This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Jcb112 on 2024-09-15 17:05:19+00:00.

First | Previous | Next

Patreon | Official Subreddit | Series Wiki | Royal Road

The Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts. Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30. Emma and Thacea’s Dorm. Local Time: 1920 Hours.

Thacea

When the Vunerian first revealed to me that Emma was in possession of platinum, a reflexive part of my psyche was put into shock.

However, it would only take a scant few moments before that shock quickly transitioned into tentative understanding, before evolving further into an outright realization of the truth.

The truth that there was without a shadow of a doubt, parity, as it pertained to the material abundance of both realms.

Memories from that first day of our private interactions were brought forth, and it was in those memories that I recalled my first glimpses into the earthrealmer’s manaless world.

I recalled the images of Earthrealm’s forges, advancing through the ages, developing without the aid of mana, yet increasing in size, scale, and intricacy with each passing era.

I recalled the images of iron seas and lakes of steel, flowing from crucibles spanning the height and width of entire smithies.

I recalled the scale of the foundries in which these crucibles were housed, buildings and structures of titanic proportions, of which only those like the crownlands could rival.

I recalled how scale and intricacy culminated in the armor that defied all reason, cladding a woman whose personality and spirit further defied that reason with each and every passing breath.

And it was with these recollections that I realized… that the forging and procurement of platinum wasn’t ever a question of possibility for earthrealm, nor was it indicative of their capabilities… but rather, the question was just how much they could procure.

So while Ilunor and Thalmin continued to be enraptured by the physical proof of earthrealm’s advanced metallurgical prowess, my suspicions continued to diverge into other aspects of Emma’s claims.

Ilunor was right in ascertaining that material abundance and the state of earthen post-shackling from the value of precious metals could only be derived by one of two means — pinnacle transmutation, and brute force procurement.

So given the self-admitted impossibility of the former by Emma, this left only the latter as the sole viable option.

This, however, was where my point of contention began.

As despite the physical proof of the wall of platinum clearly hinting at abundance, this form of abundance… was fleeting.

A realm was, after all, finite in nature. Which meant that after all the mines had been dug up, and after the world itself had become hollowed out, what remains is a barrier of scarcity which no civilization can ever truly cross.

There was only one exception to this functional limit on growth, and that was with the development of pinnacle transmutation, and the Nexus’ infinitely expanding farlands.

This meant that Emma’s claims of parity could be cast into doubt.

At least, it would have been for both Thalmin and Ilunor, if I were to have brought it up outright.

Because unlike the pair, I was privy to the sky-shattering realizations that had first been presented within the library, and a second time in Emma’s private sight-seer viewing.

These insights into what is for all intents and purposes, ostensibly a manaless Nexus.

My mind thus wandered towards the tail-end of Emma and Ilunor’s back and forths, as my imagination took a firm hold, and my thoughts were left to wander the ramifications of all of this information.

Perhaps the truth of abundance lies somewhere amidst the oceans of stars.

Perhaps the key to material abundance without the aid of pinnacle transmutation, was in breaching the skies to reach the void.

Perhaps our ancestors’ efforts should have been invested in that which was just in reach, and not in the path that led us towards the regrettable state of affairs we now found ourselves in.

Perhaps… a private conversation was needed, to put to rest this question of material parity once and for all.

The Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts. Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30. Emma and Thacea’s Dorm. Local Time: 1920 Hours.

Emma

Ilunor’s passed-out body was quickly lifted into the arms of the princely wolf, whose reactions to the whole affair was self-explanatory.

“Huh.” The wolf prince emoted with a cock of his head. “For how much he eats, he weighs less than a heavy claymore.” Thalmin jabbed with a cackle of facetious intent. “In any case, Emma, I believe it would be prudent if you caught up on some rest. I’ll see to the Vunerian myself, you’ve been through enough today as is. A day of victory is to be enjoyed, not to be bothered by the burden of others, not especially a troublesome associate.”

“Thanks Thalmin.” I nodded gratefully.

“The pleasure is all mine, Emma.” He nodded back, as he effortlessly began walking towards the door with Ilunor in tow, leaving with a final few words. “See you tomorrow then. Hopefully the trip to Elaseer should prove to be uneventful.”

A swift wave marked the end of that little episode with the Vunerian, and following a light slam of the door, I allowed myself a loud, tired sigh.

I instinctively followed the commands of my exhausted body, moving over towards the reinforced couch like a zombie, before plopping down with the force of a train wreck. I promptly just laid there, sprawling out in the process.

Throughout all of this however, Thacea had remained… surprisingly silent.

Though that silence wouldn’t remain for long, as the princess approached the couch, and sat opposite of me with courtly tact.

“Emma.” She began, her tone of voice once more locking in to that ‘serious talk’ vibe. “I have some further questions I’d like to ask, if I may?”

“Is this about the resource parity situation?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “Unless, of course, you wish to rest first and—”

“Nono! I’m fine. Please, fire away!” I quickly interjected, encouraging the avinor to continue.

“As you wish.” She dipped her head before continuing. “Whilst the other two are very much still in shock as a result of the reveal of your… treasury… a thought has occurred to me which I believe is best addressed in private.” The princess began, her vagueness piquing my interest.

“I can’t imagine anything about the whole situation that might require a private discussion.” I blurted out without much thought, eliciting a look that I could only describe as ‘are you serious?’ from the likes of Thacea.

“I had purposefully refrained from broaching this topic, out of respect for your narrative, as I assumed you had intentionally withheld addressing the matter of exactly what and from where your post-shackling abundance is derived from.” Thacea responded politely, though that politeness hid a level of blunt incredulity that even I could detect. “At least, I assume this to be a matter of purposeful omission on your part.”

That reveal blindsided me, as I was hit face-first with Thacea’s astuteness in the face of what was effectively a paradigm altering series of revelations. The princess’ calm collectedness had already impressed me by this point, but it was these little moments that just really sealed my respect for her capabilities.

I could only hope to match it.

“Oh! That topic. Yeah erm… you’re right on the money with that one, Thacea.” I admitted with a respectful dip of my head. “I appreciate the thoughtfulness there.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Emma. This isn’t the first time I’ve offered conversational courtesy via absentia. And given the subject being broached, I understand the… hesitancy in addressing such matters.” The princess returned the nod. “Though I admit, I was only able to reach the conclusion that I did by combining the pieces of a grander puzzle.” That vague statement elicited yet another cock of my head, which only prompted Thacea to continue further.

“The question of platinum as an indicator for your realm’s advancement was never a matter of concern to me. Our discussions on the topic of metallurgy, stemming from the very first glimpses you provided me of your realm, was proof enough of your people’s competency within the realm of metallurgy. Moreover, it is the matter of brute-force procurement that lies at the heart of my issues with your claims, Emma. The fact of the matter is, even with your advanced processing capabilities, you remain shackled by the very limitation that all realms face. A limitation that pinnacle transmutation addresses — the functional limit of a realm’s material resources.” The princess surmised, her eyes never once wavering, her piercing gaze locking on to my own with a mix of disbelief and burning curiosity.

“Yeah, that’s… actually a point that I was expecting one of you to bring up eventually.” I admitted, reaching for the back of my head, but once again, only bonking it in the process.

“It is, in fact, a rather large point of contention once the shock of your treasury wears off.” The p…

Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/1fhhha0/wearing_power_armor_to_a_magic_school_97/