The Boulder branch consisted of six shop workers – three mage sales associates/parts evaluators and three security guards to make sure disgruntled Hunters stayed in line – and nine blacksmith workers. After Uncle introduced me, Dad and Micah to everyone, I took turns trying to exchange at least a couple words to each person.

Needless to say, all of them were older than me. The one that was closest to my age was an A melee guard named Wesley, but given how weird Hunters age, I didn't know how much older he was. He looked about twenty-five, good looking and fit, but I still felt young next to him.

When we were introduced, he smiled wide and held out his hand. "Nice to meet cha. I didn't know the new assistant manager was such a cutie."

Personally, I felt that looks didn't have a place in business, and it wasn't the first time a Hunter brought that up – mostly hoping to schmooze some benefits out of a young, naive girl. It never worked.

"Nice to meet you, too." I smiled and shook Wesley's hand, anyway. I knew from reading the associate's working profiles he'd been in the company for a couple years now. Making a stink of a small comment the first time I met the whole team wouldn't look to the other associates.

"How are you liking Boulder so far?" he asked, still holding my hand.

"It's been an experience so far," I replied. When I tried to slip my hand away, he squeezed my fingers for a second before letting go. It took everything I had to keep my smile in place.

"We should hang out sometime," he volunteered. "I've been here all my life, so I know all the good spots." He gave me a discreet wink.

My stomach went cold. I recognized that look in his eyes, I'd seen it multiple times in the past, both by a few of my classmates and other Hunters visiting the Eden shop. He was already calculating that me plus marriage equals my uncle's money. It was also a reason why I didn't date very much growing up and why I wasn't interested in a relationship now.

I swallowed back the sigh. "Life's a little crazy right now, with the move and all. We'll have to hang out later." If I was vague and delayed it enough, he might just give up, right?

Dad was standing by the kitchenette counter, scooping food onto his plate. I pretended like he called me over and excused myself from Wesley. It was a terrible excuse – with his Hunter ability Wesley would hear Dad calling me for way before I did – but I didn't want to talk with Wesley anymore. Thankfully, I wouldn't even have to work alone with him. Each guard was paired with a mage, and the manager or assistant manager was the third person who was always in the shop at all times. So I could hide in the back whenever we had shifts together.

I walked up to Dad and scooped some strawberries on my plate. "What do you think?" I asked quietly next to him and leaned against the counter, observing the people mingling in the room.

The two teams didn't meet very often. The blacksmiths mostly stayed in Mist Haven and the shopkeepers stayed in Boulder. That division couldn't have been more clear now, in the back room of the shop. I've spent most of the time surrounded by the shopkeepers, since those were the people I was most going to work with. Micah was in the middle of the craftsmen. He was starry-eyed, listening to them talk about their projects and boosting their egos with his praise. The smiths laughed and pulled him into the group with enthusiasm. Uncle Maveric was taking turns, making sure to talk to everyone in turn.

"I think things are going to be okay," Dad said and looked around. "I'm done looking through the files and everything seems to be in place. The set up is smooth and everyone's work principles seem to be good. I don't think there's going to be a lot of trouble adapting to the new store." He glanced at me, a hint of disapproval in his eyes. "Of course, I would have loved to go over the paper work with you."

I winced and slowly swallowed my bite. I meant to help him with it, but being a Hunter was taking more time than I thought. When I got stronger, it might be easier to do my tasks in the morning and work in the evening, but right now, just completing my daily tasks was filling up my whole day and leaving me exhausted by the end. "Sorry," I muttered silently.

Dad sighed, but he was nice enough to not pick a fight in front of our employees. "Just so you know, you're scheduled for the evening shift in three days." He pointed the calendar on the wall by the backdoor. "Make sure that you're on time."

I bobbed my head. "Got it. Um, Dad, I'm going to live in the upstairs apartment for a couple days. Until Shiva gets better."

He paused, then nodded and walked over to join Micah with the smiths.

I watched him go, munching on my strawberries.

Maybe Micah had the right idea. Maybe Dad would lighten up if we gave him a present that we made with the stuff that I collected. It was uncomfortable being at odds with Dad, like a needle that was constantly digging deeper under my skin. I wanted to rip it out and fix the problem right now. But I couldn't give up being a Hunter, it was something I would be for the rest of my life. It would be best if Dad's attitude could change instead. I doubted a trinket would change him one-eighty but even if he softened a bit, it would be worth it. The sooner, the better.

So, how do I get to the Wyoming border?

*****

That thought played over and over in my mind the next day. While Shiva was hurt, Uncle let me borrow Chuck the clucktrice, but it wasn't the same. Never mind adjusting to suddenly riding a giant chicken, Chuck wasn't bonded to anyone, least of all me. We didn't have the same seamless movements that I enjoyed with Shiva. I didn't even realize the tactical understanding Shiva and I had developed in such a short amount of time until I was on Chuck. Not to mention, Chuck wasn't actually trained in combat, just normal riding.

With that in mind, I simply fulfilled what I needed to satisfy the System's daily task then spent the rest of the day in the shop, going over all business paperwork with Dad. It was something that I’d been doing since I was seventeen, but my mind kept wandering off the page and back into the wilds. Where I wanted to be.

It's funny. I spent my whole life scared of the wilds, and content with working in an office, safe indoors. Now, with only a couple days of running around and nearly dying each time, I suddenly found this once comforting daily routine stifling. Try as I might, I couldn't resist staring out the windows, wishing that's where I was.

After the fifth or sixth time, Dad stopped clearing his throat and simply waited for me to come back to earth on my own.

After dinner, I fled the office to get some air. I took a quick stop to check on Shiva, then went to the lot behind the stable. Hidden in the tall trees was a large plain building, not much different looking than the smithy in Mist Haven. It was empty inside because it was only used when a mage client wanted to test out a new weapon they were interested in. A melee Hunter knew with one swing if a weapon was right for them, but mages needed to find one that resonated with their natural ability – a fire mage simply wasn't compatible with a staff made with wood magic.

The building was designed to withstand any magic a mage tossed at it, reinforced with shield magic almost as intense as the one barrier around the shop – without the dangerous backlash, of course. It was perfect for my purposes.

I walked into the center of the open space. There was no furniture, no decorations, and nothing I might destroy by mistake – just four walls, a ceiling, and concrete floor. The frosted windows, skylights, and fluorescent lights were protected behind the barrier, so they were fine too. The only color in the whole large room was a floor to ceiling target painted on the impenetrable far wall.

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I took my bow out of my Items Bag and drew an arrow.

Yesterday, I attached a Bubble on the tip and shot it. It was time to figure out the extent of that attack. Whatever I did yesterday was purely done on impulse and, by some miracle, somehow got an amazing result. Now I needed to practice that move until it was second nature, completely under control.

I cast Bubble and attached it to the tip of the arrow, then fired at the target. The Bubble struck the barrier and exploded inches from the wall, sending a rainbow ripple about a foot wide through the barrier. My eyes narrowed, gauging the power of the attack based on the size of the ripple. It wasn't very big, but as an E attack, I wasn't surprised. Just frustrated.

I continued to test the Bubble attack, both the small and large one, comparing the ripples to the arrow attack. There wasn't a huge difference, but I could tell the combined weapon and magic attack was stronger by about twenty percent. It didn't seem like much, but in a battle that little bit could mean the difference between life and death.

Since I was limited on MP, I couldn’t practice too much, just enough to get the feeling of merging the attacks together. I practiced taking an arrow in and out of my Items Bag and attaching it on the end, all without actually firing. As long as the Bubble didn’t detonate, it was fine to move from one arrow to another. As soon as I shot the arrow and the magic exploded, I’d have to cast another Bubble, using up more MP.

After a while, I stopped and stared at my bow, thinking as I subconsciously rubbed my thumb over the swirls etched into the wood-like pattern weld steel. I preferred long ranged attacks with my bow, but if I had to be honest, my sword was stronger. If I could attach a Bubble to my bow...

The bow in my hand disappeared, replaced with my miao dao and I summoned a Bubble into my left hand. The biggest problem was the Bubble was round. It didn't fit along the long sword edges. Humming under my breath, I attached the Bubble on the blade, several inches from the tip. I didn't have a particular sword discipline that I stuck to. Since I was trained in all sorts of weapons, my own fighting style was a conglomerate of all of them. Slashing or stabbing, I used whatever style I needed at the time.

When the magic was placed on an arrow, the tip would puncture the monster's skin first, then the magic would detonate, causing a large wound. When it was a couple inches from the tip of the sword, there was room to maneuver. If I stabbed the sword, the blade would pierce the monster before the bubble would explode. If I slashed, the sharp edge would slice through the monster until the Bubble made contact, then go off.

Content, I went through my paces, stabbing and slashing, practicing all my favorite moves as if it was a dance. Most of the time, I kept the Bubble attached to the sword. But when I became more familiar with it, I attached and detached the Bubble as I moved, maneuvering both attacks at the same time. Sweat dripped from my forehead and I could feel the mental strain, but I kept going until my control was seamless.

"Ah!" I yelled and stabbed my sword into the center of the target. The Bubble at the tip hit the barrier and exploded, creating a larger ripple than with the arrow. Just what I expected.

An applaud echoed out through the open room, breaking my concentration.

I blinked and whipped around.

Uncle Maveric stood just inside the door, watching me with an intense expression. He softly clapped, each sound like a hammer on my startled heart.

"U-Uncle," I stuttered in shock. "What are you ... when did you get here?"

"Your father was looking for you, so I thought I'd help." He limped over to me, neither fast nor slow. "I see I was right," he said, "you are a mage. I told you that big, old testing rock was broken." He stopped about ten feet away and looked at the target where I hit it. "Water, huh?" he muttered, as if talking to himself.

I shifted and gripped the handle tight, feeling like my hand was caught in the cookie jar. I didn't really know what to say. I mean, I was tested as a melee. He wouldn't think I was a freak, right? "Um, yeah."

"I see," he said slowly then looked at me, all business. "Go through your paces once more."

I blinked, totally not following his thought process. "What?" Was I in trouble or not?

He motioned to my sword. "Go through your paces again, exactly what you just did with the magic. I want to see it."

"Ooh," I said slowly then did as he asked, controlling the sword and the Bubble at the same time. With an audience – a very important audience – my joints felt stiff, like a clay figure cracking and clattering to move, but I didn't stop until I hit the target and made the Bubble explode again.

Breathing hard, I turned back to Uncle.

He was watching me again, his expression serious and calculating. It was an expression I knew well – one where he was crafting in his head.

"Do you merge your bow and magic together, too?" he asked, stroking his chin with his heavily scarred hand.

I nodded. "It's a new skill, so I'm still learning. More like a fluke," I explained. I mean, the first time I used the attack, it was a desperate attempt.

"A happy one," he amended, still thinking. "Let me see your bow, then."

My brow wrinkled. "Okay, but I'll only have a couple MP points left."

He nodded and motioned for me to continue, still analyzing me.

I changed weapons and showed him the attack. A dull ache started to throb at my temples and my MP bar was flashing red, letting me know I was just points away from running out of magic.

Uncle nodded in satisfaction. "Usually a mage is a long distance attacker, and fights with their magic almost exclusively," he explained, staring at the target behind the barrier. "But it's also true that most Hunters, no matter what age, aren’t trained in as many weapons as you. You father and I decided that was the best course, because of your family's line of work, but it seems that's affected your fighting style as well." He hummed under his breath. "A close ranged mage – called a battle mage, if I'm not mistaken."

My interest was perked. "Are there a lot of them?" I didn't know that was a thing, but Uncle would know better than me.

"In the past, there was an S ranked mage that could coat a pair of knives in lighting magic. That only applied to those two specific weapons, it wouldn't work on any other medium. Even he didn't know why. It was never studied in detail since he didn't want to be studied and he didn't survive the earthquakes when Gates disappeared. As far as I know, he was the only one that ever accomplished that feat. He called himself Battle Mage." Uncle quirked a smile. "I've tried that skill a couple times, but my fire always melted whatever weapon I used. It wasn't worth the heartache."

Yeah, I could just imagine the devastated expression he'd have when all his hard work melted into a ball of hot metal. "So, fire can't be used because it would melt the metal. But what about water magic? It wouldn't melt the metal then."

He nodded to the side. "That logic is correct, water wouldn't damage the metal like that. But it's the act of attaching magic to the weapon that makes it a big deal. It's easy to morph magic into a weapon." He lifted his hand. A small fireball appeared in his palm, like a mini sun. The fire stretched until it was shaped like a burning arrow, demonstrating exactly what Uncle just said. "But this is just magic, with nothing physical."

He stretched out his hand and an arrow appeared in his fingers. He turned sideways, so that the arrows faced away from me, then pushed the two together, not much different from what I did. The magic and metal sparked, resisting each other. Seconds later, the metal started to warp. Uncle canceled his magic and showed me the ruined arrow.

"Fire, water, earth or anything else, it doesn't matter. Magic and melee simply don't merge," he explained. "The reason is simple – magic isn’t natural to earth. Which is why no one had magic before the Gates and monsters appeared. Someone once explained to me that magic was introduced to earth from the Gates, and I’m inclined to believe her. After all, she’d know a lot more about that than me. But it’s also the reason why we can’t attach magic to anything unless there’s a monster byproduct in it. Earth’s natural resources aren’t compatible with magic – attack magic in particular." He put away the arrow and motioned to my bow. "Your demonstration now was the first time I've seen it in the last thirty years. The biggest surprise is the fact that your bow is not completely compatible with you, yet you can still merge magic with it."

I glanced down at the weapon, running my fingers over the smooth bend. No, this bow wouldn't be completely compatible with me. Uncle made it for me to practice with before I was a Hunter and definitely before the System gave me magic. He used the best stones, but because he didn't have to worry about the magic stones conflicting with my magic, it didn't matter what kind he used. It was wood and water magic stones, if I remember right. Since I was purely a water mage, the wood element wasn't compatible.

Still, I loved this bow. It was the first weapon I ever got, and full of Uncle’s love.

"Neither is your armor," Uncle concluded, still lost in his own thoughts. "A robe isn't good for close combat, but armor materials often negate the magic boosts that mages want. Hmm."

I waved a hand. "I prefer to wear armor." I tend to get to hurt during my battles, I needed the protection armor gave. Even Regen wouldn’t be able to patch me up if I fought in just a robe.

Uncle Maveric patted my shoulder. "Give me a couple days to think about it, Ria. In the meantime, your dad's looking for you."