As soon as she stepped out of the spatial crack, a colorful new world came into her sight. The sight of an expansive beautiful blue sky, calm waters of the beach not far from where she was and a dense forest. But what she immediately sensed was the presence of mana in the environment around her.
Thanks to her profound knowledge, she knew what it was and the knowledge of its manipulation quickly became known to her. Now to actually use it, she would require a target to extract a sample from and she would be utilizing mana in no time.
As she surveyed her surroundings, she could feel the vitality surrounding her. From the aquatic creatures to the avail birds soaring all the way up in the sky, every living creature around her.
Looking around, she could sense a few homo-sapient intelligent creatures not far from where she was thus she took the initiative to explore. The sandy tropical beaches were a soothing sensation that ran through her body, casually humming as she drew closer and closer to her target. Not far from where she was, she could see a group of people alighting off their boats.
'Fishermen?' She thought as she continued to observe them. To avoid provocating them, she masked her presence with her near infinite skills that became privy to her after the absolution. They seemed pretty basic with nothing outstanding about them, simple looks with a non-existence mana surrounding them.
A look of disappointment crept up her face as she continued to look at them. A rowdy group indeed as they seemed satisfied with their bountiful harvest. She continued to tail them and after a while, she ended up in a small village. It seemed rather crude and rudimentary, as if they had evolved only a few days ago but nonetheless, it did seem like a peaceful lifestyle, a life she wanted to spend eternity with Andrew.
From her deductions, it seemed that there was something to show in this little village. There was someone who actually had mastered mana even though it was to a small extent. The sun was slowly starting to make its descent and with that she decided to make her presence known to them.
Walking through the front door of the village, she attracted the gaze of numerous eyes on her. Some were drinking in her beauty while others grew hostile, perceiving her as a threat. The island was small but it was habitable regardless. Other than this clan, there was another tribe that was located to the far north of the island. The two however didn't get along nicely due to the strain of the resources present on the island. Thus most of the time, if any form of interaction happened between the two, it would usually result in a conflict.
Just like this clan, the other also had awakened members however unlike this clan, the other had two thus this clan would usually avoid conflict but should the moment arise for it, they didn't hold back which would result in devastating casualties for both parties.
She had already surveyed the entire clan so she knew where their leader was situated. It didn't take long before she was immediately stopped by a group of people. The guardians of the clan presumably.
"May I ask who you are and what your goals are for coming here?" A huge burly man asked as he tried to gauge her level. He wasn't the awakened one but he was still an experienced hunter. "I have something to ask of your leader." She calmly stated as she sensed their state of mind. It made perfect sense as to why they would be wary of her.
The man could sense that something was off about Ashley. It wouldn't make sense as to why an intruder would come into their clan unless they had something of value to deliver or they had the means to defend themselves. Either way, he couldn't find the reason to attack her but that didn't mean that he would allow her to waltz in here as if she owned the place.
Luckily for him the commotion had attracted attention forcing the leader to come out. He respectfully stepped to the side and a short frail man now stood in front of Ashley. She could sense the mana coalescing in the man's body but it was weak and decaying, a sign that the man was nearing his end. Beside him was the awakened one who had a cautious look directed at Ashley though internally he was taken aback by her beauty. It wasn't that the women in their clan was bad but rather when compared to her, they all paled in comparison. It wasn't just him who thought of this.
"I haven't been sent here by the other clan. I want to get of this island and I need your help to do so. So how about an exchange, I deal with your problem and you help me deal with mine." She proposed. Should they turn down her offer, she had other methods of coercion.
To believe the words of a total stranger was absurd but by looking at her appearance, the clan head paused and thought about it before coming to a conclusion. "I accept."
"What!" The responses from some of the people from the crowd. "But father! She is an outsider! She can't be trusted!" His son intervened. It was a valid reason to conclude so. "I need not need to explain myself. Should the Wind Gale tribe continue to keep on growing at the pace that they are, they will grow strong enough to wipe us all out! "
He had made an analysis on Ashley. Looking at her clothing, it did come off as alien but the reason as to why he agreed was because he knew that there was a world that people on this island couldn't fully explore and in such a world, one could face up to thousands and come out on top because of their tier.
He had once made an exploration to the outside world to which his horizons were broadened exponentially. Of course people who could achieve such feats stood at the top of the world, a league he could dream of attaining but along with his travels gave him the chance to awaken his own body. After that he decided to come back to the island due to the peaceful lifestyle that came along with it.
What had made him to accept Ashley's offer was so as to bring an end to the feud that had been going on between the two clans. As to how they would solve their end of the bargain, he already knew the word work of crafting water vessels so with the help of the rest of the people, it wouldn't prove difficult.
With that, he then ushered Ashley to follow him to which she did. The sun was already out of the sky so Ashley was forced to spend the night there. His house was the most prominent one in the village and easily detectable from afar but Ashley wasn't sleeping in there but rather a vacant house that was close to his. Along with that, she got some servant to accommodate her needs, a lady who seemed in her fifties to which she didn't mind.
After that, she was given some clothing to wear as they could conclude that she had nothing to wear. Luckily, she had a lot of clothing stored in her inventory thanks to her victories. What she found odd about them that she hadn't realized before was that it would seem that they would perfectly fit the world that she was in. Also, she could purchase any clothing that she would want that she had earlier had. Convenient.
She was later invited to a dinner where the clan head made a proper welcome for her into the clan even though he knew that she had plans for leaving. It was so as to make her more familiar with the rest of the group to which she didn't put much effort into.
"I'll be taking executing my end of the deal." She said, trying to distance herself away from the Head's son. "Don't you think that we should at least formulate a plan? After all, rushing in blindly will do more harm than good." The Head proposed. "I'll be okay." She advised as she started making her exit. "Wait! I'll accompany you!" A voice came from the Head's son. His father wasn't blind. He could understand what his son was trying to do. Ashley didn't give out her response, ignoring him as the darkness enveloped her.
"Don't do anything stupid." The Head advised his son before permitting him to leave. The Head's son followed her and the two immediately vanished from sight. It was an opportunity for his son to gain experience in battle against parties with Mana. Of course that didn't mean that he was just going to sit there, he started to organize their reinforcements for the fight.
Ashley once out of sight immediately dashed to her destination. For her, he was simply baggage that she didn't want to carry. The Head's son was forced to quicken his haste but soon realized that he couldn't catch up but he still kept on going till he too arrived.
"Firstly, I don't think that we truly know each other. I'm not just the Head's son but rather my name is Morben."
Seeing that she wasn't that interested, he moved on to the task at hand. "Do you have a plan?" Still no response from Ashley who was observing the movements of her target. "I think that we should go about this strategically." He mused but Ashley cut him off. "You just stay here and wait till I'm done."
Without saying anymore, she immediately brought out a small sword. It was nothing special but in this case, it would get the job done. A cool azure blade with a refined handle, a magnificent piece, but its looks did not match its performance.
It wasn't as strong as it looked which was rather deceiving and would usually players killed in high octane situations but she kept it nonetheless. 'For dealing with scum that were way below me.' She had concluded back then and now it would actually come into some use.
Morben who usually had his way felt an odd and alien feeling from Ashley's response. He was the Head's son, an iconic figure in his clan and acknowledged within the enemy lines, his very presence demanded respect and here was a lady that not only did not acknowledge that but also treating him like air.
An insult to his pride but he had a plan formulating on how to garner her attention. Similar to Ashley, he too charged into enemy territory and took another way. Ashley decided to go head on while he chose to do a flank from the side.
"Who are yo-" The statement of a patrol guard was cut midway before he met his demise, she was actually targeting awakened individuals thus she felt that it was a complete waste of time to waste her time on such fodder.
It was a nightmarish scene as the screams rang through the night. Morben who had been closing in on the clan head was astounded as the alarm was raised making them come out of hiding so as to address the situation. It didn't take long for Ashley to make it to where they were.
She killed indiscriminately, it didn't matter whether they yielded or fought back, and they had all lined up for one fate, Death.
"Who are you?" The clan head asked. He too was an awakened and along with him, his son and daughter were too awakened. Of course no reply came from Ashley as she looked at the group in front of her. The look of desperation and fear etched into their faces, a look that she was used to seeing in her life as of late.
As she snuffed out the life in her hands, she noticed Morben making his advancements.