I remain low in the hedges watching the man, Lincoln, approaching one of the nodes I selected several days prior.

“Hmm. What do we have over here?” Lincoln says as he moves ever closer to node 1.

The ringing of the device in his hands is louder than it has ever been when he comes up to the tree. My hands press against the ground as he looks up from the device and knocks on the tree. Waiting a moment, he takes out a knife and cuts a piece of bark from the tree, breaking it apart in his fingers. He tosses the bark onto the ground and scrapes his knife against the inner timber.

When nothing happens, he puts his knife away and shrugs. “I think there is too much interference. This is similar to those buildings the other Solicitors have come across, isn’t it? Maybe one of those rocks that like to cosplay as people in old getups.”

“They found out they’re named Kiln or something, I think,” Pierce responds. “They’re invaluable but hard to catch, dangerous, and can be fragile. Still, I don’t know why you think they’d have something to do with the buildings. We didn't even know they could move around and stuff until recently.”

‘Kiln..? There really are others? Are they going to try to eat me!?’

“Well, all of them have been around those types of places.” Lincoln looks toward Pierce. “We might be able to track it via its Mana leakage… How long before our Canvassers are done being trained?”

“The Mana Canvassers?” Pierce shrugs. “The best of them will be done in a couple of weeks; some will take a few months. Either way, they probably won’t send them here; they’ll keep them around headquarters.”

“Fuck.” Lincoln takes a puff of his cigarette. “Probably need to check the area with a clicker, and I left it in the car.” He walks over to Pierce and shoves the ringing device into his hands. “I’ll be right back.”

Pierce’s pocketbook nearly falls from his hands, but he snatches it from the air. He rolls his eyes as Lincoln walks away without a word.

“Such a damn dingus sometimes,” he huffs. Putting away his pocketbook, he holds the ringing device and starts to walk the Terrace. He raises it high, and the ringing slows; he lowers it, and the ringing increases. “Yep. Same as those other places.”

He repeats this at multiple locations around the Terrace and sighs.

“Same thing?” Lincoln asks from the top of the grand staircase. He walks down with heavy steps, gripping a big black bag in one hand.

“Yeah. Just run the clicker around the area, and we’ll notify the Senior Solicitors.”

Coming to the base of the steps, he nods and places the bag on the snowy ground. Dropping to one knee, he fiddles with something that looks to be some kind of lock. When he opens the bag, what is revealed is a copper sphere around the size of a pumpkin. Looking closer, it resembles an eyeball due to a black, circular pane of glass on the front side that resembles the pupil of an eye. This is followed by a ring of metal that encircles the pane, and then a second ring made up of bolts and pins that encircle the metal ring.

To the left and right of the black pane of glass and halfway toward the back of the eyeball, there are the teeth of gears that jut out from each side. It almost looks as if two melon-sized gears were placed side by side, and then a sphere was built around them with them at the center.

Attached to the top of the eyeball are four antennas—two just above the hatch and two at the side opposite. Each antenna juts around a foot into the air and seems to be equal distances from one another.

Lincoln grabs two of the antennas and flips it over, revealing a coin-sized hole in the base as well as the lever to a handle. With the eyeball now balancing on the four antennas, he reaches for the handle at the bottom of the eyeball and pulls. The base of the eyeball slides open. Reaching in, he yanks, and out comes something I can only describe as a small frying pan except in the middle is a rod with a ball to the end. He slides the base plate back where the coin-sized hole fastens itself around the rod with a snap.

“Did you secure the dish correctly this time?” Pierce says, pointing at the frying pan. “I’m too tired to have my ass chewed out by fuckin’ Gary again.”

“Fuckin’ Gary,” Lincoln says with a chuckle and a wave of his hand. “Just relax. I double-checked this time, and you heard it snap into place.”

Lincoln removes that hatch on the other side and pushes something into place. When he does this, the pupil on the front of the eyeball shines brightly. At the same time, the ball at the end of the rod lights up with a blue hue.

Lincoln nods. “Alright. I’m giving control of the clicker to the paper pusher at headquarters.”

When he says that, the thing I believe they refer to as a ‘clicker’ rises from the ground. It flips itself over, and the antenna faces the sky while the dish faces the ground.

“Oh, yeah.” The clicker spins around and looks at Lincoln. “Keep a low profile. I know we don’t have to be as careful as in the past, but this is Central Park. So, yeah. Close to the ground.”

A small sharp click emanates from the clicker, perhaps explaining why it is named as such. It starts to move around the area. Staying low as instructed, it moves to the Terrace’s far end and makes a harsh click.

The two gears to either side of the clicker start to spin. They increase in speed until they are a blur. Around the clicker’s dish, a blue orb appears. The gears stop, and as it does so, the blue orb expands, encompassing an area of a hundred feet or so in a dome before scattering like dust. It sits for a moment and then makes a single sharp click.

“Nothing that sticks out over there.” Lincoln sighs, flicking his cigarette into the fountain.

‘Perhaps, I should stop watching and run away instead.’

The clicker moves to the area above the fountain, making another harsh click. I attempt to move further away, but Lincoln’s gaze shifts toward me once more as I do so.

Lincoln points as the blue dome dissipates, saying, “Go over to those bushes next.”

A sharp click cuts through the area, causing me to flench. It moves away from the fountain, toward me.

‘Nay.’ My head darts back and forth as I search for an escape. ‘I… I do not know what to do.’

“See something?” Pierce asks.

He shrugs. “Thought I heard something move earlier, and then some light a second ago.”

The clicker moves over me; the cattail tightens around my torso as I lower myself into my pile of leaves to block the light of the kiln in the midst of refining. A hum reverberates downwards as it stops directly over my body. It spins around, shining light on the bushes, until a harsh click sounds. The orb of blue encompasses the dish and starts to expand. I cannot bear to look, so I face the ground staring at my arm, resting in the straw that pads the area around the bushes.

My arm takes on a blue glow as I watch the light pass through the haze of my arm. Each speck of dust that makes it up reflects the light back. At first, I believe I have been discovered and am about to flee, yet when I raise my head, I notice everything within the bushes is reflecting the same blue color. So I remain in place.

The world is silent. All I can hear is the spinning of the gears that spin within the clicker above me. A sharp click sounds, and it leaves.

“Nothing that sticks out. Check the Arcade and the water, and we’ll reevaluate from there,” Pierce says.

Achieved Interim Stealth [Grade 4]

It clicks and moves toward The Lake. ‘What does that eyeball even do?

When reaching The Lake, it stops. Pierce and Lincoln watch it as it makes a harsh click. The orb encompasses the dish and begins to grow. The water below it bubbles, turning a dark brown color. Yet, before anything can come of the bubbles, a fish the size of a small shark leaps from the water a few dozen feet to the left of the clicker.

Lincoln and Pierce stare, their heads trace the fish’s path.

The fish is difficult to see, but its scales are made up of a mix of various mixtures of blues and purples. Its scales reflect the glow of the blue orb’s light, and droplets of water left behind look almost orange in the down’s rays of light. This creates a beautiful scene. But not for long. It opens its mouth wide, the clicker and its orb disappear into the jaws of the fish. Yet, at the same time, the bubbling that was beneath the clicker previously grows more pronounced as a head the size of a wheelbarrow rises from the water.

The head is that of a reptile with a beak-like nose. It has a green tint to it, with armor-like scales coating its head and neck. A low growl emanates from its throat as it opens its beak wide. As it leaps, muck from the bottom of the lake falls from a shell that covers its back. At the base of which a massive and mud-covered tail protrudes. It kicks its tail, a big wave rushes away from it as it gains height and speed.

A loud snap and crunch reverberate from The Lake as its jaws shut upon the fish and clicker. From its jaws, a burst of blue light shines for a moment, causing the lake’s entirety to look as if it is midday. The blue light fades as it falls back into the water. A wave crashes away from where it strikes the surface.

Twilight reclaims the Terrace. I sit, unmoving, listening to the waves made by the turtle beat against the shore. ‘...Dinosaurs really do exist.’

My gaze returns to Lincoln and Pierce. Lincoln stands with a shaky hand, lighting yet another cigarette.

Pierce's gaze looks to the ground and then to Lincoln. “Always a bigger fish, am I right...? Goddamn, we’re gonna get our asses chewed out for this.” He pauses and sighs. “Can I have a cigarette?”

It’s the afternoon of the same day.

My Domain has had hundreds of people walking through it… but only on the side opposite the Terraces and the fountain. After those two people, Lincoln and Pierce, left they did not return that night. Instead, the noble’s guard has been here placing barricades and restricting anyone from going near The Lake.

When it comes to the incident the day prior, I have made a decision.

‘Dinosaur!’ I shake my head, laughing mentally. ‘I know naught of a dinosaur! There are nary any dinosaurs in the area. Aye. As far as I know, dinosaurs do not exist!’

After absolutely nothing happened this morning, I took a risk and moved to the opposite side of The Lake to a large thicket with all my gathered items in tow. Presently, I am located in the same place the children, Vincent and Lorelai, discovered me the other day. I moved here because Lincoln and Pierce did return around noon with some more people. They hung plastic sheets at the Arcade entrance and exit, and I have not seen them since. I feel rather violated if I am honest.

‘The situation is concerning, to say the least. My first priority should be learning to hide my Mana and gaining strength. I do not believe the seed is in danger, but rather myself. The issue will be how I will return to the seed when the time comes.’ I raise my hands, shake them, count to ten, and then allow them to drop to the grassy ground next to me. ‘Aye. I was told I must relax to practice the Mana thing. After that, I shall eat what I have gathered and then practice.’

I lie down, look toward the sky, and spend some time counting.

An hour or two later.

‘...Three-thousand. Is it fine to stare at the sun like this?’ I glance toward the pile of various plants and rubbish. ‘As Terra told me, I allowed my mind to relax… somewhat. Now I eat.’

As I sit up and unravel the cattail, a purple wall appears.

Earl Interface:

One-Hundred-Ninety-Five mana used to refine 4.4 Nebula.

The kiln’s flame recedes, and my hand moves to my chest. ‘Thank the lord, and this shall be the most Nebula I have had since my first adaptation.’ My hand moves from my chest to my belly. ‘Before that, though, I am hungry, and I still need to test the Gluttonous Naturalist skill.’’

With the refining complete, my shoulders relax. Unraveling the cattail from around my torso, I move it toward the pile I gathered and engulf all but a couple of items. I am certain the average person would be hesitant to eat this rubbish, but its appearance is nothing compared to the copepods’, and I have long since discarded my dignity.

Earl Interface:

Absorbed ‘Peanut Shells’ (Non-Magical)

Absorbed ‘Old Bratwurst’ (Non-Magical)

Absorbed ‘Chinese Wisteria’ (Non-Magical)

.

.

.

Reduced Erysichthon value by 21

Essence value 1.

0.1 Refinable Nebula

0.3 Refinable Vitrum

Details: A miscellaneous heap of unrelated organic substances. None of these substances have awoken to Mana.

A bland taste spreads over me as a purple wall appears. Everything with the purple wall is the same except for one additional piece of information at the bottom. ‘That is it? That is not particularly helpful.’ My eyes turn toward one of the plants I left out. ‘What about a single item at a time?’

I consume a small plant with green leaves and a wilted white flower.

Earl Interface:

Absorbed ‘Spotted Wintergreen’ (Non-Magical)

Reduced Erysichthon value by 0

Essence value 0

0.0 Refinable Nebula

0.0 Refinable Vitrum

Details: A herb native to the Old Continent. This substance has not awoken to Mana—due to this, any magical effects are negligible.

The purple wall appears, this time with something more informative.

‘Oh! That is a bit better. Now, let’s try this dead yellow flower over here.’ Consuming the yellow flower, a new wall appears.

Earl Interface:

Absorbed ‘Northern Hawkweed’ (Non-Magical)

Reduced Erysichthon value by 0

Essence value 0

0.0 Refinable Nebula

0.0 Refinable Vitrum

Details: A flowering plant that has spread along the Northern Hemisphere during the ‘Anomalous’ or ‘Human Era.’ This substance has not awoken to Mana—due to this, any magical effects are negligible.

‘This is fascinating! I am uncertain how helpful it is, but any knowledge at all is better than nothing.’

I start engulfing various plants, studying the information, and learning what I can. In the end, much of the information is lost on me anyway, but in time, I believe it will all make sense. Despite my curiosity, I stop myself when I notice a feeling of lightheadedness creeping up through my haze.

‘I will need my wits about me to study Terra's orb.’ Grabbing the clear orb nearby, I hold it in my hand. ‘Now let us attempt to use Terra’s orb, shall we, Earl. I believe Terra simply said if I try to use it, then I will somehow know what to do.’

Shaking the orb, I command, ‘Orb I entreat thee… do something.’

A blue wall appears, displaying a message.

To the “Spirit-Like” Lake Entity,

If you are reading this, that means you are attempting to use the Messenger Orb. This Orb’s function is simple enough; it contains the instructions for a technique that shall assist you in hiding your Mana leakage.

Now, you may be curious why I would utilize such a method, and that is because I wanted to see if this thing would actually work. I had a tough time acquiring these, and I’ve never had the opportunity to use them before—although I feel that will be changing soon. Of course, that is not the only reason; I also thought you’d like to have the technique in a format you can always look back on. Not to mention, I cannot be out for long due to circumstances.

Enough of that, please follow the instructions, and in time you will be able to conceal your Mana leakage at least partly. Good luck, and do your best!

P.s. - In the future, you probably shouldn’t use an item someone gives to you without being sure what it is or what it does first. This is simply advice from one friend to another.

Sincerely, Terra