I have to kill that guy. It's simple calculus. It's either him or me. The healer is tending to him right now and he's in plain view of every single person in this company. I'll get my chance.

I take a deep breath and try to think. I don't think I can contribute much to Shera and Moon's project anyway. I have learned a fair bit about [Blood Magic] though.

I sit down beside those two and start meditating. I have to get back into that state of flow. It takes me more than an hour to do so. I had to pace around a few times to calm myself down. Turns out, it's pretty hard to concentrate when you were an inch away from death.

When I am back in that state of calm flow in a sea of shining lights, I focus on myself. I don't have a form to speak of.

I'm aware of the things around me, like a beam of twisting light. I need to form a tether here. Something to tie me down, to give form to myself in this realm. It is trippy as hell if I do say so myself.

Something makes me think of a floating island. If this can be whatever I want, then why not a floating island. I try my best to spread this awareness around and mold it into a floating fortress.

I can feel myself overworking every single grain of myself until I feel like something was broken. There's a moment of realization and I'm back in the real world.

A refreshing sensation of earth, mildew, and nostalgia combines within me. I just let it pass over me for a few minutes and get up. I think this meditation business is quite helpful for me alongside the magic.

I'm exhausted and all I want to do is fall asleep. I force myself to stay awake and walk back to Shera and Moon's project. I listen to whatever they're saying and try to take in as much as I can.

She pulls her hair back into a bun and sighs. A lot of pressure is on her shoulders. "This might stall them for a while but eventually, they'll figure out that it won't work on whatever that giant thing was."

"I know but focus on this for now. We'll deal with whatever comes next when it's time." I know I say that but it's just not in my nature to allow the sword above my head to keep on dangling there.

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The only course of action is to buy some time with this [Blood Extraction] enchantment and get the hell out of here.

I decide to start meditating again. I can feel the excitement bubbling within me but it stops me from slipping into that state of flow again. I get in after a while and decide to look at my floating fortress.

....

Well, it is something. It's a tiny clump of dirt. That's it. Where's the giant castle with thousands of turrets or a medieval castle on an island with dragons flying around?

It's not much but it can be the rock on which I build my castle or something. I start slow and just pull in a yellow orb. I pull it near the clump of dirt and as soon as it comes into contact with the pile of dirt, it disappears. It's amazing.

I don't have an agonizing pain pulling me out of here yet, so I keep ongoing. I absorb black and yellow orbs. I don't need the white ones right now and last time, those white orbs caused a huge commotion.

I can feel a slight sensation of pain just a few minutes later and I'm pulled back into the real world. I just cultivated some mana. Brilliant, what do I do with it, now?

I can feel it even when I'm awake. It's residing somewhere in my chest. It's a weird feeling. It's not uncomfortable, however, it is a foreign feeling.

I know I can pull it out into the external world but what am I supposed to do with it? It's almost daylight and I'm too exhausted to think about anything else. I fall asleep.

The knights start hustling and bustling around noon. They wake me up. I would expect a disciplined corp. like theirs to be up and running a lot sooner.

They pack everything up and are on their way. All of us are tied up again and they throw us in a carriage along with the other alien they caught. This is my chance, I have to grasp it before it slips away. Lady Luck doesn't smile twice.

These ropes must be enchanted or something. It makes sense. They might be similar to those metallic chains Ake, Shera, and Moon had to deal with.

That Other-Worlders eyes drift open. He's been sleeping for about an hour now. I make eye contact with him and there's an instant sense of familiarity between us. How could there not be? We share something none of these people in this carriage do.

That familiarity gives way to anger in me. This idiot just tried to kill me. He must have a unique skill that he was gifted with similar to mine. I take a deep breath and try to set aside my anger. I need to work with what I've been given.

"Check your map." I talk to him in my native tongue. I don't want these other people to listen in. I pull up my own map. There are two distinct red dots moving in a straight line towards us.

He has a bitter smile on his face. "They must be strong."

"Why do you say that?"

"They weren't here yesterday. I don't know the range of this map but they must've traveled a large distance since last night."

"They could've just been hiding." I feel like I'm grasping onto straws.

"It could be possible, they might have a timer on their skill."

"Does your skill have a timer?" His head snaps up and he stares at me.

I shouldn't have said that. "Sorry, sorry, I shouldn't be prying. What do you suggest we do?"