Out in the hallway, Basque's head drooped, and he sighed. He felt rotten. Fifteen was too young to give up on someone, but, like he'd told Daymein, he wouldn't be able to work with him. All he could really do was work to contain him.

If he were on the Hianbrun timetable, Int training would start later, but his class needed it now. He would have to think about how he rearranged their schedule. What would he put off to give them time to strengthen their minds?

"Master Basque?"

"Hello, Master Frankyl."

"What…are you doing in my room?"

"Explaining to Mage Daymein the ways of life. Good luck retrieving your room."

"What do you mean?"

"How long have you taught Mage Daymein?"

"This is the third year."

"Try to think back over all that you've done during that time. It might come back to you. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Basque left the other teacher. Though the girls would be in the same state, unless they were prompted, they wouldn't remember the abuse. Basque would still make sure that they got proper help—if Kruami offered such services.

First thing he would do when he got back to his room would be to ask Natt if there was a third-year teacher who could help them. If not, Nival was staying in Kruamia for a year, and he helped hunters charmed by Yani with their recovery.

Even if Basque couldn't save everyone personally, it didn't mean he wouldn't try to connect people to save them. Basque didn't have the power to punish Daymein. Preventing him from harming others that way again was all he could do on that front.

Since the upperclassmen also went out for the occasional skirmish with Yani, their dorms were closer to the back entrance than the underclassmen's. Again, as Basque walked through the halls, he got surprised looks from the students.

Loushee was different from Daymein. She was more like Reianna in that if he hadn't been told that she was a mage, he never would have known. During the tournament, she'd not displayed any flashy powers like Daymein had.

The fifth-year young woman was a skilled fighter, and from what Basque had observed, other than Natt, Loushee could probably outmatch any of the teachers. He would have to be more careful with her, but, at the same time, she seemed like she might be rational, and he could convince her with words rather than force.

When Basque got to the 5-A dorm hall, the door was already open. A group of boys lounged in the outcropping rest area. Basque nodded at them and asked what Loushee's room number was.

"504, not that it will do you any good," a boy with sky blue hair answered.

"Why's that?"

"She didn't invite you, did she?"

"No. This is more of a surprise visit."

"You'll never make it to her room. If you've pissed her off, I hope you brought some food so you don't starve."

Another boy laughed. "I always feel sorry for the Royal Mage when she locks him away."

"Yeah," sky blue agreed. "Might want to leave while you still can, Master Basque."

From the dress-cup that Reianna got from Loushee, Basque had an idea of what her powers were, but the boys' comments solidified it in his mind. She was an Appearancer.

"Thank you for your concern, but I'll be fine. Just…watch out for the holes in the floor."

"What holes?"

Basque didn't answer and went into the dorm hall. Instead of the usual hall, like those from 1-E and 3-C, Basque stepped into a small, doorless room that had the same wall pattern as the dorm halls. Looking behind him, he wasn't surprised that the door he'd entered through was gone.

He sighed and stretched his arms out. "I just want to talk."

No response came.

"Fine. We'll do this the hard way then." He walked over to one of the walls and ran his hand across it. The blue wallpaper beneath his hands had a rough texture. Going further down, the wooden paneling felt solid.

"Not an illusion, then," Basque whispered. He looked up at the ceiling and then around. Nothing looked like some sort of listening device, but she would be listening and watching somehow.

"Loushee! We just need to talk."

Again, she didn't respond.

Basque pulled out an iron spike from his inventory. "This predates the interface. You know what that means, right?"

Silence.

Basque rammed the spike into the wall, tearing a giant hole in it.

"What the Yani are you doing?" a woman's voice echoed in the small room.

"Oh! Look who can talk. I'm destroying your cage."

"Ridiculous."

"Are you going to let me out so we can talk?"

She went silent.

Basque sighed and slammed the spike into the wall again.

"Stop!"

This time, it was Basque who didn't answer. He walked over to another wall, but just as he suspected, the hole was there as well. He continued his trek around the room, and all four walls had his holes in them.

"We going to talk now?"

Nothing.

Basque pulled out a long iron pole and slammed it into the floor in the corner. The hardwood splintered and exploded.

"Quit that!"

Basque slammed it into the floor in the center of the room.

"STOP! It hurts!"

"It's not up to me to stop. I'm not the one doing it."

The room didn't change. Basque sighed. "Don't make me go through with the entirety of this. It takes a lot of effort to maintain, doesn't it?"

The wallpaper turned red. "YOU YANI FUCK! I WILL DESTROY YOU FOR DOING THIS TO LOUSHEE!"

It changed to orange. "Please! Stop!"

When the wallpaper turned green, she sounded like a little girl around ten or eleven, the age she would have been going through her interface sickness. "Loushee is scared!"

Looking at the ceiling, Basque held his hands out. "Like I said, this isn't up to me."

Loushee didn't respond.

Basque turned to another corner. He raised the shaft up.

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"No! Stop!"

The wall in front of him vanished, and he stopped the shaft from stabbing into the floor by sending it to storage.

Several fifth-years stood around, staring at him.

"Evening," he said to them.

One boy nodded.

Basque walked down to 504 and knocked.

The door flung open, and a sword shot out. Basque spun out of the way. Loushee followed him out into the hall. Her hair and dress were a deep purple.

Basque sighed and took the top half of his robe off as he dodged her attacks. In the hall, he didn't have much room to move, but neither did she.

Selecting his weapon class as dual daggers, the tiger on Basque's back bared its teeth. After a few volleys back and forth, with Basque overwhelming her, he snapped the blade of her sword.

He thought she would give up after that, but she threw the broken stump of her sword at him, then dove at him. He vanished his daggers and caught her. Twisting her arm up and behind her back, Basque forced Loushee down on the floor.

Every student had come out into the hall to watch. None of them spoke, and most of them stared with their mouths dangling open.

"I'll tell you what, this country spoils mages like no tomorrow."

Beneath his pin, Loushee screamed and cried.

"Are you ready to talk yet?"

Her cries gave out to growls of anger, and she bucked under him. "I will destroy you and your entire country," Loushee said through gritted teeth.

"I'm terrified. Now, do you want to have the conversation here in the hall in front of everyone, or in your room?"

Loushee struggled a bit more, but after only managing to hurt herself more from having her arm pinned to her back, she went limp. Her hair and dress faded from purple to a topaz color.

"That was interesting," Basque said with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you going to let me up?" Her voice was much calmer.

Basque let go of her arm and stood up. Loushee followed and shook her arm as she stood. She walked into her room, and Basque followed her, closing the door behind them.

"Who are you?"

"I thought everyone knew. I'm the exchange—"

"Yes, I know that, but how did you do all that?"

"How did I beat you?"

She gestured at one of the chairs as she sat down on the sofa. Stretching her arms out, she cocked her hips to sit in an alluring and provocative pose. Her training uniform shimmered and turned into an alluring blue dress, which was a twin to the silver dress Loushee had given Reianna.

"Wine?" Loushee asked. "I am eighteen."

"Fun trick. Put the uniform back on."

"I can—"

"If you remove your clothes, we will have this conversation in the middle of the hallway."

Her training uniform reappeared, and she took her arms off the back of the sofa.

"Good," Basque said. "This is a serious conversation."

"Are you going to tell me how you beat me?"

"Yani with your powers exist."

Her eyes went wide.

"Damaging changed items and areas with pre-interface metals sends feedback to you."

"Pre-interface? Why doesn't it dissolve?"

Basque pulled out the first spike he'd used to damage the wall. "It's just a formed rock. It's not functional. The interface just sees it as a long rock. If you ask why it works, all I can say is I don't know, nor do I care. It works. That's all I need."

The spike vanished.

"Are you going to tell others how to defeat me?"

"My class, of course. I'm training Yani hunters. Why would I withhold information that might save their lives one day?"

"Does it work against power like what Day—"

Basque waved her off. "I'm not here to have a lesson with you. I'd say you're more than welcome to sit in on my classes and learn, only you're not welcome. I don't want you near Reianna."

Loushee's face turned into a snarl. "I don't know why Loushee wants that thing!"

Her face calmed. "She's too cute!" Loushee said in that childish voice.

Basque sighed. "What's the matter with mages in this country?" He stood up. "Stay away from my class."

Loushee shimmered, and she turned purple again. Her uniform also turned back into the low-cut, revealing dress, only it was purple. "Thank you. It's my victory."

"No!" Loushee screamed and leaped out of the seat. As she landed in front of Basque, her clothes morphed back into her uniform, and her hair turned back into topaz.

Grabbing the hem of his robes, she looked up at him. "Please! I need Miss Reianna. She's the only one who can help me! I don't mean her harm! I went to the training fields to protect her from Daymein. You have to believe me!"

She buried her face in his feet.

Basque felt more uncomfortable than when she was wearing the dress and trying to seduce him. "Well, thank you for that, I guess, but you don't have to worry about Daymein's charm spell anymore."

She looked up at him again. "I know Reianna can figure out how to fix me. She's my last hope! She's already figured out how to get rid of my devices. Please!"

Staring down at the pleading girl, Basque's fortitude wavered. "Fine, but only when I am around. We have private lessons out at the tinkerer's shed. I'll let you know when you can come."

Loushee buried her face in his feet again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

When he left her room, Loushe was still prostrated on the floor. He didn't know what was wrong with the girl. She seemed to have multiple personalities and seemed to believe that Reianna could somehow fix her.

Out in the hallway, the boy with the sky-blue hair stared at the holes in the floor and wall. He gave Basque a shocked and scared look as he left.

In Basque's mind, Loushee needed mental help, which was not something a thirteen-year-old just starting her education could provide. But it could be something related to their powers. Billiam seemed to believe Reianna and Loushee's powers were intertwined.

To get from the upperclassmen's dorm back to the first-years' dorm, it was easiest to go down to the training ground area and walk through the Grand Entrance Hall. Basque was passing through it when something moving in the shadows caught his attention.

A group of six students crowded over something, and they were taking turns kicking it while Avali, Fawna's friend—former friend, rather—stood back with a smug look and her arms folded.

"Nice shot, Haeleigh," Avali said. "Remember how she used to treat you?"

Haeleigh's face twisted with delight as she smashed down on something.

"Hey!" Basque yelled out.

The kids, all students he recognized from Class A, looked at Basque.

"It's Master Gerenet!"

The students ran off, and quite a few of them sported cuts and bruises. Once they were gone, Basque could finally see what it was they were doing. Banca lay in a bloody mess on the floor. Her breaths were ragged.

He looked after the kids who ran off, then back to Banca. "Kruami…" Basque muttered.

Walking over to the injured child, he scooped her up. He flinched when he saw her swollen face. She didn't seem to be conscious, and her breathing was labored.

Sure, Banca had done similar things to Reianna, but Banca's current state went beyond any sort of karmic response. She needed to reflect upon her previous actions, not be subjected to them.

Basque had never thought ill of Banca. She was still young, and no one had taught her compassion. If anyone were to be blamed for Banca's actions, it would be the adults around her.

Reianna had told him about how she gave Banca medicine to heal her legs, and then Banca had come a second time; the nurses were refusing to help Banca. Basque didn't know if that was from the order Jorellen had placed or if it was from her fall in status. Either way, it didn't make Basque think highly of the country.

Even though she still had a lot of growing left to do, Banca weighed heavy in his arms as he went past the closer nurse's office. Basque carried her all the way to Tyze's office in the classroom area. The lights were off, but since Tyze's room was there, Basque was sure the man was in.

Basque banged on the door. It took a minute, but Tyze opened it, bleary-eyed and dressed in pajamas.

"I thought you—Basque! What—who is it?"

"A wounded child." Basque carried Banca in and laid her on one of the beds. "Heal her."

"You know who this is, right?"

"Yes, she's an injured child. Heal her."

Tyze didn't reply; he just busied himself with carrying out the command.

"I'll send a new uniform for her. Let her sleep here toni—no, any night. Let her know she can come to you for treatment, and give her as much as she needs."

Tyze didn't look up from his scan. "Understood."

Giving them one last look, Basque left the nurse's office and went back to his room. As he expected, Yesenia was waiting for him.

"Yesenia, I need to speak with Sophia. Could you go get her for me?"

"Yes, Gerenet-Shr."

Natt wasn't in their bedroom, so he knocked on the bathroom door.

"Basque?"

"Yeah, I'm coming in."

Without waiting for her reply, Basque went in. Natt was stretched out in the bathtub with her head lying on the edge and her hair dangling outside the tub. Her eyes were closed and pointed at the ceiling.

"How'd it go?" She asked. Water sloshed as she sat up. "Yani, Basque! What happened?"

Basque looked down at his lightly blood-stained robe. "Class A. They were being as Julvie as ever, beating Banca half to death. I carried her to Tyze, and I guess some of her blood got on me."

"Yani…Is she okay?" She sat up even straighter, her eyes showing more concern than he would have expected.

"Yeah, Tyze will look after her. As far as the mages go, we shouldn't have a problem with them." Basque shrugged out of his robes.

"Are you joining me?"

"If that's okay?"

She held her arms out. "Come, tell me what happened."

Basque slipped into the tub, and Natt wrapped herself around him from behind. As much as he hated Kruami, he would forever be grateful to it for one thing.

"I love you, Natt."

Her returning squeeze soothed his aching soul.

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