I was awakened by the sun.

“Ah, I missed you, sun.” I had a long night, and when the warmth of the sun reached me, I felt invigorated.

The wyvern still hadn't moved and was still looking at me.

I've stayed away from him since last night, but now that I know he's not as... wild as I thought, I'm walked up to him.

He was clearly on guard, but did nothing to stop me, just made sure I couldn't get to the hatch.

His black scales were beautiful. His jaws could crush a spider with no problem. I have never seen one, but he's probably a little smaller than an elephant, but also bigger if I add his 10-foot tail.

Petting a mythical creature felt strange at first, but he seemed to like it when I scratched his chin. Seeing a dragon-like beast was more than I could have asked for, even when magic existed. I know it's not a dragon because it only has two legs and two wings. Dragons have four legs and 2 or more wings. Still, it was an impressive sight.

After more stroking, he moved away from the trapdoor. For a second I thought that it was to let me leave, but someone came. Opening the trap, a woman appeared and gave the wyvern an apple-like fruit. Even with the small portion he got, he looked pleased.

I kept my distance from the stranger. Her black long hair was the same colour as her eyes. She wore a simple brown shirt and pants under her blue and red cloak. Her only weapon was the dagger at her hip. She carried a small leather shoulder bag under her arm, and numerous pouches hung from her belt.

After looking at me the way I looked at her, she took the same fruit she just gave to her wyvern and offered it to me. I immediately took a bite without worrying. Even if she wanted to poison me, it would only taste spicier than usual. The fruit was delicious and sweet.

“Thanks,” I said. She looked confused and replied in a language I've never heard before. If we don't understand each other, it's going to be very difficult to communicate.

After rummaging in her bag again, she took out a leather collar and signalled me to put it on. It gave off a strange magical aura, but I couldn't tell what it was for. The first thing that came to my mind was a slave collar, but if it was that, it probably would have been better to make it in metal. If she wanted to make me a slave, she could have done it by force.

After I put it on, nothing felt different, but something was different.

“What's your name?” Now I could understand what she was saying, and it even worked both ways.

“Emery” I answered.

“Good morning, Emery, care to join me for breakfast?” After accepting her offer, I was finally able to leave the tower, but not without giving the wyvern a few more scratches.

“His Name is Randal” The wyvern's name was Randal then. I had somehow expected a more threatening name, but after petting him, I couldn't disagree with her.

“I'm surprised,” She said with a smile. “Most people freak out the first time they see a superior wyvern.”

“He saved me from a losing battle and didn't eat me after that. I've no reason to be scared.” She seems to like my answer.

A superior wyvern? Meaning there are several types of wyverns and monsters. I can't wait to learn more!

The inside of her house was infested with books. Full shelves were almost everywhere, and books were piling up on the floor. They were written in languages, that I wasn’t able to read.

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Sitting at the table, she offered me a plate full of fruit, vegetable and even meat. Even if I didn’t recognize the kind of meat it was, I was happy to learn I could still digest meat. After only eating plants since I got here, I was starting to miss a good steak, and the spiders didn’t look very appetizing.

After the meal and a conversation. I learned that her name was Lavanda and that she lived here alone with Randal. The reason she was so hospitable was that she didn’t receive visitors very often, which is something I could relate to.

Why she was here was simple. Barely avoiding the death sentence, hundreds of years ago, she was exiled by her country and took refuge here after taming Randal. If she was to come back, she would be killed. After asking, she didn’t want to tell me her crime. Not that I care, anyway. Whatever her crime was, if she was kind to me, it didn’t matter, I would treat her as a friend.

“You mentioned hundreds of years ago … just how old are you.” Fortunately, she didn’t mind me asking.

“456 years old.” Her answer was straightforward. I never could have guessed that she was this old, she barely looked in her thirties. “I might look human, but I am a vampire, so living this long is a given.” For a second, I wondered if her vampire status was related to her being exiled, but it was better not to ask.

From her remark, I can assume there were more race than just plain humans. When I asked her, she told me that dwarfs, demi elves, lizard men, and multiple other races were common. With how long she has been here, though, she didn’t know if that was still the case.

“So what are you going to do now, that story of yours is quite particular, but I wouldn’t mind if you stay here a while, there are tons of things I can teach you, trust me you won’t regret it!” After telling me her story, I naturally told her my own, even if it wasn’t much.

I had no reason to refuse her offer, so I accepted. From now on, I would live here, learn as much as possible and help her in whatever way I can. Compared to lying in bed all day or living alone waiting for the next fight, it was miles better.

From the winning grin on her face, she seemed relieved. If what she told was right, that meant that she didn’t get visitors often. I wondered how long it has been since she last talked to someone.

Since her house only had one bedroom, she offered me her bed while she slept on the couch. I refused without a second thought. After spending fifteen years in bed, even if it was a different one, I was not going back to one anytime soon. She took some convincing, but I was able to get myself a vine hammock just outside the house.

With the day only beginning, we started talking about my current ability and what my learning priority will be. For only having trained for less than a week, she told me that I was learning very quickly and would have no trouble learning all kinds of magic.

It was supposedly rare for humans to have an affinity with more than two elements. Having an affinity would not stop you from learning a specific kind of magic, it only makes it easier to learn and master.

To learn what my affinities were, other than plant and water, she asked me to try to feel the energy of different elements. Summoning a fireball in her hand, she told me to put my hand as close as possible without burning myself.

“Try to feel the specific mana of fire in the fireball. If you have an affinity with fire, you should be able to sense it when you get close enough.” Closing my eyes, I try to feel anything other than the pure heat of the flame.

“I feel it, it's different from the mana type I’m used to.” Compared to plants that have a calming sensation and water that is overwhelming and docile, this one felt compressed but devastating.

“Good, that means you have an easier time learning it.” She said. “Now we try all the other basic elements.”

After trying all of them, my affinities were good. To add to plant, water and fire, I also had potential with light, darkness, and plague magic. This last one was apparently very rare and frowned upon, but still less unusual than plants.

The training routine she explained to me focused on fire and water magic since these were the ones she knew the best, with some spare time for plant and plague and the two others. With so many affinities to learn, the other elements, even if trainable, were low priority.

“But first you’re going to need some clothes.” She said that, but I was wearing my broken armour and vine undergarment since the first time she saw me, and it didn’t seem to bother her. The only one who showed any embarrassment was Randal, the wyvern, not her or even me for that matter, I’m was used to being half-naked at this point.

Searching in her wardrobe, she took out a cloak similar to the one she was wearing, except the colour was black compared to the blue and red one she had. She also gave me a white chemise and brown pants. These clothes were some old ones that she wasn’t wearing nowadays. She was even the one who knit the chemise and pants.

When I looked at it, her wardrobe was composed of more than hundreds of clothes and accessories. She even had a room dedicated to crafting stuff like potions and clothes. Mentioning that later, she will teach me to make all my stuff myself. The life of an exiled witch must be truly lonesome.