I woke up, and immediately wanted to continue my thought pattern from last night. However, before I could start on that, my stomach rumbled, which made me realize that it was late in the morning. I have no idea why, but I seemed to have slept in really late. I slept at my normal time, so I should have also woken up at my normal time. However, I shouldn't be thinking of this at the moment. I am sure that Astra and Ana are already awake, and are probably hungry.
I quickly got out of bed, and went down to the storage room. I didn't really know what I would make, so I ended up grabbing random ingredients, without really looking at them. I brought them back to the kitchen, and assessed them there. I also made sure to bring a pot filled with water. While I assessed the ingredients I had gathered, I also washed them to save some time. I had taken out meat, grains, different herbs, and fruits. I couldn't really think of what to do with all of this. In the end I decided to just cut everything, except the grains, really finely and mix it together. Once I did that, I had a sticky paste like thing, which I'm sure would stick to the pan no matter how much oil I put in.
So I did the only thing I could think of at the moment, coating the sticky paste with grains, and then shaping the resulting abomination into something that looked edible. I also made sure that they were separated into small portions, so that it would cook quicker. I then placed oil into the pans, and placed my creations on the pan. I didn't have time for the heating magic circle, so I just chanted the fireball spell.
"O spell of fire come forth as a ball to burn my opponents."
I controlled it so it would stay in one place, and put the pan above it. Controlling the flow of mana, I was able to keep the fireball at a high and consistent temperature. Once the oil started going crazy, I let the temperature of the fireball cool down. While this was happening, I moved over the food, so that the other side would get cooked. I kept moving the food in the pan, turning them over and over so every part of it would be cooked, and eventually finished. Then I stopped channeling mana into the fireball spell, and got out plates. I put my creations into equal portions on the plates. With that, I had finished breakfast. It just might not taste that good.
"Astra, Ana, breakfast is ready," I yelled after everything was set up.
After my call, they quickly arrived at the dining room table, and looked at the food I had just created.
"Oh, you were creating something new," Ana exclaimed. "No wonder you took so long."
"Hehe," I nervously laughed. "Yep, I j-just got some inspiration, so I d-decided to act on it. I h-hope it tastes good. Please t-tell me y-your opinions."
I had managed to stutter my way through that conversation. I am sure that it sounded really suspicious. I just hope that it comes out good.
"Okay here goes," Ana says as she fearlessly shoves one into her mouth. Astra looks at hers more timidly, and even sniffs it before she does the same. I shakily grab one of them, and also place it within my mouth. Even though I haven't bitten into it, it already tastes horrible. The grains, which weren't supposed to be eaten raw, kind of tasted better cooked, but many places were burnt. I'm sure if I wasn't rushing, I wouldn't have burnt them, and the outer shell might have tasted better.
Reluctantly, I bite down, and an explosion of different tastes enter my mouth. The savory taste of the meat, the bitterness of the herbs, and the sweetness of the fruit. However, while that sounds good, it doesn't taste good. The flavors are all conflicting with one another. Also, the bitterness of the herbs is what comes through the most, and when it is combined with the burnt grains, it just becomes terrible.
Even though I want to spit it out, I still swallow it down forcibly. After all, we have a limited amount of food to survive the winter. Even though I wasted it on this horribly meal, it shouldn't go to waste by going uneaten. I'll eat all of this if I have to.
"So how did it taste?" I ask after eating another one.
"Terrible." "Awful." The both of them say at the same time without even trying to sugar coat their words.
"The idea itself is a good one though," Ana says.
"Huh, it is?" I mistakenly ask.
"Yes," Ana happily says. "I have never thought of combining different ingredients into the meat. While it might have failed for you, I am sure that is because you didn't have the correct proportions. I am sure that if you had decreased the amount of herbs, added some salt, and increased the fruits, it would have come out much better than it had."
"I totally forgot about salt," I lament once she says that.
"Well, you just have to remember it next time," Ana says encouragingly.
"Okay," I say, "but there's a problem with what you said. While increasing the fruits would make it taste better, the sticky fruit juice will also be there. I feel like that will make it hard to cook, which was kind of the reason why I used grains. They were to absorb the juice, thereby retaining it."
I had completely made up that last point, as I had made all of this at the last minute. However, this is a major issue. Also I know how Ana is. Now that she has this idea, she will want to immediately tackle it, which will inevitably waste some of our remaining stock. That is why I have to tell her of all the possible problems, so as to minimize the food lossed in her experiments.
"So that is why you used the grains," Astra said thoughtfully. "Using the grains was a good idea. I feel like you just needed better fire control. That would have definitely made the grains much tastier to eat."
"Yeah, I also reflected on that when I ate it," I said, "but that is not the problem. The problem is that the more fruits you use, the more juice there will be. We don't really have anything that will absorb the fruit juice. Well, bread would definitely be able to mop up a lot of juice, but there's no way we can make it work with this dish."
"You're right," Ana said. "I guess I will have to experiment and find something that will be able to mop up a lot of juice, and is small enough to be used in this dish."
"Wait," Astra hurriedly says. "There might be an easier way. Why don't you just break up the bread. You are troubled with its size, so just cut it into a size that is appropriate for use."
"That is a great idea," I say, catching on to what she is doing. She doesn't want Ana to do experiments just to find a certain property. After all, that would ruin a lot of the herbs and vegetables we have in stock. That is why she suggested this. It is a way to temporarily abate her curiosity until winter is over. We still have a month and some weeks left though, so I hope that this idea either works, or can keep her occupied for that long. This has honestly become a big mess that I had made because I didn't wake up one time.
"Well, then I think we should go try this idea out right now," Ana says enthusiastically.
"No," I say. "I mean right now it is my turn to cook for the day. You can wait for your day tomorrow. Also, if it is okay with you, can you limit it to one attempt per cooking day. After all, we are trying to save resources."
"Sure," Ana cheerfully says, "but what will happen to this."
"I'll eat it all," I said. "I was the one who made it, so I have a duty to finish it. Don't worry, none of it will go to waste."
"I will just make my own food for breakfast then," Astra says.
"Same here," Ana agrees.
"I guess I'll still make you guys lunch and dinner, while having these for myself," I say as they leave for the storage area. While they are gone, I continue to eat my portion of the food I created. I was eating slowly, because the taste was horrendous. I took such a long time that Astra and Ana were able to finish making their food before I was done with my portion. I was barely able to finish it at the same time that they finished their food. I already feel horrible having to eat these things again for lunch and dinner. At least it is Ana's turn to cook tomorrow, so I'll have something nice to eat then.
When they finished eating, Astra and Ana left for their rooms, leaving me with the cleanup. I moved the rest of my creations onto a single plate, before taking everything else to wash in the underground river. I made sure to thoroughly clean everything, so no remnants of my creations are left on the plates. I also cleaned Ana and Astras plates, but not that well. Once I had finished all of that, I left the dishes on the river bank to dry, and went to my room. There, I immediately went to do my morning exercises. Surprisingly, I was able to do the normal amount, without feeling tired at all. I decided to check my mana, and found out that it was stable. I had assumed that I would get better soon, but I feel like this was too fast. Maybe something else happened to accelerate the healing process, but I have no idea what that could be. It's not like that matters much anyways.
Once I had finished checking my mana, I began to continue my thought process from last night. So I first began by confirming my thoughts. I believed that my mother had created her own original space spell. This is something that isn't that hard to believe. After all, I have been able to create numerous spells on my own, so I am sure that my mother could do the same. She also had an affinity for space magic, as she had used a teleportation spell to save me from the elf swordsman. However, how could a space spell give her such a qualitative change in combat ability. After all, space magic is most known for its transportation, and isn't known for its ability in battle.
While transporting might sound like it has some uses for attack, there has really been no precedents. The most common thought is to use it to only transport half of a person. However, a space spell will fail if that is the case. It can only work when it is transporting a whole object. So if the body was already cut prior to its use, then the space spell would be able to transport half of a person, but otherwise, it won't work. Another commonly thought of way to use space spells for attack, is to transport a huge mass directly above the attacker, using the weight to crush the opponent. However, this also doesn't really work, since as mana travels, it becomes weaker, so an exorbitant amount of mana would be needed to actually have this effect.
Either way, what I am trying to say is that the only flaw with this idea is the fact that space magic doesn't really have anything to help with combat power. My idea may have worked better if she was able to use time magic. After all, not much is known about time magic, so it wouldn't be shocking for that to lead to a great leap in combat capabilities. Also, it might just explain her fast chanting, as she could have just sped up her time. However, I don't think that is the case. After all, it is extremely rare for someone to have more than one magical affinity. If she really did have an affinity for time, then that would have given her 3 affinites, which is very unlikely.
Even though this idea seems like a dead end, I can't help to think otherwise. After all, it is the best one that I could think of. I'm sure I am just not thinking hard enough, so I continued to think of ways she could use an original space spell to increase her strength. However, I had nowhere to start. Because of that, I didn't really go any farther. I guess I will have to ask someone who has experience with space magic, if I ever want this idea to go any further. I'll just keep this in the back of my mind for the moment.
My stomach rumbled right at the time I decided to shelve this matter for later. I guess I was too focused to realize that it was already lunch time. Not wanting to further bother Astra and Ana on my day to make food, I went down to the storage area, and tried to think of what ingredients I wanted to use. I wanted to splurge, to make up for the horrible meal I had made during breakfast, but if I did that, then our stock would be less, making us have to ration more later on. Wait, that doesn't have to happen as long as I hunt something for us afterwards. I would also like to see the effects my new mana quality will have on my spells, so it would be a perfect excuse.
Upon making all of these self justifications, I decided to go for it. I got out a lot of food, especially meat, and brought it to the kitchen. I didn't do anything extravagant with it, and just decided to cook it normally. Of course, I seasoned it with salt. It wasn't made extravagantly, but there was a lot of food cooked. Once it was all done I separated them into 2 equal portions, before putting them onto plates on the dining room table. I then grabbed a portion of my remaining creations, and also put it on the table.
"Astra, Ana, lunch is ready," I yelled once the dining room had been set.
They quickly came over, and seemed shocked by the amount of food on the table.
"Why is there so much?" Astra asks.
"I wanted to apologize for breakfast," I honestly say.
"But this means we will have to go hunting," Ana laments.
"Don't worry, I'll do the hunting," I proudly say.
"No you are still injured, so you can't do that," Ana quicklys says.
"No," I say, "I am fine. There is no longer an imbalance between my body and mana. I'll be able to go hunting just like normal. In fact, I would like to test out the increase in my mana's quality."
"If you are sure, then you can go, but one of us definitely has to come with you," Astra says tentatively. "After all, we don't know if you are truly healed."
"True," I replied, as I honestly hadn't thought of that possibility. "Well if that truly is the case, then I hope you will protect me."
"We'll do our best," Ana says energetically.
"Okay, but let's eat before our food gets cold," I say upon realizing we have only been talking. My words prompted all of us to start eating the food before us. From their smiling faces, I could tell that they were really enjoying the food. Also, now that my creations had cooled down, they were much easier to eat. That doesn't mean that they tasted any better though, as they still tasted horrible.
"O right Sylvain," Astra said after we had all finished eating. "Can you quickly use your detection spell to find out Diego's position? I didn't ask you before because you were hurt and all."
"Huh. Oh yeah sure. It is good to know our enemies' location." I said before chanting my detection spell. "O spell of wind spread with me as the center to detect my enemies."
"So did you find anything?" Astra asked expectantly.
"No," I exclaimed. "I can't find them with my detection spell."
"They are probably out hunting," Ana replied calmly. "Didn't we rob them of some of their food. Also they shouldn't have had a proper storage area, so they most definitely ran out of food."
"You're right," I said while exhaling, "but just in case, I'll check them out when we go hunting. By the way, who is going to go hunting with me?"
"I will go," Ana immediately volunteered.
"Astra, are you okay with that?" I asked, just to make sure.
"Yeah, I'm good with letting Ana go. Besides, she knows the best ingredients to get."
"Okay, so Ana, when do you want to leave?"
"The sooner the better, right Sylvi. So we should head out immediately."
"Okay, you can go get the magic bag. I'll quickly do the dishes, before we can go. Whoever finishes first should just wait by the cave entrance for the other."
"Okay," Ana says cheerfully as she rushes to go get the magic bag. Shortly after she left, Astra followed. I quickly gathered the dishes used for lunch, and went to the kitchen. Since I recovered, I didn't need to worry about wasting my spells, so I could just use the water jet spell to clean the dishes. Also, going down to the underground river would take some time, and I didn't want to leave Ana waiting for too long.
"O spell of water flow from my hands as a jet to fill my container."
Once I was finished doing the dishes, I laid them out on the tabletop for them to dry, getting water everywhere. The water from the spell had also spread, but it should dry shortly. While thinking so, I left everything as it was, and went to the cave entrance. Ana was already there waiting. She just needed to grab a magic bag, so it was no surprise that she had finished quickly.
"You ready to go?" I ask once we are at the entrance.
"Yes," she said, holding up the magic bag to show she had grabbed it.
"Okay," I say as I chant my spell sword. "O spell of wind, form from my hands a mighty blade that follows my movements to destroy my enemies."
With my spell sword, I began to cut through the snow that was blocking the entrance to our cave. It took a bit of time, since the snow was deep, meaning that I had a lot I needed to dig through. The snow was also loose, so more of it would quickly come in to patch up my hole. Also, I was using a sword, which wasn't really meant to dig through snow. Despite all of this, I was able to successfully dig through the snow. Ana also helped, using her claws, or her water spells to soften up the snow that I was digging through.
Soon enough, we had come up out of the snow. The floor was covered in a thick pile of snow. It was so thick that I was able to touch the branches of the trees we passed, without needing to jump. Also, despite it being winter, the trees didn't shed their leaves. They all had their leaves, despite them being less vibrant than normal. I can only guess that they are being sustained by mana, but that doesn't matter, as it made for impressive scenery. Thick trees, with leaves covered in snow, icicles hanging from the branches and leaves. However, we weren't here to stare at the scenery, and it was also very cold. I didn't grab any extra furs, so I was cold, but I should be fine once I start moving. As if to disprove this idea, a cold draft of wind suddenly blew through, knocking the snow and icicles from the leaves, leaving me colder than before.
"O spell of wind spread with me as the center to detect my enemies."
Having enough, I quickly chanted my detection spell. It didn't get me any hits, since the barrier was still active, but it did serve the purpose of circulating my mana.
"There is nothing nearby, so let's move and see what we an find."
"Yeah, but I feel like we will have an easy time hunting."
"Why do you say that?" I ask as we walk.
"Well, you have the detection spell, so we'll be able to find demonic beasts easily," she replies. "They will most likely be hibernating, which means they are easy to kill. If not, then they would have stored a lot of food, making it worth it to kill them. We'll be getting them, and all the food they have stored to survive the winter."
"Huh, if you put it that way, then doing it at this time is pretty lucrative," I say before adding, "except for the fact that it is cold."
"You are right," she says as she shivers from the breeze that just passed. "If only it were not so cold."
While we were lamenting the cold, my detection spell got a hit.
"We seem to have a hit," I say, "so let's start focusing on the hunt."
"You are right," Ana replies.
With that we begin our hunt in earnest. Most of the demonic beasts that we found were ones that were hibernating. They were a mix of different types, but mostly bear-type demonic beasts. We were able to find some that weren't hibernating, but they were mostly bunny-type demonic beasts. Even though they were food, they were small, so there was not much meat on them. We had also seen them in the summer, but their fur had a different color then. It seems like their fur changes to camouflage into the surrounding, but I am not sure on that since I have only seen them in either white or brown. It could just be that they only come in those two colors. We also found some squirrel-type demonic beasts, mostly in trees. We usually didn't kill them, and only took a portion of their stocked nuts. We were able to finish filling the magic bag quickly due to the extra food gathered from the squirrel-type demonic beasts.
"I think it is time to head back to base," I say. "I still need to cook dinner after all."
"Sure, we have practically filled up the magic bag anyways. First, let's stop by their temporary base."
"True, we have to see what is happening with them. I am honestly shocked that we didn't see them while we were hunting. My detection spell didn't even pick them up at all."
"How can you be sure of that?"
"Because I went to every reaction that my detection spell got, and none of them were Diego and his crew."
"Well, we can only hope that they aren't planning anything big."
"I doubt they are. After all, it is still winter. They are probably just hunting in another location."
With that, we continued the rest of the walk in silence, and soon arrived at Diego's base. However, when we got there, it was obvious that they were missing. The bed of leaves that I had seen before were all covered in snow. Even the building that looked like it was meant to be a storage area had collapsed, and was partially covered in snow. It was obvious that no one was living here anymore.
"So, what do you think of this?" I asked, as I couldn't imagine a reason they would leave.
"I don't know," Ana replies. "All I know is that we need to tell Astra and prepare for what comes next."
"Yes we do." I say as we begin to quickly run back to our home base.