She couldn't stop thinking about magic. Minerva changed her clothes and put on her new dress and boots.
The librarian's warnings, they all bounced around in her head like a thousand echoes. Be careful. Slow down. Don't rush. They all said the same thing, but none of it made sense to her. She wasn't here to live in this world forever. She wasn't here to fade into the background, to quietly serve drinks and clean mugs. She needed magic. She needed a way back to her own life.
And so far, no one seemed to have the answers she needed.
She glanced out the tavern window, her eyes narrowing. The sky was overcast, clouds hanging low in the distance, but she barely noticed. The scent of the surrounding woods, the sharp, earthy tang of pine and damp soil was calling her. There was a part of her that needed to break free of the village, to find somewhere quiet, far away from the librarian, where she could immerse herself in the old texts she had been studying without interruption. "Im almost there, i just need no interruptions."
She didn't care about the warnings anymore.
The path out of the village wasn't long, just a dirt road that curved around the edge of the trees. Minerva had walked it a few times on errands, but today, it felt different. She felt more determined, more driven.
It was dark and gloomy, Minerva approached the line where the village met the wilderness. She could almost feel the pull of the magic that lingered just beyond the trees, calling to her, whispering nonsense right into her ears, waiting for her to decrypt the messages. The trees seemed to have figures carved onto them, resembling eyes that followed Minerva on every step. The wind blew making howling sounds and the puddles of water only reflected black.
As she entered the woods, the air grew heavier, more alive. Every rustle of leaves, every snap of twigs underfoot, seemed to reverberate with the energy of the land. Magic was here, somewhere, she could feel it. She pushed forward, deeper into the woods, the faint light from the village disappearing behind her.
Soon, she found a small clearing, a peaceful spot surrounded by thick trees. The ground was soft with moss, and the wind moved gently through the branches, carrying with it the scent of pine and damp earth. This was perfect. She sat cross-legged on the moss, pulling out the thick tome she had borrowed from the library.
The words on the page were like a map to her, each sentence a beacon guiding her deeper into the mysteries of magic. She had read through the pages before, but now, in this place, something felt different. The air seemed charged, as though the very earth was resonating with the power she was trying to understand. Her heart raced, she couldn't help but draw a big smile on her face as she panted and kept reading.
Minerva traced her finger over the ancient text, absorbing each word as if her life depended on it. Her eyes became pitch black and she could hear strange whispers that held encrypted secrets for her to discover.
The deeper she read, the more her mind raced. The text was basic, it spoke about mana and how it was connected to everything. It was simpler than anything she had imagined, but it also felt like the key to everything. The words began to blur as her focus sharpened, her mind moving faster, pulling the knowledge in with a hunger she hadn't known she had.
And then, as she flipped to the next page, something strange happened.
The world around her seemed to shift.
Her heart skipped a beat. The words on the page flickered like a mirage, twisting and distorting in ways that shouldn't have been possible. The air grew still, as though the entire forest had taken a collective breath, holding its silence.
Minerva's pulse quickened. What was happening? Minerva was scared that the excitement didn't stop. in fact, she was eager for it.
Her hands began to tremble. She tried to steady herself, but it felt like the very fabric of reality was stretching, bending. The ground beneath her feet seemed to waver, the trees blurring at the edges of her vision. Her thoughts spun in a dizzying spiral, the information from the book overwhelming her senses. She couldn't stop, she had to keep going. She had to keep learning.
But then, as if to warn her, a sharp, searing pain shot through her temples. She gasped, clutching her head in her hands, as her vision flickered. The magical energy she had been pulling in felt like it was ripping through her, consuming her mind, tearing at the edges of her consciousness.
Minerva tried to steady her breath, but the pain only grew worse. She had to focus. She had to keep going.
Lots of images flashed inside her mind, images of nature, animals, formulas, then silence and a static image of a quadruped mammal looking directly at her. It's eyes were like hollowed sockets and had a short trunk. It had a blade piercing it's side and it's head trembled when he spoke. The whole world trembled as he spoke. "Let me in."
But her vision was fading. The clearing around her began to dissolve, replaced by a wave of darkness that threatened to swallow her whole. Her body went rigid, and the book slipped from her hands, landing with a soft thud on the moss.
A cold sweat broke out across her skin, and for the briefest moment, she thought she might lose herself entirely. But then, as quickly as the pain had come, it began to recede. Her vision cleared, and the world around her snapped back into focus. The woods, the clearing, the quiet evening, it all returned, as if nothing had happened.
Minerva was left gasping for air, her heart hammering in her chest. She stared down at her chest, she had a black blade poking out in the middle.
"Such a shame, i thought you were special." Miss librarian said behind her back.
"Y-You.." Minerva coughed up black blood.
"I felt something odd coming from you. Usually magic corruption doesn't bring those dangerous characteristics you developed." She retracted her blade, making Minerva's body fall to the ground.
She saved me from becoming a vessel?
"Im sorry Minerva, i'll use you as an example on why we have to ban magic books." Miss librarian crouched to grab her.
I can't die... This isn't even my world... I feel so powerless...
Minerva's eyes flooded with tears as she punched the ground to lift herself up.
"I'm not a vessel, but i'm not going to die just to be the proof of a failed experiment!"
Minerva pushed herself off Miss librarian's imminent reach, she had failed on learning, she had fallen into the temptation of some ancient demon, but something was different. Looking at that creature was inherently magical, experienced a certain death magical event and got saved by a deathly blow. She knew what powerful magic felt like, that demon gave her the cheat to studying magic.
Minerva made a hand sign just like a ninja and recited a single word. "Darkness." By reading the somatic and verbal books, Minerva had an idea on how to use magic. Now that she knew how it actually felt to be overtaken by magic, she tried replicating that feeling while using somatic and verbal elements. The past 5 days had been a little rough, but fun. Her experience on this fantasy world wasn't even half as difficult as her last semester of university.
"Chopping wood is actually pretty fun." A black axe materialized on Minerva's hand. It was heavy and crackling with dark energy.
"What the..." Miss librarian stood up and fixed her glasses. "I'm actually impressed with this outcome, but you will never overpower me. I'm Qwilla, grade two sorcerer." Qwilla put on her black short leather gloves and black blades sprouted from both of her wrists. The bright moonlight hitting the rim of her glasses making her look cold and calculative.
They're hidden blades, just like an assassin...
Qwilla launched herself forwards and disappeared in thin air. Her voice could be heard from every direction. "Seems like you came in contact with something dark and dangerous, you're not even bleeding anymore from that mortal wound."
Minerva looked everywhere for Qwilla. "You think i'm a demon?!"
"Or perhaps the demon is using you to craft a stronger vessel." Qwilla's blade sprouted from Minerva's shadow, aiming for her throat. Minerva could see it from the corner of her eye and almost didn't make it. Qwilla ruined Minerva's new expensive dress. "Now you've done it..."
As Qwilla was in the midst of coming out of the shadow, minerva jumped back, getting away from her, forcing Qwilla to be launched out of it. In the air, Qwilla threw an array of black daggers towards Minerva. "Cool trick!" Minerva used her darkness axe to parry all of the daggers. They spun in place at high velocities and Qwilla took the opportunity.
One of the daggers was casting a shadow behind Minerva, which she used to teleport and aim for another fatal blow. Minerva used the momentum of the attack she used to hit the daggers to turn around and hit Qwilla on her recently sprouted head.
It doesn't matter if you are a former sorcerer, a good hit will bring down anyone.
Qwilla's hair became undone, her glasses broke and a stream of blood painted red spots on the grassy field. She was launched out of the shadow as soon as the dagger fell to the floor and was no longer casting it.
Minerva let go of her axe, making it disappear. She clasped her fists tight and screamed her heart out, letting the winds make the grass blades dance, celebrating her victory.