Armed with a small and rather excited fairy seated upon his shoulder, Rory quickly followed the directions given to him by Gil as he traversed Ehkorrus, making a point to avoid any groups of people. From time to time, he was relatively sure that somebody had spotted him, doing a double take as they noticed him, only for Rory to quickly slip out of sight, bending light to briefly obscure his escape.

Most of Ehkorrus looked like any growing village. Still, when Rory finally came to a stop at his destination, he felt his eyebrows creeping up his forehead.

"Is this the place?" Astra asked as she leaned in toward his ear, giving his cheek a poke as she did.

"What gave that away?" Rory chuckled as he stared at what was likely the most visually impressive building in all of Ehkorrus.

Large? Not overtly, no, but distinctive?

No doubt.

It was as if a regular square-ish building had been caught inside an oversized fly trap, only for that same fly trap to be swallowed up by black and red crystals, with odd jutting matte bone growths to burst free like bony sores.

What the hell sort of research was she up to that caused… whatever this is?

Finding the 'door' to the oddly twisted amalgamation of plant, crystal, and human architecture, Rory frowned as he looked at it.

"Why are you just standing there?" Astra asked.

"Because she clearly doesn't want visitors."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Astra kicked her small feet on Rory's shoulder, tossing her arms up. "Aren't you the boss?"

"I don't believe in abuse of power," Rory said with a snort before shaking his head, careful not to knock Astra off his shoulder in the process. "She's got some serious defenses."

"Serious enough to stop you?"

"No, not at all," Rory said honestly. "But enough that even a Tier seven wouldn't want to try their luck carelessly. Which shouldn't be possible, given the caliber of artisans and the like here, but it's as if this entire building is a focus that concentrates power. Almost like…. Hmm."

Rory stared into the distance, thinking as he shook his head a moment after.

"Well, no point delaying."

Eyes glowing with power, Rory saw through the hybrid work of inscriptions and alchemical materials, meant to isolate and allow only a singular aura to pass freely. Or that was their purpose, but Rory noticed a flaw in the inscription, an intent that wasn't properly accounting for the forceful suppression of the ward with a similar affinity aura of higher intensity.

His aura. That was the weakness of anything that capitalized on resources abundant in Ehkorrus; they all had traces of his aura.

Focusing his aura into a concentrated form within his fist, Rory knocked once on the door as the wards buckled, unable to respond to the forceful suppression. While they failed to repel him, they did trigger an alarm from within.

Ehh, it works either way.

Nearly a minute later, the door was yanked open, and a rather frazzled-looking woman appeared, her face creased in a deep scowl.

"E.O.N. above, you couldn't be gentler in your approach?" Mariah, now a proper adult, glared at him as she folded her arms over her chest.

"You don't seem all that surprised."

"I got the notification the other day that you returned. Combined with the fact that no one in all of Ehkorrus is dumb enough to try my front door like that, it was obvious. I'm going to ignore the fact that you were able to basically bully my defenses."

Rory took a moment to inspect the woman, his former 'student' and 'co-founder' of alchemy. Technically, neither of them had founded the school of alchemy, but that was semantics.

Oddly enough, aside from the structure of her face, she looked almost nothing like her younger years. Now her hair was a thick mane of curly hair, the color of charcoal with strands of neon red and slices of bleach white.

Odd, but surprisingly it works. I could ask what that's about, but honestly, I've been berated enough times in my youth for asking 'Hey, what's up with your hair?' that I'm just going to ignore it.

The other point of interest was the fact that her hands were black. And not as in the skin color, but literally black as if she had plunged them into black ink, melding back into a more standard skin tone just past her forearm. Atop her fingers were rather long, sharp nails that looked as if they could slash through skin and maybe even bone. The nails at the end of her middle and pointer fingers were blood red, with the nails at the end of her pinky and… whatever that other finger was called, ending in white nails, with the nail of her thumb being a shiny obsidian black, the same color as the rest of her arms.

"You know, staring is considered rude?" Mariah asked, frowning slightly at him, catching his attention.

"What? What's so rude about looking at- Oh! Wait, I was looking at your nails!" Rory responded in panic, realizing that with her arms folded over her chest, staring at her nails looked a lot like he was staring at something else.

Rory could understand how that impression could be formed, given there was a lot to take in.

And now I look like a creepy old man. God damn it, of course, even if I explain honestly that I hadn't even noticed, no one ever believes that.

"Relax," Mariah snorted, a smile appearing as she poked his shoulder with one of her long red nails. "I was messing with you. Unless you've changed a whole lot over the decades, you never came across as the type to leer."

Hearing that, Rory relaxed before it was his turn to frown.

"Wait, were you implying that I was asexua-"

"No, I was aware of your relationship with Viviann." Mariah palmed her forehead, suddenly wincing as if embarrassed. "Hell, I think that- wait, are you messing with me now?"

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Rory couldn't hold back his grin, giving her forehead a flick, as if she were a mere teenager again. "Bingo."

Watching her eyes widen with sudden surprise at being punked, she burst out with a laugh that Rory felt did a disservice to comedy. What he had said wasn't that funny.

As her laughter finally petered out, Rory was surprised to see Mariah in a remarkably good mood.

"Oh man, you don't realize just how long it's been since anyone has had the gall to even think of messing with me.

"Really?" Rory asked, uncertain as to why. Sure, she had the aura of a high-tier-six person, but from a power standpoint, he couldn't see what would be so nerve-wracking about messing with her.

"Here, want to come inside?" Mariah asked, propping open the door and gesturing forward.

"Uhh, sure?" Rory said, before glancing at his small companion.

"And what about?"

"Astra can come in too," Mariah said, nodding to the small fairy. "I would have asked how you figured out getting her out of that room, but I'm sure if anyone could figure it out, it would be you."

Shrugging, Rory followed after the woman, entering the odd building as the door closed behind him. Inside, Rory glanced around, taking in what looked as if it had been ripped straight out of a storybook description of a mad scientist's lab, jars and vials and other equipment everywhere in a seemingly haphazard manner.

"Ignore the madness," Mariah said as he led him through the laboratory from a Lovecraft novel. Nearing a platform, she ushered Rory forward on top of it before a flare of her aura led the platform to begin descending.

"Interesting, how's this work?" Rory questioned.

"Simple, really. Reversal polarity walls, taking the theory of cationic and anionic materials and applying it in a more direct material method."

"I see. A slow traveling current that opposes the state of the platform, causing an opposition force that can either push it down or raise it up."

"Exactly!" Mariah said excitedly. "Gil and I argued for ages over whether it would really work, going from theory to practice. I won that bet," She followed up smugly.

The platform descended for another thirty feet before clinking into place against a locking mechanism, as a reinforced wooden, crystal, and metal door slid open in front of them.

"You know, usually you put the insane lab stuff in the basement and not your living quarters."

"While I can see that logic, you're also forgetting that monsters were threatening Ehkorrus for the last few decades. My bug-out chambers, therefore, should be the secure living area."

Rory frowned, unable to deny the logic, save for a single point.

"Were you planning to hide here if Ehkorrus fell?"

"Maybe," Mariah said, glancing to the side.

"Why not leave with everyone else?"

"Because I have valuable things here," Mariah countered. "Once they had been secured, then I would jump ship."

"Uh-huh, right," Rory said, not sounding convinced.

"Anyway, are you here to ridicule me, pay a visit, or looking for another service?"

"Thirty/seventy on the last two."

"Not much better than my last boyfriend," Mariah muttered before she plunked herself in a rather cozy-looking armchair.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing," Mariah said, waving it off. "Alright, shoot, what does the Great Founder have in need from me, a mere alchemist?"

"Ehkorrus requires updates." Rory said.

"Obviously."

"I have an idea."

"Obviously."

"But I'll probably need your help."

"Obviously," Mariah huffed. "Ask me or explain something I don't know."

"Sure, but let me start with a question. What exactly is this 'renewal' concept I see that Ehkorrus has adapted to?"

"What, you can't guess?"

"I can, but I'd rather hear it straight from someone who is likely more versed in this direct concept."

"It's a sort of representation of a life-death cycle," Mariah answered, not bothering to refute Rory. "It's what the clashing and fusing of the three innate concepts of Ehkorrus; Starlight, Blood, and Wild Growth, turned into. How it works is a little iffy, as it's not just some blanket 'things grow faster and stronger' here aspect; instead, it requires fuel in the form of vital energies. These can either naturally build up from things dying in the areas considered under the dominion of Ehkorrus, or through active sacrifice."

"Active sacrifice? You all haven't started human sacrifices in the last few decades, have you?"

"No, but I did toss the idea out there once," Mariah said without a hint of remorse.

"Seriously?"

"What? It was purely academic in nature."

"Right," Rory said, mentally noting to check in with Irene if anyone had ever gone mysteriously missing. "So, what exactly was this sacrifice?"

Rather than respond, Mariah stuck out her pointer and middle finger, holding them together as the red nails seemed to fuse into a single blade. Swiping the red blade at her wrist, blood began to pump out, far more than a cut of such size would typically allow.

"Catch that for me, would you?" Mariah asked.

A bowl appeared in Rory's hands, quickly placed under her wrist as it pooled within over the span of several seconds before her wrist instantly closed up.

Talk about a weird constitution. That wasn't proper damage or durability interactions; that was more like she willed her body to bleed freely and then close back up.

"This is what I meant. We have more delicate methods available, and we've in fact discovered that semi-regular bleeding actually has benefits for the overall health, but that would be getting off topic."

"Oh… Ohhh, right. I sort of forgot about this."

"Weren't you the one who chose this option?"

"Not important," Rory said, waving it off. "So, people offer up their blood, which supplies Ehkorrus with a supply of vital energies and all the other sub-aspects one can find in blood. Why though? What benefits do the people get aside from an esoteric 'good of the city' reason?"

"Credits."

"Credits?"

"Credits," Mariah repeated. "Do you need me to explain?"

"Please," Rory admitted. "It's been literal decades since Irene explained it, and even back then, I didn't really pay attention since it didn't apply to me at the time."

"Everyone earns a universal credit income each week, with a work-credit earned for work, with a general rate that applies to everyone, with the only variations being in the Danger scale. Depending on the bracket of the danger scale for a job, the standard rate will change. As your tier rises, you are imposed with a down-tier modifier to prevent higher tiers from being able to run over lower tiers in earning power. Lastly, artisans can sell inspired creations for extra credits. Adventurers and their lot can also take on missions for extra credits. Or that's the basic gist."

"So…. A basic income alongside a flat rate of pay based entirely upon work hours…" Rory scratched at his head as another question came to mind. "And necessities?"

"Either freely given or highly subsidized by the city itself."

Rory snorted, failing to withhold a chuckle as Mariah looked at him oddly.

"What?"

"Nothing," Rory chucked, shaking his head. "Just our old friend Marx would have words to share."

"Whose Marx?"

"Not important," Rory waved the question off. "Alright, economics aside, this renewal concept, I have an idea of what to do with it now that I've had theories confirmed."

"Being?"

"Photosynthesis and Little Plant Shop of Horrors."

"Huh?"

"Right now, how do the walls of Ehkorrus work?"

"They utilize pneuma to mold into solar-aspect assault magic."

"Correct. How do plants work?"

"They eat small monsters?" Mariah offered after a moment of consideration.

"I mean the non-carnivorous kind."

"Well, they take in sunlight and- oh, are you suggesting-"

"If you're thinking I'm suggesting we transform the walls into one giant living organism that can use sunlight to grow and eat monsters? Basically."

Mariah blinked several times at Rory, as if trying to figure out what to say.

"What?"

"No, that wasn't my thought at all. I thought you were suggesting we add something to the walls that would allow them to feed off of monsters and sunlight, like living plant turrets or something, not turn the walls straight up into a giant plant."

"Tsk tsk," Rory said, shaking his head. "Thinking far too in the box and small. What fun is adding carnivorous plants to the walls when they could become the carnivorous plant?"

"Is that even possible?"

"Well, not quite, no. But it will be similar in nature to a proper living thing. Like a quasi-living organism."

"Once more, how is that possible?"

"Trial and error, my not-so-young apprentice."

Mariah returned to staring at Rory, as if seeing him in a new light.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. It will be fun." Rory said as if that much was a given. "Anyway, as much fun as this was, I've got somewhere else to be."

"Really? You were here only ten minutes, max."

"Sure, but you need some time to digest everything," Rory said, pointing out the obvious.

"Then where are you two off to next?" Mariah asked, glancing at Rory and the shockingly silent Astra.

"Well, that should be obvious. I need to see the real leader of Ehkorrus." Rory said as if it were obvious.

"Oh," Mariah nodded, instantly catching on. "Her."

"Yep. It's time I pay a visit to Irene."

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