Outside of the house, I walk around and explore a bit, curious to see more of the village. I've been here for quite a long time, but I never got to explore it well...

While exploring, a small lake catches my attention. It's a bit confusing as to why there's a lake in the village, but I guess they're elves, so they keep anything from nature untouched as much as they can.

I look around to make sure that nobody is watching before I shed my clothes and dip into the water, relaxing as I feel the cool water hit my skin. Oh, there's a sign... 'Do not wash clothes, only yourself!'

What a funny thing. I guess that means that this is a bath then. I'm glad that I'm not violating any rules by washing up here.

After washing my body, I lean down to wash my face, cupping some water in my palms. But then, I stop and stare at my reflection.

The water drips down from my palms, and I let it fully escape my hands before I reach up and touch my face. There are white markings under my eyes. They look almost like... feathers.

"I guess that there's still a lot that I don't know about this world, huh?" I mutter to myself while examining the new, strange marks on my face.

Unfortunately, I have to ask Hewie again... I don't really want to, but I don't have a choice if I want to know what this is. I search around me to spot my feathered companion. My eyes land on her as she's resting on a stone, looking like a fluffy ball.

"Hewie... what are those?" I ask her in a soft tone, not wanting to scare her since she seems to be resting. However, my voice also bears clear hesitation in it. Whilst waiting for her answer, I pray that she actually will give me a reply.

"Magic markings." Her voice rings clearly in my head, and her response makes me raise an eyebrow slightly. "Magic markings... on me? I thought that I didn't have any magic?"

I mumble and look at my reflection once more. There's also another small detail. My pupils seem to be more cat-like now for whatever reason... 'I wonder if that's also a side effect of my awakening.'

I finish washing up and then dry myself with a leaf towel that's hanging on a branch. It does mention that it's free to borrow....

Then, I put on my clothes and walk back to the village, feeling refreshed after that bath. My way leads straight to Ellirith as I want to ask her about a few things. 'I'll see if she has any books about this world and the markings.'

Thereafter, getting back to the village main square, I see Merle chatting with some other people who look rather similar to him. 'I guess that's his family. Elves aren't all that different from humans here, huh?' 

A small huff can be heard as I turn around to leave, letting him spend some time with his family. 'It must be nice to have more than one family member... Especially if they're all healthy and full of beans. I can't really relate to that. Grandma Pallor isn't in the best state since she's not the youngest anymore.'

When I arrive at Ellirith's tree, I knock on the door of the huge tree house and wait for a reply. The door opens immediately, but it doesn't surprise me as much as the first time.

'Hah, I'm getting used to these things now... Somehow, I'm slowly starting to feel more and more comfortable in this world.' I sigh and enter the house.

"Greetings, Elder." I say politely with a calm tone whilst giving her a small bow. Then, I look at her, and she greets me back. "Hello, Alaire. I heard about what happened in the Haunted Glade. Is everything alright now?"

Despite her kind gesture of asking me about my health, her tone suggests that she's not too interested in my answer. In exchange, I just give her a court nod.

"I'm fine, thank you. I came here to ask about that. There's also another small thing that I wish to ask, Elder." She looks at me and raises an eyebrow.

"And what exactly do you wish to know?" She asks while leaning back into the ornamented stone chair that represents something like a throne of some sort.

I gulp a bit and take a small, quick breath to gather my thoughts together. "Books. Do you have any records or books about magic and the markings?" 

'I hope that I'm not asking for too much. I'm not sure how rude or normal it is to ask this sort of thing.' My lips curl down a bit in uncertainty at my own request.

"Hmm... Yes. We indeed do." Ellirith replies after a moment of thinking and eyeing me. Then she motions her hand as if calling someone.

"Guard! Take our guest to the library." She commands, and one guard immediately takes action. He walks towards me and then leads me outside the tree house after receiving orders.

The guard leads me to a large tree that's wide and taller than most trees in the village. The guard, who's rather tall and has auburn hair with dark brown eyes, a lightly tanned skin, and a sturdy build, salutes to the other guard, who's in front of the library.

"Aiden, show our guest the library." The guard next to me says, and the guard, in front of the library, whose name is Aiden, nods and opens the door of the large tree.

For a moment, I observe, and I then walk inside once I'm motioned to. I look around, taken aback by the sight before me. 

Books are everywhere. The space is large despite the tree not being as wide. Light comes from small fireflies lurking around the whole area. 

It seems as though there are all sorts of books. I can smell the scent of the books and wood. This is really amazing... 

Once I'm over this, I go explore the walls full of books. 'Magic... Magic markings... Do they have it sorted the same way, like in my world?' I look around and try to find a pattern.

They're sorted by the titles, it seems. I walk around and climb the latter that's attached to a wall and leads to another floor. I search for the title, and there's a book that seems to fit my criteria. I take it from the shelf, leaning against the railing of the second floor a bit.

'I hope this is it... The title does fit my needs...' The book's title is "Magic attributes and markings". While flipping through the pages, searching for the chapter with the markings, my eyes land on a certain page.

'This one looks very similar to my marks...' I think and read it. "The marking of life...?"