Inquisax stood at the opposite side of the desk, looking Ryo dead in the eyes. He pointed his finger at the page for Teleportation. "Did you actually manage to do this?" Inquisax asked, almost accusingly. He didn't seem to believe his own eyes, which was strange, since he told Ryo to learn it.
Ryo appeared behind Inquisax, the magic book now in his right hand. "Yup. I thought it'd take a lot longer, but you really start to pick up on stuff after nearly getting your head bashed in by a Goblin." Ryo replied, joking about his dungeon experience. 'The conversation I had with the version of me inside my own head probably helped too.' Ryo chuckled internally.
Inquisax looked over at Aragoth, who was browsing through a book on the most efficient way to cook Monster eggs. "What happened to him in your dungeon?" Inquisax inquired, an accusatory tone in his voice this time. "You probably did something to improve his ability to learn Demon magic."
"If me sitting down, standing up and having slimes heal him count as improving his ability to learn Demon magic, he'd be a master by now." Aragoth tossed back, a bit of a chuckle forming in his throat. "Are you sure you aren't just jealous that he learned the spell faster than you did?"
"Oh shut up, you ignorant chapodiphobia-causing sack of spells." Inquisax insulted Aragoth, turning around to face Ryo. "I'm surprised you're not collapsed in a heap on the ground from learning so many spells in such a short period of time. I know for a fact most Demons would have trouble learning two spells in one week, let alone a single day."
Ryo looked at him confused, teleporting to his chair. "Honestly, I'm not too sure either. I remember losing lots of energy while doing Human magic, but now I feel like I could cast for days without a break." Ryo commented, flicking through the Mental magic section.
Mind Manipulation, Body Control, Puppetry, which was somehow different to Body Control, but Ryo wasn't looking too far into it just yet. Even the names caused him to wince a bit. Then, he found one that was perfect.
[Mental Magic Daughter (Sub) Spell]
'Sensory Manipulation'
'Sensory Manipulation: The manipulation of senses such as sight, sound and touch without altering reality. Used for torture, discombobulation and other nefarious purposes.'
'This spell allows one to change what people smell, hear, see, feel and taste.'
'In order to perform this spell, you must channel mana into your mind, and then choose a target. You must then project for them to see, hear, smell, taste or touch. This will make a fully realistic vision for the afflicted person, and they will believe that what is happening is real, unless they are immune to spells of the Mental Magic variety.'
"Oh my god…" Ryo whispered under his breath, his eyes widening. "The amount of things that could be done with this is actually terrifying." Ryo told himself as he began imagining all the different things that could happen, particularly to the Rising Sun party. They wouldn't have appeared in his mind, except for the fact he just got done messing with them.
Night began to fall, the sun finally setting over the trees as it had threatened to about thirty minutes ago. Ryo laid the book out in front of him, standing up from his throne. "Inquisax, if you want, you can have the bed in the back. I'm feeling like sleeping here tonight. It's my first big purchase in years." Ryo told Inquisax, who jumped at the chance, teleporting to the bedroom. Ryo walked towards the large, open doors to the library and began to close them using Psychokinesis.
The doors slammed shut, a thin wave of dust flying up from the floor, causing Ryo to cough a bit. "I might make something to close this up at night. Wouldn't want anyone coming in to steal stuff while we sleep." Ryo muttered to himself, stretching his arms as he walked back to the throne. The sound of rocks crushing against each other filled the air as he cracked his back, a sigh of relief escaping his mouth.
Ryo sat down, his eyelids growing heavy. His eyes fell closed, his breath falling into a steady rhythm. Aragoth kept reading for a bit before creating a small chair out of his tentacles, falling asleep on that, much like Ryo. For the first time during Ryo's time spent here, the place fell silent. There weren't any pages being flipped, and there was no mumbling as Aragoth looked over recipes.
A voice lightly coughed in the corner of the library, a light slowly fading into existence. The light fluttering of semi-transparent red wings began to echo around the library. The creature noticed the noise, silently falling to the floor in order to make less noise. They walked around, light blue hair contrasting with the shine of the moon, casting deep shadows onto the library through its massive windows.
The creature's light green dress lay still against its body, sneaking along the floor. Her footsteps left no noise behind them, as if they were masters at sneaking around. She made way to the table where Ryo was sleeping, placing their hand on the book Ryo had been reading, "A Comprehensive Guide To All Things Magical: Spells, Techniques, And Downright Devious Destruction".
"I've been waiting ages to get my hands on this." She whispered to herself. "I couldn't find it before, but this fool managed to find it for me." She said, lifting the book off the table, slowly making her way towards the door, not noticing that it was closed. She walked headfirst into the door, barely making a sound.
"So, you thought you could get away with theft, huh?" Ryo asked, standing behind her, his newly-procured dagger in his right hand. "If you wanted any other book, you could've just asked to borrow it." Ryo told her, using Psychokinesis to lift the book out of her hands.
Ryo gave the girl a look up and down. She was about half his height, with features that made her look like an adult. The two pairs of semi-transparent fly-like wings, with a unique red colour, on her back led him to believe that she definitely wasn't Human, so that'd explain those two features. Her ears were almost like diamonds, ending at a point on the earlobe and a point on the tip, yet they weren't as long as Inquisax's.
"I was in this library first! I was here about a week before you, and was looking for this magic book, but I couldn't find it! Then you came in here with that Demon guy, and found it immediately! I'm taking what's mine!" She complained, flying into the air and attempting to grab at the book. Ryo pulled it away, leaving the inhuman to grab at air.
"Shouldn't the term be 'finders keepers'? I found it, therefore it's mine?" Ryo inquired, repeatedly pulling the book away. "Plus, there's hundreds of magic books here. I'm just reading this one."
"Yeah, but you've handpicked the best ones and kept them for yourself!" The creature complained, promptly causing Inquisax to appear behind Ryo. "There you are, fellow Demon! How could you team up with a Human?" She asked him, a betrayed tone in her voice.
"Can it, Semphite." Inquisax backhandedly told her. "I've been telling Demons for years that I don't care what people are as long as they like books! I have a Monster friend too, and now I have a Human that's learning Demon magic faster than anyone else!" Inquisax told the Semphite, which Ryo assumed was another Demon race.
"You mean to tell me you're actively encouraging a human to learn the stuff they're not meant to learn?" The Semphite asked, an incredulous tone in her voice? "That's both really funny and incredibly stupid, Eldrani."
"Eldrani?" Ryo wondered, having never heard the word before.
"It's the race of Demon that I am. Much as this Demon is a Semphite, I am an Eldrani." Inquisax explained. "You're a Hyandean, I'm Eldrani, this woman is a Semphite, and Aragoth… well he's Aragoth, nobody really knows what he is."
The room fell silent, nobody knowing what else to say, nor what to even say next. The Semphite decided to chirp up. "Can I have the book?"
"No." Ryo flat out refused, teleporting over to his desk, placing the book down, and teleporting back. "I'm still learning with it, but as I said, there's literally hundreds of other books that you could take a look at." Ryo re-informed the Semphite, who seemed less than pleased to hear that information.
"Fine." She said after a few seconds of deliberation. "I'll go take a look around. Where's the Magic section?" She asked, unable to see any of the book labels due to the lack of light.
"Just wait until the morning. I'm going back to sleep." Inquisax told her, disappearing once more to his ever-familiar bed.
"I'm going to do the same. Feel free to sleep wherever you've been sleeping for the last few nights." Ryo echoed, teleporting over to his throne, sitting down, and falling asleep immediately. A singular light snore escaped his throat, and then silence laced the air, an invisible tension cutting at the Semphite.
"These people are crazy." The Semphite muttered to herself, sleeping on one of the thicker bookshelves, as she had been for the previous weeks. It was a wonder she hadn't been found earlier.
Ryo appeared in the same white void that he had entered not a few hours earlier. The black shadow creature appeared once more, taking on the shape of his again. "So, how did it feel?" It asked, curiosity inside its voice.
"Being able to use Demon magic so easily? It was incredible." Ryo admitted, cracking his fingers, which didn't feel nearly as satisfying as when he was awake. "Why am I here now?"
"Well, since you're able to talk to me, I took the liberty of making sure that we're able to consistently communicate. So, instead of dreaming, you now come here." It informed him.
"Aw, I liked dreaming." Ryo sighed, easily getting over it. "Wait, if I come back here every time I fall asleep, does that mean-"
"Yes, every time you're not awake. Unconscious, asleep, meditating, anything that makes you not pay attention to the outside world." It explained. "Plus, being here can help you unlock more parts of your latent power."
"Oh? How so?" Ryo asked, now properly intrigued. "Would that mean breaking more of the chains on that book you showed me?"
"You guessed correctly. Each and every person has the ability to be incredibly strong, it's just the effort they put in. As you've learned, Humans can use any and all types of magic. Breaking these chains is equivalent to you obtaining a power boost. There are four chains left, as you've already broken one." The manifestation of himself inside his brain reminded him.
"Do each of the chains do different things?" Ryo inquired. "Or are they all the same thing, just more powerful each time?"
"That, I do not know. However, I can tell you that the first chain improved your mana efficiency, gave you more mana, and also made your mind more accepting of Demon magic. All of that, combined, makes you quite the adaptable Wizard." It explained.
"That's incredible! I wonder what the other chains do!" Ryo exclaimed, grasping his hand with excitement. "That reminds me, you don't have a name yet. What do you want to be called?" Ryo asked the creature, who seemed confused at the question.
"I'm you. Just call me Ryo?" It responded with uncertainty, causing Ryo to shake his head.
"No, that'd get too confusing." Ryo mumbled, a thought coming into his head. "What about if I call you Clone? You're a clone of me that lives inside my head, so Clone would suit!"
"You're not at all imaginative with your names, are you?" The creature sighed. "However, Clone works. That makes it easier to distinguish between us, I suppose."
"Well then, Clone." Ryo smiled, extending his hand, offering a handshake. "Glad to be working with you."
"The pleasure's all mine." Clone responded, accepting his handshake, the sound of them shaking hands echoing throughout the void of Ryo's mind.
"Let's get to work."