What in the hell were you thinking!? Jason shouted, getting in Jonathan's face. For once, the man in question didn't seem anything but apologetic.

"Things got out of hand. We couldn't have anticipated the disturbance consolidation caused," he said.

Though his words didn't do much to quell Jason's anger.

Gibby stepped in at this point with raised hands.

"What's done is done, and we managed to contain most of the energy. In the larger scale of things, it should just look like a slight increase."

Jason's chest expanded and contracted rapidly, but he managed to refrain from saying anything further.

Of course, that was not the same as the others. The tenders were already a nervous bunch, and hearing that they had been exposed–intentionally or otherwise– did nothing to calm them.

Mark was about to try and help disperse the crowd that was quickly forming, but then Terry stepped out of the group beside them. He looked disheveled, and a cloudy light flashed in the depths of his eyes.

"Wow, it's reassuring that the people supposedly trying to protect us are fucking up like this," he said, his voice laced with venom.

Mark's brow twitched at the aggression. It was pointless to throw anyone under the bus right now, not when they all had to trust one another. Terry's outburst only served to make people more scared.

Andy was the first to bristle at the words.

"Oh yeah, and who the fuck are you to say that? They said it was an accident."

Andy's words only served to make Terry twist in annoyance. The man looked like he was looking for a reason to fight, and they could let this go on.

Mark stepped forward in between the two.

"Enough, Andy, back off, we're not going to solve anything by fighting. And T, what's gotten into you?"

Before Mark could get an answer, the man backed off, unable to even look at him.

"If you expect us to follow you, then be a little more trustworthy. That's all I was saying," he said as he slinked away.

Mark was still watching Terry recede into the crowd when Sam spoke.

"Everyone, we are truly apologetic for what happened. Thank you for coming to our aid. We are now stronger than we have ever been, so please rest assured you are safe with us."

Her words were reassuring as usual, but people's fear was making it hard for them to believe her.

Jason and Ning Wei glance at one another, and with Nathan's help, they began to disperse everyone quietly.

Mark was grateful for that and moved towards Sam and Jon.

"You two come with me," he said evenly.

They didn't hesitate to make themselves scarce, following Mark towards one of the foreign buildings.

Stepping inside, Mark saw that most of the furniture was destroyed. The door was long gone, so he ushered them inside and created a barrier using stone.

The moment he did, pale flame ignited into existence next to Sam, illuminating the space. It was just the three of them now, and Mark leveled his gaze on them.

"First off, are you two okay? If there's anything wrong with your cores, let me know now."

Both Jon and Sam quietly shook their heads, not saying a word. Their expressions were both warm, so he assumed they weren't lying. Mark felt relief at that and even let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to see what was happening. I got distracted with my magic."

Sam moved forward and put her hand on his chest.

"Relax, it's not your fault. We were both impatient. Not only because you had your core, but because we need whatever strength we can get at this stage."

Mark pressed his lips together. What did his having a core have to do with this? They were competitive, but he didn't think to that extent.

"Alright, if you say so," Mark shrugged. "So just how strong are you guys now?"

Sam smirked, and Jonathan glanced at his palm.

"I don't know about Jon, but if I were to guess, I can now easily throw around higher magic. Plus, I have a sense that fusions are going to be even more interesting."

Mark swallowed at the thought, for her 'interesting' meant powerful and deadly. Mark glanced at Jonanathan, who met his gaze with a level head.

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"I have no idea, but I'm itching to find out."

Mark scratched his neck and let a sigh escape from his mouth.

"And did your consolidations go according to plan?"

Jonathan and Sam were no different in that they refused to build their core with imperfections. They had been taking steps to alter their cores before the system got too 'hands-on'.

For Sam, that meant making sure her Mana could still interact with the surrounding Mana. The system sought to seal her core, likely to prevent her from absorbing too much miasma, but this had the unintended effect of diminishing her control while her reserves remained the same.

If things had gone according to their plan, her reserves should not only larger, but she would even be able to pull on the surrounding Mana. Of course, that meant that Sam's CV would skyrocket compared to others, but that's what Mark was here for now. Plus, if he couldn't be there to help her, they had people trained to deal with Corruption back home. A fact Mark was very proud of.

Jonathan's core was a little different.

Unlike Mana, Aura was not as pervasive. It was law unto itself. An Aura user could temporarily bend the world and laws to suit them, but only if their will was strong enough. To do this, they needed to contain their 'law' until it was needed. The last thing they wanted was for it to leak out when he was trying to strengthen it. So, opening his core like Mark and Sam's was not ideal. Instead, Jonathan had discovered that engaging with other Aura strengthened his own—much like iron sharpening iron.

Jonathan had come up with the idea one day after coming back from his workshop. What if his core worked like one-way glass? As in Aura could enter but not escape. His way of describing it had been one of building pressure, like a furnace or hammering metal on an anvil. External Aura would enter and strengthen his law, but because it was his core, it would quickly be overwhelmed.

Like Sam, it made him more susceptible to Corruption and the Chaos residing in Aura, but as far as he could tell, it was far more effective for growing one's strength long term.

Sam grinned and nodded to his question.

"It was touch and go for a bit, but we both succeeded, now all three of us have cores," she said, her voice cheerful.

Mark was glad to hear it. He didn't doubt them because waves of Aura were coming off Jonathan, and the subtle, curious Mana snaking about the room. Even now, both of them were glowing in his senses. It was almost like staring directly into a bright glare, even though Mark could scarcely feel Aura himself, he knew it was there.

"Is it always this.. Noticeable?" Mark asked, stifling the urge to put his hand in front of his face.

Jonathan snorted, and Sam broke out into a huge grin.

"You're one to talk. How do you think we felt?"

Mark blinked sheepishly as he remembered how everyone had been looking at him when he first developed his core.

"Well, I need to go take care of the energy you guys released during the process. You two should hang back and figure out your cores."

Sam nodded her thanks, but Jonathan was clearly not having it.

"I'll head to the frontline again. I can test out my core on the go."

Mark crossed his arms.

"Would it kill you to sit still for two seconds?"

Jonathan snorted but looked away. "It just might."

Mark wanted to argue, but he knew Jon wouldn't listen to him. Luckily, Sam was ready.

"Jon, going out there right now is not the best play. Let's give it a couple of hours and then go back, use this time to nap or train like Mark suggested."

Jonathan crossed his arms and frowned.

"But I already meditated."

Sam shot Mark a dry look before continuing.

"That's not the same, and you know it. You can head back to the front in a bit, but let's just give it some time."

If it were anyone else, asking Jonathan would have been ignored, but because it was Sam, he hesitated.

"So we're just going to hide from everyone?" he asked

Sam shook her head.

"No, Jonathan, this isn't hiding. It's choosing our timing."

This seemed to be enough to give him pause, and Mark capitalized on it.

"Alright, I'ma head out. Since you guys had chosen to say I'll go deal with our people. Gibby's probably already taking care of it, but it can't hurt to make sure."

Mark stepped out of the building and reclosed the door with a layer of stone. Not that it would stop Jonathan if he wanted to leave. Hell, for someone who could bend steel, Mark was certain he didn't even consider the stone an obstacle.

Mark left the two without any further thought and headed back to their section of the camp. Gibby was indeed smoothing things over. So Mark made the most of his time and began to gather all the excess energies within the dome. To be frank, there was a lot of errant power surging around right now, and Mark would have to dispose of it at the furthest distance he could manage.

That being said, he was well rested and had plenty of power to throw at the problem. It was as Mark began gathering the power that his warden returned to his side. The spell had been operating on its own up until now. So much so that Mark had forgotten about it. Now, as he gathered all the surrounding energy, the warden orbited around him like an asteroid.

And to his surprise, it began to take some of the mental load. Assisting him in guiding the energies as he saw fit.

It was strange because it felt eerily similar to when Sam and he used [Joint casting], only to a lesser extent.

Either way, it was at least as effective as when he released his mental limits, and there were no drawbacks.

Mark noted that the core of Corruption in the center had diminished by a small amount, but it should still be operational for a long while.

After Mark had sent the energy away, he moved to the rest of the camp to offer healing. Most had already taken care of their wounds with other healers, but people were always looking for more.

A couple of hours later, Mark was tending to someone's blistered heels when a ripple shivered through his dome. He was on his feet in an instant, reinforcing his construct—but something had already slipped through.

'Enemy incoming. Get ready!' he barked at the top of his lungs.

The drowsy calm was shattered. Mark felt the presence slide beneath his barrier. The camp snapped awake, weapons raised, braced for the thunder of some monstrous roar.

But none came.

Instead, a small figure materialized on a nearby rooftop. Mark's eyes locked onto it as he turned his head to follow it.

Barely four feet tall, cloaked in tattered rags that fluttered in the night breeze, the creature radiated Corruption so dense it made Mark's stomach churn. It shrieked something harsh and guttural, but he barely heard it—the piercing cackle that followed froze the blood in every vein.

Mark didn't know how he knew, but he did: this thing was powerful. And when its glowing yellow eyes fixed on their group, menace burned into them all, especially the tenders.

It was coming, and they were at a disadvantage.

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