The next morning, Melisa woke up with a groan.
[Agh... It was hard to get some sleep last night too. But, uh... For entirely different reasons.]
Her mind was still swimming with the events she witnessed yesterday.
[Crazy.]
Soon, however, she dragged herself out of the bed.
She stumbled down the hall towards the main room, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. But as she approached, raised voices reached her ears, causing her to pause.
"You need to pay up, Melistair. And soon." The voice was low and gruff, with a dangerous edge.
"I know, I know. I'm working as hard as I can to get the money together." That was her father, his usually cheerful tone now strained and pleading.
Melisa peeked around the corner.
Her father was facing a large, imposing man dressed in dark clothing. The man's face was hard and unforgiving.
"Working hard? Doesn't seem to be hard enough," the man growled. "Boss is getting impatient. You wouldn't want to see what happens when he loses his patience completely."
"I know, but I-"
Melisa watched, horrified, as the man suddenly drove his fist into her father's gut. Melistair doubled over, gasping for air.
Melisa couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her lips.
"If you don't scrape this payment up by next week..."
The man in the black robe cracked his knuckles menacingly.
"Well, let's just say I won't be nearly as friendly next time I drop by."
With that, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him hard enough to rattle the walls.
Melisa rushed to her father's side as he straightened up, still wheezing.
"Dad! Are you okay? Who was that guy? Why did he hit you?"
Melistair patted her head, attempting a reassuring smile even as he winced in pain.
"It's nothing for you to worry about, sweetheart. Just... Just some business troubles, that's all."
[Business troubles, my ass,] Melisa thought angrily. [That was a loan shark if I ever saw one.]
But she kept her thoughts to herself. Margaret helped her husband sit on a chair nearby.
"Agh, crap. Was kinda hoping they'd just forget, hehe," Melistair chuckled weakly.
"Let me get you some ice," Margaret said. "I-"
"No, no," Melistair waved her off. "I need to head to work. Just... Give me a minute. That guy packs a mean punch, haha."
As she stared up at him, Melisa took note of the situation.
One week. They had one week to come up with the money, whatever amount it was, in that time or that brute would be back.
[If I can just figure out how to make this rune magic work...] She thought. [That's all I need. Even in just one week, that kind of tech would make a lot of money, right?]
She clenched her small fists in determination. Magic or no magic, nine years old or not, Melisa Blackflame was not about to let her new family go down without a fight.
---
Later that day, while Melistair was off working again, Melisa approached Margaret with a hopeful gleam in her eye.
"Hey, Mom?" she asked, her voice sweet as honey. "Is it okay if I hang out with Isabella again today? I had a lot of fun playing with her yesterday."
Margaret looked up from the book she was reading, a sympathetic smile on her face.
"Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry. Isabella and her family were only stopping by for a few days. They left early this morning to continue their travels."
[FUCK,] Melisa screamed internally, barely managing to keep her expression neutral. [There goes my magic source.]
Out loud, she just sighed, her shoulders slumping in disappointment.
"Oh. Okay. Thanks anyway, Mom."
Margaret reached out, patting Melisa's head comfortingly.
"I know you two hit it off, but don't worry. I'm sure you'll make plenty of other friends soon enough."
She forced a smile, nodding at her mother before wandering off.
[Well, there goes that avenue,] she mused, kicking at a pebble as she walked. [Unless I can find some other mage, I'm back to square one.]
A thought struck her then, and she paused, glancing towards the front door.
[You know, I haven't actually explored this place at all yet. I wonder what kind of city we live in.]
Her curiosity piqued, Melisa made her way outside for the first time since her reincarnation.
As she stepped out into the sunlight, she blinked, her eyes adjusting to the brightness. But as her vision cleared, her brows furrowed in confusion.
[What the...?]
She did not, in fact, live in a city.
She lived in a village.
And, the village was... well, to put it bluntly, kind of a dump. The streets were dirt paths, littered with debris and the occasional wandering chicken. The houses were run-down shacks, their walls patched with mismatched boards and their roofs sagging tiredly.
Her family's house, which she'd just walked out of, was by far the nicest place here. And, in one week's time, if they didn't pay up, it wouldn't even be theirs anymore, probably.
[Okay, yet another terrible subversion of my expectations. Wonderful.] She wrinkled her nose at the various unpleasant smells wafting through the air.
She wandered down the street, taking in the sights (and smells) with a growing sense of disappointment.
[Come on... There has to be...]
Something. Something caught her eye.
A small shop, its exterior just as worn and weathered as all the others, but with one key difference: a sign hanging above the door, adorned with weird symbols.
Naturally, this had to mean:
[A magic shop?] Melisa thought, her heart skipping a beat. [In this backwater village? What are the odds!]
Hardly daring to believe her luck, she hurried over, pushing open the door with an eager shove.
A tinkling bell announced her entrance as she stepped inside.
The shop was pretty cozy. "Cramped" might have been more accurate. Shelves lined every wall, crammed with all manner of odd trinkets. Dusty tomes were stacked haphazardly in the corners, and strange, spicy scents hung in the air.
It was so small that Melisa could take in almost the entire inventory from where she stood by the door.
[Okay... Not exactly a wide selection but hey, it's something,] she thought. [Bring on the magical goodies!]
"Well, hello there, young lady."
Melisa jumped, spinning around to face the source of the voice.
An old man stood at the back of the shop, his weathered face creased in a kind smile. He was human, Melisa noted, taking in his distinct lack of horns and tail.
"What brings a little nim like you to my humble shop?" he asked, his voice soft and raspy with age. "Are you lost, perhaps?"
Melisa straightened up.
"You set up shop in a nim village and get surprised when nim showed up?" She couldn't help but respond. "That's odd."
The man's brows shot up.
"You are not wrong." He smiled, not unkindly.
"A-Anyway, no, I'm here on purpose. I was wondering if you had any sources of Essence for sale?"
The old man blinked, looking somewhat taken aback.
"Sources of Essence, you say? Hm, I'm not sure I..."
But Melisa wasn't listening. Her gaze had fallen on a shelf just behind the counter, where a collection of crystals glittered in the lamplight.
"What about those?" she asked, pointing. "What are they?"
The shopkeeper followed her gaze, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Ah, the Spirit Crystals? Yes, those do contain a fair amount of ambient magical energy. We harvest them from the mines just outside the village."
Melisa's mind raced, the gears turning at breakneck speed.
"How are they used?"
The old man narrowed his eyes a bit.
"You are one curious young girl." When he saw that she wasn't going to drop it, he shrugged. "They're used for lighting, mainly. Their light takes ages to fade, you see, and illuminates as well as any torch. Indeed, up in Syux, these things can be found in basically every corner of the city."
Melisa wasn't even listening toward the end. Mostly, all she cared about was that this all but confirmed these things stored magic.
Magic she could extract for her runes.
"How much for one of those crystals?" she asked, trying to keep the eagerness out of her voice.
The old man chuckled.
"More than you've got, probably."
"Try me."
He sighed.
"100 suns each."
"..."
[Is that a lot? Whatever, I'll ask mom.]
"Okay, thanks! I'll be right back!"
And with that, she dashed out of the shop, making a beeline for home.
With any luck, all it would take was 100 "suns" to get her Essence source, try her theories out, and start making money!
Finally, the real other-world adventure could begin!