Supreme Magus

Chapter 4062: Inner Conflict (Part 1)

"The problem is that as you learn to set your individuality aside and each head to think for itself, the name can cause psychological changes." Faluel said.

"Imagine that you task one head with an offensive role and give it a warrior name. That head will take that as her duty and change her thinking pattern to fit it. Over time, being called with a different name and being forced to act in a specific way would reshape your original personality.

"That thing wouldn’t be Friya anymore, but Kornan the Destroyer. Even worse, it would behave as such in your everyday life."

"That’s terrible!" Friya said, blushing a little.

"Yes, it’s also kinky, but believe me, it’s not worth the trouble." Faluel clicked her tongue.

"How could you read my mind? That’s an invasion of privacy!" Friya seemed to become a Fire Hydra as her mind pictured all the things she didn’t want Faluel to know.

"I didn’t. We are just that close, and our bond is that strong." Faluel’s face flushed up to her ears as the visions flashed in front of her eyes. "Learning how to shut our minds is one of the reasons you came here, remember?"

"What were you saying about the numbers?" Friya focused on mental arithmetic for her life.

"That calling your heads Friya #1, #2, and so on will remind them that they are all still Friya." Faluel recalled the details of her most recent experiments to insulate her mind from her apprentice’s. "Now pick a damn head!"

Friya’s seven serpentine snouts turned left and right, trying to make a fair decision for everyone.

’Should I start counting from the left? That’s how I read, after all. Or maybe from the right since it’s my dominant hand. Gods, why is this so hard?’ She thought.

She was about to ask Faluel what the most common decision among Hydras was when Faluel’s glare stopped her.

’This is not about picking a head. This is about self-control and discipline. How can I split my focus if I can’t make such a simple decision?’

"My middle head will be number one." Friya said.

"Because that’s the one Nalrond always kisses." Faluel nodded. "It makes sense."

"I didn’t choose it because of that!" Solus blushed.

"But you sure thought about that!" Faluel blushed harder. "Let’s start with something simple. Number one must cast a spell while the other heads must cast another. Begin."

Friya sat on the ground cross-legged, taking deep breaths to calm down. Then, she tried to pick two spells and succeeded on the first try. When she attempted to conjure them, it failed spectacularly.

All the heads started from the same rune, no matter how many times she started over.

’Okay, fine.’ She thought. ’I, number one, will cast Raging Sun. You lot give me two runes’ head start before you start conjuring Dimensional Ruler.’

’Except you are not number one.’ The actual middle head had just opened its eyes, discovering that it was the second head from the left talking.

’Fuck!’ All heads cursed in unison until Faluel snorted so loudly that it drew their attention.

"I’m sorry. It’s just that this is so funny." She said, unable to hold back her laughter anymore. "Let me give you a piece of advice as an apology. Have all the heads except for the middle one close their eyes.

"Being the only one who sees should help you set it apart from the others and avoid confusion."

"Thanksss." Friya hissed in annoyance. "I’ll do that."

The suggestion worked like a charm. Head number one almost arrived halfway through Raging Sun before the runes for Dimensional Ruler began to seep into her mind, messing with number one’s focus and spell.

’This is hard.’ She inwardly sighed. ’Let’s start over.’

An hour later, Friya had yet to succeed and was seconds away from punching her own faces. Every failure was accompanied by a growl as Friya’s heads snapped their mouths and hissed at each other.

"Okay, that’s enough for now." Faluel said, feeling rage and frustration clouding Friya’s judgment. "Let’s switch to physical training for a while. Shapeshift into your full Harbinger form."

Friya turned into a humanoid Hydra about 2,2 meters (7’3") tall. All her necks and heads were the same size now, and a tail about 1 meter (3’3") long came out of the small of her back.

Her arms and legs were as muscular as Ryman’s in his human form, her fingers and toes ending in razor-sharp claws and talons, respectively. Last but not least, for the first time since she was fourteen, Friya could see her feet when she looked down.

"My poor breasts." She sighed while patting her chest. "I guess this is how Phloria felt."

Friya’s lips curved into a wan smile, imagining how angry her late sister would have become upon hearing such a comment, and wondering how long Phloria would have nagged at her about it.

’Phloria wasn’t that flat, but there’s no point being pedantic.’ Faluel thought. ’Friya managing to joke about her sister again without crying is great progress, and I don’t want to ruin this moment for her.’

’Thanks, Master Faluel.’ Friya replied.

"Damned mind link! How can Lith and Solus make it look so easy?" Faluel grumbled. "The constant intrusions completely spoil the mood. Start moving, brat."

"Moving? Not training?" Friya asked.

"Your legs are longer, and your arms’ reach is greater." Faluel shook her head. "You need to get used to your new condition first."

Friya took a stroll around the cave, feeling her scales click against the rock with every step. She moved faster than she was used to and everything, even the piles of gold and gemstones scattered across Faluel’s lair, seemed smaller.

"Yeah, not asking me how the weather down here is was a wise move, smartass." Faluel snorted.

"I’m sorry, I’ve never been a Lith before." Friya cleared her throat in embarrassment. "How is having multiple heads going to help me with physical training?"

"Once you master one more head, you can multitask in combat. While the others act as you usually would, the extra head can check on your surroundings, use Invigoration, or cast spells.

"Also, simply by observing the fight from a different point of view, you can better read your enemy’s moves or spot any trap they might have laid during or before the fight.

"Once you learn how to think with your seven heads, you’ll be a seven-man team by yourself."

"With only one body, though." Friya took Dreadnought out of her dimensional amulet.

The rapier felt small in her hand and short compared to her arm, even at its full size.

"That’s why we are training." Faluel nodded. "The heads in charge of everything that’s non-combat related must get used to acquiring and processing information without putting it into practice, or you’ll trip on your own feet. Too many cooks spoil the broth."

"Then aren’t the other six heads not able to achieve much aside from assisting the main head in battle?" Friya asked.

"Absolutely not. You’re being an over-Lith. He’s just pessimistic, you are also being narrow-minded." Faluel clicked her tongue. "Each one of the other six heads can come up with its own strategy, brainstorm it with the others, and then swap control with the main head."