It’s a beautiful sunny day and I get launched into a rock wall. Ouch, Ted, can’t you be gentler? You are getting better at martial arts but I have the feeling you got sent flying because you tried something pointless…
What do you mean? I was taking things seriously! To me, it looked like you dropped your stance to go for a weird counter, messed up, and got sent flying.
Well, you get full points on this sparring match besides that last blunder you made. In the beginning, you were quite hopeless after I told you to stop abusing your speed in sparring matches but now it looks like you can defend yourself even without it. Raishin however… We looked at Raishin who was passed out on the floor from an earlier sparring match where Ted kicked his ass.
He did improve but it’s just that he barely got over the requirement I wanted him to reach… So, we can finally go visit restaurants? I mean cafes? I mean cities? Is food the only thing you can think of?
Of course, not there is! …. Going back home! You just had to seriously think of something there, didn't you…
You are overthinking! So where do we go next? Uhh well, I have never been to the Igrini kingdom so I don’t know what there is to do here. Gregory took out his map.
Well since we have no idea where to start in finding our way back home, I suggest we head over to Scasarras. The capital of Igrini kingdom. How far is it?
Hmm if we walk it might take months if we take the Agnis express only a week. Ugh, both options suck.
Well, we are due for restocking so we have to do that first, then we can follow the Aurelia river through the forest of Cnidaria, restock again in a village or town, and head over to Ainahs, which is a city close to the capital. We could rest there and look around because it will be our first city and then head over to Scasarras. Ugh, what happened? When did I pass out? You got your ass kicked.
Again?! You know that that’s your own fault, right? Since Raishin just woke up I suggest we get ready and head over to the nearby village to restock, we will leave tomorrow. Sounds good! We packed up our goods and Gregory and I erased all signs that we ever camped here. I made sure nobody was spying on us before I used what my buddies call ‘Agnis Express’ and brought us close to the next village where we would walk to avoid drawing attention. We weren’t in the mountains anymore and we were also more down south so it was warmer than we were used to. It was also late summer.
So, we finally get to see chicks! Ehh, I mean women! I mean a village! … … … Hey come on guys, ellipses aren't a dialogue option!
Hey, is it really a good idea to bring Raishin into that village? Poor, poor villagers… We have no choice, maybe enough exposure will calm him down, he hasn't seen a chick in almost 7 months. Yeah! I want to at least meet and date a chick before or at my birthday!
Right, your birthday is near the end of the month. Hehe, how does it feel Agnis? Soon you will be the only one who’s still 12 years old!
It’s not like age seems to make you wiser so it’s no big deal. Oof, is it time to roast him again? We’re getting close to the village, behave yourselves, guys.
Yes, dad. Yes, dad. I swear I will kick your asses more later on! We entered the village. It was way smaller than Boshi town. A quick scan and there were a bit over 1000 people in this village.
Hey, this place is quite small are we even able to restock here? We don’t need much; we have already managed to get some food from some farms.
Farming the farmers, eh? Gregory smacked me.
We are trying to see if we can get you 2 some shoes, especially you Agnis. I looked at my shoes and they looked like they could poof out of existence at any moment. There wasn't much wrong with Raishin’s shoes, but he used to have 3 sets, but due to reckless behavior he only has one set left.
So, you guys went from vaporizing mountains to vaporizing shoes, even though it is a good development, I wish that you would stop vaporizing stuff… Hey! I’m not doing that on purpose! But at least I have an excuse! This guy on the other hand… It couldn't be helped.
What do you mean it couldn't be helped? Why would you use your shoes as fishing bait? Agnis still had fish in his dimensional pocket! Recreational purposes!
So why your shoes? Well, you know how in cartoons they always fish out shoes right? Well, someone has to put them there! You can't be serious…
What about your other pair? Well, you banned me from using magic so how am I supposed to make a fire?! He has a point there.
A point?! He set his shoes on fire to make a campfire! There are enough combustible materials all around us! Well, his shoes also fall into that category!
Ugh, why did I even bother… At least Agnis has a valid reason, I don't even know how he managed to keep this pair intact for so long. Doing my best here but these shoes are fine though… Everyone looks at my shoes.
These are anything but fine… How do these things even stay on your feet? You might as well walk bearfooted, eh get it? Haha Agnis, you’re such a weirdo. We all look at Raishin.
What? I got ignored... Never mind. Do they even sell shoes in this small place?
Only one way to find out now behave you two. We entered the village which seemed quite busy. Most villagers kept doing their own thing but some stared at us. Ted went to ask some villagers if there was a place where we could buy shoes.
It seems they have a cordwainer a bit further up. A what? Is that edible?
Did you guys forget already that we came here to buy shoes? That’s the name of a shoemaker? Who even still uses that word?
These people do apparently, let’s go. We got to a small house and entered the shoemaker shop. I refuse to use that dumb word Ted just used.
“Ooh, I haven't seen you lads around, where did you come from and how can I help?” Good afternoon, we are some wanderers looking to buy some shoes for these two. Ted points at our feet and the shoemaker leans over and looks.
“Oh, that lad needs a pair badly, let me see what I can do for you.” He approaches us, measures our bare feet and has some weird things to put on our soles. I assume to use it as a reference. “Right since you guys are quite young, I will have to take your growth into consideration. Give me a moment.” The shoemaker went to the back and seemed to be getting some shoes for us. “I don’t know where you guys are from but my shoes aren't as modern as the ones you seem to be wearing so apologies.” That is fine, they just need something for their feet, it surely beats going barefoot.
“I have these shoes for you two.” The shoemaker put 12 sets in front of us. Most looked normal but 2 looked quite odd. I will take this one and this one.
“Oh, a great choice” These 2 look cool I will take them! Uhm, Raishin are you sure? We know you’re a clown but you don't have to dress like one too… It’s pointless to try and convince him… How much for these shoes?
“3 silver” Wait 3 silver for 4 sets of shoes? Are you sure? It sounds… cheap.
“That is fine, I kind of like you guys and you’re just kids so pay it no mind.” I motioned to Ted to distract Raishin. That is kind of you but there is no need for that. I gave the shoemaker 10 silver. He looked at it as if he never had seen 10 silver in his life. I put on one of the pairs of shoes I just bought. They smelled like leather and were quite comfy. They are not exactly my style but they look good enough and comfort is the most important part anyway.
“Oh, Thank you so much!” Don’t worry about it. We went outside and Raishin put on his new pair of shoes. Oh, they feel a bit weird. I am not sure what you were expecting… Let’s walk these shoes in. We started walking to our next objective which seems to be a huge forest. We headed toward the Aurelia river. Raishin seemed to have issues walking comfortably in his new shoes.
Maaan who thought it would be a great idea to make this place so far? Stop complaining, you did this to yourself with those weird shoes! We all looked at his shoes and they weren’t exactly clown shoes but they looked a bit like clogs with various colors, they seemed quite rigid but they had some flexibility. The tip of his shoes also seemed heavy so it seemed to be quite a challenge to walk in. Maybe we could make him earn some money in the city by performing as a jester, I'm sure he could pull it off.
Can’t we go there with the Agnis express? And make him vaporize his new pair of shoes? Let’s not do that. Yeah, these shoes are quite comfy. We kept following the river throughout the day ignoring Raishin's complaints. The sun had already set and we were planning to set up camp. During these 7 months, I took it upon myself to cover our tracks and be the scout. Since my Elgards eyes are overpowered, I don’t have to physically go out and scout areas out but I still like to do that from time to time. I didn't this time.
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I see some people further down the river that have made a camp, do I go and take them out? No! Let’s just join their camp, maybe we can get some useful information.
Meh, I don’t want to deal with other people. Ooh, are there any chicks?
No, only 4 men, they all seem human and in their mid-thirties. Meh. I don’t know if this is a good idea, maybe we should avoid them and camp somewhere else. I think we could learn some things from the people here, let’s go
If they make one wrong move, they're going to meet their maker. Stop being so hostile! Nothing will happen. We approached the 4 men having made camp and I noticed that they pretended to not notice us approaching. We were still a good 200 meters from their camp in almost the complete dark but they seemed to have noticed us already. I guess that's just an adventurer thing. We walked toward the camp, well except for Raishin. I don’t know what to call it but it wasn't walking. Why can’t this guy do anything normal?
Good afternoon gentlemen, do you mind if we join you on this lovely evening?
“Huh, what are these brats doing here?”
“Hey, Patrick, aren't those?”
“It’s them! We finally found them!”
“Let’s get them! We finally found them after almost 6 years!” This doesn't sound good… So how about making them meet their maker? Hey, gentlemen, I’m sure we can talk this out! I swapped myself with Ted and blocked a sword slash with my potato peeler 3.0. Gregory locked their shadows down which was easy because it was nighttime.
“What?! I can’t move!” Nice one Greg! Now about this thing, you guys said about ‘finally finding us’ what exactly do you mean? I approached them while Ted kept an eye on the men that looked most likely to escape Gregory’s [Shadow Bind].
“Ha as if we would tell you!” Hey dudes. The men we captured looked at me.
“Shit! Don’t look into his eyes!” Interesting, it seems they know what your eyes can do. Well, this is gonna hurt as hell but the lack of information could cost us our life so here, we go. I used the same technique I used to convince the two men in Raishin’s hut in the original timeline back in Boshi town. I also dropped some illusion layers on them to convince them they are talking to someone they trust. One of my best friend, named headache, returned and my eyes started to hurt like hell. Alright, gentlemen what is the status of your objective?
“Wait! Emute Aer! We can explain! We haven't been able to find our targets for almost 6 years! There is no trace of them! It is as if they don't exist!” Hmm, interesting, so you are telling me that I lied to you and gave you an impossible mission and send you after ghosts?
“Nonono! We would never doubt you!”
“Yeh! What Hubert said!” Good, now remind me what was your mission again, and make sure to not forget any detail about your progress. He is really good at this… Shhht!
“O... Of course! We were supposed to catch the youngest offspring of the calamity trio and their friend and return them to you before they got too old for us to handle.”
“Yeah, and since the disappearance of Hourai, we couldn't locate them! No sign of them anywhere! None of the other spies and assassins could find them either. We know that Edea’s son is adept at illusions and deception but even Calvin who can use shadow magic and illusions couldn't find anything! Right, Calvin?” They looked at a scrawny blonde-haired guy. I signaled to Gregory and Ted to pay more attention to this Calvin. He might be able to break out and make things difficult.
“Uhh, yeah, hey guys I don’t remember returning back to the Lasha volcano.” Ugh, my eyes, Ted, knock them out. Ted and Gregory knocked the men out and I applied ice to my eyes.
Right, this is quite interesting, it seems we are wanted by probably whoever attacked Hourai. Ugh. Are you alright?
Yeh So these guys are stalking us? Can't say I’m happy with this…
It’s not just stalking, they need to bring us to the Lasha volcano, I don’t know where that is though, do you have any idea, Ted? Hmm, I haven't heard about it either, as far as I know, there aren't any volcanoes on this side of the continent.
Are you sure? There is one now not far from Boshi town. He’s not wrong you know. Hehe, we left a legacy behind at Boshi town! So, what do we do with this information?
We annihilate everyone who could be spies and assassins! Hmm, unfortunately, I think that is the best course of action, especially because that seems to be their profession, we got lucky here but it might get problematic if we get ambushed. But I thought we couldn't get ambushed because of Agnis’ illusion to hide us.
They can still accidentally stumble on us and if they spot us first, we could get ambushed, I’m doing my best but I can't keep my Elgards eyes active 24/7. Ugh, I can't believe that trying to be a normal person backfired on us so swiftly… Well unfortunately we are anything except normal. Gregory looked at Raishin and Ted and I nodded.
Hey! You guys are weirdos too! I beg to differ! My race is quite common here!
Mine too! You know that’s not true Raishin.
So, what do we do now? They did make a camp for us. Yeah, how nice of them, lets tie them up and cast some binding spells and curses on them and sleep. Personally, I don't feel comfortable keeping them here even when cursed and tied up. Gregory finished binding and placing curses on our prisoners.
Oh, easy fix then. I dragged them to the river, froze a raft, and threw them on it.
Lucky stalkers, they get a cool boat ride… You can join them if you want.
No thanks! You can’t just drop them on a boat and let them float down the river! Why not? It’s easy! I kicked the boat and it floated off with its 4 bound and cursed passengers.
Good riddance. Come on Ted, you surely would prefer this over killing them. Ugh, fine. We relaxed in our new camp.
Phew, it's still quite warm during the night, you made that boat out of frost magic, right? Uhm, yeah sure!
I need to sleep before you give me a worse headache… Ted retreated for the night. Hey guys! Can you help me? I can’t get my shoes off! I think I’m going to sleep too. Good idea!
Hey guys! Wait! My shoes! Ugh! Help!? I curled up in my tails which had the useful side effect of shutting out Raishin’s cries.
The next morning, we cleaned up. I stored all the things we confiscated from those kidnappers. They had daggers, poisons, food, and other useful assassin supplies. I also stored a large volume of river water. I always wanted to do this but I kept forgetting. Since I will be mainly using water magic this could be extremely useful. We continued our journey toward the forest. 3 days later I spotted someone in stealth scouting the area. He didn't spot us but I didn't take any chances. I left a clone behind with my buddies and followed him to his camp. Judging from their conversations they had the same mission as the kidnappers 3 days ago so I silently assassinated them. I got more adept at shadow magic but not good enough to use it for successful assassinations so I just used my potato peeler 3.0 and beheaded them. Leaving traces is a terrible idea so I sucked them into a pocket dimension and vaporized the bodies there. I cleaned up their camp and erased traces of them ever being there before heading back to my buddies. I’m expecting to do this quite often from now on so I should put more emphasis on getting better at shadow magic. 2 more days and we arrived at the forest.
I will scout this place out for a bit. Ooh ooh, can I come too?
With those shoes? Ugh fine. Have fun. I grabbed Raishin and teleported toward the forest. It had a lot of plants that looked unfamiliar. There didn't seem to be much dangerous wildlife here. The forest was quite big and it even covered some hills further up. It had some clearings and some rock formations. Quite diverse for a forest. Raishin and I walked around. I spotted some fruits which Raishin recklessly picked and ate.
Hey, these are pretty good! He said with his mouthful.
You are going to die young if you're so reckless. I inspected Raishin and it seemed at least these fruits were harmless so I stored them. Raishin touched a plant that bloomed and shot dozens of fist-sized seeds at us which exploded and released some weird gas that made Raishin’s eyes tear up but also some translucent light pinkish jellyfish popped out of them and attacked him and zapped him with lightning-based attacks.
Owowowo! Raishin has decent lightning resistance so he will be fine. It did cause a domino effect in which Raishin kept getting hit by and comped by these jellyfish teargas plants. I liked these plants so I wanted to store them too. I would have to make a new dimensional pocket to grow plants. I have enough water and I can emulate this soil. I inspected the soil and made a new pocket dimension for these plants. I will just call them Cnidaria plants. While Raishin kept getting comped I carefully pulled 10 plants out of the ground and stored them carefully. Each plant had about 30 bulbs which each could do such an attack. I’m not sure how lethal these things are since even though Raishin is getting hit by a lot he still looks relatively fine. The zaps keep paralyzing him so he could be stuck till he eventually dies or a dangerous animal finds him and eats him. It also seems to be laced with some weak poison which is rapidly accumulating in his body because he keeps getting hit. I decide to end this scout preemptively to bring this idiot back to Gregory for treatment. I swap him with a leaf I picked up and teleported back to ed and Gregory. I will have to resume my scouting tomorrow and alone.
Hey Greg, this idiot got combo-ed by an exploding jellyfish spawning a poisonous plant. He needs to get this poison out of his system. It stings! Greg, please help! Ugh, I knew bringing Raishin would be a bad idea, anything you learned from this place?
Unfortunately, not much, Mainly some edible fruits and those cool, I mean dangerous plants. I will resume the scouting tomorrow. Ted looked at the sky.
Yeah, it’s starting to get dark, we might be better off spending the night here and going in tomorrow. Do you think it’s possible to get out of this forest in a day? I don’t think so but it’s possible in 2 days, as long as we stay near the river we might be relatively safe. Meh, why don't we just teleport?
Where is your sense of adventure? Well besides that, there’s a high likelihood we come across useful information by just traveling normally, for example, we wouldn't have found out that there are numerous assassins and spies looking for us. It is a good thing that Agnis put that strong illusion on us to make it unlikely for anyone to find us if they are specifically looking for us.
Well, it’s not all-powerful, just like those kidnappers, they can still find us by chance but any active pursuit will lead to dead ends or failures. For this reason, going to big cities will be risky since the concentration of people there makes it way more likely for pursuers to find us by chance so there is no reason for us to rush to those cities. But what about my feet?! What about them? You did that to yourself! Anyways there is no real reason to rush these things, let's eat something and rest.
It’s time for more fish! Ugh, I like fish but do we really need to? We have been mainly eating fish for the last 7 months!
Don’t worry this is the last bits of fish I have stored up. We can shift to other stuff tomorrow. What is the status of your stored food?
Hmm, well because you guys keep visiting those farms there's a lot of dairy products and poison. You need to stop calling milk, poison, milk is amazing!
Yuck, anyways we’re ok on poison and dairy, after today we’re out of fish, besides those we’re low on almost anything else besides deer and pheasant meat. Will it be enough to last us till we reach the city?
Oh yes but I need to seriously restock on food there. At least water is no issue because I stored a lot of river water. Hmm ok, let’s try to find a merchant caravan after we get out of the forest, we might get useful information there, a lift, and maybe some food. Sounds like a good plan. We ate and rested up. Ted and I did some more martial arts sparring while Gregory was studying some books and documents that I swiped from the underground library. Raishin was… he was again trying to get his shoes off. Afterward, we went to sleep. We would venture inside the forest of Cnidaria tomorrow.