"I could have been a plate tycoon." Lee thought as he added another plain ceramic plate to the stack. The third stack. The third, unstable and precarious stack.

He flexed his right hand a few times and grimaced at the dull ache of Mana overuse. "That's both arms…" He grinned and kicked off a shoe. "Now the fun part."

Lee had discovered that he could cast a spell from anywhere on his body, not just the hands. It did require direct contact for Runes but not for his [Create Plate] spell or, he assumed, for his [Mana Blast], though he hadn't actually tested the latter. He activated his Skill and another plate appeared on the floor under his foot. And again. And again…

Lee was in the process of kicking off his other shoe, to switch feet, when he 'saw' someone approaching his front door. A closer look at the Runes the person was carrying and he was reasonably sure that it was Alejandro. Mostly because he was the only one who had gotten the better shield.

A thought from Lee opened the door just as a hand went up to knock. "Come in Al!" He told Alejandro who was standing at the open door and poised to knock.

The man smiled and entered and after maneuvering carefully around the stacks of dinnerware, sat next to him on the couch. "Here." Alejandro started scooping Cores from his pockets and handing them to Lee.

"Where did you get so many?" Lee asked. "Did you do a Lair run?"

"No." Alejandro shook his head. "These are donations."

Lee didn't understand since they had already given him a few the day after the last battle. His confusion must have shown because Alejandro elaborated.

"You made too many weapons!" Alejandro chuckled. "Everyone had one that you enchanted and I had to get a new one from May to demonstrate just what you had done."

"Huh?" Lee felt like he missed something.

"Nobody who fought and earned Cores during the battle wanted to give them away to some random person who they hadn't seen. But once they finally understood…" He trailed off with a glance to his own sword and shield.

"Oh." Lee murmured. "Is it really that much better?"

"Very much!" Alejandro exclaimed. "My sword went through them like butter and every spear stab was almost a guaranteed kill."

Lee scooped up a double handful of Cores and accepted the prompt and watched with a smile as the notifications scrolled past. "Finally!" Though he did admit to himself that he could have upgraded the day before if he'd gone for another workout session. But that first one… Lee had never been into exercise and had hidden in his room rather than face that taskmaster of a teacher again.

You have reached the F Rank Threshold.

Evolution to E Rank has begun.

He had heard the accounts of the rank up from a few people now and knew what to expect when he saw the choices before him.

[Human](E Rank)

Stay on the path of Humanity. Adapt to survive.

Traits: [Adaptable]

(Unavailable)

"Weird." No one had mentioned an option like that. It only took him a moment though to see why. "The Source. Can't live with it, can't live without it." He moved on.

[Source-Touched Human](E Rank)

You have been irrevocably changed by prolonged contact with a [Source].

You have made Choices. Those Choices don't have to be permanent and can still be changed.

While still mostly Human, you have started down a path but may still take an alternate route. Find out where it leads.

Traits: [Adaptable] [Source-Touched]

(Yes/No)

"There it is." There was apparently already speculation about what the visions seen in the rank up meant. Some thought it was a glimpse of the future while others claimed they were nothing more than advertising.

Lee could see himself wearing armor and wielding a sword and shield, everything covered with glowing Runes. He was fighting on the walls of a great fortress, facing off against shadowy and indistinct enemies alongside his own shadowy allies.

He was an unstoppable warrior. Every blow struck with his sword cleaved an enemy in half, every blow received was absorbed by his shield or armor. Runes flashed and pulsed as everything fell before him. "I'm a badass!" Lee thought as he watched the vision. He knew somehow that the fortress he was defending was Three. How he knew that was unclear.

The figure of himself crouched, Runes on his boots brightened and then he was soaring over the enemies. Pulsing light from his shield lanced out at anything that came close and his sword grew large with every swing, bisecting huge shadowy flying things that looked almost but not exactly like dragons.

He was jumping off of the air, each step on nothing accompanied by a flash from his feet as he charged across the sky.

Lee tried to look closer, to see what Runes were creating the effect but it wasn't clear, blurring more and more the closer he looked. "Haters."

He looked at the next option.

[Mana Driven Source-Touched Human](E Rank)

You have been irrevocably changed by contact with a [Source].

You have forcefully altered your body to use more Mana at the cost of your Physical Strength.

You have made Choices. Accept your Choices Permanently.

While still mostly Human, you have started down a path. Find out where it leads.

Traits: [Adaptable] [Source-Touched] [This is the Way]

(Yes/No)

Lee saw himself looking much less robust in this one. He stood on the roof of Three, no armor, only a staff that he was leaning on. The staff itself was a brilliant pillar of glowing runes in his hand.

Around him was a circle of his allies, all facing away, guarding him. The figure of himself raised the staff high and it brightened even more, before he brought it down and slammed the end into the roof.

Runes spread out from where the staff touched. Great circles of Runes grew and widened across the roof, then further out, past the building, floating in the air as even more Rune circles appeared. Some stayed on the roof around him, others lifted high above, some rotated while others were still. Some turned to rest at a perpendicular angle to the others and started to orbit around him.

His view of the scene pulled back until he could see the shadowy armies assaulting the fortress all around him in every direction. They stretched to the horizon in an endless sea of swarming monsters.

All of the Rune circles eventually stopped moving and one by one they flashed brighter for an instant and then vanished. With every one that vanished, a large swath of enemies beyond the walls also vanished in varying displays of magic. Until it was all gone, magic and army both.

When it was over Lee saw himself collapse to one knee and one of his guards helped him up and the rest formed up around him as they moved back inside.

"Wow!" Lee thought. "That one was more badass!" If the only downside was that he couldn't run around like a Kungfu nut then he wasn't sure what the downside really was. "Very Archmage-y vibes, I like it!"

But just in case he checked the rest.

[Source-Touched SerpentKin Human](E Rank)

You have been Soul Bonded to a powerful Beast Lord.

You have been Touched by a greater Serpent.

Let go of your tight grip on Humanity. Embrace the Cold Blooded Animal within.

While still partially Human, you can start down a new path. Find out where it leads.

Traits: [Source-Touched] [SerpentKin Lord] [Semi-Adaptable]

(Yes/No)

Lee was curious about the Beast Lord bit and thought about Caffeine. "Of course…" He remembered visions of Caff being huge as he fought against the monsters around Stanley. Then of the pug inside their Soul, attacking the Undead, helping hold their Soul together, holding the Source back… "What happens to Caff when we use the Source?" He wondered curiously. "Does he use it too? Does it hurt him…"

Lee watched a vision of himself as some kind of snake man… "Like a Naga?" His lower body was a snake while his upper body was normal, except for when he opened his mouth too wide and bit one of the shadowy enemies with large fangs… "Ummm… what?"

He saw a time-lapse effect as the snake grew larger and larger. Until it stopped at the image of himself, now a massive snake, curled up on the roof of Three. He looked like he was sunbathing as he lay sprawled across the roof. Then the shadowy enemies appeared and the snake reared up, scales glowing with Runes as it surveyed the area.

Runes flashed as the snake opened its maw wide and something shot from its mouth and into the hordes around it. Gaseous explosions expanded wherever it spit until the entire area around the building was buried under a hazy fog and the snake settled back down in the sunlight. "No allies this time… would I eat them all?" He chuckled at the thought of Bradley's reaction if he chose this… and then realized that Maria would probably kill him and they would all enjoy some more snake barbecue.

There was only an idle curiosity as he watched this one. Not enough to seriously consider the option… maybe if it turned him into a Dragon he would consider it? Lee smiled at the thought of himself as a dragon. "That could be fun…"

He looked at the last option, wondering if it could get any weirder.

[Source-Touched Living Runic Structure](E Rank)

You have created a Legendary Soul Bound Runic Structure.

You have created a Structure and RuneScape capable of holding your Soul.

Forsake your Humanity and Embrace the Timeless.

No longer Human, you can start down a new path. Find out where it leads.

Traits: [Source-Touched] [Timeless]

It could indeed get weirder.

Lee was a bit speechless as he watched what looked like Three just sitting there. People moved around, over and through the building in a sped up time-lapse. "Nope." Lee decided. "Not going to turn into a building…"

He looked back to his favorite choice. The Archmage-y one. "I like this one even though I lose some physical strength." Between the Mana Well and Three, he felt that going big on magic was a better use of his resources… plus it just looked cooler. Besides, running around with a sword just looked… exhausting.

Evolution Chosen.

[Mana Driven Source-Touched Human](E Rank)

Attributes Upgrading.

Strength: No Fortification

Vitality: No Fortification

Dexterity: No Fortification

Perception: +10 Fortification

Intelligence: +15 Fortification

Willpower: +4 Fortification

"Ow…" Lee knew to expect the pain but it still sucked. "It's worth it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bradley placed both hands on the wall and sent his Mana into it. He focused on the Mana as it sank into the Earthen wall and he mentally pushed and squeezed at it. The Mana condensed further and further until a small patch of earth was shifted and changed into stone.

"Finally!" Bradley smiled and pushed himself away from the wall and walked, barefoot, back to Three. He leaned against the wall as he caught his breath while his Mana rapidly refilled. He closed his eyes while he waited and concentrated on his feet. He could feel the ground around himself as well as someone walking atop the wall.

Lee had laughed when he saw Bradley with his shoes off and made a joke about 'tough earth benders' or something. Bradley didn't care about the looks. He didn't… He would do what it took to be strong.

He thought about the vision he'd seen during his Rank up. "I'll get there."

Mana full, he took a step away from the wall and with a surge of his power, pulled earth up around him and over his head even as the earth under his feet sank deeper into the ground. A couple seconds later he was buried underground in the dark. "Still too slow."

He moved his arms in a lifting gesture and rose back up into the light as the ground spat him back out. Bradley touched Three again and then walked back to the Fort walls. He spent his Mana turning another small patch into stone and then repeated the whole process.

"What are you doing?"

The voice surprised him and Bradley was halfway into the ground before he caught himself. He glanced toward the voice and saw a woman sitting in the dead grass that was full of patches of dirt where he'd buried himself.

"Ummm… Training?" He said hesitantly, not sure how he had missed the beautiful woman.

Bradley could see a green glow coming from the woman's hands and sinking into the grass around her as it perked up. It almost looked like she was healing the grass… The green glow also reminded him of something he'd seen on the night of the battle. "Were you healing people out here, on… the night… uh, in the fight?" He cursed silently in his head at his fumbling speech. "Damn it."

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Yes." She nodded. "I did what little I could with the nature I had available." She looked around at the dead grass. "I'm trying to restore what was lost… but it's going to take awhile."

She glanced back at him. "What I meant earlier is, why do you keep touching the building?" She nodded towards Three.

"Getting Mana…" Bradley said quickly before tearing his eyes away from her and looking at the building. "Did you not get Mana access?"

"I do not know what that is." She replied.

"Really?" He said surprised. "Let's go find Lee. He can give you access."

He started towards the door and the woman stared at him in confusion for a moment before she shrugged, got to her feet and followed after him.

Bradley felt the strange sensation of stepping from outside and the mostly natural feeling of Earth Mana, into Three where the Mana against his bare feet felt much different. There was still some hint of Earth Mana but also another, deeper feeling, a feeling of being watched… or maybe just noticed…

Bradley led the way up the half flight of stairs and into the courtyard where he spotted Alejandro.

The man saw him and the woman coming in behind him and smiled. "Saira! How's the regrowth coming along?"

"That's her name…" Bradley felt a bit embarrassed at forgetting to introduce himself but Alejandro turned to him next and did it for him.

"Bradley. What's up?"

"Um… Oh right." He gestured at Saira. "She doesn't have Mana access so I was coming to find Lee."

Alejandro slapped himself on the forehead. "Sorry, Saira. I completely forgot!" He glanced up towards Lee's apartment and sighed. "Lee just started his upgrade to E Rank so it will be a minute until he can do it."

Saira looked confused and Bradley jumped in to explain. "You get basically unlimited Mana while inside this building or at least touching it."

Her eyes widened at that. "That would be… very helpful." She said finally, smiling at him.

"I thought Lee said that he told Wilson to send everyone that uses Mana to see him?" Alejandro muttered.

"I saw Wilson just today." Saira said. "How long has this been available?"

"Since before the last attack." Bradley supplied and then quickly looked away at the reaction on her face.

Saira was frowning. "Having more Mana during that night would have been very helpful… I think I need to have a word with Mr Peters." She didn't sound happy about it.

"It's my fault." Alejandro told her apologetically. "I use only a little Mana and so keep forgetting how important it is." He smiled at her. "In fact I think I will go now and spread the word."

"Three, can you give Saira Mana access?" Bradley quietly asked the air nearby in a curious and hopeful attempt to see what if anything would happen. Ever since the Tether he'd had the nagging feeling that the building was alive somehow, and what's more, it was watching them.

He felt his face heating up as nothing happened while the others looked at him and then he and Saira both jumped in surprise when a Notification appeared.

Provisional Mana Access Granted: (Saira)

"Hah!" Alejandro exclaimed as he glanced back and forth at the looks on their faces. "It worked? I should have tried that."

"It says 'Provisional'." Bradley told him. "I'm not sure what that means… Maybe Lee will need to make it official?"

Saira stepped up to one of the planters in the courtyard that held some bushes and sent green light from her hands and into the plants. The plants immediately started growing bigger and Saira's eyes grew wider and wider as they grew. Eventually her arms started shaking and the green light faded from her hands.

"That…" She stared at the towering bushes as she rubbed her arms softly.

Bradley knew she must be feeling the Mana Burn and probably for the first time. He may have gotten a bit too entranced with watching her hands rubbing up and down her arms.

"That would have been very helpful." She growled out and then smiled brightly at him. "Thank you Bradley."

"Uh… No problem." He looked away, embarrassed at the attention. "Watch out for the Mana Burn." He gestured at her arms without meeting her gaze. "If you take breaks in between you can go longer. But if you push too hard you'll get a Debuff…" He trailed off and glanced at her face only to see her smiling at him. Bradley blushed and turned quickly away, cursing silently at his embarrassment.

Alejandro laughed and Bradley started walking away. "I… I've got to go… get back to work… on the walls!" He resisted the urge to start sprinting and managed to get back outside, before slumping against Three and holding his head in his hands. "Stupid, stupid." He hated how flustered he'd gotten. "She was so pretty though…"

"Real smooth." A girl's voice said right next to him and Bradley screamed. Dirt flew as he fell down into a hole and the girl's voice screamed as well.

Bradley finally remembered who the voice belonged to and contemplated just staying underground until she left before sighing and lifting himself back above ground. At least all of his practice seemed to be paying off, considering how fast he'd hidden himself away…

Mar was glaring at him from where she stood a few feet away and covered in dirt.

Bradley was embarrassed but the sight still brought a smile to his face. "You… You shouldn't have scared me." He grumbled.

Mar huffed and started patting herself down, trying to clean off the dirt. "You shouldn't have been mooning over my mom!"

Bradley felt his face flaming and knew he would be bright red. "You…" He fumbled for words. "Shut up!"

Mar laughed then her face went red and she disappeared. It was a few moments before her voice sounded out nearby. "Sorry."

He thought he heard her footsteps running away and Bradley leaned back against the wall, thumping his head into it in frustration. "I shouldn't worry about what people think of me." Bradley was trying everyday to be more like Jake. Unfortunately he was not Jake. "I should practice something offensive as well…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mar was at that same moment also thinking about Jake, and Bradley. "Stupid!"

She knew her face was bright red and didn't think she would be able to reappear even if she wanted to. Taunting Bradley had reminded her of another memory, the memory of her trying to kiss Jake…

"You're pretty enough but a bit young for me." He'd said. "Plus I'm not sticking around here."

"I could go with you!" She'd said and just the memory of that desperate plea set her fuming and blushing.

He had laughed at her!

"You're too weak." That had stung. "But when you're strong enough to come find me out there…" He'd waved vaguely around. "...we can take it from there."

Mar had disappeared and tried to get away from him but Jake just kept trailing after her and critiquing her stealth attempts. "You're leaving tracks in the dirt, you're dragging your feet on the sidewalk, you stepped on that twig…"

Mar finally screamed at him to go away. But Jake only shook his head as he explained. "I said I would help you get better at fighting and sneaking, I'm not going back on my word just because you feel embarrassed. You are the only one who is upset by what happened, don't let other people have that much power over you."

She had finally given up on escape and crouched in a corner crying. Jake crouched next to her. "It happens, you took a shot and it didn't work out, now you have to let it go, move on and do what you want to do."

It hadn't been so easy for her to 'let it go' but Jake hadn't mentioned the event again, hadn't teased her, and had just been himself while he continued teaching. But the memory still made her want to scream in embarrassment.

Jake always said that if you want something, just go for it. "Don't waste your life on what ifs and what might have been."

"Stupid Jake! Stupid Bradley!"

The look on Bradley's face when he was mooning over her mother made Mar feel sick as she stomped around the building.

She paused her train of thought when she spied the woman in question and Alejandro next to her, walking towards the leasing office where Wilson had set up shop.

Mar stopped stomping and recalled the lessons that Jake had given her on walking silently as she fell in behind the duo. "Stupid Mom! Looking at Bradley like that!" She almost started stomping again and had to pull her mind away from that spiral. "Stupid Bradley looking at her…"

Mar focused on her steps as she followed them to the door. Two men stood guard outside and Alejandro greeted them warmly and asked if Wilson was inside. On confirmation, he opened the door for her mother and then followed her inside. Mar had to quickly step closer and catch the door behind him.

The two guards looked straight through her as she slipped through, trying to let the door close smoothly to avoid anyone noticing her presence. No one reacted and she walked carefully over the tile floors behind Alejandro until they found Wilson sitting in his office.

Her mother started asking him about Mana in that damn voice she always used when she knew something but wanted you to admit it before she would tell you that she had known all along. Mar resisted the urge to mutter under her breath and distracted herself by trying to move silently around the people in the small office to get a better look at the map on the wall behind Wilson.

She made it with no reaction from anyone and studied the map. It looked like a map of San Diego, with marks and symbols drawn on in various places with a marker. She couldn't tell what the marks meant and after a few moments of study she lost interest and snuck back out of the office while Wilson was apologizing and making excuses for himself. "A Blowhard coward." As Jake always called him.

Mar wandered through the various other offices and around all the guards that Wilson loved to keep around himself. "Scaredy cat." It was boring and she wandered back to the office in time to hear her mother making some condescending speech about how 'we all need to work together' and 'greater good' and 'blah blah blah'. Mar wanted to gag at her tone. "It's all about community and working together until it's your own family, then it's 'do what you're told' and 'I am your mother'."

Mar was leaning against the wall and silently mocking and mimicking her mother and didn't notice them leaving until it was too late.

She moved as fast as she dared to catch the door behind them but it clicked shut just as her fingers touched the wood. "Damn it!"

Mar stood for a moment, trying to decide if she wanted to open the door and let people know she was here or just wait until someone else came inside or went back out. She wrapped her hand around the door handle and glass shattered behind her!

Mar jumped and just barely managed not to scream as she spun around. The window to Wilson's office was shattered and something tumbled to a stop in the glass on the floor. It was a desk lamp… "I see you've met my mother…"

She flattened herself against the wall behind the door as it swung open and the guards that had been outside swarmed in, weapons in hand. Mar thought about trying to slip around and get out the door but with the way the guards were looking around on high alert, she gave up on the idea and just stood still and tried to breathe as silently as possible.

Wilson was cursing in his office when the guards stepped inside and he yelled at them to get out and send in 'Emery', whoever that was… Mar stayed in the corner and didn't try to leave when his guards walked back outside.

A minute later, another man entered from the door on the other side of the building and walked down the hallway, broken glass crunching under his feet, and into Wilson's office. Mar was curious and crept closer to try and hear what was going on.

The newcomer, presumably Emery, closed the door to the office as he entered but the broken window let her hear some of the conversation. She couldn't get any closer without stepping on the broken glass all over the hallway floor. Jake had taught her better than that at least.

"...get a message to… …tell him I'm in." Wilson's voice said. The other man said something but it was too quiet for her to understand the words.

The office door reopened and Mar flattened herself to the wall and held her breath as Emery left the office and headed out the way he'd come in, crunching back over the glass.

Mar watched him go and after another glance to the glass littering the floor, she gave up on following him. She had to wait ages for someone else to come inside before she got another chance and slipped back outside, no one the wiser that she had ever been there, she hoped…

She went around the building, just in case the other man had hung around, but there was no sign of him and Mar gave up on that idea and went to find someone else to deal with whatever that had been.

It wasn't hard to find her mother. Mar just followed the trail of newly revitalized and vibrant plant life until she found her. The woman was talking to Bradley while they both sat leaning up against the wall of the building.

They were sitting in the same area that the wounded had been dumped by Bradley during the battle. Where her mother had been healing when the swarm of monsters came over the wall…

Mar realized she was holding onto her daggers and released the hilts with an effort of will and a deep breath.

She looked at her mother laughing from something Bradley said while he blushed and looked away. Mar fumed at the sight. "He's less than half your age!"

She did feel a little bad though, only about forgetting to tell her mother about the Mana, not about anything else. Mar briefly thought of telling her about Wilson's little tantrum and subsequent 'meeting', but the woman would probably just get even more insufferable and smug about it.

Mar resisted the urge to stomp, again, and went looking for Alejandro. She would tell him about Wilson, just in case the coward was up to something.

She walked into the building through the garage, to avoid opening a door and giving her position away to her mother who was sitting near the door that went directly to the stairwell, and stopped for a moment to watch the woman in the corner who was silently hammering away at something.

The woman was sweating in the heat coming from her forge. Mar couldn't tell what she was making at the moment but she did wonder how high the woman's Strength was by now. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen her not working…

Mar shook her head and opened the door to the stairs after making sure the blacksmith wasn't looking her way. She walked carefully up the stairs to avoid the ringing gong-like vibrations that came from the metal supports and rails. At the first landing she stopped and placed a hand on the floor to feel for the vibration of footsteps and listened for anyone outside the door. Hearing and feeling nothing she slowly opened the door and slipped through into the courtyard.

She didn't see Alejandro but a few other people were in the area, namely the Teacher and a few people getting pointers from him. Mar hadn't worked up the courage to ask the man to teach her, even though everyone raved about how he could improve their stats and skills. Doing the group training with everyone else in the morning was completely out of the question as well… Though she had followed along a few times from the sidelines, while invisible.

Another problem with walking around invisible and wanting to stay that way, was that she couldn't ask questions of the people around her. Like 'have you seen Alejandro' or 'which way did he go'. Mar resisted the urge to sigh, it was better this way.

She stepped out under the open sky and carefully jumped to the next floor, caught the railing and climbed over as gently as possible to avoid the whole thing ringing if she accidentally kicked it. She wandered around the balcony, peering into windows and listening at doors but didn't see or hear the man she was looking for.

Another slightly more difficult jump got her to the top floor and she started the circuit again. She stopped outside an apartment when she felt the feeling of someone using a large amount of Mana. Another of the things Jake had been teaching her.

The door swung open and she jumped back in surprise. "Come on in Mar." A voice called from inside.

She ground her teeth. "Stupid cheater!" Mar thought as she walked to the door. "I can see Mana!" She silently mocked him.

On the bright side she'd found Alejandro. He was standing next to the stupid old man and looking around for Mar with his stupid smile on his face. She stomped inside and stopped. "Jeez… this guy needs to get a life!" There were plates everywhere. Stacks and stacks of them.

"What's up?" Lee asked, while staring straight at her. "Cheater…"

Mar ignored the plates and told the both of them what had transpired after the meeting with Wilson. Lee kept creating more plates while she talked and some even appeared under his feet. One even appeared on top of his head!

"I'm so much stronger!" Lee exclaimed suddenly and then looked sheepish. "Sorry Mar, I was listening." He glanced at Alejandro. "What do you think? Should we be worried about him?" He said while adding the new plates to a stack.

Alejandro sighed. "I don't know… maybe keep an eye on him and see if we can find out who he was talking about?"

"Also next time you see Emery, if you could point him out to me? I don't know if I've met him."

Mar nodded and then realized she had disappeared again. "Sure." She replied instead.

Lee started jumping up and touching the ceiling with a big stupid grin on his face. "I feel so much better!"

"I think you do look a bit younger." Alejandro said.

Mar couldn't see the difference herself, he looked like an old person, old people looked like old people…

"My Skill just leveled up…" Lee said as his eyes unfocused. "Let's see… no evolution… only upgrade…" He trailed off and then created another plate, this one a different color. "Oh!" He grinned at both of them and created another plate, now a different color than the previous one. "That's how it works!" He rubbed his arm and grimaced in pain. "That's enough for now. I'll go find Saira and give her the full Mana Access. Apparently I need to actually see her to do it…"

Mar sighed and followed them outside and down the stairs. Bradley and her mother were in the same area, though no longer sitting and talking. Bradley was touching the wall with his eyes closed and her mother was sitting next to a visibly growing tree.

She walked over to Bradley, trying to see what he was doing. When she got close he suddenly turned his head and looked down towards her feet.

"Mar?" He asked softly.

"Don't tell me he can see me too!" Mar fumed before sighing. "Yea. How did you know?"

Bradley smiled and ducked his head. "I felt your footsteps through the ground… I'm still trying to get better at it…" He trailed off and Mar saw him shuffle his bare feet.

"Great." Mar grumbled. "How am I supposed to avoid that?"

"Sorry…" Bradley said quietly, still staring at the wall.

"Now I'm making him feel bad…" She stomped away loudly. "Feel that!"

Mar saw Lee standing still just outside the door, one hand hovering near the wall of the building as he stared blankly into space. "Did he have a stroke? He is pretty old…"

The old man suddenly smiled. "Sweet! It stopped!"

"Yep, probably a stroke."

"I'm not trapped inside!" He said to Alejandro. "The Mana drain stops at half." He walked away from the building and approached her mother while muttering about whatever stupid thing he was excited about. "It makes sense… there's no effect at fifty percent so it should… my range seems lower as well…"

Mar left them when they started talking to her mother and telling her about Wilson. She saw her mother's eyes looking for her after Alejandro said her name and didn't want to deal with any of that.

"Talking to the teacher would be better than this." She headed back inside and went looking for him. How hard could it be to approach another stranger and ask him for help? Today had already been a disaster, how much worse could it get? "Damn, now I jinxed myself…"