Astraea opens her eyes to see the ground roughly a metre beneath her. It is a beaten path, surrounded on either side by unkempt grass. She recalls the events that took place mere moments ago, at least from her perspective. Considering the severity of the damage she suffered from the blast, her body is oddly intact; the gaping hole she felt entirely absent.

  “I have awakened.”

  Vis puts her back upright and sighs.

  “I hope you're feeling better after all that energy you drained while you were out.”

  She winces and gives an apologetic bow.

  “I had no intention of doing so. You have my gratitude, and if you ever need assistance, simply inform me and I shall do all I can.”

  The warrior smiles and says, “Don't worry about it. That's what friends are for,” and they resume their journey, Astraea no longer being dead weight.

  As they travel, Astraea glances at ?elare’s missing limb. She moves closer to him.

  “Allow me to regenerate that for you.”

  ?elare looks ambivalent toward this offer, considering it for a moment until he decides.

  “Not this time, not while you're so injured yourself. I can deal with this for a little while!” he says, wearing a clearly-forced smile. Finally, they arrive at the carriage station. ?elare purchases a trip back to Alpha, which they board soon after. The journey proceeds entirely without incident.

  Exiting the carriage after Astraea and ?elare, Vis sighs. He could tell that, despite trying to be professional, the carriage driver was wary of him, as the short man kept glancing back at the passengers.

  Vis was not angry at him in particular, as many people from Alpha are similar, but it would be a lie to say he was unbothered. He mentally restates his oath to change the perception of his people as they walk, until he is taken out of his thoughts by a cloaked figure bumping into him.

  Despite his strength, he is still thrown off balance, the figure turning to look at him. Vis reaches out to grab the person but pauses, stunned, as their face stares him down with orange, bestial eyes. They continue looking at each other, adrenaline beginning to pump through Vis’ veins, until he hears a familiar voice.

  “Vis! Are you there?” ?elare shouts, causing him to whip his head around to look at the blond boy.

  “Sorry, this guy collided with me. Look at his eyes! They…”

  He turns round to gesture to the man, but in his place is a plainly-dressed man of average height with short brown hair, who smiles and waves.

  “Yes, Vis? What about my eyes?”

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  Dumbfounded, Vis blinks at his Teacher, who shakes his head and addresses all three of them.

  “I'll move past that, don't worry. I'm not petty. I see you've returned, except for Hunter. Follow me to my room where we can discuss the events that led to such an injury,” he says, looking at ?elare's still-missing arm.

  Novus leads them to a nearby building which none of them have been to before. He opens the door, which leads to the all-too-recognisable hallway. Vis follows through unquestioningly, while ?elare and Astraea share a quizzical look. Next, they enter the room where Novus first talked to them all. The man takes a seat on the throne and waits for the rest of them to sit at the sides.

  “Now, tell me what happened.”

  A week later, all three of them are sparring in the arena they fought in just after truly meeting each other. They fully recovered several days ago, including ?elare's arm, and are practising teamwork and coordination in battle. As ?elare swipes his dagger at Astraea, she swerves around the path of the blade and places her hand on his chest, maintaining a second of contact before being kicked away by Vis, who summons a dagger of his own. He steps towards Astraea, ready to engage, but stops upon hearing a voice from no discernable direction.

  “Your favourite bowman has just arrived back, and I have the promised rewards! Come to my room.”

  All three of them look to each other, confirming that they all heard the message, and so they heed Novus’ words. Entering the room, they see Hunter waiting for them with a smile on his face.

  “Hey, I'm back, and I’ve learned a new trick to aid us in whatever mission we have to undergo next.”

  Novus gives them no time to greet him.

  “Each of you has your own personalised reward. I shall not delay more than necessary- Hunter, you have already received your reward.”

  Novus steps up to ?elare, offering him a sheathed dagger, who takes it as he listens to the explanation of it.

  “This here was forged in the Crucible Smithery, by one of the top crafters. There's nothing magical about it, but it shall be a reliable weapon for possibly the rest of your life.”

  Without a moment of hesitation, Novus turns to Astraea and gives her a small orb.

  “You'll want to consume this in a moment of crisis. It's condensed life energy trapped in a spatial container.”

  She takes it with a satisfied look on her face.

  Vis waits with his eyes wide and arm extended, expectantly. Novus looks at him and chuckles.

  “I'm not giving you anything physical as a reward.”

  Vis looks betrayed by this and is about to object, but is stopped as his teacher continues, “Instead, I will spend a whole day tomorrow tutoring you in how to effectively use your magic, as I did for Hunter.”

  The warrior considers this for a moment before nodding.

  “I must be on my way now. Go back to the arena and try out your new options.”

  And this they do.

  Hunter closes his eyes and channels earth element through his feet and into the ground, carefully controlling his output. A web-like structure extends just below the surface of the stone platform, out of sight. He focuses for eighteen seconds, until he opens his eyes and thrusts his arm out in front of him, grabbing onto someone who is materialising in front of him.

  ?elare stares at him, his eyes wide.

  “How did you know I was there?” he asks, puzzled.

  Hunter smiles and says, “I felt you with my new technique! I may not have been able to see or hear you, but there's no way you could have avoided affecting the ground below you as you walked. Each time your weight compressed the stone even slightly, I could sense it.”

  “That's… extremely useful, especially in combination with my sight and hearing. Nobody can escape our detection,” ?elare muses, before turning to Vis.

  “Let's test my new dagger. I doubt Novus misled me, but I want to see just how durable it is.”

  Vis grins and summons the same dagger as earlier, having stored it in his bracers' spatial storage before meeting back with Hunter. They spend the remaining hours of the day battling. Once darkness falls, they retreat to their rooms and rest, their first mission complete.