After grilling the lightning wolf and sizzling strips of armored mongoose over open flame, they added the meat to a bubbling pot of spicy hotpot broth right in Yumei's front yard of her dome house. Everyone—Mystic included—had eaten until their bellies rounded with satisfaction.
Now, back inside the slightly weather-worn but sturdy dome-shaped farmhouse, they began fixing up the place together.
Fan Yumei rolled up her sleeves and grabbed a plank of qi-stabilized wood to reinforce one of the warped window frames. Jin Minhe, quiet as always, moved past her with a broom, sweeping dust into disciplined little piles by the far wall.
Lufei stood near the back, carefully sorting herbs from their earlier harvest into circular drying racks. Maxius perched on the roof again, scanning the horizon with one wing cloaked in faint shimmer—the phantom one hidden from normal sight. Mystic floated above in her usual massive cloud-form, drifting gently under the rafters with golden lightning flickering through her translucent fins.
The warm scent of charred spice, rain-damp wood, and faint ozone hung in the air.
Yumei grunted as a stubborn beam slipped from her grip.
"Careful," Jin said, catching the nearby water bucket before it tipped.
"I am being careful," Yumei muttered, narrowing her eyes at the traitorous board. "I'm just not trained in 'home carpentry' yet."
Jin muttered something under his breath about dangerous amateurs.
Still, the work continued smoothly. Maxius used his controlled gusts to blow fine ash and soot out of corners. Lufei tamped down loose floorboards with her precise hooves. Mystic tried to help by forming a light draft—but her size meant she accidentally nudged a hanging rack and sent it spinning, scattering half-dried herbs everywhere.
"Stop helping," Yumei groaned, ducking as Mystic's tail brushed against a pot shelf. A clay pot wobbled, tipped—then clattered to the floor with a hollow thunk.
Mystic froze midair, golden lightning flickering guiltily.
Yumei rubbed her temples. "I wasn't going to bring this up until later, but…"
She pulled out a shimmering oval chip from her belt pouch, lined with spiraling qi script and sealed in transparent casing.
"Size modulation memory chip," she said aloud. "Got it from Jin earlier. He gave me one of his backups because your cousin, the Glutton Panda, only started working seriously after being bribed with food and a bigger nap space."
Mystic swirled in place, eyes wide and hopeful.
"You can't change size yet," Yumei said, lifting a brow. "Not until you absorb this."
Mystic squeaked and hovered closer.
Yumei held the chip gently against Mystic's cloud-body. The runes shimmered, then streamed into Mystic's form in tendrils of gold and white light.
"Absorb it slowly," Yumei warned. "And focus. No playing with your qi threads or you'll destabilize it."
Mystic let out a soft rumble and hovered in place, beginning the process of absorbing the chip's information into her qi core.
"Once you've got it mastered," Yumei added, "then we'll start working on real size training."
She turned away and dusted her palms together. "No pressure. But if you slam into my bedroom wall again, I'm making you pay for repairs."
Mystic gave a quiet, sheepish honk and floated higher, her glow dimming slightly as she focused inward.
⸻
With the dome now secured and repaired—herbs drying, tools stowed—Fan Yumei mounted Mystic, who remained in her full massive form for travel. The school allowed transport-size magical or soul beasts between buildings, so long as they didn't disrupt flight paths.
The golden lightning along Mystic's sides twitched with controlled energy as she glided through the quiet sky, carrying them back toward campus.
Jin Minhe sat beside her, steady and expressionless as ever.
"You ready for the class battles tomorrow?" Yumei asked over the wind.
Jin nodded slightly. "Yes. Are you?"
"I want that prize," she said bluntly. "The school credits and points are fine, but the real reward is the RX-002 VR Training Pod Set voucher and the 3,000 Federation coins. That's only for first place in both the class arena battle and the one-on-one duels."
Jin looked at her. "You want the pod?"
"I want it" she replied. "Could keep it. Could sell it. Could throw it at Maxius's head if he ever crashes through the shed again."
Maxius, flying parallel, gave a derisive cry in protest.
"Anyway," she added, "I'm not training harder because of it. We always train hard. Me, Maxius, Lufei, Mystic—we don't take shortcuts. The reward's just another reason to stay sharp."
Jin was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Understood."
She dropped him off three hours before dorm curfew, circling the quiet landing pad near the student housing tower.
"Three hours early," she called out as he stepped off Mystic's back. "That's considered an act of friendship. You owe me a snack."
He paused. "I already gave you spicy dried lotus and a memory chip."
Yumei shrugged. "Still owe me."
Jin walked away without turning back. But she swore his step had the faintest amused bounce.
⸻
Back at the dome, the night air was cool and calm.
Mystic floated to her usual resting spot and began focusing intently on absorbing the memory chip, stabilizing its data within her qi core. Sparks flickered faintly across her cloudlike body, golden lightning pulsing in measured intervals.
Yumei began her usual night training with Maxius and Lufei—ring weights secured around wrists and ankles, footwork drills on the rocky slope behind the house.
They didn't train harder because of a prize.
They trained hard because that's what they always did.