John knows Juniluny is coming for him.

Cloak of Merlin attempted to influence you, but you're immune! This message will not repeat unless a new Cloak of Merlin effect is detected.

John had taken a single day off... and, perhaps by some miracle, that single day had not been interrupted by something like this.

But I could've trained more... prepared more... maybe scouted her out before now, if I ever found a clue... but here we are, and she's... I mean, it’s got to be her; who’d forget a name that silly? But how? Why? Tara isn't- well, this is the last place Tara reported she'd be before vanishing... but why half a week later? And why is she the substitute teacher?! John, shaking his head in disbelief, continued to read the "substitute teacher's" profile.

Juniluny Snickerbottom
<The Cabal>
Level 22 Qliphoth Qabalist
HP: 1,030/1,030
MP: 1,261/1,261
Stats: Str 16 Agi 16 End 30 Int 49 Wis 18 Cha 42 Lib 20
Status Effects: Cloak of Merlin, Change Face (Juni Snick), Umbral Skin
Qualities: Earthbound, Halfling, Qliphoth of Hod, Quest Target, Shadow Soul (178/220)
R/S: +19
Tara's old master. A 35-year-old halfling bound to Earth as a native by dark magic. She is a Practicus of the Cabal with talents for destruction and stealth, though she also enjoys a strong background in Qliphoth magic in general. She has fed on many souls, gem-bound and otherwise, to keep her practice sharp; she has owned dozens of slaves in her time, though she happens to be fresh out of late due to her appetites. Her driving motive now is to find a powerful **** that will allow her to experiment and drink for years while honing the poor fool into a useful apprentice.

The glamour on the halfling had only been visible enough for John to realize it was trying to hide her giant, inhuman ears from his sight. She gazed around the room, though her eyes never quite left his at the same rate it did the rest of the students as she started her introduction. She's not even trying to hide it... A glint on either of her hands caught his attention: two rings, one a simple band of blue and the other a silver loop topped with a dark ruby, glinted with magic before John's Eye. Her business dress, as far as he could tell, was real... but something black at the edge of her cleavage revealed a magical corset underneath to John.

"Good morning, class," she almost whispered, but all were quiet as they focused on her. "My name is Ms. Snick."

You've got to be kidding me. John very carefully poked at the interface, reading her effects and magical gear as she started her fake introduction.

Ring of the Cabal: allows the user to commune with those above and beneath her within the Cabal structure, but only at night, and only with subordinates when they're alone and only with superiors when the latter wishes. The ring also grants the user +30 mana regeneration per minute and resistance to mind-influencing spells of level 30 or lower.

Soul-Eater Band: gives the user a receptacle for any soul energy absorbed from a victim, storing up to 30 soul points that can be used instead of the wearer's own. (Capacity: 0/30)

+6 Bustier of High Inspiration: this magically-hardened leather bustier provides the wearer with 6 points of DR against physical attacks and grants the user +20mp regeneration per minute.

Cloak of Merlin: cast with a level of 43; can only affect entities of that level or lower. Cloak of Merlin does not alter the user's appearance or the appearance of the user's actions, but instead convinces every affected entity that detects her or her actions that both are perfectly normal, acceptable and do not require query, intervention, or reporting unless the user says they do. The spell is active until the next sundown or sunrise. When Cloak of Merlin ends, so does its effect on the memories it influenced.

Change Face: changes the appearance of the user to someone extremely similar, with no applicability to clothing. Lasts until the caster turns it off.

Umbral Skin: the caster's flesh transfers all damage it suffers into the Umbra, a conscious Kingdom of darkness and pain that takes the suffering as tribute. This spell was cast with a level of 60, so the caster enjoys 6,000 points of absolute damage absorption until the next sundown or sunrise. If the limit is reached before then, however, the Umbra takes 60 soul points from the subject.

Earthbound: this Abyssal creature has been permanently bound to Earth, rendering it a second natural home and allowing manifestation without a mage’s energy.

Halfling: a human-goblin hybrid race that erred towards forming diminutive humans (as opposed to their cousins, the hobgoblins). They acquired their good nature, humor, and power over mana from the humans. They acquired their love of pranks, their engineering talent, and their appetites for food and sex from the goblins.

Qliphoth of Hod: the shell of the eighth sephira of the Tree of Life; marks the unknowing servants of Adramelech. This sphere of learning is a dedication to the self for the purpose of dominating the exterior world. Adherents strongly rebuff charity or defeat and are debilitated by either.

Quest Target: Substitute Teacher (Other Staff). Worth ten points if some form of penetrative sex is engaged before midnight tonight. No multipliers currently apply. 0 points scored.

Shadow Soul (178/220): this creature's soul has been marked and twisted for the purpose of being both consumable and replenishable where most souls can only achieve one such state naturally. The Qliphoth magic worked through the soul has left it tainted, reducing it to its present shadow state.

Some questions he knew he wouldn't have answers to, not for awhile. There were many things to consider in the meantime: the Cloak effect, John guessed, may have explained how she got through here without a Brighton or Moon standing in her way, though he guessed Wentworth, whatever her level, should be able to see through it. Most other questions would have to wait for later: he had 7,000 damage to lay before he could hope to knock her out. Plus... she counts for a quest, which must mean she really did get hired... but to do what? Get ****? Get Tricia? The last guess, coupled with the unknown menace of that "soul-eating" ring, cleared his path: he needed to neutralize this Cabalist before she could bring any harm to his favorite blonde in the world, or anyone else for the matter.

"Now," Ms. Snick announced, "today... we're going to have a movie day."

An impressed series of whistles and claps suddenly filled the room as John’s fellow first-year students began to get comfortable for sleep. "How did she get the paperwork filed for that?" whispered one of the less popular kids in the back.

"While the movie plays, I'll be doing individual assessments to gauge where each of you are in your studies and where you need to be. I may not finish you all today, but I'm going to be your sub..." The halfling snorted at some unknown joke before quickly snapping back to her composed self. "That is, I'll be your instructor for at least the remainder of this week. Any questions? No?” she quickly added, giving no chance for any to be asked. “Good. Now, for roll call—ah, you,” she off-handedly ordered as she pulled a tape from an unseen briefcase behind the desk, “the tall one up front.”

“M-Me?” came the meek reply of Gary Dew, a lanky and unpopular kid at the Academy. John had noted him as one of those few in his classes who had a mana pool, albeit of a mere 20 points.

Juniluny locked eyes with the poor soul and grinned anew as she planted the DVD case (of some old movie called Donnie Darko, John’s keen eyes told him) on Gary’s desk... and, by virtue of her height, her left hand on his jutting knee.

Juniluny casts charm mortal at level 5. Gary is charmed!

Well, she doesn’t seem shy about casting magic, either-

Ms. Snick gently rubbed that **** knee. “That TV-DVD player up there is too high for me. Could you be a dear and put the DVD in there?” The crimson gem on her ring glittered.

Juniluny casts soul sip on Gary at level 10. Juniluny channels 30 soul points into her Soul-Eater Band! Gary loses 20 permanent mana and one level!

John’s eyes went wide as the boy’s information changed: his mana entry, instead of vanishing, was reduced to a “0/0” total. His level, merely at 4, actually dropped. What John could glean about his new enemy saddled next to a newfound fear of this horrible power. She could ruin my stats- no, John, big picture! She’s some kind of soul vampire, and she’s already starting on your classmates! I might not be able to go get backup before she’s had her fill...

Gary, for his part, swooned in his chair, took on a pale shade, and then broke it up with a rosy blush as he bashfully stood and fumbled with the DVD case. Ms. Snick, upon pulling the roll call from the desk, readied to confirm her suspicions as she casually went down the list. The names, all save Vanessa Hawthorne and Danielle Morgan, were followed by a prompt “here” before she arrived at the fated moment... and struggled not to look John in the eye as she said it.

“John Newman?”

It must be the cloak spell... it says “detect” and, given what she could detect before, Moira should’ve run in here swinging by now. If I remove it... John thought about the power on display so far, and the damage he’d need to do to keep her from hurting Moira or whoever else when they came running. Would he be putting them in such unnecessary danger? His immunities came to mind: mana drain and attribute manipulation. Did that include maximum mana and level, or only mana so that she’d go straight to level? Curious as he was, he wished more than ever for a manual.

“John Newman?” she repeated.

Curious glances from knowing students went on John as he brooded. A few beats passed by the time John realized his role in this; the Cabalist, or “Qabalist” as it were, had shown some distress at being ignored. It was enough to convince John to keep his hand down. I might have more time if she thinks I just didn’t show up... maybe she’ll move on-

“He’s right there, Ms. Snick.” John’s body locked up. Slowly, he turned to face the voice that spoke out... and found horn-rimmed glasses on the face of some mana-less normie he had never cared to interact with. Melvin Crabtree, a mouth-breather who never saw a shirt he wouldn’t like starched, shook his head disapprovingly as he did his best to suck up to the new teacher.

John turned back to “Ms. Snick” and saw her grin grow nearly from ear to ear. Time was up: he had to decide now how to proceed. If she thought he was susceptible to her cloak, he had to act like everything was fine. Until he got the ring of the cabal off of her finger, he wouldn't be able to read her thoughts or edit her memories, if he would even be comfortable using that spell for the first time. Beating her down would take rounds, as well... and he still didn't know what she was capable of. Removing her "cloak" would mean others might come... for better or for worse.

"Gary Dew, was it?" The exhausted teenager nodded dumbly as the Cabalist dropped the paperwork on his desk. "Would you be a dear and take the rest of roll for me? Then turn the movie on when you're done." Again he nodded as he looked the sheet over. Juniluny smiled at her prey the whole while. "I'll get started on the individual assessments now... starting with Mr. Newman here."

The students shifted in their seats... but none spoke up as they accepted this as a normal course of events. Gary took the roll and read it out loud from his seat. John, not wanting to break character, nodded with a smile as he stood from his chair.