"I'm sorry, Mr. Blaze. But Ms. Samson is busy with official meetings," Veronica said. "Her schedule is fully booked for the next two weeks."

It was a shock to hear that. Robert was sure they made plans to hit all the passages in the Gurglock realm, two and a half per day until they were all ready to register and claim with the Central Interspace Agency. It was paramount that they also located any passages between the Gurglock Oceans and known realms so they could block interlopers from coming in through there.

Veronica shot him an apologetic look.

"It's not your fault."

"I appreciate it."

"How's your training?"

"I can't complain. Working for Ms. Samson is a dream job. I'm entering medical school to learn more about the human body and improve my healing spells' efficiency."

"And how are you with the Time affinity?"

"I already evolved Prescience. My tempering is halfway but I am making good, steady progress."

"I see."

"As an apology, I compiled a list of rare books that may be of interest to you. I couldn't find any copies with my regular suppliers but I made them aware we are buying any that appears on the market."

She handed him a small notepad.

"Thanks a lot, Veronica."

"And we got word from Aethericheart Artificers. Ms. Yolania said your commission is ready. She sounded really excited."

"I think I'll pay her a visit. Tell Amanda I'm okay and I have great news to show her."

"Absolutely."

Robert walked to the gate but instead of opening it, he just used his primary talent. After spending more time with his imprint – he was almost finished – he re-emerged in a bathroom stall at the Twenty-third District Mall.

*

*

Yolania was waiting for him at the door. "Mr. Blaze! Welcome, welcome! This way!"

He followed her.

"I watched all of your fights!" She said. "And I have to say I'm a big fan. You displayed such grace and class!"

"Thank you, master Artificer."

"You are most welcome. It's an honor to have someone like you as a customer!"

They said nothing else until they were out of earshot. Yolania led him to her private workshop. A metal cube with exactly one meter on each side was floating in the middle of an open room.

"Is this it?"

"Yes, it is. We included everything you wanted and much more. It ended up bigger than your design suggested but I don't think you'll mind the extra space."

"How much bigger are we talking about?"

Yolania giggled. "See this room?"

"Yes."

"Let's start the deploy sequence. I tried to make it as fast and efficient as possible. In fact, I have a second model that is slower but has a more eye-catching sequence. But I think you won't be interested in that."

"No, not really. Fast and efficient are the most desirable qualities."

"So, here it goes." She pressed a button on what looked like a small fob. "This is the main control. I made it so it would fit the hands of a doll thirty centimeters tall though it is on the big side."

Robert didn't answer. He watched as the floating platform underneath the cube split into several pieces, sixteen if his spatial senses were correct. Then the walls started to slide over one another as the cube extended and grew. Gears could be seen rotating and pushing thousands of metal pieces apart, revealing windows, and doors, unfolding balconies, and moving the furniture inside to its final place.

And the contraption kept expanding. One side reached two meters wide and then the other kept going until it was three meters deep. Then the walls started to move up, growing the box until it was one meter and sixty centimeters tall.

"The space expansion inside is as we talked. Two by two times on the horizontal plane, and half as much on the vertical. The insides are six by four meters and the inside height is twenty-four decimeters. The height was split into three floors and a rooftop patio. For the dolls that will live inside, they will have the equivalent of a forty-eight thousand square feet mansion, or forty-five hundred square feet. That's the indoor space, not counting the balconies and the patio."

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

She walked with him around the mansion and kept explaining each room. "With this much room to work with, we made every room in the house as spacious as they can be. We believe that younger girls can even squeeze themselves inside, as each floor is sixty-five centimeters tall. To accommodate that, we made all the doors big enough for them to pass through. Your house was decorated with a British lord's manor in mind, with style, charm, and austerity. All the furniture is functional, down to the drawers with secret chambers in the master study. The fabrics are all made out of the best eight hundred threads cotton or silk, whenever applicable."

Robert was impressed. No, impressed fell short of explaining what he was feeling. The master Artificer outdid herself. To his fairy form, this was a mansion bigger than Amanda's, given the proportions.

"We also added a swimming pool and a leisure area on the rooftop, which we cannot see from down here. There's room for some bonsai trees and even a garden, plants not included."

"It's perfect."

"We appreciate your enthusiasm, sir," Yolania continued. "There's a water reservoir and a full water purification and recycling system. The whole house also has an environmental and air filtration shield that's graded to endure minor impacts. The envious boys at the playground won't damage the house or harm the girls inside."

"Can you make one of these that works as a bedroom for an adult human?" Two hundred and fifty square feet or twenty-four square meters was nothing to scoff at.

"Yes, we can. It would be a trivial task. Without the inner walls, we could make the room even bigger. I believe a twelve square meters expansion could be possible."

"Or perhaps two units that join together to make a small studio apartment."

"That would require a dedicated two cubic meters spatial ring. There are inflatable habitats that are bigger and occupy less room."

"But they don't have the same charm. Could you mix both? The convenience of the inflatable habitat with your fantastic contraptions? We need the floating platform and the shields. "

"I can. It will take some time."

"More or less than two weeks?"

"Less. I'll try to squeeze a small studio apartment in a cubic meter self-deployable and retractable device. I can't tell you the costs right now."

"It's not a problem. I have two more things."

"Yes?"

The first one was musical instruments the minotaurs could use. Especially the wind and brass instruments, needed a special adaptation because the Minotaurs' mouths couldn't blow like human lips did. That was trivial enough for Yolania. Then he moved on to his second issue.

"Can we go over your catalog for the most profitable commissions? I found myself with a lot of free time and wanted to tackle some of these as a challenge. You know, to avoid stagnating."

Yolania spent the next fifteen minutes showing him the ones she thought would be a good challenge for him given his tournament performance. Robert ended up with twenty challenging quests.

*

*

After claiming his portable mansion, he went to visit the haberdasher. He hesitated before entering but did it anyway. The bell rang when he entered. Robert waited for Zaifyr to appear.

"Bless my soul! The Imperial Academy Champion has graced my shop. What can this old man do for you, Mr. Blaze?"

"You can call me Robert, Master Zaifyr."

"Is something wrong with your symbiote suit?"

"No, it's healthy as a fiddle. No issues at all. If anything, I'm afraid it will grow fat from eating too much leftover essence."

Robert laughed and Zaifyr followed. The old man wiped a tear. "There's no chance of that happening. The symbiote has no fat tissue."

"I know," Robert grinned, then put on a somber expression. "Today's visit is more personal."

"Sure. How may I help you?"

"Back when I first visited you, you mentioned this wasn't my first rodeo in this world after the rift cataclysm."

Zaifyr schooled his expression and became unreadable. "I did, yes. But pay it no mind. It's just the ramblings of an old man. I hope you weren't offended by this slip of the tongue. I apologize if that's the case."

"No. Nothing of the sort," Robert looked deeply into the man's eyes. "I believe in you." Zaifyr just nodded. "Did you meet Gwen when she was alive?"

Zaifyr stopped breathing for a moment. The old man dropped his head. "I did."

"Were you friends? Acquaintances? Family, perhaps?"

"Friends. Yes. Though we grew apart once she started that cult and began to talk some nonsense."

"About reincarnating?" Robert asked in a faint whisper.

"Yes. She believed she'd screwed up her shot at greatness. Then she became obsessed with it. I only heard that she died when a common friend visited me ten years later."

That was the second time he heard a tale about a four-star Arch, considered by many like unreachable deities, giving up their lives for the chance of obtaining more power. Who would be the next one?

"I understand. She left something for me. A legacy or an inheritance as you might call it. It seems that Gwen prepared a lot of things for me."

"You shouldn't burden yourself with her life. You are you, Gwen is Gwen. Even if you reach six, or seven stars, it won't change the fact that she is dead. Gone. Did she attempt to transfer her memories to you, or some other way to live through you?"

"No."

Zaifyr seemed pained. The man appeared to have aged ten, or twenty years with this conversation alone.

"Good. You should forget about Gwen. Do not contact her cult. If she left something that can be of use to you, then by all means take it. It seems you have already done that."

"I did. It was of great use to me."

Zaifyr grabbed one of Robert's hands.

"Excellent. Leave Gwen as a footnote in your personal biography. She should not influence you. This is paramount. Do not seek her cult. And if you find more of these time capsules she left behind, be careful about opening them. I wouldn't put behind someone so obdurate to attempt to revive and live vicariously through you."

"I will keep your advice in the highest regard, master Zaifyr."

The old man pulled Robert closer. Staring at the younger man closer, he said. "Live your life. Be happy. Seek power but not for the sake of power. Life for yourself and not for the sake of someone else. I know you are a decent man, but try not to kill your fellow humans for no reason whatsoever. Live, Robert Blaze. Enjoy each moment as if it were your last. Love the people you want to love. Treat them well. Don't let the world devour your integrity."

"I won't," Robert closed his eyes and thought deeply about the advice. He crystallized his memories in yet another VHS tape. "Thank you for being candid with me."

"You are welcome. Feel free to drop by to see this old man whenever you feel like it," Zaifyr smiles, then coughs. "Business hours only!"

They laughed like old friends. "Now, let's talk business. I need you to make a symbiote for some friend. Some non-human friends. But this symbiote needs to change between some preset settings and adapt to their... physiology."

"Sure. Where are they?"

"I'll bring them. Is it okay to use my talent here? I won't destroy anything."

"Use one of the fitting rooms in the back."

Robert brought Poochline, Freddy, Cotton, and Coal, but not the Minotaurs. Zaifyr could make suits for the canines but not the puffblooms. Robert paid one and a half million dollars in advance and took everyone to his apartment at the arcology. The Minotaurs went to a big room on floor seven, where they could make as much music as they wanted. If you could call the cacophony these three monsters did when practicing music.