"
What the hell.
How am I supposed to get any fighting experience like this?
Sigh…
I guess I can't be too lucky.
I nod.
I'll iron out whatever is wrong with
Wait.
I shouldn't compare myself to this guy in the first place!
He is a genius afterall, he even has a fairy, guys like these are simply unfair.
I stopped comparing myself to Sexta years ago, so why should I let this guy get under my skin?
That's where I have all of my bones, I won't let anyone inside!
They're all mine!
Yeah.
Antonia looks like she isn't sure of what to think, while the mercenary lady looks pleasantly surprised.
"Hahaha!" Anton laughs heartily. "I guess that takes care of that! Is everyone ok?"
I nod.
Antonia seems spaced out for a moment, before lightly slapping her cheeks "I'm fine! But I'm seeing some funky spots now."
"Same here." The ebony girl shrugs.
"That's good." The carefree guy stretches his arms. "Let's take it easy. Makina, can you loot anything good from these?"
"Yes master." The red headed girl nods, and starts walking to the bodies with a knife.
"Let's have a chat you and me." Anton friendly pats the carefree guy's shoulder. "I don't think you told us your name."
"Makoto." The carefree guy laughs nervously. "Sure, let's talk."
"Antonia, stay inside for a bit won't you? I want to talk with Makoto here, so I'll drive the wagon." Without waiting for her to respond, Anton grabs Makoto by the shoulder and they take a seat in the front of the wagon.
Antonia looks really mad, and her face is beet red!
I better not poke a hornet nest.
I go into the wagon, and I get in my usual seat.
Genius-man Makoto is here, so I'll probably not get any action now
The inside of the wagon is darker, just like my feelings…
Antonia sits in front of me with her arms crossed, obviously still mad. "Stupid dad…"
The other two eventually sit down, and before the wagon starts moving, the mercenary sits in the entrance.
The atmosphere is a little tense, but she doesn't seem to care.
"
* * *
Sigh... we spend all day like that.
It was so awkward I wanted to die!
However, I didn't waste any time, I spent most of the day brainstorming ways of fixing
I also have an idea of why it's exploding, it's because I'm using fire instead of water unlike in the original
That's why it's fire.
What does this mean?
I probably won't be able to shoot a fire projectile any time soon…
I'm basically creating a very volatile thing, then bombarding it with even more volatile material.
It's obvious it's going to explode.
But this doesn't mean I can't use
Explosions are bad for one's health after all, I wouldn't want to be in one of those.
Hell, the spell itself is bad for my health!
It's too rough, it'll damage whatever channel I use it in, this is similar to when I was first learning
, I didn't understand the spell and I ended up breaking my arm trying to practice it.I have to coat my arm with mana, then combine it with metal element to turn
So
This is barely even a setback.
But that's enough of that for today.
We're camping for the night.
Most of us probably won't have a problem spending a few sleepless nights, but the horses are not the same.
This Anton guy probably should've invested more money into stronger magical beasts, at a minimum some walker birds or cupri monitors should be better, right?
They don't have a lot of cargo though, maybe this operation is a lot smaller than I originally thought.
That Genius-man Makoto is also tired from casting spells all day, he's already sleeping like a log.
Well, it doesn't really matter, spending the night camping is neat, and I know what to do now if I ever have to do it again.
And if I get my way, that will be often.
The mercenary lady is the one cooking tonight, she's using the fungi tortoise and nimbus eagle meat as ingredients for some sort of stew that doesn't look appetizing at all.
We aren't using the big locust though, we only found one of those the whole way, and everyone was against cooking it.
I thought it looked tasty though.
I'm taking extensive mental notes of the process she's using to make it, since it's the first time I've ever seen someone cook something.
Genius-man Makoto graciously donated some of his hard earned meat.
Bleh, I really got unlucky, having to share a caravan with this guy.
What does he need a caravan for anyway?
He's strong enough to deal with whatever he finds around, and if he isn't, we sure as hell are not going to be of any help.
Whatever, getting mad about it won't help anything.
Happy thoughts…
Boobs…
Thighs…
Milk…
Hehehe…
"Hey." Someone roughly grabs my shoulder.
Geh!
I almost jumped from fright.
It's that Timotei guy.
"The food is ready, go get some before it gets cold." He says while eating some stew.
I nod, and go serve myself some of the soup, making sure to get some big chunks of meat.
…
It's not as good as the food in the clan, but it's not bad at all, it has a very strong nutty flavor and the texture of the meat is a little chewy, I like it.
The mercenary has a smug grin plastered all over her face, "It's good, isn't it?"
I give her a thumbs up. "Yeah, it's really good."
Timotei nods. "I agree, you have quite the talent for cooking."
"This is way too good!" Antonia finished her portion in a single gulp, and she looks incredibly delighted, as if she had eaten the most delicious thing ever. "It's a tragedy you only cooked this much!"
"Oh, you flatterers." She tries to act humble, but she's clearly enjoying the praise. "The secret is not to cook the fungi tortoise like meat, but like a mushroom instead."
"That's so weird!" Antonia looks like everything she believed up to this point has been a lie. "How does that even make any sense?!"
"They are mushrooms after all." I happen to know a thing or two about these darn things.
Antonia looks even more surprised, and even a little worried. "No way that's true, they're turtles! Very cute turtles! How can they be mushrooms!"
The mercenary woman has an amused expression on her face. "It's true, it's easy to identify mushroom monsters because they make those sparks whenever they use magic."
I add, "Another way to know is by the number of affinities a monster has, if it has 5 or 4 it's an animal, if it has 1 or 2 it's a plant, and if it has 3 is a mushroom." I'm not a mushroom though. "Fungi tortoises have affinities for the metal, light, and wood elements, but that's it, no fire or water."
Timotei nods "Not only that, but mushroom monsters have no blood, and instead have a goldenish liquid called Ichor instead, isn't that right young lady?" Timotei looks at Makina, Makoto's slave.
She nods. "That's right, it's pretty gross…" The poor girl is drenched in a yellow liquid.
"Ah! no way, no way! But they were so cute!" Antonia looks like she's holding back a torrent of tears, but after a moment she looks extremely mad! "THEY'RE LITERALLY CALLED FUNGI TORTOISES! HOW DID I NOT NOTICE THAT!?" She angrily stands up and starts kicking a nearby tree.
I better not make that girl mad, she's dangerous!
But she's cute and has a really nice ass…
This is a risky train of thought, her father is right here.
I have an idea!
"I don't think I've asked your name." I turn to the mercenary woman, a much safer target!
"Feel free to call me either Marceline or Aurora, both names are fine." Marceline says in a casual way as she unashamedly checks out Antonia's ass.
*Shuffle*
I hear something moving in the bushes.
I'm not the only one, everyone else also did.
The atmosphere suddenly shifts as everyone gets ready for a fight, except for Makoto, who's still sleeping like a log.
"Oh, Danny boy~"
A womanly voice fills the air, as she sings a lullaby.
"The pipes, the pipes are calling~"
Timotei immediately runs towards the direction of the voice with a spear on his hand.
But I'm losing my strength, and I think everyone else is too.
"From glen to glen, and down the mountain side~" She doesn't stop, as if whoever is singing didn't have any other care in the world.
I fall to my knees, I can barely hold my weight.
Everything is going dark…
"The summer's gone, and all the flowers are dying~
'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide~"