Phoenix stumbled on a protruding root and barely caught herself from falling before gring at the offending tree and continuing down what she believed to be a game trail she had stumbled across. She wished she had a compass to make sure she wasn’t getting turned around and going in circles as the sun was almost impossible to see, and the moss seemed to grow everywhere on the densely packed trees.

  The pce seemed reminiscent of an enchanted forest from a European fairytale, and she was pleased to spot some wild animals that didn’t try to eat her right away. There were birds and rodents, but they didn’t look exactly like she remembered from the pictures and videos she had seen back on Earth.

  There were also creatures she had no name at all for. Some looked like parts of other animals combined in unconventional ways, while others seemed like the animal had fused with a magical element. She couldn’t help but grin after seeing what looked like a sparrow made out of water flying by her, feeling a sense of wonder that she hadn’t felt since she was a small child.

  While she traveled, she kept asking her new [Guide Book] for more information about her next talent, “What is Beacon of Hope?”

  Natural Talent: Beacon of Hope

  You can unlock more than one Aura ability.Aspect abilities cultivate quicker than average.You can draw magic diagrams with conjured light, including ones that float in the air.

  Phoenix had no idea what most of that meant for her. Were Aura abilities different from Aspect ones? She decided to ask for another hint, “What’s the difference between an Aspect and Aura ability, and is one usually the limit?”

  Note: Aspects are magical manifestations of worldly concepts that can be used to unlock facets of one’s soul. This may include the unlocking of limited ability types, which consist of Aura, Perception, Execution, or Familiar. Only one of each of these types of abilities is usually unlockable per Caster.

  “Caster?” she inquired, prompted by the unusual terminology, “Is that what everyone here is called?”

  Note: A Caster is a person who has unlocked all four of their Aspects and gained a Css, triggering a transition into the Crystal Caste.

  “Huh. That’s good to know… I guess? Except I have no idea what Crystal Caste means. Is that some kind of tiered hierarchy system like in India? I wonder how I can unlock an Aspect,” she pondered aloud as she continued to walk. Before she could ask her next question, however, the book’s writing had been updated automatically with its own prompt.

  New Quest: Defeat Your First Monster!

  You have taken control of your fate in a new world full of monsters! Prove you can survive!

  Objective: Kill and loot a monster.

  Reward: Uncommon Aspect.

  Phoenix’s eyes went wide, “Wait, monster? What do you mean by monster?”

  As if on cue, movement in the brush ahead caught her attention. She tried to focus on the movement –expecting the worst– and gave a little gasp as a white rabbit appeared about a meter away.

  “Oh,” she sighed in relief. It would have been way too cliché to have a monster appear right after getting a quest to kill one.

  The Wayfarer leaned forward, pcing her hands on her knees as she said in the higher tone of speaking to a pet, “Hey there, little buddy.”

  A moment ter, she let out a scream as the rabbit roared at her with a maw full of sharp teeth. Phoenix ran again. She only turned briefly to kick wildly at the tiny monster that chased her through the woods as the noon sun shone down through patches of the thick canopy.

  After only a minute of fleeing, Phoenix tripped and fell to the ground. Honestly, she was amazed that she had sted that long before stumbling. She gnced around in a panic to find something to defend herself with.

  Her hand found a branch, and she turned just in time to swing at the furry terror, smming the thick stick into its side. It gave another roar, and Phoenix scrambled to her feet in a rush of adrenaline. Then, she began beating the little fluff ball with the makeshift weapon.

  When the creature no longer moved, Phoenix stumbled backward to lean against a tree, breathing heavily from the sprint and attack. She jumped in surprise when the monster’s tiny body began to turn into a pale grey dust, seemingly disintegrating into ash before her very eyes.

  She suddenly knew that there was now a small package of bunny meat, a tiny pelt, and a single rabbit foot in her collection. She briefly wondered why there was only one foot but shook the thought from her head. The glowing book appeared in front of her once more to give her some relevant information, which it seemed extremely prone to do.

  Quest: Defeat Your First Monster!

  Objective Complete: Killed and looted a monster.

  Objective Reward:

  A first-time kill bonus has increased the reward quality.

  [Star Aspect] has been added to your collection.

  Completion Reward:

  10 [Mana Bits] have been added to your collection.

  She gred at the book for a moment, wondering if it had somehow spawned the creature in order to challenge her, just like some sort of twisted tutorial that tried to make sure she worked her way up the difficulty dder. The fact that it had given her a monster to fight before she even had any magic powers to do so with was entirely unfair, in her opinion.

  Phoenix sighed at the pointless pondering and took out her newest loot. The Star Aspect looked like a rge chunk of spiky crystal that was mostly shades of blues and purples with silver specks of twinkling starlight lighting up its interior. It was beautiful, if not a little daunting, with its many points sticking out in every direction of the roughly sphere-shaped object.

  It was about the size of a rge fist, and she wondered aloud, “What am I supposed to do with this?”

  In response, her book wrote out a brief description of the item she held.

  Item: Star Aspect

  A magical aspect of the stars.

  Caste: Crystal.

  Avaibility: Rare.

  Type: Consumable, ingredient.

  Requirements: Less than four unlocked aspects.

  Effect: Unlocks an aspect of one’s soul, granting one passive and one cultivating ability.

  You are able to absorb the [Star Aspect].

  Do you wish to unlock the Star aspect of your soul?

  “Um… yes?” she replied hesitantly, wondering if that was enough. It apparently was, as the crystal seemed to dissolve into her. As it merged into her skin, she suddenly felt incredibly hot. She was unable to hold back the scream when it felt like her insides were lit on fire, eventually causing her to pass out from the sudden spike of searing pain. It was almost as bad as when she had gotten teleported here in the first pce.

  The Wayfarer woke up only a few minutes ter, by her guess, since the sun still seemed to be peeking through the canopy overhead and another rabid monster hadn’t attacked her. She must have bumped her head when she fell since she had a splitting headache now.

  Phoenix rubbed at the sore spot, wincing slightly at the pain, but didn’t cry out again as she sat up. When she thought about what had just happened, she realized that she felt noticeably different. Sensing the power that had unlocked within her, it felt strange yet familiar, as if it had been a part of her all along.

  Looking at the book once again, she confirmed that her [Aetheric Transmigrator] talent worked and that her newfound intuition was correct.

  You have unlocked the Star aspect of your soul.

  [Star Aspect] has bonded to your Fortitude attribute, increasing the Caste of your Fortitude to Crystal 1.

  You have unlocked the Aura passive ability: Guiding Stars.

  You have unlocked the cultivating ability: Transversing the Stars.

  You have gained the capability to sense auras and manipute your own.

  “Aura passive? That’s what I can unlock multiples of, right? What does that do?” she asked, her curiosity quickly overriding the remnants of pain she was in.

  Passive Ability: Guiding Stars

  Type: Aura (magical, light)

  Current Caste: Crystal 1

  Crystal Effect: Allies within your aura have increased stamina regeneration and will gain a [Starlight Companion]. Reconstructing a destroyed [Starlight Companion] expends a low amount of mana.

  Starlight Companion (construct, magical, light): A small Starlight Companion hovers around you, providing light and protection. This can intercept and negate Magical or Elemental projectiles.

  “Starlight companion?” she rhetorically asked before noticing the glow in her peripheral vision. The small orb, glowing with a faint purple light and delicate gssy pixie wings, was hovering obediently over her shoulder like a little mp trying to illuminate the already-illuminated text.

  It reminded her of a particurly obnoxious fairy from one of her favorite video game series, but at least this one didn’t seem to talk or beg for her to listen to it. She held out a hand, palm upwards, and the small companion obligingly nded atop it for her to get a closer look. Though it had looked like a hard gss ball with fragile luminescent wings, it was surprisingly soft, squishy, and malleable.

  A bright smile lit up Phoenix’s face at the utter joy she felt with the adorable creature as it seemed to pyfully bounce and roll around in her palms. She couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her lips.

  Along with the new little fairy friend, she could now sense her aura around her as though it was both a part of her yet separate. She could mentally feel the shape and size of it, and when she concentrated hard enough, she felt it move slightly to her will. It seemed to infuse her very being while bnketing the area around her for a handful of meters yet imperceptible to all of her other senses.

  Then she remembered that she had unlocked another magic ability and asked the book to verify what she also felt inside of her, the power begging to be released.

  Ability: Transversing the Stars

  Type: Utility (construct, magical, dimension)

  Cost: High mana.

  Cooldown: 5 minutes.

  Current Caste: Crystal 1 (0%)

  Crystal Effect: Construct a stargate between two locations on a regional scale. The destination gate must appear in a location you have an aural imprint on.

  Her eyes went as wide as saucers as she stared at the description of her new magic power, “A portal?! I can teleport? Like actually travel across the map in an instant?!” She hopped up, full of excitement to try it out, but realized she didn’t have anywhere to go.

  She was completely lost in a forest on a completely different pnet in a completely different reality. If her book hadn’t been lying to her, that is –which she doubted it was, considering it had proven right about everything so far.

  Intuitively, she could feel that the distance of her ability was rather far, but she didn’t know where to attempt portaling to that was in range. The only pce she could remember was the sizzling area she had arrived in, but there was no way she was going to go back there just to get captured and probably experimented on.

  However… there was that spot about three meters down the path that she could see. Too excited about actually casting a magic spell, she released the power that had been pleading for her to use it since being unlocked.

  She concentrated on the two locations for a moment. A shiny silver ring appeared floating in the air above both spots, growing to the size of a person, and hovered slightly above the forest floor. It was filled with a swirl of dark blues and purples with flecks of silver twinkling like starlight on a clear night.

  It was beautiful and probably the most magical thing she had seen yet. The sparkling sheet of night seemed almost inviting to her, as though it held the thrilling promise of wonder and adventure just on the other side.

  The sensation of mana was completely new to her, along with most things, and it was difficult to describe since it didn’t conform to most natural sensations. There was no temperature change, and it wasn’t exactly like the feel of water, but it did flow throughout her. She could feel it spreading within, escaping through her hands as she created the magic in front of her, and her mind felt a bit fuzzy from losing a decent chunk of it at once.

  She shook the feeling off as her logical mind began taking over. She walked around the portal contemptively, checking out the other ring that had shown up as well, then returned to the original source one. She cautiously touched the overtly magical portal with a finger first. No pain or missing finger was a good sign. Next went the whole hand, then the rest of the arm.

  Everything came back perfectly fine and intact. She took a calming breath, followed by a step of faith and a flicker of hope, as she entered the portal. The experience was weird and slightly disorienting at first, but she reappeared right on the other side of her destination portal, just as she should have.

  The Wayfarer gave a whoop and actually jumped into the air a little bit. She hadn’t actually jumped in years. Not since she had been a much smaller and lighter child that hadn’t yet withered after her diseases continued eating away at her.

  Another noise in the brush, most likely an animal or something disguised as an animal that would also try to eat her face off, reminded her to start moving again. Cutting off her celebrations, she began wandering through the forest again, this time using her portal every five minutes to shortcut the distance as much as possible. She quickly discovered that the previous portal would vanish on its own after the cooldown was done.

  She thought about all the information she had gotten over and over again, trying to fully process the changes that had happened to her. It was a bit much to really take in, and she briefly feared again that this was all some fantastic dream.

  It was too real, though. She had read enough about magic and had dreamt enough to know that this wasn’t a dream. She had truly become a Wayfarer and been transported to another world, either because the strange Night Witch had teleported her here or she had died and been reborn. Most likely the former. Maybe a little of both?

  Phoenix ran into a few more tiny monsters that tried to take a bite out of her, but a decently rge branch she found and started keeping with her was enough to make short work of the little beasts –once she stopped panicking at the sight of them. Thinking of everything like a video game helped immensely.

  Her book interrupted her progress through the forest as it appeared before her again of its own volition. Obligingly, she read the new text that appeared.

  New Quest: In Darkest Night

  You have become lost in the forest and the sun has begun to set.

  Objective: Survive a night.

  Reward: Uncommon Aspect.

  Bonus Objective: Cook and eat a meal.

  Reward: Common undergarments.

  Phoenix stared at the reward. There was no way she would just gain another aspect by doing something she was already pnning to do, was there? Then she wondered just how hard not dying overnight was actually going to be.