As Lila showed Aira how to properly stretch her limbs and go through the warm-up routine, Aira felt a strange mix of vulnerability and exhilaration. She was suddenly acutely aware of her body's limitations without her magical boosts. But also of its potential.

  I promise to be gentle," said Lila with a mischievous smile. "I'll keep it steady as the forest path."

  Soon, she moved on to more rigorous exercises. Lila began with a series of sprints, her legs pumping powerfully as she dashed back and forth across the clearing. Aira followed suit, panting and perspiring right from the first interval. Lila then demonstrated a sequence of bodyweight exercises: push-ups, squats, and lunges.

  "These'll make you tough as pine bark," Lila said, encouraging Aira to push through the burn. "Don't go getting stuck in sap on me now, Aira. Push through the burn!"

  Despite her initial struggles, Aira found herself enjoying the physical challenge, the exertion a welcome change from her usual magical practices.

  Even with the one-sided communication, the two women promptly fell into the same silent understanding they nurtured during the first weeks of Aira's stay in Mountain View. Lila only needed to briefly show the following exercise before Aira joined her with each routine stage.

  After an hour of intense training, they paused to catch their breath.

  "By the roots, you've got some fight in you!" Lila praised Aira, a smile lighting up her face. "I figured you'd be wind-snapped halfway through. With your… you know… condition. But you're holding on like vine. Guess years of adventuring count for something."

  Two women had to return to the treehouse before Aira was able to reply. She started talking as soon as she had her wristband back on her hand.

  "You know, Lila," she said, "I think had a major breakthrough even before we started our training."

  "Oh? Well, spill it," Lila said, tilting her head. "Don't leave me chasing shadows here."

  "I didn't realize how much I was afraid to lose connection with the System once again," said Aira.

  She paused and took out her journal.

  "And it is disturbing, not to have all that additional power and access to my magic," Aira wrote, not wanting to share too much with anyone who could listen." Even with my current very limited number of skills."

  "But as a result, now, I sense the magic surrounding us even stronger," she continued with the voice transmission. "It was like a background noise that you are so used to that you stop to notice it. Without this constant buzzing, I can learn what is absent, reconstruct it, and even probably try to interact with it."

  "Wait, was this whole routine too much for you?" Lila asked. "Should we scale it back, or are you just rattled like a loose gear?"

  "I don't think so. But I never realized how many muscles could ache at once," said Aira, rubbing her sore arms. "Without magic to lighten the load, every step feels like dragging roots through mud. I've always had boosts to make me swift and strong, but this—" she exhaled sharply, sweat dripping from her brow, "this is real work."

  "By the twisted branches, I never thought I'd be here, training in an undead city," Lila said, glancing toward the trees with a mix of awe and disbelief. "Everything I believed about places like this—the danger, the whispers of undead lurking in the shadows, all those old tales—they've been turned to leaf mold. This place feels alive, even… welcoming."

  "Well, I never thought I'd end up being an undead either," said Aira. "I think I win this competition."

  Lila softly punched Aira on the shoulder and chuckled.

  "True as the mountain's shadow, I can't compete with that," Lila said. "So, what about your routine? Ready to catch a leaf and relax for a change?"

  "Sure," said Aira, "That's a good moment to make the switch."

  She led Lila outside to a shaded spot under a towering tree and sat cross-legged on the ground, gesturing for Lila to do the same.

  "Meditation is about finding your center and connecting with the energy around you," Aira began explaining, her voice calm and soothing. "For now, I will stay connected to the System to have a chance to guide you. But I'd like to try practicing without gadgets during our next sessions. I had already touched the arcane without them before. So, it's possible. I just have to find the right approach. Or… the right state of mind."

  Aira closed her eyes, taking slow, deep breaths.

  "You may not have your magic, but you have all of your other senses, and that should be enough," she said. "I'll join you in this meditation and will try to guide you through the stages that are not available to you. Hopefully, that will make the whole process balanced for both of us."

  Aira took another deep breath.

  "First, focus on your breathing," she instructed. "Feel the air entering and leaving your body. Let go of any tension and clear your mind."

  Lila mirrored Aira's actions, her breathing steadying as she tried to empty her mind.

  "Now, reach out with your senses," Aira continued. "Feel the grass and soil beneath you. There is a life force in the trees and plants around us. Even if you don't feel it, it flows through you, grounding and strengthening you."

  As they meditated, a profound sense of peace washed over them. Aira guided Lila through various visualization exercises, helping her deepen her connection with the natural world and her inner strength.

  The forest seemed to breathe with them. Leaves rustled in rhythm with their slowing heartbeats, and distant bird calls wove together like an ancient melody. Aira's voice, transmitted through the radio, guided Lila, pulling her deeper into the symphony of life surrounding them. For a fleeting moment, Lila thought she felt the pulse of the forest—a connection that seemed to reach beyond her body. But as soon as the sensation blossomed, it slipped away like morning mist, leaving her to wonder if it was ever truly there.

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  Of course, that was only an illusion.

  Still, one thing was evident: Lila felt a renewed sense of balance and clarity by the time they finished.

  "That was... incredible," Lila said, her voice softer than usual as she touched Aira's hand. Her eyes remained closed as she savored the lingering tranquility. "By the roots, I never knew meditation could feel this powerful. We've got nothing like this back home—and I've never heard of anyone in the settlements talking about any practices like that!"

  Aira smiled, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction.

  "It's a pleasure to share this with you," she said. "Instead of focusing so much on solely digging the ancient knowledge, we should have probably added these routines to our training much earlier. But, oh, well, that's why experience is important. Sometimes it takes some to figure out something."

  "Yes, it is amazing how meditation complements physical training so well," said Lila. "And, by Elder's breath, maybe there even is something more to this type of training. I can't wait to explore it more!"

  ***

  With all the talks, activities, and exploration, the day passed all too quickly. Suddenly, the sky began getting darker, and soon it was twilight. The darkness came even faster in the enlightened forest, hidden between the ancient high-rise buildings than in the plains and forests outside.

  Aira and Lila were sitting near the entrance to their treehouse, recounting the new experience both of them had during the day.

  "Thank you, Aira, for this opportunity," said Lila before going to sleep. "We have to make it a regular thing from now on."

  "We definitely do," agreed Aira. "It's so hard to stop being a creature of habit when you repeat all the same routines year after year. And you pushed me to look differently at some things."

  Aira took out her journal and scribbled a few words before giving it to Lila.

  "But also, it had never even occurred to me a person could train without magic," the text read. "I'm not sure it is even possible in my world to completely fence off yourself from the influence of the System. And now, I have a new way to train!"

  "Ah, yep… You should dig into that more!" Lila said, grinning widely. "And it's helping me too. Keeps me from rustling up all the old tales about undead sneaking into our homes to… you know… kill us humans."

  Lila chuckled, looked at Aira, and then took a long gaze around the clearing. As if waiting for some aggressive beings to jump out of the shadows.

  "But for sure they aren't scheming in the shadows, right?" Lila asked, her voice tinged with humor but carrying a flicker of doubt. "Now we are sure there's no plot against humanity, right?"

  "Let's hope they don't," said Aira. "But keep being vigilant."

  She paused and made a point of deliberately looking around.

  "But this new training routine, it looks like it can benefit both of us," said Aira. "Maybe we even need to increase the intensity. If I can even survive that! Please promise to make me overexert myself."

  And then, Aira issued a rumbling growl Lila got to recognize as laughter.

  The night, traditionally, was time for Aira's meditation sessions. And she didn't want to change her routines even after just meditating with Lila. Even more, she was sure she needed to explore that fleeting feeling she had while exploring her senses without her focusing gadgets.

  Aira went out of their house and began walking. Not trying to choose any specific direction but following her senses. Once again, she was exploring her connection with the life force of the things that surrounded her. She got used to relying on the power of trees and other plants to boost herself. What she had earlier, though, was a different experience that allowed her to perceive the world around her with new eyes and senses heightened in a profoundly different way.

  Here, in this magical city, Aira felt the energy hum in the very air, its faint shimmer brushing against her skin like a warm breeze. The whispers of arcane power twisted through the trees and the moss-covered ruins, leaving an electric tang on her tongue. Each step into this lush realm unveiled a thousand opportunities to uncover mysteries hiding in plain sight. Things and concepts to explore.

  Aira's walk brought her to the edge of the forest. The husks of the old city rose like weary giants, their crumbling stone walls draped in moss and ivy, nature's quiet reclamation. Carvings long eroded by time peeked through the greenery, hinting at a civilization whose ambitions once touched the sky but now whispered only secrets to the earth below. The interplay of moonlight and shadows of the trees created a dance of eerie shapes. At the same time, the distant call of nocturnal creatures added a haunting melody to the night.

  She chose this borderline for her exploration of the senses. Aira sat in meditation and began the routine that was so familiar. To her left hand, she had a magical forest. On the right, the ancient city was a wall of stone, rising up and blocking half of the sky.

  Aira began with exploring the absence of air affinity magic in the ancient city. Some of it still sifted out of the forest, reflecting and resonating with the ancient buildings. And the border was in no way just a line drawn on a map. But still, the city offered much fewer sources of arcane power than the forest to her left.

  In a way, it wasn't unlike what she felt while meditating without the gadgets. But probing either to her left or right, Aira could feel the differences in a much more profound way. With all the boosts she could provide to her base stats.

  She began with a deep exploration of the city. There were traces of magic there. Since the place was abandoned by humans centuries ago, vegetation overtook it. But still, this experience was underwhelming even compared to the ordinary forests Aira and Lila walked through in the previous months.

  And then, Aira abruptly turned her attention to the forest. A torrent of magic overflowed her senses. It was surprising to see it now after not paying any attention to it during the previous two days. As if their gradual approach to the enlightened city made Aira to get used to its powerful energy.

  Aira was absolutely sincere when she mentioned that to Lila. She's been training all of her life fully immersed in magic. She didn't even hear anyone discussing or practicing any sort of magic deprivation.

  Was it even possible in a world filled with mana?

  This revelation twisted Aira's perception of everything she knew. Could magic itself—her constant ally and the cornerstone of her training—also be her greatest crutch? If she ever returned to her world, could she find a way to replicate this absence? And if magic could be blocked so completely, what kind of power could strip someone of their very essence? The thought sent a chill through her core, darker and colder than any dungeon she had faced.

  Aira didn't even know whom to approach with that kind of question. But also, was it safe to experiment with that kind of dangerous concepts? If her connection to the System—her lifeline—could be severed so completely, what stopped someone else from wielding that power against her? Or worse, against an entire world? The thought coiled in her mind like a viper, its fangs sinking into her confidence. This discovery wasn't just a tool for training; it was a warning, a glimpse into vulnerabilities she never knew existed.

  Momentarily, Aira felt mortifying fear consume her. She gasped and was propelled out of her meditative reverie, even losing her balance. She steadied and grounded herself by touching the soil with her palm and took a few slow breaths.

  It was time to build new training routines from the ground up. Implementing the best practices of both worlds. Magic, meditation, physical training mixed and interlaced to achieve… what?... She wasn't even able to guess where that could lead her. However, she had to consider both her safety and the consequences this new knowledge may have in the future.

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