Quest of Automata King

Being Reborn

Everything that happened last night feel like a dream. Mui opened his eyes and listened to the chirping bird outside.

Slowly, his eyes are opening up, and he could see the light of day from the opened window, and bursting through the room. Mui tried to strighten his back and sit at his bed. He notice that he is wearing a black coat that Mui himself does not remember where did he get it.

“Oh dear,” grunt Mui. His head feels dizzy and hurt all over. After his vision are starting to adapt with the room, Mui notice that he is the only person inside this dormitory room.

“Karas?” Mui looked under the bed, and the Beastmen is nowhere to be found. So does the Elf and Human named Robert.

Mui’s eyebrow flicked, now he is alone inside the room. An idea come through his head, and it is coming out from his mouth.

“Goettia?” asked Mui with the tone of calling.

No anwer, but he tried it again for the second time.

“Hey, Goettia?” asked him.

Still no answer. Mui let out a sigh and lean back to the side of his bed. Of course what happened last night is not real, there are no mysterious ruin, or magic grimoire that could talk. Especially when that book turns aout to be the soul of the Automata King himself.

Mui shrug his body and once again noticed the black cloak that is wrapping his stomach.

“Where is this came from?” think Mui. He tried to shake the fabric off as a voice suddenly appeared beside him.

“Hey, finally wake up, boy?”

“Whoa! What the-“

Mui jumped to the other side of the bed, that voice is the same from the one his dream. That book, Goettia, now is floating at the end of his bed, around 3 meters from the ground.

Shine by the light of day is a book with green cover, with strange eyes on it. The eyes are clearly functional, and able to convey emotion from whatever is that controlling the magic book. Mui remember it clearly last night, that talking grimoire is telling the story that he used to be the Automata King that cheat death and turned into magic item.

“Wait you... Are real?” said Mui with unbelieveing tone.

“How rude! Of course I’am real! Did you hit your head on something?” replied Goettia angrily. “Jeez, i don’t know that mana deprivation could effect this hard on the brain, or maybe, you’re just weak, Mui!” said Goettia. It float back under the bed.

“Wait! So that’s mean all of that things happened are real? The contracts and everything?” asked Mui, he reached the other end of the bed and looking at Goettia who is floating on top of his personal desk.

“Hmmh, yeah, they are real alright. Our conversation about who I am, how come I come into this form, and our agreement for you to become my host,” Goettia flipping the pages of Mui’s book one by one. It mumble everytime it find something interesting to read.

At the history book, he reached the page that telling one of the event of the war.“Oh I see, so that is what happened after our loss that time. Humans are cunning aren’t they?” said Goettia without expecting Mui to reply it.

On the other hand, Mui get up from his bed. He remove the mysterious cloak and drop it to the floor. Since he is awake, Mui feels different throughout his entire body, so he opened his clothes and inspect it.

“What... What is this?” said Mui, not believing of what he touch.

Through his eyes, Mui is touching his own breast, but this time is not skinny meat with barely any fat. Instead, it is a solid mucle.

“This is... My body?”

“Neat isn’t it? I made it myself,” Goettia floating in front of Mui, proudly claim what he said to be his work.

“...You can do this?” reply Mui skeptically. As far as he know, the magic to tranform another body are temporary, and uses a lot of energy.

“Pfft, I’m kidding, it’s not me that making that body,” laughed Goettia, while Mui rolling his eye upward. “No, i’m not making that muscles, it once owned by that lost person in the forest. After you petrified it, I got an idea to transfer his muscle mass toward your skinny body,” laugh Goettia.

Mui goes silent, he try to digest what Goettia has said. He did remember yesterday, after forming contract, Goettia and Mui unluckily found out by one of the prefect that patrolling into the woods.

That is the first time Mui cast the magic easily, he didn’t even need to channel his mana like Emmellia teached, all he need to do is choosing from those weird boxes, and the spell suddenly appear.

Talking about that weird box-thing, they are still present in Mui’s vision. But weird, Mui did not feel that those ‘indicators’ are bugging him, like the first time he seen it. As if he know this ability since he was born.

“Wait... That prefect in the woods... Are we also kill him?” ask Mui. He looked at his arm in teror.

There is a little bit of pause before Goettia answer him. Instead, he chooses to flipping the pages of the book.

“...Goettia?” Challender walk closer to the magic book, but suddenly it turn it’s body and replied.

“Calm down no harms happened to him,” it said. “I just stole some of his muscle mass, the worst thing happened to him is that he will feel weaker for some days, and his body weight will drop.”

“But... what about the spell that i cast?”

“It was temporary. The spell will wear out after three hours,” explain Goettia.

Mui let out a sigh. He feel his body tension went away, and he take a seat at Karas’s bed.

“Thank Gods, we’re not went as far as killing,” said Mui, but Goettia looked at him from the side of it’s eye.

It flipped the book one last time, and flowing in front of Mui.

“Are killing really that bad, Mui?” Asked him.

“Of course! What will happened if we’re going to get caught!? The repurtation of me and other Devils will be at stake here!” said Mui angrily.

“The Repurtation of you and other Devils?” Goettia looking at the book that he previously read, and then back toward Mui. “The Devils after the war... They have been mistreated aren’t they?” asked Goettia.

“...I heard so, according of what I have experienced too. Other races are not too fond with the Devils,” Mui remember all the bad times that he had experienced.

 There is a paused between Goettia and Mui for a moment. The grimoire just floating back and forth, while Mui waiting for him to respond. But after that, suddenly the window is opened, and gust of wind coming inside the room.

It was big enough, that Mui have to cover his eyes, so dust won’t hurt him. That wind then carrying that cloak, and dropped it to Mui’s lap.

That wind is none other than magic, even Mui himself know about this. Apparently Goettia used to be a wind user throughout his life, that’s why he can control wind without need to cast a spell or focusing too much on channeling his mana.

“That guard might be fine, but it will not take long for the rumor to spread on this school,” said Goettia.

Rumor... Mui might understand what is he just talking about.

“He may be unconscious right now, and then quickly taken to the infrimary for treatment. But after that what happened? He will tel about one of the student that wandering into the woods at night. Probably Black Magic practice.”

Mui swallow his saliva. If there is something that even Devils are staying away from, it might be Black Magic. Otto once tell the class for the sake of education, but Black Magic are practices that mainly need to be conducted using sacrifice.

“Black Magic not only using ‘mana’ from the universe, I heard that they are also drawing power from the evil god, ‘The Cursed One’,” said Mui.

“Yes. Even in my previous time, i never promote Black Magic. Althought i could,” Goettina went quiet again. He looked to the side as if contemplating through his past mistake.

“What i wanted to say Mui, is to remind you your place is this academy. Remember that you are the anomaly, one Devil, in a million of other races. Your transfromation will bring enemy, especially they that you want to take revenge in the first place. When that time come, you have to prepare yourself to dip your hand into the pool of blood,” explain Goettia.

Mui looking at that cloak while listening to Goettia seriously. This time he is lucky, but not for the next time.

Suddenly a fire appeared on the cloak. Mui surprised and quickly threw it down to the floor. The small fire suddenly turned bigger, and swallow the cloak whole. The only thing that different, is the table, and bed doesn’t catch the fire.

Mui looking at Goettia, and they exchange stare. Mui realized that the fire also come from Goettia, destroying the prove of their involvement. After that, the gust of wind come inside the room again, and the burning cloak flew outside of the room elsewhere.

“Now,” suddenly Goettia back to his usual self. “You still have time to get to the second period in the noon right? Well you better get going then.”

Goettia back to Mui’s desk and reading more of the book. Meanwhile, Mui changing his clothes, and preparing to attend Chiro’s class.