I'd expected the Stormsteel Core's interference.

But not the God of Thunder's.

The dragon's wings beat the sky overhead—how he'd gotten here, I had no idea, but the wind from his hovering slammed into the ground hard enough to shake it and forced me back, step after step. He was driving me away from my core. The second wave of the storm, the glimmer of light, and the sunbeam, they'd all been a trick. Power was patient, and, as the God of Thunder had said, there was always another storm.

But how could I fight back against a being like the God of Thunder? I had no answer to that question. The power difference was too large; no matter what I thought of, it wouldn't be enough. I couldn't fight the storm anymore—not when it was being driven by a god.

I pushed anyway. Not to fight; I wasn't trying to resist the God of Thunder so much as find a place to hide from his wrath. I needed to get back to my core.

Lightning filled the sky. The dragon's wings arced into the clouds all around it, and thunder boomed. My ears, freshly healed, ruptured a second time. I think I screamed. I'm not sure, I couldn't hear it. But the thunder drove back the wind for a moment, and I threw myself through the core's open 'door.'

"Perfect, kid. Perfect. You can't survive the storm. Not as you are. But you can hide from it. Let's see if you can wait it out." The God of Thunder's voice hammered through my broken, bleeding ears.

Then the lightning started in earnest.

Unlike the storm outside my old core, this one didn't try to target me. Instead, it reached out and touched everything. Dozens of bolts per second, impacting the ground in a dance of chaos; the effect was almost overwhelming to me. The God of Thunder watched as electricity poured from the sky like rain.

But none of them hit the core. Not a single shot.

What was he doing? What was his endgame? I couldn't figure it out; it didn't make sense. The test was to survive here, inside my core. Hitting everything else felt like a waste of his efforts.

Unless…

The lightning stopped. I threw myself to the ground, covering my healing ears and bracing myself. There wasn't time for anything else.

A single bolt of lightning, huge and so bright it went past white and over to an angry crimson, slammed into the second layer of the core. Its electrically-welded joints didn't so much give as they exploded. Portal metal flew everywhere. It cut into my back, pocked the ground around me, and filled the air outside of my hiding place. And just like that, the second layer was gone.

I was down to one. And the barrage of lightning had picked up right where it had left off. Thunder shook the ground and my core's final layer. The floor turned to glass all around me.

The God of Thunder was up to something. What was it?

Stormbreak. He was up to Stormbreak. His lightning barrage was burning positive and negative charges, creating a single logical path for the single bolt. He had to be able to target lightning without physics, but he was obeying the rules.

If he was obeying the rules, I could trick him. Protection begat deception, after all. And destruction was protection.

I cast Thunder Wave into the core.

Lightning poured from my hands into the joints all around me. They lit up, melting as the fresh welds came undone. The entire structure shook in the wind, but I couldn't do anything about that. Instead, I cast a second time, then a third, pushing the core's lattice to its limits.

The lightning outside stopped.

The sky went crimson as another massive bolt slammed into the ground, ten feet outside of my core. Its frame shook. It wobbled, and I reached out to touch it. Lightning arced between it and my hand, but I ignored it. Pain was temporary; I'd been managing pain every time I fought, from elementary school up to this battle. I could deal with this.

Outside, the sun broke through the clouds. "Well thought out, kid. You're in the clear for now," the God of Thunder said.

I waited. He couldn't be trusted—not when he'd sprung this ambush on me to begin with. The minutes passed, sunlight filled the sky, and little by little, I relaxed. This time, I didn't step outside until I received what I'd been waiting for, though.

Law Consolidated: Law of the Stormcore Rank Increased: Rank E to Rank D

Destruction. Chaos, Deception, Power, and the inevitability of the storm. These are the teachers.

Protection, control, patience, and endurance. These are the lessons.

By learning them and holding them in the core of your being, Kade Noelstra, you have taken a step on the Stormsteel Path. Your strength grows.

Rank D Effects: 1. Your Mana and Stamina caps have increased. 2. Your skills' caps have increased.

Law Effects: 1. The number of Charges you may maintain at a time increases to four. You may maintain two of any one type. 2. Charges last longer when out of combat.

Path Effects: 1. A new source of Laws must be found.

I left my core behind. As I did, the remnants of the storm poured into it, filling the fragile latticework and leaving the sky cloudless and bright. The God of Thunder was gone—or at least, I couldn't see him anywhere in the sky. "What do you mean, a new source of Laws must be found?" I asked.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

He didn't respond, and after a minute of waiting, I left my core behind and opened my eyes back in my bedroom.

A new source of Laws.

I spent a long time on my bed, staring at the white popcorn ceiling as the air conditioner vomited cold on me. When I'd come out of the D-Rank trial, I'd been covered in sweat, but my limited furniture was mercifully unharmed, unlike the couch I'd destroyed merging the Stormsteel Core. It was simple to rebuild, and I had it done in only a few minutes.

As far as I knew, there was no other source of Laws. Ranking up skills was supposed to be how delvers learned their Laws, and consolidating them was supposed to be how they themselves ranked up. But the system message had been clear: I had to find a new source for them.

If I didn't, I'd be stuck at D-Rank.

But if I could…

What if Laws didn't have to be coupled to the rank-up process? What if I could learn them before I ranked up, or stockpile them for one big push? What would that change?

I pulled up my status.

User: Kade Noelstra D-Rank Stamina: 300/300, Mana: 400/400

Skills: 1. Stormsteel Core (D-03, Unique, Merged, God-Touched) 2. Thunderbolt Forms (D-03, Altered, Merged) 3. Mistwalk Forms (D-02, Altered, Merged) 4. Cyclone Forms (E-10 to D-01, Altered, Merged) 5. Sunbeam Bond (E-10 to D-01, Altered, Merged) 6. Energy Font (D-01) 7. Brendan's Hymnal (D-01)

Path: Stormsteel Path Laws: First Law of the Stormcore

On paper, not much had changed. But in practice, I had another massive pile of Mana and Stamina to train up in portals, and Cyclone Forms, Sunbeam Bond, Energy Font, and Brendan's Hymnal had all increased in power since the last time I looked. I'd regenerate Mana faster, be able to inscribe bigger spells, and hit harder. And, even better, Cheddar had ranked up to D-Rank. I resisted the urge to summon him. The last thing we needed was for our landlord to think we had an illegal pet in here.

I had enough eyes on me without someone learning about Cheddar's illegal existence.

My status held no hints as to possible alternative ways to find Laws, though, and after a few minutes, I stopped staring at my new rank. It was fresh and shiny, and with it, I could start pushing into C-Rank portals even without my go-to team, but until I got the chance to spar with Ellen or Jeff—or to fight someone in the GC center's training rooms—I wouldn't know just what I'd gotten.

My core had changed, and I examined that next. I'd seen the latticework from the inside and up close, but not after it had trapped the storm's remnants within. It had sealed itself shut, a wall of gunmetal gray stormsteel that vibrated and shook as the thunder and wind inside hammered against it. It had also grown from its previous size—or, maybe more accurately, the amount of space the two spells I'd inscribed on it had shrunk.

I'd have to visit the Governing Council's library and see what other spells Ariette's Grimoire and Brendan's Hymnal had to offer now that I was D-Rank. One more thing to do now that I'd grown.

I closed my status and went back to staring at the ceiling. D-Rank also meant that my body was going to get stronger, and fast. At E-Rank, I was already competitive with unawakened humanity's peak potential. Now, I'd be superhuman. Not an S-Rank monstrosity, with the literal mile a minute pace, but beyond what I should be capable of. I flexed an arm; my bicep felt like it was made from steel cables, not muscle.

And with the already-in-progress growth in strength, endurance, and speed came a need to fuel it.

My stomach rumbled, and I got up. It was nearly dinnertime, and I hadn't started anything. I headed for the kitchen. Chances were good that Ellen and Jessie would be back in an hour, and I wanted to have something ready for when my sister returned. She'd be starving.

Thank God it wasn't a therapy day for her.

Ellen and Jessie showed up just before I finished cooking.

"She took me shopping at the kinds of places she shops at," Jessie said. "I didn't get anything, though."

"You didn't get anything yet," Ellen corrected. "Eriqua's isn't the kind of place where you get handed an outfit. You'll look gorgeous, though. Absolutely stunning."

"Yeah, but two to three weeks is such a long time," Jessie said. Then she turned to me. "You're done, right?"

"I am. D-Rank. But I have a problem." I explained the message about the new source of Laws. "I'm pretty sure I'll need more Laws if I'm going to push to C-Rank, but I'm stumped about where to get them. Do you know anything, Ellen?"

If anyone did, it'd be her.

"No. As far as I can tell, all Laws get learned from ranking up either Unique or merged skills. If you can't learn new ones because of the Path you're on, that's going to seriously limit your growth."

"I don't think so," Jessie said. "It just turns your rank-ups into pressure. You do have a source of Laws."

"Oh?" I asked as I put dinner on the table.

Jessie was already sitting down before I'd even finished, loading up her plate. I gestured at our third chair. "You're welcome to stay, Ellen."

"It's pretty obvious. The God of Thunder. He's willing to teach you, so if you reach out to him, he's your source of Laws," Jessie said.

I nodded slowly and poured Alfredo sauce on my noodles as Ellen sat down. Jessie was right. I could easily solve the problem by involving the God of Thunder. But there were two problems. First, I didn't trust him. In fact, I trusted him even less after his attempt to mess with my D-Rank trial. I'd survived, and I'd learned my consolidated Law. My core had grown to D-Rank, and I could feel the extra strength in every move I made. But I wasn't sure his interference had been necessary.

And second, I didn't feel ready for his instruction. Trust aside, I couldn't stand up to his power. He hadn't even actively attacked me—not with his full strength. He'd been emulating the thunderstorm, not channeling his own. I needed to be stronger before the God of Thunder would be a viable teacher.

"I'd rather do it on my own," I said after a minute.

Ellen nodded sagely and slurped a noodle. "Two things. First, any time you can avoid owing someone, you should. And second, Spaghetti goes with marinara. You want Penne for Alfredo sauce. I'll forgive the faux pas, though. This is pretty good. You'll have to go to this Italian place downtown with me sometime, though. They'll show you how it's done."

"Thanks."

"No problem. If you're not going to talk to the God of Thunder, that means we're going to have to do some serious digging. There might be something in the Governing Council's archives, and you need to learn some new spells anyway. Ariette's Zephyr is fine as a speedy option, and Thunder Wave is good, but now that you're D-Rank—"

"Yeah, I need to learn. I already thought through it, but maybe you can help me out? It might be helpful for when you hit D-Rank. That's gotta be coming up soon, right?"

Jessie swallowed her too-large bite of pasta. "You know the Governing Council's got a second set of archives, right?"

"What?" Ellen and I asked at the same time.

"Oh, yeah, it's staff-only, and a bunch of it's locked to upper-level staff only, but it's not like I can't get into it. At the very worst, I'll have a few friends help me out, and we'll see what I can find out. I'm curious about one thing, though. Can you tell me exactly what the God of Thunder said to you when you were in his realm?"

"A lot of stuff about being bored and trapped. Some stuff about the Stormsteel Path I think I already told you," I said. I scratched my head as Ellen and Jessie ate. "What else? He'd called himself an SS-Plus-Ranked, Fifth-Tier Paragon. Why?"

"Just a hunch." Jessie closed her eyes. "Okay, that gives us a starting point. I've got work tomorrow. I'll see what I can find out on my end, and you two can check the public-side archives. We'll get this problem solved, one way or another."

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