We managed to take down our targets without too much trouble. Chamisha's effects turned out to be quite useful, paralysing or poisoning the snails and grasshoppers. Unfortunately, San didn't get a chance to shine, as Crystie wasn't particularly proactive in battle. Her brother merely shrugged it off so I guessed he must have tried to persuade her before and failed. We did try to get her to attack more aggressively, since the kill was accounted to the person who inflicted the most damage. So far she was the one who was lagging behind in the kill count.

"It's not my fault this lame sword deals so little damage!" she grumbled, swishing it uselessly in the undergrowth. "I'll show you what I can do once we can afford a proper weapon."

Daryl sighed. "I already told you, you're putting the cart before the horse. We need to complete these quests before we can even afford a sword."

"Wait, what about another type of weapon then? Swords tend to be more expensive, so what about a dagger or a mace?" I suggested.

Crystie rolled her eyes. "Is there any weapon that can be used further away?

"How about a bow or throwing knives?" I asked, making the action of drawing a bow.

“—Preferably a hundred metres away or so."

The three of us stared at her.

"I doubt there are sniper rifles in this world," said Masa with a serious expression. "Seeing as their technology appears to be from the middle ages—what?"

Daryl and I exchanged glances and he turned away first, stifling a laugh. I patted Masa on the shoulder and shook my head. "Unlike us, Crystie didn't choose to come here, so I think she wishes she didn't have to fight," I explained, glancing at the redhead for confirmation.

She gave a sigh and looked away. "It's not like I have a choice though."

"Have you trying doing odd jobs in town?" asked Masa. "Maybe like cleaning or helping out in the inn's kitchens, or even doing some farmwork?"

"What's the point of coming all the way to another world just to do the same stuff we were doing back home?" she retorted, throwing up her hands.

"Ignore her," said Daryl. "She's just being lazy. We've managed to scrape by so far, and from what you said about the admins and portals, at least there's some hope we can return home soon."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

We fell into silence after that, and only started talking again when it was time to make camp for the night. This time, Daryl and Crystie gathered the firewood while I dug the pit with a hoe I conjured and Masa made the stone tents. The siblings were impressed by the size of the tents when they returned. "Unfortunately, our magic skills aren't particularly useful for camping out," admitted Daryl. "At most I thicken my skin a little against the cold, and Crystie turns into a Persian cat."

"Ooh, Adaptation and Transformation, huh? That sounds pretty cool too!" I exclaimed. "What other creatures can you turn into, Crystie?"

"I tried turning into a bird, but couldn't fly, so I stuck to land animals," she replied. "I can't become anything bigger than I am though."

"That makes sense," said Masa with a nod. "Even birds need to learn how to fly as fledgelings."

I glanced at Masa out of the corner of my eye, then dragged him over to the pit to start the fire before he started rambling about birds again. Daryl and Crystie followed us, curious to see Masa work his magic. We all stacked the wood in the pit, although Daryl argued that we should start with a smaller pile first. I reassured him that the flame Masa made would be able to sustain itself as long as there was sufficient wood. According to Masa, it seemed to require less oxygen than a typical fire. Maybe it consumed macli or something. Come to think of it, we barely understood how our magic worked. Would there be a magic academy somewhere we could sign up for? I had always liked school stories.

While my thoughts had gone off into another unrelated tangent, the siblings had finished piling up the wood and were watching Masa with deep anticipation. He looked somewhat uncomfortable being observed and glanced at me, but I just gave him a shrug. He sighed softly, then snapped his fingers with a single word. "Spark."

The tiny flame he conjured on the stick on the top rapidly spread to the thicker branches below without any sign of stopping. The siblings broke into applause while Masa ducked his head in embarrassment. "It's not that flashy or anything," he demurred.

"Are you kidding? That was awesome, mate!" exclaimed Daryl, thumping the smaller Japanese boy on the back. "Such a useful affinity. When I think back on all the trouble we had starting fires at first...no never mind, it just makes me wanna cry."

Crystie was looking thoughtful. "Hey, guys, why don't we just combine our parties for the long-term?" she suggested with a grin. "I mean, it's obviously more fun with more people, right? And you've got more people to rely on in a pinch."

I exchanged glances with Masa. He hunched his shoulders a little and looked away. Yeah, I thought so. He wasn't the sociable type in the first place and his first impression of the two hadn't been very positive. I wasn't sure if I wanted to join them either. They had been very friendly and welcoming, but I couldn't help feeling they had some ulterior motive in approaching us. Our link back to Earth, maybe? I didn't want to suspect them without any proof, but if Masa was uncomfortable with it, I certainly didn't want to alienate my first friend here.

Before I could say anything, however, Daryl spoke. "Don't be silly, Crys, we're just going to be the third and fourth wheel if we combined parties."

The red-haired Australian glanced at the both of us, then sighed and shrugged. "Well, it was worth a try."

I didn't know about Masa, but I hoped the dim firelight hid my blush.