“Alright, Nyxia.” Myra spoke up, pulling out of my thoughts. “What do you think? You in?”

  This wasn’t just an opportunity to help pay off Valerie’s debt. It was also a chance to find more about Ordon and how they operate. A lab hidden in a district overrun with reality warping rifts could hold secrets related to why I was reincarnated here.

  “Yeah…I think so.” Regardless of their intentions, this opportunity was too good to walk away from. “But I have a few questions, why would Ordon make a lock that any Drakanian can open? Doesn’t that completely jeopardize their security?”

  “That’s the neat part, it’s not just a genetic lock!” Talo explained. “It needs a Drakanian to punch in a code for it to work. If any other species tries to open it, the security will come online and blast them to pieces!”

  That… seemed extreme.

  “And what happens if you punch in the wrong code?”

  “Don’t worry, the response for that scenario is much less extreme.” Myra answered. “It will trigger the silent alarm though.”

  “One more thing, how are we splitting what we find?”

  “An even split between us all.” Myra answered easily with no hint of hesitation. “Whether it’s stuff you want to keep, or pile into a ‘sell’ pile, you’ll get one-eighth of whatever we find, and we get the rest.”

  That was good enough for me.

  “Alright. I don’t have any more questions.”

  “Excellent!” Myra grinned as she pulled a large case out from behind the couch.

  “I got you a suit of armor in preparation. Hope you like it.” The map shimmered as she handed it to me through the hologram.

  I raised an eyebrow and clicked it open, revealing a black, armored bodysuit. It even had an opening for my tail.

  “It’s an older Drake Tech model, but it’s still in great shape. Practically useless at stopping magic attacks, but it’ll hold up against most physical damage from light weapons or lower tiered monsters. The newer models have mana shielding tech that solves that issue, but this was all I could find on such short notice.”

  “Thanks, I was having trouble finding anything I could afford.” I ran a thumb over the solid armored plating.

  Would they be buying me protection if they were just planning on betraying me later? Was I just being paranoid?

  “There’s an open room in the back.” Myra jabbed her thumb toward the back of the warehouse. “Go ahead and see how it fits.”

  Nodding, I closed the case again and went to get changed.

  For now, since they hadn’t done anything nefarious yet, I would give them the benefit of the doubt. I shouldn’t just assume the worst in people just because they weren’t completely honest.

  Actions spoke louder than words after all—and so far, their actions had been fine.

  Yeah, I was probably just being paranoid.

  ———

  “Looking good!” Myra slapped my shoulder heartily as I stepped out. I could tell she put some strength behind it, but I barely felt it through the armor.

  “We’ll be leaving tonight.” Myra continued, stepping away from me and heading to a workbench tucked in an unused corner. “Unfortunately, you’re too important to the mission, so you’ll have to stay with us while we prepare. Wouldn’t want you getting attacked on the way home or something and having to call the whole thing off.”

  “Sounds good.” I looked around the warehouse at everyone moving about, preparing in their own way for the mission. There wasn’t much more I could do—unless they had some spells lying around I could learn.

  Might as well ask.

  “Hey, Myra? Do you happen to have any spells you’d be willing to share?”

  Myra paused before glancing up from tinkering on her rifle. “Spells? I didn’t take you for a mage.”

  “Not in a professional sense,” I shrugged, doing my best to sound nonchalant, “But I’d like to learn.”

  “I see.” She turned back to her tinkering. “Well, I’m not a mage, but you could try asking Ellen. Not sure if she has anything you could use though. Her spells are a bit niche.”

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  “I’ll ask her anyway, thanks.” Glancing around the room, it took a moment to actually find her.

  She was sitting in a dark corner checking over her gear. She held a long, dangerous looking knife in one hand and a small pistol with a long barrel in the other. She looked up with a blank expression as I approached.

  “Hey, sorry to bother you, but do you have any spells you’d be willing to share? I’ve been looking for some combat magic but— ”

  “Sorry, but no.” She cut me off with a dismissive wave. “I didn’t bring any with me when I left the Syndicate, and I don’t have time to teach you personally.”

  “Ah, I see. Then… do you know any places that sold them?”

  “Yes. But I doubt you’d get through the door, much less be able to afford what they’re selling. My advice is to craft your own.”

  “People can just… make their own spells?” I hadn’t considered that possibility. Now that I thought about it, though, the flame spell Valerie taught me was more about visualization than anything else.

  Was it really that simple?

  “Yes.” Ellen nodded. “Most of mine are self taught. Hard to find someone with a long enough life expectancy to actually teach you down here.”

  “Thank you, you’ve been a big help.” She’d given me a lot to think about, but now at least I had something to do while waiting.

  “Mmm.” She grunted, returning to her gear, signaling that the conversation was over.

  I quickly left her to her work and found an empty spot of my own on top of an old crate. Sitting down, i began to think.

  I wanted a way to deal serious damage if I was ever without a weapon—something like a classic fireball would be ideal. But right now I didn’t have much time to consider the best way to do that—and I didn’t want to accidentally cast a fireball in the middle of the room—so I focused on something practical.

  I already had a light source thanks to the flame spell and my enhanced eyesight. My nanites covered healing and would get stronger over time. So maybe something could interfere with electronics? Or was this world using magic as a power source? The guns, at least, ran on magic. So did that mean the tech here was completely different? Or maybe a mix of both?

  I shook the thoughts away. Spell first, then theories.

  I decided on trying to create a thin, metal needle. I’d start with simple iron at first, since it was a single element, I’d have less to concentrate on. I could always move on to something stronger when I had more time to work on it.

  I pushed my mana out to my finger, like I’d done with the flame, and focused on converting it into metal. I could feel it working, but it was much slower than I anticipated. It took about ten seconds to get a single inch of metal, and I was already struggling to concentrate.

  The needle took another twenty seconds to finish before it fell, clinking softly as it hit the floor.

  [Use 1 Skill Point To Save Spell To Library?]

  [Yes] [No]

  No, I quickly denied the system, rolling my eyes. I wasn’t going to waste my skill points on something this useless. I’d save the spell once I’d worked it into something worthwhile.

  Reaching down, I pinched the iron needle between two fingers and brought it up to my eyes to examine it.

  It was slightly thicker than a sewing needle and about twice as long. If aimed properly, I could see it piercing through soft targets with ease.

  But I noticed something strange. The needle was… decaying. Slowly losing its shape as it crumbled back into mana.

  Less than a minute later, it had completely dissipated, leaving no evidence it existed.

  If I could get this working, it could become a potent weapon. One essential to my arsenal.

  Taking a breath, I focused on refining the spell.

  First, I needed a way to shoot the needle forward after creating it. But how would I do that?

  Valerie had said visualization was important, and that visualizing combustible gas igniting would increase the potency, but did that mean you could create the effects normally without the science? How did that even scale?

  I tried casting the spell again, this time picturing a needle shooting out of a dart gun, zipping across a room in an instant.

  The spell had almost completed before my concentration lapsed just for a moment, but it was enough to destabilize the spell. The half formed needle, fell to the floor again, mocking me with a soft ‘tink’ as it bounced twice before lying still.

  I let out an annoyed breath at the failure.

  It was taking longer to form too. I wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that I was focusing on multiple things at once. Maybe I could add the momentum after the needle was formed?

  Making another attempt, I tried to create the needle first, then shoot it forward just before it fell.

  And, to my surprise, I partially succeeded. The needle sprang forward in a lazy arc before clattering to the ground roughly ten feet from where I stood.

  A small smile pulled at my lips as I got another system notification asking if I wanted to save the spell. But it wasn’t quite ready yet.

  Visualization seemed to play a larger part than I realized. I went to work looking through my memories for something with more power behind it and didn't include using explosives to propel a object. I wanted the spell to be quiet.

  I’d once seen a prototype railgun being test fired online…

  I quickly pointed my finger in a safe direction and tried again, the magic flowing to form the new spell.

  *Crack!*

  The needle snapped forward and embedded itself into the wall across from me. Wincing at the noise, I quickly dropped my hand and looked around, but luckily no one seemed to notice.

  [Use 1 Skill Point To Save Spell To Library?]

  [Yes] [No]

  I looked at the needle sticking out of the wall with a grin.

  Yes. This is exactly what I was looking for.

  [Spell [Needle Strike] Saved To Library]

  [2 Skill Points Remaining]

  It wasn’t as accurate as I’d like, nor was it as strong as an actual railgun—it was closer in strength to a hunting crossbow than anything—but it would work wonderfully as a hidden weapon.

  ———

  The rest of the day crawled by slowly as we waited for nightfall, until the hour to act finally arrived. The only two members who weren’t joining us were the Rabbit-Folk sister. Their job was more 'pre-mission preparations' rather than on the job support.

  “Alright everyone.” Myra adjusted a light backpack over her shoulder as she looked us over. “Final checks, do we have everything we need?”

  Everyone gave their own form of acknowledgment and Myra nodded.

  “Right. Let’s head out.”

  I fought down my budding nerves as I adjusted my own borrowed pack and followed the team into the still, empty street.