When Elmo finished explaining what he learned about the sword, Kim couldn't help but eel a bit of a headache. Not so much about all that the sword was now capable of, but largely because how one of the skills wasn't available to use.
Disabled? Kim asked herself. What the hell is that about?
Yet, she knew going off on Elmo wouldn't help the problem. It might make her feel a little better, but it wasn't like it'd get the 'disable'' aspect of that skill to go away.
If nothing else, she figured she'd need to deal with her tutorial to figure that out eventually. That it'll be merely something she'll need to work out to see if she could at least get it so it was possible to use some of the time. As she had her suspicions on who disabled it and why.
All through the time that they prepared their breakfast and even a while after, Kim did her best to keep it off her mind. As this wasn't the time to deal with it.
"So, any changes about where we're heading?" Jonas asked as they started heading back upriver.
"Not really," Kim answered absently. "We haven't come across anything to indicate we should head anywhere else."
Jonas shrugged. "Well, it's not like we've found anything along here," he remarked.
Kim could only roll here eyes. She could tell his subtle attempt to indicate that they should take a different path, likely one that led out of the canyon, for what it was. Not that she was really surprised. He didn't make a secret of it before and Kim would have been shocked if something had occurred while they had been separated that would have changed his view on that.
"We're not on our original path, either," Elin remarked.
"Why's that?" Jonas asked.
Elin shrugged. "We're not really sure. We didn't even realize it until we'd come across a narrow opening in the canyon wall."
"It's barely wide enough for us to walk through," Kim said flatly. "You and Elmo might be able to walk through sideways, but we also can't say how far back it goes or whether or not it goes somewhere other than a dead end."
Jonas nodded, looking like he was taking what Kim said seriously. "If that's the case, then maybe we should at least send someone through, if only just a little. Maybe we can find out if it does go somewhere we can use. Whoever we send won't need to go very far. Maybe five minutes or so."
"Why? It'd be a waste of time if there's nothing," Kim returned. She really didn't care to do discuss this, but she could tell that Jonas wasn't going to let this go.
"Why not? Even if there isn't anything back there, at least we'll know. At least we can keep it in mind in case it ever becomes useful."
Kim sighed. She'd really like to not deal with this, but she accepted that she wouldn't always be able to get what she'd prefer. She'd learned that long ago when…
Kim looked away from the others and started off into the sky. She couldn't say what that thought was. It was like the thought had moved on into her mind, not letting her push it out so she could focus on things that were more important. Such as finding the fire dragon. Though, the longer it was taking, the lower the chances of actually doing that before any of they could.
Kim shook her head, trying to clear her head. She looked at Jonas. "Just because we don't know what's there, doesn't mean we should take a look. We probably don't have much time before someone else slays that fire dragon, so I think we need to figure out where it is so we can at least be part of those who will be fighting it then."
Jonas nodded, looking like he was taking Kim's response seriously. "As far as we know, the fire dragon is just down that trail," Jonas argued. "Since we don't know where the fire dragon is right now, it could easily be up this river where we're going as easily as where we left Guy to build that city. If we don't know where it is, then it shouldn't matter where we look. Any place is as good as another."
Kim sighed, feeling like Jonas really wasn't understanding what she was trying to get at. While it was entirely possible that the fire dragon could be down that trail, the likelihood was so small as to be negligible. The areas that she considered most likely that the dragon would be was this canyon. There might be some other parts of the mountains that it may have gone, but she didn't see them being able to find those places very quickly.
The canyon was immense, from what they'd been able to see when they had been on top of the walls of the canyon. They also hadn't seen any sign of anyone else around, so she had a feeling everyone else was closer to it than they were. Or at least those who aren't interested in completing challenges.
"How about we put it to a vote?" Kim asked, feeling like this would be the best resolution for this matter. "When we reach it, Elin and I can point it out, then we'll put it to a vote and see what the majority decides."
"Why take it to a vote?" Jonas asked, sounding curious. "You can't control what the results will be."
"Neither will you," Kim returned. "We're not going to get anywhere debating it like this, so if we don't do something, it's really not going to get resolved."
Jonas sighed. "Yeah, I guess you have a point. Though, how far away is it? Shouldn't it be nearby?"
"Depends on what you mean, by 'near," Kim remarked with a grin. "From where you and Elmo decided to take a swim, it's near, but it'll still be maybe a day's travel. Though, it might be less, since we'll be moving a little quicker than Elin and I had been moving."
"Why so fast?" Elmo asked. Then as Kim and Jonas looked at him, he looked like he regretted speaking up, even though Kim was confident she wasn't glaring at him or anything. Though, Kim partly wondered if his reaction might have become either a habit or a conditioned response.
"Because we won't be searching for both of you," Kim answered calmly, not seeing a reason to try and unsettle him more than he already was. "That alone should help us move a lot faster."
Elmo looked like he expected her to attack him for a minute, but slowly nodded after. Kim wondered if maybe she should start being 'nice' to Elmo. The way he was acting towards her was already starting to get rather annoying.
"As we walk, would all of you do me a favor and leave me alone?" Kim asked, not wanting to deal with the others. Largely because she'd like to discuss with her tutorial what was going on with her sword's new 'skill.'
She didn't expect any objections, but felt she should at least say something so they'd at least know they shouldn't approach her. Though, if it was important, she was confident they'd still bother her. Which she'd prefer. She just didn't really see anything like that realistically happening right then.
Taking a deep breath Kim thought about her tutorial. [Tutorial,] she said in her mind. [What can you tell me about my sword's new skills?]
[Look, I'm not in the mood for your games and run around answers. I'm wanting to know about the skill that's 'disabled.' Why the hell is it disable?]
Kim felt like rolling her eyes at that response. It was complete bull because each of them had a system and some would be able to use their abilities from the systems that gave them advantages over each other, regardless of what it was. It balanced out because they'd be able to do the same to each other.
[If that's the case, then why aren't some of our skills 'disabled?' Take Jonas' Keen Eyes for example. He can see things much farther than anyone else can, so why wouldn't that be 'disabled?' It can help him find the fire dragon much more easily than I can.]
Kim felt only a slight annoyance at the fact that her tutorial didn't have a response right away. The fact it needed to 'think' about it felt like it was trying to get her upset, which she couldn't see the reason for that, especially since it wasn't like she'd had a lot of interaction with the tutorial to begin with.
Kim felt like screaming when she heard that. If nothing else, it let her know that at least part of her suspicions were true. That it had been 'disabled' by those in charge of this competition. Which meant this was going to be a large headache for her, since there's no telling how long it might take before it could get fully resolved.