September 15, 493 U.C.

They say that metal breaks if you bend it enough. That was how I felt four days later. I was tired of being isolated. I was tired of my unending chores, and I was tired of training.

I picked myself up off the floor and glared at Dad. Pain lanced down my arm and didn’t stop. I looked at my arm and then back at him. “Use your fucking magic again, and I’ll use mine,” I yelled.

“Casey, don’t start. You need to follow orders.” Dad brandished the stick and lunged forward.

I knew what was coming. I had just yelled at him. He shot forward. I used Haste and spun around him. Then I tapped him with the swords, sending him staggering forward. He toppled to the ground while I dropped the spell.

“No magic!” Dad barked. Pure rage blanketed his face.

“Fuck that, and fuck you!” I screamed at him. Throwing the swords into the air, I teleported and appeared out in the wilds.

Shrubs and trees littered the area in front of me. There was a skiff of snow under several. In the distance, the sun was setting, dropping below the horizon. I sniffed and pulled out a jacket. Pulling that on, I jogged around the tundra. It was largely due to curiosity.

So, I jogged around to see what survived way up here. I wasn’t sure that reptiles could do it.

I shivered and walked around the mountain. I spotted a herd of feathered dinosaurs below. They were plucking up berries and other things. Then they lifted off and flew overhead. I watched them soar off towards the ocean.

Then a massive one came shooting down. In grim fascination, I watched the overgrown eagle thing slam into one. Feathers went flying as it flew away with its prize.

Woh. Turning, I studied the area and looked for other signs of life. I didn’t see any at a glance. With a sigh, the ramifications of my actions came slamming into me. What do I do now?

That thought weighed on me. I didn’t want to go back home. Yet, we did need to make more progress. I also didn’t want to be some homeless fugitive. I’m going to lose Daniele this winter.

That made me wince. With a sigh, I teleported and knocked on a door. Please be home.

It swung open, and Job pulled me into a hug. “You’ve gotten taller.”

“Hi, Job.” I smiled at him and walked into the nice apartment.

Job shut the door. “What’s this on the news?”

“It’s madness, but the fae are corrupting the human genome.”

Job nodded. “I can’t argue. Did you see the latest batch of guardians?”

“No. Why?”

“They look even more fae than usual. One of them, Mechania, looks exactly like one. I don’t know if they changed things or not, but they seem more fae than ever.” He walked over to the screen and pulled up an image.

I walked over and studied it with a frown. Damn it. The picture was telling. They were tall, lithe, and had long ears. The girl in question had no sign of humanity left. Her hair seemed to be like liquid copper. The others looked very similar.

“I’m still trying to figure out why. But there is talk of getting them out. We just need to know how Viper did it. Do you know?” Job asked.

I sighed. “She didn’t. She’s a lie from the resistance. We’ve managed to weed out a little bit of fae but not much. We’re hoping we can with the next generation.”

“And your arms?” Job asked with a frown.

I flushed, feeling that horrible fire in my face again. “Fighting and training.”

“Be safe out there, Casey.”

“I will.”

“What brings you here today?” Job asked.

“My dad and training.” I shook my head. “They make me do so much, and they are so ungrateful. It’s just a list of demands.”

Job patted my shoulder. “I’m sure it is. Stopping this madness has to be hard.”

“You have no idea. It’s so much work!” I groaned. “I work for hours and hours. Then because I didn’t kill some guardians, they punished me!”

“I’m sorry, Casey.” Job took a seat on the couch.

I joined him. “How is the family doing?”

“Well. They are keeping busy.” Job frowned as his phone rang.

I bit back my desire to unleash a stream of profanity on the screen. My dad’s face was on it. I spun. “Job?” I hissed.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Nothing like that. He’s probably looking for you and checking old contacts.”

My frown grew. “Don’t answer it.”

Job frowned. “What’s going on, Casey?”

“I need a break from him.”

Job frowned and debated. “He may be worried. I won’t tell him anything.” He picked up the phone.

Fuck this! I teleported, appearing back in my room. Then I slammed the door shut with a thunderous boom. I heard Dad yelling.

Wanting to avoid that, I used Time Stop. “Death?” I asked.

Death popped in. “What’s up, Casey?”

“I just need a distraction,” I said as my lip quivered.

“Sorry. People can suck. It looks like you are learning that. I just had to purge a few hundred.”

I tossed him jerky and curled up into a ball. “Why?”

“They started messing with souls. That’s my domain. I wasn’t letting them animate dolls and shit. Who wants to have your soul shoved into a doll?” Death sighed. “I killed them for it.”

“But agency?”

“Doesn’t apply to souls that are passing elsewhere. That is my domain, not theirs. If they enter it, I get to decide,” Death said. He started munching.

His story didn’t help. My thoughts lingered on the fact that I had no one. That’s not true, a little voice in my head thought back. You have Daniele and Ryan.

I swallowed and stared at the floor. Tears ran down my face. They don’t get it. That was the truth. They didn’t. The resistance clearly had issues too. I looked over at Death.

“Sorry, Casey. I’m sure you will figure it out.” He patted me on the shoulder and vanished into space.

With a choking sob, I curled up and just cried. It all was overwhelming. Like an emotional mess, I created a puddle in front of me while I sobbed.

When the tears finally ended, I still felt horrible. In a desperate bid to have someone understand it all, I pulled out a notebook and started writing. That was when this book was born...

I don’t know if it worked or not. I still feel like shit and it’s not like I can publish this thing. Can you imagine? It would be so much worse. They’d know everything.

Now what am I supposed to do? I wish you were here to give me real advice. Sadly, Death is my only option. He’d just tell me to go on a killing spree... Wait a second. That’s it! Stay put for a minute. I’m sure that I’ll have a lot more to say.

~~~

I appeared back in my room and waited. He’ll come.

Dad knocked loudly. “Casey, open.”

I swung open the door. “I’m not your executioner; I’m your kid! If you want me to be a killer, I’m starting with anyone who can’t seem to comprehend basic morality.” I glowered at my dad.

Dad frowned. “Casey -”

“No, Dad. Training is done for the week, and don’t even think about pushing me on this one. You will regret it!” I slammed the door in his face and debated what to do next.

Why are the fae doing this? Those two haven't been that bad. Ela hasn't either. With a frown plastered on my face, I teleported into the library and walked to the gem. I slapped my hand on it, summoning up the fae magical hologram.

“Hello,” I said. “Why are the fae changing humans into them?”

The woman frowned. “I have no record of that.”

“How long since you were installed?” I asked.

“It has been two thousand three hundred and sixty-one planetary revolutions.”

I staggered at that. That’s at least fifteen hundred years. What happened in the middle? I frowned. “What of the natives of Vuln?”

“History and plans may be found here.” The woman gestured.

“Thank you.” I raced over to the books. Then I rapidly grabbed one and picked it up. I began reading it. It told the story of the kobolds and how mana had devolved them, destroying their intelligence. Sadly, it didn’t tell me how or why. My quest for more information about mana mutation led me to the same book about advancing issues. It just mentioned horrible aberrations from such things.

With a sigh, I returned home and went to grab a snack. Then I spun as Dad walked inside.

Dad sighed. “Casey, you know that this is going to be hard. You need to follow orders.”

“I’m not your assassin, Dad. Don’t try to make me one,” I replied. Pulling out some carrots, I started eating them.

“Please be more open-minded. What if someone was threatening your life?”

“Two kids were not a threat! I’m not hurting them.”

Dad gave up. “We have a meeting tomorrow. You should come. It’s important for our upcoming plans.”

I nodded and kept eating.

“Please work on the supplies. We need them.”

I nodded while he turned and walked away. I called it a win, grabbing more snacks before I headed back to my room to work.

Current Level 11 Current XP 21.15% Current Max Mana 9916.63 Regen per minute 15.03 Reputation 12000

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 7 Pocket Dimension

- 128 cubic meters of pocket space.

- Rapid stash and rapid draw.

- You may tether objects to your pocket space.

- Your pocket space cleans, preserves, and organizes items inside based on your will. 32 mana Tier 7 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.

- Recast to gain vision. 200 mana to cast.

Variable cost to move items in and out. Tier 7 Teleport.

- Teleports the caster or a willing creature.

- You may cast this on a willing or unwilling creature if they are within fifty 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 2 Familiar Manifestation. 20 mana to cast Tier 2 Free casting

- Cast any spell you can replicate.

- Slotted Spell. Use half the normal cost of the spell to store a single spell for future use. Cast the spell for the remaining cost. Variable cost. Penalty of 8x mana.