Once her friends were gone, she summoned her Mythril saber from her storage, created a scabbard, and tied it to her waist. Once the saber was safely in place, she stored her clothing and summoned her Mythril plated leather armor and a black cloak with gilded edges.

Kelsey wasn't one to usually wear nice or fancy clothing, but she was planning on meeting Leon as an official member of The Wardens so she felt a bit of formality was due.

Walking out of the ninth floor, Kelsey found Leon within her domain and waited for him to notice her. Once he had, he excused himself from his discussion, walked inside, and entered a private room, keeping the door open so it wouldn’t block her domain. He then gestured to the air in front of him with a beckoning hand.

Seeing that he was inviting her in, she activated her Warp and appeared in front of him.

He closed the door a few moments later. “Hello Kelsey! Welcome to The Wardens.” he said with a huge smile on his face. “I’m glad someone finally convinced you to join.”

Kelsey grinned. “To be fair, when you invited me to a 'guild' I thought you were talking about a boring regular Immortal Guild, not a super fancy secret one.”

Leon returned her grin. “It’s not like I can walk around opening inviting people into our secret club now, can I?”

“Fair, fair. Not that I would have believed you. I’m not sure if you know this, but I didn’t exactly trust the random level 455 guy that appeared in front of me outside of my tent.” she said teasingly.

Leon’s eyebrows raised in surprise as he heard that. “Oh? So, you can see levels, specifically? Interesting.”

“You don’t know every little thing about me? I thought I was an open book to you by this point.” Kelsey said with a small grin.

Leon laughed softly. “No Kelsey, you are the furthest thing from an open book to me. Everything about you confuses me if I’m being honest. You are a random Otherworlder that showed up here around level 60, quickly burned your way to level 100, disappeared for nearly a year, and then came back with a group of friends and went from a fresh Gold ranker to an Immortal in a month. You are the most interesting person I’ve ever met.”

Kelsey legitimately blushed as he spoke. As Kelsey had noted the first time they met, Leon was an incredibly attractive man with a firm, commanding voice. But Kelsey was pretty sure she was in a committed relationship now, so she pushed those thoughts out of her mind and focused on the task at hand.

“Well, I’m about to confuse you even more, Sir Leon Garly, The Lion.” she said as she summoned a vial of Mageblood potion from her storage and held it up to him.”

His eyes widened as he examined the vial. “You figured it out? Truly? That’s incredible Ms. Kain.” Leon said in awe.

“Yep, and I would be happy to give this to you, on one condition.” she said seriously.

Leon’s eyes hardened. “Certainly, I would be happy to assist a Warden. What do you need?” he asked.

“I have recently received a new skill, and I need information on it. If you don’t have any, I need to be pointed in the right direction. It may even be more important than me going to train with Saint.” she said carefully. “Is this a safe place to talk, or should we enter my dimension?”

He considered carefully for a few seconds before answering. “If these enchantments aren't safe from prying eyes, your dimension wouldn’t be either. Anyone or anything that could pierce these would be able to see into your dimensional space as well.”

Kelsey did not like hearing that. She had no idea it was even possible to peer into her dimension. Not that it mattered, she supposed. Anyone strong enough to do that would be able to wipe her off the face of the planet anyway.

“Okay, here is fine then.” Kelsey said slowly. “Were you watching us on the 9th floor?”

Leon nodded. “Yes. I assume this has something to do with how you ended that fight?”

“Yes. It's a skill called Parallel Thinking. As far as I can tell, it copies my consciousness and allows me to have them do whatever I want. I can have some watching my domain, or managing my armor, or even fight for me. I have another skill that ‘reads omens’ or some shit, and it reacted extremely strongly when I read the skill’s description.” Kelsey said, pausing before asking her question. “Any ideas?”

Leon regarded her carefully before speaking. “Yes… you have obviously sworn the oaths, right?”

Kelsey nodded in confirmation. “Yes, why?”

“Technically speaking, this particular question can only be answered by one of two people. The Winter Saint, or Autumn. I think it's best I reach out to Autumn and have her explain it to you. This likely wouldn’t break the oath for me to tell you, considering you’ve sworn it, but it does touch on a secretive subject.” he said, watching his every word carefully.

“How quickly could she get here?” Kelsey asked a bit impatiently.

Leon waved his hands in a dismissive motion. “Ten or fifteen minutes at most. I have a way to contact her.”

“Alright then, I can wait.” Kelsey said.

Opening a drawer of his desk, Leon pulled out a small rectangular card that looked an awful lot like a guild card, except that it was a burnt orange color, and channeled some mana into it. “Alright, she should be here soon.” Leon said, putting the card back in the desk.

Kelsey eyed Leon with confusion. "Why do you have an Autumn summoning card in your desk? Why not in a spatial storage or something?" she asked.

"The way the card works is somehow damaged by existing in spatially created spaces. I'm not entirely sure the full reason. I was just told never to put it in a spatial dimension, so I don't." Leon said contemplatively.

Kelsey nodded her head thoughtfully, considering the implications of an item that couldn't be spatial stored.

She didn't get very far with her thoughts, as less than three minutes later Kelsey heard a knock at the door and, without waiting for anyone to open it, Autumn walked in. “This better be good Leon, I was in the middle of watching a fishing contest in El'Thena.” she said, a bit of annoyance in her voice, until she saw that Kelsey was there as well.

“Ahh… Sage, what a pleasure to see you my dear. Look at you, all official, wearing your Mythril saber on your hip. You look wonderful my darling.” she said in a grandmotherly voice.

Kelsey was confused. “Sage? You know that’s not my real name, right? I just used it at an auction because I couldn't think of anything else. Plus, doesn't 'sage' already exist? Feels like it would just be confusing.”

“Of course, deary. But it is your title. You are his spiritual successor after all, following in his footsteps so to speak.” she answered, her tone brokering no argument.

“Uhh, okay. That’s fine I guess…” Kelsey said, feeling very uncomfortable about the very idea of sharing a title with the man of legends.

It’s a fine name, I guess… I would have preferred Magus, or… Actually, what would I have preferred? I guess Sage is pretty good. Thankfully it's actually a real name and people aren't going to go around calling me Toothpick or Orange Peel, or something else ridiculous.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Snapping herself out of her thoughts, she realized that Leon and Autumn were speaking.

“...so I called you here since I can’t exactly answer that question. Are you able to answer her?” Leon finished.

Autumn regarded Kelsey critically for several seconds. “Yes. She is on the path after all…” she said carefully.

Shrugging and turning around, Autumn leveled a hard stare down towards Kelsey.

“So, girl, you have earned the Parallel Thoughts skill?” she asked harshly, her motherly tone vanishing.

“Yes ma’am.” Kelsey spat out nervously.

“Good. It is a required skill for the next part of your path according to the original Sage.” Autumn answered, her voice strict.

Do they think that I will literally follow in his footsteps or something just because I received the Magus class?

Kelsey was too curious; she couldn’t help but ask. “Are you saying that you think I will unlock the real Sage class at some point?”

Autumn looked at her like she was a grown woman who had just asked what color snow was. “Of course. What in the world was your original plan, Kelsey?” she said exasperatedly.

Kelsey didn’t have a good answer for her. She didn’t really have a plan for where her path was going to take her next. “I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it.” Kelsey said truthfully. "Up until a few days ago, I didn't even really know what True Classes were, much less what my class represents."

Autumn rubbed her temples. “Kelsey… The Sage is the most powerful human in history to have lived in Anoura. You have the opportunity to do what he did and become the greatest mage this land has seen in thousands of years. You need to start considering your advancements now.” she answered bluntly.

Kelsey was annoyed at the woman’s tone and fired back. “I do think about my advancements, I just haven’t been pushing myself in any single direction. I’ve just been doing what felt right. Listen, I plan on becoming an ascendant. I plan on clearing the dungeon we’re standing in right now. I plan on becoming as strong as possible to make sure everyone I love stays alive.” Kelsey said angrily.

But she wasn’t done. “I have a brother in Anoura. He has a beautiful wife and two amazing children. I am going to do everything in my power to make sure they live a happy and healthy life. I am going to become as strong as I can to make sure that anyone who dares go after them has to go through me first.'' She finished with a bit more venom than she had intended.

Kelsey would have expected Autumn to look offended, or annoyed at her outburst, but instead, she looked pleased. “Good. Keep that fire with you. Your path will require an incredible amount of determination and perseverance. But, you’re in luck. You have us to help you.” she said, smiling gently. “Sage, it's time to explain what makes that new skill of yours so important.”

Autumn sat down in a leather chair in the corner of the room and motioned for Kelsey to do the same. “Sit.” she commanded.

Kelsey sat and waited patiently for her to begin.

Taking a deep breath, Autumn began her explanation. “Let’s start with why this skill is so important for you as a Magus. The Sage kept incredibly detailed notes that he left with his daughter, Saint. We know all of what I’m about to tell you from those notes.” she paused briefly, motioning for Leon to fetch her a cup of tea.

She continued in a formal tone. “As you know, your original class required the Eye of the Magus skill, a Mageblood body, and two creation skills. Parallel Thoughts is one of the skills required for your next advancement which is why it's so important. There is one other skill, but I cannot tell you, or guide you, or give you a hint. It ‘must’ be discovered through your effort alone. Much of the Sage class follows the Hedge Mage classes about self-discovery and self-reliance.” she explained as Leon handed her the cup of tea.

Kelsey furrowed her brow in thought as she considered what Autumn was saying.

It must be related to my Senses of the Magus skill. It's the only skill I have that makes absolutely zero sense to me. I’m no closer to understanding it now than I was when I first got it. I’ll bet anything that I need to upgrade it somehow, similarly to how I upgraded Minor Telekinetic Creation during my first tier.

She continued sitting silently, deep in thought for several more minutes. Neither of the other Wardens interrupted her thoughts, understanding that she was considering Autumn's words carefully.

My domain… Every other sense I’ve ever acquired has been wrapped into my domain skill… Magesight and Identify are now functions of my domain. Maybe the Senses of the Magus skill is like that? But she said a 'new' skill. Upgrading an old skill that I got from the class itself wouldn't be new... So, what could it be?

Kelsey shook her head in disappointment. “I have absolutely no idea. I can't even imagine where I'd start on inventing a new skill. Parallel Thoughts was an accident from trying to teleport over one hundred people in a single large warp bubble."

Autumn chuckled. “You do have until level 500 to figure it out, but I wouldn’t put it off if I were you. Getting the appropriate level is child’s play with your Mageblood body and skillset. The hard part about advancements after the Immortal rank is ensuring your path is strong enough to continue increasing in power. I can't tell you how many Immortals rush to 500 and find themselves barely any stronger than before.”

“Speaking of the Mageblood body.” Kelsey said as she pulled out another vial of the Mageblood potion. “Here you both are, they hurt like hell, and you’ll be knocked out for at least seven or eight hours.” she said as she handed a vial to each of them.

“Actually… Autumn… would you mind running one of these to Saint? I’m not sure I’m going to make our meeting as early as expected.” Kelsey said, pulling out a third vial and handing it to Autumn.

“Of course, dear. I would be happy to.” she said kindly.

Now that the other business was out of the way, Kelsey cut to the main reason she was here. “So, what can you tell me about the skill itself? Did the original Sage have any notes on it?” Kelsey asked, switching back to a serious tone.

The potions in Autumn’s hands vanished as she stored them in a spatial object hidden somewhere on her body. “Yes. The way I understand it is that the skill creates additional copies of your mind that can think and act independently. It’s mostly useful for mages such as yourself, but anyone can really benefit from it.” she answered.

Kelsey nodded. “That’s basically what I have discovered as well, anything else?” she asked.

"The Sage found that in a fight against a singular opponent, the skill was rarely useful. Since the copies need mana to function, they don't have much to do in a battle against similarly skilled opponents, since he always used the entirety of his regeneration." Autumn said thoughtfully.

Rubbing her face with her hands, Kelsey groaned a bit. "Yeah, I kinda figured that... Anything else?"

“Yes, but I cannot say.” She answered simply.

Kelsey’s eyes widened. Why? Is she implying there is a way to evolve the parallel thoughts skill and that she can't tell me because of the whole 'hedge mage' thing? Into what? Isn't it already borderline perfect as is?

“Hey, are people able to give me ideas, if they aren’t sure? Like, can I ask my friends what they think could potentially be done with it?” Kelsey asked seriously.

Autumn and Leon glanced at each other before Autumn answered carefully. “Yes. That should be fine, as long as you aren’t given direct information.”

Great… Guess I’ll crowdsource some ideas when I get back to the Forest.

Kelsey nodded. “Alright. Thank you very much for the information. I appreciate it greatly.” she said as she bowed her head.

The pair smiled warmly. “It is our pleasure, Sage. As our newest member, there is a lot for you to catch up on.” Autumn said kindly.

“There sure is… Welcome to The Warden’s Ms. Kain.” Leon said. “You will learn something new every day in Anoura, I promise you that.”

Kelsey stood up. “Before I go, is there anyone else that you two would like to give Mageblood potions to? I have a couple hundred still, and I can always make more.”

Autumn shook her head. “Saint is the only one I believe needs one desperately.”

Leon nodded in agreement. “I cannot think of anyone in particular that needs one. By the way, are you planning on releasing the recipe?”

“Yeah, but I need to find a safe way to do it. It’s an extremely dangerous ritual. If the creation process is performed even slightly wrong, it means death for the one drinking the potion.” Kelsey answered. “I’ll figure out a way though. It will likely involve Queen’s assistance in some form or another.”

“Understood. Thank you for this gift, Kelsey. I look forward to your help clearing the dungeon in the future.” Leon said as he walked up towards Kelsey and gave her a firm handshake. “I am very pleased to call you a comrade.”

Kelsey smiled. “And I’m pleased to be one.”

Autumn walked up to Kelsey next. “Deary. I will be visiting you soon. We must get together and have you meet everyone. There are people that are very excited to meet the new Magus.” she said as she gave Kelsey a small hug. “When should I tell Saint that you will be coming around?”

Kelsey scratched her head and considered it. “It will likely be at least a few months now. I have too much stuff I need to test and practice. I’d also like to level up some more before I visit.”

“Very well. I will let her know.”

“Thanks again you two. I’ll see you around. Leon, I may be back soon to do some quick leveling, unless I can get my own dungeon up and running soon.” Kelsey said as she opened the door. “Have a good one!”

“Wait, you’re creating your o–” Leon’s voice was cut off as she closed the door and activated her warp, setting her destination to the hill above the western gates of Whitebranch.

Kelsey smiled at hearing Leon’s panic at the news she was creating a new dungeon. She had every intention of inviting him to delve into the dungeon with her, but it was pretty funny to mess with him.

Thadius, I hope you’re ready for the big move.