"When you said Dreadmere camp, I thought you meant an actual camp." I said to Noctus. I had been expecting small tents spread across the land, not a sprawling estate.

"Those pretentious twats stay in tents?" Noctus scoffed. "For Dreadmere this is as humble as it gets."

The farmhouse was huge, and had been painted Dreadmere blue. From the main building stretched a large courtyard, with pathways lined with fire pits and tables filled with food. The grounds were beautiful, but something about the place felt off.

They didn't appear to be on guard or even well fortified. They were too focused on their revelry to worry about potential threats.

"Dreadmere has more money than sense," Noctus said. "Their guild fighters are mostly for show, they don't put much care into improving their skill."

We watched the party from the trees in silence, and I shook my head in disgust. They didn't even have anyone patrolling the nearby woods.

I had expected more from the guild, but it seemed like their rumored power and strength was little more than a facade.

Glancing back over my shoulder, I eyed the five flesh puppets standing at the ready. It had taken almost an hour to get here, and the bodies were already showing signs of degradation, which meant they would soon disappear.

"We're running out of time," I said, tilting my chin towards the bodies.

Noctus nodded in agreement. "Mm, then let's send Dreadmere our house warming gift shall we?"

He grinned, and I couldn't help but smirk in return.

At my command the five puppets trudged towards the farmhouse, each of them carrying a crate filled with explosives. When they reached the entrance, the puppets split up and moved towards their predetermined targets.

No one even gave the corpses a second glance, the blue and silver Dreadmere guild cloaks Noctus draped around their shoulders allowing them to blend into their surroundings.

"When you said infiltrating their camp was easy, I didn't think you meant this easy," I commented.

Noctus chuckled, "Arrogance is blinding."

We watched with barely concealed glee as the puppets reached their targets and placed the crates of explosives. Then in sync, they all smashed a Drakus orb over the wood, setting the crate on fire and consequently igniting the explosives within.

The force of the explosion caused a shockwave that shook the ground beneath us and the deaths it caused, releasing a flood of mana that hit me like a tidal wave, sweeping over my body and flowing into my core. The energy pulsed through me, flooding my mana core and filling me with power.

I felt as though I was being overloaded as the energy kept pouring in and I struggled to contain it. The excess mana from the explosion had more than doubled my power, filling me to my brim and overflowing.

I had to find a way to condense it, and the only way I knew how was by forming a wisp core. I closed my eyes and concentrated, allowing the energy to overflow out of my core and form a wisp core. As it took shape, the new core traveled up my throat before I spat it out onto my palm.

Finally, I had done it; I had created my second wisp core.

"I'm inclined to make a joke about hairballs," Noctus teased.

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help the smile that spread across my face as I held up my second wisp core admiringly.

"Have you decided what you'll be making? Another fire wisp? Perhaps a poison wisp?" he asked. "I heard you wanted to meet with Lena to discuss her poison wisps."

"I haven't decided." I said. Carefully, I tucked the wisp core into a glass jar where it would be protected from any potential contaminants. I didn't want to risk having the wisp form incorrectly or having the core absorb any undesirable elements.

"Well," Noctus hummed, "I'm sure you'll come up with something interesting."

I nodded distractedly. The mention of Lena had triggered my memory and reminded me of my initial reason for traveling to the mountains.

I had been traveling to meet the other kitsune in Vulpīnus, but now it didn't seem as important anymore. Perhaps if Lena hadn't delayed our meeting for so long, I might still have been in a position where I wanted to meet her, but as it was, there didn't seem to be any point in doing so. There was nothing she could teach me that I couldn't learn by myself.

Then again, she was the co-leader of the Silver Arrows, so it might still be beneficial for me to meet with her. I wasn't sure if it was the right decision, but an idea formed in my mind.

I couldn't travel to Vulpīnus, nor did I wish to; things weren't as they were when I first made the request to meet with Lena. I was no longer a lowly alchemist new to this world, but the high priestess of my patron.

I would not travel to Vulpīnus to meet Lena, but instead I would send her an invitation to visit the temple. I was in the stronger position, and it was time for Lena to realize that. She would act at my behest, not the other way around.

"Kadia, I know it's difficult, but now isn't the time to be fantasizing about me," Noctus said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "I wasn't." I paused, looking up at him before continuing. "But now that you mention it... You would look rather nice covered in flames." I teased as I glanced back at the burning farmhouse.

The Dreadmere camp was in shambles. What had once been a grand estate was now surrounded by smoldering embers and battered buildings.

"So hot," Noctus murmured, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Scorching, even," I replied, reaching without my metaphysical senses for the wraiths. I couldn't feel any of them, so it would seem they'd all died in the blast. Ah well, I'd revive them soon enough.

"You were right, this was fun." I said, feeling satisfied with the destruction I had caused. The new orange powder had worked rather well; I was finally starting to get a handle on the correct formula for a controlled blast. Though perhaps next time I would add a little more sulfur.

Noctus flashed me a wide grin. "There's lots of fun to be had when you're with me, Kadia."

I rolled my eyes, but the corners of my mouth quirked up in amusement. "Are you going to plant your fake evidence or what? I don’t want to be standing around chatting when people come to investigate the fire." I said, nudging my chin towards the smoldering ruins of the Dreadmere estate.

He chuckled and bowed his head in acquiescence before darting away. I watched as he disappeared, keeping an eye out for any potential lingering threats.

Personally, I didn't think Noctus's plan to plant false evidence to make Dreadmere think the Airus officials were behind the attack would work, but it might.

When Noctus returned a few minutes later, he was carrying a bag with a self-satisfied grin. "I found their treasury," he said cheerfully. "Since the kills were yours, I didn't get any mana out of this, so I'm taking the loot."

I shook my head, but couldn't stifle the laughter that bubbled up from within me. Typical Noctus.

"Come on," I shifted into my vulpine form and raced through the trees, the wind propelling me ever faster. Noctus followed close behind me; his natural vampiric abilities allowing him to match my magically-enhanced speed.

By the time we arrived at the temple, it was well past midnight. Reaching the plateau, I paused outside the wall for a moment, taking in the sight before me as I caught my breath.

Noctus joined me, a smirk on his lips. "Home sweet home," He said dryly.

As I retook my human form, I stared up at the golems, a critical eye trained on their movements. "Do you think they look realistic enough?" I asked the vampire.

"They could be better," Noctus said with a shrug. "The pattern of movement is too repetitive. But they're fine for their purpose."

I nodded, my gaze still trained on the golems as they moved along their preprogrammed paths. "For now, at least." I murmured.

Noctus smiled. "It will be interesting to see what the future holds for your golems. I'm expecting great things, Kads, try not to disappoint me."

"Mm, I'll do my best," I said, combing my fingers through my hair and yawning as I did so.

"Let's get inside," Noctus said with a smile, gesturing to the gates. "You look exhausted."

"It's been a long day," I mumbled, trudging along the path which led to the temple. "A long and busy day."

Noctus smiled. "Indeed it has been," He said, his gaze shifting to the night sky. "But I think tomorrow will be even busier."

"How so?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Noctus just grinned at me. "That is for you to find out." He said with a wink before disappearing into the shadows.

I watched him go with a bemused smile. That vampire was always up to something, and I had the feeling tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.

Shaking the thought from my head, I turned away and headed towards the temple. Instead of heading up to my chambers, however, I decided to take a detour down into the caverns beneath the temple. The thought of the wisp core in my bag waiting for me to experiment with it was too strong to ignore.

—

I made my way down past the larger caverns until I reached a section of wall that concealed my secret workspace. Finding the slight protrusion that marked the door, I raised my hand and used transmutation to unseal the workspace behind the stone, revealing a small room filled with alchemical equipment.

This particular workspace was home to some of my more secretive projects, the ones I didn’t want snooping vampires or other potential intruders to find.

"What should I try first?" I had so many ideas, it would be hard to decide which one to pursue.

Retrieving the jar from my bag, I placed the core on the table and began to shuffle through my notebooks. I was quickly overwhelmed by the choices I had.

"I've made quite a few wisps imbued with dark mana, so I think it's time to try something new," I mused as I flipped through the pages of notes. "Wraiths are fun, but the uses are limited."

My gaze landed on the pile of blue mana crystals that I had collected from the walls of the cavern. Unlike dark mana crystals, which contained necromantic energy, these crystals held pure mana.

During my experiments, I had observed that when exposed to pure mana, the wisp cores seemed to grow in power, but did not undergo the same corruption that dark mana caused. Nothing about the wisp changed on a physical level, but its magical power seemed to expand.

"Hmmm," I hummed thoughtfully. "What would happen if I infused a pure, unformed wisp core with mana crystal?"

I rummaged through the pile of crystals, searching for the most powerful pieces. After selecting one that was to my liking, I set it beside the core in my palm and began to concentrate on the process of merging the two.

At first, nothing happened. Then I felt a slight shift in the energy around me; it was almost as if time itself had stopped for a brief moment.

"Would you stop doing that!" The irritated voice of Trismegistus boomed from behind me.

I opened my eyes and turned around, seeing him standing in the room with a scowl on his face, his gold vulpine ears pinned back in annoyance. Behind him, his nine tails were fanned out around him like a cape, the golden fur glimmering in the low light of the cavern.

"What did I do?" I asked innocently, not sure what he was referring to.

"You know exactly what you did," Trismegistus grumbled. "You keep making more work for me."

"I didn't do anything!" I protested. "What have I messed up? The only thing I've done today was attack the Dreadmere guild."

"And what do you call that!" He pointed at the core in my hand, which had taken on a faint blue sheen.

I looked at the wisp core and then back at the god. "I don't know- you tell me."

He threw his hands up in the air with a huff. "That's the problem!" He glared at me. "A typical wisp core would absorb the mana and simply become more powerful, but you — oh, you — you just had to go and do it with a kitsune wisp core, didn't you..."

I stared at him confused. "What does that mean?"

"It means," Trismegistus said tiredly, "that I did not account for this. By the rules set in place, what you've done is entirely possible, but in order for you to use this wisp, I must approve its existence."

"So I made something that hasn't been made?" I asked, feeling rather proud of myself.

He scowled. "Yes, and now I have to completely rework the system! Do you have any idea how much work this is going to be?"

"Why do you have to rework it?"

He sighed heavily. "Are you telling me you won't do this again with your next core? Because we both know you'd be lying. This isn't even the first time you've done it! Why do you think I made the Pyrthirío? I had to balance out the issues caused by your first wisp’s existence!"

I smiled sheepishly, feeling only a little bit guilty for making the god so frustrated. "I'd say sorry, but I'm not."

Trismegistus rubbed a hand over his face, his tails flicking back and forth in agitation. "Yes, I figured as much."

"So what'd I make? What kind of wisp is it going to be?" I prodded.

Trismegistus shook his head. "I'm working on it." He examined the wisp core in my hand for a few moments, then reached out a hand and waved it over the core. It glowed brightly with blue light for a brief moment, then dimmed.

"There," he declared, "an Arcanium wisp. They will form in places with high mana density and attack people harvesting mana crystals."

I grinned. "Sounds fun."

He gave me a tired glance, then shook his head. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to try and think of every possible thing you might merge your next wisp core with." He said, giving my notebooks a thoughtful look.

"Mimic," I said with a cheeky grin. "If the mana crystal didn’t do anything, I was going to see what would happen if I tried to merge Faux's core with the wisp core."

The god froze, then let out a heavy sigh. "Well at least I have some time to prepare for that." He said dryly, before disappearing in a flash of gold light.

As I turned back to the wisp core, I found that in its place was an ethereal blue fox. It looked at me with mischievous eyes, before flying off and playfully bouncing around the room. I laughed as I watched it flit around, its two tails like a banner behind it. As I watched, it flew up to me and booped my nose with its paw before disappearing into the pile of mana crystals.

I stared at the mana crystals, watching as the blue glow faded from them, leaving nothing but pale rocks in their place.

"You're going to eat all my mana crystals, aren't you?" I asked it with a sigh. Figures Tris would make me another gluttonous wisp. No doubt this was his way of punishing me.

I watched as the wisp flew up to a vein of Arcanium crystal in the wall and began to absorb its mana. I shook my head and smiled at it. "You're going to be quite the handful, aren't you?"

The fox wisp looked up at me, its two tails twitching in the air. I couldn't help but laugh as it raced off towards the next crystal, ready to gobble up more mana. "Ah, ah, no." I said, pointing a finger at it. "That's enough for now."

The fox wisp nodded and flew back to me, its eyes still twinkling in mischief. I smiled and watched as it disappeared into my second tail.

"Trismegistus may have made you to punish me," I said, patting the tip of my tail, "But somehow I think we're going to get along just fine."