The OP Lich is a Returnee, Chapter 14 (Patreon)

This should have come out yesterday, but I started playing Stellaris for the first time, and, well...

Chapter 14 – Demonstration

Fortunately, we were in a magic R&D lab, and all the necessary equipment was close at hand. Rigging a magic scanner to perform the same as the brain scanner for CAD calibration was easy enough. Jury-rigging the software to perform the same function as the brain scanners to set a baseline was a bit more complicated, but copying parts of the brain scanner software meant it didn’t take too long. Oh, sure, it was just a quick and dirty hack job, and it would have to be patched, reworked, and optimized before it could go ‘live’ to the public, but for a proof of concept test? It’d do.

So, the next step was to do side-by-side tests. Koyama volunteered to be the ‘control’, to test that the systems were working as intended. Since he hadn’t done any mana strengthening, and regularly used a CAD, this made him a good baseline, since we could compare the readings on the normal setup to the new one.

Oesau nodded as the readings on the second set of tests came in, with modified scanners. When he put them up side-by-side on the main display, I couldn’t see any difference in the readings in the brain scans, which was good. However, when the efficiency tests with the test CAD, using the same hardware but the two different calibrations, were done, the result was a surprise to everyone.

“It is only a 0.2% change, well within the normal margin of error, but the deviation between two baselines, from the same person, on the same hardware, running the same spells should be less than 0.05%!”

I grinned at Oesau, and nodded. “A 0.15% increase in efficiency isn’t much, especially for casual users, but high-end users, like athletes and military members should see some major benefits to this. Now, I guess it is my turn.”

Both Oesau and Koyama were showing their ‘nerd’ sides quite freely, with the prospect of a breakthrough on a problem that had plagued CAD designers for almost forty years. Oh, the benefits from this setup, if it worked, would be extreme, certainly, but that wasn’t why they were so excited, not really. They were academics, scientists, and here was a science problem that might finally be solved.

I sat in the machine’s chair, and let them hook me up to the machine. The process we had worked out for the tests was fairly simple. I would do the same series of tests five times.

The first time, I would be in my ‘human’ illusion, using the unmodified CAD settings. This would give us a baseline on the efficiency with the normal CAD. It would also serve as an overall control for the tests.

The next three rounds would be me in human guise, with the modified CAD, then followed by me in my true form, with first the unmodified CAD, then the modified one. Finally, I would be in my true form, while using the modified CAD from the second test. If our hypothesis was correct, then the modified versions would have greater efficiency than the normal versions. Switching between my forms would show whether efficiency would change depending on the level of ‘noise’.

Unfortunately, we quickly ran into a problem. The brain scan that was essential to getting the process rolling wouldn’t work. According to the scanner, I literally wasn’t sitting in the chair. Of course, that only made sense, since my mind, my soul, and everything that made it up was in my phylactery, and even in my human guise, the flesh on my bones was little more than a physical illusion. There was no brain or nervous system for the scanner to read!

Naturally, that caused a hard stop to the proposed tests, but the two scientists were only slightly annoyed. After all, an unexpected result was the best part of an experiment, according to Oesau. They had a test procedure down, now, which they could try to use on magical creatures who still had their flesh intact.

We were, at least, about to check the magic scans, and they did see that my body had a substantial level of ‘background noise’, like they normally found on the brain scans. So, at least we knew that the second part of the test was not without merit. If they could find another creature, one that had a fleshy brain, then there was a good chance that they could get the proper readings. The feeling that we were on the cusp of something great was palpable in the room.

Of course, since I couldn’t use the CADs, Koyama suggested that we get some readings on me using my spells with a focus. After all, they had the tech here to record and analyze active spells, so why not make use of it, and see if there were any more differences between me an ‘normal’ mages? Naturally, I jumped at the chance to show off just a little.

The room we went to for the test was MUCH more heavily reinforced than the one we had been in, and about the size of a high school gymnasium. At one end, there were a trio of much-maligned target dummies, providing a set of excellent targets for offensive spells. I’d have to limit the amount of power I put into things, but this would work.

“You may begin when ready, Frau Akagawa.”

Gripping my staff, I looked up at the observation bay, and nodded to Oesau. He switched to a more formal tone, since we were with an official, and this was being recorded, so I returned the favor. “Understood, Doctor. I will be using about one percent of my full power, and we can ramp up from there if the instruments are having trouble.”

Turning to face the dummies, I took a breath, and worked to tamp down on my power as much as possible. The spell would still be lethal to most commoners, who hadn’t done a good deal of mana strengthening, but it would be survivable for higher-ranking human officers. With a thought, the necrotic bolt flew, and smashed into the center dummy like a gunshot.

OK, it may have been significantly more powerful than a little handgun. There was currently a hole in the forehead of the center dummy, right where my spell had hit. I was a little surprised at how effective it was, to be honest. I didn’t use single-person ‘bolt’ spells that often anymore, and when I did, I was fighting people who were strong enough that they would just be pissed off at a shot like that.

Oesau’s voice sounded a little shaken when he spoke up. “Kinetic impact reading is… 9095 Joules of force on impact. That is roughly equivalent to an antimateriel rifle in the .50 caliber range. If that was a person, they’d be likely to have anything above their neck still attached to their body.”

Koyama sounded like he was going to be slightly ill. “And you said this is only one percent of your power, Akagawa-sama?”

I chuckled as I looked up at the observation window. “Yes, though I am a bit surprised at the result, as well. I haven’t had to use a Necrotic Bolt spell against a target that wasn’t shielded and reinforced with magic in a long time. Like most people, I don’t go around shooting civilians in the head, to see how much damage I can do.”

Oesau took a breath, and then said, “So, just so we have a frame of reference, what are the qualities of this Necrotic Bolt spell?”

“Well, the first spell any mage learns is a ‘bolt’ spell. It is nothing more or less than mana given shape by intent, and fired at an enemy. The type of bolt depends on the element, naturally. Fire mana gives you a Firebolt, for instance. If you do it with untyped mana, then it is a Magebolt.

“The elements don’t typically do extra damage or anything like that on their own, but they do have secondary effects. My necrotic bolt, for instance, would cause necrosis around the wound, interfering with healing magics. It also has the benefit of healing undead.

“A Firebolt may set the target on fire. Acid Bolts leave corrosive acid on the target, with obvious effects. Water Bolts have a good chance of knocking someone over, and are particularly effective against fire elemental enemies. A Lightning Bolt can stun living foes like a tazer, making it very useful in a fight. A Magebolt has the unique ability of being pure force, making it useful against ghosts and other ethereal or incorporeal foes.

“A mage learns the ‘bolt’ spell first, for obvious reasons. As they advance, the spells begin to vary more, though people still group them by general type. A ‘missile’ spell, for instance, sends several, less-powerful, bolts at a target or targets. However, instead of being straight-line effects, these spells are more like guided weapons. There are also ‘chain’, ‘cone’, ‘line’, ‘ball’ and other such spells.”

I paused, to make sure they were keeping up, and then said, “Now, this is just with the basic attack magics, the brute force options designed to deal raw damage to an opponent. There are plenty of other ways mages can attack each other, obviously, like the spells I used against those idiots who attacked me. Displacing souls from bodies, and then trapping those souls in a suitable container, are specialties of the Necrotic element, since it is most closely tied to death. Other elements could do similar, if they tried, but it would take a great deal more time and effort to pull off.”

Koyama nodded slowly. “I see. The difference between different mages is that they have elements that they are more talented in, which affects their potential at the higher end, since you likely need more and more power to convert mana from one type to another when dealing with higher level or more complicated spells. Right?”

“Exactly, Koyama-san. And most people only have a single elemental ‘affinity’. A few have two, and three is all but unheard of. You’re more likely to have someone with ‘Untyped’ affinity, actually.”

Oesau raised an eyebrow. “Untyped Affinity?”

“Yes, there are a few people who are either so balanced in their affinities, or they have so little affinity with any element that their spells are naturally the untyped version. This allows them a great deal of flexibility with the lower-level magics, naturally. They do have trouble accessing the higher-level magics of other branches, but they compensate for it by being the best at non-elemental spells, such as those dealing with the Mind, Space, and Time.”

Even without my enhanced eyesight, I would have been able to see Koyama’s wince from where I stood. “Mind? As in mind control?”

“Yes, and like the slave magics I’ve talked about before, though that is more along the curse branch of magics, rather than active Mind Control. Now, any element can deal in things to manipulate the mind. However, most of these things are essentially hypnosis, and manipulating someone into doing as you wish. True mind control, however, can literally rewire a person’s mind, making them be whoever you want them to be.

“Now, Necrotic and Holy are the only two elements that can come close to the untyped affinity’s true Mind Control. However, they do it by manipulating the soul directly. This is how a Necromancer instils loyalty and maintains control over his undead minions, for instance, while a Priest can use their powers to ‘purify’ a soul, and ‘reforge’ it in their faith’s image.

“Suffice to say, when someone is the victim of true Mind Control, or Soul Manipulation, the person that they were before is, for all intents and purposes, dead. The person that remains may have their body, their memories, but they are no different than someone who suffers a traumatic brain injury, and wakes up from a coma a completely different person. This makes it all but impossible to reverse. You can overwrite the ‘fake’ person with something similar to the original, but it would be like an artist painting a sunset, rather than the sunset itself.

“Thankfully, less total versions of mind control, whether they are through illusions, or hypnosis, altering or implanting memories, or even something as nasty as a curse, can be removed with far less trouble. Better still, there are usually no lasting effects, other than perhaps the need for therapy, if the person was tricked into doing something they were not proud of, or if they were the victim of a particularly nasty curse, like slave magic. Unfortunately, the other world did not exactly have the concept of psychology or therapy, more’s the pity.”

“What did they do, in those cases?”

“If they were poor, or middle class? Develop all the coping mechanisms you might expect of someone with untreated mental trauma, possibly leading into substance abuse, and mental illness. For those with wealth, or connections, they would seek out an untyped mage who knew true mind control, or a priest or necromancer who could perform soul manipulations, and get them to… edit the offending memories. Not removing them, but blunting the impact of them, turning them into a data point, like something that happened to someone else.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Oh, certainly. It was why those kinds of things were often accompanied by rather exacting contracts, to ensure that there was no foul play. And the different countries and mage guilds watched those with the proper affinities carefully, especially as they grew in power. By the time they got the skills necessary to pull something like that off, they were made well aware that anyone who used that power without… restraint, or regard for the law, would find themselves being hunted by all the mages, because they could not risk the whole world uniting against them. Even if they were more powerful than commoners, there were far more commoners than mages, and the mages had to sleep sometime.”