I laid back in my chair as I admired my craftsmanship. The initial glow the symbol gave off disappeared and what was left was a barely perceptible series of scratches in the glass. I was careful not to shift the malleable material, or else my work would be lost.

“Hey Dad!” My voice resounded through the house. “I finally got the skill.”

The dirt underneath me shifted as my dad’s footsteps reverberated around the house. He was rushing towards me like a locomotive train.

I barely had time to stand up before he barrelled into me and swept me up in a hug.

“I didn’t doubt it for a second, champ.” My dad’s voice was melodic with joy. “I did doubt myself sometimes. This was my first-time teaching.”

“You did great.” I struggled as his arms tightened around me. “But you’re not going to celebrate for long if you keep strangling me.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

He let go and kept his arms on my shoulders.

“What skill did you unlock?” He asked.

“Symbol inscription.” I gestured towards the table. “I got it from working on the regent.”

It had been years since I started learning about symbols and inscribing them. A skill was an amplification of an ability I already possessed, but that didn’t mean you would get a skill for everything you did.

I had spent hours every day copying symbols onto paper and then onto stone. If I had the opportunity I was going to try on different types of metal as well. I had tried a few times, but metal manipulation was tough to use at the same time as I tried to carve a delicate symbol into the metal I was controlling.

Both required my full concentration, but I could only carve metal when I was manipulating it to be softer. My skill wasn’t refined enough to manipulate individual lines into metal.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.” My dad grinned. “Your grandma will be so proud.”

“I’ll send her a letter tonight.” I smiled.

“It’s a good thing you’ve got the party tomorrow.” My dad spoke. “Because now I get to start teaching you the real meaning of hard work.”

I shivered at his tone. His fingers tightened around my shoulders before I could escape, and there was a manic glint in his eyes.

“The twelve-hour workdays weren’t enough?” I tried to remind him of the work he’d already put me through.

“A scriber needs a steady hand. That’s why you needed to learn the basics.” My dad stepped back from me.

He turned towards my desk. I had carved it out in the style of a desk I’d had in my room on Earth. The stone had been moulded into three drawers, holding paper and pens for me to draw symbols.

My dad pulled out an entire stack of paper.

“You’ve practised thousands of times to make sure that your symbols don’t fail, but now I need you to practice thousands more to level up your skill. Each symbol you draw should also try to vary a bit in difficulty. New experiences will drive your abilities further and raise your levels faster.”

“From here you’ll start to unlock the other skills.” He tapped the stack of paper. “And there’s still a lot of time left until you have to sleep.”

I rolled my eyes but didn’t object. My scriber skills were important, and now that I finally had one I could see how far behind it was compared to my magic skills.

I leaned forward and started writing on the pieces of paper with practiced movements.

I had a skill to level up.

My head was laying against the stone desk when I woke up. I couldn’t remember when I stopped inscribing symbols onto the papers, but I could see that I had tucked away the pile into one of my drawers.

Symbol inscription(I) level 1. Experience 50%.

That was fast.

Unlike earth manipulation, I was well practised in the art of symbol inscription. That meant that I could get through more symbols in a shorter amount of time, and in a way that gave me the most experience.

I could feel the difference in my pen strokes. I’d thought my abilities were good, but now that I’d unlocked the skill my hands were steadier, my symbols formed quicker, and I could feel an intrinsic confidence stemming from my heart and rising into my hands.

My ability to inscribe symbols had grown by leaps and bounds.

I hadn’t been able to note the difference when I was younger because magic wasn’t something that I was used to.

Inscribing was.

I knew every pen stroke I could make, and I knew what level I had reached. So it was all the more obvious to me when that level increased over the span of a few minutes.

I stared at the stack of symbols. Most of them were copies of the symbol for protection, because that was the one that was freshest in my mind at the time.

I had also gone through the various elements and there were multiple copies of the sun symbol too.

I had even drawn some of the symbols that had been difficult for me. They weren’t done perfectly, and I could see a couple of failures, but on the whole, I'd done better than before.

My hand reached for the stack, and I separated the used paper from the blank pages. I had a few hours until Unice’s party, so I could inscribe a few more symbols.

[Symbol Inscription has reached level 2]

That felt good.

My level ups were starting to grow sparser as they increased in rank. I'd forgotten how quickly they’d levelled up when I’d first received them.

There was no lack of mana to hold me back, I could continue inscribing for as long as I wanted.

Well, that wasn’t exactly true.

“You’re going to be late.” My mum‘s voice floated towards me.

I almost jumped out of my skin and when I turned around, she was facing me with a smile.

“Remember you still need to go to Amanda’s and get your suit for the day.” She turned to the door and gestured for me to follow. “I’ve already packed your overnight necessities. No son of mine is going to be late to an important party.”

I nodded. Normally, I was always on time, but I lost track of it in all the excitement. When I was concentrating on symbols, there was little room for focusing on anything else.

“My portal should be arriving soon.” I looked up at the sun through the splits in my ceiling.

My mum had set up a few of my clothes and other items on the main table. She couldn’t leave them on my bed with all the dirt there. Even if I could manipulate it off, she said it ruined the clothes.

A few minutes later I was packed and ready to go.

I had the lapel pin in my pocket, and I was waiting outside for the portal to arrive. Gold perched himself on my shoulder and I fed him a treat as we waited.

The guards had begun their surveillance as well, a faint whisper in my ear telling me I would be accompanied while in Koshima

This was the first time they had gone out of their way to tell me that they would be joining me. It was nice of them to inform me, but it also made me wonder what had caused the sudden change.

Before, it was like they hadn’t existed.

I shook my head and thought about the fact that Gerial and William would be there too. It had been rare for us to get together as a trio. Part of it was the fact that the two of them were famous in school, and the other part was the difference in year levels.

Even if Gerial could hang out with us later on, for now he was too busy, and the first years hadn’t stopped freaking out at the sight of him

“You know, I bet you would look amazing in a little bird suit.” I spoke to Gold.

He stared at me.

“I’m just saying, it’s an option if you want to try it. Apparently, Unice’s party has a strict dress code.”

I heard my mum laugh beside me.

“You should make sure it’s made out of silk.” She spoke. “Gold only deserves the best.”

Gold squawked in protest, but then I saw him look down at his feathers. His wings rose slightly, and he scanned his body.

“He’s considering it.” I smiled.

As I spoke a chime sounded in my ears and I felt the mana around me shift.

“Have a lovely time. And make a lot more friends if you can.” My mother swept me and Gold into a hug.

“Will do. I’ll have you know I’ve already made a whole group of them in my class.”

“So, you’ve said.” She had a twinkle in her eye. “But there’s nothing wrong with more friends.”

Waves of purple water pooled in the grass around us, and a door appeared. I broke off the hug and walked towards it.

This time my journey through the nexus was peaceful and uninterrupted.

I did take a few minutes longer because I wanted to check out the nexus itself. When I had activated my mana sense the last time I was here, it retaliated by blocking what I could see.

Did that mean it was watching me at all times?

I’d thought I was inside it like a blood cell inside a vein, impossible to see from the outside. If that wasn’t the case, then I was glad I hadn’t tried to use much magic inside here.

I wouldn’t want to get kicked out for trying to control one of the marble corridors.

As I stepped onto the wooden stairway that led up to Koshima academy, I felt a tug on my heart. The moment I opened the door I activated my mana sense.

“Hey Gerial, long time no see.”

I could see his tell-tale blur standing on the grass beside me.

“Hey brother. Look, I got one too.” Gerial cancelled his spell.

He was wearing a dark navy suit with a red shirt. His hand was gesturing towards his lapel. There was a pin on it.

It was purple, matching his eyes.

“Very cool, I hear they’re the height of fashion.” I smiled. “What’s the schedule looking like for you today? Are you going to be joining the main party?”

“If you’re asking if I’ll be invisible, the answer is yes.” Gerial’s body shimmered as he spoke.

He once again disappeared from my vision and was only visible when I used my mana sense.

“Great, I’ll look like a crazy person talking to myself on the way there.” I grinned to show him I was joking.

I’d seen enough of how people reacted to him to know how uncomfortable it would be to be seen in public.

I hadn’t even gotten a glimpse of how bad it could get. As we walked through the streets and passed the guild, I could see him ducking and weaving between the walking people.

The entire city had come out to shop during the first day of the weekend.

If Gerial appeared in the middle of Koshima during rush-hour I couldn’t imagine how these people would react.

“I find it kind of funny.” I spoke.

Nobody around me found my words weird, my voice was lost in the mass of chatter around me.

“What?” Gerial’s voice spoke out from beside me.

“These people would give me a mountain of gold to meet you, but some of them are about to elbow you in the head and they’ll never even know.”

“I’m sure if they did, it would make a nice story for them to tell their grandchildren.”

“‘I Smacked A Marked One In The Face’. A book for the ages.” I poked my tongue out at him.

“I would read that book.” Gerial strode beside me. “You know we just passed the guild, right? That’s where the main celebration is.”

The party for Unice’s friends would be hosted at her house, but the one for guests was in the guild.

“I’m making a stop at Amanda’s house first. Haven’t you noticed I’m not wearing a suit?”

“Honestly, I thought you were going to stick the pin on your clothes and consider that fancy enough.” Gerial was serious. “Or you’d come in your school uniform.”

“What? That’s crazy.” And almost exactly what had happened. “I’m borrowing a suit from Amanda’s family.”

“I hope you don’t mind if I stay outside their house. I think they’d discover me if I tried to walk in there.”

“I’ll only be there for a few minutes.” I promised.

The journey to Amanda’s house was quick, and I didn’t see Harpo the cat this time. Gerial stayed back as I approached their mansion and knocked on the door.

“Hello?” A female voice called out. “One moment please!”

There was the sound of rushing footsteps and then the door opened. The woman at the door stared down at me.

Her silver hair flowed from her head to her shoulders, and her posture was sturdy and strong. Her skin was a healthy peach pallor, and I could barely spot any wrinkles.

It was Amanda’s mother. I think.

“Hello there dear, wonderful to see you again.” She smiled. “I’ll let Amanda know you’re here. Do come in.”

I followed her into the house and stared at her closely. She looked like she was twenty years younger than when I last saw her.

Amanda’s mother had completely transformed.