[x]"Back? Back from where?" (Develop the backstory more, I might do more on this later if this doesn't get picked)

You could have waited a bit before pulling the "amnesia episode" card (something pretty cliched in western fiction long before THP came into being).

[x]"Back? Back from where?" (Develop the backstory more, I might do more on this later if this doesn't get picked)

Please read >>/gensokyo/6052, it tells more of the culture around here on THP. Also, next time drop the email in the email field. The email field should only be used to sage your posts.

I can't really say much, seeing as this story just began but would it kill you to flavor your text more?

A minor point, but can you drop the "ze" when Marisa speaks? It's unnecessary and all you really need to do is to make her speech more boyish.

[x]"Back? Back from where?" (Develop the backstory more, I might do more on this later if this doesn't get picked)

So... who are we? Patchouli?

>>27609
I've read that before writing. I'll try my best to improve my writing, definitely. I probably need more practice.

>>27607
What do you mean by "amnesia episode card"? My intention was to start as an amnesiac.

>>27611

He means the overused amnesiac starting scenario.

>>27612
that and episodes in shows where a main character loses their memory for whatever reason.

But the starting scenario reason would apply though there's no shortage of stories with such scenarios.

[X]"Back? Back from where?"

--

"You know her? How do you know her? Did you do things wi-“ Marisa got punched in the face by Alice before she could finish her statement. "Oww hey what was that for!" She protested, apparently shocked by Alice's actions. Marisa recover and was about to pull something out from her pocket when she freezes, staring in the face of Alice.

Alice glared at Marisa for what seemed like an eternity, before finally saying, "Marisa, I believe it is best if you leave us alone. I will take it from here."

"But, why? I can be of help y'know! I'm not all immature like that ice fairy!"

"Leave. Now."

There was a certain air of authority as she said that. She wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. Marisa concurred, she pick up her things and walks out the door dejectedly. Something tells me this happens a lot. I turn to Alice, who is looks awfully threatening.

I suppose I might as well make the best of my time here. It's obvious that Alice knows at least something about me, so why not question her a little?

"What did you mean when you said that I'm back at last? Are we really..." I trail off as Alice disregards my question and walk upstairs. "There's food in the kitchen, your bedroom is the door on the right down the corridor. Do not disturb me until I return."

Huh. I hope not everybody in Gensokyo is as hospitable as this Alice girl. Well, I suppose I don’t have much of a choice. I heaved a sigh and entered the kitchen. I feel so hopeless, being thrown into a world so foreign to me, yet with a tinge of familiarity.

The kitchen has a dining table in the middle, and a stove in the far corner, among other cooking utensils. A normal kitchen, one might say, except for the odd dolls carefully placed among shelves along the wall of the kitchen.

I walk up to one of the dolls and examine it. It’s about the half the size of my forearm and beautifully crafted, with simple dress designs, yet intricately woven silk. The dress, dark as night, had beautiful white trims around the edges. The mysterious doll also had blonde hair, just like Alice with a red ribbon adorning her hair. I take closer look at its face and notice how life like it seemed.

“Her name is Hourai.” I hear a voice coming from behind me. Turning around, I see Alice standing by the door looking just like was before, though this time she is holding an enigmatic looking book.

“She is one of my dolls. I use her to help me with personal business, such as cooking, among other things,” she continued, “Now, come take a seat and we shall talk.”

Not intending to aggravate her, I abide by her instructions.

“I’m sure you have plenty of questions you wish to ask. Go ahead, then.” Alice says, as she sits down opposite of me. She gently places her book on the table and looks straight at me. It feels strange with the book on the table, as though that book was mocking me to question its knowledge.

“Well, I just wanted to know, what did you mean when you said that I’m back at last?” I ask nervously.

Alice appeared well prepared to answer my question. “It’s nothing, really. It was just a slip of my words, I didn’t actually mean it,” she admits.

Immediately, I can see right through her. She’s definitely hiding something from me now, though she most likely won’t let up. Knowing from recent experience, I suppose it’s wise not to probe any further. I will most definitely find out what’s going on, though. Not gonna allow anybody to keep secrets from me, especially since everyone probably knows me so well.

“Well then,” she finally speaks up, “tell me, what do you remember about yourself?”

Unsure of how to reply her I stare at her blankly. I realise that I know nothing about myself, not my name, my origin. All I knew was how to speak and a few words that made no sense to me.

“Ah, just as I expected. Well then, I’ll help you to recover your memories, though during this period of time, you must stay with me, lest your recovery gets impeded. I’ll head back to my room now, once again there’s food in the cupboards if you need anything. Avoid drinking anything in jars, however.”

Alice returns upstairs once again, leaving me to my own devices. I wonder what she’s up to. In the meantime, I should try to find something to do.

[] Go to my room. A little rest should help me.
[] Find something to eat. I'm starving.
[] Spy on Alice. She's acting weird.

--

So here's the next part. I put much work into this. Hope I can get more feedback this time, also if you can, please point out specifically where I can improve on so I can write better. Thanks!

[x] Find something to eat. I'm starving.

Needs of the body.

[X] Find something to eat. I'm starving.

Might need to change the wording in a place or two and a couple of words are missing an 's' at the end.

Sorry, I'm not too knowledgeable myself.

[x] Find something to eat. I'm starving.

"Life like" is usually spelt as "lifelike", but I suppose it doesn't really matter. "It's about the half the size'" typo with the first the? "Marisa recover-ed" missing a few word endings like that -ed or -s.
Your past and present tenses are a bit mixed up at times, it feels a little disjointed when reading?

Apart from that I encourage you to keep writing! It's a process that improves on itself, writing, so just keep at it. It's always great to see new writers appear on the board. Keen to see where you take this story.

>>27627

Thanks! It's really nice to see where I make mistakes, will definitely do my best to avoid them in future.

I try to write in present tense, cause it makes a lot more sense in the context, but since I'm quite used to writing in past, it makes me confused sometimes.Although so far it seems to be going well.

I too, believe that I will eventually improve by writing more if I make an effort.

[x] Find something to eat. I'm starving.

We didn't find out what happened before hand... though I thought the PoV was Alice before this update. I wished we choose the "who are they choice" as I feel that might have been more productive.

Kudos for having Alice be close to her canon self, even if it's not as popular or flattering.

[x] Find something to eat. I'm starving.

[X] Find something to eat. I'm starving.

--

My stomach rumbles, craving for food. I suppose having something fill my stomach can’t hurt. I take a look in one of the cupboards above the kitchen top and check the bottom shelf. There’s a great multitude of jars of various colours and content, one of them has a bubbling red liquid contained within, another swirling with a yellow gas and plenty more other odd mixtures. I check the upper shelves and see a wooden bowl. Food, I hope, thinking to myself as I take the bowl down onto the kitchen top. The bowl feels strangely cold as I settle it down.

Taking a good look inside, I see a foreign, somewhat round article that’s pink in colour. As I pick it up, I notice it has a smooth and slightly hairy texture. Not to mention, it is very well preserved and surprisingly cold.

“What could possibly go wrong?” I think as I sink my teeth into it. Alice did, after all, said I could have the food in the cupboards so long as it wasn’t in a jar. It appears that this object in question is a fruit of sorts, and is amazingly sweet and juicy. I take another bite, savouring the taste of this delicious fruit.

I pick up another and bite into it. This one is far sweeter and excites my taste buds much more pleasantly. I expected the taste to become flatter as I eat more, but I stand corrected. Each bite I take, every moment a piece of the fruit is in my mouth, I get more and more indulged in it.

Eventually, I finish the second one. Craving for more, I go for a third.



After a couple more, I finally feel satisfied with my fill. I look down at the bowl, now half full of these succulent fruits. I hope eating it will not have any adverse effects on my body, but if Alice can eat it, then I probably can too, I reason. I put back the wooden bowl and in the cupboard and leave the kitchen, with the sweet after taste of the fruit still lingering in my mouth.

As I enter the living room, I start to feel particularly bloated. I sit on a leather sofa opposite of the broken window and rest for a while. I take in my surroundings. The room is very simply furnished: a sofa, a few shelves along the walls with dolls perched on them, a fire place and of course, a small table with which, drinks like coffee may be placed upon.

The table has a doll sitting on it. Just like Hourai, it‘s masterfully woven and sports a beautiful dress, though this time it reminds me of a maid’s outfit and short, scarlet hair. On top of its hair are two little black triangular objects, it’s hard to tell whilst sitting from the couch. The doll somehow feels strikingly familiar and has a strange atmosphere around it, similar to the one I felt when Alice had her book.

[] Examine the doll.
[] It's just another doll, Alice is seems to be up to something fishy.
[] I just had lunch and I'm feeling really sleepy.
[] Lets explore the land!

--

Sorry, this one's slightly shorter.

[x] I just had lunch and I'm feeling really sleepy.

We've had food, now for some rest.

[X] Examine the doll.

[X] Examine the doll.
I like the cut of your plot hook, especially when it involves Shanghai

>>27643
I retract my previous statement as I realise that it's not. Shanghai. Still voting for examining though.

[X] Examine the doll.

Dolls are always a yes.

>>27644

You don't like Hourai? Aww. I find Hourai to be such a beautiful name. I mean, Shanghai is awesome too, but I like Hourai more.

Whoo hoo! Next part! I spent many days trying to.. well, you'll see. Also, I hope you all are enjoying the new Touhou games. Can't wait to get my hands on them (My computer is broken as of now, currently using a spare laptop). So, without further ado, chapter 4!

--

I move forward to pick up the doll. As I hold it in my hands and try to get a closer look, I feel a shock passing through my body. I get flung backwards, the doll being the last thing I saw.


I find myself lying on a hard surface, my body sprawled over the ground. I open my eyes and see darkness far above. There are streaks of red light, faintly illuminating the darkness above.

I attempt to stand up, but I feel a blood rush coming on. My vision dims to the point of near blindness. I walk aimlessly, before tripping and falling onto something. Someone yelps and I find myself landing on something soft. My face buried by soft, warm cloth. I feel a pair of hands grab me by my waist, breaking my fall.

Everything is silent for a while. I take my time to get back on my feet. Once up, I realise where my face had been during the encounter. We face each other and some form of understanding comes between us. Her face turns slightly red as she briskly continues on her way.

“Thanks... I guess” my voice trails away. The girl takes off and before I know it, she’s gone. Seems like she’s in quite a hurry. I finally notice something amiss on the path.

On both sides, lanterns hung on poles, giving out a barely visible orange light, most likely from the flame inside them. I look out from both sides and see only a red fog in the distance. On one end of the path, there is nothing but mist, while on the other stands a few buildings, made from stone. I walk towards the buildings, most likely a village, with caution. This place gives me a bad feeling, like a curse has been put on it.

I press onwards, despite the growing sense of angst in the pit of my stomach. By the time I reach the village, it becomes evident that the village has been abandoned. The entire place is silent; There is no chatter of the residents, no happy sounds of children playing, not even the sounds of nature. It almost drives me mad, the place so quiet, my thoughts sound like they are screaming in my head. I walk up to the centre of the village, where the marketplace should be.

There’s nobody. There is no life in this village. I walk up to a market stall by the edge of the round, paved ground. Everything is destroyed, and it’s a huge mess. The same can be said for most of the other stalls. The village centre splits off into four paths, one from where I came from, another, directly in front of me, towards the head house, one towards the farms on the right and another towards the residential area.

I decide to go towards the homes, hoping to find a few refugees there. As I walk down the path, I notice a few figures in the distance.

“Hey! Do you live in this village?” I call out. The three persons said nothing. From where I stand, I can only see their silhouette. They three wore dresses which opened outwards and they stood perfectly still. They had little... things sticking out of their heads.

I briskly walked forward. As I close in on them, I manage to get a better look of their dresses. They are mostly black but I there were dark patches of red, almost invisible to the eye.

The next thing I see makes me regret my decision to walk down this road.

I stare in shock, my mouth wide open. I realise what those patches of red where. I realise why they had strange things coming up from their heads.

***Next part might give you horrible mental images. It's nothing too disgusting, just a heads up for those weak of heart***



Between their legs, there is a large metal rod which goes right through their body, protruding out the top of their heads. Their faces retained their complexion, but their mouths were wide open, the metal spike visible in their mouths. I look at their eyes, wide open but rolled upwards, only a small part of their iris visible. Their faces had streaks of blood flowing down from their eyes and mouth, their faces pale as a full moon and insects flying around them. I look down at their hands. Metal rods stuck out from each palm, forcing their arms to be locked in place. Blood still drips from each hand. I can almost hear their voices, trying to cry out in desperation, though hopeless as life is drawn from them.



***Okay its fine now***

Strangely, I feel slightly fazed by this encounter. I examine the girl on the left. Her face feels familiar. I feel as though I have some connection with her. I look to the girl in the middle, and I get the same gut feeling of a bond with her. Then I look at the girl on the right.

I suddenly feel a sharp pain jolting through the centre of my body, it’s unbearable. I am immobilised, unable to even lift a finger. Before long, I find myself unable to breath.


There is a sudden change in lighting, I’m still unable to breath. I quickly try to suck in some air, much to my relief. I come to my senses and realise Alice is standing to the left of me, calm as ever.

“Relax, girl.” She says, caressing my arm. With her other hand, she places a wet towel over my chest and rubs my body softly. I feel so... exposed.

Wait a moment.

“Don’t panic. It was necessary to cool your body.” Alice explains, as if she read my thoughts. I try to relax, while Alice rubs me down. After some time, I feel much better and try to sit up. Alice supports my back with one hand, while holding out a jar of blue liquid in the other.

“Drink this, it will make you feel better.” She says. Unhesitantly, I take slow sips of the drink while Alice slowly tips the jar. I immediately feel rejuvenated, my body feels much lighter and my head doesn’t hurt as much, neither do I feel like my throat is being blocked anymore.

I take a quick glance of the room I’m in. The bed is up against a wall, with the window on it, covered by drawn curtains to keep the room dim. I turn and sit on by the side of my bed, Alice does the same beside me. “Here are your clothes. I cleaned them while you were unconscious. I’ll have to go back to do my work, there’s a book on the living room table. Read up on it and regain your magic, you’re going to need it to survive in Gensokyo.” Alice stands up and walk out the room, with Hourai behind her, carrying a wooden bucket. I didn’t even notice it just now.

I quickly get dressed once Alice leaves. I look around the room, it’s pretty empty, only a closet by the door on the opposite end, a nightstand with a lamp, powered by magic presumably, and a white dresser to the right. I turn and open the curtains, its morning and I’m feeling hungry again. I’ve been here for such a short time and already I’ve lost track of time.

I let go a sigh, and walk out the door. It’s the corridor, on the right is a wooden door with a sign that’s faded and on the right is the living room. I make my way to the kitchen and find breakfast waiting for me. Not questioning anything, I take a seat and wolf down the meal. Once I’m done, I go back into the living room and take a look at the book Alice was talking about. I try to flip it open to the first page, but the book refuses and flips to a random page.

Not wanting to argue with a book, I skim through the contents. There are several spells here: one on immobilising people and animals, another is about imbuing objects with magic whilst the third one is something about eating tamashi.

What shall we learn today?

[] Immobolising people and animals
[] Imbuing objects with magic
[] Eating.. tamashi

--

Welp there's that. Also, I wanna ask, is it weird that I felt slightly turned on writing about the girl's gruesome death? I felt all tingly and my heart beat really fast. I wanna write more scenes like that.

[x] Eating.. tamashi

Soul eating, here we come!

[x] Imbuing objects with magic

What the hell? Pretty damn odd result of touching a doll.

[x] Imbuing objects with magic
Don't really want to find ourselves in a situation where we eat souls. Oh and that weird thing? People like a lot of things that deviate from the norm, I suppose yours is one of them? Up to you on what you want to make of it.

Try to use "extreme heat welling from within"
Since you've written, "felt like it didn't exist"
Further more, body didn't exist? Was there the sense of touch? Yes? No?

>>27668
> Title
> Email in email field
> Weeaboo Japanese
ಠ_ಠ

I'm... gonna try and ignore all that.

>>/gensokyo/6052
Please read this. It's a list of how the board operates and the culture surrounding it.

[X] Imbuing objects with magic

If a spell mentions eating something and you have no idea what it is, it's probably a bad idea.

[x] Imbuing objects with magic

[x] Eating.. tamashi

[x] Eating.. tamashi

Well it seems like we have quite close results. Then again,
[X] Imbuing objects with magics takes the cake!

--

I pick up the book and start reading a random paragraph.

“Enchanting.

Enchanting is the art of imbuing objects with magical properties, or spells which are activated through either a trigger or manually. Enchanting consists of three components: The body, spell and user. The strength of an enchantment relies on three factors: The magical index of an object (i.e. how easily magic can pass through an object), the strength of the spell and the magic level of the user.

The body.

The body is the most prominent part of enchanting. Certain examples of bodies include Hakkeros and dolls...”

I keep reading, the words flowing into my head effortlessly. My mind feels as though it has been taken to another dimension, the words being moulded into images, images into scenes of magic in practice.

I lose myself in the books, letting hours pass by as I delve into the world of enchanting. I get so engrossed in the book that by the time I’m done reading, its already midday.

I close the grimoire, the details now in my head, and stand up. My head gets dizzy from sitting so long, but I waste no time in getting started. As I look around the house, I think about what sort of objects I can use.

“A doll? Hmm, Alice might say otherwise. The book did mention Hakkeros, though what are those?” I mutter to myself, “The book did mention I could use absolutely anything as long as I’m capable enough. So maybe something simple... A stone? Or a plank of wood?”

I head outside to get some fresh air. Being indoors for so long makes me feel extremely claustrophobic.

Outside, everything seems to same as it was; a clearing around the house, trees surrounding the borders, the sky a beautiful blue. I notice a black figure in the sky, and it’s slowly getting larger. Curious, I stand there, staring at the peculiar object. It takes me a moment to recognize the silhouette.

“Hey, Marisa! How’s-“ my hand freezes in mid air as I wave. Something’s wrong.

Marisa isn’t slowing down. I hastily try to get out of her way, though I’m a tiny bit late. Her house cleaning device fly right into me and we both tumble on the grass, kicking up a lot of dirt in the process. Alice might not be too happy about that.

A moment passes and I find Marisa on top of me. She quickly gets up and dusts herself, then picks up her house keeping device. “I’m doing great!” she replies.

“Nice to hear.” I groan as I recover from the fall. “Is it really difficult to land properly?”

“Is Alice in?” Marisa asked, ignoring my question.

“Yeah, but she’s in her room now. Say, could you help me out for a moment?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“I’m trying to learn magic, I just finished reading on enchanting and I thought I could perhaps have some hands on.”

“Hmm.. Of course! Come on my broom, I’ll take you to my house and I can teach you a thing or two!” Marisa replies. Seems like she’s forgotten about why she’s here already.

I hop on her house cleaning device and we take off.

*****
Marisa’s house is as cluttered as before, papers everywhere and jars of colourful liquids decorating shelves ‘artistically’.

“You know, I’ve done a lot of enchanting, and the type of bodies I found the most suited bodies for beginners,” Marisa begins. She sits down by a table full of papers and mysterious gems. “are pieces of apparels, such as clothes and accessories.”

Marisa picks up a simple, wooden bracelet on the table. “Such objects are easy to enchant, but they cannot contain much magic.” She said, waving the sturdy bracelet. “Here, pick something you want to try out first.”

What shall we start with?

[] A bracelet
[] A dress
[] A pair of panties
[] Write in.

--

And there we go! The panty one isn't my idea. I wanted to write it in but I thought that might be... out of theme, so I just added it as an option.

[x] A bracelet

A nice beginner's project, also Deculsion, don't be afraid to vote spam check suspicious votes, like all the saged votes aiming for eating Tamashi.

>>27676
Thanks. Shall keep that in mind.

[x] A bracelet

Something that we can wear easily would be best.

[X] Got any spare Hakkeros?

[x] A bracelet
Bit more utility in this one.

[X] A bracelet

Enchanted panties? That's the most ridiculous idea... to talk about in front of someone else. It can be done later and in private once the MC has more experience.

“Uhm... I guess a bracelet will do. Wouldn’t want to get over ambitious, huh?” I answer, though honestly I was thinking of using a certain article of clothing. Well that would be embarrassing now wouldn’t it?

“Perfect! Now you just need a spell. Do you know of any?” Marisa continued

I didn’t really think this one through. What’s enchanting when you don’t have spells you know? Oh well, guess it’s time to see how fast I can learn a spell.

“I figured. I’ll just teach you a very simple spell then. Just follow as I do, first you hold out your hand.” Marisa opens her right hand, palms facing upwards. I do as she does. “Then focus on a spot above your hand, feel the magic flow through the air and you.” In an instant, light gathers in an orb above Marisa’s palm, gleaming beautifully.

Now it’s my turn. I close my eyes, trying to feel something. I focus on all things magical I know of, namely dolls and a particular flying housekeeping device. I put forth all my effort and concentration into my right hand. Before long, I sense a disturbance in the air around my hand, it slowly creeps along and starts to expand outwards. Trails of cool air laced by arms and very quickly, my entire body. I open my eyes and, much to my surprise, see streaks of white light converging into a perfect sphere above my hand. Little bits of white light emanates from the ball of light, spreading out in all directions. My little creation, no larger than the size of my palm, shines so bright that I am almost blinded by it. I try to look at Marisa for help, but the light burns so luminously that everything around it appears dark as night.

“Control yourself, you are releasing too much magic. Also, I can’t see you.” A voice comes out.

Not knowing how to control the magic, I quickly relax my body. The light begins to shimmer, a high pitched ringing is heard, then everything goes dark. My body aches a little, and I stumble. Marisa catches me and helps me recover. I stand up, the house back the way it was.

We stare at each other in confusion.

“That’s some magic you got there,” Marisa finally says “I knew you were a native Gensokian. Anyway, you got to work on controlling your magic, but there isn’t much time for that now.”

Marisa sits down by the table. I do the same. “Now that we have spell to cast, next is to put that spell in the object. I’m sure you already know what that means, so lets get started!” Marisa casts the light spell again, then with her other hand, she holds the bracelet near the light. The bracelet absorbs the brilliant light and starts to glow white. “Simple! You don’t even have to do anything, the bracelet will absorb the spell by itself. Try it!”

Okay, so cast the light spell and put a bracelet next to it, can’t be too hard right? I open my hands, just as before, and with my other hand I pick up the bracelet, ready to be imbued. I focus myself again, though this time not as hard. I feel the air around me cooling, trails of light begin to form and converge into a dazzling orb. Much easier this time, and it doesn’t seem to burning my eyes out... yet. I tentatively bring the bracelet towards the orb, hoping for the best; I have no idea what I’m doing. As the bracelet moves closer, everything starts to dim. Hooray! I did it! The bracelet is now emitting a beautiful, radiant white shine.

“Good job! Very well done for a beginner.” Marisa compliments me, “The bracelet, now that it’s enchanted, can create light in the form of balls. All ya just gotta do is to release its magic, and if the object is used by the person who enchanted it, releasing the magic will be second nature. I’m sure you can handle this without my demonstration.”

Why not? I enchanted this after all. I wear the bracelet on my left wrist, a perfect fit. Lifting my left hand, I can feel magic gathering around the enchanted piece of apparel. Once again, I feel my hand cooling, but I wasn’t concentrated on creating light, the magic simply came when I wanted it to. The bracelet burns brighter, then a ball of light shoots up and hovers just above my arm. It’s glow is dimmer than what I created previously, but it has a warm feeling to it, not a ‘I’m gonna blow your eyes out’ kind of feeling.

Marisa has no words for me, she simply grins. Now that I’ve gotten the basics of enchanting down, I wonder what I should do next.

[] Check out more spells!
[] Try enchanting different things (Write-in)
[] Practice more with the light spell
[] (Write-in)

--

Next part at last! I don't have many pictures of Marisa so I had to settle with this. Though the same can't be said for Sakuya pics.

In hindsight, I probably should've used a solo Marisa pic. Oh well, Mari-nya and Ali-nya works I guess.

Does the protagonist have a gender?

>>27702

What? The bracelet automatically absorbs the spell with no user input at all? That's the best you can come up with?

I mean like...what exactly constitutes a bracelet anyway? Moreover, why does the arbitrary concept of "clothes and accessories" accept spells better than anything else of similar materials I could care to name?

I can understand the whole "It's magic I don't gotta explain shit" kinda mentality, but just be aware that readers like to see some basic exposition in these kinda of things.

>>27702

>“Relax, girl.” She says, caressing my arm.

Female. Probably. Slight possibility we are very effeminate male.

[X] Check out more spells!

>>27704
Hmm you're right, I didn't think of elaborating on that part more, especially since at that time I was pretty tired. I'll see if I can fit in an explanation later on.

>>27704
Ah, thanks!

[X] Check out more spells!

More variety!

[x] Practice more with the light spell

Better to be good with one spell than so-so with 100.

>>27708

I agree, but at the same time it would probably be better to become amazing with a spell thats actually useful.

Unless this turns into some Nana no Banana shit where MC ends up crushing fuckin S class criminals with a useless power. That would be kinda awesome.

>>27709
Don't give me any ideas...

>>27709
Hey you doubt Bruce Lee? (He who said he'd fear the man that practiced one kick 100 times than someone someone who knew 100 kicks but practiced them once)

>>27711
But who only practices once?

[x] Check out more spells!

To continue the kicking analogy, we may become as someone who is extremely well versed in high kicks. By the laws of drama, we will then try to fight Suwako.

“Well... I guess that’s good enough.” I finally speak up.

“For a light spell, it sure is. You know, I think you can handle it on your own from here. I see much potential in you, and as a fellow magician it’s my job to ensure that you grow on your own. Right now, you are way above the beginner’s standard, so go ahead and practice blowing up stuff!” Marisa compliments me. I’m not sure how to take that, she seems very serious when talking about magic, at least until the last part.

Not sure of what to do now, I simply stare and smile at Marisa. She stares back at me, grinning maniacally. I thank her for her help, with much awkwardness and continue the stare-down.

“I suppose I could learn a couple more spells.” I finally speak up. More spells, why not? I doubt a light bulb will help much in warding off dangerous creatures of the mystical dark forest.

“Alright, we’ll start with non-directional lasers.”

“Whoa.. isn’t that a little bit too advanced for me?”

Marisa tuts disapprovingly. “Fine. If you really believe that you cannot do such magic, then what shall I teach you?”

“How about elemental magic? I guess it would complement enchanting well.”

“Indeed. However, if you choose to learn elemental magic, there is much more to just mastering spells. You must understand each element, and you must become a part of it. Of course there’s more, but it’s too much to cover right now. So, are you still willing?”

“Yes. I will do it.” I reply with confidence.

Marisa takes on a firm look. She nods. Now I know she’s absolutely serious.

“Very well then.” Marisa begins, “ Before we start, you must know the basics of every element.”

“First, there are five basic elements, fire, water, wood, metal and earth I’m sure you know that, but you must understand each element as a living being

Fire is the element of change.

Water is the element of purification.

Wood is the element of life.

Metal is the element of abundance.

Earth is the element of resilience.

Each element is best used in different situations. Each element must be treated with love.”


Marisa pauses, allowing me to digest the information.

“Secondly, each element has reacts to your state of mind. When you are at peace, the elements bend to your will with ease. When you are filled with anger, the elements lash out at your targets. When you are disheartened with sorrow, the elements engulf you.”

Marisa pauses again, allowing me to think through what she said.

“Third, with each state of mind, you can manipulate your magic to help you no matter the type. For example, even if the elements choose to take you, the spell can be forced by the magician to create protection.”

Marisa pauses once again, allowing me to learn. The words ring in my ears. I prepare myself, for the next lesson.

“I am ready.” I reply

“Very well. Let us begin. To summon fire, you must be calm. Allow yourself to flow with the wind, for the flames dislike rigidness. Feel the magic in the air, focus on your task.”

Marisa holds her palm open, her other hand firmly grasping onto her wrist. She exhales slowly, and as she does, a spark appears over her hand. A sphere of orange forms from the spark, slowly growing until it is the size of her hand. The orb swirls with fury, like water in a ball. Marisa lets go of her arm. She closes her hand and flings the ball towards a window, the fire dissipating before it escapes the house.

“It looks simple..” Marisa says, “but remember, how the flame reacts, depends on what you think about when you cast the spell. Now you try.”

“Okay. I got this.” I focus myself on the task at hand, I concentrate on the...


[] Peace of my mind.
[] Anger of my soul.
[] Sorrow of my heart.

--

[x] Peace of my mind.

[X] Peace of my mind

Anger and sorrow are just to edgy for me.

[X] Peace of my mind

Let's try to be controlled for now.

Hey all! Sorry for another delayed update. My laptop's internet got busted so I couldn't upload anything. It's still broken though, anyway without further ado, chapter 8!
--

The peace of my mind. I fill my head with thoughts of nature and serenity. The valleys I have seen in my time here, the silence of my surroundings. I let it all flow through me and hold both my hands out and place one palm over the other. I start focusing on two things at once, conjuring the flame and peaceful scenes. After what seems like an hour, I begin to feel the air around me heating up.

I stay focused, not letting the heat distract me. Not long after, I hear a whoosh sound. I open my eyes, hoping to see a flame, and true enough there is a flame with a strong red hue to it.

Strangely enough it was coming from the tip of my fingers. And my hands. No, wait it’s coming from my arms too. I uncup my hands and look at my body. It’s on fire.

Fire is bad.

“I’m on fire! Marisa help!” I squeal.


“Relax, I got this.” Marisa chuckles. She holds out her right hand, palms facing me. I look at her, hoping she REALLY got this. “No worries, I’ll just…” Marisa flings her arm back. In an instant, the flames get transferred into a ball on her hand. “take the fire!”

My body suddenly cools down. I start breathing deeply, allowing air to return to my lungs. “If that was a pun, it’s a horrible one.” I reply, “Well, thanks for saving me.”

“Save you? You never really were in danger. Youkai don’t get burned so easily.” Marisa comments, “Especially since your spiritual affinity is fire, apparently.”

“Spiritual affinity?” I ask.

“Of course! Spiritual affinity is the element which you are best suited to using. Everybody has one, it’s just whether you can actually use it.”

“Ah… I see. So I did that because my spiritual affinity is fire?”

“Yup. Nobody can ever create such a flame without being affiliated with fire. Not when they first start of course.”

I take a seat by the dining table by a wall. Marisa decides to make some drinks for the both of us. Now that I have a good look of this house, it turns out there’s some strange things about it. Firstly, the main door leads directly into the kitchen. And in the middle of the kitchen is a huge empty cauldron standing atop several bricks and firewood. I wonder what she does with it.

Marisa brings over a tray of tea. I take a sip of the tea, a sweet taste fills my mouth. “Like it? It’s my special brew. It’s sweet and it boosts your magic! So you can focus more on the important things in life, rather than sitting around recovering yourself.” Well she could’ve told me earlier. I shrug it off and continue drinking it anyway. It’s sweet, and how could empowering your magic possibly be bad?

We finish our tea and head outside where I have more room to go all out with my magic. We begin with more fire casting and once I got the hang of creating a proper ball of flame, Marisa teaches me of more fire related spells like throwing explosive balls of fire and spewing fire from my hands. Creating flames seem to be more useful than creating light in the dark, not that light isn’t helpful, but just that fire is much more fun.

By the time we are done, dark begins to fall upon us. We head back inside to rest for the day. Marisa prepares dinner for the two of us, and truth be told, her cooking skills are amazing. The food she prepared is delicious beyond words.

I wait for Marisa to finish a bite of her food, before asking, “Say Marisa, didn’t you go to Alice’s house for something just this noon?”

“Alice’s house…? Hmm I do recall going to her house, though I can’t really remember what for. Well I’m pretty sure it’s nothing important.”

I trust her judgement. We finish our food and I decide to take a shower before going to bed, while Marisa leaves the house to ‘attend to an incident’.

*****

I wake to the sound of metal objects falling on the wooden floor in the middle of the night. I quickly and silently get out of bed to peek outside the room. Down the corridor, peering into the kitchen I see a small dark figure standing up. It looks around and spots me. It gasps and hide in the corner, out of sight. I decide my next move.

[] Question the intruder, while keeping out of sight.
[] Confront the intruder in their face.
[] ALL OUT DANMAKU FIRE HELL!
[] Hide.

[x] Question the intruder, while keeping out of sight.

[x] Question the intruder, while keeping out of sight.

A fairy thief? Seems most likely, given the stature.

[X] Confront the intruder. Face to face.

Little bit of awkward wording there bro.

Chapter 9!

--

I creep up towards the edge of the corridor, just out of sight of the mysterious person.

"Who are you?" I ask, while staying in the shadows.

"Who are YOU?" The figure replies. It turns out she's a girl apparently.

"What are you talking about? You're the one breaking into the house here!"

"Huh? Aren't you the thief?"

I'm speechless for a moment. What is she up to? Reverse psychology? I try to stay confident, maybe she's harmless.

"What's your name?"

"What's your name first?"

"I'm..." At this instant, I realise that after all this time, I have absolutely no idea what my real name is, so I just go for the first thing that came into my mind, "Marisa! How could I possibly be a thief in my own house!"

"O-Oh Marisa! It's you! I thought you were a thief!" She replies, "I'm surprised you didn't recognize my voice, it's- Wait, didn't Marisa ask me to take something for her?"

Crap. Seems like she's well acquainted with Marisa. I hear the person walking towards me. Unsure of what to do, I raise my hands, ready to fight her if I need to. She inches towards the corridor and I can almost hear her heavy breathing. The girl stops, then launches herself right in front of me and hovers in the air.

Stunned by this display of un-humanness, I stare at her dumbly. I quickly recover and take a good look at her. She's wearing a blue and white dress and her head had a large blue ribbon. The girl is staring at me too, presumable sizing me up to see how strong I am.

"You're... " she stops.

"Uh..."

"DON'T TAKE MY SOUL!!" she says as she hastily flies out of the house halfway through her sentence, the last of her words trailing off in the distance.

I stand rooted to the ground, unsure of what just happened. Who is she? What was she talking about? Why would I take her soul, most importantly? I decide to just go back to sleep, perhaps I'm just hallucinating, right?

*****

Once again, I inevitably wake up, only this time it's morning and not in the dead of night. After doing the normal morning routine, I walk out to the kitchen to see Marisa cooking something in the giant metal pot.

"Morning! Had a good sleep?" Marisa greets me.

"Mm yeah. I guess." I wearily reply.

"I made breakfast, it's on the table. I got tea in the pot too if you want."

Ah breakfast, often the simplest meal of the day. I sit down by the table. Breakfast consist of a bowl of rice, some egg, fish... I think and of course, pickles and ginger. A traditional breakfast, made by a magician. I take my time to eat the food, thinking about the events that happened last night. Me and Marisa do our things in silence, eating breakfast and concocting brews in a giant metal pot.

My mind wanders away from reality, thinking about all that happened in these past few days. I try to recall my past, thinking really hard about it. Unfortunately, the only thing I could get was all that have happened in these few days. I exhale audibly.

"You know, there's a library nearby, in a mansion. There's a whole bunch of books you can read and learn about stuff. If you want, I can take you there today." Marisa breaks the silence.

"I suppose. Not much to do here either, huh?" I reply.

After the food, we set off to the mansion. On the way there, Marisa explains to me about the library.

"The mansion, named the Scarlet Devil Mansion, is owned by a vampire named Remilia Scarlet, and her sister Flandre. Both of them never really go out, unless the head maid goes with them. Also, the library is managed by Patchouli Knowledge, the asthmatic librarian. She's also a magician, though she's an elemental mage."

We reach the gates of the mansion. A girl, wearing a green dress and hat stands directly in front of it, her arms crossed and... sleeping.

"Good morning, Hong Meiling!" Marisa shouts.

"Ah! Kirisame! What do you want?" Meiling replies angrily.

"I just need to use the library, same for my friend here."

"I see. What's your name? I'll need to register it in the log." Meiling turns to me.

Marisa cuts in, "oh, well she doesn't exactly have a name, so..."

Meiling raises a brow, then lets us in anyway. Guess the log book isn't that important after all.

The mansion isn't exactly tall, but it's really wide. A large bell tower rises up from the centre with a clock telling the time. In the front of the mansion are patches of flowers between paths, creating a beautiful garden full of colour. Marisa leads me away from the centre to the side of the mansion. There, a large double door stands. Marisa opens it and enter the mansion, presumably directly into the library, I do the same.

Inside, my eyes lay on hundreds upon hundreds of bookshelves, all filled fully with books. I look up to see bookshelves that are way out of reach for a normal person to grab. Girls appear to be flying around with wings, all of them dressed similarly.

Marisa notices me looking at the girls. "Those are the fairy maids. They keep the library clean and ensures the books don't go missing." she explains, "Well, take your time in the library, there's much to look at. I have a few books to find myself." Marisa walks into the maze of book shelves, leaving me to my own instruments. I decide to walk forward until I find something of interest.

"Welcome to the Voile Archives, stranger. What brings you here?" A voice behind me asks.

I turn around to see a girl in a pink dress and pink hat. I figure she's Patchouli, seeing that she's dressed far different from the fairy maids.

What shall I learn about today?

[] Gensokyo's Citizens
[] Places in Gensokyo
[] Magic

[x] Gensokyo's Citizens

[X] Gensokyo's Citizens

I wanna see some original stuff about our Touhous. Don't just reuse the same old crap.

[x] Magic

It's what we came for, after all.

A fairly shorter one this time.. I'm pretty busy lately, so I will instead update on the weekends (Starting this weekend! Hopefully) So in the meantime...

--

“You are Patchouli?” I ask

“Indeed I am. Did a certain magician dressed in black and white bring you here?” she replies

“Well, yes. Anyway, I’m here to learn more about Gensokyo. I want to know more about the people living here.”

“Ah... I see.” Patchouli glowers at me. She immediately returns to a neutral face after.

“Well, I do have records of some of those who live here, but only information which they release publicly.” Patchouli continues, “The records are arranged based on location and alphabetical order. Starting with the residents of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and working down to the Underworld.”

Patchouli heads further into the library and I follow her lead. Soon enough, we emerge into an open space, stairs by the sides leading to a second floor which appears to have more bookshelves. Patchouli walks towards a desk in the middle of it all.
By her desk, I see books everywhere. Books on the desk, books by the side of the table, all neatly stacked upon each other. As if this library didn’t have enough of books, Patchouli opens a drawer, revealing more books to which she lifted the first few books and picks up the bottom book. Also, Patchouli appeared to carry her personal book which seems to glow in shades of blue, red, yellow, green, brown, among other colours.

“Here it is,” she says, “The official records of Gensokyo’s youkai.” Patchouli passes an olive green tome to me and sits on a chair by the table, she then took what looked like a grimoire and started reading it, leaving me to my own devices.

I turn around and pick a random bookshelf to sit by. Doesn’t matter where I sit anyway, they’re all the same. Once on the floor, I open the dusty tome and flip to the first few pages. Strangely the pages are all in perfect condition, as if they were fresh from a press. I take a look at the content pages:

Scarlet Devil Mansion & Misty Lake…… 3
Bamboo forest of the lost……10
Youkai Mountain……14

I skip through the unfamiliar names til I see a few names that piques my interest, particularly ‘Forest of Magic’, ‘Makai’, 'Netherworld' and ‘Hakurei Shrine’.

[] Scarlet Devil Mansion & Misty Lake
[] Forest of magic
[] Makai
[] Netherworld
[] Hakurei Shrine

--

[x] Makai

Because Shinki and Yumeko.

[x] Forest of magic

[] Makai

--

I decided ‘Makai’ sounds the coolest. I flip through the pages, mostly filled with words and portraits of people until I reach the page aptly titled ‘Residents and entities associated with’ in a small font, followed by an obligatory ‘Makai’ in large fonts. At the top of the page was a short summary of the place which described it as a hellish place deep under the Hakurei shrine.

I continued to the first name in the list, who was ‘Shinki, God and creator of Makai’ and in subscript wrote ‘and the mother of all native Makai-ans’. At this point, I immediately questioned the legitimacy and accuracy of the official records.

I read the description of Shinki, who turns to be the actual god of Makai. And the mother of all Makai-ans. In the personality section just below, it says Shinki is a kind, gentle, warm and loving mother who takes care of all Makai-ans and makes sure nothing bad happens to them.

Whoever compiled this should really check its credibility. As a matter of fact, Shinki may not even be a god.

Slightly disappointed, I decide to carry on. The book had portraits of what each person looked like, naturally, all the portraits were sketches of what the person looked like, quite professionally done too.

After Shinki, everyone else appears to be in alphabetical order. I skim through them, as most of them appear to be ordinary succubus who are daughters of Shinki. The vast number of succubi in the book starts to perk my interest. Are they native to Gensokyo too? Or are they special to Makai?

I pick a random succubus and start reading her description: Female, sexually orientated to males and likes sexual intercourse. Whoa there, I doubt it’s normal to be so open about these sorts of things. I pick another succubus and it’s almost the same thing; Female, sexually orientated to females and likes sexual intercourse. I pick yet another one, and she is also the same. And strangely all these people are all females, not a single one looked anything masculine.

“That’s odd…” I mutter to myself unintentionally.

“What’s odd?” I hear a voice ask. I look up to see a girl standing over me. She has silver hair, and is dressed in a blue maid’s outfit. Strapped to her legs are knives with hilts of red and of blue.

“Nothing. It’s just that the official records appear slightly… skewed in terms of credibility.” I tell her.

“Oh, THAT book?” she smiles as she speak, “It seems fake, but it’s just what the person themselves submit. What they want to say about themselves just goes in that book. But don’t worry, most of them are quite true.”

For a maid, this girl seems to speak pretty nonchalantly, almost as though we are friends.

“You know, you seem pretty relaxed in your appearance, considering your roots.” She says before disappearing into thin air. I pass over that comment and decide to find something else to read. Learning about the people here through books doesn’t seem like it’s going to help much.

I walk over to Patchouli, who is still reading on her desk full of books. I ask her for something interesting and she simply looks at me, then give me a red grimoire, bound in leather no less.

“Don’t try to cast any new spells in the library.” She says before taking a sip of her tea. Heeding her advice, I head outside where the garden of flowers greeted me. I take a look at the grimoire, named ‘Elemental magic. Book II. By Patchouli.’

Like before, I open it and the grimoire flips to a random page. A few spells are shown before me. Oh boy, time to improve my firepower.

[] Explosive Danmaku Fireball
[] Fire Nova Danmaku Explosion
[] Danmaku Flame Flower

--

[x] Explosive Danmaku Fireball

[x] Fire Nova Danmaku Explosion

The fancy name calls to me.

Uhh, since the votes are tied, I'm not sure what the final decision should be... So, what happens now?

>>27788

Well I didn't vote because casting fire magic in a garden of flowers on someone's front lawn is a silly thing to do.

>27789
Seconded.

[x] Is the garden really a better place for this than the library? Maybe over the lake...

Of course, that's not really something you can base a full update on. The real problem is the names aren't distinct enough. I could not possibly predict the actual difference between Explosive Danmaku Fireball and Fire Nova Danmaku Explosion, and the third one all it tells me is that it's going to be flower-shaped (and the others aren't?)

>>27789
>>27791

Well, the thing is that MC doesn't really know there's a lake by the mansion, despite the fact that it was mentioned only once in the official records of citizens. Also, Patchy wasn't exactly specific on where she could and could not practice magic.

>>27791

Yeah, I thought "Nova" and "Fireball" was something explicitly different. Nova being an explosion around you and fireball being something you shoot, then explode in danmaku. I didn't realise "nova" and "fireball" has no specific meaning. (The explosion after nova was meant to be redundant). My idea of flame flower was that fire would shoot out fire danmaku in the pattern of a flower. I suppose I should've been more specific.

>>27793

We didn't pass the lake on the way in?

>>27794

Apparently we were nuzzling Marisa's back the entire way, and neglected to notice the lake filled with the souls of thousands of outsiders that we flew over.

[X] Find a safe and practical place to practice fire magic
[x] Fire Nova Danmaku Explosion

--

Excitedly, I skim through the page, stopping about halfway down where the words “Fire Nova Danmaku Explosion” catch my eye. This seems like a pretty advanced spell, but I start reading anyway. Once again, the words are memorised with ease. In less than an hour, the spell is all in my head, ready to be used to blow this place apart.

I prepare myself placing my feet apart, as the book taught me, and close my two hands perpendicular to each other, leaving an enclosed empty space inside. I shut my eyes and start working my magic. Thanks to Marisa’s training, I’m much more used to creating and manipulating fire and the magic comes very quickly. My body heats up and I feel a fire forming inside my hands. I open my eyes to see the empty space between the palms of my hands begin to shine a strong orange through my fingers.

I bend my knees, preparing myself to release the spell. I hear footsteps on the cobbled path slowly getting louder. I try to peek and see who it is, but I can’t lose my focus. I hear someone call out, but I’ve already started my release.

I expand my arms, to reveal a deep red fire suspended in mid-air with a radiant white centre for a split second before it expands erratically. The expanding flame, along with flaming fire balls, hit everything around me; The stone path I stand on, the grass patch, even some of it hit the trees outside the mansion and of course, the stone building behind me doesn’t get spared.

Once I’m back on my feet, I inspect the damage. Around me, there is a circle of charred grass and flowers, some still burning. I look up and see that the branches of the trees are broken, mostly from the non-igniting fire balls, which is a nice touch to the spell.

“Ahem” I hear a voice to my left. I turn around to see Meiling, her arms crossed and looking angry. Curious, I ask her, “Is something wrong?”

“Well, other than the fact that you blew up half the garden and possibly outside. Nothing, nothing at all.” Comes her monotonous reply.

“Uhm… I didn’t mean to…”

“Just what were you thinking when you casted that spell right in the middle of the garden?”

“I don’t know… Patchouli told me to practice outside, so I did.”

“If you wish to do magic, please only do that outside, by the lake.”

“Right… Sorry… I didn’t-“

“Please leave.” Meiling cut me off. Her eyes are watering. I immediately got the message and hightail out of the mansion grounds. I walk around the walls until I reach the said lake. The water is blue and being around it is cooling. In the distance, I can see a couple of figures flying about, presumably playing with each other.

I try to summon my magic again, but my lack of heart causes the flames to dissipate before it can be released. My mind simply isn’t up to the task at hand. No matter how hard I try, the flames refuse to release and each time I try, it gets worse and worse.

Eventually, I give up. I won’t achieve anything by practicing the wrong thing. Instead, I sit by the water, still thinking about what I did earlier.


[] Find Meiling and give her a proper apology
[] Try to fix the garden
[] Go back to the library and read something else

--

Admittedly, I'm not quite in favour of having MC do danmaku by the lake, so I tried to compromise. Unfortunately, it didn't go too well and this is the best I could do. This update is unsatisfactory, IMHO.

I actually rewrote the last bit, though I had to scrap it. If you wish to read it, its over here: http://pastebin.com/jtrRbbV8

[c] Find Meiling and give her a proper apology

> Admittedly, I'm not quite in favour of having MC do danmaku by the lake,

So, you are not in favor, for some undisclosed reason, of the thing anon voted for, so you write what you want instead, and in such a way as we get punished in-character for it.

>choo choo

>If you wish to do magic, please only do that outside, by the lake

Really? I mean like...seriously? Is this a troll update bro?

[x] Back one choice.
[x] Go out by the lake instead of in the garden.

Okay that was funny and all, now give us the real update.

Perhaps it was not the best decision to write according to what I had initially intended. I will rewrite chapter 12.

>>27810

Well, if you were going somewhere with it, that's one thing, but... well, it only takes a minimum amount of common sense to realize that fire + plant matter (and in particular a garden that presumably someone cares about) = bad. And if you'd intended the MC to be someone so severely lacking in common sense, you didn't exactly get that across well.

>>27811

Indeed, I was intending for that but it didn't turn out to well. I'll have to think through the next part carefully.

Haha! You thought I was gone wasn't I? Nope! I didn't what picture I should use, SO I just used a cute pic. They don't really matter, right?

--

“Haha!” I exclaim, “Can't wait to get started!” I start reading the first few lines, only to be interrupted by a loud, commanding voice.

“Hold it right there!” I hear a voice call out, “Nobody’s gonna start any fires, not in MY garden!” I turn around to see Meiling, her feet firm on the cobbled path, hands by the side and a stern look plastered on her face. She must take this garden really seriously, I can tell.

“If you want to do magic, then do it by the lake.” Meiling continues, “I won’t tolerate any funny business here.” She folds her arms, glaring at me. Wait a moment, a lake? This mansion has a LAKE? I ask her about the lake, and she then proceeds to tell me about a large lake by the mansion where I can do all the magic I want, provided I don’t do anything funny, like hurl fireballs into the mansion. The gate guard in green then shows me the way out of the mansion, back to the main gates. We walk around the walls until we reach the edge, revealing a huge body of water, with light mist above the water.

“There, you can have your practice here.” Meiling says, before walking back to her post.

I head on over to the edge of the water. The water itself is crystal clear, a few fishes inhabit the waters. Some of them had orange scales and some had patches of black and red. Waste no more time, I open up the grimoire, which flips to the page I was on previously. I start skimming through the page and stop at the most interesting spell, Fire Nova Danmaku Explosion.

Well, can’t go wrong now can we? I find a shady spot by a tree and start reading the spell, taking in all the words and absorbing the info, just like when I was learning how to enchant. This time, however, it’s much easier and I finish just as the sun reaches the its peak. Once I’m done reading, I put down the book and walk over to the edge of the water.

Standing firm, I prepare myself. I hold my arms in front of my chest, palms facing upwards, and close my eyes. I focus on my hands, and soon enough I begin to feel my body heating up, particularly my hands. I open my eyes and see my hands, lit on fire. Perfect. I close my eyes once again, and clap my hands together with great force. The moment my hands connect, the fire bursts out from me. I feel the heat quickly leaving my body and a huge bang can be heard. I open my eyes to check the carnage out.

A small patch of grass around me is charred black. I look around and see that the trees are also somewhat burnt by my explosion. I look up at the leaves and there’s a few fires, no doubt caused by my explosion. I consider putting out the fires before I hear a voice behind me.

“WHAT WAS THAT NOISE?!”

I turn around and see Meiling in the distance with her distinct green and white dress. She observes me for a while before deciding it’s nothing amazing, before walking back. Seems like I’m good to go. I keep on practicing with my spells.

By sunset, I’m well familiarized with the spell and ready to use it any day. The fires I created, surprisingly, did not burn the trees down. Though even if it did, they are so sparse around the banks that it probably wouldn’t matter. I turn around to head to bed, before realising I’m in a foreign place, not at Marisa’s or Alice’s house, and I'm pretty sure I saw Marisa leaving for home while I was practicing.

[] Brave the forest and go back to Marisa's house.
[] Find a way to Alice's house.
[] Request a night at the Mansion.

--

[X] Find a way to Alice's house.

Seems the safest option.

[X] Enchant a handfull of nearby rocks with fire nova.
[X] find two sturdy sticks, enchant them both with light.
[X] Brave the forest and go back to
Marisa´s house.

We got a light spell and a fire spell. It's time to go pro status and start kicking ass

>>27819
Aw shit why didn't I think of that?

[x]>>27819

Just sayin', we oughtta find a mirror sometime soon

[X] Enchant a handful of nearby rocks with fire nova.
[X] Find two sturdy sticks, enchant them both with light.
[X] Brave the forest and go back to Marisa´s house.

No easymodo. Go pro or die trying.

[X] Enchant a handfull of nearby rocks with fire nova.
[X] find two sturdy sticks, enchant them both with light.
[X] Brave the forest and go back to
Marisa´s house.
I feel dumb

Ended up writing waaaay more than I expected. Picture (almost) unrelated.

--


Welp, seems like I’ll have to find my way back to Marisa’s place. I consider return to Alice’s house, but she’s a little bit creepy with all her dolls. I walk up the front gate where Meiling is fast asleep, while standing. I try to wake Meiling up; there’s no way I can find my way back without any directions.

“Meeeiling” I coo softly. As I’m about to question my action, the guard-ener stirs. Meiling yawns and stretch her arms out, before asking,

“Who is- Oh it’s you. What do you need?”

“Which way is it to Marisa’s house?” I promptly reply.

“You wish to go back to Marisa’s house? Through the forest? On foot?”

“Well…”

“You’re going to need to have more firepower if you want to survive the forest. Youkai like to wander the forest after dark and attack almost anything on sight.”

“Then how am I supposed to get back?”

“Well, if you really want to go back by tonight, then you’ll have to have spells at the ready and be able to cast them quickly.” She replies thoughtfully

I think about it for a moment, evaluating whether I may be able to make it. My chances are probably slim, but I haven’t even seen what the youkai are like yet so maybe it’s not so bad.

Meiling breaks my chain of thoughts, “I figured. Well then, I suppose you’ll have to stay with us for the night.”

“What?!” I blurt out, “No- I mean I don’t think it will be a good idea if I just sleep here without any- I’m sure I’ll be fine”

“Ah... So close. Well then, you’d best be on your way then.” Meiling replies with a grin as she points towards the forest. “Marisa’s house is that way.”

I turn back and find a spot under a tree before beginning my preparations. I pick up a rock about the size of my palm. “I could probably enchant this” I think to myself, and I get to work.

After some time, I finally enchant four rocks with my recently learnt fire nova danmaku explosion. I look up at the sky, it’s starting to get dark. I quickly search around for sticks to imbue them with light spells. Can’t walk around the forest without sight.

By the time I’m done, the moon is out. I stare at the sky, the sight of the full moon is breath taking, it’s almost as if it’s alive. Although it shines brightly, it does little good for the thicket of leaves blocking most of the light. I carry on, moving through the forest swiftly and as silently as possible to avoid attracting attention. If youkais really are as dangerous as Meiling says they are, then not getting spotted will be best.

While walking through the forest, I notice it’s getting pretty dark. I look back and there’s a large disparity between the brightness between here and then. “Might be one of those youkai” I think to myself as I slow to a halt, the light on the sticks dissipating instantly.

I listen intently. Through the thicket, I notice a young girl, dressed in a black dress with white sleeves, her hair was short and blonde. As I’m about to move forward, she stops. I reach for my enchanted rocks. I figure she’s one of those youkai Meiling was talking about. I move behind a nearby tree and try to get a better look.

“…not a single human in sight. Can’t wait for a catch…” I catch her mumbling to herself. Definitely not good.

I pull out the rock and throw it straight at her. It hits her square in the face before promptly blowing up in a great fiery blast. I hide behind the tree as fire expands out and past the tree. Small orbs fly out into the sky, probably from the explosion. I hold onto my breath for a moment, before peeking at the girl.

In her place stands a far angrier girl than before. Oops. Guess it wasn’t enough to at least knock her out.

“Who did that?!” she looks around, trying to find the source of the explosion. I quickly pull back behind the tree. The girl goes dead silent. With my back pressed against the tree, I try to conceal myself as much as possible. I hear the cracking of twigs against the dry floor. It’s getting closer, and darker.

“Found you!” I hear her voice right beside me. I jump and instinctively smack her in the face, before high tailing out of her face. I try to run as fast as I can, but the roots of trees and bushes slow me down drastically. As I scramble away from her, I flail the enchant rocks at her, each of them causing a massive explosion. I have no idea how that one rock didn’t at least knock her unconscious.

I hear her voice shouting for me, something about humans and food.

As I run, I desperately try to jump and fly away, doubtful that I will actually be able to do it. Surprisingly, my feet gets lifted off the ground for a moment, allowing me to dodge some of the obstacles.


I keep running until I’m finally out of energy, which is to say not very long. Unfortunately for her, it appears that I have managed to lose her. Her voice can be heard in the distance, with the occasional thud followed by a yelp of pain. She must have lost her way in the darkness of the forest.

As I exhale a good, long breathe, I let myself collapse onto the hard ground. After some time, I stand up and try to find my bearings. It seems that I ran off a little too far to the right, so if I were to just walk slightly more towards the left, I might be able to reach Marisa’s house. But which way is left?

I stand up, and look around the dark forest. Nothing can be seen, save for the occasional rays of moonlight lighting up the nearby vegetation. As I’m about to light my stick, I hear Marisa’s distinctive voice call out,

“Hey, Alice!”

And everything goes black.

I feel myself on a hard, warm ground. Feeling tired, I let my eyes rest for a moment, before I hear a voice,

“Are you okay?”

I open my eyes to see the face of a girl who seems all too familiar, though I can’t put a name to her face.

“Yeah… I guess. Just resting.” I reply

“Alright then.”

The girl walks away and leaves me alone. I look at the sky, it’s dark with some strange red lights. I try to stand up, only to feel a blood rush coming on. I immediately stumble but quickly recover. I look around. A path stretches out on both sides, with lamp posts on each side.

On one side was mist, on the other was a… village made of stone. No sooner did I realise this is where I was before. I quickly run towards the village. Everything is the same, the marketplace, the eerie silence and the three girls. Except this time, there’s another person. She seemed to be wearing a simple long dress and had yellowish hair. As I’m about to get closer, everything fades back to darkness, leaving me in wonder.

As I come to, I realise I’m back in Marisa’s house. Light shine through the windows of the bedroom and someone’s making a din outside. I slowly make my way out the bedroom to see Marisa cooking… something blue in her huge pot.

“Oh, you’re awake!”

I mumble something discernible as a “good morning” and sit by the kitchen table.

“I made breakfast. It’s on the table.”

I slowly eat my breakfast while Marisa continues cooking in the pot. We both do our things in silence. Eventually, I finish my breakfast.

“What you gonna do today?” Marisa asks. Strange. After the events of last night, she doesn’t seem really fazed. Well I suppose I might want to learn how to fly, though I’ve got no idea how far I really am from learning that.

Maybe I could go back to the library and brush up on my technique, but this time, I’m definitely staying overnight if I do that.

What was that name Marisa shouted before I got knocked out? Oh right, Alice. She seems pretty shifty and always hiding something.

[] Learn how to fly, hopefully with some results.
[] Go study at the library.
[] Bugger all. Go confront Alice, I won't stand up to this shenanigans.

[X] Go study at the library.
-[X] Tell Patchy about your semi-embarrassing duel last night, and ask her what she would have done in that situation.
[X] Study up on wind magic and water magic.
[X] This level of enchantment magic obviously isn't powerful enough. We need to go deeper.
--[X] Can we put two enchants on one item?
--[X] Can we enchant living matter?
--[X] How small(and large), exactly, of an item can reliably hold an enchantment?
--[X] What happens if you put the same enchantment on an item twice?

-Also-

[X] Consider all the spells you have casted thus far and the relative strain they put on your magic reserves at each cast. From this knowledge, guestimate how many times you could cast each in a day.
-[X] Obtain an empirically quantitative measurement of your magical strength by asking Patchouli and Marisa to perform the same experiment.

Just brainstorming some stuff. Don't mind me

>>27825

It's k. Gives plenty more to expand on.

--

I’m at a complete lost. No idea of what I should do now; Should I just continue my life as it was before? Find out what’s with the cloak and dagger?

I look up at Marisa, her eyes slightly downcast, mouth forming an inconspicuous crease at the ends in an attempt to smile. She’s no good at hiding emotions, and she knows it herself.

“I’ll just go to the library.” Not much choice now. People are already hiding secrets from me, and I haven’t even experience more than a week in this place. At least books won’t hide secrets from me.

“Well then, let’s get moving.” Marisa replies, and off we go.

The flight to the mansion grounds, and the walk to the library is filled with a howling silence. I should probably say something to alleviate tension, but nothing good comes to mind. These people are not to be trusted, and there’s nothing I can do to change that. As the mystery of my origins continue to be unknown to me, this place starts to feel more… lonely.

Inside the library, the great book shelves of the Voile Archive greets me as I enter. Marisa leaves to find her books while I split off to find my own. Here, in the library, in the vast ocean of knowledge, my mind is at peace. Even with all the happenings going on, I easily settle into a grimoire titled “Art of Casting”.

I open the book and it flips to a page about enhancing one’s fire power. As usual, the words flow into my head effortlessly. Most of the content is about technique and style, so it’s pretty safe to try it in the library, without the fire of course.

After reading the first technique, I put down the grimoire and take stance. Instead of my usual feet apart, knees bent posture, I stand up right with my feet slightly apart. With my body facing sideways, I hold my right hand up, ready to cast a spell. “Oh wait, I’m the library.” I realise and instead, attempt casting a light spell using the stance, only this time with one hand. Surprisingly, the orb is much brighter than my previous, styleless approach.

I wave the light to dissipate it and recast it. The light is still as strong as before. A wide smile spreads across my face. This will definitely make my life much easier. I carry on casting, practicing my light spell which gradually glows with radiance as I continue to sharpen my skill.

“Good afternoon” A voice comes from behind. Turning around, I see the maid in blue again. Silver haired, menacing knives.

“Hello. It’s afternoon already?”

“Just barely. The mistress would like to have lunch with you.”

Straight to the point. No time for small talk. Very typical of a maid, though a maid usually won’t be shivering when carrying out a task.

“Why would she want to have lunch with me? I barely know her, and I don’t really wish to intrude on you all.”

“It is her request to have lunch with you.” She reply. The maid speaks with confidence up front, but her face tells a different story. Her eyes, while impassive, shows a great deal of nervousness. Her lips are quavering. I probably shouldn’t give her such a hard time, so I accept her invitation, or rather, the mistress’ invitation.

The maid guides me through the library until we reach the end. Through the double doors, and into the corridor beyond we walked. Along the red carpeted corridors are vases on tables, more doors that most likely lead to rooms, intricately carved pillars by the walls following a very traditional style. After a few turns and passing what appeared to be the main hall, we reach a wooden door, painted red with gold trims.

Beyond the door is none other than the dining room. On the ceiling are several glass chandeliers. A couple of paintings and flowery patterns decorate the walls. Right in the centre is a huge rectangular table with a table cloth embroidered with an unfamiliar cross pattern. Strangely, only a few windows line the length of the room and all of them have the curtains drawn. A young girl, no older than a teenager sits at the opposite end of the table.

“Please, have a seat. It’s great to see that you decided to have lunch with us.”

I suppose it wasn’t really a decision out of will, but it doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t mind having some hopefully free lunch.

The maid guides me to a chair near the girl. There’s a stark difference between mine and hers. Her chair stands tall, like throne, and has beautifully carved patterns of a pair of wings, flowers and, strangely, a clock in the edges and sides. The other chairs, while still grand, simply cannot compare to the quality of this girl’s. Realising that I’ve been staring at her chair all this time, I quickly sit down and let the conversation continue.

“I see you are confused by my appearance. Don’t let it fool you, I’m probably far older than you are.” The girl begins with a most likely commonly said line.

It takes me a moment to realise she’s the owner of this mansion. The one who’s name starts with “R” and ends with scarlet. Oh, and Marisa said something about her being a vampire.

“I am Remilia Scarlet, owner of the mansion.”

Ah that’s right. Remilia Scarlet. The vampire.

“Pleased to meet you, Ms. Scarlet.” I reply.

“Oh, you don’t have to be so formal here. It’s not a business meeting after all. Just a casual lunch. Just call me Remilia.”

“Right. So…”

“Yes, I understand you are wondering why I invited you here.”

“To have lunch?”

Remilia frowns, as though she’s never been replied with that before. Bad move, me.

“Well, yes. However, I have something I would like to talk to you personally.” Remilia gestures for the maid’s attention, “Sakuya, please bring the food.”

Sakuya bows and disappears into thin air. Not something a maid would do every day. I turn to Remilia and she simply smiles.

“So, I’m sure you had a reason to invite me to lunch, besides eating with a stranger.”

“Indeed. I’m sure you’ve already met a few of the forest residents. Particularly Alice. The mysterious girl who never said more than necessary. Never spoke out of place.”

She’s on to something. I can tell, she wants something.

“I can help you find out the truth, and at the same time I can help you grow your magic to survive Gensokyo.” Remilia offers. No doubt with a hint of deception behind the blatant offer.

“Why are you offering me this… proposal?”

“No reason in particular. Helping another person is a good thing which needs no motive, yes?”

She has a point.

[] Accept Remilia's help
[] Decline Remilia. Work alone.

--

[x] Accept Remilia's help

She obviously has an angle. But help isn't that forthcoming otherwise. As long as we stay alert, we should be fine. Probably.

[x] Accept Remilia's help

Because it may not be the wisest choice, but I think it would be more interesting.

[x] Accept Remilia's help

Must become most powerful mage in Gensokyo.

[X] Accept Remilia´s help.

Not gunna just assume she is up to no good.

--


I’m pretty reluctant to accept Remilia’s help. She has this evil vibe to her, but at this point of time, I haven’t got much of a choice. I’ll just have to keep an eye out of her.

“Alright, I accept your help.” I finally tell her.

“Wonderful! We can discuss about your… future in greater detail later. For now…” Remilia, who was just leaning forward with such great interest, perks up in her seat.

The maid in blue suddenly appears by the table, holding a plate in each hand. She gracefully plants the plate in front of Remilia and me before giving a respectful bow and disappearing again, all with perfect elegance.

The devil in pink picks up her cutlery and begins eating. I turn to my food. It seems to be a slab of meat, though it’s light brown and black lines form a grid pattern on it. Beside the meat is some vegetables and a yellowish paste. Quite a strange combination, vegetables and meat.

Remilia notices my puzzled expression, “You don’t eat western food, do you? Use the knive and fork to cut and eat the meat.”

I pick up the silverware on both sides of my plate, a tiny single edged knife in my right hand and a sharp object with four ends on the other. I fumble around with the ends before finally deciding to hold them like a pen. I stab the meat with the fork and cut it with the knife. The meat itself is actually quite tender and as I saw the meat, red liquid oozes out. I finally split the meat and the insides are bright red and dripping with the red juice.

“Not to worry, it’s not human blood.” Remilia assures me. Not something many people would assume. I bite off a chunk of the meat. The sweet fragrance overwhelms my tongue, the red liquid seeps into my mouth and sends waves of pleasure down my spine.

I swallow my food and bite off another chunk to be greeted by another burst of savoury goodness. Man this chef is good.

“I see that you are liking this a lot.”

“Sure am.”

After the meal, Remilia takes me to my room, just a floor above the dining hall, where I will be staying for as long as I wish. The room is huge. The opposite wall has a large window overlooking the mansion’s garden and a double bed, raised by a wooden platform, with a thin curtain around it. On the left side is a white dresser with golden trims, while on the right is a fanciful closet. The floor is carpeted a bright red.

“Make yourself at home, you’ll most likely be staying here for a long time, so get comfortable.” Remilia says, “Have a nice day.”

Remilia grins at me before leaving to do her business. What a charming little girl. After checking the room out for a bit, I leave for the library. As I enter the Voile Archives, Patchouli greets me with a grimoire bearing familiar words.

‘Danmaku Enchanting’

“This will help.” Patchouli explains, “It’s about advanced level enchanting. Remilia is already working on… finding your origins.”

“Right. I guess I’ll get to work then.” I reply. Patchouli simply looks at me with impassive eyes for a moment before walking back to her table. I walk over to the same corner I was this morning and plop down on the floor. Come to think about it, the books always open to the middle, never with one side having more pages than the other. Very strange indeed.

The grimoire itself has a dark blue cover and is much heavier than the previous books I’ve read so far. As I open the grimoire, it flips to the index page where a giant list of topics glare in my face. Looking through the list, I single out a few topics which might be within my level.

[] Expendible enchanting - Increasing the maximum charge potential
[] Focused enchanting - Maximising the strength of each charge

--

[c] Expendible enchanting - Increasing the maximum charge potential.

[X] Focused enchanting - Maximising the strength of each charge.

So close to lightsaber. I can almost taste it.

[x] Expendible enchanting - Increasing the maximum charge potential

I got a few "Idea of Alice" vibes from this.

[x] Expendible enchanting - Increasing the maximum charge potential

--

My mind is quickly made and without wasting another moment, the book flips left and right for a short moment before finally settling on “Enchanting Techniques: Expendable enchanting”

Taking a seat by my usual spot, I let the grimoire take me. Learning magic through books bring peace to my mind. Much better than having a mentor.

“Expanding the maximum charge potential allows the user to cast spells from bodies more often before the magic in it dies out. Such traits are particularly useful for prolonged fights, however they are inefficient in short duels against very powerful opponents…”

As each word passes my eye, my mind soon forgets about the troubling times. Eventually, I reach the end of the chapter. Ah, but reading is only the first step, practice comes next. I take a look around for something to enchant, but of course, the maids do their jobs too well and there isn’t anything lying around to try it on. I could try enchanting a book, though I doubt Patchouli will be too fond of her books being imbued with explosive magic.

No matter, I’m sure the lake has plenty of stones. I close the grimoire and head outside the library where I’m greeted by a beautiful scene of flower patches and trees. I hold just for a moment, to take in the scenery and scent of fresh air. I notice Meiling on both knees by a patch of flowers. I decide to talk to her since there’s plenty of time. Walking up to her, the girl raises and eyebrow and stands up to face be right as I’m about to greet her.

“Good afternoon.” She ends up being first.

“Afternoon, Meiling. I didn’t know you were the gardener too.”

“Not out of obligation. It’s what I love. The mistress doesn’t mind if there’s no garden, but it’ll make the mansion out of place in such a beautiful land, won’t it?”

“Yeah, I suppose. Won’t look nice with overgrown weed. It’s pretty amazing how you manage such a huge garden, and guard the gates at the same time. Just how do you do it?”

A smile forms across Meiling’s face.

“Well actually, I don’t have to be at the gate. Not physically, at least. The fairies can handle it. I only stay there during the times when I know the annoying ones will come, like Marisa.” Meiling… brags, from the way she looks. “So, with much free time, I decided that I should pretty up the garden. Of course, I asked the mistress for her permission first. After that, it took me a few years to bring the garden to how it is today. Ah… I can still remember the moment when the last patch bloomed. The day when the garden was finally complete. It’s amazing how beautiful mother nature can make things look, even if the seeds were not sown by her, yet youkai and humans alike fail to notice it. It’s really depressing.”

I swear I can almost see a tear drop forming by the edge of her eye.

“Right, so do have you got any other questions?”

“Nope. It was nice talking to you, I suppose.”

“Thanks! I’ll see you later then.”

I bid Meiling goodbye and continue on with my day. I walk out of the mansion gates and towards the lake. As I walk, I glide my fingers along the smooth, red brick walls, following the contours of the flower vine patterns. After all that I’ve been through, I begin to sense a strange feeling growing in the pit of my stomach. In the few days I’ve been here, something already feels so wrong about this place-- an air of tension surrounding the people I talk to.

I finally reach the lake. The same scenery as before greets my eyes; The crystal clear lake and mist in the distance. I set the grimoire by a tree walk on over to the shore. Water gently flows over my bare feet with each wave, sending chills down my legs. I take in the beauty of the lake. Eventually, I find the will to try out the spell.

I pick up a stone in the water and cup my hands around it, ignoring the water dripping off it. Once again, I close my eyes and-

”Focus”

Huh?

”Focus on the fire within you.”

Like I haven’t already been doing that. I concentrate on creating a fire between my hands. As the grimoire wrote, the more magic I produce, the more charges will go into the body, and so I do just that. My body begins heating up as it absorbs the heat from my surroundings while I channel all the heat into the growing fire forming above my hands, which in turn enters the stone below it with great ferocity. It’s a beautiful chain of magic which I’m disappointed I can’t see, but knowing that I’m doing it is already satisfying enough for me.

I keep going for as long as my body can handle. Every part of my body is burning up, but I don’t want to stop, I just want to keep creating fire. I barely feel tired from all the casting, in fact I feel like I keep this up for the whole day. The flame above my hands constantly lick my face, but it doesn’t burn me, merely a tickle. I don’t want to stop creating fire.

Eventually, I begin to feel weary. My mind wanders to thoughts of lying down and sleeping. I decide it’s best to stop and open my eyes, letting the fire die down in an instant. I look at the stone; it’s glowing pure white and smoke is rising from it, but my hand doesn’t appear hurt. I wrap my fingers around it and check my body and clothes to check for signs of being burnt. Nothing. I look up and notice it’s pretty dark, but it’ll clear out. These kinds of things always happen after creating fire.

I stretch out my hand and test out the fruits of my labour. I point at the sky and let everything go. A long column of flame flies out and keeps going, not even showing signs of being depleted. Seems good enough. I keep going until it hopefully dies out, but it doesn’t. It must be a good enchantment, so I stop and keep it in my pocket for future use.

“Hey!”

I turn back to see a dark figure standing some distance behind me.

“How did you do that?! You’ve been going on for nearly five hours! And you melted ALL the ice on the lake!”

“Who’s there?”

I walk up to the figure and accidentally bump into her. Gosh this darkness is taking some time to clear up. The girl holds onto my shoulders.

“It’s Meiling. Have you got any idea what you just did?”

“Uh… Not really.”

Meiling releases me.

“Come on, let’s get inside.” The girl turns and walks off and I follow her blindly.

As we walk, my mind slowly pieces together what just happened. For a start, I’m hungry for some food. Secondly, I must have created some sort of huge fire which I am unaware of. And lastly, it’s night time, which was why I couldn’t see Meiling properly. Strange, since when did it get so dark?

We walk up to the gates and the sight before me stuns me. Along the path, lamp posts light up the sides with a soft, orange glow. The fountain’s water is glowing a bright red, yet transparent hue. The flower patches glow with radiance, standing out from the dark night. In the back, the mansion’s rooms are all lit, creating an illusion of a busy household full of activities, or perhaps it really is full of activities. The huge tower in the centre is also lit, but with large torches which have a red flame on each side. The circular face itself is lit by hidden lights, giving it a mysterious white glow.

I follow Meiling through the garden, stopping every once in a while to examine the flowers. They don’t seem to have any light source, they simply… glow. Once we reach the main doors, Meiling pushes them open and lets me in. Again, the mansion is no less grand than before; There are chandeliers now lit to brighten the room and the few darkened windows make for an inviting room to sleep in, even if this isn’t the right place to do so. Really, I wouldn’t mind.

“We’re going to have dinner, right? I’m quite famished, actually.” I ask.

“Of course, of course. The mistress saw what you did earlier today, and she wants to discuss about that to you. Ah, I wouldn’t be too worried about it, though. She’s really quite friendly and isn’t as evil as she seems. It’s just that sometimes, she gets stressed and ends up appearing much more menacing.”

Meiling leads me to the dining hall. Upon opening the door, the maid in blue takes over from there and brings me to the same seat beside Remilia.

“Good evening.” The vampire greets with a warm smile.

“Evening, Remilia.” I say, returning the smile, wondering what she’s going to do now.

“You know, you caused quite a commotion back at the lake.”

“Ah… I’ve heard. Sorry if I caused any trouble.” I apologise.

“No, it’s fine. I just want to ask, were you actually aware of what was happening?”

“My eyes were shut, and the fire didn’t feel very large. So I thought everything was going fine.”

“I understand. I just have one more question, how evil do you believe Alice is?”

[] "I don't think she's evil just that she's trying to hide something. In fact, she might not even be a threat."
[] "Very much. I think she's trying to harm me in some way. I try to avoid her as much as possible."
[] "I don't suspect a thing at all. I have trust in her."

--

Just as a side note, the choices will affect how MC interacts with Alice and Remilia.

[X] "I don't think she's evil, just that she's trying to hide something."

That final line seemed a bit unnecessary, but meh..

>>27869
I don't get it. Which line?

>>27872
I meant "In fact, she might not even be a threat."

It makes the entire choice sound like Alice doesn't even matter, whether we consider her "evil" or not. Just thought it sounded weird, is all.

[X] "Very much. I think she's trying to harm me in some way. I try to avoid her as much as possible."

[X] "I don't think she's evil, just that she's trying to hide something."

--

“Well, to be honest, I don’t think she’s evil. No. I guess she’s just… hiding something.”

“Very well then. I suppose you must be hungry after all that happened.” Remilia waves her hand and the maid in blue appears by the table with two large, white plates. Setting them on the table, I notice that she always seem so tense. Maybe it’s just like her.

The food is as tasty as the afternoon’s one. This time, it’s like some sort of noodle with red paste. The flavour of the food overcomes my mouth with pleasure, my mouth waters ever more as I chew on it. The sweet paste sends tingles down my spine, my mind pretty much shuts down as I indulge in another great meal by Remilia.

Before long, my meal is finished and we both exit the hall. I haven’t seen her sister anywhere in the mansion though, I noted. Perhaps I might get to meet her soon, but I shrug the matter off and head upstairs to my room. On the second floor, as I walk down the red carpeted corridor, I see a door that’s opened with a tiny crack. At first, I ignore the little detail, but as I near the door, I begin to hear suspicious sounds coming from inside, growing louder.

Naturally, I go up the door and try to peer in. Turns out, those suspicious sounds were the moaning of a girl. Her sounds of pleasures grow by the minute, as I slowly push open the wood doors, centimetre by centimetre. I try to push my head in to get a look at the girl.

I keep pressing on, as she is probably well distracted by now. I push the door slightly larger, barely big enough to fit my head it, not that I’m intending to. I peer inside and see the bedpost with a pair of black high heels on the floor and white socks. I push the door slightly more to see the edge of the girl’s foot. I push it more and her exposed thigh is revealed. I can’t stop now, the door is already wide enough to stick my head through, but I don’t want to risk getting seen. I finally get a glimpse at the girl’s body. She’s still wearing a familiar blue and white dress.

She is lying on her back, with both hands holding onto a long object. As she pushes it between her legs, her moans echo around the room. She keeps doing it, over and over. Moan after moan. I only stare at her in fascination. My mind begins to drift to thoughts on getting on top of her and… and…

I instinctively shut the door with a huge bang and back away. Fortunately, the girl- maid, really, was at her climax, so she didn’t seem to have gotten distracted. I sit on the floor, thinking about what happened back there.

“Ah, so my guess is true.” Remilia appears beside me. Funny, I don’t remember her being so short. She’s merely a head or two taller than my while I’m on the floor.

“What guess? What are you talking about?” I ask. Even though my thoughts are clear, I can’t seem to wrap my head around what just happened.

“I think… I might have an idea of who you are.” Remilia answers sternly.

“Well, who am I?”

“For a start, I think you might be dangerous to humans and weaker beings, like fairies. You appear to have an aura which only some can remember. An ancient aura. An aura only some beings can recognize.”

“Like that blue fairy in Marisa’s house…”

“Who? What did she look like? Do you know her name? What did she say?”

“Well… She had a blue dress. A very girly voice. That much I can remember. She did say something about taking her soul.”

“It’s hard to say for now, but I think you might not be from Gensokyo. A place that has probably been long destroyed.”

“And where is that?”

“Makai.”

I stare at Remilia and take in what she said. The little devil nods her head and walks off, leaving me alone in the corridor, across a room with a horny maid in it.

Makai? The place with the succubus? No, that’s impossible. Remilia can’t be serious, or telling me the truth. I stand up and dust myself before heading to my room, not getting distracted by another opened door. Once I finally reach it, I kick off my shoes and crash on the bed, letting the night take me. I’ll have to decide what to do tomorrow, I fear that if I rely on others too much, they might begin to turn on me.

[] Go visit Marisa and ask her about how she found me.
[] Find Alice and ask her about myself. Maybe search her house in secret if I can
[] Search the Voile Archives.

--

Oh man... Did I write something wrong?

[X] Find Alice and ask her about myself. Maybe search her house in secret if I can

My bad bro, usually just skip over /forest/

>>27892
Ah, that's reassuring. I thought I'd written something that made everybody pissed.

[x] Find Alice and ask her about myself. Maybe search her house in secret if I can

Yeah, /forest/ doesn't get as much trsffic. Don't let it get to you.

>>27894

I see. That's good to hear.

Though it's quite curious why /forest/ doesn't get much traffic. I'd figure there would be many Mari and Alice lovers here, among others of course.

Light shines through the windows of the room, illuminating the tiny frame of my body. I get up and plant my feet on the soft carpet before taking a deep long breath. After a moment of contemplation, I finally decide that I won’t stand for this any longer. I shan’t be the helpless princess who needs others to save me from the tower.

I check my pocket to ensure the stone is still with me and head out of the mansion hastily, ignoring everybody I walk pass. At the gates, I ask Meiling for directions to Alice’s house, to which she replies,

“Alice’s house… Mmm, it should be somewhere in that direction.” She points into the forest, “Might I ask, why do you need to go to Alice’s house for?”

“I have something to give her.” I blurted. A terrible lie, but I couldn’t care less about what she thought.

“Ah, I see. I wish you luck through the forest.” She appears to have taken it. Meiling smiles almost sarcastically right before I turn to leave. Don’t think I didn’t see that, flower guard.

As I enter the forest, I take out my stone and keep it at bay, ready to use it at any youkai or fairy. Walking through the forest nonchalantly is difficult, especially with all the low branches and thick roots. It’s no wonder the path from the mansion doesn’t cut straight through the forest. I end up stepping over roots with my back bent and my arms kept close to my body.

The walk took quite some time, as by the time I reach the clearing of Alice’s house, the sun fairly high up in the sky. Strangely though, my body doesn’t appear to be sweating in any way. I walk up to Alice’s house, and just as I’m about to knock, a though occur to me: How am I supposed to explain my disappearance for nearly a week to her?

Before I can think of something, however, the door opens. As I’m about to flip out and hide, I notice that there’s a distinct lack of a body behind the door. I look slightly higher to see a little doll holding it open, staring at me with impassive eyes. Not that it can really communicate nor show expressions.

I take it as an invitation and enter the house. The doll beckons to me with its arms and I heed. Never once did I think I will ever take orders from a doll. I follow it through the house, except instead of going upstairs where Alice normally resides, it floats to a door at the end of the corridor. I open it and realise it’s the room I woke up during the incident with the mysterious doll. As I walk in, the door shuts behind me. I turn to see the doll just floating there. Just… floating. I stare at it, and it stares back at me. It’s eyes show no signs of emotion.

Yet, the doll gives me sense of comfort, I feel invited by its presence. It’s dead silence and unwavering expression only makes it all the more interesting. It’s as though the doll has a mind, a soul, some form of sentience it can never show. For some reason, the doll reminds me of myself.

Suddenly, an image flashes in my eyes. An image of the dream I’ve encountered twice. I stumble backwards and quickly try to get eye contact with the doll, which is still unfazed as ever. It begins floating towards me slowly, cautiously. Before it can reach within arm’s length, however, the door behind it flies open and the doll drops to the floor. Lifeless.

Alice, with her perfect posture, stands at the door silent and stoic as usual. One hand clutching to her grimoire, and another by her side, it’s just like her everyday rigidness. Her dress doesn’t seem to have changed at all. In fact, it’s kind of strange now that I think about it—Everybody I’ve met so far have been wearing the same thing for the past few days I’ve known them. Must be some sort of culture around here.

Alice finally breaks the silence with a simple question.

“Where have you been?” No greetings, no emotions. Just as I expect of her, to always be so cold and uncaring. Was she always like that?

--

Light shines through the windows of the room, illuminating the tiny frame of my body. I get up and plant my feet on the soft carpet before taking a deep long breath. After a moment of contemplation, I finally decide that I won’t stand for this any longer. I shan’t be the helpless princess who needs others to save me from the tower.

I check my pocket to ensure the stone is still with me and head out of the mansion hastily, ignoring everybody I walk pass. At the gates, I ask Meiling for directions to Alice’s house, to which she replies,

“Alice’s house… Mmm, it should be somewhere in that direction.” She points into the forest, “Might I ask, why do you need to go to Alice’s house for?”

“I have something to give her.” I blurted. A terrible lie, but I couldn’t care less about what she thought.

“Ah, I see. I wish you luck through the forest.” She appears to have taken it. Meiling smiles almost sarcastically right before I turn to leave. Don’t think I didn’t see that, flower guard.

As I enter the forest, I take out my stone and keep it at bay, ready to use it at any youkai or fairy. Walking through the forest nonchalantly is difficult, especially with all the low branches and thick roots. It’s no wonder the path from the mansion doesn’t cut straight through the forest. I end up stepping over roots with my back bent and my arms kept close to my body.

The walk took quite some time, as by the time I reach the clearing of Alice’s house, the sun fairly high up in the sky. Strangely though, my body doesn’t appear to be sweating in any way. I walk up to Alice’s house, and just as I’m about to knock, a though occur to me: How am I supposed to explain my disappearance for nearly a week to her?

Before I can think of something, however, the door opens. As I’m about to flip out and hide, I notice that there’s a distinct lack of a body behind the door. I look slightly higher to see a little doll holding it open, staring at me with impassive eyes. Not that it can really communicate nor show expressions.

I take it as an invitation and enter the house. The doll beckons to me with its arms and I heed. Never once did I think I will ever take orders from a doll. I follow it through the house, except instead of going upstairs where Alice normally resides, it floats to a door at the end of the corridor. I open it and realise it’s the room I woke up during the incident with the mysterious doll. As I walk in, the door shuts behind me. I turn to see the doll just floating there. Just… floating. I stare at it, and it stares back at me. It’s eyes show no signs of emotion.

Yet, the doll gives me sense of comfort, I feel invited by its presence. It’s dead silence and unwavering expression only makes it all the more interesting. It’s as though the doll has a mind, a soul, some form of sentience it can never show. For some reason, the doll reminds me of myself.

Suddenly, an image flashes in my eyes. An image of the dream I’ve encountered twice. I stumble backwards and quickly try to get eye contact with the doll, which is still unfazed as ever. It begins floating towards me slowly, cautiously. Before it can reach within arm’s length, however, the door behind it flies open and the doll drops to the floor. Lifeless.

Alice, with her perfect posture, stands at the door silent and stoic as usual. One hand clutching to her grimoire, and another by her side, it’s just like her everyday rigidness. Her dress doesn’t seem to have changed at all. In fact, it’s kind of strange now that I think about it—Everybody I’ve met so far have been wearing the same thing for the past few days I’ve known them. Must be some sort of culture around here.

Alice finally breaks the silence with a simple question.

“Where have you been?” No greetings, no emotions. Just as I expect of her, to always be so cold and uncaring. Was she always like that?

How should I reply to her?

[] Lie to her. I don't want her to know about what I've been up to, nor get her angry.
[] Tell her the truth. I can trust her enough not to worry too much about it.

--

Man it's hard to find pictures of serious Alice that's not about to kill you but perhaps harass you (Not sexually).

Oh son of a bitch I accidentally double posted. How do I delete posts?

[X] Lie to her. I don't want her to know about what I've been up to, nor get her angry.

You can never delete your posts. The world will know your shame.

>>27902

I will not let shame enter my life! That post will go!

>>27901

Click the check box in the top left corner of your post, then click Delete at the bottom right corner of the page. As long as cookies were enabled on your browser, it should have automatically saved a password.

If for some reason the password is lost, enjoy your ETERNAL SHAME.

[x] Tell her the truth. I can trust her enough not to worry too much about it.

[X] Tell her the truth.

>>27904

Welp the password is lost. Time to hide in my house forever and play Touhou- hang on a moment...

>>27907

>Welp the password is lost

Well, you could probably use the report post button next to it if you really want it gone. It's up to you if you want to bother the mods about it.

>Time to hide in my house forever and play Touhou- hang on a moment...

Oh, you!

[x] Tell her the truth. I can trust her enough not to worry too much about it.

Why lie?

--

I sigh at my expense. I’ve been through so many dilemmas and I just want somebody I can trust. If I don’t start now, then I will never trust anybody.

“At the mansion. I decided to stay there for a while.”

“Why for?”

“Remilia offered to help find out about my past. I can’t possibly live my life not knowing where I come from!”

“I understand what you’re going through right now, but it’s not necessary to go out and find such dangerous company.”

“I just want to know why I can’t remember anything, and I don’t want to be in the dark when someone might actually know something about me.”

Alice goes silent, unusual of her, and her mouth subtly thins. Her eyebrows drop, and so does her eyelids. We both stare at each other for a short time before she turns and leave the room, letting the doll shut the door behind her. Oh, what did I say now.

I plop myself down on the bed and lie down. Perhaps some rest will do me good. I shut my eyes and spread my body out, one arm and leg over the edge, the other against the wall. The world around me feels blissfully ignorant of my plight, its serenity trying to break me away from my life and take me in. So lifeless and peaceful, I just wish to forget everything about my life and run away. Of course, it’s never going to happen.

As I lie on the bed, trying to forget about everything, I feel something holding my hand. My eyes immediately shoot open and I turn my head to the left to see a doll hanging on my fingers. It climbs up onto my hand with some effort and then sits on my open palm.

It looks at me with expressionless eyes, not that it can show any. Looking at it, I open my mouth to speak to it, before realizing it probably can’t hear me. I smirk at the very thought of talking to a doll. How lonely one must be to actually do that.

“Alright, what do you want?” I ask.

The doll jumps and starts flapping its tiny wings. Funny, I’ve never noticed wings on them before. The doll shoots towards the door and waits for me. I take it as a signal to follow and so I do. The doll leads me out the room and down to the end of the corridor where a dark wooden door stands.

I open the door and a spiral staircase leading both directions greets me. The doll hovers over the centre of the circular room and drops down while I follow it on the staircase. As me and the doll go deeper, the room gets darker until I can barely see what’s in front of my face, which makes me grateful for the railings along the side. Me and the doll walk down the stairs in silence for a few minutes. This doll feels very different from the others in the house. I have doubts the doll is bringing me down here on Alice’s command.

Eventually, I reach the bottom of the stairwell where another door stands, which was easy to tell in the dark using my face. I feel around for the doorknob while soothing my nose with my other hand. I quickly find it and open the door to reveal the room behind it.

Most of the room is pitch black, except for a single book on a stand with lamps surrounding it on each corner. I walk up to the book and examine it. It’s a green tome which appears to be a grimoire. As I’m about to open the book, a wave of nostalgia washes over me. I hesitate before opening the book, my heart begins to beat harder and faster. Is this really the best thing to do? This doll, which is most likely a renegade, led me here to this strange book under Alice’s house, and it probably is trying to achieve something Alice doesn’t want it to do.

[] Open the book.
[] Go back up and study magic. Ignore the book.
[] Ask Alice about the doll and book.

--

[X] Go back up and study magic. Ignore the book.

Whoa bro, it's kinda rude to just go around touching things someone doesn't want to be touched. You would be pretty upset if someone came over to your house and started wandering around your house touching shit. It's just not civilized.

>>27913

Marisa would probably say otherwise

[x] Open the book.

It looks kinda important.

Just wanted to put something out, since the votes are pretty even. And I really don't feel good without writing. Also, I've been wanting to put this out for quite sometime.

--

Alice picked up a sewn doll in a black dress. It was a special doll, one that Alice held close to her heart. The doll, you see, was more than just a cleaner or a cook. It was more than one that fought, or entertain. It was a doll which brought solace to Alice.

The doll maker let out a sigh. Holding the doll in both hands, she sat on the sofa, just by the burnt out fireplace, and placed it on her lap. She looked into the eyes of the soulless doll.

“Gets a bit lonely here sometimes, huh?” Alice begins, “Maybe if I just find someone to talk to. Maybe then I wouldn’t have to hide behind all of you. Ah, but it’s no use. I can never become friends with them.”

Alice brought the doll to her chest, hugging it. As she tried find reason within her, tears began to roll down her cheek. It was the only doll in the house which never did any work. It simply sat where it was, untouched by magic. A true doll.

“I’ll just have to live alone then. Youkai always live alone, don’t they? Only humans need people to talk to.” Alice wiped the tears that were slowly forming. For months, the girl had been throwing her responsibilities out the window, sleeping throughout the days only to get up to eat meals prepared by her dolls. Melancholy was commonplace throughout the house of one.

“Is this what humans call depression? No, that’s impossible. I’m no longer a human. A magician doesn’t suffer from human illnesses. I probably just need some rest. That’ll help, won’t it?” said Alice. Sometimes, on cold nights, with youkai roaming the forests, Alice could hear whispers. Whispers of her dolls, comforting her every night, telling her it will eventually end, and she will finally live the life of a true youkai.

As Alice hugged the doll, her mind slowly wandered and she finally fell asleep all while her dolls silently encouraged her only to go through the same ordeal the next day.

--

[x] Open the book.
Do it. I'm sure she (it?) has its reasons.

Well now, can't leave the story ending like that eh.

--

Standing by the book, I feel compelled to open it, as if the book was slowly working its magic into me. My hands automatically start reaching out and flip open the cover. Unlike the other grimoires, however, there was no index, nor title. The pages quickly turn to the centre where they begin to glow a fiery red. Dazzled by the lights, my mind goes to a blank whilst a red magic circle forms below my feet.

“This is me.” A thought was forced into my head

“This is who I’ve become.” Another pushes through.

“Nothing more than an empty shell of who I once was.” It comes once more

“And this book is me.” I continued, “This is my story. My past. And I will finish it.”

I hold the book with both hands and close my eyes. I can feel the heat coming from it, the magic of my old self coursing through me. I slowly lose sense of my surroundings and soon after, my conscience.

--

To be continued shortly...

>>28120
Um, this will be continued, right?