Life seemed to calm itself down a little, after the event. Regitris and Ravena were temporarily out of the picture, which made their factions abnormally subdued. No power plays, not that the Naturalists made many of those. The Martials could have used this time, but it wasn’t their style. Plus, they got to see Kelunad fighting, so they were probably satisfied for some time. And, interestingly enough, Michael managed to remember the First Shadow appearing and… doing something. Contributing.

Yet the fact that he couldn’t remember him clearly must mean that the mage had been using some memory altering Spells. Magical notice-me-not’s.

All of that, combined with the fact that a lot of mages were still recuperating, meant that the Wednesday Classes had been cancelled. Even the Thursday morning Class, which left only magical PE. Not that many visited the winged mage’s Class. No, Michael and Bob gave Micah their company and spent the best part of Thursday on the beach.

Having a party.

It seemed that since most of Gnosis had gone through a massive scare, everyone could use some downtime. And since this was a magical academy, at the moment with very little oversight, things went their natural way. The fact that it was a minor faction interested mostly in art and music that had decided to organize this party, which Michael could only describe as a Gnosian Luau, only helped matters.

It was fun. The breeze had been spelled to be warm and gentle. The food and drinks had been constantly served by golems and familiars. And he also got to talk and laugh and generally just enjoy a normal day. One he could have had in any campus back on earth. And his time under the sun with Erea, away from the company of anyone else, was just the cherry on top.

They even got to make plans for the next day’s mission. Micah floated the idea of doing something relaxing. In the sense that an activity that benefited the academy didn’t always have to be about fighting. They could help explore or catalogue and inspect retrieved potions. Even try their hand at beautifying old classrooms.

He got booed by the majority. Even Bob seemed to be in favor of a mission. A light one, but one nonetheless. And that’s how it was decided that Micah would be doing his own thing that Friday. Michael was worried, but the lycan assured him he would rather paint while trying to learn a painting Spell. No biggie. In his stead, a team had formed. Bob and Mihli would team up to form a kind of augmented battering ram. Alex and Michael would serve as the second line, for support, and Erea would follow them from behind, to hold a solid rear defense.

Their mission? A large greenhouse has been opened for mission duty. Infested with strangling plants. Fat growers, too. Someone had to walk all the way to its center, plant a toxic ward and confirm that the plants died. Would it be hard? No. It would probably only take them less than an hour. But who said they couldn’t take it easy while also doing a mission and earning something for their hard work? Besides, would this make Micah jealous? Absolutely, and that was half the point.

And that was how the five found themselves walking and talking, joking and taking it easy. They were heading towards a room on the second floor. No care in the world. Until a running figure rounded a corner, spotted them, and came running. He skidded to a stop, found Alex, turned to him and started blabbering.

“Mage Alexander of the Martials. I am mage Pipo of the Bloodlinked. One of our members needs help. On behalf of our faction, I request assistance?”

A current of tension passed through Alex and Erea, while Mihli also looked weary. Michael and Bob just looked at Pipo in… confusion. Though Bob probably only because he hadn’t heard of that faction. Michael had. He thought. Maybe? It sounded kind of cool, but he wasn’t sure if he’d heard about them or from where.

No, Michael was confused about the mage in question. He was short. Like… Quora-level short. But he wasn’t a dwarf. His robe was blood red, fitting really, and it covered the entirety of him. He wasn’t exactly broad shouldered. He was actually… kind of thin. Youngish looking. Curly hair, fair skin, freckles. And he wore no shoes over his really hairy feet.

Is he a hobbit? I swear I’ll lose it if he is.

And most importantly? Pipo caught him looking.

“What?” he asked, looking away from Alex.

“Oh. Uhm, I was just… wondering what race you are. I have never seen one of your ilk before.”

The mage looked at him in slight wonder.

“You are Mage Michael. Newly acquired Ascentionalist and subject of interest across Gnosis.” He said, before turning to Bob. “You are a Gaindel. A martial Gaindel.”

“I am.” Bob said.

Did he not see us before now?

“Mage Alex, are these two new additions to your team?”

“My team never had a strict roster, mage Pipo, but yes. They have gone on missions with me.”

“Understood.” Pipo said, before looking at Michael again. “I am a Halfling.”

He’s a hobbit.

“Mage Pipo, might I ask why you came to us for help? Your faction usually, uhm… keep to themselves.”

“Yes. But my faction is currently occupied battling an apparition on the fourth floor. The member in danger is the sole other exception.”

“Your faction as in…” Mihli tried to ask.

“Every member of my faction.” Pipo clarified. “The Call was made by a strike team. All Bloodlinked answered. An individual has faced danger at the same time. I am the only one close enough to respond to his Call. All others responded to the greater Call. I cannot obtain help from my faction, else I would be subsumed by the greater Call. I cannot wait. Thus, I ask for your help. You are a team leader. Your team contains relatively powerful members, such as the Martial elf Erea.”

“Relatively?!” she started, before Alex intervened.

“Mage Pipo! Come, walk with me. We’ll discuss this possible arrangement. Mihli, keep us company. Erea, walk behind us with Bob and Michael. Talk to them about our possible allies.”

That was a clear send-off, yet surprisingly, the elf listened. She allowed the three to move some distance away, chattering rhythmically, before she motioned the two to follow.

“I confess I found that mage to be odd.” Bob said.

“Yeah. Erea, what’s up? Who are the Bloodlinked? And why was he talking in such a…”

“Limited manner? It’s because he’s barely there. The Bloodlinked are fanatics.”

“Really? I mean, maybe they are, but it’s funny to hear that coming from-“

“I’m not joking.” She quietly said. “The Bloodlinked faction is more or less a single entity. A… hive-mind, I’ve heard them called. The main thing about them is that their minds and their magic get connected by a ritual. So they always know and feel and think like one another. It gets stronger with distance and Levels.”

“Wait. Are they like a pack of mages who wanted to be more in sync, but actually created mental clones of themselves?”

“What’s a clone?”

“Ah, scratch that. So, the closer they are, the more alike they get?”

“Yup.” The elf nodded. “I don’t like them. You fight one and they all come for you. They all feel the same thing, so if one wants to beat you up, they all do. It’s like fighting an entire faction, every time.”

“Finally found someone you don’t want to fight.” Michael laughed and she stuck her tongue out at him.

“But why do other factions tolerate their existence?” Bob asked.

“They don’t, but what can you do? If you want them gone, you have to wipe them all out. They tried banning that ritual, but they still practiced it. Alex told me going against them proved to be more trouble than its worth. The only thing Regitris managed to get from them is a promise not to needlessly put the lives of students in danger.”

“Wait, they did that?”

“Yeah.” she laughed. “Their numbers are always going up and down, just because of that. Or… used to, anyway. Someone insults them, everyone grabs their wands. They find a new monster? The entire faction goes to fight it.”

“But… this is a school.” Alex said. “Not a war camp. We are supposed to be learning, not fighting. Why does the academy put up with them?”

“Because you can’t reason with them? You either kill them or work with them. And what Regitris did works. Kind of. I mean, they still get to decide what kind of opponent is worth assaulting with the entire faction, but at least now they know they just can’t let one of their members die just… because.”

“I do not understand how such a faction can exist.” Bob confessed.

“Eh, they’ve got amazing coordination. Like a really experienced team, only faction sized. And that ritual gives them other advantages too.”

“You sound almost jealous.”

“I’m not! …alright, so at one point I was interested in them. But only because they’re so good at fighting. Then I found out about the ritual and counted myself lucky.”

“You are. I’m serious! They’d be lucky to have you.” Michael smiled, before continuing to talk. “I mean look at them, so stone-like. Think about how their hive-mind would implode with a temper like yours in it.”

“Keep joking, pretty boy and you’ll see just how good my temper really is.” she grinned.

“But, all jokes aside, why is Alex so worried? I mean, yes, they are fanatics. And kind of despicable, but maybe I’d like to get to know them. They also sound like a good faction to be owed a favor by.”

“Yeah, but… Here’s the thing. They’re weird. Like, weird enough you don’t get how weird they are until you watch them. You heard that one. He heard the Call, which is like a magic beacon, and it subsumed his entire person. He only came to the help of the other Bloodlinked because he was close enough to actually listen and be impressed by it. Shit like that happens. You remember seeing them when the werewolf attacked? No? Me neither. That’s because they only think about themselves, because they’re basically only one mage, who just wears different bodies like clothes. If one of them felt safer outside, they probably moved as one and got away from the werewolf faster than anyone. I mean… do you understand?”

“I think I do. They’re the embodiment of selfishness.”

“Yeah. Super strong too. Which… I don’t know. I wouldn’t fight at their side. Would you?”

Michael thought about it. They sounded like the type of opponent you didn’t really ever see in games. Too difficult to put into practice. Not the system, but the motivations. If every mind gets melted into one big fusion, what would the resulting creature be like? Would it be just like any other mage? Would it have a split personality? Would it be… alien?

Michael could understand Alex now. There was no way to know if the Bloodlinked would even treasure his help. Or if they wouldn’t double cross them. After all, they had no faction to hold them to account, since they were the faction. And who of your own would take them to trial? It was like negotiating with Kelunad, with each and every single one of them.

“Everyone, I’ve discussed matters with Pipo. We will go and inspect the danger this other Bloodlinked mage has found themselves in. As time is of the essence, we will head there right away. Yet, so as not to repeat past events, not all of us will be coming. Bob, please go and inform the other Martials of our whereabouts. Mihli, please go and retrieve Quora and Laen at once. They are needed. Our help will be conditional on what we observe.”

Alex was speaking like a lawyer and Michael couldn’t help but notice him sweating.

“And where are we going?”

“The third underground floor.” Alex said and managed to look serious.

Oh. No biggie.