I woke up and took a bath. It was still strange to be in a female body but I had gotten used to it for the most part. I dressed up. Not in my uniform because I won’t be attending those lectures anymore. I have a very good idea of how to attack their weaknesses now. I also think I will be doing the lecturers a service by not showing up. Nilah was about to turn into a hat when I stopped her.


    No need, we’re going to sneak around now.


    She hopped on my shoulder and I entered stealth as I left the house. The lectures had already started but I didn''t have to be on time anymore. The halls were empty but I stayed vigilant. It was easier to get to Azu’s lab now that I knew how to get there. This corridor didn''t seem to have any detection magic. It became clear to me how Misha operate in the last month. These labs are abandoned. Nobody can get in but nobody is supposed to expect to know about them either. I faced Azu’s lab, used [Tsunami], [Azure Shark], [Azure Spear], and [Azure Mist], and the door unlocked. It was spacious. I got met by the smell of mistflowers. An enormous collection of magic runes seemed to be stored in special magic containers.


    All of the common, uncommon, and rare runes in large amounts. I didn''t know it was possible to store them. The centre of the lab seemed to be some sort of holographic template of magic circle bases. The magic runes could be placed in them and the effects could be observed. Several mana readers would interpret what the expected effect was and what the percentage of certainty it was. I threw some random runes on it and I seemed to create a magic skill that made a weak explosion and had a 1.52% chance to become an extremely strong explosion. It also had logs and more lab journals.


    The lab even had a bed. It seems she had spent many nights researching. I found the section that had the research materials and other literature. These were quite technical. Most of these were things she wrote. 2 were from another author but they were all from the same person. Did only 2 Misha study this in Misha history? That’s rough. Well, I’m not a Misha but I guess I will be the third. I started familiarizing myself with the basics again. It was an easy read and completed in 12 minutes. I could get my tails out here and went into ‘Library Mode’ flipping through the pages at high speed and reading everything with my Elgards eyes and archiving it. I could finish 11 written works per minute. One book in each hand and one in each tail.


    At the end of the day, I had consumed half of the literature, logs, journals, and books in here.


    Oof that is a lot to process. Shall we sleep for several nights Nilah?  I curled up in my tails with Nilah. It felt strange because these tails aren''t as comfy as I’m used to but it will do. My tails would process everything while I would sleep. I will turn a genius in this overnight, well not overnight multiple nights are needed.


    Day 305, I''ve been sleeping for 2 weeks. I ate something, used the shower in the lab, and went “Library Mode” on the other half of what was left, I slept for another 2 weeks after this.


    Day 319 and I was an expert. 0 actual experience but I am an expert in theory. The first thing I would do is improve all my current magic skills. They might drop in mana cost or just become stronger for the same amount and give me more bang for my buck before nausea sets in. Unfortunately for me, this lab only had one of these magic circle simulators, as I would call it. So, I could only improve them one by one. I had my tails as extra limbs so placing runes and testing this didn''t seem to take too long. I drastically improved almost every skill I knew.


    I also found out how to make these scale with my physical speed so I made duplicates. The original and the ones that also scaled based off my speed. This would be extremely important for when I would eventually create my sword. One of the skills I didn''t improve yet was [Nilah].


    Do you benefit if I improve this? Or do I have to cancel you and use you again? Will you even be the same if I do that?


    Nilah seemed to encourage me to improve it. I don''t think I will cancel her. Maybe in attempting to improve her, I will understand her better. While it took 5 days to improve most of my skills, I was working on [Nilah] for 15 days and had still a lot to do. It was extremely complex but there were also countless things that could be improved. Nilah had large parts of mana runes I couldn''t read so I only tinkered with the small section I could.


    Hey, I’m not turning you into a god with this right?


    She looked at me as if she had no clue what I was talking about.


    Day 347 and [Nilah] was improved. There was still a lot of room for improvement but this was good for now. I could make complicated seals and barriers on the fly now. Unsealing and dispelling magic seemed to be relatively easy now, at least the common magic and barriers. I would need time for more advanced ones. I couldn''t store these runes in my dimensional pocket but there was a method to create them. There is mana everywhere. And the runes can be formed out of mana. The elemental balance needs to be perfect as in every core element needs to have an equal percentage. It will then create arcane magic. I always thought arcane had no element. It''s not exactly correct but also not false either. Arcane has no element because it has earth, water, fire, wind, and lightning in equal amounts and thus shows no traits attributed to any of them. The more you know.


    Nilah seemed to have grown again. She was a medium-sized fox now. Still light so I could carry her on my head still. She was big enough to just walk and be able to keep up with me. I vaguely remember that [Ignis] used to do the same. [Nilah] also seemed to have picked up some things from this research. I never found out what she is exactly and I probably never will. I am so glad I was born a 9t this would have taken a lifetime otherwise. I hugged my tails.


    Thank you.


    I hid my tails after thanking them and beckoned Nilah.


    Nilah, hat!


    Nilah jumped on my head and turned into my Misha hat.


    The lab door opened and I peeked outside. The coast was clear, and nobody was here. The normal corridors were empty was what I concluded after walking around for several minutes. Was everyone on holiday? I walked into a lecture hall. It seemed as if there were people in here not too long ago, strange. The main floor seemed to have some people and they all seemed to head in the same direction. Curiosity got the better of me and I followed them. They all went to this enormous hall.


    Wha… what is this?!


    I saw an enormous picture of my face and written in magic letters: Agnès Oures Memorial service. I heard the voice of the librarian.


    “And then she said: Thank you for your services, I won''t bother you anymore, goodbye. And then to be never seen again! I didn''t know she was depressed! I should have seen the signs; she had no friends and was always reading until I had to kick her out. I wish I was a bit nicer to her…” The librarian started to cry even more. Another Misha comforted her. It seems that they did everything to find me but it was as if I completely disappeared without a trace, which is impossible of course. The most popular speculation is that I suicided with mana exsanguination and set up a magic circle to vaporize my remains. In that way, it would be impossible to find where and how I died. I decided that staying here might be a bad idea.


    “Aaah! It’s a ghost!”


    Uh oh, someone had spotted me.


    “Agnès? Is that you?!” Everyone turned around and looked at me. “Where have you been! We’ve been looking all over for you!”


    Uhhm, I had stomach cramps and got claimed by the toilet.


    “This lack of humor, it’s truly her!”


    Nono, continue, I don''t want to disturb you guys, I will just buy some ice cream!


    I ran away with some Misha on my heels. I guess disappearing and suddenly appearing might have this kind of effect. I dispelled and cancelled any attempt to catch me.


    “Wait! I want an explanation!”


    I just gave you one!


    While I was running, they were all flying on their staves. Nilah was still my hat but I feel like she was laughing at me. I threw my staff at them and made it [Explode]. Yes, that’s a new skill, well a new skill for me, there must be other skills that have that name but I didn''t learn all that stuff to not create new skills! It took out most of the lecturers temporarily. I jumped through a window and landed on the campus. There I saw a familiar chick crying.


    “Huh, I thought you were dead!”


    I might be in a bit if I don''t stop running, cya!


    A barrier formed around the academy and I was trapped.


    Ugh did Azu make this barrier? This might take a while to break.


    2 minutes in my attempt to break the barrier and I got a wand pointed at my neck.


    “You owe us an explanation Agnès!” I raised my hands in the air.


    “What are you doing?”


    Sorry, saw this on tv, take me to your leader.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    “Very well.”


    <hr>


    I sat in front of a very beautiful Misha, she had light green hair and glasses, unfortunately, her face was getting ruined as she didn''t seem to be very happy. The air was primed with mana. I had thrown my staff and they had confiscated Nilah. If I was a Misha, this would mean I was utterly screwed. I’m still screwed but it could be worse.


    “You have been absent for almost 2 months and were untraceable for that period of time, care to explain? I heard that you are a jokester but I would advise you to be serious and tell the truth.” I leaned forward, put my elbows on the desk, and rested my chin on my hands.


    You want the truth?


    “I was clear, was I not?”


    Alright then, I am a blacksmith trying to create a sword that can hold a specific type of magic but no matter what I did this seemed to be impossible so I snuck into this city to gain knowledge of how to achieve this but for that, I had to read a city block worth of books in the library. After that, I snuck into a secret lab and mastered a certain type of magic in the course of a month and when I came out you guys were holding a memorial service for me.


    The mana in the room surged.


    “Enough! I said tell the truth! No jokes!”


    Reality truly is stranger than fiction, eh? In that case, I did an experiment that landed me in a different dimension. I managed to get back in 10 minutes but it seems almost 2 months had passed.


    “Hmm headmaster, the librarian did spot something that seemed akin to a small dimensional rift” An unfamiliar Misha reported to the headmaster.


    Wait that lie worked?


    The headmaster adjusted her glasses. “Hmm, and how did you open that rift?”


    Dunno.


    “I have the feeling you’re hiding something from us.” She put Nilah on the table in front of her. “I don''t recognize the patterns on your hat, from what family are you?”


    Oures.


    “Yes, but are any branches in your family that are higher or lower?


    Uhm.


    I don''t know enough of my family tree to seem like I’m not lying.


    “Ok, let me ask you this, who let you in my city?”


    The border police.


    “Border police?”


    Sorry, I have spent a lot of time with humans, I had to go through procedures to get in, and I forgot what they were called.


    She stood up and paced around.


    “Spent a lot of time with humans, eh? And how long might that be? Most Misha here are at least 1 year old, you are practically a newborn!” Oh right, 1 year is 1000 years for them… is everyone that much older than me? Is this what they meant that I was so young? And asking how they can tell isn''t a great idea. “You wouldn''t have survived this long as a human. So, tell me what are you?”


    I am a Misha, just like you…


    “Who is your mother, what are her achievements?!”


    Uhm my mother Edea preferred to be more free than chase achievements.


    The mana in the room changed.


    “Edea? Now that I think of it you do resemble her quite a lot.” Multiple barriers formed around the room.


    Uh oh.


    “But this is strange, Edea wasn''t a Misha.” I felt killing intent. This headmaster hadn''t grabbed her catalyst yet but her hand was close to it. “Now I might be wrong, so tell me more about your mother.”


    Uh oh, I think I can''t fool her any longer. Mom what did you do to make this chick so angry?!


    She loves fish and…


    “I knew it! It’s Edea Hourai!” She grabbed her catalyst. I dispelled multiple deadly spells that she was preparing. The other Misha in the room also started targeting me.


    Nilah, we’re busted!


    Nilah returned to her fox form and blasted the area with frost magic. I got my tails out and started getting rid of all these barriers. The frost started to crack.


    That is new. They seem to circulate mana within their bodies but prevented it from getting out and getting completely sucked up by my frost magic. It needs a very good mana control. Only 4 seemed good enough in this to make a difference but the headmaster was the one I didn''t want to deal with.


    I broke the barriers and ran out.


    Ugh, I’m so slow as a chick.


    I used [Transform] and got it after the second try. I arrived at the campus and the stupid barrier was still surrounding the academy.


    “Catch him alive! But be careful he is a nine tailed spirit fox! Don''t kill him under any circumstances!” At least I’m getting out here alive if I mess up. I broke the barrier in 2 minutes and dashed off. I teleported and sat down on top of a tower 2 km further up and observed how a swarm of Misha took their staves and flew off looking for me.


    I guess they don''t like us that much Nilah.


    Nilah had stolen an insane amount of mana. Her fur seemed to be glistening. I was sitting on the tower in stealth and observed for the rest of the day the chaos that slowly spread. I guess they are very strong against anyone that tries to get in but once you get in it seems as if they''re headless chickens. Since anyone knows by now who I am and that I sneaked in I might as well walk around with my tails out.


    I got back home in stealth and rested. I messed around in the mini-lab and worked a bit on the time I needed to dispel barriers. I would have been caught if I stayed as a chick. Unfortunately, I wasn''t done with this place yet, there were so many books I needed to read.


    <hr>


    I snuck back into the academy the next morning. I got into the library and went ‘Library Mode’ on another interesting city block of books.


    “What the? I heard Agnès was actually a tailed fox, are you Agnès?”


    My real name is Agnis Hourai, but Agnès was my disguise yeah.


    I was still reading books in library mode. The librarian seemed captivated by how I was devouring information.


    “I’m sorry for kicking you out like I did every day.”


    Don''t worry about it, you were just doing your job. Shouldn''t you kick me out actually? I’m not a Misha nor am I a woman.  I started reading books from another bookshelf.


    “I wanted to apologize to you first.” She took out her catalyst. “I’m sorry but please leave!” I swapped her hat and catalyst with 2 books I just finished. The hats have some kind of magic on them to prevent this from happening but I cracked the code. Misha without their hats and catalysts are quite harmless. “What? How?!”


    I’m sorry but this is important to me, you’ll get them back once I’m done for the day.


    Some Misha burst in 2 hours after. I stole their catalysts and hats too.


    Right, you guys are too noisy. I’m done for the day.


    I returned the catalysts and hats to them and they started attacking me. I didn''t need practice evading but I could with interrupting, dispelling, and cancelling magic.


    “He’s back!” Another group of Misha tried to catch me. I had a good time messing with their attacks. Then I felt a strong mana burst.


    Shit, the headmaster is here!


    “Come here son of Edea!”


    Do I get a prize if I do?


    “These comments, I should have known you’re a tailed fox!” The headmaster could cast multiple skills simultaneously so this was a challenge to mess with. I wondered if I could do this too. It looked overpowered and useful. I kept evading and dispelling and cancelling her attacks trying to figure out this trick. I could do 2 at once but she could do 7.


    Is this a passive skill? I should be able to create passives too. It would just take longer to create than normal skills. I had only created 1 passive. It was simple but very strong for me. It increases the damage I do to anything that''s under a control effect. It is simple and for most people useless. So that''s why it was easy for me to make. Most skills that are relatively useless are cheap or easy to use, doesn''t matter how strong they are. There could be a skill that one shots anyone that does a specific dance at a specific time of the day. It would be a super strong but also super useless skill but probably anyone could make it or learn it. I bundled some wires and caught all the Misha in a web.


    Right, that was enough practice for me, cya!


    I tugged on my [Dimensional Anchor] and returned home, Azu''s home. That was fun. The interference I got by teleporting here with a dimensional teleport was easier to get through now that I was better at magic runes.