As I looked down at the symbol I was inscribing, I frowned. Pernacles wanted me to be faster in completing the regent he’d assigned for homework and Mr Black and I had a meeting tomorrow about classes.

The time off was nice while it lasted, but now I was diving back into training. During my time off a single question had continued to rise to the top of my thoughts.

What kind of regent or class could help me overcome my early death?

I knew that this world held dangers for me, and that I couldn’t guarantee living from day to day, let alone until I was twenty-five, but having a set date of death unnerved me. Fighting Oubliez had stirred up unpleasant emotions, and they were driving all of my instincts and thoughts towards survival even after the monster had died.

Every Marked one had died before they could say what was happening to them. Most people believed that my counterparts ascended into a higher existence, but that didn’t help me. Others believed that the divines were preparing us as vessels for entering into the mortal world.

If that was the case, could I stop it?

I needed more information, and the skills to act on that information. That was the only way I could survive.

That was why I was taking my symbols study class seriously and hadn’t skipped school for long. Visiting my grandma was an exception, and a worthwhile one, but now I was ready to re-enter the grind.

“A trip to Gesti Sky?” William asked.

The table in front of him lit up as he activated his symbol. A simple sun symbol inscribed on a piece of paper. It worked, sending a bright light into the air.

Then the symbol’s power sputtered out as the paper deformed, embers and wisps of smoke appearing at the edges of the lines.

He had put too much power into it.

“Yeah.” I spoke. “I’ll be honest, I’m not sure what it is.”

“You don’t know what Gesti Sky is, but still managed to get tickets?” William was skeptical. “How is that possible?”

“My grandma is very spontaneous.” I smiled.

I tapped my own symbol, and I felt my mana flow into it. It was one of the sections I was making for my regent. This one was the shield symbol, but it didn’t make an orange shield.

The material was a reddish opaque glass.

I slapped my hand onto the material and nodded in satisfaction as pain spread through my palm.

I had successfully hardened the material.

“Looking so happy right after I failed is not a wise decision.” William nudged my side. “How long until your regent is done?”

I had already finished the transparent section of glass, adding a basic protection symbol array to it. The connector symbols were already inscribed and the material in front of me was the second section.

“It’ll take me the rest of this class to add the connector symbols. They’re not as complex as the main part of the shield sub-array.” I raised the red material up to my eye. “Maybe a few days more for the entire regent to be done.”

“Now you’re just making up words.” A happy voice called out from beside me.

I turned to face Roxxy with a mischievous grin.

“How is that sun symbol going?” I poked her sheet of paper. “Wait, what’s this pile of charcoal in front of me?”

Her cheeks puffed up in anger and her lips tightened.

“Some of us like to shine brightly.” She huffed. “Also, I need help.”

“Well, it’s nice to see that the art of asking nicely hasn’t died.” I grinned.

I reached out and examined her next attempt. I held back a groan as a mass of scribbles entered my vision. It was clear that the scriber profession was not in Roxxy’s future.

I traced out a few basic lines and pointed at them.

“Try to work on getting these straight in your next attempts.” I kept my voice soft.

One thing I had learned about Roxxy in the last few days was that she was someone that could take criticism as long as it was valid.

She actively sought it out when it came to symbols.

Her fingers brushed mine aside as she gazed at the modifications I’d made. Her eyes ran down the page slowly and she nodded.

“This is supposed to be a single letter?” She frowned.

“And a concept.” I nodded. “The language of symbols is a complex one. You’re not gonna get there in a day.”

I was happy that she was taking the inscription so seriously. Despite the lucrative opportunities for power, the class didn’t really care about symbols.

It was too much work to make it into a career, and even as a hobby it took a lot of time and effort.

“The best things take time.” Roxxy bit her lip in concentration as she traced my lines with her pen. “Also, I do have time this week and next week. I’ve always wanted to go to a Gesti Sky.”

She raised her symbol scratches into the air to examine them, while I noted down her name to send to my grandma.

That was one person confirmed as coming. I wasn’t sure about Gerial. His status as a Marked one caused a lot of difficulties for trips.

“You can make that two people.” William spoke up. “I could use a bit of fun, and my dad would be more than happy for me to hang out with you. He’s almost got your silver ore ready for delivery.”

“Silver ore?” Roxxy leaned forward to look at William. “If you’re giving away precious metals, I’m in.”

William rolled his eyes and I chuckled. The rest of the day passed quickly and before I knew it I was walking through the gardens of Koshima towards the dome.

Amanda hadn’t come in today either.

I could have gone home straight after school ended, but instead I made my way towards a familiar tree beside the dome’s outer wall.

Amanda and I had the arena scheduled for today. It was an appointment we’d made before the incident.

Gold flapped his wings and hopped off my shoulders, his talons tapping against the grass as he explored the surroundings.

I leaned back against the tree and closed my eyes.

I had thirty minutes until I had to go to the arena, and even then, I wasn’t sure anyone would be there for me to spar with.

The sound of Gold walking around was mixed with the rustling of trees and the chirps of birds. Koshima academy went on unperturbed by the recent events, students from other year levels going about their daily business.

There was a bit of tension that arose from having a monster sighting within the city, but even those that were in the know weren’t too concerned.

After all, It had already been killed.

My thoughts drifted away as I fell deeper into meditation. The main thought in my mind was what my grandma had planned.

William had told me what Gesti Sky was.

“It’s a method of displaying the immortal household’s power and wealth while increasing it.” He’d explained. “Usually in the form of attractions and rides.”

It sounded suspiciously like an amusement park.

He hadn’t said much more, promising that the experience would be better if I went in blind. It made sense that my grandma would hear the word fun and take me to an amusement park, but William’s description of it being a display of power gave me pause.

That was exactly what I wanted to find out.

How powerful was an immortal household?

Their defining characteristic was that they had amassed enough influence across history to spawn a symbol. That meant the world itself had been moved by the family. Enough so that it spawned a concept based entirely around them.

Only four households had reached that level in this world’s history.

The sound of claws scraping against grass and dirt entered my ears. It was coming from beside me. I opened a single eye, expecting to see Gold asking for a treat.

There was a bath of crimson light at my side. I gazed down into the light and saw Agni on the ground. She looked up at me and chirped happily.

“Hey there.” I grinned. “Want a treat?”

Agni accepted happily and the moment I fed her we were joined by a jealous Gold, hopping angrily towards us with his mouth open.

I gave him a treat as well and heard a giggle from the other side of the tree.

I leaned forward to see the person that had laughed, and a head of crimson hair popped out. Amanda looked down at me, standing against the tree.

“Hey stranger.” She raised her hand in greeting. “Did you know I have a booking in this arena?”

I placed a palm against the ground beneath me and lifted myself up. With a flick of my finger the dust that clung to my uniform flew off.

“What a coincidence, me too.” I grinned.

My arm dipped down as Gold jumped onto it, and we made our way into the dome.

Amanda looked healthy.

Her skin wasn’t as pale as the last time I’d seen her, and she had a positive atmosphere. It was hard to put my finger on it, but she seemed happy.

“You know, I’m going to have some questions to ask.” Amanda spoke.

We were making our way down the corridors towards the arena.

I looked at her and some of the tension drained from my shoulders. I was glad that she felt comfortable enough to say that directly.

“I’ll answer what I can.” I promised. “Probably not here though.”

I swirled my finger in the air and she nodded. There were always people listening, or at least they could be. I had learned that the hard way with Oubliez.

The arena was already set up for us when we arrived, two balls and a long pole regent sitting on the ground. A wave of heat struck my face and I blinked.

There was a lot more fire mana in here than I remembered.

I could feel the connection between myself and the mana. It was a lot stronger than before. The fire and earth mana in the room waved at me, sending ripples of glee and joy across our connection.

I smiled and waved back.

“I think they missed us.” Amanda did the same.

“Maybe they really like seeing us fail at dodgeball.” I raised my hand towards one of the lava balls.

It rose into the air with a bit of difficulty, but I nodded in satisfaction at the movement. It was far smoother than my other attempts.

Maybe resting for a week was more helpful than I’d thought.

My movements felt smoother, and my mind was more focused. The minor pieces of the magic puzzle that had been holding me back the last time I was here were moving into the right places.

“I do have one question I want to have an answer to before we begin.” Amanda raised her hand.

I felt my control slipping away as the flames inside the lava sprouted up and fought against me.

“Oh?” A bead of sweat formed above my eye. “What’s your question?”

“Am I allowed to pound you into the ground?” Amanda’s lips parted into a smile. “During our spars, of course.”

I let go of the regent and she stopped her manipulation, letting the ball fall between us. Gold and Agni moved towards it and nudged it into the middle of the arena for our match.

“You can.” I looked at her and felt my cheeks rise as I smiled. “But if you couldn’t before I don’t see why you’d be able to now.”

“Those sound like fighting words.” Amanda stretched her hands in front of her, a wry grin on her face. “I’ve got a lot of steam to blow off.”

“Then I nominate myself as your punching bag.”

I made my way towards the other side of the arena, placing the lava ball between us.

“But you’ll have to reach me first.” I raised my hands.

I left two meters between the ball and I, and Amanda did the same.

The earth mana around me glowed in response as I moved, my connection solidifying as I activated my earth manipulation and mana sense skills.

The world blazed into life around me and I stared at the lava regent. My brows furrowed in concentration as I hooked the earth inside in my grasp, and we tried to work together to drag the regent towards ourselves.

The first part of dodgeball was claiming the ball for yourself, and then throwing it at your opponent.

Amanda stomped her foot against the ground, a look of grim determination crossing her features as her hands stretched out towards the regent.

Our elements clashed against the sides of the ball.

The first part of dodgeball was more a show of brute force than skill. I could see the fire mana churning as Amanda manipulated it.

Then she looked up at me and I saw her features ripple, the flames flickering. The regent moved towards me, bit by bit, and I caught it in my hands.

That was the first time I had won the initial phase of dodgeball, but I didn’t feel happy about it.

We had sparred enough for me to get a feel for Amanda’s rhythm and power. I had felt it the subtle tweaking of her skill, and the slight give as Amanda’s control over the fire mana weakened. I hadn’t won fairly.

She had given the ball to me on purpose.