Walking Disasters and Me-Teasing Teacher, Creative Writing – Ch 27
Ios' projection changes into a classic 'hot teacher' look as she gears up to teach me about some of the crafting professions here. Her four-armed figure gets dressed in a button up, pressed and collard white shirt that is tucked into a much too short for a dress code straight, black mini skirt that ends at her mid thighs. Her little feet are slid into some wickedly smart looking black heels that make her ass look
amazing,
which is kind of redundant since I think she can just adjust her form in the projection regardless...
Her hair is once again done up in a high ponytail making her curly blonde hair only reach down past the nape of her neck, which seems to be her favorite hair style so far, and instead of the thin rimmed glasses from before she now has a slightly bulkier, ovoid shaped pair resting on her nose. Two stub earrings adorn her cute ears, both shining with a small sapphire blue gem set into them, while one of her lower arms has a... is that a Rolex?? What kind of teacher can afford
that
Ios?! The other pair of arms holds a long, probably 3 ft ruler between both of their hands as the last lower hand is resting against her hip.
Alright, now I'm getting suspicious. The therapist getup may have just been a joke, but there's no way she's just hitting all my fantasies out of the blue like this!
I glare at her slightly with my arms crossed after I get done checking her out, even if she still has a small, teasing smirk on her face while I do so. "Okay. I know I asked this before, but you 100%, for sure,
absolutely
cant read my mind right? Or like... dive into my memories or something?" My accusation veiled, but apparent.
She tilts her head cutely to the side, her curly blonde ponytail falling down over one of her shoulders as she brings the teasing smirk fuller across her face. Her eyes seductively glint down to me as she does so, thanks to me being seated on the comfy couch, as her usual chirpy voice comes out a tad bit more... mature when she responds, "Why, Amelia~ I don't know what you could mean, honey! Why don't you tell professor Ios
exactly
what you're trying to imply~?" She finishes her, admittedly very sexy, act by leaning down to bring us face to face, which also has the effect of showing off some of her more than full cleavage to punctuate the last question. At least... I think she is acting? It's been kind of hard to get a read on her sometimes, but right now I'm a little too stun locked to really figure that out one way or the other.
I swallow a small lump of arousal that comes in waves through my body, trying to keep it penned in as best I can. I just took a shower for crying out loud! I'm not trying to get wet so soon after getting wet! I give a nervous laugh as I marshal my wits, "Okay, okay! You can quit teasing me Ios! Jesus, I literally just got clean and into a fresh pair of panties, stop trying to undo all my hard work! I'll just assume you're like... going off of popular trends back from when I was on Earth for someone of my sexuality to be into or something. That and also that you love to tease and rile me up, which by the way, top marks this time. It's a good thing you're not corporeal or I'd have been in trouble!" I chuckle and blush lightly as I admit defeat to the sometimes sexy, mostly still troll being in my mind.
Ios simply continues to stare at me longingly for a couple seconds which makes me begin to actually sweat in nervousness before she busts out laughing for a few seconds, her eyes now closed in delight making cute laugh lines around her nose and brows. After she gathers her breath again, she sings out, "Sorry honey~! I was mostly just messing with you, but I could tell you were still a little salty about being grounded essentially so I thought I'd try and... lift your spirits a bit~" She places a dainty finger on her chin to tilt her head as she mulls over that last bit before she winks at me at the end of it, which instantly causes me to blush even more as I pout at her antics.
She laughs again a couple times before continuing, "Alright last time I promise~ Well, unless you ask for more of course~ Hehe~ But as for your suspicions, you're kind of right. I for sure cant read your mind per say, but you know I can look in on a lot of internal processes and stuff. Also, when Ilya and I were nabbing you and Sandra we also made sure to download anything related to your personalities from back on Earth.
So like, yearbook photos, social media, your full unredacted internet histories, family photo albums, you name it~! We also downloaded the entirety of Earth's media, both printed and digital, in case you guys get homesick or want to, I don't know, jam out to some tunes while you craft or work out or something. To be honest, it was quite a lot of information for a civilization as young as yours was, I was impressed! I'm also glad we got ahold of you before your worlds version of AI ruined almost all of it. Nothing worse than having the same
fucking
song that's only slightly varied play nonstop over every radio station and streaming service for 100 years." She shivers a bit as she ends her tirade, but I barely heard anything after a certain piece of information was revealed to me.
"Uh, can we back track to those things you said you downloaded about Sandy and I?" Sweat begins to form on my brow as I ask a dangerous question.
She continues to play it off by tilting her adorable head to the other side as she says back, "Hmm? Oh yeah, we got all the important stuff. Yearbooks, family photos, social media. All of it~! Don't you worry honey~" Her charming smile only serves to hide evil intentions behind it!!
"
*Ahem*
I think you missed something else you said you grabbed, you gigantic troll! You did
not
download my search history!" My glaring eyes and frowning face are met by an equally as intense playful smirk from this... this... history thief!! Ugh! I'm so frustrated and embarrassed I can't even come up with good insults!
"Oh did I say that? Must have been a slip of the tounge~ Anyways! Let's get moving on to going over some of the crafting basics!" Her cheery voice gracefully brushes past my allegations, much to my increasing dismay. No wonder she is 2 for 2 on reproducing my fetishes! I'll never be safe so long as that projector lives!... No! I cant break it just because she is an endlessly flirty, sexy eldritch being that loves to tease me! It cost so many points! Wait a minute... Is that a reason she wanted me to buy this version of it?! This damn woman!
I rub my freshly clean hair a bit with both hands, fully done with Ios' antics already, before I sigh out, "Alright fine! I swear you are the biggest troll, and if you weren't so god damn cute, I would be very upset with you 90% of the time Ios! Just... start with talismans I guess since I've seen Akiko use them a few times by now."
"Hehe~! Thats the spirit sweetie! Alright," She adopts her serious persona as she pushes the glasses up a bit with her free hand before continuing on, "So talismans in this world operate like a one-time use item most of the time. Powerful ones, or ones that have specific inscriptions on them, can be used a few times before the Qi finally burns up the paper. Which is what's happening when they're used, by the way. For example, when Akiko used those two talismans on you, she fed Qi into the paper to activate the scripts and symbols, until it had enough to activate which also destroys the tag. They are useful for setting traps and ambushes, as you can set conditions to them to activate and gather Qi, and they can also be useful long distance communication tools in an emergency, as that specific inscription is much more complicated to produce otherwise.
You can buy talismans that are pre-loaded with Qi and just need to be touched to be activated from the Shop, like the one I got you after the bears, but I would always suggest you either make them yourself, or have Akiko make you one. Or have her show you how to make whatever you need. There are so many more important things we can use the Shop for; I don't want us falling into the trap of using it just to make things easier because that
will
bite us in the ass in the long run. Besides, learning crafts and expanding your knowledge naturally is the fastest, most important way to further your understanding of Qi and how it interacts with the world, the same with meditating and fighting.
*Ahem* Sorry for the long explanation there~! Did you have any questions about talismans?" Ios finally lets up. At about the middle point of her little speech, she summoned an old school black board and 'drew' various pictures of talismans and the symbols and stuff that can go on them, as well as little arrows showing how the Qi is supposed to flow through them. I say drew in air quotes because she just waved a hand across the board, or used her ruler to tap it, and the images appeared. Cheater.
She also made sure to wiggle her ass more than necessary when she was turned around facing the board or moving to 'erase' one of the images for some reason unknown to me, since I
thought
I heard her say she was done being a tease! I shake my head slightly as I muster up my willpower, I'll just have to suffer through this heavenly torment! Woe is me~ Hehe~
She catches me in my lewd thoughts as I hear her ruler smack lightly against the black board image, startling me back to attention. "Y-Yes! I mean no, no questions! You did a great job Ios~!" My husky voice cracks a bit there, further giving me away if the resounding redness to my face wasn't a big enough clue already. I meet Ios' gaze and see her smirking smile still on her lips as she nods smartly once, her bob of golden hair bouncing behind her.
"Good~! Thank you honey, it helps when you're such an
attentive
student~" She winks back at me playfully with her more mature tone returning briefly before turning her attention back to the task at hand. "Now then, let's move on to formations and arrays, since they operate very similarly to each other. Formations are areas of effects that are created using special inks, quills, and other materials depending on what the formation is tasked to do. 99% of the time they are stationary and serve to either buff or debuff cultivators, sometimes both at the same time, act as defensive or warding structures to an area, or perform a specialized task like the one Akiko has in the Gathering room. They are varied and powerful in their utility, and master formation experts can even make them mid battle to produce devastating effects on the battlefield.
Runic arrays are, like I said, very similar in function to formations. They can produce all of the same effects and more, and are typically made to provide mass defense or some other high level of Qi manipulation. The main difference between formations and arrays is how powerful they are and how they are made. Arrays are intrinsically vastly more powerful than any formation of the same rank and caliber, mainly due to them being made exclusively from a Qi pen that is soul attuned to the user. This allows for direct, precise, and perfect control when creating symbols and glyphs that make up the arrays functions, provided the skill of the runic array creator is skilled enough.
The downside to arrays is that they eat a
shit load
of Qi to function at peak power, even if they are perfectly synched and written. Formations are pretty Qi hungry too, but arrays take it to a whole 'nother level. Which is also why you'll see any formation or array worth their salt have Qi gathering functions built into them to help offset that penalty. The one Akiko has to increase the ambient Qi in that room is an exception to the rule since its whole purpose is to store and gather Qi, it is basically always feeding itself while it does its job.
Phew! That was another long one, sorry dear~ Did you have anything you want me to go over again for these two?" Ios brushes some of her stray bangs out of her face after she takes a deep breath as her detailed description of the skills comes to an end.
I'll admit, this is quite a lot of information to be hitting me with all at once. But I think between the skills for my learning and comprehension, and the fact that this is apparently the best way that Ios knows how to convey information as she does it
all the damn time
, I'm not as overloaded as I may have been previously. I mentally recall everything important she said, making sure I don't have any gaps in understanding or need anything repeated, before smiling to myself and giving her a reassuring nod, "Nope! I think I'm keeping up so far! I do have a question that's related, but I think Akiko would probably have to answer it, mainly I'm just curious why her black kimono had all those runic symbols on them and what they're meant to do."
"Yeah, that dress is pretty powerful, nearly as powerful as your battle attire. I could tell you what they were used for, but I think you're right in that Akiko would likely explain it better. She is quite the good teacher herself after all~! Okay honey, last one for the written crafts and then we can go over the simpler, individual crafting schools!" Ios agrees with me after giving a small nod and a smile, before pressing on with our lecture.
"Alright~ Last but not least is inscriptions themselves. Arrays, formations, and talismans all use various inscriptions and connecting glyphs to make what they do happen, so inscriptions can be considered the basic, all-encompassing back bone of these crafting professions. Inscription is the art of applying augmenting runes and Qi powered symbols to objects, from little, tiny pebbles you find on the ground, to arrow or bolt shafts, to sword hilts and shields. A master of inscription can turn a piece of bark into a bomb powerful enough to level a building provided they have enough Qi and make the symbols in certain ways. They can also turn an entire house into a fortress, marking every surface with various runes and glyphs with powerful effects that can be set to be activated from a safe room or by a key word spoken aloud. Truly, the sky is the limit~!
The downside to just using inscriptions instead of one of the more advanced crafts is that it takes time. A powerful, master craft inscription can take anywhere from several months to several years to complete, even for someone who is extremely well trained in them. Arrays also take a while to make, but unless you are making something that is strong enough to make an Immortal think twice, it's usually not that bad. Formations are fairly quick, as I said some masters can even make them mid fight, and talismans are fast too while having the utility of being ready to go whenever.
However, I am curious what your relationship to inscriptions is going to turn out like. Akiko was right, you shouldn't have been able to pick up on those symbols back at the Village's defensive array, nor should you have been able to notice them on her dress like that. At the time, Intelligence was your lowest score by far, which is partially what these crafting skills will be based in if you choose to pursue them. On top of that, you don't have any skills or titles related to observations like that... hmm... I guess maybe
[Advanced Learning lvl 5]
may have helped some?
To my knowledge it shouldn't have worked like that, but maybe I should look at its coding again just to be sure. Either way, I think you're going to be a beast at these skills like Akiko said~!" She wraps up her newest torrent of words with a small happy smile on her face that makes her eyes squint closed, clapping both sets of hands lightly in front of her in her apparent joy at my future success. See Amelia! She
can
be sweet as candy sometimes too~!
"Honestly, I'm also curious about it too. Something about looking at the massive runic array the Village had up when we got here just kind of... spoke to me. The same thing anytime I had a chance to look at the talismans that either we bought or that Akiko would slap on me. Oh! What tool would I need to just start learning basic inscriptions?" I answer back to her, my own excitement of the future bleeding through my low timbre voice.
Ios sadly abandons her joyful expression to bop her own forehead, seemingly as punishment for forgetting to fill me in on that crucial bit. Aww~ It's okay my otherworldly, all-powerful space being! I forget stuff all the time too! Hehe~ Of course I wouldn't ever say those words to her; she is on maximum flirt and troll today. It would surely be my end!
"Duh! I can't believe I forgot that part! Sorry sweetheart, inscriptors use a pen like most all the other crafts use, aside from talismans which use a fine detailed brush to mark the papers which I also forgot to mention now that I think about it *sigh*. At any rate, the pens they use can vary in quality and ink, but the main thing that powerful inscription crafters have in common is that they also have a spiritually linked pen like runic array crafters. This greatly helps speed up the time it takes to make their symbols and such and also eases the Qi burden of making them function in the first place, again similar to runic arrays."
"Nah, don't beat yourself up hun! We're going over a huge list of stuff, I'd be more surprised if we didn't forget something or have to back track a time or two! Well cool then! I guess we should still go over the other crafts, but these ones are really piquing my interest so far!" I say back amicably to the cutely perfectionist teacher.
"Agreed! We are going over a bunch huh~? And yeah, I think that's where you'll end up primarily, but in truth both Akiko and I want you to have a good understanding of all of the professions for cultivation. Maybe one or two fields you go ham in, your core crafts so to speak, but knowing how everything else functions and how to do them decently will save you a lot of time and trouble in the future from either shady merchants or if you're stuck alone somewhere with limited Shop Points or something." Ios explains matter of factly to me, and I have to agree. Best to be aware of how things work around here to a decent degree so nothing comes up to surprise me later!
I smile back at Ios before prodding her to continue the lesson, "Alright then hun! What's up next?"
Teasing Teacher, Creative Writing – Ch 27
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