World Sphere - 65 - The Right Stuff

Chapter 65: The Right Stuff

Sammie left the kitchen with a grin of delight, clearly pleased with her reading. Talia was still in the sunroom, so I kept busy, browning the meatballs in the oven while preparing a generous batch of sauce.

One key to great meatballs is balancing the fat in the sauce. Too little, and the flavor falls flat. Too much, and it’s a greasy mess. I kept a close eye on the browning process. If the meat was too lean, I’d need to add some fat back in while the sauce simmered. This was a step too many cooks skipped. Letting the meatballs soak in the sauce is where the real magic happens.

I was mid-thought when Talia finally emerged. She looked content but didn’t head toward me or offer her sheet. She just sank into the couch without a word. I already knew a lot about her spells and counted her a potent mage for Skyholme.

Remy went in next. I didn’t expect much since he was our simple healer. As I flipped the meatballs and pureed the boiling sauce with a mixer meant for whipped cream, I saw him walk into the kitchen still reading his sheet.

He placed the paper in front of me, I looked him over, trying to read him. Shock? Disappointment? I wasn’t sure. I wiped my hands clean and looked at the sheet. I couldn’t read it. The script was unfamiliar.

Remy noticed my trouble and said. “My native tongue is different from Sphere standard.” Right. I remembered Wynna explaining during my own reading that the sheets adapted to each individual’s desires.

“Well,” I said, nudging the paper toward the stove, “tell me what you want to share. I don’t need to see the whole thing.” He gave a small nod, and I burned the sheet.

Leaning in, he whispered, “I have two abilities. Healing Hands—Tier 1. The other is Hibernate, also Tier 1.”

I offered him an encouraging smile. “Two Tier 1 abilities? That’s great!” He brightened just a little.

Hibernate wasn’t exactly ideal, it was more survival than utility. From what I recalled, it let you enter a near-death slumber for extended periods, slowing aging and conserving energy. Not useful in combat, but interesting.

Remy wasn’t finished and continued. “I have three traits: Mathematician—Tier 2, Thermal Sight—Tier 1, and Cryptologist—Tier 2.” He seemed a bit embarrassed. Traits were largely racial in nature, stemming primarily from genetics.

Thermal Sight let him see heat signatures, handy for tracking at night or seeing creatures in the dark. But the other two were rare. Those weren’t delver traits; those were scholar traits. Maybe I’d found my logistics officer.

“Those are extremely useful,” I said, with genuine praise. “You could help with accounting—not just coin, but tracking harvests and inventory. That’s essential for a successful team.”

He perked up and added, “I also have proficiencies… but one of them I don’t really understand. Mechanical Engineering—Tier 4. Mathematics—Tier 4.” Remy had my full attention. “I only ever learned basic math from my father when I was young,” he said, gaze distant. “But I remember picking it up fast. After he disappeared, I stopped.”

My mind spun. His natural talents weren’t just rare—they were remarkable. He wasn’t built to fight. He was built to build. I remembered the Outer Sphere, where aether and tech blended more freely—magitech. Remy’s skillset were ideal for that world and maybe his ancestry traced back to it.

“Remy,” I said, my tone serious, “yes. We can absolutely use your skills.” He nodded with quiet pride and went to rejoin the others.

I got the meatballs into the sauce and moved on to the spaghetti dough—just flour, eggs, salt, oil, and seasoning. The dough was coming together when Lana stepped into the kitchen, clutching her sheet to her chest like it was made of gold. My hands were sticky with dough, so I waited. She looked at the pot, then the dough, then up at me, hesitant.

“You can tell me as much or as little as you want,” I said gently. “Your secrets are yours.”

She shook her head. “Sammie and Remy told you everything. You’re giving us a chance most of us never even dreamed of. You should know that we are grateful.” She held out the paper, chin lifted. Braver than she looked.

I took it, hands still dusty with flour, and read:

Abilities
Aether Infusion – Tier 1
Precise Auditory Recall – Tier 1

Traits
Adaptive – Tier 1
Fearless – Tier 1

Affinities
Illusion Magic – Tier 4

Aether Core: 44
Max Core: 77
Aether Matrix: 23
Max Matrix: 32

I blinked. Then again. “How?” I asked aloud, my voice full of genuine confusion.

Lana shrank back, misreading my reaction. “What? Is it bad? I thought—”

“No—no, it’s incredible,” I said quickly, cutting her off before tears could fully form. “I mean… how did no one find you before now? You’ve got the raw tools to be a successful mage.” And she did. A Tier 4 illusion affinity meant she could imprint illusion spells on her spell matrix at a drastically reduced cost. Her core and aether matrix numbers were on par with Navy mages.

“You’re hired,” I said, reaching into my pocket and drawing out a roll of a hundred large silver coins. I passed them to her, then reached under the counter and pulled a spellbook from my dimensional closet. “And this…this is your next spell.” I placed my personal copy of the Tier 3 Dimensional Closet spellbook on the counter. Her fingers trembled as she touched the coins and the spellbook.

“I stole my first spellbook,” she whispered somewhat fearfully. “The invisibility spell. I took it… but I returned it after I learned it. I swear.” She was crying now. Wynna peeked in, but I waved her off.

“And this one?” I asked gently. “The dimensional pocket spell—did you steal it too?”

“No! I never took it. I just… I just read it at night in the library. I snuck in using invisibility. It took me a year to understand it.” She looked so small, despite her fearless trait. That trait only blocked magical fear, not the anxiety she was likely feeling. It didn’t change how she’d learned to survive. “I never told anyone I had magic,” she admitted. “If I had, I’d have ended up owned by someone. Like Remy.”

I kept my tone calm. “Lana, may I share your abilities with a magic instructor? She might train you for free—but if not, I’ll pay her to do so.” She nodded shyly, wiping her eyes.

“You said you graduated from a lower city academy,” I asked. “What did you study?”

Her cheeks reddened. “I… didn’t. I cleaned the building for food and a bed.” And just like that, everything made sense. How she’d been overlooked—why no one had recognized her potential. Not anymore.

“That explains a lot. If you had graduated from the academy, you would be much older,” I mumbled in thought.

“What…” she paused, surprised. “You still want me on your delve team even though I didn’t tell you the truth?”

I shrugged, not admitting that I had reservations before now. I continued with my questions, “And how did your information end in my folio when I was doing interviews?” I asked with a smirk, already knowing the answer.

“I…I…I put it there,” she said, returning my grin, finally comfortable with the fact that I wasn’t going to throw her out.

We rejoined the others in the living room after I quietly destroyed Lana’s sheet. Maybe it was Callem’s help during the interviews, but I definitely had the core of a good delve team—inexperienced, but solid.

The group socialized for about an hour, easing into one another’s company. The awkwardness was fading, laughter coming easier. When the time felt right, I stepped into the kitchen to finish dinner—cutting the sheets of pasta, boiling it, tossing it with garlic butter, then plating it with a generous serving of meatballs on top.

Sammie and Callem got into an unspoken eating contest, each devouring multiple helpings. I wasn’t sure who won, but the table cleared fast. Afterward, Callem took everyone, including Aelyn, out to the farm.

I think I had solved Aelyn’s problem, well, Ennet had whispered it to me. She was jealous of my interaction with Tessa Torrent during our fight. That didn’t make much sense since Tessa was so high above my station and I was only infatuated with her because of her ability. I assumed Aelyn would get over it in time.

I had another matter to attend to and I left to find Isla. She wasn’t in her room above the tavern, which meant she’d likely gone off with Loriel and the others. I tried Selina next and found her at her rented home in Hen’s Hollow. I spent an hour with her refining my Aether Shield spell before I brought up Lana’s reading. Selina was so intrigued that she left immediately for Callem’s farm.

As dusk descended, I wandered the barracks looking for Mia, wondering if she wanted to practice with her stylus. Not finding her, I made five light globes in the enchanting classroom to clear my head. It was simple, mindless work to steady my thoughts.

That night, I returned to an empty room. Gareth hadn’t come back yet, probably still celebrating. I set up my privacy screen and alarms, then cycled through my evening routine: studying Aether Shield, exercises, meditation, minting a few coins, and reading dungeon-delving texts. But sleep refused to come.

Tessa’s image kept intruding on my thoughts—her voice, her eyes, the way she moved when we fought. I was in the body of a teenager, and my growing aether core was not as constant a distraction as it used to be. I did cycling exercises to clear my mind. A small part of me wondered: was this infatuation… or a lingering effect of her ability?

The new week began with Elijah taking over our conditioning sessions. Aelyn was now fully invested in training with the delve and didn’t return. We didn’t see her all week, and everyone noticed. Especially me.

Elijah, however, proved relentless. I finally realized how much Aelyn had been holding back with me during condition. Elijah didn’t and I no longer had favored status. Every session, he pushed me hard until I collapsed. He was also one of those instructors you didn’t feel safe saying no to. Evenings at Twin Rocks weren’t much better with him and Elora.

At least I imprinted aether shield on the third day during our practice at Twin Rocks, which prompted Elora and Elijah to tag-team me during my lightning reflexes overdrive. I wasn’t sure if it was a compliment that it required both of them to challenge me or unnecessary punishment. But it leveled my spell fast.

By week's end, aether shield hit level 6. My evolutions were progressing well. Level one was quick cast, which allowed for a near-instant cast at double the aether cost. Level two was dual cast, allowing me to maintain two shields at once.

For level three, I chose reinforced barrier, which increased the durability and duration of the shields I created. The fifth evolution was fixed position, which allowed for the shield to be anchored in place.

Evolutions for aether sphere spells were extremely flexible, which was why Selin preferred to have her students learn them. The only limit was imagination.

Arcane lock also hit level six, and I evolved it with shatter arcane lock—allowing me to dismantle other arcane locks by unweaving their structure. Privacy rose to level nine, but I didn’t hit an evolution milestone.

The surprise of the week came from the alarm spell. At level 13, I unlocked a unique, undocumented evolution: selective flash immunity. I was no longer affected by the blinding flash when the spell triggered.

That gave me another edge during duels with Elora and Elijah. I could chain flashes and disorient them while remaining unaffected. Even their blind-fighting skills couldn’t fully compensate. I managed to squeak out some victories with it.

Lightning reflexes soared to level 16, continuing a meteoric progression. But level 17 was also looming, and the next evolution choice wasn’t going to be easy.

My utility spells—Cleanliness, Obfuscate, Dimensional Closet—gained a level each with no major changes. Mend flesh hit level 14. At 13, it had offered a new evolution: self body sculpting. I had mixed feelings taking a vanity spell form.

I’d been inspired after seeing how flawless Tessa and her peers looked. This evolution let me tighten my skin, remove fat, and subtly alter appearance. Right now, it only worked on me—but future evolutions might allow for use on others. It felt superficial, but since I planned to learn a more serious healing spell soon, I figured it was a fair indulgence.

By the sixth day, everyone was looking forward to Aelyn returning—Elijah had pushed us hard, and I suspected it was intentional to make us appreciate her more. He was very successful.

Even more exciting, the seventh day marked the end of our first semester. Two more to go. Some students were stressed about competency testing coming in the following, but I doubted anyone would fail.

Gareth approached me with a grin and asked about my plans for the seventh day.

“I’m heading to Aegis City,” I said. “Meeting Isla at the restaurant. Aelyn’s coming too.”

“Mind if I join?” he asked. “The twins are going home, and I don’t really need to study.”

I hesitated. I hadn’t told Gareth about the delve team yet. But I hadn’t spent much time with him lately, either. I agreed—forgetting one key detail: There was only one skyship from Hen’s Hollow to Aegis City each day. And my entire dungeon team, who had been training at the farm, with Callem was also headed back on that same skyship.

I realized my mistake the moment Lana came bouncing up to me on the ship’s deck. “Storme!” she called, eyes bright. “Selina says I’m making excellent progress!” She had cleaned up well. She was bright-eyed and full of energy and enthusiasm.

Before I could intercept, Gareth appeared over my shoulder. “Stormy, I didn’t know you made new friends! I’m Gareth. Gareth Highguard.” He was flexing as he extended his wrist to the much smaller young woman. I sighed and already knew this was going to be a problem.

“Damn, Gareth. We need to get Wynna and Ennet to redo your reading.”

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why?”

“Because they missed one of your traits.”

He leaned in, curious. “What? What did they miss?”

I deadpanned, “Philanderer Extraordinaire, Tier 7.”

Lana blinked. Gareth blinked. The silence was deafening. Finally, Lana turned to Gareth, looking at his enormous size. “So… is he on our delve team too?”

Gareth’s expression shifted from confusion to shock. His eyes went wide—cartoonishly wide. “Storme,” he said slowly, “did she just say what I think she just said?” I didn’t reply fast enough. “Because if she said what I think she did,” he continued, slipping an arm around Lana’s shoulders so she couldn’t escape. “Then we need to talk.”

He pulled her aside with exaggerated care. “So, Lana… tell me everything. Every. Single. Detail.” She looked like a terrified rabbit under a hawk’s gaze. Gareth gave me a wink. So much for keeping it a secret.