"It's almost seven." Mina bit her lower lip, irritated by the delay.

"You can go first." Petra shrugged. Before Gwen had brought the party together, she had spoken to her second cousin no more than a few minutes per Chinese New Year.

"I'd rather not. The two of you wouldn't make it in time," Mina replied, anxious with agitation. "Tao's performance starts at eight. It'll be pointless if we arrive and he's already given up the match."

"Gwen is on an important call, be patient." Petra regarded Mina. It wasn't that she was looking down on Gwen's paternal cousin, though that was certainly true due to their height difference. She felt the wallflower wasn't on the same _Plane_ as Gwen and herself.

Since the island, Petra had Gwen's companionship because they were alike in many ways. They both came from difficult familial circumstances. They both had dealings that tied them to Towers. They both had coveted magical abilities. They both had futures filled with conflict and uncertainty.

Their parallel paths made them perfect comrades.

But Mina and Tao?

Two greenhouse Fu-er-dai in a Tier 1 city, not knowing wind, rain, hunger or pain. Their greatest trial would be who to marry and how many kids they should have; their violent reckoning was whether or not keeping a lover was a plausible balance between wanton desire and etiquette.

Mina stamped her feet, striding up and down the corridor.

"These damn shoes are killing me!" She hissed, suddenly displeased with her luxury.

Petra shook her head imperceptibly. Even if Tao were to lose his bet, it was nothing Petra would consider worthy of her sympathy. The bruised ego of an Illusionist nobody, and the loss of a car. Who cares about a car? A quasi-magical device made for NoMs and Mages alike? In the future, Gwen and herself would be free to use Flight as they pleased. On that note, Petra wondered if Gwen could fathom the value of the Regeneration Cube she had expended on Lulan. At the right moment, in the right hands, the spell in that cube could have secured a whole demesne.

Human life, after all, was priceless. The higher the power one amassed, the more wealth one accumulated, and the more value one placed on life.

_DING!_

The levitation platform slid open, revealing a sprinter's figure in shorts and a tank top.

"Miss Kutznetsova!" Lulan's eyes swept over Petra, dumbfounded by her revealing attire. "H-Hello!"

Speak of the devil. Petra hailed the Sword Mage amiably. Compared to Mina, Lulan was more on her level.

"Hello, Miss Li. What's the matter?"

Lulan held several takeout boxes in her hand.

"I brought some sweets for Miss Song." She tore her eyes away from Petra to greet Mina. "Greetings, Miss?"

"Mina. Mina Wang. I am Gwen's cousin."

Lulan bowed hastily.

Petra's lips curled sardonically despite herself. Ten Mina Wangs would not be able to resist a single full-forced blow from Lulan Li.

"Gwen, Petra and I are all going out together," Mina stated, her tone unconsciously more churlish than she intended. "She's on a call right now."

"I'll wait." Lulan stowed the takeout boxes in her ring.

Mina's well-honed eyes of appraisal narrowed.

"Nice. A Large Storage Ring?" The rich girl knew her exorbitant rings like the back of her hand.

"Yeah." Lulan paid the question no mind. "Where are you all going?"

"To the Astoria, for the Battle of Rhymes." Mina's tone took on a less critical demeanour. A girl with a rare ring couldn't just be anybody. "My brother's competing."

"Oh, a duel! I do love those. My brother and I often compete," Lulan boasted a little sheepishly, perhaps thinking of their loss to Gwen. "What's the Waldorf Astoria?"

"Hah—?" Mina laughed. "It's a hotel, one of the oldest in Shanghai. It was built in the 20s in the International Quater by British expatriate Mages who wanted it to be the grandest establishment in the Pearl of the Orient."

"Oh? That sounds amazing." Lulan's expression suggested that Mina's words were as cryptic to her as ancient sorcery.

"Why don't you come with us?" Petra cut in unexpectedly. She was bored of Mina's antics already. Perhaps Lulan could liven things up. "Gwen would love it if you could come."

"To the duel?" Lulan's eyes lit up, clearly misunderstanding the word.

Mina caught Petra's attention, then blinked rapidly.

"Something like that." Petra smiled cruelly. "Mina, you don't mind, do you? Lulu is our new friend. She's a brilliant Sword Mage and an important asset for Gwen."

"You're a Clanner?" Mina's brows furrowed.

"Not anymore." Lulan shook her head stiffly. Compared to before, the girl appeared lucid and self-conscious. Petro understood the feeling well. A step into the unknown world was full of anxiousness for a girl who had just lost all their familial connections. When she had left the Tower, she felt the same thing.

"It's complicated," Lulan replied uncertainly.

Thankfully, the group's awkwardness was short-lived.

"Lulu!" Gwen's voice called out as the door to 2204 clicked shut behind her.

Their Message devices currently measured 7.20 PM. They could make it if Mina dodged and weaved through traffic.

"Let's go!" Mina had no more time to debate the merits of including a fourth member. Together, the crew descended into the garage. "Come on, Lulu."

"It's Lulan…"

"Whatever, get in, Clanner. We're going clubbing!"

Shanghai

One the Second Orbital Ring, Mina's sedan cruised through the traffic, catching the splendiferous reflections from the neon, Illusory billboards.

Saddled in the backseat between her saviour and Magus Kutznetsova, Lulan felt her chest grow hot. Foremostly was the fact that the sorceresses she had battled previously wore not battle garbs but something far more intimidating.

In her mind, Gwen was a Battle Mage, a summoner of friends, a flying avatar of lightning and thunder sowing death amongst her enemies.

But a party dress? Lulan felt as though she was seeing her saviour for the first time. What was she wearing? Her footwear offered no protection! Those heels looked like chopsticks! Her thighs were dangerously exposed! Lulan's mind flared with confusion, simultaneously scandalised and over-stimulated.

Compared to the car full of perfume, Lulan had never been told to be feminine. The most daring thing she had ever done involved a makeup kit she'd discovered in one of the servant's quarters. When Lulan had examined the result of her curious labour in the mirror, she quickly reached for a towel and wiped away any evidence of her experimentation.

"I am so glad you're coming with us," her saviour gushed.

“No-no-no!” Lulan waved her hand frantically. How could she stand beside one so generous? By the Iron Sword! The very thought of it terrified her. It was incredible that Gwen and her cousins would witness a Mage duel in those shoes and that dress. What happens when a melee ensues? What if one of them received an elemental attack that penetrated their barriers? Lovely as their mundane clothes were, they were as flimsy as they were beautiful. Also, her wardrobe consisted entirely of exercise clothing, which was why Gwen had lent her magical clothing that refitted itself.

As dusk fell, the sleek Audi roared like a Magical Beast, punching its way through the traffic on a mission to save itself.

South of the Bund, bombastic beats reverberated through the basement of the Astoria.

"Yo-yo-YO gonna give it up, Son?" Sammy Gu, Big SAM, wordsmith extraordinaire, mercilessly mocked his rival, Big Peaches, AKA Peaches, AKA Tao Wang of Wang Xing Enterprise.

"Fuck you, I ain't no liar!" Tao retorted. "How about you pop some wicked rhymes, and we battle it out like real men, huh?! You wanna be the king, or you gonna pussy out?"

"That's a _bet_ you're trying ta worm out of, fool, don't play me with your third-grade bull, little man!"

"Peaches don't need no bitches to beat your ass down to a pulp! Your rhymes are so lame, ya choke on yer lyrical vomit, _buta_!"

"Ooooh!"

"Kick his ass!"

"Nice one! Peaches!"

The room was dim, hazy and filled with moving bodies; the air was rank with tobacco, body odour and a hint of forbidden medicinal herbs.

Usually, the establishment would have refused to lease the subbasement level to individuals such as these, whose presence would bring infamy to the noble visage of the Waldorf hotel chain—but the one who had made the request was the sole heir of the Wang Xing Group.

That was why they were in the basement car park, now converted into a stage. To the confused patrons above, these young folk were out of sight! And thus, out of mind. Out of pocket, the hotel had even set up Silence enchantments above and below so the youths' riotous foreign music would be contained within the sandwiched aural fortification.

However, things were not going so smoothly for the organiser. Thus far, Tao had been talking crap for almost ten minutes straight. Their match had begun nearly half an hour ago, but Sammy Gu refused to participate due to Tao's poorly contested gamble. Unless Tao could prove Petra Kutznetsova, the " _Flower of Fudan",_ and Gwen Song, the "Mongolian Death Worm Handler", were his _Hos_ , Tao had to apologise and confess to his clowning.

"Come on! Come on!" Tao was sweating buckets underneath his mocking demeanour. _Where the fuck was Mina?! She'd promised to bring the girls!_

"Such a little bitch, Peaches." Sammy shifted his weight impressively. "I think you're lying about them cuz yo face is as ugly as Miss Petra's ass is FINE!"

"Woop! Woop!"

"Yoga pants!"

"Sammy, you suck!" The crowd's boredom was growing palpable.

"TICK-TOCK! Mother fucker! I have no idea how a fine thing like yo mama gave birth to a stain like you, Peaches. You so ugly, you went to the Northern Front, and they mistook you for a ghoul!"

Tao's head grew hot. His brain felt as though two llamas were taking turns mounting each other inside his skull. His usual mastery over the lyrical had become a hodgepodge of stir-fried syllables. He could undoubtedly fire off a few more _mud grass horse_ insults, but those were the lowest common denominator. Looking at Fat Sammy there, his rival could probably K.O. him just by sitting on his chest.

"Peaches, what's the plan, man?" Mack-Daddy was balls out and still sweating profusely. "Is Miss Kutznetsova and Gwen going to come? If not…"

"You gotta have faith, man!" Little-Dog insisted. "I believe in Peaches, who believes in Miss Song!"

Tao felt unsteady, his knees weak and wobbly, wondering if he should vomit forth his mum's chashui-mien already.

_Come on, Mina!_ His perspiring eyes scanned the lift.

Then, he saw the green light.

The lift was moving. MAO's BALLS, it was opening!

_DING-DONG!_

The door opened.

Tao's voice caught in his throat.

He saw—a concierge in a red vest.

_FUCK!_ Tao groaned. _I am FUCKED._

Then the bastard stepped aside.

"You look wonderful, Lulu," Gwen assured the Sword Mage.

"Lovely," Petra agreed. After a short pause, she added. "Don't let your brother see you in that if he's as tight as you say."

Gwen observed her handiwork.

Lulan was reborn.

The Sword Mage was a pretty thing, but even the best gems needed polishing and cutting to bring out their lustre and shine. From the girl's eyes in the car mirror, Gwen could see that a new world was opening up for Lulan, one that would drive Kusu up the wall shortly.

Presently, Lulan had snuggled into a dress Gwen had lent her—a simple sundress that suited her clean-cut, athletic figure. Like all high-affinity Earthen Mages, Lulan possessed a hard and lean musculature, with abs hard enough to shatter stone slabs.

With a whine, Mina's Audi pulled up in front of the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai parking bay.

Several bell boys immediately approached the car, headed by a well-dressed concierge.

"Miss Wang!" the concierge greeted Mina with a bow as she escaped the driver's seat. "What may be your pleasure today?"

"We're late," Mina commanded the handsome young man dressed impeccably in his vermillion vest. "Take my guests down to Basement 2."

"Where Young Master Wang is hosting his friends? Of course, Ma'am, right this way."

Lulan stumbled from the back seat, helped by Gwen and aided by a bellboy, struggling to balance on her wedged shoes.

When Gwen emerged, the staff's eyes lit up.

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Then Petra emerged, and a respectful silence descended upon the parking rotunda.

"Come on!" Mina urged them, watching the minute hand ticking toward its inevitable destination. "I've half a mind to have the two of you Dimension Door down there!"

The girls made their way across the lobby, guided by the fleet steps of the concierge and drawing eyes from across the room. The grand foyer of the Waldorf Astoria was four storeys tall and lit by Daylight spells playing beautifully through a panoramic array of French window skylights. At the elevation platform bay, Greco-Roman statues in white marble added a touch of the classics to the otherwise Art-deco facade.

_Ding-Dong!_

The 'lift' was a brass and glass contraption which moved without sound. It was a relic of bygone days when master craftsmen built the elevation platforms, not prefabricated spell Glyphs installed by technicians.

"Level B-2," the concierge told the operator, who bowed, then returned to the stoic labour of cranking archaic ivory-handled shafts.

The party could hear the thumping of bone-throbbing bass as soon as the lift penetrated the wards. When the brass-wrought retro doors finally opened, Gwen and the girls found themselves amid a haze of dubious smoke.

"YOU'RE HERE!" Tao's voice could be heard projecting across the room via an empowered Ventriloquism. By his tone, Mina's brother sounded as though he had finally found Godot. "FUCK YEAH@ MAH HONEYS HAVE ARRIVED!! PEACHES IN DA HOUSE! HE AIN'T NO LIAR! BRINGING IT DOWN! SUCK IT, SAMMY G!"

The thumping bass reached a new high as a path opened between the stage and the girls. Gwen's eyes scanned through the crowd, noting the entire 'show' was a product of Tao and his gang utilising Illusionary magic.

_BOOM-BOOM—Chic_

_BOOM- Chic—BOOM-BOOM—_

Once her curiosity in spellcraft was satiated, she craned her neck to inspect Tao's audience. As her hazel eyes took in the scene, her lips fell half open with growing dread.

Beside her, Lulan appeared to have entered a whole other realm of shock. The music! The thumping! The beat! What an atmosphere! The girl's blood was boiling!

"Mao!" Lulan shouted in her ear. "THIS IS AMAZING. I feel a melee is going to break out at any moment! Do you think there's a prize for the most Mages disabled? But why are there NoMs here? How are they going to defend themselves?"

_BOOM-BOOM—Chic_

_BOOM- Chic—BOOM-BOOM—_

Gwen, however, was noting something else entirely.

There was a big crowd, sure.

_But where are the women?_

Were they the only women here?

"Mina…" Gwen reached out and shook her cousin by the shoulders. "It's a sausage party, Mina! Do you hear me?! _A sausage party!_ What have you taken us to!"

Gwen's trembling voice was choked out between gritted teeth.

Mina's watering eyes struggled against the smoke, which, unfortunately, was as much atmospheric Illusion as second-hand cigarette smoke, with a tasteful hint of Chinese herbal medicine.

"Peaches…" her cousin's face grew twisted with malice. "I am going to kill you."

The beats grew quiet, starting with the peanut gallery closest to the levitation platform. One by one, their voices choked as the foursome of girls emerged.

First, a lovely but flabbergasted girl exited the lift with a stupefied expression. Then a short Asian girl with adorability dialled to ten, which many of the crowd recognised as Tao's famous sister.

Then...

Then the observers' heads went white with noise.

Slowly, the crowd parted like the Red Sea before a proverbial Magi.

Tao's boastful voice reverberated through the basement, adding to the ambient noise. Sammy Gu's face dropped, looking like he had been forced-fed spoilt sushi.

_The Flower of Fudan_ and her peers moved through the open lane like an empress surveying her domain, stepping over paper cups and smoking butt-ends. Those from Fudan who knew her reverently muttered her name, informing the others. Those whose knowledge had been lacking now branded the moniker upon their brain.

Gwen took Lulan by her hand and moved up the aisle. She wanted a flashy entry, but Petra had forbidden all magic. Their Sword Mage followed like a puppy, stopping at the stage's edge.

The spotlight moved from the stage centre and landed where the group stood, bathing them in white illumination.

The sound of breath being drawn echoed across the room.

Amazingly, Petra motioned for the vox phone.

Obediently, the adjudicator MC handed her the Ventrilo device.

"We're here," _The Flower of Fudan_ stated flatly, her voice ringing across the basement. "Now battle. It's getting late."

Gwen figured she may was well play the part. Peaches' punishment will come later, but there was no need to embarrass him now.

"You can do it, Peaches! We support you!" she made her best impression of a fangirl. Her voice echoed across the basement, punctuated only by the soft thump of bass generated by modifying Illusory Sound incantations. "Come on, Lulu. You do it too."

"Why is his name a fruit?" Lulan's face was aflame with shame and unspeakable embarrassment. "Is he going to battle now? Is this a part of a ritual? Dark Ritual? Is someone being sacrificed?"

"Woooo!" Gwen's reply was lonesome and desolate. " _We love you, Peaches! Come on, Pats!_ "

"I don't understand," Lulan continued, confused as ever. "Are they fighting? How? Their mana signature is less than novices? In Huashan, such individuals could only assume the role of menial labourers."

"Go on." Petra's voice was like ice dropping onto cold marble. "Get on with it. We're here to support you."

Finally, in triumph, Tao turned to Sammy, his rival. His face flushed with excitement. "Time to get it ON! BITCH!"

Tao launched into a bombastic beat-box rhythm to set the tempo of his Project Image. His lips unleashed a torrent of cognitively dissociative bitten syllables clashing with deliberately mispronounced homophones. Mack-Daddy and Little-Dog soon joined in, dimming the lights and providing vocal backing.

_"When the Firestorm clears, it won't be_

_So fuck'n difficult to hear,_

_'til then hopefully ya_

_Little gobos get over your fears_

_It's OK to be spooked, bitch._

_The Magister said I'd trigger ears_

_My Illusions, ya see, they bring tears,_

_my whole career's_

_A stroke of tactical genius, Illusory magic,_

_pimp sorcery, year after year..."_

Tao was good, Gwen had to admit.

The Illusionist was riling the crowd up, getting them distracted from Petra long enough to start bobbing their heads and moving, itself an impressive feat.

Maybe, if she could recall some of the classics from her old world, she could push Tao in the right direction. If Tao could master higher-tier Illusions or parallel casting, he could combine his 'show' with visual and audio spectacles, like Light Balancing or clones of himself breakdancing.

Being the victim of Tao's verbose spit spray, Sammy's jowls quivered.

Try as Tao's rival might to recall rhymes to beat back the Peach, his expression looked as bad as his half-formed innuendoes. Each time he tried to fathom a connecting rhyme, he stared instead at Petra. When Sammy attempted to shift his eyes away, his ocular muscles revolted, telling him to keep staring. Even as he pinched his arms black and blue, all the man could do was shift his gaze to Gwen, then back.

Gwen felt her skin crawl.

The man was sick, she felt. From the way he gawked at them, the bloke was thoroughly enjoying Tao's abuse.

"I AM SORRY!" Tao apologised beside the girls with a deep bow.

"Don't be. It was fun." Gwen laughed with genuine affection. "It was interesting to see you beat down that Sammy guy."

"Still, I had no idea that dawg was such a pervert," Tao confessed miserably. "I mean, Sammy's wanton dude, but Mao, that was something else, even for him! Who'd thought he'd unbuckle and flash Petra the goods..."

"Aha..." Gwen's expression was unreadable.

Petra's was petrifying.

Following Tao's one-sided thrashing of his stunned' rival', Sammy lost it. Maybe the idea that Petra and Gwen were Tao's 'fans' was too much for the prideful _gangster_ , but the daze bloke's low-riding pants fell to the floor, all the while stumbling forwards.

Petra immediately erected a crystalline wall that caught the large man mid-stride, catching his crotch, crushing the poor sod's mouse between a crystalline block and a hard place.

Though hastily resolved, the incident quickly turned into a riot of jeers and insults. Despite Gwen's best efforts to dissuade Petra, her self-proclaimed bodyguard removed the girls from the scene.

Soon after, the party retired to the famous "Bar Astoria".

"So, they battle with words only? Like a debate?" Lulan was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that several hundred individuals got together in a dark basement, set up a stage, squared off, and then walked away after half an hour of shit-talking. "No spells? Could Even NoMs participate? Wasn't that man challenging us? I was going to use a Sword-Wall..."

The entire party winced. Tao crossed his legs.

"Stupid Peaches." Mina was still furious that Sammy, a close family friend, turned out to be such a pervert. She promised the girls that everyone in her social circle would know and shun Sammy from this day forth.

Gwen told Mina to forget about Sammy and get the drinks started. As Mina ordered the group, her eyes scanned the historical setting of Bar Astoria. During the day, the French windowed balcony doors were opened, offering a vista of the Huangpu River and the Bund. At night, the panes were shut, creating a cosy lounge. Beyond, the arc of the Bund's bay ran from left to right, paralleling the length of the white quartz bar that stretched the entirety of the bar lounge.

"Young Miss, your drinks."

A bright-eyed young man with the standard red vest of the hotel staff bowed stiffly, lowering himself to allow the girls easier access to their drinks. When they each took their orders, there were two that remained, purple-orange creations with flecks of gold circling within.

"From the gentlemen by the window, Miss." The waiter motioned subtly, drawing Petra's eyes to the windowpane, where a suited young man seated with another male companion raised a glass.

"The second is for you, Miss," the waiter spoke with a whisper. "From the other young Sir."

Lulan's eyes sparkled. "Mao, Gwen! Isn't this what happens in dramas? I've seen this on Kusu's favourite shows!"

Gwen shook her head.

"Please return both drinks to the gentlemen and thank them for the offer. We're not socialising tonight." Gwen smiled and placed an LDM on the tray as a tip for the waiter, intervening before Petra could dismiss their admirer with far less diplomacy. "Thank you."

"Of course, Ma'am." The young man was very professional.

"Those Dragonfruit Daiquiris are 4 HDMs per serve, you know," Mina hinted at the prospect Gwen had rejected out of hand.

Lulan took her Sunrise on the Bund and gingerly sipped the viscous liquid.

"Oh my!" Her eyes lit up. "Delicious! I've never had a drink like this before."

Gwen observed the bright-eyed girl sipping away happily but couldn't quite put her unease into perspective.

"So, where did you dig this one out from?" Mina couldn't help but ask, distracting Gwen from her thoughts.

"There's a pretty good story there. Do you guys want to hear it? Peaches?" Gwen was now ready to deliver the story she'd withheld during lunch. Once certain elements were filtered for family-friendly listening, the tale would provide at least an hour of rapport and laughter.

"I am all ears. Maybe you can rap it out?" Tao pulled up a chair.

The wannabe hoodlum cut a strange figure in the bar. The girls were all delicate fabric and dazzling white flesh, while Tao was attired in white sneakers, Adidas tracks and a shirt two sizes too large. The contrast, especially, made his presence unique.

"Well, gather around, folks." Gwen crossed over her heels and straightened her spine, sipping her glass of Saffron gin & kumquat tonic, infusing her tongue with the tartness. "It all began when Kusu, Lulan's brother here, asked me for a duel. Yes, Peaches, the real kind..."

The waiter left the 4 HDM beverages with their despondent buyers.

The young patron examined himself against the French window. He wore an Italian suit tailored to fit. In his reflection, he resembled a magazine model.

Looking over at the far table, he couldn't help but notice that the single young man with the troop of stunningly gorgeous girls wore Adidas trackies and looked as though he should be squatting somewhere, bumming a butt-end.

_Did I dress wrongly?_ He wondered to himself. Am I doing the wrong things to attract girls of that grade? Had the trend changed that quickly? The yellow-teethed Adidas man had a face that looked like two soft-boiled eggs socketed into a bony skull. _Maybe that is the new trend?_

"Say." He turned to his companion. "Did you say they were having a _battle_ in basement 2?"

"Some American thing, yeah," his companion replied. "Why?"

"Should we…" The young man's eyes darted between his reflection, the chav, and the girls. "Should we go and see what it's all about?"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Lulan hugged Gwen's arm against her chest as she snorted and shrieked hysterically.

"That's FUNNY, Gwennie!"

Gwen was a little buzzed and had not noticed Lulan trying out half a dozen mixed spirits within the hour. The girl had no idea of her limits, which made an unfortunate cocktail combined with the bar's limitless concoctions.

When she had caught on, Lulan's cheeks had taken on the hue of the Moschino cherry she had gleefully suckled between her flushed lips.

Beside the intoxicated Sword Mage, Petra's ability to put away alcohol was as stoic as her stone-cold mien, packing away at least a dozen shots without a shade of scarlet touching her cheeks. Unlike the others, the Mineral Mage was a true Russian.

"A toast," Petra raised her shot glass. "Bottoms up."

Gwen wasn't sure if the Vodka in this world was the product of magical Druid-grown potatoes or what, but if Petra extolled its virtues, then she wouldn't mind giving it a go.

"Here's to the Void."

Toasting to difficult days to come, she slammed down the shot. The Vodka was like a string of fire running down her throat.

"Woa…!" Gwen took a second to master herself. "Strong."

Her abdomen filled with a flush of warmth.

"I want to try!" Lulan eagerly offered herself as a tribute. As she reached for the shot glass, Lulan stumbled and had to brace herself against Gwen's hip.

"She drunk as a goose, dawg." Tao chugged the rest of his beer, flaunting his iron liver and generous bladder. "She's tots wasted, Cuz. She looks too young to be cruising, dawg."

Suddenly, the disquiet that Gwen had felt earlier came to Gwen.

HOLY SHIT, she realised. Lulan is still _sixteen_!

Thanks to Lulan's capacity for ultra-violence, Gwen had not once recalled that Lulu was a high school student.

_Gods!_ They took a kid to a bar and allowed her unlimited access to the sauce bottles! What a crime!

"I think we better go." Gwen sobered up at once. She propped up Lulan's flaccid, limping body with one arm. "Someone get me a spare bag as well. If I know my alcohol."

Despite the apparent risks, Mina offered to drive them home in _her_ car. Tao left to rejoin his friends, boasting that he 'told them so'.

Gwen's foresight proved fortuitous. A few minutes into the trip, Lulan failed her constitution save.

"Bleeeeaarrgh! Oh… oh… I am dying… Gwen… Errrgh…. Bleurgh! Tell Kusu… tell…”

All four windows were drawn downward, and an odour-filtering magical trinket was placed in the middle of the car. Even so, the volatile mix of fruit juice, alcohol, stomach acid and whatever Lulan had for dinner was plain for all to experience.

Thankfully, real friends let their acquittances vomit in their Audi. Still, she felt sorry for her cousin, for she could see Mina wincing every time Lulan purged another Secret Peach & Tonic.

When they stumbled up to the sky garden, Kusu was waiting for them.

"Oh, MY MAO!" Kusu had never seen Lulan this vulnerable in his entire life. "Is she poisoned?! Did someone envenom your food? Are you all alright?"

"She's had a little too much to drink," Mina apologised.

Gwen figured she had better not let Lulan stay with Kusu. The sheltered Clanner had never dealt with drunk teens before. If Lulan was left to her own devices, she could pull a Bon Scott of ACDC fame.

Lulan's brother nodded eagerly, his head bobbing like a nodding chook. The man most definitely preferred not to be the one who had to strip Lulan and wipe down his sister's vomit.

The girls thus brought Lulan back to Gwen's apartment, with Mina bidding them goodbye after ensuring the Sword Mage didn't need medical attention. Petra asked Mina to leave a few minor healing spells with her, then bid Mina goodbye. It wasn't until after Gwen and Petra dragged Lulan into the bathroom for another hour of purging that she resumed control of her faculties.

"S-sorry…" Lulan had lost her voice as well.

Having had some experience with the matter, Gwen rinsed the tub, ran a cleaning cantrip, the dispelled the stink.

Near the early morning, when Lulan reappeared before Kusu, she was pale and unsteady but lucid. Petra had popped a Healing Word from Mina to smooth out any physical ailments, which helped.

"Drink lots of water and sleep it off," Gwen advised them. "How did the housing situation go?"

"No good," Kusu admitted despondently. "We'll keep looking on Monday."

Gwen nodded and told them not to worry, then reiterated that Lulan should be kept under strict supervision and be given plenty of fluids.

Returning to her apartment, she found Petra running the filtration trinket in the bathroom again. Her cousin could be an incredible hypochondriac sometimes.

"Mayuree's maid is coming over tomorrow at noon to clean," Gwen informed her cousin. "I'll be away at babulya's at the PLA hospital. Do you want to come along? We can have lunch after."

"Sound's like a plan." Petra crossed her legs tiredly. "How are you feeling, by the way?"

"Much better." Gwen smiled weakly. "It was good to do something so, hmm."

"Mundane?"

"Hahaha, that's it exactly. I needed that."

"You're the type to want to feel grounded, huh?"

"It helps." Gwen chuckled. "Magisters. Magic. Mages. Magi. Up, up and UP. There's not enough air up there. It's suffocating."

"But there's much more space up there too. The sky's the limit." Petra's smile was infectious.

"I know…" Gwen tried to think of something else to say, but nothing came to mind. She needed to sleep off the buzz. It had been a good night. As for tomorrow... tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow...

Tomorrow will be a _long_ day.


Richard dropped in late morning after a quick breakfast with the girls, informing Gwen he would return by Thursday.

Lulan, meanwhile, was out like a light.

Meeting Petra below, Gwen felt refreshed and clear-headed, her mental fatigue erased by the riotous night.

Compared to Lulan, she felt perfectly in bloom. With her current constitution, another five shots of Vodka would not have made a dent.

The girls took public transport to Wujiaochang and entered the hospital through the main gate. A fresh-faced Red Guard halted their progress, though a quick call to Klavdiya resolved the matter without further ado.

"Sunday shift," the girls' softly smiling babulya explained. "Most of our labs are shut, so they cycle in the recruits for the experience."

"What's the purpose of having NoM guards?" Gwen asked out of curiosity. It wasn't as though an NoM could stop a Mage from entering if they wanted.

"As witnesses to any incidents, and to ward off those who genuinely wander into the wrong place, as you may have."

"Besides, the labs are magically warded," Petra explained. "Just like Fudan's experimental laboratory. Do you think anyone can just come and go from my Master's domain? Master assigned your ID and mana signature to level 2 access after our first lesson."

Gwen thought of when one of Petra's admirers aimlessly wandered back and forth in the corridor, too afraid to approach the door. She had assumed the man was just unusually shy.

Inside, the lab was as impeccably clean as Gwen's last visit, smelling faintly of sterility and bleach. Gwen followed her grandmother to the changing room cupboard, where she had stowed a hospital gown that was large enough to keep her modesty.

"I heard you all went out last night. Is this true?" Babulya inquired, a gentle smile touching her face.

"Oh yes, with Mina and Tao," Gwen replied happily. "We went to one of Tao's shows. It was quite exciting. Afterwards, he shouted drinks."

"Shouted, hmm?" Her babulya wasn't familiar with the Aussie slang.

"To repay us for showing up to support him," Gwen laughed, eyeing Petra. "Pats is very popular on campus, you know. She must have turned his showcase upside down with her presence. There was this rival of his, Sammy, who was so enamoured he disrobed on stage."

"Oh my! I should have a word with this young man's family!" Her babulya knitted her brows. "Yes, Petra is rather popular, hmm? Did you know that when she first arrived, I had to knock back two to three proposals a month, asking for her hand?"

"Babulya!" To Gwen's surprise, Petra blushed.

_How cute!_ Gwen gabbled internally. She hadn't seen Petra acting like a young woman at all. Most of the time, her resting expression could lower the temperature of any room she entered. Her previous post at the Moscow Tower had made her incredibly jaded to love.

Gwen wondered if, without her 'elderly' self as a guide, she would also become cynical.

"Haha." Their babulya laughed. "I should count myself lucky, eh? I've received a few for you as well. You should know."

"You have?!"

"Oh yes!" Klavdiya's eyes twinkled. "Would you like to know from whom?"

"Do I want to know?" Gwen inquired of Petra, seeking wisdom from her predecessor.

"You don't," Petra advised. "Imagine running into someone at the university, then realising that the _ublyudok_ had asked for an Arranged Marriage."

“Ah… awkward…”

"Yeah…"

"Haha." Their babulya amused herself with the prospect. The joy of having beautiful and talented granddaughters! "Alright, enough talk. Gwen, you know what to do, yes?"

"Yes, Babulya." Gwen, now changed, fitted herself into the wall-mounted machine that measured, scanned, and recorded her biometrical data.

Klavdiya read out the script's data entries one by one, the octave of her voice rising with every record.

"Evocation, 4.21."

"Conjuration 5.02."

“Transmutation 2.10.”

"Abjuration 1.65."

"Divination 1.11."

"My heart…" Gwen's babulya had to hold onto one of the protruding manipulator arms. Petra quickly rushed to her grandmother's aid, taking the opportunity to see the script herself. "Gwen, these numbers are astounding."

Though her grandmother knew what had occurred, Gwen elected to provide more explicit details of her cannibalistic act. When she had finished her story, Klavdiya touched her fingers against her thin lips.

"Goodness, I'd presumed, but—this is unimaginable!"

"My training should have taken me close to Evocation 4 and Conjuration 5," Gwen explained. "As for the rest, I guess the statistics speak for themselves."

"Let's see your Affinity before we get ahead of ourselves," Klavdiya calmed herself and tapped the console. "There are more at play here than just numbers."

Gwen approached the Awakening Stone device and placed both hands on the orb.

"Begin when you're ready."

The stone glowed brilliant white for several seconds as Gwen poured her Lightning charged mana into its conduits.

“4.82… hmm…” Klavdiya noted on her data slate. "Again?"

The next value returned 4.83.

The one after that, 4.82.

"An expected increase. It's in line with the amount of practice you've been doing."

Gwen again placed her hand atop the orb.

"Ready?"

"Yeah." She took a lungful of air. The last time she had performed the same test, her grandmother had to supplement her vitality with a Restoration. "Here I go."

The orb grew dark and inky.

Gwen sensed the tenebrous tendrils of the void caress her conduits, raging against the oppositional forces of Almudj's druidic essence. Her vital force was enough to rebuff the negative energy drain.

Slowly, very faintly, the bulwark of her fortified vigour diminished.

She ceased her channelling.

"4.22," Klavdiya breathed out. "How do you feel?"

"I feel fine, Babulya."

Klavdiya held the scripts in her hand, wearing an inquisitive expression of trying to fathom the scores.

"One more station," she informed her granddaughter. "Then we can talk."

Gwen stepped into the chambered mechanism of a machine that resembled a chest-compression trainer. She grasped both handles and connected the device's mana circuitry with her conduits.

As before, she imagined herself pushing the mana in her body outward. Astral forces poured from the aether within her body, streaming through her mana channels. A free-floating mote of Divination entered, then quickly dissipated into her Astral Body.

The indicator rose and fell until it reached equilibrium.

"You're past your old record." Petra had been watching over Klavdiya's shoulders.

Gwen continued to channel, forcing everything she possessed into the machine.

"Enough!" Klavdiya had to catch the stream of scripts pouring from the data slot with both hands. "Take a rest."

Gwen's chest rose and fell as she caught her breath.

"How's it looking?" Gwen asked.

"189." Klavdiya made a face. "Monstrous."

"That's about two Senior Mages rolled into one, if you're wondering." Petra's face was still recovering from the shock. "Gwen, you have three times the VMI I do."

"But your Cubes hardly use any mana," Gwen protested.

"I don't think that's the point," Petra teased her. "You're a one-woman mana battery! They should send you to power the siege engines. Tell them you can jump an Iron Golem straight up."

"Well, babulya, what do you think?" Gwen enquired. "Does this mean I am more proficient in my two Major schools now?"

"I am not sure, to be honest." Her babulya held the scripts. "I'll need to consult with Magister Wen. Why don't the two of you get some lunch? I'll go and see Marie now. We'll eat and talk. We'll call you in a few hours and continue."

"Alright, Babulya," Gwen replied, seeing how distracted her grandmother was. She hoped her affinity increase wasn't something with a deadly side effect.

"Where do you want to go?" Petra asked.

Gwen remerged in her sundress.

She was feeling a little hungrier after that liberal expenditure of Void matter.

"I know a little place where they sell Beggar's Chicken."

"A beggar's…?" Petra's expression was sceptical. "Is that hygienic?"

"Oh yes!" Gwen assured her with eager eyes. "We can take one back for Babulya as well. Babulya, it's a wonderful dish! You have to try it. I can store the whole thing in my ring. Is that okay, Babulya?"

"Sure thing, dear. I'll be sure to share it with Percy and Guo." Her grandmother was shutting down all the machines absent-mindedly while still muttering about the numbers on the scripts.

Gwen felt her enthusiasm doused somewhat at the mention of her brother and grandfather. Petra patted her shoulders. For now, they could only leave their babulya to her devices.

After polishing off a Beggar's Chicken in a jam-packed Fengbo Village, Gwen received a Message from Magister Wen to attend the training hall at Fudan.

"Let's go," she meticulously wiped her hands, ensuring that she finished her winter-melon soup.

Petra left an HDM on the table.

The boss and his wife bowed several times as the girls left, hungrily watched by the patrons who had each ordered the same expensive dish after watching the two girls working through theirs.

"Boss!" several patrons called out at once. "Take away! I am late for work!"

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

Magister Wen, babulya, and to their surprise, Magus Kumiko met the girls at the training hall.

The Magister informed them that she had prepared a private chamber to continue investigating Gwen's newfound powers.

"Worry not, we'll get to the bottom of this yet," Wen confidently informed Gwen, though Gwen wasn't sure what the _bottom_ meant.

The training hall was about the size of an indoor soccer field, twice the size Gwen had hired for herself. In juxtaposition to the outer rooms, the inner chambers were reserved for staff and Warded for confidentiality.

"Alright, Gwen." Magister Wen held a slate with her updated biometrics. "Let's see some tier 5 Conjuration, shall we?"

"I haven't tried it yet, Ma'am," Gwen confessed. "I couldn't get the Conjure Elemental Swarm to complete its circuit before."

And it wasn't for lack of trying either, Gwen sighed. A tier 5 feedback was enough to give her a ringing headache and ongoing nausea for about an hour. Should the recoil be unexpectedly robust, she could be put out for a half-a-day.

"Now's a perfect time then, go on," Wen urged her. "Klavdiya is here to take care of any mishaps."

"Marie's right. Have confidence, dear." Gwen's babulya informed her. "Even so, do be careful."

Besides the Director and Magister, Magus Kumiko was scanning Gwen's scripts with her lips half-parted.

"Gwen, this… this is incredible," the Positive-Conjuror apprised with awe. "I'd been debriefed by Magister Wen, but this just puts us to shame."

Gwen smiled awkwardly. Kumiko was the only one not entirely in the know. From the looks of it, Wen merely used the Japanese Magus for convenience. After all, they would need a constant supply of her Summon to feed Gwen's hunger.

"Gwen, you may begin. Tier 5 Conjuration, don't forget," Wen urged.

Gwen walked some distance away until she was far enough from her observers that they could safely be shielded behind the Walls of Force, erected for the observer's protection. This essential convenience was also why they had chosen a training room rather than the Cognisance Chamber.

Thus watched by her seniors, Gwen slowly drew in her breath, relaxed her mind, and allowed her breathing to reach a comfortable, natural cadence.

Her fingers moved slowly through the air, like a conductor of some invisible music, weaving a spell through her inner world. Her lips invoked incantation after incantation, aiding in the mnemonic delivery of complex support Sigils.

As the stacked incantations took form, she felt the stress placed upon her mind ratchet rapidly. Here was where she had failed before—when her mental capacity and trained expertise were no longer sufficient to sustain the pseudo mandala formed within the recess of her Astral Form. Upon failure, the whole incantation stack would overflow, and the injected mana would feedback into her Astral Body. Without a VMI like hers, a lesser Mage could be struck dumb by the flood of excess mana, potentially sustaining extensive injuries to their conduits.

Bit by bit, she piled on the final components of the magic Magister Wen had tailor-made for her based on her Master's unique Conjuration technique.

The last part of the chant fell into place with the snugness of a final puzzle piece sliding into its final position.

Gwen's hands ceased.

Her lips spoke the last words.

A flood of lightning-charged mana entered the Sigil from her Elemental Gate.

From the other side of the room, the others watched. Both Kumiko and Klavdiya had access to the Clerical variety of Detect Magic which allowed them to perform Spellcraft examinations, surveying the movement of Gwen's mana through her conduits. Lacking the diagnostic spell particular to biomancy, Petra and Magister Wen perused especially modified Spectacles of Detect Magic, which replicated the effects.

"Fascinating," Magister Wen couldn't help but declare her enthusiasm. "She's like an incandescent font of mana!"

"This is her first time?" Klavdiya inquired, likewise impressed.

Magister Wen continued writing on her slate.

"A smooth transition, uninterrupted incantation too; no external aids either," Kumiko observed, hoping to make herself useful. "Though her casting speed suggests she's a novice, how interesting—Oh!"

Gwen finished her last invocation.

_"Conjure Elemental!"_

Two bolts of white-hot Lightning cut across the space in front of Gwen.

First came a pair of enormous cobalt horns, then a scale-covered reptilian face with incandescent orbs for eyes. In the next moment, both creatures freed themselves from the Planar-tear, transitioning from the Elemental Plane of Lightning into the material realm.

"Arc Runners!" Magister Wen clapped impressively. "Wonderful!"

Petra made a note to ask her Master about these half-lizard-half-bulls later.

The two elementals noticed their observers immediately and dashed the foursome, running headfirst into shimmering panes of force. Repeatedly, as though dumb and deaf to their surroundings, the creatures continued the assault until they were spent.

As the hysterical electricity faded, Gwen's silhouette could be seen. Excess elemental Lightning arced from her body onto the tiles, likewise circulating through her eyes as two concentric cobalt circles. Her hair stood on end, lifted into the air by the static.

Her grandmother chuckled at the sight of Gwen's electrified appearance, amused and proud all at once.

"Gwen, come. Take a deep breath. Release any excess mana from your body. Let's discuss what we've seen so far." Klavdiya motioned for her to join them.

Unfortunately, the training hall was spartan and without detail.

"Mai, can you bring some chairs and tables?"

Magus Kumiko was a Conjuror at a sufficient tier to Call Greater Objects. The Summoner walked a small distance away, then beckoned for a small round table and four chairs, inviting a burst of silvery Conjuration.

"Thank you, dear. The old bones aren't what they used to be." Wen sighed with relief.

Gwen's eyes quickly darted between her babulya and Magister Wen.

It was true! She realised, a little shocked. Magister Wen looked like someone in their fifties, while her babulya could be mistaken for someone in their late forties!

The senior Mages sat.

Out of respect and solidarity for Gwen, Petra opted to stand.

One of the things she was most interested in, Magister Wen explained as tea and shortbread were summoned, was how _Consume_ subverted the existing dynamics of known Spellcraft.

"You should have learned that 'quotients' for certain Schools of Magic refer to the Affinity one possesses in conjuring a particular type of arcane phenomenon," Magister Wen explained. "Transmuters modify existing things, Conjurors call for and summon creatures and beings, Abjurers generally have an innate protective instinct, and so on."

"As for tiers, there's another can of worms here. Tier 4 doesn't mean one is 300 spells away from reaching tier 5," she continued. "The scaling system is simply a metric developed to ballpark the expertise required to utilise particular Spells of a specific complexity or magnitude. It is why you can train in higher tier spells to increase your overall 'tier'. Though if you're not careful, a particularly nasty mana burn could set you back years."

"In the Frontier, if you recall, the average Senior Mage had a cap of tier 5 to 6. Those without talent, when pushing tiers, risk more than they gain. Likewise, training in lower-level spells has diminishing returns, failing to provide overall expertise once they become almost second nature."

It was true, Gwen noted. Her 'lock-unlock' use of Knock and Lock could only go so far in aiding her Transmutation.

"As such, the Path of Spellcraft is one in which one must constantly risk one's cultivated faculties to push forward. Endlessly learning new spells, adventuring, gaining alternative means to increase one's Affinity, and so on. It takes vast resources, risk, and time to break through the 'ceiling at six'. It's not a Path for everyone, and very few make it."

The Magister sipped her tea.

"Now, Gwen—for your particular situation," Magister Wen began anew. "I suspect that what you're gaining is not what a 'tier' usually refers to, a Mages' expertise and experience within a School of Magic, distilled through a formalised metric system. I suspect that what you're gaining is the Affinity by which your Astral Body can process such specific types of magical phenomena. You, personally, have not gained greater knowledge or expertise, _but you will_ experience less spell stress and fatigue."

The foursome took a moment to take it all in.

Magister Wen continued her rumination while Gwen digested the scholar's hypothesis.

"I am going to tell you something that's a few academic ranks above your means to know," Wen began again. "The 'Tier' System, also known as the Imperial Metric System, is imperfect. The visual manifestations we have come to accept as the norm are merely numeric simplifications."

Gwen nodded. She understood that. Not even a century of Natural Philosophy could explain the common, observable phenomenon in her old world.

Magister Wen looked to be expecting her to be baffled. Finding no perplexion, she raised an eyebrow.

"Can you explain?" Wen tested her test subject.

Gwen gave the matter some thought, then began to speak with great care.

"I will try, Ma'am. What you're suggesting is that current theory is something we 'know' but do not 'understand', much in the way the ancients built their lives around the seasons but could not conjecture why the seasons happened, nor why each season was the way it was. By that same logic, what we see inside ourselves is a cognitive projection shaped by years of education and study, taken as fact and seldom questioned. Our view of Spellcraft, therefore, is a 'system' rather than a description of its raw, explicit nature."

"Can you clarify?"

Gwen wet her lips, then continued. "It's about projection and visualisation. Much in the same way that when we think of a cat, we envision a 'feline' in our minds and can even go as far as to interact and imagine ourselves playing with it—and so it goes in quantifying these Astral and Planar forces that do our bidding."

Magister Wen blinked several times before a broad smile touched her usually severe lips.

"Very well, can you elucidate then? What constitutes a 'tier'?"

Gwen gave the matter some thought.

"In circumstances without the variables of talent, bloodlines, Affinity and Spirit-links, a tier is a precise measurement of one's processing abilities. The capability to concoct and manifest a certain complexity of incantations within one's astral and physical body before the mind becomes overstressed. However, with those variables, one must also consider the compatibility of the individual Mage with the spells they are learning. The more one ascends the tiers, the more significant this Affinity becomes."

Lulan's woes, Gwen thought, came to mind. The girl had forced herself to learn an unsuitable style of magic, almost destroying her conduits and her sanity. Using sheer willpower to supersede one's limitations should be a calculated risk, not a rush of blood to the head.

"Correct." Magister Wen tapped her slate. "You are a very talented academic child. If all else fails, you will have a sterling career as an analyst."

Gwen's babulya beamed.

"Petra taught me well, Ma'am," Gwen replied modestly.

Petra's face was red for the second time today.

Gwen also felt embarrassed. She had lifted the entire analogy from Plato's 'Allegory of the Cave' and his 'Other Dialogues'. In Gwen's philosophical reasoning, the Astral world, which Mages saw as projected shadows on the wall. In this parable, therefore, one had to consider that someone had made the cave, fire and shackles. This 'someone' would be the Imperial Metric System, where one was ingrained in learning and envisioning Arcane phenomena from an early age. She supposed that had she been an NoM: she would have been shackled to the cave for the rest of her life, never understanding that the shadows are a representation, a 'tier' of understanding in itself.

"Which means, in the practical sense," Magister Wen circled back onto their initial discussion. "You are appropriating the 'talent' of those you _consume_."

"I think it's best if we picture it like this—" Her cousin created a crystal lattice. "The bottom one is what you're born with."

She allowed the first segment to stand on the table.

"This next section is what you're appropriating from others."

Petra added another block atop the first.

"Last is the result of your training. "

Petra put another block on top of the second.

"Together, they make up your 'tier' index."

Gwen walked the circumference of the demonstrative visual metaphor.

"How many stolen talents could I train? I could currently use an Abjurer's Shield and Transmutation and Divination. Could I reach tier 9 simply by stealing?" She asked.

"I dare think there have to be diminishing returns," Magister Wen said. "Otherwise, 'someone' would be a Demi-God by now."

_Sobel._ Gwen inclined her chin solemnly toward Magister Wen. The Magister does know about Elizabeth Sobel.

"But, here's what's viable right now. You will be able to pick up spells easier, far easier, in your practical training. Unlike your peers, you won't ever experience 'bottlenecks' in your Spellcraft progression like the rest of us. At least not until the higher tiers," Wen proposed proudly. "Unless you're thinking of Consuming every Magister you can lay your hands on."

"I don't intend to," Gwen replied somewhat sensitively, pivoting the subject matter. "What's a bottleneck?"

Both Klavdiya and Wen chuckled.

"Erg..." Magus Kumiko sighed enviously. "A bottleneck is when someone training in a School outside their natural Affinity. The lack of compatibility within their Astral Body is too much for the individual to overcome. For instance, I am at Conjuration 6 but struggle to get Evocation past tier 5."

"For Mages who are not, well… YOU, Gwen," Petra joined. "The more we practice a particular school, the more our Astral Form eases into that School of Magic. It's what we call _Specialisation_ , and Enchanters such as myself and Magister Wen especially focus on this sort of phenomenon to stabilise our creation process. For the average Mage, it takes decades of practice in a single School to align body and mind. Likewise, this phenomenon impedes a specialist Mage from training in other Schools of Magic."

"Indeed." Magister Wen affirmed approvingly of her disciple. "What happens when a Mage has access to all the Schools of Magic from an early age? What does that do for one's physiology? What could it mean when each school reaches a particular tier of Affinity or expertise?"

"What happens?" Gwen asked.

"No one knows!" Wen's voice rose an octave and took on a life of its own. "Perhaps you're the answer! Thanks to Caliban, Gwen, we may open new chapters in Spellcraft theory!"

Gwen tried to speak, but Magister Wen was too excited to let her interject.

"Imagine! Gwen! A Mage versed in all Schools! Even ones we don't know about! You would be the ultimate Generalist! A Generalist-Specialist! Haha!"

"That's too much!" Gwen blustered, wary of where their conversation was headed. She hadn't intended to snap at Magister Wen, but the pie in the sky in the Magister's comment had touched a nerve. What was it that Nephres had taunted her with? Was that what happened to Elizabeth Sobel? Did her Master's wife also begin her spiral of madness with death-row inmates?

Gwen wrung her hands nervously. Did it come to that? Would it come to that?

"Marie…" Klavdiya interceded on Gwen's behalf.

The zealous academic caught herself.

"Of course, of course!" Magister Wen calmed herself.

The girl had to eat, didn't she?

Magister Wen felt giddy with anticipation.

"Now, onto our second agenda." Magister Wen collected herself.

She exchanged a glance with Klavdiya, then moved on to the keynote agenda of their meeting.

"Now, my girl," Magister Wen began. "Are you ready to test the limits of your _satiation_?"


Wen's burning eyes made Gwen wilt.

How could the Void know satisfaction? It was insatiable by nature.

When she had abused the Void precariously in Sydney, her weight had dropped considerably at one point, so much that she could count her ribs.

When finally, she began training with her Master, Sufina was there with her vitality-enhancing Golden Mead. A single cup was to Gwen, a gentle Restoration, nourishing her body and her mind and dispelling the residues of Negative-energy in her body.

And additionally, with the Kirin Amulet's mystical aid, her voracious appetite had been kept at bay. Even consuming Faceless, a creature many magnitudes her aptitude, did not induce convulsions of mind-numbing euphoria.

Once she got to Shanghai, there was babulya's healing and the two Vitae fruits she consumed, which all provided ample buffers for her to remain relatively healthy. By that same measure, the vitality she now possessed was excessive enough that strangers mistook her for a healer.

With the amulet gone, all of that had changed.

The hunger that had awakened after her first encounter with Edgar at the Royal National had never known satisfaction.

Gwen searched for an honest answer for the Magister.

"Are you full now?" She demanded.

"I don't know," Gwen confessed. "I suppose I don't feel hungry."

"You've never described the hunger to us, Gwen." Magister Wen prodded her for clarification. "Can you describe it to us? Is feeding addictive?"

Gwen forced herself to relax her jaws. "The hunger of the Void... it's not hunger in the sense of a desire for food. Rather, I would describe it as a desire for completion."

"What is it like when Caliban consumes something?"

"It's akin to a man whose perpetual existence is one of voracious hunger. Sometimes, it was overwhelming, driven to gluttony. Other times, it feels like the ambient tinnitus of mana in a Dungeon," Gwen explained. "Feeding is the satisfaction of that hunger."

"Addictive?"

"I am not wholly in possession of that knowledge." Gwen shook her head. "Yes, one could suppose. Addictive in the sense that a starving man desires to feed."

Magister Wen exchanged a glance with her grandmother, who appeared concerned.

"For almost a decade, your infamous predecessor had no lack of resources to keep her satiated." Magister Wen tested the waters. "The world was at war. Humanity fought the Demi-humans, fought the Magical Beast tide; we fought each other. Mages galore, a perpetual buffet."

Gwen felt her spine run cold.

"No, we do not intend to send you into a war zone."

Klavdiya's benevolent eyes advised Gwen to remain collected.

"However, we DO need to make progress, Gwen." Magister Wen raised her voice. "You are currently ignorant of your limitations. You don't know the consequences of your magic. You don't understand the ramifications of your _Consumption_. What if you disable yourself during an engagement? What happens to your party? How does the Void influence your mind? What is its longitudinal impact, both mentally and physiologically? Is it powerful enough to overwhelm your faculties? We need answers, Gwen—YOU need answers. Answers too dangerous to be haphazardly gained in the field."

"The ultimate choice is yours." her babulya drew Gwen closer to the table. She touched Gwen's hand and massaged her fingers. It was then, feeling the paper-thin skin on Klavdiya's hands, that Gwen perceived her grandmother's true age. "You walk a violent path. I do not doubt you need these answers."

"I know." Gwen returned her babulya's gesture with a squeeze. "The greatest danger would be to do nothing."

"Precisely!" Magister Wen looked pleased. "I am glad you understand. Let us proceed then by assessing our strategies from now on."

Wen tapped the table.

"In the last six weeks, Petra and I, with the aid of Magus Kumiko, have collated data on your abilities, studying how the Void talent expends, collects, and utilises vitality concurrently with mana. If you're wondering, Gwen, I have sent the data to Klavdiya for analysis; she is fully aware of the self-harm caused by your talent, which is why I have her support on the matter."

"As such, let me explain our findings. First—there are two aspects to Void Consumption, both phrases we coined for our Paper. One: the inundation of your body by the Necrotic energies of the Void. Also known as Passive Negative-Energy Drain. Two: the expenditure of vitality to empower the vampiric effects of the Void to Vitae cost. We have observed that each manifests as a distinct outcome independent of one another. Both are harmful to your health."

"Gwen, when you use Void Bolt, a spell which you describe as lacking the vampiric effect of life-drain, the weakness you feel is the negative energy flushed into your Mana Conduits. I believe you can validate this, yes?"

Gwen acknowledged that, _yes_ , her Void-based Evocations did indeed induce a negative energy drain.

"Conversely, when you empower Caliban to Consume, you have described the effect as 'taking a pound of my flesh'. Our collated data from your feeding sessions with Mai suggest that to activate Caliban's ability to take in the Essence of the creatures it feeds—there is a Vitae Cost."

"Essence? Ma'am?"

"Yes! Essence! The Elves called it one's Life Force. The Dwarves called it Dasein; both refer to the abstract concept of 'being' that is peculiar to sapient creatures, from the smallest Faye to the most ancient Dragon. We, as scholars of human Spellcraft, call it Essence. Existing theory on it is incomplete, though Abstraction Theorem ABT3003, a third-year course, offers some answers."

Gwen inclined her head.

"Therefore, to account for Passive NED and VC, you require BOTH a constant source of magical healing, which will repair your damaged conduits and negatively-drained body, as well as a source to replenish your lost vitality."

"That's going to be difficult," Gwen observed. "Especially in the field."

"No doubt, we need to ready contingencies for your conflict-filled path. According to Petra, you fell unconscious when you Consumed Nephres Zalaam?"

"I did," Gwen confessed. "The vitality from that woman was too much."

"No doubt," Magister Wen quipped. "A tier 6 Healer, even a rogue one, would have amassed a life force many magnitudes that of your average Mage. Though some of it appears to have been converted by your Familiar into Void-matter."

"It didn't do that before," Gwen pointed out. "When I was in the Dungeon, the critters Caliban ate directly empowered my Void spells as vitality."

"Perhaps a condition of the Consume ability, then?" Petra noted. "You did receive it in the Dungeon."

"Maybe," Gwen wavered.

"Putting that aside for now," Magister Wen implored, laying out the brutal facts. "Here are your options."

"The first solution is to stop using Void altogether. Or employ no more Void as could be offset by your Druidic Essence. It means you can focus on acquiring items and Wildland rarities that will bolster your vitality."

"Solution two. We work on increasing your Affinity. We know that Caliban can consume Magical Creatures of the Air and Positive Energy variety to increase your Lightning Affinity. Concurrently, it may also be able to consume Void creatures to increase your Void Affinity. We have no idea how this will affect your physiology or mental state, but suffice it to say it will greatly reduce VC. The added boon to this solution is that you can be satiated with Magical Creatures, which I believe you have conceded to Consuming."

"Yes, Ma'am," Gwen agreed.

"Now for our third option. Prisoners on death row or Demi-humans slated for disposal. Every month, the CCP executes up to twenty Mages for various crimes, from grand treason to repeat offenders of particular vices to battlefield deserters. Though rare, they may possess interesting Schools of Magic or very particular talents that can be useful to you."

"Magister…" Gwen began, understanding what Magister Wen was trying to leverage.

It was an old managerial trick. Give someone three options: one is terrible, another is difficult, and the last is beneficial for the majority but morally ambiguous.

"I feel that is going too far." Klavdiya shook her head, her tone growing severe. "We didn't experiment on prisoners even during the Sino War! Do you think we'll go as far as the Japanese? Have you forgotten the atrocities of Unit 731?! That path strays too far, Marie, even for you."

Magus Kumiko blenched.

Even Gwen had heard that the infamous Nana-san-Ichi Butai experiments had sullied Japan's relationship with their neighbours. Their attempts to create superior bloodlines through bio and necromancy using Demi-human and human prisoners shook the Spellcraft community to its core. The refusal to publicly accept the existence of the Unit furthermore alienated Japan from its Korean, Chinese and South-East Asian neighbours. Even its Singaporean trade partners had snubbed the island nation as a result.

"Your granddaughter needs to know how her power works, Klavdiya. I guarantee you; these are dead men walking. They may as well benefit humanity one last time. Where's the fault in that? Gwen must ride the lightning or be utterly obliterated by it; would you like to see that instead?" Magister Wen confronted Klavdiya's unwavering eyes, then turned toward the culprit responsible for their conflict. "Gwen. You make the call."

The taste on Gwen's tongue curdled as Magister Wen, Magus Kumiko, Petra and Klavdiya expectantly awaited her answer.

_She should make the call?_

Such an easy thing to say!

Gwen had indeed ruminated upon her dilemma through the night, allowing the fleeting visions of her projections and speculations to pass through her mind like hues of colour across a kaleidoscopic spectrum. Time and time again, she mulled over her visions and revisions, decisions and indecisions, which the next minute would reverse.

She couldn't go on like this.

Not with Elizabeth Sobel huffing and puffing after her.

Not with her enemies clawing at the door of her stick-hutch home.

It wasn't as though her hands were white and sweet.

She would be a fool to believe herself unsullied.

_Gunther's instruction during Blackheath._

_Her killing of Faceless at Rosebay._

_The pigtail girl in the Hengsha Dungeon._

Stolen novel; please report.

_The choice she made in D-109._

This world was tainting her little by little, tinting her in its colours. For how long could she remain undyed, believing herself above it all?

Didn't they say one had to break a few eggs to make an omelette?

One day, she would take up arms against the elements.

If so, why not prepare for it now?

Her eggs, her omelettes, her decision.

The others waited for Gwen to speak.

When Gwen met their eyes again, her eyes grew hard.

"I have given the matter much thought, Magister, and I realise that a decision must be made for all of us to move forward," Gwen spoke slowly and meticulously, as though she was ascending an increasingly steep set of steps. "Therefore, Babulya, Petra, Magister Wen and Magus Kumiko, please allow me a moment to explain."

She had to catch her breath to stifle the riotous rebellion in her chest.

"I did not ask for the power of the Void. I was at first naive and dismissive of what it brought and what it would do. I foolishly refused to acknowledge its presence, even as I abused it, used it, and revelled in the boons it brought. But, as a great sage once said: though we may not be interested in war, war is interested in us. Though we seek no company with conflict, conflict loves company."

"With Nephres Zalaam, I made a choice. I have mulled the decision in my mind over and over, and still, I could not think of a single reason why I would have left the woman alive. She was too dangerous, too damaging to those I love."

"Therefore, I did it. I took a life to benefit myself."

"With my choice, I embarked upon the path Grandmother had shown me when I first arrived in Shanghai. I now walk the Way of Asura, the Path of Violent Reckoning. With this step, I can no longer turn back. To regret is death. To return is to embrace failure. I would lose my freedom, my life, and most importantly, bring misery upon those I love."

Gwen wetted her parched lips.

"I am not a religious woman, but I wish to tell you this: 'though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.'"

The quivering in her voice faded.

"I will not fear because you, Babulya, are with me. Because Petra and Richard are with me. Because Uncle Jun promised he would help me. Because I have Gunther, Alesia and my friends here and in Sydney."

Her family's eyes brimmed with happiness and recognition.

“And you as well, Magister Wen and Magus Kumiko. You are my guide. Therefore, I give myself to you."

Magister Wen appeared lost for words. She raised a hand, touched her cheek to ensure that no liquid had unwittingly escaped, then opened her mouth to speak, only to recall that she was lost for words. Magus Kumiko also suppressed a shuddering sob, her youth and occupation making her far more sensitive to sentimentality.

Gwen repressed her own billowing emotions, then continued.

"Let's do it. Whatever happens in the future, whether we defeat the Void's taint or whether I must be put down like a rabid hound, I want to have no regrets because it was I who steered my sails into the sea of troubles."

Gwen bowed, forming a full ninety-degree arc, allowing her hair to fall past her shoulders.

"For my selfishness. Thank you. Everyone."

Klavdiya reached out and embraced her granddaughter, then kissed her endearingly on the forehead. Gwen hugged her babulya tightly, then welcomed Petra into her arms.

When they finally separated, Gwen embraced Magister Wen, flustering the awkward academic. When Magus Kumiko looked on enviously, Gwen hugged her as well, enveloping the small Japanese woman against her chest.

"I will help you as much as I can," Magister Wen's voice rubberbanded back to normality almost instantly.

"I- I will t-too!" Magus Kumiko appeared drunk from the drama.

"I'll keep you on the straight and narrow." Petra squeezed Gwen's fingers, assuring her of her devotion. "How can you go insane when we have to attend more of Tao's Godawful concerts?"

Klavdiya held her hand firmly.

Magister Wen coughed. The ambient beneficence proved too stifling for the academic. "Gwen. It's settled, then. Please wait for me to make the necessary arrangements. Both Towers will be informed, as well as Lord Shultz. I will consult with Dean Luo as well. Everything will be officially confidential. You will have nothing to fear."

"Yes, Ma'am." Gwen sensed such a weight lifted off her shoulders that she felt like she was walking on air. "Let us both move forward with great strides. I must reiterate that I do not wish for unnecessary experimentation beyond what we require to acquire the knowledge we seek."

"Of course, Gwen. It's all for Spellcraft. I wouldn't have it any other way. Do you have a _preference_?" Wen inclined her head solemnly.

"Preference, Ma'am?"

"Preference for your next meal," the Magister replied. "Man, woman, Demi-human, Divination, Abjuration, something new perhaps, Illusion?"

Gwen directly suppressed the rising bile in her throat as a new weight crushed her short-lived positivity. She dearly wished that Magister Wen could at least feign concern for what their future held.

"Marie! Really!" Gwen's babulya interjected.

Gwen raised a hand to stop her grandmother.

"At your digression, Ma'am. I would suggest a School I have yet to possess. Will these prisoners be fully vetted?"

"Absolutely." Wen nodded. "I will be judicious."

"When…"

"Next Saturday."

"I see. Very well."

The sudden turn in the atmosphere dispelled the last motes of sentimentality lingering in the air.

"In the meanwhile, let's proceed with our original plan. I wish to expel my excess vitality and ready myself for what is to come," Gwen implored her seniors. "Magister Wen, is that alright with you?"

"More than alright, let us Enchant when the iron is soft enough to be inscribed. I can't say I am not intrigued. Klavdiya, Mai, keep an eye on Gwen. Petra, lend me a hand."

"Yes, Ma'am."

The two healers retreated to one side.

"How shall we proceed?" Gwen enquired.

"Gwen, summon Caliban, please," Magister Wen commanded.

"Caliban!"

Her serpent slithered from the immaterial.

"Shaa-shaa?"

"Stay," Gwen commanded.

"Shaa!"

With her increased mastery of Conjuration, the tug on Caliban's animus exerted by her will was on a new level.

Flush with Void matter, Caliban's exterior was almost entirely jet, absorbing the light. An oily sheen reflected off the creature's smooth, faceless chitin as it coiled about Gwen's ankles.

Magus Kumiko moved a safe distance away to construct her Summoning Circle.

"First, let's not waste all that Void matter." Magister Wen materialised a dozen Spell Cubes.

"Your previous weekly threshold is 27 VMI's worth of Void-infused mana." Magister Wen pointed to the Cubes

"These are 25 VMI Cubes. Fill in as many of these as you are able. Let's deduce a baseline index for what you have absorbed from the Healer for us to use as a Control for the future."

Gwen knelt by the Cubes and placed her hand on the runic surface.

Wen turned to her student.

"Petra, octagramic Warding, tier 3. Enhanced stability and extended duration. Start the sealing process at nine-tenth capacity."

"Yes, Master." Petra moved a little distance away and began to inscribe the floor with crystalline shards, creating a magical circle warded with Glyphs of protection and stability. It was an ability that only those who specialised in Enchantment could utilise. Even if Gwen were to acquire Affinity in the Enchantment school, she could not replicate the effect without years of schooling and experience.

Standing apart and again watched by three pairs of eyes ablaze with diagnostic magic, Gwen felt as though she'd been stripped bare and naked. Magister Wen made an especially intimidating figure with her wiry-thin frame and glowing glasses, the very caricature of a scientist likely to affect a catchcry such as, _It's alive!_

Petra took a few minutes to finish up while Gwen shook the nerves from her body. Upon completing the circular ward, she activated the circle with a jolt of mana, her invocation setting the glyphs alight.

Magister Wen inspected her student's work and found it satisfactory.

"Gwen, we will proceed in three stages. First, we will drain your excess vitality via Void mana. During this stage, keep a close eye on your health, and report any anomalies as you experience them."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good. Next, assuming you can continue, you will expend your Druidic Essence to depletion. Again, I must ask that you report any anomalies, especially of your satiation."

Gwen nodded.

"Finally, at your discretion and judgement, you may experiment with what remains of your vitality. Know that Klavdiya and Magus Kumiko will be on hand to assist."

"Yes, Ma'am."

The magic circle itself was now humming. As Gwen entered the ward, she could sense the circulating energies of the magical construct providing a protective barrier that soothed the flow of mana within her body, significantly offsetting her anxiety.

When the cadence of her breath plateaued, she turned her mind inward, commanding her Evocation Sigil to channel a torrent of raw Void matter through her conduits into the Spell Cube. Instantly, as though pervaded by inky water, the cube turned tenebrous. Within her body, she felt the movement of void-tainted mana like slivers of ice through her veins, prickling and tickling her mana channels. Through it all, her excess vitality both fed and protected her against the flood of negative energy manifesting through her physical form.

"Sealing," Petra intoned professionally. "Switching to the next cube."

"Gwen, don't be afraid to let us know your limits," Klavdiya advised.

"I will, babulya."

Gwen began on the second cube.

A third followed.

Then a fourth.

And a fifth.

Midway through the sixth, Gwen stopped.

The excess vitality filling her physical form ceased. Triggered by the negative drain, her Druidic Essence activated, filling her mana channels with emerald energy.

"I am tapped out." Gwen paused. "Give me a moment."

She closed her eyes and inspected her Astral Body, envisioning its projected form, observing the motes of lightning and Void interplaying within a sculptural silhouette.

Already, she was feeling the buzz of abstract hunger hovering at the edge of her consciousness.

"I will now proceed with my Druidic Essence."

"Switching to a fresh Cube," Petra announced.

Her babulya readied a Restoration and a healing jolt of positive energy.

Meanwhile, Gwen embraced the familiar sensation of raw-void matter ravaging her innards as her Druidic Essence diminished.

"I am out of Essence." Gwen's complexion turned ashen as her Druidic Essence waned. She had filled a single cube.

"Gwen!" Kumiko inquired worriedly.

"Are you alright?" Her babulya held off on the Restoration.

"Shaa-Shaa!" Caliban cooed worriedly.

"I am okay," Gwen assured them. "Cali. I am fine."

Caliban laid its head to rest at her feet.

With her spectacles aglow with diagnostic enchantments, Wen inspected the interaction between Familiar and the Conjurer.

"Curious, the stored Void-mana within Caliban is independent of your conduits. Can you induce it into feeding you some of that energy?"

"Caliban…" Gwen demanded from Caliban its cargo.

"Shaa-Shaa!" Caliban rolled back and forth on the floor adorably, coiling and uncoiling as though it was trying to squeeze something from within itself.

"It doesn't know how," Gwen replied.

"Meaning it could, once Caliban attains a higher order of intelligence," Magister Wen noted. "Maybe coax it some more? Try to envision it."

Gwen exerted more pressure on Caliban.

"Come on, Cali! Out with it!" she urged her Familiar.

Caliban split its carapace, revealing its purple-skinned head with its lamprey's mouth.

"Shaa— _hurrrgh—hurragh!_ "

"Something's coming!" Gwen noted. Perhaps a projectile attack? If Caliban could vomit forth a spray of consumptive Void matter, it would add a whole new dimension to its attacks.

_Clang!_

A dagger fell onto the floor.

Caliban's audience froze.

_"Hurrrrggn!"_

A torrent of familiar-looking implements emerged from Caliban's gullet.

Gwen stared.

"HUURRRRGH! Shaa—SHAA!"

_Splat._

Caliban regurgitated a pile of wet, slime-covered hair.

Gwen recognised the fist-sized hairball immediately and felt her heart sink.

_Tink—_

Something else landed on the Transmutation-enhanced pavement.

Her observers shifted their gaze toward the pile on the floor.

"Gwen!" Petra called out. "Don't touch that!"

"Mage Hand!" Magister Wen retrieved the object from the floor.

A ring.

"Careful now, it's Warded," Wen warned. "Very potent as well."

It took Gwen a moment to realise what she was seeing.

A Storage Ring.

Nephres Zaalam's Large Storage Ring.