To tell the truth, I didn't feel comfortable around Riam—but curiosity got the better of me. This twenty-four- year old woman knew many things, and not just about magic.
In the clearing, the stream that fed the small pond ran slow and gentle. This time, there were no bears or cubs. But the spot where the cub had been swallowed still bore traces of dried blood.
To be honest, I felt a kind of sorrow for the mother bear. She had watched her cub be eaten in front of her. But if she had the brains to understand the value of her child, then she should've noticed that I wasn't the one who killed it.
"Still upset?" Riam asked, her knees resting at the edge of the pond, scooping up water with a full hand and drinking from it.
"Should I be happy for getting a near death experience?"
After meeting that bear, I started taking those things seriously. I don't think I'm a coward—but I wasn't brave either… not in that life, and not in this one.
I let out a long sigh, then looked up at the sky.
The sky in Thialis is pleasant to look at. Today it was clear. And Riam, beneath the shade of an oak tree, spun like a ballerina. When she stopped in front of me, she said, "Magic has many arts in it. And for a free mana manipulator, you should learn the art of silence."
Then Riam sat down on her rear, her legs crossed—one over the other.
"The lotus position is good for beginners. It loosens the pelvis, arches the spine, and makes the legs grip each other without conscious effort. That makes focus easier, and it draws mana pores into alignment for easier use."
I didn't understand a thing.
"That's not what I wanted to know. I want to know more about the world."
"What about the world matters to you?" Riam asked, then closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath. "Reopard… has anyone close to you died?"
"Huh?" I asked, surprised. "I'm five."
"Really?" Riam said. "You seem more like twenty-two."
Right on target.
Shit. I forgot this bi*ch can read thoughts.
"Ha??" One of Riam's eyes popped open.
"I'm sorry," I replied immediately.
She closed her eyes again.
…
So I was exposed in front of this woman. But she didn't want to interfere… she just knew, and didn't care. Or maybe she did care—but not about my past.
Now I got it…
Riam knew a lot. About me, about magic, about the world. And she was twenty four.
And just as that idea came to me, Riam smiled—as if to confirm my suspicions.
"But I'm from Kias," she said. "And I will remain here." Then added:
"Why does Alton know you? Why does my mother trust you?" I asked.
If Riam was from this world, but have been reincarnated into this body, then… did Alton know that?
And if he knew that… maybe he knew about me too.
My whole body shivered at the thought.
I didn't want either of them to know anything about me. I didn't want this couple to feel betrayed, or to think they had spent their lives raising an adult in a child's body.
"Don't worry. The whole village trusts me—not just your parents. They call me the village witch. And I'm twenty-five, not twenty four," said Riam. "I train the children in basic magic. But all I usually find are primitive talents that can't grow."
So she was considered a trainer in the village.
"Are you satisfied now?" Riam asked, opening one eye. "Your secret's safe in a well. And we both have our secrets. All I want is to teach you the fundamentals of free mana. Because with free mana, there are basics you can only start learning at a young age."
I let Riam speak and stretched out my legs. In the end, I wanted to know more about magic too. But I was still anxious about why Riam was so insistent on teaching me.
"Mana is the only remaining source of power in Kias now. But it wasn't the only one during the dawn of the First Civilization. Zeralto says he once met a giant who told him that Runes were the first power in this world… but they died out, and only mana remained."
"Who is this Zeralto?" I asked curiously.
That name had come up a few times now.
"The first hero of humankind. The first mage capable of reaching the source of evil: the Lady of the Wandering."
How ironic. More mystery, not less.
"It's a long story, Reopard. And Kias is full of long stories. Zeralto's legacy is everywhere. But even he couldn't end evil. In one of his stone tablets, Zeralto says he left the source of evil to wither on its own."
"He means the Lady of the Wandering will die off eventually, right?" I asked.
"Maybe. Now, don't you want to stop asking questions and actually talk magic?"
"Alright. I'm all ears."
Riam opened both eyes and took a deep breath.
"The Art of silence—that's the art that lets you see what you've never seen before," she said, eyes closed again, breathing in deeply.
"The less noise from the world, the easier it is to imagine. The more clearly you imagine, the more real it becomes."
Then Riam fell silent.
And from the tips of her fingers, a crimson glow began to shine.
Light flowed from her fingers, floating in the air.
Each fingertip let out a glowing thread, and soon there were ten threads dancing in the air before Riam.
"Mana comes from deep understanding. I free my mana through an intimate understanding of threads. I've touched thread, woven it, tasted it, smelled it. I've cut it, mixed it, burned it. That's why thread is easy to create with my mana. And then I manipulate it."
The ten threads started to weave into one another, forming a strange barrier.
"This shield might defend me," Riam said.
Then the threads unraveled and rewove into a whip… then into a vest… then unraveled and rewove again… again and again.
I hadn't noticed it at first, but by the end, I felt my jaw hanging open in awe.
"W-What am I seeing?!" My voice was loud. "What's happening?!"
My eyes were wide. My skin crawled.
And as the threads scattered and vanished, and Riam opened her eyes, I couldn't tear my gaze from the space where they had disappeared.
My heart was pounding.
My whole body shivered.
I didn't even realize it, but Riam pointed at me, snapping me back.
"That's a good smile," she said, pointing at me with her index finger. "So?" She tilted her head. "Do you want to learn?"
And I didn't hesitate for a second.
"I do!"
Then came that crooked smile of hers. A wide, wavy grin—like she was about to devour me.
"So, did you manage to release your mana?" Riam asked.
I answered by raising my hands. Then, imagining mana as a pool of water and picturing it escaping from my body as steam, I began to feel a faint tickling at my fingertips.
And then I saw it—steam rising from my fingers.
"So that's the path you've chosen," said Riam, her crimson eyes watching the vapor rise from all ten of my fingers.
"Mana tends to gather at pointed ends," she said. "But that's just a rumor. There are a hundred mana pores in the body. Their placement varies slightly from person to person. Most mages will never open them all. But the first ten pores usually awaken in the fingertips."
Riam smiled. "One day, you'll be able to use mana even if all ten of your fingers are gone. Your body will be just a tool to maintain human shape."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I mean, Reopard—your body has no value to free mana users."
Huh…
I didn't fully understand, but I thought I got part of it.
Riam watched the green mana vapor rise from my fingers, dissipating into the air.
"Now, Reopard, why not try the lotus position?"
So it was my turn now.
"Yes," I said as I sat on the grass.
I crossed one leg over the other, tightened my back and muscles, and closed my eyes.
"What do you hear?" Riam asked. "You hear me right now, don't you?"
"Yes," I replied, eyes still closed.
"Do you hear the birds?"
"I don't hear them," I said.
"They're far. What about the stream feeding the pond? Do you hear it flowing?"
"A little," I said.
"And what else do you hear?"
What do I hear?
In my mind, there were always things I heard—like Shirley's voice, haunting me like a wandering ghost now and then. Nightmares from my past life chasing me whenever I glimpsed peace.
What I heard wasn't physical. They were attachments.
But I heard other things, too.
Though faint, I heard my breathing and Riam's breathing. The sound of the wind, the rustling of branches. And sometimes, fainter sounds—like a squirrel. Like claws scratching bark.
Then the sounds quieted—and a new sound emerged.
My heartbeat.
Light, calm.
"You're doing well, Reopard. Keep breathing deeply. Cut yourself off from the world. Enter the stillness."
Yes. I was getting closer to silence. The darkness felt fitting, like a canvas I could paint on…
And then I started to feel it. Near my arteries. A strange flow—like a fast river, bubbling and bursting.
Then warmth spread through my body.
And then came fear.
And in that moment of panic… everything vanished. The sound disappeared. My heartbeat faded. I returned to my regular awareness.
When I opened my eyes, Riam was smiling in front of me.
"It's alright. Not bad for a first try. So, Reopard… what do you feel?"
"I feel hot. My vessels feel tight."
"That's mana. Just feeling it will make using it easier. What you just did was entering the Isolation—but you didn't reach even 30% isolation."
I kept listening.
"But I noticed something. You carry a lot of attachments. Conflicting emotions between past and present. A strange sense of guilt that doesn't match your past or current age. And an odd sense of longing beyond what's normal for your years. And…" Riam paused humming a little. " somehow hunger…"
Ah… I forgot to have breakfast.