Wilona checked herself over. She was wearing her cleanest set of clothes, the best-looking pants she had, and boots that reached her knees. However, her cloak obscured most of her body, so she worked on the part of her that was visible when talking to strangers—her face.

  She wasn't the type of person to do her hair, but sometimes, her preference for letting it fly loose wasn't ideal, and living in a swamp without shampoo or conditioner forced her to make her hair appealing in different ways. Washing it with soap wasn't enough either—she felt how matted it was through her fingers when she was combing it just now.

  The braids she did her hair into looked colorful thanks to the flowers she wore as accessories. Like actual flowers, ones that had a proper scent to them. Wilona thought it was necessary because, even if she had a pretty face, her being bland when it came to clothes was not the kind of impression she wanted to leave on other people.

  She didn't have makeup, so her face was essentially exposed, but even if she did, she would have only used it lightly, so honestly, what’s the difference? She couldn't care less if her cheeks lacked powder, and she wasn’t the type to use contours and highlights to exaggerate her features.

  Wilona had also worked on making enchanted items, chief among them being the magical staff that enhanced her magic. It was a piece of driftwood she dried and preserved by asking Fuzz to absorb all its moisture, then enhanced through runes that, while basic, employed advanced techniques such as planetary alignments and star placements.

  The stave's effect wasn't much—just a tiny boost in magic that was basically minuscule when added to her usual spellcasting. Fuzz did say that boosts were sometimes exponential, but Wilona doubted the staff she made had that effect.

  Oh, and since she didn't feel like casting an orb of light whenever she went into a dark place, she tied the mana lantern she got onto the bulbous head of the stave. This may just be Wilona’s lacking sense of artistry speaking, but it looked pretty cool. Carrying it with the lantern lit made her feel like some kind of mysterious angler who meets protagonists in lighthouses or something.

  The stave was for her personal use, but she also made a few items that she could trade with the humans she encountered. She had magical rings that glowed slightly in the dark, larger trinkets with the same effect that acted as a basic nightlight, and pebbles that emitted a sharp cry when thrown.

  The rings and trinkets were made of wood from Mossheart's body, while the pebbles were provided to her by Garry. Just like the wood Mossheart gave her, the pebbles contained a bit of magic, making them ideal for enchantment.

  Yeah, as it turned out, the alligator gar wanted to help! That was pretty nice of him, honestly.

  "Alright!" Wilona activated Air Lift and rode on her stave. "I think I'm ready to meet other humans, right, Fuzz?"

  The myceloid stopped sorting the pottery they had recently made and faced Wilona. Fuzz nodded. "Yes, and you could have met humans sooner than you think."

  "Yeah, but like, I was preoccupied with my camp," Wilona grinned. Actually, even if she wasn’t, she wasn’t going to meet other humans while looking like a mess. The state of dress she was currently in, her stable appearance, and her personal power acted as reassurance.

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  She couldn't risk being pushed away by a group just because she was lacking. A good-looking girl who could use magic, had cool trinkets, and a staff she flew on shouldn’t be treated like an outcast, so her concerns were pretty pointless. She was going to enter the social circle of the first group she saw with such ease it would make her friends blush.

  "Well, I'm off!" Wilona pulled on the strap of her satchel to secure it as she hopped on her staff. "I'll see you guys later!"

  Mossheart waved at her as she took to the skies.

  Wilona smiled as the wind brushed her hair. Wading through the rainforest felt like an adventure, but it wasn't something she liked doing. She wasn’t really a hiker. This, though? The free air, with nothing to block her way and moving with a speed so fast it would cause cops to chase after her even if she was on a highway? This was more her style.

  The forest turned into a sea of green below her as she flew through the air. Her cloak, while hydrophobic, also protected her from the high winds. Guess what she learned in the book had been correct; the runes the cloak used weren’t just to cause water to slide down its surface but to form a barrier that prevented a certain amount of water from reaching her.

  It was only several milligrams in weight but still perfect for stopping air moisture. Combined, it led to a barrier that stopped Wilona from being battered by high winds when flying through the air at high speeds.

  After she spotted the road Fuzz told her about, finding a group of humans became as easy as following after it. The people she found had two wagons pulled by mules. There were four of them in total—three guys and one girl.

  Wilona slowed down and began lowering herself. The humans noticed her when she was close enough, and she waved at them. Now to see if they could understand her just like the Castorimorphians did. "Hello!"

  The humans looked at each other. Most of them looked tense. Wilona got it—if she saw someone flying on an enchanted staff waving at her, she would be suspicious too. The people eventually waved back at her, and Wilona took it as an invitation to make her way over to them.

  The group looked... a lot less refined than she expected. They had worn clothing and rugged skin, their faces were scarred, and their hair looked dry.

  Wilona felt disappointed, but then again, they were carrying wagons, and according to Fuzz, this world wasn’t as advanced as Earth, so this should be part of the norm.

  How did Wilona look to them, she wondered as she touched the ground. Wilona fixed her clothes and lightly wiped her cloak before walking over to the skeptical group of... merchants? Huh. Wait—merchants!

  Wilona’s happiness must have been obvious because they huddled closer together and acted even more vigilant of her presence. Wilona cleared her throat.

  "I am Wilona Fennimore." The group nodded, and their youngest guy lowered himself before stopping when a much older man slapped the back of his head. "I am a witch—wait! Don't panic!" Wilona rubbed her forehead. "I'm not here to fight."

  She opened her cloak and took out her bag. The merchants leaned in when she showed them its contents. "I have things to trade with you, if that's fine?" The group nodded. "Great! How about we introduce ourselves to each other first?"

  Wilona waited. None of them spoke. It took a while, but a man with brown hair stepped forward. This one looked tougher compared to the rest of his group, and Wilona was counting the large, bulky fella next to him in that count. He had graying hair and a mean-looking face. On his hip hung a sheathed sword, his hands were calloused, and his body was muscular.

  "I'm Silas Morrow," said the man, bowing. He pointed at the youngest guy. "That's my son, Orion," then to the only girl of the group, "that's my daughter, Iris." Then to the guy whose bulk dwarfed even his, "and my brother-in-law, Clifford."

  Wait, like the dog? Wilona narrowed her eyes and paused. No, of course people could name their child after dogs. No, it was the opposite—dogs were named after children.

  "Well, nice to meet you," Wilona put on a happy face. "I've already introduced myself, so I guess we can go ahead and talk about what I can trade my stuff for? I'm not really selling anything good, so, uh..." Wilona took out one of the many rings she made. "This glows in the dark?"

  Clifford stepped forward, and Wilona became cautious about what he was going to do until he reached out, asking to hold the ring. Wilona gave it to him, and he looked at the ring with disbelief.

  "Yeah, it's not really that good—"

  "Did you make this out of ent bark?"

  Wilona raised an eyebrow. She wasn't even pissed that she got cut off. Were Mossheart’s daily wood shavings valuable? Seriously? This guy had to be kidding, right?

  "Yes?" Wilona tilted her head.

  "How much is this?"

  Wait, seriously? Knowing the context behind the ring, Wilona couldn't help but see Clifford holding out a piece of her nail that she’d cut—and then enchanted, she supposed. But the enchantments were clearly not the focus here.