The Combat Artificer 1

A/N: Essences: Crafter, Archmage, Blank, Skill Mastery

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Chapter 1

I was happy to get another chance in another world, there was nothing left for me in this one, my wife was dead and my kids had grown and died too. I looked at the demoness facing me; she had pulled my soul out of the ether and all she asked of me was to be good. I am sure that there was more to it than that, Lilith wanted something from me, but I didn’t know what. I was sitting before her while she kept smiling impishly at me.

The window behind the red skinned demoness with the golden horn showed a night sky and a city shining with light. It reminded me of Paris before that fog problem that started in 2030. Was this a spaceship I’m seeing flying?! A triangular and silver shaped craft landed on a platform next to the big tower that I could see.

This was a really modern place… We were in an office room, it looked quite luxurious. There were paintings showing different entities battling humans and other fantasy races; some statues and weapons, modern and old. I spied some crazy shit like bookshelves with books floating in the air and sorting themselves.

Turning to my host, I looked at her… Lilith was in a white pantsuit and looked delighted to know me somehow. I don’t know what she wanted with an old guy like me but I decided to go with the flow.

She placed a parchment before me and said, “Choose four of them.”

The parchment had pictures of vials of different colors. The effects of each vial was described, as I read, my eyebrows reached my hairline… “Huh, why does this look like the old Meta CYOA?”

The beautiful demoness nodded. “Good you caught that. I’m sending you on a little adventure.”

I put the parchment down, there must have been a mistake somewhere… “I am not sure if I am cut out for any kind of action… I'd prefer living peacefully.”

The demoness chuckled and leaned forward. My eyes fell on her cleavage, making me gulp a bit. I was a boob man and she knew it ; then when my eyes returned to her face, she smiled knowing exactly what I did… “And this is why I chose you. You’re the only one so far who wouldn’t go crazy with power and try to rape your way through the multiverse on a search for waifus. You have self-control and you’re old enough to know that life isn’t just about overpowering everyone around you.”

“Ah. There must have been a lot of candidates, I see.” It reassured me that I wasn’t her first choice. She had spoken about the multiverse, so this was a standard reincarnation event? “Where are you going to send me?”

“A modern magical world, Mister Belmont. Tell me, do you know about Negima?”

I tried to remember the place, and then it came to me easily. “Ah one of the stories from Ken Akamatsu, I really loved it when I was younger, though the harem gag was pretty much annoying long term…”

Did I want to get mixed up with the shenanigans from the series? Not really, no. But seeing the mischievous expression on the demoness, I guessed that I wouldn’t have a choice. My eyes returned to the parchment that showed what type of Essences was available to me. Now knowing that I would go to a magical world, I choose to munchkin this. I went with the classic essences, Archmage because it was really important to be able to be more intelligent and understand magic and other types of energy manipulation disciplines in that world; Blank, because I didn’t want to have any limit put on me. My third choice was the essence of Skill Mastery, with this I would gain the ability to learn and master virtually any skill set to an ideal degree of mastery.

The last essence was difficult to choose. I was tempted to take another support essence or one that would protect me from mental manipulation and curses… but my eyes fell on the essence of the Crafter. With enough time I could do everything other essence do with specialized tools and machines. I chose this one.

Four vials appeared on the white desk, each glowing a different color. Before I could take one, Lilith batted my hand away and said, “Good now take this. This is a magic seed, it will give your soul special magic and get you the idealized body that you want.”

I looked at the glowing sphere with trepidation.

Lilith grinned. “How special the magic will be is going to be a surprise. This is a freebie because you didn’t choose any of the Essences that would help you travel the multiverse.”

So this means that there’s something about the magic she gave me that will allow me to travel, but… “The essence of the Crafter could help with that, no?”

“Maybe, but it will take time… you know, I bet that you’ll like my gift when the seed blossoms.”

Before touching the seed, I had an image of what I wanted to look like; I wanted to be back to the prime of my life, over eighteen years old, with a strong body and red hair… a bit like one of those rugged Japanese idols. When I had that image solidly in my mind, I touched the glowing golden orb and with a bright flash it was absorbed in my hand and I… lost consciousness.

I felt a shock and opened my eyes and looked at the red skinned succubus standing over me. “Ooooh, you look very nice. Redhead, long hair, tall and muscular body. And who doesn’t like half-asian guys?Hmm, you look like a Japanese idol.”

“How long was I out?” I asked the peerless beauty.

“Just thirty seconds.” Lilith began to say, as she helped me stand up.

She led me back to the desk and made me sit down. “Now drink up, we’re almost done here, Mister Belmont.”

“Phew, okay.”

My hand reached for the first Essence vial…

I didn't know it at the time but my perception of the world and myself would change forever after consuming all those Essences…

~~~~~~ Combat Crafter ~~~~~~

Negima Universe
Mundus Magicus
Hellas Empire
Nyandom
Brook Town
Afternoon

I was pushed out of the portal by a laughing demoness and landed face first on the ground in a dark alley. Lilith threw a suitcase and a wallet at my face, making me glare at her. “Ouch, hey be more careful, Lilith.”

“Goodbye for now, lover.” She waved her hand and threw me a kiss, then the portal abruptly closed shut.

Standing up, I dusted my black jeans, straightened my black wyvern leather jacket, then took the wallet by crouching on the ground. Inside the magical wallet there was exactly 2000 gold Drachma, enough to live comfortably for six months on this world, at least that’s what Lilith explained. I took the magic card in the wallet, it showed my full name, age, place of birth on old Earth, France.

In this new world I am Alexandre Belmont, 18 years old. There was more information in the data of the magic card, but I decided to consult it later. I pulled my suitcase by its handle and exited the alley, and light, sounds and smells hit me. Everywhere I looked, I could see people with animal ears and tails, some had wings or extra-limbs; the architecture seemed to be similar to an European town.

I continued to gawk at all the cat eared people, there were the odd wolf eared or giant people too. Glancing at the streets, I noticed that they were clean and well maintained. I ended up entering the crowd, and I spied people flying in the air on wooden staves or brooms. This was… this was awesome! Magic was real and I wanted to know how the culture here had diverged from Old Earth. Is the general population used to magic, or are they stagnant like those magic users depicted in the Harry Potter books?

My feet brought me to the central plaza of the town, there were tons of businesses open; my attention focused in particular on a bar combined with the… adventurer guild and I couldn't believe that trope was real here. When I looked more attentively, I realized the businesses here were magic shops, clothing stores and there was even a bookstore.

The first thing I did was walk to the four story bookstore, I opened the door and there was a jingle. When I was finally in, my eyes fell on an old woman with rabbit ears, she had tanned skin and completely white hair and ear fur. She wore what I thought looked like a light blue mage robe with silver threads in the runes and symbols embroidered on it. She must have been a popular woman in her youth, there were barely any age lines on her face and her beauty shone through even through old age.

The bunny eared woman was at a counter, reading a voluminous book and her fingers twirled while wrapped in a blue glow. I could see numbers and letters floating in the air near her. When she noticed me, the woman wriggled her fingers and the glowing blue letters and numbers faded in the air.

She turned to me and said, "Welcome to Shea's Emporium!"

The woman looked at me again. "Muh, this is the first time I see you, young man. Are you a tourist?"

People in this town must know everyone here; she looked old enough to know who everyone was in town. I gave her a smile and said, "I've just arrived in town, Ma'am. "

"Ah! Don't Ma'am me, call me Shea." She put a bookmark in the middle of the tome she had been consulting and closed it.

"Sure Mrs Shea, my name is Alexandre." I called her Missus because I noticed the sparkly wedding ring on her left hand.

"So what are you here for, Mister Alexandre?" The old rabbit woman asked.

I turned to the inside of the shop and the myriad of bookshelves laden with books of every color and girth. There were four levels to the shop, and something told me that there was some space fuckery going on with the place.

I looked at Mrs Shea and said, "I’ve come here mainly to buy books. Books for someone who wants to start his magical education."

Lilith dumping me in Mundus Magicus was the best, I will not be hampered by any magical secrecy rules; and Magic was more accessible here. I had a budget of five hundred Drachmas and I intended to be self-taught at first, to give me the time to get the basics.

Mrs Shea smiled. “Oh, you want to become a magi young man?”

I remembered the story that Lilith had me memorize for my insertion into this world and said, “Yes, this has always been my dream, you know. I’ve always been jealous of those who could use magic. But due to a debilitating illness in my youth, I was sequestered in a room and unable to go outside. But now I can do this.”

Being a sheltered and previously ill boy was supposed to explain why I didn’t know much of the common sense of this world; at least that’s how Lilith explained it to me, it made sense. I only knew Negima through the lens of a story, now that I lived in this universe, I’m sure that it had more depth than a comedic battle harem story.

The rabbit ears of Mrs Shea flopped down at my story. “Aww, that’s sad, you’re trying to get back your life. Then I know just what you need to start you on the road to magic.”

Mrs Shea raised her hand and then snapped her fingers. In a flash of light a pile of eight books stacked onto each other appeared on the counter. Time slowed down a bit for me as the Archmage essence showed me in my head exactly how Mrs Shea performed this feat of magic. I pushed the deciphering of her spell to the back of my mind and looked at the books on the counter.

The proprietress allowed me to touch them; taking them in hands, I read the covers…

Magic for dummies

A guide to the handy spell: Sagita Magica

Magical reinforcement, the basics: Cantus Bellax

Shundo, instant movement

I believe I can fly: Fuyuujutsu

Utility spells, make your life easier

Spirit magic

Advanced magical theorem by Albireo Imma

“The titles are quite funny.” I chuckled.

Those books looked new, the covers were completely pristine, the pages as well. They were white, not jaundiced with age like you expect from second hand or old books. I grinned, this was it! I was going to be a mage!

“The price isn’t, it will be 300 silver Drachmas, young man.” Mrs Shea declared.

It was like being doused in cold water, the books were truly expensive. 300 silver Drachmas was the equivalent of three months at an expensive inn. I had enough money to buy them, but things were going to be tight. I intended to buy tools and camping gear to eventually build a house outside the city’s limit and make my own workshop. It wouldn’t come cheap.

I will have to make this work, by selling the material I can conjure thanks to the Essence of Crafter. Not too much, I didn’t want to get caught and enslaved in the eventuality that my abilities get discovered.

With a smile, I played it cool. “It’s in my budget, what a coincidence.”

Pulling my wallet from my jacket, I started to take out the silver Drachmas. It was at this point that I heard the bookshop’s door jangle. Entering was an old man of medium height with an eyepatch, wearing a nice suit. He had a piercing red eye that made me wary of him, he had the gaze of someone who had seen a lot of bad shit. Was that a prosthetic arm? Despite me, I was already piecing together how it was made; this was my first brush with the essence of the crafter, triggering my comprehension and understanding of an item. I let it flow through my mind and memorized it, then shut off the process.

Interesting, if I ever lose an arm it’s not going to be the end. Though I would make something less tacky looking. A mental image of the Winter Soldier’s arm came to mind. Mrs Shea perked up and she smiled like a maiden. “Oh, husband, you’re back!”

“I am, Shea.” The man said laconically, his posture became less threatening then and his voice was warm.

I listened to the two while putting the money on the counter; it was strange to see Mrs Shea act like a maiden in love. “How was it at the bounty hunter guild?”

Huh so the oldie is a bounty hunter or something, nice to know. I looked at him and I saw the two pistols on his belt. A gunslinger? A magic one? That’s cool, I guess. The man fully entered the store and then he said, “It was annoying, as usual. By the way, the kids say: hello.”

He turned to me and raised his chin at me, and looked at Mrs Shea.“Who is he?”

“Ah this is Alexandre, he is new in town.” Mrs Shea waved toward me.

The man gauged me with a glance. “He doesn’t feel like a traveler or adventurer. You look kind of wimpy, boy.”

Ouch, that hurt a bit… I know I look like a pretty boy right now.

Mrs Shea glared at him and raised a fist. “Hajime, be nice!”

“Hmph.” The man, Hajime, walked away, passed me and went deeper into the shop. I heard him go up the stairs.

And that’s my cue to leave. I put all the money before Mrs Shea who counted it out, nodded and then wrapped the books together for me. I placed them into my magic suitcase, it had a small hammerspace inside, big enough for clothes and other effects. Looking up when I was done, I said to Mrs Shea, “Thank you Mrs Shea! I will be sure to come back here for more books on magic.”

She waved at me and reopened her big book. “Sure young man, your money is all good to me.”

I exited the door, happy to have gotten my books.

After this exchange, I would be a frequent customer to Shea and because of that, Mr Hajime would take a special interest in me later…