Leaving the barracks and the half-naked elf woman in her bed, Ana made her way towards her two oldest friends in this world, maybe even overall as back home she struggled to keep any actual friends for that long, except Nicole.

Just thinking of the woman she left behind on another planet and the woman she left behind a few corners ago made the buried guilt surface again. Her feelings, if she could even call them that, were torn, and she did what any healthy mind did and buried them even deeper. Why deal with your problems when you can ignore them.

It didn’t take her long to find the familiar house, greeting the guards that had helped her practice her swordsmanship. Inside the house, she hugged Lili, a friend she also terribly missed. Breakfast was being prepared when Ana arrived, and she joined her friends at the table.

“You seem quite pale, I figured it was exhaustion from the road last night, but you still seem sickly and in the two quarters we spent together you were never sick. Are you alright?”

Hearing that she was pale sent shivers down her spine, but shaking that off she told the tale of the vampire encounter, how she dealt with it, and the two bodies they had found. Seeing her friend lose the color from his face as she told him scared her. She knew that it was bad news but not just how much.

“A vampire this far south.” He shivered and looked at Borka who was deep in thought.

“The Order of the Bloody Rose. The court must have sent their elite to track down someone, but to be strong enough to kill two of their Argent knights, I shiver at the thought of facing such a monster.”

“I knew I was lucky, I mean if it wasn’t for the wild magic that I have, I’d be dead right now, but still. Are the Argent knights that big of a deal?”

“They are the best of the best, they are the bane of my people in the north, and only heroes of legend dare face them in open battle. I would not wish for such an opponent.”

Discussing the subject further she learned about the Order of the Bloody Rose, their ways, and customs that are known. Further, she learned from Nathaniel that the fact that she survived as her body was purified from the corruption of blood magic meant that she was extremely strong-willed.

Wanting to see Ana use the same magic she did when destroying the vampire, Nathaniel had asked to create an orb just large enough for them to see. And she did, her eyes widening as the mist that formed was no longer white but red instead.

This meant that while her body was free of corruption, her magic wasn’t. Like a parasite hitching a ride on another parasite, one corruption had corrupted the original corruption, which made Ana dizzy thinking about it. The ramifications were as yet unclear, as Nathaniel only knew stories of wizards being turned, and none of them were pretty.

If the wizard's will was lacking, the change would kill them but if not, it would kill their spirit and all that was left was a walking emotionless husk that used the life essence of others to fuel its spells, usually only to cause great harm.

But since the vampire never got to the part of turning Ana, only infecting her, and the infection only surviving by combining with the wild energy that was already there, he didn’t know what the ramifications would be. If such a thing happened before, there was no record that he knew about. Lia still gave the all-clear on the plumbing, and her magic worked normally so she didn’t worry too much.

So she recanted the rest of her tale, of the monsters they fought, the clansmen they met, and the villagers they partied with. She spent several hours talking with them, hearing about what they did in the time she was gone, and generally having a relaxing morning.

Wanting to return and speak to Ghost about getting paid so she could procure new armor and weapons in case the next trip got called in early, she said goodbye and promised to visit again as soon as she was able.

Making her way back she ran into Ghost outside, showing the monster parts to someone else. She waited for them to finish on the side, and when Ghost saw her, he left the other man to deal with the parts while they talked.

“What are they going to do with them?” She asked nodding at the cart.

Ghost just shrugged. “No idea, usually either sell or use it, but for what giant feathers could be used I got no clue. They are happy to have the opportunity to decide though, and when they are happy we get paid more.”

“That’s what I wanted to ask you, I’ll need to get some new gear since my things got turned into dust.”

“Don’t worry about gear.” Ana frowned, she was happy at the idea of buying her own things for once. Seeing her frown Ghost continued, gesturing towards the gate of the courtyard as he spoke.

“You should have seen Renvi’s face when he saw two dead Argent knights, I thought he was going to faint. After hearing that you killed a bloodsucker and after getting chewed on by him and losing all your gear, and on top of that flying almost naked to get the healer, he offered their equipment to you. The metal used is a secret only known to the Order, but it has mithril in it, making it quite light and sturdy.”

“The problem is that while the armor can be adjusted, no smith here knows how to work that alloy without ruining it. So what do you say?” Thinking about it she didn’t want dead vampire stuff but remembering how easily she could have manipulated the swords it made sense to accept.

“Wouldn’t people think that I was a vampire if I started wearing their armor?” But Ghost waved her off.

“Not really, those that know of argent knights are rare, and you can always put some cloth over the metal and no one would be the wiser.” He did have a point, and it acted as a proof of concept. Those that knew of the argent knights and saw her outfit and swords, would know that she fought them and won. If they knew that she wasn’t a bloodsucker, and her pale skin wasn’t helping.

“Sounds good, unless someone else wants it?” He laughed.

“No way, you can defend yourself if another vampire tries to reclaim them, and I don’t know anyone else who can. And neither does anyone in the group.

So she went with Ghost to Renvi, who jumped when he saw Ana. But after a short explanation on how the blood magic was gone and that she needed time to get adjusted, she was shown to a smith who took her measurements again.

The armor was made of several plates with various shapes and with a bit of chainmail on a few parts. So the smith had to adjust the straps and the plates here and there, mostly to accommodate her chest. Sexist vampires sending only their elite men and making life for Ana and the smith more difficult.

To her surprise, the smith had reworked both sets, and now she had a spare. And the job he did was marvelous, the outfit fitting her like she was born to wear it.

He even replaced the blood-red cloth that was there with the imperial red that the kingdom used, a difference Ana couldn't see but was glad for. With much more protection than before she even felt lighter on her feet. And as Ghost had suggested she got several tunics made to go over the armor, all of them black as she was tired from red and white, while green and blue just made everything look ridiculous in her eyes.

But the swords were something else entirely. While still new at swordsmanship, she could appreciate a good pair of blades now that she held them. Done with that and with the money she didn’t need to spend now, she headed back. Seeing her room empty made her feel a bit sad, but she took the opportunity to change into some normal clothes again.

Since she got into town she untwisted her braids, keeping them mostly on during the trip as it took way too long to make them. It did make her afraid that her hair would get damaged, but she had to hand it to Lia, her hair acted like it was made from steel wire, as no amount of tugging, pulling, and twisting damaged it.

But letting the long hair dance on her back felt amazing. And then she wondered what to do. Ever since she came to this world it has been training, learning, and surviving. She got bored and did various things to pass the time for sure, but she didn’t have a hobby. Thinking about it, back home she would watch a movie, read a book, or play video games to pass the time.

But here the only possibility was reading books, and there were none that interested her. The only games she knew how to play without a computer were chess and checkers. And she only thought she knew how to play checkers as her chessboard had a checkerboard beneath it.

But chess didn’t require much, and she had the money right now, more than enough to hire a woodworker to make the pieces and the board. So she went to do just that. Meeting Angel in the hallway she caught up on what's been going on since the morning, but as she expected besides getting paid nothing of import.

Seeing as she was also headed into town they went together, Ana listing the pieces she wanted to be constructed as a craftsman wrote it down. Hearing that it would take a week to complete was a surprise but considering he did it by hand, it made sense.

Angel went to get some clothes, and seeing that the girl wasn’t interested in really spending time now she excused herself and went to walk the city. It was one of those moments where you slow down and consider everything that had happened recently, getting a new perspective on things as your thoughts wander.

So she decided to visit her friends again in the evening, but she had several hours to fill by then. She knew what she wanted to do but couldn’t think of a place to do it in the city, so she headed towards the closest gate. The guards were hesitant at first but allowed her to exit once she said she was practicing magic. Better to let her leave than to rush and put out literal fires if they didn’t.

But they were also not stupid, and two of them went with her for as they put it, her own protection. She knew they wanted to keep an eye out and she didn’t care. She wasn’t doing secret necromantic rituals, she was just going to play around with the equally terrible blood magic.

Still, within the reach of the wall, she found a nice quiet place, not even needing to warn the guards to keep their distance. Starting out she reached for the magic inside her, the magic she used to fuel her spells, the ones that were fueled by thought, will, and emotions. Next, she tried reaching for the wild magic that was constantly replenishing itself within her. It was cold, distant, fueled by Ana herself, her magic, lifeforce, every breath, and every exhalation and as much a part of her body now as her liver always was.

She stopped at that. Why did she think of her liver first, and not her brain or her heart? Thinking about it, she took every opportunity to get drunk and usually went overboard. Was she developing a drinking problem? She shrugged. Even if she was, alcohol should be the least of her worries now.

Concentrating again, she focused on her senses just before the attack. Her memory was still cloudy of that encounter but Lia had helped clear up quite a bit of it. She focused not on anything she felt, saw, or smelled at that moment. Thinking about how the vampire needed a shower made her chuckle before she shook her head and continued.

Blocking everything else, she focused on remembering what she sensed in those moments, before, during, and after the attack, getting the feeling of how blood magic felt in the air around her. It took a few tries before she got used to that particular sense.

After that she formed a ball of entropic magic in her hand, focusing on sensing the magic in there. And she saw the magic within as static on a screen, so chaotic and disorganized that she had a hard time comparing it to anything else. The only change she could see was that the magic was now red and not green. What those colors represented she didn’t understand.

Focusing on the feeling of blood magic she looked at the orb again. When comparing the two, there was a lack of a stink that was prevalent on the vampire. So she wasn’t infected but just changed, which was good to hear. Still, she could do without the paleness.

As another test she tried using it on the ground, finding that it worked the same as before. There was too much wild magic within her, so as the last test she expelled as much as she could, creating craters and potholes all around her. It took a minute but she got there. And then the feeling of lightheadedness and hunger appeared.

Slumping down on her knees she looked at her hands to realize that they were not just pale, but porcelain white while her nails had turned black. Rummaging in her bag she took out a small polished piece of bronze, taking a look and dropping her jaw open.

Woah, what the hell? Came Lia’s voice.

I have no idea, but this is so weird. Her features were all the same shade of white, with a bright yellow glow in her eyes and glistening red lips. Can magic please stop giving me a makeover?!

I understand how you feel, I do not like yellow. I hope my amethysts come back.

Me too, as I do not wish to go around looking like a ghost. Regretting that she used the magic and could not absorb it back, she got a cloth and draped it over her face like a mask, and pulled her hood down.

The guards didn’t ask many questions, probably afraid to piss her off after what she did to the area around her. She got back into the city and beelined straight for Nathaniel’s house. She didn’t know if people looked at her more than usual or it was just her paranoia acting up, but she hurried her steps nonetheless.

She passed the guards with a wave, they knew her by her hair and tail most likely. She found Nathaniel while he was handling some documents in his study.

“I’m sorry to barge in, but this is bad.” She said entering inside, not giving Lili enough time to see her face.

“It’s fine, what’s going on?” She removed her hood and mask, giving him a smile that revealed her teeth.

“When I used almost all of the wild entropic magic, this happened.” He gave a good look over, mulling it over for a while.

“So while the corruption had left your body, it found a place no nest within the magic. Do you feel any urge to bite someone? Or anything similar?”

“Well, I feel hungry, but for food, not blood. This isn’t happening.”

“Rest here for the night, we will know if the change is permanent in the morning.” Ana nodded.

“Thank you, I hate for anyone to see me like this. Do you have anything that induces sleep?”

So she got her old room back, Lili brought her some tea that tastes like stale bread mixed with water. Still, it did its job and Ana fell asleep.

There were no nightmares from the time Angel had cleansed her, and nightmares, in general, became a rare thing for her. But they were replaced by weird dreams, and of course, she had a dream of being a vampire on the run. Her sheer hate for that idea caused her to wake up a few times. Being in the dark with closed windows she couldn’t tell if she was indeed getting better. So she struggled to sleep between waking up, and soon morning came.

The moment of truth came, and by the look of her hands, there was real hope. With a sigh of relief, she put down the mirror, back to her regular self. Discussing it with her friends over breakfast, a plan was made. She would refrain from using that magic until they knew more, using it only as a last resort. As well as keeping what happened to her while she was empty a secret, not wanting to scare and give people the wrong opinion of her.

She returned after breakfast to the barracks, only to get chewed up on by Ghost for leaving without checking in. Her habit of always being available through a phone call showing, so she apologized without giving excuses.

The next two days went on slowly, she visited her friends, spending her nights with Angel. And as she did so did her confusion grow, as the girl would be cold and distant during the day and frisky during the night. And in the confusion, she found that she liked the rhythm they had, kinda like both having a cake and eating it.

And while bored another idea struck her, right now she didn’t have a board she could fly on. Sure air magic was there but the board used up less energy, was faster and she was more sure of it. So she got on designing and drawing, using several hours and a big part of her pay to get a blacksmith to construct it. It was a complex job, but the board had several features she could control with her magic, but when the smith saw the abomination she wanted he laughed. Realizing she was serious, he gulped.

After walking and talking to people for one day she grew bored of boredom, so she did the only thing she knew to pass the time, she practiced. Using her new set of armor with a black tunic over it, she trained using the sword both in her hands and not. Her thoughts were trying to figure out a spell that would stop anyone from targeting her back, but with such a specific request it was a hard thing to do.

And an idea on how to achieve just that came one night while she was with Angel, seeing the electricity buzzing in the air while cries of pleasure were abundant.