Inside the witch’s cottage, on the kitchen cutting board, a dying salted fish flopped several times before falling still.
“Little Master, try to use healing magic to bring it back to life,” Sister An said, communicating with Airlis via telepathy in her baby dragon form.
Angelica had been in a deep sleep for nearly half a month before finally waking up. Her previous battle had exhausted the last of her remaining divine power of faith.
Fortunately, thanks to Airlis’s care during this time, Angelica’s physical condition had significantly improved, though she remained unable to revert to her human or giant dragon forms for the time being.
The warm and gentle light-elemental healing mana flowing through Airlis’s palms felt very familiar.
It felt very similar to how Lady Felicitalla’s mana used to feel.
“Little Master, you must practice diligently. Your talent for light healing magic is not at all inferior to that of the High Priestess.”
After a short while, that salted fish actually came back to life!
Though it only flopped a few times at first, it soon regained its full vitality and began jumping around on the board.
“Little Master, all things have spirit. Only by sensing their souls, resonating with them, and listening to their inner voices can you use light healing magic more skillfully.”
“Mm, okay, Sister An.”
To better survive in this world and protect the important things around her, she was working hard today.
In fact, it wasn’t just leveling up that provided free attribute points to increase stats. Just as Sophia’s daily sword practice, swimming, tree climbing, and endurance running with weights could increase her Strength, Constitution, and Agility, Airlis’s daily alchemy, meditation, and magic practice could increase her Intelligence and Spirit.
Since her initial Strength, Constitution, Agility, and Luck were too low, she had allocated her free attribute points there. Her daily training was dedicated to raising the Intelligence and Spirit attributes necessary for a magic class.
The year had turned, and heavy snow had sealed the mountains, draping the Arden Woods in a coat of silver and white.
Airlis thought back to how Sophia had looked when she first returned from Sunderland, the memory surfacing in her mind.
Airlis had just returned from gathering alchemy materials when she saw Sophia curled up in a corner, arms wrapped around her legs and head buried low. She had shrunk herself into a ball.
To put it bluntly, she had completely shut herself off!
At the time, Airlis had been frantic, thinking something terrible had happened to Sophia. But after hearing the full story, the older sister received nothing but mockery from the younger one.
As teasing words tumbled from the mischievous witch’s mouth, Sophia looked like she was about to cry.
“Small fry Sister Sophia~”
Normally, Sophia would have immediately lunged forward to discipline her with some new form of punishment. Today, however, Airlis could only hear the faint sound of sobbing coming from the girl curled in the corner.
‘Ah… it seems like I really shouldn’t be joking today.’
The white-haired girl set down her book, walked over to Sophia, and slowly crouched down. Her skirt flared slightly with the movement, and she rested her hands on her knees, the fine patterns of the fabric stretching as she settled.
Airlis reached out a hand, gently stroking the top of Sophia’s head and smoothing the strands of hair on her forehead.
“That dwarf uncle really has a strange temper; it must have been hard on you. Let me check if you’re hurt in a bit. Do you need me to cast the [Lullaby] skill to help you sleep tonight?”
Sophia’s shoulders trembled as she sobbed, a soft whimper escaping her throat. She looked up at Airlis, her red nose twitching.
“The Dwarf Master’s moves were all lethal. Dammit, it looked like he was still holding back… Airlis, I’ve been so reckless every time we act. You don’t hate me now, do you?…”
“I won’t, Sophia. That’s just your personality. To be honest, I treasure that about you. I like it very much—your courage to fight back and your habit of being true to your word. Sometimes, I’m even trying to learn from you~”
Perhaps life was like an inconspicuous box. It seemed ordinary when approached, until one day it was opened, and we realized we had been buried under the expectations of others all along.
Excessive expectations brought immense pressure and responsibility. At such times, one needed someone close by to share the burden.
Sophia never expected Airlis to launch such a direct verbal offensive.
With her emotional intelligence being much higher than Airlis’s, a deep crimson flushed over her face, burning from her ears down to her neck.
“Whoa… what’s wrong, Sophia? Are you feeling unwell? Your face is so red.”
‘You idiot Airlis, isn’t being that direct basically a confession? And you have the nerve to ask me that.’
The high-intelligence but low-EQ Airlis had no idea that through twenty years of experiences, this childhood friend’s affection level had actually been at MAX.
The girl’s blush spoke louder than any words, but a certain thick-headed witch had yet to realize it.
Today’s victory belonged to the younger sister, Airlis Omnia.
***
In the early morning, a grumpy-looking Sophia left the house early. Her Dwarf Master had said that if she didn’t reach Sunderland before noon, he wouldn’t teach her his blacksmithing skills.
Dressed in her newly purchased winter fur coat, Sophia trudged through the deep snow, struggling with every step as she headed out.
“It’s quite hard on Lady Sophia. While Master Black’s training methods are heartless, she can learn many combat techniques from him. Little Master, please believe in Lady Sophia. I saw the answer in her eyes.”
The small red dragon flying nearby, flapping her tiny wings, communicated with Airlis through telepathy.
“Sister An, let’s not stay idle either. Didn’t you say there was something important to investigate at Black Flame Mountain? Let’s get moving.” The white-haired witch had her own plans for the day.
Inside Black Flame Mountain, there was a cave entrance that served as a shortcut to the town of Heliwood. However, the location was on a cliff hundreds of feet high and required a flying creature to reach.
This was information provided by Angelica. If they wanted to shorten their journey and bypass the large cities of the Central Continent to reach Heliwood directly—and thus reach the Temple of Sela faster—this was the optimal solution.
The words Airlis’s mother had spoken in her dream were still fresh in her memory. Opening her system panel, she saw the notification.
[Current Red Mythic Main Quest: Trial of the Temple of Sela, Airlis’s Solo Quest (Requirement: Reach Level 50 to enter)]
Her level had only recently reached Level 40. Because of her hard training lately, Sophia’s level was actually 2 levels higher than hers.
However, the Trial of the Temple of Sela was a personal quest; she couldn’t take Sophia with her.
This continent still held many unsolved mysteries, and even she didn’t know when she would finally be able to resurrect her mother.
Having lived in this world for one year, she gradually felt that this was no longer a game world. These quests felt more like a destiny she couldn’t escape.
Airlis thought as she headed toward Black Flame Mountain. She had frequented this area before to gather alchemy materials like volcanic rock, stone golem fragments, and Life Mana Stones.
Black Flame Mountain was the main peak of the mountain range where the Jungle Treant King’s cave was located. There was active volcanic activity inside, which was why there were shallow lava regions before the Great Cave.
She had spent a long time gathering here before, but only low-level monsters inhabited the area. She had never explored the large platform deep inside.
Coming here with Sister An today, a Level 40 baby dragon still provided a certain sense of security. She hadn’t even expected that, due to her very light weight, the baby dragon could actually carry her while flying.
Reaching the end of the highest platform, an open cave entrance was visible above. In a distant corner diagonally opposite this spot sat a massive, sealed stone door. No one knew what lay inside.
“Are you ready, Little Master?”
“Mm, Sister An. Remember to fly slowly. you haven’t fully recovered yet, so don’t push yourself.”
Clutched beneath the baby dragon’s claws, the petite white-haired witch rose slowly into the air.
The brilliance of the outside world suddenly burst before them. Previously, they had only touched damp, cold cliffs, but the sudden feeling of openness and finding a path through the darkness made her heart race with excitement.
The baby dragon flew out of the cave entrance, and she and the girl landed steadily on the ground.
The girl stood on her tiptoes, gazing into the distance. At the foot of the towering celestial cliff lay a large coastal town filled with the hustle and bustle of humanity — Heliwood.