~~~Lee~~~

Lee bit into the soft wrapping, and an explosion of all the right flavors burst onto his tongue. Oh, god yes! He tried so hard to savor every bite, but he couldn't stop himself from devouring the breakfast burrito. Though he did manage not to actually weep with joy as he ate.

Someone had finally produced cheese!

Whoever it was, Lee already had plans to get them moved into Three. They were a national treasure and had to be protected at all costs!

Alejandro was coming his way, and Lee would dispatch him on this, the most holiest of quests... after he dealt with whatever was bothering the man.

"You been watching the timer?" Alejandro asked immediately after walking inside Jamaal's. "Tonight’s the night."

"I have been," Lee said. "And I think we're ready." At least, he really hoped they were. He'd done everything he could think of to prepare. He'd updated all the runes, including pushing his capacity right to the limit. Sure, he hadn't gotten the wall done yet, but it would cost too much and felt less important for an invasion. That was more the kind of thing he wanted for everyday use. Or hidden invasions.

Plus, Bradley still needed to straighten up the walls for it to work.

"Before then," Lee said while hoisting the much diminished burrito. "You need to find out who makes the cheese and get them moved into Three."

Alejandro smiled and didn't roll his eyes. "I already know him. Pablo. Good man. His kids are here. You've probably met him..."

"Does he have a room?"

"We're getting a little crowded in here..."

"I have an extra room," Lee said. "If you can't find him a spot, then he can use my apartment!"

"Is the cheese that good?" Alejandro asked with a chuckle.

"It's cheese!" Lee exclaimed with complete sincerity. "Cheese!"

Only silence met his enthusiasm. The godless heathens.

Jackson stood up from the table. "Well, my shift's up. I'll see you tonight, Lee."

"My lord." Trak bowed and went with him. The anubi... or rather, anubian, had joined the night shift with Jackson. He'd even provided an alchemist's perspective on Lee's attempt to create healing runes. Not that it helped; it turned out that healing was exactly as bullshit as stamina. Perhaps more.

Amy plopped down in the vacated seat with a call toward Jamaal. "I'll take one of Lee's magic burritos, and with extra hot sauce."

Jeremy was his same nervous self, but he also sat down for his own burrito. Sans spice. Which was a shame, since Jamaal's hot sauce was fantastic! Even if it set your mouth on fire...

Totally worth it!

Lee ordered another for himself. Only to keep the others' company. Not for any other reason. "Any more progress, Jeremy?"

"No," Jeremy said, without looking up from the table. "I told you my class wouldn't level."

"Did you try swapping everything around yourself?

"I tried... it still doesn't work."

"Did you..."

"You really think you'll be better at leveling my skills!?" Jeremy snapped, his grumpiness finally winning out. "You clearly don't know the first thing about physics!"

Lee didn't respond to the hostility; he only dabbed a drop of fire onto his burrito and took a bite.

Buff Gained: [Devil Sauce](00:30)

Amy jumped into the silent lull. "Hasn't physics changed? Like, a lot?" She waved her burrito, sending a few bits of the filling flying. The monster! "Mana has got to be throwing all kinds of knowledge out the window!"

Jeremy deflated. "It has... nothing makes sense anymore."

"Last I heard, you physics guys were all stuck anyway," Amy said. "Now you get to figure out a whole new system! Shouldn't you be loving this?"

"Yes," Jeremy said dryly. "Who wouldn't wish to uncover the mysteries of the universe while fighting off monsters and aliens, all of them equally vehement in their attempts to kill and or eat me!?"

"Isn't it great? I mean, who wants to sit in a boring classroom all day thinking about math!?"

"Me! I want that!"

Amy only laughed.

"I told you to treat this job as a vacation," Lee chimed in. "You can't get a much safer place than in here... at least when we aren't getting invaded."

"Yeah, and you're only here for your skill, so you probably don't have to worry about getting dismembered." Amy said it casually, but Jeremy paled.

"You know," Lee said, changing the subject back. "I bet I could make you some kind of magic marker if you want to cover the walls in mathematical equations..."

Amy cackled. "I want to see that! Maybe someone here will be a secret genius that will solve the equation you get stuck on!"

"Maybe..." Lee murmured, another thought occurring to him. He should actually make something like that, only for Gabriel.

"I... I think I would like that."

"Just keep using your skill," Lee said. "It should level eventually, and even if it doesn't, I still want to see it in action for my own learning efforts. Hell, you should try to teach us while you're at it. Isn't teaching someone else supposed to help the teacher learn, too?"

"Hell no!" Amy exclaimed. "I'd rather get chewed on by the monsters and aliens."

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised?" But he did glance thoughtfully at Lee. "I might try that, if you're serious..."

"I am," Lee said. "Though no promises that I'll be a good student..." He looked at Amy. "You seem extra cheerful despite our potential upcoming invasion. Not that I'm complaining! But... I thought Miller was scheduled for today? Did Alejandro..."

"Miller is out!" Amy exclaimed with a gleam in her eye, then continued in what Lee could have sworn was a sultry tone. "I've got you all to myself from now on."

That, combined with an unsettling look on her face, had Lee nervous. "You... you do?"

Amy burst out laughing again. "You know, for being such a powerful and mysterious figure, you are way too easy to tease."

"Now you're just being mean to the poor old man," Lee grumbled, his face feeling slightly warm.

She laughed and winked at him. "Let's just say that the Anubians aren't the only ones to get a special evolution involving a certain someone."

"Seriously? What'd you get? And how do you know what the anubi got?"

"Not telling." Amy stuck out her tongue. "But with my new class, I can protect you way better than that pansy Miller ever could."

"Whatever. I mean, that's good?"

"The anubi have been rather vocal with anyone who will listen," Jamaal said, joining the conversation while leaning over his counter. "They go on about how great you are, Lee, but they won't give me any details..."

"Me neither," Amy said in a conspiratorial whisper. Then she glanced at Lee while leaning toward Jamaal and whispered, "But I think I know what they're talking about!"

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

"Spill!"

"Not happening!" Amy sat up, grinning. "Your burritos are good, Jamaal, but I'm not the fanatic that Lee is. You'll need something better to get this secret out of me!"

Lee rolled his eyes. He had a feeling her mysterious evolution probably mentioned something about a chained god... and while he was glad she hadn't gone fanatic, she was looking at him differently. Not reverentially like the anubi, but still different.

"Just a thought," Amy said with feigned nonchalance. "But I really miss tiramisu..."

"Hmm," Jamaal said. "That will be a challenge. I may have to enlist our resident gardener on this... though I imagine she wouldn't mind a taste herself..."

"I could tell..." Lee started.

"Hush, Lee!" Jamaal exclaimed. "We will divine all your secrets without your assistance."

Lee rolled his eyes again but still smiled. It was nice to see a deeper side of Jamaal now that he didn't have to resort to English to make himself understood.

Jamaal had been one of those who took the Myriad Tongues skill shard, since he claimed no desire to switch careers and wasn't worried about using up his limited skill slots. It definitely made him seem smarter... which Lee knew was simply his own bias. The guy had always been smart. Lee just hadn't been able to understand.

"While you guys work on that... Amy, do you want me to enchant your bones?"

She rubbed her hands together eagerly. "Oh yeah. I definitely want me some of them shiny bones!"

Lee felt at his soul. More specifically, at his rune limit. Luckily, Stanley had added another soul point just this morning, and one point would go a long way. "I can do it right now? But it will hurt."

Amy only smirked at him. "Try me."

He did, and... she showed no sign of discomfort throughout the entire process. "How... just what is your... you said class evolution?"

"Still not telling."

"Fine, but can you spread word for anyone else who wants the enchant? I can do Maria and a few others, but the hunters will need to trade in any extra weapons if they want it today."

"Can do, boss. Have fun in school."

Oh, right. "I... will?"

Lee still made Jeremy use his ability constantly while he explained a rather rudimentary breakdown of physics to him. There were a few times when the man trailed off as he realized that certain bits of his knowledge no longer applied to reality, but Lee thought it was good regardless.

Not that he was learning anything new yet, but Jeremy was much less nervous when teaching, and it was fun to see how his mind worked when he started rambling about new physics.

People came by for bone enchanting, including Maria but only a few left with new runes. There wasn't a lot of fat to trim in regards to his runes; there was enough for an extra weapon here and there, but most of it had already gotten adjusted earlier.

Despite the limits, Lee wasn't feeling bad about his choices. Most people didn't really need to enchant their bones. Armor was commonplace now, and going beyond that was just a luxury. Powerful weapons were far more useful to kill the threats than any armor to take more hits.

That fact was evidently more clear once Bradley made his next and last mana-dumping visit.

Lee made him stay a little longer to ensure extra mana, just in case, and then he started the weapon.

It was a delicate affair, wherein he had to use only Bradley's mana, but more so because he needed to use a very specific part of his soul to tie it all together.

Specifically, the piece of his soul that was Bradley's. The piece Bradley had loaned him in the soul-link.

He'd already had an inkling of how his soul worked regarding being a part of himself while also getting spread out through thousands of runes. Lee knew physical reality and space had little constraint on a soul. So little, in fact, that he could have pieces of it strewn around the world and it wouldn't matter to him here and now.

A big clue was that he and Stanley shared a soul... yet they were thousands of miles apart.

There was the minor fact that Bradley's bit of soul was currently bound up in the rune holding the wound closed... but between Stanley reducing the wound and the others who'd joined the link later, it wasn't all getting used anymore.

Lee didn't need all that much soul to craft a rune. Each point went a long way, and Bradley had given him a whole point.

More than enough.

He finished it, and for once, he agreed with Trak wholeheartedly as he gazed upon Bradley's new weapon. It was a god-damned masterpiece!

His thoughts weren't all cheerful, though. What he'd just created with a tiny speck of someone's soul only highlighted how ridiculous it was that they'd lost hundreds of points to kill the skeleton... Had Stanley fucked up real bad? Or was attacking another soul directly just a terrible idea?

Lee didn't blame his twin; he'd been right there urging him on in that fight. They'd done what they had to do. The only thing they'd known to do. Now he only wished he could talk to Stanley about this...

He might have stared at his creation for too long because Bradley finally asked, "Did it... work? I can feel... something? It's weird."

"Oh, yes!" Lee exclaimed, pushing away his dark thoughts and handing over his creation. "Tell me what you think."

Bradley took the staff eagerly, then frowned. "It's... what is happening?"

"How's your mana?" Lee asked. "Try using some."

Bradley waved a hand and pulled up a cube of earth from outside the ramp. He closed his hand into a fist and condensed the dirt into stone. The entire time he did so, no mana flowed from his core. It all came from the staff. Wherein a rune that bore a striking resemblance to his core rested. "What is happening!?"

It obviously wasn't exactly the same as his core. It was only similar and crafted of the same mana that filled Bradley's core and channels. The best part was that it worked exactly as Lee had hoped it would.

"It won't hold nearly as much mana as your core," he supplied. "But it also doesn't require you to channel any of it directly, so..."

"Less mana burn and aspect saturation!"

"That was the idea," Lee said, smiling at the man's excitement. "And since it worked, I'll try to create something similar for anyone with high mana cost skills... so long as they have accepted the soul-link."

"I... thought you had enough links already?" Jeremy asked, and he sounded... judgmental.

"Jeez!" Lee said. "I'm not being greedy! It's because I made the rune using Bradley's soul. That's the only reason it works the way it does."

"It feels like a piece of me," Bradley murmured while levitating the staff away from himself. "Like, I have an extra limb... and it's over there?"

It felt weird on Lee's end, too. Similar to how he could normally feel his runes, he could feel this one. Only, it felt like Bradley...

Lee shook his head. "There might be another way to use someone else's soul in a rune, but I can't imagine how to make it happen without some seriously terrible implications." He shuddered. "I didn't say anything since I wasn't sure it would work, but now that we know... Well, it's your call, Bradley. Hell, it's your soul, so if you don't want..."

"What? No! I love this thing!" Bradley said, clutching the staff close. "Three is recharging it! You realize that with this, I can channel nonstop while inside here?"

"I do. You should test it outside to see how well it recharges without your or Three's input, but I'm planning to offer this to anyone willing to fight in or on Three during invasions."

If he was going to draw everything down on himself, including potential D-grades, then he wanted to make damn sure the monsters regretted it.

"Obviously, it takes a bit to make it happen, but if you see Alejandro before me, then let him know. He might know better who should get the option. Also, the material used for the weapon is going to matter... Your earth aspect made it way easier."

They would need to experiment, but he had an obvious next choice. One that he'd already experimented with somewhat. "Could you mention to Saira that I'm ready to continue whenever she has a chance? See if she wants to try for her own staff?"

Sure, neither she nor Bradley were at their best inside Three, but both of them were powerhouses. Everyone would benefit from increasing their power.

"Amy, how about you?"

She was juggling knives one-handed. Seemingly unconcerned with Lee's marvelous breakthrough. "Hm?"

"Does your class need a lot of burst mana use?"

Amy never paused the juggling while she eyed Lee. "Still not telling... but nice try."

"I'm not trying to..."

She laughed. "I'm just messing with you! No, my class isn't going to mana-burn me, and since I'm liable to mostly be in here with you... Well, you get it."

He got it... and dropped a slow bubble on Amy. "Back to the lessons, Jeremy? And I bet your skill is off cooldown..."

Jeremy sighed, but got back to it.

...

He didn't get anywhere close to enough mana from Saira before nightfall. Not that the darkness would stop them... but the protection timer ticking down was a good reason to stop and prepare the defenses.

Dinner was early, and the kids were hustled to their rooms well before time ran out.

Lee stood in the center of the courtyard. Amy and Jackson were beside him, while Jeremy waited inside an apartment with Trak. The former didn't need to actually put himself in danger to help, and Trak was planning to fight with weaponized potions rather than blades. He had a table covered with the things in a wide variety to pick from once he saw what threat appeared.

The timer hit zero.

And nothing happened.

"Not again," Lee groaned.

"Don't jinx us!" Amy hissed.

"That's not a real thing. Besides, I want them to attack."

"Exactly! And now they won't. Because you jinxed us!" She put away her sword and sat on the floor. "Guess we can take a break."

"Now who's asking for it?" Jackson whispered.

"Damn it! I was trying to un-jinx us!" Amy exclaimed and flopped onto her back. "You guys are idiots."

Lee met Jackson's gaze, and they both rolled their eyes.

Unfortunately, she might have had a point. Not about jinxes—those weren't a real thing—but about waiting all night. Of course, Lee made it worse by dropping speed bubbles on himself repeatedly. He didn't want to waste the time, but he did want to keep leveling the skill and couldn't risk slowing himself down if something did show up.

It never mattered, and the sky was getting lighter with the coming dawn when he finally stretched out across a few hovering plates for a quick nap.