"No."

  I balked at the woman in front of me. "What do you mean no?"

  "Exactly how it sounds," Terra snorted. "This isn't a fucking university, you're lucky one of us even toook an interest in your dumbass. Now you come prancing into the coven thinking we'll just hand over our knowledge like wise old masters? Is that it?"

  I grit my teeth, but Alvir stopped me from saying anything stupid with a calming hand on the shoulder. "Come now, no need to be like that." Alvir smiled. "Surely you can spare some time to teach her the circles? It's not like it would take any effort on your end, and one witch's growth helps the whole coven."

  "You're dumber than I thought if you think she's gonna stay here long."

  "There is value in having an outside agent," Alvir shrugged.

  "Hah! Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night, you twisted fuck," Terra chuckled and moved along to the stairs, not bothering to converse with anyone else.

  A few others had left as well, but most decided to stay and socialize. Talking about the more mundane bullshit that Umi presumably wouldn't have cared to hear during the meeting. They weren't in their whatever-the-fuck forms, so it didn't look like a gathering of evil. If you ignored the gloomy basement, and iconography.

  "She doesn't deserve her name," I grumbled as I watched her disappear up the stairway.

  "Best not to make any enemies so early," Alvir hummed. "Though I'm surprised she refused, surely she doesn't think there won't be consequences for that?"

  "Because there won't be."

  Me and Alvir looked over to find Umi standing behind us, she had a warm smile on her face as she regarded the witch and his apprentice. "I've got her working on a little something, and if you happen to interrupt her? Well, I'm sure it would be quite educational to show our new addition that none of you are free to fuck with me."

  "That would explain it," Alvir sighed.

  "Do you know ritual circles?"

  Umi gave me a raised brow, either of surprise or confusion. "More than the rat-man over here, but I like to be judicious with my time. So not to the point of the demon-severing miracle you're striving towards."

  I widened my eyes. How in all the blessed heavens did she know that?!

  "I can speak to demons, girl." Umi shrugged. "Your's finds it rather hilarious that you're even trying such a thing. It isn't an idea without merit, but honestly? Your worries are a bit unfounded."

  I blinked. "What does that mean?"

  Umi shrugged again. "Why don't you have your mentor tell you? I've got other plots to foil now that I'm done with the two of you."

  Then she just...disappeared. Not in the literal sense, my mind simply refused to acknowledge her existence. When trying to affirm that she was there, it got worse, and I decided not to test the very strong witch.

  I turned to Alvir instead.

  "Well?"

  He let out a sigh. "Guess I have to, huh? No lovely mysteries for me?"

  I scowled and he waved me off.

  "You know the basics right? You get stronger, demon gets stronger, all that shit?" I nodded. "Well, there's a point where your souls get too powerful to coexist. Around the fourth circle, you and the demon have a kind of...war. Yada, yada, whoever wins consumes the other's soul and life moves on."

  I paled, which got a chuckle out of the man.

  "Don't worry about it, your demon is exceptionally weak. It won't be near strong enough to be a problem, unless you let it bite off too much of your soul," he shrugged.

  I nodded, purposefully omitting the fact that I was currently missing a fifth of my soul. "But why would it be okay with that? If I get to that point then it'll just be...gone."

  "Nope," Alvir shook his head and sighed. "Assuming you even reach such heights."

  "Going to explain any further?"

  "I'd rather not, I told you enough that you should know not to worry! Why torture me further?"

  "Because you're scum?" I said with a raised brow.

  He snorted. "Funny."

  I split off from Alvir soon after we left the bar (owned by one of the lovely witches) and spent a lot of time contemplating. Mostly about how I didn't even need to meet the coven, whoever coined ignorance being bliss was a special kind of dumbass.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Though...the answer I got wasn't exactly satisfying. Absorbing the demons soul and yet it was still there? I wasn't a genius, but the implications of that weren't rocket science. Would me and the imp combine?

  In that way, would we both die?

  Something new coming from the ashes of whatever the fuck the outcome of our conflict was. So I still very much wanted to find a way to separate from the thing, and I had however long it took to get to the fourth circle to do it! Never got Alvir to tell me what the circles were, but I assumed he wouldn't tell me until I actually made it to the first, so I'd leave it alone for now.

  I wondered how the gathering of the same random fucks every month didn't scream witch to the populace. Probably something to do with Umi, considering she seemed to be an expert on illusions and mental magical. Pretty straightforward for demon magic, so I assumed there was another aspect.

  I shrugged and stepped into my room, the innkeeper didn't comment on how late it was. Whether that was because he didn't care, or I was now included in this 'protection', I didn't know. I didn't like the idea of the people around me getting fucked in the head just because I was there.

  My bag made a nice plop on my mattress when I tossed it over, I sat beside it and considered forgoing training today to digest what I'd learned.

  Nah.

  So on I went with renewed fervour in trying to make something of the droplets. Progress was slow, but it was still progress. If I could use the things in a fight? Well, I'd be quite the monster when it came to long term engagements.

  One droplet had enough mana to...maybe double my strength? For about five minutes. Sometimes more, sometimes less. If I kept my seven on me then that'd mean I could keep it going for around thirty three to thirty six minutes, and I'd still have the rest of my mana to draw on.

  This, of course, assumed that the droplets would do jack shit to my tolerance.

  I didn't get the point of them if they strained me just the same as the needed mana for the same effect. The more I grew, the less of my total mana I could actually use. Even with my increasing tolerance.

  It was getting to the point where soon I'd need to measure my mana consumption in the decimals. It was...hmmm. A little annoying?

  I had so much power resting in my spirit, yet I could barely use a single percentage of it. Surely there were elixirs or rituals or something that could increase the body's tolerance? Dramatically enough where it would matter to me of course.

  Golem cores seemed to all follow the same rule. If you were strong enough to fight them, then you were strong enough where the resource didn't mean much for your growth.

  I couldn't imagine the battle-mages being okay with so much potential wasted.

  I could see how mages born into or sponsored by nobility were often considered the strongest though. Bastards had the resources to cheat their way past hard work. I was infinitely jealous.

  My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

  I opened my eyes and scowled at the wood, willing whichever jackass was on the other side to leave me be. It took around twelve idiots getting their ass beat because they wanted to see an elf for the people of this city to give me my space.

  Though, when nobles or merchants came 'round, I kinda had to entertain them.

  They never visited a second time and never sought retribution in any way, so I assumed my polite disinterest was enough of a hint for them to leave me alone.

  Alas, my desires be damned, for there was another set of knocks.

  I grumbled and got up off my bed, stomping over to the door and swinging it open.

  The first thing I noticed, of course, was the knife.

  It was a pretty damn good knife, sharp as fuck and adorned with enchantments. I'd never felt an enchantment before, but I assumed that was what the tasteless feeling of mana represented. Alvir's jewellery had some kind of protection to disguise his enchantments, but this was as plain to my senses as could be.

  It was made of a kind of black metal, serrated and looking proper wicked. Its handle was carved from bone though, I assumed for aesthetic purposes because regular wood was much better than the biological bunch of calcium.

  The arm that swung it however? If the knife was a testament to beauty and wealth, then the boy that wielded it represented blustering incompetence.

  He went for a curve, rather than a straight on stab.

  Meant I could actually do something, rather than being forced to jump back.

  I caught the boy's wrist and squeezed hard enough where he dropped the blade. Then I snaked my other arm under his armpit and threw him over my shoulder and into the room. He let out a grunt when he hit the floor.

  I picked the knife up gingerly, examining it with a whistle after I shut the door behind me.

  "Where'd you get this?" I said as I leaned back on the door. "It's impressively sharp, and serrated. Most smiths don't bother because it's a pain in the ass. Bet this was a personal commission."

  The boy growled, swirling mana into his palm.

  It felt unpleasant, like a hungry nothing that demanded I join its nothingness, wriggling under my skin in a dance of worms.

  Another knife appeared in his hand, and this one was much less impressive.

  I stepped forward and kicked the boy hard in the chest before he could spring forward, knocking the air out of him and sending him crashing back onto his back.

  He let out a whimper when I stomped on his wrist, forcing him to let go of the more ordinary example of...knife work? Meh, good enough.

  He tried to summon something else, but an enchanted knife pressed against his throat was a great negotiator against stupidity. Not that this wasn't stupid on its own, what was he hoping for? Knocking off the competition?

  I had a feeling Umi wouldn't be keen on her youngest members killing each other.

  Not that I was going to kill him.

  "I wonder what the enchantments do? Such a menacing thing surely doesn't just have extra durability and sharpness. Tell me, boyo, what'll happen if I knick you a bit?"

  This time, he paled.

  I was getting tired of this shit already.

  I grunted, getting off the kid but keeping my eyes trained on him. He seemed to take the hint and didn't summon anymore weapons. However many he could manage in the first place, that was a decent chunk of mana, more than my body could handle at least.

  "Now, the last person that tried to knife me in my room ended up becoming quite a close friend," I mused. "Doubt that's how this is gonna turn out, but it's nice to dream. Get the fuck out of my room, and if you try this shit again then I'll teach you something about pain."

  It was incomplete, but the Word still managed to make the boy flinch.

  He got to his feet and...glared at me.

  For a while.

  "Well?"

  "Give me back the knife," he demanded, finally deigning to speak.

  I blinked, then struggled not to laugh, if only to respect the sleeping folk in the inn. "That's hilarious. You should take your shot at comedy. Nah, your bitchass isn't getting this back. Now get out."

  "That belongs to Umoa. He won't be happy if It's missing tomorrow."

  "That sounds like a you problem," I shrugged. "Unless you think you can take it from me?"

  I punctuated that last bit with I smile I imagined being somewhat menacing. He stared at me for a long time, probably contemplating how dumb he wanted to be.

  Intelligence won out in the end. He left while gritting his teeth and stomping away.

  Like a petulant child.

  I sighed, eyeing the knife wearily.

  Too early to make an enemy, huh?