August explained his abilities to Alia in detail the next morning, from the cursed passive abilities to the amazing active power he discovered.
The red haired girl nodded along to his explanations, clearly still pondering something as she had the night before.
"So those orbs can be turned into weapons?" She asked him.
Looking down at the remaining five orbs in his lap, he nodded.
"Yes, and armors as well."
"Could you perhaps, make one for me?"
This question was not outlandish, though it came as a bit of a surprise to him. It was then August realized he knew nothing of what abilities the girl herself was capable of using.
"Why?" He asked her "Something to do with your own ability?"
"Yes" Alia confirmed "one of my skills makes me incredibly talented at the sword, though whatever brought us here neglected to give me one to use, so I haven't been able to test it."
Looking back down at the orbs, August thought about what choice he should make. Giving her a weapon was definitely both the smart and kind thing to do, considering she watched over him, and that she apparently had a skill suited for it
Stealing a glance, he saw Alia looking at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. Then he focused back onto the cold orbs in his lap.
The six orbs had come from corpses, which meant it was not as though he could create as many weapons as he wanted. To top it off, August did not know what other limitations were placed on this ability, the gun incident showed that the tutorial did not tell him every last detail.
Whatever had brought them here clearly had either an issue with August or technology, considering he had awoken in a forest, and he had been cursed.
All in all, though he wanted to hoard them for himself, it simply wouldn't be a smart decision. Returning attention to the red haired girl who waited patiently for his answer, he asked.
"A sword? Is there anything I have to keep in mind?"
The time August spent mulling over her question must have made her a bit uneasy, but Alia quickly attempted to backtrack.
"No no, don't worry, those orbs must be valuable. I understand if you can't just hand one over."
August shook his head.
"Just give me the specifics."
~~~~~~~
After creating the sword for Alia, August used the other four orbs to create swords. At first he contemplated attempting a more complex weapon, or even a piece of armor, but he eventually decided against it.
August didn't know what would happen if he failed to perfectly envision the weapon he wanted, and he didn't want to use his currently limited supply to test it.
The next full day after creating the sword was uneventful, they spent most of their time in the clearing, chatting and sharing stories with each other. They only wandered out when August got hungry, looking for berries or anything that could be eaten.
Alia herself seemed to lack the ability to starve, allowing him to take all the edible things they discovered in the area surrounding the clearing.
Alia shared stories of her life in London, her family and the multitude of different extracurricular activities she had done, ranging from soccer and badminton to fencing and dance.
August also noticed that whenever she spoke of her family, her tone would perk up, only to fall into a somber tune. He sympathized and chose not to press, he knew the feeling well.
He talked about his parents the same way.
The red haired girl told August about the time she spent exploring the forest, what to do, and how to handle the dangers that lurked within.
That night, they talked deep into the night, Alia had clearly been starving for human interaction. Not like he could blame her.
Two months surrounded by monsters, corpses and a single sleeping person you aren't even sure will wake up….'
He couldn't help but feel sorry for the red haired girl, she was no doubt lonely, yet she didn't let it show for more than brief glimpses.
They fell asleep lying a few feet apart, passing out in the middle of their conversation.
On the second day, August saw the danger she had warned him about.
While they were picking berries from a tall tree with black bark– one of the few they could reliably eat from. The sound of steps nearly made August fall from the tree.
From the towering tree, August clutched at nothing and almost lost his footing, only failing to fall to his death due to Alia grabbing the back of his tank top whilst clutching the tree branch overhead..
Face down from this height in a swaying tree, August did not enjoy the sight.
A large, hulking creature that looked like an armored rhinoceros stomped by below them, moving in the direction of the clearing. Stopping about fifty or so meters away, sniffing the air, then turning back.
Needless to say, nobody wanted to continue picking.
They spent a bit more time sitting on the branch of the towering tree, both silently enjoying the view of the dark forest and the sun setting Blue the horizon.
After confirming the beast was gone, they chatted a bit more before descending and returning to the clearing, traveling through shrubs and trees to stay out of sight.
That night Alia was more quiet than usual, the red haired girl was already quiet. August had observed her leaning against a tree and looking out into the distance more than a fair share already, but it was different this time.
Walking over to where she sat, in a small area devoid of leaves. He stood over her, not saying a word.
"What is it?" She turned her attention from the sky and towards him.
"What's wrong with you?" He asked.
The girl looked away from him again, taking a deep breath.
"Today, that creature came closer than it ever has."
August suddenly felt a pang of unease, but swallowed it to continue pressing.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
Alia released the breath she had taken before replying.
"It's testing the area, August, when it realizes that whatever it thinks killed those people isn't here, it will come knocking."
Is there was ever a way to make a bad situation worse, they had just run into it.
"So we need to leave, as soon as possible." He said.
She shook her head.
"And go where?"
Alia was right, they had no way of knowing what direction led them out of the forest. Even from the tallest treetops, it stretched for miles in each direction. Wandering out of the only safe haven they knew of, with only hopes and horrors lurking, might be even more idiotic than staying to die here.
The plan was to make a daring escape of course, but a daring escape without an escape route could very easily go wrong.
August grit his teeth. "So what do you suggest? Staying here to die?"
Alia set her glare on him. "Giving it a reason to be afraid, we're going to kill it."
"Excuse me?" He said bewildered "what part of that behemoth back there looked killable to you?"
"It's a living, breathing creature, they die all the time."
Her monotonous way of speech not only made her sound confident, but almost reasonable, still outrageous, but reasonable nonetheless. Even though that was true, he still wasn't in the business of trying to kill giant monsters.
"Regardless of what you say or believe, we can't kill that thing!" August was losing his composure, clearly more than a bit frustrated.
"Keep your voice down, and what other choice do we have?" Alia spat out.
August bit his tongue, but didn't argue.
The red haired girl, no doubt noticing she had won the battle, asked him another question.
"Now will you help me plan or not?"