We head to the stables the following day.
We were met with an Olim man working the fields with a dozen children.
"If you're here for work just go to the house, the women will get you straightened out".
I pull out the letter and hand it over to him.
With a raised eyebrow he read through it before telling me to follow him into the stables.
"Take your time and when you're ready let me know I am going to go get some saddles".
When he walks away, I cover my eyes with mana and look at all the horses.
By viewing them like this I was able to see which one had the most mana activity around them.
They were all pretty much the same breathing naturally and absorbing haze from around them. But what struck me odd was one behemoth of a horse in the middle of the stables.
It was drawing in mana almost twice as fast as its counterparts, with a fierce glare it kicks at the stable gate radiating its mana, although it was faint, it was still processed mana.
It looked like a slightly wavering light when released.
When I approached, it reared on its hind legs and smashed against the gatekeeping it in.
I send out an energy tendril slamming it into the horse's head.
I make it understand with its limited intelligence that I am no one to be trifled with and if it isn't obedient, I would slay it like all the other beasts that I came across sending some visual images to make sure it got the message.
Its instincts kicked in at this point and were frantic before I sent another conscious surge of energy makes stiffen.
Retracting my energy, I glare at the horse its shiny black scales reflecting the morning light.
I don't have the inclination to befriend this beast.
If it does its job properly then it will get its freedom both of us parting ways.
"Sorry, it took a while I had to find ones that were small enough".
"How much"? I asked pointing at the now frozen horse.
"That Scile has a temper and won't be reared, it's not for sale".
I 'Tsked' and asked, "How much, I don't have the time and I need this horse".
The man opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before saying, "Forty mana stones and I won't take any less"!
I nod waiting for Isla to finish choosing her steed before I pay seventy mana stones. He saddles Isla's horse and then comes to mine.
After Saddling it he tries to bring it outside but the horse refuses to move.
Its tail was swishing back and forth quickly, its back hollow and its teeth grinding making its long face even longer.
I reach out and grab the reigns, and the beast submits thoroughly.
Watching me walk the horse out, the man's eyebrows were raised high enough to almost touch his hairline.
We jump on our steeds taking it easy so that we could let our bodies get used to the gate of the horse.
I have technical knowledge and experiences stolen from Standish and the Humanoid but my body is still new to this, but I adapt quickly.
Coming back to the inn I take off the saddles and settle the horses in the stable before heading inside.
"By the way how much to use the stable we just bought some hor-… Sciles" I corrected myself quickly.
With a larger-than-usual smile, he responds, "Don't worry about it".
Bringing me into the kitchen he handed me a cloth pouch with twenty mana stones. "This is your half".
I wordlessly accepted taking out five stones, leaving them on the cooking counter before he could refuse, for the Sciles" I said walking out.
I don't want to start accepting favors and getting close to people here.
With steeds we could travel further and hold more, I mainly got them so they can carry our loads.
I go to the blacksmith and leave all one hundred and forty-five mana stones also filling a leather duffle with coal.
"Please expedite the materials I need them as soon as possible," I said before leaving the man and his wife.
I prepare all day tearing leather I had in reserve making four duffels about the same size as the ones we have now.
I make packs that can be strapped to the horse on each side leaving a place to tie our duffels in the middle.
I also make larger water skins that can be strapped to the main pack.
Going through all my reserve leather I readjust our armor, making it a little bigger as we were growing fast,
Along the way, we see patches of forest, lakes, and streams but extraordinarily little mana grass, which was prevalent further east and in the forest.
I learned that the mana grass is bought by the Mage Association in bulk, the kingdoms are happy to comply, and free labor in exchange for currency is a win-win no matter what world you live in.
We meet with at least one or two predators each day, sometimes going as far as to hunt them.
Two lions on the first day.
I was happy to hunt them thinking of the time I was ambushed as a six-legged horse.
I know it is petty but so be it, I made sure to twist the blade contently when killing it.
A Kurn on the second day slowed us down but we still crossed over forty miles.
We start to avoid predators actively,
I was out here for something else.
I was looking for somewhere I could set up a lab so that I could start my experiments.
I needed a two-mile radius all to myself.
We soon reach another about one hundred- and fifty miles North West of the village.
Any further and we would reach the dry lands leading to the desert.
Instead of going around this lake, we settle at the shore of the clear blue water.
I grab a fish with mana and check its consciousness, there are no Sylph here.
I send out my mana core for the first time in a long time.
It is a deep milky white only able to distinguish my inner core due to its pulsing brightness.
I send out my mana in all directions encompassing the whole of the lake.
The lake is a mile and a half deep, and a little under a mile wide.
I check every crevice, then jump in wrapping myself with mana and creating a fishtail I dart off in the water checking every corner with mana vision, my paranoia is almost tangible.
Due to the time spent as a fish, It was like coming back home.
After making sure it was all clear I head back to our campsite.
We make it to the other side quickly, on the strong Skiles back.
I reach an area on the west side which was elevated creating a natural cliff with a crescent shape.
I get off the Skile and hand the reigns to Isla.
Standing roughly one hundred and fifty yards away I start snapping my finger creating grenade after grenade and started destroying the crescent cliff.
I created rubble., filling my eyes with mana I 'see' the energy in the air along with the rubble.
The energy inside me pulsed and emptied as I lost energy.
I could feel the ripples of my mana releasing out of my body every time I snapped my finger getting increasingly stronger.
For a moment it felt like I was losing control.
Isla covered the Skiles and herself with a layer of her energy, it was that powerful.
A project of this size has never been performed before, killing and destroying was easy but when you have to control the energy output over time it changes things.
Sifting through it, I extract as much unneeded dirt and debris as possible.
I don't have an industrial magnet that can pull out the metals for me, but I have the next best thing.
It helped that I spent time every night trying to separate the carbon monoxide from the oxygen, a still impossible task but I keep trying.
After sifting through again and again until I was sure there wasn't anything left, I am left with a small hill about seven feet high and four feet across.
I move all this back and repeat this process placing the unneeded minerals back.
Eventually, the crescent moon was flattened all that was left was dirt and a small mountain of ores behind me.
The whole time my outer core is expanding and contracting outside of my body helping me stabilize the energy output.
Isla was surprised, she didn't understand the science behind it and rarely saw explosions, but she knew ores.
Her understanding of currency had changed, she knew how much mana stones all those ores would net us.
"Let's rest," I said to her "I have to be at my best".
I sat down and began to siphon mana stones "What are you going to do"? she asked.
She had the same look on her face when I gave her rations as a child, she was excited.
I smiled at her and replied "Chemistry".