Blink. Blink.
Tiny dots of white light slowly started to cloud Lana's field of vision. Like a star scattered in a wide universe.
The only difference was that stars can only be admired from far away, but these tiny dots known as orbs of Aether were within Lana's grasp.
Thinking about the basic education Lana had received, she knew that she needed to focus on one orb of Aether and slowly think of luring it in the direction of her nose, then she had to inhale, and the orb of Aether would be absorbed.
The process was painstakingly painful and arduous. Yet Lana patiently drew the orb of Aether toward her.
Surprisingly, the orb she had focused on didn't travel to her alone; alongside it were a bunch of other aether orbs.
'Huh? Strange... According to the textbooks of my high school, the orbs of Aether shouldn't come in bunches. Instead, just patiently leading one orb takes 10 minutes. So why are a bunch of orbs traveling in my direction?'
The process of accumulating orbs of Aether was a difficult one, and hence each cultivator takes months or even years to cross over a single stage.
Some cultivators' levels might remain stagnant for an entire lifetime due to this difficulty.
Yet Lana didn't dare to divert her focus to those thoughts for long.
As the wave of orbs entered her body, Lana felt a warm current rushing inside her.
'Wow... so relaxing...' A sigh of pleasure escaped Lana's lips. She never thought that cultivating these orbs could be so refreshing and amazing...
With a taste of small victory, Lana soon started to attract more and more orbs in her direction.
For Lana, who craved to become a cultivator yet never had a chance to, the process wasn't torturous at all; instead, she felt her heart filled with thrill.
Hard work was something she never shied away from.
Time passed, and Lana only opened her eyes again when she felt a wave of hunger crashing over her.
She patted her stomach and stared at the clock in the hotel room.
The clock's hand was pointing at 4 am.
"Hm? Only 2 hours had passed... so why do I feel so hungry? Is it the so-called side effect of awakening the hidden potential?" Lana muttered and pushed herself up.
She hummed in a good mood and decided to check the fridge for some snacks.
'Hm... what a beautiful day. The walls are looking bright and beautiful... oh! The paintings are gorgeous, too. There is also the soft plush carpet and the beautiful crow perched upon the kitchen counter. Everything is so... wait.'
Lana halted in her steps and stiffly looked at the black crow, which was staring at her intently with its beady eyes. For some reason, Lana could make out the faint anger in its eyes.
"Oh... Mister Crow? You are awake?"
The crow remained silent and continued to stare at Lana. It wanted to see the extent of shamelessness of this human with cascading silver hair and sapphire-like eyes.
Receiving no response, Lana chuckled while her hand was busy as she moved to take out the spatula. "Good morning to you, too, Mister Crow."
Perceiving no nervousness or guilt, Mr. Crow finally couldn't take it anymore and flapped its wing, rushing toward Lana.
Detecting the danger approaching her, Lana raised the spatula and warned, "Don't you dare use your legs to tug at my hair."
A hint of shock flashed past Mr. Crow's eyes. 'How did she know I was going to use my legs?'
A normal human will always think that a bird would use their beak to harm them, so why was Lana's thought process so different?
Instinctively Mr. Crow stopped and stared at Lana with surprise; its beak moved, "How did you know?"
"Eh?" Lana was befuddled but soon realized his question. She paused before replying honestly, "Instincts..."
Like the time when she was reborn... her first thought after pushing Brenda away was to find a defensive tool for herself, because a voice in her mind told her that if she didn't find a tool to protect her... she would suffer an unimaginable torture.
And her guess was correct.
Mr. Crow stared at Lana with a deep gaze for a long while before muttering under his breath, "I see..."
Seeing that Mr. Crow had no plan to attack her, Lana immediately stared at Mr. Crow with moist eyes.
"Mr. Crow, you can't be angry at me. You were in the wrong first! I accept that I shouldn't have knocked you out, but can you remain calm if a human suddenly knocks you over and forms a contract and then tells a bullshit story of strange connection?"
Mr. Crow: "..." I heavily suspect you have insulted me... but I have no proof.