Amelia finished up plucking the potatoes and wiped off her dirt-covered gloves.

So many winter vegetables, the very last batch of them since spring had finally crept into view. With everything the hostel had now, they were going to hold a late winter harvest party, cooking some nice potato-themed meals and, of course, drinking a whole lot of beer. Usually, the parties came naturally when everyone was home, but sometimes they were scheduled far in advance as well. Amelia truly could not tell the difference.

Now that she was done, though, it was time for another peaceful outdoor activity—training her body and mind.

She had lost focus these last few days. Gone off-track in keeping herself steady and dedicated to revenge. Ed’s fault, Korath’s fault, her fault. The anxiety of waiting for the big moment to strike had made her greatly uneasy, but the best way to regain her calm self was to go through her routines. Prepare for the dungeon dive with Mino and Phelia tomorrow.

Amelia bobbed and weaved around an invisible target. Dodged attacks, parried blows. She made sure her punches went straight, made sure her body kept centered.

She went through every punch, every kick, every standard-practice attack she had in her arsenal. If she went into fights swinging her arms wildly, she would surely die. If her punches were even a percent off from their intended targets, she would surely die. If she failed to block a single well-placed blow, she would surely die. Practice was not just paramount, but the only thing keeping her alive.

Next, she activated Boost Module and went through the routine all over again. Let herself feel the change in speed, the heightened senses, the overcorrections and underestimations she might make if unfocused. The upgrades she had received had put her off-balance at first. She moved so quickly that it almost surprised her. But very soon that went away. All uncertainties eliminated. Just the art of fighting and the elegance of an easy kill.

Her breaths were steady. Her body warm, not hot. Relaxed, poised, ready.

Now it was time to practice her Combat Module skills.

[Throwing Hands] launched perfectly, annihilated the imaginary targets in front of her.

Her [Harmonic Ring] charged up well, and blasted into a respectable ten-foot radius.

[Mana Burst] was too dangerous to practice, even in an open field, but she knew that one never failed her.

[Slice] worked well, but its side effect was in changing her body composition. It put the right side of her body at a different weight than she was used to. Her arm, now a blade, swung more lightly, slashed with great speed, while her movement slowed more generally. It was not good for long-term use, not yet. She needed to practice more.

And then, Amelia tested out her newest skill—[Rock Grenade]. Ed had added the directives to her Combat Module, but she had hardly used it until now.

So, how did it go...

She plucked a rock from her shoulder, struggling against her soul gem’s natural pull to put it back in place. She had to hold it very firmly, or it would slip out of her grip and simply fly back to its original spot.

With the skill active, a hue of purple mana surrounded the rock automatically, and then sparkled a little when it was ready.

Amelia pulled back her arm, sought out a nonexistent target far from any tree or bush, and launched the rock to that open spot.

It landed perfectly. Then, a few seconds later—

Kaboom. An explosion that sent withered grass flying and small animals fleeing.

The sound was a lot less than Amelia expected for a bomb. It was more like fireworks. A nice accidental benefit, she assumed; it meant she could use it in public once or twice without necessarily causing mass panic. Only in dire circumstances, of course.

Finally, Amelia came to her final training point—the brand-new Warp Module.

Today would be her very first time using it.

Activating Warp Module.

Initial activation setup commencing.

...

...

You know, Amelia, I love your new jacket. :)

Didn’t Hummer buy it for you?

You should wear the dress Mino quilted. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Even though you hardly ever wear dresses.

“Thanks,” Amelia said. When Ed said her HUD would become “more sociable,” even in her wildest imagination she did not expect, well, this. It might have been a welcome companion when she was alone in the wilderness for over a year, but now she was very unsure if she would tolerate or come to loathe her own system with its newly... enhanced personality.

At least it no longer reminded her so strongly of her girlfriend. Ed would never in her life recommend wearing a dress. She herself dressed exclusively in suits in public, and in private she was more the “take my lab coat home and use it as pajamas” type.

Amelia did think she should try on that dress sometime, though. Just to see.

Okay. Warp Module’s now active.

Limiter enabled.

Have fun, and be safe. ;)

She took in a deep breath. If she could master teleportation, even a limited version of it, that would be an absolute step forward in her progression to power. Today would be the start of a grand advancement in the life of Amelia Bluewood. It would help in combat and general utility both.

So...

How to actually use it?

She looked at her hands, over her body for any signs. She focused her mind, seeing what she might be able to summon. But nothing happened.

Huh?

How exactly was she supposed to teleport again? Ed had hyped the module up as a life-changing new feature, but had declined to inform her of exactly how it worked, or even to install some kind of tutorial to help her along the way. Perhaps to a mage it might have felt like a natural step forward, but Amelia had never trained in any of the magical arts. She simply did not know what she was supposed to summon in her soul to do anything.

“You’re no help here either, are you?” she asked her HUD.

I’ve been talking with the Warp Module.

Well, not “talking,” but you know what I mean.

It’s a pretty nice golem.

But it doesn’t know what it’s supposed to do either.

Maybe try concentrating harder?

“Dammit, Ed,” she growled.

That woman was in such a rush to push her out the door and see her leave Fleettwixt forever that she forgot to consider Amelia’s inexperience with every single field of magic. She loved her, but this type of thing just pissed her off.

She looked at a lone tree in the distance with a rusted-chain tire swing attached, looking all puny like it was about to rot and die come the following autumn. If Amelia were a less mature woman, she would go right up over to that tree and start pummeling it. If she were not an adult who kept her emotions in check, she would tear it apart just to blow off some steam, just lay into—

Bzzzzzt—

Now she was directly in front of the tree. Instinctively, her right fist hovered in the air to strike. She lowered it, slowly, as she realized what had happened.

Wow. She had really teleported.

Wow. You really teleported.

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Want to tell me what you did?

“Nothing to say. I just imagined I was there, and I was there.” It was not the most dignified of emotions, being angry at her girlfriend for once again leaving crucial pieces of information out, but somehow she figured it out anyway. At least she thought so.

Next, she stared at Mino’s vegetable patch and focused on it, picturing herself standing right on top of the fence.

Bzzzzt!

With just a quick flash later, her surroundings changed and she was indeed right on top of the fence. The extremely narrow fence that her feet were not well equipped to—

Amelia hit the dirt face-first.

That was okay. That was alright. It was just practice, after all.

She dusted herself off, turned around, and faced the lonely tire swing tree. But this time, she was going to test something much more important.

If this worked... Well, she had faith it would work.

She bent her knees, then took off running towards the tree. She jumped over the fence, raised her fist—

Bzzzzzt!

And let herself collide with the tree. She floated in mid-air and hurtled right into it with all the force she had built up, punching a hole clear through it.

Then she landed gently on her feet.

Great. Her momentum carried through the teleportation process. That made it infinitely more useful from a combat perspective, because it finally meant she could deal with those pesky long-range rifle users without dealing with a long-range weapon of her own. Not that she disliked bows, but she much preferred her own two hands.

One more test...

She unlatched the tire swing from its branch and let it fall to the ground. For her next experiment, she grasped the rusted chain and wrapped it around her leg—her right one, just in case the rust might cut through her skin. Then she looked ahead, just a few yards ahead in the mostly empty field, and teleported straight ahead.

Bzzt!

A very small jump, so little distance she barely noticed the change aside from the flash. But, most importantly, the chain around her leg was still attached, and so was the tire.

So, anything attached to her, possibly anything touching her would also teleport. The extra weight was likely an added mana cost, but she had more than enough for the moment. This meant that, had she had the Warp Module back during the first dungeon dive, she probably could have saved Phelia from the melanoids without enacting a full-scale battle.

Of course, she loved that battle, so she did not regret not having the module at her disposal.

Now, Another test.

After getting rid of the tire, she looked up at the sky, directly above her. With a little imagination—

Bzzzzzt!

She was now floating twenty feet up in the air.

And quickly falling—

Bzzzt!

Until she teleported back to the ground, her legs absorbing the extra shock mostly well. If she had fallen further and built up momentum, she would definitely have needed to enter a rolling position before she teleported down, or else she would break her left leg for sure.

And that was another very successful test. She could teleport vertically just as easily as anything else, and combined with momentum building, that was likely to prove a major boon in any combat scenario where it was needed.

Castien Brielwa stood no chance if she trained enough with her Warp Module. Unless he was some sort of master telemancer, and she had never heard of such a mage, her speed alone might destroy him.

Just in case, she would get some in-the-field practice in during the dungeon dive tomorrow, and by the time, meeting finally came, the elf would stand no chance.

Amelia took a look at the hostel across the street, nestled between abandoned businesses and that enigmatic “Lisya’s Gift.” Her home for a few months already, longer than anywhere she had stayed but the Newpool research center and her house in Rockmund. If everything settled down and North Sunwell was destroyed, she would not hesitate for a second before moving back in with her girlfriend. But she would certainly hold a special place for her fond memories in Beechhurst.

And, somehow, the thought of this current life ending someday reminded her to look down at her watch, to confirm its existence and safety. No one seemed to find it strange that a golem with an internal clock would wear a watch, and they similarly never noted that its hands were permanently stuck in place. Even Ed failed to notice, or at least comment, which she was quite thankful for. The device, or rather what was held inside, was more precious to her than any object but her glove.

She imagined herself having fun with friends inside the hostel, and then suddenly wondered if she could really teleport in there, too. From Ed’s words, she one day might have the ability to travel long distances in a single moment. The hostel was just up there, just—

Error.

Warp Module blocking teleportation.

Limiter function on.

...Just a bit too dangerous for now, then.

Perhaps going through walls was more important than the distance. She imagined what might happen if she only teleported halfway through and the rest of her body was stuck. Not a pleasant scene.

The Warp Module, then, was certainly very exciting. She had a lot of room to grow into this new power, and it was quite taxing on her soul to do it so many times in a row, but she felt a new fire of determination sweep over her. A brand-new path to power had finally presented itself to her, and she greeted it with open arms.

Before walking back inside to cool off and drink a glass of water, she noticed someone. A man, a human. Lurking, hands in his pockets, outside the back entrance of the hostel. Head sunken slightly, his face obscured by the trilby he wore on his head.

She tensed up, wondering if he was finally the one. The first assassin out to get her, long before anyone else. A perfect replay of that sneaky, cocky golemancer who ambushed her in Netherhill. But the closer she got, the more she realized that he posed no threat at all.

He looked at her curiously, and of course stared at her face and all its cracks and scars. Now it was his turn to tense up in fear, though he did well at hiding it.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I’ll ask the same to you.” She gave the sort of sustained glare that put men like him right on their heels ready to leave.

“I’m Philip Koei,” he said. “I used to be a guest here.”

Ah. Her memory jogged somewhat. Philip was mentioned by Mino a few times offhandedly, and Mino even forgot he had left on occasion. He must have been a long-time boarder. He left because of... She had already forgotten. Just looking at him, she worried she would forget about his existence the moment he left her field of view. That was how bog-standard, unassuming, presence-free he appeared. Pasty skin, unfashionable, blonde hair. Same as half the humans in the city.

Amelia folded her arms. “I’m Amelia. And?”

“You’re a guest, right? I never met you, but... I just wanted to ask around about something.”

“Something.”

“Yeah, do you know if a woman named Phelia is still here? A white kobold?”

Ah. She remembered, suddenly. The reason he left had to do with her. Something between them that nobody discussed in detail.

He looked somewhat pathetic, but not so much that she was willing to kick him away just yet.

“She’s here,” she said. “Not here here. She’s out today.”

“Ah, good. I just wanted to know if she was okay. You know? Maybe I’d ask her if we could go for coffee or something. But if she’s not...”

“Explain, please.”

He sighed defeatedly. “You must have heard something, right? Me and her had a big falling out. I was staying here just to, you know, get a feel for the world. ‘Cause I’m actually rich. My family’s got a shipping company at Portside. It’s where me and her met, actually. I convinced her to stay here. But then I sort of blew it.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I love her, man.”

He truly did, from his expression. Though possibly not in the purest of senses. Philip seemed very focused on his own sadness, despite his words of concern for Phelia.

“She’s never mentioned you,” Amelia said. “I don’t think she’s still upset.”

“Well yeah, no. I mean, after I confessed to her, she didn’t even turn me down,” he said. “She just started kind of avoiding me and eating breakfast in her room and stuff. I couldn’t take it. So now, I’m basically over it, but I was just in town and I wanted to hear if she was okay.”

Just in town... One of the biggest lies ever concocted. No one came to Beechhurst for no specific reason.

“She’s okay.”

Then Philip’s expression soured. “Is that Hummer girl still here? Did she go back to Saxonia?”

“Still here.”

He groaned. “I hate Hummer. She’s half the reason I left anyway. Wouldn’t leave Phelia and me alone for a single second. Completely unaware of how much she annoys everyone around her!”

“...”

“Like, one time, me and Phelia were playing Yabachi. A great game, by the way. I was teaching Phelia the rules, since they don’t have the game where she’s from, and suddenly Hummer comes in trying to help her. And Hummer’s like a princess, so of course she’s really good, and, like, takes over the game and beats me. I was so mad, because me and Phelia had a good thing going, and Hummer just came here to add herself as a third wheel. All because she’s in love with me.”

“...” Amelia found herself completely unable to respond to anything this Philip man told her. The words went into her ears but did not travel far enough to let her process it fully.

Was THIS the person Hummer wanted to say “I love you” to? The person she asked Amelia to deliver her final words to had she passed away? She distinctly recalled Hummer lamenting the impossible-to-fulfill love she held in her heart, but this man essentially wanted her to disappear from him forever.

Suddenly, her sympathy for Philip plunged below the surface of the ocean and kept falling. And now, Hummer’s whole spiel about the magic of love felt just that much more tragic.

What a mess.

Philip in love with Phelia, and Hummer in love with Philip, and Phelia likely unaware of what was even going on around her. This was exactly the kind of drama she imagined a long-term hostel stay might bring, and she loathed it about as much she felt intrigued, in a twisted, gossippy way.

“I’ll let Phelia know you dropped by,” Amelia said, finally.

Philip shook his head. “No, no, don’t tell her I came by. But maybe let her know I always eat dinner at the Gusty Grump, that restaurant we used to go to when we first met. She’ll remember. Oh, but you never met me, so actually, tell Mino or someone to remind her. I’m sure that’ll work.”

“...”

“Thanks, friend.” He waved and set off in the direction of Beechhurst Station, because obviously he had no other reason to be in this neighborhood.

Amelia simultaneously wanted to forget that conversation ever happened then move out of the hostel immediately, and wanted to find out as much as possible about this bizarre love triangle she never knew existed. Both at the exact same time.

This was a very strange new sensation she felt.