Wish upon the Stars (Original Superhero cultivation sci fi litrpg)

[Malcolm Tent]

I stuck close to Sorwen as we headed into the city. I didn't know her, but I knew everyone else even LESS. Of the few dozen people I could see, only she was a member of the forces I'd already observed up to this point. The others were most likely selected from among the nine thousand plus applicants who had been frozen in the rooms of the tower we'd observed from outside, though I admit none of them looked especially strange or alien to me.

"So, what was your trick?" I asked her as we walked. "Or what is your ability? Whatever gave you the opportunity to enter this major?"

Based on my experience, I assumed you needed some kind of time related power. It was strange, because I had created mine easily enough, so it was curious more people didn't do the same. Then again, techniques had always come easy to me, so maybe time powers were too difficult for most people. My ability to create the Great Book Heavenly Library alone outstripped the technique abilities shown by most people I'd met.

She raised an eyebrow at me suspiciously, but eventually shrugged. "I have kind of a precognition power. I can predict attacks before they happen. Plus I got to intermediate. That was a pain."

"Me too," I said with a chuckle. "It's possible that having a time related ability might not be enough. Maybe you have to reach at least intermediate to qualify. Still, it doesn't seem like many people made the cut. There were, based on the windows outside, nearly ten thousand applicants, and I only see maybe thirty people nearby."

She nodded. "Yeah, seems slim. A third of a percent isn't much. Although clearly we're not the only group. These are all B-rankers."

"Yeah, the majors are subdivided," I confirmed. "At least as far as I saw. But I'm not sure there'll be as many C-rankers if you need to hit intermediate to qualify. I can't imagine many people that rank being able to take on ten thousand robots."

Even if the robots themselves were C-rank, it was unlikely. Most C-rankers didn't have a Domain like I did. Without Gehenna's particular brand of bullshit, I was doubting I would be capable of taking on an army that size. Then again, that was the combat assessment. Who knew what the support assessment would be like. Not to mention I had no idea if the supporters even had the same majors as us. Were there twelve others? Were six of the twelve support? Three? Honestly I was blown away by the scale of this whole place.

Which wasn't helped by arriving at a massive amphitheater that everyone seemed to be guided towards. The lighted cobblestones led us right to the door, and a quick glance at Sorwen to confirm saw us entering cautiously, ready for some kind of trap.

Of course, there was no trap. They didn't need to trap us if they wanted us dead. We were entirely at the mercy of the faculty of this place, assuming what the voice had said was true. Outside the chasm, without the suppression of the vortex, I doubted anyone here could stand up to even a fragment of a god.

When we entered the amphitheater, I was surprised to find that the intimidating show of force I had expected was nowhere to be seen. Based on the city outside and the fancy stone path, I had expected some grand opera hall or something where someone would lord their power over us. To my surprise, the inside of the theater was almost cozy. Plush red carpet, comfortable built in seating, and a relatively short stage with thick curtains around it that made it feel more confined, but in a comfortable, homey way.

Sorwen and I headed down the gently sloping aisle to grab seats near the stage and sat down to wait as everyone else filed in and found chairs. Eventually, when all the movement had stopped, the dark stage lit up. A single beam of brilliant light illuminated the form of a calm, reassuring man with salt and pepper hair sitting on a tall stool.

He smiled blandly at us. "Welcome, children of time," he boomed. His voice was deep and resonant, but also cold. That declaration should have sounded cocky or condescending, but he mostly just came off like an executioner reading off our death order. "My name is Samuel P. Gibbons. My official title outside these walls is "The Hourglass Bodach", but in Frozen Moment, we don't much hold with fancy designations. We prefer to base our internal reputations on skill and intellect. You may simply call me Dean Gibbons."

His eyes were an intense swirling silver, shot with flecks of obsidian that danced around his pupils like leaves in a storm. They scanned the amphitheater slowly as he spoke, taking in every detail of his audience. "You have all been invited to attend classes under my department, and while that is an honor, it is also a privilege. The department of temporal studies is the most select and exclusive major at Frozen Moment Academy. You can learn things studying here that you can't learn anywhere else. Each of you are elites among this group of applicants, and you have earned a place here through luck and skill…but that place is not a right.

"You can and will lose your access to this major should I believe you are not worthy of my consideration. Do not allow yourselves to fall behind, or you will be ejected from this major." His eyes narrowed coldly, the approachable demeanor being shrugged off like a cloak, showing just a flash of something darker beneath, like the shadow of a monster swimming beneath a ship on calm waters. "Should that happen, you may be allowed to select a new course of study, or you may be expelled. Circumstances will dictate. Now. I will be accepting three questions."

One of the seated students raised a hand, Dean Gibbons gestured to him calmly. "Yes, hello, Dellos Veck, I was wondering if you'll be teaching any of the classes personally? I heard there were instructors that did most of the hands on stuff."

"A good question," the Dean nodded. "No, I will not be personally instructing you for the majority of your courses. There are some advanced classes and lectures I conduct myself, but those cost credit points rather than awarding them. Similarly, you can spend credit points directly to arrange a sit down meeting with me. This is a one time opportunity granted to new arrivals, and will only be available for the first month. It will cost one hundred credit points, and will last one hour. I make no promises about the effectiveness or contents of these meetings, I only offer them as they are. Whether to avail yourself of this service is your own decision."

Another hand went up and he gestured to a smaller girl with hair that looked like actual seaweed. "Alverra Delnock," she said, announcing her name like the last one had. "Can credit points be traded directly between students? Is there some kind of marketplace where we can sell things for credits? Can students post missions like the ones mentioned in the assessment, or is it only teachers who have that ability?"

Dean Gibbons narrowed his eyes and her mouth snapped shut instantly. Sighing, he leaned back. "That was more than one question, but they were thematically similar, so I shall allow it just this once. Don't do it again. Credit points are awarded for completing courses, winning competitions, attending lectures, or accomplishing tasks set by the faculty. Tasks CAN be set by students, but credit points will be required to post them, and task payments must be covered by the poster in addition to payment for the service.

"Credit points can be SPENT on advanced courses and lectures, material goods, special events and competitions, and the entry to special environments and beneficial locations that can aid in comprehension and advancement." his expression softened back to the approachable mentor. "So no, I'm afraid there's no direct trading of credits, though you CAN use the task postings as a point of sale if you can get enough credits in exchange for whatever you're selling to offset the service fee. One more question, and then we move on. You." He pointed at Sorwen, who had raised her hand without me noticing.

"Sorwen Ard," she said cheerfully. "Will our residences cost credit points?"

He grinned at her. "There was an implied secondary question in there, but since you didn't technically break my rule I'll answer both. No, they will not. You will be given residences as befits your status as intermediate students. There are three residence halls. Once for B-rankers, one for C-rankers, and one for A-rankers. Due to the academy's focus on mythcrafting, those who have completed their Chronicle and reached S-rank need not apply."

I frowned at that term, wanting to raise my hand to ask what mythcrafting was. It clearly had something to do with authoring pages, but it wasn't a term I'd heard before from any of my family. The idea that I might be learning something GODS didn't know was somewhat intoxicating, so I could only wait for someone to explain it to me.

"Now, with that out of the way, we can move onto the information you'll need to make best use of your time here," he gestured out the door. "This is Moment City. It is the residence hall allocated to B-rankers of this major. Moment City is NOT unoccupied, and should you anger the residents, we will not be responsible for what happens to you. Learn more about this place on your own time.

"Should you wish to associated with other majors, you can purchase transportation to Common City, a shared space accessible to all majors." his voice was casual as he filled us in. "As intermediate students, you are only eligible for two days of common time per week, regardless of credit points. Beginner students have one day. Outer students and below measure their common time in HOURS."

He looked around the room. "At any time, any student may apply for the advancement trial to advanced student. Should you succeed, you will be granted an audience with me directly, free of charge. The one hour limitation will still apply.

"That should be almost everything you need. Your identification numbers can be used to look up your residence in the city in the book behind me on the stage." he gestured behind him into the dark. "There will be an introductory course offered as a one time benefit for newcomers later tonight in this amphitheater. It rewards no credits. I highly suggest you attend. Welcome to the department of temporal studies. Good luck." The light went out, thensmaller lamps illuminated the whole theater, revealing Dean Gibbons was gone.

"Well, that was dramatic," Sorwen said brightly. "I have to admit, this place isn't what I thought it would be. I was expecting challenges and death battles, not classes and worksheets."

I snorted. "This is an ascendant academy. There will be challenges and death battles. I'm more interested in what he said about mythcrafting. I've never heard that term before. Do you know what it is? I take it that's something to do with authoring a chronicle."

Sorwen raised an eyebrow at me. "I knew your plane was underdeveloped in some respects, but that's just absurd. Yes. Mythcrafting has to do with-" she stopped, looking around warily. "Look, let's go find out where our residences are and we can talk while we walk. Maybe they'll be close together, and if not we can find a park or something, this won't be a quick conversation."

She stood and headed up to the stage and I followed after her. I didn't mind her taking the lead, she clearly knew more about what was going on than me. Still, I reached out through the bond to check on Callie as I walked, happy to receive a warm pulse of reassurance from my wife. Knowing she was ok and presumably hadn't seen any evidence of the others having trouble, I sped up my walk towards the book. I had a feeling this conversation would be an important one.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

Sorwen and I were not staying close together, so we decided to stop at a local park to have our conversation after getting our room assignments. I was almost vibrating with the need to ask question, but I knew that seeming too eager was likely to backfire. Sorwen didn't know me, and if she thought she had leverage she could decide to use it. So I just forced myself to look relaxed as we walked together.

Finally, we arrived at the park and I sat down on the edge of a fountain, glancing at the higher dimensional woman without saying anything until she took a seat herself and shot me an amused smile. "So, you have questions."

Apparently my attempts to play it cool weren't going to work, but I decided it didn't matter at this point. I got straight to the heart of the matter. "Mythcrafting," I said simply. "Dean Gibbons said the school is based on it. I've never heard the term before. Is it something we don't have access to here?"

She shook her head. "No, you have it. You have to. It's an integral part of the Ascension process. It's just hard to…how to explain this? It's like someone asking you what air is. You can TELL them it's an invisible substance that sustains the body, but without knowing how it works they won't really understand. Mythcrafting is something everyone learns, though how much you understand varies. I suppose it's easier to start at the beginning. Or maybe the end. Do you know what Worldforce is?"

"I do," I nodded. "It's the substance gods use to fill their realms. It can be infused into divine artifacts and gives them their power."

"That's…technically accurate," she allowed. "But it's not really relevant to the question. I asked if you know what it IS, not what it does. Based on your response, I suspect you do not. But it is important in this case. You know what Mythology is, of course."

"Obviously," I nodded. "It's the force that composes stats. The finer and more detailed power that makes up everything about an Ascendant."

She beamed. "Much more accurate, yes. This is important because the path of Worldforce begins with Mythology. Or rather with stats. As you know, from the very beginning of an Ascendant's journey, they need to learn to use stats. That's what skills are. You can combine them and reshape them but you need the stats to make them work. At higher levels you learn to more delicately craft skills, rearranging stats to form complex mechanisms."

I nodded, because that was all obvious, and she continued. "But you probably noticed that the higher you climb, the less useful skills actually are. Techniques become the bread and butter of higher level Ascendants, and the mechanism for utilizing those is very different."

"It's more intuitive," I acknowledged. "Emotions and imagery are important to techniques, as opposed to delicate structural engineering."

"That is incorrect," she denied. "It is more accurate to say that you aren't CAPABLE of delicate structural engineering. The creation of techniques is the manipulation of Mythology in its purest form. Or, in the common parlance of the higher planes: Mythcrafting."

I frowned at that. "That's…wait, that doesn't make sense. I do that already, and I do it all the time. I mean, sure it's useful, but my ancestor based his whole empire on a skill, so it's not like mythology is just qualitatively better. Learning to make better techniques would be great, but I don't see how it's like…linear. They're just different approaches."

"They aren't," she assured me. "And I can tell you that for sure. Do you remember where I started this explanation?"

"Worldforce," I said immediately. "How are they related?"

She grinned at me. "Qualitatively. See, the process of Ascension isn't just random and pointless. It's delicate and complicated, but at the end of the day, it's an evolution. It's a growth mechanism. Start with an ability to get you used to stats, introduce skills that let you alter said ability, learn to condense and refine those skills moving into Paths, and then step from those Paths into techniques.

"Stats are the largest and most cumbersome delineation of force for an Ascendant," she lectured. "Mythology makes up those stats, so learning to manipulate stats is learning to manipulate mythology. Eventually, the training wheels come off, and you learn to make techniques using mythology in a more basic form, and THAT transitions into authoring pages in a Chronicle, which teaches you how to more delicately craft with Mythology by letting you rewrite pieces of your own legend. Something you can FEEL on a visceral level."

That made sense. It was a lot more cohesive than it had felt when I was DOING it, but I hadn't exactly taken the traditional road to get here. "And Worldforce?"

"Worldforce is the next step," she clarified. "Mythology is created by the thoughts and opinions of others. You can weave it together however you like, but techniques are still heavily informed by recursion. Contrary to the way it sounds, Worldforce isn't spatial. Not inherently. Worldforce is a unique force that you create from different mythologies. A special crafted energy that belongs only to you. Mythology is the legend of a person. Worldforce is the legend of a WORLD."

I frowned at that. "Wait…so it's just like…a technique but stronger?"

"Worldforce is…you could consider it a template," she clarified. "Once you form your Worldforce, which can be done at Demigod, recursion ceases to be an issue. All the renown that pours into you homogenizes with your Worldforce and becomes a part of the story YOU want to tell. It seeps into your realm, watering it and helping it grow. In order to MAKE Worldforce, however, Mythcrafting is essential."

"So all the gods have to be doing it?" I asked angrily. "And they just never mentioned it?"

She shrugged. "They're probably doing it the same way you are. Instinctively. You'll notice that there are far FEWER gods than there used to be in this plane? Less than a dozen over the span of millennia is a vanishingly small amount. That's easily explained if there's just a much higher talent requirement to get there."

But that didn't explain how Atlas hadn't mentioned it. I was sure he had to know, being from a time when there were so many gods. Why hadn't he…and then it hit me. Because he thought we already KNEW. These gods and overgods were talking about Mythcrafting like it was some basic knowledge everyone had. Atlas had seen me use complicated forms and techniques. He probably just assumed I knew what I was doing. It was like Sorwen's oxygen metaphor earlier. There was no reason to just start telling someone how to breathe when you could see them inhaling right in front of you.

"Alright," I said slowly, wrapping my head around all this. "So…Mythcrafting is about techniques." That meant my talent was Mythcrafting. Had always been Mythcrafting. It was kind of frustrating to think about, but at least I had some idea what I'd been doing now. Hell, knowing THIS might be enough of a leg up for the WCP from the whole damned legacy. Not to mention learning how to do it. "How does this work then? Because techniques are like…easy? Anyone can do a technique for anything, right?"

She snorted. "Spoken like a natural. No. Techniques can't just "do anything". Mythcrafting works on Mythology. Mythology has certain attributes. I'm sure you've noticed that all your techniques have some kind of BASIS. You make them from skills, abilities, things you can observe. In order to create a technique, you need a combination of attributes that fit the effect.

"Of course, not all types of mythology work well together," she clarified. "That depends on the myths that make it up. Certain stories are more deeply entrenched in certain cultures, and the mythology of those attributes takes to certain forms more smoothly. Fire is often associated with rebirth across multiple planes, and that makes things like phoenixes a good element to tie together flame and healing attributes. You can fudge it a little by creating your own story, of course, the more detailed it is the more compelling to the attributes involved, but ultimately, some combinations are just more effective. That's what Mythcrafting is all about."

I blinked at that. "That's why we got the invite to this major," I said with dawning realization. "People need certain kinds of Mythology to Mythcraft certain things. We have time attributes in our skills, which means we have access to time related techniques and, eventually, time related Worldforce."

"That's overstating it a bit," she warned. "We have the POTENTIAL for time related Worldforce. But it's a rare attribute, yes. Time related skills are uncommon. Collecting attributes is hard to steer or control. They're based on your Mythology, which tends to take on a mind of its own, so unless you're born with a time related ability, getting the attribute introduced into your stats is exceptionally difficult. Speaking of, where did yours come from, if you don't mind me asking. Your ability is complicated, but I don't think it has an inherent time attribute to it."

I didn't have any idea, not at first, but then I realized what it had been with a start and I couldn't help but start laughing. She raised an eyebrow at me. "Diviner," I chuckled. "I have a skill that lets me access powers from a videogame I grew up playing. My class was Fatewalker. It's a hybrid of Monk, Rogue, and Diviner. One of the first Diviner abilities I got was an attack prediction overlay."

It had been the earliest subskill DS Mastery had granted me, and one of my most useful in the early levels, but it had sort of fallen by the wayside. I'd gotten others, of course, and much more powerful ones, but something about knowing that my overlay had brought me here, had unlocked this path for me…it made me smile. Like a part of that old power was still with me, even after all this time.

I made a mental note to track down the demon for the Overlay and talk to him about all this. I was betting that his involvement with this whole thing would be deeper going forward than any of us would have expected. He was only tier 4, which meant reincarnation would be easier. I couldn't help but wonder if the fate adjacent demon had picked up something important without noticing it.

Sorwen was grinning too. "Video games," she said in exasperation. "I don't know whether to be horrified or impressed. Remind me to introduce you to my brother Winston. You would get along."

I laughed at that, but my face quickly smoothed into seriousness. "Not that I don't appreciate the help, and this has taught me a lot, but…why are you helping me?"

"This is going to be a complicated and difficult journey," she admitted. "Having a friendly face around to help can't hurt anything. Besides, your sister-in-law is an old friend of my ancestor. Us local factions need to stick together if we want to make it through this."

I stared into her eyes for a moment, trying to see any deception, but Scent of Truth caught nothing. She actually meant that. I laughed and held out a hand for her to shake. "Alright then, guess we can look out for each other while we're here. You know my name already, but it's polite to introduce yourself to new friends. Shane Wyndham, at your service."

"Sorwen Ard," she grinned. "Though I'm not much into the servant thing. Nice to meet you, though."

Laughing, we both stood up. The conversation was over, and I had learned quite a bit. Now it was time to head back to my room and figure out where the hell I wanted to GO with all this. I had a lot to think about, and I got the impression the decisions I made in the coming days would decide the upper limit of what I could accomplish in this life. I couldn't wait to get started.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

My mind was whirling with all the new information as I let myself into my residence. Without much preamble, I flopped into my bed and descended into Gehenna to consult with my court. I might not be able to work through all the angles all at once, but I wasn't alone. This information concerned everything that had happened to me since I had started my journey, and I wasn't planning to ignore the implications of everything I'd learned.

Sure enough, Oz, Dom, and Sam, my three ministers, were waiting for me on arrival. Alongside them was another figure, and it took me a moment to realize exactly why it was, because I was so unfamiliar with the features after all this time.

"Overlay," I said after a moment of searching the face. "Yeah, you should probably be involved in this chat."

Overlay looked…like me. Honestly, most of my demons KIND of looked like me. Some were bigger, or mutated, or older, because they had been changed by living full lives of their own, but they still looked a little like I did in some way. Overlay though, Overlay looked like ME. Like the me I used to be.

He was a little shorter than me, not having traded for the extra inch of height, and his features were softer. He didn't have the same air of command or combat experience either. He just looked like an eighteen year old kid who grew up in an apartment in Valen.

It was honestly kind of jarring. Looking at him like this I almost couldn't see myself. I hadn't thought I'd changed that much in just a few years. Sure I was stronger, and more ruthless, and maybe more confident. But we looked more like siblings or cousins than the same person. Comparing the two of us was like comparing night and day, and I wasn't sure which was which.

Of course, he was more than I had been. Overlay (Owen for short, it always felt impersonal referring to them by skill names) was a tier four demon. He hadn't grown much, which went to show how little he'd been training. Gehenna made advancement easy at low levels, and the only demons that remained stuck there were the ones who were angling for reincarnation to become something more effective.

"Walk with me," I told the others as I headed into the chamber behind my throne room. "Now, I assume you all heard all that? I'm not sure exactly how much you perceive from in here, but I think Azazel has access to my senses unless I block it."

Oz nodded. "I do. And a general sense of when it's appropriate to access them. This meeting was portentous, so yes, I was listening. I filled the others in as well."

Sam hummed with interest. "Yeah, it was definitely fascinating to listen to, but I'm not sure how applicable it is to me specifically. You DID design me based on a powerful racial trait. Speaking of, how does that work? She said skills are just like…a lesser tier of power, right? What about the old men, and other bloodlines?"

"I've been thinking about that," Oz said cautiously. "I believe this is a matter of pure instinct. Powerful skillcrafters like the ancestor have an innate understanding of the mythology of their skills. I believe, and this is pure speculation, that the powerful bloodline meta skills of people like the Wishmaster serve as a sort of proto Worldforce. An accidental template that steers the power into the form that the ascendant wishes. There are other complications to the theory, such as Domain seeds, but all in all it does hold water."

"Assuming the old man and the other gods aren't keeping their mouths shut about Mythcrafting to prevent the proliferation of more gods, which is a possibility, there has to be some way to brute force the creation of your own Worldforce." I mused. "Not that I have any interest in DOING that. Now that we're here, we can learn to Mythcraft properly. Considering that Mythcrafting is how you author pages from your Chronicle, I have a feeling we want to make sure each of them is as well constructed as possible. Speaking of which, Oz, did you finish that project I set you?"

My first minister nodded excitedly. "Thirty miles," he said confidently. "Almost exactly. Sadly we weren't able to measure before the rank ups. My best estimate is that entry to B-rank pushed you to twenty, and the other ten were from a combination of cosmic phoenix strengthening and the rank up from the Pillar of Goetia. I don't have many other Domains to compare it to, so my math is somewhat half baked, but I would probably assume based on Callie's Vault that your Domain is unusually large for your rank."

"I figured," I said with a wry smile. "And denser too. Having an A-ranked pillar supporting it, not to mention whatever benefits the Myriad Demons Manual gives now, makes it safer to use my Domain in battle, and that'll only continue to be the case as it expands. Were you able to get any definitive information on the benefits of that?"

"Nothing specific," he grimaced. "Best I can tell it aids the creation of a Domain Seed somehow. My only source for the knowledge would be Dantalion, and only what he managed to pick up passively during our travels. He's been working with Pride to construct and ACTUAL library in the castle, though I've been asked to invite you down to peruse the royal collection. Apparently all seventy two of us are still linked to the library, and each of us still has a book."

I blinked in surprise. "I…kind of assumed the library was gone after the Domain condensed," I said blankly. "That could be incredibly useful though. The old man's library was a skill crafting technique, but mine was aimed more at Mythcrafting, even if I didn't know it. I bet I can learn more about attributes by studying the books, and I'm sure the Mythcrafting techniques I'm going to learn will help me improve the foundations of the various demons manually."

One of the first things I'd learned about my Domain was that the demons could still be altered just as easily as they could grow. I didn't do that, because the staff's simulation made stronger and more lifelike constructs. Knowing what I did about Mythcrafting, that was probably to do with the well worn intent behind them and the firm foundation of the story, but even if that was true, the staff and I were connected. Learning Mythcrafting would help optimize ITS abilities as well as my own.

That was a matter for another time, though. Once I'd actually LEARNED some Mythcrafting. Speaking of, I turned to Doom Sovereign. "What are the chances we can get a complete list of all the attributes I have access to?"

Dom, ever the taciturn member of my council, just shrugged. "Not great. There's a lot we don't understand. So far the only real confirmation we have is time, and it's only really our assumption it comes from Overlay. We have a few strong guesses, like Destruction for Mephistopheles, and we know at least a couple for sure, like Purification from your grandfather. But all in all, there are seventy two of us, and not all of us were even formed exclusively from your own skills. You mixed in a bunch of stored techniques during creation."

I sighed deeply. "Yeah, I was afraid you were gonna say that. It's fine, this is a Mythcrafting school, there almost HAS to be some kind of identification method for attributes. We know I have Space and Life because of the major invites at least. Maybe more if you need more than a single attribute to be invited. Which I have to assume you do, because time can't be THAT rare."

"Speaking of," I turned to look at Owen. "Are you sure you want to be involved in this? There are other options. Limbo could take your place, I'm almost positive. I figured it was fair to give you first shot at being my go to demon for this course, given you've been stuck at tier four and clearly want an upgrade. Plus I like the symmetry. But you don't HAVE to do anything. This is entirely up to you."

Most of the people here were working with a totally different system than I was. They all had abilities and skills with time attributes, and were going to be using that to make techniques. For me, the better call was to incarnate one of my demons with time attributes and treat them like a form, learning to manipulate time more directly and maybe even baking that into the demon as I went. It had advantages and disadvantages, but I suspected it would allow me to wield my time attribute with less training.

Owen, for his part, didn't even flinch. His eyes locked with mine, and I saw a stubborn set to his jaw that I recognized from the mirror AND from seeing it on my mother and sister. "I want to be stronger," he said firmly. "I want to be more. You don't need me, not the way I am. Haven't for a long time. But now I can DO something. Be important. Be honest, do you really think I'll ever achieve godhood at this rate?"

I thought it through. He was right. Theoretically, all my demons could be gods, and they could grow passively so they would mostly get there eventually…but realistically, tiers became exponentially harder to get through as you went up. It had taken me months to push my top demons to tier eight. And that was with direct intervention. That was why so many of the lesser demons were keeping their ranks low in hopes of reincarnating. They could all be gods eventually…but eventually was longer for some than others.

"No," I admitted. "Not anytime soon. Even if you started training as hard as you could, you'd hit a wall at rank seven or so. The Pillar only has so much processing power, even at A-rank, and it gets prioritized by utility. The demons that I work with the most need that processing power to keep up with the demands I put on them."

"I know," he shrugged. "That's why me and the others have been waiting. We all want to find a purpose, something unique and powerful that will make us necessary. Will push us to grow. This is mine, I can feel it. So, how does this work? You just…reincarnate me?"

I shook my head. "Nah. No catalyst. I need to learn some Mythcrafting, and then we can consult your book in the library. We'll take it slow. You don't have to have a qualitative upgrade like Brad or the Nine Phoenix Art. My talent in Mythcrafting is immense. It's the deal my dad made with me in exchange for eighteen years of my power. He didn't even know what he was doing, but I'll be damned if I'm going to waste that kind of ability.

"I have faith that a gradual iteration process with intent and knowledge will eventually push you to heights well past where a freak accident or a powerful material could get you," I assured him as his shoulders drooped. "Mythcrafting is going to be integral to my progress to godhood, and you and I are gonna go on that journey together, ok?"

I held out a hand, and I saw the look of determination kindle in his eye as he reached out to shake. It was hard not to admire the kid, and then it was hard not to wonder if that was egotistical because he was kind of me, but I decided I'd never been shy about my ego anyway. "Alright," I said with a laugh. "Now, I need to head out and check in with Callie, I want to hear all about her trial." I was pretty sure I knew what major she had picked, at least.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

Callie, naturally, had way more information about the academy than I did (though the Mythcrafting stuff WAS new to her, fortunately, so I contributed something). She'd made friends immediately, with more than just one person, and her first order of business had been to figure out what all twelve of the majors were. She'd managed to gather a shocking amount of information over the short time we'd been here, and I was once again both in awe of and deeply grateful she'd been willing to marry a schmuck like me.

"So, do we know where the others ended up?" I asked first thing. "I assume Jessie ended up in the Biology department, given I got offered the choice based on my Life attribute."

"A few of them," she confirmed. "Benny probably ended up in the Department of Peculiar Mechanisms. It's the catch all for crafters, with the exception of Alchemy and Enchanting which seem to each have their own departments. Fade and Alanna probably ended up in the Department of Martial Excellence under Dean Corey Dowd, also called the Unrelenting Edge. That one is for weapon masters I think, because it was one of the three I was offered."

I nodded along. "Ok, what was the third?"

"Department of Atypical Phsicality," she said with a shrug. We were inside her vault at the moment, having decided a face to face would make things easier and was just more enjoyable. "Bethy is almost definitely in that one. As far as I can tell it's some kind of catch all for students with traits. The Dean's name is Wallace Harper, and apparently his divine soubriquet is "The Monstrosity", which admittedly made me a bit less inclined to pick it, but will probably make him sound like a favorite uncle to Bethy."

I snorted at that mostly accurate assessment. "So that's eight down, then? What about the last four?"

"Department of Business Engagement, Department of Stellar Studies, Department of the Lost, and Department of Cryodynamics," she listed off immediately. At my strange look she smirked. "Yeah the last one threw me off too. Apparently the Dean of Cryodynamics and the Dean of Temporal Studies founded the academy together. Frozen Moment. Dean Sela Windermere, also known as the Permafrost Priestess. Apparently she and Gibbons are married. Apart from them, the other Deans are mostly unrelated, except Alchemy and Runes, who are ACTUALLY related, as far as I can tell Preston and Alvira Willow are twins. The Concoction King and the Polyglot are the respective heads of the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Department of Language Studies."

I blinked at her in opermouthed shock. "How could you POSSIBLY have learned that much information in just a couple of hours," I demanded. "You're some kind of gossip savant! It's not fair that I'm a LITERAL politician getting tons of politics related recursion and you're still so much better at this."

"You're an intergalactic despot," she giggled. "I don't think anyone expects the Wishmaster to do actual politics. You've become a much more confident leader and much more charismatic dealing with dignitaries, if it helps. Anyway, I didn't do anything special. I just caught a few people alone and leveraged the information I had that they didn't to trade for knowledge. I MIGHT have used Murmur to make sure I wasn't overheard so I could trade the same info more than once, but that was just common sense."

"I'm surprised you didn't get invited to the business major," I snarked. "Speaking of, I wonder what they learn there? Like do they just spend all their time trading credits and buying stuff?"

She shrugged. "I couldn't tell you. I know the names and the deans, but they didn't offer much extra information. The two pieces of data I had was enough to roughly figure out what each major does, but the in depth mechanisms are probably only known to the students themselves."

"Did you get to Intermediate by the way?" I asked with interest. "I don't know about your department but our time in Common City is dependent on rank. Intermediates get a weekend, Beginners a day, and any lower…well, I can't imagine you got lower than Beginner. I'd be shocked if you didn't get as far as me."

"I got to Intermediate," she laughed. "I passed on trying the Advanced trial. A hundred thousand robots was WAY too much. I only barely managed the ten thousand. I'm betting Abel is Advanced if he didn't get bounced. Possibly Bethy too, but it's hard to say with her. She might just have not cared enough to try."

I snorted at that. "I'm guessing she did. I'm curious where my sister ended up. My cousin probably went with Benny to the crafting department, but Chelsea's abilities are more esoteric than most. Department of the Lost, maybe? Assuming that's what it sounds like."

"Assuming is basically ALL we can do," she acknowledged. "But yeah, I came to the same conclusion. That Department is probably for Miscellaneous applicants who don't fit in the other boxes. The Dean, Kell Drave, is also called the Silent Seeker, which is both mysterious and supremely unhelpful when it comes to giving us any information."

I huffed out a laugh. "Fair. Anyway, I think we have enough information to make assumptions about everyone, but we'll need to wait for our Common City visit to confirm. I take it you were ALSO told that you had to wait three days?"

"Yup," she agreed. "I think they pushed it back so that all of us would end up there at the same time when we first went. When some people only have hours and some people have days, if they let people just pick at random with no method of contact they're going to miss each other. Speaking of, methods of contact can be purchased with credits, but I think we could do a bit better."

That got a grin from me. "Just a bit. Not sure Wishcrafted gear would be able to outdo some of the high end shit the real artisans here can make, but in terms of custom work I don't see anyone beating me for utility. I wonder if the Wish scrolls can bypass the limitation in direct credit transfer? It would be pretty fantastic if they could, though if not I bet we can still make some money through the postings, just at a markup."

"Now who should have been in the business major," she teased with a laugh. "But there's definitely some room to look around. Have you checked in at the credit exchange yet? Everything is done through there, including signing up for classes. Speaking of, are you going to take any of those? Or just use the time to gather resources. I think the competitions were the potential boost to binding our pages that someone mentioned."

"Agreed," I nodded. "But I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. Honestly, given the Mythcrafting angle, I'm leaning towards possibly doing the one hour counseling session with the Dean. The way he phrased it made it seem like a hidden benefit that will pay huge dividends. Azazel is pushing me in the same direction. How about you, did you get the same offer?"

"Dean Desmond did offer," she confirmed. "I'm not sure about it though. I can take classes for spatial knowledge, and I'm already kind of naturally suited for it. Not to mention my whole thing is kind of off brand for spatial manipulation. I'm not sure how much help he would be. I think I'm better off spending my credits on a few high end lectures and maybe some of the unique environments they mentioned. If I'm parsing that right, they're like…special places that have special kinds of power and insight and can help with getting new attributes and refining concepts."

I snorted at that. "More attributes isn't something I'm worried about at the moment. I do get your point though. I considered trying some of them out, but I think passing up the chance to understand my time attribute would kind of fuck me over. Limbo is one of my most effective abilities, and that moment chop from the lemur king on the dryad planet made a big impact. Time is fascinating and deadly."

"So we do different things," she giggled. "I'll check out some of the special locations and let you know how they turn out. If I run out of credits though, I'll have to borrow some. As your wife, I AM entitled to half of everything you own."

"I knew you married me for my money," I teased. "The truth finally comes out."

She rolled her eyes. "You don't HAVE any money. You're the brokest intergalactic crime boss I've ever heard of."

"Well, I didn't say you were a genius," I shrugged, my eyes sparkling with mischief.

That got another eye roll, but I could tell from the way her lips twitched she was suppressing a laugh. "You're an idiot," she said fondly. "Try to be on your toes, ok? This place is fascinating, but it's not HOME. We don't know how safe we are here."

"I'm good," I said confidently. "Besides, I did make at least one friend. Sorwen said she has my back and my scent of truth didn't pick up any deception."

"Ah yes," she said archly. "The pretty elf girl with the blue hair. Not super thrilled you've been SMELLING her, but it's nice to know you aren't out there alone. I can't wait to meet her, we have so much to talk about, I'm sure."

I raised a brow at her steely tone. "Is this really something that bothers you?" I asked slowly. "Because you know I'd never-"

"Of course I know that," she said immediately. "You're not my dad, and my issues with him don't impact the way I see our marriage. I'm not JEALOUS. Well, I'm not VERY jealous. I'm concerned she might be using you. Your powers are…unique. We're all pretty used to the wish thing, but for the higher dimensional crowd it's probably pretty novel. I just want to make sure she doesn't have bad intentions. You have a blind spot for people you consider friends. It's something I love about you, but I worry."

I grimaced, but she wasn't wrong. It had gotten me into trouble before, with Travis, and again with Roland. I tried not to let bad experiences color the way I interacted with new people, but I had to admit I was somewhat wary of my own judgement.

She must have caught that over the bond, because she grabbed my hands tightly. "Hey, that's not what I meant," she said sternly. "You have AMAZING judgement. You've put together a group of some of the most wonderful people I've ever met, and I'm so proud of your taste in friends. I'm just being paranoid because we're in a new place and this is a chance to slip in under your radar. If it's a big deal, I don't need to meet her. I trust you. Completely."

"No, you're right," I said immediately. "Having a second opinion never hurt anything, and besides, I'm always happy to show you off," I winked. "I clearly married up."

She beamed, buffing her nails on her dress after blowing on them. "It's true, I am VERY impressive. You're ok too I guess. I'll have to introduce you to all my new friends at the spatial department. Did you know I met a SPACE elf?"

"What even IS that?" I asked in confusion. "All elves are from space, right? That's where the planets are."

I managed to hold my face in a mask of confusion for a few seconds before it cracked and we both burst out laughing. Then Callie told me all about her new friends, including the space elf. We didn't end up going out to check the credit exchange, just spent the evening together in her vault. I couldn't have thought of a better first night at a new place.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The next morning I went through my usual ritual. Wake up, make scrolls, make breakfast, check in with Callie. Once I was done with that I was surprised to hear a knock at my door, and opened it to find Sorwen waiting with a bright smile and a cup of…"Is that coffee?" I asked with interest as I took it from her.

"There's a cafe not far from here," she chirped excitedly. "It's amazing! Their coffee is amazing! This city is amazing!"

I squinted at her, deciding that was too much pep for just a morning person. "How many cups of this have you had?" I asked warily as I noted her hands shaking so fast that they were almost vibrating.

"Psh, not many, just one, plus nine, so ten, but not counting this one, or the other twelve." She babbled excitedly. "They opened so early and they had so many flavors and I tried them all and some of them twice an- hey!"

I snatched the cup from her remaining hand as I turned around to keep it out of her reach. "Nope. You don't need any more, and you would be of no use to me if you spontaneously combusted yourself from twitching too fast. Hold still." I triggered Zagan, setting down the coffee and putting a hand on her shoulder and flooding her body with green flame. Not too much, just enough to cleanse her system and put a bit of extra pep in her step.

"Oh WOW," she gasped in surprise. "That's…wow, that's way better. That's fantastic. You should bottle that." She paused, eyes cutting to my hand. "Speaking of things that go in bottles, would you mind…"

I rolled my eyes, passing the cup back. "Fine, but last one. You're clean now, so another shouldn't hurt anything, but this stuff is clearly strong. How did you pay or these, anyway? Did they charge credits?" I hadn't really considered how the payment system would work in the city, since not everything would be inside the credit exchange.

She nodded as she took the cup and sipped it happily. "Yeah, but just the one. Most of the businesses in town take credits from what I can tell. Also, I met some of the locals the Dean mentioned."

"I assume you didn't provoke them?" I asked wryly.

"They're S-ranker fragments," she said with a grimace. "I'm tough for a B-ranker, but even a shard of mirror soul isn't something I want to mess with."

I whistled at that. I had considered that possibility, but the sheer scale of it was kind of intimidating. Having access to enough S-rankers to fill thirty seven ENTIRE cities was…staggering. That was more S-rankers than we had in the entire plane, and by a large margin.

I supposed that given wherever these people came from could support Overgods in multitude, reaching S-rank or even god rank wasn't too impressive. Still, given there were twelve different majors and multiple teachers in each one, I wouldn't be surprised if this place had a few dozen gods. It was sobering to see the difference between my own realm and the place the academy had originated, wherever that was.

"So, you interested in checking out the credit exchange?" I asked as I sipped my own coffee. She'd been right, it was excellent. Coffee wasn't my favorite drink, but I liked it well enough with cream and sugar, and this was fantastic.

We headed out into the city at a brisk walk, taking in the sights and sounds. Moment City was…idyllic. The ceiling above us reflected the sky outside, which wasn't a real sky because this whole thing was in a giant tower but I didn't want to think about that right now. Still, it was pleasant. Dappled sunlight, tinkling fountains, wind through the unnaturally green trees. I could even smell fresh bread on the air as we passed the picturesque buildings.

That impression lasted right up until we reached the steps of the exchange, where it immediately cut off like someone was flipping a switch. Between one step and the next, the air chilled, the dappled sunlight faded to a cold blue glare, and the wind became biting and carried only the scent of dead leaves/.

I raised a brow, looking around. "Really?' I asked sourly. "Is that necessary?"

A man appeared beside us, tall and gaunt with a stovepipe hat and a monocle, and smiled at me winningly. "Quite so, I'm afraid. We've found that students have a tendency to loiter around the exchange. As such we've imbued the area with a bit of a trial. It's nothing serious, simply an aura of temporal ennui that drains motivation. You'll wander off after a while, bored and confused as to what you were doing. A bit of focus on your task can offset the effect easily enough, it simply prevents unnecessary lingering."

I considered that for a moment, then focused on one of my demons, calling out for aid as I triggered Leviathan. A surge of warm protection rolled through me, chasing off the cold easily. I just grinned at the man as he raised a brow at me. "Fascinating," he said dryly. "Not many have spiritual protections for such specific effects. Remarkable foresight, young man."

"I take it you're one of the teachers?" I asked the fragment of a god I had never met.

He doffed his stovepipe hat, fluttering it cheekily as he bowed over it. "Chester T. Pettigrew, at your most humble and efficacious service, master and madam. I am the instructor of record in matters of temporal fold resonance." At my blank stare he chuckled. "Stacking time echoes, my boy. It's a somewhat esoteric field, but a surprisingly popular method of empowerment within the major."

I blinked at that. It took me a second to puzzle out what he meant. "Wait…you mean like overlaying potential futures into yourself to empower you?"

"Precisely," he beamed. "A difficult and complex application of temporal dynamics, but a central bit of Mythcrafting for any temporal enhancement technique. You sound like you have some experience?"

"Nothing like that," I said with a headshake. "I have a similar skill that isn't involved in with my time attribute, and one that does basically the opposite. Destroys potential futures to force my opponent to do certain things."

His already mobile eyebrows climbed up into his hairline. "Timeline pruning," he said in an impressed voice. "The Dean instructs that course, and it's usually an advanced lecture series. You've never had formal instruction in temporal mechanics?" I shook my head and he let out a huff of laughter. "A natural then. Pruning timelines is technically an aspect of temporal divination, but there's some overlap with combat mechanics. I would be careful, however, pruning is an exceptionally dangerous principle."

I wasn't sure what he meant by that, I'd never had any problems with it, but I was sure he knew what he was talking about. I hadn't even known it had a name before now, so clearly I was out of my depth.

"Anyway," Sorwen cut in cheerfully. "It was nice to meet you, Professor Pettigrew. We need to head inside before all our motivation is wicked away. Or mine at least. Solomon may be protected from the aura around here but I'm not so lucky."

"Of course," he nodded cordially. "I hope to see you in one of my courses. Perhaps we might find a way to combine your disparate techniques into a powerful temporal resonance ability."

I nodded along, not really convinced I needed that given my current skillset, and then we headed into the large empty hall where the merit exchange was situated. As we entered, I took in the empty expanse of cold marble surrounding a large circular counter. Behind the counter stood several employees, and above them hung signs covered with words written in lightly pulsing red light.

Meadow of Lost Moments- 1hr -62,000 credits

Timekeeper Treasure Tome- 1st chapter- 40,000 credits

Horus Hourglass- 25,000 credits

Scythe of Aeons- 21,000 credits

Temporal Lockdown Lecture- 10,000 credits

I gaped at the values. They were all so expensive. Considering the payout for an advanced student designation was a thousand credits, that meant taking on presumably a MILLION robots was the equivalent of that ONE lecture. If there was even a trial past advanced.

"That's just…ridiculous," I said in an appalled tone.

"You're on the wrong screen," Sorwen said dryly. "Try the next one over, maybe? It's a bit more our speed."

I shifted my gaze as she suggested, and I felt my climbing blood pressure even out a bit.

Timeslip Identification and Preparedness Lecture- 20 credits

Lost Moment Lantern -single use- 10 credits

Overlapping Temporal Fluctuation Tracker- 5 credits

Second Sand- one gram- 1 credit

That was definitely better. Below that, to my surprise, I caught sight of another sign, this one glowing with green light.

Mobius Mechanisms Lecture- rewards 10 credits

Minute Sparrow Migration tracking- rewards 50 credits

1 year of time- rewards 100 credits

"Wait…is that last one literal?" I asked. "People just…buy a year of your time? Like you work for them or they actually TAKE time from you?"

I addressed the question to the calm looking girl with aquamarine eyes behind the counter. She smiled placidly. "The latter. Time transplants is a service offered by the faculty. You can have the transplanted time directly added to your lifespan or stored in a dedicated device that can be used to accrue and pass on temporal stockpiles. It's the most valuable mission available to new students."

That was both interesting and unsettling. I knew my wishes could extend lifespan, though it was an inefficient use of the ability. Still, this seemed like a much larger scale operation. Clearing my throat, I glanced back up at the boards. "I was hoping to exchange for the Dean meeting? I was told it was an option for me."

"Your identification number?" she asked politely. I rattled it off and she started tapping on a smooth pane of glass that I hadn't noticed set into the counter in front of her. "Ah, here we are. Shane Wyndham. I see that you ARE eligible, though it will wipe out your entire credit stockpile. Are you sure you want to commit to such a course of action?"

"I do," I assured her. "And thank you for the help by the way miss…" after talking to Callie I'd decided that I should try to make some friends of my own here. It didn't hurt to be nice to the staff either.

She gave a small but surprised smile. "Elonwy," she informed me with a graceful bow. "One of the proud and noble clerks of the temporal sciences department. You have to say the whole thing every time, or else we consider it a deadly insult." Her face was solemn, but her eyes were twinkling.

Since I was a good sport, I played along. "Really?" I asked her innocently.

"No, but it's sweet that you considered it," she chuckled. After tapping her screen a few times, she reached under the desk and removed a long, thin strip of red silk with a golden hourglass stitched into it. "Now, this marker will lead you to your meeting with the Dean. Please be aware that it functions in time as well as space, and as such the journey will not begin until the appointed time."

I took it and tucked it into the belt of my armor. "Noted, and appreciated. It was nice to meet you Elonwy, I'll be sure to check in when I come back in here. I plan to post a few things on the boards myself. Sadly, I'm flat broke now, so that'll have to wait until next time. Sorwen, want me to stay while you pick?" She did, and so I settled back to watch her scan the lists, interested in what she would pick. Once we finished, we headed out to find some food before my appointment with the Dean. I had a feeling I'd want to go in well fed.