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ONE

Despite technically being on the run from The Alchemist’s Union, Wanda was having a hard time not relishing her time aboard an actual bearship.

Every morning, she and Wumble rose up out of one of the softest beds she’d ever lain in, hurrying out of their room inside Lenar’s massive suite to take in the sunrise. From atop the clouds, it was an incredible sight, watching the light ripple across the fluffy white sea they sailed upon.

It was a beautiful scene, yet also a melancholy one. Wanda’s father had also dreamed of traveling aboard a bearship, and part of her wished he was there to share the sunrise. Wumble nuzzled against her during those moments, a constant reminder that she wasn’t alone, no matter how much had been lost already.

Once the sun was fully in view, the pair hurried down to The Ursender’s mess hall, where wizard and familiar both gorged themselves on food that was, while not necessarily revelatory, still far better than what she’d eaten during her long trek to reach Kalamaz. Thinking of the city where she and Wumble had become magically bonded was bittersweet. Much as Wanda loved it, she’d always dreamed of seeing far more than just Kalamaz.

Even if the circumstances weren’t ideal, she remained excited about visiting another piece of civilization. To the girl who’d grown up in a small fishing village that no longer existed, this adventure might as well be right out of a fairy tale. Though those usually didn’t have crooked alchemists trying to ensnare the protagonist.

Wanda still wasn’t even sure why Kurlain wanted her in his employ, though she definitely had been able to tell it wouldn’t be a pleasant experience. The only real clue she had was the busted cauldron Wanda had fixed using mana during the chaos of the chasm vent eruption. Little surprise that it would be something to do with her mana, that inner energy had been causing her trouble since the first day of alchemy orientation.

Once she was done digesting both breakfast and as much of her situation as she could stomach, Wanda’s day got a bit more varied. Sometimes she and Wumble would explore the bearship, watching the eponymous familiars run on the enchanted treadmills that powered the engines. Other times they would tour the deck, examining the variety of wizards and familiars who’d stepped out for air.

Today, however, they’d be splitting up for a bit.

Given that bearships were the sort of transportation that only wizards could typically afford, the amenities provided naturally catered to both the humans on board as well as the wide array of familiars. Deck Seven had been repurposed into a massive recreational facility dedicated exclusively to the familiars. This allowed the various creatures to exercise during the long journeys, keeping them from feeling cooped up as the days dragged on.

There were pools, artificial jungles, tracks, climbing bars, and tunnels of various sizes weaving across the ceiling. Although she was initially hesitant, after the first visit Wanda noticed Wumble seemed much calmer and wagged with excitement when she asked if he wanted to go back. That settled the matter for Wanda, so she’d been making sure to set aside days to give him recreation time.

While he was busy having fun, Wanda made her way to a designated training room that Yorian had reserved. Like their familiars, most wizards got a bit antsy with no room to work on their crafts or combat, so naturally, The Ursender provided these services as well. In her other days, Wanda sometimes booked an alchemy station and practiced her brewing while Wumble lounged at her feet.

That was not the sort of room she was heading for today, though.

After tapping her hand against the enchanted handle, the door opened to reveal Yorian, Escador, and Parriel already waiting. They weren’t sitting idle. Parriel was practicing his dodging by fighting against a four-armed wooden dummy that each wielded a thick stick of different lengths. Yorian was working on swordplay by sparring against what looked to be a bunch of blades strapped to a pole that were all rotating at various speeds.

Escador wasn’t having any sort of mock match. Instead, he had his hammer in hand and was repeatedly smashing a white rock. Each strike caused a colorful imprint of the hammer to form, with most being faint red, while a few were deeper in hue, and a couple even had smidges of orange visible. It was a tool for training one’s power and precision, the different colors representing different intensities of damage.

That one, Wanda knew well. It was the primary testing tool she’d begun using at the start of each training session.

Hearing the door open, everyone slowly disengaged from their training, though Parriel had to wait until the last sequence he’d entered was done to safely step away. The team’s enchanter scooped up Wexel, his familiar clad in a voluminous cloak, and placed the drake disguised as a lizard atop his shoulder. “Good morning, Wanda.”

“Morning, everyone.” Wanda gave her team a wave, which they reciprocated while each moving to the side. Yorian had left Gurgenforth on Deck Seven for most of their time aboard. Apparently, his familiar was relishing being out of the enchanted tube.

Escador lingered by the rainbow rock, as they’d taken to calling it. Only Parriel ever bothered with the actual name. He offered his hammer to Wanda as she approached. “Care to try it with a weapon today?”

Wanda considered the idea briefly, before shaking her head. “Thank you, but I’ve done fists every time so far. This will probably be more accurate if we keep it consistent.”

Setting her stance like Escador had shown her during their first of these sessions, Wanda took careful stock of her body and position. The only way this measurement had any validity was if she hit the rock with roughly the same amount of power, in the same spot. To do that, Wanda had to hit as hard as her arm was able and still remain precise. At least she didn’t have to also try and regulate the amount of mana in the strike, because she wasn’t using any. The whole purpose of this was to check her baseline physical power, after all.

With a slow, steady breath, Wanda let her right fly into a jab, punching the rainbow rock with as much non-magical force as she could muster.

TWO

Although Wanda wasn’t sure how much force it actually took to turn the rainbow rock red, the escalation system at least made some manner of sense when Parriel explained the breakdown. It all worked on a principle of doubling. To turn the rock truly orange took twice as much power as what was demanded to turn it red. And if one wanted to see a shade of actual yellow, they would have to deliver a strike that was twice as powerful as the one that earned them orange.

The strength required doubled each time: green, blue, purple, and finally black. Well, technically there was also the level of people who just broke it outright, though those were supposed to be legendarily rare.

Rumor had it, some especially combat or physical oriented wizards liked to use the colors as a sort of grading system, but Yorian had been sure to warn Wanda that it was a flawed metric. Raw physical power didn’t necessarily translate into actual potential. Being able to wield strength effectively was just as vital as having it in the first place.

A truth Wanda was starting to realize she embodied quite well.

When they’d first begun testing her strength, Wanda was able to punch hard enough to turn the stone bright orange. After Escador showed her some techniques for better power in her strikes, like rotating her shoulders and body along with the jab, Wanda had moved soundly into the yellow territory.

They were testing again to see if the presumed effects of that mystery potion she’d drunk during the incident with Kurlain had faded. As was her habit, Wanda had been dwelling on the lessons her friends imparted, even practicing here and there, though without making contact against any surfaces.

And clearly the effort had borne results, because in the center of her fist’s imprint, where the strike was the strongest, there was a faint yet unmistakable tinge of green.