Roxxy’s cultivation room was a welcome respite from my daily battles and studies. The air around me was thick with steam as I floated on a pool of water and Water mana tickled my senses in a constant stream of thoughts that enveloped me from all sides. My mind was at peace as I meditated upon the intentions and motivations of my companion element.

“You're cheating.” Roxxy said.

I blinked in surprise and then immediately regretted it as a splash of water entered my eyes. The voice was garbled by the water blocking my ears, but I caught a glimpse of Roxx sitting cross-legged on top of the water.

Before I'd gotten to know her, I hadn't thought that she would be the kind of person to take her studies so intensely. However, when she meditated even when I had her in the view it was hard for my senses tk distinguish her from the water around us. It was as though she were one with the element.

"I'm floating." I said. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

Today’s battle had left me tired and battered, so Roxxy had chosen to take it easy on the training. Fortunately, after three weeks I was able to float.

Kind of.

"You're asking the water to keep you afloat. That's not the same as floating by yourself.” Roxxy didn't accept my excuse. “Enough carping. Let go of the water.”

There was a brief pause as I focused on my surroundings. Each mote of mana cradled me comfortingly and I nodded at them in appreciation. Then I relinquished control of the water around me, and my [Water Manipulation] skill de-activated.

My head immediately sank below the water.

[Water Manipulation had reached level 2]

The system message taunted me, but I didn't have time to focus on it. There was a gurgling sound and I realised it was coming from me. My lips were touching the surface of the water and blowing bubbles as I tried to breathe. Now that my skill was deactivated my lack of swimming skills was becoming apparent.

“You’re not sinking as much this time.” Roxxy said. “Nice.”

My eyes opened and through the veil of water I could see she was paying close attention. Unlike me she looked completely at ease with her environment and had even brought out a book. The steam and stray drops of water didn't dare touch the pages, and her eyes glanced at it from time to time. The title looked vaguely familiar.

Pêlat monster springs.

I pushed my head above the water’s surface and focused on staying afloat.

“Did Amanda lend that to you?” I asked.

“You bet. Monsters. Water. That's my kind of book.” Roxxy beamed. "I'll admit, I never really saw the appeal of these kinds of books until Amanda introduced me to them. But some of this stuff really hits a sweet spot.”

I chuckled at the thought of a person who could do magic reading a fantasy book. On Earth her entire life would have been a fantasy novel.

"What?” She asked.

"Nothing." I said.

Roxxy stared at me, her eyebrow raised slightly in interest. When she saw that I wasn't going to elaborate she twirled her finger in the air and the pool water wrapped around me like a shell. Then she let go of her control, causing the water to splash around me and sending waves of it over my face.

I spluttered and righted myself so that I was standing with my head above the water. My feet pressed against hardened water as I activated my [Water Manipulation] to form steps out of the liquid below me.

Roxxy’s cultivation pool was at least double my body height in depth, though it was near impossible for harm to befall me within it.

"Ha. Ha. Real mature.” I said. "I might challenge you to an arena duel for that.”

"Bring it on." She raised her fingers in a challenge. “I've been wrangling killer fish since I was a toddler.”

“Maybe you'll change your attitude when you see this.” I said

The water formed a sturdy foundation underneath me and I stepped onto the surface, reaching for my inventory. I'd been happy all day due to the results of the latest fight. My opponent had been one a second-year student looking for a challenge and Kyle had directed him to me.

I’d won.

Crijik: 273 points. Rank 10

“Huh.” Roxxy glanced at the card. “Nice job.”

That was it?

She saw my crestfallen expression and a smile tugged at her lips.

"I always knew you were going to do it. For me it was more of a question of when." She said. "I've seen what you can do. And— hold on.”

Roxxy brought out her texting regent and I saw it flashing bright green. She tapped a reply to the person texting her and a few seconds later a tsunami of messages followed. I stopped a smile from spreading over my lips as I recognised Gerial’s tell-tale texting method.

Somehow the two of them hand started up an unlikely friendship outside of the usual group. Roxxy was naturally headstrong and capable of inserting herself into a person’s life with persistence and sheer dedication. It helped that she didn't keep her motivations or lack thereof hidden.

Naturally their main topic of conversation was various conversations about Harpo, Roxxy’s magical cat companion, and other animals.

The final text was sent, and the regent disappeared.

“—And I don't think you'll stop at tenth place.” She finished.

"You say that like I'm going to ignore the massive storm of texts.” I teased.

"If you liked talking about cats then you’d be on the receiving end.” Roxxy said. "That's what you get for being a bird person.”

There was no malice in our words. It was a blessing that Gerial had found a friend to be normal around. Deep down I knew that the main reason she could get close to him was because she was the only one in the group that didn't know that he was a Marked one. Or that I was one.

That was something I intended to change today.

I'd already asked Gerial for his permission, and he was happy to give it. This time I couldn't be sure which of us was closer to the person being told. I'd even asked him if he wanted to tell Roxxy, but he’d argued that I'd gotten to know her first.

I think he was just feeling anxious at how she'd react.

Unlike Gerial, I was confident that she could handle it without too much stress. When I’d attuned to water, our thoughts had intertwined, and I'd gotten a glimpse of her inner character. I'd been curious about why I could hear her thoughts, but the answer was simple.

My [Mana Affinity] skill had opened up heart and soul to the mana around me, allowing it to see me as a person in both mind and spirit. That allowed the mana to trust me, and it also meant that when Roxxy had guided me through my attunement she'd been able to read me like an open book.

In return, I'd also been able to see her inner character.

“I don't want to interrupt you since you seem so focused, but you're sinking.” Her voice broke through my thoughts.

“What— oh.”

I looked down and saw that half of my torso was covered in water. Unlike [Earth Manipulation] I wasn't able to control water subconsciously. It would take time to reach the same level of proficiency in both skills, and it was possible that I would never have both of them at equal levels.

My [Metal Manipulation] was already hard enough to level.

I pressed my foot against the water and a step formed, allowing me to rise above the surface. To my surprise Roxxy’s usual joyful cheer had disappeared, replaced with a serious expression.

“Just to let you know, I made sure nobody else can listen in.” Roxxy said. “You can tell me whatever it is that's been on your mind this whole time.”

“Now that's just scary. Are you sure you can't read my mind?” I said.

“You already put a stop to that." She said. “Which is a pity, because that was a really cool new experience for me.”

"Yeah, I didn't know that my skill would do that." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.

The moment I’d figured out that [Mana Affinity] was revealing my thoughts to others I’d put a stop to it immediately. All it had required was a request to the mana and it agreed to not share my inner self with the others around me.

"But yes, I can read some of your thoughts. Not by magic, just by being your friend. I like to think that I know you pretty well.” Roxxy smiled, a wisp of mischief crossing her features. “You know, I got more than just a few stray thoughts the day you attuned.”

Surprise crossed my heart as she gestured, and her book disappeared. I noticed that she'd been a lot more comfortable around me ever since my attunement, but I'd assumed that was because we were now fellow water magicians.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

"Hey, don't give me that look. I'm not trying to scare you.” Roxxy said. “There were memories too. Most of them were jumbled and to be honest I didn't want to peek. They kind of just floated into my mind and got stuck there.”

This was news to me.

Whatever look crossed my face at that moment it was enough to give her pause. I'd assumed that [Mana Affinity] had shown her some of my thoughts at the time of attunement, just as it had shown me hers. But if it had given her some of my memories then that was a different beast to tackle entirely.

“How much do you know?” I asked.

My tone came out a little harsher than I wanted it to, but Roxxy didn't mind. Instead, she held up her hand and water flitted between her fingers, forming an intricate web of liquid that cross-crossed in the steam.

“Well, I tried my hardest to ignore everything, but I was a little busy making sure you didn't burst from the inside out by attuning incorrectly and causing your magic to go berserk.” Roxxy shot me a pointed gaze and a wave of shame crossed my heart.

It wasn't her fault that my skill had caused an unexpected side effect at a crucial time.

“—but I still got a fair bit of stuff you always have in your mind. There was a lot of Gold.” A smile tugged at her lips. “And I was there too since you wanted to tell me something. I've been waiting for you to spill the beans for weeks now.”

“You knew this whole time?” I said.

It would've saved me a lot of time if she’d told me this earlier.

I looked at her closely. If what she was saying was true then she had known for weeks, but Roxxy wasn't acting like someone that knew I was a Marked one.

Gerial hadn't noticed any changes either, and he was an expert at picking up when people were trying to manipulate or use him.

“I know that look. I think you're misunderstanding something.” She said. “The bits and pieces of memories that I got weren't enough to tell me the whole story. And frankly, what I did see was pretty unbelievable.”

That didn't surprise me. Even the church considered the existence of two Marked ones as nearly unbelievable.

“The only reason I haven't brought it up before now is because I knew you would tell me when you were comfortable. I hate pushing people into telling me stuff before they're ready.” She said,

"That’s very you.” I said. “Just so you know when I told Amanda she hit me with a book. So please don't bring yours out to smack my face with.”

“Really? She knows?” Roxxy let out a melodic laugh. “That actually makes me feel a lot better about it. I guess I understand why you'd tell everyone separately. If it's what I think it is, then calling it pretty surprising is an understatement.”

"You have no idea.” I said.

I didn't know how much she knew, but from what she was hinting at it was probably enough to know that I was a Marked one, or that Gerial was one.

The water grew still around me as I focused on building a platform. Wave after wave flattened and solidified until it felt as thick as stone, and I crossed my legs into a meditative position, mirroring Roxxy’s own. She nodded in appreciation. She allowed the water around her to drop into the pool, her focus entirely on me.

I ran through the speech I had prepared in my head.

"Hey, I just want to say, it's never been a question of if I would tell you.” I said. “You’re my friend, and a companion. And I'll admit, you’re my teacher.”

I took a deep breath, and I saw her doing the same.

“I'm a M—”

“—what's Earth?” Roxxy interjected.

I paused as my pre-prepared speech was interrupted, a flicker of disappointment tapping against my chest. I'd spent a lot of time working on the right words to say.

Then I registered what she'd said.

“Huh.” I said.

Then the platform of water collapsed underneath me as my concentration shattered and I fell into the water.