Quinn returned to the clinic. She went upstairs to talk to Ada but stopped as she heard something at the end of the hallway. The study’s door was closed, and there was no light leaking from beneath it. And yet she could hear whispering voices, at least a dozen of them. They were too quiet to hear what they were saying.

Maybe she should go closer? As soon as that thought raced through her head, her head started to hurt. She gripped it as she turned away to Ada’s door and knocked on it.

Ada opened it with a haggard expression. “Quinn! Welcome back! How’d it go?”

Quinn grabbed the pelt from her pack and handed it over along with seven silver. “Guess.”

She grabbed the pelt and looked it over. “Nice! So, what’re ya’ going to do now? Your debt is paid, so you’re free now…”

Easy. Quinn needed to leave. It was a burning desire in her to get out there and set herself up to learn and research. She felt like she had on the night of her graduation from high school; pumped to charge out into the world. “I’m leaving first thing in the morning.”

A sad expression fell on Ada’s face. She quickly masked it with a brilliant smile. “Well then, good luck out there! And don’t forget about me! Come back and visit sometime, won’t cha?”

“Sure.” Quinn honestly didn’t know if she would return to the Veiled Grove. A part of her never wanted to return, but she also wanted to come back and see Ada after she had become a grandmaster-mage or whatever the peak was called in this world.

Ada pulled her into a big warm hug. “I’m going to miss ya’, Quinn. It was fun while it lasted. Don’t worry, I understand. Ya’ need to go and find your family.”

“Yeah… I’ll miss you too. And thank you… for everything.” Guilt racked Quinn as she hugged her back. Ada had been the warmest and kindest person to Quinn since she arrived, and here she was lying to her face. It just didn’t sit right. But if it leaked she was from another world… she shuddered to think of it. If it was anything like her previous world, she would be strapped to a gurney for the rest of her life as scientists experimented on her ‘for the good of humanity’.

“Don’t mention it.” Ada pulled back from the embrace and rested her hand on the door. “Ya’ paid more than enough.” She hefted the pelt and coins.

Quinn smiled brightly at her one last time before she turned to the stairs and walked down. She pretended not to hear the slight sniffle from her back as she returned to her room for the night.

Quinn woke bright and early. According to Compass, which had become part of her daily routine, she woke up before the sun even rose. She went about her daily workout, which she had been spiking in difficulty since she first started. Her muscles tore and screamed as she pushed herself. After casting Cleanse on herself, she gathered her belongings and set out for the Silver Grove. By the time she had left, the symbol of the sun was just rising over the symbol for the east.

The streets were dead and the storm was roiling as she walked into the dead-quiet Silver Grove. Although it was quiet, an older man was patiently wiping out glasses as he tended the bar. The old hunter was present as well as the entire caravan.

Mikeal flagged her over as she walked into the building with a boom of thunder. She approached to see him half drunk as he wobbled in his chair. “Quinn! G-gah-good morning to ya!” He laughed merrily as he clutched at a bottle. “Ole Arnz here was just telling us a tale from his youth!”

Arnz smiled at her. “Nothing quite that extraordinary, I’m afraid. Good morning, Miss Quinn.”

“Morning.” She hated mornings. It was at least tolerable here since she didn’t have to see the sun. She missed her days of sleeping in and staying up all night…

Arnz clapped his hands to gather the attention of everyone, including the colorful guards. His voice spoke with an authority that he didn’t seem to have the last time she spoke to him. “Now that everyone is here, let us go over our schedule one last time. We are headed to the small town of Umbersknecht. It's about twenty-five miles north of here. We’ll stop for the night and head out first thing in the morning.

“After that is a slightly shorter march to the fortress city Mauershein. Remember to be on guard! The badgius are in their migration period for spring, so expect an attack at any second after Umbersknecht. After we arrive in Mauershein, we are going to take a week's break to refresh ourselves and swap escorts if any of you want to stay and relax.

“After that, we are on the long haul back down to Strumgard. Any questions?”

One of the crazily dressed men raised his hand. He wore a sky blue sagen over a lime green shirt covered in frills. His pants weren’t much better as they looked like a chicken’s. “Are there any restrictions over the week break? Or can we… relax to our heart’s content?” Several of the other men and even a few of the women in the flamboyant guard smirked.

Arnz sighed as he rubbed at his brow. “You are free once we get to Mauershein. That being said, I’ll be inspecting each person before we leave for Strumgard. Don’t do something that will make me kick you out of the caravan.”

One of the six normal-looking people also raised his hand. He had a rough look to him due to his rugged beard and scarred arms. Muscles bulged as he moved, almost seeking to show off. A black sagen fell along his ripped shoulders and shrouded his black tunic and pants. Quinn thought the man looked like a cringy edge lord from her previous world if they were on steroids. “Boss, are we going to join a bigger group this time? Or just head down to Strumgard ourselves?”

“I haven’t decided. The Halis Empire has become increasingly dangerous, but dealing with other groups is such a hassle. Ask me in a week from now.” Arnz looked around. “Anyone else?” No one else raised their hand. “Then set off!”

Traveling with the caravan was a bit… different. She was expecting carriages and horses, but they all just moved on foot. When she asked Mikeal about it, he said they left those in Mauershein since the Veiled Grove wasn’t too kind to horses. It made sense. Outside the town, there was barely a dirt path from where people walked. The trees and branches weren’t cut back at all either, so they constantly had to dodge the big obstacles. Traveling along the river helped, but not by too much. It would be a nightmare to navigate through Al the foliage on horseback.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Although she had the same problem when she and Mikeal headed out for the hunt, it wasn’t as noticeable since there were only the two of them. The large caravan of about twenty-eight left a visible path of destruction.

Mikeal, Quinn, and the six normally clothed people ended up walking in the middle of the twenty or so anti-stealth mercs. Now that they were in a more open area, Quinn could see everyone quite a bit better. There were eighteen men and two women among the colorful group, each sprouting various weapons.

The six were slightly more interesting. There was that edge lord guy from before with a set of short swords strapped to his waist. He had also produced a bandolier of knives from somewhere. They looked fairly cheap as if he planned to just throw them and not even bother to get them back.

Of course, there was Arnz and Torrence. Torrence wore the usual blue tunic and dirty brown trousers with a gray sagen to cover it all up. He had a bow strapped to his back. Arnz was similar, but he had a red sagen and no weapon. She had put two and two together over the past couple of days and figured that the red sagen was a sign of a mage.

The last male of the six was a dark-skinned man with a peaceful smile on his face. He was slightly different compared to the others in the sense that he wore slightly baggier clothing that looked similar to a robe. He used a walking staff that was tipped with two metal knobs.

The other two were women. One of them had a rapier neatly strapped to her side. Her dark-brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail without even a single stray strand. She seemed almost rigged as she walked. She also had a silver sagen. Quinn wasn’t quite sure what silver meant since only the guard captain had worn one.

The other woman was by far the most interesting person in the group. She looked like an islander from Quinn’s previous world. Her dark hair was in a bun and her brown eyes were constantly scanning their surroundings. She was strapped with tons of tools and bits of metal. They coated her almost like an armor. She even had a gun!

Quinn really didn’t think she would see a gun in this world. How did it work? Was it gunpowder-based like the ones she had seen in the past? Or was it some other kind of explosive compound that existed here? Or maybe it was based on magic and used a magic propellent or even a magic bullet?

Mikeal, who had somehow ended up walking next to her, pulled out his lute and started to strum it lightly. Unlike when she was leading him through the forest, he actually seemed to care how it sounded as a pleasant tune fell underneath the thunderous sky.

While they were walking, Quinn decided to mess around with mana and amber. Since she had nothing better to do, and she was finally on her way out of the grove now would be a good time to experiment.

She first cycled her hollow mana through her entire body, moving it around to practice her control. She formed it into shapes and complication algorithms to help her precise control. She had realized the other day that her level of control would maybe allow her to cast a tier-one spell, but definitely not anything higher like Mikeal.

She practiced well until midday as they walked. Quinn followed along almost on auto-pilot as she did various things with her mana. About midday, she took a lunch break and swapped over to amber. She extended her sense, feeling it all around her as she had in the past. It once again felt different, but this time it was entirely different.

Gone was the warmth and comforting feeling she had gotten in the past. The amber felt cold as if it had all of the warmth leached from it. It moved slowly as opposed to the past, drifting around without aim. It was slightly repelled by the group but slipped in through the cracks to surround her completely. It was very unsettling.

Quinn didn’t know what to think. As far as she could tell, amber was everywhere. It seemed to change in feeling depending on where she was, however. Was it the environment that changed amber? It would make sense. The fog that rolled in had the same dangerous feel, so maybe it was changed by the environment…

The amber also wasn’t passing through her body like it had the first time. It seemed to brush up against her skin before being repelled by something. Quinn thought long and hard for a time, her head hurting the entire time that she tried to use her brain. Was it her mana? The first time she had pulled her mana back…

Quinn grabbed at the weighty substance and forced it to recede from her left arm. She could instantly feel a change. The amber freely flew through her arm as if the original resistance was a lie. It easily passed around her.

Could it not exist in the same place as mana? Then what exactly was amber? If she could only feel it in areas that didn’t have mana, what would happen if she removed all of her mana and had the energy flowing freely through her?

She thought back to the foxes. The more she thought about them, the weirder they got. From what she heard from Ada, animals all had mana, albeit in very small amounts. So how did the foxes have amber flowing through them the same as her? Were they devoid of mana? She wished she had studied them harder.

Wait, she wasn't originally from this world, so let's assume mana just settled in her body since she could easily move it. Normal humans have mana from day one though, so is it ingrained in their very cells? Then to sense amber, a human would have to pull the mana from their cells, assuming this was true. Was that why nobody seemed to react to its presence? Or did they simply not care enough about it?

So, what caused the foxes to be different from the other animals? Was it simply a genetic mutation where they didn't have mana? But that would mean that the presence of mana was due to genes, which would also mean that the purity of a bloodline would be extremely important to uphold a high mana count. Now that she thought about it, how was the nobility even-

“We’re here!” The old man shouted from the front as they arrived in front of a wooden wall. It looked a little worse for wear, but it was still manned by a couple of eerily still guards. “Same rules as last time! Groups of no less than three! Meet at the northern gate at dawn, or we’re leaving you!”

There was some chattering as the caravan split up into various groups. Soon Quinn was standing by herself as even Mikeal joined a group. She had flashbacks to high-school projects as she stood there, unwilling to ask to join a group of the flamboyant guard.

“Hey,” the mechanical-clad woman spoke from beside her, “you want to join us?” The rapier-toting woman stood off the side.

“S-sure.” Quinn was quite thankful that she asked.

The mechanical woman held out her hand. “I’m Atamai.”

Quinn shook her hand. “Quinn.”

“The quiet one is Willa,” she jacked her thumb to her side. The brunette politely nodded but didn’t say anything. “Right then, we need to find a spot to settle down for the night.”

“Is there an inn or tavern?” Quinn asked.

Atamai looked stumped before bursting into laughter. “Ah no. You see, this town has a problem where people disappear at night, so there are abandoned houses throughout Umbersknecht. We made an agreement with the guard captain last time we were her. We can stay in any abandoned house for the night as long as we leave as soon as possible.”

What an odd arrangement. The Veiled Grove was truly a weird place. She couldn’t wait to leave. They walked into the shadowy town, easily passing through the gates as the entire caravan split up to their own devices.