[378] 5.1 Ethertech Advancements

Planet Earth, Year 3 A.I. (September 2026 CE, 42 months after System Integration)

“Alright class,” I say, looking at the forty-odd students who are taking my Ethertech and Spellcraft class this semester.  “We’ll be getting started here in just another ninety seconds or so, so please go ahead and wind down your personal conversations and prepare for our lecture.”

It’s now my seventh semester teaching here at the local university, and the Ethertech department has rapidly become one of the largest and most influential institutions of Ethertech research and development in the nation.  At the risk of inflating my ego more than warranted, this is attributable in large part to the work I and Chloe’s father, Hank, have been doing in the years following the battles with the First American Legion.

The past three years have been a time of peace for the Jacobs family, and me by extension, given that it’s only a matter of time before I officially marry Chloe.  We’ve talked about it from time to time over the years, but we’re not yet officially engaged.  She says she wants to make our engagement something memorable that we can look back on over a long lifetime that might span hundreds of years.  Considering that living for five hundred years or even longer is not just possible but likely, I can understand her sentiment.

But underneath that peace, those words from Lindsey, from General Richardson, and from Agent Bennett still ring in my ears.  The peace will be short lived.  It is not a matter of if war will come.  Only when.

“It is now twelve-thirty,” I say.  “I hope everyone had a good lunch, and now it’s time to go ahead and get started.  I’d like to begin this lecture by going over the seven principal elements and their relations with one another.  As I’m sure everyone here knows, those seven elements are, in no particular order, [Fire], [Water], [Wind], [Earth], [Lightning], [Light], and [Dark].”

Alongside the list, I draw out the basic glyph representation of each of the elements, in an octahedral arrangement, with [Lightning] in the middle, and the other six elements arranged on the six vertices.

“[Fire] opposes [Water], [Wind] opposes [Earth], and [Light] opposes [Dark],” I say, pointing out how the elements have been arranged on the diagram.  “While it’s not a hard and fast rule, creatures of [Light] are generally vulnerable to and take extra damage from [Dark] attacks, and the reverse will be true more often than not.”

“Professor Mortensen,” a guy in the back says.  “While I appreciate the insight on combat applications of elemental magic, how will this help those of us with noncombat classes who don’t ever plan to do a single dungeon delve?”

A couple students giggle on the opposite back corner, but I shush them both with a glare and a small release of my [Ether].  One of the things I’ve learned in the past couple of years is that the simple act of releasing [Ether] in a cloud around me, or directed toward a specific target, has the effect of cowing them.  As a drawback, it only works on people or creatures significantly lower level than I am.  But given that level 64 people aren’t exactly commonplace even now, I doubt anyone is going to resist my level 90 aura.

“The only bad question is the one left unasked,” I say.  “And to you, Kyle, I’d say two things.  First, a little bit of knowledge never hurt anyone.  Just because you don’t ever plan to enter a dungeon doesn’t mean that plans don’t change, or there’s not a swarm of monsters that are going to come after you.  When that happens, I will defend everyone as best I can, of course, but I can’t be everywhere at once.

“Second, because this is Ethertech and Spellcraft, and some of your peers will be using this information for glyph research and/or on the battlefield.  Not everything in this class will pertain only to your personal interests.  And finally, it’s because I’m using this basic knowledge to segue us into the actual topic of this lecture, which is dual elemental magic.”

Kyle, wisely, does not say another word in protest.

“Dual elemental magic is something I wasn’t actually aware existed for several months after System Integration, due to its complexity and the difficulty of formulating the glyphs necessary to actually Manifest it into existence.  As it turns out, a friend of mine was the first to make me aware of such a thing, choosing a class called [Plasma Sage] which combines and manipulates both [Fire] and [Lightning] together.

“Although I didn’t recognize it at the time, my girlfriend also has a spell called [Celestial Fire] which, as its name suggests, combines the elements of [Light] and [Fire] together into an element I’ve tentatively referred to as [Celestial] element.  Since then, I’ve become aware of several other classes and magics that combine two elements.  Never more than two, though; if it is possible to do so, it is beyond even my knowledge.”

“Professor, will you teach us how to cast double-element spells?”

“I will demonstrate, Cynthia,” I say.  “However, casting double-element spells through [Glyphcasting] is an order of magnitude more difficult than casting single-element magic.  The mental strain required to do so is tremendous, and I will only allow my students to do so after crossing the second ascension and with a minimum [Mind] stat of at least 250.  Before taking into consideration any buffing spells or abilities you may have, for those of you looking for a loophole.

“In order to even think about casting a double-element spell without having the imprint on you as a Skill, you have to be able to simultaneously cast and then hold two spells of different elements.  Then, you have to merge them together into a cohesive whole, which is even more difficult than the first part of that.  The only reason I can do so is because I have a specific Skill that aids in doing so, and even then, I can only hold a few of the twenty-one possible elemental combinations.”

Cynthia’s enthusiasm, unsurprisingly, dies down at my statement.

“Now, watch.”

In my right hand, I gather the glyphs of [Fire] and [Scalability] together and form a small orange-red flame that radiates a pleasant warmth.  Thanks to the [Crimson Heart] embedded within my chest, just beside my heart, casting [Fire] magic has only gotten easier with time as my body and magic have synchronized with the ruby crystal.

The second element I’ve gained the strongest mastery over is the element of [Darkness], and in my hand, I hold a sphere that accepts no light.  Initially, my compatibility with the element seemed a bit odd.  I would have expected to have gotten [Light], considering my bond with Filia, my trusty swordstaff, as well as the element Chloe has the strongest affinity for.

I believe the source of my affinity is my [Defier of Fates] class.  It’s all about breaking rules, overcoming challenges, and defying the natural state of things to ensure my own freedom.  Taking after the original rebel, I stand against the System— the closest thing to a true god that can be proven to exist— in order to break its hold upon the universe once and for all.  And it is thanks to this mindset that I have grown closer to the element of [Darkness], as well as the combination of the two elements I can access.

The class looks upon me with awe, and I allow myself to take in the moment.  I might not necessarily have earned every scrap of physical and magical power I’ve accumulated over the past three and a half years, but I’m still proud of how far I’ve come.  Then, twitching a bit from the mental strain that’s rapidly building, I begin to move the two spells together.

As I do, the glyph matrices conjure in my mind, Manifested through my special power as ｢The Anomaly｣ twist and contort, bending in unnatural methods as the glyphs and associated runes twist through three- and even four-dimensional space, brought together even though the shapes of the two elemental glyphs try to repel one another.

I note that I didn’t tell Cynthia the entire truth about the difficulty of doing what I’m about to do.  Without the power of [Multidimensional Glyphcasting]’s next evolution, [Multidimensional Twincasting], I still wouldn’t be able to do what I’m about to demonstrate.  I didn’t withhold this information without purpose, though.

First, not until someone has reached the level 64 ascension do I believe anyone is strong enough to properly try without hurting themselves, or worse, create some sort of Etheric backlash that causes destruction not just to themselves, but a large radius around them.  And secondly, doing reckless experimentation is how I got to where I am.  As long as they are cognizant of the risks involved and know what they’re getting into, I see no reason why any of them shouldn’t be able to choose that path for themself.

The destructive resonance of the two spells merging together threatens to damage my [Ether] circuits, although after having put them and the rest of my body through the wringer time and time again, I’m more than equipped to endure a trifling amount of metaphysical strain.  Darkness threatens to subsume the flame held in my right hand, engulfing it completely before the two merge together into fire that flickers in the shadow of deepest obsidian.

My breath grows heavy and sweat beads down my forehead; it’s been a while since the last time I’ve pushed myself even this far.  It’s been what… three months since the last time Chloe and I went on a dungeon raid?  A bit of an unorthodox place for a date, I have to say.  But it works for us and so I’m not going to worry myself too much over it.

Some people grow closer, looking at the black flames that flicker in my hand.  The others, far wiser, cower away, pulling themselves toward the back and sides of the room.  Now that the spell has fully stabilized, my new ability, [Infernal Flames], is no more dangerous than any other extremely hot fire capable of vaporizing substances ranging from flesh to metal to diamond to asbestos in a matter of seconds.  As for the dark and ominous name?  I consider it a fringe benefit.

Once everyone has gotten a good look at my new spell, I deactivate it, allowing the flames to flicker out.

“The combination of [Fire] and [Darkness], wielded as one.  The [Infernal] element.  I promise though, it’s not any more intrinsically evil than any other magic, so don’t worry.  I swear on my honor that looking at it isn’t going to devour your immortal soul or anything.”  Touching it, on the other hand…

A couple of students look at me ominously.  Ah, darn, that’s the sort of thing that’s going to get Administration on my ass, isn’t it?  And I was trying to reassure them.  I mean, yes, I did come up with the name, but…  I narrowly avoid shaking my head in disbelief.  Admittedly, I should have seen it coming in retrospect, but now Dr. O’Neal is going to have words with me.  Not like he can fire me or anything; the offense wasn’t nearly enough to warrant that sort of action, but I’ll be ‘advised to be more considerate of sincerely-held religious beliefs’ or something.

Dropping the subject and heading back to the whiteboard, I continue my lecture, going on about other combinations of elements that I’ve uncovered over the last three years.  [Water] and [Lightning] combining to create [Storm], or how many of the effects of my [Gravity] glyph can be generated by a combination of [Earth] and [Darkness].  As I’m closing my lecture, one student asks the question I’ve been waiting for since I first drew the diagram at the start of class.

“Professor Mortensen,” a shy student named Kaylee says from the back of the room.  “I get that [Light] and [Dark] or [Fire] and [Water] are opposites, but what about [Lightning]?  Does it have an opposite?”

I smile.  “Excellent question, and the answer is that we currently don’t know.  There is some sort of speculation that there’s a hidden eighth element out there, and a few System researchers certainly have their conjectures on that matter.  If I were to guess, and please note this is base speculation, not any substantiated theory, I would suggest there’s some sort of [Void] element that stands as [Lightning]’s opposite.  But again, that’s just a pure guess.”

Not a pure guess, I add to myself.  I know Void Beasts and other eldritch creatures exist within interstellar space, and even more terrifying monsters probably lurk in deeper layers of reality.  For them to have their own intrinsic element seems probable.  But that will be a topic for another lecture.  One not to be given for a very, very long time.