Viltach sat in his bed and thought about the latest Archmage. If he hadn't heard about a 'Cubic Golem' that had driven off the late Raganest du Ecte's army... Well, he wouldn't have thought much about Pixel. Last night had not been terribly interesting with the 'Superhero' having left before the meal had really begun.

Not a social person then. Viltach knew countless [Mages] in Wistram who were exactly the same.

Still, he had the counsel's minutes, and the meeting Pixel had with them was very illuminating. It was plain now what that flighty Revivalist was interested in. Nailihuaile was a powerful [Enchanter] and a skilled combatant - so she would naturally be drawn to someone that was also accomplished in those areas. People thought that his faction was racist, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Viltach was the least judgmental person they'd ever meet.

It was just that humans didn't have many of the flaws that plagued other races. That was why Terandria was by far the most civilized continent. It didn't have greedy drakes that horded riches and knowledge with equal fervor. It didn't have the widespread corruption of its governments. It wasn't some un-tamed jungle.

And it was all thanks to humans.

Viltach, however, knew that exceptional people could come from anywhere, and thus, he deeply respected Nailihuaile... Even if he personally couldn't stand her.

However, he always put his personal opinions aside when it came to Wistram and magic. Nailihuaile was the only creature that could use the full potential of the materials he so carefully cultivated. Aside from himself, that was.

Oh. That reminded him.

He yawned and threw his covers off. He could start some short-term projects. He'd likely be at Wistram long enough for that. He also needed to check on his ongoing creations. The magicore wouldn't have formed a mana stone yet, or at least not a large enough one for his purposes, but he should confirm its progress and see if there were any adjustments that needed to be made.

He had just opened the panel when he heard a knock on his door.

Viltach glanced between the entrance and his crucible before sighing and placing the lid back over the magicore. It had kept for a month, and wouldn't be ready for at least another one, so he could wait a couple of hours to examine it. Instead, he walked to his door. "[Transparent Window]." His door became see-through to his eyes, and allowed him to see who was paying him a visit. It was a young man with short, black hair. Viltach blinked. Who?

...Oh! Of course! It was Pixel. Without his armor, he looked remarkably normal.

He quickly ran his fingers through his hair to make sure it was presentable. Sleeping had a way of mussing it up - despite his best efforts. His flowing locks were one of his best features. While combing them would be best, it would be fine to simply make sure that there'd been no tangles he'd hadn't noticed before.

Once he had made sure he was presentable, Viltach opened the door to his suite. "Pixel!" He smiled. "I almost didn't recognize you without your armor!"

The young man smiled in return. "Yes, it is quite distinctive. That makes it all the easier to move about unnoticed without it."

"Of course." Viltach motioned for him to enter. "That's an Earth tradition, correct? [Super Heroes] and [Secret Identities]?" He'd made sure to memorize that part of the counsel notes. "I'm glad you don't walk around in it all the time like Verdan does." A human that was so enamored with Dullahans that he dressed like them...

It was disgraceful.

"Who is that?" Pixel asked as he entered. His head pivoted to take in the furnishings, but paused when he gazed at the entrance to the experimental wing.

"Oh, just another of us Archmages." Viltach closed the door behind him. "I'm sure you'll meet him eventually." That is, if he ever bothered to pay attention to the [Messages] that Winstram sent out. "What can I do for you, Pixel?" It was important to use his name. That showed a more personal interest.

"Hm?" The [Super Hero], glanced at him. "I just wanted to resume our conversation from last night, and apologize for my sudden departure."

"Think nothing of it!" Viltach beamed at him. "Those gatherings can be so tedious at times. Why, you wouldn't believe the pomp and circumstance that nobles go through to maintain the illusion of their power. Wistram doesn't need more of such things." All the power was in Cognita's hands anyways. That had a way of making any cerimony feel hollow. "So we don't bother with such frivolities." He let out a short laugh. "At least, most of the time. Recognizing a new Archmage is still a fairly momentous occasion!"

"Yes. I've noted how laid back Wistram generally is." Pixel nodded his head. "At least for the faculty. Some students are still quite diligent."

"As they should be!" Viltach agreed. "Practicing magic is not for the lazy or the faint of heart!"

"No, it isn't." Pixel began to slowly walk around the foyer. "Effort should be rewarded, but the effort must be in earnest."

"Well said!" Viltach moved beside him and subtly directed him towards the experimental wing.

They soon entered the place where most of his efforts were located. Pixel's head turned from side to side as he took in the wonders. "How interesting."

"Yes. I understand that you are an accomplished combat [Mage], but I prefer to refine my craft here, instead of on the battlefield." He strolled through his trees and cauldrons that concentrated mana. "I know that you use a different sort of magic than we do, but I think we can appreciate each other on the artistry involved in both of our creations." Viltach pulled out his wand as he moved back towards Pixel. He held it in his palm so that it was easy to see. "I grew the wood for this myself. Krakk trees are dangerous." He motioned to the plant that sat behind enchanted glass, lest anything disturb it. "They produce a gel that explosively propels their bark when disturbed. Thus, harvesting them is difficult. Even worse, the gel warps the outside grain. By growing one from a sapling, and using some frost magic, I was able to get the wood for this wand. Note how the grains in the wood are uniform and straight? That is the quality that I strive for, and the basis for my most powerful relics."

Pixel leaned forward. "I'm afraid that I don't know anything about wand construction, however it is clear how high quality the wood is. A good foundation is vital in most things."

Viltach smiled and slipped the wand back into his sleeve. "Precisely! One must start with the highest quality materials if you want to create the best items!" He smiled, and asked the question he'd been wondering about since seeing Pixel's armor in person. "Take your armor, for example, from the finished product, it must have been crafted from something extraordinary!"

"Hm?" Pixel grunted as his brightly colored suit flowed out of his robes and around his body while leaving his head uncovered. "You are correct in that regard. It is made out of the building blocks of reality." He raised his palm and turned it over as he looked at it. "Incorporating mana into it has thus far proven to be a costly endeavor."

"Is that so?" Viltach let out a sigh. "Then Archmage Nailihuaile is probably the person you should speak to on that subject. She is the best [Enchanter] that Wistram has." He shook his head. "Not to downplay my own skills in that area, but it's the difference in our classes. I am not as... specialized as her, despite my enthusiasm."

"My I ask what your specialty is then, Archmage?"

"Come now, Pixel." Viltach smiled. "Didn't I tell you last night that we had no need for titles between us?" He then spread his arms. "I am showing you my specialty right now! I am an [Artisan Mage]! I produce. I refine! I create!"

"Really?" There was a gleam in Pixel's eyes. "In that case, I have a request for you."

Ah! Here it was. One of the reasons he wanted to get close to Pixel. Trading secrets was all well and good, but materials and techniques were the true lifeblood of magic! "And what would that be, Pixel?"

"Tell me, what do you know of golems?"

Viltach paused. Of all the questions he'd envisioned and prepared for, that was not one of them. "They are potent creations, to be sure, and while I've crafted a good deal of them, I am no [Archmage of Golems]." Viltach knew where he stood, and it was far below Zelkyr. Nothing he could personally make could hope to stand up to Cognita physically. Nothing he made could resist her in other ways either, that was why he never brought his personal golems to Wistram. With her around, they were little more than a liability.

"But, you can make them, correct?"

Viltach nodded. "Yes. I have the knowledge, [Skills], and [Spells]. May I ask why?"

"I seek some to experiment with." Pixel motioned with his arm and two more suits of armor appeared. They turned to each other, raised a fist, tapped the other one's hand, and then they began to fight.

"Those are not spare suits of armor!" Viltach gaped. "They are Cubic Golems!"

"Not quite." Pixel corrected him as he turned to watch his creations pummel each other. "It would be more accurate to call them robots. I can make things that are very similar to golems in form, but not in function." He glanced at Viltach and smiled. "At least, not in all functions. In many ways, my creations are superior, but there are aspects of golems that surpass them easily."

"I see." Viltach nodded again. "And you wish to..." What? Create a golem of his own? Incorporate them into his creations? Study them? No. Not that. He had ample golems if he merely wished to observe them. That meant that what he wanted was something that Cognita would object to. Control them? No... "Experiment on them? Experiments that might be damaging?"

"Exactly." Pixel nodded. "I am as much an [Archmage of Golems] as you are. My creations will never reach that level, unless..." He paused. "No. That is a road not traveled. Perhaps one day I might decide to..." He paused again. "For now, I would like to have some golems that I can experiment with, and which I do not need to be careful with."

"Is that all?" Viltach smirked. "Then it is a simple thing. Crafting a permanent golem is indeed an expensive and time consuming process, but if you just need any old golem..." He looked around for a suitable base. Ah, his mana-infused soil. He had plenty, as he used it for growing his trees and other plants. "[Create Mud Golem]!" He pointed at the boxed in area that would eventually house another tree. For now, it just contained his spare dirt, and it could collect the remains quite nicely.

The mud drew together and congealed into a... humanoid shape - if he was being generous. The lumpy thing was ugly, but that was how Mud Golems were. Still... he was disappointed. It might be the best one could hope for, given the materials, but it really wasn't up to his standards.

Pixel raised his hand and appeared to concentrate for a moment. "Ah, I see." Saw what? "Now, if I just pull here..."

The small golem jerked and then took one tentative step - that left behind a stump that had previously been its leg. It tried to crawl towards them, which would be concerning under normal circumstances, as Viltach hadn't given it such a command. As it was, he was more curious about what was happening.

He'd seen something like this before...

Where was it?

Oh! It was back when he was still foolish enough to set foot on a battlefield! It wasn't something he'd personally seen, but he remembered a story one of the [Lieutenants] had told him. A story about how to kill a golem.

He, of course, had been interested in any such tactics. His younger self had thought that such a technique might be useful against Cognita. This was before he realized how suicidal such a plan would be. That was especially true seeing as how it wasn't a secret technique or anything of the sort. In reality, it was a fairly standard way of dealing with magical barriers: Magicore tipped arrows.

Magicore drew mana into itself - along with any aspects that mana had. This had all sorts of uses, but one of the most simple ones was to disrupt spells. He'd known about that ever since his first year. Using it on golems sounded like such a novel idea. Just as he'd been humbled by a swarm of peasant archers, a golem potentially could as well - if one had enough magicore.

In reality, things weren't that straight forward. You needed to breach the golem's heart in order for it to work. A magicore tipped lance arrow might work on a Mud Golem. They were soft, and their true strength wasn't in withstanding blows, but in reforming themselves. That meant that an attack that wouldn't be strong enough to disable them, could still pierce their bodies and get to their hearts.

If you could tell where such things were.

Such an attack would fatally damage a golem's heart, and cause it to 'bleed' mana. Well, it would do that for lesser golems. Viltach wouldn't wager money, much less his life, that such tactics would work on Zelkyr's creations.

The small golem finally disintegrated as it lost all of the mana that held it together. "Was that a [Spell], Pixel?" He asked the otherworlder who was currently gazing down at the remains. "Or was it something from Earth?"

He glanced up at him. "A little of both. I can pull mana from sources." He gestured at the mud pile. "I didn't anticipate such a profound result."

"Yes." Viltach ran his fingers through his hair. "In some ways, a golem's heart is like a sheep's bladder filled with water. One may access it with a knife, but that will cause it to spill its contents out into the world." He offered a consoling smile. "You might have more success with dispelling persistent [Spells] than you would with better quality golems. Especially those that can defend themselves. They would probably respond... poorly to such actions." Viltach didn't want Cognita to kill Pixel if he made a foolish attempt at attacking her. He was too valuable to lose to such a suicidal endeavor.

"I agree." Pixel nodded his head. "Still, I think that I could learn a lot from practicing against your summoned golems. Can you produce another?"

"I can." Viltach replied. "Before that, can your technique... add mana to objects as well?"

"It can." Pixel hesitated. "I don't think that it would accomplish much to do that to a golem."

"No." Viltach smiled. "Not to a golem."

"Tell me." Viltach spoke as he moved to one of the many containers that were evenly spaced around the room. "Have you heard of magicore?" He glanced at me before manipulating the latch on a lid. "I am aware that your world doesn't have magic, and that all of it is new to you. Thus, I do not want to make assumptions."

I walked over next to him. "I have heard it mentioned in passing." Mainly in various books that I'd read as Michail. "It's concentrated mana, correct?"

"That is, essentially, correct." Viltach opened the lid once it was unlocked. A wave of warm air washed over us. "It has been theorized that magicore is simply rock that has been infused with large quantities of mana. Others have postulated that it is raw mana itself, but that it has impurities, and thus a solid form." He shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever the truth is, even the least pure magicore contains vast amounts of mana. Furthermore, it constantly draws mana in."

"Hm." I grunted. "And is the heat a byproduct of that?"

**Viltach is surprised.

"Huh?" He blinked. "Oh! No, no, no." He shook his head. "That's because I've infused this batch of magicore with fire. You see, magicore absorbs elements. This batch I've attuned to fire."

Interesting.

"So... you're thinking that I could directly inject mana into it?"

**Viltach is eager.
**Viltach is excited.
**Viltach is happy.

"Exactly!" Viltach smiled. "My current setup uses these crucibles to slowly drip mana potions onto the magicore. I've found the process is faster than exposing it to the air." He let out a sigh. "But only about ten percent quicker. A significant boost, but expensive to maintain." He frowned. "It also introduces more impurities. The greater mana concentration offsets that for the most part, but it still prevents me from creating better... well, everything." He shrugged as he motioned around the room. "Magicore is used in practically every other material I refine."

"I understand." I activated Threat Sense by pushing mana into it. The fire magicore would burn me... but not immediately. It still would have to eat through my HP, even after bypassing my fire resistance. My armor... would not last long. My basic suits didn't have that resistance, and they also didn't have much HP. While they looked similar to the actual armor I'd copied from Dragon, they really were little more than malleable clothes. With a thought, I had my suit flow away from hand.

"Wha-"

**Viltach is surprised.
**Viltach is worried.

I reached into the pot and grabbed a handful of the sludge. "Don't worry. My hands are clean. They won't add any impurities to your batch." I'd made sure to Inventory anything that might be touching them. Gamer's Body also meant that my body didn't produce oils, skin flakes, or even a scent while I was in my Breaker state.

"That... wasn't my concern, Pixel." Viltach gulped. "Are you... okay?"

"Hm?" I glanced at him. "I'm fine. This level of heat is nothing." That was technically the truth. The heat wasn't a problem for me, it was the magical aspects of it. Still, Rapid Regeneration was refilling my HP nearly as fast as the magicore drained it. "I'm going to try transferring the mana from the pot into what I'm holding in my hand. Could you bring me a container to place it in once I'm done?"

**Viltach is nervous.
**Viltach is worried.
**Viltach is panicking.

"What? A container?" He nodded. "Yes! Of course! Let me just..." He rushed off to another room.

*You have been inflicted with 'Oversaturated'.

I suppose I could've let him portion some out for me, but this had the added benefit of both demonstrating my power and putting him on the back-foot for any immediate negotiating. Viltach could provide both expendable golems and magicore. The former would be essential for helping Cognita, and the latter was a much easier way to overcharge my mana pool.

The magicore in the pot felt... sluggish. I could draw mana out of it with Power Drain, but it was even slower than my usual rate. I'd been putting this off, but I think I needed to upgrade my Perk for a second time. While I wasn't very concerned about helping Viltach purify magicore more... I needed every advantage I could get before I dared to attempt anything with Cognita.

*You have been inflicted with 'Oversaturated'x2.

With a mental sigh, I reviewed my list of [Skills]... I had four from [Infiltrator] that could work: [Soft Steps], [Basic Stealth], [Discreet Murmur], and [One Good Lie].

None of them was vital - in and of themselves. I had maxed out my ranks in Stealth - mainly from Grey Fox grinding it for me twenty-four seven. As such, [Soft Steps] and [Basic Stealth] weren't immediately useful.

But...

They both might unlock future abilities that were. The more Stranger effects I had, the harder I would be to notice when I didn't want to be.

*You have been inflicted with 'Oversaturated'x3.

[Discreet Murmur] was largely invalidated by my Tongue of Babel Perk. Whispering fell under 'communication', and as such I could use my Perk to produce it. Combining it with Expansion meant that I could produce sound anywhere from within my increased radius.

On the other hand, if I was going to sacrifice [Discreet Murmur], wouldn't it be better to give it to Tongue of Babel instead? That was the major thing holding me back from sacrificing [Skills] willy-nilly. They could... 'enhance' my Perks in ways that were more than just letting them use mana. I had a limited number of [Skills] I could get, and not all of them could be sacrificed in the first place.

*You have been inflicted with 'Oversaturated'x4.

Additionally, I might have a limit on the [Skills] that I could sacrifice for a Perk. I felt a little bad about the choices I'd already made, but that was perhaps an unavoidable consequence of learning a new game.

That left [One Good Lie].

I really wanted to save that. If anything, it would be most useful for enhancing my Lucky Perks.

...I didn't want to give any of them up.

*You have been inflicted with 'Oversaturated'x5.

My mana pool was getting dangerously overloaded, if my debuffs were anything to go by. Time to switch to dumping it into the magicore I held in my hand. While drawing out the mana had been slow and sluggish, injecting it felt more like the magicore was actively pulling it in - which, I supposed, it was.

I shook my head. The only other [Infiltrator Skills] I had were: [Amateur Linguist] and [Construct Vessel: Human]. Both of those were...

Wait.

Hold on.

...Yes.

Yes, that would do nicely.

[Amateur Linguist] was another [Skill] I had earmarked for my Babel Perks, but did they really need it? Possibly. However, right now Power Drain could use it more. It could connect with a Golem's heart, but UNDERSTANDING the magic that composed it? Not so much.

[Amateur Linguist] might help in that regard.

My mana pool was almost back to its regular level. It would probably be better to stop overloading it until the Oversaturated debuffs faded. Before that... I disconnected Power Drain. It might not matter, but I'd feel better about enhancing it while it wasn't active.

"Pixel!" Viltach hurried back. "I found it!" He held out a glass jar.

I looked at it. It couldn't be normal glass. That might work for holding 'regular' magicore, but the heat from the fire-infused version would melt it.

Eh. I mentally shrugged. Viltach knew more about magicore than I did. I bet the glass was enchanted or something.

I put my hand over the top, and slowly tipped it over. I didn't want it to splash. While I was capable of handling it, I doubted it would do Viltach any good to get a drop on him. Thankfully, the viscous fluid plopped down in one lump.

"There." I rubbed my fingers with my thumb to make sure there wasn't any residue remaining. "I didn't add too much mana. I think we should confirm what effect, if any, it had on the magicore before continuing."

"Yes." Viltach nodded as he screwed a lid on the jar. "I agree one hundred percent. It shall take me a while to measure the Magirite levels and determine its purity. Would you like to watch?"

I was about to nod when I paused. I WOULD like to learn more, but I'd also like him to make another golem and let me experiment on it...

No. I could do that later. Witnessing how he measured magicore was more important. Besides, I could get him to summon more golems later - after I finished enhancing Power Drain.

...

I didn't learn much about measuring 'magirite' except that it wasn't a rigorous process. Several parts of it seemed more... subjective than anything else.

Be that as it may, the magirite levels in the magicore I'd infused were elevated - as was its purity. Viltach was excited - to say the least.

I, on the other hand, had spent most of the measuring time contemplating my [Skills] and Perks. I'd drug [Amateur Linguist] to Mana Enhancement, and selected Power Drain... only to be shown the list of my [Skills] again.

The list, notably, no longer had [Amateur Linguist] in it.

I mentally canceled everything, and restarted from the beginning. Thankfully, [Amateur Linguist] was back. I tried again and got the same results. I was confused until I realized what was going on: [Amateur Linguist] wasn't enough on its own. I would have to sacrifice more than one [Skill] if I wanted to empower Power Drain a second time.

I wondered if it was a linear progression, and if I'd have to sacrifice two this time, three the next, and four after that. Worse, it could be something like one, two, four, nine... Two data points was simply too few to help with predictions.

On the other hand, each [Skill] might have a hidden value, and the total value of the sacrificed skills needed might increase with every level.

In other words, it might be impossible for me to determine beforehand exactly how many [Skills] I'd need to sacrifice. The best I could do would be to decide that it would be worth it to sacrifice a select number of [Skills]. Then, if that didn't work, I'd have to decide if I was willing to increase that amount.

At least there was no sunk-costs involved. If [Amateur Linguist] had been eaten to no effect, it would be difficult to not sacrifice other [Skills]. To not do so would feel like a waste.

On the other hand, this would allow me to add both a 'translation' aspect and a 'stealth' aspect - if the system worked as I thought it did. The last enhancement I'd done was sacrificing [Adrenaline Rush] and [Balanced Posture] to Ears and Tongue of Babel. Predictably, that hadn't added any abilities besides mana use.

It was entirely possible that I was fundamentally wrong, and that Crafting was an outlier. It certainly was in other capacities. No other Perk transferred sacrificed [Skills] to a creation. I still could only guess what would happen if my Mega Buster was destroyed. Would the [Skill]'s benefit be forever lost? Or would it become available to be used in Crafting something else?

I let out a mental sigh. I was procrastinating. Giving up an advantage was hard.

I went through the steps again, and when the list of [Skills] opened up for the second time... I dragged [Soft Steps] to Mana Enhancement. Of my 'stealth' [Skills], it was the weakest. Plus, I still had [Basic Stealth] to continue the 'stealth' tree.

The effect was instantaneous. My two [Skills] were gone, and Power Drain felt the same... at least until I pushed mana into it.

...

"Are you going to visit every night?"

I glanced at Cognita while I stood next to the sphere of frozen time that contained Amerys. "In the foreseeable future, yes. I have to make sure everything is handled correctly." The guarding [Mages] were still around, so I couldn't say - 'I need to finish draining all of the mana from her shackles'.

**Cognita loves Zelkyr.
**Cognita trusts Zelkyr.
**Cognita wants to help Zelkyr.
**Cognita is amused.

Not that Cognita was unaware of what I was doing. At least, what I was doing for Amerys. I hadn't detected any surprise or curiosity, so my Power Drain must look the same as before in her eyes. That was good. That meant that I could turn off the new aspects of it and regulate the mana it drained.

I'd been spending my mana on enhancing Threat Sense. I still had several stacks of Oversaturated, and I didn't want to push things too far. Once I was topped off again, I stopped and turned to Cognita. "Everything looks good. Shall we depart?"

She nodded at me. "Very well."

We exited the room normally. The [Mages] had taken down the maze and put a magically locked door in its place. I guessed they had gotten tired of walking through a shifting puzzle every night also. Now that Amerys was frozen, they probably didn't see much of a point in it.

Cognita and I walked in silence for a while.

"I shall take my leave now, Cognita." I stopped and looked at her. "If you don't mind."

**Cognita loves Zelkyr.
**Cognita trusts Zelkyr.
**Cognita wants to help Zelkyr.
**Cognita is happy.
**Cognita is sad.

"Very well, Pixel. Have a pleasant night." She paused for a moment. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

"Of course." I smiled at her before teleporting away.

...But not back to my room. I knew the route that Cognita was going to take from here - at least at first. She had to pass down two hallways before she got to an intersection. More importantly, the second hall would pass over an unused room. This was my chance.

I stood unmoving in the room. My Expansion Perk activated, and the range of all my powers started increasing. The sphere of my influence grew and grew until it pushed past the boundaries of the room. It continued past the ceiling/floor and into the hallway that Cognita was currently walking down.

I didn't want to blindly lash out with Power Drain. If I connected to something else, she might see it. The cameras I'd left during the day guided me as I latched on to her.

No reaction.

So far, so good.

By coming through the floor, I had hoped that Cognita wouldn't notice Power Drain. The new 'stealth' aspect might help, but I needed every advantage that I could get. If she noticed what I was doing... things wouldn't turn out well.

Power Drain connected to her core, and 'translation' let me see what was written there.

Wow.

I mean, wow!

Cognita was orders of magnitude beyond the Mud Golems that I'd practiced on. It was the difference between a 'Hello World' program and... well... Dragon.

...Or at least one of the helper AIs that Dragon still had from her father.

Ears of Babel allowed me understand what I was 'seeing', but only in a very general sense. I quickly scanned her programming. I needed to find the specific part involving her restrictions...

The connection cut off.

Cognita had passed out of my range.

There was always tomorrow night.

...

"Very well, Pixel. Have a pleasant night." Cognita paused for a moment. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

"Of course." I smiled at her before teleporting away.

I teleported to the same room, but then un-Inventoried a pylon. It could generate a force-field that was capable of withstanding Behemoth for a time. However, I just wanted it for its size. I teleported to its top, placed my palm on the ceiling, and held still.

A few more feet might make the difference between success and failure.

Cognita soon strolled down the hallway, and I connected to her again with Power Drain.

Lets see...

Here... Or... Here?...

There!

Yes. That was definitely an control about 'Love'. Now to just...

The connection cut off.

Cognita had passed out of my range.

There was always tomorrow night.

...

"Very well, Pixel. Have a pleasant night." Cognita paused for a moment. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

It was just like her welcoming speech. She'd found the words she liked and re-used them.

"Of course." I smiled at her before teleporting away.

I quickly got into the same position as last time, and waited for her to enter my range.

The connection snapped into place, and I raced through Cognita's rules to where I'd encountered my targets before.

Love Zelkyr.

Trust Zelkyr.

Want to help Zelkyr.

The final one was my target. I needed to erode Zelkyr's commands in the same way that such a thing could occur naturally. Love was the strongest emotion, and losing that while she still trusted and wanted to help Zelkyr would be too jarring.

The same was true for trust.

No. The first to go would be the overwhelming desire to help Zelkyr. Such a thing would be far less noticeable without Zelkyr around... I hoped.

I focused, and drew away the mana that empowered that command, and only that mana. It wasn't that large of an amount, and would hopefully be less noticeable.

**Cognita loves Zelkyr.
**Cognita trusts Zelkyr.
**Cognita wants to help Zelkyr.
**Cognita is puzzled.

Shit. She'd noticed something!

Cognita kept walking, but swiveled her head left and right. I was banking on her long 'dress' to help obfuscate Power Drain's connection. It seemed to work...

The connection cut off.

Cognita had passed out of my range.

There was always tomorrow night.

...

"Very well, Pixel. Have a pleasant night." Cognita paused for a moment. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

"Of course." I smiled at her before teleporting away.

I quickly setup in the same manner as previous nights. Cognita entered my range, and I connected to her with Power Drain.

Alright. It was right around here that I'd left off...

Love Zelkyr.

Trust Zelkyr.

Want to help Zelkyr.

...Well shoot. The section that I'd drained the mana from had re-constituted itself. It looked like Cognita was more robust than I'd thought. I siphoned a tiny part of the command and then stopped. I didn't let the mana flow outside of her, instead I immediately reversed the direction and pushed it into the surrounding aether. The mana from the rest of the command I'd altered oozed back into the spot I'd just taken away.

Cognita didn't seem to sense anything was amiss. Or at least, she wasn't broadcasting any new emotions. It was time to cut my losses.

I withdrew my probe, collected my pylon, teleported back to my room, and thought.

Zelkyr had set up some sort of tamper resistance to his commands. Perhaps it was designed to thwart people like me, or perhaps it was a self-maintenance sort of thing that was designed to make certain his orders didn't decay. I'd wager on the later.

A system to prevent 'hacking' would've included an alarm of some sort. However, there were no indications that such a thing had been implemented. Cognita had noticed when I'd withdrawn mana from her core, but she hadn't reacted when I'd moved it around inside of it.

If I had to make an analogy, I'd say it was like how I couldn't feel it when Riley touched my brain during surgery. I could easily notice her cutting my scalp or sawing through my skull. The brain itself? It didn't really have a sense of touch.

Or, at least, it was so dulled that I couldn't notice it.

The point was, that Cognita was far less sensitive to internal changes. Heck, it might even be the case that those specific rules were a blind spot for her, the same way some of Dragon's restrictions had been hidden from her.

Zelkyr hadn't wanted her to know how enslaved she was.

All in all, it was a good revelation. It meant that I'd found a way to erase Cognita's restrictions without alerting her. The bad thing was that it would take a good deal of time to do so. Power Drain could only 'hold' so much mana at its end. It would be like emptying a cup one straw-full at a time instead of just drinking it.

The only other option would be to incapacitate her while I worked. A time-stop bomb could do it - except that it was a gradual process. I didn't think Cognita was innately immune to temporal effects. Instead, I suspected that she had to enter her blue crystal form to gain that resistance.

If I ambushed her, it would be a race to see if she would shift or freeze first. Or to see if I could help her before either of those things happened.

I dismissed the idea. It was inherently flawed. The whole point of this was to try and help her get over her Mastering - without having her break down from having the central pillar that had supported her for her entire life yanked away. Her learning about the truth of what Zelkyr had done to her might break her.

I could live with Cognita hating me. I could live with being barred from Wistram. What I couldn't accept was putting her through such pain. Doing that would be needlessly cruel and stupid.

No, what I needed was a distraction, but not just any distraction. I needed something that would keep her in one place for an extended period of time... and not draw any suspicion.

Unfortunately, she liked to walk and talk. In fact, I think the only time she'd ever stood still for any real length of time was when we first met, and when she gave her welcoming speech. Neither was a useful scenario that I could reproduce naturally.

Yeah... I didn't have anything else coming to mind.