The next morning, Emily wakes up early to finish her final preparations. She takes a shower and makes her way over to her prepared workbench. She carefully goes through the process of gearing up, fastening leather straps and securing weapons as she looks through all of her equipment’s system windows.

¯¯¯¯¯

[Combat Boots]

[Rank:] E

[Stats:] +4 Str, +2 Agil

[Description:] A pair of knee-high combat boots with adjustable treads and weight.

[Effect:] Provides power and armour to the lower legs.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Revolver]

[Rank:] F

[Stats:] +2 dex, +1 Agil

[Description:] A simple six-shot revolver.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Body Armour]

[Rank:] E

[Stats:] +5 Vit

[Description:] A sleek, form-fitting upper torso armour.

[Effect:] Provides armour to the chest that defends against magical and physical attacks.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Claws {Gen.1}]

[Rank:] E

[Stats:] +2 Str, +2 Dex, +3 Agil

[Description:] A set of magical steam-powered wrist blades.

[Effect:] Provides armour to the forearms and extends or retracts blades from the wrist when activated.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Low-Grade Mana Grenade]

[Rank:] E

[Stats:] +1 Str

[Description:] A mixture of magical and physical explosives packed together for handheld destruction.

[Effect:] Explodes dealing massive magical and physical damage to everything within five metres.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Low-Grade Light Grenade]

[Rank:] E

[Stats:] +1 Str

[Description:] A mixture of magical and physical explosives packed together for handheld distraction.

[Effect:] Explodes releasing a flash of sound and light to disorient enemies.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Earrings of Isolation]

[Rank:] E

[Description:] A set of magical earrings designed to protect against harsh sounds.

[Effect:] Upon activation, creates small barriers of wind that block high-volume sound waves.

_____

She smiles as she hooks the delicate green teardrop gems into new holes in her ears. The Earrings of Isolation are the pinnacle of her array engraving practice. The small earrings hold an intricate combination of runes carved into the silver metal housing the small wind crystals themselves. By carefully stripping down wind barrier’s magic circle and utilising a few new runes discovered within The Spellweave, she has succeeded in creating small barriers that dampen harsh sounds, protecting her ears from the violent backlash of her weapons and spells.

Emily throws on a set of specialised robes to cover her battle gear. The robes were given to her by Oscar. The outside layer is waterproof and glistens with a glossy black sheen. She settles down at her desk as she does a final review of her stats, newest spells, and progression requirements.

¯¯¯¯¯

[Status]

[Name:] Emily Coldstone

[Race:] Human

[Age:] 16

[Magic Circle:] Second Circle

[Machina Cortex:] Second Stage

[Attributes:] Strength 12 (18), Dexterity 32 > 34 (36), Agility 25 > 26 (30), Vitality 13 (18), Intelligence 54 > 59

[Health:] 190/190

[Stamina:] 320/320

[Mana:] 3540/3540

[Machina:] 3540/3540

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Cleanse]

[Circle:] First

[Cost:] 40 Mana/cast

[Description:] Quickly removes external impurities from the caster's body and equipment.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Infra-sight]

[Circle:] First

[Cost:] 3 Mana/minute

[Description:] Channel fire and light into the caster’s eyes to allow sight of infrared light.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Bolt]

[Circle:] Second

[Cost:] 220 Mana/cast

[Description:] Fire a short bolt of lightning from the caster's hand

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Flying lightning]

[Circle:] Second

[Cost:] 280 Mana/minute

[Description:] Conjure an electrified wire and blade.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Progression]

[Circle/Stage:] Second

Requirements:

-Intelligence 59/75 (Not Complete)

-Create 4/5 unique E rank machines (Not Complete)

-Learn internal casting (Complete)

-Create 2/3 second circle spells (Not Complete)

-Slay 0/1 third circle beast (Not Complete)

_____

“Maybe I’ll slay a third circle beast on this trip,” Emily mutters to herself as she glances through the open system windows. “It can’t be that hard.”

Her eyes come to rest on her current stats and a small frown forms on her face.

Strange, it seems to have counted my boots, armour, and The Claws, but not my revolver or grenades.

Curiously, she reaches for her revolver while keeping her eyes locked on the stats page. The moment her hand slides around the smooth black handle of her gun, she feels a link form within her mind, and the stats before her eyes jump up.

I see, so I have to wield certain items to get the stats increase.

Releasing her hand from the gun, she focuses one of her active threads on maintaining the link with it and notices the stats bonus remains. Pushing harder on the link, she lets a small stream of machina connect with it and watches in fascination as the gun lifts out of her holster. A smile of realisation spreads across her face as Emily guides the gun to hover next to her body, facing forward and ready to fire.

The stats increase stays if I’m actively wielding the weapon with my machina too!

She lowers the weapon back into its holster, glancing at the reduction in her machina stores as she does.

My control was shaky, I’ll have to train to do this at some point to reduce the excess wastage.

Emily stretches her arms above her head before dismissing the system windows and standing up.

“Right, I should get going.”

 

***

 

Emily meets Ivor in the cafeteria to grab a quick meal before joining the rest of the group.

“Where are we meeting everyone?” Ivor asks after finishing his porridge.

“Oscar told me to catch a train over to the southern edge of the city. The meeting point should apparently be obvious.”

“How helpful.”

Emily scoffs in agreement, shoving the last bite of her toast in her mouth as she stands up.

“You need any last minute gear before we leave?”

“No, I’m good,” he signs with a shake of his head, glancing down uncomfortably towards a small bag at his hip holding a few grenades supplied by Emily.

“Relax, they’re not gonna go off by accident. My work isn’t that bad.” Emily rolls her eyes at his nervousness and pats him on the shoulder as she walks past. “Come on then. They may be shit instructions, but we should still follow them.”

 

***

 

Their instructions turn out to be better than expected when they reach a station labelled “Southern Edge” and step off the train to see their expedition group gathered and waiting by one of the elevators. Dante bounds out from the group to meet them as they approach.

“Hey! You finally made it.”

“Are we late?” Emily frowns slightly and swiftly pulls The Clock from a pouch at her waist. The Clock reads 8:46 am, erasing her concerns.

“No, you’re fine. We’re still waiting for a few others too,” Dante reassures her with his signature grin. “Anyway, you excited to finally fight some real beasts?”

Emily smirks at his enthusiasm as they join the rest of the group.

“Yeah, I do have a new toy to test after all.”

“Speaking of new things to test, did you finish your tracking spell?” Oscar calls out as he walks through the group towards Emily.

“I said I would, didn’t I?” Emily turns to face him, her eyes igniting in a vibrant orange glow as she casts infra-sight.

“Interesting, how does it work?”

“Skipping the specifics, it allows me to see heat signatures. I can’t see through objects, but it makes it very easy to spot warm-blooded creatures through small gaps in foliage.”

“That’s perfect! You’ll be our main scout then. We’ll still stop periodically to allow Ivor a wider range scan, but you will be our main defence against ambushes. Of course, we’ll stop to give you breaks for regaining mana, is that alright? How long can you use it at a time while still safely having enough mana to fight?”

Emily doesn’t respond immediately, taking a moment to consider her answer.

Once I’ve activated it, I only need one thread dedicated to maintaining it. I can leave my second core focused on using Technomancer’s Breath at the same time, then my mana won’t decrease noticeably. It will drain normally when I rest one of my cores, but I have enough mana to keep it going for those twelve hours without issue, unlike a normal mage. I probably shouldn’t reveal that though, or they may notice my passive mana intake...

“Yeah, that’s fine. It’s a pretty low consumption spell, if I stick to internal casting I can keep it going for eight hours before needing a break.”

Oscar nods at her with a mixture of gratitude and surprise.

“That long? If you’re confident, I won’t argue, but please do let me know if you need an extra break at any point.”

Emily lightly waves off his concern and he quietly walks deeper back into the group, muttering to himself about rest timings

“Sheesh, that guy needs to take a break,” Dante chuckles from beside her, standing with his arms behind his head.

Emily rolls her eyes and finds a spot to lean against the station wall while they wait for the last stragglers to show up. After twenty minutes, everyone who should have arrived has. Linda is the last one to arrive, apologising profusely for missing the train and showing up late, which earns her several disapproving glares from several nobles. Oscar calmly waves off her worries, but the twitching of his eye as he does gives Emily the feeling he isn’t as calm as he lets on.

The entire group piles into the elevator they were blocking, the doors closing them all in as the worker at the controls starts it up. Nobody speaks in the enclosed space, tension filling the air as they finally set off on their trip towards their half-expected demise. When the elevator finally arrives at the ground floor, the doors slide open to reveal a stationary fleet of large metal carriages on wheels.

Emily curiously inspects their transport, noting the way the vehicles are divided in two. The back halves are open and spacious, clearly designed to carry a group of nobles: whereas the front halves are bulky and enclosed, holding what Emily can only assume to be steam engines for powering their movement along with a single driver.

“Everybody please make yourselves comfortable in a car,” Oscar calls loudly from the head of the group.

Emily, Ivor, Dante, and Enzo exchange a few glances, silently agreeing to travel together before picking an empty car and slipping in. The car easily fits the four of them, with plenty of space to lounge across the plush seats within and watch the outside world through the clear glass windows.

Oscar remains outside, watching the cars fill until nobody is left, before walking to the car in the lead. The moment he disappears inside, a loud whistle sounds and the six cars roar to life. Emily sends an unnoticed stream of machina into the vehicle to watch its ignition in detail.

She sees coal landing in the enclosed firebox and watches as it combusts and evaporates the nearby water. She senses the tightly wound coils of metal in the engine slide into motion, their delicately machined tolerances allowing a near-perfect transfer of energy into the pistons. She memorises the intricate workings for future reference, ignoring the system popup of a new blueprint added and withdrawing her attention from the scan.

Emily ignores Dante and Enzo’s conversation as the cars start moving, choosing to quietly watch the streets roll by instead. The motorcade slowly makes its way to the base of the city’s southern wall, approaching a large, heavy steel gateway that opens to reveal a gaping maw of metal, over ten metres wide, that tunnels through the wall to a small gap of light visible on the other side. The vehicles all charge through, unimpeded, not even slowing for a moment as the guards lining the entrance barely spare them a glance.

The long tunnel is dimly lit by grated coal ovens lining the walls, the sound of grinding gears and flowing steam their only company. They soon reach the tunnel’s end, barrelling out onto a packed-dirt road heading south. Emily watches the city slowly fade into the distance, as they roll through the open grassland, before settling back in her seat and returning her attention to her peers.

“-stupid though. There’s no way I can even cast a spell of that magnitude, why are you so worried?”

“I’m just saying, pay attention to your surroundings more. You set so many trees on fire during practice!”

She raises a curious brow at Dante and Enzo’s surprisingly heated argument. Turning to make eye contact with Ivor, she signs a silent question.

“They been at this for long?”

“Since the tunnel.”

Smirking, she turns back and adds fuel to the fire.

“You know, grenades are a great alternative to fire spells. Far lower chances of starting forest fires.”

Instantly, both boys turn on her, yelling in objection to her statement for completely different reasons. Emily chuckles to herself quietly.

This trip will be fun.

 

***

 

Just over six hours later, the cars roll to a stop on a flat expanse overlooking a vast forest before them. The Glade spreads across the horizon, filling Emily’s sight as she steps out of the car. Dense foliage lies before her, rain pours from the clouds above, disappearing into the leaves, absorbed by the dense fog that eerily fills the forest floor.

“That’s creepy,” Emily mutters under her breath, staring at the clear-cut divide between The Glade and the plains beside it.

The divide between the two biomes is starkly defined: the trees, rain, and even the fog of The Glade all abruptly stop, refusing to encroach on their neighbour. As Emily stares intently at the unsettling sight, she notices wisps of movement flickering in the haze. Casting infra-sight, she watches several small heat signatures move to the edge of the treeline before quickly disappearing too far into the depths for her to see.

“Everyone, gather around!” Oscar calls loudly, pulling Emily’s attention away from their destination. “This is the last safe rest and real food we can have until we finish our expedition. Maeve, Cian, Ricardo, and Linda will distribute food, so settle down and gather your strength.”

Emily finds a spot to sit on the grass with Ivor, tactfully avoiding Dante and Enzo who she has riled to the point of ignition on their journey. She watches as the four luggage carriers unload a cargo-filled car and carry sandwiches around the group. As they reach her, Linda hands her a salami sandwich with a smile. Thanking the girl, Emily looks out over the horizon, enjoying the exotic view as she lights her hands in a burst of fire to toast her food.