Forming their class was, by and large, painless. It was done automatically just as their new overlords had said. After that, groups of survivors lined up near the walls as portals appeared to whisk them away. Meanwhile, a number of lone survivors milled around the quickly emptying amphitheater. The stragglers looked about despondently until a notice came out, offering them the chance to form up and avoid random assignments. Many seemed eager to explore the option, and Millie even considered checking to see if she could swap classes herself. If just to avoid Liam.

But, no—in the end, she decided against it. It was probably best not to risk antagonizing the others in her group. Instead, she lined up alongside them and they waited patiently. Soon, their turn came and one by one they left the amphitheater.

On the other side, their new living space was not quite what Millie had expected. She’d never gone to college, but while that meant she had little to compare to, what she found certainly didn’t match what she’d seen in movies and TV shows.

As they stepped through a set of towering double doors—more fit for a celebrity’s mansion than a school—the first thing they saw was a common area in a large circular room. It was filled with dozens of tables, floor pillows, and what Millie was pretty sure was a Japanese kotatsu in the middle. But it lacked chairs of any kind! Confusingly, above the room were literal crystal chandeliers sparkling wildly as they emanated light. On the other side of the room were ten doors squeezed tightly together, with plaques above their frames. Next to the entrance were two more doors, one labeled as “Bathhouse,” and the other a black door called “Study hall.” Though in the case of the bathhouse the 'door' was little more than a large curtain.

The sides of the room, however, couldn’t have been more different. On one end, the space between the entrance and their rooms was filled with empty painting frames, a few mismatched desks, and vases filled with crystalline flowers. But on the other side was something far more interesting.

A huge window stretched across the wall. Beyond which, they could see everything. Down beneath them were ruins of golden buildings and twisting roads, their view seemingly from dozens of stories in the air. The cities layout was incomprehensible, as the further one looked the further the city seemed to stretch in response. Only to snap back to a relatively ‘small’ size the moment you looked away. It was like some kind of optical illusion.

More confusing yet, there were parts of the ruined city that seemed like a living Escher painting. Paths leading upward suddenly branched off, only to reconnect in blatantly impossible ways elsewhere. Some roads were even moving in real-time, convulsing around like a pit of angry snakes as the group gawked at it all. It didn’t help that entire city blocks laid in shattered bits, seemingly frozen in time in the midst of exploding! Meanwhile, other structures were simply clipping into each other, overlaying like some kind of malfunctioning video game.

Looking out at Magincia, Millie honestly expected there to be the sounds of apocalyptic mayhem. It looked like a damn warzone in most areas, and others might as well have been volcanoes spewing out neon lights. But only a faint sound of vague, classical music filled their dorm. It was accompanied by a gentle, but sourceless smell of incense.

All of that, however, was meaningless to the group. It didn’t matter. At all. Because past the ruins, past the frozen explosions, past the dancing roads that made no sense, up into the horizon that was covered by a transparent dome made of gold covered in cracks, was a sight that took their breath away. It drew gasps. It was followed by exclamations of joy, and of sorrow. Even curses for some, as one by one they all saw it.

A familiar skyline beyond the gold.

“That’s the CN tower,” Millie murmured.

“It is—it is!” Catherine cried out. Others joined in, shouting as they all rushed towards the window. Millie placed a hand on the warm transparent surface, staring at the city of Toronto in the distance. She could feel a gentle vibration in the glass, as though an engine were gently rumbling far off.

“Is this real?” CJ whispered. “It’s not an illusion, is it?”

“Hard to tell,” Raj offered. “I see some smoke though. Signs of damage maybe? I don’t think they’d put a fake view with that kind of detail.”

“I thought…I w-was worried the city crashed into Toronto,” Katelyn said, struggling to stay composed. “Where did this place land? There’s no room outside the city, not without…”

She let her voice drop. Without crushing the towns outside, Millie finished silently. But would this place even care if it did?

“It didn’t settle on the land, I think,” the small blond Tanya jumped in. “Look—I know we can’t see the water from this angle, but look at the CN Tower. The Roger’s Center is on its left, see? That means we’re looking at Toronto from the south. We must be on top of Lake Ontario.”

Catherine suddenly paled notably.

“You don’t think it landed on St. Catharines, do you?”

“That’s the city just northwest of Niagara Falls, right?” Tanya asked, before shaking her head. “No, we’d definitely see the water, which it’s already weird we can’t anyway. Maybe the perspective is being skewed by the golden dome thingy? I can’t say for sure, but judging from the size of the buildings…we’re maybe eight or nine miles out from shore?”

Braylon whistled. “You can tell all that?”

“That’s impressive,” Isabella agreed, giving the short girl a genuine smile.

Tanya blinked wide-eyed at the Instagram model before blushing furiously as she stammered out modest excuses to the group. Millie just rolled her eyes—she’d gone with Tanya on a boat ride when the girl had wanted to take shots of the city before. It wasn’t exactly surprising that Tanya had a pretty good idea of where they were now. Still, Millie was willing to let the amateur photographer have this moment.

I just hope this means my parents are alive out there, she thought. Maybe…I’ll be able to see them again after all. Millie let out a long sigh as she stared out at the city. The entire group shared that peaceful moment of longing before Millie decided to voice the million-dollar question.

“So…what now?”

“Now, we rest,” Raj answered. “We can explore our dorm and the rest of this ‘school’ tomorrow. If this hospitality week lasts as long as they say it does, that gives us over three weeks of downtime to figure things out.”

“Fuck,” Braylon said. “Do you think we’ll need that long?”

Raj shrugged. “I’d like to think not—they told us we were getting more time than their usual students. But we might need it in the end.”

The group fell silent, contemplating his statement. Eventually, however, D’marco sighed.

“This shit fucking sucks.”

“Yeah…” Braylon agreed, before wincing as D’marco glared at him.

“Are you going to take the remedy today?” Raj asked the tall boy. D’marco briefly glared at Raj too, before looking back over the city.

“I guess man. I don’t know what else I can do.”

Isabella grabbed his arm protectively but seemed at a loss for words.

“Do you want us to be there with you?” Raj offered.

“What? No, I…” D’marco sighed deeply again. “Nah, man. It’s probably better if I just do this alone.”

“Like hell you’ll be alone,” Isabella snarled. D’marco looked down at her, and for a brief moment, it looked like he was considering arguing with her. But he gave that up almost immediately. Instead, he just sighed again as he nodded.

“Yeah, cool. Watch over me passed out gettin’ remedied or whatever.”

“Hey, you’ll be fine,” Braylon said, walking up to the teenager. “And if you do need us, just say so, okay? We’re in this together.”

D’marco stared at Braylon. Specifically, at the cornrows on top of the large muscled man’s head. D’marco looked like he really wanted to say something—and Millie judged from the boy’s expression that it wasn’t going to be nice. But eventually, D’marco just blew air out of his cheeks in another exasperated sigh.

“Yeah, thanks man. ‘Preciate it.”

“Of course brother,” Braylon replied, before holding up his hand.

“The fuck you say?” D’marco snapped. “Don’t call me your brother, bitch.”

“Huh?” Braylon said. He looked genuinely confused as to how he had offended the dark-skinned boy. D’marco, however, glared at him, visibly grinding his teeth. Before things could risk heating up, Raj stepped in.

“Hey,” he said, clapping a hand on Braylons back as the two muscled men shared a look. After a moment, Braylon sighed and looked back towards D’marco. Giving a sheepish nod, he mumbled an apology before backing away. D’marco watched him go, before letting out an inaudible curse as he leaned against the window to stare out at the horizon.

“Alright,” Raj said. “Unless anyone has anything else, let’s call it for today. Sound good?”

A round of agreements swept through the group, but Millie bit her lip. She debated letting it go…but she couldn’t. There was something that she needed to know. Something she wasn’t sure if she’d regret asking about. But she had to.

“I…have something,” the group paused to look at her. She took a steadying breath. “Raj…what happened to the pleated-dressed guy? The one we met in the trenches, who came in…alone to the worm room after us.”

Raj met her gaze, raising one large eyebrow as she asked her question before his expression fell. His eyes filled with intensity before he looked down at the floor.

“The guy who fell in?” Liam asked. “What’s there to ask about?”

Millie shot Liam a glare, before going back to staring at Raj.

“Raj…I need to know. Please. Did you…did you throw him in?”

Gasps broke out among the group. Millie spared a glance and saw CJ looking away, pale-faced. He knows the truth, she decided. She refocused on Raj.

“Throw him in?” Isabella repeated. She narrowed her eyes as she stared between the two of them. “What’s all this about?”

Raj, however, remained silent. Breathing deeply, his eyes flared with that brilliant intensity of his before they gave way. To sorrow.

“I made a choice, Millie. There are…probably good ways I could put this. Make myself sound better. To myself. To you. To the group. But…a part of me doesn’t want that. It’s easy, you know. To justify something like this. It shouldn’t be, but it is.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Isabella asked again. Raj turned to look at her, before sweeping his gaze across the group.

Finally, he spoke.

“Yes, Millie. I threw him.”

Five simple words. Shock spread among the group, rippling out like a boulder dropped into a pond. Millie had been right—but a part of her wished she’d never asked.

“You really killed someone to save me,” she finally said, before letting out a mirthless laugh. “Fuck.”

“Not just you,” Raj corrected. “Liam and Tanya were in danger as well. There was also your baby to consider, and worst of all…” He paused, before letting out a deep, guttural sigh. “Worst of all was the time limit I thought we all had. The fastest way to cross…was when that thing was busy. A time limit we didn’t have. Not really.”

“That’s so…awful,” Catherine whispered, and Katelyn quietly nodded next to her in agreement.

“It was the right call,” Liam said.

Millie glared at him. “How can you say that? It’s one thing if someone dies because of some stupid trap this place drops on us, but murder?”

“Murder? Millie, we’d be dead right now if not for Raj. That’s not murder, that’s him saving our lives.”

“He killed that man! He—”

“That man was a stranger, Millie, and people were going to die one way or another! Raj did what he had to do to save us all. You should be grateful—how can you not see that?”

“How can I not see? How can I not see? This coming from the fucker that was one breath away from dropping me to save his own skin?”

Liam recoiled, face flushing in anger. “How can you say that? I risked my fucking life for you. I pulled you up after you fell because you were too fucking stubborn to just lean on me. That was all you had to do and we’d have been fine! If anyone killed that pleated fuck it was you!”

“You—!” Millie choked on her words. Her blood was pounding in her ears, and she swore her vision was going red. She’d never in her life wanted to hurt someone so much before. To scream, to yell, to go for his fucking throat and tear it out.

Before she got a chance, however, CJ wrapped his arms around her and dragged her back. She struggled in the scrawny boy’s grip, sputtering as she growled in frustration. She shot a withering glance at her best friend, before tearing her vision back to Liam. She tried desperately to kill him with her eyes before Raj interposed between them, holding up his hands.

“Hey!” He shouted. “That’s enough. ENOUGH!”

Millie barely restrained herself from shouting back. Trembling as she breathed heavily in CJ’s arms, she glared silently at everyone in the room. Liam, for his part, backed away from Raj’s large hand, red-faced and puffing.

“Listen,” Raj said. “Millie has every right to be angry at me. She has every right to label me a killer. All of you do. I made a choice to save lives, but that doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do. Nothing justifies taking someone’s life.”

“Then why the fuck did you do it?” Isabella snapped.

Raj met her eyes, hesitating. Then he lowered his hands. “Because I was too afraid to jump. That’s what a good man would have done. But I’m not a good man, so I chose someone else to die so we could live.”

“Raj…” Braylon said, but Raj crossed his arms and shook his head.

“I want to be a good man,” he continued. “I never wanted to be put in this kind of position again. I hate that this happened. I hate that when faced with this same choice, again, I made the same mistake. Again. But I couldn’t stand by and do nothing. I couldn’t.”

“Again?” Isabella said. But Raj didn’t answer.

Millie stared quietly at his arm, where she knew a tattoo was hidden.

“You’ve had to do this before?” She asked. “When you...served?”

Raj bit at his lip. Gone was the gentle snuffling of his mustache. Gone was the beauty in his dark eyes. Gone was the jovial man who was first to march forward.

All that was left was bitterness.

“Yeah.” That was all he said.

The group fell silent once more. No one knew what to say, or how to say it. How could you? How could you tell a man who had made such a terrible choice that it would be okay?

Would it ever be okay?

Eventually, Millie cleared her throat. There was nothing that made this better. Nothing. But that didn’t mean she had to make it worse.

“Raj, I…” She hesitated, before pushing herself forward. “Thank you…for saving me. For saving all of us. I’m sorry for…calling you a murderer. I know you don’t believe what you did was the right thing, and I don’t know if I do either, but I’d...I’d be dead without you. Thank you.”

Raj didn’t answer her, but after a moment he nodded.

“...but he’s still a killer,” Catherine whispered.

“Catherine!” Katelyn shouted.

“What? He is!”

“You shouldn’t say that—”

“She’s right,” Raj interrupted. “I told you all—nothing justifies what I did.”

“But…you saved so many of us,” Katelyn said. “You can’t discount the good you did.”

Catherine pleaded with her friend. “But in the eyes of God, he’s crossed a line, Katie.”

“I know, but...” Katherine sighed. “It wasn’t murder, if anything it was…it was the Trolley Problem.”

“The what now?” D’marco said, before scoffing at the two girls.

“Er, the Trolley Problem. It’s...it’s an ethical question about a conductor who has to choose which of two tracks a runaway trolley goes down. One side has a single person, and the other has a group, but no matter what the conductor does someone will be run over. There are variations on it too, sometimes with family or people of importance on certain tracks—”

Raj spat on the ground, making Katelyn flinch.

“Sorry,” he said. “I’ve heard that argument before and I hate it.”

“I…can see that. S-sorry.”

Raj sighed before shaking his head.

“I’m sorry, to all of you. I’m not making this easy, but that’s because this is something I’ve faced before and still never come to terms with. There are excuses I could give. I could say I chose many lives over one. I could say that I threw a broken man with little reason to live after he lost his wife. I could say the man was a coward, who was just using us. I could—”

“Wait, what!?” Millie interrupted. “How was he using us?”

Raj raised an eyebrow, before looking over the group. “Ah, fair. I guess none of you picked up on that. It wasn’t a coincidence that those two were the only survivors of their group. They were using us to test out the paths, following far behind so if a trap went off they’d be safe. It’s why they got hit and we were fine—they were too far separated from our group and the shelling was specifically falling around us like a live-fire exercise. Short of standing up out of the trenches or stumbling down the wrong path, we weren’t in any danger.”

Millie sputtered briefly. “We weren’t—is...is that why you were so calm? Why didn’t you say something or, or—”

Raj waved a hand to stop her. “I didn’t have any proof at the time and didn’t want to waste time debating it. It’s only now, after talking to Rebecca and her group, that I know for sure. If everyone had been able to read the signs and follow the tutorial, practically no one would have died. Tanya solved the tunnel traps by essentially reading the correct answer for us. The trenches all had scripts telling us where was safe, and the shelling was just to scare us. The worm also moved in a deliberate pattern. Only when it was agitated did it bother going for the path itself. We could have literally crawled to safety and been fine.”

“I...oh my god,” Millie felt like she was going to be sick. She’d heard Rebecca saying something to this effect, but she’d been too tired and focused on getting to a healing tent. She’d overlooked it, and now the weight of it hit her full force.

“So that’s why I say it’s easy to justify it. Keep digging and you’ll probably find more reasons. But it doesn’t change the fact that I killed that man. It just makes it more tragic.”

“It was just a fucking twisted test of courage,” Isabella murmured.

“Yes,” Raj agreed. “And according to our hosts, there will be others in the future. But those ones won’t be as kind.”

“This one was kind?” Millie said, chuckling despite herself. “Are you serious?”

Raj, however, nodded gravely. “Yes, Millie. This was Magincia being nice.”

“That’s...fuck.” She muttered.

“How are we going to survive?” Tanya asked softly.

“We’ll stick together,” Braylon interjected. “It's the smart play, right?”

Raj looked at his friend, before shaking his head.

“I hope it's that easy. But nothing says we’ll get to be on the same side next time.”

The group was rocked by his statement.

“But...we’re a class,” Millie said. “Shouldn’t that make us a team?”

Raj nodded. “I’d agree, but I don’t make the rules. None of us do. But classes always have top students. They also have a bottom rung. What do you think this place will do with them? We’ve seen what Magincia calls ‘motivation’.”

Millie stared at Raj, before looking away.

“What are we going to do?” Katelyn whispered.

“I’ll tell you all what I told Millie,” Raj answered, before looking each member of the group in the eye.

“Whatever it takes."

A short while later, the group split up. Raj was the first to leave, breaking the silence with the sound of his heavy footsteps. The rest of them loitered for a while, some staring out the window, some sitting on the ground. But none of them spoke—they couldn’t bring themselves too. They were stuck contemplating his confession, but also the very real, and very terrifying, fact that more trials could await them.

No...more trials did await them. Millie knew it deep down. Even if Raj hadn’t told them what he’d heard, it was obvious. While no one knew for certain what the school year held in store, death was there, just over the horizon. But would it be theirs? Or would it be someone from another class?

How many would die before the city of Magincia was satisfied?

D’marco and his sister left next. Braylon and Catherine went into their rooms shortly after. Katelyn paused to give Millie a quick hug, fussing over her briefly before wandering off. CJ offered to stay with Millie, but she waved him away. She wanted to be alone.

Liam wouldn’t let her, of course. He grabbed her arm before she could leave.

“Hey. We need to talk.”

“Later. Please.”

She met his eyes, and his lips drew thin. He hesitated, but let her go. Tanya watched them both, a complicated, sad expression on her face. But Millie ignored her. She marched towards the door labeled as hers. It was unlocked, so she stepped through.

Inside was a large circular room. It was too big to fit next to the other rooms under normal conditions, but Millie simply assumed more magic was at play. Stepping forward, she leaned against a set of railings to look around. At first, she was confused, thinking there had to be a banister, or possibly a hallway she was supposed to go down, but no.

There was a staircase that went down along the wall to her room proper. She didn’t know why the entrance stood half a story above the rest of the damn room, and she was not looking forward to walking her pregnant self up and down it every time she wanted to come and go. She sighed and swallowed the curse that threatened to break free.

The room below her was well decorated, if simple. On one wall was a window, with the same golden view of Magincia and Toronto in the distance. Further along the wall were several shelves and desks—one of which was glowing like a computer terminal. Just past it, was a nondescript door that presumably lead to a bedroom or simply additional rooms. The rest of the room was filled with couches and chairs spread about, with a large rug covering the otherwise stone floor. A fireplace was nearby, crackling merrily, but she had a difficult time seeing it from her current angle. Over near the window was a small dining area.

Unfortunately, however, in the center of the room was…a robot. It looked up at Millie standing on the staircase and smiled.

“Welcome, Mistress! It is a pleasure to meet you—I am your personal servitor. Please utilize me as you wish.”

The metal being curtsied politely as she spoke with a bubbly, happy voice. Millie immediately considered leaving the room and never returning. But, instead, she sighed again and began her slow trundle down the stairs. At least the stone was warm under her bare feet.

“I’m…fine. You can…stop bowing, or whatever.”

“Of course, Mistress!” The servitor replied. “Would you care for any beverages or food? If you’d like, I can also give you a tour of your rooms and the various amenities at your disposal.”

The overly enthusiastic voice grated on Millie’s nerves. But she remained calm as she finally reached the bottom of the stairs.

“I…just let me sit for a while. Please?”

The robot looked taken aback for a moment, before composing itself quickly.

“Er, of course, Mistress!” It then stood to the side awkwardly, gesturing towards a thick, large-backed leather chair. It screamed boss-villain to Millie, and she briefly wondered if it came with a free cat and plans for world domination. Regardless, it looked more than comfortable enough so Millie made a bee-line for it.

At first, the servitor made to help Millie sit, but Millie waved her off before slowly sinking into the enveloping leather. She groaned involuntarily as she melted on the spot, soaking in the heat of the room. Healed though she may have been, Millie was still exhausted. The rejuvenating feeling from the spells cast on her had also long since faded.

“Are you…sure you wouldn’t like any refreshments, Mistress? We have a wide selection to offer.”

Millie closed her eyes as she silently counted to ten.

“I’m fine. Thank you.”

“Oh, well…of course. Yes, Mistress.”

Would it be rude if I asked if she has an off button? Millie thought. I don’t think I can take much more of—

Millie’s thoughts were interrupted as she finally took in her ‘servant.’ It had metal skin, naturally, and the same feminine features as all the others she’d seen. Only, her servant was literally dressed as a maid. But not the cute French kind. She wore an austere black dress, reaching past her knees with a white apron covering her front. She even had a frilly headband that kept her bronze hair in check. And overall, it was fine. It was a demure, modest, somewhat Victorian outfit that Millie would have had no complaints about. Except for the parts she could clearly see beneath it all.

“Are you wearing high heels and fishnet stockings?” Millie blurted out.

The maid looked down at her legs. She blinked, before looking back up at Millie.

“Yes, Mistress. Does this not meet with your satisfaction? I can strip if you’d prefer.”

“What? No! I just mean it doesn’t even remotely match. Why are you even...you know what, no. I don’t care. Knock yourself out. But stay dressed.”

The servitor cocked its head to the side. “Oh, a colloquialism. One moment, please. Definition retrieved: to enjoy oneself. Ah! But, of course, Mistress. I shall endeavor to do so!”

The maid smiled widely before lightly clapping her metal hands together with a giggle. Millie just stared at her, dumbfounded. Unfortunately, the maid proceeded to continue staring back at Millie. Millie patiently waited—she wasn’t even sure why at this point—but nothing changed. It just kept standing there staring. Staring and smiling, of course, the whole time. Eventually, Millie realized this was a staring contest she was not winning.

“Look, can you, I don’t know—give me some space or something?”

The robot hesitated. “Of course, Mistress. However, you...still haven’t had your introduction to your room and its amenities.”

Millie sighed deeply. “Can I do the tour later?”

“I...ah…” The robot looked deeply worried, even if its smile never wavered.

Millie rubbed at her face. Her headache was returning.

“Fine, but do I have to move? Can you give me the tour from here?

“That…would be acceptable, Mistress. Yes! Shall I begin?”

“Sure.”

Let’s get this over with, Millie added silently.

“Perfect! Let’s just, er…”

Millie watched as her maid gingerly stepped up to the glowing desk. It looked at Millie, then at the desk, then at a spot in front of the desk. Millie was pretty sure it had been wanting her to stand there. Its head then swiveled a few times between the three locations as it struggled to come to terms with the fact that Millie really was going to remain seated.

Why is my robot acting so weird? She thought. Is me sitting here really that big of a deal? Have I broken my damn robot already?

Eventually, the robot cleared its throat and brought its hands together with a small clap. It then gestured broadly at the terminal, like it was a prize Millie had won on a game show.

“This, Mistress, is your personal terminal! Information that you have unlocked can be found here, as well as a copy of your soul scroll. In addition, you’ll find an interface for the purchasing of various goods and services from the marketplace. While you can visit the main stores within the Academy grounds for in-depth explanations, and even the chance to test various products, you can still nonetheless purchase anything you need from the convenience of your own room! That list includes, but is not limited to, the following: Potions, tiers one through three. Scrolls, tiers one through three. Talismans, tiers one through three. Enchanted goods, ranging from clothing, light armor, heavy armor, wands, staves—”

“Okay, I get it. I get it.” Millie cut in. She briefly looked at the scroll she was still carrying before setting it on a table nearby. “Lots of magical stuff to buy.” She muttered.

Millie had to rack her brain for answers. Potions made sense. That seemed like magical stuff 101. Scrolls? She was pretty sure that was a wizard thing. You cast spells from those, right? She recalled playing Dungeons and Dragons as a kid at CJ’s behest, but that had been years ago. This wasn’t the kind of thing she was normally interested in.

Besides, I played a paladin, not a wizard. I just went around asking if things were evil and if I could smite them. Millie wasn’t really surprised their DM hadn’t asked her to return when she’d stopped coming.

Millie let out an exasperated sigh. “Okay, I think I got most of that. But what's a talisman? Is that different from a normal enchanted item, or whatever?”

Millie had in her mind a locket, or pendant of some kind, but the robot shook its head.

“Not quite, Mistress. Talismans have more in common with Scrolls in that they are created from magically infused parchment or paper. Also like Scrolls, they have spells imbued into them, however, they focus on large-scale or long-term effects. In that sense, they are similar to enchanted items.”

“So...some sort of halfway between the two. Okay, I can get that.”

I guess, she added silently.

“Indeed! Though please note, Talismans are most preferred for their effectiveness when it comes to combating Spiritual beings or practitioners that channel them.”

Millie raised an eyebrow. “Spiritual beings? Like angels?”

“Yes, Mistress. Angels, demons, spirits, elementals, ghosts—beings of an ephemeral nature.”

“Cool. Well, I’ll go clothes shopping tomorrow I guess for paper badges. Was there anything else?”

“Yes! Would you like me to go in-depth about the services provided through the marketplace?”

“...services?”

The robot nodded. “Everything from spells to training can be purchased, as well as temporarily allies, guards, builders—”

“Okay, okay. I got it. Thanks. Is that all then?”

“Er…” the robot blinked at Millie. Its smile actually wavered this time, but it steadied itself. “There is more, Mistress. Such as the preferred case use for the various forms of magical accessories available, but we can…move on for now if you’d prefer?”

“Yes. Please.”

“Very good! Do note, however, that you have a starting credit line of five hundred resource points.”

“Noted,” Millie sighed again.

“Yes, erm.” The robot carefully moved to the other side of the room, towards the wall beneath the stairs. Millie had missed it on entering, but built into the stone was a large ring of metal.

“This is your personal portal, Mistress. You can use this to quickly travel to sections of the school grounds, and eventually to go on expeditions! Please note, however, that you will not be able to go on expeditions until you visit the Expedition Center and have a starting location assigned to you.”

“Expeditions? What, are we Indiana Jones going into jungle temples now?”

Her maid cocked its head in confusion again, before shaking it. “I apologize Mistress, but expeditions in this context refer to the act of heading out into one of Magincia’s inner Realms for practice. There are many reasons to do so, the most popular being resource acquisition. More information can be found in the Expedition Center inside the Academy grounds, but please keep in mind the terrain will vary based on your starting location and how far you choose to travel. It won’t…necessarily be a jungle.”

Millie rolled her eyes. “Oookay, how far can we travel? How big are these ‘starting locations.’” In her mind, Millie was vaguely recalling holodecks from Star Trek.

“Oh, the starting location doesn’t refer to a designated zone, Mistress. It’s merely the location of your personal entrance gate. And while there is a permanent safe zone enforced by magic around that portal, past that it will be up to you to tame the land. Various missions will also be made available to students, directing your journies as well as awarding bonus scores for students that seek higher grades.”

Missions? Millie thought. Tame the land? What the hell does this have to do with learning magic?

“And these…expeditions are necessary for resource points? I thought we were supposed to be learning magic to fix this stupid city? How is any of this related?”

“Ah, the expedition system is a way to help train aspirant Magi, Mistress. It’s meant to mimic the primary goal of Magi, not necessarily what your current class is slated for.”

Millie sat up in her chair. “The…primary goal? What do you mean?”

“The primary goal of Magi, Mistress. As champions of the City of Magic, the Magi of Magincia are tasked with the liberation and conquest of worlds that have fallen to darkness.”

“Conquest? Are you fucking serious?"

“Yes, Mistress. Demons, Aberrations, or just mundane corruption claim countless Realms in the multiverse, and it is a Magi’s job to seek out these worlds to correct them.”

“What about Earth? Is this the kind of world Magincia would ‘correct’?”

The robot tilted its head in thought, before nodding. “Yes, Mistress. There is little doubt that a Magus is required on your world to bring it enlightenment!”

Millie collapsed back into her chair with a sigh, covering her face with a hand. “Of course. Fucking colonialism bullshit. Why would I expect anything else from this place? So, what, these expeditions are our way of practicing being magical conquistadors?”

The robot paused again, in the way that suggested it was looking up the word Millie used. After a beat, it nodded.

“That title is accurate, aside from the national affiliations inherent within it.”

“Why can’t we, I don’t know, have some sort of simulation for repairing your magic engines or whatever?”

“Simulations of that nature do exist, Mistress. However job-related training doesn’t begin until higher ranks. As an Initiate, you are being tested for your viability as a Magus on a fundamental level.”

“I thought you wanted mechanics! Why isn’t this place rushing to train us then!?”

The maid shook her head. “Unfortunately, the Governor does not have the authority to alter the training program of the Academy, nor change the job requirements for the open positions in the city.”

Millie could feel her eyebrow twitching. “Cool. So, to recap. I have some amount of resource points—”

“Five hundred, Mistress.”

“—fine, five hundred resource points to spend on magic crap. I’ll have to go on pseudo-crusade-esque expeditions to get more—”

“Crusade, Mistress? That—”

“—and this is all because, in order to learn magic and do the job this city wants us to do, we have to learn to conquer worlds first. Is that correct?”

“Well…there are a number of inaccuracies in your statements, but…yes?”

Millie stared at the robot again. It smiled, of course. It always smiled. Slowly, however, Millie buried her head in her hands. She tried not to cry.

“I just want to keep my son safe. How am I supposed to do that here?”

The robot didn’t answer. Perhaps it was looking something up? Or perhaps…

Perhaps it doesn’t have a damn clue either, Millie thought. She was so tired.

“Um...I apologize for the forwardness, Mistress, but, erm, would now be a bad time for me to show you to your bed chambers and the connected bathing area? I’m afraid the Mistress is a tad bit...unbecoming at the moment.”

Millie looked down at her gore-stained dress, and the now ruined upholstery of her leather chair. This time, she did cry.