After Alice recruited Milo for help in experimenting, the rest of the day went by quickly. At least, it would have – if Alice didn’t still have gloppy chunks of colored mana whirling about every time she looked around her. The fact that the world was now made of rainbows made even walking distracting. Alice was getting seriously frustrated by how hard it was to concentrate on other things when she had rainbow fractals painting literally every inch of the world around her. Even if it was translucent enough that she could still see the physical reality underneath the mana, it was distracting. Alice couldn’t help but wish that she had some way to turn this off – even if it would be useful to her goal of learning the truth behind this world, frankly, it was a huge pain in the butt when it came to doing normal, day to day activities.

Maybe she could get a Perk to disable it? There could definitely be something about that in [Scholar] or [Explorer of Magic], right? Or maybe [Scientist]?

Actually, I can’t help but feel like I’m falling into the same mental trap many other inhabitants of this planet have fallen into, mused Alice. Whenever I have a problem, I look to the System as the first way to solve it. The sheer utility and number of Perks available makes it easy to develop reliance on the System. After all, it can solve almost any problem if you level up enough. Age, sickness… it can even accumulate years of experience for someone in months or even weeks with the right Perks supporting it. However, the System isn’t the only way to solve problems. Even if it’s an excellent tool, I shouldn’t become so reliant on it that I can’t solve problems without the System.

Alice nodded to herself, deciding that she would try her best to solve this problem without the System. The best way to break a bad habit was to push through the instinctive reliance on it, right?

Right now, her problem was that her ability to see mana was becoming distracting. However, there was an equally simple solution which Alice could already implement. Make an enchantment that temporarily blocked her ability to see mana while she was wearing it. Then, when she wanted to do an experiment, she would just remove the enchanted item and conduct the experiment. Then, when she needed to go back to everyday life, she would put the enchantment back on. It would solve the problem, get her a bit more practical experience with enchanting, and help curb her reliance on the System.

I’ll see what I can whip up later, she thought. She would probably need a full workday to really make something functional, so she could deal with the rainbow fog for a few more days, then slap together an enchanted ring or something to help out afterwards. Since she had a pure mana seed and a better idea than before of how mana worked, she could probably make something that fixed her newly acquired vision problem.

That night, after she returned to her inn room, she spent more time experimenting with the mess of rainbow mana. However, regardless of how Alice poked and prodded at it, she couldn’t interact with the mana. It still avoided her and her mana no matter what she tried. Eventually, she gave up, and went to the dining area.

While she was focusing on her meal, she kept observing the people around her, trying to figure out how the fractals inside of people’s brains and the rainbow mana in the air around people interacted with each other.

The rainbow mana didn’t just avoid her – it avoided directly touching anyone. However, Every single time anyone around her did anything, the rainbow mana fractals would recenter themselves, spinning and changing. Even though the rainbow mana never directly touched another person, Alice finally realized that the rainbow mana always touched mana that was about to enter a human.

Normally, all living beings on this planet sucked in mana. This was considered something normal – every single person drained mana from their surroundings, basically every second. Monsters would die if they were isolated from mana, and many kinds of plants and domesticated animals did the same. However, every single bit of mana that people ‘pulled in’ would be touched by the rainbow fractals first.

Curiously enough, the rainbow mana fractals didn’t care about plants and animals at all. The dog the [Innkeeper] kept as a pet absorbed mana from the air around it quite naturally, and the rainbow mana seemed to just ignore the dog’s existence completely. It didn’t even make an effort to avoid the animal – it just literally passed through the dog as if it weren’t there in the first place.

Grass, and the few potted plants near the windows of the inn, also drained mana pretty normally from their surroundings. As with the dog, the rainbow mana completely ignored their presence.

But humans never touched a single drop of unfiltered mana. Anytime mana was about to touch a human, the rainbow fractals would swarm it. The mana looked… different afterwards. Even if Alice couldn’t see a distinct change in color afterwards, the mana would always have a different texture afterwards. Then, once the mana made its way inside of a human’s body, it would worm its way towards the fractals in their brain, or towards other parts of their body.

For now, Alice didn’t have any further observations to contribute to her initial findings. For now, she decided to wait until the next weekend, when she could discuss what she was seeing with Cecilia and see if the other girl had any ideas. Apart from that, she could also get some basic test results from Cecilia and Milo spending some time in the manaless room, which might also give her some inspiration for new ways to mess with the rainbow mana. Thus, at least for now, Alice shelved her observations and decided to quietly take notes and prepare.

Through Training, you have increased an attribute!

Perception +1

At the very least, she got an Attribute point out of spending her entire dinner giving people weird stares over each mouthful of food. It was small, but it was something.

* * *

The next day, near the end of Alice’s training with Illa, a messenger entered the training room. Alice took this as a welcome opportunity to trying and failing to take a drink of water from a glass without spilling any liquid, and looked over at the letter with keen interest. It was made out of real paper, instead of using wood and charcoal, which was pretty unusual for Cyra.

Illa took the letter out of the envelope and began scanning the paper. She frowned for a moment, sinking deep into thought. Then, she flicked a few copper artisans at the messenger, who snatched them out of the air before turning around and leaving the room.

Ill turned to Alice with a thoughtful expression. A few minutes passed in silence, before Illa spoke again.

“Do you want to see something interesting?” Asked Illa.

“Define interesting,” said Alice, feeling uneasy.

“Do you want to watch an Immortal fight a monster swarm?”

“Hmmm?”

“The dimensional broken mana zone we explored a few weeks ago finally collapsed. Afterwards, a bunch of alpha monsters starting forming monster swarms and chowing down on each other. Long story short, there is now a very large swarm of vinebears wandering around the woods. For a while, we were hoping they might just head south into the mana wastes and get eaten by whatever monsters live there, but unfortunately, they’ve been wandering closer and closer to Cyra instead. Immortal Allira got sick of having one of her subordinates keep an eye on them, so she has decided that rather than leave a potential threat near the colonization zone, it was better to just remove the threat once and for all. She requested the aid of some Mages and experienced [Soldiers] or [Guards] to help deal with the swarm. It would be a rare opportunity to see alphas from somewhat closer range while in the wilds, and it would also be an opportunity to see an Immortal in action. On top of that, I’ll give you paid time off from working on the docks AND danger compensation. If you’re interested, at least,” said Illa. “It shouldn’t be too dangerous, either – the Sigmusi presence has mostly been rooted out in this area by now, so the possibility of ambushes is low. It’ll also give you a few levels in most combat classes, which never hurts.”

Alice pursed her lips, thinking over the offer.

Truthfully, it was… surprisingly tempting.

Illa was many things. First and foremost, she was extremely pragmatic. However, Illa was always upfront about her intentions as well. Alice trusted that if the situation would be seriously dangerous, the older woman would tell her what she was getting into, and then beef up the compensation according to what the other felt the danger was worth. If she said it shouldn’t be too dangerous, it probably wouldn’t be.

And Alice was increasingly curious to know what Immortals and Classes were. Alice didn’t want to die, and if possible, she would love to reach Immortality as well. However, she was huge way off from becoming an Immortal, and right now, Immortals were one of the strangest aspects of life in this world. As well as one that Alice understood the least.

“What time would it be?”

“Tomorrow. I don’t want this damn swarm getting anywhere near the actual town. Immortal Allira agrees with me, and so we have decided to remove the potential threat before it becomes an actual problem. Even a single vinebear is usually a matter for the guard to deal with, since average farmers don’t have a good way to stop anything more threatening than a few spidercrabs. A whole swarm of Vinebears is a serious problem for the town. Luckily we have an Immortal and a solid group of competent, high-level [Guards] and [Soldiers], so it should be fairly straightforward to deal with.”

Alice sighed, before she nodded. “All right. Count me in.”

Illa grinned. “I’m glad that you’re interested. We will be meeting just outside of the town gates tomorrow at noon.”

* * *

The next day, Alice made her way to the town gates. There were small groups of soldiers standing around just outside of the town, armed with a mixture of bows and a strange spear Alice had never seen before. Instead of just the usual wooden shaft with a spearhead, these were made entirely out of metal, and had an extra hilt – like protrusion about half a meter behind the spearhead. Perhaps it was to provide the spears with greater ability to stop a charging vinebear? Alice wasn’t really sure, but since it wasn’t too important for her role in this, she didn’t ask.

Apart from the [Soldiers] and [Guards] were a few people wearing far heavier metal armor, whom Alice originally assumed were some sort of higher-ups in the [Guards]. That is, until she recognized one of them.

“Lady Vallenta?” Asked Alice, looking at one of the mages dressed in high-quality, heavy armor.

“Lady Alice. It has been a few weeks since we last spoke,” said one of the town’s [Organic Mages] who Alice had met during the expedition.

Alice stifled the urge to do a double take. “Are you also here for the vinebear culling?”

“Indeed. I take it you are here for the same reason?”

“Yes. I am surprised to see you in heavy armor.”

The woman seemed to perk up a bit, as she fondly ran her fingers over one of her gauntlets. “It was quite pricey, but I am glad I invested in it. It has saved my life a few times in the past. Today, we’re fighting with an Immortal, and I’m mostly going to be in the backlines to heal people, so I doubt it will be terribly useful. However, I thought it was best to wear my nicest armor, just in case. Besides, we’re just taking a smaller trip outside of town, so I don’t need to worry too much about long term mobility,” she said, giving Alice a friendly grin.

“Is wearing armor common for mages?” Asked Alice. In her previous world, it had been ‘common sense’ that mages all wore robes to fights. While robes had pretty minimal defensive abilities, Alice was still used to the trope.

“Why wouldn’t we wear armor? Do you enjoy getting shot with arrows?” Asked Vallenta, giving Alice an odd look.

“I wasn’t sure, honestly. I’ve never seen mages in a real military situation before this, but I assumed maybe mages wore … lighter armor so they can keep up. Most of us don’t have the physical stats to keep up with soldiers on the march, right?”

“Ah, are you referring to [Corellian Warmages]? I know that they have lighter uniforms for mages, since their armies tend to value high mobility. On the other hand, they also don’t have any other nations competing for land in their region, and so their armies are mostly focused on fighting nomads,” said Vallenta. “Since mounted nomadic raiders attack and then leave before [Soldiers] can arrive, their mages tend to be mounted and wear minimal equipment so that they can actually get there in time. A few decades ago, Illvaria tried something kind of similar with a light mage cavalry corps, but the idea never really caught on. Illvarian mages are higher level, and take a lot more time and money to raise, so we focus a lot more heavily on keeping our mages alive. Not that I’m complaining – I like my organs to be arrow-free. Not that I can’t heal myself if my brain isn’t damaged. Still, I prefer to avoid wasting mana and dodging pain.”

“Huh. I had never really thought about it too much. Fair enough,” said Alice, giving lady Vallenta an appreciative nod. The idea of heavily armored mages struck her as bizarre, but Alice couldn’t help but feel more than slightly amused as well. A lot of tropes from her old world… really didn’t hold up well in the face of practical necessity.

“Speaking with you is always enjoyable, lady Alice. Your ideas are always refreshing to listen to, and I like that you aren’t afraid to speak your mind. That’s rarer up North. I like that things aren’t so stuffy when I talk with you.” Vallenta gave Alice a warm smile.

Alice returned the older woman’s smile before she changed the topic. “Do you know who else is coming along?”

“Well, I am here, obviously. Illa is also coming along. I know we have another [Organic Mage] for backup healing. Apart from that, just these two,” said Vallenta, gesturing towards the two mages, one of which was wearing heavy armor like lady Vallenta and one of which was wearing normal clothing. Both of them gave Alice friendly nods.

“Apart from that, the Immortal of Song and Shadow is coming! My mother always told me stories about her when I was a little girl! I never thought I would get to see her in real life!” Vallenta’s gaze grew fervent.

Alice took a curious look at the three mages, who had various expressions of excitement, and was suddenly more than a little curious. How were Immortals actually regarded in this country? Vallenta had heard stories of Immortals growing up? How… odd. She had a hard time processing the idea of hearing a person who lived inside of a country being used as materials for storybooks told to children. She was more used to the idea of children stories being about… well, Mythical heroes going on adventures to slay monsters and rescue princesses.

Which, in this world, could just be an entirely factual tale of an Immortal doing their job. Huh.

She settled down for a chat with the other few mages in the area as more soldiers and the other [Organic Mage] gradually entered the area.

Alice was glad to see the other [Organic Mage] dressed in more casual clothing. It was nice to know that only half of the mages here owned freaking armor and decided to wear it to cull vinebears.

Finally, Alice saw Alira walk into the area, accompanied by Illa. Alira was just as inhumanly beautiful as the first time Alice had seen her, but the weird, rainbow-colored mana soup acted very differently near her.

This was Alice’s first time seeing an immortal since she had upgraded her Pure Mana seed and her [Truth Seeker] Perk. And now that Alice could see things more clearly, Allira looked even more odd than the first time Alice had seen her. Her body still looked like a solidified clump of mana.

However, even more bizarre was that Alice could see Allira’s body moving. Every second, she was continuously transforming in tiny, subtle ways. Her skin, bones, and flesh were all continuously shifting, almost as if they were alive, but still stayed in roughly the same position and place. It looked more than slightly unnerving, but it also seemed as if she were transforming into herself over and over again, similar to the fake ‘Alice’ she had seen during her Pure Mana seed vision.

Most curious of all, the area around her brain was extremely still – anytime mana started to move around near there, the rainbow mana in the area would throw a hissy fit. Then, the mana near Allira’s brain would settle down. In addition, the woman didn’t have a set of fractals in her brain, the same way other people did – instead, it almost looked like her entire body had blended together with one of the fractal patterns present in other people’s bodies. Instead of five separate fractals located in various parts of the brain, her entire body looked like a massive blender had taken all of those fractals, broken them down into smaller but still recognizable chunks, and then scattered them randomly throughout her entire body.

In addition, the rainbow-colored mana didn’t avoid the Immortal’s body the way it avoided other humans. Instead, it seemed to actively hug her at all times, like a layer of cling wrap.

Alice had no clue what to make of that, so she turned her attention back to Illa. The older woman gave Alice a friendly nod before she turned her attention back to Immortal Allira, continuing a conversation that Alice was totally unable to hear even though she was standing fairly close to them. With some amusement, Alice realized that she couldn’t even see their lips properly – it looked blurry whenever she tried to focus on how their lips were moving. Whatever Perk was preventing eavesdropping even stopped people from trying to lip-read.

After a few moments, Illa nodded to Allira, and then turned to the group of forty [Soldiers], Mages, and [Guards]. “All right, all of you know why we’re here already. I’ll give you more specific instructions when we encounter the Vinebear swarm. Scouts, get into position. The rest of you, just focus on marching – I’ll give you more specific orders once we get there.” The others simply nodded, giving each other nervous glances before they turned to Alira, seemingly feeling a lot more reassured whenever they confirmed the Immortal was still there.

With that, the hastily organized group of people got into formation and set off.