Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (10/?) WiP 1 (Patreon)

Hello everyone this is the work in progress for chapter 10! I hope you enjoy! :D 

I was tired, so very tired. I wasn’t ready for this. I just wasn’t in the mood for more of the academy’s antics. Yet here I was, facing down the third miniboss of the night.

What followed was an intense staredown that I just wasn’t up for, especially at this hour. I realized however that it was very much a one-sided affair as my opaque, and frankly intimidating lenses, were carrying most of the weight in this impromptu standoff. I could see that the elf in question looked as tired as I was, but to her credit she held herself quite well even with the large bags underneath her eyes. Indeed despite her well kept attire, and the authority that she conveyed in her voice, her eyes simply could not hide just how absolutely exhausted she was.

So after a good ten seconds of looking her up and down, I nodded. “Thanks.” I managed out, restraining myself from gesticulating too much so as to keep my intimidation factor in the game. “I appreciate you bringing it all the way up here. Must have been quite a journey taking a cart like that up a maze of staircases am I right?” I attempted to defuse the situation with the age-old, tried and true method outlined several times in the SIOP manual: small talk.

The elf however, wasn’t having any of it as she remained completely silent, refusing to even acknowledge my question. Even the gargoyle refused to answer as he simply stared blankly into the room, his steely gaze was ever so slightly off, which when combined with his unflinching stature was more than enough to raise a few red flags.

I decided to expedite the conversation, now realizing that there was no point in prolonging this unnecessary standoff. “So… I’m assuming all my stuff arrived in one piece?”

This line of questioning was enough to prompt an answer. Although it was one that was far from what I had expected. “I am afraid it would be disingenuous of me to answer that question, Emma of Earthrealm.” The elf spoke with that tired air of authority, now imbued with an unwarranted addition of dismissiveness and superiority. Something that I was quickly discovering to be a trend amongst the elves and their various subspecies. With the exception of the blue-robed Vanavan, every elf that I’ve heard thus far seemed to always find themselves slipping into this very specific brand of cavalier arrogance.

Again, I just wasn’t in the mood to be playing games, not with an elf of all people. “Disingenuous, how?” I snapped back, making sure that my terseness was obvious through my vocoders.

“I wouldn’t know if all of your luggage arrived successfully, Emma of Earthrealm, it is the responsibility of your own people to ensure that is the case. However, given the primitive nature of your transrealm portal methodologies, there is a high likelihood a few of your belongings may be missing somewhere in the ether between our realm and your own. It is to be expected of course, no realm does it well on their first try.” The arrogance began to ooze from this female elf, an arrogance that bordered on outright disrespect as it was clear what she was hinting at, or at least alluding to. Sure, on the surface it was just an off handed rude jab at our portal tech, but on the other hand, it was so clearly coded in such a way that it was referring to our first portal, the same one that led to the death of the first human to travel through it.

This disrespect made my blood simmer, but I held it together all the same. It was fortunate that I’d released some of my rage on Ilunor just moments prior, because otherwise this elf would’ve found herself blown through the thick stone and brick mortar behind her. “This is why it would be disingenuous of me to speak on behalf of your realm’s own shortcomings. I simply wish to be as candid and earnest as I can in any discussions with our esteemed freshmen peers.”  The elf continued, which only prompted me to simply shrug.

“You could’ve just said our airline isn’t responsible for your lost luggage and I hope you bought traveler’s insurance.” I jabbed back, causing the elf to raise a single brow in confusion as I sighed. “Fine, alright, let’s just get this over with.” I moved forward towards the bell cart, only to be stopped by the gargoyle who held a single arm between me and my supply crates.

“It would be rude of me to not have my assistant move your luggage for you.” The elf interjected, a small smile curling up at the sides of her tired face.

So this was also a power play thing. I thought to myself. Alright, let’s fucking go.

I continued moving forward, ignoring the elf’s insistence as I pushed the gargoyle’s arm without much effort. It was only when I had wrapped both arms around one of the large crates did the gargoyle once more move in, using one of his oversized hands to wrap around my wrist without warning.

“I insist.” The elf spoke again in that indignant tone of voice.

Warning: Minimum pain threshold on [RIGHT HAND] exceeded, auto-disconnect of haptic feedback engaged.

You’re actually willing to hurt your students to satisfy your power fantasies? Fucking really?

It was with this sudden transgression that I turned to face the elf with that expressionless gaze. I made sure to make my point known as I allowed the gargoyle to continue pinching down on my wrist. As the seconds ticked on, I refused to acknowledge the pain or even the discomfort that would have been felt if it wasn’t for my suit. This clearly began to bother the elf. Her once gleeful eyes of satisfaction evolved into concern, then into revulsion and abject confusion as I remained there, completely ignoring any and all afflictions that would’ve at this point caused any other student to be writing and rolling around in pain.

“Are we done here?” I snapped once more, ripping my hand from the gargoyle’s grip without any effort.

This demonstrated one of two things.

One: that I not only ignored the pain, but that I had the strength to make this musclebound bodyguard’s efforts at physically restraining me completely moot.

Two: that I wasn’t about to bend the knee or submit to whatever games this fucked up elf was playing at.

With a single flourish I held the cargo container between my arms. What amounted to a metric ton of equipment that the elf knew was impossible for an average creature to handle. That was why she had her little musclebound aide here after all.

I made it a point to keep it held between my arms without even once flinching, pausing for an egregiously long time, all the while staring her down as I cocked my head slightly. “I ask again, ma’am, are we done here?” I reiterated, causing the elf to do something she probably wasn’t quite used to.

“Lortal, leave the rest of the Earthrealmer’s belongings here and take the cart back, it’s getting late.”

She admitted defeat. Not directly to my face, but still, it was defeat all the same as the gargoyle slowly but surely placed all the crates down on the stone tiled floor in front of the dorm and booked it out of there.

ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 200% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS

The pair vanished without a trace, probably using the same teleportation spell Mal’tory used in the Grand Hall.

I grinned in satisfaction underneath, taking a moment to savor yet another small victory.