Year 3024 of the Fifth Epoch

Although the Doctor's luck was not very good, Shade trusted his ability to get things done. With the Doctor mediating, Shade felt there was a very good chance this deal would succeed.

So, when Leisha later borrowed Dorothy's body to teach him, he told Leisha about it as well.

Her Royal Highness the Princess was rather surprised. Holding a teacup behind the desk, she smiled and said:

"Space Movement for a little over three minutes every hour? That is quite interesting."

She sized Shade up.

"Though the time is short, if you have that door, we can see each other often."

Only then did Shade realize that this relic was not as useless as he had imagined.

This week, they continued studying the fairy tale "Sleeping Princess." The course had already lasted nearly a month. This time, Leisha did not give another one of those dull theoretical lectures. Instead, she burned a handwritten copy of the story and summoned the princess holding a spindle.

Shade was surprised to discover that, compared to when the Thaumaturgy had been used in Coldwater Port, the summoning was clearly faster this time. The princess's body was also much more solid, even approaching a true physical form.

"Last week, didn't you help Dorothy advance from the Fourth Ring to the Fifth Ring?"

Leisha, seated in the study chair, put down her teacup and gestured behind herself. The Destiny Ring of a Fifth-Ring Arcanist appeared. Shade looked up but could not see anything different.

"What do you mean?"

"Though she merely rose to the same level as me, I can clearly feel that I have become stronger as well. It is not only the power fed back from her that has grown stronger."

As she spoke, she found another sheet of parchment and tossed it out.