Several hours have passed since then and Lucet was kind enough to hand me over the voidling core to absorb. Overall there are two ways to take in the core of a monster. You can meditate and draw out all of the frin inside which acts as an amplifier for your frin canals.
The second way to absorb it is to infuse it with your Frin Core. It is really common to fuse with a core, so much so that there are markets entirely dedicated to monster cores. Honestly, getting my hand on such a good orb was incredibly lucky. (''Lucet do you have any idea what tier was Void?'')
(''Is Void the barbaric woman that attacked you? If so then I would estimate A- bordering A. Rare to find a monster like her just walking around though.'') She leaned on the side of the cart, holding her face with the palm of her hand, pondering about god knows what. She was pristine even when in thoght, like a true goddess.
Well either way, I've been sucking out a small amount of frin to test out how it affected my veins and core. The reaction was a lot more intense than written in tomes but it was manageable. I would drain more out of it, only problem with that is that if I ever wanted to I wouldn't be able to fuse with it again. It is like a charged battery, if you use up everything inside of it, it becomes obsolete.
(''Here we are.'') His voice was devoid of emotion but you could tell he was trying to convey some sort of feeling.
(''Wha-'') Just a hundred meters or so laid the sandy dunes that spread seemingly endlessly. We weren't supposed to be here!?
(''Lucet how are we here?!?!'')
(''Abby, seriously. We are in a carriage drawn by horses. On top of that you've been asleep for an entire day. Of course we would've progressed further.'') Well at least that answers that question.
Still, if we go by cart, we should have a few more days to rest around the town before the competition actually starts. I've heard so much about food cooked in Bitum. Apparently it houses the second best restaurant in the world. Which is no thing to scoff at, their food is said to be second only to the maset in the east. We brought plenty of funds to keep us alive for the duration of our stay. I just hope we don't splurge everything on food…
Wait a second. I've been asleep for a whole day? How did we sleep in this cart? (''Lucet I have another question if you don't mind.'')
Her head turned from the wall of leaves. (''What is it deary?'')
Yuck. (''I was wondering how we slept in the cart since there are no blankets to keep us all warm. Did you by chance use the tent inside of my bag?'') It must have been really cold during the night and I can't imagine a goddess being unprepared for this trip.
An eerie smile crept across her lips. (''How you ask? Below you there is a panel that you can lift up, under there are blankets inside along with a portable heater crystal.'')
I stood up. Below me was indeed a removable panel with three large blankets folded neatly. On the side there was a small box where I suppose the crystal would be. The panel fit right into place with a silent thud.
A shiver ran up my spine though, turning my head I could see her smile baring its fangs into my body. (''But gosh Abby. You were so rough in the night while we cuddled. You nearly-'')
(''NOPE. Nope. Didn't happen. You are wrong. Incorrect.'') I'm learning that there really is no limit to how flirty this goddess was.
(''Alright alright. Yeah I was kidding about cuddling. But you did reach for me in your sleep. You even managed to pull me close to you.'') At this point she was almost drooling, trying to remember my sins from slumber. This is troublesome.
(''Guess this is just the charm us gods have~'')
I should stop trying to converse normally with her. It will lead to nothing but blushing and possible nose bleeds.
Alia who had been steering this entire time looked rather lonely, my stomach churned at the thought of him being lonesome the entire time. But what exactly could I talk to him about?
(''Master Abaddon, I can feel your eyes on me. If you wish to chat you may come sit beside me.'') His formality took me by surprise, even causing Lucet to giggle. Though, I rather not even guess what must be going on through her mind.
The front two seats on the cart were cushioned with stuffed pillows. Instantly a relief spread across my body as my spine decompressed. Wind blowing through my hair while I relax admiring nature. This is the life!
I turned to Alia. (''We haven't a chance to actually talk. I thought it would be a good opportunity to get to know eachother.'') Though my words seemed strange to him he nodded in agreement, leaving a smile across my face.
(''Very well, what is it you would like to converse about? Perhaps the weather?'') Yeesh, almost like a robot. I mean, this is what I thought Lucet would've been like, never thought a goddess could be such an unpredictable person.
(''I was thinking more about telling me about yourself. Like, how old are you?'')
He paused for a second, his face revealing very little about what was going through his mind. (''A few hundred thousand years, the calendar hadn't been invented so I can not give you an exact date.'')
Why did I bother asking that. He clearly has been alive for long enough to know this goddess. I have to give him some credit, I'm already losing my mind after talking to her for a day, I can't imagine what he had to go through.
(''Well, how about… What hobbies do you have? Is it there anything entertaining from where you come from?'') That is a basic enough question right? No way that he can answer strangely, right?
Once more he paused, this time longer than before. (''I normally stick by the goddess' side as I am her sole supervisor. But I do occasionally get some time off in which me and the housemaids tend to go fishing in the sky lakes.'')
Progress! This is what I'm talking about, I can feel us growing closer already. Though I am not an expert at fishing, the elder chief had taken me and Zeraf several times to catch fish.
(''What kind of fish swim those waters? Sky Treaders? I've heard those are quite delicious!'')
(''Sky Treaders are fairly common up in Runedar. My rarest catch was an Artemis Fin. It was the greatest thing I've tasted in my entire existence. We had gotten the worlds greatest chef in the east to prepare the meal for the goddess and I.'')
At the corner of his mouth I could make out a slight curve upwards, it was the first time this whole trip he even showed a sliver of emotion. I'll make sure by the end of our adventure I can see a full face of emotions. I know that smile of his will be more enchanting than any sunset.
(''What about you Master Abaddon? What hobbies do you partake in?'') Still a little stiff with the master prefix, I'll overlook it for now, baby steps.
Shit. What exactly should I say? My head is buried in piles of books all the time, which is nothing to brag about. How about food? No, that would make me seem like a glutton.
With my pause growing longer by the second I started to feel a coldness embrace me with its icy fangs. I now understand the saying, breaking the ice.
(''Well uhm…I spend most of my time practising spells, though sometimes I go hunting in the wild with our town elder.'') Not entirely true but also not totally false.
(''Really? I must've been wrong about you master, you reminded me of a bookworm. I really admire the lengths some go in order to enhance and evolve their understanding of the world.'')
Do I seem like that much of a nerd? How am I ever going to impress Zeraf and Lucet-
What just crossed my mind? Impress who? Surely I didn't think of Lucet as a potential partner. That is not possible. Not because of her personality…but she is a goddess.
The bumps in the road yanked me right out of my thought filled head. It started with small unnoticeable tremors, or so I assume. Tremors are never a good occurrence as they hold many meanings depending on where in the world you are.
In the mountains it means a rockslide would soon pummel boulders on any unfortunate passer-bys.
In the plains and jungles it signifies the earth moving and shaping through either erecting mountains or creating grand ravines.
But in the desert a shaking ground only means one thing…Sand Serpents!
The largest and most dangerous monster type in the Howling Desert has surrounded us!
(''Get ready for the battle!'')