I hadn’t even “accompanied” Silhatsa for an hour of shopping before we started getting a lot of looks. Well, I started getting a lot of looks. If anybody looked at Silhatsa, their eyes inevitably trailed to the armada of goods she had bought, all of which were floating along behind and beside me courtesy of my Gravity.

  “I knew I was going to be a pack mule,” I muttered.

  “What in the world is a mule?” she asked. “Some sort of carrying implement back where you’re from?”

  “They’re animals, commonly used as beasts of burden. Actually, I don’t know how common that really was. It just became an idiom of sorts.”

  “Ah, I wasn’t expecting lessons on otherworld linguistics on a shopping trip!”

  I’d hardly call that a linguistics lesson. “Is this really a shopping trip or a buy-out-the-entire-marketplace trip?”

  Silhatsa hissed out a laugh. “This is an exceedingly rare opportunity for me to get everything I want.”

  I looked behind me. “You… really want a set of fifteen foldable tables, each big enough to seat ten people?” Honestly, I was impressed that Zairgon even had foldable tables, especially when they obviously weren’t made of wood or plastic.

  That finally made Silhatsa flush. “That’s for the Magic Festival.”

  “Magic… Festival? Oh, I think you mentioned it a while back.”

  “I did!”

  She proceeded to remind me what that was as we invaded more shops and ransacked their poor keepers of too many of their precious goods. Admittedly, none of the vendors looked like they had regretted doing business by the end, just nonplussed at the sheer quantity of already-purchased stuff temporarily hiding their shop from the rest of the world.

  It turned out the Magic Festival was exactly what it said on the tin. I should have figured. It was a gathering hosted by mages to create rides, set up fun stalls and booths, provide entertainment, and basically make all of Zairgon appreciate the work of the Mage Guild.

  “Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?” Silhatsa said. “You should join, Ross.”

  “Uh, I’m not so sure…”

  “Just think about it! I’ll help you participate however much or little you want, alright?”

  I grumbled noncommittally. It was hard to see the benefits of doing something like that. Although, I could potentially further the cult’s influence. Did I even want to do that on Ring Three? So far, I had kept practically all of the Sun Cult’s dealings relegated to Ring Four because that was where people needed it. I had no idea if Ring Three people even prayed.

  “I’ll think about it,” I said. “But no promises.”

  “Fair enough. Anyway, that’s about it for me. Taking care of things for the Mage Guild while I squeeze in some personal stuff. What have you been up to, O Vanquisher of Blight Swarms?”

  “Oh please, you’re going to make me blush.”

  She looked at me with academic interest.

  “Sorry to burst your bubble,” I said. “But it’s also just a figure of speech.”

  “Grr. Well, at least it’s more linguistic lessons.”

  I went on to tell her about recent happenings, like my visit to the Kalnislaw estate and how I was technically the owner of it now. Then I told her about the recent excursion into Rackshift dungeon, but she ignored that completely.

  “You own the Kalnislaw lands now?” Silhatsa asked incredulously.

  Surprised as she was, she at least retained enough sense to ask about it quietly.

  “Well, the Cult of the Sun is the owner of the Kalnislaw estate,” I said. “Hamsik still retains a stake in it, but the cult is the significant majority owner, yes. I’m just the owner in the sense that I’m the leader of the Sun Cult, so I’m in charge. For now.”

  “So, it’s Lord Moreland now? Not just Mage Moreland or Cultist Moreland? Or are you going to adopt the ridiculousness of Lord Mage Cultist Moreland?”

  “You missed a few titles there.”

  “Oh, yes. How could I have forgotten? Lord Mage Cultist Pack-Mule Moreland.”

  “You’re going to make me regret telling you about it.”

  She laughed.

  Silhatsa went on to purchase a set of robes, not all of which were mage robes, and not all of them purchased from the same place. She had to be one of the pickiest shoppers I had ever seen.

  “About my Permanence…” I said.

  Silhatsa nodded. “Hmm, do you think this gem matches my scaletone?” She paused. “Oh, sorry, what were you saying about Permanence?”

  I eyed the little ring she had bought. “The silver of the ring is nice. So is the sapphire.” I glanced very, very briefly at her pinkish scales. “But why don’t we look for rubies?”

  “I have thirteen pieces of ruby, Ross. I’m a little sick of them. As sick as I’m going to make you of Permanence. Ask away, please.”

  How nice of her to give me an opening. I cleared my throat and asked her about some economic use cases for Permanence, going so far as to tell her about my little experiment with the mini artificial sun powering a couple of the Kalnislaw vineyards.

  “Enchantment is a very common use,” she said. “Which commonly leads to runecrafting. It’s actually a very smart process, when you think about it. Funny how you don’t think about the ingenuity of some things when you see them every day.”

  When she explained how it all worked, I had to admit, it was pretty ingenious. Essentially, Enchanters used Permanence in two main ways to make sure runes didn’t draw on too much of their mana. Because obviously not everyone had the same kind of mana-guzzling core like I did.

  One way was to create the enchantment such that it drew in ambient mana to power whatever enchantment had been set. Therefore, the only mana draw needed from the caster was the functionality that drained ambient mana.

  And the other key characteristic was that runes by nature only actually needed mana the moment they were active. With how they were mostly single-use, they stopped drawing mana entirely once they were used up, so that meant the draw due to Permanence faded. Enchanters with simple enchantments had it good.

  “That’s pretty neat,” I said. “Though not quite what I’m going for.”

  “Yes, I thought so.” Silhatsa was inspecting certain ointments that were apparently very good for enhancing the shininess of Scalekin scales. I was tempted to ask if they’d work on the scales of other creatures, like snakes and whatnot. “I think your best bet is artificing.”

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  “Artifices, huh?” My mind immediately went to Linak. “I suppose I can ask around about that.”

  I was also reminded of the strange engine-like mechanism we had retrieved from Rackshift dungeon. It would be difficult to get my hands on that thing, but not impossible. Point was, I might not need it if I could just use Linak as a sort of reference on how to proceed.

  “You have some connections with the Artificer’s Guild, right?” Silhatsa said. “Actually, it’s amazing how many connections you have.”

  “What’s so amazing about that?” I asked suspiciously.

  “Well, you’re a cultist from Ring Four. Yet you know everybody. From the lowest of the low in Ring Four—forgive my frankness—to the highest of highs on Ring One of all places. You’ve got a few Councillors in your back pocket, after all. And it’s not just those two extremes, either! You’ve got regular people like me on Ring Three, Hamsik Kalnislaw from Ring Two…”

  She shook her head, overly impressed for some reason. I had never thought much about it. All of that had formed naturally. It wasn’t like I had attended networking events and shaken hands with complete strangers to scratch each other’s backs. But maybe that made it all the more impressive.

  My PA days told me how hard it was to form those connections if you weren’t either networking on purpose or going around and doing things.

  “From what you’re telling me about the vineyards, artificing might really be the way to go, Ross,” Silhatsa said.

  We were now at a shop that sold lights. She had already purchased several of all kinds, from simple lamps to beadlike lights that could be strung up in rows, but we were still here because she was busy double-checking she hadn’t missed anything.

  “How exactly would artificing help in this case?” I asked. “I guess I don’t know enough about it to know the benefits and pitfalls.”

  Silhatsa pored over a small list. I had to admire her ability to multi-task. No way would I have been capable of that. “Essentially, you’d create artifices that can perform the extended-duration function you clearly want, but at a fraction of the cost that it’s drawing from you at the moment. I’m not particularly well-versed in the details of it, but don’t you basically want a lamp?”

  “I…” I had raised my hand at her gross oversimplification but was forced to lower it. “Yes. Yes, I want a lamp.”

  “Well, there you go.”

  At the mention of lamp, the storekeeper looked at me while rubbing his hands together, but I quickly waved him off.

  Afterwards, we were basically done. Silhatsa was wrapping up her shopping spree, finally satisfied with everything she had purchased. I looked behind and decided it was a mistake to try and tally all the stuff trailing behind me. There was just way too much. So much so that people from all over the marketplace were pointing and staring.

  “At this rate, we’re going to turn into a tourist attraction,” I said.

  Silhatsa laughed again. “Come on. All that’s left is getting all this where it needs to be.”

  “Just to the Mage Guild, right?” I asked, suspicion heavy in my voice.

  “Yes, of course. I wouldn’t take advantage of your kindness.”

  I stared at her.

  “I wouldn’t take advantage of your kindness… any further,” she amended.

  Satisfied, we made our way towards the Mage Guild.

  “You really couldn’t have at least one dimensional storage or something?” I asked.

  “Why?” she asked back. “Do you mind dragging things for me? You know you’re not technically carrying them, though I do suppose all the ogling isn’t very comfortable.”

  “I don’t mind the looks. I’ve done moving jobs before, remember? This is pretty much the same deal.”

  “Oh, that’s true, you have! But yes, dimensional storages are expensive for everyday use. The Council heavily subsidizes them for things like dungeon runs and military use. But only for those use cases. Getting them for a shopping trip would make my bank account weep.” She eyed my little bag I carried around. “Tell me how much you’ve got in your dimensional storage.”

  “Uh.” I felt a little self-conscious as I answered. “Just my mace, some potions, and some extra food if I ever need them. There’s… not much space for anything else.” That admission had me looking behind at the train of stuff that could fill up most of the Mage Guild guildhall. “Fine, I get it.”

  Silhatsa turned back to the front with a small smile.

  As we walked, I remembered to ask about my second mana core. I told her about the Sacrifice in the Nether Vein, about my Heart Demon and the Netherthreads and even about Zoltan. Briefly, of course.

  “That’s… a lot.” Her glance momentarily fell to my leg. “How’s it feeling? You’ve been acting normal about it, but is that real… or is that an act?”

  “No, no, it’s real enough. Councillor Ghistara did an amazing job. It’s as real a leg as I originally had. Just feeds on my mana, unfortunately. Which is why I asked about Permanence.”

  “Another Councillor.” She shook her head with another smile. “If it feeds on your mana, then it might have some very interesting properties.”

  “Yeah, I need to think about it when I have the chance. But anyway, about the second mana core.”

  “Right. Sorry.” She rubbed her chin for a moment. “I don’t know about second mana cores specifically, unfortunately. It’s very rare. I don’t think I’ve even heard of anyone with a second mana core save one of the Councillors. But at the academy, they teach you that to open your mana core, you need to concentrate your mana at a point where your soul can interact with it.”

  “That sounds extremely, uh, metaphysical.”

  “It’s not very clear, yes. But we’re mages, what do you expect?”

  I grunted, remembering all my prior exercises with mana. Hadn’t I imagined it as runaway puppies to be manipulated with treats once? “Fair, I guess.” Wait, she had said we. All this time, and I hadn’t even bothered to find out what her Path or Aspect was. “What’s your Path, Silhatsa?”

  “I’ve got the Path of the Ember Flower. You don’t have to ask just to be polite, Ross.”

  “I wasn’t. I was genuinely curious. And now I’m even more curious.”

  She offered me a small nod of apology. “Sorry I can’t help much with the second mana core. I’d say it’s amazing that you’re capable of manifesting a second one, but at this point, you’re probably sick of people telling you that. I’ll try to dig up more information if I can, see where you can find out more.”

  “I’m not too sick of appreciation just yet,” I said. She smirked at that. “But thanks. I’d appreciate any further pointers.”

  I got a whole other kind of look when I finally reached the Mage Guild. People there were a lot more sophisticated than the generally brutish adventurers at the Adventurer’s Guild, but I still got the occasional snootiness and elitism. Case in point—the time I had tried inducting Vandre as an official, guild-certified mage.

  Now, with me strolling in behind Silhatsa while carrying in enough paraphernalia to bury the entire guildhall, everybody gawked.

  “Make way, please,” Silhatsa said loudly. “Make way for the Magic Festival.”

  “You know,” I hissed. “This should totally count as participating in this festival of yours.”

  She tutted. “Why are you so averse to the Magic Festival, Ross?”

  “I’m not averse to it. I just haven’t decided if it’s going to be of benefit.”

  “Can’t you attend something without any seeming benefits?”

  My eyes twitched. “I can.”

  “So…”

  “You know, I always thought you were sweet, but now I see you’re kind of infuriating too.”

  That just made her laugh.

  “No,” she said. “You’re just testy because you’ve had to carry all those things for so long. You must be tired!”

  “I’m not at all tired.”

  “I’ll let you go soon, I promise.”

  It wasn’t long afterward that I gained my freedom. Silhatsa had me depositing all the stuff we had gotten on one side of the guildhall. There was so much open ground, my worries that we had carried in too much went unfounded.

  “I owe you a lot, Ross,” she said earnestly. “I’ll try to make it up to you, I promise.”

  She was being so sincere now, after her needling and teasing earlier, that I was starting to feel embarrassed. “Don’t worry about it, please. And yeah, I wasn’t lying. I’ll think about attending the festival.” I thought back to the Scarthralls. To Sreketh. I smiled. “I know a few people who’d love to attend.”

  “It’s going to be amazing. Especially since the Anymphea are joining, and we’re getting some visitors from Claderov, possibly from Sinthesar and maybe even from Kastkor, if their kingdom finally opens up.”

  That was the first time I was hearing about the existence of kingdoms on Ephemeroth. Made sense, I supposed. The whole world wasn’t going to run as little city-states.

  “Fine, fine,” I said. “I promise I’ll think about it properly. Didn’t know it was such a big deal that we’d be getting people from all over.”

  “Well… that’s not so much for the Magic Festival as it is for the Nether Vein. They’re opening it up soon, right? So the idea is that, once they recover the treasures there after a few expeditions, the Council will host a big auction that should draw people from all over Falsient.”

  “And the Guildmaster decided to take advantage of that by having the Magic Festival happen around the same time.”

  “Exactly.”

  I said my farewells to Silhatsa before leaving. The Nether Vein was opening up for good. For all the blessings and trouble it could bring, I was mostly looking forward to one thing.

  Which arrived just as I entered Ring Four.

  A surge of mana returned to me, my existing mana core spinning and guzzling to try and take it all in. I had to stop. The feeling of energy flooding me was intense, like if I moved too much, I could spontaneously combust if I wasn’t careful.

  But I smiled. The Nether Vein was fully open now. The Permanence-fuelled Ignition Charge for Entropy that I had performed was now broken, and the huge amount of mana being drawn there was no longer a cost I had to bear. Right, Entropy. I still needed to figure out its other Affix. Time to get to work.

  And time to remain wary of what the Nether Vein brought.