While Arlie and company were challenging the sixth floor. Hikaru and Amy had made camp in Dragonsreach. Neither knew exactly where they were in Dragonsreach, but thankfully the goddess had replaced their lost supplies. It was nothing all that special, but it was enough. She had given them only a single tent, and a bedroll. Along with a few days worth of dried rations. Still, he was very thankful for them and offered her a sincere prayer. With the gods being real in this world, he didn’t want to offend them. Amy had placed a bit of a barrier around their campsite. She said it would keep both monsters and people away. Well not everyone just those with bad intentions towards them. The barrier apparently provided a form of divine protection not unlike that found on temple grounds, and other sacred sites. Amy had placed it by carving a few divine symbols into the trees around them and offering a prayer to the goddess. The barrier was something she had learned as part of her new status. Any priestess could make a barrier like this but once made it had to be maintained or the divine power would drain from it. Also, Amy could only make one once a day. This barrier wasn’t going to even last a full day as Amy was lacking the materials to make more than a temporary one, but it would last long enough for them to get some rest.

Amy was currently sitting at the campfire making their dinner. They had managed to catch a pair of horned rabbits. A very common monster that was considered delicious. He was in the tent and had just finished laying out the one bedroll. Part of him was considering the problems with this. Having only one bedroll meant they would have to share. Even if only one of them slept, and the other kept watch that could be a little awkward.

Resting in the corner was his new sword, and he found himself thinking of using its special feature. As for why, well it boiled down to curiosity. He knew well what it was like to be a man, but very little about being a girl. This sword literally offered him the chance to be one for a day and he could change back whenever he wanted to. He just had to be careful not to use up all his charges for the day. The warning about not being able to change back if he got pregnant just meant he would have to avoid men. As long as he didn’t let them have sex with him, while he was a girl he would be fine. The goddess had warned him to watch his back around Amy, but he had trouble taking that very seriously. She seemed to like his girl form a little too much, but it wasn’t like she could get him pregnant. The worst thing he could picture happening was spending a day as a dress-up doll.

He glanced at the tent flap, and only the thought of Amy walking in on her experimenting stopped Hikaru from using the sword right then and there. The temptation to experiment was rather strong. He sighed and exited the tent, but the desire stayed with him.

Arlie leaned against the wall to support herself as she caught her breath. The guardian hadn’t been kidding about the sixth floor being guarded by infernal monsters. They had just finished fighting a pack of imps, fire imps to be specific. Imps contrary to belief weren’t actually demons. They were a monster indigenous to the infernal plane. The uninformed thought that all who lived on the plane were demons, but that was not true. Imps were the planes’ equivalent to goblins, but far worse. Imps were slightly smaller the goblins and had a tail with a stinger. They were also uglier and tended to have red or brown skin. Imps also had claws, while goblins looked more like small green-skinned elves. Fire imps had dark reddish skin and a very aggressive temperament. Not to mention a high affinity for fire magic, and resistance to fire.

The most dangerous thing about an imp was that they were bloody fast and their stinger held a toxin that made their victims downright docile. Unlike goblins, imps were an all-male race and they reproduced by raping the females of other races. That stinger was the first step in the process. Thankfully their repulsive appearance made it easier to focus on killing them. 

Looking up she saw Lily approaching her, and a heat built in her belly. She suppressed the urge best she could, but that wasn’t very well. Lily who was equally aroused noticed her desire, but they both knew now was a bad time for this. Arlie looked around and noticed all of the others looked tired as well. Fighting Imps was very different from Golems. Golems while sturdy and strong were slow. This meant you could avoid a fight by going a different way if you didn’t have the energy to fight.  Imps, on the other hand, weren’t very strong, but they were fast and had numbers. They had faced several packs so far, and that last one was the largest with nearly fifty of them in it. Their speed made it hard for her to use magic on them, and as a result, she got to show off her skills with a sword.

Over to her right, the boys were less resting and more debating who killed more imps than the other. The twins had actually killed a good number with their first shot and finished a few more with daggers. Arlie had also gotten a couple with her first spell, but she was really wishing she knew the Chain Lightning spell. It would have been perfect in this situation. Instead, they had only gotten about twelve before the rest of the pack charged into melee range.

Thanks to the fight Arlie was actually fairly tired, even if she still had a fair amount of mana. “How are you holding up Lily?”

She panted a bit, and said, “Feeling a bit tired, but I think I can still go on.”

Rose and the Alra were busy collecting the loot. They always checked it for bolts, arrows and anything else they could use. Even if they often left a good chunk behind. They could only carry so much with them. Sometimes they found something better than what they already had and switched for it. “I think all of us could use some rest. Let’s keep an eye out for a safe room, or at least one with a defensible entrance.”

Lily nodded, and replied, “Probably a good idea.”

Just then Rose and Arlie’s familiar came over carrying a few items they had collected. The group spent a few moments to distribute the loot, and Arlie interrupted the boy’s little debate. They didn’t complain, and the group continued down the corridor. All of them were keeping an eye out for more fire imps.

 Amy handed Hikaru his food. She was a bit disappointed that he hadn’t stayed in his new female form. She was very cute as a girl. Amy really wanted to convince him to stay a girl. Naturally, she had considered forceful methods like getting her friend pregnant, but she felt that it would be best if she consented first. In the meantime, she just needed to get Hikaru to spend some time in his girl form. Doing so would help him get used to it, and hopefully, be a first step towards what she wanted.

The magic training she needed to give him was a good opportunity. Women tended to make better mages, and she had a feeling he would have an easier time gathering mana as a girl. The first thing any mage needed to be taught was the basics of gathering mana. Spells were actually an advanced subject. Her own mother didn’t allow her to cast her first spell until she was in her second year of mage training. His sword had some powerful spells embedded into it, but since he didn’t understand any of the theory behind them the effects would be rather weak. Well at least compared to what the spells were supposed to do. That brought her to the other subject that she would need to cover, basic magical theory.

After dinner, she said, “Go change your form.”

Hikaru sputtered a bit, and said, “huh, why?”

Amy sighed, and said, “The goddess wanted me to teach you magic. Women tend to be better at it, and I have a feeling that you will find it easier to gather mana as a girl than a boy.”

Hikaru sighed, and replied, “I seem to recall Contrey mentioned something along those lines.”

“Well, she was right. Now go change, and we can get started,” responded Amy. He seemed to hesitate, but after a minute he headed into the tent. Coming back as a girl.

She had Hikaru take up a meditation posture, and began telling him what to look for. In a way, this was a test. It will allow her to take a measure of Hikaru’s talents. She settled opposite him and began to watch the mana flows. Sure they were both tired, but they still had some daylight left. The sun was only just starting to set. 

After awhile Hikaru exclaimed that she sensed something, “I think I feel something.”

“Good, now imagine it flowing into you like a stream feeding a pond. Don’t force it, guide it,” replied Amy. To her sight at first, nothing happened, and then she saw mana start to flow into Hikaru. Slowly and in spurts but it was a start. She gave her new apprentice some encouragement and more tips, and soon she had a slow, but steady stream. The mana was flowing into her pool stretching it. This was important, and why they started with mana gathering. 

Amy smiled at that, and said, “Very good. Not the best first time I have seen, but still above average. Don’t let that go to your head. You still have a long way to go until you can even be called a Low Mage.”

Hikaru frowned in a manner she found very cute, “Uh? Low Mage?”

Amy sighed, “I see you don’t know mage ranks. Well with a mage the very first rank is Apprentice Mage. To reach that rank all you have to do is actively gather mana for the first time. A step you have just now completed. So congratulations are in order. The next rank is low mage. Now to reach that one, all you have to do is cast a spell. I wouldn’t count the ones your sword comes with. Mostly because the sword does most of the work. Now before you can cast a spell, there is a lot I must teach you. First, you need to learn some magical theory, and be able to answer the question, ‘what is mana?’. Also of import is learning your affinity. Affinity determines what kind of spells come naturally to you. In my clan, water and ice affinity are quite common, while in the Contrey clan, Lightning and Fire are common.

Anyway, after Low Mage comes, Mid Mage. To reach that rank requires demonstrating mastery of at least three spells and a decent understanding of magical theory. Next obviously comes High Mage, and to reach that rank you have to be able to cast an advanced spell. I will get into that later but magic spells are divided by rank and tier. There are four tiers, basic, advanced, god/draconic, and apocalyptic. Basic magic has three ranks, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. Advanced has two Delta and Epsilon. God and Dragon Magic has three ranks, Zeta, Eta, and Theta. Apocalyptic magic only has one rank, Omega. 

Back to mage ranks. The requirements become much harder after High Mage. Most mages with effort and some talent can reach High Mage. To become a Master Mage requires demonstrating Mastery of at least three Advanced spells. That is not easy I might add. The next rank Archmage requires mastering nine advanced spells, and three of them must be of the second rank. In addition, the mage must demonstrate a deep understanding of magical theory. The next and final rank mortals can achieve is Master Archmage. Few mages reach this rank. My clan currently doesn’t have a Master Archmage, and there are three I know of in the kingdom at the moment. The first is at the capital and has taken up the role of headmaster of the Royal Magic Academy. She is part of Greywind clan. The second is a member of the Contrey clan. I think her name was Ria.”

At that moment, Hikaru shuddered. Amy noticed, and said, “I take it you have met her?”

Hikaru nodded, and replied, “She wanted to turn me into a girl! I said some stupid things, and she thought it would teach me a lesson.” Amy giggled and asked a couple of questions. Leading to Hikaru awkwardly retelling the events that led up to almost being turned into a girl.  “Well, it all started at the Arcs town gate. I had tagged along with some adventurers. They had been around in Varitul to watch me screw up with the lesser dragon...”

Amy giggled a bit, and said, “You got kind of lucky there. Good thing you apologized, likely why she let you off so easily.”

Dropping her head a bit, “Yeah, I don’t really know what I was thinking at the time.”

Amy replied, “Well everyone has that day where they did something stupid only to regret it later. The important thing is to learn from it so you don’t repeat it. She did, however, have a point. Maybe you should spend a few days as a girl. It will help you understand women better. Anyway its late, so we should get some sleep.”

Hikaru sleepily nodded. She was already having some difficulty staying awake and didn’t argue when Amy dragged her into the tent. Though she would be a little surprised in the morning.