CHAPTER 10

Leaving the Freelancer League, we took a look at the street trying to remember which way was the gate. While we could cruise the shops, Echo had already learned the written language, and I didn’t want to window shop. I would hate to find something that I couldn’t buy. Plus, the other two were hungry. I didn’t want to reveal my nanites in the middle of town until I knew a bit more about this world, so I planned to make their food outside the town.

Turning down the street, last night coming back to me, we joined the morning crowd that was moving about the road. Taking in the people, I didn’t spot any more Demon-kin. Mostly elves and dwarves or whatever they were called in this world. I mentally decided I would call them that even if that wasn’t the case.

I hadn’t noticed last night due to the light and the fact there hadn’t been any people on the streets, but none of them had the rounded ears of humans. The people all were slender with sharp ears that had to be close to thirty centimeters long. Other than that, there wasn’t much difference between them and humans. It could just be an evolution thing, something on the planet caused their ears to evolve like such.

I decided to put it out of my mind for the minute and looked at my companion. “How you feeling this morning, Imperia?”

“Better. I can actually feel my mana for the first time since the tower,” she replied flexing her hands.

“What exactly is mana?” I asked realizing I hadn’t taken the time to ask before now.

“It’s the life blood of the planet. There are places around the world that produce it like a spring in nature. From there it spreads out over the planet for its inhabitants to use. We create our own, but it is comparable to a drop in an ocean.”

I tapped my chin. The fact it came from the planet worried me. Generally, resources like that were finite. Even if the civilization hadn’t progressed in ten thousand years, it was possible they had used up much of this resource. “Sounds dangerous. Don’t you risk depleting the planet’s mana?”

“I’ve never heard of the mana in nature being depleted like the game in the forests. Like I said, people produce it too. When they die, their bodies are absorbed into the world and puts some of the energy back.”

So there was some sort of recycling function. The same could be said about oil on Earth, it would have just taken a few centuries given how all the processes worked. I dropped it for the time. It would be nice to be able to use the magic, but I hadn’t been able to feel a drop of energy my entire time on this planet.

We eventually reached the gate. Looking around, I found we weren’t the only ones leaving the town. Several other armed groups that ranged from four to ten people were also in line to exit. Quite a few of them were casting glances over at us, and I just hoped they didn’t try and cause any trouble. Mainly since, the people looking were men.

Argos was likely the reason they were keeping their distance. He was about as tall as I was while standing, and I was keeping my hand on his neck to keep him from trying to run through the gate until it was our turn. The picture was good enough to deter even the more foolish looking of the men.

When we reached the gate, a familiar voice reached us. “Ah. The ladies from last night.”

The Magian from last night was still there, though he looked like he was ready for a good night’s sleep. He had black circles around his eyes and yawned a couple times in rapid succession.

“Derrick, right? You’re still manning the gate?”

“Yep. I don’t get relief for another hour. Not enough Magians to take up the slack while the Kesh are a problem.”

“I see. We’re heading out to try and relieve the burden a bit. Expect good things,” I said giving him a thumbs up. He looked at me with a confused look.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

“I do. Just don’t get yourselves killed out there.”

He waved us through and the fields from yesterday came into view. The groups that had already gotten through before us we each heading in their own directions, but it looked like the fields themselves were their goal. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen armed farmers. There were a few planets that had more wildlife that made farming one of the most dangerous professions on the planet.

“Echo. Where’s the nearest nest?” I asked the eagle drone on my shoulder.

A path appeared in my vision. “There are an estimated one hundred and nine bodies in this nest.”

I stretched then checked my weapons. “Sounds like a good workout.” I pointed for Imperia’s benefit. “Let’s head this way.”

Argos charged ahead once we started moving. He appeared to relish the fact we were hunting beasts weaker than him. I just had to remember not to rely on him if we encounter anything too strong. He’d be more likely to run and hide in those cases.

As we walked, we passed a group in a nearby field. One of their members was standing with a staff and was chanting. There would be a green flash periodically and I thought I could smell an earthy scent each time.

“Nature magic. Boosting the crops. Do it enough and this single field might be able to feed a city,” Imperia commented from next to me.

I whistled at that information. The field couldn’t have been more than a couple of acres judging by where a few trees seemed to mark the boundary of the field. If what Imperia said was true, then nature magic was almost as advanced as the inner Federation Plantation ships. Those things were the size of a small moon and could feed a planet.

“Impressive. I can only imagine what the areas with more development are like.” If this was a frontier town, then the capital would likely be even more impressive. I doubt they would have monster problems in a place like that.

The field transitioned to plains of regular grass as we walked. Soon out of sight of the others, I quickly created some protein bars for the two, but Argos came bounding back with a Kesh in his mouth. Its neck twisted in a horrible fashion. He dropped it, then took off returning less than a minute later with another one. The pursuit stated that we had to collect the shards from their chests to claim the reward.

I used my claw to easily slice the chest open and spotted the reflective object easily enough. “What exactly are these?” I asked looking it over.

“Life stones. Everyone has one. It is how people can use mana.”

“Really?” Maybe that’s why I couldn’t sense this all-encompassing energy?

I closed my eyes for a second, and the nanites flew into the ground to form a bag. Dropping the shard into the bag, I tied it to my waist. I walked over to the second one and did the same. I found it interesting that my Biuna didn’t find anything interesting to absorb from these creatures, but I wasn’t complaining.

Now that I thought about it, I didn’t remember seeing a shard in the bear that attacked us. I mentioned it to Imperia who pointed at Argos. “The mutt likely ate it. That’s why he grew so rapidly. I thought you didn’t care, but you just didn’t know. Figures.” I glanced at Argos, who looked at us with a curious expression. I couldn’t get mad at his carefree if albeit bloodstained face.

The path ended just off in the distance. I couldn’t spot anything other than a small rise in the ground which likely meant it was a den of some sort. It would make it easier to take them out, since they couldn’t surround us, but I also couldn’t snipe them from a distance.

“Argos, hunt around the area and catch all the stragglers outside. We’ll head in and deal with the main infestation.” He barked then moved off, his massive bulk managing to disappear into the tall grass. With his fur being green, he easily blended in with little problem.

Echo’s path led directly to a large hole that reminded me of an ant hill. There weren’t any guards around the immediate entrance, but we could hear crude talking from just inside the hole. Echo sent me an overhead image of the hole. I saw four of the creatures inside that looked like they were ready to pass out.

I drew my sword since the rifle wouldn’t be much use in the tight confines of the tunnel. Looking at Imperia, she was my only concern. “You going to be okay?”

She looked slightly offended but must have considered the last couple days before getting angry. “Yes. I think I can use some lower rank magic without collapsing.”

I stared at her to make sure she was sure, then nodded. “Alright. Stay behind me.”

Charging up the small incline, I hopped into the hole following the image Echo was sending me. As I dropped, I spun by twisting, and managed to sweep my sword around cutting the Kesh guards in half. This sword was indeed a dangerous weapon. Even the wall of the hole hadn’t stopped it when I was cutting. A gash several centimeters long showcasing its power. Echo and I really needed to find out where to get more of this material.

Imperia peeked over the edge and I motioned for her to jump. The drop was only two meters or so. With a flutter of fabric, I caught and placed her on the ground. She was as light as a feather. Setting her down, we turned to head deeper into the Kesh den. Rough torches being the only thing that was illuminating the path ahead.