I considered the problem. Alchemy was expensive. The school only provided the resources for anything we did in class. If I wanted to make strengthening elixirs for future undead, I would have to get the ingredients myself.

But alchemy was also a way to make money. A good potion was more valuable than the ingredients. “Maybe we can use alchemy to make money? I don’t have any funds either and could use an income.” I suggested. I only had my stipend after all.

“Well…” Cassie said. “You can sell some things to adventurers. But the biggest market is skin care products for the nobles and such things. And that is… boring. Alchemy should explode!”

“I could live with boring if it makes money.” I said, shrugging.

“Hey, your mother has not cut you off yet. Let’s keep the panicking for later.” Helena said. “But it might not be a bad idea to have some income anyway.”

“I could help you sell your products.” Skadi offered. Her parents were merchants, so she likely had some experience. Maybe we could start a business?

“Let’s look into it once we are back. I will talk to Horas and see if he has some suggestions.” I said.

We finished boiling our water, then used magic to cool it again. Soon we had filled our water reserves and returned to the wagons. We had a little bit of time to relax, then the journey continued. We marched until the late afternoon before we stopped for the day. Some students looked mildly ill. Despite our rather visible fire not everyone had realised that the water needed some purification.

The wagons parked next to each other while we assembled on a patch of grass adjacent to the road. Peter addressed us: “Students, some of you might have already learned the first lesson. Not all water is easily drinkable.” He chuckled. “You might have a bad night, come morning we will heal anyone who is still sick. You might think that is unfair.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Welcome to the military!” He said with a huge grin. “Your group leaders will have further instructions.”

We stood patiently until Torben approached us.

“Well done team! Next time, try to make a smaller fire.” He said with a smile.

I raised my hand, as we usually do in class.

“Yes Koyuki?”

“Um sir, you have never asked for our names. Or any sort of introductions.” It was something that confused me.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“Ah, we have been briefed on our groups. I was not trying to be rude, I simply already knew who you were. We will talk about your individual powers though. But that is for later. Before we go on our first hunt. For now, we need to set up a camp. In the military we tend to do things differently than a lot of civilian caravans. The camp will be around the wagons. They carry our supplies and need to be protected. Never let the enemy reach your food.”

We nodded.

“There will always be one group on guard duty during the night, starting at 22:00. A shift is one hour. We have been selected to stand watch from midnight to 01:00. You can decide for yourself when to go to bed. The wakeup call is at 05:00 and the responsibility of the last guard shift. You can get your dinner from wagon four. Since we are camped for the night, you can try to cook something with your supplies, if you want. First you need to set up your tents though. Oh, and one lucky party gets to dig a latrine. But that is not us today. Enjoy your evening.”

“Finally!” Helena said. “I don’t mind the marching, but this heat… Let’s jump into the river! After we set up the tents.”

“We don’t have bathing suits.” Skadi pointed out.

“Do we need them? What about our underwear? We can quickly jump in, wash a bit, and get out. Nyx can eat anyone who peeks.” Cassie suggested.

Nyx looked at her, approvingly.

“Then we have wet underwear underneath our uniform.” I pointed out.

“I don’t care. Jumping into the river sounds heavenly.” Helena said.

“We could go in with our uniforms. The fabric dries quickly. Our clothing could use a wash anyway. And the sun is still strong.” I suggested.

“Bathing in a uniform sounds uncomfortable.” Skadi said.

“Wait! Nyx can create mist. We could use that. As long as she does not use death mana.” I proposed.

“That could work. Can she control the density? So that we are obscured but not totally blind inside?” Skadi asked.

We all looked at Nyx. She stared back.

“Please?” I asked.

“Meow.” She answered.

“I think she agrees.” I said. I based that mostly on a feeling. I think she saw this as protecting us.

With a plan formed we quickly set up our tents and stored our backpacks. Then we went to the river. Nyx stood at the shore. Her mouth glowed and she exhaled. A fine mist settled around us. It restricted our sight to about two metres.

“Good job, thank you Nyx!” I said.

“Wahhh, this mist is cold!” Cassie complained.

“I know, it’s amazing!” Helena answered.

We quickly undressed and went into the water. I was trying to be quick. I had no idea how long Nyx could do this. And we certainly drew some attention.

“GRRRR” That was Nyx. Despite being a feline undead she could produce a variety of sounds. Currently, she was growling.

“Hey, I was just curious!” I heard a male voice.

Ah. She was keeping unwelcome company away. It made me feel quite a bit safer. Regardless, I tried to hurry.

“Oh? What an interesting idea.” I heard Irene’s voice. “Next time, tell an instructor what you plan before summoning an unnatural mist though.” She sounded more amused than angry.

“Yes ma’am!” I shouted.

“Good, carry on.” Irene said.

After we were done, we found a slight flaw in our plan. Finding our clothes inside the mist was not easy. Thankfully, we managed after a bit of searching.

“That felt good!” Helena said, looking a lot happier.

“Mhm. Thank you Nyx.” Skadi petted the undead.

“It was so cold… Let’s warm up! We could make stew, or soup.” Cassie suggested.

“Let’s see what the food wagon has on offer.” I said and started walking back to the wagons.