The road was much longer than expected. After a really long time of walking, the two decided to find some quick shelter and rest for the night.

Soon enough, they came across some small rooms dug into the rock. There were about twenty of them, each only big enough to fit one person, with wooden doors that could be locked from the inside for protection against thieves and such.

As the pass was mostly empty, with only a few carts passing by, all the shelters were empty. It was far better than sleeping in the middle of the road, so the two quickly climbed inside and went to sleep.

Ili was the first to wake after a few good hours. As she opened her eyes and saw nothing but darkness around, she thought it was still the middle of the night, but soon remembered where she was. She opened the lock on the door and climbed out of her sleeping space.

She then took her small blanket from over the wooden planks inside the room, which were serving to soften the sleeping space, and tucked it back inside her bag.

Taking a bit of water from her water pouch, she washed her face and hands, waking herself up, before doing a few quick stretching exercises to regain her mobility.

Lastly, she ran her hands through her pure-white hair, parting it down the middle, making sure both sides fell evenly. Then, she began braiding small sections from either side of her face, the braids meeting at the back of her head and secured in a twist, letting the rest of her hair flow down her shoulders. 

Happy with her creation, Ili patted the sides of her hair a few times, making sure everything was ready, before cheekily walking towards the room Zephyr slept in. She took a deep breath, before knocking on the wooden door with terrifying force.

“Morning, sunshine!” Ili shouted, letting out a soft chuckle as she did.

“For God’s sake, Ili!” Zephyr fumed, bursting out through the door. “If you ever wake me up like that again I swear I’ll…”

“Good, you’re awake!” Ili beamed, smiling innocently. “Let’s go!”

Zephyr clenched his fists in anger, but let out a deep sigh of defeat seeing the completely unaffected Ililith, looking at him with those big, childish eyes.

“Let’s go,” he finished, flinching her forehead in annoyance.

Ili chuckled, rubbing her head, completely unbothered by the gesture.

After a few more hours of walking, the two finally made it out of the mountain pass, in a small meadow surrounded by sharp cliffs from all sides, in the heart of the mountain. The meadow was no bigger than a large room, but it was a nice change of pace from the rocky undergrounds. Thanks to the way it was positioned, neither cold air nor snow could get in, so it was like a small, green sanctuary, in the middle of the jagged peaks. A few small trees were growing from the soft, mossy ground, as a dirt path was leading through the center of it all. At a small distance, there was a small metallic pipe coming  from the inside of one of the cliffs, where water was pouring in a stone bowl. 

“Water!” Ili beamed, her eyes gleaming with happiness.

She rushed towards it, emptying her water pouch to fill it up with the cold, fresh liquid.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Zephyr asked skeptically.

“Is that really a question?” Ili asked, filling her pouch.

“Eh, fair enough…” Zephyr accepted, emptying his water pouch as well.

After refilling their water supplies and resting a bit, the two continued on their way, re-entering the inside of the mountains. This last part of the road was looking a lot like the very first part, with a simple tunnel dug through the mountains, with wooden pillars suspending the whole structure and preventing it from possibly collapsing in an earthquake.

They were moving towards the 4th exit of the pass from the north, as this was the closest one.

In a little over an hour, the road was slowly coming to an end, a small light starting to be seen at the end of the tunnel. Coming from the opposite direction, a few merchant carts were entering the mountain pass, passing by the two of them without paying much attention.

Finally, the shape of the half-opened gates at the exit was perfectly clear, a few dwarven soldiers staying on guard, along with a few taller non-dwarf soldiers.

Thinking back at the map Ili got from her master, it was making sense that there would be a lot more people of different races as they were approaching the bigger cities of the Iron Gates Kingdom, especially the ones closer to the border.

As they got close to the gate, a human soldier approached them. He was taller than both Ililith and Zephyr, a sight which they haven’t seen in quite some time.

In one hand, the soldier held a metal spear, commonly used in the Iron Gates. On his head was a simple metallic helmet which didn’t cover his face, his helmet and armor being covered by the common yellow and brownish stripes of the flag.

The soldiers didn’t speak much, looking at the two coldly as they passed by. Unlike the southern regions of the kingdom, the northern side seemed to be much more stressed, an unexplainable coldness being present in the eyes of the ones there…

Ili looked back at the soldier as they passed him by. The temperature on this side was much warmer, thanks to being at the bottom of the mountains. The air was warm and slightly humid from a storm the day before, but the dirt was dry, with only a few drops of water on the clear grass.

After walking for some more time, Ili’s eyes darted to a path branching off the side of the road, leading inside the forest.

“Ili, no,” Zephyr said firmly.

“Come on! It will be nice! All you see here are stones and dust!”

“It’s dangerous.”

"No, it’s not! The forest is so much better!” Ili insisted. “No one will stare at us, and there is so much more to see and do! Maybe we’ll find a river or lake because I’ve been waiting forever to bathe and wash myse— What are you doing?" Ili asked, confused, as Zephyr pulled her toward the forest path.

“I decided that you’re right and we should take this path instead,” Zephyr spoke with a poker face, continuing to pull her. “Let’s go.”

“Uh... okay?” Ili muttered, giggling happily.

With that, the two headed into the forest. Unlike the wide, stone-paved main road, the forest path was a simple dirt trail, barely wide enough for the two to walk next to each other. 

Ili’s steps were light and jumpy as she took in the fresh forest air. After an hour of walking, deep into the woods, Ili turned to Zephyr with excitement in her eyes.

"Hey, wanna spar?" she asked casually.

Zephyr blinked, taken aback. "Here?"

"Mm... no, on that spot over there!" Ili grinned, pointing to a flat, open area between the trees, surrounded by bushes.

Zephyr sighed, knowing how insistent she could be. "Alright…"

"Yay!" Ili cheered, skipping ahead to the clearing.

Zephyr was still confused but agreed and followed her deeper into the forest, away from the road. After around fifteen minutes of walking, Ili stopped, looking around.

"Alright, I think this is far enough!" she said, happy with the spot.

"So, how do we do this?" Zephyr asked.

“First off, go to that tree over there!” she said excitedly.

Zephyr nodded, getting some distance between the two of them by going to the tree she pointed at.

"Alright!" Ili nodded. "Now, the rules are very simple! We fight, and the battle ends when one of us is in a position to kill the other! We can’t use any magic except creation magic, and we can only use it to create physical weapons, and... Yup, that’s about it!" Ili wrapped up with a sheepish and excited smile on her face.

Ili took a few steps back, increasing the initial distance between them.

"Ready?" she asked, putting her hand on the hilt of her sword, unsheathing it slightly.

Zephyr opened the palm of his hand, a dark crystal axe materializing in it.

"Ready," he said, taking a battle stance.

Ili leaned forward, holding her right hand on the hilt of her blade, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Zephyr gripped his axe tighter, preparing to block any attack she might throw. He watched her small foot movements on the ground as she stood still... In a flash, the girl was right in front of him. Taken by surprise, Zephyr staggered backward slightly, barely able to raise the handle of his axe to block her attack. But as soon as Ili struck, the handle of the axe, despite being made of hardened crystal, was cut in two with ease by her bright-white sword.

Zephyr stumbled and fell on the ground, watching the blade pass dangerously close to his face. Looking up, he saw Ili’s blade just inches from his neck as she stood over him.

"I win!" she declared excitedly, offering Zephyr a hand to help him up.

Zephyr remained on the ground, his eyes wide in shock as he caught his breath.

“How the...?" he muttered. "How did you do that? It shouldn’t be physically possible for a human to move that fast!”

Ili looked down at him, confused.

“What? I just infused my body with mana.”

Zephyr stared at her, clearly bewildered, as if she was speaking a different language. “You what now..?”

“You know, channeling mana through your body," Ili continued, just as confused by his reaction. "Wait, you mean to tell me that all this time, you haven’t once used mana to strengthen your body, improve your muscles, weapons, or anything?”

“...That’s an actual thing?” Zephyr asked, still baffled. “How?”

“It’s quite simple, really,” Ili responded casually. “It’s like casting a spell, but in reverse. Instead of letting your mana flow out, you bring it inside your body, coating your veins and muscles with it. The only tricky part is keeping the mana stable while moving or casting spells. If you lose concentration, it usually escapes immediately. But once you get the hang of it, it becomes quite easy!”

“You’re not joking, are you?”

“Nope, not at all!” Ili said, thrilled by the opportunity to teach him something. “As long as you can visualize how everything works—how muscles function and are connected—you can strengthen any part of your body with mana. The same goes for weapons. If you understand their structure, what makes them break or stay firm, you can enhance your weapon, make it sharper, and so on!”

“Can you show me?” Zephyr asked, still in awe.

Ili’s smile widened, her excitement growing. She opened her palm, creating a small twig before tossing it to him.

“Try to break this!” she said calmly.

Zephyr, a bit confused, effortlessly snapped the twig in half. Ili created another one, stepping next to him.

“Alright,” she said. “Now, break this one while I’m holding it from this end!”

Zephyr grabbed the twig with both hands, ready to break it as before, but this time it didn’t even bend. He applied more pressure, using all his strength, but the twig remained intact.

“What the...? What’s this twig made of?”

“Oh, it’s just a normal twig! I just infused it with mana,” Ili replied calmly. “See? Try now!” she said, letting go of the twig, which instantly snapped under the pressure already applied by Zephyr.

“No way…” Zephyr muttered, looking at the broken twig in his hand. “So, this mana channeling… I can’t believe something like this exists…”

Ili looked at him with a proud expression.

"Here, take this!" she said happily, handing him her sword. "It’s made of white steel. It’s the best for channeling mana, so it’ll help you get started!"

Zephyr took the sword in his right hand, surprised by its weight, which was much heavier than he had expected. The end of the blade tilted slightly toward the ground.

"Alright, now let your mana flow into it. My master taught me by telling me to imagine the sword as an empty cup, and the mana as water filling that cup…"

Zephyr listened intently, closing his eyes to concentrate. He visualized the sword as an empty container and let his mana flow into it. The sword began to emit a faint white glow, indicating it was working.

"What... No way, it’s working!" Zephyr said happily, raising the sword slightly to observe the glow better.

But as soon as he moved it, the sword stopped glowing completely, the mana dispersing into the air.

"Yeah, try to move it a little slower at first," Ili chuckled softly. "Once you coat something in mana, it becomes less stable, and you have to stay focused so it doesn’t disperse."

“I see…” Zephyr’s eyes fell back to the sword in his hand, trying to channel mana into it again.

‘A cup, filling with water to the top…’ The blade started glowing white once again. He started raising the sword slightly, seeing the cup follow his slow movements, so as to not spill the imaginary water. The sword remained glowing as he raised it further, before a tiredness like he’s never felt before hit him, and the sword stopped glowing instantly.

Ili quickly took the sword from his hands and caught him before he fell.

“Alright, I think that’s enough for now,” she spoke, looking at him with an understanding look. “Whenever you’re channeling mana into anything, be sure to stop when the object is fully infused. If you don’t, the excess mana will continuously overflow and dissipate into the air, and you’ll lose all of your mana in a matter of seconds without even knowing it.”

“But I didn’t...”

“Listen, just because you didn’t feel it, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t happening. You were so focused on keeping the mana steady, that you never once thought to stop pouring mana into it, and without noticing it, you’ve completely exhausted all of your mana.”

“Oh, I see…” Zephyr spoke, wobbling slightly. “I think I’ll... Take a little nap...”

Ili couldn’t help a small chuckle, as she helped Zephyr get on the ground next to a tree, as he would have collapsed anyway. Zephyr’s vision soon went dark, as he passed out from mana exhaustion.

“Sleep well!” Ili said, jokingly patting him on the head, before getting up and taking her sword back from the ground and getting on with her own training.