Throwing the cryptic note aside, Damien turned and sighed. “She got away,” he said, annoyance creeping into his voice. He was frustrated that they hadn't been able to question her about the organization. Seeing his downcast expression, Ela took his hand and smiled. “It will be fine. We’ll always get another chance.”

Ruby, watching this scene, smiled to herself and thought, ‘It’s been a long time since I've seen Ela look so happy…’ She truly felt happy for her friend and hoped everything would go well between the two of them. If not, and if Damien hurt her…

Pushing her thoughts about worst-case scenarios aside, Ruby spoke up. “What are you guys going to do now?” Hearing the question directed at them, they both turned to look at Ruby simultaneously.

“We were planning to stay here for a while so that I can teach Damien how to properly use his mana, along with combat training,” Ela replied.

A wicked smile appeared on Ruby’s face. “Do you mind if I help teach him combat? You know how good I am at fighting.” Damien felt a wave of dread wash over him when he saw Ruby's smile. “I don’t think that’s necessary, Ela… You would do just fine teaching me, and besides, this will allow us to catch up and spend the time we lost together, won’t it?” He said nervously, giving Ela a pleading look.

Understanding the unspoken tension, Ela chuckled lightly and replied, “It’s fine; we can both teach you. Besides, Ruby is better than I am when it comes to combat.” Damien let out a resigned sigh, accepting his fate.

“Alright, that’s fine with me as well.” Seeing him concede, Ruby's smile widened into a grin that would probably lead Damien to regret this decision later on.

After spending some more time chatting with Ruby, they said their goodbyes. By now, the town had settled down, with everyone returning to their homes or businesses, and things were mostly back to normal. They found an inn, quickly bought a room and made their way to it.

As Damien stepped into the room, he let out a tired sigh. Just as he was about to speak, a pair of arms wrapped around his torso. Knowing it was Ela, he placed his hand over hers and silently stood there until she finally let go.

Turning to face her, he asked cheekily, “Miss me?”

“You have no idea how much I wanted to do that when I first saw you in the forest,” Ela replied, gazing into Damien’s black eyes.

Without saying anything more, Ela stepped forward, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him deeply. They fell back onto the bed, lying in each other's embrace.

After spending a few hours together, Damien finally got up and looked back at the woman on the bed.

“Alright, how about you teach me how to use mana properly? So far, I’ve just relied on my skills, but I want to learn how to use free-form mana and whether it's possible to create my own skills or develop my own affinity.” He continued listing various thoughts and ideas that popped into his mind.

Seeing the childlike excitement in his expression made Ela happy. Before the system was introduced, the only times she witnessed Damien truly smile or express joy were when he was with her, his family, or immersed in games and stories. Those fleeting moments had shown him truly enjoying life.

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So, seeing him with a look of wonder and a smile on his face made Ela appreciate the system a little more, despite it having taken her parents and Damien away from her. Finally snapping out of her thoughts, Ela said, “Alright, one thing at a time, Damien. No need to get too overexcited. Since you want to learn about free-form mana, let’s start there.”

As Damien nodded, she continued, “Free-form mana, as the system describes, is simply the mana present in the air. It’s mana that hasn’t been influenced by any specific affinity, so anyone without an affinity would use this type of mana.” Before she could elaborate further, Damien interrupted with a question.

“Wait, don’t you have an affinity?”

Ela nodded. “Yes, my affinity is wind.”

“If that's the case, how did you open the door Ruby made? Doesn’t that require free-form mana?”

Ela smiled and replied, “Yes, it does require free-form mana, but the thing about ‘free-form’ is that it’s not just the mana in the air; it’s also a method of using mana. It might be easier to think of the mana in the air as what the system refers to as ‘pure mana.’ Anyway, free-form mana is the ability to manipulate mana without needing a specific skill. However, just because it’s ‘free-form’ doesn’t mean it is always devoid of an affinity.”

Analyzing her explanation, Damien slowly pieced together her words. After a few moments, he spoke. “So, what you’re saying is that the mana you use isn’t pure free-form mana but wind-related free-form mana?”

Seeing her nod, he smiled. “So then, how do I manipulate mana? Also, how can I determine what affinities I have?” Honestly, Damien had a pretty good idea of what his affinities might be.

“Teaching you how to manipulate mana is simple; finding out your affinities… not so much,” Ela responded with a calm demeanor. Noticing the questioning look on Damien's face, Ela quickly added, “The reason we can't easily determine your affinities is that we do not have any device for quick testing. However, we can figure it out by taking you to areas rich in a certain element and testing it that way.”

Damien’s face lit up with fascination as he imagined what areas filled with specific elements might look like. For the wind element, would it be full of strong winds or perhaps just a gentle breeze?

Seeing his expression, Ela smiled. “Alright, focus, Damien. I’m going to teach you how to sense the mana in the air.” After concentrating on her, he remembered his mana-related skill, particularly the mana-breathing one, and asked one last question.

“Ah, Ela, I have a skill that relates to mana breathing. Will that help me with what you’re about to teach me? It’s ranked divine.”

Ela blinked twice and looked at Damien as if he were silly. “Damien, if the skill is called ‘mana breathing,’ what do you think it would be useful for otherwise? Yes, it will help.” He scratched the back of his head and gave her a cheeky smile, refocusing his attention as Ela began to explain.

Nodding, Ela stated, “To use free-form mana, you first need to sense the mana surrounding you. Once you feel it, a prickling sensation should appear on your skin—that’s your body coming into direct contact with mana.”

Following her guidance, Damien cleared his mind of unnecessary thoughts and focused on the air around him while activating the mana breathing skill. As he did, he felt as if his senses had unlocked a whole new world. He could sense Ela, who stood a few meters away, even with his eyes closed. He could also feel Ruby and her group over at the guild, which was hundreds of meters away.

Noticing the prickling sensation Ela had described, he opened his eyes and motioned for her to continue. With a smile, she provided the next steps. “Now that you can sense the mana, you just need to give it form before directing it to take action. Imagine the mana in the air bending to your will, moving as you desire.”

Following her instructions, Damien envisioned the mana swirling around him in a circular motion. Almost instantly, he felt a connection between himself and the mana in the air, as if all the mana around him was now responding to his commands.

When he opened his eyes, he looked at Ela in front of him, his face lighting up with a smile. He pointed his finger in her direction and commanded the mana to blow her hair back.

An astonished look appeared on Ela’s face. “Damien… how… how did you do that?”

> *DING* A new skill has been created.