A few more days of tuition and exhaustive data gathering came and went like the weather.

While Gwen helped with cleaning, Richard returned from his extended outing looking like he had gone through all kinds of muck and hell, smelling as though he'd lived the last two weeks in the belly of a whale.

"I really should have borrowed those cleansing Glyph-cubes from you," Richard joked as he opened the door to his apartment and stripped off his shirt to reveal a torso sinuous with toned musculature. Her cousin was not a stocky man, but definition made his long-limbed body pleasing to the eye.

He filled the tub with water and dropped a pile of clothes into the soapy mess.

"Oh?" Gwen couldn't help but notice the upgrade. "A Medium Ring of Storage? Congratulations!"

"This thing?" Richard waved his hand. "It's a small-medium, just a cubic meter, nothing like yours. I won it in a duel, ha. Fair and square."

"Did you guys manage to finish the foundation for the Nantong Suspension Bridge?"

"Naw, it's gonna take a while." Richard shrugged. "Got some Fresh Water Mermen that are set up near there. They keep attacking the crew. PLA wants to hammer out an agreement or send in a Purge team from the Nantong base. So it's going to take a week or so. I am back here until it's sorted out. Come on! We're going to start university! I need to see the Course Advisor first, though. How are you doing in that regard?"

"Petra's taking care of it," Gwen smirked. "She's taken over as my mother and mentor."

"She's a top gal." Richard nodded approvingly. He then covered his waist. "Do you mind? No free shows."

"Whoops, sorry." Gwen turned her back toward Richard and walked into the living room.

Richard emerged ten minutes later, scrubbed to within an inch of his life.

"I am reborn," he moaned with relief.

He flung himself into the double-couch on which Gwen sat, sending her almost bouncing off the other end. It was an old couch made by a master artisan, and the cushions were a little too enthusiastic in evoking Magi Newton's laws.

Catching herself on the armrest, Gwen pulled her shins under her buttocks to keep her feet warm; Richard laid his head against the worn headrest and rested his eyes while Gwen continued her tale.

"... And apart from Mia and Marong, the other day I went and made a clean break with mother. I spoke about our experiences, watched her stunned response to everything I said, and then I gave her a Vitae Fruit and…"

"Richard?"

Gwen looked over at her companion.

Richard was fast asleep.

Gwen chuckled.

Feeling maternal, she pulled herself carefully from the couch, leaned over, and kissed her cousin on the forehead. She then found a blanket and placed it over his chest and shoulders. The Shanghai spring was yet to pass, but the night air had begun to cling as the monsoonal moisture rose toward a wet summer.

She had two tests tomorrow: one academic, the other for academia, heralds for the beginning of her tertiary education.

[https://i.imgur.com/hg5cY37.png]

Friday night.

"Where are we going?" Gwen asked Petra when she emerged from her bedroom. She had never seen Petra dress up so lavishly in the months they had been together. Her tutor, companion and cousin had on a little blue dress, and by God, she was magnificent! Petra even had lipstick on, a deep scarlet resembling two bold, bloody petals.

"I thought I told you; we're going to Mina's Karaoke Party at M on the Bund."

Before Gwen could continue her appreciation of Petra's limited time non-work outfit, her cousin pushed Gwen into her room, where a dress shimmered on the bed.

"What is this?!" Gwen took the dress from her bed quizzically. It was beautiful, the fabric as soft as flowing water. At first, she had thought the garment a simple one, but once she had it in her hands, she realised that it was backless down to her mid-torso, tied together with a pink bow.

Her eyes glanced at the label.

"A Miu Miu!?" Gwen gasped, looking toward Petra with incomprehension. The Miu Miu wasn't a gift from her mother, undoubtedly. Who else would buy her frivolously expensive couture? Not her father and certainly not babulya. It can't be Petra, nor Richard.

"Just put it on. We're going to be late!"

"But…" But the dress could pay for three months rent.

"Just do it already!"

Perhaps more frightening than not, the dress fit perfectly well. The hem reached just past an acceptable line of modesty, meaning whoever ordered the dress either had supernatural powers of Divination—or access to biometric data.

Petra tied the bow for her and left two pink streamers reaching just past her shoulder blades.

Gwen found a pair of white pumps to match the dress, then quickly made up her face.

Outside B1, Mayuree's chauffeur was waiting with the Maybach.

"Young Misses, the Mistress is waiting at the M already."

Petra shuffled into the rear seat and pulled Gwen in with her.

Gwen entered the car, trying to figure out her mysterious benefactor. Tao? That would be unlikely as well. Mina would have gotten her something that sparkled.

"So, who-"

"Enjoy the mystery! Just go with the flow." Petra quipped, not letting a single slip of information past her lips.

Watching Petra's face hiding her secret joy, it wasn't hard for Gwen to piece two-and-two together. She was a busy woman, but she was also highly perceptive.

It was May.

It was 2003.

And that meant she was going to be seventeen.

Seventeen!

By the Gods! She felt young and old simultaneously.

Once she realised the date, Petra's rare attire, the Karaoke Party Mina arranged spontaneously, the expensive dress on her bed... it all added up.

All she could now was relax—then pretend to be at least a little bit surprised.

[https://i.imgur.com/hg5cY37.png]

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"Ghetto Platinum! Barely Legal!" Naturally, Tao did his best.

A cacophony of voices exploded as Gwen entered the interior of the privately booked function room at M on the Bund. Confetti, balloons, and illusion-based projections filled the room as greetings showered her from head to toe.

"Oh my God! You guys shouldn't have!" Gwen did her best to feign her surprise. Thankfully, there was no need to falsify the happiness gushing from her in torrents of bell-like laughter.

Mayuree was there, as expected.

Richard, too.

Petra, of course.

A jubilant Tao.

Mina clapped her hands adorably, standing next to Mayuree.

And Marong? Unexpected, but Gwen could see why he wanted to tag along. The man's eyes studied her like a smiling hawk. She still wasn't sure what Marong wanted from her or Petra. Maybe he wanted what all men wanted, though Gwen had a feeling Mia's eyeliner loving brother's interest might veer toward the academic or business.

Her eyes scanned the rest of the suite.

Babulya wasn't here.

Nor her father.

No uncle Jun.

Naturally, no Percy, but that came as no surprise.

There wasn't nearly enough family, but it was enough. A boon of having an older mind was knowing enough to know that other people had their circumstances. As a poet once said, time made it easier to be wise.

"Babulya sends her regards." Mina caught Gwen's flash of disappointment and immediately moved to clarify their grandmother's intentions. "And gave me a gift to give to you!"

"I appreciate it very much." Gwen gave her cousin a wholesome hug, feeling the relief from her cousin. "I'll thank her personally later."

The private function room was a VIP section of the M on the Bund's restaurant, which embedded karaoke facilities into the announcement system. Some enterprising Magitech-Illusionists had then managed to interface a large-scale Vid-Cast crystal into the wall so that one side of the room functioned almost like a cinema.

"Feel—your body close to mine—" Tao was, incredibly, not only capable of singing regular songs but had an incredible voice to go with it.

The problem was that Gwen knew none of the songs, even if they sounded vaguely familiar. She could follow the tune in her memory, but the dissonance between the melody of her old world and the new meant it was impossible to predict the following note. Fumbling with the words and halting with the cadence of her voice, Gwen did her best as her companions agonisingly endured her lacklustre sing-along with grimacing faces. The sonorous torture resulted in a new understanding; or misunderstanding: their very talented cousin couldn't sing for shit.

Thankfully, the aural assault lasted only a dozen tunes.

When the cake wheeled into the room was enormous, Gwen could only marvel at its likeness of a life-like lotus in green and pink, with an exterior that resembled jade.

Gwen marvelled at the spectacle. "That's a cake?!"

"It's a Seven-Fold Jade Lotus from Taihu, the lake in Suzhou," Richard clarified for her. He had come to know many bodies of water surrounding Shanghai thanks to his labours. "Also, your singing is worse than your Flashbangs! Hahaha! You should open up a duel with a tune."

"Richard!" The girls chided.

"Hear hear!" Marong was the one man brave enough to back up Richard's assertion.

"Haha—" Tao bit his tongue when Petra turned her gaze upon him.

"That's my gift to you," Mayuree proudly presented herself. "Of course, we're all going to partake in it, but I got it especially for you! Make sure you eat the lotus heart at the centre. It'll help your emerald mana!"

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Mayuree then lit the top of the lotus, and the whole platform began to rotate slowly. One by one, the petals caught the Illusory flame, then the lotus 'bloomed' as the thread which held it taut unfolded, becoming a fuchsia-pink wonder. A delicious, sinus-clearing fragrance then spread throughout the room, clearing their alcohol befuddled minds.

Unable to contain her giddiness, Mayuree urged Gwen to blow out the candle.

"I wish that we can remain friends and family forever, and I wish for all of our good fortunes!" Gwen spoke aloud as she blew out the flames. Of course, such cringy confessions were the etiquette, but she could see that all of her companions returned her boast with fulfilled smiles.

Mayuree then retrieved a ball of pink-green petals from the lotus' centre, a cluster of buds not yet bloomed.

"Here, the heart." Mayuree had an expectant grin split from ear to ear as she presented her birthday gift to the woman who may yet one day save her life, directly or indirectly. "To your health."

Gwen took the Lotus-Heart from the girl's tiny hands and placed it to her lips.

"One gulp~" Petra advised. "Don't chew it. That's the best way to consume mystic flora."

Taking her cousin's earnest advice, Gwen tried cramming the fist-sized ball of petals into her mouth. Thankfully, the leaves were soft and pliable, filled with water and capable of compression.

"Mmmph- it's bigger than I thought, I can barely fit—"

She met Tao's degenerate expression.

"Ghurrghk... God damn it, Peaches..."

Gwen coughed and choked.

The girls laughed and chuckled as Gwen crushed the lotus between her teeth, massaging her chest a few times to ease the passage. As the magical flora dissolved, Gwen felt a burst of vital energy passing through her chest and into her abdomen, warming her instantly as though she'd just been through a sauna. A sheen of sweat broke out over her forehead, her arms and her legs, beading across her exposed back. When she straightened once more, all of her fatigue fell away.

Within her body, Almudj's essence rejoiced at the boon of primal energy, growing wildly as the motes multiplied, becoming more robust and invigorated.

When finally her body digested the boon of the lotus, her skin positively glowed. It was an effect that should come as no surprise, for the lotus was the essence of renewal, the heart of rebirth. For a transcendent moment, Gwen seemed to her companions beautiful beyond compare.

[https://i.imgur.com/hg5cY37.png]

Marong had initially questioned whether it was worthwhile importing the girl a dress. Now, he had no doubt the investment was worth every HDM.

"Oh— you look amazing, Petra! Marry me!" Mayuree exclaimed, her eyes aglow.

"Your skin is glowing too! How's mine?" Mina ran a few fingers up Petra's shoulder. Petra sternly slapped the girl's daring fingers, soliciting a sharp squeak from the petite cousin.

Marong did regret the two thousand or so HDMs Mayuree had burned for the occasion, though he had to admit the infectious joy of the girls did make the cost easier to swallow.

Still, he wondered about his sister's design on her "benefactor". The amount Mia had spent amounted to a quarter of her training stipend. Was the Void Sorceress worth such an investment? To his knowledge, these were non-contractual gifts, merely goodwill and likely a waste of time.

Whatever his doubts, it was undoubtedly a challenge to keep his mind in focus when the plush velvet matched the girl's porcelain skin so astoundingly well.

When finally his eyes left the girl, he noticed that he wasn't the only one doing the watching.

Richard Huang, a close cousin to the girl, grinned at him.

He grinned back.

I am watching you, Richard's eyes said.

Good. Marong replied with a wink.

They smiled once more at one another.

There we go, Marong thought pleasantly.

For men of virtue, friendships are both immediate and uncomplicated.

[https://i.imgur.com/hg5cY37.png]

"Lea!"

Richard's Spirit materialised, then squealed in delight as Mayuree passed the humanoid Spirit a petal too. To Gwen's surprise, the entire mass of the lotus was more than enough to feed a dozen people, much less a group of teenagers, meaning not only were there enough for everyone; Petra could even crystalise leftovers for babulya.

With the cake finished, it was time for gift giving.

The groups sat around the U-shaped couch built around the wall, with Gwen seated on an ottoman in the room's centre.

"The Lotus is from Mia, of course, and you're wearing my gift already," Marong declared. "I must say, it suits you perfectly, Miss Gwen. It was well worth the HDMs."

Gwen had suspected as much, for Marong had been admiring her all evening. She smiled at Smoke Mage nervously, allowing Marong the privilege of appreciating his gift a bit more.

"Thank you so much, Mia. Marong too, such a thoughtful present. And Mia, your gift is too rare and too thoughtful."

"It's a trifle," Marong answered for his sister, crossed his legs, then gave her a look of complete approval. "The House of M is at your service."

Mayuree huffed and blocked Gwen from her brother's sight with her petite frame. "Marong! Stop looking! Gwen's MY friend."

"A good sibling always shares," Marong said.

The room laughed at the infuriated Mayuree's expense.

"This is from Babulya." Mina opened a small trinket box and retrieved what looked like another Ioun Stone. "This is a Stone of Clarified Thoughts. It'll help you concentrate and think, as well as improve your memory retention."

"How lovely!" Gwen took the box and pressed it to her bosom. "I'll be sure to thank her as soon as I am able!"

"This is from your father and Uncle Jun." Mina produced another package from her Storage Ring. "Uncle Jun provided the HDMs; your father picked the gift."

Gwen pulled open the packet, revealing an intricate pink box.

She opened the box. and saw the offending item.

She snapped the box close.

"What is it?" Petra leaned over.

Gwen's face grew as pink as the box's salmon exterior.

Mina caught the label on the box.

"Ooo," her cousin cooed. "I got a pair of those too."

Petra lifted the lid slightly, then slowly closed the lid before informing Gwen of her opinion that "Uncle Song is a strange but very thoughtful father."

"Ah— you got a pair of THOSE." Richard recognised the box as well. "I've got several pairs myself, for men of course, and in briefs. Let me say that when you're adventuring in the wild, surrounded by God knows what, the last thing you want to do is to leave your party and find a place to have a good squat. Hell, I know of a place in Malaysia where there are larval parasites in the river that can crawl—"

Richard wiggled his brows.

"Where do they crawl into?" Tao pursued the subject. "Come on, dawg, don't leave me hanging."

Now scarlet, Gwen's stowed the box in her Ring.

"Tell Dad thanks," she quickly asked Mina to move on. "Thanks for the heads up, Richard."

"WHERE?" Tao insisted. "Like, up yer—"

"NO!" Mina pulled her brother aside. "Tao. Shut it!"

"Gwen," Marong quipped, "As a soon-to-be goddess of Fudan campus, that thing is going to be indispensable to your image."

"Why?" Gwen asked quizzically. Did Fudan lack facilities?

"Well." Richard burst into laughter. "I'd imagine that when we're out on Quests and Field Duties, no one would like to find their Goddess having a squ-"

"Richard!"

"NO!"

"I mean, there're parasites that—"

"WHERE?!" Tao pulled at his hair. "Like—"

"OKAY! THANK YOU!" Gwen waved them both away. God, these immature men were worse than children. Still, Goddess of the University? That sounded nice. There were plenty of pretty girls in university, though, and she likely had no time for a popularity contest.

"This is from me." Petra materialised a gift 'box' as well.

"Pats! You shouldn't have. You're helping me so much already!"

"Nonsense, here it is." Petra pushed a crystalline cube into Gwen's hands.

"A Spell-Cube?"

"Yes," Petra announced proudly. "It is from Master and me. We paid a special visit to the Tower and met with Chief Apothecary Dao of Pudong."

"This is…"

"A Regeneration spell of the seventh tier, the activation trigger is with me. I'll tell you later," Petra continued proudly. "Even though it'll only keep for two months without my or Master's mending, it will mend your flesh, restore your health, even attach lost limbs. Its duration is unknown but, I would suggest two hours minimum."

"A second life!" Gwen gushed and embraced her cousin. "Thank you so much, Petra. Master Wen too. Your present is beyond precious. You must have spent CCs on this! Pats! I ever so grateful!"

"I am happy you like it." Petra hugged Gwen back.

The others appeared equally impressed. There were no more than a dozen Magister-healers in the city and only two who were tier 8 in their attainment of Clerical spells. Likewise, Magister Dao was as famous for his healing as his aloofness, meaning the cost in favours may well have exceeded something which could be accumulated, like CCs.

"Alright, now for our gift," Mina announced after Gwen separated from Petra.

Herself, Richard and Tao walked beside a table covered with a dark cloth.

Richard coaxed Lea into some hidden contraption behind the table.

Tao began to incant his Illusory projection spells, filling the surrounding space with delicate notes of pale luminance.

Mina fiddled with a device for several moments.

"Gwen, are you ready?"

Gwen nodded. What could it be? She wondered. What's with all the fiddling and the secrecy? Was it a puppy or a kitten? Maybe a young Magical Beast? No, that would be absurd. She had two familiars already.

"Here we go!" Mina manipulated a button, and there was a thrum of mana.

The black cloth fell away.

A petite Asian girl about the height of Gwen's shoulder was standing before them. She had large, luminous brown eyes and prominent lashes that gave her a wilful demeanour, punctuated by an aggressive mouth. When Gwen's eyes fell lower, she had full confirmation of who she now faced.

"YUE!" Gwen choked. "OH MY GOD, YUE!"

She rushed forward to embrace her friend, still reeling from the fact that Yue was here. HERE! In Shanghai! What a gift this was! WHAT A GIFT!

"Gwen…" Yue began to move.

Gwen crashed into her friend, fully expecting to be cushioned by surplus flesh; instead, Yue burst into a pool of water that drenched Gwen from head to toe.

"Eeeek!" Lea quickly renewed the illusion.

"I am not here, Gwen," Yue laughed at her bedraggled friend, who by now had water streaming down her dress and her face. "I am being projected via the LR COM Device onto Lea in real-time."

Gwen paused her rollercoaster of emotions and oriented her mental bearings.

Tao provided the Illusion.

Mina provided the loaned LRC Device.

Richard provided the medium for projecting Yue.

The trio managed to synthesise a combination of Magi-tech and Spellcraft that simulated a real 'Yue' which Gwen could touch and feel, albeit not embrace violently nor pash lovingly. How long had they spent on this project? The undertaking must have taken weeks!

"Oh, you guys!" Gwen felt unspeakable joy filling her heart. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

The merry trio took their seats.

'Yue' joined the party, and the music once again blared.

[https://i.imgur.com/hg5cY37.png]

"Yep, Evee's gone on her merry way," Yue informed Gwen after the others left them some room for privacy. "I am training hard enough to spew blood every other night, haha. Alesia's pushing me pretty hard. I am dog-tired every night, I tell ya."

"God, I wish you were here," Gwen said.

"You think I don't?" Yue chuckled. "Wait for me; I'll come and show all your tier 1 upstarts what a real Fire Mage looks like."

"I eagerly await the day."

Once they caught up, Yue asked Gwen for the latest news, and Gwen unreservedly told Yue of what had transpired.

"Seriously, fuck that old Chink." Yue huffed. "Asians can be so idiotic."

"Yue, you're Chinese too." Gwen couldn't help but smile. "I've got Babulya on my side, though."

"AND I want to beat the shit out of your useless brother." Yue kept ongoing. "Why does he even need pubeS? He should go back to suckling on his mother's tits."

"Alright, alright." Gwen had to calm her down. "Jesus, your mouth is as foul as ever."

"Doing work with the military. Broke the two thousand Mark just the other week," Yue boasted. "They're calling me after Master, ha! Imagine that."

"Amazing!" Gwen marvelled. "Mermen plaguing the city still?"

"Yep." Yue shrugged. "Although I wish there were something more significant to hunt other than stragglers in sewers. The crabs are pretty good, especially the big bastards. Tastes divine with some soy sauce."

Ah, Frontier field cuisine, how I missed thee. Gwen allowed herself to indulge in the scene of Yue chewing on a crab leg after a few well-placed Walls of Fire. Yue then told Gwen that her Opa missed her terribly but was otherwise doing well.

"I'll try to contact him when my LRC gets installed," Gwen told Yue. "Maybe a month or so at the longest. I can't wait to see Evee as well. How was it when she left?"

"Tears, lots of tears, but she looked cute crying too, makes you wanna— Haha." Yue chuckled sadistically. "She kept saying your name as well. I guess she's expecting you to call her soon."

"I'll try my best."

"Yep, Master says she's already moved into a dorm in London, near the Cambridge campus. She got a contact there to help Elvia set up. She's sharing a room with some other Cleric studying at Nightingale College. I don't know the details yet, but you can speak to herself soon."

"I will, thanks, Yue. I look—" Before she could finish, the illusion of Yue faded. The disappointment came so suddenly that Gwen could hardly react.

Tao's apologetic face appeared behind Lea.

"Sorry, OOM," Tao said despondently. "Never tried Greater Image for like, hours."

"Sorry from Lea too! I am tired!" Lea apologised, then returned to Richard.

"Machine's out of crystals as well." Mina tapped the LMC Device. "I've lost the feed. Did you have a good time, Gwen?"

Gwen pushed herself from the ottoman and moved to the middle of the room.

"THANK YOU! Everyone!" She announced, bowing deeply, feeling so thankful that her chest was on the verge of bursting open with happiness. "Thank you for everything!"

In less than one week, her university life would begin.

Bathed in the spotlight, Gwen felt her future seemed impossibly bright, so bright that for a split second—she couldn't help but blink.