"Sacrest, see if you can hear the sound of water and determine its direction," said Ibnor. Sacrest immediately focuses on his hearing and tries to locate the sound of the water.
"It came from there," said Sacrest after a while, pointing in the northeast direction.
"Edison, try to see if you can locate something that looks like a pond or water source," said Ibnor. Edison Immediately climbed up a tree and scanned the northeast direction. Few moments later, he came down and confirmed the existence of a pond.
"There's a Firmament Spring there," said Ibnor.
"How do you know?" asked Sacrest.
"I can smell it. Firmament Spring gives off a very distinctive smell," Ibnor answered.
"What exactly is this Firmament Spring?" asked Edison.
"Firmament Spring is a water source. The water itself is special since it can be further refined into Firmament Essence. It's a key material in potion making. If you can afford it, Firmament Essence also can be used in cooking as a flavour and nutrients enhancer," Mikail answered.
"They are also useful in blacksmithing. Certain materials like Jace Scorpion's carapace and Horned Python's fangs need to be cured with Firmament Essence before they can be processed into making armor and weapons," Sacrest adds.
"Then, what are we waiting for?" asked Edison. Everyone is looking at Ibnor.
"Unfortunately, Red Tamarin Monkeys usually make their nest near Firmament Spring and on this one, there really are some. Mikail, can you scan how many there are?" said Ibnor. Mikail went for a little reconnaissance.
"What kind of spirit beast is the Red Tamarin Monkey?" asked Aina.
"Small monkeys the size of children. They have sharp claws and fangs with manes like lions but the manes are red. They can grow up to level 20 and they rarely fight but when they do, it will always be the whole horde," said Sacrest.
Soon, Mikail returned and reported that there are around 200 Red Tamarin Monkeys.
"That's troublesome. What do you guys think?" asked Ibnor.
"I say we go," said Sacrest, itching for an action.
"To get the Firmament Essence, I'd even fight 200 level 30 Devil Masked Baboons," said Mikail. Edison is fine with either way. There's only Aina who is still hesitating. Ibnor smiled. He knows a trick in persuading Aina.
"Aina.." Ibnor called her. She looks at Ibnor.
"The Rainbow Carp lives in Firmament Spring," said Ibnor, smiling.
Aina was surprised and a trace of excitement mixed with shyness can be seen in her eyes.
"Fine, let's do it," she said, giving in.
They proceed towards the Firmament spring. Knowing there is no other option rather than head on clashes, they rush with top speed. At first, a few Red Tamarin Monkey scouts shouted at them, giving off warning. But since they ignored the warning calls, the Red Tamarin Monkeys grew agitated and turned aggressive. Even before arriving at the Firmament Spring, they had already been attacked by the Red Tamarin Monkeys.
"Smash and grab?" asked Edison while firing his arrows, shooting a few Red Tamarin Monkeys down.
"We can't. They will hunt us to no end if we don't suppress them. The only way to stop them is to show we are stronger. Only then will they give up this Firmament Spring to us," Ibnor answered.
The Red Tamarin Monkey swarmed them relentlessly non stop from the surrounding area. Ibnor hands randomly caught any Red Tamarin monkey. Legs, hands, tails or even throat. As long as he grabs a hold of them he immediately uses it to smash others.
CRACKED!
A sound of bones getting broken can be heard. Several Red Tamarin Monkeys fall to the ground, whimpering after being knocked to the air by Sacrest with his shield. Mikail, using his still sheathed sword, jabbed and slashed at the Red Tamarin Monkeys, fending them off. Aina defends herself using her sword, also still sheathed while retaliating with her right hand.
The Red Tamarin Monkeys still come at them aggressively, clawing and biting. Multiple red silhouettes flash all around. While individually they are weaker, they are making it up with numbers. This battle is tougher than usual as five of them are not actually trying to kill the Red Tamarin Monkey. They only aim to incapacite or knock them out. However, since the monkeys are too aggressive, they could help but accidentally kill a few during the fight.
"There is no end to this! We have to use lethal force or we'll be done," said Sacrest.
"Wait! Edison, try to see if there is any Red Tamarin Monkey that is slightly bigger than the other," said Mikail.
Edison, with his superior sight, quickly manages to identify a few Red Tamarin Monkeys that are slightly bigger than the other. Upon confirmation from Mikail, Aina rushed and closed in on those bigger Red Tamarin Monkey and quickly finished them off with a slice each, evading the rest along the way. It turned out those bigger Red Tamarin Monkeys are the elder RedTamarin Monkey and after killing them, the Red Tamarin Monkey's aggressiveness dimmed and they quickly went into disorder.
As if surrendering, the Red Tamarin Monkey slowly backed off. After noticing that the group of five did not chase after them, they quickly disappeared into the forest.
"That wasn't so hard," said Sacrest grinning.
"Now what?" asked Edison
"Feel free to get the Firmament Spring water," said Ibnor. "But, I doubt we'll be able to get more than one canteen each.
"Is it enough?" asked Aina.
"More than enough. One small vial of Firmament Spring water cost 100 credits outside and 50AP in the academy. Even with one small vial, one drop diluted into 10 regular bottles can already cure most materials," explain Mikail. "We really have a good harvest today."
"It only gets better," said Ibnor, smiling. "We'll be having Rainbow Carp for dinner tonight. It's almost dusk, let's just camp here tonight. Sacrest, Mikail, can I trouble you two to set up the camp? Edison and I will catch some Rainbow carp. Aina, We'll need your skill for the fish later"
"Sure," reply Sacrest, nodding his head. Finally, the camp has been set up and the Rainbow Carp caught. As Aina was preparing the fish, Ibnor approached her.
"Yes?" ask Aina, staring at Ibnor.
"I know the Rainbow Carp is delicious, and your skill is good… But, do you know how to make it even more delicious?" asked Ibnor with a mischievous smile. Others may not know.. But Ibnor knows Aina is actually a foodie.
"Does it have something to do with the Firmament Spring water?" Aina asked with shining eyes.
"That's a given. But, how?" asked Ibnor, smiling.
"What do you want as an exchange for this information?" she asked with a straight face. Ibnor just gives a chuckle as he knows this is just one of her traits. She dislikes having to owe another person anything.
"What exchange? This is just sharing a recipe between friends," he said before sharing the recipe. The result is better than he expected. Aina skill really boosts the flavour and enhances the nutrient. The moment they savour the fish, even their souls feel lightened. All of their fatigue washed away immediately. Their pore automatically absorbs the surrounding Mana and it makes them feel really comfortable, as if they are having a vacation on a sandy beach instead of camping in the middle of the forest.
After the dinner, all of them went to do their own thing. Sacrest is reading a book while Mikail, who is on guard duty is carving something on a piece of wood. Edison went to his tent and started meditating. Ibnor went for a walk to a hill not far from their camp site. On top of the hills, he gazes at the stars and all sorts of memories flash through his mind.
"This is it, the starting point. After this, I will be walking a different route," he thought to himself.
He felt the burden of history weighing on him. He took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to collect himself. Unknowingly, he drew his dagger and started to practice swordsmanship. It has already been his habit to practice this particular swordsmanship when he is trying to calm himself. He immerses himself deeper, into a trance, performing the swordsmanship.
Aina was pacing around. She doesn't feel right regarding Ibnor simply sharing a recipe with her. A good recipe at that. She feels that she should return the favor.
"But what can I give to him? If it's not at the same value, he might have misunderstood my intention..." she thought to herself. "Ah… he is trying to break through to level 50. I'll just give him a pill that can help to stabilize his condition after he breaks through. Yep, that's it." She walked out of her tent to find Ibnor but couldn't see him anywhere.
"Mikail, do you see Ibnor?" she asked.
"I saw him walking towards that hill," answered Mikail nonchalantly, pointing to the hill.
"Thank you," she said. Mikail just waved his hand saying no problem. As Aina arrived on top of the hills, she no longer had her original intention in mind. When she saw the swordsmanship Ibnor was practicing, she was immediately mesmerized. The swordsmanship was so fascinating to her and it also helped her to gain some inspiration regarding sword skill.
Finishing the last moveset, Ibnor was surprised to see Aina is standing not far from him, looking at him absentmindedly. He smiled and went towards Aina.
"Is that a sword move?" Even before he said anything, Aina already blurted out her question.