Daily Life with Three Systems: Chapter 14

A young man writes in a book with a wooden stick tipped with charcoal. 

"Graves. I have a request for you."  

"Ah! Grimmel, what do you need? Oh. And I have a giant demon's head that I was wondering what I could do with. I could give it to you free of charge. I kind of just want to get rid of it before it rots. Anyways, yes yes what would you like?" - Archmage Graves 

He blinks twice at the paper in confusion. Silently wondering what he is on about before shaking his head. 

"Tell me have you ever heard of a Nightfury with golden eyes? One that is shrouded in lightning?" 

There's a brief bit of silence. 

"Well, I've heard that Nightfuries can take in ambient electricity and combine it with their plasma blast to temporarily bend the light around them, making them invisible for a time, but shrouded by lightning? Are you sure it wasn't a Skrill hybrid or something? It's rare but sometimes dragon species crossbreed." - Archmage Graves 

He... didn't know they could do that. That makes rendering the species extinct quite a bit harder. 

And dragons can crossbreed? That is... interesting... maybe he should look into that somewhat. 

"No. Jet black, glowing gold eyes, with gold markings across its body." He writes. 

"Wait... gold markings? In the shape of lightning?" - Archmage Graves 

He has heard of it! 

Grimmel's eyes widen slightly, a smile forming on his lips. 

"Was it really a Nightfury?" - Archmage Graves 

Huh? Why would it not? 

"I'm positive." He replies. 

"That doesn't bode well. You see, I heard legends, but I really didn't think they were true. A monstrous nightmare with glowing gold eyes, scales as black as night, and streaks of gold across its body like it were made of lightning. Then, later on I heard of a Fire Worm Queen with the same description. Black scales, gold markings, glowing golden eyes." - Archmage Graves 

A chill passes through the man's body, a near silent whisper leaving his lips. "There are more." 

"I do not know why these dragons are different. However. I know that each and every single one far surpasses anything the species is typically capable of. Could they all be hybrids of some super species? Is there some gene that makes these dragons superior? I do not know. I might be able to find out more if you were to get me one. Of course, I will pay handsomely. Wait. The mastospawn have golden lightning-like markings as well. That could be a good place to start looking." - Archmage Graves 

Grimmel clasps his hands together, pondering deeply.  "Well... perhaps I need to focus my efforts elsewhere for a time." 

[Split] 

"Ah. There we go! Back to one hundred percent!" I smile as a spider web of silk crosses between my fingers. 

"I think it's about time I start on a little divination." I nod slowly.  

"Mhm?" Rias questions from where she is sat at the kitchen counter. She tiredly rubs her eyes before turning and offering me her gale force reading glasses. "Here you go." 

"Thanks." I smile as I take the glasses, grab the brick of a book and take a seat in the corner of the room. 

The pages flicker past my gaze at a near blinding pace. 

More and more. 

Suddenly I'm half way through the book.  

Then three fourths 

The book slams shut as I shiver briefly, my head throbbing slightly. 

I rub my forehead, letting out a long sigh. 

But, luckily, the migraine fades swiftly. 

Becoming a devil had some hidden benefits as well. I'm much more resilient. Or I could just be getting used to the mental strain the glasses place on me. 

"Damn..." I whisper as the knowledge settles in. 

Thiiiis... might take some time to adapt to. 

[Split] 

"Let's see here." I mutter under my breath, a large magic circle above my hand. 

It flashes twice then glows brightly. 

The size of the magic circle shrinks, being about the side of my palm. A compass rose seems to be incorporated deeply into the magic circle itself, but in this form it shouldn't be pointing to anything. 

I slowly bring the magic circle closer to a vial, causing it to erupt with light. Light that quickly dims as I bring my hand away. 

"It works..." I note. 

I quickly type away at my archive magic. 

Divination: 
Arguably the most complex of my current magics. From tarot cards to astrology. This... is a complete fucking headache. 

Spell/'Archetype' 1: Detect: 
The detection is a quite simple to explain magic. Is something there or not? I assume there are ways to hide from this detection, but overall, while limited, a very helpful use of this magic 

Notes: Should figure out how to combine with Archive to create some sort of 'radar'. It should be possible. 

1-A: Detect Magic: 
The simplest form of divination, the magic circle resonates with nearby magical casting, specifically targeting magic circles and in general shows their general location in reference to you. 

1-B: Detect Poison: 
An offshoot of 'Detect Magic', this spell instead resonates with toxic substances, the glow increasing depending on proximity. 

"Oh! That's an idea." I whisper under my breath. 

With a flash, I transform, a long stinger-like tail extending from my lower back. 

I bring the magic circle close to the stringer. 

A smirk appears on my lips as I de-transform, adding an additional thought to 'detect poison'. 

Can be used to detect venomous and poisonous creatures. Quite useful. 

"Hey... Rias, you're going out on a job today, right?" I ask slowly. 

"I am." The redhead nods slowly. 

"Can I use a spell I've been trying to figure out on you?" 

"I... don't see why not?" The woman blinks. 

I walk over to the kitchen table, taking a seat across from her. 

"Let's see how this mission of yours is going to pan out." I grin as I pull out a deck of cards and begin shuffling. 

A magic circle appears above the deck and as I continue shuffling, four cards are shot from the top of the deck and are lain facedown on the table. 

I flip the first card. 

"The Magician..." I mutter under my breath. "You... ah... one second." 

An archive window opens beside me. 

"Magician... magician... Ah! Here we are." 

"The Magician card is numbered One... the number of new beginnings and opportunities... and associates with the planet of Mercury. He stands with one arm stretched upwards towards the Universe, and the other pointing down to the earth. His positioning represents his connection between the spiritual realms and the material realms. The Magician uses this relationship to create and manifest his goals in the physical realm. He is the conduit that converts energy into matter. The Magician’s robe is white, symbolizing purity, and his cloak is red, representing worldly experience and knowledge." 

"..." 

"How does this fucking help me?" I question slowly, looking down at the card. 

"Maybe it's more literal?" Rias asks. "Like... I'm going to fight a wizard on this mission or something?" 

"Possible. In which case you should probably bring someone with you." 

"I'll bring Valerie!" Rias nods once. 

"Oh! Wait. Here we go. Willpower, desire, creation." 

"Next? The sun... which symbolizes... joy, positivity, celebration or success. Or you could just be facing a wizard who manipulates light." I begin quietly. "Kind of detrimental to a devil, I guess." 

"Next? The- The devil?! I didn't even know that card existed... I don't think that showed up in Jojo..." I blink down at the card showing a ram-headed man. 

"Ebony Devil." Rias cuts in. "That really shitty one that possesses puppets if the stand wielder was super injured by someone." 

"Ah... uh... Addiction, materialism, playfulness..." 

I flip the final card. "Finally... The World." 

"DIO?!" Rias gasps, causing me to reach over and flick her on the forehead. 

"Which means fulfilment, harmony or completion. I think you're going to finish this next job and have a good time. Tell me how it goes." 

"Alright!" The girl beams. 

[Split] 

I hum to myself as I quietly trace runes in the air. 

I'm trying arguably one of the more interesting spells within the 'detection' archetype. 

It's a little... Esoteric... but it should allow me to make use of my future knowledge with a casual explanation. 

Detect Prophesy. 

"Let's see here..." I mutter under my breath. 

The magic circle crackles, my eyes widening as magical power floods my body. 

All of my magic is sapped in an instant, words leaving my mouth as I am forcibly shifted into my 'third origin' state. 

"On the seventh day of the seventh month, of the year seven seven seven, a gateway of ages shall open. Guided by the clustered stars, five, with draconic powers sealed within and a sixth who's power is not her own, shall arrive with a guide. A decided price is paid. The water bearer's absence breaks the heart." 

"..." 

"What?" Koneko blinks from behind me. 

My forehead thuds against the desk. 

"Andy!" She gasps, quickly rushing over. 

"I'm fine." I whisper out. "Just... exhausted." 

My shoulders slump as I shakily try to stand. "O-Oh... magical exhaustion is such a bitch. Remember that for me, please... if I don't." 

I nearly trip as I place my hand on the wall, slowly making my way to the bedroom. 

"I-I'm uh- gonna go lay down now." I smile weakly as I turn, whispering under my breath. "Holy fuck I can see why this bullshit was a lost magic... anyone else would have fucking died." 

Even I, with the Sorcerer's Essence boosting my magical power, TWO bishop pieces, and my fucking second origin unlocked had to draw on the nigh endless power of third origin. 

OH! Wait! Demonic power. 

The smaller capacity of demonic power shifts, being cut in half as roughly five percent of my magical container fills. 

The exhaustion is shoved away as I perk up slightly. "Oh. Never mind. I feel better now... let me go write that down." 

"Are you alright?" The girl slowly asks. 

"Psssh Yeah." I nod slowly as I flop back down into my desk chair. "I just... y'know... ripped a fucking prophesy out of thin air." 

"Let's see here." I whisper under my breath as I quickly write down what I heard myself say. 

I nod slowly. "Now to just interpret this." 

"So. The first part is fairly obvious. July Seventh... Seven Seven Seven. That means... four and a half years. Gateway of ages?? Uhhh... pass. Clustered Stars?" 

"Like constellations?" Koneko blinks. 

"Exactly." I grin. "Perhaps, a constellation can give us a little more context." 

With a flash, a golden key appears in my hand. "Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" 

With a bright glow, the pink haired maid appears. "Hello master! Did you need something?" 

"Yes, actually." I nod slowly as I gesture to the paper. "I was just working on my magic and used a certain spell I just developed... Detect Prophesy... it nearly killed me-" 

Her face grows worried as I continue speaking. "But... I found a prophesy that is apparently in the works as of this moment." 

"Here." I hand her the piece of paper. 

"You shouldn't do something so reckless, master!" The woman growls. "If you kill yourself I'll never forgive you! I'll punish you!" 

She blinks twice at the paper, seemingly catching sight of a few of the words. 

Her face pales, mouth opening and closing. 

"So. Virgo. Anything you'd like to tell me about this? Is it related to that time-off you'll need sometime in the near future?" 

Her eyes flick from the paper back to me. 

It looks like she tries to say something but stops, mouth clamping shut. 

"Virgo?" 

"..." she is utterly silent. 

"You are forbidden from speaking about this in any capacity, aren't you?" I ask slowly. 

There's no response. 

"Even that?" 

She still doesn't say anything. 

"I'll take your silence as a yes. SOOOO Virgo, do you think that you could fix some lunch for us?" 

"A-Ah... O-Of course master." The girl speaks, her face still quite pale. 

"Do you know whose heart gets broken?" I ask slowly. 

Her mouth becomes a flat line again, eyes darting around the room. 

"Yyyyyyes?" She seems surprised that she could speak that much. 

There's suddenly a frantic gleam in her eye. "You need to protect-" 

"..." her mouth clamps shut. 

"Celestial Spirits are forbidden from informing their contractors of the details of other spirit contractors... provided they don't know them, of course. This is primarily to stop bad actors from... claiming... the spirits of others." 

"Well... I guess I'll just need to figure out my 'Celestial Spirit Radar', then." I mutter under my breath. 

The woman's eyes widen as she perks up. "You can do that?!" 

"Virgo." I smile slightly. "Divination is really versatile. I have a gold key, so I'll see if I can try and detect other golden keys." 

"I'll likely have to figure out how to incorporate it into Archive, but it should be doable... I'll also need to make a 'map' of the world. That'd also be helpful." 

"Please." The spirit hoarsely whispers. 

"I was already planning on it." I wave off with a smile. "Don't worry your pretty little head, Virgo." 

There's a small smile to her lips as a small weight seems to have been taken off her shoulders. 

"What would you like for lunch, master?" 

"Sandwiches sound good to you, Koneko?" I ask, eyes flicking over to the girl. 

The white haired cat girl's eyes glimmer slightly. "YES." 

"Sandwiches, then." I nod once. "Here's ten thousand Jewel. It should be enough. Make sure to pick up some cured meats for them." 

"it's more than enough, Master." Virgo smiles, wiping away a tear, she looks truly happy. "I will be back shortly." 

An empty basket appears on her arm as she makes her way to the door. 

It closes behind her as she begins walking towards Magnolia. 

"Haaah." I sigh. "Why must my life be so complicated?" 

"Mn." Koneko nods once. "Better than... boring, though... right?" 

"I suppose." I relent. "Now... I need more energy. Virgo will only last like thirty minutes without it." 

"I call upon the trees and the water-" 

[Split] 

"I'm back!" Rias beams. "And you were right, Andy! Just not in the way you thought! Your whole card trick was true!" 

"Oh?" I mutter as I turn slightly, facing her. She's practically bouncing with excitement. "The first card, the magician was more correct with the first interpretation... a new beginning and a connection between realms." 

"Oh no... what did you do?" I sigh, rubbing my head. 

"Something good!" The girl protests. 

"Mhm?" I hum, eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

"Next, the sun! I succeeded in something... and it involved a devil!" Rias beams. 

"YOU MET AN ETHERIOUS?!" I exclaim. 

"Nope! Devil!" Rias grins. She looks especially satisfied. 

"..." 

"What?" I whisper. 

"And... I have fulfilled a contract! Just like The World implied!" The girl excitedly bounces, her chest wobbling up and down. It's actually really cute... also kind of drawing my eyes towards a very specific place. 

"There's someone here to meet you, Andy!" Rias beams as she steps out of the doorframe, revealing a girl stood behind her. She has short chin-length pink hair with some tied up into small pig-tails. There's a few red hair clips in her hair to keep it out of her eyes. She has purple eyes and is breaking eye contact. She looks especially nervous at meeting new people. 

"This is Natsuki! Or, as you know her, Mangafan!" 

"Oh? OH! H-Hello." I wave quietly.  

"H-Hi." Natsuki replies. 

"AWWW! You're both so cute!"  

"I-I'm not cute!" Natsuki protests. 

Koneko looks between Natsuki and me, then crosses her arms over her chest. 

"Hm." She hums mutely. 

Is... she jealous? Hard to get a read on her. 

"W-Welcome to my home, I guess." I weakly wave my hand around my surroundings. 

"Thanks... for inviting me in." The girl awkwardly replies. 

Her eyes widen as she catches sight of Koneko. "A CAT GIRL?!" 

"Hey! Andy! Can you teach her how to control her demonic power?" Rias questions. 

"Oh, sure sure." I nod slowly. "Let me just finish up here." 

[Split] 

There's a tense sort of awkwardness between us as we sit in the grass. Natsuki's eyes are wide, gazing out over Magnolia.  

"This place is... peaceful..." The girl whispers. 

"For now... just wait until you see a Wyvern. Or a giant fifty foot tall demon." I huff, the faintest smile appearing on my lips. 

"Is- Is that common?" The girl questions, eyes wide. 

"Not... particularly." I answer, cocking my head to the side. "If anything like that shows up around Magnolia, Master Makarov would be able to take care of it. He's pretty damned strong." 

"So... have you given any thought as to what magic you want to learn?" I ask slowly. 

"I... genuinely do not know what sort of magics exist." the girl admits. "Like, I can expect 'elemental magic' and all, but... I just don't know." 

"There's really no limit if I had to suggest a magic based on what I know about you... Pict Magic. It's a magic where you can paint something and it becomes real. I'm sure there's a manga variant." 

The door slams open. Rias is stood there, clearly having been spying on us. "There's WHAT?!"  

"Pict magic." I answer. "I'd imagine Pictor the Easel knows something about it... I'll just need to find his key. Maybe I could ask Virgo?" 

"You're telling me... that I could have been drawing GOKU this entire time and use him as an attacking move?" 

"Well... I mean, I imagine his strength would be comparable to the energy you use to create him... plus he probably won't be able to use his powers." I note only to cock my head to the side. "Hang on... that's an interesting idea? I wonder if you could bring this magic to its logical conclusion and actualize the 'legends' of people. Using the thoughts and dreams of everyone nearby as a medium to conjure a figure with the powers they'd originally have... of course, you'd need to probably create the dragon ball manga for this world, but it should be fully possible." 

"Anyways."  I turn back to Natsuki. "You've got your elemental magics, then your maker magics which is... well.... this but for any element." 

"Silk Make: Drake." With a dull flash a fairly large dragon made completely of cloth appears before us. 

"You like baking, right? It's theoretically possible for some sort of 'cake maker magic' to exist, though I really don't even know where to start with it... maybe some sort of vegetable maker magic? Merely to get the concept of creating food with magic down?" 

A thoughtful hum leaves her lips as she looks down to her hands. 

Rias seems to slink off again as Natsuki closes her eyes, seemingly trying to get a feel for the energy. 

I wait patiently, my legs crossed as I sit beside her, a patient smile on my face. 

"I-I think... I think I can feel something?" The girl whispers. 

"Fold your hands like this." I begin, cupping my hands in my lap, take deep breaths. Imagine the air itself flowing into your nose, down your throat and spreading out within your lungs. See those little motes of energy moving from your lungs and circulating through your body, watch how them move... focus on them. Allow all distractions to fade as they drip into a pool in your lower abdomen." 

"Once you have achieved this... draw this power towards the palms of your hand. Gather it into one singular droplet. Allow it to grow larger and larger." 

My eyes are glued to her form. Not her body or anything, but something deeper. The energy inside of her. 

I watch as it courses throughout her in silence, a small smile working its way onto my lips. 

It's kind of beautiful in a way. 

I watch the motes travel down her arms, forming a droplet atop her cupped hands. 

An orb of pinkish energy appears, slowly growing larger and larger. 

"You're doing it~" I hum, with a small smirk. 

Natsuki's eyes snap open as she gazes down at the pink orb. 

"Woah..." she whispers. "I-I DID IT!" 

She turns to me. "What can I do with this?" 

"Well." I mutter under my breath. 

"Silk Make: Soldier." I conjure a being of cloth and have him walk over towards a nearby tree.  

"Now You're gonna shoot it." I grin. "This is the most basic form of demonic magic. The easiest but also arguably the weakest. Shooting a blast of raw energy is kind of inefficient, but it does allow you to begin growing your reserves for bigger and better things." 

"Okay. How do I shoot this?" 

"The simplest way would be to throw it, but you'll want to be a little careful, treat it like a water balloon." 

The girl gently grasps the orb and hurls it forwards, allowing the ball of energy to pop over the silk. 

Her shoulders slump. 

"What's wrong?" I question. 

"It... didn't do any damage." 

"Natsuki." I sigh, shaking my head. "That is spider silk... spider silk that I created. Spider silk is naturally as strong as steel and that silk is even tougher due to being a product of maker magic." 

"Don't worry... your strength will grow. I've just been doing much longer than you. Hell... do you want to see what MY first attempt at magic was like?" 

I gather the Ethernano in the air. 

Pop 

"That was literally ALL I could do... and it took me hours. We've been out here for thirty minutes. Forty at most. Besides, you haven't even learned how to convert your demonic power into elemental effects yet. Or learned to form it into more dangerous shapes." 

"Okay..." 

"Let's try it again. Do you have a general feel for how much energy that took?"  

"Not really..." 

"Well, if you're not exhausted, it clearly didn't take that much." I hum. "Oh. And before I forget to mention, demonic power nourishes and strengthens us. If you use it all, you'll feel tired, sure, but you'll also be physically weaker and less durable as well." 

"O-Oh... I see." The girl squeaks. 

"That being said. You'll still be vastly stronger and more durable than you used to be." I note. "Just something to be weary of if you decide to join fairy tail and do some missions." 

"So! Let's see another orb." I clap my hands together, inwardly delighted to be teaching someone. 

'I... won't learn the 'main' magic she eventually decides to learn, though. Having a bishop learn your magic at a monstrous pace... that'd be disheartening... she'd question what use she could be... I don't want to hurt her. I should probably ask Rias to do the same in private.' 

I don't allow my inner thoughts to show on my face as I smile, the girl slowly conjuring another orb of energy. 

"Oh! I forgot the mention. You've probably noticed that I call out things like 'Silk Make Soldier' and 'Silk Make: Drake'. I'm not doing that because I think it's cool or anything. It's just... spells in this world are weird. If you call out the names of your attacks or add in little motions to your spells, they grow stronger. Say for instance. 

"Snap." I snap my fingers. 

BANG 

"That was the spell from earlier. Same energy. Same effect. Just bigger and better because I said the word 'snap' and snapped my fingers." I note. "You see, some words work better than others. 'Snap' is quite effective for that sort of attack, however as it grows stronger and stronger, that 'word of power' changes to 'implode'." 

I cock my head to the side. "You know... I haven't really thought much on it, but what are the factors in a 'good' spell name? Could you recite poetry as your cast your spell and gain the benefits of several words? What's the benefit of saying something like 'Ebony Midnight Ray' instead of something like 'Ebon Ray'?" 

I don't think she's even listening to me at this point. 

She hurls her newly conjured ball of energy forwards. 

"BLAST!" She calls out. 

BANG 

It actually exploded this time. Nice. 

"Not bad." I whistle, impressed by my protégé. "You might be able to knock over a tree in one shot with that if you get it a bit stronger." 

The girl looks to her fingers, the faintest of smiles appearing on her lips. A smile that causes my own to grow. 

She'll fit in nicely around here. Now... how I can explain that Rias is a needy nudist who requires a living body pillow practically twenty-four seven?