“You really don’t know how to build suspense, do you?”

  Felix shrugged. “Basically, all I do is read books and grow plants. It would have been embarrassing if it took me any longer.”

  Agrona rolled her eyes and snapped her book shut before tossing it to him. “Fine, fine. You look through them, then, tell me if you think there’s anything with potential.”

  Felix did just that. Within a couple of minutes, he’d learned what each marking on the map meant and memorised it all. In the end, he plopped back onto the couch with a frown.

  “No luck?”

  Felix shook his head. “I’m not sure, there are a few beasts worth hunting, and a few desirable herbs in the area, but I’m not sure if it’s enough to lure people out that way.”

  Agrona smiled. “Ah, you don’t need to worry about that. If there’s money to be made, then Explorers will be there. As long as Keldren isn’t hostile to Explorers, you should be able to find someone to escort you. It’s just a question of how long it will take.”

  Felix sat up straight. “Really?”

  Agrona smiled at him.

  “I guarantee it. I’ve been across enough of the Highlands to be sure of it. You won’t believe the places I’ve found other Explorers. Weeks away from civilization in the most inhospitable places imaginable, you’d sometimes run into several groups, all because someone spread a rumour that they’d seen some rare ingredient.”

  Felix chuckled to himself. “I guess I can see why. Just hearing that, I’m itching to go rumour hunting.” His smile faded. “Will they be willing to take us along?”

  Agrona nodded. “I’ll vouch for you if you spend some time hunting for valuables along the way, then the young lad will be happy to buy them off you. The more he makes, the better he’ll look once he returns to his clan.”

  Felix gave her a genuine smile. For the first time since he spoke to Grandma, he felt like he could breathe.

  Menium chirped up from the side, letting Felix realise that he’d emptied the tray of snacks while they were distracted. Still, he ignored it.

  “That’s right. We’ll be able to go to the Smiling Monk’s Pagoda.”

  Menium immediately hopped up in joy and started clinging to Agrona.

  “Ah, he wants to know when we leave.”

  Agrona laughed at the little monkey’s antics and scratched his head.

  “I’m not sure how long it will take their caravan to get here. It could be tomorrow or in three months. I doubt it would be any later than that.”

  Menium drooped as all his excitement left him. Felix felt his own relief freeze, only to be replaced with a slowly gnawing angst.

  “That's… much longer than I was expecting.”

  “I know you want to get to her as fast as you can, but you’re lucky I’m able to get you through the unclaimed regions so quickly. If we had to organise our own expedition, it may well have taken several years. If you wanted to arrange for a team of guards strong enough to take you there on foot, it would have cost more than buying your own boat.

  “Realistically, this is your best option.”

  “I know, it’s just…”

  Agrona stood up and gave him a hug.

  “I know you’re worried, child. Focus on what you can do, not on things outside your control. If you want to find a party to escort you from Keldren’s, you’re going to need coin. Visit the library, read up on the valuable plants in the Shattered Highlands, and the more you can offer, the easier it will be.

  “You might have exhausted the town libraries on the edges of the Feywild, but there’s plenty more to find. You could also visit a few formation masters, the elves’ methods are closer to natural formations than the dwarves, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to learn from our methods.”

  Felix sighed and nodded. “You’re right. I couldn’t really do much for them anyway…”

  Felix’s mind started wandering to all the things he could do to help as he mumbled his thoughts.

  “Libraries near the border might have information on the continent… I could look up military law… Maybe learn to create some basic formations?”

  Agrona got up and ruffled his hair. “I’ll get a room ready for you while you think it over.”

  “Huh? Ah. Thank you, Agrona!”

  Felix kept thinking as Agrona headed upstairs. It quickly became a bother to think normally, so he let his consciousness sink into his Inner World. Even when Agrona came back downstairs, he was left in a daze as he planned the rest of his trip.

  Eventually, Felix was dragged out of his Inner World. One moment he was pouring over the map in his head and the next he found himself sitting at the dinner table. Agrona glared at him while comforting a teary-eyed Melody.

  “What’s gotten into you? You’ve been in a daze, barely responding to anything since this afternoon. You haven’t even commented on Mel’s cooking.”

  “Huh? I— uh. Sorry. I was in my Inner World.”

  Agrona frowned. “That weird spell of yours? I thought it just helps you remember things.”

  Felix shook his head and began explaining what he was doing.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “So you’re telling me you spend your time running around in your own imaginary world, barely aware of what’s going on around you?”

  “It’s not quite like that. I leave a fragment of my awareness outside to catch my attention when it’s needed.”

  “Why?”

  “Huh? I just explained it.”

  Felix looked at Agrona in confusion.

  “Why do you need to go into your Inner World to see what’s happening there? You said the spell is cast passively, right?”

  Felix nodded.

  “And you can access all those memories without going into it?”

  Felix nodded again.

  “So why do you need to dive into it to see what’s going on in there?”

  Felix blinked at her. “Well, how else would I do it?”

  Agrona rubbed the bridge of her nose.

  “Picture a pink sailboat.”

  Felix frowned at her.

  “You did it, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “What did you see?”

  “A pink sailboat.”

  Agrona looked around dramatically. “There’s no pink sailboat in here. How’d you see one?”

  “I thought of one and… Oh.”

  Agrona chuckled. “Oh indeed.”

  “So you’re saying I don’t need to sink my consciousness into my Inner World, I should be able to just picture it?”

  Agrona shrugged. “Mostly, I’m sure it would be easier to immerse yourself, but if anything, it should be good practice for you to access it without losing yourself in there. Give it a try.”

  Felix’s brows scrunched up as he tried doing exactly that. Instead of diving into his Inner World, he’d bring it out into the real world. His focus drifted to the core of stable fractals, and he began to expand on it.

  At first, it didn’t move, but he forced his entire will into expanding it. His head felt like it was trying to give birth to a planet. The headache was like nothing he’d ever felt before, but it worked. Slowly, the crystal core that represented his Inner World started expanding. Just as he wanted to celebrate, a violent force knocked him out of his chair.

  “Wake up! Felix!”

  Felix looked around in a daze. “What?”

  “You idiot, why are you trying to make a domain when I told you to picture your thoughts?!”

  Felix looked around to see a slightly terrified-looking Menium, and Melody with her hand pressed her hand over her mouth as she stared at him. He was on the ground, looking up at Agrona as she stood over him. He had a hard time focusing on them. His vision was swimming, and his head was pounding with every beat of his heart.

  “I— What do you mean?”

  His confusion gave Agrona a moment to catch her breath. Instead of answering, she helped him to the sofa. For some reason, her hands were trembling as she guided him.

  “Boy, just what in creation have you crammed into that head of yours? That was a terrifying amount of mana for someone your age… No, that was a terrifying amount of mana.”

  “I told you about it, it’s just my Inner World.”

  Agrona frowned as she collapsed into a seat opposite him. “Yeah, I guess you did. I just didn’t consider just how much you’ve crammed in there. Saying several libraries sounded like a lot but… well it’s a lot.”

  Felix pushed through his headache to keep asking her questions. At last, the pain was rapidly diminishing.

  “What did you mean by a domain?”

  Agrona thought about it for a second, but she ultimately shook her head.

  “I’m sure you can figure it out if you really think about it. All I’ll say is that your body can’t handle you trying to build one at this stage. It’s much too soon. You nearly tore yourself apart trying to do what you just did.”

  With most of his headache gone, he looked at her sceptically.

  “I’ll admit that it hurt, but I don’t think it was that bad.”

  Agrona scoffed. “Look down.”

  With a start, he realised the front of his shirt was covered in blood.

  “What happened?”

  “You nearly melted your brain and turned your head into a water fountain is what happened. Though I’m surprised to see you recovering so quickly.”

  Felix shrugged. “Life and mind mana, I guess. If you didn’t want me to expand my Inner World, how’d you want me to bring it outside?”

  Agrona groaned. “Honestly, child, how’d you survive this long?”

  Felix had to try very hard not to glance at Menium when she asked that question.

  “Pick something in your Inner World, something simple, a plant, a rock, a chair. Something like that.”

  Felix picked one of the many discarded tomes he had hanging around in his head after he had assimilated everything he could learn about it.

  “Now picture it in front of you.”

  Felix could feel his Inner World responding. It wasn’t nearly as easy as diving into his consciousness to see the book. That didn’t mean it was hard. He perfectly remembered the book. It was like trying to picture the book while he was staring right at it.

  “That… That was definitely easier.”

  Agrona nodded before she squinted at his hand. “Huh, that’s annoying. It’s so subtle that I don’t think I could tell that you’re doing anything. It feels a little off, but I’m not sure if it’s my imagination or if I’m actually seeing changes in the mana. I think I’d need a mind affinity to tell for sure.”

  “That’s a pity, would have been nice if I could have finally shown other people the things I’ve been working on.”

  Agrona nodded with a sympathetic smile.

  “I can see why. It looks like you’ve built something remarkable in that head of yours. You should practice visualising more. It shouldn’t take you long to get a hold of it. I’m not sure how useful it would be, but it seems to me you’ve been focusing a little too much on training your memory. That’s not all there is to having a mind affinity, and I’d hate to see you neglect the rest of it.”

  Felix didn’t respond immediately. He made sure to internalise Agrona’s words before he nodded.

  “Yeah, I think I might have been too focused on finishing my experiment. Just because my path tells me it has potential doesn’t mean I should stop looking for other ways to improve.”

  Felix let out a sigh. “It seems so obvious now that you’ve pointed it out, how’d I miss this for so long?”

  He wasn’t sure whether he was asking about seeing things in his Inner World or about following other paths.

  “Don’t get too hung up about it. It happens to all of us. Sometimes you need a change in perspective to start progressing again. It’s what makes us Travellers.”

  Agrona stood up and patted his shoulder on the way back to the table.

  “Now go get cleaned up while Melody fixes you a new plate. This time, you better pay attention to the food. I won’t let you mindlessly devour her efforts like it’s common travel rations.”

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