Pax tore his gaze from the altar in the center of the chamber to look at the others. His stomach twisted when he saw everyone who hadn’t taken a guard position looking at him. Waiting.

A sudden influx of doubt assailed him. He’d lucked out with the altar at the academy back when he’d first arrived at the academy. It had given him access to a hidden menu with no prompting or knowledge on his part.

But this wasn’t an academy altar that processed multiple mage students regularly. This was the control center of what had been the headquarters in charge of every light mage in the ancient empire. If he thought about it, it was unlikely that many students ever bonded with it.

Visiting students from the various academies would likely have kept their bound locations at their own schools. Only students permanently assigned here would need to interact with the altar. His best guess was that would have been only very advanced students, if any at all.

“Anything we can do to help?” Rin’s quiet voice asked from behind him.

“No.” He gave her a weak grin and shook his head. “I’m just realizing this thing might be a bit more complicated than I’ve been thinking. I’ve only ever bonded to the academy altar and then the Quarrybrook one. Ancient light mages used this one all the time. It has to be different, right?”

“Sure, but your menu says you’re officially a light mage, right?” Titus gave him an encouraging look. “And altars, by their nature, are still tools for people to control and use.” He nudged Pax’s shoulder, making him take a step forward. “So, get busy and control this one.”

Pax gave his brother a grateful look and stepped forward. He forced himself not to slow as he took the two steps up to the dais the altar stood on. Once he stood next to it, he took some time to examine it.

The dark stone surface of the altar was even more imposing up close. The polished stone was so slick that Pax could see a faint reflection of his face in it, despite the slight distortion caused by uneven wear on the surface. Shallow depressions along the top were not random, but seemed to follow a deliberate pattern. The central one looked like the perfect place for a hand. But there were two more he wasn’t sure about.

Pax’s eyes traveled over the metal caps on each of the corners. Pax leaned in close and could make out a faded symbol etched into each of them.

In sudden recognition, he realized they were like the symbols for each of the elements in the puzzle pages that he’d had to solve to advance through the sections of his student light manual.

He smiled. Right here was proof that light mages worked with all eight primary and secondary elements. Feeling more confident now, he cast one last glance back at his friends and then carefully placed his hand on the center of the altar. He did his best to align his palm and fingers with the depressions made by the many ancients who must have done this before him.

And nothing happened.

He blinked and pushed his hand down harder. Still nothing. Behind him, he heard restless movement and someone cleared their throat.

“Umm, maybe it needs power?” Tyrodon’s quiet words were easy to hear in the silence that filled the chamber.

Someone stifled a snicker.

“Of course it needs power,” Pax muttered as he shook his head and let out an embarrassed huff.

“Tyrodon, get over here and help me figure this out.” Pax kept his hand on the altar, just in case, and waved his friend forward with the other.

The others moved out of the way, letting Tyrodon forward, who stepped up on the side opposite Pax. A moment later, he pulled out a workbench, set it up next to him and plopped a heavy toolbox on it.

Pax watched in bemusement as Tyrodon flipped open the lid and began removing various devices and cords while Scorch, his cinder chimera, pranced in happy circles around it all.

After connecting a few things, Tyrodon finally looked up with a tentative smile, holding a large device in both hands. “I know you can probably do most of this with your Mana Sight, but this will help pin down any power still going to the altar and what lines leading to it are active.”

“Go ahead.” Pax gave him an encouraging nod.

Tyrodon grinned with an infectious excitement and leaped into action. He moved his device in regimented patterns up and down along the altar while adjusting various parts as he muttered to himself. Scorch had moved to wrap himself around one of Tyrodon’s forearms, suddenly very focused on what his person was doing.

A few minutes later, Tyrodon straightened and let out a sigh.

“Well?” Pax asked when Tyrodon continued to look thoughtful without speaking.

“Oh. Sorry. I was right. The altar has no power at all, which would explain why the Solanis couldn’t connect with it. I was hoping it still had its own power, but had just become disconnected from the network.”

“So, I can’t connect to it?” Pax couldn’t help the disbelief in his voice. They’d fought through an entire nest of powerful beasts to get here. Now, something as simple as lack of power was going to thwart them? “Wait. Can’t I just push some light mana into it? How much does it need? I’ve got the extra in my Spectral Mirror, too. For that matter, can’t all of you contribute some mana, too?” He glanced at his mage friends and Crissim.

Tyrodon was nodding along, which was encouraging, until he spoke. “So, the altar has a storage crystal embedded inside that seems to be a backup storage for emergencies in case it gets disconnected from the power network. If we can fill that up, it might make the altar usable.”

The mood in the chamber perked up at that news.

“—but the altar would still be disconnected from the rest of the base’s system, which means it wouldn’t be able to interact with or control the rest of the base. That kind of defeats our purpose for coming here.” He offered Pax a shrug.

“It would still be a good first step to get it working.” Pax pursed his lips as he tamped down his disappointment. “And now that we’ve cleared the path here, maybe you and the other crafters working on the power systems can prioritize getting the altar hooked up to everything else.”

“Without letting them know that doing so will give you complete control of the base.” Titus stepped up, joining the conversation. “You know that as soon as news of the altar gets out, the rebel leadership will race here to take control of it. If they find you’ve already done that, they may want to keep it from connecting to the rest of the systems.”

“How much power would it take to fix the connections from here down to the central power station in the basement?” Rin had moved up to stand on Pax’s left. “Between all of us, maybe we could manage it without letting anyone else know?”

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Tyrodon looked back at the altar, brows frowning in thought. “There’s a main power line diving straight down from the storage crystal inside there. With how important the altar is, it’s obvious that should go directly to the power room. If we can activate a decent amount of it from here, then maybe I can divert some of the power down below up to meet it.”

“With no one the wiser?” Titus asked.

“Well, I’ve been working pretty well with the crafters in the power room to send power to the other training rooms, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to divert some for this.” Tyrodon flushed and looked away for a moment. “I’m not the best at lying, but they seem to trust me and probably won’t ask much about what I’m doing. Besides, this base won’t be able to reach its full potential until the altar is back to full function, regardless of who is in charge of it.” He paused and met Pax’s eyes. “And I trust you more than anyone else in this place.”

As the others around them murmured their agreement, Pax felt his own face flush with a mix of pride and embarrassment at their support. “Thank you, Tyrodon.” He glanced up at the others standing around them. “And thank you all for supporting me, too. Now let’s get this thing working, alright?”

Agreement and excitement filled the faces of those around Pax as he focused back on his hand while equipping his shield in his left hand at the same time. “I should have known this process would need my light mana. I’ll start and see how far I make it with my mana and what I have stored in the shield. Then we’ll go from there. Sound good?” He looked up at Tyrodon for approval.

“Yes.” He nodded, his excitement back now that they were ready to experiment. “Focus on sending your mana straight down. The storage crystal is embedded in the center of the base. If you can fill it up, it should restore the altar functions, even if it doesn’t connect to the rest of the base.”

Pax nodded and focused his attention on his core, drawing up a surge of mana and sending it to the palm of his right hand. Around him, an anticipatory silence filled the chamber. The boost of a mana regeneration buff flushed him with even more energy. Dahni and Neptid were amazing.

Under his hand, Pax sensed a flicker of response as the stone beneath warmed. His breathing quickened, and his pulse picked up. It was time.

With the slow and controlled movement he’d learned from hours of Taming and using his mana skills, Pax pushed his mana into the altar. The response was immediate. The surface of the altar lit up with a comforting glow and power shot out to each of the eight embedded metal tags representing each element. Faded symbols bloomed with light, making them easy to see.

Remembering Tyrodon’s instructions, Pax pushed more energy into the altar, searching for the connection that led to the power crystal in the base. It only took a moment to find the obvious path that deliberately channeled mana. Without warning, it latched onto his mana and sucked it straight down like a thirsty maw that no one had fed in centuries. Which might actually be accurate.

Pax drew on the same skills that kept wild beasts from draining his mana dry. But unlike the wild hunger of a beast, this pathway seemed specifically designed to draw energy from a light mage. It made the force feel much stronger, forcing him to pull on his twice-evolved Mana Projection skill to keep control.

Pax felt nerves flare inside him as he tightened his control and slowed the steady stream of his mana pouring down the channel. A few moments later, he felt it enter a vast space. His mana splashed to the bottom like the first drops at the bottom of an immense lake that had been dry for centuries.

Sweat sprang up on Pax’s forehead as he continued feeding it. He knew if he stopped now, he could lose everything he’d put into it. The altar still hadn’t initiated any connection with him. He could only hope he had enough mana to activate something soon.

It didn’t take long for Pax to run most of his reserves dry. He stopped just shy of what would give him the mana-drained status, switching over to what he’d stored in his shield. He could see a thin layer of energy now, sloshing around at the bottom of the altar’s storage crystal. Just how much power could the thing hold?

After another few minutes, Pax tapped out the mana stored in his shield and shifted back to the personal mana that he’d regenerated with the help of Dahni. His pulse began to hammer as he slowed the rate down further, hoping that by stringing out the last of his reserves, something would trigger the altar’s awakening.

Vaguely, he heard Tyrodon saying something, but he couldn’t make it out. He had to maintain his focus to control the altar’s greedy tugging. A hand fell on his shoulder, and he felt a surge of Rin’s familiar water mana moving to their connection, gathering just at the surface of her skin, waiting for him to take it.

Desperation filling him, Pax latched onto the offered mana, quickly threading it into what he was sending into the altar. To his surprise, he felt a thread of it detour toward the cap on the corner that had the symbol for water embossed into it.

As energy flared there, Pax noticed a surge in the energy filling the reservoir. Of course. Like everything else having to do with light mana, he needed to involve all the other elements. He’d been keeping all his other elements encased in the tight control of his light mana so the altar couldn’t steal control from him. But it had also prevented the different elements from diverting to where they needed to go. And now, he didn’t think he had enough of the other types to spare.

He diverted the barest amount of attention to send a quick message. Rin. I need more air, earth and flame mana, too. Hurry.

In moments, he felt more hands on him, offering the other three elements. Despite the mental strain, Pax drew on every scrap of the energy they offered. The air from Crissim was the hardest to separate, making pain stab through his head as he forced it to comply.

Just as he pushed his mana skills to their breaking point, he felt something snap into place. He didn’t suddenly have any more mana, but the strain he’d been under to control everything eased considerably. Instinctively, he knew he’d pushed his Mana Projection skill to the next level.

***

Skill Boost: +14 to Universal Mana Projection Level 3 (Epic-evolved-2) - 308/300

Congratulations! Universal Mana Projection is now Level 4

You’ve earned 9 Leveling Points and 0 Evolution Points

Mage Leveling Points: 40/45

Class Evolution Points Unused: 13

***

With no time to think about the new skill level or how close he was to hitting level 4 as a mage, Pax forced his attention to follow the four elements filling the larger corner caps on the altar. The results were exactly what he’d hoped for.

As soon as the four primary symbols lit up, the air around the altar charged with energy, a subtle hum that Pax could almost hear. His excitement grew as he felt a vibration under his palm while a small part of his mind sagged in relief that he hadn’t had to summon his secondary mana types to get the job done.

Something awakened. Faint lines of light spread from the corners of the altar, illuminating ancient carvings that weren’t visible before and making the entire altar glow softly.

Pax did his best to maintain his connection, reining in the mana he fed to the altar so he didn’t drain his friends and hit empty himself. He could feel the ancient power of the altar, a vast and unknown knowledge he desperately needed.

Now that it was close to activating, he could sense its complexity and power compared to the two altars he’d interacted with in the past. A flush of intimidation flickered inside him at the prospect of messing with something this ancient and strong. Pax pushed the flash of fear aside and concentrated on the task at hand.

When the message popped into his mind, he immediately cut the mana he’d been feeding the altar. Excitement filled him, making it easier to ignore the raging headache.

***

You have connected to the Light Mage Guild Altar.

As a student light mage, please have your mentor join you at the altar to initiate your official binding.

Once bound, guild officials will monitor your activities to ensure that you are contributing to society as an honorable member of the Light Mage Guild. They may also access your location in order to keep you safe should they receive verified reports of danger to you.

Should you die, your life energy will return to this altar to strengthen the Light Guild Headquarters’ structure and defenses to protect your fellow light mages and those supporting them.

Waiting . . .

***

He opened his eyes and met the expectant gazes of his companions. Voice full of frustration and disappointment, he explained. “I activated the altar. Well, somewhat—” He paused, his mind scrambling for a solution.

“Somewhat?” Amil’s impatience jolted Pax back to the present.

He shrugged. “Well, it says I need a light mage instructor or mentor to get past the first part of the menu.”

Amil groaned and disappointed expressions spread through the observers. Except for Tyrodon. A smug smile spread across face, catching Pax’s attention.

He reached into his toolbox, pulled out a familiar crystal and placed it gently on his workbench. He looked back up at Pax with a triumphant expression. “Then I guess it’s a good thing Magesecond Fenix insisted on coming along today.”