For months, Serah and the others neglected work, and taking on new jobs. Instead, they trained. The goddess of war taught them what they needed to know about the outside world. She taught them the intricacies of all the connections; how one thing lead to another, how a person was connected to someone who had what you needed, and how the various magic in the multiverse flowed through it all. From one person to another, magic continued to flow, it welled up in people, filling them as if they were a container, as if they were a lake; sometimes the magic flowed outwards as a spell, sometimes it flowed outwards as a gift, contained in an amulet. And sometimes people died, and the magic is left to rot, festering in the corpse until it was recycled anew. But ultimately, it all flowed, sometimes multiplying out of nothing, and sometimes reduced to nothing… Until a spark was ignited, and life continued anew.

“This is what you must keep in mind out there. Anything can happen, and everything does happen; as for whether you can see it, that’s up to you. Somethings we prefer to not see, so don’t go around opening world gates or decrypting things you shouldn’t. The multiverse is a very scary place. And if you begin carving out paths to places you shouldn’t even look, the multiverse is going to start to feel a whole lot like hell. And you don’t want to go to hell. The Shadow Order’s training should always be put to use. Keep your senses open always; the magic around you, lingering in every inch of space, it knows things, a bunch of things, and if you’re good, it will help you. As for what’s good or bad, that’s up to you and the magic to figure out.” Aria says with a sigh. “As for danger… Sometimes you can see it from a mile away, and sometimes you wouldn’t recognize it if it was in front of your face. And lastly… Your motivation spells. Those spells aren’t just for gathering energy for moving through world gates. They’re much more than that. Motivation spells are exactly as what they describe, it’s motivation; they’re very useful to accomplish a variety of things, such as locating magical energy veins, finding secret artifacts and treasure, and even finding love. Essentially, if there’s a reason to want something, that spell will help you find it.” Aria says with a gentle pat to Serah’s shoulder. She looks to the others and smiles. “Got that?” She asks.

The three girls salute. “Yes, boss!” They say together.

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“What’s our next job?” Serah asks as she cuts into her sausages.

“I picked one out. It will be perfect. We have to scout a new world, and we have to find the various magical veins on the planet. It’s a newly built world, just popped up one day. The initial report says that even though its still young, the various karma roots on the planet have already taken hold. The Shadow Order thinks that a great kingdom will be built there in the future; and great kingdoms produce great minds, and great minds are the Shadow Order’s most valuable resources. So we have to scout out the magic veins so they can plan the cities, where they’ll be built, how they’ll be connected. Since we already have the motivation spell, it should be a piece of cake.” Samantha says enthusiastically.

“Hmmm.” Serah hums as she considers. “Are the Shadow Order the only people who know about it?” Serah asks.

Samantha smiles. “An elder from the Shadow Order initially discovered the world, and only one team has been sent to survey the planet. We’ll be the second team. As far as I know, no other organizations know about it.” She says.

“Hmm.” Serah says. “Second team… How many of us are going?” She asks.

“And will there be any good looking men around?” Nickie asks. “I feel like I’ve been surrounded by women for so long. It’s all tits and hot ass. No schlongs or balls in sight! It’s like I live with a bunch of amazons!” Nickie says with some frustration.

Serah lets out a laugh. “Hey, we’ll find you a nice man, Nickie. Just be patient.” She says with a caress to the arm.

Samantha takes a big gulp of coffee and lets out a breath. “There will be 50 of us. We’ll be rewarded based on contribution; the more magic veins we find, the more contribution points we get.” She says.

“Hmm.” Serah says. “And are you sure we’re the only ones who know about it? Any chance of a confrontation?” She asks.

“Well, there’s always a chance. And I’ve done a bit of reading previously. Apparently when new worlds show up like this, it attracts various shadow creatures, and sometimes demons. Those things are always looking for places to inhabit. And a ripe new world is perfect for them. So yeah, I guess there could be a few fights.” Samantha explains.

“Hmmmm. Very big hmm.” Serah says.

Nickie raises an eyebrow. “Are we ready for that sort of thing? I mean we’re just newbies, right? Is a shadow creature something we can face?” She asks.

Samantha nods. “Yes, that is a concern. But. In the end, we’ll still have to be approved for the job. If they say we can do it, I’m sure we’ll be able to handle it.” She says.

“Maybe.” Serah says.