Well, it's not as confusing as I expected it to be, and I don't even feel dizzy after using the skill.

It's as I thought: [Tether] will currently allow me to teleport back to the place where I left the anchor, which is something like a construct or imprint.

When I try to set up the anchor again and then another one, the first one crumbles.

That's unfortunate, but it's nothing some leveling in the skill wouldn't take care of.

I use as much mana as I can and set up another anchor, then start playing with [Mana Domain] again. Inside the domain, the anchor shines brighter, and I can understand it better, even feeding it some mana from a further distance.

Very interesting. I will need to do more testing and try to use all my skills within [Mana Domain]. Right now, I have a feeling that some of the skills could be strengthened or their uses increased.

Only thirty seconds pass, and the anchor crumbles.

It looks like my hit-and-run tactic will require a bit more leveling to work properly, but it's not something I mind too much. My new Primary Class is amazing, and the active skills it gives me seem to be equally fantastic. I especially love [Mana Domain].

As for the passive, I'll have to wait a bit more to see how big the reservoir is.

I move towards the bed and close my eyes.

For the next hour, I just stare at the ceiling and rest. It's hard to fall asleep. After a few days of constant fighting against the ants, the calm and safety within our newest base feels somewhat unreal.

It takes me another hour before light sleep comes to me, and I finally doze off.

I wake up, and after a short moment of panic and looking around, I remember where I am and calm down my mana, which hums around me, ready to explode at my command.

Slowly calming it down, I stand up, stretch a bit, then step onto the balcony. While feeling a light warm breeze on my skin, I look down on the city.

It's the middle of the night, so the city is quieter than before, yet there are myriads of lights all over it. Blue, white, yellow; all of them dimly glowing, lighting the streets or showing places where people aren't asleep yet.

A few of the giant trees that are throughout the city also seem to have leaves that glow softly in a pale green color while being swayed by the wind.

It's so peaceful and I etch the scene into my memory.

Then I observe the mana around the house we are using as our base. I felt it the moment I came here, but there is some field set up around it. A somewhat intricate yet amateurish web of mana is used for detection.

I also notice that, unlike when I came here, a few hours ago, the web of mana seems to be better. The person who set it up is constantly improving it, most likely.

It's not hard to locate that person. The one doing that is a tanned, black-haired girl sitting in her room, with her sister sleeping on the bed near her.

Obviously, it's Sophie, someone who I still consider the most skilled from our group, after me, when it comes to handling mana.

I radiate a bit more mana and start carefully observing what she is doing and notice that she's practicing and improving the web of mana around the house.

It doesn't take long for her to notice my examination. After a bit of panic, she locates me and realizes that it's me who's doing that and not some enemy.

I send a mana variation of a greeting towards her, and instead of answering in a similar way, she does something else.

(You scared me here. I was about to alert everyone.) Sophie contacted me telepathically in a similar way the twins can. She does it by using the web she created.

It makes sense; her [Manipulation] should be capable of doing at least that much. Or maybe she got another skill; who knows?

I use the connection she set up and answer, (Your web has holes, here and here and here as well.) I point at them using pulses of mana.

Sophie hesitates for a moment, most likely surprised by the unexpected answer, but she quickly checks the places and right after, she starts working on fixing them.

(Won't your web dissipate when you stop focusing on it?) I ask.

(No.) Sophie answers simply.

Well, I can't expect her to tell me all her secrets. Does [Manipulation] or [Mana Infusion] allow her to create semi-permanent things like that?

(It will be harder to improve it if you keep poking it the entire time.) Sophie sends.

(What does it do other than some sort of detection?) I keep observing the web she had set up.

(It detects minds entering the premises and warns me. It also senses the usage of a larger amount of mana. I did feel you experimenting in your room, just so you know. But currently, I am excluding your room from the web.)

Oh? Isn't that nice of her? I know she most likely did it to avoid conflict with me, and I do realize that since that situation when I lost control over myself, she has been careful when dealing with me.

Also, the way she's manipulating mana to create this web, in combination with some of her skills, is quite fascinating. It makes me want to observe it more.

It's also good to know that everyone continues to improve. Maybe me leaving them on their own really did help in that way. If they rely on me too much, their growth will stagnate.

(Listen, I have an idea. Would you like to make some shards?) In the end, I decide to ask her.

I almost can feel her curiosity as she answers, (Can we talk about it in the morning? I want to finish what I started. Plus, it would be better to talk face to face.)

(Sure,) I sent the last message, and the connection cuts off.

Slowly, I observe as the web of mana gets pulled further away from my room, and after examining it a few times, it is as Sophie said. My room was excluded from it.

The rest of the night, I spent standing on the balcony and leaning against the railing. I don't use any mana and let it slowly trickle into my Mana Reservoir. Instead, I just use my own eyes to observe the city downhill. I watch as the night lights slowly turn off and as the sun appears in the sky in a beautiful dawn.

Golden rays of the early morning shine on the towers and trees that dominate the city, bathing all the buildings in a soft glow.

The city awakenes, and during the next few hours, more and more people start appearing on the streets, and the sounds of life returns to the once-silent city.

The sight is something I hadn't been able to see for a long time. There's so much life in the city that it almost makes me panic because of the ever-present humans and lynthari. The months of fighting for survival on the mostly empty floors of the tutorial made many of us a bit wild, and that's something I also noticed the first time I entered the city.

Even now, I have to control myself to not constantly send waves of mana into my surroundings in search of ambushers or traps. But even though it makes me feel that way, I still think it's beautiful. This mess of the city that would be impossible to see back on Earth and, by extension, all these powers I wield.

Although I often complain about the system and this tutorial, I am equally, if not more, grateful for it.

It's as Tess said, it's an adventure, beautiful, dangerous, and at times a sad adventure. But as abusive as all of this is, I can't help but want more.

“Nat!” A petite black-haired girl hugs me the moment I walk downstairs, totally ignoring the people staring and not even asking for my opinion.

“Lily, it's nice to see you all healed up,” I answer instead, and after her awkward hug, I let go of her.

Lily tries to hold me a bit longer and when she lets me go, there is a bright smile on her face, “My batteries are recharged now,” she says jokingly, and for that, I pinch her nose.

“I'm not a charger.” When I look at her, she still doesn't seem to be fully back to herself, but it's not bad. I guess losing most of her limbs and having to rely on people she barely knows does that to people.

“Oh, and Nat, thanks for the amulet! I already used it a few times while hunting, and it's amazing!” she says loud enough for others to hear as if wanting everyone to know.

Somewhat, it makes me want to pinch her nose or pull her ear again, but I have a strong suspicion that's her intention and she enjoys even that sort of attention from me.

I give her a short answer and continue to walk towards the kitchen island where the rest of the group is already eating their breakfast while going through some papers. I hear them talking about quests, levels of monsters, and such stuff.

They all seem halfway used to it even though we spent only around nine days separated.

Biscuit is there as well, hovering at the height of the kitchen table and moving from person to person. This seems to take most of his concentration as he isn't even able to create mana tentacles to steal some food.

Yet, the doggo looks proud, like a child showing off a skill it learned.

Cute.

I sit on the chair, and Biscuit floats towards me, and I give him some food from the table. Then, still not fully feeling like talking, I listen to others while Lily chirps near me, moving some tastier stuff in front of me.

After a while, I stand up to take a glass from the counter, and when I turn back while walking, I see that Lily is pulling my chair closer to herself. Thinking I didn't notice, she shamelessly continues to talk with others.

Wow.

When I sit back on the chair, now closer to this silly kid, she acts as if nothing happened.

During the morning meeting/breakfast, I sometimes join the conversation but most of the time, I listen, still getting used to all of this. At some point, it feels too suspicious. Everyone is too considerate, and they do not talk to me that often, only once in a while as they speak.

It all feels too... deliberate.

I look at the tall blonde. Tess? What did you do? Did you train them? Am I treated like that crazy uncle during a family party? The one that parents warn their children not to annoy too much and not to talk with him about certain topics, like politics?

Somehow, it annoys me, but it also makes me feel good, and because of that, it annoys me again.

To make things feel right once again, I reach out and boop Biscuit's nose a few times, to which Isabella jumps from her chair and does the same, not wanting to be left behind.

The mighty floating divine beast mercifully allows that.

“Tess, can we talk in around ten minutes?” I ask when it's close to the end of breakfast.

“Sure, Hadwin will join too, and we can go through everything,” Tess, reliable as always, answers.

I nod and then turn to Sophie, “Do you have time to talk?”

To my question, Sophie glances down at Izzy, and I sense my feelings being probed.

So rude.

“It's fine, Soph,” Isabella's answer is simple, and Sophie gestures for me to follow as she leaves the table. That earns us a few curious looks that I ignore, and I follow the sisters onto the terrace that has pots with big flowers all around it and some comfortable seating, while also overlooking the city.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Sophie asks me after sitting down, and Isabella hops on the couch near her. Sophie's eyes seem curious yet careful at the same time. She is always so careful around me.

“What would you think if I said we could potentially earn thousands, even tens of thousands, of shards from the system shop together?” I ask her directly.

Sophie's green eyes shine brighter, and she gives me her full attention now, “I would say that I might be interested. Please continue.”