Arianna finally saw the three teens heading toward the subway station. She'd take the boys to a doctor immediately to report their injuries, then finally heal them. Their online lesson for the day would be cancelled. Elena had already informed the participants that there was an emergency and they'd do two lessons tomorrow to make up for it. Some people were angry, but most understood.

The three teens stopped in front of her group. The boy with the broken arm looked grim. The other one was still a bit out of it. Arianna itched to heal him. Janice looked scared but relieved when she saw her. "Arianna! Please heal my brothers!"

Arianna felt like she was failing the teens when she answered: "I can't. The injuries need to be documented by a doctor."

Janice looked at her miserably, and Arianna's heart broke. That girl had been disappointed by adults so much, and now she was forced to do the same. Then, to her surprise, the twin with the broken arm hugged Janice and told her, "She's right. You know the social worker said we had to stay with him because there was no proof he was mistreating us." He laughed darkly. "Now I'm almost glad he and his friends beat us up."

That boy's outlook on life was far too fatalistic. But in this instance, he was right. "I'll heal them immediately after the doctor documents everything. I promise." Arianna needed to heal the boys. The twin with the broken arm was in pain but tried not to show it. He would be alright, but the other twin didn't look right, and he wasn't talking, just following his siblings. A head injury was not to be taken lightly.

Janice nodded, still looking worried, and asked, "What about our younger siblings? We need to get them out, but there was no reason to take them with us," she almost cried again. That girl had been through so much, and even now she was taking responsibility for her siblings.

"Cassis and Helen will go to the house with the social worker and take them into custody. We have your statements, photos, and videos of neglect and abuse, and the neighbours' statements about loud shouting and drinking. That social worker should be fired for telling you to endure, though she probably won't be. Now that we're interested in the case, and our lawyer is filing a police report, it can't be hidden anymore."

Arianna was angry. How could that social worker just ignore the children? Even if she was overworked, what had she been doing? But Arianna was also angry at herself. She and Cassis had noticed that something wasn't right with Janice. So why had they waited so long to check up on her? They could have spared her some experiences.

Arianna helped the boys who introduced themselves as Michael, with the broken arm, and Thomas, with the concussion, into the car and drove them to a nearby clinic they had contacted in advance. She could have taken them to an emergency room, but the boys didn't need medical treatment. She would take care of that. No, what the boys needed was to have every injury, every bruise documented. That's why a police officer was also waiting at the clinic to make sure everything was done correctly.

Once at the clinic, the doctor took the boys to the examination room. He didn't want Arianna to come in, but the boys insisted, and the policeman said it wouldn't matter. The doctor proceeded to document all injuries, having the boys strip down to their underwear.

Arianna politely turned her back to them but stayed to make them feel better. The policeman asked questions, and the boys recounted the same tale.

Then the doctor wanted to treat the concussion, scan it and set the broken arm.

Arianna interrupted. "That's okay. I'll heal it anyway, so don't do that."

The doctor turned to her, frowning. "If you can heal it, why haven't you done so yet? Having a concussion is dangerous. More could be wrong with the brain."

Arianna scowled. "I know. But our lawyer was adamant that we have the injuries documented by a trained professional first. Otherwise, the children could be sent back to their guardian. And that's the man who did this to them."

The doctor looked sad but not surprised. He sighed. "All right. Then I'm finished. Unless the officer needs something more?"

The police officer shook his head. "No, that's all. We just need your report. Will it say abuse or accident?"

The doctor looked at the boys, then at Arianna apologetically. "The evidence says that the boys are malnourished. That's neglect. As for the injuries, the bruises look like they've been in a fight. The broken arm and concussion could be from that fight, but also from an accident. My report will say that the injuries corroborate the statements we just heard."

Arianna knew he had to be factual, neutral, but it still made her furious. Judging by the doctor's expression, he was angry too. To her question if everything was finished now, both men answered yes. So she could finally heal the two boys. It didn't take long and Michael finally stopped looking so pained and Thomas was clear headed again.

"I'll need that report sent to my lawyer as well," she said, giving the doctor Samuel's email address, after the healing was finished.

Then she asked the policeman, "Can I take the boys with me, or do you need to take them into custody?" Samuel had warned them that would happen.

Michael said, "We want to go with Arianna and stay at Helen's house. She offered to become our guardian."

The policeman sighed. "Yes, your lawyer has contacted us, but I can't make that decision. Child Services will have to do that. So let's go to the station."

Arianna nodded. It was expected, but still annoying. She was glad Samuel knew the law, though she still wasn't quite sure what to make of the man. He seemed daring enough to be Helen's partner, and there was definitely a complicated backstory there. Would Helen ever want to tell her? But for now, Samuel was helping them.

At the station, they were waiting for Cassis and Helen. Janice was already there and had given her own statement. Samuel had been with her.

After some time, Helen and Cassis entered with a woman who had to be the social worker and the two younger children. Janice and the boys rushed to their siblings and hugged them. Arianna did the same to Cassis. As she embraced him, she noticed blood on his shirt.

"What…?"

Cassis grinned. "They were very uncooperative and even threatened Ms. Hillside over there. They thought they could get away with it because they were actually over level 10."

On their private party chat, he added: "Those guys haven't fought enough monsters after the wave to be over level 10. They must have killed people. We'll need to tell the police to look at their past actions more closely. I think they are part of a gang."

Arianna shuddered.

Killing people, well, killing sapient beings, gave a lot of experience. A lot more than killing monsters or sentient creatures. So those men were even more dangerous than she had believed. "Good thing you were there."

Ms. Hillside spoke up. "Yes, it was quite fortunate. Now, with the threat and the violence that occurred just because I wanted to take the children into custody, I believe Mr. Kevin Smith is not fit to be a guardian. Mrs. Segredo, I've heard you and your partner want to be these children's guardians?"

Helen came over to her again and introduced Sam. "That's correct. I met the children during the first wave, when we fought to defend the school gymnasium. I worked for the government until then. I've quit since, to get a better grip on this new world. My partner, Mr. Samuel Greene, is a lawyer. He and I own two houses that are situated back to back, which is why we can take in five children."

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Ms. Hillside seemed to approve but still asked to see some documents. Samuel, of course, was prepared and gave her everything she asked for. She took some time to look at the documents. In the end, she said, "I've reviewed your request, and for now, I don't see any reason we shouldn't place the children with you temporarily, until we can more closely assess you and Mr. Greene and how fit you are to become guardians. Since this is also what the children want, you can take them home now. We will be in contact."

Arianna sighed with relief. Samuel had told them they'd only get temporary custody for now, but that was the goal. The reviewing process could take months. And even if they were later found unfit, they could take it to court, which could take years. All the while, the children would be placed with them "temporarily." Additionally, Janice would legally be an adult in a few months, so she could also file for guardianship.

After that, they all went home and got Janice and her siblings settled in Helen's and Samuel's houses. The houses were on different streets, but their backyards were connected after they simply did away with the fence separating them. The children could visit the other house through the gardens.

The others who had helped them plan this rescue were already waiting for them. Danielle had cooked a healthy dinner, the Morrisons and Bristols had brought over some children's clothes to change into, while Liam and Camden gave up some old shirts for the teens to sleep in. Tomorrow they would go back to the house to get their things, but for today everyone gave a bit of what they had.

Matteo came up and got to know the twins a bit better since they were a similar age, while Felicia, Violet and Noah brought the ten year old Steven and three year old Anne into their fold. The foxes had also come to get to know the new members of the "family group" as Felicia told them. The fox and her cub were the highlight with the younger children, though they soon tired. When they went home the fox went to Cassis and snorted at him. Arianna had no idea what that was about but maybe Cassis was right and that fox was way smarter than anyone realised.

Before they, too, went to settle down for the night, Janice came up to them and hugged Cassis, then Arianna. "Thank you so much," she said softly. "Thank you."

Then she looked at them, still having questions. "But… what about our house and the money? Do you think we can get it back?"

Arianna sighed. It wasn't fair.

Cassis answered gently, "We can get the house back. I've told your uncle to clear out tonight. He'll listen."

Arianna grinned. Such a simple statement. She could imagine that conversation. Given the blood on Cassis' shirt, she could also imagine the uncle's reaction. At least the man had faced some consequences.

"I had a very productive talk with your uncle," Cassis added, his voice cool. "He and his friends won't bother you again. He shouldn't even try to contact you. If he does, tell me." He smiled in that nefarious way Arianna had often scolded him about. Not now. "But the money… it's gone. He already spent it all on his gambling debts. I don't think we can get it back. Sorry."

Janice sighed. "Okay. Thanks. At least we can have the house back." Then she turned to Helen. "But we can still live here, right?"

Helen nodded with a smile. "Of course. Now, I never thought I'd end up with children and teenagers, so please don't judge me, but I've got some experience helping raise Cassis and Liam."

Janice grinned. "Then please tell me some childhood stories about Mr. Walker. That sounds like fun."

Arianna blinked in surprise, then smiled too. Janice was a lot more resilient than she looked. And calling Cassis Mr. Walker again… well, that made sense. Mr. Walker had been her teacher, a safe person. She probably hadn't even noticed she'd slipped back into it.

That night, Arianna felt good. They had saved people—not just with strength, though that had played its part, but with intelligence, courage and, most importantly, community. This felt right for some reason, important even, though she didn't know why.

The system also agreed with her as it sent her a message following her thoughts.

[You have gained 500 CP (for saving mortal dependents and younglings)]

Younglings? Was that system speak for teenagers? Arianna smiled, even as her inner scale went towards the virtuous side. She had wanted to keep it in balance, but couldn't regret her actions and the results.

Still… tomorrow, she really needed to practice with her water mana.

The next day, Arianna finally got to practice with her water mana.

Of course, that was only after Cassis had made her train her body, then train with her mace, and finally spar with him. Though it wasn't as taxing as it used to be, those still weren't her favourite activities.

Now, at last, she could sit down and work with her mana. Cassis also sat not too far from her. He was going to practice his mana pattern again.

The two of them had originally planned to accompany the children back to their house, but Janice had been adamant that they needed to train. She didn't want them to stop just because of her. Helen and Samuel would bring the children to gather their things, but Arianna and Cassis hadn't felt comfortable with that. It could still be dangerous if the uncle hadn't heeded Cassis' warning and Helen was the only real fighter in that group.

Could she take out four or five guys at level ten or higher? Definitely. Helen was a badass. But she also had people to protect, and that made everything harder. Then Liam and Camden had offered to go too. Camden, especially, wanted to make sure the children got everything they needed. He'd wanted to come yesterday as well, but Samuel had advised against it since too many people would just complicate things.

Arianna didn't understand the law, but it all sounded far too complicated. She was glad she didn't need to spend more time on that matter. Samuel had those things in hand. Now they just needed to get to know him better. But if Helen trusted him, he had to be trustworthy.

So now, finally, Arianna and Cassis had time to work. Cassis was practising his mana pattern again. Arianna, meanwhile, focused on her water mana. First, she tried making shapes with it outside her body, just like she did with her non-elemental mana. It was hard. The mana in the atmosphere interfered with her water mana, making it unstable. She could get it out, but the forms destabilised almost immediately.

But Arianna didn't give up. She knew from her spells that it was possible for water mana to hold a shape outside the body. She summoned her water shield. Through practice, she could now adjust its size. She kept it small and examined it. If her mentor profession were at level 40, this would be a lot easier. She'd have an ability that helped her analyse her own spells. But she was only level 23, and it would take a while longer.

So for now, she had to do it on her own. Arianna held her left arm like she was looking at her watch, the shield moving with her arm. She then studied the water mana inside the shield. It flowed in a spiral pattern from the centre outward. The inside was where her mana was being fed in, from her arm into the centre, and it was distributed in spirals until it fizzled out at the edges.

So that was why the shield cost mana upkeep; the mana literally faded out at the border. A smaller shield used less mana, while a larger one used more. When it was damaged, it repaired itself, but that also cost mana.

Now… how did the shape change?

Arianna usually imagined a rounded triangle shape when she summoned the shield. She hadn't really thought about it, just used the first shape that came to mind. But there were other shield types, too. Could she make them?

She tried to turn her triangle-like shield into a rectangle. It was difficult, and she lost the shield entirely a few times. But eventually, she succeeded. A rectangle. Then she tried a round shield. That one worked better. Probably because she'd already learned the trick of reshaping. Next, she tried making the shield into a ball. But this didn't work, and the spell fizzled out. She tried again, but the same thing happened. Could she only make shapes that worked as shields? But a ball or dome shape could be a shield, couldn't they? And with that she was thinking of her water barrier. She'd have to look at that, too.

But since the shaping into forms didn't work quite as well, she summoned a normal round shield again to examine it more. And as she focused on the shield, she noticed something else: there wasn't only water mana at work. At the edges of her shield, there was non-elemental mana, forming a buffer, keeping the ambient mana from interfering.

It made sense. Non-elemental mana was something everyone could use, even if mostly subconscious. She needed to look at more spells and check if this was the case for all of them. Maybe she finally found a way to shape water mana freely. She just needed to wrap her water mana in non-elemental mana.

Arianna was too excited to sit still and calmly analyse more spells right now. Instead, she did what she'd always done: she spontaneously tried something new. She started by squeezing out a thin layer of non-elemental mana and shaping it into a simple round form, like a bubble. Once that held, she tried to fill it with water mana.

That turned out to be harder than she'd expected. The shape was still packed with non-elemental mana, and when she pushed in the water mana, it didn't mix; it just made the whole thing unstable. Arianna tried to push the non-elemental mana out, but she overdid it, accidentally pushing out the stabilising outer layer as well. The whole shape collapsed instantly, like a popped balloon.

She frowned, arms crossed, and mulled it over. Okay… maybe what she needed was a hollow shape. A sort of shell made of non-elemental mana, not a solid sphere. Then she could fill it. That made sense, didn't it?

So she spent the rest of the afternoon trying to make that happen, building hollow shells, experimenting with sizes, trying to balance the density of the outer layer. But no matter how careful she was, she didn't manage to create one that could hold its shape long enough to be filled. Not yet. No matter. She'd get it right soon. Maybe tomorrow she'd also take another look at her water barrier spell.

At least all this experimenting hadn't been for nothing. Her mana saturation had risen 2%, now sitting at 82%. And her Water Shield spell had levelled up. It was now at Advanced rank. She even had a few ideas on how to make it stronger and maybe rank up again. But that would have to wait until tomorrow.

Right now, it was time to clean herself up and get ready. They had a double session scheduled for the evening.

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