It was only reasoo set up a makeshift camp right in the library, settling in for aended period of study and exploration. The a facility was expansive. stantly moviween their inal quarters and this archive on a daily basis just wasn't reasonable. Especially as they could designate any hall as a kit and any smaller rooms as their bedrooms. The inal assig of the spaces meant little turies after they were sketched by the architects.

  During the day, Li would go out to hunt, gather food, and check the security perimeter while Aira stayed behind to read and learn. The books were dense and filled with teical jargon. The nguage was simir to what Aira learned in the past months from Li, but the turies that passed sihe books were written had ged it. Sometimes, it was easy the old words and meanings. However, in other cases, Aria had to cross-referehe unknown terms between different manuals and workbooks. In the end, it was thanks to Aira's sharp mind and her high intelligeat that she started to prehend the new knowledge and even implement it in minute ways.

  She dove deep into the teical manuals, abs information about various energy sources used in the Old World. There were ses on fossil fuels, nuclear energy, hydroelectric power, and more. However, as Li expined earlier, many of these teiques were either impractipossible in their current situation.

  All these new cepts overwhelmed Aira. In her world, all of that either wasn't on knowledge or art of some branagic. It was like studying the universal ws all ain.

  Time passed, and one day gradually turned into another. Especially as for Aira there was little of a differeween nights and daytime. It was always library time for her. Their camp was now cozy and homey, thanks to Li's efforts. Aira immensely ehe simple meals her panion cooked from the stuff she hunted and gathered. Especially when the human brought her treats directly to the archive.

  "Ah, yes," Aira thought on one of these occasions. "My tutors would be mad if they saw this viotion of library rules."

  Still, not to rely exclusively on this one source of energy, Aira made a point of venturing outside with Li from time to time to boost her reserves. Not too much, though, as there was so much stuff to explore within the pages of the a books and dots.

  One of these evenings, while flipping through an exceptionally detailed manual, she found information about something that could save them from their fuel troubles: something the as called 'sustainable energy.' Specifically, two types of peors should fit the bill if they were able to find the needed parts ie rooms.

  All these cepts were absolutely fn to Aira with her habit of using magi this world, people were able to repce the are powers with sd teology. But evehe System dawned on them, and what...? their civilization was ruined by the rift between the humans and the undead.

  In Aira's world, the introdu of the System happened eons ago. Even myths about this age haven't survived the time. But now she was getting a glimpse of what it could have looked like: fear, chaos, and uainty in the day.

  Aira was astonished by the achievements of the a humans and the detailed information provided in all the manuals she found in the library. Even a child should have been able to recreate the teologies expihere. Given they had the needed parts, resources, and time.

  The manual Aira was researg right now expihe magic... no, the teology of 'sor panels' verting sunlight into 'electricity' and described the turbihat used the power of wind, both providing a renewable and reliable power source. Aira's excitement grew as she realized this could be their solution. So, when Li returned, Aira eagerly shared her findings.

  After spending at least half an hour reading Aira's notes, Li nodded, her expression thoughtful. "By the Elders' breath, I swear I've seen those somewhere before! One of these ste rooms has them stashed, but this pce has more twists than an old oak's roots. I just o remember whie. There are so many of them here! Fingers crossed those panels still work after all these winters."

  Of course, it took some time to retrace their steps, locate the right ste hall, and sort through all the boxes and crates pced there by the as. But their persistence paid off. Li was right. There was a stock of sor pahere. What was even more exg, judging by their appearance, was that they were still in good ditioe their venerable age.

  ***

  By then, Aira and Li had been w together for over two months. Their partnership started with curiosity, some degree of mutual mistrust, and, if you'd ask them to be totally ho, a bit of fear. The challehey went through together had varying effects on that retionship. There were moments when it improved, but there were also setbacks. Ultimately, both women focused on building a friendship based on mutual resped a shared determination to unlock the secrets of the world that surrouhem.

  On one of the ms, during breakfast, Li mused: "You know, it's kinda cute how I'm pig up yrowls like they're pin as a mountain stream. Who'd have thought those roars could hold more meaning than an Elder's briefing? I'm sure none of my fellow humans ever sidered that it is a form of speech!"

  Aira growled cheerfully in response.

  "But that way of uniust be frustrating for you," Li tinued. "Using these journals I found for you to scribble everything down feels slower than moving through mud, even with your... hm... magical shortcuts. We've got to find a better fix for this. Maybe with your special skills?"

  Aira nodded. She was as frustrated as Li, having to spend so much time transferring through writing some of the more plex teical cepts from the books she's been readily. They needed a better solution for unication. Ohat didn't rely on her crude vocal capabilities of an undead or the tedious process of making tons of notes.

  She grabbed her journal and wrote: "Remember I asked to try something with you just when we escaped Mountain View? I really hoped it would work and I should have doly that, simplify our unication. As, it doesn't seem to be possible. And I don't know what else I do if you 't access magical abilities."

  "Yeah... But isn't it bizarre that there is magi this world but we, humans, aren't allowed to use it?" Li asked. "What is the reason for that? Did the undead snag all the good stuff? And if yes, then why su imbas? Why?"

  Aira shrugged. She didn't have ao these questions. She'd be happy to find them, though, as this information may help her in her quest. But that was a for the future, not for today.

  She truly hoped that ohey had a stable energy source, they would find or create a device te the unication gap more effitly. But for now, they focused on harnessing sor energy to power the facility. And there wasn't enough time to explore anything else.

  After a few days of deliberation and expl the outer halls of the a building, they decided to set up the sor panels on the facility's roof. It was the safest location and the pce with the highest light avaibility. The addition of the new objects shouldn't be too spicuous. They shouldn't be seen from the ground level at all. And even if someoiced the ge, reag the roof would be challenging after Aira and Li blocked off most of the stairways and passages that led there.

  The downside recisely that: stairways. A multitude of them. The building rawling and occupied a fair part of the valley. But its vertical spread was even more impressive. So, they had t all of the needed equipment from the lowest levels where it was stored to the roof. It was hard bor, but at least Aira's strength and enduraats weren't as stunted as her agility. So, she was able to carry a bit more than Li. And with stant boosts thanks to her advang mastery of the Energy Manipution skill, she made twice as many round trips as Li without even needing to take rest breaks.

  ***

  The first time they went out on the roof, Aira gasped in surprise. The nd around them was pletely white and covered in snow.

  "By the roots, time's been sprinting like a fox!" Li said. "When we first crossed paths, it was all autumn leaves. Now look at this white b's winter already! Maybe you'd notice if you weren't always buried in books. Ever think about stepping out and catg a leaf now and then?"

  With such a rge stru project at hand, they now measured time not even in days but weeks. Instaltion of the first sor panels on the facility's roof took a lot of work. The panels were rge and cumbersome, and seg them to the deteriorating structure hysically demanding aally exhausting. Moreover, they wao avoid risking damaging the aech. They checked every step not even twice but thrice, ensuring everything was done up to the standards of the old books.

  Aira used her Energy Manipution skill sparingly, careful not to drain herself as she had done before. Still, it was easier for her to tap into the ambient energies in the open space as she could feel the power emanating from nearby trees and pnts surrounding the building and growing all over it.

  Despite the hard bor, Aira once agai like she was full of energy. First time after opening that damned door.

  Li was also invaluable during this process. Her knowledge of basic meid engineering came in handy as they navigated the plexities of the instaltion. She climbed the rusted dders and crawled across the deg roof with the agility and fidence of a seasoned ranger, ensuring that each panel was securely fastened and properly ined to capture the maximum amount of sunlight. Not that rangers were specifically traio do that kind of work.

  The sor panels gleamed in the m sun, their sleek surfaces starkly trasted with the aged ahered building. It was surprising how well they were preserved. Probably, one of the reasons was that they weren't uhe influence of the elements all this time. Or was it the quality of ste? It was hard to tell without knowing more about the a human civilization. But Aira was curious if there were more occult reasons for that durability.

  As they carefully maneuvered the cumbersome panels into pce, the creaking of rusted metal and the ch of debris underfoot echoed around them. The air was crisp and cold, and each breath seemed to crystallize in the frosty m air. Every m, they started with a brief patrol of the valley to ehere were ners lurking nearby. But even during the day, they preferred to be cautious and not attrauch attention.

  Once all the panels were ihey began the painstaking task of ying the power lines down to the enormous battery packs they had found in one of the ste rooms. These batteries were much rger than anything Li had seen before, their size and capacity a testament to the advaeology of the Old World. Aira tested each of them by p a fra of her reserves into them. And... they worked! The charge held, and Li was even able to ee of their simpler gadgets and transfer some juito them.

  While Aira sensed a power lines within the walls when they first explored the building, it took a lot of work to tell how well they survived the time. And during the first days of mapping, it wasn't their focus anyway. So now, the pn was to make temporary es and thehe hidden duits. Using them was the final goal, as it should make the setup less inspicuous in case anyone decided to check the facility and could open some additional paths for further exploration aended use of the a building.

  "We're on the downhill roll now—just a few more lines, and we'll light this pce up," Li said, wiping sweat from her brow as she secured another e. "Who knew all my raraining would end with me tangled in wires like a squirrel's stash?"

  Aira nodded, her excitement buildie her exhaustion. She growled with a smile, which Li reized as, "'t wait!"

  She grinned back. "Me her. As clear as noon, this is going to turn things around food!"

  ***

  That evening, after a day of intense bor, Aira and Li had a celebratory dinner. And there was a good reason to be cheerful: they had made the st e just an hour earlier. Their sor farm was ready to supply energy to the batteries they had arranged in advan the bunker.

  The meal was simple, only the things the forest provided them with. They didn't have any trade with the humalements as they feared retribution for what they had done in Mountain View. Moreover, they'd prefer if their location and the ges they made at the a facility would stay secret. Still, Li and Aira have outdohemselves in preparing the food.

  "It was truly beautiful, wheood i evening rays of the sun on the roof," wrote Aira. "The sor panels looked like magical objects oop of this forsaken building!"

  "By the Elders' breath, that view could make anyone feel small," Li said, a touch of awe in her voice. "Even when my grandfather brought me here, he hought climbing to the roof was worth the effort. But that's his loss, I guess."

  She drank some tea and then tinued. "I 't wait to test the system we assembled," she said. "If it works, I'll feel as steady as pine bark leaving this pce for loretches."

  "That's true," wrote Aira. "And I have to explore, I o find more information and tih my quest!"

  "Ah, that..." said Li. "How do you even pn to aplish it when you don't know what are the tasks you o fulfill?"

  "That's a good question and I don't have an ao it," wrote Aira. "But if we don't do anything, I for sure wouldn't be able to plete it."

  She took another piece of paper and wrote. "By the way, talking about time spent together. And I hope you don't mind me asking. I have never seen you dyeing your hair. How do you keep the color without magic?"

  "Huh? What do you mean?" asked Li. "How do you keep yinger color?"

  "I was born with it!" wrote Aira.

  "What, my green hair?" Li asked, amused. "Had it since I ling! Don't folks in your wrow shades like this? Or are they stuck with pin browns and bcks?"

  "No, they don't grow anything like that," wrote Aira. "And no, they aren't stuck with only browns and bcks, as you see on my example. But I've noticed some other rather unusual shades while I stayed in Mountain View. I guess that's just a peculiarity of your world. Before, I could make my hair green. But I had to use magic for that. Sorry for offending you."

  "No offeaken," said Li, ughing. She stretched her arms wide a out a long yawn. "It was just a bit ued. Anyway, it was a long day, and we 't test the system before m. I'm going to sleep. What's your pn—staring at the stars like a moon-blind wanderer?"

  "Ha-ha! Right, I don't have any research to do at the moment," wrote Aira and smiled. "I'll probably meditate and train. You joke, but maybe I'll go to the top and enjoy the view. Stars and moons are visible and bright tonight. It should be beautiful."