Master of Time

No, Sapphire. You have not failed me. If anything, I have failed you as your master. I did not expect to be away from Azula for this long, but there are simply things that are outside of my control, so please forgive this master of yours.

That is what I wanted to say to the dying teenager lying in two pieces on thee dirt besides my feet, but since it feels kind of cheesy and rather out of the character for my all-powerful master persona, I didn't bother to speak my mind.

Obviously, I would have if Sapphire was more than just a student of mine, as girls do love to hear these kinds of thing, especially when it is sincere and truthful from someone they care deeply about.

And it is sincere and truthful, coming from deepest part of my cold and unyielding heart.

I have planned to check up on Sapphire and her progress once every month or so, just to steer her and her study in the right direction. She is more or less a social experiment of mine, as a mean to confirm the growth of Hans and Alex.

The future Hans and Alex, I mean. They are both mages of the tenth-circle of magic, and while I believe their estimated power level, they are not as powerful as a mage of the tenth-circle should be. It cannot be helped since what they had learned and practiced are mostly from trial and error.

No one is there to teach them how to cultivate and fortify their magic correctly. If there was, I do think they would be a true powerhouse, capable of far more than they could have ever imagined.

To my knowledge, mages of that caliber are in the realm of legend on Azula if they actually exist at all.

Heroes and Champions of long forgotten past and recorded history are not even at that level, and they were still capable of slaying Gods and Demons alike. Probably not Gods like Zeus, but still, Gods. Gods that are worshiped by millions of Azulian.

It is very obvious that the method of studying, practicing, training and understanding magic determine how powerful a mage is relative to their peers. Talents and potentials also help as well as efforts, hard work, diligent and determination.

While Sapphire is determined to be a mage of first-circle of magic, she is capable of beating the living crap out of many mages of the first-circle, not to mention holding herself against not just one or two, but five mages of the second-circle.

Sure. They are lower second-circle mages, but they are mages of the second-circle.

That is a feat in itself.

And if Sapphire has unlimited magical energy at her disposal, she would probably able to defeat them without resorting to taking a defensive position. There is a legit reason to why I did not grant her such an advantage, and it is the same reason why I did not make Bruce an unstoppable juggernaut.

It is also the reason why I will learn magic properly despite I can pretty much slaughter mages whether they are first or fifth circle. I am sure even sixth circle mage will not be able to survive a thermal fusion bomb at point blank range.

And that is not the most powerful weapon at my disposal.

I already haven beaten up Gods with the power of the stars, and I am sure Zeus is more powerful than even a tenth-circle mage if he had fought seriously. So yes, no mortal on Azula should be able to harm me in any meaningful way.

The reason is simple. Borrowed powers are not actual powers. They can be taken away at any time. It is foolish to become completely reliance on them.

Incredibly stupid even.

The only power that is my own is the power over time. Even Terra herself cannot take that away from me. She can suppress it with her magic, but I can still feel my power within me, so it is not perfect.

This is not to mention that Erosire, the Primordial Sin of Lust is unable to disable my power despite he is more than capable of trapping me in an alternate reality. One that is taking place somewhere in the past of the prime-reality.

Speaking of Erosire, I am still feeling incredibly lustful even though this is a body composed entirely of micromachines. How am I still feeling lustful even though I cannot actually procreate. I mean, I could, but it would not be the same as having a real fleshy body.

It is not as severe as having a real fleshy body, however. But even so, it is troubling. Very troubling, as Azula has countless beauties. I feel like bending every beautiful girl I come across to give them my stick just to make myself feel good.

It will not feel as good as having a biomechanical body though. A biomechanical body is just like fleshy body with the added benefit of being literally invincible. Nothing short of a nuke can destroy it, as it is capable of rapid regeneration as long as there are raw materials available.

I tell Legion to start forging a new body for me. As long as it is on Azula, it should be fine. There hasn't been any crack in space and time yet, so I assume it is not considered a deviation of sort. It is probably the case, as whatever happen outside that alternate reality should not affect that reality.

Another thing I need to do is properly learn magic myself, as my magic seems to come from the spirit or soul, and my magic is something that I can truly call my power. Not a borrowed power.

The problem is Ingra. The damn dragon is preventing me from practicing magic normally and reaching my full potential as a mage.

I really need to find a way to remove the curse. Now more than ever, considered I have run into some of the most powerful entity within the multiverse. I have to acquire all the advantages that I could, or I would be forced into situation that I do not wish to be in.

How to remove Ingra is the question, but I might be able to learn how on Azula, especially with people like Kozak. He seems to have good understanding of the spirit and the soul, at least if it has something to do with the Samara Karmic Cycle.

The spirit and the soul are not the same thing. Spirit is considered the outer shell of a soul, acting like a physical body, allowing a soul to interact on the physical plane. A soul is just a spherical ball, existing within.

A soul can have many spiritual bodies, separately or layered over one another for increased protection or something of the sort. It is strange, but without a spirit body, the soul is defenseless. Striking a soul directly has devasting consequences, at least Kozak seems to think so.

But I take everything he knows with a grain of salt just like I take anything everyone tell me with some thoughts myself, and I am sure there is probably more reincarnated people like Kozak running around on Azula. People that remember their previous life and learn from their experiences.

Even if they do not, I have a spell to awaken it, allowing me to learn a lot about angels and devils along with Heavens and Hells.

Well. Enough for me to summon a devil or angel and learn more by probably the best kind of method.

Torture.

The same reason to why I have decided to masquerade as a Master Torturer. The title sounds dreadful, and it is. Torturers are somewhat like an Inquisitor of the Inquisition.

Basically, people, not necessarily mages, who love to torture people for fun.

Oh. Exacting information and confession too, but that is like a side effect of torturing someone. People just talks whatever to make the pain stop, and it might not be the truth either.

Torture alone rarely gets the truth, but with knowing whether they are lying or not through the power of magic or otherwise, it is extremely effective.

Mages are actually quite fearful of being imprisoned and tortured, but it mostly has to do with turning into a cripple at the hands of the torturers. There are methods of turning a mage into a normal person, stripping them of their magic, effectively making them lose everything that they had accomplished.

To a mage, becoming a cripple or a normal powerless person is a fate worse than death, and all those that they have offended when they were powerful mages will come for a payback, so it is simply better to just die.

Mages are quite easily offended, especially when one disrespects them. But of course, like any society like on Azula, there are idiots and morons that go out of their way to make trouble. These five mages for example.

Honestly, Sapphire should still be able to give them a fight of their life without me giving her unlimited magic, but she did not because it would just be a repeat of the last time when she beats up those who dare to offend me.

Sapphire is defending my honor, and for that I am thankful. Exceedingly thankful.

It is actually quite nice to have a student like her, who actually care and respect me as her master, and she should because it is the right thing to do. I would have done the same if I have a master. Do I really need one to study magic?

Not really at the moment, but who knows.

"Master? Is that her master? I cannot sense any magic from him."

"Me either, but how did he get here? He just appears out of now where like a fucking ghost. He is not a ghost, right? I do have any items that are effective against a ghost."

"No worry. I have some, but that guy is not a ghost. He has a shadow. Ghost do not have shadows, at least from what the elders have told me. I have not seen one for myself though, so I do not know."

"Who fucking cares. Your goddamn beast just killed her. Now what the hell do I do for fun now? Maybe I can take it on your junior? That pink-haired girl. What is her name?"

The five idiots continue talking to each other. Four actually. One of them is still shocked that I instantly kill his tamed beast. It is about second-circle, but so what? I have instantly killed a peak mage of third-circle like half an hour ago.

"M-master…"

Sapphire utters as blood streams out the corner of her lips. Her soft lips. Beautiful lips. And despite all the tears in her eyes, they are as mesmerizing as ever. If she could see through my expression clearly, she could see how lustful I am.

Sigh. I need to summon Eliana and get rid of my boner, but she is probably busy having a chat to Kozak right about now. Legion confirms that, as it is keep tracking of Eliana through Kozak.

Strange that Legion is unable to previously. Probably due to the barrier protecting that whole magical forest. It is a barrier erected by a Goddess after all. Goddess of the Moon, who is a no show. Probably already dead or licking her wounds somewhere.

"There is no need to speak, Sapphire."

I finally speak for the first time before she is whole again. Bruce as well, but not due to me or anything of the sort. The damage that had been caused by the wind blade is very effective as it ripped cleaning through all of the micromachines and severing the connection between each individual block.

But again, such damage is not permanent for something like Bruce. Also, those five idiots assume that Bruce is a tamed creature. If they bother to use some analytic spells, they would know it is a golem.

I suppose they did not think of that, being lower second-circle mages after all.

Should I waste them? They are still kids after all, and their profile are on displayed for me at my mental request. Maybe I should call these profile rap sheet. That is, their criminal record. They have been very naughty boys.

Very, very naughty boys. Time to discipline them then. It is my job as Master Torturer. Not really, but I am the closest to a disciplinary group for the academy. While there is a prison for mages somewhere underneath the academy, it is only used to keep people who are against the headmaster.

I will have to refurbish it. While I am at it, I will refurbish the whole school as well. It is better if Legion is the school. That way, I have eyes and ears everywhere within its walls.

"What the!? Are my eyes playing trick on me?"

One of the idiots calls out, seeing that Sapphire heals from all of her wounds. The others notice it too, but they are too shock to say anything. This is because even her clothes are completely restored with her magical power and mana reserve.

Mana is just another term for magical energy. I usually do not use it as it feels like a game. Maybe that is because I come from the modern world. Probably.

"Student greets Master Maxwell!"

Sapphire calls out and clasps her hands together to give me a respectful bow. Without her injuries as well as bloodstained faces, she looks a lot more attractive. Is she only like 15 or 16 at the moment?

That mean, she has not fully developed as woman yet. Ahem. What am I thinking? She is my student, so I should not try to get into her pants.

Although, it is probably as easy as telling Sapphire to strip out of her robe and get on the bed. I would not need to resort to using the Commandment ability either because it is my right as her master.

Sapphire would do it without much protest, but her opinion of me would become rock bottom.

Better to make her fall for me, and then reap the benefit. Eh? Maybe I should stop thinking of ways to bed her, especially when there are plenty of other beautiful women around. A couple of them are part of Bronwen's entourage.

They dress quite skimpy, and I did not speak much myself during then because I was ogling them from behind the desk. If I had any question about whether a machine can get an erection, I have my answer.

Ahem.

"Sapphire. Please teach these mages some humility. You do not need to hold back this time around. I want to see how much you have progressed, but of course, do not kill them, as I want to have a word with them before that."

And progress a lot she did. With a word of acknowledgement from her, she proceeds to beat the living crap out of those guys, casting spell much faster than them and striking each one with precision.

"What the hell!? How the fuck is she so strong? Was she holding back!? There is no way she is a fucking mage of the first circle. She has to be at least middle second-circle!"

"No. Higher. Goddamn it. Stop her so I can set up a formation. Ah!"

"Fire – Gak!"

Screams eventually replaces all kind of words, as the five idiots are burned and impaled by fire spears and balls and walls. Some other elements in between as well.

While Sapphire is naturally a fire mage, she does know other elements to compliment her power.

It is stupid to just learn and master a single element, as some monsters and creatures are completely immune to certain element naturally. Mages also build up resistance to certain element over certain period of time, thus a real mage master all the basic elements.

That is being Wind, Earth, Fire, Water and Lightning. Kozak masters all of them. In effect, he is one of the most versatile Archmage ever. He would be considered as a Pentagon Mage.

Being a Pentagon Mage allows him to use a host of sub-elemental magic. Like steam. Metal and so on, but all of this is not really important right now.

What is important is seeing how weak these five second-circle mages are. They probably have skipped peak stage of the first circle and swallowed a lot of boosting items. Not probably. More than certainly.

Not only that, they have a lot of help from their elders too.

Doing all of that is extremely detrimental to their growth as mages, thus it is already showing severely in this life or death battle. It is a life and death battle even though I did tell Sapphire not to kill them.

Of course, Sapphire still attacks them with all intention to kill, but she stops short of ending their lives.

And before she finishes teaching them all some humility, a beam of light crashes nearby. An insanely powerful aura radiates outwards and slams against Sapphire, forcing her to her knees.

"Master/Teacher!"

Three of the severely beaten boys call out tearfully. They are the only one who are still conscious. One more is, but he cannot speak at the moment. His face is smashed in with several of his teeth missing.

Sapphire does not hold back, and it is a good thing. No need to hold back against these young masters.

Yes. They are young masters. Annoying pests that plague many great stories, and as young masters, it is their right to have reinforcement. An older man clearly an Upper Archmage.

And there are two others. A man and a woman roughly in their mid-twenties. The guy is a good looking as far as good-looking guys go, and the girl is with impressive proportion.

Both are probably direct students of the Archmage.

"How dare you harm my –

The older man is instantly killed. His bloodied head with torned spinal cord is now within my powerful grip. There is no need to hear whatever he is going to say.

I will deal with him later. I will deal with all of them later.

The other two are utterly shocked as they did not see me move, and so are the others.

Sapphire included as for me to kill an Archmage like that, I must be of the fifth-circle or even higher.

I did not use magic or anything of the sort. It is purely speed.

Well. With the help of freezing time. No one can defend against that, at least not these mages at their level of magic. Time is absolute, and my words are absolute.

Everyone will learn that, including those that are under my wings.

"Please continue, Sapphire. You have not taught them all humility yet, and until you do, they will not learn that they are nothing in my eyes."