A simple idea in reality, just how she let the bubble of wild energy surround her, she could do the same with other spells. She knew that already but it meant casting a spell and taking the time to do so, and while a fiery circle around her was intimidating it did nothing but deprive her of oxygen.

But electricity was another matter entirely, her control and the application of such spells reaching new highs with every new innovation. And with Lia’s help, she was able to manifest that idea into reality. While Lia didn’t understand much about magic, she did have an out-of-the-box thinking process. The breakthrough happened while Lia was throwing ideas and Ana was shooting them down for being impractical.

What if instead of one big lightning you create several small ones on your back, like a porcupine. We can call it the zappy cloak!

That’s not how electricity works.

Then what about surrounding yourself in a mist that zaps anyone that gets too close? And we can call it the storm cloak?

I’m more of an imperial fan, and no. And that beats the point of having a quick spell to defend ourselves. If I have time to prepare we wouldn’t have a problem.

Well, I doubt there is something that can shield you while you do nothing and stand there like a scarecrow.

There must be! I mean I have so many dynamic spells, there must be a way to use something static. Wait...

She wanted to hit herself over the head once again. Expert in electromagnetism my ass. She was thinking about how to safely use a current when the answer was static electricity the whole time.

If I can build the charge in my body, anyone who touches me will get a nasty surprise. But the question is how much charge can our body take?

Oh no. I don’t like where this is going.

A shush, I’m not crazy enough to electrocute myself. Not lethally anyway.

Ignoring the spirit's protests she worked on a spell that allowed her to build up a charge and to keep it within herself. Slowly increasing it over time as she stood alone in the wee hours of the morning in the courtyard.

She already knew that the magic she produced could not harm her until it was materialized. She could hit herself with a rock and it would hurt, but the magic that controlled that rock couldn’t harm her.

So while building up the charge she kept it from materializing completely, until she turned herself into a loaded gun with the finger on the trigger. A yelp brought her attention to the door, seeing Frost there with wide eyes and a slack jaw.

It took her a moment to realize that she forgot to tie her hair, which was now floating all around her with the amount of charge she had built up. His yelp brought several others from the building to see what was going on. All of them with the same expression.

“What? You guys know I can use magic right?” She knew that it must have looked weird, but to her, it wasn’t any weirder than the other spells she did.

Seeing Angel approach her caused a little panic in her as she raised her hands.

“Don't!”

“What’s going on?” The girl was genuinely confused.

“If you touch me now, you will die. I'm not even exaggerating, there is enough electricity to kill an elephant in me right now.” Thankfully the girl stepped back while Ana discharged her built-up power into the ground creating small sparks as she did. Letting her hair fall gave everyone the ok signal, making Ana notice how tense everyone was a second ago.

She motioned them to speak up while everyone traded looks. Rock was the one to step out and ask: ‘What’s an elephant?’

Right, so she got down to explaining what an elephant is and learned that there was a similar creature down south. That was an interesting idea to explore for a later time.

For now, she continued her training, getting faster and faster with the build-up until she could do it as an afterthought. It wasn’t the best option but anything was better than nothing. She also tried forming the shield using just force with Nathaniel’s help, still struggling but making slow progress.

A week passed and both her chess set and board were done. While the pieces looked nothing like the ones she was used to, they were beautifully crafted. Curiosity winning over the craftsman offered her a discount if she showed him what they were for. The rules were simple to learn, what piece did what, and how to win. So for the next few hours, she played with the craftsman over some beer his wife had offered them.

She had taken a liking to the game as well and was a much better player than her husband. It was nice to see a normal couple of humans in this world, working and living normal lives, it was a fresh sight to see.

Her board was even more impressive, heavier than before but with way more utility. It still looked like a snowboard with two holsters for her feet. but the sides had four telescoping fans that would form a closed circle, something that she can use instead of a shield.

And the big cherry on top was the large switchblade she could lock into place, making her board into a heavy blade that she could throw at something. It was large enough that she could bring someone her size with her, and the best part was that the area she held her feet could be detached, but not easily so. It was made in such a way as to resist shock and to get detached when she wanted.

It meant she could get a crazy speed in, reveal the blade, and detach herself from the contraption while it flew on its momentum and struck whatever she was aiming at. The size of the bird got her that idea.

Her excitement billowing, she decided to fly to Nathaniel's house, while also getting a good look at the city from above. But that brought several guards to chase her, telling her not to fly around as people would get scared. She accepted and apologized, not much to do there.

Chess was a hit with her two friends. They loved the game and wanted to make a copy so they could play when Ana wasn’t there. With something to do when she was bored, and something to work on she had plenty of ways to pass the time.

Just as she was excited to spend more time having fun in the city, Ghost brought news. They would be getting two new members tomorrow and in two days they would be left out again, but not on a regular run this time.

Reports have come in that there was a trouble to the east and the Stone war band was requesting assistance. This wasn’t new to the group, as they had on several occasions acted as the reserve force, operating so close to the city meant that they were sent as a backup when the trouble wasn’t too much for two bands to handle. Or they would be the ones calling for help like it was with the giant bird.

And out of everyone in the group, Ana found that Sunny and Ice were interested in chess the most. Finally getting the girl to talk to her she used the opportunity to get the drink she was owed from a small bet on their last trip. Not really being cheap but using the chance to get drunk with the woman to get to know her better and to show her that she wasn’t a bad person to hate.

It was a slow process until Ana realized what goddess Ice prayed to, which made her chuckle. Telling a devout believer that their deity saved your life and that you kinda owe them for that had the desired effect. So much so that she landed on good speaking terms with Ice, her, Angel, and Sunny being the only ones to do so.

The next day, in a deja vu moment for Ana, two new members were introduced. They got into four lines, introducing themselves as they did before.

“Anastasia DeRose, often called either Silver or Rose. But call me Little and you will see why everyone fears a wizard.” To which Hammer promptly called her Tiny, and got his ass zapped by Ana causing the big man to yelp, and everyone else to laugh.

The first of the newcomers to introduce themselves as one of the winged humanoids with bird-like features she had seen before, this one resembling an owl with his short beak. From the quiver, at his side, she imagined he was the new sharpshooter to replace Dice. He introduced himself as Dekeek. At least that’s how Ana heard him, and it didn’t matter as his new nickname would be born before they got dismissed.

The other individual was a large blue-skinned lizard-like humanoid, with sharp features, shiny scales, bulging muscles, and a pike almost as tall as Hammer was. He had some armor on his chest and thighs, but nothing on his feet, arms, and head. His look made her wish she used her staff more, but not being useful meant it was only used as a walking aid.

He introduced himself as Rhaegar Nemmuroth, using graceful movements to bow as he did. And after that came the fun part, the testing. Wings as he was now called, no idea if the nickname was derogative or not. She wouldn’t like being called the tail, but if she had wings she wouldn't mind that name.

While wings flew the others provided distractions, and while she wondered how he was able to fly at all she noticed that there was magic in both of the recruits. More in Rhaegar than in Wings but still, the innate magic must help him achieve his flight. And while everyone threw things at him he threw shot after shot, hitting the setup marks. Not even flinching when Ana threw a few fiery orbs here and there at Ghosts request.

As Rhaegar was a frontline fighter, he needed a partner. She stepped up to volunteer but was shooed away, Coal ending in a duel with Rhaegar. And she understood the magic he used. It was based around manipulating the air around his limbs, causing his movements to be changed, his jumps to levitate him for a few moments, and all kinds of moves that made Ana gulped.

Coal was no slouch either, both men were using non-lethal wooden staves, and the man had quick movements like a snake. In the end, as it was more a show of abilities than a duel so there was no winner, but Rhegar came out with a new nickname thanks to Ana, as she commented on his skill in using wind. And so Wind was born, she only hoped that there wouldn’t be any resentment but Rhaegar, or Wind now, didn’t seem to mind it.

Before leaving she showed Ghost her new board, explaining the features and additions. He was a fan but was also in a hurry, wanting to see it later. Hard life that of a commander, and she was aiming at that position. Just a stepping stone she told herself, or so she hoped.

The next day was spent, as usual, everyone doing their own things, plus now with a chessboard there were several people around to play with. She left in the courtyard, doubting that anyone would steal it, and with the rules easily taught there was usually someone there playing.

The night before they set off, Ghost had gathered them to share the information about the task. Stone war band had encountered a group of aggressive Targs, who had migrated from somewhere in the north, and was now threatening the main road leading to the city of Ahok in the east. While weak individually they had large numbers that one band couldn't handle.

And there was something weird as well as more monsters were appearing and attacking without warning, all seeming to be migrating from the north. No one knew what was happening across the mountain chain to the north, but by the increasing monster activity over the past decade, with the added appearance of vampires and now with the migrating Targs, it meant something bad was happening in the North.

From Borka’s story, Ana knew that the bear was from the north but had left for the south on her own before any of this had started, and even she was stumped. There were several expeditions but with the monster attacks growing more and more in frequency as one traveled north, not many of them ventured too far. It was above her pay grade to think about that now, she had to focus on the task at hand so that one day it might be in her pay grade.

Morning came, and everyone was dressed to fight and to impress, armed, armored and with the legions red cloaks shining. They had to leave through the city to exit the east gate, and another propaganda walk was arranged, the kingdom was nothing if not proficient with the use of its resources.

That did allow Ana to hear a rumor floating around that the Kingdom had sent several dozen mounted riders ahead of them, and that her group would be the extra backup if even necessary. At first, it seemed like a waste to send so many people but when thinking about it made sense. Fast units to get more information while their slower band would be used for its manpower.

And another trip started, with the extra-long cart behind. As before it started slowly with a short break for lunch, except this time Ana spent most of her time in the air. It was taxing but not enough to leave her helpless and like a muscle the more she used that spell the easier with time it came. It didn’t take long for her to get accustomed to the new board, forming a shield in less than a second.

Without Pops, they were down one rider so Ice stepped up as she had experience riding. Riders always went in pairs, covering each other's back as more than two made a crowd and a hindrance on the walked road. There were paved roads but they mostly used well-walked paths, at least for the last trip as this time around they followed the road connecting the cities, meeting the Stone’s band along the way. Ghost did confirm that the mounted band was sent under the command of Razor.

Day by day they traveled, slept and got to know the new members more around the safety of their campfires. One more thing Ana thought would be fun but quickly grew annoying was giving people rides. Everyone got a trip, and if they couldn’t fit they would hang underneath. While not meant to be fun, and more of an exercise as their last battle showed how useful it was, there wasn’t a single person who didn’t enjoy it. Even Ice, as hard as she did try to hide it.

Flying was amazing, but to Ana not all that spectacular, more of a convenience. It was fun to have the air rush past you as you zip through the skies, for the first hour, after that it became a normal thing. The lack of excitement meant that she was thankful to her parents for not allowing her to join the airforce, even if there wasn’t a chance for her to join in the first place. She imagined herself sitting in a cockpit bored out of her mind, or maybe it was just her skewed perception.

This world had so much more to offer aside from flying so she blamed that as the cause for her lack of interest. Still, that training did come in handy when two weeks later a pair of ridders approached their group. Ana being in the air was the first to spot them, letting others know so they could prepare in case it was trouble.

They were riders sent by the leader of the Stone war band, who was aptly called Stone as well. His band was in big trouble, as they had to abandon their gear and run. They had confirmed that Razor had made contact and was now harassing the enemy while members Stone made their escape.

Only half a day away and coming this way, Ghost sent Nimble, Ice, and Wings with the rider to help the others while Ana set up a fort nearby. She put extra effort into it, making it to repel an army and not a monster. There were no spikes on the walls that smaller creatures could climb, a trench and several pits that the others would turn into traps.

It took her about ten minutes to finish everything, then she and Ghost flew ahead to offer their help as well. While she could fly fast, that was alone and not after expelling so much magic creating fortification. They caught up with the riders and Wings and kept pace with them.

At their speed, it only took them over two hours to arrive. The flyers were the first to spot the massive number of Targs chasing the fleeing Stone band, of which only a dozen remained, and several units of mounted combatants running around the large blob of enemies. Their little help wasn’t gonna do much to stem the tide of several hundred raging… Teddy bears?

Ana couldn't believe her eyes. The others described the Targs as vicious bloodthirsty barbarians, but with their short stature, they just looked adorable to her. Either her companions needed to see something actually vicious and bloodthirsty or Ana was just ignorant. Which she would soon find out as Ghost called out explaining his plan to her and to the others beneath him who had stopped.

As plans went this was a good one, but it had high risks as well. Believing in the man's experience she listened, and then followed him straight into the gates of hell. The two of them flew forward leaving the archers behind. With Ghost in front of her, Ana spread her open palms to the sides as she brought a spell into focus. They flew over the fleeing members of the Stone war band and right as they got over the enemy line, Ana released her spell.