《Cascadance [A Cozy Isekai Farming LitRPG Fantasy]》


 Chapter 1: Val: Escape the cabbage soup, fall onto the cosmic seashore

    Val woke up in her dreary, yellow-stained, greasy studio apartment. Her phone alarm blared, a reminder that her shift as a grocery cashier started soon. She hit snooze. This was not a life worth waking up for. When the alarm woke her up again, her stomach grumbled. Life wasn¡¯t great; hunger was worse. Val rolled out from gray, dingy sheets and walked five paces to the fridge. Yesterday¡¯s leftover cabbage and potato soup was waiting for her, along with a waft of unpleasant fridge smells, chemical, sour and old. The gobs of fat on top of the soup grossed her out, but it would appease her stomach. A knock interrupted her before she touched the container.


    ¡°Valentina, it¡¯s me. Open up already,¡± the person said, knocking again.


    Val, relieved for a reason to avoid the greasy food, shut the fridge, walked three paces to the main apartment door, made sure the safety chain was still on, and opened the door a couple of inches, angling her body. No stranger needed to see her in her old gray t-shirt and plaid pajama bottoms.


    Her neighbor, Elissa, stood on the other side, holding a green burlap bag that looked bursting full and heavy, as big as she was, though Elissa held it in her arms easily enough. She had a panicked look on her face, but a glance down the dreary hallway showed nothing dangerous. Val took the safety chain off, opening the door. Elissa pushed her way in.


    ¡°Close the door,¡± Elissa said, walking inside and putting the burlap bag down. ¡°Listen, I know this is weird, but I can¡¯t handle this. My grandmother died recently. I inherited this thing. No one else in my family will take it, and I thought of you and how miserable you¡¯ve been! It¡¯s a Guardian mirror.¡± Elissa pulled at the top of the bag, revealing a gilt-framed mirror that was indeed as tall as her.


    ¡°Your grammy died? I¡¯m so sorry! I¡¯m so sorry for your loss.¡± Tears welled up in Val¡¯s eyes as she closed and locked the door. She had lost family members. Elissa¡¯s life was forever changed for the worse.


    ¡°No, no,¡± Elissa said impatiently. ¡°I never met her. This is a logistical nightmare for me, not an emotional thingy. You missed the important part. It¡¯s a Guardian mirror! It might be the only one that exists.¡± Elissa pulled the burlap bag down with a flourish and leaned the mirror against the wall.


    ¡°A Guardian mirror! Those aren¡¯t real!¡± Val blinked back her tears and focused.


    ¡°You can see for yourself. Touch it,¡± Elissa said, still impatient. ¡°I¡¯ve got to get this mirror off my plate and get to work. What do you know about Guardian mirrors?¡±


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    ¡°Those don¡¯t exist,¡± Val asserted. ¡°They¡¯re not games, they¡¯re just urban legends to explain missing people. Absolute nonsense.¡±


    ¡°Not nonsense. They are more than a game, they are a distinct reality. My grandmother disappeared into it decades ago and didn¡¯t reappear until she was at death¡¯s door. So what do you know about Wyrd? That¡¯s the planet my grandma lived on.¡±


    ¡°I know nothing. I don¡¯t play games. Why are you bringing this to me?¡± Val asked, unwilling to argue the obvious point that alternate realities did not exist.


    ¡°It sounds like she made a mess of things and it¡¯s up to my family to fix it. The people on the other side of this mirror deserve for their town to be fixed. But I¡¯m happy here. I like my job! I don¡¯t want to spoil what I¡¯ve got!¡±


    ¡°And like you said, I¡¯m miserable.¡±


    ¡°Try it out! You can always come back to Earth if you don¡¯t like it.¡±


    ¡°Any excuse to avoid work,¡± Val said drily.


    ¡°Thanks. My Uber is here, so I¡¯ll go now. I¡¯ll keep an eye on things! Bye.¡± Elissa ran out the door.


    ¡°Wait! I was kidding!¡± Val called, running after her, down the stairs and down the hallway to the building entrance. Was Elissa just leaving her with some heirloom mirror? Did the mirror have some special game tech? ¡°What do I need to know? What did your grammy say needed fixing? If it¡¯s a game can¡¯t I just start a new file?¡±


    Elissa, now on the sidewalk, waved over her shoulder as Val pushed the main entrance door open. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything useful! I¡¯ll keep an eye on your apartment!¡± Elissa had an Uber waiting. She hopped in, leaving Val on the sidewalk.


    Work or something new? Val walked slowly up the stairs. Let¡¯s do this.


    She texted her aunt. A friend gave me a Guardian mirror. I¡¯m going to check out. If the rumors are true, I might not be able to come back. If you don¡¯t hear from me by the first of the month, take care of my apartment. She included Emily¡¯s contact info.


    Before her aunt could text her back, Val threw her phone onto her unmade bed. The soup could rot in the fridge for all she cared.


    She looked at the Guardian mirror, which reflected her and the apartment perfectly. Ugh.


    Val touched the mirror, just to see what would happen. Nothing. She touched harder with intent. Her hand and arm vanished into the mirror instead of hitting the wall behind it. She couldn¡¯t feel anything. The mirror had different physics. How was this possible?


    A force pulled on her arm. Val grabbed onto the mirror frame with her free hand to stay in her apartment.


    Was this life on Earth so bad? Yes. Nothing for it but to play.


    Val let go of the frame, stumbling through the mirror.


    Val stepped through the mirror and onto a beach at night. No, wait, was this a beach? The sky was pitch-black. The quiet ocean was full of glowing iridescent white foam, the only source of light.


    She squeezed her hands and breathed deep. She felt as real as she had in her apartment. A distinct ozone scent filled the air.


    What had the mirror done to her? What kind of game could have this kind of technology?


    ¡°Yoo hoo! Over here!¡± Someone waved to her from a ¡­ beach blanket?

 Chapter 2: Val: Airabas new good-luck charm - character stats

    Val walked towards the stranger. Her footsteps crunched over white and gray seashells, which were soft enough under her bare feet. Nothing and no one else was in sight, except this one person, a woman. This stranger had androgynous white features, including a blond braid poking from under the hood of a black cloak.


    ¡°Welcome, welcome. Let¡¯s get you settled in before I send you off to Cascadance. Come sit, come sit, darling.¡± The lounging woman waved at Val to sit down on the silvery blanket. Her hand, with long sparkling fingernails, glowed in the dim light of the foam.


    Val sat on the blanket. She picked up a silvery scallop shell, which was smooth under her thumb.


    ¡°Where are we?¡±


    ¡°This is my favorite primordial aether ocean with a beach of spacetime shards. Zodiac magic can get so messy, but it can be a beautiful mess. Picturesque, even. I thought you might find it relaxing like me. Plus, it¡¯s easy to bring you here from Earth.¡± The woman whispered the last word.


    Val instinctively looked around. No mirror or portal was in sight.


    ¡°Can I leave if I want to?¡±


    ¡°Did you come in on accident? I¡¯m happy to send you back right now,¡± the woman sat up and lifted her hand from her lap.


    ¡°No, no! Not at all. Just thought I¡¯d see a mirror on this side.¡± Val scrutinized the woman. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Airaba, darling. I¡¯m the Guardian of everything the other Guardians don¡¯t like to deal with, such as our connection to your reality. Pleasure. You¡¯re Val, I know.¡± Airaba held her hand out for a handshake.


    Val held the smooth, long-fingered hand, which had warmth and texture, just like a proper hand. Airaba didn¡¯t let go, and focused on Val with a gray-eyed stare. Her look suggested Airaba was learning everything about her. Well, only a powerful game could create everything Val was experiencing.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t perfect for what I need, but I think this will go well,¡± Airaba said, letting go of Val¡¯s hand. ¡°Niqs will be happy. You aren¡¯t leaving any loved ones behind on Earth, which means you¡¯ll unbalance things in Cascadance, but they need it. I¡¯ll keep you. Just to reassure you, you can stay in Cascadance for as long as you want. Years, preferrably.¡±


    The line about not leaving loved ones behind made Val¡¯s heart clench. It was accurate enough, though. A reprieve from her grief could keep Val in this game for a long time.


    As Airaba spoke, her belt moved around her waist. Val gave it a closer look. It was an ouroboros, made of niobium, a metal with a rainbow-like sheen.


    ¡°Nice belt,¡± Val said, gesturing to the snake, which let go of its tail and slithered up to Airaba¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Airaba said, running her fingers along the length of her pet. ¡°Valentina, darling, this will be hard, but please try to remember that snakes aren¡¯t your enemy. They are a symbol of rebirth and honored for their ability to bring harmony, which is part of my job! And yours too, come to think of it.¡±


    ¡°My job?¡± Val asked. ¡°I have zero information about what¡¯s going on. Elissa gave me the mirror literally two minutes before I stepped through. Before that, I didn¡¯t think Guardian mirrors were real.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s only the one, darling, as far as I know. I need you to repair the shrines and temples in Cascadance. You¡¯re going to do great. I can feel it.¡±


    ¡°What kind of game is this? What¡¯s the genre? Role-playing and goal oriented?¡±


    ¡°A game? Game?¡± Airaba was horrified. ¡°It¡¯s not!¡±


    ¡°My apologies.¡± Val straightened up. If the characters, even this introductory character, weren¡¯t programmed to recognize this as a game, it was not her place to push it. She didn¡¯t want to get dumped back into her apartment for not playing the rules right.


    ¡°Don¡¯t treat this as a game! I¡¯m sure that¡¯s one of many things Minerva did wrong,¡± Airaba said, flinging a hand in the air with exasperation. ¡°Whatever. Once you get to Cascadance, you¡¯ll know it¡¯s not a game. Minerva is the worst. What did she tell you? Is she a holy terror back on Earth? I¡¯m so glad she¡¯s gone.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re talking about Elissa¡¯s grammy who used to be here, I never met her and Elissa told me nothing. Minerva is dead.¡±


    ¡°Hallelujah, sacrifices to all my gods and yours. Here, to celebrate. Have some boson wine.¡± Airaba picked up a decanter of shining wine shaped like a klein bottle. ¡°Bosons are good to keep your magic strong. This is a rare vintage. No Wyrd mage can make this.¡±


    ¡°No thanks. I don¡¯t drink,¡± Val wrinkled her nose and held her hand up to refuse the glass pulled from thin air. The smell of the wine mixed with the ever-present ozone smell was unpleasant.


    Airaba sighed but didn¡¯t insist, and offered nothing else in her picnic spread. Val had woken up hungry, but her stomach wasn¡¯t rumbling anymore.


    ¡°I wish,¡± Airaba said after taking a sip, showing her elegant throat, ¡°that I could choose what Earthly null human would come for once. The situation in Cascadance is getting worse. We¡¯ve got one year left, maybe two, before Ophiuchus unbalances things too far. Anyway, boson wine would be wasted on you since you don¡¯t have magic.¡±


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    Val rubbed the scallop shell, letting the touch ground her. ¡°One more question.¡± Val wanted to know if it was a multi-player game. How could she phrase it? ¡°How many other Earth humans are in your reality?¡±


    ¡°No one near you. Don¡¯t worry about that. Onward to processing,¡± Airaba said, setting the wine glass aside. ¡°You can¡¯t wear those clothes in Cascadance. I forbid it. And we may as well wash and change your hair. What style would suit you?¡± Airaba gazed into the distance, then apologized. With a wave of a finger, an interface appeared in front of them, a see-through screen hovering in mid-air. ¡°I need you to pick a better hair style. What about twelve braids? All different colors for the zodiac signs.¡±


    Val clutched her head in horror. ¡°Not that! That¡¯s a style a child would get at a fair booth. Isn¡¯t brown and straight good enough? You can just clean it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, ew. Don¡¯t you want to be beautiful? Just trust me.¡±


    After what seemed an extraordinarily unnecessary amount of time, they agreed on a pale lavender ponytail.


    ¡°So boring,¡± Airaba said, twirling a finger.


    There was a rush of wind over Val¡¯s head, and bangs fell onto her forehead. Touching her hair and looking at her ponytail confirmed the changes. At least it was clean.


    ¡°Now for makeup,¡± Airaba said.


    ¡°No. I¡¯ll just wash it off the first chance I get.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll want to. And anyway, I¡¯ll renew it every night when I refresh you.¡±


    ¡°Refresh me?¡±


    ¡°I want you to focus on your mission. I¡¯ll put much of your body in stasis. Don¡¯t worry about cooking or cleaning. You won¡¯t need to eat, your energy won¡¯t drain in the same way¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait, will I still feel pain? Will I be immortal?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to die! Maybe you can, though? Humans are just so needy! But I can¡¯t break all the laws of physics. Even with my little bits of help, you¡¯re starting at zero. Work hard, darling! Now for clothes. I¡¯m not giving you a choice. You¡¯re such a headache.¡± Airaba flicked her fingers again.


    Val was getting exasperated that the game wasn¡¯t letting her make choices. The swirling iridescent ocean seemed to glow in sympathy.


    With another rush of wind, Val¡¯s pajamas changed to denim overalls with a white cotton shirt and sturdy brown boots. Val tasted sweet gloss on her lips. Her overalls had pockets, which she stuck her hands into, dropping the scallop shell back onto the beach first. The pockets were deep.


    ¡°This is not the outfit I expected. It¡¯s a bit off considering we¡¯re on a beach.¡± Val wouldn¡¯t have minded a fancy cloak like Airaba¡¯s.


    ¡°You¡¯re class is Farmer, of course, darling. Like I said, this beach is just a quick stop to get you processed before I send you to Cascadance.¡±


    ¡°A farmer? What kind of¡ª?¡± Val almost said game but stopped herself, coughing instead. ¡°Sorry. This is my only impression of your reality,¡± Val said, gesturing to the iridescent ocean. ¡°I¡¯m surprised to hear I¡¯m going to a farm. A farmer is the best way to rebuild shrines? I¡¯ve got a master¡¯s degree in applied math, so I¡¯d fit better in a different role.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a Farmer and you¡¯re going to own a farm,¡± Airaba said serenely. ¡°You¡¯re inheriting from Minerva. You are more than just your degree. Here¡¯s the list of skills for you to develop. See how well you fit them? You¡¯re starting at zero in our system, but your Earthly accomplishments will make you an excellent farmer.¡±


    Airaba tapped on the hovering interface. A list popped up:


    Farming: Level 0


    Crafting: Level 0


    Construction: Level 0


    Foraging: Level 0


    Charm/Combat: Level 0


    Mining: Level 0


    Fishing: Level 0


    ¡°Really?¡± Val asked with a raised eyebrow. ¡°What is really going on? How am I supposed to fix shrines while farming?¡±


    Airaba sighed and absently ran her fingers through the beach seashells as she thought for a moment. ¡°There are just a lot of little things and big things that are unbalanced or broken in Cascadance. The farm going to ruin made things worse. I need someone to fix things, both the forum and the farm.¡±


    ¡°Things,¡± Val said drily.


    ¡°Hush,¡± Airaba held up a finger. ¡°And you¡¯ll need the farm to fix the shrines, I promise you. The ley lines are all tangled up and your work will fix them. For now, the farm is meant for Earth humans; if any Cascadance resident tried to fix things, they¡¯d imbue everything with their own magic. I mean, can you imagine someone with Scorpio magic trying to grow Leo crops?¡± Airaba laughed. ¡°Absolutely impossible.¡±


    ¡°I suppose I¡¯m getting the idea about ¡®things.¡¯ It¡¯s not like I want to leave this place any time soon. What¡¯s next?¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course, darling. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re excited about getting to your farm. You¡¯ll need to grow plenty of ignisbulbs for the Aries shrine! One last thing, easy-peasy.¡± Airaba tapped on the screen. ¡°The character stats you¡¯re coming to us with.¡±


    The screen scrolled and a new section appeared:


    Character Stats:


    Strength: 3


    Coordination: 5


    Intelligence: 9


    Stamina: 8


    Charisma: 5


    Luck: 0


    ¡°This is such a game mechanic,¡± Val mumbled under her breath, but swallowed the rest of her words. As lifelike as the game seemed, it was only a game.


    ¡°I heard that, but I¡¯ll ignore it. Let¡¯s redistribute. These stats are Guardian system multipliers to who you naturally are. We give you a boost to help you meet your goals. Everything is low, of course, but it doesn¡¯t have to stay that way.¡±


    ¡°I suppose this is my personality the way it is right now,¡± Val mused. ¡°Or these parts of who I am.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, for fun, let¡¯s put all thirty points into luck! Drama!¡± Airaba tapped at the screen, which turned luck to 30 while the other stats changed to 0. Airaba scrolled down.


    ¡°Absolutely not.¡± Val scrolled back up. ¡°If I¡¯m supposed to be a farmer, I need to be like an ox!¡± She tapped at the stats to rearrange the points. ¡°I don¡¯t want to play the game in a meta way. I want things to unfold naturally.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a game! Open your mind a tiny crack. There¡¯s magic where you¡¯re going. I mean, hello, look where you¡¯re at!¡± Airaba threw up an exasperated arm to encompass the aether foam ocean and seashell beach. ¡°You¡¯re important because you aren¡¯t magical. Among other things, Ophiuchus will have a hard time finding you, which will keep you safe. But I see your point. Okay, talk me through your choices.¡± Airaba leaned back.


    ¡°Being intelligent hasn¡¯t gotten me anywhere, so let¡¯s keep that low. I don¡¯t care about charisma, so we¡¯ll turn that to one.¡±


    Airaba didn¡¯t override any of Val¡¯s choices, just fussed a bit more. ¡°You need to make friends, you know. It¡¯d be easier¡ª well, I¡¯m done arguing with you. I¡¯ll just say ten points in luck will only help you with the little things. Your luck is so naturally low.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. If this mysterious farm and Cascadance are full of little moments, I¡¯ll be happy.¡±


    In the end, Val ended up with:


    Character Stats:


    Strength: 6


    Coordination: 2


    Intelligence: 3


    Stamina: 8


    Charisma: 1


    Luck: 10


    ¡°I would wish you luck, but I don¡¯t think you want it,¡± Airaba grumbled. ¡°Here are seeds. Here¡¯s money.¡±


    Airaba made a motion in the air. Seed packets and coins appeared, which Airaba shoved into Val¡¯s hands. Val fumbled as she put them into her pockets.


    ¡°Welcome to Cascadance.¡±


    Airaba touched something on the interface. Everything went black.

 Chapter 3: Fen: Its not a video game, Val!

    Midnight struck. Spring arrived.


    On this night, Aries fire magic arrived to replace the Pisces water magic that inundated not only the town square of Cascadance but also the rivers, gorge, and foothills beyond. This was a worldwide event.


    Fen didn¡¯t care about the spring welcoming festival. He left the cheerful noise of the town square behind to seek the comfort of one of his favorite meditative places. His walked purposefully.


    Despite his intent, the beauty of the transition drew him out of his thoughts about what the new year would bring. Watching the dance of elemental magic up close and alone connected to a joyful ache deep within his chest.


    With his opaque glasses on, the only thing Fen could see was Aries magic swirling around the Pisces magic. Now night had fallen; he was alone. He took off his glasses to watch the entirety of nature. The Aries spikenard herb unfurled its fiery blooms, each petal glowing with a vivid, ember-red light, while the Pisces hyssop bush wilted gracefully, its soft blue luminescence dispersing, though some blue frost droplets held on stubbornly. Aries fire magic had arrived to steam away the last streaks of winter frost.


    A new week began at midnight; it was a time of transition, the only time the weekly ambient magic was noticeable. Tonight, Fen watched as the Pisces water magic held exceptionally strong against the Aries fire magic. The frost lingered, dispersing slower than last year. The thick winter chill in the air bit at his lungs. Fen tucked his black paofu robe tighter around himself for warmth. Was something wrong in the heavens? If so, there was little he could do to help. The transition was going well enough. He intended to enjoy the evening.


    After slipping like a happy shadow along the climbing path, Fen stopped at his favorite tree near a cliff overlooking the ocean. The white pine needles grew in tufts the size and shape of porcupines. The needles, usually a jade green color, shone with magic tonight. Fen stepped closer, rubbing his hands together for warmth before putting one hand on the rough bark. The soft blue of Pisces magic glowed like icy dew, clinging in the cracks of the bark. Winter had coated the pine with frost.


    Now the shift had begun for this tree.


    Fen looked past the pine, over the ocean. Aries magic poured into the world, looking like a red aurora borealis. The needles of the white pine started glowing with ember-red fire magic. The Pisces magic held on firmly. The last frost melted, but the water stubbornly clung, which blocked the transition.


    Fen snapped his fingers. A miniature silver-white tornado, his Celestial Whirlwind spell, rose from his palm, which he raised to the tree trunk. With a thought, his Libra air magic swept the Pisces magic out of the white pine tree so the Aries magic could flourish. The last soft blue swirls steamed away, vanishing into the night air, which turned warm and dry. Fen breathed in deep.


    The Aries magic filled in the gaps, sinking into the bark until the tree glowed ember-red. For now, the magic pulsed like a heartbeat, though soon it would settle invisibly deep into the tree. The tree sigh under his hand. Fen exhaled as the transition completed, saying a few lines of prayer under his breath.


    As part of his devotion and joy in the evening, Fen wanted to open himself up to the magic. He cast his Gyre Gale Survey spell, which would give him a picture of magic over the entirety of Cascadance. A swirling silver-white disk appeared in front of him, shot upwards into the sky, and flashed like fireworks. The light of the spell faded, but still gave Fen information, projecting a map in front of him with splotches for where magic was present.


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    His System flashed a warning. A message popped up to the side of his vision in green translucent text.


    Warning: Aether magic detected.


    A sparkling silver spot on the east side of the map flashed.


    Fen¡¯s heart clenched with worry, the sweetness of the night vanishing in an instant. He had programmed this warning into his System over a year ago. This was the first time any of his spells had triggered the System warning. Only Ophiuchus lay that far east. Fen needed to investigate this immediately. Cascadance should have only one source of aether magic; most people would say that even one source was too much.


    Fen gave the pine one last pat. He had planned on sitting under its branches, but he had to move on. He climbed the hill northward until he came to the base of a cliff. At that point, he turned eastward, as walking past the waterfall was the quickest way to where the aether magic lay.


    He moved swiftly down the path that paralleled Lower Guppies River, the smell of moss replacing the sea air. Before long, a faint roar of a waterfall drifted through the night air. The sound grew louder, drowning out the rest of Oakkannu Forest, until Fen emerged into a glade and caught sight of the waterfall.


    Sistissa Falls. From the top of a sheer cliff, hundreds of feet high, water cascaded in a torrent that glowed with Pisces magic, no Aries magic in sight. The waterfall plunged into a pool nestled fifty feet above the glade before spilling over again in a second, smaller cascade. The lower waterfall fell into a deep pool that took up half the glade before giving way to Lower Guppies River. The river would wind around the town and then empty into the estuary.


    Sitting at the edge of the upper pool was a naiad named Cleone, who was pulling Pisces magic out of the waterfall. Aries magic slowly tumbled down from the top of the cliff to replace the dissipating Pisces magic.


    Fen continued walking while looking around the glade to ensure everything was going well.


    ¡°Good evening, Master Fen! Did you want to help? It¡¯s tough this week for some reason.¡± Cleone said. Her perpetually wet dress clung to her shadowy-pastel skin, her hair like reeds. The naiad waved a dripping arm and hand, her expression too far away to see. He heard her only because of her magic.


    ¡°I¡¯m just taking a shortcut!¡± Fen called out, still walking. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve got things in hand.¡± He didn¡¯t know what a centuries old waterfall manifestation might possibly expect him to help with.


    ¡°What about your aether magic? That can help me,¡± Cleone said hopefully. ¡°I want to see it!¡±


    Fen paused. Hesitated. This had to be the first time someone asked to see his aether magic. His decision was immediate. ¡°No. I appreciate your interest, but now¡¯s not a good time.¡±


    ¡°Until next time.¡± Cleone did a somersault into the water, twisting around like a river otter. She fell over the lower waterfall into the bottom pool. From there, she unwove more Pisces magic from the water.


    Fen watched for one more minute before hustling across the little wooden bridge to the glade¡¯s east side. His steps echoed hollowly on the wooden boards and then found firm ground on the gravel and moss on the other side.


    Two white oak trees created a bower on the east side of the waterfall glade, through which Fen exited.


    Once Fen left the waterfall glade, he cast his Gyre Gale Survey spell again. Maybe the warning was a false alarm and he could go back to the waterfall and help Cleone. Unfortunately, the faint aether magic was still present to the east.


    The Cascadance human residents, one and all, disapproved of aether magic. It wasn¡¯t attached to any of the magical elements: air, water, earth, and fire. Nevertheless, Fen accessed aether magic the same as his air magic.


    He insisted on seeing it as a gift, despite everyone else¡¯s misgivings. He was careful to use aether away from other people. It would be foolish to leave such powerful magic unleveled and unmastered. Cleone¡¯s interest was extremely tempting, but he needed to focus on this new source of aether.


    No one lived further east. Only the abandoned farm was east and beyond that¡­Ophiuchus. If the corrupted monster was using aether magic, that was a problem.


    What would Fen do to protect Cascadance? Anything. Was he walking to a fight? He tied his long black hair back and started walking without hesitating.

 Chapter 4: Fen: The first time Shuilong needs rescuing

    Fen continued walking through Oakannu Forest, the seasonal transition from Pisces to Aries taking place in the background as he focused on his destination.


    Had Ophiuchus started wielding aether? His chest tightened. The townspeople insisted Ophiuchus did, that only aether magic could corrupt elemental magic. Yet there had never been any sign of aether magic anywhere except for Fen. Until now.


    What was going on? Ophiuchus just burrowed in his tar-like pit on the first day of the week. No other activity. He shouldn¡¯t have enough strength to even assume a snake form, let alone pose an actual threat.


    Fen breathed deep to focus on probabilities. Facts: Pisces magic was fading fast, and Aries magic was still too fresh. Therefore, Ophiuchus hadn¡¯t had enough time to corrupt elemental magic for his own strength. Another fact: Aether magic was present. Whatever the cause, the mere presence of aether magic emanating from Ophiuchus¡¯ lair alarmed Fen.


    Fen should send a spell to notify the rest of the gorge protection guild. His natural independence held him back. Whoever came would want him to put on his glasses, which would handicap him and push him to the sidelines. He loved his friends, so he had to strike a careful balance to keep resentment at bay. Still, Fen seriously considered how dangerous Ophiuchus might be.


    He took a shortcut through the lonely, abandoned farm to hurry to the forum ruins where Ophiuchus lived, thinking through the situation.


    After a little more internal debate, Fen resolved to send a spell to the protection guild only if Ophiuchus was threatening. Fen would check things out on his own first. Hopefully the aether magic had some benign explanation.


    Soon he was through the abandoned farm and on the last path to Ophiuchus¡¯ lair, which was dead of magic. He had taken the background Pisces swirls and Aries flames for granted, and now he missed them. Dread crept up his back.


    A childhood dare had brought him and his friends into the forum. A friend stuck her arm into the tar-like pit; the damage to her meridians had been intense. She never regained the use of magic in that hand and arm. Their future dares were safer, like jumping off Mount Jacicle¡¯s cliffs. Now, that same reckless adrenaline sharpened his focus.


    The forum entrance was an archway. Beyond it, dank miasma hid what used to be a magnificent forum showcasing an immense reflecting pool. He could glimpse that pool now, the water corrupted into a tar-like pit for Ophiuchus to hide in safety. These ruins had served as Ophiuchus¡¯ lair for decades, as far back as Fen remembered.


    Fen flared a small Zephyr Survey ball in his hand, partly for comfort and partly to confirm magic was present. The survey revealed aether magic layered on top of Pisces magic to the left of the pool, as well as faint traces of corrupted magic emanating from the tar-like pit.


    Fen¡¯s childhood fear reared up, as it did every time he paced by during his routine wanderings. Stepping inside was foolish, but better than alerting the protection guild just yet.


    ¡°It¡¯s the first of Aries. He¡¯s not that dangerous. I can defend myself,¡± Fen whispered. He took a few breaths to steady himself.


    He squared his shoulders, popped his favorite Celestial Whirlwind spell into his hand, which blew a breeze across his face, and crossed a magical threshold into the forum.


    The enchanted miasma, a black musty fog, was immediately attracted to Fen¡¯s presence, encompassing him as he slowly stepped forward, as if his silence would be enough to escape Ophiuchus¡¯ notice. Fen held up his palm so that his little whirlwind breeze would keep the miasma from falling onto his skin. The silver-white light refracted off the miasma. His heart pounded in his ears.


    What was the aether coming from?


    He looked to the left of the tar pit for the different signature colors of aether: perfect white when stable; iridescent teal when entangled with Pisces magic; or warped space, like a heat haze, when unstable. He could see nothing. The thick miasma rendered his regular nighttime sight useless. He activated his Zephyr Survey spell in his free hand and took one step forward.


    Smoke-like tendrils erupted from the pit, forming into snake heads the size of his fist with arm-thick bodies that slithered through the air toward Fen.


    Fen threw his Celestial Whirlwind spell at the snakes.


    The wind easily dissipated the snakes and rustled the dead vines.


    His Zephyr Survey spell gave him a finely tuned direction, still to the left, the magic inactive but a small iridescent teal swirl. He could just make out some weeds through the miasma.


    Just as Fen was about to step towards the weeds, another snake suddenly appeared from the pit, its head as big as Fen¡¯s.


    Fen froze, his internal indecisiveness stuttering his thoughts. Should I run? Should I fight back? No to both, but what else?


    ¡°Celestial Whirlwind,¡± Fen whispered, amplifying the spell until the whirlwind was as tall as himself. The snake darted for Fen, but the whirlwind intercepted it. Even though Fen¡¯s spell was stronger, the snake was too. The spell took longer to tear the snake apart.


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    Fen knew he ought to leave, but this defense was working, and these little snakes weren¡¯t Ophiuchus¡¯ full form, so he stayed. His heart pounded as he moved deeper into the forum, sliding his feet on the vine-strewn ground to the left.


    Another gigantic snake slithered through the air from the pit towards Fen. His Celestial Whirlwind spell was still active.


    Fen prepared to go more on the offense. He cast an aether spell, one that entangled aether magic into the air magic of his whirlwind, a spell his friends considered reckless. Good thing they aren¡¯t here.


    This new spell ripped through the snake, the whirlwind manifesting crackling sharp edges with an iridescent glow that drowned out the snake before cutting it to pieces.


    Fen kept the aether and air spell active.


    Ozone permeated the air as the whirlwind continued absorbing the aether. Static lifted the hairs on Fen¡¯s arms.


    Guardians and constellations could bind pure cosmic magic to elements properly; Fen¡¯s ability to layer aether magic over his air magic was a weak, unstable version. Using aether magic made the scars at Fen¡¯s temples ache and his meridians burn.


    Fen hurried to look for the unknown source of aether magic. The weeds grew around a rank moat belonging to the ruins of the Pisces temple. His Zephyr Survey spell still revealed the glowing iridescent teal. The source of the aether was nearby! Was the Pisces temple nereid up to something? But hadn¡¯t all the spirits abandoned the forum? Something rustled in the weeds. This wouldn¡¯t be a nereid. What was there?


    Before he got too close, a thundering sound filled the air.


    Fen turned away from the Pisces temple.


    Ophiuchus broke from the pit, his snake form several times bigger than Fen, and coming straight at him.


    Is my strengthened Celestial Whirlwind strong enough against Ophiuchus? Should I try something else?


    Fen had two moments to decide. His heart raced, unsure of the right response as Ophiuchus barreled for him.


    During the first moment, a tiny growl came from the weeds. A little brown kitten jumped out and faced Ophiuchus. A crackly, tiny roar came from its little body.


    Ophiuchus stopped. He had noticed the kitten too.


    During the second moment, Fen sent his whirlwind to protect the kitten.


    The whirlwind was too far away. It wouldn¡¯t reach the kitten on time.


    Ophiuchus leaped to devour the kitten, with hissing and fangs outstretched.


    The kitten roared again, stronger, and tiny spirals of aether frost came out of its mouth.


    Ophiuchus flinched. The kitten couldn¡¯t possibly have enough power to hurt Ophiuchus, just surprise him. But this minor distraction might give Fen¡¯s whirlwind time to catch up.


    Ophiuchus regrouped. At the third moment, he sprang for the kitten, mouth wide with smoky fangs bigger than the kitten. Six inches from the kitten, the aether-filled Celestial Whirlwind slammed into the snake, shoving it off to the side. The aether and air magic dug into the snake, the ozone smell thickening. Ophiuchus fought free and slithered through the air back to his pit.


    As Ophiuchus fled, possibly only regrouping, Fen picked up the kitten, put it inside his robe, and ran out of the forum.


    Once they were safely outside the forum, Fen used a healing spell to quickly examine the kitten. She was fine. Her eyes confirmed she had aether magic, as the irises rippled silver, jolting him. Fen had seen similar magical effects on only one other person: himself whenever he looked in the mirror. Was this how people felt when they saw his eyes? It was an alien feeling, full of instinctive danger. No wonder his friends encouraged him to wear his glasses around other people.


    His suspicion frustrated him. He didn¡¯t want to automatically distrust the kitten just because she possessed aether magic, and yet¡­.


    The kitten hiccupped and burped a little cloud of aether, which hit Fen¡¯s chest like a cold frost.


    ¡°Ouch. Careful,¡± Fen whispered, rubbing the frost off.


    The kitten was too tired to hiss or scratch, and cuddled next to the warmth of Fen¡¯s body. Using aether magic had exhausted her meridians. She resonated with Pisces magic, so she¡¯d been born last week.


    Fen was definitely taking this kitten with him.


    She yawned and blinked at him. The rippling silver of her eyes jolted him again. Her retinas glowed in a normal cat¡¯s eye way.


    ¡°Can you see during the day? Does sunlight hurt your eyes?¡± Fen asked.


    The kitten meowed assertively; she had no fear or concern over the mention of sunlight.


    ¡°You can see fine in the day,¡± Fen confirmed.


    The kitten yawned.


    While the kitten¡¯s irises were silver like his, the silver rippled instead of his own fractals, and she didn¡¯t have scars. Fen¡¯s own retinas glowed unnaturally, though that usually wasn¡¯t visible. His problems with sight were due to Scorpio monster damage combined with his aether magic. If Niqs had gifted aether magic to the kitten, it had been for a different trauma.


    ¡°I¡¯ll prove you¡¯re harmless, as far as a cat can be harmless. You¡¯ve got quite the attitude if you thought you could face up to that monster.¡± Fen rubbed at the fur on her thin belly. The brown color was dirt. Her cream-colored fur had no stripes or spots. ¡°How did you get into the forum? Where did your aether magic come from?¡±


    Fen didn¡¯t really expect a response, but the kitten opened her eyes wide and meowed.


    ¡°You understand me? So you do have a full Guardian blessing.¡±


    The kitten meowed more, though he only understood that she had been terrified and despairing over whatever had happened.


    Guardian gave animals blessings only on rare occasions. The blessings always included human-like sentience and access to elemental magic. Yet this kitten didn¡¯t have only elemental magic but also aether magic. Fen knew of only one Guardian, Niqs, who could give that blessing.


    ¡°What am I supposed to do with you?¡±


    The kitten was falling asleep, the tiniest bit of frost leaving her nose with each exhale. Truly a daughter of Pisces, one with a heavy story. Fen scratched her forehead with one finger as she yawned and batted sleepily at him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep you safe, that¡¯s what I¡¯ll do. I¡¯ll name you Shuilong.¡±


    Fen stood there quietly waiting, and then waiting some more.


    What am I even waiting for? Fen asked himself. Right. The System should have given him experience points for landing a hit on Ophiuchus, possibly given him a reward for rescuing the kitten. But no message or announcement had loaded. He double checked his System. A message finally loaded:


    1,500 Combat skill points REMOVED.


    Unsanctioned entry of Cascadance Forum.


    Fen scoffed. This was the Guardians¡¯ way of voicing their disapproval for him entering the ruined forum. They probably would have dinged him more points except that he did do something right by rescuing the kitten. He shrugged and walked home with Shuilong sleeping. He¡¯d prove himself to the Guardians as well as the rest of Cascadance if necessary.

 Chapter 5: Val: Game mechanics (still not a game, Val)

    Val found herself in a brown and wooden room with a fireplace and bed. The room, which had only one door, was half the size of her studio apartment, but with the structural integrity of a shack. She took a few deep breaths. Dry, rich air filled her lungs, much earthier than the strange beach ozone. This felt normal enough.


    An identical Guardian mirror hung on the wall in a corner. She walked over to it and, with an intentional thought, stuck her arm in, finding only the same vast emptiness.


    I wonder if Airaba is on the other side or if it would dump me back on Earth. Her piss-yellow apartment and heart-numbing cashier¡¯s job were repellant. She pulled out her arm, stepping away from the mirror, worried Airaba might pull her through if she lingered.


    A knock at the door caught Val¡¯s attention. Right next to the doorframe was a calendar.


    ¡°Information!¡± Val gasped with relief and tripped over a red woven rug in excitement to get to it.


    The calendar had only four pages, the first page labeled Spring with three weeks of ten days, the weeks titled Aries, Taurus, and Gemini. The first day of spring glowed. Maybe that was the current day? She didn¡¯t understand how it was glowing. Many of the days were marked with more information.


    The knock sounded at her door again, a quick loud rap. Val could laugh. She was sure this knock would be as life changing as Emily¡¯s knock.


    On the other side of the door stood a lanky, pale man with short blond hair holding himself stiffly.


    ¡°Minerva! What? You¡¯re not Minerva. Who¡¯s this? Who are you?¡± the man asked.


    ¡°Val. Who are you?¡± Val adjusted her expectations.


    ¡°Charon, a teacher in town.¡± He crossed his arms.


    ¡°A teacher! So you¡¯re here to teach me how things work? Excellent,¡± Val smiled and stuck her hand out for a shake.


    Charon didn¡¯t smile back or say anything, but shook her hand once listlessly before pulling back.


    Val pushed past him, descending the porch steps. The farmhouse-shack stood on top of a rise with the acres of land in front of her sloping gently down. The lush trees past the farmland included young white oak, Douglas fir, western hemlock, and a few old, tall Sitka spruce, as far as Val could compare trees in Cascadance to Earth. They were an oil painting of greens: verdant, deep forest, and bright lizard green. In front of the forest grew a picturesque mess of waist-high weeds with thistle-like flowers. A breezy, beautiful blue sky topped everything. It felt as real as any Oregonian forest.


    ¡°Airaba gave me seeds,¡± Val continued, breathing the fresh Christmas-tree air, focused on her mission. ¡°Where are tools, machines, whatever else? Everything is so overgrown.¡±


    Charon was taken aback. ¡°Are you¡¯re expecting me to show you around? No. I¡¯m a teacher, but I teach little kids. I came here to talk to Minerva. She left. We got a signal that she¡ªor someone, I guess¡ªcame through the mirror. I¡¯m not here to teach a strange Earth human anything. You don¡¯t even have magic.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t, but Airaba said that¡¯s a good thing. I expected a game mechanics introduction, but it seems like I was dropped into an old save file. I never had a chance to start a new file. But I¡¯ll catch onto the game easily enough.¡±


    ¡°This is not a game!¡± Charon descended the steps to face Val. ¡°You met with a Guardian! We¡¯re more real than where ever you came from. We¡¯ve got magic.¡±


    ¡°My apologies. Maybe you can give me a couple of tips? About farming? Are there any other farmers?¡± Val would do her best to not call this a game in front of other people.


    ¡°No,¡± Charon said bitingly. ¡°This is the only farm in the county, though it¡¯s been in ruins for a generation.¡± Charon¡¯s expression warred between irritation and wanting to help. Val loved teachers like that, where the teaching spilled out of their fingers. ¡°What questions do you even have?¡±


    ¡°I guess since I¡¯m a farmer, I need tools. Any suggestions on where to find them? Hopefully Minerva didn¡¯t sell or lose them.¡±


    ¡°If she sold them, she would have done that through my wife and I would have heard about it. They should be around here.¡±


    ¡°Your wife?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Olive.¡± His face softened. ¡°She¡¯s the general store owner in town. My school rooms are right next door. Let¡¯s look around. Minerva hasn¡¯t lived on the farm for as long as I can remember. It looks like she hasn¡¯t even stepped foot here.¡±


    ¡°I could believe it.¡± Val looked around. Most of the walls around the shack had crumbled to their foundations, with no signs of a kitchen or bathroom. This was why Airaba had put her body in stasis. If Val had to focus on survival, she¡¯d never get any farming or restoration done. ¡°Anyway. Tools. Machines. Farming things.¡±


    No standing sheds in sight. Would she have to dig through grass? The farm wasn¡¯t that big, only an acre total, and full of the waist-high weeds. Would tools be rusted if someone dropped tools in the middle of the field? Or would the game¡¯s magic preserve player essentials?


    While she faced the field with her ruminations, Charon kicked at the house behind her.


    ¡°Val, here we go. Your name is Val, right?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± Val turned around. ¡°You found tools? They were up against the house?¡±


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    ¡°No.¡± Charon pulled away more of the knee-high lizard-green grass from the house. ¡°There are seals here. See? One for basic storage. You sweep it clockwise.¡±


    Etched in the house foundation were several glowing marks in a row. Val walked up to the one Charon indicated. The seal glowed brighter as she lifted her hand closer, a topaz glow, which buzzed just a little against her palm.


    When she swiped, a backpack popped up in front of them.


    ¡°Ah, by the Guardians, I hoped you couldn¡¯t open it,¡± Charon said, his hand in his hair with exasperation.


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°The seals belong to the farm. If you can open them, that means the farm does indeed belong to you. I suppose Minerva really is dead.¡± Charon frowned and looked over the landscape, his thoughts adjusting to the change in ownership, then faced Val squarely. ¡°So who are you? Minerva said she was going home. We traced her and found the Guardian mirror. Airaba wouldn¡¯t tell us anything useful. Now you¡¯re here. How did that happen?¡±


    Charon¡¯s logic skills impressed Val. This truly felt like a different reality. She shared what happened, without referring to it as a game. ¡°Minerva¡¯s granddaughter Elissa inherited the Guardian mirror on the Earth side. She knew I¡¯d enjoy a break from my regular life.¡±


    ¡°Surely there¡¯s more. Surely Minerva passed down information if she knew she wasn¡¯t coming back.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that Minerva had made messes, and it was Elissa¡¯s family¡¯s job to clean them up. Do you know what messes she means?¡±


    ¡°Are you being honest with me?¡± Charon asked. ¡°You said you talked to Airaba? What did she tell you?¡±


    ¡°To restore the ruined shrines, which includes farming,¡± Val reached down to touch the backpack.


    ¡°Is that it?¡± Charon continued without waiting for an answer. ¡°You have no idea what you¡¯re getting yourself into. Maybe you¡¯ll be useful. Maybe you¡¯ll just want to go home.¡±


    ¡°Charon, I¡¯ll be useful! Let¡¯s get started now.¡± She crouched down to check inside the backpack, which was the kind with a drawstring opening at the top with a flap over the top. It was empty.


    ¡°Val, there¡¯s a tool seal,¡± Charon motioned to a glowing seal on the side of the backpack impatiently.


    Val swiped and tools appeared in the air, suspended like they hung a rack. She grabbed the hoe and watering can, noting how a magical backpack had been tucked into magical storage¡ªmagic within magic.


    The backpack was sturdy canvas under her hands and hefty as she lifted it off the ground, though lighter than a bag full of tools. She swung it onto her back and adjusted the straps. In regular video games, you kept your inventory with you. Surely that logic applied to this kind of game.


    Val checked her pocket and drew out her gifts from Airaba. The labels on her five seed packets read ignisbulb, bloodstone radish, peridot peas, charo-cabbage, and asparagustine. The labels said, Ready to harvest when glowing.


    ¡°Ignisbulb,¡± Val read. ¡°Airaba said I¡¯d need that to repair the shrine.¡±


    ¡°Fantastic. Do your best.¡± Charon waved briefly and spun away. ¡°I¡¯ll see you around, maybe.¡±


    ¡°Wait! Charon, please don¡¯t leave yet,¡± Val held up a hand. ¡°Let¡¯s make sure I can actually farm.¡±


    ¡°Oh, fine.¡± Charon spun back and crossed his arms. ¡°Five more minutes. I¡¯ve got to get back to my kids. You are Farmer class, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Farmer class with the associated stats and skill set, though my levels are at zero.¡± Val gave Charon a smile while picking up the hoe. She aimed the hoe at the first spot of bare dirt near the farmhouse, and swung. The dirt churned loose and loamy. She flung the ignisbulb seed at the hoed spot. The seed missed entirely.


    ¡°I mean, I did set my coordination stat low, but I thought it was a multiplier to my natural amount. Did Airaba lie to me? Ugh.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care what your Guardian character stats are, but a 10 is considered baseline.¡±


    ¡°What! She did not say that. I can¡¯t say she lied though.¡± A stat of five would have a multiplier of 0.5. Her stats needed increasing stat. Work hard, lady!


    Val carefully picked the seed out of the weed and placed it carefully into the hoed dirt.


    One thought jumped into her brain. Maybe Charon isn¡¯t friendly because my charisma is low. I didn¡¯t know what I had until I lost it. I¡¯ll have to schmooze to make up for the loss.


    She got the watering can and watered. Now she noticed two game-like meters hovering in the air at forehead height in front of her. As she watered, one meter went down by a noticeable amount and the other filled only a tiny amount.


    ¡°So it looks like the Guardian system has energy and skill meters,¡± Val called out to Charon from her plot. ¡°I can¡¯t see yours, so I guess you can¡¯t see mine?¡±


    Charon shrugged. ¡°Congrats on your first experience points. I¡¯m assuming it¡¯s Farming skill.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t sound that impressed,¡± Val said, continuing her work.


    ¡°Most kids max out all their chosen skills before they get to university. No one likes to start from scratch as an adult.¡±


    Val sighed. If she was such a new baby at everything, how could she help this world? She wanted to stay. Farming was better than her Earth job. She picked up the hoe and stepped to the next spot of weed-free soil.


    She hoed, planted, and watered. Even though she worked only five spots total, her energy meter dropped by a full quarter. So much for good stamina and strength. Then, feeling a little religious guilt, sent a thank you to Airaba for her blessings. Val laughed at herself for thinking this was real.


    ¡°I need to get back to my students,¡± Charon said, interrupting Val¡¯s thoughts.


    ¡°Wait, where are the ruined shrines?¡± Val stood up from watering the last patch.


    ¡°Listen, Val, just focus on farming. Don¡¯t worry about the shrines.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s your attitude even coming from? I want to know!¡±


    ¡°Fine. The ruined shrines are in a reflecting pool forum¡ª¡±


    ¡°Oh, a forum! Airaba mentioned that.¡±


    ¡°Did she mention it¡¯s Ophiuchus¡¯ lair? When you see the pool and forum, I think you¡¯ll understand why Minerva spent her years just playing around. If it doesn¡¯t make you want to go home, well, I¡¯ll be keeping an eye on you to see how useful you are.¡±


    With that, and without any goodbye, he stalked away on a path that led to behind the farmhouse.


    Charon exasperated Val as much as Val exasperated him, but she wasn¡¯t finished with him. She clumsily put her tools away, swiping at the tool seal on her backpack without taking it off. I¡¯m not misplacing you guys. She ran off to chase Charon, who had reached an opening in a fence with tall shrubbery on the other side.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Val asked. ¡°I need just a little more information.¡±


    ¡°This is the northern entrance to your farm,¡± Charon said, not stopping.


    ¡°The boundary! Northward! Excellent.¡±


    Charon stepped through the shrubbery. Val followed, intending to follow him into town, as she didn¡¯t know what else to do.


    Charon pointed west. ¡°That way is town.¡± He pointed east. ¡°That way is the reflecting pool forum, though there¡¯s no point.¡±


    ¡°Maybe Ophiuchus will be better company than you.¡± With that line, Val flounced away. After a few paces, her manners caught up with her. She turned back, but Charon had disappeared.


    ¡°Game,¡± Val said. That word would explain anything abnormal. Val would throw herself into this game. She had asked Airaba for a different role, but if this was a farming game, she¡¯d be the best farmer ever. While Airaba had given her a firm goal to fix the shrines and the farm, Val was sure there was more to the game than that. Airaba had hinted at ¡°things.¡± This world was too intricate for a simple grow and fetch quest.


    Watching her energy meter, Val noted that walking and even running through the sparsely wooded fields didn¡¯t drain it, allowing her to keep up a fast pace.


    Time to meet Ophiuchus and see what these shrines were about.

 Chapter 6: Val: Finally, a slice of life <3

    Within a quarter hour Val stood at a shadowy arch, beyond which dull sunlight trickled through high overhanging trees. A gray, creepy miasma drifted through the arch. In no way would she have gone through that arch on Earth for anything. The rules were different in Cascadance. This wasn¡¯t dangerous or a horror movie. Airaba considered this the heart of Val¡¯s mission.


    It¡¯s only game fog. Val peeked into the arch without entering. Within the miasma haze, there seemed to be a spoiled garden park. Charon had called it a forum, which made sense if there was a shrine. The reflecting pool that Charon had referred to held some tar-like substance that created the miasma, which drifted above and around it. The miasma hid any sign of a shrine or monsters. Val would need to explore.


    Val took a deep breath and plunged into the forum.


    The first minute was, thankfully, anticlimactic, where nothing happened. The air didn¡¯t poison her once she breathed. Val let her eyes adjust. The ground vines and dust to the left were messy. The tar pit oozed and stirred, but nothing appeared.


    ¡°Please help,¡± a voice whispered.


    Val jumped out of her skin and then came to her senses, looking around for the source of the voice.


    The voice called again. Light flickered off to the right.


    Val rushed over, tripping through dead vines that climbed over the ground.


    ¡°Did a person say that? Your voice didn¡¯t sound human. I¡¯m here to restore the shrine.¡±


    Nothing answered her words or reacted to her moving towards the source of the words.


    A building emerged from the miasma, first as shifting shadows, then solidifying into a ruined temple as Val drew closer. The ground trembled with a faint quake. No human or creature was in sight. The flickering light came from high on the pediment at the front of the temple.


    ¡°You¡¯re the shrine. You¡¯re asking for help,¡± Val said as she approached.


    The voice didn¡¯t repeat itself, but Val could see what it needed help with. The shrine was like a small Grecian temple in ruins: no walls, a roof clinging onto crumbling stone pillars, and a broken foundation, about ten square feet. She bowed respectfully and climbed into it, the stone cold and dusty under her hands.


    ¡°So I need to restore you? The pillars have crumbled, so I¡¯ll get some stone to rebuild them.¡± She walked around. ¡°It looks like copper ore was set into this fresco for decoration but wasted away. There¡¯s only flakes left.¡± Val rubbed at the only wall at the back of the shrine. Copper flaked off. ¡°I¡¯ll mine for more. I have a mining skill to level.¡± She walked around, touching waist-high stone altars for ignisbulbs and herbs. ¡°This place is creepy, but I¡¯ll be back.¡±


    Val stepped away from the temple. On her way out, she considered exploring deeper into the forum, but even though this was just a game, her courage wasn¡¯t quite strong enough to approach the tar pit or explore the left side of the forum. She crept out of the forum without disturbing anything.


    Once she stood in the bright sunlight of the forest, she took a deep breath.


    I found the first shrine Airaba mentioned. I wonder where others are? I¡¯ll fix this and that should fix that scary pit! Easy-peasy. I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s what Airaba said. I¡¯ll fix Cascadance in no time.


    Val ran back the way she came, wondering how far away the town was. For now, running around on a mission in a new beautiful world was fun! She ran past the entrance to her farm. Soon she crossed a bridge over a small stream.


    Val reached a fork in the path. A sign showed one path leading to town and the other way to the mines.


    She wanted to go to town and meet people, but she had just told the shrine that she would mine for copper. This fork seemed like a hint.


    For the next hour she climbed hills, following signs to the mines.


    She almost ran by the dark entrance of the mine.


    ¡°Hello?¡± she called into the mine.


    Lights hung along the wall. She got her pickax out. She hit excitedly at various things that looked like rock and ore, but no mining meter popped up, so she stopped swinging it.


    Where was the mine introduction? Val was confident that someone would appear to help her out, or something would glow with magic, giving her a hint. No visual hints appeared, but rocks clattered together with an unusual cadence. The thrumming sounds were almost threatening, but that didn¡¯t make sense.


    Suddenly, a rock the size of her fist rolled across her foot and another meter popped up. It had been full but dropped a few points.


    Val stopped. Health meter¡ªshe didn¡¯t want that one running out.


    A rock twice the size of her head rolled towards her.


    She dodged to the side.


    Instead of rolling past her, the rock swerved and hit her shins.


    She was so startled that she sat down with a grunt. Her new meter dropped more points.


    The rock, instead of coming to a standstill, still rolled around and ran into her.


    ¡°Are you some kind of monster? Get away from me!¡± She scrambled through her backpack, but it seemed like the pickax in her hand was her best weapon. The rolling rock didn¡¯t bruise or hurt her, but her health meter still went down. She had asked Airaba if she would still feel pain, and Airaba had been exasperated with her.


    Let¡¯s stop trying to fight and just get out of here before I faint. With that set, she got to her feet and ran for the mine entrance. She looked back over her shoulder just in time to see a rock launch itself off the floor to smack her in the face.


    The rock knocked her unconscious.


    But she didn¡¯t die.


    ¡°Hey, you didn¡¯t die, so wake up already,¡± a soft, cranky voice said.


    Someone shook her with no respect for the damage she suffered.


    ¡°Come on, it¡¯s impossible to die in the mine. Stop being so dramatic. Drink this.¡±


    Everything was still blurry but a woman with snowy white skin and ruby-red hair stood at her side giving her something to drink.


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    Val grabbed the ceramic container and guzzled the potion down, her dizziness and headache receding. Her health meter filled a quarter of the way. She got to her feet and almost fainted again. Better was relative. She was still far from normal, and could definitely still feel pain, whatever Airaba had done to her.


    ¡°You must respect Mount Jacicle¡¯s earth magic,¡± the young woman scolded. ¡°Middle-schoolers know how to avoid rolling rocks, so who are you?¡±


    ¡°Val,¡± she gasped, trying to figure out what hurt the worst.


    ¡°That¡¯s all you¡¯re going to say? Whatever. I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m Reese, by the way, not that you asked. You just fling yourself into danger, eh?¡± Reese tucked the empty ceramic container away.


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m so confused about what happened. Who expects rocks to be dangerous? I didn¡¯t realize there was any danger. Sorry. I think I need to just sit for longer.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t from here if you think rocks aren¡¯t dangerous. Don¡¯t sit. That might help where you¡¯re from, but here you¡¯ve got to search for help. Come on, I¡¯ll take you to my favorite Healer.¡± Reese stood up and pulled at Val¡¯s arm.


    ¡°What? But I thought you were here to help me learn how to mine,¡± Val said, struggling to her feet. She had to lean against the smaller woman.


    ¡°Absolutely not! I¡¯m here to get some crystals. I¡¯ll get back to it as soon as I deal with you.¡±


    Reese got Val out of the foothills in no time. Val¡¯s consciousness faded in and out. First she saw blurry trees and then buildings. Did she lose time? It seemed to be late afternoon now.


    ¡°I never thought I¡¯d get to see this place,¡± Val half-joked.


    ¡°The Healer¡ªhis name is Fen¡ªis this way,¡± Reese said for an answer.


    ¡°I¡¯ll follow.¡± Val was true to her words. Her headache gave her tunnel vision, so she focused on following the strange young woman into an unfamiliar building. The cool, dim room they entered was lined with tiles.


    ¡°Hey Healer, she¡¯s your responsibility now. If you don¡¯t know what to do with her, I don¡¯t care.¡± With those words, Reese left.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Fen. Why don¡¯t you lay down on a treatment bed?¡± Fen held his hand out to a small side room. Fen was about her age, wearing dark glasses and a black outfit. He had long, fine black hair, warm light brown skin, slender build, and a nose with a rounded tip. Very pleasing.


    ¡°Bye, I guess,¡± Val called after Reese, still confused about what went wrong with mining. But she was happy to do as Fen asked, swinging her legs up onto the treatment bed.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to do a scan to see what¡¯s wrong,¡± Fen said. ¡°I know Reese is harsh, but you¡¯re lucky she¡¯s the one who found you. She¡¯s our resident Mage. No one else would have had the resources to help you.¡±


    While Fen spoke, he twisted his hands together in patterns and a warm white glow formed between his hands and grew bigger and brighter.


    ¡°I suppose you know what you¡¯re doing. I¡¯m Val. I¡¯m from Earth. I fell victim to a rolling rock.¡±


    ¡°You are from the earth? I can tell you don¡¯t have any magic. This will help, I promise.¡± He placed the glow along her body without touching her. ¡°If you¡¯re here to help Cascadance, I suppose the next step is to get you some combat training for the mines.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Farmer class. Maybe I¡¯ll never step foot in a mine again, especially if there¡¯s no tutorial. I¡¯m trying everything like you¡¯re supposed to do in a game and now I¡¯ve tried mining. I¡¯m sure I can buy copper from someone. I¡¯m not interested in combat training.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no one to buy copper from. If you¡¯re not interesting in combat, you should try charming. You need to talk to Xing Yanwei at the tea house, which is on the west side of the square. I¡¯m done.¡± He stepped back.


    ¡°Do I need to pay you?¡±


    ¡°Buy me a cup of tea some day. Now, I need to get back to my work,¡± Fen said with a polite smile. It clicked for Val. He was an NPC, only programmed to help with healing.


    ¡°It¡¯s weird that I¡¯m not getting proper instructions on how to do things from people.¡± According to Airaba, Val was the protagonist of this game. Why was it so hard to get help? ¡°Don¡¯t you have advice for me?¡± Val asked, wondering if he¡¯d respond to open-ended questions or if he¡¯d help with only healing-related questions.


    ¡°You want me to give you advice? Since you¡¯re a Farmer, you should farm, probably plant some seeds.¡± Fen held his hand out, guiding Val out of the healing center.


    ¡°I need stones and herbs, too,¡± Val said, getting off the bed and following.


    ¡°Stones are in the mine, so that wraps back to Auntie Yanwei, or maybe Liam, though he¡¯ll want to teach you combat. For herbs, you should talk to the Herbalist, but she¡¯ll be closed by the time you get there.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s everything you¡¯ve got for me? Anything helpful?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re invited to temple services on every third, sixth, and ninth of each week. I know Reese addressed me as Healer, but my main class is Priest.¡±


    Val was confused. She¡¯d clocked him as the cute NPC Healer, but being a Priest added another layer. For now, that didn¡¯t matter. She was more interested in mining, and asked for directions to Xing Yanwei.


    Fen led her out of the tiled healing building. Outside, the town square laid out before her, a square of cobblestones surrounded by shops with brightly painted doors in colors like coral, lavender, canary yellow, and aqua blue. White trim and masonry completed the look of a perfect idyllic town with no trace of any mess. A temple with glowing crystal pillars several stories high was the largest building, taking up most of the east side of the square. The tea house was on the west side, standing out with its steep gabled red roof.


    A tea house would have food. Val had eaten nothing that day, but still wasn¡¯t hungry, something she¡¯d have to get used to.


    Val walked across the square to the tea house. A set of bright red double doors leading into the tea house swung on well-oiled hinges when Val pushed on them. Stepping inside was stepping into relaxation and cheer. The tea house had plenty of windows, providing ample natural light. Tea plants grew along the main windows. The seating in the middle was arranged to make it easy to talk with neighbors, while private booths lined the walls.


    ¡°Welcome,¡± a small woman said, coming up to Val. ¡°I¡¯m Yanwei. You might be the new farmer. I¡¯m honored you came here on your first day.¡± She had high cheekbones, almond-shaped eyes, and black hair in a bun.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m Val. I¡¯m here to clean up Minerva¡¯s mess. More specifically, I tried to mine and I got hurt! I need instructions or something. Healer, or Priest, Fen sent me. How are you going to help me?¡± Val would get her game introduction one way or another.


    Yanwei hesitated. ¡°That¡¯s a rather direct way to ask for help. Let¡¯s have a little conversation. Have a seat at a booth and I¡¯ll get us a pot of tea.¡± Yanwei disappeared behind a counter, presumably to get the tea, so Val sat in a booth with a view of the front door.


    Yanwei soon came with the teapot and cups on a tray, her red silk gown flowing. Val sipped the hot tea, enjoying the delicate oolong flavor immensely. Even if she didn¡¯t have an appetite, she could still enjoy things.


    After summarizing who she was and why she appeared in Cascadance, Val said, ¡°I think you might have the answer to why I have a Charm-Combat skill to level up.¡±


    ¡°I do enjoy a good charming spell. Even though you don¡¯t have magic, you can use instruments I enchant. Instead of slaying the monsters, you can charm them instead.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get started!¡± Val swallowed the rest of the tea. ¡°I¡¯d like to return to the mine this afternoon.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Yanwei said, her forehead wrinkling in confusion. ¡°I¡¯m so busy with the beginning of spring, I¡¯m not sure when I¡¯ll have time.¡±


    ¡°Do I need to help you with chores or a quest first? I¡¯d like to keep moving forward with cleaning Minerva¡¯s messes up. I need to mine for copper.¡±


    Yanwei frowned, setting down her teacup with a deliberate clink. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how things work where you¡¯re from, but people here don¡¯t center themselves like that.¡±


    Val blinked, caught off guard. ¡°That¡¯s not what I was saying.¡±


    ¡°I thought this was a friendly conversation for us to become acquainted,¡± Yanwei said, gently but firmly. ¡°I don¡¯t exist to guide you. Cascadance isn¡¯t some game for you to speed through. If you want my help, you¡¯ll wait until I have time, just like everyone else.¡±


    Val winced. She had avoided calling Cascadance a game, but her sense of entitlement and true intentions were still clear. Her interactions with Charon were getting around. She had been treating Yanwei like an NPC mentor, but that wasn¡¯t her role.


    After a graceful goodbye, Yanwei left the table, disappearing behind the counter.


    Val stayed at the table, an emotional exhaustion settling on her shoulders. This was all more complicated than any game she¡¯d ever played. The shrine needed copper, but the mine knocked her unconscious. How was she supposed to move forward?


    Maybe her second day would be easier. At that point in the late evening, all Val cared about was returning to her little farm.


    She stepped outside the tea house and wandered around the town square. During this circuit, she saw two signs that pointed in two different directions on how to get to Cattail Farm. Two different directions?


    This game was throwing up nonsense roadblocks. It couldn¡¯t even direct her home. She followed the sign pointing at the northwest corner of town.


    Val enjoyed this game overall. The immersion was astounding. One silly reflection was that no one had hair in twelve braids all in different colors; Val was satisfied that Airaba wasn¡¯t right about everything.


    An hour later, she arrived at the farm, running straight to bed. She didn¡¯t enjoy getting into bed in her dirty, torn overalls, but there was nothing for it. She climbed into bed and a question clicked in her mind.


    Sleep?


    She answered with a firm yes and fell asleep before she could blink twice.


    What would tomorrow bring?

 Chapter 7: Val: One sweet croissant and one magical tablet

    Val woke up disoriented for only a moment. She was in a game! Yesterday had been full of adventure and new people with a rustic farmhouse to come home to. While some people had been cranky and suspicious, she still preferred them over the customers at her cashier¡¯s job. Her earthly life could stay away. She didn¡¯t have to deal with noisy cars or beeping machines. Fantastic.


    Val nodded, sat up, and glared at the Guardian mirror as she swung her legs out of bed. She patted her face and hair, which was in a smooth ponytail. Her hands showed no traced of yesterday¡¯s smudges. Her overalls and green shirt were clean and untorn.


    Airaba really does refresh me. Val glanced at the mirror and wondered if Airaba¡¯s aether ocean still swirled on the other side. The thought reassured her instead of alarmed her.


    There was nothing to do in the shack-like farmhouse. Calling it cute spoke to Val¡¯s cheerfulness, not reality. Val stepped outside, swinging her backpack onto her shoulders.


    Cattail Farm.


    What do I do first?


    Fen¡¯s dry advice from yesterday came back. If you¡¯re a farmer, maybe you should plant seeds.


    Val would be the best farmer possible. The first thing to do was prepare the soil.


    The farmland was just a little patch before the forest took over, a square acre with half of it overgrown. Should she put up a fence? The firs and hemlocks were beautiful, of course, but she wouldn¡¯t allow them to encroach. She also needed to work on the multitude of weeds.


    Val retrieved the scythe from her backpack, stepped into the field, approached the green thistle-soft waist-high weed, and hacked away. With her lack of skill plus her lack of coordination, the work took more time than expected, but her energy meter didn¡¯t go down since she wasn¡¯t building any skill. Thank you, Airaba, for the little things.


    Moving on, she weeded and hoed a five-by-five space. The quiet, repetitive work soothed her. The chronic stress of her job, which she had surely lost by now, unwinded.


    The space already held the five seeds she¡¯d planted yesterday. With the weeds disposed of, more sunlight poured onto the crops. The ignisbulb, bloodstone radish, and peridot peas were little sprouts, which made Val smile with success. The charo-cabbage and asparagustine were still seeds.


    ¡°Farmer, farmer, farmerrr. I¡¯m a farmer,¡± Val sang as she watered each spot. When she reached the last one and tipped the watering can, nothing came out. Empty! ¡°I should have realized that would happen eventually. Silly can.¡±


    Val looked up and around for a water source, stretching her arms back. First thing she noticed was her energy level. ¡°Oops. Too low to work. Time to move to the next task.¡±


    Seeds.


    Next stop: Olive¡¯s general store. Val checked her pocket. She still had the handful of coins from Airaba. Looking closer, she had four large bright silver coins that had ¡°100 abundos¡± printed on them. A small dull silver coin had ¡°50 abundos¡± printed on it. A small copper coin had ¡°20 abundos¡± printed on it. 470 abundos total. Was 100 abundos considered wealthy or more like 100 pennies?


    Yesterday, Charon had left at the northern entrance, but there was a western entrance, too. Was that another way to town? Val wanted to try.


    As she walked on the forest path towards town, she reflected on her morning. Weeding, hoeing, and watering had taken up most of the morning. Game mechanics, the way Airaba had explained them, were holding up with her body in stasis. While it would be nice to have more energy, for today her energy running low just meant moving on to doing another fun activity.


    As Val walked around a bend in the path, the surrounding air turned stifling hot, much warmer than a regular spring day would suggest. Her walking momentum propelled her forward, and the air turned back to normal. Val looked back; the warm spot she had walked through shimmered with heat. The ground below this heat glowed. Translucent flames were shooting into the air, but nothing caught fire. Some smaller plants nearby, perhaps herbs, glowed with an ember red color. Was the red glow a signal that she ought to harvest them, maybe for her foraging skill? For now, Val put that idea to the side. She kept walking to town, noticing a few similar spots.


    As Val arrived at Cascadance¡¯s colorful town square, one of the closest doors opened.


    A curvy young woman with mahogany colored skin and a crown of black braids propped open the aqua-blue shop door. She wore a dress of deeper blue with a cream apron. Bakery smells of dough and cinnamon wafted out. The soft sunlight, town square, and pretty woman created a perfect, idyllic scene.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Val. I¡¯m new to town.¡± Val slowed down, not wanting to jog right up to the stranger¡¯s face but definitely wanting to check out this exciting fresh development of baked goods.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Hello. I¡¯m Isabelle. Welcome. This is my bakery.¡± The young woman gave a polite little bow and then disappeared into the shop. Val followed her right in.


    The warm shop was delightful with cinnamon and nutmeg smells and a display of baked goods, including sweet scones, savory breads, and ram-shaped cookies. The prices were fifty abundos. If seeds were as expensive as the cookies, she didn¡¯t have much money.


    ¡°Wow,¡± Val said, her heart aching with happiness at the wholesomeness. ¡°This is one of the most wonderful things I¡¯ve seen since I¡¯ve arrived!¡±


    Isabelle nodded absently while arranging buns on a tray.


    ¡°Do you have anything for five abundos?¡± Val asked, jiggling her pocket coins. She had to weigh having a treat against affording seeds.


    ¡°Five abundos could get you a cheap piece of candy at the general store. Since you¡¯re new, I won¡¯t take it as an insult,¡± Isabelle said coolly. ¡°My castoff goods are free. Today it¡¯s croissants. They aren¡¯t pretty enough to sell.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take it. Thank you!¡± Problem solved. Hopefully, the town would solve all her problems like that. The ruined shrine popped into Val¡¯s head. That was indeed the real problem that the town hadn¡¯t been able to solve. Val would take the easy wins, like free food, whenever possible.


    Isabelle, Val¡¯s new favorite person, wrapped three croissants in paper and handed them to Val, who unwrapped one and crunched down on it. Overly sweet chocolate mousse filled the croissant.


    ¡°Wow! This is delicious!¡± Val said after swallowing the first bite. ¡°As soon as I can afford it, I¡¯ll be a daily customer.¡±


    Isabelle gave her a small smile, still busy. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Oh look!¡± Val pointed above her own head. ¡°My energy meter improved! I¡¯ll be able to water that last spot!¡±


    Isabelle looked up sharply. ¡°I know some people are comfortable talking about such things, but I find it so embarrassing. It¡¯s like talking about underwear or something. I can¡¯t see it anyway.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry,¡± Val said. ¡°I¡¯ll be more discreet. Charon helped me out the best he could yesterday, but I¡¯m still learning.¡± She stuffed the other two croissants into her backpack. While the croissant she ate improved her energy meter, she didn¡¯t feel any physical improvements, which must be part of the body stasis.


    Isabelle shrugged. ¡°I need to focus on my work.¡± Was Isabelle just a baker meant to assist Val with energy-rich food? Val could respect that.


    Isabelle made a shooing motion to Val, focusing behind her.


    A young man stood right behind Val¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Oh, another town resident!¡± Val said, turning. ¡°I¡¯m Val and new to town.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Nate,¡± said a ruddy-faced, freckled young man. ¡°I heard what you said about your energy meter. You should just hide it, so you¡¯re not always thinking of it.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Your interface.¡±


    Val shook her head.


    ¡°So if you blink twice, nothing happens?¡± Nate asked. ¡°Is it broken?¡±


    ¡°No. Sorry. Airaba processed me into the System just yesterday. She didn¡¯t mention any interface.¡±


    ¡°Airaba!¡± Isabelle said, leaning forward. ¡°You were outside the System and she helped you? Did she give you anything? She¡¯s not my Guardian, but I like to know which ones are interfering in Cascadance.¡±


    ¡°Airaba didn¡¯t come into Cascadance. She just sent me. All she gave me were some seeds and money.¡±


    ¡°Seeds! So you¡¯re at the farm,¡± Isabelle deduced.


    ¡°No tablet?¡± Nate asked.


    ¡°No, if your tablets are like what I¡¯m used to.¡± Val patted at all her pockets to make sure nothing had slipped past her notice. ¡°Maybe I should re-check the storage at the farm.¡±


    ¡°There isn¡¯t anything in the farm storage,¡± Nate said. ¡°My brother and I checked recently.¡± When Val looked at him in surprise, he added defensively, ¡°We didn¡¯t take anything. We couldn¡¯t even break the seals open. We just scanned to see what was inside them.¡±


    ¡°Here,¡± Isabelle said. ¡°I¡¯ll give you my old one.¡± She waved a finger. Blue concentric circles appeared out of the air.


    ¡°Is that magic?¡± Val asked.


    Isabelle and Nate stared at Val.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where Airaba found you,¡± Isabelle said. ¡°But every person I¡¯ve ever met from anywhere has had some kind of magic.¡±


    Before Val answered¡ªshe wanted to ask about the odd translucent flames and heat from her walk¡ªIsabelle¡¯s attention was pulled to something in the air that Val couldn¡¯t see. A small, thin object appeared in Isabelle¡¯s hand, which she held out to Val.


    ¡°Isabelle, we just met! Are you sure?¡± Val asked. She was happy to receive free stuff, but this was a surprise.


    Isabelle and Nate gave her a look.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where you¡¯re from, but if someone needs something, you give it to them,¡± Nate said officiously. ¡°Airaba processed you into the Guardian System, but didn¡¯t give you an interface. Can you ask her?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Val said. She didn¡¯t want to go through the Guardian mirror in case she wouldn¡¯t be allowed back.


    ¡°Besides,¡± Isabelle said, ¡°I was saving it as a backup for my sister and she doesn¡¯t need it. I¡¯m serious.¡±


    When Isabelle held the object out again, Val took it.


    Isabelle showed Val a metallic surface. ¡°Place your thumb there.¡±


    Val placed her thumb. The object unfolded to twice the size of her palm. A tablet, the first piece of modern technology she¡¯d seen in Cascadance.


    ¡°Kids use these,¡± Nate smirked. ¡°Once you¡¯re more established, you might get a regular System interface.¡± He gestured to his eyes.


    ¡°Thank you, Isabelle!¡± Val said. ¡°Is this running on your magic? Do you have electricity?¡±


    The two friends stared at Val again.


    ¡°What a weird word,¡± Nate said. ¡°The tablet runs on regular air magic.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to recharge it?¡± Val asked, tapping her fingernails against the screen. It felt like any regular tablet.


    ¡°It needs to be renewed under the Aquarian full moon, which I did,¡± Isabelle said. ¡°You¡¯re good for the year.¡±


    ¡°I have a lot to learn about magic in Cascadance.¡± Val tapped at the screen. All her stats scrolled by. The right tab and toggle turned off her energy meter. She left it on. She was going to play the game her way. The energy level screen gave her exact numbers. The croissant she¡¯d eaten had raised her energy meter by twenty points out of one hundred points. The tablet was a good multi-use player interface, just like any game.


    ¡°Izzy,¡± Nate said. ¡°I told Harry I¡¯d have you to him in ten minutes. It¡¯s about some Aries magic at the rhody tree. We need to hurry.¡± Now that he was focused on his friend, he had a smile that lit up his face. Isabelle smiled in return. She was more than just a baker. Cascadance was fun.


    ¡°Val, we¡¯ll have to talk another time. I¡¯m closing up,¡± Isabelle said, removing her apron.


    ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± Val said faintly, clutching the tablet in one hand and waving goodbye with the other as she left. Time to buy seeds and then do her farming thing with the fresh energy.

 Chapter 8: Val: Aries mud rams are always adorable

    Isabelle and Nate stepped out from the bakery right behind Val, pushing her to the cobalt-colored general store door next door.


    A sign on the door said, ¡°Store closed today. I¡¯m at the ley lines. Staying near town.¡±


    ¡°Ley lines? Oh, Isabelle! Nate, too, I guess. I have two questions, one about ley lines and one about Olive.¡±


    ¡°Ley lines are the same here as everywhere,¡± Isabelle said with a shrug. ¡°The industrial ones are cut off for now, but most of us have adjusted to having just natural ones.¡±


    Isabelle¡¯s answer brought up more questions, but Val focused on what her question actually was. ¡°Airaba said that the ley lines were tangled up. Do you know what that means?¡±


    ¡°Not a clue,¡± Nate said. ¡°We¡¯ve got to go.¡±


    ¡°Wait, my second question is, where is Olive? I need to find Olive to buy seeds.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where Olive is,¡± Isabelle said with a soft, exasperated sigh. ¡°It¡¯s Aries week, you know. The fire ley lines are a bit active right now. She likes to gather.¡±


    Val, in fact, did not know. ¡°Aries week? Like astrology? Fire magic? Like I said, I just arrived at Cattail Farm, so I¡¯m still learning.¡±


    ¡°Aries like the zodiac sign!¡± Isabelle answered. ¡°The magic is still settling in. If you really don¡¯t know, go visit the Healer. It sounds like you¡¯ve lost your memory. I think he has clinic hours soon. Go over there.¡± Isabelle pointed to the periwinkle door of the clinic Val had visited yesterday.


    Nate said nothing. He crossed his arms and smirked. Val wasn¡¯t a punching kind of person, but he had that kind of face.


    ¡°Magic is settling in?¡± Val asked. ¡°I think I saw something while I walked to town this morning. The air was hot over some translucent flames. Is it dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Magic won¡¯t start physical fires without intent.¡±


    ¡°So¡­¡± Val said with a hopeful smile, ¡°where do you think Olive would be?¡± She looked around the town square, which was empty.


    Isabelle sighed. ¡°You can follow us.¡±


    Val followed them. The east side of the town square was full of the temple, except for a small house on its south side. The two friends led Val to this house, up to its pink picket fence with a gate and early spring flowers just blooming. Beyond the flowers was an orchard of fruit trees, seeming to go acres to the north and east. The northern part of the orchard would be behind the town temple.


    On the other side of the fence was a short, freckled young woman with her hair in two brown braids, singing softly, who was startled when they approached.


    ¡°Poppy, this is Val,¡± Isabelle said, not even looking at Val. ¡°Has Olive been this way?¡±


    ¡°Hi, Val,¡± Poppy said, waving timidly. ¡°I think I saw Olive go to the southwest corner of town.¡±


    ¡°There we go. Bye, Val.¡±


    ¡°Your orchard is beautiful,¡± Val said, backing away. ¡°The southwest corner?¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank you. The Violan plums will be ready to pick during Taurus,¡± Poppy said. ¡°Olive might be near the river. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s harvesting magic from the fire ley line. Staying near water is one way to stay safe.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a river. I follow the river.¡±


    ¡°Actually, there are two rivers. Did you just arrive? The Lower Guppies River flows north and west of the town square, on the other side of the buildings, and the Usallis River flows along the south border of the town square, also on the other side of the buildings. Go over the bridge and follow the river northward.¡± Poppy pointed to the southwest corner of the town square again.


    ¡°Thanks! I¡¯ve got a lot to learn! Bye everybody!¡± Val ran off. Halfway across the square, she wondered if she ought to have stayed for two more minutes to talk, maybe ask again about ley lines. Another time. Her focus was on buying seeds.


    The path out of the town square led over a bridge. As she crossed over the bridge, steam bursted like a geyser. Once the steam blew out, Val carefully looked over the side. The ley line glowed like embers, the jagged line cutting through the river before disappearing into town in a zigzag pattern. Maybe the ley line didn¡¯t set things on fire, but all the steam indicated some kind of energy transference. She would be careful.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Val wasn¡¯t sure what way was north, but going left seemed to take her into the wilderness, and Olive¡¯s note said she was sticking to town. Val went right.


    Soon, Val caught sight of someone with red hair standing very close to the river bank. How did they get so close when the shrubbery and trees were so thick?


    Val tried yet another path that at first seemed like a dead end near the bridge, but on closer inspection led very close to the river, even turning muddy at points, the mud squishing under her boots¡¯ thick soles. The path finally opened to a small clearing where a woman sat on a stump next to a ley line that had foot-high flames. On the other side of the river, the red roof of the teahouse was visible through the shrubbery.


    The woman, wearing a dark gray calico dress covered in mud, had round features, a peachy undertone to her skin, and auburn hair in a bun. And was noticeably pregnant.


    ¡°Excuse me, are you Olive?¡± Val asked, waving. She was privately jolted by someone being pregnant. It was a quaint trait to add to a game.


    The woman looked up, turning away from the flaming ley line.


    ¡°I¡¯m being careful,¡± the woman said automatically.


    ¡°Hi, Olive. Congratulations on the baby,¡± Val said. In Val¡¯s experience as a cashier, pregnancy was a minefield. Odds said Val should stay quiet, but she didn¡¯t have many options for connection.


    Olive¡¯s face softened. ¡°Thank you. This one¡¯s been extra tiring.¡±


    Val felt guilty for thinking the pregnancy was for cozy vibes. She hoped the game wouldn¡¯t keep Olive eternally pregnant [2/12/25, 11:05?AM cutting: ¡°The store will be closed for at least a week in summer once I give birth, so think ahead to what you might need,¡± Olive continued.


    Val frowned in confusion. How could the game allow that? Wait, Yanwei scolded her about that attitude. This was just another roadblock. Val had time to plan.] .


    ¡°I¡¯m Val from Cattail Farm¡ª¡±


    The Aries flames shot three feet high. Despite Isabelle¡¯s reassurance, Val stepped back.


    Olive stayed on her stump within arm¡¯s reach of the flames. ¡°I don¡¯t get access to fire magic like this very often. It will fade soon enough.¡± Olive swooped her hands around. A stream of white magic flowed from her palms to the flames, pushing the flames to the side like wind. The flames bent all the way into the riverbank mud a few paces away. Olive kept up this stream of magic, feeding the Aries magic into the mud.


    The Aries-infused mud was churning. Within a minute, something popped out of the mud the size of her fist. Olive used a stream of white magic to grab the mud and bring it to her hand. Now it was close enough for Val to see the details: a little mud ram was on Olive¡¯s palm, picking up its little hooves and doing a little somersault.


    ¡°What a cute little guy,¡± Val said.


    Olive smashed the little ram between her two hands, mud dripping on her stomach and lap.


    Val squawked. ¡°That¡¯s unexpected. Poor baby ram.¡±


    Olive glared at her.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? I have no idea what you¡¯re doing,¡± Val protested. ¡°I¡¯m not from around here.¡±


    ¡°Aries magic makes the mud animated. The mud rams aren¡¯t intelligent or sentient. It¡¯s like smashing a clay pot. But for each ram, the magic creates something.¡± As Olive spoke, she rubbed her hands together, more mud dripping. ¡°Ha, here we go.¡± Olive held up a glittering red crystal. ¡°See? This is what I need. Aries magic is powerful. I need it. It¡¯s got so much that I don¡¯t have. If you¡¯re new, you might not know we¡¯re cut off from the industrial ley lines. We¡¯ve got to make do with the natural ones, so now is the time to gather whatever Aries can give us.¡± She tucked the crystal away in a muddy pouch hanging at her waist.


    Val looked back at the mud bank. Several little mud rams were prancing around. Val couldn¡¯t get over how violent smashing them seemed. It also looks like a bit of fun, no worse than smashing mosquitoes.


    Olive scooped up a few more and smashed them, showing Val how the rams were pure mud, no greater complexity. ¡°Ah-ha! I just leveled up my Gathering skill. I¡¯ll lose less energy now. Always appreciated.¡± Olive patted her stomach and then looked at Val. ¡°Did you need something?¡±


    ¡°I need to buy seeds,¡± Val said, surprised that an in-game character had gaming mechanisms like leveling. She tore her eyes from the little mud rams to the auburn-haired woman. As startling as the scene was, Val needed to focus on her mission.


    ¡°Right. You said you were from the farm. If you¡¯re growing things, I¡¯ll buy your crops. Good for us, good for the town. You wouldn¡¯t want to sell to just anyone.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got to get seeds first.¡±


    ¡°Sure, sure. What¡¯s your farming level?¡±


    ¡°Zero.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Well, I¡¯ll still sell to you. Go ahead. The door is unlocked. The seeds are in the Aries storage drawer. You can pay at the till.¡± Olive turned back to the baby mud rams.


    ¡°I have a question about ley lines. Have you heard about how they¡¯re tangled? That¡¯s what Airaba said. I think it¡¯s something I¡¯m supposed to fix, but I don¡¯t know where to start, except to keep farming, but I don¡¯t know how that¡¯s supposed to help,¡± Val rushed the last sentence, as Olive was looking impatient.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about tangled ley lines. What you see here is everything there is to know about them. The magic pours in and we take it out while it¡¯s available; it¡¯s as simple as that. Now, if you don¡¯t mind, didn¡¯t you say you had seeds to buy?¡± Olive turned away from Val decisively.


    Val was pretty sure magic wasn¡¯t as simple as that, but she didn¡¯t need to know more about ley lines in order to move forward. Val skipped down the path away from Olive with more questions than answers. Yesterday, Val hadn¡¯t seen any of the ¡°mess¡± in town that Elissa and Airaba had referred to, but learning about these ley lines felt like an itch to scratch.


    According to Airaba, farming was key.


    It was time to buy the seeds.

 Chapter 9: Val: Bloodstone radish seeds and asparagustine seeds (what else is in the back room)

    Val took a deep breath, steeling herself for the next stage. Briny-smelling air filled her lungs. The air here in town differed completely from the air up on her farm. She held still for a moment. She heard the gentle motion of ocean waves.


    ¡°There¡¯s a beach here, isn¡¯t there?¡± Val asked Olive. ¡°Where is it? Is it nearby?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Go north for beach access. South is the estuary.¡± The mud rams took up all of Olive¡¯s attention again, so Val said goodbye and left.


    Olive¡¯s instructions proved correct. Val walked past condos facing the ocean, past which a path heading west led to the beach.


    A breeze hit her face and ruffled her shirt as she exited the path, the packed gravel changing to soft sand under her shoes. The ocean, with such breadth, conveyed such a feeling of reality. Every sense awakened: not only the breeze on her skin, but the sand on her fingers, the churning ocean sounds, the taste and smell of the sea. Val hadn''t known what to expect, but the beach and ocean possessed the same complexity as any beach she¡¯d ever been to.


    More than any Earthly beach, this one displayed magic in the form of a brilliant red aurora borealis, past a picturesque wooden pier and black jetty, hovering over the turquoise ocean. She said a little awkward hello to the ocean, kicking at the sand.


    Was anyone at the beach?


    Yes. In front of Val sat two women on a violet plaid blanket. Off to the side, an elderly couple sat in chairs enjoying the scene. Val thought about introducing herself, but she needed to focus. She waved, they waved back.


    As far as Val could tell, the Aries magic hanging in the air wasn¡¯t actually doing anything. The people seemed to be only watching it, which was understandable. But only watching the beauty of Aries magic contrasted against the utilitarian way Olive used it and talked about it. Val took another deep breath and enjoyed the sparkling and shimmering, as if it were reaching out to her.


    Time to focus. Val ran back to the town square, over another bridge at the northwest corner of town.


    Indeed, the cobalt-colored door was unlocked. Warm lights flickered on as Val stepped inside. The store looked like an old-time general store with wholesome basic goods in natural wrapping lining the shelves.


    ¡°Storage.¡± Val looked past the aisles for typical storage, then remembered the seals on her farmhouse, and kept an eye open for those as well. The most promising signs of storage were two doors at the back. On the other side of one door came the sounds of kids laughing, chittering, and thumping around. Charon¡¯s students. She even heard his deeper voice calling for order. His teaching area must be connected to the store. The other door was silent, so she opened that one.


    This was the store¡¯s backroom, but unlike any store Val was familiar with, this backroom was as big at the store with different work areas. Glowing names with seals next to each covered one wall: Waldman, Xing, Prior, Mercer, Gupta, Fortier, Desrosiers, Ura, Harrow, Lumi, Chakravarti, and Baptiste. That wasn¡¯t what Val needed at that moment. She turned to a different wall, one with a glowing zodiac wheel covering the wall from floor to ceiling. Each zodiac sign glowed, different constellations with pictures overlaid to show what the constellations represented. Which one would be the Aries drawer? The signs glowed as Val passed her hand over them.


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    She swiped at seal with a picture of a funny-looking goat, which sort of looked like the rams at Olive¡¯s mud bank. Several objects spilled out of the seal, including seed packets. Val dove for the seeds, pushing everything else aside. She picked up a handful of the seed packets and flipped through them. The seed packet labels read: iron daikon, frostbite turnip, snow quartz celeriac, and garnet rutabaga. One of the objects was a snowflake-shaped crystal with a label that said, ¡°for Capricorn.¡±


    ¡°This is definitely not Aries.¡± Val pushed everything back into the Capricorn seal.


    After a bit more trial and error, which took longer than it ought to since Val enjoyed combing through all the odd objects and interesting seeds, Val found the Aries drawer, which featured a symbol of a ram¡¯s head. She hadn¡¯t recognized it right away since the horns looked more like abstract, beautiful swirls of color. Piles of seed packets nestled in the Aries drawer. Nothing had a price. She scooped up an armful and took them to the till on a counter. After playing around with different seals and different screens that popped up, she figured things out. Just as she was about to start scanning, Olive arrived, her once-muddy gray dress now pristine. The pouch at her waist hung heavy with loot.


    ¡°It¡¯s been over two hours and you¡¯re still here! How much of a mess did you make? Did you break the till?¡± Olive waddled to look in the back room. ¡°I am not impressed with this mess. Here.¡± Olive pushed Val away from the till.


    ¡°I just figured out the prices for everything. This is what I want.¡± Val separated some seed packets from the rest, which, she had to admit, formed a disorganized pile.


    Fifteen ignisbulb seeds for ten abundos each.


    One bloodstone radish at twenty abundos.


    One peridot pea at fifty abundos.


    One asparagustine at ninety-eight abundos.


    One charo-cabbage at ninety-five abundo.


    As Olive rang up the purchase, ¡°Goodness. All that work for only 413 abundos.¡±


    Val felt a little sour at that comment. She was spending basically all her money, saving only just a little for an emergency. She put each coin down with a snap.


    As they wrapped up, a temple chime rang through the store. Charon appeared at the other back door.


    ¡°It¡¯s time for your break, Olive.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, dear,¡± Olive said with a special smile. ¡°Goodbye Val.¡± Val did not get a special smile.


    ¡°Bye.¡± Val turned to Charon as Olive waddled away.


    ¡°I¡¯m still watching.¡± Charon stuck his hands in his pockets like he was done with her.


    Val left the general store. The sun hung much lower on the horizon than Val had expected. Her mission was accomplished. She had learned more about the presence of magic. She had explored the town. Yet there was a twist of dissatisfaction in her chest. She just wanted to get back to the farm.


    The prior afternoon, Val had found two signs leading to two different directions to the farm. The sign at the northeast corner led her to the farm. Now what about the sign at the southeast corner? Isabelle and Nate had gone that way. Maybe Val would run into them. Maybe the heaviness in her chest was loneliness. Val headed out of town at the southeast corner between the orchard and a barnyard.


    With all her musings distracting her, Val wasn¡¯t paying attention to her surroundings. Just like earlier in the day, she found herself wandering around, but now on the other side of town, and, frankly, lost, with no one in sight. Different plants glowed ember red along the paths that led through meadows and woods. While she¡¯d had a vague notion of foraging earlier in the day¡ªafter all, she had a foraging skill to level¡ªshe now was so lost that she just wanted to get home.


    After what seemed like the hundredth turn down a path and everything still unfamiliar, with no idea where the town or farm was, Val was ready to break down crying. She had lowered her intelligence for her character stats and now wondered if that meant she literally couldn¡¯t hold information in her head about where she was.


    The sun was setting, dusk came, then twilight, which was the signal for little path lights to come on, and for the first time Val saw signs under each light. The sign pointed the way to town and, more importantly, to her farm!


    As she headed off north, the path followed a river flowing southward on her right. This was the Usallis River that Poppy had mentioned earlier in the day, the one that flowed to south of town. That morning, Val had crossed over a stream near her farm to head to town. If she had been a bit smarter, she could have deduced that this was the same river and followed it home hours ago.


    Would tomorrow be any better?

 Chapter 10: Fen: Shuilong the kitten and Niqs the Guardian - a little aether magic lore

    Fen watched the sunset from his favorite white pine, overlooking the ocean from the top of a cliff, a salty breeze pushing his hair and clothing around. Once the sun set below the horizon, he took off his glasses, tucking them away. He watched the reds, violets, and oranges of the sky fade into twilight. He lingered for as long as the colors lingered. It was one of his favorite times of day.


    For the most part, he accepted how his normal eyesight had changed. Being blind during the day, except for his spells, was a new normal now. But he sometimes missed the daytime colors that night never had. The colors of sunset and sunrise kept him from forgetting a certain kind of beauty. Usually he watched with his best friend Liam, but this evening was a little different. He had an evening quest to complete alone¡ªor almost alone.


    Once the colors faded and the stars came out, Fen headed up the path to the gorge cliffs, whistling as he walked. Before he got too far, Shuilong found him.


    In the last two days, Shuilong had drank several times her weight in milk, growing rapidly, which spoke of her connection to magic. And the way that her tummy had so easily filled out spoke to her neglect. That afternoon she insisted on a high degree of independence, and had caught her first mouse, half as big as her. Soon she would stalk and hunt larger prey. Shuilong, a new predator in the Oakkannu forest, would be establishing her territory.


    ¡°Come on. We¡¯re going somewhere.¡± Fen held out his hand and dipped his shoulder low.


    Shuilong accepted the invite and hopped onto his shoulder. For now, she was the size of a large kitten, the kind Fen had seen at university that lived with students. But he didn¡¯t think she¡¯d grow up to be a house cat. As he wondered about her size, thinking in a rather self-conscious paternal manner, she walked across his arms with feline grace before settling on his shoulder as he intended. He¡¯d never owned a pet before, though with her magic, she was more than that. The gorge residents didn¡¯t keep pets, and wouldn¡¯t approve of Shuilong sleeping on his bed when the forest, her natural habitat, was right there for her to live in.


    The gorge residents would disapprove of her magic even more. Fen wasn¡¯t prepared to discuss Shuilong¡¯s Guardian blessing or her aether magic with the gorge residents. But keeping secrets from them would come back to bite him, he felt certain.


    The solution involved gathering more information about Shuilong. That was what tonight was about.


    He wanted to learn more about Shuilong¡¯s origins. Kittens like Shuilong should still be with their mothers. Did her mother die? Was her mother in danger? Would she be dangerous to Shuilong for some unknown reason? He also wanted more information about Shuilong¡¯s aether magic. He had received his own aether magic as a gift from a Guardian named Niqs. Where had Shuilong¡¯s aether magic come from? Was aether magic seeping into Habaundance County from some other source?


    Fen¡¯s walk took him to the spring mine and then past it to the west, taking a narrow trail half hidden by ferns and bushes. The trail didn¡¯t climb up Mount Jacicle looming on his right, but stayed at the lower foothill elevation, winding away from the town.


    Shuilong was content to stay on his shoulder, her claws digging into his skin only a little when she needed balance. As long as Fen walked straight and steady, Shuilong remained steady enough to doze. The only sounds were the susurration of breezes through leaves and bushes. The only sights were the dim outlines of the forest trees and bushes, lit up by stars, a sliver of the moon, and the still-settling Aries magic.


    Twice Fen flared up a silver-white disk of his Gyre Gale Survey spell to scan for magic within a generous radius. He had been methodically walking through the thick forest. Earlier in the day, while his aunt watched the kitten, he had found a hint of wild Leo fire magic, which he now followed up on this evening. According to his spell, he and Shuilong were heading to the Leo fire magic. It was getting stronger with no hint of aether magic.


    Now that they were getting closer, Fen ate a granola life bar, tasting of green tea and tart celestial berries. He was approaching what seemed to be a powerful wild animal. Now with the life bar active, worst-case scenario would be fainting instead of dying.


    He continued on. Once he was in range, he sent out a Greeting spell and an Introduction spell, with a pictorial description of Shuilong. Who was the source of the Leo magic? A person? Or an animal, possibly with a Guardian blessing? Fen felt certain he had found the specific animal he wanted to find.


    A Guardian blessing an animal was rare. That blessing always included human-like sentience and active access to elemental magic. Shuilong¡¯s magic proved that animals could contain and control magic.


    The Greeting and Introduction spells found their target, showing that the source of the Leo magic was making a beeline for him. He didn¡¯t receive any answering spell.


    Fen stopped on the narrow path sharply enough that Shuilong dug her claws in and gave a protesting meow. Firs and hemlock trees lined each side of the path, meeting over his head. Holding still, he could hear the ocean waves far to his left.


    The Leo magic was close by. The ferns and low bushes outlined into the dim light nearby started shaking, creating a path heading straight for him. He instinctively started a Celestial Whirlwind spell for defense but didn¡¯t cast it, more protective of Shuilong than himself.


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    The ferns a few paces in front of him shook. A mountain lioness appeared on the path.


    Shuilong hissed, then hid between Fen¡¯s neck and hair, her breath cold on his neck.


    Fen tensed, but stuck to his spot. This lioness was the source of the Leo magic. She sat waiting for him. There was nothing but to ask.


    Fen patted Shuilong¡¯s tail, the only part showing, while addressing the lioness. ¡°Is this kitten your daughter?¡±


    The lioness yawned, showing frighteningly large teeth, and nodded. This response, as small as it was, confirmed all of Fen¡¯s suspicions.


    ¡°You have a Guardian blessing. Thank you for revealing yourself to me. Do you have human speech?¡± She could understand him. Did she have a way to communicate so they could have a detailed conversation?


    The lioness shook her head no.


    ¡°My guess is that somehow your kitten got aether magic. You dropped her off at the reflecting pool forum because of how everyone assumes that aether magic is like Ophiuchus¡¯ corrupted magic.¡±


    The lioness yawned again and nodded.


    ¡°Ophiuchus is dangerous! You should not have left her there.¡±


    The lioness flipped her tail and made an odd roar, mimicking Shuilong¡¯s roar with aether frost.


    ¡°There is nothing wrong with aether magic,¡± Fen insisted, disgruntled, especially when Shuilong startled at her mom¡¯s roar. ¡°It¡¯s not naturally corrupt. In fact, the true evil is leaving your daughter to rot in danger.¡±


    The lioness snorted.


    ¡°Well, come on, examine me. Do I bear any signs of corruption? I¡¯m sure you can tell how long the aether magic has settled in me.¡±


    The lioness¡¯s ears twitched. The lioness walked around him, which was very nerve-wracking. Once she completed her examination, she plopped down in front of him, laying on her back and showing him her belly.


    ¡°Okay, you¡¯re convinced I¡¯m not corrupt. The aether magic doesn¡¯t doom your daughter. Why don¡¯t you take her back? She¡¯s too young to be left alone, and you¡¯re her natural mother¡ªhey, stop that!¡±


    Shuilong disliked Fen¡¯s words, and bit at his ear, hard enough to draw blood. He scratched behind Shuilong¡¯s ears and she settled down. He pinched his ear and whispered a quick Airweave Mend spell.


    The mother lioness got up from laying on her back and walked towards Fen. He tensed and the whirlwind reappeared in his hand. But the lioness showed no aggression. She stuck her head near Fen¡¯s hand like she wanted to be petted too.


    Fen let the spell fade away, placing his hand on the lioness¡¯ head. Now that introductions were over and he had more information, he found anger upwelling from deep, remembering the neglectful state he had found Shuilong, and in such a dangerous place.


    A System message appeared in his view, off to the side like usual.


    Labata assigns Xing Fen Feng as caretaker to daughter.


    Shuilong made a chirping sound.


    The System message updated to:


    Labata assigns Xing Fen Feng as caretaker to daughter Shuilong.


    ¡°So you¡¯re Labata?¡± Fen asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is appropriate.¡± He went through the motions to unassign himself as caretaker. He had never been in a caretaking role before, and it shouldn¡¯t be entered into lightly.


    The System didn¡¯t allow the requested changes. A message popped up.


    Reason for reassignment: Labata inadequate provider.


    Fen¡¯s heart ached at how hard Shuilong¡¯s first week of life must have been. The mother lioness growled and the kitten nipped at Fen¡¯s ear.


    ¡°You have a point. I did name you.¡± Fen sighed. His paternal instinct from earlier kicked in. He had come here in part for Shuilong¡¯s safety; that¡¯s what he wanted and he would continue to play an active role. He scratched behind Shuilong¡¯s ears and ruefully accepted the assignment.


    He had taken this long walk to find the mother lioness, unsure of what he¡¯d find. Now that the holes in his knowledge were filling in, he found that while he had approached this meeting thinking it practical to reunite a kitten with her mother, he, in fact, was too protective. Fen kept his hand on Shuilong¡¯s head.


    ¡°Can you tell me anything about how Shuilong received aether magic?¡± Fen cast a quick Zephyr Survey spell. While he hadn¡¯t found any aether magic so far, he wanted to try one last time up close. As far as he could tell, the lioness didn¡¯t have a drop of aether magic.


    Labata stuck her head under his hand again. She didn¡¯t have human speech or the finesse of human spells to transmit information, but she had enough magic to brute force images to Fen.


    Her pregnancy with Shuilong had not gone well. Shuilong was sick inside of her and both of them would pass. The lioness had accepted this and had found a cave to rest in peace. Niqs had found her and said that the coastal forest still needed its huntress for balance. His healing grace infused Shuilong with his aether magic, which allowed the ambient Pisces magic to impress itself on her cells, giving her a soul. Niqs had wanted to heal the lioness too, but she had growled, not wanting to be tainted by the strange aether magic; she already had Leo magic, which was part of why Niqs was attracted in the first place. Niqs had not been offended by her refusal, but had laughed and left her to heal in peace. The kitten had roared with aether frost within hours of her birth. As soon as the lioness was well enough, she had taken her kitten to the ruins of the Pisces temple, as she thought that was the correct place for an animal with aether.


    Fen clenched his jaw. Labata had abandoned Shuilong, left the kitten defenseless in such a dangerous place as in Ophiuchus¡¯ lair. He didn¡¯t pretend to understand a predator¡¯s instincts, but such a decision felt like more than neglect.


    He exhaled with a hiss. Even if his main class was a Priest, it wasn¡¯t his place to judge nature¡¯s cruelty. Labata wasn¡¯t a mindless killer, and the balance of the forest had to be kept. That didn¡¯t mean he had to like it, but for now, he would let Labata be.


    Shuilong purred on Fen¡¯s shoulder, rubbing her head against Fen¡¯s, her response to the turmoil she could sense in his tenseness and silence.


    ¡°Thank you for meeting with us,¡± Fen said coldly, not trusting that he could offer any further respect. Shuilong hid from her mother under Fen¡¯s hair.


    The lioness bowed goodbye, disappearing into the ferns.


    The walk back home passed in a blur as Fen got lost in his thoughts. Shuilong climbed down to be held in his arms.


    Fen had received the information he had gone looking for. Discovering that Niqs was the source of Shuilong¡¯s aether magic was a relief. There wasn¡¯t another source of aether magic, which was for the best, but Niqs interceding twice in Habaundance County within three years was unheard of. The only thing that made Habaundance County special was Ophiuchus and the ruined reflecting pool forum. With Mayor Zedock¡¯s death, Minerva¡¯s disappearance, and Val¡¯s appearance, the balance of his home was being thrown off. It felt out of Fen¡¯s control, and he didn¡¯t know what else to do. Niqs had been handing out gifts and would expect them to be used.


    For now, it was time for some sleep before sunrise.