Chapter 360. Mech vs. Giant.

  “Rico, do you want to answer the question?” Professor Conley asked, snapping me out of the drowsy lethargy I’d slipped into. While my enhanced body didn’t need as much sleep anymore, I was pretty worn down after the fight Zerallia and the subsequent confrontation with Professor Dalzrin.

  My schedule today was with Professor Conley who taught the second-year students in support magic. While the spells for my class were limited, they were mostly focused on supporting my minions which was the point of the class. Unfortunately for me, Professor Conley was an older human man that reminded me of several boring college professors that I’d encountered over the years.

  He presented what should be an incredibly exciting topic, magic, in a painfully dry manner. The class was nearing its end when he finally opened things up to the twenty or so students in the class for questions. Today’s lesson had been focused on healing, which I had some experience in. The question from the student was whether it was better to just summon a new minion or use up some of your mana reserve to heal an injured minion.

  “I’d be glad to answer, Professor Conley,” I said, standing from where I had been sitting at a smaller desk next to the professor. It took me a moment to gather my thoughts before continuing.

  “There’s not a hard and fast answer, and as with most things magical, there are situational nuances that you must consider. We also have to deal with our class limitations. At least for myself, I summon a smaller number of powerful minions, and healing is often my only solution in a dangerous situation due to the cooldowns for resummoning my minions.

  “If you have a class that can pump out several weaker minions, I’d be more inclined to say accept your losses and just replace them. I would also caution you to match the healing spell to the situation,” I answered.

  “Let’s not let Professor Kline off the hook so easily, give him a more complete scenario and we’ll see how he would handle it,” Professor Conley told the class. The students looked at each other for a moment before one, a small gnomish woman, raised her hand.

  “Professor Kline, what if you’re facing a single, powerful opponent, say like an ogre, and you can summon multiple weaker minions like my class does? Initially, the mana cost for my summoning is limited, but the more summoning spells I cast in a short period of time, the greater the cost ramps up,” she asked.

  “That’s a good question, what kind of injuries to your minion are we talking about here?” I asked.

  “Let’s say a glancing blow from the ogre shattered the arm of my minion, making them almost useless unless they’re healed,” she added.

  “In the case you described, how is your mana pool doing?” I asked.

  “It’s just below half, and my next summoning will eat up a quarter of what’s left,” the gnome answered.

  “What type of healing spells are we working with, and is there any other support spells in your arsenal that might be of use?” I asked. It was hard doing hypotheticals with mages, especially summoners, where there were so many variables to consider.

  “I have a weaker healing spell that affects up to four minions at once, and a more powerful, ranged heal that is single target. Both take about the same mana, say half of what summoning another minion would cost,” she answered.

  “What is your objective? Are you trying to kill the ogre, or keep it busy so you can escape?” I asked. Another student, a young human guy with buzzed hair, cut off the gnome’s answer.

  “Knowing Flizzleip, she’d likely be trying to get measurements of the ogre to use it as a pattern for a new mech,” the young man taunted. He reminded me of every obnoxious kid that I’d ever met in classes before. Back on Earth, he’d probably have been the stereotypical jock bully, but here.

  “Do you have a problem with mechs Mr…” I said trying to get his name.

  “The young man’s name is Mr. Blaine, Aldin Blaine,” Professor Conley said, giving the young man a stern look.

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  “Professor Conley, do you mind if I give a demonstration to the students? Nothing harmful, or too disruptive,” I assured the professor.

  “Oh, please do, Professor Kline, that’s one of the reasons I wanted your assistance today. I hope to give the students a look at some practical applications of the theories we discuss in class. We can always use a good demonstration of another summoner’s art,” Professor Conley replied with a grin. From the professor’s enthusiasm, I was guessing that this Blaine guy was a bit of an annoyance in the class, and he was more than happy to have him put in his place.

  “Thank you, Professor Conley. Now, please, Mr. Blaine, share with the class about your enlightened opinion on mechanical minions,” I said.

  “Everyone knows they’re weaker and only suitable for labor. Sure, there are a few war mechs, but any similarly powerful monster type minion would best it. That’s why I focused on giant-kin,” Blaine said with the confidence that only an inexperienced student could have.

  “I’d tend to disagree with you. In fact, the mech-based minion that I can summon is far more powerful than any giant-kin of a similar tier and rank. Tell me, Mr. Blaine, what kind of giant will your class be able to summon at tier three?” I asked.

  “At their three, give me just a minute,” Blaine said, digging through a text he pulled from his pack before responding. “There we are, at tier three, my class could summon either a simple hill giant, or a veteran ogre warrior,” Blaine said as he slammed his book closed.

  “Hm, neither of those would stand a chance against my mana slayer drone,” I said, summoning my minion and having him appear right next to Blaine’s desk. The student almost toppled out of his chair as the minion was suddenly looming over him.

  “Oh, my, that is something I had hoped to never see again,” Professor Conley muttered. He stared at my drone as it stood near the student's desk, and the color drained from the professor’s face.

  “I take it you’ve also run into these mana slayers before, Professor Conley,” I said.

  “Yes, and to encounter them and survive is rather unusual. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one as a summonable minion before. I must say that I’m impressed, Professor Kline. And class, let’s address Mr. Blaine’s claim. I can assure you, from personal experience, that this minion would indeed best most giant-kin, even ones several ranks higher than the drone. They are difficult to stop, and against a magic user of any type, these drones are pure death,” Conley said.

  “Can we put that to the test, Professor? Maybe we can have this drone thing go up against a giant in the faculty tournament?” Blaine asked. Many of the class murmured their agreement. They were all for watching a sparring session instead of sitting through a longer lecture.

  “Perhaps we can use a sparring session as a supplement to this class. I’ll see if any of the professors with a giant minion of similar tier and rank are willing to do a quick spar with Professor Kline’s minion. It won’t be today, of course, but I’ll see what I can arrange. If that doesn’t happen anytime soon, I’m sure you’ll see Professor Kline’s minions in action during the faculty tournament,” Conley said.

  “I’m always happy for some training, just let me know when you need me, Professor,” I said confirming my buy-in on a future sparring session.

  “Excellent, and with that as our high note today, we’ll dismiss a few minutes early,” Professor Conley said. There was the usual stampede for the door, but the young gnome woman, Flizzleip, walked over and started to examine the drone.

  “Move along Miss Flizzleip, I have to prepare for my next class,” Professor Conley ordered. She reluctantly left the class, leaving just me and the professor inside.

  “Professor Kline, would you mind unsummoning your minion? I know it’s under your control, but I find it brings up memories I don’t wish to revisit,” Conley asked. I immediately unsummoned the drone.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you. I must admit was a bit of a shock to me that you knew about the mana slayer drones,” I said.

  “It was long ago, and only through the selfless act of a friend did I survive the encounter. Thank you for your participation in the class today, Professor Kline, and while I find your minion disturbing, I must admit that I’m intrigued to see one in action inside a controlled environment,” Conley said.

  “I’m always glad to help, and when it’s just us faculty around, feel free to call me Rico,” I offered.

  “Well Rico, it's a pleasure to have you in my class today,” Conley said.

  “Thanks, that does bring up one thing, what’s the deal with the faculty tournament? I remember Melody saying it was supposed to happen before school started,” I asked.

  “Ah, yes, it was delayed a bit this year. One of the key committee members was out on a field expedition with some of the more experienced students. The tournament should be starting next week, and I believe the signup sheets are supposed to be up in the faculty cafeteria today,” Conley said.

  “Thanks for the info, I’m looking forward to testing myself and my minions against some of the faculty. I suspect they’re a lot more skilled at this than I am,” I said.

  “Poppycock, I think you’ll find some exceptional participants in our faculty, but I suspect that you have more real-world combat experience than the majority of your potential competitors. We have about an hour before the next class if you’d like to take a break,” Conley offered. I was all for taking a break, and while the class had finished strong, I wasn’t looking forward to a repeat of the day’s lecture.

  Even though it was early for lunch, I was more than ready to head to the cafeteria and get a peek at the signup sheet for the faculty tournament.