Zahna stayed with the witch and her strange companions as they came to know each other a little better over the following day. Learning that she had to wait for so long for even a chance to get back to her own world left her in a low mood but the witch urged her to get stronger, as there would be more battles ahead in this world. And with that Zahna set her mind to training, a whole year was a lot of time for her to improve her abilities, and after learning that she could use magic materialization she knew that there were a lot of new techniques that would help her with her ultimate goal: To become stronger than the wizard king!
Transportation had been an issue for her, so her first step in mastering this new ability was to make herself a magic broom. Being a beginner with limited experience she was only able to make small objects like stones and gloves. It was a technique that required almost as much concentration as her mana skin. "Great… at this rate It'll take me days to make a broom!" letting out a frustrated huff, she was disappointed with her progress so far.
Baba had a grin on her face as she was watching the young mage struggle to master this technique, the fortuneteller even felt a bit of pride passing on the skill. Zahna didn't know how hard this technique was for others to learn, because in her world magic was just a regular part of life. Baba was actually impressed that she had even made the progress that she had, 'Hmm… So, this is what it's like to have a student!' The Fortuneteller let out a low cackle as she thought about her brother failing to find the girl first. 'He'll owe me a favor!'
Zahna was growing tired of her practice, and was looking for an outlet for her frustration. "Hey, granny!" She broke through the quiet gloating that the old witch was indulging herself in, receiving a glare for her choice of words.
"What do you want, brat?" the old woman crossed her arms as she floated over on her crystal ball.
"Don't you have someone here I can spar with or something? I don't think I'm gonna make much more progress with this spell today…" Zahna rubbed her nose and took on a relaxed stance, boredom was written all over her face.
"Spoiled! You're spoiled! Of course I don't have another fighter for you right now, you brute!" The old woman smacked the back of Zahna's head as she scolded her, causing the magic knight to swat back like she was being harassed by a pesky fly.
"Oh c'mon! Well, can you at least make me a broom? I need a better way to travel!" The girl was very demanding and didn't relent till the fortuneteller acquiesced to her request. The old lady didn't let her leave without giving her a few warnings about the world, as she didn't want to have any preventable mishaps on her conscience. Zahna gave her an overly enthusiastic thank-you, followed by an intense bear hug that left the little granny out of breath as well as feeling nearly crushed.
Wasting no time at all, Zahna took to the air. Riding the broom around overhead as if she was on a flying surfboard. 'Heh, I definitely look cooler than Gauche!' she raced around despite the loud protest coming from below. "Hey! I'll be back for dinner later, see ya granny!" She left with a wave as she shot out of the building entrance at subsonic speed, blowing up dust in her wake.
Soaring through the air and away from the palace, she felt a sense of nostalgia. 'I'll get back home, no matter how long it takes!' She would go through any trial she had to, with grit and determination, her oldest of friends.
The strong feelings of magic lessened the further she traveled from the palace, 'I guess it really must be that… devils toilet, Baba told me about. What a gross name. She seemed surprised that I could detect it from so far away but I did always give Luck a run for his money in that department.' She smiled to herself while remembering her times with the Happy Berserker.
The desert seemed a good bit smaller from the air, she headed in the direction of the road she had been on before. She had decided to fly there since she had been relying on her teleportation previously. And as freeing as it is to be able to instantly move from one place to the other, the feeling of flying was something that felt magical in itself. "Good ol' scenic route! Man, I've really missed flying!"
She joyfully traveled through the air but not without focus. She was carefully surveying the terrain, taking in the geology and plant life that was easily discernible. As she got closer to the road, some large flying creatures could be seen in the distance. The familiar smell of the road where the metal carriages, or cars as Baba corrected her, would travel.
She noticed that a vehicle was stopped along the road, and as far as she could tell, the passengers were being held up by bandits. The strangest thing about the bandits was the weapons they were carrying. A combination of wood and metal, not unlike a sword in that way, yet they held them like crossbows which signaled to her that they would be effective at a distance. There were two bandits who had their weapons aimed at a small family of three. "Trouble is the same everywhere, eh?" After quickly assessing the situation Zahna decided that swift action was necessary to secure the safety of the civilians.
The two bandits were yelling directions to the scared family members, demanding payment in lieu of their lives and such. "Hey, Frankie. Do you believe them when they say that's all they got?" the shorter brunette of the crooks asked of her lanky masked companion.
"I don't think so's, Millie!" he replied with an unsettling grin as he took a step closer towards their trembling victims.
"P-please, don't hurt my family! We already handed you everything!" The apparent father and husband of the unfortunate trio pleaded as fear shook him to the core, yet he was able to find a single shred of courage to speak up even though the situation might demand his life. He maneuvered himself as a barrier in between his assailants and his wife and son.
"Sounds like youse dont's know ya place!" Frankie lashed out furiously with a kick, knocking the man to the ground. But he didn't want to give up yet, not even with their weapons trained on him. If not for the cries of his family, he would have leapt forward.
"Leave him alone! Please! You can have the car too!" The mother, and wife of the unlucky family cried out as she gripped her son closely. Tears streamed down each of their faces, the pain and terror they were being subject to was an experience that they never could have imagined happening to them. It seemed all too certain that they would not all get to go home after this encounter.
"Not on my watch!" A voice from above suddenly yelled out loudly, grabbing the attention of all those below. For a split second they saw a girl, she was leaned forward in an upright position on a broom as if the whole sky was a sea to surf and the cleaning tool was her board.
Tendrils of darkness sprang forth around the would-be thieves, disarming them and binding them in one swift motion. Soon after, the girl landed. The family looked on in bewilderment. Before them stood a dark skinned young woman, with braided black hair and an athletic build. She looked like she should still be in high-school with her youthful face and yet she was clad in dark armor that had a bull insignia on it and a sword at her side. She turned to face the civilians, her bright golden eyes gleaming at them atop a welcoming smile. She leaned forward towards the man who'd just been kicked to the ground, holding out a helping hand. "Let me help you!" she offered. Relief washed over them. A magical girl had saved them in their harrowing hour of need just like in popular comics, and they couldn't believe it!