The Path of Ascension

Chapter 224

Matt awoke from his legacy-induced slumber to see the black monolith standing in front of him, pristine as the day that it was made. It might have lost a bit of luster, but even Matt’s senses couldn’t tell if he was just imagining a small dimming. He sighed and stretched, extracting himself from the pillow circle and exiting the isolated space that had been established around the Legacy.

Ciceron walked over, clearly distracted by his AI, and murmured, “Follow me, and I’ll take you to pick your legacy.”

As Matt stared at him, Ciceron blinked himself back into reality and corrected himself. “Follow me, and I’ll lead you out of this formation. How was the legacy?”

Matt thought over his experiences and grinned. “Eventful, interesting, and best of all, useful.”

As they arrived back in the familiar part of the house, Matt saw Luna sitting on a table with a steaming cup of tea in front of her while she pawed through a book.

Without looking up, she gestured with her tail at the couch and said, “The other two still have a few hours… maybe a day or so until they wake up. How was it?”

Matt nodded. “Incredibly useful. I have a much better grasp of my manipulation skills and some of my defenses. Of… I guess extending my Concept into things which don’t technically match it? Yeah, that’s probably the best way to describe it.”

Luna leaned down to lap at the tea but spoke despite that. “Good. There’s a reason I picked that legacy for you. Your styles are similar, despite you two using two different methods to get to that point. As we said before you went in, legacies aren't usually made available until after the person has ascended. It’s uncomfortable to know you could have told something confidential to someone without actually being the one to tell them.”

As they waited for the rest of his team to finish their legacies, Matt discussed some of the challenges and advancements he had made. His mana control had definitely taken a sharp climb, but that was just a byproduct of a semi-decade of training, rather than an explicit side effect of the treasure.

Luna had him demonstrate a few small movements with a pile of sand, which he was happy to do, and was able to make fairly intricate designs in the pillar of sand.

Luna nodded and left her book behind for the first time as she padded around the pillar. “This is good. You’ll need more practice in adversarial conditions, of course, but take heart that you will be able to overcome your control issues with sufficient practice.”

Out of nowhere, a whirlwind formed into a needle and raced directly at his heart, but Matt easily used [Air Manipulation] to infiltrate the skill and break the skill structure before he took it over and dissipated it harmlessly.

Luna looked up at him and chuffed. “Did he teach you that, or did you put it together yourself?”

“I figured it out on my own. Happened almost by accident when I needed to weaken an [Air Lance] and was already using [Air Manipulation]. We didn't focus on it or anything, but it's a nice development. He said he was surprised that you hadn’t already taught us it, and that it’s what most people start with.”

“I hadn’t expected you to figure this out so soon, but didn’t account for the Legacy. Yes, most people learn that way, but that makes it too easy, and the skills you learn with one mana type don't always transfer to others. If you learn how to dissipate spells with raw mana, you can transfer those skills to any mana type easily.”

Matt agreed, as Manny had thoroughly taught him that lesson during their time training when he had tried to rely on dispelling attacks rather than tanking the hits.

When a small ball of flames flew at him, he didn’t dissipate it this time, and instead used [Cracked Phantom Armor] to let her see that he hadn’t been slacking off on the main training.

The ball of fire tried to eat through his defenses, but as he flared his Concept, he grabbed the ball of fire from off his chest and held it in his hand, then squeezed down and made the [Fireball] explode. His control over his armor and Concept was good enough that not even a wisp of smoke escaped his grasp.

“Good. A little more brute force than I’d recommend, but that was much better than when you went in.” Saying that, she sighed. “Legacies are so very useful, but sadly, they are limited in supply and frequency of use.”

Matt nodded and rubbed his chest. His spirit was strained just like last time, but unlike his first Legacy, he had more experience with spiritual strain, and could say what Legacies did to him was vastly different than a skill.

A skill's spiritual strain was like cracks in the foundation of a house. Large and obvious. The Legacy’s spiritual strain was more like a dishrag being used until it was see-through. The damage was more subtle, but far more thorough.

Matt busied himself with some mana practice until Liz emerged from her room. She flopped onto the couch next to Matt, draping herself over him with a groan.

Luna’s tail curled as she and Matt waited for Liz to speak. After a few seconds, Liz extricated her face from Matt’s shoulder and pulled herself into a more normal sitting position.

“It worked, but damn, was that hard and annoying. He’s a worse trainer than you, Luna.” Liz grinned as she said that, but continued almost immediately. “Well, more that his training sucked. There is only so much ‘just feel the difference' a girl can take before she needs concrete guidance. I figured it out, but I feel like I could have done better with a good teacher. I can’t imagine how bad of a trainer he was in real life, if he was that bad even with the legacy’s help.”

Liz took her spear out of spatial storage with a twirl, then held it balanced on her palm as she slowly encased it in blood. The blood then seeped into the spear, turning the dark wood a shade of deep red, and from a brief and painful pulse of [Metal Manipulation], Matt could tell she had managed to include Blood Iron into it as well. She then went through a brief demonstration, making a series of blood spikes erupt from the tip of the spear, turning the tip green with caustic blood mana to eat through defenses, and igniting it in a brief but intense burst of flame.

“There’s more, but I can’t display all of it now. Definitely need a nap first, and then some monsters to really demonstrate on. Suffice it to say that I could drop a building on it without so much as a crack, and I can make it repair itself, even then. Matt, I’d like to commission a flying spear, when you’re feeling up to it. Practical Concept flight is still a bit beyond me, but it’s closer than ever.”

Luna sounded quite pleased as she said, “Excellent, excellent. We can go over the specifics later, and see how well you can leverage this for your other pursuits. Blood alchemy is the next step, and we’ll need to see about hiring someone with a spear Concept to train you with flight. Making an approximation of a weapon Concept must have been quite the task, but it’s nothing less than I’ve come to expect from you.”

As she and Luna chatted, Matt focused on Aster, who he felt waking up. When she appeared, she was limping and obviously in pain from the Legacy.

“That was less than fun. I’ll take training the normal way from now on.”

Reaching them, Aster sniffed at the tea. “Oh that smells really good. What is it?”

Luna shook her head. “A Tier 40 tea that you physically can't appreciate yet. How was your Legacy?”

Aster shrugged even as she hopped onto the couch between Matt and Liz. “Productive. I focused primarily on [Dispelling Wind], but pushed more towards making it a large-area disruption. I was first thinking about making it a feedback loop, of using the mana of whatever it disrupted to strengthen the dispelling, but Aspen made me realize I’m better off just weakening every spell instead of eliminating one.”

Saying that, Aster stretched until her legs trembled. “I need a massage, though. I hurt all over.”

Luna swished her tail as she stood from her book, which along with her tea, vanished. “Back to the hotel, then. We’re a month out from the Ascension and tournament start, and while that may help your spiritual strain some, you’ll need to be in good shape if you’re to get the most use out of it.”

As a portal opened in the air, Matt looked to Liz, who met his gaze and spoke up. “Aren’t you going to say goodbye to Ciceron?”

Aster then jerked. “Oh yeah, that reminds me. I got our stuff back from Ciceron. Said thanks for the opportunity to study them, but he’d gotten what he needed from them.”

Luna flicked her tail in what Matt could only read as dismissal. “Ciceron is quite busy with his research and won’t miss us. He’s got his new toys and they’ll keep him busy until he can’t ignore other legacy requests any more. The best thing we can do for him is to leave him to it.”

Matt shrugged but followed their manager through the [Portal]. It wasn’t his place to meddle in their relationship, but he couldn’t help but feel that telling someone the best thing they could do was be left alone was very much a cat thing.

As they reentered the suite, they were surprised to feel Travis and Keith sitting on the couch, watching a movie together. They seemed just as surprised, jumping up and rushing over to give them hugs.

As they sat down, Travis looked over the three of them and shook his head. “I can’t believe it, but damn! Baby sis, you aren’t even fifty yet and are already Tier 13. This hurts…”

Keith grinned as he scratched Aster's chin. “We’re not even all the way through Tier 17, after thirty years. You’re getting close to catching up with us.”

Aster, who was leaning into the scratches, yipped, “That’s 'cause we are the best!” Perking up, she spun around and said, “Oh we didn’t get to tell you about our Minkalla run in person! We were so impressive!”

That brought them to a long rendition of their time in Minkalla while they relaxed together before going out to a restaurant that catered to Tier 15s to continue their conversation.

A few bottles of wine later, the five of them tipsily sauntered back to the shared room, where they intended to settle down for a night of watching bad movies and eating snacks, just to be surprised by Sam and his wife, Annie, who they hadn’t met yet.

Sam threw his hands up as they walked in the door. “You go out for dinner and don't even leave a note of where you went?” His smile cut any sting that might have accompanied the rebuke as they all sat down together in the living room.

Sam was at least nice enough to introduce his wife Annie to Matt and Aster, who were the only ones to have not met her yet, as she was busy during the last time they met up.

Sam punched Liz’s shoulder as they sat down. “Happy almost fiftieth birthday Liz.” Sighing, he grinned and continued, “I remember when I turned fifty. I was Tier 8, maybe Tier 9, at the time, and thought I was hot shit. But look at you! A good portion of the way through Tier 13 and well ahead of where you need to be on The Path.”

As Liz preened under the praise, Annie laughed and asked, “So, any plans for when you three finish?”

Matt looked at her with a raised eyebrow, as he didn’t quite know what she was implying. It's not like they really had a choice in what they did once they finished The Path.

Sam fell back with a groan. “No work talk.”

His wife ignored him. “You most certainly won't get a choice at Tier 25, but when you reach Tier 35, you’ll have some flexibility in your assignment, and that's where I’m in charge of special forces. I have a few units that you would fit perfectly in.”

Before she could go on, Sam lunged and covered her mouth before quickly jerking his hand away and wiping it on his pants with a grumbled, “No need to lick...”

Annie shook her head. “As much as I want to abuse your abilities, it's a long way out, and we have no actual expectation you will be placed under my command. There are two other special forces generals that you could get shuffled under.”

With shop talk pushed aside, the growing group of them spent most of the evening chatting before the mortals amongst them crawled into bed, tired from the long day after getting their spirits strained to their limits.

When they woke up in the morning, the house was surprisingly empty, which allowed them a quiet moment as they made breakfast.

Though, even that wasn't without drama. Just as they were sitting down, the front door was kicked in with enough force to shake the room.

Spinning, Matt feared they were under attack, only to relax as Leon marched into the apartment with exaggerated steps, all while Mara was trying to squeeze around him but was getting stuck on the door frame.

That changed once the couple saw they were sitting at the table.

Mara shouted, “Oh, you’re here!” before knocking Leon to the floor, where he bounced like a ball back to his feet before grabbing her leg and being pulled to the three of them. There, the two royals pulled the three of them into group hugs, only possible by copies of them appearing.

“It's good to see you three! How are you doing?”

The Leon who was hugging Matt licked his thumb and scrubbed at Matt’s forehead. “You have a mark right there.”

Matt flinched back at the sudden pain, reaching up to touch the bruise. “How did I get a bruise on my forehead?”

While he pondered that question, the three of them were let go, and the Maras and Leons merged back into one before sitting down at the table with them.

Matt got up and brought up the still-warm plates of eggs, pancakes, and various meats to serve them plates of food, Mara looked from the large amount of food to the three of them. “Why did you cook so much? Did you know we were coming?”

Liz immediately understood and threw her siblings into the train's path. “Sam, Annie, Travis, and Keith are all here, but they’re hiding from you two.”

Mara’s feathers stood on its ends before she and Leon vanished for a fraction of a second.

When they reappeared, the absent siblings were each held in one of their hands like naughty children. Even Annie and Keith, as those who married into the family, weren't spared, and dangled there like kittens.

As Matt enjoyed their mopey expressions, Sam surprised him. “The fact you can overpower us as [Clone]s is just unfair.”

Aster asked the question he was thinking. “You guys are clones?”

Mara nodded as Leon explained. “We don’t have enough time to come to everything in person, unfortunately. Emmanuel and Rusty are the only Royalty here in person. But we’ll still remember everything when we rejoin with our originals.”

Matt frowned, then shrugged. Well, they were close enough to Mara and Leon. He was curious about one thing, though. “How useful is [Clone] in a fight? I know lesser and normal [Mana Clone] have their tricks, but what’s the final version like?”

That was apparently amusing to Keith, who chuckled and whispered something too quiet for Matt to hear to Travis, the two men sharing a private joke of some form.

Annie was the one to answer, her mouth temporarily free of food. “It’s got its uses. By default, they are by definition as good as the original body at almost everything. But at the same time, no [Clone]-type skill includes mana regeneration, so while [Clone] can actually use the skills of the original, it’s limited to whatever mana is included in its original casting. They technically can’t use Domains, but in practice, most people enhance them like they’re a Domain clone when close by, so that limit only really applies when acting solo, like they are right now.

“Then let’s see… some Talents don’t transfer over, though by [Clone] it can be tricky to predict which, and I think that’s its limits. Vulnerability to attacks that you usually resist with your Domain means they’re not the best fighters, but they do make excellent scouts, given they have all your skills and your exact thoughts about everything. Even if they die and can’t return back everything they learned, you can tell because the reserved mana for the skill suddenly becomes freed up.”

Matt nodded along and asked a few more questions, even as the conversations splintered around the table.

Almost an hour later, when everyone was done eating and they had finished their conversations, they were all dragged along to the various activities Mara and Leon planned for them.

Over the next week, the planet as a whole became notably more crowded and excited, with the upcoming start of the Tier 10 tournament, and more importantly, the Ascension.

The Tier 10 tournament, while interesting for the locals, was something they had just hosted last time, and while it brought in a boom to the local economy, it wasn’t nearly as important as the Ascension for most of the visitors. The majority of the influx of visitors were just there for the chance to advance their Domains.

Matt thought it was interesting that Rusty would be hosting the Tournament twice in a row, but Leon explained that it was a fairly standard practice when someone wanted to ascend on one of the capital worlds.

While the Empire would prefer to have people ascend in low Tier systems, they never forced anything, and ascending in the capital systems had the advantage of being useful for far more people, as the local populations were more numerous and they had the infrastructure to deal with the massive influx of people.

Meanwhile, the rest of the extended family came in, which included Leah, Alice and her husband, Daniel, and finally, Erin with four of her lovers. The entire time, the suite felt bustling but never crowded, with the rooms expanding to accommodate the larger crowd so smoothly, Matt barely even realized what was going on at first.

That was a trick Matt tried to figure out, but when he actually found one of the runes hidden in the walls, he was knocked on his ass for half a day, as the headache was both thorough and all-encompassing. He should have known such a variable rune would be high Tier and well beyond his comprehension, but he could really use a version of that for their house. Especially now that it was a growth item.

Alice laughed at him for nearly ten minutes when he explained why he had been looking at the runes, but eventually gave him some information.

Variable spatial expansion runes were at a minimum Tier 30, and were both hard to enchant and harder to make function as one wanted without an entire array dedicated to it. If he wanted his house to eat such a rune to gain the ability, he needed to wait until his spirit could handle it, or find another rift-made house that already had that ability innately.

That sent the two of them, accompanied by Bella, one of Erin’s lovers, on a tangent for the rest of the afternoon as they browsed the Empire Market for suitable houses. Matt hadn’t expected there to actually be any like that for sale, but there were more than a dozen. The issue, as Alice said, was that the houses were all Tier 25 and above, and the Talent-made variable expansion often had some quirks to it.

Looking through the historical listings, there had been houses sold as low as Tier 15 with some limited form of variable sizing, but none had been sold for a few centuries.

Still, the three of them had a good time just trawling through the millions of listings.

That eventually came to a head when Liz plopped down on the couch with them and groaned. “Ugh, change the channel and don't remind me. I still need to buy another growth item.”

Bella shrugged. “You know you don’t need to, right? Most people don’t have any, and you’re at what, three?”

Liz nodded and pulled out a bag of snacks. “I can’t pass up the power they can provide, not while I’m on the Path. But I want something good, not just some random pair of growth slippers.”

Bella shook her head. “I sure wouldn’t have been able to afford two growth items at your Tier. Hell, I don’t think I could afford that now, and you’re talking about getting a powerful growth item as your fourth. Isn’t the Path of Ascension supposed to be about making do with limited resources?”

“My resoufes are very limithed, I’ll have you know,” Liz shot back with a mouth full of chips, then swallowed. “They’re just limited to Tier 18 rifts.”

“What was that about Tier 18 rifts?” Keith asked, as he and Leah strolled in from the balcony, forcing Liz to recap the conversation so far.

Leah shrugged. “Well, what have you been looking at?”

Liz changed the screen to a view of the Empire Market. “I’ve been peeking in every so often for the last few weeks, but nothing is catching my eye. I’ve already got a weapon, so unless we find some kind of growth spearhead, there’s no need to look there. Growth armor is tricky enough to find something that’ll fit, and getting it adjusted would be a pain and a half. It was bad enough just finding a crafter who could drill a hole in a wooden rod without breaking it, I’m not going with full plate.”

“What about just one piece?” Alice asked, conjuring an illusion of a helmet that looked practically crafter-made over the table, “This one has an integrated HUD that’s projected to outperform the corresponding skill, and you could really use the information boost, little sis.”

Liz shook her head. “I don’t need a better [HUD]. My AI is doing a fine enough job there.”

Alice chuckled. “That’s what I said too until I got the skill. You really can’t know what you’re missing out on. Same with all supplementary skills to [AI].”

“Sure, sure. But more importantly, that clashes with my style so much. It would never work!”

That got a laugh, then Keith took over the screen projection. “Left-handed gauntlet that can absorb blood to boost physical cultivation?”

Liz shook her head, “No, I did see that one. But I’m not trying to directly replace my glove, and I already have enough demands on my blood, I don’t want yet another drain on it.”

“Oh here’s something! Chain mail!” Leah cast an illusion of a shirt of chain mail… made of long strings of actual chains, letting them drape down around the arms and base of the armor. “Gives control over chains you’re in contact with, and the shirt itself can unravel somewhat to give you a lot of chain to work with.”

Liz frowned. “Did you pull that up just to make that pun?”

Leah shrugged, earning herself a pillow to the face.

“Oh wow, [Force Armor],” Matt commented, and Liz looked over at him. “A bracelet that’s got proper [Force Armor] attached.”

[Force Armor] was a defensive skill on par with, or if Matt was being honest with himself, far better than [Cracked Phantom Armor], with a similar effect of a full-body suit of nigh-unbreakable armor. The main differences were that [Force Armor] was much, much higher Tier, a reserve skill, and was primarily focused on strictly physical, motion-based attacks, or elemental attacks that had mass. His own armor, at least with the amount of love that he had put into it, also protected against temperature extremes, could filter out toxic gasses, and could be repaired much more easily even not counting the second layer.

Was he being overly defensive of his oldest skill? Perhaps. But it had earned it.

“The mana cost hurts though,” he noted, sending the entry to his girlfriend. She wrinkled her nose and nodded.

“Agreed. I can’t say I want to blow half my mana on a single ability for a single fight. How would a Tier 5 even afford that much?”

“Pre-charging,” Leah shrugged, “Didn’t you two have to do that with your teleportation rings? If anything, you’re the best to use it outside of some elite military units with basically unlimited mana budgets.”

“I suppose. But anyway, at the level we’re going at, how effective would it even be? It’s like having a single good skill, without any other reinforcement, and if it doesn’t protect me much from the punishment I’ll be taking then I just wasted a bunch of money.”

“Well what about a shield? This one can turn you invisible.” Leah asked.

“Why would you need a shield that can turn you invisible? If I were to go with a shield, I’d want something that’s at least specialized in blocking attacks, so I can actually use it as a shield. The one I got in Minkalla is great for that, it’s taken direct hits from Tier 18 monsters without even budging.”

They went back and forth for a few hours, continuing the conversation through dinner and breakfast. Practically everyone in the suite weighed in with their opinion at one point or another, looking at rings and breastplates, sandals and boots, cloaks and wands, ritual daggers and shields, amulets, and bracelets. Thousands upon thousands of items were considered and discarded, though a few of them were bought by some of Liz’s extended family.

In the end, they did find something for Liz, though debates were fierce towards the end.

The final item was a round shield, a full three feet in diameter and slightly convex, with the most potent defensive enchantment on the entire market. Practically anything which came into contact with the shield’s face would be nullified by a special void mana enchantment. Raw mana, force, and even unspirited matter were all either swallowed up or brought to a standstill. Then, depending on what was nullified, the shield empowered its wielder in different ways.

Mana created a force field around the welder's body that could be expanded into a full sphere if desired, force provided a speed buff, and material was consumed to increase her inertia to reduce knockback or help with shield charges. All of the effects would fall off quickly if the shield wasn’t fed, but in the midst of combat, it would serve to turn Liz into an unstoppable juggernaut.

The only problem with the shield was that it was insanely expensive, one of the most expensive items currently being sold on the entire market, and they had to move quickly before someone else decided to buy it. Still, while it took some scrambling and a hasty deal hammered out with the Seeker’s Guild to sell the compass they’d gotten in Minkalla, Torch was now the proud owner of a void shield. Or at least, she would be as soon as it arrived.

The next morning, the three of them were waiting near one of the dozen space ports for Melinda and her team to arrive in The Citadel system, their ship having arrived just two weeks late because of a pirate attack on a convoy in front of them. Thankfully, all of them were fine, but they had been delayed while their convoy rendered aid to the survivors of the battle.

Chaotic space, for all its conveniences in travel, was extraordinarily dangerous to basically everyone. Technically a Tier 15 could survive the destructive energy, but that survival time was rated in minutes, where before that it was just a death sentence. Materials without a living spirit fared even worse without arrays to bolster their resistance, though Tier helped like it did with everything else.

A Tier 25 could survive for weeks, if not months, but unreinforced Tier 25 materials would only survive a few hours. So an attack in chaotic space was dangerous for everyone involved, as even the victors could find themselves stranded and waiting for a slow death if their ship was damaged in the wrong way. There were even generous rewards established by the Empire for rescue operations. Of course, some pirates would try to destroy a ship and then ‘rescue’ everyone they endangered. It never worked, but there was always someone who would try.

The Unbroken were at least not in any danger during the almost week long operation as they tried to save the compartments with mortals, which apparently wasn’t easy for their lower Tier transport.

Thankfully, they had been able to save nearly all of the survivors and get them to safety.

As the tired group of six walked out of the spaceport, they were almost surprised to see Matt, Liz, and Aster.

Matt was hugging Vinnie and Tara when Melinda grabbed his left hand.

“What did you do to yourself? Your hand is so weird. I—”

She paused trying to think of the words, but Baxter appeared next to her and explained before Matt could. “Stygian Gossamer, I'd recognize it anywhere. Good luck trying to replicate the effect, no one even really understands how it works.” Before vanishing once more.

Mathew hugged Matt around his wife, even as Melinda examined Matt’s hand.

Samantha and Kyle were forced to get half hugs as Matt’s hand was still being held by Melinda.

“What does it do?”

As Melinda looked up at him, Matt asked his own question. “What do you see?”

Melinda pursed her lips as she thought for a minute. “The spirit of your left hand is… well, it’s like the difference between a Tier 1 and a Tier 15, but even more extreme. It’s like… golden and shiny, is the best description, despite being awful. It's odd as all get out, and I can’t see a reason for why it’s like that. There seems to be no cause, just an effect. And that's weird, even for a natural treasure.”

“Well it makes my hand nearly invulnerable. I had a Tier 18 monster try to eat me, and my hand only got scratched.”

Melinda made an appreciative sound even as she kept twisting his hand and fingers.

She even tried to bend his finger back, which would have broken it, at Matt’s insistence, but she couldn’t hurt the hand even when Matt suppressed his cultivation.

As she examined his hand, Matt and Liz’s attention was brought to Tara, who was so nervous she wasn't able to sit still for more than a minute.

Liz finally asked as she kicked at Tara’s knee, “What is your problem?”

Samatha groaned. “She’s love sick.”

“I am not.” Tara immediately snapped back before groaning and lowering her head. “Ok I am.”

Seeing their confused looks, she grabbed Aster and pulled her into a cuddle to the fox’s enjoyment. “So you guys know how Emily and I kinda sort of started dating at the tournament?”

At their nods, she continued to explain. “We may or may not have agreed to keep things casual as we were going to be separating. That lasted all of a week of separation, and we agreed to try the long distance thing. We both expected it to not last, but it has. That isn't to say it's been easy, but both of us really like each other, and this is the first time we’ll see each other in person since our own Tier 10 Tournament, and I’m a little nervous.”

Mathew snorted, “A little is an underestimate. I'm pretty sure there’s a circle in our room on the ship that has a hole worn through the carpet from her pacing.”

Matt, seeing an opportunity for gossip and romance, leaned forward, wanting to get the rest of the scoop. “When do they arrive? We’ve kept in touch, but we never got their exact schedule.”

Tara looked like she might vomit as she said, “Late tonight, early tomorrow.”

Matt retrieved his left hand from Melinda, who had started trying to dig into his palm with her now third scalpel, and patted Tara before having his hand reclaimed by the healer. Between Ciceron, Erwin, and now Melinda, Matt was starting to wonder if there was something about higher Tiers in general that made them compulsively curious, or if he just had luck in attracting them to him.

They stopped at the Feathered Nestled Inn, where the group was staying. Matt was pretty sure Mara or Leon had pulled strings, as two adjoining rooms to their own rented room had magically opened up when Melinda and Emily’s respective teams had started looking for rooms.

While they weren't actually sleeping in that room, they had rented it out, and it made for an easy way for the three teams to meet up and hang out without getting underfoot, so Matt didn’t ask too many questions.

Marcus and Olivia weren't wrong. A little corruption, if it could be called that, was useful, and sure was convenient when it was working for you.

When they arrived at The Unbroken's room, they found Luna waiting with Baxter, who gestured at Luna.

“Hit her with a healing spell, please, Melinda.”

Melinda did so without question, and Matt got to watch as Luna cast her own healing skill to reinforce the healer’s spell and sweep through the cat’s entire body. His mentor stretched, and was suddenly replaced by her human self.

Luna rolled her shoulders. “Thank you, Melinda. That would have taken me another two decades without your assistance.”

She and Baxter vanished as Melinda opened her mouth to ask a question, leaving his friend to spin around and start to formulate a question.

Matt grinned and shrugged, cutting her off. “So I may have had an Inspiration coming out of Minkalla, and Luna may have had to stop it for me.”