Voice of Nature

It was early morning on a mountain in Ravelith, Ardeim.

After the introduction of a concept known as Universal Time, the sun had begun to rise again, ending the long reign of darkness. Universal Time adjusted the cycle of day and night in all of the Realms, making them uniform. Prior to that, some Realms went through 22 hours to complete a full day, some 25, and some 26. But since most Realms were similar to Earth in terms of size, whoever determined the Universal Time had deemed 24 hours to be the middle-ground and thus the ideal choice for the length of a day cycle.

Magnus and Alana were walking while holding hands in the woods, feeling the gentle breeze of spring that washed away traces of winter. Alana, as usual, had her feet completely bare, preferring to remain in close contact with the soil.

"I love this," Magnus said, gently swinging his and Alana's hand.

There was a little smile formed on her lips. She elegantly swung her other hand as a tree with small signs of sickness started recovering. The dried and wilting leaves regained their radiant green, the drooping branches rose up vigorously, and the blemishes on the bark vanished as if they had never been there in the first place. "Love what, dear?" she asked.

Alana didn't stop walking as her hand kept weaving in the air. At the same time, all forms of vegetation that she passed by seemed to receive a new kind of energy. She made the whole process look effortless.

Alana may not have been involved in any of the stories fabricated by the gods. She was neither a Protagonist nor a Supporting Character. However, that didn't mean she was a stranger to magic.

Even before the Prolog happened, people of Ardeim had already been familiar with magic and were even known to utilize it on a daily basis. However, it was only to a small degree. Due to the minimal amount of mana they could wield naturally, technology still thrived. In fact, many of their technologies were tailored toward accommodating the use of magic, among other kinds of energy like electricity.

Unlike the gods, they couldn't employ the method of engraving inscriptions, since that required the practice of divine magic. However, like any other mortals, their needs birthed innovation, making use of whatever they had in hand to make up for what they lacked. And after centuries of industrial development, they were finally capable of manufacturing tools that could harness mana like how Earthlings could generate and control electricity.

But even to this day, Magnus still couldn't comprehend how their magic tools worked. Ever since settling in Ardeim, he was so used to having these tools around that they had become a mundane thing he took for granted.

In the era post-Prolog, however, some magic tools were slowly becoming obsolete as people's awakenings allowed them to naturally control mana. The thing about people in Ardeim was, compared to the mortals in some Realms that weren't as familiar with magic, the way they utilized mana felt more…fluid, for the lack of a better word.

For one, people of Ardeim had a better starting line, given that their base Mana numbered at fifty or sixty, as far as Magnus' knowledge went. Moreover, learning and registering magic skills on the system came as second nature to them. It was as easy as breathing. This was why some of the strongest Protagonists originated from Ardeim and its neighboring Realms.

Earth itself was actually located not that far from Ardeim, which was the reason the amount of natural mana on Earth wasn't lacking. But compared to Ardeim and other magic-friendly Realms, Earth was still behind. Not too far behind, though. Earthlings weren't that much of plebs.

Using a more familiar term, Earth and the Realms neighboring its one side were like third-world countries when it came to the practice of magic. And a bit further on the other side, including Ardeim and even farther Realms, were the habitat of first-world citizens.

Alana herself, being on only Level 22 at the moment she had met Magnus, wouldn't lose to any medium-leveled Earthlings. Even though she failed to seriously harm Magnus when she tried to shoo him away from her residence, she was still able to put up a bit of a fight.

"The silence around us. I love it. It's very peaceful," answered Magnus, looking around the green foliage coloring the forest.

That was when Alana finally stopped in her tracks. She looked up at him and chuckled lightly. It was a chuckle one would do when they heard a child commenting on something silly. "Nature is never silent, Magnus."

— —

'Nature is never silent,' Magnus repeated his late wife's words in his mind as he witnessed a growth of roots that burst out of the asphalt, making way for rich soil to spread around a small portion of the parking lot. 'It speaks in a subtler voice, conveying meanings through the rustling of leaves and the movement of branches and stems.'

Summer was seen crouching, her right hand holding [Forthright] and her left palm touching the ground. Her short curly hair danced in the wind that blew from Henry Williams' [Eye of The Storm]. The wind element-based defense skill was soon coming to an end, and the man was ready to cast [Wind Breath], the exact skill he'd witnessed being used by that Wayde boy.

However, when the tornado finally let up, he was frozen in place, completely forgetting to fire his next attack. His eyes were fixed on the roots that kept growing and crawling along the ground. In their wake, rich soil erupted and from it, greenery sprouted. Short wild grass brought life onto the paved ground as tiny pink and yellow flowers bloomed among the bed of green.

Summer chose not to erect a tree, as her low-level [Rapid Growth] gave her a limited option—either build a tree no more than eight meters in height, or spread small vegetation around that could reach a wider area.

As the beautiful garden was being grown under the starry sky, Summer whistled, mimicking the singing of a nightingale. There was a broad smile on her face, as if she was enjoying the process of creating such a pretty view.

Magnus had a hard time not to synonymize her with Alana again.

Everyone was captivated by the sight before them, as was her opponent. Henry was clearly making what Magnus would label as a rookie mistake; the man was getting distracted by a pretty sight in the middle of a fight.

Before he could react, thick roots burst out the ground around where he stood. They then firmly wrapped themselves around his legs and crawled up to his knees.

The man gasped and looked down.

Summer took that chance to get up and zoom forward, her spear-holding hand raised steadily. The B-rank [Forest's Wish] bracelet provided her with an extra 40 Agility points, so the girl was basically the second fastest person in the group, right after Magnus himself. As she neared the man, Summer lifted her free hand, palm facing forward.

[Illuminate]!

After recalling how Magnus did his light-show presentation, Summer had decided to learn the same skill not too long ago. It was very easy to learn. In fact, it was like the most basic skill for anyone with a light element affinity. But at just level one, the skill only allowed her to light up a very small area. It was a good way to momentarily rob an opponent of their sight, though. Like a flash grenade or something.

A bright flash of light burst out of her palm, temporarily blinding her opponent. "Ah!" Henry screamed while squeezing his eyes shut. He reflexively raised both hands and covered his face. He didn't even have enough time to recover his sight before he heard Magnus' voice yelling, "Summer wins!"

Henry was confused as to what had just occurred, but after regaining his sight, he finally saw his opponent before him, in a stance holding her spear with two hands, its tip an inch away from the man's Adam's apple. The thought of it piercing his throat gave him shivers. He audibly gulped.

It was a pretty short fight, but one that taught Garrett's father he needed to be able to keep his focus and think fast.

Neither he nor Summer was harmed, so she didn't have to put her healing skill to use this time.

Magnus approached his girlfriend, donning a proud smile. "Good job, babe. I especially love seeing this sight," he said, waving his hand at the instant-made garden. "I kind of don't want to ruin it, but it'll be your father's turn soon."

Summer was seen pondering for a bit. "How about we continue the spar tomorrow? It's already evening, anyway. Everybody needs some rest."

"Hmm, that might be a good idea. The garden will remain all night, in case somebody wants to sit here and relax while enjoying the view. Sadly, it'll start withering tomorrow, since your skill is still on level what, one?"

"Two," Summer corrected. "I leveled up just now."

"By the way," Magnus said, smirking while being reminded of her joy when casting the spell. "You must've been aware that the flowers and the whistling weren't really necessary. Bet you just wanted to add an extra flair, didn't you?"

In response, Summer didn't say anything and just gave him a smug grin.