All thoughts were lost to Lisa as the flames burning her eyes seemed to dig deeper, breaking any focus she tried to have.
Why does this keep happening to me? Damn it!
Rolling on the floor, she felt the force of the wall slam into her side and partly her head, yet it felt like a gentle brush compared to the spikes that would not stop…
“ISA—LISA!” a voice started to break through her pain.
“FOCUS! MORE MANA!”
What?! Why would I do that? I’m in pain and MANA caused it…
Yet somewhere in that dazed fog of her mind fighting the pain, she remembered Liri. The bond seemed to be trying to calm her. She felt…
Focus? The mana can heal? That’s stupid… It hurt me.
The pain never stopped, but it did not worsen. That small blessing alone let her focus more on that feeling through her bond. Liri was wanting to do something…
What do I have to lose? I already feel like dying. She can’t make it worse… right?
Conflicted between trusting and accepting whatever fate was brought upon her, she let her tiny core be filled.
No sooner did it fill her core than she felt through the bond Liri pulling the mana from her. And like a splash of water, she felt it brushing her eyes.
A mix of panic and bracing for more pain assaulted Lisa’s mind before shock at the relief that followed. She was on the verge of passing out, gasping hard from the event that just transpired.
“You really are a crazy human, you know that, Lisa?”
Still breathing hard, Lisa finally caught Liri’s words and retorted, “What? I did what you wanted. Why did you not warn me?”
“Lisa… you are… an abnormality to me.”
Lisa lay there for a bit, her breath finally going steady. The cooling of the healing mana soothed her eyes. It all happened too fast for her to even fear if it might have been permanent damage…
For all I know, it was…
“I mean this in the nicest way possible, Liri…. But you are an idiot.”
“What? Why me? You’re the one who doesn’t know how to control mana…”
“Because you summoned me and can’t teach me worth a damn. You’re doing this to me.”
“I didn’t make you stupid… but I do see your point. I’m supposed to be taking this seriously and keep assuming… and forgetting your… limits.”
Oh really, princess? I didn’t notice…
“Well, princess, what are you going to do to help me then…”
“I guess… I’ll have to treat you like a newborn fairy.”
“Seriously… Even now you’re mocking me, Liri?”
“No. I’m serious. We’ll go slow. Learn the basics of what can be and go from there.”
“So… mana sight isn’t a basic spell?”
“Oh, it is. It’s practically the first thing new fairies master. But it’s different for everybody, so you’re technically not wrong.”
Different for everybody? Like what? Different sights? Levels? Learning speeds…?
“Can you elaborate a tiny bit more? My head doesn’t hurt, but you’re still close to giving me a headache with your vagueness…”
A huff and a feeling of annoyance spiked through their bond. And Lisa could not help herself—despite all that happened, she felt better knowing she wasn’t alone and Liri was still trying. Poorly…. Really badly.
But trying.
“Mana sight does have levels. Truthfully, all fairies—I think—have it near peak just from being born.”
“So how do you know there are differences?”
“It’s how they see the mana, or how deep they understand it, that makes it different.”
“Before you… burned your eyes. What did you see?”
“I thought I saw you, then I was blinded by mostly white light burning me…”
“Hmm. I think your sight was too unfocused. You reacted to the slightest shift in mana, to the point that even looking at me was like a sunbeam. Fairies are pure mana, Lisa. Remember?”
But I saw you briefly…
She wanted to focus on that brief moment of really seeing a fairy in real life, but the pain and flashbang that followed ruined it…
“Why did it shift when I saw you clearly before?”
“The mana sight was focusing on what you were seeing, and you focused so deeply.”
“It became overwhelming. Got it…”
“So how do I control how much I see?”
Laughter followed, causing Lisa to frown, unsure of the joke…
“You literally blinded yourself, sealed your power, and you’re asking me how to control how much you can see?”
True… but you could be nicer, you little brat.
“So teach me, princess, or are you just going to stay annoying…”
The laughter slowly died as Liri tried poorly to console Lisa.
“I’m trying, I’m trying. But really, it’s not that easy…. Well, it is, but not with you.”
Despite the mixed mood, they both agreed to end it there, giving Lisa time to recover and adjust a bit more…
So ended the start of a new day in this world. And her first attempt at mana sight.
———
The next day was a mixed bag. Liri repeated much the same lesson with little progress, so they agreed to settle on letting Lisa focus on reshaping her core before they tried more magic things…
Liri used this time to tend to the lake while Lisa practiced.
Truthfully, Lisa knew Liri was just tired of not being able to teach her and wanted space. Lisa did not call her out—she felt the same…
So lisa with her free, time focused on the only thing she could, in a dank cave, with nowhere to go or music to play, which was the core she made.
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The feeling of a lump in her stomach never left, so her new focus was getting the feeling to go away…
I think the issue is I made it stone. Maybe I should have made it more like a core made of mana, not stone? Yet it’s the same thing…
Whatever, that’s a little, too advanced for me to worry about now. I need to learn how to use mana better first before I try to make a better way to hold it.
Maybe. I dunno…
She knew the stone was just how she formed the idea of mana, so it became heavy. But she couldn’t picture mana being light and free and still holding mana…
If it was like my music this would be easy.
What if… I hollow it out, then erode it from the inside out with the pure mana? Then I would have a pure mana core!
The idea was sound, so Lisa spent the free time focusing on that. Drilling made little progress.
It was slow, boring, and not really going anywhere, but it was all she had against the unknown she was trapped with.
———
Day three of this mundane new life was the first turning point of progress.
The day before, Lisa spent most of the day trying to hollow out her core. It was annoying, and mildly painful, but she now had about a fist-sized hole versus the thimble before from the endless focused drilling.
It was a major improvement for her. She was hoping Liri would agree when she met her, yet soon soured when Liri did not share her joy…
“Why would I praise you for a small fragmented core? And one barely able to hold mana?”
“Because I’m trying, you runt?”
A sigh from Liri followed Lisa’s retort, and she felt pity through their bond, annoying Lisa more.
“True, you are doing good, pet. Keep it up.”
I’m not your pet, you little twerp.
Lisa wanted to say it out loud, but knew it was a lie. The bond may be bringing them closer, but in a way, it was almost starting to feel like a collar…
I dunno why, but I thought we were more like friends…
“Can you at least try and add some mana to the well? It would show I made an effort, even if a petty one,” Liri’s voice spiked into Lisa’s thoughts.
What do you mean? In fact, you never explain anything about the well…. Why would I care what happens to it.
“Assuming I could, why would I?” Lisa tried to keep care in her voice and hide her malice.
“One, human. You can. It’s just pushing mana into the well. That should not be beyond even you.”
“And two. This is a ley line—a power source. The sooner we build and establish it, the more control and power we will have.”
“How will it give you more power if your power is still sealed by me?”
“Because it’s not bound to you…. So it can be pulled freely.”
Lisa nodded slowly, unsure she understood, and heard Liri huffing once more.
“Why we chose a lake to remake the ley line is it helps magic flow easier. And it helps distill mana into potion forms later.”
OH! Is that how I got the mana water? Oh my god, a lake of that mana water?!
“Very astute. I can sense the idea of your thoughts in our bond. Yes, the very same lake can be a source of endless mana. And why it will have value as a currency.”
Lisa sat with those thoughts, dreaming of a lake of mana power—she could go home!—when Liri broke her daydream. It seemed Liri had been talking while Lisa was distracted.
“Well, are you at least going to try, or keep sitting there?” Liri asked, sounding close to losing patience.
“Try what now?” Lisa was unsure, yet really listening this time.
“Adding… mana… to… the… well… please,” Liri tried to keep her voice civil.
Whoa, please? That’s different… In fact, I can feel a mix of fear versus just annoyed anger in our bond… Her dad? Expectations? Ah, the building of the lake and her mana sealed because of me…
That bond is convenient when we’re near—the thoughts get clearer… Though I don’t want her reading me too easily. Got to find a way to control that.
Lisa dismissed those trailing thoughts, reached into the pool of mana that seemed to have refilled while they talked in her core, but was unsure what to do.
How do I transfer it? I can’t even see to aim it… And that’s assuming I could.
Lisa fumbled around near where she sensed Liri. She’d forgotten her cane in the room, trusting her sense of the layout and the bond with Liri.
Her hand brushed the rim of a surface that was a little over half her height—around three feet? She wasn’t sure how wide it was, but sensing Liri’s impatience, she knew she was in the right spot.
She willed her mana forward, and nothing happened.
No shock there…
Maybe it’s not just will… Desire?
Yet how is that different…
Lisa decided there was a difference. She desired it, willed it to enter the well to add to its mana—and collapsed.
The drain was immediate. It pulled all her mana and even seemed to try to pull her before it released her, causing her to collapse as if she’d run a mile nonstop…
“Why… did… it drain me?” Lisa panted between breaths, trying to steady the spinning room. Since everything was darkness, the vertigo hit that much harder. She could not tell where her center was to try to steady herself. She missed the rim of the well but was safe, just disoriented.
“So little… but if we do it once a day, maybe it will show we tried,” Liri’s voice spoke, defeated. Even if she said nothing, the bond spoke the same clearly…
Little monster? Is that all I am to her? A battery?
She thought she was getting closer to Liri, but now she wondered if it was just the bond misleading her judgment…
“Thank you, Lisa,” Liri spoke, and gratitude followed through the bond.
Seriously, kid? Your 180-degree mood swings are worse than mine when it’s that time of the month… What gives?
“Dad never wanted to trust me, and I didn’t care—not really. Yet getting you as a pet, and his anger with me not having anything to show for it…”
“It was a bit much,” Liri finished quietly.
“Yeah, well, it’s no picnic for me either, princess. But at least work with me. Remember, I’m a broken human…”
“Okay,” Liri said in a low voice, then patted Lisa’s head.
The absurdity was too much. Lisa could not help but laugh. She knew Liri was not being condescending—she was really trying to comfort Lisa…. Her pet.
Liri, one of these days, I’m going to force you to see me as a person and equal… Humans are not pets.
———
The rest of the day was a more somber one. Lisa focused more on her core, trying to understand it. Liri seemed to go on about random things—how easy mana flowed in their old realm, how they were a dominant species there, how they’d never met humans but thought there were humanoid-type races.
Liri settled down later for a nap, which Lisa was grateful for as she wanted some alone time. What she really wanted was her music, or to even listen to a song.
She could still hear bird calls randomly, but that wasn’t the same.
Chirp chirp. Shut up…
She tried focusing to distract herself, puzzling out why it seemed she had pure mana veins yet everything felt forced and sluggish…
Was it from sealing her mana? That’s stupid… Then she wouldn’t be feeling the core with mana.
Or would she?
She wanted to ask Liri, but Liri was too annoying with her half-answers. So she figured, no matter the reason, she just needed a deeper well. So she made the drill in her mind and focused on that rhythm once more.
If I’m stuck here, might as well gain some form of power. Maybe it’ll make me taste better when that dragon eats me in less than a week.
So passed another day in this world of wonders she could not see, trapped in ways she could feel but not know. And more than anything, she wished she could play just one more time and…
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and then Add to home screen.