Several hours had passed since Tundra had returned with the boxes of pol and ordered someone to verify the payment.
After careful counting, the report came back.
The amount was correct.
Satisfied, Tundra quickly drafted a formal contract and sent it to be printed.
While waiting, he leaned back in his chair and thought about the transaction.
One thing did cross his mind.
Why had they paid him entirely in physical pol?
It seemed somewhat inconvenient.
But the thought quickly faded.
The payment was correct, and how they obtained it wasn't his concern.
A moment later the printer finished.
Tundra grabbed the contract and immediately flew back toward the massive planet.
__
The flight was calm.
Nothing unusual happened during the journey.
Several hours later he arrived and landed in the same place he had before.
But the landscape had changed.
A small town had already been built nearby.
Tundra smiled slightly.
It seemed the foxes had been very confident that their payment would be accepted.
He was once again greeted by the dark-furred fox.
Kuroa.
"Welcome back, Emperor Tundra," she said.
"Do you have the contract with you?"
Tundra nodded and handed it to her.
Kuroa carefully looked over the document before giving a satisfied nod.
Then she called several others over.
Four foxes approached, each with a different fur color: orange, purple, blue, and white.
Kuroa began introducing them.
She gestured toward the orange-furred fox first.
"This is Ira, the leader of the Orange Tribe. They specialize in transmutation."
Ira gave a respectful bow to Tundra.
Next, Kuroa introduced the purple-furred fox.
"This is Mura, leader of the Purple Tribe. Their specialty is enchantments."
Mura simply nodded while lightly tapping her foot against the ground.
Tundra began noticing something.
A pattern.
Kuroa moved on to the next.
"This is Aoki, leader of the Blue Tribe. They specialize in projection magic."
Aoki nodded calmly while studying Tundra with clear curiosity.
Finally, Kuroa introduced the last one.
"And this is Shira, leader of the Light Tribe. As I mentioned before, they specialize in magical power."
Shira nodded politely before turning her attention to the contract.
Tundra looked at the group again.
All of them were female.
In fact…
He hadn't seen a single male since arriving.
Perhaps their society was a matriarchy.
Or maybe—
He decided to ask.
"I apologize if this is rude, but is your species entirely comprised of females?"
Kuroa nodded.
"Yes. Our species only has the female sex."
Tundra nodded thoughtfully.
It wasn't unheard of for species to have a single gender.
Still, it was an interesting detail.
Meanwhile the foxes began signing the contract one by one.
Ira had created a pen from thin air, handing it around to the others.
When the final signature was written, Ira casually dissolved the pen back into nothing.
Tundra watched the process carefully.
If he could only learn one magical technique…
Transmutation might be the one.
Kuroa handed the completed contract back to him.
"We've finished signing," she said.
"When would you like to begin your magic lessons, Emperor?"
Tundra smiled as he accepted the document.
"After I return and store this contract."
"If that's acceptable."
Kuroa thought for a moment before nodding.
"Yes. I can certainly make time then."
Tundra lifted off the ground.
"I'll see you soon."
And with that, he flew back toward the engineering planet to officially register the sale.
__
Several hours passed.
Tundra returned to the engineering planet, scanned the contract, and recorded the planet as officially sold.
Once everything was finalized, he immediately headed back.
When he landed again, he saw Kuroa sitting on a simple chair nearby.
She appeared to have been waiting.
Tundra walked over and sat down on the ground beside her.
Kuroa looked slightly surprised at first, though the expression faded quickly.
"Welcome back, Emperor Tundra," she said.
"You're here for the lesson, correct?"
She already knew the answer.
But she wanted to make sure he didn't have other business first.
Tundra nodded.
"That would be correct, Miss Kuroa."
Kuroa smiled at the formality.
"There's no need to call me Miss. Just Kuroa is fine."
Tundra paused briefly before nodding.
"Very well. Kuroa."
She nodded back.
"Good. Now before we begin, I'd like to know what you already understand about magic."
"That will help me know where to start."
Tundra thought back through his experiences and the information he had read in various databases.
"Well," he began,
"Magic is a powerful force capable of transforming materials into other materials."
"It uses an energy called mana."
"And there are three main forms: transmutation, enchantment, and projection."
He shrugged slightly.
"But that's about all I'm confident about."
Kuroa grimaced slightly.
That was… almost nothing.
"Well," she said, "it seems I have a lot to teach."
She picked up a rock from the ground.
With a bit of effort, she transformed it into a whiteboard.
A few pieces of chalk appeared in her hand as well.
Kuroa took a slow breath, recovering from the slight exertion, then began drawing.
Three circles appeared on the board.
Inside them she wrote:
Transmutation
Enchantment
Projection
"As you mentioned earlier," she said, pointing to the board, "these are the three primary categories of magic."
"Each one is unique."
She tapped the first circle.
"Transmutation changes one material into another."
Then the second.
"Enchantment alters or adds attributes to a target."
Finally, the third.
"Projection is the most versatile category."
"It includes things like flight, energy attacks, and many other effects."
"In many ways, it's the closest to ki."
Tundra nodded thoughtfully.
Enchantment sounded particularly interesting.
Kuroa glanced at him briefly before continuing.
"Now let's talk about the fuel for magic."
She wrote a new word on the board.
Mana
"Mana is incredibly versatile and everywhere around us. It's produced naturally by nature through processes like breathing and circulation."
Tundra looked slightly embarrassed.
"To be honest… my species doesn't really need to breathe."
"And I don't have a heart either."
Kuroa stared at him for a moment.
Was he a machine?
"…Well," she said slowly, "you would simply produce less mana internally."
"But that doesn't matter too much."
"Most mages rely heavily on absorbing mana from the surrounding environment anyway."
Tundra nodded, relieved.
"That's good to hear. Thank you for clarifying."
Kuroa smiled.
"You're welcome."
She turned back toward him.
"Now, the first thing I'll teach you is how to absorb mana from your surroundings."
"Ready?"
Tundra smiled.
"Ready."