shiningboxofjustice | PSL Post - Ky Kiske and Signum

Hmph. Either it was some kind of projection that dissipated, or it used transportation magic. Both seem pretty implausible for something that's treated as a pest here, though...

[Signum looks around, seeing if there's any more of them waiting in ambush or some kind of controlling mage.]

...I see you're a lightning user, by the way.

I may ask about it back in town. If escape is unlikely, then having more knowledge of this world will only benefit us.

[He's a bit surprised she would comment on his preferred element.]

Ah...yes, I am. I hope that isn't a problem. I've always had an affinity for it.

Not a problem at all. I just seem to keep running into lighting mages.

[Not seeing (or sensing) a problem, Signum sheathes Laevatein.]

My personal affinity is fire, but most of my good spells with it require limited resources. A sword usually gets the job done on its own unless it's something I have to fight seriously.

...Well, that's an interesting coincidence. I'm...acquainted with a man proficient in fire magic back home.

[Only less "acquainted" and more like "archrivals." But at least they're on the same side, more or less.]

My own sword is particularly conducive to lightning magic, so it's difficult for me to fight without it. I usually have to consciously choose to not use magic to prevent it from being anything but a blade.

Anyway, we should probably keep moving. We'll need to defeat more of those wasps to fulfill the terms of the job.

Right. I suppose I may as well stay transformed...

[As long as they stay on the path and avoid scratchy underbrush, anyway. Hayate's design sense had never seen eye to eye with pants.]

I'll try to concentrate on where the next one goes if it disappears again. If it's transportation magic, it could be a clue to getting out of here.

[That's transforming? That was pretty much just a clothes change as far as his eyes could tell.]

All right, I'll leave it to you. In that case, I'll take the lead against further monsters.

[The word just slipped out of his mouth, but Ky didn't take it back. Wasps that big and that were capable of firing their stingers were absolutely monsters.]

We should also mark our path, so that we don't get lost on our way back to town.

Agreed.

[Even if she was loathe to give up the lead to someone else, he did seem to be as fast on his feet as most lightning mages.]

If we can continue flanking them, it should be simple to fight them without taking any damage. Those wings should be a weak point. Now...

[She takes her sword and casually lops off a tree branch.]

Sorry to use you for something so boring, Laevatein, but I can't exactly burn trees to leave a trail.

KEIN PROBLEM

[Yes, her sword just responded to her verbally in a slightly obnoxious robotic voice.]

...What was that?

[Ky is immediately suspicious. It isn't his first time hearing an artificial voice, but so far the only source of any artificial voice Ky has heard is from his robotic doppelgangers. Which don't exactly leave anybody with a good first impression.]

Hm? Oh, that was my Device.

[Unhooking the sheathed sword from her belt, she holds it out by way of introduction.]

Laevatein's been my sword for as long as I've been alive. He's not artificially intelligent, but on the plus side, that means I don't usually have to hear a dissenting opinion in the middle of a fight.

[Well, unless she was working with Agito. Or Vita. Or Nanoha. Or...well, really, Laevatein was the only person who didn't backtalk her from time to time.]

[If it's non-sentient, then that makes Ky less uneasy. However...]

It runs on magic, yes?

[If it doesn't, he wants to take the proper precautions.]

Well, obviously. You can't just hook an electrical battery up to a sword and expect it to keep up with Intelligent Devices.

[She does notice him tensing up, of course.]

What did you think it ran on?

Well...I was hoping it was magic, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't running on a more mundane power source. Even if we're in another world, I'm afraid I can't bring myself to trust Black Technology.

"Black Technology?" I'm afraid I haven't heard the term before.

[That settles it. There has to be a time discrepancy.]

Any kind of technology that runs on conventional physics. Steam, fossil fuels, nuclear energy, solar power, and so forth. Barring the nation of Zepp, they're banned across the world.

I assume this has something to do with the national-scale destruction you were talking about earlier.

That does seem rather arbitrary, though, since I fail to see how any of those things are more destructive than magic. Nuclear fission or fusion, maybe.

This was enacted before then. And it wasn't just weapons -- just look at how society had changed since the Industrial Revolution. We did away with it for the good of not only humanity, but for the Earth as a whole. We're free from the curse of fossil fuels and the adverse effects they have on the planet.

Well, I won't deny magic is cleaner, most of the time. And not having advanced chemical-powered electronics means I wouldn't have to learn to use a smartphone...

At any rate, I don't think it makes much of a difference here. I haven't seen mechanical technology more sophisticated than a waterwheel, and anything more advanced seems to use magic. It's familiar enough for both of us, yes?

Yes, very true. I'm sorry for derailing the topic. We should get back to the task at hand.

[He bows his head for a moment to clear it, then takes the lead down the beaten path.]

PSL Post - Ky Kiske and Signum

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