New Life and a Sweet Home

The portal led Eli into another forest. As she slowly opened her eyes, she was greeted by glimmers of the morning light shining in a picturesque cottage style house.

The house was fairly big for her to be living alone. It was made of bricks that are on different shades of brown. She was amazed how the builders did it, that it turned out to be aesthetically pleasing to see.

The roof and some part of the wall had already grown some greens and flower bearing vines. It gave the house bright colors making them more homey and cozy in Eli's eyes. The glimmer of the morning light made the flowers so vibrant.

Eli walked towards her new dwelling. As she came near the house, she noticed that the pavement was also done beautifully, pieces of stones laid the pathway neatly and smoothly. Along the way are flowerbeds of assorted colors. She also noticed the garden, and it seems like Sylvain very thoroughly instructed his subjects about the design and features of the house.

As she finally opened the door, she was welcomed by a rustic style living area. Everything was well thought of, from the fireplace to the dining room, it gives a warm cozy feeling of a home. Eli felt so satisfied. She felt like she had gone on a vacation to the summer capital of their country [1] in the modern earth.

Full of hope, delight and excitement she uttered, "From today onward, this is our home.."

After checking out the other parts of the house, she sat on a comfortable glider chair by the window. She let her skin be gently kissed by the bright sunlight.

Eli felt a bit exhausted, to her surprise. She fell into contemplation. Activities like this should not have tired her this easily. She wondered if it was because she wasn't accustomed yet with this body or because she was pregnant.

At this point, she remembered the book she asked from the Great One, and of course the reminder of the guardians. The book supposedly contains knowledge for pregnancy and all the know-hows about Prasinos. It's time for her to check it out!

However, how was she supposed to summon the book?

Is there a certain spell or magic word? Why didn't she even ask the guardians how to summon it? Eli somehow regretted focusing on the idea to con the four guardians. However it wasn't that bad, she thought to herself.

'At least, Little Han and I got some badass backers!' She consoled herself.

Now, she just had to figure out how to summon the book by trial and error. Immediately, she stretched out her hands as if holding a book and randomly shouted summoning words.

"Book!"

"Book of Knowledge, Emerge!"

"Great One's Book, Come!"

"Book! I Choose You!"

"Wise Book, Appear!"

Eli continued randomly calling out until she almost used up every word she could connect for summoning the book. Dejected, she stopped and rested on the cushioned chair.

'It seems like it was really my mistake not to ask about how to use the book from the Great One or the guardians...' Sighing, she deeply regretted not being attentive enough to know the details.

She laid her head in the glider's rest and assumed a laid back resting pose. Her eyes started to wander around the living area, appreciating the aesthetics of her new home.

'This home is really so cozy,' She thought with content.

Suddenly her eyes noticed a piece of parchment paper, it was laying on top of the coffee table. Wanting to check what was inside the parchment, she very carefully stood up, her hands supporting her baby bump and back.

The parchment looked very elegant. It was looking so classy due to the string of words gracefully written in old fashioned cursive writing. Eli started to read the words -

"Dearest Young Eli,

How do you find your new dwelling? I hope it is to your liking.

I left this letter to remind you of some important things. I decided just to write it in a letter, in case I forgot.

Firstly, there is a nearby village around your dwelling where you can go, should you need something to buy or find. Just follow where the pavement leads out, you will reach it in a few minutes' walk.

Secondly, about your constitution, although you are an Open Path, you are only able to open one path of your choice at this moment. It will eventually develop once you have met the requirements to open the other paths. So please carefully choose what is the first path you will open.

Thirdly, your appearance itself is uncommon in the Seirende Empire. You will not be discriminated against outright. However, your appearance is often associated with a certain group of people that is shrouded in a lot of rumors and mystery. I advise you to stay low and maybe put on a disguise wherever you go out of your dwelling, at least until you have given birth to Little Han.

Lastly, you can look for the information you need especially about the aforementioned things from the book that the Overseer has gifted to you. Use it well.

Sincerely,

Sylvain

PS: The Overseer reminded me of the way to summon your book. The book will be summoned with a snap of your fingers. But it has a password.

Just utter 'I so love my Great Father' in your heart whenever you want to access the book~~~~"

Reading the lengthy list of reminders from Sylvain, Eli was stupefied by the last part.

"A snap for summoning the book?! And the password.." She uttered while rubbing her temples, dumbfounded by the information she got.

"Well who cares, I need to access it now!" Finally, she shrugged and immediately snapped her fingers.

Instantly, the same book she saw in the heavenly realm appeared floating on top of her fingertips. She reached out the book and examined it. It looked like an ancient looking grimoire secured by a golden metal lock without any hints of a keyhole.

'Indeed, one cannot figure out how to open this without knowing the password.' She thought. Then embarrassingly, she uttered the 'password' in her heart.

"I.. so love my Great Father," feeling that what she was doing was cheesy, she felt hot on her cheeks.

Immediately, the metal lock clicked and opened.

Curious and excited, she gently lifted the hardbound cover. What she saw after that was a great surprise!

As soon as she opened the cover, what welcomed her was an unexpected line of words.

On the center of the first page, words magically appear,-

"Welcome, Eli! For a quick tour on how to use the book of knowledge, click here." The words 'click here' seemed like a hyperlink.

Then on the bottom right another hyperlink looking word appeared, "Skip"

"Oh My Grass! This is like a PowerPoint presentation?!" Eli's mind was blown. This was a technology only present in the modern earth! Surprisingly, the Great One brought it here with Eli.

Undeniably, the Great One's thinking couldn't be fathomed! Eli exclaimed in her heart.

She forced herself to recover. Adjusting herself, she found her way back to the glider chair and sat, focusing her attention on the user guide tour. She familiarly maneuvered the mechanisms.

After some time she understood how the book works.

It works like a computer, but in the form of a book. The front page acts like a search engine, but in paper form. It can even be used like a touchscreen or with a pen, like a stylus!! Once the search results appear she can browse through it by flipping through the pages.

She can even see moving pictures and videos. What's more, the sound could be directly sent to her mind!! It was like the ultimate form of wireless earphones!!

She was so amazed by how the book works. Soon, she amused herself by searching articles regarding pregnancy.

Taking note of what ideal food to eat, what are the do's and don'ts, and all the other information regarding pregnancy. She also searched for the specific changes that she might experience in her body during the remaining months of her pregnancy.

She has only about three to four months ahead to prepare. She needed to be as ready and as knowledgeable as possible.

She listed these important information to make sure that she keeps them in mind at all times. Some items, she was left skeptical. However, too bad, she couldn't find an OB-GYN doctor to verify her doubts.

She wondered if the Elven doctor who would check on her could answer some of her questions. She decided to give it a shot and find the right timing to ask for these upon her checkup.

After organizing the needed information, she shifted to searching about how the magic works in Prasinos and how the paths work. She wanted to know the advantages and disadvantages of the other types of constitution. She will take all of these into account in choosing what path to open first.

Soon, she decided to open the Summoner Path first.

Why?

Because she was alone and pregnant. What she needed the most are companions to help her ease the difficulties she might be facing during the pregnancy.

She decisively inquired in the book of knowledge the step by step procedure on how to awaken the Summoner's Path. She also did a quick inquiry if it is safe to perform while pregnant. Very soon, safe and easy to follow instructions appeared in the pages of the book with a footnote saying - 'Great One guaranteed!'

Without hesitating, she proceeded to follow the instruction in order to awaken her summoner's power. She carefully stood up and closed her eyes. Clearing her thoughts as she entered into a state of meditation.

'Focus my thoughts on visualizing mana.. Direct them into my body and slowly accumulate mana in it..'

Soon, sparkles of colorful light appeared and surrounded the whole room. Then it was slowly absorbed in her body. After some time, her body shone with a green aura.

Her eyes opened. "So this is magic.." feeling the changes in the sensation of her body.