’System. Is there a way for me to find someone, like a navigation?’ Silas asked the system after a moment of silence.

[Yes.] The system answered, causing his emotions to uplift slightly.

’Can you help me find Chloe?’

[Sorry. Unless the target is marked, navigating and finding their location is almost impossible.]

’How?’

[If it were to be Anna or Gromda, locating them would be simple, no matter where they were. You already marked them as yours, so it is possible for them. But, for Chloe, you never marked her, so locating her is almost impossible.]

’Isn’t there any other way? You said it is almost impossible, which means there is still a way.’

[That would be true if you had marked her.]

’How?! We didn’t have sex, so how do I mark her?

[There is more than one way to mark someone. Look through your various abilities.]

With the system’s answer, Silas called his status page again to look through, despite feeling frustrated. Gromda was fast asleep on his lap, drooling already with a deep blush on her face. Whatever she was dreaming of, Silas didn’t want to find out yet.

After some time, he spoke to the system again.

’Fated Connection and my ability. That’s what I could find.’

[Yes. You’re right. You can use either, but with the former, the target must be at most a kilometer away from you. Its use is limited to distance. As for the latter, you would have to push yourself. Thankfully, you are in a mana-rich environment, so it should be a little easier.] 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

’I see... By the way, don’t I have a limit to the amount of mana I have? That’s the normal way, right?’

[No. Simply put, no one has mana stored. It is rather the amount of mana you can take and use from the environment in a given time. That is why there are ranks of the awakened. It doesn’t mean that they have little mana. No. It is rather the amount of mana they can hold that determines the rank of an ability they can have, and this cannot be changed.]

’So it’s like a capacity?’

[Yes. The amount of mana you can hold determines how best you can use your ability. And if you will realize, you are yet to feel mana fatigue. The only fatigue you felt was physical and a bit of mental, which you solved with food and rest.]

’True. But can I know my mana capacity?’

[Hold on. I will analyze and update it as part of your stats. For now, you can try using your ability to search for Chloe.]

’Thanks.’

Silas closed his eyes. The forest around him faded from his awareness. The rustling leaves, the distant cries of monsters, the warmth of the sleeping orc sprawled across his lap... everything became secondary. His pink eyes glowed beneath his eyelids as mana surged through his body.

Thread Sight. Thread Perception.

The world changed as countless threads appeared, millions of them. Threads of life, threads of emotions, threads connecting beasts to territory, threads connecting rivers to lakes, threads connecting prey to predators... the entire world seemed woven together by an invisible tapestry. For a moment, Silas nearly lost himself in the overwhelming information.

"Focus..." he muttered.

He wasn’t looking for the world. He was looking for Chloe. Mana gathered around him in visible waves, and the surrounding air trembled. Several nearby beasts immediately fled. Even sleeping, Gromda instinctively moved closer to him. But Silas ignored everything. One by one, he examined the threads, ignoring some and discarding some.

Hours seemed to pass. Sweat formed on his forehead while his breathing became heavier. The farther the target, the more difficult the process became. Then, something clicked. A pale silver thread appeared among the endless sea of connections. It was thin and fragile, yet strangely familiar. The moment his perception touched it, information flooded into his mind. They weren’t showing images, but rather direction and distance. The target seemed to be moving.

Silas’s eyes snapped open.

"I found you."

The silver thread stretched far beyond the forest, the mountains, and the rivers. It was far beyond everything he could currently see. A mental map rapidly formed inside his mind, made from his ability, surprising him. It seems there was more to his ability than he gave it credit for. Conceptual abilities were always like that. The possibilities were almost limitless when it came to conceptual abilities.

The thread crossed forests, passed through valleys, curved around a massive mountain range, and ended somewhere covered in white. Snow. An entire snowy region appeared within the map, and the target was there.

"Chloe..." Silas smiled. He knew exactly where she was. He still couldn’t see her since the distance was too great, but he knew where to go, and that was enough.

[Target located.]

[Distance: Very Far.]

[Recommendation: Start moving immediately.]

Silas stood up. The sudden movement caused Gromda to stir.

"Mm...?" The giant orc blinked sleepily.

"I found someone," Silas said, crouching beside her.

"Someone?" Gromda rubbed her eyes.

"Her name is Chloe."

"Oh."

"She’s important to me."

Gromda stared at him for several seconds, then nodded.

"Friend?"

"A very close friend," Silas hesitated before answering.

[Lie detected.]

Silas ignored the system entirely, though Gromda caught onto it fast.

"Mate?" Gromda tilted her head.

Silas coughed. "A potential mate."

"Oh," The orc woman nodded seriously. "Then we find."

There wasn’t even a trace of jealousy on her face. To Gromda, the answer seemed obvious. If she was important to her mate, then she was important. Simple. Orc logic.

"You don’t mind?" Silas couldn’t help smiling.

"Why mind?" Gromda looked confused.

"You know what, never mind."

She stood up and proudly beat her chest, causing her huge breasts to bounce and Silas’s dick to twitch.

"Gromda help."

Silas laughed.

"Good."

The thread inside his vision pulsed softly, pointing toward the distant snow-covered region. Silas adjusted his clothes and started walking. Beside him, Gromda happily followed. Far away, beyond forests and mountains, a white-haired girl with icy blue eyes unknowingly continued moving through the frozen wilderness.

Neither of them knew it, but the distance separating them had finally begun to shrink.