Inheritor Of Magic: The Magi King

"If you're not eating monster meat, and you're not growing magical food, how exactly do you not starve? Even our Witches need the extra nutrition." Wolfe asked.

The General smiled at him as if looking at a small child. "We use nutrition magic, of course. It covers the energy intake that we need, and then the nutrients come from the conventionally grown food."

Wolfe looked to the Witches for answers, hoping that one of them had heard of it.

Ella was the first to realize what they were talking about.

"It's this one, right?" She drew a basic witch rune on the table with her finger and inserted a bit of energy while dropping a piece of lettuce on top.

The rune activated, and the witches who could see it all nodded.

"Um, I'm not sure how to put this politely. We know that spell as [Surviving Starvation], and it's only used for the most dire of emergencies and on condemned prisoners to keep them from dying before their execution." Ella mumbled, just loud enough for those close to the table to hear her.

The Sergeant snorted in amusement and took a bite of one of the meat pies. "I don't know who named that spell, but I like the way they think. It really does feel like that sometimes, but with so many dangerous monsters around, we don't really have a choice. Well, unless we start hunting them and eating them, but that's against the law."

Ella gave her a confused look. "You're overrun with monsters, and it's illegal to hunt them?"

The General shook her head. "No, we hunt them when they become a real danger to the city. It's against the dietary laws to eat them, so nobody tries anymore."

Wolfe smiled to diffuse the tension at the table. "Alright, so if we come to visit, we should bring our own snacks. But that's not the most pressing issue. Would you mind telling us a bit more about the other Continents? We didn't know that any of you survived, so we don't know much of anything about your nations, living conditions, or anything else going on outside our Continent."

The General sighed. "I guess there's no harm in it. You'll learn one way or the other, and I would rather you not torture my troops."

"I knew you could be reasonable. We can start with my home Province of Luangan. I live in the Capital city of Xuan, population of one million and something. I don't really keep count of that. We're on the west coast of the Continent to the east of yours, and most of our population is near the coast, mostly for practical reasons." She began.

"You don't have issues with the gravity shifts in the ocean?" Cassie asked.

The General pressed her lips together, refraining from answering, but one of the younger soldiers did it anyhow.

"Oh, you mean the Ship Sinking Curse? That's only around this Continent."

The General sighed and ignored the question as she continued. "The interior of the Continent has a single large mountain range centred around a dormant volcano. That is the source of most of the Continent's monsters, and so the majority of the population lives near the coast, as far as possible from where they originate.

Unlike here, we have a fairly significant population of Rank Two and Three Witches, but our society is largely technological, as we don't have Demons to create these complex layered Arrays for us."

Cassie nodded in understanding. "And you also don't have many or any Fae Familiars to help you with them. They can also create many of these Arrays. It's only witches who can't because Elemental Magic isn't innate to us."

The veteran Sergeant frowned at Cassie. "You say that as if Elemental Magic is accessible and known, but your skill with it is limited."

All the Witches on Wolfe's side of the table nodded. "Yes, we all learn basic Elemental Magic during our education. We need reagents and Inscriptions, but simple things are not a problem. It's only when we try to combine them into advanced spells and Arrays that we run into issues that need another type of Magic User."

The witches in the group from the United World Military all looked skeptical at the prospect, confirming Wolfe's suspicion that they didn't know anything but Witch Magic. 

"I think it is a local thing. The survivors here needed to keep the lights on in the Fortress Cities, so they worked out a way to use some of the Elemental Magic with the assistance of Reagents. Their own magic is still superior to their grasp of the borrowed spells, though." Wolfe assured their 'guests.'

"It seems there is a lot that we don't know. We had thought that the elemental armour everyone seems to use for clothing was a gift from you to them, but it's not, is it? The Witches make it themselves." The General asked.

"Some of it is a gift from me to them. But yes, most of it is made by our Witches. They all awaken naturally, so they have a long period of training before they are ready and strong enough to head out into the world." Wolfe agreed.

That comment drew everyone's attention to the younger girls, who were finishing their breakfast and getting ready for school.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Katarina asked nervously when she realized they were the focus of everyone's attention.

"Nope, you're good. Just make sure that you get to class on time." Wolfe laughed.

Once the novelty of the young Witches that already had auras wore off, the soldiers noticed something else that was off about the situation.

"Is that a Rank Three Familiar Cat?" One of the Sergeants asked.

"Indeed she is. That is Miss Stephanie, and she's been with us since our days in the Academy." Cassie laughed.

"Amazing. I have heard of Familiars advancing before, but never to Rank Three." The General gasped, causing Ember to give a pitiful whine.

She had also advanced to Rank Three overnight, and nobody had said a thing about her powers. She even got a new flame on her tail and everything. Maybe it was just because these Witches didn't know that she hadn't always been this huge and strong, the Hellhound decided.

That was less embarrassing than simply being overlooked.