Micah squinted past the blinding sunlight and crowd of students at Saga, who seemed to have stepped in two slimes. Or she had summoned two slimes …?

She stood near the running track the school had sectioned off on the Tower plaza. The slimes were on the darker side of blue. Cold, too, by the way the light shifted around them.

Maybe she was cooling off? Or maybe they were healing slimes and she had a blister or … she’d tried to squash them and gotten stuck? Was someone playing a prank on her?

Micah looked around but saw no-one who could have been the caster. Everyone was either busy with their events, chatting, headed somewhere, or just as confused as he was.

Besides, if it was a prank, why would she have taken her shoes and socks off beforehand?

Some people were heckling but Saga didn’t seem to mind. She knelt—the other slime dragged along the ground with her other foot—and motioned with her hands as if tying her shoe. Slowly, the gelatinous mass began to change shape.

“Wha …?” he mouthed.

Ryan bumped past him. “What are you doing here?”

Micah tried to ignore the faint displeasure in his voice and grinned at him. “I came to watch you run.”

He wanted to focus on his friend, but the sight in the corner of his eye still dragged his attention away. Saga had switched to the other … shoe? … now and was fiddling around with it, compressing the slime into a smaller and denser size and shifting parts around inside of it.

So many questions.

“Don’t you have any events scheduled?”

Micah ignored him and his own conversational topics for a moment and nudged his chin at the sight. “Do you see that?”

He turned. “See wha— uh, huh?” His grumpy look slipped away and was replaced by confusion. “Are those … slimes?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“But like, why?”

“I don’t know! Can’t you ask her? You guys run together sometimes, right?” He thought so. Some people even liked to tease Ryan and Saga by saying they were dating. Rumors like that came and went for everyone, though.

Like, some people asked if Micah and Delilah were dating because they hung out together in the workshop, or Lisa and Navid because they were always bickering and had known each other for a while.

Micah was determined to write it off as nonsense until he got a reason to think otherwise, which … kind of seemed like it would never happen. Was Ryan really that focused on his academics that he didn’t have any crushes? Lisa, too.

He didn’t want to be the only one of them with a crush on someone. It was disheartening.

“Rarely,” he said.

“Oh, really?”

He nodded.

On the other hand, that somehow didn’t surprise him. They were both grouches; he just could have seen them getting along because of it.

“I mean, I know she has [Lesser Viscosity],” Ryan added. By his tone, he was thinking out loud.

“She does?”

“Yeah. And she’s fought lots of slimes before in Lighthouse. Here, too, during the changes … Maybe she wants to be a [Summoner]?”

Micah glanced back at the blonde girl with envy. She wasn’t even an [Alchemist] and had a better stat for alchemy than he did.

Although, she did have that alchemy kit. He saw her around the workshop sometimes with Stephanie despite not being a member. Apparently, she could make things at home.

He wondered how far she was in her project yet—making a spellbook anyone could use, right? Or had that changed? Were slimes-for-shoes somehow part of that?

A teacher called something and Ryan walked off abruptly. “I have to go. I’m up after the next runners.”

“I’ll wish you luck!” Micah called after him.

“Right. Sure.” He waved him off.

The crowd shifted toward the fences, and the tracks beyond them were themselves only sectioned off by chalk that wouldn’t last the week.

Most of the people here were students or staff, but there were also some friends and family members around ever since the afternoon had come. The Sport’s Festival was one of the more open events, for other families, and the school was trying its best to present it as fun.

They needed this, the students, after the grueling weeks full of exams and suffering through the benched year.

There were even a few climbers on the fringes who were keeping an eye out for potential recruits a few years down the line. Though, Micah had to admit, he doubted any of them had actually stood out so far.

Not that the day was over yet. The afternoon events had just begun. Even Micah had only one behind him—[Surging Strength] and magic-assisted shot put—so they were hopeful still.

He weaved through the crowd to the fences to find a place where he could watch and still get to the end quick enough to congratulate Ryan on winning—because of course, he would win.

Surprisingly, there was another familiar face in the crowd, Kyle, and Micah stepped back to crabwalk over to him.

During intermission, he had harried Ryan about his scores and he was up there, in a good place to get a reward at the end of the day with the other top ten, unlike the rest of them … and unlike him.

Micah had tried his best in the regular events, and even with the age adjustments for his score, his best hadn’t been good enough. The only physical reward he’d get was a leg cramp.

But that was fine because he was still having fun, his score was good enough to earn him a good grade, and he could show off now, in the afternoon, when he could use his skills to their fullest.

The expressions on the others’ faces when little old him had put the iron ball over twenty-one meters was still etched into his memories. He kind of wished more of his friends could have been around to see it.

[Surging Strength] had thrown his form more off than it already was, so he could be even better in the future …

He still had the Skill. The nervous energy built up after every step and minuscule expenditure. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine it filling into his muscles, like liquid into a container, or essence into his lungs.

He totally should have made an extra dose for himself during the exam. He would, for the next.

And as he approached Kyle, the energy urged him to do something, but he knew the guy was just as testy as Ryan, if not more so, so all he did was slap him on the back with a grin.

“Kyle!”

The guy shoved him off, but Micah just swayed back. “So, whatcha’ doing here?” He looked somehow … odd. In his shorts.

The day was warm enough that most participants wore short clothes, but still cold enough to cause a chill they only welcomed half the time—after their events were over and they were sweaty.

There were hoodies and some adults had shawls, but the students had to participate in at least one event before they could switch out entirely.

Micah had first seen Kyle in late Fall. He didn’t own many clothes, so he tended to wear long pants or the uniform. It wasn’t like they had any gym courses together, and he’d gotten paler over the Winter. The closest analog to his shorts he could think of was his underwear in the morning.

So: odd.

The clap sounded and the line-up before Ryan’s sprinted down the length. Kyle’s eyes tracked them on the way. “Scoping out the competition,” he said.

“The competition? Oh, for what you signed up for? Did you choose more than one mandatory event?”

Kyle waited until they finished, frowned, and glanced back. “No, for combat training, you idiot.”

“Ohh.”

If he was doing that now, he still had to be in the running then. Which meant he had won often and was climbing up the ladder. Micah grinned at him in pride.

He must have misunderstood the expression, though, because he said, “Like you aren’t doing the same.”

“I do the same,” he admitted. “But right now, I’m here to cheer Ryan on.” He glanced at the starting line where the guy was pacing around.

Even more surprising than Kyle here, Saga was waddling toward the starting line with her slime-shoes on. She looked like she was having troubles standing upright. What was her plan?

The other guy sighed and leaned against the fence. “Of course, you are. By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask, but did he buy you that necklace or …?”

“Huh? Oh, my gold one?” He wasn’t wearing it now, obviously, but his hand still went to his neck. “No, I got that myself. My fire resistance ring was beginning to grow on me so I needed something to wear it on. I also got this cord for gym or the Tower, because you can’t wear necklaces then. Well, you can, just like you can wear a ring, but some climbers prefer to wear their magic items one step removed, if they can. Because it’s safer that way, you know?”

He’d seen pictures of fingers missing skin after accidents, in his Dangers of Healing course. He’d rather not have that happen to him, even if most magic rings were dull.

Belatedly, he realized he had been rambling and awkwardly scratched his cheek. “Uhm, so … why?”

Kyle shrugged. “I thought it might have been for a special occasion or something. Nevermind.”

Special occasion? The most recent Micah could think of were things like Lisa’s birthday or … or the anniversary of his first trip into the Tower. Come and gone with none the wiser other than him and his demons. At least, he assumed none were the wiser. Nobody had said anything.

“My birthday’s on June eighth.” He smiled. And stared. But Kyle didn’t return the favor. He just grunted.

“Fine. Then, can you at least tell me what you signed up for?”

“Hurdles,” he said.

“Hurdles?” Micah’s eyebrows shot up.

“Yeah. I’m … quick on my feet, you could say.”

“Ah?”

Was that supposed to be some kind of hint? Did he have agility, too, or maybe some other Skill?

Micah didn’t know and he wasn’t too sure that he cared. If Kyle wanted to share, he would share eventually. He could wait for him to feel comfortable about it. It wasn’t like it was important.

For the events, there was archery, javelin throw, shot put, sprint, long-distance running, hurdle jump, high jump, long jump, dueling, and mage battles.

You weren’t allowed to sign up for all of them, though. And some took place simultaneously.

Micah had signed up for dueling, shot put, high jump, and long-distance running as he could probably do best in those. Well, aside from long distance. He had considered long jump because of his height, but he had [Lesser Agility] and the scores were age-adjusted so it should be fine.

And he wanted to tell Kyle all that, but just as he started, the announcer called, “Get ready!”

Micah frantically swatted Kyle’s arm and nudged his chin. Ryan and Saga were at the starting box, but she stood crouched instead of adopting the usual runner’s start.

“Get set!”

A chill passed through the crowd. Last year, his classroom had held Sport’s Day a few weeks late. This year, his school was holding it over a month early.

“Go!” He clapped and they shot off.

Ryan’s lips moved the moment he ran. Another guy was actually right on his tail, be it through Skills, magic, or otherwise assistance. But Micah knew he had trained the last two weeks for this, with [Surge], subtle mana enhancements, and [Enhanced Traction]. He could win.

Saga, on the other hand, was lagging behind and he almost dismissed her in her odd shoes before he realized that she was picking up speed.

She swung her arms out wide and ran forward with a form like she was walking up stairs somehow—but her slime-shoes carried her forward further away after every step. And each made her faster.

She overtook the first competitor after a moment, then the next, and jerked her arms close so she wouldn’t slap him on the other lane.

Her form wasn’t perfect, and she still struggled and stumbled once that he saw, but she moved almost like she had wheels strapped to her feet or … or like she was ice-skating on dry land.

In a flash, she passed them.

Micah jumped in excitement and stepped aside before he knew what he was doing. He pressed through the crowd to follow the race and belatedly remembered to cheer for Ryan.

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Saga overtook the fourth guy, who was just a few steps behind the first, and then actually overtook him. She met the finish line with the others easily a second behind, neck-to-neck.

The crowd cheered. Micah was with them. “That was awesome!” he called as he rounded the fences.

Saga stopped ‘running’, but spun around so her shoes carried her backward down the track and made lazy figure eights with her legs while she caught her breath. She was grinning.

Stephanie almost tackled her over out of nowhere. “It worked!”

They had planned this?

“I know, I know!” she laughed.

Ryan was propped up against his knees and catching his breath, so Micah jostled him, too, and it actually affected the guy with his enhanced strength. “You were awesome, too.”

“Thanks.”

“Really,” he insisted. “She used magic and you did great in the regular events this morning, and—”

“Really, Micah. It’s okay,” he said with a smile.

“Oh.”

He never knew when Ryan was about to beat himself up over something for no reason, so he was rather safe than sorry. A confident Ryan was the best Ryan. But it seemed like Saga’s stunt had put him in a good mood all the sudden.

“But on the topic of awesome,” Micah said and glanced her way. She was being talked to by one of the teachers. “We are still looking for members, right?”

They were four now. Anne was on the fence about it, and Alex had said he was going with another team. They had discussed inviting the others, but what else was this day for if not to look for potential recruits?

And there were one or two right there …?

Ryan’s expression changed from exhaustion to curiosity with a bit of a smile around the edges and he mumbled, “Uh … Huh.”

“Right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m all for it. But do you really not have anywhere else to be? They’re announcing, you know?”

“Huh?”

He stood still for a moment and listened, one hand still on Ryan’s back and the other on his chest, and quickly let go when he noticed. An announcer called his high jump group over the crowd.

“Oh, shit. I do. Uhm, uh—” He danced back a little, then back to him again, unsure of what to do.

“Go,” Ryan said.

“Yeah but consider it, alright? And— Oh, and consult Kyle! He’s somewhere in the crowd.”

He pointed. Ryan followed the direction with a brief scowl but gave up with a sigh. “Alright.”

“And we’ll meet up with Lisa afterward to make it a team decision. I’ll see you then!” He hopped back on his feet as he spoke, then spun around into a jog.

“Wait!” Ryan called. “Where are you headed?”

“High jump!” He pointed again.

“Got it! Good luck.”

He gave him a thumbs-up so Micah smiled, then ran off in earnest. He had to, or else he would be late.

As he ran across the area the school had sectioned off in the expansive Tower plaza, he spotted more and more people already in hoodies, school jackets, or switched out of their sports clothes entirely.

The sights made him frown, because didn’t they want to make the most of this day? Any [Athletes] among them should have loved the festival as it was the perfect opportunity to level. And Micah was treating it similarly, trying to squeeze out as much value as he could by giving it his all.

Maybe they were taking a break between events or … maybe they had signed up for fewer ones to cheer their friends on?

Yeah, that makes sense, he told himself. He could have cut down on another one to cheer his friends on.

He got to the high jump area just in time to join the line as a teacher checked her list for attendance. The woman noticed him, the new addition, double-checked something, took him out of the line and moved him a few spots forward, then continued down the rest of the group.

Stranya. S. He was pretty far in the back.

He could see the others go before him, watch their form, judge, and take notes on his own as he mentally prepared himself.

Some people passed as the height was too low for them. It made the line speed up. Micah still took the time to take deep breaths, close his eyes, and direct his awareness inward.

Meditation, or something close to it anyway. He still stepped forward whenever he noticed a shuffle but took deep breaths to draw wind essence in and push it throughout his veins to infuse his body, just as the books on Northern Magic had told him to.

For the largest part, those veins were already occupied by something earthy that pulsed with energy—his [Surging Strength]. Although, it was less that they were occupied and more that they were so flimsy, they overlapped the potion in his muscles. He directed what he could through the pathways like slowly letting water seep down a clogged drain instead.

Especially to his leg.

Don’t screw with me on this, please. He could limp, and stumble, and miss steps, accept the pain, and get cramps and that would all be fine. But if it screwed him over when it really counted …

Deep breaths. Deep pushes. He infused his legs with wind essence through his veins as much as he could until he felt a draught on his insides, as uncomfortable as cold wind over dry teeth.

There.

It also felt liberating, in a way. He felt lighter.

His turn came and Micah passed. He could do better than that. He’d rather wait until the bar was raised.

“Cocky!” Ryan called from the sidelines.

“Screw you!” he shouted back, but smiled.

He focused on his breathing and keeping his body warm while he waited. His turn came again and Micah went for it. He still thought it was a little low, but he could use the practice.

Straight jog with loping steps, into a run around the curve, picking up speed, twist and—

[Surging Strength] and wind essence focused into his leg, he jumped far higher than the low bar. He’d focused on his right leg and overcompensated for its slow movements by jerking it up, which sent him spinning legs-over-head toward the back of the mat. He almost missed it, hit the edge, caught himself, and tumbled feet-first over the side toward the ground.

The impact made him wince as the shock ran up to his knees.

“Careful,” Mrs. Burke chided him as she walked over to help him up.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said. “I kind of underestimated that.”

“You didn’t practice?”

“Only a little,” he admitted, wobbling on his feet. It wasn’t like he could make infinite potions.

“[Alchemists],” she scoffed. “You’re even worse than the boy who tried to pole vault with a mana stick instead of jump. Now hurry up. Get out of the way. There are others who want to go, you know?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He got up and glanced back, then froze when he realized the bar was shaking ever so slightly. But he had jumped way higher than that? “Uhm, the bar—”

“Yes?”

“It’s shaking. Did I graze it, or was that from my shorts, ma’am, or the mat or … Did you see?”

“What? No, of course not. It’s from your wind potion.”

“My what?”

She paused. “You didn’t make a wind potion?”

“No, I made it earth-based. What wind?”

She cuffed him lightly on the head. “You have eyes, now. Use them. And go!” She pointed. “Clear the mat. Maybe try to get rid of that effect for your next jump.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he mumbled and kept his head down as he rushed off. Once he made it to the sidelines, he focused, shifted mental gears, and thought, [Lens: Affinity Sight].

The world became blurry aside from silver outlines around people and phantom lines like ripples in a pond, tentacles, or clouds of mana reaching out into the world.

He bent to get a look at his leg and find out what had gone wrong. The leg itself was clear, but there was an odd overlap of the silver outline and his hand holding it up. As always when he looked at his own influences, it was distorted. Like ripples in a pond, but the ripples had ripples of their own and it all seemed to revolve and warp so they pushed outward and pulled inward at the same time.

It gave him an odd sinking feeling.

In that mess, he found a hint of wind affinity near the skin-tight silver aura wrapped around his leg.

He didn’t know why he was using his affinity sight when he should have known this would happen. Mrs. Burke’s advice, probably. She didn’t understand his Path and preferred that he use something familiar.

Micah switched back and the world bloomed in rioting essences again. Among them, wind essence swirling around his legs more so than the breeze caused elsewhere.

He kicked out and more swirled again.

What the hell?

How could little-to-no essences on the inside cause an effect on the outside?

He supposed it was possible on its own. There were spells that were cast entirely on the inside, like buffs to grant temporary effects. But that was with mana, which was much more powerful, and Micah hadn’t infused his body with that much wind. Even less than when he practiced because of the potion.

And there were cantrips that you could learn to cast by moving mana in certain ways inside your body, causing your lines of influence to move and change. But he wasn’t moving his mana any.

He thought of the books he had been reading, the descriptions of Northern Magic and how they attuned their bodies to certain elements—elementalists. Briefly, he panicked. Was he attuned to wind somehow?

But no, that made no sense. He was nowhere near as far along as the books detailed their progression. And besides, it just didn’t feel right. If he had been attuned, he would have noticed it as surely as he could his lungs or veins.

He didn’t know why he was so sure about that, but … it felt right. Maybe it was his Path telling him.

So what then?

Had the wind essence and his potion somehow mixed? No, that wasn’t it either. Even if he had retroactively added essences to the potion to supercharge it, it wasn’t designed to do that. Its entire effect was focused inward. It built, and infused, and empowered muscles, and—

And what if there was a leak?

He considered it and shoved the idea aside. No. He was not an imperfect container. Well, he was, but not as imperfect— not more imperfect than anyone else— not so imperfect he couldn’t contain some loose, second-rate essences from the middle of nowhere. He was—

You’re whole.

Right. He had cracks, but he was whole. So then …?

“Micah!” Ryan called as he jogged up. “What are you doing? You need to get back in line for your next jump.”

He held a hand up to shush him and said, “Give me a second.” He was searching for something.

And then he found it: In one spot, the wind essence didn’t curl properly. Sometimes, it ran along the side of an invisible barrier just off his leg, almost like wisps against a glass surface or … like it was in the glass surface.

Condensation? Showers? Cracks. Rough ideas flashed through his mind and he filed them away for later.

Now, he focused on that surface and pushed everything else besides into the background until it consumed his vision. And then he saw it all around him, his body: a nearly-stagnant pond of influence whose flow sped up around his legs like it was imitating wind.

It was different from the silver aura—the only thing Micah had learned about that was it pulsed wildly when Ryan wore the rainjacket—different also because he hadn’t noticed it before or seen it on anyone else.

Hello there, he thought with a smile. What kind of an aura are you?

“It was your idea; you ask her.”

“But you’re better friends with her.”

“Yeah, but you’re friend-ly.”

“I can still stand to the side and smile—”

“I’ll do that instead. Now— Go.”

He shoved him. Micah stumbled a few steps forward and then it was too late. Saga looked at him expectantly, Stephanie next to her. They had interrupted their conversation from a mile away. Behind him, Ryan and Lisa—and Kyle in the distance—waited for him to ask.

“Uhm.”

“Yes?”

“Uhm, sorry for interrupting. I was wondering— Well, we were wondering. We saw your slime-shoes during the race and— Do you have a team for the exam already?” He just gave up near the end.

She looked at him for a second, up, and at the others a few steps behind him. “You want me to be on your team?”

“Yes?”

She was still looking at the others, though, and Micah glanced back to see Ryan shrug and say, “Sure.”

Saga laughed, but it wasn’t a mean-spirited laugh. It also wasn’t the type of laugh he would have expected from her.

She said, “No.”

Micah’s hopes fell. “Aw, what—”

“I already have a team.”

“Yeah,” Stephanie said and stepped forward like she was trying to intimidate Micah away with her squared shoulders alone. “What’s the big idea, Micah? Are you trying to steal her away from us?”

He wanted to answer, but she was kind of super close and pressuring him as he tried to back away.

Thankfully, Ryan came to his rescue. “We would have invited you, too.”

Immediately, she dropped the act and smiled. “Aww, I’m flattered. But we really do already have more members.”

“Drat,” Micah mumbled.

In the distance, he could see Kyle roll his eyes and turn away like this was a waste of time.

“It’s nice that you asked, though?” Saga said.

Was it? Maybe? Micah was surprised she would think so. It wasn’t like she was as unfriendly as Ryan—or worse, Kyle—but she usually seemed distant. Today, she seemed friendly.

Maybe I can use that …

“Oh, hey,” Micah said in a totally casual manner. “While we’re on the topic of asking things—”

“The slimes?” Stephanie interrupted him.

“Yes!” He almost threw his hands up. “The slimes! I have so many questions.”

Saga chuckled. “It’s actually more common in Lighthouse. Well, not common common. Not that climbers are as common …”

“You only have two portals, right?” Ryan asked, now a step behind him, and Micah nodded vigorously.

“Yep. The Land Gate and the Sea Gate. They’re twice as large as the portals here, but it still causes accessibility issues.”

“No getting off-topic,” Micah warned her.

“Right. Anyway, I was telling Steph about the slime gear some climbers fight with and she didn’t believe me—”

“Nope.”

“—because apparently, slimes were really rare here until half a year ago?”

“Yep.”

“Yep,” Micah agreed.

Lisa raised a hand. “I’ve heard of summoned armors before?”

Micah shoved the hand back down. “Of course, you have. Besides, this is different from just [Mage Armor].” He turned. “Go on?”

“So she said I had to show her. But then I had to experiment to get the properties just right, or else the slime would just skid along the ground or get stuck to everything, and then it became a project of its own and— Yeah.”

She seemed a little exhausted by having said so much for once and glanced around awkwardly.

“Slime shoes.” Micah beamed. “Is that why you’re in such a good mood? Because you won the race?” He took a step closer and whispered, “And because Ryan lost?”

“I heard that. And it wasn’t a race.”

Saga smiled and wiped a strand of hair off her forehead. “You think I’m in a good mood?”

“You seem like it. Oh, or is it because you might level today? You’re an [Athlete], right?”

“Yeah. No. Well—” She scratched her neck and said, “I’m in a good mood, but that’s both just part of it. I, uhm, actually got a letter from home.”

“From home?” Ryan asked.

“From your friends?” Micah added.

“From a friend, yeah.”

Stephanie sidled up to her. “A love letter?”

She shoved her away face-first, chuckling. “No. No, and no again, I’ve told you that before.”

Micah wanted to ask more, but she glanced into the distance. By her posture alone, he knew roughly what she was going to say.

“Look, thanks for the invitation again, you three … four?” She looked at Kyle but moved on before he could say anything. “But I have to head to my next event. Maybe we can climb together during summer break sometime?”

Everyone seemed to be saying that. He’d overheard it in other conversations as well. It was such a platitude.

“Sure,” Ryan said, though.

And Micah nodded anyway. The sentiment was nice.

They parted ways and Kyle showed up out of nowhere. “Well, that was a bust. So we’re going to invite the other two idiots after all?”

“Your old teammates?” Lisa asked.

“Yeah.”

“So that’s the magic [Cook] and the Shepherd’s son, huh?” she said and seemed to mull it over for a moment before she shrugged. “Fine. You have my blessing, but I also have to get going for my next event. So hurry up about it if you want to do it now, okay?”

“Who first?” Ryan asked.

“Oh, I saw Brent earlier,” Micah offered. “During shot put. He said he was helping out with the food stands later, so he should be …” He turned around and searched until he spotted the nearest one in the shade of the wall. “That way!”

To Lisa, he said, “We’ll hurry up to get to your event in time, then. To cheer you on if we can?”

Micah still had time. His final two events were held last, usually. But the others might have more?

“I can drop by,” Ryan said.

Kyle said nothing, but Lisa didn’t seem to mind.

“You better,” she told them. “Good luck.”

They headed off and surprisingly, their third wheel followed. There was a long line to the food vendors, but they didn’t want to buy anything and they could see Brent busy with chopping ingredients in the back, so they just walked around, past the complaining line, and straight for him.

“Brent!” Micah called out.

He took one look at them and scowled. “No.”