"So, you bring her here? in your house? a stranger at that?"

"I can't help it alright? The site around the mountain had already become a restricted zone before I knew it, it must have been quite recently since there was no news about it."

"Even so...why here of all places..."

Ria heaved a sigh while massaging her temple as she could feel the headache slowly catching up to her. She looked up toward the figure seated on the chair not so far away from them before looking back at Sheila standing next to herself, the two were whispering so that Mia couldn't listen to whatever topic they were talking about. 

Ria couldn't understand the logic of how Sheila's brain works, she could just find another desolate place but no⁠—she went for her own house instead, bringing stranger along with her. For example, the alleyways where she encounters the goblin for the first time. 

It feels like Sheila didn't think it through and just chose what comes to her mind straight away. Indeed, the girl doesn't look like someone who would do something untoward to them but that doesn't mean it isn't possible. Who knows, she might secretly have two personalities and the one we were witnessing was a normal her but the other one could also be a psychopath. Or perhaps, Sheila was confident that whatever happened, she could take care of it with her brute strength?

But no matter how strong she is, she could still get taken by surprise and be killed. She isn't immortal, after all. Although her strength makes her inhuman yet human, she would still die from a bullet if it pierced through her heart. In fact, what if Mia and Angelica were actually plotting and lied to her regarding the magecraft and the other information told by them? Just thinking about it brings her chills to no end. But seeing that Mia didn't do anything after she had just sat on the chair makes her thinking that she might come to conclusion too quickly.

Another sigh escaped from her mouth before she continues.

"And then, what are you going to do next? Bring her to the Trial Tower?"

"Yes, that was the plan. It will make things much easier if she experienced everything on her own. You also know me, I'm not good at explaining stuff properly."

"But still, I'll go with you. There's bound to be a misunderstanding if I left you to your own device."

"What are you talking about? Put some trust in me, will you?"

Ria keeps her silence and Sheila could only pout for a moment before moving on toward Mia. Seeing as there was no guitar-like case with her, the Mage Association must have taken it back from her since she decided to leave them for good. Such a shame, I was going to analyze it more, who knows, I might get creation type of skill, thought Sheila.

"So, Mia, this girl next to me is my best and childhood friend who stays with me until high school, Cilia. But I call her by the nickname, Ria."

"N-Nice to met you."

Mia stood up from her seat before bowing her head followed by her greeting.

"And Ria, this girl here is a retired apprentice mage, Mia. Well, she did leave the association, so it can be considered as retired, isn't it?"

Ria only looked at Sheila with a deadpan expression for a few seconds before returning her greeting to Mia followed by a bow of her own in response.

"Nice to met you too."

Sheila nodded her head at the two before opening her mouth and said.

"Now with that done, let's get the real discussion. Anyway, I know that you're confused about why I bring you here, rather than explaining, I'll show you instead. Don't worry, Ria and I will be following you along."

Mia tilted her head to the side for a short moment before her eyes were overwhelmed by darkness. She was about to went full panic mode when her eyesight regained its light, which calms her down for a moment before she was taken by another surprise when the surrounding entered her view.

"Surprise? I totally get that feeling, after all, I also feel the same as you when I first entered this place."

Mia looked back and saw Sheila responding by speaking to her with Ria next to her side. 

"W-Where am I?"

Mia couldn't help but ask the question when she realized everything around her is real judging from the pain she felt when she pinches her thigh. No matter how many times she looked at her surroundings, nothing change or show any sign that indicated it as an illusion. Although rare, there are still a few mages out there who can use illusion magecraft. As far as her knowledge goes, the illusion from their magecraft looks more like a transparent ghost than an actual solid object.

By taking a couple of a deep breath, she could tell the refreshing air in her surrounding is different than the air in the room she was a while ago. When she crouches down to her knees and feeling the grass in her hands, she was amazed. The feeling was too real to be called an illusion. Suddenly, she heard a chuckle behind her back, she didn't need to turn her head to know who was laughing as soon, the laughing stopped and Sheila spoke, answering the many questions in her head at once.

"Yes, everything around you is real. It didn't exist in reality but somewhere in the void. This is not the work of an illusion as you can tell just by touching and feeling the dirt or the grass in your hands. This place is called Trial Tower, as to why it was called Tower, it's very simple. This spacious land filled with only grass was nothing but only the first floor, yes, you heard that right. There are still many floors up above, or maybe downward, I don't know precisely how many because the highest I have gone is only the Sixth Floor. Plus, don't you think there's something different in the air?"

"Different? ...T-The mystic power is a lot thicker in here! How was it possible!"

"Mystic power?"(Ria)

"Ah, it's mana but that's what the Mage Association, the place where she came from called it as such."

Ria nodded her head as if she understood before opening her mouth and spoke to Mia about something that Sheila had missed.

"Though it looks spacious, there are actually limited as once you reached a certain point, you will get obstructed by an invisible wall."

The latter was said by Ria which Sheila nodded her head in agreement. Mia could only stare at them with an amazing look on her face, still find it hard to believe their remark as she continues on observing her surroundings in earnest. Five minutes later, it seemed that she was done observing and finally believes in their words, after all, she had just witnessed and even observe it with her own two eyes. The actual proof was right around her that makes anyone hard to deny it.

"This is not the end of it, you know?"

She turned her back and could see Sheila grinning at her before the latter slowly approaching and handing her a piece of blue card with a pattern-like white line around it. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary when she gazes at the card, but when her finger touches the card, something shocking appeared, obstructing the view in front of her. 

『 Mia LV.1 』

『 HP: 15/15 MP: 50/50

Class: Mage

—STR: 4 —INT: 10

—AGI: 4 —VIT: 3

—LUCK: 2 AP: 0 』