I had around 8 hours before meeting with Verdant, and I chose to use that time by spending it with my family. Irisa especially. God, her world had been twisted upside down, thrown to the wolves, set on fire, and tossed into the sea.   

But she was strong. Once the danger was over, she went back to training with Dad. Mom, I, and the members of Pawsome Fables were outside in the courtyard. I had briefed them on my latest mission to infiltrate Atrix.    

Oddly enough, Irisa was much calmer. She told me to be safe, of course, but she knew this was something I could handle. Seeing her sister train so hard got Erin in the mood, so I sparred with her for a few.   

I got humbled a thousand times when I first trained with Dad. But my body feels so adjusted… The SP I spent after killing Oswell’s group is kicking in. I can feel the improvements down to my toes.   

To warm up, I sped through the basics of the Iron Tree Stance Dad taught me with Kronto. The moves flowed together more flawlessly than before. He didn’t have to whistle to get me back on track. Dad was still my better in every way—something demonstrated when I challenged him to a match. Even with my increased speed, he was there to meet my thrusts and swipes with counters reinforced by his strength, knocking me to my ass.  

Dad was just... He was just so amazing...  

Erin joined in. Spending time with us like this was good for her nerves. I was broken, so perhaps I didn’t feel what everyone else felt after sheltering during a genuine battle.   

Was Mom scared? Did Dad fear the worst? What about Chax and Ginnie? They lived through something frightening and harrowing, so did the potential thought of an invading army swirl up memories that were best forgotten?  

…  

What about the town? It was almost pandemonium when Gretchen sent her messengers through the streets, telling them to seek shelter. Women and children running and screaming to get to their houses. The town became eerily quiet in almost no time as the menfolk gathered their weapons and prepared for a potential siege. 

How long would it take to go back to normal? Just when would the town feel like a town again? When would the citizens feel safe enough to think of Plymoise as their home, not a grave?  

I didn’t know. I didn’t have any experience in that type of stuff.   

And I also didn’t have any experience in perceiving mana.  After spending more time with Erin, I went to Niva’s room. Primrose answered, and I strolled in to take a seat beside her. Tris had already informed them about me leaving later tonight.    

“Okay, it’s time. I’ve already bought and upgraded [Mana Perception] to Lv. 3. [Mana Language] is at Lv. 2. I don’t have much SP left. If you can teach me how to use it, I can have my clones work on leveling them up.”   

“Yes! Mistress, it works like this.” Niva chanted, and in the spot where her other eye should have been was a vibrant-colored magic circle. “Ah…” Suddenly, she reached a hand to my head and then touched my cheeks. A few fingers went to my ears, and then she sweetly smiled. “You’re beautiful, Mistress. This is the first time I’ve seen your face. You look so strong…it’s just like what I'd imagined." 

“Thank you, Niva. That’s sweet.”  

It was time to start. “I must chant, but you should only have to think it.”   

“Okay, I did. My vision went white.”  

“The angle of viewing is too open, Lord Springfield.” Primrose crouched and placed a hand over my right eye. “Do you feel my fingers? I'm making a squeezing motion. Try to replicate that.” The spirit told me Lei was sitting to my right, so I pictured that odd feeling and focused. The stark whiteness…almost left?    

I felt it getting hazier, kind of, and weaker. After an hour, I said it reminded me of staring into a white room with white lights. 

“No… Not like that. Focus on my fingertips. Summoner?”  

“Mistress, umm… Can I see your hand?” I said she could. Niva drew a circle on my palm. Then she made another one, except it was smaller. And then another even smaller one. “Don’t try to close the angle at once. It won’t work. Go slowly. Umm… Think of it like you’re squinting.”  

“That’s a better way of putting it. Squint, Lord Springfield, but avoid moving your ‘eye.’ [Mana Perception] works by implanting a magic circle that converts mana to the visible spectrum. Fine-tune the circle. However, I’m sure it's different for other people. You are a Soul Warrior, so I cannot be sure that the same rules apply to you. You’re also a chimera, so that may change things.”  

I knew the mechanics behind it. But putting them into motion?   

I opened a [Skyview] window on myself and observed the magic circle over my right eye. I thought seeing it from an outsider’s perspective would help…  

And it did? Squinting without squinting was difficult. But as the afternoon turned to dusk, I was still stuck.   

Tris knocked on the door earlier and said dinner was almost done. The plan was to eat with the family before meeting Verdant at the ministry.   

“Please don’t be discouraged!” Niva said, pointing at Lei as the slime jumped around the room. She was proficient enough to track it, so she trained like this.   

“I have [Eyes of the Huntress]. Think that might have something to do with it?”  

“It could be,” Primrose said, putting a finger to her chin. “Susize Vredi had it, yes? I’m sure she accessed its full potential. Didn’t you say you unlocked… What’d you call it? A ‘zoom’ feature?” I nodded and said it was like looking through a telescope or a spyglass.  

Primrose manipulated her vines and used [Minor Heal] on herself, but only Niva saw the warm glow of mana. 

It was still nothing for me.   

But I wasn’t discouraged…   

It was getting late. Before heading off, I enjoyed a quick dinner in the dining hall. Everyone escorted me to the lobby when it was time to leave. Delouise carried four wrapped lunches and thanked me profusely for protecting Plymoise. He said his family had lived here for multiple generations. Having it meet a brutal, violent end while he ran it would stain his family’s legacy. He didn’t know how he would ever face his ancestors in the afterlife if this failure marked his soul.    

He was…as close as you could get without crying. He really was a nice fellow. As kind as you could get while being totally respectful of this strangeness I brought with me everywhere I went. The same went for the maids and butlers. Green eyes, grassy freckles, and emerald scales looked at me like I was a heroine. They thanked me for my service throughout the day.   

Surtr was already outside waiting to take me to the ministry, so after one final round of hugs, kisses, and head pats, it was time to leave.   

But I told Irisa I wanted to talk with her about something important when I returned. She just nodded and said okay before wishing me well two more times.   

---

“Verdant, let me pick your mind for a bit." I looked at my traveling companion. We were walking down the ‘road’ with nothing but silence, night, and a bunch of brown, dry, dusty rock. The Forest Elf wore the same outfit-- only the green parts were colored orange. 

Before we left, Verdant helped me pick out an outfit to replace mine since we were infiltrating a city-state. I wished I had that black outfit I got at Susize’s mansion, but it was destroyed. Until now, I had worn the outfit Susize wore when attending diplomatic functions, although the specific look was recreated by combining garments from her, Beccy, Reina, and Yaekira.  

However, I replaced that with an orange dress that shimmered like the sun when light hit it, which matched my eye and hair color. Under it, I wore a black shirt with long sleeves. A black and orange belt wrapped around my waist. Orange boots completed the outfit. I tried to wear regular boots, but Susize must’ve worn heels nearly all day because nothing else felt right, so we were delayed for a few minutes while I swapped them for a pair with heels. 

 

“I’m not sure I follow, Lord Springfield.”  

“You can call me Mila.” I pointed to my orange hair. She thought it was an illusion spell. I wouldn't correct her. I asked her about [Mana Perception]. She knew of the skill and had it, and she showed it to me once I asked.   

Instead of the magic circle appearing outside the eye—overlayed on top—it was etched into her iris. It was smaller, too. I activated mine and asked for her help in using it.   

Verdant didn’t need to say what she thought because her face betrayed her. She wondered how a High Elf—one who seemed so powerful—struggled with something so easy?  

She said visualizing mana came to her because she was born a Forest Elf. How ironic an elf of the forest was born in this dry, barren landscape. But she said she picked up on it early in her childhood. It came to her as easy as breathing. “But your situation is unique, Lord—Mila. It’s unheard of.”  

“I never had…the chance to dance and play in Vredi Forest. I don’t remember it much. And I was cast out from Springfield Forest in no time at all. You could say I’m a human pretending to be a High Elf—that these long ears are just for show. But I’ve accepted that. I can’t turn back time and change how I was treated. Nor do I want to. At least I have [Eyes of the Huntress].”  

More lies.    

Verdant exclaimed that was the key. [Eyes of the Huntress] was a powerful skill, granting many effects without needing five or six different skills to achieve the same thing. I could see in the dark, zoom in, and track fast moving objects. Dad’s strikes were more easily trackable—I noticed that when we trained. But that was only 3 effects out of…I didn’t even know how many.   

Verdant hinted that [Mana Perception] could combine with [Eyes of the Huntress]. As we walked to our resting spot, she guided me through the same troubleshooting Niva and Primrose did. It really was like an adjustable flashlight. The problem wasn’t understanding the mechanics of how it worked.   

It was doing the damn thing. My companion tried to help for six hours, but by the time we reached a part of the land that had cracked and shifted to take shelter inside a hidden, hollowed chamber... 

We hadn’t progressed an inch.    

Verdant retrieved a wrapped sandwich from the backpack she brought with her, then poured a hot drink from a bottle into a traveling cup attached to it. It smelled sweet, like tea.   

She offered food, but I said I had already eaten. I asked another question.  

“[Mana Language]? Yes, I have it. I don’t know any ice magic, but I’m a practitioner of [Wind Magic].” She chanted and used the rather weak spell after I asked her…but it was translated…by my newly acquired [Mana Language]. “Ventus Pulsus, Flatus Firmus, Per Palma Emissus, Aeris Vortex!” From her outstretched palms came a solid ball of wind. It blasted from her hand and smacked into the wall, making a sudden, sharp noise before dispersing.   

“I trust you’ve realized the secret behind chanting? The language one uses to cast spells differs from person to person. It’s always related to something they feel strongly about. For me? It’s my Elven heritage. I’m proud of my blood. In layman’s terms, this is what it means to me. By elven bond and harmony profound, I weave enchantments, the air’s essence unbound. With ancient words, carried on zephyr’s flight, I cast [Wind Blast], a tempest of might!”   

I wanted to make a few clones and put them to work learning the spell. Unfortunately, [Wooden Puppetry] didn’t work like that. The experience they earned didn’t transfer to the caster.

So, I practiced alone, with Verdant watching while she ate.   

Soon, it was time to sleep the day away to continue our nightly journey to Atrix. I stopped practicing, but Verdant said she could sleep through the noise.   

And so?  

I kept the training up. But I did use clones after Verdant was sound asleep. They marched outside this hollow chamber and got to work. I only stopped to refill my mana and biomass when it was low. [Mana Regeneration] was getting a workout, but it never leveled up.    

I’d probably have to find a place of pure mana—maybe some mystical spring? My regeneration would kick into overdrive if I was there. It could have outpaced the drain, giving me unlimited mana.    

I canceled my clones an hour before Verdant woke for breakfast. An entire night’s progress had passed me, and I wasn’t close to manually acquiring [Wind Magic] or [Wind Blast].   

Once I acquired the former, seven spells would be at my disposal because the wind spells I gained from assimilation were stored within it. That was another reason why chimera grew stronger exponentially.   

And I don’t need the chant to use it after I cast a spell for the first time… That’s super useful. Once I get enough root words, Tris can make spells for me.    

Verdant asked if I remained awake, and I nodded, saying sleep did very little for me. When asked if it was related to me being a High Elf, it was easier to remain silent and nod, which prompted her to speak of the future.   

Every elf wanted to become a High Elf or a Dark Elf, and Verdant wasn’t different. She was born a Forest Elf, so the only option available was those two. Whereas if she were a regular elf, there would be about two dozen evolutions for her to work towards. Fate played a role in her being born without having a choice. Verdant admitted to me that, while rare, you could find elves or dwarves suffering at being alive as an evolved species that didn’t match their feelings. She used an Ice Elf who felt disgusted at how he understood life as an example. This elf never felt safe or satisfied in his body and wished to change himself.   

But he couldn’t.   

You couldn’t regress to the first stage of evolution and try a different approach. This inability to respect himself… Verdant didn’t want to explain further, but her cryptic words hinted that this elf wandered into a volcanic region and forcibly tried to adapt to the environment.   

He died alone, afraid, and angry.   

Verdant shared a personal fear with me. She…was afraid to evolve—afraid to change. She didn’t know what it entailed to undergo something that drastic. Being a Forest Elf was all she had ever known. And she loved Plymoise. If nothing else, she wanted to further devote herself to her city-state—to see it thrive for the decades to come.   

Her dedication was remarkable. As we packed up and left to start on the second leg of this journey, she timidly asked me more questions about how life worked as a High Elf.   

I wasn’t the best authority on that—for obvious reasons—yet I did my best. Verdant promised to help me with [Eyes of the Huntress] and [Mana Perception].    

---

While the journey ahead of us wasn’t overly challenging, it still took longer than we would have liked. Not because we strictly traveled at night, under the blossoming glow of the moonlight, but because we kept running into hidden camps. When the Atrixian army retreated, they left little bases behind. The unlit pyres behind them? They were to ignite them if they saw Plymoise’s approaching army. Then the next hidden camp would light theirs, and so on, and so on.   

We had first encountered them during our second night of traveling—only a handful of minutes after coming to the first village Atrix had scorched to the ground. The dead were left rotting in the elements, and the livestock were butchered. The homes were little more than cinders. Verdant… She lost it. The Forest Elf collapsed to her knees and mourned the dead with eyes slick with heavy, angry tears while her face took this grimace.    

She detested the bastards. Verdant was close to a few soldiers who had perished in the skirmish, and she often visited the villages along this route when it was time to meet with her spies.    

My sharp eyes had seen movement in the distance, and I sent my ‘spirit birds,’ as Verdant called them, to investigate.   

When I told her what I saw, her face took a look of revenge, and as a woman dictated by my utter hatred of a Holy Lord and her shitty little Soul Warriors, I felt obligated to end the lives of these miserable wretches.  

However, wiping out the scouting parties offered two opportunities I couldn’t pass up.    

Fighting with my Soul Weapon naturally helped me unlock additional abilities and weapons.   

By using the zooming feature of [Eyes of the Huntress] and [Mana Perception] simultaneously, Verdant theorized it was possible I could somehow trigger an upgrade to the former to allow me the ability of the latter. The problem was this: using [Mana Perception] in the untrained state turned my vision stark white. Verdant’s assistance was greatly needed to help keep my aim centered on my targets. To ensure they would die in one shot, I used [Ira Ignis] to enhance my flame skills, charged [Fireball] with [Chimeric Armatization], and used my newly acquired lightning enchantment to give me a boost with my rifle. I had to be quick because using those drained my mana, biomass, and soul energy. Verdant was taken aback by my flaming horns, but it was something she just accepted.   

No. If it meant the Atrixian scum would die, Verdant was happy…   

I could probably tell her I’m a chimera, and she’d appreciate the help of a ‘monster’ to kill her enemies. But I won’t. It’s not worth it.    

Without fail, and when it was time to leave after wiping out a camp, I secretly left behind a clone to assimilate the ashy corpses. Sure, the fodder was weak. Almost too useless since most weren’t even Lv. 25, but it was better than nothing.    

And the villages… The dead were dead, and I ensured a clone assimilated the burnt corpses…  

I didn’t really care much about letting them rest in a grave.    

Gunfire? Yes, it was loud, but in the barren wilderness, the wild animals and monsters roamed, howled, yelped, and growled. The sharp crackle of gunshots wasn’t that out of the ordinary because similar sounds were heard.    

During these nights, Tris kept in touch. She couldn’t handle [Skyview] or any other ability, but her voice was welcomed.  I still had access, but everything took so long to do that it reminded me of when I first awoken [Biological AI].   

Tris also mentioned Gretchen was performing funerals for the soldiers who died in the skirmish. My family paid their respects, and the city’s inhabitants worked together to dig the graves. Burial rites here involved giving the deceased something green to hold. It signified a piece of the Vestige would follow their loved ones into the afterlife to keep them safe and sound. Being put to rest without one was only reserved for heinous criminals and enemy combatants.   

Likewise, the other city-states had something similar with their respective colors.    

When it was time to rest, I devoted four clones to acquiring [Wind Magic] and [Wind Blast] after Verdant was asleep. They practiced until the sunset, doing the same thing over and over and over again.   

But I was not close to acquiring them. My Skill Menu displayed I had those skills available for purchase, so I had to be somewhat close to it. Like hell would I waste my SP.  

Besides, Verdant taught me more spells, but my [Mana Language] was too low-level to handle most of them. But I learned the chant to [Lightning Ball]—a lightning version of [Fireball], [Aerial Slice]—a spell similar to [Razor Wind], and [Root Restraint]—a spell that created thick roots to bind around the feet of your enemies.    

With [Chimeric Armatization], the first turned my guns into a bolt of living lightning, the second transformed them into volatile wind that felt cold and dangerous, and the last encased my weapons in thick, brown roots that curled around my forearm.   

Recoil wasn’t a problem, but it was lowered with the added support.    

---

It happened five nights after leaving Plymoise.  

“Do you see them, Mila?” asked Verdant from my hiding spot near a desert-colored boulder. Her voice was cold and stoic. How could it not have been after passing almost half-a-dozen burnt, ravaged villages? Each one showcased a little bit more of Atrix’s brutality.    

“Yeah. Four this time.”  

“The valley’s just past that.”  

“I definitely see the fog. We’ll camp after taking out this scouting party.” I readied my rifle and took aim. “Then we’ll reach our destination tomorrow.”  

It was like clockwork—something I had done dozens of times over the past days. Verdant helped me adjust my aim…and after firing the first shot…  

[Eyes of the Huntress] and [Mana Perception] combined into [Arcane Sight: Veil of Mystical Vision].  

Right away, the world of stark whiteness gave way to a monochrome reality, where the only color came from the flame’s crimson mana burning corpses.   

That’s fire mana, my lord. Congratulations!!! Tris’s slightly shaky voice echoed in my mind, and I heard her clapping. Verdant noticed it because I quickly killed the remaining scouts without her instructions.    

We rushed to the camp and scavenged for anything potentially useful, then proceeded to the last resting spot for this journey. Like always, a slime clone was left behind to assimilate the corpses.    

“It’s always intimidating,” Verdant whispered from our cave. It held a false wall—our camping spot, but she peeked at the foggy abyss awaiting us.   

“How’d you get past it before?” I asked.   

“It’s probably destroyed, but a path leads down to the valley about four miles away. If you can sneak to the other side, there’s a section of the valley with hollowed handholds. It’s a perilously difficult climb, but it’s possible.”  

“We won’t go that way.”  

“Then how?”  

“Fly.” I played my flute and transfigured my wings. Using [Song Magic] as a proxy worked so well. This was even better because I actually had [Flight Magic]. What I did was wholly possible by a non-chimera. “When it’s time to depart, I’ll carry you. I’ll send my spirit birds ahead to verify a flight path.”  

I’d rather have Tris do it, but she needs a few days to cool down. My map’s not responsive enough to do that in real-time.