Chapter 60: Emilia’s Choice

Chapter 60: Emilia’s Choice

Emilia opened her eyes. She was entirely wrapped in bandages, lying on a soft bed. It was dark outside, and sleeping beside her were her mother and one of the village healers. Memories of the battle quickly flooded her consciousness. She remembered the price she had paid and her ruined body.

Emilia immediately began circulating the mana in her body and gasped in surprise. Her energy moved significantly faster, and her channels were almost twice as robust. Her mana had grown by twenty percent, reaching a total of 165 mana!

But that was far from everything. Her muscles were stronger; her injured eyes had become almost twice as perceptive. She could now clearly see the mana particles floating around.

Her hands, which had been scorched by the divine energy, were reconstructed, and their power was also nearly double. She had incredible control over them and could literally feel the impacts of the tiny mana particles with her skin. It was as if she had gained the abilities of a First-Circle Mage, saving her years of training.

Naturally, this applied only to her sight and the control over her hands. Her magic continued to be at zero level. She still could not activate the more complex glyphs of a First-Level Mage. Even Fjorn, before he was wounded and lost a large part of his strength, had only reached the early phases of the Second Circle. The nobles back in the city were at most Third Circle, or perhaps there was some old monster of the Fourth Circle, so this skill of hers was incredible.

"Mother," Emilia mumbled and coughed lightly.

Her mother, who was sleeping by her bed on a wooden chair covered with a sheepskin, opened her eyes, and almost instantly, they lit up.

"Emilia, you're awake." Mira jumped off the chair and hugged her small daughter. She held her tightly, and her eyes began to tear up.

"Do you know how worried I was about you? You were gone for almost three months. And when they brought you back, your body was weak, and no one could wake you up. Fjorn built a special formation to feed you, and every day he gave you soup made from the blood of magical animals while you slept."

Emilia also hugged her mother tightly and cried. She recalled the horrors she had witnessed. The evil creatures mercilessly attacking their wooden fortification. She remembered pressing herself in fear against the wall, clutching her small spear and a handful of talismans. She had felt so insignificant.

Then she remembered the numerous battles in the private space and the breath of the Cerberus, which was a second behind her. After that, she tried to recall the magical root and her sacred mission. Suddenly, her head began to ache sharply, and she cried out. Mira recoiled slightly and loosened her embrace.

"I'm sorry, my darling, I wasn't hugging you too tightly, was I? I apologize, you are still sick, and I squeezed you like that all of a sudden."

"No, no, Mom, my head just started hurting suddenly." Emilia moved closer and hugged her mother again. They spoke softly into the night, and Emilia recounted some of the more interesting stories. She tried to calm her mother, but at the same time, she allowed herself to be comforted in turn.

To her luck, the Ascendant had locked away some of her memories of the pain from her destroyed body, as well as its subsequent recovery. This would help her recover faster and without unnecessary psychological trauma. It also ensured she would not have a chance to secretly begin blaming the gods in her heart.

Emilia told her adventures, and from time to time, an old woman woke up briefly and changed the dressings on the injured people.

After the ruins disintegrated, the evil races were gripped by a temporary madness and had attacked the village several times. Fortunately, they were not numerous enough, and the wounded were few.

Early the next day, the Mayor appeared, followed by two guards. He was carrying a breakfast of warm milk with crumbled goat cheese inside, small pieces of bread, finely crushed chili pepper, and a lump of butter. He poured three large bowls of the strange breakfast, called "popara", and settled by the bed.

"How are you, Emilia? They told me you woke up."

"I am well," she answered, her gaze resting on the guards dressed in iron armor.

"Do they think I'm a noble's child?" she wondered.

They then asked her a series of questions and finally made her sign a document outlining the group's actions in the destruction of the portal. After they left, the Mayor whispered into Emilia's ear.

"We slightly exaggerated your importance in the destruction of the formations. You are listed as Fjorn's apprentice and will share a portion of his military credit. When you get home, find the local military office and give them this letter. By then, they will have received a report of your actions and will reward you with military credits."

"What are military credits?" Emilia asked, continuing to slurp her popara.

"The military has a special reward system. With the help of these credits, you will be able to unlock many rewards. The military possesses a huge amount of resources, mysterious knowledge, training opportunities, secret training halls, and even magical private spaces, where one day of training can equal weeks or even months of training time."

"That can't be," Emilia shook her head in disbelief. "How can one day equal a whole month?"

"Very simply, if, for example, you want to work with fire magic, there are special training grounds where the fire mana is extremely rich—for instance, in a special hall deep within a volcano. Or a specific lake where cooled waters flow from the depths of the volcano, full of incredible fire minerals coming from the heart of the earth."

Mira was also listening to all of this with her mouth agape. She had only heard distant legends about the mysterious training methods of the more powerful mages.

"And the private spaces?" she asked, then quickly put a hand over her mouth. She did not want to interfere with the conversation, but her curiosity had overcome her.

"Private spaces are realms outside of our reality. They are small bubbles of space parallel to our plane of existence. Sometimes the barriers of reality weaken, and mages with high space affinity manage to open stable portals to these places. Anything can be there. And the most interesting thing is that, in some of these places, even time itself flows differently. The wealthiest families often own several such spaces where they train the new generations. But these realities push back against ours. That is why a person cannot stay there for long."

"What do you mean?" asked Emilia, who was finishing her popara.

"Well, for example, many spaces you can enter only once in your lifetime, and you must meet certain requirements. For instance, you must be at least a Third-Level Mage. Or, the exact opposite, you must be weaker than a certain level. For example, the space might only accept First and Second-Level Mages. There are also spaces that can only be visited once every ten years. During the rest of the time, the portal to them is kept closed."

The two continued the conversation, and Emilia poured herself a second serving of popara. She learned a lot about the mysterious spaces and the military credit points. At that moment, Fjorn arrived from somewhere.

"Hello, Emilia, I am glad you are well."

She looked at the old master and activated her skill: Dispelled Ignorance. Her eyes shone with a strange divine energy, and she focused on Fjorn's energy channels.

"Emilia, that is quite rude," the Mayor quickly scolded her, having somehow sensed what was happening. "It is not right to use magic to spy on your friends without their permission."

Emilia hastily deactivated her skill. But in that brief moment, she had seen that Master Fjorn's energy channels were almost completely healed! How was that possible? He had been suffering from this condition for years... Unless perhaps...

"Divine intervention!" she thought to herself.

"Emilia... I have a proposal for you. After we dealt with the ruins, I received a Third-Level Military Meritorious Act. As a result, I will have the opportunity to participate in a two-month meeting for the exchange of experience among talisman masters in the capital, where the court Grand Master—Filon—will personally give lectures every day. After that, I decided to accept a proposal for military service in the rear, with the promise not to step onto the battlefield. The service is quite long—thirty years—but if I collect enough credit points and perform a few more Meritorious Acts, I will be able to become a Grand Master and receive the title of Baron or even higher. I propose that you join me, and after I return from the capital, you will become my official apprentice."

Emilia thought seriously. It would be very difficult, even impossible, to find a master like Fjorn who would not burden her with numerous heavy contracts. She was almost ready to accept, but at one moment, she remembered something else.

"Does that mean I will also have a thirty-year contract with the military?"

"Actually, at least thirty years. It could be more. I need to check how things stand. But yes, if you join me, you will be in military service."

"But they do not have a contract with me and will be able to send me to the front, right?"

"I will personally ensure that does not happen. You have my word!" Fjorn firmly replied, even thumping his chest with his hand.

Emilia thought again. What did she want from life? She had transmigrated, somehow managed to cross over into this strange magical world. She had worked for years to train her mana and her body. She was barely four years old... wait a minute... her birthday had passed while she was in the private space—she was already five years old!

Emilia was only five years old, yet she already had knowledge of herbalism, talismans, and basic knowledge of formations. She was not bound by contracts and was an acolyte of Hecate.

If she chose to continue her path with Fjorn, she would have to leave her parents and travel the kingdom. Although there was a promise not to send them directly to the front, they would be working for the military.

In this world, danger could come from anywhere. Had they not been attacked even here, in this small village? And had not Fjorn been sent to risk his life to deal with the ruins?

What would happen if she started working directly for the military? He had no connections; he was not a noble. He certainly would not be assigned the easiest tasks.

On the other hand... Emilia got along quite well with Master Fjorn. She had learned a lot and would learn much more. Maybe she, too, could follow his path and achieve a barony with the help of the army...

"Do not rush to answer; I will leave you to talk with your mother."

After that, the others left, and Emilia remained alone with her mother.

"Emilia, this is an incredible opportunity. People pay very large sums in gold to be trained by a Master."

"But Mother, I can still enroll with the military now, and they will find me a Master quite quickly. Especially since I have participated once as an apprentice and we received a high Meritorious Act. The question is whether I want this."

Then her mother pondered... but finally just sighed.

"Whatever you decide, know that your father and I will fully support you."

"And what happened with the land and the house here?"

"We agreed to rent the land to the rich landowner here; with the money, they will take care of the house and the ancestral shrine. If one day, some cousin decides to settle here, they will be able to live in the house and receive a piece of land, with the right to buy out the remaining lands over time. Whatever is left of the rent will be divided once a year among the few living relatives."

"So, we will not be staying here?"

"Perhaps... if you leave with Fjorn... I have often come to visit, but all of Ronan's relatives and friends are in our town. I am not sure he will want to abandon them. And the money from the rent will help significantly."

"I will also help," Emilia quickly interjected. "I managed to collect quite a lot of herbs... where is my backpack?"

"It is at your grandmother's house, do not worry."

"Can you bring it? I want to see what we have before we make any decisions."

Mira soon returned with the backpack, and Emilia began sifting through the different packages. There were many different herbs, but she did not know them well and did not know their exact methods for harvesting and storage. Nevertheless, there were leaves of the Red Songstress, Hellshrooms, and a few other herbs she recognized. She knew their prices well because she often dreamed of finding them somewhere in the forest.

There were a full twelve leaves of the Red Songstress, and they could easily be sold for 600 silver. They had been collecting the heavy earth mana in the dungeons for years and were well preserved. The three Hellshrooms were 70 silver each, or at least another 200 silver. Perhaps if they sold everything, they would collect an incredible 1000 silver coins!

Emilia would need to buy a new brush, ink, and sheets for talismans, but even so, they possessed a huge amount of silver. They could calmly live for a whole year with the money they would have left over.

Emilia quickly explained the price of the plants and her plans for the brush and inks.

"I think I will continue to be independent," she decided at one point. "That way I can take care of you. Besides, anything can happen. If I become strong enough, perhaps I can find some hidden treasure and unlock Kael's mana. Before he turns fifteen, mana can still be unlocked more easily. Also, with this money, we will be able to pay the church so he can study there."

"Your brother can't read or write."

"He knows a little... I taught him to write our names. He knows most of the letters. He will learn quickly. I will help him."

Mira looked at the multitude of herbs. "You will do all this for your brother?" Her eyes welled up again, and she tightly hugged Emilia. "Such a child. You are a true genius, born once every hundred years!" she wept. "We are blessed by the gods. We must make a sacrifice at the next fair."

Mira was not particularly spiritual by nature, but in that moment, her entire soul was filled with gratitude to the heavens.

"I will take care of that. I have long promised to repay the great goddess," Emilia replied, and once again, she remembered her promise to build many altars to Transmigrea and glorify her in this small world.