Days passed in the Safe Zone, and Alex found comfort in the rhythm of the work. Not just aiding the checkpoints, but also in his own projects.

He made great progress with the mana batteries, coming close to making his first working prototype. He had a second lesson with Maelis on intent and theories for the replacement runes they were using in the recreated elven ritual. The five runes were more concrete in his mind then they had been when they picked them out in the Shadow Rift. Empower and Channeling were the two he felt most comfortable with. Fracture was an easier concept to study with his intent, modeling it off of his newly gained skill, [Fractured Body]. His progress with the fourth rune, Storage, was growing by the day as he continued to train and work with the Container rune for his mana-battery. The fifth rune, Portal, was the most difficult for him to conceptualize, leaning heavily on his limited knowledge of the Rift portals.

There were even more mundane parts of his day that became routine.

"Wow, look at you!" Zach laughed as Alex approached the cart. "Looking like a Philly local, sir! Welcome, welcome. Would you like the usual?"

Alex shook his head as the man laughed. Zach's thick accent made it a bit hard to understand him sometimes, but he always appreciated the Indian man's positive attitude. "Yeah, yeah," Alex said, waving his hand, the green, gem-studded bracelet sliding out from under his sleeve. "Do you have any more of the augmented elk?"

"Yeah, yeah," Alex said, waving his hand, the green, gem-studded bracelet sliding out from under his sleeve. "Do you have any more of the augmented elk?"

"No, sir. So sorry, sir! We have something new that I think you'll like. Here, the first stick is on the house," he beamed as he handed a wooden stick across the cart. The entire setup was clearly overused and already greasy from the day's work, but the worn silver of the well-cared-for cart shone through.

Alex bit into the sample and was surprised by the explosive flavor. "Whoa, it's spicy. I like it though, it tastes so…" he searched for the right word.

"Gamey?"

"Gamey," Alex repeated with a nod. "Here." Alex held out his wrist for the man to scan his credits.

"Thank you, sir! Have a great day."

Waving, Alex stepped aside, letting the next customer step up to the semi-permanent cart's location. He created some space from the small crowd and took a bite from the meat, holding it between his teeth while he worked to remove his notebook from his back pocket.

Making sure his hand was clean, Alex flipped through the pages to one he'd worked on the night before.

Day 1:

CP-1 → CP-4

Day 2:

CP-3 → CP-6

Day 3:

CP-5 only

Day 4:

CP-2 → CP-3

Day 5:

CP-1 → CP-5

Day 6:

CP-4 → CP-3

Day 7:

CP-6 only

Day 8:

CP-1 → CP-5

Day 9:

CP-3 → CP-4

Day 10:

CP-2 → CP-5

He'd been more wary of the checkpoint staff over the last several days, and now that he could look at the pattern that was establishing itself from his full ten days in the Safe Zone, he felt like he was on to something.

Two days before, he'd tried to subtly bring it up to Xavier, curious how he'd react to knowing that he'd still not been called a single time to CP 7 or 8. Xavier had just brushed it aside, though; he reminded Alex that those were the least busy zones, with the best staff. It should make sense that he got called there the least.

However, during both of his calls the day before, Alex had used Warrior and Mage to confirm his suspicions. Today, if the same happened again, he'd need to confirm it himself.

You guys ready?

He projected his thoughts to both of his clones.

"Yep," Mage responded.

There was a pause, and Alex checked his memories to see if Warrior was all right. **

"Yeah, I'm at eight," his clone responded.

Good. Standby and see if you recognize any of the groups approaching.

Alex tore away another chunk of meat from the skewer before starting the short walk back to the rowhouse. He thought through what little he'd been able to figure out through rumors and gossip, as he hadn't wanted to step on any toes if there was an HA investigation ongoing.

And, it's none of my business.

It was an empty thought. He knew it wasn't his job to step in, but he couldn't help but wonder if the reason the investigation had stalled was because there was aid coming from within the Safe Zone.

It was a grim thought, but it made sense. How else could people disappear from the Safe Zone with such regularity?

He shook his head, ascending the stairs to his small living space. Once inside, he deactivated his wards and entered the bedroom. It had become considerably more 'lived in' than it had been when he arrived.

Looking around the room, Alex was a little shocked at the mess he'd created. There wasn't even the option to blame it on the clones, as he hadn't used one of them inside the Safe Zone.

"Guess that's on me," he said aloud.

He paced around the room, picking up some of his dirty clothes and the discarded rocks or gems he'd used as practice.

Not even an hour later, while looking through his notes on the most recent battery attempt, there was a tapping at his mind. Alex perked up and closed the notebook.

He reached out to the connected mind and saw what Warrior was alerting him to. Through the most recent memories to the current moment, the clone watched a group of confident and presumably powerful individuals moving through the checkpoint line.

There were four of them, all leaking enough mana for even a Warrior's non-system-aided left eye to determine that they were powerful. The four surrounded two others, who had almost no mana at all, keeping their heads down.

"You see them?" Warrior asked through their shared thoughts.

Alright sighed and ran his hands through his hair. Now it was time to see if his hunch was correct.

Yep. Keep an eye on them.

Just from the mana and their general confidence, he could guess the group members were all more powerful than those he'd been called to scan over the last week and a half.

His anxiety was redoubled as his phone vibrated, alerting him to a call to CP-4 for assistance.

I just got the call to a different checkpoint.

"Shit. So it's real, then?" Warrior said, keeping an eye on the group as they got closer to the front of the line.

We'll need to confirm one more time, and I'll have to go over there to scan them to be sure… but yeah, it looks like it.

"Well… fuck." Alex sighed and ran his fingers through his hair before resituating his hat.

He slipped his Converse back on before heading out and tapping the On Call button in the app. The entire travel, scan, and completion of his call took about an hour. In that time, his clones on the outside confirmed that the group had made it through the checkpoint at Zone 8 and had entered without issue.

He took his time walking back, thinking through his next steps and how best to handle the situation. When he was back in his own space, with the wards in place, he sat on the floor and activated [Fractured Body].

When the cast time was complete, he allowed his mana to regenerate, taking advantage of the increased Wisdom stat. Once it was topped off, he pushed the second consciousness into the naked body that sat before him.

Scout opened his eyes, and Alex waved before passing over his mask and clothes to dress in.

"Man, it was nice to have those extra stats," he said wistfully.

"I bet. Sort of surprised you summoned me. There's a decent risk with dropping your stats so low," Scout pointed out, pulling up his pants with a few small hops.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"I know. If we confirm this, I'll probably dismiss one of the others and resummon them within the Safe Zone."

"Or you could keep the stats. That might be better, to have more defensive stats in case something goes wrong. Something always goes wrong. Admit it. You can just dismiss Warrior, he's probably not doing anything useful anyway."

Alex immediately felt a mental tapping. Glaring at Scout, he pushed the feeling aside, feeling no desire to hear Warrior attempt to defend himself. "Be serious. We need to be smart about this. Whoever is involved likely has a lot of power, and we need some actual evidence."

"Yeah, you will. All you have right now is less than a hunch. If you took this idea to someone, the CP shift leads would probably laugh at you. I mean, this is essentially exactly what they told you from day one."

"I know. CP-7 and 8 would need the least attention. But the fact that these strong groups repeatedly come through CP-8 at the same time that I'm called away somewhere else is suspicious as hell."

Scout rubbed his hands together. "So what do you need me to do? Want me to follow them once they pass through the checkpoint?"

"No. The other way around," Alex shook his head. "I want you to take my phone on the next call and just pretend to scan whoever they ask you to. They won't know a difference anyway, and they've all been very mundane scans. I'll go to CP-8 and try to scan the group from a distance. If it's all really nothing to worry about, then the scans will show up harmless. Even if they are, I still might tail them a bit, see what the groups are doing. It's a risk to do it with the stat penalty, but worst case, I'll dismiss one of the others."

"Sounds like a solid plan. You want my mask, then?" Scout asked.

"No, you hang on to it, just keep it out of sight when you respond to the call. I have one of my own that Lin made."

The reminder pulled his mind back toward home, and he wondered how the others were all doing. With a thought, he pushed his mind to his link with Valtherion, only to find the bond was still hibernating in his transformation.

"He'll be all right," Scout said, knowing his thoughts.

"I know he will. I'm just surprised it's taking this long… that's all."

Scout didn't say anything else, just bobbing his head before moving to sit on the cot.

Alex busied himself by returning to the wooden crate-desk he'd been using. He felt the thrill of the coming step and felt emboldened in this project as well.

"I'm going to start on the first real attempt," Alex told Scout, throwing his phone to his clone. "Keep an eye on this, in case I'm too distracted. Let me know when the next call comes through, and we'll check with Warrior to see if there's a group coming through at CP-8."

"Aye, aye, captain."

"Something about you guys reminds me of Mark." Alex rubbed the bridge of his nose.

He pulled out his headphones and put them in, mentally prodding Scout to turn on some music while he worked. A few moments later, one of his favorite songs started to play, and he lost himself in his first real attempt at a mana-battery.

The material he planned to work on was the false mana stone rock that they'd found in the Shadow Rift; the same material he'd carved the Val-miniatures out of. He had extensive practice in etching and carving the resource, and he had quite a bit of it left from the vein they'd found.

It wouldn't be the best for a genuine attempt, as it didn't hold mana nearly as well as an actual Mana Stone; however, it did retain it better than any of the earth minerals he'd tried using so far.

Removing a piece the size of his fist from his bracer, Alex started by chipping away with his chisel. He worked until one side of the vessel was flat and ready to act as the face of his enchantment.

Over the last ten days, he'd practiced the components of the spell circle over and over, but now, he knew it was going to be different. He firmed his resolve and focused his mind on the intent he planned to cement into the spell base.

"You've got to relax," Scout mentally pushed to him, calmly supporting from nearby. "You look like you're getting ready to go into a fight."

Alex pulled out a headphone to speak normally. "This could be huge for me," he said, not taking his eyes off the smooth surface.

"It could be," Scout agreed. "But we need to focus on what's happening through the entire enchantment. You know you can etch it on there; the threads and practice have made that a guarantee. It's just going to be a matter of focusing and taking it slow. Just calm down, focus, and you've got this."

Alex gave one firm nod of his head, breathing deeply as he turned on the Dremel tool.

Hours passed without his realizing it. Several blue windows appeared in his vision, though he barely registered them. It wasn't until he felt the enchantment settle, the final 'setting' of the rune from within the spell circle, that he stopped.

His hands held in front of him, braced on the crate, he froze and just stared at the item in his left hand.

"It's done," he whispered. "I did it!"

He laughed with relief and flicked the switch on the tool before tearing the headset off and looking at the first mana-battery prototype in his hand. Holding it up, he did a few little hops and turned to find Scout asleep on the cot behind him.

Alex was a bit confused until he grabbed the phone from where it rested on his clone's chest and saw that nearly six hours had passed.

His jaw dropped.

"Damn," he said. While he'd been focused and willing to be slow for the sake of meticulous detail, he wouldn't have ever guessed so much time had passed.

Remembering the System windows, he prompted the System.

Congratulations, [Mana Thread] has leveled up!

Congratulations, [Mana Conduit] (Tier I) has advanced to (Tier II)!

"Amazing," he whispered to himself. Once the windows were dismissed, he looked down at the stone gripped in his hand.

After his chisel work, the shaping, and the engraving, the translucent blue stone was roughly the size of an orange. One side was smooth and flat, which he'd marred with his spell work. He was captivated by his own handiwork, staring at the way the light shone through and seemed to bounce around within the stone.

Gingerly, as if scared to break it, Alex activated [Mana Infusion] and pushed ten points of mana into the stone, holding the flat side against his palm.

His heart rate picked up as he saw the spell circle flash with both of his eyes. As the device accepted his mana, pulling in the points greedily, his eyes went wide.

Alex deactivated the mana infusion skill and waited eagerly for a few long moments.

Activating [Mana Siphon] he pulled on the contents of the mana-battery. His hopes soared higher than ever, but only for a brief moment.

"Fuck," he said in frustration.

All too soon, the mana stream had cut off. Even though he'd put ten points in, he only got two points back out from the stone.

He checked his current stats, split four ways as they were; it was hard to naturally judge the mana at his disposal. Wanting to only see his stats, he idly thought of the titles on his status screen going away, and panic filled him as his wish came true.

Eyes flicking across the blue screen, he instinctively reached out, wanting them to come back, worried he'd just gotten rid of them.

Though with as much ease as they'd first gone, they returned.

He breathed out and put his hand to his forehead before tentatively willing the titles to disappear again. Just as before, they did so.

I'll definitely need to mess with that some more later…

Status Name: Alex Moore - Level 57 Class: Spell Weaver (Novice) HP: 260/260 MP: 454/460

Physical Stats: Strength: 8 Agility: 14 Constitution: 26 Vitality: 8

Magical Stats: Intellect: 143 Willpower: 301 Mana: 46 Wisdom: 39

There was significantly less mana to play around with, while split into four minds and bodies, but the utility of it all was just too much to give up.

Curious, he reached his thoughts out to the two clones outside the safe zone. As they had most nights, the two had reconvened and were sleeping in shifts, with Mage currently being the one awake.

"All good?" Mage's thoughts came through, likely recognizing Alex's attention.

Yep, just checking on everyone.

He refocused on the battery in hand and dumped fifty points of mana into it during this test. To his momentary disappointment, the results were largely the same; this time, he was able to siphon only ten points from the container.

Scratching his head, Alex hopped up onto the crate to sit with his back to the wall while he thought. The stone in his hand continued to glow with some residual mana as he did his math.

"So roughly twenty percent conversion? That's pretty brutal…"

He sat back and rested his head against the wall, no doubt covering his lower back and rear in gem shavings from his prior work.

"What are you so upset about?" Mage said.

The other thoughts startled him, and Alex sat up.

Hey, are you listening in on my thoughts?

"You're the one who keeps pointing out that we're the same mind. I just looked at my own memories… but really. Why are you so frustrated? Maelis told us from the start that this was the route that took the longest. We picked it specifically because of its ability to scale and eventually be better than the other."

I know. I just….

He wasn't sure how to form his thoughts. Or at least he thought he wasn't— until Mage so plainly laid them out.

"You're disappointed that you didn't exceed expectations again? You wanted to make a perfect battery on the first shot? Come on, dude…"

Alex groaned.

Look, it's childish, I know. But really, it was less about me wanting to do it perfectly on the first shot, and more about wanting the spell circles to turn out to be even more exceptional than we thought.

"Dude, what the hell. The magic form that we created has proven to be able to not only be cast, but in the exact same format, enchant items. Even you aren't dense enough to miss the significance there."

Bah. I know. I know.

Mage's mind pulled away without saying anything further, and as annoying as it was to feel like he was being patronized by himself, it was the truth, and he knew it.

He looked at the mana-battery in his hand in a new light, and slowly, his excitement began to return. Not at what he created, but at what he could do to progress the creation.

"What should I improve? The material? Is it too early? Should I do more tests before risking expensive materials?" He spoke to the blue crystal as if it had all the answers.

His eyes slipped toward his bracer, and he almost laughed out loud.

"Yeah, that's pretty stupid." Alex hopped off the crate and picked up his phone again, sending a text to Edwin to begin stockpiling gems that were receptive to mana.

The rest of the night passed quickly for him as he took notes and continued to test the prototype. It wasn't until the next morning, when both alerts came at the same time, that Alex realized the entire night had passed.

His phone began vibrating on the crate to his left, startling Scout awake. At the same time, Warrior was reaching out through the link in their minds.

"The same group is coming back through. This time, they're escorting four people."

Scout finished kicking off the blanket and got up to grab the phone. "We're getting pulled to CP-4," he said.

Alex shook his head. "Time to see if we're right about all this."

"I hope we're not," Scout said somberly.

"Yeah. Finish waking up, then you're taking the call. " Alex let the mana-battery prototype fall into his spatial ring while removing the mana silk mask in the next moment. "I'll get ready and head to find a good vantage point for the group coming through CP-8."

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