The Mages' Guild was impressive, though not in the same way as the Temple of the Five or the Adventurers' Guild. It was only one story tall with an open ceiling, yet when Logan activated Aetherlens, he detected a faint domed shell covering the entire area.

He had seen this kind of shell twice before: once in the Cave of Cursed Music, where closed doors acted like mana-tight barriers; and again inside Mariv's house, with the gnomish sigilry that created an independent mana bubble. He was beginning to associate this kind of mana void with magical seals.

Where the dome connected to the building, polished obsidian was etched with symbols. Mariv had mentioned that obsidian enhanced magical seals. The sigilry was familiar, and even though Logan couldn't read it, he noticed these symbols were more curved than the ones he had seen at Mariv's house.

As he trailed Alden, Logan kept Aetherlens active. In the far distance, a great fire blast bloomed, roiling upward against the dome. Most of it hit the invisible wall and rebounded, but a small column continued upward as if escaping through a tiny airhole or valve. The narrow column was quickly contained by a second layer that seemed to neutralize the fire.

Logan half-expected the notification that he had gained the anticipated threshold perk in Aetherlens, but it never came. He checked his screen manually in case he had accidentally dismissed it. The skill stubbornly remained at level 24.

"Welcome to the Mages' Guild," said Alden as they drew closer. He sounded like a tour guide showing off his home city.

That tone quickly shifted, though, and Logan chuckled. The look on the silver-haired elf's face was like a first grader embarrassed by their parents at a new school.

"Don't worry, Alden, I think I can do what I need without having to go inside." They had drawn close to a wide arch, giving Logan a better view of the training area, and he could still see the exterior ambient mana above it. Logan knew Alden was worried about bringing a non-mage into a restricted space. There was a workaround if Alden claimed Logan was working for him as a scrubber, which was someone who did odd jobs for spare cash. Sometimes that included being a scroll carrier for a mage, and that was the story they decided on. But that might make Alden seem dependent on scripts rather than memory. That would make anyone inside think less of Alden's ability, which would reduce the elf's chance of finding someone with the Life affinity willing to offer pointers.

"Thank you," said Alden with a breathy sigh. "If you can't get it to level and need me to get you inside, just let me know."

Logan nodded. They had already discussed it, and he would simply tell someone near the entryway he had arrived with Alden's requested scrolls.

Alden trotted off, clearly excited, while Logan studied the domed shell. If simply watching the ambient mana wasn't enough to raise his level, maybe he needed to figure out the reason behind the patterns he was seeing.

It didn't take long for another fire blast to explode inside. It came from the back again. Someone must be practicing a specific spell, which would hopefully give Logan steady study material.

The excess fire reacted the same way as before, and the observed escape hole appeared in the same place. Despite Logan's thought that the mana-sealing shell might be organically fluid, like the walls of a soap bubble, the precision in locations of this mysterious outlet valve meant the structure was rigid. The obsidian sigils probably affected the structural integrity, and Logan made a note to sketch them down for Mariv's review.

Watching closer, he noticed something else. He had first thought the excess fire was getting expelled into the hole and neutralized. Actually, it stretched into thin strands above the shell and then spiraled away until it was too thin to see. It reminded Logan of the Ghostbusters movies, where the ghosts got sucked up with vacuum-like devices. But the mana didn't flow directly into the exterior ambient mana above the shell. Instead, there appeared to be a cushioning layer separating the mana beneath the dome from the greater ambient mana above it.

Aetherlens is level 25!

Synergy detected with Exalted Kin bloodline. Aetherlens is level 25, with Perception and Willpower each at [50] points or higher. Unlocking threshold perk…

Threshold perk unlocked! Veil of Flux Your mana usage is now your business. Activate Veil of Flux to conceal your mana manipulations beneath layers of ambient mana. This will conceal your active mana usage from anyone trying to read it. This perk requires concentration to maintain. Mana spent decreases slightly with level.

Aetherlens is level 26!

Logan grinned and fist-pumped the air. This was his only skill so far to require two stats at a certain number, but at least they were two of his strongest.

A man with curly red hair and a blue cloak passed by, giving him a strange look. Logan offered an apologetic smile, and the mage kept moving, clutching his swishing robes as he entered the training area.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The extra level was even more than Logan had hoped for. He had only intended to hit level 25 to unlock the threshold perk, and already planned how to use the perk to his advantage with training. But if he could push Aetherlens higher, he might as well maximize it.

He moved closer to the doorway for a better view of the interior layout. Some grids resembled the obstacle-course setup behind the Gnashridge Heights Adventurers' Guild.

A meek-looking Alden was talking with a female mage, who seemed torn between giving him tips and cutting the conversation short. Beyond them, the mage responsible for the earlier fire blasts rested, though it was clear he wasn't finished practicing yet.

Logan turned his attention to the dome again. Focusing on the topside ambient mana pressing against the shell, he noticed where the mana dissipated was still a separate layer from the general ambient mana above it. If that were right, the dissipation part wasn't just a cushion on top of the structural shell, but sandwiched between two, like mustard slathered between two slices of Swiss cheese.

He regretted thinking of the analogy, since he liked neither mustard nor Swiss cheese, but he shrugged it off. Scanning left and right and seeing no one, he casually lifted an arm and let out a weak CryoPyre blast.

He lobbed it at a high angle, aiming it for the topside of the dome. A nearly invisible trail of ice stretched from his palm, its tail melting almost instantly in the air. The tip struck the dome, disrupting the ambient mana and creating a small swirl.

The motion made the ambient mana press more clearly against the shell, revealing dips at various points. It looked almost like oil floating on water, with the cushion layer below acting as the water and the holes in the shell letting the two layers touch without fully mixing.

When his mana reached one of those dips, another fiery blast erupted in the arena. As the excess fire mana was siphoned up and sideways into the filtration layer, Logan's own mana flowed down through the dip in a thin spiral, like a small, harmless vortex in a river, before settling back into place.

Aetherlens is level 27!

This protection differed from both the Cave of Cursed Music and Mariv's house. The holes acted like pressure valves between the interior and exterior ambient mana fields, with a neutralizing layer in between. Unlike Mariv's setup, it didn't seal off one side completely. Instead, its design seemed intent on dispelling any mass catastrophes from inside the arena before they affected the city, but without completely cutting off mana supplies.

Logan approached the nearest patch of exposed obsidian and studied the sigilry. A faint glow tugged at him, though he couldn't read the symbols.

He sent a thin trail of CryoPyre toward it again. The roiling head of the plume surged forward like something small struggling inside a crumpled plastic bag, punching left, right, and upward in a series of jerky, deliberate movements. That movement was a perfect representation of how mana felt bouncing around inside him whenever he held the Void affinity.

Aetherlens is level 28!

Even though Aetherlens was the skill that leveled, for some reason Logan found it easier to distribute that thin application of CryoPyre. CryoPyre didn't rise in level, but there had to be something more to what was happening. Mariv had once made Logan meditate on the sensation of mana as it oscillated in his body while he had the Dream affinity, but Logan had struggled with grasping what Mariv was describing. He wondered if maybe this was something similar he had been observing, but with the Void affinity.

Before getting distracted, he took out a pad and began sketching the symbols. What first looked like jumbled swirls revealed a repeating cadence; sometimes two complete repeats appeared, as if someone had written two identical words side by side.

This time, a notification appeared, though it didn't seem related to Aetherlens or CryoPyre.

+3 CHA

That made him blink. CHA was Charisma. But how had he just gained three points in the stat?

Normally, he only gained stat points when they were tied to a new skill or title, or when he manually distributed free points. Even then, nothing he had gained at all had ever moved the stat except for the one free point he invested when first testing all his stats.

The only explanation he could think of was the gnomish sigils. He remembered the others mentioning that Charisma was a stat gnomes used to enhance magical prowess.

Logan sent a quick message to Mariv, but received no reply. He hadn't expected one, though. The gnome was likely preoccupied gathering intelligence on the reavers with that transponder device, which was scheduled for today and probably was happening now.

This had turned out to be a productive trip, yet Logan felt more adrift than ever. He had succeeded in leveling Aetherlens, yes, but now he carried a subtle sense of control over the bouncing mana in his body, a mysterious increase in Charisma, and strange observations of the mana shell above the arena. Whether or not these things were connected, he had no idea.

He must have looked puzzled, because it wasn't until he noticed the stares of those inside the arena that he realized he was swishing his index finger in the air, as if trying to map the patterns and connections on an invisible red-string board.

The three people watching him were: the curly-haired man, who kept glancing suspiciously at him; the female mage assisting Alden, gesturing toward Alden while giving the redhead a look that clearly said I don't know who that is, but I bet he's with this guy; and a blushing, embarrassed Alden.

Logan lowered his hands to his side with a sheepish smile, and backed away, hoping to give Alden an out and show he wasn't part of the elf's business.

Then, the domed shell above the training ground wavered like a bubble pressed against, collapsing partially and sending a spout of flame geysering skyward as the fire mage practiced again.

Aetherlens is level 29! Aetherlens is level 30!

Everyone inside the arena shouted in alarm and looked up. Logan stared at the dome, confused, until a voice called his name from the entry arch.

"You there, scroll boy. Your employer is calling for you!"

Logan's confusion deepened as he saw Alden beckoning him. Despite Alden's embarrassment, whatever was happening, the mage considered it more important that Logan join him than any judgment he might receive from the others. That alone spoke volumes.

Logan trotted toward the arch, catching the words forming on Alden's lips: The Amatra quest.

He rushed faster.

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