“I am ready.”

  “I give freely unto you my knowledge,” she said, and as the words left her lips, I felt something stir inside me, and an instant of rising energy followed by a click.

  It was as if a part of me had already been in harmony with the light, but I hadn’t noticed it until now. All those times I’d lain under the sun, letting its warmth soak into my skin, it had quietly shaped my body to accept this Magic. It felt as if every color I’d seen had been a lesson waiting to be unlocked. The only knowledge I received was on mana manipulation and spell theory, but nothing specific about light. However, it still felt like my understanding of light resonated with what I already knew.

  Then a second wave hit me, like ash in my face and a heat igniting deep in my soul. Fire shared a portion of light, but it was so much more. It wasn’t gentle or merely warm. It was a ravenous force, a hunger that consumed everything it touched. Fire wasn’t a peaceful glow but a restless blaze, wild and untamed. It devoured, transformed, leaving nothing unchanged in its wake. Where light had been a quiet guide, fire was a fierce desire, burning within me, waiting to be unleashed.

  And that’s when I finally grasped what Kaylie and the others had been warning me about. I couldn’t keep absorbing spell after spell and expect to shift mindsets so easily. To wield light, it was a gentle touch that could barely be felt but always seen, a warm feeling that lingered just beneath the surface. But fire was different as its touch demanded to consume, to change, to be felt. Each magic had its own temperament, and holding onto both at once was like trying to think in two languages at the same time. There was a subtle overlap as fire shared some of light’s intensity, but their essence was worlds apart.

  I wondered why I hadn’t felt this conflict with Time or Spatial Magic. Then I realized it could be for two reasons. I maxed out at level one, and I’d always been told to stay within the same magic branch or type. I had stayed within Alteration until now, so maybe the stark difference I was feeling came from crossing into a new type of magic.

  Well, it didn’t matter anymore. What was done was done. I couldn’t have survived with just Alteration spells for the rest of my time in this world. Learning more magic, especially higher-level spells, would be difficult, just like they said. But I had no choice. I needed magic to survive, and I needed it to make it home.

  Prompts appeared, but I ignored them to focus on Rabbit. “There are some things you need to understand about light that I believe your media has been misleading you about.”

  “Media lying to me isn’t exactly a surprise. But why would anyone lie about the nature of light?”

  “In the early 20th century, scientists were trying to figure out how to classify light. They ran experiments, and some of them showed that light behaved like a wave, similar to sound or electromagnetic waves. Other experiments revealed it acted like particles. This sparked a big debate over what light actually was. Then Einstein stepped in and said light was both, and he called it wave-particle duality. Due to his fame, the public supported his view. But this idea is completely false.”

  I had actually learned about some of this and immediately argued. “Wait, that’s not right. There have been experiments proving light behaves as both a wave and a particle.”

  “Perfect, you understand the concept, but you’re still wrong. What if I told you that liquid didn’t have distinct liquid, gas, and solid states, but instead had a ‘solid-gas duality’? That would sound ridiculous, right? Well, that’s exactly what I’m saying about light. Light is neither a wave nor a particle. Instead, light is something entirely different. Something that exhibits properties of both but is uniquely its own.”

  I didn’t know what to say, but he was right. I had never thought to compare them, but what if I did? Liquid sometimes behaves like a gas, like when it moves away from solid objects. It also behaves like a solid, staying in one place unless acted upon by an outside force. Could I then say it has a solid-gas duality? Ridiculous, just like he said.

  But that brought me back to light. What if I stopped thinking of light as both a particle and a wave? What if it was something entirely different, a new state of matter? Understanding that could revolutionize quantum mechanics. Still, that wouldn’t help me now. Perhaps it would matter when I returned to my world.

  Then I realized, Rabbit was telling me this for a reason. To increase my level in any skill, I had to understand it completely. Bolo had discovered ultraviolet light and believed it was the key to reaching higher levels of Light Magic. I came from a world full of knowledge, but Rabbit knew I’d be at a significant disadvantage compared to others if I didn’t first grasp the basics.

  Here, they already understood light as something entirely different. I had been taught wrong, thinking of light as a wave-particle duality, rather than recognizing it as its own distinct state. Without Rabbit’s teachings, I might never have even reached level 20 in the skill. I’d have to find some way to thank him for helping me. But it left me wondering why he hadn’t shared this knowledge with our world?

  Pushing the question aside, I checked out my prompts.

  Congratulations, you have learned Fire Magic Level 1. “It is not only former presidents that can say you’re fired, but now you can too.”

  Skill points earned: 5

  Total Skill points: 484

  You have learned the spell: Bound Fire. Cost: 5 Mana per second. Cast Time: 1 second. Cooldown: N/A. Range: Self.

  “Did I just get a Fire Spell with a range on myself?” I muttered to myself.

  Bound Fire: A small amount of fire that is generated on your body. The fire can only exist while attached to you unless exterior fuel is present.

  At level 1 in Fire Magic, you have learned the spell: Small Ember Cloud. Cost: 25 Mana Cast Time: 1 second. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Range: Self - 10 feet.

  Small Ember Cloud: You can create a small cloud of burning embers that can disorientate and damage enemies and allies alike.

  Congratulations, you have learned Light Magic Level 1. “It is usually the brightest person who wins any engagement.”

  Skill points earned: 5

  Total Skill points: 490

  You have learned the spell: Miniscule Light. Cost: 1 Mana per second. Cast Time: 1 second. Cooldown: N/A. Range: Self.

  Miniscule Light: Allows a small light to be summoned. “This light is not bright and won’t survive far from yourself.”

  "Hey, Rabbit, is the math off on the Skill points?" I asked, noticing that 5 points plus 484 do not equal 490. It was surprising to see I was getting five points instead of the expected one point for reaching level 1. The bonuses were stacking up nicely.

  "No, it's just rounding. You actually get 5.2 points for level 1. It just doesn’t show up," Rabbit replied. "Unfortunately, it doesn’t round up either. It always seems to round down, but at least it counts the partial points, which is better than ignoring them. I wouldn’t worry about it. I’ve seen some odd things too, but we'll figure them out eventually."

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  "Like what?" I questioned.

  "Some of the prompts aren’t exactly the same. For example, one says ‘you learned a spell,’ while another says ‘at level 1, you learned a spell.’” As Rabbit explained, I went through my prompts and saw what he meant.

  I asked Kaylie about it, and she had me read the prompts verbatim.

  "Wait, you got five Skill points? How did you get that? That's impossible," Kaylie remarked.

  The others were listening, and Sana joined in. "It had to be the Skilled talent he purchased, but five is far more than I expected."

  “How do I have five Skill points for level 1? That does seem high,” I thought, puzzled but not complaining. Usually, you only get one point for level one and two points for level two and so on.

  “Once your doubling bonus ends, it will be a lot smaller. That’s what I’ve been trying to explain,” Rabbit said. “For level 1, you receive one point, but with your bonus, that’s doubled. You now have two points and a 0.8 multiplier, which gives you 1.6 points, but that’s doubled as well. That means you get 3.2 points for the Skilled ability and 2 points as a base, totaling 5.2 points. But once your bonus goes away, these points will drop drastically. This same scenario would go down to 1.8.”

  Rabbit’s explanation left me stunned. The thought of losing the doubling bonus and how drastically it would affect my points was overwhelming. Instead of receiving 5.2 points, I would only get 1.8, nearly tripling the difference. I attempted to articulate my understanding of the skill level and bonuses I had purchased, but my words stumbled, and the terms became muddled. I ended up speaking, but my explanation was incoherent.

  “We told you, you can’t speak specifics about the Skill Trees. The words either come out jumbled or not at all,” Sana replied. “But we get the point. It seems you dumped all of your points into Skilled and none into the actual Skill Tree. I think that’s a mistake, and I have never heard of someone purchasing past the first couple of levels of a general skill since they become so expensive. I don’t know for sure since we can’t tell each other, but that’s the general feeling I get from casual conversations.”

  I really wanted to explain everything I did and why it wasn’t such a bad choice, but I moved on as Kaylie said something. “That spell you got, can you try and teach it to me?”

  “What spell?” I asked.

  “I gave you Miniscule Light and Bound Fire. The other spell, Ember Cloud, was given to you when you learned Fire Magic. Sometimes people learn spells on their own. I haven’t heard of that one and would love to learn it if I could,” Kaylie replied, and that made me think of the prompt difference. It seemed that was the reason it was different. I need to look out to see what words are actually used, as they may give more profound clues than what I am told on the surface.

  “What do you mean by ‘if you can learn it’?” I inquired.

  “Not all spells can be learned, even if you have a high aptitude for the type of magic. Some spells can be learned, and some cannot. It’s like rolling your tongue. It seems simple, but not everyone can do it.”

  “How do I give you the spell?” I questioned because, as I have received spells, I have never given one.

  “Just look deeply into my eyes and will the knowledge to me. With sufficient concentration, I will be able to feel it. Most people use words as the trigger because that is an easy way to use your will,” Kaylie stated.

  Facing her directly, I thought about the new spell I learned and willed it at her. Though the effort required was almost effortless on my part, her eyes lit up with wonder, and a broad smile spread across her face in response. Unconsciously, I too found myself mirroring her joyful expression.

  “Thank you!” She beamed. “This one is interesting and must be rare.”

  “Rare?” I repeated.

  “Yeah, it’s not only spell branches that can be rare but spells themselves. If not everyone can learn a spell, it means that it is difficult to pass around. As I have never seen a spell like this before and I am Attuned with Fire Magic, it must be rare.”

  It seemed the rarity of a spell wasn’t just about its power but more about exclusivity. If only a few people knew a spell, it became an advantage. It was like having a specialized tool that not everyone had access to, making it harder for anyone to use it against you, even if it wasn’t the most potent spell.

  “Let me try my other spells,” I said, and then tried willing them at her.

  After a moment of prolonged eye contact, disappointment flickered in her gaze. “Those didn’t take,” she said. “I wasn’t hopeful anyway.”

  “Sorry,” I replied, and then focused on the others. “Sana, you want to trade magic?”

  “With you? I wouldn’t get anything out of it. If I were you, though, I would work on learning the spells you have first before overloading yourself,” Sana suggested.

  “You ready?” Jack interrupted. “We should either go or eat. It has been a long day already.” It was true, as we had all been up half the night dealing with spiders, and I was starving already, even though I was usually barely hungry at this time in the morning.

  “We can probably eat on the way,” I said, and we headed out.

  I was under the impression that Dwarves subsisted on a diet of raw meat, but as I explored their food stores, I discovered that my preconception was far from the truth. Instead, Dwarves enjoyed a varied diet that was odd to me. Their stores were stocked with a range of nuts, cheeses, and roots.

  The Dwarves found the roots quite tasty, and they had an innate ability to digest plants that were toxic to humans. Surprisingly, they had a variety of fresh produce, which confused me since we were underground. While I was initially curious about the source of these provisions, I quickly decided that it wasn’t worth inquiring about, as I didn’t have time.

  Bass had stocked me up with cheese and nuts, leaving the rest of the provisions untouched. The only other thing he checked before we left was the metal supplies. He was surprised to see that some of the iron ingots were unused. And when he said “some”, it was quite extensive.

  I figured he had enough iron leftover to make a suit of armor for every man, woman, and child in the settlement, and that was after most of the metals were stolen. I had no clue why they had so much metal. What could they do with it?

  As we trekked along, we munched on the nuts and cheese, chatting freely while I distributed the provisions. We kept a fast pace, and there wasn’t much tracking until we got out of the fissures in the ground. Our tracking revealed that the wagon had veered northward, leading us to conclude that they were making their way back toward the Union's boundaries.

  “We should talk,” Rabbit said in my head.

  “You sound ominous,” I replied.

  “It's nothing crazy. I just figured out something you might want to know.”

  “What is it?”

  “I realized which path they might take. Based on what we saw earlier and what we know, they will try to stay on solid ground as much as possible. Otherwise, they'll get stuck and have to push the wagon like before,” he explained.

  “Okay?” I questioned.

  “I think they will bear back west again and try to stay close to the fissures in the land. The land directly north is that same marshland we were in earlier. The fissures lead back east farther ahead. This means we could cross the marshland and possibly either get past them or catch up to them, depending on how far ahead they are.”

  "That's a good thing, but you're acting like it's bad," I replied, still not grasping what Rabbit was getting at.

  "Well, it's good if you're trying to catch the group, but bad if you don't want to," he explained. "My guess is we're going to catch up with them, and it might be more than we can handle. Bass won’t listen, and he’ll charge in regardless, and that could get us all killed. But if we don’t reach them in time, it’s not your fault, and everyone gets to live.”

  What my insightful AI meant was that if I concealed the information about the shortcut, the enemy would be able to escape unnoticed, and Bass would be none the wiser. He was also suggesting that this was the wisest and safest course of action.

  However, what weighed more heavily on my mind was the fact that these people were being taken against their will. Regardless of race, the Dwarves were individuals with feelings and rational thoughts. They deserved their freedom, but I wasn’t sure if we had the ability to liberate them.

  Rabbit’s apprehensions were likely valid, as usual, and we could very well be walking into a trap by following Bass. Yet instead of expecting the worst, I chose to remain optimistic and believe in the goodness of others.

  “Show me the shortcut on my map,” I instructed Rabbit.

  Rabbit pointed out a route that he believed we should take. It wound through the murky marshlands, skirted the edge of the forest, then back into the swamp, finally rejoining the terrain we were already on. There was an alternative path that looped around the marsh, tracing its contours, but it was longer than the route Rabbit had suggested, and with fewer noticeable obstacles.

  While Rabbit wasn’t certain the enemy would take this path, I believed it would be foolish for them not to, considering its advantages, especially given the amount of cargo they were carrying.

  “Hey, guys, let’s pause for a second while I tell you what I have found,” I said out loud so the others could hear me. I then shared my thoughts about the path and suggested that we could catch up by cutting through the marshland instead of following the tracks. They all thought it was a good plan.

  Bass was the most impressed. “Who knew such a wee lass like yourself could have such a big brain?”

  I wasn’t sure if that statement was intended as praise or a backhanded compliment, but I chose to brush it off and not dwell on it.