“I’ve got two weeks to prepare for the duel,” I told my small circle of support the following day.

My dad wasn’t there – I’d told him, and he’d disapproved, but told me that it was my life in the end.

But Meadow, Ed, and Liz were all there. I’d wanted Kene to be there, but unfortunately, the flight out there was a time sink I couldn’t really afford.

“You’ve some resources, though,” Meadow pointed out, and I nodded to Dusk, who produced everything: a mana apple, the single dosage of Dott’s Draught, and the wine gourd.

I’d left the book off the table. It could be helpful in the long run, but I needed power now, not to dig through a pile of dirt to extract a few tiny nuggets of gold. I had lower hanging fruit I could pluck right now.

I also apparently needed to get better at analogies. Gold and fruit? That was two totally different things. Anyways…

“I’ve given some thought to my Dott’s Draught,” I said. “Meadow, assuming you give it the all-clear that it hasn’t been tampered with, I wanted to get your thoughts on trying to use one dose on both of my gates at once. They’ve got significant overlap, so I think it should be possible.”

Meadow turned the vial over in her hands and made a humming sound.

“You could, in theory, but it’s a matter of power and stability. If you want to treat it like one giant spell, this draught doesn’t have enough power in it. You could attempt to artificially inflate it, but if you made a mistake, you’d begin to sacrifice some of the effects, which forms a cycle.”

“What about when it comes time for spellbonding?” I asked. “That doesn’t help us now, but it’s bugged me.”

“I suspect you could do it either way,” Meadow said. “Bind it to the center point where the spells overlap and treat it as one giant spell, and you’d leave an extra gate open for spellbinding, but you’d be stretching the effect over a much larger area, getting you a more chaotic result, and less direct power than if you’d bound it to two gates.”

“That’s a common issue for those with legacies that increase their mana-garden size,” Liz said. “If they can get a full gate spell they can actually create, bonding it tends to create more chaotic results.”

“That’s great,” Ed said. “But it’s irrelevant for our current issues. Malachi, you can try to use it for both. Are you?”

“Could I?” I asked Meadow. She made a so-so gesture with her hand.

“It’s not impossible you’d succeed. But it’s nowhere near a guarantee, and you could end up wasting it entirely.”

I considered for a moment, then shook my head.

“No, then. It’s better to not risk it. If I had all the time in the world, maybe, but for right now, I need to focus.”

“Which full gate spell, though?” Liz asked. “Beast Mage’s Soul could give you a degree of pseudo-mastery over your spells, which would help you advance with your Magister’s Body.”

“True,” Ed said. “Have you finished pushing back the mists in your death part of the second gate?”

“No,” I said grimly. “And I don’t have the money to afford anything near potent enough to bring me there. I spent everything at the auction.”

“Moving it from mastered to ingrained is going to take the better part of a week,” Meadow said. “Faster than most, yes, but still slow. It’s not impossible that you could push your death gate’s mists back entirely within a week, and then take the draught and manage to ingrain it just in time for the duel.”

“But it would be pretty risky of you,” Liz said. “You’d have no time to get used to the power. It took me a while to get used to my full gate spell, when I completed mine.”

“And that’s if I managed to do it at all,” I mused, then tapped the mana apple. “It’s just in season for these, my tree is producing a lot. If I eat most of them, I can definitely get my life mana up to snuff within a day or two, which will give me time to get used to the Magister’s Body.”

“Doing the Beast Mage’s Soul first would be better for development,” Ed said. “And you could try to sell your potions.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “The potions are too useful for me to give up, and I’m going to need them if I get banged up. I have a healer on standby, but… I’d rather have a backup.”

“Attending the Idyll-Flume would also be incredible for development,” Meadow commented. “In a vacuum, it’s taking a short-term gain for long-term loss, but factoring in the Idyll-Flume, it’s a loss you’ll be able to make up for and then some.”

“Speaking of,” I said, looking at Meadow. “Care to explain the Idyll-Flume?”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“I didn’t realize you’d gotten a token,” Liz said. “That’s why I haven’t advanced to third gate yet.”

I swung my head to look at Liz, then back to Meadow when she started to speak.

“It’s a competition set in an astral plane that was constructed by a now long-dead occultist,” Meadow said. “He built an eight story tower within, filled with traps, conjured monsters, and tests. Clearing each level gives you a reward, and you can claim his final inheritance if you climb to the top. The outside is also full of… rare… plants. One breed in particular only grows in this realm, and can be used to produce an incredibly potent elixir.”

“The furthest I’ve heard of anyone getting is the fourth floor,” Liz said. “But if you manage to clear the third level, you get a random growth item. The second gets you a full vial of the elixir stuff – which is a lot, even a drop sells for thousands. And even if you only manage to clear the first level, you still get a top-notch spellbinder item.”

“Who’s out here making all these items?” I asked. “Also, what does–"

“Oh, I think that’s something you’ll have to find out for yourself,” Meadow said, a twinkle in her eye.

“Back on track?” Ed asked.

“Right,” I said. “So… Risk it for the Beast Mage’s Soul? Or take the more guaranteed path of Magister’s Body?”

“Guaranteed path,” Liz said.

“I think you should risk it,” Ed said. “Even if you miss out on the Idyll-Flume… It’s not like you can’t advance on your own.”

I waffled back and forth, looking at Meadow, who just smiled serenely.

“I’m going to take the guaranteed path,” I grumbled, picking up the mana apple. “Mallory has advanced a lot. When we met, I was able to beat her. And when I first advanced, I was stronger. But… I’m not sure that’s true anymore. Something lit a fire under her.”

Ed nodded, and we were quiet for a moment.

“What’s with the gourd?” Liz asked.

“Oh, it’s a wine that’ll help my Depths of Starry Night technique advance,” I said. “I’m definitely taking it.”

“That technique was developed by a rather powerful arcanist,” Meadow said. “I’m not sure how this wine will interact with the technique, but it should get you exceptionally close to mastering it, if not bring you over the edge. I’d advise waiting until the day before the duel to drink it.”

“So, if you focus on Magister’s Body, that should give you time to train a spell,” Ed said. “Which one?”

“The obvious choice is Foxstep,” I said. “Teleporting is something I can do that she can’t.”

“It’s also something she’ll be prepared for,” Liz pointed out. “Any second gate spatial mage can teleport. Admittedly, the standard one is limited to about thirty feet. Yours isn’t.”

“That can actually play to your advantage,” Ed said. “If you keep your teleports to thirty feet or less a few times, you could trick her.”

“That’s worth keeping in mind,” I said, nodding.

“Something else you may not think about is the advantages of what Magister’s Body will do with Foxstep,” Meadow said. “It will draw upon your life energies, as well as for solar, temporal, spatial, and other things. Recovering from that drain will strengthen them. Now, in five days, even with alchemical help, you’re not going to double your strength or anything like that, but you will be a bit stronger, a bit faster, and recover a tiny bit easier.”

“That’s an advantage the Beast Mage’s Soul wouldn’t get me,” I said, slowly growing even more convinced that this was the right path. Then an idea bloomed in my head, and I grinned. “That’s perfect, actually…”

Meadow eyed me for a moment, then smiled.

“Ah, Dusk?”

Dusk, who’d not said much in the conversation, and instead had opted to hop off the table and go play with Kerbos, looked up and peeped at Meadow.

“Yep,” I said.

“Clever,” she said.

“What about magic items?” Liz asked, clearly annoyed at our mysterious talking.

“Your suit, or your pin,” Ed said. “Defensive items. Your broom is third gate, so it’s too high for you anyways. And I don’t think you’ve got anything else.”

“The suit is better,” Liz said. “It’s got solid defenses against lunar magic, which is a huge percent of what she can do.”

Ed nodded, and I found myself agreeing with her logic as well. It wasn’t exactly an imposition either. I’d gotten used to moving in a suit, and its self-repair function should stop it from getting too damaged.

“There is one other thing you can do in the meantime,” Ed said. “Upgrade your staff.”

“I’m nowhere near ready to trim the excess,” I said with a grimace.

“No,” Meadow said. “But your current staff is missing the death and spatial mana sources. Getting those in will at least help you recover your mana faster and help push against the mists. It won’t make a huge difference, but…”

“But enough tiny advantages stacking up can make a difference,” Liz said. “I mean, that’s the entire idea now, isn’t it?”

“The problem is money again,” I said. “I can’t just buy them. And I don’t think I’m going to have the time to go around picking missions for it.”

“I’ll do it,” Liz said.

“What?” I asked.

“You’re my friend,” Liz said. “And I guess your brother’s kinda neat too.”

“I love you too, Liz,” Ed grumbled.

“But my point is… I don’t have a ton of cash to throw around either, or I’d buy you something to help you get your death mana ready today. But I do have time. Most of my guild work is pretty rote. I should be able to track down a second gate source of death and space mana, given two weeks.”

“Thank you,” I said, genuinely touched. I reached out and patted her arm, and she grinned at me.

“Hey, we have to help each other out. Solidarity and all. And I’ll probably drag Ed along with me for fun.”

“Hey!” Ed protested.

“Oh!” I said, remembering something. “I also need to put a spatial anchor in some stuff. Namely in myself and the Blademoss. It’ll make it easier to call.”

“I should have thought of that,” Meadow grumbled. “But the old man is probably right. It should help significantly. It’s also not a magic item, and the referee should allow it. Plant mages bringing in plants to use has a long legal precedent. Admittedly, not in the form of a diminutive astral plane, but that’s hardly unique.”

“Hmmm,” Ed said. “When you’re taking a training break, we should check out the details on Mallory’s spells in the library.”

“I’ve actually got a substantial amount of knowledge on werewolf magic,” Meadow said.

That was both a relief and a worry. I wasn’t sure I could handle if things got angry with Alvaro, but I did want to get it over with.

“What magic item will Mallory bring?” I asked.

“Likely something comparable to your suit,” Meadow said. “She’s got excellent offense and speed, but defense is her weakest category bar none. Her healing and bone enhancement techniques will help some, but I still expect it to be a defensive item.”

“I agree,” Liz said, and Ed nodded.

“Is that our battle plan, then?” I asked.

“It seems so,” Meadow said, nodding.

I picked up the mana apple again and took a bite, cycling its power to burn away the mists in my life garden.