The 'goddess' of partying flinched away from the bloody sight. "The vault master, he really…"

  Atzi had no problem watching a chicken be gutted. She had a grudge against the feathered bastards.

  "The three on this stage with me are lucky I have not decided to give them the same fate," said the red-eyed vault master. "I shall now announce their punishments. Aspirant Octavia. Step forward."

  The woman who'd nearly run into Atzi stepped forward, shaking. Her leather hat wobbled.

  "You are a chosen apprentice, so I cannot simply expel you. But I can make you wish you were. You are officially assigned to cleaning duty every evening until you become a mage."

  Aren't they all mages?

  "Y-yes!" Octavia shouted.

  The vault master handed her the blood-soaked chicken cage, which she nearly fumbled. She set it back on its stand before looking at the vault master.

  He glared back at her, and she ran off quickly.

  "They usually this dramatic about making someone clean up a bit?" Atzi whispered to the 'goddess'.

  "Cleaning duty includes cleaning up after potentially lethal magical experiments," the 'goddess' replied. "She'll be risking her life on a weekly basis."

  "Pretty rough for losing a few gems, huh?" Atzi said.

  The 'goddess' looked at her like she was stupid. "Do you know how much gems are worth?"

  "Uhhhhh... a hundred gold?"

  "Twenty to thirty pounds of gold."

  Atzi's tail shot straight up. "That much?!" she shouted.

  "Furthermore-" The vault master stopped, red eyes pinpointing Atzi.

  Atzi let out a small noise as she sunk into her seat. An image of Malus's red eyes flashed in her mind.

  "Silence or be silenced," the vault master stated.

  Atzi clamped her hand over her mouth.

  She didn't doubt she could probably get Terra to vouch for her if things went really bad, but she'd rather not deal with some powerful mage with a grudge.

  When I get the chance in another loop, I want those gems. Atzi looked at the three rubies in the cage. I knew they were valuable, but that's at least sixty pounds of gold right there! Do I eat them or sell them?

  The man turned his eyes away. "Initiate Phyllis, step forward."

  The attractive, regal looking woman did so. Not a single aspect of her showed nervousness, as though she was receiving an award rather than a punishment.

  "As one of our more promising initiates, I shall not expel you either. But you showed terrible judgement, and you will be punished for it. You will be demoted to research assistant duty for all mages to use as they see fit until such a time you reach the status of mage yourself."

  Phyllis nodded slightly. "I understand."

  "I take it that's bad, too?" Atzi whispered very, very quietly to the 'goddess'.

  "It's not as dangerous as cleaning, but plenty of experiments can be deadly. Sometimes there's not even the proper oversight, and a mage will do horrible experiments, like on that initiate who got injected with demon blood."

  These mages are seriously unhinged.

  "Finally, Mage Weston. Step forward."

  The man who looked like he'd lost a fight stepped forward.

  "As my personal apprentice and assistant, others might believe I will go easy on you. You know I will not. You are hereby graduated."

  Weston looked devastated.

  Sounds like a good thing? But this vault master seems like a real ass, so what's going on here?

  "This gathering is hereby dismissed. The one I called, and the party. Go to your beds."

  This was a terrible party anyway. The booze sucked! "So much for mage parties, huh?"

  "I can't believe he got graduated."

  "Isn't that a good thing?"

  The 'goddess' shook her head. "Mages try to stick around as long as possible for access to the school's resources."

  Atzi made a noise of understanding. "Kicking him out."

  "The vault master basically expelled him, but with a nicer word."

  "Better than the other two. Why'd he have to make this a big public humiliation anyway? Seems like he's getting off on it."

  "I've heard of worse tales. Some swear he once ate a student."

  Atzi paused for a moment, then shivered. "S-so he's a swamp witch?"

  "What? No. I was half joking anyway. There's all sorts of crazy rumors about him. But nobody wants to be on his bad side. Ever."

  "Oh." Atzi considered that she had an opportunity to get some gems in the next loop. "Where was that chicken running around?"

  The 'goddess' shrugged.

  Atzi considered where she could find the information she needed. Then the idea came to her. I'm gonna find that aspirant that got the cleaning duty and bug her for info.

  Twenty to thirty pounds of gold each!

  That was assuming she could find someone to sell them to. She figured Fence could sort that out. Assuming she hadn't burnt that bridge in that loop.

  Atzi headed off from the now abandoned party. She wandered back to her room to sleep. The illusion wards meant she couldn't find a different room, anyway.

  Atzi dreamt of the vault master eating her alive.

  ===

  Atzi woke up to a question from the voice of the actual goddess in her head. "What is the difference between death and sleep?"

  Atzi yawned, bathing in the morning sunlight as she processed the question. She was still too tired to realize how dumb it was. "You wake up from sleep. I only wake up from death 'cause of you, and it's always at the same time. Other people…" Atzi remembered Cory. Atzi tried to not remember Cory. "They don't wake up from it."

  "They're back when you wake up, aren't they?"

  "Yeah, but only if I die too. Which I'm gonna have to..." Atzi sighed.

  "If dying is the worst, why die?"

  "Well I don't want to! But if I don't, she's- she's-" Atzi whined. "She's dead 'cause of this stupid idea I had. I need to... fix that."

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  "She?"

  "Cory. Were you asleep then?"

  "I drift in and out."

  "That psycho of a sage killed her over the book. You know, I really thought that she might... if it's her, if it's Cory, she might win? Even if that would screw up all my plans this time around, even if she kills me next, I was hoping she might..."

  "Why do you want someone who hurts you to win? I thought you didn't like being hurt?" The question was entirely innocent, free of judgement.

  Atzi still felt embarrassed. "You're making it sound like I'm some kinda masochist. We were almost together, until things went wrong, alright?"

  "Together?"

  "Please, please don't tell me I need to tell you what sex is."

  "I know what sex is. I had it, I think. So 'together' is a sex thing?"

  "You did? Wow." Atzi wondered what was wrong with the goddess's head, that she apparently had sex, but didn't know what together or asshole meant, or that being eaten wasn't a normal part of it. "Uh, yeah, sort of. I want to- wanted to date her. And that'd lead to sex, yeah."

  "But she wants to kill you?"

  "I don't know why she does! She didn't before, maybe it's one of those crazies she hangs out with now?"

  "I see." The mysterious goddess yawned. "I think...I need to rest...again."

  "Ah. Yeah, better sleep before I teach you anything worse." Atzi got out of bed and got dressed.

  Atzi had two things she was interested in. One was seeing what goes on in the lectures now that she knew she could catch one. The other was finding Octavia and bullying her into saying where the gems were for the future.

  Or would that be the past?

  But she didn't know how to track down Octavia offhand, so she decided to head for lectures.

  She might be easier to find in the evenings anyway. Probably needs a bath after all that cleaning.

  Atzi looked at the map. There were a bunch of lecture halls, and she had no idea which ones would be used for class.

  -

  She'd tried lecture halls eight and seven before finding a gathering of students seated in lecture hall six.

  The lecture hadn't started yet, but all the seats were taken. Atzi reluctantly took a spot standing at the back.

  She spotted the snooty woman in white robes laughing with her friends near the front. Atzi glared at her, but she didn't even notice Atzi.

  After a few minutes of impatiently tapping her foot, Atzi heard everyone suddenly quiet down as someone stepped into the room.

  The professor, Atzi guessed, was a sight to behold. She had two mismatched eyes in both size and color, one purple with blue and the other blue with purple. Her face was gaunt and her ears were large. She wore blue leather robes that looked two sizes too large for her, and a golden band around her head rather than a hat.

  "Today, we will be discussing the oppositions and complements between air and earth magic," she began.

  Atzi listened to the lecture. She didn't understand over half the things the professor said, and she desperately wished she could sit down or pace, but she stood her ground.

  Apparently air and earth magic were 'naturally opposed', able to restrain each other. Air magic could be used to deflect or avoid earth magic, while earth magic could be used to resist or redirect air magic. Yet they could also be used together.

  But how do I use magic at all? Atzi wanted to ask, but she didn't. She felt like she was seriously missing the basics.

  Then the professor started writing equations on a chalkboard.

  Why is there math?!

  Atzi didn't know how long the lecture was, only that her head hurt by the end.

  "Your research project for the next two weeks is to establish a theoretically plausible air-earth spell," The professor intoned. "Remember: The attempt is more important to your learning, than your success or failure. Dismissed."

  Can any of these people even use both those types of magic? Why are they taking a class on it? Atzi shuffled out of the room with everyone else, bored but a little more knowledgeable.

  Atzi went down to the cafeteria for some food. She looked around for Octavia, but didn't spot her.

  As she picked over a bug salad in a bowl the size of her head, she overheard two students talking about the Demon. Apparently the god was arriving just then, and they debated going to watch. Atzi thought back to the book she'd read and wondered what the Demon was like. His statue was big and ugly, like a giant eyeless goat. Yet the book had mentioned demons would change. Did the Demon look the same as his statue?

  Not that she could go out to check, as she'd still rather not die to V.

  After eating her salad - with a second helping of bugs when she'd accidentally eaten her way through them all before finishing the actual salad - Atzi went to look for another lecture, hoping she'd luck into one that would actually teach her the basics.

  Lecture hall three was empty, but lecture hall two had some students in it, and this time she was early enough to grab a seat. She sat down with satisfaction.

  To Atzi's surprise, the professor arrived while the seats were only half full.

  She was a rotund middle-aged woman with a simple smile and a large red and white mushroom cap for a hat. Her red robes looked made more for comfort than for showing off.

  All the professors are so weird looking.

  "Hello darlings!" The mushroom hatted woman greeted in a cheery voice. "Today, we're going to be going over emotion altering aspects of nature magic! Isn't that exciting?"

  The students merely prepared their quills to write.

  Atzi found this lecture a little easier to understand than the other one, though it still used a bunch of terms she didn't understand, like 'the physicality of magic'. Apparently it was impossible for magic to change someone's thoughts directly. However, magic could be used to cause strong feelings in others, especially nature magic.

  Atzi perked up when she heard the word 'lust'. I can make people horny with magic? The possibility excited her. Maybe I could use that on Cory. Atzi chuckled to herself.

  "This forms the basis of the most dangerous nature magic spell, simply called 'Charm'," the professor said. "It hits someone with a concoction of positive emotions so thorough they want desperately to do everything you say." She looked up at the laughing Atzi. "But before you think 'I can use that on the person I like', besides the spell being illegal to use within the Empire, much of who the target was before will vanish. It's not a love spell. It is a tool of war."

  Atzi stopped chuckling. Scary…

  The professor smiled. "And that finishes our class. Good day!"

  Atzi left the lecture hall, still frustrated she didn't understand the basics.

  Doesn't seem like they actually teach you how to cast spells. What in the hells are the classes even good for, then? Atzi decided to go back to looking for Octavia. If she was busy cleaning all day, maybe she's in the baths?

  Before Atzi could even step into the changing room, Octavia stepped out from it.

  "Excuse me," Octavia said, looking gloomy. She tried to walk around Atzi.

  Atzi got in her way. "Hey, Octavia right?"

  "Um...yes..." She closed her eyes and silently muttered something.

  Just need to get her to tell me about it so I can use it next time. Doesn't matter if I get caught since the place is gonna blow up soon, anyway. "I gotta ask you something. I'm here for magical security stuff, Terra brought me in. What exactly happened with the gems?"

  Octavia opened her eyes, looking Atzi up and down. A look of disbelief crossed her face. "You probably just want to make fun of me..."

  "Promise I won't. I'm an expert," Atzi stated with total confidence.

  Octavia looked dubious. Still, she answered. "It was actually my fault. I saw the chicken and I thought she looked cute. So I picked her up and was petting her as we transported the gems. Then when I wasn't looking she… snuck into the back of the wagon and ate ten fire gems."

  Atzi trembled. That's three hundred pounds of gold!

  "We tried to catch her but she breathed a lot of fire at us and ran away..."

  "Oh wow. When was this? Where was it?" Atzi asked, trying to get details she could use in the next loop.

  "Um, I picked her up a bit outside the city. Then she ate the gems before we could bring them inside the academy."

  "Yesterday? Was it morning, noon, afternoon? What gate into the city?"

  Octavia looked at her again, this time with guilt. "S-sorry. You're pretty thorough, huh?"

  "Oh yeah. Of course you gotta keep this stuff secret in advance. But now that the damage is done, better to find out every single detail so it, uh, doesn't happen again. Anyway, more specifics."

  "Right… so we got back sometime on the evening of the twelfth, and I had picked up the chicken just a few hours earlier. We were coming from Tarsus, so we came in from the north gate."

  "Got it." Atzi nodded happily.

  "Um… you're not going to yell at me, are you?" Octavia looked nervous. "Or, get me in more trouble?"

  "Yell at you?" Atzi scoffed. "I could kiss you for this."

  "W-w-what?" Octavia took a step back.

  "You wouldn't get it." Atzi gave a short laugh. "Thanks, though, this really, really helps."

  "Um… okay..."

  "Oh, yeah, do you know where to find a beginner's guide to magic?" Atzi asked.

  Ocatvia stared at her.

  "Absolute basic stuff," Atzi clarified.

  "The library?" Octavia sounded like she wasn't sure if she was being tested.

  Atzi scratched her scales. Why didn't I think of that? "Right. Right. You know a good title for one?"

  "What's that have to do with what happened?"

  "Nothing, but, you know. Gonna be here a few days, why not try and learn this stuff?" Atzi waved her tail. "Never got a chance before."

  Octavia gawped. "I thought you said you were a magical security expert?"

  "Hey, that doesn't mean a mage. I'm an expert in breaking security." Atzi winked. "That's why I got hired. Keep it to yourself though, yeah?"

  Octavia's eyes widened. "Wait, then shouldn't I not teach you stuff, so you can't break it better?" She looked down, trembling. "I knew this was a test!"

  "Your next test is to keep your damn mouth shut, then." Atzi pointed a claw at her.

  Octavia let out a squeak and ran off.

  "Sheesh, these mages..." Atzi shook her head even as she grinned to herself.

  Finally, she could learn the basics!