"... You're teasing those things again?"

"No, I'm just killing individuals."

"Hmm, I see. A believer."

"Do you think his meat is edible? He looks pretty meaty."

"Are you joking?"

"Yeah, I'm joking."

Mithra placed the corpse, covered in cuts and wounds, outside Safin's cave. Its head resembled a squashed watermelon, grotesque and unrecognizable.

Then she collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.

Safin regarded her with a hint of concern. He watched as Mithra raised her hand, instinctively gathering Stabilize and pressing it to her forehead.

Ding.

It was a simple action, almost instinctive, yet it did little to soothe her panting and fatigue.

"You've mastered Stabilize so quickly; it's almost like a fixed function," Safin frowned.

Mithra offered no reply.

Perhaps it was due to the intense pain from her body’s regeneration that her mastery of Stabilize had accelerated. Under the extreme state of Stabilize, the sensation of pain felt even more vivid, yet she managed to prevent it from overwhelming her.

She had finally succeeded in killing her enemy, using her environment to her advantage.

But in a final act of malice, her opponent had retaliated, shattering several bones in Mithra’s body and nearly breaking her ribcage.

He had attempted to activate other miracles, but Mithra had struck him down before he could succeed. Believers, it seemed, were still hesitant to fight at lower levels. After all, miracle activation often required a time lag.

After a long silence, Mithra felt the pain in her body gradually subside, her senses returning to normal.

She thought for a moment.

Ding.

She activated another Stabilize.

With her senses restored, her perception improved as well. Even so, she could activate Stabilize almost instantaneously. The duration was shorter, but she could achieve several minutes of effect in a single use.

"When you first learn miracles, your sense won’t be lacking. But as you learn more miracles, you’ll need to distribute your sense carefully," Safin advised, noting her incessant replenishing of Stabilize.

Mithra finally managed to refocus on their conversation. "Is sense inherently fixed?"

"A newborn's sense is strongest right away, but it weakens significantly afterward. As they begin to form memories, it will grow again. Before twenty is a period of rapid growth. After thirty, it weakens, and growth becomes difficult after forty. There will be another leap at fifty, but after that, it mostly stops," Safin explained quickly.

"Strange rules," Mithra remarked.

"Humanity is quite strange. The whole world is very strange," Safin chuckled.

"Are there other ways to grow?"

"Yes," Safin replied without hesitation. "When a miracle is activated or a believer dies, some of their sense splits off and becomes tangible. You can absorb those. But there’s a hidden danger. You must be moderate. Absorb too much, and you’ll be 'lost.'"

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Mithra nodded, making a mental note.

"I was going to teach you how to hunt in the caves after you came back. But it seems you need to rest for a while," Safin said, shaking his head.

"Sorry, I need to rest a bit," Mithra replied, not pushing the matter.

"It's alright; I'm not in a hurry," he assured her. "Oh, how many lives do you have left?"

"...What?" Mithra paused, momentarily bewildered by his question, struggling to grasp its meaning.

Safin noticed her confusion. "You don't even know this... Hmm, very strange."

He took a moment to explain. "People from the Enchanting Land have many lives. I've heard them speak of it. All people from the Enchanting Land will have at least two lives in Dreamland, and the number can increase depending on their mastery and use of miracles."

"I don't know," Mithra said, stunned for a moment before continuing. "Do they have a name for this kind of thing?"

"In the Enchanting Land, they call this extra life a 'Life lock.'"

Mithra froze.

Life lock!?

When she traded for "Night eyes," her life lock had decreased.

That’s why "Life lock" was so valuable; it granted access to such unique abilities.

"I don’t know if I have any Life locks left. I don’t know anything about this." All Mithra could convey to Safin was her complete ignorance.

"These are common patterns that our ancestors have researched and developed over time. Each sense type has a corresponding pattern that anyone can learn to use. After all, humans are very weak. We need to learn more to compensate for our weaknesses."

"And during their research into miracle activation, some strong individuals gradually develop their own Faith Totem, allowing them to modify some properties of a miracle, or even create a powerful unique miracle. Those are more advanced concepts."

With that, Safin gestured to the beginner's textbook. "Turn to the last few pages."

Mithra complied. After flipping through, she discovered an appendix listing numerous patterns—each a Faith Totem.

She studied them intently for a while before Safin tossed her a sharp rock. "Start with the 'Self' patterns; draw each one five times. Familiarize yourself with them. We’ll take a break, and I’ll teach you Reinforce Body. There's no rush. Get them firmly etched in your mind, and then form muscle memory."

Thus, Mithra began learning Reinforce Body and Faith Totems simultaneously.

In addition to that, she accompanied Safin to learn how to hunt the creatures lurking in the caves.

Mostly rabbits and rodents, and of course, some edible insects. The food available in the tunnels was limited, but Mithra accepted it without complaint.

In truth, she rarely displayed any expressions at all.

Without the sun in the mine, it was impossible to tell how much time had passed. Mithra felt as though she were slowly becoming a savage.

It was fortunate that Safin could activate water miracles to cleanse her body; otherwise, she wasn’t sure how filthy she would have become.

During this time, Mithra had successfully mastered Reinforce Body at a basic level. Currently, she could only apply it to her arms and forearms. She also began integrating her own patterns into the process of activating miracles.

However, she encountered a problem.

Adding patterns required extra sense power. Moreover, before she mastered them, the effects of the patterns on strengthening miracles remained unclear. While the activation of miracles did become faster, the time it took to draw the patterns themselves wasn't reduced. Ultimately, for Mithra, the lag time had actually extended.

It was still a matter of mastery.

And without the stimulation of regeneration, Mithra's learning progress was only average.

She considered whether she should stab herself a few more times to practice in a state of heightened sense, but she was spending most of her time with Safin, and acting too strange would raise suspicions.

The two of them also passed through the pile of corpses in the tunnel. After Mithra had killed that believer, the rest of them had waited a long time, but when their comrade never returned, they became frightened and fled.

During that time, there hadn’t been any newcomers.

After mastering the Self patterns, Mithra’s learning tasks had relaxed a bit. She could now begin exploring other knowledge.

Like the history of this world.

"Dreamland was once ruled by forty-four beings of immense power. They had different origins, but for a time, they ruled and dominated Dreamland, constantly battling one another in endless wars. Towards the end of their reign, the first group of miracle thieves emerged. They stole the powers that only those beings could wield and transformed them into miracles for humans. From that moment, the era changed. Humans defeated the Forty-Four Pillars, exterminated them, and established the foundations of civilization as it exists today," Safin recounted in a monotonous tone.

Mithra listened intently; it was all new information.

"Who was the first person to steal a miracle?" she asked.

Safin looked at her. "It was 'Kahira.' She was the first human believer. She stole the power of 'Brilliant Light' from Michelle, one of the Forty-Four Pillars, the power of light. She was the first human user of that power."

Kahira.

Mithra recalled seeing that name associated with the "Illuminate" miracle.

Thinking for a moment, she continued, "Do you know the name 'Lebaance'?"

That was the name that had bestowed her the "Regeneration" gift.

"How do you know that name?" Safin appeared surprised.

"What's wrong?"

"...No, your behavior has always resembled that of a newborn baby. I'm surprised you know that name, although it’s not unfamiliar in Dreamland."

"Who is he?"

"One of the Forty-Four Pillars, 'Infinite' Lebaance."