January 3, 492 U.C.
Rain drizzled out of the sky over Valta. It cascaded onto the buildings, leaving little trails of water. I smiled at it through the window. Then I turned and looked at the clock on the wall. It was January, three months since my disaster. I had spent the time on the four pillars of success; fishing, studying, enchanting, and potion making. No, I’m not writing down everything that happened then. Shakespeare said that “brevity is the soul of wit.” It’s also the key to my sanity, as are breaks.
I enjoyed my time off, looking out at the rain. Turning from the window, I studied the makeup that lined the shelves. “Did you decide, Vanessa?”
Vanessa grabbed some blue nail polish. “What about you?”
“I spent all my allowance.”
Vanessa giggled. “I should have known. You can never hang onto it.”
I nodded in feigned agreement, vowing to bring it up to Dad again.
Ela fluttered over to them and sighed. “Summon me, Casey! I’ll pay!”
“Nice try!” I followed Vanessa to the register.
Vanessa scanned the polish. The register hummed and turned green. She headed for the door. “I heard that Platinum died. Have you seen her recently?”
I followed her out. “Nope. I wonder if she was just a guardian messing around.”
Vanessa sighed. “I was hoping you could just get it. That would be amazing.”
“I’d give it to you if I knew how,” I said with a giggle. “But I think you need a fae for that.”
Then I turned to see whatever Vanessa was staring at. She had the vacant expression of someone who was lost to daydreams. Spotting the boy, I realized why. I nudged her to snap her from her stupor.
“He’s cute,” Vanessa whispered and giggled.
The tall, black-haired boy walked over. “Hi, ladies.”
I smiled. “Hello. I’m Casey. She’s Vanessa.” Then I shot a look at Vanessa, who had decided the best course of action was to giggle at him.
“Ashton,” the boy said. “Do you live here?”
I elbowed the giggling mess next to me once more. “We do. Vanessa is moving soon.”
Vanessa snapped out of it. “Nice to meet you. We’re moving back to earth.”
“Oh, nice!” Ashton said with a wide smile. “That’s where we live. Vuln is terrible. But Mom and Dad say that we should get some Vuln things in case it helps get magic. You know the rumors. – Have you ever killed anything?”
“I did once,” Vanessa said. “Casey does it all the time. But she’s insane.”
I scowled at my betrayer.
“What and how bad?” Ashton asked me quickly.
I turned to him. “Fish. It burns on a level that I can’t describe. Try eating it. Or walk out into the rain.”
Vanessa played with her hair, twisting it around. “It hurts, but killing is way worse. I cried.”
Ashton held out his arm. “Care to accompany?”
Vanessa took his arm and walked towards the door. I followed with a shrug. We passed shops and reached the door.
I sighed and pulled off my mask. Then I held it out. “You’ll need it.”
“Won’t you?” Ashton asked.
“I’ll hold my breath. I am used to it.” I walked through the airlock with them. Then I looked out at the rain. It was nice. A small breeze played with a few drops. The temptation to go sing in it grew.
Ashton reached out. A raindrop hit. He yelped. “You’ve been in this?” he asked skeptically.
“I avoid it. But it does happen.” Vanessa placed her hand in it. Several drops hit. She pulled her hand back in. “You do get used to it. If I get sopping wet, I’ll start crying.”
“That’s impressive. Your turn, Casey.” Ashton smirked at me.
I walked out into it and twirled. My black skirt flared. Then I skipped around with a smile. The smell of the forest was amazing. If you’ve ever been in the woods in the rain, you know what I mean. The city wasn’t big enough to overpower that. I skipped back in before I got myself into trouble.
Ashton leaned over. “She really is a bit off,” he whispered to Vanessa.
“Rude!” I exclaimed. Then I turned and walked into the airlock. They joined me.
“It doesn’t bother you?” Ashton asked.
I shook my head. “A few drops? No. It’s not even bad today. Mana storm rain is way worse. Ask Vanessa.”
Vanessa nodded. “Mana storms are way worse.”
Ashton turned back to Vanessa. “Is the air always bad?”
“We get some okay periods, but the terraformer is a mess.” Vanessa gave him a shy smile. “What do your parents do?”
“My father is a director…” Ashton began his tale.
I followed them while they talked. I looked into a shop and contemplated stealing the latest and greatest console that was in the window. There was no way I could afford it without theft. The two continued without me.
Sensing that I was a third wheel, I said goodbye, got my mask, and headed home. Then I got ready for bed, burrowing under my warm blankets.
~~~
I yawned and blinked the next morning, peering out into the lit room. Embracing my inner groundhog, I decided six more hours of sleep were in order. I burrowed back into my blanket. Then it was ripped away.
I groaned. “Dad, no.”
“Dad, yes,” he retorted with eyes rolling. “I found out about your little mall visit yesterday.”
I flushed. “I’m leveling just fine. And I’m doing well in my studies.”
Dad held my blanket aloft. “You need to level. Do you remember our deal? Level six by the end of the year?”
“You said six in a year! Not by the end of the year! And you know it gets harder and harder.”
“I know that things are scary, but you need to go back out there. I can tell that you haven’t leveled much.”
“I have to,” I lied. “I need my beauty sleep.” I stretched towards the blanket.
“Because you were out messing around? I don’t think so. When was the last time you hit the cap? I bet you haven’t hit it since that day!”
“What month is it again?” I asked with feigned pretense that he was wrong.
“It’s January. You got your magic months ago. Get up and get to work.”
“I’m level five. That’s plenty.” Fingers wriggling, I snatched upwards. “Blankie! I need blanket summoning powers. How do I get those?”
Dad let out a long breath, tossing the blanket on my desk. Then he took a seat on the bed. “Casey, you know the truth. We need magic if we want a chance. You need to advance. Yes, be safe. But you need to go back out there. You are going slow. You hit level four months ago. You need to push it.”
Anxiety gripped my throat. “I’ll die, Dad. I was lying on the forest floor about to die,” I whimpered.
Dad patted my leg. “We don’t have a choice, Casey. We have enemies. You need to advance.”
I swallowed. Yes, he was right. But some demons weren’t so easy to slay. The thought of a dungeon terrified me.
Dad’s expression grew cold. “Now, Casey. Otherwise, our arrangements will change. No school in the future. No electronics. No mall visits. And no outings with friends.”
“Dad, no!” I protested, sitting up.
“You need to push yourself, Casey. This is the final warning. If you don’t, we’re resuming eight hours of training every day. If you push it further, the punishment will grow.”
I stared at him; my mouth dropped. “Dad, -”
“Go. Stop fighting it, or I will be forced to punish you. Don’t make me start that again.”
I nodded and shut my eyes. This was going to be terrible. My trust in the trees was as shattered as that branch.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“Doing alright, Casey?” Ela asked.
“It’s fine,” I murmured back.
“I could get you a therapist?”
“No, thanks. You can pop up quests again. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do them.”
Ela fluttered up and landed on me. “Be safe! We do care. I promise you that.”
“Thanks.”
“Have a quest!”
Quest: Meet with the guardians. Reward: 5,000 Reputation and $10,000 credits.
I groaned. “Not that one, Ela!”
“Please, Casey, just do it!”
I headed to the bathroom. After a shower and a change of attire, I returned to my bed. Then I did something I’d been procrastinating. I meditated.
~~~
Looking at my pool, I smiled. It had been too long since I’d visited here. It was safe here, unlike the real woods. I touched my pond.
Mana: 221.97/221.97 Regeneration Rate: .74 per minute.
I turned and touched my tree. A giddy smile spread across my face.
Tier 4
User Time Dilation Select One: - Time dilation doubled. Cost doubled. Force transference reduced to half. - Cost halved. Force transference doubled. - Cost quartered.
Wanting to hit harder, I picked the first one. Turning, I checked another.
Tier 1 Teleport Select One: - Range removed. Mana cost quadrupled. - May cast on another willing person for double mana. - Mana cost reduced by up to 93.75% for closer range jumps. No reduction after a hundred and twenty-eight meters.
That one was challenging. I wanted the range restriction removed. Though the last one looked great for blinking around. The problem was that it would utterly destroy me right now. I did not have the mana for that. I opted to get the second one.
“You really should have checked more.” Ela giggled and stood next to another tree.
“Don’t rub it in!”
Ela flittered up, landing on my head. “I could help with that, you know.”
I walked up to another tree.
Tier 1 Time Stop Select One: - Range removed. Mana cost quadrupled. - Mana cost reduced by 50% to transfer things between the planes. - Demiplane may now experience controlled time. Cost doubled.
I wanted the first one again. I took it, vowing to push my mana up so that I could use it.
Turning my focus, I touched the rest of the trees. Attire Swap had upgraded to automatically clean my outfit. I was grateful for that one.
I turned away from the trees. Okay. We’ll do better. Dad’s right. Then I pulled myself out.
~~~
After getting ready, I headed to the door. With trembling fingers, I opened it and headed through the streets. Anxiety gripped my throat as I walked towards the wall.
People passed by unheard. I was lost in a storm of emotions as I walked. Facing your fear is not an easy thing. With a long breath and trembling hands, I climbed up onto the wall.
With a thundering heart and rapid breaths, I tried to calm myself while looking at the forest. Fear balled in my throat. I broke into a cold sweat. Just teleport, I thought to myself. If it goes wrong, we’re gone. I chanted that over and over. It became my lifeline.
I lowered myself to the ground and proceeded into the forest. The earth was muddy. Then a raindrop hit me. That didn’t help my anxiety. I was going into the jungle in the rain. I was tempted to turn right back around and head for my bed. However, Dad would have punished me for months. So, I forced myself to enter the trees.
I pulled off my amulet and used my spell to swap attire. I planned to strike hard and fast. I began the trek through the woods. Rain dominated my hearing. Occasionally, something would croak loudly. I reacted to the croaks with feline grace.
After several eternities and several bouts of sudden grace, I paused to see something in the distance. Thoroughly traumatized, I used haste and pulled out my swords.
Then I crept forward through the strangely quiet forest. Peeking from behind a tree, I let out a breath of relief. It was just some herbivores, tritops to be precise. The large dinosaurs looked like green and brown triceratops. I debated riding them.
Instead of being foolish, I jogged around them with haste still running, heading towards the dungeon. The dinosaurs were large and armored. I wasn’t in the mood to get gored.
Skirting around them, I dropped haste. Then I resumed my walk, skirting around the growing puddles. Water began dripping from my hair. With a sigh, I picked up the pace.
After an eternity of jogging, I approached the dungeon. Feeding mana into my swords, I used haste and dashed forward. Mud and water spewed behind me. A poor raptor raised its neck and then its head toppled as the blade went right through its neck. Its body raced forward in panic without realizing it, running right into another. The new one looked up and lost its head. A mana raptor chirped and leapt. I dashed to the side and brought down the blades. My blurring blades hacked into flesh, sending out a stream of blood.
Racing forward, I slashed again and again. Blood exploded into the air, hanging for far too long. It was like the world around me couldn’t keep up. Then I glanced at the tree.
A shiver lanced through me. Dread grabbed my throat. My eyes watered. Turning away, I ran faster, slashing and stabbing at the slow creatures around me. I dodged a slow lunge, spun, and sent out a spray of warm red blood. Not wanting the blood on me, I dodged away.
As they surrounded me, I leapt and flipped upside down. Hacking downward, I realized my mistake. The blades stopped my leap and pushed me right back. Blood splattered over me.
Looking like abstract art, I hoped the rain would pick up while I dashed out of the group. A mana raptor leapt, but it wasn’t that fast. I dodged to the side and hacked into it rapidly. Mana exploded outwards.
With an unyielding goal of no wounds, I zipped through the area while cutting down everything. I was proud of myself as the last one fell. I had kept focus for at least ten minutes while the poor creatures could hardly react. My clock disagreed, stating it had been eleven seconds.
Rolling my eyes at the lying clock, I turned towards the cave and contemplated for a moment. Deciding that wound-free was the way to be, I shot into the cave, spraying rocks and dirt from my feet.
The first two raptors died before they even realized. A mana raptor did manage to hit me in the crowded corridor, but its momentum was lacking. I stepped back so that it wouldn’t rip through my uniform. Then I rapidly struck, hacking flesh. Blood sprayed over everything as it dropped.
Ignoring my growing desire to run for a stream, I sprinted into the final cavern. With adrenaline ablaze, I struck the large raptor rapidly. I took six hits before it moved. Wishing to remain wound-free, I dodged an attack, only to have a claw slice my arm. I hissed as it cut open. My backswing took its head off. The mana raptor ran into the wall, rolled, and went still.
With a frown at my failure, I bandaged my arm and released the spell. Then I started looting things. The carcasses were shoved into my pocket dimension.
Raptor Dungeon Cleared! +50 reputation. You have 950 reputation. Join Guardian Command to spend it! Seriously, Casey, do it already!
Quest: Meet with Guardian Command. Rewards: 5,000 reputation and $10,000 credits.
I ignored that one. “Why use levels anyway? It seems like mana is what matters. Unless levels track the ability tiers?”
Ela shrugged and gave me puppy eyes. “I could explain more if you go do that quest.”
“No! We’ve been over this, Ela. And pouting won’t help.” I shook my head as the fairy pouted. Then I started looting the cavern.
“We saved your life! My mom did that! For you!” Ela yelled at me.
“And she’ll kill me the second that she sees me. I can’t do that, Ela. I’m sorry. You can have some crystals to pay for it.”
“I will always accept those, but I’ll ask a different favor someday.”
“Like what?”
“Probably to help save someone if they need it.”
I turned back to the mess as blood dripped off my nose. Wiping it off, I moved to the center of the place. Forming the gathering spell, I tried to dictate how much mana it could use. Draining it all wasn’t a good option. Joy filled me as it seemed to work. An ingot and a glowing gem fell. I smiled and grabbed them. Then I tossed them in the pocket dimension.
Turning, I began looting things. I stashed raptors in my little pocket dimension. I was tired of fish. Gathering things, I debated what to tell Dad. He wasn’t going to be happy to find out that it’d gone this smoothly.
I opted to not tell Dad that while debating. Then I debated exploring things since I was out here. “Ela? Are there any cool ruins near here?”
“I’m not certain. I can pull up the map. Ai! Map of ruins!”
I giggled as Ela bossed the AI around. The maps appeared. They were out there, but the fear crept in. It would be way better to be at full mana. And I was at the cap. “Where are the fae from?”
“I can’t answer that.”
“Aw.” I teleported back home and prepared my disguise in the bathroom. I swapped outfits, put on my amulet, and spilled blood on myself. It was for the greater good. Then I let out a loud sigh.
“Back already?” Dad asked as he walked up to the bathroom. His brow quirked.
“Yes. It was terrible.” I gestured to my blood jeans and shirt.
“You are a horrible liar. Get cleaned up. And I expect real progress again. You’ve already lost school access for next year.”
“Dad! No! You promised!”
“Consider it a lesson. Now, work on things. We need to get magic. We owe debts. It’s time.”
“I’m going when I’m fourteen then,” I snapped back with a frown.
“Fine. Get us magic and you can.” Dad turned and walked away.
That became my unyielding goal as I turned back to the potion book.
Current Level 5 Current XP 80.75% Current Max Mana 223.36 Regen per minute 0.74 Growth Time (Days) 9.81 Potential Mana 54.45 Reputation 1000
Tier Skill Cost Tier 5 User Time Dilation (Haste)
- User experiences 32 seconds for 1 earth second.
- Force transference limited to 25%. 1 mana per earth second. Tier 2 Pocket Dimension
- 8 cubic meters of pocket space. 8 mana Tier 2 Time Stop
- Caster leaves spacetime. They may remove and place things back in spacetime.
- Time does not pass in the demiplane. 200 mana to cast.
Variable cost to move items in and out. Tier 2 Teleport.
- Teleports the caster or a willing creature.
- The range is limited to 500 kilometers. 50 mana for the caster.
100 mana for a willing creature. Tier 2 Attire Swap
- Locked to a single outfit. Current outfit set to Magical Girl Uniform.
- Attire cleaned on swap. 20 mana. Tier 1 Enchanting. Variable cost. Tier 1 Potions. Variable cost. Tier 1 Free casting
- Cast any spell you can replicate. Variable cost. Penalty of 8x mana. Tier 1 Familiar Manifestation. 20 mana to cast. 1 mana for each additional minute.