I hiss in pain as the last of my wounds heal up. I’d been careful to not heal a lot of the external damage so as to not give it away.

  I look over to the building that I’d punched Isabelle into. I doubt that she’s out of the fight from just that.

  I stand up slowly, unsure what to do next.

  “[Take Your Time]” I cast. The world slows down around me, buying me time to think of a plan.

  I don’t know if I can take Isabelle down in a head-on fight. From what I’d seen of her fighting the spiders, her physical enhancements are better than mine, she’d fought with speed and strength I just don’t have. I’ll have to use my brain and my more psychic powers to make it out of a fight alive.

  The blue window had said that we would receive our rewards and be sent home in an hour.

  My best bet might be to play a little game of cat and mouse. Wait out the time, or make her give up on fighting me.

  I do love Tom and Jerry.

  I take a deep breath, then examine the circulatory system of psi in my body.

  My focus centers on my Root Chakra. Using my experience from [Defence Of The Earth] and a large amount of guesswork, I twist the psi into a spell.

  A small “Eek!” escapes me as the earth below me opens up and swallows me.

  I fall through the floor as earth gives way before me. Then there is no more earth and I fall onto hard ground.

  I push myself up and pause at the complete darkness around me.

  My imagination takes over as I imagine all of the creatures that could be hiding from me in the engulfing darkness.

  Maybe I can meet a shadow creature! I’ve always wanted to meet something like Slender Man. Terrifying creatures are so fascinating, except clowns.

  I hate clowns.

  A booming sound from above me reminds me that a superhuman Beta Tester is looking for me to kill me right now. I shake my head and focus on the present.

  First thing I need is some light. I’d rather not walk around down here without being able to see where I’m going.

  At that thought, my gloves begin to glow with a soft light, illuminating my surroundings.

  Huh, useful.

  I look down to see me standing on top of subway tracks. I don't hear any electricity, or trains, which hopefully means that they aren’t active.

  Isabelle probably doesn’t have a way to track me, but you can never be too careful- actually, you can, but that’s besides the point.

  I don’t want to be too close if she does somehow find a way to track me.

  I look one way, then the other, trying to decide where I want to walk. On a whim I choose to go left.

  Maybe I can meet the Slender Man.

  You never know, this is a weird world after all, full of strange creatures.

  I walk for a while, waiting for something to happen. When nothing does, I start to feel a little bored.

  Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that nothing is actively trying to kill me at the moment.

  It’s just that, over the past week, there’s always been something going on, something I need to worry about.

  Now, I’m just walking with no real destination in mine, in complete silence.

  I sing softly, mostly to keep the silence from closing in on me. “I’ve been working as a beta tester all the livelong day.”

  I wonder where Hans went when The Captain almost killed him. It looked like he disappeared, and I’m pretty sure a punch to the throat doesn’t cause that.

  “I’ve been working as a Beta Tester just to pass the time away.” My voice echoes surprisingly far in the silence.

  This whole situation is strange. Why would the gods make us work together, only to turn us against each other in the end?

  “Can’t you hear the spiders a-killin’, wake ya up so early in the morn’. Can’t you hear the-” I stop mid-verse. Listening hard, I wait to hear what I’d thought I’d heard again.

  A creature turns around the bend, stopping as it sees me.

  Black, scaled skin covers the humanoid creatures, which is around my height. It wears a curved sword at its waist, and uses leather and fur for its clothing.

  We both take a moment to take each other in, its snake-like eyes studying me carefully.

  Its hand rests on its sword, but it doesn’t draw it.

  “Hello, I haven’t seen anything like you before.” I say cheerfully. “I wonder what we would call you? A lizardman maybe?”

  The creature pauses, confused as I prattle on.

  “Lizardman is a little generic tho, and you don’t actually look much like a lizard apart from the scales.” I pause with a small frown. “Oh well, I’m sure that some culture out there has you in their myths with a proper name.”

  “We call ourselves the Ki’Sar.” A soft voice slithers out from the creature, making it hard to tell if it male, female or… neither? You can never tell with alien races.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “Ah, well, we call ourselves Humans. It’s a pleasure to meet your race.” I make a small curtsy, pretending I have a skirt.

  Its hand relaxes on its sword. “How are you addressed, Human? I am Kai’Lenal of the Intekai tribe.”

  “My name is Elena Trudeau. You can call me Elena.” I give them a warm smile.

  I walk toward Kai’Lenal and his hand tightens around his sword.

  I raise an eyebrow, but keep walking, aiming to get past the creature.

  His sword is drawn in warning, but I keep walking.

  “You wouldn’t happen to know of a Slender Man, would you?” I ask, walking just outside of his sword range to get past him.

  “A slender man?” He asks.

  “Guess not then, it isn’t that important anyway.”

  I’m about to completely pass him when a thought occurs to me.

  “You aren’t part of the ‘infestation’ that we are hunting, are you?” I ask.

  “No.” Kai’Lenal responds, “I hunt them just as your kind does.”

  “Then what are you doing here?” I turn my whole body towards him, my curiosity stopping me from continuing past him.

  “With the creatures from other worlds that now roam your world, come the Chat’Kai, the new warriors. I am a Chat’Kai.” Seeming to decide that I’m not a threat, the Ki’Sar sheaths his sword.

  I appreciate a cryptic sentence as much as the next girl, but I would like it if they could be a little more specific. “What’s a Chat’Kai exactly?”

  Kai’Lenal studies me, his- I’m pretty sure they’re a he- face unreadable. “A Chat’Kai is an unleveled warrior. Only he can travel to the Beta Worlds.” Seeing me open my mouth to ask another question, he continues, “The Chat’Kai protect those who cannot protect themselves. What he lacks in levels, he makes up for with experience.”

  “How generous of you.” I say, a question clear in my tone.

  “There are rewards for the Chat’Kai.” He says, not elaborating.

  I think on his words for a moment, then shrug. “Well, thanks for the info, I guess. I hope that I meet more Chat’Kai in the future. I can tell that behind that tough exterior, you’re all big softies.” I blow him a kiss, then continue walking.

  After a while, I hear his soft footsteps as he continues his own journey.

  Or so I thought.

  His footsteps never leave my hearing as the lizardman follows me from a discreet distance.

  I don’t really care what he does, so I ignore him and continue on my way.

  I pause as a strange feeling covers me, my psi shivering from an outside source. I feel as the force focuses on me.

  “Hey, um, Kai’Lenal, you aren’t using some kind of magic on me right now, are you?” I ask as each step forward slowly becomes harder and harder.

  “I am n-” I hear the start of his sentence as everything becomes dark.

  [Perseverance]

  I open my eyes to black scaly face leaning over me, only slightly blocked by a blue window that is begging for my attention.

  “Are you alright, human Elena?” Kai’Lenal asks, his body hovering protectively over me.

  “If you plan on casting magic on me, next time, make sure that I have a pillow to land on.” I say, reaching up to rub the back of my head.

  “I did not cast any magic on you, Beta Tester.” The lizardman says, tilting his head as he looks at me.

  I frown. Isabelle didn’t seem to use mana, and I’m pretty sure that whatever she used it was more internal than external magic. And why would she wait so long to use it, if she did have it?

  I push myself off of the ground, the bump on my head healing from my gloves.

  “Did someone aim a spell at you and miss?” I ask, not really believing that explanation myself. The spell had locked onto my psi specifically.

  That thought gives me an idea, I immediately get into a meditative pose and look at my chakras.

  The spell had targeted my psi, so if I can hide my psi, then I can hide myself. I don’t want them, whoever they are, to just keep putting me to sleep. One bump on the head is enough, thank you.

  I watch my psi for a few moments, trying to decide how I want to do this. My psi flows through my body, circulating in each chakra, before continuing on its path.

  As the psi reaches the top of my head and my white chakra, I notice a small portion of it separate from my body and disperse into the air.

  The crown chakra, our connection with god. Something tells me that stopping that psi from leaving my body would be bad. There is no saying what cutting off that connection could do to the power Isis gave me, and for all I know, it could kill me.

  My physical body frowns, the movement unconscious to my meditative mind.

  I take a moment, considering my options, then I dive into my crown chakra, exploring every part of it. I watch as the psi travels through it, then I make gentle changes, twisting it slightly and seeing what happens. Any changes that cause pain or make me uncomfortable, I stop immediately, not wanting to cause any kind of permanent damage.

  I think for a moment, my curiosity wanting to get the better of me. When I had sped up the psi in my third eye, I had increased my vision to an unbelievable point. What happens when I do the same with my crown chakra?

  This doesn’t help me with my sleep spell problem… but I’m curious.

  I ramp up the speed of the psi of my crown chakra. At first nothing happens, then-

  ***

  I open my eyes, staring up at the intertwining branches of a familiar Sycamore tree, the tree itself glowing with life.

  “This is a surprise.” A soft voice says from a few feet away.

  I sit up to see a beautiful woman sitting on a bench, looking at the river that flows across from us.

  I walk over to her, and she turns to look at me, the kites in her crown staring at me with predatory eyes. She smiles.

  The world shifts around me as her beauty shines upon me, reminding me that I’m in the presence of a Queen, and a Goddess.

  “I was not expecting to see you until after your trial, but pleasant surprises are always welcome.” She motions for me to sit next to her.

  I join her on the bench, and look at the bending river.

  “So what brings you here, my paladin?” Isis asks, folding her hands in her lap.

  “Someone detected me through my psi, so I was experimenting in ways to stop it.”

  “Oh? I thought your instructor had given you that handy little book with all those spells in it.” She tilts her head questioningly.

  I give her a guilty smile. I had forgotten the book in my haste. It was because of the bump on my head, definitely.

  Isis laughs, then stands up. She moves in front of me, and leans down, her beautiful brown eyes catching mine. My breath stops as I’m fully devoured by her beauty.

  She places her finger against my forehead.

  Knowledge fills me on how to turn the psi that comes out of my crown… invisible? I guess that’s the best word for it.

  “My gift to you, sweet paladin of mine.” She pulls her hand away, “But please don’t interrupt me too often. I have things to do.”

  That said, she flicks me in the forehead.

  ***

  I open my eyes to a worried Kai’Lenal.

  “That was an interesting experience.” I say with a smile.

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