Aira's legs felt lighter than they should as she bounded up the crumbling stairwell, each step pushed by the faint hum of energy c through her veins. After their everyday interaining with Li, which was occasionally supplemented by instrus from Ainorrh, Aira felt that her body was ging and being more effit.

  There was no way to measure the ges precisely, as she did with full access to her System stats before her transformation. But still, every step she took oairwells of the a building was easier than during their initial climb when they first approached the enlightened city.

  Climbing had been a torment those first days after she started training with Li. Her muscles rebelled, every step pulling at aches she didn't ked. She'd colpsed onto her treehouse bed that night, her limbs too stiff to do more than tremble. Now, though, the climb felt different—not pletely effortless, but smoother, like her body had found a new rhythm.

  That, probably, was one of the first signs of the ges in her body. Never before had she experiehat kind of non-magical training. Still, it robably long until that moment when this ge would be enough to bat the debuffs she got, thanks to her undead body and rabsp;

  Now, Aira sat on the edge of the roof. The ruins, bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, cast long shadows that danced in the evening breeze. The old towers that survived, thanks to the magic of the enlightened, were surrounded by the other buildings of the a city. Most of the outskirts were covered with rubble of the fallen structures. It was a bizarre dispy of nature reg this area covered with stone aal. Materials processed by the humans of the old times slowly replenishing the p's reserves.

  Whe rays of the evening sun were caressing her face, passing to her the st fleeting warmth of this spring day, Aira decided to start her ritual. It was the best way to unch her meditation with this calming and peaceful feeling.

  Habitually, she started by fog on each of her senses one by one. Closing her eyes but still feeling the afterglow of the evening sun. The wind brought her sts of the enlightened settlement with their insane variety of pnts. They were spiced up a bit by the metal and stone of the a city that surrouhe forest.

  When the sun finally dipped below the horizon, Aira felt the temperature drop, first with her fad then with her whole body. Suddenly, the wind's caress became chilling and not as friendly. Still, she embraced these feelings, cataloging them, adding them to the picture of her surroundings she was building in her mind.

  Not even opening her eyes, Aira brushed the roof's surface with her hands, sensing the chipped stone of the building, soil brought here by the wind over the turies, and even some pnts that were growing in this not-the-frie of enviros.

  Now, Aira was ready to move on to the final and the most essential part of her meditation, eg with the are. She began with probing the wind currents around her with her Energy Manipution skill. She didn't io influehe wind, only trace its flow and feel its power.

  But not with her skin, like moments before, with her other senses.

  Aira wao analyze its energy and trace where it led.

  In the previous months, she tried more than oo tap into different types of energy of this world. In some cases, she was successful. Even more than successful: these iions literally saved her life. But with the other types of energy that she now ko be elemental, Aira wasn't as lucky.

  One of the things that eluded her was the power of the water current. She could sehe hidden energy of the rivers and smaller streams they crossed during their journey with Li. But she was never able to access anything besides flora and fauna and occasional fires to fill her personal reserves. Ahese past experiences included humans she killed or incapacitated during the flight from Mountain View and the defense of the a facility Li and Aira turned into their temporary base.

  But the streams weren't the only source that she couldn't master yet. The power of the wind and the warmth of the sun were so easily verted by the sor pahat there was much more for her to explore.

  Aira felt ready to try a different approaot to manipute or force herself onto these powers but to gently explore and move with them.

  It had to be a gentle danot a brute-force attack.

  Time blurred as Aira sat cross-legged on the rooftop, the wind teasing her with its elusive patterns. It brushed her cheek one moment, only to vanish into stillhe . Hours slipped by as she reached out, her seretg thin like threads in a web, hoping to catch even the fai ripple of its path. The wind was coy, pyful—there one moment, gohe , dario us secrets.

  This meditation sted lohan most of the other sessions Aira had ever had. For the first few hours, finding this e with the wind was hard. So subtle it was. It blew around Aira, stantly ging dire, not allowing to figure out its source or destination. It was as if the wind deciphered her pns and just wao py with her, trick her.

  Slowly, Aira began to feel the rhythm beh the chaos—a whisper of sistency hidden in the swirling currents. Each breeze carried its ow, its own story. One danced with the forest's pollen, light and fragrant, while another barreled down from the distant mountains, sharp and biting. Aira let herself drift with them, her seretg outward like a leaf riding the wind, drawably toward a tral force she could almost—but not quite—grasp.

  She cherished the moments wheouched her fad expanded her probing outwards, feeling where they we and trying to trace them to their source.

  And then, Aira felt that there were multiple patterns peting with each other and sometimes plementing and boosting one another. But also, that there was ahe maihe most powerful.

  Every current seemed to verge on a single point, a nexus hidden deep within the heart of the enlightened settlement. Aira felt its pull, subtle but undeniable, like a hiddebeat thrummih the surface. Whatever y there, it wasn't just a souragic—it was alive, vibrant… aware?

  Aira tried to remember if, during these previous days and weeks of walks and exploration, they had ever wandered right to the ter of the enlightened city, and it felt like they never did. Every time, they were either distracted or led away by someone or something.

  Had they been steered away from this pce deliberately? Aira's mind ed with questions. The enlightened had been nothing but kind, but now she couldn't shake the feeling that something y hidden—a secret buried at the forest's core, shielded from curious eyes.

  tent with her progress and the results of the meditation Aira woke up from her reverie. She was sitting oop floor of the a building, fag west, where the su ho. Now, she felt the warmth of the rising suing the back of her head.

  Sensing the stiffness of her joints, Aira turned with a groan to face the first light of the new m. The high buildings still prevehe light from ing to the enlightened forest. But all the tops of the a high-rises were now gleaming in the sun.

  Aira had to share the new revetions with Li to pn the steps. Their hosts were nothing but kind to them, and she didn't want to overstep and infringe on their hospitality. But this felt like a huge step forward in adapting her magical seo this world. And, who knew, maybe that was the step in her quest.

  ***

  Aira felt a pang of nostalgia as she walked through the forest back to their treehouse. The vibrant life around her was a stark trast to the deg ruins of her memories. But also, it was a reminder of so many transformations she had gohrough in the past few months.

  Her old life now seemed so scheduled. Her development path shtforward and predictable. Now, she had to find new ways to approach the are just to survive. And furthering her quest was absolutely impossible without experimentation.

  The wind whispered secrets to her, stirring a longing for the days when her magic flowed effortlessly. But then, when she gave it a thought, Aira was sure she wouldn't want to return to being her old self. She finally started to realize that this new life recisely what she needed. And who knew how far would it lead her? Another world? Anical System?

  There were so many differences betweewo worlds she had already experienced. And still, so many things worked alike, includiioween different fas and even people ihese groups. She found a friend here. But was it smart to entirely rely on these enlightened? Believe everything they told them?

  Yet, even this new challenge invigorated her. It was a ce to rei herself in this strange new world. To beore than she ever was before. Even with a limited set of skills.

  "By the roots, are you tellihere's still a er of this forest we haven't rustled through yet?" Li wrote back after she read Aira's note. "It's sprawling, sure, but I'd wager we'd sniffed out every branch by now. If what you've found holds water, well, that's got me sharper than frost to figure it out. I'm a ranger, you know."

  "What should we do about it?" asked Aira.

  "Best we wait and see what Ainorrh stirs up," Li said. "By the fox's whiskers, she's got a knack for sniffing out your breakthroughs. Could be she spills answers we didn't even knoere hunting for."

  "Or maybe they are just listening to what we say here," said Aira ptively.

  "Or maybe that," agreed Li.

  ***

  After their traditional m training, it was finally time to meet with Ainorrh. This time, she wasn't alone, bringing along another enlightened.

  "By the bark, I know this one!" Li said, eyes lighting up. "Aira, remember that… uh, ritual, or whatever it was, from a bit before? This is the one who walked me bao doubt about it. I wouldn't mistake his amazing hair for anything else!"

  Before transting everything to Ainorrh, Aira took a moment to get a measure of the newer as well. For some reason, it felt like she knew him. And it wasn't only because of that brief enter Li mentiohe glow of the elemental forces of Wentouk still overwhelmed her. However, following the progress of the previous night, it was easier for Aira to untangle separate signatures.

  And that recisely what made this person familiar.

  Aira transted Li's ents to Ainorrh, who answered with a smile: "Your friend is absolutely right. This is Alliot, he is one of our defenders and a representative of a younger geion of enlightened."

  She looked directly at Li and tinued, knowing that Aira would pass her message.

  "And it wasn't a ritual, they were just training their magic," Ainorrh said. "It doesn't differ too much from the routines you and Aira follow for practice. You call it a game or a sport of sorts if you like."

  "Younger geion?" Li asked, intrigued. "Does it mean that he's one of these people who naturally transformed to be an enlightened in the ret turies?"

  "It is a bit more plicated than that," said Ainorrh, "But you are not pletely wrong."

  "Would you mind adding him to the party?" Ainorrh said to Aira. "It would be much easier if I didn't have to transte our discussion to multiple people. It seems quite enough that you have to stantly keep your tact with me and Li. We don't o add even more plexity to our unication."

  Aira hesitated for a moment. Was it a calcuted prompt from Ainorrh? She had to spend her skill points to upgrade her Two is a Crowd skill. Not much, but still. Was she testing her in some way? Also, Aira remembered well how Ainorrh mentiohat their skill upgrades went much differently. Maybe she just wao experience Aira's process?

  Well, she had to prepare herself for disappoi. It retty dull in Aira's case.

  "Sure, why not?" Aira said, "I do that."

  --- Skills ---[...]2. Two is a Crowd (Level 1 / 24 SP to upgrade to Level 2)Upgrade further [Y/N]?

  Aira mentally gave the right and through her System interface.

  Two is a Crowd (Level 2 / 81 SP to upgrade to Level 3)- Invite 2 members to the party- Maximum distance of the party chat: [200 m x Level] = 20 km- Party members share quests- Party members get XP for fulfilled quests (depending on their participation)- Party members see each other's stats

  Upgrade further [Y/N]?

  Ainorrh and Alliot were looking at Aira with wide eyes.

  "What? Right here?" asked Ainorrh in astonishment. "You don't have to prepare?"

  "I didn't try to mislead you earlier," said Aira. "I don't have to do anything special or duct a ritual. And this didn't ge when I found myself in a new world."

  Aira stopped, not upgrading her skill any further. At least for now. There were no other people she po add to the party any time soon, especially as Li didn't have access to the System at all.

  Iure? Things may ge, or she may o reserve her skill points for other things.

  --- Party Interface ---Maximum party invitations: 2Current party size: 1 (including the host)Invite a new party member [Y/N]?

  "Invite Alliot."

  ...Alliot io join the party. Awaiting firmation…

  Alliot was obviously used to seeing skills upgraded in a ritual as well. He flinched visibly when Aira issued the and. Still, it looked like Ainorrh instructed him on what would happen after. He accepted the invitation momentarily.

  "Wow!" he said, cheg Aira's stats immediately. "You are almost ready to level up!"

  "It's iing that it was the first thing you decided to check," Aira said, smiling. "But still, the st time I gained a level was right before I came to this world. Or… was it during the transition…? Who knows… Anyway, it will take something major to cover the remaining distance. And I'm not sure I'm ready to deal with anything major yet."

  "Well, I didn't bring Alliot here to explore Aira's stats," said Ainorrh, "Now that all the admin stuff is figured out, let's talk!"

  She looked at Alliot pointedly.

  "Right, yes, hi everyone!" Alliot waved his hand, looking at Aira and Li, and smiled. "As Ainorrh probably mentioned, I was trained as one of the defenders of this city. Our task is to sehe ambient magid stantly check if there are any abnormalities or intrusions. Both of the magical kind and instigated by humans."

  "Humans? By the roots, really?" Li asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

  "Yeah…" said Alliot. "That didn't happen ihough."

  "By the Elder's breath, I get that," Li said with a nod. "We've got patrols for the uoo, even though it's been moons sinyone's actually seen one of your… enlightened folk stumbling away from your cities."

  "Yes, but anyway…" said Alliot as soon as he received Aira's transtion of Li's words. "Last night, we felt you, Aira, following the gusts of wind. Probing the air currents and experimenting with magic of our element."

  "I hope I didn't disturb anyone," said Aira, "I was just trying to improve my uanding of this world. And is there a better way to do that than expl it through magic? The st time it happened Ainorrh didn't mention I should limit my exploration. Isn't that right, Ainorrh?"

  "I agree, and we don't have anything against that approach," said Ainorrh. "If anything, it's an opportunity for us to learn something new as well."

  She looked at Alliot and made an expet pause.

  "Ah… Yeah…" said Alliot. "I'm not used to that, sorry. We uand that you felt something that was hidden from you before."

  Now, it was Aira's and Li's turn to exge ghey still didn't have enough ao all of their questions. Was it what Alliot and Ainorrh insihat they just sensed Aira. Or did they indeed listen to their talks? Were they even able to uand their unication?

  "There is some power sour the ter of your settlement," said Aira, making the decision to table her questions for now. "And it has the same fvor as the air magic that you practice. It is reted to the Air element."

  It wasn't even a question. So, Alliot didn't find it necessary to a directly.

  "And it's time to show it to you," he said. "I will be yuide."