I woke up the next day. I immediately began to work on my exercises. They were starting to feel a little easy, even with the weights attached. I would have to increase the amount, or increase the weight of the weights. However, I should keep doing this training for a couple of weeks. I was thinking about this while I finished up my exercises. When I finished, I went outside to the kitchen. There, I could see Ana was cooking something.
"Need any help?" I decided to ask, as I could spare some time to help her out. After all, the only thing I would do with this time would be to continue training, or research spells.
"I'm fine, thanks for the offer," Ana says, smiling.
"Okay, I'll be at the table then," I responded. Since she doesn't need any help, I'll just do my mental training. I need to work on concurrently doing 5 tasks, but there hasn't been much progress. It was then that I thought of something. I can use weights to help increase my physical training intensity, so can I do something similar with my mental training. It was just a passing thought, but something that may work. I'll also have to add that onto my to-do list.
"Astra, food is ready," Ana yelled while I was in the midst of my thoughts.
Before I knew it, the food was placed before me. I wanted to eat, but decided to wait for Astra to come in. It didn't take long for Astra to come, and I began to eat once she sat down. Ana had already been eating, and as such, finished her food first. I finished after her, and burped in content. Her food was still the best. Astra then finished, and Ana went to wash all the dishes.
"So are we going to talk about anything today, or will we just be doing it like yesterday?" Astra asks after Ana has left to wash the dishes.
"I would actually like to stay," I reply. "I have some things I want to accomplish. Besides, we already have 5 weeks worth of food. We don't need that much more. Even if the both of you don't hunt for a day, it won't affect us much."
"Our exploration and subsequent testing of the other cave would be delayed by a day," Astra says, clearly unhappy.
"Well, the both of you can hunt," I say. Although I say it flippantly, I really don't want them to hunt, as Diego is still searching for us. Knowing Astra, she'll definitely hate wasting time, and go out to hunt, bringing along Ana to increase their efficiency. I hope that they will be safe while they are hunting, and that nothing bad will happen to them. I just feel like my to-do list is growing, causing me to be unable to actually do it. There are also some great things on that list that need to be done.
"Fine, we'll both hunt then," Astra says, in line with my expectations. "You'll have to dismantle the bodies though."
"Yes, I'll do that," I say. "It's the least I can do for staying here all day. Will you be coming back for lunch?"
"To make up for the hunting loss caused by your absence, we'll have to hunt through lunch," Astra says. I'm pretty sure she doesn't have to do this. With both of them hunting, the loss of me won't really cause a big effect. Being unable to eat Ana's food is probably the punishment she is imposing on me through this roundabout manner. Though tough, I'll take this punishment.
"Stay safe while you guys are out there," I say, after seeing she won't talk any more. With that, I headed to the storage/dismantling area so I could get started on the work. I passed by Ana, who seemed to have just finished washing the dishes.
"Hi Sylvi," she says as I pass her.
"Hi, I won't be hunting today," I reply. "Ask Astra for the details if you want them."
"Okay thanks," Ana says as she heads to the table. With that short detour over, I continue my journey to the dismantling/storage room. There I see the bodies that Astra and I had laid out yesterday, their blood already drained from them, causing most of them to fall over.
"O spell of wind, form from my hands a sharp dagger that follows my movements to dismember my enemies."
I chanted my dismantling dagger, and immediately began to dismantle the bodies before me. I focused more on speed, since I wanted to finish it quickly. As such, I wasn't able to dismantle it perfectly. However, I was able to dismantle the bodies pretty well, getting most, if not all, of what I wanted from it. I was also able to finish pretty quickly, since I had focused on speed. A little while after my dismantling started, Astra had come down to retrieve the magic bag. She didn't talk to me at all. She just grabbed the magic bag, and left.
Anyways, that doesn't really matter. Now that I have finished dismantling, I can focus on what I want to do. The things I wish to complete are the portable heating magic circle, the creation of a brush, and making the weights to fit Astra and Ana fox forms. The other things on my list are research focused, which would take more time. The easiest of the tasks I wish to do would be the portable heating magic circle. I'm just creating a heating magic circle, which I have done 4 times before. As such this task will be done last. The next easiest task would be the weights. I just need to modify the design I already have to fit Astra and Ana. That isn't that difficult, so the task that I will be doing first will be the creation of a brush.
I haven't actually made a brush before, so I don't really know what to do. I feel like the easiest place to start would be the handle. After all, it will be made of wood, and have a simple design. Thinking this way, I went outside to go get some wood. We don't have any wood in the storage because we have no use for it. After all, the heating magic circles have really made wood obsolete.
"O spell of wind, form from my hands a mighty blade that follows my movements to destroy my enemies. O spell of wind flow through my body to reinforce myself."
Once outside, I chanted my reinforcement spell and spell sword. I went to the nearest tree, and slashed near its base. My slash cut cleanly through the trunk of the tree, which caused the tree to topple over. After the tree had fallen, I dragged it to the cave. It got stuck outside the cave, so I had to cut off some of the branches jutting off the tree. After that was done, I brought the tree and it's branches into the cave. I put them into the dismantling/storage area. I then left the cave, and, using my flint and steel, set fire to the stump that was still in the ground. I made sure to burn all of its roots because I didn't want to leave any clues, no matter how minuscule.
Once the roots had been burned, I stomped the ground, making sure all the ashes were cleanly buried. While the stump was burning, I made sure to disperse the smoke, which caused it to be extremely hard to see from afar. Also, even if someone saw it, they wouldn't be able to find where it originated from, so we are safe. Even if they somehow managed to see the smoke, and track it to us, the warding barrier formation would take care of them. With that, I went inside the cave, and began to work on the brush. Even though I cut down a whole tree, I wouldn't need all this wood to make a brush handle. However, I still brought it all in, as it would be a pain to burn the parts of the tree I don't need, and I might need wood in the future. I got a pretty thick branch, that was about the size of my arm.
"O spell of wind, form from my hands a sharp dagger that follows my movements to dismember my enemies."
With my dismantling dagger, I began to take out the bark from the branch. This left me with the wood beneath the bark. I then cut the wood down the middle. From there, I started to cut out a rectangle from the wood. I also shaved down three sides of this newly formed rectangle, while keeping one side still attached to the remainder of the wood. The rest was all cut off.
That rectangle that I had just formed would be the base, that would be for whatever I use for the bristles. I could just cut out a rectangle, and then add a strap on the back, but I wanted a handle. As such, I began to cut a handle out of the remaining wood that was still attached. With that, I had created a base for the brush, complete with a handle. I had really spent a long time on the handle, making it fit comfortably in my grip. My stomach was already rumbling when I finished the rectangular base, but I persisted. When I finished the handle, I was really hungry, so I went to go make some lunch.
I just cooked some meat, since anything else would take too much time. Astra and Ana won't be here for lunch, so I didn't have to worry about making anything for them. However, it does suck that I can't eat Ana's food, but that'll just make her dinner taste even better. I finished eating my food while thinking this, before changing my mindset. Now, I have finished the base of the brush, but I still need to create the bristles. I seem to remember that bristles are usually made from boar fur. I forgot where I heard this from, but it was something I remember hearing. I am also sure that we have killed many boar type demonic beasts in the past, and should still have their fur.
With this thought in my mind, I went down to the dismantling/storage room. There, I looked for boar fur. While there, I also gathered what I thought might be good for bristles. I could use different animals' fur as bristles, and then ask Ana and Astra's opinions of them. Then, I would just use a brush with that fur as bristles. Of course, this will only be done after many trials, but I'm sure they will appreciate the effort I am putting into this. To start off, I'll just use boar fur, since I remember bristles are usually made from them.
"O spell of wind, form from my hands a sharp dagger that follows my movements to dismember my enemies."
I chanted my dismantling dagger once again, and started making small holes in the wooden rectangular part of the brush. This is where the fur would go in. It took a lot of time to do, as I had messed up many times. It was my first time trying to do something like this, so I was expecting mistakes. However, I didn't anticipate the amount of mistakes I made. The finished brush didn't even look that good, as the bristles weren't even, and some were even jutting out awkwardly. However, this is the best I could do. After all, I need to set aside some time to work on my other things. I felt like this wouldn't be appreciated, so I decided I would make a comb, if I finished the other two things.
With that, I immediately began to work on creating weights that Ana and Astra could use in their fox forms. I wouldn't need to dig out more stone, as I could just repurpose the extra stone weights I had already made. While they were made with my form in mind, a simple modification was all it took for them to fit Astra and Ana. They might be a little bit big on them, but that can be fixed later with fur padding, or something else. As such, my second objective was completed very easily.
Now onto the third one, the portable heating magic circle. I have created this magic circle before, so all I need to do is copy it down. To do that, I would need another piece of stone. Other than that, this wouldn't be hard.
"O spell of wind, form from my hands a mighty blade that follows my movements to destroy my enemies."
I chanted my spell sword, and went to my room. The cut that was made from testing the strongest spell was still there. I'd decided to cut out a piece of the wall following the slash. My slash was pretty straight, so I had to cut a rectangle out of the wall. My wall is really starting to look ugly, as there are circular cut outs. Now there's gonna be a rectangular one. I really should be cutting out pieces of the storage room. At least that would expand our storage area, and make it easier if we ever do a really big expansion. I'll have to do that from now on. While thinking of this, I had already cut out the rectangle.
"O spell of wind flow through my body to reinforce myself."
I chanted my reinforcement spell before I began to pull the rectangular chunk from the wall. It didn't take long before the chunk was pulled out. Luckily, it wasn't connected to another part of the cave. That would just be something else that we need to explore. With the piece pulled out, I cut it into a circle. I didn't know if we would need the excess rocks, but I decided to keep it, just in case. Never know when it may come in handy. I stopped channeling my reinforcement and spell sword after I finished carving the rock into a circle.
"O spell of wind, form from my hands a sharp dagger that follows my movements to dismember my enemies."
I then chanted my dismantling dagger, and began to carve the patterns needed to create a heating magic circle. Of course, I took a heating magic circle from the kitchen, and copied it. After all, I have no idea how these magic circles work. Well, it was just copying something, so this didn't really take much time. It was just annoying to blow away the dust that formed from my carving. Other than that, there wasn't much to complain about. Soon the portable heating magic circle was completed. With it being done, I placed the one from the kitchen back where it belonged, and then left the newly created one.
Now that I had finished the things I wanted to do I could work on the comb. Luckily, I had extra stones from the rectangle turned magic circle. Looking through these, I chose the biggest piece of stone, and began to carve. However, I stopped after realizing that a stone comb would be impractical. While it would comb through hair, it may also rip it out, and hurt if I use it wrong. As such, I decided to use wood to make the comb. Although it could still hurt, it would be less than the damage caused by the stone comb.
Luckily, I had extra wood from the brush base, so I went to the storage area to gather it. While there, I left the remaining stones and boar fur. I kept the other fur I found, so I wouldn't have to find it again. With all that done, I decided to carve in the storage area, since, when I was done, I could just put away the remaining wood. My dismantling dagger was still active, so I immediately began to carve.
I had split the branch down the middle, and had only used half of that branch to make the brush. As such, I took the other half of that branch, and began to make the comb. Using the wood, I began to carve it. I had started with a big piece of wood, but most of it had become wood shavings. I first carved out the general shape I would want it to take. After that was done, I began to carve the shaft of the comb. I carved it in a way that would make the shaft comfortable to grip, allowing me to easily comb Ana and Astra's hair. The teeth part of the comb was also carved out. I didn't make the gaps too large, which allowed there to be many teeth. I also stubbed the edges of the teeth, so that they wouldn't accidentally cut through the hair I was trying to comb.
With this, I had finished my wooden comb. I would first try out my brush, and if it wasn't well received, I would switch to the comb. This way, I could still brush their hair. My stomach rumbled just as I finished carving out the comb. I laid down the comb, and went outside to check the time. The sun was setting, meaning it was just about dinner time. However, Astra and Ana haven't come back yet. Nothing should be able to hurt them in the forest, so they should just be taking a little bit of time.
Thinking as such, I went back inside to wait for them. I put the weights, brush and comb, and portable magic circle into my room. Afterwards, I began to clean up the mess I had made. It wasn't that much of a mess, but there was some stuff on the ground. There were some wood shavings, stone dust, and unused fur that littered the floor.
"O spell of wind come forth as a breeze to blow away my opponents."
Cleaning wasn't that difficult, as my breeze spell gathered all the stuff into a small pile. I then sent it into a corner of the room, so it could be burned later. With this done, I had nothing else to do, so I decided to wait at the entrance of the cave. That way, I could greet them when they come back. With this decided, I went to the entrance, and sat upon an extended root from the tree directly above the cave. While I was waiting, I trained my multitasking skill, and also focused on magic circles. I didn't want to mess up Astra and Ana, by using their mana, in case they were fighting.
I was using two parts of my mind to think about magic circles from different viewpoints. I was using another part of my mind to think of new practical spells that I could create. I used another part of my mind to try to think of new combat spells that I could create. That took up the 4 parts of my mind available to me, but I tried to channel mana while thinking of these things. If I could do this, then it would mean my multitasking skill is growing stronger. Even if I could do this, I wouldn't be able to do 5 tasks simultaneously, as channeling mana is a pretty easy thing for me to do. However, it would still be an improvement.
I was so focused on my training, that I barely noticed the sun setting. I only realized it once I felt the chill of the night. However, once I noticed, I began to grow worried. Even if there were some setbacks, they should have still returned before the sun set. I tried to be optimistic, and think that they may have lost track of time, which is highly likely, as, in some places, the trees grow so densely that they block out the sun.
I wanted to use our mana links to go and find them, to make sure that they were safe, but I was conflicted. What if they were safe? What would they think of me then? They might hate me searching for them, even though they are fine. I was conflicted for a little bit of time, before I eventually settled it out. I decided to look for them. I want to make sure they are safe. With that decided, I sensed their general location through our mana links, and looked in that direction.
However, I heard the sound of a leaf being crunched under someone's footsteps from the opposite direction. I quickly turned my head, and saw two shadows that looked like foxes. It was dark, so I couldn't make them out, but they can't be Ana and Astra. After all, my mana links are telling me that they are in the opposite directions from this fox shadow.
While I was thinking, those two shadows suddenly became four. It was then that I realized who these foxes are. They are Diego and his crew. Once I realized this, I was overjoyed. After all, Diego and his crew are the only ones that Astra and Ana need to be cautious of. If they are here, that means that Astra and Ana are fine. After being grateful, I then became stunned, since the warding barrier formation should still be active. We also should have left no clues leading to us. They shouldn't have been able to find us.
"How'd you find this place?" I decided to ask out my suspicions. While I was talking, I was also channeling Astra and Ana's mana continuously. Even though I still can't use only one element through the mana links, I could still channel their mana through me, which would agitate them. This would then cause them to rush back, as they know that I would only use their mana in an emergency. They also wouldn't think that I was testing, as I said I would tell them when I would do that.
"Do you really think we'll tell you that?" Diego says, contempt in his voice. "It took a long time to find you, half elf, but now that you're found, you're dead."
I wanted to stall, so Astra and Ana could come and help me out. From the mana links, I could tell that they were coming closer, but Diego just attacked after he finished talking. I wasn't prepared for his attack, and it was also a pretty fast wind blade. My weights also weren't helping me as they weighed me down. With all of these factors, I was hit by the wind blade, which drew some blood from my cheek. It would have caused more damage if I didn't raise my hand to block it in time.
"Looks like we are just getting into it," I said with a grimace as different spells from the other 3 came flying at me.