"Can you distort sound? Make it so no one can hear us? I trust the guild, but I don't exactly trust all of its members, y'know?" Lone suggested.

Yulia's clouded figure nodded. "It will be a drain on my MP, but of course."

She waved her hand slightly then said, "It's done. I cast Audial Disturbance. Any who try to overhear us talking will only hear gibberish instead. It's rather costly given my low mastery of the spell but I doubt we'll be here for too long, yes?"

"Just until Soph and Breena are done picking a quest. So, what's your affinity for distortion magic? How does it work? Y'know, like, the feel of it," Lone asked.

Yulia didn't seem to mind the personal question that would offend most mages not incredibly proud of their own affinity percentages. "My affinity for distortion magic is at 65%. It's taken me almost all my life to get it there from its initial 3%. That's rather fast according to all of my old tutors and teachers. Father himself has even told me it could be in the seventies had I put my all into it. My research just matters more to me, so my magical potential has not been reached, not that I mind."

She raised a hand to her distorted chin in thought. "As for how it works... That's a more difficult question. I'm not knowledgeable enough to speak in terms of absolutes, but to me, I've always pictured it as the thin line between illusion magic and polymorph magic. Distorting something changes it but also doesn't. It isn't false like an illusion, but it isn't real like a polymorph."

"Huh... Maybe considering that perspective will help me learn it," Lone replied.

"Have you gained any new affinities since our last meeting?" Yulia asked curiously.

Lone nodded. "Compulsion magic. Got it from one of Mason's sons, from Mason and Son's," he chuckled.

"Ah. A very similar magic. I view that one as the line between charm magic and mind magic. It isn't as easily noticeable and harmless as charm magic, but it's not quite as reviled and potent as mind magic," Yulia commented, offering her thoughts.

Lone pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I've never really thought of magic as connected to each other. I like to see them as their own independent entities, so to speak. I mean, each one has its own avatar, and the system went out of its way to classify them as individual typings in the affinity sheet and the skills themselves, right? No subskills or parent-child skills between the typings like light magic being a subset of fire magic or vice versa. There are combinations, but still, dunno if it's helpful or a hindrance to compare them so closely to one-another."

Yulia's distortion around her body wavered for a moment and a shocked expression had taken hold of her beautiful face. The distortion returned less than a moment later.

"That is... rather insightful. Perhaps I have been narrow-minded with my research also... If you were to tackle the issue of everyone being capable of awakening mana organs but there not being a standardised and safe method to do so, how would you go about it?" Yulia asked.

Lone shrugged. "No fuckin' idea. Maybe try to research, learn, or make a new skill that allows you to, I dunno, expend a truckload of mana to jumpstart them like a battery?"

"Truckload?" Yulia asked, clearly knowing what a battery was since the concept of storing energy was hardly a mystery to mages, steamforgers, and many of the other professions of Altros.

"A truck is like a big wagon from back home," Lone replied.

Yulia nodded. "I see. A simple idea, one I have thought of before, a skill to accomplish this I mean, not a bigger wagon. But the guild has no such skill, or perhaps my rank is too low to learn of it? I haven't heard of the guild limiting who can see what with the credit slate, but I also did not know of the silver-plate secrets before becoming one."

'We're done. Do you wanna go grab lunch? I've noticed a restaurant where people always leave stuffed and happy. Not many people, but they're all powerful which means that they're old. If the food is good for old palettes, it must be good enough for us! I bet the food is amazing there!' Soph sent to him via their connection. 'It's also weird. As in magical weird. And weird as in fun weird, not spooky weird.'

Lone got up and stretched his hands over his head. 'Sure, ya cutie, lunch sounds great.'

'Hehe! I am cute, aren't I?' Soph sent back triumphantly, putting a smile on Lone's lips.

"I'm off to go grab a bite to eat with Soph and Breena. We'll be hiding our identities 'cause I wanna see how that all works. Bought something from Mason and Sons to allow that. Wanna come with? You might get bothered since you'll be the strongest person of the group what with people not being able to recognise me," he said to Yulia.

"I'd love to have a chance to talk to Lady Vladimirovich about her magic!" Yulia expressed with the excitement of a teenaged girl and not a centuries old woman.

"Sofia is fine, or Soph when she's bubbly, Sophie when she's a hardass," Lone replied. He expecting a quick quip from Sophie but it seemed that this time, Soph had stopped her from forcefully taking control as she often did.

"Ah, right. Friends, yes? Sofia it is then," Yulia smiled as she, too, got up.

'She's a much nicer person when she knows you're stronger than her, huh? But she still basically ignores that Breena exists. Well, it ain't perfect, but it's definitely the best type of government I've seen on this planet so far. Never thought I'd see a meritocracy in real life. What an experience, huh? Or perhaps I should call it a strengthotocracy? Heh,' Lone joked.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

A few minutes later and their group of four were leaving an alleyway with three of them looking completely different.

Lone was now in the appearance of a portly three-tailed Crimson Foxkin middle-aged man who had awakened to Darkness. He was sporting a pair of slacks, a plain undershirt, and a quilted vest. His hair was about an inch long though he had a beard that could rival any dwarf's.

Breena was disguised as a Crimson Foxkin girl of about twelve or thirteen years with only two tails and no awakenings. Her face was soft and round in contrast to its usually sharp and jaded features. She was in a simple but adorable one-piece sundress.

Soph had opted to change her shown species to that of a Crimson Foxkin just like Lone had, and she had made herself taller, her breasts larger, and her face much more plain. She has gone for a single tail and no awakenings. As for her outfit, she had wanted to wear a pink floral kimono, but was talked into an orange dress much like Breena's so she wouldn't look out of place in their little foxkin family.

Lone wondered what people would think when they looked at them since the 'Yes, I don't look like this. Stop Asking.' brooches immediately let an observer know it wasn't their true appearances.

Soph's arms were intertwined with Lone's right arm while he held Breena's hand with his left one, at her insistence. Her reluctance to physical contact with men seemed absent now since she was dedicated to playing the role of his daughter. She had said it would help with her attempts to learn a skill Hamish had told her about called Roleplay Mastery.

In Lone's opinion, that skill sounded like a subskill of Sex Mastery and was likely inappropriate for a child to know of, let alone learn, but he trusted the dwarf's roguish abilities, so was fully supportive of acting as her father and Soph's loving husband. Maybe he'd earn the skill himself while he was at it.

Regardless, they had made it to the restaurant Soph had suggested, but they were stopped by Yulia before they could enter.

"Ah, this place only takes reservations unless you're incredibly important. It's rather prestigious since the city's most accomplished chef team operates out of its kitchen," the princessling explained. "The head chef even worked for my grandmother a long time ago."

Lone looked at the fancy building made of a mixture of wood and marble. It was unique looking, like nothing he had ever seen before, and it sported several floors. His aura told him that the restaurant was full of powerful people, mostly at SSS-rank but the odd X-ranker could be sensed as well.

"Journey's End, huh? Odd name for a restaurant. They don't do any exceptions? Would love to eat their stuff if it's good enough for thousands of years old monsters," Lone asked.

"Lon-"

Soph was interrupted by a very familiar voice. "They allow X-rankersss and above to enter the real ressstaurant without a ressservassstion, though the price isss doubled."

'Real restaurant?' That certainly piqued Lone's interest.

"Hello, Master Mezro'nan," he greeted as he turned around and looked at the X-ranked Restodian Iglaform as he approached them on all fours. At the same time, he cursed his lacking skill with his aura to be unable to detect an X-ranker who was quite literally right behind him. 'I need to stop associating it with my eyesight. It's a sense that works with me as the centre, not as a cone of vision.'

"Lord Mezro'nan, it is a pleasure," Yulia said.

The lizard's big head nodded before he said, "I fear we got off on the wrong foot. Isss calling you by your namesss appropriate given you are disssguisssed?"

"I'm Big Bob, this is my lovely wife Samantha, and our beautiful daughter Sarah," Lone replied with a chuffed smile on his aged face.

Soph smiled twice as wide while Breena blushed like an embarrassed daughter might to be introduced to a stranger in such a fashion.

"I sssee. Very well. I mussst dissscusss mattersss with Lady Sssamantha. I will get usss a table in the real ressstaurant and pay for your mealsss. All I want isss to talk. Deal?" The dog-sized critter wearing a tuxedo jacket asked.

'I would like to smooth things over with the C.A.A. if we can, and I recall Thomas saying this guy was an independent mage, so he's doing a favour for someone. We can use him not being directly tied to them to maybe work things out without personal feelings for Olberic getting in the way. His magic specialties also perfectly match Scott's, so I want him as a tutor, needless to mention I can probably get body fortification magic from him. Thoughts?' Lone asked Soph while he also said, "That's a very kind offer. Are you sure? This place must be very expensive given the average rank of its clientele and the rumoured skill of the employees, and if that's not the real restaurant... well..."

"I do not mind. Money isss of no concern to me. When you break a bridge, you do not ssskimp on the ressstoration fundsss, yesss? Do we have a deal?" replied Master Mezro'nan.

At the same time, Soph also responded. 'You don't have to worry about me or Sophie. We had an issue with that creep, not with the people who he worked for. There's no harm in hearing him out. Besides, with Zel always on the horizon, we need less enemies, not more. Refusing wouldn't, uh, be great since he's being nice now.'

"Of course we do. Just talking though, right?" Lone laughed.

"Jussst talking," Master Mezro'nan replied before he lumbered up to the restaurant and used some freeform earth magic to open the door.

He walked on in with Lone, Soph, Breena, and Yulia, just behind him.

The inside was significantly larger than the outside, which spoke of space magic to Lone. The design was foreign to him, not eliciting any memories of earthen structures as most others on Altros did. Still, it gave off a cosy yet luxurious vibe with all of the artwork and deep purple colouring that could be seen on the floor and the ceiling.

A lectern with a gnome standing behind it blocked their path, and Lone spotted some rails beneath the wooden podium that led right into the wall, presumably to unblock the path. 'That lectern moves mechanically? That's cool as fuck. It looks like steamforging but I never saw anything like that in the kriegs and urds I went to. Bootleg, maybe? Imitation? Still awesome either way.'

"Ah, Master Mezro'nan. What a pleasant surprise," the formally dressed gnome greeted.

Lone took a moment to inspect the short woman. It was his first time seeing a female gnome since his only ever interaction with the species thus far were with Warden Zilben Hesgresind of Krieg Moor's militaristic enlistment prison.

This gnome, unlike his bald former warden, didn't wear glasses and very much so had hair. She had the left side of her head fully shaved while the middle parted to the right and was about shoulder-length. It looked very stylish, Lone noted. Her face was, much like Breena's current one, small and round. She also felt like a double-S-ranker to his aura.

"Hello. I would like a table for five in the main restaurant," Master Mezro'nan stated.

'It's 'main' now, not 'real'?'' Lone noted.

"Of course. Please, follow me," the gnome replied.

Lone watched in awe as the lectern spun and zoomed further into the establishment. The tracks hadn't only led into the wall, but also went backwards, quite clearly.

"That is so fuckin' cool," he muttered.

Master Mezro'nan glanced up at him. "Mind your language here. You could get usss thrown out for being crasss."

"Ah, is that so? I'll keep that in mind," he said as he followed the lizard who was, in turn, following the gnome and her trusty steed - the mechanical lectern. 'An X-ranker can be thrown out because a party member of his swears? Just what is this place?'