Holding my left hand to my eyes, I smiled at the shimmering green surface hovering just a half-inch from my skin. Walking over to the wall, I threw out a punch, slamming it into the stone surface. Pulling back my fist, I dismissed the shield and examined my knuckles for injuries, finding none.

It had taken me over a week of experimentation and practice altering Mana Shield, which I mentally renamed to Mana Shell, to my preferences.

Initially, it was designed to create a stable, rigid sphere that extended out from the body and protected a diameter of several feet. The spell was designed as a simple, but effective defensive option not built for precision work.

While that was undoubtedly useful on a battlefield, and could even protect multiple people, it was inefficient, mana-hungry and damaging to my channels to cast. All three weaknesses were unacceptable, and I knew I could personalize the spell to my preferences.

That train of thought led me to several significant changes. The first was similar to how I had altered Arcane Bolt. I would cast the spell with less mana, making the shield thinner and relying on Aether's power to make up the lost durability. The second was to alter the shape, changing it from a round sphere to a closely-fitting shell of mana. Protecting myself was my primary concern, and I did not need to spend excessive mana defending my surroundings.

The last innovation was the one I was most proud of, though. My most significant weak point remained my durability, though tempering with Cortos' chamber was helping remedy this problem. Although my full supply of mana allowed me to cast Arcane Beam between thirty to forty times, I could only use each arm around nine times before risking injury to my channels.

While searching for a solution, I realized something about my body, and more specifically, spellcasting in general. I had seven channels in total, but typically I had only used the two in my arms to cast magic. For most mages, this was more than enough to handle any spells they wanted to use. After all, tempering was not necessary until they progressed to a higher stage, and they would run out of mana long before overstressing their channels.

But for me, my body was too weak to handle the raw power of Aether. And that meant finding workarounds and shortcuts was more important than anything else. All this lead me to attempt to cast magic through other channels, more specifically the channels in my chest and back.

This proved much more difficult than I had hoped at first. Channeling mana through my arms was something that had become second nature over the last few months, but the channels in my torso were utterly foreign to me. My first few attempts had failed spectacularly, and I had to effectively relearn how to channel mana down these unfamiliar paths.

Eventually, I had managed to figure it out, although it still felt uncomfortable and strange. I had several more ideas to alter the spell further, but I needed to develop my skills more before I could experiment.

Offense and defense were both covered, but I still had a significant gap in my combat skill set. My training with Sig had improved my speed, agility, and reflexes, but I was limited by physical speed, and that was simply too slow against most opponents. Mana Shell could block some attacks, but dodging would be more effective most of the time.

After some research, I decided on a spell known as Flicker Step. It was a short-range teleportation spell, only capable of moving around twenty feet for a typical apprentice and recommended a clear line of sight. The passage noted that some reckless mages had attempted to use the spell, teleported into a space already occupied by something, and ended up maimed.

Despite its limitations, it had several significant benefits. The first was that it used relatively little mana and was fast to use, only a second or two to speak the incantation and gather my mana. But more than that, it was a spell commonly cast through the channels in the legs.

And while there were more powerful or versatile teleportation spells, such as Thunder Stride or Flame Dance, Flicker Step was the only neutrally aligned spell that I could find.

Looking across the sanctum's main room, to a point ten feet away, I recited the incantation, pulled my mana, and felt the world twist and pop around me. In a second, I had disappeared before reappearing a few feet away, green mana swirling around me briefly.

Nausea slammed into me, and I swallowed the saliva that rose in my mouth, rubbing my temples. If I was not used to Cortos' teleportation array, I would have vomited in an instant from the spell. As it was, I still would need plenty of practice to suppress the sensation entirely, which ruled out successive teleportations.

Looking back, I mentally corrected myself. I needed practice to get over the nausea and make sure I was able to arrive at my destination accurately since I had teleported several feet to the left of my intended location.

Still, I smiled as I examined my leg channels, noting they were barely stressed. I could probably teleport a half dozen times in total, which was satisfactory for now.

Using the transportation array, I returned to my room and stretched, feeling the tight muscles in my back slowly loosen. Once I mastered these spells and got my hands on weapons and better armor, I was confident I could handle most foreseeable conflicts.

Of course, any mage above Vapor would probably tear me apart with little trouble, but any ordinary person would struggle in battle. Briefly, I had a surreal realization about just how far I had come in only a few months of training. I was not even sixteen years old, and yet I had enough power to instantly kill any commoner with a single spell. Is it any wonder that most commoners were terrified of magic?

Fortuna leaped onto the ground, padding up to me before meowing loudly, distracting me from my musings. I glanced at him and noticed that he appeared slightly older, with his build continuing to fill out. Between his increased size and more vocal nature lately, I suspected he was beginning to regain some of his old strength.

If I was stronger, I would do my best to help him regain his power, but I was still not sure what sort of creature he was. I had ruled out Blink Panthers, animals that could transport from shadow to shadow with magic, and Steel-Claw Tigers, which fused mana into their claws and fangs, allowing them to shred armor with ease.

Briefly, Echo Cats had caught my attention, because of their noted telepathic abilities, but they were far more malicious and aggressive than Fortuna had proven. Their preferred hunting tactics were to use psychic attacks to overwhelm the minds of their prey, leaving them vulnerable to a bite to the throat.

Without any concrete idea what Fortuna was, I was hesitant to fully trust him. He may be friendly and helpful, but I already living in fear of a half-dozen powerful beings. Though, perhaps making Fortuna more powerful could help protect me from others? Regardless, it seemed Fortuna would slowly recover on his own, which should be enough for the immediate future.

With a sigh, I sat down into a chair and closed my eyes, taking stock of what was left to do. I needed to follow up with the criminals in the Lower District and get more information on the pseudo-mage I encountered. If nothing else, figuring out why his mana felt so strange may inspire me to develop my own skills. If I lacked the funds and connections to speed my training, I would need to take advantage of any avenues to power that I could find.

I also wanted to purchase a personal weapon of some kind and a full set of armor. With Cortos' chamber available to me again, combined with my potion routine and increased training time, I was improving faster than ever before. These improvements let me fill crystals more rapidly, and I had built up a store of a hundred and thirty gold. A few more months should let me raise enough money to purchase everything I needed.

Opening my eyes, I glanced over to the window, noting that it was already late in the afternoon. My day off was half over, and I still needed to finish my newest book on magic beasts before heading to the alleyway for my meeting. Reaching over to the nearby table, I picked up my textbook, but before I could get too far into it, I heard a knock at my door.

When I opened it, I found Leon standing in the hallway with a friendly smile plastered to his face.

"Good evening, Vayne. May I come in?"

"Of course, my lord. Please, make yourself at home." I answered, stepping to one side to make room for Leon.

As he walked in, he turned to me and said, "I had the opportunity to speak to my father about your request. He and Girem agreed that it would be an excellent chance for us to work together, and are happy to send you along as well."

Internally, I felt like jumping into the air in triumph, but on the outside, I gave a slightly more subdued reaction.

"Thank you, sir," I said, straightening and smiling broadly at Leon.

Laughing, Leon waved a hand before saying, "Don't thank me yet, because I actually spoke to my father about two things. You recall that there is a Harvest Banquet in several weeks I trust?"

My heart sank, but I nodded at his question.

"Yes, sir. I am afraid I will be unable to attend, as I lack appropriate attire." I answered, hoping he would accept my excuse.

Leon's smile grew mischievous, and he replied, "Well, that is my other good news! My father agreed to send along some gold to purchase you an outfit on short notice. He said something to the effect of 'even if Vayne is only an advisor, if he is not there it will reflect badly upon our family.'"

"That is...great news, sir. Please thank your father for me." I answered, forcing my smile to remain.

Laughing, Leon shook his head and said, "You aren't a bad liar, Vayne, but I know you well enough by this point to know you hate these sorts of things. But you look worn out, and frankly, I think you could use a break. This will be a chance to relax, socialize with the other students, and enjoy your time here."

I grudgingly admitted to myself that he had a point. Ever since my ring was stolen, I dedicated nearly every waking minute to training and study, and even when I slept, my dreams were filled with combat drills and spell casting exercises. While I was thrilled at my progress, I could stand to take a day or two off. Stress may force growth, but too much without proper rest would backfire on me.

"That...does sound like it could be fun, my lord. " I answered after several seconds.

"Excellent! Tomorrow after class, we will head down to the city to get your order placed. I will meet you down by the fountain." Leon said, grinning in triumph before spinning and leaving my room.

I sighed quietly before returning to my reading. Soon enough, night had fallen, and I took several minutes dressing in the attire I used for my disguise. Before I left, I grabbed a bag and filled it with twenty-five gold coins, roughly a fifth of my current funds.

Although I chafed at spending so much, I reminded myself that this was an investment rather than an expense. In my original life, even with the assistance of the King and likely a mountain of resources, I still fell in battle. If I wanted to succeed and solve the problem of an early death that plagued mages, I needed to investigate every lead and possibility.

Arriving in the alleyway early, I slipped on my mask and settled in to wait, performing simple mana control exercises to pass the time. After some time, I heard a shuffle and glanced up to see the thief leader walking down the alleyway.

"I was not sure if you would be coming here. What have you learned?" I said, crossing my arms. Even with inserts into my boots to increase my height, I noted that he was still several inches taller than me.

"Money first, boss," he answered, glancing behind him nervously.

Narrowing my eyes behind my mask, I reached into my cloak and retrieved the gold with one hand, but when he approached, I held up my palm.

"You seem to be misunderstanding our relationship. I am working with you out of convenience and what little mercy I possess. Make the mistake of demanding something from me again, and I will gladly work with your successor instead." I said, conjuring an orb of green in my wand and staring at him.

When he finally nodded, sweat clearly visible on his forehead, I tossed the pouch onto the ground in between us. He quickly snatched up the bag, slipping it into his pockets, before looking back up to me.

"I wasn't able to find out too much else, most of us steer clear of those robed freaks, but I did find a few things. Whoever is recruiting seems to be based out of an old warehouse deep in the Lower District. A few of them have been spotted coming in and out of there. And everyone who has joined up with them has disappeared, with one exception."

"An exception? Who?" I asked, tilting my head to one side.

"There's a man, Jacob, who used to work as a laborer fixing up roads and all that crap. The things the mages would prefer to save their energy not worrying about. A few years ago, he was in an accident and had his knee hurt, bad. He could barely walk and was stuck begging for food. Magic and all that could've fixed him up, but he couldn't afford it."

I interrupted, saying, "That is sad and all, but how is this related to the robed men?"

He glared at me, and internally I felt a twinge of guilt but quickly suppressed the feeling. The person I was pretending to be would have no concern for the problems of a commoner.

"Old Jacob went to them for help after he heard they were making all sorts of promises of money, thinking he could afford to fix his leg. If he could use his leg again, he could start working. So he ran off looking for them, thrilled as could be."

"And then?"

"A few days later, some of his friends found Jacob in an alleyway. He looked the same, but he was...different. He doesn't talk, barely eats, and doesn't seem to acknowledge anyone who tries to speak with him. Some of his friends have kept an eye on him, but there's nothing anyone can do to help."

I closed my eyes, taking a minute to consider my options and examine my body. My core was mostly full, and my channels should be to handle casting spells if I was forced into combat. And at worst, my senses should let me detect an ambush coming in time to escape. While it was a risk, I decided it was worth it.

"Take me to this man. And if this is some sort of trick, remember what I am capable of doing." I said, holding up one hand and conjuring a small sphere of mana again.

Nodding nervously, the thief turned and led me down into the Lower District. The entire walk, I kept my mana sense at full strength, continually scanning for any hint of mana.

After a half-hour of walking, we arrived at a small hut, tucked away in a side alley, and with only a thin cloth acting as a front door. My guide entered immediately, and after a moment of hesitation to check for threats, I pushed aside the fabric and followed the man inside.