The intense duel between a Mage Prodigy and a weakling on the eastern side of the Vireldria Empire came to an end.
Meanwhile, a blonde elf was walking toward the northern side of the Empire. Her name was Celia. She looked like a 14-year-old human girl, but in reality, she was a few centuries old.
"The northern side of the Empire is entirely forest," Celia said to herself. "I've been walking for almost a month now. What am I supposed to find here, Ki?"
She saw a river and decided to rest on a big rock and stared at the flowing water. Then, she remembered her own Mana capacity and sighed.
"Lumi is doing fine," she murmured. "I can tell her Mana capacity is increasing slightly each day. I'm proud of her."
Celia remembered Kian's disappointed face looking back at her, and she sighed again.
"How can I increase my mana capacity?" Celia asked herself. "Is it really possible for me?"
Then, she shook her head.
"I shouldn't think negatively. I promised I'd come back with an increased Mana."
Celia noticed the silence of the place—it was the sound of pure peace. She closed her eyes for a moment until the only sound she could hear was the rushing river. It was deeply relaxing. When Celia opened her eyes, she imagined her own Mana while staring at the water.
"The river flows endlessly," Celia said. "I wish my mana flowed endlessly, just like this river."
She sighed again, realizing it was impossible. There were only a handful of people in the world who possessed massive Mana reserves, but truly endless Mana was unheard of.
"Every living being has its own limits," Celia mused. "Mana cannot be pulled out of nowhere. Once all the Mana has been consumed, it runs out."
She stared up at the peaceful sky, about to make a wish, when she suddenly spotted a plume of white smoke. Celia immediately stood up.
"That's..." Celia exclaimed. "Someone must be camping nearby."
Celia walked toward the location of the smoke. She felt a spark of excitement because she had not seen a single soul over the past few days of trekking through this endless northern forest. When Celia finally reached a good vantage point, she saw something entirely unexpected.
"A house?" Celia gasped. "A cabin? Who in the world would live in such an isolated place in the middle of nowhere?"
"Ahem!" Celia cleared her throat, suddenly feeling embarrassed. A long time ago, she had lived in an isolated forest herself. It felt like she was criticizing her past self.
Celia began to walk toward the house. As she approached, she caught the scent of something delicious. Because she had been surviving entirely on dried meat and travel rations during her journey, she nearly drooled at the smell of homemade food. Before she knew it, she was standing right at the front door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
No one answered. She knocked again, but still, there was no response. She was about to attempt a third knock, but before her knuckles could hit the wood...
Boom!
A loud explosion echoed from inside. Finding the door unlocked, Celia pushed it open and rushed toward the source of the blast. Thick violet and green smoke billowed in front of her.
What happened here? Celia thought anxiously, quickly scanning the room for anyone who might be wounded or injured.
Cough! Hack! Cough!
Someone was coughing through the haze. As the smoke started to clear, a girl with short violet hair slowly appeared, sitting flat on the floor.
"That was unexpected," the violet-haired girl said, calmly jotting down notes on a piece of paper. "Experiment number 445 is a failure. I have to tweak the reagent-to-Mana ratio during the etheric distillation, or the catalytic binding runes will just keep triggering another exothermic release."
Celia's eyes widened.
A child? Celia thought.
The girl with violet hair finally noticed her.
"Who are you?" she asked.
Ignoring the question, Celia quickly rushed over to her.
"Are you injured anywhere?" she asked, physically checking the girl for any visible wounds.
"I'm fine," the girl responded. "I'm not injured. Who are you? Why did you come into my lab without my consent?"
A lab? Celia thought. Is this house some kind of workshop?
"I... I heard an explosion, so I rushed in without permission. Forgive me." Celia bowed her head.
If this had happened centuries ago, I would never have bowed to a human, Celia noted internally. It's Eris's fault.
"I see," the girl said. "That makes sense. But why are you here? I never thought I'd see a human wandering around in this forest."
The girl stood up. Celia noticed she was holding a vial of some alchemical fluid, seemingly prepared to throw it as a defense mechanism.
She is wary of me, Celia realized.
"Who are you, and why are you here?" the girl asked one last time.
The tension in the air was thick. Any wrong move could result in a fight.
Celia carefully pulled back her hood. "I'm Celia. I'm an Adventurer from the Imperial Capital. I wandered out here to find a way to make myself stronger, but I accidentally caught the scent of delicious food inside this house. Then I heard an explosion, which led me to rush inside."
Celia gave her completely honest answer and waited.
The girl did not respond immediately. Instead, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
"An... a... an elf?" she stammered.
"Again, I'm sorry for the intrusion. I'll leave now." Celia turned around, ready to walk out.
"Wait!" the girl called out.
Celia turned back to face her.
"Ahem!" The girl cleared her throat. "You said you smelled delicious food, is that correct?"
"Yes," Celia responded. "It's embarrassing, but I wanted to tell you the truth."
"I see," the girl said, swallowing slightly. "I don't really like getting along with other people."
That much is obvious, Celia thought. If you wanted to get along with people, you wouldn't live in an isolated place like this. I can really see my old self in this kid.
"But," the girl continued as she stared intently at Celia's pointy ears, "you're pretty, so I'll allow you to eat a meal for free."
Pre... pretty? Celia blinked.
Suddenly, the girl leaned forward and tightly gripped both of Celia's hands.
"You can stay here as long as you want!" she said, her eyes sparkling with intense excitement. "No... stay here forever!"
The girl's face leaned even closer, and she was visibly drooling.
Why do I suddenly feel like I'm in grave danger? Celia panicked internally. Is she going to dissect me?!
"By the way, my name is Lyssaphage," the girl said with a wide smile. "Just call me Lyssa. I'm an Alchemist."