Like a log of wood, she slept. The trio barged in. She was still finding it hard to adjust to this world day and night cycle. While the rest lived on the same tree, Ephini lived with her husband just south of the library. Jumping on the bed without a care in the world, Ephini had woken Gilly up. Zin's disapproval made him raise his sister with one hand, dropping her on the floor. Her eyes had bags, but she managed to put in a smile.

  "I guess I slept too well."

  This was a new expression, making the others throw glances at each other. She always had this look of disgust or emptiness for the past few days, but this smile had changed her look. Before Ephini left, she gave her information on what to do and where to find her when she was done with Zin.

  Zin had no problem with being the first to teach. Ephini managed the library, so most of her days were occupied. Agreeing to teach Gilly was a bit of a surprise to him; for the record, she only had one disciple for the past nine years. Ephini had followed Valmor, leaving Zin and Gilly alone for the first time, each staring at the other; the one on the bed was curious, and the other was indifferent.

  ...

  At the top of a hill just north of the town, Gilly was panting heavily; she lay on the floor like a lizard under the sun. Zin had shown her how to run using the canopies of the forest, as elves did not run on the ground but jumped from canopy to canopy using the branches of the trees. At first, she had fallen several times, with each time Zin shaking his head as he had shown her several times, but all attempts failed.

  She got the hang of it but now was forced to do it for about twenty-six kilometers straight to a hilltop. She felt like a deer who had just escaped its predator. Zin looked fine. Even if he had done the same, he had already mastered it. There were a few others. Some were elves, other halflings like Gilly, and some humans scattered in groups with each having what looked like an instructor. The area was as big as a football pitch, making the space more than enough.

  Zin threw a wooden sword at her.

  "Ouch"

  It was aimed and landed on her head, forcing her to jump up. Zin, with the same indifferent expression he had, pointed a wooden sword at Gilly. He began with the basis before he moved to more advanced concepts like forms. This took Gilly around a month to gain general knowledge on the basis and even gain a bit of insight on forms. She was exhausted day after day, not even having a chance to meet Ephini for magic practice for an entire month.

  For the world, there were different types of weapons, but the sword was the most popular, having types based on either its length or its size and weight. The great sword and the long sword were Elves only types of weapons, except for the short swords the Elven assassin carried and the bows for long range. Swordsmanship was also of two types: light and heavy, with Zin demonstrating both stances as he explained.

  Gilly got the gist of it as she was dismissed for the day since she will be performing a thousand swings starting from the next day. Zin was strict, and there was no excuse she could give. Even crying to Ephini or Valmor could not save her. Since she had nothing else to do and she had enough strength, she went to the library to see Ephini.

  ...

  In the evening, as they had called it, even though the moon was out, she approached the library. The city was still bustling as fireflies and glowing plants lit up the streets. These were the flowers Gilly saw growing on the trees during the day. Ephini had explained that they glowed when injected with mana. Her first time entering the library after a month was quite good. There were fewer people since it was the night cycle.

  She was first met by a half-elf. She had a look of awe staring at Gilly, making her feel a bit awkward. Ephini appeared behind, hitting her with a set of books she had in hand—five in total.

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  "It is polite to introduce yourself first."

  The half-elf bowed in response, greeting her and saying her name; it was Zenora. Ephini proceeded to hand over the book to Gilly. She tried to protest. A bust of wind followed after Ephini raised her hand, and her staff appeared with whistling winds, lifting Gilly gently into the air, forward, and out the door. She could see Ephini smile and Zenora smile before the door closed behind her, landing gently on the ground with five books in hand.

  She had no one to complain to. She was not sure if she could read their text, and Ephini would not even listen to her. Opening one of the books while sitting, the character seemed a bit weird at first, but soon after she understood just from staring at them for a few seconds. This came as a surprise to her, and things kept on being strange since she had woken up in this strange place about

  …….

  The room she slept in since she came was just the perfect size for one person. It had all the necessities, such as a chair, a table, and a bed. She had to start reading and at least finish one or two of them before dawn. The first book she drew on was on world ranking.

  There were several ranks, and each occupation and organization had different ranking rules and levels. For the magic tower and magic guilds, they ranked from zero to eighteen. This was based on the amount of circle one had. From one to five, power was doubled for each level, but from six and above, the power was five to six for each succeeding level times that amount depending on the level of skill.

  For alchemists, organization was based on how many missions or orders have been done, and they had a rank from zero-star trainee to five-star mastery. Explorers were unique because it depended on the color of badge they had. Iorn, Nikel, copper, purple, bronze, silver, gold, and diamond badges were offered depending on what missions were covered in the past few years.

  For adventurers, it was the main occupation unique to those who possess certain talents and skills. Each rank was made up of two levels, lower and upper, also called one and two. The ranks varied, with each power level getting two times the power of the previous. This was with the exception of the ranks above the Apex predator rank, which had ten times the power of the previous rank.

  Recruit, Camper, Knight, Hunter, Predator, Apex Predator, Calamity, Destruction, Demigods, Divine, Other Worlders. Unlike adventurers' mages, they have no cap for the number of circles they possess, and this can scale. The highest on record was twenty, the Infinite Mage of the Stars, Noel. She had glanced through other books, and before she could count, she was done. All had distinct topics, from world history to tribes and religions, languages, weapon classes, and minor topics for each region.

  The next day, her training continued as usual with Zin. By afternoon, she went to the library to meet Ephini and practiced magic. The use of magic was made up of two parts, first the Regalia, which was the attribute of the mana: fire, or earth, or a mixed attribute like lightning, which was the basic foundation of all magic. The second was field, and that is how much of an influence a magic user will have on their environment. The field is based on their primary attribute, which is either light or dark.

  Elves mostly have light attributes and have one primary element from birth, Ephini explained. The kind of elf determined the primary elements, like forest elves, have either wind or earth as base elements when born. People can also have multiple elements from birth, as they can inherit from their parents. While others gain new elemental attributes by residing in places where that elemental attribute is most abundant, like volcanic mountains or snowy regions.

  Forming a circle was only important for mage because it shows how efficiently they use mana, unlike swordsmen, who use only enhancing magic or basic enchantment on their weapons, which consume less mana. The practice cycle went on for days. Gilly learned more about how the world works and what kinds of jobs there are. They had a lot, from explorers to crafters to healers, and the list goes on. Magic was not the primary thing Ephini had taught; the spells she learned were taught to her by Zenora, who was always kind to Gilly. Ephini had only the time to give her instruction where necessary, as they would both take exams to join the adventurer guild at the end of six months.

  They often went to the city to practice, with Zenora leading the way. She had come to know that Zenora and Ephini were the ones who found her floating by the lake. This routine of practice went on and on day after day. Days turned to weeks, which turned to months, and the final test was approaching. Zin had daily spar with her to improve her level. It had always ended with her loss, but she seemed grateful that Zin took out time to train her even when she learned he held the position of training master, always giving her special attention.