Ikuta jumped on the wooden pillars barefoot carrying heavy weights around , he kept moving around while Claire recorded his body's condition to calculate the amount of calories he was burning through " Look at all these media presence "
His father said with Louis on the couch watching the TV " Now for weapon training " Claire tosses a staff Ikuta and brings a cart full of tennis balls " Ready ? " Ikuta nods , Claire starts throwing them while Ikuta tries his best to hit each ball with the staff .
The training finishes , Ikuta takes a break taking off the weights and stretches his body feeling the relaxation of freedom " What kind of steamed buns do you want ? " " The ones with meat inside , maybe something sweet , or just steamed buns "
" Okay I placed the orders already but be sure to train alright ? " Ikuta nods " And ? " " Study at night " " Good " Ikuta went inside to play some games waiting while his father had some new information for him .
" So there is someone trying to keep my hands away " his father snickered hearing the challenge that presented itself " I mean it's been a while since I made an incarnation , maybe I should destroy them "
He looks at Ikuta " How about my kid , it'll look like a competition between two parties no one would suspect a thing if they lose a lot of money " ' Who are they though ' " but it might be dangerous "
" Take that final boss " Ikuta was so happy that the game he had been trying to beat was finally over " Bravo but that boss is going to be like nothing compared to what you have in the future " Ikuta poured himself some water .
" Louis , can we buy a new game I already finished the last one " " Do you have anything in mind ? " Ikuta thinks not sure what kind of game he should buy " How about we go out to the mall to buy one ? "
" That could work " " Okay " Claire passes by to claim a box of frozen goods and store them in the fridge to be cooked later " Ikuta the next training will be sword training get ready to fight " " Got it "
Ikuta wiped his sweat after swinging so many slashes that Louis trained him for " Your stance is good " " Uh huh , thanks " he went into a hot onsen bath and submerged himself inside letting the water soak his body " Ahh this feels so good "
...
Ezio , Nisse and Druk hope inside the car " So Ikuta's house is very big so don't go anywhere , but Claire and Louis are usually at home " " So he leaves with his parents ? " " No Claire and Louis are more like uhh , babysitters ? " Ezio couldn't think of any way to describe the two young adults .
" His dad works outside a lot , so he doesn't live with Ikuta but he talks with Ikuta through emails and even knows what he's doing " Nisse explained " Maybe it's because Claire and Louis tell his dad , I thought they were college students because of the textbooks until Ikuta said that they were for him "
" He never goes out of the house , I only knew him after a baseball hit his window , his house is so big and there is a hot spring at the back " " Really ? " Druk was surprised to hear that considering the requirements for hot springs to form .
" He even has a herbal bath " Nisse said " I remember that time when we had a sleepover at his house , we borrowed two extra bathtubs and soaked in so many herbs they felt like I was in a forest " With so much joy from recalling it .
" Now I want to go to one , mom can I bath in one ? " " Alright sweetie we can make it once you get home " " Thanks mom " " And then they also have a really nice brush " Ezio said " It felt so nice on my tail feathers and fur "
" That one was Ikuta's hairbrush though " " I know we have one at home and it's very clean because I'm the only one using it " Ezio said , Druk was amazed to hear that " We're here " " Thanks for the ride mom "
" Thank you auntie " the car lives and Nisse rang the doorbell to be greeted by Louis " Hello Louis " Nisse and Ezio greeted him " Ikuta is still taking a bath after training he'll come out soon " " It's okay we can wait "
Druk entered the house amazed to see how normal it looked at the front with two cars on opposite sides and walked to the doorstep . The door reveals a floor lower than the inside " Druk take off your shoes "
Ezio said , Druk wondered if this was okay and watched Ezio walking on te floor with his naturally sharp talons " Isn't the floor going to be okay ? " " Of course , it's okay Ikuta always carries around a lot of heavy stuff when he doesn't want to exercise " Nisse walks in with her socks and Druk takes his shoe off and walks up to the platform .
" Hi Claire " Nisse said and Ezio was already on the couch putting his bag on the table " So what should we do now ? " Druk found the modified book of the duchess " What's this ? " Ezio casually took it and read the contents .
" Ikuta really did get dark magic " He reads the book excited to find what kind of spells Ikuta learned " What are you trying to do ? " " I want to know what kind of spells Ikuta learned , look here one of them is manifest darkness "
" That's the basic spell for all dark magic users " Nisse said " It's a very hard attribute to understand so Ikuta should learn that first " " Hey guys " Ikuta said " Hello Druk " Druk stared at Ikuta trying to see if he had muscles .
" Where are your muscles ? " " Uhm they are everywhere in my body ? " Ikuta answered with much knowledge coming from the STEM textbooks that told him what muscles are " Ikuta Druk wanted to know what kind of exercise you go through can you show him ? " Ezio asked .
" I do have videos about weapons training but if it's about the normal ones I don't have any " " Just the weapons training is okay " Druk said " Okay I'll try to look for it " Ikuta went upstairs to his bedroom with a computer sat on his desk .
He opened it while Druk wondered why he had so many pillows and stuffed toys in his room " I'll get something to store them " Ikuta uploads all the videos while Druk looked at a strange camera left beside Ikuta's desk .
" Here you go " " Thank you " " You're welcome Druk " They left the bedroom and went to the living room " we saw you eating so much hotpot this afternoon " " I was very hungry but because I ate so much I had to do more training or I'll have a bad habit of overeating and not exercising "
" What kind of training ? " " I had to jump over pillars which is hard because Claire changes it everyday , carrying weights too and then holding a staff and hitting as many tennis balls as I can " they all imagined what it looked like and Ezio asked " Ikuta what kind of magic can you do now ? "
" Ezio he's only got it for a day you can't expect him to already know how to use magic " Nisse said " I do though " " Wait really ? " ' He must've read some books before ' Druk thought " Yes the book was very easy to understand but I want to be careful with this one "
" Let's go outside then " Ezio suggested and they left to watch what Ikuta could do . Ikuta opens his palm and summons a dark flame " The dark flame is a very basic spell but learning it in a day is amazing " Nisse said clapping her hands and Ezio wanted to get close to it .
" Hey no this flame is very dangerous it burns so much it leaves no ashes " Ikuta warned ' Obviously it acts as a transportation tool that the duchess use but not on herself at least ' " but I don't feel any heat around it " Ezio said .
" You just might feel it when you touch it " Ikuta said " Can you mold the shape ? " Nisse asked " I can " Ikuta expanded the flame by twirling his finger expanding the flame , spreading its pitch black color to the air " Amazing " His father said from the roof .
" That's amazing Ikuta " Nisse said while Druk felt defeated and wondered how far Ikuta could improve from now on " Can you like hide in the shadows ? " Ezio " I haven't got there yet I can at least do basic debuff spells and reinforcing spells "
" here some snacks " Claire carried a tray of wood steamers " Wow " Druk was amazed by the amount and Ikuta started eating " Here Druk this one has meat inside " Ikuta ate chewing into the soft and hot white bread .
He grabbed another with piping hot meat and sauce while Ezio and Nisse blew theirs " Thanks for the food " Druk took a bite of his and his father sat on the grass " You know Ikuta if you learned the seeing dark spell you can see the midnight mansion through the dark flame "
Ikuta knew this was just his father trying to see they're reaction and the world's when they knew that Ikuta had learned the Duchess's magic " Ikuta now that you have dark magic will you be okay ? " Nisse asked .
" Yeah , why ? " " Because most of the magic spells don't really follow the right hand path according to the teachers , they say dark magic also had roots about sacrificing people " Nisse said .
" No it's okay , the dark magic I'm learning is very neutral it harness real darkness instead of the darkness of heart " " Wait really ? " " Yeah if you had read his book you would " Ezio said teasing Nisse who thinks he's been waiting for a long time to say those words to her .
" Is that so " Nisse said " Then that doll must've been from a really powerful mage " Ezio said and Nisse thought about the doll " The duchess ... I mean it could be , I only know little about what dark magic is but the duchess doesn't sound like someone who uses darkness from the heart "
" Oh the girl is on point " " Ikuta can we borrow your book " Nisse asked " Sure " ' If I reject it will be too suspicious ' Nisse looked at the pages reading it " This book is really nice it went straight to the point "
" I know it's why I was excited to use the magic as soon as I learned it " " Where did you get this " " My dad bought it for me " " Your dad did ? But you just got tested for today even though I had to make do with a book that's been in the family instead of a new one "
' That thing has been in the family just in another form ' " Your dad is really nice " Ezio said " I know , he would respond so quickly I feel like he had someone call him to tell me that I'm talking " The two old friends thought about Claire and Louis .
" That's nice " Nisse continues reading the book " Do you know how your dad got this book ? " " No he just sent it to me probably with a really expensive teleportation spell " Druk felt defeated in the aspect of social background .
" Can you ask him ? " " I'll try " Ikuta went inside to take out his laptop and sent an email and waited for a response while Nisse read the book . A reply arrives in five minutes " He responded "
"I got that book in an auction while I was bored , I thought it looked too old so I had a translator make it to something readable" ' That translator is definitely Claire ' " So this is a copy of an expensive grimoire ? " Nisse asked " No it's the original " His father said
" Maybe ? " Ikuta was confused about whether to call it expensive it wasn't even sold with a price or to call it original if somebody changed it's contents .
" Wow you are so lucky he gave you this " " Dad said that he only chose that book because it wasn't the ones about the darkness in the heart but actual darkness "
" Then I guess there won't be any problems for you " Nisse said " So can you try making a sword ? " " I can try " Ikuta stretched out one hand turning his shadow darker and summons a curved blade .
Ezio clapped quickly " But Ikuta how will you hold it ? " there was no handle and the blade had edges throughout " Uhm this is a slash " " It is kinda hard to make something as complicated as a sword maybe try turning one end into a handle ? "
Ikuta did as Nisse said " It looks like a katana now " " But you might cut yourself if you don't have a handguard " " I'll make one then " he completed his katana " Wow " Ezio and Ikuta were both amazed by the quality of the katana .
" It looks so cool " " And it's so smooth " He checked the fine curved line on the katana " It looks perfect " " Ikuta try wrapping the handle it'll make the katan look cooler " Ikuta manifested more darkness turning to strips of cloth .
" I don't understand why this is cool to you Ezio " Nisse said , all she saw was a pitch-black katana without the glow at its sharp edge that highlights its sharpness and smooth surface " That's why you'll never understand why swords look so cool "
Nisse dismissed Ezio's words knowing he also wouldn't understand some of her interest " Ikuta your father sent you a gift he said it's related to dark magic " " really ? " Claire nodded " What did your dad sent this time ? " Ezio asked curiously while Nisse put the book beside Ikuta's laptop .
" I'll go check " Ikuta left them putting the blade back into his shadows and opening the box " Uhmm " ' This is weird ' he took the box and showed it to his friends " So it's an item ? " " Yes , there's a letter that dad sent "
He reads it aloud "I sent you an item that will help you harness pure darkness of the world , items like these are usually more rare because of the type of dark magic you have" " That's amazing " Nisse said .
" I'll have to do my best to use yarn from now on " he takes out the spinning wheel parts " I heard there were some people who make thread from light but will that work with darkness ? " Druk asked hoping to show that he was around .
" He must've sent it knowing it would work so I'll just assemble it " " We can help " Ezio said pitching himself in interested in the magical capabilities of the item and Nisse felt like it was an soothing acitvity to assemble an antique spinning wheel while Druk only helped out of the pressure that he came to Ikuta's home .
" Thanks everyone " they spent the rest of the afternoon assembling the spinning wheel as finally succeeded " Making this is so fun " Nisse said " Yeah but be careful with touching the spindle you might be cursed to fall asleep for centuries "
" With a true love kiss to wake you up " Nisse finished Ezio's curse " Ble " " I'm sure that only comes because a fairy played a prank " " Are you going to use the spinning wheel now ? " Sure I did look up how to use it "
Ikuta takes a sit beside the spinning wheel and puts his foot on steps on it causing the wheel to spin , he tested the speed of the wheel and summons some darkness " The book said to make an image of darkness as fibers "
The darkness transforms into a form of cloud made of very thin fibers , his friends watch as the sun starts to set . Louis opens the lights adding the aesthetic of the environment which worked together with the orange sunlight hitting the wall beside Ikuta . He starts the wheel and makes sure to pinch just right while the darkness is spun into a thread .
They hear the wood tap against each other watching the pleasant view " This feels nice " they enjoy the peaceful moments and even Druk joins in the mood " I can sleep with this sound " Ezio said .
Nisse watched Ikuta spin the darkness watching the absent-minded expression on Ikuta's face with all his attention focused only on spinning the darkness into thread . He watched the thread seen by the bright yellow light pulled in by the spinning thread .
He appreciated the silence , emptiness and space for his mind to rest and settle . It was almost like sleep but instead , he was awake without thoughts . the moment lasted for a long while until someone called .
" Ikuta the barbeque is cooked " Ikuta stopped spinning and turned to see Ezio eating a skewer while holding a plate for Ikuta " Oh sorry I got distracted " " It's okay " Ikuta ate the barbeque with his friends .
" I asked mom if I could stay over for dinner " " me too " Ezio said " She sent me some herbal bath packs " Nisse said holding a paper bag " My mom sent some meat for thanks " " Oh no wonder the meat tastes different " " Is it good ? "
" Yeah the chicken is good " Ikuta looked around " What about Druk ? " " He said he wanted to study even though we don't have any tests at all " Ezio said " My mom also left me a warning saying I should spend more time with girls "
" Yeah go spend time with them I'll be the only one visiting Ikuta from now on " " It's just temporary though my cousins are staying so I might not be at school for awhile " " Haha that's great " Ezio said celebrating .
" So Ikuta what are you going to bring for school ? " " I was thinking about staying at home to spin thread , it's relaxing to be able to spend some time " " Ahhh but I'll be alone " Ezio said " What about Druk what does he do at school "
" Oh that guy , he always wants perfect grades in all the subject " Ezio said showing his dislike about Druk " You don't have to worry I'll might go to school for magic practice tomorrow but I'm still not sure "
Ezio was sad to hear that and dinner ends , so both of them left to go home while Ikuta took a quick shower and left taking a while to clean his hair .
He stared at his long straight hair and thought about the threads he sewed while combing it " It's really dark , just like the thread but there's at least some glow " Claire walked in " Ikuta about your studies your dad sent some links about dark magic it's more to teach you about the other dark magic "
" Okay ? " " And from now on you will be learning more about magic hope that'll be okay " " no it's fine " Ikuta smiled excited wondering what kind of material his father sent this time .
He finished combing his hair and started checking what kind of materials he had to learn this time playing the video with the titles "Dark and Light magic"
" So when people talk about dark magic , we usually think about the left-handed practice , however that is only black magic , dark magic is frequently used as a synonym to black magic and it's a lot of work to change that perspective . "
" But Dark magic uses pure darkness not the darkness of heart like black magic , the same can be said when a user of light magic uses pure light not the lightness of heart that is weighed with a feather by a god of death which would be white magic "
" Now dark and light magic are very abstract concepts " Ikuta skips the part about the abstract concept and proceeds to the next part " So how is it possible to harness darkness , well you can give it form and animate the manifested darkness for the first part , you can give it any kind of form which gives dark magic a difference to light magic "
" You can give darkness any form because it's not as limited as light , turning it into a spear or anything you can imagine is always useful , but darkness has a very useful trait and that would be regeneration "
They summoned a creature made of darkness " Now we'll call this one Shadow , Shadow here is made of dark magic , they are essentially a pure elemental being , currently it's defenses are raised so that you can see it even if it is the light but if you lowered it "
He watched Shadow disappeared " It's gone , that is when they have absolutely no defense against any form of light , but if I raise it's defense it would increase . Now shadow here can regenerate as long as they stay within sufficient darkness the regeneration becomes much faster if there is no light at all "
" So I'll demonstrate " Ikuta watched Shadow rip out a piece of their body and crawl underneath a black cloth coming out with the lost piece back in place .
" Amazing right ? But this only happens if Shadow can use dark magic too because dark magic is derived from pure darkness , not pure darkness itself so if I had removed Shadow's ability to derive dark magic from the darkness it wouldn't regenerate a lost part "
' This is so slow ' Ikuta sped up the video hoping to get something that didn't take too long ... " I finally finished it " Ikuta didn't like the video one bit ' I prefer science , magic is just so complicated and why is there so much filler content in it in the video '
He turns to the book and opens it " You're the only teacher that gets straight to the point " Ikuta writes an email to address it "Dad can you just buy me books about magic ?" "Why is the videos not good enough ?"
"It kinda is good but books are better like the one you gave me that went straight to the point" "Okay I'll do that but that also means there will be a new kind of quota you have to reach okay ?"
"Okay" Ikuta remembers the seeing dark spell that his father had suggested and checks the table of contents to find the page and turn to it "The seeing dark spell is an effective spell that turns your view between black and white"
"It allows you to see in the dark and even read in the dark , it removes all color from the world in your view , it is possible to use this spell on others allowing confusion . But it is also useful in seeing complete darkness a helpful tool when venturing a time like the eclipse"
Ikuta diligently learns the spell and turns the lights off to test it " Cool it doesn't hurt as much as using my laptop in the dark " Ikuta knew what light can do to one's eyes and seeing through the world with black and white lenses makes everything so much easier .
He looks at the book and wonders what the eclipse is all about and flips to the page about it "An eclipse is an amazing event for dark magic users , the great shadow that has been cast means that the sun is no longer being seen but it is more preferable to use the dark side of the moon for any kinds of dark spells"
"The dark side of the moon is where one can push the limits of one's dark magic , it wasn't facing a sun and even the starlight from far away couldn't light it"
He suddenly hears a voice in his head " This is where I fought that " Ikuta had an innate sense of feeling what that is ' So that duchess in me is her soul ? ' " Yes " He wonders if the duchess was even alive or conscious of herself .
" No my last moments of self were gone when I was denied of a self by the denier " ' I knew it , it's father , I don't how he does it but I'll at least try to avoid the same fate ' he felt sorry and guilty at the same time to be against his father who had cared for him .
' I'm not sure if I should do it , but I at least know that dad isn't a bad guy , So I won't fight , I'll try to survive what he does at the end of my life ' the duchess doesn't make a response ' What is on the dark side of the moon ? '
" It is where I left a great spell that converts the darkness into magic , it is where I have died " ' So that mannequin isn't your body ? ' " That is the tool for inheritance and where I would've been resurrected but there are requirements to activate the spell "
' So does that mean that I inherited your soul and your powers together ? ' " Yes that marionette was meant to lose everything to the one that defeats it " ' So that umbrella that dad gave me was it your magic tool ? '
" Yes " Ikuta felt relieved that he had some answers but also felt relieved to talk to someone about it ' Thank you ' he didn't hear a response likely because the current duchess can only provide answers .
ns 15.158.61.20da2
