The world felt stiller and quieter without Xena and Dewie there.

Dewie texted her when he arrived at Ronan Fae Ambassadorial Island to let her know that her bracelet had survived the trip, even though Veronica tried to take it from him.

Lexie told him to tell Veronica that if she did anything to the bracelet, they would have a repeat of the Azure dinner.

What does that mean? Dewie asked.

Don't worry about what it means. Lexie responded. Just tell her. She'll understand.

Xena's trip was much longer and she was staying at a hotel for a few days while they got her room at school ready. When asked how the hotel was, Xena responded, "They have a chocolate fountain!!" with several more exclamation points in the next message. Lexie took that to mean she was having fun.

I hope they both have fun at hero school, she thought to herself, releasing a sigh that did not get rid of the hollowness in her chest. And I hope I have fun too, wherever I end up.

A few days later, Lexie walked home from the train station and hesitated at her front door, sensing Aiden was in there. She activated her <Charades Champion> card before walking in.

Aiden looked up from the book he was reading on the couch. All she got from his expression and minute body language was affection and warmth.

Once more, she felt guilty for suspecting him.

He can sense I'm uncomfortable around him now, Lexie thought. She probably wasn't doing a very good job of hiding it, even as she attempted a smile.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey." Aiden closed his book as she approached, sitting opposite him on the couch. "Xena and Dewie have already arrived, right?"

Lexie nodded and released a breath. "I'm gonna miss them. I don't think I realized how much until just now."

"You'll see them again. The Hero Academy has exeats and we can go visit some weekends." "Yeah, but it won't be the same." It wouldn't be the same as hanging out at least once a week with them. It wouldn't be the same as living ten minutes away from Xena's house or getting picked up by Dewie's driver to go see him. It also wouldn't be the same as going to school twice a week knowing that they were there and, at that moment, they were all on the same paths.

"They'll change," Lexie said to her dad. "And I'll change too after I go to the research college." Xena and Dewie would probably become more heroic. And maybe Lexie would become more introverted, and more obsessed with her studies.

"That's part of growing up," her father said gently. "People change, for better or for worse."

"What if I change for the worse and they change for the better?" she said. Though she hated being jealous, she couldn't help thinking about the fact that they were both S-Rank mages and she was only a C-Rank. Even with her high intelligence, she was finding it difficult to deal with her low mana ranking. She also felt a little sabotaged by the system in that regard.

I would have picked the card magic anyway, she addressed her system spitefully. You didn't have to give me a C to convince me.

"Do you want to tell me what you're really afraid of Lexie?" Aiden asked.

So many things. I'm afraid that one day you'll figure out I'm not your real daughter and you'll punish me for deceiving you all this time. Or even if you don't, you'll look at me like I'm a monster and withdraw affection. I'm afraid of that Eldritch friend of yours. I'm afraid that nothing I do ever matters, and I can never make an individual choice because of this darned system leading me down a path it wants me to go. And I'm afraid I don't know what I'm doing.

"Nope," she said in the end. "I'd rather learn about crafting.'

Aiden looked like he wanted to argue or insist she tell him about her worries. But ultimately, he just sighed.

"So," he said. "I know we haven't had much time together lately, but you and Elvira have been keeping up the lessons, right?"

She nodded. "Elvira also hasn't had a ton of time what with traveling and her research and exams but she's taught me what she can and let me use her scholar ID to get a few books." Lexie's pathway theory was damn near perfect right now, and she knew origins and intent for at least a hundred cards across several decks.

Making a new card was still a struggle, much less making the cards she wanted to make.

"I've been trying to understand intent with Dewie," she said. "Been getting him to explain to me exactly how his perception works but–"

"Most people have very little idea of how their skill works, especially Dewie, whose skill is of such a high affinity, it's more of an innate talent that he never had to work for," Aiden interrupted. "It's something he was born with, likely something he's had his entire life. It's hard for him to coach you on how to get it because he's always had it."

"Yeah, I get that. But I thought if anyone could help me it might be him." She shrugged. "Not to mention I also wanted to understand his skill, so I can create a deck that helps him translate it."

Aiden rubbed his chin. "Dewie is an S-Rank mage. His skill might be difficult to translate into cards."

Lexie sighed. "I should probably start with lower-ranked bound users or spell casters then, but I don't know any. And even if I meet them, as you say, most people aren't trying to create magic so they don't have to understand intent, they only have to worry about the pathway process." She rested back against the couch, bending her neck backward. "I told Dewie a long time ago that I would make him a deck that would translate his visions to other people, but I can't do that if I don't even know how they work. Neither can I make a defense deck or a healer's deck. I feel stuck."

He stared at her for a second. "Have you ever tried to get a feel for someone's magic? Tried to reach in and examine their pathways as they used a skill?"

Lexie blinked at him. "I can do that?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Very few people can because it requires a perfect understanding of pathways and perfect mana control. Which you're pretty close to achieving. So you might be able to."

"Okay but isn't that…unethical?" The last time someone had reached in to feel her pathways, to manipulate her emotions, she'd hated him for it and been furious at the invasion.

Lexie had told her father about the Monty Ward incident a few days after it happened. Aiden's eyes had gone cold when she did. He'd then doubled the frequency of their pathway lessons to include pathway resistance so she could fight off manipulation like that.

"I'm not asking you to manipulate anyone's pathways," Aiden said. "That would be very unethical, and probably beyond your skill level and ranking right now. But with permission, you can try and feel their pathways move when they're using a skill. That might help you figure out the intent, by seeing exactly how their skill works. It's like a pathway blueprint."

"Even with unbound magic?"

"Yes. All magical forms are ruled by intent, even when people don't know it. It's instinctive, possibly behind their awareness. But it's there."

Lexie nodded. "How am I going to understand what their pathways are saying exactly? Even if I feel them move, I'm not sure what the movement suggests?"

"There are formulas I can teach you," he said. "Instinct also plays into it. What was your score on belief?"

"Um...like a 68."

"That's doable. Maybe. Now keep in mind I'm not a pathway expert. And I had a lot of help creating my first card. So don't think you're doing badly, by any means."

"Had a lot of help from who?"

He pursed his lip and didn't seem to want to talk about it. But then finally, he admitted. "Naem."

Lexie gaped. "The Eldritch Lord helped you make your first card?"

Aiden nodded. "I told you I would be honest and explain everything to you. And I will. It's just hard to help you understand how we did it when you're already struggling with intent."

Lexie's mind was spiraling. "Okay, just tell me one thing," she asked. "Is it because of Naem…is he the reason the card doesn't abide by all the other system rules? Is he why it can be used by mundanes and doesn't need to belong to a deck?"

Once again, Aiden didn't look like he wanted to answer but he did anyway. "Yes."

Wow. That was mind-blowing, but somehow also unsurprising.

Lexie felt like it would become even more mind-blowing when Aiden explained what the card had to do with pocket dimensions.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Too bad exam season wasn't over yet, and Aiden probably wouldn't tell her until it was.

"But I just want to let you know," he said. "That it's important to temper your expectations. Honestly speaking, what you're attempting with Dewie's deck, your defense deck, and also the healing deck, is likely impossible, even with Naem's help. You might come close but not get the exact result you want."

"Likely impossible?"

He blew out a breath. "There's a non-zero chance it might work. But it's a very low chance."

"I like those odds," she quipped with a wink. Her dad smiled weakly and shook his head.

On instinct, she gave him a quick hug. "Thanks for telling me that. You really are a good dad, you know that?"

"That's what they tell me at the Dad Awards every year."

She groaned and he chuckled at his own terrible joke.

Later, when Lexie was in bed, she got a ding from an unknown number.

The message simply said Yo.

Lexie frowned.

Lexie: Who is this?

Unknown number: It's Abernathy.

Lexie: Oh, it's you. What's with 'Yo'? When did you turn into a dudebro overnight?

Abernathy: A what?

Lexie sighed. Never mind. She guessed that was another term that hadn't been translated properly into this world.

Lexie: What's up?

Abernathy: Not much. I got your number from Dewie because Doyle refused to give it to me. He wanted to be the one to talk to you but we voted against him and decided I would be the one to reach out.

Lexie: And you were nominated because…

Abernathy: I'm the only one out of those chuckleheads who knows how to speak to girls.

Lexie: Chris and Doyle spoke to me just fine all through the year.

Abernathy: Yeah but you weren't a girl then. You were just Lexie. Now you kick ass and stuff and so they're probably going to say something dumb and ruin everything.

Lexie didn't really understand that logic but she had another more important question to ask.

Lexie: Ruin what exactly?

Abernathy: Our offer.

Lexie: Offer?

Abernathy: Yeah. To manage you in some capacity. Or to be a part of your AFC posse.

Lexie: Oh. Abernathy, that's sweet but–

Abernathy: No before you say no hear me out. Most of the fighters in the circuits have a posse and are managed by friends who started with them from the beginning. We'll be dedicated to learning everything we can to serve your needs. Chris says he can do it while going to Knight school and Doyle told me he doesn't have anything better to do. And if I get that job with your dad we'll get to hang out often anyway.

Abernathy: But not too often, not like I'm stalking you or anything, just in the sense that we'll be in the same general proximity, because of your dad. So it makes sense, doesn't it?

Lexie: Yes it makes a lot of sense. If I was planning to join the circuit.

It took a few seconds for Abernathy to understand what she said, and she could practically taste the disbelief in his tone.

Abernathy: You don't?

Lexie: No.

Abernathy: Then why did you join the fight?

Lexie: For fun.

And so as not to sound like a crazy daredevil, she added, I wanted to test how my cards could do in combat. Just in case me or my dad ever got attacked. So I would know how to defend us.

Abernathy: Oh.

Lexie could sense he was still confused.

Abernathy: But that's not a good test. Conrad didn't attack you. He was on defense the whole time.

Lexie: Exactly. But at the training sessions, I'll probably have to fight other trainees and then I can get a truer test of my skill. I can see how my cards perform in a fight when the other person isn't trying to kill me, just hurt me a little.

At least she hoped it would only be a little painful. Lexie knew things could go awry in a competitive environment like that and maybe she might break something. But it was better than waiting for someone like Mouse to attack her before she could test out the cards.

Besides, this was also a good opportunity for her to meet other mana users, to test out what Aiden just said and see if she could read their pathways while they activated a skill. Of course, she would have to get their permission first for that, and there was no guarantee that they would give it to her. After all, she was their competition.

Lexie wondered if they would be friendlier to her if she mentioned that she didn't actually want to join the circuit. Or maybe that would make them hate her more because she'd taken the spot of someone who probably did want to join the circuit.

Lexie would lean towards the latter if she were in their shoes, and she felt kind of bad about it already.

Not bad enough to call it off though.

Speaking of which, she probably needed to tell her dad about her AFC training at some point...

Abernathy: Well that's a bummer. Chris and Doyle are going to be disappointed.

Lexie: And you're not?

Abernathy: Well maybe a little but I never put my hopes in anything anymore.

Really? Lexie wanted to ask because he'd seemed pretty upset when he learned he was unranked. But she guessed that incident had taught him a lesson.

Lexie: I get it.

Abernathy: Yeah. Anyway, that's all. And don't be alarmed if the rest of the guys also reach out at some point, especially Doyle. He was pretty stoked about the idea of you joining the circuit so he might text you to try to convince you.

Lexie: Of course.

Abernathy: I'll try to tell him to chill out but...

Lexie: It's fine. I can deal with Doyle. I'll let him down easy.

Abernathy: Alright. See you around.

Lexie: See you. I'll tell you what my dad's boss decides.

Abernathy: Sounds good.

And with that Lexie turned off her system screen and took a deep breath. She saw another message pop up in the corner of her vision.

Another text from Dewie.

I gave Abernathy your number even though Doyle already had it. I thought you might be lonely without us so you can have sleepovers with them instead.

Aww, he was so sweet.

The next day, Lexie showed up at the dojo wearing comfortable clothes: sneakers, sweatpants, and a tank top under her jumper. She was early, so she walked into the space expecting the place to be relatively empty, only to find that it wasn't.

Not only that, people were sparring on the mat.

One of them was clearly a Berserker. His reaction time was too quick for him to be anything but and he had that daring gaze and air of excitement about him as the other guy's attacks became quicker and swifter.

The other guy, Lexie had no clue what his ability was. When he got hit, it clearly hurt because he gritted his teeth but then he kept fighting like nothing had happened. He didn't have the durability or the quick reaction time of a berserker-type fighter but he had endurance, and the strength of his kicks and hits increased as time passed. So Lexie didn't know what the heck was going on with him.

The space in the center of the room was vast, with six full mats lined up on the pure white floors.

There were black bleachers at either side, and a girl and four other boys sat at Lexie's left. They looked from thirteen to eighteen years old. Lexie appeared to be the youngest person there and that was probably why they gave her those looks as she slowly approached.

Curiosity. Recognition. Annoyance. Excitement.

It was a varied mix. Lexie wanted to make a good impression so they would willingly let her study their powers. She gave them a friendly smile and a wave. Most of them waved back except for one of them who sneered and looked away.

Alright then.

Lane and Blondie were at the other side of the bleachers and surprisingly they waved at her when she greeted them. Well, Lane waved. Blondie gave her a too-cool-for-school nod.

Apart from them, no two people were sitting next to each other on the metal benches. Everyone was keeping a respectable distance which meant that they were all strangers to each other too. That was good. Lexie was concerned that being from the same area, they would all know each other and she would be the odd one out.

Now, they were all the odd ones out.

She turned her attention back to the fight. The Berserker had done a perfect ballet pirouette to avoid a blow which made Lexie and his opponent snort.

"Really Boris?" one guy called from the bleachers and Boris grinned as he somersaulted in the air landing on his tippy toes.

"Never will I forget my ballet roots," he said

He also squatted low and aimed a blow at his opponent's midsection, but he was stopped by a whistle that rang through the room.

Conrad stood near the entrance, in his trademark basketball shorts and eighties shirt with the headband. He shook his head at the group of fighters.

"It's not time for that yet," he said and the two boys immediately scrambled away from each other.

"Sorry sir," The ballet berserker said.

Conrad smiled at him. "It's just Conrad. No need to call me sir. Not yet anyway. Although by the time I'm done with all of you, you're probably gonna call everything but a child of my mother."

He gave them a menacing smile and Lexie was a little nervous now. She'd thought training with Conrad would be a little more laidback seeing as how he didn't take things too seriously. Yet, an intimidating aura swirled around him, and she guessed that his fighting persona was probably different from his teaching one.

As the two fighters rushed to take their seat, Conrad took their place on the mat. He surveyed the group and gestured for Lane and Blondie to join the rest on the other side.

They moved to do just that, as Conrad's eyes fell on Lexie. He winked.

"Hey, kiddo. Nice to see you."

Lexie nodded shyly and for a second, she was concerned he would show her favoritism.

But his gaze slid over to the girl next to her, and he gave her a similar greeting, even adding, "How's your dad doing after that last mission, Cara?"

"Great," she shrugged. "Cranky, but only a little more than usual."

"That's good to hear." He then switched to the guy who'd been fighting Boris. "And what about you, Jan? How's business going?"

"So so. We got new colors yesterday if you wanna come check them out."

"I might." As it turned out from the brief conversation that ensued, Jan worked at his Uncle's shop, and that was where Conrad liked to buy his headbands from.

Conrad seemed to know intimate details about almost everyone there and had a short conversation with all of them.

"Alright," he said when he was done. "I feel like introductions are due. Since you guys will be spending a lot of time together over the next few weeks it's good to know each other's names and get close. You'll find that even though we spar against each other, the circuit is a tight-knit community and we all mostly get along. So it's good to foster that spirit early. On the mat and in the arena, you're enemies trying to eviscerate each other. But here, you're also partners trying to help each other put on the best show possible. Alright?"

They all nodded and Conrad gestured. "How about you start with the intros, Boris? Since I'm pretty sure you're the oldest."

"No need to age-shame me, Conrad," he said, sounding offended much to Jan and Cara's amusement.

But before he could start, the door opened and a voice interrupted, "Sorry, I'm late."

Lexie frowned. That voice sounded familiar. Very, achingly familiar, but ancient, like she'd heard it in another world.

She curiously glanced in that direction...

And instantly got the wind knocked out of her.

Her brain short-circuited for a second, her eyes widening to the size of golf balls.

What. The. Actual. Hell.

Was she seeing things? Going crazy?

As he walked deeper into the room, Lexie wondered seriously if she'd lost her mind and was just imagining it. But no.

But then his eyes met hers, and there was a wry surprise and recognition in them.

Lexie's jaw just about hit the floor. "Tate Reynolds?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.