Max couldn’t remember the depth that water started to get dark. He vaguely remembered that oceans were divided into three generalized classifications of light levels. He figured he was in the middle level after around 40 minutes of walking. It was eerie. The normal calming feeling had long since disappeared, leaving Max alone in a vast deep ocean.

He had not seen a single living thing as he went deeper. It was something that Max never really thought about before. On the beach there was no one, but why was it making him nervous now? The water slowly got darker and darker. Eventually Max was trusting his Space Affinity for sight. It was good practice, but less than endearing.

An unknown amount of time had passed, and Max was still walking. He figured by now the others would be close to finishing their training, and he should hurry. He started to manipulate the water around himself, propelling himself forward.

There was a light. A small orb of light, floating aimlessly through the crushing depths. Max didn't fall for the bait. He remembered Finding Nemo, it was obvious that it was a predator of some kind. But the light alone was enough for Max. He now knew that things other than Tiodepth lived here. The question came up again. Where is this?

As Max studied the light, he became increasingly more interested in it. Something so small could be so beautiful. He reached out with his senses and found that it was, in fact, attached to a large toothy fish. One that could swallow him whole.

They both floated there. A fish waiting for prey, and a man interested in the glowing light. At some point, Max found himself unable to avert his eyes. He also found himself drifting closer. Something was wrong, the light was doing something to him. He focused on something else, anything else.

He felt Emi. He could feel her in the real world. She was still asleep on his lap, unaware of the dangers he was facing. He held on to her, breaking the charm. The fish noticed him and began to attack.

Max reacted quicker and more efficiently. He dodged to the side, glancing off the fish’s sharp scales. Salt water entered his open wound, causing more pain. The fish circled around but was unaware of Max’s status as a mage. To the fish, he was just prey. But to Max, the fish was just a dumb fish.

An Ice spike ripped through the dark waters penetrating deep into the fish’s skull. Max suddenly didn’t feel safe. An overwhelming feeling that something was coming from the depths awoken in Max. It was a similar feeling to when something told him not to take Emi’s egg above water. Or the feeling that told him not to go deeper.

But this time it was stronger. It was more primal. Something was coming, and all of Max’s instinct screamed at him to leave. Max pulled the fish to him and he put it into his inventory. It was the one clue he found, he sure as hells wasn’t going to leave it.

Max was back in the real world. He coughed up the salt water that was in his lungs. Blood gushed from his right side and hip. It stung more now that air was hitting it. To the others, Max randomly exploded with water and blood. Where he sat was now saturated with salt water.

Vel reacted first, manipulating the water around him to heal his open wounds. The others ended their spar and rushed over. Max checked his notifications.

Congratulations, you have killed a level 34 Shallow Water Angler!

You have gained 28,945 Experience!

The familiar golden light erupted from Max, confusing everyone more.

“Mother fucking charming lights… That’s cheating.” Max muttered.

“Max…” Vel spoke quietly.

Bishop and the girls didn’t know something weird was going on. They were busy sparring. They assumed a spell failed or Vel splashed him. But after the golden level up light, they were more than worried.

“I know, I know. This looks bad or weird or something.” He spit, getting the last of the salt water out. “Let’s go to the inn. I have something I need you guys to see, and I’m not comfortable showing you here.” That statement alone was enough for everyone to tread carefully. They were inside of Honeygreen, their host. The one Seetrin said they could trust, the one protecting the city under a Godly order.

They left and rushed to the inn. They traveled quickly and quietly. They couldn't be too careful now-a-days. The inn was much the same, only a different rotation of globes were left out. Bishop checked the wards while Max sweeped for Stalkers. After they found nothing, they ordered some food and sat down. Belopi was happy for their return but saw the serious expressions they wore and chose now was not the best time for her.

The group started eating and a thin wall of mist created the privacy they needed. Max pulled a second table and asked Vel to extender her privacy spell. Vel got the gist of what was about to happen and turned the screen black, removing all vision into the shroud.

Max materialized the fish, dropping it with a splat on the empty table. He quickly covered the light appendage with a rag, unsure if the mesmerizing effect would still be active. The fish was almost transparent, but streaks of black ran along muscles and bones. Long whisker-like hairs extended out of its scales a few feet. The thing was hideous.

“Max, what the hells is that?” Questioned Bishop.

“Shallow Water Angler.” Max said matter-of-factly. “Granted shallow means in pitch black water.”

Bishop looked at Vel, not understanding. She looked worried. More worried than usual.

“Max…” She started to say, but Max interpreted.

“I think it's time to tell the others, don’t you?”

“Yes....”

With a deep breath, Max explained it all. He told them about his mana system evolving into a real place. He talked about how Emi is able to join him, and that he doesn’t sleep. He trains most nights and if he’s not actively training, he sits in the shallow waves in a harmonic bliss. He explained who Tiodepth was and his blessing. He told them his theory about a puppet master, pulling the strings of his life. He talked about this current quest and what Honeygreen said about Tiodepth being a dead God.

And he finally got to today. His anger and resentment at having no answers. His hatred for his benefactor’s lack of communications and his idea to go deeper. He talked at length about his feelings while walking on the ocean floor. He told them the loneliness and isolation he felt. He told them about the light and almost being charmed. Killing the fish and escaping certain death.

At some point, Max’s story devolved into borderline mad ramblings. He went on and on about small details that didn’t matter, such as what the sand felt like or the stinging of salt water. He also quickly passed over important details such as the certain death he felt. The others began to become increasingly worried. Even Emi, who has been to the infinite beach, became worried at his explanation and ramblings. Both Bishop and Vel had to cast calming spells.

At the end of it all, a clear narrative formed. Everyone understood what had happened to Max, but no one had any answers for him. It was a sick theme, Max found. No one knew shit.

“Anything else?” Bishop asked.

“I have a spell book called Raging Construct that was created by a [Water Arch Sage]. It was in the same box that Emi was in and degrades when not underwater.”

Bishop bellowed out in deep laughter. The others followed suit in nervous chuckles.

“That's a good one Max! You pranked us!” His laughter continued.

Whatever. Max thought. I guess that one is a little hard to believe.

“Max, I think it goes without saying. Don’t go back into the water. Train on the beach if you must, do not go into the water. I don’t have any ideas about this inner world or Tiodepth, but the wounds you had were very real.” Vel spoke under the laughter of the others.

Max nodded. He finished his dinner and quietly went to bed. The girls followed suit, leaving Vel and Bishop. Vel looked at the table where the fish used to lay.

“[Water Arch Sage]? Are those tales not fiction?”

“All fiction was created from reality.” Bishop answered.

“But there have never been any confirmed reports? No ancient ruins or journals in a long-lost language?”

“No. But there also hadn’t been a Tomb of a Dead God unearthed in ten millennia, but here we are.”

“What about the rest? When Icarus and I first saw the salt water and blessing we talked at length about possibilities. One of our top answers was a water dimension.”

“No. At least it is not likely. Dimensions, by all accounts, are real worlds. The user is actually able to enter the dimension. Not like what Max did where his body is still here. No, this is something else. Something more dangerous.”

“Mind projection magic?”

“Again, unlikely. Have you ever heard of a [Projectionist] bringing anything back with them?”

Vel shook her head.

“Whatever it is, this certain death he spoke of is bad news. The depths are one of the least explored areas of this world. You saw that fish, that was only a shallow water angler. Can you imagine what they are like in deeper waters?”

Bishop shook his head, unwitting to think about it.

“I guess the first step to becoming a great [Space Mage] would be to learn how to actually manipulate space. You do know Manipulate Space, right?” [Arbor] Xylem asked.

“Yes, but I learned it through a spell book.” Max answered.

“Expensive book…”

[Arbor] Xylem and Max were currently sitting in the common room of the Garden of Globes. Xylem was beginning his teachings and Max was happy as a clam. He was better than a clam actually. His venting last night had put him in a better mood this morning. A huge burden lifted from his chest, even though at the end of the day nothing had changed.

Xylem spent the next few hours explaining how to control space. It was, like Max thought, different from manipulating water. A [Space Mage]’s bread and butter spell wasn’t an actual spell. Xylem explained that when he opened the Space Safe, he actually made his hand into a focal point for space.

On the surface, Xylem’s hand had glowed slightly. But using his senses, Max could see that it bent space around it. In reality, Xylem was masterful weaving space to different spots. The technique was much more complicated than it looked. Max was finally able to get the hang of it when Xylem's time block ended.

He wasn’t able to do much, but Xylem assured him that he made good progress. It annoyed him however, after all he was able to learn Space Skip on instinct. He expressed his concerts to Xylem.

“Do you really think formally learning spells would be easy? Learning spells on instinct may come to some but expecting to learn every spell like that would only hinder your growth. You need a foundation to jump from before you fly.”

It made sense. After all, most water spells were just different ways to manipulate water. He never actually learned how mana and magic works, for all he knew, he could be casting completely wrong.

“I’ll come back tomorrow, try solving this.”

A small tear in the fabric of space opened. He reached in and removed a cube that was constantly moving space around itself. He set it on the table, and it seemed to bend the wood underneath. Emi cautiously sniffed the mystical cube. When she deemed it safe, she went back to her nap. Max carefully picked it up, causing the wood to bend back.

Max was instantly enthralled. He had always liked handheld puzzles on Earth, but a Nava space puzzle was on a completely different level. With a nod of satisfaction, Xylem stood up, leaving Max to the cube. Before he left, he wanted to talk with Vel. One teacher to another.

Bishop and the girls had left already. Since last night, Reep and Clammy both wanted to train. They were pushing themselves sparing against Bishop, and both had already felt the gains. Vel stayed to watch over Max. They had already decided that the students had to be with one of them at all times.

Vel sat quietly sipping tea. She offered Xylem a seat and the two got to talking.

“He is untrained and knows very little about magic in general.”

Vel nodded. “Indeed. When I first met him, he knew three spells. Among those was fisherman’s friend and Create Flame.”

“And the third?”

“I can’t give away all of the boy’s secrets, now can I.” Vel smirked.

“Indeed not. But what about training? What about common knowledge?”

“To why he knows so little. I can’t say, that is his story to tell, and I would be a lousy master if I let it slip. But for training… Max is different, at least for water. If he were to sit through Salae’s College exams, he would be classified as an instinct mage. After telling him how to manipulate water, he has created every spell he knows. Of course, I have been there to guide, but it has been mainly him.”

“Truly? An instinct mage? When was the last time someone was actually classified as one?” The splintered man was honestly shocked. Salae’s Magic College was a world-renowned institution. Many pioneers and front runners have been born from their tutorage. For a mage to be classified as instinctual, was rare.

“If I’m not mistaken the last was Grefith, Irons’ Palm. I assume you’ve heard the stories about him?”

“He… he is the Dwarf that creates iron constructs in battle?”

Vel nodded. “His manipulation level is rumored to be in the upper forties.”

Xylem whistled. Somehow.

“Max has an interest in enchanting and rune creation. I’m hoping that the classes from Lesterwood’s Mage Guild will be a good supplement for magical training.” Vel added.

“A [Space Mage] learning enchanting and rune smithing… He is going to be rich if he can get it working.”

Again, Vel nodded. “He’s a good kid.”

“Indeed.”

Xylem glanced at the boy and was caught off guard. Max was just about to finish the space puzzle. Max slid the last section of space to the correct position. The cube’s glowing faded.

Honestly Max was a little disappointed. Sure, he had completed the puzzle, but he expected something to happen. Where are the fireworks…

“Hey, [Arbor] Xylem.” He turned to where the man was sitting. He was staring agap at Max. “Is… is something wrong?”

Vel looked between the two.

“I think he is surprised you solved the cube already.”

“Oh yeah. It wasn’t that difficult. Once I found the pattern, the rest unrolled itself.”

“Found the pattern?” Xylem asked quietly.

“Sure, a pattern. At first, I thought it was a simple crisscross layered effect. But after some trial and error it clicked. It was a crisscross, but it was inverted.”

Xylem chuckled.

“Instinctual indeed.” He said quiet enough for only Vel to hear. She rolled her eyes.

“Alright. I will give you the next. It will be more difficult, but that one you just completed was supposed to take you until tomorrow.”

“Do you have more than just one? I found it kind of fun.” Grinned Max.

Xylem reached back into his personal space pocket. He held his hand out with two cubes and a prism.

“The smaller cube is the easier of the two, while the prism is the most difficult. The larger of the cube took me a few months to solve, back when I was a novice.”

“A few months, huh?” Max took it as a challenge.

“Indeed.” Xylem couldn’t help but smile at the boy’s eagerness. “I will be off then.”

“Ah. Thank you [Arbor] Xylem.”

Xylem left and Vel updated the wards. Max had already started on the second cube. Vel snorted.

“A little obsessed already?”

“Wha- No.” Spluttered Max.

“Come on, let's go train.”

“But I am training…”

Vel sighed. “You can sit in the corner. Let's go.”

Max grumbled something about Vel being a strict mom, but gave in.