The following day I got up earlier than usual. I wanted to have some time to read about the new potions in my book, as well as look up some monsters in the bestiary. It was definitely time that we moved on from goblins. The other travelers that we'd come with had moved on from them months ago. They hunted stronger pray, so they got more money. With more money, they were able to learn more from their masters, eat better, live better.
I wanted that for myself and for my friends. We still needed a new roof over our heads, and winter was only a few months away. I thought about my space heater idea, which was good for times that I was awake. But if I fell asleep, I wouldn't be able to control its output, which would mean it would either get too hot and burn the place down with us inside, or it would drop to below freezing, and we would all be popsicles by morning. 'Still, it's a good idea to use before bed.'
I cracked open the book of potions. There were only about ten pages to its entire content, but when I read off the recipe list, I was still pretty happy with my purchase. There were five recipes in total, Weak Acid, Liquid Stone, Flash Bomb, Stink Bomb, and Weak Intimidation Draft. I continued reading over the description for each one. Most of them were self-explanatory. The acid can erode something over time, not save to get on you.
Liquid Stone was basically like a fast-drying cement that I could see the potential in. I could use it to help trap monsters or make us a patio out back. 'A patio would be nice.' Flash Bomb and Stink Bomb were self-explanatory I definitely could see them as useful. The last one was the most complicated of the recipes calling for close to twenty ingredients. I read the description aloud.
"Intimidation Drafts can react with the chemicals produced in all sentient creatures Weak Intimidation Drafts will cause a sense of nervousness or slight anxiety. Most creatures can still fight through this effect. However, a Strong Intimidation Draft can cause outright panic or fear as it initiates a stronger reaction." It sounded pretty cool, even just being able to make a monster slightly nervous could be useful. Still, it took so many ingredients. There was no way I could make this potion right now. I focused only one the two that were easiest to make.
Weak Acid, and Flash Bomb. Each of them only took five ingredients each. I went to grab the book on ingredients that Master had given me the other day, and I compared the recipe list to the descriptions in the ingredients book. Most of the items grew around the forest, I'd seen them while out hunting, and now I was kicking myself for not having grabbed them while I could.
'This is what Master was talking about, changing how we fight. We also have to look at the world around us and make use of it.' The only ingredient that wasn't a plant was for something called Blessed Water. It was supposed to go into the flash bomb. I remembered that Tim had a skill that could work like this. Maybe he'd know how to get Blessed Water. Unfortunately, he wasn't up yet for me to ask him.
I was up far earlier than usual I was using the Moon Lilies outside as a reading light, so I wouldn't disturb my sleeping friends. I couldn't go out and look for ingredients right now because it was dark, so I decided to switch over to the bestiary and start looking for a new monster to fight. I rifled through the pages and discovered that I was in luck.
The monsters listed were in the order of weakest to strongest. After only searching for a few seconds, I found what I was looking for. The monsters were called Imps. They were slightly stronger than hobgoblins but roughly the size of a regular goblin. The Imp in the depiction had grayish skin, with small wings on its back and two curved horns on the top of its head.
I went on the read the description. "An Imp is a monster that is dangerous due to its sharp claws and venom. It is not able to fly very high, but it is agile when airborne. Be wary of its scratches or bites as both can inject a paralytic venom into the bloodstream. Venom is fast-acting and must be treated within thirty seconds; otherwise you paralysis will be induced, and the Imps will pick your flesh from your bones as you lay there watching helplessly." 'Well, that got dark quickly." I thought to myself.
It was still the best option though; the next several monsters were a lot scarier than these. The others began waking up shortly after, and I showed them the description of the monster I wanted us to try hunting today.
"Well, we do have better weapons and armor now. I don't see why we can't defeat some of these." Grace agreed. "But no one gets complacent. This is still a new enemy, and we haven't seen exactly how they fight. Be on your guard." The party agreed, and we proceeded to cook some swineberries for breakfast before heading out.
An hour later, we were fully geared up. I looked at the people in my party and realized that we were actually starting to look like people from this world. We no longer had those lingering fearful and depressed looks on our faces that we had when we'd first gotten here. Instead, they were replaced with looks of determination, even to the point of confidence.
It was a good feeling thinking about how much we'd grown in such a short amount of time. The new area that we'd be going to was in the completely opposite direction as Goblins Reach, and it was farther out as well. We'd have to devote more time to travel, so I thought it would be a good time to bring up that we may all want to start saving up for one of the reptilian cats that could be seen pulling carriages around the city. Laura was excited about the prospect of having a pet, so it was easy to convince her that it was time.
Unfortunately, the others weren't so easily convinced.
"I hate to say it, Todd, but I don't think it's the right time," Tim said.
"I agree, where would we keep it? We don't have a stable built for it, so it would just be taking up a lot of space in the backyard." Grace was the one who spoke this time. Sarah chimed in right after.
"Plus, what would we feed it? We can barely afford to feed ourselves sometimes. I think it's best if we wait and see what kind of money we're making after hunting these Imps." Unfortunately, Derek agreed with Sarah because he was already upset at not being able to eat until he was full most of the time, and we were all getting sick and tired of swineberries.
I understood their points and dropped the subject. We weren't far out from where the bestiary said we could find the little monsters. Only about an hour and a half now. We kept walking until it was time to draw into the tree line in search of the Imps. We all stayed together, aside from Sarah, who was scouting ahead. In her new armor, I couldn't even see her anymore, especially when she pulled her hood over her head to cover her bright blonde hair.
Some time passed when we finally heard Sarah's call to alert us of an enemy. It wasn't far off, maybe two hundred meters, but I could see it plain as day floating above the ground, it's tiny black wings working as hard as they could to keep it aloft. Sarah drew an arrow from her bow and took aim at it. She was hoping to snipe it from where she was, which was only about fifty meters closer than we were. 'Can she really land a shot from this far away?'
I watched silently as the arrow was released from the bow, a small twang was heard, but that was the only sound. The arrow shot straight through the air, but unfortunately, the little Imp proved to be faster. It had noticed the arrow coming straight for us and numbly moved its body out of the way. Sarah was an excellent shot, so the projectile still managed to graze the monster, but that wasn't enough.
As soon as the Imp caught sight of the Archer, it flew straight at her. It was much faster than I'd expected it to be. Our battle reflexes had already kicked in though; Grace ran at full speed towards Sarah, and just as the Imp had raised a clawed hand to strike, our Paladin intercepted with her shield. The Imp flew backward quickly to avoid the follow-up strike that Grace had intended to use to finish the fight.
"Pin it down!" Grace yelled. Sarah and Laura were both ready. Sarah dodged out from behind the Paladin, another arrow already pulled back, and Laura steadied her wand aimed towards the beast.
"Left!" Sarah called out. She shot her arrow to the Imps right side, which it dodged easily. It didn't however, realize what had just happened. The Archer and the Witch had been practicing this combo ever since Laura had gained her Ice Spear ability. As soon as the Imp moved to the left to dodge the arrow, it was with an ice spike to the center of its forehead.
It hit the ground with a thud. We'd survived our first encounter with an Imp, and it was clear that our skills and teamwork were a lot better than they had been when we first got to this world. Laura especially had become remarkable, seeing as she had been too nervous even to use a spell the first time we'd fought a monster. Now she was pulling off complicated combination attacks.
"Looks like the ranged fighters are going to be needed a lot for these monsters," Grace said. I looked at Sarah and Laura and congratulated them on the kill.