We headed into the darkness, walking through the ancient tunnels with nothing but our steps and the stifling silence surrounding us along the path. My hands stiffly clutched onto the shaft of my silvery metal staff, which I, over the time of this week, genuinely began to recognize as my primary weapon. At first I tended to leave it back in my room when I went walking around the outpost, but in the second half of the week I was bringing it with me everywhere I went. Even the toilet…

I felt as if an amused smile stretched across my face in the wake of the strange thought.

It turns out magic is even more addictive than smartphones.

We would have been already traveling around half an hour if my instincts didn’t lie to me. I had a hard time following the passing of time in this environment. To my amazement, the dwarfs seemed to be the complete opposite in that regard. They could even tell if it was nighttime or daytime, which I had absolutely no idea how to attempt.

I was guessing that they were simply pulling my leg, but the certainty and lack of humor in their voice when they talked about that seemed to suggest it otherwise.

Still, nothing of note happened over this short time period. Not that I expected to run into anything dangerous this close to the outpost. Even if the scouts were called back from the farther reaches of the caves since the unforeseen battle with the hobgoblins, the primary patrols circling the outpost were still at work.

The dwarfs were not keen on allowing some dangerous creature to make a nest near the already regained territory of the deep roads. Neither was I, come to think of it.

The immediate area surrounding the outpost was considered relatively safe, after all.

We came to a sudden stop.

I looked around but didn’t notice anything unusual. My ears twitched as I strained my hearing, but even then I couldn’t pick up any suspicious noise in the surrounding caves. Instead of that, I listened in on their conversation.

Tum was asking Emrum in a low whisper. — “There is a cavern to our left and one to our right as well. The one on our right is closer, but it is in the direction you and your group run into those bastards a week ago. What do you suggest we use?”

I could see that Emrum’s expression darkened momentarily. He sighed and spoke in a steely voice. — “We should go to the one on the left. There is no reason to tempt faith in such uncouth ways.”

Tum nodded with a solemn expression and turned to the left, where I only now noticed a narrow gap in the rock wall. If I was alone, I would simply walk by it, never even noticing its existence. I envied the confidence with which the dwarfs traveled this place. I didn’t even attempt to convince myself otherwise. I decided to give voice to my thoughts.

“You guys move so comfortably in this place… while I struggle to not trip over even with the help of my staff… I can’t help but envy the lot of you…”

My words were followed by a few seconds of surprised silence, then the narrow cave was filled with chuckles and snorts. My ears twitched, and I felt embarrassed. Was it really that funny? I was talking genuinely, though…

Skod, who was right behind me, spoke up in a disbelieving tone. — “What are you rambling on, lass? Of course, we are used to caves. We live the majority of our lives in similar caves as this. I for one never even set foot on that surface of yours and I am sixty-seven years old. Besides, most dwarfs would feel lost in those wide places, not even mentioning the forests. We have our own elements…” — The others grunted agreeably.

I gaped when the words registered in my mind and couldn’t help but turn around looking at the somewhat shorter dwarf with a mystified look.

The black-haired man looked at me, clearly surprised by my reaction. — “What now?” — He asked since he couldn’t walk by me thanks to the narrowed corridor.

“You have never been on the surface? Never saw the sky or the Sun?” — As a former human, I couldn’t quite imagine something like that.

The man seemed a bit uncomfortable with my stare and questions, but he nodded, taking on an uncaring attitude.

“Ay, nor am I particularly interested in them. How you find your way in such wide spaces I can’t fathom. Without the corridors or tunnels, to lead you to places… no, my head hurts from the thought alone. That would mean you can go in any direction… nah! I would get lost in a second. It’s just confusing. How you surface folk find your way is a wonder.”

I blinked, then blinked again. Attempting and failing to understand the deeper implications. I felt like my worldview was flipped on its axis, suddenly imagining the world from the perspective of a dwarf.

Who would have thought that they were confused by wide places of all? Yet it was so logical, since they lived their whole lives in narrow caves… hah, this world was much weirder than I ever anticipated.

I was grabbed by my shoulder and forcefully turned forward, also receiving a not exactly gentle shove in said direction. — “Now if you stopped your ogling, we can get back on the move, lass. Believe me, you don’t want to spend the night outside of the outpost with our current numbers.”

I barely caught my footing from the unexpected shove when I heard those words. I looked over my shoulder at the rude bastard… the words flowing out of my mouth without any filter. — “I wasn’t ogling you…”

The dwarf snorted at that and was about to push me again. But seeing his movement, I skittered out of his way, catching up with the rest of the team that was waiting for our conversation to end a few meters ahead.

With that done, we continued on our way. My thoughts traveling along with the shore of our previous conversation.

We had our own elements, was what Skod said. Right… I wonder what my element is? Metropolitan streets probably, in a way, they count as a different kind of forest… hah… I have a feeling that there are not many places like that here…

We walked, following the narrow passage for another half an hour. It was at that time when the passage unexpectedly ended and we found ourselves in a larger cavern, so wide that the simple torches brought along by my companions weren’t enough to assess the width and height of this new chamber.

Emrum patted me on the shoulder, and I turned towards him.

“Selora, would you be kind enough?” — I looked at him for an empty second before realizing what he meant.

“Ah, of course!” — He was the only one who knew the range and strength of my light creation since he was in the cave when I did it a week ago.

I stepped past Tymur and Tum, who stood at the side, torch in his hand.

They followed me with their eyes, curious of what I was getting at. I raised my staff in the air, turned back to them over my shoulder, a playful smile sneaking up on my face.

“You probably want to cover your eyes for a second.” — With that I looked forward confidently, channeling power into the spell I could use with a mere thought.

A silver light began to radiate from the staff, growing stronger and stronger with every second. Soon enough, the cavern was covered in a moonlight like glow. We looked around, taking in the sight.

“I guess we arrived.” — I said, seeing what was far the biggest cavern since I came to this world.

Emrum stepped up to my side with the rest of the group. — “Ay, your guess is right, Selora.”

I turned to the dwarf, who I considered my first friend in this world. — “You can call me Lora, Emrum. I… consider you a friend…”

The man looked at me, a surprised glint crossing his dark brown eyes. I turned back to the cave, staring at the effects of my magic, an action which filled me with a sense of comfort. Something I needed to replace the lingering doubt in the bottom of my stomach.

There was a moment of silence before Emrum answered in a warm voice. — “Ay, its Lora then.”

Tymur chuckled from my other side. — “I guess you liked that little nickname I got you.”

I smiled, surprisingly not embarrassed by his words anymore as I said. — “Maybe.” — That elicited another snort from the grumpy dwarf.

Tum and Skod wordlessly listened to our interactions. The moment we turned silent, Tum stepped in front of us and said with a strict tone. — “We should proceed with our plans. We will pierce a few lit torches into the ground towards the middle of the cavern. So you will see enough to cast your magic.”

I nodded, and the small group got to work. In a few minutes or so, the impromptu training field was created, and I stood at its edge.

Emrum waved at me from the side of the lighted field. Signaling that I can start my chanting.

I grasped the staff, taking a deep breath, clearing my mind of unnecessary thoughts.

This time, I utilized all the information I painstakingly learned over the many attempts at spell-casting throughout this week. I separated a large enough chunk of my magical pull based on my ingrained knowledge of this spell, envisioned the precise image in which I desired to change the surrounding. Then brought forward the chant itself from my memories.

This time, I placed the staff on its pointy edge in a way that it touched the ground between my feet. Grasping its shaft with both hands, I closed my eyes while speaking the words of power.

Each syllable was filled with a sluggish but powerful energy, unlike lightning that was unruly and ready to burst out of control at any second. Earth was much more comfortable to mold to my will.

“Heed my call and come forth, sleeping powers, hidden beneath my feet. I, Selora, servant of creation, demand your obedience, raise!” — I shouted, in a slight daze, and euphoria. Casting magic was nothing short of an intoxicating sensation, as I no doubt mentioned before.

As the last word left my mouth, I felt a solemn but continuous shake resonating through the cave just under my feet. Soon enough I saw the upper layers of the cave’s floor magically peel off, snaking or downright flying towards the slowly rising earth wall forming in the image of my previous intentions.

When the shaking stopped, I gazed upon the three meter high and five meter thick cuboid rock formation perfectly capable of closing a medium-sized tunnel.

Ugh? Is that really it?

Were my first thoughts, after casting the spell perfectly at my first attempt. I mean… I really struggled with the lightning blast spell. Was that actually true, what those random dwarfs argued between themselves? Maybe it was beginner’s luck, or I have a talent with earth magic…

The nearby dwarfs, seeing that my spell went perfectly well, exchanged curious glances. Then gave me a bored stare.

“Lora…” — Emrum began with a judgemental tone.

“W-what?!” — I bit my lips in frustration. — “It wasn’t that I wanted to stretch the time… really, I wasn’t sure if I could cast this spell, okay? It was years since I last used it…”

Tymur shook his head with a disbelieving expression. — “I find it hard to believe that someone so obviously enamored by magic as you wouldn’t find the opportunity to cast spells for so long… What is that you are not telling us, girl?”

I looked at Tymur with a pair of wide silver eyes. Then I realized something… Since I came here, I spent almost every day at the shooting field, casting spells until I was too tired to do anymore. Based on that impression, saying that I didn’t cast certain spells for years really seemed fishy.

I was beginning to panic internally, trying to figure out some believable lie to explain it, but since the unexpectedness of the question, I didn’t come up with anything.

Seeing my nervous expression, Skod chuckled loudly, drawing everyone’s attention to himself. — “Haha… based on that ugly face she is making, I bet she was punished by her teacher. Were you a naughty girl, Lora?”

I felt a mix of emotions, a sense of relief, reluctance, and embarrassment because of the way Skod worded that particular question. Relief since this provided the perfect explanation to get out of this situation, a reluctance to admit something that will clearly bite me in the ass sooner than later and embarrassment because… well, that one I think is obvious.

The others carefully analyzed the variety of emotions appearing on my face in quick succession.

I bit my lips again as I spoke in a low voice. — “… Was it that obvious…?”

Skod seemingly took pity on me after seeing my flushed cheeks. — “Girl… if you didn’t forget, you came here via using some forbidden teleportation spell which you were clearly not ready to attempt. Most of us suspect that you are a hell of a student to teach anything. No matter how talented you might be…”

The dwarfs grunted in confirmation.

A snarky smile stretched on Tum’s face as he asked. — “So, what was it?”

I looked at him, confused. — “What was what?”

The man rolled his eyes, a rare sight on a dwarf. — “The thing you did to be punished by forbidding to cast magic for years, girl.”

I looked down to the ground in thought, before saying the first thing that came to mind and could cause such strict punishment among a bunch of tree hugging elves. — “Oh… well, I accidentally burned down a chunk of the sacred forest…”

Emrum glared at me, his mouth falling wide open, unable to speak coherent words. — “…”

Tum froze, with the previous smirk on his face, saying. — “…Shit…”

Tymur shook his head slowly, with a grim expression while grabbing the bridge of his nose. Murmuring to himself. — “… I can see how that might do it… yes… You are lucky to be alive, no doubt the only reason for that is the fact you are a clueless kid.”

Skod — “… Shouldn’t we just… I don’t know, leave her here before she does that to our outpost?”

I looked up with a sudden burst of fear. — “Ahaha-ha… it was but a joke… you know? Of course, I would never do… such a thing…”

I was rewarded with four pairs of dull stares, and I quickly shut up.