August 21, 493 U.C.

Sunlight streamed through my window, lighting up the glorious morning. With a grin on my face, I straightened my uniform and double-checked my appearance for the fifth time. Excitement raced through me. I was finally going to school.

“Hurry. Don’t be late,” Dad said as he poked his head in.

I grabbed my bag and headed for the kitchen.

“Don’t get into trouble. Keep things secret. And for the love of God, try to focus.”

“I always focus! It’s not my fault things are monotonous.” I didn’t bother getting a reply. Instead, I grabbed my lunch and headed for the door. Walking outside, I journeyed down the plastic corridor with a smile on my face.

An alarm blared, reminding me of the obvious problem outside. I slapped on my mask and headed on my way. School! Finally! And I can get a break!

Quest: Redemption – Turn yourself in to the guardians. Rewards: 10,000 reputation. Additional reputation is available for subsequent quests.

Ignoring the quest, I headed for the exit, walking down the plastic corridor.

Ela fluttered forward. “Good morning! You should turn yourself in! We can have loads of fun. The guardians all want to meet you and want to say hi!”

“Nice try, little trickster. They’ll kill me just like my mom!”

“They won’t!” Ela shouted, going off on another rant.

I ignored her and studied the sights of the city. There weren’t many, but I locked onto the large school and started my trek.

“Casey!” Daniele yelled.

I spun and grinned. “Morning, Daniele! I like your messy bun.”

“Thanks.” Daniele raced up; her skirt swishing as she ran.

I turned back towards my mission. With the sun beaming down, it felt right. I enjoyed it while we walked. Today’s a good day.

“How are you?” Daniele asked.

“Great. How are you adjusting?”

“It’s much better now. The storms are rough though.”

“That’s the way of mana.” I waved at another local. We rounded a corner on our way towards the center of town.

“See any guardians?” Daniele asked. “I heard we might have some guardians or something here now.”

“Just you,” I whispered and giggled. “And that’s my last one.”

Daniele grinned. “I’m trying not to get my hopes up too much, but I’m excited.”

“Me too. How is – gah!” I reacted with feline grace. Then I looked at the boy with black hair and green eyes. He appeared to be older than me. He was wearing a collared white shirt and a pair of blue slacks. It was the school uniform. He was also laughing hysterically. I resumed time and dropped back to the ground.

The stealthy boy laughed. “So worth it.”

“Evil! I don’t care what your name is, I’m calling you evil!” I proclaimed and spun. Then I realized who the black-haired boy was.

“Sorry, sir,” I muttered quickly lest I get tossed into jail. That would be annoying. I’d have to break out, which would require a good second and a new identity. The latter was the real problem.

“I’m afraid that you have me at a disadvantage.” The boy quirked a brow.

“Casey.”

“Daniele. What are you doing on Vuln, sir?” Daniele asked, nearly running into a pole.

I grabbed Daniele and began steering her towards the school. She’ll recover. Give her a minute.

The noble kid smiled. “We moved here to work on the fae construction project. They are building a city here. My father is working with them. We want more collaboration.”

That’s not good news. They’re building a city. Urgh. “Do I need to say ‘sir?’ I am not doing that,” I decided and voiced at the same time. “You can walk ahead if I need to do that.”

“No, you don’t. Just call me Daron. Are you a long-standing resident?” Daron asked.

I nodded. “Four years. Want some gilfish? I can get you some.” I shot him a smile.

Daron groaned. “I have plenty of that. The native stuff just tastes like fire. It’s nasty.” His face contorted to one of pain and disgust.

Hearing noises, I turned away from the rich guy. “What the fae?”

“That’s how you greet us?” one with shimmering blue hair asked with a quirked brow. The other had shimmering white hair. They were tall and lithe. My face turned a bit red as I gave them a once-over. The blue haired one was sort of cute. Now is not the time for a crush. I looked away. Ela began spazzing out with newfound energy.

I blinked. “Am I dreaming? Daniele! Dream check!”

Daniele giggled. “We're just surprised. Nice to meet you. I’m Daniele. She’s Casey.”

“I’m Spen’ze. He’s Zriulth.”

“Why are you two here? No offense. I’m just flabbergasted,” I said while trying to keep my emotions in check. My school plans were on the brink of ignition.

“Should we tell them?” Zriulth asked in Faiin.

“Standard answer for now,” Spen’ze replied. “Think they’ll beg us to get magic?”

“Yes. They will. That’ll be annoying.”

I pretended to not understand any of it while giving them a look of bafflement.

“We’re establishing a city here to act as guardian headquarters,” Zriulth said. “We’re also learning since some of us will live in it too. And we are trying to find out about the self-awakened.”

“You are looking for the Platinum Princess?” Daniele asked.

Zriulth nodded. “Yes. And Viper. Have you noticed anyone suspicious?”

I pointed. “I did see a sketchy guy sneak up on two girls. There he is! His name is Daron!”

“You did not see me,” Daron protested. “You jumped like a cat who’d had its tail stepped on.”

“Evil! He’s the Viper! Take him away, Spen’ze!” I waved the back of my hand at Daron with a smirk. Spen’ze looked at me in surprise; I realized my mistake. “I have a thing for names,” I said quickly to try to cover my error.

“That was impressive. Most humans struggle greatly.”

Daniele swallowed and looked at them nervously. “Do you control who gets magic?”

“We know those who can do it,” Spen’ze replied.

Daniele grinned. I continued escorting her as she nearly stopped to stare. I dragged her around another corner. Okay. Let’s just pray they are older.

“And you are accompanying Dr. Evil?” I asked them while nearly hitting a pole myself. Quest messages were popping up over and over.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Spen’ze chuckled. “Yes. We’re working with them on secret plans. I can’t tell you about them.”

“Can it, Ela!” I barked.

“Do it!”

I regretted bringing my ocular computer while walking. The fae had just provoked her. In growing frustration, I powered it down.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Daniele said. “Are you going to school?”

Zriulth studied her. “Yes. How old are you two?”

“Fourteen,” Daniele replied.

“Same,” I replied. “Give or take a millennium, depending on the clock.”

Spen’ze gave me a look of confusion. He shook his head and studied the buildings.

“What about you?” Daniele asked.

“We will be entering the tenth grade,” Daron replied.

“Oh,” Daniele said with disappointment.

I let out a breath of relief. That was good news. I was already walking a tightrope without them being in any of my classes. Growing bored, I began skipping forward, pulling Daniele as I went.

“What?” Daniele asked.

“We’re gossiping about the fae. Quick, we need to make our own language.”

Spen’ze jumped on that. “We could say anything, and they won’t realize.”

Zriulth chuckled. “Yes. It’s tempting. Keep an eye on them. There is something about them.”

“We should check scans.”

“Agreed.”

I picked up the pace, nearly sprinting off towards school. My lying skills were not up to this challenge. I was already tempted to insult them in Faiin which would be a terrible idea.

Daniele giggled. “We should talk to them. You know.”

“Go ahead. Tell them to give me access to a fae library!” I giggled at my inside joke. Then I realized that I’d need to hide those books.

“Only fae can access them,” Zriulth replied.

“Pity. Do you know Eluna?” I asked.

“Of course. She is one of the most skilled enchanters,” Spen’ze said. “That family is well known on our world.”

“Can I meet her?” I bluffed to push them away.

“No,” Spen’ze replied.

“Aw. Can you make me a magic girl? I’ll do anything.” I grinned and tried to push it.

“We’ll see,” Zriulth said with growing annoyance.

“Please! Pretty, pretty please!” I batted my eyes at him and gave him my best puppy-dog look.

“No.”

I counted that as a victory. Then I turned to admire the scenery. I left the rest of it for Daniele to solve. She kept staring.

Luckily for me, the school was just ahead. The building was one of the larger ones. The three-story building also had an impressive bunker. The sides were lined with heavy sheets of metal. I happily walked towards it.

Spen’ze darted forward and opened the door for us.

“Thanks,” I said as I passed inside and entered the school airlock.

Daniele beamed. “Thanks.” She walked into the airlock with me. Then the rest of the group and a few others piled in. Most were far too busy staring at the visitors to bother me. That suited me just fine. I watched the sensors doing their thing. Some light blinked green. It slid open.

Spen’ze smirked and walked closer. “The Platinum Princess is about your height.”

“Yes! Make me into her!” I batted my eyes at him. Clearly, it was time to embrace my inner villain. I prepared to word vomit all over him. “I know that you can. Please, please, please. I’ll do whatever you want. You just name the terms. What are the terms, anyway? Do guardians get a say in it? How does the system work? I heard that the default familiar is a fairy. I want her plushie. Can you get me one?”

Spen’ze blinked, confusion lit on his face. “What?”

“Sorry. Dad says that I need to learn to focus. Of course, I told him that I had no problem focusing for a few seconds. The remainder is the tricky part... I can’t believe I’m talking to a fae. Can you teach me the language? You could come visit. I’ll make something. Do you like native food? What do fae eat anyway? I noticed canines. That has to mean that you like meat. I can cook meat, and I have loads of practice. Afterward, you could teach me magic and maybe -”

“Stop!” Spen’ze ordered.

Thank God. I was running out of words. “I should get to class.” I spun and skipped off down the hall.

“Sorry about her,” Daniele said with a giggle. “It was nice meeting you.” She dashed up to me. “You are so bad.”

“What? I got curious, and he gave me permission.” I waved at another girl. Then I turned and walked into a classroom. The transparent desks were like mine at home. I happily logged into it while Daniele took a seat next to me.

“Do you have tricks for mana?” Daniele asked. “My parents are struggling.”

“Yes, but you won’t like it.”

“What?”

“Eat the native stuff every day for a month. The ambient mana won’t bother you anymore. That month will suck though.”

“Thanks.” Daniele turned to a black-haired girl. “Hi, I’m Daniele. She’s Casey.”

“Sun-young. We just moved.” She took a seat next to us.

“We moved recently too. It is rough.”

“Weak humans,” Zriulth replied in Faiin as he walked in and took a seat.

“That’s the truth.”

“I think you are in the wrong class,” I replied as I spun to see the three.

“Pre-calculus?” Spen’ze asked.

“Yes.”

“Then we aren’t.” He smiled at me.

I batted my eyes back. Then I turned back to the desk and cursed my luck. This was Dad’s fault for making me study so hard. He said that I was behind. I glanced up as he sat on the other side of me. Fantastic. Just what I need.

“Hi,” Sun-young said. She waved at him.

My grin grew as every person in the class turned to try to curry favor.

“Daron?” some girl asked with wide eyes.

“In the flesh,” Daron replied. “Calm yourself, please.”

“But – b- but – but…” I stammered to fit in with the rest who were staring. Then I grew bored and pulled up the messaging app. I signed in.

Me: Dad! Where did all these people come from?

Dad: Vuln has a new focus due to recent events. The fae are investigating things. Lay low!

Then the teacher walked in. She walked to the front of the room in a blouse and a pair of grey slacks. Her hair was pulled up in a tight bun. “Welcome, everyone. Let’s keep things calm, please. Please sign into your desk so I can take attendance. Then we shall begin the lesson.”

I glanced around the room. There were only sixteen of us. That did not help my mood. But at least it was a no-nonsense math class. That would make things easier. I turned my attention back to the instructor. The clear glass board lit up as she announced the syllabus.

Then she began expanding on the subjects as well as standard incursion protocols. I tuned out for that, opting to go check the news. They were discussing registration for magic users.

~~~

The rest of the morning passed at a snail’s pace. The good news was that most of my classes were devoid of the fae overlords. In addition, most of the students were nice enough. That gave me hope.

Emerging for lunch, I took a seat at one of the tables and pulled out my lunch. I don’t remember what it was. I think it was a raptor sandwich or something.

“How do I make friends with the fae?” Daniele whispered as she took a seat.

“I want to know too!” Sun-young added as she took a seat. Then she took a bite of the school lunch. Her eyes watered. “It’s local?”

“Yes. And I’m unsure, Daniele.” I was very tempted to teach her insults in Faiin, but that would ruin things. The temptation grew as I heard them whispering in it again. They were basically asking for it. Don’t Casey, don’t.

“So annoying,” Zriulth said in Faiin.

“Can we transfer yet?” Spen’ze asked.

“I wish. The school can’t finish soon enough.”

“I’m not going to make it.”

“Me neither! Can I yell at them? I want to yell that ‘I will not make you into a guardian!’”

“Seriously. Leave me alone!”

Like ignoring an unscratched itch, I forced myself to look over at my friends instead of messing with them.

“I’m going to try to make friends,” Sun-young said with a nervous smile.

“You should. I ruined my shot.” I took a bite and enjoyed the slathered mustard. I need to find something like this here.

“Local?” Sun-young asked me.

“Some of it. It’s hard to get it fully clean.”

Sun-young slumped as the three sat elsewhere. I let out a breath of relief. That was great news for me. I’d escaped.

“Where do you live, Sun-young?”

“Central towers.”

“Oh! Fun. How do you like it?”

“It’s horrible. I hate the mana,” she said dourly. “We moved in case it gave magic. Did you ever see Platinum or Viper?”

“I saw Platinum once,” I lied and began chomping down on my sandwich, letting others take over the conversation. Things were dicey enough without me saying something foolish.

People began talking. Several moved to the overcrowded table nearby. Soon, tables were pushed together, forming a massive table. I happily ignored it and looked at Daniele as the last of our table mates left.

“Should we?” Daniele asked.

“Forget that. They hate it. I’m not pissing them off.”

Daniele saw the wisdom in that. She ate with me. We enjoyed the time, heading to class after the bell rang.

Current Level 11 Current XP 3.88% Current Max Mana 8501.56 Regen per minute 12.88 Reputation 2000

Tier Skill Cost Tier 11 User Time Dilation (Haste)

- User experiences 256 seconds for 1 earth second.

- Force transference limited to 25%. 1 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.