Valerie was like a magical vacuum, sucking up the mana in the air at an extraordinary rate. It was flowing into her body with such speed and ease, it was almost as if the world itself was eager for her to have it.

Like it had been keeping it all around, in just a handful of farms and rich people gardens, waiting for someone who actually knew what they were doing, and finally Valerie had presented herself.

Of course that was not the case. The world did not think or feel, it was a rock floating in space. But the same could not be said of the natural spirits of the world. They took notice of what she was doing, although they also noticed that she had been claimed by the little Brownie, they showed their respect by offering their mana as a welcome gift to the world’s first true mage. At least, the first in a long, long time.

It was an addition that Valerie noticed, but could not place. But she could also not dwell on it for long, as with the addition of the spirits mana she was finally pushed over the edge.

Her body glistened with sweat and her clothes clung to her body, as Valerie scrunched up her face in concentration. Compressing the mana down to the size of a pin’s head was easier with her improved control, but that did not mean it was not still difficult.

Spirit mana, the world’s ambient mana and the mana she gained from the mysterious D-fuel. All of it pooled together and was pressed into a tiny dot, that finally accepted its new form.

Immediately, a wave of power flowed through Valerie’s body and exploded out of her like a pulse. It travelled through the dirt she was sitting on, feeding the Ginseng planted around her, as well as pushed at the air which rustled their leaves.

Those around her could almost swear that they could see the ground shifting on its own, as if someone was standing there, or that they could see faces in the wind itself. But that had to be just a trick of the light or a coincidence, right?

Valerie took in a deep breath, before exhaling it in a sigh of relief. Her sigh was visible as it left her lips, taking the form of a magical white cloud full of twinkling dust, that dissipated into the air.

She opened her eyes and smiled widely, lifting her hand towards Percy. He took that as a sign that she wanted to be picked up again, but before he could take more than a step something bumped his leg.

He jumped in fright as Valerie’s chair bumped into him, bobbing past him as it floated above the ground. It slowly flew over the crops, coasting over the top of the Ginseng leaves, before setting itself down on the ground next to her.

With her source now brimming in her chest, Valerie was overflowing with power. Her mana senses had been magnified by more than double, letting her feel everyone in the vicinity of the garden and their individual levels.

With a little concentration, she could not just track the position of someone behind her, but see the outline of their body as if she had a second set of eyes. She might not have been able to see the details of them, but it was more than enough to track someone without direct line of sight if she so wished.

If her mana as Belladonna wasn’t constantly flowing inwards, would this have been what things were like for her in Dawd? Or was there something specific about this body or this world that was allowing for this?

It was hard to say.

But other than her senses, and her spells, being increased by her new power source. Her bloodline finally had some good fuel.

She didn’t know when she had actually awakened it here in this world, but it had always been much weaker. Even if her body in Dawd didn’t allow for much reach of her bloodline, its strength when it came to the magnetic fields were much stronger than in this world.

It was because her bloodline was basically being starved of the mana needed to use it properly. It was still there and usable, but strongly diminished and operated at a lacklustre level.

Now, it had fuel from a source, which meant both refined mana and plentiful fuel, and she could extend it out further. Well it meant that she could do much more than before with it.

Pressing her hands down, Valerie pushed her bloodline into the ground as she lifted from the dirt. Treating herself as a magnet, she repelled against the earth’s natural magnetic field, allowing her to levitate just the same way that she moved metal.

She floated unsteadily, wobbling slightly as she struggled to stay upright, and coasted over to her chair before plopping herself down in it.

She had to take a few seconds to properly adjust her position once she was in the chair, but once she was straight she looked up at Percy and flashed him a wide smile.

"Ta-da! So, what do you think? Planting them is honestly great, but you don’t need to focus on just these. Any plants would do, because with just a hint of mana control, you can form your own source without having to be reliant on making your elixirs."

She said with a jovial tone, before glancing around at all those who were around her.

But none of them were reacting how she had hoped. They were all staring at her, mouths hanging open as they were completely frozen in shock. Eventually one of them, a young woman in the monk robes, shuffled forwards with her hands clasped against her chest.

"Elder... You are saying that... there is a way we can learn this too?"

Valerie frowned softly at her. It was a normal question, but the woman was asking as if it was a forbidden topic. Also, why was she being called elder now? She might have been shrivelled like a prune on her bottom half, but she didn’t look that old.

"Back to work!" Percival barked, causing the monks to flinch before they readily obeyed. He strode over to Valerie, grabbing her chair and pushing her across the field, not caring for any of the roots that she ran over in the process as he hurried her out.

"Come. We will discuss this in private." He said, at a more reasonable level, as there was a hint of panic in his voice.

"Oh alright... Can we do it over food though? Seems that took it out of me more than I thought, because I’m starting to feel kinda hungry." Valerie muttered, licking her lips in anticipation of biting into something nice and juicy.