Chapter 39: Waiting for spring(3)

Winter was halfway over.

Avalli’s daily life in Asha Village was a predictable cycle. Playing with the children in the morning, lunch, magic lessons with Lucy, watching Hans’s sword training, dinner, and then rereading the same books over and over again.

Interspersed were occasional events, like raiding Bern’s house with Lucy for snacks, watching Karls build Lucy’s new house, and visiting Snowy with Camelia…

“…I’m bored.”

The routine was starting to wear on her. While Lucy was next door discussing the layout of her new house, Avalli lay sprawled on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Was she happy? Yes, she was still happy.

But her modern mind, accustomed to constant stimulation, craved more. Her dopamine reward system was different from the villagers of Asha.

‘Two more weeks until the full moon.’

The full moon offered a brief respite, a chance to roam freely. During the last full moon, she had visited Sylvain at the World Tree. She had enjoyed the takoyaki and karaage, traditional Japanese snacks that clearly revealed the game developers’ nationality…

‘…But Sylvain gave me a look.’

She had thought she had plenty of time, having been told to deliver the letter within five years, but it seemed it was a more urgent matter. Sylvain was apparently defending the World Tree every night, and the enemy attacks were growing stronger. Perhaps she was just putting on a brave face for her guest.

Avalli didn’t want to get involved, but she couldn’t help but feel a little concerned. Why was such a powerful being like Sylvain on the defensive? And what was the message she wanted to send to the Goddesses of the Holy Kingdom?

‘This is a game world, after all.’

While she didn’t know the details of the Sword and Magic lore, Avalli understood the general structure of the series.

It followed the classic JRPG storyline of a Demon King and a Hero. The player was the Hero, the final boss was the Demon King. The Hero defeats the Demon King, saves the world, and the story ends.

‘…Am I the Hero?’

In these classic stories, the player was almost always the Hero. Of course, there were spin-offs and side stories focusing on other characters…

‘But then they wouldn’t have such a detailed character creation process.’

Assuming she was the Hero, Avalli developed her theory further.

‘The task Sylvain gave me is a quest. I don’t know if it’s a main quest or a side quest… but with all the talk of Transcendent Beings, it’s probably important.’

Perhaps the World Tree, ruled by Sylvain, was the true starting location, not Asha Village. She had found signs of civilization to the west and ended up in Asha, but… it was possible that, in the game’s narrative, she had been caught in Sylvain’s teleportation magic while wandering lost.

Of course, it was all conjecture. Having only just played the series for the first time, Avalli couldn’t make accurate assumptions based on established lore.

Her friend, a die-hard fan of the series, would have known, but Avalli lacked the necessary information.

‘…Why did I have to get pulled into this?’

Avalli sighed softly. Was she happy in Asha Village, in this world? Yes, she was. But she couldn’t shake the occasional pangs of melancholy.

‘If I had the chance to go back, would I?’

Avalli posed the question to herself, tracing the patterns on the ceiling. The answer came quickly, surprising her.

Absolutely not. She didn’t want to go back to that soul-crushing routine.

She hadn’t been happy in her modern life. She had always felt suffocated, like she couldn’t breathe. The constant pressure had been a heavy weight on her shoulders.

But now, things were different.

She was young, powerful, and loved. After learning how to properly use magic power from Lucy, she felt confident she could make almost anything she imagined a reality.

Yes.

There was no need to stay in this small village. If she wanted to, she could reshape the world to her liking—

“No! Stop overthinking!”

Avalli sat up abruptly, climbed out of bed, and went to the living room, where Envel was sewing.

“I’m going for a walk.”
“A walk? Anything wrong?”
“Just… thinking about some things.”
“Going through puberty already?”

Envel asked playfully, and Avalli giggled and nodded.

“Maybe.”

It was the weekly day of rest, so Asha Village was quiet and deserted, except for the short prayer service led by Arsene. Especially during winter, people tended to stay indoors.

Feeling like she was walking alone through the deserted streets of a city at dawn, Avalli left the village. She headed towards the empty shack across the river, the place where Hans had almost been killed by the demonic beast.

Lately, she had been visiting the shack alone whenever she had free time. It wasn’t early puberty, as Envel had suggested, but something she needed to do alone.

“Let’s try it again!”

Avalli said to herself, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.

She turned her gaze inwards. Everyone had their own world within. She let her consciousness flow into the source of her being.

It was a meditation technique Lucy had taught her, a spiritual journey into one’s inner world. Ordinary mages used this to assess their progress and strive for higher levels.

‘…Higher levels…’

It sounded like a fairy tale to Avalli. Her world was already ‘complete’. All she could do was tinker around the edges.

When Avalli opened her eyes, she saw a brightly shining sun. Dozens of planets revolved around it, and countless stars twinkled in the distance.

This vast universe was Avalli’s inner world.

‘The scale is always so overwhelming.’

Avalli, the owner of this space, always felt a sense of bewilderment whenever she visited. She was just an ordinary person; why did she have such a grand, universe-sized inner world?

She had learned something during her recent explorations.

The number of planets revolving around the sun corresponded exactly to the number of ‘traits’ she had chosen at the beginning of the game. Fragments of transcendental talent, called ‘Gifts’ in this world.

‘If I think of it as a game UI, it’s not entirely illogical.’

Avalli’s gaze, which had been wandering among the orbiting planets, shifted to the sun at the center.

‘I still have no idea what that is.’

In the Sword and Magic series, all traits were equal. They each cost one point during character creation.

So, what was this sun, a singular entity at the center of her inner universe? Avalli pondered, but couldn’t come up with a plausible explanation.

‘…Should I just continue with what I was doing?’

Avalli moved to one of the celestial bodies orbiting the sun, a small mass too insignificant to be called a planet.

This was her current project.

Lucy, her teacher, had said that cultivating one’s inner world was fundamental for a mage. Of course, it wasn’t something only mages could do.

Knights, priests, even ordinary people could cultivate their inner world through training in the real world. But only mages, who could manipulate magic power, could directly observe it.

However, even mages could only ‘observe’. The actual training took place in reality, not within their inner world. The growth achieved in the real world would then be reflected in their inner world, causing it to flourish.

But Avalli’s case was a bit different. Ever since she almost drowned at the World Tree, she had realized the need for a contingency plan—

‘The feeling of my body moving before I even think… Or perhaps a separate survival instinct running alongside my conscious thoughts.’

—and she was currently ‘creating’ a new Gift.

If Lucy knew, she would probably faint from shock.