Andrew Rowe - Sufficiently Advanced Magic

I glanced back at him. “No, but this could give us a considerable amount of safety if things go badly. For example, if we step into the tower and we can’t find Katashi, maybe we could find something connected to him and use this to summon him.”

Jin nodded. “I see the logic, but we should save that for a last resort. It is clear that using the box on a visage could have dangerous consequences.”

“Orden should have a better idea of how safe it would be. We can ask her if things get desperate enough that the box seems necessary. For the moment, we’ll be discrete.”

He put a hand over his forehead. “That’s part of the problem. You don’t think she’s going to notice you took it?”

I shrugged. “I’ve got so much magic stuff at this point that I doubt she’ll notice the aura on it standing out. I’ll only take it out in emergencies. If she does figure out that I took it, I’ll just refer back to her earlier desire for Whisper candidates to show initiative.”

Jin sighed. “Fine. But we’re putting it back when we’re done.”

That was just vague enough that I could agree to it. “Sure.”

We found a safe inside the box, along with research notes, just as Researcher had indicated. I skimmed through the notes first.

Jaden Box

Object Classification: Artifact, Miscellaneous

Attunement Level: Unknown; exhibits properties that exceed Emerald capabilities

Description: The Jaden Box is believed to be a creation of the legendary sorceress Wrynn Jaden. It demonstrates forms of Pre-Attunement Period sorcery that cannot be easily duplicated in the modern period. To date, we have discovered three of the box’s functions.

First, if the word “Store” is spoken aloud while in physical contact with the box, and followed by another word or short phrase that describes the object, any object placed inside the box within the next ten second period will be transported to an extra-planar space.

When the box is open and the command, “Retrieve” is given, followed by a phrase corresponding to an item that has been stored, the stored item will be teleported out of the extra-planar space and appear directly above the box. Fortunately, large objects will be shunted out of the way if there are people in the space above the box; this has saved more than one researcher from being inadvertently killed by teleportation fragmentation.

There are some restrictions on what can be stored; see research document ENX-4.

The third function of the box is the most dangerous and thus additional limitations have been placed on the box through the creation of an outer shell (see shell diagram). When an item is placed inside the box and is not stored in the extra-planar space, the command “Summon” can be used, followed by the name of an individual with a strong connection to the item. For example, a vial of Professor Lyras Orden’s blood was successfully used to summon her from the base of the Serpent Spire to the research laboratory.

Early studies indicate that the connection utilized by the box to summon an individual appears to be a mana signature. This means that any object that stores some of the mana of an individual, such as magical items created by the individual, should potentially be usable as a summoning focus.

Studies on this object have been restricted for two reasons. One, the unclear limitations have been a cause for concern that a researcher could inadvertently summon a powerful entity that may take issue with being summoned (e.g. one of the visages).

The second reason is that the summoning spell consumes a vast amount of air and transference mana; in specific, we approximate that the discharge is roughly twenty thousand mana of each type.

While the box does recharge its mana over time, it does so at a rate consistent with standard Sunstone-level items, regaining approximately one hundred mana per day. Thus, the summoning effect can only be used roughly once every two hundred days.

I wasn’t able to analyze everything about the box, but I was able to sense the mana within it. There was a lot. Thousands at least. I tried checking it with my mana watch, but it didn’t register anything. The watch wasn’t designed to interact with other items, and even if it was, this was a strange enough object that it might not have worked either way.

More importantly, I was able to detect that the box wasn’t currently recharging. That meant it already had a full charge of mana and could be used at any time.

I scanned over the rest of the research. The diagrams of the runes were fascinating — I’d want to learn more about them later — but for now, I didn’t have time. I was supposed to be meeting Professor Orden outside shortly.

The limitations on the box meant that I wasn’t going to be able to pick up just any old thing that Tristan had owned and throw it in there to summon him. I was already thinking of options, though. If hair from a brush didn’t work, maybe one of my parents had kept some of his baby teeth?

I’d find something. This was the best lead I’d ever found.

I wanted desperately to drop everything and pursue it immediately, but first, I had people to save. Tristan wouldn’t forgive me if I ran home and summoned him if it meant risking other lives — possibly thousands of lives — in the process.

The safe combination worked. I pocketed the Jaden Box.

It was time to go meet with Professor Orden.

Professor Orden was waiting outside when Jin and I left the Divinatory. She was a little early, which wasn’t a huge surprise. Her company, on the other hand, was unexpected.

Derek Hartigan stood to her right side, a heavy backpack resting at his feet.

I glanced to him, then back to Orden. “What’s this?”

Derek grinned, reaching down with a hand to heft his pack over a shoulder. “Looks like you’re going to get one more chance to see me shine.”

I waved my hands in frantic dismissal. “No, no. Not happening. Where’s Teft?”

Orden rolled her eyes. “Not coming. He sends his regards, but the vice chancellor forbade him from coming with us. Apparently, he’s dealing with internal mana burns from the last time he went with you.”

I winced, remembering Teft blocking the shockwave from the Hero’s End.

That single attack had forced him to overuse his mana enough to cause internal burns? That’s…absurd. Just how powerful is that monster?

I sighed. “Fine. I hope he recovers soon. But shouldn’t we be bringing another professor along?”

Derek grimaced. “Hey, I get that you’re angry about that whole Survival Match bit—”

I glared at him. “You could have gotten Sera seriously hurt.”

He raised his hands defensively. “I would have made sure she was safe, believe me. Would have jumped straight back into the arena if she was in real danger, rules or no. I apologize. I should have been clearer about the situation up front.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I’m not the one who you need to apologize to.”

He nodded. “Of course. I’ll apologize to Sera when I see her. But let me do something more than that. I’ll make it up to you both. I put her in danger once, minimal as it might have been — but this time, I’ll keep you safe.”

I clenched and unclenched a hand in the air. “I appreciate the effort, but I still fail to see why you’re a better option than bringing another professor along.”

Derek glanced from side to side, his expression turning more serious than I’d seen it. “Look at me for a second. Really look.”