Dave looks at me; it's still disturbing how easily he can recognize who the duplicate is. Then he looks at my duplicate and then at Vega, who looks up at him with interest. Having two of us by her side, she doesn’t seem to be worried at all.

“Master, how should I address this man?” she asks.

I look at the man we even now call Dave, and he doesn’t even bother answering and just turns around, heading back to his provisional workshop.

Indeed, what to call him? The duplicate is uncle already, “Maybe mister?” I offer.

“Sure! Is this man another of master’s minions, like uncle?”

My duplicate interrupts, “Vega, I’m not a minion and will never be. Actually, I'm currently stronger than him, you can hear my heart, right?”

“Yes I can, but it doesn't feel stronger!”

I let them talk and follow Dave, pushing through the heat being released by his emblems, absorbing most of it with [Redistribution] and turning it into kinetic energy which I use to strengthen my body. It's better than releasing it, and my core is already full.

“Sometimes I think everything is a game for you,” Dave says while the metal in front of him swirls, mixing and separating while forming into difficult shapes as he wills it into form.

“It’s probably one of my skills, allowing me to filter out my emotions,” I answer and jump onto the table nearby, examining the process. He doesn’t seem to mind anymore than the times before, and I could even swear he likes having someone who shows so much interest in his craft.

“That makes sense. Concentration class skills tend to be like that,” he moves his hand, releasing more heat, melting an ingot of heat resistant metal, even more so than endurium.

I know because I tried to melt it too. It also sold for a nice chunk to the system shop.

“Are concentration type skills that bad?” I ask curiously.

“They are useful, and the people who use them tend to be amazing in whatever they do. On the other hand, they often feel less human compared to others,” the metal in front of him forms a sphere and then starts to swirl, mixing everything together.

He continues, “At a higher level of the skill, their users feel… inhuman.”

Separating a bit of molten metal, he throws it to me where I release my mana and make it semi-metalize, keeping the molten metal in the air like he does. To prevent the metal from cooling off, I reach into my Vortex core and release the heat of my golden thermal energy.

We’ve already tried it a few times before, so this time I take care not to release too much heat and even let my eyes activate in combination with [Focus], while I try to limit their effect on my mana and the molten metal it surrounds.

“Sometimes I think it's unfair that someone like you has Primordial thermal energy,” he says to my surprise.

“Why?” I ask, moving the heat around the molten metal and using my mana to try to form it.

“Jealousy, I would say.” The flames from his emblem try to push against my thermal energy.

Without compressing my thermal energy further, his flames seem to blaze hotter and more confidently. Yet, there is some beauty to my golden thermal energy as it swirls around, devouring his flames the moment he loses any degree of concentration around the edges.

“In the future, do not show anyone your Primordial energy if you don’t have to. The same goes for your eyes.”

“Even my eyes?” I push bits of his flames away and absorb the heat to boost my thermal energy. The metal ball in front of me elongates as I try to form it into the shape of a dagger. An ugly-ass dagger at that.

“Wavelength-type eye traits are very rare. There were once entire noble families who only maintained their position in court because one of their predecessors had a powerful Wavelength eye. They were marrying away their daughters into other families hoping to re-awaken this trait.”

“Don’t humans only get 3 traits?”

“Yes, but those you’re born with don't count against that number.”

The dagger I was trying to create melts when I use too much heat, and I start over.

Taking advantage of the man’s good mood, I ask, “Can you tell me about the First Generation?”

When he looks, I think that I may have pushed too far, and annoyed him with my questions, but after examining the molten metal I'm working on, he sighs.

Then a blank expression overtakes his face, and it reverts back.

After returning to his senses the man seems surprised and almost ruins his project, but he quickly takes over and continues to work.

It seems like the system is still censoring the information about the First Generation, and I have no hope of learning more from the natives currently. Maybe on higher floors? Or I can try to get information from newcomers to the tutorial, like Vega.

“Why do you want to reach the station’s core so badly?” I finally ask the question I’ve been pondering for so long.

“My name is Nevan.”

“Thanks for telling me, my name is Nathaniel.”

He nods in acknowledgment. “I don’t know what else to do.” His voice lacks emotion. This is the look of a man who’s woken up after a hundred years only to find his wife and daughter dead and his world is in tatters.

It's hard to imagine what he is going through.

“Why do you want to get to the core?” Nevan asks me in exchange.

For a moment, I ponder my response. “I want to learn what happened. I want to see the place where it all went down. I hope to improve my skills in the process and find a useful item or two.”

He snorts, “At least you’re honest.”

“But I meant it. More than a desire for trinkets, mana stones, and useful metals, I want to learn.” As I put my motives into words, he turns his head to me, while the metal, now in the shape of a helmet, hangs in the air.

I continue, “I’m curious. I want to know more about the Veil. How did they create it, and how does it work? I want to know how they screwed up and what happened 100 years ago. I want to know why so many people talk about the Enchanter Guild as if they were deities. I want to know all these answers and I want to see the wonders you guys created so long ago.”

“Apparently, nothing good. You know what’s the worst thing about it? We were winning.” He stops and the heat around him disappears. “We were goddamn winning. Our Absolute was so powerful, he alone was enough to take out most of the enemy forces. Then there were Champions directly under his command. We would have survived this pairing and won.”Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Nevan grabs the helmet he’s created and flicks it with the tip of his finger.

A single crisp tone fills the room, hanging in the air, for what feels like an eternity.

“But that wasn’t enough. The Enchanter Guild seized the opportunity to push the Veil Ignition ahead of schedule. They worried that the Pairing might end and the people’s support would go with it. Think of our children, they said.” He flicks the helmet again and then gestures for me to continue.

I move my thermal energy and continue molding the melted alloy he created.

“And we went along with it all. Drunk on our own power and confidence and amazed by the miracles they had created, we allowed this to happen and this is our reward." He stops, "Even out your thermal energy. There is no need to push so quickly, move slower, and let the dagger cool off a bit before you continue.”

The dagger I'm shaping with mana now is better than any of my previous attempts. I absorb the heat at the places he indicates, allowing the alloy to cool while evening things out on the whole.

The combination of [Mana Domain] with [Redistribution] allows me to make detailed manipulations. While [Infusion] makes it easier to heat the more solid components. Sometimes I even infuse the piece with threads of mana for more delicate control.

When my trait finally deactivates and my concentration weakens, I finish the process.

The result is still ugly, the blade is dull, but one part still excites me. The mana-conductive metal that was part of the alloy is perfectly spread throughout the weapon mimicking basic inscriptions. It's lacking, but it's a first step.

“I’m jealous of people like you,” Nevan repeats his earlier statement. “But I can’t bring myself to hate you.”

I wonder what expression I'm making for him to say that.

The moment I leave the room, Vega rushes to me, followed by my duplicate who even now is etching inscriptions into a mana stone. Something he does practically nonstop.

“Master! Uncle isn’t that bad, he asked me to eat with him and gave me tasty food!”

Before I answer, the duplicate pokes, “Maybe I can become your master instead. I know more about inscriptions than this weirdo, and I promise to only ever call you Vega.”

“No!” Vega immediately answers and then passes by me approaching Nevan’s workstation.

Before she can move any further, I grab her with [Redistribution], “It's dangerous in there.”

It would be dangerous for someone with such a low level to get too close to that level of heat. Nevan’s emblems release that much.

"Ok!" She replies when I let go. "Master, I want to train more. I want to become much stronger. When I return, I will go to a bigger village. Or I might even try to hunt some gray lizards to see if they really are all that tasty."

"No worries, we have two weeks, so we’ll make sure to help you level up a bit and work on your skills too."

"Mana chair too?"

"No mana chair."

"Oh…"

"More explosive kinetic orbs and better body strengthening."

"Yes! Oh, and master, the uncle said you lost another limb, has the curse gotten worse?"

As an answer, I grab one of her pointy horns and shake her head while turning to Duplicaniel, "You are ruining my minion."

"Vega is not a minion." They say, almost in unison.

"This attempt is so cheap," I tell him.

"Hey, if it works, it works. Anyway, I need your help with some mana inscriptions. I want to test something."

"Any good progress?"

"Only shitty progress, I’ve spent the past week in almost constant attempts to create a personality imprint, but I'm not even close damnit. It feels like I haven’t even started. I knew Lissandra was a monster, but this is too much."

"Is Lissandra a minion too?" Vega asks curiously.

"Maybe one day," I say.

"Ha!" The duplicate just stretches. "If the personality imprint plan fails, as it most likely will, I can do something like what we did for Myrra. I'm not sure it worked, but hey, I might as well try."

"But there is a problem with that," I point out while caressing Vega's head.

Huh, maybe he was really onto something with Vega being an ESM; I really do feel my stress dissipating.

"Yes," he agrees. "The system has already reacted to my status as a duplicate, so the rules will probably be a bit more strict. There is also a chance that because every attendee has their own instance, it will work differently. And even if it worked with Myrra, it may have countermeasures in place this time."

"How about trying to make yourself a tutorial attendee?"

"I used the fingers you so graciously gave me, and tried to work on something, but I just don't know. Lissandra has partial status as a tutorial attendee because she regrew from Hadwin and I'm entirely your duplicate, yet the system hasn’t reacted. I tried to think of a way you could help, but I just can't come up with anything."

"What about returning to Vega’s world with her?"

At that, Vega's red eyes grow even larger, shining from under her light brown hair.

"While I was eating with her, I tried to look into it, but I have no connection to her. The problem also has to do with my lifespan. Just moving away from the tutorial wouldn't fix it."

"Now that you mention it, I think it may have been a dick move to duplicate myself." I ponder.

"Only now?" he snorts. "What's annoying is that I can't be mad at you since I made the decision. But hey, let's strengthen the Mantle and try inscribing a mana stone."

"Sure."

It’s hours later, and we sit opposite each other. Nevan is still working, and Vega is sleeping, her head resting on my leg.

The improvements to The Mantle were a success.

Mana Sovereignty Mantle: A protective mantle seamlessly integrated with the user's mana heart and body. Solely designed to prevent external influences from disrupting or hijacking the user's mana flow.

The name and description haven’t changed at all as I’ve made no attempt to change the effect. Instead of trying to be fancy, I just wanted to strengthen one simple thing. To prevent someone from keeping me from using mana. Well, at least inside my body. And even though the description hasn’t changed, I can easily notice that it's improved.

While we rest, and eat some food while Vega is sleeping, the duplicate keeps looking at me.

"So?" I ask.

"You haven’t stopped watching out for Vega, not even for a second ever since she’s returned."

I decide to stay quiet.

"The entire time she was with me, you kept watching her, keeping the anchor you placed on her skin active and ready. Even as you worked with Nevan."

"Just say it."

With his emotionless face, he continues, "Ever since you duplicated yourself, you were worried about Vega’s return. Doesn't that say a lot about you?"

He looks at Vega, who is peacefully sleeping, "You still think there might be a chance you would use Vega to stay alive if you were in my shoes. You aren't sure, but you think you might use her or even sacrifice her just to stay alive. From sheer desperation and as the last possible option and because you still remember how you behaved on the 1st Floor."

In the silence, broken, only by the soft breathing of my disciple, I caress her head gently. At that, she snuggles closer to me.

The duplicate leans and rests against the wall, as always his mana is constantly moving, "You aren't sure what you would do if you were in my situation, but I am. I already know the answer to that question. But I won't tell you. Screw you, and figure it out on your own."

"I really want to punch you sometimes."

"You and I are the same."

"Yes."