Jennifer counted the days in her head as she walked through the city. It was her fourth time watching the city of Lienmont transition from what Jenn now considered it's sleeping state to the bustling crowds called by the prospective riches unearthed by the dungeon's shift.

Fifteen days into this reset. Which leaves me half a month left to prevent the invasion and save Xar.

It'd been almost a week since she’d reached out to Nathaniel. He'd proven worth the risk, already finding trails left behind by the Ostiri and the demons. She’d asked him to be careful and to avoid leaving any hints of them being aware of the demon. With Xar in its hands, she didn't want to risk... anything.

Not to mention, somehow it kept the form of Rumina across resets. So my Mark can't remove the abilities of its Mark. And if that’s the case, my Mark's reset might not bring Xar back to life.

Jennifer let her thoughts dissolve as she tightened her grip on her aura when a particularly strong adventurer team walked past her. Gaining an aura of her own had made her more perceptive of the aura of others, even when they weren't projecting it.

Jennifer continued on her way, her destination in sight at the very next turn. The familiar flower insignia of the Green Flower Bell was visible from down the street as Jenn made her way towards the little shop. She paused outside to consider the enchanted glass panels, and to buy herself a second, before stepping inside.

“Welcome- oh hey Jenn! What brings you here?” Rumina asked, flashing her a smile as she glanced up from assembling an arrangement of flowers behind the counter.

Jenn returned the smile, stepping closer to the counter. “It’s just... been a while. I thought I’d hang out with a friend. Am I interrupting your work?”

“Not at all. Mostly I just sit here and look pretty. Maybe flutter my eyes to draw people in and get them to buy something. Better two pretty girls than one to catch them I’d say,” Rumina said, setting the arrangement on the counter with a cheerful smile.

Jennifer rolled her eyes, plucking her plain brown robe. “I don't count as pretty no matter how you look at me.”

“Aww, you’re pretty Jenn! You’re just too stuck in your books to see it. And too busy to ever dress up. Wouldn't hurt to try sometime, y’know?” Rumina said as she leaned onto the counter, her emerald eyes reflecting Jennifer’s face. “Oh hey, that reminds me. Congrats on the academy! I’ve been waiting so long to tell you but I couldn’t catch a hold of you at all. Where've you been all week?”

Jenn sighed, moving around the counter and pulling a chair for herself as she plopped down. “Stuff. It’s been a busy two weeks. I was jumping around with the academy, trying to do... stuff and whatnot. The earthquake messed a lot of things up.”

“Yeah, it did come out of nowhere. But the new dungeon branch is quite exciting! And it'll bring a lot more trade to the city. And that means new people and new clothes!”

And a heap of trouble.

“Also! We need to celebrate you getting in! I know you’re busy and all but I'm not budging on this,” Rumina glared at Jennifer.

Holding up her hands in mock surrender, Jenn smiled at Rumina. “Alright, alright. That’s fine. I know the perfect place. There’s this sweet’s shop called Scampy Tails. I know the [Sweet Chef].”

“Huh,” Rumina muttered, pausing. “I was actually going to suggest the same place. I’m surprised you know about it.”

Jenn returned a sheepish grin, as she shrugged. “I do have fun sometimes, you know?”

“Isn’t that the entire problem, you only go out sometimes. Usually when I drag you out with me. If I were to leave you to your own devices, you’d spend months holed up studying magic and doing nothing else.”

Jennifer lifted her hand, searching for a retort. But she couldn't find one. Not after all the time she'd spent doing exactly that. Slowly lowering her hand, she simply stared at her friend.

A pair of emerald eyes and a cheeky grin met her stare. .

“Let’s go then, it would be a nice break for me as well.” Jennifer said, pushing away from the counter. Rumina let out a whoop as she jumped over the counter with an exaggerated and entirely unnecessary fist raised in triumph.

“I’m going out!” Rumina shouted into the back of the shop, a faint voice answering from inside. Whether that was a curse or acknowledgement, Jennifer couldn’t tell. Rumina had already ushered her outside the shop.

“Are you sure you can leave the shop unattended so... randomly?” Jennifer asked Rumina, worried she'd just given the girl an excuse to make an escape.

“Yeah, it’s not a big deal. We’ve got people who can man the shop for a while. I was about to leave for the day anyways,” Rumina said, as she straightened out of her clothes, walking with a cheerful jump in her step.

Jennifer smiled at her friend as she followed behind. She was envious of the optimism Rumina maintained, something she'd instilled in Jenn in part over the years. Her smile turned into a frown at the memory of the demon who still wore her friend’s form, hiding in the guild.

“I still can’t believe how many adventurers have come into the city,” Rumina said, her eyes examining the crowd. “It’s barely been a week since the new dungeon branch and already I see hundreds of them. By Elphion, I wonder if the other cities are facing a shortage of adventurers right now. Seeing how they’re all making their way here.”

“I doubt it. The guilds always keep personnel at hand for defense purposes. The guildmaster can’t just leave the guild unattended. Those that’re arriving would be mostly mid to lower plate adventurers. At most Gold plates. Though that'll change when the artifacts start rolling out,” Jennifer remarked, her own gaze taking in the throng of adventurers between them and Scampy Tails.

If the guild can rally the adventurers, then we could even have a strong enough force to repel the invasion as long as the wall breaches are contained. Even just a dozen Ranked plates in formation would be enough to deter any army. Mark or no Mark.

"Oh look at you! Since when did you know so much about adventurers?" Rumina teased, elbowing Jenn as they crossed through the plaza.

Before Jenn could respond, her [Enhanced Mana Sense] tingled with a faint but familiar mana signature and Jennifer froze mid step. She quickly resumed her stride, playing off her brief pause as she resisted looking in the direction she sensed the mana from as she gave Rumina a half-hearted excuse about reading about them. Jennifer extended her skill, keeping a tight grip on her aura as she tried to track the shadows that slinked through the side alleys.

Jennifer walked in step with Rumina, smiling as she tapped her shoulder and leaned in, pointing at the [Beast Tamer] showing off his hound further ahead. “Don’t break step and keep moving. Something’s following us,” Jennifer whispered as she leaned back, keeping her smile plastered to her face.

“Hey Jenn, you think we could maybe try out some dresses as well today? It’s rare that I get to take you out!” Rumina said cheerfully. For a moment, Jennifer wondered if her friend had even heard her warning. But she decided Rumina's acting was just that good.

“Yeah, sure. We can do that,” Jennifer replied, almost wincing at her mechanical reply. Though a part of her wondered whether she’d have reacted that way normally if she’d had to try clothes with her friend.

She heard the cry of a raven near a side alley, drawing her attention. The little bird took off as the shadowy figures slide by, moving further away from her senses.

Jennifer sent a barely perceptible thread of mana towards the figures, the control required to have it pass through multiple people on the streets making her head throb.

Should I take Rumina with me?

Jennifer gave the thought a moment’s consideration. Leaving her friend alone after she’d seen the Demon still wearing her form made Jennifer uneasy.

Sneaking around is her thing anyway. And… if something happens. I’ll reset.

The casual thought of suicide and the lack of apprehention at the prospect gave Jennifer pause. She was concerned about losing Nathaniel and her Master’s memories, and having to talk to them again. That, and another visit to the church. But otherwise, she was strangely okay with dying.

Jennifer didn’t get much time to consider the topic, as she took Rumina by the arm and began following the hidden figure that'd been pursuing them.

“Who is it? And why are we chasing them?” Rumina whispered as the two girls walked into a side alley.

Shaking her head, Jenn kept her senses on the shadows, trying not to let them slip away. “I don’t know yet. But… I suspect demons.”

Jennifer was forced to stop when Rumina halted with a sharp inhale. “Rotten rats, what would demons be doing here? Is this a prank Jenn? Because if it is, I’m not laughing—”

“No. I’m serious. Things are bad. Way worse than you could know Rumina. This isn’t even the first time we’d be having this conversation. I’ll explain later. Part of the goal was to get you somewhere safe anyways, so subterfuge is pointless,” Jennifer said, sighing at the frown set on Rumina’s face.

Note to self: Come up with better excuses that do not need a lot of explanations next time.

Jennifer decided to leave explanations for her future self as she was forced to continue moving lest she loose her little mana thread. Rumina appeared to be taking her seriously, as she followed behind, her footsteps completely silent.

Jennifer walked through multiple alleys, her mana threads twisting and curling all over the city, vanishing at moments only to reappear further ahead. After a frustrating thirty minute trek through the maze of alleyways and streets, her efforts led her towards a cracked wall. Based on the mana leaking out of the hole, it lead to the sewers.

Jennifer turned to Rumina, her friend’s expression a strange mix of cautious, worried and annoyed. “Jenn, if this is a prank gone wrong, then this is where you say something. Because if you make me go into the sewers and then say something… Well, then I may be a bit more than angry.”

“Sera take me! Rumina this is—”

A guttural noise echoed through the sewers, as Jennifer turned to look down at the crack. Whatever was happening inside wasn't pleasant.

“Use a skill Rumina. One you can extend to me to muffle our footsteps and noise,” Jennifer whispered, as she prepared herself. She felt [Eternity] thrum within her core as she allowed her aura to assert its presence.

If Rumina could sense her magic, she didn't comment. She quietly whispered her skill, as even the sound of their breathing turned silent. Jennifer prepared her mana bolts, ready to strike as she pulsed [Eternity] keeping it prepared to summon at a moment's notice.

She looked Rumina in the eye, giving her a reassuring nod, before the two made their way into the sewers.

❖❖❖

The stench was almost familiar to Jenn now. Not something she’d ever expected to happen as the outcome of being pulled into a mystical magical trial. She surveyed the empty sewer passage, hoping to catch a glimpse of her target. Her mana thread had dissolved instantly under the denser mana waves of the dungeon walls.

“Are your skills saying anything?” Jennifer whispered. A slight shake of the head from Rumina dashed her hopes of finding any easy traces.

This may have been a massive waste of time.

Jennifer tried to remain focused, but the value of learning just who'd been trailing them and for what reason was losing its appeal, buried and overwhelmed by the appalling stench of the sewers.

“I don’t think we have any lead, Jenn. Whoever it was, my skills can’t track them,” Rumina said, shuffling away from the slow moving murk at the centre of the tunnel

Maybe I’m just being paranoid. The demon having Rumina's form and Xar may have unnerved me. Now I'm just tracking random shadows. Maybe I sensed things wrong?

Jennifer felt her resolution waver. She looked around the dark sewers, wondering if there was any point in wandering through the filth.

“Let’s just go back okay? I’m too tired to be mad now,” Rumina said, as she lowered her dagger.

Jennifer nodded in reply, feeling a seeping exhaustion. She turned around, about to make her way out, when something tingled at the edge of her perception.

Jennifer stopped, focusing on the sensation. The walls shimmered with a thin strand of mana running across them. The threads were near-imperceptible and she lost track of them if she let her focus waver for even the barest second. Her [Enchanter] class made her far more sensitive to mana than a normal [Mage] class. That, added onto her natural sensitivity, made mana sensitivity her strongest gift. But despite her abilities, Jennifer found it a monumental task to trace the threads of mana that floated through the dungeon, the barest of sensations indicating their presence.

She walked to the sewer walls, locating a spot where the threads collected. A singular spell matrix glowed there. Jennifer took a dagger from her belt, hitting against the wall with its hilt. A few strikes left the hollow covering over the matrix cracked. Pulling the broken wall away, she found a single mana core filled with a deep crimson color embedded inside.

Jennifer stared at the little crystal, not touching it in fear of triggering a spell. [Lesser Arcane Analysis] broke down the unfamiliar spell matrix, the pieces of the spell starting to assemble themselves in her mind.

“What is it Jenn?” Rumina asked walking closer to peer into the cracked hole in the wall then back at Jenn..

Jennifer felt her breath stop as she managed to put the last piece of the spell matrix together.

“The Dungeon break… this is how they cause the dungeon break,” Jennifer whispered, as she tracked the mana threads. Threads that spread all through the sewers.

“We need to go. I need to show this to Nathaniel—”

Searing pain burned Jennifer’s face as the crystal exploded, hot shards stabbing into her skin. Even as blood dripped down her face, Jennifer’s ears rang as a screeching noise resounded all around her.

Jennifer struggled to keep her balance as the world spun. Her aura pulsated as shadow tendrils shoved at her. [Eternity] howled as the blade manifested, shooting toward the demon in front of her.

“Run!” Jennifer screamed, as she shot glass shards towards the demons. Vile repulsive tendrils rose out of the ground as the monstrosities rushed them with crazed fervour. Jennifer used Agile Wind, extending her spell to Rumina as the two dashed ahead.

Spells shot towards the pair, Jennifer shooting her mana bolts behind her blindly as [Eternity] deflected portions of the assault. They manged to make it down two junctions, but the demons attacked harder, the longer they fled. And it was getting harder to run.

Jennifer realized there was a spell leeching her stamina, her legs turning weak.

Hexes. By Sera, there’s a demon mage.

“[Triple Strike]” Rumina screamed as she threw her dagger, the single blade splitting into three. She heard her friend mutter another skill as Rumina grabbed her hand and their forms began to blend into the dark sewers.

Jennifer felt a hand turn her, pulling her into a small crack in the walls. They watched the demons chase an illusion of her and Rumina running away as the skill kept them hidden.

Jennifer attempted to calm her pounding heart, trying to counteract the Hex with long deep breaths.

Leaning against Jenn's shoulder, Rumina said, “That’s my strongest skill. But it won’t last long. Barely a minute.”

“We need to get out. They have a magic user,” Jennifer muttered, as panic began to fill her. Her heart dropped when a lanky red demon paused at the intersection, its purple hair flowing in an unseen wind as it held a staff topped with a broken skull. The demon sniffed, its red eyes swiveling to stare directly at where they hid.

Jennifer didn't wait. She shot [Eternity] directly at its face, pushing with her aura as she followed up with twin glass blades.

But a dark spectral tendril broke her spell, and the hex continued its sinister work. Jennifer felt her magic leached out of her body as her limbs turned stiff. She tried to resist, but whatever magic the demon used, she couldn’t get hold of it. Jennifer felt her mind starting to still, and she closed her eyes resolving herself to another reset.

“[Sword Art: Mist Blade]” a voice spoke, as a shimmering blade slashed at the demon. The demon screeched as it’s curse broke, and Jennifer felt blood rush to her limbs again. She stumbled out of the crack, ending up sprawled in the filth as silver light flashed. When she looked up, she found the demon had been severed in two.

In its place stood a man with a red cloak and silver hair, slowly turning to face her.

“Iryws...” Jennifer muttered as the [Royal Knight] stared back.