Millie resisted the urge to pick at her third helping of food as she continued to wait. CJ had managed to send a message to their classmates’ soul scrolls, and received affirmations in kind, so that had gone well. However, she still had to wait for everyone to show up and the slow tick of time was made all the more loathsome by the continued incongruity between what she considered ‘real’ time and Magincian time.

Incongruity? She mused. That greater intellect booster must be working its magic. Smirking, she bit into her grilled Polenta, which had come in small biscuit-like shapes. She dipped the cooked cornmeal into a meaty sauce, trying to ignore the occasional odd texture she assumed was Thyme or something. The definition on the food hadn’t said anything suspect, and she’d read it thoroughly, so she wouldn’t allow her paranoia on the matter to ruin good food.

Finally, the sound of a door closing drew her attention, and she looked up from her spot at the common area’s Kotatsu. Isabella walked out, but it wasn’t from her room—she left her sibling’s. As she approached the rest of the class, she was alone.

“Is everything okay with your brother?” Millie asked, her other classmates perking up from their own meals and distractions when they noticed the dark-skinned beauty approach. The siblings had been the final two they’d been waiting for and Isabella being alone was an ominous sign.

The beauty hesitated, her eyes bloodshot as she wavered on her feet. Eventually, she sighed before coming to sit at the table where the majority of the class had joined Millie. Braylon, Raj, and Liam were the only ones not at the table, having sat nearby instead. Two due to their large size and one because Millie had asked him politely to move when he’d tried to sit next to her. She was still annoyed that she’d had to ask Liam twice.

“He’s alive,” Isabella finally said. “The robot said it’s taking longer for his remedy to finish because his soul’s too sensitive. I just…fuck.”

“Is everything okay?” Katelyn asked, before offering the lone Navarro sibling a glass of water.

“No,” Isabella stated, before draining and nearly slamming the glass back down. “He’s covered in lines of energy. But they look like fucking bleeding sores. He kept screaming and screaming and I—”

The girl choked up, before taking a deep breath. “They said he won’t remember it. None of us will. Can’t say I’m looking forward to being remedied if that’s what it’s going to be like. Fuck, do we got anything stronger than this shit?”

She gestured towards the empty cup as Katelyn grimaced. The tall girl held up her hands placatingly before CJ sprung up from the table.

“As a matter of fact—we do,” he said with a gentle smile. She and CJ had discussed a few ways to break the tension between everyone, and while it was a little early, CJ had a plan. It seemed it would be well received for many reasons. She watched now as the scrawny boy pulled out his soul scroll, tapping at it before frowning. He then knelt and reached under the edge of the Kotatsu.

“Crap, who’s sitting next to the switch?” He asked.

“Oh, I think that’s me,” Catherine said, before pulling up the flap and half crawling under the table. A second later a small click rang out and the table’s wooden surface shimmered and transformed into a beautiful blue screen as Catherine popped back up.

“Ooookay, what the fuck?” Isabella said, cautiously lifting her hands off the giant table-turned-terminal.

“CJ found it earlier,” Catherine remarked.

“Yeah these stupid things are hidden everywhere,” Millie muttered. She still hadn’t found her closet terminal, despite looking where CJ had said he found his. Maybe they were all in different places? Or maybe I need to sit on something to turn it on, she mused. Like in the bathhouse and the mirror.

Placing his hands on the screen, CJ brought up an interface and navigated to the inventory system. While the screen covered the table, the interface CJ was playing with was a reasonable size just in front of him, and Millie knew from earlier that each student could summon their own. Like one big shared computer, she thought.

Leaning over, Millie watched CJ order some items, noticing with some amusement that the boy had found a way to favorite items, including the alcoholic beverages he’d spent quite a lot of time planning out. She frowned, however, when she noticed something.

“Wait, the drinks aren’t free?” She said.

CJ shook his head. “Sadly no. Apparently, ‘luxury’ items cost resources, only amenities are free.”

“What are you ordering?” Isabella asked. “If it’s booze I’ll gladly chip in.”

CJ laughed and waved her off. “As much as I’d appreciate it, the only thing you’ll be able to buy is overpriced wine and questionable ale. We’ll go over it later, but I got a few more options than the rest of you and the expense isn’t too bad for me. I just hope nobody minds cocktails.”

Millie frowned. While it was true that CJ had come away with the lion’s share of the market prize, he wasn’t suddenly loaded. This would be a notable expense on his part. Still, she didn’t want to countermand him given their goal was to bring everyone together. Few things had that power like food and drink.

It wouldn’t be so bad if I hadn’t basically torn everyone apart, she reminded herself. The awkward silence that had hung on the group while they ate and patiently waited for the Navarro siblings had been a testament to that.

While CJ was ordering, Raj unexpectedly stood up and approached him. The muscled man shot a quick glance to his taller friend, Braylon, who was looking away sheepishly. Bending down, Raj whispered something in CJ’s ear as Millie watched with confusion, similar to the rest of the group.

“Is…this going to be a problem?” CJ asked. “I can tone it down.”

“It’s fine,” Braylon jumped in, obviously guessing what the whispering was about. “Just, nothing hard for me. Please.”

“Of course,” CJ said. “I’ve got plenty of options…even if something virgin is more to your taste.”

CJ winked playfully at Braylon, and Millie tried not to groan at the obvious flirting. She wasn’t too keen on risking another ‘cowboy’ incident (which they’d all agreed would never hear the light of day), but thankfully she needn’t have worried. Either Braylon didn’t care that a boy was flirting openly with him, or—

He just didn’t notice.

“Thanks man, I appreciate it,” Braylon said, rubbing a hand against his cornrows as he gave a wide, grateful smile. For such a big and intimidating guy, he radiated serious good-boy charm. Even if his face is painfully square, Millie mused. He looks like how I’d picture Gaston from beauty in the beast, just with cornrows and an extra foot in height. Not that I think CJ minds given the pile of muscles.

She smiled, noticing how Isabella glanced at CJ’s antics with a smirk. Katelyn pretended not to notice as Raj settled back onto his spot on the ground nearby, and Catherine…seemed even more oblivious than Braylon as she asked CJ for a ‘Coke if they have any.’ The only one that looked annoyed was Liam, but he’d been shooting not-so-subtle glares towards Millie and Tanya for a while now. The petite blond hadn’t said much as she sat next to Millie, keeping herself busy scrolling through her phone’s extensive photo collection. Millie got the impression the girl was just grateful to be nearby.

She and I still need to have a talk, but it can wait until this meeting is over, she decided.

A few minutes went by, as Isabella played with her own terminal on the table, ordering some food that was brought in by her servitor. Millie would’ve had trouble telling it apart from her own, given how it seemed all the robots had a default look to them, but she’d redressed her own robot following the bathhouse incident. It was much harder to be worried about a killer robot when it was wearing bright pink pajamas and kitten slippers.

Especially since said cute attire was picked out by said potential death-bot, she mused. Millie had smiled for nearly an Earth-hour as she noticed how her servitor wouldn’t stop wiggling her toes in the slippers, as though quietly ecstatic to have been freed from the tyranny of high heels. That and the fucking lingerie under her clothing, she recalled. It had taken every bit of Millie’s willpower not to flip out when she discovered the ‘stock’ undergarments the robots had.

Eventually, an old man in a suit showed up, much to everyone’s confusion, and delivered their drinks. Apparently, CJ had wasted no time in customizing his robot, down to the meticulous white beard and oddly stern eyes. He wasted even less time jumping behind an impromptu bar made from a collection of tables as he began to work his magic.

“Alright, pick your poison and I’ll get to work while you listen. Millie?”

The group turned to look at her and she sighed. It was time for her to begin.

----------------------------------------

It took a while to fill everyone in on the events of her day. It had been…difficult, to say the least, to repeat portions of the Death Knell Omen.

Sadly, the healing pool hadn’t cured her of the mental strain of the situation, and just recalling it made her hands hurt all over again. But expressing it to the group was helping more than she thought it would. Not unexpectedly, Katelyn cried when she realized where the vision was leading, and everyone except Braylon was well into their drinks as they hung on her words in raptured silence.

She eventually ended her retelling after she and CJ had completed the challenge of the market, not going into a lot of detail on the matter just yet. Her first priority was to explain the point of the meeting and justify their working together.

“So you think there are more of these hidden quests?” Isabella asked.

Millie nodded. “Yeah. After we completed the challenge, the primary sales-bot all but confirmed there’s two types of these hidden quests, with their own kinds of prizes. The majority are challenges like in the market, which give much better rewards than the random gifts they hand out but have a puzzle associated with them. The others have secret conditions that when met gives students something unique.”

Millie lifted up her Tarot deck in emphasis.

“The challenges seem fair enough, I guess,” Isabella remarked. “But not everyone can win the unique ones. You said yours was for the most unfortunate? Who’s to say what the qualifications for that are? Especially if you said the Fortune-Teller had others he listed in his note. That’s just…odd.”

A thoughtful silence descended the group before Raj cleared his throat.

“Liam,” he said. “Is your crystal something you won? Or did you fulfill a condition for it?”

Liam grimaced. “I…it's a condition one, like Millie’s. Rebecca’s was too—she’s the one that had the golden armor.”

“What was your condition?” Catherine asked. “Maybe we can find a pattern?”

“I’d…rather not go into it,” Liam said, looking away uncomfortably. “Rebecca’s was something about being the most renowned student.”

“What?” Isabella said, slamming her Dark ‘N Stormy on the table. “How the hell is she the most renowned?”

“It’s about being the most well-known student, not most well known…whatever you are,” Liam said, waving a hand dismissively. “And Rebecca and her group talked to practically every survivor in the school. Who doesn’t know her?”

Millie watched as Isabella’s eye twitched, and she was pretty sure the beauty was considering tossing her drink at him. Is it bad that I kind of want her to?

Tanya cleared her throat delicately. “Three million Instagram followers isn’t nothing, you know.” She then turned towards her own drink, a Mojito.

“Thank you!” Isabella said. “Bet the boy toy would have been one of them if he knew what it was about.”

Katelyn coughed suddenly into her Sazerac, desperately not meeting anyone’s eyes, and Millie smiled mischievously at the tall woman. She seems the prim and proper type, but maybe there’s more to this girl than I thought.

“What’s it about?” Braylon asked. He quietly took a sip of apple juice as he looked around the room, as though enjoying a simple conversation. He was…adorably innocent.

Millie and several of the girls in the room looked at him in unison—all save Catherine, who remained as oblivious as the large fellow. They then as one went back to their drinks quietly pretending nothing had been mentioned concerning the rather risqué nature of the girl’s page. Though in Millie’s case, she’d followed Isabella Navarro back when the girl had been a simple fitness influencer and hadn’t much cared for the more adventurous model she’d transformed into. The glam, glitz, and travel were more Tanya’s preference than hers.

Another cough drew Millie’s attention and she lowered her drink to stare at the source.

“That’s non-alcoholic, right?” Catherine asked sharply, staring at Millie.

“This?” Millie said, looking down at her glass. “Of course it is.”

Raj chuckled from nearby. “Got a hangover?” He said, his large mustache dancing on his face as he snuffled at her.

I’m glad he doesn’t seem to be holding a grudge, Millie thought. He genuinely seems to be trying to help the tension in the room. Millie gave an exaggerated sigh, however, as she noisily drank her Virgin Bloody Mary through a metal straw.

“Yup, something like that,” she said with a laugh. CJ and his damn humor! “You enjoying yours?”

Raj lifted his drink in salute towards CJ. “He makes a fine drink.”

“Hard to screw up an Old Fashioned, honey,” CJ said, chuckling. “Sorry they don’t have much in the beer department, but let me know if you want something more fun, okay? I’ve got all the basic spirits and juices you could want.”

Raj smiled and nodded before nursing another sip. While he’d joined everyone save Braylon and Catherine—the pudgy girl was drinking the ‘Coke’ she kept complaining tasted funny and Millie suspected CJ had added a little rum to it—he was clearly not in a rush. Isabella, on the other hand, set down her fourth cup and covered up a belch.

“Ugh, got any recommendations?” She asked. “I need another.”

“Hmm, how about a Moscow Mule?” CJ said, “You seem to like ginger.”

Isabella shrugged. “Lay it on me cutie,” she handed her glass over and CJ took it. A minute later he replaced it with a copper cup.

“Damn you’re fast,” Isabella noted. “Thanks. But back to the fuckery at hand. You—boy toy,” she snapped her fingers at Liam, who scowled as he glared daggers at her. She sneered back. “Yeah, I don’t care. What was your condition? The whole point of this meeting is to plan shit out, yeah? Don’t give us ‘I’d rather not say’ bullshit.”

Liam looked decidedly uncomfortable, a spot Millie had no problems with him being in currently. Eventually, as he looked around the room, he realized he was going to have to spill the beans or walk out. He sighed irritably, before downing the rest of his Dry Martini with a grimace, and then summoned his crystal. It thumped loudly onto the floor before floating lazily into the air.

“To those who have…squandered life, the gift of nothing you have sought.”

Silence filled the room. Right up until Millie let out a decidedly unladylike snort.

Liam shot her a murderous glare, which only intensified when Tanya also had to fight to suppress a snicker. A mix of confusion, mild judgment, or empathetic looks covered the rest of the group as the two girls struggled not to laugh at the dark-haired boy’s expense.

“Feel better?” Liam said when they’d composed themselves.

“Oh, you have no idea,” Millie said quietly, suddenly enjoying the spicy taste of her Bloody Mary quite a lot. Maybe there was vindication to be found in this hellish alien city after all.

“I don’t get it,” Catherine stated, and the group turned to look at her. What doesn’t she get? Millie thought in confusion. Shit, do I have to explain my relationship with Liam to her? I thought she knew.

“Most unfortunate, most renowned, and…most squandered? No, you said for those who have squandered, and that’s… it’s not even the same scheme! This makes it even harder to find a pattern. Are you absolutely sure about the condition’s wording?”

Oh, she either completely missed the point or was too focused on the riddle of it all. Got it.

Catherine huffed as she continued to glare at Liam. The handsome boy’s lips drew tight as a vein pulsed on his forehead.

“Yes. I am sure that’s the condition for the crystal. For those who…you know. For Rebecca, it was specifically to the most renowned—glory equal in kind.”

“And Millie’s was, to the most unfortunate—a glimpse of fortune,” Catherine said. “Three conditions. Two match, one doesn’t. Maybe there are multiple sets of conditions? But what’s the connecting theme between them?”

Something sparked in Millie’s mind, but she hesitated even as she thought out loud. “Yeah, it almost sounds like…”

“What?” Catherine prompted. “Did you think of something?”

“I…might have?” Millie said, shrugging. “It’s a long shot but there is something that’s divided into two sets in the city. The Arcanum.”

“Schools of magic,” CJ offered.

“Like Necromancy, Transmutation, Conjuration, and the like?” Catherine asked.

CJ raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “Have you played Dungeons and Dragons, Catherine?”

The pudgy girl flushed brightly. “N-no, I just…no!”

A few chuckles broke out as Millie cleared her throat to get their attention.

“That’s not entirely correct, but let’s not worry about the nuance right now. The thing is, the ten Arcanum all come in pairs, like a positive and negative mix. For example, there’s Genetis and Entropia, which most people will consider life and death.”

“Oh,” Catherine said. “You think these conditions and their gifts might be riddles based on the Arcanum?”

Millie nodded. “It’s only a guess, we’d need to hear more to be sure.”

“Hmm. If it was the case—which Arcanum do you think these three would be related to?” Catherine asked. She was practically buzzing with excitement, and Millie got the impression the girl rather enjoyed puzzles.

Still, Millie hesitated as she thought. “Well, I think for something like my vision and Tarot cards it would probably be…Axiom—that’s the Arcanum of truth. Its opposite is Ataxia, which is the Arcanum of lies.”

“Lies?” Isabella asked with a scoff. “What the hell kind of magic is lies?”

“Illusions, mostly,” Millie responded offhandedly.

CJ laughed. “Oh shit, it really is D&D.”

“No it isn’t!” Catherine said. “There are only eight schools in Dungeons and Dragons, and she said there are ten Arcanum.”

“I thought there were nine schools?” CJ replied, scratching at his bare chin.

“Hah!” She shouted back. “That was Advanced 2nd edition, in the third, they—”

She paused when she saw CJ smiling widely at her before she turned even pinker. Yeah, I think she’s getting a bit drunk. Should I try to stop CJ? Or let him try to break her out of her shell?

She debated it, if just because she absolutely abhorred the idea of violating someone’s beliefs—given a situation she’d personally experienced back in high school. But she also knew there was something to be said about being sheltered and needing a bit of encouragement to let loose. Understanding that delicate balance wasn’t something she felt qualified on, but she’d seen CJ break through some of the most stubborn people before to genuine effect. Eventually, she decided to trust he knew what he was doing, especially as it looked like Katelyn had noticed and was quietly letting it happen.

“Well, regardless,” Millie said. “I’d need to know more about Rebecca’s gift to be sure, but if mine was Axiom then ‘to the most’ style of conditions would be for the ‘positive’ pairs of the Arcanum. Those are Genetis, Axiom, Primus, Animus, and Aether. Since Liam’s is the opposite, it would have to be for one of the ‘negatives’ which are Entropia, Ataxia, Materia, Psyche, and Void. Now, given that they told you how you got nothing—” she paused to let that sink in as Liam grimaced, “I’d say yours was probably Void.”

“But, it let me access Necromancy spells,” Liam said. “Wouldn’t that be entropy then?”

“Also, how are Psyche and Materia negative?” Catherine commented, pushing up her glasses as she furrowed her brows.

“Entropia,” Millie corrected, before shaking her head. “As for Psyche, it’s because it’s inwardly focused as opposed to Animus’ outward nature, and Materia is naturally static compared to its chaotic partner Primus, the Arcanum of elements and energy. As to what you said Liam, no, not necessarily. I didn’t want to get into it, but stuff like Necromancy and Divination are practices. They’re the how you do things to the what you effect of the Arcanum. You could easily perform Necromancy with Axiom or Divination with Entropia.”

“How the hell does any of that make sense?” Isabella stated, rubbing her temple. She set down what Millie was pretty sure was now her sixth glass before picking at her food.

Millie chewed on her lip, before deciding to just elaborate. “Practices are specific ways to approach magic. Necromancy, Divination, Alchemy, Enchanting, Shamanism, hell even Witchcraft are all examples. Necromancy within the Axiom Arcanum would just be reading a corpse for information, like temperature, cause of death, or getting it to talk to you about how it died. Finding truth through Necromancy: the art of weaving necrotic forces. Divination with Entropia, on the other hand, would be the use of…well, symbolism related to death. Like carving up entrails or throwing bones.”

Isabella set down her fork and stared ruefully at the food she’d barely touched. Pushing back her plate, she took another drink as she glared at Millie.

“Well, you asked,” Millie said. “But practices don’t cover all Arcanum equally, many of them are based on pre-existing dogma and patterns and have their own strengths and weaknesses. Regardless, Liam told me the spell he was shown was about keeping something from fading away. That’s too specific to be anything other than the Void Arcanum, and it being a Necromantic practice doesn’t really matter.”

“Fuck,” Isabella muttered. “I don’t know if I drank too much or not enough.”

“I hear you,” Katelyn agreed quietly. “CJ, hun? Could I have some more?”

“Of course. More of the same?” He walked over to collect her empty glass and the tall girl motioned awkwardly for him to bend down. He did so and she whispered in his ear.

CJ smiled. “You sure?”

“Ehem, yes.” She said delicately. A moment later CJ returned with four shot glasses and proceeded to top them all off with vodka.

“I’ll have what she’s having,” Isabella immediately said and got her own set shortly after.

“Katie!” Catherine squealed. “What are you doing!?”

“What I should’ve done from the start,” she muttered. “Egészségedre,” she said, gesturing towards the group before pounding the shots one after the other. She finished with a gasp, and Millie clapped with an appreciating chuckle. Isabella followed suit on her own shots before attempting to order another round, but CJ urged them to give it some time. Instead, he gave them some lighter drinks before getting Catherine a refill.

“My Coke still tastes funny,” Catherine whined as she took a sip. She still drank it down like a fish even as she stared reproachfully at her tall friend.

“They don’t have actual Coke sweetie, so I had to improvise,” CJ said. “Do you want something else?”

“No,” Catherine said, pulling her drink in defensively.

Millie smiled before taking the moment to turn towards Liam. “Hey, can you tell me anything more about the golden armor Rebecca got?”

“I’m not sure,” he answered. “She kind of flipped out when she got it.”

“I heard about that,” Millie said, grimacing. “What happened?”

Most of the others perked up to listen, and Liam let out a loud sigh. “Well, we were looking for a place to tailor our uniforms in the shopping district, and when we found a suit shop we thought that was it. But the shopkeeper started acting weird with Rebecca almost immediately, asking her questions about how many people she’d helped and if she was the leader of her class. I think everyone was kind of put off by it and let her take the lead.”

“Really?” Isabella said. “No one tried to stand up? They just let her have it?”

Liam shook his head. “We were the first out there and some of the things we saw shook us. You’d understand if you’d been there. Which, by the way, why weren’t you? You were all invited too,” he glared at Isabella.

“Wait, what?” Millie said. “When did she invite you all?”

“It was when you went to get healed,” Liam answered. “We stayed to talk with her, but I was apparently the only one who showed up.”

Millie narrowed her eyes. I thought we were all going to ‘call it a day.’ Geez, were CJ and I the only ones who actually went to bed?

“Hey,” Isabella said, “I was with my brother. That was a little more important than a playdate that we never even agreed to.”

“Fine, but I don’t know why either of you weren’t there,” Liam said, gesturing towards Braylon and Raj.

Braylon set down his empty cup. “Oh, I ah, I just decided to rest.”

“Would you like something else, Braylon? Non-alcoholic, of course,” CJ said, offering the big guy a more elaborate drink, this one a virgin cucumber gimlet if Millie’s memory served her well. A part of her briefly worried that CJ might have given him something harder, but she dismissed it. The scrawny boy might try to break someone out of their shell—but he’d never trick someone who’d deliberately said no into drinking.

“Oh, thanks!” Braylon said with a wide smile. He laughed good-naturedly as he drank it, completely missing CJ’s admiring gaze. Glancing over, she noticed Raj smirking, so she felt confident no harm would come from CJ’s not-so-subtle passes.

“And you, Raj?” Liam said. “Where were you? I saw you leave.”

The muscled man turned to face Liam, his smile disappearing in an instant. Is he…mad at Liam? She watched as Raj shrugged and took another sip of his drink.

“I’d rather not say,” Raj replied flatly.

Millie almost laughed as Liam sputtered.

“Hey! We’re being honest—”

Raj held up a hand to cut the boy off. He then slowly and deliberately finished his drink before setting it down. Then, he suckled on his mustache briefly before staring Liam down.

“I decided to explore on my own. I’m happy to share what I found, but let’s finish one topic at a time. Sound good?”

He smiled at Liam in a way that made it completely clear the conversation stopped there. Millie was really feeling like something must have happened between the two, but she also really hoped Raj would be good on his word and explain later. She didn’t like the idea of anyone keeping secrets. I already have enough of that with Liam.

“Whatever,” Liam finally said, breaking the impromptu stare down. “Anyway, we were some of the first out there. A large group too, maybe thirty of us or so? It was fine until one person got the bright idea to try and steal from a store.”

“Shit,” Millie cursed. “Are they okay?”

“What do you think?” Liam replied, before lifting his empty glass towards CJ. Unsurprisingly, CJ had neglected Liam’s cup and only reluctantly came by to take it.

“I’d rather hear the specifics,” Raj said. “I apologize to everyone, but—”

“It’s fine,” Isabella said. “Millie didn’t exactly go light on her details.”

The room went quiet at the reminder of her death. Katelyn then raised a hand, asking politely for another drink before Catherine hiccuped.

Liam ran a hand through his short hair. “The moment the guy was out the door a spell fried him on the spot. He was dead before he even hit the ground. We think another person tried to steal elsewhere because we found a…corpse lying outside another store. The robots tend to leave evidence until enough people complain about it before they clean up.”

“Was it fried too?” Raj asked.

Liam shrugged. “I’m not sure, I didn’t look too closely. There was a lot of blood though, so maybe it was a magic missile or something?”

“Or a weapon,” Millie muttered. Looking up she met Raj’s eyes. He nodded subtly at her—he’d clearly had the same thought.

“By the time we got to the suit shop,” Liam continued, “no one really…trusted the shopkeepers. The items we got were barely better than school supplies and weird toys, and people were worried they might be killed if there were any ‘misunderstandings.’ So when Rebecca was offered something special no one was exactly keen to step up. At best it seemed like a trap, and when she came back ten minutes later screaming, people flipped out thinking they’d been right.”

“Why was she screaming?” Millie asked.

Liam stared at her. “Because she had these…golden metal bars attached to her skin, like a thin exoskeleton suit. They kept pulsing out bright lines of energy across her skin, almost like digital tattoos. It was easy to see it all because she was half-naked when she came out.”

“And she was freaking out?” Isabella said. “Sounds kind of cool, to be honest.”

No one commented as the beauty scratched absently at the large sun tattoo on her neck.

“Yeah, well, she kept screaming that something was talking to her, trying to control her. Then she…jumped. Straight off the fourth-floor ledge head first.”

“Holy fuck,” Millie said, gasping as a few others in the room echoed her. “I didn’t hear that she died.”

“She didn’t,” Liam said. “The moment she slammed into the ground this golden armor appeared out of nowhere all over her. She left a giant crater and just stood back up. She looked like fucking Wonder Woman in full plate, but then she started walking slowly towards a portal, dead silent and fucking terrifying. Haven’t heard from her since.”

I didn’t see a crater, but I guess this was a while ago, wasn’t it? She thought. The robots must have cleaned it up. What could have created the armor though?

“Manifested armor maybe?” Millie muttered out loud.

“Would that be…Materia?” Catherine suggested. “I’m guessing that’s based on material and not Final Fantasy,” she let out a small giggle.

Millie smirked at her before shrugging. “Dunno about that, anything could go as far as I know. But you’re right—Materia is the Arcanum of Materials. Though, it’s not really about summoning gear so much as modifying or controlling it. You said she was hearing a voice?”

Liam nodded.

“It could be the Arcanum of Psyche then,” Millie speculated. “Wait, no, if we’re going by pairs and she was the most renowned, not one of those who yadda yadda’d, then it would have to be on the positive side, which would be…Animus. Shit, that would mean that was a spirit manifesting over her if this is the correct theme.”

She shivered. Millie didn’t recall much about spirits directly from her vision, but she knew they could be bad news. Even Familiars could be notoriously difficult to manage, and they were usually chosen from the lowest grade or easiest to control varieties of spirits.

“Is that bad?” Catherine asked.

Millie shrugged. “I don’t know enough to say for sure, but if she reacted like that I don’t see that being a good sign.”

A quiet fell over the room as the thought sunk home. It was also starting to feel far too likely that her hunch on the nature of the conditional rewards was correct. The ones they’d discussed fit too well with the Arcanum. Either way, it was as good a place as any to start from, but there was one more piece that she wanted to hammer out.

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Millie turned back towards Liam. “Where did you find your crystal, anyway?”

“Why does that matter?” He said, crossing his arms as he glared at her.

Millie tried not to frown at his obvious attitude. “Two of the conditions and one general hidden quest were in the shopping district. It could be useful to know if we can narrow down our search.”

“No, I…didn’t find it there,” Liam said, glancing away. “I got lost after the golden armor incident walking through the Academy.”

“You got lost?” Isabella said, scoffing.

“I didn’t have anywhere I felt I needed to go so I wandered around,” he answered with a scowl. “I ended up finding some back alley store that had a bunch of trinkets and oddities, and I got the crystal there. The only reason people know I got it is because I couldn’t figure out how to get rid of it at first, and couldn’t hide it.”

Millie furrowed her brow. She wasn’t sure if she really believed Liam’s story, but she did recall seeing other stores listed on the map outside the shopping district. That, at least, checked out. God, I hate how I feel like I need to question everything about him now, she thought. Then again, if I had done that earlier in life then I literally wouldn’t be in this situation, now would I?

“Was this the ‘store’ about two portals down from the shopping district’s northwest exit?” Raj asked nonchalantly.

Liam immediately stiffened, his jaw tightening. He remained silent, however.

Raj nodded, before turning to thank CJ when he came over, bringing him a refill.

“Do we even want to know?” Millie said with a sigh.

“It’s nothing,” Liam quickly said. “Just curiosities and oddities.”

Raj laughed. “Of the adult variety, sure.”

Liam turned bright red as he glared hatefully at the muscled man.

“…you found a sex shop in the Academy?” Millie buried her face in her hands. She really didn’t know him, did she?

“It’s not what you think, okay? I was just—”

“Oh shut up boy-toy,” Isabella said, sneering. “I’ve heard just about enough out of you for a fucking lifetime. Why the hell would there be an adult store in a school though?”

This time, Millie grew redder, but it wasn’t with embarrassment. “When you get a chance, check what your maid’s wearing. You’ll know then.”

Isabella looked at her for a long time, before it must’ve clicked. She swore quietly, downing the rest of her drink.

“Do I…want to know?” Braylon mumbled.

“Probably not,” CJ answered him. “Another drink?”

“Yes!” Catherine shouted. She wobbled where she sat, looking extremely uncomfortable with the conversation at hand. She wasn’t the only one.

“Look, he knew where it was too—so don’t judge me!” Liam said, draining his newest glass as he glared at the room.

“Why did you know where it was, Raj?” Isabella asked him.

Raj shrugged. “I watched where people were congregating.”

“Really?” Liam snapped. “‘Cause, it sounds like you were just watching me.”

Raj tilted his head as he swirled his drink. “As I said—I was watching where people were congregating. And you had what, oh, thirty or so people with you?”

Raj smiled mirthlessly as Liam flinched, grinding his teeth loud enough Millie could hear it.

“I assume you got a card?” Raj asked him.

Liam scowled but said nothing.

“Card?” Millie asked quietly. Better to rip this bandaid off, right? She told herself.

Raj nodded. “I’ll go into more detail later, but from what I’ve found there are five primary districts in the Academy. Education, Shopping, Production, Administrative, and…Entertainment. There are nightclubs and restaurants throughout the place, and that ‘oddities’ shop was handing out invites to one in particular. I didn’t think it opened until the night cycle, but they let you in early, didn’t they? Not quite the ‘crystal’ you were expecting, is she?”

He lifted his re-filled glass towards the black floating crystal, but Liam stubbornly refused to meet anyone’s eyes. Oh, don’t tell me Liam was looking for a stripper named crystal? You can not be serious.

She felt like every revelation about Liam was irrefutable proof of her stupidity. Proof of how small and worthless she was for blindly accepting every excuse, every late night, and every unexplained absence like a fool. It felt like a dagger being shoved into her repeatedly as she finally listened to the endless lies that seemed to pour out of his mouth.

The worst part was—it hadn’t been just his life he’d squandered. It was hers as well.

“Great,” Millie said through gritted teeth, forcing herself to stay composed. “So the mystery of how Liam found his ‘crystal’ has been solved. Would any of you mind if I change the subject back to what CJ and I won in the market?”

Thankfully, a round of enthused agreement met her immediately. She was grateful for that—she wasn’t sure how much more she could learn about her ex without breaking down.

----------------------------------------

“Clever Hans?” Raj laughed as Millie finished elaborating.

“Yup. Though I’m not entirely sure if the robots weren’t just throwing the challenge.”

“Why do you say that?” He asked.

Millie shrugged. “After we finished, all the display-case robots started moving around and chatting excitedly. I kind of got the impression they were…bored. They had been standing there for a while.”

“But they’re robots,” Catherine said, squinting in consternation. “How can they get bored?”

“If the Fortune-Teller can be trusted with what they told me then…they have souls,” Millie answered.

The pudgy girl’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”

Millie shook her head. “I got a less-than-cryptic warning from Strickland not to trust that robot, so I can’t say for sure on anything. I will say that the servitors tend to act a lot more like people than robots though. They can just be…odd, at times.”

“Yeah, I got that impression too,” Isabella said. “But what exactly did you two win?”

“Everyone on our impromptu team got a tier-one medicinal preservation box,” Millie said. “Good for up to twenty tier-one pills of any kind. We also got our pick of a dozen tier-one regular pills.”

“Is that a lot?” Katelyn chimed in.

Millie nodded. “It’s about a hundred and fifty resource points worth in total, so it’s certainly not bad considering the average quest in the Expedition Center will net you twenty to thirty points. I went with a dozen tier-one intellect boosters, to try and bring all my mental stats into the above-average range.”

She hadn’t taken more than the single greater intellect booster she won though, having been warned by the robots about ‘toxicity’ build up from taking too many medicines in short order.

“Hang on, what do you mean by preservation box?” Liam cut in suddenly.

Millie glanced over, ready to dismiss him, but then paused. He was one of the first out, wasn’t he? Oh no, did he…?

“The medicine they offer, the boosters and whatnot, all have expiration dates,” she explained. “They just leave that part out of their spiel.”

“How long,” he replied. His jaw stiffened

“About a week. Magincian, of course.”

Liam squeezed his hands together tight enough to turn them white. He breathed deeply to calm himself. “You said tier-one preservation boxes, right? So I take it higher level medicines need better boxes?”

Millie nodded but decided to cut to the chase. “Tier-five preservation options cost fifteen hundred at a minimum and aren’t even for sale until school starts. How many of the big bright bastards did you grab?”

Liam stared at her, before looking down and pulling at his hair. “All three.”

Oh, wow that sucks, she thought. For him.

“What does that mean?” Catherine asked.

Millie took a moment to explain how the pills were offered as a gift, and how a limited number were higher tier. She also made a point of reiterating for the crowd how all of Liam’s pills would be worthless piles of seeping goo in about a week (politely, of course).

“Why would they hand out pills that expire? That seems needlessly cruel,” Katelyn commented.

Millie paused, before taking a drink. She really wished it was alcoholic now, pregnancy or not, as memories of the execution flashed back to her. “This place believes in punishing ignorance. I’m pretty sure those shiny pills were a trap for those who didn’t research the fine details on their own.”

Liam groaned loudly from nearby.

“Those aside, however, the big prize could only be offered to a single person, and apparently I couldn’t qualify because I’d already received a greater reward.”

“Your Tarot cards and vision,” Raj said.

Millie nodded. “It means hidden quest or secret condition, it’s one big thing per person at best. Thankfully the team we formed didn’t put up a fight when I suggested CJ get it. I think they felt kind of…guilty, for not stepping in earlier. Plus everyone got something out of it.”

“Yeah, for doing nothing,” Isabella said with a frown. Then, she chuckled. “Still can’t believe you sat on a fucker. Do you think anyone got a recording of the fight?”

“I’d rather not think about that, thanks,” Millie said with a grimace. “But they took CJ to a private location to talk to him after. CJ?”

She turned and their effeminate bartender stepped up, cosmo in hand. Millie narrowed her eyes at the brightly colored drink, well aware CJ didn’t care much for them. It was probably him laying on another not-so-subtle hint towards Braylon.

“Well, they had a number of gifts I could choose from. They offered spell formula, Attainments—oh those are like feats, Catherine—”

She hiccuped as she flushed, pinker than CJ’s drink.

“But the real prize they offered was a private Alchemicy lab with what amounts to an unpaid internship that includes discounts and access to several new materials, without having to register them. Doesn’t sound like much, given that anyone can use the public labs and register what they find out on Expeditions, but the devil’s in the details and it can make me quite a bit of resources later on once I gain some proficiency and sell my own products. Plus, I got my pick of a book to get started, translated into English much like Millie’s Tarot guide. Which was—ta da!”

CJ lifted up an elaborate book.

“You got a…cocktail mixing book?” Isabella asked, reading the description on the cover. “Really?”

CJ huffed. “Issie, you’ve got a bit to learn, but don’t worry Millie will tutor us all. Suffice it to say, even drink mixing is a bit of a new science thanks to magic, and technically you’ve all just had my very first alchemical mixtures! Well, except for Millie. Her’s really is just spicy tomato juice.”

He smiled at her and Millie drank her Bloody Mary with a playful glare.

“Wait, are these drinks doing something? I feel tingly.” Catherine asked, eyes wide as she gasped at her drink. Millie noted she still didn’t put it down.

“Honestly? Not much, as nothing I purchased was that expensive even if it was exclusive. You’ll probably have smoother digestion, a good night’s sleep, nothing too noticeable. In system terms, a slight increase in health, stamina, and mana regeneration. It just so happens that cooking and mixing fall under Alchemy. Took me most of the afternoon to get it down since I don’t exactly have any magic, and I wasn’t familiar with the lab’s tools. Even with a guide.”

He waved his book triumphantly.

“Huh,” Isabella said, looking down at her cup. “It does taste really good, but did it really take that much effort?”

CJ shrugged. “I had to spend quite a bit of time taste testing and setting these up to get them right. I wasn’t lying to Catherine when I said I had to improvise a lot to make her a soda, you won’t find Pepsi or Coke in the system. In her case, it’s a mixture of bitters, sugars, carbonated liquids, spirits, and serious ingenuity to get them to stop glowing different colors. The fact that it tastes like Coke is a testament to my skill.”

“Wait,” Catherine said, a flickering of understanding dawning in her eyes. “Is there…alcohol in this?”

The way her mouth hung open almost made Millie laugh.

“Well, I may have used some to help with the taste. I promise you it isn’t much though. And trust me, you would not have liked the prototypes I trialed without it.”

CJ made a gagging noise before laughingly lightly. Catherine, however, continued to stare at her drink in horror before Katelyn put a hand around the girl’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, Catherine. You can enjoy it, alright?”

“B-but what would Reverend Cavoto say? Oh no,” Catherine began to sloppily cross her chest. She still held onto the drink.

“Sweetie,” Katelyn said, grabbing the pudgy girl’s shoulders as she forced her to look her in the eyes. “An alien city invaded Canada, parked on top of Toronto, and then kidnapped us to learn magic. CJ made you a nice drink using the rewards Millie swindled from our new robot overlords, so just enjoy it. Okay?”

“I didn’t swindle them,” Millie muttered, before burying herself in her cup. Okay, maybe technically that’s true, she silently admitted.

Catherine looked over at her, then at her drink, and then up towards Katelyn, before back at her drink. Then, in what may have been the single greatest achievement in CJ’s history, she continued drinking.

“I wish this was D&D,” she mumbled when the cup ran empty.

“Me too, sweetie,” CJ said, bringing her a refill. “Me too. That’s it for me, though. Did you want to jump in now, Raj?”

The muscled man nodded and stood up.

“I already said the biggest part—the divisions in the Academy districts. What’s interesting, however, is that about ninety percent or so of the buildings aren’t more than a facade.”

“A facade?” Isabella said, narrowing her eyes. “What for?”

“Far as I can tell?” Raj said, taking a drink. “Manufacturies mostly. I suspect that given the state of the city below, the Academy has had to become self-sufficient, and gutted large portions of the buildings it didn’t need due to the current, smaller population. They have a surprisingly mundane way to go about things.”

“Can’t they just magic a solution to make stuff out of thin air?” Isabella asked, before turning towards Millie. “Do you know of any spells like that?”

“Spells that act like a replicator from Star Trek? Not really,” Millie said with a shrug. “I only know entry-level stuff though. The closest I can think of would be the glamour bracer—it can physically change its appearance but it’s still just an advanced illusion. Once it runs out of power or takes damage, it’s right back to what it was to start. I suppose there are spells for shaping dirt, or wood, but I’m not sure how permanent any of that would be. How sure are you on what you saw are you, Raj?”

Raj swirled his drink again as he stared off in thought. Eventually, he nodded definitively. “Fairly. I checked out a number of buildings that were labeled as off-limits across the five districts, and they all had the same general setup. Large, industrial-scale machines working through materials to create a variety of items and equipment. All quite modular as well, in ways I can only assume are due to magic, as sometimes I’d see a single machine spit out a dozen different products.”

“Magitech? Whoa…” Catherine said, staring off into space.

“How the hell did you get into off-limits areas?” Millie asked. She wasn’t as impressed by what he found—she was more worried about the implications. The one time she’d even gotten close to an off-limits area had been in the Enrichment Market, and the robot had made it extremely clear she wasn’t allowed there.

“Simple, actually,” Raj said. “I demanded the right to investigate the area.”

“You…demanded to take a look?” Isabella said, laughing. “And that just worked?”

Raj chuckled back, giving her a nod. “The servitor tried to stonewall me, of course. Did its best attempt at intimidation, but I reminded her that I was a Magus, Initiate or not, and had a right to explore. She then tried to emphasize how dangerous it was, so I enlisted her into giving me a tour and pointing out anything harmful so I could avoid it. Got through about a dozen buildings before the Headmaster came by citing a complaint by the Governor, demanding I stop.”

The entire group stared blankly at Raj. He took another quiet sip.

“And you did stop, right?” Millie asked.

Raj smiled mid-sip as he held up four fingers. “Four more before I decided I’d seen enough. I couldn’t find the source of their materials or where they’re storing the finished goods, and aside from the input and output, it’s all pretty much repetitive.”

“I—that’s insane,” Millie said. “One person died from stealing—did you even know the rules? What if trespassing was punishable by death? What if there was a trap on the door?”

“Good thing I didn’t use the door then,” he said smiling.

“Raj!” Millie shouted.

He sighed. “I took a risk. This isn’t the kind of place you take at face value, so I applied that to the servitor’s responses as well. Don’t take no for an answer and push, and if you’ve got the right approach they’ll give ground.”

“But what about the Headmaster?”

“What about ‘em?”

“I’m serious damn it!” Millie shouted. “That alien is a literal psychopath. It will use any excuse it can to kill people.”

Raj’s budding, playful air disappeared in an instant as he frowned deeply. “I know. But it also can’t cross those lines arbitrarily.”

“Did you at least grab anything good while you were there?” Liam asked.

Raj shook his head. “No, all the resources were trapped according to the ‘guides’ I co-opted. I wasn’t willing to risk testing that.”

“You were willing to risk everything else,” Liam said with a snort. Millie glared at him—he wasn’t even trying to hide his petty irritation at Raj after being outed.

“Yes, but that’s due to how I choose to approach the situation,” Raj said sternly. “I don’t view this place as a school—to me, it’s an internment camp run by dispassionate guards and a warden furious at their assignment with the goal of forcing us into labor. As it stands, I’m not willing to wait around for the next spectacle, so I’ll take risks if I need to in order to be proactive about the situation by whatever means necessary.”

“Spectacle?” Millie repeated. “What do you mean?”

“Do you remember where we first arrived?” He asked.

Millie had to suppress a shudder. “Right. An arena.”

“Correct,” he said, lifting his glass at her. “Dead or not, this place is designed towards putting on a show for senior members of their staff and having students compete openly to win their favor. I would stake my life on the idea that the beginning trial was only the start. I’ll be damned if I don’t arm us all to the best of my ability until then with knowledge and anything else I can find.”

It sounds like he has the same mindset I’ve only now stumbled upon, she realized. And he was like this from the very beginning too. She looked at Raj with a more appreciating light.

“So what, we’re being hazed in some sort of death game?” CJ said, setting down his drink. He was visibly shaking.

Raj frowned, before shaking his head. “To a degree, perhaps. But while the people these games were designed to impress are gone, we still have to jump through the hoops without any context as to why. It’s likely this place used to operate as a cut-throat institution where students competed for the prestige of it as much as anything else, but that doesn’t exactly mean much to us, now does it? As such, there are probably plenty of incentives that are undoubtedly lost as a result. So I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to find the real reason expulsion is synonymous with death is just a measure for motivation as much as it is for ‘efficiency.’”

“Like any other fucking private school,” Liam said quietly, gritting his teeth. “Just one that happily employs corporal punishment to spur students along.”

“Yes,” Raj agreed, nodding solemnly. “Something to keep in mind, however, is that in many places like that you have traditions that are followed with equal zeal to their rules. But traditions require people to enforce that culture, they’re soft rules you won’t find in a book. We’re alone, seeing only half the equation now, which is why many of these choices don’t make sense. And that’s ultimately why I was willing to push—because the resistance was too showy when the actual points of trespass are kept quiet until it’s too late. It’s as much a facade as the buildings themselves. The Governor can’t enforce anything that isn’t written in its rulebook.”

“But what about the Headmaster?” Isabella asked. “Isn’t that alien going to enforce any of these potential traditions?”

“Hard to say, but even if it wanted to, it doesn’t have that authority.”

The beauty scoffed. “But the damn thing’s in charge of the Academy. How can it not?”

Raj shook his head. “The Headmaster answers to the Governor, helping to operate the Academy. Any restrictions that machine has, the alien has.”

“Then who is in charge?” Isabella said, slamming a hand on the table in emphasis. “If not the machines then who’s calling the damn shots?”

“Us,” Millie whispered as pieces fell into place. “That’s why you threw around your mage rank.” Half the students looked at her like she was mental. But Raj nodded.

“Our authority is severely limited as Initiates,” he said, “but technically, we’re the highest-ranked Magi of the city. That puts us above the Governor and the Headmaster in many ways, but the Laws that the machines enforce are the ones set by the past Magi, that still outranks us. As such, we can’t challenge any of that yet, but the city’s on autopilot until we rise high enough to take over.”

“Autopilot?” Isabella said. “Jesus fucking Christ, we’re on a boat in a storm without anyone at the helm.”

“How did you find this out?” Millie said. “This is all way too specific to be conjecture.”

“I goaded the Headmaster for clues,” he replied brazenly. “The alien said it itself—it can’t arbitrarily lash out. Even staying polite it was quite easy to piss them off. Plus, it’s prone to lecturing, even if every other word out of its mouth was about how much it wanted to throttle me or the Governor.”

Millie sighed as she processed his words, before unexpectedly laughing.

“What?” Liam asked her.

She spared a glance at him, before waving him off. “Talk of an auto-pilot and throttling just reminded me of how older cars had governors too. Maybe that’s the reason for the machine’s name? It’s not important though, so don’t worry about it.”

“Cars had governors?” Catherine asked, quirking her head as she nibbled her straw. “What do you mean?”

Millie shrugged. “It just refers to the system that limits a car’s engine to specific speeds. I guess, technically, you’ll still find governors in cars nowadays but it’s all electronic and done through the vehicle’s programming. It’s hardwired, whereas you used to be able to literally tear it out if you wanted. Still can if your car’s old enough and from the right manufacturer.”

“Did you work on cars when you were younger?” Raj asked.

“I did. Learned from Liam’s father as well as my own. Had a job in a garage too before…well.”

“All this?” Katelyn offered helpfully.

Millie laughed and gestured towards her belly. “A bit before this, sadly.”

“Ah,” she said quietly.

A pressure at her side drew her attention, and she looked over to see Tanya giving her a small side hug. The girl had been virtually silent during the conversation so far, but Millie knew that wasn’t terribly unusual. The petite girl had always been quiet, especially given how boisterous Millie and CJ could be, and it only got more pronounced the more stressed or…upset she was. Undoubtedly, given what CJ had reportedly seen of her earlier, the small girl was struggling with a lot of emotions of her own.

And the fact that she hadn’t once glanced at Liam spoke volumes in that regard.

“Hey, want some Polenta?” Millie offered. She was glad she’d gotten the idea from Joshua—the food was rather good. Still, she’d noticed Tanya hadn’t eaten much, but that wasn’t unusual. Neither was Millie sharing her own with the girl.

Tanya looked over at her, before dropping her head. She quietly nodded and took the grilled cornmeal Millie offered her, nibbling on it.

“Here, try some of the sauce,” Millie pushed the bowl over.

“It’s still warm?” The girl mused.

“Yup,” Millie said with a nod, “I’m pretty sure the dinnerware’s enchanted to keep food hot. Some parts of this place aren’t all bad, eh?

She smiled at Tanya who gave her a small, genuine grin in return, before dipping into the sauce. She swirled it around for a moment, before pausing as she stared at something.

“What?” Millie asked. A bad feeling started to rise in her guts.

Tanya gently scooped up some of the meaty sauce and placed it on the plate. Pushing at it gently, she unearthed a small pointed object.

“…that’s an insect leg,” she said before dropping her half-nibbled Polenta unceremoniously.

“Again, Millie!?” CJ shouted, suppressing a laugh.

“It’s not my fault!” Millie yelled, pushing the bowl away as she growled in fury. “I checked the damn description—I swear!”

Isabella, looking decidedly nauseous, looked at Millie accusingly. “How the hell do you not notice legs in your damn food?”

“I thought it was Thyme or Oregano. Some needly seasoning, okay?”

God, this is a bad joke. Why the hell is this happening to me?

A sudden motion drew her attention and she looked up to see Raj standing over her.

“May I?” He asked.

Millie scoffed. “Be my guest. But no one better fucking puke! I will fucking hurl in the face of the first person who does, so help me God, Jesus, and the Buddha.” She grabbed at her sides in annoyance.

“And you’re sure you didn’t see anything in the description?” Raj asked.

Millie glared at him, before slamming a hand on the table and bringing up her interface. She quickly navigated to the food she’d ordered.

“There! Ya see anything?”

Raj frowned as he read the description. He then knelt down and placed a hand on the table experimentally, and when his own interface came up, he began to navigate through it.

“What are you even doing?” Millie asked.

“Verifying something,” he replied.

Millie groaned. “Please don’t make a joke about there being bugs in my system or something.”

Raj let out a soft chuckle, before ordering the same dish.

“What are you looking for?” Isabella asked.

Raj grabbed Millie’s bowl and began sifting through it with a utensil.

“If something is off in this place, scratch beneath the surface,” he said.

Millie raised an eyebrow at him, before sighing dramatically. “Oh fuck me. You think this could be a clue of some sort, don’t you?”

Raj nodded. “Can’t rule anything out. But we can easily verify if this is a you thing or an everyone thing. No reason not to.”

A meaty slap sounded out, and Millie looked up to see CJ had facepalmed.

“What now?” She asked.

CJ smiled like an idiot. “I didn’t even think about that. Raj—you’re a genius!”

Raj looked at him and snuffled his mustache.

“Don’t encourage him,” Braylon said with a laugh.

Raj looked at his tall friend and snuffled again, even more aggressively.

“Oh—of course!” Catherine said, snapping her fingers. “You’re thinking the conditional prizes might contain hidden quest lines! Like ultimate weapons!”

“Exactly my girl!” CJ replied, shooting her gun fingers. Catherine squealed enthusiastically.

“And that involves…crickets in my food how?” Millie said. She didn’t see why this was exciting at all.

“Let’s verify first,” Raj said, just as the door to his room opened. Out walked a smartly dressed woman with brown skin, black tied-up hair, and steel-rimmed glasses. Millie quickly realized it was Raj’s servitor, modified to look like a secretary. As it approached the lines in the robot’s skin denoting the artificial surface of it became more apparent.

“Your food, Initiate Kaul. Will there be anything else?”

Not master, eh? Millie noted. He must have removed that programming too. Millie had done the same after nearly losing her mind over her servitor calling her ‘Mistress’ every other breath.

“Thank you, Kali. Tell me, do you know if there would be any reason for variations in the food prepared for various students?”

The servitor bowed graciously. “You know what I must say to that, but I imagine I can guess your reply as well. Shall we skip ahead in the conversation?”

Raj smiled knowingly, before nodding.

The servitor replied, its mouth moving like lighting as a burst of noise escaped it quietly, as though it had spoken a dozen sentences in a second. It then politely cleared its throat.

“Generally, neither the System nor the Governor can make such executive decisions. Variations such as you’ve observed would likely be Legacy in origin, though this is purely speculative on my part.”

“Of course, Kali. Though, one could say this was a hidden quest line the old Magi setup, couldn’t they?” Raj asked.

The servitor, Kali, nodded before pushing her glasses up. “If they were using an adventurer’s lexicon, then yes they could. That would be an accurate assumption that I can in no way verify or hint at. I apologize ever so deeply for my inability to aid you in this regard.”

The servitor smirked as Raj did the same.

“Will there be anything else, sir?”

“No, that’ll be all for now, Kali. Thank you.”

“Of course, sir,” she said, bowing slightly before politely heading off.

Raj then looked down, and then promptly poured his sauce over his grilled Polenta. He searched through it quickly with a fresh fork and then nodded.

“No bugs. Here, have mine. Until we figure this out it’s probably best if you have others order food for you.”

“You sly son of a bitch,” Millie said, smiling like an idiot as she stared at Raj. “And I thought my trick was clever.”

Raj winked at her. I’m going to call that the Clever Raj for now on, she decided. Hans, eat your heart out.

“So that’s really it then?” Catherine said. “Millie has a hidden quest line?”

Raj shrugged before standing up. “Looks like it. Why it’s bugs in her food as a clue is hard to say.”

CJ looked at Millie knowingly, and Millie sighed. “Well, the Fortune-Teller was a bug-bot. Maybe that’s a clue too.”

Though the bug thing started before I even met him, she thought. God, what a disgusting ‘clue.’

“Possibly,” Raj agreed. “But let’s…actually, hang on—Kali?”

He called out and his secretary, who had almost reached his door, paused to look back.

“Yes, sir?”

“Would you mind grabbing some paintbrushes and black paint for me?”

“Do I have your permission to place the order?”

“You do,” Raj confirmed.

“It shall be done, sir,” she said with another bow before disappearing into the room.

“Brushes?” Isabella said. “What do you need those for?”

“You’ll see,” Raj said, before walking off towards the shared study. “Hey, Braylon—can you grab one of the larger paintings off the wall?”

“Ah, sure,” Braylon said before heading off to do so.

“Are we allowed to do that?” Millie said.

“What if we get in trouble?” Catherine added.

Braylon paused uncertainly at one of the blank paintings, looking at the group before Raj re-entered carrying a pair of chairs. Looking around, Millie had noted it was rather odd that the common room had taller tables despite ground-only seating.

“It’s fine,” Raj said. “All these items belong to us as a class—we can do with them as we want.”

“We can?” Catherine said skeptically. She was ignored as Raj approached, followed by Braylon who was awkwardly holding the large, blank painting. Setting the chairs down, Raj took the painting and propped it up, back facing the group. He then frowned, feeling at it and noting how wobbly it was, and cast about the room with his eyes.

“Can you grab one of the tall tables? Not any of the ones with wheels.”

Braylon nodded and brought one over, and the two finished propping the painting in place as Kali returned with Raj’s requested items.

“Please note a cost of four resource points has been deducted from your account,” she stated. Raj nodded, thanked her, and then got to work as the servitor politely bowed and left once more.

On the back of the painting, Raj wrote: Plan of Action

“Oh, you’re using it as a whiteboard,” Millie said. “Clever.”

Raj smiled. “Until someone finds a way to display a terminal like a projector, this will have to do.”

“Why are you painting on the back of it though?” Katelyn asked. “The entire thing is blank.”

“For now it is,” Raj said with a shrug. “For all we know, the pictures may change how they look once we have magic, or be part of a puzzle in the dorm. Hence—” he tapped the back of the painting, “—using real-estate that’s much less likely to be used in the future. So, first off, I hope you can all agree that aside from Millie we need to take the remedy. Tonight. Any objections?”

The group looked uneasy, but no one objected.

“Good. Let’s plan out our next steps then. What’s first on the list?”

Everyone stared at the board for a moment before Millie spoke up.

“The rules. We’re flying blind until we know that half of the equation.”

“Agreed,” CJ said.

Raj nodded and added Find Academy Rules to the list and underlined it.

“What about research?” Catherine asked. “There are a lot of topics we should—” she hiccuped and blushed as a few others chuckled.

“She’s right,” Millie said with a smile. “We only have a Magincian week until the hospitality period is over and the next…whatever begins. I say looking into hidden quests in general is a good start to gear us up. We can also try to verify if the unique conditional ones are Arcanum based?”

Raj added them to the list. “Anything else to research?”

“Well…” Millie hesitated, before clearing her throat. “I was hoping you would all help me find an answer in the Archives. For my son.”

“Oh, right,” Catherine said. “You won’t be able to read without the remedy.”

Millie nodded. “I need all of your help. I’m sorry to have to ask you all—”

Isabella snorted. “Sorry? Why? We’re all here because we wanted to help you. Why wouldn’t we help now?”

Millie blushed slightly as she looked over at the beauty. “I mean, I didn’t exactly make a great impression last time we were all together…”

“So?” Isabella said. “We just came out of a fucking death trap. You think any of us were fine after that? We’re barely hanging on too.”

Several people nodded in agreement.

“It’s really impressive what you’ve found so far,” Braylon added. “I know I’d be happy to help you even if you hadn’t brought any of this up.”

“Though the bribes are appreciated,” Isabella said with a smile, lifting an empty glass at CJ and winking at him. The scrawny boy gave her a sly smile and replaced her drink.

“Did you really think we wouldn’t help?” Katelyn said. She looked hurt.

“I…guess my confidence in a lot of things has been shaken recently,” Millie confessed. She struggled not to look at Liam. She could feel his eyes boring into her.

A small hand gripped her own. “I’m sorry if we gave you that impression,” Tanya whispered.

Millie squeezed her hand back. “Let’s talk after the meeting, okay?”

Tanya looked up at her and nodded with a smile.

“Do you think we should do stat training at all?” CJ spoke up.

A few people muttered in confusion, so CJ quickly elaborated. Once the idea was out there, Raj agreed and added it to the list. The general consensus seemed to be—even if it was only a few points, it wouldn’t hurt to train before fixing their attributes and relying on pills.

“I wish I could join,” Millie said, sighing softly.

“Why not?” Raj asked.

Millie mock glared at him. Was he really asking that?

“She’s pregnant,” Catherine said, staring at Raj in complete confusion.

The muscled man laughed before holding up a hand. “We don’t know what kind of solutions will be available to help Millie yet, but having an idea of what to look for would only help, right?”

“Right,” Millie agreed. Where was he going with this?

“So, I say we look for an option that includes bringing you to term as quick as possible.”

Millie stared at him in stupefaction. What the hell?

“Raj,” Katelyn jumped in, “do you know how many health issues can occur with premature births? Her son could have permanent lung damage, not to mention the fact that if this place doesn’t even have soda how is it going to have the advanced medical devices needed to keep the baby alive?”

“I understand the concern,” he replied smoothly, “however, you’re operating under the assumption that a premature birth is the only solution. I’m suggesting we look for a way to speed up his growth. After all, last I heard Millie still has the majority of her third trimester ahead of her. That’s well past the end of the hospitality period.”

The room fell into shocked silence.

He’s right, she realized. Even if I find a way to protect my son, if they have another trial at the end of this period I’m seriously screwed if I wait for a natural birth.

“Can that even be done?” Millie eventually whispered.

“Hard to say,” Raj admitted. “However, one thing is for sure—we shouldn’t settle for easy solutions or quick fixes. The fact of the matter is, our ‘overlords’ only exert their influence so far. Everything else is up to us. Everything. That means there is every possibility we can exploit our situation to our benefit. Right, CJ?”

Raj smiled as the room turned in surprise to the scrawny boy. CJ smirked.

“I wasn’t going to put it like that,” CJ said, “but you’re not entirely wrong.”

“What do you mean?” Millie asked. He hadn’t told her he’d been exploiting anything.

“If you look in the inventory system, you’ll see everything has various classifications. Amenities, equipment, luxury, also…medicines.”

“I thought that was just to help us sort through it all?” Katelyn commented.

CJ shook his head. “To a degree, yes. But I also learned from our overlords that—”

“Sebas!” Catherine suddenly shouted. “That’s who your butler looked like.”

The room stared at her as she did her best impression of a glowing star.

CJ laughed as he cleared his throat. “Not wrong, but back to my point. How goods are bought, sold, and gifted depends on their classification. I…can’t give away potions I make, as much as I wish I could. Medicines can’t be gifted, the best I can do is sell at cost for the materials.”

Millie paled. She’d noticed it was strange how CJ hadn’t gushed at her about anything he could share with her, but she’d thought he’d simply been processing it all. He might have just been looking for the best way to tell me.

“Except you found a way around it,” Raj said. “An exploit.”

“Exactly,” CJ said, grabbing his cosmo and lifting it towards Raj who raised his glass in response.

“I’m confused, what did you exploit exactly?” Millie said.

“Oh you brilliant bastard,” Isabella suddenly exclaimed, holding up her drink.

Millie cocked her head in confusion before it clicked.

“That’s why you wanted a cocktail book,” she said, sighing. “You’re trying to circumvent the system!”

CJ nodded, running a hand through his hair. “I was…a little worried I might get in trouble, so I didn’t say anything. But if everything Raj said is correct, I don’t think anyone is going to call us out on it.”

“I can’t imagine they will,” Raj said. “After all, this is the same thing the Headmaster is doing. It’s exploiting our ignorance and lack of positioning to increase the casualty rates. I doubt it’s traditional here to murder students in cold blood.”

Millie paled. “Did they admit that?”

Raj nodded. “This shouldn’t shock anyone, I imagine, but the alien isn’t too keen on any of us becoming its new lord and master. But it’s trapped in its position, just as we are in ours, and it’s lashing out in the only way it can as a means to feel in control.”

“What a fucking prick,” Isabella said.

“Agreed,” Millie muttered. “Hopefully we can try to avoid it going forward.”

“That…might not be the best approach,” Raj said, a lazy smile lifting his mustache as he picked up his brush to add one more line to the list.

Broodmother — Get the Headmaster’s Advice

Millie sputtered as she read it. “Have you lost your mind?” She accused him. She really didn’t care to see the alien’s pet name for her displayed on the list either.

A name…that spoke volumes, the more she thought about it. Hadn’t the alien constantly been remarking about her condition? Was it possible it had expertise on pregnancies?

It knew enough to heal me effortlessly, Millie thought. Despite my apparent weakness to magical effects at the moment. And that doesn’t even cover the fact that it’s a ‘former’ Archmage.

Raj watched her silently as she processed it, seemingly patiently waiting for her to begrudgingly come to what must have been his conclusion as well.

“That still doesn’t explain how,” Millie finally said. “The only time I’ve ever run into the thing has been just before or just after people have died.”

“I know,” Raj said, nodding gravely. “However, I also took the liberty of looking through the districts to get a lay of the land. Do you know what I found in the Administrative district?”

Millie grimaced. “Oh no.”

“What?” Catherine said anxiously. “What did you find?”

“You…found the Headmaster’s office, didn’t you?” Millie said.

Raj snuffled his mustache at her with a smile, before underlining the words on the board.

Millie was not looking forward to that conversation.

Plan of Action

Find Academy Rules

Uncover/Acquire Hidden Quests

Unique Conditions — Arcanum?

Help Millie’s Son

Training

Broodmother — Get Headmaster’s Advice