Aaargh! I don't wanna go to Practical Magic! All we do is waste time on wimpy everyday spells. Goin' by the book is such a drag. "Five Spellbinding Steps to Stain Removal"? Seriously? I'm here to do magic, not laundry! Not to mention that a genius like me could do that with both hands tied behind my back, steps or no!
What, you don't believe me?! Then I'll prove it to ya. I'll conjure up some hot water, throw in summa the special cleaner I made in Potionology, and... Well, I'll skip the stuff I don't have on me right now. I'm nothin' if not adaptable. Mix it all up, channel some magic into it, and... Mrrrrrrgh! Yaaah! Huh? The foam ain't stoppin'. Uh... I got a bad feelin' about this! Myaaah! It's eatin' me!
It's me: Ortho Shroud of Ignihyde. Is this the first time you've seen me like this? I happened to pick up a high energy reading, so I figured I'd come zap it with my laser. You're kinda silly, trying to activate a bubble colossus spell in a place like this.
I-I didn't make it. I came runnin' to defeat it, like you. You just beat me to the punch, is all. That blue glowy magic beam of yours was awesome! Wasn't it, [MC]?
Ha ha ha! That wasn't magic. It was condensed technomantic energy. This Burst Gear body that my brother made can output it at high levels, y'see. He's got a huge rack of servers set up as an arithmetic circuit so that it can handle huge loads of technomantic processing in an instant!
Really? I guess so. Ha ha... Well, now that that's sorted, all that's left is working out a good heat sink. If the circuits get too hot, your performance will drop by forty percent. Usually, there'd be fans to help cool things down, but... You'd look weird if you had fans all over you! Sacrificing design for the sake of performance is a total newb mistake! I'm stumped. I want it to be cutting-edge in both form AND function, but... Hmmm...
I've got an idea! Why not expose the circuits that are normally hidden to stop heat from building up? And you can cluster the parts around the waist. Then... It might look kinda like the robes you wore at your orientation! Those were really cool.
Oh, you mean the ceremonial robes? True, I COULD spread components out around the waist to make it look like a robe, and that'd kill both birds with one stone. You're a genius, Ortho! You know just how to flip a problem on its head. Time for me to roll up my sleeves and get to work!
Once you're finished making this new body, could we both dress up together? I mean, since you're going to all this trouble... I think it'd be really fun to go to this year's orientation together!
I wanna take a picture of us together in the Mirror Chamber. We couldn't do that when you started here, right? It's kinda late at this point, but I think it'd be nice to have a memento of our enrollment at Night Raven College.
Woohoo! I feel light as a feather! It's like I'm running on a fresh pair of batteries. And I'm gonna look just like my brother! I can't wait to show everyone.
It's strikingly ornate, actually. Not bad, Shroud. The neon colors woven in behind the elegant design create an impressive avant-garde subversion. It's not every day you see mechanical haute couture. I'm not sure whether to call the creator a skilled craftsman or a mad genius.
Thanks. I bet my brother would be really happy to hear that coming from you. We're gonna go to orientation together, so he should be here soon. You can tell him yourself!
I wanna create real memories with Idia. With me the way I am now, I mean. That's why I wanted to go to a major Night Raven College event with him—to share an experience we can only have right here and now.
Where ARE you, Idia? He's not in his room or the lounge. Did he go to the wrong place? Guess it's time to pull out my secret weapon. He told me to never use it, but this is an emergency! [Logged into satellite positioning system. Searching for Idia Shroud's location.] ...... There he is! Ummm, let's see, that's...
He should be around here somewhere. Oh, there! Idia! And he's with Malleus Draconia? What're they...? Whoa, hold up! He's talking with Malleus?! MY BROTHER is talking with someone face-to-face?!
Why you've got a fancy body that looks like the ceremonial robes! You walk around like that, like you're some kinda big deal, and folks are gonna wonder why! So spill the beans!
