Nick watched Lasazar work silently, trying to understand how this latest revelation made him feel.

That Archmage Hone would interfere with his education directly annoyed him, but realistically, there was little he could do to make the man pay now, other than taking it out on his son and apprentices, which he wasn’t ready to do.

It doesn’t mean I will forget it. I’ve never even met the man, and it’s been made very clear that I’ll never get along with him. Not that I think he’d be willing to bury the hatchet even if I took the first step. People like him are too used to wielding the cudgel of their power without consequences.

With the Tower Master’s return so imminent, and the hostilities between factions likely needing to be put on hold for a while, it made sense that the old bastard would try to get one last shot in to ensure he wasn’t the only one with a black eye. However, while Nick hadn’t minded being set against older apprentices, since it all ended up helping him in the end, taking Lasazar away would have a much more direct impact on his growth.

Despite that, he was still somewhat grateful because the Prestige mage’s arrival on the front lines would surely shift the balance in their favor and make fighting whatever demonic creatures had been spotted much easier, increasing the chances of success for his father and Floria’s group.

Overall, he was very conflicted about the whole thing, and it didn’t help that he knew things weren’t likely to settle down anytime soon, not with the auction around the corner and the Circle of Pure Souls lurking in the shadows.

“Alright, that should be enough,” Lasazar muttered, wiping nonexistent sweat from his forehead in a funny display of vestigial mannerism. “Today’s session was supposed to be more about acclimating to casting Worldcraft when facing a demonic creature, but given our new timeline, we need to skip a few steps if we want you ready to face a Lesser Demon on time.”

Nick blinked in surprise and was about to deny any such intentions, but he was stopped by an amused smile.

“Son, I’ve been teaching for more years than your parents have been alive. I know very well that no matter how dedicated a student might be, they never ask to learn an obscure and seemingly useless art unless they are sure they will need it for something specific. You aren’t foolish enough to face a Greater Demon alone, so I have to assume you believe you will face a Lesser one sometime soon.”

Helpless to do anything but let his mouth fall shut with a click, Nick tried to steer the conversation toward more useful topics. “Is that why you’ve prepared such a powerful containment ward?”

Again, Lasazar appeared fully aware of what he was doing but wisely chose not to point it out, instead nodding along. “Indeed, [Corruption’s Bane] is a favorite among high-level priests for a reason, as it can contain even the most powerful demonic creatures and give an exorcist time to do their job without worrying about their influence spreading. It’s very tricky to cast, since Irvinic runes are necessary for the energy flexibility, and it often takes more than one person to do it correctly, but I’m confident you’ll be able to learn the basics on your own.”

Staring at the intricate lines of runes, swirling circles, and crafted with more mana than he’d ever used for a single spell, Nick wondered how Lasazar thought he was supposed to learn it on his own, but he didn’t argue with the man just yet. Clearly, he had a plan.

“As you might imagine, this is a highly complex ward that is often reserved for those who have the experience and power to go beyond the basics of anti-demon magic, but it also has a unique quality,” Lasazar explained, trailing off and looking at Nick expectantly.

Activating [Empyrean Intuition] revealed a solid barrier where his eyes told him there was none, and a closer look explained why Lasazar was so confident he could do it.

“This is very similar to [Territory], isn’t it?” He wondered aloud.

The magic wasn’t exactly the same, being more structured due to the runes and less centered on willpower, but the basic framework was similar. The more he examined it, the more Nick realized he might be able to cast it using the World’s power instead of his own reserves.

It shared enough qualities that he only needed some tweaks, and if he were honest, it was probably a more effective approach than forcing the World to obey his whims like he did last time.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

It came with the caveat that he would need to set up a very complicated runic scheme, one he only partially understood thanks to his recent sleuthing through Tholm’s library. However, Nick was experienced at optimizing overly complex magic. Once he figured out how to use it in its current form, he believed he could adapt it to his current skillset and either incorporate the best parts into [Territory] directly or create a new ritual that he could cast much faster than Lasazar took to set it up.

“And I imagine this learning you have in mind will happen in the fires of battle, am I right?” Nick felt the need to ask.

His teacher’s proud smile was the only response before the fabric of reality was once again torn open to make room for things that should not exist.

I’m starting to question my choice of mentors, but then again, I guess that to agree to mentor a teenage boy in the dark arts, one has to be a little wacky to begin with.

The demonic creature that emerged this time, with as much fanfare as all its previous brethren, had one thing that set it apart from the others.

Standing at eight feet tall, the lumbering mass of pestilent flesh was much more intimidating, and not just in appearance.

Though demons didn’t exactly use mana like mages, Nick’s heightened senses told him this creature was far stronger than the previous ones Lasazar had summoned.

The miasma that immediately spread from its decaying flesh made it clear what it would do with that power, and Nick knew that if he let it be while he gathered his thoughts, he’d quickly be put on the back foot.

“The Footman of Change is among the nastiest of demonic creatures. Even one going rampant in the countryside means an epidemic is sure to spread, and once they get going, they can be very hard to put down!” Lasazar called out, stepping back outside the runic circle, which flashed with gold and prevented the miasma from escaping. “Luckily for you, this guy is not going anywhere, but that just means you are trapped with it. Figure out a way to take control of [Corruption’s Bane] via Worldcraft, or you might be in a world of pain before I find it in me to rescue you. I assure you, no elixir will make the detoxing any easier.”

“Straight into the fire, huh,” Nick muttered to himself, but took the advice seriously and immediately directed his senses toward the subtle yet powerful hum of the World’s power.

As always, it was more active now that a demon was present, fighting against its existence and limiting it as much as it could without guidance.

Nick smoothly directed his intent through it, having learned from previous attempts that trying to forcefully control it wouldn’t get him anywhere, and he tried to channel the power into the carved runes, much like he would to activate a ritual.

Sadly, that didn’t have much effect. Some of the mana entered, and he could feel the Footman’s miasma shrink slightly, but since it had finally noticed him and was moving towards him with slow but relentless steps, Nick needed more than that.

I could try to suppress it myself. I did it once, I can do it again.

And he could. [Territory] was a powerful magic, and it would undoubtedly work on the Footman too, but this was a different case than his previous fights.

Not only was the demon in question more than physically strong enough to crush him if he failed to eject it from reality in one go, but its metaphysical weight also exceeded what [Territory], in its current form, could handle, at least in terms of sheer volume.

Quality was a different matter, but that wasn’t relevant here, not without full control over the tool he was supposed to use to bring it to bear.

If the brute force approach won’t work, then I need to be more precise.

It was easier said than done, and Nick had to do it while battling the massive golem of decaying flesh that was chasing him through a confined space, which ended up being more of an obstacle than an advantage in this instance. Still, he had never been one to give up at the first sign of trouble.

The pounding headache from the Footman’s mere presence also didn’t help, but it gave him an idea.

You don’t want to be treated like mere mana, I understand, he thought toward the World. Opening himself fully to the flow of power was no easier this time than before, but at least he knew what to expect and could skip the shock and awe to go straight to action. What do you need? We both want this abomination gone; let’s work together.

As much as he wished friendship could solve his problems, it clearly wasn’t enough, but there was a mild response, as the energy stopped being so unwieldy and began actually suppressing the Footman. Not enough to stop it, but it did slow the miasma's spread, giving Nick some breathing room.

“Is that it? Communion with the world?” he asked aloud. It felt very cliché, but at the same time, if he thought about it from an Occultist’s perspective, it made sense.

The World was as distant from him as a divine being, except that its body was currently present in the material world. It couldn’t act directly, aside from very specific circumstances. So, to gain full access to its powers, he needed to either recreate those circumstances or, like the gods often did, let himself become a vessel.

The latter wasn’t a real possibility. Nick was simply too fiercely independent to ever surrender that much of himself to anyone else, even if it was the divine will of the planet.

The first seemingly wasn’t enough, because despite being under attack by a demon, he could only use Worldcraft like a novice mage with a new affinity, clumsy and ineffective.

Frustration rose up inside him, but he reined it in. He was left with very few options, only one of which seemed somewhat realistic, but that didn’t make it any easier.

Stone bubbled and melted as the acidic blood the Footman kept shedding filled the floor, only kept from disappearing by the runic components of [Corruption’s Bane] because of the active mana running through it, and that finally gave Nick an idea.

He’d done it before, after all, though back then he’d known the thunderbird was just a construct, not a real deity. Merging his mana with the World’s was much more challenging, but he was out of time and options, so he did his best.

Fully opening himself up while maintaining a tight grip on his mind with [Blasphemy] to prevent any mental corruption, Nick allowed the raging currents of the World’s lifeblood to flow through him and commanded his mana to blend with it.

Pain wracked his body for several long seconds, but it did not affect his mind, and that was all that mattered.

With a new, unique kind of mana at his command, Nick quickly directed it all into [Corruption’s Bane]’s runic scheme, and finally, a golden light shone from beneath the gallons of hissing blood.