The next morning came quickly, the sun shining brightly through the curtains and waking me early. I stood and stretched slowly, feeling for any signs of pain from my wound. When I felt only a slight twinge, I reached down and lifted the bottom of my shirt, finding a scabbed over line where a gaping wound had been just two days prior.

Gritting my teeth, I sighed and shook my head. The wound was sure to scar, but if nothing else, it would serve as a reminder of how much of an idiot I had been. Straightening, I walked out into the main room and found Fortuna dozing on one chair near the fireplace.

Walking over to him, I sat down and waited until Fortuna opened his eyes and stared at me. I suspected he had some connection to Cortos' ring, and if my theory proved correct, he might be able to track it down.

"I need Cortos' ring back, and I need your help to find it. Can you help me?" I asked, folding my hands and leaning forward in my seat.

No

"Why not? I thought you wanted me to become his successor and become a powerful mage? That was why you picked me, right?" I asked, clenching my jaw and feeling my fingers dig into my palms.

Dangerous. Too weak. Die

His words whispered into my mind, and I could see his logic. I needed to be able to defend myself before taking any sorts of risks like that again, and that meant weeks, possibly even months of preparation. And more than that, I needed to be able to take care of this problem by myself.

If I went to the Esttons for help, they would begin asking about the ring and why I was running around the Lower District alone. Their assistance would make my life easier, but it raised questions I would prefer not to answer.

Nodding, I stood and looked to Fortuna before thinking of something.

"Would it be possible for you to monitor the ring, and let me know if it moves from wherever it ended up?"

Fortuna's eyes blinked at me slowly, and I felt a sensation of acknowledgment. It was a bizarre sensation, and I wondered why Fortuna was only now communicating in this way. Maybe he had been too weak or malnourished before now to speak?

Pushing the questions from my mind, I prepared for the rest of my day, taking my first dose of each supplement for the day and picking out some clothing. I planned to visit the Upper District, and decided to wear my uniform rather than regular clothing. "Once bitten, twice shy," as the saying goes.

All that remained of the funds given to me by Duke Estton were a few dozen gold coins, far from enough to suit my long-term needs. But it may be enough for what I had planned over the next few days.

Last night, I took a quick trip to the Library, retrieving another copy of my basic alchemy textbook. My first copy was still locked away in Cortos' sanctum, and I needed the various potion recipes inside its pages.

Slipping the list of ingredients into my pocket, I stood and grabbed my remaining gold before heading for the door. Stopping, I walked back to my bedroom and picked up the dagger the thieves had used to stab me. After a moment of hesitation, I hid the knife in the back of my closet.

I doubted anyone would come into my room, but I would prefer not to explain a blood-covered dagger if they did. There were blacksmith shops nearby, and I could purchase a cheap sheath and whetstone to sharpen the blade. I wanted to start carrying some sort of weapon, just in case, but a dull blade stuck into my pocket or waistband was next to useless.

As I made my way to Thorpe's shop, I reviewed my plan again. With the assistance of healing potions, I could push my body near to the breaking point with tempering and recover from the damage by the next day. Even more useful were the other possible applications for healing potions.

Sig had taught me that muscular strength came from effectively damaging the body and repairing this damage. As a part of this process, your body rebuilds itself more durable than before, leading to improved athletic capabilities. Usually, you would need several days at least for this process to occur, but a healing potion could cut down the time to just hours.

These potions would let me beat my body to a pulp and recover completely, allowing me to grow at a fast pace. It would be slower than with Cortos' chamber, at least with tempering, but still quick enough to outstrip most students. However, I would not be stopping with just this potion.

To maximize my free time, I would also work a mixture called Cat's Nap into my daily routine. These potions increased the effectiveness of sleep, to the point where it could cut sleep time in half if taken regularly. I would prefer to go without sleep entirely, but my experiment with a stamina potion proved I still needed rest to function at full efficiency.

Both of these potions carried side-effects, specifically the toxins that would slowly build up from overuse. While they would not cause any significant problems at first, you could fall dangerously ill over the weeks. Months of overuse, and the toxins could kill a person.

To counter this effect, I found a somewhat unknown mixture called the Blood Cleanser. It would bolster natural cleaning processes and expel any toxins from the body in just minutes. It was a very unpopular choice between its unpleasant effects and how difficult it was to make. Most would prefer just to use potions in moderation and let their body naturally clean itself.

The cost to produce these three potions, along with increasing my use of Yardley's supplements to three times a day, would likely be substantial. I suspected I would need to spend most of the extra time I bought with stamina potions filling crystals to keep up with my expenses, and even then, it would be close.

Despite everything, I had realized that I possessed one significant advantage over nearly every other student.

Desperation.

Most families would provide superior cultivation resources for their heirs, undoubtedly better than the materials I was using. Some would probably train as hard as possible, spending hours cultivating and practicing their art. A few may possess natural talent comparable to my raw power. But I doubted any would be willing to go to the lengths I would force myself through to grow stronger.

As I walked through the streets, I kept my head on a swivel and made sure to remain observant. I had learned my lesson, and I had no intention to be caught off guard again.

Entering Thorpe's shop, he raised an eyebrow at me, though he also gave a friendly smile.

"Good morning, Vayne! I'm surprised to see you back here so soon. I was not expecting you for a few more weeks."

Smiling at him, I nodded and said, "Normally, you would be right, but some things have come up, and I needed alchemy supplies and a small refill on my usual order."

Passing him my list of supplies, he nodded a few times before looking back to me.

"Quite the extensive list, but I have everything you will need. However, it will be pretty expensive..." Thorpe trailed off, pursing his lips.

"How much for the whole lot?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"Hmm...at least twenty-seven gold for everything, I'd say. " Thorpe answered, rubbing his chin with one hand.

"That sounds a bit higher than I hoped. I think eighteen gold would be a bit more reasonable all things considered. None of my supplies are especially rare or difficult to acquire." I answered, lying shamelessly. I was not an expert herbologist, but I suspected my requests were easy enough to fulfill.

"You aren't wrong, but they are also in high demand, which drives the prices up. Alchemy is invaluable for mages, after all. I suppose I could go as low as twenty-four gold and seventeen silver pieces."

"Fair enough, but regular customers are worth making less in a single transaction, are they not? I will need to refill my supply often, at least once a month, and that will add up for you." I countered.

Thorpe pinched his lip between two fingers, narrowing his eyes at me. After several minutes of silence, he nodded and said, "Twenty-two gold is as cheap as I can go, and I'm only going that low because you are a friend."

I smiled and placed my gold on the desk, satisfied with our deal. Leaving Thorpe's shop with my now full bag of herbs and fruits, I took a detour down the street to a blacksmiths workshop.

The burly man behind the desk was happy to supply me with a leather belt sheathe, a whetstone, and some oil to sharpen the blade for several gold pieces. He threw in a short demonstration of the technique to sharpen the edge, possibly out of sympathy for cheating me out of far more gold than necessary.

Returning to my room, I sat with my legs crossed and held the crystal in my palm. Closing my eyes and releasing my breath, I began pulling mana as quickly as I could down my arms channels and into the crystalline depths.

Casting Arcane Bolt against the thugs had stressed my channels near to the breaking point, but after healing, they were now able to handle far more mana than before. A month ago, I could barely channel a single mote of mana without pain, but now I could easily handle a half dozen at once without any discomfort.

Despite that, after a half-hour of pushing mana into the crystal, it was only around a fifth full. I could estimate it would take close to three hours total, but that time should go down as I improved my skills, and my channels became stronger.

For most mages, this would not be a feasible way of earning money. They would lack the sheer volume of mana to fill crystals often enough to make a profit. But for me, this method was almost perfectly suited to my talents.

Grabbing a piece of parchment, I began jotting down several calculations. Every week had one hundred and sixty-eight hours total, but I would need twenty-eight hours of sleep a week, even with potions. Classes drained away twenty-one hours, while my daily exercises with Sig and training with Simon and Amelia took another seventeen hours.

Add in eating with Amelia, Leon's group and a breakfast by myself, and using Yardley's supplements three times a day, and I was left with thirty-six hours a week. I doubted my timings would be exact, so in truth, it would probably end up closer to thirty hours, which should be plenty of time to fill crystals.

My total monthly costs between my usual cultivation resources and the ingredients for potions came out to around twenty-seven gold pieces. Six crystals filled a week would total just over twenty-six gold per month of profit. Next time I visited Hannah's shop in the morning and possibly with backup, I would purchase seven crystals to make sure I made enough gold to cover all my expenses.

Breaking me from my thoughts was a sharp knock on my door. I was not expecting visitors, but I guessed that it could be the Estton twins inviting me to dinner. Opening the door, I found Amelia standing in the hallways, a glare on her face.

"Oh, so you are alive! I was worried you were dead in a ditch, but I guess you were too busy avoiding me instead. Where in the world have you been the last few days?" she said, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes.

Swearing mentally, I scratched the side of my face before saying, "I am sorry I have not attended our usual dinners or training, but I have been busy the last few days."

Staring at me, Amelia scoffed before replying, "That sounds like a terrible excuse. What exactly is so busy you are missing class?"

She was still annoyed, and I needed to find a way to mitigate her anger. And, considering I had been the one to ask for additional training, I can see why she would be angry at me. I may have had a good reason to miss our meetings, but she was not aware of them.

"Would you like to come in for a few minutes? I could use a break and some company." I said with a smile. I needed to make sure our deal for private training was still in place. And I had to admit that I was glad she had been concerned enough to look for me.

Stepping past me, Amelia looked around my room before turning back to me.

"Nice room. A little bit bare, but not bad. Most students prefer to line the place with decorations, family banners, and all that nonsense."

"I suppose I dislike cluttering my space with useless things like that. I enjoy nice things, but I tend towards utility over appearance." I said, sitting in a chair and gesturing for her to do the same.

"So, why have you been missing our sparring sessions and our classes?" Amelia asked, apparently ignoring that I may not want to discuss my reasons.

I paused for a few moments before sighing and standing. I reached to the hem of my shirt and lifted it, hearing a snort and noticing Amelia's face flush red for a moment. Her expression turned to shock when she saw the scar imprinted against my stomach.

"I made a mistake, and got a nice souvenir for my trouble. As you can expect, I needed a few days to recover before returning to classes.

Amelia sat up, leaning forward, and examining my stomach before straightening up to look me in the eyes.

"What happened?! That isn't the sort of mark you get from an accident. It looks like someone tried to debone you like a fish."

I was unsure if I told her about my injury because I wanted to motivate her to help me improve my skills, or if her concern had gotten to me. I suspected it was a mixture of both. Either way, a mix of honesty and half-truths would serve me better than lying or hiding what happened.

"I was shopping and went to the Lower District, because I was greedy and heard about a good deal. I wore normal clothing, and thieves mistakenly thought I was a commoner. When I threw a spell at them, they stabbed me and ran for their lives." I explained, feeling a phantom pain in my stomach as I remembered the dagger sliding into my flesh.

I hoped my story would generate sympathy, but if anything, Amelia looked angrier than ever.

"Are you an idiot?!" she yelled after a few seconds, glaring at me.

"No-I mean-I do not think I-" I stammered, trying to think of a response. I was unused to another person screaming at me, at least not one that was my age.

"You could have ended up dead! Why didn't you bring along guards or friends? Even a baron could afford to escort their child down to the Lower District!" she yelled, waving her hands at me.

I had forgotten she thought I was another noble. Looking at the ground, I internally debated before sighing and looking back up to her.

"I did not have an escort or guard because I cannot afford it. I am not a noble, like you or the other students at the Academy. I am a sponsored student, selected by Duke Estton to serve his family as a fully trained mage and advisor."

Amelia blinked a few times, her glare disappearing from her face.

"You aren't a noble?" she finally asked, crossing her arms.

I shook my head, smiling at her reaction.

"No, I am not. My father's older brother was a member of the Duke's household, serving him for years as a family guard. When I was a baby, he died, saving the Duke's children from wild animals. The Duke had been looking for a candidate, and I was the same age as his children. Ten years ago, he chose me as a way to repay the favor to our family. If things had been different, I would be on a farm with the last name Shepherd."

We sat in silence for several minutes, as Amelia stared at me intently. Finally, she laughed and said, "I should've realized that before now. Most nobles learn to swing a sword or shoot a bow, but you move like you barely know how to walk. And you look entirely too normal for a highborn. Most of us spend fortunes, making sure our hair and skin are perfect."

I was not entirely pleased that she was insulting me in the process, but she did not seem angry at my deception. That was unexpected, but not an unpleasant reaction all things considered. Before I could reply, she stood and began walking towards the door, stopping next to the exit and turning to me.

"Did the thieves take anything particularly important to you?"

"Yes. They stole a silver ring, an heirloom that I would prefer to retrieve from them. Truthfully, I am a little worried they will sell it before I can find them." I answered, realizing it could be a problem. Fortuna would likely be able to track the ring, but I would prefer to take it from half-starved thieves than someone more capable.

"I can see that, but luckily I doubt they will fence it any time soon. Commoners would not be aware of any sort of tracking magic, and they'd likely be more worried about a fence or associate selling them out. Criminals look out for themselves first, and I bet your thieves would know better than to sell a mage's possession so fast."

I nodded at her explanation, realizing she was right. The thieves would assume I was a noble, and that my first move would be to apply pressure to the Lower District. They would rather wait until the heat was off, before trying to sell the ring.

"Wait a few weeks and then see if the Esttons can talk with their contacts. They may be rich and high born, but they still have friends in low places. And in the meantime, we need to make sure you can protect yourself next time someone decides to rob you. Meet me tomorrow, same time as usual, and we can get more practice with a staff." Amelia said, staring at me until I nodded.

"That would be great, but we will need to take it carefully. I have healed enough to move without any pain, but I would prefer not to get a staff in the gut." I said, chuckling at my awkward attempt at humor.

Laughing, Amelia opened the door and stepped through before stopping and turning back to me.

"Oh, and next time you decide to do something stupid, I'm coming with you. If nothing else, I can make sure you don't end up dead in a gutter."

I blinked before nodding and saying, "I will take you up on that. Thank you, Amelia."

Nodding, she walked down the hallway and out of sight. Closing the door, I sighed before grabbing the partially filled crystal and sitting on the couch. I was not particularly thrilled that she would be coming along with me during my next excursion into the city, but there was not much I could have said to her.

Pushing her from my thoughts, I returned my attention to channeling mana into the crystal in my hands. I had a lot of work to do, and not nearly enough time to finish it. If all went as I hoped, I could have Cortos' ring back before the end of the semester.