Chapter 11 - A hint

“Hot,” Isabel mumbled a single random word before collapsing, her eye locked with Mila’s until she finally lost consciousness. The shield in her hands dissipated as if it had never existed.

Mila rushed towards her friend. She caught her right before Isabel’s head hit the ground. With trepidation, she used all her senses to see what had happened to her.

After checking Isabel’s condition, Mila sighed in relief. It was only a mana exhaustion. After a night’s sleep, she should be fine.

Trying to lift Isabel turned out to be more strenuous than planned. Mila puffed her cheeks and struggled to bring her friend to her bed.

Mila almost made it before tripping. She managed to land them both on the mattress with her on the top, their bodies pressing together.

Now face to face, Mila noted Isabel’s long eyelashes and pushed herself up. It felt like she was taking advantage of her friend's helpless state.

After calming down, Mila began to think. The situation was too far out of her comprehension. For weeks, she had observed mana gathering inside Isabel’s and Andrew’s bodies.

Every time Mila thought they were about to burst, they simply gathered more. Their bodies felt like endless wells of possibilities.

Then, a week ago, the situation had started to change. Mana inside them began to condense. Mila’s observation intensified, but her friends appeared to be healthier than ever. In fact, even their physical performance increased by a margin, even if they didn’t notice.

They were faster and stronger than before. While Mila felt she had done quite well in improving her health and body prowess, her friends still managed to leave her in the dust.

At this point, even Kefo and Tiff were forced to use mana reinforcement to face the ridiculous duo.

And it had not been even a month. Mila could not see where their limits lay. She looked at the calmly breathing Isabel. Her friend's current position looked uncomfortable, with her legs hanging over the side.

After tucking Isabel in the bed and under the blanket properly, Mila started to pace around the room. She considered if it was worth the trouble to call Silinth but decided against it.

The man was knowledgeable, but this wasn’t urgent. Mila looked at Isabel’s peaceful expression, then extended her rudimentary senses and felt the mana slowly resume its flow.

Isabel was fine. There was nothing to worry about. She was fine. To make sure, Mila checked her pulse and temperature. Everything was normal.

After rounding the room another time, Mila was finally calm. She ruffled her hair and glanced at Isabel.

Perhaps not calm, but it was as good as it would get until Isabel woke up. Mila watched her friend's nose twitch as she turned on her sides, mumbling under her breath.

Mila’s thoughts turned to the shield that had manifested in Isabel’s hand. It was a strange thing. It felt like an ordinary shield to her senses, but that could not be further from the truth.

The way it had manifested from pure mana was miraculous. Mila could not even begin to imagine how that could be done by a girl who had no control over the damn mana at all.

And it had been absorbed back into Isabel’s body right after. They would have to do tests to see what the shield was and if Isabel could bring it back.

But that would have to wait. Mila walked back to the girl and poked her cheek. It looked like she was content to hog the bed for herself.

Mila sighed and decided against leaving Isabel alone. She would accompany her friend through the night in case something else arose.

After changing into pyjamas and pushing Isabel to one side of the bed, Mila climbed in next to her. With the quietly breathing girl so near, she finally felt her nerves relax.

To avoid any confusion, Mila decided against stripping Isabel and made a small wall with the large blanket. This way, they had their personal space sorted out.

Mila knew she had messed up with wording when suggesting sleeping together. Still, Isabel had not been against it, so this should be fine.

And with that, Mila found herself slowly sinking into sleep, escorted by the gentle sound of Isabel’s breath.

—-

It had been a long time since this had happened. Mila’s consciousness found itself in an unfamiliar body.

Only this time, the person was not a soldier. He was not marching towards his doom, didn’t prepare rations, didn’t train for future battle, and didn’t scout enemy positions.

Mila tried to grasp where and what she was. The first few minutes were always the most confusing. The unfamiliar sensation of a different body always threw her off.

This particular body felt old. The joints ached, and the back hurt. As always, Mila felt most of what the actual owner did.

There were a couple of exceptions where Mila found herself drifting along the body, detached from its experiences. Those tended to be the moments these people went through more intimate moments.

Mila still experienced them, just in a subdued way. It was more like watching a movie. She was unsure what to make of it.

It meant that the ten-year-old Mila was spared going through unwanted sexual experiences. On the other, her dreams were not above killing her or making her feel the weight of slaughtering her way through enemy lines.

All Mila could do was accept these rules and try to live the best she could.

But it was time to see what this life would make her go through. Mila only hoped it would be days instead of months.

“Hargyan, it’s time.” A voice outside the room called out to him.

“Yes, yes, I am coming.” Mila felt herself saying in a gruff, inpatient voice.

The owner of this body rose from his desk, covered in hundreds of various papers and several opened books. This Hargyan walked to the door and opened it to reveal a man in his fifties dressed in a ceremonial robe.

“Are you going like this? At least put on something more presentable.” The man criticised.

“Bah, there is no need. We are just visiting some supposedly talented brat.” Hargyan dismissed his comment. “I am not under [------] command. I need not cover before his might. All I have to do is make nice with [------] to get the funding for my research. You are too subservient, Trip.”

There was an obvious redaction going on, Mila noted. This had happened before. But there was a catch.

It had started to happen only when Mila had begun to feel mana. Before that, there was nothing of the sort. She suspected one of the names hidden from her was-

The very reality seemed to distort, and Mila hurried to stop herself. She could not waste the opportunity.

“Don’t call me Trip. We are not kids anymore.” The man frowned and began leading Hargyan through a wide hallway.

“You were much more agreeable at the college, that’s for sure, Triphio,” Hargyan grumbled.

Mila observed the surroundings with the man’s eyes. The surroundings reminded her of universities back on Earth.

“We are still at a college, just that now we are teachers that have to lead by example.” Triphio dryly noted. “I still can’t believe they let you work here.” He shook his head.

“It’s because I am the best mythologist around!” Hargyan proudly declared. “Now, where is that wonder kid? I don’t have a whole day to waste on rumours.”

Triphio shook his head. “They are not rumours. A well-known Temple’s Mana Reader found this child while travelling. The report said the child had burst with mana and had gathered it at astonishing speeds.”

“What temple? Didn’t you say the child is under [------] care?”

“He was, but at the time, the Mana Reader was performing a task ordered by Sir [------],” Triphio explained. “And after making the discovery, he had to report it as is.”

Hargyan started to laugh. “That’s funny. The Temple is not going to like that. Not at all.”

“You would be surprised.” Triphio shook his head. “They are trying to curry favour. They won’t interfere.”

“Huh?” Hargyan rubbed his chin. “That’s a surprise. So, then, why me? I am not an expert on mana freaks.”

Triphio walked in silence for a moment. “It’s because of what came next.” He slowly began speaking. “The child’s mana changed and twisted until-” His words grew heavy. “Until it became something more. Something I have heard of only in legends.”

“So it’s gods then, eh?” Hargyan’s voice was full of reproach. “The Temple doesn’t like when I dabble in their myths.”

They were now closing in on a room with several well-armed guards in front of it.

“No, Hargyan,” Triphio silently denied his conjecture. “It’s because it has nothing to do with gods that you were chosen.”

One of the guards stepped up and began to cast a spell Mila did not recognise.

The dream slowly stretched and blurred. Soon, Mila found herself leaving the body of the man. The world around her turned dark, and she drifted away into sleep.

—

Mila opened her eyes and frowned. This was not her room. She rose on her feet and looked around.

The familiar featureless sky above and scorched ground was the same as usual. Mila stretched and enjoyed the feeling of her own body.

“Did that spell kill this Hargyan?” She wondered. This was not how those types of dreams ended.

Then again, this particular one had been too direct. It was clear there was a message in it.

It wasn’t even hidden. “Not the gods, huh?” Mila muttered. “Then what?”

But these were good news. Mila had been worried about it.

The chances of God’s being involved had not been high. Neither Isabel nor Andrew had any religious inclinations. From what Silinth had told, it was essential to have a strong belief for a God to give its power to their followers.

Then again, Mila did not fully trust Silinth’s words. He was too biased against anything to do with gods.

Mila’s reasoning was different. She did not want gods involved because it would mean an inevitable bid to do their will.

While Mila did not understand the current world well in the past, some of God’s champions had found themselves doing despicable things in the name of their patron.

“So, anything else I should know?” Mila asked, knowing there would be no answer.

When the silence continued, Mila broke into a light jog. She had found the training done here carried over to her actual body to some degree.

If she was already here, there was no point in wasting time. Mila ran faster and faster, enjoying the endless energy this place brought. She would regret it in the morning, but that was a problem for future Mila.

Upon further review of her experience in the previous dream, Mila noticed something else.

This Hargyan - he had claimed to be the best mythologist around. If the child was something only seen in myths-

Mila stopped. Wouldn’t that mean Isabel and Andrew were the same?