Lila directed the light of her lantern towards Aira. The undead woman froze and then looked at her as if she did not understand her questions. She shook her head and reached out with her hand to her belt as if to take out a weapon. Lila jumped back, fear overwhelming her.
Was that it? Aira got what she wanted, and now she didn't need the stupid human sidekick anymore?
But Aira continued the motion, moving her hand deliberately and slowly. She wasn't going to attack. She showed that she wasn't aggressive.
She pulled out the journal from her knee pocket and scribbled a couple of words. Still, Lila winced at how much the agility of the undead had changed since she was a captive at the town hall. Gone were slow and uneven motions. She was writing with the speed and precision of a professional scribe now.
Aira turned the page to Lila: "I didn't kill them. All of them are alive. Maybe the ones that fell from the roofs will have minor bruises, but that's it. I hoped you'd understand."
"How would I even guess that?" Lila exclaimed. "Spirits in the shadows! It was just like in the morning! You disabled Korin the same way as Garrick. And Garrick is dead! You wouldn't deny that, right?"
Aira wrote more in her journal and showed it to Lila again: "We can go back and check on them if you want. But I'm not sure it's safe. And that may lead to me killing someone."
And then that smiling face at the end.
"Arrghh!" growled Lila. "What should I do?!?"
Aira showed her another sentence. "Now you are speaking my language!"
She growled as well.
Obviously done with the conversation, the undead woman turned her back to Lila as if nothing had happened. It seemed that she got her answer and didn't even consider there was any danger coming from the human. So, she focused intently on the hatch as if considering whether to blast it with her outworldish powers as well.
Lila made up her mind, stretched out her hand, hesitated, and then touched Aira's shoulder. "Wait. There's an easy way to open it." With a turn of the wheel, she unlocked the hatch, and then went out, appearing at the fringes of the Southern Forest. The first glimmer of dawn was coloring the sky above them. A new day was beginning.
Outside, the hatch was masked behind an inconspicuous boulder. But even with these security measures, Lila now felt like the people of Mountain View had become too relaxed. She chuckled. Did she really need to over-analyze this hatch and tunnel if they all missed the signs of Garrick preparing a coup?
***
The forest around them looked pretty much the same as the one that Aira experienced in her first hours in this world. That wasn't really surprising. The rangers didn't have to walk too far after they captured her. Even if the march lasted for hours, they had to carry Aira on their backs, which slowed the progress, and they weren't too far from that abandoned house.
The trees were much more familiar to her now than a month earlier. There were fewer leaves on the branches, and more were on the ground now. But that was to be expected; more than a month had passed since the last time.
Still, somehow, being in the open space, in the forest, overwhelmed Aira with emotions. These weren't the trees of her world. Well, they were the same trees, with branches and leaves. But the colors were wrong. The leaves had different shapes, and everything was slightly off. Aira touched the bark of the nearest tree. It even felt wrong under her fingers.
Yet, now she had no choice but to get used to these new sensations. In the same way, she had to get used to this new Energy Manipulation skill.
Not losing a beat, she activated the skill and observed her surroundings. In every direction, she saw objects filled with energy. She and Lila definitely stood out, but the trees were shining as brightly within her magical perception.
Aira directed her senses back, towards the town. No one was following them through the tunnel. But she quickly traced their path back to the street where they clashed with Korin. She could feel the ranger's body still lying there; he and his men were definitely alive, even if incapacitated.
She probed further, feeling she could easily reach out to the center of the town and even beyond. Now, she sensed hundreds and even thousands of energy signatures. Humans, pets, rodents, trees, and much more. Momentarily, she became overwhelmed by all the signals she was receiving and deactivated the skill.
What was its limit?
Aira took out her journal once again and scribbled a bit more. She couldn't help but notice how Lila reacted when she took it out, back there in the tunnel. The woman was obviously spooked by her actions. Now, they had to rebuild their relationship from scratch.
"I can sense Korin and his fellows," she handed the note to Lila. "They are unconscious but alive. Someone will find them and they will be alright, I'm sure. Maybe with a bit of damage to their pride. But they'll survive."
Lila winced once again as she read the text. "You can feel them from here? Ah, whatever..."
***
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The human led the way. Even during the night, she chose the paths with confidence and precision. It felt like Lila could navigate the area even with her eyes closed. But that wasn't surprising since she spent years patrolling the area.
Since her arrival to this world, Aira didn't feel as strong an urge to explain herself, a necessity to talk. To discuss at least some of her powers and abilities.
Still, when the only option was to communicate through writing, there needed to be a better place and time. Even worse, Aira wasn't sure she herself understood these powers well enough to explain them to anyone, let alone a person who had never experienced magic.
And also, the morning light was still dim. It wasn't safe either to write or to read while walking.
Unexpectedly, Lila started talking. "I really hope it's true that you didn't kill them," she said. "They were good people. Unlike those who decided to join Garrick in his rebellion. But I don't know how even to believe you. Your powers... they are so strange! If all of the undead have the same abilities, why didn't they kills us all yet? You have to be so much more powerful than we are."
Aira spread her hands wide and then pointed to her journal as if to show that she didn't know how to answer these questions without writing a lengthy essay.
"Yeah, figures," Lila said.
Aira gestured as if trying to apologize for their stunted style of communication.
"Yeah, yeah..." said Lila. "I understand, don't worry. It's a long talk. But we gotta hash it out soon as we find somewhere safe to hunker down."
The night was humid, and early morning covered the grass and moss with dew that glistened under the first light of the new day. It probably rained earlier, as the ground was still wet, and the air was thick with smells of damp decaying leaves. There were no signs of any animals, as they were too close to the human settlement. But even birds shied away from two travelers, scared by their deliberate movement.
An hour later, the unlikely pair, human and undead, came to a clearing with a half-decayed cabin, not unlike the one where Aira spent her first night in this world.
After all this walking, Aira was too absorbed in her thoughts. But Lila broke the silence, startling her. "I need to rest a bit. It should be safe to spend some time here. I'm as worn out as a mule in spring planting, and I can't keep my wits about me with you doing... whatever it is that you do."
Aira took out her journal. "Sure, I'll keep watch. I'll sense if anyone would be approaching us," she wrote. "What is our destination?"
"I have a place in mind," Lila grimly said. "I thought about going there while Garrick was burning the Elders. Funny how seeing a friend and your mentors on the stakes brings all your old escape plans to mind. Guess I've always kept one eye on the way out."
They set up a camp, and as soon as Lila fell asleep, Aira prepared to meditate. She hasn't been neglecting her routines during captivity, but now, when she recovered at least some of her powers, it was even more critical to reintroduce magic to her daily training. Especially as it was so... different.
What was even more exciting to her was that the physical part of her training should be much more fun now that she has recovered at least some of the boosts provided by her 100th level. When you increase your level gradually, the boosts improve almost imperceptibly. But when you lose everything and then gain your powers back in just one day... Yes, that feeling was practically ecstatic.
Still, one thing bothered her. Alright, many things bothered her, but this one... it wasn't something she ever expected to worry about. In the past weeks, she noticed that she had less demand for sleep and food. That was one of the changes that happened to her after she was transported to this world. She thought of dozens of explanations, including stress, loss of magic, and level modifiers.
But now, her arcane powers were back. And what has changed was that she felt even less need for sleep and food than before. It was like she was constantly filling her energy reserves from outside sources.
She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds surrounding her: morning chatter of birds, wind rustling the leafless branches, and howling in the fragile chimney of the building. She smelled the decayed wood of the cabin with a touch of rust. Not opening her eyes, she stretched her hands and touched whatever she could reach: planks, kitchen utensils, and nails scattered on the floor.
Once again, she was ready for the last stage. This time, it was easier for her to make that final step. But still, this new magic was uncharted territory for her. So, she started with things she was already familiar with: the currents inside her wristband gadget and the energy of the tablet she stored in her backpack. She checked on the peaceful energy emanated by Lila. She was calmly dreaming, filled with energy, almost an endless source.
Promptly, Aira switched to other things, afraid she could affect her companion's sleep. She probed the trees that surrounded the cabin. Again, she was surprised to feel that even while they seemed dormant and deprived of life during late autumn, they also stored lots of energy.
Tracing the flows, Aira tried to draw some of that power, as she did with mana. To shape it. She did that slowly, trying not to overwhelm herself. She wasn't in a rush anymore. Aira diverted some of the energy from the plants surrounding her, noticing that before reaching her, that arcane power had first to interact with her wristband.
Was that why she couldn't access the System's capabilities without any of these devices? Did they have to be the gateway for her powers?
Even while she didn't rush, the energy was overwhelming. It was like a wave covering her during a powerful storm. Tumbling her around, dragging her, not letting go. At the same time, she felt it boosting and filling her reserves.
Aira checked her stats, and as expected, her health bar was finally getting closer to the full level. Just this morning, she reached a record low but recovered pretty fast, all things considered. On the pyre, it was exacerbated by the fact that she didn't have any level multipliers affecting her health. Still, it was hard to say what the exact number was. Her current race, the undead, could have modified it. It was hard to tell. But still, her health level probably was several times lower than it was now, with her regained access to the System.
At the end of her meditation, Aira checked her quest menu. It felt like a fool's errand, as it only showed question marks last time. Another glitch of the System. But it was better to be thorough with it being so unfamiliar and strange.
--- Active Quests ---
1. ???
2. ???
3. ???
4. ???
--- Completed Quests ---
1. Find allies and escape the settlement (Rewards: Skill; 100,000 XP)
"What?!?" Aira thought, not believing her eyes. "One quest is already completed, and three new ones active. Well, let's hope our path will continue to coincide with what the System has prepared for me."
She read the message until the end. "So, a skill, huh?"
For Aira, two main ways to acquire new skills were through quests, as it happened just now, or through leveling up. Once every five levels, she got an opportunity to add one new skill to her arsenal. She didn't have to acquire it. Moreover, she didn't always have enough skill points to do that. As the number of her skills increased, it became more and more expensive to add new ones.
What both infuriated and made Aira curious at the current moment was that the twenty-nine skills she lost still counted against the price of the acquisition of a new one. Did that mean they were still with her, hidden somewhere deep within?