Chapter 76
Building Up
It had been a few days since Erin’s group had escaped from the Laughing Ogre and Durge had joined them. By now, Erin had managed to recover enough to the point that she could walk around and do other physical tasks. Her body still hurt from all of her injuries she had gotten in her fight with Goldiana, but she was able to handle.
A good amount of the redhead’s recovery was due to Lexton, who had started to build up his collection of potions and other such things. The kobold would often go along with either Ryle or Durge to the wilderness to hunt for creatures and plants to bring back with them and use as ingredients for potions. Because of this, what would have normally taken Erin weeks to recover from was done in days.
However, because he still lacked a lot of his equipment, Lexton wasn’t able to do anywhere near as much as he used to. He still lacked the proper tools to make things like golems, enchanted weapons and other such equipment. The kobold hoped that he would be able to start building up his workshop at some point, but right now he had to make do with what little he had on his hands.
While Erin was focused on recovering and Lexton was focused on making potions, the others were working on getting stronger. Arkay had started to push himself into getting better at using his magical abilities and learning new spells. Ryle and Durge had started sparring together in order to help the blonde become a better fighter. Due to the orc having more experience than her, he could point out issues that she needed to work on and guide her in better ways of using ki.
Right now, the two fighters were engaged in another sparring session. Ryle was aggressively striking at Durge with a barrage of blows, but the orc was able to defend against them. After weathering through the attacks, Durge saw an opening and used it to strike at the blonde, knocking her down to the ground.
“Dammit! I was sure I had you there!” Ryle cursed as she sat up while breathing heavily. “Seriously, what are you made of!? It’s like I’m fighting a living boulder or something!”
“My tribe had me trained to build up muscles as soon as I could walk, along with giving me special drugs that helped in that regard. Not only that, I’ve been taught ki techniques that also enforce my physical toughness to the point that regular punches don’t really do it anymore,” Durge explained. “Also, you shouldn’t feel too disheartened about your loss. It’s more of a case of me having more experience than you. You’re quite the tough one already. You just need to refine your movements and you’ll be on the same level as me in no time.”
“...You’re not just trying to make me feel better, are you?” the blonde asked.
“Maybe a bit,” the orc replied with a shrug.
“Cocky son of a… You just wait until I get better. Once I’ve gotten some better moves, I’ll leave you on the floor!” Ryle bragged with a smirk. “Although, it is nice to have an actual sparring partner for once. I’ve never actually been taught fighting techniques by anyone nor have I had anyone to practice them with.”
“That’s quite something, honestly,” Durge said, sounding genuinely impressed. “A lot of people need proper guidance to get anywhere near your level in just basic combat skills, yet you can even use ki in a fight. If you didn’t have any guidance, how did you reach your current level?”
“Simple. I just fought and survived,” the blonde said with a shrug. “The world isn’t exactly kind to those born under shittier circumstances. You gotta make a living somehow, which often puts you near death a lot of times. When that happens, you either sink or swim. I’m sure you know about it yourself, right?”
“You could say that,” the orc said, thinking back on his past within his warrior tribe. “Back when I was still simply being trained by my tribe, I saw quite a few kids who didn’t measure up to the expectations placed on them. Some were taken in to be experimented upon, like myself. While the rest were placed into what was essentially servant work, which was no better than being a slave. If that didn’t work, they were either sold, kicked out or outright killed. In a way, life for me was nothing more than one big fight for survival, which didn’t change once the war between our tribe and the armies of the Five Overlords began.”
“Well, luckily we don’t have to live like that any longer!”Ryle said with a smile as she stood up. “After all, now we get to work with some pretty cool people! And I’d say that’s a nice change!”
“...I can’t help but agree,” Durge said with a slight chuckle.
As the two fighters were having their conversation, a certain kobold stepped in while being followed by Erin.
“Hey, Ryle, while I’m happy that you’ve found someone else to get interested with instead of Arnie, I need you two to break off your flirting,” Lexton said bluntly. “I need someone to back me up, while I go gather some materials. And I am NOT taking Ms. Lefty here with me, no matter how much she’s going to whine!”
“But Lex, I keep telling you that I’m fine already!” Erin tried to argue. “While I might be missing a hand, I can still help you out! I can’t just sit around, while everybody else is working!”
“You can and you will! May I remind you that you’re not fully healed yet and I will not bother helping you, if you go and get injured out of your own stupidity!? Sit this one out!” the kobold said angrily, before turning his attention back to the two fighters. “So which one of you two is going to come and help me out?”
“I’ll go! I’ll go!” Ryle said as she walked up to Lexton. “Also, we were NOT flirting and I’m NOT interested in him in such a manner!”
“Really? That’s too bad, since you have so much in common,” the kobold said. “You’re both more muscle than anything else and you both stink.”
“Oh, you little-!”
As Ryle chased after Lexton, Erin walked up to Durge in order to talk with him. She had some things she wished to discuss with the orc and this was the perfect opportunity for it.
“So… You’re not going to chase after him?” Erin asked. “He did insult you as well.”
“Oh please. I’ve had far worse insults thrown at me,” Durge replied. “Besides, if I were to attack someone over every little insult and nasty comment, I’d have died a long time ago. It’s best to pick your battles, when it’s actually necessary.”
“That sounds pretty smart. I think Ryle should learn more from you than simply fighting skills,” the redhead said with a small smile, getting the orc to chuckle a bit as well. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”
“Well, there’s nothing really keeping either of us occupied now. Ask away,” Durge said.
“Why did you decide to join us in the end?” Erin asked. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m more than happy to have you as part of our team, as we could use someone with your strength in our team. But the thing that confuses me is that you don’t seem to have that much of a personal reason to stick with us.”
“What exactly do you mean by that?” the orc asked.
“You know we are going after the Five Overlords themselves, right? We are basically picking a fight with the most powerful people in the entire world. That’s not exactly something just anybody is willing to do. Only a very few, in fact,” the redhead explained. “I could understand if there was a something personal driving you forward, but with what little I know about you, there doesn’t seem to be anything like that. You weren’t exactly all that fond of your tribe and the Laughing Ogre wasn’t friendly towards you either. So what is it? What made you accept our invitation?”
“...Do you know what is it that makes life worth living?” Durge asked in return. “It’s your ability to enjoy living. It’s simple as that. Now, I’m not going to go and say anything holier than thou crap about what it is that makes one enjoy living. There are plenty of people who like to talk about it being religion, family and so on. I’m not saying those can’t be the reason one enjoys living. In fact, I can completely see many people name those exact reasons as to why they go on about their day.”
“Then… What are you getting at?” Erin asked.
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“What I’m saying is that all of us have our own ideas as to what makes life worth living. For some people it’s family, others it’s religion and others simply want to get drunk a few times a week and pass out while playing video games,” the orc said. “One might never understand why another one enjoys their thing the way they do, but that’s just how it is. We are all on a quest to find that which pushes us to go on and enjoy it as much as possible.”
“...So what is it for you?” the redhead asked. “What’s the thing that makes life worth living for you?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’m hoping to find out. At the very least I know that traveling with you guys should prove to be enjoyable. The way I see it, my best chance at finding my reason to go on is to join you in your quest to defeat the Five Overlords,” Durge answered with a small smile. “Besides, if nothing else, I’ll at least die for a good cause.”
“...Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that at the very least,” Erin said.
With their conversation over, Erin decided to move away from their makeshift camp a bit. Just enough to have some privacy, but not so far that she’d be in danger of getting attacked by any wild beasts in the area. Once she had found a secure spot, she pulled out one of the books Arkay had gotten her and opened it.
The book was the autobiography of a famous magic user who was known for using ice magic. It had detailed descriptions of his accomplishments and lessons he taught to aspiring mages. If she was able to grasp at how he used his powers from these texts, she might be able to learn some useful spells for herself.
A couple of the key concepts for ice magic were the idea of drawing away heat from the area you wished to use your spells at, while also gathering water from your surroundings. While the latter could be difficult depending on where you were, there would essentially always be water anywhere you were. It just required you to know where to look.
Deciding to try out at least one of the basics, the redhead sat on the ground and brought her remaining hand close to her chest. She took a deep breath and began to concentrate.
Focusing on the palm of her hand, she imagined taking away all the heat and warmth there, and the chill that would be left behind as a result. It took some time, but eventually these thoughts began to materialize. At first, she felt the warmth slowly leave. Then she could feel a refreshing coldness wash over her palm, like an autumn breeze. It was slowly getting colder and colder, until it felt like her hand was in the middle of a winter night, while the rest of her body was still underneath the scorching heat of the sun.
However, this was only the first step to using ice magic. If one truly wanted to use it effectively, they would actually need to materialize ice itself and shape it into useful forms. Despite her best efforts, Erin was unable to do more than make a couple of tiny shards that melted away almost immediately.
image [https://i.ibb.co/kyyPKPw/Ch-76-Pic-1.jpg]
Seeing as how she hadn’t made much progress, the redhead let out a sad sigh and stopped her spell.
“I see that you’re working hard in your own way,” the voice of Durge suddenly called out, surprising Erin. “Sorry if I surprised you. I just saw you walk away from the campsite and wondered where you were going.”
“It’s not a problem. I just thought that with Lex and Ryle away I could do some form of training for once. Those two are really determined to keep me resting,” the redhead said before looking down sadly. “Not that it really matters, though. I’ve tried to use ice magic for a couple of days now and this is all I’ve managed to accomplish.”
“Not that it matters? Do you have any idea what you’ve actually managed to do?” the orc asked with a raised eyebrow. “Most people require days of tutoring from actual masters to get where you are, yet you’ve managed to do so on your own by simply reading on some book about it.”
“I… never thought about it like that,” Erin said. “However, it’s not like I was working completely on my own. Arnie has been giving me pointers and was the one who got me really started.”
“That might be the case, but it was still you who put in the work and effort to get to where you are. That’s nothing you should be looking down on,” Durge said. “And don’t take this as me looking down on Arkay either. You are all honestly quite the impressive group. Each and every one of you has shown some incredible talent and dedication that most can only dream of.”
“...Thanks,” the redhead said with a smile. “But I think you are forgetting someone. You’re just as impressive as the rest of us.”
Erin had expected the orc to smile at her remark, but was surprised to see a sad look in his eyes. It was like he was looking back on a full life of nothing but regret.
“There’s nothing impressive about being made into a monster,” Durge said in a low voice that was almost inaudible.
“What do you-?”
“Ah! I should have freaking known!” the loud voice of Ryle suddenly shouted, as she and Lexton walked up to them. “I should have known that you would be getting self-destructive ass out and about like this! Are you seriously trying to get yourself killed or something!?”
“I-I wasn’t doing anything too straining!” Erin tried to defend herself desperately. “I was just practicing magic! I wasn’t in any risk of injuring myself! Honest!”
“Erin, any kind of exercise can damage your body, if you do it too much!” Lexton added in an accusing tone. “Not to mention, you walked away from the camp! What if some beast had attacked you!?”
“Yeah! What would have happened, if you pulled an Erin, Erin!?” Ryle added.
“We are NOT making that a thing, okay!?” Erin yelled at the blonde. “Besides, you guys are being way too cautious! I wasn’t that far away and I could have gotten help from Durge or Arnie! It wasn’t like I was completely defenseless!”
“Please don’t drag me into this,” Durge said with a sigh.
Ryle and Lexton were about to continue the argument, but they both suddenly realized something.
“...Now that you mentioned him, where is Arnie?” Ryle asked. “We didn’t see him at the camp when we came back.”
“I haven’t seen him since this morning,” Durge said with a shrug.
“He’ll probably be back soon enough. He’s far more responsible and mature than one would think,” Lexton said, before looking up at the sky. “Although, I do hope he gets back soon. It looks like it might rain soon.”
The others looked up and saw that there were dark clouds hanging above them. Not only that, but one could hear faint rumbling, idicating that there would be thunder as well.
However, Erin noticed something strange about the clouds.
“Hey, is it just me or are the clouds moving in a strange manner?” the redhead pointed out. “It’s almost like they are gathering to a single spot.”
Almost as soon as she said it, bolts of lightning began to rain down from the accumulated clouds. The sight was such a shock to the group that their hearts skipped a beat in unison.
“W-What the hell is this!?” Ryle yelled. “I’ve never seen a thunderstorm like this before!”
“That’s because this isn’t a normal thunderstorm!” Lexton shouted. “There’s no way something like this happens naturally! There has got to be someone behind this! Most likely a magic user!”
“Could it be one of Golorath’s assassins!?” Durge asked.
“Wait… That’s not it,” Erin said as she realized something. “Didn’t Arnie say that he was going to practice his lightning magic!?”
Upon realizing this, the whole group became worried over the safety of their youngest member. They all started to run towards the place where the storm was raging, hoping to find the cat boy still safe.
What they found was so unbelievable they thought they were seeing things.
In front of them stood Arkay with his arms held up high, seemingly struggling to keep himself up as a barrage of lighting bolts was raining down upon him. Some of the bolts struck the ground around him, leaving it burnt, while others hit his hands. But while the bolts struck him, they didn’t hurt him. Instead it seemed like they were gathering into a ball of energy he was holding above his head.
Seeming to finally be done with gathering the energy, the cat boy decided to target a lone boulder and unleashed the energy he had collected towards it. The large rock was easily blasted into tiny pieces. With his attack done, Arkay seemed to stop his magic casting, which one could tell by the thunderstorm ending and the clouds dispersing.
image [https://i.ibb.co/dPtyJzP/Ch-76-Pic-2.jpg]
However, while he had managed to perform an impressive feat, it had taken a toll on his body. There were light burn marks all over Arkay’s body and there was even smoke rising up from him. The crackling of electricity could be seen coming from his hands and he was trembling a lot, like it took all of his remaining strength just to stay standing.
“Arnie!” Erin finally called out to the cat boy, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. She began to rush to his side, soon followed by the others. “What was that just now!?”
“Huh? Oh, you guys were here? I didn’t notice,” Arkay said with a weak smile on his face. “Nothing much. I was just practicing a new spell.”
“What kind of a spell was that!?” Lexton asked. “Did you just summon lightning from the skies and gather it in your hands to use as a weapon!?”
“Pretty much,” the cat boy replied as he stood up with some difficulty. “I learned from my books about the act of draining electricity from your surroundings to be used as a weapon. I decided to try it out for myself and it seems to have worked.”
“You went straight into using actual lightning?” Durge asked with wide eyes. “Shouldn’t you have practiced with something less dangerous first?”
“I… honestly would have, except… the only thing that had electricity that I could have drawn for myself was the car,” Arkay explained with an embarrassed blush on his face. “I didn’t want to upset you guys by accidentally breaking it…”
“Screw the car, Arnie! You’re far more important to us!” Ryle said. “How do you think we would have felt, if you had gotten yourself seriously injured practicing this new spell of yours!?”
“I get what you’re saying, but remember what we’ve been through?” the cat boy asked in return. “Our opponents are going to be tougher in the near future, so we all need to get stronger and fast. I was just trying to-”
Arkay’s explanation was cut short by a slap in the face from Erin. The cat boy stared at her in stunned silence with the others, as the redhead had an expression that was a mix of sadness and anger.
“Do you think that’s a good enough reason to do something this reckless!?” Erin asked as a few tears fell from her eye. She then pulled her young friend into a tight embrace. “Listen here, while I want us all to get stronger in order for us to face the challenges ahead, I don’t want it to come at the expense of any of us! No one is going to be happy, if you get hurt or even killed trying to get stronger!”
“...I’m sorry,” Arkay apologized as he felt ashamed of himself. “I didn’t mean to cause trouble.”
“It’s alright. As long as you’re okay and you understand,” the redhead said with a smile as she pulled away from the hug. “Just… Try not to be too reckless with whatever you’re doing. Or at least talk to one of us before attempting it, okay?”
The cat boy gave a nod in response, having understood Erin’s point. The redhead then playfully ruffled her younger friend’s hair, as they walked up to the others.
“I honestly agree with you, Erin. Getting stronger doesn’t mean much, if you simply injure yourself by doing so,” Ryle said. “Thanks for getting that through to Arnie.”
“Isn’t that a bit rich coming from you? After all, you were getting yourself pretty banged up back in Moonstone, while you were practicing your own moves,” the redhead said with a chuckle. “Still, I’m happy that-”
Erin was suddenly cut off, when the blonde suddenly grabbed her by the front of her shirt and pulled her close to glare at her.
“HOWEVER, I would appreciate if YOU followed the things you preached!” Ryle said angrily. “So until you’re all healed up, I better not see you running around again! GOT IT!?”
“O-Oh come on! I’m not in that bad of shape nor was I even doing anything that dangerous!” Erin tried to argue, but to no use.
As the blonde dragged the redhead back to the car to continue resting, while Lexton followed along in order to lecture Erin about her reckless actions, Arkay and Durge were left behind in stunned silence.
“...Sometimes I can’t help but wonder what kind of a group I ended up in,” the cat boy said.
“Funny you should say that. I was just thinking the same thing,” the orc said.