I am never accepting a mission from there again, Ishin thought as he pushed open the door to his shared house along Residence Row. A disheveled Rhee walked behind him, her hair a tangled mess and her robes stained a myriad of colors. Remarkably, she still appeared better than Ishin did.

  Half of his left sleeve was coated in a yellow sludge that clung to him like a living parasite. Scorched holes dotted the front of his robes from when he’d lost his balance and spilled the remains of an acid over himself. Streaks of ash colored his right cheek—a result of an unexpected chemical reaction after he dumped the residual contents of two beakers down the wash station’s drain. In a way, Ishin was glad to have finished the mission without sustaining any injuries. He and Rhee had encountered a more seasoned disciple whose entire right arm was cherry red, the byproduct of a horrible alchemic burn.

  “Remember how you thought that mission was the most optimal for earning points quickly,” Rhee reminded him sardonically as they moved into the communal room of House 57. Aside from a few candles scattered about, the room was dark, with both Mei and Long either in their rooms or still absent.

  “I was wrong,” Ishin freely admitted. He rubbed at his ash-covered cheek and understood immediately that he desperately needed a bath.

  And a new set of robes, he thought, glancing down at the sludge coating his left arm.

  “I appreciate you staying to help, Sister Rhee.” After completing her own three hundred beakers, she had asked Disciple Rye for permission to assist Ishin in finishing the extra fifty he still needed to clean. Disciple Rye had agreed, and thanks to Rhee’s help, the final fifty were finished after only an extra hour.

  Rhee pulled back her frazzled hair and tied it into a tail. Even now, Ishin found her beautiful.

  “I couldn’t just leave you there,” she replied, the corner of her lip twisting up into a smile. “You’d still be back there scrubbing away otherwise. Probably would have caused another explosion.”

  Ishin couldn’t help but laugh. “I’d be lost without you.” He peered around the room and noticed a faint glow from beneath Mei’s closed door, but Long’s room was dark. He’s still gone?

  “We should probably clean up,” Ishin advised.

  Rhee nodded. “And discard these robes. You should probably burn yours,” she added with a grin.

  “I agree with you there.” Ishin considered their house’s limited amenities. “And then we should eat something, but what…” While the communal kitchen had dishes and utensils, there was no food or water stocked anywhere.

  “Another oversight on our part,” Rhee sighed as she made her way toward her room. “Perhaps the Communal Hall is still serving meals,” she said, though her doubtful expression made it clear she didn’t believe it.

  A door opened to Ishin’s right. Mei stepped out of her room, snowy hair hanging loosely over her shoulders and eyes heavy with the haze of recently interrupted sleep.

  “You’re back,” she murmured, rubbing one eye. “Good. I was wondering what was taking you so long.”

  “Sister Mei,” Ishin said in greeting. “Our apologies—did we wake you?”

  A flicker of contentment crossed her face at his respectful address. “Oh no,” she replied quickly. “I mean—yes, I was asleep, but it was just a nap. I wanted to greet you both when you returned.”

  “Oh? How come?” Rhee asked, her hand resting on the handle of her door.

  “I… just wanted to talk with you about how your first mission went.” Mei gave an insecure shrug. “You know.”

  Ishin understood. “It was not what I expected at all.”

  “How so?” Mei asked, some energy returning to her, sparked by curiosity. “And your robes! What did you two do?”

  Rhee snickered and lowered her hand from the doorknob. “We discovered the Alchemic Hall—and realized we misjudged how hard some of the sect missions can be.”

  “You went to the Alchemic Hall? Are you trying to join?”

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  “Perhaps we could speak about this after we’ve had a chance to bathe?” Ishin offered, catching another whiff of his own stench. This was even worse than when they’d first arrived after leaving Desolate Island. “If you don’t mind waiting for us, Sister Mei? I know it’s late.”

  Mei pursed her lips as a faint blush touched her cheeks. There’s that reaction again. Ishin wasn’t oblivious, but he still couldn’t discern whether her reaction stemmed from a desire to feel valued or something more. Glancing at Rhee, he hoped it was the former.

  “That’s fine,” Mei replied. “Please get cleaned up and I’ll wait for you here,” she said, gesturing toward the couch in the center of the house.

  Half an hour later, both Ishin and Rhee had bathed and changed into fresh robes. The waterclock in the communal space’s corner showed that it was past midnight, but Ishin didn’t feel nearly as tired as he expected—likely thanks to his new physique as an Adept Realm Cultivator.

  Mei had not been idle while they cleaned up. She had prepared a pot of fragrant green tea and arranged a tray of dried plums, cheese, nuts, and crackers. “I thought you might be hungry,” she explained when they saw the food.

  “We are,” Rhee admitted, slumping onto the couch and pouring herself a cup of steaming tea.

  “This is very kind of you,” Ishin said, taking a seat in a plush chair. He reached for a dried plum. “Thank you, Sister Mei.”

  She nodded, clearly pleased by his gratitude. “You’re welcome. The Storage Hall sells basic food like these for a very reasonable price. I bought quite a few different snacks and tea bags.”

  “Water too?” Rhee asked after a sip of tea.

  “Yes,” Mei affirmed. She took a slice of dark yellow cheese and placed a dried plum on top. “In total it only cost me twenty contribution points.” She popped the combination into her mouth, her expression shifting immediately to delight.

  Ishin finished swallowing his own plum. The pleasant sweetness lingered on his tongue, but his stomach still rumbled, so he retrieved a handful of nuts. “That’s not horrible, but I’m surprised you had to pay for food.” Twenty contribution points was more than half of his current amount.

  “Only because I bought it from the Storage Hall,” Mei explained. “At the Communal Hall they provided quite nice food during lunch and dinner for free, but they didn’t have anything I could take back with me.”

  “It seems like everything but the mere basics has a cost here,” Rhee said as she reached for several crackers and slices of cheese. “Even water.”

  “They want us to work for everything,” Ishin realized. “We need points for household provisions, equipment, access to the library… and probably other things we haven’t discovered yet. They’re forcing us to pursue points.”

  Requiring contribution points for personal cultivation resources didn’t surprise him—but needing points just to have water in their lodging felt different.

  “The sixth law,” Rhee said. “‘Disciples must always have a mission,’” she quoted.

  “That’s why,” Ishin murmured. “Because we need points to accomplish anything.” He paused, thinking more deeply. “No… that doesn’t seem quite right.”

  “What are you thinking?” Mei asked.

  “I’m thinking that the sixth law and the points requirement are the sect’s method of forcing us to pursue more missions.” Ishin recalled the hundreds of options on the Mission Board in the Administrative Hall. Many had been menial tasks paying only a few points—barely enough to survive on.

  “Completing only the low-rank missions would let a disciple scrape by,” he said aloud. “But never thrive.”

  “They’re subtly pushing us toward the more challenging missions,” he concluded.

  “Because of the higher costs of daily life?” Rhee asked, food forgotten in her hand.

  “Yes.” He looked to Mei. “Does that seem right to you?”

  Mei poured a cup of tea for herself. “It does. In fact, I know you’re right. My aunt alluded to something similar during my work in the library today.” She lifted the cup and waved a hand over it. A thin shimmer of ice-qi spread across its surface, cooling the tea. She took a sip. “She told me that the foundation of the sect is based on struggle—forcing progress and discouraging stagnation. She cautioned me to keep that in mind as I acclimate over the next month. I think you’re right about the intent behind contribution points.”

  Rhee leaned back into the couch. “And there are probably other methods the sect is using against the Outer Sect that we don’t know yet. After experiencing Desolate Island, I can’t say I’m surprised. Growth through conflict seems to be their philosophy.”

  “It does,” Ishin murmured. The sect must be observing how Outer Sect disciples handled this subtle pressure. But are they simply pushing us toward higher-paying missions… or is there something else I’m missing?

  “What I don’t understand,” Rhee admitted, “is how the different Outer Sect organizations tie into this?”

  “You mean the different halls?” Mei asked.

  Rhee nodded. “Elder Su encouraged us to join the ones aligned with our daos. But there must be more to them than simply joining a group. There has to be, given the other tests the sect employs.”

  The three sat in silence, contemplating her words. Ishin was certain she was right, but he couldn’t yet discern the true intent.

  All three turned as the front door creaked open. Long stepped inside—robes stained with soot and scorched along the edges. Even from across the room, Ishin could smell the sharp aroma of smoke clinging to him. But what caught his attention most was the small ash-colored, yellow-spotted salamander resting contently on Long’s shoulder.