Traveling Through the Devil Forest
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(Veronica)
[Experience Points have reached the required level!]
[Individual 'Rank' has increased from level 32 to level 41!]
[Furthermore, the Individual's 'Job' has increased from level 1 to level 30!]
[You acquired the [Shrink; Level 1], [Cooking; Level 1], [Butcher; Level 1], [Alchemy; Level 1], [Crafting; Level 1], [Strengthen Followers; Level 1], [Commanding; Level 1], [Coordination; Level 1], and [Self-Enhancement; Following (Ervas); Level 1] Skills!]
[The Levels of the [Phantom Materialization; Level 2], [Chant Revocation; Level 1], [Digestion; Level 2], [Grow; Level 1], [Shrink; Level 1], and [Armory; Level 2] Skills have increased!]
(Ervas)
[Experience Points have reached the required level!]
[Individual 'Rank' has increased from level 74 to level 86!]
[Furthermore, the Individual's 'Job' has increased from level 1 to level 62!]
[You acquired the [Coordination; Level 1], and [Self-Enhancement; Following (Veronica); Level 1] Skills!]
[The Levels of the [Alchemy; Level 1], [Mind Encroachment; Level 1], [Commanding; Level 2], and [Strengthen Followers; Level 2] Skills have increased!]
It has been a week since Veronica and Ervas escaped the village and had been roaming through the wilderness, deep within the Devil Forest.
The party has been guiding themselves through some maps that they found in the mercenaries' items, which Ervas and Veronica memorized instantly through 'Memory Retention'.
Through this week, they had been foraging for food by hunting several monsters that they had encountered, and both Veronica and Ervas shared the knowledge they had gathered previously.
Ervas helped Veronica relearn some things through crafting and alchemy, although she had the same memories as him, by receiving his help, she learned the skills even faster than in a conventional way.
Veronica learned crafting and alchemy through… well, crafting and doing alchemy. She began to help Ervas upgrade the armor for Jason and Nick (The Live-Dead), and by using her ability to produce threads made out of steel and her ability to manipulate the materials created by her body, the new equipment created by her and Ervas's cooperation were of outstanding quality.
Veronica had been recently practicing her ability to shape her armor body and even learned how to shrink it, taking mass out of her body, and ultimately to separate parts of her body, and use them in different things.
Veronica had begun to contemplate the possibility of separating large pieces of her body and to give them her own soul… but this seemed problematic, as although she tried, it was still quite taxing to separate a piece of her body to give to that certain 'clone', and it was also taxing on her to create the clone because it took large amounts of her Health Points whenever she made one.
Although she could heal back, it was still a bit concerning, and while practicing this method, Veronica constantly consumed the bones, rocks, and materials they found in their way, however, her Armor or Shield did not receive an update like the ones she used to get in the Dungeon, the materials seemed too low quality.
She also upgraded one more time Jason and Nick's equipment, and even his club, by using the material that made up her body, she manipulated it as liquid metal and covered the equipment with a thin layer of extract protection, the equipment also gained a nice dark and scarlet luster.
She thought that one day it may be possible for her to separate her soul into the equipment she created, so she could even make 'equipment clones', to always be with her party.
Well… Ervas had also suggested her to be worn by Jason, and Veronica seemed not to mind, but Shade didn't like the idea, and it was quickly scratched when Jason expressed that he also 'did not want to be inside another woman than his wife'.
A thing to note is that both Ervas and Veronica seemed to have learned 'Strengthen Followers' and through the System, they were following each other… it was a very odd thing that Jason had never seen in his entire life.
Ervas and Veronica also did not know how it could be possible, but they concluded that it might be related by both of them being two halves of the same soul… or used to be.
Veronica considered that she would be able to create clones if she were to obtain skills such as 'Parallel Thought Processing', which Ervas possessed. So, they were currently trying to learn that while traveling.
The sky was clear as spring water, and the sun was shining brightly in the sky, resembling the fresh yolk of an egg. There was a calm and cold breeze, and below the large and healthy trees, a large shadow spread around, where small mushrooms and animals rested below, away from the heat of summer.
Our party was currently resting for lunch, Veronica, Ervas, and Jason were preparing different plates for all three of them.
Veronica recently discovered that she was able to create simple items by using her armor body, shaping it with skills such as 'Body Form Manipulation', 'Grow' or 'Shrink', and by adding her insight as a crafter through 'Crafting', she created simple utensils for cooking and dining, such as metal plates, knives, forks, and spoons, alongside a whole set of pots and a large and circular frying pan.
By using the oil made by Ervas back in the village, Ervas used the No-Attribute Spell 'Telekinesis' to move the thick slices of meat around the oil, the delicious smell of fried meat filled the noses of everyone present.
"Hm~" Ervas enjoyed carefreely cook for his family and hummed through the rhythm of a song from Earth.
"You seem happy today," said Jason, as he glanced at the large pot, which had bones with large chunks of meat and vegetables boiling in a delicious hotpot.
There were sweet potatoes, carrots, the bones of Giant Demon Rats, Horned Rabbits, and Demon Boars, which had some meat in them. Jason had added mushrooms and small eggs that they had harvested from the nest of Demon Birds, a Rank 1 Monster that resembled a raven. Their eggs had deep dark color, from the egg white to the yolk, but were surprisingly delicious and highly nutritional.
Steam leaked from the hotpot, which was boiling above a carefully placed bonfire surrounded by stones refined by Jason's Gnome.
"Indeed, it is a nice and relaxing day. At first, I thought that we would be chased by humans, but they didn't seem to find it worthy to risk their lives by entering the Devil Forest, which is filled with monsters and dungeons," said Ervas.
"You're right, it has been a nice week. Though, according to the map, we should be approaching the settlements of beastmen tribes that had made the Devil Forest's South their home," said Veronica, who was baking the dough of bread.
Amongst the mercenary's items, the party found a sack of wheat seeds, which they gave to Gwendolyn and her Sticky Grass Sisters, and by using their 'Herb Production' Skill, they successfully managed to replicate the seeds, now they had an almost endless supply of wheat seeds to make as much bread as they wanted…
Veronica was baking it inside of her torso while making Shade create a bright sphere of light which heat was good enough for the dough to slowly bake.
In a way, if the circumstances were different, Ervas and Veronica could open a bakery or a restaurant, and live the rest of their lives like this… but it seemed unlikely in the Human Continent at least.
"By the way, have you thought what you will add in the fourth slot of your Armory Skill?" Ervas asked Veronica.
"Not yet… though I have considered adding a spear, a sword, or a dagger… I think a dagger could fit my style better, though spear or sword is more fitting of my appearance," said Veronica.
"Hm, I think a sword would fit you well, miss Veronica," said Jason.
"I vote for the spear, they're cool," said Ervas.
"I think the spear could have some uses; it could extend as well…" muttered Shade.
"Extend? Like the… Power Pole?!" shouted Veronica.
"It seems that Shade gets it," said Ervas.
In the end, Veronica took out a spear that she had taken from the Mercenaries, the only one that a guy was carrying, it was a bit rusted, but she thought that it was enough.
Although Veronica could shape her body material into different items, to add something into her slots, it needed to be external, and not created by her own body. She could not add a spear by creating a spear from her body itself.
Although she could just use weapons created by her body, her ability to shape things wasn't as good yet, and she couldn't create a sharp sword out of anywhere… it would have the shape of a sword, but it would lack sharpness.
Though she could attack with clubs… but she was more into Unarmed Fighting Technique then, by making her fists heavier through the 'Grow' Skill.
Veronica used 'Absorption Healing' in the Spear as it suddenly turned into the orange liquid metal, entering her body.
[Generic Copper Long Spear] Material Successfully Absorbed; Health Points Restored]
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