Still, Randidly didn’t get too distracted by the notifications from finishing the Path. His attention quickly shot to examine himself and the movements of Aether that would ‘help’ him condense a Nether core. After his last experience with the System working directly with his inner world, Randidly barred his teeth and watched very closely.

But quickly, most of his anger dissipated as he observed the movements of energy. Rather than directly forming the core, it appeared that the finished Path earned Randidly a strange weave of Aether around his body that would slowly draw Nether into its area and assist in its proliferation. Of course, Randidly already possessed a Nether Gatekeeper core so the effect of the weave on his body was relatively minor; the Nether density inside of him was already too high. But it was true that such a weave would eventually lead to a Nether core forming on its own.

In addition… Randidly’s eyes brightened as he studied the way that the Aether was woven together. It was definitely based on similar principles to what the Xyrt Brigade had woven around the Nether King, although the effects were exactly the opposite. But after having seen the weave around the Nether King with Neveah’s precise sense of Aether, Randidly could sense significant flaws in the weave gifted to him by the System.

Randidly rubbed his hands together. His Aether Skills slid gleefully outward and appropriated the weave. Don’t mind if I do...

It took about fifteen minutes for Randidly to experiment with the ways to adjust the Nether Gathering weave made by the System, and an hour beyond that to push the effects of the weave to the limit of his current understandings of Aether. At that point, the Nether gathering capabilities of the weave were actually enough to gradually increase the density of Nether around Randidly’s current Nether Gatekeeper core.

Randidly could sense that he would soon need to spend some time focusing his power on consolidating the meaning at the heart of his Nether core if he wanted to keep the dense energy sticking together well enough to improve his Nether density, but that was for another time. For now, it was enough to feel his Nether growing increasingly denser every moment.

Tapping his cheek, Randidly turned to the ground underneath him. Mana sparked off of his fingertips as he thought about how to begin the construction of his new home. “I think it’s time I experiment with some things…”

*****

Derek Moss walked through the drably beige office suite and into the principle’s office with a stiff expression. Having to cut out of his security shift early had forced him to call in some favors, but after he had received the call about his son attacking another student at school… After seeing so many fights from individuals brought in from the Wildlands, Derek knew better than most how In a post System world, even the fights of children could be deadly.

It was only after they opened up the door and saw that his son was conscious that he released a sigh of relief. But of course, Derek’s Level 201 Survival Instincts told him that there was something else afoot here. A bitter taste filled his mouth. Politics. Damnit.

As his son watched him with pleading eyes, Derek walked slowly and sat down in the left chair opposite the principal’s desk. He folded his hands in his lap and met the gaze of the Principal without saying anything.

Principal Davins smiled with deceptive sweetness at Derek. Although she billed herself as a paragon of fairness, Derek already knew that fairness she spoke of so fondly was nothing but a dream in Zone 1. “Mr. Moss, thank you for coming on such short notice. As you heard over the phone, there was an altercation today. We here at St. Mary’s take such incidents very seriously. Due to Tim’s actions, another student-”

“Lucy was the one who started it. She’s been… she’s been putting stuff in my lunch and ripping my clothes for weeks.” Tim blurted out before the principal could continue. The smile on her face never wavered, but Derek saw the lines around her eyes deepen with displeasure.

“Let’s talk about this incident first. A teacher saw the entire thing from across the playground, Timothy,” Principal Davins said immediately. She pursed her lips. “You took a basketball and smashed it into the back of Lucy’s head. Mr. Gavin was there for the aftermath and saw the blood on the ground. Even if you were hurt afterward, you definitely started it.”

Why does who started it matter…? Lucy…? Suddenly, the blood drained from Derek’s face. There was only one girl in Tim’s grade named Lucy. A recent transfer, who carried with her a free security detail, courtesy of the Order that was currently the most popular.

“No I didn’t!” Tim shrieked. Then his son turned to Derek with extremely sad eyes. “I was on the far basketball court in the corner! All the courts were filled up with people! There is no way a teacher could see that, they are lying. You just have to ask Miss Collins. She was definitely the closest teacher.”

Derek turned and looked at Principal Davins with tired eyes. It was already three o’clock. Several hours had passed since the incident had occurred. The Principal’s smile hadn’t wavered in the slightest as Tim spoke. “I’ve already had the chance to have a talk with Miss Collins. Although she was indeed on the basketball courts nearby, you just said yourself how busy the courts were. It just so happened that she didn’t see anything that was relevant. Besides, it appears she’s reconsidering her career. Teaching… didn’t agree with her.”

Derek almost felt pity for the teacher that had probably spoken up in his son’s defense.

Stolen novel; please report.

“That’s impossible!” Tim rounded back on the Principal. “She definitely saw something. Because Miss Collins yelled at Lucy to stop when she-”

“Timothy! I refuse to listen to your wild stories any further. If you keep talking… you will be expelled.” Principal Davins blinked calmly and folded her hands on her immaculately maintained desk.

For the first time, Derek blinked in shock as he noticed the cleanliness of the desk. Was there really not a single piece of paperwork that this woman was working on…?

But Principal Davin’s response only incensed Tim further. But before he could yell at the Principal, Derek put his hand on his son’s shoulder. They exchanged a long look. Then Derek turned to look at Principal Davins and did his best to keep his voice calm. “Let’s not talk about what happened today, while emotions are still so high. Just… let’s talk about what happens now.”

Principal Davins gave Derek a pleased look. Derek’s mouth tasted like sour milk. Good enough to get Tim into this damned school, but not good enough to protect him at all...

“Obviously, Tim will be suspended for a week. Then he will return to school and have a week of probation. If it is found that he is not a danger to his classmates, then everything will return to normal.” Principal Davins said sweetly.

“I’m not-” Tim’s face turned red and he clearly wanted to defend his honor further, but Derek’s hand tightened on his son’s shoulder. Tim could only look at Derek with eyes filled with bewilderment and Derek felt his heart break.

It was only when they had left the school and gotten onto the Manatech railway heading West from West Providence toward the suburbs that Derek turned toward his son and released a low breath. “Alright, I know you are upset. And I want you to know that I believe you. But this… this is something you just need to accept.”

“But I didn’t START it! She stole mom’s necklace and threated to smash it. If I hadn’t hit her… she really would have stomped on it” Tim blurted out.

Derek couldn’t help but wince at his son’s volume as he spoke of hitting. A woman sitting across from them on the train looked up from the display of her interspatial watch and frowned. Then she produced earbuds from the watch and popped them into her ears. Leaning forward, Derek patted Tim on the back. “I know son. You did the right thing… But sometimes the world isn’t fair. Sometimes… there are bad things that you cannot do anything about.”

Tim simply looked at Derek, uncomprehending. “Why not?”

Derek felt a headache brewing. “This… do you know who Lucy is?”

Finally, clarity returned to Tim’s eyes as he frowned. “A bully.”

That made Derek wince. “That might be true. But that’s not why the school is covering up for what she did. Her name is Lucy Rowel. Her father… is the head of the Order Valorem. And I think the principal likes having the Order Valorem around to protect the campus. She’s scared that if Rowel’s daughter is injured… he might switch schools.”

“Well, why wasn’t the principal scared of you? Is Lucy’s dad stronger than you?” Tim asked, finally a touch of solemness overtaking his face. “What’s his Level?”

To that, Derek didn’t know how to respond. First, because he didn’t rightly know what Level Mark Rowel had reached. And secondly… even if Mark Rowel was above Derek’s Level of 49, Derek had a certain amount of confidence that he would still be able to win against the other in a one on one fight. At the first parent-teacher conference, Derek had seen Mark Rowel. His Survival Instincts had basically yawned at the man.

Derek had been one of the first individuals to enroll in Zone 1’s military force right from the getgo, so he had benefited from all the knowledge and forewarning that Zone 1 had received. Right from the beginning, he knew to train his Skills first and foremost. And he had honestly been at Level 49 for over a year now, but after he had been told the details of condensing a Fate, he had requested a transfer to the Border Security Department rather than remaining on Patrol.

Because although the rate of failure for condensing the Fate had been lowered to less than 10%, Derek still didn’t dare make the attempt. Tim’s mother had died during the arrival of the System, and if Derek died too…

“I don’t know. But not all problems can be solved by fighting,” Derek said diplomatically. And individual strength can’t solve every problem.

But his son surprised him by looking up at him and announcing proudly to the train car. “But when our foes refuse to treat us with respect, what choice do we have but to fight valiantly for our due?”

The corner of Derek’s mouth twitched. “You are going to quote comic books at me right now?”

Tim’s gaze was scathing. “Tim Nash isn’t from a comic book, he’s from a web serial. About a Detective who investigates government corruption. Which is exactly what this is, right?”

To that, Derek didn’t know what to say. There was so much that at twelve, Tim didn’t yet understand about Earth. So many dirty things about living in Zone 1 that Derek didn’t want to put into words. About the citizenship tiers that could determine your life and about how most of Zone 1’s current political clout on the World Council was based upon fear of Mjolnir.

Derek knew that Tim’s school described the System to its students as something that was dangerous but largely benefited humanity. After all, it had eradicated disease and created an equal playing field for all income brackets. Which, Derek supposed, was the government’s prerogative; they wanted to keep the population from panicking while they established their power.

But even if everyone now could use the System to grow strong, was the playing field really equal? If it was, why was his son, who had complained of Lucy bullying him for months, being blamed for lashing out when all of his complaints had been ignored?

And why did Derek feel so helpless when he looked at his son’s hopeful gaze?

A bitterness that had been building for a long time fizzled in Derek’s heart. But ultimately, he shoved it back down and tried to smile at his son. “...it might be something close to that though. But you know, it’s not all bad.”

Tim folded his arms across his chest. “Well yea, at least I won’t have to go to stupid school and have Lucy put worms in my lunch anymore.”

The flash of anger felt hot and comforting, but Derek pushed that back down too. A deep, cold maw gobbled it all up. After giving Tim a teasing look, he continued to say, “You can’t go to school, but that doesn’t mean we have to stay at home.”

Tim caught on almost immediately. His eyes brightened. “You mean…?”

Tim’s smile did a lot to suppress the negative feelings that had been festering in Derek’s heart. He returned the smile toward his son. “Yup. I have enough money saved up… I’ll take a day off and we will go Friday to see the first game of the new football league.”