“What do you know about the Chapter System, Aaron?”

  I sat at a desk in what was clearly an unused classroom of the North Forest Codexium, with a quill, inkpot, and paper for taking notes set in front of me. Isaac stood behind a desk before me, his hands resting on the surface of the desk. A bottle of beer stood on the desk next to him, which he had already taken several big gulps from, and we had only been here for five minutes.

  I suspected that Isaac was asking me this question because he was still hungover.

  Nonetheless, I sat up straight in my creaky wooden chair and did my best to answer the question. “I don’t know a lot about it, but I do know it’s the system Codexers use to track progression and grow as mages. We use our Portable Nodes to keep track of our progress through the Chapter System, which gives us an idea of how powerful we are and motivates us to grow even more. Only Codexers can access it.”

  That was about the extent of my current knowledge. I knew a lot more, thanks to Miriam explaining it to me once and the independent research I did before my trial, but I was hoping to learn even more from Isaac.

  Isaac nodded. He took another swig from his beer bottle before slamming it down onto the desk, which wobbled slightly under the impact. “Good! Should mean this’ll be a quick lesson. What are the seven Chapters in the Chapter System?”

  Isaac phrased the question in a strangely combative way, though I answered right away. “Seven? With all due respect, Keeper Isaac, there are only six Chapters in the Chapter System: Chapters One through Six. Very simple.”

  Isaac took another swig from his bottle and burped. “That’s what most people think. But the truth is, there are seven. Seven Chapters.”

  I pursed my lips. “Chapter Seven? How come this is the first I’ve heard about this Chapter?”

  Isaac leaned back against the wall behind the desk, arms folded in front of his chest. “Because nobody has ever successfully reached Chapter Seven before. It’s the hardest Chapter to get to, to the point where lots of people, including professional Codexers who should know better, think the same thing that you do. But trust me, it’s real. Very real.”

  I tilted my head to the side. “And how do you know it’s real if no one has ever reached that Chapter before?”

  Isaac gave me a look. “Who is the trained and licensed Codex Keeper here, and who is the complete and utter Chapter One novice who doesn’t know his right hand from his left?”

  I frowned. “But I do know my right hand from my left.”

  Isaac rubbed his forehead and muttered something under his breath about how he needed another drink. He then picked up a piece of chalk, but rather than use it to write on the blackboard behind him, he just balanced it between his fingers like a toy. “Let’s move on. So all Codexers, when they pass their trial and become Codex-approved Codexers, start as Chapter One, Page One Codexers. That’s where you’re at right now.”

  I glanced at my Codex sheet and saw that Isaac was correct. I was indeed a Chapter One, Page One Codexer. “And I am supposed to progress by getting enough Words, right? About two hundred and fifty per Page?”

  Isaac gave me another look, like he thought I was pulling a fast one on him. “You sound like you already know everything there is to know about the Chapter System. Good. Means we can skip this lesson, and I can get started on my afternoon nap. I get cranky when I skip my first afternoon nap.”

  My hand shot into the air before Isaac put the chalk down. “No, wait! I still want to learn more. I did do some research about the Chapter System before coming here, but only because my older sister, Miriam, was a Codexer before me. I just want to make sure I got everything right.”

  That was part of the reason I wanted to continue the lesson, but another reason was because of the strange nature of my Inscriptionist Discipline and the concept of Wordcasting. Isaac had acted ignorant about what that meant earlier, but maybe this lesson would give me ideas about it anyway. If nothing else, it would act as a refresher on the Chapter System, which was important to know now that I was a Codexer.

  Isaac sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Fair enough, I suppose. This is a standard part of the Chapter One Codexer Orientation Lessons that those bastards in Hebron expect us Keepers to follow to a T. If word got out that I skipped a lesson, the SNA might send someone to check in on me for the first time in a decade.”

  Isaac shuddered when he said that, making me wonder how dangerous the SNA was. They couldn’t be that bad, could they?

  In any case, Isaac resumed lecturing me on the Chapter System. “So, yes, you are correct. To turn to the next Page in your Chapter, you need to gain two hundred and fifty Words. And I don’t mean literal words like what you and I are using right now to talk to each other. That’s just the term the Codex uses to describe the magical energy that lets us progress in the Chapter System.”

  I stroked my chin thoughtfully. “Mana is also magical energy, isn’t it? Are they the same or—?”

  Isaac shook his head. “Rookie mistake. No. Mana is fuel for spells. Words are experience. Think of mana as representing the food you eat and Words as the skills, experiences, and so on you gain as you grow up.”

  I furrowed my brow. “Okay, but what are Words, then, if they aren’t mana? Are they related to mana at all, or are they a distinct form of magical energy, or what?”

  Isaac rubbed his forehead with both hands like a bad headache was coming on. “By the Codex, I forgot how many questions kids like you ask. Reminds me why I never had any.”

  I tilted my head to the side. “Well, this is supposed to be my orientation, so I thought—”

  “Don’t care what you thought.” Isaac took another, deeper swig of his beer bottle before putting it down again. He sounded more slurred the next time he spoke. “So, uh, you need Words to turn to the next Page in your Codex. There are nine—no, ten, that’s right, ten—ten Pages per Chapter. When you reach Page Ten, you have to go to a Stationary Node like the public one in here and undergo another Arcane Simulation.”

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  I grimaced. “Like my trial?”

  Isaac nodded. “Yeah, like your trial. And just like your trial, if you fail, you don’t get a chance to try again for another year. But if you pass, well, then you get to go to the next Chapter, but at Page One.” He hiccuped. “So you’re a Chapter One Codexer. If you become a Chapter One, Page Ten Codexer and complete your Chapter Two Simulation, you become a Chapter Two, Page One Codexer.”

  I scratched notes into my notepad. “And lose all the progress I gained in Chapter One?”

  Isaac shook his head again. “No. You keep everything you gained or learned in Chapter One and then some. That includes spells, skills, equipment, items, and so on. A Chapter Two, Page One Codexer is always stronger than a Chapter One, Page Ten Codexer, and so forth.”

  I scratched the back of my head. “Okay. And how do I get Words to turn the next Page in my Codex?”

  Isaac finally turned around and scrawled out the words ‘CODEX QUEST’ on the blackboard behind him. “Lots of ways, but the main way is by completing Codex Quests. Words are a common reward for completing quests, with the amount of Words varying depending on the difficulty level of the quest. Scribbled Quests tend to give out maybe one or two Words at a time, while Codexed Quests can give you a full two hundred and fifty Words, if not more, though again, I don’t know much about Codexed Quests due to how rare they are.”

  I took more notes, mentally doing the math in my head at the same time. “If that’s the case, why bother with Codex Quests at all, at least the Scribbled ones? If they only give out one Word as a reward, that means you need to complete two hundred and fifty Scribbled Quests just to turn one Page in your Codex. Even if you get two Words per Quest, that’s still one hundred and twenty-five Scribbled Quests, which seems like a lot.”

  Isaac looked over his shoulder at me with a deadpan expression. “Only if you are an idiot or don’t know about other ways to get Words. But to address your concerns, completing Codex Quests is vital for any Codexer worth a damn. Aside from Words, Quests frequently give out other rewards, too, like an increase in specific stats, special equipment, or entire spell entries. Not to mention the Codex gives out Achievements to those who complete enough Quests, and Codex Achievements frequently come with their own set of rewards, though not usually Words.”

  I nodded. I was starting to grasp how Codex Quests and Achievements tied into a Codexer’s progression. “Got it. But I still don’t see the value in doing low-tier Quests if they give out such paltry rewards.”

  Isaac rolled his eyes. “Good point. We should all just ask the Arcane Codex to give us Codexed Quests and refuse to cooperate until it does. It’s not like Quest tiers are largely locked to specific Chapters in the Chapter System, meaning you are stuck with certain types of Quests until you reach the next Chapter in your Codex.”

  I rubbed the back of my head. “You mean I’m stuck with Scribbled Quests until I reach Chapter Two? But what about my Codexed Quest?”

  I asked while looking at the countdown timer in the corner of my vision. It hadn’t moved a bit, but it was always there, though I could ignore it if I had to. If it really was a ten-year countdown, then its slow progress made sense. I just wanted to know more about it.

  “Glitch or mistake in the system,” said Isaac, turning around to face me again, leaning against the blackboard. He coughed. “Besides, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Chapter One Codexers like yourself generally do only get Scribbled Quests, but I’d say you have a one to five percent chance of getting a next-tier Quest, like Inked Quests. But the vast majority of the time, you only get Scribbled Quests, yes.”

  I frowned but took down more notes anyway. “How often does the Arcane Codex give out Quests?”

  Isaac shrugged. “No more than once a day, though that’s dependent on the Quest type and how long it takes you to complete it. If the Arcane Codex gives you a Scribbled Quest to step outside and record the weather with your portable, then that will be your quest for the day. If it gives you an Inked Quest, like the one you got about dealing with bandits, that will probably take longer because the scope of the Quest is bigger than just recording the weather. Also, as a Chapter One Codexer, you only have one active Quest of any tier at a time, though that will expand as you grow.”

  I blinked at Isaac. “You aren’t serious about the Codex considering weather reporting a ‘quest,’ are you?”

  Isaac stared at me without a hint of irony in his eyes. “Of course. How else do you think the Codex gets all of the accurate information it has on the world around it? Codexers, such as you and me, have to complete quests it assigns to us to make sure its information is up to date.”

  I scratched the back of my head. “I know that, but the word ‘quest’ just makes it sound grander than simply reporting on the weather.”

  Isaac shook his head. “Not all Codexers get a Codexed Quest like yours. Besides, I wouldn’t complain if I were you. Weather reporting quests are the easiest kind and are a great way to get minor but permanent stat boosts. One of the benefits of being the only Codexer in town—at least, until you passed your trial—was that I got access to all of the North Forest Node’s quests and their rewards.”

  I furrowed my brows. “Well, of course. You are probably, what, Chapter Three or even Four, at this point? You probably get really good quests.”

  Isaac shook his head again. “Wrong. The North Forest Node is a Basic Node, and Basic Nodes typically only give out Scribbled Quests. You want advanced quests, you need to not only be at a later Chapter, but also need to find higher-level Nodes.”

  I hadn’t heard about Node rarities before. I quickly jotted that information down. “What are the different Node rarities and how do I find them?”

  Isaac groaned. “That’s a whole other lesson for another time. We’re focusing on the Chapter System. Anyway, let’s talk about another aspect of the Chapter System: The Eight Skills, including Letters and Margarines.”

  I frowned again. “You mean Margins, right?”

  Isaac blinked and stared at me. “What did I say?”

  I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. While Isaac was a surprisingly coherent teacher despite clearly being drunk, it was clear as day that he was still quite drunk. “Never mind. Before we move on, can I ask you about Wordcasting?”

  Isaac scowled deeply. “What about it? I already told you I’ve never seen it before. Must just be a quirk of your Inscriptionist Discipline.”

  I lowered my hand to my side. “I know, but how do I learn more about it if you don’t know about it? Do you have any books on Disciplines, or perhaps I need to sync with the North Forest Node to access its entries, or—”

  Isaac held up a hand to silence me. “Kid, Discipline teaching is way above my pay grade. Especially a Unique Discipline like the one you’ve got there. The North Forest Node might have more information on it, but it also might not. In any case, you need to understand the Chapter System first before you go about messing with your Discipline. That’s what those jerks in Hebron think, anyway, and I don’t care enough to contradict them.”

  I was starting to think that not only was Isaac an apathetic drunk, but that this entire orientation might just be a big waste of time. Isaac didn’t seem to know anything about anything, and if he was going to keep refusing to mentor me, then perhaps I would be better just learning on my own. Of course, finding a master who cared like Miriam did would be nice, but I didn’t expect to get that lucky.

  But I also couldn’t just leave the classroom. Isaac probably would not try to stop me, but I didn’t want to get either of us in trouble with the Authority if I didn’t have to. Besides, I was interested in learning more about the Eight Skills.

  Even as Isaac began his lecture on the Eight Skills, however, I found my mind drifting back to the idea of Wordcasting, as well as my Inscriptionist Discipline as a whole, and, naturally, the Codexed Quest that Isaac insisted was a glitch.

  I also thought about Nimbus, the cloud rabbit, and his presence in the equipment pile. What had he been doing there? And why did he leave that stylus at my feet?

  Whatever the case, I put Nimbus aside for the time being and tried to focus on my lessons.

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