Harper’s ability manifested itself as an odd type of buffing support magic. Scale ran her fingers through the ambient mana that filled the barrier, caressing it and internalizing its structure; but she fundamentally couldn’t replicate it. The diverse and varied abilities of the human race were not something so mundane as could be replicated with just a thought. Perhaps it could be done with years of study, effort, and transcendental magic. Even with those conditions, Scale wasn’t entirely sure.

  Harper’s mana stopped flowing and her ability ceased. Despite the constant healing light, a rush of pain filled her body. Healing magic undoing the damage didn’t remove the body’s signals that came along with said damage. Her body trembled like a newborn fawn. A queue of thunderous shocks executed one after another across her mana circuits. Through the torment, perhaps in spite of it, Harper grinned. Her nose turned skyward. She had succeeded.

  “Remember this feeling,” said Scale. She tapped Harper’s shoulder with a firm hand. “We’ll keep training for a while in this Gate, at least until you can do it without getting hurt.”

  “Alright.” Harper nodded. Her thin-lipped smile and steady eyes showed her confidence.

  “I’m going to set up a small campsite. You stay here in my barrier and catch your breath.”

  “Campsite? How long do you think we’re gonna be here?”

  “How long we’re here depends entirely on you. Ah. We do have a three day time limit, technically, but I didn’t bring any food so we should probably wrap up by dinner time… Unless you’re willing to eat—”

  “No.” Harper saw Scale motion towards the bugs and immediately dismissed any possibility of that. “I am not eating bugs.”

  “Shame. They look like they might taste good.”

  “You’re a lizard, so of course you’d be okay eating bugs.”

  “Plenty of humans eat bugs too.”

  “This human doesn’t.”

  Scale shrugged. “Fair enough,” she said. Expecting a rich girl to eat something ‘gross’ was probably too much. It would be different if they were actually in a starvation situation. Scale had seen even the most noble of humans bite into wriggling demon flesh to survive. She had even seen humans cannibalize one another. Malice had no limits in the face of hunger. “I’ll cut down some trees and make a clearing.” Scale walked through the golden barrier, leaving the exhausted but cheerful Harper behind.

  “That’s nonsense!”

  “I’m telling the truth. It was just the D-rank and a student. They didn’t bring anyone else.”

  “It’s a C-rank Gate. We’re missing something. I’m calling off the job.”

  “Boss, please. It’s a D-rank and a Student—”

  “That student is the daughter of an S-rank. What if she has a hidden guard?”

  “You’re paranoid.” Jeremy ughed and looked at the other Awakeners in the van with him. The five other men nodded in unison. They didn’t want to get on the boss’s bad side, but all of them acknowledged that Jeremy was most likely to be the next Guild Leader. Crossing him wouldn’t have a good result either..

  “Ah boss you’re krrrssssh breaking up krrssssh.”

  “Jeremy I swear to god I’ll rip you apart if—”

  Click.

  The call disconnected.

  “Boss is gonna be pissed when we get back, J.”

  “Doesn’t matter. Better to ask forgiveness than permission. He’ll get over it.” Jeremy put a pair of sungsses on and pulled a facemask up over his nose and mouth. The other men followed suit. Their unmarked van pulled up in the warehouse parking lot without fear. CCTVs would spot them but they wouldn’t be recognized. Their van was unmarked and their disguises had anti-facial recognition magic enchanted into them.

  When the men were confronted by the Association staff member guarding the entrance Jeremy slipped him a wad of cash and knocked him unconscious in one swift motion. The grainy camera footage couldn’t possibly catch the movements of a B-rank Hunter. To the camera systems it would just look like the brave staffer stood up to the criminals before being swiftly taken down. The Windfury Guild could keep their mole in the association and the mole got paid. It was a win for everyone involved.

  “When we get in, secure both girls alive.”

  “We’re not taking Tomtom’s kid alive are we?”

  “Course not,” said Jeremy. “But there’s six of us. I’m taking the one with white hair for myself, but you five’ll need something to keep busy for a few hours.”

  The men chuckled and adjusted their weapons. They were armed with knives, batons, and zip-ties.

  Scale examined the monsters inside the Gate as she walked to the center. They resembled gigantic bugs of all varieties, most of which she could not recognize. Scale thought the monsters were slightly cute compared to the things she’d seen.

  With a swipe of her hand several trees toppled to the ground. Scale lifted the logs with one hand and dragged them into the center of the clearing and set them up in a circle. She wanted to make a campfire but had to stop because the subspace around her rippled.

  “What on earth?” Scale lifted her chin and frowned. Five—Six—Seven men entered the Gate. “No. Six men and one… Something.”

  She didn’t recognize the mana signature. Her sensory skills weren’t the most refined so she wasn’t sure what the st thing that came in the Gate was. It felt icky and a touch familiar, simir to that stupid horse. Scale clicked her tongue in frustration. She wouldn’t be worried about Harper if it were just humans, but throwing something unknown into the mix made her worry. What if whatever that thing was could break her barrier? The question lingered for a moment. By the time she processed that question she had already vanished on the spot. Scale had to control her speed a little because she didn’t want to destroy the forest; destroying it would ruin the ambience of the campfire ter.

  Harper enjoyed her rest. She id in the afterglow of her first success at spreading her ability through an area. She pumped her clenched fists but the sound of buzzing wings made her jump. She huddled herself down in the middle of Scale’s barrier and frowned. She hated bugs. She’d hated bugs ever since one of the kids at school made her—

  “Well well well, what do we have here?” A man’s voice interrupted Harper’s thoughts. She flinched and turned back to see several men approaching the barrier from the Gate side.

  “W-what?” Harper was confused. She wasn’t an idiot. She knew that no one else should have been able to enter this Gate.

  “Are you here poaching in our hard won Gate, girlie?” The leader of the men was brazen. With a fsh of light his knife cut apart the three bug monsters in the immediate area. He was strong.

  “You’re talking nonsense,” said Harper. “My uh—mentor—pced the winning bid on this Gate. Our code scanned and everything.”

  “Aren’t there supposed to be two, J? Where’s the other one?” One of the men in the back grumbled in a quiet voice, but it was loud enough to be heard.

  Harper’s body trembled. She wasn’t stupid. Her hackles raised and she immediately took up a fighting pose.

  “Fuck.” Jeremy cursed. He stomped his feet and raged. “Damn, so white hair took off on her own? She’s probably dead. No way a D-rank holds up facing these creatures. Fuck fuck fuck.” He kicked the corpses of a bug, sending it flying into a nearby tree.

  “What do we do, J?”

  “Shit, boss is gonna kill us. We have to off an S-rank’s kid for nothing now. If word ever gets out we’re fucked.” The whole point of coming to this Gate had been to get the Canadian girl and drag her to join the Guild—maybe enjoy her company in the process a little—but now there was nothing to show for this outing. They’d have to take on all the risk for no reward. In his rage, Jeremy smmed his knife into the golden barrier, expecting it to break like nothing, only to have his hand snap backwards. His knife flew off into the distance and stuck into a tree where it wobbled for a moment.

  “The fuck?”

  Harper felt her blood go cold. She’d dealt with animosity before but never killing-intent to this degree. Her breathing shortened and she backed away from the side of the barrier the men were on. Her throat felt tight and her heart hurt.

  “Oy, bitch, did you make this barrier?” Jeremy put his hand on the golden wall and whistled. “Fuck it might be worth it to capture her—”

  “Her dad is an S-rank, J.”

  “Still. What if we collect some bckmail? Make her join the Guild that way and keep her quiet. Her old man can’t punch a video, can he?”

  “He can’t but I can.” Scale appeared inside the barrier and a gentle hand pressed down on Harper’s shoulder.

  “Oh? Was there a stealth skill too? Merry fucking Christmas!” Jeremy started ughing.

  Scale’s eyes narrowed. “I recognize you,” she said.

  “Just drop the act, girl. Looking at this barrier it’s clear this is what you were relying on to come here.” Jeremy tapped the golden shield. “But how long can you keep this barrier up? Why don’t you just drop it and come worship your daddy here.”

  “No thanks.”

  “Hah, why dey the inevitable? Just come serve me well for a few nights and I’ll let you join our guild. I bet you have no clue what a powerhouse Guild can pay—”

  “Ah. Okay so I think I understand the situation.” Scale cpped her hands and her mana burst forth like a surging tide. The wind howled and the barrier started to expand, smming into the men and bowling six of them over.

  “Harper, I expanded the barrier a bit. Go take a walk that way.” Scale pointed towards where she set up the clearing. “I cut some logs. Go find a comfy spot to sit down for a while.”

  There was a pause as the six men stood up. Scale wasn’t sure how the six still hadn’t noticed that they had one extra person in their group after so long. Especially after that one extra avoided her expanding barrier so easily.

  “I-I-I’m going to help you.”

  “Ah.” Scale sighed. “I’d rather you go sit down.”

  “I won’t be a burden. The things those guys said…” Harper’s fists were shaking. Her eyes looked red.

  “It’s not…” Scale wasn’t sure what to say. She had never been the greatest at public speaking. “Harper, one of those guys isn’t human.”

  “None of them are human!” Harper yelled and her mana spiked. It wasn’t a big spike comparatively to Scale, but among other students it would have been considered quite rge.

  “That’s not what I mean. I mean that one of them is literally a—”

  [The Consteltion, Necrosis Chains, says “We need to have a conversation.”]

  The six human men all convulsed. They were looking at something in front of their eyes and then turned to look at the grinning face of the seventh being. A conversation pyed out that Harper couldn’t see or hear, but she immediately realized why Scale was trying to push her away.

  “T-that’s a Consteltion?”

  “Don’t worry—”

  “Don’t worry?! How can I NOT worry?”

  Scale turned to look at Harper with a raised eyebrow. She smiled.

  “Because he’s not the only Consteltion here.”