Water began to trickle in from the entrance of the cave. Looking at the entrance, I could see the snow was being melted. Winter seemed to have finally ended. It was a pretty good winter, and I think we all had accomplished something. The storage area had its size doubled thanks to Astra, which will help us store more food. Ana also seems to have made a lot of progress in cooking. She figured out how to add more substance to her soup, and also how to infuse different flavors into the meat. For the first one, she used dough, and cooked it in a unique way. This allowed it to make up for the lack of substance, while not changing the overall taste of the soup. For the second, she would place the meat into a liquid concoction. Then she would let it sit for a while, and the flavors of the liquid would permeate into the meat. These two things have really given us a lot of new flavors to work with. Especially since the liquid can be made from many things. As for me, I have made a lot of progress in my clay works. I am now able to mold items that can survive the firing process. Also my works aren't as ugly looking as before. However, if I put designs into the clay works, then the chance of it surviving the firing process is low. I was able to create a couple with unique designs that were able to survive the firing process. We have really upgraded our quality of life.
"Oh, it seems like the snow is melting," Ana says as she comes out from her room. "That is a good thing. We have been running out of ingredients."
"What do you mean Ana?" Astra asks in a confused tone. "The last I checked, we still have at least 2 bodies worth of meat left."
"I'm not talking about the meat," Ana says. "I'm talking about the spices and fruits. We have been using them more often, and they are almost gone."
"Well you can't blame us for that," I say proudly, "the food you are making is just too good."
"Well either way, we are going to have to get more," she says. "Of course I could always just not use them. Then we wouldn't have to get more."
"Nah, it's not that much of a hassle. Just give me the morning and I'll go look. I'm not sure how much I can find though since the snow is only just melting." I spoke hurriedly in fear that she would actually do that. However, I mumbled the last part so that they wouldn't hear.
"Okay." "Have fun finding them."
They saw me off just like that. When I got outside, the air was cold, and it felt like it was biting into my skin. The clothes I had on weren't really made for warmth. I would be fine once I started to move though. With that thought in mind, I began to look for edible plants and berries. I didn't chant my reinforcement spell this time because during winter, I had also trained myself. I am pretty sure my strength is pretty similar to Ana and Astra now. I may be a bit weaker than them though. However, even if it is, I should still train myself. If I don't, my strength could be gone. I really envy them since they don't have to spend hours, and just get to maintain their strength. However, even if I envy them, there's nothing I could do about it.
Now that I am thinking about it, I am only stronger than them thanks to my combat experience, and my unique spells. I'm not even sure if my spells are unique outside the forest. I can be pretty sure that the spells that use double commands are unique outside the forest. After all, mother was shocked when I first used my spell sword, but maybe they have advanced their understanding of magic. Maybe they have already integrated double commands, and are even onto triple commands. Wouldn't that mean that I would be weak outside. Wait no, I shouldn't be. I can kill demonic beasts in the beastmen zone, so my strength should at least be on par with beastmen. However, Ana and Astra are better than or equal to me in practically everything. Their mana is definitely better than me be it in terms of quality or quantity.
These thoughts flow through my head as I am running through the forest, stopping every so often to pick up edible plants and fruits. We should probably try to create a garden later. That way we could grow our own food, and I wouldn't have to search throughout the entire forest. However, I don't know the first thing about growing food. I soon had collected what I think to be a suitable amount, and headed back to the cave. I could see some demonic beasts coming out of hibernation, but I didn't kill any of them. I was only here for the edible plants and fruits after all. As I was seeing the demonic beasts awaken from hibernation, a thought hit me, winter is over. This means our lives would definitely be targeted again. Diego, the fox that wanted to be the successor of his clan, would definitely come after us soon. Only in that way, would he get a chance to kill off his remaining competition. We would have to discuss our next moves carefully.
"Welcome back sylvi." "Welcome back Sylvain." They both say at almost the exact same time.
"I'm back," I respond. "I think I got a suitable amount of edible plants for us, but we have to talk about something"
"What is it sylvi?" Ana asks curiously.
"You know before winter started, when we had to fight Diego?" I ask, pausing momentarily before continuing after seeing them nod their heads. "Well, he will definitely be coming back. He will probably try to kill us again so he can kill his remaining competition, just like your mother said. We have to prepare for this. I was originally going to suggest that you both hide, while I hunt and gather for us.."
"No sylvi," Ana interrupted me with force. "We won't allow you to solve everything by yourselves."
"You didn't let me finish," I say with a little anger since I was cut off so abruptly. "As I was saying, that was my original suggestion. I knew that neither of you were going to like it, so I had another, better one. We all go out together, but you will do all the killing. If Diego does come, then I'll engage him while you two support me."
"Okay Sylvain, but why do you wish for us to do the killing?" Astra asked.
"It is because I want the both of you to gain combat experience," I say. "The both of you are extremely strong. Your physique is greater than mine without training, and your mana is better than mine, with high quality and quantity. However, you both don't have too much combat experience. Once you get this experience, both of you will probably be stronger than me."
"So you are trying to get us stronger?" Astra asks.
"Yes basically," I say. "However, I won't help you guys at all. It won't be good combat experience if there is no fear of death. Of course with your strength, I don't think much will be able to threaten your life."
"Okay then, we'll get through this with our own power," Ana says confidently.
With that said, we then exited the cave. The magic bag was given to Ana, so that both of them could store their kills. I got two of the bags I had created from leather. I hoped that I would be able to fill them up with edible plants. I also hoped that they wouldn't encounter anything they couldn't handle. They are strong, but the unexpected could always happen. However, if I help them, it will only be a detriment to them.
The both of them set the pace, as they were the ones who were going to do the killing. I would follow them, and stop every once in a while to pick up some edible plants. Since winter had just ended, I wasn't able to get that much. Both of them didn't move too fast. I guess they were trying to save their strength for when they needed it, which is a good thing. Their slow pace allowed me to gather items and keep up with them. However even if I lose them, I'm confident I could find them with my detection spell.
Soon enough we had encountered our first demonic beasts. It was in the beastmen zone, so it should be one of the stronger ones. I had nothing to really compare it to. It had three horns extending from its head, a large bushy tail, and walked on four legs. It's entire body was covered in whitish gold fur. It also seemed to have a mane, but it also didn't seem to be a mane. If I had to describe it, then I would say the area around its neck was a darker gold color, which made it contrast and stick out, giving the illusion of it being a mane.
From what I could tell, it's main weapons were its claws and its horns, but neither of them seemed too dangerous. The horns would only be used in a ramming attack, and should be easily dodgeable. The claws also shouldn't be as strong as Ana and Astra's, so they should have the advantage in this battle. Both sides looked at each other for a good amount of time, neither daring to make the first move. Even though I was watching this, I was also collecting all the available food.
It seemed like Ana couldn't endure the pressure any more and went in to attack. She didn't actually charge, but instead gathered water mana to attack with magic. However, the demonic beast was doing the same thing, only with fire mana. Even though I've known demonic beasts could use magic, this is the first time I've seen it, other than the demonic beasts from the rainbow fox race. I don't know why the demonic beasts I faced didn't use magic in their battles. I guess it was either because they felt it was beneath them to do so, I killed them too quickly for them to use it, or they just couldn't use magic.
Well, either way, both sides had finished charging their mana, and fired their attacks. Ana used a simple water ball, seemingly intended to sound out their enemy. The enemy used what looked to be a wave of fire. It seems like it wanted to end this battle quickly and kill both Ana and Astra. An interesting thing to note is that the mana this demonic beast was gathering was being gathered between its three horns.
The two spells collided with each other. Ana's spell was able to punch a hole in the fire wave, and continued to fly towards the demonic beast. The demonic beast seemed to be stunned, and only dodged at the last possible moment. Even though it dodged, it was still hit by the water ball. I guess that it was stunned at the fact that it's spell was broken through. However, it still seemed confident that its spell would kill both Ana and Astra.
However, before the fire wave came over both of them, a fire dome appeared with them as the center. Astra had definitely casted this one. The demonic beast seemed stunned once again, but still seemed to have confidence in its spell. When both spells connected, they didn't fight one another, but instead combined. The fire wave was integrated into the fire dome. With this, the fire wave was used to increase the strength of the fire dome.
At this moment the demonic beast seemed to realize it had encountered people superior to it, and instantly chose to flee. Ana began to chase after the fleeing demonic beast. Astra dissolved her fire dome, and used the mana from it to fire off a couple of fire lances. Most of the mana in her fire dome had naturally dissipated into the atmosphere though. The amount she was able to save was enough to form five fire lances though. Once they were formed, they instantly went to the fleeing demonic beast. Two of them were able to hit it, while the remaining three veered off course. With the demonic beast being injured, Ana was able to catch up to it. Ana then swiftly killed it off using her claws, before storing it into the magic bag.
Even though it seemed like a good battle, it wasn't. They did win in the end, and didn't suffer any injuries, so that was a good thing. However, the only reason they were able to win was due to their superior mana quality. If it wasn't for that, then their spells wouldn't have easily overpowered the demonic beast's spells. If this kept going on, then they would never get proper combat experience since they would always be able to brute force their way through. The only ones who could give them a challenge would be other rainbow foxes as they have the same advantages. However, the rainbow foxes who would face us all wanted to kill us. There would be no safe way for them to get good combat experience.
"I think that you guys won't be able to get good combat experience like this," I said in my honest opinion to both of them.
"Why not, we are fighting, are we not?" Ana asked, confusion evident in her tone.
"Yes you are fighting," I respond. "However, it is not challenging enough for the both of you. Against these demonic beasts, you can just make use of brute force. This is not gaining combat experience."
"Then how will we gain combat experience? What do you suggest?" Astra asked this question this time. It seemed like she was really motivated to get stronger.
Seeing her honest tone, I answered in what I thought would be the best way. "Since the problem is that both of you are too strong, then we only need to place some restriction. Remember these?"
They looked over at me with dread when they saw the items in my hand. What I was holding was the magic circles I had made previously in an attempt to help them control their mana. It was the magic circle that dissipated a portion of their mana into the atmosphere, allowing them to utilize lower amounts of mana. This had allowed them to learn mana control, while gradually adgusting the amount of mana they had.
"If we use these, then the both of you will have a limited amount of mana," I explain to both of them. "This way you will feel pressured, and naturally gain combat experience. You will also have to learn how to work around having a small amount of mana at your disposal. Also if things ever get serious, you can always throw away the magic circles. Of course you don't have to do this if you don't want to."
"No we'll do it," the both of them say at the same time.
"Okay then," I say as I give them the magic circle. I could already tell it was working since the mana was dissipating from their bodies. With this detriment, they will have to use other methods to kill. Of course their strength is also much stronger than normal demonic beasts, however their greater strength would mean very little. After all, in close combat, reaction time, situational awareness, and experience are the things that rule. Physical strength does give one an edge, but it isn't that helpful. At least, that is how it is according to my father.
Soon after they had the magic circles on them, we began to walk further out. While walking, I would stop and store edible plants and fruits. I had successfully filled up ¾ of one of the bags before we encountered another demonic beast. This one looked extremely similar to a wolf, but was alone. Of course I thought that it's pack was nearby, since wolf type demonic beasts usually hunt in packs.
As if confirming my thoughts, it howled upon seeing us. This howl was probably a signal to the others in its pack that would be coming soon. Ana and Astra looked at the wolf warily when it howled before charging straight at it. They probably wished to kill it quickly before the rest of its pack came. However, as they were charging the wolf decisively retreated, probably to meet up with the rest of its pack. I guess it is extremely wary of the two of them.
Ana and Astra continued to chase after the solitary wolf, and I just followed patiently behind. Their speed was faster than the wolf and they were soon able to close the distance between them. Once the distance was close enough, both of them swiped at the wolf with their claws. The wolf, as if possessing foresight, rolled at that exact moment causing their claw strike to pass over it. While rolling it pushed against the floor with its back paws and striked at each of them with its front paws.
Both of them seemed surprised that the wolf was able to dodge and counter attack. Probably because of this, their reaction was delayed and the claw strike connected with them. However, even though the strike did connect, it didn't do much damage, and only was able to draw a little bit of blood. I guess the wolf wasn't expecting its attack to work, and intentionally used less power to prepare for the possibility of a counter.
With this strike, both sides backed away from each other. Even though I was farther away, I was able to see all of this very clearly. Once I got there, I began to climb up a tree to get a better vantage point. While I was climbing, they were continuing their fight with each other. The wolf had the upper hand during most of the battle. It was using its vast combat experience, and also used the terrain to its advantage. This caused Ana and Astra's attacks to get stuck or interrupted. Even though the wolf had the upper hand, Ana and Astra were able to injure it as well.
However, that was determined to end, as while they were fighting, another howl came from nearby. This meant that the others in the wolf pack were closing in. Since they had trouble with only one wolf, then they would have it worse with the entire pack. While I was thinking of this, the fight was still ongoing down below. Ana and Astra's attacks also seemed to be getting more desperate. They knew that they would be no match for the entire wolf pack, and wanted to kill this one wolf as quickly as possible.
However, in their haste to kill this wolf, they exposed many weaknesses and vulnerabilities, which the wolf definitely took advantage of. If the fight before could be said to be evenly matched, then right now it was like a one sided slaughter. Of course the wolf was the one doing the slaughtering. Many new wounds appeared on Ana and Astra while less of their attacks actually connected. It was also at this moment that the wolf pack had come. They emerged from the area behind Ana and Astra, without alerting the both of them.
Once they had appeared, they instantly attacked them. Ana and Astra seemed focused on the singular wolf, and didn't notice the pack behind them. They would definitely die if nothing was done. I wanted to go in and help them, but remembered that if I did, it would only be a detriment. They would rely on me for everything they couldn't handle, and I may not be there when they need me the most. Besides, they said they wanted to get stronger themselves. For these reasons, I did nothing, and just watched.
They were lucky, and they had inadvertently dodged the attacks from the wolves because they were attacking the lone wolf. This caused them to become aware of the entire wolf pack. With the entire wolf pack here, their chances of winning had just fallen down. They should still be able to leave this battle successfully, but if they didn't leave soon, then they might get more serious injuries, which could affect them in a negative way.
However, I didn't need to fear anything. Once they realized that the wolf pack had gathered, they instantly turned around and fled. It seemed like they knew they were not a match for them. Even though they could be stubborn, at least they didn't insist on fighting. It is sometimes important to know when to give up.
"O spell of wind flow through my body to reinforce myself."
Since both of them were escaping at full speed, I had to cast my reinforcement spell otherwise, I wouldn't be able to keep up with them. Once the wolves realized that the both of them were trying to escape, they chased after them. However, the speed of the wolves was slower than Ana and Astra's speed. This allowed Ana and Astra to escape with ease. They soon stopped after they had lost the wolves.
"It's fine," I say revealing myself. "Let's try to find more demonic beasts. After all, we still need more food for storage, and both of you need more combat experience."
After I said my pierce both of them just simply nodded their heads. As we were walking, it seemed like they were going over the previous battle. I guess they were trying to figure out where they went wrong. This would definitely help them if they understand where they went wrong.
We came across a plethora of demonic beasts. The both of them would always attack whenever they spotted them. Some were stronger than them while others were weaker. The weaker ones were killed and put into the magic bag. The stronger ones would usually force them to retreat and think of where they could do better. I also continued to gather edible plants and fruits, and my two bags had long been filled already. Darkness soon began to cover the sky as we headed home with our gains.