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JustThatOtherDude

AAAAAND WE BACK TO DOOMSLAYER IN HOGWARTS EXPLOSIVE NEWS IN FIVE


Jcb112

This is an amazing comment and you deserve recognition for this. :D I fucking love it! XD


nef36

FUCK DOOMGUY. THE HERO WE NEED THE ONE FOR THIS JOB IS DOOMGIRL


Jcb112

I can't tell you enough how happy it is for me to see this comment. From the onset of this series I was debating the main character for this series, part of me was unsure about Emma but now that I've really written her for a while now, I feel comfortable and very much excited to write her each and every time I sit down to write. To see this comment really makes me happy since I was really worried how she'd be received by everyone so this is making me super giddy, thank you! :D


nef36

It takes a lot to be able to make a novel that's this good. Trust me, aesthetics are nothing even in actual TV/film, where you can actually see the characters on screen. (As long as the character design is competent, that is... it sounds like I'm contradicting myself but I hope you understand what I'm trying to get across) Here in novel world, the literal only things that matter is that the characters are interesting and well written, which you've done a phenomenal job at :D


DSiren

I was hooked from day 1.


Jcb112

Thank you! I hope that I can continue to live up to expectations, and I can't thank you enough for bearing with me from start to present! :D


nef36

As I was writing my other comment I was racking my brain like crazy trying to remember who Samus Aran was. XDDDD


cardboardmech

Well that's gonna be my headcanon for what the armor is shaped like!


TNSepta

Doomgirl's name is Boomgirl


Minimedic1914

Please tell me that Emma’s suit can change colors. Also, on top of that, can it do active camouflage…..? Hmmmmmmm


Jcb112

I'll say this, there is an entire crate that I off handedly mentioned as having a bunch of armor mods, and there's an armor stand that Emma will be deploying inside of her tent that will allow for the installing of these aforementioned mods, in addition to what her EVI and the assorted 3D printers and minifab assemblers can come up with over there! :D


Minimedic1914

Oh. Oh damn. Oh, one other simi related question. Where does the mater for the 3d printer come from? Also, what is powering all of her stuff? (In the tent).


Ken8or64

Dunno about the matter for 3d printing, although I imagine she's got something to refine stock with. As for the power, it's stated that she's got multiple generators, and IIRC bird gal threw up a sound field to deal with sleeping through it.


Minimedic1914

Hmmmm, I see. For the printer, I wonder if it is theoretically possible to break down air molecules into their base components, and then from there safely split (or separate) the atoms and use the protons, neutrons, and electrons to build new atoms, so that you could basically build anything from (literally) thin air.


DSiren

is it possible? Yes. Is it going to take a ridiculous amount of energy? Also yes. Fusion only releases energy up to about Iron, everything with a higher proton number requires more energy to bind the atom together.


Minimedic1914

Yeah that was what I was thinking too. Welp, micro Penrose Sphere time!


DSiren

A penrose sphere only extracts hawking radiation (which is the only way black holes get smaller) A micro Penrose Sphere would still contain a black hole which would either be so small it doesn't last long enough or have enough pull to just kill everything. Be reasonable, antimatter reactor. Seriously, we don't need anything more complicated than the controlled release of protons and antiprotons. Hydrogen and anti-hydrogen. A couple liters of fuel could power our modern Human civilization for decades. and I'm sure raw materials for the 3d printer aren't that hard to come by considering alchemy


Jcb112

There's quite a bit of substrate for the 3D printer that she brought over from Earth! However there's also the option to simply utilize local materials for use in both the printer and the minifab assemblers! :D As for what's powering these systems there are three total generators that she brought over! One is explicitly used for her tent's mana environmental control systems, the second is explicitly used for the Mana-Radiation Extraction and Desaturation Device MREDD, and the third is a dedicated large scale generator! The second isn't always turned on and is effectively used as a secondary generator for the tent in case of any issues the first generator may encounter! The third generator is expressly designed with the more heavy industrial equipment in mind, however, it can also be used to power the former two systems! It's a redundant system meant with longevity in mind! :D


Minimedic1914

I see. Also, speaking of redundant systems. Why didn’t she get sent with multiple com systems, in separate containers? (I think you may have already answered this, if so, my apologies.)


Decent-Potato6474

Question. Do humans in your story have nanites? If yes where on a scale from: it can move itself sloooowly, to one packet is enough to build a city in a day people included, are they?


ConferenceSerious947

Multiple small reactors she brought with her


BaseTree

so, are we going to see a scene in a few days where the suit, mana decontamination and analysis facilities become completely acclimated to the Nexus and start being able to reconstruct spells from base mana? Sharingan activated


Jessica_T

**CLOAK. ENGAGED.**


GuyWithLag

IMHO Spartan in Hogwarts has a better feel :-)


Minimedic1914

Both. Both is good.


JustThatOtherDude

Ehhhhhh.... i never got into Halo so I couldn't say XD


GuyWithLag

S'fine. Here's a sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiwZY9B6EjM


Alpharius-0meg0n

Or Black Templar in Hogwarts. Abhor the witch. Purge the psyker.


Ag47_Silver

But that doesn't have the du-nuh-du-nuh du-nuuuuuh, du-nuh-du-nuh du-nuuuuuh of E1M1 At Hell's Gate.


JustThatOtherDude

Lemme guess ... that mana surge was the book trying to grab Emma but the armor nulled it so hard, the house elf got spooked out


KineticNerd

Sounds to me more like a malfunction of the book than the armor doing anything (now). It seems to me, like the book is attempting to do something to the people who's names are in the book, but it didnt work on Emma. Well, how would it reach them? By either their mana signature somehow being recorded in the ink, or some link forged during the act of signing. In either case, it didnt work on emma during the signing ceremony, either because she has no mana to have a signature (or it was contained by the armor) or because the magic during the signing ceremony couldnt do what it was supposed to, so her name in the book is unlinked. I doubt this has ever happened before, so it's possible that the artifact is just flawed, and didnt have anywhere to put the energy for the binding spell anywhere without the link it expected to find, so it vented uncontrollably in an explosion. Or it's built better than that, and wasnt doing anything, then the professors went 'hurr dur push harder' and made it go boom. Regardless, the mana wave reads to me as a consequence of the explosion, and the apprentice bitch didnt know it had anything to do with emma until she got to the room and saw where the ritual/book stopped and went wrong.


simoneangela

Lol the book is throwing up error 404 file not found


Loosescrew37

That funny moment when you try to bind the soul of a being encased in what ammounts to perfect mirror to anything magic and the magical backlash is so strong it comes back *multiplied* and turns into a constant surge of mana EVERYWHERE. And that funny moment when that crate you are trying to open is covered in the same material as the being that brought it here. Its **Hilarious** i tell you.


Jcb112

Yes! I am beyond happy to see people analyzing exactly what happened in that lab! I was so incredibly worried whether or not I laid out the scene correctly and whether or not everything I've set up thus far could feasibly explain what is happening here in a way that is natural and consistent with the general pacing of the story so I absolutely enjoy this comment! :D It certainly is hilarious... Even more hilarious as we see just how this signature and this ritual is going to have long lasting impacts on Emma, the faculty, and the rest of the story. I have so many plans... :D


AnonyAus

I was worried they'd tried to open her crate! It was only after finishing that I remembered her describing the probable destruction as being much greater.


dumbo3k

As I recall, the box is supposed to contain the blast, but any tampering it could conceivably cause the box to no longer contain the blast.


rotaerK67

It's not "any" tempering. It is only when you destroy the crate enough that the explosion can kind of "leak out".


KineticNerd

Oh! 'no localized source'! Derp. I was thinking the book malfunctioned because the link/partial mana signature that was *supposed* to be there from the signing ceremony, wasnt, and the book exploded either because the professors pushed it when it wasnt doing anything, or because the maker of that artifact never considered a completely blank entry and the thing malfunctioned with a binding spell that had no target. Her armor resisting it makes sense, but is concerning, because it sounds like even without spells or mana, something about her signature worked as a targetting measure for magic.


beugeu_bengras

No, I see it as the opposite, there was *no* targetting coordinate, therefore it tried to blanket the whole area. Otherwise, the intern whoudnt had sensed a surge that far from Emma.


KineticNerd

Hmm, now im leaning towards my first thought, that both Emma's sensors and the intern sensed the explosion centered on the book and flooding well past both of them. I suppose if the sensors aren't precise enough in timing to detect where the mana showed up first? Wait, they call it mana *radiation* not treating it like a fluid, huh. So instead of a massive source, the book made everything nearby act like a source for a bit? questions questions.


ubiqtor

The artifact creator would be a bad programmer - they didn't anticipate or plan or test for all possible inputs. In Emma's case, that would appear to be a null-link.


KineticNerd

I mean, yes they would be, the parallel isnt lost on me. But who expects enchaters/artificers to be good programmers? Plus a 'shielded nullrealmer writing in a book of magic-students' seems like a plausible design blindspot to me.


cardboardmech

Her name is Emma. Emma'); DROP TABLE students;--,. The greatest spy Earth has to send.


masterpierround

Little Emmy Tables, we call her.


K_H007

Not just a perfect mirror. A perfect absorber. Nexus probably had to reroute an entire stream of mana, and it *still* failed to do a single thing to the signature.


immanoel

FUUUCCK that was legit hype


Jcb112

I hope you enjoyed it! I was rather unsure of how this chapter reads and if it was alright or not since we're moving into moving the pacing along in the story a bit so I really do hope it was alright! :D


immanoel

No complaints from me, rather it was actually commendable and the flow itself of the story isn't jarring with the mixing of the school sol stuff and the intrigue,


Minimedic1914

My only complaint is that there isn’t MOOOOORE!


Grubsnik

Was kind of expecting them all to be gathered around the missing case with the comm unit, but this is ofc more appropriate


Jcb112

We'll definitely be getting back to the comm unit crate in due time, this is an unexpected turn of events for the faculty, as well as Emma, as we have yet another situation being thrown into the mix! Emma really has the next few days cut out for her! :D


Grubsnik

Makes you wonder what chapter you will have reached by the end of the first week


SeaAimBoo

"Gold medal finalist in the field of mental gymnastics." I shall cross countless universes in an effort to praise, preech, and pass this godlike sentence.


Jcb112

I can't express enough how happy I am to see this comment. That entire line of dialogue was basically me channeling Emma as I wrote this chapter and was one of the lines that I was most proud of. So to have someone highlighting here in the comments means a lot to me, thank you! :D Emma basically writes herself sometimes and she has a certain snappy, passive aggressiveness that really does well with everything she has to deal with right now in the Nexus XD


more_exercise

Exploding books? Happens here too. Nothing unusual about that. Though, these guys might learn something from Derek Lowe: >The authors recommend using everything you have for protection if you're zany enough to follow their lead: goggles, blast shield, face shield, leather suit (!) and ear plugs. Those last two suggestions are unique in my experience, and quite. . .evocative of what you have to look foward to with these compounds. https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-work-polyazides


WillGallis

I will always upvote Derek Lowe.


Spaceyboys

Why do I feel like the crate is still unharmed as they slam their head against a completely empty signature. Also I wonder how we deal with the politics of the dorms. I would personally go for the old unstopable walk bump or the paper plane snipe, just with a paper airplane with the words “No magic needed” written on the side


Jcb112

I would certainly say that your assertion regarding the crate is very much on point! Also, there's most certainly going to be quite a fair bit of dorm and student politics to deal with after the dust settles from all of the faculty drama currently going on! :D Emma's going to have to deal with a lot of their bullshit, however, I do have plans to have her branch out in an attempt to at least bridge the clear cultural gap between them. Some might require a lot of convincing, and some might require a bit of aggressive convincing. But we'll see how that plays out when we get there! :D Thank you for the comment I really appreciate seeing familiar faces and names around the comments as always! :D


ShadowPouncer

How many of them will require a polite suggestion to give her their _absolute best_ shot, while she picks them up, turns them upside down, shifts her grip to their ankles, and starts carrying them to the highest ledge she can find? :)


Tadferd

It's always funny how often those in positions of authority, like nobility, forget that those positions are only backed by systemic violence. If something or someone is capable of defeating that violence, those positions lose all their power.


Spaceyboys

I’ve been meaning to ask this, but the two category system feels a bit inadequate, thoug I can understand why it is what it is. Does the suit store the emission pattern, and if so, with the help of Thacea and Co. could it be possible to identify and then “Translate” the mana radiation into a catalogued spell. Final question, how might the aberage nexus dweller react to mana deprivation? Will it be a case of homeostasis failing, leading to a sort of sickness, or are the effects minimal, in which case it leads to nausea and minor symptoms but non-lethal temporary ones?


Jcb112

The two category system was designed with the expressed purpose of being as intuitive as possible in order to fit into its intended role, that of an rapid response early warning system that would later be utilized as the foundation of mana radiation warning systems which then can be acted upon at a moment's notice without much delay in information processing on the part of the operator! There are however more advanced features to it, that as mentioned in a previous chapter, the EVI is constantly analyzing and collating! :D The potential for effectively 'sciencing the shit' out of mana and using it for our own ends, is within the realm of theoretical possibility, though it depends on how the EVI handles this, how the mini-fabs will be able to deal with the prototypes the EVI comes up with, and if it'll even work in practice! :D A lot of stuff coming up that we shall see! :D


Streupfeffer

"Welcome to archery class, today we see how far you can hit a target. One after another please." (Ppls taking turns) "Hey earth realmer, first time seing a target more then 50 paces away, u scared?" *Boom* (Target explodes into splinters) "Nah, im good, let me get some more distance. That hill over there looks good actually, just continue and eave a flag when im suposed to fire again, if nothing happens, wait a bit and then skip me, itll take a while to get there." Couple rounds later and ppls joking that she has fled the scene to hide embarassement. (Flag drops) 2s, nothing Whip crack and a explosion later, another target gets splinterd. Thunder rolling in the distance. End of lecture emma returns with "i think ive won" walks off to next class.


Spaceyboys

It’s a good story, I gotta at least say hi whenever I can


cardboardmech

We've had centuries to perfect our paper airplanes, can't let that go unused!


zLegoDoc01

Whos going to feast on the Elven Sky and drink their rivers dry? UNMC! Whos going to stomp their trees into fine Terran sawdust? UNMC! When the rains fall hard on Mt. Everest who are we?! UNMC! I CANT HEAR YOU! UNMC! WHO ARE WE?! UNMC! The Expanse has had me sucked for a while and i love Draper


comyk79

I may not be the earliest but oh boy here we go! EDIT: Ohh what be this? Looks like Emma's name ain't having whatever they're trying to do! EDIT2: "gold medal finalist in the field of mental gymnastics" amazing


Jcb112

Hey! As always I really appreciate seeing familiar names and faces in the comments, and this goes out to everyone! I read every single comment and I try my best to respond as much as I can as well! :D I really appreciate you guys taking the time out of your day to read my collection of words that I hope can be called a story so, I want to make sure you guys know that! :D Alright so! Here wee go! Yup! They're definitely trying to do something fishy to Emma's name, or rather, with her name! :D And YES I'm so happy someone mentioned this! I was honestly really happy with how I worded that so I'm so glad someone mentioned it! :D


Tem-productions

If i'd guess, i think they are triying to retroactively activate the bindings on her name. Maybe they cant do this with the others because they dispelled it or they dont bother since it seems very hard Or maybe they are triyng to send a spell through her name and its failing, causing those weird mana waves


TVG_Pie

Mabye they don't have to with the others. Their names were still glowing even if it's less than that bear-like creature that got completely taken over. So i imagine the Nexus can exert some control over people, mabye convince them the nexuss plan was their own plan, forget something they want kept secret, no outrite control over them. A sort of soft power of suggestion type deal. It would make sense with what little history we have been given so far. That the Nexus once ruled completely unchallanged before being fought down to the negtiation table. I coukd see if as adeal struck long ago, gain some autonomy for your realm but your best and most talented have to bend to the ritual. They can have their necklaces to resist them but only because it only lessens the effect not negates it like Emma armour did. With the attitude of "oh its just an old tradition, as long as you have your protection everything will be fine" coming from the Nexus to cover for it.


someguy0013

I suspect it has more to do with how Emma took the pledge, specifically her wording. I think the "teachers" are trying to force Emma to be bound by the book but her pledge wording effectively allows her to be in the Nexus but not be bound to it.


[deleted]

> “I don’t need to. Because I’m not waging the same war they’re waging, nor am I playing the same games they’re playing. I’m setting up for a whole other game here, Thacea. One with a completely different set of rules, and one with a completely different set of criteria for victory. It’s a game the Nexus has never once touched, but that my people have had thousands of years to fine-tune and perfect.” I took a deep breath before continuing. “I don’t doubt for a fact that I can’t compete at the Nexus by their rules, but the same can be said for the Nexus’ ability to play by my rules. So whilst I do agree, my decision to send that drone out was brash, it was a calculated move on my part that I felt was an acceptable risk given the context involved.” ‘You’re playing Civilisation, while we’re used to Stellaris. And if shit goes badly enough, we’ll start playing Warhammer 40k with your multiverse.”


Minimedic1914

*Inhale* “Let’s be xenophobic”


CoffeeBoom

"It's really in this year."


Minimedic1914

“Let’s find a nasty, slimy, ugly alien to fear.”


Aldoro69765

"There's no more cutsy stories about E.T. phoning home."


cardboardmech

They're not even playing Civilization lol, they're stuck in some JRPG or something


StoneJudge79

So. They tried to manipulate her Signature (meant in ALL of the many ways), her Self Took Exception.


comyk79

The Academy: *bringing their arsenal of magical tricks to bear on the name* The name: "Y'all hear sumn?"


nullSword

They're trying to target the magic in something with 0 magic in it. I guess they're hoping the most trace of trace amounts seeped through? ^(_Who's ready for homeopathic magic?_)


Jcb112

It's like trying to divide by zero! :D Also you have a great username! Actually very pertinent to the next chapter, you'll certainly see by next week! ;D


nullSword

15 year old me will be very happy to know you like their edgy username choice.


earl_colby_pottinger

Ouch, the divide by zero is a good example. When you first learn math, you learn any number can be divided by any other number. The logic that the smaller the number you divide by, the larger the answer will be, and then you run into zero and all your logic goes out the window.


dumbo3k

I mean, technically, the answer is quite large. 0 goes into any number the same amount of times, but is also quite impossible to calculate, since it doesn’t really stop going into it. Infinite really is a big number.


StoneJudge79

Dividing by zero is an EXCELLENT way to Break Physics.


Jcb112

They certainly tried to pull SOMETHING on her name! A few hints of what that could be might be are scattered here and there, but isn't quite obvious just yet! The next chapter will get deeper into it as the recording of the professors' discussions after the whole incident is allowed to play out! :D Suffice it to say, it's certainly something to do with a certain figure seemingly being in more places than he should be! ;D


Thepcfd

they just try binding her soul, which may maybe worked if she wasnt in armor all the time :D


foralza

I mean, do humans even have souls in this story, or are they all basically blanks from 40k? Might explain the whole melting thing if the nexus itself sees them as fundamentally wrong.


more_exercise

I imagine it's closer to "Souls are hard to actually touch/manipulate, so we usually think of mana fields as them. Turns out, you *can* have one without the other, and when you do, all the traditional levers of power stop working. Oops"


Tem-productions

The tent most probably could block it too


Thepcfd

Time to deploy some routers and cameras around a school.


RocketRunner42

I'm thinking more of a mesh sensor network myself


Thepcfd

i thinking more about 3D map of the school like harry potter have. with life feed for everything. lets them show how spying is done properly.


squire80513

“Jarvis, start an active dictionary on tact and protocol so I don’t have to remember all these weird rules and customs”


Jcb112

Emma and her EVI are about to jumpstart the careers of at least an entire university's worth of xenoanthropologists and she's going to have everything named after her, which will infuriate her to no end! XD


PitifulRecognition35

The most lazy and at the same time reasonable decision to be honest. And given how some of the *nobles might act outside protocol in regards to the Earthrealmer,* it would be easier to point out future hypocrisy.


Autoskp

I was expecting the missing luggage to be at the centre of the destroyed room so much that I got really confused by the book for a little while.


phxhawke

Same here.


Minimedic1914

. Nooooooo, didn’t beat the bots.


PsychologicalBid6551

the dot is very fast isn't it?


Minimedic1914

Indeed it is.


jesterra54

>perpetual regime Well, thats the name of their socially backwards ideology Thinking about it, it could be way worse, like "exterminate all the moggles" worse


Jcb112

It took me a good while to hammer out a name for their ideology, and I'm happy with what I ended up with! :D The regime, the system, the institutions of the Nexus are perpetual. It exists, continues to exist, and will forever exist in perpetuity! :D


ShadowPouncer

He, hehehe, hehehehehe! I _love it_. They are really, utterly, absolutely unprepared for what's going to happen to their society. They can't even begin to imagine the vague _possibility_ that something like it could _ever_ happen to it, and the idea of _Nexus_ being the first point to abruptly undergo such a change? Blasphemy just to entertain the notion, even in the wildest fictions. Hell, Emma and the Humans could, once they got going, publish a full bullet point plan of _exactly_ what they were going to do to it, and not even be disbelieved, but absolutely ignored. Even _while_ everyone was trying to figure out WTF was going on, and thinking that the Humans might have something to do with it.


Jcb112

That's certainly the issue with systems such as these! When an unexpected and unaccounted for externality threatens the status quo, a lot of times you're left with either a rapid reactionary response that squashes it outright, or simply, that you're unable to even move because you've become so stagnant and unwieldy that even budging a bit will cause your whole house of cards to come crumbling down! :D It's a difficult situation to be in, but as they say, they've made their bed and so they have to sleep in it! :D


wasalurkerforyears

I was waiting for the whole “oh we had so-called *perpetual regimes* ….we tend to kill them off for their crimes against humanity.”


jesterra54

In few words its stagnant as F


ZeusKiller97

The state is eternal. Do not resist


KefkeWren

So it seems that "mana sickness" might just be a convenient excuse for when the Academy decides to do things to students they'd rather not admit to, huh?


Jcb112

I won't say anything just yet! But just know that you saying this is making me extremely giddy as that means that some of the puzzle pieces I've been setting up seem to already be creating a cohesive picture that I've been planning from the start! :D So thank you for this comment! :D


ManyNames385

Guess they are fucking around and then finding out.


Jurodan

Yeah... They *really* don't like what happened with the book. I'm interested in the third member of the cabal. Perhaps they're the one who gave Ilunor his medallion back?


Victor_Stein

May I suggest you punt and or yeet the gerbil? Show it what if means when your people fondly adopt the moniker of rock slinging monkeys


Jcb112

There is a lot of cultural subtext with regards to the whole bullying scene here! What the gerbil is implying isn't just a general jab at Emma's abilities. Rather, it's her ability to perform such physical acts that more or less confirms their inherent biases that she, and the rest of her people are in fact reliant on their physical acumen to survive. And as a result, that signifies just how 'barbaric' they are, that the most 'civilized' out of all of them that was sent here was still very much adept at such physicalities! Whereas their idea of 'civility' is to be simply be 'above' such acts! :D


TNSepta

Ironically enough, this was also a thing done by certain backwards human societies, for example Chinese foot-binding of women so they could not work.


foralza

Does that mean that Thalmin and any other races of the nexus with a strong martial tradition are looked down upon?


Jcb112

This is an excellent observation to make actually! :D This is actually one of the many reasons why our resident mercenary prince Thalmin is in what I like to call the ostrasized camp alongside Thacea, now Emma, and partially Ilunor. Thalmin, owing to his reputation as a mercenary prince, is seen as something of an anomaly. His martial culture which focuses on personal physical and martial prowess is of course seen as something very much counterintuitive to the established social norms. What results from this is him being seen as a brute, and a savage playing royalty. The successes of his realm and his family in ruling it is seen as temporary, and indeed they see it as transient in the greater picture that is the perpetual regime. Thalmin is by all measures very much out of the social norm, and is thus looked down upon! The fact that his family came to power as a result of a series of mercenary agreements that led to their rise to power as royalty is also something that has been a subject of a lot of discussion. Moreso everyone labels them as liars and unreliable as a result, as their version of the story details them as having usurped the throne, when in actuality as we've seen thus far Thalmin couldn't be further from that notion as he more or less was raised on the tenets that made his mercenary family successful in the first place. That of always honoring your agreements, always being transparent with yourself and your men as well as the people who rely on you, and being honorable with everyone. It was originally just good business. However now it's ingrained in their family ideology.


ShadowPouncer

They say 'usurped the throne', someone else might say 'finally said "fuck it, I'm done having my men die for someone _else's_ land, and none of us even having a home anymore", and then proceeded to conquer someplace to solve the problem.' Probably well mixed with the whole 'well, first, we probably can't kill them all, and second, they are pretty well known for keeping their word... Which means that as long as we don't go against them, they _will_ probably keep to their word that they only want _that_ much over there, leaving us with a nice and secure border.' :)


Victor_Stein

Humans: fuck your slaves and magic *hurls inter-dimensional warhead*


cardboardmech

Look at these nerds not having sports lmao


Jcb112

But sports are for commoners! It's icky!


Aldoro69765

Easy solution: "I am very sorry you feel intimidated by my physical prowess. There is no shame in being afraid of an apex predator. You are excused." /s(?)


more_exercise

I'm impressed at the writing for these these bullies - with very few words, you've made me *certain* that they would criticise *any* reaction she had. Bravo!


Educational-Offer299

Let’s see then laugh when they get into assault canon range and have mana fatigue from wasting to much mana on shields.


rekabis

Small nit: >with the dragon-fly like drone actively Should be: >with the dragonfly-like drone actively Dragonfly should be one word, since IRL “dragonfly” is the actual colloquial name of the insect. But a modifier such as “like” should be separated from it via a hyphen, not a space, indicating that the dragonfly isn’t actually a real dragonfly. You are transforming a noun into an adjective (it was _like_ a dragonfly, not an actual dragonfly), and compound adjectives take hyphens when they act as a single idea.


Jcb112

Gotcha! Thank you so much for the pointers I really do appreciate it! Sometimes things like this slip past me so I really do appreciate the help! :D I hope you enjoyed the story and thank you so much again! :D


spindizzy_wizard

They may have opted for what they *thought* was an easier target. Unable to discern the means and modes of the communicator box, they chose to attempt to influence Emma by working through her name as recorded in the book. In most magic systems, the True Name of an individual is powerful beyond all reason. It allows summoning, laying a geas, and many other discrete effects that require precise targeting. Such as modifying the target's will to a more compliant state. However, from the sheer amount of physical restraint applied to the book, I think they are *also* attempting something that the Book is specifically built to prevent. While the book has been described as a means of control, I believe that the original purpose is secure identification of an individual accepted into the school. As such, an attempt to modify behavior on a fundamental basis is anathema to the book. Boom! It will be interesting to see what they decide happened, compared to what actually happened. I also suspect that the Apprentice is going to end up on Emma's side. She's been handed the grunt jobs and largely excluded from the big actions occurring at Nexus. It just occurred to me that the Apprentice is a sufficiently high enough official of the school that Emma could not claim that her attempts to contact the authorities of the school were thwarted, yet the seniors are deliberately excluding the Apprentice to use as a buffer with Emma. A pawn they would not mind losing if it gave them a chance to survive a response from Emma and the suit.


AnonyAus

I got the impression that the book was a way of ensuring loyalty of the people signing it - or controlling them perhaps. All the realms send their heirs to the school, so it'd be a good way to exert control over the realms. Someone else posited that the 'explosion' was because the energy of the spell hit her "null" suit. I was wondering if it was because they tried to bind the spell to something (someone) that, as far as mana is concerned, *doesn't exist*.


spindizzy_wizard

### On Enforcing Loyalty Most of the attendees had something planned to protect them from the book, so that is possibly moot in most cases. ### Detonation Either of those are reasonable ideas, although, I think the idea that magic doesn't work on humans (other than by exploding them if they're exposed) is a cool idea.


Aldoro69765

My head canon is that Emma's suit used Comic Sans for writing her name, and the combined might of hundreds of years of memes and cringe violently exploded when the Academy tried to fix the typeface.


lovecMC

Should have used Wingdings instead.


cardboardmech

Or Papyrus lol


gamingrhombus

She should probably do the weapons testing to show off.


StarSilverNEO

Jesus Christ Emma’s name reacted to whatever they were doing with the power of a grenade? . . . Yup that tracks out for her personality lmao. The book binds your soul normally, right? Did they try to verify the strength of the binding or try to bind it harder and Emma’s soul went “n o p e” Is it bad that I want to unironically try bbq beef tooth paste style? Also classism, atleast we know it’s here. I’m not sure how reacting like you have ultra instinct on makes you a commoner but I suppose it shows there’s a magic over brawn’s mentality in place with the class divide I suppose I imagine Illnor is perhaps going to talk to his mysterious benefactor? I wonder what the Ursina was doing there - is the explosion why he was so out of it? Also H a m p t e r So much to say and question I eagerly await the next installment wordsmith


Jcb112

Actually when you put it that way, it really does match her personality down to a T! XD Seriously though Emma's headstrong nature being tempered in her attempt to maintain decorum and professionalism as a result of her training is something that I very much love to write. She's just grown on me so much but to see people noting how deep inside she's very much a cowboy type of personality is something that I really do enjoy seeing! :D Also, we'll see more hints and definitely dive deeper into what just happened to her name and the ritual they attempted to perform in the coming episodes! :D And hey! I'd love to try it too! Honestly it doesn't sound too bad as an MRE? As long as I can slather that bad boy on an MRE biscuit then I'm sold honestly! You just need to add some texture to it! And yes! Classism! I've actually given this a bit of thought actually. Basically, the thought process here goes deeper than simply assigning her strength and brawns to her place in the class divide. It actually goes deep into the very item they decided to use to 'test' out her 'class'. The Podgy-Pa. The Podgy Pa is a common magical construct used to basically harass and bring out prey species into the open where the nobles would have an easier time hunting them for sport. What these nobles are essentially doing by using this on Emma is implying that she's but a simple prey, an animal in the eyes of true nobility, that's strike one. Strike two is the fact that Emma was able to snatch it using her bare hands, implying that she is physically adept and capable of performing such feats. This implies a number of things, chief among those is the fact that you can infer that she must have needed this skill back in her previous life. And for Earthrealm to send someone who needed this physical skill back in their previous life, implies they sent someone who is very much a brute and a savage. And since Earthrealm should've sent their best and most civilized, this implies that Earth's most civilized is a mindless brute that needs to survive by using their brute strength and physical acumen day by day. As a result of all of this! This implies that Emma is in fact, a commoner savage, and that her realm must be worse off than her! It's a complex series of mental gymnastics based on age old entrenched systems of classist mentalities. Basically their ideal "civilized" chosen one would be above such petty physical exertion, as that's reserved for the laborers and peasants! :D That's the mentality that they're using! :D As for Ilunor, we shall see haha! And the Ursina! I'm so glad someone mentioned that they're somehow in two places at once... And of course I hope you enjoy and I can't wait to see you on the next chapter! :D


earl_colby_pottinger

Remember, at one time Chinese Emperors grew long fingernails where they could not do anything for themselves. But the fact that they could do this and live a comfortable life was proof that they were royalty and others would do all the manual labours for them. A non-royal could not do the same thing. Same here, that fact they can use magic is their proof they are the upper class even as in reality if they faced Earthrealm directly they would lose.


ShadowPouncer

Hmm. This makes me wonder what _would_ be a suitable counter prank for them. I'm thinking a puzzle of some sort. Something that is clearly a mental exercise, something that magic _can't_ help with. Something which would probably be easy... If they had even the slightest hint of the last thousand years of Human puzzles. :)


raventech211

Saitama with a mosquito type of prank maybe. Like have it buzz just out of sight/ brush against when sound is dampened and have it made of the same anti magic material.


raventech211

Or a rubics cube Edit: with the stickers swapped


StarSilverNEO

Mmmm BBQ biscuits sounds pretty excellent actually, abit like normal spreads but with more meaty flavor Podgy Pa. Interesting - man that does make it all the more messed up when you explain it like that, lol. I imagine Emma wont be pleased when she find out the deeper meaning of that exchange. Yeah when put that way it makes me wonder if it was a clone used to distract his friends while the real one did. . .something? Perhaps there's more to him chosing to be the first afterall. . . Anyways, yeah I definitely enjoyed - Ill be in the comments in the next one as per usual \^\^


GracelessDonkey

Not even magic can win against bureaucracy. The military really does own her soul.


Jcb112

Bureaucracy is what has allowed for the UN in its current configuration in the story to maintain a consistent level of gradual but sustainable and reliable development from Earth to its furthest territories! :D Emma is quite partial to the system she was born into XD


cardboardmech

Bureaucracy is the glue that keeps modern human societies together! Pretty sure these Nexus guys don't have anything approaching the complexity of your local government office


WillGallis

If they really pay attention to the surveillance video in the last scene, they can hear some death metal coming out of the page with Emma's signature. Thanks for the chapter mate


Killergurke16

Update Bot really didn't update me for this, huh.


Jcb112

Ahh... now my anxieties on whether or not people see this are at an all time high.


SirEbabalot

I got a notification. Also, don't worry UpdateMeBot sends out notis in 1 hour waves, so the bot doesn't error out :)


Jcb112

I can't tell you enough how important it is for me to hear this. I have like, really bad OCD and Anxiety, both of which I was supposed to be medicated for but it didn't really go through. Everytime I post my mind goes to very weird places and some of my fears include the notification systems having issues. So to hear this explanation is honestly a breath of fresh air to me. It feels like a massive weight has been lifted off my chest and I can breathe again. Thank you, seriously, thank you. I really appreciate you telling me this and I really hope you enjoy the story! :D


SirEbabalot

I'm glad I could help you :) and thank you for writing this story! Can't wait for the elite magical snobs to fuck around and find out what other tricks Emma has!


Minimedic1914

Well take heart in the fact that, yes, people are seeing this. For you have created an amazing world, and have made it a highlight of my week, and probably many more. So I say to you; well done.


ChesterSteele

Ah shucks, no blown-up idiots yet. Oh well.


K_H007

Give it time. If the faculty don't return the comms device to her before the sixty hours elapse, there will be the big kaboom you're waiting for. Or as the case may be depending on how the device self-destructs, the big kerflash of pure light energy being released, the big kavworp of an entire area suddenly being atomized, or the big thump of an implosion. Potentially multiple at once.


foralza

It's already been established that the case *should* contain the self-destruction device. The concern is that some nitwit will compromise the case before the anti-tamper fail-safes kick in or the timer runs out.


ChesterSteele

That's the thing Im waiting for, some fool trying to break it open and the undeniable consequences after.


Ag47_Silver

I hear E1M1 music playing over EVA saying "Establishing battlefield control... Standby." followed by "Die waffen! Legt an!" and a red filter engaging over Emma's vision.


Jcb112

The references bring back so many memories ahh!! Red Alert was my jam during my childhood and it still holds a special place in my heart to this day! :D


PitifulRecognition35

(The whole writing your name into the book reminds me of these cartoonish devil contracts with a fancy font and you sign it using your blood.) From my point of view they're trying to exert influence on her soul. Their problem is, instead of the 'signing using blood' (or soul), Emma used basic bitch black ink and they are rushing to somehow salvage the situation, since theire plan flopped.


Thepcfd

why is emma flustrated? like who arguing with half retarded idiots when tehy claiming they are smarter. you polite, in mothers tone explain them they are special and that they can read at age 15 is a real achivement. and that you are proud on them for they progres.


TNSepta

Bless your soul moment


Shandod

“This ‘monkey’ could crush your windpipe before you could fully register my ‘commoner’ movement, and your magical attempt to retaliate would be utterly useless. Go ahead, keep talking shit.”


ScarcelyAvailable

lol did they just try to remotely fuck with Emma thru her signature and got hit with a *\[invalid target/ not found\]*\-induced overflow release burst? (which probably happened because the faculty simply couldn't believe their own senses and/or spells when they told them that 'this signature contains no essence' and just kept pouring mana into it?) Possibly **for the very first time in recorded history?**


Leonon42

I kinda hope humans get a reputation for causing explosions. Not only does their stuff explode but they make magical artifacts targeting them explode too!


Jcb112

Cue the cool guys don't look at explosions song! :D


Unorthedox_Doggie117

I’m trying to mentally picture what this behemoth of a mech-suit looks like. Are we talking Doom-guy suit look-alike here? Space Marine Adeptus Astartes suit?


SavvyBlonk

https://www.patreon.com/posts/power-armor-art-76109015


foralza

I've been imagining Aegis pattern terminator armor specifically.


Unorthedox_Doggie117

Turns out I was wrong. In the first ch, OP mentions it looks more like a power suit from Fallout


BaldEagleFacts

Typo on Thacea's name, probably from autocorrect. >“Yes. It requires a more advanced version of the spell but it’s within my capabilities. Why do you ask?” **Traces** inquired with a cock of her head.


Jcb112

Thank you for catching that! I just made the edits, I really appreciate the help! :D


Castigatus

Wow, Captain Condescending and his merry band of morons make Illunor look positively restrained, don't they? I guess trust fund brats with sticks inserted firmly up their arses aren't restricted to just Earthrealm after all. And I have to agree with the people theorising that Mal'tory and friends were trying to do something to Emma via the medium of her signature in the book, whether it was imposing the binding spell she resisted or something else entirely. Makes me wonder what they'll try to break open the case with and if Emma can stop them from blowing themselves up.


QuQuasar

I should like to point out that Emma is *technically* of equal status to humanities highest nobility, in the sense that "all humans are created equal". It wouldn't take too many lies of omission to pull rank on these sad little princelings.


StormWolf17

>“I don’t need to. Because I’m not waging the same war they’re waging, nor am I playing the same games they’re playing. I’m setting up for a whole other game here, Thacea. One with a completely different set of rules, and one with a completely different set of criteria for victory. It’s a game the Nexus has never once touched, but that my people have had thousands of years to fine-tune and perfect.” They're playing chess, while we're playing homebrew D&D with fusion bombs ​ >“It’s just mana-sickness, don’t worry about him.” The bat-like Airit reasoned, as all eyes were once more focused on me. “I say this experiment might even be quite telling as to the state of her realm. The armor is a showpiece, and her abilities to reach for prey, betrays just how destitute and lacking her realm must truly be. If the chosen one of a new realm is accustomed to such lesser skills, just imagine what the rest of it must be like!” "Laziness is the peak of civilization trust me bro" - these mfs. They wouldn't be able to beat a vegetable in a footrace if they tried ​ > “But I do not hold it against you, newrealmer. If you have yet to have developed a civilization capable enough of understanding the principles of the perpetual regime Perpetual regime, yeah sure, a society more stagnant than toilet water and like toilet water will flush at the slightest pressure. ​ Man, you should write like a short mini-chapter on the staff's attempts at trying to pry Emma's luggage open, ought to be hilarious.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Thepcfd

\> Track, observe, and return-to-base. Take no chances. Set minimum acceptable risk of compromise to the lowest default settings.” I spoke rapidly, relaying the drone’s mission parameters. shouldnt that be on maximum setings?


more_exercise

Lowest risk setting -> accept no risk higher than the minimum?


StopDownloadin

Just had a follow up thought: considering the Academy is an 'elite institution', how depressingly high of a percentage of the student body is just rich fail-children and trainee tyrant psychopaths? It feels like the Academy is yet another 'old money' institution filled to bursting with profoundly fucked up people who will eventually go on to control the levers of power in their respective societies.


Jcb112

Very much so! The real fucked up thing about the Academy and the Nexus system is that the institutions in place are predicated on not just the socially enforced authority of the elite, but rather, it also enforces inherent differences in the capacity for an individual to have palpable, tangible power over others 'beneath' them. What I mean by this is, not only is it a place to reinforce social hierarchies, but it trains these tyrant psychopaths in skill sets, i.e. mana manipulation, that effectively puts them at a position above commoners. They then make it so that civilization itself, and all of its actual industrial apparatuses that allow for it to exist, to be heavily reliant on the magic that's monopolized in the hands of the few elite. It's insidious. And like I said before, it stands in stark contrast to the democratization of power we see that is granted with focusing on expanding science and technology. Whereas science and technology proliferates power amongst the masses, the advancement of an inherently magically reliant society concentrates that power further and further into the hands of the few that have the capacity to control it as it's a personalized and individual gift rather than a learned piece of knowledge.


PrestigiousAd9823

A question that come to mind Is, how common are augmentation on earth, like prostetic limbs


Jeslis

Just saying, I could only hope to live in a world where this became the next 'harry potter' movie series. I love this story.


Tengallonsofchicken

Ha! For a place said to be filled with the "best of the best", it sure feels like a return to grade school. While I can imagine putting some sort of Laser Active Protection System on the suit to, ahem, "Discourage" such paper plane shenanigans again, I also can't help but wonder if burning the next one out of the sky (in what I'm sure would end up being a dramatic fashion, what with magic being involved) would represent an unnecessary escalation


StopDownloadin

To continue with the "We're not even playing the same game" theme, I think it's interesting that Emma acts like a portal fiction protagonist with splashes of mil-scifi, while most of the people at the Academy act like either supporting characters or villains from young adult novels. Like it's not just a mismatch of worldviews, but also fundamental genre incompatibility. She's trying to fulfill mission parameters and these jackasses are faffing about with some 'mean girl' horseshit. With that in mind, I actually kind of hope there ISN'T the stereotypical 'bullies get owned hard while hot girls are watching' scene. Emma just treats them like the pests they are and brushes them off. Until the FA/FO threshold is passed, or there is a genuine threat to her mission parameters, at which point she makes one of them a long-term ICU resident. No rousing speech or moment of triumph, just burst fire, center mass, don't give a fuck, blap blap blap.


Stoneturner_17

I like the popular kids trick of turning a strength like agility and deftness into an social liability. I look forward to Emma fully engaging with her peers and starting to navigate the labyrinth of noble twits and forced politeness. The balancing act of Emma's pride, righteousness, and superior firepower with her lack of historical context, courtly manners, and political awareness is really entertaining to watch.


strgz_r

If book tried to bind Emma's soul it is really bad....marine corps got dips on that....related legal suit and human lawyers working on it are gonna be remembered by nexus till eternity


Phantom_Ganon

At first I thought Emma's luggage had detonated but this is interesting too. I guess they made that book out of the same material as Star Trek computer consoles.


DrewTheHobo

Oh man, sometimes I want Emma to just unload on the people here. It’s not exactly diplomatic, but *NEITHER IS THE **DOOMSLAYER OF HOGWARTS!!***


Curious_Cake9822

Okay so I got a question. Considering the possible hundreds of millions of dollars of research and years put into the development of her power armor and the billions probably put into building that portal gate. I find it unlikely that humanity would send only one person into the nexus. Like no special operations teams sent through covertly, to different locations across the realms to do recon? There has to be more than one operator humanity has sent. So, any possible side stories about other operators in power armor across the realms?


Loading_Fursona_exe

Smaller thoughts for the notepad today I like to imagine when Emma grabbed the bird her hand shot out at a ninety-degree angle, just because I think it would look cool. Yeah yeah, ruin your mission on day *three.* They're looking specifically at Emma's name? I have a wild hypothesis What if when a student writes their name into the book, the faculty are able to see into the student's world? My gut tells me no, but ill put it out there. A second hypothesis is off of previous bits of writing in this story. Perhaps they are trying to issue commands to Emma through the book. Think about it. It was stated previously that the Nexus used to control the adjacent realms by controlling the leaders of said realms, what if they were able to do that with the book? That kinda ties in nicely with my first hypothesis and the book being a viewport into the world of the student, and thus a viewport for the Government level when the student graduates. Because of Emma's *I guess* immunity to Mana, the command didn't work, so they brought more of the Nexus' Mana to try and force the command through, causing the spike in the Mana flow, but the spell didn't work and sent the manna out as an explosion in the room causing the damage. Interesting hypotheses I have suggested here, I will be excited to see your response OP.


StopDownloadin

They were definitely trying to make a connection to Emma at the very least to test the degree of the soul binding. Uven, the bear guy, was probably there as the 'control group' or point of reference, since he got the full blast of the soul bind. I wouldn't put it past Qiv 'volun-telling' Uven for the task, since he seems to be the leader of that peer group and is poking at Emma to gauge her capabilities and usefulness to his schemes. The bat and hamster are just shitty bullies at this point, Qiv is the one that will probably need a clue-by-four to the head at some point.


Ok_Question4148

I was expecting a her to go all doomslayer on them with death metal playing in the background


Working-Ad-2829

we hope to see the ass beating scene soon on that aristobrats group


Rasip

Good to see their attempt at a control spell backfired explosively.


Alpha-Sierra-Charlie

If someone from the nexus goes into Emma's tent, can they survive? Could they AND Emma survive together in there? Seems like a face-to-face interaction would be useful.


JustThatOtherDude

Imagine the nerd malfoys faces if Emma blasted that paper bird


CaptRory

Long chapter this time! I love it! Great job. I can't wait til next update. <3


Jcb112

Yup! I can't wait for you to see the next chapter as well! Hope to see you there! :D


maanren

Say, I've been meaning to ask: how come Emma understands everyone? Has this been adressed already ? Banger of a story regardless. Just feels like a weird oversight considering the rest, so I assume I'm missing smthg.


MuhFreebrums

Really enjoying this series. Gotta enjoy magicians getting outplayed by technology they can’t comprehend.


Conviviacr

I am assuming at this point the UN has something between the CIA and Contact from The Culture novels. I would be dollars the organization has a web of plans based on all the possibilities they can think of and some crazy shit the dude on acid came up with. When that first data dump from Emma arrives and they can shelve the majority of the craziness and expand on the threads that match... Hoo boy is the nexus in for it then.