I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. No, not a ceiling, It's an upper bunk bed. I don't remember Manal having bunk beds... Shit! The thought of poor Manal being blamed for my disappearance thoroughly stirred me up from my groggy state.
She is an intelligent girl; she will figure something out. I hope...
Thinking about Manal led to thoughts about my parents. I have already talked to my family about the possibility of Isekai. I am not entirely sure they understood me or even listened. My mother always told me to study "real science" instead of anthropology. My father, who was absent most of my life, was surprisingly supportive, he even financed most of my travels, but I doubt it was for any other reason than to spite his ex-wife. I doubt I would be missed...
I know, I know... I am being unfair to them. I can think about sending them a letter if it is magically possible. But for now, I have a magical world to explore.
I noticed I was still in my white blouse and black jeans. I had a tank top and shorts in my backpack, but I thought that would be too much for Holy people's sensibilities. I need to get new clothes today that would not stand out. I also need to learn more about Soulbooks, preferably taking Louis to a bookshop since she missed going to one yesterday because of me.
I left the dorm room to find a group of children swarming Vena; they looked like they were offering her gifts. Although, if I am honest, most of it looked like junk.
"Here, you can take my favourite rock," said a gap-toothed girl.
"What's the deal?" I asked Louis.
"We are celebrating Vena's ascension," replied the dark-haired teen." I tried waking you earlier, but you were out cold."
"Sorry about that; I was exhausted. I haven't slapped for more than 24 hours." I smothered a yawn as I replied.
"Luckily, you are here for the best part. Mosha will sing Vena's favourite song". She smiled and pointed to a younger girl, barely a teen, with big blue eyes and ruff greenish hair. She also appears to have neck scales extending under her shirt. She was alien enough to start to look uncanny yet human enough to be still cute.
"Wow, I've never seen someone like her," I said.
"She has Siren blood," dropped Louis as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
I stood next to Louis and Marca as everyone formed a half-circle around the siren girl. I was surprised that even the younger kids remained silent.
The girl cleared her throat once and then started singing:
Oh, people hear me... Hear my song!
For I have a story... short yet long!
Oh, Sir, holy knight...Sir, oblige me!
For this tale is not... About thee!
I sing of a man overlooked in history!
The third of the two... forever a mystery!
Oh, lost man… where have you gone!
Since the holy wars… seen by none!
Oh, timeless Lady, Lady the fair!
Safer, we are all under your care!
Strong and mighty… you are as well!
Yet in your heart only... that man shall dwell!
Through time and ages... unchanged regards!
For love, we can grasp... we are the bards!
What is the secret? The lady doesn't share!
And asking the question... no one dares!
Lonely is the lady… in this big vast world!
And the voice she needs… shall it ever be heard!
I was mesmerized. I was able to see images that accompany each line:
A bard holding a lute,
A knight leading an army,
The same man standing back to back with a blond woman who was trying to reach a flickering shadow,
The same woman on a throne of tombstones.
Was I daydreaming, or did this girl have magic? I turned to see Louis… she was blurred.
No! I am tearing up... This makes no sense! I shouldn't have any emotional investment in this story.
"What's happening…" I subbed, barely holding up my emotion.
"Mosha is touched by the Great Dreaming ...sniff... She can project images and ...sniff… and emotions with her songs," answered Louis, who was in a far worse state than me.
I noticed that everyone was crying, including Mosha. Even Marca had a single tear on her cheek.
"I thought the lady was married. Who is that guy she is looking for?" I asked.
"After the 2nd holy war, The lady spent 1000 years looking for the man who would later become her husband," responded Marca.
The story of the lady keeps getting ridiculous. I need to read the full story one of these days.
Wait! Can I even read? No, I can't… I need to have one of the girls teach me soon. I can't remain illiterate.
We finished the celebration with a hardy meal made by Louis. The food resembled couscous but was made with pollen from some giant flower. It was served on the flower's big petals, and we all ate together like a family. I am starting to like it here, but sadly, I can't stay too long. I might assimilate biases that would limit my understanding of this new world if I keep getting all my information from one place. I need a fresher perspective.
As I left the orphanage with Vena and Louis, I noticed something weird.
"Why is the sun blue? I swore it was yellow yesterday." I asked, dumbfounded.
"Yesterday? You know we are on the same day; this is just the second morning," said Louis.
" The second morning?!" I blinked twice, looking back at the sun.
"I understand your confusion." Laughed Vena. "I was also surprised to see two suns when I arrived here. Back in the mythic realm, we only have one."
"I am confused. What do you mean? Two suns!" I asked.
It appears that things are a little different around here. This world has two daytimes and two night-times per day. It goes like this: 12 hours of daylight with a yellow sun, 6 hours a night with no moon, 12 hours of daytime with a blue sun, and finally, 12 hours of the night with a magenta moon. This time configuration is roughly stable across the globe, and yes, it is a globe. I made sure to ask asked. The polar region seems inhabited, or at least the girls don't know about it. With 42 hours per day, six days a week, six weeks per month, and six months a year. A slightly longer year compared to Earth, but then again, I am not entirely sure about an hour's length around here. I should time it using my phone later.
"You do know that this world Physics is impossible, right?" I told the girls after I bombarded them with questions that they could barely answer.
"Physics, what's that?" asked Vena.
"Never mind that. Can you tell me about bookshops?" I brought us back to more important topics.
"We are going to meet with Sara. She used to live with us at the orphanage four years ago. She now works at a prestigious Soulbook shop. She promised to help me pick up a magical book," said Louis.
"Sara left before I arrived. But I did get to meet her a few times when she came to visit her brother Calr." Said Vena.
"She is the best! The smartest person I know! I am sure she can answer many of your questions better than we did," bragged Louis, who looked proud of her friend.
"Yeah, but she is also busy, so don't waste her time with stupid questions like how big the suns are or where the absolute north is," added Vena.
"Sorry about that; I guess I went a little overboard with the questions when I heard about two suns," I apologized.
We entered an open area in the guild district resembling a cross between military barracks and a university campus.
"This is the freelance guild. It's similar to the mercenary guild, but instead of soldiers, you get bounty hunters," said Vena.
"Unlike the mercenary guild, the people here are not neutral. They are associated with the government and the Local military. The higher up of this guild practically runs the city," added Louis.
"I am probably going to join them for a time now that I am finally a cleric," said Vena.
"Bounty hunters… sound like an interesting place to be in. I bet all sorts of magic are used around here. Maybe I should join too." I said.
"Can you even fight?" asked Louis.
"Aren't we getting books that provide magic, right? I am sure I could find something useful in a fight." I shrugged.
"But fighting isn't just about powers. It's also a matter of disposition," stated Vena.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
"I am not sure about fighting people, but I hunted animals with my father," I said as I remembered one of the few memories I have of my father being a father.
"Freelancers get to choose the jobs they take. I guess you can stick to fighting monsters if you don't want to face people," said Vena
"What about you? Aren't you a healer? Can you even fight?" I asked.
"I have been training all my life," replied Vena. "My next step toward ascension is through fighting."
"It's said that it's harder to become a paladin as a cleric than a knight," said Louis. "But I am sure if anyone can do it. It would be you, Vena."
"Louis…" I hesitated before asking, "Are you also joining the freelancer guild?"
"No, I want to be a cook! Either in some noble's house… Or maybe open a shop."
"Your cooking is amazing. You would be a wonderful Chef," I said, remembering the bizarre yet wonderful dish I had this morning.
"What does a chef need a Soulbook for?" asked Vena.
"I don't know; I just want something unique to distinguish myself when hired. I am hoping Sara knows something interesting."
We arrived at a medium-sized building. We were immediately greeted by a woman with blood-red hair in a different shade than you naturally find on Earth. She was wearing a unique robe with oversized sleeves. She was also the first person I have seen wearing glasses around here.
"Louis! I thought you would be here on the first morning," said whom I assumed to be Sara.
"Sorry! Sara, but something unexpected happened," said Louis.
"I ascended to cleric!" shouted Vena as she jumped for the hug.
"Congratulations! Wow, that's soon! What a surprise!"
"This is our new friend San Alice. She is staying with us for a while." introduced Louis when the girls separated from the hug.
"Hi, nice to meet you," I nodded to the redhead.
"San, huh! You girls are making some important friends," said Sara.
"Alice is not important! She is just a lucky idiot," said Louis.
"Yeah, don't worry about Alice; she only became a San today after winning a stupid bet in the merchant guild," added Vena.
"Hey, I will let you know I was an important scholar back home," I glared in mock outrage.
Sara laughed at our shenanigans.
"Do you also need a Soulbook too, San Alice, or are you here just to accompany Louis"
"Ah, yes! I am new around here, and I know nothing about Soulbooks. Do you offer paid consultation service? Because we will probably end up eating up a lot of times, and I don't want you to get in trouble with your superior because of me." I explained.
"I can offer you the full beginner check-ups. It would be for one bronze coin each. It would free me up to spend some hours with you."
"That would be acceptable, thank you!" I replied.
"Ki'i, I am doing a check-up; take over the front desk for me, please," shouted Sara before leading us to a side room.
"So! What realm are you from?" asked Sara as she started to look inside a closet.
"Sorry, I don't know... I arrived here after a teleportation accident". I replied.
"She didn't even know that there are multiple realms before meeting us," added Vena.
"Oh! That's unfortunate. I assume you never had your affinities tested," said Sara as she extracted three paper scrolls and placed one in front of each of us.
She also placed a needle in front of Louis.
"No, I never had my affinities…" I trailed off as I noticed Louis passing the bloody needle to Vena after she pricked herself and dropped a couple of drops on the paper.
"You can't be serious? You don't expect multiple people to share one needle! A lot of sicknesses are shared through blood. That's how you created new plagues."
"Really!" asked Louis.
"She knows a lot about plagues, apparently," responded Vena as she looked at the needle with dubious eyes. "She was even lecturing Lady Sana about it when I first met her."
"I am sorry! We only have one needle around here," apologized Sara
"Bloodletting devices should always be boiled in water before reusing," I said.
"Or cleansed by a cleric," added Vena with a glow in her hands.
"I guess that also works," I acquiesced.
With a smile toward me, Vena stabbed her thumb, dropped her blood on the paper, and then healed herself.
I watched the blood spread across the paper, leaving distinct patterns that looked like writing in a language I couldn't read. A similar thing happened to Louis's scroll, except the bottom half of Louis's paper turned a pale shade of brown.
"As I thought," said Sara while looking at Vena's paper. "Since you aren't from the bloodlines, you don't have an element affinity. Louis, on the other hand, has a weak earth affinity."
"Huh... I thought my mother was from the kindred, not the bloodlines," said Louis in a confused tone. "My father was holy for sure!"
"You could have a grandparent from bloodlines. Some people also speculate that it's possible to get an affinity even if you are from the kindred realm, but I am not sure about this information."
"I thought since I was a cleric, I would have a life or light affinity," asked Vena.
"Miracles operate separately from the ten elements," denied Sara.
"10 elements?" I asked. "I only know about 4; fire, water, air, and earth."
"That's what the Mythic people perceive as the four fundamental elements." responded Sara. "but we are talking about the ten elements that encapsulate the bloodlines ability; Fire, Water, Sky, Earth, Light, Dark, Life, Death, Kinetic and Psychic. People from the Bloodlines get innate power depending on their affinities."
"And people with fire affinity cannot use water Soulbooks," I wondered.
"They can. It's just harder for them," said Sara.
"How do you make those scrolls?" I asked.
"They are made by Soulscribs, and the art of their making is a secret. From my understanding, they are a less complicated Soul Map showing only your affinities."
"There are more complicated versions. Can I use that instead?" I said, interested in getting more information about this soul magic.
"I am sorry we don't offer that service here," apologized Sara. "You must book an appointment with an actual Soulscrib in the main store branch to get one."
"Too bad." I sighed.
"It's also quite expensive. I don't recommend it unless you have a full gold coin to burn."
"Are they worth that expense?" asked Louis.
"They are often helpful to check the parentage of a nobleman or help people understand their innate bloodline powers."
"Ah, they are soul DNA!" I gasped.
"DNA?" asked Vena.
"Never mind that... now it's my turn," I said, asking for the needle
Knowing a healer was on hand; I didn't hesitate to stab my finger this time. My blood once again turned to "Alice Abbott"; my name is written in English. The upper half of the paper turns into a cyan colour while the left half gets slightly red too. The intersection of those two halves provided a more opaque purple colour.
"What language is that?" asked Vena.
"What affinity are those?" I asked, dodging the question.
"You have strong Sky affinities and a weak fire one. They often combine into a lightning affinity."
"Does that mean that I can summon lightning or just that I will perform better with lightning Soulbooks?"
"The former if you are from the bloodlines, the latter if you are from anywhere else."
"Can you explain how to get affinities?" I asked.
"In the bloodlines, people are always born with two affinities. They get one from each parent. People can sometimes switch or strengthen their affinities through evolution," added Sara.
"Evolution?" I asked.
"It's when you get sudden powers after major contact with an element," answered Sara. "I heard many people die after burning themselves to get Fire Powers."
Major contact? Do I have a lighting affinity because of overexposure to electricity in my world? Or is the sky affinity in any way related to me getting teleported by wishing upon the stars? No, no, I shouldn't start throwing around unconfirmed theories.
"Why would anyone kill themselves if you could use a Soulbook that gives Fire Powers," asked Louis.
"Books are either weaker or less versatile than Powers. And you can only have three books attached to your souls simultaneously."
"So let's talk about books," I said. "What are they, and how are they made?"
"Books are made from the soul of a creature trapped in a book made in a similar way as Soulmaps", Said Sara. "The Soulscribe then modifies the soul to define what kind of ability the book will provide."
"Does that mean you could have stolen my soul with this paper?" I asked, a little worried.
"No, I can't do that. I am not a Souldealer," laughed Sara. "I can't separate souls from the body. The scroll only uses a trace of your Soul in the blood."
I kept a mental note to research the Soul-dealers later. People that can take away souls seem terrifying.
"Where were we… ah yes? There are two types of Soulbooks. Static books that offer a list of abilities. Those abilities may have a limited number of uses per day or a limited interval between uses. Dynamic books simulate a weaker version of a bloodline's innate powers. They are, however, susceptible to affinities. Someone with water affinities can have his innate power weakening if they overuse a dynamic Fire Soulbook."
"For someone like me who doesn't have innate power, why would I want a static book if I can have a dynamic one?" I asked.
"Let me give you an example to explain better," said Sara. "Extra-arms and the Thousand-punch are two Soulbooks that use the same type of creature's Soul. The first is a dynamic book that gives you Airy extra arms; the number of arms and their strength depend on practice and your Kinetic affinity. The second book is static and gives you three abilities that perform a series of punches defined by the thousand-punch martial art using similar arms as Extra-arms; each ability is a different kata that can be used ten times a day. You need to practice a lot with the Dynamic book to be able to do the same thing as what can be done from the start by the Static book. While you can't use the static book to carry groceries."
"I think I understand! Can you give us a list of all the available books?"
There were a lot of books! Four hundred twenty-three books, to be precise. Or at least that was the number of books people outside the freelancing guild could access. Although I was sure I knew what I wanted, we spent a couple of hours discussing available books for Vena and Louis's sake.
"So let's, since Vena is planning to see combat as a freelancer in the future, an offence book is in order. I know you want the 7 Lights strikes, but please consider one of the Poison or Venom books; it would go well with you since you can undo your attack in time if you want to capture rather than kill." I said.
"I understand what you are saying, but poison feels unholy. Those powers fall under the Death affinity," hissed Vena.
"Aren't miracles independent of affinities? It should be fine, right?" I asked as I turned my eyes from Vena to Sara.
"I only know that affinities are independent of miracles. I am not sure if miracles are affected by affinity or not," responded the magical librarian." Maybe you should consult Lady Sana or Sir Gray."
" Luckily, I don't have to choose now since only Louis is getting a book today. We were given money for one book by Lady Sana anyways."
"It's five silver for a yearly subscription, right? I am planning to pay for both of your books, so you can still get one if you want," I said.
"Are you serious?" gasped Louis in gratitude.
"It's the least I can do for all the help I received from you." I shrugged.
"If I get an offensive book, I can join the freelance guild much earlier. However, I prefer to talk with Lady Sana first," said Vena.
"As you wish! Louis, you can either pick two books or pick one and keep the five silvers for next year's subscription. Vena, I will accompany you next time you choose a book."
"Thank you!" bowed Louis.
"Here now, no need for that. We are friends. I would be alone in this world without either of you."
"Louis wants to be a cook; what do you suggest, Sara?" asked Vena.
"Let's see! Growth would go well for her if she wanted to keep an extended garden; Second Wind is also popular among cooks working for the nobility. They work extra hours, so they need extended stamina; Flamehand is also an option." suggested Sara.
"The static book Cut-Throat or the dynamic book Knife-edge," I said confidently.
"Why Cut-Throat or Knife-edge?" asked Louis.
"They offer the option of rapid series razor-sharp cuts. With practice, I am sure you can use them better than traditional knives; the main weakness of those books is that they are countered by armour, and potatoes don't wear armour where I come from".
"Cut-throat wouldn't work," said Sara," it has a targeted aspect that helps the user find vitals. Knife-edge would work, but she will need a lot of practice or high kinetic affinity."
"I will practice as much as it takes," vowed Louis.
"Okay, so knife-edge for Louis. For me, it will be Dynamic Book of Lightning."
"Why lightning?" asked Sara. "It is infamous for needing an enormous amount of energy compared to other offensive alternatives like fire or Death. You may have a lightning affinity; however, it is not strong enough. I wouldn't recommend letting it influence your choice."
"It's not because of that. I need electricity," I replied.
"Electricity, what is that?" asked Vena.
"Where I come from, we harnessed the power of lightning so it can be used in our everyday life; we called it Electricity," I replied.
"So this is where your affinity comes from," wondered Sara throwing the same theory I had.
"Probably," I shrugged. "I have been exposed to Electricity my entire life."
"You still have two slots left for Soulbooks, although most guilds obligate using one book or another to all their members, so I recommend keeping one space open if you want to join a guild.
"That means I am all set since I use the temple translation book."
"That book! It's not perfect, you know? We have something better if you want it."
"People keep telling me that the book I am using isn't ideal. Why is that?" I asked.
"That book keeps the translation separate from your mind, so you must always keep one of your three-book slots occupied. I have a book that would dump the knowledge directly into your head and then free the book slot after a day leaving your Soul unburdened."
"That sounds too good to be true; what's the catch," I asked.
"The book is a single-use item. So it cost one gold coin," said Sara regretfully.
"Ah, sorry, I can't afford that. I guess I will have to learn the language the tedious way." I sighed.
We finalized our decision on the books and linked ourselves to them. I was able to produce a little zap with some instruction. I was told that I would be able to fling lightning bolts after a week of practice. Louis could only cut a piece of paper. She would probably need more training than I since she lacked Kinetic affinity. Vena decided not to get a book until she discussed her option with Sana.
I used my bank badge to pay ten silver and three bronze. Thanked Sara for all her help and promised we would meet again over food to talk more about magic.
"I am so excited," I told the girls as we left the freelance guild and returned to the market district. "I can now do real magic! Lightening"
I started a small electric charge and made it travel from hand to hand by connecting my two index fingers. The spark was still inside of me when I suddenly sneezed. The spark travelled from my hand through my torso to my head, and I flanged it to the ground, almost hitting a bystander."
"Sorry." I apologized sheepishly while both girls were laughing at me.
"oh! This isn't good! I think I might be getting sick."
"Maybe…" I hesitated.
"Do you want a Heal?" asked Vena as she reached for me, still eager to use her new cleric powers.
"No, not yet," I answered.
"Are you sure?" asked Vena
"Yes, I will ask for help if it gets too bad. Let's go to a tailor. I need new clothes."
With my new magic, I was ready to explore what this world's fashion offers.