Kyrion had finished building his core chamber after building a staircase that went sixty feet into the ground. In his core chamber, he placed a single ornate door to act as a gateway into the dungeon. He didn’t question how it would work as space was a confusing affinity to use.

Karl appeared as a hovering green cube in front of Kyrion. “Good good. Now, here’s the tricky part. You can’t leave for twelve hours due to our bond. Not until the anchor to my new dimension, Your domain will be fully emptied and funneled into the dungeon’s territory.”

“Everything?” Kyrion asked.

“Your spirits have been evacuated to your core. Everything taken will get broken down and turned into raw materials.”

“My gold!”

Karl winced. “Already eaten. Its high mana absorption is useful.”

“My house!”

“I can make you a better house. One with better wards.”

“My food!”

“The animals and farms your monsters run will be left behind so that they can continue to do so until my ecosystem is complete.” Karl stated.

“Keep my emergency food supply separate from this place.” Kyrion ordered.

“Fine, fine.” Karl sighed.

“Will anything else be left behind?”

“Your spirits, their locals, and various landmarks will be mostly untouched. The giant tree in the center will have roots that flow here. That is its nature and I will abide by its request.”

“Karl. Do you know what that tree is?” Kyrion asked.

“I can tell you that it doesn’t come from here. Now. Any other questions?”

“How can you well can you mimic the time dilation?”

“A full 1.5* increase with my level of experience. As it’s used and I begin improving it, it will gain in strength.”

“Not very useful then.” Kyrion prodded.

“Not yet. But it’s better than nothing.”

Kyrion sighed as his hoard had been converted into raw materials for his future use. It was at that moment he realized that included all his extra clothes, shoes, weapons, and other magical gear he had collected over the years. Even the fruits from his magic tree had been taken.

The young man steepled his fingers as the stasis coffins he had were torn apart and their contents destroyed. All that food was wasted. It was at that moment Kyrion heard his stomach growl in a way that confirmed that his appetite belonged to him.

“Karl… Please tell me you didn’t destroy my refrigerators?”

“I can’t lie to you Kyrion. So I’ll avoid answering that directly. Like that cat in the box. That blind kid talks about.”

“People from his world must be crazy. Why put a cat in a box? It’s unethical.” Kyrion stated.

“Someone’s coming. Stay within thirty feet of the entrance. My presence should be undetectable so long as your within thirty feet.”

Kyrion shook his head and shifted his physical appearance again. His now vermillion eyes burned with irritation.

Leaving through the door to the chamber. Kyrion walked up a set of earthen steps that led back to the outside world.

Outside Lin sat on a glacier in the center of the lake. The whole thing had frozen over.

“Ah. Rion, please come here.”

Kyrion sighed. “I can’t right now. Can we talk from here? How did you find this place?”

“Why?”

“I have a mana construct that requires a direct link. Going any further could cause it to collapse prematurely.” Kyrion told a half-truth.

“You're lying.” Lin’s eyes glowed a clear blue.

“Possibly. But that is the closest to the truth I will go into before it's done. Why did you come here?”

“Rude. And I even brought you dinner.” Lin revealed a tall set of lunch boxes.

“Where did you get that? My princess.” Kyrion resisted smacking his lips in anticipation.

“From dinner. You weren't there. As the coordinator it’s my duty to look out for you.”

“That's so sweet. I love you Lin.” Kyrion said in a cheery voice, a genuinely happy voice, an innocent voice. Kyrion wouldn’t realize that he said something dangerous until after he finished eating. Something that could change his life permanently if he messed up.

Lin turned as red as a strawberry and ran off. Leaving the food behind on the glacier.

“Maybe she was in a hurry.”Kyrion eyed the lunch in front of him.

“Don’t you do it? "

“Don’t do what?”

“Don’t leave the space before I finish what I’m doing.”

“But, Lin brought me dinner.”

“Who?” Karl said.

“Lin... Oh, my princess. My blood sugar may be low.” Kyrion slapped himself on the forehead.

“Well you scared her off. Now come back down.”

“One sec.” Kyrion willed the basket towards himself with wind mana and began sliding it down the icy path. He picked up the parcel and headed down the stairs.

Jala spoke up from Kyrion’s core. “You're getting dangerous. Please don’t speak carelessly.”

Kyrion considered. “Right. Incantations can carry my words. I’ll be careful.”

Issac shook his head. “Go eat something. You aren’t thinking straight.”

“You're the best!” Kyrion ignored the spirits as he consumed boxes of what used to be food but was now a semi-edible monstrosity.

Lin met Sigfried in the hotel lobby. Her face was still red, and her expression surprised.

“Are you sick milady?” Siegfried asked.

“Yes. No! Not at all! I mean.” She took a chilly breath.

“I am fine.” She said stoically.

“Good. How was Rion doing?”

“Well! I think.” Lin sighed, remembering her mission.

“You didn’t…”

“No. I didn’t try anything. He did.”

Siegfried raised an eyebrow which was imperceptible when wearing a mask. “I highly doubt it was intentional. No offense, you are a young mistress among young mistresses, but. My son is a bit of an idiot. I don’t know who he gets it from. So tell me what was said.”

“He said he loved me. He even said my name. Does he say that to every woman?”

“Possibly. Men as well. Although he was around three to five when he did that, and it was usually whenever someone did something he wanted them to do. I thought he broke the habit.”

“So. He doesn’t love me like that. He was just thankful I gave him food.”

“That would be right according to my own knowledge. It could be outdated.”

Lin hadn’t heard the last part. “I see. Well I’ll go get some sleep then.”

“Sweet dreams.”

“Yeah.” Lin told herself that she wouldn’t fall for that trick again.

Bill pondered something by himself. His baby boy couldn’t be in love with Lin. He was too little to do anything like that. They had been separated for seven years, and he was at least fifteen now. Bill needed to remember that. He realized that he should probably stay out of this potentially awkward relationship. Although his son didn’t quite know what he was getting into if he was attempting to court something like her.

The second day of the tournament began with the captain of Drisil nowhere to be found. Some could assume that the captain already knew that their team would come out victorious.

Those people would be fools as the simple answer was that he was currently preoccupied and lost track of time.

Tiffany stood on the stage visible as her opponent stepped onto the opposite end. The woman had black hair that seemed to fall behind her in curls. Her eyes are deep purple and her clothes a gray battle dress. In her hands was a sword made from black flames.

“First fight of the day, we have Drisil’s Tiffany up against Rendell’s Lisa! Let's make this a good clean fight. But I must let you know that the rules for these battles change slightly each round.”

Tiffany and Lisa vanished from sight. Moments later, a purple teleportation sigil revealed itself on the arena floor. Then a dome-like screen appeared over the barrier. The dome's outer shell revealed what seemed to be a city. Tall buildings, narrow alleyways. Rivers and shops.

“Today they fight in the unnamed city! Stealth, planning, and tactics will play a pivotal role in today’s battle! May we see a true clash of spirits today!” Meh-Thod announced.

Tiffany had been teleported into a clothing shop. She took a second to consider if this was deliberate before taking her blade out.

“Light clone.” Tiffany traced a sigil as a duplicate made of light appeared in front of her. It then adjusted its colors to mimic its creator.

“Signal seal. Enhanced speed, minor corporeality.” Tiffany sent out the spell construct to go forth. If slain she will know where.

Shifting the light around her caused her to appear invisible. It wasn’t perfect. In direct light, she may distort the area around her slightly, and in complete darkness, she will give off a shimmer, so long as she stays careful. She could potentially get the drop on her opponent. Something she suspected would be necessary.

Taking a step outside of the shop showed her that the place had been deserted. Which meant that she was probably free to do some environmental damage. So as she began her search she began to plant proximity-triggered explosive sigils. While they may destroy a wall it was unlikely that she’d do more than inconvenience a practitioner.

Her final set of traps was known as infrared alarms. Before her recent training, she hadn’t known that light could be made outside of the visible spectrum before her lessons on the element, and it was tricky to form it into anything that wasn’t a straight line.

It took ten minutes for the first trap to trigger, and when it did, a series of explosions followed. Black flames filled the sky above before being brought down on a location. Several more wards were triggered, causing more explosions of light. Several paths had been closed off as a result.

Lisa saw her opponent cross her path from an alleyway and gave chase. The two found themselves in an open residential district. A little place to hide without risking being buried alive in one of the buildings.

Drawing her sword of black fire Lisa engaged Tiffany head-on.

The young woman didn’t block with her sword. Instead opting to dodge, redirect, or launch ranged light darts.

The two exchanged strikes for a few minutes before Lisa found an opening and moved to bisect her opponent with her blade.

Tiffany slipped up and ran head-on into the attack. She then appeared to be bisected by the blow.

The young woman exploded in a flash of light and sound. Causing Lisa to stumble back into Tiffany’s outstretched sword as she appeared behind her opponent.

“Ah. There you are.” Lisa gripped the blade as her body shifted into black flames.

Tiffany bellowed as her arms began to burn. Her skin peeled, her hands bleed, and her sword arm weakened.

“Clever girl. Sadly you just showed your hand. I don’t need my eyes if I can follow your screams.” Lisa laughed maniacally.

Tiffany growled before chanting a series of short enhancement spells. “Pain reduction. Adrenaline boost. Power boost. Speed boost.” Tiffany surrounded herself with a golden aura and moved into a low stance. As she watched the black flames attempt to consume her.

The ominous flames surrounded her on all sides and encroached.

“Aura of radiant blades.” Tiffany said aloud. A series of identical swirling swords surrounded her, cutting up the flames as they appeared.

Light cut the dark, and dark burned the light. The battle became one of wills, and the two were at a stalemate for minutes. The stalemate ended when Lisa regained her physical form and collapsed, heaving on the ground. Her body cut to a degree that leaned on lethal.

Tiffany approached her opponent to finish her off and trigger the wards.

Lisa turned out to be crafty, as she sprung forward and wrapped both hands around Tiffany's neck. Various wounds began to cover Tiffany's body as black flames engulfed them both.

Tiffany felt her body erupt in pain, and her vision went spotty. She fell forward she drove the blade through her opponent's neck. Which caused the wards to send her out of the arena before the damage could kill her.

Tiffany fell forward to the ground, unmoving. Her open wounds faded as though they never existed. Instants later, Tiffany, was also evacuated.

“The winner of this round is Tiffany Belfour! A good fight to start the day!” Meh Thod spoke from his position as the arena began to repair and reset itself in seconds.