[ENTER THE PALACE]

[warpweft]

[You find yourself with a sensation like floating in water.]

[Above, the sky is dark. You can occasionally see things shifting, like gusts of wind, or perhaps waves of water. Is it…even a sky above you? Or is it some kind of giant ocean? Whatever it is, you can’t make it out very well. All around you, you appear to be floating in what appears to be water. It looks like a great, wide ocean of…space in every direction around you, with stars and lights twinkling in the distance. It looks like water and feels like water, but it doesn’t make you wet. You can reach your hand into it and pull some out, the purple and violet water and the tiny points of light inside it will even rest in your hands if you cup them to carry it, but once you’re not trying to hold it anymore, it’ll flow off of you, not a single drop remaining behind. You feel something similar if you go underneath the surface. The “water” doesn’t touch your eyes, mouth or nose when give the chance, it merely drifts around you, allowing you to breathe and see unabated. And you can see for a great distance, the twinkling stars illuminating the ocean of space all around you. Though perhaps less dark and empty, it feels every bit as vast as the sky above. You feel like you could swim forever and never reach the edge.]

[It’s quiet, here, with little noise around you but the starry ocean’s waves crashing back into its surface. It’s peaceful. In another situation, it might even be comfortable.]

Comments

[voidhearts]

Hm.

There is one thing you should concern yourself with.

[She makes another orb of light in her hand. The last one was the size of a marble. This one is uh. The size of a basketball. She underhand tosses it into Tsumugi's hands. This one weighs kind of a lot before it vanishes and gets absorbed.]

[Lesson 02: Powerful Spells & Downtime]

[Name: Explosive Bolt
Description: A large bolt with an unstable Void core that detonates on contact with….just about anything. Cast it, then plug your ears.
Tier: Powerful
Spark: Void
Range: Ranged
Effect:
Cast three basic spells to charge.
Inflict high damage to one opponent.
If cast on a Volatile opponent, increase the damage of Volatile detonation.]

Now try using that one.

[Zarya is....backing away from the dummy after she says that.]

[cosplayed_out]

[She'll take the advice, cast it, then immediately clamp her hands over her ears.]

[voidhearts]

[Zarya for her part, turns around and puts her hands up around where you would think her ears are too.]

[The bolt, large, purple and angrily crackling as soon as it leaves Tsumugi's hands, flies towards the dummy and explodes on contact, kicking up smoke, dust, bits and gravestone and knocking the dummy itself into the air where it lands on the ground face down some dozen feet away with a dull THUD. Powerful Spells inflict much higher damage than Basic Spells and may have other powerful effects.]

Good. It worked.

[Zarya puts two fingers up to her...beak? And whistles. The dummy, facedown in the ground a distance away, vanishes and reappears nearby the two of them.]

Cast it again.

[But when Tsumugi tries to cast the Explosive Bolt again....she won't be able to.]

[cosplayed_out]

I'm... hesitant.

[Give her a moment... but she eventually does try again.]

Hey... this doesn't work. Did you trick me?

[voidhearts]

Illustrating a point.

That spell is extremely powerful, as you just saw. But spells of that caliber cannot be cast without limit. They take significant time and effort to prepare. Nessa developed her own technique where she can partition off some of the time and effort each time she casts a weak spell, using some of the Spark she generates to charge the stronger spell. You've already duplicated this method. By casting the Pulse Bolt multiple times, you charged the Explosive Bolt.

[Casting your Basic Spells will charge your Powerful Spells! Check the effect text of your Powerful Spells to see the requirement to charge it. You can have four spells equipped to be taken into battle at one time.]

Carefully consider the strengths and weaknesses of each of your spells and how you will use your weaker spells to open up opportunities for your strongest spells. Timing is going to be paramount in your upcoming battle. If you are able to find a way to harm Esmau, it will likely be just a small window of opportunity. Build your spellbook to take the greatest advantage of that window.

[cosplayed_out]

Huh... so this is sorta like... Clock Tower 3?

Speaking of which, about the spells unique to me...

[voidhearts]

What about them?

[cosplayed_out]

They're kind of... special, aren't they?

[voidhearts]

I would have chosen the word "confusing".

[cosplayed_out]

There's nothing confusing about the magic of cosplay!

[voidhearts]

As far as I have gathered, you're disguising yourself, not to get the drop on unsuspecting prey, but simply for the sake of pretending to be something else.

It's fine. I'm not asking any questions. I don't need to understand it. If it will help you, then that's enough for me.

[cosplayed_out]

No, a perfect reproduction. Perfect reproductions are exactly the same as the original. With my full power, I can cosplay the entire world!

--Not unlike this! Really.

But, that's fine. What else should I know?

[voidhearts]

Congratulations.

[She still looks like she doesn't understand and doesn't want to.]

Your next lesson is about increasing the damage of your spells under certain circumstances.

[Lesson 03: Critical Damage]

[Zarya twirls her wrist. A knife appears in her hand. She uses it to strike the Esmau dummy. It bobs back and forth, but, no more than when Tsumugi was popping it with the Pulse Bolt.]

Under most conditions, an attack like this will inflict no more damage than any other basic spell.

[She throws something at the ground. A puff of smoke bursts around her and she vanishes from sight. Suddenly, the Esmau dummy is stricken from behind and dramatically pitches forward. Zarya appears again, having been standing behind the dummy when she attacked it this time.]

But while invisible, I can strike my opponent's weak point, inflicting significantly more damage.

[When certain conditions are met, spells can inflict Critical Damage. Each element has its own way of inflicting critical damage, for example, Void spells have Invisibility.]

These conditions can be difficult to meet, but if you prepare your spells properly, that difficulty will be worth it. Different spells have different ways of achieving these conditions. My capability to become invisible and strike an unsuspecting opponent's weak point is a simple one. If you know anybody that can become invisible, they would be as good of a place as any to start.

If you acquire spells of any kind that can inflict critical damage, bring them to me. I'll show you how to use them.

[cosplayed_out]

...Oh! That's really neat. I plain wasn't expecting that.

[voidhearts]

Yes. It is "neat".

As you are, it will be difficult to find ways to inflict critical damage. But after your empower your Spark, it will become more attainable.

Shall we move on to the next?

[cosplayed_out]

I'm still wondering what this 'spark' is... is that next?

[voidhearts]

The Spark is the magical energy existing within all witches that allows them to cast magic. Nessa, for example, was born with a Void spark. Right now, due to your injury, yours is neutral. When you infuse it with the power to take on an element of its own, you'll gain access to a great deal more power. I'll be able to teach you more about the things it can do, once you empower it.

Next is defense.

[cosplayed_out]

...I have to worry about defense?

[voidhearts]

You must worry about defense as much as anything else I teach you. Esmau is an incredibly deadly opponent that will make every attempt to strike you down that she is able to.

[Zarya punctuates that sentence by producing a staff, jabbing it at Tsumugi's stomach, then sweeping it at her legs, attempting to knock her off her feet.]

[cosplayed_out]

[Tsumugi has the reflexes of a stick and crashes to the floor with a 'Kyaa!']

[voidhearts]

[Tsumugi: 90/100 HP]

[Zarya holds a hand out to help Tsumugi up.]

Being attacked unguarded like that by Esmau will be devastating. I, on the other hand, was holding back. Now, be on your guard and get ready for another.

[Zarya takes a couple steps back.]

When I attack, brace yourself as best you can. Stand and do your best to take it.

[She lunges forward again and swings the staff at Tsumugi. When an opponent attacks, you can choose to Guard.]

[cosplayed_out]

...All right. I'll try it!

[Tsumugi guards!]

[voidhearts]

[The staff bonks against Tsumugi's arms as she Guards herself.]

[Tsumugi: 85/100 HP]

Guarding won't prevent you from being damaged, but it will mitigate the worst of it. If you have no better options, it can be best to just cut your losses and brace yourself for the incoming damage to prevent it from being much worse. There are also spells to make Guarding more effective, to the point where taking damage via Guarding becomes manageable over the course of a long fight.

Now. Try to take no damage at all. DODGE!

[That's the only warning she gets before Zarya thrusts the staff at her. When an enemy attacks, they roll to hit you successfully. By Dodging, you apply a penalty to this roll, making their attack less likely to hit you.]

[cosplayed_out]

Substitution jutsu!

[She... ducks!]

[voidhearts]

[Roll to hit: 14]
[Roll 1d20-4: 17-4=13, miss]

[Zarya's staff whooshes over the top of Tsumugi's head as she ducks.]

Good. You're getting it.

Bear in mind, if you try to dodge and fail, you'll take full damage, obviously more than if you had chosen to Guard. It can be risky, but if it works, you'll take no damage at all.

Now.

[Zarya plants her staff on the ground.]

Come here and try to attack me.