That was it. This was the opportunity Lila had been waiting for. She was going to become a mage. No, a wizard! All she needed to do was to burn this piece of string with the power of her imagination. Simple enough… or maybe not. It had been more than two hours since Crystal started teaching her the ways of the arcane but so far, all she managed to do was pop a vein on her forehead. They gave up on seeing any sparks and now they were just hoping to make it warmer. Crystal made it sound incredibly easy. Just use your imagination. But the more she tried to imagine what she needed to do, the more she got distracted.

“Focus. Imagine that the piece of string in your hand is a rock in a field. Imagine that your hand is the afternoon sun, Your fingers are rays of light hitting that rock and heating it.” Crystal instructed a frustrated Lila.

“Gah! This is impossible Crystal. I keep imagining the rock but nothing happens! I keep imagining the sun like you’re telling me to, but nothing happens again! Maybe I’m just not cut out for this…”

“I am never wrong, lass. Especially when it comes to matters concerning magic.”

“Maybe this time you are. The only thing changing is how numb my legs are from sitting on them,” Lila objected.

“You might not be fit for elemental manipulations. It is usually easier than other types of magic, as nature is full of inspiration. You have the talent, but you lack worldly wisdom.”

“Well, clearly it's not the easiest because this isn’t working,” Lila said as she dropped the string, “Just tell me about some other magic and I’ll try that.”

Hmm… If she can’t even do the most basic form of magic, what else could she do? Elemental type is the easiest one to imagine and materialize yet she couldn’t even light up a tiny piece of string. Other options were based on harder-to-imagine abstract concepts. Crystal didn't see someone as sheltered and uninformed as Lila being able to understand things like gravity or space. There was one other option that might work, Crystal thought. After all, it was the magic that Lila witnessed the most.

“How about telekinesis?” Crystal proposed.

“Tel-Tele-what? Stop using hard words when you already know that I have no idea what it means,” Lila pouted.

“I'm explaining the meaning now, just let me finish. Te-le-ki-ne-sis. It’s a form of magic that lets you control objects and move them according to your will. It’s also what I’m using to float around,” Crystal pointed out, giving a small twirl around the girl’s hip.

“So, does that mean I’ll be able to float just like you? Wait, can I make other people float too?”

“In time, anything is possible with magic. Your imagination is your only limit.” Crystal continued to dangle the carrot, “However, keep in mind that the bigger the object is, the harder it will be. Mana is also a factor in this one.”

“Okay, so how do we do? Teach me!” Lila squealed in excitement.

“Patience, young one. You should never be rash when it comes to magic. Remember how I said you could turn yourself into a frog? I was not joking. Remind me to tell you the story of that prince later.”

“Sorry, I just can’t help myself. Please, teach me, Crystal.”

“Okay, that’s better. Now, first things first,” Crystal said as it unsheathed the knife Lila appropriated from Nure and levitated it to the other side of the room, leaning it against the wall. “When you use telekinesis, the object you’re trying to move becomes an extension of yourself. Try to imagine the knife as a part of your arm and try moving it as if it is another hand.”

A knife, like a hand? Lila was confused as always with Crystal’s vague explanation. How would that even work? That’s a knife made out of metal. How could that even become a part of her arm? Although, according to Crystal, all she had to do was focus her imagination on the object she was trying to affect. After remembering this, Lila began focusing on the knife. At first, nothing happened just like before but she did not falter, she cleared her mind of all the distractions. That polished metal and what she wanted it to do. Those were the only things on her mind. Floating. Crystal did that all the time. Just like Crystal does. A glowing stone that hangs still in the air. No, she had to ignore the glow of the Crytal in front of... wait. In front? As soon as she noticed that the glowing object was the knife itself, it fell to the floor. Along with the tipping over the knife, she felt something leaving her body and leaking to the ground. It felt as if she was bleeding all over her body, suddenly making her feel tired and sleepy.

“Splendid!” Crystal said, clearly overjoyed by Lila’s success.

“I… I did it? Was that it?”

“Yes. That was telekinesis. I did not expect you to move such a large object at first but you exceeded my expectations, girl. Good job!”

“Hurray… I did it… I…”

Before Lila could finish, her exhaustion finally caught up to her. She had been traveling for days without proper rest and subpar nutrition. Using her mana was the tipping point for her body. She would have hit her head if Crystal hadn’t caught her mid-fall. Using magic, it levitated her body to the soft bed and tucked the young adventurer in. For her to be able to use an advanced type of magic on her first try was certainly extraordinary. It was a small twitch, barely enough to tip the object but most people couldn’t even achieve that.

Sadly, using this much mana was a little bit straining for her, she spent a lot more than what was required but it was a normal phenomenon. Inexperienced wizards in the past met worse fates than exhaustion, turning their bodies into lifeless husks by overexerting their mana reserves. That was why mages no longer used this method.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

In Lila’s case, all that happened was only a couple of hours of deep sleep, so she was indeed talented. The thing that made Crystal curious was another detail though. Why did the knife glow when all they were trying was telekinesis? Sadly, that question has to be answered for another time since the young novice woke up.

“Good morning… How long have I been sleeping?”

“It’s past afternoon. How are you feeling?”

“Still tired. But, it feels different… Like something was sucked out from my body.”

Crystal bobbed up and down, in a mimicry of nodding its head,

“That was mana leaving your body. As you refine your skills and improve your mana in time, you won’t feel anything.”

“Then let’s continue!” Lila exclaimed. After seeing the result of her efforts, her enthusiasm was back in full force.

“No, if you overextend yourself again in such a short period, you will die. Besides, you still haven’t eaten anything.”

Now that Crystal pointed it out, she remembered that the last meal she had was yesterday. She had gotten used to the feeling of hunger and starvation due to her previous experiences. She skipped eating for just one day, but her stomach was already feeling just like back then. She didn't expect magic to be this taxing. Was losing mana the reason for this intense hunger?

“You’re right. Think of mana as a fire, you need to keep feeding fuel to it. That fuel for your body is food, so eating is how you replenish that reserve,” Crystal pointed out, having read her mind.

“Fine… let’s go downstairs then. I’ll ask for a job while I’m at it.”

It didn’t take long for Lila to get up from her bed and sheath the dagger that was on the ground before going downstairs to grab her meal. The tavern was a little bit more crowded compared to the morning but Lila suspected that it would be full once it was evening. Going by this logic, she knew that she must avoid the main hall during those times. Any of those random people could be their next attacker.

While she was deep in thought, the barkeep came over to her table with a hot plate in his hands,

“Listen, girl, normally only the breakfasts are included in the price of the room. Remember that, okay?”

“Oh…” Lila murmured, “But I don’t have any money left, mister. Do you know anywhere that has a job for me? I know how to make soap, fish, spin wool, and a little bit of carpentry.”

“Carpentry you say? Well then, Roland the Carpenter was looking for a pair of hands a few days ago. If you’re interested, his shop is a couple of houses behind the Church of the Venerable God.”

“And where is that building, mister?” Lila asked.

“Just look for a crazy lad yelling his lungs out. He does his preaching in front of the church. From there, turn left and go down the street. The carpenter will be on your left.”

Having said his word, the barkeep went back to his usual spot. Lila on the other hand, quickly started to gorge on the food. Even though it was hot, it did not deter the starving girl. By the time she finished eating, her mouth was full of small burns and her stomach felt as if it was on fire but the feeling of being full was well worth the pain. It took her a while to shake off the heavy feeling from eating but she recovered faster than expected. Guessing that it probably all went to that mana thing Crystal talked about, she started worrying about her next meal instead. To that end, she made her way to the carpenter’s shop.

On her way there, Lila noticed that Cimia was significantly different than Rath. The streets were wider and they were full of people, old and young. The houses were taller and a lot more numerous. There were also more streets covered in shops. They were selling all kinds of wares from everyday objects to exotic and foreign goods, captivating most of the passing soon-to-be customers. Frankly, those exotic goods were doing a good job as Lila would have been distracted by them too if she hadn’t been broken out of her hypnotized state by a loud voice that started to shout.

“O’ I beseech thee, Lord! You, who hath given us mortals the gift of magic and taketh back for our sins! Hear my plea O’ Lord and forgiveth thy children!”

The yelling took Lila aback. She realized that it was coming from a young man with short brown hair and blue eyes. As for his height, if he hadn’t been standing on the soapbox, he would have been a little bit taller than her. Was this the person that the barkeep talked about? What drew Lila’s eyes was his clothing though. He wore a long robe that looked quite similar to Maya’s. During her inspection, the preacher noticed Lila looking at him.

“Thou hath cometh to heed His word! Thou art here for thy salvation! O’ sinners of Cimia, rejoice! For one amongst you hath cometh at last!”

"Crystal, what is he talking about?” Lila thought.

“Nothing… He’s just crazy.” Crystal continued, “Let’s go to the shop, we shouldn’t waste any more time.”

“But—”

“Unless you want to be killed by an assassin, we should stay away from crowds!” Crystal said, its voice containing an unusual haste.

Crystal’s tone surprised Lila. They had been together for over a month and never once had she ever heard it speak this fast, almost as if it was panicking. But it wasn’t wrong, the town square presented the perfect opportunity for her pursuers to get to her without being noticed. With that, Lila left the preacher behind her and followed the road per the barkeep’s instructions. Soon after, she found the shop on a corner of the street. A man was working on a big wooden beam with a plane.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for someone named Roland. Is he here?” Lila asked.

“You’re looking at him. If you’re here for chitchat, piss off. I’m busy.” Roland answered.

“N-no… I heard you were hiring. That’s why I’m here, sir.”

“You don’t look much of someone who can help around here, you’re scrawnier than my pinky finger. You sure you can handle this job?”

Lila was offended by Roland’s remark. Sure, she looked a little thin but wasn't he judging her too quickly? She didn’t survive all that just to be called a helpless scrawny girl. With a frown and arms crossed,

“I used to help with woodworking back in my village, sir. I know a little bit about it and I can handle myself. If the pay is good, then I’ll work more than even you!” Lila claimed.

“Hmm… I’ll be the judge of that. Fine, come by tomorrow and we’ll see what we can do. Come before noon, sunrise sharp.” He continued, “And the pay is 80 coppers per day.”

Lila’s frown turned into a smile,

“I won’t let you down, sir! Tomorrow, before noon sharp.”

“Good, at least your ears are working. Now piss off, I’m working.”

Lila complied with her now-employer Roland and returned to the tavern before sunset, hoping to rest early for tomorrow's work. She was actually excited about this! Unlike Gerda, he was offering her good pay, and he didn’t seem like a dishonest person on top of that. He was a bit grumpy, but her experience with the elderly of the village taught her that most old people were like that. However, she had to contain her excitement when she entered the crowded tavern to remain inconspicuous and quietly walked up to her room. She was thankful for the lunch, but a free dinner in addition to that was unlikely. She locked the door behind her and changed into her nightgown, ready to welcome the sweet taste of rest after days of constant caution and paranoia.