Logan yawned as he rose from bed and walked to the door to see who was knocking. He instinctively stretched his shoulder, expecting it to be sore from the second consecutive day of training with Horace, but he felt great. If only he had the equivalent of such a high Endurance back when he was still on earth he wouldn't have ever had to deal with all those stiff necks from his crappy mattress and pillow.

When he opened the door, it was Senna on the other side.

"You doing all right?"

"Yeah," Logan said, yawning right after. "Just tired."

The only reason he was still tired was a side effect of the antidote Horace had given him yesterday. Day 2 of training had been mostly focused on improving his Dodge tactics, but Horace had started using venom attacks. He hadn't realized Logan hadn't earned the Posion Resistance skill yet.

Logan most definitely now possessed that skill. At least that gives you a +7 boost to your Vitality, his mentor had said. Logan just nodded, not revealing he actually didn't have a Vitality stat.

"Well, I can only hold Bromlin off from finishing your food for so long. If you want any before we leave, you might want to come grab it now."

Downstairs, Logan joined the others. Bromlin already had two empty bowls beside him, and he was eyeing the only remaining full plate, which was Logan's. It was a strange dish, and Logan wasn't totally sure he wanted it.

"Go ahead Bromlin," Logan said. "I'm actually not hungry." He still had some desserts from Feast's table in the Kalashi Citadel. They didn't have any buffs, but they stayed fresh in his storage ripple. He trusted a breakfast cheese danish more than the plate in front of him. He would eat that while they were on the road.

Their destination, though, was not the guild because today wasn't a training day. Instead, they were attending the Class Assignment ceremony as spectators.

"You're a true friend, laddy." Bromlin had to lean his torso over the table to reach the plate, and even then used his spoon to hook the bowl's edge and drag it toward him. Logan nudged it closer to make it easier for the dwarf, who promptly scarfed it down with gusto.

Alden raised a brow at the dwarf's table presence. "Would you like to borrow a napkin?"

"No need," said Bromlin between bites as he licked his fingers.

Alden sighed and shook his head before pushing the last bits of his meal toward Bromlin, too, who gave him hearty thanks.

Cassandra seemed to be ticking off a mental checklist before she nodded and placed her hands on the table. "Okay, I think it's time to head over. Logan, you have everything?"

Logan nodded and patted the hidden Nugget nestled beneath his cloak.

"And you have the Dream affinity now?"

"Yep."

"And Senna, you mashed the shadeshrub into a paste for us and distilled a fine mana potion for me?"

"I got ya covered."

"Perfect. Let's go."

Logan walked behind Cassandra until they reached the pedestal, atop which sat the prism Logan had charged the other day.

The pedestal was shaped like a pyramid with five steps carved into each face. At the base stood Cassandra's trainer, Grissom, who had tried to embarass her the other day and make it seem like she couldn't actually use Force mana.

He stood with his arms folded. "You shouldn't be here. If you're here to watch the ceremony, join the rest of the crowd out front." He leveled an eye at Cassandra. "You, of all people, should know the regulations, Cassandra. And don't expect any special treatment because of your father."

"Good morning, Grissom," said Cassandra brightly. "I would never seek special treatment. That is quite distasteful. Especially from those of whom much is expected, such as members of my family. And instructors like yourself." She leaned in an winked. "I'm sure you wouldn't try to leverage your position for a personal boon either."

He cleared his throat and scuffed the toe of his shoe against the floor. "Well if you see any of the attendants from the Temple of the Five, tell them to send the one who's attuned to the prism over here. I'm waiting for them to activate it."

Cassandra flipped her hair, and Logan smirked at how it made Grissom's jaw flex in annoyance. "Actually, that's precisely why we're here. Perhaps you didn't know that my friend here, Logan, is the one who charged the prism, and it is therefore attuned to him."

"Hm." Grissom eyed Logan up and down. "You're the new one."

Logan nodded as Cassandra explained her presence here was only to guide Logan to the spot.

"Very well," said Grissom, stepping aside, if reluctantly. "Go on up." He cracked his back without unfolding his arms or looking away from Cassandra. "But only him. Then you both go back and join the crowd."

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"I am well aware of the protocol," Cassandra said. "I wouldn't want anyone to mistake me for someone who would try to lean into my family's reputation." Her sharp tone made the man blush.

According to Cassandra, she believed Grissom's motive for hampering Cassandra's punches wasn't just to embarrass her. She suspected he would have let that continue for several days before finally removing his shielding buffer from behind her target so that, when Cassandra had her "big breakthrough," people would credit his expertise in uncovering a diamond in the rough.

Cassandra didn't have proof of it, but Logan believed she was spot on. Through all the jobs Logan had worked back home, he had always known someone like that. It didn't make him like Grissom any more.

While Cassandra held the upper hand, she continued. "That said, considering all the advancements I've made, there's a certain technique I'm struggling with. I'm sure my father will be pleased if I could get it right, and quickly. And I'm sure he'd like to know the trainer who helped me get there."

Grissom, who looked like he had just gone through a roller coaster of disgust, annoyance, fear, and now intrigue, leaned in. "Go on…"

Logan shook his head at just how right Cassandra had been. Despite being called out for exactly how manipulative the man was in trying to leverage his position training Cassandra, he hadn't changed at all. Now, Cassandra was using that to their advantage.

"See," said Cassandra, motioning toward her fist. "The more I try to focus my mana here…"

As Grissom was distracted with helping Cassandra gather more Force mana for a stronger strike, Logan slipped up to the pedestal and activated the prism. All he had to do was tap it with a finger while it was mounted in its holder.

Now came the tricky part.

Meditate!

Aetherlens!

Slipstream Mirage!

With the skill engaged, he started casually strolling down the stairs. The multiple concentration skills active at the same time caused his mana to sink fast, but he forced himself to keep an easy pace.

Even though Grissom was surely using Manasight right now to give Cassandra pointers, he was so fixated on Cassandra's right hand that he didn't look up at Logan. And if he did, he wouldn't notice the Force mana hovering right where Logan had just stood thanks to his handy dandy new Veil of Flux perk.

At the bottom step of the pedestal, just as his mana slipped into the red, Logan nodded at Cassandra, which was her cue to secretly swig her fine mana potion with her free hand. This was made easier for her by the shadeshrub pulp Senna had given them to eat an hour earlier.

Meanwhile, Logan released his grip on his own force skill and ran back up the stairs, dodging his own afterimage as he passed it. At the top of the stair, with his afterimage strolling down in a perfect match of his nonplussed stride moments ago, he glanced behind him to see Cassandra release her grip on the force mana.

But that wasn't all she released.

Even with Logan's slowed perception of time with Meditate active, he barely noticed her spin up a secondary blast of radiant mana. And that was him knowing what to look for. Grissom, who should be convinced that Cassandra had just used all her mana up at her fist and hadn't seen her refill her mana with potion, would have no reason to think she was actually casting a second spell.

The two explosions burst from her like a supernova.

"Spheres, girl!" Grissom shouted.

Logan dove into place past the pedestal's top tier and peeked over the rim while crouched. Come on, Grissom, look this way…

Grissom was supposed to glance up and see Logan's afterimage, which would look particularly opaque with the illusory coating of radiant mana. Better yet, once Cassandra's illusion coated his afterimage to make it look like the real-Logan, his concealing Veil of Flux perk would extend to the radiant mana, fully covering up the deception.

But Grissom wasn't looking at Logan's mirage. Instead, he was stumbling backward and rubbing at his eyes.

"You can't force two mana types into one skill! It doesn't work that way!"

He sounded like he was coddling a toddler. But he was also heading directly to Logan's afterimage descending the final steps.

He collided with Logan's mirage, and only briefly opened his eyes to mutter. "And you, kid, watch you're going."

Of all times to look! Logan could already see his decoy was beginning to fade, even with Cassandra's added opaqueness. It would blink out of sight right as Grissom looked at it, not to mention the mirage wasn't strong enough to completely push Grissom out of the way but would pass partly through his body.

Mindmirror Sigil!

"Argh!" A suddenly disoriented Grissom wobbled. "See, Cassandra! You damn near blinded me. Now I can't see."

Logan let the man experience only a fraction of chaotic split vision before he shut his own eyes and deactivated the skill.

Mindmirror Sigil is level 16!

When Grissom shook his head, his vision cleared by now, he glanced back and forth. He was obviously looking for Logan. Then his eyes landed on Senna, who was walking toward the crowd.

But Senna's back was to them. And she was wearing an identical cloak to Logan's. If the last step of the ruse worked, he should assume that was Logan.

In the quiet moments while Grissom peered at the Senna-Logan slipping into the crowd, he finally muttered a curse under his breath for "that disrespectful kid who bumped into me." He faced Cassandra. "You had better put an extra good word in for me with your father if I have to put up with this."

Cassandra gasped. "Grissom! Are you asking me to grant you favors with my family?"

"Enough of the pretenses! Why do you think I'm training you in the first place!"

From his hiding place, Logan smirked. Not only had Grissom fallen for the ruse, he apparently also hadn't noticed the guard who had been drawn to them, attracted by the bright blast. Not until it was too late, anyway.

Cassandra, though, did. And as she frowned at Grissom, shaking her head, she faced the new guard. "To think, we have weasels like him in the guild."

The guard looked with equal disappointment. "And to see it so high up."

"What? Oh. No," Grissom said, offering a pathetic laugh. "I didn't actually mean that."

The guard scoffed. "I'm relieving you of your duty, Grissom. As for whether you get your training license revoked, I'll leave that to the bureau after they hear my report."

Grissom suddenly grew defensive. "I'm not leaving my post."

"Actually," said Cassandra, lifting a finger. "According to Article II, Section 5, Paragraph 18, you were supposed to escort my friend Logan up and then down the steps. He had to wander off to the main crowd all by himself. By not seeing him to the exit, I believe you have forfeited your station for the day anyway."

With a slack jaw, Grissom's gaze ping ponged back and forth between Cassandra and the other guard.

"Go on," said the guard, shooing Grissom away with his chin. "I trust I don't have to arrange for you to be escorted. It'll be better if you start the paperwork with Agnes at the guild now."

Cassandra glanced Logan's way only for a fraction of a second, but they both shared a grin as Grissom stumbled off, muttering grumpily.

Logan sagged in relief, sliding a few stairs down. The plan hadn't went exactly as they hoped, but it had done well enough. Nugget wriggled inside his cloak as they bumped down the stairs together. Logan patted the little dragon.

Now they needed to take care of the last part of the plan.

Logan: Okay, Avalyn. We're in.

Avalyn: Perfect. I'm here with Razor. Message us once the ceremony starts.

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