– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 217, Season of the Rising Sun, Day 50 –

Terry sat cross-legged and with closed eyes in his crystal cell. Like in his previous cell, Terry had picked up the habit of dumping his own mana and surrounding himself with it.

Terry had to admit that he was not completely sure why he was still doing this.

Before the Thanatos soldiers had moved Terry into the coliseum barracks, Terry had still been forced to wear mana-restraining handcuffs. Back then, the dumping of mana was a means to store mana for later use, but now?

Now, Terry did not have to wear the handcuffs – at least not while in his cell. He had been taken to another room once for an examination. They had forced him to wear the restraints before they allowed him out of his cell.

Terry told himself that without his equipment, his training options were rather limited. Dumping his mana helped to train his mana regeneration. Emptying his pool or forcefully absorbing mana with a full mana pool helped him increase his mana pool size – internal pull and external push. Terry also reasoned that his continued reabsorption and distanced renaturalization of mana should serve as good training for his mana control and his ability to recycle mana.

But that wasn’t all, only Terry couldn’t explain it yet, not even to himself. Something about the exercise was making his mind itch. Like there was something he was beginning to see but couldn’t make out. Something important. He could feel it. As such, Terry persevered in an exercise whose benefits he did not fully understand.

*Click* Terry heard the door to the outer cell open. He frowned because the transparent crystal walls of his inner cell blocked him from sensing mana outside.

Terry opened his eyes and saw Damian arrive in a crimson suit.

“I went over that list of yours,” said Damian. His face appeared more serious than the last time he had visited. “But first, I have a question about your storage devices.” Damian held out one of Terry’s storage bracelets.” There are items in some of them that we cannot retrieve.” He searched Terry’s expression. “This is very unusual.”

Terry tried to maintain a deadpan expression. He waited for Damian to continue talking. Even though Terry knew himself to be bad at applying some of the advice he had received over the years, he still remembered to keep his mouth shut when necessary. He would not be one of the people that cracked under a long pause without conversation.

“Which means, you definitely won’t get them back.” Damian shrugged without much concern. “Unless you can explain that to me.” Damian placed the storage bracelet back on the table.

Damian ordered: “Stay in your position.” He walked up to the inner cell and opened the little sliding compartment to push an item into the inner cell. “Since the necklace was at the top of your list of items, I had it examined first. To be honest, I could have acquired another device that would absorb mana while you are sleeping, but this is a sign of good faith. I hope you are the type to reciprocate.”

Terry looked unimpressed. It was hard to cultivate good sentiments in return for the necklace. It was his to begin with and Terry did not forget that he was still in a cage. Not to mention that Terry reflexively attempted to move mana to his wrists in order to pull the necklace to him, which obviously did not work because they had also taken his inscribed gloves from Terry.

“Remember that you are not allowed to wear it in battle,” said Damian. “You will have your first battle in a few days. Reciprocate by performing well.”

Terry glowered at Damian. “What does that even mean?”

“Survive if you can,” said Damian. “Kill if you want. Lose if you must. Don’t die. As long as you are alive, you have a chance to be of use in the Proving Grounds.”

“Is that all? And then?” Terry asked flippantly.

Damian raised an eyebrow. “You are taking this way too lightly, Terry. Let us ignore the fact that the only reason you are still alive is that I have registered you as a contestant. The Proving Grounds are at the core of Thanatos life. The Proving Grounds are sacred in our lands. The fights are serious.”

“That much thirst for blood sports in Thanatos?” asked Terry annoyedly. He had found his spars in Arcana and the combat practice matches in Tiv a useful learning experience, but the fact that the Thanatos Proving Grounds allowed intentional killing made him look down on the whole tradition.

“Hah,” exclaimed Damian. “Outsiders will be outsiders.” He shook his head. “Admittedly, carnal entertainment plays a part, but the Proving Grounds are much more than that. They are part of our justice system. Above all, they are the paramount centerpiece of our educational system.”

“Some education,” scoffed Terry. “Kill or be killed? Is that the lesson? That could be taught without an audience.”

“Outsiders…” Damian shook his head again. “You have arrived too late. If you had grown up in Thanatos, you would have visited the arena from the moment you could walk. You would have learned more about the nature of intelligent life than any school could ever teach you. Lessons much broader than battle. You will see.”

Damian stepped back from the inner cell and turned to leave. “Just don’t embarrass yourself too much until then.”

“You said that I could leave if I became a recognized outsider, but how?” Terry spoke up.

Damian looked back at Terry. “Keep winning. The condition is a continuous winning streak. Each defeated opponent counts as a win. A kill doesn’t count extra.”

“What if I refuse to fight?” asked Terry.

“Outsiders.” Damian chuckled. “You will receive a copy of the Proving Grounds’ rulebook. The rules that are of relevance to your question are simple: You don’t have to fight. Neither does your opponent. If you both decide not to fight, then it’s an alliance. Building alliances is a recognized skill too. Leading an alliance is a win. Joining an alliance counts as neutral. Not a win but also not a loss, streaks continue. You will enter the next battle together against another group or individual.”

Wrinkles appeared on Terry’s forehead. These rules did not appear that simple to Terry. There was something about them. Some complexity hidden in their simplicity.

“It is possible to continue with alliance streaks, but don’t kid yourself.” Damian snickered at Terry’s shifting facial expressions. “You will see.” He turned to leave and glanced over Terry’s equipment on the table. ”We will keep your equipment until you need it.”

Terry stood up and picked up the necklace he had received as a dungeon reward.

‘Remember that you are not allowed to wear it in battle’?

Are they afraid I would use it to strangle someone?

Ridiculous.

Terry placed the necklace on his neck and felt mana being sucked out of him. This much was expected, but Terry had to do a double-take at the amount being absorbed.

What is…

Terry suddenly became aware of how much mana he had already dumped into the crystalline cage. The mana had slipped under Terry’s awareness threshold because he had become accustomed to it, like a fish to the water it was swimming in. Now, however, Terry realized that the increased ambient mana concentration affected the necklace’s effect. The necklace was absorbing mana to then emit mana matching the ambient mana. The ambient mana density was higher, which required more mana to replicate.

Terry’s lips rose into a grin. This opened up new opportunities to make his mana regeneration training more efficient – even while Terry was sleeping.

Okay, I admit it was nice that Damian returned the necklace instead of some other device that might not have a similar interplay. Nice for me. Doesn’t mean I owe him anything.

Terry was still feeling unreconciled with the fact that he had jumped from one cage to another. From a dungeon to the Elusive Fog of Frost, then from the fog to a series of cells in Thanatos.

Terry felt self-satisfaction at the idea of Damian and his colleagues failing to retrieve the oscillating containers Terry had prepared in his storage items. Even Wallace from the dungeon scavengers had been unable to retrieve oscillating items from a dimensional storage. Terry’s notebooks, at least, would be safe from Thanatos inquiry.

Also some spare money… Which, come to think of it, has once again become entirely useless. What am I supposed to do with Tiv’s vals in Thanatos? Why do I always end up broke?

“Not like there is a shop around here anyway,” interjected Terry in a mumble.

Terry paused and wondered if the necklace interplay was the reason behind his subconscious obsession with the mana-dumping exercise. After several moments, Terry still felt as if this wasn’t it. The itch in his mind was still there. Something was missing.

Without Terry being aware of it, Terry’s eyes moved towards the door and the sliding opening for items in the crystalline cage. Terry stared for a while in his mana sight, but still couldn’t place the sensation he was experiencing.

In the end, Terry gave up and instead examined the visible lock mechanism – one obvious drawback of building the walls with transparent material.

***

Terry was sitting in his cell made from transparent walls and read over the short pamphlet outlining the rules in the Proving Grounds.

“Repeat encounters possible?” Terry crossed his arms. In a series of matches in which killing is allowed? Are the contestants less blood-thirsty than I believed?

Terry’s eyes kept moving to the rules for alliances. A battle ended when the contestants stopped displaying an intention to fight.

Although calling it ‘alliance’ appeared somewhat misleading. There was no rule preventing alliance members from switching allegiance during a match. An fight ending in an alliance only meant that the people would enter the next battlefield at the same time. If an alliance member lost, the alliance was over as well.

Terry also learned why Damian had said that he should not kid himself. It was possible to win with alliance streaks, but there were at least two rules that made it unlikely. First, only a single member of the alliance could get a win count and they had to announce it unanimously. Second, there was a streak-steal rule in which contestants beginning a fight together have the ability to earn more than a single win – defeating past alliance members would steal all wins they had earned in the alliance.

Terry sighed with an uneasy feeling. He had a bad premonition that he was overlooking something in the rules. Terry pushed the thought away and then read over the equipment rules.

The equipment rules were straightforward: You start without any equipment. You can earn the privilege of selecting a piece of equipment after you reach a sufficient winning streak. The catch was that contestants also had to sacrifice their winning streaks in order to get or exchange a piece of equipment.

Terry clicked his tongue and acknowledged Damian’s earlier statements. Practicing with his short spears would be a waste of time and a dangerous distraction until Terry had earned the right to use them in the Proving Grounds. Terry had to focus on getting through the earlier phase first.

Still, Terry could not help but complain at the fact that he was unable to continue practicing with the divine hammer inscription. Terry thought he had been making good progress, but his inscription use was still not advanced enough to offer any offensive applications – far from it.

*Click* Terry heard the familiar sound of the door to his outer cell opening.

“Greetings, Terry.” Damian sat down in the chair next to the table with Terry’s equipment. “Make sure to think over the rules on sponsoring and challenging, because that is where I expect your blood debts to become relevant.” His voice was faint.

“Tired?” Terry found it difficult to muster much sympathy. “I believe I can see where these rules are going. People like Beatrice can choose to sponsor contestants with items or personal instruction.”

“Most importantly with equipment,” said Damian. “Big change in the game if you consider that many of the convicted criminals that are participating have no equipment of their own they could exchange for. A game changer that many will jump at.” He yawned tiredly. “That is a worry for later, however.”

Damian rubbed his eyes. “I suspect you will first need to worry about the lobbying. Beatrice and the others that list you in their blood ledger will coordinate to vote on your opponents.”

Terry had read that the Proving Grounds allowed the audience to influence the opponent selection. He nodded to agree with Damian’s judgement.

“I’m not sure how much effort they will actually put into this,” said Damian with a shrug. “But unless you have the crowd on your side, Beatrice's faction can make your challenge more difficult, especially if they take this seriously.” Damian yawned tiredly once more.

“What has stolen your sleep?” asked Terry with a pointed lack of sympathy. “Guilty conscience? Too many people locked up as battle pawns?”

“Hilarious,” retorted Damian sarcastically. “And don’t act as if this arrangement doesn’t benefit you as well. Or would you rather be assassinated on the streets or tried as a spy?”

Terry hated to admit it, so he didn’t. Not out loud at least. Terry’s face still showed his thoughts.

Damian chuckled at Terry’s petulant reaction and then waved a stack of paper from his storage item. “No, this is what has me up at night. A bill I am promoting in the Bloody Hall that would outlaw several home security systems.”

Terry tilted his head. “Why would you want that?”

“Huaaamm…” Damian stretched while yawning. “Forgive me, if I’m not at my rhetorical best, but it’s quite simple actually: I want to reduce crime instead of shifting crime to the poorest.”

“Is that supposed to make sense?” asked Terry with a dubious expression. “How is preventing people from securing their homes going to reduce crime? Wouldn’t it make crime easier and therefore more profitable and probable?”

“At first glance, perhaps.” Damian patted his stack of papers. “The key is to make sure you outlaw selectively. I intend to prohibit systems that are merely crime-shifting and subsidize systems that are crime-avoiding.”

Terry blinked and the fact that he wasn’t following the argument was transparently written on his face.

Damian cleared his throat and sat up straighter on his chair. “Pardon the jargon. Crime-shifting means that a system only shifts the crime to another target. Imagine a visible defense system. A potential burglar is going to avoid such a house and move on to the next one. The overall crime rate will remain the same unless everyone installs similar systems, which is unlikely to happen since not everyone can afford them.

“Same problem with a loud alarm. The criminals are just going to escape and move on to the next target. Such systems are shifting crime, they don’t avoid it.” Damian held his neck and massaged his sore muscles. “Take a silent alarm, by contrast. A silent alarm informs the authorities. The law enforcers arrive and apprehend the criminal. One less criminal on the streets, ergo less crime.”

Damian shook his head while looking at nothing in particular. “You see the problem with law enforcement is that deterrence hinges on the likelihood of being caught. Tough punishment means little if the clearance rate doesn’t measure up.

“Of course, there will always be some punks that believe themselves too lucky to get caught and I intend to prove these punks wrong.” Damian clenched his fist. “Install silent systems that record mana signatures. Place cloaked tracking spells on the home invader. Bug-sized constructs sneaking onto the criminal. Crime-avoiding systems that, over time, shall make our empire safer.”

Damian searched Terry's expression. “This might seem laughable to a brat from Arcana…” Damian rolled his eyes. “...but these systems are a lot easier to get a hold off than a mage capable of scrying to support the investigation.”

Damian stood up from his chair and placed the bill back into his storage item. He summoned a sack made of cloth. “Stay in your position.” Damian walked over to the transparent cell and opened the sliding mechanism to place the sack into the cell. “Inside are the balls from your list. I had them only retrieve the ones without imprints but the different materials are all there – various metals and some made of rubber. That should be enough to facilitate your training.”

Terry's brow twitched and he tilted his head with a contemplative look.

Damian misunderstood Terry’s silence as another petulant reaction. He shook his head and decided that he was too tired to deal with Terry’s obstinate attitude. “Remember that you will have your first battle day soon. Don’t waste your life because you can’t accept the situation you are in. I assume you have better things to do with your life. Otherwise, that would be a sad life indeed.”

Damian closed the sliding mechanism and left Terry’s cell without another word.

Terry blinked and came back to himself. “Huh? What? Oh… The juggling and bouncy balls for my spell practice… uhh…” Terry returned his gaze towards the sliding door mechanism that allowed others to place items inside Terry’s cell.

Terry first narrowed his eyes and then closed his eyes tightly. He took deep breaths while concentrating on his mana sense. There it was again. The itchy feeling in his mind.

Something…

Terry opened his eyes that were glowing bright from mana use. His gaze grew sharp with his mana sight. He jumped up from his seated position and rushed towards the door in the cell. For a few moments, Terry stared without blinking.

This looks different… Wait—

Terry gathered the mana around him and pressed it against the cell. His mana sight showed him that there was one location at the wall where the mana became unevenly distributed.

Mana can slip through here if pressed enough.

Terry bit his lip. “Okay…”

But what good is knowing that? And what was that sensation?

Subconsciously, Terry closed his eyes again and focused on his mana sense, focused on the feeling of the mana around him as opposed to the visual impressions from mana sight. On a hunch, Terry repeated his previous action: He gathered the mana around and pressed it against the cell’s wall near the door mechanisms.

This…

Terry’s eyes opened wide. His eyes first fixated on the visible lock mechanism and then at the visible parts on the other side of the cell’s wall.

Is that possible? How?

Terry realized that he had felt the outer side of the wall. Even though his mana sight was unable to see anything beyond the cell’s walls – around the point half-way through the wall.

I felt that screw. I’m sure of it.

Terry closed his mouth that had hung open.

Something to do with me still being in control of the mana? It has been naturalized by me. I can still feel it. I can’t sense other mana, but I can still feel through my naturalized mana.

“Hm…” Terry was sorely missing access to his notebooks. “I can use that…”

***