— Hikari's abilities —
[Wyvern fire] Instantly burns things. Hot enough to cook stew, but only in the tower's pots.
[Wyvern frost] Can block wyvern fire. Can't freeze anything yet.
[Fire Shard] Exploding shards. Very handy. Wish I could make them back at the RazenHeir estate.
[Wyvern breath] burns stuff in front of me.
[Flame barrier] burns stuff around me.
[Brandishing] burning sword.
The rune atop the half-wyvern's statue was lit.
Hikari feels the tower mana in the chamber surge, converging on the middle.
Columns of runes lit up on the central pillar.
It certainly wasn't a support pillar, since every floor would have to contain it.
There is definitely something hidden behind it, and Hikari is close to finding out what.
Click. The mechanism stopped.
Hikari waits, but the tower has stopped moving.
Mana sense.
It's the half-wyvern statue.
The leyline between it and the central room was the strongest.
The rune atop it had been lit, but the tile hasn't fully sunk into the ground.
Hikari felt a sense of disappointment.
Perhaps the mechanism has stopped working after all this time.
She approached the half-wyvern's statue.
Mana flowed through the statue.
It was strong enough that she could feel its radiating warmth through her wyvern skin.
"Statue."
It was just a hunch, but the statue seemed to have one final trial for Hikari.
Hikari stretched her arms and warmed up.
She was fully rested after the last vision.
The statue's mana surged as she stepped onto the tile.
…
Gardens. Green in the gentle morning sunlight.
Neatly trimmed bushes. All of the same size.
Flat grass patches.
A mansion up on the hill. Pristine white walls.
Its windows were clean enough to see the furniture inside.
Warm, simple furniture inside.
A balcony on the second floor.
Down the hill, a building the size of a warehouse plus a church.
It was made of the strange ivory material of the spire cities.
"The estate."
She found herself back within the Razenheir estate.
Confused, she looked around.
There was no mistaking it.
The estate where she lived for years.
Every detail was there.
Her chamber. The drill hall. The stone wall enclosing the estate area.
Further out. The barracks areas. The scout barracks where she reports to the scoutmaster every morning.
It must still be the wyvern statue's illusory space.
Sticky.
She was in her running outfit.
Loose tops.
Short skirt.
Knee socks sticking to her lower leg.
Her flats were dirty from running in the countryside behind the estate.
Behind her, she could hear the maids grumbling about sweeping up the dirt.
It felt like she was back at the estate.
A moment ago, she swore that she was inside the chamber atop the tower.
She began walking towards her room.
Carefully, she pushed aside her curtain door.
Her bed was in the left corner across the room.
Her shower area was on the far right.
Between them was her couch.
On the left side of the room was her wardrobe.
Each pigeonhole was filled with fresh sheets of clothes.
Out of habit, she looked down and saw her lady groveling before her feet.
Small and skinny in her drilling outfit. Her red hair tied up. Head facing the ground.
"Ria?"
"You are back, Hikari. Did you have a good run out in the hills?"
Hikari leaned forward and saw her lady crawl towards her.
With her legs and arms tucked in, her lady was roughly the size of her foot.
Her lady's red hair covered the tip of her shoe.
She felt a peck so faint she could only hear it.
Ria rested her hands on her shoe and looked up at her with her deep blue eyes.
"Looks like you've gotten bigger again. I doubt we can build you a proper running track. So the mountain track would be your morning routine. The maids had been complaining about how to bring all of the country dirt into the estate. I'm thinking of getting you a pair of running shoes that are easier to clean."
"Ria?"
Her lady began blushing and breathing heavily in excitement.
She lowered her head back down.
Hikari could see her hair on the back of her head.
Slurp. Slurp. She could hear faint slurping sounds.
"For now, I'm going to have to clean them myself, it seems."
Slurp. A high-pitched giggle.
"Your shoes don't taste so bad. Though I doubt I'll be able to clean them properly with just my tongue."
Her lady leans forward and presses her face against the top of her sock.
Hikari hears a deep sniff.
Her lady recoils and begins coughing.
"Ria?"
"Ah… Looked like you sure ran hard today? You know, when I stand on the ground floor of the mansion, the elevation is enough for me to see all that dust storm you kick up when you run."
The red hair covered the top of Hikari's foot again.
Sniff.
"Have I been a good lady? I'm sure no one appreciates your hard work quite like I do."
Ria quickly shuffled herself before her other foot.
Peck. She crawled backward and parked herself beside the shoe mat.
"Ria?"
"I'm sure you're tired after that run. Wash up. I'll be cleaning your running shoes while you rest on your couch. And oh, the shipment of fresh clothes has arrived from Moradale. Help yourself. Nothing makes me happier than you getting a fresh set of clothes."
Hikari strides past her towards her couch.
Her lady crawls behind her.
…
"Argh."
Hikari feels her head hurt.
She wobbles back off the platform.
Looked like she needed more cannonball fruit and another round of workouts.
The wyvern statue's mana surged behind her, catching her attention.
The rune atop it glowed brighter.
Rumbling sounds.
The tower's mechanisms moved.
The door to the vault in the center of the floor opened.
Bright light shone from inside the room, almost blinding her eyes, which were used to the tower's dimly lit interior.
"Garden."
A lush garden was growing inside the vault.
Bright green leaves made the room look completely out of place compared to the rest of the tower.
Hikari walked inside.
She felt the soft grass ground beneath her feet.
White, light crystal formations grew on the walls and ceiling, illuminating the room.
"Sleep."
The room's temperature was perfect.
The surging mana made it hard for her to understand how.
Not too warm nor cold.
Along with the soft ground, it was perfect for a nap after sleeping on the cold, hard stone day after day.
At the center of the room was a tree.
Whitish, green bark. A rough texture.
It gave off an odd mana that she had yet to encounter.
Three fruits grew on the tree.
A golden one. A bright blue one. And a green one.
Hikari rests her palm at the base of the fruit.
The tree responds to her mana.
Hikari feels a surge of mana all around her.
Her head rings. The tree moves.
The fruit drops right into her hand.
Hikari examines it. It was not uncommon for fruits to contain mana, sometimes even vast quantities: ivory berries, one of her least favorite foods, for example.
This one felt really dense.
She could feel its mana piercing her skin even as she held it.
She sat down and prepared to eat it.
The fruit contained the same mana that permeated the entire tower.
She had been exposed to it for days, so it's certainly safe to eat.
She has to circulate the mana properly so the dense mana doesn't tear through her insides.
Holding the fruit up to her mouth, she takes a big bite.
The fiery mana courses through her.
She felt like she'd just eaten a sword fresh out of the furnace.
"Argh."
She grits her teeth as the excess mana rages through her body.
The room seemed to respond to her, healing the damage caused to her body as it tried to contain the sudden burst of mana.
Hikari endured. She tried to think of food.
She remembered that time a traveling merchant visited the estate.
He sold her some tiny, green, pointy fruits.
She tried to put some into her stew, and it burnt her tongue.
But it didn't seem like enough.
She was struggling to bring the mana under control.
At this rate, she might have to discharge the mana from her body.
"(Frost)"
The voice in her head again.
She hadn't heard it for a while after she got used to the tower.
It felt stronger than before. Closer. As though the source was in the same room as her.
She saw the blue fruit hanging on the tree.
"Ah…"
That made sense. She was supposed to eat the two together so they would counteract each other.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, she stood up as the flame mana raged through her.
She stuffed the glowing blue fruit into her mouth.
The freeze was so deep that her tongue went numb for a moment.
"Argh!"
She struggled into a proper meditation pose, letting the mana spread evenly through her body.
Cough. She felt nauseous. A familiar feeling when one absorbs more mana than their body could handle.
Control. Control. To overcome the mana poisoning, she had to calm her body and reduce her mana flow to a minimum.
Once her body adjusted after repeated meditation, she could use its power again.
Time passed. She sat in the garden.
It seemed unperturbed by the amount coursing through Hikari.
Her body calmed. She took a deep breath.
Her heart was still pounding, and she still felt a bit nauseous.
But she felt well enough to march back to the estate.
One last fruit remained.
Her mana improved tremendously as the two fruits settled into her body.
She held it in her hand.
"Neutral?"
A form of mana that tended not to clash with other mana forms, and could reside in a body without ripping it apart.
Though it tended to be weaker in terms of raw power.
She studied the fruit. The mana was strong and was unlike anything she had come across.
"Ivory berries to it."
There was nothing more to be learned from holding it idle in her hand.
She took a big bite.