September 22, 493 U.C.

They say that stress ruins your sleep. I agreed with the sentiment as I walked out into the morning air. My stomach grumbled as I rubbed my eyes once more. I tried to blink away the exhaustion. It didn’t work. Turning, I began the arduous journey to school.

“Doing alright?” Daniele asked.

“Nope. You?”

“Not really. What are we going to do?” Daniele swallowed nervously.

I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

Daniele stepped closer. “Are you going to register?”

“Who knows? I have so many problems.” I had no idea how to solve them either. How do you get rid of magical overlords without rampant killing of innocent people?

Daniele frowned and pulled out of her thoughts. “How did they get magic? Casey, did you?”

I looked down at the cement walk, rubbing my eyes again. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Are you still grounded?” Daniele asked. “We need to talk.”

“Yes. For the rest of the month. Sorry.”

Daniele didn’t let it go. “I know why, Casey. I can connect things. You could come live with us if you are worried about that.”

I frowned at her. “Daniele, I know you are nice, but I’m not leaving my dad. He’s all I have.”

“I understand.” She said sadly.

I continued my walk in silence, wallowing in sorrow and regret. I had so many problems and couldn’t think of good solutions.

Daron came striding up. “Casey, we need to talk. Are you Viper? Seriously? We need to know. Just tell me now.”

Ela fluttered out. “Turn yourself in to the fae! Not the nobles, Casey! Trust me! The fae! I can set up a meeting when you are ready.”

“They just want to kill me,” I said. “I’m not letting them do that.”

“Trust me, please! I saved your life. That’s how you repay it! You trust me!” Ela shouted.

“I’ll think about it.”

I shook that thought away fast. I had no intention of handing myself to my would-be murderers. Then another horrible thought showed up. What if that gets them to stop? I swallowed, failing to get rid of the growing emotion in my throat. Could I sacrifice myself? My eyes started to water.

“Casey?” Daron probed again.

I shook my head. “No, I’m not Viper.”

“Don’t lie about this, Casey. I mean it. And you’ll probably get pulled, Daniele. Given your compatibility, it’s time.” Daron sighed loudly. “What a mess.”

Daniele blushed. “Where are the fae?”

“Busy. Yesterday changed everything. We have proof that his soldiers are the unregistered villains. It also explains how they got magic. We just need Viper over here. We want Platinum too, but she’s not part of the madness.”

“What plans changed?” Daniele asked.

“I can’t give specifics, but things changed with the nobility. You saw what Viper did. She exploded a robot and removed a missile so fast that you couldn’t see it. Then she incinerated a full hive on her own! Yes, it was an amateur hive, but still. She and Platinum have been advancing hard and fast for years. Some argue that Viper will be the strongest because she’s learning everyone’s spells. We need to understand that.”

Daron shot me a look. I just slumped. It all made me tired. My eyelids drooped as I plodded wearily down the streets.

Daron ran his hands through his hair. “If either of you figure it out, let me know. We need those two; they're dangerous too.”

“Platinum could be countered by any modern weaponry,” I said with a shrug. “So could Viper. Yes, they’re fast. Guns are faster.”

“Yes, but we don’t want to shoot either of them. We need to talk to them.”

I nodded and looked back at the ground. I wish it would rain. That matches my mood. I forced myself to look up as I heard more footsteps.

Daniele turned. “Hi, Lucy.”

“Hi, Daron. How are you?” Lucy asked and gave us another bitchy look.

“Terrible. It’s a mess.” Daron sighed loudly and rubbed his eyes. “Casey, I mean it. Please come forward with any information.”

“Will do,” I lied. “Our little garden is ready for harvest. So, I guess that’s the top one.”

“Don’t make this worse, Casey.”

I turned my focus back to the ground and kept walking. Things were a mess. Then the siren sounded. I put on my mask as a plume of steam erupted from the terraformer. It billowed up into the air, creating a little cloud on its way.

A force smacked into me. I glanced over and waved at a senior. She scowled at me, which pissed me off.

I flipped her off. “Get lost. I’m not standing in the way of your flirting.”

Then I jogged ahead. I was tired of all the dirty looks from girls. I wasn’t trying to win him over. My life was complicated enough without adding some horrible love entanglement.

Daron’s voice hit. “Casey, we’ll reward you. Don’t forget that, and don’t do anything to change that!”

I kept running, trying to leave my problems and classmates behind. The breeze was nice.

Daniele raced up to me. “Are you doing alright?”

“Sorry. It’s just been a cruddy week.”

“Just know that you’ll always be my friend.” She smiled at me. Honestly, it helped.

I smiled back and saw Daron race up. That was when I considered running faster. The growing group around me added more fuel to the fire.

“Daniele, want to go to the dance with me?” Daron asked.

Daniele turned red and smiled nervously. “Yes. Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“What the hell?” Lucy hissed at Daniele. “Bitch!”

Daniele looked hurt. That made me mad.

“Get lost, Lucy,” I yelled at her.

“You’ll pay for this.” Lucy stormed off.

I found that ironic. She’d make a better villain than me. That was when the invasion sirens blared. It perked me right up.

Quest: Pterada Invasion – There is a flock of Pterada heading towards the city.

Rewards: 100 reputation.

I glanced at the map and debated while running. The fae were elsewhere. I did have some options to deal with flying creatures, and I was frustrated. Venting that on some mutated monsters didn’t sound so bad.

“Want to take care of that, Casey?” Daron asked while sprinting.

I shook my head as he bumped into me. “What? No way. You do it.”

“Come on. I’ll offer more. Four hundred credits as well.”

Reward Upgraded: 100 reputation. 400 credits. (Credit payout requires registration).

“I don’t have magic!” I shouted at him.

“I don’t believe you. Just kill them.”

“Forget that. I’m getting in a bunker!” I burned rubber up the street. People around us were doing the same as they bolted for cover. The streets became a sea of panic as the flying reptiles approached.

The dinosaurs were at least twenty meters wing-tip to wing-tip. Their bodies were a mix of blue and red; they were also glowing with magic. That was when I realized that this group clearly had been fishing in the ocean. The reputation reward didn’t come close to being accurate.

“Shit!” Daron yelled as he sprinted.

“They are going to wreck the place!” someone said.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“RUN! DON’T TALK!” someone bellowed.

I raced along with the group; too many were jostling me to risk much.

Urgency Upgrade: High Priority – Pterada Invasion

Reward Upgrade: 500 reputation.

2000 credits (Requires registration).

I debated it as I raced into the school. Then I quickly made my way through the airlock. “Stop bumping me, Daron. I’m here.”

“We’ll see.” Daron followed me.

“Please, Casey? I’m worried.” Ela began fretting.

“One moment. I need to have a second without monitoring.”

I dodged a corner, and things became a still life. That was when I began casting a spell while willing myself out there. Looking out, I saw over a dozen of the massive creatures flying overhead. Some were diving. I finished my preparation and released the spell. It sat there surging. I repeated it while swapping to Viper’s guise.

With two spells ready to go, I grabbed a slew of wooden knives, used haste, and resumed time. As I started falling, I threw high-speed knives while lightning chained through the group. It lit the place, nearly blinding me while I chucked knives.

A low thunder rolled as the smell of ozone and burned flesh hit my nostrils. I continued slinging the blades, sinking them into the weakened flesh of the creatures above.

As the last died, I froze time and swapped back to my normal outfit. I dropped haste, went back inside, and resumed time. Then I yelped as Daron’s bony finger hit my side.

“Stop poking me!” I shouted at him.

“I had to check.”

Quest Complete!

Rewards: 500 reputation. 2000 credits. (Requires Registration).

Galactic Quest: Earth defense! In order to aid others, you must first be able to aid yourselves. Contribution: 2294. Time Remaining: 49 Earth days.

Daron stared at me, his mouth gaping. “Seriously? Was it you? How fast are you? That’s absurd.”

“Was what me?” I feigned while pulling my hair into a ponytail.

“Want to get paid?” Ela asked.

“Add it to a future tab.”

Quest: Redemption – Turn yourself in to the fae. Rewards: 50000 reputation. 2000 Credits (Requires Registration).

My eyes bugged out. “Seriously, 50k? That’s a jump.”

“Yep!”

“Why is it that high? Did you trick me again?”

Ela went quiet.

I looked away. It was a trap. I wasn’t doing that.

“Just admit it,” Daron said with a frown.

“Admit what? It wasn’t me!” I exclaimed and began fighting through the student blockade.

“Liar.”

“If she was that fast, it wouldn’t be so easy to get her to yelp,” one of the seniors said with a chuckle.

“Mean! All of you!” I stormed off to class. Then I paused and went to retrieve some mana crystals and carcasses. It would save me some time later.

“They found your blood,” Ela admitted.

Shit! I shivered. How? When? Then I remember that bug spike. I had stood there bleeding. That explained it. They must have gone and retrieved samples. Shit, shit, shit! I wanted to hide in a cupboard; instead, I turned to Ela.

“You promised!” I protested.

“Not to trick you. Guardian command took a sample. Please meet with them. They say that you won’t be hurt. I promise you won't, Casey. Please.” Ela gave my a puppy dog look. It started working, wearing down my little remaining resistance.

“It’s a lie!” I said. Then I powered off the ocular computer before I did something rash.

That left me stewing. I felt my breakfast churning and moving. They were going to figure it out. You know that. They knew it anyways. I forced down my panic. It was inevitable they found out. Still, it wasn’t assuring. They knew and were hunting for me.

I let out a long breath and headed into class. Then my angst turned to fury. “Ryan, what’s wrong?”

Ryan looked down. She was wearing pants and looked miserable. I wanted my giggling friend back.

“Nothing,” Ryan murmured.

I frowned. “What’s going on, Ryan?”

“It was just a bad morning. My uncle is getting drafted. They might draft my dad too.” Ryan slumped as she trudged.

I grimaced as my fury turned inward. My actions were cascading, and I could only think of one thing to do to try to help. “Permission to appear in your room tonight? I can set you up. I’ll have to be fast, but I can do it.”

“You mean with magic?” Ryan whispered. A smile crept onto her face. “You mean it?”

“I’ll see you tonight. There are two steps to this. I need to get you the first one. Activation comes later.” I took a moment to look at the clock. Then I pulled Ryan towards class. I wanted a friend nearby. It was helping my garbage mood.

We walked into the room as the metal outside lifted. I slumped into my chair and tried to pay attention. Instead, I spent most of it trying to solve my moral dilemma.

The teacher snapped me out of it. “Oh, and it looks like we have a special event.”

I looked around the class, wearing the confusion openly. The door opened, revealing people that I did not want to see. In fairness, I’d been expecting this. I also wasn’t looking forward to it.

I used Time Stop, freezing everything. Then I appeared back at home and grabbed some blood that we’d stashed. I set it in a water bath to heat it. Then I returned and resumed time.

“Hello, everyone,” a police officer said. There were four of them and someone from guardian command. All were in uniform. In front of them was the magic compatibility machine.

Several of the students turned to look at them and then turned to look at me. I knew what they were thinking. They wanted to see if I’d run off. I smiled at them and turned back.

“Seriously, Daron?” I asked as he walked through the door.

“We have to be certain. Especially given your illness yesterday.”

I wasn’t in the mood for it, but I plastered the empty smile on my face and used it. I was prepared. It would be fine.

“She’s not. Today will prove that!” Molly said.

“Thank you, Molly,” I said with a nod.

“Queue up, students,” Mrs. Kozlov said.

“Casey first,” Daron called with a grin.

I stood and walked over to him, stopping out of reach of the machine. “Ready to do this thing?”

“Yes. Hand on the scanner.”

“One sec. They are cold.” I rubbed them together and blew on them. I did need a little time. While doing that, I batted my eyes at him. “How are you? Excited for the dance?”

Daron frowned and studied my hands. “No more stalling. Hands forward.”

I stuck my tongue out and placed my hand on the scanner.

“One moment, Miss.” The officer took my hands. He inspected and scanned them with something. I started blushing as he patted down my arms too.

“Daron!” I groaned while the officer scanned my entire body, searching for blood or something.

Daron shrugged. “Can never be too careful.”

That was met by a chorus of laughter. It seemed my poor deception skill was coming back to bite me yet again.

I scowled at Daron. The officer shoved my left hand onto the machine and held it there. It was clear that he’d been given instructions. I felt the scanner go off. The needle extended and pierced up into my skin. It began drawing a small droplet of blood. I carefully paid attention to it.

The moment that the needle left my skin, I used Time Stop. Then I focused on the machine, pulling my blood out of it. I tried to get any mana, skin, or blood.

After a small eternity of cleaning, I appeared back at home and retrieved my blood sample. With the skill of a surgeon, I carefully placed it into the tubing, filling it with fake blood. It took some time. This required precision that I didn’t typically need.

Finished with my sabotage, I ensured that I was in the right spot and reappeared. Then I appeared and smiled at the officer. “Do I get to see the result?”

The officer shook his head. “We’ll contact you since there are many watching.”

Daron grinned. “I get to see it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yay for you.”

Daron held out his hands. “Or you could just follow me and the officers to a nearby room.”

“Pass. I’m not Viper or Platinum.”

“Right. Any issues?” Daron asked as the machine chimed.

“No,” the officer said. “I’m sending you the result.”

The man let go of my arm. I turned and walked back to my seat, slumping into it with a breath of relief. I lounged against the hard chair and considered powering off my ocular computer again. Ela was going at it, flashing up that rotten quest.

“Well?” one of the boys asked. “Is she?”

“You can’t ask that!” I said loudly.

“But we all want to know.”

“Not allowed!” I yelled at him.

“She’s not,” Daron said with a frown as he studied me. “Really, Casey? Nothing?”

I shrugged. “Sorry. Your princess is in another castle.”

Trevor sighed. “I’m disappointed. I wanted to know Platinum or Viper.”

“Me too,” Ryan replied. Then she shot me a look of confusion. I gave her a crooked smile and a wink. It made her more confused.

Daniele blushed furiously as she got her scan. I forced myself to look away to prevent laughter, pulling up the internet as a distraction.

Villains on the Rise: Robbery by the Ogre!

I gulped and pulled up my message history.

Raptor:

Raptor:

Raptor:

Raptor:

I must have slept through this one. I turned back to the article. Then I blanched while I watched Tasers bounce off him. That was when the drone shot the guy. He died very quickly.

I looked down and rapidly skimmed. There were kill orders for unregistered magical people who were found committing crimes. I swallowed the growing guilt of having another person dead. He made this choice. I didn’t.

I closed it. Then I glanced back at the line. Daron was frowning at me. I smiled at him.

“How’d you do it, Casey?” Daron asked.

“Pardon?” I asked.

“How’d you cheat the test?”

“I didn’t!” I lied.

“Liar. I’m going to find out.”

“Okay.” I rolled my eyes. He was desperate. Blaming me was the easy option. I was probably their best lead, and I’d smashed it into pieces. I looked back to my desk and started planning a visit to Ryan.

Current Level 11 Current XP 30.76% Current Max Mana 10703.63 Regen per minute 16.22 Reputation 12600

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.