Thomas followed Alistair’s gaze. “I should probably get back to work,” he said, patting Alistair’s shoulder, a challenging gesture given Alistair's new height. “See you around, Alistair, Riseth.”

Alistair nodded, thanking Thomas as their former student, Zarrias, approached and bowed respectfully.

“Welcome back,” Zarrias greeted them.

“Thanks, Zarrias,” Alistair replied. “What’s the rush?”

“I was supposed to meet you upon your return, but it took me a moment to reach the nearest teleportation hub,” Zarrias explained.

Alistair chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. We just got here.” He paused, intrigued. “Teleportation hubs? We’ve got those now?”

"Yes, thanks to the combined efforts of your mother and other space mages, we’ve established a basic teleportation network with several hubs," Zarrias said. "But it's still a work in progress."

He indicated a corridor he had just left, and they joined him. "Lady Nessyra has ordered me to escort you to your quarters and catch you up on recent events," Zarrias said professionally.

Alistair was a little surprised. He had half-expected to be whisked back into one of their command centers. Getting to enjoy their own quarters, which should have finished construction by now, would be a blessing. It had been a while since he had good food that wasn't stored for later consumption, so visiting one of the newly established restaurants greatly appealed to him. A glance toward Riseth showed she shared his relief. They walked past multiple well-lit and decorated corridors with plaques indicating different production facilities and housing sections. The corridor Zarrias led them toward was marked as the South East Teleportation Hub.

They entered a large, well-lit chamber, its walls adorned with vines, plants, and water features. Occasional screens displayed the outside to break up the monotony of the rocky walls typical of underground living. The floors were lined with intricate, self-cleaning enchanted carpets, making Alistair wonder if they had discovered a plant that could be woven into cloth or if they had managed to evolve some of the sheep or other livestock they had brought along to produce enough fabric for carpets this early in the colony's development. Alistair then inspected the map behind the hub's teleportation circles, noting that they were number and color-coded, though some colors and numbers were missing their corresponding teleportation circle.

He didn't have much time to ponder this before Zarrias stepped onto the largest, centermost magic circle, marked in red for the central hub. Alistair exchanged a meaningful look with Riseth before they followed, appearing in a vast, open space. For a moment, he thought they were outside, but his conceptual awareness revealed the illusion array at work. The array made the hollowed-out interior of the mountain appear as if it were the outside world, with the carved-out sections seamlessly disguised as towering structures and the rock walls depicting a picturesque exterior.

The area bustled with activity, resembling a city square with shops, restaurants, bars, schools, and other facilities seamlessly integrated into the rock-face structures, though most were still unoccupied. The carved-out buildings were cleverly designed as beautiful, large, modern structures with a sharp aesthetic integrated with the illusionary array. Their design incorporated elements of both Earth and Neshan architecture, featuring sleek lines and elegant curves alongside intricate carvings, sharp edges, and ornate balconies typical of Neshan's design. He noticed illusionary circular structures that indicated locations where people could fly in and out of the mountain, adding to the dynamic atmosphere. He wondered if the energy cost of powering the runes for such illusions was justified, though the effect was stunning. The buildings appeared to stretch far into the sky, connected by a web of stone bridges and platforms.

"This is incredible," Riseth said, her astonishment reflecting Alistair's own.

"Yes, everyone has been working hard to make Rathos a true home," Zarrias replied, letting his professional facade drop to reveal a toothy smile.

Alistair felt a twinge of guilt, thinking he hadn’t contributed as much as he should have.

Noticing his expression, Zarrias said with sincerity, "None of this would have been possible without everyone’s efforts, including yours, Mr. Ryser."

Riseth stepped closer, taking his hand and offering him a reassuring smile. Alistair nodded, though a lingering doubt still tugged at him.

Zarrias led them to the central shaft, where they stepped onto a large circular elevator. Alistair presumed this would take them higher up and closer to their private quarters located at the peak of Rathos. He found it challenging to orient himself, having not been inside the central hub since before his journey to Nautilis when it had only been a massive excavation site. He had also preferred to fly outside the mountain as there had been no reason to fly through the mountain and disturb the workers. He now regretted missing the opportunity to witness the progress within Rathos.

They dismounted the elevator at the topmost level, heading north toward their private quarters. As they crossed one of the stone bridges, Alistair couldn't resist glancing at the city below. They were hundreds of meters above the central teleportation hub. Some people recognized him and Riseth as they passed, offering small polite bows before moving on. Riseth joined him at the parapet, looking down at the bustling activity below.

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Zarrias looked at them and said, "Take your time. I'll order some food and wait at your quarters."

Riseth turned with a smile, "Thank you. We'll follow shortly."

Alistair knew he couldn't stop moving forward and enjoying this for long, but he would take at least a few days to get his head straight. He picked out the medallion Mitania gave him from his storage and looked at it. Zathen's words still plagued him. This token could potentially allow him to reach Mitania and her husband, which could give him some pointers as to how he could utilize his concept properly. While he had worked on his telekinesis skill as a medium to bring his kinetic concept to bear, it hadn't worked yet made more difficult because most opponents broke before he could reach that next step. The ability was powerful, but he wasn't quite forcing things to bend to the power of his concept, and he was sure it was due to his gaps in knowledge.

He knew he should be able to do far more with the concepts of kinetics, which encompassed movement and force—both incredibly versatile and powerful in their own right. But were they distinct concepts themselves? Did his strongest concept influence them? It seemed likely, given how much more easily he could manipulate them compared to other concepts. Gravity, too, should fall under the umbrella of kinetics, yet when he tried utilizing the concept, it was almost as challenging to handle as the earth or water concept. He could envision countless ways his concept could truly excel, but frustratingly, he just couldn’t seem to fully grasp that power, as he suspected there was a pattern of magic interactions he wasn't aware of. While he did have some fun experimenting with his magic, it took far too much time he didn't know he could afford to spend.

"What are you thinking about?" Riseth probed through the Akashic Link as people passed by, occasionally glancing at them.

He sighed and shared his thoughts and frustrations about his inability to grasp the power Zathen had hinted at.

"It's likely due to our grade and lack of time," Riseth responded. "At our level, only the strongest and highest-tier phoenixes and dragons can do what you describe. While it's possible, it would be truly extraordinary for anyone to actually reach that level of mastery over their concepts at our grade or in such a short time without guidance." After a short pause, she added, "Hell, we're not even halfway up the grading scale. My core concept of Manipulation is just as powerful, and I know I could potentially do much more, but it's barely been over a year. You're too hard on yourself."

Her words eased his worry and frustration. It had only been a little over a year since they had been introduced to magic, and they had objectively done extraordinarily well for themselves. Striving for even greater mastery while struggling wasn't a weakness. He wasn't a peerless genius; he had been lucky with his affinities and had worked hard to get where he was. Though he refused to rely on luck any more than he already had.

"Thank you. You're right, I've been too impatient," he said, leaning in and giving her a kiss. "You always know what to say when I'm lost. You keep me grounded, and I don't know how I ever got through things without you."

Riseth blushed a little at his cheesy line, giving him a playful jab with her elbow. "Don't start. We've got your student in our quarters, and I'd rather not throw him out before he finishes his job," she teased.

"True shame that," Alistair quipped.

Riseth smirked at him, then reached out and touched the token he still held in his hands. "They might be able to help us. Neither of us had any proper training and we've just muddled through," she said thoughtfully. "We should reach out to them. We don't know when we'll run into something more powerful than us, and proper training could be the difference between life and death."

Alistair nodded in agreement, and they lingered for a while, taking in the sight. Looking down on Rathos's central district, the weight of their duty truly sank in for him. Their most important responsibility was to protect everyone here. Though they had at least a year before the bridges between universes properly established themselves, allowing the first wave of low-grade invaders to pass through, Alistair still felt pressured to advance. Their progression would inevitably be outpaced by the opening bridges if they didn't continue to work hard to reach higher grades. There was also the threat of invaders and factions like the Blackmarket Syndicates growing powerful within the new universe, making use of advanced training techniques, treasures, and generational knowledge they simply didn't have access to.

Eventually, they headed for their quarters, where the first thing Alistair noticed was the divine smell of Italian food. Zarrias was waiting on the couch, and on the table were multiple pizzas and pasta dishes, far more than they could eat in one sitting.

"I wasn't sure what you guys liked, but this Human food is incredible. So, I got a little of everything. We can store the rest," Zarrias explained in response to Alistair's questioning look.

Alistair immediately headed for the couch opposite Zarrias. The Fichera family hadn't been able to make proper pizza within the trial as they had lacked many ingredients, mostly a suitable grain variant for dough, cheese, and tomatoes, and it had been over a year since he had the chance to eat pizza.

"Is that pizza?" Riseth asked, her eyes widening with curiosity. "You've always raved about it, but we never got the chance to try it in the trial."

Alistair shot her a smile and nodded. "Sure looks like it. Let's hope the taste matches too," he said, picking a slice for himself. He let out a soft moan of pleasure as he took a bite.

The pizza tasted incredible, even better than he remembered. Alistair suspected it had something to do with it being a magical dish, prepared by an actual magical pizzaiolo. Alistair wondered whether Luca had received an actual pizza-related skill; he would need to ask the next time they met. Alistair leaned back on the couch, watching for Riseth's reaction. She didn't disappoint; her eyes widened, and she let out a soft moan.

"This is amazing," she said, leaning back and letting her body relax, feeling just as fatigued as Alistair in that moment.

Zarrias retrieved some bottles from his storage, the labels revealing them to be spirit orchid wine. Placing one in front of each of them, Alistair noticed that the bottles seemed enchanted to keep the contents at the perfect temperature. He also realized that the pizza and other food maintained an ideal temperature, despite having been placed there for a while. The more he ate, the less fatigued he felt. After finishing the first pizza and diving into some pasta, he even gained a stat point each in both mental and body attributes. His Sunforge organs processed the food effortlessly, absorbing essences such as 'Enchantment' and 'Strengthening.'

"The bottles need to be returned, but I'll handle that," Zarrias said. "The enchantments on them aren't difficult, but they do take some time, so we shouldn't be wasteful."

"Thank you, Zarrias," Alistair said, stretching his arms. He rested his left arm on the couch behind Riseth and gestured with his other hand for Zarrias to speak, as he seemed eager to update them on what had transpired since their last detailed report.