– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 215, Season of the Setting Sun, Day 71 –

Terry awoke in the middle of the night.

His mana sense had been over-developed to begin with and his long stay under the dungeon’s mana suppression had intensified his sensitivity to mana even further. His subconsciousness was reacting to mana signatures even when Terry was sleeping.

Terry could sense death-aspected mana in the distance outside the boundaries of the Chara Settlement. The signatures seemed different from normal folk and from any other creature that Terry had sensed before.

Terry clenched his fists and was about to get up when a multi-aspected signature with the intensity of a small sun entered his perception range. Devon was quickly approaching the death-aspected signatures.

The death-aspected signatures vanished one after the other. Afterwards, Devon distanced himself from the settlement again.

Terry sat in silence and concentrated on his mana sense. It did not take long before a similar sequence of events played out again… and again… and again… The signatures were not always death-aspected and the number of signatures varied, but the sequence of events remained the same.

Terry did not know how much time had passed while he followed the happenings.

No barrier.

No life signature cloaking.

And the Wastes…

“Wasted Zone.” Terry murmured to himself. He reminded himself to thank the sleepless Devon for keeping watch.

***

Lizzy and Terry walked through the streets of the Chara Settlement. They wanted to collect Devon and then pay a visit to Elvis and Poppy.

The two turned a corner and halted in their tracks when they saw Devon.

“What…” Lizzy’s jaw hugged the floor. “What… What are you wearing?!”

“My new robes,” replied Devon.

“These are not robes.” Lizzy gestured with both hands. “That’s a dress.”

Devon blinked. “These were the robes with the best enchantments.”

“That’s a dress.”

Devon blinked. “These robes are enchanted to smell nice and—”

“That’s a dress.”

Devon blinked twice. “What’s the difference?”

Lizzy shook her head in exasperation. “For starters, robes usually aren’t sleeveless. Nor do they come with such a neckline.”

Lizzy moved her gaze down and shook her head again. “Nor with an A-line cut that narrow at the waist for mana’s sake.”

She looked up and gestured at the dress again. “They normally don’t sport a flowery pattern either.”

Devon kept a blank expression. “These robes are enchanted to mend themselves. I like that.”

Lizzy stared at him. “Fine then. Forget it. You look lovely.”

Devon squinted at her. “The tone of your voice does not match the content of your words. Is this one of these trick statements?”

“I like the daisies,” interjected Terry. “They stand out on the pink background.”

“Thank you,” replied Devon cheerfully.

“At least you didn’t get a slinky dress with leg slits,” said Lizzy in resignation.

***

Poppy was carrying a large package out of their house. Today, Poppy looked spotless. There were no traces of grease, oil, or soot anywhere to be found.

“Uhh, Poppy, what are you doing?” asked Elvis nervously.

“Dev is back,” replied Poppy in a monotone voice.

“Ah yes, your lookout is back, but remember when we talked about it being better if we pick out the items together?”

Poppy looked past Elvis. “Dev is back.”

Elvis followed her eyes and saw Terry’s group. The words were stuck in his throat when he saw Devon’s outfit.

“What the… No, wait. That’s not what’s important right now.”

Poppy was spreading a blanket on the ground next to Elvis’s booth.

“You can join me in the booth Poppy, I’ll make room for your items.”

Poppy acted as if she did not hear him and knelt behind the blanket.

“Poppy always takes time to watch the hawkers when we walk Fluffy,” interjected Devon. “The booths are boring.”

Elvis moved his gaze from his sister to Devon. It paused again on Devon’s outfit until Elvis decided to focus on one troublesome person at a time.

“I know.” Elvis sighed. He walked to Poppy. He kissed her on the head and then patted her hair.

Meanwhile, Poppy was happily taking items from her box and placed them on the blanket.

“Uhh, better not that one,” exclaimed Elvis with anxious eyes and picked up one of the items.

Poppy continued placing her items unperturbed.

“Oh mana, no, definitely not that one!” Elvis sorted out another item.

“Not that one either…” Elvis examined the device in his hand. “Hmm, it’s too dangerous to sell to randoms. Maybe if a member of the Wasteguard or of the settlement guard shows an interest though. I’ll keep it below the counter in the booth.”

Poppy was done placing her items. She raised her eyes to watch the street… and immediately lowered her gaze again timidly. She was staring at her own hands, but her ears wiggled in happiness.

“Greetings, Lizzy. Can you keep watch for a moment?” asked Elvis. “I need to hide these somewhere out of reach.”

“Sure thing,” said Lizzy.

Elvis brought the items back into the house.

“What happened to the worries about perilous incense?” questioned Terry.

“Devon keeps lookout,” replied Lizzy. “He knows all the signatures from around here and no unknown signatures are allowed to come near Poppy.”

Terry crouched down in front of the wares of the aspiring hawker. He examined the items until he saw one resembling the contraption from the day before.

“What does this do?”

Poppy quickly stole a glance at the item and then returned to staring at her own hands.

“Mana sublimation.” Poppy’s voice was still quiet, but it was more audible than the day before. “Squiggly lines to release the mana from its crystallized form.”

This was the longest statement Terry had ever heard Poppy utter. Terry thought that this change indicated Poppy’s passion for her work. He felt his own mood brighten at the realization. Terry enjoyed interacting with people that were passionate about something.

Not sure if anyone else would look at Poppy and pick ‘passionate’ as the term to describe her…

Terry thought that sincere excitement was infectious.

Even if it is muffled by timidity.

“Like the device yesterday?”

“Different.” Poppy wrung her hands that continued to attract her gaze. “Less focused. Missing crafted crystal for modifying the mana after sublimation. Crystal needs to be prepared with—”

“Sis, are you spilling your trade secrets again?” Elvis had returned. He rubbed Poppy’s head.

“Merchant spy?” Poppy’s voice was barely audible now.

“Don’t mind it this time,” said Elvis. “Terry is with Dev, which also reminds me...”

Elvis stared at Devon in silence for a while until he could not take it anymore. “Are we just going to ignore that getup?”

Lizzy snickered. Terry shrugged.

Even Poppy raised her eyes to examine Devon. “It is a bit odd.”

Lizzy, Terry, and Elvis all turned to Poppy.

“See?” exclaimed Elvis. He pointed with his head and eyes at Poppy and then looked back to Devon.

“It is not the season for daisies,” muttered Poppy perplexedly.

Elvis hid his face in his hands and inhaled deeply. “Nevermind.” He kissed his sister on the head again. “You two were made for each other.”

“That can’t be right.” Devon furrowed his brow and turned to Lizzy. “Can it? Is there a chance that their parents knew the looneys?”

Lizzy guffawed at Elvis’s tired expression. “I missed being home.”

“Shared pain is half the pain,” said Elvis and smiled wryly. He glanced at Terry. “Terry’s mana signature is ridiculous enough. If he outlives us, Terry may have to take over.”

Pardon?

“Terry is not quite ready for that kind of responsibility.” Lizzy talked in a teasing tone. “However, he does demonstrate some capability to learn.”

“May you two be eternal and everlasting,” interjected Terry drily.

“Sounds exhausting,” retorted Elvis.

“How much for this one?” asked Terry and pointed.

“One,” mumbled Poppy.

“One val?” questioned Terry with incredulity.

“Poppy, remember when we talked about prices having to match material costs and labor investment?” cued Elvis.

Poppy nodded. “Two.”

“Uhm…” Terry was speechless.

“As you can see, we’re still working on price setting and haggling.” Elvis placed both elbows on the counter in his booth and rested his chin on his palms.

Elvis shrugged. “You’re with Dev. If you want something, I’ll put it on his tab.”

“What about the device from yesterday?” asked Terry. “The one with the focus crystal.”

“Still experimental,” replied Elvis. “The only one to whom I would hand that without further testing and iterating is Dev. It should be fine for normal mana crystals. It may be fine for unaspected mana cores. However, for anything aspected, the recoil gets exponentially worse.

“Poppy has an idea for some improved ‘squiggly lines’, but we don’t have the right tools yet. I was thinking about more of a low-mana approach, but I don’t know which materials would be up to the task.”

“Hmm…” Terry stood up from his crouching position.

Remember the scolding about showing off your storage items?

“Uh, Lizzy?” Terry whispered to her.

“Capability to learn acknowledged,” teased Lizzy. “But it is fine here. They’re family.”

“This is an imprinted handle attachment. I have imprinted it with the Immovable Object spell.” Terry activated the imprint to demonstrate the effects.

Elvis tapped the transfixed attachment. Next, he grabbed the thing and started to pull.

“Neat,” exclaimed Elvis. “Might be a temporary quick fix. Unfortunately, imprints are a bit problematic. Without phenomenal shielding, they are generally a bit too unstable to be near these devices. People find them more troublesome to use, too – with the risk of imprint collapse and all. Sadly, we also would not be able to replicate it. None of us have learned proper spellwork.”

“This is a crafter’s reference my Aunt gave me.”

When Elvis heard the words, he immediately let go of the transfixed attachment and received the book in a manner that one would receive a newborn child. He reverently flipped through the pages.

“This… This is… Where did you get this?”

Terry had already summoned a wooden box with two handles. “Uhm, I use the tools for carving mana lines, but…” Terry pulled the handles to the side. “The inscription tools would go to waste if they stayed with me.”

Elvis stood slack-jawed.

“My Aunt once said that these alone are insufficient, but I believe her standards are also somewhat high. I figure if they include the tools in the set, then they must be usable. I don’t know if they would be of use to Poppy, though.” Terry scratched his cheek.

Terry’s eyes widened when he remembered something else. “Ah, right. I also have a reference for mana-osmotic materials if that would help.”

Elvis examined Terry in silence and then turned to Lizzy. “Where exactly did you pick Terry up?”

“Dungeon.” Devon interjected his reply from the side.

“You haven’t noticed the bag yet, have you?” asked Lizzy.

“What bag?” Elvis’s eyes wandered along Terry to find a bag. “Why? What’s with that bag?”

“The crest does not ring a bell?”

“No?” Elvis tilted his head. “Should it?”

“Only if you’re interested in magic.” Lizzy chuckled.

Elvis narrowed his eyes. Afterwards, he flipped to the last page of the crafter’s reference in order to check for a printing location.

“Uh…” His eyes opened wide. Elvis closed the book without comment and cleared his throat. “Alrighty then.”

“You know what, Poppy? Terry really is nice.” Elvis turned back to Terry. “Thanks, mate. I can make copies of the books, but I can’t copy the other stuff. How much?”

“Uhm…” Terry was caught off-guard by the question. “One?”

“Is this a joke?”

Terry held his neck and replied: “You can subtract it from Devon’s tab, I guess. Like I said, I am not using the inscription tools anyway. However, if I could trade some imprinted items for some of Poppy’s inventions—”

Terry remembered his first visit to the booth. “Actually, I was also wondering about some of your inventory. How many sizes and rates are there for the coil springs? Where did you get this latch mechanism? Ah right, there was also the levered screw— Did you create that yourself? Also—”

“Wait wait wait, hold up. You’re going a mile a minute there. I can’t keep up.” Elvis held out his hands. Then, he chuckled. “A kindred spirit, I see.” Elvis grinned.

***

Terry absentmindedly followed Devon and Poppy to the orphanage. His mind was still buzzing with some of the ideas he had discussed with Elvis earlier.

“There you are.” The Captain’s voice jolted Terry out of his daze. “Mal had some questions regarding the mana flow of the Heart of Synergy.”

Terry looked at Megumi and then at the canan that was accompanying her. Mal was even taller than Tiana. There was grey fur on every exposed body part. His head resembled that of a malamute.

“Greetings, Terry.” Mal’s voice was husky and he spoke slowly with careful enunciation. “I am called Mal.”

Terry returned the greeting and started to answer the questions of the Wasteguard coordinator. However, Terry was soon distracted by Devon, who was standing behind the Captain and Mal.

Devon’s hand hesitatingly reached out towards Mal’s fluffy head, but he restrained himself and pulled his hand back again.

Terry was repeating some of the statements on the Heart’s ritual that he had heard from Saul.

Devon’s hand inched closer to Mal’s fur until he jerked his hand back and crossed his arms afterwards. He pointedly turned his head away from the fluffy sight.

Terry described how he perceived the mana layer on the Lightbearers. He noticed Devon peeking at Mal.

Devon’s head was still turned away in an intense struggle with himself. He stole glances from the corner of his eyes. Mal’s furry ears twitched whenever air passed over them. Devon puffed his cheeks.

“Going by the statements, the syphoned life energy at every single point in time is pretty minor,” said Megumi. “It does add up over time, however. The cumulative effect is comparable to a bad diet or lack of exercise. Several years of a normal lifespan.”

“Life expectancy of an average waster does not reflect a healthy lifespan anyway,” commented Mal.

“We had Devon check the flow of life energy, too. It matched the statements.” Megumi turned to Devon. “Right, Devon?”

“...”

“Devon?”

“Hm?” Devon uncrossed his arms and looked at the Captain. “Sorry, what are we talking about?”

“The flow of life energy in Syn was below the threshold I described to you?”

“Yup.” Devon turned his head to stare at a point further away. He narrowed his eyes. “Unknown signatures.”

“Poppy, could you wait here with the Captain for a moment?” Devon asked Poppy, who was hiding behind him. After she had stepped closer to the Captain, Devon walked away with large steps.

“Terry, please go with him,” said Megumi. “If he reacts like that, then it’s likely to be a creepy fan squad.” She shrugged. “But you never know.”

A what now?

Despite his confusion, Terry quickly ran after Devon.

***

“It is really him!”

“B-but that outfit?”

“The mana intensity is indubitably that of the Devonian Lord.”

“It matches the ancient texts, but there are less aspects than expected.”

“Silence! Hurry up and kowtow to your Abyss Lord.”

A group of five people wearing cloaks prostrated themselves on the ground in front of Devon. Terry found their mana signatures to be eerie. The signatures seemed similar to folk and yet somehow different – as if their mana did not originate from themselves.

Channelers probably.

“Huh, it’s been a while since this has happened,” muttered Devon.

“Oh your Devastating Venerableness, how may we serve you in your conquest?” The woman did not lift her head from the ground while speaking.

“Your Abyssal Excellency, just say the word and it shall be done.” A man spoke with an almost ecstatic tone.

“Do you want to bring the Abyss into this realm?” asked Devon.

“Yes, oh Lord! There is no purpose greater than that! Command us as you see fit!”

“Praise be!”

“Please, your Devastatingness, grant us this boon and allow us to share a small part of your ambition!”

“Uh-huh, very well,” said Devon flatly.

Terry thought he must have misheard.

“Follow me,” ordered Devon and led the way.

To do what?

“Uhm, where are we going?” Terry whispered to Devon.

“To the settlement guards.” Devon replied without lowering his voice.

“Are we going to start by taking over the Chara Settlement? Wonderful!” The abyss worshippers displayed gleeful expressions.

“Don’t do anything unless I tell you to,” commanded Devon.

“Of course, my Lord. We will follow your Excellency’s orders even if it means to lay down our lives.”

Devon led the group until they reached a large ugly building. Devon knocked on the door.

“Finally, the time has come!” One of the worshippers was unable to contain her excitement.

“Yes? Ahh, Devon, good to see you.” An armored woman opened the door. “Everyone is really grateful that you are joining the night shift again. It’s always a strain when the Captain and you are absent for longer times. Uhm…”

The woman noticed the abyss worshippers that seemed to be itching for a fight. “This again, huh?”

“Yup, looney season.” Devon turned to address his devoted followers: “Do you want to invite the abyss into this realm?”

“““YES, MY LORD!”””

“Do you want to violently overthrow the Chara Settlement?”

“““YES, MY LORD!”””

Devon looked back at the guard. “Is that sufficient?”

“Sure is. This way then.” The woman stepped out of the doorway. “We’ll have to seal your mana. Everyone can pick a cell.”

The abyss worshippers did not move from their spots.

“Pick your cell!” commanded Devon.

“B-but…”

“Are you questioning me?” Devon asked with a blank face. “What happened to following my orders?”

“Of course, your Devastingness. Hurry in and pick your cell!”

“B-but…”

“H-how is that going to help with the Abyssal Rebirth?”

“It is not for the subject to question the sovereign! Do you dare rebel against your Abyss Lord?!”

“NO, no, but…”

“The Devonian Lord will have his reasons. The Lord works in mysterious ways.”

Devon maintained a deadpan expression and waited for all of the worshippers to be taken into custody. Afterwards, he and Terry took their leave.

“Looneys,” grumbled Devon.

“Does this happen frequently?” asked Terry.

“Don’t know where they keep coming from. I am always surprised the world hasn’t run out of looneys by now. It has to happen eventually, right?” Devon looked at Terry. His eyes were pleading for affirmation.

***

“Got everything you need?” asked Megumi. She was examining a dagger displayed in the shop.

“Most of the parts that I can assemble myself,” replied Terry. “The custom orders will take a while.”

“It is good that you keep yourself busy. It will take some time for the letter to reach the Guardian outpost in which your aunt is registered. Knowing the Divine Hammer, it is also very likely that she is out on a mission. As far as I know, she normally only stays in the outpost to train rookies during the season of the Setting Moon. Contacting your family in Arcana requires some bureaucracy, too. You can’t count on them acquiring assistance from a dimensional mage without delays either.”

“Are you looking for a new weapon?” asked Terry.

“Always. One can never have too many blades.” Megumi grinned. “However, in this case, I am merely admiring the craftsmanship. It is a pity that all these weapons are unfinished.”

“Unfinished?”

“No magic,” replied Megumi with traces of sorrow in her eyes.

Terry wondered at the meaning behind those words and searched his memory for any statements that were close in sentiment. “My ma once said one should never have too much of a gap between the quality of the material forging and the level of the spell imprint.”

Megumi’s lips curled upwards. “Sounds like a smart woman. Something like that, yes. Only out here, it is less about imprints and more about suitable inscriptions, aspecting, or enchantments.”

She surveyed the displayed items and shook her head. “Even the best material has weak points and you need magic to cover them.”

Megumi pointed at one of the most expensive items. “This weapon is like having the best cook pick only the best ingredients only to stop after half the recipe.”

“My—” Megumi interrupted herself and her expression sank. After a pause, she continued: “My family had many accomplished smiths. A common saying was that a smith that only knows smithing knows little of that. Magic engineering can assist in the material forging and you need enchantments and mana crafting to properly finish a product.”

She heaved a deep sigh. “This weapon is unfinished and finishing it would require more resources than can reasonably be justified out here. Ugh... and if you go through the trouble anyway, you risk running afoul of the censors. Better to get a cheap but finished product.”

***