“So, how do I let her down gently?” Dave asked Mack.

“Yeah... I don’t know. I’ve never got a chance to reject a girl before.” Mack chuckled: “Does she know who - what you are?”

“Yes. I kinda told her after I ripped a piece of corrupted soul from her friend Stacy.”

“Holy … nice, at least we know why! So what are you going to do with this? It’s kinda rude to ghost someone on text. If you’re not interested, just tell her.” Mack patted Dave on his shoulder: “I envy you guys, with all the magic and cultivation...”

“Sounded like you really want to come into this world.” Dave chuckled: “But trust me - it’s not easy. I think your best shot is ask Mr. Yu.”

“Yeah I kinda did. He just told me it’s not the right time for me yet.” Mack sighed: “I asked Jason as well, and even he’s being kinda hush hush - I don’t know what to think at this point.”

“Mr. Yu always has his reasons.” Dave said: “Don’t worry. And be glad that you are not exposed to this world in some other horrible way. And - I’m not sure if I’m in the place to give you this advice - don’t have any naive fantasies about this world. It can be exceedingly cruel, cold and Darwinian.”

Mack almost laughed out loud: “You know what Dave, Mr. Yu told me almost the exact same thing.”

“Well, good. Because it’s true, and it’s something of grave importance - every year, there are some wide-eyed newcomers with hopes and dreams wind up in the meat grinders, most of whom are from the civilian world.” Dave finished typing his message to Amanda and showed it to Mack: “How does this sound?”

“‘Hey Amanda, thank you for the invitation. But I have to let you know that as Depth Dweller I am incapable of forming any kinds of romantic relationships with mortals. I wish you good luck on your next romantic endeavor and please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if your or your friends are to encounter unclean presences.’” Mack read the message out loud: “Well, uh… that’s uh… that’s something.”

“It’s no good, isn’t it? Can you help me word it better?”

“Hey Mack, hey Dave. ” Kane, Caroline’s older brother also came into the inn.

“Kane. What brings you here?” Mack turned around and asked.

“Nothing, I’m just here to drop off some invitation to my housewarming party - I set the date to over two months from now, because I want Caroline to be there.” Kane laughed and put down a pile of cards, “And since Mack you’re here, do you mind bringing these invitations to your parents? I was thinking the more the merrier.”

“There’s one for me? Thank you!” Dave appeared surprised as he had an invitation as well, and when he opened it up, it looked like it was handwritten: “Did Alex write it? That’s so nice!”

“Yeah. He said there is nothing more sincere than handwritten notes, with all the e-cards that everyone can download and send in bulk.” Kane explained: “So… um, how have you been?”

“I’m doing really good.” Dave chuckled, and he seemed really delighted because of the invitation: “And Mack’s here helping me reject a girl!”

“What?”

--------------------------------------------

“Hey, do you know? You guys are famous now.” at dinner time, Tonya Evergreen, Caroline and Jason’s guid when they first came to the Grant Academy, sat down with Caroline with a friend of hers: “I just passed by a group of students, they’re offering wagers for your duel against Robert Hendricks and Taylor Jensen.”

“Oh, well? I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that we don’t have many people betting on us.” Caroline chuckled and shook her head.

“And you guessed right.” Tonya’s friend extended her hand at Jason and Caroline: “Hi, my name’s Kaitlin, Kaitlin Corr. I’m Tonya’s roommate.”

“Roommate? I thought we all have different places to live?” Jason asked.

“Oh, it’s actually pretty flexible. We’ve basically grown up together so we decided to stay close to each other.” Kaitlin smiled: “So, how do you feel? You still have two days - if you need help finding some handy and inexpensive gadgets, we’re happy to lend you some. ”

“Thank you! But we brought our own weapons and they are really good. I’m not sure if we can get used to using other things in two days.” Caroline said: “I’m not sure what their plans are, but I am very certain we can handle ourselves.”

“Hey, don’t worry. If you need something, just let us know. ” Tonya said: “And, I am not sure what kind of weapons you brought with you - but you might not be able to use them in actual duels. Because student duels should be guaranteed safe and should impose no danger of death or maiming to anyone.”

“Hmm. I… we hadn’t thought of that.” Jason exchanged looks with Caroline: “How does this work? What should we do? If we can’t bring our weapons, then do we need to face them empty handed?”

“God, they didn’t even have the decency to tell you this? What a bunch of losers.” Kaitlin frowned: “In student duels, you can’t bring weapons that are enchanted or too sharp. They will need to be either made of certain material or they can be temporarily locked with a stifling lock that prevents you from seriously injuring your opponent. Basically, anything that does not directly come from your power or magic will be subject to this kind of vetting.”

“Oh, I don’t think our weapons will cut it.” Caroline scratched her lower jaw: “Does the academy provide some kind of weapon-rental? Or do you have some eligible weapons you can lend us?”

“Yeah. Good call.” Kaitlin said: “We don’t have any weapons, we’re not into combative arts - like at all...”

“But the academy has a place to lend weapons for student duels. It’s free and open almost all the time. They have almost every kind of weapon you need - let’s go there after dinner.” Tonya nodded: “It’s better if you get some practice beforehand.”

“Yeah. I wonder if they have giant pens...” Jason was slightly frustrated and started playing with his food on the plate.