The Kroliq Karta leads the group a ways away from his village. It is late evening, and the skies become dark purple. A bit outside the premises of Fiolet was another bright, silver portal. This time, the portal was in a small hole in the ground. Everyone stops to stare at the entrance. 

Rhea turns to Karta. 

“This is the portal that leads to the Playground?” 

“Indeed,” Karta nods. 

Karta looks over and sees Rhea's hands. They were covered with his black oven mitts.

"Any reason why you brought the equipment from the kitchen?" He asked.

"The Shifting Arm we brought gets kinda hot when you use it, so I thought bringing this was a good idea.

"Hm," Karta murmurs. "If you say so."

The reflection of the gently swirling portal mirrors within Row’s eyes. 

“How is it that you have several portals within the village? Surely that should use a decent amount of magic power, yes?” Row inquires. 

“You are correct, Row,” Karta acknowledges. “The Shifting Arms along my arms that run across my appendages help keep the portals working. I keep multiple pathways open to practice on my magics, but after a certain time, all the villagers are to return home for the day, and I end up sealing the portals to preserve the rest of my energy.” 

“And how many pathways are there?” Lucerna asked. 

“You’ve seen all of them in the village,” Karta shakes his head and corrects himself. “My portals only stretch as far as a kilometer and a half. I haven’t been able to make it go further, at the moment. One more portal outside the village is connected with the Hollow Hollows. I keep that portal up there for practice.” 

“The Hollow Hollows?” Lucerna repeated. “That sounds pretty fun! When can we visit that?”

“Never,” Karta shuts down. “The innards of that area are filled with danger. In reality, I should shut the portal down that links between there and the village, but there haven’t been any monsters that have slithered from that locale and into our premises, so I’d like to keep practicing holding those magics there.”  

Lucerna held her head low in disappointment. 

“Aww…” 

“But enough of that,” Karta said. “Nightfall draws near, so I will grant you one hour to study the tome and practice at your leisure.”

Karta jumps into the portal. 

“Come along now.”

His body disappears. Row is next to jump in. 

“These methods of transportation are so fascinating. Do you think I’d be able to craft something like this with regular materials? Or is this simply a magic exclusive technique.” 

Row disappears. Lucerna is next. 

“I like using dual daggers so much, but maybe I need to pick up a book and cook up some magic!” 

Lucerna disappears. Rhea is the last to enter. She looks at the swirling portal and dips her toes in it. The magical energy softly whirls around her foot. The sensation of the portal was cool, and the energy felt as if it was massaging his body. She pulls her foot back, and the portal returns to its original state. Rhea lets out a sigh. 

“Let’s see what’s in store for us now…” 

Rhea leaps into the portal. For a moment, her body was encompassed by a bright, pillowy light. The rays from the portal warmed her skin, and in a matter of seconds, everyone finally arrived at the Playground. 

The Playground was a small area with a scintillating field and some metal training dummies. These metal posts had seen some wear and tear to them, some cuts, slashes, and tears, but many were left untouched, some of them even rusting over the passage of time. 

The newcomers inspect the foreign grounds. While some absorbed the view of a new area, others weren’t very impressed. 

“Why did I think this place would look cooler?” Lucerna scratched her head. 

“Cooler?” Karta rubs his chin. “Ah, you mean more aesthetically pleasing. Simply put, there’s no need for that. The Playground does not see much use, if any. I believe the only person who has been using this area to keep her mind sharp has been Vanessa. That Kotka does not share similar ideologies as the Kroliq, and she would rather keep her mind and body strong in case of any dangers. Admirable, I’ll admit, but wholly unnecessary.”  

The four approach one of the first metal dummies. Row takes a seat atop a nearby wooden crate, while Karta stands beside him. 

“All the answers to begin your offense rests in that tome, Rhea. I will watch you. If you need any assistance, I can attempt to help.” 

Rhea opens the book and brings it closer to her eyes. She raises the Trickster’s Staff in her other hand and stares at it.   

“Okay…” She turns her attention back to the book. “Where do we start…” 

In the contents of the tome, ‘Basics of Magics’, Rhea was introduced into the world of magic. The Basics of Magics indicate that this world’s mystical structure solely rides on one’s mental prowess. Varying levels of emotional or psychological states will grant its users powers to create or destroy. In Rhea’s case, the Trickster’s Staff is imbued with a red sprite gem, this weapon and gemstone hold the power to cause great destruction, therefore, to cast fire, one must imbue their mind with thoughts of fury. This emotion is harnessed by the Trickster Staff. Then, the spellcaster must think of the shape the spell will be protruding out of the tip of the weapon, and finally, expel the spell forward. Too much emotion, however, may cloud the spellcaster’s thoughts with mass destruction, but this is purely based on how much magical power they hold.  

Rhea turns from one page to the next, carefully analyzing the text. The more she read, the more bewildered the expression on her face became. 

“Wait, now I’m confused,” Rhea scratched her head. “If you need to be able to get mad to cast a spell, how is it that Lu and Row were able to cast spells without knowing this?” 

Karta explains. 

“In Ziemia, all matters of life contain a fraction of magical power; some more than others. The Kotka, however, are only bestowed with the most minimal amount of magical power. Due to this, combined with Row’s anger and Lu’s desperation, they were able to cast a fire spell, whereas your attempts at magic casting were for naught.” 

“And if I have no magical power… then…?” Rhea asked. 

“The staff will likely take from your vital energy and form a spell that way. Spellcasting is a very taxing activity on the body, and without good practice, a few spells in would see you completely drained of energy.” 

“Gee,” Rhea sighs. “I really looked like a dumbass trying to cast nothing in the middle of that fight…” 

“I think you looked pretty cool,” Lucerna adds. 

Row is snickering like a gremlin.  

“Looking back it did appear a bit silly.” 

Rhea was upset at Row’s giggling, but Karta swiftly shuts it down. 

“Never mind that,” Karta changes topics. “Please, Rhea, you must focus. Try casting a spell. Cloud your mind with thoughts of fury, but you mustn't feel the anger." 

Rhea is murmuring to herself. She holds the Trickster Staff closer to her head, the red jewel catching her eye. 

“Thoughts of anger without feeling them…”

Rhea sets the book down, stares at the metal dummy from afar, and shuts her eyes. At first, there was darkness. Her eyes were completely void of sight and thought. Then, she tries to focus. Random memories of her final days on Earth are the first to enter her mind. This only helps make her feel uncomfortable. The thought of loneliness and death’s cold embrace as the truck struck her was quick to encompass her. And then, she thinks further back, to the days when she was younger, the days her father drove her family into debt. The day she sacrificed her livelihood for a husband who was already married for his work. The shakedowns and loan sharks that would harass Rhea and her family, all thanks to the ignorance of a gambling addict; and only then, does she start to get mad. 

Her eyebrows furrow, her face scrunches in pain as she gnaws on her lower lip with all her might; the pink pillows of her lips begin to trickle blood. Her eyes shot open, and the Trickster’s Staff started absorbing her energy. Having a good proficiency in levels of magic, Karta pays careful attention. It was rather powerful despite her first time; mainly due to the focus of her emotions. 

The Trickster staff radiates a more powerful heat than before, but with the black oven mitt on, Rhea could barely feel the warmth on her skin. She holds the weapon up, darting it at the metal dummy, uttering a soulful cry.  

“BURN!”

POOF

A huge, fast fireball launches out of the tip of the staff. It burns through the air, traveling to the dummy at great speed until it connects. 

WOOSH

A pillar of fire rockets skyward, blanketing the air with a cloud of thick smog; briefly flaring the area in a red-orange light. Lucerna and Row stand on their feet, cheering.

“Sh-she did it!” Lucerna pumps her arm back. 

“That was some wicked power!” Row says, watching the flames dissipate. 

Rhea was successful. She holds the staff in her hand but finds herself very tired. She is breathing heavily and sweating. 

“Rhea,” Karta calls to her. “Are you okay?” 

“I’m…” she tries to catch up on her breathing. “I’m fine… I’d be cheering after seeing how cool that was, but you were right, I’m already super tired.” 

“You let your emotions get the best of you. An attack like that is excellent, yes, but being a neophyte in the world of magic, casting a spell of that strength so early will only make you more of a liability than an asset in battle.” 

“R-right…” Rhea nods. 

“Training today is over,” Karta declares. “Perhaps I can teach you more if you cook more foods from your world.”

Rhea smirked. 

“You ended up likin’ that pizza, huh?” 

Karta smiles while parting some of his long lavender hair. 

“Of course,” he nods. “Now, let us-” 

There was a sudden shift in Karta’s eyes as his attention began to focus on something else. 

“Hm?”

The trio looked over at him. 

“What’s wrong?” Rhea asked. 

“There was… another magical energy. It just entered from the Hollow Hollows and came out near the village. Do I… know this energy?” 

Karta looks at the trio. 

“I need to investigate. Will you come with me?” 

Rhea nods. 

“Of course.”

Quickly, Karta leads them out of the Playground and back through the village grounds. There were some villagers still wandering and working about as they made haste past many of the equipment. In no time, the group of four arrive near the village, the entity having suddenly arrived.   

Rhea sees the magical presence and grips her staff tightly. The hairs on Lucerna’s body stand tall, while Row viscerally brings out his claws and looks ready to pounce. 

“A magical beast is right…!” Row growled. “Why the hell are you here?!

Wounded and hesitantly stepping forward, was the dark Kroliq of the seas.  

“Fujiko…!”