After some testing for the rest of the night, she came to two conclusions—she could tell if something was alive in the proximity of five meters, and precisely asses if something had mana in it for two meters. Beyond that, it was akin to looking through a frosted window, but her mana senses reached five meters. One meter for every perception attribute.

Her sense expanded in a spherical dome, but she couldn't feel below the ground for some reason. But feeling through the wall and first level floor was not that hindering. Harder, yes.

Compared to what she had felt during the awakening, it was not even a percent. It might take years to reach that level again. However, the experience should help her grow faster, as per Priest Herbert's experience.

The next natural step was learning how to control mana. She had no book with information regarding that. Or idea where to find one, for that matter. Grace promised to teach her once she finished her work. Probably in the evening.

[Mana Channeling:

Learning Process: 0%]

The system had already shown progress, which was great. The zero part was not that great, though. But it would help Aeryth keep track of her skill progress. The system showed the percentage for every spell she would try to learn.

She did pass out for a few hours and only felt worse when she woke up again.

She had a list of places she was visiting today. First, Tor's smithy asks him about the flower. Next, the realm traveling commission for registration, then the quarters.

Around seven, she left her room, wearing the mask, expecting to meet Grace somewhere. She always did. But today, Grace was nowhere to be seen. One of the older men, who worked as a cook, asked her if she would be having breakfast. Aeryth shook her head and walked out.

Priest Herbert was standing at the exit, staring down at the city.

Out of courtesy, she greeted him.

"Aeryth," He said. He seemed lost in his world.

"Good Morning, Priest Herbert," Aeryth bowed politely. He nodded as well.

"Are you wondering where Grace is?"

"Yeah. She's always here."

"She went to Friedan Holdings to deliver a letter for me," Priest said. "It's a secret, so keep it yourself."

"Why tell me in the first place?" Aeryth wondered if that was a rude thing to say.

"Because..." he looked at her with sleepless red eyes. He didn't have a good sleep either. "I thought you might be curious."

"But it's secret."

"So please, keep it to yourself."

"What if I tell someone?"

"Will you?"

"No."

"That's your answer. You're closer to Grace than any else in the church, and I thought you might be worried if she vanished without a trace."

"I see. Thank you for telling me," Aeryth bowed slightly again. "She said she would teach me mana channeling in the evening. But she won't be able to return, right?"

"I am afraid she won't be back for at least a month."

"I see. She didn't have to lie before leaving," Aeryth muttered. It stung. Just like Light, another person vanished without saying goodbye. Was it so hard?

I am just unimportant to them. Forgetable. Accursed existence they don't see before going on a journey, lest I bring misfortune to them.

"Aeryth." His calm voice broke her out of her thoughts. "It's not what you think. She argued even as the ride waited for her outside. She had no intention of leaving. And made a promise to you accordingly."

Aeryth let out a breath. "Sorry... is she going to be in danger?"

"I wanted her to leave this city. That's the only reason."

"Because this city is ugly," Aeryth said. She would not want her family to be here if they were alive.

"Because it is her home."

Aeryth didn't understand his meaning. Why send her away from her home? An answer came to her mind. She shot it down. Don't think. It does not matter.

"I'll take my leave. I'll try to leave the church today once I find an accommodation."

"I see. Are you not returning to House of Hearth?"

"I don't know. I will have to. If I am presented with a choice, I will not."

He nodded. Aeryth took that as a cue to leave.

Putting on her mask, she went down the hill. She wondered if anyone had made the connection between her and the lance. It wasn't too farfetched since she had been missing for the last three or four days.

I am placing too much importance on myself. No one cares about an orphan girl vanishing for a few days.

The repair on the immolated street was still underway. It was barricaded from all sides. She wondered who was the person Sera burnt with this much power.

She took off the mask in one of the empty alleys.

The library was still closed. Who had taken over the job, she wondered?

After that, she drank the tea from the stall outside the Tor's smithy.

Please don't be down with another fever. She said in her mind as she knocked. It was still too early to open the store, but she didn't want to ask about the flower while strangers could see them.

The wooden floorboard creaked as the massive, haggard dwarf opened the door. She felt his presence. Life. It was dwindling. The last wisp of candle flikering. Her heart grew heavier. What will happen to Fiya once Tor inevitably passes away?

He looked at her, and his brow rose. "Aeryth, come in." He opened the door wider, a genuine smile on his face. Aeryth reciprocated. "What brings you here so early? Everything alright?"

"Good morning, Mr. Tor. How's your fever doing?" Aeryth walked in.

Tor's eyes opened wider as he looked at the purse she carried. He closed the door with a snap, whispering, "Come this way."

They walked over to his counter. The chair bucked, creaking under his weight. "I am doing great. That is?"

"I performed my awakening ritual yesterday." Aeryth pulled out the wrapped flower and unfurled the cloth wrapping on it. "It was on the altar when I regained consciousness."

Those old, worn-out eyes shone, reflecting the dreary flower. Slowly, he reached out. "Let me see."

Aeryth placed it on the desk. Tor took it gently like it was a fragile newborn.

He stared at it for a long while, then sighed.

"It produced lightning when my blood dropped in it. I think it works with mana."

"Lightning cannot be produced by mana," he paused. He pulled out an iron cast, and bound the black stem to it, settling the heavy metal object on the desk. "Can you show me?"

Aeryth hesitated, reached over, and touched the flower. The petals stabbed upon the slightest touch. In the naked eye, it seemed like she had not even touched the petals yet. Blood pooled on her finger. Aeryth raised her hand and slid back subconsciously.

Tip!

The lightning danced around the flower.

Tor breathed in awe. He didn't reach out.

"Can you control mana?"

Aeryth shook her head.

"Yeah, yeah, it's early for that," he said, though he sounded disappointed.

"Da?" The door behind the counter opened ever so slightly. Fiya peeked out. Her eyes met Aeryth's.

"Aeryth!" Fiya chippered and rushed out of the door.

"Haha, she's been asking me when you will return. She seldom gets to talk to anyone but me. Isa is the only one who knows. Now, you." Tor stopped. "I'm grateful for your help. And keeping her existence a secret."

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"It's nothing. I will not hurt a child because she was born a race that's frowned upon by the world," Aeryth crouched, smiling. "How are you doing, Fiya?" She picked her up in her hand and looked into her innocent eyes.

"I'm doing great. Da is also doing great. All thanks to big sis Aeryth," Her voice was angelic. Aeryth always forgot this child was a demon. Fiya reached over and touched Aeryth's hair. "Soft..." Fiya frowned. "Isa says coloring hair makes you go bald."

"They are natural red. I don't think I will ever get my black hair back."

"Woah, can my hair turn red naturally too?"

Aeryth shrugged. "I don't know. Ask your Da. He knows more than me."

Fiya looked at Tor. "Can I?"

Tor nodded. Of course, he had to. How could he not? Aeryth smiled at his lost expression.

"Fiya, we are talking about something important. Can you wait upstairs?"

The little girl froze in her hand. Her smile vanished. Aeryth lowered her with a heavy heart, and she ran off as soon as her feet touched the ground.

"She probably wants to spend more time with you," Tor sighed. "She's a child. No matter how hard I try, she slips up."

"It hadn't been me," Aeryth said.

"That's what makes this all the more hard. I cannot close the shop to let her play all the time, and I don't want to lock her in her room."

"I don't think I can help."

I can visit her once in a while. Those words were on the tip of her tongue. But she couldn't bring herself to utter them.

"Why don't you let Sera know? I am sure she would be a great friend for Fiya," Aeryth said instead.

"She's a great friend. Would visit Fiya almost at all the chance she gets. But she's Sia's confidant. The last thing I need right now is her presence in my shop more than absolutely necessary," Tor sighed. "Entanglement with noble families affair only leads trouble I seek no longer.

"Back to the flower," He touched the tip, and his blood fell in it. But there was no reaction.

"Mana cannot generate Lightning. Life can. Mana can only power the already present lightning. That's why living beings can cast magic, or you require a source for the element, which is always finite. You should have experienced it firsthand, no?"

"I did," Aeryth nodded. Even a hundred thousand jades worth of source was last merely one and a half minutes.

"Both mana and life essence are necessary to create lightning. Or life-enhanced mana blood."

Aeryth nodded. "So only I can use it."

"I can recreate the effect. Alchemists can too. It's hard, expensive, and time-consuming. While it's not impossible to use it, other than you, no one can sustain it for any useful amount of time."

Aeryth nodded. "What use does it have?" That part was not apparent to her.

He looked at the flower. "Do you see a name over it?"

Aeryth also followed his sight and looked back at the flower.

[Life Forged, Elemental Spirit Blood Chrysanthemum: Lightning Variant

Grade: Spirit-Amethyst]

"What is this?" Aeryth asked. The name was a mouthful, and she could make some sense of it, but still, it largely was a useless thing that could produce lightning.

Maybe, it can serve as an elemental stone for future torture ceremonies, but that might mean I'll have to pour liters of blood on it. I don't have that much blood in me...

"As you can see, there's no description of its function, and even the name is simply a statement generated from, what I can deduce, the method with which this flower came to be."

"How did you even do that?"

"The highest class of Blacksmiths have the skill to identify any object that resembles an artifact, weapon, or material."

"That's... I've never heard."

"It's practically worthless if there's no record of its uses in the system."

"Are you implying no such artifact has existed similar to this before?" Aeryth asked. Suspiciously. While this seemed unique, she couldn't imagine a world with so many things not having a lightning-producing flower or a living artifact. Even she had heard of a door capable of talking and swords that could fight their own battles.

"So the system says, which leads to the only conclusion, its use is not what we think it is."

"It's not a replacement for Lightning bone marrow, you mean." What was its use? That's what she wanted to know. "How do we know its use?"

"That... I have no idea."

"It's a very high-grade artifact still, no? Spirit- Amethyst? I have never heard of that."

"This one stands at the pinnacle of the furnace," Tor picked it up, "This is a living artifact that's never been forged in the history of S----."

Aeryth's brow knitted. Her ears ached as she heard those words. A stabbing pain.

Tor's brow shot up. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said it. Are you alright?"

Aeryth nodded. "What was that?"

"Nothing you need to worry about. A forbidden curse word. Don't think about it. I meant it has never been forged after we came to adhere to the system."

She caught his meaning. It could've existed, but before the system came to be. But, the system was here at the beginning of time, right? How could something exist before that? How did people even get magic if there was a time before the system?

Aeryth forced down those questions. She didn't need to bother about them, but rather the flower in front of her. "We don't know what its use is or have a way to find out."

"I have a hypothesis. Can you awaken it one more time?"

Aeryth touched the flower again. It didn't hurt bad. After all, it was just a slight cut, nothing compared to the agony that she was in last night. Still, the pain was pain.

The lightning hummed in front of them.

Tor took a deep breath. He touched it. His veins turned purple. Then, he shook his hand, and the lightning was spat back out—into the heavy iron holding.

Aeryth looked at his hand. Red and swollen. His expression was grim. "I have an Idea... but to try that, you need two things. Control Over mana and life affinity so that you can awaken it without hurting yourself."

Aeryth nodded. "Why?" She asked, though her mind was already making conclusions after witnessing what he did.

"I think its purpose is not that of an elemental fragment but rather that of an affinity. Seemingly infinity amount of lightning can only be produced with a lightning heart or affinity. A lightning bone marrow can produce little in comparison. This flower is something akin to a pseudo-affinity. You'll be able to wield lightning, temporarily, as long as you can tame its violent nature without hurting yourself."

"It almost ruined your hand for good," Aeryth commented.

Tor nodded. "That's the hard part. But think about it—no one wields two affinities. Some do, but there's a backlash, their affinity must align with one another, not oppose it. If someone possesses two affinities, and they oppose, the backlash will kill them. But life is welcoming of everything, so you can wield any element if you can recreate those circumstances again."

Aeryth froze just at the thought of the sheer potential of this thing. No one, not even the sages could control every element. The limitation of humanity.

The power and prospect she would have in the future. Even more than that, "I can learn lightning element spells and skills?" Aeryth whispered out aloud.

"Not right now, not like this. If you are going to use it in a battle situation, we must find a way for you to use it without the need to use blood. It's a long way from here. You should focus on the control part for now."

Aeryth nodded. Her heart thumped in excitement. She couldn't wait for the day she used a lightning spell. Lifeblood also had no record, so she had no way of searching spells. But now, it would seem the path was a bit more clear now. She could see where she needed to go while she unraveled her unrecorded affinity. "Thank you, Mr. Tor. You were a great help."

"It's fine. You're a good child, and I have done nothing." He chuckled.

Aeryth raised her brow, looking at his wounded hand.

"Well, except for stupidly touching lightning. Don't try it. You cannot control mana, this would hurt your heart, perhaps even your mind. Those are not the kind of wounds you wish to sustain," He chuckled. "I'll get it healed. Don't worry."

"Thank you. I lost your sword," Aeryth looked down, "Can I buy-"

Someone knocked on the door. Aeryth paused. It was still not the time to open the shop.

"Take a sword from the store room. We are getting a lot of guests today. You can pay me back whenever. You're growing quickly, so prepare to pay interest next time," He chuckled.

Aeryth nodded. "I'd prefer that."

She made her way to the store room as Tor called out to the intruders.

It took her a few minutes to find another sword. A part of her wanted to ditch the weapon. She was going to be a mage and only a mage. She needed a grimoire. Wanted a grimoire. It was the only thing that she looked forward to having, to feel that thrill of casting a spell.

She didn't find one here. He was a blacksmith, not a magic store owner.

She would eventually find one, or she might just get one from the statues. Aeryth shuddered. She didn't know if she wanted to get anything from them.

Right, I need to ask him about the house. Is there a magic library among the rooms? If so, it would help me with many things.

Now was as good a time as any, so she walked out prepared to ask him about the house and Celine.

"Mr. Tor, as we have previously stated, it is quite impossible to bring an item of such value to the lower district." Said a man in a suit. He was in his thirties and spoke very pleasantly. He stood in front of the counter, while another sat in the chair.

Tor shook his head, "Then, I'm not the man you're looking for."

Another man, a bit older and stocky, leaned over the table, "Mr. Tor, we are keenly aware you are in dire need of money, selling things that should've never left your trunk. You'll be back home before midday, and the money we are willing to pay is nothing short of generosity."

"How fine you've aged, Mikhail," Tor chortled, leaning back on his chair. "It's never about the money. I need it. There's no point in hiding the fact. But, I cannot enter the Ashet, even if I wanted to. I've been banished from the noble district with no remission."

"About that," Mikhail snapped his finger. The younger man went ahead and placed a sealed letter on the desk.

Tor's brow knitted, eye scrutinized, he leaned forward and looked back at Mikhail. "This is?"

"As you can guess, The Gringer Company went ahead and obtained a pardon for the esteemed elder before disturbing him. No longer are your sentences forbade you from entering the Ashets. It also allows you to use your skills, so long as it does not hurt the peace and integrity of the Lesterforge."

Tor picked up the letter and tore it open. His fingers were jittery. Perhaps from disbelief or shock. Aeryth could see the panic in his eyes as he read. And then one more time, refusing to believe it was real.

"After all these years," he seemed melancholic rather than happy, mixed with anger. "I refuse still. The noble district district is not the place I want to be in."

"Tell us a price that we can work with." Mikhail seemed bored, more than anything. A confidence in his voice that he would get a deal surely.

Her heart thumped at the blatant disregard for Tor's words, but she held herself from saying anything.

"One Artefact, fifty thousand Jades," Tor said. He was instantaneous.

"Now, you're trying to high ball us into giving up," Mikhail smirked. "How about three artifacts and a weapon for a hundred Thousand Jades? Think about it, half a day of work, and it's worth more than what you'll make till the spring when the new fledglings start searching for their weapons. No longer with you need to sell the thing that you don't think is worthy of bearing your name," Mikhail's voice was passionate.

Tor chuckled louder. "Asking me to humiliate myself to stop humiliating myself?"

"If that's what you think," Mikhail paused. "It's not just about that. The thing that we need you to identify belongs to Lady of the Hearth."

"I've already repaid my debt to her. You can do better." Tor looked at Aeryth. "You staying there the whole day?"

"The discussion seemed rather important, so I didn't want to intrude."

The young boy looked alarmed. Mikhail waved his hand to calm him down. "Young Lady, rather late season to pick up a sword."

"I lost mine a week ago," Aeryth shrugged.

"Unusual for a young girl to use a longsword."

"It's a placeholder. Are you done with the discussion? There's still something I wish to talk about with Uncle Tor."

Mikhail looked at the younger one and then at Tor. "Will you compromise? We need your help. If you don't come with us, then I'll have no choice but to ask Lady Sia to come here and convince you, and we both know how uncomfortable that would be."

Tor stared at him, like searching for truth in his words. He let out a belly laugh, "Indeed, a precarious trouble. Fine, I'll come along with you. Wait outside, I've still things I wanna discuss with this one."

Mikhail looked at Aeryth, then nodded. Maybe he was shocked that she was being given more privacy than he was. Not that Aeryth didn't have a lot of questions.

But those could wait.

As they left, Tor sagged in his chair.

"I'll take this sword. How much is it?" Aeryth asked, staring at those two. She didn't like their confidence, and disregard of Tor's feelings.

"645 jades. Not gonna ask what was all that about?"

"I would rather not know more about you than I already do," Aeryth replied frankly. She knew him enough to know he would understand.

He nodded. "About the flower, I think if you don't have a place to keep it safe. I can keep it here. Rest assured, my vaults and wards are stronger than the church's." He spoke proudly.

"Thank you, I'll do that. I've one more thing I wanted to ask. It is about Celine and her idiosyncrasy, The Adventure House."