July 15, 491 U.C.

A light breeze fluttered through the air of Valta, sending a few errant flags and chimes waving. Birds that looked far more reptilian fluttered on the breeze, passing over the sole inhabited city.

Chirping and swirling in an intricate dance, the birds alighted on the large chimneys that towered into the air. Several flashed feathers of red and orange that were on the bottom of their wings. Then they flew as thunder and sirens filled the air.

The same sirens sent a jolt of adrenaline through me. I vaulted from my chair and dashed towards the door of my room. Swinging it open, I ran right into my dad, stumbling backward with blushing cheeks.

“Ready?” Dad asked and turned me back around.

“Yes. Are the guardians here?”

“Not yet. Wear your disguise and be quick. Retreat if you see them.” My door clunked shut.

Vaulting to my closet, I grabbed a black dress, changing into the dress and tights that doubled as armor. Spinning, I grabbed my shoes while the excitement grew. A smile flitted onto my face as I added a belt with my weapons. After cinching down the belt, I removed my amulet and paused for a moment. Okay. Time to do this. Phase one, here we go. With a large smile, I affixed my mask and bolted out of the back door.

Vaulting over shrubs, I ran into the alley. Then I ran through the light drizzle, ignoring the residents who were fleeing to their homes. The rain peppered my head as I dashed down the streets. I gave myself a mental pep talk as I ran. Okay. We’ve got this, Casey. Nothing to it. We’ve been training. With that thought, I slowed as I heard something shatter.

Poking my head around the corner, I saw the source about thirty meters away. Mana konodos, along with several mundane ones, were trashing the place. For the unfamiliar, they look like large Komodo dragons. Or they usually do; these had mutated into small dinosaurs.

A glowing konodo began clawing at a home. A green one turned and clawed at a door; the screeching was worse than nails on a chalkboard. A thump rolled through the air as one smashed something with its tail. Others scurried around on the cement walk, smashing into the nearby houses.

I powered up my spell. Everything slowed. My adrenaline blazed as I dashed in hard and fast with my swords at the ready.

A claw lashed out. I blocked it. The blow jarred up my blade and into my arm. Pulling it away, I hacked with the other. It sunk into the konodo. Spinning, I deflected another jarring attack and took off a konodo’s head. Blood spurted everywhere, coating me in it. The metallic scent smashed into me while I fought the desire to vomit.

The rest of the pack didn’t deem it necessary to give me a break. Instead, they rushed in with open maws. I was forced back into the fight, dodging and blocking to avoid getting hit. With my slash, I removed a leg that ripped into my dress.

The claws set my heart to pounding as I stepped away to avoid another attack. Stepping forward, I chopped deep into the attacker. I felt it hit bone, cutting deep into its neck. That was when I got hit with another blast of blood.

I jumped back to avoid the maw of another. Then, like in training, I whirled forward. Lashing out with both blades, I cut into my attackers while I dashed through them.

Blood dripped from my blades and body. The lizards spun back towards me and lunged; their little legs moving rapidly. The closest opened its mouth, revealing large, white teeth. My blade sunk into its mouth. Then I leapt back to avoid the glistening claws from another. My smile faded as I finished the one in front of me. Fear began to inch inside instead. Claws and teeth were millimeters away. I dashed to avoid the remaining group.

That was when my mana ran out. I went tumbling head over heels while pure panic filled me. Rolling across the concrete, I hit the wall of a building. My pride was far more wounded than my person. However, that changed instantly as claws went right through my tights. The feeling of claws ripping flesh is not pleasant. I screamed bloody murder as my leg ripped open.

With my eyes watering, I stabbed it and scrambled back to my feet. Swinging, I cut another down, the blade passing through its spine. Then I felt horrible pain blast through my leg. I could feel teeth inside of me. I stabbed the mana konodo that had bitten my calf. The feeling of teeth on bone killed most rational thought. In wanton abandon, I hacked it down. Blood ran down my leg as I hacked it open. Then mana exploded from it, flowing into me.

Seeing it drop, I turned and ran away. Fighting fair was out of the question, especially given my throbbing leg. I half ran and half hobbled over to an alley while rain peppered my head. Taking a breath, I shut my eyes for just a moment. Writing popped up along with a little fairy.

Optional Quest: Defend the city from the incursion! I advise meeting with Guardian Command first. Rewards: +62 Reputation. Other rewards are possible.

I opened my eyes. I couldn’t spare time to think about that. The lizards were moving. I could hear them scrambling. I slammed a sword into the first that rounded the corner. As the next rounded the corner, I took off its head.

Then I hacked repeatedly into the mana konodo that rounded the corner. It wasn’t graceful or elegant. I just hacked and prayed that it would die. I wanted to go home. My legs were throbbing. The smell of it was terrible. The mana konodo in front of me went down. The other had taken a strange posture, crouching outside of my reach. Its mouth was open, and it had a strange croaking emanating from it.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Then I felt a horrible pain in my chest as the mana konodo blasted me with some magic. My armor was clearly not armor, because it did nothing to stop the pain that ripped into my chest. My vision started to tunnel while my blood ran down my body. The scent and the pain did not help my struggle to keep consciousness. I desperately hacked into the mana-heavy creature before it could do it again. It died while my hearing dampened. I shook my head and slumped to the ground while sobbing.

Another explosion of magic happened, leaving a chest in front of me. I reached down and flipped open the chest. It was blurry, but I could see a potion. I grabbed and downed the red healing potion. My body began knitting back together while I cried, slumping into the fetal position against the wall. All I could smell was blood. All I could feel was pain. Cold rain pounded on my head as I cried.

Finally, the pain lessened as the potion finished healing most of it. I was grateful for that. Looking at the supposed armor, I just saw a giant mess of blood and fabric. No one ever mentioned the blood. They just showed the guardians looking clean and cute. I didn’t look anything like that. I was a blood-covered mess that hurt everywhere. I closed my eyes.

Quest complete! 62 reputation. (Total: 50) Unrecruited reward package.

“Are you alright?” Ela asked nervously.

I forced myself to open my eyes before I collapsed. Then I grabbed the wrapped box. The chest vanished with a poof. Then I started sneaking back home. Yes, I cried while I did it. I was crying through all of this.

This work was stolen from Magical Girl Platinum by Samantha Nelson on Royal Road. Please message me there.

It was not a pleasant walk. I was covered in blood; much of it was my own. And it started pouring while I detoured to avoid being tracked. Dodging cameras is a real pain. Truthfully, I don’t remember this very well. I blocked it out. I just remember tears, pain, and regret.

I eventually made it home and headed for the bathroom while crying.

“Casey?” my dad asked as I emerged. Then he stared at me with a look of horror. I could understand that. I was drenched in blood, tears, and rain.

“I’m okay,” I whimpered.

Concern radiated from Dad’s face as he examined me for any wounds. “The box? Tell me you didn’t!”

I shook my head, my sopping hair slapping my dirty face. “I didn’t. It was just some anonymous package.”

“We need to burn that!” Dad said and moved up.

I pulled it back. “Dad, no.”

Dad frowned and reached forward. “I need you to give it to me. I need to burn it. Then I need to sanitize your blood.”

“Let me at least see what is inside.” I pulled off the sleek silver wrapping and peeked inside before he could stop me. There was some makeup, a fairy doll plushy, a few emergency potions, a blanket, a water bottle, and a picture of guardians waving.

Dad took the box from my hands. “It has trackers.”

“We can just clean them out.”

“It’s not worth it. It needs to go.”

“Please, Dad,” I begged.

“No. This is how they trick you and kill us both.” Dad turned. “Get cleaned up. I need to sanitize your blood.” He marched away in haste.

I cried while I went into the shower, wasting a lot of warm water. I rinsed off everything and regretted my fighting tactics. Finally, I swapped to an air dry. Then I heard a knock. “Dad?”

Dad leaned against the door. “As soon as you get mana, you need to try to find the nest if it exists. You need to get stronger. They will find us someday, Casey; we have to be ready.”

"I know, Dad. I know."

Ela appeared. “It’ll take ten days to grow, Casey.”

“What does that mean?” I asked inwardly.

“It takes time for your magic to grow. You already have enough to last for ten days. Your gain will be reduced if your potential exceeds your current amount by a large margin. Five days is considered a large margin. Ten is the maximum. You won’t get more.”

“Oh. Was the package bugged?” I asked.

“No. We planned in case some didn’t wish to be guardians while acquiring magic on their own. We thank you for providing service when you can.”

“Do you always give rewards? How does that work?” I asked.

“For real quests? We always give some reputation. Physical rewards? That depends on what is done and when. They are donations from the fae, nobility, or people. They aren’t from the creatures. The mana is from the creatures.”

“Can I send gifts to people?” I asked.

“If you sign up for it.”

“What information do I have to give for that?”

“None. If you wish to send donations, you may request a donation pod assuming you have the reputation. It can harm or increase your reputation if you attempt to exploit.”

“I see. Thanks. Can you point out things that I could send?” I asked.

Ela nodded. “Yes.”

“Can I sell things?”

“Only if you authorize. That requires information.” Ela grinned at me.

“Aw.”

Ela pouted. “You could consider it. You don’t seem like a bad person.”

“Nope. They’ll kill me.”

I opened my eyes, put on a robe, and went to clean my outfit. Minutes ticked by while scrubbing. It seemed a lost cause. I shut my eyes again.

“Is there a way for me to get a magic girl outfit?” I asked her.

“Yes! Want to do it now?” Ela asked with a massive grin.

“You promised not to trick me!”

Ela giggled. “I asked for confirmation instead of tricking you into it. You’d make a great magic girl.”

“Is that the only way?”

“Currently, yes.”

I sighed. “Let me know if that fact changes.”

“I’ll see. This one hasn’t come up yet. I’ll make an anonymous request.”

“Thanks.” I turned to my disaster of a dress, giving up after a few minutes. I left it for the laundry machine to solve. Then I went to my room and started studying again.

Current Level 2 Current XP 70.13% Current Max Mana 19.22 Regen per minute 0.16 Growth Time (Days) 10.00 Potential Mana 4.81 Reputation 50

Tier Skill Cost Tier 1 User Time Dilation

- User experiences 4 seconds for 1 earth second. - Costs 1 mana per earth second.