Taking a position behind me, Laxreal stretches his hands out and presses them to my back. With that, I can tell he is sending a mana wave through my body to see what is happening.

  "Drake, from what I can see, you should be fine casting spells. What do you think you need to do to cast a spell?" He asks.

  "There is something that I have read in books back on my planet. It talks about attuning mana to a specific type before it can be used in magic. To do that, I must have enough of a particular attunement to create a path or something. I don't know if my idea will work, though..."

  "Drake, before you continue, if you are thinking of creating a pattern on the fly to make it possible to cast spells, I would highly recommend against that. We can talk it through; it isn't like a life-threatening disaster will crop up soon."

  "But we do, Laxreal," I counter, "We have less than seven days before a beast tide comes. While we can handle the tide without much issue, what about the tides after that one?"

  Seeing my conviction, he still pushes back, "We have time then. It hasn't been more than a month since you arrived, so why are you so rushed? Let's take a couple of days to figure out something more plausible before we jump into the deep end and rush a process that we don't know will work! I am not the only one that would have these thoughts. If you were to talk with some of the other mages in the settlement, they would give you the same information. Well, at least those that have been around magic for longer than a few years."

  Turning around to face him, I see concern flickering in his eyes. Sighing, I can only relent, "Can we talk about it tomorrow? Since I can't cast any of my spells until I have this class under control."

  "Yes, and if you would like, I can ask around for different people to join us. We might as well make it a learning opportunity for everyone, and who knows, we might find another path for strengthening ourselves."

  Getting up off the floor, I head towards the door, thinking how to make my mana work for me again. After heading out of the tower, I head to the worksite of the Adventure's Guild. Once I get there, I see several people working on the building. Something to note is that the time for the building has started to tick down slowly.

  Stepping forward, I can see that Oria has been working with the materials and has to do more work than before. While with the initial Tier 0 buildings, a lot of the work was done with the system's help, it seems like the kid gloves are off now. People have to cut the boards more precisely, but not to the extent that they need the cuts to be perfect. Others are working on getting the stones in place on the floor. With some people's increased stats from leveling up, they can move far more materials than before. While progress isn't being processed quickly, we can get through the materials rapidly with the help of different professions. A total of ten people are working on the building; some are still novices, but with their help, those at the apprentice tier do not have to do all the more tedious tasks.

  "How are things going?" I ask Oria as I approach.

  "Good," his voice sounds out, then he points to some stonework. "Start there."

  Directing my eyes to the stones, I can see some lines appearing on the flooring. There aren't many, but I can tell they are building to something more with each stone being placed. As I approach the rocks, I can tell there will be much work ahead. To avoid being discouraged, I kneel and look at the lines.

  - Profession Check initiated...

  Apprentice Enchanter: Passed

  Path of Auxiliary Buildings Unlocked: Passed -

  I find it interesting that there's a check for whether someone has the skills to do what is required of the building. I note it and then slowly cut the groves into the stones. It takes me a couple of minutes to finish the first stone, and when I am done with it, I can see lines that I haven't put into the stone appear—considering that I want to study the line work but am pushed to move to the next set of lines to carve.

  Slowly, one stone at a time, I complete the entire floor. There is intricate linework woven throughout the whole thing, but the moment I put the final line down, the entire thing flashes and returns to smooth stone. Sighing, I look for my next project only to find that everyone else has finished for the day, and Laxreal is standing far behind me. Looking at the time, I am shocked that it is close to 6 p.m.

  "It appears you are done with your portion of the floor," there is a little snark in his voice.

  Unsure why he sounds that way, I asked, "What's up, Laxreal?"

  "I have been waiting for you to finish to discuss tomorrow's proceedings. It hadn't been long, only a couple of hours, but I arrived right as everyone else called it a day. And from the looks of it, there is still quite a bit of work to be done on the building."

  Looking around at the building, I can see that the walls have been going up relatively quickly, but many things still need to be finished, and more places will require my attention. "It does appear to be that way; I wonder if this is how all buildings will be once we get to the higher tiers, " I comment off-handedly.

  "It would make sense, but I hope we keep getting help from PUN for a while. There are so many things that we have to do before we should be considered self-sufficient."

  "That is fair. Where would you like to start our discussion?" I asked him.

  "Where indeed?" he gently taps his finger against his chin, making the sound of bone tapping on bone. My first thought would be the manor house. It provides seating, and you can also get something to eat. I saw your mother stop by to get you, but when she saw me, she let you be."

  "Alright, let's do as you suggest; maybe my parents can join the discussion and give their ideas."

  We headed back to the manor, lightly chatting about the construction. It was interesting to hear his take on how everything went. Other than his comments about how everyone seemed to be meshing well, there are still some people who are skeptical of the undead, though that isn't something that I can fix directly.

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  "Maybe once the adventure's guild is up and running, we can recommend having people try to party with those of different racial or planetary backgrounds. See if there is a way to increase the rewards for those parties that allow others to join?" I throw the suggestion out there.

  "That is one possibility for the initial levels like we are at currently, but what will happen to those parties that out-level everyone and decide to just take a lower level person of a differing background into their party just for the remunerations of having that different background?" He immediately pokes a hole into that thought.

  "Well, like you said," I try to rebuttal. "With our lower levels, having a wider diversity of parties would make it worthwhile. Once we become larger, we can consider removing that stipulation. That could cause a backlash of a different sort, but hopefully, people will keep their parties the same because they know each other better then, or at least they won't be opposed to joining forces with someone of a differing background."

  "There is one more option available as well. You could set a hidden rule that the groups won't get the bonus rewards after a certain average level. That way, it won't reflect on you, and it will work for a while after the implementation since you will be summoning new people from all the different worlds into the world so that the incentive will remain."

  "That is a wonderful idea," I slap him on his shoulder. By the time we reached this point in the conversation, we had returned to the manor and were about to enter. "This is also if we are allowed to have those rules in place. I am curious what will happen when the building is done."

  "Indeed, from what I can tell, it will only take another day for the rest of the building to be finished if you have all the same workers from today." He responds.

  "We may have more workers, but you never know when someone will complete their next step in their profession." I smile at him.

  Stepping forward, he opens the door for me. Upon stepping inside, I can see that the door to the meeting room is also open. Walking forward, I can see that my family is sitting inside, and so are several others that I have come to call friends. Uxa, Draemish, Strauvana, Rhenriqi, Zul'Zara, Sylvasti, Vranjaya, Shadow, and Muiress are all standing or sitting in the room.

  "What is going on? Why is everyone here?" I asked, perplexed.

  "Well, this should have happened in our world, but there is a tradition for people who have awakened their bloodlines and can still be a part of society," my father says first.

  "We host a party with those close to you to celebrate your awakening."

  "This doesn't seem like the right time to have a party," I counter.

  "No, this is the perfect time for a party." My mother insists.

  "Why is it the perfect time?"

  Xelyphe steps up and lightly cuffs the back of my head. "Because it's your birthday, Drake. Based on your time here, we realized it is today."

  Looking around the room, I can only say that I was stunned. My birthday? I hadn't thought of that since I had come to this world. I hadn't known many of these people for long, but I fought by their sides, and my parents brought them all here to celebrate. I can't help but feel a bit overwhelmed. A soft thank you is all that can escape my throat.

  Turning to look at Laxreal, I asked him, "Did my mother put you up to this?"

  Shaking his head, he said, "No, I wanted to discuss with you a plan for tomorrow morning when I get the mages together, and we can discuss our different ideas. When I was standing there, your mother beckoned me over and told me to bring you back to the manor once you were done with your task, and that was all."

  Nodding at his statement. I was led to the head chair, where everyone waited for me to sit. Once I was seated, someone brought out the meal. There wasn't much for food since we didn't have many different varieties, and the food offered by PUN was more of a nutrient bar than anything else, but someone had found some basic cooking supplies and had baked a cake. On the top of the cake, someone had spelled out, "Happy Birth-wakening-day." The gesture was kind, and it made me glad for those who were around me.

  As we sat and ate the cake, people discussed the different activities that they had been up to, and as a group, we all chatted about the next adventures that we were looking forward to. Most everyone was working on their professions, but the settlement commanders had been working on their class levels. A good half of the people in the room had reached level 10 and had their Tier 1 class, but some were still working towards it.

  Not long after we had finished everything on the table, people started to say their congratulations before leaving. It wasn't long before my family, Laxreal and Rhenriqi, were the only ones left in the room.

  "Drake, as much as I would like to keep the mood lifted, I would like to discuss some business before we call it a night." Laxreal urged.

  "Oh, come on, Lax-Lax. Can't you let the boy have his night? Whatever you need to discuss with him can wait until tomorrow," Rhenriqi stepped up to my defense.

  "I would like to let him have the night, but he had agreed that we would have this conversation."

  "What conversation?" My father asked.

  "About how he is going to learn how to cast his spells. From what we have figured out, until he can figure out a way for his mana to work, the spells in his arsenal aren't available to him."

  "What do you mean they aren't available to him?" my mother asked, her face filled with concern.

  "Just as I have said, he isn't able to cast spells at this time. The only thing that I could think of that could be stopping it is because of the class he took. Before, he was a generic mage, but now he is more specialized. And it is this specialization that is causing the issue."

  "Have you come up with any ideas on how to fix the issue?" Father once again asks.

  "There are a couple of theories that we could try, but with how things are with Drake, I don't know if any of those theories are reliable. This is an entirely different system we are working with. While we can meditate like we were able to before, the progression is different from what I am used to. Drake had an idea and was about to test it earlier today, but I stopped him. I didn't want him to accidentally hurt himself by jumping at the first idea that came to mind."

  Getting a nod of approval from my mother, she asks, "What are some of the theories you would like to try?"

  "One is the mana cultivation method, which typically allows someone to slowly attune the mana in their system to something more specific while also increasing its potency. Another would be a series of exercises that move mana in a certain way that would cause the attunement of mana. I don't know if either will work, but it is worth trying. I also wanted to bring people who are part of the mage class together to see if other methods from the other worlds might be useful."

  "How long do you think the discussion will take?" I asked.

  "Honestly, there isn't much more to discuss, and it was more of a curiosity if you had any questions about these two methods that would take more time to explain. So, unless you have any questions now, I can wait till tomorrow, and we can discuss it further with the rest of the mages." He says with a hint of tiredness in his voice.

  "I think I can ask any questions I have tomorrow," I said, smiling.

  Giving a light bow, he heads out of the room, with Rhenriqi following behind him. I turn back to my parents to see my mother giving me a glare and my father smiling.

  "What?" I asked.

  "You have to ask. How often do you have to have a stupid idea that almost kills you before you learn your lesson?" Mother asks.

  "Ummm." I don't know what to say.

  "At least you had Laxreal there to be a voice of reason; otherwise, I will find a way to bring you back if you die just to give you the biggest scolding in your life." She iterates her frustration by poking me in the chest

  "We need to have a board in the house that says, 'Days Since Drake's Last Impulsive Ideas He Acted Upon.'" Xelyphe says.

  "I'll work with one of the carpenters on it," Father declares, giving me the biggest grin he can.

  Smacking my face, I leave the room and go upstairs while calling back. "I am going to bed; I will see you all in the morning."