Friendship is seeing a friend for the first time in years and feeling like you’d never parted.

~Arianrhod, Goddess of Rebirth and Fate

6 months ago…

Otto’s body twitched as a bolt of pure energy slithered through his body like an eel. Everywhere it went, impurities were expelled from his body, and his mind became more aware.

The problem was, the more aware he became, he found it harder to articulate his thoughts. In other words, not much changed except he was brighter now, and his body was tougher and stronger than ever.

Clenching a fist created a barrier of electrical energy around it that only he could see. It’d been a long time since he’d seen a substantial increase in his power.

His only ability was being able to shrink down and condense his power. It was something he used frequently and mastered to the extent he could use it non-stop. Right now, he was the size of an average adult male.

“I’m afraid you cannot get a Shield,” an old man said. Appearing near Otto, who was climbing the stairs. The Trial of Ascension was essentially walking up a set of stairs that seemed to go on forever. Along the way, certain events would occur, but Otto reached the top with nothing happening.

“Why?” Otto stuck with one-word phrases as much as possible. It didn’t challenge his mind.

“You aren’t really human. However, since I owe that Crow bastard, I gave you something more valuable to you.”

“Brother?”

“Yes, that guy. We have some history because indirectly, I’m responsible for his curse. I’m afraid I’ll suffer for it, so I’m working on balancing the scales. So I gifted you with a bolt of Platinum Lightning. As far as lightning types go, it’s ranked between Earth and Heaven.”

“What… do?” Otto struggled to push the words out. It was more frustrating than before because, at least before, his mind was slower, and it didn’t feel like a struggle.

“I’m not allowed to affect your fate or karma and can’t tell you what you are. But trust me, the gift I gave you is massively important to you. I’ll also give you one more boon. I can put you in the tower, near where Crow will appear.”

“Not stair?”

“No. His trial is different.”

“Good. Otto do.” Otto’s logical mind knew that this guardian was toying with him but couldn’t decide which words were valid. Overall, he felt there was more truth than falsehoods involved. In his mind, it meant Crow was in danger or would be in danger.

Otto blinked and found himself on a small hill overlooking a river. Trees surrounded him, but below, along the water, was a small town. There were quite a few farms. Overall, it was a peaceful-looking place that reminded him of the Maddox clan’s ancestral grounds.

“Remain here. You’ll sense it when he arrives. Whatever you do, do not enter the Cursed Grove behind you. No matter how much you want to do so, you’ll do more harm than good.”

Otto looked behind him and saw a swamp-like forest. The only thing coming out of there that had any kind of vibrancy was the river. He sensed the decay and rot within the grove.

“You understand me, you big doofus?”

Otto shrugged and walked toward the town. The guardian stared at the giant and wondered how someone like him arrived in a place like this. Every conceivable scenario he could think up seemed impossible. The guardian monitored Otto for a few weeks, but he left the man alone when the giant took up farming and helping the villagers. The guy was getting paid, fed, and had a place to sleep. It was strange because Otto acted nothing like the tyrannical nature of his people.

For the first time since he’d gained awareness and realized he was stuck as the guardian of this tower, he finally felt a headache coming on. It wasn’t just Otto and Crow, but a whole range of youngsters that were odder than the next.

***

Song Lin arrived at Sunstar with a new Shield, but she was shocked at its shape, and the crest etched into it. It wasn’t her intention to gain a mutated Shield, but she did. The teardrop-shaped Shield had a cauldron in the middle of a field of indistinguishable plants. Perched on the rim was an owl.

Around the edges were nine different flasks, some of which she’d never seen before. Rubbing the wooden texture beneath her shirt, she knew this somehow had to do with Crow. She had to buy new robes, which were thicker and more concealing because it was dangerous to show off a mutated Shield.

Sunstar was about as safe a place that ever existed in the tower, so she arrived and registered at the Adventurer’s Guild. Even wrote a letter for Crow and Song Xue, just in case she was forced to move forward.

Initially, she wanted to work at an apothecary, but none of them would even look twice at her. No one would even let her demonstrate her ability. The so-called ‘masters’ of Scholarly Talents required her to go through their training and pay thousands of Mana Crystals.

She didn’t recall it being like this the first time she came here, but she didn’t stick around for long, so maybe it was always like that. Song Lin didn’t think so, or Luthais would have said something. At the very least, Gavin would have given her some kind of letter of recommendation. So what changed?

No matter, she spent some time buying various plants, herbs, and other alchemical components. She didn’t need a cauldron or pill furnace as her new Shield allowed her to summon them as required. Provided she had the Qi to maintain it. The drain wasn’t all that bad, and she suspected part of the energy was supplied by the tower.

She made her own pills. Energy Recovery pills were not uncommon, but hers only had 5% toxicity, which was almost unheard of. Every day, she tried to get stores to sell her pills, and in the afternoon, she’d sit down at a cafe near the ascension point to watch for people arriving while eating lunch. Shortly after, she’d check in at the Adventure’s Guild before heading back to her dingy room to produce more pills.

It wasn’t a bad living, but they forced her to sell her pills almost at cost. Since her Shield was weaker, not every batch was a success, so she was barely maintaining. Song Lin had experience with this market, so she knew the local shops tried to suppress her but couldn’t determine the cause.

Today was going to be a bad day. She could tell the moment she walked into one of the few shops that would buy her pills. The old man running the place was a bit lecherous. He never went beyond leering, so she mostly ignored his inappropriate comments.

“Not buying,” the man told her directly. The strange thing was, none of her pills ever seemed to be on his shelves. It’d been weeks since she’d started selling to him, so he bought thousands of pills, and she felt it was odd. An alchemist can always tell which pill is theirs because of the trace amounts of energy left inside them.

Song Lin turned to go but was stopped. The overweight merchant ran over to stand in front of the door.

“I’ll pay five gold per pill, plus another thousand gold if you come into the back and get naked. I won’t touch you. You just have to let me see your body.” The fat man leered, and Song Lin only felt disgusted. She’d long expected him to try something, so she’d been prepared. No emotion registered on her face at all.

“I’m married,” Song Lin replied simply. Not wanting to provoke the guy.

“It isn’t like you are cheating on him. Just show me wants under those robes of yours. That’s it.”

“Mr. Welsh, I’m sure you understand when I say that the only man allowed to see this body is my husband. He isn’t someone you can deal with nor threaten.”

“Oh? Then where is this husband of yours? Why are you working for the paltry amount of money I pay you?”

“I have no choice but to wait for him. Now, will you tell me why you and other vendors forcing me into a dead end? Are you trying to suppress me or take advantage of my skills?”

“No-no, you can’t slander me like that. Your pills just aren’t that good.” The fat man still leered suggestively, which only made Song Lin more nervous.

“Then where are my pills?”

“Huh?”

“If they aren’t that good, then why are you sold out of them?”

The man frowned. While he really wanted to force Song Lin into a corner, he didn’t dare take it too far. Despite his backing, this was still Sunstar, and if they caught him forcing her, the governing powers would execute him.

“Move,” Song Lin’s taciturn and cold nature made her seem untouchable. Her claim to having a husband threw him off his sale’s pitch so he could only step aside. Seeing that she wouldn’t sell anything to him, he remembered something his father once told him. Never anger an alchemist.

“Wait! I’ll buy all your entire stock at the agreed price.”

“No.”

“I’ll double it.”

“No.”

Dammit. “Bitch, you better know what’s good for—eek!” The merchant stopped speaking, a blade pressed against his spine, and he dared not even breathe or move.

“Hello, sister,” Song Xue chirped.

“Took you long enough.” Song Lin’s voice turned caring and warm.

“Pfft. Seriously? That’s how you greet me?”

Song Lin chuckled. “How did you find me?”

“Sometimes, you are really helpless. You are so wrapped up in your alchemy you don’t pay attention. Did you forget we have a way of sensing each other? I’ve been around for a few days but was observing. This pig is working with Gale’s Tinctures. They’ve been trying to figure out your pill method, and Gale is a bigger dirtbag than this scum.”

“They won’t figure it out.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“My methods. Their loss.”

“Want me to kill this horny toad?”

“No. Never mess around in this city. Even dirtbag’s threats were empty.”

Song Xue put her mouth near the side of the fat merchant’s head. “If I were you, I’d flee this place. I’ve already reported you and Gale. While you are fleeing and pissing yourself—remember my name.”

“W-who?”

“Faelan.”