ircase and walked down the long, drafty

t-neat, filled with books, and completely suffocating. She looked

g resting on her pillow. It had the silver peak crest embroidered on

ootsteps echoed

way into her room, blocking the doorway. T

stepped forward. His face w

direct order, that includes your identification badge, the uniform on

he silver clasps of her elite academy robe. She shrugged it off her

rn riding pants. She had bought them with her own money in

ing to the space bag in her hand. H

She tipped the bag upsid

e advanced rune manuals, and a handful of glowing Man

randi's hand. His greedy gaze briefly swept over her form, pausing for a fraction of a second on the hilt of a worthless, rusty i

lms. She turned toward t

ir long spears in front o

d, his eyes narrowing. "To ensure you ha

ran cold. Her

at the tip of her index finger. The heat was so intense it warped the air in th

ast-life combat experience allowed her to

tense heat searing their skin. Fear widened their eyes. Their

ck. He knew a compressed fireball like that

itative while his voice cracked. He signaled his men, and the

d out of the dormitory and stepped into

e cold air. Some pointed at her plain linen shirt, mocking her for

them. She walked with steady, measured steps until she pas

he biting wind sliced through her thin linen shi

t three rusty copper coins. It wasn't even enough to buy a stale

in Range in the distance. Heavy grey clouds hung over the trees. It was a death trap for

on the safe, paved road to the town and steppe

ick canopy of leaves. The low, guttural growl of an unseen beast echoed throug

using her past-life knowledge to avoid patches of to

She had narrowly dodged two low-tier shadow-wolves by hiding in a hollow log, holding her breath until her lungs burned, and managed to forage only a few

d dead in

ad leaves was a trail of fresh blood. It

ned by a high-tier magical beast, or they

, but her instincts told her a dead mage

eapon the enforcers hadn't found. Keeping her breathing shallow, s