Phoenix flew into the air and almost panicked for a moment as the ground rushed away from her. Once she got to the height she wanted, she cut off the mana flow and focused back on the behemoth’s red light as she began to free-fall. She initiated [Ruler of Retivity] again and pulled herself towards it, maneuvering her body around to nd daggers-first, followed by feet.

  As she collided, she both felt and heard the rocks crack. She braced herself against it, keeping them close together with a small, steady pull of her ability as needed, and began repeatedly stabbing into the glowing crystal. It was a challenge to try chipping away at it furiously as she focused on maintaining the gravitational pull to keep her from falling off of it.

  “Watch out!” Dazien yelled from the ground at her, and she gnced back to see a rocky arm heading for her.

  She reflexively triggered [Ruler of Retivity] to fling herself high into the air once more as the monster smashed a stone palm against its face and got a stack of [Dishonor] for its troubles. She was gd the monster didn’t seem to be very intelligent; otherwise, this could have been much harder.

  As it roared and moved to bring both of its massive fists down to crush the Defender, Phoenix retriggered the gravitational pull with a bit more mana than she initially intended in her concern for Dazien’s survival.

  She smmed into the creature, hoping to knock it off course, and was fairly certain she managed to break her leg as she nded on the half-destroyed crystal. Instead of shifting the blow as she hoped, the limb crashed through the [Sun Shell] around Dazien, completely unaffected by the blinding debuff, and into his actual shield, which he seemed to brace for with his [Stand Your Ground] ability. In response, she choked back her pain-filled tears and began plunging her onyx dagger once more toward the bright red light within it.

  Phoenix almost lost her concentration and slipped as the creature buckled underneath her, one of its legs now just a pile of rubble from Rayna’s destructive song. She realized her new problem as the monster began to tilt forward toward her, and Phoenix’s back was now aimed toward the ground.

  In her panic, she flooded mana into [Ruler of Retivity] to push her dagger against the remaining yer of crystal until it hammered its way straight through it to pierce the light and extinguish it.

  She felt the unnatural pull of gravity she had been channeling suddenly halt, and she fell to the ground hard. All the air escaped from her lungs, but before the weight of the monster could crush her to death, it dissolved into white ash all over her.

  The massive amount of monster dust made it harder for her to catch her breath. As her eyes watered, she began painfully wheezing and coughing up dead monster remains.

  “Are you a crazy person?” Rayna asked as the music that had been going during the battle came to a halt with the fall of the elemental, and the voxen looked down at her prone form sprawled in the packed snow with slitted pupils in amber.

  Phoenix gave a weak smile and waved off her concern, “I’ll… be fine…” she assured. Feeling fairly mana drained, she only triggered the low-cost version of her heal spell, then tilted her head back to look towards the hill where their other teammates were positioned and croaked, “Saiya?”

  The twin was already making her way toward the downed Adventurer, but a bolt of life energy shot out from a held-out paw, and as the magic struck Phoenix, she gasped in sweet relief as she felt her leg begin to mend further.

  Ability: Heal Life

  Type: Spell (magical, life)

  Cost: Low mana.

  Cooldown: None.

  Current Caste: Crystal 7 (90%)

  Crystal Effect: Delivers Life energy through a projectile, giving a small burst of health to an ally target.

  As the serene Healer knelt down at the patient’s side and took her hand gently, Phoenix asked once she could breathe properly again, “Have I told you how amazing you are, Saiya?”

  The woman smiled at her, dispying sharp canines, and said, “Not yet, but I was certain you would.”

  “Well, you are very awesome, and I am so gd you joined our party,” she reaffirmed.

  “Sure, suck up to the Healer,” Dazien muttered as he made his way over.

  “That actually sounds like a good life lesson in general,” Phoenix pointed out as she slowly sat up, “Always try to please the person that keeps you alive.”

  Rayna spoke up and gestured toward Phoenix’s face, “You said that your Familiar stores up energy that can regenerate the whole party’s mana and stamina when you’re glowing like that, right?”

  Phoenix nodded, “That’s right.”

  “And that the amount of regeneration is based on how much light your skin absorbs?”

  “Yup.”

  “Then why aren’t you showing more skin?” the bard said with a mischievous grin, “We could find something that just covers the more intimate bits.”

  Phoenix’s eyes went wide in horror, and her face flushed brightly. “Why would I need to do that?!”

  “Well, at the very least, so we don’t have to blow through all our potions after every fight, and at best, it can save us in a pinch to be able to restore us mid-fight. You’ll want to get the biggest bang for your Bits, right? So it makes sense to store up as much as possible as quickly as possible, right?” Rayna’s slightly feral smile grew wider, showing off sharp fangs as the voxen teased her, “Plus, it has the added benefit of gaining the attention of potential mates.”

  “I–um… Th–that’s not something… I mean, I don’t–” the shy Wayfarer incoherently stuttered as she tried to come up with logical arguments.

  Dazien also seemed bothered by Rayna’s suggestion and mildly reprimanded, “You shouldn’t push her into doing something she’s not comfortable with.”

  “What? Like telling her to fight a giant rock monster?” the pugilist pointed out with a ft look.

  He ignored the jab and held out both hands to help the two women stand again. “So…” he began, giving Phoenix a look that somehow seemed both disapproving and amused, “You just decided to try flying?”

  “Um… bme Ta?” she said, offering her Familiar up as a scapegoat.

  The fluffy bird appeared then, cheeping at her and bouncing up and down on her head as if to decre that it was, in fact, not her idea that Phoenix pull a stunt like that. However, she couldn’t help but chuckle at Ta’s adorable outrage.

  It was Dazien’s stunned stare at her face that cut off her ugh a moment ter and made her tense with worry and ask, “What? What’s wrong?”

  “Um… you’re, uh, still glowing.”

  “What?!” she excimed, hoping he was just trying to prank her. Lifting her hands into view proved his words true, though, and she whirled on Uriel and practically squealed, “You said it would go away!”

  He refused to meet her eyes as he grumbled, “I said it should. It’s probably because you’ve charged up some of that [Starlight Q now with her. So, until you use the ability it’ll stay?”

  She gred at the inflection of a question in his words, “You don’t sound very sure about that.”

  “I’m not,” he replied solemnly.

  “So, should I use it now?”

  “No,” Dazien interjected, “It’s a powerful tool you’ll need to get accustomed to using. Try to save as much as possible to use at the right time in a battle.”

  The Celestial Astromancer groaned loudly and compined to the sky, “I don’t wanna glow!”

  Phoenix sat near the campfire that Uriel had conjured with his Fire Passive to help them recover and began conjuring his Ice Passive’s magic fort for them to sleep in that morning at the edge of the ke. They had done most of their hunting at night when monsters were more active, and their sleep schedule had shifted to accommodate.

  Passive Ability: Home’s Hearth

  Type: Utility (construct, elemental, fire)

  Current Caste: Crystal 6

  Crystal Effect: Construct a hearth that produces light and heat for a low mana cost. Allies near the hearth slowly gain instances of [Hearth’s Warmth].

  Hearth’s Warmth (boon, cleanse, elemental, fire, stacking): Increased health regeneration and periodically cleanses Elemental Banes.

  Passive Ability: Fortress of Solitude

  Type: Utility (construct, elemental, magical, ice, dimension)

  Current Caste: Crystal 7

  Crystal Effect: Construct a fortress of ice nearby that serves as a shelter and dimensional storage, increasing the mana regeneration and ability cultivation rate of the inhabitants.

  Phoenix hadn’t been able to stop herself from giggling at the name and having to expin the concept of “superheroes” from her non-magical world.

  “So, they’re basically unlicensed Adventurers or illegal city guards that don’t get paid?” Rayna asked in confusion.

  After contempting for a moment, she nodded slowly, “I guess so, which just makes it sound a bit sad…”

  “Yup,” the bard agreed and then bounced over to sit closer to her, wrapping her long, warm tails around her to pull them closer as she excitedly added, “Now, show me the quest updates!”

  Quest: Mission: A Rocky Start

  Objective Complete: Defeated a Crystalline Elemental.

  Objective Reward:

  [Basic Magical Tattooing] has been added to your collection.

  Completion Reward:

  10 [Crystal Mana Bits] have been added to your collection.

  Quest: Mission: A Pack of Problems

  Objective Complete: Defeated twenty Snolves.

  Objective Reward:

  [Snolf Paws] has been added to your collection.

  Completion Reward:

  10 [Crystal Mana Bits] have been added to your collection.

  Quest: Mission: Foul Fowl

  Objective Complete: Defeat six Icespitters.

  Objective Reward:

  [Caustic Floe] has been added to your collection.

  Completion Reward:

  10 [Crystal Mana Bits] have been added to your collection.

  As Rayna read, Phoenix examined the rge hole in the midriff section of her shirt and sighed heavily, “Looks like you got your wish, Rayna. Those Icespitters completely ruined this top.”

  The bard grinned wickedly, “I don’t think any of us would care if you went without.”

  “Lady Rayna, as a noble, you should understand the importance of propriety,” Dazien chided her.

  The bard rolled her amber eyes, “Propriety is both boring and arbitrary. It’s also something my cn cared little about. Besides, it’s not like anyone else is here to observe decorum,” she said, gesturing to the icy ke and surrounding evergreens.

  Phoenix mirrored Rayna’s eye roll and swapped out the shirt with another in her collection, only showing a brief shimmer of silver light. Then she gred back at the ke where they had just finished their final mission and said bitterly, “I thought with a name like ‘Icespitter’ that they would shoot ice bolts or something, not be a deranged puffin variant that spits acid.

  “Why does every monster here, even birds, seem to have an insane amount of teeth? And why aren’t they called Acidspitter? That would be more useful for Adventurers knowing what they’re up against,” she compined.

  “Acidspitters are Emerald Caste snake-like creatures that would destroy us in an instant,” Uriel spoke up, “Surprisingly, those don’t have teeth.”

  Phoenix gave him a sidelong gnce, “Where did you learn that?”

  He shrugged and replied simply, “A book.”

  She rolled her eyes again, “So Acidspitter was taken. Who comes up with these names anyways?” They all shrugged at her, and she sighed, “I’m going to go through so many clothes at this rate.”

  Rayna began saying, “That wouldn’t be a problem if–”

  “I’m not walking around half naked,” Phoenix cut her off, firmly raising a glowing hand to halt that line of conversation. The acid had done quite a bit of damage, not just to her clothing, but Saiya had healed the worst of it. It had been a rough fight, but the challenge had been a good one, and they had once again come out victorious.

  Phoenix gazed over the still beauty of the frozen ke with the sun beginning to rise behind it, marking an end to their second week of traveling through the tundra. She found herself saying to the group a bit wistfully, “You know, this world can be really beautiful sometimes…”

  The others paused to look at her curiously as she continued speaking, “My life for the st few years has seemed like an endless gauntlet of darkness, death, and now monsters. I couldn’t do anything back in my world. Even after I arrived here and got powers, it felt like one monster encounter after another. Endless fighting and training to get stronger. It’s the handful of moments like this that make it seem like it might actually be an adventure and not just an endless struggle for survival.”

  The rest of her party gnced out to the sunrise, appreciating the interpy of coldness and warmth on the horizon. Saiya surprised Phoenix by hugging her gently, entwining her own tails with Rayna’s to surround her in warm fur, and saying, “I’m gd to have you as a friend.”

  Phoenix’s eyes went wide and she couldn’t stop the question from leaving her lips, “Friends?” She hadn’t really thought of them as such. They were teammates, comrades in arms, travel and battle companions, sure. But friends? Jin had been her best friend on Earth but she had died years ago. Phoenix hadn’t bothered trying to find another, and especially after her mother’s death, she had withdrawn from the idea of getting too close to people.

  She had come to the conclusion that if she didn’t call anyone ‘friend’ or ‘family’ then she wouldn’t have to mourn the inevitable loss; that she wouldn’t need to experience that pain ever again.

  Her thoughts turned to her mentor and the suggestion he had made. They were friends now, but he was stronger than anyone she had ever met. He, at least, could survive their friendship. She asked more rhetorically than actually expecting an answer, “I have friends again?”

  The two men both turned to stare at her and Dazien almost shouted a her, “Of course! Have you not thought of us as friends? After everything we’ve gone through together?”

  Phoenix looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed at what felt like an accusation and she felt a rge hand lightly grasp her shoulder. She looked up into the fire of Uriel’s eyes as he said firmly, “We might not have many we consider friends, but I will be there should you need one.”

  “Friends are the people who are there to support you without any need for something in return and accept you for who you are. You have been a friend to us, Phoenix, and I would hope you understand our intentions enough to know we reciprocate the feeling,” Dazien said resolutely.

  Phoenix felt a bit stunned by the sincerity her companions were showing her. She gnced towards Rayna who just smirked and said, “Yeah, you’re alright. I’ve been having a lot of fun so far.” She felt Saiya’s grip on her tighten as though reaffirming her commitment.

  She realized that even though she might not have consciously beled them as ‘friends’, what Dazien had described was exactly how she felt towards them, and that despite her aversion, she had come to care about them. She also realized that she wanted to stay by their side, even if she might lose them one day like she had everyone else.

  Phoenix gave them all a shy smile and whispered, “Thanks… my friends.”