September 20, 493 U.C.

Like some bird, I stared in the mirror and examined my appearance after school, double-checking my makeup and outfit. It seemed alright. Then I frowned and messed with my hair, carefully tying it up into a ponytail of blonde curls.

Dad groaned. “You look fine; let’s go.”

“One minute. One minute.” Sticking my tongue out, I tied it off and studied again.

“Now! We’ll be late.”

I ignored him. “How often do you get invited to rich guy’s parties? I’m excited. I can make more friends. Can I go get a new pair of shoes?” I frowned at my sneakers, wriggling my feet.

“No.”

“Dad, please.” I tried to give him puppy eyes.

“No. Let’s go.”

“Fine.” I sent him to the party. Then I teleported and walked forward. We passed through a fancy door. That’s when my excitement started mixing with anxiety. I felt woefully underdressed. There were men in tuxes. Women were in ornate gowns. My Viper attire had seen battle. The bottom hem had been ripped due to the recent activities. There was a stain from some blood. And to top it all off, I was in dirty sneakers.

“Dad,” I hissed, pointing at my outfit. “Seriously?”

“We can’t go giving things away. And don’t call me that here,” he said sternly.

I groaned as blood flooded my face. Then I walked out onto the polished wooden floor while looking for anyone my age. The fancy folk were mulling about. There were immaculate tables laid out with fanciful white tablecloths. Everyone was prim and proper, standing beneath the large chandelier. An ornate gold-colored fountain stood at the front.

In short, it was the perfect place for a ball. Like Cinderella, I had finally shown up after my chores. Unlike Cinderella, I didn’t get a fairy godmother to help me out. Maybe I should have been nicer to Ela.

With a sigh, I looked out at the polished stone floor and couples, finding no one my age. It was just a group of rich adults. I sighed loudly and didn’t bother walking quietly. Instead, I went in search of some food.

“And who is that?” some woman asked with an appalled look as I clomped by.

I looked over. “No one, yer ladyship. I’m jus’ here in search of me pa!” I drawled out with the most atrocious accent I could manage. Dad deserved it.

“Viper?” a man asked with wide eyes.

“’Course not,” I drawled. “I’m jus’ a young lass in search of her pa the a-”

“Viper!” Dad barked.

I grinned at him. “Howdy, sir. Have yeh seen me pa?”

Dad’s face went crimson. That was when I decided to stop before I got into real trouble.

“And she’s the Viper?” some woman asked, turning towards Dad.

I teleported in front of her, winked, and went to walk away.

A man grabbed and shook my whole arm. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Thanks.” I pulled it away. “Sorry about the dress. My last rescue was a bit messy. You know how it is there.”

“We can understand that. And how long have you had magic?” he asked.

I stretched my arm. “That’s classified, but it has been a while.”

“And this works, right?”

I grinned. “Yes. I know that it does.”

“Excellent. Excellent. And is it difficult to do?”

“So difficult!” I wasn’t about to undersell it. “It takes so much work. Oh, it is a bit painful. Mana is mean like that. You likely know it, but we do have some things to help with it.”

“Will we see evidence of others?” a woman nearby asked as she stepped up.

I shrugged and studied her ornate hair, which was decorated with pearls. “I’m unsure. I’m just here in case people have questions about magic.”

“Can we control the type we get?” the woman asked.

I shook my head. “Sadly, no. You will get at most two spell network types. I only have one.”

“But it lets you get everything!”

I grinned and winked at her. That’s right!

“I want that one,” the man said with a nod.

I frowned and turned to him. “Sadly, we don’t know how to do that yet. I don’t believe the fae do either.”

“Physical alterations?” the woman asked.

“There may be some. We do offer disguise services as part of the package,” I said, growing bored. I had a growing desire to head elsewhere and cause some chaos.

“We will look somewhat fae? Why don’t you?” the woman asked.

“I do. I’m wearing a disguise.” I looked at her stilettos. How does she walk in those? I want to try it! I nearly groaned audibly as I looked at my worn blue sneakers.

“Can we see your real appearance?” she asked.

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“Nope. That has been forbidden. I do have an amulet if you wish to try it. Though I should warn you that it’s designed for a man that’s a bit taller. It won’t be comfortable.”

“Can I?” the man asked. He took the glowing amulet and slipped it on. Several nearby looked and clapped.

He took it off. “Amazing. It’s like perfect holotech.”

“Yes. Though the magic also helps disguise the physical.”

“Intriguing. And weaponry?” he asked, handing it back.

“We do sell packages. I believe they are auctioning some enchanted items and potions.” I could use that money for some new shoes! My growing desire was to cause a scene.

“Viper, over here,” someone called.

I walked forward in boredom, studying the fancy people. Maybe I should rob them? I giggled and stomped it down. Dad would have gone on a rampage.

“Hello everyone.” I curtsied slightly.

Some guy in a suit gestured toward me. “This is Miss Viper. You’ve likely seen her on the news.”

Some woman chuckled. “She makes an atrocious villain.”

I thought about robbing her. “Mean.”

A man laughed. “I thought it was hysterical.”

“This works?” another asked.

I nodded. “Yes. Yes, it does.”

“And you can demonstrate magic?”

That was when I realized that I was about to be stuck in horrible loops of small questions. I used haste and cast a spell. A massive giltasaur illusion appeared. Like the other, you could tell that it was an illusion. It was clipping through things and was partially transparent.

The man looked at the massive creature in surprise. “Impressive.”

I giggled and changed the spell. It bent its head down and tried to eat him, causing a burst of laughter as the jaws of nothing closed around him.

The man was a good sport. He chuckled. “Not very useful though.”

“It’s a fun party trick,” I said while yawning. I sniffed and smelled food. Where is that at?

“And it was worth the pain and losing your humanity?” a woman asked.

I saw Dad staring and decided not to push it. “I can be anywhere on the three worlds in a moment, so yes.” Then I walked forward in search of food, running into some fancy woman in a sparkling gown.

The woman pointed to a seat. “Take a seat at the front. We have a table for you.”

I nodded and went to the table. Raptor’s point had been made. I killed the illusion and sat there in boredom. I’m just a showpiece. Looking at the white tablecloth, I considered laying my face on it. It seemed more entertaining than this party.

“Welcome everyone,” a man announced. “Please take a seat. Dinner will begin shortly. We will be selling off a dozen full packages afterward.”

Everyone started sitting down, leaving me alone at my table. This is Dad’s fault. I sighed and pulled out a book, resuming my spell studies.

Drones began distributing plates of food. To my happiness, they also heaped my table. That made me smile. I reached forward and snuck a roll, eating it while everyone looked up at the host.

“Honored guests, bon appetite,” the woman said.

I started eating with a grin. It was Italian. That suited me just fine. I started with the lasagna, reading while I ate. The tomato, meat, and cheese mingled into an exquisite taste. I enjoyed it, rapidly working through a large portion.

Turning, I grabbed tomato soup and grilled cheese. I began eating it happily.

Raptor: Rescue

If my soup gets cold, I’ll kill them.

With that thought, I teleported, used haste, and bolted into the tower. A drone followed me into it. That was when I started suspecting it was staged. The thought soured my mood.

Ignoring the thought for the moment, I ran forward, hacking down the overgrown bugs that acted as ambiance. After three exploding bugs, I got annoyed and ran past them, dashing down the black corridors.

Circling through the thing, I finally managed to lock onto their position. I ran into a room and studied the group of five. They were attacking some bug. They were also completely unharmed, exhausted, or even winded.

I dropped haste. “Do you need help?” I asked.

“Nope. What’s up, Viper?” The man next to me slammed into the bug, smashing it into the floor.

“I got a rescue call. It must be a publicity stunt.” I gestured at the drone that zipped in after me.

“We’re fine. Did you kill everything?”

I shook my head. “No. I killed three and skipped stuff.”

“Leave the rest, please. We’re trying to level.”

Another man cleaved a bug in half. I sidestepped the mess and wrinkled my nose, distancing myself from the glop. Spinning, I glowered at the drone and reached into my pocket. My phone buzzed.

Raptor: Return to the party.

I rolled my eyes. It was a publicity stunt.

Me: Dad! Why didn’t you just tell me?

Dad: We wanted an authentic reaction.

Me: Mean!

Dad: Return.

I sighed, used haste, and bolted back outside. Then I teleported and resumed eating my soup before it got any colder. It was my solace after their trickery.

The rest of the night was largely boring. The rich folk around me were discussing magic and politics. I let them push it forward while reading, eating, and doing homework. The auction itself was boring. I didn’t pay attention to it. You know. The guy says numbers. They are displayed on a screen. People put in bids by raising a paddle.

I spent part of it musing on how to ensure the candidates didn’t abuse it. I didn’t want another criminal hurting people. That was when I decided Platinum was about to become a problem for any real criminals.

With that thought, I ate the last of my food and grew bored. Minutes dragged by at an agonizing pace. When it finally ended, I happily returned home and then got an unpleasant surprise.

Current Level 11 Current XP 24.54% Current Max Mana 10194.63 Regen per minute 15.45 Reputation 12100

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.