was a hand-me-dow from the database Alexanders had given her before to get her [Spells].

  "And there." Said Elizabeth as the spell maed a translut barrier.

  It was quite the smooth looking one, even if it was smaller than what the book depicted. "That should be bigger." And sure enough, Michael came to nitpick at her.

  "I mean, the full size would be quite hard to settle here, and they might get angry at me for messing the library...So I dialed down the area of effe the formue sing the values for a variable...And moved around the capacitor node si wouldn't be needed anymore as I do its job, so I added another extra variable to ge the pt." Elizabeth said as she moved around the small 5x5 panel of mana that was the modified barrier spell.

  Notice:Proficy towards [Magic Skill - Barrier] has been achieved.

  [Magic Skill - Barrier] Level 3 be acquired.

  Do you wish to add it to [Skill List]?Y/N

  "That would be a [No]." Elizabeth vocalized her answer and saw the blue s fade away.

  "You got the skill?" Asked Michael looking at her, he seemed...Offended?

  "I mean yeah, it said Level 3 skill or something, but I do this easily enough and I have a better shield already." Elizabeth shrugged.

  "Oh yeah, that weird Shadow thing...You might want to look into getting another ohough, that wouldn't work well against [Holy] or [Light] mana attacks." Michael said, oh, was he worried for her?

  "She just s the [Shadow Node] for a ral element or for another one. She probably didn't against you since you got her by surprise." Rossie said while nodding.

  Cute.

  I mean, "Yeah, didn't expect that high of an output so quickly. That was one nasty attack." Said Elizabeth thinking ba his whole thing.

  That was iing as it seemed that he hadn't wao vocalize those words, which meant that they were important for its w...Unlike how her [Mother] had taught her, she was aware that some spells gained more power when vocalized.

  But just like how she had mao summon the barrier without calling the name...She was sure Michael should be able to use spells without ting their names.

  So that one required him to use the name...Perhaps it was closer to a plex ritual? If so then the first part of the spell, the part he had called [Spell Breaker] was the start?

  If so, that would be one nasty one, first break the defenses...Then...No wait, "So do you have more like that one?" Elizabeth asked the blue-haired mage.

  "Yeah, I have a third one, but that is more of situational... I usually use it with [Spell Breaker], the sed one is in the same vein but it attacks the remnants that [Spell Breaker] 't destroy. I call it [Spell Ripper]." Michael said.

  So two spells desigo break defenses followed by a finishing move?

  Yikes, that's "That's one ingenious way to attack, you make sure they have no defehen move to the finisher...Might o check if I do something like that" Said Rossie on the side while writing something on her smartphoepad app.

  "Amm...Rossie? You are a Healer. Why do you need a three-stage finisher?" Elizabeth said worried about the identity as a [Magical Girl] of Rossie.

  "Obviously to [Heal] the world from all that ails it by making your life hard Eli-Eli ?" ...Cute.

  I mean, the pink-haired girl said with a smile on her face, yes. That.

  "...Just don't go over the top with the colteral damage." Said Elizabeth while thinking about it.

  Should she prepare ooo?

  "Please don't, these kinds of spells are dangerous not only to the world around but to the caster, they even tamper with how you act." Said Michael while bringing from his backpae books.

  [Rituals and you], [Why does Ritual Magieed ts],[Of multiple stage rituals and magic].

  Iing, "Rossaline might be perfectly suited to this kind of magic, but you seem to have hope of studying magic as a normal [Sorceress]. If you must at least try to keep the t normal...Lest you end like me." Michael said while passing the books to her.

  The st part had been said in a whisper, ahen started speaking once more in a more normal tone "And if you io spend more time with [that] please make sure she reads it and try to keep her t on the normal spectrum. We don't need her to keep going like she has."

  He seemed to want to speak more but then decided against it, Rossie had been gring at him the whole time, but that didn't seem to cower him like everyone else that had even tried to walk their way.

  "Rossie, be o the guy that gave us those nice books." Said Elizabeth while letting them sink into her shadows.

  Yep, her [Iory] was w indeed, she would try to copy them to her [Ruined City] ter to see if she could keep ara copy around, but for now, she would keep them there till they assigned her a room and thehem on her personal library.

  "Thank you nondescript [Hero] number 3." Said Rossie begrudgingly.

  She saw her st the books and threw her backpack at her shadow where it sank too, "Cheeky." Smirked Elizabeth while willing her oack to sink into the shadows too.

  "Huh? You have an [Iory]? Now I'm more ied than ever in your [Job], so far only 2 other people have that thing firmed. And Akira doesn't t since he seems to have stumbled into it by sheer luck." Michael said after seeing their shenanigans.

  "So Akira has it too...Theher one..." Elizabeth said, with some distaste io the mention of the bck-haired hero.

  "Me." Michael said willing a book to materialize from a pou his side.

  A pouch? "A [Skill] bound to something? No...A [Skill] that lets y stuff from the opening in a bag huh..." Elizabeth said while feeling the mana itle pouch.

  She couldn't feel anything at all within that thing besides at the opening of the bag, the rest of it seemed normal enough, flooded with mana? Yes. But still normal enough.

  "Corre one, unlike Akira and Rossie you got it right." Michael smiled at her success.

  And for the first time, Rossie didn't seem angry at how he had spoken about her, "I have been telling you all that Eli-Eli ecial!" If anything she seemed to brim with happiness.

  "That you did...A shame that memories of her got stripped of most of us, and a wohat you didn't lose them too Rossaline." Michael seemed genuinely sad for her. "If you , you could describe them to me. It wouldn't be the same but it could make our future versations easier."

  "Not that there will be any." Rossie added at the end, but Michael seemed to ignore her.

  "We didn't i that much, to be ho...I had a particurly bad case with my [Powers]." Elizabeth said while maing a blob of shado the table.

  She tried to will it into the form of a dragon, but as...She didn't seem to have enough power yet to do so. "Really, I only spoke with Rossie most of the time. Too much time ent going from css to css..."

  "So we didn't speak? That seems weird sidering your mastery ie would think that I would take special i in someone as talented as you." Michael seemed unvinced about their iions. "At the very least I know you ied with Akira from how you speak of him. So were you a [Powered]?"

  And then saying that sparked reition in his eyes, "No wait...If your mastery over spell crafting is something to go by, you should be a [Mage] so why do you know Akira?"

  "I took csses on both sides, so I ied with both Akira and You." Elizabeth said seeing the fusion grow more on the blue-haired mage. "My [Shadows] were my [Skill] while magic was something I did on the side."

  "...Hah?" Michael wasn't sure how to react to that, and Rossie just sat there smiling at him while giving him a look of victory.

  "See, Eli-Eli is really special." All the while repeating herself, like a very cute pink parrot.

  "That is something that goes beyond special. That is pin out on the world of [Monsters]." Michael said while making memories, trying to find memories that weren't there.

  "Like yic. Like Akira's skills and seemingly talent to use both physical skills and magical skills. Like Rena's talent with the sword..." Said Rossie going over the talents of the former [Heroes from another world].

  "...Like your healing magic..." And Michael closed on the quartet. "So she is like us?"

  "No." Elizabeth said first, before that tinued going to a pce she didn't want it. "What I have...What Rossie has... Was born from effranted my current state is a gift that came from other people...But what I had before? No one gifted it to me."

  "What Rossie has was from her own effort, she studied my style of magic even though she could have used her ialent] a do the whole thing. I don't know how to peek at [Status] anymore, but I'm sure she probably only has one [Magic Skill] and most of what she does is with [Magic Circles]." She really o find out how to peek at status again.

  "You speak as if you knew what we have...And even imply that we four have something in on..." Michael said with suspi in his eyes. "And that you used to be able to peek at [Status] even though you have been in a a for the whole time the [System] has existed."

  Oh...Right, he was the [Smart Hero] of the quartet.

  "...Among the [Skills] I had with the shadows was ohat let me peek at what we call [Status sheet] nowadays...So yes, I know you four have or had a [Link]. Rossie's link towards you four was severed around the time we got to the school." Elizabeth started speaking slowly, trying to tie a narrative that spoke of a power she didn't have anymore. And trying to not give away too muformation. "Akira and Rena have it, even if it is harshly biased towards Akira, leaving Rena...Like that."

  "And you took the ce to tie Rossalio you like him then?" Michael said in a cold to seemed he uood the meaning behind how she worded that.

  "No." Rossie said immediately, "[Odyssey] broke the tether I had, and I on my own volition stuck it to Elizabeth."

  ...Her [Mother] did what?

  No wait, she really got her tether broken?

  "How?" Elizabeth asked while looking at this cute small little thing, "I mean...she kinda just...ripped it out?"

  ....[MOTHER]?!?

  "...I'm gonna kill her." Elizabeth gred at the heavens, she wasn't sure how, but she was going to kill her [Mother].

  "SHE JUST RIPPED IT OUT?!? IS SHE MAD?!? WHY WOULD YOU EVEN?!?" She felt her shadows boil under her feet, a fme burned within her soul and the shadows answered to it.

  Ever so slowly they expanded around them, and ever so slowly the light seemed to dim within the library. Most of the students had left already and only the librarian was around.

  One who had pushed a silent arm under his desk and ran away as soon as Elizabeth started screaming.

  "Eli-Eli it's okay!" Rossie said while Elizabeth was fuming.

  But she wasn't hearing her, at all. She was too distracted going over her list of spells and cursing at the dead (Alexanders) for not leaving a [God-buster] spell around.

  'SO USELESS WHY WOULDN'T HE LEAVE HER WHAT SHE NEEDED?' Was what she was thinking after not finding anything useful at all.

  "UUGHH...Maybe if I mix [Divine], [Spatial],[Drain], [], [Body of Mana],[e],[Afix]...." At this point most of her rage had turned cold, she had moved from the seething rage of wanting to burn the world to the logical level-headed stage. "But I don't have the [Divine] node...I will o steal it from a [Church]...No wait, Rossie must have it since she is [Divine] looking. Yes...I work with that."

  "Oh, Eli-Eli ?" And Rossie seemed too busy dealing with the pliments to want to stop her.

  "[Shatter, Synapses]." But she was brought to a halt before she even finished creating the spell as she felt her thought process break.

  "Huh?" And suddenly she noticed how her shadows had started climbing on the bookshelves around, and she could even see some of the shadow fire extending around.

  "Care to fix that? The school usually lets the first mana discharges go...But those tend to be within the first week of csses, and we are like two months away from the end-of-the-year tests." Michael said while she sheepishly started draining the shadows that had [Grown] from her bato her [Soulscape].

  She noticed the bck fire was harder to reel bato her shadows, but it wasn't impossible, she only o guide it toward the ter of the ruined city and that was what she did.

  "So we go by parts, first of all..." Michael said while pointing towards Rossie, "You somehow met [Odyssey] while she hadn't asded and mao keep that memory."

  "...Yesh, I do not know why she came to our apartment, but I know she took something from my soul and suddenly I no longer felt the impulse to want to speak with Akira." Rossie answered, "Not that I ever listeo it, si felt slimy."

  "Good...Thank god for that..." Elizabeth left a breath she didn't know she had been holding out, that had been one of her fears from the start. That Rossie would ever fall into the clutches of that bck-haired...Thing.

  "Sed," Michael ignored her relief and moved on, "You...Do not follow [The Churagic] do you? Then are you a follower of [The Church of Stability]?"

  "The what?" Asked Elizabeth back, she could imagine what those two were...But she doubted her [Mother] or [Father] had approved of those.

  "The church that follows [Odyssey] and [Framework]. A couple of [Mages] made the first to try a free [Skills] out of [Odyssey] it worked for some [Magical Girls]. The sed one...It was made to try and do the same with [Framework], but it did not work." Rossie answered her doubts. "I for one do not follow either sihe only thing I worship...Is not iher."

  ...She would search what that was and would repce it.

  I mean, "Yeah...No, I uand wanting to get easy power, but no. I don't think I will ever would go to either...And now...Well...I might overturn one of their statues if I go. So I will not." Elizabeth said while thinking about what the hell her [Mother] was thinking.

  By what she said it robably when she visited them at the apartment, so [Father] probably did something then too? But she seemed to like her [Father] more...So did Rossie use what she learned from iing with [Mother] to appease him?

  "Fair enough, I for one follow her church, if only because she is [The Mother of Magic]. But am not a zealot so I do not mind your...e. But you may want to dial down such occurrences, [Odyssey] has been known to be quite...Enthusiastic with her [Divine Smite]." Michael said dang around her words.

  Rossie on the side seemed to think the same, but unlike Michael she didn't voiything, only sneaking worried gnces her way.

  Right...They thought of them as [Gods] while she thought of them as her parents...May as well take this ce to find out what they thought of her.

  "Fine...Let's see what they say then..." Elizabeth said while taking a deep breath and looking once more to the ceiling of the library. "[Mother] will you [Smite] this unfilial daughter for wanting to defend the girl she loves from [Someone] harming her?"

  She waited a few seds but nothing came down, no new blue s, no light from the ceiling, "[Father], could you please make sure [Mother] is listening and not peeking at someone for her amusement?" And she said afterward, this time she felt a pulse of mana from bellow the floor.

  "It seems they are okay with my disregard to their divinity." Elizabeth said while looking towards Michael and Rossie. "No new notification, itle, nothing."

  "...Nothing at all? Iing...The st ohat disregarded them earned a nonremovable title [Infidel]." Michael said, she felt a mana wave ing her way, and saw a magical circle that seemed to be a variant of a scry spell.

  So that was his [Identify] variant?

  "So [Inductee] huh...Iing...By the way, why did you call [Framework] as [Father]?" Asked Michael.

  So that was how they parsed what she said? I mean, yeah, she read it as such too, but thought they would parse it as [God] or something simir.

  "If [Odyssey] is [Mother] then her husband should be [Father]." Elizabeth answered, not sure what to answer besides that.

  "So you are of those that think they are husband and wife too? Iing." Was all Michael said.

  "So is there a way to get their attention? I want to file a pint." Elizabeth asked sihey were on theme anyway.

  "You try ahe [Oracle] skill, or find someoh [Divine] or [Holy] spells....But that would he [Priest] or [Mage] to have piety towards the [God] you want to get a message from." Michael expihe st half he said looking at Rossie.

  "Yeah, I don't think Rossie will have any [Faith] towards [Mother] or [Father]." Elizabeth said while also looking at the cute pink-haired thing.

  "I mean, [Framework] seems kinda nice...?" Said Rossie while turning her head to the side, yep. Cute.

  "*sigh* Leaving aside both of your disrespect tods]. Sihey seem to like you both enough to let you speak of them like that you should be fine. Just...Don't say to any [Priest] or [Cleric] what you think of them yes?" Michael said surrendering to their antics.

  "Yes ?" And so Elizabeth answered in kind.

  "See you around tomorrow at css, your new housing should be ready, so just go to the reception desk a your keycard. " And with that, Michael left them alone.

  She smiled at Rossie and beed at her, "Let's go Rossie, with some luck we will get a neartment." And as such Elizabeth and Rossie started walking towards the reception desk.

  She could only hope that the new housing was good. But sihey were sed year now...Or well, kinda sed year. It should be good... Right?

  Right?