The Dao of Magic

92 - Abstraction

A wooden house with a triangular pattern wall sits next to six houses of even weirder construction. A squat tree that has a door in its bark and square windows sits next to a modern architect's wet dream. A cosy log cabin is beside an impossible lithe and slim construction, made from thin beams and open spaces. Two small gothic cathedrals, one made from dark stone, the other white, round out the odd collection of domiciles.

A classic castle, complete with watchtower and crennelated balcony, sits a bit away from the small village. A greek temple sits on opposite side of the clearing these buildings are in. Heaps of various objects, ranging from swords to spoons and bolts of cloth lay in a corded off area. A massive tree sits in the middle of the clearing, a lake and a garden behind it.

All of these marvellous structures and scenes are completely ignored by the occupants of this space. Crunching sounds can be heard as a group of seven people, ranging in age from teenager to young adult, sit around a projected screen while munching on snacks.

"What level is he at now? I lost count."

"This is level ninety-five," replies Ket to Ares's question. "He finally can't just pull the crystals from the ceiling anymore. Focusing on a few at a time is just as time-consuming as beating the mobs from here on out."

The display zooms out a bit as a storm of metal shards swirl around the bearded man. A white rabbit is seen ploughing through a wide variety of metal made monsters in the distance.

"Ooh, that's a big worm"
"Hah, that was a big worm."
"He seems to better at controlling metal than you, Ket."
"He is also a couple of dozen times more powerful than me."
"What is he doing with all those piec-"
"Well, that ended quickly."

Various comments come from the peanut gallery as Teach rampages through the dungeon. The next level is filled with fog, limiting sight to a few scant meters. A massive wind rips the mist apart, leaving sheepish-looking monsters visible.

"He is also better at controlling water than me, Ket. It's nothing to be ashamed about."
"Could you all shut up? I am trying to watch this. Bord, give me some more of those banged grains."
"He called it popped corn."
"Whatever."

The group happily chats as they watch their Teacher demolish dungeon floor after dungeon floor with mechanical precision.

⁂

Valerius Arrhenius is having a bad day. That doesn't really say much though, the last few years have been pretty miserable for him. All these frustrations have caused the poor sod to talk to himself even more. Pelted by the cold wind and light rain, he huddles in an alcove while mumbling.

"...and who gets the blame for all this? Not the one guilty, of course. Oh no, that would be too logical for the old farts. Everyone except the ones who screwed up gets the blame for allowing a couple of kids to stroll inside the mage's holy sanctum. I knew Tonn Vink was a sly old bastard, but I would never have guessed he could fool everyone into thinking he didn't screw up by getting knocked out. He gets a nice position and servants just because he has some power, his control is way worse than mine but oh no, that is not important of course. Only the large-scale destruction matters..."

He mumbles some more, sighs and continues walking. His new patrol takes him across the dungeon entrance, going from one side to the other and back again. He spent the last week patrolling the many walkways, bridges and backstreets around the single tunnel going inside the massive stone sphere. He greets some robed figures here and there, most ignore him or sneer in his direction.

He suddenly stops in the middle of a narrow bridge between two protruding buildings. The only thing that moves is his head, which is slowly turning upwards. His neck creaks a bit as his usual slumped posture changes as he looks upwards. A large round object seems to block the little light piercing through the clouds. A low thump sounds as the round object disappears from his sight, but the damage has already been done.