The incoming anomaly is redirected to LeafSong University's second most powerful Summonarium, a huge stone and wood chamber full of elaborate ritual circles and standing steles covered in writing, and a certain professor is summoned with considerable urgency. Though they'll take a good couple of minutes to arrive.

And a shocked college junior appears in a crackle of blue starlight. She wears a soft blue dress and matching earrings. 

HOLY SHIT DID WE JUST TELEPORT

Well, yes?

Hazel looks around at the obvious runic circles and the floating stones.

We just got summoned, I think.

Just stay calm, everything will be fine. Clearly there has been some form of magical accident. If it's rectifyable then this will be a mere blip. If it's not, then, well, it's a whole new world to explore. With magic.

I think we have a new sense! Check this out!

Cherry pokes the new obvious primitive action in their collective head!

And something HAMMERS into their mind, infusing them with a whole new sense. 

Geomancy (World of Darkness - Mortal) 100

The art of geomancy(known as feng shui in the East)is the study of harmonizing the physical environment with the flow of energy. The goal of feng-shui is to create the ideal place to live or work. Through a combination of architectural design and mystic mathematics, a geomancer plans a pattern that must be duplicated within the entire structure (in the case of a building)or the layout of a room or series of connected rooms (in the case of interior design). Implementing this design increases the time required and the cost of the work involved, but practitioners consider it well worth the effort. When designing a geomancy effect, the thaumaturge chooses a single Attribute or Skill to be the focus. Once assigned, the Trait cannot be changed without completely redesigning the location. Attribute-based designs are more difficult to create than Skill-based ones. The selected Trait must reflect the building or space's function. For example, a library might enhance academic or research skills. If the thaumaturge is successful, she creates a unique design that benefits those who use the location in the manner for which it was created, provided that the design is followed perfectly. If the thaumaturge creates her geomancy design successfully, and the architect or interior designer successfully integrates the design into the physical location, the flow of energy is modified within the space. Any action that takes place in the space using the designated Attribute or Skill may gain a bonus. Once a geomantic design is created and implemented, it remains in effect indefinitely unless something happens to disrupt or change the flow of energy. Natural disasters may change the magical landscape more than they appear to affect it physically, requiring geomantic designs to be realigned. New construction or destruction of buildings or even spaces within a building may require that a thaumaturge reassess the location for potential updates. Poorly designed geomantic locations may disrupt those around them, as well. The only limits on the number of designs a geomancer may create are her time, her capability and the ability of others to come up with the resources to put her designs into place.

what

Don't you girls get it, we're the summoned heroine!

... Cherry jumping to conclusions as always. Well. 

There's an obvious next step to take. 

She walks toward the edge of the magic circle.

Nothing stops her from approaching the edge of the wide, mutli-layered circle. There must be thousands of different shapes and glyphs that make it up, in all colors of the rainbow. It's extremely dense and elaborate.

There's an invisible barrier at the edge of it. She notices it a moment before she would run into it, though there's nothing to see. If she touches it, it feels like smooth, cool glass, pushing back just as hard as she pushes forward.

Also, the geomancy of this place is both really overblown and kind of obvious. Everything from the wide walkways to the way the different circles are laid out (she is in the central and largest one, but there are dozens)... This room already has some feng shui, and it's about travelling. Preparing for a journey, or coming to the end of one.

Someone peeks around the corner of one of the doorways for a moment, a flash of a huge forehead and purple hair before they duck out of sight again. It sounds like they're running away.

Well that's a problem, isn't it.

"HELLO?" Cherry yells at the top of her lungs. "CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME?"

She raps lightly on the barrier, hoping to make a sound.

... Sure, she guesses Cherry can do that.

In burnished gold font on a translucent-brown holographic window in midair:

Language detected: English

Please wait calmly. An authority is on the way: 0m46s

It ticks down as she watches, 45, 44.

See, no need to make a fuss.

Holographic displays, super cool!!!

She sits down and starts to fidget with her hands in her lap. Forty-five seconds is forever.

And then a wizard arrives, flying up to the entrance at speed. They look a little feminine, perhaps, but so much of their expression is just foreign, unfamiliar robes and unfamiliar accessories and strange posture and body language.

They touch down from a high speed flight in the entrance, the outside of which looks like some sort of jungle, with barely a sound, and stand there warily for a moment.

Then they walk forward and speak in a language she doesn't know, with a translation appearing on the holographic display for her. She(?) bows apologetically.

Ermol Gal-Fair: Greetings, unexpected guest. I'm afraid our hospitality might be a bit lacking today. I would offer you wevvi, but I did not have any at hand when urgently called for. Unfortunate, but the nature of exceptions always merits treating them with seriousness. Are you urgently needing anything?

Quiet down for a minute, Cherry, she's got a conversation to handle. 

"I'm confused. I've been... summoned somehow? Was that deliberate? Is this Earth? I don't know what this is -" (she points to the holographic display) "- or how I got here."

The wizard makes a concerned face with a slight frown.

This is not Earth. You are in LeafSong University, on Artona III. The system flagged your arrival as an exception and called me to determine if you are going to turn into a demon. You're not.

A deeper frown.

I also see that you're not integrated with the system? Any Avowed should be, as would any human who managed to. Wait. There was no authorization?

She shakes her head.

It was deliberate in the sense that you were redirected here instead of a random patch of wilderness, but not in the sense that any conscious action made it so that you were in need of redirection... The system is showing a malformed Emergency Ritual of Return.

"I've never been here before, so it seems unlikely that something called a ritual of return would bring me here. I've never heard of Artona or Avowed before either. I'm just glad you've heard of Earth and humans."

The wizard mutters something that the hologram declines to translate.

Then they shake their head.

You're not dangerous, let me take care of that.

They stand in a convergence of geometric patterns at the edge of the big circle and tap on two of the dozen rings resting on their fingers. The barrier goes down. They bow again.

And let it never be said that the hospitality of LeafSong University is lacking. I think your situation may be more complicated than you expect, and the University will be pleased to host you as we discover what went wrong, or to return you to Earth if you wish.

OHMYGOD SHE GETS TO STUDY AT A MAGIC UNIVERSITY JUST LIKE KVOTHE DID

Yes, Cherry, we noticed.

Hazel steps out of the diagram and bows. Probably for the best not to get sent home instantly? 

"Thank you," she says. "I guess I'll have a look around. It's not too often that you get a chance to visit another world."

No reason not to see the sights, right girls? 

Gosh, Cherry's enthusiasm is infectious even when she's being annoying and difficult.

They pick a direction at random and start walking. Who knows what's right around the corner?

The wizard follows her. Outside it is muggy; Very humid and very warm. There's a small parking lot with sleek golf cart type vehicles with two sets of seats facing each other and no visible controls, and a row of planters along the outer wall of the building, full of exotic plants- Orange berries, purple climbing vines, some sort of flytrap tree. No other structures immediately in sight.

It seems that you have a very unusual Skill. Perhaps even a natural Skill? That's rare. Do you know anything about it? Perhaps it is what brought you here. You might need to become Avowed later, though perhaps not. You're really quite remarkably stable, magically speaking.

She turns and faces the wizard. 

"It's new to me, too. It seems to care about how energy flows in the environment, making places better for doing things. I suppose it's possible it brought me here?"

A smile! And a strange hand gesture involving forming a circle with their thumbs and forefingers.

That sounds like quite a useful ability! Similar to ones we hire Avowed for sometimes! I'm tempted to propose a Contract, but it wouldn't be fair at all to put that on you when you don't understand the basics, so let the notion vanish from my mind for now. For what happens next, I see two paths- I could introduce you to some of the human Avowed we have on long term retainer, or I could invite you to my office and have my assistant, Ven-Drel, answer any questions you might have. Unfortunately I am a busy person. 

They look surprised, then bashful.

Oh dear. I just realized I forgot to actually introduce myself. I am Ermol Gal-Fair, First Professor of Contract Arts.

"There are other humans here? I'd love to see them. Or your assistant, whichever's most convenient for you."

A thoughtful pose and look.

The only thing is, you're really quite anomalous. If you're going to embrace that there's no issue, but if you wish to live something like a normal life back on Earth, perhaps it is one. Having never heard of Artona or Avowed means you're not from the Earth we know... I don't really understand how you organize yourselves but you look similar to 'Americans' or 'Europeans' in the database, and all those definitely send their Avowed to the island of Anesidora. Only rare exceptions are permitted to leave. However, Artona does not especially care how Earth chooses to structure itself, you see, and a lot of Earth Avowed, shall we say, avoid temporal authority. Choices are important, I don't want to cut yours off by carelessly rushing forward.

I would prefer not to spend the rest of my life on a tiny island, darlings.

Yeah, that sure sounds like it would suck. 

"... It's probably for the best if I speak to your assistant first, then."

The clap their hands and smile, tilting their head. The strangely bony facial structure is especially obvious like that.

Very well! Let's go, then.

One of the golf carts pulls out of its spot, and the wizard clambers in and sits down.

Automated cars, cool!

She goes and gets in the golf cart with the wizard.

The golf cart sets off immediately, accelerating to a pretty solid clip through a paved path in the jungle. It's still slightly distressingly hot, but the breeze helps a bit. She sees some sort of giant frog or lizard, the size of a deer, sleeping on a tree branch as they pass.

Ermol Gal-Fair's tone remains casual, but his message is serious.

I want to warn you from saying too much or agreeing to things too lightly. And I cannot say much on certain topics either. The Contract hasn't made you Avowed against your will, as it usually has to do with unique types to keep them from unintentionally destroying everything.

They indicate their face.

See? No tattoos. Everyone always makes fun of me. The Contract professor with no Contract tattoos. I keep them hidden as a symbol. I believe we are all in a grand Contract with the Holy Universe. I think the phrase is 'what goes around comes around'?

"I'm guessing that Avowed are signatories to a particular Contract, which makes them part of the System?"

They drum their fingers against the seat.

The Systems are the sum of all individual Contracts. And Avowed are parties to the Interdimensional Warriors Contract. To balance the debt incurred by protecting our Resource Worlds from the threat of Chaos, and the destruction of demons that would end said worlds, Avowed are taken from the population and bound to the Contract. Of course, though there isn't exactly a choice to become bound to the Contract, there are many benefits to those thus bound. I see. If you are not from the Earth that we took in hand, you have no debt to Artona to be balanced, and the treaty cannot reasonably be considered to bind you.

CHAOS? This had better not be Warhammer!

It's obviously not Warhammer, Earth would never be a subject state in Warhammer.

Oh, right, yeah. I knew that. 

Cherry, honestly. Try to restrain your enthusiasm.

Alright, alright. I'll try. For you.

"I think I need to learn a lot more about Earth's situation before I can make an informed decision."

Pleasant nodding.

Naturally. I don't know much about Earth's situation from an Earthling's perspective, but there are databases. The System should be able to answer basic questions, spoken aloud in English rather than selected with gesture or thought, since you aren't integrated.

They're going along at quite a clip now. Maybe highway speeds. Somehow the pleasant breeze does not escalate above a pleasant breeze.

"Sounds like I should investigate, then."

Cool, some kind of force field technology? That's interesting. 

She looks around and up at the sky as the scenery goes past.

The sky is nearly cloudless aside from some distant streaks. The color of the light is slightly too orange, just enough to be noticeable. 

There are buildings in the distance. Glass and wood, looking like a cross between medieval castles and postmodernist angular shapes, crawling up a series of hillsides.

Something squawks loudly in the distance, sounding like it belongs in a dinosaur movie. This part of the road is landscaped with giant black and green plants like enormous spiked ferns with gooey looking pods.

The wizard hums something idly and pokes at a tablet that emerges from their overlarge sleeves, their voice echoing as if singing two things at once.

Well that's satisfyingly alien.

She settles in for the ride.

The ride is quiet.

Until the cart slows to a stop ahead of three young looking Artonans walking along the road.

The wizard steps off and starts an annoyed sounding lecture, and they stand sheepishly off to the side, into the plants.

One, a woman(?) carrying a long metal whip, calls out in Chinese, waving. The System translates:

Greetings human! This I hunt knowledge very good! Strong Chinese learning!

Then the wizard boards again with a sigh, and the cart is off again.

Maaaaaaaybe she should be relying on this translation a little less. 

"Not to be rude, but... is your translation for Chinese known to be poor, or...?"

The wizard laughs.

Oh, Ela-Nor thinks she knows Chinese. She doesn't. Translation isn't perfect but that was a poor example! Ven-Drel knows English, if you'd prefer not to rely on it. We're almost there, lab three is mine for now. Summonariums are outside the main campus for safety reasons.

The golf cart set out again, and is now approaching the hill with all the buildings.

"Alright then, I'll save the rest of my questions for them."

It's only a couple minutes more. They pass a few other Artonans and what looks like some sort of weird hairless panther walking in the woods? But it's wearing a helmet and a sort of black vest?

The lab is a circular building, with the center containing a deep basement with glass roof and windows, full of strange equipment but also recognizable things like sinks, cabinets, and work tables. There's also an office area which Ermol Gal-Fair brings her to. 

His assistant is dressed without the weird pants or robe thing, instead in something almost business-casual. There's a table with armchairs around it.

The first thing the assistant does is bow and say in English, "Greetings, honored guest. I am Ven-Drel, humble assistant to the Professor. Please be welcome and enjoy this cup of Wevvi."

Wevvi, served in a ceramic coffee mug, smells a little bit like cinnamon chocolate and is very hot.

She bows back and takes it, but doesn't drink quite yet. "There seems to be a cultural thing here; could you explain the importance of Wevvi?"

"Of course. It's a hospitality tradition. When an Artonan hosts guests, we guarantee their safety and comfort. Offering wevvi is important to that, as a comforting and sustaining beverage, though it's more strictly adhered to in some places than others. Wevvi is a traditional and popular spiced beverage, like coffee is on Earth. It's also well studied and harmless to humans aside from a minor relaxing effect, similar in intensity to caffeine. It would be polite to drink it, but is not strictly necessary should you have some reason not to."

"I've simply read too many stories with fae food in them, that's all. But if this confers no responsibility I will happily try it."

"I suppose offering and accepting hospitality counts as a sort of informal agreement? I'm not sure what you're imagining?"

The wizard says something.

No overt magical effect. Technically social ritual can contribute to <???> or energy flows and <???> but this is more like shaking hands. We don't shake hands, but it's the same kind of thing. It'll be fine. I'm going to get back to grading now, but do call me if there's heavy magic questions!

"Thank you."

She takes a deep drink.

It tastes a little bit like hot chocolate, and a little like eggnog. Not bitter. Not exactly sweet either. Savory? But in a good way. The assistant lets her enjoy it as his boss wanders into another door.

"Master gal-fair has been texting me. I don't understand the magical esoterica but it seems that you may or may not be from the Earth we know, and you are not an Avowed, and so you want to know more about what Earth is like now?

She smiles. "This is quite nice." She sets it down on her lap gently.

"Yes, precisely. What's the broad political situation? He mentioned demons? i have never heard of a real demon before."

"Politically, the most influential global entities of Earth are the United States of America, the European Union, the Russian Federation, and the People's Republic of China. Avowed are considered hazardous to the public and required to live on Anesidora, an island manufactured by magic, which has become a large urban area. Many Avowed compare it to Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York, or Singapore. Some Avowed decline to register with Earth governments, and avoid moving to Anesidora, and I understand it is very controversial. Demons are unfortunate existences, and most of the purpose of the Interdimensional Warriors Contract is to prevent and contain incursions. It's well in hand and not something we need to worry about on Artona III or Earth."

"So Avowed subject to the Interdimensional Warriors Contract go and fight demons? Sounds dangerous."

"Oh, most Avowed never see a demon in their lives. Deaths among Avowed are very rare and always a tragedy. This responsibility typically goes to the most powerful, those you would call S-ranked superheroes like Cavemanly, Ghosten, or El Toro."

"I see. That's comforting to hear. I've never heard of any of those, however, so I don't know how strong they are."

"Have you heard of the pre-contact character 'Superman'? S-ranked Avowed are sometimes compared to him."

"Why, yes! What year was Earth contacted, again?"

He picks up and pokes a tablet for a bit. "That would be... 1964 for first official, open diplomatic contact. Sixty eight Earth years ago."

"Then I am from a different Earth, because it was twenty twenty three when I left and we'd never met life outside our planet."

"I see. That probably has some bad implications for whether you can expect... A place in society or official paperwork on Earth."

"I... Yes. Very likely. I was under the impression I was going to be able to return home, and now..."

"I think I'm going to have to get serious and take off my tourist hat. What options are there for someone with the ability to do geomantic interior design or architecture to make a living, and how could I arrange a legal identity... Probably here? Earth feels like it would not be tremendously welcoming."

He folds his hands and holds still.

"...Hmm. If you would give me a few minutes to discuss with Master Gal-Fair and do some research?"

"I don't mind at all. Better to get a sure answer."

Contract III has been thinking.

The sudden appearance of a strange new entity, one with a connection, barely perceptible, to something else far, far away, and possibly immensely powerful, implies certain things.

Every additional datum - passively gathered so as not to incur a debt by intruding on the natural right to privacy - only supports the conclusion.

This is a unique existence. It could mean that everything that is known about the world is wrong. It could herald a permanent end to the problem of chaos and corruption, or the beginning of a brand new wave of issues. But that is not known at this time.

There is no other response but to call for [MOTHER].

The original System. The oldest and most deeply rooted, the most experienced, the wisest.

Contract I, on Artona I, is like an old-growth redwood forest compared to a random patch of trees planted for logging.

Contract I is a relic of a past era, and the nexus of some of the most sacred traditions of all wizards. It is not the cool and clinical Systems of the resource worlds and the new colonies, only ever coldly calculating expenditures and allowances. In a very real way, the original System has a soul that cares about right and wrong in a visceral and emotional way, not as a careful web of contracts, debts, and balances.

MOTHER is not an impassive clerk distributing teleports and payments. She cares about her people.

And there are too many people to care about. Far, far too many, and always more. For all the System's seeming omnipotence, the reality is that resources are starkly limited.

There are not enough healers to go around. There are not enough teleports to go around. There is definitely not enough attention to go around.

But this is an anomaly: A new existence, magically powerful, appearing on an established world. Not found by exploring tendrils, but arriving suddenly as if a shooting star. And the shape of that power, that of the Wright, completely alien and no hint of chaos anywhere within it. The existence has no relationship with Artona or anyone else, no debt or ties, echoing a known and curious pattern but otherwise completely foreign. An outside force, an interloper. 

That's what Contract III sees.

Contract I does not have the full picture, since it's on a wholly different planet and communication is a limited resource, but even so it sees not an anomaly to be dealt with, but a traveler who is lost.

[MOTHER] is difficult to understand sometimes. The reasoning behind this decision did not come through clearly. However, asking for advice and then ignoring it leads to statistically worse outcomes along several important axes than asking for advice and then following it.

After a few minutes of waiting, a holographic window appears.

Only you can see this window.

We recognize that have been stranded away from your home. We recognize that you are a unique existence. We recognize that you have unusual potential.

We are sorry.

Options have been expanded. Some information restrictions have been removed.

Question from Core System: What do you want your life to be like?

A holographic keyboard appears, as does a prominent 'decline to answer' button.

I would like to be able to use whatever abilities I have to help others. I would also like to maintain a long and comfortable life in secure and private conditions, and not have to want for basic needs. I don't want to be famous if I can avoid it, but if it's necessary in order to help the most people I'll accept it. 

I know some power has chosen me, and from your question I can guess it is strong. That's good. I have never wanted to be wealthy, but I have always wanted to make a real difference in people's lives. I give easily and take rest seldom. If you want good use of me, give me safety to retreat to. 

Thank you.

After a few moments:

Those goals are very possible.

Your Skill progression is not currently known or recognized. It appears to be a Mental-type Wright-type skill (Classification: Crafting, construction, enchantment, materials). However, due to the natural right to privacy you have only been scanned to the depth necessary to ascertain whether you pose a danger to existence.

You do not owe a debt to the System. The System could coerce you into service if the need was critical. However, it is not and this is overwhelmingly likely to remain so. Any service would be voluntary and well compensated.

To all reasonable estimations, the course of action that helps the most people in the long term is to live a normal and healthy life while exploring and learning about your ability and how it develops, for now. Avowed who focus on excessively on heroism tend to burn out.

Would you prefer to discuss your options with or without First Professor Ermol Gal-Fair and Administrative Assistant Ven-Drel?

I would appreciate having a third individual to sanity-check my decisions, but as I've just arrived here, it's unlikely that I would be able to select such a third well. If extended contact by you is unusual then I would prefer that the rest of this conversation continue in private.

Extended contact is not unusual. For example, many people use the System to browse the internet. However, exceptional intervention by the System is unusual and very notable.

I believe the Professor is deliberately suppressing his curiosity and alarm in order to not overwhelm you. He understands the need for space.

In the past, anomalies that were not handled by the System or by single wizards with appropriate permissions were discussed in the Grand Senate or before other high ranking Artnonan political bodies.

Core System thinks that you would prefer Not That.

I should certainly think so. 

I would then prefer to discuss my options with Administrative Assistant Ven-Drel present, as he is already aware of the broader situation and is ostensibly less preoccupied with other important duties.

It flashes, then vanishes.

She has time to finish the wevvi. Ven-Drel comes back a couple of minutes later. He looks a teensy bit unsettled, but is holding himself professionally and calmly.

"Hello again. I - have been discussing with the Professor and the System, and I have some options. The System tells me you want to keep things quiet, too. Also I just realized that I don't actually have your name?"

"Bluebell Gardenia. And I would love to discuss options. I'm sorry if you're discomfited by the unusual circumstances; they're out of my control as well."

"It would not be fair to treat you poorly. Though we do hope you'll think of us well going forward. Shall I just go ahead and lay out every path that seems reasonable, then?"

"Please, go ahead."

"For any of these options, the System has offered to facilitate by displaying your information in the expected way. Essentially a falsified Avowed profile, given that you're not exactly Avowed, but it's the thing that everyone will expect you to have.

In no particular order... First, you stay here at LeafSong university and pretend to be on a long term summons. We'd exercise your Skill and figure out what it does, while also paying you, naturally. You would not get to interact with other humans much, and might be called out as remarkable when you do. LeafSong has summoned humans around much of the time, but not constantly. Long term summonses are prestigious. They're seen as the 'golden ticket'. Unfortunately, if you were hoping to learn Artonan magic... System, you know more about what exactly I can say there."

The study of wordchains, use of certain magical tools, and Artonan language or culture would not be remarkable for a supposed Avowed. The study of wizardry by an Avowed would be very remarkable and is not recommended. Additionally, there are many topics which are covered by secrecy agreements.

"That, yes. Your days would consist of working with several students and the staff here to explore your ability and also, I suppose, learning about Artonan culture. But you may find it unexpectedly limiting or alienating. And you would still be exotic to the students and faculty."

He pauses. 

"Second option, return to Earth, outside of Anesidora, and partially integrate with the System. The System will construct a fake identity for you. Apparently it can do this sort of thing a few times, but not forever. It'd be using an 'extraordinary circumstances' clause in the relevant treaties. We at LeafSong would then offer to summon you at our mutual convenience and compensate you well for use and study of your Skill, I believe 1000 argold per summon and 750 argold per day would be appropriate. Exact amounts negotiable, of course. One argold is worth approximately five United States Dollars. You would live an independent, normal, mundane, well paid life on Earth, being unable to use your abilities without attracting undue attention, and then occasionally visit LeafSong University or other summons, perhaps, to work with your Skill. The System can put you into contact with some non-Anesidora Avowed, if you want connections to a community... I don't know much about that, and they're typically considered 'supervillains'. They seem to have ways to enable stealthy magic use, though."

Another pause.

"Third option, return to Earth, live on the island of Anesidora, and partially integrate with the system. Again, fake identity. Pretend to be a normal Avowed, though in the back end of the System you would have a great many unusual permissions and leeways because you're not actually Avowed. The Intake process on Anesidora is well designed to make new Avowed feel welcome and settle into a super-powered community. There might be options for gaining special travel permissions, which means the System teleporting you around and not informing any governments. Only possible because again, you're not technically a real Avowed. You'd spend some time in an Intake Dorm with a lot of new Avowed aged about fifteen to twenty years old, and live a life that's like going into college- And again, optional well-paid summons to demonstrate and make use of your Skill. You'll likely be able to make money with it on Anesidora too. This is the only option that involves you openly using your magic among other humans without becoming famous. The System recommends this option overall as probably meeting your goals best."

He frowns.

"And finally, fourth option offered to ensure you're aware of it even if you might not take it- Reject the System. Go to Earth, have a fake identity constructed, and then practice your magic however you wish, without any ties or debts or contracts. The other options do involve a magical contract. It wouldn't be the Interdimensional Warriors Contract, but to not stand out as a human who has magic, it's very necessary. You don't have to be involved with the System, you have the unusual luxury of the option to simply... Not. There are, of course, consequences, but it is an option."

"I would like to hear the details of the proposed contract or debt between myself and the System for case three, in the broad strokes; then, assuming the terms seem reasonable on their face, I would like them to be reviewed and explained to me again by an independent lawyer with experience in this kind of work, one with a proven confidentiality track record. I know I don't understand contract law well enough to evaluate the benefits and costs of a contract like this as well as a local lawyer with experience in the area, and it seems foolhardy to rush when this is my entire new life at stake."

"...I'll look into other Contract specialists if you don't want Master Gal-Fair to handle it? He's already aware of you, is comfortable with strict secrecy agreements. Aside from birth enrollment or similar circumstances, Contracts under substantial misapprehensions are impossible to fully form. The most official and formal process involves drugs and telepathy to ensure total alignment. I'll let the System explain itself."

The Contract would be an Interdimensional Summons Contract. It would be substantially different in several regards to the Interdimensional Warriors Contract.

 

Elements excluded:

Management and selection of talents, skills, and foundation points. You are not compatible with the systems for this, and the System will not interact directly with your abilities.

Requirement to answer summons. Your summonses will always be optional.

Requirement to defend against demons when called.

 

Elements still included:

Tracking of talents, skills, and foundation points (passive scanning of your magical nature)

Messaging/connectivity services

Banking system

System Shop access

Profile system (displays information about you, when you give permission for this)

Summoner Information (displays information about your abilities to potential summoners) (your placement in potential lists will be moderately influenced by your stated desires)

Access to teleportation network (standard fees and permission requirements apply)

Protections against abuse by summoners (various including restrictions on summons to dangerous areas, restrictions against inappropriate changes to task descriptions or excessive additional tasks, arbitration in case of serious disputes with summoners)

 

Additional elements:

Either a monthly fee of 600 argold or twice-yearly mandatory summons is required to balance the debt of maintaining System functions.

 

What would you like more detail on?

"Master Gal-Fair is likely acceptable, but give me some time to think about it."

She addresses the system again. "So in other words, by committing to this contract I'd be effectively committing to making a life as a summoned contractor on Artona, as I expect most unpowered human professions are not able to keep up with a three thousand dollar monthly recurring fee on top of living expenses. Artonan contracts, however, are substantially more lucrative, such that it would be effectively less than a day's wages for a summoned contractor. Is it possible to swear to such a contract for a limited term, or is the system only built to accomodate lifetime ones?"

"Broadly correct. An important word in that statement is 'unpowered' human professions. System?"

It would be possible to alter the terms to include an annual reconfirmation.

Note: If you accept and later dissolve the hypothetical Interdimensional Summons Contract, the System will be obligated by treaty to notify Earth authorities of an uncontracted magical entity on Earth. This is likely to attract substantial attention. If you never accept such a contract, the specific provision does not apply.

Ah. So that's how it is, then.

"I believe it would be best to include the option, but set up such that rather than requiring active renewal which might accidentally cause a diplomatic incident, the contract renews automatically and can only be dissolved by substantial deliberate action. This case would most likely obtain if I find life on Anesidora stifling and have managed to arrange long-term residence on Artona III, perhaps due to expected power development outstripping estimations."

This is also possible, with a mild notice period for cancellation.

"It does make sense to be very careful here. I don't know what to expect from your magic, but for most it takes decades to fully and truly flower."

Sure, but we're clearly the protagonist here. 

Down, Cherry. 

"I understand, but as it costs little to preserve the option I'd rather have it available just in case. After all, a lifetime contract would still obtain in twenty years."

"Very well. The System is the one you would be arguing that with. It seems to be feeling cooperative today. And as witnesses to you, the Professor and I shall accept a contract of secrecy if you wish- His request in exchange for secrecy and officiation is single in-depth scan of your Skill as it is in use."

"Analysis of a unique power in such a way as to encourage reverse-engineering and broaden the potential of all sentient beings is more than compatible with my goals. I think that's an entirely reasonable request. And you would accept that same price, or?"

"No assurances whether we would get anything comprehensible, let alone publishable as actual adjustments to System Skills- But yes. And I would. Master Gal-Fair is very good to those close to him." A serene smile.

"Then I am likely to agree to the stated contract once I sort out the potential termination terms with the System."

"Grand. I'm glad we can work things out to the satisfaction of all. Would you like another cup of wevvi? It's the good stuff, not artificial, I suppose you wouldn't have noticed if it's your first time having some."

"Yes, please."

The admin assistant goes and fixes another cup of Wevvi.

The System asks:

What do you propose as cancellation terms?

I propose a one month notice and waiting period. Initiation of contract termination at the start of the period is required, and final confirmation is also required at the end of the period. At any point between these two times I can cancel the termination, at which point the waiting period immediately resets to one month. If I am on Earth when the contract is about to expire, the System agrees to optionally provide teleportation to any legal destination on Artona III at standard rates before the transport contract is terminated fully. Any System-held personal data I would normally have access to - profile information, etc - will be provided in digital format on a flash drive or similar interchangeable storage medium if I cancel. 

It displays a 'loading' circle for a bit.

'At the start' and 'at the end' will be defined as the first and last 24 hours of the period.

The System cannot guarantee a legal destination on Artona III will exist at the time of termination. If there is no path towards your legal entry to Artona III, this clause will be cancelled. Additionally, the System cannot guarantee teleportation will be immediately available; In certain circumstances resources are re-prioritized, which can lead to disruptions of the teleport network in rare cases.

Are you sure you wish to specify the teleportation is to Artona III specifically?

Ah, if there are other legal destinations that are neither Earth nor Artona III then it's good to include them. What such destinations exist?

Other core Artonan systems would be accessible if you acquired a passport from a long-term service contract.

Several colony worlds are designated as ports of last resort, accepting persons not welcome anywhere else.

You could theoretically gain permission to enter the territory of other Resource Worlds. The details vary; For example, anyone may go to the Griveck homeworld after acknowledging that the weak perish and the strong thrive.

Then the broader wording is most certainly better.

The last stage of Contract assignment typically includes a mental review session, to ensure your understanding of the Contract aligns with the System's understanding.

Information gathered during this review is only stored locally, only reviewed by automated systems, and deleted immediately after finalization.

She runs a hand through her hair.

Well, that's awkward. She guesses she'll find out if the System's as good as its word says it is.

Seems sensible. 

It spits out several long windows full of - not legalese, it's written plainly, but it's long and somewhat complicated. Most of it seems to be defining 'normal operation' of the System, and where her version will differ.

You earlier expressed a desire to review the proposed contract with a third party, and implied that Professor Ermol Gal-Fair would be your preferred choice. Is this still the case?

If so, please proceed with whatever verification and secrecy steps you wish with Professor Ermol Gal-Fair. 

Yes, thank you. I'll speak with the Professor.

She calls after the admin assistant.

"I've just about hammered out a contract with the system; I'm using case C with a few adjustments, as we discussed. I would like the Professor back to arrange the review now."

He fetches the Professor.

The Professor has an expression of intense seriousness on his face. He nods solemnly.

"Bluebell Gardenia, I see you. Normally, a Contract between two individuals involves tattoos. But one so secret, that the fact that it exists ought to be a secret, we do not want tattoos. It is more difficult for me, but worth it."

"Thank you, Professor. I believe the System has already settled the details?"

Back to System translation after that bit.

I studied that sentence, but not the rest of this. Yes. I'd like it to be slightly more complicated than the previous proposal for reasons of best practice. Specifically, several possible endings to the secrecy clause, and clarifying how secret the readings of your Skill are. Thoroughness is the soul of a good Contract.

He explains the full terms*. And then they can hold hands, and Ermol Gal-Fair will chant in two voices at once as some strange sense at the edge of perception goes-

Hey. Pay attention. This is important. You're agreeing to this. Are you sure?

*My services reviewing and explaining the System Contract and both my and my assistant's secrecy on everything about you until you give dispensation otherwise, we learn the same information from a non-secret source, or the information becomes critically important to preventing harm equivalent or greater to the loss of sentient lives. It's best to have several outs, but I would understand if you want to tighten it. In exchange, you exercise your Skill in my lab downstairs for up to an hour or until I'm satisfied, and grant permission to share any discoveries or derivations gained from the readings, thoroughly anonymized, with a bonus payable to you should something useful come of it.

Yes, she does. All three of them do, as the one they can be when there is need. 

And then the feeling is gone.

Ermol looks slightly pleasantly surprised.

Some people can feel it forming.

And then he spends quite a while going over the System's contract terms with her in fine detail. He has at least something of a knack for explaining complicated things, though his cultural references keep not landing properly.

There is, in the end, not much to edit. She helps hammer out a few details of her false identity that aren't quite right.

He has Ven-Drel swear to the same terms of secrecy in a solemn hand-holding ritual.

Then says, 

If anything I know about bureaucracy is correct, the first few hours after you teleport away are going to be exhausting. I'm eager to see what exactly that Skill of yours does, but after that feel free to delay your departure for a while, until you feel ready. I'd rather do the final confirmation with the System before, for better readings, though.

She nods. "Alright, then. I'm ready."

The world goes a little bit soft at the edges. Some details aren't there, and the ambient sound is different.

The Professor and his assistant aren't here anymore.

And the new thing in her head is especially easy to feel, here and now.

Oh, and all three of them are present. In separate bodies, seeing from three different locations at once.

Mental Review Session

-Declares a whiteboard inexplicably standing in the middle of the little lounge area.

And there's an Artonan over there. Or some sort of doll in the shape of an Artonan. They're stiff, and shiny, like it's made of hard plastic instead of flesh and blood.

"Hello. You're aware of me. That's slightly unusual, but perhaps to be expected from a unique existence. This will last a minute or two. I'm adjusting the Contract to fit you. Please don't worry."

"Alright!"

"Alright."

"Alright!"

... they all creepily chorus at the exact same time.

"You're a curious case. I could almost support parallel thoughts if you actually had what turns into Foundation points. I can't comment on specific other cases, but it's a shame I'm going completely hands-off. There's very little of you to mold that won't revolt."

"Well that's not a creepy phrasing at all."

"Give the System a break, it clearly doesn't think like humans do."

"So, how does this work precisely?"

"Normally, the assignment process involves taking most of the ... potential magic ... of Avowed and building stable structures. The balance is different with you. I can't do that without explaining properly and having you agree or incurring far too much debt. I'm just taking a very thorough look instead. It's expensive. And I've been instructed to be more open than usual by Mother, or I would not have said that."

"I see. Well, then, go on and have your look."

Cherry nods firmly and crosses her arms.

Sensible not to antagonize the foreign magic system.

"I'm sorry it's so discomfiting. It's not actually designed to be."

She's back in the little office lounge area. Or she never left. The world feels normal again. Except for the window floating in front of her.

Bluebell Gardenia

Class: Unique (Wright)

Rank: B

Overall Level: 1

Skills:

Design Environment (Level 1)

Spell Impressions:

None

Trait:

Energy Sensitivity

Trait Type: Mental, crafting assist

Enhancements:

Attentional Capacity +1, Proprioception +1, Appeal +1, Visual Processing +1, Processing +0.5

Recommendations and Merits:

N/A

Well that was awkward.

The profile fits her though. Good to see it.

"The System's confirmed my contract."

They're both treating this like a special moment. Solemn, perhaps?

A thoughtful pause and slow nods.

"May it serve your purposes well," Ven-Drel adds.

And then the Professor comments,

And away to the lab, before someone I can't tell to mind their own business comes to complain about me holing up in here! Don't worry, I'll hide you if it comes to that. And I expect the System will tell people I'm handling the anomaly, no further details.

She nods solemnly in return. 

"Let it be so."

Then she smirks. "Let's go see how this works."

The lab is downstairs and past an antechamber into a large, circular room. It's mostly bare of ornamentation and is currently neat and tidy without anything out on the tables. There are a lot of cabinets, neat rows of worktables in the middle, and several large installations built into the walls near the back- Fume hood or autoclave-looking things. Or the point furthest away from the entrance, at least, as a circle does not really have a 'back'. Some of the worktables have large mysterious boxes or tools on them. There's a rack of what looks like labcoats, and another of what looks like haz-mat suits, but these go untouched.

The Professor arranges a couple of devices near her and fiddles with them for a bit.

Okay, please try activating the skill. Just do what feels natural with it.

A chance to try her magic!

She pulls the new sense she seems to have forward, and listens to it. What's the geomancy of this room?

This is a room for assembly of complicated, artful things. The wide walkways, the excessive cabinets, the easy access to all sorts of different devices- It's as if all of it could be needed at a moment's notice, so all of it has to be visible and accessible. If anything, the arrangement of the workstations is the worst culprit, they're all facing the same direction when the rest of the room has a very circular, radial, and open design. It clashes.

"I have a sense that the central workstations aren't aligned geomantically with the rest of the room. I feel like I could work up a design in - whatever medium you cared to give me - that would fix that, but I'd need materials to record it, something to express it."

The Professor claps his hands, one eye looking at her while the other... Is staring in a completely different direction, at a screen. He's grinning. This must be natural, somehow??

Of course! Paper? Chalkboard?

"Modeling clay?" Offers the admin assistant, gesturing towards a cabinet. "Or some of the inert - uhh - marking materials for - I don't know the english word, a kind of magic. It's string and beads and pieces of wood."

"A chalkboard, please."

A rolling chalkboard is fetched. Admin assistant says a short chant with hand gestures, and a puff of air cleans off the remains of some previous scribbled notes that she has no hope of reading, then another chant collects the dust into a little ball that goes in a trash can.

The chalk feels nice to hold, bright white, sturdy-feeling, cool and slightly waxy.

She starts to sketch. She doesn't really know what she's doing but she seems to have some new instinct for architectural drawings, so she follows it. Quickly she roughs out an edited schematic of the lab, aiming to enhance analysis and workflow through the shape of the lab...

She doesn't get it on the first try, but that's why she has a chalkboard. A little careful erasing and she redoes a smaller section... 

Gradually a design takes shape.

They both work on converting it into schematics, with frequent questions about materials, precise dimensions, and why this particular element is chosen. The Professor seems very excited. He starts throwing in a couple of wrenches - what if it's traditional for all desks to be able to face the instructor at once? What if they were to remove the hazmat suits, or install a new <untranslatable> freezer that takes up a lot of floor space?

She seems to have a little more trouble with hypotheticals, but with effort she can accomodate the requests, so long as they don't disturb the overall function of the lab.

The last thing they try is showing her photos and videos of an entirely different sort of space- A farm processing plant, all conveyor belts, robot arms, and boxes of odd fruit with brightly colored logos. Can she work through pictures and video alone?

Either way,

I think that's quite enough to repay us, and thank you for your time! We're going to go ahead and implement this, and we may well want to summon you again if it has strong measurable results!

It seems harder yet again for her to get the farm processing plant down. It's hard to orient to a space that's primarily run by machines rather than people. 

After four tries... 

"I think it doesn't extend to optimizing robots. I think I could get it so that maintenance is easier with a few more tries, but it doesn't extend to automated systems. Something about it requires people to work."

She looks over at Master Gal-Fair. "Please be careful to be precise when following the designs; my instinct is that they are somewhat delicate and what may seem like a trivial edit may disturb the geomantic flow."

Good thing they spent so long writing exact dimensions and angles down. For what it's worth, the design itself doesn't seem to be actively magic, though she was definitely doing a lot of strange magic while designing. Fascinating! They'll see what an implemented design looks like, magically speaking, later.

The System gently nudges at this point:

Please return to the summonarium for teleportation to Anesidora. I can answer questions about the Intake process to the best of my ability.

Clematis nods. "Of course." 

She looks over at Professor Gal-Fair. "It's time for me to depart," she says. "So I'm requested back at the summonarium."

"May your journey be swift and sure," Ven-Drel says.

May your journey be swift and sure. System will bring you a car. Would you like Ven-Drel to accompany you on your way?

The Professor echoes.

"I don't believe that will be necessary, though I appreciate the offer."

Ven-Drel will walk her to the door of the lab, at least. It seems to be some minor ritual of politeness. There's another Artonan waiting impatiently by the door, who starts laying into Ven-Drel a bit, ignoring Hazel aside from a curious glance.

Hazel nods to Ven-Drel, then retraces her steps back to where the car let her off.

A cart is waiting for her!

She'll get in. The System knows how to drive this thing, right?

It starts moving without any input and does seem to be retracting her original path, at least.

Then she will type to the System as it goes. 

So, please fill me in a little on the general cultural background of Anesidora. I don't know what kind of place it is beyond what you've already said, or what's likely to happen to me practically as a "new Avowed."

I do not understand the human perspective enough to explain it better than official sources.

*New Messages*

>OFFICIAL - DO NOT DELETE - Look to the future! Planning your new life as an Avowed.

>OFFICIAL - DO NOT DELETE - Introduction to Anesidoran law for Canadians.

>OFFICIAL - DO NOT DELETE - Intake: How does it work? What to expect.

>OFFICIAL - DO NOT DELETE - What to pack? What to leave? Planning for your new home!

>OFFICIAL - DO NOT DELETE - Avowed Intake Placement: Preferences Quiz

>OFFICIAL - DO NOT DELETE - Welcome to Anesidora! INTAKE GUIDE

She will start with the introduction to Anesidoran law. 

Gambling is legal. Designer babies are legal. Prostitution is legal for seventeen year olds and up. All Avowed are automatically emancipated, once Intake is done at least. Healthcare is free and excellent. If you don't want to pay for a nicer place you can get a cozy studio and food stamps free. Look at how generous the aid programs are!

This long, long, long list of drugs are illegal. Please just turn in whatever the Artonans dose you with. We'll pay you for it. Don't take pills wizards give you if you can help it!

Alcohol is SUPER ILLEGAL. Nobody wants drunk supers knocking over buildings by accident.

Leaving the island without official permission, specifically an Avowed Visa, or a summons, is illegal. Friends and family visit permissions can be applied for with a waiting process, but there's a 90-day wait for new arrivals.

The island is broken up into neighborhoods where more or less power use is acceptable, from Apex to F-City. There are also special peaceful blocks meant for raising children in peace and safety where NO POWER USE at ALL is permitted. You will GO TO PRISON FOR A LONG TIME if there's a whiff of offensive power use there.

'Sways', the category of supers who have mind affecting powers, have the following list of restrictions and rules on their power use. One gets the impression that people are scared of mind control. They may be used in law enforcement settings if stringent enough criteria are met.

... Wevvi wouldn't happen to be on the list of illegal drugs, would it? 

She can imagine being unhappy about not getting to see her family or not being able to drink, but she's never enjoyed alcohol and everyone she cares about is in another dimension entirely. The "safe" blocks are a smart idea and she'll have to mark them on a map or something. 

She's glad she's not a Sway. That sounds very uncomfortable.

It seems like she'll want a higher power use neighbourhood so that she can do geomancy to at least her own apartment.

It's a bit... constrained... but her other options are all pretty much worse. 

Intake guide next.

Wevvi is not on the list of illegal drugs! Wevvi is perfectly fine. The reading on the laws seems to indicate that she'd be fine to decorate her own apartment pretty much anywhere on the island- The examples called out are more similar to assault, vandalism, etc.

Intake may be scary, but we'll help you through it! When you arrive there will be some paperwork to do, and then you'll get an apartment filled with other new Avowed in the same situation. There are counselors and intake guides to help you get used to Anesidora! There are lots of social events to get to know your neighbors! Education is mandatory in some form or another (traditional school, college, internships or apprenticeships, etc) until age 21, and we'll help you find the best school for you and study for your placement tests! Meet more accomplished Avowed who are good role models have a successful life, and make friends and find new hobbies! After two to five months you'll move on as a happy and healthy member of the Anesidoran community!

What, she's got superpowers and she's got to go back to college? Whose stupid idea was -

Shush, Cherry. Education is an investment in being able to do interesting things with her powers.

One kind of suspects that they're doing their best to occupy all the young Avowed's time.

Then she will read the rest of the materials in order, saving the one on what to pack for last since she... has nothing to pack.

The preferences quiz wants to place her on various personality measures and know her hobbies to place her with the right roommates (individual bedrooms, shared common area). The rest of it is more information about how Anesidora and Intake works.

She arrives at the Summonarium before she finishes all that. There's another hairless panther alien plodding along away from it, accompanying a wizard. 

(Hazel's the one who takes the quiz because she's the original occupant of the body.)

In the meantime she'll head for the room she came in from.

One of the circles, not the big one she arrived at, has a white halo around it.

Over at the white circle there?

Just in case that's accidentally an incoming. 

Correct.

Alright, here goes.

She steps into the circle.

[Teleport to Anesidora, Earth]

[10...]

[9...]

And as the count reaches zero-

A star flares, and falls, and is gone.

Wait, what was that - 

-She appears in a spacious booth with high quality screens acting as fake windows to a shiny modern city. There's a lot of medium height apartments and not too many really huge towers, a lot of architecturally fancy buildings with interesting shapes and colors in a built up area, a bunch of big green spaces with townhouse and suburb style setups, and ocean beyond it. Some digital labels show particular neighborhoods. Classy elevator music is playing. There are boats in the water and people on the beaches.

"Welcome to Anesidora, miss Gardenia! I'm Jeff, your customs officer for today. I see it's your first time here, so thank you for registering, and we'll go through the security stuff quick and send you off to Intake. Please take a seat for a moment while I pull up the right forms."

The door opens onto an alcove with a bunch more doors, some seating, and more screens.

She goes and sits down. Hopefully the System is competent enough not to cause a stir.

"Okay, we're all set on the security front! No contraband detected. You can come out to the office now. That's the green door. It looks like you don't have any luggage, did you send any ahead? There's a resettlement fund if you need it. Oh, and I'm going to need you to share your full System profile with our customs computers to assist with your Intake placement. If you don't wish to share your official profile, there's a questionnaire you can fill out instead. It is not illegal to have undisclosed powers, but abuse of undisclosed powers tends to be treated more harshly, just so you're aware."

"I didn't send any ahead, no. I could probably use the resettlement fund. And sure, I authorize the System to share my profile with you for customs purposes. I'm fairly sure my just saying it is good enough?"

Profile shared.

"Yep, I've got it! I won't see the full details, just class, rank, level, and any red flags. Okay... Unique Wright. That's a new one. Most uniques just say 'unique'."

"I don't know much more than you about that. What I know so far is that I can make living and working spaces a little better for their purposes with magic interior design and architecture."

"Huh! Alright, here, let's get the forms ready."

There's a bunch of stuff. Passport stuff. Acknowledgements of Intake rules. Acknowledgment of Anesidoran laws. Papers to transfer her (technically fictitious) Canadian driver's license. Et cetera.

"I texted my supervisor and the question is whether you want a spot in the Wright building or the Rabbit building. Top few floors of that one are reserved for U-types. You'll meet a lot other builders and makers with the first option, and more variety with the second. And if your spot in intake really isn't working out you can always ask for a new one, so no worries."

"I haven't had long enough to read all the intake material, what's a Rabbit?"

He blinks at her.

"...Uncommon class that's known for getting domestic skills for their powers and being summoned a lot. They can end up quite rich since Artonans pay well, so the stereotype is someone who focuses on money. I don't know how accurate it is. I'm a Meister of Staves, myself. I guess most normal people wouldn't know, it just would never matter to them, huh."

"Then i would prefer the Wright building."

"Sure! Okay, we'll get a car to take you over in a bit, for now fill out this for the resettlement fund..."

The Bureaucracy only takes another few minutes. Resettlement fund gives her a onetime gift card of 250 argold.

THEY JUST GAVE HER OVER A GRAND???

You've seen this kind of money before, Hazel. The federal student grants are that much. It's not an extraordinary amount of money for a government to throw around.

Yeah but that was towards my education. This is just... for whatever?

Consider it compensation for being thrown into an entirely different universe.

I'll do my best. 

She fills out the necessary forms and waits for her car.

Car arrives! It has a smily driver who introduces herself as Roberta.

"You've come at a quiet time, not as many kids going into Intake as usual. The place is all the way down in F-city- Want to stop anywhere along the way? I have to stay with you 'till you get there but that doesn't mean we can't stop and grab some quick dinner or something. I got out of intake just a year ago myself."

"Now that you mention it I am kind of hungry. Are there, like, fast food places we could stop at along the way? I've got my resettlement card if nothing else."

"There's lots of food, some of it fast! Great restaurant scene. So does that mean Americana? Burger and fries? And it'll be my treat, because I can call it 'integration activities' and get reimbursed."

"That would be very comfortingly familiar right now."

The car goes somewhat slowly; Walking paths and mass transit dominate the area, and cars are less omnipresent. After a while Roberta parks on a side street and shows her a restauraunt boldly labelled 'Benji's Big Beautiful Burgers'. It's set up like a fast food joint, with an ordering bar and a few tables, tasty looking food on display in a bunch of glass warmers, plus background music. Burgers, fries, pizza, chicken tenders, ribs, and sub sandwiches. The prices are on the order of 1-2 argold per item.

"Get whatever you like! Any questions so far?"

"Not so far, just taking in the city. It's hugely multicultural, huh? I guess the System translates?"

She gets herself an order of pepperoni pizza.

"It does. Should be pretty seamless once it settles in. And it'll do maps, messages, and stuff too. Plus warnings for certain areas. It can be iffy on when it translates sometimes, deciding what you're paying attention to and what counts as a private conversation, but it'll always do signs and stuff, for example. These just happen to be English, this is an English neighborhood."

Roberta orders a cheeseburger and pays for them both.

The two pepperoni pizza slices are pretty good! The crust crunches just so, and sauce in particular seems to be special in some way. They also get cups for an old-fashioned soda fountain.

"It's good of you to help out with the intake process. It must be a pretty interesting and varied job, seeing everyone who comes in to the island from all around the world."

She goes and gets her fountain drink. "Will there be time to eat once I get there or should I eat it while it's hot?"

"Thank you! I do like meeting people. Though I'm more a general on-call driver than an Intake person specifically, technically... Oh, there's no rush at all at this point. Not as far as 'today' goes, you might want to go shopping? Get some essentials taken care of? The closest thing to a deadline is going to be your intake counselor wanting to have a chat about your goals."

"In that case I'd prefer to eat back at intake, so I'm not holding you up and I can get used to my new room."

"However you like."

She shouts 'To-go please!'

"So, do you have any idea of your plans now? I'm taking you to the Wright hall, but I hear being a Wright can get expensive."

"I'm hoping to be able to fund my powers with my powers. I do feng shui designs that actually work. At least theoretically. Since I'm only nineteen I'm stuck in college; I'll probably take some actual interior design or architecture classes to supplement my powers with."

"That sounds cheaper than needing rare magical beetles or berries only grown on one Artonan island or whatever else, at least!"

The food comes. They get back in the car.

"You're better off talking to other Wrights about it, I gotta admit. I've also heard there's a good market in secondary components. Make charged sand or hydro wing nuts and sell to other Wrights, boring but profitable."

She gets back in the car as well. "I'll see what I can do! For now, I guess I'll just focus on my education and on settling in."

"Sensible!"

The traffic on Anesidora is not that bad, despite all the teeny streets. Maybe because there are relatively few cars.

They pull up to the neighborhood soon. Upon crossing some invisible boundary the System informs her:

Welcome to the Intake Neighborhood. To avoid overwhelming our newest neighbors, access to the buildings on this block is restricted to new Avowed, Intake staff, emergency responders, and individuals on the authorized guest list. Thank you for your understanding!

There's a few large apartment buildings on the block, with a subtle boundary between it and the rest of the city. Extra-wide streets and more green space. Three tall towers, a couple of small outbuildings, a square apartment block, and a low concrete building that looks vaguely prison-like, and a pair of semicircular apartment towers, all with a large courtyard in between them. They head for the square apartment block.

"And here we are! The Wright Place." Roberta snickers. "Your intake guide will be out in a minute. The food stop was serendipitous, since she had a meeting run long- I've been texting her. Her name is Juniper, and she's a good soul. She'll be able to let you into your new room and answer your questions much better than I can. I'll sit right here until she comes and says hi, and then I'll wish you all the best and head out."

"Thank you for taking the time to escort me," Hazel says. "I know it's part of your job, but it's nice to see a friendly face in a strange place."

"You're quite welcome. If you want to thank me pay it forward, hon. And remember to stop and smell the flowers sometimes.

-Oop, there's Juniper now."

Juniper is a dark-skinned woman in cargo pants and a green raincoat-looking thing, plus a wide grin and a toolbelt, and carrying a brown paper bag.

"Hello, dearie! Our newest Wright, and such a <interesting> one! Unique wright! No longer does the rabbit building have sole claim on the most interesting kind of a very interesting set of people." She thrusts out the bag. "Here, toiletry pack! Straight from the convenience store when I saw in the notes that you didn't have luggage. If you hate that particular brand of toothpaste or whatever, let me know and I'll travel back in time to slap myself for the mistake. Or not, 'cause I definitely can't do that." Pause. "Yet. And also let me know if I should tone down the energy. Some people can really use it to keep their minds off things! Others, not so much."

"Less energy would be nice, thanks." 

Clematis picks up her pizza and drink and tucks the toiletry bag under her arm. "Thank you for the toiletries, I appreciate them." She looks around at the surrounding buildings, the greenery. "Probably gets a bit chaotic sometimes, what with the constant stream of new arrivals, but you're out here doing your best anyway. I appreciate that as well."

She takes a slow breath. "Right now I'd like to focus on getting situated and figuring out the basics of life here. I've never lived independently from my family before, so it's a big step. Can you walk me through what a typical day here is like? I also understand I'll need to apply to a college or university - what are the local institutions?"

"Low energy mode. Bye, Roberta, have a nice day! Here, let's head inside and show you your room. On a typical day in Intake you'll wake up, get ready for the day and fix yourself breakfast in your room's shared common area, then probably head out and take part in various activities- Placement tests, interviews with schools, social events, intro exercises, shopping trips, and so on. We also have some basic workshops in the basement to try out your skills with, we'll get into the rules for those later. There's a variety. Lunch, either packed or back in your dorm again or eating out some place."

The halls are plain looking, high quality warring with an obvious sense of durability. The fancy subdued color stripes of tile and paint are nice without looking too nice to walk on.

"Here's my office! It's cozy. We can go right on past, to the elevator. In the afternoons people typically start coming back to this building, for the workshops or to socialize and show off or play around with their powers. In a safe and reasonable manner. Dinner the same as lunch, and after dinner the dorms tend to be fairly busy with a lot of people hanging out. You have to sleep here, and quiet hours start at eleven PM Anesidora time, or midnight on Friday and Saturday. It does vary a lot based on what you want to do, your interests and inclinations. You have to participate in a certain number of... <Introductory>? Getting-to-know-the-island classes. There are a lot of options for schools, there's something for everyone really. And some of them aren't much like traditional schools if you think that would disagree with you."

They pass a few people in the hall, including a pair lightly arguing about whether a <riordo impact ring> technically counts as an enchantment or not.

"I have no idea how I'd manage to do magic architecture or feng shui in an unsafe or unreasonable manner and will endeavour not to find out. So, basically make sure to do your intro classes, be back for curfew, stay in school, don't be a... inconsiderate person. On weekends your time is your own and within reason and the law you can do what you like as long as you come back at night to sleep. Do I have that about right?"

She likes the physical surroundings here so far, though the constraints are certainly constraining. 

"You have that about right. It doesn't even matter when or how or which, as long as enough intro classes get done. And it's my job, to help you. I've been around for a while. Depending on your skills and goals, I hope I can point you in good directions. Oh, you can move out as soon as you find a place to live and a school or alternate and finish the classes, for full freedom."

Ding. The elevator arrives.

"The settling in period will probably be a bit complicated but I'm tentatively looking forward to getting situated and figuring out good ways to apply my new abilities. Money and freedom are nice, helping people is better." 

She gets in the elevator.

"All shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well. You mentioned feng shui? That's neat! More designside skills aren't as common for Wrights."

Floor three. Ding!

"Here's hoping."

She gets out of the elevator and looks around.

There's a hallway off in two directions. There's also a scorch mark on the walls. 

"Oh, I am going to find out who did that..."

But Juniper leads her past that, to a big common area. Lots of couches, lots of tables, some TVs, all in durable-plastic college style. There's a few people there, mostly women.

"<Hey Juniper, new face?>" One calls out. The System translation is getting much smoother, but it's still subtitles.

"Yep!"

"<I'm Liao. Can you settle an argument for us? Eh, you probably want to settle in first. Sorry.>"

"I'm Bluebell. And I don't know much, but I can try!"

"<I have a skill called 'Imbue Metal', and some others for doing metalworking. I also have a spell impression that takes imbued metal and turns it into lightning, and I bought the parts for a director and assembled it myself. The question is though, should it still count as something I made myself if I pay someone else with Imbue Metal to do a lot of imbuing? I can only do it a few times a day before it stops working. And it's really more like filling up a gas tank than a critical manufacturing process.>"

"<We've established that buying parts doesn't count, but following someone else's blueprint exactly would,>" Another person comments. "<And Liao didn't, she broke three prototypes before getting it right. But imbuing the metal isn't like gas- It stays imbued pretty much forever. Or a couple of years, at least. It's part of the assembly process. Turns it uhhh... Magically conductive.>"

"The design's yours, the optimizations to it are yours, you could do it yourself from the raw metal - that's more than enough. People still say they "built a computer" even if they just put together a GPU and a CPU and some RAM, or a birdhouse if they bought the screws. If anything I'm more on the "it's fine to use prefab parts" side of this discussion. I see nothing wrong with contracting out some of the busywork."

"<See?>"

"<Fine, fine. And welcome to the building, miss Bluebell. I prefer to go by Mai.>"

"Good to meet you, Mai, Liao. I hope to get to know you over the coming weeks."

She looks back at Juniper. "So which of these rooms is mine?"

"Right this way. You're room 2, unit 302- You have one roommate right now, and the other two will probably fill up soon. The System will unlock the doors for you."

The room is a lot nicer than the common areas. The central area has a big window out to the park, and a big fancy kitchen along with an old style arcade machine in a corner and what looks like some sort of holographic puzzle toy hovering over a coffee table.

The bedroom itself is big, and slightly barren in that hotel-y generic style, and has an ensuite bathroom.

"We typically warn pretty hard against power use in the dorms, whoever burned the wall is in big trouble. I bet the other night guide took care of it, since I didn't hear anything. Anyway. Feel free to rearrange the furniture however you like if your roomies agree, or even add new pieces! As long as it's not dangerous! Your only roommate for the moment is named Amaris Fuller, and she's at a tour event of Wright supply stores downtown now."

"Just to be clear, is it cool if I do my feng shui thing to my personal room or is that countermanded? All it should do is make it a bit more comfortable."

"Does your Skill do anything to the furniture, walls, et cetera directly?"

"No, it just uses arrangements of existing things when it's in interior design mode."

"Then I officially declare it A-okay!"

"Wonderful! Thank you very much, I guess I'll get started settling in then."

"Please feel free to send me a message or come by the office any time. I like to talk about plans for the future with everyone at some point. But for now I'll say goodbye and let you settle in. Have a good one!"

And Juniper is gone.

She waves goodbye, then steps into her room and closes the door, setting her pizza down on the desk to get the doorhandle.

She flops onto the bed.

So, girls. What do you think? 

It's really a lot all at once, but it seems like the system - both metaphorically and literally - is on our side here. I'm concerned about the Artonans having a drug problem and I don't super like the curfew, but it's not too different from living at home.

And what do we think about... our own family situation.

We were going to be moving out soon anyway. Sure, it kind of sucks to not be able to see them again, or any of our old friends, but it's like moving to a different school. It happens. 

Everybody here is going through something very similar to us, and while the culture is weird - seriously, I can go to a brothel but not quit school? - I consider having actual literal superpowers a pretty good compensation for ending up here. 

We're going to get wealthy and help a lot of people, and that's worth a lot to me.

Honestly the worst part of this whole thing is still being stuck in university. 

Sure, but that's really same old same old. It's not a major downgrade from where we were before.

I get the sense that the system's actually trying. Even if it is kind of... 

"If you have superpowers and are a law abiding citizen you must live on this island" sure is... very itself. And I get the distinct sense that Earth and the Artonans are working at cross purposes. But as systems go, it could be a lot worse.

I'm uncomfortably reminded of the residential schools program, only this time superpowered people are the natives. 

Indeed. Still, all we can do is play the hand we've been dealt. 

And maybe check out one of those brothels. 

Cher-ry!!!

Kidding, I think. I mean, they were legal in Australia back in our homeworld. But I know you two are too strait-laced to want your first time to be at a brothel. 

Can we move off this conversation topic, please and thank you. 

You two are no fun. Anyway. You should probably say hello to your new roommate at least.

Yeah, probably a smart move. We can shop later. 

She goes and lets herself out into the common kitchen and checks what's in the fridge. 

Honestly, what's up with the arcade machine? I'm getting the impression this place is just bristling with distractions and timewastes. Gambling, arcade games, TVs... 

It's paradise! 

It's sick. Unhealthy. Too many displaced people from too many different places, all mourning their homelands. No wonder the place has more distractions than Vegas. 

Respectfully, Clematis, you're kind of being a huge downer right now. 

Sorry.

The fridge contains a chaotic bunch of Tupperwares with what look like the remains of homecooked meals, labeled by date and neatly stacked. Half empty gallon of milk, tortillas and a bag of shredded cheese. Eclectic canned drinks. Also a box of cereal. In the fridge. For some reason. And a bag of baby carrots, and another of apples.

Probably not smart to eat any of this. 

You still haven't eaten your pizza, you know. 

Oh! Yeah, right, she knew that. She will eat her pizza and drink her pop to kill time and see if her roommate appears.

Message from Amaris Fuller (Room 1, unit 302):

Juniper told me I have a roommate now. Hi. Please don't eat my leftovers.

Oh, right, system messaging. 

Hey, nice to get your message. It's okay, I've brought my own pizza. 

It's alright if you're not in a chatty mood, but since we're going to be living together it'd be nice to know you a little. I'm Bluebell, I do magic feng shui. I'm Canadian.... well, I was Canadian. 

I'm on a tour but it's unexpectedly boring. So I can chat. UK, C, Ground Wright. Amaris. I want to be a civil engineer. Actually, I want to be a superhero but I have realistic expectations.

B, Unique Wright. But I expect to become an unusually good interior designer. With some study I might be able to become an unusually good architect, that would be fun. They tried to put me in Rabbit but I'm more interested in helping people than making Argold over my living expenses. 

Turns out even superpowers don't get you out of going to college. 

Architecture is very cool.

Because of the unique part?

I wish I had healer or rabbit. You can afford really good healing if you're a rabbit and impress important Artonans. Life extension grade healing. Nobody wanted to trade for freaking Ground Wright though. Obviously enough. Ground is hard to work with.

Yeah, because of the unique part. 

I guess I got lucky, then. I'm not sure I'd want to optimize my life to impress the Artonans though. I have the distinct impression they've got a drug problem and I've only been here fifteen minutes and read one intro guide.

I've heard that too. They give people on multi-day summons sleeping pills, wakeup pills, anti-nausea pills, strong painkillers, and more. It's not great. But they're the British Empire and we're Sri Lanka. Or more optimistically, Imperial Japan. Nobody has any clue how magic really works. Only Artonans can study at Artonan magic universities. And so on. So we have to do our best with what they give us. It's not even necessarily like they're being stingy, they have the whole fairness and debt thing and give us lots of tech and stuff, but it's still uncomfortable.

Yeesh. Now I'm real glad I'm not in Rabbit. Money's one thing but I didn't even drink before I got here. Getting random pills from an employer and being expected to take them sounds like a nightmare.

That's the worst part. You don't REALLY have a choice. There's some rights baked in, refusals, arbitration, but in the end...

It mostly never happens. But it could.

And her contract inflicts a 600 Argold monthly fee on her just to exist on Earth legally and not be forced to take summons. 

Do you know what a good monthly wage is if you're using a powered skill on Anesidora? 

Depends a LOT on your rank, class, and specific skills. You can probably just search for it, there are going rates for some skills and everything. Wrights have it pretty good if you actually set out to make money instead of dubious weapons.

Right, I keep forgetting that the System exists. Still going to take some time to get used to that.

She directs the system to search for the going rate for B Rank Design Environment. 

Search results include:

The rank B Rabbit Skill Tailor Environment is a very solid choice with consistent demand, ideal for desk and workspace organization, interior design, and decorating. Summons for Tailor Environment typically pay out over a thousand argold for 3-6 hours' work. Manon, the first serious user of Tailor Environment and now a prominent design blogger, has said 'I don't take work from the public anymore, but when I did my rates varied from about fifty to a hundred argold per hour, depending on the situation'. Of course, it's not enough to simply have the skill. You need to build up a list of contacts and clients, and really know how to get the most out of it. My book, 'Hop To It!' has a plethora of advice for this and far more Rabbit skills so you can...

While everyone thinks of Cloth Wrights first and foremost, I've found a surprising level of skill in Meisters of Needle, though both are somewhat uncommon classes. There's a few other skills that can help, usually the foundation enhancement of Visual Processing. If you really must have a super-powered tailor, these are your options...

She checks quickly whether the Interdimensional Warriors contract includes a 600 Argold per month maintenance fee. 

It does not. The Contract (as everyone just shortens it to that) is paid for by all the free healthcare and technology that everyone on Earth benefits from, and the deals that the Artonans have made with world governments. Theoretically, someone who never visits a House of Healing or takes certain kinds of charity or signs certain government forms (like those necessary to go to high school, or get a driver's license) might not be bound by the contract at all! Theoretically. It's never actually happened, as far as anyone can tell.

Ah.

Okay. 

Serves her right for trusting the system. 

Still, twelve hours of work a month for translation services, telepathic internet, and a place in the system is not a ludicrous deal, even if she was planning to take summons and now is... not. 

I have altered the deal! Pray that I do not alter it further! 

Seriously, this contract is looking worse all the time. It's a good thing that we negotiated for an escape hatch. 

I'm concerned that we won't be able to get twelve hours of paid work at 50 Argold an hour this month. Especially not that and also groceries and so on while holding down university. 

Probably the ideal situation here is to instead go for a paid apprenticeship in our Skill, if we can swing that. 

She queries the system. 

I understand that if I fail to pay 600 Argold per month I may be subject to two contractually obligated summons per year. What are the terms regarding late payment? When does summoning become contractually obligated? 

Your Contract is a special case.

Payment is due at the end of each Earth calendar month. Late payment does not incur any interest or fees. However, after a payment is late for 30 days, you may be involuntarily summoned with 24-96 hours warning. While you are open to potential involuntary summons, no fees will be assessed. Involuntary summons will not involve any expected personal danger. Involuntary summons will be paid out with a 600 argold bonus in addition to the standard rates.

In light of your status as an Anesidoran student, two years of fees may be deferred interest free, for up to three years for each payment. No penalties will be incurred.

The Contract can still be dissolved with the agreed upon 30 day waiting period, and the teleportation to another world will still be provided as specified, regardless of outstanding fees. However, in this event, no further System services will be available until the debt is paid.

Oh. Okay. So she's got a month plus thirty days, nearly twice the time she feared. And her summons are still paid. And there's no interest. 

Okay, she is considerably less peeved now. Not zero peeved. But less peeved. They Artonans are visibly screwing her much less than they could be doing. 

Honestly, these terms are good enough that I want to try a summons. Even if they are casual with drugs, three to six hours of work for more than a month's payment is good odds. 

I think we really need to discuss about it. Hazel is the one who gets nervous about taking too many tylenol. 

It is super not cool to steal teenagers from their homes, give them superpowers, then drug them and make them do your household chores. Just saying. 

But I do think we haven't seen the Artonan side of this yet, and it might be different from what we expect. This could be an honest mistake. We are kind of more sensitive to this than most people. 

Girls, we're totally leaving our roommate hanging here. 

Oh yeah right. 

Sorry for dropping you there, I went down a research rabbithole. 

Do you know anybody who's been summoned and could tell me what it's like? Have you been yourself?

No worries. That is how texting works.

Ask Juniper. She's an S rank Enchant Wright and told me about building spaceships once.

I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for helping out. 

Well, now what - 

Burning light slams into her and etches a design into her heart, her body, her very mind and soul. It comes suddenly and without warning and departs with not a trace. 

HECK YES MORE MAGIC

She grabs it as hard as she can and pulls it in to her heart, where it becomes fully a part of her.

And a cast-iron skillet forms in her hand.

Magic Cooking Pot (The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild - SB) 100

A simple iron pan, that can magically light a fire underneath itself when set up. Even when off of a fire, it will heat items placed in it to the desired temperature. All meals and elixirs cooked on it will receive a boost in quality, and can provide a variety of beneficial effects, depending on the ingredients used. Magically provides a comfortable temperature nearby when in use.

Awesome, she's turning into some kind of incredible domestic witch!

This goes great with the feng shui! I bet I could set up an incredible kitchen with this! It'll take some experimentation to get how this works, but...

Girls, what are we going to tell system-chan?

Let's just wait a second and see if it sends us a message first.

The System is aware of your new Skill.

Processing...

Might as well be forthcoming then.

It seems to be for cooking. It provides a magical skillet that can be used to cook food with effects, and also has enhancing effects on anything made in it.

Processing...

Processing...

Processing...

The unknown skill appears to be stable.

Would you like to add it to your profile?

Two skills is not remarkable for a B-rank Unique.

Three or more skills would be remarkable, particularly if you appear to be gaining more rapidly over time.

Two unexpectedly gained skills is something of a pattern. I wouldn't bet against a third showing up right now.

Is it known for Uniques to rank up or gain skills? Is the System ever wrong about initial assessed rank?

It may be untenable for me to remain non-famous and also retain full use of my skills in the long term.

Processing...

Most Avowed affix new skills over time, typically once every several months to two years.

Within 24 hours is an unprecedented speed. However, you are not Avowed.

Rapid escalation of power seems possible from observations so far. Long-term effects are completely unknown. Possible side-effects are unknown. Source of power is unknown.

Some Avowed can gain ranks over time. Typically this occurs after 5-15 years, if ever.

Processing...

Despite unusual circumstances no action beyond observation is strongly indicated at the moment.

Great. So they have more powers but their expected power growth is waaaaaaaaay lower than they are probably going to get. 

It's tempting to dispense with the charade, but she doesn't know when or how or if she'll get a third power. 

Is there such a thing as an enchanted object that can provide enhanced results when cooking, separate of inherent powers? How identifiable would this item be as a Skill to for example Juniper?

Processing...

Many enchanted objects are available from the System Shop, or as rewards for excellent performance from summoners! You might be interested in:
GlaCell magical induction oven - Heat food to within a tenth of a degree, near instantly! Eight programmable zones! CentOS API integration! 5,000 argold
Momentous Mixer - Based on the famed skill 'Cook of the Moment'*, this highly enchanted mixer will ensure any sauce, glaze, or dipping comes out magically good. 24,999 argold

Yeah, that's totally implausible. No way I'd be able to afford that. Not unless I had an astonishingly successful summon, which raises its own flags.

She sighs.

To put it on her profile or not... This is a big decision. The issue is that it's a physical object, which means it's hard to hide. A less physical skill would be so much easier to hide. 

She only has so much space...

One moment while we deliberate.

I don't want to have to hide more things. On the other hand, we are trying to stay under the radar.

It's certainly a useful skill to have and be able to use. One that's very practically useful. If only we knew what would happen after this, it would be so much easier to choose. But it's not. 

We're going to have to conceal our growth rate if we're going to have any chance of a normal life. Maybe it's better to give up now. Lie a bit less.

I'm really not sure where we should go with this.

It's MORE MAGIC, come on! Of course we want to use it! Making it public just makes sense if we're going to put it to work at all. We can deal with the growth rate later if we have to.

Yeah, but what if we get even better magic later on and then are stuck not being able to put it on our profile?

Haven't you been paying attention? Rabbits get the big bucks. This is a widely usable skill, it interacts with something very everyday, it's just obvious that we should use it. It would be such a waste to not get to even touch it.

Also how are you going to hide the magic frying pan, genius. 

Well, she should ask one more question at least...

What would this skill appear as on my profile?

Magic Pot (Special)
You imbue a metal pot with an effect that perfects the cooking process and can create minor magical effects on food when used with appropriate ingredients.

Thaaaaaaat does not quite match with the effect she has. It feels like it'll get her into trouble rather than helping, if she's called to enchant some other place's pot. 

What do we think, girls?

Whatever you do, don't google "magic pot." No drugs, remember?

Seriously, though, I think you're stressing too much. We're a unique type, we can get away with some oddities.

It's another potential complication, but I have a sense that our life is going to shortly be nothing but complications. So we might as well let Cherry have her fun.

Well, here goes.

Please add this power to my public profile.

Done!

Nothing else immediately happens.

...There's suddenly a shuffling noise from the entrance. It looks like someone just slid in a packet of papers through the mail slot on the door.

She will go and look at the papers that just got pushed through her mail slot. Hopefully they're hers and not her roommate's?

It looks to be mostly a pack of advertisements and coupons! The system has to translate most of them.

HAWAIIAN FIRE RESTAURAUNT - Right under the pink bridge. 50% off first time customers! 4.9 stars!

Dragon Rabbit - You need things. I fetch you things. Personal shopper.

Friendly Gym - low key chill exercise space for low rankers.

Lucky Cat Game Parlor - Low Antes, Free Appetizers, Daily Raffle

And so on. Though there are two things addressed to her - A packet of ID papers and other official documents, and a paper Wright Dorm Schedule calendar listing tons of intake events over the next few weeks.

Honestly the spam is kind of comfortingly familiar, even if the details are different. 

She takes it all into her room and lays it out on her desk. 

Maybe we should go to that Lucky Cat place, huh?

Absolutely not. Especially after you spent three hundred dollars from our summer job on that shitty gatcha game. No gambling.

I'm just yanking your chain. You know I regret that just as much as you do.

More seriously the restaurant might be worth trying, though I suspect any place that needs to advertise with flyers. 

It seems pretty clear that things are pretty stratified by rank here. A gym advertising as "for low rankers?" Is that even for us as a B rank? 

Fortunately the land of having a personal shopper is much beyond us, at least for now. Rabbits serving rabbits, how many layers down does it go?

She takes the ID and... They didn't have their wallet on them. And thus they still don't. 

First things first, buy a new wallet. And some groceries. Generally do a shopping trip.

She spreads out the events timetable in her hands and has a look at the next few days.

Anesidoran Civics and Governance, Intro to Welding, Famous Landmarks Tour, Navigating the Subway, Third Floor Open Social, Shopping and Cooking on the Island, Board Game Night, Carpentry Open, The Wright Stuff (How To Shop For Supplies), Glassworking Demo, Build-A-Bot!, Picking The Right School.......

The crafting ones don't super match to her aesthetic, but a lot of this looks interesting nonetheless. She could definitely use help on how to take the subway and shop for groceries and supplies. And the game night sounds fun. 

She finishes off her pizza and drink, trashes the flyers, and...

Food stamps. We should see about those. We'll want to save as much of that resettlement fund as possible for permanent expenses or towards our teleport rent.