January 14, 2019. Still before noon.

The bunny sits there, like a certain fire-type Pokemon, staring at us. But all I can think is,

Why isn't Josh's bush on fire?

I mean, it's not like the bunny suddenly lit on fire the second it pushed out of the bush, so why aren't the trees on fire?

The bunny only spends a second staring at us until it seems to recognize me, at which point its flames disappear then it sits back. It doesn't approach us, it just sits there, poking around our small clearing and wiggling its cute little rabbit nose.

I'm sure if Beth ran across it in the wild, she'd put a bullet through its brain, at which point it'd join the remains of the deer for supper. But Josh doesn't know what to do with this rabbit that's intruded upon us. And frankly, I don't have any idea either.

So, I ignore it.

I get up, moving over to the bowl I filled with water earlier, rinsing my face. As I'm rinsing, I decide to try manipulating the water to scrub my face for me. It's fairly abrasive at first but then I'm able to achieve a smoother scrubbing motion which leaves me feeling clean and refreshed. Since I'm able to choose what I gather with my mana I remove the impurities before returning the clean water back to its bowl.

Josh is still watching the bunny but seems to be more relaxed now that it's not on fire. The bunny has started cleaning itself, apparently following my example. Now, I was about to check my status when our uninvited guest interrupted.

ATTRIBUTE VALUE ADJUST STRENGTH -20 (+/-) CONSTITUTION 0 (+/-) AGILITY 12 (+/-) ENDURANCE 5 (+/-) INTELLECT 77 (+/-) SPIRIT 59 (+/-) PERCEPTION 18 (+/-) RESOLVE 11 (+/-) INTEGRATION POINTS 4 RESOURCE CURRENT/MAX [EDGE] (REGEN) Health 1/32 [-3.2] (15)/day (11)/day Stamina 48/50 [1.9] (26)/day Mana 225/227 [22.8] (165)/day Focus 168/172 [11.5] (106)/day Matrix Facet 23/55 [5.2] (39)/hour

Nice, it seems my attribute increases have almost finished. I think there's only a point or so to go in spirit and intellect. Which means my class integration should be available soon. I'd very much like to get another couple elemental manipulation skills unlocked before that happens.

"Josh, do you think you'll be okay with our bunny friend here if I go for a short walk? I want to test something, but I don't want to do it here. It might have backlash," I explain without a trace of stuttering.

"Sure. I take it your meditation was a success then?" he asks, the thirty-centimeter wrist-thorns retracting as he relaxes his posture further.

Meditation huh? I guess it might've come across that way.

"Yeah, it's not perfect but I'm feeling way better." I emphasize the point by drawing arcs of fire and water out in front of me. They're super thin, dissipating quickly, but the effect is very pretty.

"I should only be a couple minutes, and I won't be far," I continue as I head back towards the beach. I seem to have company as the bunny follows me out, watching me curiously. I don't want it to get hurt, but considering its flaming aura I'm not too concerned.

The next element I'm going to attempt is lightning. I know throwing lightning from your hands is typically a sign of the bad guys, but I'm no Empress, so it'll be fine.

I raise my hand then start shaping the arrow rune, but part way through I stop. I don't want my first lightning spell to be constrained to a single arrow, so I break the arrow down while I construct a spiral rune instead. Inspecting the spiral, I decide that it seems incomplete, so I weave a second spiral, forming a double helix. Drawing inspiration from the ubiquitous image of a DNA molecule, I bond the spirals together with thin strands of mana. Finally, I place a small thrust outlet on the end of the spirals facing me, ensuring I have propulsion covered.

With the spell structure formed, I turn to summoning the mana.

Bringing the memory of the great storm to the front of my mind, I picture the torrents of energy which rained down from the sky that night.

The power of the lightning as it crashed to the ground splitting the sky. As I concentrate, I can feel my lightning mana gathering beneath my skin, an unreleased potential growing every second, straining for release. So far this is the easiest mana for me to create. It's so easy that I've created far more than I probably should have. It's like a song played over so many times I repeat the words without thought.

There's so much that the lightning mana is struggling against me even as I feed it into the construct. Luckily, I formed the rune first. The second my construct feels properly charged I release my spell. I'm thrown backwards onto the sand by the massive energy release as I watch a spinning torrent of lightning fly across the beach, destroying the distant pile of kindling I had chosen as my target.

Lightning is not a quiet element, the accompanying thunder echoes loudly as small pieces of kindling rain down dozens of meters away. If I thought my flame spells were destructive, lightning is on a whole other level. It's a good thing I didn't practice it in the clearing. That blast would have hit everyone, myself included.

The notifications I receive are sweet, but my recent trip down memory lane leaves me wishing Sab was here to share this moment with me. She'd probably make a joke about me being the ultimate battery for her new car.

"Skill increased: Mana Manipulation (16 to 20)"

"Skill unlocked: Lightning manipulation (1 to 3)"

"Spell discovered: Lightning Torrent. Would you like to add this spell to your favorites? Y/N?"

What the hell!

The improvements are beyond my expectations, five points of mana manipulation for a single cast of my lightning torrent spell is amazing.

"Yes," I answer the interface as I open my spell menu. There's now two tabs at the top, the familiar tab, favorites, plus a new tab that says discovered. Checking under discovered shows every spell I've experimented with so far.

Iron Rank - Favourited Spell slots used/available= 3/3. Spell Name Scaling Effect and Description Range Duration Affinity Flame Arrow (Renamed by Forerunner) Yes Damages a single creature or object for light fire damage. Heavily damages and breaks through a single barrier. Much more effective from a barrier’s weak side. Has no effect on fire barriers. Weak against water barriers. Strong against ice barriers. Short Instant Fire Small Shield Barrier Yes Prevents medium damage from any strike on the opposite side of the barrier. Self Channeled Mana Lightning Torrent Yes Damages all creatures and objects in the area for massive lightning damage. Medium Instant Lightning Spells discovered Spell Name Scaling Effect and Description Range Duration Affinity Pierce Yes Heavily damages and breaks through a single barrier. Much more effective from a barrier’s weak side. Short Instant Mana Flame Arrow (Renamed by Forerunner) Yes Damages a single creature or object for light fire damage. Heavily damages and breaks through a single barrier. Much more effective from a barrier’s weak side. Has no effect on fire barriers. Weak against water barriers. Strong against ice barriers. Short Instant Fire Flamethrower Yes Damages all creatures and objects in the area for moderate fire damage. Melee Channeled Fire Small Shield Barrier Yes Prevents medium damage from any strike on the opposite side of the barrier. Self Channeled Mana Lightning Torrent Yes Damages all creatures and objects in the area for massive lightning damage. Medium Instant Lightning

Reading over the spell description for lightning torrent, I'm not surprised to see it does massive damage, there's nothing left of the driftwood pile but smoking cinders. Checking my mana, I realize that a single cast of my lightning torrent cost me fifteen mana and five focus. That's more than I spent on my experimenting all day. No wonder I gained so much proficiency with a single cast.

I'm sorely tempted to cast the spell again. It was totally awesome. But I may need my mana if that roaring menace shows up. Which given the racket I just made, it might. At least I have an artillery spell. The driftwood I targeted was easily 200 meters away, but the spell zoned in on it perfectly.

Thinking about it for a moment I try firing off a couple flame arrows, but I have a hard time accurately hitting a pile of driftwood that's only a hundred meters away. Does the spiral rune have tracking or is it a property of lightning mana?

Forming my familiar pierce rune, I imbue it with lightning mana then fire it off at a distant pile of driftwood.

"Skill increased: Mana Manipulation (21)"

"Skill increased: Lightning manipulation (4)"

"Spell discovered: Lightning Arrow. Would you like this spell to replace one of your favorites? Y/N?"

Immediately rejecting the spell, I fire a couple more test shots. It isn't as far off target as my flame arrows, but it doesn't have the crazy tracking my lightning torrent spell had. I'm tempted to test a flame version of my torrent spell, but at 15 mana a pop, I'd rather save experimenting with those runes for rare occasions. Or at least when my mana is full.

With my lightning spell and manipulation unlocked, it's time to unlock my fourth mana manipulation skill. I was going to do earth, but my recent reflections on the power of the storm made me realize I want to harness wind first.

My first attempt at creating wind mana includes using my standard pierce rune. I form the rune readily but then realize I'm not sure how to embody wind. Looking around I see the trees on top of the hill swaying in the wind, finding inspiration. I reach my arms out to the side then let the wind embrace me.

…..

And realize that down here on the beach, there's almost no breeze. Staring back up to the trees, I sigh as I march up the hill for what must be the fourth time today. It's weird using stamina instead of sweating, but I'm not complaining. Not yet.

Reaching the edge of the copse I still don't feel much wind blowing over me, so I do the only sensible thing I can think of. I climb the tallest tree I can see. By the time I'm ten meters up, most of the other trees are starting to thin out. I can almost feel the wind. Climbing another meter, I take a moment to gaze out on the world before I start my next experiment. I can see the forest, the spot we had breakfast, the spring, the ocean and the river. But what immediately grabs my attention is the giant dragon.

It's flying high over the river to the north, though gliding may be more accurate. I suppose it could be another kind of dinosaur. But it reminds me more of Smaug from the hobbit, except with glittering green scales. Which means I'm calling it a dragon. I'm not able to determine how large it is from so far away, but it's clearly massive. Luckily, it's flying inland, away from our little hidey hole. I watch it fly into the distance, an occasional green flash helping me track it until it fades from view. It continues flying clear over the foothills then into the mountains until I lose sight of it.

Attempting to resume my experiments, I keep trying to focus on harnessing the wind, but my mind and my eyes are continually drawn to the west instead, searching for any sign the dragon may be returning. How the hell are we going to survive thirty days in the shadow of that thing. And whatever else may be out here.

Lightning torrent is awesome, but I think I'm gonna need some bigger spells.

Gazing out towards where the dragon disappeared, my mind starts to drift, imagining giant cats, t-rexs and soda can robots.

As I'm pondering what other creatures this world might hold, I hear a rustling from below. I just about fall out of the tree as I jump in shock.

Catching myself, I glance down to find the bunny is making its way up the tree, one careful hop at a time. Every time it makes a hop, it stops, takes a second to regain its balance, then looks up making sure I haven't moved. Then, once it's reassured itself that I'm still here, it hops to the next branch, repeating the process. It's only a meter below me when it slips.

I don't even think as I summon water mana, sending it to catch the falling bunny. Soaking but alive, the bunny stares up at me from its new branch before resolutely shaking itself dry. And then fearlessly hops to the next branch.

You just about died little guy. So fearless.

When it finally lands on the branch below me, I stretch out my hand towards it, waiting to see what it will do. The bunny sniffs at my hand for a moment before butting its head forwards, pressing firmly against my hand. Bracing myself against the tree, I reach down then give it ear scritches. A pleasant rumbling sound emits from the bunny in response. It reminds me of how Mr. Mewmew would purr when I gave him head scritches. The noise the bunny makes is deeper and more rumbly, but still expresses that same satisfaction.

After another half minute of head scritches, the bunny pulls its head back, looks up at me again, then jumps out of the tree. I'm so surprised I don't have time to respond.

My heart just about stops as I watch it plummet. After a second I start reaching for my water mana but realize the bunny is fine. It's using its little arms to direct itself on the way down while bouncing off branches at a reckless pace. It's back on the ground in seconds after a very controlled fall. Once it's back on terra firma, it turns then stares at me. Once it's sure I'm still here in the tree, it starts cleaning itself.

Uhm, okay. That bunny is officially crazy.

The bunny's antics have helped me relax after seeing the dragon. I mean if this little guy can survive out here, maybe it won't be too bad.

Okay, I'm sitting in this tree for a reason. It's time to get on with it. Turning my mind back to my goal, I reach out then try to achieve the feeling of wind with my mana. It's fleeting and insubstantial, hard to grasp, but I feel like I'm so close. I once more turn to the great storm for inspiration. During the storm, the winds reached terrifying heights, though I never felt them, since I was tucked safely in bed by that time.

But I saw the results in the morning when I went out with my papa on the way to school. We found several branches had fallen throughout the neighbourhood. The ugly tree gained its final form that day, having lost all its branches and large portions of bark along one side where another smaller tree had crashed into it.

That's what I was missing, wind is fleeting, intangible yet powerful. I can feel the mana beneath my skin, so I loose it in a wind arrow. The arrow is invisible to my sight but scores a deep gash into the bark of a nearby tree. Exactly as its supposed to. Then I fire a couple more as I confirm its working properly.

"Skill increased: Mana Manipulation (22)"

"Skill unlocked: Wind Manipulation (1)."

"Spell discovered: Wind Arrow. Would you like this spell to replace one of your favorites? Y/N?"

"Quest - Learn Magic updated: unlocked elemental manipulation skills water, lightning and wind, 3/3. Reward: 3 iron rank integration points. Base class - Firestorm Elementalist unlocked. Updated quest. Requirement: elemental manipulation skills 0/5. Reward: 7 iron rank integration points. Time remaining: no limit."

Sweet, I've unlocked a firestorm class. That sounds incredibly badass.

Opening my status, I consider whether I should put my seven integration points into my anemic strength or if I should further enhance my magical aptitude. As much as the negative strength leaves me weak, I can't bring myself to invest in it. My ability to use spells is amazing so if I can use my integration points to make it even better, well, that's how it's going to be.

Since spirit is tied to the strength of my magic as well as my mana regen, I decide to invest all seven of my free points in spirit. This will bring its final total up to 67, though I suspect it will take several hours to finish. It seems to be allocating one point per hour in each attribute. Unless something changes, perception and resolve are likely going to be my next focus, pun intended, after I get my spirit and intellect to 100.

Confirming my points, I climb down from the tree pondering what I should do next. My class feels like it's going to be complete any minute, but there's something else tickling the back of my brain, a thought that won't let go. But I can't place it. It's as though I'm forgetting something, something very important.

I'm not sure what it is as I turn around, finding the bunny hopping towards me. Shrugging, I head back into the clearing.

"So, I think I saw a dragon," I state to Josh as I re-enter the clearing. But it's not just Josh who I find waiting for me, but Beth and Dr Roberts too. And that was what I forgot. Roberts was coming. I'd even seen them crossing the open area below the trees, but I'd been busy thinking about dragons and other monsters.

Beth turns her full intensity gaze on me as she questions me, "A dragon? Did it see you?"

"Uhm no. At least I don't think so. If it did it ignored me then flew off into the mountains."

"Well, that wasn't in the disclosure agreement. What sort of world did they send us to?" Dr Roberts chimes in. I only now notice that he's standing taller and less stooped than when we left him. He's still not as tall as Josh, but he's clearly taller than me and Beth.

His improved posture is more than I can handle, his new bearing too similar to Edwards, "One with dragons, obviously," I snap at him without thinking, small flames trailing my fingertips as I throw my arms wide in frustration.

His eyebrows arch as he takes a step back from me.

Yeah, that's right, you better be scared, I can throw fire. Let's see how you heal that.

"Alexis, please. Dr Roberts was just asking a question. And I think it's one that merits some thought, even if we're unable to answer it." Beth interjects as she steps between us.

Reining in my anger, I turn away from the old man. I try to remind myself that he's not the person I'm angry at, but it doesn't help. Every time I look at him, I see another man's face. His recent transformation only makes it worse. So, I don't look at him.

"Yeah, I know," I concede sulkily, reaching down to give the bunny head scritches. But I can't stop myself from saying more, my random thoughts spilling out.

"But what does it matter? We're here and like he said earlier, we have to survive, and now there's freaking dragons flying around. I'm not sure about you guys, but I haven't seen any sign of civilization out here. And our real bodies might be rotting. And we might just be copies. And we might really be stuck here. And the notifications said they're enhancing survival skills so maybe there isn't anyone else here. And we have to spend the next thirty days together, cause we're screwed if we don't work as a team. And we all have enough magic to be superheroes. And there's a magical flaming bunny. And why are we even here. And who puts green peppers on pizza. And I miss my papa." I rant, not even sure what I'm saying by the end.

Nobody says anything, but Josh kneels down next to me then holds out his hand. I take it, squeezing as hard as I can while letting myself calm down.

Thanks to bunny's headbutts and Josh's support, I soon feel ready to turn around to face Dr Roberts. He's closer than I'd like, but there isn't that much space in this little clearing, plus he's technically as far away as he can get while still remaining in the clearing.

He's not Mr. Edwards, I remind myself as I look him in the face. This time I force myself to look, making sure I note the differences. His face is thinner, he has less hair but also less of a bald spot. And he's looking away like he's embarrassed.

Mr. Edwards would never look away.

It's still hard to see him, every moment a reminder of the man who told me. The man who wouldn't leave. The man who knew better.

But every little difference I see makes it easier. Amusingly, it's the pajama suit that truly does it. I can't picture Mr. Edwards wearing a pajama suit to bed. Or at all for that matter.

"I'm sorry," I apologize, looking down into the dirt.

"No, no. No reason to apologize. We're all very out of our element here. I'm sorry for how I behaved when we first arrived. Hardly my best behaviour. Please, accept my apologies." Dr Roberts requests, bowing slightly as he apologizes.

Ugh. Why does he have to talk like him too?

"Kay," I manage to get out. It's not much but then, it's still hard to talk to this guy.

"Well, Alexis. Doctor. I'm glad you two were able to sort that out. Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but I could go for some lunch."

So, saying Beth starts building a fire pit in the centre of our clearing. A clearing that currently has a roof.

"Uhm," I interrupt, pointing upwards, "not sure that's a good idea in here. Josh said he's tapped out."

Looking up, Beth scrutinizes the transparent rose ceiling for a moment before gathering up the firewood then exiting out towards the beach. I follow her outside. I might be better with the doctor around, but he still makes me feel uncomfortable.

When Beth stops at the top of the beach, I move to help her make the fire pit. Scooping the sand out by hand, I'm tempted to start experimenting with earth magic, but I hold off when Beth starts instructing me on what we're doing. I thought we were just digging a hole but apparently there's a whole air flow dynamic that we need to keep in mind if we want the fire to burn hot but not high. Listening to Beth, I just do as she says when suddenly, we're done building the starter pile.

"So kid, think you can light this without incinerating our hard work?" Beth asks with a casual wave of her hand.

Realizing Beth doesn't know about any of my improvements, I just say "sure, watch this," then call forth an orb of flame.

It's so much more responsive than it was just a few hours ago. With no trouble I'm able to direct it to the center of our pile, where it quickly catches the dry driftwood on fire. Dissipating my orb, I notice Beth observing me.

"You're not even glowing when you do that anymore. It seems like you're getting better."

"I was practicing while you guys were gone. It's much easier now."

"I can tell. I also notice your stutter is much better. You managed to fix that while we were gone too? You've achieved a lot in the last couple hours, haven't you Alexis?" Beth comments as she pokes at the fire with a stick.

"Well, like I was saying earlier, we're all going to have to work together, and I just want to be able to do my part," plus magic is freaking awesome so of course I'm going to learn all I can. I leave the last part unsaid though. I'm already contemplating how much better I could make our camp if I had earth manipulation.

"Don't you worry, kid. I've no intention of letting anything happen to you. And you may be right about there not being anyone else around, but I don't think you're right about there not being any signs of civilization."

"See what I found on my trip back to the doctor?" Beth asks as she hands me a ceramic mug with writing on it.

"That was outside a little hill that I think was a house at some point. There were more ruined buildings nearby," Beth adds as Josh and the doctor walk up with the remains of the deer strung between them. It appears cleaner than when Josh carried it over earlier, but I don't pay it much attention as I'm busy inspecting the mug.

"After lunch, I want to go back to check them out. Do you want to join me?"

Beth's asks, her eyes on me.

"Yes," I reply.

I'm about to say more, when I have a notification flash up.

"Pandora Temporal Matrix Integration Level - 1 Complete. Please prepare for class selection."