"Yes… Just like that. Nice an' slow."

  Ash's voice was more distracting than helpful at this point. I was fairly certain she was intentionally adding a little extra husk to her words, making them sound more sultry than instructional.

  "I'll show you nice and slow." I muttered under my breath. It was juvenile, but my focus was being severely tested under my current work conditions.

  For the past few hours, I had been working to firm up my understanding of the two inscriptions Ash had designed for me to use in the Material. Something that was complicated by the fact that Ash was relentless with her playful flirtations.

  The way she would lean forward to let her breasts hang precipitously in front of my face, or how she would sit on my lap as she explained another facet of the runes, was more than a little distracting. I had tried splitting my focus using Parallel Thought, but that only resulted in having the equivalent of two minds getting distracted by one playful dragon girl.

  Waking up between two barely dressed women hadn't made things easier. I was sorely tempted to take a break to release some tension so I could focus better, but I was determined to hold out.

  I wanted to go on a date with Yume and treat her well before giving in to full on debauchery again. Something I had told to Ash, and while she agreed it was a good idea, it seemed to only exacerbate her teasing. Besides, with my new stamina, 'releasing tension' wouldn't help for long.

  Finishing with the inscription I was currently carving on a wooden medallion, I smiled up at Ash, who was sitting on the work bench and leaning over my current project.

  "There. If this one works, it'll mean I achieved a seven out of ten success rate. I bet it would be even better if you weren't leaning over me with… those." I gestured at her cleavage, to which she smiled and wiggled unapologetically.

  "Oh, you poor man. Ya know, I'm doin' this on purpose to increase yer over all ability. If you can focus under pressure, then you'll be able to carve runes even in the heat of battle." She blinked at me with faux innocence.

  "I think that's an entirely different kind of heat than you're giving off. Admit it, you just like to see me squirm." I wouldn't tell her that I had already received a notification telling me that my mental resilience had increased. Twice.

  Ash shrugged innocently and looked back at my medallion. "I don't know what yer talkin' about. Anyway, let's test your work."

  Touching the side of the round wooden chip, I pushed a sliver of mana into it. Almost immediately it began to spark and emit a subtle current of electricity. It continued even after I removed my finger, smoke beginning to rise until the whole thing began to disintegrate. Rather than be discouraged, I was elated, pumping my fist in success.

  Despite how it might appear, that was actually what I was hoping would happen. This rune was meant to absorb mana from the environment and use it to produce electricity. Where there was aether, there would be trace amounts of mana and other energies. By converting this mana into electricity, I was hoping to build an aether detector on Earth.

  The reason the wood disintegrated was that the material I had been using was of low quality, and that my skill wasn't high enough to mitigate the stress of supporting the rune. I could feel my understanding of rune crafting increasing as I worked in the new foundry, but it would still take some time before I could craft lightning into simple wood without it quickly burning away. Even Ash couldn't make something like that permanent.

  "Ok," I clapped my hands together and stood up. "Let's all have lunch together, then I'll head back to Earth. I have a lot to do in the next three days before I leave."

  ****

  To my dismay, I didn't have three days. When I sat up and checked my phone, I discovered that more time had passed in the Material than I had anticipated. I now had just over two days before my flight to Japan was scheduled to leave. That was a fairly big concern.

  For the past six weeks, time in the Astral had moved predictably at double the rate of the Material. At some point since the last time I had been on Earth, something had changed. The ratio of time flow was growing closer to a one to one, which meant I might not be able to predict time lapses as easily. Perhaps it would stabilize, perhaps not. Either way it meant something was changing between the Astral Plane and the Material Plane. Again.

  Sighing, and once again realizing there was nothing I could do but observe and be on my guard, I began getting ready for the day. Apparently, I would be left in the metaphorical dark even if I was literally connected to a glowing tree of wisdom. At least now I was wise enough to realize I knew nothing. Isn't that the first step to enlightenment or something?

  Splitting my focus, I used one part to levitate my phone around me to practice while I got ready. I immediately noticed how much more effort and mana it took here than it did in the Astral. I got distracted as one part of my mind used telekinesis while the other part wondered about why there would be a difference between the planes. Even so, I fumbled my way to a shower.

  It was obvious that there were more than a few things that changed between the two planes I had visited thus far. I suspected that improving my understanding of why might help me in the future.

  I was confident both planes were real. It would be a mistake to call the Material Plane the true existence. It wasn't even as simple as one plane being physical and the other mental. They both had a physical and mental aspect to them.

  I began to rinse the soap away as I continued to think, my phone now playing music as I levitated it outside my shower. I could feel my mana drain as I used my ability, but I still had plenty.

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  Both planes had laws —or perhaps Laws with a capital L would be more appropriate— that regulated what was possible. Perhaps the laws of the Material were simply more difficult to bend than the ones in the Astral.

  Another thing to consider might be how aether interacts with the two planes. I had researched aether before, and knew that it was a notion from ancient Greece to describe the air where the gods dwelt. It later became known as ether, and was used to describe the substance between all matter, including between subatomic particles. From what I had learned in the Astral, it was a sort of energy source that connects and sustains all of the different levels of existence.

  I looked down and huffed when I realized I had put my boxers on backwards. Quickly fixing them, I continued my line of thought. Perhaps the real difference between the Astral and the Material was the part of the process they played in producing aether; like different stages in a factory. Only in this case, the factory was simply creating the power necessary to make more factory and keep it functioning.

  I cursed under my breath when I realized I had poured orange juice into my cereal and decided I should focus more on what I needed to do next. I wasn't actually getting anywhere with my musings anyway. Cosmic wisdom would just have to wait until I could ask someone with more knowledge than even Ash had available.

  Because of the change in the flow of time, I would barely make it to work out with Kayla if I left now. Thinking about that reminded me to send my two Material friends, —Earth friends? Earthlings? No, that was weird— a text to let them know I was still allright.

  Floating the phone in front of me, I began to type a text as I got ready to head to the gym. After that, I needed to stop by the electronics store for the supplies I would need for my project. I added both Amaya and Kayla to the same thread to save time.

  Me: Hey, just checking in to let you both know I'm still kicking and back in cell range.

  I saw that both girls started typing a reply almost immediately, but Amaya was faster.

  Amaya: It is good that you have found the time to remember us. It will be even better when you finally tell me what is going on so that I can scold you properly. She included a cute huffing emoji at the end.

  Kayla: Glad you're back. Are you going to make it to the gym this morning? Speaking of which, how long are you planning to be gone next week? I might have to find someone else to lift weights with if you keep leaving me hanging.

  Before I could even start to respond, both girls began typing again.

  Kayla: What she said! You need to be more thoughtful of your friends. You were half dead not that long ago, then you decided to disappear? Not cool buster!

  Amaya: Kayla! You cannot find someone else! You must keep taking care of Cai, or he will end up hurting himself. I may be able to help eventually, but until then, it is your job!

  Kayla: Lol. Of course he would. She gave a sigh emoji. I guess I'll just have to watch out for him for a while longer.

  I started typing as quickly as my enhanced thumbs could manage, hoping to get a word in.

  Me: Ha ha, very funny. I'll have you know I can take care of myself just fine. By the way Kayls, thanks for the food, the company, and saving my life. That was peak.

  Kayla: At least you can admit it… And you're welcome.

  Amaya: Grrr. Thank you for taking care of him Kayla-chan. It still makes me upset to hear that you were ever in such a condition Cai. We must have a long conversation about this!

  I rolled my eyes at her wording, but I could at least acknowledge where she was coming from. She had a right to be upset, even if I was doing all of this for her sake.

  Me: You got it Amaya. I'll tell both of you everything soon. In the meantime, I'm on my way to the Gym. See you soon Kayls.

  The girls both said goodbye, and I hurried out the door to the gym. I had a busy day today and tomorrow. I wanted to make Kayla as safe as I could before I left for Kyoto.

  ****

  I walked into my apartment with bags full of supplies. Moving into the kitchen, I threw away the wrapper from my lunch burrito before setting everything down on the counter and began sorting through everything.

  I had a bag from a nearby electronics store that held a multimeter with non-contact voltage testing features. I also had several metal sensor replacements in there. Those were the parts I would actually be enchanting. Even if I did get the enchantment right on the first try, I wasn't sure how long they would last before the runes would melt the metal.

  Another bag was from a local crafting supply store. I had purchased everything I would need to engrave an enchantment on a silver belly ring. That felt just a little bit awkward. When I told Kayla I wanted to make her something, I was surprised that was what she'd chosen. I wouldn't complain however, as the choice wouldn't draw too much attention, and was less likely to be lost or confiscated. At least, I hoped so anyway. It would be great if she wore it all the time and simply forgot about it.

  I chose to use silver because of its high compatibility with enchantments. It wasn't the strongest metal, but it had a high conceptual connection with magic. The fact it would look good and be easier for Kayla to wear was just a bonus.

  I also had a couple of small copper sheets that were normally used for printmaking. I wanted to make a one-time-use enchantment similar to Kayla's belly ring. Something I could give to someone who was mind controlled in an attempt to free them. My hope was that draining all mind aspected mana would remove any influence on them.

  I hadn't fully figured out how I would deliver one of these to Dylan, but I wanted to try. The problem was that I wasn't sure if it would work, and even if it did, I didn't fully trust Dylan. I wanted to remain anonymous for as long as possible. If Dylan —or anyone else— knew that I was responsible for giving him a plate to remove mind control, I would be immediately implicated.

  I sighed as I thought about our encounter this morning at the gym. He had been so adamant that Kayla and I should join his new social group. It was bordering on fanatical. I didn't have enough experience to know what sort of long term effects might result from him being so thoroughly brainwashed.

  Kayla's safety was my top priority for now, so I decided to begin working on her jewelry first. It was a simple silver bar that curved elegantly in a subtle way that left plenty of room for engraving. Well, plenty may have been an exaggeration, but it would be a lot easier than carving on the round stud that screwed in at the top.

  Using all of my enhanced senses, dexterity, and skill, I began carving the inscription. I kept my lines shallow at first, and had to burnish out mistakes more than once. Only after the entire design looked right did I engrave deeper. I didn't have any mind mana to test it with, nor could I be sure that it was mana that Jamieson was using. I could only hope that my inscription would be effective.

  After carving the runes, I filled out the rest of the plate with similar but meaningless markings. It was partly to hide my work, but mostly because it looked aesthetically pleasing.

  Then I took out some black antiquing and carefully mixed in a drop of my blood. It would have been nice to have something more magically attuned, but there wasn't anything I knew of that was more magical than me here on the Material. I also did my best to conceptualize the purpose of the enchantment while I worked. I wanted Kayla to be safe, and I wanted my blood to be a part of that.

  When the antiquing was dry, I polished the jewelry to a shine. It actually looked pretty badass with the enchantments carved into it. Better than I had expected when I picked out the rather plain bar anyway. I just hoped it worked as intended.

  Putting the jewelry aside, I turned to my next project. I had already spent a few hours perfecting the belly ring, and there was plenty more to do before tomorrow. If I hurried, I would have some time to spend in the Astral. I was excited to see what a Spire level 2 was capable of.