Mother of Learning [Web Novel]

[NotteBoy97]

New chapter! When Kireli compared Zorian to a hedgehog I suddenly got the image in my head of sonic wearing glasses and an unamused expression attempting levitate the pen while old man Silver Xvim throws marbles at him and says "You're too slow".

[El Rue]

Kinda' felt odd when Tinami seems friendlier to Zorian at times since she was initially very shy (I guess he's been teaching her this loop as well).

It took me a long while to remember who Kopriva was again.

The kids each getting their own expensive golem doll was amusing.

Xvim approves his multiple "job classes" & wants him to master as much as he can eh?

Zorian really is set for life when he gets out of the loop since he can do a lot of things beyond "well".

[dragon1412]

Originally Posted by El Rue

Kinda' felt odd when Tinami seems friendlier to Zorian at times since she was initially very shy (I guess he's been teaching her this loop as well).

It took me a long while to remember who Kopriva was again.

The kids each getting their own expensive golem doll was amusing.

Xvim approves his multiple "job classes" & wants him to master as much as he can eh?

Zorian really is set for life when he gets out of the loop since he can do a lot of things beyond "well".

So Zorian has finally became the Conqueror of lolis with his golem

So Xvim is confirmed to be an Archmage, now i'm interested in future path, will Xorian go full Dimensionalism and become a time magic expert or will Xvim, as expected, show off another realm of soul magic???

[El Rue]

Originally Posted by dragon1412

So Xvim is confirmed to be an Archmage, now i'm interested in future path, will Xorian go full Dimensionalism and become a time magic expert or will Xvim, as expected, show off another realm of soul magic???

Either way, he'll still be going to go through a sickening amount of multiple "Again"'s, Once more"'s & "You can do better"'s before he's done.

[Darius Drake]

Not necessarily. He might get more advice. Or just be informed that, yes, he does need more experience at the Mana Sensing Exercises to make the results easier.

I also now suspect that Xvim expects third year students to have learnt magic from sources other than the school, probably even before the school started teaching them that knowledge.

[Breimn]

MC found a job perfect for him , babysitter lol.
He really changed compared to the start.

[Namorax]

Well, it is quite hard to NOT change when you experience the same situation again and again for a few years.
Sheer boredom can work wonders!

[Lazy cat]

Good chapter overall, finally some due development on kael he has been zorian best friend for years in the time loop and most of their interactions latelly could be surmised as bussines talk, i understand that's mostly because of the nature of the loop but even so, i think it would'nt be a strain on the story to have more of kael and kiriele in it.

Also i'm curious in regards to whether the family tree zorian gave Tinami will influence in the rest of this loop or in future loops, and how.

Originally Posted by NotteBoy97
New chapter! When Kireli compared Zorian to a hedgehog I suddenly got the image in my head of sonic wearing glasses and an unamused expression attempting levitate the pen while old man Silver Xvim throws marbles at him and says "You're too slow".

LOL i'm pretty sure i saw something along those lines on spacebattle forum.

[Blankdom]

Originally Posted by El Rue

Kinda' felt odd when Tinami seems friendlier to Zorian at times since she was initially very shy (I guess he's been teaching her this loop as well).

Actually, it's more of she can't stop once she starts talking, along with how she needs to find a 'common ground'. -- It's similar to how jocks would hang with jocks, and 'nerds' would hang with others, or people would gravitate to people they share similarities. (Not to mention how people would probably avoid her due to her background/rumors/her likes/etc.)

[GodTurtleOm]

Originally Posted by caviee

LOL i'm pretty sure i saw something along those lines on spacebattle forum.

That's because NotteBoy posted the same exact thing in at least 4 different places. He really wanted to share the impression he got with other people.

I'm still wondering why Xvim is never seen by Zorian during the attack, especially given Xvim's focus on various defensive magics. It would be interesting if Xvim was a coward in addition to being extremely skilled. I wouldn't be surprised if every Cyoria invasion involves Xvim turtling up somewhere in fear/paranoia. Other possibilities: Xvim avoids all conflict/pressure (values own life) or Xvim is busy protecting higher value targets. All decent reasons for Xvim to prefer his anonymity.

So we've learned that in at least one respect, this time loop is similar to a time-dilation room. I'm still going to stick with "splinter reality" that doesn't exist past the peak of the planetary convergence, with the looper souls being the only mobile things between.

And Zorian was given some new fundamentals to practice by Xvim this chapter as well. Including what I think is one of the namesakes for this chapter "Containment", basically, practicing the simple dimensional barriers necessary for teleportation. The other influences on the title: Zorian "containing" the hectic situation at home when it got out of hand, and larger dimensional barriers used to contain Black Rooms and the "time loop".

[El Rue]

Random thought;

So if Zorian somehow in the future becomes good enough to make his own time-dilation room without the whole dying inside it thing, maybe he'll also find a good reason to try it out to further increase his training time.

A re-looping month turns into 2 or more! (If he can also fix the boredom problem). Well, he's got other priorities...

[Lazy cat]

Originally Posted by GodTurtleOm

I'm still wondering why Xvim is never seen by Zorian during the attack, especially given Xvim's focus on various defensive magics. It would be interesting if Xvim was a coward in addition to being extremely skilled. I wouldn't be surprised if every Cyoria invasion involves Xvim turtling up somewhere in fear/paranoia. Other possibilities: Xvim avoids all conflict/pressure (values own life) or Xvim is busy protecting higher value targets. All decent reasons for Xvim to prefer his anonymity.
.

For some reason i have always been under the impression that Xvim dies in the very first volley of magic during the invasion, pretty much like zorian used to, it would be rather ironic considering his habitual paranoic personality.

Originally Posted by El Rue
So if Zorian somehow in the future becomes good enough to make his own time-dilation room without the whole dying inside it thing, maybe he'll also find a good reason to try it out to further increase his training time.

wasn't the black rooms somehow expensive enough to make even the royalty think it's not worth the investment, then i don't see how zorian will manage to create his own with his already crammed schedule, even if money is not the issue.

[bludvein]

Originally Posted by caviee

For some reason i have always been under the impression that Xvim dies in the very first volley of magic during the invasion, pretty much like zorian used to, it would be rather ironic considering his habitual paranoic personality.



wasn't the black rooms somehow expensive enough to make even the royalty think it's not worth the investment, then i don't see how zorian will manage to create his own with his already crammed schedule, even if money is not the issue.

I got the impression the rooms were expensive in magic(stones) to power them and experts to do the spell formula, rather than materials. If Zorian devotes some time to it, he can come up with as many of those as he wants and blueprints to print his design. So that's not the problem here. What is an issue is the mental problems with complete isolation for extended periods, which the author is trying to be realistic with.

The thing is though, he came in to the loop so long after Red Robe and there's limited time left. He may have to get desperate to catch up a bit.

[Namorax]

Originally Posted by GodTurtleOm

*snip*
I'm still wondering why Xvim is never seen by Zorian during the attack, especially given Xvim's focus on various defensive magics. It would be interesting if Xvim was a coward in addition to being extremely skilled. I wouldn't be surprised if every Cyoria invasion involves Xvim turtling up somewhere in fear/paranoia. Other possibilities: Xvim avoids all conflict/pressure (values own life) or Xvim is busy protecting higher value targets. All decent reasons for Xvim to prefer his anonymity.
*snip*

That, ooooooor... Xvim is the guy they go to when they need someone to defend against a lich who might be the most powerful sorceror alive (in a certain, undead-ish sense). Don't know about you, but if there is a person specialising in defensive magic, that would be the kind of person I want to have on my side when an army of cultists led by a lich attack the city.


Just because we can count the number of the direct appearances the Lich (I admit I forgot his name... he's just THE lich) made on one hand, doesn't mean he isn't there. The same goes for Xvim: not appearing during the invasion doesn't mean he ran away. For all we know Xvim might be at the banquet with all the diplomats and high-ranking nobles, since it would make sense to have a mage specialising in defense like him at hand when diplomats and nobles from all over the world gather in one room. That or he's just at home trying to think of new shaping exercises for his beloved pupil. Or outside of Cyoria, or outside of the kingdom itself...
Even if he's in the city, after the invasion starts he probably has other concerns then running back to the academy so Zorian can see him. Like protecting a room full of diplomats and nobles from all over the world.

[Lazy cat]

Originally Posted by bludvein

I got the impression the rooms were expensive in magic(stones) to power them and experts to do the spell formula, rather than materials. If Zorian devotes some time to it, he can come up with as many of those as he wants and blueprints to print his design. So that's not the problem here. What is an issue is the mental problems with complete isolation for extended periods, which the author is trying to be realistic with.

The thing is though, he came in to the loop so long after Red Robe and there's limited time left. He may have to get desperate to catch up a bit.

What i mean is that a student like zorian(despite being older inside), even with "unlimited" suplies shouldn't be able to create something so elaborate, much less considering his super-busy schedule, basically he would give away lots of time in the research to maybe be able to create a black-room before the loop decay. My guess would be that zorian is going to have access to a already existing black-room, maybe in the facility bellow cyoria, or maybe through the aid of Damien, it would be a good way to introduce the character, if i remember right he should be a archaeologist so it could work somehow.

[Namorax]

And why would Zorian need even more time? To perfect all his shaping exercises?

[Darius Drake]

Because he IS in a time crunch, and doesn't know how long it'll last.

As for Zorian making his own Black Room, personally I think that's possible. All he really needs to do, given our limited information on the subject, is make the spell and have a space completely sealed off from the rest of the world for a day (while having enough food and water to last a month or two). So if he makes a box out of earth, he can use that.

Additionally, a Black Room can be useful for... other reasons. Namely, letting Zorian learn more from a teacher without the reset interfering. Gaining more teaching in a single period from Silverlake's lessons is just one known example I can easily mention.

[bludvein]

Originally Posted by caviee

What i mean is that a student like zorian(despite being older inside), even with "unlimited" suplies shouldn't be able to create something so elaborate, much less considering his super-busy schedule, basically he would give away lots of time in the research to maybe be able to create a black-room before the loop decay. My guess would be that zorian is going to have access to a already existing black-room, maybe in the facility bellow cyoria, or maybe through the aid of Damien, it would be a good way to introduce the character, if i remember right he should be a archaeologist so it could work somehow.

As long as he has more than one day in the room he would gain time no matter how much he lost on building it. So he's not losing time, merely investing for greater returns. Why would you think it would take more than a month to build to begin with? He's not going to do everything by hand every month. As long as he's got a design he can simply print it like he does with his standard golems.

As for using the existing black room, unlikely unless Xvim can get him a spot. To the public it's a top secret facility, and a month is not enough to convince anyone important enough to matter that he is totally trustworthy and should be given a spot over others. As for Damien, Zorian is not going to ask him for anything if he can help it. All signs point towards the character being an asshole and Zorian hating him with a passion.

[Lazy cat]

Originally Posted by bludvein

As long as he has more than one day in the room he would gain time no matter how much he lost on building it. So he's not losing time, merely investing for greater returns. Why would you think it would take more than a month to build to begin with? He's not going to do everything by hand every month. As long as he's got a design he can simply print it like he does with his standard golems.

As for using the existing black room, unlikely unless Xvim can get him a spot. To the public it's a top secret facility, and a month is not enough to convince anyone important enough to matter that he is totally trustworthy and should be given a spot over others. As for Damien, Zorian is not going to ask him for anything if he can help it. All signs point towards the character being an asshole and Zorian hating him with a passion.

It isn't just the time to build one, but the time employed in the research that wouldn't take last just a couple of restarts, even if he is capable of creating one, i don't see he just printing then left and right mainly because it's just too convenient. Besides nowhere in the story it was implied that black-rooms are as widespread as they would be if it was simple enough to create that even a young magician can do it in just a year or so of studing the subject. Zorian has always been portrayed as above average, but not really a genius, and while the loop gave him advantages when it comes to research methods he wouldn't have otherwise, it's mosttly on the level that anyone with conections and money could have.

simply put, there is nothing so far that indicates zorian is capable of creating something with this level of sophistication, yes he has resources and time(in theory) as well, but none of his previous acomplishments indicates this is actually possible for him.

As for Damien... well one of the recurring themes of this series is how zorian view towards things end up changing through the loops because of his interactions with people, so it's very likelly that his view on Damien is also caused by him misunderstanding other people intentions. This migth already have been foreshadowed by zorian talk with rainie(wolf shifter), besides it kinda sounds a bit too angsty if "zorian was right all along his family is just a bunch of ashholes", it may be just me but that kind of aproach on the protagonist familiar problems is very underwhelming.

[Darius Drake]

Originally Posted by caviee

It isn't just the time to build one, but the time employed in the research that wouldn't take last just a couple of restarts, even if he is capable of creating one, i don't see he just printing then left and right mainly because it's just too convenient. Besides nowhere in the story it was implied that black-rooms are as widespread as they would be if it was simple enough to create that even a young magician can do it in just a year or so of studing the subject. Zorian has always been portrayed as above average, but not really a genius, and while the loop gave him advantages when it comes to research methods he wouldn't have otherwise, it's mosttly on the level that anyone with conections and money could have.

simply put, there is nothing so far that indicates zorian is capable of creating something with this level of sophistication, yes he has resources and time(in theory) as well, but none of his previous acomplishments indicates this is actually possible for him.

As for Damien... well one of the recurring themes of this series is how zorian view towards things end up changing through the loops because of his interactions with people, so it's very likelly that his view on Damien is also caused by him misunderstanding other people intentions. This migth already have been foreshadowed by zorian talk with rainie(wolf shifter), besides it kinda sounds a bit too angsty if "zorian was right all along his family is just a bunch of ashholes", it may be just me but that kind of aproach on the protagonist familiar problems is very underwhelming.

@ Blackroom: The main problems with Blackrooms that we've been told are numerous, but not things that Zorian would have significant problems with. From Memory, they are:
1. Becoming experienced with Dimensionalism Magic, which is probably an unusual magic to specialize in... which Zorian's learning anyway.
2. Getting enough food, water, and other materials to survive being locked in the Black Room, as well as make the time spent in the Black Room worthwhile.
3. Getting enough mana to actually make the spell work in the first place.


@ Damien: I, personally, think that Damien IS an ass. However, he's a charismatic ass with self control. Basically, he's an ass only when he believes that he can get away with it, and an ass kisser when it serves his purposes. I wouldn't be AT ALL surprised if, on every one of his "missions" that made him famous, he's taken a different group due to taking all the glory for himself at the end of the mission. Those who badmouth him for this are treated as jealous idiots, and Damien gets to stay on his pedestal.

Evidence that Damien is NOT a nice person: the fact that he decided practice the body control spell by making Zorian (the family "black sheep", and thus someone who's likely NEVER going to be a threat to him, the family "golden boy") dance for his amusement. Even if he wasn't practicing the spell on Zorian (unlikely), it's still too big of a dick move for me to consider Damien not to be an ass. Even if it was something done years ago. This is also reaffirmed by Damien practically cutting ties with Fortov.


@ Zorian's Family is a bunch of assholes: Actually, I hold out hope that Fortov isn't as big an ass as he has seemed. While Damien's asshattery seems predetermined and well hidden from the outside world, Fortov seems to be a fairly "regular" guy with Attention Deficit Disorder. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that he's not actually responsible for Ibery being pushed into the purple creeper bush, he just took responsibility for it when one of his friends did it. As for how he's treated his younger brother and sister (since neither of them likes Fortov), he's both an older brother and probably takes cues from his own, highly praised, older brother.