A sharp marigold light cut through the veil of my dreamless sleep.
Ungracefully, I raised my hand to cover my eyes and begrudgingly took a deep breath, the scent of the excited morning air quickly reminding me of my whereabouts.
I flicked my eyes open and tilted my hand up to casually survey the surroundings, still feeling a little groggy from the complete use of my mana earlier in the night.
_Is it always like this?_
A new colour tinted the ground, exaggerated by the forests lack of luminescence.
_Hmm, so it's not just my imagination; the sun is different—a different light..._
_Does it change?_
As if on queue, I turned to my left and flinched back, seeing the bright emerald system window practically pressed against my face.
I went to read the words but felt a severe lack of motivation to do so, and I instead became afflicted with a severe yawn.
_Ugghh._
My gauntlets rattled against my hands as I lightly slapped my cheeks; Rena stirred, but fortunately didn't wake from it.
Turning my gaze back to the window, its surprising words immediately brought energy back to me.
[You are currently blessed by the light of Freiya:
[+50% Mana Capacity]
[+50% Mana Recovery]
[+10% Magic Efficacy] ]
_What is this?_
_Freiya?_
I squinted my eyes and looked up at the sun from an obscure angle.
_It's certainly not the same; smaller, but with more intensity..._
_Blessed by the light of Freiya... then, is this hers?_
_Now, I don't want to make any assumptions, but could this have something to do with demons?_
_I haven't really had any drawn-out fights, so I'm not too bothered by the recovery; however, the capacity will do wonders if I have to use my dark magic, and it'll be inherently more effective..._
_What an absurd blessing; I can only imagine what it's like for stronger people._
_But I don't want to be hopeful about it; it'll probably vanish once the light fades._
Subconsciously flicking the screen away, my eye was caught by another.
[You have slain lvl8 & lvl9 Demon:
[exp +743] ]
_Oh, I almost forgot about this._
_Eh... and it's not even enough for a single level._
I've been spoiled by rapid growth; after taking control of this body, those two are barely worth mentioning—I didn't even have to use any of my stat points.
But this, on the other hand...
[ [Stealth lvl3 --> lvl4]
[Ambidextrous manuvering lvl3 --> lvl4] ] ]
I smiled.
_It appears my startling ingenuity has struck again, exactly as planned, of course._
_Come to think of it, the messages aren't forcing themselves on me like before... They appear more in line with my intentions—when I want to see them, they appear._
_Anyway, the ability levels should come rolling in with the new stat increase, and I'm hoping at least some of them can evolve like the mana sense; otherwise, I'm going to have to try all sorts of random nonsense in the hopes of finding skills._
I paused my circular walking for a moment.
_I'll probably do that anyway..._
Throwing the last screen to the side, my eyes had to adjust in the other direction now—it was too dark.
I pulled off the gauntlets one by one.
_This light is surprisingly delicate in comparison._
It gently warmed my hands while I casually strolled over to the water's edge.
Kneeling, I exhaled a smooth breath, the vapour of which mingled with the shallow haze that coated the pond's still surface, the ambient light diffracting through the meandering droplets.
Cupping some water in my hands, I quickly washed my face, its crisp intensity dissolving my prior fatigue.
_It had felt more mental than anything..._
_That fight, that focus._
_I can still feel the dryness of my eyes in that room full of flame, but it wasn't the flame alone._
_I'm almost worried that a fight is the most tantalising thing for me, but that's it. I feel like I should be worried about it, but I'm not._
_I love it. I relish that moment of instinct—that moment of total immersion._
_Yet I forget myself._
_It's like I fight more for the fights sake than for my own._
I looked to the side, at the corpse of the angel not too far away, and grew confused.
_That didn't happen with him, why?_
"Ooh, you're awake. I woke up earlier, but you were still asleep... and now I'm more tired."
Rena's sudden voice broke me from my thoughts; she seemed a little vexed over how groggy she still was.
When I turned to face her, she was looking to my side.
She'd obviously noticed where I was looking and was now lost in thought herself upon seeing the corpse again.
Getting up, I wiped my hands dry and couldn't help but notice that Rena had already clipped the scabbard and belt around her waist.
It looks a little off—the weapon is quite the contrast to her once white and gold-laced dress, now dirtied by the forest.
_She looks like some rich child who's been abandoned in the wilds... which isn't too far from the truth actually._
"Should... should we bury him?"
She looked at me, an uncertain expression plastering her face.
"There's not really enough time; at best we could move him and remove our traces..."
I had glanced back at the body, and when I looked back to Rena, she looked a little confused, but it quickly resolved itself.
"Oh right, the trees eat people."
She said it so plainly that I almost didn't process it.
"I'm sorry, they eat people?"
I leaned forward, but then she looked at me like I was the strange one.
"Yes?"
She replied.
"Can you elaborate..? I'm pretty sure we haven't been attacked by a walking tree."
Instead, I received a laugh at the exaggerated perplexity colouring my face.
_Is she joking with me? When did this start?_
"Look, even the rotta bodies are gone..."
_Ah, it just dawned on me._
"They eat corpses."
"They eat corpses?"
We spoke at the same time, and I shortly exhaled in a humorous gesture.
"Mm."
She spoke again—_it seems to be her de facto "yes" or "of course."_
"Oh, that makes much more sense... except WHY do the trees eat people again? What even for?"
I spoke and began walking towards the dead angel, hardly expecting an answer.
When I moved, Rena followed in quick succession, and I caught her shrugging at the same time.
"I'm pretty sure the ink lake is their leftovers..."
I grimaced and looked around before gingerly kneeling down and slowly picking up the body, and I couldn't help but tilt my face away.
"So what, all the colours get mixed together or something?"
I questioned.
_It was gross, but I do remember there being a well-worn path leading to the lake, so it must have its uses._
"Oh, I didn't think of that..."
She paused and pondered for a moment.
I had reached the treeline and swiftly left the body in the foliage; it should be enough.
Stepping away, I couldn't help but notice Rena still deep in her own mind, as if deciphering new hidden truths from my words.
"My profound thoughts tend to have that effect on people."
I spoke in an abruptly exaggerated tone.
"Yes."
_Huh?_
_She barely reacted; did she even process what I said at all?_
I could only dryly laugh at her strange manurisms.
_Or maybe I'm just not funny?_
I flinched at the thought.
_No, certainly not._