Leaves crunch under my boots, as I lead us through the orange-red forest. The forest here is thin enough that it’s incredibly bright, and there’s no shadows or even any shrubbery where a beast might be hiding to ambush us.

It feels more like a nature hike than some dangerous combat exercise, perhaps that’ll change soon, but for now I smile and breath the pleasantly fresh air. For this one moment, we have freedom, or at least the pleasant illusion of it.

The dry orange leaves that layer the hard ground scatter on strong winds as Vii flutters back down through a gap in the canopy.

“I can’t see anything through the trees.” She complains, “There’s just lots of red leaves, but I did hear some screaming from behind us. Lots of panic.”

“Not the missing boy, I’m guessing?” I ask.

“Just scared students.” She replies rather confidently, “I recognise a few of them.”

“We should keep moving,” I say, “We might get pursued but I doubt we’re going to get chased too seriously with so many students still behind us.”

“What about that missing kid?” Eshya asks, “Should we look for him?”

“I’d like to, but we don’t even know where to start looking. We could run around the forest shouting for him but even on the off chance that he’d respond to us it would bring Freid and any nearby beasts down on us. Speaking of, Vii could shift the leaves behind us, make our tracks at least a little less clear?”

“I can.” She chirps, getting right to it, and flitting along the trail behind us to clear up our tracks.

“We have enough water to last three days if we ration it, but we should still keep our eyes open for a stream or something to last a little more comfortably. Considering that we’re being hunted, I think it would be a bad idea to set up a base, it’d make us a target.”

“If we find a defensible position, we might be able to hold it.” Eshya says thoughtfully, “Or we could turn this game around and hunt them in return.”

“We can’t beat Freid, we probably can’t outrun him either.” I say, “He’s simply got too much mana for us to challenge yet, all we can do is stay out of his way and beat back any of the beasts he sends after us.”

“Where’s the fun in that.” Eshya sighs, “Even if we lose, I’d like to try fighting him.”

“Not today.” I say, shutting down her little daydreams, “Though, as much as I think we should avoid a proper base, we need somewhere safe to camp tonight. That and we should try and avoid walking in circles.”

“There’s a hill, or maybe it’s a mountain, ahead. We could aim for that.” Vii says, I look the way she’s pointing but from here there’s clearly only trees.

“Alright, you’ll have to guide us though.”

“Yep, yep.” She nods happily, skipping along the ground and stirring up some of the fallen leaves to mess with our tracks.

“Adler, you don’t have any tracking Skills that could help us do you?” I ask.

“I shouldn’t interfere with your classes,” She says.

“It’s not about interfering.” I say, “I want you to keep an eye out for tracks. It’s unlikely that we’ll stumble upon that kid, but there’s a small chance we’ll come across his tracks. None of us would likely notice it if we did.”

“I’ve already been doing as much.” Adler says, “If that’s all it is that you’re after.”

“I was also hoping you could give us a few pointers, help us to develop our own tracking Skills. Honestly, the theory lesson last week didn’t teach us much at all. Is it meant to be like that first combat class, we’re thrown out here unprepared to instil us with fighting spirit or something?”

“To give you a proper understanding of what you’re missing.” Adler explains with a sigh looking a little conflicted before finally continuing, “The theoretical class should have hinted at what you would need to learn, this lesson should highlight why you need to learn these things.”

“Sounds stupid.” I reply, “Well, can’t change it. Do you have any advice to work on developing tracking Skills?” I ask, “If we were taught anything, I don’t remember it. According to Chip, tracking is the first thing we should’ve been learning, but he seems to be letting me down.”

“Yes, well this class isn’t the exact same as it was when I took it.” She says, not hiding her frustration very well, “The support device is likely tooled to be accurate to the proper form of this class. I would also suggest you not rely too much on it, it’s not as perfect as it seems.”

“Chips not perfect, I already figured that part out.” I say with a laugh, “So tracking?”

“Well, tips for a beginner…” She says thoughtfully, “Keep an eye out for broken branches, footprints in loose or wet soil, and trampled grass—in this case leaves. I’ll point any out that we pass, but for quick example just look at the tracks you’re leaving.”

I’ve already noticed that the leaves crunching underfoot leave quite the clear trail, though thankfully Vii’s efforts do pay off somewhat in scattering the leaves after us. If the boy, and local beasts leave a trail half as obvious, I don’t think I’ll need some special Skill to notice.

“Please do point out any tracks that you notice.” I tell her, “Freid may be trying to get us inspired to learn or whatever, but we don’t need that push, we just need opportunity.

“All that said,” I say with a sigh, “Mana senses are pretty neat but how far do you have to develop them before I can use them for alchemy and the like?”

“You finally got your mana sense working?” Vii chirps happily, “That’s amazing considering how early you are in your mana form development. How much can you see? Does it hurt? Has it affected you in any other ways?”

“None of that, it’s just a vague and fuzzy shape around anything mana dense.” I explain.

“It is amazing how quickly you’re developing Kyra, don’t ever think otherwise,” Eshya says.

“It’s not fast enough.” I reply, “I need to be much stronger.”

“I know. We all do.” Eshya nods firmly, “For your question, around 40% to start with. Activities like that need you to focus your mana on your mind and mana senses.”

“40%?!” I ask, laughing a little involuntarily. My progress has continued but proven increasingly difficult even for my renewed efforts. I think I get the problem though.

It’s my overall efficiency, the nearer I get to using all my mana to support my body, the more difficult it is to guide what’s left. It’s something predictable but I haven’t put that much thought behind it, and the teacher hasn’t yet mentioned it, perhaps thinking that I wouldn’t hit this limit this quickly.

Regardless, my mana sense and mana skin are clearly going to be more important right now than anything else. While splitting my focus between the world around me, and my restructuring mana form, I force my mana to focus largely on my mind and skin, letting the rest simply flow comfortably through me without direction.

For a half a day we walk deeper into the forest. Vii is the most busy of us as she covers our tracks, guides us to the nearest mountain, and keeps watch for anything following us. By the time we settle down for a brief lunch, even she seems to have worn her energy thin.

As we rest at the foot of the hill, that nearly seems to be a mountain, we snack on the bread that I stole from breakfast and recover. We’ve seen no sign of Freid or his beasts, wild beasts still seem to be nothing more than a bogyman, and the missing boy is still quite missing. Though, I’m honestly quite happy for this trip to be nothing more than a good mountain hike with some important training on the side.

“We’ll need to find a place to camp the night, and food.” Eshya says.

“There’s a nice spot at the top of the hill for camping,” Vii says, “You’d have to climb it though.”

“It’s not that steep of a hill.” I say, “Eshya, your thoughts?”

“Let’s do it.” She smiles happily, “If we’re attacked we’ll have the high ground.”

“Let’s do it then, there should be plenty of time left before dawn. Vii, have you seen any beasts around that we could make a dinner out of?” I ask.

“I haven’t been looking. I might be able to find something on the hill. The trees aren’t as thick up there, so things can’t hide from me as easily.” She says, “But beasts might not visit because of that reason, too.”

“Well, focus on that for now if you can. Make sure you don’t wear yourself out though. We need to be ready to run and fight at any moment.”

Taking our first steps up the tall hill, I feel spirited and energetic, but just ten minutes later that enthusiasm quickly fades.

“Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.” I moan, looking around for beasts or threats.

“Think of it this way. This is what our enemies will have to go through if they try to attack us tonight.” She says, still herself quite eager.

The trees thin, but not so much that we can get a clear view of the world past them. I soldier on, pushing the pain in my legs aside, and taking breaks to make sure that I don’t tire to the point were it becomes dangerous.

“Just a little more.” Vii cheers on, “Nearly there.”

Gritting my teeth for the final push, we break out past a few trees and finally get a clear view of the world. We face a clear drop down to a forest that’s maybe fifty or more meters below us and expanding beyond is the same red world of leaves that I saw when our ship was landing.

From the top of this drop, this rocky cliff face, we gaze out over the autumn forest. Red and orange splayed out across the landscape in shifting shades. The breeze, radiating a powerful mana presence, drifts across the tops of the leaves.

“Where does the mana come from that creates the wind?” I ask, focusing on the sight with my mana sense.

“The mana for the wind?” Eshya asks, watching the same view as I, “It comes from where all mana comes from. The aether, nothingness, nowhere.”

“Why? Why does mana come into existence to carry a breeze over this forest? Why not fire mana instead, or any other sort? Why a breeze?” I ask.

“Worlds are born from immense mana vortexes. They never stop growing, though often they slow. This world, and the mana vortex that preceded it, have an affinity for the wind, alongside other things. There is wind here because the mana here wants to be wind.” Adler says, “There are worlds where instead of wind, the mana takes form of fire, some where the mana creates kinetic force pushing and pulling from nothingness. Some worlds where water and currents are forged from the mana flows surrounding, and some where the earth rends itself into new shapes and seems to move with the same fluidity as water. There are far stranger worlds also, but I think you get the picture.”

“So, I should feel lucky we have a gentle breeze and not a magical flamethrower blasting my face off?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. You should only ever have to visit worlds suitable to your biology for your studies, and your work following. As you’re already aware there are other academies focusing on species of different forms, among them are those being trained the same as you, and they’ll be responsible for worlds that suit their biology.” She explains.

“I think I’d like to see some of these other worlds. When I’m more powerful, and I can survive them, of course,” I say.

“Me too! Me too!” Vii chirps happily by my side. “I want to visit all the different worlds, and the different people and societies that live there.”

“To conquer them,” Eshya says with a smile, Adler seems to take it jokingly.

“As soldiers it’s quite unlikely that you’ll have quite that much opportunity, but there will be more chance to explore than in most other careers.” Adler explains.

“That shouldn’t be a problem.” I reply, “You know as well as we do that things aren’t going to turn out so simply for us. We’re probably not going to get to our graduation without something happening.”

“I still think you’d be better off trying to survive by the proper rules.” She sighs, “But I can understand your worry.”

“I’m glad.” I say, pulling her close by her shoulder, “You do worry me yourself sometimes.”

“I… I’m just trying to look out for you all.” She whispers, “I just wish that I knew how. I wish that everything was better than it is.”

“It’s alright. I’ll make sure that things get better. It just won’t be in the employ of an authoritarian state.”

She doesn’t reply, falling into deep thought.

I turn my back to the sight, and touch at the pipe that I have strapped to my leg. I haven’t yet had the chance to test it, and it seems like now is as good a chance as any. The thought of it has been putting a bounce in my step every time that I remember I have it with me.

“So, this is a weapon?” Adler asks, looking rather doubtfully at the tube after I’ve explained what I'm up to.

“It is.” I say, “Probably, at least. It’s something of a work in progress or a rough prototype, really.”

It really is just a pipe. Though it has been enchanted. Did Wally do this himself, or has he got friends he’s worked with already? I really need more time to get everything figured out with my people. It’ll have to be my focus when we’re back. That and expanding our base and managing our relationships with the other groups in the ruins.

All those thoughts aside, it’s time to test my weapon.

I take a projectile from the few that I managed to collect and I roll it down the tube. It moves strangely slowly and releases a loud hissing of pressurised air as it does.

“This isn’t like that rocket you were talking about, is it?” Eshya asks, watching the pipe with excited caution.

“We’ll see.” I say, rotating the pipe in my hands. The ball has, as promised, stuck to the inside of the closed end of the tube. The small enchantment, that looks like nothing more than a simple scratching at the base of the tube, starts to spark in my mana sense, demanding my attention.

I awkwardly place my finger on it and ease a little mana into the mechanism. The ball rolls down the tube a short way before rolling right back to the back and sticking to it again.

“Huh…” I didn’t use much mana, but I was still hoping for more than that.

This time I blast it with a good 10 units of mana, as much as I’m willing to spare right now. This time the ball rolls along more energetically before popping loudly out the end and dropping right to the ground without even enough power to hurt if it lands on a stray toe.

“Are you sure it’s a weapon?”

“Called blunder pipe for a reason, I suppose.” I sigh, looking over the pipe. 10 units of mana was barely enough to get past the air pressure that builds up behind the ball as it tries to escape.

Wally had better be getting along with that pervert smith, because I can already tell that this isn’t going to be good enough. In theory I could still use it as a weapon, but it would be insanely wasteful for my mana.

Though, that already describes most of my magic so…

Damn it.

“Done for the day then, I guess.”

“I’ll go hunt some dinner, then.” Vii says, looking seriously over my sad, pathetic little weapon.

“Be careful and don’t stray too far.” Eshya says, beating me to it by a moment.

“Take care.” I say instead, as she flutters up through the canopy.

Eshya and I take this chance to set up our tent, struggling to turn a large piece of fabric into a shelter. Eshya is unfortunately as clueless as I am, and Adler is adamant in leaving us to figure it out for ourselves. After about an hour of struggles we have something resembling a workable shelter.

“What do we do if we have to escape?” I ask, staring at the mess.

“We leave it behind.” Eshya replies, “Not like we can just tell the beasts to wait up while we pack up our gear.”

I sigh as I make sure the rest of my bag is ready to go. It’s not like we haven’t already been warned that we’re being hunted.

Vii returns shortly with the carcass of a small furry creature that looks nearer to a rabbit than anything else, though the spines covering its back make it closer to a porcupine or echidna.

“It spiked my feet.” Vii whines in pain, hovering in the air as we tend to her wounds.

“It’s not poisonous, venomous or whatever, is it?” I ask.

“I don’t think so.” Vii says, “It just hurts.”

She yelps as Eshya plucks a spike from her foot. Thankfully rather few are still stuck in her feet and legs.

“We’ve got you.” I say, laying her down so that we can get to the rest.

We pluck the spikes from Vii then move on to preparing the beast that she returned with. I assume that she finished it after it was subdued in her talons, so that Adler has no room to complain.

While Vii recovers from her hunt and her injuries, Eshya guts the beast quite efficiently, and I’m quickly pushed to the side after nicking open its intestines with a poorly placed cut.

“Just sit there and eat your mana.” Eshya says, throwing the unwanted viscera to me. I bite back my complaints, running my fingers through the gooey guts as I draw the mana out of it.

We put together a fire from stray branches and leaves, careful to clear away all of the flammable leaves from around the small campfire so we don’t burn the forest down.

Dinner is nothing that a professional chef would ever have reason to eat, but once it’s sliced up and fried in the pan Eshya brought with us, it doesn’t taste too bad.

“Where do you think we’ll be in a few years’ time?” Eshya asks, resting back and staring over towards the dusk sun. “Do you think we’ll make it?”

“We’ll make it.” I declare, “I have too much to live for to let our future be taken away from us.”

“You’re talking about leaving the Unified States, and becoming rebels.” Adler says with a deep sigh, “Is that really the only way?”

“Unless you can think of a way to change the Unified States from within?” I say, but she doesn’t give me any quick reply, silently staring down at the flickering flames of the dying fire before us.

“Why is it called the Unified States of Mana?” I ask her, after the silence has been let drag for too long.

“Mana is creation, and mana is destruction.” Adler says, “Weak life contains gaseous mana, those slightly stronger, liquid. Crystallised. More beyond…

“All these states, of strength and of weakness, of creation and destruction, is unified within the Unified States.”

“Unified…?” The word sounds hollow. Like taking a beautiful, colourful work of art, and painting it in grey.

“How are we sorting out the shift for keeping watch tonight?” I ask, “Since you’re with us, you’ve got a turn on watch Adler.”

She seems a little hesitant, so I give her a little more of a push.

“In wilderness survival, you use all that you have available. You’re a valuable resource, Adler. So, it’s not cheating or breaking from the spirit of the exercise.”

She nods obediently, gnawing on her portion of the meal, before thanking us for the dinner.

“You’re just going to sleep, right? Just sleep?” She asks, looking towards the tent worriedly.

“Just sleep.”

“Aww,” Eshya complains jokingly, getting a bit of a reaction from Adler who drops her head low with her cheeks bright red.

The shifts are easier set than I thought, Eshya is first up, else no one will be able to wake her up. Vii volunteers for the shift after, and Adler after that. I get the morning shift, which I won’t complain about.

The beginnings of night start to fall over us, and I drift over to the cliffs edge to observe the last of the dying light, and the few sprinkles of stars starting to become visible.

“It’s nice here.” Vii says, plopping herself down beside me, “It’s fun.”

“And not quite so dangerous. Do you think it’s possible to run away?” I ask. “Just keep moving over the horizon, and live a happy quiet life on this world without the welfare officers, and all the nonsense behind us?”

Vii looks up at me worriedly.

“No.” She replies, “Here they’ll hunt us. I was talking with Rudolf, and it’s… the rules are weird. They’ll hunt us here, but not in the ruins.”

I sigh, but it’s not that much of a disappointment. I hadn’t actually thought that it would be any different.

“Don’t you want to make your empire?” She asks.

“I want to be free. Free from the welfare officers. Free from the rebels. Free from the beasts that would hunt us and eat us.” I say. “What about you?”

“I’m happy to be a part of the harem of the empress. To be with you.” Vii says smiling up at me.

The word ‘harem’ carries different meaning from her lips, though even with Chip I can’t fully understand. There’s a power to it, a dignity, that my own version of the word lacks. When she says it, it’s not like some great sultan’s pleasure house, or some collection of trophies, it sounds dignified, and almost dangerous.

“What do you mean when you say harem?” I ask.

“What do I mean? It’s difficult to describe. If I had to… There’s an old story where I’m from,” She talks more slowly, more carefully, “A quote from an ancient leader describing their harem. ‘It was for them and with them that I made my empire, and if it were for their sake, I would see it burned to ash and bone.’”

“Sounds like they were a romantic, but I’m not so sure about their leadership.” I say.

Vii looks up at me with a playful, endearing smile.

“I like it.” She says.

“What happened to their empire?” I ask, swallowing the nervous lump in my throat.

“The leader disappeared.” She whispers, “No one quite knows where they went, or why they vanished. Their empire, it collapsed but was rebuilt. And collapsed again to be rebuilt again. Over and over, new leaders taking over from the old, new values and ideals that painted over the old history. Sometimes they were envisioned as godly, sometimes as the devil, but they were never forgotten.”

“No one lives forever, I suppose.” I say, leaning forwards, my gaze carrying over the great fall forest.

“No-one has a forever,” Vii says, “but at least I’d like to know you for all that lies between the beginning and the end.”

“Why?” I ask her, gripping my arm tightly as I ask, “Why do you like me?”

“Why?” She asks, “I’ve always liked you, wanted to know you and be known by you. Maybe it should be called obsession more than love, maybe others won’t even see it as love, but I don’t care. I want to be beside you through everything to come.”

My breath catches at her admission, but not as much as I’d expected. I reach over and caress her warm cheek, and somehow it feels sweet. Her eyes look into mine, without turning away, glowing with a determination that she’s been hiding. A truth to her that I’d never fully seen until now.

Is this feeling love?

Is it obsession?

I want her to be mine, body, and soul, and in all other ways. A desperate, overwhelming possessiveness that I have no intent to hold back. She smiles ever so slightly, and I run my thumb along her soft, familiar lips.

I still feel uncertain. I’m afraid that I’ll lose this smile or find out someday that this was all some grand deception.

“Is there something I can do?” Vii asks, her eyes shining, “To make you feel better?”

“Feel better?”

“You look like you’re about to cry.” She says, “I can’t help but think that it’s because of me.”

“I’m worried, paranoid.” I admit, “Promise me that you’ll stay. That you’ll never leave me. Tell me that my doubts are silly little thoughts, and that you’ll never grow bored of me, that you’ll always remain obsessed with me. That your secrets will never break us apart, and that everything will be alright.”

I know that what I’m saying is the furthest thing from being romantic. It’s sad and pathetic, and probably also unhealthy. But that’s just who I am underneath it all.

“I’ve already said that stuff. Or close enough to it.” Vii says, pouting, “You should try to listen better.”

She leans into me, her breathing unsteady as I can feel the pounding of her heart on her breath. The twitches of her eyes tell of the nervousness running through her, but she persists, pressing her lips to mine.

It isn’t some passing touch. She gives in to aggression the moment she overcomes her hesitation, and though she clumsily clashes our teeth, just shy of hurting, she doesn’t retreat or apologise, but pushes deeper.

A long breathless moment, where doubt is denied any foothold in my mind.

The moment ends, but it’s left a mark on me that doesn’t fade. She desperately gazes into my eyes, before pressing on me again.

By the time we let our emotions settle, the sun has set, and the stars are bright above us.

“We should get back.” Vii says, “Get some sleep before tomorrow.”

“We should.” I reply, forcing myself to my feet to return to our camp.

“Just a second.” Eshya says, standing before us.

“What is it?”

“I’ve let you two have your moment, now I’ll have mine.” She says, kissing me on the lips, “When we get back home, it’ll be nice to have some privacy back.”

I feel her lips touch briefly at my neck, before she breaks away, turning towards Vii to share her attention.

“Now, goodnight and get to bed before I get any bad ideas.” She says, settling in and stirring the ashen embers of the fire to get it started again. This world isn’t so cruel or violent as those we’ve been to before. The beasts not as likely to tear us asunder as we sleep.

I huddle under the simple tent, Vii and Adler close by my side. I fall asleep the moment my eyes close.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Skills & Stats

~Mana Form:

Current mana density: 540 units

~Mana distribution:

Catagory Current Max. Skin 24% 24% Muscle 0% 12% Mind 21% 21% Cardiovascular 0% 11% Misc. 0% 10% Efficiency 45% 78%

~Skills:

-Mana drain touch

-Mana skin

-Mana shield.

-Mana surge strike

-Mana surge kick

-Grapple

-Flame burst

-Fireball

-Infused delayed casting

-Harsh petting

-Chaos dance

~Multi-mind messenger