Rai felt much better after one of the divine mages on staff at the watch used Recovery on him a couple times, so they immediately set out for the municipal park, a roughly square tract of land about a mile to a side that was filled with trees, grass, shrubs, a pond, a couple streams, an artificial mini-mountain for climbing, and a bunch of animals that were kept in the park with warding magic. It was a peaceful-seeming area where people went to go to relax and experience natural surroundings without having to leave the city. It was here that people had reported seeing mutated plants and animals.

When a wolf-sized squirrel attacked, Isa was quick to take it down with her claws alone. Now with proof of mutations, they spent the rest of the day searching for other mutants as well as for the source. Linde had to call in a cleanup crew to take care of the corpses of the dead mutants. It took until late evening before they found the star shard; an animal had buried it, making it much more difficult to locate, even with the assistance of Braveheart.

Upon returning to the Tower, Rai was disturbed to find out that the Tower Masters had had Tina and Tom transferred to the Tower to be experimented on.

“They won’t be killed, which is more than they would have gotten had we not intervened,” Floran said. “And we will be ethical in our experiments.”

“…Back when I found the ruins of Dragonia’s Ruler’s Tower,” Rai said, “I found the remains of several laboratories. One of which was a biological experimentation lab, apparently focused on hybridizing people and beasts. The experimental subjects were still intact… and many of them somehow still alive despite the millennia. It was… horrific. You have to understand that when I hear you’ll be experimenting on people, that’s what I think of.”

“That’s… repulsive. I promise you, we will be ethical. But these people have powers that are different from any known magical spells that were granted by the star fragment. Unlike you and Isa, they were affected by raw, unfiltered star energy. …If you really are from the future, then you can understand how understanding how the star energy affects people might be able to save lives when the cataclysm arrives.”

“…That’s…” Rai sighed. “I understand. I don’t like it, but I won’t protest anymore.”

“I don’t like it either,” Isa said after Floran left. “It feels wrong. They aren’t being studied willingly, and calling it experimentation means they’re not going to passively study. As much as I love this place, I think that once we get the remaining three shards, we should escape from the city and go elsewhere.”

“Don’t say that too loudly. But… I agree with you. It may mean losing out on qi medicine to reach sixth tier, but we might be able to get that by interacting with an Archpriest of the God of Medicine in a different country, in a city based around a different Tower. Depending on how long it takes to get the rest of the shards, we might need to wait a bit before we leave, though – once I have a better understanding of how to replicate the filtration process, I can make filters in any place with a high enough mana concentration, which will let us continue to use the star energy to advance ourselves.”

“You think that’s a good idea?”

“The filtration keeps us safe from the harmful effects, so yes, I do. The stronger we are, the better we’ll be able to achieve our goals.”

Isa nodded. “I’ll follow your lead on this.”

“Now we just need to figure out how to find the rest of the shards. As you said, there are three more, and none of them are in the city. And the God of Knowledge knows we have three of them, so I’m betting we’ll have to hand one over before we’ll learn anything more.”

“We’re getting pretty close to breaking through to fifth tier… though we’ve still got a ways to go to reach fifth circle. I think our next priority should be learning that filter thing and finding a really concentrated mana location.”

“…Yeah… hm. I’ve noticed something odd, by the way.”

“What?”

“We seem to be… synchronized with one another with regard to our progress toward the next tier and circle. Normally, I would have no way of even knowing that, but whenever we meditate together in circle in Nara’s lab, I can feel your qi core and mana heart.”

“Oh, yeah, I noticed that too. I’m wondering if it doesn’t have something to do with our blood oath of partnership.”

“I’m not sure why that would affect anything.”

“Well… when we first met, we weren’t in sync at all, but by the time I evolved, we were in sync, and we’ve stayed that way – and our ability to sense each other has only gotten stronger. Not all magic is spells, you know. Your soul bond with Braveheart, for example, isn’t a spell.”

“I… that’s true. Whatever the case, as long as we continue meditating together, we should stay in sync. If we keep taking qi medicine every three days, we should reach fifth tier by the middle of the first month of autumn, which is roughly in line with what the Archpriest predicted. Then we can shift to focusing solely on reaching fifth circle.”

“Yi-Meep,” Braveheart chimed in.

“Yes, you’re working hard on your qi core and mana heart too,” Rai said affectionately, petting her head with his fingers. She swished her tail happily.

-x-

Rai handed a large clear jar – not made of glass, but the super-durable material that seemed to be used for anything that needed to be indestructible in this era – with a glowing star shard in it to Seagle of the Temple of Knowledge.

“See the etchings on this jar? They’re there to keep the energy of this shard sealed inside. Do not open it. In fact, don’t let anyone else open it either. Only under direct orders from the God of Knowledge should this ever be interacted with directly. Otherwise, leave the jar shut.”

“…Understood. And since you’ve made your payment, I can give you the information we have on the remaining three shards. One of them is inside Mount Firemouth, an active volcano. Another is in the City of Metal, Ferrigen, also known as the Dwarven City. The last is in the Thunder Isles, which are sky islands that float across the continent. This information comes directly from the God of Knowledge himself. We of course don’t know any further details.”

“It seems we will be leaving the city relatively soon, then,” Isa said, looking at their escort. The half-dwarf sighed.

“And you have a decent amount of money, too, after that hydra. It may be a little while before the powers that be will allow you to leave, though.”

“Speaking of the powers that be, I’m kind of surprised we haven’t attracted the attention of the Ruler yet,” Isa said.

“Oh, I have a feeling that you’ll meet the Ruler before you leave,” the escort said with a knowing smile.

“And what does that mean?” Isa said suspiciously.

“When you know, you’ll know. Anyway, I suggest that you spend some time exploring the city and seeing if there are any magic items you want to purchase.”

For the remainder of the day, they visited shops selling a variety of magic items, from minor trinkets to things so expensive that even with the sizeable income they’d gotten from the hydra they couldn’t even come close to affording them. Rather than try to pick up only useful things or trying to find powerful items, Rai and Isa mostly bought things with interesting effects or that utilized magic in ways that modern magic items did not. This included various articles of clothing, jewelry, and tools. Rai figured that eventually, they would be returning to the modern era, so he made his choices based on what he thought would be fitting to take and donate as artifacts to be studied. Rai also restocked on healing potions, buying a full dozen third-circle level potions.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Two stops stood out to him.

“Welcome to Amanda’s Clothier!” a cheerful teenage human girl greeted them as they entered the clothing shop. “I’m Mindy, Amanda’s little sister! We do clothes for all races here, but ready-made and custom to-order! All our clothes come with a satisfaction guarantee, are self-cleaning and self-repairing, and can have enchantments of up to third circle rank put on them for an additional fee. How can I help?” The girl noticed Braveheart. “Oh my gosh! What is that?! It’s so cute!”

“Yi-meep!” Braveheart said, standing up and puffing herself up proudly.

“This is Braveheart, my familiar. And yes, she is cute. Say hi, Braveheart.”

“Meep!”

“Oh my gosh! Can I pet her?!”

“Sure.” Rai took the carbuncle off his hand and held her out. The girl petted the familiar, making cooing noises.

“So soft and fluffy…”

“Mindy!”

Mindy jumped back and spun around with a squeak. “Yes, sis?”

A young woman in her late twenties who otherwise appeared identical to the younger girl walked up. “You’re not supposed to be petting magic beasts, you’re supposed to be helping me sell clothes,” she said with her hands on her hips, but her eyes were smiling.

“Meep.”

“Your familiar is cute, though,” the woman acknowledged, addressing Rai. “How can I help you all today?”

“I would like to purchase two full outfits for myself and two full outfits for my friend here,” he answered, nodding at Isa. “I don’t think she cares too much about hers, but I’d like mine custom in design, as well as enchanted to be both fire and lightning resistant. I’m aware that won’t confer the resistance on me, but that’s fine as I’m already resistant.”

“Understood. Anything for the man in the back?”

“No thank you,” their escort said.

“Then let’s get your measurements.”

“Mine should be acid resistant,” Isa said.

They ended up placing their orders to be picked up in a few days, all custom made. Isa was to have a “casual” outfit in red and black and a “battle” outfit in red and green. Rai had a “travel” outfit in bright red and purple in solid colors and a “battle” outfit that had flame and lightning bolt designs instead of solids.

The second stop was the jeweler’s, where a gnome and dwarf pair sold Rai a pair of matching silver-and-gold bracelets set with amethysts and sapphires. One was for Rai; the other he intended to give to Mizeiya when she was alive again. They custom ordered a special silver tiara for Braveheart that would clip onto her forehead gem, making it look like the gem was part of the tiara. This, too, would be ready in a few days.

-x-

Halfway through the first month of autumn, Rai and Isa succeeded in refining their qi cores to the fifth tier. With that achievement made, and the Tower Masters stalling on granting approval for them to leave the city to search for the other star shards, they threw themselves into the twin pursuits of combat training and constructing their fifth mana circles. To that end, someone – Floran and Nara refused to say who – had arranged for them to have access to the “deep meditation chambers” in the basement of the Tower, which were flooded with mana drawn in with a variety of enchantments as well as extracted from magical items that were being “recycled” for this purpose. Nara was given permission to alter these chambers to also flood them with filtered star energy from the two recovered shards that hadn’t been given away. The same mysterious someone also arranged for them to train with the Tower Soldiers in combat so that they could develop new arts and grow more accustomed to new states.

Weeks bled into months and winter quickly approached. Rai and Isa completed their fifth mana circles on the same day, with two weeks left until winter. The very next day, Floran came to them with a serious expression.

“The Ruler has called for you.”

Rai and Isa shared a glance.

“I guess this is it. Now we find out what comes next,” Rai said.

“Indeed so. Please remember to be respectful; you may now officially be considered Master Mages and Master Combat Artists, but you will be in the presence of the pinnacle of mortals – a Ruler of the ninth circle.”

“What’s the Ruler of Plentira like?” Isa asked as they walked.

“You will see soon enough.”

Eventually, they reached a large closed runic doorway that neither of them had seen before. Standing beside it was their escort. He was holding a disc on a chain – what looked like an authorization pass. He smiled at them.

“This is as far as I go,” Floran said. “Good luck.”

“You’re letting us in? Is this an audience chamber or something?” Isa said, eyes narrowed.

“Or something.” The half-dwarf held up the disc, and the stone barrier melted away. “Please follow me.”

He stepped through the darkness. Sharing one more glance, they followed.

On the other side, they found a large bedroom-slash-laboratory-slash-dining-room. It was brightly lit by sunlight through a massive window on one wall in addition to countless magical floating lights. A giant poster bed stood back in one section, while another was clearly a research lab or some sort. In the middle was a circular table designed to seat perhaps a dozen people, stacked full with an elaborate feast. A beautiful half-elven woman with hair the color of metallic gold that fell down to her hips, wearing a white silken dress and a diamond-studded orichalcum tiara stood next to the table.

Their escort crossed the marble floor and cupped her head in his hands, kissing her deeply on the lips. He turned around and grinned, the woman beside him smiling mischievously.

“Welcome to the Ruler’s Room, seat of all power in Plentira,” he said. “Allow me to introduce the Ruler of Plentira: Lady Aurelia Carnatia, ninth circle mage… and my wife. And as for my own belated introduction…” he waved his hand and his hair and skin color changed. “I am Lord Diamont Burdock, husband of the Ruler of Plentira, third circle mage, and seventh tier combat artist.”

“I knew there was something fishy about you!” Isa exclaimed, pointing at him. “So you were there to spy on us for the Ruler!”

“You make it sound so unsavory. My lovely wife was simply too busy to follow you around all the time herself. You’ve actually met her on a few occasions in passing – while she was disguised, of course. But yes, she assigned me to keep tabs on you. Not that it wasn’t pretty interesting. Like when you defeated a twelve-headed hydra almost by yourself, only needing Rai to step in at the last minute. Doing that as a fourth tier fighter is pretty crazy. I mean, I could do it, but I’m seventh tier. I kind of missed running around with you these last months while you were cooped up meditating, which was why I trained with you. It’s amazing how fast the two of you grow.”

“Why don’t you join us for a meal?” the Ruler said, still smiling. “We can talk while we eat.”

The four of them sat at the table and served themselves, using Telekinesis to reach for items. Once their plates were full, the Ruler spoke again.

“So… time travel.”

“You believe us?” Isa said.

“I do. My husband’s observations have made it clear that both of you are quite intelligent, but you have large gaps in your knowledge and expectations for the world around you that could only be explained by unfamiliarity. These star fragments are clearly not of this world – fragments of an actual star. And your Record Tetra was quite illuminating when I stole it and studied it in secret.”

Rai froze.

“You didn’t really think that something so important would just be forgotten, did you? I gave it back, so no harm done, I think. The password… Mizeiya. Is that a name? The name of the person you wish to bring back to life, perhaps? At any rate, the messages left by Caligra explained a good deal, and made it clear that the Record Tetra was from our future… and also couldn’t have been faked by you with your limited understanding of our era. Suffice to say that I am thoroughly convinced that you are time travelers from the distant future.”

“He won’t say it because he’s afraid of offending you, but I will: what the hell? You could have just asked.”

“Mind your language around my wife, please,” Diamont said.

“I could have, yes. But I was still pretending to not be aware of you at that point. And don’t forget, I am the Ruler. I am the one who makes the laws. I am the ultimate authority in Plentira. I am not restricted by notions of politeness or fairness. If I wanted, I could have had you both killed for being an unknown quantity the moment you showed up. I didn’t, though, because you were interesting, and I believe we have benefited from your presence.”

“Right… I forget sometimes that, for all you see yourselves as more civilized than my own ‘barbaric’ people, you still follow the same rules: the ones on top are above the rules. The strong rule over the weak, and enforce their will as they see fit, as malevolently or benevolently as they want.”

“Isa!” Rai snapped. “I apologize, Lady Aurelia, for my companion’s comments.”

“No, she’s not wrong,” Aurelia said. “We Rulers do see it as our duty to ensure the peace and prosperity of our people, but the methods we use are entirely up to our discretion. Isa, are you offended that I see myself as being above the two of you?”

“…I’m irritated, but not offended. From a practical standpoint, that’s just the fact.”

“Good. I’m glad you understand. Now, I think we have some important matters to discuss. Try to remember not to talk with your mouths full.”