Following a brief flurry of flying Fairies, everyone was grouped up, with the Party leaders at the head of every team. Once order was restored and everyone quieted down, Gabby began.

“As you can see, we have a few additional hands today. We’ve been seeing a sharp increase to the number of detected intrusions over the last two shifts we’ve assigned two of them to each quadrant,” Gabby announced.

Hushed whispers broke out here and there withing the crowd, but were quickly quieted by the Party leaders. Well shit, guess it is serious.

“So far we’ve only encountered Dire Ant scouts, but if the trend continues like it has in the past, we expect to see an actual invasion within the next several days,” Gabby said gravely. “There have been no serious injuries among the watchtower Parties as of yet. In the event your watchtower alerts, one of these Protectors will fly to you,” Gabby motioned to the Fairies standing behind him. “Wait at your tower for one of them to arrive. They will accompany you into the tunnels to save you in the event you cannot handle the threat by yourselves. Party leaders, fly forward to receive your watchtower assignments.”

The atmosphere was rather tense after that, and even the usual din of conversation as everyone split up was muted. Pel’s team was assigned to Q3-R3-T3 which was only one tower away from where one of the Protectors was stationed up. Hopefully if anything goes wrong, they’ll be ok. I can’t leave the tower still, and not being able to help is making me feel itchy. If Mat and the rest leave, I won’t even be able to see their status since I’m not in the Party. Pel knew that in a situation like that his anxiety would be through the roof, even knowing they’d be accompanied by someone strong.

The atmosphere in their assigned watchtower was also tense, the Fairies they were relieving for the morning were all on edge and no words were spoken at all as they left. Way different than the usual small talk and off-hand comments. Looking out the windows at the normally creepy green and black shadows felt extra ominous today. Pel was in the mood to hit Level 5 today. I can totally hit 5 from 3 in a day, right? What can I do? Fuck feeling so useless in these types of situations. If I had skipped sleep the last two nights, or maybe partied more would be I helpful by now?

Pel started doing push-ups with a single-minded focus. Breathe in and drop down, push up and breathe out, in and down, up and out. If I go faster than yesterday, I can get more exercises in before the end of shift. In and down, up and out. When I get to Ty’s I’m going to bare-ass sit on the that fucking stone. In and down, up and out. What’s the point in being a Fairy that heals if I don’t have a heal? In, down, up, out. Fairies are weak, but supposedly our magic is strong. We’re fast in the air, but easily eaten if caught. In, down, up, out. I’ve fallen into their pace, this utopian-esque Fairy hippy commune. In, down, up, out.

There are real dangers out there. According to Tina we have just over 83,000 Fairies living here. The fact that there isn’t three quarters of a million speaks to how difficult it is for them to stay alive. In, down, up, out. Pel continued thinking over the situation as his arms pumped. He was two Fairies up from being the weakest of the weak. Even ants can kill us at this Level unless we form a whole fucking Party. Even then, we still might need backup from a high Level Protector. Recognizing he wasn’t, and probably would never be, a combat Fairy he still wanted to help. Healing is helping. If I can get strong enough to keep my team alive, that directly translates into offensive power.

Pel was beginning to think the nightly Parties were fun celebrations for the young generations, but congratulatory celebrations for the older ones, thrown because they were still alive. How much childlike wonder can you really retain after hundreds of years of seeing your people get whittled away? In, down, up, out.

Pel eventually faceplanted the floor; his Stamina spent. A moment later he slowly picked himself up and walked silently to the nearest window. Everything was green; no current danger. He looked at the others, at Mat, at Raki and contemplated. If Mat went out there and never came back, how would I feel? I think I’d be sadder for Raki if Mat was gone. They totally have some kind of bromance thing going on.

A nearby watchtower flipped red outside Pel’s window.

“Watchtower alert!” he yelled, not taking his eyes away. He felt the press of bodies against his sides and back as the others rushed over to look.

“Alright everyone, pause training,” Ri announced. “Pick a window and keep watch in every direc- “

The interior of their watchtower changed from laser-tag green to warning-beacon red.

“EVERYONE FORM UP!” Ri shouted, sending everyone into a scramble. “Raki, contact command and let them know QRT3 is under alert. We are requesting the presence of a Protector.”

Ri walked to the crate sitting beside the small round table and lifted it up. “Everyone, grab a potion. Wait until we leave to drink it, that way the effects will last for at least a portion of our time in the tunnels.”

Pel sat quietly on the ledge watching the commotion in the room. He felt a bit numb, like he was watching a nightmare play out.

“Apple!” Ri shouted as he checked over his armor. “Stay in the fucking tower. Do not leave until we return. Got it?”

“Y-Yeah, I got it,” Pel mumbled.

“And keep watch! Out there!” Ri pointed.

Turning to face out the window he looked at the other red watchtower poking over The Roots. In the left corner of his vision a red glow, hidden behind the roots caught his attention.

“Uh, another watchtower alert! I can’t actually see the cap from here, but the green in that direction is definitely red now!” Pel announced.

“Raki, ETA on our Pro- “

A thump of air gusted through the watchtower, ruffling hairs, clothes, and bodies alike.

“Already here, Party leader. Let’s form up, and fly out,” the armored new arrival snapped. How fucking fast was he moving just now? Pel thought. With time for a few snapped salutes, and downing their potions, the team was out the windows and Pel was…all alone.

“Well, fuck,” Pel said to nobody, looking around the room. This place is bigger when it isn’t crowded. He looked back out the windows just in time to see his friends dive into a dark tunnel in the near distance. Staring into the gloom was getting nobody anywhere, and with his Stamina close to one third he decided to do squats at the window. In, clench, down, up, slow exhale, repeat. Every time Pel came up he looked out the windows. Then back down and up. Catching his rhythm, he looked out a different window each time he came up, all the while worrying about what was happening down in the tunnels.

He soon went down and couldn’t get up; out of Stamina once more. Laying on the ground he stared at the ceiling for a bit before his eyes slowly slid toward the round table, and the box of Stamina potions it was holding. Ri did say that everyone should take one…ah, fuck it. Pel struggled to his feet and walked over to the crate of Stamina potions. Picking up one of the bottles, he popped the cork out and before he could rethink his decision, down the whole thing.

Surprisingly, it tasted like cinnamon orange juice. Licking his lips, he set the empty bottle back down and waited. For about three seconds. A warm sensation slid out from his stomach to coat his insides all the way down to the tips of his fingers. This makes me feel wet inside. His interface notification icon began to blink in the corner of his vision, so he focused on it to make it open.

Notification

You have consumed 1x Weak Stamina Potion. 50 Stamina is instantly restored!

For the next 10 minutes, Stamina Regeneration is increased by 2/min.

“Wow, 2 Stamina per minute is over four times my regular regeneration. Let’s fucking go then!” Pel said energetically. He felt refreshed, and amped up. He decided to go hard with burpees. Squat, down to push-up, do the push-up, legs in, squat position, squat jump, absorb the landing. Do it again. Again. Again.

Every time Pel jumped and landed, he took a breath’s time to look out the windows. Aside from the two watchtowers he was already aware of, no additional red lights could be seen. Surprisingly, he didn’t run out of stamina until just after the 10 minutes was over, and it seemed his efforts had paid off. Another notification icon was pulsing unobtrusively in his vision.

Notification

Congratulations, your recent physical efforts have awarded you 1 natural Vitality Point!

Worth it, Pel thought as he lay in a heap on the floor. He returned to peer out the windows once he could move, looking toward the tunnel his team had disappeared into. It’s been less than 20 minutes probably; how much longer will they be gone? How long is too long? Wishing he could help, all Pel could do was sit there and wait for his Stamina to regenerate. He’d had already ‘snuck’ one Stamina potion, but he wasn’t confident he could get off lightly with taking a second one; they seemed rare here in The Mother Tree.

Pel periodically changed windows, trying to keep an eye out in as many directions as possible. The distant, just-out-of-view watchtower casting the red glow over The Roots seemed to have gone back to green at some point. His watchtower, and the one close enough to actually see were still red. So then, it’s not just Ri and Party who haven’t come back yet. Waiting alone in the watchtower was worse than Pel had imagined it would be. Watching the scenery as much as his Stamina count was certainly not making the time flow any faster. By the time Pel’s Stamina was fully regenerated, the team still wasn’t back. Not quite an hour now, Pel thought. With nothing else to do he continued doing physical exercises.

Half way through his next rest period the watchtower around him transitioned back to green. Fucking finally! I hope everyone’s ok. Pel rushed to the window closest to the tunnel his team went into, but was taken by surprise when the sound of wind came whistling from behind him several long minutes later. Spinning around, Pel saw the Protector setting a clammy looking Ri down on a stool, a piece of someone’s clothing ripped into strips and bound around a leaky leg. I didn’t know Fairy blood was blue.

“Where is everyone else?” Pel asked anxiously as his eyes flicked from window to window.

“They’ll be here shortly. I’m gonna grab someone who can heal, I’ll be right back,” the Protector replied before practically vanishing in a blur.

“Ok, seriously,” Pel looked to Ri, “how fucking fast is that guy? And what the fuck happened down there? Also, why do we bleed blue?”

Ri took a steadying breath through clenched teeth, his hands pressed firmly against the strips of clothing binding his leg.

“Dunno how fast he is, but at Level 182 I’d bet it’s no lower than 30 meters per second,” Ri said. “My leg nearly got chomped off mid-thigh by a Dire Ant Assassin, and of course we bleed blue. Our bodies are made from Mana.

“It’s not like we actually bleed though,” said a tired voice which caused Ri to tilt his head in acquiescence. Turning quickly once again, Pel saw Mat and team taking seats along the ledge as they popped in through the windows. Mat was missing his shirt, which explained where the cloth around Ri’s leg came from. Everyone had various minor wounds all over, looking positively drained.

“We don’t have blood vessels,” Mat continued. “Or even muscles and organs; not really.”

“That’s quite right, young Mat,” said a new voice amidst another gust of wind. I’m really getting tired of people speaking behind me, Pel thought as he turned once more to put eyes on the speaker. A Water Fairy with hair like deep-blue breaking waves was quickly walking toward Ri.

“What Ri here is losing, is called Essence,” the Water Fairy said. “Apple, did Ty teach you anything about using Mana yet?” How does he know about me and Ty? Pel thought.

“Aside from a breathing exercise,” Pel replied, “just that Voidstones suck.”

“Ha! That they do!” the man laughed. “Well, come over here then. Any chance this old Fairy gets to show that tablet termite up is a good day. Oh! Where are my manners. My name is Key, but without the ‘e’.”

Tablet termite? He doesn’t look any older than any other Fairy around here. Key with no ‘e’? So, Ky? Pel walked over toward Ky, leaving the rest of the team to rest.

“What do you need me for, I’m only Level 3,” Pel said.

“I’m going to cast a spell called [Stream of Insight] on you, and then I’m going to heal Ri.” Ky informed him. “The spell will allow you to sense my own Mana as though it were yours, to an extent, as it forms the [Mending Water] skill. As the spell implies, will grant you a certain amount of insight into how Mana flows. Better than suffering the cold caress of a Voidstone anyway.”

“Well, that sounds fantastic,” Pel replied happily. Finally, some actual instruction! Why didn’t Tina assign me to Ky in the first place?

“Stand still for a moment,” Ky instructed. He pointed his right index finger at Pel’s face. After a second, a literal thin stream of water gently shot out of Ky’s finger. It snaked through the air, and around Pel’s head. The stream cut off after only a moment, and as Pel raised his eyes to watch it he saw as it flattened out like a plump ribbon and began to undulate softly like a crown of waves.

“Alright, all I need for you to do is close your eyes and place your hand on my back as I heal Ri.” Ky said to Pel. Looking down at Ri’s wrapped leg Ky’s expression softened. “Sorry, but I’m going to have to remove the binding,” eliciting a groan from Ri.

“J-just be quick, p-please,” Ri squeezed out through his teeth.

Ky simply nodded, and flicked his finger toward Ri’s leg. A hair thin crescent of blue water streaked from his finger tip and cleanly sliced the clothing in half to reveal Ri’s mangled upper thigh without leaving a scratch itself. I can’t wait to learn magic! Pel thought, excited at the prospect despite the terrible current situation. As soon as the binding was removed the flow of Ri’s Essence quickened.

“Now, Apple,” was all the warning Ky gave. Pel quickly placed his hands in the middle of Ky’s back, between his shoulder blades, and closed his eyes. Beginning the breathing technique right away, Pel attempted to clear his mind and focus.

“[Mending Water],” Ky spoke softly, just barely audible. For several seconds nothing seemed to be happening, and Pel was worried that he wasn’t doing something correctly. Until he felt something like a fart bubble between his butt-cheeks, except it was at the base of his skull and traveled down his neck, then out along the center of his arm to the tip of his index finger. It felt like the bubble could have traveled many different ways, this was just one path of many that it had taken. The bubble popped, something fast and complex occurred that he couldn’t comprehend, and Pel could feel his Mana flowing out beyond his finger.

Distantly, beyond his internal concentration, Pel could hear a sound like shallow water flowing over rocks. The Mana that left him was still part of the whole, controlled, and contained in a growing space beyond his body. Not my finger, not my Mana, Pel thought. Ky’s finger, Ky’s Mana. It felt like a wobbly orb that was constantly in motion, and the Mana was constantly swirling and tumbling with it. Ky leaned forward, and Pel bent at the waist to stay in contact with him.

Ri let out a sigh that was part pain, part surprise, and part relief. The orb of swirling Mana changed shape, contouring to the object it encountered. Ri’s leg, Pel realized. Through the Mana, he could feel the shape of the gash, like water flowing into a crevice. This is kinda gross.

Little tingling bubbles, like fizz, began along the surface of the damage. With each tingle Pel could sense that Mana within the watery orb vanished and more left his body to replace it. There was something cold, and hard within the wound that stole the most Mana from the orb, and the tingling around it was the most intense anywhere. Gradually the wound got smaller until it closed off completely. Suddenly Pel’s hand was touching the air, and he opened his eyes.

Ri was poking and prodding his leg, now completely cleaned and healed. Above Ky’s finger was a ball of water with a bunch of dirt and Fairy blood swirling around inside it. Water suddenly splashed onto Pel’s head, and as he looked up it appeared that the insight spell Ky cast had worn off. Ky pointed his finger toward a nearby window, and the ball of gross was shot through it.

“Any questions, Apple?” Ky asked as he walked over to the rest of the team.

“What was that bubble I felt traveling through my body?” Pel asked. “What happened there right when the bubble popped and the Mana left my body? Why could I still feel the Mana after it left my body? What was the tingling sensation I felt when your spell touched Ri? What was the cold, hard thing?”

“The bubble, as you called it,” Ky began, summoning another orb of Mending Water, “was what Water Fairies call ‘The Drop’. That feeling will be different for each type of Racial magic. It’s basically the seed of a Racial spell made from Mana and intent. There’s a big difference between normal spells, and Racial spells. Racial spells are self-contained magic, for Water Fairies it’s The Drop, and require no specialized knowledge to cast.”

“What about normal spells?” Pel asked, watching Ky essentially rub a ball of water over the other members of his team.

“What did you feel right when the Mana left your body?” Ky asked in return.

“I couldn’t tell, something happened really fast and I couldn’t keep up,” Pel replied. “The Mana just…went in a bunch of different directions, came back together and then that,” Pel pointed to the ball of water hovering in front of Ky’s finger, “formed afterward.”

“What you felt was the Spell Pattern,” Ky explained. “Normal spells are extrinsic, requiring the caster to shape their Mana manually to form the Spell Pattern. Racial spells are intrinsic, and are cast naturally without any effort beyond simply willing them to be cast.”

Pel’s mind cleared, and his notification icon blinked. He opened it, seeing a notification informing him that he had earned a natural point in Clarity.

“Nice! Two natural points in a day!” Pel exclaimed.

“You got two Clarity points for that?” Ri asked.

“No, just one. But I got another one in Vitality earlier after I took a Stamina potion while everyone was fighting ants.” Pel explained.

“Yea well, we all got a Level!” Mat said triumphantly. “It was terrifying!”

“Wait, why did you take one of the potions?” Ri asked, sounding a little upset.

“Earlier you told everyone to take one,” Pel said.

“I meant everyone in the Party. Everyone who was going into the tunnels,” Ri replied.

“Well, you didn’t specify,” Pel said, shrugging. Ri shook his head, mumbling about usage reports.

“Back to your questions, Apple,” Ky said, shooting another ball of dirty water out a window. “You could still feel the Mana that left my body, because I was still connected to it. For a channeled spell like [Mending Water] a connection remains open between my internal Mana and the external spell. With a spell like, say, [Water Ball] you wouldn’t feel a connection to the Mana itself after the spell finished forming.

“The tingling sensation you felt while I was healing Ri was the loss of Mana from the spell as it was taken by Ri’s body to accelerate his healing process,” he continued. “It was basically expended as fuel, like wood for a fire. As for the ‘cold thing’, that was Ri’s skeletal Core.”

“Skeletal Core?” Pel asked. Seriously, where the fuck am I supposed to learn all this stuff? Do we have a library somewhere?

“Our physical bodies are entirely made of Mana,” Ky continued. “Our Cores are made from Mana condensed into a fully solid crystal in the shape of a simplified skeleton which forms the foundation that the rest of our body is shaped around. Our ‘flesh’, which we call Essence, is a semi-firm saturated Mana gel with the elastic consistency that flesh-and-blood muscles would have. With a little extra jiggle. Our entire physiology is actu-“

“Sorry Ky, Gabby needs you in quadrant 4. Time to go,” the Protector interrupted.

“More patients? Well, lead the way,” Ky said, flinging the last of the dirty water out the window. “Apple, come find me whenever you have more questions Ty can’t, or won’t, answer.”

“Thank you, Ky,” Ri said sincerely, waving at the rest of the team to do the same.

“Thank you, Ky!” Pel and everyone said together.

“It’s been a pleasure!” Ky replied, giving a small bow before leaving with the Protector.

“Alright you lot,” Ri announced, “now that you’re all healed up, back to exercising!”

“Aw, but-“ Raki began.

“If you have time to complain, you have time for push-ups!” Ri interrupted. “Keep an eye on your Stamina. With the exception of Apple, nobody is allowed to use more Stamina than a potion can restore. Now, get to it!”

I have to be close to Level 4, Pel thought. Gotta give it my all. If I can Level Up before I go to Ty’s I’ll have more Mana to torture myself with. With nobody but him allowed to completely empty their Stamina reserves Pel thought he’d finally be able to last longer than the rest of them, but he was wrong. He took a seat by one of the windows, waiting for Mat to finish.

“So, was that the first time you’ve been in the tunnels?” Pel asked after Mat took up watch at a nearby window.

“Yep. They’re creepy,” Mat nodded. “There isn’t much light, just what the moss and mycelium provided.”

“What was it like fighting the Dire Ants?” Pel asked.

“I thought it was going to be fun, but it was really scary,” Mat said. “I’ve never had anything try to kill me before. They’re huge, too! Their head reaches your chest, and they’re about as long as we are tall.

“Their mandibles are long and sharp,” Raki chimed in from the other side of Pel, “and their legs and feet have stabby bits that stick out.”

“How many were there?” Pel asked.

“There were two scouts,” said Mat, “and after that two Dire Ant assassins ambushed us. We worked together pretty well with Ri telling us what to do, but we kinda fell apart when the ambush took him out first.”

“Luckily the Protector was there, or else…” Raki said, glancing toward Ri who was sitting at the table.

“Who are the Protectors, by the way?” Pel asked.

“That’s right, you haven’t been outside yet,” Mat said. “They’re usually the ones who guard The Branches. They’re all over Level 100 and have gone through their first Race Evolution.”

“Watchtower alert!” Liki shouted from the other side of the room. Everyone rushed over to see. Just barely visible over a tangle of roots was the tip of glowing red mushroom cap.

“Alright, alright,” Ri said, “go back to your own windows.”

With the mood suitably re-intensified, everyone went back to watch until their Stamina returned. After push-ups was sit-ups, half-way through which the second shift showed up to relieve them. A somber ‘good luck’ was the only exchange given. Arriving at the central watchtower to debrief for the day, Pel flew past many disheveled groups. Seems quite a few people ended up in the tunnels today.

The post shift debriefs confirmed it; twelve different watchtowers had reports to give. No casualties, likely due to the presence of the Protectors, but many injuries; some of which had not seen healing. Once Gabby dismissed them, Pel and Mat flew upward together, commenting that it already felt about time for the next birthday party to start despite not even being noon yet.

“Hey,” Mat said, “lets stop at Clover’s place so I can get a new shirt.”

“Yea, sure.” Pel replied, angling off with Mat as they spotted the flower fields outside the giant pants shaped building.

“Why are some buildings shaped like things,” Pel asked.

“I’ve never really thought about it, but I have no idea,” Mat replied.

Dodging a few playful motes over the field, they arrived at Clover’s and went inside. It was just as Pel remembered it to be, with tables randomly standing everywhere compared to the orderly, color-coded stacks of petals on top of them.

“Hey you two!” Clover said, looking up from her crafting table. “Mat! Where is your shirt?”

“I used it as a bandage on Party leader Ri’s leg when he was bitten by a Dire Ant earlier,” Mat replied.

“My art is not meant to be bandages!” Clover said indignantly. “Was Ri at least ok?”

“One of the protectors had to grab a healer to save him, it was pretty bad.” Pel chimed in. “But after healing he was fine.”

“So, in other words,” Clover pondered, “my clothing helped Ri stay alive long enough to receive healing?”

“Um, sure. I guess,” Mat shrugged.

“Hmm, I can probably use that for advertisement,” Clover said, cupping her chin in thought. Her face lit up with excitement, raising her hands like she was framing a sign she said, “Clover’s Coverings, it might save your life!” Mat and Pel shared a look.

“Anyway, I suppose you’re here for a new shirt then. You want one like the one you ruined?” Clover asked pointedly. Mat just nodded, sending Clover into a quick flurry of wings and petals. Shoving her current project to the side, she laid out the orange and blue petals for Mat’s new shirt. Her magic was still some of the most magic magic that Pel had seen so far. Pel partially disregarded Ky’s healing since his eyes had been closed at the time he healed Ri, and seeing a ball of water slowly wipe away bruises and small scrapes was rather tame compared to shrinking, growing, and fusing petals together with glowing hands. Damn I can’t wait to get my own magic!

“Well, that should do it,” Clover announced, handing Mat his new shirt. “Don’t ruin it!”

“Thank you, Clover, I’ll do my best.” Mat replied, slipping the new shirt over his head.

“Anything for you, Apple?” Clover asked.

“No thank you, I’m still loving my current outfit!” Pel replied.

“Well, whenever you feel like something new, or when those start to fall apart naturally,” Clover gave Mat the stink eye, “come on back! I’ve got’cha covered!”

“Sure thing! Thanks, Clover,” Pel replied.

Waving goodbye to Clover, Mat and Pel exited the building and took flight toward Ty’s place further up The Mother Tree. Mat tugged at his new shirt a few times as they flew, and Pel thought it looked a little snug. Note to self, keep Clover happy.