“Do you have any news regarding the ingredients we discussed yesterday?” Belaury asked as I continued filling the bucket with ice.

Keeping my eyes on the task, I nodded. I didn’t want to lose focus. Realising she was waiting for an actual reply, I elaborated. “Anna, gave us permission to access the pantry tonight. She says everything should be there.”

“How is Sylvia doing? Is it really that bad?”

Her attempts at conversation weren’t welcome. They were too distracting. I was doing very well so far, so messing up when I was close to being done was not an option for me. I couldn’t help frowning because of it. I paused to answer.

“I didn’t tell you to stop, Nora.” Although brief, I saw the corners of her mouth rise.

“You are doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

She openly laughed in response. “I am. I didn’t think you’d get the hang of it so quickly, so I’m trying to increase the difficulty. Consider it an additional part of your training. You won’t always have the luxury of using your magic in peace, so it’s good that you get used to it this early.”

My shoulders slumped. I sighed, knowing it was true, regardless of how annoying it was. “That makes sense, I guess.”

“Of course it does. Now, get back to work and answer my questions.”

My eyes went back to the spheres, and I gave her the reply she wanted as I continued. “She seems to be better now. I never got to see the worst of it, but everyone else says it was really bad.”

“I see. It’s good that she’s feeling better. Let’s hope it stays that way, but it will be best if she has Vik’s potion at hand, just in case. What about your benefactor? Any news on that?”

I shook my head subtly. “Didn’t answer at all yesterday. The last thing it told me was that it needed more mana. It also asked me to keep training like this.”

Belaury brought a hand to her chin and hummed. “It’s the first time I hear about a spirit requiring mana at all.”

“Is this an impostor, then? Oh, no… What if it’s listening to this?”

She laughed. “Not necessarily. And don’t worry, I doubt the spirit would be offended by you being cautious. It probably expected as much when it chose you. Now that I think about it, there could be a reason behind this revelation. If you remember what I told you days ago, back when my ancestors first learned of the existence of the gods and spirits, they lived surrounded by naturally occurring mana.

“It was also around that time when spirits were most active in communication. They never stopped talking, but after migrating to the main continent, cases of blessed individuals that never heard the voice of their benefactor became common. There is a possibility that the blessed individuals who could still hear them knew about it and chose not to reveal it. Maybe it was the spirits who thought it wasn’t worth mentioning at all. While mana was no longer present in the air, there were still plenty of magic users they could obtain it from. I wouldn’t worry about it, if I were you. Even if it turns out to be your imagination, it can’t harm you.”

Contrary to my teacher’s expectations, I managed to clear the first challenge on my second day of training. I could tell she was pleased behind that curtain of disappointment she showed after her unsuccessful attempts at making me fail.

The class ended with Belaury taking back the pebble and throwing the ice balls back to the lake, just like she did the day before. Surprisingly, Alex never spoke during the class. I didn’t know if it was because he truly had no questions or he actually listened to what Belaury said, but it was the first time she didn’t even glare at him as we got ready to head back.

I finally saw Dr. Blake during dinner. I didn’t get the chance to talk to him since he was sitting with the other scientists, but it was good to know he wasn’t forgetting to eat.

Anna did sit with us, though, and she had no problem in getting us up to date with the investigation they were holding. The spiders remained unchanged, which meant the reason for the virus’s activity was still a mystery. Trying to get any clues to solve the puzzle, she asked us to donate blood, saliva and other biological samples. The last time they had taken anything from me was when my mutation had just finished, and I did remember receiving a confirmation that, while the virus was still present in my body, it wasn’t active at all.

When I asked for the reason, she explained that they feared the virus could be active in us again. We had a reason to be concerned. I certainly didn’t like the idea of going through such a terrible process again, and the possibility of changing to something even farther from my former human self was actually a bit terrifying. Then again, if the spiders weren’t changing, why would we? Perhaps the virus being active again was what caused me to finally see my body as normal, despite me knowing it wasn’t.

Anna got the samples after eating, and then she locked herself back in the laboratory with the rest of the crew. Everyone else parted ways, as always. It was quite late, so Alex and I were the only ones who didn’t feel sleepy. What he did when everyone else went to bed wasn’t clear to me. I tried asking once, but he said he simply patrolled around the place. Sometimes the forest and others the inside of the building. It was hard to believe that was all he did. There had to be something else.

Tonight, however, we infiltrated the pantry to get the ingredients from the list. Thankfully, we found most of what we needed. Viken had been kind enough to add some alternatives in case we didn’t find the ones from the original recipe. The note at the bottom of the secondary list said that using those decreased the potency of the potion a bit, so getting the main ones was still the best option.

Other than the fennel seeds, we found everything Viken asked for. We proceeded to take the loot outside and looked for a place to hide it. Unlike the last time, hiding it under Sylvia’s chair wouldn’t work. We ended up selecting the hollow of a tree we found in the playground as the place to hide our stuff. No one other than me ever went there, so it was the safest location. Having covered the box containing everything with a few leaves, we went back to the building. The cooling box would be marked as missing, considering it belonged to the kitchen, but we would make sure to return it the same way we took it.

Back inside, the last task was taking the list, highlighting the ingredients we took and slipping it under Anna’s door so she could access the system and change the inventory first thing in the morning. Alex took care of that since his room was closer to hers.

Following my routine, I turned on my tablet and checked my messages. Mom’s last project was completed, meaning they would finally come to visit the next weekend. Mary, on the other hand, sent me a link to a new article showing the progress of the culling around the world. Looking at the map, it was interesting to see that Eredel was the place with the least amount of infections. I’d heard from Anna that we got a couple of potential cases per day, normally in the morning, but they always turned out to be false alarms or immune victims. We weren’t the only ones either. It was as if the inhabitants of the biggest cities were less compatible with the virus. To say it was suspicious was an understatement. Sure enough, it encouraged the conspiracy theories to continue, since many of those cities were also the ones with higher ranked nobility. Considering that Eredel was the capital city and the home to high royalty, it certainly made me raise an eyebrow.

After saving the link for future reference, I turned off my tablet and went to bed with the gemstone Belaury gifted me in hand. I tried contacting the spirit as I fiddled with the red jewel, but just like the previous night, it didn’t answer.

Why does it need mana, anyway?

Shouldn’t spirits have their own?

I would need to ask eventually, assuming it did come back. Finally feeling sleepy, I placed the ruby on my nightstand and went to sleep.

The next day, I entered the cafeteria to see Jack, who had finally returned home. Next to him sat two new individuals having lunch. One of them looked oddly familiar, though I was sure I had never met him before. A white guy with black hair and blue eyes. He wasn’t much older than me and wore the same hospital gown I used during my first weeks here. Dr. Blake, Lucy, Sylvia and Allison were talking to him, but he seemed uncomfortable.

The other man was tan skinned, with green eyes and red hair, not like Anna’s, which was actually orange, but dyed crimson. He was somewhere in his thirties and wore a uniform that looked similar to that of the royal guards, though it was different in colour, being black instead of the usual blue. The logo on the chest was different as well. Replacing the golden crown over a red background, there was a white ghost-looking figure with a black background surrounded by a golden ring. Next to his chair rested an ornamented sword. Carrying that kind of sword was proof of his status as a knight, but everything else was too odd. Either he was a real member of a knight group I didn’t know, or he was doing a very poor job at impersonating one. Considering how everyone else was acting around him, I assumed it was the former. No one was stupid enough to associate with someone who was impersonating a knight, regardless of how secluded the place was. The man was currently chatting with Rex, who seemed quite comfortable around him.

My presence didn’t go unnoticed. With my appearance, it wasn’t something easy to do, even with those who already knew me. So I understood it when Crimson Head was having a particularly hard time looking away from me as I went to get my food. It made me somewhat uncomfortable, but it was harmless.

“Hi guys,” I said, finally approaching the table. “And welcome back, Jack.”

He bobbed his head once in response.

I then took a seat and looked at the newcomers. “I’m Nora. Who are you, guys?”

“Sir Keith Edwards,” Crimson Head replied. “I’m a knight of the Spectres of Kelpont. There’s no need for titles, though. Just call me Keith.”

My eyes widened at the revelation. While that explained the logo and uniform, Alex and Reginn hadn’t mentioned the Spectres were actually knights. “You’re the one who helped them escape!” I shouted. It was clear given how Rex interacted with him when I arrived.

“I am. I’m glad to see I made the right choice by sending them here. Is Alex still asleep?”

I nodded. “Yes. Unlike me, he’s fully nocturnal. You won’t see him for a few more hours.”

“Oh, right. I forgot.”

“And who are you?” I asked, focusing on the other guy. He, however, looked away.

Is he shy?

“Connor,” he suddenly mumbled.

I snorted. “Connor? Do you have any nicknames or another way you’d like me to call you? There’s another Connor here, so it could lead to some confusion.”

“He’s that Connor, Nora,” Anna commented.

My eyebrows knitted as I stared at the guy once more. It then dawned on me that the reason he looked so familiar was that I had seen him before, back when his transformation was still in progress. He had already changed a little then, so I couldn’t connect the dots.

“H-how is this possible? A cure? So fast?”

Connor looked down after hearing that.

Anna shook her head and explained. “An illusion, actually. You see that ring on his finger?” I did. It was a silver ring set with what looked to be an amethyst. “It’s enchanted with an illusion spell that lets the wearer disguise themselves as human.”

I turned to look at Jack. “Did you make it?”

“No,” he replied. “I enchanted it, though.”

“He told me about you and Connor and what you were trying to achieve here, so I took him to an acquaintance of mine who could teach him what he needed for this,” Keith added.

“A real ancient vampire!” Dr. Blake shouted with a huge smile on his face.

Keith proceeded to explain that this vampire was a survivor of the Race Wars that Belaury and Viken had already told us about. Of course, he told us about that too. His version of the story portrayed magical races as selfish beings who discriminated against humans and gnomes for their lack of magic. According to the knight, it was the elves who started the conflict by poisoning Cyana Uldeos during a diplomatic visit to their kingdom.

Comparing both stories, each side claimed to be the victim, although the war was described in a similar fashion by both. A surprise attack orchestrated by the humans and gnomes was how it officially started. He also mentioned the gnomes betrayed humans by destroying the libraries and other sources of knowledge they could have obtained through the conflict. Knowledge that the magical races kept to themselves out of greed. That was the reason they were executed.

His story followed up with the founding of the Eclipse, a knight's order created with the sole purpose of eradicating the magical beings and to erase their legacy from the world. Their actions led mankind to eventually forget about the existence of these beings, now considered stuff of myth and legend, and this continued to be their mission for centuries, only coming to an end as they became more aware of their own cruelty. He didn’t go into much detail about this, but it seemed to have something to do with how Varazt Island became a barren land. It did confirm to me that this place was the same Belaury described as the land that elfkin held sacred as the birthplace of their kind.

From being ruthless hunters, the members of Eclipse eventually became protectors, adopting the name of Spectre. Their new goal was to locate, protect and hide the remaining members of the races in an attempt to redeem themselves. Thanks to the arrival of the MAV, however, their plans took a drastic turn. Now we were also under their protection, and their new goal was to ease our transition into our new lives in a legal sense.

Among the survivors, there was a family of vampires who blended with humans so well that they acquired their own cattle and eventually were able to buy an abandoned castle in Kelpont. Having the perfect shelter and access to everything they needed, they rarely interacted with the outside but did so with enough frequency that they avoided rumours from their neighbours. The father, Veller Zawn, was a master of illusion, so he also made use of his magic to change their appearance in order to hide their long lifespans. After the Spectres found them, their cover only improved as it was now backed with official documents.

“Mr. Zawn was more than willing to pass on his knowledge,” Keith continued. “Unfortunately, while you are already able to use magic, Connor is not familiar with it, so we still needed a flyttium ring to set the gem on. Because of that, while he taught Jack what he needed to enchant rings with the illusion spell, I made a small trip to our vault to get the ring he needed.”

“I thought it was silver,” Dr. Blake interrupted. “I’m afraid I’m not familiar with this flyttium you mention.”

“Right. I must have forgotten to explain it earlier. There’s a reason you’ve never heard of it. Flyttium is what we call a magic alloy,” Keith explained. “It’s a magic infused metal, in other words. There are many kinds of magic alloys, and all of them have different properties, but no one knows how to craft them anymore. Nowadays, the only place you’ll find them is with the remaining survivors or in our vaults. Flyttium is a special material that can transfer mana from one vessel to another. In this case, Connor’s mana is sent to the gemstone through that ring. This allows him to use the enchantment in it, even if he doesn’t have control of his core. From what I recall, the only downside this kind of tool has is that there is no way to control the flow of mana. It will drain it constantly, so it can only be used with low-cost spells like this. Removing the ring is also the only way to stop it.”

“I’m just glad I don’t look like a monster anymore,” Connor said.

Keith sighed. “I hate to be the one to say this, but you shouldn’t get used to it. I agree with Lucy when she said that it can be used to calm your dysmorphia, but it’s not a permanent solution. As the name states, it’s merely an illusion. It can’t actually change what you are. All you need is a glimpse of the mirror or to have a picture taken, and your real self will be in full display. Mr. Zawn mentioned a superior variant of this spell, though the nature of such magic is elemental, and we have yet to meet a single elementalist. Either they’re all dead or they made use of this spell to avoid us all this time.”

Belaury’s image came to my mind at that moment. Did she know such a spell? She had claimed to have mastered elemental magic, and the fact that she and Viken made it so far without being detected strongly supported that idea.

They did disappear when we first met them.

There was only one way to find out. I needed to ask her directly.