Lila sighed heavily, put one of the cups in the sink, removed a towel from her shoulder, and put it on the countertop.

"Ah... That..." she said. "I explained some of that to you during the past weeks. I never knew how much is it safe to let out, though. All of us... we are taught from our childhood that the undead are the enemy. That we have to stay away to be safe."

She took a deep breath, returned to the table, sat near Aira, and took her hand. "But you are so different from the stories," she said. "Elder's memory... You overturned the whole world for me. Even before you told me that our world isn't the only one out there."

Aira looked at her questioningly.

"Yeah, I know," Lila said. "Not a real answer. I was stuck here, in the town. For a long time, I felt that I didn't belong. I was intrigued when the Elders ordered us to change our approach towards the undead. But now, after what Garrick did... And especially after I stole your body from the central square, I definitely need to skip the town."

"Even during your execution," she continued, "I was thinking about a hideout. And I know a place."

"That's good," Aira wrote. "Because I definitely need to escape this town."

Lila nodded, her expression serious. "I'll help you. It's unsafe to leave right now; the village is in shambles and every single ranger that is left is on the lookout. We need to wait at least a few hours."

In a few words, Lila explained to Aira the consequences of what her and Garrick's actions have done. The whole power structure was destroyed. First, Garrick killed all the other Elders. And then, he and his gang were killed during the burning. It is a whole mystery for everyone in the town, and everyone is scared. Still, people would find time for politics even in such dire times. Maybe, especially in times like that.

Some traders and artisans wanted a spot on the council for years. And, of course, ranger commanders like Korin were inspired by Garrick's promotion. Now, they were also working to seize a new opportunity.

"Luckily, it seems that everybody forgot about you in the subsequent panic and power struggle," Lila continued." And they didn't make the connection between you and the deaths yet. We just need to lay low for a bit, and an opportunity will show up. In the meanwhile, you have to rest and recover. These burns are insane! How did you even walk those few steps to reach Garrick?!"

Aira glanced at her hands, recalling the raw energy she had felt coursing through her during the confrontation with Garrick. "Energy Manipulation," she thought, testing the feel of the new skill. "It might be our key to getting out of here."

On the tablet, she wrote: "I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve."

"Ah, yes," said Lila. "Magic. How could I forget?"

"Could you give me a moment?" wrote Aira. "I need to explore my connection with this new gadget."

"Well, root me sideways!" said Lila. "Of course! Connection! That's the most reasonable thing to do... What's next, you'll start talking to the lampposts in the street? Ah, whatever... I'll go check with a couple of my friends. We need to know the state of affairs in the town."

Aira looked at her in bewilderment. But then decided not to push the issue. "Is it safe to go out?" she wrote.

Lila hesitated for a moment. "I don't know," she said. "But I hope I should still have some friends out there. They'll help, I have to believe that."

As soon as Lila left, Aira found a nice corner right there in the kitchen and sat on the floor. Somehow, she felt she needed to be grounded for the best results. Quite literally. The furniture, the boards, and everything surrounding her now loomed large over her, boosting her sense of safety. Just a little bit. But that slight difference was enough for her to dive into that arcane and explore her new magic.

Even if she couldn't stand it much longer before reaching the last stage of her meditation routine, she did it the proper way. This time, she started with the scents. Especially as in this kitchen, they were pretty intriguing. While Lila didn't seem very fond of cooking, she had a small collection of local spices. And not all of them were similar to what Aira had in her old world. Focusing on the unfamiliar fragrances, Aira started the exploration of each of her senses.

In the previous weeks, Aira has tried to reach the final stage of her meditation on so many occasions. And every time, day after day, she felt only a depressing emptiness there, where her magic should have manifested.

Even now, for a brief moment, she was on the brink of panic. What if it doesn't work? Yes, she definitely had gained some access to magic. And she could read the System stats. But what if?... After you experienced only this unforgiving void for weeks, you start to doubt yourself when everything has to work out.

With a conscious effort, she pushed aside all these thoughts and reached out with her senses to the wristband on her forearm.

There it was, that power she experienced during the execution. Aira explored its multifaceted nature. It manifested her connection to the System, but also, some source of energy was hidden within the gadget. And even that wasn't it. More magical signatures were hidden within the device. And outwards from it, she felt strands of arcane forces reaching out in all directions, enveloping this town.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"But if there's magic everywhere around us, why humans don't seem to use arcane powers at all?" Aira thought. "I should probably ask Lila how these devices work. Even if she doesn't know anything about magic, her knowledge may help me improve my mastery of the gadgets."

Mentally, she picked several of the strands of energy and started following them.

Again, she felt more energy signatures present within the house. Like that small plant on the window, she tapped into it to heat Lila's tea. And, of course, there were more of them without. There were the streetlights out there, as before; she could see their outlines through her magical perception. She herself was a powerful source as well. More powerful than anything else in the vicinity.

Around the house, she also found a few signatures of humans. It was evening already, so most of them were at home, doing the last chores before sleep. Still, at least a couple of people walked down the street. The glow they emitted was almost similar to hers. Even if there were minute differences in the patterns. Nearly unlimited sources of energy.

Aira stopped abruptly. Was she really considering humans as mere sources of energy now?

"How does this magic even work?" Aira thought. "I can transfer energy, but what else can I do with it? And what happened with mana?"

She briefly checked her status.

--- Current Status ---

Health: 431/555

Mana: ???/???

SP Used: 61,694

SP Available: 5,657

XP: 67,351,000 / 69,141,000 (Next Level: 101, Legendary)

At least she was healing very quickly. Much faster than she'd expected with her old powers. She made another note for the future: to do some tests and figure out how her manipulation of ambient energy affected the stats.

Once again, she extended her senses, focusing them, picking separate energy patterns and signatures that swirled all around her. This town wasn't very green. Streets were mostly paved with stone, and every free spot was occupied by buildings. But there were enough trees and bushes to allow her to try these new abilities on something besides that small plant on Lila's windowsill.

She probed even further, recognizing the signatures of humans and animals. Memorizing their locations as if using her old Scanning and Marking skill. Birds sat on the roofs of buildings. In the sewers, there were some rats and other rodents. On a nearby square, she focused on a copse of trees. She tried to remember if she saw them during their walks with Lila. But they never really ventured too far from the town hall.

The trees were almost as powerful as humans and animals. And she noted all of them. The depth of their energy reserves seemed different but still very potent. From now on, cataloging everything around her should become her everyday routine. To keep a constant list of sources of arcane power and possible dangers.

Due to some twist of fate or Systemic irony, only one skill remained available to Aira. A steep decline compared to her old choice of thirty. However, it was already apparent that some of its capabilities may prove even more beneficial than what she had with her Mana Manipulation. Her mind was already preparing to use the most of it.

Aira stored all that information, understanding that she must learn to harness these new capabilities. Starting from the basics and building up to the full proficiency of the skill's ninth level. And hopefully, even beyond. Each fifth level of any skill gave some additional powers. And Aira couldn't wait until she had an opportunity to upgrade Energy Manipulation.

Returning from these stray thoughts to her meditation and exploring the energy signatures, she sensed a fast-moving object. It was farther away, on a nearby street. The patterns hinted that it should be a human running in her direction. Getting closer to the house she was in.

Aira jumped to her feet in surprise, instinctively drawing some of the energy from those trees towards her, filling her reserves. She didn't take much, and it didn't seem that the trees' glow had diminished even a bit. They probably wouldn't complain even if they could. However, she felt empowered even more than she was when she first regained access to the System.

She crossed the kitchen in two giant strides and hid behind the door.

Moments later, Lila burst into the room. And Aira let out a sigh of relief. Only now did she realize how much of a stressed spring ready to release its energy she was. After a slow month filled with frustration, events escalated within the twenty-six hours of the day. And most of that time, Aira was lying unconscious in Lila's home, without any chance to process what was happening, all the changes, and their meaning for her life.

Lila turned on a dime, seeing Aira hidden behind the door. "Fox's whiskers! What's happening?" she asked. "You scared me!"

Aira held her hand placatingly in front of her and stepped back to the table. "You scared me!" she wrote. "I sensed someone running back to the house and got spooked."

"You sensed?!?" asked Lila. "By the bark, you could sense me from afar? What does that even mean?"

"From the next street," Aira wrote. "Just before you passed this square with a couple of trees. And why did you even have to run?"

"You know what?" said Lila. "I can't deal with that right now."

She took a deep breath as if trying to calm down the adrenaline rush of her sprint and Aira's surprise.

"We need to get moving soon. This night is our best bet," Lila said. "I talked to a couple of people out there. It seems they still haven't made a connection between me and your disappearance. But I don't think we should wait until tomorrow. With each hour, we risk more and more. And here in the town, there's almost no places to hide. It's not an Ancient City where your brethren supposedly live."

She walked towards the table and sat near Aira.

"But the patrols are tricky. Rangers are understaffed now. However, I'm sure they will have at least someone on duty. We've got one shot at this. I know their routes like the back of my hand, so if we're lucky, there will be a gap right after the guards change. Just stick close, and we'll slip through like morning fog."

"Need a distraction?" Aira wrote. "Or would you prefer a stealthy approach?"

"A bit of both," Lila said thoughtfully. "We can't afford to draw too much attention, but a small distraction might give us the needed edge. We just need to get past the patrols. And then, it should be safe. No one should follow us outside of the town. Not with everything else that's happening here. In the end, it's only an undead running away. They should be happy it to get rid of you."

Aira nodded, her mind racing with possibilities. She wrote: "What do you have in mind?"

Lila smiled, a glint of mischief in her eyes. "Leave that to me. I also know some tricks."

Aira raised an eyebrow, a silent question in her gaze.

"Don't worry," Lila said. "I've handled worse. Well, maybe not worse. It's hard to beat a coup and conspiracy with an undead enemy. Just be ready to move when I give the signal."