A short while after we got outside of Alewatch, Timothy began making small talk to me.
“Sir Brian. I would like to ask some questions. Would that be fine?” He asked.
“... Sure. Go for it. But I may choose not to answer. And I expect you to answer some of my questions as well.” I told him. “Also, don’t call me ‘Sir’. I’m just an adventurer escorting you. I should be the one calling you Sir Timothy.”
“Then will Brian be fine?” He asked.
“Yes. That works. Can I call you Timothy? Or should it be Mr. Timothy?”
“Just Timothy is good.” He said.
“Well then Timothy, what is it that you wanted to ask?”
“Do you truly have the legendary System Support?” Timothy asked.
… that is what he wanted to know about? I was honestly expecting him to ask about my cards. Hmm. How should I answer?
“Does it matter?” I asked.
“No. I suppose it doesn’t. I was just wondering, as I’ve heard that you have the power of foresight and that is often said to be a part of System Support. I know of at least two times when you predicted a bad situation before you should have been able to.” Timothy said.
“So that is why you think so? Well, you can think what you want.” I said.
“So you don’t have it?” Timothy asked.
“I didn’t say that.” I answered.
“So you do have it?”
“I didn’t say that either.”
“... and here I thought you were going to give me a straight answer.” Timothy said.
“I have no reason to. If I say I have it, you will ask to see my status to confirm it. And if I say I don’t have it, well, I’m not sure what you will do.” I said.
“No. That’s not it. I just wanted to know for safety reasons. Knowing you have the power of foresight in case of an emergency would be a great help.” Timothy said.
“Is this road usually dangerous?” I asked. This was actually something I wanted to know. I would assume there is at least some danger, considering the escort Brandon had. But things like the sprite attack are probably still an anomaly.
“It’s not that dangerous, compared to other areas. But we do run into low ranked monsters on almost every trip.” Timothy said.
“How low ranked? Are we talking about goblins or perhaps … (Laura, give me a D-rank monster) (Forest snake) … forest snakes?” I asked.
“Goblins are the most often seen. They come out of the great forest and attack carriages to steal food. And women.” Timothy said. “But sometimes stronger monsters come from the east.”
“Then there is nothing to worry about.” I said. “Monsters under B-rank are no trouble at all.”
“I hope that isn’t just overconfidence.” Timothy said.
… well, it might be, but I did take down an A-rank monster with ease. And my arsenal has grown since then. Just use Swords of Revealing Light as soon as I see something even remotely strong and then deal with it while it can’t move.
After about 2 hours, we stopped for our first break. Timothy said that with a lighter load we could travel for longer without a break, but with all that lumber on the carriages, the horses need rest more often.
For some of that 2 hours, he had been asking about the dungeon items. Almost to the point of being annoying. I did tell him about the basic drops from the first few floors, but said that he should get in contact with Christina or appropriate adventurers if he wanted to buy some.
“We’ll have a one hour break. Adventurers, make sure to keep an eye out for monsters.” Timothy said after we stopped.
“How are you feeling, Alice?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Free? I think that is the word.” She answered.
“Oh. I was more so thinking does your butt hurt from the carriage ride.” I admitted.
“Brian! Don’t ask something like that.” She said back. She actually looked like she wanted to slap me.
“Sorry. Sorry.” I tried to calm her down. “But the carriages aren’t super comfortable, so I was honestly worried if it would hurt you.”
As in, Overdrive, even without the installed 7 completed, is more comfortable. Sure the slow speed we were moving at makes the carriages not terrible, but it’s not great either.
Had I asked Alex or Lua, they would have said that the Trojan Horse is ten times worse than any carriage could ever be.
“Mother gave me this cushion and it helped.” Alice said and showed me a sitting cushion from her fanny pack. It looked like one of those cushions that you would put on a bad office chair to make it more comfortable.
“Of course she would. She always thinks ahead and does what is best for you.” I said.
“Yes. Mother is amazing.” Alice said. “But Brian, where should I … do my business?” Alice asked awkwardly.
“... oh yeah. I think usually you would just find a bush or something, but that could be a little awkward for a lady.” I said.
“Then… What should I do?” She asked.
“You should ask from Lua. She is the one with experience.” I told her. “And you could always use shade to give yourself some cover, so no one can see you.”
“Oh. Yes. I can do that. Thank you.” Alice said before walking off.
“Better to ask Lua about it before you do something strange.” I called after her.
Perhaps I should look at making a magic toilet that I can store in a magic bag for travel purposes. It will probably get some laughs, but I won’t have to poop in a hole, so the joke is on you.
They might even sell some travel toilets. I should probably look into that.
During the break, I kept an eye on the coachmen. And one woman. I wanted to get an idea of what they do during these breaks.
Timothy, the leader, was keeping an eye on everything, but basically did nothing. Classic boss energy there. I guess he was keeping himself available.
The female coach and one of the other males took care of the horses, seemingly using magic on them and giving them water and food. I could probably help with that by summoning Dancing Fairy. Only if they asked for it though, as Lua wasn’t helping even though she can use water attribute healing magic. At least I think she can.
The last coachman was looking over the carriages, making sure they were in good condition.
(Master. Goblins ahead.) Laura warned me.
We had been moving for little over an hour since our last break.
(Where? And how many?) I asked as I quickly looked around, trying not to be overly suspicious before I knew where the goblins were.
But apparently my discrete approach was still noticed by Timothy.
“Is something wrong?” He asked.
I just kept quiet while I waited for Laura’s answer.
(120 meters, in the woods on the left side of the road. 7 or 8 of them) Laura told me.
“I spotted something in the forest a little ahead of us. It’s probably just goblins.” I told him.
“Are you sure?” He asked as he looked ahead.
“Yes.” I answered.
“I see.” He said and gave a signal to the carriages behind us.
We pulled over just as the goblins rushed out from the forest. I’m a bit surprised that they even attacked us. They are a tiny group and there are a lot of us.
But that doesn’t mean I will hold back.
Well, maybe a little. They are just goblins after all.
“Giltia the D. Knight.” I called out my monster.
Spoiler [collapse]I decided to summon Giltia, as it is more than sufficient in power to deal with a few goblins.
“Master?” He asked after he appeared.
“Take those goblins down.” I ordered.
“As you wish.” He answered before rushing towards the goblins.
“I see. So that is how they work…” I heard Timothy mutter.
Honestly. I highly doubt you know how my cards work, as I barely understand them myself.
As Giltia got to work, Lua and Alex rushed up to the front to join them.
“What’s happening?” Lua asked.
“Just some goblins.” I answered. “My summon is taking care of them.” I added, pointing at Giltia, who had already dealt with two of the seven goblins.
“I see. Then there won’t be any problem.” Lua said, looking at the Dragon Knight taking down the goblins.
“Brian. Why didn’t you leave any for me?” Alice asked.
“... because I wanted to deal with them quickly.” I said.
“You are not fair. I wanted to take some down as well.” Alice said.
“Alice. This is combat. As in, people could get seriously hurt if you play around. I’m not going to wait for you in that situation.” I told her.
“Hmph. I just want to kill some monsters and level up.” Alice said.
“I’m sure we can arrange that after we get to Sawyer city. But first we will take care of this quest properly.” I told her.
“So, what do we do with the goblin corpses?” I asked.
“Just take them a bit away from the road and leave them. Or if you can use earth magic, bury them. Or burn them.” Alex said.
“Don’t they have magic stones or something?” I asked.
“Well, they do, but they are not worth digging through a goblin for.” Alex said.
“Oh. I see.” I said.
(You could just turn them into generation points with your Founder’s terminal.) Laura said.
… wait What? I can do that?
(... and you didn’t tell me this before why?) I asked.
(I never had a reason to.) Laura said.
… I guess. But it would still be nice to know that.
“Actually, I can take care of them.” I said before Alex had the time to drag the corpses away.
“Summoning another monster to burn them?” Alex asked.
“No. Something better.” I said as I pulled up my sleeve to reveal my terminal.
I hadn’t activated my duel disk as I only summoned one monster and my terminal always has one card slot for that, so my sleeve had fallen back down to cover it.
I then absorbed the goblins one by one. I could do multiple at the same time, but only if they are touching each other.
I also learned that I suffer a major penalty when I absorb monsters outside of the dungeon. I only get half the generation points for them. That with the double cost of generating items makes the cost effectively times four.
Well, at least this is a good way of getting rid of throwaway monsters.
For the rest of the day, we saw no more monsters. In total, we rode for about 6 hours. Three two hour stretches with breaks in between. This was all to keep care of the horses.
We hadn’t quite made it to the area where the sprite attack happened, but we were close. I think one more two hour ride would get us there.
But I’m actually glad we won’t have to sleep on the ground where something that terrible happened.
“How many days will it take for us to arrive at this speed?” I asked Timothy.
“As long as we face no problems, we should make it in two more days.” He answered.
“Well, then I’d better make sure we face no problems.” I said.
“If you say that, I know we will be just fine.” Timothy said.
“Brian, can you come over here? We need to make the rotation for the night watch.” Alex called me.
“Yeah, I’m coming.” I answered.
“So it will be Alice and I first. Works for me.” I said after Alex told me the night rotation. As there were just the four of us, we just had two shifts.
Because of that, Lua and Alex were going to head to bed basically as soon as they had some food. I’m thankful that they went to sleep first, because I probably couldn’t fall asleep yet even if I tried.
We set up our tents, made a fire and otherwise set up camp.
For sleeping, Bakula company had a single tent between the four people, but as we decided to use the tent of Prime Rib for Alice and Lua, they asked the female coach to sleep there as well. Alex and I were going to sleep in my tent. And we wouldn’t even share it, as we were keeping guard one after the other.
My original plan was to have some dry foods for the meals, but Christina had packed some food for us in Alice’s bag, so we had a good meal today. They wouldn’t stay good for long enough, so we only had enough to last us until tomorrow evening. We even offered some to Lua and Alex, and while Alex did take a bit, Lua refused, saying she would survive on blood alone. I guess being a dhampir has its advantages as well.
“So, how are you feeling?” I asked Alice after the others had gone to bed.
“... I still don’t know. It feels nice. But at the same time, I’m scared.” She said.
“Scared? Of what?”
“I’m scared you will say I’m useless. I’m scared I’ll let you down.” She said.
“Alice. You are not useless. Please don’t think like that.” I told her.
“But you even took down the goblins before I had time to do anything. Can I really keep up with you? I can’t compete with your summons. They are too strong. Even Mana is super strong, and I know you have summons more powerful than her. So how can I ever compare?” Alice asked.
“Power isn’t everything.” I said. “My summons have plenty of weaknesses of their own. And even if they didn’t, none of them could ever replace you.”
“... thank you.” Alice said quietly.
We sat around keeping watch for a long time. Alice eventually asked to do some magic circulation training with me and I agreed. Just in case of an attack, I summoned Fusionist, my talking, flying cat to keep watch, while I focused on the training.
After the training, Alice began to nod off next to me. I ended up borrowing Mana from her and summoned Mana for the first time since, actually, I don’t remember when I last summoned her. Was it after Alice used her first spell?
Well anyway, I had Mana carry Alice to her tent. I could have done it myself, but Lua is sleeping there as well, so better to send a girl there.
I kept guard with Mana and Fusionist until it was time to swap. I had Mana wake up Lua and woke up Alex myself. After a quick explanation on why I had summoned them, I unsummoned the two monsters before using telekinesis to place Mana’s card next to the sleeping Alice.
And then it was off to dreamland with me. Good night.
nro_8 So... I tried to make a map. It's awful, but I'll share it anyway. Please note that the relative distances are all over the place (not that there are many things on the map to begin with.) But at least you get the basic idea of the three major powers at play on the continent. The Empire, the Hero's country (or the three kingdoms that surround it) and the United Nations (that I didn't name yet, as I honestly suck at naming things). I will be updating the map as we go, so if you say it sucks now, it will probably suck even more when it's filled with random stuff.
Also, the map might have information that could be considered spoilers.
Spoiler [collapse]Oh, and @cystalkalem, if you don't want the empire named after you, I can rename it. But I do like the idea of Crystal Emperor Kalem, so...
A short while after we got outside of Alewatch, Timothy began making small talk to me.
“Sir Brian. I would like to ask some questions. Would that be fine?” He asked.
“... Sure. Go for it. But I may choose not to answer. And I expect you to answer some of my questions as well.” I told him. “Also, don’t call me ‘Sir’. I’m just an adventurer escorting you. I should be the one calling you Sir Timothy.”
“Then will Brian be fine?” He asked.
“Yes. That works. Can I call you Timothy? Or should it be Mr. Timothy?”
“Just Timothy is good.” He said.
“Well then Timothy, what is it that you wanted to ask?”
“Do you truly have the legendary System Support?” Timothy asked.
… that is what he wanted to know about? I was honestly expecting him to ask about my cards. Hmm. How should I answer?
“Does it matter?” I asked.
“No. I suppose it doesn’t. I was just wondering, as I’ve heard that you have the power of foresight and that is often said to be a part of System Support. I know of at least two times when you predicted a bad situation before you should have been able to.” Timothy said.
“So that is why you think so? Well, you can think what you want.” I said.
“So you don’t have it?” Timothy asked.
“I didn’t say that.” I answered.
“So you do have it?”
“I didn’t say that either.”
“... and here I thought you were going to give me a straight answer.” Timothy said.
“I have no reason to. If I say I have it, you will ask to see my status to confirm it. And if I say I don’t have it, well, I’m not sure what you will do.” I said.
“No. That’s not it. I just wanted to know for safety reasons. Knowing you have the power of foresight in case of an emergency would be a great help.” Timothy said.
“Is this road usually dangerous?” I asked. This was actually something I wanted to know. I would assume there is at least some danger, considering the escort Brandon had. But things like the sprite attack are probably still an anomaly.
“It’s not that dangerous, compared to other areas. But we do run into low ranked monsters on almost every trip.” Timothy said.
“How low ranked? Are we talking about goblins or perhaps … (Laura, give me a D-rank monster) (Forest snake) … forest snakes?” I asked.
“Goblins are the most often seen. They come out of the great forest and attack carriages to steal food. And women.” Timothy said. “But sometimes stronger monsters come from the east.”
“Then there is nothing to worry about.” I said. “Monsters under B-rank are no trouble at all.”
“I hope that isn’t just overconfidence.” Timothy said.
… well, it might be, but I did take down an A-rank monster with ease. And my arsenal has grown since then. Just use Swords of Revealing Light as soon as I see something even remotely strong and then deal with it while it can’t move.
After about 2 hours, we stopped for our first break. Timothy said that with a lighter load we could travel for longer without a break, but with all that lumber on the carriages, the horses need rest more often.
For some of that 2 hours, he had been asking about the dungeon items. Almost to the point of being annoying. I did tell him about the basic drops from the first few floors, but said that he should get in contact with Christina or appropriate adventurers if he wanted to buy some.
“We’ll have a one hour break. Adventurers, make sure to keep an eye out for monsters.” Timothy said after we stopped.
“How are you feeling, Alice?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Free? I think that is the word.” She answered.
“Oh. I was more so thinking does your butt hurt from the carriage ride.” I admitted.
“Brian! Don’t ask something like that.” She said back. She actually looked like she wanted to slap me.
“Sorry. Sorry.” I tried to calm her down. “But the carriages aren’t super comfortable, so I was honestly worried if it would hurt you.”
As in, Overdrive, even without the installed 7 completed, is more comfortable. Sure the slow speed we were moving at makes the carriages not terrible, but it’s not great either.
Had I asked Alex or Lua, they would have said that the Trojan Horse is ten times worse than any carriage could ever be.
“Mother gave me this cushion and it helped.” Alice said and showed me a sitting cushion from her fanny pack. It looked like one of those cushions that you would put on a bad office chair to make it more comfortable.
“Of course she would. She always thinks ahead and does what is best for you.” I said.
“Yes. Mother is amazing.” Alice said. “But Brian, where should I … do my business?” Alice asked awkwardly.
“... oh yeah. I think usually you would just find a bush or something, but that could be a little awkward for a lady.” I said.
“Then… What should I do?” She asked.
“You should ask from Lua. She is the one with experience.” I told her. “And you could always use shade to give yourself some cover, so no one can see you.”
“Oh. Yes. I can do that. Thank you.” Alice said before walking off.
“Better to ask Lua about it before you do something strange.” I called after her.
Perhaps I should look at making a magic toilet that I can store in a magic bag for travel purposes. It will probably get some laughs, but I won’t have to poop in a hole, so the joke is on you.
They might even sell some travel toilets. I should probably look into that.
During the break, I kept an eye on the coachmen. And one woman. I wanted to get an idea of what they do during these breaks.
Timothy, the leader, was keeping an eye on everything, but basically did nothing. Classic boss energy there. I guess he was keeping himself available.
The female coach and one of the other males took care of the horses, seemingly using magic on them and giving them water and food. I could probably help with that by summoning Dancing Fairy. Only if they asked for it though, as Lua wasn’t helping even though she can use water attribute healing magic. At least I think she can.
The last coachman was looking over the carriages, making sure they were in good condition.
(Master. Goblins ahead.) Laura warned me.
We had been moving for little over an hour since our last break.
(Where? And how many?) I asked as I quickly looked around, trying not to be overly suspicious before I knew where the goblins were.
But apparently my discrete approach was still noticed by Timothy.
“Is something wrong?” He asked.
I just kept quiet while I waited for Laura’s answer.
(120 meters, in the woods on the left side of the road. 7 or 8 of them) Laura told me.
“I spotted something in the forest a little ahead of us. It’s probably just goblins.” I told him.
“Are you sure?” He asked as he looked ahead.
“Yes.” I answered.
“I see.” He said and gave a signal to the carriages behind us.
We pulled over just as the goblins rushed out from the forest. I’m a bit surprised that they even attacked us. They are a tiny group and there are a lot of us.
But that doesn’t mean I will hold back.
Well, maybe a little. They are just goblins after all.
“Giltia the D. Knight.” I called out my monster.
Spoiler [collapse]I decided to summon Giltia, as it is more than sufficient in power to deal with a few goblins.
“Master?” He asked after he appeared.
“Take those goblins down.” I ordered.
“As you wish.” He answered before rushing towards the goblins.
“I see. So that is how they work…” I heard Timothy mutter.
Honestly. I highly doubt you know how my cards work, as I barely understand them myself.
As Giltia got to work, Lua and Alex rushed up to the front to join them.
“What’s happening?” Lua asked.
“Just some goblins.” I answered. “My summon is taking care of them.” I added, pointing at Giltia, who had already dealt with two of the seven goblins.
“I see. Then there won’t be any problem.” Lua said, looking at the Dragon Knight taking down the goblins.
“Brian. Why didn’t you leave any for me?” Alice asked.
“... because I wanted to deal with them quickly.” I said.
“You are not fair. I wanted to take some down as well.” Alice said.
“Alice. This is combat. As in, people could get seriously hurt if you play around. I’m not going to wait for you in that situation.” I told her.
“Hmph. I just want to kill some monsters and level up.” Alice said.
“I’m sure we can arrange that after we get to Sawyer city. But first we will take care of this quest properly.” I told her.
“So, what do we do with the goblin corpses?” I asked.
“Just take them a bit away from the road and leave them. Or if you can use earth magic, bury them. Or burn them.” Alex said.
“Don’t they have magic stones or something?” I asked.
“Well, they do, but they are not worth digging through a goblin for.” Alex said.
“Oh. I see.” I said.
(You could just turn them into generation points with your Founder’s terminal.) Laura said.
… wait What? I can do that?
(... and you didn’t tell me this before why?) I asked.
(I never had a reason to.) Laura said.
… I guess. But it would still be nice to know that.
“Actually, I can take care of them.” I said before Alex had the time to drag the corpses away.
“Summoning another monster to burn them?” Alex asked.
“No. Something better.” I said as I pulled up my sleeve to reveal my terminal.
I hadn’t activated my duel disk as I only summoned one monster and my terminal always has one card slot for that, so my sleeve had fallen back down to cover it.
I then absorbed the goblins one by one. I could do multiple at the same time, but only if they are touching each other.
I also learned that I suffer a major penalty when I absorb monsters outside of the dungeon. I only get half the generation points for them. That with the double cost of generating items makes the cost effectively times four.
Well, at least this is a good way of getting rid of throwaway monsters.
For the rest of the day, we saw no more monsters. In total, we rode for about 6 hours. Three two hour stretches with breaks in between. This was all to keep care of the horses.
We hadn’t quite made it to the area where the sprite attack happened, but we were close. I think one more two hour ride would get us there.
But I’m actually glad we won’t have to sleep on the ground where something that terrible happened.
“How many days will it take for us to arrive at this speed?” I asked Timothy.
“As long as we face no problems, we should make it in two more days.” He answered.
“Well, then I’d better make sure we face no problems.” I said.
“If you say that, I know we will be just fine.” Timothy said.
“Brian, can you come over here? We need to make the rotation for the night watch.” Alex called me.
“Yeah, I’m coming.” I answered.
“So it will be Alice and I first. Works for me.” I said after Alex told me the night rotation. As there were just the four of us, we just had two shifts.
Because of that, Lua and Alex were going to head to bed basically as soon as they had some food. I’m thankful that they went to sleep first, because I probably couldn’t fall asleep yet even if I tried.
We set up our tents, made a fire and otherwise set up camp.
For sleeping, Bakula company had a single tent between the four people, but as we decided to use the tent of Prime Rib for Alice and Lua, they asked the female coach to sleep there as well. Alex and I were going to sleep in my tent. And we wouldn’t even share it, as we were keeping guard one after the other.
My original plan was to have some dry foods for the meals, but Christina had packed some food for us in Alice’s bag, so we had a good meal today. They wouldn’t stay good for long enough, so we only had enough to last us until tomorrow evening. We even offered some to Lua and Alex, and while Alex did take a bit, Lua refused, saying she would survive on blood alone. I guess being a dhampir has its advantages as well.
“So, how are you feeling?” I asked Alice after the others had gone to bed.
“... I still don’t know. It feels nice. But at the same time, I’m scared.” She said.
“Scared? Of what?”
“I’m scared you will say I’m useless. I’m scared I’ll let you down.” She said.
“Alice. You are not useless. Please don’t think like that.” I told her.
“But you even took down the goblins before I had time to do anything. Can I really keep up with you? I can’t compete with your summons. They are too strong. Even Mana is super strong, and I know you have summons more powerful than her. So how can I ever compare?” Alice asked.
“Power isn’t everything.” I said. “My summons have plenty of weaknesses of their own. And even if they didn’t, none of them could ever replace you.”
“... thank you.” Alice said quietly.
We sat around keeping watch for a long time. Alice eventually asked to do some magic circulation training with me and I agreed. Just in case of an attack, I summoned Fusionist, my talking, flying cat to keep watch, while I focused on the training.
After the training, Alice began to nod off next to me. I ended up borrowing Mana from her and summoned Mana for the first time since, actually, I don’t remember when I last summoned her. Was it after Alice used her first spell?
Well anyway, I had Mana carry Alice to her tent. I could have done it myself, but Lua is sleeping there as well, so better to send a girl there.
I kept guard with Mana and Fusionist until it was time to swap. I had Mana wake up Lua and woke up Alex myself. After a quick explanation on why I had summoned them, I unsummoned the two monsters before using telekinesis to place Mana’s card next to the sleeping Alice.
And then it was off to dreamland with me. Good night.
nro_8 So... I tried to make a map. It's awful, but I'll share it anyway. Please note that the relative distances are all over the place (not that there are many things on the map to begin with.) But at least you get the basic idea of the three major powers at play on the continent. The Empire, the Hero's country (or the three kingdoms that surround it) and the United Nations (that I didn't name yet, as I honestly suck at naming things). I will be updating the map as we go, so if you say it sucks now, it will probably suck even more when it's filled with random stuff.
Also, the map might have information that could be considered spoilers.
Spoiler [collapse]Oh, and @cystalkalem, if you don't want the empire named after you, I can rename it. But I do like the idea of Crystal Emperor Kalem, so...
