I awoke to Illway shifting and talking in her sleep. Although it would be subtle to an average person, the sound of the sheets wrinkling was like bombs to my ears. I tried to go to sleep for a long time after that but could never drift off. It was as if my tiredness was driven away by the soft mumbling of the princess.

Although, to be fair, my inability to go back to sleep was not entirely the princess’s fault. There was also this irritating sensation that I kept feeling. It was as if something was constantly flowing around me without giving me a break.

After an hour of concentrating on the feeling, I finally pinned it down. I was sensing mana, but not the concentrated kind like I had felt in the red coin from the queen. This kind of mana was way more fluid. It was also difficult to detect because it would almost drift away anytime I tried to sense the mana.

Since I could not go back to sleep, I may as well do something else. There were plenty of things I could do, like… train? Or something fun like… training? I don’t really know what to do other than that. It's not like I’ve had much free time in my life.

Maybe I could do something normal. What do ordinary people do though? Watch movies? This planet doesn’t have that technology yet… I guess the equivalent would be watching theater, but I doubt any respectable theater would be open at this hour.

I got off the couch and walked to the door. Although it was dark in the room, my night vision allowed me to get there without stepping or running into anything. I cracked the door lightly and stepped out into the hallway. The door silently opened and closed as I thought about a plan.

I was so caught up in deciding what to do that I didn’t even notice the other person in the hall until they spoke. “Can I help you?”

I jumped back slightly and looked down out of instinct. “Sorry. I didn’t see you there.”

The elf nodded his head understandingly. “So, is there anything you need, Lady Vexia?”

“Why does everyone keep calling me Lady Vexia?” I ask.

The elf looked confused, “Because you are Lady Vexia? The Queen declared that you would receive the title of baroness since you saved her daughter….” He must have seen the look on my face because he asked, “Did you not know that you are a noble?”

“It is new to me.” The princess had mentioned the queen rewarding me, but I thought it would be something minor. Why didn’t she tell me I was awarded a title of nobility? Sure, baron was the lowest rank of nobility, but it was still a big deal.

A slight frown creased the elf’s lips. “I wonder why her majesty never told you… odd. Anyway, is there something else you need help with, ma’am?”

“Yes, please. Is there some kind of training facility or gym I can go to?” I put my newfound nobility to the back of my mind.

“Yes, ma’am, you can use the red eagle’s courtyard.” The elf pulled out a flute and blew a tune on it. An owl’s low-pitched ‘hoooo’ soon overpowered the light sounds of the flute. A massive gray owl appeared on the elf’s shoulder a second later. “My familiar will take you there.”

The owl flapped its wings and hopped onto my shoulder. Surprisingly, the owl weighed next to nothing. Its weight was at extreme odds for such a giant creature.

Even though the owl was light as a feather, I was still uncomfortable. It was unsettling to have a creature so close to my throat, especially considering that it was a familiar of some random elf. But, being the big girl that I am, I put up with my discomfort and didn’t make a fuss about the owl’s position.

Now that the owl was closer, I could see that it wasn’t a real owl. The small cracks in its feathers revealed that it was actually a spirit of some kind. It didn’t have skin or organs, so I could see straight through its gray body. I could also sense mana flowing from it like I had in Illway’s room, but I couldn’t tell if the mana was from the owl itself or the palace.

The owl pointed down the hall as if noticing my attention.

“Thank you,” I said to the elf and walked down the hallway the owl was pointing at.

The journey to the courtyard was a lot quieter than I thought it would be. The wooden hallways I carried the silent owl through were all empty, as if the entire place had been abandoned. Yet there was no dust, so I knew that someone at least took care of this part of the palace.

The owl called in my ear. It pointed towards a large door. Unsurprisingly the entry was made of wood. The owl hopped off my shoulder and flew back the way we came.

Even though the owl had left, I could still feel mana flowing around me. I closed my eyes and focused intently. An image started to form with all of my efforts. It wasn’t a solid image like what I would see on a camera, but a grainy and blurred image of flowing lines. Each of the flowing lines gave off the feeling of mana.

Just as soon as the image arrived, it disappeared. While it was disappointing that I couldn’t trace the mana better, I wasn’t upset because the Records soon rewarded my efforts.

[Skill: [Mana Sense 1]: Level up!(2>3)]

I didn't waste any more time and opened the massive door with little effort.

The ‘courtyard’ was not like I expected. Of the courtyards I had seen, most were made through gaps in a building. This place was not a typical courtyard. I say that because there was no sky access like there is in literally every courtyard I’ve been in. Instead, the wooden walls around the room slowly closed in on themselves. The walls finished closing at least ten stories, which gave the whole place a ton of space.

The courtyard was filled with training equipment enough to train a small army but still had enough space for a couple of giants to sleep. A couple of people in red armor were training using the equipment. At least one thing is like I expected though. The entire yard stunk of sweat, blood, and tears.

“Lady Vexia!” A familiar voice called out to me from a line of dummies against the wall.

“Captain Delora?” I asked. The person who called out to me donned a complete set of armor, including a helmet, so I could only guess based on voice.

“In the flesh.” She pulled off her helmet, revealing her sweat-soaked face, and walked toward me. “What brings you here so early?”

“To train.” There isn’t really another reason to come to a training field than to train. It's kinda in the name. “What time is it?”

The captain looked above the door behind me. “It is… 6:15, I think?”

“You think?”

“Yeah. Sorry, I’m so bad at reading these things. They’re a newer invention, and I have yet to get used to them.” She points above the door behind me.

I turn around and see an enormous wooden clock on the wall. It was the standard, easy-to-understand type of clock found anywhere in the galaxy. The small hand was pointed at three, and the large was on six. “The little hand is the hour hand, and the bigger is the minute. So it's 3:30.”

I barely caught Delora’s blush when I turned around. “Thank you. I was wondering why it felt so early… Ahem… Do you need help training?

“Not really; I think I’ve got it.”

The captain put her helmet back on. “Okay! If you need anything, don’t be scared to ask.” She nodded to me in farewell and headed back to where she came from.

Hmmm… what should I work on first? I really just wanted to test my new powers and body to get used to it. Nothing good would come from fighting without knowing my limits. A single thought pulls up my Record.

[Kali Vexia- Wolfkin(Shadow Dire Wolf) - Mage - Level: 13

Titles:

[Rescuer]

Strength- 25

Intelligence- 25

Dexterity- 20 (+65)

Endurance- 22

Charisma- 30

( () = gear boosts)

Unique:

[Gambler]

Racial:

[Luna], [Shadow Shift], [Rage of the Abyss(tamed)], [Shadow Manipulation 1]

Skills:

[Animal Handling 1], [Overload 1], [Fleet Foot], [Toughen Up 1], [Abnormal Status Resistance], [Shadow Realm], [Dead Eye’s Sight], [Mana Manipulation 1], [Mana Sense 3], [Research], [Shadow Magic 1], [Mana Pool], [Deception 1]

Other:

[Falsification]

Time- 2 years]

The main things I want to test are my magic capabilities. Of course, I had some knowledge on the manipulation of magic since my- since Terry was a mage, but I’ve never actually used it. So I had zero confidence in my capabilities.

I walked to a corner of the large courtyard where no one else was. The corner was made by a wall of mirrors intersecting a dummy-lined wall. The walls were, of course, made of wood.

Really, what was with all of the wood here? This was supposed to be a palace, and wood definitely doesn’t cut it as a defensive material. From what I’ve seen so far, it would only require fire to take down the elves' imperial palace.

That being said, I do have to commend the elvish architects. Whoever designed the palace did not spare a single penny in its creation. The entire place was filled with mana that flowed as if following a god’s veins. I think that the mana was also used in the facilities of the palace. For example, the doors had to have been enchanted since they were easy to move. I also suspected that the scones around the castle had been enchanted to always give off light.

The first thing I tested was [Shadow Shift]. My race had changed, so I wasn’t sure how it would affect my ability to change shape. This insecurity in my knowledge was why I hadn’t shifted last night, even though I was more comfortable sleeping as a wolf.

I used [Shadow Shift]. A crack sounded out from my bones, but I didn’t feel any pain. My skin stretched and tore, yet there was no agony nor blood. The shift was a smooth transition, ultimately putting my fears of another painful shit to rest.

It ended in a second, and I regained control of my body. I walked over to the wall of mirrors and gazed at myself.

I had changed, obviously. I was no longer the pure black wolf I was before my evolution. My fur was still black, but it had streaks of violet in it, just like my hair did when I was in human form. The stripes constantly emitted a wispy substance reminiscent of what flowed off of my ears. However, this time, the wisps were a lot more concrete, and I could see them as clear as day.

My senses hadn’t changed much from my original form. I could still smell the scent of elves tempting me to sink my teeth into their appetizing flesh. My vision has about the same, so I could still see the delicious-looking elves practicing with their metal sticks. I shook my head, feeling drowsy for some reason.

[Skill: Abnormal Status Resistance: [Rage of the Abyss] has had its effectiveness cut by 50%]

Damn… It seems I’m more susceptible to that dumb ability in this form. This was just great. Now I have to worry about my emotional state as well as my clothes…

Wait… my clothes! I turned around to where I shifted, desperately looking for my clothes. But, there was nothing on the ground. There wasn’t even a scrap of shredded cloth like what had happened every other time I shifted. Even my bag with all of my belongings was gone.

I could feel my rage starting to rise. I felt jipped. Now I had to worry about all of my belongings disappearing every time I shifted.

I took a deep calming breath. Being angry wouldn’t solve anything. Nobody had noticed my dilemma yet, so I crept behind one of the dummies and used [Shadow Shift] again.

Instead of focusing on how I felt, I focused on my reflection in the mirror. This was the first time I had ever watched myself change forms, and it was odd, to say the least. As soon as the ability activated, a small black goo covered the entirety of my body. This goo kept me from seeing the actual snapping of my bones and tearing of my flesh. Instead, all I could see was my shape slowly changing from quadrupedal to bipedal.

The goo turned to the same wispy strands of shadow that I had been seeing and floated away. With the goo gone, I could see that I was back in my human form, fully clothed. Even my bag had come back, so maybe my new form wasn’t as bad as I thought?

I used [Shadow Shift] a couple of times to test my gear appearing and disappearing from the black goo. All of my belongings would get gooified before returning to their original state when I became humanoid again. I wanted to test it more, but I, unfortunately, had to stop as my mana ran out from using [Shadow Shift] too many times.

When my mana returned, I experimented with my other new abilities: [Shadow Magic] and [Shadow Manipulation]. When I first got them, I had thought that both skills would be the exact same, but I was wrong. Instead, they were different, even if just a tiny bit.

[Shadow Manipulation] was the first one I tested. Terry once told me that creating a ball of magic, such as a fireball, was the easiest and best way to get used to magic. So, using this knowledge, I focused on my hand, trying to create a ball of shadows as I channeled mana into [Shadow Manipulation].

Focusing my mind, I tried to envision a ball made of shadows forming over my hand. I channeled my mana into [Shadow Manipulation] in an attempt to turn the vision into reality. The mana started to activate [Shadow Manipulation], and I felt a cooling sensation all around my body. My heart started to bump rapidly, and I continued to manipulate my mana.

And then something magical happened. My mana, which I had pushed into [Shadow Manipulation], completely dispersed into my environment without doing a single thing.

Sure, this was my first time using an ability like this, but I really hoped I could use it on my first try. I had hoped to be some kind of genius magician and have a bright future ahead of myself. My second attempt, ending in my mana's complete disappearance, crushed that hope like a kid stomping on an anthill.

I tried again and again, but every attempt ended the same way no matter what I tried. I spent an hour sweating in my corner, trying desperately to make even the tiniest shadow ball, but the only thing to happen was running out of mana. My irritation only grew when I turned around in time to see an elf that practically begged to be unalived easily make a spike of ice and launch it at a test dummy.

I pushed all of my mana onto [Shadow Manipulation] in pure irritation. I had no hope for a result but was still desperate for something, anything to happen. Shockingly, something did happen, though not how I thought it would.