Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (48/?) WiP 1 (Patreon)

Hey everyone! Here is the Work in Progress for Chapter 48 I hope you guys enjoy! :D 

This was one of those times where my helmet did me a disservice, because the expressions currently forming beneath it were more than enough to convey an entire monologue’s worth of information.

I had to compensate for my helmet’s encumbrance by just slightly over exaggerating what little emotive ability I had left. Namely, through my use of words, tone of voice, and most underappreciated and overlooked of all… body language.

“Because of me?” I responded indignantly, leaning my upper body forward, whilst gripping both armrests tight. “You’re telling me that this was somehow my fault?” I paused, cocking my head to the side before letting out a loud chuff. “Alright then. I’ll bite.” I leaned back just a bit, alleviating, but not fully releasing the tension in the air. “I’m going to assume you have some damn good reasons behind that leap in logic. Or at least, what sounds to me like a huge leap in logic. Because if you’re just spouting nonsense for nonsense’s sakes then you’re a heck of a lot more foolish than what I took you for.”

I let that hang in the air for a while, before shifting forward again to reapply the pressure. “Now, I know you have your personal reservations against me, and I know I probably stand against a lot of what you inherently believe in by virtue of my mere existence. But I also know you consider yourself a player in this greater game. And no player worth their mettle or their gilded titles is going to be spouting out rehashed rhetoric at a time where their very fate is on the line. Because when the chips are down, I highly doubt you’re the type to double down on the crap you’ve been spouting. You seem smarter than that, Ilunor. So tell me then. Explain to me how and why you were ordered to go full Fahrenheit 451 because of me.”

To Ilunor’s credit, he didn’t budge an inch as I brought my full weight to bear. In fact, he seemed as composed as he was when he effortlessly flipped his persona back at the armory. There was a hint of fear in his eyes, though I couldn’t tell if that was fear due to me, or fear out of the general scope of the situation he was embroiled in.

Regardless, he eventually did respond, but not before giving my tirade its deserved airtime in silence. “You are correct in distinguishing rhetoric from the practical concerns of the greater game, newrealmer.” His eyes sharpened further, trying his best to maintain eye contact through my opaque lenses. “An important distinction to make, and one that even those amongst our ranks seem to struggle with at times.”

There it was again.

Another glimpse at Ilunor’s courteous side.

Or at least, the closest thing to courtesy that I’d experienced from him so far, alongside the help with the chair.

“Suffice it to say, newrealmer, my benefactor was under a similar pretense when considering his options with you. For rhetoric would dictate that you have nothing to offer and thus nothing to fear from as it pertains to your interactions with the library.” He paused, before gesturing correctly to the pouch I had my card stored in. “Yet reality says otherwise.”

The Vunerian paused, taking a deep breath as he leaned back against his chair with a satisfying plumpf.

“In short, my benefactor acted in the way he did out of a universal motivator even you would understand. A motivator so primitive, so primal, that even the most stalwart of souls will find it difficult to act any differently under its vice grip.” Ilunor leveled his eyes my way once more, his gaze remaining nothing short of heavy and severe. “Simply put, my benefactor acted out of fear, newrealmer. He was terrified of the threat you posed, and mortified of what you could do if given the opportunity.”

I opened my mouth to respond, if only to ask about where exactly this fear stemmed from, but it only took me a few seconds to realize just where Ilunor was going with this.

“For you hold within your hands an information disparity the likes of which has never been seen in untold eons. You hold within your arsenal a weapon far greater than any magical tome, artifact, or planar-level spell. You hold an information advantage, newrealmer. One that has the potential to incur a deficit never before seen with the library, in exchange for secrets the Nexus believes no newrealm could ever hope to trade for. For this is the first instance in history where another power poses the potential to upend the Nexian’s stranglehold on the information deficit within the library. And whilst not all the information traded with the library is sensitive enough to pose a threat if learned, there are some which have the potential to. It was these highly specific pieces of information that I was tasked with burning, to prevent the potential of you trading highly sensitive information of your own, to learn of them.”

Ilunor let out a long sigh laden with specks and bit of soot that blackend the table in front of us. His eyes languished on it, as it did on everything else he’s spoken of thus far.

“But how?” I finally managed out. “It’s the library we’re talking about here. Fire couldn’t have just burned away-”

“It’s not just fire, newrealmer.” The Vunerian interrupted indignantly, as if he was offended by the fact I’d called his dragon’s breath mere fire. “It’s dragon’s breath.”

There it was.

“What’s more, it wasn’t just dragon’s breath that did the killing blow.”

Wait what?

“I was also curious as you were of this, newrealmer. And so my few correspondences with my benefactors granted me a small glimpse as to how this attack was even possible. To my knowledge, dragon’s breath is known to the library, and thus, the library has the appropriate means of countering its effects. The library however, is vulnerable to what it doesn’t know. And the Nexus has within its arsenal secrets that can, and clearly did, take advantage of this weakness. It was a mix of dragon’s breath and an unknown substance I was instructed to consume. It changed my fire, turning into something even I don’t recognize.” Ilunor clenched up at that, flinching as he mentioned this mystery substance. “What’s more, the books you see aren’t simply books. The library, the entire construct, is an entity. The books are the physical manifestations of this ethereal entity, ones that we can interact with. What I’m trying to say here is that even the library is fallible, newrealmer-”

“-just as the Nexus is fallible.” I interrupted with a snide remark.

“That point is a matter of contention.” Ilunor, diplomatically, shot back, as we remained locked in a surprise staring match for a few tentative seconds.

“Right.” I managed out with a sigh, breaking the tension in the air. “So who was it then? Who’s this mystery benefactor behind all of this drama?”

“The same man that has seemingly become our peer group’s collective enemy, newrealmer.” Ilunor shot back with a chuff.

It didn’t take me long to realize just who it was Ilunor was referring to.