Chapter 22 Winter Preparations

The next day had come, and I once again woke up to go prepare breakfast for us to eat. I had forgotten that we had started to run out of food, and didn't really have anything in stock. I tried to scrounge up whatever food we had left, but there really wasn't much. The best I could do was cut up a couple of edible fruits, and then arrange them onto a plate. This really didn't have any substance to it, and was only meant to stave off the hunger until we were able to actually get some proper food. Soon, Astra and Ana had woken up as well, their stomachs rumbling. They seemed to be a little disappointed when they saw the small amount of fruits that was meant to be our lunch.

While they were eating the fruits I said. "I think we should first hunt something and cook it for breakfast. We can then go and hunt or gather food to be stored for later."

"Agreed. We should definitely eat something more filling. Otherwise we won't have the strength to hunt for long."

"I agree with Astra. We can't really fight or gather anything on an empty stomach."

"Okay, then we will hunt one demonic beast. After we do that, we'll come back and eat it. Then, we will continue hunting until we are able to fill up the bag."

"Okay, let's stop this talk, and actually get into action. These fruits are not filling. I want to eat something filling first."

After Astra had spoken this line, we all went to prepare. I didn't really need to do anything, but I made sure my dagger and sheath were in the dismantling room. I would need them to dismantle the body we hunted, or else we wouldn't be able to cook it. Once I had finished checking, I then went to stand by the cave exit. Ana and Astra went to get the magic bag from their room. They usually kept it in one of their rooms when we weren't using it. They soon came out with the magic bag, and we exited the cave.

Honestly, the exit was getting a little bit cramped, and should probably be expanded in the future. We don't really need to worry about demonic beasts finding this area. The barrier that keeps any with ill intentions is there to do just that. I may have to make it stronger in the future though. The king was easily able to get through it, but that is a problem for another day. Right now, we need to go hunt for food. Well either way, I was the last to exit the cave, and once I got out from within, I felt the cold air biting into my skin. I looked over at Ana and Astra, and saw that they were also shivering from the cold as well.

"Is winter coming so soon?" I inadvertently asked after feeling the cold air.

"Yea sylvi. Winter should be around the corner. Probably a little over a month untill it arrives. The other demonic beasts should also be preparing for it too."

"It just seems to have suddenly snuck up on us."

"I guess we have been staying in the cave for too long Sylvain. Since we haven't been outside in a while, we haven't really noticed the changes."

"Yeah, I guess you are right, but that means we will have a harder time finding prey. We will also have to start preparing for winter. We are already behind. I guess I'll have to use my detection spell to help speed up our hunting efficiency. O spell of wind spread with me as the center to detect my enemies."

"So, did you find anything sylvi?"

"No, my detection didn't really pick up anything. Oh my gosh, I'm so dumb. Of course I wouldn't be able to detect anything. We are within the area of effect of the barrier. No demonic beast would show up here."

"We just have to get out of its area, and then try once again."

"Yeah Astra, that is what we will have to do."

With the talk done, we then travelled for a little bit of time. We got out of the area of effect of the barrier, and then went a little bit further. After all, there's literally no reason for a demonic beast to appear near our cave. If we wanted to find one, we would have to search farther out. This is both a good and bad thing, since we will be safe in our house, but we won't be able to find easy prey near us. Well, once we were a far enough distance away, I chanted my detection spell once again.

"O spell of wind spread with me as the center to find my enemies."

"So, what about this time Sylvain? Were you able to find any demonic beasts. I am hungry, and this walk has just made me even hungrier."

"Yeah, I was able to find a live demonic beast. It is a little bit that way, and is probably trying to get more food for winter. This is the only reaction I could get, so it will have to be our breakfast."

"Okay, say no more sylvi. Astra and I will definitely kill it, and bring its body back."

Before I could even say anything in response, Ana had already bolted in the direction I had pointed at. Soon after, Astra followed her with the same speed.

"At least wait for me." I mumbled as I followed them. Usually, I would have to chant my reinforcement spell to be able to run on par with them. However, now I was able to keep up with them. I wasn't as fast as them though, and they soon pulled ahead of me, and left my field of vision. However, I wouldn't need to use my reinforcement spell, since the target wasn't that far away. I would be able to catch up to them, without using magic. On the way back though, I would probably have to use magic

As I said, I had soon caught up with both of them. Ana had already engaged the demonic beast. It was an elk type demonic beast, with long and pointy horns. Ana was nimbly dodging its charges, not letting it have an opportunity to hit her. She had even tried to counterattack with some water magic, but the elk would dodge her as well. If it was just her by herself, she would definitely be able to win. However, she would first have to exhaust its stamina for that to happen, which would take a very long time. Even more so for demonic beasts, which have an immense amount of stamina.

She wasn't alone though, and Astra had just joined the fray. While the elk was focused on hurting Ana, Astra was able to get up into its blind spot. While there, she started to charge a spell. The only reason I was able to notice this was because a portion of the ambient mana was being dragged towards her. She was doing this as discreetly as she could, so as to not alert the elk. I guess all I would have to do was wait for them to finish this demonic beast off.

Soon enough Astra's spell had finished charging. Ana, seems to also realize this, and begins to goad the elk into a specific spot. This spot was directly in front of Astra, so her spell would have the greatest chance of connecting. Once the elk was in position, Ana engaged it head on to make sure it wouldn't move from the spot. At almost the exact same time, Astra unleashed her spell. It was a big fireball that was moving towards the elk. The elk seemed to realize the spell at its back, but it didn't fall back. I guess it wanted to make sure it could hurt one of its opponents. Or maybe it thought this would be the best chance to injure Ana.

However, Ana didn't stay to fight the elk. At almost the last possible minute, she jumped back from the elk, disengaging. The elk tried to use thi, and hit her with its horns. I saw all of this, and knew the elk's attack would probably connect if nothing else was done. Realizing this, I chanted a spell as fast as I could.

"O spell of wind come forth as a ball of wind to blow away my opponent."

I then sent the spell towards the elk's horns. The spell flew out fast, and soon connected. This spell was able to help stop the elk's attack. Ana used this chance to get out of the way as fast as she could. The elk wasn't able to do anything else, and was hit directly by the fireball shot by Astra. However, this wasn't enough to bring it down. It did hurt it, and give it burns, however this would not be enough to kill a demonic beast. Doubly so for one strong enough to make it into the beast men zone. It would make killing it easier though. Since it was hurt and burned, it wasn't as dangerous. This allowed Ana and Astra to come in, and finish it off with their claws. If they made a mistake, they could possibly be hurt, however they wouldn't make such a mistake. As if to prove my thoughts, they killed the elk without any mishaps. They then put the elk's body into the magic bag. Our breakfast was secured.

"Thanks for the help sylvi."

"It's fine Ana. Just try to not get in a similar situation again. I may not always be there to help you like this time, and I definitely don't want you to be hurt."

"What about me Sylvain?"

"I think you won't do anything to really endanger yourself. If this battle was any indication, you will not rush in, and instead hang back to wait for a chance. Still look out for your sister."

"Yep will do. Also Ana, don't rush in like that. You should have stayed back, and waited. We didn't have to go in so quickly."

"Yes, yes. Besides that, let's hurry up and get this home. I'm hungry."

"Huh fine, lead the way. I'll follow behind you."

"Okay Sylvain." "Yep sylvi."

With that said, the both of them once again, bolt off towards the house. I follow them again, and they again pull ahead of me. However this time, the distance is farther. I wouldn't be able to keep up with them with my own speed.

"O spell of wind flow through my body to reinforce myself."

I chanted my reinforcement spell, and felt myself speed up. I focused it mostly on my legs, just like when I ran away from the elf. No don't think of that, get that out of my mind. I don't want to think about it. With my reinforcement spell, I was able to catch up with them. Once I caught up, I kept their pace, and we soon made it to the cave.

"Give me the bag. I'll go in first, so I can quickly work on dismantling the elk."

"Yep." Ana said as she quickly handed me the magic bag.

Once the magic bag was in my hands, I quickly entered the cave. I could hear Ana and Astra entering after me, but I didn't focus on that. Instead, I headed straight for the dismantling room. Once there, I removed the elk from the magic bag, and placed it on the ground. I also unsheathed my dagger, and got ready to start dismantling. I haven't stopped channeling my reinforcement spell, so I was still strengthened by it. I focused it into my arms so they would have greater strength. Once that was done, I instantly went into the dismantling process. I didn't really care if it was a clean job, and prioritized speed. However, the dismantling wasn't all that bad, and I was able to get a lot of meat from the bone. I guess my experience from not using mana has really helped me. Once I was done dismantling I stoped channeling the reinforcement spell.

Either way, I stored the excess materials. Never know when they might be needed after all. I then also washed the meat in the river. Now it was fully ready to be cooked. I handed the meat over to Astra, as it was her time to cook us a meal. I then left the kitchen to allow her to cook, so I could be surprised by the food. Ana and I waited inside the dining room, and I could smell an enticing aroma come from the kitchen after a little bit of time. I still waited patiently with Ana though. I wasn't just waiting though, as I was also practicing my mana circulation. Honestly, I don't really know what benefits this will give me, however I still decided to practice it. I have been circulating mana throughout my body more often. Especially after finding out about the mana links. As such, I feel like it will definitely be helpful despite not knowing what improvements it will give.

I felt like the way to maximize this training would be to circulate fire, water, and wind mana throughout my body. Each should go through different channels though as to not interrupt one another. I felt like this would definitely be useful in the future. Especially when using spells that incorporated more than one type of mana. However, I didn't want to put this into practice at the moment. I didn't want to take mana from Astra or Ana while they were doing their own thing. I will tell them before I do it. As such, I just stook to circulating my wind mana. However, that didn't last too long, since Astra had just come with the food. I didn't want to just stop though, so I continued circulating my wind mana, while eating. This would also count as training my multitasking skill. Soon I had finished eating, but I continued to circulate my mana.

"So how was the food?" Astra asks after we have all finished eating.

"It was delicious." I responded. I could point out many flaws in it, but I wouldn't. This was because she had earnestly done her best to make this meal. Besides the flaws I would find would only be there since I had the comparison of the food cooked by my mom and dad.

"Sylvi's food is definitely better, but this is good too. I'll get tired of eating sylvi's food all the time. This is a nice change." Ana gave her honest opinion. I guess they really haven't had any cooked food before this. I don't really know what they ate over in the rainbow fox clan. It must have not been that good though if my food can be rated as delicious.

Curious about this I asked. "What kind of food did you eat before coming here?"

"Whatever we could get our hands on. It was mostly fruits and stuff found with it in the forbidden zone."

"Yep sylvi. We were rarely allowed to eat meat. No demonic beasts would come into the forbidden zone, and we are not allowed to leave unless we have explicit permission. Meat is a rare thing to have, and is usually eaten raw."

"Why would you eat it raw? You can't even use the excuse that you don't have fire."

"We never really thought to cook the meat. It is such a rare thing to get so we wouldn't want to waste it."

"Huh. I guess that makes sense Astra. If I had something rare, I definitely wouldn't want to waste it on something unknown."

"However it seems we have been wasting meat all this time by not cooking it. It tastes so much better cooked."

"Well, I guess we should end this conversation, and start our winter preparations. How are we going to split the workload. Someone needs to gather firewood. Someone else needs to hunt for food. Finally someone else needs to gather edible plants and fruits."

"I think you should go hunt for demonic beasts, while Ana and I gather the firewood and edible plants and fruits. That way, you'll be able to check your improvements. It will also make best use of your detection spell."

"But what if you guys get in trouble. I don't want you guys to get hurt."

"That shouldn't really be a problem sylvi. We will be staying near the vicinity of the cave. There should be a lot of stuff to gather, and we'll be relatively safe."

"Yep, and in case we need your help, we could use our mana links. We will just use a ton of your mana, and you'll know something is wrong."

"Okay, but make sure to do so, at the first sign of trouble. I don't want to lose my new family."

"Trust us sylvi. We are strong. You won't lose us that easily."

"Ha ha. Okay then, I'll trust you. Besides if I don't, we will definitely die during the winter for not preparing enough. I'll take the magic bag, and you both can use the leather bags."

"Yep. See you back here at lunch time then."

"See you at lunch then." "I'll be cooking this time."

With that I headed out of the area. I didn't use my reinforcement spell even though it would have been quicker. I wanted to see my speed and stamina without mana. I quickly stopped that though. I would just be too slow, and wouldn't have enough time to be able to hunt enough food.

"O spell of wind flow through my body to reinforce myself."

With the spell cast, my speed instantly increased. I soon got out of the area of the effect of the barrier. I really need to continue my training. Otherwise I would be too dependent on mana. Well either way, I would use it when it is convenient, like now.

"O spell of wind spread with me as the center to detect my enemies."

I wasn't able to detect anything. I would have to use both my spells at the same time to get the best effects. The reinforcement spell to increase my speed, and the detection spell to find my prey. This honestly wasn't that hard to do, however demonic beasts would rarely be detected. This was expected since winter is coming. The demonic beasts would also prepare or have already entered hibernation. Either way, it would be hard to find any prey. In the time I was searching, I was only able to find two. The only thing I could do, would be to head to the human zone. There, there would be plenty more demonic beasts. However, it would take longer for me to come back if Ana and Astra were in any danger. No, let's not think that way. Let's believe that they will be able to last until I come.

With that decided, I went to the human zone. If I didn't get this food, then we would definitely die this winter. As I had thought, there were many demonic beasts there. It wasn't an amount that would be their in the summer, but I was able to find them easier with my spells. Whenever I found one, I would instantly kill it, and store the whole body in the magic bag. I lost track of how much time had passed by. It didn't really feel like that long, and there was no danger to me. On a whim, I decided to look up into the sky. Once I did, I saw the sun high up in it. It wasn't at its highest point, but it would be there soon. That means it is almost time for lunch. They should be waiting for me to bring the meat back to the cave.

I hadn't gotten nearly enough food to survive the winter though. Well it's not like I was planning on getting it all today. However I was hoping I would at least get ⅛ of the amount needed. I was only able to find and kill 5 demonic beasts. I would definitely need to redouble my efforts tomorrow. As I was thinking this, I was running back towards the cave. While hunting, I had kept both the reinforcement and detection spell on, but now that I was only running back, I stopped channeling the detection spell.

It didn't take too long to get back to the cave. However, by the time I was there, the sun had already passed its highest point, and Ana and Astra were waiting by the cave. They seemed to be impatient. I guess they were waiting for me for quite a bit of time, if they were starting to get impatient.

"Sorry I'm late." I say once they see me.

"It's fine. You're here now. Quickly dismantle a demonic beast. I'm hungry."

"Yeah it's my turn to cook sylvi, so quickly dismantle one."

"Yes yes. I'll do that right away."

With that said, I headed to the dismantling/storage room. I took out all the demonic beasts that I had in the bag. I put away a majority of them to be dismantled later. Then I took a pretty big one and started the dismantling process. I once again prioritized speed. I guess I was a little tired from the hunting since the dismantling job wasn't as clean as it should've been. I was going to go give Ana the meat, but she came and got it herself. She seemed to be excited to cook. While she was cooking, I decided to take a little nap. I wanted to be in good condition to continue the hunt.

"Lunch is ready Sylvain." I heard those words as I was shaken awake by Astra. I let out a big yawn before proceeding to the table. The food was already placed on plates, and put on the table. It actually smelled really good, so I ate right away. The taste wasn't that bad, but it wasn't that good either. Soon we had all finished eating, and I immediately left to hunt more prey for winter. I think they needed to gather more stuff as well since they also immediately left.

"O spell of wind flow through my body to reinforce myself."

I chanted my spell again, and immediately headed to the human zone. I got their quicker than last time since I used the spell in the beginning.

"O spell of wind spread with me as the center to detect my enemies."

Once in the human zone, I used my detection spell. Keeping these two spells active again, I hunted for more demonic beasts. I was actually pretty lucky since when I first used the spell, I noticed a group of 4. It was probably a demonic wolf pack, so I instantly engaged them. They immediately noticed me and attacked as well. I had the advantage in strength due to my reinforcement spell. I would now need to increase my attack power. I would just finish them off like I did the others, using my spell sword.

"O spell of wind, come forth as."

I began to chant my spell, but stopped. I felt a familiar sensation. The one where my mana was used without me using it. This was the signal, Ana and Astra were in danger. I wanted to quickly head to them, but these four wolves would definitely not let me. If they saw me running, they would just chase me and slow me down. I wouldn't want that to happen, so I would have to kill them quickly. I just hope that Ana and Astra would be able to survive long enough for me to kill these wolves, and get to them. Don't die my new family, I'll be there soon.