What should she do?

Feeling guilty just felt fake to her. This was hardly the first time she had harmed someone, and she had made something of a habit of using lethal attacks. But it still felt...iffy. Perhaps it was just that she hadn't decided to kill them. That it had just happened.

Like hitting someone with an eraser and it ended up blowing through their head. How could they not even block such a weak attack?

"How powerful were they?" she asked.

"Just Journeymen. I thought they'd give you some trouble since their leader had the water element, but oh well." Aasha said, still looking excited. That helped calm Althea's conscience a little. If the girl was this excited at someone's death, they had to be pretty bad, right?

"Fire can beat water." she commented. That did explain a bit of what had happened. If the bandits had relied on water to quell the fire, then they would have failed. The fire she cast was stupendously hard to put out. That was probably an effect of the title.

"I know." Aasha said. "But that usually involves more fire than water. Didn't see that happen."

Althea raised an eyebrow. "How is it that you could see the fire from so far away?"

A Novice did not have that kind of power, but there could be a battle manual that could hide one's cultivation. There weren't any that did that publically, but this was exactly the kind of thing she would hide if she had the chance.

"Fire makes bright light. I see bright light, speculate." Aasha replied, adopting some kind of accent.

Althea was not amused. "If you are attempting to be funny, then I should tell you that your jokes are horrendous. Speculating is also highly inaccurate."

Aasha just shrugged. "Well, I don't have any 'accurate' measures, my lady, so I get to use good ol' eyesight to guess what's goin' on."

"How did you know I was a lady?" Althea asked, tensing. This girl was getting suspicious.

Aasha just looked at her dress, and then at her face. Althea thought for a moment. That-well, actually, that made sense. The jewel dress and white skin color was a giveaway of who she was. And it was already confirmed that she was from the North.

"Did ya teleport from a ball or something'" Aasha said, her accent changing slightly again. This time, Althea was sure that it was more the girl's inability to maintain her fake accent than actually trying for another one.

"I suppose that is not entirely inaccurate." she replied.

Aasha stopped walking. "So, am I right?"

Althea did not stop walking, forcing the girl to catch up. "In a manner of speaking."

"In the normal manner of speaking?" Aasha asked, huffing.

Althea slowed down, looking at the girl. "Are you unable to keep up?"

Aasha huffed a bit more. "What do ya think?"

This time, Althea started walking faster than before. "I think you are acting."

"What-! No, slow down, you bloody-" Aasha huffed after her as Althea stopped, realizing that she had crossed over a hundred meters in a minute. Perhaps she was going a bit too fast.

"If you wish for me to decrease my speed, then you should tell me. I am unused to walking with Novices." she commented.

"I bet." Aasha muttered under her breath. Althea heard it anyway.

"I also have enhanced hearing. If you have any other comments about my behavior, then you may say it to my face."

Aasha looked startled by her comment. Althea could practically read what she was thinking from her expression.

"Keeping your opinions to yourself is also acceptable."

Aasha looked positively terrified.

"Did you just read my mind? Can you read my mind? I hear of Fae readin’ people's minds, but can you guys do it too?"

"To answer your first two questions, no, I cannot read your mind. That is not among my powers." Althea answered, not adding that she could sense her emotion's if she tried. "I do, however, have people under my employ who can. So yes, I suppose, 'we guys' can read your mind."

"Oh." Aasha said.

Althea sighed, wondering if this would finally have the girl shut up. The answer came sooner than she expected.

"How much can they read? Like, can they just read what I'm thinkin' or can they read my entire mind?" Aasha asked a minute later. "Is that why you don't have Novices around you? Cause I would've pegged you to be the kinda lady that had a lot of servants, if you don't mind me saying."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Althea grunted in irritation. This girl really did speak too much.

"If you must know, any decent mind mage can not only read your entire mind, they can change our memories, even remove or add new ones freely. There are ways to stop them, but they can be unreliable. There are also many instances of them taking control of those around them. Mind magic can be very subtle and powerful in capable hands."

"What? Are ya tellin' me-" Aasha began before Althea cut her off.

"As for the Novice matter, I do indeed have many servants. I simply allow most of them to cultivate. An endeavor you should strive to replicate." Althea eyed the girl, noting that she had barely peaked the Novice stage.

Aasha actually seemed offended by her statement. At least, that was what Althea interpreted her suddenly soured expression as.

"What is it?"

"Oh, nothing." the girl said.

Althea just looked at her, and continued walking. The pace was excruciatingly slow. At this rate, they wouldn't reach the village by nightfall. The girl did not speak. For an entire five minutes. Even Althea could tell there was something wrong.

"What is it?" she asked again. "Do not tell me it is nothing, there is clearly something. I know you enough to tell you that it is not in your nature to be quiet for longer than a minute."

The girl simply looked at her. "What do you think?"

Althea thought about it. "Were you offended by my advice? I hear that they allow anyone to cultivate in the Southern Continent. Procuring a manual should be easy for you."

Aasha grunted. "That's only in cities. Do you have any idea how far the city is from here?"

Althea extended her senses, looking around. Not within her sphere of observation. "How far? I do not, in fact, know how far it is. As I have already informed you, I am new to this region."

"What- Just- it's really far, ok! I can't walk there! Look at me, I am a Novice!" the girl said.

Althea nodded. That...was actually quite reasonable.

"Yes, you are correct. I apologize. If you wish, you can follow me when I leave. I shall be in need of a guide either way."

"What-are you serious?" Aasha stared at her, surprise clear on her face. Why was she so surprised? There was no harm in having a local tag along, if anything, it would be helpful. The girl was hardly a threat to her. There was the speed problem, but she just needed to fashion some sort of vehicle they could fly with.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" she asked.

Aasha looked flabbergasted at her words. The girl was far too impressionable. A few seconds ago, she was angry at her. Now she was looking at her in amazement.

"That-don't bother." Aasha sighed.

"Why?" Althea tilted her head, looking at the girl.

"I-ugh- don't" the girl's voice lowered noticeably, barely above a whisper. "Don't have an element."

Althea looked at her for a few seconds, activating her skill. "That is factually impossible. There has not been a single-recorded case of someone without an element. There have been cases of people without any affinity for calling mana, but even they have elements."

A haze appeared around Aasha as she concentrated on her. Althea wasn't sure what that element was, but it was something. That much she was sure of. There was no way a person did not have any element. There was no mana attracted to her, but that simply meant there was none of that mana nearby.

"Well, I do. And for your information, lots of other people have it too. So your information is just wrong." Aasha commented, starting to walk faster. Althea matched her without even concentrating on it.

"No, you are simply incorrect. I can see that you have an element. I cannot tell you what it is, but if many people have the same condition as you, then it may be local to this region." Althea commented. There had been a few cases like that. Just like some elements were rare and tended to get suppressed like recessive genes, some were dominant.

"Do your parents have the same condition?"

Aasha just stared at her. "What? I- what are you talking about? The Elder already checked-what do you mean you can see elements? I thought that was impossible."

"I have learned that there are many things we thought impossible that are possible. Perhaps there is someone that can do every single thing we think is impossible. I do not know. What I do know is that I have a Skill that lets me see elements, and I can see yours quite clearly. Even if it is just an Apprentice Skill, it should work on you."

Althea didn't mention that she hadn't received the Journeyman quest for it. That meant she was doing something wrong. To be honest, she had wanted to find out what...but had then forgotten about it.

"I- yes, my mother had it too. Father wasn't much better off, he was only able to get to Apprentice." she said.

"I see." Althea nodded, noting the 'had. "Then I would say that you inherited your element from your mother. Are the Southern manuals elementally restricted?"

"What? What do you mean- oh that part? I dunno, I haven't seen the manual. Father just told us that we need to have a 'martial mind' for it."

Althea nodded. "That could simply mean that you do not have a martial mind-"

"I do! I can beat-" Aasha looked around, as if searching for something to fight.

"But I do not believe so." Althea interjected. "At least, you should have some talent for it. Not just anyone goes around trying to kill Journeyman tigers at the Novice stage. I do not know what, precisely, is the manual's definition of 'martial', but this should suffice. "

"What's the problem then?"

"I would say that you have a conflicting element, say the peace element." she said. "Even manuals that do not require elements do have inclinations. If your element is something that contradicts the manual's inclination, then you will not be able to cultivate it."

Aasha just stared at her.

"What?"

"I have the peace element."

"No, you may have an element that is similar to it, or at least something that opposes the manual’s definition of martial."

"I have an element like the peace element." Aasha just stated back.

"I fear I do not understand your issue. The element is certainly not convenient, but knowing it should help you if your intention is to search for a suitable manual." Althea commented.

"I have a peace loving element." Aasha went on. Althea was getting kind of irritated. A feeling she felt...dissatisfied with. Why was she getting irritated at this? How come she was irritable over such little things? A lady should be patient.

Forcing herself to be calmer, she smoothed her feelings, taking control again.

"If you could please clearly state your issue, perhaps I could attempt to aid you. As it is now, I am not sure-"

"No, you don't understand. I have a peace element. What am I supposed to do with it? Throw peace at people?" Aasha raised her hands in exasperation, as if she had been dealt a great injustice. "Talk my way through fights?"

Althea just sighed.

The girl might have the peace element, but she clearly wasn't peace-loving. That would be a great hindrance to her going forward. A person that could not feel their element, could not cultivate it at all.

The girl had struck a bad throw in the grand game of dice that was cultivating in this world.