Ember's mind sped with questions. Why was Welks here? For the soul weapon. Did that mean the man followed her all the way here? He had to have either been on his way to the camp or had been watching and waiting for an opportunity. The second option was more likely. Ember watched as the man walked closer.

From her past life she knew that Welks was a Seedling with at least two abilities. He never went to school for training but his life as a mercenary had given him the training of experience. He wouldn't be an easy target and with his two abilities- altered strength and rejuvenation...or was it regeneration? She hoped it wasn't the last one. That would be a pain. She was already at a distinct disadvantage but she had one thing going for her.

As soon as the man stepped closer and his hand went towards her, she raised her hand up. For him it probably looked like she was trying to helplessly fend him off but Ember was raising her hand in position, so that it was directed at his face. Then she shot a ball of flame straight into his face.

A cry of surprise sprang from Welks's mouth, Ember jumped back just as the man grabbed for her. She knew if he managed to catch her that it would be almost impossible to get away from him. She needed to keep her distance which is why she hadn't risk using sleep.

Despite her disadvantages, this was an opportunity.

Welks turned to her and pulled out his sword. The burns on his face were already healing. Damn it, so it was regeneration.

"So the brat's a Seedling. I knew you weren't ordinary. How does an ordinary girl get a hold of a soul weapon? The answer is she ain't ordinary."

"You're right," Ember said and then turned and ran. As she did, she put up a thin swirl of wind tightly around her body. She did it just in time. As soon as she hit the tree line an arrow flew towards her leg. The wind around her body knocked it off course. She would have been caught in no time if she couldn't run.

As soon as she was deeper in the woods, she put on stealth and weaved through the trees. This time she was careful, hiding her trail. She let a breeze slid through the trees, listening for movement. It was more difficult outside where animals and plants moved. Still, she faintly heard Welks enter the trees and then nothing. Her wind skill wouldn't be enough to hear him from this point out so she cancelled it. She wasn't sure how good Welks's magic sensitivity was but she didn't want to lead him to her at least not right now.

Ember looked around searching for a good hiding spot. She noticed a small bush, the perfect size for a frighten girl to hide in. She hurried to it opening it up just slightly but she didn't crawl into it. Instead, she pulled the opening closed. It would look like someone had entered it. Then she called up an illusion of herself, crouched underneath the bush. Satisfied, Ember moved to a tree a little to the side of the bush which would give her a good view of Welks. It wasn't the best hiding spot but the trail she left going to the bush should be enough of a distraction.

She debated on whether to keep stealth on. It would hide her but if Welks's had a high magic sensitivity at her currently stealth level it would be a beacon instead of hiding her. So, she decided to turn it off. Instead, she called for Mally and had the gray ball wrap around her wrist like a thick bracelet.

And it was a good thing she did because Welks came into view not long after. From the way he had moved so unerringly it was clear he was following her magic trail. She felt a bit relieved she had turned it off in time otherwise it would have ruined her plan.

She watched as he moved towards where her illusion was hiding. Ember held her breath and waited for him to get into her line of shot. Welks lurched forward, grabbing at the illusions and that's when Ember acted. A ball of water shot forward, right towards his face.

In a flash, Welks sword was in his hand and he cut through the water, splitting it in half. His gaze pinned her to the ground as he grinned. "You think I would fall for that trick again?"

Ember backed up.

"You should have stuck with fire. At least that would've done some damage."

Welks leapt forward with a speed and reach superior to her own. Ember dropped to the ground and rolled and as she did, she sunk the earth under Welks, throwing him off-balance. Welks stumbled but recovered quickly.

Welks growled. "Just how many-" But before he could finish his sentence water surged into his mouth. Welks grasped at his throat, coughing.

Ember rolled to her feet and shot another ball of water at him.

Even choking, Welk's reflexes were good. He raised his sword, cutting through the ball of water The spilt water didn't disperse but instead twisted into thin streams and then slithered up his nose.

Welks's eyes grew wide as he tried to spit the water out but Ember shot more water balls at him. Adding more to the water pouring into his mouth and nose. Welks wildly swung his sword as he lurched towards her. The sword smashed into the tree trunk, demolishing it. If just one strike hit her, she knew she would be done.

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Ember just kept backing up, shooting more balls of water. Welks gave up striking at the balls of water, covering his mouth and nose. He rushed towards her like a bull and she ran to the side. Welks changed his trajectory at the last minute, stabbing at her. Ember raised her wrist just in time to block and shifted Mally into a small buckler.

The sword slammed into the buckler, not penetrating but it was too much for Ember. She found herself flying, thrown through the air by the force. She quickly reinforced her water magic before she slammed into a tree with a loud crash. Pain lashed up her back at the impact and she slid to the ground. Her brain felt like it shook and for a second, she lost control of her magic, but before it could fall apart, she held on tightly, with the desperation of her life being in the balance.

She had to look. She had to see what Welks was doing. Her head felt heavy as she dragged it up to look at the man. Welks was on the ground, crawling towards her. The water was still choking him.

Why isn't he dead yet?

Probably his regeneration helped him to hold on longer than normal but regeneration couldn't stop a person from drowning just prolonged their lives a little. Ember pulled the water she had been holding and then she sent it forward, surrounding his head in a bubble of water.

Welks clawed at the water sphere, ripping chunks of it only for the water to reform. She watched him tear at it over and over as he tried to drag his body towards her. He moved closer and closer, his movement growing slower and weaker. Until finally he didn't move at all. Even then, Ember didn't release the water sphere.

She didn't know how much time passed but she finally got up. Mally shifted in her hand, turning into a spear. She moved towards Welks, making sure to keep out of reach and then she stabbed him in the back of his neck with the spear.

She watched carefully, seeing if the hole healed but nothing happened. She dropped the spell and as soon as she did a wave of exhaustion went through her. She rocked on her feet as she could feel magic drain climb over her or was it the concussion she likely had from Welks throwing her against the tree?

Still, she forced herself to move. This time she changed the spear into a sword then she swung down at the man's neck.

It took her five swings to decapitate the man.

She grabbed Welk's head and tossed it away from the body. It was always better to do that when it came to people with regeneration. She heard stories of the more powerful ones being able to even heal themselves as long as they were close enough to the missing body part.

Ember wanted to rest. Honestly, she was surprised she hadn't passed out from magic drain but it was probably due to her magic expanding after the last time her magic was drained. While magic drain was horrible, it was good for helping to expand a magic pool though it still required you to have the magic to fill it. Luckily, due to the largeness of her soul, Ember had plenty of magic to fill her magic pool.

She went to Welks's body, searching his pockets. She cried for joy when she saw a refill potion. She took it and quickly drank it down and she could feel the magic drain ease. Unfortunately, there was no health potion which wasn't too surprising. Most regeneration types didn't bother since a refill potion would boost their magic so they could heal faster. Regeneration worked better than any healing potion.

Except for when you were drowning.

Ember searched his body to see if there was anything useful but she didn't find anything. There might be something on his horse but she would have to search for it.

"Finder." The map appeared in front of her. "Find the horse Welks rode on near my location."

A dot appeared and Ember began following it. The horse ended up being further down the road tied to a tree. It bucked a little as she got closer but she managed to calm it down. She stopped to check the bags on it. Her face drained as she saw a small tool kit made up of knives, pliers, and a small hammer. Next to it was a satchel with health potions. It didn't take a genius to realize Welks had planned to torture her.

The urge to go back to his body and stab it a few more time was almost too hard to resist. Instead, she took a drink of the health potion and as she did, she felt her brain clear up. She almost drank another one but instead she tied the satchel with the health potion to her waist. Another quick search found her another refill potion and she added it to the satchel and then she was climbing on the man's horse.

She decided to leave the acolyte's horse behind. Hopefully, it would mislead anyone who came after her. With that, she rode off. There was still a lot she had to do before the night was over.

Her ride down the road was slower than before. While her body healed from the potion she had to be careful. It wasn't until she a little over halfway to Goros that she felt her body had recovered enough to handle a rough ride. So, she sped up, riding faster than even before.

Soon she was almost at Goros. Instead of riding through the town, she turned on the road that went directly to the manor. Making sure no one was around, she quickly put on an illusion. She was now the rugged form of Welks, Captain of the Goros guard. This wouldn't help much if she was expected to talk. Her illusion ability was only strong enough for visual illusions. She would be glad to get it stronger but for now it worked.

She took a moment to consider her other abilities. Her elemental abilities were actually incredibly useful even as they were now. The only thing holding them back is that since they were growth abilities, she would have to practice them but since she already knew how to use them they would likely grow faster with only the size of her magic pool holding her back. Then again it wasn't the size that was the issue as much as how much she could hold within her. Which brought it back to strengthening her body. Once her body was stronger, she would be able to keep more magic within her.

It was a drawback but one she could work with. While her elemental powers weren't strong right now, she could make up for it with skill. She knew how to use her abilities well and her magic control was still as good as before. It was what gave her the ability to use wind to capture sound and to use water to drown Welks. It was why the number of abilities tended to be as important as power. One powerful ability could be conquered by a person who had two weaker abilities that they were more skilled with. For now, that was what she would focus on, developing her skills further while she strengthened her body.

With such thoughts in mind, she reached the manor. It was time to see how far she could push her skills.