Risebelle approached Dr. Kintovar with a look of concern on her face. They were about to head out to deal with the remaining Mana extractors, but there was now a pressing issue she needed to discuss.

  “Kintovar,” Risebelle began, “there’s something we need to address regarding the Mana extractors. The mages guarding them are now aware of our presence, and they’ve placed protective barriers around the extractors. It will be difficult to disable them with those barriers in place without causing noise that will alert the Mages beforehand.”

  Dr. Kintovar nodded. “There is a way to counter their barriers. You see, those barriers are powered by magic, and if we disrupt the flow of mana to them, they should weaken or collapse.”

  Risebelle listened intently. Dr.Kintovar continued, “Each barrier should have a central source of power, which is likely a mana crystal. If you can locate and disable the mana crystal, it should weaken the barrier significantly.

  Just like how humans can lock and unlock doors, you have the capability to do the same with your own magic system. Do you understand?”

  Risebelle tilted her head. “So… it’s like hacking a computer, then…”

  Roselle’s face lit up with sudden understanding. “Oh! That makes sense now. We’re basically taking control of the barrier and making it think we’re the owners, right?”

  Risebelle smirked while crossing her arms. “Exactly. It’s a magic system, but it’s not unlike tech systems.”

  Dr. Kintovar clapped her hands together. “Alright. We’ll do a quick test before heading out. Better to practice here than in the field where mistakes could get you killed.”

  She led them over to a portable training barrier—a wall of magical energy she had set up earlier for this very purpose. “This will simulate what you’ll be dealing with. It’s weaker than the real thing, but it’ll give you the chance to get the feel for hacking into its system.”

  Risebelle was the first to step forward. She placed her hands on the barrier, closed her eyes and focused. After a few moments of concentration, the barrier flickered, then shifted from an orange to a glowing blue hue.

  Dr. Kintovar nodded. “Good. Fast and efficient. You’ve got the knack for it.”

  Runebelle hesitated before stepping up. She pressed her trembling hands against the barrier. “Okay… I think I’ve got this…” She whispered a soft incantation under her breath, and though it took her a bit longer than Risebelle, the barrier eventually shifted to blue as well. She looked up at Kintovar. Her usual sad face softened with a hint of pride. “Did I do it?”

  “You did,” Kintovar confirmed with a chuckle. “Not bad at all.”

  Finally, it was Roselle’s turn. She bounced up to the barrier with her usual enthusiasm and pressed her small hands firmly against it. “Alright, my turn! Watch this!”

  She focused hard. Her face scrunching up and while her magic flared, sparks flew against the barrier, but instead of changing color, it crackled with resistance. “Uh… hold on… I think I’m doing something wrong…”

  Risebelle stifled a laugh. “You’re trying too hard, Roselle. Relax. Feel the flow, don’t fight it.”

  “I am relaxed!” Roselle protested, though her tenseness said otherwise. After another minute of effort, the barrier finally flickered to blue, but not without a faint explosion of sparks. “Ha! I did it!”

  “Barely,” Risebelle teased. “If that were a real situation, we’d all be destroyed before you even finished.”

  Roselle pouted. “Hey, at least I got it eventually!”

  Dr. Kintovar stepped forward and placed one hand on her side. She spoke calmly. “Roselle, your magic is strong, but you’re overthinking the process. Keep practicing, and you’ll get there.”

  Roselle nodded. “I will. I promise!”

  With their test complete, Kintovar looked over her creations with pride. “You’ve got the basics down. Now let’s see if you can apply it in the field. Remember, this technique could make all the difference in disabling those barriers without drawing attention. Don’t let me down.”

  The three nodded in unison.

  Dr. Kintovar handed the holographic map device to Risebelle and then strode off toward the northern sector. Her headphones emitted a faint glow while she hummed softly to herself.

  Meanwhile, Risebelle powered up the holographic map. The faint blue projection casted a glow across their faces. She traced her finger along the map and analyzed the route. “Alright,” she said while pointing to a glowing red dot nearby. “This is the closest extractor. It’s about a mile south of here.”

  Roselle peered over her shoulder. “A mile? That’s not too bad. We can handle that in no time!”

  Runebelle glanced at the projection with a furrowed brow. “We should be careful… If the mages have set barriers like the last time, it could still slow us down….”

  Risebelle nodded. “True, but if we move quickly and stay alert, we can catch them off guard.”

  Roselle stretched her arms with a grin. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get moving!”

  The three sisters fell into formation, with Risebelle leading the way. Roselle skipped along beside her while Runebelle trailed slightly behind. As they closed the distance to their target, Roselle couldn’t help but notice the sour look etched on Risebelle's face. It wasn’t unusual for Risebelle to look serious but this wasn’t her usual stern focus—it was irritation, plain and simple.

  Roselle frowned and jogged up beside her. “Hey, what’s with that look? I didn’t even do anything this time! What’s bugging you?”

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  Risebelle’s stride didn’t falter, but her lips pressed into a thin line. “Other than you? Nothing.”

  Roselle rolled her eyes, hopping like a bunny to keep pace. “You big liar! Spill it, Rise. What’s going on?”

  Risebelle finally slowed her pace and glanced at Roselle. “Fine. It’s about Aliana,” she admitted with frustration.

  Roselle blinked. “Aliana? What about her?”

  Risebelle’s gaze turned forward with her eyes narrowing. “She’s an Elite Mage. The first time I encountered all four of them at once, they set a trap and wiped the floor with me. I barely made it out of there alive, and it wasn’t just my pride that got bruised. I swore I’d make them pay for that.”

  Roselle stayed quiet while Risebelle continued, “And then, when I faced one of them alone—Aliana—I thought I could even the score. But in the end…” She clenched her fists. “I failed to take her down. Again.”

  Roselle gave her older sister a defiant glare. “That’s not true, and you know it.”

  Risebelle paused beside her and blinked with confusion from the sudden shift in Roselle’s face. “What?”

  “You didn’t fail!” Roselle said, pumping her fists. “We got payback for you. Together!”

  Risebelle opened her mouth to argue, but Roselle pressed on. “Aliana was strong—crazy strong. When she used that Sword God form, it was terrifying! If you hadn’t distracted her, even though you strained your magic to the limit, I never would’ve won that fight. I mean, seriously, I was hanging by a thread out there!”

  Risebelle raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

  “And Runebelle?” Roselle added with admiration. “She was amazing, too. She healed you when you were down, and she even learned how to infuse her magic with mine. Without her, I don’t know how I would’ve stopped Aliana’s big attack. So don’t look at it like you failed, Rise. We got them back, fair and square, because we worked together.”

  Risebelle looked at her younger sister for a long moment before a faint smile tugged at her lips. “You’re annoyingly persistent, you know that?”

  Risebelle shook her head slightly. But then, her hand twitched—and before she realized what she was doing, her hand was resting on top of Roselle’s head, gently ruffling her yellow hair.

  Roselle froze, wide-eyed, looking up at Risebelle with awe. A faint blush dusted her cheeks. “You... patted my head,” she whispered.

  Risebelle blinked twice before her eyes snapped to her hand. She quickly tried to retract it, waving it awkwardly in the air. “Wait—what am I doing? No, I didn’t! That didn’t happen!”

  Roselle’s gaze narrowed, though her blush remained and a smile came to her face. “You totally patted my head. I felt it! You even ruffled my hair!”

  “Nope,” Risebelle said firmly while looking straight ahead and beginning to walk fast. “You’re imagining things. Must’ve been the wind.”

  Roselle trotted after her. “So the wind carried your hand to my head? Nice try, Rise!”

  “Drop it,” Risebelle grumbled, though her face turned a suspicious shade of red.

  Risebelle stopped abruptly, holding out an arm to halt Roselle, who nearly bumped into her.

  “What is it?” Roselle whispered, peeking past Risebelle’s arm.

  Their eyes both locked onto a group of mages up ahead. Their robes were unmistakably marked with patches of ice. They moved sluggishly.

  Risebelle’s jaw tightened. “Those mages,” she said under her breath. “Look at their robes. They’ve been caught in her collateral damage during one of Aliana’s attack.”

  Roselle furrowed her brow. Her gaze went to an object the mages were carefully transporting. A spherical device shimmered in their hands, encased in a translucent barrier that pulsed faintly with protective energy. The Mana Extractor.

  “Great,” Roselle muttered. “They’ve got the extractor, and it’s barriered! Typical.”

  “They’re not elites, but even low-ranked mages in groups can overwhelm us if we’re reckless,” Risebelle cautioned.

  Roselle smirked. “Good thing we practiced breaking barriers. Let’s show them what we’ve got.”

  “Quietly,” Risebelle ordered, crouching behind a bush. “Let me start. Back me up if things go south.” Her sisters followed and they listened intently to the mages’ conversation.

  Mage A slammed a fist into his palm with anger. “I can’t believe Aliana did this! She nearly destroyed us with that last attack! What was she thinking, putting us in this state?”

  Mage B crossed his arms and spoke with indignation. “She’s an Elite Mage. It’s her duty to eliminate those filthy scientists’ creations. If we’d done our job right, maybe she wouldn’t have had to go that far. So don’t go blaming her.”

  “Sure, sure,” Mage C chimed in while raising her hands as though surrendering. “But let’s not pretend she didn’t mess up. Maybe she underestimated those little devils? I mean, look at what happened. Can you blame her for going all out? I’d have done the same thing in her place.”

  Mage D spoke in his bitter tone. “No. Aliana went too far, and now we’re the ones paying the price.”

  Behind the bush, Roselle exchanged a glance with Risebelle. She could see the flicker of anger in her older sister’s eyes.

  Roselle leaned closer, whispering so only Risebelle could hear. “Sounds like they’re not exactly happy with Aliana either.”

  Risebelle exhaled softly. “Doesn’t matter. They’re still standing between us and the extractor.”

  Roselle tilted her head. “Maybe we can use it to our advantage. If they’re already bitter, we could push them to crack under pressure.”

  Risebelle’s lips twitched into a small, humorless smile. “You’re devious for someone who looks so innocent.”

  Roselle grinned. “I learn from the best.”

  Their argument was interrupted by three hooded figures who emerged from the shadows.

  “You hotheads need to get it together,” the first robed figure said with her tone as sharp as a blade. “Arguing over Aliana won’t change the fact that she’s not here. And you’re all making a scene.”

  The other mages turned to face her, momentarily stunned into silence.

  Another robed figure stepped forward and spoke with a mocking lilt in her tone. “Honestly, you lot sound like a bunch of squawking birds. Don’t you have better things to do than blame each other for what’s already done?”

  Mage A frowned but crossed his arms stubbornly. “And what exactly do you suggest, huh? Just ignore the fact that Aliana’s recklessness got us in this mess?”

  Mage B raised a hand. “Hey, Aliana did what she had to do. You think she wanted to put us in this position?”

  Mage A turned sharply with a flaring frustration. “Are you fucking kidding me? She nearly wiped us the hell out! What am I supposed to think after that?!”

  Before Mage B could fire back, Mage C stepped between them and held her hands out. “Okay, okay, let’s all just take a breath and focus on—”

  Mage D interrupted and joined Mage A’s side. “On Aliana's mess? It’s easy for you to say that when you weren’t the one directly hit by her attacks! You have the least injuries out of all of us!”

  The argument quickly spiraled with the four mages bickering louder than before.

  The first robed mage stomped her foot on the ground in a fury. “Dammit! These idiots are freaken hopeless! Let them stand here and scream at each other until their throats give out for all I care.” She straightened and turned to her companions. “Come on, girls. There’s a beach nearby, and with our fire magic, we can make it into a perfect hot spring. Just for us.”

  The second robed figure let out a soft chuckle. “Finally, something I can agree with. Let’s go.”

  The three robed figures turned and strode off.

  Behind the bushes, Roselle stifled a laugh. “They actually just left them to fight it out. Wow.”

  Risebelle smirked faintly but kept her tone serious. “Focus, Roselle. This could be our chance to act.”

  Roselle nodded and her face turned back neutral from a grin.

  Just then, a tall, red-haired figure approached. His emerald eyes scanned the group. “I leave for five minutes, and I come back to find everyone in an uproar. What the hell, man?”

  Mage C stepped forward and said, “It’s about the argument over Aliana, the Elite Mage. Some of us are upset about her actions, while others think we should focus on the mission.”

  Alan raised an eyebrow. “Aliana, huh?” He ran a hand through his hair. “Well, that’s certainly a ‘hot’ topic, but maybe you should focus on the ‘spies’ first?”

  Hearing this, Runebelle muttered under her breath, “Uh oh...”

  Project Mage