One might wonder why Lilian was with Mira, given that they lived in different areas.
For one, they had become the best of friends, brought together by their shared status as the only two females in their class to awaken and become Awakeners.
Lilian, like Michael, was an orphan—or at least she considered herself one.
Lilian wasn’t placed in an orphanage because her parents died but because she was abandoned as a baby, left on the doorstep of an orphanage.
Unfortunately, the orphanage where she grew up was far from a safe haven for children.
The caretakers were terrible.
Lilian was a slow learner, and while most adults might have sighed in frustration, the ones in charge of the orphanage were much harsher.
They berated her, insulted her, and even revealed the harsh truth of her abandonment in front of the other children.
And children, as anyone should know, are capable of cruelty if left unchecked.
Bullying became the least of Lilian’s worries.
Life took a turn for the better when she entered senior high school and was adopted by a kind old woman.
Finally, she was able to leave the orphanage.
At school, most of her peers barely noticed her existence, and the occasional teasing was harmless compared to the torment she had endured.
Her time with the old woman, though brief, was a source of solace. Tragically, the woman passed away a year later, leaving Lilian alone once more.
But by then, she had learned how to fend for herself.
Using the phone the old woman had gifted her, she began writing short stories on various platforms, earning just enough to survive.
Then everything changed on the day the system panel appeared before her.
Unlike her peers, Lilian lacked any standout talent or unique ability as an Awakener—or so it seemed at first glance.
Yet, she adapted, as she always had, living alone and expecting little from the world.
She never blamed anyone for her circumstances and never felt entitled to care or kindness.
So, when Mira—the only person she could truly call a friend—called her, she didn’t hesitate.
And now, here she was, standing beside Mira, defending her community without hesitation or guilt that she left hers. It was the least she could do for one of the few people who treated her like an actual friend and a real person.
Or at least, that’s how Lilian saw it from her perspective—someone who claimed she didn’t need anyone but desperately wanted and needed someone to talk to, someone who treated her normally.
“Girl, do you have any of that paper?”
The old cultivator turned toward Mira.
Unlike Michael’s community, this area was less destroyed, and the casualties were notably fewer.
The presence of a Rank 3 cultivator, along with two young Awakeners—though not advanced to Rank 1 yet but strong in their own right—played a significant role. Additionally, a few other supernaturals added to the defense.
But the true reason for the community’s relative safety lay with Mira.
Mira had developed a way for even weaker supernaturals to fight more effectively, all thanks to the two coincidentally linked formulas she had unlocked at Levels 5 and 10.
Talismans.
At Level 5, Mira unlocked the Talisman formula section, gaining her first two talisman-related formulas.
While her initial formula—a potion for explosive effects—aligned with her natural talent for destruction, the two talismans she acquired were different. So, unfortunately, her talent didn’t extend to enhancing them directly.
However, their utility couldn’t be denied.
[Feather Light Talisman]
Effect: Increases speed by 20%.
Duration: Depends on the strength of the user.
Usage: Place on the body and infuse mana.
[Wind Slash Talisman]
Effect: Condenses the wind element in the air to launch a sharp attack.
Usage: Infuse mana into it.
Talismans, much like magic scrolls, provided strategic advantages in combat.
Despite not being explosive, the two talismans proved instrumental in bolstering the defense of the community, especially for those who lacked the raw power to fight monsters head-on.
Mira pulled out a bundle of talisman papers.
Knowing that the old cultivator was asking for the other supernaturals around and not for himself—since he was far too strong to need her talismans—Mira reluctantly handed them over to the few Rank 2 cultivators around.
Rank 1 Cultivators if they weren’t mages couldn’t manipulate mana outside or even within themselves even if it was little until rank 2 so they couldn’t use talisman.
This was where magic scrolls had an edge since ordinary people are able to use it since one just needed to tear the one-time item.
However Mira still preferred Talisman.
For one, talismans, unlike magic scrolls, were reusable until the energy within their inscriptions was depleted.
While magic scrolls were more potent and could seal stronger spells for longer periods, talismans were cheaper, easier to make, and more flexible in usage.
Of course, this flexibility came with a drawback. Talismans had a shorter lifespan than magic scrolls.
However, given the materials for talismans were far more common, Mira considered the trade-off more than worthwhile.
Also unlike her previous creation, the mushroom potion, which acted as an explosive but required rare and expensive materials—limiting how many she could make—Mira was quite fond of the talismans.
While they weren’t explosive like she preferred, their materials were cheaper, and the process to make them wasn’t too difficult.
Perhaps this was because she was an Awakener with a crafting skill that boosted her success rate, making the process smoother.
After the recent hunt with Michael, Mira had managed to buy enough materials—magic paper and ink—to create 20 talismans of each formula within a day.
The best part?
They were highly sellable, capable of earning her more than twice what she had spent on the materials.
Initially, Mira had planned to sell the talismans to fund her creations, as her class seemed to demand a lot of resources. But chaos had descended, ruining her plans.
Now, for the sake of protecting the community, she had to give away these talismans—ones she had worked so hard to create—for free.
She didn’t regret her decision.
No one would have known she even had these talismans if she hadn’t spoken up.
Still, that didn’t mean she didn’t feel the sting of her loss.
She felt it. A lot.
At this time, the group protecting the community had just finished clearing the second wave.
Some had died, and many were injured.
Mira and Lilian, however, were reluctantly getting used to the sight.
Well, maybe Mira was, but Lilian—at least in her usual state—still struggled.
Yes, her usual state.
Mira had noticed it ever since their hunt in the goblin world. Something Michael had also picked on a bit in the Ape region.
Lilian wasn’t exactly a normal girl.
On the surface, she seemed ordinary enough—clumsy, quiet, and unassuming.
But the moment she drew her weapon and spilled blood, something changed.
It was as though a suppressed lunatic was unleashed, one who grew visibly excited at the sight of blood and fought with an intensity that bordered on madness.
Worse, Lilian wasn’t just some reckless berserker; she was a highly skilled combatant, her class giving her a natural edge in battle.
This transformation only occurred in the heat of a fight.
Outside of combat, she reverted to the shy, clumsy girl Mira had first come to know.
While this change freaked Mira out a little, she had come to accept it. Find more to read at empire
What Mira didn’t realize, though, was how others viewed her in turn.
In their eyes, she wasn’t much better than Lilian.
During battle, Mira transformed into something entirely different—violent and wild.
To outsiders, the two were a peculiar pair: an expressionless “ice princess” and a shy, “sunny girl” in normal circumstances.
But in the chaos of battle, they were both crazed warriors.
After the second wave, the group cleared the surroundings a little and waited anxiously for the third wave.
Mira glanced up at her apartment window. The light wasn’t on, but she knew her mother was inside.
Mira didn’t know how her mother felt about all this, but she knew one thing: if she wanted to keep her safe, her place was outside, fighting, not hiding indoors.
Still, Mira wasn’t overly worried. She had left some means of protection for her mother—two pairs of mushroom potions.
She felt uneasy entrusting her mom with something so volatile, especially since the potion only needed to be shaken violently to explode.
However, since her mom was an ordinary person with no ability to manipulate mana and activate the talismans she had made, this was the best Mira could do.
Despite her worries, Mira reassured herself that as long as no monster reached her mother, everything would be fine. Yet, alongside her worry, there was anger simmering beneath the surface.
If there were people in Woodstone City who knew about the actions of the supernaturals and didn’t feel anger, Lilian might be among them.
But for Mira—and a few others like her—that indifference didn’t exist.
Just like Michael, Mira didn’t care much about most people. But for the select few she did care about, her feelings ran deep.
And now, the thought of some group of lunatics trying to take her mother away from her filled her with fury.
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