I wake up with the familiar sight of my old room around me, and as I move my stiff body, I am instantly crushed in an embrace as my mom hugs me.

“Aly! You’re awake! Oh, thank Myrou! I thought we lost you!”

Dad is working in the shop, but Mom calls for her, and she runs up, looking relieved at the news that I am awake.

“We were so scared you’d never wake up again!” Dad expresses her worries as she joins mom in hugging me.

“Let me breathe!” I gasp, trying to breathe from their crushing embrace.

They loosen their grip but don’t let me go.

“How long have I been asleep?” I ask once I catch my breath. Fearing that It might be longer than I think

“Three days,” Mom answers.

Three days isn’t that bad. I don’t feel any worse than normal either, but I suppose there are no anima nerves to signal how low it is. I’m going to have to talk with Kadona about the condition of my anima.

What’s even more worrying is that until I can cleanse my cursed skills, I may not be able to make anything. Crafting and artistry are the lifeblood of the Runalymo people; to be unable to make things will not just hinder my ability to continue my trade with the Lunaley but also my tailoring business.

I don’t think I am entirely without options, I should be able to make mana silk and other mana-based materials with [Manipulate Mana], but it will still cause me a lot of trouble. It means that I am unable to continue my research in inscriptions.

I still have the legendary point for mastering [Manipulate Mana] and my mythic point… This can all be over with if I just use one of them. No, I shouldn’t. There’s only one mastery point I can get for [Manipulate Mana], and it’s the only one best suited for my skill. As for the Mythic point… getting even legendary points is hard enough, and who knows, I may need it for something else.

I can live without crafting, I can slay monsters in the Dungeon safely, I can make mana silk, and I can focus on building my Airship business which I have a trial tied to. I have options open for me; I have time to work this out.

That doesn’t mean I should just sit on my hands about it. I need to find a way to at least restore my anima, and in order to do that, I need to explore other lands and the dungeon.

I try to get up, but Mom stops me.

“Where do you think you’re going? You need to rest!”

“I need to talk to Kadona and Uloru; I also need to talk to Tusile about something,” I say.

I also need to see what my sacrifice was for; I need to see what the Entylamo has become. I need to talk to Tusile about the Lunaley now that the flagship is complete, but there’s one other issue. I don’t want to risk making more ammo for the airship cannons, and so far, I am the only one who can make them; that has to change.

I should teach others how to improve their mana manipulation type skills; hopefully, they’ll get [Manipulate Mana], but skills like [Solidify Mana] and [Liquify Mana] should work too. They should just be improvements over [Weave Mana] which is already a known skill that a few people in the village has.

Of the ones closest to solid mana is Dad; she can technically make solid mana but not through a manipulation type skill, but rather through a forging skill. I should teach her proper mana manipulation.

“Let her go, Feyan,” Dad says. “She’s an adult now, and she’s already had plenty of rest; the body knows when it has had enough”

Mom sighs and lets me go. “I just don’t want anything else to happen to her,” Mom says, clearly distraught.

I hug Mom and purr, like she used to when I was younger, to calm her. I expand my perception to find the twins, curious as to where they are since they aren’t here. They are at Topobe’s learning tailoring. They’ve become very good at it, and if I am going to teach dad how to manipulate mana, I might as well teach them too.

“I’m going to let Yafe and Yafel know I’m well,” I tell Mom and Dad before walking to the tailor’s shop.

“Aly!” the twins instantly drop what they’re doing and run over to me, tackling me in a hug. “You’re awake, sleepyhead!”

Topobe looks slightly annoyed that her apprentices are slacking off, but news about what happened has probably made its rounds through the village, so she doesn’t say anything.

I greet my old tailoring teacher and thank her for looking after my sisters before examining their work. [Inquisitive Perfestion] is content with their work, showing that they are just about ready for the next step.

After sharing a moment with the twins, I decide not to impose on the master tailor any further and go on with my tasks. I find Kadona and Uloru sparring on the beach and teleport over closer to them.

“You’re awake!” Uloru exclaims.

“Hmm,” Kadona nods her head. “Her anima has stabilized now, but it’s dangerously low.”

“Is it that bad?” I ask.

“No, it’s worse. I don’t know how you’re still alive, but I don’t think it’s possible to go any lower.” Kadona says solemnly.

“I see. Then I need a way to restore it somehow. Will you help me?” I ask.

“We can try, but I don’t know if it can be restored,” Kadona says.

“It can,” I say confidently. “We should look in the Lunaleyan lands, though; they may have someone, an artifact, or maybe just a clue.”

“Lunaley?” Kadona asks, utterly confused.

Oh, right, I only told the elders, and it seems they never told anyone else.

I fill Kadona and Uloru in on the details as we walk to the village hall. Only Guklaro is there right now, but she can fill the others in later.

“Alysara, I’m glad to see you well. It’s rare to see you here; what do you need?” Guklaro asks, seeing us enter.

“As you are aware, the airship is done, but there are a few things you should know about it first,” I explain all of its functions and needs, the most important of which is the ammo situation, which ties into another situation about my predicament.

“I see, so its defensive capabilities are a limited resource,” Guklaro says after listening to my long explanation.

“Yes, but with my perceptive abilities, I can steer it away from any potential danger so we may not have to use it.”

“Is that everything you needed to say?” Gularo asks.

“No. Now that the Entylamo is complete, we can finally trade with the Lunaleyans. With the Entylamo capable of long-term habitation, we should start selecting people to trade. I can translate their language, but it’s better to teach you their language.”

I completely overlooked the fact that only I know the Lunaleyan language, so I’ll need to act as a translator during the negotiations.

“Also,” I continue, “When you meet them, you should speak to them with caution. They should be seen as rivals, not friends, at least until proven otherwise.”

“You told me about their war but are there other reasons not to trust them?” Guklaro asks.

“Their warriors are stronger,” I say, “And our best defense is being hidden from them. They’ve been trying to get information from me through subtle manipulation the entire time, and no doubt they will try to get information during your negotiations; I think no one is better for the job than you.”

Tusile may be the better leader, but Guklaro is naturally cynical, which I think is the better trait at the moment. Plus, we’ll be wanting to make trade deals with the other countries.

“Thank you for your endorsement, but I’ll need to call a Convocation of Elders to have a select group of representatives chosen to represent all of our villages. It won't be practical to have one elder of all villages, there’d be too many to meet with the Lunaley, but thirty should be a good number.”

Thirty? I think the Lunaley might only be expecting five at most; I will have to warn them so they can prepare.

“It will likely be a week or two until we depart,” Guklaro continues. “Since we need to get everything in order and make choices on who gets to go.”

“Don’t forget to bring some warriors and mages. It’s not like the Nexus; there’s much more crime there than here.” I warn her.

“I’ll make sure to bring that up in the meeting.”

After going over a few more details, I walk to the docks to finally see what the Entylamo has become.

The Entylamo (Exalted):

Created by the most knowledgeable master of mana and magic, this airship warps space inside, so it is far larger inside than outside and can support hundreds of people for long-term habitation. It sports powerful weaponry and armoring the likes few in the world have ever seen. Powered by a strong reactor and mana-gathering capabilities, this airship can put up a fight equal to all but the most powerful beings. It can hover indefinitely and fly at near the speed of sound in times of need.

Examining the inside of the airship, I notice that it is roughly forty percent larger than I initially made it. Its battery and storage rooms are significantly larger, while there are many more residential and workshops.

Its enchantments are gone, but that’s only a natural thing when an item becomes magical, but that also means that the mana upkeep needed to power those enchantments aren't there, and that is reflected by the fact that the separated systems from the reactor have become one system meaning it’s defensive capabilities just became that much stronger.

The two laser cannons, for instance, can draw upon the power output of the reactor, which has also seen a massive upgrade, seeming to produce over a million mana per hour. The emergency system’s batteries have gained a valve so it can be refueled, but its mana can’t be drained by another system.

The cannons themselves have been upgraded to be more powerful, although the ammo I made is left unchanged, probably because they are technically a different item.

I start wondering how it will feel to ride it now with the state-of-the-art changes and the transformation into a magic item. Will it be like before? I can’t wait for it to claim the skies as its own; it marks a new age for the Runalymo.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“She’s a few days late!” Headmaster vulpun says, pacing in Ruluna’s study room.

“Do you have to be here?” Ruluna complains. “Something probably happened; nothing we can do about it. I’m trying to learn [Manipulate Mana]!”

They traded for the skill and the first five breakthroughs, but these first five are almost worthless; anyone could figure them out! Well, at least the information Alysara gave is a little more advanced and goes into great detail; just reading her writing gave her all five knowledge levels, and she’s sure if she could have gained more, she’d get ten levels in each breakthrough.

Now that she thinks about it, why is that? It’s common knowledge that just because the skill has all of its levels, that doesn’t mean you’ve truly mastered it. Perhaps that is why so few people master skills to such a degree that they get a world notification for it, but Alysara has hinted at something before, almost like there can be more.

There’s always more. Ruluna ponders. There’s always more knowledge, more control of the skill, more breakthroughs, but why does the skill cap out where it does? To limit its power? Or… perhaps, like getting breakthroughs, one can unlock more levels? That’d be ridiculous… right?

Something in Ruluna’s gut tells her that she might be on to something, but her mind is adamant that can’t be the case. Why would it?

But if there is a time when one does unlock more levels, it’d be when they get the world notification.

Ruluna can’t shake that idea from the back of her mind.

Alysara has over forty breakthroughs; there’s no way she will be able to reach that point, so what does it matter? Ruluna argues with herself.

“Are you listening, Ruluna?” Headmaster Vulpun says.

“Do you want me to learn this skill or not?!” Ruluna says irately, annoyed at how her superior can’t entertain himself with something else.

Vulpun opens his mouth to say something, but fortunately, a messenger interrupts him, opening the door.

“Headmaster! She’s here!” The messenger salutes.

“About time! Come, Ruluna, let's see what took her so long” Headmaster Vulpun leads the way out and to the meeting room where the three-tailed girl stands elegantly, her long royal blue hair looking perfect as usual.

“I am sorry for the delay,” Alysara bows. “I had fallen ill for a few days.”

“That is unfortunate, but I am glad to see you well now,” Headmaster Vulpun says with a polite smile. “Your goods are in the usual place.”

“I, unfortunately, will be unable to continue making armor and weapons for you for the foreseeable future” Alysara delivers some bad news. “However, there is some good news; we’ll be arriving in a week or two.”

“What do you mean?” Headmaster Vulpun asks. “You’re here now, or do you mean…”

“Yes, our vessel is complete, our Elders will be sending some representatives, expect around… thirty of them.”

“Thirty?!” Vulpun exclaims.