Let us examine the various unique forms of life and magic that have arisen precisely because of the World Event known as The Shattering. Some of you readers who are more educated might immediately reference such creatures as the fabled Water Ents - the keepers of the sea, as a child perhaps you thought of the Sand Dolphins who swim through sand as if sparkling water? Maybe, even some of you may yet still dream to encounter a true creature of legend, a Memory Serpent. Or perhaps some of you are holding out hope to stumble upon a fortune field?

Show of hands, how many of you thought of the common refuse fly?

- Meeting of [Scholars], free lecture by Ownlands Hawk Level 24 [Field Researcher]

For a moment there, Jayke was staring at an endless pattern before he was plunged into it and found himself somewhere else. He swatted at a fly buzzing by his ear.

Blue lettering filled the air, scrawled out in a perfect glowing medium. Magic, he observed. Of what type? Jayke couldn't readily determine that though he did assume it was part of the [Arcane Proctor's] [Mass Arcane Trials] Skill.

"Rules." Someone else said. The voice was odd in its resonance, almost familiar but not quite there. Familiarity.

Jayke frowned and made eye-contact with his fellow tester.

A pair of eyes stared back. There was some surprise in them just as there was in Jayke's. Recognizable surprise, Jayke came to realize. He stood slightly taller than Jayke, his hair was short but had a soft luster. His eyes had a faint glow, he noticed, as if they were tracing magic.

His skin was beige tinged with something... magical?

"You're the pureblood." The man said calmly. "I've heard of you." While calm, there was an air of caution to the attuned human's words. His hands were free at his side.

"You're... the attuned human, I'm assuming." Jayke had many questions immediately.

Their body structures didn't radically differ except some slight proportions. The most radical differences were in the texture of their features. The other tester was somewhat softer and elegant, an air of magic about him. Jayke, in comparison, was grounded and real. Regular and believable. Something about the attuned human was otherworldly. If only Jayke could place it.

"I am Kaul Semeth." The attuned ventured.

"Jayke Cipher." He responded before adding, "I've never met an attuned before."

Kaul tilted his head, an expression slightly irregular. It was something about the motion. "I have never met a pureblood before but... I warn you if you seek my magic power I am more than capable of defending myself."

Jayke blinked in surprise. "Excuse me?" He said. "I'm not interested in stealing magic power."

Kaul relaxed a little. "There are stories." He said simply, regarding Jayke with some suspicion. "You have been warned."

"Okay..."

Jayke frowned. There was some type of interspecies sentiment he was missing here. While he had many questions, he had the entire trial to ask Kaul. For now, they had to focus on the glowing rules. The rules had been floating there the whole time. Both, it seemed, were eager to get to the trials.

"Face the challenges awaiting in your surroundings. Success to be determined at the end of the trial." Kaul read.

They were surrounded by mossy walls partially secluded from what lay beyond them. But through the cracks and ambiance, Jayke could determine they were in some kind of forest. The smell of fresh loam and wet plants crept its way into his awareness.

In fact, he'd bet against Ercur they were in some kind of forest. A quick peek outside, through some of the ruined walls confirmed it.

"We're in a forest. What's the trial's end then?" He flipped his attention back to the glowing lettering.

Kaul read it for him, answering his question simultaneously. "The test will end once enough challenges are completed or once enough ground has been covered."

"So we just walk then?" Jayke asked.

"That seems to be the case."

Jayke lead the way, he kept his protective armor at a low setting. This was primarily to conserve mana but also helped his reaction when real danger appeared. Unlike when facing Hughanz and Hush, his armor was fully encompassing. He did not purposely leave his joints exposed.

It didn't take long for him to notice a trait in the attuned human. Jayke was only just beginning to feel tired when Kaul began to flag. That was curious, did his subrace not need for physicality? For his sake, Jayke slowed, noting that the attuned was indeed not a physical race. Despite that lack of stamina, Kaul seemed to be extremely alert.

He wasn't sure how much of the disparity was from his [Traveler's Many-Pocketed Cloak] and the massive boost to health and constitution - which he assumed also meant stamina - from the [Decoction of the Mammoth]. Nonetheless, he was fairly certain he could judge a regular human's stamina. The attuned's limit was definitely lower.

Jayke's detection program was running full tilt. There have since been a number of modifications, his modular design of the spell had helped in that regard immensely. Without having the signature of an enemy or object to detect, he'd implemented a movement threshold to keep track of. Once something passed it, it would flash red. In the future, he'd amend this, but for now, that was how it worked.

Even with that, Kaul was the first to say something.

"There are magical beings ahead. We should be wary."

"I don't see any movement." Jayke stared ahead. "Or anything suspicious." Did the attuned human have some kind of Skill or ability to sense beings?

"That means nothing. There may be illusions, concealment. These are arcane trials after all." Kaul didn't seem fazed. To him, Jayke was sure he was just stating the obvious. "They are straight ahead."

"What's the challenge then? Eliminate them? Avoid them?"

"We cannot determine that yet. Hold still, pureblood. We must be ready for battle regardless." Kaul muttered something. Jayke caught the whisper. "[Sharp Mind]."

Jayke felt something harmless impact him. It traveled up his torso, up his neck, and into his head. Rather than pierce it, which would've been alarming, it surrounded his mind. The feeling settled before he could register it. And once he had the mental faculty to address it, he realized fastly that it was magic. A spell.

"You're an [Enchanter]?" Jayke asked him. He'd cast a spell on him.

"[Combat Enchanter]. A specialized Class." Kaul spoke. "That spell will help your reaction and mental speed. Your focus. And you?"

"Protection, mostly. I can shield us effectively." Jayke felt his mind move faster. He had spoken a little faster than he had intended. Weird, his tongue had almost tripped. It was the first time a spell had been cast on him in this manner.

They approached a thicket of trees that acted as a wall. According to Kaul, beyond them lie whatever magical presence he had detected. One of these challenges, he supposed.

Jayke maneuvered through the least-branched area of the tree. Kaul followed suit. Funnily, body language seemed to translate and both were similarly on the same page.

Then they were peering down into an open stone area. They were above, on a ledge. If they'd been rushing through the trees, they'd have shot off a slope. Their vantage point overlooked the mouth of a cave that was partially covered by various plant life. Jayke's vision lit up in red as figures moved about.

Humanoids. Jayke might've read about them before, but they seemed familiar regardless. Were they from a monster encyclopedia? There was magic about them. They were green-

"Arcane Goblins," Kaul whispered. "They are like the attuned to the pureblood. A magical race." His definition was immediate.

The man seemed particularly focused, more so than Jayke would credit a normal human, well, normal to him. Maybe that was an aspect of his race?

"What is the challenge then?" Jayke wasn't sure.

Just then glowing letters appeared in front of him. They were a function of the [Mass Arcane Trials] rather than a System message. A Quest had never been generated but... perhaps that made some sense considering this was all the result of a Skill.

"There is your answer," Kaul said. His eyes traced the moving goblins below, they were sharp, focused.

They were tasked with eliminating the goblins.

"What are they capable of?" Jayke observed the arcane goblins. They were green, mostly. In some cases, there was another color warring with their pallette. They were mostly skinny. Their skin was pockmarked with varied ugliness. But they were also subtly covered with many magical effects.

Jayke could tell with his [Minor Data Sense]. Some of those effects were simple shields, of varying powers. Those were markedly easier to identify, they were intuitive to him. Some of those effects had something to do with magical elements that Jayke had previously identified in the magical crystals from Arcane Star - the [Magical Shopkeeper's] shop.

Some were even mixed with the protective effects Jayke noticed.

"The least of their race is capable of small cantrips. The best of them are capable of middling magics. We can assume the majority are capable of smaller spells." Kaul explained.

"They're sporting various magical protections," Jayke added, to Kaul's raised eyebrow. "Elemental protections mostly. They've got other effects on them as well."

Kaul responded after a moment. "I see them now."

His odd tracing eyes were taking in the entire cavemouth. This must be their nest. Or was home the correct term? Den? Jayke wasn't sure, but a soft breeze brought the smell over. Maybe bathroom was the word he was looking for.

"We can maintain our position here while I send out my magic." Jayke had done some reading, as he did, and found the most accurate term for his orb turrets was 'construct'.

Well, he had his [Code Construct] now, too. He supposed it was similar in function to his orb turrets. Both were creations that would serve a purpose. It wasn't that he was inexperienced with his [Code Constructs] he just hadn't whipped up a program for them. Without that, they'd be blank slates.

Plus the caveat of his orb-turret spell was that it interacted with a battery of protective magic to shoot forcebolts, so he used them instead. He could puzzle out something with his [Code Constructs] once he had time to get something ready.

"If you believe that is best," Kaul said warily. "This is part of my weakness. I cannot handle large groups. My magic is less effective at that."

"Then this might be considered my strength." Jayke began casting his spells. "At least, from a controlled distance it is."

His [Mageglove's] effect was less pronounced on his code magic but the resultant orb that the former magic attached to was sturdier than it would normally have been. All of his equipment had come through except for his consumables. His potions and rations were gone. Along with his berries and translation orb.

He sent his orb turrets down and around. They drifted down lazily until an alarm was set off. The arcane goblins began running away, only to recoup and turn around. They unleashed a wave of spells once they turned. A number of them had already been cracked by the orb turrets' forcebolts.

Jayke recognized the tactic they were employing. Volleys.

He only sent three. It was as much as he had time for before the first one was noticed. Each one cracked about six of the arcane goblins before the first one failed. In quick succession, the other two orbs were broken down as well. The entire scene only took a few minutes but there had been a lot of magical discharge. His spells had been made to last, after all.

"What manner of magic is that?" Kaul asked him curiously. From his look, he was impressed. "Living magic?"

Jayke smiled. "A spell of mine." He'd heard of living magic. His wasn't.

"Are you a [Sorcerer]?" Kaul asked. "That... almost looked freeform." Freeform magic was purely by intent and feeling, yet masterful in control.

The goblins were in a panic. Their numbers were wiped out and a number of bodies were on the floor. Most just had broken bones, some were unconscious. A few were dead.

Jayke found the deed no different than siccing his facility turrets on abominations. He was, however, slightly guilty. They hadn't done anything to him, after all. But this was his new reality. It was also, according to Xelfeath, an entirely new space. This was all created by a Skill. That little detail would've taken him some time to process if he didn't already have something similar. He was fairly certain, actually scratch that, suspiciously certain, that these beings weren't real and it was impossible to die here. Nonetheless, he was being tested.

"No, just a [Mage]. Like I told you, I can protect us."

Jayke wasn't a [Sorcerer] since he wasn't born with this magic. Really, he got his power from the rainbow sea of potential during his transfer here. That might've qualified him as a [Warlock] but the System didn't think so. Like Jayke, it agreed he was most fittingly described as a [Mage]. Someone who attained magic with no specific reference to the method in which they did. A catch-all term basically.

"Those aren't shields," Kaul pointed out.

"True," He agreed. Kaul raised an eyebrow and Jayke shrugged. The [Mage] seemed interested in his particular brand of magic, but that might've just been due to Kaul's nature.

He'd done some scouting in the training rooms. This capability wasn't out of the question. Many fellow testers were capable of greater effects. He wasn't averse to utilizing this but he was still wary of how significant his magic might appear. He didn't know what the consequences of drawing attention might be but he was against it for the most part, although further testing might require just that. He'd need to find a balance.

Although with each passing day he realized how little the world cared about his magic.

An arcane goblin, this one a sea-green, released an icicle as a projectile into the forest below. Jayke had sent his orbs around, so their perception of their direction was off. There were only about a dozen or so arcane goblins now. A handful were fearfully casting blindly.

"I can handle them now," Kaul said. Despite their conversation, both were observing the actions of the arcane goblins below.

"You're sure? They're casting some type of extra protection." Jayke watched them from above like a hawk. His gaze was somehow as piercing as an eagle's. No, more like an owl. Knowing not piercing. [Minor Data Sense].

"Their meager effects will not protect them." Kaul stood up, slowly making his way down. He took some care to stay out of sight but was obviously confident.

Jayke almost reached out to him to stop him. But Kaul seemed determined, stubborn even, to prove himself. He sat back.

He observed with his [Minor Data Sense] opting to stay above for a better view of the whole cavemouth. Support Kaul when necessary. His eyes tracked the arcane goblins as they spotted Kaul. The attuned was positively covered in enchantments by this point. They were numerous and overloaded what little understanding Jayke had from staring at someone's vanilla data. This magic was something else entirely more complex than any other he had observed. Or so he sensed.

Some of them were visible effects on his skin which began to lightly glow. Jayke knew there was more going on than the apparent sigils that arose around his body. The real magic was happening in the background. Only Jayke could see it past all the comparatively flashy effects.

The arcane goblins turned towards him with a screech. A fireball - the work of four arcane goblins - crashed against him.

"Shit."

Jayke's shield, at this distance, only partially blocked the collision. A preset configuration that sloped at an angle to divert the force off of Kaul. The magic exploded, ripping apart his shield and relaying that jarring effect that happened when his shields broke. Jayke was mentally accustomed to the feedback by this point but couldn't help but flinch for Kaul.

The attuned walked out of the explosion unscathed. He looked confused until he looked back up at Jayke and realized the helpful shield had been him.

Jayke's [Mageglove] lowered. "Maybe he doesn't need my help right now." Though Jayke could easily see how this strategy of Kaul's wouldn't have worked against the full count of arcane goblins. He would've been bombarded to a standstill.

Kaul stepped forward and leapt a horizontal distance of maybe five meters. The arcane goblins flinched but threw up their hands and began chanting furiously. They were lead by the only arcane goblin with a beard. A few others that held staves were exempt from the chanting. Instead, those excluded stepped in front of Kaul.

They screeched in rage, and Jayke saw spittle flying.

Their staves shined and twin blasts of lighting erupted from their foci. Kaul stepped into and smacked away the snaking light. Then he dashed forward and instead of sparing some as Jayke unconsciously did, his hands fell heavily. The arcane goblins died. His strength was inhuman and his speed more so.

Being too close, one goblin reached for Kaul's face. It stabbed at him with dirty nails but Kaul ruthlessly put it down. Even Jayke flinched at the brutal violence. The somewhat focused, calm, attuned was intense. How much of that was a racial trait?

He dodged around the arcane goblns' thrown spells like they were moving three times as slow. Jayke blinked at the aftermath. The approximate dozen had been reduced to an exact six. The chanters.

Then the bearded arcane goblin turned and slammed his hands on the ground. A wave of green burst forth from the ground. It blanketed the entire area in an instant. Jayke's eyes widened when he realized what it was. He hadn't been paying attention to the spellcasting, he'd been watching Kaul absolutely decimate the stragglers. But the wave of magic that just went out...

The magic had some property of healing. It seeped into the unconscious arcane goblins, the crippled ones, even the mortally wounded, and a handful of the almost-certainly dead. Many of them stood up as the older arcane goblin fell down. He shriveled. His hand went out towards Kaul, crumbling to dust before something escaped his throat. He was dead.

Green bodies dusted themselves off, standing up and taking stock. Incomprehensible language filtered through the area, starting low and confused and rising to shock and rage. Eyes locked onto the elder's ashes.

Every ugly face present turned to Kaul. The [Combat Enchanter] took a step back. The battlefield became a muttered chant. Screams of rage sprinkled on top. And Kaul? Kaul became a blur, suddenly the target of dozens of spells. He countered a handful of them, somehow killing their casters. But it was too much.

Jayke crouched low and worked at sending another orb turret. The battle was audible even up at Jayke's ledge. Right as he finished his first orb turret something thudded against the back of his head. He kicked the orb turret down and whirled around.

It had bounced off his armor. A rock? From a sling maybe?

"What the hell?" He said, scanning the trees. Immediately, red figures outlined above. He'd already gotten the signatures from those below. Arcane goblins, in the trees. A returning hunting party?

He glanced down at Kaul and realized the attuned had his hands full. Jayke's orb turret was helping but now he had his own problems. His back was against a rather steep ledge. If he took it slowly, he would've been able to make his way down like Kaul did but even the attuned had done so with unnatural grace. Jayke didn't want to think about being forced off of it.

He had enough of that from Sand Rabbits. The little devils.

The first spell was blocked by a simple shield. Jayke grinned-

His eyes widened. They were casting. This whole time. He flexed his [Mageglove]. A preset formation of shields sprang into existence.

"[Reinforce]!" He yelled.

Jayke watched as his preset shield formation became opaque. They hardened and solidified as his Skill took hold. The enemies invisible to him now - blocked by his shields - he wasn't sure when-

The magical barrage crashed against it. The shields shuddered but held. Their positions compounded their integrity. Jayke enhanced his armor in response to the power these new arcane goblins were wielding.

He stole a quick glance around his fortification. They were still in the trees. Chanting again. What was his move then? "Stick to what works Jayke. You don't have great offensive capabilities right now but you've secured your position."

He spent precious seconds creating an orb turret before directing it past his position and towards the trees. He heard the spells impact it but he had already reinforced it. He was running low on mana.

Below, he spotted Kaul struggling. He took in the whole cavemouth scene fastly, a presumed effect of Kaul's [Sharp Mind] affecting him. The attuned was trying to make his way to the treeline but was sandwiched by the arcane goblins that had chanted the original healing surge. Jayke's mana and shielding was a waste at this distance. The arcane goblins below had already learned their lesson - they were more cautious of his orb turrets. But Jayke's spell was unerringly accurate, despite some of their protections some were still killed. Jayke had increased the output.

He heard the cracks behind him, snatching his attention back to his own predicament. Forcebolts from his orb that he sent around his reinforced shielding. Screams from the goblins. These ones, unlike those below, had no idea what his spell did. He crouched and peeked around the chaos again.

He blinked. The green-red goblin blinked. They both blinked. Then it's arm became wreathed in fire and it grabbed at him. Jayke's instincts kicked in and he grabbed its other arm and used its own momentum to toss it over the ledge. He could feel the heat through the shields.

It shot a blast of fire mid-air and redirected itself back towards the ledge. It crashed heavily against the cliffside. There were enough plants to latch onto. Jayke stared at it. He was breathing hard. So was the arcane goblin. Then it reached its hand upward.

Jayke shoved it off the cliffside with a moving shield. It screamed.

He turned around just in time to see another arcane goblin having made its way around his orb. They knew how magic worked. They knew to eliminate the caster rather than deal with the spell. Although by the looks of things some of them had to deal with his spell. Jayke was a little proud of that.

This one was yellow-green. His immediate thought was back to the Elemental Raptors, so he was expecting lightning. He smelled ozone and launched himself out of the way. A blast of energy struck the ground in front of him. He stared at the smoking spot and felt his heart race. Why did he have to be right?

Electricity danced off the arcane goblin's fingers. Jayke pushed his magic armor a few inches off his clothes, rather than just above them. If he was struck, maybe that would help. Jayke shielded the next blast and the arcane goblin cackled. It did so for no less than three seconds before it realized Jayke was rushing it.

It scrambled back and shot lightning off its fingers. It mumbled some more and Jayke flinched as his magical armor was struck. It shattered with the electric charge and Jayke grimaced. He dodged when the goblin suddenly turned around and reached at him with an electrically charged hand.

Jayke swerved and brought his elbow hard and fast across its jaw. The creature came up to just eye level only to fall to ground level. It was a lethal move and the best one considering the angle he had to come from. He'd dislocated the jaw, rendered it unconscious, and likely dead.

Then he brought his shield back up-

A piercing headache assaulted him. He swayed but caught two more arcane goblins moving towards him. He jogged behind his [Reinforced] barrier. He'd tied it off long ago. It was slowly becoming more and more transparent. If not outright broken, it would simply dissipate.

The next two arcane goblins were a mix-mash of colors. If his random assumptions held, then he still wasn't sure what these ones would be capable of.

Jayke looked off the ledge and found Kaul doing better than Jayke would've thought. He was using the orb turret to his advantage. His superior movement and power was forcing the arcane goblins to react to him. He was herding them towards the orb turret as it lazed about.

Jayke gave it a nudge towards the arcane goblins rather than its pre-programmed movements.

He turned back to his own problems. His [Safehaven] was his very last resort. He could enter lying down - he'd tried it - if he was ever forced to the ground and in mortal danger. But this entire trial was monitored and it was clear that dimensional Skills were rare.

Jayke spun around his fortification and took aim for only a second. His forcebolt got the first one in the chest. It staggered and the other one prepared some kind of magic. Jayke took cover behind his barrier. The magic that came was oily and icky, it struck the barrier and sapped it until it succumbed. Jayke stepped away from the odd puddle.

He let his armor down a notch. The mental strain was affecting his motor movements. He didn't think he'd be doing half as well without the [Sharp Mind] effect. A blast of wind forced his arm backward at the shoulder. He spun with the impact and realized that in the distance his orb turret was still functioning in the forest. He reached for it and directed it here.

Jayke shot another forcebolt at the oily opponent. That oily substance covered it and his forcebolt disappeared. "These are supposed to be middling magics?" Jayke grimaced. At the very least, aside from his headache, his body wasn't tired at all.

He should've been more impaired. That [Sharp Mind] was really pulling its weight.

He focused his shields forward and began dodging. The oily magic was slow as a projectile but lingered and limited his movement. The wind magic was invisible and faster but altogether weaker and heavily projected by its caster. Between all of that, Jayke only had a few opportunities to let loose a spell of his own.

His breathing wasn't even pressed.

He was taking the measure of both opponents with [Minor Data Sense] when his orb turret arrived. Once in range, it shot both in the back of the head with a forcebolt strong enough to rip limbs off. He relaxed, his headache threatening to overtake him. He directed the orb turret back into the forest.

Then he stared around and found nothing with his detection program. The arcane goblins had either retreated further into the forest or his orb turret had wiped out the group that was here. In the forest, its machine accuracy would be monstrous. The casters wouldn't have a chance against it through all the vegetation.

He stared down at the cavemouth and found Kaul looking around at the bodies. He'd killed them all despite having been so out of breath earlier. This was an extended fight, many times more exhausting than a simple trek through the forest. And the attuned didn't even seem fazed now. Curious.

Both he and Jayke had been caught out in unfavorable positions.

Jayke made his way down the ledge once his headache subsided enough.

Kaul watched him make his way down. "You didn't kill them." He said flatly, gesturing to all of the arcane goblins that had been initially handled by the first wave of orb turrets. "They were healthy enough to be healed."

"Some died." It wasn't a lie. He should've known better though. Part of it was him being unsure what to set the output on his orb turret spell to and some of it was a general hesitance. "I told you we could've stayed above. You rushed in."

"That... I am indeed to blame for that." He said.

"How did you survive this battle down here? You could barely walk through the forest for an hour."

Kaul turned his magical-looking eyes toward him. "My enchantments act on my body. You've already experienced one of my stronger ones. The rest are physical effects. When I am ready for combat my mana becomes my stamina."

"The attuned are weird."

"The pureblooded are no different," Kaul responded. "You are similar to the kinec, but I suppose you are also gifted with magic as I am. That is to be expected. The pureblooded share the traits of all humans to a lesser extent but even among the races there is variance."

"Have you met any of the other subraces?"

"All of them." Kaul blinked. "You have not? Not even mine?" He tilted his head in that irregular manner. Like someone touched by fantasy. He had had the same look earlier.

"My home was secluded. Now, it is destroyed. The only humans I knew were those like me."

"A pureblood settlement?" Kaul said in surprise. Emotions playing visibly on a human face. Jayke had gotten used to seeing them on other faces.

"Deep in the Uncharted. Or so I've been told it's called." Technically, from this world's perspective, Earth was indeed Uncharted.

"There are more of us closer to the Unpre Line. That is still Uncharted, just less so. The most adaptable of the Thinking Races find their peace there. It is not common knowledge but nor is it a secret."

"Unpre Line?"

"The Unpredictable Line." Kaul made a face. "A unique collection of biomes formed from the Shattering. Some have recently taken to bundling all the combined fauna and flora into a single 'unpre biome'." He explained.

Jayke nodded, he would remember the name. He wondered why he hadn't found any mention of it. "Why are you telling me this?"

"We were shattered once. Some, as I do, believe we are better together than as the pieces we were broken into. It is your right to make that choice."

"How far is this place?" Jayke asked.

"Far past anywhere mapped or occupied by the Coterie or Guild. The closest settlement mapped is Farmstock. It would be... north of here, dependant on the position of the Floating City."

Jayke felt a sudden slowness return to him, jarring him from his thoughts and the conversation. No, he'd just returned to a normal mental speed. If [Sharp Mind] had been a shield, then his mana fatigue had been the opponent's weapon.

He staggered. Kaul watched him settle himself against a tree seemingly knowing that the enchantment had worn off.

"Recover. There is some preparation for my enchantments and I have exhausted my most immediate repertoire." He directed. Kaul began to mutter to himself, touching parts of his body with his hands and leaving sigils on his skins. Jayke recognized them as the ones that floated at an offset from his body.

Jayke groaned, feeling his mana reserve had indeed sunk low. He was caught without cover and that had forced him to make his own. Not to mention the orb turret spells he'd pumped out. That left him, well, tapped out. He groaned again, louder.

The migraine was one he wasn't used to. It was different than a mental migraine if that made sense. It still hurt like an ice pick to the noodly stuff though. But Jayke had long ago learned to work through those.

"[Code Contruct]." A little man formed, no taller than his hand.

Kaul stared with a raised eyebrow. "What is that?"

"A prototype," Jayke answered. Eventually, he'd scale up the program he'd conceive, but it would work on this scale model. He might as well get some practice in, even if he wasn't going to be using it with any effectiveness anytime soon.