Alex sat on a small cushion, only half watching as Warrior sparred with Robert. Legs crossed, he watched his clone sway to the right, shoulders rolling with the Willow Branch Sways. Robert's heavy blow passed less than an inch from his chest, though even as Warrior prepared to strike back, Alex could tell he was losing the exchange.

Aisha and Luis sat near Alex, watching with their full focus on the training.

Warrior's palm was midway through the strike to connect with Robert's abdomen when the bruiser's elbow connected. The blow was clearly pulled, preventing the use of his full stats, but the resulting force was still enough to send the clone sprawling to the ground.

Robert's rhythmic humming slowly stopped as his feet slid backward, and he took his stance once more, scanning the exits of the cavern as he did so.

"Same," Luis said.

The quiet man's words drew Alex's attention from his lap, where his notebook and palm rested. The notes were open to old notes on the flow of mana and control nodes, while over his hand, he practiced forming a tiny disc shape over and over. "What?" he asked Luis as the man pointed to Warrior and back.

"I think he's pointing out that you and Walter have similar fighting styles. How long have you three been a team?" Robert asked while holding out a hand to help Warrior off the ground.

Alex tried not to laugh. "Not too long. But we were all trained by the same person, so it makes sense our fighting styles are the same."

Luis shook his head. "Same." This time, his tone was firmer, which made Aisha raise an eyebrow.

Alex didn't answer, but Robert offered some advice.

"Regardless, you both have a similar issue. You need to stop thinking so much. The small amount of time it's taking for you to think about your next move is allowing me to flow into mine and gain a tempo advantage."

Walter scratched the back of his head and listened.

Alex wasn't sure how much he agreed with Robert. While what he said made sense practically, Alex and his Fractured Bodies were probably thinking about way more than Robert even knew was possible in the middle of a fight.

Between the focus and speed of thought required to maintain the mana threads, form spell circles, solidify intent for a rune, cast the spell, and plan his next moves while maintaining movement and distance, Alex truly wasn't sure what could cut down on the amount of thinking he had to do. Each fight felt like a 6D chess match as it was.

"Practice." Mage's mind chimed into his thoughts. "It's what has gotten us this far. Training and fighting over and over. Testing and finding what works best is what's going to cut down on that for us."

Alex thought over his own advice, though his thoughts and the conversation were interrupted by a blue screen appearing in his vision.

Congratulations, [Mana Thread] has leveled up.

His thoughts soared as he saw his main skill jump another level, putting it at Journeyman, Level 17. He knew that was likely to be his last easy level in the skill until the next advancement. The last few were always more challenging and required a more intentional approach.

As his mind started to drift through possible upgrade paths, something about his face must have improperly construed his thoughts. Robert asked him without sugarcoating things. "What? You disagree?"

Shrugging, Alex did his best to explain without revealing too much. "I'm just thinking about some of my past decisions… I don't think that 'thinking less' is going to be the answer to my problems. Some of my biggest problems have been from not thinking about a decision's outcome."

"That might be true, but from what I've seen, I bet you could think about times where overthinking led to similar results."

Even though it was months ago, the memory of how long he'd stayed quiet during Rylan's constant badgering and petty attempts was a sour one. "Yeah, overthinking and following what's expected of me has gotten me in some trouble before, too." He shook his head, thinking of his earlier days in the integration. "But I'd say that the situations that not thinking puts me in have been life-threatening pretty much every time."

Memories surfaced of his time in the Celestial Rift. Running in after a baby Valtherion, jumping from a cliff, freeing a B Rank entity, and assaulting a camp alone when cooler heads would have just gone around. The list went on, and it was hard for him not to wince as he thought through his last year or so.

Robert nodded and crouched to the ground, his hand pressing to the cold stone floor. "The results might get you in more trouble at times, but they'll keep you alive, too. Think about some of those exact scenarios, and if you hadn't acted, would you have lived? Or if it was before the integration, would things have ended up worse? Most people act without thinking, out of reaction to a fight or flight situation. All I'm saying is you need to learn to do it without being so reactionary. Take the initiative and push for your own tempo in a fight."

Warming up to the discussion, Alex gave a counterpoint. "There's no way to know exactly, but if this is how you act, aren't there decisions you make that lead to horrible results? What if acting too quickly, or without thinking, leads to a worse outcome? Taking time to think through the next move in a fight isn't all that different from taking the time that we have over the last day and a half to begin planning an assault on the galleries. Right?"

"Wrong," Aisha said, shaking her head and joining the conversation with a solemn tone. "There will always be consequences. After all of this," she gestured at the caves around them and the Koru'qai moving about the camp a short distance away. "I will always prefer to deal with the consequences of my own actions, rather than the outcome of someone else's choices for me. Taking more time might end in a better outcome, like you say, but it also might end in one significantly worse…"

Alex caught the look that Robert gave her and knew he was missing something about their past. Luis set his hand on her shoulder.

"I can understand this place has forced you all to adapt." Alex hesitated before saying what was on his mind. "I'm worried that this kind of thinking would get me, or any of you, in terrible situations in the world outside. Acting on instinct and acting first might always be the right answer here, or in any Rift where your life is constantly in danger, I'll give you that. But if you're walking down the sidewalk and someone near you raises their arm, are you going to immediately attack them on instinct? What if they're just going to wave at someone on the other side of you? The Safe Zones are slam-packed with people, and while the world is changing rapidly, most people are still shocked by even a small amount of violence."

Robert frowned, his brows coming together as he thought on the question. Aisha and Luis listened intently to the embers' pop nearby in the silence.

"I'm going to go rinse off and link up with Matthew," Warrior said quietly.

"Yep," Alex said, staying where he was and pausing in his mana shaping exercises to hear Robert's response.

"I get what you're saying, and this might be stupid of me to say… but I think you're wrong. Obviously, I've been out of touch with what's going on out there, but I know more about what's going on in here than most of the others.

"Kinley and his men are sick. They kidnap, abuse, beat, and murder innocent people. They taunt the helpless and capitalize on their deaths with joy. What I've realized, though, is that they're just human. The powers that come with the integration are going to enable people like him to do what they want. There are going to be more like him, either hiding in Rifts' shadows or in broad daylight. There will be more. Trying to hold on to old ways of thinking and what 'civilized society' looks like isn't going to last. There are going to be fights in the street, and I'm not going to let myself die because I assumed someone was going to wave at their friend." Robert glanced at Aisha. "I've seen how fast her hands can move with a knife. Either I won't put myself in a situation to be that near to people, or I'll gain enough power that people don't want to be that close to me."

The corner of Alex's mouth turned up as the conversation fell into line with some he'd had with Eura. "I can agree with that point, at least. The world out there is changing, and it's going to change more in the next year. Powerful people are always going to try and take what they want. If I can just give you a little advice?" He continued when Robert nodded. "My mentor told me before: there's always someone stronger. I think that's going to be more and more applicable in the coming months. Just don't go out there thinking that you're the strongest. The gap between the top end and the general public is only going to grow larger and larger, too. It seems like the System likes to favor those who are on the forefront… the rich get richer sort of mentality."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Just not too rich.

A sour part of Alex's mind still wanted to spit out.

Robert agreed with his explanation. "That's sound advice. It's like I told you before. We didn't think we'd be the strongest stepping out, but we thought we'd be close… then we ran into you not even minutes after stepping out. How powerful are people out there? How could they be so much stronger than us?"

Aisha seemed to sit up at the question, eager to hear about power dynamics.

Alex chuckled, adjusting his hat. "Uh, you guys are probably stronger than ninety percent of people out there. Don't worry about that."

"Oh," Aisha laughed and dragged out the word teasingly. "Thinking a little highly of yourself, Mister Mage?

"Erm, well. If you want to get technical, it's The Magician, not mage."

Aisha found this even more amusing. "Oh, The Magician? Are there not other mages out there? Kinley never let us use magic. He said physical stats were just better and that melee fighters would always win a scrap in the arena."

Alex groaned. "Oh god… not another one…"

"Huh?"

"Never mind. I've dealt with someone like this before. A bully who hates mages. What's up with that?"

"Well," Aisha snickered and stood. "You've got to admit. Your physical stats are pretty bad. If it weren't for that fancy spell you have that speeds you up, you'd struggle fighting any of us."

Alex shrugged, fully aware that she had only seen him use a quarter of his real stats. "The magic is a tool. It would be stupid of me not to use it."

"Want to go again?" she asked, stretching to the side.

"I'll pass for now," Alex said, closing his notebook and stretching his own neck.

"We should get back to planning anyway," Robert agreed.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to inspect the net for a bit. I have a skill that's almost done charging that might help me inspect it. Matthew can join you guys in the planning. I think the basics of what we have worked out already will work well, at least for a test."

"I'll go grab him," Aisha said.

Alex watched her leave, almost skipping with a small smile. Her mood changes confused him, and as he stood, he saw Luis watch her as well, concern on his face.

Holding a finger in the opening of his notebook, he made his way to the cavern entrance while looking up at the open ceiling. To his right eye, the light died out before reaching the high ceiling, but to his left eye, he saw the forming of a mana-rich dome overhead.

He moved to the tunnel beyond their cavern and found a space where the "tear" in the mana net, as a result of the hollow vein, came together and formed a full and solid wall of mana. It stretched out and passed through the rock to cover the city he knew was beyond.

Now away from the general camp and many comfort-starved refugees, Alex removed one of the camping chairs he had and set it up at an angle that gave him a clear line of sight down both directions of the tunnel.

A short time later, Maelis's consciousness rose in his mind. He felt his own amusement surface with a new realization.

"What's got you in such a funny mood, brat?" The rumbling voice of his ancient teacher greeted him, grumpy as ever.

I was just thinking that my thoughts had been pretty quiet lately, with all the [Parallel Mind] splits being in different clones and only occasionally chiming in. Even then, I'm used to Val sending me his feelings or the occasional hungry thought…

"Well, I'm thrilled to give your overworked mind some company. What did you wake me up for? I thought you were leaving these damned caves."

Uh, funny enough, these are different caves. We're prepping to fight an evil bastard who's kidnapping people and forcing them to fight and awaken to steal their power for himself. He's set up in a Rift and taken over.

"So?" The word came out as a single grunt, and some of Maelis's own amusement came through the bond.

What do you mean, so? There are a hundred people here who need help.

"Kid… that's noble and all. But do I need to remind you that your entire planet needs your help? That's not an exaggeration. You're one of very few Planetary Title holders on your world. You can't let every group of people who need your help pull you into some sort of side—"

Alex interrupted him and provided Maelis with an answer that he knew the spirit could relate to.

The leader of the group here has an item that can help him alter the mana output of a Rift somehow.

"Oh."

Yeah.

"And you think that…"

Yep.

"Well then. Carry on."

Alex rolled his eyes.

Now that I have your approval… I came in originally for the item, but I'm going to do what I can to free the humans here. After that, the item is the sole focus. But if I can, I'm thinking about offering a few of the natives to leave if they want. I wanted to see if you'd heard of their race? They are called Koru'qai.

"I haven't. If you keep me awake for a bit, I can tell you if I recognize the race. Some races have different names on different planets."

Fair enough. The real reason I wanted you awake, though, was for some warding advice.

Alex looked up, allowing the spirit to see what he saw. The mana net overhead and the accompanying tear drew his attention.

I wanted to know if you had experience with this stuff. It seems like it's all built off the same concept as wards to me. They have cornerstones running the mana net over the entire city, which is apparently suppressing the magic of the natives. Can I drain it like I did the elven wards?

Maelis grumbled for a second, thinking. "No, probably not. Even with your control of mana, if the net covers an entire city, then the power running through it is going to be more than you can siphon off. Even piercing it will be hard. The biggest struggle when breaking into castle wards or nets of this scale is fighting against the source of power."

"Hmmmm." Alex leaned his head back on the chair, slouching as he stared at the ceiling.

What about trying to break a cornerstone?

"Don't you listen to what I tell you? The cornerstones are one of the most protected parts of a warding net."

Well, I thought that was just for wards. That made sense when there was a barrier between the inside and outside. But this doesn't have a barrier. Could I attack the cornerstones if they're exposed?

"You could. But these people are complete idiots if it's exposed at all."

I hate to break it to you, but most of us are just stumbling along. Without being taught that they're that critical, this group might not know that they're vulnerable. It's worth checking out.

Maelis grunted, knowing Alex was talking to himself more than to the spirit.

I wanted you to check these other two things while you're up. I've been working on a new design to replace the control nodes of my spell circles. Can you look at it?

"I can, but it's probably not going to help, kid. I don't know enough about normal spell casting, let alone whatever magic you've been throwing together."

Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes again, Alex opened the notebook anyway.

Just look at it, you old goat. I can't help it if I'm a magical genius creating stuff the Wider Worlds have never seen.

While Alex was trying to be funny with the cheeky comment, Maelis laughed much longer and harder than he should have.

"Boy, you better not let that ego get larger than it already is. I told you from early on that it would be a problem if you didn't keep it in check with that Willpower. You are certainly not the first to come up with some magic like this in the Wider Worlds."

He stopped what he was doing and straightened.

Well, I kind of guessed that, but I was really hoping that I was the first.

Maelis laughed more.

"No, brat. Of course you're not. I'm sorry, do you think that in the entire Wider Worlds, you're the first mage to think he's too smart for his own good and combine the three most common kinds of magic?"

But you said that you hadn't ever—

"Just because I've never heard of it being done doesn't mean that it hasn't been. Look, think this through with just a bit of that Intellect you've got. Think about all of the bored A and B rank mages out there. Think about your stats, and how much larger they'll be by the time you get to that stage. Now… think about those same mages living for hundreds or thousands of years in some cases. Some of them are just as "special" as you and have additional titles and resources to build a kingdom with. You really don't think that on a passing whim, one of them has done what you did in E Rank?"

Alex deflated a bit but shrugged off the feeling. He knew it would be too good to be true if he were the only one in the entire multiverse to think of something.

A grin slipped onto his face at the absurdity of it.

All right, fine. But why isn't this kind of magic more popular, then? Do they keep it to themselves?

"Oh, there might be entire worlds built around a similar combination of magic. They could be in hiding, ready to conquer in a few generations, or they might just be in a space that I've never visited. I'm well-traveled, brat, but I haven't even seen a tiny sliver of the Wider Worlds. But more than likely, that's not the case, either. Those who have the stats and knowledge required to do this at a higher rank are extremely unlikely to shift their entire power set to work with it. By the time you're an A or B Rank, if you live long enough to make it that far, you're very used to a certain set of skills and stats. You wouldn't change your Expert or Master tier skills out for those that might allow you to tinker with a new combination of spells. You understand?"

I think so. It's discouraging to realize that someone created this as a passing interest and then discarded it to work on something else… there are many benefits. Did you know I figured out I can enchant with the circles? Look, I made—

"YOU WHAT?"

Alex winced and rubbed his temple.

Jesus, Maelis.

"Did you just say you think you can enchant with this shoddy, backwater, cobbled together, mess of a—"

Alex held up the prototype mana battery, stopping the spirit's tirade before it could begin. He pushed mana into the spell circle engraved on the stone, letting it seep in.

Maelis sputtered to a stop and remained muted for a long time.

Long enough that Alex said his name twice and eventually just went back to looking at his notes for the modified control node.

"We're going to need to talk about this more. A lot of testing will need to be done, and you will absolutely be starting out at the foundations when this little side quest is over. You understand, brat?"

Huh?

"I won't have an apprentice of mine running around making enchantments that are half-assed. If these can work as actual enchantments, which I'll need to see some more testing done before I admit to that, then you'll learn the foundations and how to properly work with magic in items."

Alex realized what was happening. This was Maelis's pride as a crafter and mage who had been near the top of his craft for potentially hundreds of years.

Until this point, Alex had all but shunned the idea of actually enchanting in favor of creating spell circles. He snickered as he realized Maelis was merely eager at the prospect of getting the apprentice he always wanted out of Alex now.

Yeah, okay, Old Goat. I hear you. We can do some proper enchanting when we're done here. Whatever the hell that means.

He added the last bit and laughed as Maelis began to lecture him on the importance of a foundation and his philosophy on learning runes.

Okay, okay. Hold on; don't get carried away. This was the last thing I wanted you to work on with me. My intent with the runes you gave me for the Elven ritual is coming together, and other than Portal, I think I've got them all down well. Can we do another coaching session on this?

"Sure, kid. Form your intent and hold on to it. While you meditate, I'll do what I can to nudge your thoughts."

Thanks, Maelis.

"Bumpoff."

A smile slipped onto his face, happy to have the spirit awake again.

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