May 24, 1256 of the Second Era.

When Mother Fae returned from the outside backyard and saw the tall redhead with a dagger pointing at her neck, she simply snorted. "Come on! Look! You've scared her so much she's dropped her food! Was it necessary to be so melodramatic?”

Ian's tone changed drastically, so much so that Emhe began to tremble. "I know what you're trying to do! But if I kill you, you can't do anything!"

The old woman sat in a wooden rocking chair, as if ignoring him. "Kill me? In Antharia? Ha!" Figuring where he was despite the invisibility. "Has your pathetic friend stopped crying? Why do you surround yourself with that kind of scum? Didn't you learn anything from what I taught you?"

Jaded and not letting Emhe go. "I learned a lot from you! That's why I put up with your disgusting ways and twisted mind for longer than anyone else."

Leaning back in the chair, the old woman exposed too much of her wrinkled neck. "No! You didn't learn anything! Do you think I bothered to scare that stupid to make you come all this way so you could threaten the love of your…?

Despite being about 5 meters away, Ian released Emhe and in the blink of an eye violently grabbed the old woman's neck. Placing the dagger too close to her carotid artery. "Shut up, you fucking bitch! I don't want to hear you say a single word about her!"

In that instant, the invisibility that covered Ian vanished and Emhe managed to see him. The guy was huge. It seemed impossible that he could move so fast.

Suddenly widening her eyes, the old woman showed a disgusting smile. A brilliant purple light emanated from them. It was a very brief and instant skill that targeted Ian. "You are so foolish that you fall at the first provocation!"

However, when [Paralysis] had no effect at all on Ian, the old woman began to panic.

Cold and calculating. "Do you think I wouldn't come prepared? Do you really think so? Tell me, Fleth! What prevents me from killing you with this dagger? A weapon that killed the Dark God!"

After a long silence that Mother Fae found difficult to break. "Don't... call... me... like... that, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!! Checkmate then? End this! I'm not important! I'm not even essential! However, it will be hard for you to convince another of my level and power to help you keep her alive!"

Ian carefully considered each of those words. He put the dagger away and turned invisible again. Emhe was so tense that she couldn't even breathe.

Mother Fae slowly got up and walked over to the table where her writings and books were. After going through them and realizing that many were missing, she sat down on the floor. She looked downcast.

Staring at Emhe, the old woman placed her hand on her neck and spoke to her telepathically. "Did they finish you off with that dagger?"

The Dark God took the hint and sighed. "It's a long story, I don't want to talk about it. But one thing is for sure.... That weapon can kill you even here, in Antharia! I think you've underestimated your pupil too much!"

Without giving herself away with any movement, Mother Fae asked the Dark God. "I can't perceive him! He must be using some skill! What about you? Can any of you perceive him?"

Athest responded nervously. "He's still in the room!"

Emhe wasn't a veteran of mind chatter, so she couldn't hide it. Knowing that he was still so close made her shudder a little. "Shit!"

Just before becoming visible again. "How predictable, mentally speaking to each other!"

Ian was practically at the place where he had disappeared. Very slowly, he unsheathed a greatsword he carried on his back. The blade was so black that it seemed to absorb the light around it. As soon as he gripped the hilt with both hands, the blade began to emit a faint blue aura. "I'll have to end this here and now! This blade doesn't cut flesh. It cuts souls. That's why the Nexus won't even know about your death!"

Mother Fae moved backward until she collided with the wall. "Where did you get that from?"

Trying to contain all the accumulated hatred. "After you killed her, I've been very busy!"

Emhe couldn't take it anymore. "Wait! I beg you! They tell me nothing! Nobody tells me what merged with me and saved me. Nobody tells me what I am, or why I hear voices in my head! I know you have those answers! Tell me! I beg you! Help me! I don't want to hurt anyone!"

Sad and furious, Ian yelled. "You lie! You will fight and kill without remorse as soon as you feel threatened!... Just like me!” Realizing that he was deadly serious. “If there's one thing true in this world, and it's that you can be what you want if you try hard enough. However, you won't be able to prevent them from using you for their purposes and then betraying you as they have betrayed them before! And worst of all is that without them, you will die without remedy!"

The old woman desperately yelled at him. "Stop! You don't know anything! You've never known anything!" Reaching for something from her robe, Ian lunged at her to avoid it. He was ready to end her life, however, when she showed him what she was trying to get, he stopped just in time.

Perplexed. "A key? You bothered to take a key at the risk of being killed?" The old woman pointed to a small door in the middle of a bookcase. Then, she tossed the key to Emhe.

Trembling, Mother Fae pleaded. "Open the door, child! Let him see what's inside!"

Emhe cautiously approached the bookcase and opened it after Ian nodded. Inside were 3 books and a red gem. The three books were thick and lined in black with letters in shades of red. Ian watched them suspiciously. "What the hell is this supposed to be?"

"What do you think?... Prove to me that you were my best pupil! Prove that I wasn't wrong!" Just as Emhe was about to take the books to hand them to Ian, the old woman shouted. "No! Don't touch them! Not you!"

At that moment, Ian understood what they were. Looking with unprecedented hatred at the old woman. "I have nothing to prove!" After sheathing the greatsword, he protected his hands with some very strange gloves. Then, he took the books and the strange gem himself. He put them in a sack too small to fit, but impossible as it seemed, the tiny sack stored all that and even some books and notes he hadn't been able to take from the desk until now.

Before leaving, Ian gave the old woman another glare as he clenched his fits. Then, he walked closer to Emhe and whispered. "We will meet again! And it will be up to you what happens then." After turning invisible, he was not heard again.

Frightened and not understanding what had happened, Emhe looked at Fleth as her pupils arrived after hearing the screams. They had taken too long, since it was normal for the old woman to scream for anything. Although they couldn't have done anything to prevent what happened either.

Mother Fae grumbled looking at her pupils. "Leave us alone!" Exasperated by the fact that they were still staring at them in amazement, the old woman yelled at them even louder. "Get the hell out of here!!"

Emhe couldn't help but ask in a low voice. "Who was he? Did he really kill the Dark God?"

Mother Fae shook her head. "He doesn't have the power to do something like that! Although he is the worst person on this planet that anyone could underestimate!"

The Dark God spoke before being invited. "He's gone!"

Mother Fae rose slowly from the floor and turned her head out of sight, grinning from ear to ear. Slowly, she returned to her old self. "Eat your damn sandwich and get ready! This is going to start now!"

Emhe wanted to add something, but the old woman nipped it in the bud. "You'd better prepare yourself thoroughly, because the only thing that will stop that bastard from killing you is what you achieve with your training!"

Emhe looked at her puzzled. "Why does he want to kill me? Why didn't he kill me already?! It didn't look like he wanted to!"

"He hasn't because he hasn't read the books yet! When he puts all the pieces of the puzzle together... Don't ask any more meaningless questions! You'll forget this and train day and night! You'd better get ready in time!"

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Emhe looked at her feeling overwhelmed. "Without sleeping?"

The old woman looked at her angrily. "Don't be silly! Of course not! But you'll never get enough sleep to level up until you have your attributes maxed out! You have to level up efficiently!" Pointing to the antique armchair in front of her desk. "Sit there and eat, but don't dirty my books!"

Emhe obeyed and reluctantly ate. However, she was surprised when she began to feel hungry after a couple of bites. Asking those she heard in her head. "Did any of you do this?"

Mother Fae removed a fine circlet from her robe. "It was me, child! Put this on your head and read only the books I’ll give you. Not one more, not one less!" Emhe felt very uncomfortable and tense, but she nodded. She understood that the old woman could mentally manipulate her, so resisting would be foolish.

Gradually, the old woman arranged several books on the desk as she lectured her. "Intelligence is the first attribute you must raise at each level. If possible, obviously! As you may already know, it influences your Cleverness, Astuteness, Perception, Eloquence and professions."

Somewhat more relaxed. "Astuteness is good for tactical thinking. Fundamental for fighting enemies much more powerful than you. Eloquence is essential for making your life easier. It can be very useful, believe me! However those are qualities that before level 10 won't be too useful.”

Little by little, Mother Fae placed a whole repertoire of books entitled "Basic Concepts". The ones that most caught Emhe's attention were: Basic Fighting Techniques, Basic Fundamentals of Alchemy, Basic Physics, Basic Mathematics, Basic Engineering, Basic Cooking Fundamentals, Basic Material Gathering, Basic Herbalism, Basic Survival, Basic Hunting, Basic Blacksmithing, Basic Carpentry, Basic Tannery, Basic Tailoring, Basic Fishing, Basic Trading and Bargaining, Basic Animal Taming and Basic History among many others.

The old woman continued explaining as if it were a lecture. "Cleverness is essential to maximize the process of improving Power, Dexterity and Willpower. The sooner you begin to relate knowledge from one subject to another, the sooner you will take advantage of it."

Disdainfully, the old woman crossed her arms. "If you expect to be a brute who crushes everything she catches or a murderous thief, you'll just be another adventurer of the crowd and a future corpse in the mid-term. You will never learn anything of the vast knowledge hidden in the planes. You will never come to know what immortality and divinity are. You will never discover true power! That's why all your base attributes must always be at their maximum."

Emhe watched her open-mouthed, lost in thought until the old woman grumbled. "Didn't I tell you to eat?!"

Emhe chewed again, annoyed at the harassment. "Immortality? Divinity? Are such things possible?"

As she hurriedly finished the last few bites of the sandwich, the old woman gave her a clean rag for her hands and lips. "If you dirty one of my books, I'll kill you! Any one of them is worth more than you right now!" Easing her aggressiveness. "Use the [Mentalized] skill! You will be more efficient!"

"Bleep! [Mentalized] has been activated!"

With the strange circlet on his head, she flipped through the first few pages of Basic Fundamentals of Alchemy until she found text. As soon as she began to read it, the letters began to run through her mind and she fell into a deep sleep. For a few minutes, she dreamed of potion bases made with alcohol, ointments to poison weapons, and gunpowder for creating small explosive devices. She also dreamed of ingredients containing vitriol, rebis, aether, quebith, hydragenum and vermillion.

The shaking of the old woman woke her up, embarrassing her. "Oh! Sorry! I fell asleep? I'm really sorry! I don't know how that could have happened!"

"Bleep! You possess the [Rested] effect!"

“Thum, Thump! Your Intelligence attribute has increased by 1."

Emhe watched the old woman as she smiled mischievously. "Do you understand now how the artifact works?" Emhe carefully took it off and watched it intently until [See Beyond] activated.

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[Apprentice Circlet]

Magical Artifact

After putting the user into a deep sleep, it provides the following benefits:

It draws knowledge from any Special book with the rating of [Tome of Wisdom] in the user's hands and gradually assimilates it.

Amplifies the user's knowledge acquisition by 20 while immersed in sleep.

Multiplies Stamina Consumption by 25 while you sleep.

Maximum extraction per use (1% of Intelligence).

This artifact doesn't destroy or damage the [Tome of Wisdom].

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Perplexed. "Wow! This Apprentice Circlet is awesome!"

With a mischievous smile. "I'm still surprised that you possess [See Beyond] with level 1, child!" Emhe blushed. "You're a box of surprises, brat!" Turning surly again. "Keep reading and use [Mentalized] again! When sleeping, active skills usually lose their effect, but in this particular case it still works."

"Bleep! [Mentalized] has been activated!"

Emhe put on the Apprentice Circlet and fell back into a deep sleep again. She dreamed and the old woman woke her up again. "Huh? I've fallen asleep again! It's uncontrollable!"

“Thum, Thump! Your Intelligence attribute has increased by 1."

Mother Fae chuckled as she held out her hand for her to return the circlet. "Did you think it would be any other way? Let's go to the backyard! Don't forget to eat!"

Emhe was surprised to see another chicken and cheese sandwich in front of her. "Gods! Another one?"

The old woman led the way. "Don't worry! You'll use up all that Energy right now!"

They both left through the back of the huge house while Emhe ate hastily. "I'm going to get sick eating like this!" Although, seeing that her belly wasn't swollen from so much eating and drinking, she understood that her body wasn't behaving as she presupposed. "Am I human?"

"The concept of humanity here is only visual. We are flesh, mana, energy and essence. Remember the Nexus brought us here. We are like its offspring. We are, in a way, a magical techno-organic life form if you know what I mean!"

Emhe felt slightly disappointed. "Are we some kind of machine?"

Mother Fae's face changed abruptly. "Don't ask stupid questions you don't even understand." Snorting. "Machines! What nonsense!"

In the backyard was another unbreakable training dummy and several training weapons. All weapons were arranged in racks under an awning. Instead, the dummy was out in the open. The old woman took a small sack no bigger than a fist tied to a rope.

Emhe stared at it blankly until [See Beyond] activated.

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[Novice Inventory]

Magic Item.

When attached to the body, it provides the following benefits to the user:

You acquire an intangible inventory that is invisible except for you.

Evenly distribute the weight of what you store in it over each part of the user's body, simulating an increase in gravity.

Doesn't reduce the weight of what you store in it.

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Emhe was surprised. "Really? Is there such a thing?" Remembering the inventory of Plane 23, she understood that it must be something similar.

With a slightly arrogant attitude, Mother Fae laughed. "Guess where the stuff you put in there goes!"

Before Emhe could come to any more detailed conclusions than her speculation about Plane 23, one of the pupils interrupted them. "They go to the planes! Specifically, one created exclusively for that sack!"

The dark-skinned young woman with reddish eyes received a silent rebuke from Mother Fae with her gaze. After raising her eyebrows. "Have you done what I asked you, Nikad?"

The young woman nodded her head and smiled. "Yes, all the ingredients are ready. Ulduar is already lighting the stove. Shall I bring Skipy?"

Mother Fae was pleased. "Yes! After you bring it here, inform everyone that the class is about to start! Today I will show you a plate of food that increases your attributes by 5% for 1 hour."

Emhe extended her hand to take the sack the old woman handed her with a mischievous smile. "Careful, it's a bit heavy!" When Emhe picked it up on her own, the sack went straight to the ground along with her.

Emhe looked at the old woman in surprise. "You were holding this so calmly? How much does this tiny sack weigh?"

Belittling the weight of the sack with arrogance. "I guess about 35 kilos!" Blunt and dismissive, she pointed to the floor. "Tie it to your wrist... I don't think you can with one hand! Better lie down and tie it around your waist. The result of its effect will be the same."

Thinking how awkward it would be to have it tied to her hand, Emhe did the latter. Feeling a little stupid for having to lie on the floor while Mother Fae watched her, she did it as fast as she could.

By the time she tied it on, Nikad was already back with a small white creature sleeping lazily in her hands. A very cute cross between a rabbit and a cat.

After quickly standing up, she moved a little. "This really does what it says! It's like lifting the weight completely distributed throughout my body." Looking excitedly at her hands. "I can feel it even on my fingers!"

As soon as she gave it to Mother Fae, Nikad turned her attention to Emhe, glaring at her with unbridled lust as she bit her lower lip. Flushing, Emhe turned her gaze to the cute animal. "Isn't she ashamed of doing that in front of the old woman?!"

Mother Fae pointedly ignored Nikad's flirting. She seemed to be busy whispering something in the little pet's ear. Suddenly, her gaze turned serious.

Addressing Emhe. "Catch it or your Power, Dexterity and Willpower won't increase at all!"

"Bleep! [Tense] has been activated!"

Emhe seemed to be torn between the desire to grab the cute creature and the realization that this was a training, not a game. However, as soon as the animal jumped out of the old woman's hands, she understood that it was going to be hell. "It's fucking fast! How can it be so fast?"

The old woman smiled. "You'd better put your heart into it or I'll double the weight of the sack! On second thought... No! I have a magnificent item that tortures its user so it can increase Willpower more quickly!"

Emhe looked angrily at the old woman and then at the red-eyed young woman. She was still gaping at her. She seemed to boil with lust in her head. Turning to look at the old woman again. "Is she going to watch me run?"

Realizing Nikad's attitude, Mother Fae reassured her. "Calm down, child! We're going to cook!" Turning and pushing Nikad with the cane. "Do your best! If you don't already know, I'll tell you! My best pupil by far is coming for you! A man who has never been defeated!"