It was almost like a utopia.

'Until I started to yearn for my freedom.'

She let out a sigh, realizing that she had been on that snowy land for 11 years, making her 17 years-old now.

'Thinking about Master makes me miss him, to be honest. Gramps was also a kind person.'

'But now, looking for trouble with two Grandmaguses is pretty funny. As if I'm wishing for an early grave.'

It was the most revered calling ever bestowed upon a person, proven by their wisdom and influence during The Invasion.

In this era, only three individuals of immense power held this title from every corner of the earth. She had already met two of them and knew about the third from books.

Adelle was brought under Lefazio's care soon after the end of the war, which was marked by the sealing of The Great Gate.

It was Lefazio himself who requested to adopt her, taking her in as one of his pupils.

Ever since, she saw her Venevisium development grow exponentially. She awakened the other two Aspects just under a year, thanks to Gramps' help.

Most people would have two Aspects, with only a few being able to awaken three.

However, Adelle currently possesses four Aspects. Even with such rare talent, she still brimmed with potential due to her Lektia nature.

'But I would be satisfied if I was buried with my own ideals. Owh, there is my stop.'

She saw the peak cliff of the Barren Hill through the wagon window. Like always, many of the people in charge of the caravan would ask why she would get off in the middle of the forest.

"Don't worry. I knew these areas like the back of my hand," she answered so lightly that brushed off the worried faces.

Now left alone, she carried her backpack through the small dirt track that was hidden by bushes. A shortcut which led to the Barren Hill.

It got its name because of the environment itself. Even though the hills were surrounded by forest.

Not much vegetation was able to thrive in the Barren Hill due to the influence of the portal.

Some time later, Adelle halted her steps and raised her guard as she noticed a trail of trampled bushes and small plants.

The damage looked as though it had been caused by something with a large body.

'It wasn't there before this morning. I should check it out.'

She remembered the previous night when another quake had shaken the cottage.

Ervian was perplexed by it and wondered what was happening.

"It's the portal again. Just like the night that you were teleported to this place. There will be a quake like that," she answered.

"That means something is coming?"

"Might be." Adelle pushed the entrance door and checked outside. The mist was indeed thickening.

If Gramps were here, they would need to investigate the matter. But since he was away, he told her to stay put in the cottage and be on alert.

Now, since it was uncommon that something left such a track in front of her. At least she needed to know what it was.

Adelle safely dropped her backpack in a secure spot before carefully following the trampled path of bushes.

Equipped with her trusted weapon, a dagger adorned with a powerful Vis affinity gemstone on the handle, Adelle made her way forward.

She preferred daggers over swords due to their ease of carry, and so she had developed her fighting style to suit her weapon of choice.

As she moved forward, Adelle heard a heavy hum in the distance and knew exactly where the sound was coming from.

She approached cautiously, moving closer to the source of the sound with silence and care.

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Adelle noticed a large figure moving through small gaps in the bushes. Quickly, she hid behind the nearest tall tree and cautiously peered out to get a better look.

'No way, it's a mountain ogre.'

Her mind was momentarily distracted, considering the possibility of taking down the creature not because it posed a threat to the cottage, but because ogre eyes would fetch a high price on the poacher market.

'Haha, how fortunate. I could net up to 3 grand! Thank you portal.'

Adelle had battled ogres in the past during a trip with Lefazio, and she knew they were dumb creatures who solely followed their instincts.

Adelle took some time to strategize. She knew that taking down such a large opponent, which she could never win against in a head-to-head fight, would require a clever plan.

The creature's height was about three meters. It was bad because she remembered she could barely jump a fence that was about two meters tall.

Despite the challenge, Adelle had one significant advantage: a preemptive attack.

The ogre was currently preoccupied, feasting on a freshly caught deer, which was the reason for the trampled bushes around it.

After thinking for a while, she finally decided to carry on her plan, a sneak attack that must be fatal in one blow.

She then started concentrating her Vis of Ardor to the gemstone in her dagger. An Aspect that once activated, would burn, effectively starting a fire.

The gemstone was a gift from Gramps. It has a high affinity to Venevisium which made it easier to receive and store quite a large amount of Vis without dissipating at a noticeable rate.

It took her quite some time to store the desirable amount of Vis. Should her Vis Level be higher, she would require less time. Luckily, though, the monster was still feasting.

Happy with the current amount of Vis which she had stored. She then proceeds to circle around until she reaches the blind-spot of the ogre.

'Alright, here I go.'

Adelle gathered an Aspect of Aero in her left palm, which was enough to be stored there. After a brief moment, she started running towards the ogre as fast as she could.

Adelle jumped towards the ogre, and at the moment her feet lifted in the air, she activated the Vis in her left palm.

A strong gust of wind blew upward, boosting her jump towards the ogre.

Adelle attempted to stab the creature with her dagger, but unfortunately, despite the jump boost from the Aero Aspect, she couldn't reach the back of its head.

Instead, she managed to stab it on the lowest point of its neck.

'Ack, curse it! That was my highest jump.'

As Adelle's dagger pierced the ogre's thick fatty skin, she knew it was just a minor annoyance to the creature. But it was enough to grab its attention.

The ogre's head snapped towards Adelle, revealing its grotesque face, complete with yellow tusks and drool dripping from its mouth.

Adelle quickly jumped back, creating some distance between her and the enraged ogre.

The ogre groaned in pain and quickly turned its head to face Adelle. She had already landed on the ground, making eye contact with the beast.

She grinned, "time for barbecue."

The gust of wind dissipated, and the creature suddenly found itself in a vortex of flame.

Adelle had activated the Aspect of Ardor, and it burst into a ferocious blaze upon release.

The monster's howls grew louder as the flame intensified. It flailed its arms around in a futile attempt to extinguish the fire, but Adelle knew that its short arms wouldn't be able to reach the dagger lodged in its lowest back-neck.

Adelle backed away from the burning ogre, maintaining a safe distance. She concentrated on channeling her remaining Vis of Ardor in her dagger, determined to complete her plan to boil the ogre's brain.

Despite its attempts to put out the flames, the creature proved to be quite resilient. Its screams grew even more horrific as it rose up, its eyes scanning the area in search of the source of the attack.

The ogre's primitive mind concluded that the small human it had seen before the flames had erupted was responsible for its pain.

In a split second, the ogre's attention turned from the burning pain to Adelle, who was retreating backward.

Its eyes locked onto her, and with a furious roar, it charged towards her, causing the ground to shake with each step.

'How persistent.'

Realizing the danger that was approaching her, Adelle quickly turned around and started running away from the ogre.

As she ran, she looked for any way to slow the creature down, using small bushes and trees to block its path and slow its movement.

But despite Adelle's efforts to slow the ogre down with vegetation, it wasn't enough.

The enraged creature forcefully trampled over any smaller trees that stood in its way, and soon it was clear that the desperate creature was faster than her.

Adelle was unable to escape from the ogre's pursuit as she had to maintain her concentration on the flame.

However, the fire's intensity had decreased slightly as she was unable to fully focus while running.

As the ogre closed in on Adelle, the gap between them quickly shrank. With a menacing swing of its arm, the creature aimed to strike the small human in front of it.

However, Adelle was quick to react and lunged forward, narrowly dodging the attack.

'Oh, no. This is bad. Why hasn't he died already?'

The flame from her dagger is getting smaller. It gave the ogre chances to fight back for a longer moment.

'Fine, then. Head-to-head it is.'

Adelle turned to face the monster, taking the opportunity to regain her focus and gather a fresh batch of Ardor. However, she knew that the risk was high.

As she prepared herself, the ogre once again launched a fist towards her. Adelle quickly lunged forward and rolled out of the way, hair's breadth away from the powerful blow that struck the ground with enough force to cause the soil to crumble.

Adelle quickly adapted to the situation and shifted her Vis from her hand to her mouth. With a deep breath, she unleashed a continuous stream of fire that engulfed the ogre.

The creature lurched and wailed, trying to stay away from the fire as Adelle closed in for the final blow. She moved forward with the fire breath, cornering the ogre.

In a last, desperate attempt, the ogre reached for a tall tree trunk that it had trampled before and swung it with all its might towards Adelle.

Adelle failed to notice the swinging tree trunk in time, and by the time she saw it, it was too late.

She had a swift chance blocking the incoming impact with the iron pads on her arms, but the force exerted by the enraged ogre was far greater than she anticipated.

As a result, she was roughly thrown to the ground.

"Ugh, bastard!"