--- Earlier in the Day ---

  "Soooo, what do the two of you want to do now?" Jack asked Crystal and Sera. The night prior, the trio decided to spend their free day exploring the area. So at the crack of dawn, they went out to see what the town had to offer. Then at noon, they got lunch at a cafe a classmate had recommended to them. Afterward, with nothing else planned, the trio just started wandering around, looking for something to catch their attention.

  "Isn't that Mari?" Sera softly asked. The other two looked where she was pointing, and sure enough, there she was. Mari was happily humming as she walked down the sidewalk, wearing a baby carrier with what looked like a stone child inside. Curious, the trio decided to call out to her.

  "Hey, guys!" She shouted back when she spotted them. Rushing towards them, Mari was about to say something before Crystal suggested they go somewhere else so they wouldn't be blocking the sidewalk. Looking around, the four students found a park along with a picnic table they could sit at.

  "Soooo, watcha got there?" Jack started, motioning to the thing on Mari's back. Her eyes lit up as a wide grin grew on her face.

  "This!" She quickly opened up the carrier's harness and slung it in front of herself. "Is Rocky! Say hi, Rocky! Hi, I'm Rocky!" She said in her best gravely voice while waving Rocky's limp arm at them.

  "Heya, Rocky, I'm Jack!" He leaned into Rocky's face. "So what are you?"

  Crystal rolled her eyes at the duo's antics. "It's a golem, Jack. From its design, it's most likely a basic golem meant for training beginners."

  "Huh, you don't say." Jack leaned back. "So, watcha doing with a golem?" Mari's grin grew.

  "You know those metal bugs from the chest Alex found." The trio nodded. "Well, apparently they were golems!" Jack's eyes widened in shock at the news, Sera tilted her head slightly, and Crystal just raised a brow in confusion.

  "Really?" Crystal asked.

  "Yeah! He even showed me it by making his centipede unravel from his wrist and crawl around his arm!"

  Jack's eyes lit up. "Hey, Crystal, you up for a trade?"

  "We can work something out later." Crystal casually replied. "Speaking of Alex, where is he? I expected you two to be hanging around with each other."

  "He went hiking into the mountain we passed by yesterday. He asked me if I wanted to join him, but I really wanted to see if I could form a bond with a golem, so I decided to go shopping around for one instead." She frowned slightly. "Why do you ask? You looking for him for something?" Crytsal shook her head before pointing at Sera beside her.

  "No, but Sera is."

  "Crystal!" Mari turned to look at her with a raised brow, causing Sera to panic. "Um, uh, the potion!" Mari raised her other brow. However, she quickly realized how silly she must have looked and started blinking before adopting a more neutral look. Luckily for Sera, this gave her time to calm herself down. "You know the high-tier Mana potion Alex gave Jacob?" She continued after a deep breath.

  "Who?"

  "You don't know your classmates' names?" Crytsal asked with furrowed brows.

  "I thought that was clear when she didn't know Sera's name," Jack answered.

  "It's still quite rude not to at least know your classmates' names."

  "Oh, it's fine, Crystal." Assured Sera with Mari nodding in agreement. "So, uh, Mari, Jacob is the guy who applied the buffs on everyone and the one Alex gave the dark blue potion to."

  "Ah, that guy!" Mari exclaimed in understanding. "So what about it?"

  "Do you know where he got it? Maybe if he made it or not?"

  "Why do you want to know?"

  "Oh, uh, I'm an aspiring Alchemist."

  "I got that." Sera's cheeks began to flush.

  "So, uh, after the battle, I asked Jacob if I could look at the potion. Of course, I'm not saying Alex would give him a fake one or anything like that!" She frantically assured Mari while waving her hands at her.

  "Ok?" Sera awkwardly lowered her hands into her lap.

  "So after inspecting the potion, I was shocked by how high-quality it was and wanted to see if I could meet whoever made it, so I could hopefully ask if they had any pointers."

  "That's all?" Sera nodded. "I guess I can tell you, I don't think Alex would care if I did."

  "Really?" Sera excitedly asked. "So where did he get it?"

  "Well, for one, Alex didn't make it. He apparently buys all his potions at one shop he frequents, and they're quite expensive."

  "If the potions are all as high quality as the Mana potion, then I'm not surprised they would be expensive."

  "Wait," Crystal interjected. "How expensive are we talking about?" Mari shrugged her shoulders.

  "Well, I would estimate around the ballpark of 700 Credits per potion if we are basing it on the Mana potion," Sera answered. "Though I think it would be more realistic to say 100 to 200 Credits per potion, give or take a few depending on the type of potion."

  "Huh," Jack absentmindedly muttered.

  "T-thats insane!"

  "Why do you say that?" Jack asked.

  "Yeah, with how high quality the potions are, then I say 100 to 200 Credits is on the lower end of things," Sera added.

  "No, you don't get it. Alex downs a potion every few minutes, and if every one costs a minimum of 100 credits, then how much is he spending every day?" Jack and Sera sat in silence, processing what Crystal said.

  "M-maybe he's drinking lower quality potions?" Sera suggested.

  "No, that can't be it. I can tell with my Arcane Sight that they are chock-full of mana. Not something you would see in cheap mana potions."

  "B-but how else could drink potions like water if that's the case?"

  "Oh, that's easy to answer." Mari casually interjected. The other three turned to look at her. "Alex's rich."

  "How do you know that?" Jack asked.

  "Because he told me when I asked, and from what I'm hearing, he was most likely telling the truth."

  "E-even if that's the case, why would he do it?"

  "Yeah, it's not like he's doing it to show off how rich he is. He barely socializes with anyone other than you."

  "It's bec-" Mari froze. "Huh, I actually don't know why he does it."

  "Really?" Mari replied to Crystal with a shrug.

  "I never thought about it until now, and I could always just ask him later."

  "You have a point there."A silence fell on the four students.

  "Do," Jack started, breaking the silence. "Any of you want to do something?"

  "Like what?" Mari replied.

  "I dunno." He shrugged. " We can just wander around town until we find something interesting."

  "I'm game/ Sure/ ok." The four students spent the next couple of hours wandering around town, mindlessly checking anything that caught their eye, until it was time to return to the hotel for dinner. As they headed back to the hotel, the four students spotted a dishevelled and tired-looking Alex walking ahead of them.

  "Alex!" Mari called out, running with the others closely behind. Hearing his name being called, Alex turned around and spotted them.

  "Hey, guys," He gave a lazy wave. "How's your day been going?"

  "From the looks of it, better than yours." Jack cheekily replied, causing Alex to chuckle softly.

  "Yeah, seems like it." Alex absentmindedly brought his hand to his side, where he usually keeps a storage pouch, only to pause when he remembered they were all in his bag. Frowning, he let out a sigh while turning around. "Let's walk and talk. I'm tired, and the faster we get back to the hotel, the better." Agreeing with him, the five students quickly made their way back to the hotel while discussing random topics as they walked. Once inside, the group decided to briefly split up to their rooms to freshen up and reconvene at the dining hall at six. When it was time for dinner, the five students met up at the dining hall, selected a table near the buffet and sat down after grabbing their food.

  "So, you doing ok? Because you looked pretty roughed up earlier." Jack asked while taking a bite out of his burger.

  "Yeah," Alex answered as he ate a forkful of spaghetti.

  "What happened to you anyway? You looked like you just survived a fight." Crystal questioned, scooping a spoonful of her sundae.

  "Eh, Kinda." Alex did a so-so gesture. "So during my hike, I found a cave." He added when he saw their confused expressions. "And decided to trek down in. During my spelunking, a Rift opened up in the cave, causing it to become unstable and start to collapse. As you can see, I managed to make my way out before I was buried alive underneath several tons of rock."

  "That's so COOL!" Mari shouted after a brief moment of shocked silence, her eyes ablaze with excitement. "If I knew your hike was going to be that exciting, I would have gone with you." Her body sagged. "Too bad I missed it." She grumbled to herself while stabbing her steak with a knife.

  "Did you notify any of the instructors about the Rift you found?" Crystal asked, ignoring Mari's outburst.

  "Yeah, I told McGaron before I went to my room. The Rift should have fully collapsed by now, but they should still be able to detect remnants of it."

  "So how much was the reward?" Jack casually asked.

  "Reward?"

  "If someone discovers a Rift and they can verify it, the finder gets a cash reward depending on the Tier of the Rift." Crystal helpfully explained.

  "I could have been getting paid this whole time?" Alex groaned.

  "You make sound like you frequently discover new Rifts."

  "How do you think I make all my money? Good potions aren't cheap, you know."

  "Wait, Mari was telling the truth about you being rich?" Jack asked with a mouthful of food.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  "Define rich."

  "I think if you could afford to down high-quality potions like water, then it's safe to say you count as being rich," Crystal answered.

  "And only a rich person would ask someone to define it," Jack added. "So how did you get your money anyway? You don't strike me as a guy who was born in it."

  "You'll be right, in fact, I was close to being homeless for a few years until I managed to secure a decent income. As for how I made my fortune, I started by doing odd jobs as a Weaver to pay for the essentials. Then, when I had saved enough for the necessary equipment, I started delving into Rifts to make a big profit. In a few of those Rifts, I got lucky enough to get some items that sold for a lot at some auctions."

  "Uhm, aren't you underage?" Sera quietly asked while poking at her warm salad.

  "Eh, you'd be surprised how much you can do as long as you're not caught and how much you can get away with if you have enough money." Jack, Crystal and Sera stared at him in shocked horror while Mari nodded along with a pleased smile. Crystal glared at her.

  "Don't encourage this kind of behaviour, Mari! He just blatantly admitted to breaking several laws!"

  "It's fine," Mari dismissed. "I don't know why you're so high-strung about him going into Rifts. We're literally being trained to deal with them, and I used to go into them with my parents all the time, and nothing happened to me."

  "One," Alex spoke. "Your parents," he pointed at Mari with his fork. "Are high-ranking soldiers with the authority to bring you along. I don't think that kind of excuse applies to this situation. Second, there isn't any evidence of me breaking any laws that will hold up in any court that matters." He continued, this time pointing at Crystal. "Third, because I'm officially a student of Starage Academy, I have the legal right to enter any Rifts I want. Lastly, if I am convicted of any of my alleged crimes." He said while making air quotes. "Due to a lack of evidence, the most severe punishment I would be given is to pay a fine. A fine that I can easily pay for."

  "So uh," Sera managed to speak up while Crystal stared slack-jawed at Alex due to his response."Alex, is it true that you bought the high-tier mana potion you gave Jacob?"

  "Who?"

  "The guy who gave everyone buffs during the Boss fight yesterday," Mari answered with a smug expression before anyone else could, causing the three students to give her some weird looks.

  "Ah, him. Yeah, I bought it. Why do you ask?"

  "Oh, uh, if it's ok with you. Can you tell me where?"

  "Elaborate, please." He said with a raised brow, causing Sera's face to flush.

  "Oh, sorry, uh." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "I was impressed with the potion, and I want to see if I can ask whoever made it for pointers."

  "Sure." Sera's face lit up.

  "Really?!" Alex shrugged.

  "I don't see why not, and the person who made the potion is a friend of mine, so I figured I might as well point potential customers towards his shop."

  "Thank you!"

  "Eh, no problem. I can show you his shop this coming Monday after classes. How about you guys?" He motions to the others with his fork. "I already promised Mari, but how about you two? I figured I might as well save time and effort and bring you two along as well." Jack and Crystal looked at each other before nodding.

  "Sure!" Jack said with a wide grin.

  "It would be nice to restock on potions, so count me in," Crystal replied.

  "You four fine with meeting at the front gate on Monday after classes?" The four students nodded. "Great."

  "So, Mari, did you manage to bond with the golem I saw you carrying earlier?" Jack spoke up after a moment of silence.

  "I did! But I wasn't able to make it do anything cool. The most I managed to do was make it walk in a straight line."

  "Give it time. I'm sure with enough practice, you would be able to fight side by side with your golem in no time." Alex reassured her.

  "How long did it take you until you were able to do what you showed me yesterday?"

  "Yesterday was my first time controlling a golem. But you have to keep in mind that, unlike you, I'm a proficient spellcaster, meaning my current skill set makes it easier for me to control a golem." Alex explained while ignoring her glare. "I'm sure once you learn a few spells, you'll quickly catch up to me in golem manipulation."

  "Wait, you're planning to learn spell casting?" Crystal asked Mari, causing her to grimace.

  "Yeah, but not any of those wimpy spells you spell casters typically do."Mari spat out. "No offence to you." She quickly added.

  "None take," Crystal said in a flat voice and a roll of her eyes. "Let me guess, you want to learn the spells Alex knows so you can fight recklessly like him."

  "You get it!"

  "Why would you even want to copy his fight style anyway? From what I can tell, you don't get much for doing so." Jack asked.

  "Well, to be honest, it's mostly because it's similar to how my pops fights." She answered while emaerasllying, scratching her cheek.

  "How? I thought your dad was a brawler like you." Mari perked up.

  "He is!" She said with a proud smile, with her chest puffed out. "And he is super strong too! To the point where his body can't keep up and starts to break down when he fights with any amount of meaningful strength."

  "Wait, how does he fight then?"

  "Duh, he just wills his body to heal itself."

  "Her father, Atlas Rosalina, has a Trait that gives him complete control over his body. He uses this to bypass his body's natural strength limit, which prevents a person from hurting themselves and to accelerate his natural healing process. "Alex helpfully explained to the confused trio.

  "What he said," Mari said with pride. "I didn't know you knew so much about pops."

  "You make it sound like he is some unknown person and not a famous soldier known to be able to kill high-tier monsters with his bare hands." Jack and Crystal nodded in agreement. 'He is also a fan favourite character that plays a major role in the novels.' Alex mentally added.

  "Would Mari even be able to learn any spells?" Jack asked, getting back to the original topic. Alex shrugged.

  "I don't see why not. At a minimum, she should be able to cast a few simple Base spells."

  "Oh, speaking of spells, how did you manage to learn the three spell-casting methods?" Crystal asked. "Where do you get the time to practice them all?"

  "What?" Alex turned to look at her with a face full of confusion. "What are you talking about? I only know how to spell weaving and enchanting."

  "I might not know much about spell casting, but I'm sure I've seen you cast spells like a mage," Jack spoke up.

  "What?" He started at Jack before it dawned on him. "Oh yeah, I see how it might look like that." He turned to Crystal. "You have Arance Sight, right?" She nodded.

  "Wait h-"

  "Pay attention here." Alex continued, tapping in the middle of his chest with his pointer finger. Crystal noticed the odd flow of mana inside his body and, with her curiosity getting the better of her, gave her full attention to him.

  "What the hell?" Her eyes grew wide in shock at what she had just witnessed. Ignoring her, Alex pounded his chest with his fist before catching the small and simple weave that popped out of his body.

  "Now, Crystal, can you explain to the others what you just saw?" Jack, Sera and Mari turned to look at her.

  "It was odd," Crystal struggled to form the words she wanted to say. "The mana in his body quickly condensed into threads before they seemingly started weaving themselves into a spell." She managed to say. "I can't even begin to think of ways how that could be possible."

  "I don't get it," Jack scratched his head in confusion. "How is that any different from how mages construct their spells?"

  "Form of the mana and ease of control," Alex explained when it became clear Crystal wasn't going to. "What do you think is easier to do, draw an image in your mind or make a construct out of string using your fingers?"

  "Uh, draw an image in my mind?"

  "Yes, know imagine making the construct like a cat's cradle but inside your body using only your mind." Jack furrowed his brow in confusion as he tried to imagine the scenario Alex described.

  "I can't imagine how."

  "Exactly, that's why Crystal is so confused."

  'Then how did you do it?" Crystal asked, finally coming to terms with what she saw.

  "Over the years, I dedicated several hours a day to mastering my mana control. It began with learning how to condense it within my body, then how to direct its flow, and so on. Eventually, I managed to learn how to weave mana treads in my body to construct spells. This frees up my hands in a fight to either weave other spells or to attack via punches and such. And before any of you ask, I don't suggest learning this method due to how hard and mana-intensive it is." He said, directing the last part mainly towards Mari.

  -Scri?-

  'No, what? They'll just be wasting their time and energy.'

  -Skit?-

  'Because I'm bullshitting them. I need to establish a reason for how I can weave spells inside my body. This will make passing the spells you weave as my one more easily. Wait, why am I even explaining this to you? You should know all of this by now.'

  -Scri...-

  'What do you mean you weren't paying attention back then?!'

  "Wait, is that why you're constantly drinking mana potions?" Crystal asked, knocking Alex out of his mental lecture about the importance of paying attention during important discussions he was giving to Silk.

  "How do you know I'm drinking mana potions?"

  "How can I not, with how dense the mana inside of them is? I still wince every time you suddenly bring out a high-tier Mana potion from one of your Storage pouches."

  "Ah, I never considered that." 'I guess I've just gotten too used to ignoring how bright they can be sometimes.' "And no, that isn't the reason why I constantly drink them. I do it because of a medical condition called Mana Deficiency syndrome, meaning my body is constantly losing mana. Even if I don't suffer from Mana sickness, it's still an unpleasant feeling to be completely drained of mana, so I prefer to keep it over a certain threshold. Also, I drink high-tier Mana potions because they refill my mana the fastest."

  "Mana Deficiency syndrome? Sheesh, that must suck as a Spell slinger." Jack paused as he thought something over. "Why did you become a spellcaster in the first place? With a condition like that, I would think becoming a Spell slinger would be your last choice." Alex shrugged.

  "My reasoning to learn spellcasting is pretty simple. I just wanted to learn magic." The others stared at him in silence, waiting for him to continue.

  "That's it?" Crystal asked when it was clear he wasn't going to say anything else. Alex nodded.

  "Yup, that's it."

  "It's a shame you didn't become a bralwer," Mari commented. "But I can respect that kind of thinking." Crystal rolled her eyes.

  "Of course, you would appreciate a reasoning like that." Mari nodded with a pleased grin.

  "Exactly! No need to overcomplicate things when the simple answer does the trick." The group continued chatting as they ate before eventually dispersing for the night. The class boarded the bus the following day at dawn, leaving the serene town and arriving back in the city around 10 AM. After a quick head count, McGaron dismissed the students, informing them that their final marks would be available within a week. A few students immediately went home, others stayed on the Academy grounds, and the remainder split into smaller groups. The small group of Alex, Mari, Crystal, Jack, and Sera spent the rest of the day at a nearby arcade before going their separate ways after dinner.

  Arriving back home, Alex quickly freshened up and put his things away before heading straight to his basement with a bag and a metal chair. "Looks like I'm finally getting the chance to use this place." When Alex was first house hunting, all he was looking for was a two-storey house with enough room for his belongings and close to the Academy. He never wanted a basement, but was later convinced by the real estate agent to buy a more expensive home with one. The room was largely empty, with just the stairs, a metal table he had carried down weeks prior, and a solitary fluorescent light illuminating everything. Its one redeeming quality was how clean it was, despite the dreary surroundings. "Let's get started."

  Setting the chair next to the table, Alex sat on it and placed his bag in front of him. Opening it up, he took out three bottles of Health and Mana potions, several enchantment tools, and a sharp cleaver. Tossing the empty bag onto the stairs, Alex then arranged the items on the table for easier access.

  -Schri?-

  "Just the Restoration and Boost spell for now." Alex laid his left arm down flat on the table and grabbed an enchanting tool with his right. "Let's see if Runic Bones was worth getting." It didn't take long for him to hit a few snags in his plan. "AH!" Alex screamed as he hacked away large chunks of flesh from his arm. The first problem he encountered was that, unlike in the TTRPG, Alex needed access to his bones before he could start the enchanting process, which meant he needed to get rid of the flesh in his way.

  -Scri!-

  "I'M FINE! JUST KEEP MAINTAINING THE SPELL!" The second problem was the issue of his arm regenerating. This resulted in Alex having Silk maintain a steady Flame spell on his legs so his regeneration focused on that instead of his left arm. Unfortunately, to make sure his regeneration doesn't start to prioritize healing his arm, Alex was forced to instruct Silk to gradually increase the heat of the spell as he cut away at his limb. Sadly, that didn't completely prevent his arm from regrowing, resulting in Alex having to hack away the regrown flesh from the bone several times. "FUCK!" Alex groaned as he chopped another chunk of muscle off his arm and onto the table, pushing a pile of flesh off of it, splattering blood all over him as it landed on the stone floor. After several agonizing minutes, the bone in his arm was finally ready for the enchanting process.

  -Sci?-

  "Y-yes, k-keep t-that temp-pature," Alex said between gritted teeth. With a shaky hand, he grabbed the blood-covered chisel and began etching the engravings onto the bone. Chipping away at the bone, Alex waited for his arm to start healing after he finished engraving a small portion of the enchantment. He watched as the cracked and broken bones visibly melded into each other. He didn't have to wait long for his bones to return to their original state, except for a small, neat and smooth glowing engraving on his Radius bone. Confirming the Runic Bonies Trait was working as he expected, Alex removed any regrown muscle and downed a Mana potion before continuing the enchanting process.

  "Ugh, finally done." Alex let out a relieved sigh as he let his quickly healing arm flop to his side. It took several hours for him to finish engraving the Boost spell onto the bone. Much longer than he would have liked, but unfortunately, he was slowed down by two recurring issues. The first was that Alex often had to stop and scrape off any regrown muscle obstructing his work. The second was that, either because he overestimated the bone’s durability or due to a sudden jolt of pain, Alex would sometimes break the bone he was engraving on. Meaning he had to wait for it to heal before continuing, which often led to the first problem happening again.

  -Scka?-

  "No Silk, I think I'll wait for another day before I do the other enchantment." He let his body go limp on the chair. "To tell you the truth. Right now, I'm considering whether it's worth the effort to engrave any other enchanments."

  -Sci Skri Ska-

  "Ugh, you have a point. Having quick access to spells is just too useful to have." He turned to look at his mostly healed arm. Flexing his hand to get a feeling of its current condition. "The problem is, I have a limited number of bones I can easily enchant. At most, I have my right arm, both my legs and my ribs. So, depending on how complex a spell I want to engrave, I have at most four more enchants I can use. And I'm wondering if any enhancements I can currently engrave are worth the effort."

  -Scra Ski?-

  "The original plan was to just remove weaker enchantments along the way. However, after reviewing my memories, I don't think I'll be able to do that for a long while. And by then, it might not even be worth the effort to do."

  -Scki?-

  "You saw how hard it was with my current level of regeneration; now imagine how it would be once I acquire a higher version."

  -Sca...-

  "Exactly, and the level of mutilation I might have to inflict on myself then would be mind-numbing."

  -Skia?- Alex let out a tired sigh.

  "Yes, I'll need to figure out what I want before that happens."

  -Scak?- He chuckled softly at that question.

  "I think I'll stick with Boost for now. It's a good spell that's useful throughout the whole game, so I shouldn't have a reason to replace it."

  -Skira...-

  "-Yawn-, that too." Alex managed to say before collapsing from exhaustion.