“In the three days since I’ve allowed our students to use the pagoda, you have inspected all of the ones that went, and none of them had any lasting effects?”

Jessica watched her medical staff with intent. She didn’t want any slip-ups. If this was a risky endeavor, then she would nix the plan.

Ko Sa held out a slate in front of him. It was the waning hours of the third day, and Fa Za had asked her many questions, but Jessica only had the one for Ko Sa.

“Elder Jessica, for all we can tell, nothing, in particular, has happened and I am pleased to say that it looks like this is not, as you say, risky.”

A breath escaped Jessica, one that she hadn’t known she was holding. She was getting her pipeline together, with a little bit of instruction, her newest initiates could become qi gatherers and learn in the pagoda once ready. They could train in and out of the pagoda for a few weeks while they gained competence and ability, then they might advance through the stages of qi gathering up to the second realm, as some had already done. The pagoda would still be good for second realm cultivators, as they would just get to a higher level before they had to stop or retreat.

Provided that they don’t let their egos get in the way.

“There hasn’t been one student that passed out and had to be evacuated? All of them realized when a floor was too much for their current stage and returned?”

Ko Sa grabbed at his robes, shuffling in place.

“You’re about to tell me that there was an exception, aren’t you?” Jessica stared him down, doing her best ‘you don’t need these TPS reports by 5 pm Friday and it’s already 4 pm, right?’.

“There was one cultivator that…er how should this one say it, Elder, we did have to extract her.”

She knew.

“And did this cultivator, say use a sandal as a weapon?”

“Elder, how did you…? Oh, never mind you should already know.”

“Elaine or Mary?”

Ko Sa hung his head.

“Elaine, huh? I imagine she had to be dragged kicking and screaming out. Did she go again?”

This time a gasp went out from one of the nurses. Really, they were going to have to stop listening in so closely, they were being too obvious.

“She did ask, and Mary did try to stop her, they almost came to blows.”

Elaine probably thought that their friendship would make Mary bend the rules in her favor. I did ask them to give everyone a chance to go before anyone went twice. Mary was probably more than willing to do so, but it would have meant showing her tiles too soon.

“I’ll have to talk to them. Elaine getting mad about this, is probably riskier than the pagoda itself is at this point.”

Ko Sa nodded in agreement. Jessica had an inkling that by having the medical department on standby that he’d had more than one or two conversations with Mary and Elaine. The poor guys ear had probably been talked off and then resewn back on by one of the nurses.

“At least this seems to be a good use of some of our student's time. I must thank Fa Za for this at some point.”

Grace approached Jessica with a purpose.

“I suppose that you’re here to ask me to let the scouts have priority?”

Grace, her face already a pale jade, blanched.

“What am I risking if I accept this proposal? That I give less qi gatherers time in the pagoda rather than the scouts? I know the argument. The scouts are for the most part third realm cultivators and they won’t benefit from this as readily as qi gatherers either solo or, probably as I believe this was originally meant,” Jessica's voice dropped down low, “for a team.”

Grace cocked her head.

“Elder Sister, if the visiting Elder meant for this to be used by small teams, do you think that he would have… told us that? I mean it’s pretty clear that on their own, our students are doing…well?”

Jessica let the question hang in the air as she adjusted her outer robes. Without the yak fur she felt less fluffy, more in tune with her body even with that slight change. But the damn thing was so fashionable!

“I… Well, let me choose my words carefully here. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Either way, this is less risky than the other option which is of course to do what we have been doing already. Teams going in then would have an easier time extracting a cultivator if one became incapacitated. Ah, this gets into the matching up of generally similar skilled cultivators,” Jessica's hands rubbed together, “Excellent.”

Grace nodded, her face still trying to give off the ‘i’m following along vibe’ but her toe-tapping gave Jessica another impression.

“I’m sorry, er this one is sorry, but if we could do it again, Elder sister?”

“Why don’t you, hey Mary hold up the line!... as I was saying, grab Elaine and whoever is next in line and the three of you can go see how you fare as a group?”

Her eyes blinking super fast, the junior cultivator didn’t wait for a second opinion. She barrelled to the front of the line, grabbed the next student, called for Elaine, and then went right in as another student left. A yelp was the only thing heard as Elaine and Grace dragged the initiate in with them.

“Elder sister, this will save us from having to send in an extraction team. It should make things smoother,” Ko Sa said. In his hands, he held two steaming mugs.

Accepting the mug, Jessica breathed in deeply.

“Oolong? Macha?”

“Macha. Only the finest green for our Sect Leader.”

The sip disappeared faster than she liked, and soon she was ready for another mug.

As they watched, the three cultivators quickly dispatched the first floor and were on the second before another mug of hot wet macha arrived. Jessica took her time with this mug, savoring the rich earthy taste, reveling in the sweetness undercutting it.

The team was on the third floor, having punched through the second in her time. She lifted the mug in a salute to them.

“The team advances!”

“This is much better than going one on one!”

“When would you fight alone, anyway.”

Across the training yard, Jessica saw a solemn Fa Za watching the festivities.

Would this have worked on someone from this world? Or would he have just tried to overwhelm me, love bomb me with something? Did this pagoda come with some promise attached to it?

Her brow thoroughly furrowed, she stomped over to the kettle at the tailgate.

The team got to the second to last floor before her next mug got cold. Jessica briefly took a minute to put a piece of ice into her mug so see if the chilled tea still would taste as good.

Sandals flew left and right on the top floor before she was ready to sip.

Grace dispatched five cultivator shades in one blow, then Elaine got two in a row. The white robed initiate moved in between the two of them protecting their backs.

The cold macha was still as good as the warm one at least.

Jessica took a pause to nod to the aunties in charge of the pagoda tailgate.

At the top of the tower a shade dragon looked down at the three of them with disdain. The damn thing was too large for its britches.

Jessica was watching, ready for their attacks. The damn thing just sat there, waiting for them to attack.

Then the shade snarled wordlessly, getting them ensnared in a blast of its dark fire. Grace dumped an enormous amount of qi pushing the blast away, diverting it from the group. Jessica felt the large amount of energy. Even Fa Za turned to look.

Elaine and the poor initiate they grabbed cowered behind her. Grace's qi held the blast back and then slowly but surely it turned it around.

The full force pushed it back inching until it enveloped over half of the floor. All of the initiates took a knee or fell over from the pressure.

Then Grace snuffed out the shade.

The last of her qi spent, she knelt. The pagoda lit up as the challenge was completed. All of the prone cultivators gasped.

Iced macha tasted good.

Grace winning tasted better.

A cheer went up over the crowd. Jessica listened in.

"It’s as good of a tradition as any. That is of course if we were to start one."

"This pagoda will build up the sect!"

"Huzzah!"

"We can do this! Elder will lead our sect to victory!"

"No one needs to know about us, hush."

Jessica heard the sounds of lip smacking. She hoped that it was consensual but when she tried to narrow down where it was, she lost the thread. They had gone silent.

Irritated that she wasn’t going to be able to eavesdrop on some of her initiates cultivating a path together, she sighed. Had it been too much to ask for a little bit of drama that she could totally invest herself into? The kind that she would relish overhearing but would never really hurt anyone?

It probably was. But then she also had the aunties and their dalliances with some of the more egotistical cultivators. Those girls moved with a speed that would make a mans head and hips spin.

After the crowd died down, Jessica was able to direct the cleanup from the tailgate. More than one of the initiates thanked her for the experience as she stood there directing traffic.

"No this one really thanks the Elder sister," an insistent young man said.

When she realized that she hadn’t slowed down since the end of their run, she quickly put two and two together.

"Ah you're the one that made the run with Grace!"

The slim cultivator brightened. His posture showed that he was holding back a jump for joy.

"Yes. That was quite the experience."

"What path are you on?"

The seemingly innocuous question threw him. Jessica resolved that it might be beneficial to learn someone's name before throwing them a curveball.

"This one… er… uh…hasn't picked one yet."

His earnest desire to say something to keep the conversation warmed her heart. Mary watched as she grabbed the last set of cutlery, balancing it in one giant bowl.

"Name?"

"Well without a path picked there is no name…"

Mary gently tapped the junior cultivator with a sandal. Her bowl clanked.

"She means your name!"

The realization crawled over his face like a toddler searching for candy.

"Oh! This one is called Blu, Elder! Apologies for anything this one has done to offend you."

Blu meant to step away but another piece of footwear stopped him dead in his tracks. This time it was more of a warning sandal.

"Blu, how would you like to adopt my path?"

The chocolate searching toddler of Blus facial expression made her smile. As she watched, he contorted himself into so many different possibilities as he tried to work it out.

"Ay ya," Mary said,"take the gift offered! You can take her as your master, and she will teach you the way!"

"This one is only a lowly fifth-level qi gatherer, Elder, and is afraid to disappoint!"

"I won't be disappointed if you try. All that I ask is that you behave in an ethical way."

Blu bowed deeply.

"This one will certainly act methical!"

*Whap*

"Er… this one means ethical? Please don't hurt me Elder sister! The sandal marks burn enough as it is!"