After a year of struggle, pain, torture, death, and fateful encounters, Glenn finally reached the Fourth Circle. He was now a Magi who could fight armies by himself if he so wished. And all it took was a city-wide Mana-draining spell and some introspection. And now he had the Milky Way as his Mana Heart.

Glenn gasped, his eyes flashing open in awe and disbelief. He was still sitting in the metal hallway with Sahro, Milena, Liara, and Javier. The soldier in steampunk power armor, Pvt. Lorzenski was still waiting in a rigid position, his thoughts hidden behind his badass helmet. The unnatural light gleamed off the steel and brass components as steam clouds puffed out from the joints with sharp hissing sounds.

"Yo, what the fuck?" Nelg asked, bewildered. Diamanes chortled, as taken aback as the living sword.

Glenn's Mana was still being sucked up by the draining sorcery thrown at the Bourgeoisie, but... it was like a small leak in a dam. Visible, but not considerable. No doubt it'd be dangerous at some point, but the Mana reserve of a Fourth Circle was simply...insane.

Insane was the right word, yes. And even then, Glenn doubted that all Magi shared the same ridiculously large Mana reserve as his. He had a galaxy worth of it, after all.

"Hey, Glenn, are you alright?" Milena crouched next to him, before casting a worried glance behind her. Sahro was staring blankly at the space where his lightning left arm previously was. Javier was lying down, a bit of foam on the corner of his lips, but seemed okay beyond that. Liara seemed to have recovered from her initial shock and was kneeling next to the silent hunter, unsure of what to do.

"...I feel great," He muttered, before grinning widely while casting a Black Hole in his opened palm. Even this ridiculously overpowered spell was barely putting a dent in his Mana.

"Haha, I never felt better actually!" He chuckled while dismissing the spell. Milena watched with wide eyes, her mouth opening and closing tentatively. She glanced at the soldier watching over them and grimaced.

"...did...did you just have a breakthrough?" She whispered in disbelief. Glenn's grin grew even wider as he slowly nodded.

"I'm a Magi now," he whispered back excitedly. He also glanced at the soldier and leaned forward to speak in Milena's ear, his nose creasing at the strong scent of mint.

"Is it normal that my Mana reserve is that huge? The draining spell is barely doing anything," asked Glenn with a frown. Milena took a step back and turned away while scratching the back of her head.

"Cough, uhm, I think it's safe to say it's not normal. My Mana has completely bottomed out after all. The draining spell is only leaving the minimum required for me to not be victim to Mana exhaustion," She explained with a low voice. Glenn moistened his lips and looked at the power-armored soldier, before shrugging. It couldn't hurt to have another card in his hand, right? He already had the possibility of using Nelg's Mana, thanks to him finally creating his First Circle, but now he also had the addition of his own stupidly large personal reserve.

'...I still think you'll eventually bottom out. It'll just take longer,' Diamanes commented, his initial shock passed, 'And congratulations on ranking up. We're part of the big players now.'

Glenn sneered and shook his head. If fighting Evil Gods, criminal organizations and secret cults wasn't already making him a "big player", he didn't know what would. Glenn looked at his Black Heir friend, who was still staring into space.

"...How are you holding up?" Glenn asked as he walked up to Sahro. The Black Heir flinched and spat to the side, looking away from the stump on his left shoulder.

"I'm not. Shit, I want my arm back," He grumbled as he held the stump. Glenn made a wry smile and patted his friend on the back. Sahro sighed, before brusquely looking at the soldier watching over them. Glenn followed the movement and discovered that the hallway behind the soldier was beginning to shift. The sound of gears rolling and cranking echoed all around them, the ceiling opening up above them. The sunlight reached them, bouncing off the metal floor and walls. Glenn squinted, trying to understand what was going on. The floor suddenly trembled, making the team stumble on their feet. It also woke Javier up, who simply stood up with a blank expression like nothing ever happened.

Clouds of steam came out of the walls, hissing as some strange process was moving the structure. The floor under them suddenly rose, lifting them to the opening in the ceiling. Glenn fell on a knee and made a visor with his hand to try and see things a little better. A large cloud of steam blew on them, blinding everyone and rendering Glenn's efforts useless. Finally, the floor stabilized and stopped moving. The cloud of steam disappeared naturally, revealing what was hidden behind it.

"YOU'VE BEEN CLEARED FOR ACCESS. PLEASE REPORT TO AN IMMIGRATION OFFICE UNDER A FORTHNIGHT. HAVE A GOOD DAY," Pvt. Lorzenski said with his robotic voice, before stomping away and leaving the team there to their own devices. Glenn blinked and rubbed his eyes, unable to believe them. They were standing in a plaza surrounded by rows of houses built using Victorian and Gothic architecture, only...there seemed to be a little twist.

"What the hell is this place? I feel like I've traveled to the future! Well, not an Earth-type future, but still way too advanced for something like the Fringe! This is crazy!" Nelg exclaimed in shock. Glenn's thoughts could only echo to his sword's. No matter where he set eyes, there were brass contraptions. Gears, pipes, valves, some the size of a hand, others as large as a grown man. There even was one massive gear, attached to platforms moving up and down like an elevator.

'Oh. It's an elevator,' Glenn realized blankly when he noticed people standing on the platforms and waiting to be brought to a higher part of town. The sound of hissing steam was coming from all directions. The young man rubbed his forehead and looked at his teammates. The two Black Heirs were shocked beyond measure, while Milena was expecting it. And Javier simply did not care. Or maybe he did. Who knows?

"So, uh, we're supposed to report to an...immigration office, is that right?" Glenn asked hesitantly as he turned toward Milena. The lady nodded and glanced around.

"We should be in District N°III. There's an immigration office in each district, we just have to find it..." She trailed off, unsure of where to go now. Glenn crossed his arms and tried to find something that would indicate the right direction.

"New to da' Bourgeoisie, Mister?" asked a small voice from behind Glenn. The young man turned around to find a boy, probably fourteen or so, dressed in gray worker clothes and a beret. He had a bit of soot on his face, which made him look a little older than his age, but his little stature and immature voice proved that he was still quite young.

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"I can take you to da' Office if you wan' Mister!" The boy proposed with a grin, his two upper front teeth missing. Glenn looked back at his team and smiled back at the kid.

"Yeah, sure. What do you want in exchange?"

The kid looked up and down at Glenn, his eyes stopping for a short second on his left purple arm.

"Uhm...money from below ain't worth much here..." He rubbed the back of his head, "...Can I ask you a favor to be exchanged later?"

Glenn chuckled. What could this kid possibly want from him?

"If you want, yes."

The kid smiled brightly and held his hand out for a shake, "Great! 'Am Pierrot, and you?"

Glenn shook Pierrot's hand, "Glenn. Can you guide us to the nearest immigration Office, then?"

Pierrot nodded and pointed at an inconspicuous building a dozen meters away, "That's da Office!"

The young man blinked and looked at Pierrot. The kid was grinning widely, proud of his scam.

"Don't forget to pay me back, 'kay?" Pierrot exclaimed before running away in the meanders of the town. Liara, who had observed the exchange, chuckled softly, while Milena only patted Glenn on the back.

"Seems like you got scammed."

"Yep. And by a kid at that. Well, whatever," Glenn shrugged dismissively, not too bothered. It wasn't like Pierrot had asked for money or his belongings. He only asked for a favor. The team walked to the indicated building, and, indeed, on the door was a small sign reading "Immigration Office". Glenn looked back at his team hesitantly, before knocking on the door.

They waited for a few minutes, but nothing happened. Without much conviction, Glenn pushed the door open, finding a small, empty hall with chairs on every side and an empty counter. Magical lights were hanging off the ceiling, where pipes of different colors twisted and turned in unknown directions.

Glenn and his team slowly entered the building, ringing a small bell on the way in.

"...Very welcoming," Sahro commented with a hint of sarcasm. Glenn sneered and approached the counter, looking around for any clerks. The counter was old, and covered in dust. Glenn leaned on it, waiting patiently.

“Hello?” Milena was already looking at the area beyond the counter, ignoring the ostentatious “employees only” sign.

"Ah? Ah! Yes, coming, coming!" A muffled voice suddenly replied deep from within the building. Something metallic fell, which was then accompanied by a curse from that same muffled voice. Glenn and Milena exchanged a glance, while Sahro, Javier, and Liara patiently sat in the hall's chairs. A girl covered in soot, wearing dirty working clothes, and with a respirator covering her mouth ran into the room, her eyes hidden behind an opaque pair of welding glasses. She had short brown hair with a practical cut and a slim figure.

She looked at the visitors for a moment, then at her clothes, then back at the visitors. She seemed to ponder for a moment, before shrugging and taking off her equipment.

"Phew," She drew a breath of air and rubbed her eyes, putting the glasses and the respirator down on the counter.

"Sorry for the..." She gestured at herself, "...I was busy training to get into the Exan University. Anyway, uhm, so you guys came here for...what, exactly?" She asked with uncertainty. Glenn's eyebrows rose as he crossed his arms.

"We just arrived in the Bourgeoisie. The soldier in charge told us we needed to head to the Immigration Office, so, here we are."

The girl looked at Glenn and the others like they were crazy. "Immigration Office? Didn't I close that down a year ago—" She froze and slapped her forehead, "—darn it, I forgot to send the letter to the Official Bureau, didn't I?"

She sighed and crouched under the counter, looking through some dusty documents.

"Where did I...not this...not this either..." She continued to mumble without the slightest concern for Glenn and his team. Finally, she triumphally pulled out an old paper sheet, which she waved in the air a few times to get rid of the dust.

"Here we go! Alright, uh, I'll do your...immigration thing...but it's the last time I'm doing it, I swear," She complained, before handing Glenn the document. The young man glanced at it, finding it to be a reasonable contract of promising to behave politely while in the Bourgeoisie, to not hurt another, nor to abuse one's power, while also respecting the power of the nobles. He just had to write his team's names and sign for them, and it was all done.

"Here you go."

The girl made a fake smile and rolled the document, before opening one of the pipes in the walls and throwing it into it.

"Great! Now, if you wish to get clearance for using Mana, Aura, or Divinity, please head to a Testing Site with the necessary documentation. Bye bye!" She waved as she ran away to do whatever she was doing. Glenn looked at her leaving, and at the equipment she left behind, before shrugging.

"Okay. Well, now we have to find District N°XIV and the Cleaner's Office—" Glenn was about to turn away and leave when the strange girl suddenly came back, her eyes wide open.

"The Cleaner's Office? Wait, you come from the Northern Town, right?" She exclaimed with her finger pointed at Glenn. The latter hesitantly nodded.

"We did come from the Northern Town, but how is it—"

The girl smiled widely and made a loud clap with her hands, interrupting Glenn once again, "Great! I wanted to ask, did you guys hear about that Devil's Hand Fixer? A Black-Gold Fixer, very strong, with spell work reminiscent of the stars, and a purple..." She trailed off when she finally looked correctly at Glenn and his left arm, "...purple...a purple arm. Huh."

Glenn blinked, his fingers tensing up as Mana flared around his right hand. He had no idea what to expect from this strange woman, so being careful would probably be a good—

"Oh! Oh, oh, oh!" She blushed and rushed to Glenn's side, her eyes shining like a thousand stars, "Can I have an autograph?"

'Haha?!' Diamanes chuckled in disbelief. Nelg couldn't even utter a word, shocked. Glenn closed his eyes and reopened them slowly.

"...An autograph?" He asked hesitantly while dismissing the spell he was preparing. Milena relaxed and sheathed back her half-pulled-out dagger, while Sahro did the same with his curved sword. Only Liara and Javier didn't seem worried about the strange woman.

"My name is Janica! Do you have a pen? No, wait, I'll get one for you!" She said while spinning around in a panic. Milena and Liara chuckled, while Sahro came and patted Glenn on the back.

"Seems like you are a true celebrity. You even have a fan, haha!" The Black Heir laughed heartily at his friend's expense. Glenn drew a deep breath and shook his head. What...was he famous? And why under this damned nickname? Devil's Hand here, Devil's Hand there...Damn it...

Janica, who was foraging through the dusty counter finally pulled out a pen, when she realized who was patting her idol. Her face became even paler and she pointed a trembling pen at Sahro.

"But...But then, you must be..." Sahro's gleeful expression disappeared while Glenn grinned in satisfaction, "...you must be the Black Swordsman! Oh my god, this is the best day!" She hurriedly ripped a piece of paper from an important-looking book and handed it to Glenn alongside the pen.

"Please, please, sign me an autograph! Oh my god, the girls are going to be so jealous...!" She whispered in excitation. Glenn, once the surprise had passed, chuckled and signed the piece of paper.

"For Janica, right?"

"Yes, yes!"

"....For Janica, by the Devil's Hand. Here."

Janica held the paper as if it was as precious as her life, before handing another one to Sahro. The Black Heir begrudgingly signed it under his Black Swordsman nickname, for Janica's greatest pleasure. Janica stashed away the autographs, before bowing to the two men.

"Thank you very much! If you need anything, I'd be glad to help you! I can bring you to the Cleaner's Office in the Fourteenth if you want!" She proposed excitedly. Glenn looked at his teammates and shrugged.

"Well, sure. We'd be glad if you could guide us, Janica."

The girl punched the air, happy beyond measure. Glenn rubbed the back of his head.

"This is so weird..." Nelg commented with half a breath. Diamanes sneered, 'It's only to be expected that singular individuals receive singular treatment. And he has us, he's more than singular now. Fame is only one of the many benefits of achieving power.'

Glenn hid his uneasiness and followed Janica out of the Immigration Office. This was taking a strange turn, but he couldn't refuse a free guide, could he? At least he'd get a tour of the Bourgeoisie and a better understanding of the city. Because, so far, it just looked like a massive mess of Victorian and Gothic architecture mixed with steampunk technology. It was an interesting mix, for sure, but still weird.

"Let's explore this damned city, then..." He muttered, his hands in his pockets and his teammates following behind.

The Bourgeoisie already promised to be an interesting stop in his journey to find a way out of this world.