Chapter 36 – Arcadia Spire

Sitting in the passenger seat of Sergeant Kelley’s supercar gave me time to pull together my frayed emotions as we enacted the next part of Everglaive’s plan.

Everglaive had been pleased when I walked out of the building and told them I wanted to be a combat-focused Magical Girl, to directly fight the Anathema. Naiad had been encouraging too, and Sergeant Kelley, well…

Glancing at her from the snug, impossibly comfortable seat I found myself in, I saw she still had on a shark-like grin as she hummed happily. She’d been ecstatic at my announcement, informing me she already had some ideas on getting me proper training with firearms as well as some tactics for leveraging my stats.

I pulled my eyes away, briefly looking over the interior of the car again. It was mostly colored black with red accents, giving it a dark and mysterious feel. The surfaces were all smooth curves and glass displays that made the entire thing look more like a futuristic spaceship than anything else. Even Selene looked intrigued from where she sat on my lap.

I squeezed her tight as Sergeant Kelley picked up speed, passing a car only to take a sharp turn a moment later, somehow making the maneuver without jostling us about. It didn’t take away from the fact that I could see how close she was passing some of the vehicles, and although I couldn’t see the speedometer, I was pretty sure we were going way faster than we should be, especially in a city.

It also didn’t help that somehow all the lights along our route were green, letting Sergeant Kelley drift through traffic with impunity.

Thankfully, the traffic in Arcadia was relatively tame. One of the bonuses of having a city custom designed and teleported in as a finished product was that it had an extensive public transportation system built into it. The thorough subway lines and extravagant monorails were bolstered by numerous city buses that helped cut down traffic significantly. While traffic could still be pretty thick during rush hours, I’d heard it was still way better than most modern cities.

Of course, that just meant Sergeant Kelley had ample room to maneuver between vehicles to shave off as many seconds off our commute as possible.

I’d already let out a few strangled yelps as Sergeant Kelley weaved through afternoon traffic with almost casual disregard. I’d only realized I was squishing Selene to my chest when one of her tails flicked into my face after one particular turn.

Selene didn’t seem to mind, informing me when I tried to apologize that her current summoned body literally had both the appearance and the consistency of a soft plushie specifically for comfort and cuddling. Apparently, the Zenith designed Familiars that way so Guardians could have something soft to hold or squeeze when they needed to relieve the inevitable stress they’d built up.

Which was… fair. Also a little bit weird considering Selene’s consciousness inhabited the body, but she assured me she didn’t mind.

Besides, after giving her a few experimental squeezes and realizing how soft she was, I kind of didn’t want to stop.

Maybe I can get an actual plushie of her for when I’m sleeping?

The thought sparked some amusement in me, but I quickly shut down the idea. Spending points on something frivolous seemed dumb, especially because I was new and needed every point I could get right now.

Thankfully, I was now sitting at 4,218 after the Usurpation. Selene had also told me I was close to completing all of my daily quests, something she assured me we could look at later. She did explain that Guardians received three quests every day that were fairly simple to complete. They usually only rewarded ten points each, but that was still a decent amount considering how quickly the rewards would build up over time. There was also a single weekly and monthly quest rewarding 100 and 250 points respectively, but they generally took much more time and effort. Other than those guaranteed quests, it was up to the whims of the System what did or didn’t qualify for generating a quest.

But as curious as I was about the contents of my quests, right now I was more focused on trying to pull my tattered emotions together for what came next. Namely, traveling to Arcadia Spire to set up my enrollment in the Guardian Academy followed by unlocking my Signature Magic.

The very idea sent a wave of excitement through me that I was careful to push back down to a more reasonable level. It was difficult though, considering it involved me finally learning actual magic. Not only was I intensely curious to find out what my unique Signature Magic was, but if Selene was right, it would also unlock the special Grimoire that I’d been given as part of my bonus for being a Dark Magical Girl.

Glancing at the glitched red text on my status screen to distract myself from the drive, I chewed on my lip thoughtfully.

“Selene,” I directed my thoughts to my familiar, “how do Grimoires and buying magic work exactly?”

[They function identical to the way Vaults do. Grimoires have themes, acting as catalogs containing spells that fall under their purview. Once you buy a Grimoire, you are free to purchase any spell and then use said spell as much as you want. As humans are unable to use or control mana naturally, these spells are similar to how computer programs function, each one preset and predesigned for a specific use. This does mean that modifying them isn’t possible without the appropriate Skill. That is to say, the spell will always cost the same amount of mana and have the same effect.]

Selene’s tail twitched as Sergeant Kelley swerved between two cars, earning a few muffled honks even as I squeezed Selene tighter.

[As for the spells themselves, there are actually three separate versions, sometimes referred to as qualities, that you can buy. For instance, if you wanted to buy a spell to throw a fireball, you could purchase the lesser, adept, or greater version of the spell. The main difference is the adept version is fifty percent more powerful than the lesser quality for twice the mana cost. The greater version is twice as strong as the lesser for three times the mana cost. This three version pattern applies to all spells.]

That… made a lot of sense. If you had to have a specialized Skill to modify spells, offering three separate presets to buy from would let people have more flexibility without forcing them to use one of their Skill slots.

[As for spells themselves, they are ranked into five basic categories based on their mana cost, which correlates to how complicated or powerful the spell is. Every spell has a “class” ranging from the strongest being called S-class while D-class are the weakest. The exact math behind these classifications can be covered another time, but to put it simply, D-class spells should be able to be cast 100 times if it is the lesser quality before reaching zero mana. C-class spells would take 50 times, B-class 20 times, A-class 10 times, and S-class 5 times. There is also a sixth category, Finale-class spells, but you don’t unlock the capability to use or purchase those until level 200, and they have other restrictions.]

I found myself frowning as I processed those words.

“If spell classes are based on mana, how does that work when every Guardian can choose how many points they put into their stats with each level? Some Guardians will have different amounts of maximum mana, won’t they?”

[That goes into the math I was avoiding. To put it simply, it is based on the “average” amount of maximum mana a Guardian is estimated to have at the time they unlock a new tier of spells. For instance, at tier one, all Guardians begin with 300 mana by default. Therefore, a D-class lesser spell should cost only three mana. At level 100 when you unlock the next tier of Vaults and Grimoires, the average maximum mana should be around 1,785, meaning a tier two D-class spell of lesser quality would cost eighteen mana if rounded up.]

I nodded in understanding, taking a moment to consider what I wanted to find out next.

“With my unique Grimoire, will I still have to purchase the spells I want to use? And do higher class spells have a higher point price?”

[You will still have to purchase the spells within. Your unique Grimoire will already be a powerful boon considering it holds spells with special qualities to them. As for your second question, higher class spells do cost more, but the lesser, adept, and greater qualities of a spell all cost the same amount.]

“Oh… Can other Guardians besides Darks get Unique Grimoires?”

[Yes. There’s a low possibility of unlocking one at level 100 if the Guardian has done enough to establish a unique theme or style, but most only unlock one at level 200 where it is guaranteed. Once reaching one of those two milestones, it becomes possible for Guardians to unlock a single unique Grimoire tailored to their Class or one based on their other attributes and achievements. As a Dark, this means you will eventually have access to two unique Grimoires. Having two completely unique magics at your call will give you a diverse number of powerful tools to utilize.]

My brow furrowed in confusion. What she was saying made sense, but theoretically I could purchase as many Grimoires as I wanted in order to diversify, so I didn’t quite see the advantage.

“Just how good is a Unique Grimoire when compared to a normal one?”

[The main bonus of a Unique Grimoire is the fact they synergize well with your abilities or offer unique side effects not commonly seen. For example, your Class Unique Grimoire will contain a multitude of spells directly correlating to the bonuses your chosen Class gives you. This means your spells will be much more effective compared to ones from other Grimoires. Beyond that, the spells within Unique Grimoires are usually more powerful or have special traits to them that give them an edge over normal spells. For example, when compared to a basic “Fire Magic” Grimoire, a unique one called “Grimoire of the Raging Phoenix” might offer fire spells that spread and burn more easily and with more explosive force. The appearance of said fire would also be different from a standard fire.]

My attention shifted as I noticed Sergeant Kelley pull off onto a side street, slowing her speed noticeably as she seemed to look for a place to park. Looking out the window I could see we were only a block or two from Arcadia Spire, the towering glass and steel structure looming into the sky.

“Is there anything else I should know about magic?”

[Hmm. Two things. First is that while you can purchase an unlimited number of spells, you can only have a set amount of “active” spells. You start with seventy spell slots and gain ten more every hundredth level. If you have more purchased spells than active slots, you can change which ones are considered active at any time, but the change will only take place at midnight UTC, which is two in the afternoon here in Arcadia. Finally, the lesser, adept, and greater versions of a spell all share the same spell slot instead of each taking one individually. This lets a Guardian keep quite the repertoire of spells available to them without needing to worry too much about their choices.

Taking in all of that information I slowly nodded.

“What about tiers? Do higher tier spells take up more slots?”

[No. There are also a few passive Skills you can take to increase the number of spell slots you have, but those Augments are usually only chosen by MGs who focus on casting. Still, having a large variety of spells to handle any situation can be a large factor in survivability and effectiveness so long as you are not consumed by choice paralysis.]

I nodded in agreement. Seventy slots already seemed like a lot, but once I considered all the different types of situations I might face, I had a feeling that number was going to start feeling a lot smaller.

 

[The second thing to note is that for every 1,000 mana you use in five minutes, you will receive a ten percent mana regeneration penalty. This limit can stack up to a total of a ninety percent penalty. Every five minutes of not incurring another penalty will lower the penalty by five percent. Once you reach level 100 and every hundredth level afterward, the maximum mana you can use within five minutes without incurring the penalty increases by 500. Activating your Astral Shift does not contribute to this penalty, of course, and some Skills can even artificially increase your expenditure cap or reduce the penalty when it is applied.]

I scrunched my brow together. That bit of information was incredibly important, especially because it would affect how I allocated my stat points in the future. The only thing was…

“Why is that a thing? Or spell slots, even?”

[It’s important to remember the Arcane System is more of a shortcut that allows humans to use magic, and although it may be simplified into game-like terms, it is all based on how magic is actually behaving. In this instance, the mana regeneration penalty has to do with the mana core and circuits that generate and conduct mana throughout your body overheating and needing rest to avoid damage. Likewise, your spell slots have to do with the maturation of your soul gem. As your level increases, the soul gem grows to have more capacity for holding the precreated spells supplied by the Zenith. Think of it like upgrading a computer’s storage to hold more programs.]

Frowning, I started to think of another question only to be quickly interrupted by Selene.

[Any further explanation will have to wait for later I’m afraid, as it appears we have arrived.]

Looking up from where Selene was sitting in my lap, I saw that Sergeant Kelley had pulled us into an alley, and had just finished putting the car into park. She turned to look at me, a bright smile on her face.

“Well, looks like this is where we part ways for now. All part of Glaivey’s plan, yeah? Don’t want anyone seeing you and a Warden and noticing the connection.”

I gave her a hesitant nod, before bowing my head to her in thanks.

“T-thank you for the ride, and your offer of assistance, Warden Kelley.”

“Oi, none of that now,” she waved me off. “The ride just made sense. Not like you can go roof jumping quite yet, and it gave me an excuse to use my traffic override to let loose a little with my baby here. And helping you learn how to use firearms will easily be worth it just to see what a Magical Girl using guns comes up with in terms of tricks. I’m thinking I’ll be able to pick up some ideas from you by the end of it, even if I won’t be able to totally copy them. The big payoff when you show off in a duel for the first time is just going to be icing on the cake. Also…”

She turned to me, holding out her gauntleted hand for a shake, grinning wider.

“Just call me Tessa or Guin. Sanguine when we’re on official business.”

I carefully took her hand and shook, wincing internally. It felt really rude to address her by her first name, but her codename might not be as bad if I thought of it like a title.

“Okay. Thank you, Sanguine.”

“No problem. I’ll get working on making sure you receive discreet and proper firearms training for your academy class, as well as trying to find some time to give you tips myself. No promises on too many sessions of the latter, not with all the craziness that’s been afoot recently. Either way, I’ll be in touch.”

I bowed my head in acknowledgment before opening the door and stepping out.

The alley she’d found seemed to be free of bystanders, and I gently closed the car door before taking quick steps away, Selene hopping along with me. Glancing at my HUD, I noticed my Astral Shift was running out of time. With a quick effort of will, I pulled up the necessary mana and reactivated my shift.

Purple and black light with some arcs of lightning quickly snapped over my outfit, an odd sensation like wind tickling over my skin making me shiver. After taking a quick look over my clothes to make sure nothing had gone awry, I nodded to myself and continued on. The whole process had barely taken a second, much faster than my initial Astral Shift and with much less fanfare.

I’d asked Selene earlier about reshifting, and she’d informed me it was not only quick, but it also completely recharged my Barrier to the maximum that was determined by how much mana I used. However, because there was no real transformation sequence, there was also no period of invulnerability like when I initially activated my shift.

But being able to quickly recharge my Barrier was still a nice boon. I doubted it would be practical in many combat situations because of how much mana it cost, but I could still see it being useful if I wasn’t using much magic and only relying on my guns.

[Mai?] Selene’s voice drew me from my thoughts, and I blushed as I realized I’d stopped just a few steps from exiting the alley.

“Sorry, I got lost in thought…” I thought to her, chewing on my lip as my nerves began to flare up.

Staring at the alley’s exit, I made myself take a deep breath and go through a similar routine to the one I normally did before school.

I checked my posture, loosening my shoulders and gently clasping my hands in front of me to keep myself from fidgeting with my skirt. With a few more deep breaths, I forced myself to adopt a neutral expression. Finally, I did a quick adjustment of my eyepatch to make sure it was securely attached before returning my hands to their previous position.

Deep breaths. Relaxed posture. Fast pace. Neutral expression.

Put on the mask so nothing can touch you.

After taking another moment to steady my nerves, I stepped out of the alley.

Walking onto the streets without Everglaive or Naiad while wearing my Astral Shift was… daunting. I was acutely aware of just how different my dress was compared to normal clothes, a feeling that hadn’t been nearly as bad when I’d had the other two Magical Girls walking with me.

But now, as I began walking towards Arcadia Spire, I could feel the full intensity of people watching me. It was an almost physical weight, a pressure that made my chest clench with breathless anxiety. I kept my pace quick, doing my best to show I was busy like Everglaive taught me.

Surprisingly, it worked, and nobody tried to approach me. Even the people walking on the sidewalk with me moved to give me space as I passed by, which was nice. I still had to deal with people pointing their phones at me or whispering, and knowing I was being recorded was… unsettling. Partly because of my outfit, and partly just because I really didn’t ever really enjoy attention.

To distract myself, I took in my surroundings. It was my first time being in the innermost circle of Arcadia, where the buildings were the tallest and more crammed together. I’d always imagined it as a claustrophobic environment, but now that I was looking around, things didn’t seem that bad. The spacing between buildings never quite crossed into the territory of feeling cramped, and there was a level of polish and cleanliness to the buildings that kept them looking pristine.

It was… nice. Even with the numerous people and towering buildings, things seemed urban but not suffocating. It reminded me of some of the pictures I’d seen of Tokyo, just with slightly different architecture.

I also began noticing just how many advertisements there were of Guardians. There were numerous posters and videos on giant monitors of Guardians showing off various products. They endorsed a variety of things, though I noticed most were centered around food, snacks, and clothes. One of the more interesting videos was of a sleek magitech car racing against a Guardian who sprinted next to it on foot.

And there were dozens of such ads. Maybe it was just because I’d been born and raised in Arcadia, but I’d never really noticed just how prevalent marketing was for Guardians. Seeing their pictures on everything from posters and cereal boxes was just… normal. It was something I’d always kind of glazed over until now.

But now that I was a Magical Girl… would I be doing stuff like that?

Before I could go too far down that train of thought, I noticed I had finally arrived.

The massive tower that was the Arcadian Spire loomed in front of me. A twenty-foot tall metal wall formed a perimeter around it, but just before that, there was a grassy park that separated the entire area from the modern sprawl of the city. The ring-shaped park was wide, and I could see it was filled with a variety of people ranging from office workers on break to groups of tourists taking pictures of the wall and spire.

I tried my best to ignore them, following the sidewalk next to the road that led towards one of the entry gates. It grew harder as people noticed me approaching and some of the more excitable ones got the attention of their friends.

Keeping my focus on the large gate, my eyes flicked over the details. It was wide enough for four lanes of traffic, not including the sidewalks bordering the road. A faint, translucent field of green energy hung over the opening, and I resisted my urge to tilt my head in curiosity.

[That’s a variable forcefield,] Selene suddenly said, as if sensing my question. [While the east and west gates are open for the public to enter for tours and such, the north and south are restricted to Guardians, employees of the Guardian’s Association, and Magical Soldiers. Anyone without the proper credentials will be kept out by the forcefield.]

I nodded in acknowledgement as we approached, and I saw a small guard station to the side. A few Magical Soldiers wearing unarmored fatigues sat inside behind monitors, and one gave me a nod and smile but made no move to stop me as I approached the forcefield.

[The guards here know not to stop anyone wearing clothes that might mark them as a Guardian,] Selene explained. [Although, that policy has resulted in a few funny videos of cosplayers trying to sneak in only to walk face first into the forcefield and bounce off.]

A huff of laughter escaped me at the mental image, a small smile twitching at the corner of my lips as I walked through the forcefield. Unlike when I entered the bubble of the Usurpation, there was no unpleasant feeling. Instead, it was only a tingle that ran over my skin, almost like static electricity.

Looking around, I saw the immediate area past the wall was similar to the park bordering the outside, except there were less trees and other obstructions. There were also a few roads that led to big helipads or into odd looking tunnel entrances that dipped underground.

[The tunnels lead to underground parking structures,] Selene continued. [And the helipads, as you may have noticed, are all empty because they are also teleportation pads. Various aircraft can land on them and then be transported to underground hangers for storage. The reverse is also true, which allows for quick deployment of Magical Soldiers in the case of emergency.]

My eyes widened a little at that as I kept moving forward, looking up at the large building that was Arcadia’s central spire.

I’d always known the spire was tall considering it towered above any of the other buildings in the city, but I’d never realized how wide it was. It seemed like it was twice as big as some of the other towering office buildings I’d seen, and I found myself wondering just how much space was inside.

Part of me couldn’t help but feel intimidated as I walked closer to the sleek metal and glass tower. The entrance was a set of sliding metal doors that hissed open as I approached. Hesitating, I took a deep breath before going inside.

I found myself in a decently sized lobby, a large, U-shaped desk sitting at the far end with several receptionists manning it. Behind them was a bank of elevators and doors, all with handprint scanners or card-readers. There were some chairs, tables, and sofas around the entrance that made a nice waiting area, but it was currently empty.

And, of course, everything from the polished floor to the furniture looked expensive and futuristic. There was a lot of glass and smooth, shining metal that was common to see in the more expensive architecture of Arcadia. I’d only ever really had direct exposure from some of the middle school field trips I’d been on.

[No need for the receptionists,] Selene told me as she hopped ahead of me. [They are mostly there for employees of the Guardian’s Association or visitors. We can use the elevators directly.]

I followed after her, stopping briefly to give a small greeting-style bow towards the receptionists as they looked up at me. They seemed surprised by that for some reason, but one of them, a plain-looking girl who looked younger than the others, gave me a wide smile, returning the gesture in an excited manner that made the yellow ribbon in her hair bounce wildly.

She also almost bumped her head on the desk with how low she went.

Hoping to spare her some embarrassment, I hurried on after Selene to the elevators. I was a little curious about the looks I’d gotten from the gesture. With how prevalent Japanese culture was in Arcadia, it seemed odd that they’d be unfamiliar with using a bow to respectfully greet another person. Even if it was more common for people to use a simple head nod, I didn’t think using bows was that rare…

I shook the thoughts from my head as I reached the elevator. It had a little card and hand scanner next to the buttons, and Selene instructed me to use the latter. Pressing my palm against the slightly cold glass, it only took a moment for it to glow green and give a chirp, the up and down buttons next to it lighting up. I pressed “up,” and waited, an indicator display above the elevator displaying a negative fifteen that was swiftly rising.

[We’ll be going to floor ten, which serves as the central hub and lobby for Guardians at levels one through 199, also referred to as tier one and tier two Guardians,] Selene informed me as we waited. [As a reminder, many people prefer referring to Vaults, Grimoires, and the things you purchase by their tier rather than the rarity classifications the System uses as it is simpler to remember.]

I nodded. Truthfully, I’d mostly forgotten about the rarity tags because they hadn’t come up that much. It was also a little difficult to remember all the different rarities…

Common, Rare, Masterwork, Arcane, Legendary, Mythic.

…Unless you were a nerd like I was, I guess. Still, the rarity tags for Vaults and Grimoires didn’t really make sense if you were referring to a Guardian.

“Tier one, the common rarity, is levels one through ninety-nine, and every hundredth level is a new tier, right?” I asked quietly, mostly just making sure I wasn’t misremembering anything. “And I can also only buy those higher tier Vaults and Grimoires if I’m at the corresponding tier?”

[Correct. I’m surprised you’re remembering things so well considering how rushed the explanations were.]

I shrugged uncomfortably. Honestly, I felt like I had probably forgotten half the things Selene had told me. What I really needed to do was sit down and go over everything again while taking notes. Making a quick reference guide seemed like it would be really useful, especially because I didn’t want to annoy Selene by having her repeat things over and over again…

The elevator arriving made me snap my attention up as the doors opened to reveal two Guardians inside, one who looked to be about my age while the other seemed a few years older. Both wore form-fitting leather armor and chainmail in a medieval style with heavy fur cloaks draped around them. The older one had her outfit dyed in deep reds while the younger was in earthy greens, but both had extravagant images of wolves and Nordic runes etched into their armor.

As they saw me, both stiffened, the green Guardian’s eyes going wide underneath her long blond hair. Their reaction made me hesitate for a moment before I decided to ignore it, moving forward to get inside the elevator.

The younger Guardian took a hurried step back, and the Red’s eyes narrowed into a glare that sent a chill through me. Before I could take another step, she reached past her companion and pressed a button on the elevator’s interior.

The doors immediately began closing, and I froze in place, watching as they slowly slid shut.

I stared at the elevator, completely stunned for a moment as the indicator number began to rise.

Then my brain fully processed what had happened.

Pressure built in my chest, my throat tightening even as warmth built in my cheeks. I tried to ignore the uncomfortable, acidic feeling biting at my bones. It was a familiar mixture of hurt, confusion, and embarrassment, the sensation only intensifying as I realized the receptionists behind me probably saw what happened. I swallowed, forcing myself to move and call for another elevator.

[Mai-] Selene started to say, but I shook my head.

“It’s fine,” I whispered, my voice thin.

Selene went quiet.

Thankfully, the next elevator was quick to come and was empty. Stepping in, I blinked when I saw the control panel was an electronic touch screen. It only took me a moment to adjust and input the number ten before hitting the accept button. Only after the doors closed did I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

I was frustrated at how hurt their small, petty action made me feel, especially because I had been thoroughly warned about how other Guardians might react to me. But there was still something uncomfortably sharp about receiving that sort of reaction from people who didn’t even know me, who had no reason to-

I clenched my teeth, pushing down the nauseous swirl of emotions. There was no reason to get so upset about it. It had just caught me off guard, but now… now I would be ready. It would be just like school, keeping my guard up when people were around. It wouldn’t be that hard, not with all the practice I had.

My mask had slipped as we’d walked over, as I let my mind wander, but now… I would be ready.

I nodded to myself, ignoring the tightness in my throat.

Unfortunately, that still left me in the awkward silence of the elevator ride, trying not to look at Selene or acknowledge what had just happened.

“What other floors are there for Guardians besides the tenth?” I asked, hoping to distract the both of us.

[Ah!] Selene chirped excitedly. [An excellent question. While I could explain it, perhaps it would be simpler to use your HUD. Let’s see here… Let me just show you the ones that you’ll find immediately interesting…]

Before I could question what she meant, the familiar translucent blue screen that usually appeared when I looked at my status or System notifications popped into existence with a simple list.

[Arcadia Spire: General Guardian Floors:

Tier One and Tier Two Guardian Floors

Floor 10: Lobby, Tavern, and Request Hall

Floor 11: Storage Rooms

Floor 12: Workout Areas

Floor 13: Training Rooms

Floor 14: Guardian Shops

Floor 15: Recreational Zone (Computer Rooms, VR Stations, Arcade, TTRPG Rooms, etc.)

Floor 16: Sleep Rooms

Tier Three and Tier Four Guardian Floors

Floors 20 through 26 follow the same pattern.

Tier Five and Tier Six Guardian Floors

Floors 30 through 36 follow the same pattern.

Other Floors of Interest

Floors -11 through -20 are Currently Restricted

Floor -5: MG Garage

Floor 1: Spire Reception

Floors 40-45: Grand Library

Floor 50-55: Operator Control Rooms]

I only had enough time to read the list before the elevator stopped with a chirp. The doors slid open to reveal…

A… medieval tavern?

No… an adventurer’s guild hall?

The room was huge and made almost entirely of wood. The immediate area was open with a path that led to a long desk manned by a half-dozen uniformed receptionists. Glass and wood served to partition the desk into sections, giving some semblance of privacy to the different spots people would line up at. The entire setup reminded me of something I might see at a bank.

Meanwhile, the left half of the room looked like an actual tavern. Wooden tables with benches and stools dotted the area, many of which had Guardians in a wide variety of outfits sitting at them. Waiters and waitresses wearing medieval uniforms went around, taking orders and serving a variety of food and drinks. I could also make out a bar along one of the walls, but my eyes were instead drawn to a wooden stage where a girl in a blue jester’s costume was playing a lyre and singing a soft, haunting melody that I couldn’t quite make out.

Finally, the right side of the room had giant notice boards made of glass touchscreens. Currently, they displayed dozens of paper pages with writing on them, emulating what looked like notices. Guardians loitered around the boards, occasionally swiping or pressing buttons to rearrange them. There were also tables on that side, but these ones had more modern looking benches and couches around them. Small devices in the middle of the tables were turned on, holographic displays showing a variety of things.

Taking it all in was… overwhelming.

It wasn’t just my confusion at the interior appearing exactly like an adventurer’s guild lobby from some of the anime I’d seen, it was also the sheer number of Guardians. There were dozens of them lounging about in a myriad of styles. Rugged medieval chainmail, stylish high fantasy plate armor, regal Victorian ball gowns, gleaming power armor, skintight superhero spandex, classic wizard robes, and even just fancy modern outfits were just some of the more prevalent designs I noticed. There were also a few I hastily moved my eyes from, like the large shirtless guy with rippling muscles or the slender girl with a only a few thin swaths of cloth wrapped around her in a revealing dancer’s outfit that bared most of her skin and-

I mentally shook my head as I pulled my eyes away, cheeks heating up as I refocused on the main issue.

Because it wasn’t just the vast variety of designs that shocked me, it was the sudden uncomfortable feel of walking into a room full of Magical Guardians. Before today, I’d only ever seen them in videos or on TV. The closest I’d come to one before the mall was seeing them hop rooftops in the distance or when one ran by on the road in a blur.

But now I was in the room with the literal defenders of humanity. With how much Guardians were built up by people as almost mythical figures, it felt weird to suddenly be in a room filled with them. While at the mall, when I was talking to Error Machina, I hadn’t really had the leisure of worrying about such things, and after I’d woken up… Well, it had been nerve-racking meeting with Fantasy Fatale, but even then, I’d been pushed by the necessity of having my Astral Shift unlocked and finding out as much information as possible.

Without any of that, I couldn’t help but feel… out of place. To me, it was only yesterday that I was just another sixteen-year-old girl trying to get through school. Even the mall was more like a bad dream I was trying to forget than reality.

And in front of me were the defenders of humanity. People who fought monsters and died so normal people could live normal lives. They were heroes, idols, and celebrities, and I was just…

Me.

You are such a blessing

The words from the Palmers’ letter echoed in my head, and I sucked in a breath.

I… I had saved people. Brian, my classmates, and all those other people in the shelter… I still didn’t feel like a Magical Girl, not really, but maybe knowing that I had still saved people was enough for now?

[Mai?] Selene sent to me telepathically, and I realized I’d been standing in the elevator unmoving for too long.

Carefully taking another controlled breath, I stepped out into the room. It was only then that I noticed that the sound was strangely muted. Even with the dozens of Guardians talking at the tables and the singing bard, everything sounded far away and quiet. Before I could ask, Selene had already nodded to me and began hopping towards the reception desk, so I followed.

[We’ll be talking to the receptionists here, although most refer to them as attendants. They’re responsible for assisting Guardians with a variety of functions from finding out information to assisting with requests. Also, you may have noticed this lobby is similar in appearance to those of an “adventurer’s guild,” as seen in various anime, manga, and video games. This is not a coincidence, as a vote was held among the first Guardians as to what this lobby would look like. Many thought the atmosphere would be both familiar and appealing in nature.]

I nodded, unable to hide the small smile pulling on the corner of my lips. It was a nice atmosphere, and, as silly as it was… well, it was really cool. I was walking through a scene straight from some of the fantasy anime I’d watched, and I’d seen areas like this in the few games I played more times than I could count. I couldn’t stop from feeling a flicker of wonder and excitement in my stomach as I walked forward.

One thing that almost made me stumble was noticing there were other Darks in the tavern area of the room, and both of them had noticed me.

The first was a college-aged man with dark hair in a ponytail wearing what I could only describe as a sci-fi western outfit. He had on an armored black, skintight bodysuit with blue, glowing lines as accents. Over it, he wore a tattered trench coat and a cowboy hat in a matching style. As I caught his black-gray eyes, he merely gave me a small nod and tip of his hat before turning back to the large wooden tankard in front of him.

The other Dark looked like a highschool girl in an elegant, shoulder-baring Victorian ball gown of shining black, scarlet ruffles and trim being the only other color to her dress. Her arms were covered with black lace gloves reaching up to her elbows with small rose patterns in gradients that turned from red to black. The moment I noticed her, she looked up at me, her long, straight black hair shifting minutely. Even though she sat at a corner table fairly far from me, I could see she had irises as black as her pupils, the only color to them being scarlet cracks that seemed to burn with a faint luminescence.

Much like the first Dark, she merely tipped her head in acknowledgment to me before turning back to the faded paperback book she had been reading, one hand idly picking up a glass of a ruby liquid that matched her lips.

I turned away from both, suppressing the worry that had briefly sparked on noticing them. They were both Darks… Which meant they both knew about our Origin’s hidden meaning…

And yet, they hadn’t done more than acknowledge my presence. There had been no rushing towards me, asking if I needed help or trying to get me to answer questions. Instead, they were simply going about their business, respecting my privacy.

Although, maybe I was being unfair to them with my assumptions. They were probably just as worried about people doing the same to them… Maybe there was some sort of etiquette for this kind of thing among Darks?

Whatever the case, I let out a quiet breath of relief as my attention turned back to the desk with the attendants. As I finished my approach, I noticed two things. The first was that in front of each of the attendant’s lanes, there was a square of magical runes painted in white on the floor just in front of the desk. Two other Guardians were talking to other attendants while standing within the runes, and I couldn’t hear any sort of sound from either of them.

The second thing I noticed was at the height the desk was at, it was going to be incredibly awkward for me considering how short I was.

Before I could get too embarrassed about that realization, a section of the wood floor rose as I got near, rising high enough to give me a little platform to stand on. I wasn’t sure if that was incredibly thoughtful or humiliating, so I chose to focus my attention on the attendant across the desk from me as I stepped onto it, briefly startling myself as the sound from the rest of the room disappeared.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The attendant was a blond, college-aged girl with freckles and a nervous expression on her face. Her hands fiddled anxiously with her sleeves. Now that I was at a higher vantage, I could see all the attendants wore the same uniform of black dress pants and a matching suit vest that covered most of the white long-sleeved shirts they wore beneath. Swirling lines of silver embroidery gave an elegant finishing touch to their vests, and combined with their bowties, made them have a very professional appearance.

“H-hello,” the attendant stuttered, smiling awkwardly at me. “How may I help you today?”

Selene jumped onto the counter before I could answer, a muted flash of light briefly enveloping her as she made herself visible to the attendant. The girl gasped, eyes going wide as Selene’s nine fox tails swished behind her.

[Greetings!] Selene chirped happily. [My Guardian is new and looking to register herself with the Association. If you could pull up the proper forms on a computer tablet for us to fill out as well as her welcome gift, I would be very grateful.]

The girl stared at Selene, blinking a few times in silent shock. It wasn’t until Selene tilted her head questioningly that the attendant seemed to snap out of it, a blush darkening her cheeks as she looked around.

“I-I’m sorry! Yes, of course… um…”

She pulled out a thin tablet and placed it on the counter, tapping away at it. I let her work in silence, trying not to rush her by seeming impatient. She chewed on her lip, brow furrowing in confusion as she stared at the tablet screen.

“I, um… wait, no, it should be here…”

The attendant seemed to get more distressed as she continued working, occasionally glancing up at me only to hurriedly return to the tablet. I felt my own anxiety begin to prickle as I wondered what was going on. Was there something wrong with my registration? From what Everglaive had told me, it was supposed to be a quick and simple thing I could take care of before meeting her for the awakening of my Signature.

Watching the girl continue to flounder, I tried not to fidget as the awkward silence between us began to thicken. Lowering my eyes to the desk, I began to study the patterns in the wood.

“Excuse me, is there anything I can assist with here?” a man’s voice smoothly interrupted, and I looked up to see another attendant had stepped next to the girl.

He was an older man, with neatly cropped gray hair and deep wrinkles on his face that gave him a grandfatherly visage. There was a warm, relaxed smile on his face as he looked between us and the girl.

My attendant blushed further, wincing as she turned to him with a hurt look.

“I-I’m sorry, she’s here to register as a new Guardian, and I haven’t been trained on that yet, but I thought I could find it easily enough, but it doesn’t look like it’s anywhere, and-”

“It’s alright,” he gently cut in, smiling softly. “You just started a few days ago. Nobody expects you to know everything.”

The attendant relaxed a little at that, letting out a stuttering breath as the man turned to address me.

“Greetings, miss, I’m senior attendant Edward. If you’re in a hurry, we can have another attendant help you while I teach Megan. Otherwise, I can walk her through the process and have her practice with you.”

Blinking a few times, I felt a sympathetic pang towards the girl. She seemed stressed, and I knew how easy it was for anxiety to overwhelm everything when it came to social situations.

“N-no, it’s okay,” I shook my head. “I mean, I don’t mind waiting.”

“Thank you, miss,” he nodded towards me gratefully before pointing to the tablet. “Alright, the first step is to open the Magical Guardian identification search application…”

I let my attention slip from them, carefully trying to look unbothered while I waited. The nerves that had been building relaxed only a little at the knowledge that I wasn’t the problem. I couldn’t relax completely, though, not with how nervous the younger attendant was still looking. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for them to finish, and Edward gently slid the tablet across the counter to me.