Millie stared out over the ruins of Magincia, gazing at the home in the distance that had been stripped away. She sighed, then turned away from the dorm window to stab at a chunk of steak despondently.

CJ looked up from his meal. “Did you get any sleep?”

Millie paused to finish chewing, and then shrugged.

“I suppose. It took me a while to…get the blood off. I turned in pretty late after that.”

Her friend grimaced. “I know what you mean. Did you not see the shower’s scrub feature though?”

A bit of red flushed in Millie’s face. “…eventually,” she mumbled. “I ordered a dozen towels and ruined them before my stupid robot pointed the feature out.”

“Yeah,” CJ said, “they tend to not be very…forthcoming with advice.”

Millie scoffed in agreement.

Oh, she’d been quite happy once she’d found the feature. She just wished it hadn’t taken her nearly an hour. The scrub mode had been very effective—cleansing away not only the crimson stains on her skin, but also any trace of smells on her. Which was great, but she’d taken another shower after waking up so she could use scented products. She liked to think she didn’t have too many lavish tastes, but she was rather fond of rich, flowery soaps and the occasional perfume. The smell of the subtle cologne her friend was wearing reminded her that she wasn’t alone in that. Yet, as she slowly ate she remembered something that had bothered her about her shower.

“I still think it’s weird,” she said. “Why does this place need to have computers in the shower? And by the vanity. And in the bedroom. Isn’t the main one enough?”

CJ stifled a laugh. “Did you not find the one in the closet?”

Millie paled. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Nope,” he replied, smiling. “Though all the small ones have are things related to the areas they’re in. I’m pretty sure it’s just a way to help us sort through all the inventory they have into bite-sized chunks. Like shopping terminals, you know?”

Millie snorted. “Bite-sized? There were literally thousands of soaps. And—I had to get three different toothbrushes because the first two were made with animal hair!”

“Wimp,” CJ said with a chuckle. Millie tossed a piece of corn at him, and he laughed harder. “Just be glad they don’t charge for any of it,” he said.

“For the ‘mundane’ stuff, you mean?” Millie laughed ruefully, shaking her head. “I don’t think anyone could ever convince me to buy magical bathroom supplies. I mean, what are you going to do with magical body wash? Sparkle like vampires from Twilight?”

“You know,” CJ said, “They had an oil that could permanently straighten your hair.”

Fuck, how does he know me this well, Millie thought, running a hand through her slightly tangled hair before clearing her throat. “…I’m listening,” she said.

The scrawny boy smirked, before pointing his fork at her. “You’ve got to look closer at those lists, Millie. Sure, a lot of it comes across as vanity now but we’re just scratching the surface on what’s available here.”

Millie hesitated, before nodding in agreement. He wasn’t wrong. For all they knew, sparkling skin could be a precursor to some great and ancient power. Or just some weird mage fetish, Millie thought. Though the warning that free items couldn’t be recycled or used for student ‘projects’ was still something she was curious about.

“Speaking of scratching the surface,” CJ continued, “do you still want to go out exploring the Academy?”

“Definitely,” Millie replied quickly. “Has anyone else gone out yet?”

CJ paused, before glancing back towards the ten student doors. The two of them had decided to dine in the commons and were sitting in the middle of the large room enjoying their breakfast. Or at least, Millie had decided to classify her meal of steak, corn, and a bowl of orange-ish pudding as breakfast. Regardless, she hadn’t seen anyone else come or go, but she knew CJ had been out here for a while.

Finally, CJ sighed before turning back to Millie.

“I haven’t seen anyone come or go, but I did see Tanya creeping out of Liam’s room.”

Millie flushed again, this time in anger. “Oh? That’s so nice of her to keep him company…” She tried to keep her voice neutral, but she knew CJ could easily hear the venom bubbling under the surface.

Surprisingly, however, her friend smirked. “Actually, when she came out her eyes were puffy and she seemed rather flustered.”

“Oh?” Millie responded, this time with genuine curiosity. “What do you think was going on?”

“Well,” he replied, “She didn’t exactly stop to chat, but…I’m pretty sure they’d had a fight. You don’t need to be a mage, or whatever, to figure that out.”

Millie chewed her lip. To say she had conflicting feelings about the blond girl felt like a vast understatement. Tanya had been one of her closest friends through middle and high school. The girl had even rented a spare room from Liam and Millie’s apartment during college. Which in hindsight felt like a truly stupid idea, but she’d trusted them both explicitly. Even now, she was struggling with the feelings of hurt and betrayal still in her heart. It hadn’t even been a year since she’d found the two in the midst of their tryst. But…

Tanya had still tried to protect Millie from the worm creature. She’d risked her life. It didn’t matter how hurt, or angry, Millie felt—she knew she couldn’t ignore Tanya’s actions. A friend in need is a friend indeed, right? She thought bitterly. How many people would risk their lives for a friend they’d backstabbed?

Perhaps Tanya felt guilty. Maybe, she and Liam had fought and whatever relationship they had was over now. Millie was willing to…talk with Tanya about it. If, and only if, she had broken up with him. Then Millie might be willing to move past this incident and fix things between them. After all, while she’d been, and still was, extremely uncomfortable with what Raj had done, hadn’t she managed to push herself to accept it? She didn’t have to like it, or even agree with his choice, just accept that it happened and that he was remorseful. And was what Tanya had done in the past so much worse?

She sighed. She wasn’t sure what she’d do about it if she were being honest with herself. It was easy to imagine herself calmly accepting the small girl’s apology and rekindling their long-standing friendship. But in reality, Millie knew she would probably lose her temper. Especially since she still didn’t know which of the two of them had initiated the adulterous relationship. If it had been Tanya? Peace would not be an option.

But I’m pretty sure it was Liam, she thought. Tanya had always been too...meek of a person. That didn’t make that a sure thing, but it was how Millie felt. However, this also brought to mind her pending talk with Liam. I can’t keep putting him off, she thought with a scowl. She shifted the food on her plate despondently.

CJ cleared his throat carefully. “So…do you have plans for when you and Liam are going to talk things out?”

Well, he clearly knows what I was thinking about, Millie thought glumly, glancing up at her friend. She took a deep breath to calm herself.

“I...don’t know. Preferably never.”

CJ looked at her, carefully guarding his expression before returning to his food. “You know he won’t stop. It is his child too, Millie.”

“I know, damn it,” Millie mumbled. She grabbed and squeezed her hand hard enough to turn it white. “Look, I get that he’s entitled to be there with our son too, it’s just…”

She trailed off, and CJ cut in. “Millie, I understand how you feel. I’ve been with you every day through this. But you cut all ties with the man, even moved away. And he still followed you. You’re lucky he didn’t take legal action with the way you were ghosting him.”

“I know,” she said again. Not that I have to worry about court battles now that the world as we know it has ended.

“And he’s here with us. Because of you—I doubt he’d be here if he’d stayed in New York.”

Millie sighed deeply. “I know, CJ. I know I was stupid. I know it wasn’t fair, I…” She hesitated, before burying her face in her hands. “…but I wanted to hurt him as much as he hurt me.”

It had been a cruel decision. A dumb decision. Millie knew it made her no better than the man she hated. She regretted it now. But even still, the thought of making peace with Liam galled her. It made her want to scream. She’d given up everything for him, only to be tossed away like used garbage. A part of her had always feared not being enough for the gorgeous man.

Guess I was right, she thought. In the end, he hadn’t just hurt her—he’d made her hate herself too. She hadn’t been the same person since.

A noise drew her attention, and she glanced through her fingers to see CJ scooting up next to her. He draped an arm around her protectively.

“It’s going to be okay, Millie. The talk won’t be fun, but…just try to imagine the good things that’ll come out of it.”

“Like?” Millie said with a barely-suppressed sob.

“Like…a future where your son vomits on him. Full exorcist right onto that perfect jawline!”

Millie snorted. Then, she dropped her hands to glare at CJ.

“You know my son’s just as likely to vomit-rocket on me too, right?”

Not to mention the poop, Millie thought, suppressing a shudder for one aspect of motherhood she was definitely not looking forward to. She dug at more food before catching CJ smiling mischievously. He leaned down conspiratorially and whispered into her ear.

“Just point the baby at him when that happens.”

Millie snorted violently again, before coughing up her food. “Damn it, CJ. I’m trying to eat!”

“Well, hurry up then! We’ve got a long day ahead of us. A really, really long day.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Millie groaned, wiping at her face with a napkin. “It’s what, just past fifth m-hour?”

Her friend pulled out his soul scroll. He’d found a way to download additional features, further solidifying in her mind the idea that the small devices were just like smartphones.

“Yeah. It’s five sixteen right now, so just a little past midday. Just another two Earth days to go and the first Magincian day will be over!”

“Bleh,” Millie stuck out her tongue in disgust before taking a bite of her pudding. It was sweet and delicious, but there was an…unexpected crunch to it. After swallowing it, she paused as she felt something poking into her gums. Digging it out with her fingers, she then grimaced before turning to CJ with a blank look on her face.

“Welp. I’m pretty sure this pudding has bugs in it.”

CJ paled.

He was right—she needed to read the descriptions more carefully.

Leaving their dormitory was straightforward—after Millie had thoroughly brushed and rinsed her mouth out, of course. While they could have taken a portal to anywhere within the Academy instead, the two had decided to walk. As much as the exercise would probably lead to back pain later, Millie had insisted. She wanted a lay of the land and figured this would be the best way.

Millie stepped through the large, double doors of their dorm and through the thin wall of darkness beyond it to reach the outside. She came out onto a bridge made entirely of golden metal. Precious gems and filigrees decorated the path, which headed a good way out and towards what appeared to be a floating castle. Several large towers, stretching from the ruins of Magincia down below to the dome sky above, surrounded the floating Academy. Their dormitory was apparently inside one of the surrounding towers.

Millie quickly spotted CJ waiting for her. He wore a bright white, military-esque uniform that wrapped around his front with twin rows of golden buttons. Epaulets lined his shoulders, and the coat hung down past his waist with a golden belt tying around it. Below, his slacks were also white though without any further decoration. On his feet, he had shining, black boots. All in all, he looked jaw-droppingly amazing in Millie’s opinion.

He turned to greet her. “Hey, there you are—oh my god.” He said, before suddenly turning red.

“Don’t. Say. Anything.” Millie hissed. Her friend turned, biting his knuckles to suppress his outburst.

Millie sighed, before waddling forward. She wore a similar-looking uniform, only hers hadn’t fit, despite all the magic of Magincia. She could only button the top half up, leaving the bottom open where the gold undershirt was blatantly visible along with her large, round belly. She felt like a giant orange. She only hoped that she’d managed to cover the whole thing, as the belt tied desperately beneath her stomach kept rubbing at her. But it was either accept the chaffing, or risk having her slacks fall off.

“I don’t see why we have to wear these stupid uniforms into the Academy,” she groaned. “Who’s going to care, the robots?”

“Ahem,” CJ cleared his throat. “Well, they did tell us the portals wouldn’t let us out unless we were dressed properly, so…besides, it’s not so bad. Maybe we can find a tailor? I’m sure others might…er,”

“Just stop, please. I know I look stupid, it’s fine.”

She waved her friend off, who bless-his-heart, still hadn’t laughed.

“Um, maybe if you unbutton the top?” CJ suggested.

Millie looked at him flatly. Why didn’t I think of that? She thought sarcastically. Oh wait—She did as he suggested and the coat sprung violently free. She could practically hear a sproing sound effect in her mind as the girls came free.

“Oh. Wow, the girl’s undershirts have a much lower cut,” he muttered. He quickly came over to her and fussed over her clothing, helping to re-button the top—and hide the frankly ludicrous amount of cleavage showing—and then fix her belt. It fit better when he was done, to which she was incredibly grateful. The last thing she wanted was blisters on the bottom of her belly.

Finally, CJ tsked. “Do your boots have heels on them? Jesus, this place is misogynist. No wonder the coat doesn’t fit you right.”

Millie shrugged. “It could be worse. I could be in a short skirt and forced to flash the world my tits.”

“Want to relive your time working at hooters that bad?” He laughed. Millie made a gagging gesture at the reminder of the darker years of her life and he laughed harder. “I guess that’s fair. You ready to go?”

Millie nodded. “Yup. Though, ah, please don’t…be mad if we have to have to rest, okay?”

CJ raised his eyebrow at her. “What? How could I not be mad at a pregnant girl needing to rest after walking around in heels? You’re asking far too much missy.”

Millie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Just hold your sarcasm until you’ve had to wait for my dozenth pee break.”

She knew she was just being self-conscious. Which made her all the more grateful for CJ’s light ribbing. It made her feel less fragile. However, something in the distance stole Millie’s attention.

“Hey, look.” She pointed towards the horizon, past the golden dome. “We can see the water from here. Do you think our dorm is further down on the tower?”

CJ followed her gesture, before walking to the edge of the bridge. He leaned against it, before quickly backpedaling away with a yelp.

“Fuck, don’t look down.”

Millie raised an eyebrow challengingly, and CJ held his hands up. “You know that whole stretching optical illusion the city does? It literally feels like you’re falling if you look directly down.”

“Ah…thanks for the warning,” Millie said slowly. She’d barely kept her stomach down after finding that insect leg in her pudding. She didn’t think she’d be able to handle a sudden burst of vertigo. Instead, she turned and continued on her way. CJ quickly caught up, before slowing down to match her waddling pace.

As they grew closer to the castle—the Academy, Millie reminded herself—various features of the floating object became more apparent. It was fully enclosed, though not with its own dome. Smaller towers and buildings could be seen sticking up, and the outside was rung by a set of large walls. The bridge the two walked on connected to a gate leading inside, but Millie couldn’t help but notice that the sparkling metal of the castle-Academy was covered in some sort of dark rock-like material.

It was matte, and deep deep black. It completely covered the bottom portions of the floating structure—which was dome-shaped—but was missing from anywhere on the top portions that she could see. The walls, however, were in the process of being chipped clear of the mysterious material by robots hovering in the air swinging oddly crude-looking tools. More often than not the tools broke, and only rarely did the material break away. When it did, it splintered like obsidian and rained down on the ruins far below.

CJ whistled. “Is it me, or does this place look like a gem being sculpted out of a rock?”

Millie side-eyed him. “A gem? I was gonna say it looked like a hard-boiled egg someone was struggling to peal.”

Her friend returned her look. “An egg? …huh. I can see that. I still like my description better though.”

He laughed at her good-naturedly, as Millie lightly batted his arm. The two of them then proceeded through an unmanned gateway.

The inside of the Academy was filled with huge stretching hallways, wide enough to fit a dozen lanes of traffic, with frequent offshoots and unlabeled rooms. Pictures and crystalline decorations lined the hall, and the ceilings were covered in stained glass windows, displaying more epic murals of pasts unknown.

Soon, the two of them approached a junction, finding another hallway that was even larger than before. Millie gazed down a path bigger than a football stadium, to see stairs and buildings interwoven across both sides of the road stretching several stories into the air. Occasionally, they could catch glimpses of other students, wandering around exploring like they were, but for the most part, the Academy was empty.

It was unnerving—Millie felt like she was walking around a ghost town. However, she pushed that feeling aside. Their first priority was to find information on the layout of the campus and discover what kind of amenities were available. She had discussed this with CJ before—but her goal for the day was to either find an answer on how to protect her son or to at least gather some ideas. As such, they started by looking around for some sort of directory.

Which, it turned out, wasn’t too hard to find. On the side of the path, driven into the softly glowing bricks of the road, was a wooden bulletin board. A large map had been nailed on it, and smaller pamphlet-sized maps sat on a table nearby for students to take. It looked like it had been thrown together hastily.

The two of them approached, and spent some time scouring the directory for information. The campus was, predictably, bigger than it would appear from the outside. It also sported dozens of various office buildings, dedicated to a variety of services—mostly administrative. Millie almost rolled her eyes when she saw a building labeled “Office of Financial Concerns.” Did some Magi have student loans too? Perhaps they weren’t so different from Earthlings after all.

One thing that stood out to the two of them almost immediately, however, was the incredible amount of shops available. While the Academy had several colleges—ten in total to no one’s surprise—the many shops and their distribution over the map almost made the school feel like it was blended with a mall. This didn’t surprise them though—they’d learned that anything they requisitioned from the Marketplace would, in theory, be coming from one of the shops in the Academy.

Eventually, after the two spent a good deal longer than Millie had expected going over the information, they decided to visit the largest shopping strip first, followed by the Expedition Center. Both seemed like good places to find information—one because of the potential items that might offer solutions they hadn’t thought of, and the other because Millie had been told that many ‘Initiate concerns’ could be brought up there. Millie would have loved to visit the Archives—the fancy library of the Academy—but until she took the remedy she’d be unable to read anything there (if the robots were to be believed). And while CJ had offered to take his pill and start researching, they’d both decided to put it off. There was plenty to explore in the meantime.

The trip to the “Enhancement District,” the name of the largest market area, was uneventful. The mega-roads were bisected by columns of crystal trees, flowers, bushes, and sculptures like a fancy boulevard. They really were breathtaking, but after twenty minutes of walking and two breaks on nearby benches, Millie decided she’d gotten enough lay of the land. They took a portal after that.

The portals were, thankfully, distributed much like bus stops across the Academy. Stepping through to the other side, the immediate sight she found only solidified Millie’s opinion of the school being half shopping mall.

Several stories of shops lined more modest roads that curved off into the distance, connected by frequent stairs going up, down, and across. Millie eyed them dubiously. Why does this place only believe in portals or stairs? She thought. Haven’t they heard of elevators?

Front and center to great them, however, was a wide, open-aired bazaar. Counters of glass spread about, with dozens of robots all standing at attention. They stood stock-still, with faint, uninspiring music playing in the air. Slowly, the two approached the eerie scene and a single servitor stepped up to greet them.

“Welcome to the Enhancement District!” She said, with a wide smile and customer-friendly voice. “Is this your first time visiting?”

It paused to stare at them, waiting patiently for an answer. Millie turned her head and caught CJ’s eyes, both of them struggling not to sass the robot to death.

Eventually, Millie cleared her throat, and then…smiled widely.

“Why yes, good madam, this is our first time visiting your wonderful establishment! Would you please be a dear and show us around? We would be ever so grateful.”

Millie’s blatant imitation of the robot’s tone was spot on, in her opinion. The robot wavered on the spot, its previously bored eyes suddenly widening in confusion. CJ began to choke, struggling not to laugh.

“Oh, er…of, of course, Initiate. Right this way!” The robot recovered quickly enough, and Millie could almost swear she caught a glimpse of…humor in its eyes. Maybe the robots really were more expressive than she’d originally thought. She seriously had worried she’d broken her maid somehow.

As they walked forward, the strong smell of medicinal herbs almost became overpowering as the robot began to explain the goods available in the stalls in front of them. While they’d find many stores in the Enhancement District, this particular store was considered the most important—hence its accessibility straight out of the primary entrance portal.

“Wait, so these are…pills?” Millie asked, clarifying something the robot had just said.

“Yes, Miss. The medicines contained within these cases are the most reliable method for a Magi to increase their Attributes. As you can see we offer an extensive collection.”

“What’s the difference between all of them?” CJ asked.

“Well, to begin with—there is a separate recipe needed for each of the twelve Attributes. They are also divided among the five tiers of Attributes and the strength of effectiveness.”

Millie leaned against a counter, staring at a collection of small round pills. These ones appeared to be red, and varied from aspirin-sized to half a damn jawbreaker-sized.

“Tiers of Attributes?” CJ prompted.

Their robo-guide nodded. “Attributes exist with a range from one to one hundred per tier. Once maxed out, a breakthrough will be required to reach the next level of power, or tier as we refer to it. As Initiates, you will all currently be within the first tier, and won’t likely have access to the second until you reach Apprentice.”

CJ frowned, and then pulled out his soul scroll to read something off of it. “Initiate, Apprentice, Adept, Magus, High Magus, and then Archmagus. Those are the ranks of Magi, right?”

“Correct, Initiate.” The servitor happily replied.

Millie glanced at CJ, before pulling her soul scroll out to stare at it. Could these things take notes too? She’d need to figure out how to get all those extra functions working.

“In addition,” the robot said, “as is the tradition in the Week of Hospitality, a limited number of goods will be offered as gifts. In our store’s case, you may have any three pills of your choice from the displays before you.”

CJ and Millie shared a look, before staring at the large selection around them. CJ whistled appreciatively.

“Any three? What’s to stop us from just grabbing the most powerful pills then?”

The robot shrugged. “Until you reach the proper tiers, advanced Attribute boosters will be useless to you. However, should you wish to prepare for the future and aim for the greatest economic savings, we still have a few tier five pills remaining on display. Though do be aware we do not allow returns, re-sale, or recycling on any item you take in Hospitality.”

The robot began to usher them towards another counter.

“A few remaining?” Millie asked as they arrived.

“Hmm?” The robot turned to look at Millie. “Oh, yes. We won’t be restocking our wares until the end of the week. Unfortunately, anything given away during this time will mean less stock to peruse. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

The robot curtsied gracefully, and Millie had to struggle not to glare at it. Inconvenience, huh? She thought. Sounds to me like it’s just a false scarcity to foster competition between students.

She chewed on her lip as both she and CJ leaned against the new counter. Inside, the pills glowed, pulsing with power. A good number of them were also missing, with none of the largest sets left.

“What exactly is the difference in strength, anyway?” CJ asked.

The robot swiftly and elegantly walked around the counter. Another robot had been standing there, unmoving before suddenly having to backpedal out of the way. It did so with notably less grace, and Millie was sure she saw a flash of annoyance in its eyes at their robo-guide. Their robo-guide then swept her hands across the glass as she spoke.

“Traditionally, the pills come in regular, major, and greater strengths, offering one, three, or six levels of growth to their respective Attributes. While the prices for the higher tiers are far higher, for the first tier they cost ten, twenty-five, and fifty respectively.”

Millie raised an eyebrow. “So they’re more economical the better they are? Is there a reason to buy the cheaper ones at all then?”

The robot nodded. “Oh, yes. The greater boost is only effective on Attributes that are less than fifty percent of your tiers range, and majors only work up until the eightieth percent. Regulars will be required to reach the peak. In addition, it should be noted that we offer bulk discounts for purchases of more than a dozen pills at a time, as well as trade-ins and the occasional sale.”

The sales-bot beamed happily. The one that had been pushed away was also smiling, but its eyes looked grumpy. Do they work on commission or something? Or is this just a pushy robot the other bots don’t like?

“I’ve been wondering though,” CJ said, interrupting Millie’s burgeoning thoughts on inter-robot relationships, “how effective are Attributes anyway? I’ve got a thirty-one strength—what does that mean?”

“Unfortunately, the answer is a bit nuanced, sir. However, when it comes to the first tier, it more or less covers the range of capabilities amongst your species. With one being the weakest a person could be, and one hundred being a paragon of the Attribute for your kind. Do note, however, that it isn’t a linear scale, and as such anything in the forties would be considered average. You will see more and more of an effect, the higher your Attributes go.”

CJ rubbed at his chin before looking at Millie. “What do you think? Do you know what pills you want?”

Millie shrugged before turning to lean back against the glass. “Honestly? I’m barely following all this. You’re the smart one, so I’ll just follow your lead. Plus, I didn’t exactly…er, expect this on arrival.”

She waved out to the bazaar, and CJ nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we’ll keep looking after this, don’t worry.”

Millie nodded gratefully, before pausing.

“Hey,” Millie said, turning back to the robot guide. “I don’t suppose you can help us with directions? Or give suggestions for purchases we might make in other stores?”

The lightness that had been in the robot’s eyes dimmed notably. Millie was pretty sure it had lost interest in her.

“Apologies, Initiates. My role is to provide service for the Student Enrichment Market here. My recommendation for finding information on what goods or services are available would be to research them within the Archives.”

Millie grimaced, recognizing the stonewall for what it was. She briefly debated retorting in a customer service voice as she had earlier but dismissed the idea. Once was teasing—twice would be bullying.

“No worries,” CJ said politely, “thank you for all the information. I think we’ll both take some tier-one stuff. Let’s go with greater physical boosters, since I think both of us could use them the most. Agreed?”

He looked to Millie, and she nodded. Pulling out her soul scroll, she let him look over her stats.

Name: Millie Anne McArthur Rank: Initiate Title: None Job: Student Attributes [Physical] [Mental] [Spiritual] Strength [~20] Intellect [~40] Potency [#/!] Stamina [~20] Willpower [~59] Repository [#/!] Dexterity [~27] Cunning [~46] Flow [#/!] Reflexes [~44] Clarity [~41] Resonance [#/!] Attainments None Registered Spells None

She frowned when she saw some of them had changed. Most notably, her willpower had dropped by three points. She knew her Attributes were likely to fluctuate until she took the remedy, but it was still annoying to see.

“I think I’ll take a strength, stamina, and reflexes for myself,” CJ said, “and let’s do two staminas and a reflex for Millie.”

“Very good, sir,” the metallic girl replied. “Right this way.”

“Well, that was a waste of time,” Millie said as they left the dozenth shop they'd visited on the strip. CJ sighed in agreement. It had not been a productive m-hour.

The two had wandered around after leaving the pill market. The shops near it were as varied as they were interesting. Each one seemed specialized towards a specific good or service. For instance—one shop had been entirely about bracers, with dozens of varieties of shapes, sizes, materials, and magical effects they would offer. Sadly, however, the only free ‘sample’ they were offered were sets of enchanted leather bracelets that were purely decorative in design. They offered no protection, and could only glamour themselves to change their patterns.

And that, they’d quickly found, was also a common occurrence. While Hospitality Week offered free goods and samples virtually everywhere, they struggled to find anything relevant to their needs. Especially since they couldn’t sell the items later, or use them for scrap. Sitting down on a bench, Millie let out a sigh of her own, echoing CJ’s.

“What should we do now? Keep looking through the other hundred and one shops?” She asked.

CJ shrugged. “We could. We probably should too. Any one of these could be offering something rare or unique that only the first one to find them will get.”

Millie ground her teeth. They’d found a potion shop that had done just that, offering an amazing potion to the first student who came in. That hadn’t been them.

“Ugh, this is is so annoying,” she said.

CJ wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Yeah, I know. We could take a break and visit the Expedition Center? With portals, it’s pretty easy to bounce around. Or we could go grab some lunch?”

Millie breathed deeply to calm herself. “Yeah, maybe lunch first,” she agreed. As frustrated as she was getting, she knew they’d barely begun to scratch the surface of what was available. Realistically—they had three weeks to find a solution. Worrying about ‘missing out’ on things she hadn’t known existed ten minutes ago wasn’t going to help her.

And so, she stood up with CJs help and they began to head off in search of food. But almost as soon as they stood up, Millie saw something that she did recognize. She pointed it out immediately.

“Is that a Tarot card in that shop’s window?”

CJ turned to look at where she was gesturing. “Holy shit, that is. Why the hell would something like that be here?”

The two shared a look, but neither had an explanation. Instead, they quickly made their way to the shop and went inside.

Past the threshold, the store was…distressingly familiar. There were shelves to the side filled with horizontally stacked candles, all the way to the ceiling. On the floor were bowels, pestles, and other dishes scattered about. Along one wall, necklaces and pendants were hung without rhyme or reason. A strong smell of incense cloyed at her nostrils as she made her way into the dimly lit store. It looked, and felt, just like a fortune teller’s shop.

“Ah, hello?” Millie called out, somewhat surprised to see no robots standing there waiting to greet them.

“Hmm?” A deep, rumbling voice spoke from another room. “Another customer? How wondrous—one moment please.”

Millie exchanged a glance with CJ. He looked as cut off guard as she felt—so far, every robot they’d come across had been female, with only their headmaster diverging from that pattern as some kind of undead remnant. And that voice did not sound feminine.

Click. Click. Click.

Millie froze at the odd sound. She’d have almost mistaken the sounds for heels on the wooden floor, but there was something different about them. A rhythm and cadence to their strikes that didn’t match a person’s gait. Following the sound, she turned towards a wall of decorative beads set behind another glass counter. It was displaying tarot cards, crystals...and even a damn crystal ball.

She was just about to say something about that when she had to stifle her scream.

The wall of beads spread open, like a massive door, as a large metallic figure strode into the room. It stood head and shoulders above Millie and CJ, looming over them both. Below it, first one leg, then two, then several more followed behind. Meeting their eyes now was an insectile face made of steel.

Millie’s first thought was someone had asked the question ‘Hey, what happens if you have a centaur, but like, a beetle version?’ She also really hoped that if anyone had ever seriously said that, that they’d gotten smacked for it. Because the reality of it?

The reality was horrifying to behold.

The metallic monster brushed against the shop ceiling, its shelled lower half almost reaching Millie’s shoulders. It was easily as wide as two Rajs shoulder to shoulder, and covered in tiny, intricate murals that glowed in gentle repeating patterns with an array of colors. Where its beetle head should have been, a humanoid torso sprouted out of it, covered in a rich maroon silk vest, well-tailored to its form. Its arms, however, had an extra joint compared to a human and ended with long, dagger-like claws. Its large, round head was bald with two compound eyes lit with a dull red glow that had all the majesty and dread of Hal from the movie: 2001: A Space Odyssey. It slowly opened and closed a set of short mandibles that served as its mouth. Twitching atop its chrome dome was a twin set of antenna, jutting up like a set of flexible lightning rods. But between them…

Was a small turban. Millie’s eye twitched.

“Greetings, Initiates!” It shouted boisterously, with a booming bass voice. “It’s rare for me to have so many customers in so short a time. I trust you are here to pillage my store for the sake of Hospitality, no?”

Its mandibles rose, as though smiling as it let out a soft chuckle.

“Ahhh….” Millie stared at it dumbly, before turning to CJ. “Hey, I nominate you to be our diplomat here.”

CJ looked at her accusingly. “What? Why? I don’t want to talk to a, er—”

“I already ate bugs today,” she whispered. “It’s your turn.”

“You…want me to eat it?” He looked at her askance. Millie opened her mouth to correct him when the shopkeeper snapped its clawed fingers together. It sounded strangely like symbols clashing.

“My, my, I haven’t ever been asked that before. You may need stronger teeth, however, young master Initiate.”

CJ held his hands up defensively. “She was only joking, just, ah—”

The shopkeeper spread its dangerous hands out welcomingly with another boisterous laugh.

“Worry not, Initiates! I take no offense. In fact, I have heard far worse today, and all signs indicate I will hear worse yet before the day is through. So tell me then, how may I help you? I have little in the way of snacks, but I’m willing to improvise.”

CJ froze, turning his head slowly to look at Millie, and gulped. Who’s the wimp now? She wanted to say, but held her tongue. This was…an unexpected encounter, but she thought they were safe. It could be hard to know if that were truly the case in Magincia, but the giant bug-bot was being friendly. She hoped.

So, Millie cleared her throat, and adopted a polite tone. “Well, we saw that you had, ah, a Tarot card poster in your window and were curious. We didn’t expect to see something from home in the Academy.”

“Hmmm, curiosity is an admirable trait. I shall reward it…with an answer!” It flourished its knife hands again as CJ and Millie flinched. “What you see, is indeed the Tarot. What you have not seen, is the universal meaning reflected upon their surfaces. There is a natural correspondence between the Realms above and the Realms below. All things reflect within the principle of Universal Reflections—with the purest expressions of ideas born from places beyond our comprehension shining down on us all. Like light, pouring through a pinhole.”

It looked down at the two humans cowering in its shop, faces blank. Its mandibles lowered into a frown.

“As above so below? Surely you have heard the phrase? I had another student describe one of your philosophers, a Plato I believe, that referred to the concept of ideal forms. They center around the common belief that the things you see, the patterns and shapes, all exist elsewhere as greater truths. A perfect version from which all you've ever experienced is but a pale imitation. In such a way, you see a pattern on a card, when in truth, the Tarot is so much greater."

She stared at the weird bug-bot dumbfounded. Okay, what the hell does that mean?

"Look," she admitted quietly, "I didn't really study philosophy, so that's kind of going over my head. I take it you're a fortune-teller then?"

She tried not to wince when she heard CJ face-palm beside her.

The shopkeeper paused, mandibles slowly opening in apparent shock. Then, it laughed again, smashing its hands together in a joyful clash. Millie and CJ backed up in a hurry, nearly hitting the wall of candles behind them.

“Oh, dear Millie—you are as ever a delight. I will offer you some advice again, for the first time this time though, you will want to invest into your mental Attributes sooner rather than later.”

It mandible-smiled again and Millie felt her face flush. Also—how did it know her name? And why is it talking like it’s met me before? She thought, before frowning. It’s just fucking with me now because I called it a fortune teller, isn’t it?

CJ put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, before clearing his throat.

“Um, I think I get what you were getting at. But that aside—do you just sell tools or do you also provide services?”

“Why settle for one when you can have both?” the metal shopkeeper said, before bowing deeply. “Unlike many, I offer an array of goods and services. All related to the illustrious art of Divination, of course. Ah, that is—fortune-telling, my dear Initiate McArthur.”

It smiled again at Millie and her blush deepened. She’d been trying to cut to the chase. Why did she feel so judged for not being able to wrap her head around this philosophy crap?

“Is there anything in particular for sale or on offer for Hospitality week?” CJ asked.

The robot nodded.

“I am happy to say, I am currently offering high-tier divinations for students. However—you will be leaving which kind to my discretion.”

“There are different kinds?” Millie blurted out.

CJ and the robot looked at her. Was this common knowledge, or was she missing something?

The shopkeeper cleared its throat and then grabbed a book and tarot card set from behind the counter. It then leaned down, easily reaching them at the far end of the store to hand them off to Millie. She took them silently, staring down at a beginner’s guide to Tarot and rather plain-looking cards. The book was even in English, but she felt like she’d just been quietly called stupid again. She sighed in frustration.

“There are many types of divination,” the robot explained. “Dozens of Tarot spreads exist for beginners alone, and I venture to claim dozens more for a competent Magi. Or stand-in, such as myself.”

The metal giant chuckled, waving a hand at them both playfully. “But I digress. What I offer is this: in the name of Hospitality I offer you a free glimpse into your future, it will simply be one that I feel will most influence your path as an Initiate, however. Positively, of course. I’m not a brute like the Governor.”

Millie glanced up at it. “Ah, yeah, is that normal? You seem…really different. From like, everyone.” She paused, before internally wincing. He wouldn’t find what she said offensive, would he?

The metal being laughed grandly. “In many ways, and in so few. This would be the part where I should tell you to seek out information in the Archives, a phrase I imagine you’ve heard more than any other this day.”

CJ and Millie grimaced in unison. The shopkeeper laughed again.

“Don’t take it personally. Information, or more exactly—knowledge is something a Magi is expected to seek out and discover on their own, not be told by their servants. The obfuscation is merely a tool to point you in that direction. A crude, annoying tool to be sure. One that likely does more harm than good, but you shouldn’t expect much else from the autonomous systems here. Nothing happening now was ever by design.”

“Yeah, the whole… calamity thing really did a number here.” Millie agreed.

“Quite. And speaking of Calamities, the reason I appear so different is merely because this vessel—” it gestured with wide, sweeping knife-hands to itself “—survived the destruction. There are a few other older models scattered in the Academy, but sadly all of us are still freshly created souls assigned to them. Nothing truly survived the fall, but a few shadows remain.”

It smiled, almost sadly at that. But Millie had other concerns.

“…souls? Do you…all have souls?”

The robot cocked its head at her. “Hmm? Oh, but of course, my dear. A soul is key to an Animus—the animating spirit of anything with a complex inner-system. I regret to inform you, however, at this point I do have to insist you perform your own research on the matter. I pushed the boundaries of what I’m allowed to tell you, but I’m a fortune-teller! And I know you’ll have learned it soon enough, which means there’s no harm in my telling you now.”

It smiled again, but Millie felt a chill in her spine. She couldn’t articulate the exact nature of it, but the idea that the robots had souls…changed how she looked at them.

“I do have another question, if I may,” CJ cut in. The shopkeeper turned to him and nodded, so CJ continued. “Can we request a specific topic to have divined? Millie…really needs some answers on what to do to keep her son safe.”

Millie squeezed his arm thankfully. All the information had washed over her, distracting her from their goal.

“I’m happy to keep that in consideration!” The shopkeeper joyfully shouted. “However, keep in mind my interpretation of it may not align with your expectations.”

Millie narrowed her eyes at the bug-bot. She wasn’t sure she liked his response. Still, CJ squeezed her reassuringly, and without much to lose, they agreed to have a reading done.

The metal monstrosity ushered them into the back room. The smell of candles and incense grew somehow even more powerful, but the giant servitor led them to a set of seats set next to small, artificial ponds. Soft music, mimicking natural sounds played from behind them, as the robot fiddled with something on some shelves. It then turned towards them with two—

“Are those VR-helmets?” Millie asked incredulously.

“As above, so below,” the being chuckled. “I’m glad you recognize the form, even if the function is grander. In truth, these are Illusionary Reality Devices, also called IRDs. I’ll be casting my divinations through them, allowing you a fully realized experience into your futures as a result. Don’t worry, I’ve ensured these are safe for non-remedied students such as yourselves.”

“I thought we’d be getting a Tarot reading, or something,” Millie said, laughing nervously.

“Ah, the tools of an aspiring Magi. No, dear Millie, I have no need for such foci, though you may. Or may not. It will be up to you to decide what path to walk.”

It smiled in a way that was probably meant to be disarming, but Millie couldn’t help but look back over to CJ anxiously. He reached out and grabbed her hand.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered, and she nodded back.

“Now, one for the young master, Initiate Chad Johnson,” CJ grimaced at his full name, “and another for young lady, Initiate Millie McArthur. Please put them on and make yourselves comfortable. While the experience may be a bit jarring for some, it will inevitably be a rewarding one.”

Not feeling the least bit reassured by the bug-bots words, Millie put on the VR-looking headset. The room went dark and quiet before Millie heard a small mechanical sound. The sides of the helmet popped out small panels that folded over and covered the front of her face—turning the device into a full helmet. She could no longer smell the room, feeling completely disconnected from her senses. She almost panicked, but thankfully found no trouble breathing.

“Now for you…” the voice of the shopkeeper pierced through the silence, “we’ll go with Fortune’s Guiding Star. Yes, yes…hmm, but for you? Millie…I think…ah, yes. It can only be this, no? My apologies, though one day you’ll forgive me.”

Millie didn’t like the sound of that. Not one bit.

“Death Knell Omen.”