Chapter 85

Walking back home with Clare, we made our way back to our inn. After taking a relaxing bath and eating dinner, I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling, more than a bit excited for tomorrow.

I found someone who could teach me how to use magic, but it’s going to be really early in the morning, before the sun rises, so I should get some shut-eye. Closing my eyes, I fell asleep almost immediately since I was completely exhausted today.

The next morning, I felt someone gently shaking my shoulder as I lay on my bed, eyes shut, hugging a pillow on this really comfortable bed I was sleeping in.

Regaining consciousness but not opening my eyes, my body felt really stiff from training ita bit too much yesterday, which made me really not want to get up.

But with enough shaking, I finally open my eyes. There I saw Clare by my bed, wearing an adventurer guild’s office uniform.

Remembering yesterday, I remember Clare telling me how she was going to start work tomorrow, and… right, Emma was going to teach, or at least advise me on how to use my magic today.

Realizing that, I got out of bed fast, different from how I usually stay in my bed for a good half hour before getting out.

“Lady Rita, you must be excited for today, aren’t you?” she remarked, surprised that I’d gotten up without lingering in bed normally.

“Yeah, you could say that.”

Noticing my eagerness to go, she smiled. “That is good to hear, my lady. Let’s have some breakfast then.”

Looking out the window, it was still dark, and the cool morning air coming in felt kind of nice. I brushed my teeth and changed clothes while Clare combed my messy bed hair.

After we were done eating, we went straight to the adventurer guild. When we got there, Clare took out a key and unlocked the door. Holding the door to let me in, I enter.

Inside, I felt that the adventurer guild was eerily empty, way more silent during its off hours in the afternoon.

Clare, knowing where to go, said to follow her. Doing just that, she led me to the almost deserted reception area, past the counters, and to the office in the back, which I had never been in before.

Opening the office door, I was struck by how much it resembled the offices from my own world. Though it was small, the cubicles in it gave off the same familiar atmosphere.

Six cubicles form a rectangular island in the center of the room, followed by lines of cubicles on the edges. There we saw light in one of the six cubicles at the center, with a hefty stack of papers on the desk.

Looking groggy since it was really early in the morning, we greeted Emma with a “good morning.”

Yawning, “Morning, Nyx. Morning, Clare.”

Stretching a bit after getting up from her seat, she said, “Okay, let's go, Nyx, and Clare, could you take over?”

Nodding, Clare told me to have fun and said to Emma that she would take care of everything for her.

Now with Emma, we made our way to the training area. I saw Emma hold a torch as her blonde hair suddenly glowed a light blue, and sparks of electricity formed around her hand, lighting up the torch.

Then, giving me another torch that was unlit, she asked me. “This is just a test. Could you use your magic to light it? I want to check something.”

Saying, "Okay, I did what Emma told me to do." My hair glowed black, and my eyes turned blue. I pinch two of my fingers, leaving a small gap between.

Then I focused on sending mana to my fingers, and I expended most of my mana to create a small spark between my fingers, causing the torch to light up.

I turn to Emma, mildly exhausted, who has her eyes fixed on me, and wonder what she has to say.

“Hmm… well, can it be… Ah, no, that’s not right.”

“What is it, Emma?” With her muttering to herself and staring at me intently, I was growing mildly concerned about what Emma had to say.

“Right, sorry. My theory was wrong, I guess.”

“Wait, what theory?”

“On why you can only use your magic with your mana nature.”

“Oh, I see. Then what was your theory?”

“Your mana channels were too narrow.”

“My mana channels were too narrow?”

“Yes, I thought at first it could be that because it might explain why you can’t use your magic without your mana nature, and maybe why the magic appraiser didn’t detect your magic.”

“How so?” I’m presuming mana channels are how mana flows throughout your body. I’m now really curious about her theory, though. Why did she say it was not?

“Normally, having a narrow mana channel is normal among new mages; however, in rare cases, there are people with mana channels that are too narrow, which causes them to have a really hard time casting magic.”

But how does it relate to me? I thought to myself as she continued explaining.

“In your case, I thought your mana channels were so narrow that barely any mana could pass through. This would explain why a magic appraiser couldn’t detect your magic. In addition to why you can’t use mana without your mana nature, a combination of your monstrous mana control and the mana channels forcing you to compress your mana makes it flow through you, being the only way you can use your mana.”

“I see… but what made you rule that possibility out?”

All in all, that makes complete sense, and I can’t really see another explanation for it.

“Because your mana channels seem to be large, maybe if not abnormally large, like you have some mana channel scarring throughout your body.”

“Mana channel scarring?”

“It’s the process of burning your mana channels to make them bigger.”

“Is that dangerous?”

Feeling a bit concerned because that definitely sounds problematic, I ask that, concern in my voice, though Emma can’t really pick that up.

“It depends; it only really happens when a mage is in a high-density mana area, where they absorb more mana than their mana pool can contain, which spills over to your mana channels in your body. But from personal experience, it’s not that much of a problem, but it just takes a toll on your body and will hurt a lot if you try to use that mana.”

Hearing about the last part really got my attention. What does she mean by using that mana? So, with that question in mind, I asked.

“Oh, right, I forgot you’re just learning how to use your magic. Each person’s mana is unique, and we can’t really absorb the mana in the air directly; our body has to process the mana in the air first.”

“So that’s why it hurts a lot to use since it’s a different mana from your own, right?”

“Yes, that is correct. But out of curiosity, what exactly happened to your mana channels that makes them so big? Did something happen in your fight with Boras that caused it to happen?”

Thinking about it for a moment, for an answer, I guess, “Maybe it was due to all the mana I’d absorbed from the monster cores.”

“Huh… that could be the case, especially with one of your mana natures.”

“If that’s the case, I wonder if I could fill my mana channels by absorbing the mana around me with one of my mana natures. Maybe that would help me extend how long I can sustain my magic.”

“Then, is it possible for you to teach me that?”

“Why do you want to learn that? Wait, is it because you keep running out of mana so fast?”

“Yeah, that is exactly why.”

Scratching her cheek, “You’ve already had a large mana pool since you were born a noble; wouldn’t it be easier to figure out why you can’t use normal magic?”

“I have a large mana pool?”

Emma looked at me questioningly, like it was obvious.

“Well, yeah, the only reason you are running out of mana so fast is that your mana nature takes an absurd amount of mana to use. I guess it’s because of your two mana natures being used together instead of separately.”

“I did not know that.”

“Really?”

Nodding yes, she then said, “I guess I have to teach you about mana natures then, but before that, let's light up the training area first.”

After lighting up the training area, Emma proceeds to explain how mana natures work, such as how infusing your mana nature is always mana-intensive, with some being much more mana-intensive than others, and how there are 5 categories of mana natures that mages fall into. They fall into 7 categories: Enhancer, Conjurer, Healer, Support, Destructive, Defensive, and Unknown.

Since I have two natures, one being an enhancer, which allows me to amplify or strengthen things, and Unknown, a category for abilities that don’t fit the other 5 categories—like my ability to absorb energy and convert it into mana.

Remembering Athrun’s party, I guess Athrun also falls into the unknown category, while Sarah falls under the healer and support category.

As for the others, Emma explained that a Conjurer mana nature allows someone to create semi-permanent physical objects out of mana; a Destructive mana nature lets someone erase targets with raw destructive force; and a Defensive mana nature is essentially its opposite, used mainly for protection, like erecting barriers that can reflect attacks back at the attacker.

Hearing all that, I was genuinely impressed, and once she finished explaining, I took the chance to ask a question out of curiosity, since she must have one if she knows this much.

“So, what mana nature do you have?”

She was a bit surprised by my unexpected question and responded, “I don’t have one.”

“Really, I thought you would have one.”

Well, that was a surprise. I mean, she used to be a high-ranking adventurer after all.

“That's mainly because I could use two elements, making it exponentially harder to control your mana when you try to compress it.”

“Oh, I see, but just wondering, what is your other element?”

Smiling a bit, she said, “I can’t say; I've got to keep some secrets, you know?”

After discussing what we should focus on, we decided to first figure out why I couldn’t use mana without my mana nature. If that didn’t work—which, I had a gut feeling, it wouldn’t—Emma would teach me how to use my mana channels as extra storage and other techniques to increase my mana pool or reduce how quickly I burn through it.

As the sun began to rise, Emma mentioned she would return to her cubicle to start opening up the building. I decided to go to the library and wait outside for Mable, since I wanted to ask Mila, her older sister, if she could make something. When I saw Mable arrive, she looked surprised to see me, under her usual calm self.

“Morning, Mable.”

“Morning, Nyx. Why are you here so early, and how did you get in here? The building hasn't opened yet.”

“Emma let me in for something, but where's Mila?”

“In guild master Cade’s office.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s the only way to keep her in check and stop her from making a mess of things.”

Unlocking the door and letting me inside, she asks me what books I wanted, but I told her I was here to see her sister, Mila, and to return the book she lent me the other day.

Thanking Mable for telling me where her sister was, I walked up to the third floor to Cade's office.

There, I heard people talking, one being persistent and the other annoyed by their persistence.

“Cade, come on, let me out. You can’t expect to separate a loving older sister from their cute younger sister?”

“Yes, I can. Now, if you don’t mind, please be quiet—I still have to finish signing all these adventurer applications that were due yesterday.”

“But why??!! That is not as important as reuniting me with my little sister!!!”

Knocking on the door and then telling him it was me, I went in after Cade told me to come in. Inside, I saw a darkly lit room filled with stacks of paper, though it wasn’t as much as when I came here when Emma was in here.

Cade was sitting by his desk, looking exhausted, while Mila, who was lying on a couch and was wearing a straitjacket, was squirming around, trying to wiggle herself free.

“Ah, Nyx, it’s good to see you. Do you need something?”

“Yeah, but are you okay? You looked really tired.”

From the looks of him and his appearance, he looked like he had stayed in his office all night.

“I'm fine, no need to worry, but the real problem is her; I can’t get any work done with her around.”

Pointing his feather pen at Mila, I said, “Huh… what a coincidence. I think I can solve that.”

“Really?”

“I'm here for Mila. I need her for something. I can watch her for a while and get her out of your hair.”

“Wait, me?!”

I turned to Mila and said, “Yeah.” Then I looked back at Cade, who was grinning ear to ear, clearly thrilled to have someone else deal with Mila instead of him, from what I gleaned from his thoughts and expression.

“Okay, I don’t see a problem with that.”

“Then could we use the room next door?”

“Sure, anything to get her off my hands.”

“Thanks, guild master Cade.”

Unlocking the restraint on Mila, I paid close attention to her facial expression and body movement so she couldn’t run off to Mable. So far, as I remove her restraints, I’m not getting a whiff of her doing that. However, I was still cautious since I didn’t want to cause Mable any trouble.

Leaving Cade’s office, I carefully watched over Mila, who was stretching after being bound in restraints. She then asked me, “So, Nyx, thanks for setting me free, but what do you want me to do?”

“Could you help make me something, and also, do you have my engraved knives?”

“Your engraved knives are almost ready, but what exactly is it that you want me to make?”

“A mana storage device.”

Turning around to look at me curiously, “Huh, why do you want me to make that? You know you can buy them off the market, right?”

“Yeah, but I need something much stronger and one that can recharge.”

From what I’ve learned from a book about magical devices, the ones you get from the market are not that useful for me because they don’t really contain the amount of mana I need, and most of them are one-time use. If I’m looking for one that can hold a large amount of mana and is rechargeable, it would, frankly, cost a fortune, around the cost of my house in Acton.

“I see, but where are you going to get the monster cores from? You know that they come from really powerful dungeon monsters.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.”

Showing her my pouch of monster cores, coming from a B-rank monster, should do.

Mila looked in it and was shocked to see that many cores were in my pouch.

“Wh— Why do you have that many?”

“Can’t give you the details, but someone gave them to me because they didn’t need them.”

“What?!! Who would do that?”

Shrugging my shoulders, I repeated, “Again, it’s a secret.”

“Huh… If that's all you need, then I'll—"

Cutting her off before she could finish, I instantly sensed something was up and warned her.

“Don’t you do it.”

“Do what?”

“Run off to Mable, I’m not letting you.”

Looking like she was caught in a lie, Mila pouted and said, “You’re no fun; I thought you were on my side.”

“Nope, I’m not. But if we're done making a rough sketch and deciding what runes to use today, maybe I’ll let you see her.”

“Really??!!!” shouted that excitedly. I said, “Yeah, only if we finish early.”

Entering the room, we work on a design that has high mana capacity, is rechargeable, and is compact enough not to be too cumbersome in a fight.

And at the end of the day, we were done making the groundwork for the mana storage device, where we made a rough sequence of runes to use in the magic circle that will be engraved into the monster cores I have.

Keeping my word, I let Mila meet with Mable. I’ll do it with some caveats, like not going to the library or leaving my sight. Mable wasn’t too pleased that I let Mila come near her library, as Mila latched onto her, her cheeks being rubbed against Mable like an affectionate cat.

So, making sure Mila doesn’t make a mess as she gets her fill of Mable, I have to pry her away from Mable and drag her back so we can continue working on my mana storage device.

At the end of the day, when the adventurer guild was about to close, Clare knocked on the door Mila and I were in and told me it was time for us to go back to our inn.

As we walked back, I asked how her first day was, to which Clare told me it was fine and she was fitting in smoothly with the other guild staff. Then Clare asked how my day went, and I told her about what I learned about mana nature from Emma and how I’m working with Mila to create a mana storage device.

Back at our inn, we ate dinner in the restaurant on the first floor, then headed straight to bed.

Waking up the next morning, around the same time as yesterday, and for the next month or so, I follow this routine 6 days out of the week with one day off, where I wake up really early in the morning for Emma to teach me about magic, followed by Mila and my magical storage device.

All in all, things were going well; nobody was coming to look for me thanks to Clare, who was working tirelessly to protect me. Working with knights from the 3rd knight order, Clare managed to convince them to work together with her because, contrary to what they predicted about my family’s steady downfall, they have been becoming increasingly more erratic to stay afloat. The Third Knight Order needs me because now my family is starting to become an actual problem, specifically to be a witness to pass judgment on my family and to strip them of their titles, land, and property and to send them to rot in prison.

After eating a quick breakfast, we made our way to the adventurer guild. The weather has been gradually becoming colder and colder, mainly because it’s almost fall. Maybe I should go to Hutch’s store to buy some clothes for fall today, since I haven’t visited him once since I came back to Farsbarow.

Reaching the adventurer guild and going in, we went in with Emma waiting for us. Clare and I separated; she went to the office, and I went with Emma to the training area.

Overall, I wasn’t able to use my magic without my mana nature, as I suspected, so we then switched to focusing on increasing how long I could use my magic, one of them being techniques to help me recover my mana faster, and more importantly, using my mana channels to increase my capacity. Granted, there are some drawbacks; if I didn’t constantly maintain it, all the mana I’d stored would leak out when I lost focus, meaning each day when I woke up, I would have to start over each day and reabsorb the mana I’d lost in my sleep.

Interestingly, when I focus on controlling the mana in my mana channels, only my eyes turn blue. My hair doesn’t change at all, probably because the amount of mana involved is so small that it isn’t enough to make my hair glow black.

Once my lessons with Emma were done, which mainly consisted of her observing me train with the techniques she had taught me and occasionally speaking up to correct something, the sun rose, and it was the end of our lessons.

I then went up to the third floor and waited for Mila to arrive, feeling a bit excited because the mana storage device had been finished just yesterday, and I was eager to try it out. And when she came, clinging to Mable, Cade separated her from Mable and pushed her into the room we have been using for the last month.

Inside, I’d ask. “Do you have it? Can I see it?”

“Yeah, here.”

Taking out an item from her pocket, she handed it over to me. It was a black choker with a spherical, clear gem attached to it. Runes were carved into the gem, which was a monster core, and were sewn on the cloth itself as well, which is made from silk from an insect-type monster that has some decently high mana conductivity.

Tying it on, not too tightly and not too loosely, I place my hands on the gem. The reason I chose a choker was mostly due to practicality. Mila doesn’t really know how to make armor, but she could make some accessories, given the tools she had at hand.

At first, I wanted it to be a bracelet, but it didn’t have enough room to put our runes on it, so I made it into a choker since it was the next best option.

“So Nyx, I’ve been wondering, why do you need this?”

So far, I have not told Mila why I need it, and she hadn't asked until now, but since she asked, I am already sensing that she suspects it. I just showed her.

“Because I can use magic.” Closing my eyes, feigning concentration, I only let her see my hair glow black as I let mana flow throughout my body.

Mila’s reaction was what I’d expected: wide-eyed shock and mouth agape.

“Surprise?”

Nodding her head up and down, she said, "Yeah."

“Apparently, I just found out I could use magic around a month and a half ago when I was dungeon diving. You could say I’m a bit of a late bloomer.”

Saying that lie, she completely bought it and yelled out in excitement, happy for me, and hugged me in a tight embrace.

“That’s amazing!!! So what’s your element? Can I see? Can I see??!!!”

Letting me go, she looked excitedly for my answer, which I told her, “It’s the lightning element, but sorry, I can’t really show it to you. Emma told me that I don’t have enough control over my magic to do it safely.”

“A bit disappointed that I said no,” she responded. “Right, right, sorry I got a bit carried away there.”

“Alright then, I’ll be going now; I’ve got some errands to do.”

“Wait? Can I go to Mable now?”

“Nope.”

Hearing Mila say that expectantly, I said it in a really flat tone, more than how I usually speak, and turned the doorknob, opening it, where Cade was on the other side. He immediately leaped for Mila, tackling her to the ground.

I closed the door amid Mila’s screaming and went downstairs and out of the adventurer guild. Then, remembering where Hutch’s shop was, I began walking there.

When I got there, I opened the door and heard a familiar bell that announced my entry. However, when I went in, I heard the voice of someone different greeting me.

A woman with brown hair and eyes, in her early 20s, greeted me. Huh… Where's Hutch?

“Good morning, how may—” Looking at me like she recognizes me, I was surprised to hear her say my name. “Nyx, it's good to see you. You’ve grown taller, haven’t you?”

Instantly, I was on guard, wondering how she knew, though she couldn’t pick up.

“How do you know my name?”

Hearing that, she had a big smile, like it was funny or something.

“Hahaha ahahaha, Nyx, it’s me, Hutch, though I go by Hazel right now.”

“Hazel? Right now? What?”

Snickering some more, “Did you not forget what kind of shop this is?”

“Huh…” This shop is made for cross-dressers, and the person in front of me… was Hutch. Looking at him or her, Hutch—no, Hazel—she definitely looked like Hutch, like she was Hutch’s sister or something.

“Wait, so you’re a woman?”

However, she smiled at my question even more and said, “That’s on you to figure out. But anyways, what do you need help with?”

After giving me a moment to sort things out in my brain, I decided it was not worth thinking about and responded to Hazel’s question.

“I need some fall clothing for the cold weather.”

“Ah, I see. You're just in luck; I received shipments of new fall clothing a week ago.”

“I can see that. Also, do you still have some direwolf fur left?”

“Do you want me to make something out of it?”

“Yes, another cloak, please.”

“Huh… I’m afraid I cannot make you another cloak; there isn’t enough material to make another.”

“Oh, I see.”

"A bit disappointed that I couldn’t find another cloak like my old one, which had been so warm and comfortable, especially with fall just around the corner, I thought that," till Hazel continued.

“Because I already made another.”

Hearing that, my disappointment vanished, and I asked, “Can I see it then?”

“Sure, I’ll bring it out the back, but I should warn you that it’s not entirely made out of dire wolf fur.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Alright then, it’ll only take a few minutes. Feel free to look around the shop while I fetch it.”

Doing just that, I went around her store to see what was new, and my eyes landed on some button-up jackets and cardigans that seemed really warm and comfortable to wear.

Choosing the right size, a black button-up jacket for me and a white cardigan for Clare, since I think she needed one too, I moved them to the counter when Hazel was done bringing the cloak to me from the back.

Presenting it to me, over the counter, I look at it. It was a grey cloak with the shoulders and hood being made from white direwolf fur. Feeling it, it felt thick, and when I tried putting it on, which was too big for me, it didn’t really feel as heavy as I thought.

“How is it? Is it to your liking?”

“Yes, but out of curiosity, what is the grey cloth made of?”

“Oh, that? It’s from the fur of a monster that is a rank or two lower than a direwolf. Even though it’s not as protective, it would do just fine.”

“How much for it and these two in total?”

“Two silvers, but I’ll knock it down to 1 silver and a large bronze.”

“Why’s that?”

Shrugging her shoulders, “Nobody is buying it; it’s apparently too expensive in this town, especially with newbie adventurers. I tried selling to a traveling merchant, but they didn’t want it either.”

“I see, thank you for the discount then.”

"Giving her the coins," she then said. “Thank you for shopping at my shop. Let's get to fitting then.”

Grabbing a measuring tape under the counter, Hazel led me to a fitting room and began measuring me. When she was done, she scribbled my new measurements on some paper and said.

“Alright then, everything should be done by the end of the day.”

Saying thanks to Hazel, I left her store instead of waiting. I was planning to look around and buy some supplies for tomorrow.

I’m planning to go outside and stretch my legs for a bit by fighting some monsters. It is going to be tons of fun. I can’t wait to try out all the things I’ve learned over the past month on whatever monsters are coming my way.

I’ve already gotten Clare’s, Emma’s, and Cade’s permission, since it’s safe enough to go out—though Clare had her reservations.

As I walked through the rows of shops, I stopped by several of them, buying what I might need for tomorrow in case the worst happened. Mostly escape tools: smoke bombs, poisons, paralytic agents, and the like, all of which I managed to find in one store. Beyond that, I picked up a maintenance kit for my weapons, like oils for my blades and scabbards and wax for my engraved knives to keep them from rusting, since Kinwall wasn’t here in Farsbarow to do it for me.

Once I was done with all that, it was late into the afternoon, so I decided to go back to Hutch’s shop to get the cloak Hazel had refitted, along with the black button-up jackets for me and the cardigan for Clare, which were all neatly folded and packed in a paper bag.

Carrying everything I’ve bought back to my inn, I spent some time doing maintenance on my equipment, and once I was done, I decided to have a much-needed bath.

I turned on the faucet to fill the bathtub and began undressing as it filled.

Taking my shirt off first, I looked at the bandages covering my chest. I began unwrapping them and turned to check my back in the mirror.

“So it isn’t the bandage or the cream’s fault. Why isn’t it going away?”

For the last month, I have been using the anti-scarring cream to remove the scars around my body. It was mostly successful, except for my back, where I saw in the mirror a pair of scars running down it.

Sighing while taking off the rest of my clothes, I guess that is never coming off. Disappointed that it was the case, I then got into the bathtub filled with hot water to stop me from feeling those feelings, because I didn’t want to think about why the scars on my back weren't coming off, which kind of ticked me off a bit.

I closed my eyes and stayed in the bath for a while till I heard the door to my room opening and closing, followed by Clare announcing that she was back.

Telling her that I was in the bath, I got out of the bathtub, dried off, and put on some new clothes, also getting rid of the bandages so Clare wouldn’t notice.

Getting out of the bathroom, I showed her the cardigan I got her, which Clare seems to be overly joyful about.

We went down to the first floor for dinner after I gave it to her, chatting about how our days had gone. Once we finished, we returned to our rooms, prepared for bed, and went to sleep.

The next day, I woke up, this time when the sun came up to wake both me and Clare up. Jumping out of bed, I geared up while we did our normal morning routine. Outside the inn, Clare wished me luck while also saying not to get myself carried away too much.

I returned it, hoping she had a good day at work, then set off in a different direction toward one of the city gates.

At the north gate, I presented my adventurer ID, and the guard let me through.

Now out of Farsbarrow, I was giddy with excitement to fight some monsters.

Following the road where horned rabbits kept appearing, I fought a few off, which helped warm me up a bit.

Looking for something stronger—something worth the mana I had stored in my mana channels and my mana storage device—I eventually stumbled onto a familiar trail. It was the trail where I had met Rain for the first time. Deciding it couldn’t hurt to try looking for strong monsters there, I followed the trail.

Reaching the creek, it filled me with nostalgia seeing it after a long time. For a while, I stood there, admiring the view, especially the yellowing leaves, until I heard what seemed to be footsteps running through the forest grounds.

I instantly turned in the direction of it, but before I could think of what it was, someone burst out of the bushes in almost a blur, colliding with me. We tumbled to the ground, rolling several times before coming to a stop.

When we finally stopped, the person who had crashed into me was on top of me. I looked up and saw a girl around my age, with pinkish-blonde hair and amber eyes.

Getting up but not off of me, she rubbed her head and moaned a bit in pain till I asked if she was alright.

Our eyes locked for a moment, finally realizing she was on top of someone. A long, awkward silence hung between us till her face blushed all bright red as she quickly scurried off from me.