V.Vizard! 9

Focal point is easy, and really entertaining. I froze the water into an orb, and rotated it as if I was some sort of fortune teller. That's incredibly fun! I tried all sorts of cool things, like tossing the orb and fixating it right before it hit the ground. It's really, really fun.

... Well, at least Focal Point's down, but well, the thing is, for rotating the spear...

I can't get it to work!!!

DANG IT. Xavier said that North-Southenise theory is needed to tilt the spear towards the target. Which means, I have to use two theories at once, which, naturally brings about a certain level of difficulty focusing on both at the same time. The issue isn't the fact that I can't juggle the integration of the techniques, though.

It's not working! I'm imagining the spear as South, and the metal pipe as North, but I can't get the spear to rotate!

... I really need help.

"Hey, Dekon?"

"Just keep practicing, and you'd get it soon enough."

... What a lazy person.

... I don't get it, though. It works perfectly fine when I use Southenise on that small ball of tissue, but it just doesn't rotate when I use Southenise on the spear!

"My spear isn't rotating!"

"You probably haven't got the Magnetism theory right then!"

"I got it right for a ball of tissue, but how did I get this wrong!?"

"Just keep trying!!! It's probably your integration!"

I wish someone competent were here to guide me step-by-step like those lame guides so many people ignore in multiplayer online games.

... Now that I think about it, I guess I'd appreciate and cherish these guides they put into games a lot more now. Well, if I ever have to time to play said games, that is.

What I don't understand is, if it worked on tissue, which was made from wood, why can't it rotate the spear, which is made of water!?

I... don't get it!!!!!

GEH. I'll give it a rest for now. Maybe I'd get some inspiration if I watched the match outside.

*** ***

Emerging from the top of a flight of stairs, I am greeted by the corner of the stage.

On the top was apparently a guy who's using some sort of weird technique that allows him to destroy the huge washing machine the same way he's hurting the small plushie in his hand.

Some sort of... Voodoo art, perhaps? I didn't even think about that, voodoo... Unbelievable.

The world of v.vizards and their magic is astounding.

... What IS that magic he's using, I wonder?

... Huh. "Werderschteiner the Puppet Master"... That doesn't help much.

I want to ask the people around me for help, but i don't want to interrupt them while they're watching this Werderschteiner guy.

That guy in the chair, playing a console game seems pretty relaxed though...

Maybe I should ask him, since the game can probably be paused?

"Uhm... Excuse me?"

"What do you want?"

He's playing some sort of action game with an open world, and a lot of ducks, apparently. I don't recognise it though.

"Uhm... If I may ask a question?"

"Sorry, I can't do that. This game's got no pause button."

A game with no pause button? I haven't heard of it...

"I have yet to see a game without a pause button..."

"Well, believe it or not, it's right here. Duck Soles. Familiar with this title? You can't pause the game as you wish."

Duck Soles? I kind of remember it... It was the spiritual successor of Dimen's Soles, wasn't it?

"Oh. Sorry for interrupting you then."

"Leave a number on that notepad right there. I'll call you when I beat this game. Then we'll talk."

... Well, at least he seems willing to help me.

I wrote my number, and went back to watching the fight on stage.

*** ***

I've seen how a Puppet Master or whatever he was crush trash without physically touching it, I've seen a Pyromancer take the tr- out of trash, I've seen some guy called the Transmogrifying Expert that turned the scraps down into nothing, and created sweets out of midair to share with the audience. And still, I haven't managed to work out how to rotate my ice spear.

I'm starting to wonder if coming down here was any actual help at all.

Well, there's some guy walking towards me right now. He looks burly, and muscular, and has a moustache far thicker than mine, and a beard too.  Wearing a bandana on his head, having a grouchy face and squinted eyes, a checkered shirt torn out from the side, with those jeans and leather shoes, I feel like I'm staring at some big powerful bodyguard here.

"Hey. I saw you asking for help just now." He doesn't sound too friendly, but I guess it's probably his accent or voice.

"Uhh... Yeah, why?"

"What business do you have with Stratos?"

Stratos? Who is that?

"Who's Stratos?"

"The guy playing Duck Soles over there? The only guy whose magic compatibility is the weather itself? Don't play dumb. I saw you talking to him."

Hold up, what? That guy playing the game over there can change the weather as he pleases?

"His specialty is the weather? I uh... I didn't know. I just wanted to look for somebody to help me out with some issues I got, you know."

"Don't even think about it. He's not some weather machine that can change your date on a rainy day."

What? A date? Is this guy even a v.vizard or something? Why would I risk losing my v.vizard powers without becoming powerful enough to make history yet? Also, I know nothing about his weather-changing powers. Why is he staring me down like that!?

"... I didn't ask him to help change the weather. I just wanted him to show me-"

"To show you what? How he changes the weather? Mr. Stratos has had enough with fools like you."

"-TO SHOW ME, How to rotate, an ice, spear."

Sheesh, this guy doesn't let up.

He seemed to flinch a little when I shouted that. I didn't want to intimidate him or anything, but he's just too persistent. Guys like him are really hard to talk to, assuming they're right every single time.

"... Seriously? Just to rotate an ice spear?"

"He was playing a game, not watching the match. I thought he could pause it and teach me for like, a few minutes."

"Oh, er, sorry. I thought you were one of those people trying to worm out of trouble. Well, sorry for finding trouble on you. Name's Kakain."

"Vance. And I have no mentor to actually assist me nor guide me, so I'm in quite a dilemma here. I wouldn't need to ask him if I could find someone reliable enough to teach me how to rotate a simple ice spear."

He looked at me, ready to move out. Well, he certainly seems quite motivated to take the burdens of that Mr. Stratos away. I wonder if that guy pays Kakain as a bodyguard or something.

"Let's go teach you that technique then. Take it as an apology for misunderstanding you."

*** ***

"Okay, here. Look at this."

Set North as the metal pole on the ground there, South as this shirt button in my hand. Apply!

The button, naturally, flew towards the metal pole readily, despite not being metallic.

"See? I can do Northenise and Southenise perfectly. The problem comes with this."

I cushion layers of air beneath a small drop of water, and let it fall, pinching the water in the space it falls through to form a spear. Freezing it quickly to set the spear's shape before it deforms, I get on to the problem.

"See, here's the thing. Let me Focal Point this little spear first."

Imagine the light piercing the spear as a pair of chopsticks, clip it gently in midair.

Focal Point!

"See, the spear is fixated like this. But, when I apply Southenise to this, and Northenise to that metal pole there..."

Set North as the metal pole on the ground there, South as this ice spear. Apply!

"The spear stays constant. It's supposed to rotate and face the pole, but it isn't!"

"... Hmm... When you cast Southenise, do you apply it to the whole spear or something?"

"Yes, why?"

Kakain places his hand behind his head, patting himself like he's done something commendable or something.

"Well, not to be rude or anything, Vance, but you can apply Southenise to only one end of the entire spear. You know, turn the spear into a magnet itself, instead of it just being the South pole."

... !!! Of course! That makes so much sense! If the entire spear was South, it would all be attracted towards North, counteracting itself out!

Following his advice, I set the Southenise to only one end of the spear.

It swivelled about for a while, and finally faced the metal pole!

"YYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH, KAKAIN!!!"

"Oh, and one more thing."

? He seems to have something else to add on.

"Have you heard of the Dust Devil theory?"

Dust... Devil theory? What is that?

"No... I haven't heard of it."

"Well, imagine this : You're pushing sugar cane through a processor to get sugar cane juice, right?"

Yeah, I can imagine that.

"What if that processor didn't have drums made of metal, but rather made up of air? Do you think the sugar cane would be crushed?"

... I don't think it would be. Air can't possible crush the sugar cane like that.

"Now, if the drums were made of air, do you think pushing the sugar cane through these rotating drums is much easier?"

"Yeah, most definitely."

He flashes a wide grin. "Exactly. That's the Dust Devil theory."

... ? I... didn't understand his explanation...

"Look, kid, there's something in the world called Dust Devils. They're like tornadoes that don't send people flying up in a spiral, but rather just sends them flying up linearly. They're like vacuum cleaners, you know. Read it up on Weekypeedear if you don't know what it is."

Vacuum cleaners? I can certainly imagine that. Also, I might just Googirl the term Dust Devil instead, since Weekypeedear is a community-edited site.

"That's the Dust Devil theory. Run a full tunnel of air rotating in the same direction as the ice to increase the spear's acceleration. It's a combination technique, but if you use combination magic well, that spear's going to pierce even tank armour."

... Wow. Tank armour, pierced by ice? That's a first. I feel rather happy he shared with me a secret like that. My second day here suddenly turned for the better... It almost feels too good to be true.

*** ***

Or maybe it is too good to be true.

"Hey, Dekon."

"What is it this time, Vance?"

"Can you explain the 'Dust Devil' theory to me?"

"Never heard of a theory like that."

... What? That can't be possible... If he didn't hear about the theory, then could it be... invalid!? Did Kakain trick me?

"But... That guy, Kakain, said I can use it to increase my spear's speed! Does it not exist?"

"... Kid, there are two types of theories that exist. Recognised theories, and unrecognised theories."

... Recognised and unrecognised?

"What differences do they have?"

"Exactly what their name implies. One's recognised by the public and is officially accepted, because it's easy to visualise and recognise the theory. For example, the coagulation theory involves heating up and stirring up proteins in order to change them - to coagulate them. That theory can be easily understood from an egg frying on a pan, or being beaten into foam. On the other hand, the rest of them which can't be understood by everyone, are unrecognised theories. Stuff like this is like the Enderer's Unsubsiding Flames of Hatred, or Nephel's Interlinker theory, stuff not everyone can understand."

"... So... Kakain taught me an unrecognised theory?"

"You can say that. I don't even know what it's about. But, if it works, it works."

... Suddenly, I feel honoured. He taught me a technique not everyone knew just as an apology, but I can roughly understand the Dust Devil theory. I'd be sure to put it to good use once I master the practical parts of it.

"What the hell's a dust devil anyway?"

"... Yeeeaaah. Weekypeedear or Googirl it up, Dekon. It's easier to explain that way."

This place... isn't as bad as I thought.

I might bring Homei here when she becomes a v.vitch herself. And hopefully, by then I can become her mentor, so she doesn't have to suffer my fate. So, until that day, I'd work hard to become a good mentor that can teach her many things to come.