Everyone present is just staring at the small rocky creature next to my right legs, which is currently making a sound like two stones rubbing against each other.

[What on this planet possessed Noah to give that thing to you?]

[Why are you asking me? I don't understand anything he does.]

Baby speaks up, a strange look on his face. "If that's the same dragon Noah killed in front of us... won't it grow to the same size?"

The other two humans seem rather apprehensive for some reason, and Joule seems interested.

[How big was it before?]

Alice speaks up before anyone else could. "We thought it was a mountain range."

Joule processes this for a moment before answering.

[So Noah just gave a creature with the potential to become the size of a literal mountain to Null for no clear reason, and I'm willing to bet you three are going to put this in the report when you get back to wherever it is we're going.]

They nod in remarkable synchronicity, and Dylan expands. "Well, they're going back to the guild to collect the reward from Charles the guildmaster, and then head back to Barabar. I'm an errand boy for the Mana Society normally, so I'd be going back there after we get you to Lymphadra."

I think about it for a moment before I answer. [What's Barabar?]

Alice and Baby exchange a look, grinning slightly, and the cat-human answers for both of them. "It's a surprise."

I consider pressing for more information, but Joule switches back to Dylan. [You said you work for the Mana Society. What's their deal?]

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The skinny human happily obliges. "The Society is devoted to discovering and cataloging all potential uses for every conceivable elemental spell, and even creates quite a few spells from their research. We've got a foothold in every major country in the world."

Joule instantly picks up on the least important part. [Did you say cataloging?]

He seems a little thrown, almost as if he's used to people not listening. "Uh, yes. We've got full information on almost every spell used in the world, except for a few forbidden practices, obviously."

She sounds excited in my head. [So you have an entire library of pre-quantified information just sitting there?]

Oh.

[Can anyone go in and read it, or does it require a membership?]

"Well, anyone can browse our entry-level collection, but you'd need a collector's card to see the majority of it."

Joule's body explodes out of mine unexpectedly and it's barely finished forming before she grabs Dylan's shoulders, grinning... maniacally, really.

"How do I get one of these cards?"

He looks extremely uncomfortable with the way her lower body is curling and winding in her excitement. Hasn't he ever met a centipede?

"Er... you can get one by paying for it, being recommended for it by a high-ranking member, or bringing in several pieces of information we don't already have."

"How much information do you have on Void?"

Wait a minute!

[Joule, we can't give away our attacks just because you want to go read something!]

She turns to look at me, and I almost step back from the expression she's wearing. "Null, it's a library. An entire library exclusively devoted to quantifying everything! EVERYTHING!"

Even Dylan is looking a little worried at how excited she is about this. "Well, we don't know very much about it. It's very sharp, but really volatile at the same time. For example, a swordsmage might cover his blade in Void, but there's a good chance it'll consume the whole sword if he loses focus."

Joule's clawed hand is suddenly wrapped in a black veil, and I instantly start thinking about the battle applications of two creatures using all the attacks we know of.

"Like this?"

He practically jumps away from her, almost yelling. "Are you crazy? Do you want to lose your hand?" She waves her hand in the air dismissively. "Oh, calm down. Null's been doing this for almost six months, and he hasn't lost any limbs from it yet."

It seems to calm him down. In the corner of my attention span, I can see Bubbles interacting with the new arrival, tapping its spikes, and looking for its eyes. They're probably fine.

"Oh. Well, if you provided your method of stabilizing the spell, I'm certain you can get a card without much issue."

Joule smiles, and a cold chill runs down where my spine would normally be. I have a bad feeling about this.