Magic School

[Raleigh]

*With a few funny noises, some out of place springs, and at least one round of cursing in a language that doesn't exist yet, Raleigh's magic school appears in its floating island form. Hovering not too far from his home waiting for new and old students alike.* So let us see what they have learned and if anyone new needs some lessons.

[AmbushCat]

*A lightning bolt strikes on a clear day, depositing Thaddea close by. A few seconds pass before Ellen and Ezekiel (catgirl form) arrive in much the same manner.*

Ellen: *blinking spots out of her eyes* ...It's official, Thunderball. I'm never going for rides in your ship again.

Ezekiel: *glomps Thaddea* Was fun, was fun!

Yes, that's nice and all, but kindly LET GO. *pulls herself free of Ezekiel's grip and enters the school to resume her work, shaking her head and muttering*

[Raleigh]

Welcome back all of you.

[AmbushCat]

*Thaddea waves back without turning around.*

Ellen: ... *nods in greeting* Zeke and I are here to give our status updates.

[Raleigh]

Alright, lay them on me.

[AmbushCat]

Ellen: ...Alright. I'll start with the things you were teaching me directly. As you've likely seen already, I've reached the point where I can transmogrify a pack of computer paper and merge the individual sheets together to create clothing substitutes. ...Increasing their toughness to create passable armor is still a drain on the stamina, though; anything technically stronger than iron tires me out within an hour. On the plus side, practicing this before I go to bed means I have an easier time sleeping through the night.

[Raleigh]

Excellent to hear. I'll see what we can work on to help you last longer with stronger grade defenses. Also good to know it helps you sleep better. I've often found a bit of energy expenditure before bed helps keep me restful.

[AmbushCat]

Ellen: Mm. ...As far as my cutting ability is concerned, I think I might have stumbled across something big. About a month or so ago behind the scenes in Spamville, I was waylaid by an especially tough monster that was on the lookout for a snack. I did the sensible thing and carved it up like a cheese sculpture, and that was pretty much it.
...Thing is, I found out later that what I'd faced was a low-level Slayers-grade mazoku. You know the type: immune to physical attacks, can only be hurt through specific means, et cetera. I've given it a lot of thought, but I don't know how my technique suddenly became that effective.

[Raleigh]

Were you using those treated cards or something else? Even if you were that is very impressive. I'll have to see this in action though before I can speculate. Perhaps have you cut something so I can see what is happening. Before that though I suppose we should continue catching up.

[AmbushCat]

Ellen: ...No, I was using my standard deck. I was under the assumption at the time that it was a bog-standard monster I was up against, strength notwithstanding.

[Raleigh]

I am very pleased that you have reached this level of cutting power. As I said, I'll need a direct demonstration if I am to answer how that happened. *A normal bamboo pole appears nearby.* Let's use your standard deck for this. Any other progress before we start in on Ezekiel's progress and then testing this?

[AmbushCat]

Ellen: ...Nothing that really comes to mind.

*One of her cards floats free from her holster as she speaks, hovers near the pole, and sharply slides from left to right; Ellen's attention never deviates from Raleigh. At first it seems like the pole was unharmed, but when Ezekiel walks over and nudges the pole, the section that was cut falls over. The cut itself is completely clean.*

[Raleigh]

*Watches the cut intently.* Alright, now try again on this one. *Another pole appears. This one enchanted to approximate a mazoku.*

[AmbushCat]

*Ezekiel growls deep in her throat and backs away from the pole, the fur on her tail fluffing up a bit. Ellen's posture doesn't change as she repeats her attack, this time splitting the pole vertically instead of horizontally.*

[Raleigh]

*Raleigh's eyes adjust and he analyzes further.* How invested are you in avoiding dimensional manipulation lectures? I want you to try that on me next. I want to see if what I think is happening is indeed going on.