Ability [Sweeping Sense] learned, well done

The words took over my thoughts once again. I couldn’t see, but I could sense.

I felt the trees nearby, the rustling in the wind, a few bugs in the dirt next to me, and heck, I could even make out the straight vertical lines forming the city's wall. The flowing lines of mana formed outlines for everything around me. No colors, relationships, or anything else to distinguish.

Something was there, or it wasn’t, no in-between.

But I couldn’t stop smiling, with my cheeks already getting sore. Mana really gives life to everything. Colors weren’t there, but it just… FELT… SO… GOOD!

I could sense everything, the individual crumbs of dirt, to the rough texture of the nearby trees. I could sense forward, backwards, up, down. EVERYWHERE!

No longer restricted from a perspective, I sensed it all, as if in the palm of my hand.

Honestly, I didn’t think I’d work this fast. I just got sucked in and went for it.

They’re probably looking at me like I’m some smiling weirdo. So, with my newfound ability, I sensed the group next to me.

The transition between the physical world and the mana plane appeared, in astonishing detail right next to me, but a distinct blurriness formed in the distance. I could still sense where the trees were, but I could no longer sense the details. And the Barren Moons group was…

Wait… Why are they so far away? I thought she was right next to me.

Issac and Garnot were looking over with narrowed eyes, talking about something, and Royse was making her way back towards me. Well, whatever. I shrugged. They probably had a look around after confirming I was alive and talking, especially after an attack on the town. Evil Myconids were bound to be meandering around after the chaos.

That aside, I couldn’t just up and walk away. I was perceived as blind and I doubt they’d just leave me after fixing my wounds. Can’t draw attention to yourself, Ayla.

I couldn’t let them think my class was too special. I was fine just talking to them at the inn, but not at this level of attention. Wiping the smile on my face, I remained still, waiting for someone to start the conversation.

Royse’s steps were slow and uneven. She… she seemed stiff. Hmmm, they must've had a long day with the whole invasion thing yesterday, so it’s expected. She stopped next to me and opened her mouth, but nothing came out. It closed a second later before she tried and failed again.

Come on, just start talking! The process repeated itself a few times as she struggled. Oh, come on, might as well do it myself. “Thanks again, but could you help me back?” I said.

I needed a ride out of here since I ain’t going back to the town, but I doubt they’d leave me here, so I’ll be proactive about it. Shooing them away once at the gate would be the best option.

I’ll leave the city and fashion something from my other set of clothes to cover my eyes.

“Um, back to the city… Greycott?” Royse asked, with hesitation as she tilted her head to the side.

“Yes, if it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle.”

“Um. It would be difficult to get back. The city is locked down… But… but we… we can get back in if you need! If that’s what you prefer!” She rushed the last few words in a panic.

Was she like this before? Wasn’t she more composed? Regardless, that was a stupid question. Already knew Greycott was locked down, but I’ll need another way then.

Hmmmmm. Wait, maybe I don’t need to run away. This might be an opportunity instead.

“Hmmmm, no need to do something troublesome. Where are you heading next? I would like to join if you don’t mind.” Let’s see if they can bring me somewhere else. It would save me a lot of trouble in what direction to head. Otherwise, I’d just wander around until something caught my senses. Which would take who knows how long. The extra protection would also be nice.

“Ummmm.” She looked back over her shoulder at the other two still standing far away. I sensed them nod back to Royse, surprised they could hear us from this distance.

“Yes, we were heading to an outpost near Bellmare, about 3 days away. Would that work?” She asked.

Awesome, that’s perfect. It might be difficult to act for three days, but I’ll just pretend to be stupid if it comes to it.

“That would be perfect, but I’ll need help not to run into nearby trees, if you don’t mind.” I said, smiling.

“Uhhh… Ok…” She looked over at the two as they nodded back. “We're ready to move immediately… If you’re ready, of course. No need to rush if you still need more rest, it was… quite the….” She paused, looking right at my bandages.

“Good to move now. Sorry for the troubles.”

“Oh, no, no, no, no need to say sorry. Ok, Garnot and Issac! Pack up, she’s ready to leave!”

Ok, I have a guide to the next city, but I’ll need to put everything I’ve learnt into this new ability. Who knows how difficult this is actually going to be.

The flame flickered in the moonlight’s darkness. We made our way out of the forest surrounding Greycott in only a few hours, and found a nice flat second of land along the main path to Bellmare. It was quite a silent night, in stark contrast to the previous.

“Is there any pain… remaining?” Royse asked.

I sat next to the fire, absorbing the warmth that it provides. The bursts of heat made the night more bearable, especially as the colder months approached. Being near the northern border of the kingdom didn’t help, but it was still bearable, with little preparation.

“Aylsia, any pain remaining?” Royse asked again.

Everything was rather static compared to the fire, and it didn’t look quite the same as before. I couldn’t really sense the fire with [Sensing Sight], but it gave off a blurry outline, and I could get a grasp of the fire’s reach. A limitation for now, but the more I focused on it, the clearer it seemed.

“Aylsia!”

“Ahh.” I let out a yelp, looking to my right. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“Aylsia…. Is there any leftover pain?” She said, leaning forward, getting just that bit closer.

“Ahh, no. The treatment was enough. I’m surprised at how little it hurts. This would normally be weeks of pain.” It felt awkward with the vacancy where my eyes once were, but that was easy enough to deal with.

Considering that a pulled shoulder made last night quite entertaining, losing my eyes could’ve been much worse.

Speaking of my shoulder and my back, the pain vanished when I woke up after losing my eyes. So, whatever a Vial of Curing is, it works wonders. If they didn’t use that, then the pain would’ve been so much fun. And mana knows, I just love that so much.

“That’s good. We’ve only been walking for a few hours, but with your condition, say something if a problem arises.” Royse said with a smile.

“Are you sure I don’t need to pay you back? It was probably expensive.” It felt bad letting a stranger take a hit on supplies because of me.

She moved to face me with her whole body, firmly placing her hands on the ground with a thump. “Absolutely not!” She said with a puff. “I could never think of doing something like that…” Her words taped off to a soft whisper as she looked down. “It was my fault that you got injured in the first place, so I’ll pay whatever the cost.”

Uhhhhhhhh, did she mean to say it that way? Sounds… kinda off… She’s been quite considerate to me over the journey so far, a warm welcome in my book, but she didn’t mean that seriously, right?

“No need to go that far.” I waved my hands back and forth. “I’m the one that should be thankful. Just my bad luck doing its thing. I’ve always figured out a solution when the need arises, so it’s all good.” Even with my terrible luck, I’ve stayed alive, so maybe I’m doing something right, but that could also be luck in the unlucky scenarios. It only takes one mistake for my life to come crashing down, and this one was too close.

“Oh, ok. Are you sure?” She asked again, still not convinced for some reason.

“Yes, I’m sure. Thanks for acting as my guide.”

Her gaze lingered, but she looked back to the fire before long, folding her knees up in between her arms. I’ve been able to tell facial expressions half decently so far, but there’s also more non-verbal communication going on that I’m missing. At least, that’s what it seemed like.

I’ve also had the chance to sense the rate of mana regeneration from Royse and Issac. And my suspicion was true. They’ve nothing to speed up their regeneration. If I consider them capable is this crazy world, then [Mana Gathering] is quite rare. They’ve only regenerated 5 percent from when I awoke, quite slow indeed.

Superb news for me, since I’m able to empty my pool multiple times a day with [Mana Gathering] activated. Heck, the amount of practicing Iwas probably enough to make up for my lack of knowledge with this whole mana thing.

Woo, trial and error for the win.

“Hahahahahah.” I chuckled to myself, realizing that this entire world is ridiculous once again.

Royse looked over, but held her mouth closed. We sat still in silence until Garnet’s heavy steps approached. They were heavier than usual as a large animal laid on his shoulders. I didn’t know what it was, but that was going to be dinner. We had some food, but not enough to make it to Bellmare without starving ourselves, so this was our solution.

Well, their solution, I was just piggybacking on this whole thing.

He set it down with a thump and took out a smaller knife, similar to the one I had, but made for someone with much larger hands. A few short minutes later and the animal was rid of its nutritious parts. It probably looked disgusting, but with my new vision, everything kinda looked the same, with just the outlines of the creature presenting itself.

“One minute, just need to cook it over the fire and we should be good.” Garnot said, taking the minced animal chunks and skewering them to a stick before balancing it over the fire.

The meat became blurry to my senses as it disappeared within the fire’s reach. It didn’t take long before Garnot removed the meat, splitting it into two portions before handing both to Royse, starting another set of skewers a second later.

“Aylsia, I’m handing you your food. Hold out your hands.” I responded with a nod as she gently placed the bowl in my cupped hands. The warmth spread out to my fingers as I realized something. The cooked pieces of meat blurred behind a mess of wiggling, blurring strings. Not as much as the fire, but the resemblance was there.

A smirk creeped onto my face. I’ve been looking at fire the wrong way. It’s not that I couldn’t see the fire, but rather, I could sense the heat.

Something that normal vision couldn’t do.

With a smile, I chowed down on the food before me, not quite starving, but since I only had jerky the entire day so far, the fresh food was definitely a step above. Just as I took another bite, I took a second to readjust the soul bound ring with my thumb, turning the symbol inward and keeping my hand clenched to avoid any accidents.

The constant adjustment was obvious, but they wouldn’t expect why, so they haven’t seemed to notice so far. It was the only thing that could go wrong, at least from what I could think of.

It was a hassle, but I only needed to do it for the next couple of days, then I was on the home stretch.

“So, Aylsia.” Issac spoke up after finishing the last of his food and I turned towards him. “How are your memories?” Garnot and Royse immediately stopped mid bite.

“Issac! You can’t!” Royse spat out her food, calling out harshly.

My memories? What? Is he talking about the excuse I gave the chevaliers when I first entered?

But… but that wouldn’t make any sense. When did they have the chance? I think they arrived when the rain started coming down, so I doubt they talked then. Evil Myconids invaded the town next, so I doubt they had a chance for a leisure conversation with the chevaliers.

Wait, I’m stupid.

I guess that’s what I get for thinking too much. He’s probably talking about last night since I had that questioning moment when I first awoke. “It’s mostly fine.” I said.

Royse immediately looked back at me, her mouth half opened.

“I only remember when you three showed up. Everything past that is gone.”

Issac took another look at Royse, before continuing on the question. “I’m not talking about that. Your memories from before then.”

What?! So it was the excuse I gave the chevaliers! When did they have the chance to talk to them? Did he figure something out? I felt the ring on my finger. No, it’s still turned around, so they shouldn’t know that I’m not a [villager].

Why is he asking tho?

…

..

.

I can’t think of anything, but there’s no harm in telling them if they want to know so badly. They saved me for all that worth, and he’s probably just trying to make conversation. He hasn’t even said anything since we started walking, so I guess it’s fine to continue this excuse.

“Everything is there, but it’s difficult to recall the details sometimes. It’s been getting better lately, so all in time.”

Royse dropped her wooden spoon, letting it fall to her bowl as it tipped over and onto the ground. All three of them remain still, facing towards me. Ummmmmm, not sure why they're so silent. It’s not that weird, is it?

“Ah, is that so? Anything… anything we can do to help?” Issac responded with caution in his voice. Royse doesn’t even bother to pick up her fallen spoon, leaning forward at the question. Despite her initial disagreement, she seemed quite interested in what I had to say.

It made me oddly nervous at the simple question, but I responded all the same. “No need. It’s already as good as one could expect. All in due time. Just need a library to help put it all together.”

Issac and Royse furrow their eyebrows at the statement. Are they suspicious that someone would randomly lose their memories? Do they think I’m related to the attack? But that wouldn’t make sense with how they’ve been treating me.

Well, whatever. I shrugged my shoulders. Probably something to do with culture or something else I’m not doing right. I’m just doing what feels right, but since I don’t have any exact memories, it’s just guesses, so whatever, this world is already crazy, so why bother with the specifics?

“Ummm, may I ask which library you’ll be visiting? Should I inform one of the Librarians?” Issac asked.

Librarian? Why would they… Ohhh, are they talking about one of the Barren Moon librarians they mentioned back at the Inn? Do they think I’m going to one of their libraries of information? If I remember right, their organization has something to do with finding the truth and carrying that information for generations to come. So just recording everything, I guess?

“Ah, no need. Not sure when I’ll get to it, it could be a while.” I didn’t want to outright decline the invitation, but I didn’t want to get tangled up further in this world before I figured out the basics.

“May I have seconds?” I wanted to move the conversation before it got awkward. Also wanted to fill up my stomach, didn’t know when something would attack us in the middle of the night after all.

Garnot jumps at the statement, fumbling about as he extracts the almost burning meat still hanging over the fire. “Ahhh, Here you go.” I cradled the bowl and consumed it all.

Royse shook her head, moving to pick up her dropped spoon. After dinner, Issac and Rose set up a canopy-like structure between two trees. Garnot followed up by removing the rolled up sleeping matts from his bag, placing them underneath the canopied structure.

As they finished, the moment gave my mind a chance to think after the long day. A moment to think of how uncomfortable the dirt was.

My armor did a good enough job protecting me, but the cotton clothes underneath took a real beating. Stretching and tearing during my madwoman run through Greycott, and not to mention the mud that was weaseling through said holes and making it unbearably itchy.

I only had one option now, the other ‘cleaner’ set of clothes from my bag. Calling them cleaner was a stretch, but at least they were still in one piece and better than what I was wearing.

I laid the ‘totally not dirty’ clothes on my lap, waiting for everyone to finish setting up the tent.

Without the others, going anywhere would’ve been a challenge. It’s so difficult to remember areas with [Sensing Sight], since I had essentially had one color to work with, and it sucked. Each hour of practice made it better, but it’s nowhere near before. Ya, I could sense further and all around me at once, but in a world of people unlike me? There were bound to be unexpected challenges.

I heard the compressing of dirt and re-organize my senses to Royse, who was walking back over. Looks like they’re done. I unfolded the clothes in my lap, shaking the dirt off of them. I couldn’t quite see how much dirt came off, but that should be enough.

“Could you bring me somewhere so I could change?” I asked, just as Royse made her way over.

She stopped and tilted her head down. “Yes, Absol….” She stopped halfway, glancing at the messy clothes within my lap, going doe-eyed. “Uh, uh, uh.” She stuttered, taking a second before turning and scrambling away. “Hold on!”

“Uhhh, ok?” I sensed her scrambling to her bag underneath the tent, dumping most of it onto the ground in a panic as Issac looked over with raised eyebrows. She picked up something, leaving the rest of the contents strewn about, and jogged back.

She skidded along the dirt, coming to a stop in front of me. “Here you go. Use this instead!” She proceeded to remove the clothes from my lap and replaced them with the ones in hers.

“Uhhhh?” I brought my hand down, letting it glide along the cloth. Smooth and clean. I face upward. She remained still, grasping my clothes as her eyes remained peeled, peering at my face.

Not sure if I have a choice here.

“Thanks? Um… I’ll return them when we arrive at Bellmare.”

A smile stretched across her face. “No need, they’re all yours!” She said, radiating pure joy from just her words. “Let’s get you changed!”

And the night came to a quick close, sleeping in between Royse and Issac while Garnot and Issac would take turns for the night watch. I wanted to volunteer to at least help, but keeping up this act took precedence.

The hard ground wasn’t the most comfortable, but the rough night and walking for over 12 hours made it too easy. Regardless, I was thankful for the rest.