The fabric of my suit pulled at my chest. The moonlight illuminated the fabric and cast a favourable glow on me. I liked it. I could count the number of toddler birthdays I remembered on one hand. I was confident that they weren’t as fancy as the one I was going to.

Jackson, Indra and my dad had all laughed when I said I’d go in my regular clothes. Seeing that my dad had joined the group’s chuckling had stung.

They’d made it up to me by presenting me with a custom-made suit. I ran my fingers across the fabric, the material soft and pliable in my fingers.

I hope I didn’t wrinkle it.

William Wilhelm. That was a name I hadn’t heard for a while. I’d laughed when I first saw him, and I still laughed every time I imagined an armour wearing baby. It was so silly.

That didn’t mean I was going to underestimate him. In this world nothing was as it seemed, and I didn’t know what his [wisdom] skill did. I assumed it was similar to my Mark, considering he’d been speaking in full sentences to me like a terrifying demon baby. Now that little guy was all grown up.

Did that mean his armour had to be adjusted?

“Are you excited for the big day?” My dad asked.

“I think this means a lot more to you than it does to me dad.” I replied.

My dad had been shaking nervously all day. I don’t think he got a wink of sleep either. When William’s father had promised to invite him to his son’s birthday it was a dream come true.

I’d learnt a lot about the structure of Zodiac in the time that I’d been there. The lower ranks were tin masks, the bronze masks were what we’d call junior managers, and the silver masks were the head honchos of divisions and sections of the compounds. Above all of them were the gold masks

My knowledge of the organisation heads was minimal, communicating with any one of them was way outside of my pay grade. In fact, I only knew one.

Master Wilhelm, father of William Wilhelm, was a gold mask.

Did he have a first name? I wasn’t important enough to know.

What I did know was that this man was my dad’s boss’s boss. Possibly even one more boss above that. To make a connection with him was my dad’s dream come true.

It had been a sad realisation when I found out that my dad was a corporate brown noser.

“Nonsense, this day is important for both of us.” My dad’s tone turned serious. “Remember what Jackson said.”

“If I have to do something, do it big.” I repeated the words the silver mask had told me.

We planned to have my debut at this party. I would finally show myself to the world.

I’d improved a lot this past year. More than Indra, Jackson or Marv had predicted. They didn’t know how much mana I had, but they suspected. I couldn’t hide the endless streams of rocks and dirt they emptied from the inventory box every week.

Whatever number they suspected, I had more than that.

Name: Andross Silver

Class: None Health: 70 Mana: 8650/8650 Vitality: 7 Intelligence: 65 Wisdom: 11 Stamina: 5 Dexterity: 4 Skill list: Earth creation(V): level 2 Fear tolerance(I): level 4 Earth Manipulation(V): level 1 Mark of the Crijik(II): level 1 Meditation(IV): level 3 Pain Tolerance(I): level 3 Mana Sense(III): level 1 Mana Manipulation(III): level 2

Not bad for a person that’s only been around a year and five months. Each time my skills had reached level five they’d reset and the skill increased by a rank, represented by Roman numerals. My stats had increased as my body grew, and the Mark had boosted my mana and intelligence.

My skills were the only thing I could focus on this entire year. My dad was still building his regent, and I kept contact with others to a minimum just in case I accidentally revealed something I didn’t want to.

Normally, a party like this would have been out of the question, but we couldn’t hide me forever. The guys had come up with a plan for my introduction to society.

I just needed to carry it out properly.

Master Wilhelm wasn’t just a gold mask. He was a noble. That meant he was touching shoulders with the rich and powerful on a daily basis. A lot of them would be coming to this party. I'd been saving my mana. I wanted to confirm a few things with Gerial first. That meant that any decent magician would be able to sense something inside me. Even if they didn't know what it was.

There was no way for me to remain hidden in that kind of setting.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to.

A hand brushed my shoulder and I turned to see my mum smiling down at me.

“Don’t mess with your suit darling. Those nobles will tear you apart.” She adjusted my clothing. “They’re a pack of ferocious jackals that are looking for signs of weakness.”

My mother didn’t like nobles. She and Jackson shared that in common. She was adamant against going to the party. It didn’t stop my dad from trying.

“Honey-”

“Sweetpea.” My mum interrupted him. “I know you think everything will be fine, but my attitude will leak through. It always has. And I won’t go ruining your special chance. How many opportunities come around like this? You know my presence will only put people on edge.”

My dad relented, and I stayed quiet. This wasn’t the first time something like this had come up. I don’t know what had happened between my mum and the nobles, but I got the feeling she’d kicked one at a party once.

Not in a good place.

“I left two statues in my room. And I left food for the puffer. Make sure you don’t get bored.” I spoke.

“I’m the one that’s supposed to be fussing over you, young man.” My mum chided. “Thank you. You have a lovely time and make a lot of friends.”

“I will.” I nodded.

She hadn’t fully clicked with how grown up I was. In her eyes I would always be a child. I suppose I still am. I had a five-year-old body, an adult mind and the age of a one-year-old.

My situation was a mess.

There was a shift under my feet, and I stood up straight. Something had disturbed the mana around me. It wasn’t done by accident; something was trying to get my attention. My mum and dad tensed as I moved, and I looked to the side, trying to see what had caused the shift.

I heard the sound of wings flapping in the air, and a small shape with a large stomach darted across my vision.

Something fell on my nose. A black and purple feather. My nose crinkled and I delicately picked up the feather. I smiled.

“I think someone is wishing you good luck.” My mum gave me a knowing smile. “I’ll buy some of the good food for him today.”

There was another shift, but this time the change was visible to my parents as well. A splash of purple came alive in front of my eyes, growing and warping the sky and houses surrounding us. From within the rifts a purple mist leaked out, washing the area in mana.

A single sound rang out across the clearing.

A chime.

From within the sea of purple mist a shape emerged, illuminated by the transcendent light of the mana around it. The sound of waves hit my ears as purple water spilled through the portal and disappeared before it hit the air. The shape emerged, and I got a proper look at the vehicle.

It was a boat.

“That’s our ride?” I gaped at the teleportation spell weaved into the air.

It consumed the world around it, the magic at work cascaded around my vision. The only other sights visible were the lights of the city in the distance. Then they were swept under the veil of purple as well.

When I’d heard we’d get picked up I thought they’d send a carriage.

“Master’s Jâl and Silver?” A voice called out to us from inside the boat.

“That’s us.” My dad brought out the invitation cards we’d received. “Teral Jâl and Andross Silver.”

My chest puffed out with pride as my dad announced us. My parents had insisted on allowing me to choose my own name, apparently a set of customs and traditions that was passed down from my mother’s side of the family.

It felt nice to finally be able to use my name. So far, I’d only told it to Gerial and my parents.

Wait. How did Master Wilhelm know it?

His invitation to us hadn’t included my name.

I shivered. Learning magic has taught me that not everything is as it seems. Never underestimate the baby, and also don’t underestimate the adults.

The door of the boat opened, and we said our goodbyes to my mother. I stuck the feather in my suit pocket. It looked good.

Purple water lapped at my heels and ankles, but I ignored it. I could see through the illusion, and into the mana that was creating it. I hadn’t gone to the observatory or the Zodiac teleportation room since my isolation began, but I had mana sense now.

My dad followed my lead, dipping the tip of his shoe in the water first. When it came out dry, he followed my lead and we took our first steps onto the boat.

It was clean. That was my first thought. The wood had a red sheen to it, and for all intents and purposes it looked like a regular boat. If it wasn’t floating on a non-existent sea, then I wouldn't have looked twice at it.

I gestured with my hand and the dirt that clung to our shoes was sent outside. I turned around and saw that we weren’t the only ones here.

There was a man in a black robe and brown mask staring at me.

I waved and gave him a winning smile. He nodded at me, slightly confused, and then turned to my dad.

“Good evening, I am Frederick, the teleportation magician assigned to your journey today.” Frederick bowed low. “Please take a seat. We will be departing immediately.”

A teleportation magician? I’d never seen one before.

Jackson and Marv didn’t count. They could power a teleportation crystal, but it was the crystal that provided and controlled the mana. They just gave it directions.

The mana swirled in the air around me, greeting me.

It was a new kind; one I hadn’t come into contact with as a friend. I held out my hand and the mana lowered itself into my palm. It was curious. Then it jumped up and flew to my shoulder, nestling there.

“It likes you.” Frederick remarked.

He’d gone to the front of the boat, and it was turning around to face the sea. My mum had gone inside the house, and it quickly disappeared from view as the waves swerved us into the depths of the portal.

I turned to my dad to talk to him, and saw he’d gone still. I frowned, the mana around him was doing something, but I couldn’t see what. My heart was steady. I could tell it wasn’t a hostile act.

“You’re aware. That’s rare.” Frederick’s voice broke me out of my thoughts.

I turned to him. “What’s happened to him?”

“The same thing that happens to most when they teleport. They are put into stasis to avoid damaging their minds.” Frederick kept his eyes on the way ahead. “I am very surprised you were allowed to see it. Please refrain from using magic or surprising me more. You don’t want to see what happens if we crash.”

We’d fully entered the portal. A world of purple greeted me, magic swimming in the air. It was above me, and below me. Beside me, and far away.

Space was different here. I could see crystal rocks growing from the air as well as the ground, shooting out in all directions. They were all teleportation crystals.

Had I passed through here when I went to the observatory?

I looked at my father. He walked through that door to the observatory a lot. How did it work?

I intended to find out.

“First time?” Frederick smiled. “I’d advise you to look to our side.”

I thought I had been looking to the side… but took his advice.

I gasped.

A structure that serenaded the world with a rhythmic pulse greeted me. Through the purple mists that enveloped it I saw a multitude of eyes gazing down at the sea, observing all. I saw it rise and fall as it breathed, mist expunging from it each time.

It was a building, and it was alive. A living construct that gazed across the purple world.

“You know, I came into this boat thinking I’d learned all I needed to about magic.” I couldn’t tear my eyes away from it. “What’s its name?”

Frederick chuckled.

“We call it the nexus.”

I sat back and gazed at the world before my eyes. A light could be seen in the distance, and I realised it was our exit. It had been a quick ride, but infinitely slower than I’d thought it had been.

How much of this world had I missed because I didn’t have the insight to perceive it?

I knew the party would be special. My dad had raved about Master Wilhelm’s extravagant personality, and I had seen some of it when I’d met him, but this wasn’t the party.

This was just the ride there.