Arriving back next to the small pond, Kelsey spotted Gwen who was sitting on the edge of the pond, her feet dangling in the water.

“Hey, I’m back.” Kelsey said as she sat down next to Gwen. “You ready?”

Gwen nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be I suppose.” she said seriously, a small touch of nervousness in her voice.

“You don’t have to do this. I’m sure someone else would be willing to try.” Kelsey said reassuringly.

“No, I want to do this. If this works, we can try it on Abby. Maybe getting her body remade would cure her…” Gwen said, trailing off at the end.

“Yeah. I had the same thought. I prepared a ritual for her too. If this works, we’ll go see her later today.” Kelsey said as she hugged Gwen.

Gwen briefly teared up, clearly letting herself have a bit of hope. “Alright, let's do this.”

Nodding, Kelsey stood up and had Gwen sit up straight on the picnic blanket. Once she was settled, Kelsey summoned her test bowl and handed it to Gwen.

“Drink as much of this as you can. Once you’ve gotten a few mouthfuls, hand it back to me. If the test doesn’t work, absolutely nothing should happen. If the test is a success, it’s going to hurt… a lot.” Kelsey said.

Gwen nodded, grabbed the bowl, psyched herself up and then quickly drank a few mouthfuls before handing it over to Kelsey.

The moment it was in her hands, Kelsey transferred the bowl into storage and waited patiently.

Several seconds passed as Gwen waited for the pain to come, and it looked like she was just about to say something when her face contorted into a look of horror and she collapsed onto the blanket, her muscles locking.

Kelsey could tell that she was in pain, but there was nothing she could do to help. Any interference on her part could very well cause more harm than good.

Gwen was very clearly trying to scream out in pain, but she couldn’t move the muscles in her jaw, so it came out more like a groan.

The pain only seemingly continued for a few minutes until a wave of relief washed over Gwen’s face and she fell unconscious.

Kelsey couldn’t help but smile as she looked at her partner sleeping peacefully.

It worked… It actually worked... I’m going to be able to give all my friends brand new Mageblood bodies. Their classes are going to be so damn strong!

As she considered the effects that this would have on her friends she started practically vibrating with excitement.

Kelsey waited, watching over Gwen for fifteen minutes until the sleeping woman stirred and opened her eyes slowly. “Good morning, how are you feeling?” Kelsey asked as she gently helped Gwen sit up.

“Damnit Kel, you weren’t kidding. That pain was pretty intense. Still been through worse though." She said sardonically.

Kelsey's face cringed as she heard that ignored it and gave Gwen a reassuring grin.

"I am definitely ready to try a real dose. Is that one going to hurt as badly?” She asked as she sat up fully.

Kelsey looked down at her hands. “Worse. Much, much worse. My body getting remade was easily the worst pain I’ve ever experienced.” Kelsey said seriously.

“Well shit. Alright, let's get this over with.” Gwen said as she reached out her hands.

Kelsey smiled as she summoned one of the bowls with a real ritual inside.

Before Gwen took the bowl she looked Kelsey in the eyes. “Listen… if I don’t make it. Take care of my sister for me, alright?”

“I will, Gwen. I promise.” Kelsey said as she handed the bowl to Gwen. “Bottoms up.”

Gwen looked at Kelsey with a look of confusion. “What does that mean?”

“Right, sorry. It's an expression from Earth. It’s used for drinking something. The bottom refers to the bottom of a glass. It basically just means to drink.” Kelsey explained quickly.

“Got it. Alright. Wish me luck.” Gwen said as she reached out, grabbed the bowl, and took a few deep mouthfuls of the concoction before handing it back to Kelsey.

This time, the pain came less than a second after she handed the bowl back to Kelsey.

Gwen immediately dropped to the carpet and began convulsing. Kelsey could hear panicked screams coming from Gwen’s closed mouth as she, like Kelsey had, must be wishing for death.

Once again, there was nothing Kelsey could do, and she was forced to simply sit and watch as Gwen writhed on the ground in pain.

A few minutes later, Gwen’s body and muscles began rupturing her skin like Kelsey’s had when she had accepted the levels from fighting the Shadow Panthers.

When she saw this, Kelsey started panicking, thinking that she had made some sort of mistake, that she had just fed Gwen a ritual concoction that was going to kill her. But to Kelsey's absolute shock and glee, she saw the wounds on Gwen’s body healing quickly in clear signs of Mageblood Regeneration activating automatically.

Kelsey smiled as she used Destruction to destroy Gwen's blood, cleaning her up.

No need for her to wake up covered in her own blood.

Gwen continued to groan in clear distress for another ten full minutes before the pain finally vanished and she fell asleep once again.

Kelsey knew that when the Mageblood ritual happened to her, she had slept for at least 10 hours. She didn’t know how long Gwen would be asleep, so she simply picked up the sleeping woman, opened a portal to her dimension and placed her in their bed.

She then laid down next to her and held her gently until she woke up. She could have simply left the dimension and Gwen would have walked out a few seconds later, but Kelsey didn’t want Gwen to be alone when she woke up. She knew exactly how disorienting the new attributes would be.

Kelsey was sleeping peacefully when she felt the woman in her arms start to move. Thanks to her Body of the Magus and her lack of need for sleep, Kelsey woke up in an instant and waited for Gwen to fully come back to consciousness.

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As she did, she groaned softly and began to sit up. “I feel like my body was stepped on by a giant.” Gwen said as she rubbed her eyes and looked at Kelsey.

“Yeah, that’s a good way to put it. How are you feeling other than that though?” Kelsey asked as she looked Gwen up and down.

She doesn't look any different, that's good. The ritual doesn't seem to have changed anything externally. Not that I expected it to, but it's good to see for certain.

Gwen nodded a few times and stretched out her arms and legs a bit. “Good. Great actually. I feel stronger.”

“Good, may want to check your system, see what it says. Make sure the ritual really worked.” Kelsey said as she pulled herself away from Gwen and stood up.

Gwen’s eyes grew distant, a clear sign that someone was reading from their system. Several seconds went by before she nodded and looked at Kelsey. “Yep. It worked. The Mageblood body worked. All of my attributes raised by 1,355 and I now have the general skill Mageblood Regeneration. It also increased my mana regeneration by one hundred percent.”

Gwen stood up and started moving around, testing her new body. “Damn Kel. This is unbelievable. I am like twenty percent stronger than I was before the ritual. My Intelligence and Wisdom are both over forty percent higher now by themselves.

Kelsey smiled. It works retroactively… I almost can’t believe it.

“Good. Ready to go see your sister?” she asked as she watched Gwen test the limits of her new body.

“Yeah, but I want to try a few things first. Come on, let's leave your dimension.” she said as she walked up to Kelsey and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you.”

Kelsey opened the portal and bowed slightly. “You’re welcome. After you.”

The pair exited the portal and Kelsey let it close behind her. “So, what do you want to try?” Kelsey asked.

“A quick fight. With my intelligence so much higher, I want to see how much faster my mental speed is.” Gwen said created two metal short swords. “No magic or anything, just enhancements.”

“You got it.” Kelsey said as she summoned one of her metal sabers.

The pair squared off, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Kelsey decided that Gwen should be the one to act first, she was the one that needed to test after all.

Several seconds passed before Gwen finally moved, pushing off the ground and lunging at Kelsey as quickly as she could. The moment she moved, Kelsey’s Senses of the Magus skill spiked, and her perception ramped up to block the incoming attacks.

Gwen was fast. Nearly as fast as Kaydeth had been during their recent fight. But thankfully, Kelsey was slightly faster thanks to her Body of the Magus and extreme mental attributes. Her Mageblood body had integrated into her path at level 28, and since then she had been gaining even more attributes than Gwen had just gained.

Despite this advantage, Kelsey was completely at Gwen’s mercy. Gwen had trained and practiced against people for years during her time with the Librarians before they became an assassination guild, and it showed in the mastery she had with her blades.

Every time Gwen would close in on Kelsey and they would trade blows, Gwen would slap Kelsey with the flat of her blade before backing off for a moment and then attacking again. In the ten to fifteen seconds that the fight lasted, Kelsey had been lightly slapped by one of Gwen’s swords over twenty times. Mostly on her legs or arms, but once on her throat.

After Gwen tapped Kelsey on the throat, she backed off, raised her hands, and let her swords dissipate back into mana. Seeing that the fight was over, and Kelsey had lost, badly, Kelsey stored her saber as well.

“You’re going to need to train me to fight someday.” Kelsey said as she rubbed her throat, feeling a bit of phantom pain.

“Absolutely. Would be fun.” Gwen said as she walked up to Kelsey and pulled her into a tight hug. “Thank you, Kel, this is amazing.”

“Right? Wait till you try the regeneration.” Kelsey said.

She didn’t mention that the regeneration paired extremely well with Pain Tolerance at level 20. She was absolutely certain Gwen had the skill maxed, but didn’t want to bring it up.

As Kelsey said that Gwen’s eyes went wide with horror as she quickly stripped off her shirt and began feeling around her back. Kelsey’s heart dropped as she realized what had happened. The scars on Gwen’s back were gone. They had been healed during the remaking of her body.

“Gwen…” Kelsey said softly as she saw tears forming in Gwen’s bright blue eyes.

Gwen sniffed a few times, forcing herself not to cry. “It’s okay. I figured this would happen...”

Kelsey didn’t say anything for several seconds, she knew Gwen had more to say, but was trying to say it without letting her emotions get the better of her.

“This is a new chapter of my life. It's good that they’re gone. I don’t need those painful memories anymore. I have you, and my new friends.” she said as she put her shirt back on. “I did it for Abby.”

“Right. For Abby. Ready to go see her? I’m sure she’ll be excited to see you.” Kelsey said as she wrapped Gwen up in a gentle hug.

“Not yet. It's still early. I want to get a bit more comfortable with my body. I think there is a good chance I’d accidentally tear a door off its hinges if I went into a city right now.” she answered, chuckling a bit.

The pair spent the next few hours doing some basic exercises and training drills. Gwen’s body adapted quickly to the new attributes, but she did break a few cups while trying to take a sip of water. It was probably a good thing they hadn’t gone straight back to Neim. The only time Kelsey had needed to take an extended period to acclimate to new attributes was after her massive growth against the Shadow Panthers. Thankfully, she had been inside The Trial at that time and hadn’t had to worry at all about breaking things.

After they were done with their physical exercises, they decided to do some quick mana training to help her get better at determining mana usage. They sat down across from one another, and Gwen created a small one-centimeter sphere of steel. She froze. “1.386 mana.” Gwen whispered under her breath. “I know… it was 1.386 mana exactly…”

Kelsey paused, realizing what had happened. “No way…” It really was the Mageblood body the whole time... That is... great news. That means that once I get this body to the party, they'll be even stronger. Hell yes.

Kelsey’s mind was jumping in a thousand different directions as she realized the impact that this new information and skill was going to have on the world.

Gwen was still staring down at the ball floating in midair. “It costs 0.013 mana per second for me to keep this ball in the air.” she said breathily. “Kelsey… Do you know what this means?”

Seems like she’s realized it too.

“This is going to revolutionize the future of magic.” Kelsey said, grinning at her partner.

“Yeah. This is going to change the face of Anoura forever.” Gwen said, her voice filled with trepidation. “Are you planning on telling people? Should people even have this kind of power?”

Kelsey had thought a lot about that very question in the past few weeks and had come to a decision already. “Yes. I know this could be dangerous information, but people deserve to know. We don’t have the right to keep something like this from them.” Kelsey said confidently. “The Sage believed that the Mageblood body was the perfect rebirth. He thought that all other rituals were just cheap copies.”

"I know there is always the chance that someone with bad intentions could get their hands on it and do irreparable harm, but the same could be said about classes themselves. If someone wanted to wipe out a city, they could already do that. I don't know... Honestly, I just feel like I don't have the right to keep it from people. I don't have the right to keep a secret like this." Kelsey said honestly.

Gwen eyed Kelsey cautiously. "I'll support you if that's your decision... But I don't know if I agree with you. Imagine if Kaydeth had been even stronger..."

Kelsey nodded her head in understanding. "I know. But imagine if your sister had a Mageblood body when she got poisoned. Imagine if every single injured adventurer was suddenly able to get back out there and make people safer. I just have to believe that it would be a net positive on the world, you know?"

Gwen nodded her head thoughtfully. "I hope you're right..."

The two spend another hour practicing with Gwen’s magic. Her Metal Creation and Metal Manipulation skills improved extremely quickly. They were already at their maximum level for her tier, but her personal skill improved by leaps and bounds as her ability to create perfectly consistent objects made it much easier to determine how much mana each creation should take. By the end of the hour, she was able to add 20 or 30 percent more mana to all of her skills than she had been able to do before.

I had no idea that the Mageblood body did so much. It gives attributes, regeneration, and makes learning magic easier. No wonder I was able to progress as quickly as I did. It truly is a force multiplier unlike any other.

After their training it was getting late into the afternoon. The pair decided that it was finally time to go to Neim and give Abby her very own Mageblood body.

They ate a quick dinner and then spent a few minutes packing up all of the picnic supplies before Kelsey wrapped them both up in mana and activated her Warp.