As the sun rose the next morning, Mira was the first person to open her eyes and wake up. Stretching her body and moving around a little, she dressed up and walked to the 3rd floor to check on everyone else. Anita was, as usual, deep asleep. Mira knew that she was not the sort of person to wake up until much later in the morning.

Next, she went to check on Sofia and Alviona. Entering the room, she was greeted by a sight of a girl, who was sleeping with her wings extended covering the body as if it were a blanket. Alviona was tightly clutching a pillow, slightly drooling. It appeared that she was having a dream since she was vaguely talking in her sleep; something about biting someone’s tail. Mira could not comprehend the full meaning behind this, and noticing that Sofia was absent, she decided to leave the room and let the girl rest a while longer.

Mira skipped the second floor, as she had no intentions of checking on Solomon or Janine, and walked outside.

“Why did you get up so early, child?”

Caught by surprise, Sofia, who was drawing elemental projectile, quickly turned her entire body while aiming her bow at Mira.

“Oh, my. I apologize, Mrs. Mira, I did not know. You startled me,” said Sofia, easing up her shoulders and withdrawing the weapon.

“No need to apologize, and please, don’t be so formal. Just Mira will do. So, what are you up to my darling?”

“I am training to enhance my bow skills in an attempt to reduce the mana consumption of [Elemental Arrow]. I am also trying to perform a delay on the projectile so that the element activates before the impact, but it is rather difficult,” said Sofia, pointing towards the three bolts puncturing the tree, turning around and drawing her bow to its full strength. Once the arrow was loaded, she immediately let loose, attempting to apply her [Elemental Enchant] mid-flight, charging it with Wind element. It appeared to be successful, for the bolt started making a piercing noise but ended up puncturing the same spot with its regular force.

*Sigh*

“And it was a failure yet again.”

Mira guessed why she was doing this, Sofia was in turmoil over letting Alviona go to the mainland, even if she had not objected earlier or refuted her points, the fact remained: – how would a mother let her daughter leave at such a young age? Frustrated and unable to figure out how to confront her, Mira pondered, deciding to tell her the full story which she had not revealed earlier.

“Sofia, it is a little early right now, and everyone is asleep. Would you mind us talking as fellow mothers?” she asked, bowing and surprising the young girl in front of her.

“O-of course. But, please do not bow, it makes me feel uncomfortable and embarrassed,” replied Sofia with a blushing face, unable to guess what Mira wanted to talk about, curiosity filling her body.

“Very well then. It is about your daughter, so please listen carefully. This will take a while,” said Mira, not willing to continue until the girl provided her full attention.

Hearing the topic would be about Alviona, Sofia gulped, putting away her bow, stroking her cheeks a couple of time, and nodding in affirmative.

“Let us go for a walk then. So, are you aware of the condition that I was in? Has Anita told you much?”

“Yes. You were in a slumber as an aftermath of attempting to cure a plague that occurred fifteen years ago,” said Sofia after brushing her chin, falling into thought.

“You are correct,” nodded Mira, “except, I did not just attempt to cure it but instead, succeeded. However, I was exhausted beyond reasoning and as such ended up catching the disease that affected mana flow, throwing me into the state of unconsciousness…”

“What is wrong? Why did we stop…” Sofia was unable to finish asking her question, as Mira stopped moving and gestured her to stop talking. As the two of them froze, a giant golem passed by, shaking the entire ground but not paying any attention to the party. After it disappeared from view, they resumed their journey.

“We have to be a little cautious here. Some goblins are inhabiting this area of the forest, and is a place that golems include into their patrol routes. Please watch yourself.”

“Understood!” said Sofia, mustering up her body and moving her right hand towards the bowstring, raising her alertness and preparing for combat, activating [Tracking] skill in the intervals of every 40 seconds for 2 seconds. “Two goblin mages coming from the west.”

Hearing this, Mira immediately cast [Nature’s skin] on herself and her companion; an ability that reduced first incoming magic attack by 50%, followed by [Nature’s whisper]; a skill that attacked the psych of monsters and muzzled their sense of direction.

As the two goblins aimlessly wandered past them, Sofia unleashed her [Elemental Arrow] comprised of ice which pierced the first monster, causing frostbite and heavy bleeding, not allowing it to recover. The second arrow was composed of lightning, which caused a shock upon impact, providing Sofia time to cast [Agility], swiftly dashing, closing the distance and stabbing the second goblin into the heart, not allowing it even a second to recover.

“Impressive,” said Mira, witnessing Sofia’s potency in combat, praising her quick decision-making skills and execution.

“Thank you very much,” came a reply from the girl, removing a flask attached to her belt and chugging water.

The company of two continued their walk, stopping in-between a few times to catch a breath, and talking about their experiences. Mira even spoke about Anita and her childhood a bit, causing Sofia to get surprised for hearing how adorable and cute the small elf was proved overly entertaining.

“Eh?! Did she really stay in her bed for five days just because you splashed her with cold water for mixing up wrong herbs when brewing potion?!” asked Sofia, giggling with excitement. She had just received a way to tease Anita.

“You bet! And she did not just mix the wrong herbs but brewed the potion that would wake even the rotten dead from their graves, demanding to be released from that stench! It took me fifteen days to clean up that mess and get rid of the odor,” said Mira, chuckling when recalling how bad it had been. Her daughter always was mischief and too impatient, but looking at Sofia, she was happy that Anita finally managed to find a suitable partner.

It took them two hours before Mira stopped and declared that they had arrived. The place was nothing out of the unordinary, lush trees, rocks, tree barks, tall grass and big mossy rock.

“Why are we here?” asked Anita, curiosity taking over her.

Mira did not reply, but instead approached that very rock and touched it with her two hands, sliding them down and incurring minor cuts from rubbing her hands over sharp edges covered by moss. As the blood carrying elf’s mana came into contact with the object, it began violently trembling, sliding down the middle portion of the rock, as if peeling a slice from the whole apple, revealing a small passageway that led underground.

“Let’s go. I need to retrieve some equipment,” said Mira, holding her hands together and casting [Flame] to illuminate the dark and a narrow corridor. Few minutes after, they reached their destination.

The room was small, with only a small cabinet and bookshelf that seemed to contain various scrolls. Mira walked up to it and chanted [Remove Petrification], [Remove Curse], [Remove Paralysis] and [Remove Thorns of Death], resulting in the drawer opening up on its own. Slowly moving her hand forward, she retrieved a sheathed dagger, which had straps and metallic rings attached to it.

“Is that a dagger?”

“No. It is a wand, a druidic one too. It was crafted for me by my husband about three centuries ago, from the toughest tree that he cut down with his bare hands, using only the most valuable emerald piece for a catalyst that he possessed in his treasury. I always kept it as an heirloom, but now it is time to use it,” replied Mira with a warm smile. Remembering her husband always brought joy to her heart and soul. “It provides me +20% increase in using any druidic abilities, restores 50% of mana when using restorative spells, is usable as an offensive catalyst like staves, is indestructible, and lastly, is soulbound to me, therefore it will always return to into my possession even if someone steals it.

“That sounds amazing!” said Sofia, who was excited hearing about such item. The properties were unique, resembling her bow.

“Indeed it is. However, I did not just bring you here for that reason. Sofia, in this place, no one can eavesdrop on us, so please, I beg of you to listen to what I have to tell you,” said Mira, kneeling and giving a courtly bow.

“P-please! Stop doing that Mira, it is unnecessary. Such behavior gets me rather uncomfortable and embarrassed,” begged Sofia, not understanding why the elf was acting so formal.

“Sofia, please listen to me now. Remember we talked about my slumber?”

“Yes.”

“I did not tell you one crucial detail; I was also there, with Solomon, when the time stopped.”

“WHAT?!” gasped Sofia, unable to believe what she had just heard, shocked and terrorized by the firm statement that Mira had made. “H-how?”

“That is not all. The reason I am asking you and Anita to stay behind is precisely due to what I have witnessed while inhabiting the world where time did not exist. I have witnessed your child grow, and it was… I can not fully describe it in words, for it is one thing to see it and then to experience it all together,” said Mira in a low voice, not to scare Sofia more than she already had.

“The moment the time stopped, you, Anita, birds, goblins, humans, wolves, and even my body, all disappeared from existence. The only reason I was able to retain myself is that of the bond that I share with this forest. As I said before, Great Forest of Javl is like my mind and ears, except when the phenomenon occurred, it actually became my eyes. What I witnessed was a girl, whose growth wildly accelerated, twisting muscles, breaking bones, healing and redoing the process several times. All the while emitting an uncontrollable power, so violent that it was destroying a vast area in and out of the residence.

This is why I want to take her to the mainland and teach her magic, and is also why I am not willing to let you or Anita accompany. If something were to happen to you, can you imagine what sort of power your daughter would unleash in rage? Or are you telling me that you would bind her and cut her wings off, crippling and denying her future?”

Sofia did not respond but believed this woman. She had a feeling that the full story was not being told, but it was probably for the better, because looking at Mira, it was evident that she was not lying or exaggerating.

“I understand. Please teach my daughter magic, so that when we meet again in the allotted time, we can all live together; be it adventures, hardship or happiness,” declared Sofia while bowing.

Mira, relieved by her actions, took several scrolls from the bookshelf and moved them into her magical bag. And after this, the two of them returned to the hut.

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*Tock, Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock*

“Alviona?”

*Tock, Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock*

Mmm?

“Alviona, wake up.”

Mom? Opening her eyes, the child was greeted by the sight of her mother, who was gently smiling but had a somewhat saddened face. Noticing this, Alviona panicked and sprang up from her bed.

“Is everything all right? Did I do something wrong?” she asked nervously.

“No child, not at all. It is just that Mira has already prepared everything. It is time to go,” said Sofia, smiling, hugging her daughter and kissing her on the nose.

“Mom… I do not like that you are not coming with me,” said Alviona with a pouted face, causing Sofia to giggle.

“It is all right kiddo. Grandma Mira will take care of you for two years. It will not be so long, I promise.”

Alviona, to whom time flow was perceived differently from everybody else, nodded and kissed her mother's cheeks. Shortly after, everyone gathered outside the hut. Mira asked Alviona and Janine to get close to her, while Solomon kept a little distance.

“Is everyone ready?” asked Mira, ensuring that no unknown occurrences would take place and that everyone gathered was ready.

“Ready!”

“Ready!”

“Wait,” said Alviona, letting go of Mira’s hand and running towards her mother and Anita, tightly embracing them in turn and landing kisses. “Both of my mommies, I will return soon, with knowledge on how to cast magic. Then we can play with water, and I can make you two smile. Also, Piu, please wait for me and take care of my mothers. Then, when I am back, I will bite your tail!” said Alviona, turning around and quickly skipping back to Mira’s side, grabbing her hand and saying “Ready.”

Surprised by her child’s words, Sofia and even Anita, both blushed and waved their goodbye, while Piu silently cried.

“You are truly something, child,” said Mira to Alviona with a chuckle. Then she switched her attention to Anita. “Daughter, remember the words that I told you before. Do not forget them!” Saying this, Mira read a scroll. “And if you meet your father, send him my regards and tell him that I have gone for a while,” but before Mira could say these words, her voice faded out, as the teleportation activated, the party’s destination being no other than the mainland continent.