June 26, 493 U.C.

The tide continued its cycle, crashing up onto the shore. Then it raced back, washing over sand and gravel. The smell of the salt and surf lingered in the air. I took a deep breath and enjoyed it while looking out to the water.

The wind was creating soft waves and blowing my hair. The sun glinted off the surface, lighting the place in glory. Fish could be seen flitting by. One was fighting with a dinosaur, thrashing as it tried to leave jaws. The smell of blood ruined the ambiance. The sound of footsteps made it worse.

I spun. “Knock it off! I’m enjoying the scenery!”

The pack of bokisaurs seemed intent on ruining things. For those wondering, they like to fish and have a jaw design for it. Their jaws are long and narrow. Their teeth were smaller, but there were rows of them. The three-meter creatures charged forward, their tails waggling as they ascended the hill.

“Halt!” The dinosaurs did not heed my warning. They dashed forward in search of more mana; their glowing eyes were proof of that. They’d acquired a lot. Now they wanted more. I sighed and grabbed swords.

Using Haste, I began dancing through their midst while slitting throats. It wasn’t fun or engaging. It was boring and bloody. Like the dinosaur grim reaper, I flickered through them, ending their lives and sending them rolling.

As the last fell, I walked through the group and stashed carcasses, covering my hands in blood. Shoving the last in, I ended that spell and darted down to the river. Pulling out a metal net, I zipped through the water, spewing it everywhere. Shooting the neck down, I began fish farming.

The bigger fish were quick. They shot away from me at a quick speed. The young fish weren’t so lucky. Within a few real seconds, I had two dozen fish thrashing around in the net.

Stashing them in my pocket dimension, I dropped haste and teleported, landing in a room of concrete and metal machinery. My breath billowed as I put on an apron. Turning, I saw someone.

“Hi, Burger!” I called and waved at the bald man in a rubber apron.

Burger sighed. “I am not Burger!”

“Then tell me your name or codename. Otherwise, you’re Burger the Butcher.”

“Just hold off on pakasaurs,” Burger said with a groan.

“Nope. You know how valuable that meat is.” The meat would help people acclimate and level for those still wondering. Raptor was in staunch opposition to losing mana-rich meat. I agreed with the sentiment.

I hung the last of them. Ditched the apron and rinsed off. Then I waved and teleported, leaving him to process them.

The temperature change was noticeable. I appeared in a fancy room with a polished wood floor. In the center of it was an ornate pond, decorated with fake plants. I was tempted to slip in some real ones.

Instead, I walked forward and dumped the fish into the indoor pond. The fish began swimming in the pond; their silvery fins flashed in the water. I studied the nearby display to ensure they wouldn’t just die.

Satisfied, I turned and headed to the line of medpods, checking to see if each was online and ready. The process had become streamlined through the years. The chairs, pond, and medpod proved that.

Finishing my check, I spun and looked up to the blue sky. The sun was streaming through the side windows, lighting the area. I had a real desire to sneak out into it. Sadly, that was risky. Next time. I can make another amulet. And with that, I devised my plan to visit Earth again.

Since I couldn't do it here, I took a seat on a patio chair and pulled out a book. Then I started reading while footsteps sounded on the tile floor.

“Two dozen?” Grandpa asked as he walked in.

“Yep. I’m low on mana. So, I’m camping here for the moment,” I replied while looking up at him.

“Do you have enough?”

“For a dozen, sure. For two? No.”

Grandpa frowned. “Be more careful.”

“Grandpa, no! You can’t tell me to get fish while expecting me to use all my mana to Seed. You know that I have to go to the wilds to get them. That means I have to fight. And I have to gather them! Stop being unreasonable.” I huffed and crossed my legs. Demanding jerks. They can go do it.

“Fish earlier,” Grandpa said.

“You fish and Seed them.” I flipped him off.

Grandpa’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t start, Viper.”

That set me off. I vaulted up, nearly throwing my book at him. “I’m Casey! Remember? Your granddaughter! The one you hate!” I bellowed in his face.

Grandpa sighed. “Appearances.”

“No one else is here,” I yelled. “Can I get a hug for the first time?”

“Don’t start. Read your book. And don’t make a mess.” He turned and walked away, refusing my request yet again.

With a desire to smash things, I frowned and plopped into the chair. My guardian heritage must have upset him because he seemed to hate me. Maybe he blamed me for my mother’s death. I couldn’t blame him for that. I blame myself too.

My rage faltered, leaving me tired. I looked at the floor and wanted to sneak another visit to Job. Glancing at the clock, I opted against it. It would be noticed. They’d ask about my mana.

Instead, I turned to my book and started reading, enjoying my escape to somewhere else. Time seemed to realize that I was taking a break because I swear that it sped up. I was jolted from my reading by a knock within mere moments.

The clock on the wall said it had been an hour. The door said there was someone outside as it chimed again. I sat there, unsure if I was even allowed to answer it.

“Come inside,” Grandma said. Moments later, she escorted a couple and their son inside. They looked wealthy. That was probably why they’d managed to get magic. Funding this thing was pricey. Others slowly filed in while I turned back to my book.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Viper,” an older teenage boy said with a grin. He sat next to me.

I looked over at the eighteen-year-old with trim dark blue hair. He was in a shirt and tie. “Hello, Blue.”

“I’ve heard about you.” Blue grinned and stretched. “I’m going to be one of the strongest in no time. Can you even do anything besides moving fast?”

“Nope,” I lied, my interest waning.

“Oh. I think I’ll get fire and strength. I’ll be one of the strongest.”

“Exciting. - I’m sure you will,” I added quickly. Grandma was giving me a look. The one that clearly said, “Be polite or else.”

“Do you have strength?” Blue asked, scooting closer.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Really?”

I used my spell, reached over, and picked up his chair. He wasn’t that heavy. I set it back down and stopped wasting mana. “Third tier though.”

“Oh. I’m going to get super strength. Maybe I’ll get speed to go with it. Then I can be like Fanged Fury. I’ll beat him in a fight for sure. What level are you anyway?” Blue asked.

“Five,” I lied horribly.

“That’s it? Youch. Why are you here?”

I renamed him Blue Jay since he seemed like a talker. Then I shrugged at him. “To learn.”

“Oh. I thought you were the one doing it.” Blue Jay sighed and looked away.

“She is,” Grandma replied. “And she's higher level than that. You can tell him. We trust him.”

“I’m seven,” I lied again.

Blue Jay spun back. “Awesome. We can level together. Maybe we can get into the tower. When are they going to unlock them?”

“No idea. They are locked up tight beyond the first floor, which gives nothing but some mana and fighting practice. The fae say that we aren’t ready for other floors yet.”

“I heard that too, but they also refuse to give me magic.” Blue Jay scoffed. “Pathetic.”

“No arguments from me. They’re up to something.”

“Welcome everyone,” Grandpa called as the rest filed in. “Viper? Do you mind?”

“Nope.” I stood and walked up. Then I gestured at the spears. “Spear a fish, kill the fish, and we’ll handle the rest. Who’s going first?”

“And this works, right? That’s confirmed?” someone probed.

“Yes,” Grandpa replied with a frown. “Now, I’d encourage you to select and kill one quickly. If you need help, Viper can fish one out for you.” He gestured to the spears again.

One of the bolder men in a gray suit walked forward. He grinned with a cocky smile. Grandma took his picture and started recording him. He grabbed the spear and used it, lifting a thrashing fish with a grin. A flash lit the room.

“Finish it with the knife,” I said and gestured. “Now who’s next?”

He did that. Then he grinned. “Nothing to it!”

“That’s right! Go, go, go!” I exclaimed to the others. They had roughly ten seconds before my life got much more difficult.

The others opted to watch the man.

“Go!” I tried once more.

“No,” a woman in a fancy white dress said. “I paid handsomely for this. I will do it when -”

Her sentence had been too long. It was interrupted by a string of cursing from the man who’d killed the fish. Seeing the mana stream into him, I reached out with my own and encased it in an eggshell. Then I used the enchanting pattern to seal it off so that it would grow.

Finishing my part, I moved back. He danced around, spewing curses and putting everyone on edge. The excitement in the room died under his barrage. Timidness grew in its place. Several moved back from the pond.

I groaned and glared at the profanity-spewing man. This was the part I hated. Someone would get bold. Then the rest would become fearful. It made it take longer. In addition, the cursing was getting on my nerves. Yes, I could sympathize, but it gets old fast.

“Who’s next?” I asked while contemplating knocking the dude out.

That’s when everyone looked busy and began looking at each other. Grandpa handed a bottle of booze to the man. It didn’t help at all. He continued his tirade of expletives, peeling paint from the walls and earning himself a threat from me.

“Shut up, man!” I bellowed and turned back. “Who’s next?”

The man took a drink and resumed his cursing. Grandpa escorted him out of the room, passing my livid grandma.

Ignoring her glower toward me, I looked at the group. “Well?”

“Does the next part hurt this bad?” the woman asked.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be unconscious for it,” I said encouragingly.

A very long minute passed. “Come on, people! I don’t have all day.” They continued their game of looking at each other.

“Buncha chickens. I killed my first when I was ten! And I fished it out of the river by myself! Then I walked home!”

“Shut up. I’m getting ready,” some man said.

I scoffed and mimicked a chicken, flapping my arms wildly. “Bach, bach, bach.”

“Viper,” Grandpa hissed as he entered.

“What? I have things to do today.”

“Sit down and read,” Grandma hissed.

I mimed a chicken while walking back.

“Viper!” Grandpa bellowed.

I plopped into the seat. “What? It’s called professionalism. They don’t need to show up and cry instead of accepting the procedure.”

“Stop! Have some manners.”

I groaned and pulled out my book. It took ten minutes to get the next volunteer. Blue Jay went through the ordeal, having me fish one out for him. I held it out, and he stabbed it.

As the mana streamed in, I enchanted him. Tears ran down his cheeks as he sobbed quietly. It did not help motivate the others. However, I handed him a bag of jerky since he wasn’t blasting me with profanity.

“What?” he muttered.

“Eat it,” I said. “It’ll help.”

“Mana rich food helps. We informed you,” Grandpa added. “You know how to get it.”

I nodded and munched while reading. Then the woman in the dress moved forward. She killed the fish. I enchanted her and continued my heckling to try to motivate them. My grandparents didn’t appreciate it; I didn’t care. My goal was to be done in an hour. It took nearly three hours. By the end, Grandpa was pissed. I was annoyed and tired.

Teleporting home, I let out a long breath.

“We need healing potions,” dad yelled. "Two dozen before dinner!"

I looked at my desk and unleashed my own stream of profanity, blasting the place with a deluge of foul language.

“Language!” Dad yelled.

I continued imitating my father and hundreds of others, unleashing a blistering hell upon my surroundings.

“Training! Two sessions!” Dad barked.

I groaned and stopped. My grandparents had told him. Go figure. With a sigh, I headed for the training room again. I hated it then. I’m not reliving it now. It was a long day. Let’s just leave it at that.

Current Level 10 Current XP 84.01% Current Max Mana 7529.13 Regen per minute 12.55 Reputation 1000

Tier Skill Cost Tier 10 User Time Dilation (Haste)

- User experiences 256 seconds for 1 earth second.

- Force transference limited to 12.5%. 2 mana per earth second. Tier 6 Pocket Dimension

- 128 cubic meters of pocket space.

- Rapid stash and rapid draw.

- You may tether objects to your pocket space.

- Your pocket space preserves items inside. 32 mana Tier 6 Time Stop

- Caster leaves spacetime. They may remove and place things back in spacetime.

- You may control the flow of time in the demiplane.

- You may summon in willing living creatures.

- This automatically triggers if you take significant damage. 200 mana to cast.

Variable cost to move items in and out. Tier 6 Teleport.

- Teleports the caster or a willing creature.

- You may cast this on an unwilling creature if they are within ten meters.

- You may teleport inside an object, causing the matter to push outward.

200 mana for the caster.

400 mana for a willing creature.

1000 mana for an unwilling creature with no resistance.

- Short range casts cost less mana.

Tier 3 Attire Swap

- Locked to a single outfit. Current outfit set to Magical Girl Uniform.

- Attire cleaned on swap.

- Attire repaired on swap. 20 mana. Tier 3 Enhanced Body

-Caster’s body is enhanced by a factor of eight. 2 mana per caster second. Tier 2 Enchanting.

- Enchantments last twice as long. Variable cost. Tier 2 Potions.

- Potions last twice as long. 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.