Walking around I observed the people that passed by. I gave them a glance, and tried to decipher their power, just as System told me to do.

“Before levelling up, you need to unlock your abilities. Through them it’ll be possible to start the process.”

“Then how do I unlock them?”

“Use your special eyes that can see the truth of the world.”

“… wait, the truth?”

“The colors that envelope everything are the lead to understand the truth of the world. You lack knowledge, but soon you will understand. First you need to learn how to control this power.”

A woman stopped not too far away from me and observed the shop’s window. The color around her was a dark and deep murky grey, her eyes shone for a moment with a red light, then she smiled satisfied and walked away. Still observing her, I moved to the spot where she stood before and shifted my gaze to the window trying to find the object that caught her eye. Something that seemed to be a cane had around it the same color of the woman’s aura. Curious to know more, I entered the shop and headed towards the object.

The cane was quite plain, with no decorations or whatsoever, but it had two letters carved on its pommel – A.C. – which I thought to be the letter of the person that made it.

At first it didn’t seem to have anything special, but when I took it in my hand some letters and numbers appeared in my mind, and when I observed the cane again, the grayish aura was replaced with a white one.

I observed it confused, while the series of numbers and letters still remained in my mind. The manager of the place saw me, and came to ask if I needed anything: “Are you looking for something little Miss? A present for your parents perhaps?”

He seemed to be a nice person, his vibrant, and clear blue-sky color, gave me a strange feeling.

From what I understood, every living being had an aura that not only represented their magical powers, but also their personality. People could enchant things, which would then take the same color as the mage’s aura that cast the incantation.

Just like with the cane that was enchanted by that woman’s power, the walls of the shop had two layers of incantations on them, one of which was surely made by that man.

I looked at him and then smiled: “Not really Mister, I was just curious. This cane seemed so nice. Could you please tell me what these letters stand for?”

The man had a surprised expression on his face, but it didn’t last long, and soon a bright smile took its place: “Oh, Young Miss, this is the name of the artisan that made it. He used the finest wood to carve out this unique piece. It’s a really good conductor and amplifier for magic. Young Miss’s father will love it.”

“Father will?” I played along with him. “Yes, father seemed to be in need of a cane lately.”

“Right? I’m sure he would be pleased if his beloved daughter bought him such a good present.”

“Then… May I know how much it’ll cost, Mister?” I looked at him trying my best to put on a cute and teary expression.

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about the price! This kind Mister will do the Young Miss a favor and will send the check directly to your family.”

‘My, my… look at this swindler.’

I already knew that my way of speaking was unusual for a child my age, unless I was the daughter of a wealthy family or nobility, whose parents cared a lot about appearance and made their children study hard instead of letting them roam around the house and do mischievous deeds.

That test made me understand something: just because a color is bright, clear, or shiny, it didn’t mean the person was good. In the batch was also included Johan’s wife, Layla, who had a bright personality, with a bright aura, but made my insides curl up every single time.

“So, Young Miss, where should we send the present?”

It was time to get out of the pond.

“Uhm, but daddy… I don’t think he will be happy. He’s not old like a grampa…”

“Oh, but it’s not a simple cane. Before I-“

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“Nope, thank you!”

I interrupted the man who was trying to sell me that object, quickly put it back, and stormed out of the shop. I was still smiling brightly when I arrived at the central plaza where the Temple was situated. It was only yesterday that I received my blessing, so the High Priest probably didn’t have anything on his hands yet. I observed the magnificent building and then took an alley that was near the main street. It was quite wide, and a lot of people went in and out of the stores.

At some point, my stomach started rumbling. Johan gave me a bracelet, and the moment I put it on it did shrank to fit my tiny wrists. He told me that I could pay anything I wished to buy with it, without worrying about the amount. That bracelet worked just like a smartphone, with which one could pay the bill without using any credit card or cash.

While walking down the street, I searched around for a good place where I could sit and eat something, but every coffee shop or restaurant seemed to be full of people lined outside waiting to enter.

When I arrived at the end of the alley, I decided to take a turn to the right and leave the heart of the city and look for a good place further away. While exploring, I encountered less and less people, until just few passersby could be found. There weren’t many shops or stores, and I thought I had to return back when I saw a floating board that read ‘TEA GARDEN’ with an arrow indicating the entrance to the tea shop. Curious and hungry, I followed the indications and soon found myself in a cozy, warm, and peaceful garden full of blooming flowers and white tables, with… no chairs?

I walked up to a table and a green light shone in the air, then a plate with the map of the garden appeared in front of me.

Confused and intrigued I first looked at it carefully, then extended one of my fingers and tapped on one of the tables which then shone with a green light and a card with a number on it appeared.

“One?”

In that moment, the card shone brightly and transformed into and green orb and started flying somewhere, after some meters it stopped as if waiting for me, so I followed it. In just a matter of seconds I was taken to a table with a chair, where I sat glad to see there was at least one. Then the green orb floated again in front of me and transformed in a menu.

I read it carefully, wondering what all the things listed on there could be. The only thing I could understand clearly was the title of every section, which spaced from hot or cold drinks to desserts. Just in case, I decided to order one cold tea and something I presumed to be sandwiches, together with some kind of dessert. After I selected them, I went to the last page where I found a ‘SEND’ icon and touched it with my finger. The menu became an orb again and flew away.

Like that I was left alone. There seemed to be no customers or waiters around, I also could not understand where the main building of the shop, where the kitchen should theoretically be, was situated. Standing up from the chair, I looked around concentrating carefully on my surroundings, then I noticed that at every table there were faint colors, except mine. The auras had faint shapes of people, seated on invisible chairs, or standing near the tables.

‘Hey, System can you help me?’

[How can I help you?]

‘Why there are colors of auras, but I can’t see the people or the object they belong to?’

[This place uses spatial magic. Every box around here has a center, which works as a door to enter the space. Once inside, people can enjoy their time without worrying about being disturbed.]

‘This place seems to be quite unique. Then if a person is inside another space, I can’t see their aura clearly.’

[This is just because you can’t use your powers perfectly yet. With your eyes, you should be able to see them clearly. This, let me say, is the best place to train. You should use this opportunity wisely.]

A better place to train could not be found.

I sat back on the chair and observed the space around the tables. The more I concentrated the more vivid the shapes became, but my struggles didn’t last long since my food arrived. As I guessed, what I ordered where sandwiches with meat and salad, while what I thought to be a sweet dessert was instead some kind of savory pie made with vegetables. I enjoyed everything without leaving any crumbles.

Satisfied and happy, I could finally start working out.

Pointing a shape not too far away from me, I concentrated until my eyes started to hurt and the shape became more vivid.

‘Uhm… Am I doing this the right way?’

[… Your method is indeed unique. You make the mana flow into you in a natural way, subconsciously even, but you won’t go far like this.]

‘Needn’t say that I’m not from this world, right?’

[… Mana is something that can be found everywhere. In the air, inside the objects, and of course in every living being. It’s a particle that mages extract from the surroundings, then it’s processed and refined in the body through the Core, and used as fuel to create magic.]

‘A Core?’

[Every mage has a Core. To be more precise, one is defined as a mage only if that person has a Core. In some cases, there are even people who have two of them. One that is located in the physical body and one that is part of the astral body.]

‘Wait… let me process what you told me until now. Is the Core a physical object?’

[It’s not an object, it’s an organ.]

‘… What happens if the Core is damaged or removed? Does one die?’

[It’s not a vital organ, there are many who live without one. But if the physical Core was to be removed or damaged, the mage would suffer a lot, and that pain could lead to death.]

‘How about the non-physical Core?’

[That one cannot be removed, but it can be damaged or even broken. Both cases lead to death. The astral Core is part of the astral body, so if the body or the Core is broken, then it all breaks, and if the astral body breaks one loses its life.]

‘… This is more serious than I thought.’

[You shouldn’t worry. Your second Core is well hidden.]

‘…’

I was speechless. It was too much information to understand.

‘So… I have two.’

[Yes. Now, you should try to feel the mana around you. Try to sense it. When you’ll be able to do it, you will be able to see clearly into every pocket-space.]

‘Sigh… Ok, let’s give it a try.’

Like this I tried to do what the System told me to, but… After week I was still unable to feel the mana…