The following day, Jun arrived in a military specced truck.

"Good luck! See you in a week." Babulya kissed Gwen on the forehead as her uncle parked. Gwen couldn't help but notice that she gave Richard one too, bringing big smiles to her cousin's face.

Jun hopped from the driver's seat and commanded the side cabin to open with a command.

After giving Gwen an affirming nod, he turned to Richard.

"So, you're the Prince's Praetor that came with Percy, huh?"

The two men shook. Gwen couldn't help but notice the veins on Jun's hand pulsed as they clasped hands, with Richard grinning somewhat fiercely.

"Not a Praetor anymore, sir, that's long behind me now." An understanding passed between the two men of competence.

"I look forward to your performance. I have read your history, and I have the utmost confidence in your abilities," Jun assured his in-law.

"It would be my honour, Sir. I will keep Gwen safe."

"Good man!" Jun struck her cousin on the back with a resounding slap.

Gwen was still trying to place how Richard seemed to insinuate himself with such ease into every other circumstance when the familiar face of Mina disembarked.

"Gwen!" Mina waved a small white hand at her daintily. That was another aspect to which Gwen had to get accustomed. In China, even family did not hug. There was a strict hierarchy between the young and the old, measured in respect and intonation, manifesting physically through personal space. To let another individual into that lauded intimacy would imply a profound connection such as lovers or comrades.

To validate her hypothesis, Gwen had carefully observed that no matter how much Guo was pleased and enamoured with Percy, her grandfather did not embrace nor initiate tactile intimacy with his grandchild. Likewise, Guo seemed perfectly happy with Percy reacting to every command as though it came from a superior officer, responding with formality and respect.

Mina's eyes fell upon Richard.

"Ooo." Mina pursed her petal-like lips. "You must be Richard."

"Richard Huang, at your service." Richard presented himself in the manner taught at Prince's, bowing with a flourish.

"I am Mina Wang," her cousin offered coyly. "Hi."

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance," Richard replied, taking her hand and brushing her fingers with a mock kiss. "I hope we can work well together."

"I am sure we will," Mina tittered, taking on a pleased expression. "We should hang out sometime. I want you to meet my friends."

"But of course." Richard's wolfish grin made Gwen wince.

"Mina?" Gwen nudged her cousin.

"Hmm? Oh yes!" Mina stole another look at Richard before addressing Gwen.

"Ah yes, before I forget, your IDs." Jun opened his hands and materialised two stacks of identification cards.

"Thank you for going the extra mile to get these for us." Gwen thoughtfully retrieved the banded stack and examined the cards each by each:

Her Passport was a blue book embossed with the crest of the Commonwealth Mageocracy.

"An Australian Passport?" Gwen turned her eyes toward Jun wonderingly, confused that she didn't have a little red book embossed with the Forbidden City.

"A Commonwealth Passport with a PR Visa, at Lord Shultz's request," Jun replied. "That was a part of the agreement."

Gwen nodded and inspected the contents. The first page was an embossed, enchanted crest with the Commonwealth's heraldry imprinted with an emu and a kangaroo. The second page contained her likeness etched onto an Illusion Glyph, which could be activated and projected. The page also held her biometrics, such as her eyes, hair and ethnicity. The rest of the twenty-page book was blank but for one, where a large Glyph took up the whole sheet. It was a glowing, golden crest of the Forbidden City topped by a constellation of five Red Stars.

Her academic ID was just that, a plain white, nondescript card about the thickness of a fingernail. A headshot adorned the left corner. All the entries were blank except for a section that indicated she graduated from Blackwattle Bay High School, Sydney.

Her Public Practice of Magic Licence was more interesting, as it listed her skills and talents, as well as her associated Tower. Gwen couldn't help but notice that the sigil on the bottom right was the silhouette of Pudong Tower with the shape of three spheres stacked atop one another, forming the likeness of the Oriental Pearl Television Tower in her old world.

"Yes, you're a member of Pudong." Jun noticed Gwen's lingering gaze. "Another condition, as it were, of the 'exchange program'."

Gwen nodded and examined her registered powers.

**Gwen Song**
Public Practice of Magic ID:: 9840598 001
Evocation (3), Conjuration (4), Divination (1), Transmutation (1), Abjuration (1)
Quasi-Elemental :: Lightning :: Void
Class Permit (B)

"That's… Everything," Gwen muttered, feeling her gut churn. She turned her eyes toward Jun questioningly.

"There's nothing to fear. You're registered with the Putong Tower now." Jun gave her a confidence-boosting smile. "You should be known at the highest level— since Gunther personally asked for the favour. If someone wanted to spirit you away, they have to deal with the Tower. If need be, the matter may even escalate to Lord Huo himself."

"What's the 'B' for?" Gwen turned her attention back toward her ID, wondering how reliable it was that the Tower would come to her aid in the event of some nefarious force having designs on her talents.

"Tower Access," Jun answered her patiently. "B gets you access to basic spells and items, which you can trade for with Contribution Credits. You don't have a mentor right now, right? As long as you have Crystal and CCs, you can get access to tutors, Cognisance Chambers, and spellbooks."

Spellbooks! Gwen's felt a tingle of excitement. She desperately needed to expand her spellcraft options.

"That's good to know." Gwen stored her licence in her Ring and examined her last ID.

**Multi-Pass Adventuring Permit**
 **Gwen Song**
LOI:: China, Shanghai
PPM: 9840598 001
Ethnicity: Australian (Eurasian)
Eyes: Hazel - Green
Skin: Caucasian
Hair: Black (Warm)
Height: 180CM
Access Rank: E
Quest Attainment: N/A

"Quests can be from either Tower," Jun helpfully explained. "Though I would try to stick to a single Tower to avoid future complications. That said, you're a student, so I wouldn't expect you to do much questing."

"Thanks, Uncle Jun. I'll let you know if I have any other questions." Gwen bowed her head and stowed her last ID, watching Richard do the same.

"Peaches, move it!" A sonorous female voice muttered from the truck's interior. "Get!"

The command was answered by the sound of Tao grumbling about wanting to sleep. A few silent seconds passed; then came the sound of a lever clicking into place, followed by an insane, guttural shriek.

"ARRRRRRGGGGH! Eeeeaaa! Bitch, you caught mah hand! FU—"

Klavdiya sighed.

Jun shook his head.

They haven't left yet, and Gwen's party was already one member down.

The next moment, a stunning young woman of breathtaking allure emerged from the vehicle, moving past Mina to embrace Klavdiya.

"Grandmother!"

The girl appeared older than both Gwen and Mina. Effortlessly, she leaned in and kissed Klavdiya soundly on both cheeks.

Even Gwen's cousin Richard held his breath for a second to take in the splendiferous vision that had emerged so unexpectedly amid Tao's porcine wailing.

"Mina, if you could?" Klavdiya commanded her granddaughter with her eyes.

Mina sighed and retreated into the interior, where Tao continued to whimper and complain.

"It's just bruised!" she growled at her brother. "Give me your hand."

Meanwhile, the culprit of Peach's agony addressed both Gwen and Richard.

“Hello, I am Petra Kuznetsov.” Petra inclined her head. "I am your Enchanter."

Her cousin twice-removed stood an inch taller than Gwen, attired in a collared blouse, skirt and white runners. She had auburn hair that fell about her face in ringlets, framing her cheekbones. Her face had the likeness of Kalvdiya's look, but where her grandmother appeared timid and benevolent, Petra's aura was vivacious and passionate. Below her Husky-blue eyes, her lips hinted at an aggressive sensuality. Her brows were similarly thick and defined, adding to the imposing superiority she projected.

Was her cousin beautiful? Gwen wouldn't doubt it. But Petra had the kind of beauty that one discovered by observing bushfires; in swirling tornadoes of orange flame ravaging ten thousand acres of prime woodland. It was the kind of attraction that filled a girl with wonder, like watching howling tundras cracking under a rolling storm. Gwen knew how vainly she felt for her looks, but in front of Petra, she felt unquestionably diminished.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"I am Gwen Song, Hai Song's daughter." She extended a hand to shake, wincing as Petra took her white fingers firmly.

"Richard Huang, pleased to make your acquaintance. I hope we can work well together." Richard also suffered Petra's death grip.

"Very good," Petra intoned impassively, neither friendly nor cold, with a voice more akin to the affirming of having received goods from a delivery. "I would like to know more about you two as well. Shall we speak in the truck? Captain Song should be finishing his errand in less than sixty seconds."

"Don't mind her aloofness." Mina's voice came from the interior opposite. "She grew up in the military. It turns them into squares."

Petra said nothing. She turned from Gwen and Richard and ducked back into the van.

"Move," she commanded Peaches.

Tao shrunk from Petra as though extolled by a Displace Beast, adhering to the cabin's far side as Petra passed.

Gwen exchange a glance with Richard.

Could things be worse? Gwen said with her eyes.
Ever the pessimist, Richard gave her a thumbs up.

"It takes an hour to get to the docks, so get acquainted," Jun informed the hold and its cargo of cousins.

Mina opted to sit up front with Jun, while Tao, Gwen, Richard and Petra sat behind.

Gwen tried to break the ice, but Tao wasn't in the mood to speak to Petra. When the crew finally articulated their abilities, the conversation grew surprisingly formal, with Petra presiding over the minutes.

"My highest rank when serving under the Moscow Tower was Officer Cadet," Petra explained. "That said, I have lived in Shanghai for two years now, working with Fudan University on research and development programs."

"Have you graduated?" Gwen asked. Petra didn't seem that much older than herself.

"I was fortunate enough to be an accelerated student," Petra announced proudly. "I am eighteen if you are wondering. The same age as Tao."

"First or second year?" Gwen resigned herself to be Petra's academic inferior.

"I am on my second year at Fudan," Petra advised them. "Though I am currently enrolled in post-graduate research as well."

"That's incredible," Gwen said, realising that Petra was way ahead of a curve she and Richard had yet to enter. As Richard had served as Praetor instead of his military service, he was almost nineteen now, two years behind the average university student. If and when they graduated, Gwen would be twenty or twenty-one, and Richard would be nearing twenty-three.

"There are others," Petra said simply. "I am not that impressive, in comparison."

"So, are you a Mind Mage?" Richard asked interestedly. He could hardly imagine anyone would refuse if Petra said something like 'look into my eyes.'

"Richard!" Gwen nudged him. If Petra were a Mind-Mage, according to Guo, her talents would be part and parcel of a highly classified identity.

"No," Petra replied stoically. "I am an Inscriber, under the branch of Enchantment and Fabrication."

"That's incredible!" Richard slapped his thighs. "Your Enchantment is already at tier 5? Have you taken a minor School of Magic? Say, Conjuration?"

"You how Inscription Glyphs work?" Petra raised a brow at Richard.

"Our grandfather is a Master Enchanter." Richard pointed helpfully at Gwen.

Petra turned to look at Gwen.

"Yes, but he's in Sydney," Gwen confessed a little too eagerly, not wanting to get Petra's hopes up. "He's a frontier Enchanter though, a trinket maker."

"Impressive nonetheless, to achieve that level of expertise." Petra's expression softened. "What do you know about Magitech, Gwen?"

"Not an awful lot..." Gwen grimaced.

She was a bumpkin, but even so, Gwen had discerned from their everyday conveniences that there existed a branch of Enchantment which combined Demi and Human Spellcraft to create Magitech, this world's version of electronic circuitry. The archaic cars that they drove in Sydney were a product of early Magitech, while advanced variations afforded more complex operations, culminating in the construction of war machines like Golems. Now that she was in Shanghai, she could see that even in Sydney, the presence of Magitech was ubiquitous, seen in lifts, data slates, Message devices, even the Towers.

Assuming that Magitech was the same as engineering in her old world, Petra, she figured, would be someone involved in electrical engineering, or perhaps mechatronics.

"What kind of Magitech do you specialise in?" Richard was curious as to how a researcher was helpful in combat.

Petra allowed a slight smirk to touch her lips.

"The deadly kind."

"No way! You're a Runesmith?" Her cousin intoned incredulously. "Or perhaps an Artificer?"

"The former." Petra snapped her fingers, materialising a crystalline cube. "I can manifest these small, expandable devices that store a spell of my maximum tier minus-one. There's a hard limit on conjuration volume and manifestation duration, but the cubes make for a flexible offering."

Gwen could hardly close her mouth. Petra's sorcery was unlike anything she had seen in all her years.

"For example." Petra allowed another cube to 'load' onto her hand. "This one is from my Master's friend."

The transparent cube looked etched with Glyphs on all sides. Within the cubic frame, a volatile swirl of Elemental Fire raged.

"It's a Scorching Ray," Petra explained. "Single target spells are the best. AOEs are harder to manage because I can't spellshape magic that isn't mine, only manifest them."

She produced another Spell Cube tinged with blue and glowing with Glyphs that Gwen recognised as Conjuration.

"A Call Lightning, but cast by an Ice Para-Elementalist Mage," she continued. "Spells with seeker functions are excellent as well. Though there's is a limit to how many can be released at once without mana bu-"

The truck rocked as Jun powered over a speed hump.

The cube fell from Petra's hands.

Gwen instinctively reached out and snatched it before it struck the floor. The Spell Cube felt unexpectedly warm, and there was the additional feeling of pulsing mana within, not unlike a heart.

"Close one!" Gwen breathed out, turning to face her peers with evident relief. "Wouldn't want that going off in here!"

Both Richard and Petra regarded her with dismay.

"It's perfectly safe," Petra explained, taking the cube from her hands. "It only activates on my command."

Her cousin then regarded Gwen with a look of suspicion. "Which school did you say you graduated from?"

Gwen felt her face flush. Who could blame her? She technically didn't even graduate from high school.

"Well!" Richard intervened, diverting Petra's obtuse question, positive that Gwen's Magical Licence would soon speak for itself. "If you must know, I am from Prince's..."

Like many things in the city, the Shanghai ferry docks were constructed with a ridiculous traffic volume in mind. While Sydney's Ferry pier in Circular Quay had eight berths, the Shanghai Metropolitan Port was twenty-four segments built into an artificial grotto of moulded steel and reinforced glass in a U configuration.

Gwen and her party of youngsters made their way through the building's vaulted arches, marvelling at the architectural possibilities made manifest by the application of high-level Transmutation and Enchantment.

Besides Gwen, Petra played with a cube of dark, malignant energy; her mood greatly improved since the crew embarked on Jun's truck.

Gwen watched the cube of Void matter bounce up and down in Petra's hands. It was just a Void Bolt, but her cousin seemed enamoured with the exotic element.

Earlier, when they had finally got to the business of exchanging spell lists, Petra had seized Gwen's wrists with such a wrenching strength that Gwen almost yelped.

"You're a Void Caster?" Petra's voice quivered, her fingers like steel fasteners wrapped around her delicate wrists. "Do it now, make a spell. Here!"

She then materialised one of her Spell Cubes and insisted for Gwen cast something into it.

Tao was finally paying attention as well, his eyes widening a little at hearing Petra's provocation. Simultaneously, in the passenger seat, Mina fell silent and listened rather than banter with Jun.

Despite the questionable wisdom of manifesting a Void Spell in a moving vehicle, Petra's fervent glare had frightened Gwen into submission.

"If you're sure." Gwen had then cast her spell, unable to refute Petra's Husky-blue eyes.

A feeling of sickening vertigo overwhelmed all in the vehicle when Gwen manifested the consumptive mana, nearly causing Jun to swerve the truck onto the dividing wall.

"By Mao!" he cursed loudly. "What the hell are you girls doing back there!"

Once she had the spell, Petra etched out multiple, multilayered Mandalas in thin air, imposing them upon the mineral surface of her crystalline spell-storage device.

Gwen was no stranger to Enchantment, but her grandfather had used quasi-magical tools to keep his Mandala's precise geometry. Meanwhile, Petra seemed to work entirely freehand, manifesting through the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Mineral, an amalgamation of Positive Energy and Earth. Moreover, from what Gwen could discern, the specific "Crystal" Petra accessed was high-density quartz.

After the fact, Petra had ignored both Gwen and Richard for the rest of the ride, secluding herself at the back with the cube in hand, muttering quietly and smiling secretively every so often.

Tao had stared in awe at the cube in Petra's fingers, his eyes flitting between Gwen and Petra. Mina likewise remained silent, her thoughts and expressions unknowable by those in the back.

Her uncle Jun had offered no commentary, shock or surprise, and so the group journeyed on.

On the pier, the ferry itself was a domed glass construct that resembled a tortoise. It sat low in the water, less than half a meter above the cloudy, silt-churned surface of the Huangpu River, rising from its lowest deck to a total height of four tiers. Atop the ferry, where a chimney stack would sit on an alter-world vessel, there instead sat a Barrier Crystal Array. The ferry's size looked equipped to carry up to close to a thousand people, with each deck possessing its little kiosk for food and drinks. The exterior barriers were glass, giving the passengers a two-seventy degree view of the harbour, blocked only by the engine room near the aft.

"Yo! Boys!"

Tao threw a few gang signs into the air, one answered by two familiar faces— Little Dog and Mack Daddy.

Tao wore an Adidas jersey and pants with three vertical stripes running down one's arms and trouser legs, ending at the matching runners.

"Gwen!"

It was she whom they greeted first, bowing their heads slightly. After Gwen returned the gesture, the rest of the group introduced themselves. Tao's boys did not disappoint. They also outfitted themselves in matching Adidas— but in different colours.

Holy shit, Gwen realised. If Tao had five friends, and they each wore a different coloured set of Adidas in green, red, yellow, blue, and black, they could resemble those early 90s kids shows with colour matched Rangers. Hell, they could even be called the Rapping Rangers.

"Ma'am." Mack Daddy and Little-Dog bowed toward Petra, who nodded before turning back to study the cube.

When Richard introduced himself, both boys grew wary, asking him questions about how well he knew Gwen. Richard read their jealousy like a book and knew that there was only one way to nip this unpleasantness in the bud.

"We slept together," Richard informed them, failing to mention they were in different rooms. "Last night, Gwen surprised me, and we both became drenched."

Mack Daddy appeared stunned by the revelation.
Little-Dog made an expression as though he was about to cry.
Mina looked at Gwen, at Richard, then shivered.

Gwen punched Richard in the arm; this time, she didn't pull back.

"Don't listen to this guy!" Gwen interceded before the boy's imaginations ran wild. "He's just trying to jerk you off."

"Well done, Gwen." Richard patted her back. "Well done."

"... I like your outfit," Mack-Daddy remarked on Gwen's outback adventuring outfit.

Gwen kicked out her knee-high riding boots and tipped her broad-brimmed Akubra hat. "You like it? I got it when I was still in Sydney."

"It suits you well." Mack-Daddy's face grew beetroot red.

Mina folded her arms. Compared to the positively "Country" Gwen, she wore a Sunday dress with a modest neckline and hem. To Gwen's confusion, the girl even wore Roman sandals.

"You look lovely as always, Miss Mina," Little Dog appraised Mina's choice of attire for adventuring.

"Why, thank you, Bao. For noticing that I exist," Mina replied sulkily, glancing at Gwen and Petra. Mack Daddy quickly added his compliment, though Mina was already too offended to care.

Besides Gwen, Petra, who dressed for practicality, rolled her eyes.

As the day wore on, more and more participants arrived, young Mages like themselves, each with their guardians in tow. Gwen saw Vivian appearing and disappear into the crowd, as well as a few faces she recognised from the Bout.

After half an hour or so, Gwen comprehended that though most of the people here were strangers to her, she was not a stranger to them. Every once so often, someone somewhere would point towards her or meet her gaze and nod.

Before she could ask Mina who these people were, a blaring horn announced that the hour was upon them.

In a dozen rows, the adolescents filed into the ferry like school children escorted by their teachers on an adventure island day trip.

Jun had purchased tickets for the top deck, and so they found themselves enjoying a splendid view of the Bund, across from which was Pudong.

Gwen studied the Mageocracy's Tower in Shanghai, her ultimate and eventual destination, upon which a Magi sat on the throne, Lord of his domain.

On the opposite side, the PLA Tower loomed in its ziggurat-like immensity, its pyramidal magnificence presiding over Shanghai's CBD, a gleaming beacon of sandstone, glass and steel.

A Tale of Two Towers? Gwen mused to herself. Would her future be the "Best" of times? Or would it entail the "Worst" of times? That, only time would tell.

The ferry blared twice, then set out. Past the docks, the Huangpu River opened onto the sea, where four hours later, they would arrive on the island of Hengsha.


Bonus One - Shot - because I can't post without 500 characters.

Thanks to Andur \- I read some of your one-shots and remembered something I wrote about a year ago when I was fantasiing about doing a web-novel.

More than Human

“ALRIGHT ATHLETES, GATHER UP” Coach Pol's voice blasted through the field, amplified by an aug-boosted voice box.

Grumbling, the athletes slowly made their way back from the brunt orange track. Ben, the first to return, was drenched with sweat. An optic sensor embedded into his right-iris HUD announced that his new legs had 57% power remaining; that his run was only 45% energy efficient.

Raising his arms, he placed them on the back of his head, stretching out his quads; slowly steading his heavy breathing.

“LISTEN UP, you young bucks have less than a month before the national qualifier.” The coach slowly inspected each runner, watching their flushed faces and observing the rhythm of their breath. A sensor in his grafted eye displayed rows of statistic and biometrics. “You need to work even harder.”

“Yes, coach!” the athletes replied half-heartedly, somewhat disheartened by the disenchanting news.

“SORRY WHAT WAS THAT?” Coach Pol uproariously retorted, a hand cupping the side of his ear.

“YES COACH!” the athlete’s replied in unison.

The burly man then turned, facing the young man who had once been his protege. There was only sullen silence from Ben.

“I am sorry Ben, but that’s how it is.”

“That’s it huh,” Ben muttered softly. “Twelve years of training and just one little bump from a drone...”

“Cyber-ware's banned in the nationals,” the Coach responded as-matter-of-factly. Ben scanned his teammates, seeing pity on their faces; one or two even smirked, realising that the fall of Mr No.1 meant one more place for them.

“Athletes, say your goodbyes!” the coach commanded, patting Ben on the shoulder. “Know well that if it weren’t for Ben’s force majeure, at least one of you would not be here today.”

* * * *

Ben retired to his dorm, hypersensitively aware of the mechanical tendons flexing and unfolding, trying to keep up with his neuronic pathways. It has been almost two months, and still Ben felt that there was a time-lag, a miss-sync that made it feel as though his legs couldn’t keep up with his brain. He had always had supernatural reflexes, and now they became a curse.

Keith, his roommate, was already relaxing on the dorm’s porch. The ex-soldier was almost twice Ben’s size, a hulking man over six-foot-seven. One arm and both of his legs were textured with dull, cross-hatched carbon fibre - the latest in military cyber-tech. Keith had been a marine, and he had enrolled in college thanks to his Citizen’s ticket after serving in the Pan-African Rare Metal conflict. He had two purple hearts as well, one for his left leg, another for his right.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Those legs are civilian spec Ben-o” Keith said with a big grin on this face. “Far too weak to keep up with a running man like you.”

Keith had already told Ben many times before that he should swap out his legs for an upgraded model, but until today, Ben held out the hopes that somehow, his Coach could found a way for him to compete. A civilian model was subpar to a well-trained athlete's limbs, and if Ben could bet them wearing that...

“Alright,” Ben replied, much to Keith’s surprise. “Take me to this depot of yours, lets get some high-spec gear.”

“Allllright!” Keith grinned. He brought up the AR console in his augmented eye, and send out a call for a Tesla auto-car.

* * *

It took them half an hour on the auto track before the domed glass car turned into what appeared to be a warehouse district. The buzzing of drones was in the air, looking like swarms of vultures hanging over gargantuan, pre-fabricated storage sheds.

“Here we are,” Keith stepped out of the car, and the entire vehicle seemed to lift itself a few inches, having augmented the lower half of his body and his arm, Keith weighed at least four hundred odd pounds.

They walked into a warehouse were immediately greeted by the sound of grinders and mechatronics digitisers at work.

“Hey there sweeties,” Said a voice behind a low, navel height counter.

The woman that addressed them possessed electric-neon hair and nails that shifted hues as she moved. Her legs were impossibly long, lithe, a silvery sheen of platinum that had an elegant sensuality about them, like two works of modern art in motion.

“Hi Georgina,” Keith smiled broadly. “Brought you a prime customer, ex-athlete, needs a boost so he can feel the need for speed again.”

Ben could almost feel Georgina’s eyes focusing on him, the mechanical irises scanning him and sending out a script of specs.

“Ouch, that what Obama-Care gives you these days?” Georgina said sardonically, her flesh, pink petal lips oozing sex. Ben couldn't help but feel that he'd seen her somewhere, maybe on one of those pay-per-view vid-casts.

“What do you have?” Ben asked tentatively, his family was wealthy, but this place looked expensive.

They followed the girl, whose legs had built in heels that made Ben’s eyes baulk. Her ass, if Ben had to pass judgement, was perfection.

Along the back wall were two dozen cyber-legs, each with a price tag and an install price; arranged in order of horsepower.

“This one?” Ben pointed to a set that looked almost human, a white-ceramic coloured, well formed pair of legs that was positioned by the high-spec spectrum.

Keith whistled, “You got good taste kid.”

“Sit down,” Georgina ordered. Ben sat. She took off his old legs. As her head bent underneath his own, moving between his legs in a compromising position, he could smell the synthetic scent of flowers.

The white legs attached with a hiss.

“300 Kilowatt, Mercedes Benz class 5,” she cooed, rubbing a hand over his new legs. “Go try them out.”

Ben pushed himself from the chair; the lag time felt significantly reduced, maybe two, three Milliseconds.

He took off, and the legs pumped fluidly and gracefully, he felt himself almost lift into the air, it was a feeling akin to when he had discovered running for the first time; when his Coach had told him that he had talent; that he could make it to the Olympics if he trained.

Then suddenly as he rounded the block and returned, he noticed a warning flash across his iris.

“Low power - Core at 9%.”

“Impossible!” Ben thought to himself; he was running for what, ten minutes?

He returned to the garage, where Georgina and Keith awaited.

“How is it?”

“I am out of juice…” Ben lamented. “This thing is thirsty!”

“Yeah, you still too human,” Georgina laughed, her voice perfectly modulated. “Your body produces hardly enough bio-electricity.”

Ben's eyes moved over Georgina, regarding her seriously for the first time. She didn't have an ounce of fat on her body, her figure was perfectly proportioned, if a little excessively so. She moved like liquid, possessing the grace and balance of something supernatural. Electro-tats that glowed a fluoro neon thrummed underneath her sheer blouse, where her round, perky breasts formed two perfect mounds. Most of all, it was her legs.

Ben felt a chub coming on. He couldn't help but wonder about what it would be like to have her legs wrapped around his waist; or if Georgina had an augmented organ down there as well.

He blushed. He hadn't touched a woman since the accident. It was starting to get to him.

“It’s not rare to have a major replacement surgery these days,” Georgie cooed at him, “You need a new spine to hold up your new arms and legs, you need to replace your muscles with electro-fibres, you need to get better lungs and heart to keep up with all of that.”

"It's a whole new world out there, Ben-o!" Keith watched Ben watching Georgina. "With your brain, you could be superhuman!"


With the susurration of sloshing water on either side of the ferry, the vessel meandered through the estuary of the yellow river. Around the passengers, the steel and glass exterior of Shanghai's CBD slowly fell away to reveal red brick and sandstone, then finally the verdant countryside.

When finally, after every one of Shanghai's wonders was exhausted, the curious passengers returned to their seats and sought other ways of passing the time. From their position near the aft, Gwen studied their congregation of sorcerers and sorceresses.

Different to Sydney, the gender imbalance of the Magical population in Shanghai veered toward the masculine. By the same measure, most of the gathered Mages were Han Chinese, with scant few having a Eurasian appearance; or having darker complexions that pointed toward a South-East Asian heritage.

Beside them, Tao shared an earphone with his mates, looking wonderfully in sync in their matching Adidas.

"Captain Jun!"

Her surveillance of their surroundings was interrupted by a middle-aged man's appearance with the expression of a hawk. An older, Caucasian Mage parted the crowd. "Goodness, it IS you! What luck!"

"Halbert!" Jun stood and extended his hand.

As the two greeted one another, other Mages joined the semicircle.

Jun greeted his guests, speaking to them with an informality that made them happy to be in his presence. Gwen caught snippets of conversation about a battle up north, as well as operations in the inner Three Gorges Region.

After a few minutes, Jun turned to his protègès and introduced them.

"Good morning, Magus Halbert." Mina waved to the appreciatively smiling Magus.

"Sup." Tao made a sign. "Yo!"

The senior Mage returned a polite smile, then turned toward Gwen and her company of three.

"New blood?" The Magus raised his brows inquisitively. "Two lasses and a lad. My word, how fine they look!"

Jun laughed.

"They ARE awfully aesthetic, aren't they?" Her uncle rubbed his chin. "Not that looks would help them in Hengsha. There are no replacements for skill. That's what counts in the end."

"Well said," Herbert agreed. "Still, it doesn't hurt to be easy on the eyes."

Gwen curtsied, Richard bowed formally, and Petra inclined her head.

"Don't suppose you'll let me take a gander at their specs?" Halbert teased.

"Ha!" Jun's eyes twinkled. "Fifty HDMs, you'll never guess."

"Ho?" Halbert trained his eyes upon the young Mages. "Detect Magic!"

The mana of Divination illuminated Halbert's eyes. Trapped beneath the Magus' gaze, Gwen felt as though the man was swabbing her skin.

"Gwen is a Conjurer, Lightning Quasi-elemental, and something else I can't quite discern, Evocation, perhaps?" Herbert noted with care. "Petra is an Enchanter. Mineral, I am sure. And Richard would be a Conjurer, Water, with a bit of Abjuration?"

Gwen felt immensely impressed by the man's expert reading of Divination Magic. They were on a ferry full of young Mages leaking mana like no tomorrow, yet Halbert could pinpoint their powers with near unerring precision. Was this the experience of a master Diviner?

Jun whistled. "Well done, but no cigar. It looks like you're buying, Herbert."

"Really? Hmm…" Halbert examined the trio again, wondering who he had failed to discern. "Alright, I trust you. Shall I congratulate the House of Song on acquiring such fortuitously talented descendants?"

"You may, and thank you," Jun laughed. "These kids are our future. Ain't that right, Gwen?"

"I'll do my best, Uncle."

"She's such a good girl," Jun sighed.

While the adults conversed, Magus Herbert's juniors sought counsel with Gwen and her group. A few went directly part Gwen and Richard and attempted to speak with Petra. Unfortunately, their Russian cousin secluded herself near a window and continued to entertain herself with the captured Void Bolt.

Thus rebuffed, their guests instead approached Mina, who introduced Gwen and Richard. The youngsters then made small talk about Spellcraft and their expectations of Hengsha, gifting Gwen the opportunity to pass the time until they disembarked without impatience.

Hengsha island didn't exist before 1858.

For whatever reason the Chinese authorities had yet to discern, the island came into being on the evening of July 18th, 1858, following a disturbance at the mouth of the Yellow River where it met the South China Sea. Of course, during this epoch, the Chinese Communists had not yet existed. Instead, under Emperor Yizhu, the late Qing Dynasty spent its final years haemorrhaging territory to the Mageocracy, the Taiping Rebels and the Demi-human tribes of the steppes and the sea.

The island was initially discovered by local fishermen, who reported its surfacing to the authorities, who sent a group of Daoshi, Chinese Mages of yore, onto the island.

Of the dozen sent, three returned, bringing with them tales of riches, veins of crystals, and monsters that feasted on human flesh.

The Emperor had no idea what he had discovered, of course, but the Sects all know that Hengsha was a pocket dimension carved out from some obtrusion of space and time, sent into the Material Plane by portent and chaos.

By the time the Qing Dynasty became replaced by its new socialist rulers, the island had disappeared. It was only after the country's unification under Mao in 1949 that the interim government relocated the Astral tear that led to Hengsha.

Soon after that, China's new rulers discovered the island's pocket plane was moving. As a landmass created from shifting currents of silica, it migrated about half a kilometre a year, always moving north toward the satellite city of Chongming, a part of the Shanghai Metropolitan port project. Attempts to halt this drift seemed futile, for it appeared that the movement involves forces beyond Humanity's control. When the time came, Shanghai's government could disrupt and shunt the pocket plane but not control it.

In the meantime, Hengsha proved itself a boon of treasures as a Special Resource Region, vomiting forth intermittent chunks of HDMs, as well as exotic flora and fauna.

After balancing the risks and rewards, the Chinese authorities chose to let Hengsha be, for the "Dungeon" it provided could be very useful in training the city's junior Mages.

The island was flat and mundane to Gwen's eyes, with forests near the centre, scattered beaches all around, and mangroves by the edges. Its only peculiar feature was that the sandy isle was surrounded by the silt-heavy waters of the yellow river, inundating its surroundings with flotsams of flora from the mainland.

A long pier had been carved out from the thickly overgrown sedge, allowing the passengers to depart from the river-faring ferry.

Gwen and her company were the last to descend, affording her a view of the island from the four-tier ferry vantage.

Already there were about a hundred junior Mages and their guardians on the island, with a further two hundred-odd arriving from the ferry.

"Looks like it's about to start." Jun moved forward eagerly. "Come on."

The group followed Jun off the ramp until they reached the rendezvous site, where some Transmuters had set up a dais. Within the circular elevation was a Senior Mage from Pudong Tower.

Gwen's group drew a great deal of attention as they entered the gathering. Petra especially may as well be a gravity well, making Gwen self-conscious for the fact that her cousin appeared entirely apathetic to the effect she had on others.

It took another half an hour for the gathering to settle, after which the presiding Magister, Moreau Paris, began to speak.

"Seniors of the various Houses, noble guests, and young Mages, welcome to Hengsha Island. I am Magister Moreau Paris, the Tower Magister presiding over this Field Trial. In a few minutes, we will be declaring the objectives of this year's gathering. As always, if you do not wish to participate, speak to Magus Xi after the announcement."

A round of polite applause greeted Magister Paris' speech, who then motioned for the crowd to quieten down.

"First of all, the Pudong Tower thanks you for coming today. Next to me is Magus Alison Xi and Magus Shu Jin Gwok from the PLA, who will be my aides in judging this trial."

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Another round of applause followed— louder this time.

Xi looked to be a diminutive Han woman in her forties. She had a distinctive scar across one eye that resembled a little centipede.

Kwok was a generic-looking middle-aged Southern Chinese man without any distinguishing features. Even his olive uniform, displaying the rank of Captain, felt nondescript.

"Allow me to announce the purpose of our gathering today," Paris continued. "Every two years, the best and the brightest neophytes from the notable Houses are gathered to participate in a group event, giving young Mages a chance to use their talents and skills in the field, gathering Contribution Credits."

"This year, we have a real treat for young spell slingers. But where there are rewards, there are also dangers. For this year, Hengsha Island has once again become a full-fledged Dungeon!"

Upon hearing the D-word, Richard gripped Gwen's wrist with barely contained excitement.

"Is that right?" Gwen whispered carefully. "A Dungeon, here?"

"Yes!" Richard's eyes were gleaming. "A Dungeon!"

Gwen turned back to Paris, who began extolling the dangers of Dungeon diving.

A Dungeon! Gwen tried to think back to textbooks the previous Gwen had studied.

A Dungeon could be one of several things.

It could be a monster's lair: from a goblins' warren several kilometres deep to the hidden den of a dragon containing precious crystals and rare minerals by the ton.

It could be a pocket-space, left behind from the primordial times, trapped in the volatile magical energies that allowed it to drift through the Ethereal Plane or the Astral, occasionally drawn to the Material Plane and manifesting serendipitously.

Likewise, a Dungeon could be a piece of the Elemental Planes that had burst through into the material, bringing with it unimaginable fortunes, elementally charged minerals, and even extra-planar beings.

Even Sufina's Grot could be considered a Dungeon.

However, Dungeons appearing on the Frontier were considered a calamity.

If one should appear in an Orange or Black Zone, it was the duty of a Frontier Tower to offer up the lion's share of its loot while sending some of its best men and women.

"… Initial orientation has deemed the Dungeon's danger rating to be Green to Orange, between tier 3 and 5, nothing to fret over if you work together. The landscape is marshland, and the dispersion of creatures are medium. There are abundant sources of crystals, rare flora as well as old ruins for you to explore. For adventuring, therefore, you will form into teams of five..."

The crowd broke into clamorous contemplation.

Gwen looked around at the suddenly cacophonic crowd. That was quick! No resting period? No 'meet and greet'? Just straight to the action?

Magister Paris' voice pierced through the volume of the babbling Mages.

"The entrance of the Dungeon will open at the forest's edge in exactly two hours," Paris emphasised heavily. "If you wish to participate, register your team with Magus Xi and Kwok. As always, all items and materials gathered from the Dungeon count toward Contribution Credits. The Diviners have determined the Dungeon duration to be seventy-two hours, after which you will be ejected onto the island. We will have Aerial Mages running pickup if you are injured, both within and outside the Dungeon. The rule for calling for assistance or forfeiture is the same as the international competition. If you choose to leave or must seek aid from an Adjudicator, your exit CCs will be halved."

Paris halted his infodump.

"On a more pleasant note, the top three teams will receive additional CC rewards of 50 per person for first, 30 for the second, and 10 for third."

An enthusiastic din radiated across the field. 50 CCs! Gwen smacked her lips in anticipation. According to the rules, the winning team would likely gain 40 CCs plus another 50 CCs per person, enough to exchange for half a year's worth of HDMs required for training. Or several spells at the fourth tier or a single tier 5 spell. Or several tuition session accompanied by a Senior Magus at a Tower.

"Well, you kids excited?" Jun grinned at the gathered members of the Song Clan.

“I am raring to go, Sir.” Richard's face was rosy with adrenaline. "Got any advice? It's my first Dungeon dive. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Not my first," Petra said casually. "I'll be fine."

"It's my first time," Gwen confessed nervously. "Fingers cross, it won't hurt too much."

Tao sniggered. Mina slapped him, then shot Tao a dirty. "You're one to speak, Peaches, the last time you were in one..."

Tao groaned.

"Well, no worries! We got a TEAM now!" Gwen placed her hand between them. "Come on, cousins!"

Richard followed through by placing his hand on top of Gwen's. Mina joined unwittingly, sighing, then Tao, and finally Petra.

"Team Cousins!" Gwen intoned as she waited to break the huddle. "Pain heals. CCs— LASTS FOREVER!"

Besides the huddle, Mack-Daddy and Little-Dog looked on gloomily.

"Sorry, guys..." Gwen could offer the boys her best smile.

Usually, they would pair with Tao. But now, they wouldn't dream of asking Gwen or Petra to leave. As it stands, they would have to resign themselves to a pickup group, a far more painful prospect. Besides, as Gwen had just declared, Team Cousins was forever.

Mack-Daddy and Little-Dog assured Tao that they were alright, and to look out for Gwen, then left their friend to find a pickup group. At worst, they could always tag behind Tao's party once they were in the Dungeon.

Unlike Gwen's group, which consisted entirely of family members, the rest of the Junior Mages became a chaotic jumble of shouts and moving bodies.

"Healer! I need a healer here! We're good to go!"
"Abjurer? Is anyone a tier 3 Abjurer and above? We have two Evokers and Transmuters!"
"I am a tier 3 Cleric! Looking for a strong group to protect me! No Abjurer, no go!"
"I am the inheriting disciple of the Jurong Clan! Tier 4 Evoker, tier 2 Transmutation!"
"Need someone who can buff! Willing to trade 10% of all CC gained for a member that can buff Bark Skin and Absorb Element!"

It took an hour or so for the two hundred or so junior Mages to arrange themselves into parties of five.

By then, Gwen and her party had already registered with Magus Xi, who commended their efficiency. When Xi took Gwen's card to imprint on her data-slate, she met Gwen's eyes and gave her a knowing look of "Oh, so you're the one". The PLA Magus also seemed to know Petra, for the two shared a quick exchange before processing her form.

Thankfully, Mack-Daddy and Little-Dog had found a party willing to take them, especially as Mack Daddy was supposedly a skilled Abjurer.

About thirty or so 'leftovers' were then assembled by the organisers by force into well-balanced groups.

For Gwen's party, they had all their bases covered.

They had Abjurers, Damage Dealers, a Healer and a Support; it was an excellent composition.

Petra once more rolled the Void Bolt Spell Cube across her palm.

"How strong is this thing?" she asked.

"One hit can kill a Soldier class monster or a tier 2 - 3 beast," Gwen said seriously. "Beware the vital drain though, I have ways to mitigate the effects, but for you…"

"I know, that's why we got Mina here, right?" Petra smirked as Mina puffed her cheeks indignantly. "She'll keep us topped up."

"Of course," Mina replied with a prideful expression. "I am no slouch like Peaches."

"What should I do?" Tao scratched his head.

"Use illusion to disrupt monsters' teamwork," Richard replied helpfully. "First observe how Gwen and I fight, then try to match our cadence. Play distraction, use Fear when you can, create decoy Greater Images if we run into a swarm, and use Mirror Image on us if we run into a bruiser, got it?"

Tao nodded, his expression taking on a look of seriousness.

"What happens if one of us gets injured mortally?" Gwen asked Mina.

"That's not supposed to happen," Mina pointed out. "Why do you think we have these compositions?"

"Let's say we do…"

"Then you become a burden," Petra interjected coldly. "This is a trial, Gwen Song. It is not a place to have fun. If and when Mages die in a Dungeon, think of it as being weeded out."

"Still, what of those young masters and mistresses out there?" Gwen pointed a thumb at the crowd, still trying to sort out their complementary skills.

"Who would want a useless disciple who cannot even survive a tier 5 Dungeon?" Petra remarked poignantly. "What a waste of air."

"Okay," Gwen replied, growing annoyed with Petra's irksome air of superior confidence. "What if we get into a scuffle or say friendly fire? Or let's say someone's after us, or that we're after someone else? Can we attack the other Mages, even in self-defence?"

"That is a matter for the adjudicators," Petra stated flatly. "We need only to fight and survive, even if it means fighting the other Mages. The inside of a Dungeon is a free-for-all."

"But…"

"Gwen." Richard placed a hand on Gwen's shoulders. "We'll see what it's like when we're inside. You worry too much. I'll protect us."

"At any rate," Mina interjected. "We all have Contingency Rings. Likewise, most of the Clans have rings they lend out to disciples going out on potentially dangerous quests."

"You do?" Gwen glanced at Mina's hands. She had a full complement of rings.

"Mine teleports me back to the Wang Estate," Mina said.

"I got one too." Tao flashed his digits. "Dad bought us all insurance."

"I don't have a ring, but—" Petra stated warmly. "My Master has crafted me a Crystal Cube that has the same function."

"Well, I am fucked," Richard said disparagingly. He just had the one ring. The Storage Ring that Gwen gave him. "Guess I'll just have to survive the old-fashioned way."

The party turned to look at Gwen.

Gwen also had a Contingency Ring. But how could she tell them that she owned Gunther Shultz's ring, one that allowed for single, live-saving teleportation virtually anywhere in the civilised world, taking her directly into an associated Tower? Or that it was contracted to guaranteed healing and protection? Her unique item made their localised Contingency Rings look like toys.

"I have a ring..." Gwen confessed.

Thankfully, a sudden thrum interrupted their exchange, after which the island beneath them shifted with a slight tremor.

The forest, which had seemed so substantial and real only moments ago, began to diffuse. A rolling fog poured from the woods, forming a smoky, swirling miasma.

"It's here!" someone shouted jubilantly. "My CCs!"
"Be careful you don't die a few hours into the Dungeon!" his peers jeered.
"You'll protect me, right?" a female voice not far from Gwen announced adorably.
"Of course!" a masculine voice answered, causing more jeering.

Magister Paris' voice penetrated the din.

"Mages! You will enter the Dungeon in the order in which you registered. When I call out your number, proceed forward!"

"Guardians and parents, we have portable habitats set up if you wish to remain on the island. Otherwise, you are free to return to your duties. We will contact you at the first opportunity should an unforeseen circumstance arise. To reiterate, the Tower has Senior Mages on standby within the Dungeon should your wards desire assistance. Likewise, allow me to stipulate that the dangers here are real, and injury is inevitable. If you cannot agree to that, refrain from participation."

Gwen watched the young Mages move into blocks of five, forming a line that led toward the fog, which even now was becoming as thick as a woollen blanket. Even from here, she could feel the ley-lines and their unstable mana flux.

"Contestants! Proceed! Move forward in an orderly fashion!"

Gwen's chest constricted as the groups began to move.

"Hold hands," Petra suddenly announced as the fog loomed. "Sometimes, the spatial distortion of entering a different space can separate us. Stick close, but if you feel something pulling on you, let go."

"Why let go?" Gwen inquired puzzlingly. "Wouldn't it be better to try and stay as a group?"

"If you don't let go, expect to bring someone's arm with you," Petra advised impatiently, likely wondering why her grand auntie had so much faith in two Frontier newbies who had never even been inside a low-tier Dungeon. "Remember, the more violent the displacement, the further we're likely to be taken apart from one another."

"I prepared Flare spells," Mina said helpfully. "Look for my Glyph signature in the sky."

"Assuming there's a sky," Petra added. "Though Paris did say it's a marshland."

"I'll funk it up with some beats and a bitch'n projection so you can all come hollering!" Tao likewise volunteered.

Gwen couldn't help but imagine a twenty-foot projection of Chinese Tupac beckoning his teammates to join him.

"How likely are we to be separated?" Gwen inquired as they moved forward.

"Almost certainly, but the displacement ranges from a few metres to a kilometre at worst," Petra answered expertly. "More likely than not, at least two or three of us will stay together."

"Okay, here we go!" Richard's voice quivered. "My first Dungeon Dive with Gwen! You're my lucky star, Cousin!"

Gwen's hand felt small and moist within her cousin's palm as the fog enveloped them.

There was a sudden tug, then a wrenching pain that shot up her forearm. The force that sought to separate them was immense.

Gwen desired to hold on for dear life, but Petra's contrary advice rang in her ears. She felt a moment of paralytic hesitation before Richard made the call in her stead. His rigid fingers squeezed her fleshy palm reassuringly, and then his hand was gone.


Gwen felt the expansive force of spatial distortion on her arm like a vicious vice rending her flesh and sinew.

If what Petra had said was accurate and the Dungeon's interior was more extensive than its exterior, shouldn't the spatial expansion affect their bodies as a whole? Why separate individuals? Then again, Gwen reminded herself— it wasn't as though the magical forces of this world followed any of the rational laws of earthly physics. Here was a place of pocket dimensions and one-Mage nuclear arsenals— a world where shark-rhinos swam through solid rock.

In addition to the dizzying disorientation, there was also a strange sensation of inertia and vertigo. Gwen's vision blurred, then with a loud WHOMP! The surrounding air cleared. There was a sensation of falling, then a SPLASH as she struck the ground.

Gwen landed on all fours into a salty pool of brackish plant matter padded thickly with silt. A generous dash of the foul-smelling liquid splashed against her chest, turning her blouse into a full-bodied camouflage. A portion of it entered her open mouth, making her gag.

"C-Caliban!"

A roving mass of spider legs skittered out from the space between two planes. Caliban stood two meters tall in its spider form in front of the mud-caked sorceress, its long legs effortlessly stabbing into the soft earth.

Quickly, she clambered onto her spider demon thing. Gwen had yet to see Caliban, now tier 4, prove his mettle against a Magical Beast of equal power. But considering its sterling performance against the tier 5 Wanka, she was fully confident in her Familiar's abilities. Comparatively, Ariel was too tiny to navigate the swamp, but Caliban's leggy form was perfect for wading through the murky byways and billabongs.

"Shaa! Shaa!" Caliban promised to keep watch.

With a thought, Gwen materialised the Decanter of Endless Water.

She changed the setting to lukewarm and poured the decanter over herself, washing away the mud and grime, clearing out the foul taste in her mouth. When enough of the disgusting substance fell away, she replaced the flask and produced a pink cube of inscribed crystal.

"Prestidigitation!"

Gwen felt the marsh's foulness clear from her body, her dirty hair joyous at receiving the much-needed benediction. Her face as well, even her little nooks and crannies became cleansed of the intrusive, sticky muck.

In her hand, the light within the cube died. It would need another LDM to resume its function.

After praising the inventors of Magitech, she stowed the cube away and investigated her surroundings.

True to the words of Magister Paris, the terrain was a salt marsh. The tepid, foul-smelling water reached up to her knees, making travelling on foot trying. She no longer had her Water Walking Ring, which she had returned. Gunther's gift did not have secondary effects paired with its august primary function.

Gwen tried to orientate herself to no avail. In senior school, she, Elvia and Yue had failed orienteering.

The failure to discern directions made her paranoid and worried. Anxiously, her luminous eyes scanned the distance for details.

The Dungeon's horizon was an uncertain grey smog, made indistinct by the steamy mass of swamp gas that rose from the marsh intermittently. Troves of trees, spartan and stripped of leaves, distended from the water like rot-clad, bony fingers.

Beside her, Caliban paced here and there, testing the murk ahead. Gwen watched the spider-thing hover its cephalothorax over the water, its legs moving with the fluidity of hydraulic pistons in mechanical motion.

"Caliban, can you arch your body like so..." Gwen commanded.

Caliban heeded her communication. Gwen pushed against Caliban's leg joint, feeling the sockets of its limbs slightly depress as she saddled up on the spider's back, near the front where its head offered a seating platform. The netherworld spider's thorax carapace consisted of smooth pearlescent plates, affording her plenty of purchase. Beneath her buttocks, she could feel the pseudo organs pulsating inside Caliban's body, a shadowy mockery of the form the Lovecraftian-being had consumed.

Caliban then dug its legs into the marsh, moving in tandem by crossing its long spindly limbs asymmetrically. Behind them, Caliban's tail, a barbed thing resembling a whip with a pointed spear, wagged as Gwen sent a mental command to giddy-up.

"Hi-ho! Caliban! Away!" she announced to the air, and Caliban skittered forward, its body keeping a near-perfect gyroscopic plane via its four pairs of legs.

"Alright," Gwen commanded. "Let's head toward the grove over there, and see if we can get a better vantage on our whereabouts!"

"Shaa-Shaa!"

"Ha! WHOA—"

Caliban stepped into an obfuscated snag beneath the brackish stream, immediately sending rider and beast both face-first into the water.

Gwen closed her mouth tightly as she struck the surface. Suffice it to say; it was going to be a long, wet day.

Fei Lin expanded his Shield before falling into the mud.

It was just as well that the saline water held mostly moss and decayed vegetation and not sharp bits of jagged stone or sharpened branches.

"Camouflage!"

The junior Illusionist incanted just as the waters around him became displaced by the Shielding, disrupting the serene marsh's tranquillity.

Righting himself, Fei waited for the dark waters to return to calmness, then took in his surroundings.

He waited patiently for any curious creatures to visit the disturbance, watching out for other contestants who may have landed in the vicinity.

He was both relieved and disappointed after five minutes.

Okay, Fei told himself. Slow and steady.

As an Illusionist major, he could keep the Camouflage spell up near-indefinitely. There was a grove of trees in the distance, meaning he could Spider Climb his way up to get a better lay of the land.

Fei waited a minute more, then moved.

Gwen nestled herself comfortably into the second digit of Caliban's bulbous body, her feet caught between a crevice where soft purple tissue pulled and tugged as the creature moved.

Once Caliban got used to the terrain, her ride became much safer.

Unfortunately, whenever Caliban attempted to gain speed, a wave of muddy matter would splash over the pair. After half a kilometre and another Prestidigitation, Gwen resigned herself to the reality of marsh tramping and decided to change.

Gone were her cowgirl getup, replaced by a pair of water-proof trail shoes and a full-body nylon skin-suit. Her broad-brimmed hat was likewise stowed, for the sunlight in the swamp was sickly, and Gwen felt that she needed to watch for dangers both above and below. Her ponytail was tied and tied again, forming a tight knot that prevented gunk from catching in her hair.

She wondered how the others dealt with this. Were their clothes enchanted to repel dirt and water? Or perhaps they had means of walking across the water? Conversely, Gwen pondered thoughtfully. In this watery world, Richard must be having a field day.

"Hi-ho!" She knocked her heels against Caliban's sides, and they were on their way. She briefly fantasised about firing off a few Flashbangs into the sky to attract her teammates but decided against it. Lord knows what she could draw on in a place like this.

Thus engaged, Master and scorpion-spider rode through the swampy arena, splashing here and there as they made furious progress toward the tree-line of the elevated plateau.

When they came well within the grove's spell range, Gwen commanded Caliban to slow and watch for hostiles. As her Wildland survival skill was near non-existent, she had to trust that Caliban's vitality-sensing organs weren't just for show.

"Shaa!" Caliban moved gingerly toward the trees, then paused.

It waved its tail overhead, undulating its fleshy tip like a cobra's head.

"SHAA!"

Gwen felt a tiny sliver of vitality drain from her body, passing between herself and her familiar before inseminating itself into its obsidian interior.

A hooked barb shot out from the tail with a wet squelch, ejaculating itself across the span of six meters or so.

With a violent thunk, it embedded itself into a tree.

"KYAAAAAA! ARRRRRGH!"

A camouflaged form on the tree began to writhe and turn as the barbed hook injected its payload of corrosive energy.

The indistinct form fell from the branch wetly and struck the water, then Caliban began to reel in its tail.

HOLY SHIT, AN ELF-SPIDER! Fei held his mouth to prevent himself from screaming.

He had just skirted half the circumference of the grove when he heard splashes, then hid quickly by shimmying up a tree and making himself scarce.

What the fuck was a Possessed-arachnid doing here? Since when did they cross habitats into the marsh? Fei tried to recall the Demi-human bestiary classes.

Dark Elves were underground Demi-humans that lived in massive cavern complexes. They belonged to a class of Demi-human sprites that worshipped the Gods of the Dark, creating a dangerous religion that worshipped nefarious schemes and the doctrine of might makes right. The Bestiary stated that when members of their society became condemned, they are forced to undergo a ritualistic form of torture that transmogrified the humanoid upper body onto a giant spider's base, creating an engine of cruelty and spite.

The spider-worshipping dwellers of the dark typically settled in areas with extensive underground networks, such as Borneo, Mexico, or the northern Black Zones of South America. So what the hell was one doing here in Hengsha?

Had the creature perhaps wandered into some naturally forming wormhole, connected by swirls of mana caught in an underground ley-line?

Fei forced himself to calm his nerves so that he could study the creature's weaknesses, as his elders had instructed him.

First, he counted the legs.

There were eight in total and a lashing tail. That didn't make sense—Spiders had eight legs but no tail. Scorpions had eight legs, two pincers, and a stinger.

What the hell was this thing, then?! Was this a rare spawn or a failed chimaera?

His eyes moved upward; there, the shape was more than pleasing.

There was something familiar about the female torso that extended from the front, which he couldn't quite place. The feminine silhouette reminded him of that Lightning Conjurer belle from the ferry. Still, this thing was a far cry from the gorgeous, electric-eyed sorceress, for prideful Lightning was antithetical to the baseness of this Negative-aligned monster.

Soon, the undoubtedly female creature began to move. Fei could see her contour even from this distance, marked by some dark membrane half-covered by drying mud. The female's form had a serpentine waist just above the spindly skittering legs. Her face was not discernible beneath the muck. Curiously, the Possessed wore its hair in a bun. More horrifically, where its hips joined the thorax, there was another mouth where several tentacles flailed, dripping grey goo as each "head" went about its business as though possessing minds of their own.

Fei shuddered. He instinctively knew that a Possessed-Spider such as this loved to eat its prey alive.

Still, that upper body— Was the Elf-Spider as intelligent as they say?

The creature didn't seem to be carrying any equipment as it stalked here and there, dodging invisible things as it approached.

Finally, it stopped just a few meters outside the grove.

Fei almost shat himself. Did it see him? He was well camouflaged!

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Then, unexpectedly, its stinger tail moved to the fore and burst open with a wet clang, ejecting forth a pink blur that embedded itself half a meter from where Fei had hidden with a wet THUNK!

Fei's heart almost exploded; then, he saw with horrific, gut-wrenching horror that a pink barb had penetrated the middle of what appeared to be an amphibious creature about the size of a large dog.

Unlike him, the thing possessed natural camouflage. With a wet thump, it fell from the tree, writhing and screeching.

Fei felt bile rise in his throat as the beast was dragged kicking and screaming towards the Spider Elf, who lifted it from the water with its retraction mechanism. He could see now that the stinger's victim was a frog, a dangerous-looking thing with chitinous horns over its balloon-like eyes, its skin bustling with pustules that dripped venom.

The tail offered the twisting, dying creature to the female head, but the elfin face grimaced in disgust.

Then it happened.

It happened just as Fie thought it would.

The creature shoved the frog into its lower mouth, where a dozen pincer-claws began to strip it of its flesh while the frog croaked in despair.

Finally, Fei's life living in the greenhouse of academia caught up with him.

It was too much.

He had held back as much as he could, but no more.

Doubling over, Fei began to vomit controllably.

"Who's there!" Despite her failure at both spot and wilderness orienteering, she couldn't fail to spot a vomiting length of mangrove.

The choking and gagging sounds the tree made were undoubtedly familiar, for she had heard it many times before as a girl living in Forestville, where every Friday night up until two AM, the streets below their apartment was filled with the sound of NoMs purging the contents of their stomach.

Caliban flung away the foul-tasting frog below her and skittered into the grove, parking itself directly under the shivering tree.

"Show yourself," Gwen commanded, readying a Flashbang. "Who are you?"

A young man peeled himself from the tree and climbed down on all fours.

He had a soft, effeminate face that was womanly, an anorexic figure, and long hair worn at shoulder length. From a distance, it would be easy to mistake the silhouette for a skinny girl.

"You… can talk?" The young man visibly swallowed some of his ejecta. "Greetings, I am Fei Lin of the Huashan Clan of Lins."

"Do you know a Frederick Lin?" Gwen was caught off guard by the young man's impertinent challenge of her ability to speak and so followed up with the only thought that came to mind.

"Fu Lei? He's my cousin and fellow disciple," Fei replied.

"So, what are you doing here?" Gwen asked, dismounting from Caliban. "I am Gwen Song, by the way."

The young man's eyes bulged against his sockets. "How can you detach from your lower body?"

Gwen looked to Caliban, who shrugged with a "Shaa?" then turned back to the bewildered young Mage.

"I am human!" Gwen pointed to her legs. "I am a Conjurer, and that's my Familiar, Caliban."

"Of course, whatever you say." Fei nodded eagerly, inspecting her limbs to see if they were perhaps illusory or Transmuted.

"Look." Gwen felt a little annoyed. "I think we might have a misunderstanding."

"No, no. I believe you." Fei nodded eagerly, not coming any closer than necessary. "You're human, I know."

Gwen sighed.

"Have you seen anyone else around?" She changed the topic.

"Just you and I," Fei replied automatically, then realised that he'd made a terrible mistake. "No! I mean, there are others! Around here! Close! Close enough to hear me scream!"

Gwen rolled her eyes, ignored the Mage, then hopped back onto Caliban, commanding it to scale one of the trees. Without apparent effort, Caliban's sword-like limbs tore into the branches, sending down a shower of broken wood and loose leaves as it went.

Fei stared, scarcely believing his eyes.

Meanwhile, Caliban perched itself comfortably across the branches of two trees, its spear-like limbs embedded into the sodden wood. From her new vantage point, Gwen could see a commotion in the distance.

A Sigil Flare she didn't recognise hovered over the horizon, setting the swamp gas aflame in hues of carmine and lilac, indicating a combat engagement.

The other directions seemed to contain nothing, at least for now.

With a command from its Master, Caliban hopped from the tree and landed below gracefully, using its long limbs to skitter from upper to lower branch while balancing Gwen on its back.

"Okay, there's combat that way," Gwen pointed out helpfully to the cautious Illusionist. "I am going to check it out. You coming?"

Fei's indecisiveness was written on his face.

"Suit yourself." Gwen turned from the junior Mage. If there was combat in the distance, it could very well involve one of her teammates. She didn't have the time to waste on this idiotic Lin and his fantasies.

Fei watched the spider girl skitter off into the distance.

If there was going to be combat, wouldn't it mean that potentially, his team could be a part of it too? If so, what would happen if the Spider-Conjurer barged in and assaulted them?

The young Illusionist scanned the empty skies.

Where were the Adjudicators? Were they watching somewhere? And if they were, would they just let this fiendish spider demon ravage its way through the swamp?

He looked toward his right, where the drained carcass of a frog the size of a hunting hound floated placidly on the surface of the dark water. Its skin was entirely shrivelled, deprived of all vitality.

It was Negative Drained, to death.
Fei gritted his teeth.

"Water Walk!" he invoked a Magic Item, then ran toward the direction the spider girl had gone.

Caliban crushed another of the frogspawn creatures in its maw as the fiend pistoned ahead with its sword-like legs, slicing through the marshland with the efficiency of a combine-harvester.

As they approached a waist-deep region covered with sedge, all manners of strange amphibian creatures began to flee from Caliban's wrath.

The sedan sized spider was relentless. As it made swift locomotion with its eight hind-limbs, its two forward "claws" stabbed downward with unerring accuracy, lifting from the water bits of fish, chunks of frog, and the occasional salamander.

All of which Gwen's monster fed into its maw without a moment's hesitation.

"Caliban! You glutton!" Gwen chided the nightmarish thing.

"Shaa! Shaa!" Caliban cooed, informing her of its joy.

While Caliban's thorax grew engorged, Gwen could feel a trickle of vitality feeding into her Astral Body, transforming into motes of Almudj's emerald mana. Was this what it was like to feast upon Magical Creatures? Gwen wanted to experiment some more, perhaps with a mega-fauna of some kind. If there were a way to keep her vitality up and Almudj's Essence happy, then she could be a Void Mage yet.

It took her fifteen odd minutes to reach the locale of glowing gas that surrounded an island plateau overgrown with thick, dark green vegetation.

"Shield!"
"Wall of Stone!"
"Firebolt!"
"True Strike!"
"Take that!"
"AARRGH—"

The commotions of combat within, mixed in with the tumult of incantations, involved a cacophony of explosions, skittering stones, an occasional grunt, and the sound of bodies splashing violently.

"Caliban, stay close and stay low. Get ready."

Gwen dismounted and proceeded on foot, stepping wetly onto the mossy mass of semi-solid bog. Her creature dug into the soft peat, following her discretely.

There was a clearing inside the grove, in the midst of which was a large tree much taller than the surrounding mangroves. Its extensive root system crawled across the moss floor, looking like serpentine sinews.

At the foot of the tree was a mass of skeletons, most of which were amphibian.

A group of young Mages were fighting what appeared to be a giant, red, leathery bullfrog.

A Frog-kin? Gwen wondered. Not quite. The creature did not appear terrestrial in origin. Imposingly, the xenos amphibian stood over two meters when it reared up on its hind legs; its arms, elongated and muscular, were armed with horrifically long claws. Its plated skin was a gleaming mess of red welts crisscrossed with festering boils. Its eyes were two amber dots gleaming with malice, utterly mad with glee that it had found prey.

As Gwen watched, a Firebolt fizzled against its skin. Innate magic resistance! Gwen marvelled. Whatever the Mages threw at the thing seems to slide from its thick hide.

By that same measure, the creature's natural weapons seemed incapable of penetrating the stone fortifications the defender's skilful Abjurer had affected. Its assault slid harmlessly across the stone Shields whenever it lashed out with alternatively howling frustration and hooting, gibbering joy.

Should she help? Gwen wondered. What was the etiquette? Unquestionably, her fellow "Humans" weren't in any danger— mayhap she should enjoy the show, or leave them be?

The party that fought the frog-thing consisted of five young men: one Abjurer, two Evokers, a Cleric, and another Gwen couldn't tell. From the fact that the Mage was throwing out harmless Magic Missiles, he was likely a Diviner.

She was just about to holler out and ask if they would like a hand when she spotted something moving atop the five-person party. There was a second bullfrog up in the foliage of the giant banyan tree!

"Oi, you guys! Ambush!" she immediately shouted. "Overhead!"

The Diviner immediately picked up on Gwen's warning. He must have used a Mass Message, for when the hulking frog-thing dropped down violently, it half-way kissed a Stone Shield that sent it careening away. Whether willfully or by accident, it barrel-rolled toward Gwen.

"Thanks, but watch out!" the Diviner shouted back, waving frantically.

Gwen waved back.

"Caliban, stop that thing—"

Without warning, the recovered murder frog leapt from where it had previously landed, then bull-rushed her with a single bound from its tree-trunk sized legs.

Its maw opened to reveal razor-sharp teeth as it cleared the space between them in a heartbeat. Gwen baulked; clearly, this creature did not survive by eating insects.

She willed her Familiar to defend her, invoking the skill that its spider form gained from consuming Wanka. Instantly, a portion of mana and vitality drained from her body.

"Cali!" Next came her battle cry, her voice rising above the clearing like a Valkyrie's death wail. "Onslaught, now!"

With a combination of Expeditious Retreat and Water Walking, Fei followed the spider girl.

He had again used Camouflage to hide, observing how the girl interacted with the Mages she encountered. If she were hostile, he would delay the girl and warn the others. If she was friendly, maybe they could travel together for a short while and look for their mutual companions.

When he thought of the girl's exquisite face, his heart fluttered.
And then, his brain reminded himself that she rode on a spider demon from the lowest depth of the underworld. After all, the drained carcasses "Gwen" and her pet left littered in their wake was evidence of the girl's malignancy.

How could anyone with such a capacity for violence be benign? Didn't his tutor say that such life-draining abominations were antithetical to the existence of life? Weren't the Undead that haunted China's northern border precisely the bane of their generation?

Wracked with indecision, he chose to watch in silence.

And then the fallen frog-demon turned to attack the girl.
It was demon-on-demon action, but Fei felt strangely worried as the Demi-human frog turned its aggression towards Gwen. With a single bound, the amphibian cleared the space and was almost within striking distance of her.

What would the Conjurer girl do?
Shield up?
Drain its life?

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEE!!"

A soul-piercing wail penetrated Fei's eardrums like a dagger.

From behind the hazel-eyed sorceress, her spider Familiar launched itself toward the frog, catching it midair.

"Shaa! Shaa! SCREEEEEE!"

Fei Lin watched with heart-in-mouth as the creature pinned the frog with its spear-like tail into the ground, penetrating its rubbery hide as readily as if its magic-resistant hide were wet paper.

Below, the hulking red frog returned the favour by swiping its claws across the spider's abdomen, taking out a good chunk of purple-pink flesh near its soft belly, causing a cascade of ichor to shower the frog in bruised blood.

Then the scorpion-sword-spider transformed into a meat grinder.

Its limbs blurred, becoming a howling gale of stabbing blades and slicing forearms. The frog croaked and barked, making a desperate pitch of guttural horror as it fought back, confused as to why its prey wasn't dying.

"SCREEE! SCREEE! SCREEEEEE!"

The upper portion of the frog's torso was flayed away within a second, revealing the thick white bones that made up its skeleton. Still, the frog incredulously lived on, seeking to fight or flight.

Finally, two sword-limbs pinned the frog's arms into the ground, and then the scorpion-spider lifted its torso to reveal a second mouth.

"OH, MY MAO!" Fei again felt bile rising in his throat.

A dozen writhing tentacles, each with a lamprey's mouth, dug into the frog creature's exposed viscera and began to feed.

Unable to help himself, the mangrove tree vomited again.

Gwen didn't know what she had expected.

She knew that empowering Caliban made it more robust and resilient to magic and physical attacks and Hasted it as well, but never had she imagined just how aggressive her spiderling could become.

As such, when Caliban performed the full-monty in plain view of an adventuring party, Gwen realised that she had far underestimated Caliban's Lovecraftian charisma.

The remaining red-skinned frog stopped attacking the party, turned one-eighty, and fled the scene.

The other Mage party couldn't even be bothered giving chase. They just stared at Gwen as though they'd seen the loin-spawn of an Elder-horror devour a human-sized frog by vivisecting its top half and then eating it from the inside out while it writhed and begged for the sweet mercy of death.

How Gwen wished the whole scene was merely an illusion, but no. They could still smell the blood and guts of the frog-thing. Her spider-thing was still licking its fucking chops as though it had finished an entree and was expecting more.

If so, what was the main course? Gwen looked around. The Mages can't be the main.

The previously friendly Abjurer shifted his position to stand in front of his party protectively, facing Gwen head-on.

Oh God, Gwen groaned, cursing herself for letting her conceit get to her head. She had been so eager to see Caliban in action that she'd allowed the situation to escalate without fully considering the ramifications of Caliban's expressionist art on the public gallery.

"My name is Gwen Song! A member of the House of Song. My Grandfather is a director of the MSS!" She called out toward the team, hoping for the best. "This is my Familiar! He's harmless! A cutie really, like a pony!"

"Shaa!" Caliban helped out gleefully. "Shaa! Shaa!"

"Caliban, heel!" Gwen withdrew her mana and commanded Caliban to shirk backwards demurely. She couldn't help but notice a white-purple scar where its wound had been, healed by the vital force Caliban had taken from the frog-thing.

"Stay your distance!" the Abjurer called out.

Gwen stepped back.

Her Familiar did not follow but moved forward and nudged the corpse.

With its pincers, Caliban retrieved a jagged crystal the size of a fist. Within the core's uneven surface, potent motes of chaotic mana twisted and turned, glowing a dull shade of crimson.

Oh? Gwen felt her Kirin amulet glow warmly. A Creature Core, already?

Opposite, Hu Sheng and his teammates stared at the Spider Familiar's loot.

A Creature Core! And not just any Core either. A Dungeon Beast Core, a tier 4 Core of a beast that resisted low-level magic!

Instantly, the moment the Creature Core saw the light of day, the atmosphere of fear and suspicion changed. The fearful eyes of those within his grew bulbous with desire, their breaths quickening as they studied the lonesome, skinny sorceress.

Hu Sheng especially couldn't believe his luck. They had been here for two hours! Just two hours out of three days, and they had already found a Creature Core?

It was unbelievable. It was like stumbling upon an HDM mine! A core of this quality was worth at least 30 CCs, maybe more! More importantly, this was the core of a creature they had never seen before! Mao forbid! It could be something exceedingly rare. If so, could it be worth 50 CCs? More perhaps?

Hu Sheng eyed this "Gwen Song".

The sorceress was uncommonly pretty, but she was a gweilo, a foreigner. Could someone like that be related to a Committee member?

Likewise, was the girl that dangerous? Knowing his Spellcraft theory, commanding something with the stature of this spider beast must have its drawbacks. A limited range, perhaps, or a limited manifestation duration.

Looking at the girl now, Hu was sure he was right. The girl looked sickly, weak, like someone suffering from mana burn. Her complexion was ashen, indicating someone who was put out by the combat.

As birds die for feed— so men die for fortune, Hu convinced himself with an ancient proverb.

Where the girl seemed to him a Mage of impressive power a moment ago, all he could see now was a skinny Acolyte standing next to a spent spider-thing. Most importantly, Hu was in a well-formed, well-trained party, and the girl was alone.

Anyway, so what if the girl was related to a Colonel in the MSS?

Were they not likewise well-connected sons of notable Patriarchs in high places? Not to mention the unspoken rule of a Dungeon is might makes right. How stupid was the girl to try to frighten them with her family connections? How green? Here must be her first dive. Just look at the way she stood there, pretty as a picture, yet to meet up with her party, not worried at all while holding that precious Creature Core.

Hu sent out a Silent Message.
His teammates concurred.

The monster core was theirs. The girl merely got lucky. They were the ones who had spent all that time fighting the monster— they deserved it more than she did.

Hu stepped up.
He was the leader.
He made the call.

"Look here," he declared to the girl. "That Creature Core belongs to us. That was our kill you stole."

The girl met his gaze without so much as a twitch of her porcelain, impassive expression.

"Don't be shy now." Hu grinned. "Hand it over. No one wants to hurt a pretty girl, least of all gentlemen like us."