I must admit, I was a little more ecstatic than I thought I would have been when I unlocked magic. As soon as the message popped up, I startled everyone with a loud cheer. Ani immediately understood what it was, but it took Sarah and Noah a moment or two.

After everyone calmed down, mainly me, Ani started guiding me so I could better understand what I had felt. Going back to meditation was unlikely at the moment, so we turned to face each other and held hands as she pumped magical energy through them and talked me through the process.

“What you are feeling is magical energy, or mana, as it is also known.”

“Like in games? Do I also get a mana bar or something?” I said as I started looking for one somewhere on the corners of my vision.

“No,” Ani chuckled. “Nothing of the sort. We don’t have a health bar, do we?”

“Ok, fair enough. That makes sense.”

“Right now, at level one magic, you will only be able to feel it, not interact with it.” Ani continued her explanation. “As you explore the magic within you, the attribute will grow and you will eventually be able to influence it. Like moving it from one place to another. Which is exactly what I am doing to you.”

“So, the warmth I felt coming from your hands was literally you pushing your mana into me?”

“Not really, it was more like me influencing your mana to move around.” Ani patiently explained as my frown increased. “Think of it like wind. If there is no wind current, you can’t really feel it, but if you disturb it enough to create an air current, then it becomes perceptible.”

I nodded at her explanation, which she took as a good sign and moved to the next topic.

“We can continue the training as before.” Ani said as she pulled her hands away from mine. “I will keep disturbing your mana, so you can better sense its movement inside. You don’t really need me to do that for you, but it will help you increase it faster.”

“I have a question,” I said. “More than one actually.”

Ani gestured for me to ask.

“Is it safe for you to disturb the mana inside me? I know you have been doing it for the last three days, but it does sound like something it shouldn’t be possible. Isn’t there some form of protection against intrusion or something?”

“Where did you get these ideas from?” Ani chuckled. “Is there anything stopping external factors from affecting our blood other than the thin skin that covers our bodies? Why would it be different with our mana?”

“Right,” I contemplated. “It’s more than a little scary to know it works like this.”

“Why?” Ani asked with genuine curiosity.

“Doesn’t that mean that something can easily mess with my insides through magic?”

“Yes, it does.” She assented. “But how is that any more scary than a monstrous spider, or an abomination that looks like a three meter tall bear?”

“I can fight those,” I said confidently. “Even if I die, I wouldn’t be completely helpless.”

“I can’t fight those.”

Our conversation paused for a moment as I understood the meaning behind her words.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to say it like that.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Ani comforted me. “There are enemies you will be better equipped to deal with than me, but there will also be situations where it’s the other way around.”

“You do have magical powers then?” I asked, a tad bit too excited.

“Not yet, but I am getting there.” Ani answered with a proud smile.

“What is missing? What do you need to get proper magical powers?”

“The bare minimum is reaching Magic ten.”

“The deviations?” I interrupted Ani.

“Not quite,” She said, chuckling at my excitement. “The magic attribute works a little differently. Instead of deviations, you will get to choose your magical vein.”

“Magical vein? What is that?”

“If you let me explain, I will tell you.”

“Ah, sorry. Do go on, please.”

“Magical veins are your magical aptitudes. I am not familiar with all of them, but some are the ones you would expect, like elemental magic.”

“The power to control the elements? Like fire, wind, water and so on?”

“I don’t know. That’s the extent of my knowledge.” Ani said with a sad smile.

“That’s okay,” I said comfortingly. “That’s a lot more than any of us know, by a long shot. It’s really helpful. I appreciate you sharing it with me.”

“It’s not that big of a deal, you would have found it out eventually anyway. If not for me, you would have already been higher leveled in magic by now.”

“Probably true, but then I wouldn’t have spent my points properly.” I mused. “Speaking of which, I have four points. Should I invest them in magic now that I unlocked it?”

“I think you can raise your magic until six, maybe seven, before we have to leave this place.” Ani spoke with confidence. “Remember that points become increasingly harder to come by. It’s a good long term strategy to not use them until you absolutely need to. It’s possible to raise all your stats to ten naturally in a reasonable time frame.”

“How much time are we talking about?”

“A couple weeks. I think.”

“That’s a lot of time we don’t have.” I sighed.

“There is another way, but…” Ani frowned at her own words.

“What is it?”

“I am not entirely sure about it either, to be honest.”

“Well, tell me about it.”

I waited patiently as she looked away, eyes distant. A tinge of anxiety and nervousness flashing before she turned to me.

“When the ten days from this location are up, we will have to leave. To make sure that no one stays here, the emissary releases the guardian of the sanctuary to motivate people to leave. There is…” Ani took a long pause. Our eyes locked all the time as I saw a conflicting maelstrom of emotions pass by her blue irises.

“Leo,” She whispered. “It’s not my first time in this place. I can’t tell you my circumstances. It’s a very complicated situation, and I would rather if no one else knew about this. I am trusting that you can keep this information to yourself.”

“Please.” She added softly as I didn’t say anything.

I knew there was more to it than she had been letting on, and her being here before wasn’t something I hadn’t considered, but the ramifications of such confirmation were staggering. Are we stuck in some form of a loop? Do we need to go through this over and over until we die? A number of questions suddenly assaulted me.

“Ask me.” Ani whispered.

“Are we doomed in a cycle of doing this over and over again?”

“No.”

“Is there something other than empty and fake cities filled with monsters?”

“Yes.”

“Where are we going after this place?”

“A forest.”

“A forest?”

“Yes, a forest.”

“That’s it?”

“That is the answer to your question.”

“What is in this forest?”

“Dangerous creatures and plants.”

“Why are we going to this forest? Why have we come to this place?”

“I can’t answer that.”

“Why?”

“The Emissary.”

“The Emissary?”

“Yes, the emissary.”

“What? He regulates how much information I can have?”

“Not just you, anyone else besides me.”

“Why?”

“I can’t answer that.”

“Ugh…” I groaned.

“I am sorry.”

“It’s alright, it’s not your fault. I need to deal with the circumstances. I already know more than anyone here, right?”

“Yes, we are already pushing the limits of what you can know.” Ani said with a hint of concern in her voice.

“Let’s try this differently then,” I said as I took a deep, calming breath. “Tell me what you think I should know.”

Ani seemed to be caught off guard with my request. She took a few moments to gather her thoughts.

“This place you asked me about earlier.”

“The one where I can raise my stats?”

“Yes,” Ani nodded. “I think you should go.”

“Why?”

“I know someone who has been there, and although they wouldn’t tell me what it was, they came back with a significant power increase.” Ani raised a hand before I could interject. “I think you should not spend any more of your points on any attribute. You should keep training, fighting and meditating until the last day. Then, I will help you survive the guardian and get you to this place.”

“Just me? You are not going to go as well?”

“No, I cannot,” Ani said firmly. “I have other things to do.”

“You don’t know what is in that place, but you know there is a great reward.” I thought out loud as Ani nodded at my words. “And from what I learned from this place, there is no reward without an equivalent measure of danger. Which means, whatever is in there, it will be extremely dangerous.”

“You are most likely correct in your assumption.” Ani said with a neutral and straight face.

“You think I can conquer this danger?”

“I think you are someone very capable and resourceful. If the person I met survived that place, I am confident you will as well.”

“I didn’t expect that,” I said, a little uncomfortable and equally embarrassed. “Thank you for your words.”

Ani smiled, and I couldn’t help but smile back. It was a welcomed moment of distraction in this heavy conversation we were having.

“Anything else you want to tell me?”

Ani thought for a short while before speaking again.

“Maccurach. I think you should kill him as soon as possible.”