Get some steel, make it round - that’s easy, things tend to become roughly spherical unless affected by other things. I don’t want a sphere, though, but a disc. So I just flatten and spin the thing. Perfect.

Well, not really. It feels kinda like a dinner plate, if it had tumors and was made of metal then beaten repeatedly with a hammer. This won’t do… but I can summon it into the real world and then smith it. ‘Smith it’? Is that even a verb?

Well, without a mana core it’s dead, inert, so I can’t un-summon it. Or do much with it at all. So far I’ve just used cores made of bone, but I don’t think that’s ideal for this. To find an alternative, I should probably analyze what I know works.

I make the bone cores by starting with a bit of bone, then infusing it with mana until the mana starts crystallizing. When I summon the puppet, the core is the ‘connection’ to my main body, and if it loses that connection it will just stop working, or die, if you can call it that.

Speaking of which, how does that work for non-elemental puppets? I usually don’t give them mana cores. To test that I un-summon the golem, then form a mana domain to properly observe the connection to the puppet. I take a moment to clear my mind and shift my focus to my mana sense, then summon the wolf puppet.

The connection is… wide, in a way. No, it’s not just one connection, it’s several? It connects to the puppet’s innate mana field and, via that, the brain and several other locations. There is no one single point I can recognize as the connection, though. Or maybe it’s the brain? Does the brain control the mana? Sigh. I hate these big holes in knowledge.

Okay, how to solve the problem… I could find a way to do what regular puppets do, but I feel like that would be pretty hard and time-consuming. Note to self: Do that at some point. The other option is to make a mana core of some sort.

So what happens when the mana crystallizes in the bone is that it becomes even better at conducting mana, and it is then used as a nexus for all mana to the puppet. Wait, backtrack. Bone + mana → crystallize mana = bones which are great at conducting mana. That’s the key to improving my mana physique and get physically better at using mana and magic, isn’t it?

Another thing to add to the list.

Back to making a mana core, what I need is really just something with great mana conductance. The problem is that I can’t just make a mana crystal from nothing. I need to have a seed of some sort for it to grow from, and- can I use a small piece (a ‘grain’?) of copper for that? Just pour mana into it… Uh-huh, I can. Why didn’t I think of that earlier…

Well, that’s one issue solved. I summon the tiny core. ‘Tis but a mote. Tiny, a bit larger than a grain of sand, but it works. It’s really just a bead of copper covered in a thin layer of crystallized mana. Can I grow this? I grab a mana crystal and a tangle of copper wire.

I start untangling the wire before giving up and just melting the damn thing and use it to make a copper ring with eight evenly spaced spikes around the core. Next I transfer mana from the extra mana crystal to the core. When the crystal is fully depleted I have a spiky and slightly odd mana core.

It doesn’t seem to have any ill effects. And I can still unsummon it. If I then place the disc I made earlier around it, and summon it again… I have a crappy flying saucer. There is far too much metal on it, so I unsummon it and remove chunks of the steel until I have a shitty steel wheel as opposed to a shitty steel disc.

Well, now I can try to shape it with smithing. I form a vacuum barrier and start heating the insides with practiced ease. Happy with the temperature, I focus the heating on the steel, introducing the Water aspect to make it more malleable. It doesn’t take too long until I have force it to the rough shape I want, at which point I realize I’m still in kobold form and turn back to normal, before cladding myself in scales, the Fire aspect, and a barrier.

“It’s hammer time!” I hear myself mutter as I raise a chunk of dirt, hardening it with several spells and an enchantment. Next, I put the core of the glaive-to be in a little dip I left for the purpose, then start hammering the disc.

“…s”

“Lars!” The voice tries again, more anxious this time.

I hold the magic and turn to the others.

“What is that?”

“The glaive? The plan is to make a summonable, magic-controlled, ammo-less rang-”

“No, that… monster!”

“Huh?” I turn in the direction he points. “Oh, that’s a big… Uhh, I actually don’t know what that is, but it doesn’t seem hostile.”

The creature in question has a thin, almost snake-like, body covered in chitinous plates. It has six thin, chitinous legs, though the lower legs seem more like pointy claws than any sort of feet, and sink into the ground. It has spines along its body and head, which sports four jaws like some sort of sci-fi horror alien. However, it’s just observing us.

“Yeah, no clue.” I repeat, turning back to the mostly finished glaive. I only need to-

“Are you just ignoring it?”

“Yes.” -sharpen it, and then I can test it to see if I should do any other changes. “Isn’t that obvious?”

“What if it attacks you?”

“Oh.” I say, finishing the glaive (v1), then open the vacuum barrier at the top. I wait for the warm air to disperse before letting go off the spells and disenchanting the ‘anvil’ so I can flatten the ground.

“I guess you don’t notice, but it’s standing at the edge of my ‘domain’, essentially an area where I control all the mana. Now that I think about it I actually noticed when it got here, but it withdrew to outside the domain immediately and I was in a flow state so I ignored it.”

“That seems dangerously overconfident.”

“I dunno-” I sling the glaive diagonally upwards, away from anything in particular, arcing it back before it gets out of range, slowing it to a stop over my head. “Did you see the, uh, completely trashed area over there?”

Jasper looks at me questioningly (and a bit uncomfortably), but one of the others answer in his stead. “Off to the side, with broken trees and holes in the ground?”

“Yeah, that.” Glaive, return! Dramatic statement, go! “That was me playing with Leda.”

“Seriously?”

The ‘monster’ seems content just watching and does not follow us back to the rest of the group. Sensei is watching two others spar. Or, I think they’re sparring; it actually looks a bit like dancing. After a little moment it becomes clear they’re not dancing, as one of them ends up on the ground.

Sensei gives some points of feedback to the both of them, and then turn to me. “This is the time where you say ‘fight me’, yes?”

I raise a finger, but can only lower it. “Uhh, yes? I mean, fight me!”

And so, we do. Well, we discuss some rules first, and decide that I will use a puppet so he can go all out. The fight is over when one person is unable to continue or yield, or when the judge (being the rest of the group) says to stop. As with yesterday we’ll start low-powered and ramp up.

I turn female again, causing a couple grimaces in the audience, especially with Jasper, though also he seems a bit… relieved? So he prefers my female form, huh? Well, he’s most definitely a bit infatuated, and I can see that being a bit awkward if the target just… changed.

Either way, I sit down and close my eyes, to shift my attention fully to the puppet I summon, a doppelganger of sorts. I do some stretches and hop in place while punching the air, then take a stance. “Come at me!”

He does not actually come at me, instead eying me while inching closer. Suddenly he throws a punch, which startles me despite being out of range, but I have to deflect the follow up. I step out of range, and he seems content observing me for a moment.

And then he comes forwards as if to punch, but his leg snaps up and smashes into my unguarded left side, knocking the air of my my lungs.

I stagger a bit trying to get further away to catch my breath, but this time he follows, and I have to throw myself backwards with magic.

He follows and I keep retreating.

After a few hops I realize I should probably counterattack, which he counters and throws me to the ground.

I magically throws myself back up to my feet, getting hit by a somewhat weak punch on the way up, then I go at him again.

I throw an intentionally straight jab, which he catches, and use magic to continue forward instead of submitting to the pressure on my elbow.

There is a sickening snap as I ram him, followed by a pained, cursing scream.

Oh wait, that’s me. I’ve had enough accidents in experimentation to mostly ignore the pain while I start healing it, and go in for a magic-boosted low sweeping kick as the world gets blurry.

There is a solid *thuck* as he blocks it, but he takes a small step backwards from the force. I slam my outstretched foot down to the ground with more magic, causing more pain -easier to manage this time-, then bring the other knee up, only to miss and find myself flipping into the air.

A touch of magic makes me land on my feet, only for the world to go white for a moment, then black.

“Lars-a’s down!” someone yells.

I spring to my feet, but let out a sigh as I turn my eyes to the source of the bloody smell - My puppet’s nose is broken, and the arm looks a lot worse than it- wait no, it felt even worse. Its brain reboots in a moment, and I make it stand up as sensei starts commenting on the fight.

My technique in general is kinda terrible, though he compliments me on (ab)using magic to improve the power of my attacks and enhance my mobility. He suggests that, with some practice, I can use it a lot more efficiently for both defence and offence.

And then there’s the technique I decided to call ‘the Puppetmaster’, which I readily admit is a bit self-destructive, but (I point to the now healed puppet) it’s not that big of a deal compared to how useful it is. Not like I’d ever need it in a realistic situation - as long as I can use magic I have far more effective means to defend myself.

This triggers questions about how powerful my healing magic is, the sad answer to which is ‘can heal scratch damage and clean cuts, mostly’, since repairing puppets use the same techniques as making them. It just hurts a lot more.

“On a slightly related note, anyone wanna do a boss fight?” The golem takes the place of the doppelganger.

“Because this thing doesn’t feel pain -or anything else for that matter- it should be good for testing your power. Well, it’s more of a target dummy I guess, and I doubt you’d be able to do that much damage.”

While Jasper looks somewhat interested, none of them actually speak up. “No one? Seriously, you guys are boring.”

To punctuate that I turn around, take a step, and slap the golem’s right hand, shattering it. It doesn’t convince them, and they make it clear by the talks as I take us back to the city that they have no desire to fight me in again, at least not if I’m allowed to use magic.

I drop off everyone but sensei (maybe I should’ve asked for his name? Everyone just calls him sensei) and Jasper, then take us to the Water Temple. I do the same routine, starting by showing him the spot by the entrance to the dormitories with the dance patterns.

“From here?”

“Yeah.”

“I see.”

He looks around for a bit, makes a few small motions as if to warm up, and then he just does the moves, and quite a lot of them as well. It’s better than Jasper’s current level, and that’s without having touched to orb. Needless to say, both Jasper and I hurry him to the orb to see how good he will be after that, especially during the challenge.

When we get to the challenge/orb room we find someone taking the challenge, with three spectators, one of which recognizes us.

“Oh, it’s Larssss-ah. Lara. Ah- Hi lara!”

“Hello. You brought others?”

“Well, I guided them here, but we used Simen’s-” he waves at the one taking the test, who turns to me, “-water breathing spell.”

“Hey, yo-blobblbbblb-” Simen tries to say something as he fails the challenge miserably. He wipes the water off of his face and holds out his right hand. “Hey, you’re Lars right? Uh, Lara? Eikeli? Can I shake your hand?”

I take it with a slight smile, after which the others also want to shake hand. Are they dogs or something? Actually, given that a significant portion of the shapeshifter community regularly interacts with the wolves…

Apparently I’m enough of a celebrity(?) for them to let sensei touch the orb as soon as I ask, though the fact that he’s a cultivator might’ve helped. Soon after he takes the stage, and blows all previous performances out of the water (so to speak), even gracefully ending the challenge by stepping out of the arena just as he’s about to lose.

I don’t know who started clapping, but I join in - that was impressive. After that he seems rather enthusiastic about this place. I mean, until now it seems like he went along more or less because I asked (and some curiosity), but now he’s just as bad as me!

That leads to me giving everyone the tour of the facilities (not that there’s much to see), during which the collective group finds two more staring spots in front of the big door. That makes one by the dorms entrance and three by the door.

The latter seems to be supposed to be used with each other, and probably include movement between the spots. It also seems to be roughly symmetric..

Having three people ‘dance’ in synchronicity looks a bit like some kinda transformation sequence, and as I am the one who has the highest level in the ability (by simply being first) they make me do that. Err, not all of them at once, not to begin with, but after doing each one separately I end up doing the entire thing with two doppelgangers.

But nothing happened.