“Alright Corrin, you’ve got this,” Kei said, tapping her fingers against the kitchen table. “The last one, a sphere. How can you calculate its volume?”

  Corrin glanced out the window on the side of the house. Frost clung stubbornly to the edges of its frame, warping the view of the snow-draped roofs below, but it was a pleasant sight nonetheless.

  “Well?”

  He drew his eyes away from the distraction with a grumble. “I still don’t get why I’d ever need to know this in real life.”

  Kei leaned back in her chair, causing it to creak slightly. “Kings be damned if I know. But if that mage of yours thinks you two need more education, then I’ll teach you what I can. Now answer the question Corrin.”

  Corrin glanced at Lilian for help. She was across from him at the table, though she wasn’t participating in the lessons. He’d learned a few details of her illness, and he truly felt for her. But he just had to believe in his friend. Wyn would figure it out. Of that, Corrin was sure.

  At least while they were all hanging around inside though, she seemed mostly happy enough. Instead of doing lessons, like Corrin, or reading like Jolaine, Lilian was painting on a canvas—she was quite good as it turned out, and a semi-realistic forest had come to life on the sheet of white. She saw him glancing and smiled back dryly.

  He sighed. She didn’t know any better than him.

  Shockingly, even with their ‘lacking’ education, it seemed Fenfreth really had given them an advantage with his teachings in their childhood. It seemed that even as far east as Titan’s Pass, anything resembling a formal education was rare. In that sense, they were doubly blessed—first by Fenfreth, and next by Kei.

  As Corrin stalled with idle thoughts, the front door swung open. Its recently oiled hinges moved silently as Wyn—coincidentally, the one who had oiled them—stepped through.

  “Are you guys done yet?” he asked, taking off his boots.

  “Almost,” Kei nodded. “Soon as he gets this last one.”

  “And as soon as he finishes his tea!” Jolaine piped up, having been content to be quiet before. The old woman only worked four days a week, so she was actually around more than he’d expected—though it was probably for the best, especially with her age. Not that Corrin minded, she was nice to have around when she wasn’t on his ass.

  Which she currently was.

  “I won’t have you wasting that,” she insisted.

  “Well come on then Corrin,” Wyn chuckled. “We don’t have all day.”

  They’d started studying around the same time, but Wyn had finished almost an hour prior and left to pick up Lilian’s medicine. Corrin wasn’t embarrassed or anything, Wyn had always been the better student. But if he was back—

  Corrin closed his eyes. He needed to focus, there was stuff to do. Volume of a sphere… it was four times—no, that was for the surface.

  He opened them.

  “Four thirds, times twenty-two over seven, times the radius cubed.”

  Kei gave a thumbs up, and Corrin shot to his feet.

  “Your tea!”

  Corrin froze, then grabbed another sugar cube and put it into the warm cup, stirring it quickly.

  “My goodness boy,” she grumbled. “You’re ruining it with so much sugar.”

  He waved a hand dismissively. “I’m perfecting it granny.” A moment later, he chugged it down, even the sugar sludge that hadn’t fully dissolved at the bottom. When Jolaine stuck her tongue out with a face of disgust, he shot her a lopsided grin and dashed to his room to pack his stuff.

  When he returned, Wyn was leaning in the entryway, talking to Kei.

  “So we can start tomorrow right?” she asked.

  Wyn nodded. “No problem. Think you could get up a bit earlier though?”

  Kei scratched her head awkwardly. “Fine, I’ll manage. Just outside town right?”

  “Oh for your training?” Corrin asked.

  When the two of them had asked Kei to help shore up their… educational deficiencies, she’d been more than happy to offer her services. Strange though, had been what she’d asked in return.

  “Yep,” Kei nodded. “Do I need to bring anything?”

  She’d wanted to learn how to fight. Just a little, for self defense, but still.

  “Just wear something you can move in,” Corrin said. “You can use one of our wasters, though to be honest, we’ll probably just be working on footwork. I’ll get up a little earlier too and just walk over with you. No problem.”

  “Perfect,” Kei said with a smile. “And you don’t mind, right Eldress?”

  “No no don’t worry about me,” Jolaine shook her head. “I’ll be just fine. You focus on expanding those horizons. I couldn’t be happier.”

  “Well, we can still pull the cart for you at least. Right Corrin?”

  “Yeah that’s no problem,” Corrin agreed. If he was getting up earlier anyways, there was no issue.

  “Alright well, that’s tomorrow,” Wyn said, clapping his hands once. “Time for today. Ready to go?”

  Corrin pulled open the door. “Ladies first.”

  Before he could react, Wyn grabbed his shoulder and pushed him through the doorway. Without channeling, Wyn was the stronger of the two. Corrin stumbled down the stairs, catching his balance at the bottom. Wyn smirked at him from the doorway.

  Damn it. He laughed anyway.

  “Later guys,” Wyn called out, and shut the door behind them.

  “Alright,” Corrin grinned. “Let’s do this thing. I’ve been waiting for this!”

  Wyn chuckled. “No kidding, I wonder how it’s going to be. Think we’ll have to register as adventurers?”

  “Probably.” Corrin rolled his eyes. “Think about where we are.”

  “Yeah, you’re not wrong.”

  It was time to check out the dungeon.

  ***

  It was a long walk across the city from Eldress Jolaine’s home, but it passed quickly as they chatted along the way, and before he knew it, they’d arrived.

  The adventurer’s guild of Titan’s Pass put the one in Precipice to shame. It was a huge building constructed from ornate wood and stone. Steeply pitched roofs layered together, giving it a grand and complex silhouette, with decorative crests at each of their peaks. The central structure was flanked by smaller side sections, and there was even what appeared to be a watch tower towards the back, a good fifty feet higher than the rest of the building.

  The area around the guild too, was buzzing with activity, filled with smaller vendor stalls and shops that sold all sorts of goods, from food to talismans.

  But none of that was what caught Corrin’s eye.

  He grabbed Wyn’s arm. “Holy shi—”

  Lighting crackled in the yard in front of the guild, held in by some invisible wall that pulsed with powerful mana as the electricity struck its barrier. In the next moment a flock of ice spears formed in the air, streaking across the field at a target made from wood.

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  The training yard was alight with power.

  Across the large space, dozens seemed to be practicing one thing or another, practicing on dummies, testing techniques, or most interesting—sparring.

  Corrin watched in awe as bright red fire mana coalesced around one of the warriors with an intensity he’d only seen eclipsed by Tor. As the unarmed man swung an arm forward, the mana took the shape of a huge hawk, flying towards his opponent, a lightly armored woman with a straight wooden staff that caused the air to fog up around it.

  She slammed the staff into the ground, and a bright shield of ice mana erected in front of her. The man’s attack crashed into it, manifesting physical steam that spewed into the arena as the freezing air around the staff burst with heat.

  Corrin almost fell over.

  Wyn gripped his arm back, tightly.

  “Corrin.” His voice was hard. “I can see that.”

  A laugh escaped Corrin’s lips. The lightning and ice spears had been one thing—mages could physically manifest their spells far easier than channelers—but he was almost positive that the spar was between channelers. Which meant they were condensing mana enough that it was actually visible, though not yet complete expressions of their elements.

  “Partial manifestation,” Corrin whispered.

  He’d heard the term from Tor during his two weeks of training. Full manifestation was the point at which a channeler's aura reached sufficient density that it could manifest outside the body as the element itself—Tor’s stone construct summoning being a prime example.

  Partial manifestation was the stage before that, when a channeler’s aura was visible, but still hazy and undefined. Corrin had achieved it briefly, on the night of the flood in Straetum, when his body had been so overfull of mana it poured out unconsciously, though he’d only realized it later.

  Even Reiss, probably the most adept channeler Corrin had met—outside of the obvious two—wasn’t able to produce it reliably.

  If the two channelers in the training yard were casually throwing out such unbelievable techniques, then there was no choice but to admit it.

  The east was on a whole different level. It was exhilarating.

  After some time, they dragged themselves into the guild proper, leaving the booming sounds of combat behind as the heavy door swung closed behind them, replacing them with the busy sounds of the interior.

  The huge main room was abuzz with countless conversations. Parties laughed together at sitting tables, each engraved with numbers inlaid with bronze. Recruiters and aspirants alike ran around the room, each hoping to find a person or team that fit their needs. Weary teams, packs laden with cores and spoils trudged to an alcove in the back corner to trade in monster parts, cores, and other valuables for coin, tired eyes lighting up as their pouches were filled with silver.

  Corrin breathed it in, savoring the atmosphere, but standing still wasn’t his style. Soon enough, he and Wyn were at the main desk, speaking with the receptionist, a young woman with a habit of flicking her cheeks while she talked.

  “And you two don’t have any previous history with any other branches?”

  Wyn shook his head. “None, we sent our weapons here from the west gate though?”

  “Ah that’s perfect” she smiled. “In that case, most of your information we should already have on file, which will make your registration nice and smooth. Now, if you weren’t aware, since you have no prior history with our guild, you’ll be starting at bronze rank, unless you have any letters of recommendation?”

  They met eyes.

  Bronze rank? Seriously?

  It is what it is, we’ll work our way up.

  “Excuse me miss, how exactly does one rise in rank?”

  “Great question,” the receptionist said. “Your rank can be reassessed based on a number of factors. Usually, this involves successfully completing at least ten bronze rank jobs, at which point you can apply for a non-priority silver job. If you complete three of those, then you can request to be reevaluated for silver rank. Of course, at the recommendation of a current silver rank or higher, exceptions can be made.”

  Corrin nodded. “Good to know.”

  “Now for your registration, let’s have you go first. Just press your seal against this for me.”

  Corrin took his seal from his coat pocket and tapped it to the side of the magic stone she’d indicated. The stone itself glowed a deep amber, and a moment later the familiar golden ring of Hutong sizzled around his wrist as well.

  “Faaaantastic! We’ll take care of the back end for you mister… Corrin. That’s a lovely name.”

  Corrin blushed. “Thanks.”

  “Alright,” she continued. “Here’s your ring, you can use this to verify your rank and identity in any adventurer’s guild in the continent. Now, onto your friend…”

  Corrin took the ring from her hand and stepped back to inspect it. It was a signet ring, made from bronze—likely to indicate his rank, and atop it was an embossing of two mountains, the city’s symbol. Channeling to his eyes revealed a hint of mana clinging to the surface, not enough to be useful to him, though he assumed it had some purpose.

  Wyn finished up soon after, receiving a ring of his own.

  “Excuse me ma’am, I was just wondering how we go about venturing into the dungeon here? We’ve heard there’s one available.”

  “Ah yes, the Hollow Bastion,” she said. “If you take that door over on the side there’s a short path that will take you right to the entrance, though since you are bronze-ranked, you’ll be required to enter in a group of at least four. There’s a recruitment board right over there on the wall, and I’d recommend you start there looking for a party. Also just so you know, all spoils from your expedition will be taxed according to the chart by the side-door, which covers both city and guild fees. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me.”

  She smiled, and Corrin was happy she seemed to enjoy her job. After thanking her they went to check the board.

  There were actually two boards—one for jobs, and one for recruitment. The job board was organized into assignments for each rank. Bronze assignments looked like simple things:

  Collum infestation, help wanted.

  Mountain trail blocked, physical laborers requested.

  Direwolf slaying, parties of ten or more required.

  “Yikes,” Corrin said. “Talk about boring.”

  Wyn nodded. “Well, the direwolf one doesn’t seem too bad. But parties of ten?”

  Corrin’s eyes moved down the board towards the more interesting, higher ranked assignments.

  Griffon and Manticore hunt.

  Frostreaver spotted by Rakea Lake—request for verification.

  Silver-ranked party “Wind’s Favor” has gone missing on job: inquire at reception.

  “The hell’s a Frostreaver?” Corrin wondered aloud.

  “No idea, hope they find those guys.”

  “Let’s get back on track, we’re looking for a team.”

  “Right right.”

  Corrin shuffled over to the recruitment board, which was much less organized. Instead of the orderly rows organized by rank, the recruitment board was a mishmash of handwritten papers in varying degrees of legibility pinned up all over the place. His eyes wandered around as he got the gist of how it worked though.

  Gold team, ‘Thera’s Thorns’, looking for healer, silver or above, 15%, (women only).

  Silver team, ‘Drunk Delvers’, requesting earth channeler, and long-ranged specialist. 2 month contract, 20% subject to negotiation.

  They were more specific than he’d expected, each one asking for the type of mage or channeler they wanted rather than help in particular.

  “It makes sense though,” Wyn said when he brought it up. “Everybody probably wants a healer right? And if you have all mages or all frontliners, you’ll have a weakness in your party. Remember how Tor—” he went to spit but stopped himself. They were indoors. “—sent Jeffers with us since neither of us are mages.”

  Corrin nodded. “Yeah that makes sense. Might be harder than we thought to find a team though.”

  “Well what about this one?” Wyn pointed to a paper up in the corner, half covered by another that had been pinned over it.

  Bronze team, unnamed, requesting two front-liners. Any applicants welcome.

  “Huh, I guess not.”

  Wyn shrugged. “Might as well check it out then. Unnamed… a new team then?”

  “Let’s find out.”

  Asking at the desk let them track down the unnamed team to a table across the room. There were three of them sitting together, though each seemed to be doing their own thing.

  A woman with auburn hair tipped in silver was asleep, her head lulled back over the headrest. A similar looking girl sat beside her, though her hair wasn’t dyed the same way. A strange, pointed hat sat on the table in front of her, along with a tray of crackers that she was slowly working her way through. The last member of the party was a young man with curly blonde hair. He was tinkering with some sort of clockwork device. It reminded Corrin vaguely of the type of stuff he’d seen in Finian’s workshop.

  They pulled up chairs across the table and sat down, wasting no time.

  Corrin smiled. “Heard you guys were looking for some front-liners?”

  The girl with the crackers started as they sat. “Oh! Did you intend to join us?” Her voice was soft, but it didn’t seem as though she was whispering, rather she was just a bit quiet. She nudged the sleeping girl beside her. “Wake up Aya, somebody’s here.”

  The sleeping girl, Aya, slowly opened her eyes, getting her bearings.

  As she did, the first girl continued. “Where are my manners? My name is Freya, and this is Aya, and Jon.”

  The third member, Jon, nodded without looking up from his project. “Hey.”

  “Wyn, and my friend here is Corrin.”

  Aya finally came to, shaking her head rapidly as the silver seemed to spread up the ends of her hair for a moment.

  “Ah! Thanks for waking me Freya!” She beamed, looking between Wyn and Corrin. “Name’s Aya, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  She stuck out a hand, shaking each of theirs in turn, and Corrin noted her firm grip.

  “So, you guys are looking to join The Gelid Kin huh?”

  “I already told you, that’s a terrible name, and we’re not using it,” Freya complained.

  Jon didn’t look up, but chimed in as well. “Freya’s right, nobody knows what gelid means, Freya’s not an ice mage, and I’m not related to you two.”

  “Vetoed again,” Aya mumbled with a scowl. “And I don’t want to hear it, Jon! You knew what gelid meant!”

  “Yeah but that’s because I know stuff.”

  Aya sighed and turned back to Corrin and Wyn. “They’ll come around.”

  Corrin leaned in towards Wyn. “What does gelid mean?”

  “It means ‘really cold’,” Wyn whispered back.

  “And the majority remains!” Aya laughed maniacally, casting her hands to both sides.

  Freya covered her bright red face with both hands.

  Jon sighed.

  Corrin and Wyn looked at each other, then back at the ‘unnamed party’, then back to each other.

  They grinned. Some people dungeon delved for treasure, some did it for glory. But Corrin and Wyn were just there to have fun.

  Yeah, they’ll do.