Ethan’s pen swept through the air, pulling primordial mana from the nib of his pen and leaving behind a trail of golden energy. He drew a broken circle with two vertical lines inside. Between those two lines, he sketched the sigils from the barrier spell. The scribe couldn’t remember how many times he had attempted to form the spell in his soul. Although he had failed, the exact shape of those sigils had been burned into his mind. When he finished, the symbol hovered at arm’s length.

  The circle represented the X13 system, while the two lines defined the Mage class. Three sigils, crammed together, defined the spell itself. The System Sigil pulsed with energy, following a steady rhythm. Soon after, a system message confirmed that his efforts had worked. He would consider the implications after examining that message.

  [Lesser Barrier Emulated]

  You have successfully emulated the X-13 Mage spell, Lesser Barrier. This spell has been added to your library, allowing you to attach it to an Attribute Ring outside of Emulation Mode. You may also now cast this spell freely while inside Emulation Mode.

  It was as though a dam had broken. Not the one in his mind, but the one holding him back from making progress with his system. Before moving on to examine this new spell, he considered how the Emulation Mode worked. It allowed him to function within the other systems in a way, but it didn’t fully replicate that system. He dug around in his interfaces, snorting a laugh when he discovered a screen he doubted he would use again.

  [Ethan Walsh]

  (Primary Emulation Mode Enabled)

  Level 5 Rank 1 Mage

  Attributes:

  Strength: 3

  Dexterity: 5

  Endurance: 8

  Intelligence: 10

  Wisdom: 12

  “Interesting. But useful? I don’t know…” Ethan trailed off, trying to figure out if any of those numbers were correct. Based on how strong his Rings were, he thought they might be at least a little accurate. His thoughts were broken when Luna approached from behind, a curious aura coming from her. The scribe could feel whatever magic she was using stinging the air before he heard her approach.

  “Why is your soul flickering that way?” Luna’s head tilted to one side as though she were a curious house cat.

  “That’s part of my system.” Ethan still didn’t know how much of his system he wanted to reveal, but Luna didn’t care.

  “Seems like a meaningful breakthrough. Congratulations.”

  Now Ethan allowed himself a smile. “Seriously. You’ve helped a lot. I need to see if something works. Hold on.”

  Standing to his feet, Ethan assumed the stance Amelia had taught him. He took a deep breath, letting it out and drawing it back again. Reaching into his soul, he did his best to use that fine mana control Luna was desperate to teach him. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t even significantly better than before. But as he formed the spell near his soul, he could feel it coming together. When the last sigil snapped into place, a shimmering blue barrier shot up in front of him. The mana drained from his soul, filtering out and shooting into the spell.

  Luna’s brows knit, the stars in her eyes swirling. “How are you casting an X-13 spell? Can you steal spells?”

  Ethan rubbed his chin, cutting off the supply of mana to the spell. The barrier fizzled, which was good. There was something about the spell that felt wrong. Something about the way the mana flooded into his arms seemed strange. Especially if he didn’t need to involve his arms in the process.

  “I didn’t steal it,” he said, breathing a sigh of relief as the strain on his mana vanished. “But I found a cool way to train one of my Rings…”

  Even if Luna was super-duper interested in what he had just done, Ethan was still figuring it out. He navigated through his interface, finding a screen that would hold all the System Sigils he could learn. He inspected the entry for the Lesser Barrier spell.

  [Lesser Barrier]

  Emulated Rank 1 Spell (X-13)

  Description:

  Creates a channeled barrier that deflects physical and magical attacks.

  Effect:

  Deflects physical and magical attacks, depending on the amount of mana channeled into this spell.

  The excitement was overwhelming. It had only been a week, but Ethan just broke through a serious barrier. He could decide what to do later, but Luna grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.

  “Did you hear me?” She had a serious look on her face, as though he had done something bad or cool. He couldn’t decide which. “Does your class allow you to steal spells?”

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Looking around, Ethan ensured they were far enough away from everyone else. “I don’t steal them. I copy them… apparently. As long as the person I’m copying is the same relative rank as me, I guess I can create a symbol for the spell, skill, or ability and replicate it.”

  Luna licked her lips, the stars in her eyes going a deep shade of purple. They almost matched the rest of her eye color. “Classes like that are rare. Extremely rare. I’ve never seen one in person. I’ve only read about them.”

  “Well, now you’ve met one. Now comes the confusing part. I can do something with that spell, but I don’t know which one to do…” While Ethan pondered which Ring to add the spell to first, Luna was going crazy with excitement.

  “Steal my abilities!” Luna shook him a bit harder.

  “I told you! You’re too strong.” Ethan couldn’t do anything but get jostled. His head whipped back and forth. “Find me some weak member of your academy and I can.”

  Luna stopped, swallowing hard and nodding. “Okay. That’s not a bad idea. There’s another in my sect with a powerful qi generation… Sorry, mana generation ability. If you had that, you would grow in power significantly.”

  “While I’m very excited about ‘stealing’ abilities, don’t we have a job to do?”

  Luna cleared her throat. “Right. Alex might bite my ankles clean off if I don’t get back to it. But I want updates. I’m your senior now, aren’t I?”

  “What exactly does that mean? I see you as my mentor, if that’s what you mean.”

  “Exactly. I’ll help forge you into something amazing.” The look in Luna’s eyes grew positively manic. “Please let me help you.”

  Ethan nodded eagerly, forcing a joyful expression on his face. “Oh, yeah. Absolutely!”

  Only when she walked away did he finally let out a breath. Truth was, he wanted to figure out this stuff on his own. Not everything, just this initial rush that came with unlocking his spell-stealing ability. He opened his interface as quickly as he could, figuring the best Ring to attach the barrier spell to was Affinity. It wasn’t even hard. Attaching the System Sigil to the ring was as easy as pressing two buttons.

  The effect was immediate and dramatic.

  Ethan clutched at his chest as a feeling of overwhelming power spread through him. He refused to go to a knee, fearing that he would draw the attention of Luna. Taking shuddering breaths, he fought through the uncomfortable pain. A few steady breaths later and the pain had faded. But it left behind a distinct feeling of protection. He could also now feel a new spell or ability at his fingertips. He inspected the occupied slot off his Affinity Ring.

  [Lesser System Barrier]

  Affinity Ring Ability

  Generated By:

  Lesser Barrier (X-13, Mage, Rank 1)

  Description:

  Creates a barrier of system-based magic, deflecting physical and magical attacks.

  Effect:

  Creates a barrier to deflect physical and magical attacks. The strength of this barrier depends on the mana you inject.

  Passive increase to magical and physical resistance.

  Passive increase to mental attack defense.

  Not only had it given him access to a different version of the Lesser Barrier spell, but it made it better. Ethan read the description a few times. It was better than the base version of the spell, providing a passive increase to magical, physical, and mental damage resistance. He couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if he placed it into other attributes…

  But first, Ethan wanted to test this new spell. Most interestingly, it was listed as an ability rather than a spell. While he didn’t know whether that mattered, he still wanted to test it out. He took a steadying breath, finding that it was becoming easier by the day to interact with his system. He could feel the barrier ability attached to his affinity ring. When he reached out and plucked it, a single prismatic octagonal plate appeared before him, hovering about two feet away from his chest. Mana drained from his soul, fueling the ability and confirming that, despite the listing, it worked just like a spell.

  Moving the barrier around was easy enough. It followed his intent but occasionally zipped to strange locations without his command. He could also make it larger, turning the single octagonal plate into something that looked more like an umbrella. Then he made it small again, all the while monitoring how much mana it consumed. Since it wasn’t actively blocking any attacks, the drain was minimal.

  But apparently, his exercise hadn’t gone unnoticed. Not by Luna, but rather by a member of the pair of mages who had been practicing in the distance. The scribe looked up to see a tall human man jog over with a broad smile on his face.

  “What spell is that?” the student asked. He had a head of shaggy blonde hair and a pin that claimed he was in the second year. “Oh, I’m Bernard, by the way.”

  “I’m Ethan, a first-year with a very weird system that I’m trying to get the hang of. This is my class’s version of the Lesser Barrier spell.”

  It wasn’t exactly the truth, but it wasn’t a lie either. His class had adapted the spell to fit his system. To Ethan’s surprise, the student wasn’t put off by that. He approached it with scholarly interest and clasped his hands together excitedly.

  “Do you need any help testing it out? I could throw some low-powered fireballs at it you if you want.” Bernard looked like a kid in a candy store, eager to test out the magic from another system. “Or if that’s overstepping my bounds, I get it.”

  That was the spirit of Gale House. Not only an eagerness to help but also to get involved. Ethan found it was easy to forget this but was ready to accept this guy’s help. He shook out his limbs and nodded. “That would actually be incredibly helpful. I just got this spell to work, so I really don’t know the bounds.”

  “Well, we’ll start with the lowest power fireball I can produce. It’ll be a rank one with a very middle-of-the-pack student casting it if that’s okay with you.”

  Ethan cracked a smile, and Bernard did the same. “Sounds good to me. Feel free to cast whenever my spell is fully formed.” Holding his hand out to cast, he generated the single octagonal section. He didn’t need to hold his hand out, but it made him feel better. He then spread it out, forming a half sphere to protect himself. That got a surprised gasp from good old Bernard.

  “Whoa, you can manipulate the shape of it? What are the bounds on that?” Bernard chuckled to himself, taking about 10 paces back. “Well, you can test that later. We’re here for the explosions, aren’t we? This will be at the lowest power I can produce, but I can crank it up if you need.”

  “Ready.” Ethan braced himself, digging his heels into the wet ground and setting his jaw.

  The sound coming from Bernard’s outstretched hand started as a faint hiss. Then it turned into a high-pitched squeal before a loud thumping sound resonated in Ethan’s chest. A moment later, a fireball roughly the size of a basketball came rushing towards him, crashing against the barrier and dissipating outward. Remnants of the fireball skipped across the ground, hissing as they soaked into the standing water. The scribe assessed his mana situation, determining that barely 10% of his total had been consumed.

  “Whoa, that was incredibly effective. I expected it to shatter.” Bernard came jogging over, his feet splashing and sending sprays of mud in every direction. “That’s way better than the X-13 version of Lesser Barrier. I don’t suppose I could learn that.”

  “I doubt it. My system is weird, and you need some very specific things to get it working.”

  “Well, I can’t do anything about that. How about we crank up the power? Do you think you could handle a rank two, Fireball?”

  Ethan cracked his knuckles, all thoughts of the weird water crystal falling away. “Only one way to find out.”