I remember the first time Dad took me camping. I was ten, maybe eleven—Danny still too young for real adventure. We didn't venture far, just up into the hills near Kootenay Park, but to me it felt like we'd discovered another planet.

  Ancient trees stretched endlessly in every direction, the air thick with pine and damp earth. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.

  My concept of "roughing it" was staying at the family cottage with its indoor plumbing. But Dad? He came alive out there, like he had a compass embedded in his skull.

  I can still see him grinning like he'd discovered buried treasure, watching me wrestle with tent poles and create what could generously be called abstract art.

  "Ben," he said, dropping to one knee beside my tangled disaster, "I know your Aapo talks big about your Chinese heritage, but you know what us Crawfords are great at?"

  "Screwing up tents?" I grumbled.

  "Nope." He chuckled, guiding my hands to show me how the poles actually worked. "We're good at finding adventure. Free spirits. And we fight to stay that way."

  His weathered hands transformed my disaster into a proper shelter in seconds.

  "Life's full of unexpected turns, Ben. Weird shit, strange places, stuff you can't plan for." He gestured toward the darkening forest. "But Crawfords? Our curiosity might get us into trouble, but we always find the adventure hiding in it."

  That night, by crackling firelight under a canopy of stars, Dad placed his old pocketknife in my palm—a beat-up thing with a worn wooden handle that had seen decades of use. I'd never seen him without it.

  "Every adventure starts with a choice," he said, prodding the coals. "You can sit back and let things happen to you, or you can dive headfirst into whatever comes your way." He looked up, firelight reflecting in his eyes. "Might be tough, might get weird... but it'll always be worth it. You remember that."

  The knife felt solid in my hands. Dependable. Just like Dad.

  Even when we packed up and headed back to civilization, I carried something that hadn't been there before—the understanding that adventure wasn't something that happened to other people. It was something you chose.

  I felt like that kid again, sitting on an alien couch, staring at four literal aliens who wanted to teach me magic, help me get home... and fight monsters.

  This was actually happening.

  Stay here and fight my way to earning a chance at going home, or roll the dice on some random world in an infinite void of space. What the hell even was the Multiverse?

  I was completely fucked.

  No—sorry—I was on an . Thanks, Dad, for using that term so liberally. He'd absolutely lose his mind over this.

  The group waited for my response, but words wouldn't come. Felix had settled back, their expressions gradually shifting toward resignation.

  "I'm just free to leave?" I asked.

  The room deflated as Elena nodded reluctantly.

  Out into the unknown, never to return... or stick around with these seemingly important people who'd actually been helping me.

  It honestly wasn't as straightforward as I'd expected. Elena and Diana carried themselves like major players—royalty, maybe? Political leaders?

  Focus, Ben.

  I exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down my face. "You know, my dad used to talk about adventure constantly. Guy calls car trouble on the highway an adventure."

  They watched me more intently now. I managed a crooked smile.

  "He'd completely lose his shit if he knew this was happening. Maybe I'll actually get to tell him about it someday."

  Cass grinned, picking up where this was heading.

  "This is bat-shit insane, right?" I gestured wildly. "First, I wake up buck-fucking-naked on the other side of the universe—no, sorry, the motherfucking Multiverse. I discover magic is real, that I can apparently do magic quite well. I've met four—" I held up fingers for emphasis "—four different sentient species in one afternoon, not including talking animals."

  "Well, at least he swears like a Gaian," Diana said with obvious amusement. She already knew my answer.

  "I watched a guy tear a hole in space-time with his bare hands." I looked between them all. "And now his people are asking if I want to learn the same thing?"

  "Remarkably accurate summary," Diana replied, mouth turning upward.

  "Fuck yes," I said finally. "I want to rip a hole in space-time. When does that start?"

  Felix actually pumped his fist like his team had scored the winning touchdown.

  I turned to Cass with dead seriousness. "And just to be clear—that healing pill you gave me? If we're hunting monsters, I want a whole sack full."

  Everyone burst into laughter. I was being completely serious.

  "Good!" Diana stood abruptly. "I'll leave your Initiate training to Elena. Pass the exams in two months—or advance to Seeker—and we'll start your proper education. I'd very much prefer you didn't fail on your first attempt." She paused, eyeing me critically. "You're a little scrawny."

  I was about to defend my honor when the tower shuddered.

  Black smoke billowed up through the atrium's center.

  "Shit." Diana's tone went flat. "She's early. Stanley—we need to get the fuck out of here."

  She strode to the balcony overlooking the internal space, peering down at the source of the smoke. Stanley chirped in obvious panic, launching himself from Cass's shoulder.

  Somewhere between Cass and the balcony, reality hiccupped.

  The transformation hit me like vertigo, like looking through a funhouse mirror. When I blinked, Stanley was no longer a canary.

  He was magnificent.

  A golden phoenix the size of a draft horse, brilliant orange feathers accented with deep sapphire blue along his wings. Golden chains wove through his tail feathers, intricate spirals of gold and silver filigree flowing through his plumage like living art. His face held unexpected gentleness—serene for a bird of prey. But his eyes? They blazed with the intensity of the sun itself, pure starlight made manifest, staring at me with genuine warmth. My aura couldn’t perceive of him.

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  Stanley wasn't just magical—he was power incarnate, alive and magnificent.

  And he was still... Stanley?

  "Holy shit, Stanley's a fucking phoenix," I blurted out. "He's absolutely incredible."

  "Oh, don't—" Diana started, but too late.

  Stanley's eyes sparkled with approval at my awestruck cursing. He spread massive wings and released a melodic call that sounded like a symphony's opening notes. Golden sparks cascaded from his feathers as he flapped, and then—he actually posed, turning his head to show off his profile.

  "Oh, stop it, Stanley. We're out of time. I don't want to be here when Lana arrives." Diana's scolding carried real urgency.

  Stanley jerked with what sounded distinctly like an indignant "irk?"

  The atmosphere shifted palpably. Elena's gaze snapped toward the stairs, eyes losing focus like she was listening to something I couldn't hear.

  "Fuuuck," she breathed.

  Diana swung onto Stanley's back, his wings already beating as he rose into the atrium's open space.

  "I believe it's 'ta-ta,' Ben. We'll talk soon."

  Stanley rocketed up through the atrium with incredible speed, leaving me slack-jawed.

  Then it clicked.

  "Lana?" I asked aloud. The tiny mouse lady, who looked like she weighed fifty pounds soaking wet? I mean, she'd seemed harmless enough, but everyone had hustled me away from her pretty quickly.

  BOOM!

  Another rumble shook the entire room. Pillows tumbled from chairs, plates slid off the table and shattered, scattering food across the floor. Cass and Felix scrambled toward a door. Cass flickered—there one moment, at the door the next—yanking it open and disappearing.

  Well, that couldn't be good...

  Carefully, I formed the Bravery rune in my mind and really noticed my aura, reaching out in all directions.

  .

  The surrounding tower suddenly felt incredibly safe, like something fundamental had shifted and everyone nearby was firmly on my side. Like being wrapped in the comfort of home itself.

  And then the floor exploded.

  I should have been terrified, should have jumped or scrambled to run, but the tower wrapped around me like a protective embrace, radiating pure benevolence.

  Chunks of white stone blasted past me like cannonballs, my heart hammering as my aura registered each fragment as a potential threat. Yet somehow—impossibly—I remained perfectly still.

  From my position on the couch, absolute certainty filled me: if I didn't move, not even a grain of dust would touch me.

  How the hell was that possible?

  When the smoke cleared, Lana emerged from the destruction like some sort of mousy demolition expert, a faint orange aura blazing around her like fire. Goggles covered her eyes, and she strutted toward Elena with the confidence I’d expect from someone who'd just casually blown through several floors of an ancient tower.

  Elena went rigid, her military bearing doing nothing to hide obvious tension.

  "Windrider!" Lana called out.

  Elena stood. "Stormfire."

  Lana lifted her goggles and brushed soot from her diminutive face with casual indifference. Then she pointed directly at Elena and, in a voice far louder than her tiny frame should have produced, declared:

  "I demand diplomacy!"

  "Can't we just fight? I love fighting," Elena groaned, flopping back onto the couch with theatrical despair.

  Lana padded over and perched across from her, scribbling furiously in her notebook with mechanical precision.

  "No," Lana responded in her clipped, analytical tone, barely glancing up.

  "Be reasonable—let's hold a Grand Tournament! We could make it last weeks!" Elena threw her hands up dramatically.

  Lana remained utterly unamused, pencil never pausing. "No trials, no tournaments, no duels. You clearly violated at least three amendments to the Central Agreement. You prevented my opportunity to make the Terran—" She glanced at me with a slight ear twitch. "—Ben, a proper offer."

  "So you figured out he’s Terran?" Elena asked.

  Lana flashed a predatory grin. "You don't employ me because I'm slow. You could hire my sister for that."

  Elena groaned like she were suffering cosmic injustice. "Throw me out a window, Lana! Just make it quick!"

  Lana stood and approached me, her diminutive frame somehow radiating authority that dwarfed her physical size. "As the first Master to contact an Unbidden, I may offer mentorship. But due to a... series of unfortunate events—" Her eyes flicked meaningfully toward Elena. "—I missed that opportunity."

  "What about Chas?" I asked, feeling unexpected loyalty surge through me. "Isn't he a Master too? They called him 'Master Blackwood.' He was the first person I actually met."

  The confidence in my voice surprised me—something about the tower's presence and my aura was filling me with unshakeable calm.

  "Contact must occur on Ark," Elena explained. "Otherwise, Master Runebinders would venture into the Multiverse hunting apprentices instead of training people here."

  "Oh." I processed that. "What was the offer?"

  "I can no longer legally make it," Lana said curtly. "The tower recognizes you as a Monster Hunter—I can sense the bond."

  I blinked. So that's why I felt so secure here.

  "Ladies," came a voice from the balcony. Gary materialized behind us, completely outside my aura's detection range. "If there will be no further combat inside the tower, would you mind if I repaired the floor?"

  Elena waved him forward, and my eyebrows shot up as every piece of debris suddenly reversed its trajectory, like watching time rewind. The floor sealed itself into perfect marble. Burned tapestries knit themselves whole as ash streamed upward. Shattered plates, scattered fruit, and spilled food danced through the air, everything returning to pristine condition.

  "Holy shit," I breathed, shooting Gary a look of pure amazement.

  He smiled and gave me a conspiratorial wink. "I'm glad the Acolyte approves."

  I blinked, and he was simply gone.

  "Well, that confirms it," Lana said, snatching cheese from the restored table. "I am owed compensation, Elena."

  "What kind? Resources? Mana coins?" Elena asked with a resigned sigh.

  "Tests. I want to perform tests on your new apprentice. I promise, most are painless!" Lana's eyes lit up with a scientific enthusiasm that was genuinely terrifying.

  Elena raised an eyebrow. "Oh, he's not my apprentice, Lana. He'll be studying at Sylvarus after he passes the exams."

  Lana whipped around to stare at Elena, her entire posture shifting. "What? You rushed him through the lobby without using a portal, then bribed every door-mouse from here to Sunspire to orchestrate a 'noble dignitary visit,' locking down the upper floors. You spent hours meeting with Marco Graves, then conveniently walked Ben straight into the Academy—all while running me in circles. If he's not your apprentice, then whose is he? Marco's?"

  "Nana," I said simply.

  The word hit Lana like a physical blow. She went rigid, slowly turning back to me with a visible eye twitch.

  Elena burst into delighted laughter. "Do you really think I could orchestrate all that? My mother has returned from the Empire. And you know she'd be happy to provide you all the compensation you can handle."

  Lana's face melted into absolute despair. "No... she didn't... Diana?"

  She flipped through notebook pages with escalating franticness until something clicked. "She orchestrated all of this to make me think it was you. All so she could take her first apprentice? Who is he?"

  Both turned their gazes toward me. I shrugged helplessly.

  "So if I want to study the Terran, I need to..." Lana started, but Elena cackled with pure glee.

  “Go to Sylvarus. Teach!” Her elation was unmistakable.

  Lana dropped to her knees with theatrical despair. "No! I didn't know she was back. It's not fair. What about my experiments?"

  "I'll bet you wish you'd taken that fight now," Elena said smugly. "But you've already demanded compensation. So you'll have to go ask my mother for it."

  Lana snarled and climbed to her feet, straightening her clothes. She extended her arm, and a silver bracelet slid down onto her wrist. She touched the charm with deliberate precision.

  "Don't fail your entrance exams, Ben." Her voice carried an ominous edge before she twisted in a way that made my stomach lurch from watching.

  Then, she was gone.

  Elena sighed with satisfaction. "Well, that went better than expected. Mother's been trying to get Lana to teach transpiritual theory at the academy for years. I think you may have just been the means to an end."

  "Should I be worried?" I asked. "She seemed pretty pissed... And am I actually an apprentice? What's going on?"

  Elena smiled. "No, not an apprentice. An Acolyte. Gary? Can you bring me his badge?"

  "Of course," Gary said, suddenly standing between our couches holding a small wooden box. He approached and opened it, revealing a copper pin. "It goes on your lapel."

  I took it, surprised by its weight, and attached it to my vest.

  "The Acolyte pin is your scholarship to Sylvarus," Elena explained. "Since you’ve enlisted with us before graduating the academy, it provides resources from the Monster Hunters and covers entrance exam costs. It's up to you to find your path, but there are many around La-Roc who can help. As an Acolyte, you can even take low-class monster hunts."

  "I can hunt monsters?" I asked, clearly nowhere near ready.

  "You've got training to do first. But yes, if you're joining us, you should probably get used to it."

  My stomach did a little flip thinking about the massive panther from the lobby.

  "Okay, what's next?"

  "Now we get you up the tower to the island. We'll find you a place to stay," Elena said, standing and smoothing her elaborate uniform.

  "Up?" I asked, following her toward what looked like a completely normal door.

  She paused, hand on the handle, and turned back with a grin that promised my adventure was just getting started.

  "Ben, welcome to the Monster Hunters. Hope you're not afraid of heights."

  Diana Aldertree's Reading Suggestion:

  You'll like this one. Some poor bastard gets sacrificed by the very magical society that 'rescued' him, discovers they're literally feeding off people to power their world, and now has to play dumb while planning revenge with a mysterious voice in his head. The magic system's solid (and familiar)—kill monsters, absorb their shards, get stronger—but the real hook is watching him navigate these murderous assholes while they think he's just another lamb for slaughter. Perfect for anyone who likes their protagonists cunning, their progression crunchy, and their moral compass pointing straight at 'fuck these people in particular.'