^^ Basic MagiPlay-MagiTech Display ^^

(MagiTech will become a blanket term for tech in this 'Verse that isn't made by Caleb. His will be referred to as 'Nova'. JS. Peace!)

--- 65 Days AD ---

I hummed as I looked at the new blueprints for the 'Nova Gauntlet', which would, once operational, become like a Weaponized Smartphone, connecting to the origin, which would be my Server I was building.

I was literally going to 'Invent' the Internet, and also Wikipedia... Sort of. I was going to scan in all the knowledge in the gigantic, Drool Worthy college library, and then use it as a source for my search engine. Basically like Google, which was the point.

"I'll call it... Nova Core." I grinned.

"What's Nova Core? And what are those?" Tizzy surprised me.

I quickly stashed all my plans in my jacket. "You'll see. It's nothing diabolical, so just wait. Don't try to get it out of me." I warned her.

She shrugged. "You'll crack eventually."

"Well, it'll be done within the month, so it'd be awesome if you just waited for the grand opening... Please?" I asked, eyes like a puppies to gain her trust.

She raised an eyebrow. "I raise dogs. That won't work."

I shifted into a leopard kitten and leapt onto her shoulder, purring, and she visibly lost ground in her argument. I started rubbing my head against her cheek, and she cracked. "Okay, enough, fine, I'll leave it alone." She sighed.

I leapt off and shifted back. "Perfect. Now, today's class begins in..." I looked down at my watch. "Twenty minutes. What do you have?"

"Special Warfare. You?"

"First Shifter Class. I'm excited!" I grinned, and then picked up my bag, jogging through the door to my dorm room.

"You know, most lords wouldn't have a dorm." She hummed, following.

"I like simple accommodations. They remind me of my time in the mountains." I shrugged.

(I'd explained off why I didn't know anything to my life as a Martial Artist in the Mountains. It was partially true, so people just assumed I was ignorant and explained everything for me. Worked well in my favor.)

She nodded. "I understand, but there are actual mountains here. I'm sure you could get one."

"Why? That's a waste of currency. I have everything I need." I looked at her oddly.

She shrugged. "Again, you're so different..."

"It suits me to be so."

---

I opened the door to the Shifter Class, and was met by a barrier. Pepe walked straight through, but I couldn't pass.

"First time?" A tall woman said, standing next to me. Her eyes were One Gold and one Black.

I nodded. "Yes..."

She shifted into a White Tiger, and walked through, then shifted back. "You have to prove you're a shifter." She said.

I nodded and shifted, pressing through the barrier with some effort. I shifted back. "Thanks." I nodded.

She shrugged. "No one else was going to. Who are you? You're not wearing a clan Mark, I've never heard of you, and I can't see your Glyph..."

I pulled my jacket down, showing my shoulder and the 'Turn' Glyph. "I'm the first of my Clan. An Old One." I said, fixing my clothes.

Several people were now looking at me curiously. She raised a single thin eyebrow. "An Old One? Impossible."

I showed her the marks on my throat, and then my dagger, and shrugged. "That's the only proof I have. Tern said-"

She interrupted. "Tern? TERN the SNAKE?!?" She shouted excitedly.

"I... Don't know if that's his name, but he did have a snake familiar... He was the only shifter in the village down the mountain from my home, other than a son I never met." I said.

She nodded. "I'd heard he'd retired to the hinterlands... But confirmation... Ah, you don't understand. Tern the Snake was an amazing Shifter, capable of insane acts with his Familiar's. Everyone in the kingdom wants to learn from him. The fact that you have..."

"Oh come now, how can we trust this fool? He must've figured out how to beat the lie detectors." One boy said derisively.

"Lie detectors?" I asked her.

She smirked. "There's strong magic in this room. Any lie is silenced. For example. 'I do not want to be a purple platypus'." I had to read her lips for the last part, because the sound was whisked away.

"Interesting... Why would you want to be a purple platypus?" I asked.

She blushed. "They're adorable. Anywho. Let's move on, shall we? Heheheh... Heh." She was chuckling nervously now.

I smiled. "Okay. So Tern was famous, huh? Weird... Whatever. What's this class about?" I asked.

"This particular class is to teach people how to make Familiar's. I imagine Tern taught you already? Good." A tall woman spoke from behind me.

I turned. "Oh wow... Are you related to him? You have the same eyes... Emerald Green and Sky Blue... Hmm..." I hummed.

She blinked. "Well then, you really do know my grandfather. Hmph. Sit over there, if you already know his methods." She waved dismissively at the wall on the side.

I obediently sat to the side, and Pepe shifted fully, slipping behind me, letting me lean against his furred stomach.

I crossed my ankles, and narrowed my eyes, watching closely as the teacher began lecturing about the simple ritual to make a familiar. But she was being extremely complicated with it, adding steps and that confused me.

The tiger girl noticed, and grinned at me. "What, you don't know how to make-" she saw Pepe. "-... Oh. What, did Tern teach it different?" She asked quietly.

I nodded. "Very different. It's nowhere near that complicated..." I hummed.

The teacher snapped her gaze to me. "Is that so? Perhaps you'd like to teach the lesson?"

I shrugged. "Nothing to teach. Tern taught me in five minutes. Simple. You kill an animal, and then use its skin or teeth to make a familiar, with the words 'Take this Trophy and give me a familiar'. Simple. You added so many things. Why is there a meditation and a talisman? Tern never even mentioned those, and I've made hundreds of Familiar's, and never had to do either of those." I shrugged.

She blinked. "HUNDREDS? Didn't Tern tell you about the consequences of making too many Familiar's?"

"He said that it was risky, because if one died, the pain was unimaginable, and it might kill me. And?" I asked.

She blinked. "That doesn't worry you?"

"I'm no stranger to pain, So no. But you didn't answer my question. Why did you add so many things?" I asked again.

She narrowed her eyes. "Because it's necessary to understand the animal you are connecting with permanently."

"And the talisman?" I asked.

"To keep track of your Familiar's." She said slowly.

I raised an eyebrow. "You can't keep track of fragments of your psyche? That's a rather serious issue. I've heard of losing your mind, But..." I smirked. She gritted her teeth, and I chuckled. "Sorry, that was rather rude of me. But still, talismans and meditation are unnecessary, and they waste valuable time and resources."

"That's your opinion, and I respect your perspective, but for correct method, this is the way." She said simply.

I shrugged. "You're the teacher, do what you want. But so will I." I said.

She sighed and went back to teaching her class, studiously ignoring me.

The tiger girl smiled. "My name is Jasmine Calhoun. Call me Jazz. And you? Lord Caleb, right?"

"Yep. Caleb Johnson." I nodded.

She hummed. "What did you mean by hundreds of Familiar's?" She asked.

"I made many, many Familiar's, and sent them to explore the world for me. I wanted to explore, but I was... Unable." I rubbed my throat. "Also, the Emperor had summoned me, so I was to report to the Capitol as soon as possible. No exploring for me." I sighed.

She nodded. "I still don't understand. How would that help you? You can look through a Familiar's eyes, but... That's it."

'You don't know how to see your Familiar's memories?' I spoke through Pepe, and she jumped.

She blinked. "Holy shit... You really learned Tern's skills? That's supposedly almost impossible... What are you?" She chuckled.

I shrugged. "I am what I am, and that's all that I am."

(I'm Popeye, the sailor man!

I'm not sorry, I love that movie.)

She chuckled. "Good answer..."

--- 67 Days AD ---

I tightened the last screw in the new Gauntlet I'd made, and then turned the display function on. It lit up, and the display spun open. A holographic screen sprang to life, displaying the current data it was privy to.

I'd scanned the library last night, something I thought might have been illegal, but whatever.

I typed in a search for 'Nova', and grinned when the definition of the word popped up, along with every other mention in the library.

The library of The College was the most extensive and massive I'd ever seen. It had its own island, and it was as big as the entire main castle of the college. It was amazing, and I had been frozen with awe for several minutes when I'd first walked in.

Tizzy had laughed, and pushed me, but managed to launch herself away from me, simply because of my raw strength.

I snapped back to the present, and removed the search request, flatlining the screen. It reset, and I shut it down.

"Perfect... Now for the next phase..."

--- 02:00 68 Days AD, 3 hours later ---

I started testing the main function, which was a Shock Gauntlet. I loved them, simply for their versatility.

This particular one was extremely intricate, and would double as a Data Encryptor and Storage Facility.

I'd also built myself a holographic desktop computer with a holo keyboard and DNA password, encrypted with all thirty million feature shaping notes in my DNA.

It was completely Un-Hackable, because It had a 30,000,000 keystroke password, and it was Encrypted with my entire 5 billion genetic markers, so if you tried to bypass the password, you'd just get hit with something 300 times harder.

Not that anyone knew anything about hacking here, because no one knew what a Computer was (surprisingly, considering their other advancements, no one had made a DeskTop.)

I was already streaming my Familiar's memories into both of them, and using that to build an interactive 3D model of the entire Planet, from several angles and viewpoints, and I would also make the other stellar bodies, eventually.

The 3D map was mostly finished for the Shun Empire, which was where we were now. The ocean floor was also rendering. Only 35% of this planet was Salt Ocean, so that was relatively easy compared to the others tasks.

My bird Familiar's were building an aerial map, and my snakes were building the terrain, and fish were building the ocean. It was a tidy job.

I pulled on the gauntlet, and it started reading my vitals, and then scanned me for any irregularities. Concluding I was healthy, it powered down around 90% of its systems. I turned on the palm hologram mentally, and it showed a rendering globe.

I turned it off and set it on its rack to continue its work, and finally relaxed.

"Wow! That's slick, huh?" Tizzy said from behind me.

I jumped, and hissed at her, literally. I had shifted in fright. I shifted back, and growled at her. "Stop doing that! Don't you know how to knock when you enter someone's room? Privacy!" I grumbled.

She smirked. "Sorry. I'll knock from now on. What's with the slick Gauntlet?" She asked, picking it up.

I snatched it and smacked her hand gently. "And touching things that aren't yours! Geez, learn some manners, woman!" I snapped.

She shrugged. "What is it?" She held up my Gauntlet again. She'd somehow gotten it from my hand.

"An Upgraded Gauntlet, geez!" I snatched it, and set it on my table. The ward set itself, and she smacked her knuckles against the ward. I smirked. "Ha."

She shrugged. "Whatever. You made your own, why?"

"I don't like this one. It's too basic." I held up my wrist and she nodded.

"I see... What did you change?"

"Geez! It's mine, why the hell do you think I'd tell you before it was done? That's like asking an artist to see unfinished work! What do you want from me?!?" I growled, and turned away, muttering annoyed curses and loudly working on a microscopic Server Chip.

She laughed easily. "Aww, are you cranky?"

I roared an annoyed tigers roar at her, and she took a step back. "What do you want? It's 02:00 in the morning, I'm busy, I'm tired, and you're invading my personal territory. Say what needs said, and leave." I hissed and turned back to my work.

She looked down at her feet. "Sorry. I just wanted to mess with you."

"Mission successful, see you in the morning." I snapped.

She hummed. "Alright. I'll leave you to work, sorry for intruding..." She walked out, and I spared the door an annoyed glance.

'That was rude of me, but she brought it upon herself... Focus, Caleb. Girl or Tech, choose...'

I was out of the door before my thought finished.